say as you are hearing emma simpson say a moment ago. as you are hearing emma simpson say a moment agou for taking us through all— a moment ago. thank you for taking us through all of _ a moment ago. thank you for taking us through all of that. _ a moment ago. thank you for taking us through all of that. we _ a moment ago. thank you for taking us through all of that. we are - a moment ago. thank you for taking us through all of that. we are going| us through all of that. we are going to take a short break. when we are back we have the latest on that climate change committee report, it says the uk is no longer a world leader. we will talk to alec sharma, the former president of cop26. —— alok. hello there. it's a very cloudy picture for many parts of the country again today, but the weather is changing towards the northwest. we're seeing some sunshine coming through, particularly across northern ireland. but here and in scotland, as the sunshine follows the rain, we're going to find cooler, fresher air moving in. it's going to be a bit warmer for england and wales, even with all that cl

here's our business correspondent emma simpson. thames correspondent emma simpson.the bigger company thames water is the biggest water company in the country, serving 15 million customers in london and the thames valley. underfire million customers in london and the thames valley. under fire for leaks, dumping raw sewage in rivers, a complex privately owned business thatis complex privately owned business that is now under financial pressure as well. ., , ., , , as well. the main problem is the com an as well. the main problem is the company has _ as well. the main problem is the company has nearly _ as well. the main problem is the company has nearly £14 - as well. the main problem is the company has nearly £14 billion i as well. the main problem is the i company has nearly £14 billion of debt, so it has a substantial interest bill to pay every year and the interest bill is currently going up, because interest rates are going up. some of its interest payments are relative to inflation, which is very high and at the same time, having to spend over £1 billion a yeari

emma simpson, bbc news.port into cricket in england and wales has found racism, sexism, classism and elitism are widespread in the sport. england cricket captain ben stokes says he is "deeply sorry" to hear of the experiences of people who have been made to feel unwelcome and the sports governing body says they would "use this moment to reset cricket". 0ur sports editor dan roan reports. from perceptions of exclusion to troubling stories of sexism and racism and fears of an elitist culture. just some examples of the chastening testimony revealed in a damning report into discrimination in cricket. our findings are unequivocal — racism, sexism, class based discrimination and elitism are widespread and deep rooted throughout the game. the stories were absolutely horrific, and it goes to show that the culture in cricket is rotten. the report, called holding up a mirror to cricket, heard from more than 4000 people, with 50% saying they'd experienced discrimination in the game. 75% of those who suffered it did not

emma simpson, bbc news. now tojustin urquhart stewart, co—founder of the online investment environment regionally. justin, welcome, how perilous is set stomach of the situation for thames water? . ., , stomach of the situation for thames water? _, , , stomach of the situation for thames water? . ., , , ., water? the company itself will have to no water? the company itself will have to go through _ water? the company itself will have to go through a _ water? the company itself will have to go through a major _ water? the company itself will have to go through a major change, - water? the company itself will have to go through a major change, it - to go through a major change, it doesn't mean as consumers we lose all our sewer and water management, that'll still carry on. by the company itself will have to go through a very significant change. but there's something new in this, we've been watching a storm build up for years ever since we saw privatised back in 1989 when it promised to be replacing all those vi

earlier we heard from our business correspondent, emma simpson. who started by explaining how this wasly tricky to do. we worked with the consumer data analytics firm simakan and they looked at 23 categories in march across germany, france, italy, the netherlands, spain and across the uk. what we focused on was compatible products. then we got an average price per unit and then we converted it from euros into sterling. what did we find? it was a bit of a mixed bag. sterling. what did we find? it was a bit ofa mixed bag. i sterling. what did we find? it was a bit of a mixed bag. i have a few examples to show you. take toilet roll, £3 80 in the uk will stop it was more expensive in the uk than everyone else. that is the price in italy. catch up, again more expensive in the uk. that is the price in france. rice, £126. it was cheapest in spain and the uk. you can see the price in france. and frozen pizza, £1 92 in the uk and again that is the price in france. i should point out the data didn't include algae and little in the uk. but there are a hill —— whole host of factors why food prices

let's get the latest with our business correspondent emma simpson. you've been crunching the numbers, how did you work this out? comparing food prices between different countries is really tricky to do. we work with the consumer data analytics firm, and they looked at 23 categories in march across germany, france, italy, the netherlands, spain and across the uk. what we focused on was comparable products, branded and own label products, then i got an average price per unit and converted it from euros into sterling. what would he find? it was a mixed bag. i have a few examples to show you. take toilet roll. £3 80 in the uk, more expensive here than anywhere else. this was the price in italy. catch up again more expensive in the uk. this is the price in france. a different story for rice, £126, it was the cheapest in spain and the uk. you can see the price in france. frozen pizza, 1.92 in the uk. this is the price in france. i should point out that the data didn't include algae and little in the uk. there are a whole host of factors why food prices diff

let's talk to emma simpson, whojoins us from the newsroom.how have we ended up in this situation, that this company, the biggest supplier to the uk, could be taken into government hands. , ., , uk, could be taken into government hands. , . , . ., , ., ., , hands. yes, thames water is a really im ortant hands. yes, thames water is a really important piece _ hands. yes, thames water is a really important piece of _ hands. yes, thames water is a really important piece of critical _ important piece of critical infrastructure in the uk. it has 15 million customers and on one level, it is a pretty simple business. it has to provide drinking and waste water and it does not have any competitors, but as you say, it has amassed debts of £14 billion over the years and this has to be serviced. it costs —— the costs are rising because of inflation. interest rates are rising. cost of servicing the debt has gone up. and also, it has to pay each year in investment, it is under fire for leaky pipes, sewage flowing into rivers, not meeting its performance targ

