the australian defence force is due to release a long—awaited report detailing allegations that its specialorces committed war crimes during multiple deployments to afghanistan. let's cross over to hear the chief speaking live now. we should be proud of their contribution as they should be proud of their contribution. while the inspector general finds is greatly at odds with that good effort. and damaging to our moral authority as a military force. his report details credible information regarding deeply disturbing allegations of unlawful killings by some. i would respectfully ask australians to remember and have faith in the many. i assure you i do. to the people of afghanistan, on behalf of the australian defence force, i sincerely and unreservedly apologise for any wrongdoing by australian soldiers i've spoken directly with my afghan counterpart to convey this message. such alleged behaviour profoundly disrespected the trust placed in us by the afghan people, who had asked us to their country to help them. it would have devastated the lives of afghan families and communities, causing imm

the national defence forces are within the city, have taken defence forces are within the city, have, have taken command and it is under federal command. what will happen next? if this is not resolved in terms of speaking to the tplf, tensions will resume once again. what has been put in place for the regional players? we have not spoken to them yet, because they are the critical targets. what is next is that there have been matters which are been settled constitutionally. this last stronghold is now under federal control as well, so there will be undertaking the critical task of resuming the services that have been interrupted in the last two weeks of the operation, particularly because the administration of the term two had fled. —— the administration of the tplf had fled. material assistance has been delivered to these cities. now there will be a possibility for a number of other agencies to go in now the areas are secure and provide humanitarian aid as a priority. we will be locating those who have fled from the conflict, there are many camps within the border areas, and we will

over the past two days, the information we have received from the defence forces at the front is thatring. the confirmation that's been transmitted today is that the national defence forces are within the city, have taken command and it is under federal command. what will happen next? if this is not resolved in terms of speaking to the tplf, tensions will resume once again. what has been put in place for the regional players? this has nothing to do with speaking to the tplf because the target what is next is that there have been matters which are been settled constitutionally. this last stronghold is now under federal control as well, so there will be undertaking the critical task of resuming the services that have been interrupted in the last two weeks of the operation, particularly because the administration had fled. now the focus is transitioning to humanitarian assistance and ensuring that all the city is under scheduled command. we have stated this is being coordinated by the ministry of peace but now there would be the possibility for a lot of other agencies because we are secu

that's the conclusion of a long—awaited investigation by the australian defence force into misconducty its forces. the inquiry investigated 57 incidents and heard from hundreds of witnesses. it uncovered "a shameful record of a warrior culture by some soldiers", according to the chief general, angus campbell. he apologised to the afghan people. to the people of afghanistan, on behalf of the australian defence force, i sincerely and unreservedly apologise for any wrongdoing by australian soldiers. i've spoken directly with my afghan counterpart, general zia, to convey this message. general campbell also outlined a culture of toxic competitiveness within the special air service regiment. the report says that none of the alleged unlawful killings were described as being in the heat of battle. the findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. the killing... the unlawful killing of civilians and prisoners is never acceptable. it's my duty and that of my fellow chiefs to set things right. it's alleged that some patrols took the law into their own han

that's the conclusion of a long—awaited investigation by the australian defence force into misconducts forces. the inquiry investigated 57 incidents and heard from hundreds of witnesses. it uncovered, quote, a "shameful record" of a "warrior culture" by some soldiers, according to the chief general angus campbell. he apologised to the afghan people. to the people of afghanistan, on behalf of the australian defence force, i sincerely and unreservedly apologise for any wrongdoing by australian soldiers. i've spoken directly with my afghan counterpart, general zia, to convey this message. general campbell also outlined a culture of toxic competitiveness within the special air service regiment. the report says that none of the alleged unlawful killings were described as being in the heat of battle. these findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. the killing... the unlawful killing of civilians and prisoners is never acceptable. it's my duty and that of my fellow chiefs to set things right. it's alleged that some patrols took the law into their

