benita mehra, a newly—appointed member of the grenfell tower inquiry panel, resigns after being linkedo the charitable arm of the firm which supplied the tower block's cladding. donald trump's lawyers have begun their defence of the president in his impeachment trial in the senate — they say he's done nothing wrong. they're asking you to do something that no senate has ever done and they're asking you to do it with no evidence — and that's wrong, and i ask you to keep that in mind. the search for survivors continues after a powerful earthquake hit turkey — at least 22 people have been killed and more than 1200 injured. a charity offering mental health support to military veterans says it can't take on any new cases, due to a funding crisis. south africa end the second day of the 4th test on 88—6, after england posted a commanding total of 400. good evening. china's president has warned that the spread of a potentially deadly new virus is accelerating, with his country facing a "grave situation". coronavirus has killed at least 41 people and infected more than 1300 since the outbreak be

are you looking to replace benita mehra as quickly as you can?hat the bereaved and survivors would want. back in 2017, the bereaved and survivors campaigned for a diverse panel to sit alongside for this enquiry, and one was finally allowed by theresa may, the prime minister at the time. it is unfortunate that this has now happened. the bereaved and survivors should not have been put in this situation. we should have started the enquiry for phase two with two panel members, and now we only have one. what does this say to you about the process of evaluating the merits, or otherwise, of those who are due to sit on this panel? well, it is highly surprising that this had not been raised sooner, it took a bereaved family member doing a google search to find out about the link to arconic that benita mehra had. it is highly surprising. i hope that when it comes to selecting a new panel member they are more careful in terms of who it selects. you would welcome the sentiment she aired, namely that she respect of the depth of feeling about her appointment.

now an engineer, benita mehra, has resigned.as going to provide advice to the inquiry, but it is emerged she has a past link to the company which supplied the cladding to the block. the cladding did not comply with building regulations, and was the principal reason for the massive spread of the fire. benita mehra said herformer role massive spread of the fire. benita mehra said her former role as president of the women's engineering society, which had accepted a donation from the charity, cause can serious concern to the families. she said: the gren united group welcomed benita mehra's resignation, but accuse the government of failing to carry out basic checks before appointing her. it said a new panel member must be found urgently. a cabinet secretary has said it is his gut feeling that hs2 should go ahead. brexit secretary steve barclay described as an important part of the future. a decision is expected soon. i have been talking to our political correspondent pete saw with the latest on the project. lots of speculation about

benita mehra, who is an engineer, was going to provide expert advice to the inquiry. it emerged she had a past link to arconic, the company which supplied the external cladding for the tower block. the inquiry has found the cladding did not comply with building regulations and was the principal reason for the rapid spread of the fire. ms mehra said herformer role as president of the women's engineering society, which had accepted a donation from arconic‘s charity, had caused a serious concern to the families. it's highly unfortunate that this has now happened. the bereaved and survivors should not have been put in this situation. we should be starting the inquiry for phase two with two panel members and now we only have one. the grenfell united group welcomed ms mehra's resignation but accused the government of failing to carry out basic checks before appointing her. it said a new panellist with expertise in community relations must be found urgently. earlier, our home affairs correpsondent danny shaw sent us this update from the site of the tower in west london. the

benita mehra, a newly—appointed member of the grenfell tower inquiry panel, resigns after being linkedthe charitable arm of the firm which supplied the tower block's cladding. donald trump's lawyers have begun their defence of the president in his impeachment trial in the senate — they say he's done nothing wrong. the search for survivors continues after a powerful earthquake hit turkey — at least 22 people have been killed and more than 1,200 injured. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers martin lipton and lucy beresford at 10:30. china's president has warned that the spread of a potentially deadly new virus is accelerating, with his country facing a "grave situation". coronavirus has killed at least 41 people and infected more than 1,300 since the outbreak began in the city of wuhan. severe travel restrictions have been imposed in many areas. here, the department of health says 31 people tested for the virus have been given the all clear. tonight, the foreign office has advised against all travel to wuhan city and said that anyone still in the area who

