helena wilkinson at the old bailey. of sarah everard says. they are pleased that her killer will spend the rest of his life in prison. adding that they are outraged and sickened that he abused his position of trust as a police officer in order to lure sarah to her death. some of that is echoed in a statement that has just come through from the prime minister in the last few moments. boris johnson saying there are no words that adequately express the horror of sarah's murder. like the rest of the country, i have been sickened by what we have heard over the course of the sentencing and the pain and suffering endured by herfamily and friends is truly unimaginable. on the police, he goes on to say, our police are there to protect us. i know that officers will share in our shock and devastation at the total betrayal of this duty. people must betrayal of this duty. people must be able to walk on our streets without fear of harm and with full confidence that the police are there to keep them safe. no woman should have to have

helena wilkinson, bbc news, reading crown court. travels to los angeles to visit the brand new academy museum. right now, it's10:a5. traffic and weather together every ten minutes on the fives. another very hot day across southern california as offshore winds continue to pump in more of the hot, dry conditions. # everybody comes to hollywood. los angeles, widely regarded as the movie capital of the world, millions of dreamers have flocked here over the decades searching for hollywood people can go to hollywood boulevard, to the walk of fame or go on a studio tour. but many leave town disappointed that they haven't found a focal point in hollywood. this imposing new complex on the corner of wilshire boulevard and fairfax avenue may change all that when it opens its doors next week. hello from los angeles, i'm tom brooke, and welcome to our preview of the long awaited academy museum, billed as the largest institution in the us, devoted to exploring the art and science of movies and movie making. the museum's site consists of a convert

our correspondent helena wilkinson has been following proceedings at the old bailey. tressing day and a distressing case, just summarise the really strong language used by the judge today, helena. jdne really strong language used by the judge today, helena.— judge today, helena. jane have absolutely _ judge today, helena. jane have absolutely distressing, - judge today, helena. jane have absolutely distressing, and - absolutely distressing, and yesterday — this is but a two day hearing here at the old bailey — yesterday, the parents of sarah everard, we heard those incredible difficult statements read by them to the court, to wayne couzens, where they spoke about the torments, the grief, the deep pain, the ongoing pain that they are suffering as a result of the crimes that wayne couzens committed. he was a serving metropolitan police officer when he kidnapped, raped and murdered sarah everard. today, in court, thejudge, as you have mentioned, handed down a whole life order, and what that means is that wayne couzens will never be released from prison, but today the judg

helena wilkinson, bbc news, reading crown court. uk show that there 35,623 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means in the past week, there was an average of 33,459 new cases per day. there were 7,124 people in hospital with covid, according to the latest data. another 180 deaths have been recorded, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test, taking the average number per day in the last week to 143. 0n vaccinations, 89.6 % people aged 16 or over have had theirfirstjab, while 82.1% are now double vaccinated. and more than 350,000 people have booked a coronavirus boosterjab since the programme was launched in england last week. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports on the state of the vaccine programme. reunited — 91—year—old maggie keenan and matron may parsons. morning. 0h, maggie. good morning. we're allowed to hug, right? in december, may gave maggie her pfizerjab — the first in the world. today, they were back at university hospital coventry for their booster jabs. ready? yep. since th

helena wilkinson, bbc news. general practice services. i think it could be a real issue for patients and general practice, patients are in trouble, because it's notjust a question of delaying it, it's all the cancellations of many, many clinics, patients already have a challenge getting through to reception. those receptionists are now going to be tied up, phoning other patients to cancel their appointments. we also think that as we just heard, not only is it likely that flu will be a higher risk this year, that we will have more cases, but also they are likely to start sooner because that's what we have seen from other viruses that children have got. on that note in terms of the delay to deliveries, do you think there is more that could have been done to pre—empt and prevent this? or is it something that was just simply unforeseeable? unfortunately in general practice, we spend our lives waiting and planning and not often being quite certain when the vaccines are going to come in until the last moment. it has b

helena wilkinson.ion, kidnap, rape, strangulation and fire. that is an indication of the terrible circumstances in which she met her death. we will have more from helen wilkinson later in this hour, live from the old bailey. let me bring you some other breaking news that has come in. these are the figures on coronavirus which have just been issued to us. the latest figures in the 24 hours to today are 36,722 cases. yesterday's figure was just over 34,500. the number of deaths recorded in the 24 hours to today, that would be deaths of people who have tested positive for covid within the last 28 days, 150 people reported in the last 22 hours. yesterday, 167 deaths had been reported. now to brighton and the labour party conference which has concluded after the speech by the party leader sir keir starmer. it was the first speech he has delivered in person to the labour conference because last year's was a virtual conference because of covid. the labour leader sir keir starmer praised the nhs and attacked t

