, thank you very - ministers to get a grip. 0k, iain watson, thank you very much. et a grip. 0k, iain i watson, thank you very much. you ministers to get a grip. 0k, iain - watson, thank you very much. you can get more on that on the bbc news website or app. the us has asked china to use its influence to convince iran to rein in its support for houthis attacking shipping in the red sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. a significant amount of chinese goods bound for the west pass through the area. firefighters from the indian navy have now put out a fire on board the latest vessel to be attacked. the marlin luanda oil tanker, which is operated by a uk registered company, was hit by a houthi missile on friday, while it was travelling in the red sea off the coast of yemen. the uk government says it reserves the right to respond appropriately. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. this is the marlin luanda last night, fire visible from the bridge, threatening its cargo of russian oil bound for singapore. the houthis are quick to take credit, their

iain watson, bbc news, westminster.t after his battle with the post office and his story features prominently in that tv drama which has propelled this into the spotlight. lee welcomes the prime minister�*s annoucement. hejoined me a little earlier and he told me his reaction when the problem began. the potential interim payments would be appreciated. it�*s a little bit of a caveat there, i would just like to get to the end of this, really. sticking plasters, whilst appreciated, i just feel as though we�*re not moving forward. i�*d like to get everything done, really. but it seems that heels are still being very sticky and being dragged behind and it would be nice if we could get some short, sharp steps forward. i�*m not surprised you came to that conclusion because your case has spanned over 20 years, i was listening to you on the radio this morning and it is staggering, awful story. for viewers who don�*t know your particular story, let�*s just go through it. because when it first happened, the initial deficit, you di

iain watson is in westminster and we are getting a sense of the battle lines being drawn, and there istit-for-tat._ lines being drawn, and there is a lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of _ lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of friendly _ lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of friendly fire _ lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of friendly fire going - lot of tit-for-tat. there seems to be a lot of friendly fire going on. | be a lot of friendly fire going on. we are now getting more public criticism from the conservative bunches of rishi sunak. apparently two conservative mps have called for him to go, andrea jenkyns and simon clarke, but behind the scenes there is a lot of murmuring and discontent, especially over the direction of the government and simon clarke in it. as well as using very dramatic language about electoral massacre and avoidable annihilation as he puts it,... puts it, . .. they puts it,... they were very much vocally supporting the prime minister at pmqs but when you talk about tit—for—tat it was interesting that rishi sunak tried to

that is our political correspondent iain watson.ire in a four—storey building near liverpool city centre is no longer being considered a major incident. there had been fears the structure would collapse. more than 50 firefighters from the merseyside fire and rescue service were called to the blaze shortly around 2.20pm. they said there are no reports of casualties but had evacuated nearby properties. the fire service urged people to avoid the area and nearby residents and businesses to close windows and doors. king charles is staying in hospital for a second night, after a procedure for an enlarged prostate. queen camilla visited her husband at the london clinic, where the princess of wales is also staying following abdominal surgery. our reporter charlie rose is outside the hospital. this is day two of the king's stay in hospital here at the london clinic after undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate. his wife, queen camilla, has been to visit him a number of times over the past couple of days — three, we think. the latest vi

our political correspondent iain watson is at westminster. e of his own mps? quite a significant challenge, actually. the conservative divisions will be laid bare in the house of commons later today because it is expected two proposed changes, two amendments from tory rebels will be voted on in the early evening. one of those is designed to say the government can simply ignore international law and anything that comes out of the european court of human rights when it comes to deportations to rwanda. the other would severely limit individual legal challenges against deportation. around 60 conservative mps are backing each of these amendments, including the former prime minister, liz truss. that said, the opposition party will obviously not be backing these amendments so it's highly likely they will be defeated. there will be further attempts to change the bill tomorrow. the big question for the conservative rebels is, if are the changes are defeated, are they prepared to vote down rishi sunak�*s flagship legislation? the word from downing stree

dharshini david. 0ur political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. about what happened overnight? we know the cabinet are supportive, they were consulted last night, as was the labour leadership. parliament as a whole won't get a say until monday when the prime minister makes a statement and mps will not get a vote because the military action has already concluded. some opposition parties, the snp, plaid cymru and the liberal democrats said the principle of consultation is important and parliament should have been recalled before the action was taken. some on the labour left simply opposed the military action outright morning this will set the region alight. to reassure them number 10 has published the legal advice, at least a summary, and it says military intervention to strike carefully identified targets was taken and the uk is permitted to use force when acting in self defence. rishi sunak would say this is self defence because of threats to merchant vessels. 0ne former conservative minister has been asking where this is going and warning of the

iain watson, thank _ minister this lunchtime.panies have been told they can resume the force—fitting of prepayment energy meters, nearly a year after the practice was suspended. edf, octopus and scottishpower, can fit the meters again, after meeting various requirements set by the regulator, ofgem. kevin peachey is here. it isa it is a controversial practice and it is back on? it it is a controversial practice and it is back on?— it is a controversial practice and it is back on? it is. energy firms may want _ it is back on? it is. energy firms may want to _ it is back on? it is. energy firms may want to fit _ it is back on? it is. energy firms may want to fit these _ it is back on? it is. energy firms l may want to fit these prepayment meters into homes of people who have fallen behind on bills and have no prospect of paying. the idea of course is that debt doesn't keep building and building because of the prepayment meter. you pay for it in advance. to do so forcibly you need advance. to do so forcibly you need a court warrant.