forfour years now, the attorney general of the australian defence force has looked into allegations thatlated the rules of war in afghanistan. we know that the justice has been looking into it 55 separate incidents between 2005—2016 and have spoken to more than 300 witnesses. we also know that the inquiry did not focus on things that happened in the heat of battle, if you will come us and not people who died as collateral damage in combat, but rather people who were unlawfully killed allegedly while they were unarmed. so the alleged killing of unarmed afghan civilians and the mistreatment alleged of prisoners of war. we already know the primary report has been handed to the government and to the military as well. and a redacted version is due to be released but whatever details it we get are going to make for some very uncomfortable reading indeed and we also know the prime minister, scott morrison, has already called the afghan president to apologise for the misconduct by some of the australian troops in afghanistan. so once we get the findings, what happens next? the prime minister ann

the defence secretary has been fighting hard for more money to modernise the armed forces and to breakpast over ambitious and underfunded defence reviews. last month ben wallace visited troops on salisbury plain to see some of the new equipment already being tested by the army — robots, drones and autonomous systems, the future of warfare. the army has already set up a new unit to counter disinformation, an increase in the defence budget of £16.5 billion over the next four years which will also help to meet the new threats in the domains of cyber and space. it's a 10% rise in the annual mod budget of £40 billion. with public finance is tight, there's been a battle with treasury, but ben wallace has found an ally in the prime minister, who believes extra defence spending will bolster britain's place in the world and revive the economy. but bae systems factory of the future in lancashire has already begun work on tempest, the new fighterjet, which will be flown with or without a pilot in the cockpit. borisjohnson says projects like this could create up to 10,000 jobs a year. the mod stil

ethiopia is claiming that its defence forces have made sweeping military gains in its northern tigraye maching on its capital. insurgent regional forces say they're putting up resistance. the united nations is warned that a full—scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding as the conflict escalates with nearly 30,000 people fleeing the conflict there since the start of november. 0ur senior africa correspondent anne soy reports. the way to safety is fraught with great risk here. these are ethiopians from the northern region of tigray. two weeks of fighting between the local government there and the national army has forced them to flee. they are arriving in their thousands every day in sudan. translation: we came with the clothes on our backs. i don't know where my husband is. i have been looking for him for five days. translation: i don't know, but there was heavy fighting and many people died. after that, they told us to leave, so we fled. everyone did. they don't mind that the barren lands of eastern sudan have little to offer. they build makeshift shelters in which they can finally sleep

the head of australia‘s defence force said the investigation had uncovered a "shameful record" of a "prosecution over the allegations. 0ur australia correspondent shaimaa khalil reports. the defence chief‘s language left us in no doubt about how grave these alleged violations in afghanistan were. general angus campbell used words like toxic, appalling and shameful when describing the actions of members of these special forces. and it wasn‘t just that these alleged executions occurred, but it was also the culture of impunity in which they happened. these findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. the killing, the unlawful killing, of civilians and prisoners is never acceptable. none of the alleged unlawful killings were described as being in the heat of battle. none were alleged to have occurred in circumstances in which the intent of the perpetrator was unclear, confused or mistaken. 0ne picture stood out in general campbell‘s address. the moment he described the coercion of some junior soldiers to allegedly shoot unarmed civilians to get th

translation: the defence forces never killed a single person in a single town.ier is in london to try to agree a trade deal with the uk. let's update you on the conflict in ethiopia. prime minister abiy ahmed has declared victory in the government's conflict with forces in the region of tigray and has made the disputed claim that civilians have been spared. i've several clips to show you. this first is from the ethiopian parliament earlier. translation: the defence forces never killed a single person in a single town. no soldier from any country could be more competent. we have disciplined and heroic soldiers. there was a lot of campaigning saying that we would demolish mekelle. mekelle is ours, built with our resources. why would we destroy it? no—one got in harm's way. the special forces have simply conducted a special surgery in mekelle. now to be clear, there are so many parts of this story that we're strugling to verify, in part because phone lines and the internet is largely cut off in mekelle. but let me take you through the statements and reporting that