helena wilkinson, bbc news.this year is really important and the reason it's so important is because, due to lockdowns, we've had very low circulating influenza levels last winter. we do know when there are low circulating influenza levels the year before, often, we get high infection rates in the following year. so it's quite possible that we will have a high incidence of influenza this year. so it's really important to get the influenza immunisations, and really important to get it as soon as possible, so it is of concern there are delays. but hopefully this will be corrected soon and we'll get on in general practice, we always do, and deliver a really good immunisation programme for flu. and ijust hope that those who are eligible, which as you see are a much wider group, the over 505, and of course those with underlying illnesses and children and young people between two and 18 years of age, take up the flu vaccine when they are offered it. to discuss more on this, i�*m joined ljy to discuss more on this, i�*

helena wilkinson, bbc news, reading crown court.boosterjab since the programme was launched in england last week. from today the top—up vaccinations — available to the over—50s, as well as those most vulnerable to the virus — can be booked throughout the uk. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. reunited, 91—year—old maggie keenan and matron may parsons. reunited, 91-year-old maggie keenan and matron may parsons.— and matron may parsons. morning. mac uie. and matron may parsons. morning. maggie- good _ and matron may parsons. morning. maggie. good morning,. _ and matron may parsons. morning. maggie. good morning,. . - and matron may parsons. morning. maggie. good morning,. . so- and matron may parsons. morning. maggie. good morning,. . so nicel and matron may parsons. morning. l maggie. good morning,. . so nice to see ou. maggie. good morning,. . so nice to see yom in — maggie. good morning,. . so nice to see you. in december, _ maggie. good morning,. . so nice to see you. in december, may- maggie. good morning,. . so nice to see you.

helena wilkinson, bbc news.ngland to be vaccinated against covid—19. some unions are warning the move would lead to more staff shortages but the government believe it's essential to protect vulnerable patients. our health correspondent jim reed is here. jim, there's a six week consultation on whether to go ahead with this? there is, ben. it is likely to affect over 1 there is, ben. it is likely to affect over1 million nhs front line staff in england, so these staff who work with patients day in and day out. around 12% of nhs workers in trusts have not had a second doused of the covid vaccine. in some areas, it could be as high as 22%. there is a big disparity in terms of areas. the government has already said that for care workers in england, they will need to have a vaccination by november. already the law in england on that front. ministers now consulting on whether to extend that to those 1.2 million nhs staff as well, unless they have a medical exemption, but some concern about this idea. unison, the idea wh

our correspondent helena wilkinson has more.eaving home on the day he was killed. he'd just told his mum he loved her. and then i went to the door and it was a boy that i knew... ..0lly wouldn't have anything to do with normally. and he said "olly�*s been stabbed." and ijust remember running back towards the stairs, because stuart was upstairs and shouting "olly�*s been stabbed," and his sister was up there as well, and they both came screaming down the stairs, and you ran out without your shoes on over to the field, and ijust, i remember when i got there, stuart just fell to his knees, and he just was screaming "my boy, my boy, no." and he screamed that, and i looked over and olly wasjust com pletely lifeless. an off duty nurse found olly. she tried to resuscitate him but he died at the scene. today olly�*s parents came to the court to see the three 14—year—olds who killed their son sentenced for their crimes. to have shared the short amount of time we had with him was a gift in itself. we relaxed for a few moments, preoccupied

let's get this report from helena wilkinson.red on a neighbours' door bell camera leaving home on a sunday afternoon injanuary. he had just told his mum that he loved her. i went to the door and it was a boy that i knew. olly wouldn't have anything to do with him normally. and he said, "olly has been stabbed." and ijust remember running back towards the stairs because stewart was upstairs and shouting "ollie has been stabbed!" his sister was upstairs as well. they both came screaming down the stairs and you ran out without your shoes on over to the field. an off—duty nurse walking her dog found olly and tried to resuscitate him, but he died at the scene. stuart just fell to his knees and he was just screaming, "my boy, my boy. n°_" he screamed that and i looked over and olly was just com pletely lifeless. there was somebody trying to do cpr, but the colouring of his skin and the fact that he just wasn't moving at all... yes, you knew immediately. he had gone. olly was lured to the park by the girl as part of the setup. the two b