iain watson, bbc news, westminster. to westminster and our uk political correspondent rob watson. robert, an extraordinary day there in the house of commons. this primary legislation rishi sunak has announced, when is that likely to be introduced? what are the details you are hearing? it is introduced? what are the details you are hearing?— are hearing? it is likely to be introduced _ are hearing? it is likely to be introduced in _ are hearing? it is likely to be introduced in a _ are hearing? it is likely to be introduced in a matter - are hearing? it is likely to be introduced in a matter of - are hearing? it is likely to be i introduced in a matter of weeks rather than months. the two main thrusts of it as we're hearing from my colleague, is to have a blanket exoneration for everybody who was convicted between 2000 and 2015 and to set up a system where you get rapid compensation in particular, there is going to be £75,000 made available upfront to this hardcore group, if that's the right description of 555 at sub—post

iain watson, bbc back to henry in westminster.nister has been on his feet in the last few minutes talking about some of the issues involved in exonerating the victims. nobody in government is pretending this is anything other than a extraordinary move, theyjust believe that the circumstances are extraordinary enough to warrant that, the minister who is on his feet described the decision as the lesser of two evils and that i said they will take measures to ensure if perhaps a small number of the sub postmasters turn out to be genuinely guilty they would still be able to be prosecuted but the government wants to move at pace, i am told they want the legislation on the statute book by the end of the year, at the very latest. that is not to say the matter would be settled it is just the first stage before they begin to deal with issues of compensation, this is designed to unlock the possibility of compensation for sub postmasters who have so far struggled to get it. that is before you get into the questions about the post office's rol

we saw some landing on iain watson earlier. very exciting snow, most of it is just big chunky flakes, not settling. worse case scenario, you could see a covering, an odd centimetre and the hazard with that is things could turn icy on roads and pavements. today there is a lot of cloud feeding in on a brisk and cold easterly wind. we talked about the showers working into east anglia and south—east england, not the only place to see showers. things could turn icy in the central belt. a few showers for eastern scotland and some for northern ireland during the course of the day. for the most part, the show is coming on as rain to stop cold, around 4—5 pretty overnight tonight, the main hazard i think it's the weather will get really icy. temperatures dipping below freezing. anywhere that has seen showers by day, you might see some ice but in addition to that, we still had some water seeping from flooded fields and so you can imagine things getting icyjust about anywhere tomorrow. tomorrow another cold day. easterly winds feeding in

that is our political correspondent iain watson.ys he'll appeal against a court order to pay 83 million dollars in damages to a woman he defamed. e jean carroll said the former us president destroyed her reputation when he said she'd lied about him sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. a jury in a previous civil fraud trial found ms carroll was sexually abused by trump back then. she said the ruling was a "great victory for every woman". mr trump said he'll appeal. our north america correspondent nada tawfik reports. ejean carroll has now taken on donald trump twice in court, both times emerging victorious. last may, he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and ordered to pay her $5 million in damages. this second defamation trial looks set to cost him far more — $83 million. donald trump was not present when the verdict was read. and earlier, he stormed out of court when ejean carroll's lawyer was delivering her closing statement, arguing that the former president acted as if the law didn't apply to him. afterwards, he

iain watson, bbc news.alk to a former sub—postmasters about the implications of that departure and what may happen next in this scandal. let us check in on the rest of today's main stories. good morning. good morning. the un agency for palestinian refugees has urged countries which have paused funding for the organisation to reconsider. the decision was made after allegations that some unrwa staff were involved in the october 7 attacks by hamas designated a terror organisation by the uk. the organisation's head, philippe lazzarini, has warned that the pause in financial support could force the agency to suspend their humanitarian response. our correspondent mark lowen has more. crushed from the air. lives, homes, families, and now the very mission set up to help gaza's desperate is taking a hit, too — the un agency for palestinian refugees — or unrwa — firing several employees for alleged involvement in hamas's assault on israel. a body set up to protect accused of attack. britain and a handful of other cou

live now to our political correspondent iain watson. quite explosive comments. what is the latest? ,., quite explosive comments. what is the latest? ., ., . , the latest? he also denounced rishi sunak, the prime _ the latest? he also denounced rishi sunak, the prime minister's - the latest? he also denounced rishi sunak, the prime minister's on - sunak, the prime minister's on inspiring leadership, talked about a growing gap between the party leadership and the electorate as well. he said now was a time to act. the question is will anyone act? it will be uncomfortable for rishi sunak because in a couple of hours he will be facing leader of the opposition at prime minister's questions and certainly there is, bytes simon clarke will be a gift to sir keir starmer, the labour leader. also he attacks the policy agenda of rishi sunak. he says, where is welfare reform, tax reform, a plan for housing? again a gift to the opposition. it takes 53 conservative mps to decide they want to have a vote of confidence in the prime minister. simon clarke is one voice, another conservative mp andrea