ethiopia is claiming that its defence forces have made sweeping military gains in its northern tigrayn and are maching on its capital. insurgent regional forces say they're putting up resistance. the united nations is warned that a full—scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding as the conflict escalates, with nearly 30,000 people fleeing the conflict there since the start of november. 0ur senior africa correspondent anne soy reports. the way to safety is fraught with great risk here. these are ethiopians from the northern region of tigray. two weeks of fighting between the local government there and the national army has forced them to flee. they are arriving in their thousands every day in sudan. translation: we came with the clothes on our backs. i don't know where my husband is. i have been looking for him for five days. translation: i don't know, but there was heavy fighting and many people died. after that, they told us to leave, so we fled. everyone did. they don't mind that the barren lands of eastern sudan have little to offer. they build makeshift shelters in which they can fina

translation: our defence force is the flagbearer and guardian of our nation.ir blood for our military. i believe this shows our unity. translation: waging war at this time is not proper. war has no benefit for us. it hurts our economy, our country. we need to work together to develop our country rather than going to war. when there is a war, industries will be damaged and the people who will die would have contributed a lot to the country. pro—government militia are seen here travelling north to fight alongside nationalforces. there are fears this could morph into full civil war — a standoff between ethiopia's former and current rulers threatens to push the country to the brink. anne soy, bbc news. a senior volkswagen executive has defended the compa ny‘s decision to continue operating a car plant in xinjiang — a region of china underfierce scrutiny due to the treatment of the uighur ethnic minority there. mounting international concern has led some multinational companies to cut ties with the region. but volkswagen has told the bbc that there is so far no evi

there's praise for the heroic national defence force on capturing tigray‘s capital in what is describedhat simple? translation: our forces have freed more than 7000 members of our northern command and taken back control of our base. we have recovered tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy weapons that were looted. we are hunting anti—peace elements hidden in holes. but we only have one side's word for what is going on in the region, as tigray‘s phone lines and internet links are down. even if the capital mekelle has been taken, it is unclear how its adversaries the tplf — veterans of guerrilla warfare, will respond. it's possible that the tigrayan people's liberation movement has simply moved its forces into the mountains, into the rural area, and this could go on for some time, depending on the support that the tplf has from the tigrayan people. indeed, it's their support either way that could be vital in determining what happens next — that's after enduring over three weeks of fighting around them. the capital has reportedly been shelled, so many of its 500,000 people are almost certainly

translation: our defence force is the flag—bearer and guardian of our nation.ieve this shows our unity. translation: waging war at this time is not proper. war has no benefit for us. it hurts our economy, our country. we need to work together to develop our country, rather than going to war. when there is a war, industries will be damaged and the people who will die would have contributed a lot to the country. pro—government militia are seen here travelling north to fight alongside nationalforces. there are fears this could morph into full civil war. a stand—off between ethiopia's former and current rulers threatens to push the country to the brink. anne soy, bbc news. archaeologists in norway are racing against the onset of mould to dig up the first viking ship in more than a century. discovered in gjellestad, in the south—east of the country, two years ago, the 20 metre ship is being excavated because of its poor condition. a race against time now because of the mould. experts say the site has been disturbed many times and that precious relics may have been p

rise up against the clique or defect to the ethiopian defence forces.ry. in the next two or three days, save yourself. i'm nowjoined by our correspondent in addis ababa, kalkidan yibeltal. fill us in on the background. what is the latest on the reports of rocket attacks and even suggestions that a massacre may have taken place? yes, there is much we don't know about this conflict but there are things that we know. we know that two rocket attacks happened in a state near the northern most state of tigray. government says they were fired by people loyal to the liberation front, the dominant political power in tigray. they are taking responsibility for the attacks, which happened in retaliation for air strikes that we re retaliation for air strikes that were happening by the federal government and the federal army in the region. so we know that this conflict is escalating and things are getting worse. but we don't know whether there are casualties in this latest rocket attack. what about the reports of a massacre? the eu and human rights organisations say

