is it jeremy hunt, spoke to our political editor, chris mason.— editor, chris mason. _ editor, chris mason. is it right for a minority group to _ editor, chris mason. is it right for a minority group to be _ editor, chris mason. is it right for a minority group to be the - editor, chris mason. is it right for a minority group to be the punch | a minority group to be the punch line to _ a minority group to be the punch line to a — a minority group to be the punch line to a joke _ a minority group to be the punch line to a joke in— a minority group to be the punch line to a joke in 2024? _ a minority group to be the punch line to a joke in 2024? it- a minority group to be the punch line to a joke in 2024? [it is- a minority group to be the punch line to a joke in 2024?— line to a 'oke in 2024? it is not, but the line to a joke in 2024? it is not, but the premise _ line to a joke in 2024? it is not, but the premise could _ line to a joke in 2024? it is not, but the premise could not - line to a joke in 2024? it is not, but the premise could not have| line to a joke in 20

chris mason, challenges they face is huge. chris mason. thank _ challenges they face is huge., thank you very _ challenges they face is huge. chris mason, thank you very much. the uk government has said iran will be held accountable for the actions of armed groups it supports in the middle east. it follows another round of american and british air strikes on houthi fighters in yemen last night, aimed at deterring attacks on merchant shipping in the red sea. they were supported by six ally countries as part of an international military coalition — as they continue attempts to stop the houthis targeting international shipping in the red sea. these raids in yemen follow earlier strikes by the us in iraq and syria on friday — 85 sites were hit in retaliation for the killing injordan of three american soldiers by iranian—backed militants. our chief international correspondent orla guerin reports from baghdad. it is becoming a familiar sight — raf typhoon jets taking off last night for a bombing raid on houthi targets in yemen. the third round of joint us—uk strikes. not an escalati

with chris mason that he _ time and time again in the interview with chris mason that he believes iervatives crash the economy— that the conservatives crash the economy and _ that the conservatives crash the economy and now _ that the conservatives crash the economy and now they - that the conservatives crash the economy and now they are - that the conservatives crash the | economy and now they are piling that the conservatives crash the - economy and now they are piling up the money— economy and now they are piling up the money on — economy and now they are piling up the money on the _ economy and now they are piling up the money on the nation's - economy and now they are piling up the money on the nation's credit - the money on the nation's credit cant _ the money on the nation's credit cant thet— the money on the nation's credit cant that is_ the money on the nation's credit card. that is his _ the money on the nation's credit card. that is his view— the money on the nation's credit card. that is his view as - the money on the nation's credit card. that is his view as we - the mo

chris mason, thank you- let's return — house of commons. chris mason, thank you.you. let's return to nicholas witchell who joins me from you. let's return to nicholas witchell whojoins me from hong kong tonight. your thoughts about this coming relatively recently after the coronation, after the king acceded to the throne. i coronation, after the king acceded to the throne.— to the throne. i think we are already hearing _ to the throne. i think we are already hearing in _ to the throne. i think we are already hearing in the - to the throne. i think we are already hearing in the first l to the throne. i think we are - already hearing in the first public statements from public figures and around the united kingdom, in the coming hours from around europe, around the world, the sense of shock, the sense of sympathy for him and the family and i imagine the sense of support for the institution, for the monarchy, coping with this further medical difficulty and coming as you say just 17 months after the death of such a long—lived and greatly revered monarch as the late que

thank you, chris mason, our political. you, chris mason, our political editor, at westminster.oup is showing "flexibility" in negotiations with israel, but that it�*s ready to continue fighting. it�*s the first sign of any movement from hamas, which is designated as a terror organisation by the uk. the group is believed to be holding around 130 israeli hostages, and any deal to release them, is expected to be include transfers of palestinians being detained by israel. here�*s paul adams. back where it all began — families and friends of the hostages are on the march. this is where hundreds of israelis were killed on october 7th, where hundreds of others were dragged away into gaza. they�*re marching tojerusalem, demanding their government do more to bring the missing home. hopes raised by talk of a ceasefire. 145 endless days and nights of yearning for our loved ones. we send them strength and ask them to hold a little longer. 0mer, just a little longer. a deal is possible. but what would that deal look like? it�*s thought a ceasefire could last for six weeks and could be exten