grenfell survivors and bereaved family members had threatened to boycott the inquiry if benita mehra l. in a statement the prime minister said he wanted to thank benita for her commitment and said he was very grateful for her sensitivity to the work of the inquiry. he said that "as the inquiry‘s phase 2 hearings begin, we remain completely committed to getting to the truth of what happened, learning lessons and delivering justice for the victims." president trump's lawers have been setting out his defence at his impeachment trial in the us senate. mr trump is accused of abusing his power and obstructing congress. the president's attorney said his accusers had no evidence and their real motive was to undermine mr trump's re—election campaign. from washington, chris buckler reports. as the future of his presidency has been under debate, president trump has been to davos to meet world leaders, to florida to speak to supporters, and ignored other events in washington to attend a pro—life rally. perhaps that's a sign that he's looking past this impeachment trial and already thinking about

engineer benita mehra was only appointed to the grenfell inquiry panel last month.ince then, victims' families have raised concerns about her former role as president of the women's engineering society. it received funding from the charitable arm of arconic, the company that supplied the cladding to grenfell tower. her resignation comes after survivors and families complained to the prime minister. they had threatened to boycott the next phase of the inquiry. in a letter to the prime minister, she said she hoped to use her experience in the construction industry to help the inquiry discover how and why the devastating fire happened. but she admitted her previous role had caused serious concern for people. borisjohnson thanked her for her commitment and said he was grateful for her sensitivity to the work of the inquiry. in a statement, grenfell united, the group representing survivors and the bereaved, said the resignation helped to lift growing anxiety ahead of phase two but that the government should never have put families in the situation and must urgently find

travel to wuhan city, and said "if you are in this area and are able to leave, you should do so" benita mehraa newly—appointed member of the grenfell tower inquiry panel, resigns after being linked to the charitable arm of the firm which supplied the tower block's cladding. donald trump's lawyers have begun their defence of the president in his impeachment trial in the senate — they say he's done nothing wrong they are asking you to do something that no senate has ever done. and they are asking you to do it with no evidence. that is wrong. and i ask you to keep that in mind. the search for survivors continues after a powerful earthquake hit turkey — at least 29 people have been killed and more than 1200 injured and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers martin lipton and lucy beresford in half an hour. stay with us for that. good evening. china's president has warned that his country faces a "grave situation", as the deadly corona—virus spreads with increasing speed. tens of millions of people in china are now facing strict controls on their movement. the virus is k

benita mehra, a newly—appointed member of the grenfell tower inquiry panel, resigns after being linkedo the charitable arm of the firm which supplied the tower block's cladding. donald trump's lawyers have begun their defence of the president in his impeachment trial in the senate. they say he's done nothing wrong. the search for survivors continues after a powerful earthquake hit turkey. at least 29 people have been killed and more than 1,200 injured. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are martin lipton, who's the chief sports reporter for the sun, and the broadcaster and psychotherapist, lucy beresford. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. the sunday telegraph leads with a story about the firm behind the high—speed rail project. so too does the observer — they say scrapping hs2 would cost £12 billion in write—offs and compensation. the mail on sunday claims the government has evacuation plans for britons stuck in the coronavirus hit city of wuhan in china. the sunday people has a special investigation into dolphi

benita mehra, a newly—appointed member of the grenfell tower inquiry panel, resigns after being linked trump's lawyers have begun their defence of the president in his impeachment trial in the senate — they say he's done nothing wrong. the search for survivors continues after a powerful earthquake hit turkey — at least 22 people have been killed and more than 1,200 injured. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers martin lipton and lucy beresford at 10:30.

the government has defended the appointment of benita mehra but for the families and supporters of thosee that their voices are being heard. john johnson, bbc news. we can speak to our news correspondent, dan johnson, who is at the inquiry. bring us up—to—date, dan. bring us up-to-date, dan. this afternoon we started hearing the opening statements from firstly the lead barrister on behalf of the enquiry and that representatives of some of the companies and organisations involved in the refitting of the tower. other than the london borough of kensington and chelsea the barrister on behalf of the enquiry said there had been no organisation prepared to accept any fa u lts organisation prepared to accept any faults for causing the greenfield tower, for the faults that meant that fire spread so quickly and claim so many lives. he suggested what we were going to see was a merry—go—round of passing the buck where companies tried to blame each other. it seems from the start of the evidence, that that is what is happening because the london borough of kensington and chelsea was in charge of inspe