was her statement following confirmation she has had her contract renewed. 0ur correspondent, helena wilkinsona full range of products on supermarket shelves or in restaurants. he also warned that supply chains issues would get worse and wont get issues would get worse and won't get better "any time soon". ministers say they expect stock levels to " return to normal" by christmas. up up to 50,000 more hgv driving tests will be made available to streamline the testing process and tackle the driver shortage. the transport secretary grant shapps is that there are enough people in the workforce, but there needs to be the system to allow recruits to get the tests. i allow recruits to get the tests. i understand one solution could allow recruits to get the tests. i understand one solution could be just to undercut our lorry drivers, import people to do the driving. it is probably one of the things that has kept the long term salary lower for drivers, but that also has an implication. for example, we don't attract enough people from across society into driving lorries. 99% of lorry drivers at the mom

with more, here's helena wilkinson. counting down the weeks until their baby boy is due. oh, look.sis, prognosis, all good. but at the end of that, we kind of knew that was the end of the journey for having a family too. we were really fortunate that the cancer was caught early. it wasn't long after that we realised that surrogacy could be an option. hiya, there! how are you both doing today? within a few months ofjoining a nonprofit organisation, the couple were matched with their surrogate, miranda. the three of them have become close, meeting up regularly and speaking most days. miranda has two children of her own. she's wanted to be a surrogate since she was 18. it feels amazing to finally - make my dreams a reality and do something i've always wanted to do. just seeing the support- of my friends and my family throughout the whole process, i it really makes me feel humbled, to be around such amazing people i that have made my dream a reality. when a baby is born to a surrogate, they are deemed the legal mother, under uk law. it's not until a parental order is issued that legal

helena wilkinson reporting from the old - to be back. ound, the questions which revolve around, the questions for the place, revolving around the fact this was a serving police officer about whom there were questions about his conduct, that were known to his colleagues. his attitudes to women and where that he should have been, whether any action should have been taken because of that, and the home secretary has said today, when i asked her about this, she said there are questions and she has been asking questions of the met police and she is looking for answers to those. but when i asked her about cressida dick's position and whether she should stand down, some have called for that, the home secretary said simply that she was still waiting for the answers to these important questions that she thinks need to be answered. she important questions that she thinks need to be answered.— need to be answered. she is in a difficult position _ need to be answered. she is in a difficult position because - need to be answered. she is in a difficult

helena wilkinson, bbc news.ot scheme. it would be the first time supporters won't have to be seated while watching top flight matches since reforms that followed the hillsborough disaster of 1989. laura scott is live at chelsea's stamford bridge ground, for us this evening. good evening, clive. yes, several leading clubs, including chelsea, behind me, have been future proofing their stadium to make sure they were ahead of the game in case safe standing is introduced in the future. and the majority of fans i've spoken to tonight are in favour of safe standing. they say it would create a better atmosphere, create more choice for fans, and that it might actually be safer for those that want to sit or stand. but this is an emotive subject. for more than 25 years, a blanket ban on standing at football matches has been in place in the top two divisions in england and wales. the reality, though, is that persistent standing has become a common sight at grounds. when premier league bosses met today, the significant, but

helena wilkinson is at the old bailey. exceptionally strong language from thejudge.about exceptionally strong language from the judge. tell us more about some of the reaction and what you have been hearing in court.— of the reaction and what you have been hearing in court. when wayne couzens was _ been hearing in court. when wayne couzens was sentenced _ been hearing in court. when wayne couzens was sentenced to - been hearing in court. when wayne couzens was sentenced to a - been hearing in court. when wayne couzens was sentenced to a whole l couzens was sentenced to a whole life order, what that means is he will never be released from prison. he will die in prison. he was shaking as he was sentenced, he was standing in the dock and sarah everard's parents were in the court room not too far away, listening to that sentence. the former metropolitan police officer who was a serving officer at the time sentenced for the kidnap, rape and murder of their daughter. in the sentencing remarks, thejudge described the case as devastating and tragic. he said the seriousness of