i — advantage of chris mason... what do you mean! twill— advantage of chris mason...xplain. we need ou you mean! i will explain. we need you because _ you mean! i will explain. we need you because you're _ you mean! i will explain. we need you because you're so _ you mean! i will explain. we need you because you're so rarely - you mean! i will explain. we need you because you're so rarely here | you because you're so rarely here for us _ you because you're so rarely here for us to— you because you're so rarely here for us to cast your eye over the thing _ for us to cast your eye over the thing we — for us to cast your eye over the thing we have been banging on about which _ thing we have been banging on about which is _ thing we have been banging on about which is the _ thing we have been banging on about which is the tax—cutting toadies and the green _ which is the tax—cutting toadies and the green spending labour. where have the _ the green spending labour. where have the plans got the? on the green spending labour. where have the plans got the?— the green spending

i'm sure chris mason has already — is in the pies.m sure chris mason has already got his _ is in the pies. i'm sure chris mason has already got his hands - is in the pies. i'm sure chris mason has already got his hands on - has already got his hands on the pies earlier. i let you go and check what the pies are. that is peter sol, our political correspondent who will be there all night. also joining us isjoe twyman. have you known a by—election like this? no, nobody has. usually when you want to know what is going to happen, you can point to polling that might�*ve occurred. that has not occurred in the selection at all. there has been no public polling. you could look to historical precedence, but that is known for a contest such as this. it's really is fascinating to see a situation with two former labour mps, a candidate that has been disembowelled by the labour party, and a conservative candidate that is spent most of it on holiday. this makes it unusual, but the condition of all of them makes it unique. i5 but the condition of all

chris mason, bbc news in belfast.it says will make the uk the most accessible place in the world for disabled people to live and work. parts of the plan have been welcomed by charities but there are concerns that the government has abandoned some its previous commitments. nikki fox has more. this isn'tjust any playground. it's a brand—new fully—accessible, inclusive playground in north london. with funding from barnet council, mums natalie and deborah also raised money to get this project off the ground. and deborah knows just how hard it is to find these kinds of places for young people like her son zac. to will be sitting here now, with it existing, and i can come now. when i am thinking at the weekends, "what am i going to do with him?", i can come to the park here. it's a joy, and to see other people in the same way, happily coming in, children of all abilities playing together, its a marvellous thing. sadly this shouldn't be a marvellous thing, this should just be. for winnie, it opens up a whole new world. we co

and adam fleming. flan podcast with chris mason and adam fleminu. . , , podcast with chris masonng. can i begin by speaking about sarah _ fleming. can i begin by speaking about sarah everard _ fleming. can i begin by speaking about sarah everard and - fleming. can i begin by speaking about sarah everard and her- fleming. can i begin by speaking l about sarah everard and her family about sarah everard and herfamily and her siblings because it's important to remember her in the context of this conversation. i remember vividly the days after sega disappeared because i lived not far from where she disappeared from and it was during the pandemic and my wife and daughters would go for walks regularly around that area. so it brings it all back. those of us with families will be impacted by today's report. the reason why it so important is it quite clear that sexual predator and the six offender was known prior tojoining one of the three police forces he joined. so he should never have joined the police force in the first place. during his service in all three police forces it was clear,

chris mason, bbc news in belfast. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page told us more about the process yes, for a group of politicians want northern ireland to stay in the uk to share power with those want northern ireland to leave the uk become part of another country, that is never going to be an easy relationship and it's proven year at stormont over their head of the new sharing coalition, the first nationalist or the position, michelle o'neill and emma little—pengelly, of the democratic unionist party, as the deputy first minister. those positions are, in fact, legally equal, both those ministers cannot operate in isolation from the other. 0ne can't make a decision without the say—so of the other. but in a place where the identity of northern ireland, its place in the uk is disputed, titles and symbolism do matter. and that is why the fact that it's now a sinn fein politician who has the title of first minister certainly is significant. the fragility of the arrangement has been made very apparent in the lasst couple of years, hasn't it? it certainly has. the last collapse lasted f

our political editor chris mason has the story.ah, constituency have now closed. a night of counting into the small hours beckoned. encouragement and biscuits on offer. every vote counts. a process for the patient. at silly o'clock, the results. and the story of these contests. i do hereby declare that damien egan is duly elected. gen kitchen of the labour party is duly elected. after some sleep for some and no sleep for others, the winners tried to explain their wins. this is becoming an increasingly familiar sight and sound — a labour victory rally. we ran a campaign on access to nhs, bringing back pride to our town centres, making sure people felt safe and secure on our streets and tackling potholes. i was saying on the hundreds of doors that i knocked, the choice is what voice do you want in parliament? do you want a voice on the conservative benches defending this government or do you want a voice that's talking for the change that we need to see? if there was any triumphalism from keir starmer, he hid it somewhere under the b

