♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. george: actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life. it's exciting to be part of a team driving the technology forward. i think that's the most rewarding thing. people who know, know bdo.

narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> i'm lewis for jo'e watching the context on bbc news. the former u.k. prime minister has been referred to police by the cabinet office over new claims he broke lockdown rules during the pandemic. welcome to the program.

former prime minister boris johnson has been referred to police over new claims he broke lockdown rules during the covi19 pandemic. all of the latest on that. also on the program, 16 years since madalyn mccann disappeared, the search has resumed with police digging near the dam kilometers from where she went missing. the disgraced entertainer ralph harris has died at the age of 93. every day of his sexual assault trial. we speak to the chief rabbi of ukraine. what he's doing to support people across the country. but first, we will start with the news in the last couple of hours or so. boris johnson has been referred to police over new allegations he broke lockdown rules during the covid pandemic. information was passed to police by the cabinet office. it is being reported the

referrals two police forces based on recently discovered information. they are investigating, no breach of the rules has been confirmed. going to our u.k. political correspondent. it has only broken in the last couple of hours. what are the details? >> the times with this report. boris johnson referred to the police forces regarding information about events that possibly were in breach of coronavirus regulations at downing street and at checkers. his country residence in buckinghamshire. what we know from a combination of the cabinet office and police and a spokesperson for mr. johnson himself, they have told us this evening. the information has come to light the process of preparing

evidence and a defense for boris johnson in the public inquiry into the u.k. government's response to coronavirus. lawyers for mr. johnson paid for by the government were looking through his diaries. they raised concerns about several entries in his official diary in relation to events which may potentially have been in breach of coronavirus rules and guidance at the time. they raised concerns with officials at the cabinet office who passed that information to police in line with their responsibility as civil servants . that is where this takes us. we have a response from the metropolitan police who confirmed they are in receipt of information and are currently assessing it. also in a statement given to the times, they say they are looking into a report of potential

breaches of the rules. as for boris johnson, a spokesperson for him this evening telling us some abbreviated entries in the official diary were queried by a cabinet office during preparation for the covid inquiry. following an examination. his lawyers wrote to the office and privileges committee, investigating whether he misled parliament about rules followed on downing street. they explained the events were lawful and not breaches of any code regulations. >> as you are talking, some pictures on the screen. boris johnson raising a glass with the faces of others lured out. >> this reminded everyone and

ought back into focus the party gate saga which was a string of claims which came to light about events held in downing street and other government buildings throughout the pandemic where boris johnson and others working in government were claimed to be breaking coronavirus restrictions, which they themselves had formulated and put into place. as a result, boris johnson and others were fined, received a penalty notice for breach of the rules that were in place at the time. the pictures you see demonstrate. also the inquiry that was the civil servant appointed by boris johnson to look into the extent of rule breaking, which took place -- and the inquiry a moment ago by mps looking into whether boris

johnson misled parliament about what happened and whether rules were broken. it is a long-running saga. it is not over yet. the claims will only refocus scrutiny on boris johnson's conduct. ty: we will leave it there -- >> we will leave it there and come back to you. staying here in the u.k. the death has been confirmed of the disgraced entertainer and convicted sex offender all harris. almost two weeks ago from cancer. it came six years after he was released from prison. in jail for a sexual assault back to the 1960's. before those crimes came to light, one of britain's best known tv personalities and artists commissioned to paint a trait of queen elizabeth. he never expressed remorse for his crimes. nor did he ever apologize to any

of his victims. joining me is barbara miller, correspondent with bbc news australia who covered walt harris and the court case. thank you for coming on the program. those revelations that came out in court were shocking to so many. >> that is right. ralph harris was arrested in 2014. it was really an open secret he was the man who had been arrested. it was in connection with police investigations that were really sparked by the revelations of jimmy seibel's crimes. it was a reference for ralph harris and getting into legal jeopardy that for a long time they did not name him as the person who had been arrested. in australia, it was a huge shock. he was one of our most famous,

most successful exports. then the kind of central revelation, the central witness was the very good friend of been d. that he abused her from the age of 13. he had been in a consensual relationship with the woman. we never saw her, she was behind a screen during the court case. he said it began when she was 18. the jury clearly not convinced of that. and he was convicted over those counts and others. >> what was it like -- as a reporter, i was in court for some of those days. you covered it so extensively. give us a flavor of the details that came out. >> in terms of ralph harris, that was almost absurd. a guy on our television screens for literally decades, to keep