benita mehra, a newly—appointed member of the grenfell tower inquiry panel, resigns after being linkedo the charitable arm of the firm which supplied the tower block's cladding. donald trump's lawyers have begun their defence of the president in his impeachment trial in the senate — they say he's done nothing wrong. the search for survivors continues after a powerful earthquake hit turkey. at least 22 people have been killed and more than 1,200 injured. now on bbc news, witness history. hello and welcome to witness history with me, razia iqbal, here at the royal academy in london. today, we will hear from five people who have lived through an incredible moments in history. coming up — the woman who defied the salvadoran government over the murder of six priests. the town that was poisoned by asbestos. and the agricultural scientist who helped save a billion lives. but, first, of all of the revelutions that swept across eastern europe just over 30 years ago, the overthrow of the nicolae ceausescu and his wife elena in romania was the bloodiest. the uprising began in the western city of

benita mehra stepped down yesterday, after it emerged she had links to a company that supplied the claddingwer block. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw reports. every year since the granville fire, people come to remember those who lost their lives. they hope the public enquiry that has been set up will provide answers as to how the fire took hold. but now there are fresh concerns about the process from survivors and the bereaved after an enquiry panel member resigned. the engineer was going to provide expert advice to the enquiry, but it has emerged she had a past link to the company which supplied the external cladding for the tower block. the enquiry has found the cladding did not comply with building regulations, and was the principal reason for the rapid spread of the fire. she said her former role as president of the women's engineering society, which had accepted a donation from the charity had caused serious concern to the families. charity had caused serious concern to the families. the genfell united group welcomed mrs mehra ‘s resignation, but accuse the government of fai

they dispute the appointment of an engineer, benita mehra, whom they claim has a conflict of interestnation from a us metals company which produced the cladding on the tower. the government says it's listened to their concerns and may respond over the weekend. the foreign secretary dominic raab has described america's refusal to extradite a woman charged with causing a british teenager's death as "a denial ofjustice". harry dunn died after his motorbike collided with a car being driven on the wrong side of the road by anne sacoolas in northamptonshire last august. duncan kennedy's report contains some flash photography. it was last august harry dunn died here and today, the scene was still framed by the caring tributes of those who loved him. anne sacoolas, pictured on her wedding day, is the american woman who's been charged with causing harry's death by dangerous driving. she had left this nearby american intelligence base moments before the collision, but two weeks later, left britain, claiming diplomatic immunity. now the united states has refused to send her back, something harry

they dispute the appointment of an engineer, benita mehra, whom they claim has a conflict of interest received a donation from a us metals company which produced the cladding on the tower. the government says it's listened to their concerns and may respond over the weekend. the foreign secretary dominic raab has described america's refusal to extradite a woman charged with causing a british teenager's death as "a denial ofjustice". harry dunn died after his motorbike collided with a car being driven on the wrong side of the road by anne sacoolas in northamptonshire last august. duncan kennedy's report contains some flash photography. it was last august harry dunn died here and today, the scene was still framed by the caring tributes of those who loved him. anne sacoolas, pictured on her wedding day, is the american woman who's been charged with causing harry's death by dangerous driving. she had left this nearby american intelligence base moments before the collision, but two weeks later, left britain, claiming diplomatic immunity. now the united states has refused to send her back, s

benita mehra, a newly—appointed member of the grenfell tower inquiry panel, resigns after being linkedent trial in the senate — they say he's done nothing wrong. they're asking you to do something that no senate has ever done and they're asking you to do it with no evidence — and that's wrong,

benita mehra willjoin the inquiry for its second phase later this month.merican firm behind the cladding on the tower. 72 people died in 2017, with the cladding widely blamed for the fire spreading. we have to look into it and see what the facts are and if there is, you know, a conflict of interest, i'm afraid she has to just go, she know, a conflict of interest, i'm afraid she has tojust go, she has to be replaced with somebody else will stop and —— somebody else. mayor of london sadiq khan has warned against what he called a "fashionable anti—london agenda". at the annual mansion house dinner in the city last night, the mayor warned about neglecting london as the government moves to level up spending elsewhere in the country. in recent years we have already seen london excluded from several government funding pots and this, i fear, is only set to get worse. damage in london damages growth and jobs everywhere else in the country too. the bbc has learned that a coin, struck when edward v!!! was king, has become the first british coin to sell for a million.