chris mason, bbc news, westminster.*s second city, barcelona. you get a sense ofjust how bad the drought is from these images. this is the sau reservoir near barcelona two years ago, created by flooding a village in 1962. and this is what it looks like now — the ruins of that church completely exposed now. locals say this is the first time they have been able to go inside church on foot since the village was flooded. the state of emergency in catalonia means people will be limited to 200 litres per person per day. arable farmers will have to reduce their water use by 80%, and industry by a quarter. after five days roaming the highlands, eating nuts from bird feeders, a missing japanese macaque has been recaptured. tonight he�*s back at the highland wildlife park near aviemore. here�*s iain macinnes. this was the moment honshu�*s highland adventure came to an end. the mischievous macaque had been on the run for five days. relieved, very relieved, really proud of the team that were able to go and get them. he�*d been spot

chris mason, our political editor, thank you.es from the office for national statistics estimate that the uk economy went into recession in the last two quarters of 2023 — shrinking by 0.1% over the summer and then by 0.3% between october and december. our economics editor faisal islam looks at its impact. signs of the times in harlow town centre. on the one hand, some evidence of the struggle, for hairdressers, retailers, restaurateurs and others on the high street. on the other, the need to fill recruitment gaps, too. it may look like a recession — indeed it is now officially a recession — and it comes as little surprise here. we went to the food bank because some of the products are so expensive. for example, meat. never got any money, can't go out, everything's expensive now. things have changed. hopefully they're going to get better, or they'll get worse, won't they? we'll have to ride it through, like we've all done. - here's one way of comparing recessions. in the �*80s, �*90s and 2000s, the hit to the economy can be seen

chris mason, bbc news in rochdale.reet in somerset which was branded the most dangerous in the uk because of its cycle lane is finally being fixed. the problem was a rather baffling one. an unintentional optical illusion created by this cycle lane — which caused dozens of people to fall over. danjohnson has the story. careful, now. watch your step. the mean streets of keynsham can be tricky, and this deceptive cycle lane's claimed many victims. i've seen three people fall. so this is serious? it is serious, yeah. and i fell over opposite coffee one. and i fell over opposite the chip shop. ceryn�*s come a cropper before. if i'm too near the edge of the curb, wallop. when you're looking at it as you're walking down, it looks level. this is the danger zone. people walk along here and don't notice the difference and they slip there — they don't see the small drop. and we go from the cycle lane to the buffer area that is smooth. and then down again? and that's what gets people? there are quite a large number of people that

our political editor chris mason reports from belfast. good morning, stormont! limbering up and under way — park runners here first thing, pounding around the stormont estate. and the politicians are back, too. whoo! and it's notjust you guys rattling around here now. no, there's going to be a few others rattling around. so there's going to be quite a number in the house, i believe, today. but they're welcome tojoin the park run. good to see them back? erm... we'll see. to be confirmed, still. so you thought you'd run at stormont today because the politicians are back? yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. hopefully, a wee bit more conversation, going forward. arriving here not long later, today's headline—maker, michelle o'neill, walking towards a place in northern ireland's history as the first nationalist first minister. the assembly is back, and now with a first minister who speaks in english and irish. she speaks irish. today opens the door to a future, a shared future. i am honoured to stand here as first minister. michelle o'neill pledged that she would work for everyo

chris mason, bbc news.london a week ago say he had been in a relationship with the woman who was attacked. she remains in hospital, too ill to speak to detectives. meanwhile, the huge manhunt continues, as our home editor mark easton sent this report. slowly but surely, police are moving closer to finding out what's happened to abdul shokoor ezedi. this is the latest cctv sighting of him caught on camera three and a half hours after last wednesday's chemical attack at 11pm, close to the river thames in westminster. the investigation has now been upgraded to an attempted murder inquiry. police say ezedi lured the woman and her two young children to meet him in london. they all got into ezedi's car and had been driving before the corrosive chemicals were thrown into the woman's face. so there's not a great deal that i can release to you at the moment about exactly the movements that evening just before the attack. we do know that they were arranging to meet and that they did get in the car, and that the attac

chris mason, bbc news.rst public engagement tonight since the king's cancer diagnosis was made public. she attended a charity concert at salisbury cathedral in wiltshire — and she had this to say about the king's health. he's doing extremely well under the circumstances and he's very touched by all the letters and messages, you know, the public have been sending from everywhere. that's very cheering. the time people in england waited for cancer treatment to begin last year was the worst on record, according to bbc news analysis. only 64% of patients started treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected, meaning nearly 100,000 people waited longer. the macmillan cancer charity described the figures as shocking. nhs england said the numbers being treated for cancer had risen rapidly over the last decade. other parts of the uk have also been struggling on cancer treatment times. ukraine's top military commander has been removed from his post. general zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of the armed forces,