helena wilkinson, bbc news. the uk, rain, showers, and forthe somme is spiralling around that. if you spot right across east and south eastern england, if you are showers here, more sunny spells around. elsewhere if you do catch a downpour could be intense with the risk or surface water flooding and travel disruption. temperature is out where we have been much cooler in scotland compared with yesterday. we will see the risk of someone really intense downpours lingering across northern and north—eastern parts of scotland overnight. again a risk of surface water flooding and a warm, muggy night. not much in the way of sunshine tomorrow, if you write i suppose here and there. away from the showers, you may see a bit of a pleasant sunshine. it won't be cold but it is cooler than it has been. hello, this is bbc news — with martine croxall. the headlines: hospital waiting lists in england are now the worst since records began — with 5.5 million people waiting for routine treatment. we're past breaking point, it is bro

let's go to helena wilkinson at the old bailey. that down.on. 0ne never be released from prison. one of the comments he made during that sentencing hearing, he said that he had eroded confidence of the public in police forces of england and wales, and thejudge said in police forces of england and wales, and the judge said that wayne couzens had utterly betrayed his family. when you started his sentencing remarks, thejudge talked first about sarah everard, that she was just walking home on that night in march and she was a victim that will not be forgotten, who she was and what happened to her in early march. i am joined and what happened to her in early march. iamjoined by and what happened to her in early march. i am joined by our legal correspondent to talk about the law side of it. you heard the sentencing remarks of thejudge. side of it. you heard the sentencing remarks of the judge. it is very rare for a whole life in order to be handed down stocks i that's right. about 60 kilos currently in jail with whole life orders. the first time ev

helena wilkinson, bbc news.with us. the mother of one of those who died, ben king, has called this a scandal. would you agree with that? absolutely, yes. however, scandals doh't _ absolutely, yes. however, scandals doh't fix _ absolutely, yes. however, scandals don't fix anything personally, and i share _ don't fix anything personally, and i share her— don't fix anything personally, and i share her concern that change has to arise from _ share her concern that change has to arise from these dreadful tragedies. what sort _ arise from these dreadful tragedies. what sort of change? i�*m arise from these dreadful tragedies. what sort of change?— arise from these dreadful tragedies. what sort of change? i'm greedy and ambitious, what sort of change? i'm greedy and ambitious. so _ what sort of change? i'm greedy and ambitious, so i'm _ what sort of change? i'm greedy and ambitious, so i'm thinking _ what sort of change? i'm greedy and ambitious, so i'm thinking about - what sort of change? i'm greedy and ambitious, so

helena wilkinson has been at the old bailey following the hearing. very, very distressing details being given of sarah everard's last few hours. yes, absolutely _ everard's last few hours. yes, absolutely harrowing - everard's last few hours. yes, absolutely harrowing and - everard's last few hours. yes, absolutely harrowing and veryi absolutely harrowing and very difficult to imagine how sarah everard's parents would have been feeling as they had to sit through the most horrific details about how their daughter, sarah everard, was kidnapped, raped and murdered by wayne couzens, who was a serving metropolitan police officer at the time that he carried out these offences. his duty in hisjob was time that he carried out these offences. his duty in his job was to protect the public from harm, but on that night in march, on the 3rd of march, he did the opposite. he betrayed the trust of sarah everard and he abused his position. the court heard more details, because of course wayne couzens had previously pleaded guilty to the three offences, and therefore

helena wilkinson, bbc news. future storms as nada tawfik reports. one week and a storm that brought america to its knees. look at that tornado! from new orleans to new york, it was a dramatic beating. record rainfall, life—threatening floods, destructive winds and tornadoes usually only seen in the midwest tore through communities with no mercy. in some places it was unprecedented, and sparked fear about the ferocity and frequency of future weather. oh, my god! the river is flooding! part of this newjersey town was abandoned after the nearby river crested and left cars and homes under 10 feet of water. four people died and about 600 were left homeless. gloria jett lost everything, but was lucky to escape with her life. she can't swim and had to be rescued by neighbours as the water rose inside her home. i started pounding. for somebody to come and help me so i won't die. i felt like i was dying. down these streets, peoples' belongings and memories are laid out for garbage pick—up. the roldan family lost three ca