reinventing himself as a painter, singer, a host of animal programs. in court, quite disturbing. at one point for sketching people as he sat in the box. when he took the stand, he did take the stand in his own defense. he performed a little. one of his songs, sound effects for his famous wobble board. there was a disconnect for a man presented in court, and the allegations he was facing. and you have the women, several of whom appeared behind screens, talking about the years that they had suffered since they suffered abuse by roll paris, one saint she felt emotionally dead, another said her childhood had been taken from her. he was not in custody at the time. each day, we have the very

lengthy walk into court and out-of-court as he accompanied his wife, who survives him. very unsteady on her feet. the reporter just throwing questions at him as he walked out of court. he never publicly commented on those allegations. never expressed any remorse. his argument was these women were golddiggers, fantasists. one of the counts he was subsequently cleared was considered to be unsafe because a witness was not credible in that particular account. it was a very surreal experience seeing him in court. very disturbing to hear these allegations of abuse from very young girls and women. the youngest aged seven or eight when she said he molested her. >> barbara miller, thank you

very much. we are going to go to portugal. the latest on the search for madeleine mccann. may have seen this for the last couple of days. police are searching a reservoir with evidence to link a german sex offender to her disappearance. he was made a formal suspect by portuguese prosecutors. >> working methodically through the undergrowth, probing for anything that can provide a clue to what happened to madeleine mccann. german and portuguese police offirs with british police in attendance searching the edge of a reservoir. it was a planned operation that also involved dogs and a boat. it is expected to run into a second day tomorrow. it has been the focus on the search, has a car park and impromptu campsite.

they have been searching down from the car park to the edge of the water. madeleine mccann vanished from a holiday 30 miles away in may 2007. a few days before her fourth birthday. it has become one of the most infamous missing persons cases. her parents have never given up hope finding her alive. earlier this month, they released a simple statement that the police investigation continues and we await a breakthrough. the investigation has led to the reservoir because the main suspect was a regular at the impromptu campsite. he's christian bruckner, a german man serving a prison sentence for rape area did the german prosecutors are leading this investigation. they have not charged him and he has denied any involvement in the disappearance. prosecutors said the search was based on intelligence. >> we don't start searching somewhere in portugal on the off

chance. there must be a good reason for it. we do have one, i ask you for understanding i cannot disclose it for tactical reasons. >> she vanished from a holiday apartment in may 2007. the reservoir where the search is taking place is about 30 miles away. police are focusing on a car park and impromptu campsite on a small peninsula on the west side of the lake. jim gamble, the head of the child exultation and online protectiond in the original investigation, hopes the search will be significant. >> given that the portuguese police are serving and facilitating the search, it is reasonable to be hopeful. one is german police are continuing at peace, and they are not taking off the pressure, and they are investing resource. another at some stage, there's got to be a breakthrough. >> she vanished 16 years ago.

the chances of proving what happened must now be limited. >> expecting that search to continue tomorrow. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. a quick look at some more stories in the u.k. an investigation found more than 30 5000 incidents of sexual misconduct or sexual violence were recorded on nhs premises in england between 2017 and 2022. rape and sexual assault, being touched without consent, accounted for more than one in five of those cases. one half involved patients abusing staff. the former deputy prime minister will stand down at the next election. he resigned from cabinet after inquiring, upheld claims of bullying. his departure means the conservative party will have to nd a new candidate for the

constituency. the key election target for the liberal democrats. bbc news found illegal vapes confiscated from school pupils contain high levels of metals, some of them show children using them to inhaling more than twice the safe amount of lead. you are live with bbc news. focusing on the court case in new york. the former u.s. president donald trump has appeared in manhattan's criminal court. charged with falsifying business records while makingayments to cover up alleged affairs. the purpose of this appearance is to explain -- talk about publicly about the case. you might remember the case made him first former president to be arraigned for a crime. these are the pictures of when it was happening.

flagged by dozens of court officers, secret service agencies. no scenes like that this time. it is by video link. joining me from washington is richard a painter, the former chief white house ethics lawyer for george w. bush. a professor at the university of minnesota. just talk us through what you know and what you may confer this donald trump appearance. >> the purpose of this appearance is to explain to donald trump the protective order the court is entering in this case. it is the information the defense has provided by the prosecutors in order to assist with trial. in the u.s. and other supreme court, case law and the brady versus maryland case,

prosecution is required to give the defense information relevant to the case, whether it helps the prosecution the defense. this information is turned over to process discovery before the criminal trial. what donald trump is not allowed to do is take this information which may concern witnesses, and the identity of witnesses, records on their cell phone and other materials, take the material and post it on social media where witnesses can be harassed and threatened by various extremist elements. we know all about these extremist elements and how they precipitate the crisis of january 6, 2021. it is very common in these cases for the court to say the prosecutn must turn over the information of the defense. the defense is not allowed to reveal it in public space. >> that was really clearly laid out.