with the details, here's our political correspondent iain watson.actually they agreed to part their ways with mutual consent. that may well be mutual consent by the end of that conversation. the post office are telling me actually, he was asked to stand down and therefore, the person who instigated that call was undoubtedly the secretary of state, the appropriate government minister, in the first place and clearly, she wanted him to go. i mean, it is actually rare, i think, for someone who is chairman of an arm's—length body, although government—funded, to be called up on a saturday afternoon and persuaded to go so, clearly, this was the secretary of state who wants a change of leadership at the top of the post office. as we know, the government's currently now trying to push through legislation to compensate and indeed exonerate sub—postmasters and mistresses who were caught up in the horizon scandal, and certainly this has become a major political issue since an itv drama seemed to focus the minds of the public and politicians alike at the start o

applause live now to our political correspondent iain watson in westminster.d in current opinion polls, there is a lot of scrutiny about what he might be offering as a potential prime minister but his worry is that although people are suggesting that they are disillusioned with the current government, they haven't yet come over to labour solidly to his party, he hasn't yet possibly sealed the deal so he needs to encourage people to get out and vote and vote for change. part of his way of doing this is aligning himself with those disillusioned with politics and they are right to be anti—westminster, it is his way of trying to convince them that he is different. it is two fold, some specifics, tackling cronyism when ministers can leave government and then lobby colleagues. secondly, he had passed beyond politics that he was director of public prosecutions, the chief prosecutor in england and some mps had cheated on expenses and he sent them to jail, he is saying that i'm on your side, i'm them to jail, he is saying that i'm on yourside, i'm not like them to jail

here's our political correspondent, iain watson.downing street toda . �* ., , today. a former cabinet minister wants him _ today. a former cabinet minister wants him to _ today. a former cabinet minister wants him to go _ today. a former cabinet minister wants him to go permanently. i today. a former cabinet minister| wants him to go permanently. so simon clarke is a close ally of former prime minister liz truss and has denounced what he sees as rishi sunak�*s and inspiring leadership. —— an inspiring leadership. the labour leads did not look this political gift horse in the mouth. i political gift horse in the mouth. 1 love this quaint tradition where political gift horse in the mouth. i love this quaint tradition where the more they slug him off behind his back, though i love this quaint tradition where the more they slug him off behind his back, the louder they cheer in here. so was he surprised to see one of his own mps say he does not get what britain needs and is not listening to what people want? in needs and is not listening

iain watson, bbc news, westminster.et's recap on what the government has announced about the post office scandal. a new law is to be introduced to exonerate hundreds of post office branch managers. the new legislation will apply to convictions in england and wales and downing street hopes they will be quashed by the end of the year. we learned that 95 out of more than 900 convictions have been overturned. the sub—postmasters will need to sign a document confirming they believe themselves to be innocent. there'll be a new upfront payment of £75,000 for the "vital" group of postmasters who took action against the post office. with more on this is our news correspondent charlie rose who's in the newsroom for us. if you can outline a process that the government has set up please. this is a huge moment in a massive scandal that has been going on for many years, if not decades in some cases. 700 or more formats are past masters and mistresses are wrongly convicted of false accounting, theft and fraud in this post office it sc

here's our political correspondent, iain watson. rishi sunak leaving downing street today. you to go? a former cabinet minister wants him to go permanently. sir simon clark was a close ally of liz truss and he has denounced what he sees as rishi sunak was an inspiring leadership and writing in the telegraph he says, the unvarnished truth is that rishi sunak is leading the conservatives into an election where we will be massacred. i know many mps are afraid another change of leader would look ridiculous, but what would be more ridiculous than meekly walking towards unavoidable annihilation. the labour leader didn't look this political gift horse in the mouth.- didn't look this political gift horse in the mouth. , , horse in the mouth. they slacken off behind his back _ horse in the mouth. they slacken off behind his back and _ horse in the mouth. they slacken off behind his back and they _ horse in the mouth. they slacken off behind his back and they cheer - horse in the mouth. they slacken off behind his back and they cheer him i behind his back and they cheer him in here.

our political correspondent iain watson joins us now from downing street.the prime minister being very clear with his language, saying these attacks are limited but necessary and self defence? that is riuht. necessary and self defence? that is riht. it necessary and self defence? that is right- it says _ necessary and self defence? that is right. it says self _ necessary and self defence? that is right. it says self defence _ necessary and self defence? that is right. it says self defence because i right. it says self defence because of the effect on trade. he also says the attacks on the houthi rebels have effectively meant it has been a dangerous and destabilising effect on the whole region, so therefore it was justified going ahead with these attacks. in truth the possibility of these attacks had been discussed in these attacks had been discussed in the ministry of defence about a month ago. it was hoped the houthis may desist giving the international warnings, the condemnation from the united nations. these attacks have gone ahead but they are political