chris mason, bbc news in belfast.w to our ireland correspondent chris page, who is at stormont. a very delicate balancing act, the start of a journey rather than the finish, isn't it?— finish, isn't it? yes, for a group of politicians _ finish, isn't it? yes, for a group of politicians want _ finish, isn't it? yes, for a group of politicians want northern - finish, isn't it? yes, for a group - of politicians want northern ireland to stay in the uk to share power with those want northern ireland to leave the uk become part of another country, that is never going to be an easy relationship and it's proven year at stormont over their head of the new sharing coalition, the first nationalist or the position, michelle o'neill and the deputy first minister, those positions are legally equal, but those ministers cannot operate in isolation from the other and with economic a decision about the say—so of the other but in about the say—so of the other but in a place where the identity of northern ireland its place in the uk is d

studio: chris mason, thank you.inal hurdle after hungary's parliament voted to accept its membership. hungary, under its prime minister viktor orban, had been the last nato member to hold out against it. sweden will now become the organisation's 32nd member. caroline hawley reports. this is the moment sweden had been waiting for for almost two years. hungary's prime minister viktor orban is the closest european leader to vladimir putin. but under pressure from the us and other western countries, he paved the way for today's vital vote. translation: this is an historic day. i it makes little stronger, swedens safer and all of us are secure. safer and all of us more secure. russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine was partly aimed at preventing the expansion of nato to its borders. but it had the opposite effect, with finland first and now sweden becoming nato members, giving the alliance almost full control over the baltic sea. for two centuries sweden had been militarily neutral, but the war in ukraine turned public

chris mason, bbc news, in belfast.of 202a. it's all but guaranteed that president biden will win. he is facing two challengers — minnesota representative dean phillips, and the self—help author marianne williamson. but the president is expected to sweep the state that he won in 2020 by a wide margin. in a campaign speech this morning, the president was already turning his attention to the general election in november. this is more of a mission than a campaign, we cannot, we cannot lose this campaign for the good of the country. a minute from the bottom my heart, goes well beyond me, if because of the country. in most polls, biden is currently neck and neck with his rival — republican frontrunner and former president donald trump. but the general election is still months away. first, trump will have to face former south carolina governor nikki haley in her home state again in three weeks, as haley continues her long shot bid for the nomination. the former president handily won the iowa caucuses and new hampshire primary

chris mason, bbc news. live now to westminster and our political correspondent harry farley.anding down that £28 million pledge and they say there's because no money and the conservatives to crash the economy. this is all about getting ready for an election, though, and labour laying out what its manifesto really will be. labour laying out what its manifesto really will loo-— labour laying out what its manifesto really will be— really will be. yes, that's right, and i really will be. yes, that's right, and i think— really will be. yes, that's right, and i think labour— really will be. yes, that's right, and i think labour conscious . really will be. yes, that's right, and i think labour conscious in | really will be. yes, that's right, . and i think labour conscious in this decision that the conservatives have been attacking them over this pledge to spend £28 million on green investments and on green jobs. to spend £28 million on green investments and on greenjobs. it was first announced in 2021, and then in the last few months we gradually got a sense that things were not al

chris mason, bbc news, in belfast. let's turn to some important news around the world.there. rescue teams have been deployed to affected areas throughout the valparaiso region. the fire has destroyed homes and cars, reaching urban areas. the extent of the destruction has not yet been measured according to the country's interior minister. police in paris are investigating a knife attack at a busy train station. police say three people were wounded saturday at the city's gare de lyon rail station. the suspected attacker was arrested, though a motive was not immediately clear. armed soldiers are now patrolling the station. mass demonstrations against the far—right afd party have taken place in towns and cities across germany for the third weekend in a row. in the biggest protest in berlin, an estimated one hundred and fifty thousand people rallied outside the german parliament building — the reichstag. that's fifty thousand more than organisers had expected. the rallies were in response to revelations afd leading figures participated in a meeting with extremists, where pla

our political rditor chris mason, who has learned about the policy shift, says it's down to concernsere? they have basically decided that number was an albatross around their neck. we were seeing more and more political attacks by conservatives around that number particularly from the prime minister and there is an awareness in the labour party that they have a perceived vulnerability in economic credibility and i would rather focus on that than keep getting hammered on the £28 million. anna macdonald is from sustineri global investment in edinburgh. good morning. this has grabbed a lot of headlines this morning. when you look at the papers and online media. give us your take on this u—turn. i think it has been a pleasure that has been watered down over the last 18 months or so. it was made in 2021, when interest rates were practically zero, when inflation was not yet a problem and times of significantly changed so it was watered down last year and i'm not surprised, as chris mason says, they are dropping the figure of £28 billion. i am sure they will come out and say they still want