translation: our defence force is the flag bearer and guardian of our nation.heir blood for our military. i believe this shows our unity. translation: waging war at this time is not proper. war has no benefit for us. it hurts our economy, our country. we need to work together to develop our country rather than going to war. when there is a war, industries will be damaged and the people who will die would have contributed a lot to the country. pro—government militia are seen here travelling north to fight alongside nationalforces. there are fears this could morph into full civil war — a stand—off between ethiopia's former and current rulers threatens to push the country to the brink. anne soy, bbc news. it's understood the uk prime minister's senior aid, dominic cummings, is expected to leave the government by the end of the year. he told the bbc tonight that his position hasn't changed since the start of the year, when he wrote that he wanted to make himself "largely redundant" by the end of the 2020. our political correspondent, jessica parker, has more. there

translation: our defence force is the flame bearer and guardian of our nation.elieve this shows our unity. translation: waging war at this time is not proper. war has no benefit for us. it hurts our economy, our country. we need to work together to develop our country rather than going to war. when there is a war, industries will be damaged and the people who will die would have contributed a lot to the country. pro—government militia are seen here travelling to fight alongside nationalforces. there are fears this could morph into foreign civil war. a standoff between ethiopia's former and current rulers threatens to push the country to the brink. anne soy, bbc news. more on our website which is before i go, our mind our main story. senior democrats in the united states are accusing republicans of opposing democracy by refusing to recognise joe biden as democracy by refusing to recognisejoe biden as the winner of last week's presidential election. he has yet to concede. many republicans continue to back him. lots more developing stories on our website. thanks so

translation: our defence force is the flame bearer and guardian of our nation. masse to donate their blood for our military. i believe this shows our unity. translation: waging war at this time is not proper. war has no benefit for us. it hurts our economy, our country. we need to work together to develop our country rather than going to war. when there is a war, industries will be damaged and the people who will die would have contributed a lot to the country. pro—government militia are seen here travelling north to fight alongside national forces. there are fears this could morph into full civil war — a standoff between ethiopia's former and current rulers threatens to push the country to the brink. anne soy, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. peru's interim president, manuel merino, has called for calm during the swearing—in of his new cabinet as protests escalate around the country since the abrupt ousting of former leader martin vizcarra. for days, hundreds of residents have protested the congress vote, with dozens of demonstrators detained a

worth recalling that it is not just it is also worth recalling that it is notjust the ethiopian defence forces on the side of prime minister abe as well as statewide malicious moving into the t grey region. you have things fighting at once. the best solution for them is to move into an insurgency type campaign —— tigray region. move into an insurgency type campaign -- tigray region. who does abiy ahmed listen to internationally? there has been a lot of outreach from the sudanese, the chairman of the regional peacekeeping body. he has rejected those and —— and treaties will stop the head of the african union, cyril ramaphosa, the south african president, send a delegation of three former heads of state to meet with the minister abiy ahmed yesterday. he rejected the calls for political dialogue. they have been a number of other world leaders, the pope issued a statement today. we know that secretary mike pompeo has been trying to reach the minister abiy ahmed. he really seems to have cut himself off from western and even african efforts. it is ha rd to even african efforts. it is hard to know wh

rise up against the clique or defect to the ethiopian defence forces.self. the world health organization has told the bbc it's "really concerned" that some young people are doubting whether to get vaccinated against covid—i9. experts say a vaccine is the only way to rapidly stop the pandemic. but with misinformation online, research shows that a number of young people may choose not to get the jab. as olivia le poidevin reports. i would definitely take it. i am on the fence. the covid vaccine is more like a reality with some trials showing promising results. it is the only thing that can rapidly stop this pandemic. a vulnerable and older people will be the first in line, but young people will need vaccinating eventually to stop covid spreading, but some are questioning whether they would want one. this king's college london study suggested 16—34 —year—olds in the uk are twice as likely as 55 — 75 euros to not want a covered vaccination —— overnight vaccination. one poll in the us found that only 56% of 18—29 —year—olds would get a vaccine if they were a