helena wilkinson has more the contract was going to be extended, we knew that already from this week.t female to take on that role, in 2017. that was a five year contract, that was due to come to an end this coming april. but we have now had confirmation from the home secretary, priti patel, in a statement that dame cressida will have her contract extended. that will take her up to 2024, april 2024. the commissioner has in a statement said, relating to that extension of her contract, that she is immensely honoured and humbled to have been asked to extend her time as commissioner for the next two years and she goes on to say that in the last 4.5 years, met teams have dealt with some extraordinary challenges, including most recently the pandemic, and delivered some fantastic results, critically, in reducing violent crime. that was her statement following confirmation she has had her contract renewed. the headlines on bbc news... the head of m15 warns that the taliban's takeover of afghanistan may well embolden extremists it comes on the eve of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 — as america p

our corrrespondent helena wilkinson was at court — earlier she gave us more details about the ruling.ing serious physical or mental abnormalities. now, that includes down�*s syndrome. so the claimants came to court, they�*re taking the government to court, arguing that that provision within the abortion legislation was unlawful. but the judges today dismissed the case. now one of the claimants is moya lee wilson, who is with us now. thank you very much for talking us to. just first of all, you have two children, your son aidan has down�*s syndrome, and why did you bring this case to court? so i as you say, i'm a mother of two fantastic little boys, tom and aidan, and i_ love and i value my two children equally. the law as it stands and this judgment effectively has ruled today that my children aren't equal and that is so wrong. there is no reason that aidan shouldn't be afforded the same rights and protection as any other you know child. the law powerfully communicates that his life is of lesser value and i believe that that perpetuates negative stereotypes about disability and so we

our correspondent helena wilkinson has more.s week. we were just waiting for that confirmation but also waiting to see whether that was something she was going to accept, as you say, she was going to accept, as you say, she took on the top job at the metropolitan police as commissioner, the first female to take on that role in 2017. that was a five year contract, that was due to come to an end this coming april. but we have now had confirmation from the home secretary, priti patel, in a statement that dame cressida will have her contract extended, that will take her up to 2024, april 2024. the commissioner has in a statement said, relating to that extension of her contract, that she is immensely honoured and humbled to have been asked to extend her time as commissionerfor the have been asked to extend her time as commissioner for the next two years and goes on to say that in the last 4.5 years, net teams have dealt with some extraordinary challenges including most recently the pandemic and delivered some fantastic results critic

helena wilkinson reports.rs. the judge before she began her sentencing remarks that she spoke to the family in court and said that she remarked on how patient and dignified they had been everyday in this courtroom. she said it was humbling for all of us to watch the pain and the grief and the anger and the statements of the family had provided today the judge said reflected was almost unbearable to hear. we did heara reflected was almost unbearable to hear. we did hear a statement from ollie's father who read an incredibly powerful victim impact statement to the court and they were tears in the courtroom. thejudge itself looked visibly upset as he said to the court that the murder of their son was called, senseless, it was a murder that ripped the heart out of their family. he went on to say that no child deserves to meet such a callous end and he said that his son was just trying to protect someone else's little brother. the judge also spoke directly to the 3i4—year—olds today in court. she said to them, what

helena wilkinson reports.en vaccinating children against covid for months. 0ther vaccinating children against covid for months. other countries, like france and germany, are also immunising12—15 —year—olds. but in the uk, a decision still has not been made and pressure is growing on the prime minister to make a decision. labourwants the prime minister to make a decision. labour wants clarity so that children do not face further disruption to their education. earlier this week the uk's vaccine advisory body said it could not recommend vaccinating healthy 12—15 —year—olds on health grounds alone. they said the vaccine offered only marginal benefit. parents will be eager for marginal benefit. parents will be eagerfor ministers to marginal benefit. parents will be eager for ministers to make their final decision. it eager for ministers to make their final decision.— final decision. it will free up our world and _ final decision. it will free up our world and country _ final decision. it will free up our world and

our correspondent, helena wilkinson, is outside the high court in central london and joins me now... a woman can have a termination, but terminations can be allowed until birth if there is a substantial risk of the child having serious physical or mental abnormalities, that includes downes syndrome and that claim came to court, taking the government to court, taking the government to court arguing that that provision, within the abortion legislation was unlawful, but thejudges within the abortion legislation was unlawful, but the judges today dismissed the case and one of the claimants is with us now. thank you for talking to us, first of all, you have two children, your son, aidan, has down's syndrome, why did you bring this case? j has down's syndrome, why did you bring this case?— bring this case? i am a mother of two fantastic _ bring this case? i am a mother of two fantastic little _ bring this case? i am a mother of two fantastic little boys, - bring this case? i am a mother of two fantastic little boys, tom - bring this case? i am a mother ofj two fantastic little boys, tom an