chris mason, thank you. our top story this evening.th a corrosive substance have pulled a body from the river thames. and pulled a body from the river thames. the high min farmers and the high minister faces the farmers as he unveils his plans. and on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, storm in a sandpit. world athletics' plans to trial new rules in the long jump have had a mixed reaction. bbc news has uncovered important new details about the post office scandal in which hundreds of sub—postmasters were wrongly prosecuted. we've analysed documents from seven years ago which show the government knew the post office had suddenly abandoned a secret investigation into the faulty horizon it system — even though it was an investigation that could have helped the postmasters prove their innocence. andy verity is here with this exclusive report. i'v e i've discovered in documents received the freedom of information requests, that the post office commissioned no less than three reviews into the horizon it system, hoping it would be

chris mason, bbc news, in belfast.y of 202a, on saturday. biden posted on x saying: the results are hardly a surprise. in a campaign speech this morning, the president was already turning his attention to the general election in november. this is notjust a campaign. this is more of a mission. we cannot, we cannot, we cannot lose his campaign for the good of the country. and i mean that from the bottom of my heart. it is not about me. it goes well beyond me. it goes about the country. mr biden will likely face his rival, republican front—runner and former president, donald trump, in november, though mr trump has not officially been named the republican nominee. let's turn to some important news around the world. forest fires in chile have killed at least a6 people in the coastal tourist city of vina del mar, according to officials there. rescue teams are working in affected areas throughout the valparaiso region. the fire has destroyed homes and cars, reaching urban areas. the extent of the destruction has not yet been

our political editor, chris mason, was listening. this is the stephen nolan show.donaldson is sitting beside me here in the studio this morning. good morning, sirjeffrey. good morning to you. good morning, good morning. now on the eve of it returning, scrutiny for the man who has made it happen. i'm just trying to get into the fine detail here. into the weeds, stephen? yes, i am. yeah. unashamedly trying to get into the weeds because there is a question mark. there are lots of question marks. precisely what has the dup secured that wouldn't have happened anyway? we've made massive changes, stephen. many of the barriers to trade are gone. businesses will now be able to move goods from great britain to northern ireland without the checks that were unnecessary, without the customs paperwork that was unnecessary. the crux of all of this is brexit means northern ireland has a closer relationship with the eu than england, scotland and wales, and it still does. this has had, and does have, all sorts of consequences. there are 11 additional species of trees that have recen

chris mason, bbc news, at westminster.is first public engagement since it was announced that the king has been diagnosed with cancer. prince william had taken a break from formal duties while his wife catherine recuperates from abdominal surgery. the king meanwhile spent the night at sandringham, after beginning his treatment on monday. our royal correspondent daniela relph has the story. after almost a month away, the prince of wales is back on royal duty. first up, an investiture at windsor castle. and for a prince who is also president of the football association, there was a familiar face. ellen, mrs convery, for services to association football. in these formal surroundings, she uses her married name, but to most people she is lioness ellen white, england's record goal—scorer. as she received the mbe from prince william, she spoke to him about his father and his wife. i sent my best wishes to to the king and obviously to kate as well, to the princess of wales. but yeah, no, he was he was lovely. he's been an incredibl

chris mason, bbc news in rochdale. there are 11 candidates standing in the rochdale by—election.ke history as it attempts to land on the moon. if its successful the odysseus would become the first commercial craft to land on the lunar surface, and the first american vessel to do so since the final apollo mission more than 50 years ago. scientists have worked out how some of the largest whales in the ocean produce their haunting songs. our science correspondent victoria gill reports. the haunting sound of the humpback whale, when this reverberated through ships' hulls sales you to think it was mythical sea creatures and not a study has revealed how some of the ocean bottom of the largest whales sing underwater. the researchers studied three dead whales that have been found stranded and removed and examined their voice boxes. this strange footage, captured by the scientists with a tiny medical camera, is filmed inside the vibrating vocal anatomy of a whale. you pumped air through these focal structures and what did that show? it these focal structures and what did that show? , ., ,

chris mason, bbc news, in belfast.hris page told us more about the process that is taking place. for a group of politicians who want northern ireland to stay in the uk to share power with those who want northern ireland to leave the uk and become part of another country, well, that is never going to be an easy relationship. and so it has proved here at stormont, outside belfast, over the years. so, now we have at the head of the new power—sharing coalition michelle o'neill, the first minister, the first nationalist to hold that position, and emma little—pengelly of the democratic unionist party as the deputy first minister. now, those positions are, in fact, legally equal. both those ministers can't operate in isolation from the other, one can't make a decision without the say—so of the other, but nonetheless, in a place where the identity of northern ireland, its place in the uk is disputed, titles and symbolism do matter, and that is why the fact that it is now a sinn fein politician who has the title of first minist