our business correspondent emma simpson is here with more — emma.ana which looked across 23 different categories in germany, france, italy, the netherlands and spain. and we only included comparable products across brands and non—brands. we then came up with the average price and then converted it from euros into sterling. so what did we find for the month of march? well, it's a mixed bag. take loo roll. it was more expensive here than everywhere else. for instance, that's the price in italy. same with ketchup. quite a big difference, if you compare it to france. but rice was the cheapest in the uk and spain. and frozen pizza was also a good deal cheaper here. the data didn't include aldi and lidl in the uk. there are a whole host of reasons why food prices differ between countries, as i heard from the company behind the figures. the first one is the entire issue around supply chain. you know, the shortages or potential shortages of ingredients, or the plain availability of these grocery items through the year. the second thing is about local cuisin

our business correspondent emma simpson is here.l rate of inflation in the uk remains stubbornly high. the official stats show that food prices rose 184% in may, compared with a year ago. that is less than the 19.1% the month before, but this figure is still incredibly high. let's take a look at a few examples. in may last year, a dozen eggs would set you back £2.55 on average. last month it was £3.26. how about a two pint bottle of semi—skimmed milk? last year, just over £1. this year, it is up to £1.29. and cheddar cheese was just it is up to £1.29. and cheddar cheese wasjust under £7 it is up to £1.29. and cheddar cheese was just under £7 per kilo last year, but this year it is up to £9.65. mps wanted to know why food prices were still going up, and they spent a large part of this session quizzing the supermarkets about their profits. it's been described by sharon graham, the general secretary of unite the union, that the biggest supermarkets in the uk are engaged in, and i'll quote, a grotesque display of profiteering. we make,

our business correspondent emma simpson is with me. is this all good news, what is he saying? in: ? ., ., , saying? on the one hand it is good to hear saying? on the one hand it is good to hehr from _ saying? on the one hand it is good to hear from the _ saying? on the one hand it is good to hear from the boss _ saying? on the one hand it is good to hear from the boss of— saying? on the one hand it is good to hear from the boss of britain's l to hear from the boss of britain's biggest retailer, ken murphy, that he believes food price inflation finally has peaked. he is saying that because the cost of some essentials are starting to come down. milk, bread, cooking oil, pasta, he said was 16% cheaper this month than last. but other commodities like rice, coffee and sugar, are still going up and there are still precious with energy and labour costs. so the big picture is although there are signs that food inflation is easing, that doesn't mean overall food prices are going to fall. it is just that they aren't going to go up as quick and i think thatis going to go up as quick and

our business correspondent emma simpson is here. a lot of people wondering how it has come to this.. let's look at the general _ come to this. indeed. let's look at the general business _ come to this. indeed. let's look at the general business model. - come to this. indeed. let's look at the general business model. it - the general business model. it should be really simple. it's selling a product that is absolutely essential. water companies are natural monopolies. they don't have to fight for customers. if you go back 30 years ago, when the companies in england and wales were privatised, they had next to no debt. but now between them all, they have got debts of about £60 billion. 0ver have got debts of about £60 billion. over the years that that was built up over the years that that was built up to essentially boost financial returns. huge amounts were paid out to shareholders, about £50 billion. they also invested big sums, but clearly not enough, given all the problems now. as for thames water, it has more debt than anyone else. that means it's got a big interest bill to pay, a

here�*s our business correspondent emma simpson.n london and the thames valley. underfire for leaks, dumping sewage raw in rivers, a complex, privately owned business that is now under financial pressure as well. the main problem is that the company has nearly £14 billion of debt, so it has a substantial interest bill to pay every year. that interest bill is currently going up because interest rates are going up. some interest rate payments are related to inflation, which is very high. at the same time, it�*s having to spend over £1 billion a year in infrastructure, water mains, stopping leakage and there�*s a regulatory review coming up in a few years which may mean it will have to invest even more. thames water needs to raise money from somewhere but if it can�*t get it, the government is looking at options. we need to make sure thames water as an entity survives. there�*s a lot of work the government is doing on resolving sewage. up until now, the regulator has been focused on keeping consumer bills down but there is a lot of inf

our business correspondent emma simpson is here with more details.th rapidly rising interest rates. let's take a look at what's going on. nationwide is the uk's second biggest mortgage lender. this chart shows what's happened to the change in their house prices. if we dive in here, you can see here how there was a mini boom in house prices after the pandemic. they peaked in august last year, taking the average house price tojust over £273,000. but the growth then slowed, and here, you can see house prices have been falling since february, and you have to go all the way back to the financial crisis to see as big an annual drop in may. this puts the average house price now atjust over £260,000. but, of course, house prices are still historically high. it sounds like good news for first—time buyers that mortgage costs are shooting up, so there may not be much of anything to gain. new figures are mortgage approvals today. here is what they were in march. then they dropped again in april. a sign that buyers might be getting cold feet or can no longer affo

our business correspondent emma simpson has been finding out. lunchtime at a0 hq in bolton.riorities right here. and the priority is customers and culture. and so we need everybody in the office. you know, you can really feel the energy, people like coming in and there�*s a real togetherness to backing what we do. has it helped the business get back on track? for sure. ao�*s speed unquestionably underpins productivity without any doubt whatsoever. and economically, if you look at the country nationally at the minute, you know, we need productivity. we are in difficult times economically. and so it matters. he�*s not the only boss on a mission to get people into the office more. latest research suggests that offices are only around 30% full and about half of that on a friday. is this the new normal or is the balance going to change? there's a real tension in the labour market at the moment between workers who are telling us overwhelmingly that they want to work flexibly and many bosses who want to see more of people in the office. that is being played out, up and down the cou