arconic‘s lawyers will give their opening statement on tuesday, and benita mehra has already acknowledgedmade what she called a regrettable oversight that she had not stepped down sooner than this. the thing aboutjustice is that it is notjust about getting to the truth of what happened, and nobody is really raising doubts about the fact that she wants to help the enquiry, but there will a lwa ys help the enquiry, but there will always be questions hanging over the fa ct of always be questions hanging over the fact of that she was chair of a company that received a very large sum of money from the company that created the panels that caused the spread of the fire and the loss of life. so you feel it was a mistake of the government to a pointer in the 1st place and for her to accept that appointment? — to appoint her. i think everyone can agree that this raises concerns about the government's process and the terms of reference by which they appoint panellist members. this was uncovered by grenfell united and the guardian newspaper. surely the government must have known about it, if they did

the issues was connected to a company that supplied the cladding which was on grenfell tower — benita mehraman of grenfell united — he told me more about the panel member's resignation. just before christmas we were told by the sponsor on the public enquiry that the original palo domecq a panel member domecq remember they had appointed, that we were happy with because of his community expertise, we were happy with him and we were told just before christmas he could no longer do it for personal reasons and this new lady was appointed and the way it was done reminded us when theresa may told us about having panel members. it was just before christmas so didn't give us enough time to appeal the decision. that's raised a lot of red flags. we took it upon ourselves to find out who this person was who theyjust slipped in without telling us properly. it wasn't hard to find her link with arconic. she was president of the company that appeal for a granta of the company that appeal for a grant a few months before grenfell from the arconic foundation and received it a few months after grenfell. she wa

benita mehra, a newly—appointed member of the grenfell tower inquiry panel, resigns after being linkedthe charitable arm of the firm which supplied the tower block's cladding. donald trump's lawyers have begun their defence of the president in his impeachment trial in the senate — they say he's done nothing wrong. now on bbc news it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday, with jane dougall and me gavin ramjaun. the headlines this evening. england's cricketers have south africa on the ropes, after a dominant display in the fourth and final test. west bromwich albion. claim a premier league scalp in the fa cup. we have all the results of the matches from the fourth round. and manchester is blue after a five goal thiller in the women's fa cup derby. also coming up in the programme... nick kygrios wins an epic five set thriller to set up a last 16 match against top seed and frienimy rafa nadal at the australian open. and, the former premier league footballer, now hoping to mark his card on the professional golf tour... but who is it? hello and welcome to the programme. all th

benita mehra stood down yesterday when it emerged that an engineering organisation she led had receivedrenfell. the government has insisted that the second phase of the public inquiry will go ahead tomorrow as planned. two 21—year—old men have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a footballer who was attacked during a night out. jordan sinnott, who was on loan at matlock town, was found unconscious in retford in nottinghamshire, in the early hours of saturday morning. another man remains in police custody. the uk's network of smart motorways is set for an overhaul by ministers, after an investigation by the bbc‘s panorama programme discovered that 38 people have been killed on them in the last five years. smart motorways don't have a hard shoulder, and drivers who break down can be trapped in the speeding traffic. richard bilton reports. smart motorways were meant to ease congestion, open up the hard shoulder for traffic, monitor with technology, close a lane when there's a problem. we've got huge problems on the m1 at the moment near sheffield... it is an accident. but lives are bei

they said benita mehra had done the dignified thing by resigning.vivors of the earthquake on friday. latest efforts have centred on reaching those trapped alive under collapsed buildings. 29 people are now known to have died and more than 1400 have been injured. a special 50p coin to mark brexit has been unveiled by the chancellor. the coin, which bears the words peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations will go into circulation on friday to mark the day the uk officially leaves the eu. an earlier batch of the coin had to be melted down after the original brexit date of october 31, less the last one before this one, was delayed. a murder investigation has been launched after the death of a nonleague footballer in nottinghamshire. 25—year—old jordan who played for matlock town was found unconscious in retford after a night out. the 27—year—old man has been arrested and remains in police custody. tesco is recalling 15 types of count gate baby food over concerns that some jars may have been tampered with. the supermarket is apologised and said