i asked the bbc�*s indefatigable political editor, chris mason. assumption on all sides now at westminster, when you speak to people privately, is that labour are likely, highly likely to win the election. but the psychology is fascinating, because labour are so concerned, because they look at the history books, about their capacity, frankly, to lose elections. so i think that psychology sort of motivates their approach, coupled with the fact that they are coming from so far behind. last time, in 2019, their worst performance at a general election since 1935. so to overhaul that in one go against the historically mighty electoral machine that is the conservative party scares some of them, and they are desperate not to come across as complacent. on the other side though, you speak to conservative mps privately, and across the piece they assume that they're going to lose. it is as blunt and as bleak... very pessimistic. very depressed, aren't they? they are. they are attempting, with the fifth prime minister of their run in office, to win yet anothe

our political editor chris mason is at the count, its been quite a contest chris? it really has. been colourful, it's been angry, it's been noisy, it's been bizarre. there are two former labour mps running here, george galloway and simon danczuk. then there is the former labour candidate azhar ali, widely accused of being anti—semitic which he apologised for. mr galloway, even his critics acknowledge he is a dexterous campaign with his rhetoric and campaigning style, and all of that in a part of the world here with a substantial muslim population, and war raging in the middle east, a big focus on gaza from mr galloway. it's been wildly unpredictable but tonight, mr galloway�*s team are sounding very confident. we will find out the result in the middle of the night. thanks, chris. essex police have told the mpjulian knight he will face no criminal action, following an investigation into allegations of serious sexual assault. the force said it had carried out thorough inquiries, and the allegations did not meet the test for bringing charges. mr knight had come forward voluntarily t

i feel that we should take advantage of chris mason and that ultimately... what do you mean? is, because you're so rarely here for us, to cast your eye over the thing that laura and i and henry have been wanging on about, which is the tax—cutting tories and the green—spending labour, where have the plans gone? so on the whole labour question in £28 billion, this idea of this green prosperity plan, spending that amount of money by 2027 onwards, tail end of the next parliament, labourare in a mess on it at the moment. you've got keir starmer and rachel reeves, the shadow chancellor, in a different place publicly. it is as clear as that. there was an expectation from a lot of folk i speak to privately that they're trying to find a way of unhooking themselves from that number. that's quite hard to do without people being able to say that the entire policy kind of crumbles around them. lots of folk were saying to me until relatively recently, the opportunity to do that would probably come the other side of the budget, which is in about a month's time, because if there are the tax c

the conservatives have described it as a major u—turn on a flagship policy. 0ur political editor chris masonced when interest rates were very low. now they are very high because of the damage done to the economy. maybe it was a silly comment in the first place? even the interest on the debt is measured in tens of billions of pounds. what i'm interested in is not the money, the exact sum, but the outcomes. you were interested in the exact sum until this morning. i have always been... my mission is clean power by 2030. enviromental groups have slammed the policy change, calling the labour party short—sighted on climate change. more reaction on our website. turning now to the israel—gaza war. the us says it will not support any plans for an israeli military operation in gaza's southernmost city, rafah, without proper planning. a ground offensive has not yet started, on wednesday the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, said he'd instructed israeli forces to prepare for an offensive in the city. israeli planes have continued to bomb parts of rafah, which has also been coming under tankfir

our political editor chris mason is in westminster. chris, what can we expect today?ing be restored byjell—o i think you and me might have talked about this before over the years. have talked about this before over the ears. ., have talked about this before over the ears. . , ., ., ., the years. that question of northern ireland in brexit _ the years. that question of northern ireland in brexit and _ the years. that question of northern ireland in brexit and borders - the years. that question of northern ireland in brexit and borders and - ireland in brexit and borders and trade, it looks like now we are just a couple of hours away from parliament here passing these tweaks in the law. there's very little opposition to them. the debate has been back under way for the best part of the last hour and will continue for an hour or two more and that will mean from the democratic unionist point of view the conditions have been formally met, signed, sealed and delivered, if you like, in orderfor them to say signed, sealed and delivered, if you like, in order for them to say th