this is the head of the australian defence force. their own hands. rules we re the law into their own hands. rules were broken, stories concocted, lies told, and prisoners killed. the inquiry found credible evidence that 39 men and teenagers had been unlawfully killed. allegations include junior soldiers being coerced into executing prisoners to get their first kill, in a practice known as ‘blooding'. and claims that weapons were planted on victims to make the killings look legitimate. the report found 25 soldiers had carried out alleged crimes — or been accessories to them and it recommended 19 people be referred to the australian federal police. here's the defence chief again. these findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. 19 service personnel could face prosecution over the allegations, but that process could take years. let's get more from our australia coreespondent, shaimaa khalil. the defence chief's language left us in no doubt about how grave the alleged violations in afghanistan

our defence correspondent jonathan beale reports. britain's armed forcesld, like tanks and heavy armour and more of the new, to defend in the domains of cyber and space. british troops are already encountering threats such as this information and they will be part of a new national cyber force are ready to carry out offensive cyber operations. and there will be a new space command with plans to fire the first british rocket, like this us one, to launch their own military satellites. announcing the biggest increase in defence spending in decades, the prime minister said it would help his vision of a global britain and end an era of retreat. i have done this in the teeth of the pandemic amid every other demand on our resources, because the defence of the realm and the safety of the british people must come first. the mod‘s annual budget is currently £41 billion a year. the government is now promising that will rise by 4% annually above inflation. so that would see an overall increase in the mod‘s budget to nearly £52 billion fight 2025. the government says i

len jibili lost his limbs i that war.sl >> ( tred ): i wish victory for the ethiopia defence forces. they should defeat this junta group in the north. they should behased away from this land of ethiopia. >> prime minister abiy won the 2019 nobel peace prize for reaching long-aited peace with eritrea. but now the united nations i leading international calls for an immediate cease fire. he says he must first restore law and order in the north. >> there should not be any mistake made in treating the federal government as equal witm al groups. >> meanwhile, close to 100 thousand eriean refugees living in camps in the tigray region are said to be stranded with no humanitarian assistance. reportedly died fr have fighting, and prime minister abiy says he's not going to compromise.ra the fegovernment, the northern section, cut off tigray entirely. do we know h deadly this conflict has been so far? >> reporter: the best we can gauge is in terms of the refugees fleeing from the northern region. that shows us the conflict hasns inied and people feel it is not safe within the northern region. th

the beginning of the and is within reach and i were defence forces have no effectiveness and now it isny places. aid workers are warning that emergency relief supplies in tigray are running out — and that they've been blocked from sending staff and supplies into the region. a spokesperson for the un spoke to the bbc earlier — and issued this plea. we are calling on all parts to this conflicts to allow safe and free movement of people so people that are seeking safety can leave and also ask our to allow free passage for the area and to access the situation and show support to people who need assistance there. it's almost impossible to verify any information coming from tigray. communications are blocked and access is tightly controlled. afpjournalists did get inside the region on monday. this is the town of humera — which came under government attack earlier this month. it's usually home to 30—000 people — but as you can see many have now left. some homes have been destroyed. 5—million people live in tigray. 110—000 have crossed into neighbouring sudan. this is the hamdayet crossing int

modernising britain's defence — the armed forces are given billions of pounds to fund space and cyberllion pound rescue package for ii sports,

modernising britain's defence — the armed forces are given billions of pounds to fund space and cybers. shuggie bain, by douglas stuart. what a debut for scottish writer douglas stuart — his novel based on his life growing up in glasgow wins the booker prize. and coming up from the bbc sport centre on bbc news — a winter rescue package for sport, but will it be enough, as some miss out on the government hand—out. good evening. a draft report into claims that the home secretary priti patel had bullied staff concluded this summer that she had broken rules on ministerial behaviour. the cabinet office began an inquiry into her conduct after the most senior official at the home office, sir philip rutnam, resigned in february. he alleged that staff felt she "created fear" in the department, and is suing the home office for unfair dismissal. tonight labour is demanding that the report be made public. a decision on priti patel‘s future will be made public tomorrow. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. she's the most powerful woman in the cabinet, long—standing brexiteer backer of bo