thank you. what would be the punishment if donald trump decided to publish something? >> contempt of court. if you are guilty of contempt of court, ignore a court order, you go to jail. that is the usual procedure. i would think it would be the case of donald trump. we don't have special rules for presidents, former presidents. when a court says you do something, you obey the court. if you don't like it, you can appeal or go to the court of appeals. but you not disobey t protective order. >> i'm going to assume the vast majority of people given these directions in court proceedings obey them? >> they do. the others end up in jail. the -- that is how it works. you do not ignore the orders of the judge. >> coming back to you in one moment. going to our correspondent who

has been listening in. brinus up-to-date on the details we learned. >> donald trump appeared remotely, virtually. there were two tv screens broadcasting his feed in the courtroom. a fairly brief hearing. the judge wanted to ensure he understood the protective order that has been issued. trump only spoke once when he was asked if he received a copy of that protective order. he said yes i have. he really directed the rest of the questions to his lawyer, she was sitting next to him in florida. he said their objections remain. while the manhattan das office has really said the protective order is needed because donald trump has attacked people on social media, and they fear for intimidation of witnesses, donald trump's lawyers have said they are still concerned it is a

violation of his first amendment rights because he's running for president, the leading contender for republicans in the white house at the moment. todd blanche said he explained to donald trump it was not the judges intention with this protective order and it was not a gag order, that he could still speak freely about the case. and we heard the judge reiterating that, saying he's free to do just about anything that does not violate this order, it is no way an attempt to limit his first amendment rights. but they said donald trump must understand if he violates this protective order, he's in contempt of court, which would mean either jail time or a fine. >> i want to puthis point to richard, but do we get a date, any timeline?

>> yes. a lot of the hearing was spent on schedule. at the moment, the trial is set for march 25. the judge was clear he does not want the date to slip whatsoever. he set dates for recovery on when both teams should change information. unless someone is free at the trial date. he was very clear that was not changing. >> i put the timeline to you, what you make of that? it feels quite a long way away. there's the politics of it all. >> ordinarily, criminal defendants are six months, maybe a year at most. and the trial a procedures in different states. donald trump may have to delay the trial until after the election.

defendants are ordinarily not allowed to do that. and it really should remain fixed. no reason to extend that deadline. the judge has made that clear. >> if you could remind us of the substance of this case and what it is all about. >> prosecutors in new york accuse donald trump of falsifying business records 34 times, hence the 34 counts. they say it was part of a scheme to cover up the true nature of these payments his former lawyer , they say they wanted to hide hush-money payments to stormy daniels and it was in violation of the new york electoral laws and limits on campaign funding. it is also worth noting we did not hear much about the attempt by donald trump to move it to

federal court, but he's attending to have the case go to federal court. >> thanks for that and putting up for the noise in the background. on the substance of this case, i'm not going to ask you to prejudge anything. >> i don't know whether donald trump did or didn't. the prosecution will have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. the new york statute is sensible. you are not allowed to falsify a business record in order to cover up any crime, whether it is a cri under new york law, the federal election law, a crime under british law. you cannot cover up a crime by falsifying a business record in new york. new york businesses are not laundry mats. new york businesses are not allowed to falsify business records. if that happened, and if donald

trump is the one who ordered the falsification of the business records beyond a reasonable doubt, he committed a felony. that is what he's been charged with. and the jury finds him guilty or not. >> richard painter, former ethics lawyer for president bush. fascinating to get your insight. so much for bringing us up to date. thank you. before we head off for a short break, i want to remind you of our breaking news. this concerns the former prime minister boris johnson, a new set of allegations to answer because the cabinet office, has passed information referred to two police forces. this is surrounding potential

breaches of covid lockdown restrictions. we should be absolutely clear that we will have the vestigation when it comes to police. so far there is no confusion. just information that has been passed to the police forces. boris johnson denies any wrongdoing. he was fined last year for breaking covid rules in 2020. these are rules, laws, and regulations he himself created as prime minister of the day. the cabinet office had been obliged to disclose -- under the civil service rules, because they were going through certain documents preparing for

their big inquiry coming up. any information that could potentially be as breaking rules, they will be obliged under the civil service code to pass the information on. that is being reported on. we will bring more details to you when we get them. this is bbc news. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. george: actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life. it's exciting to be part of a team driving the technology forward. i think that's the most rewarding thing. people who know, know bdo.