*s family are to be invited to a meeting on online safety with the prime minister, this is from chris masoning will take place, but it is due to happen at some point. we will bring you more on that story and you can read more on the brianna ghey story on the website. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news... convicted sex offender and former singer gary glitter will stay in prison after losing a parole board bid. he was jailed for 16 years in 2015 for sexually abusing three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980. the 79—year—old was automatically released in february last year but was put back behind bars six weeks later after breaching his licence. all proceedings at the old bailey in london have been delayed after a fire near the building. around 1,500 people were told to evacuate and around 25 firefighters have been tackling the blaze. there are no reports of any injuries. mint has dropped a commitment on the money that disabled people can receive to adapt their homes. it is aimed to make their living easier by the adaptation of stai

here's our political editor chris mason. mr anderson...g on, we have spotted lee anderson, he is on quite a walk. the former labour councillor became a conservative mp, and then conservative deputy chairman. very quickly, a few words. last month he lost one of those titles, deputy chairman, now he has lost the other, they conservative suspending him the conservatives suspending him from the parliamentary party he said this. i do not believe that these islamists have got control of our country, but what i do believe is they have got control of sadiq khan and london. he is talking about sadiq khan, the labour mayor of london, who is a muslim and recent pro palestinian demonstrations. he has actually given our capital city away to his mates. why won't you apologise for your comments that have been dubbed islamophobic? he has told gb news, who pay him £100,000 a year, alongside his dayjob in parliament, that his words were clumsy, but he is not saying sorry. if mayor khan is not coming out on tv or any media channel saying this is disgusting w

here's an analysis from the bbc's politics editor, chris mason. if you look at the basements of the non-british state, then at their core are the relations between the monarch and the government, between buckingham palace and westminster. and although in the coming weeks and months, while the king will be treated, we will see less of him in public. then privately he will continue to work on state affairs, he will continue to receive red briefcases with government reports. this daily flow of documents between the palace and the government will not stop. in addition, he will continue to have a weekly audience with his prime minister, and it will be a face-to- face audience, at least until the monarch's doctors decide to limit his daily contact with others. so once we've heard from the bbc's politics editor, back to buckingham the palace, zhenya, that is, the king is on sick leave , but there will be no changes for the country itself in this connection, i understand correctly, indeed, there will be no changes for the country itself, political changes

the conservatives have described it as a major u—turn on a flagship policy. 0ur political editor chris masonen interest rates were very low. now they are very high because of the damage done to the economy. maybe it was a silly comment in the first place? even the interest on the debt is measured in tens of billions of pounds. what i'm interested in is not the money, the exact sum, but the outcomes. you are interested in the exact sum until this morning. i have always been... my mission is clean power by 2030. enviromental groups have slammed the policy change, calling the labour party short—sighted on climate change. more the action on our website. —— more reaction. you're live with bbc news. russian president vladmir putin has suggested for the first time that he's open to a swap that would free wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich. as you may remember, mr gershkovich has been imprisoned in russia for 317 days after being arrested on espionage charges, which he denies. us officials have repeatedlly called for mr gershkovich's immedate release. and in a wide ranging interview with t

our political editor chris mason has the story.eckoned. encouragement and biscuits on offer. every vote counts. a process for the patient. at silly o'clock, the results and the story of these contests. i do hereby declare that damien egan is duly elected. thank you. cheering. gen kitchen of the labour party is duly elected. cheering. after some sleep for some and no sleep for others, the winners tried to explain their wins. cheering. this is becoming an increasingly familiar sight and sound — a labour victory rally. we ran a campaign on access to nhs, bringing back pride to our town centres, making sure people felt safe and secure on our streets and tackling potholes. i was saying on the hundreds of doors that i knocked, the choice is — what voice do you want in parliament? do you want a voice on the conservative benches defending this government, or do you want a voice that's talking for the change that we need to see? if there was any triumphalism from keir starmer, he hid it somewhere under the breakfast sofa, merely describing

since it last sat after the democratic unionist party withdrew over brexit. 0ur political editor, chris masonout this visit by rishi sunak. the prime minister has arrived here this evening. he'll be heading out to meet various folk, including, in the morning, meeting political leaders, the new first and deputy first ministers at stormont, the home of devolved government here in northern ireland, or at least the home since yesterday with the restoration, as you were mentioning, of devolved government after two years of stasis. when you look back at the history of modern devolution in northern ireland, it has been punctuated by periods of suspension, it not existing, because any of the main parties to it can decide that they want to walk away, and with that, power—sharing — the clue is in the title — ceases to happen. but it has been revived in the last week after the democratic unionists, who would like to affirm northern ireland's place within the union of the uk, agreed to go back in after what they concluded were assurances about free trade within the uk are concerned. so power—sharing is b