our defence correspondentjonathan beale has the details. britain's armed forcesabout to undergo their biggest transformation since the end of the cold war. it will inevitably mean less of the old, like tanks and heavy armour, and more of the gnu to defend in the domains of cyber and space. british troops here are already countering threats, such as this information. they will also now be part of a new national cyber force, able to conduct offensive cyber operations. and there will be a new space command, with plans to fire the first british rocket, like this us one, to launch their own military satellites, with concerns that russia and china are already developing anti—satellite weapons. announcing the biggest increase in defence spending in decades, the prime minister said it would bolster britain's influence and end an era of retreat. i've done this in the teeth of a pandemic, amid every other demand on our resources, because the defence of the realm, and the safety of the british people, must come first. defence spending has fallen by over eight billion pounds

and in the meantime, with a very strong presence of spain, ensuring our collective defence with our military forces working to ensure free and more peaceful world so yes, we very clear commitment —— with a very clear commitment —— with a very clear commitment and with our military serving the world for peace and security, stephen. another point about abidin administration, let us learn something from the position he took as vice president in the obama administration. it was clear that obama and biden both felt that was —— brexit was damaging, damaging to the uk but damaging to the eu. they clearly wish that wasn't going to happen but it has happened so now, the question is, i dare say the biden administration is fervently hoping this, can the eu and britain and this transition phase by coming to a trade agreement? are you confident that, despite the posturing on both sides, come the end of this year that there is going to be a thoroughgoing trade agreement, close agreement, between the uk and the eu? well, spain clearly thinks and believes that we would be better served collect fleet if we were to

the daily telegraph quotes the defence secretary ben wallace — saying the armed forces must recruit " such as cyber technology, rather than concentrating on personnel numbers — if they're to win future wars. it also says mass vaccination centres will be set up in england to speed up distibution of covid vaccine. the metro reports the price comparison site, ‘compare the market‘ has been fined nearly 18 million pounds by the competition watchdog — for making home insurance premiums artificially high. and the daily express is one of a number of papers to feature a picture of the queen and prince philip on its front page — as they celebrate 73 years of marriage. my my goodness. congratulations to them both. we will touch upon that. so let‘s begin. the daily mail here, welcome as always, gentlemen. her majesty‘s the royal highness but let‘s start with the main headline, a pay blow for 5 million to fill covid—19 glycol. this is what we are expecting to hear from the chancellor next week when he unveiled his spending review. what does it mean? obviously, a few days before any autumn statemen

the defence secretary has been fighting hard for more money to modernise the armed forces and to breakver—ambitious but underfunded defence reviews. last month ben wallace visited troops on salisbury plain to see some of the new equipment already being tested by the army — robots, drones and autonomous systems, the future of warfare. the army has already set up a new unit to counter disinformation, an increase in the defence budget of £165 billion over the next four years which will also help to meet the new threats in the domains of cyber and space. it's a 10% rise in the annual mod budget of £40 billion. with public finances tight, there's been a battle with treasury, but ben wallace has found an ally in the prime minister, who believes extra defence spending will bolster britain's place in the world and revive the economy. at bae systems factory of the future in lancashire has already begun work on tempest, the next fighter jet, which will be flown with or without a pilot in the cockpit. borisjohnson says projects like this could help create up to 10,000 jobs a year. the mod still h

defence spending has fallen by over £8 billion in real terms over the last ten years. over the same period, uk regular forcestop of that, the national audit office estimate there's a black hole of up to £13 billion in the mod equipment plan. the mod‘s annual budget is currently £41 billion a year. the government is now promising that'll rise by 4% a year above inflation, which would mean an overall increase in the mod budget to nearly 52 billion by 2025. the government says the extra investment will also boost the economy, creating, it says, up to 10,000 extra jobs a year. at bae systems in lancashire, they have already started work on what they call their factory of the future, where they are developing the next generation of fighter jet. tempest has been designed to fly with or without a pilot in the cockpit, but a former military chief worries about the cuts that will still have to be made to fund these new technologies. obviously, there are some programmes, some historic programmes, that could be cut, and i'm sure the defence chief will think very carefully about that, but the vast majority of our mariti

the capital area today there were caused by his administration to show support for the defence voices and admin forcessinging. people are expressing their support. last year prime minister abiy ahmed was celebrated worldwide — when he won the nobel peace prize. when he accepted the award — he called war the "epitome of hell". the financial times tells us how this is playing out now: "the declaration of hostilities is likely to further undermine, beverly 0chieng is our sub—sa ha ran security analyst in nairobi. what a difference a year makes. that is sent to me true. it seems as though his credentials are severely eroding over the period when he had pendulums it's been very strong rhetoric coming from him and right 110w rhetoric coming from him and right now he has projected any calls for talks and many people expect he would have paid the way for talks. he seems like a reform is coming but i suppose many of the changes he was implementing including to the political system in postponing the election, it raised a lot of political tensions and in some ways this conflict was getting into the kind of rheto

our defence correspondentjonathan beale has the details. britain‘s armed forceshe new to defend in the domains of cyber and space. british troops here are already countering threats, such disinformation. they will also now be part of a new national cyber force, able to conduct offensive cyber operations. and there will be a new space command, with plans to fire the first british rocket, like this us one, to launch their own military satellites, with concerns that russia and china are already developing anti—satellite weapons. announcing the biggest increase in defence spending in decades, the prime minister said it would bolster britain‘s influence and end an era of retreat. i‘ve done this in the teeth of a pandemic, amid every other demand on our resources, because the defence of the realm, and the safety of the british people, must come first. defence spending has fallen by over £8 billion in real terms over the last ten years. over the same period, uk regular forces have decreased by a quarter, and on top of that, the national audit office estimate there is a

the extra money will help fund space and cyber projects. 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale reports. britain's armed forcesgo their biggest transformation since the end of the cold war. it will inevitably mean less of the old, like tanks and heavy armour and more of the new, to defend in the domains of cyber and space. british troops are already encountering threats such as this information and they will be part of a new national cyber force are ready to carry out offensive cyber operations. and there will be a new space command with plans to fire the first british rocket, like this us one, to launch their own military satellites. announcing the biggest increase in defence spending in decades, the prime minister said it would help his vision of a global britain and end an era of retreat.|j have done this in the teeth of the pandemic amid every other demand on oui’ pandemic amid every other demand on our resources, because the defence of the realm and the safety of the british people must come first. the mod's british people must come first. the mod‘s annual budget is currently £41 billion a year. the gover

a boost to the defence budget, as the government announces the armed forces are to receive an extra £16.5vestigation into how panorama secured its interview with his mother is a step in the right direction. one of the uk's biggest food retailers has said the abuse its staff are receiving from customers has reached a n "u na cce pta ble level". new figures from the co—op show attacks on workers have risen by 36% this year to nearly 40,000 incidents. our consumers affairs correspondent, sarah corker, reports. bodycam footage from a co—op store in northamptonshire. the customer becomes aggressive. get out, right now. he repeatedly tries to rip off the facemask off the shop worker. take it off. the abuse against retail staff is escalating. this is what happened in surrey when a customer was asked to follow the shop's one—way system. shelves of wine destroyed and staff threatened. the co—op says one in four of their front line staff have faced anti—social behaviour or been attacked this year. in manchester, store manager matthew says it is happening on a daily basis. there was a gentleman caus

the defence secretary has been fighting hard for more money to modernise the armed forces. , to break the cycle of the past over ambitious but underfunded defence reviews. last month ben wallace visited troops on salisbury plain to see some of the new equipment already being tested by the army. robots, drones and autonomous systems. the future of warfare. the army has already set up a new unit to counter disinformation, an increase in the defence budget of £16.5 billion over the next four yea rs £16.5 billion over the next four years will also help to meet the new threats in the domains of cyber and space. it is a 10% rise in the annual mod budget of around £40 billion. with public finances tight, there has been a battle with the treasury that ben wallace has found an ally in the prime minister who believes extra defence spending will bolster britain's place in the world and revive the economy. at bea systems factories, they have begun work on tempest, the next fighter jet which will be flown with or without a pilot in the cockpit. borisjohnson without a pilot in the cockpit