our political editor chris mason spoke to the labour leader.very high because of the damage done to the economy. because of the damage done to the economy-— the economy. maybe it was a silly comment _ the economy. maybe it was a silly comment in _ the economy. maybe it was a silly comment in the - the economy. maybe it was a silly comment in the first? i the economy. maybe it was a i silly comment in the first? the interest on _ silly comment in the first? the interest on the _ silly comment in the first? tie: interest on the debt silly comment in the first? tte: interest on the debt is measured in tens of billions of pounds. what i'm interested in is not the money, the exact sum, but the outcomes. —— in the first place? i have always been... my mission is clean power by 2030. enviromental groups have slammed the policy change, calling the labour party short—sighted on climate change. you're live with bbc news. turning now to the israel—gaza war. the us says it will not support any plans for an israeli military operation in gaza's southernmost

that was the chancellor talking about chris - chancellor talking about chris mason. in the day. we'll have more from gaza, here are the live pictures on the border between israel and gaza, antony blinken, the us secretary of state in the region again, as he pushes and tries to make progress towards a new ceasefire and hostage deal. at about 5:30pm kamal we expect a live reaction from benjamin netanyahu. also latest on the big statement in england, here are pictures of people queueing around the block in bristol trying to sign up for an nhs dentist. we will have reaction, we will hear from all political sides in that story. will also talk to the british dental association. we also will have more from the wildlife photographer of the year competition thatis photographer of the year competition that is coming up, and of course the story that is currently on the bbc news website, that hand for the clapham attacker, the man who used corrosive substances when he attacked a woman and two children. that hand is going on for a week now. we'll have the latest from new scotland

but speaking to the bbc�*s political editor chris mason, sir keir said the target had to be scaled backhed the economy. keir starmer, let's be clear. what are you binning today and what are you keeping? since we've announced the green prosperity plan, we've made a number of very important commitments — like green steel, so we continue to make steel in this country, giga factories, so we can do the next generation of cars, a national wealth fund, so that we can have investment coming in for the jobs of the future, and green energy, which will be a publicly—owned company so that where we invest in energy in this country, we get the yield back for taxpayers. —— gb energy. all of that is staying, so every single commitment that we've made that is on the table is staying. the warm homes commitment is scaled down. that'll take a bit longer, but everything else is exactly as announced. what we're announcing today is that we won't be making further investments, and therefore we won't reach the 28 billion, which is effectively stood down. now the reason for that is because of the damage the tori

target had to be scaled back because the conservatives had crashed the economy. 0ur political editor chris masonstminster good evening, sophie. labour, two and a half years ago made this promise of spending £28 billion per year on green investment projects. then last summer they diluted the promise. in recent weeks and months they have been going a bit wobbly about whether they were keeping the promise or not. and today they have a lob to that number into a skip. 28 billion is becoming about 5 billion. they say that £5 billion would be paid for, half by borrowing, half by extending a windfall tax on energy providers, and they are trying to make an argument that a lot of what i have already committed to in terms of policy will actually stay. but make no mistake, this is quite a big moment. this is quite the reverse from labour. in the last hour or so i have been talking to keir starmer in a rather soggy london. this is what the man who wants to be prime minister sounds like as he junks a headline promise. keir starmer, let's be clear, what are you beginning today and what are you keeping? you beg

here's our political editor chris mason. mr anderson... hang on, mranderson...g on, we mr anderson... hang on, we have spotted lee anderson, he is on quite a walk. the former labour councillor became a conservative mp, and then conservative deputy chairman. trier? conservative deputy chairman. very cuickl , a conservative deputy chairman. very quickly. a few— conservative deputy chairman. very quickly, a few words. _ conservative deputy chairman. very quickly, a few words. last - conservative deputy chairman. very quickly, a few words. last month i conservative deputy chairman. very| quickly, a few words. last month he lost one of— quickly, a few words. last month he lost one of those _ quickly, a few words. last month he lost one of those titles, _ quickly, a few words. last month he lost one of those titles, deputy - lost one of those titles, deputy chairman, now he has lost the other, they conservative suspending him from the parliamentary party he said this. i from the parliamentary party he said this. ., ., , ., , this. i do not believe that these islamists

here's our political editor chris mason. burnt out.on, he has had enou:h. . , threats and intimidation, he has had enou:h. .,, ., ., , threats and intimidation, he has had enouh. .,, ., ., , ., enough. it was a really tough decision and _ enough. it was a really tough decision and very _ enough. it was a really tough decision and very emotional. enough. it was a really tough - decision and very emotional because i love thejob decision and very emotional because i love the job and my constituency. but after a long line of incidents, some of them are low level that every mp has to deal with, but two or three very serious incidents, two of which were threats to life and then the arson attack was the final straw. in then the arson attack was the final straw. . ., , :: ' straw. in october 2021, the conservative _ straw. in october 2021, the conservative mp _ straw. in october 2021, the conservative mp sir- straw. in october 2021, the conservative mp sir david l straw. in october 2021, the - conservative mp sir david amess was murdered. stab