our midlands correspondent, phil mackie, is at the scene now where a search has been ongoing. you tell us? you can possibly just you can possiblyjust about make out the lake in the distance there. that is where the lights are shining. there is still a lot of activity, as it has been all afternoon from leigh and evening. ambulance and fire crews have been here. the police as well. it has been freezing here all day but particular over the last few nights which has allowed the surface of the lake to freeze over and it has become tempting for children to play on it. sadly today that has endedin play on it. sadly today that has ended in potentially tragedy. this operation is still going now, and began more than seven hours ago. as light faded this afternoon, the emergency services were using every piece of equipment available to try to find anyone still missing. the lake had frozen and a group of children had been playing on the ice when first one and then others fell through and into the water. police, paramedics and firefighters were all called just after 2.30 and did all they co

phil mackie, many thanks.s zero covid strategy people can now isolate at home if they test positive instead of at state facilities and can travel more freely around the country. it comes after protests against strict rules. previously catching covid meant instant to centralised quarantine facilities which varied widely in quality but not anymore. now if you contract coronavirus you can choose to isolated home. life is returning to isolated home. life is returning to the streets of beijing. infections have not come down but easing measures have been announced with pcr test no longer required to enter buildings apart from hospitals and schools. restrictions on inter—province travel have been removed. translation: i've retired and i want to travel again. after easing up i can go on a trip somewhere. translation: all these venues are open and now we can go in such as parks and shopping centres. translation: i'm still afraid, i go to places with not many people and protect myself wearing a mask and washing my hands

phil mackie, bbc news, birmingham.espite members of the rmt union returning to work today after the latest strike. only 70% of services are running. theo leggett reports. large crowds, plenty of frustrated travellers and very few trains. this was the scene this morning in brighton. it was a similar story at king's cross in london. and no better for travellers at manchester piccadilly. and for those that did get on board, overcrowding often made life very uncomfortable. a strike by workers at network rail ended at 6am, but disruption lasted for hours afterwards. i completely support the strikes. i just... yeah, hope that it doesn't continue for too much longer and i hope that they get what they need. some of them are due for it, all right. but to do it on a holiday time like this and that is spoiling everyone's holiday, isn't it? and in some regions, there was further industrial action to contend with. that meant crosscountry had no services north of york, for example. it's fair to say that rail travellers here in londo

phil mackie, bbc news, birmingham. of a new year's eve concert in poland after being made aware of issues that — in her words — "do not align with the communities she supports". she had been due to perform in the town of zakopanh on saturday. polish authorities and the tv station organising the concert have been widely criticised in recent years for their stances on lgbt rights. last friday, the national state broadcaster announced mel c was headlining the event and today she cancelled. earlier, my colleague christian spoke to our reporter bartosz kielak who explained why. well, since then she started receiving letters, she started receiving letters from herfans asking her not to perform at the new year's eve celebration organised by the polish national state broadcaster, citing the treatment of lgbt communities and the coverage they have been receiving from the broadcaster over the last few years. she's had a lot of praise on social media from those who support lgbtq communities, but there's been a lot of criticism in

phil mackie, bbc news, derby.t—korbel in liverpool last summer. thomas cashman, who's 3a, appeared via video link at liverpool crown court earlier today. 0livia was fatally shot last august by a gunman who chased convicted burglarjoseph nee into her home in dovecot in liverpool. the president of ukraine, volodymyr zelensky, is in washington on his first trip abroad since the russian invasion in february. he'll hold talks with president biden at the white house, where a new package of military aid will be announced. the trip comes as president putin said he still sees ukraine as a brotherly nation and that russia is not to blame for the war. 0ur north america correspondentjohn sudworth is at the white house now. a short while ago, president zelensky�*s plane touched down here in the us capital, and he is on his way to the white house for what is a piece of made for television diplomacy, the image of a wartime president travelling halfway across the world to the heart of us democracy has been drawing comparisons in

phil mackie, bbc news, kingshurst.ie flintoff has been taken to hospital after being injured in an accident. greg mckenzie is here. what more do we know? . . . mckenzie is here. what more do we know? ., . . ., ., ~ mckenzie is here. what more do we know? ., .. ., ., ~ , .,. , know? the accident took place this mornin: know? the accident took place this morning while _ know? the accident took place this morning while the _ know? the accident took place this morning while the presenter- know? the accident took place this morning while the presenter was . morning while the presenter was hosting the top gear programme, the bbc series at duns old park aerodrome in surrey. the bbc press office in the last few moments has confirmed that andrew flintoff was injured in the accident at the top gear track this morning with crew and medics attending the scene immediately. he has been taken to hospital for further treatment and they will confer more details in due course and we believe his condition is not life—threatening. greg is

phil mackie ireland and parts of england. pt i mackie reports.t, bitter during the day. in derbyshire, charmaine takes hot meals to vulnerable clients who are worried about the first cold snap since the cost—of—living crisis. there are people that i have been to and i've said to them, "it is really cold in here, maybe you should put the heat on for a little while, even if it's just for a short time just to take the chill off." hi, kathleen. hello, my darling! there is help on offer, notjust if you rely on people like charmaine, but with money for your heating too. there we go, my dear. kathleen's one of thousands of people who will get an extra £25 towards their bills. she's being sensible, not letting her flat get cold, but she is grateful for the extra money. every little helps. i've also got the cost—of—living rise and my fuel, my energy money. that's all gone into the bank. the cold weather has a massive impact on everybody, not least the homeless. this is derby city mission where up to eight people will sleep tonight in pods like this. they

phil mackie, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news.alogue between albanians and serbs in an attempt to preserve peace in the region. ethnic serbs have set up road blocks in the area, where they're in a majority, following the deployment of kosovo's police force, amid a dispute over car number plates. serbia refuses to recognise kosovo's independence. nato, which has peacekeeping troops in kosovo, has called on all parties to avoid provocations. protests by supporters of peru's ousted president, pedro castillo, have continued over the weekend. police now say one person has died after they clashed with demonstrators. last wednesday castillo was thrown out of office after trying to dissolve congress. his replacement, dina boluarte, named her new cabinet on saturday but protests against her rule have continued to grow. italy's new prime minister has paid tribute to a friend killed when a man opened fire at a cafe in rome. giorgia meloni said nicoletta golisano. was one of three victims who died with four other people injured, one of who re

phil mackie, there, thank you from kingshurst, where that vigil is being observed.others may news now. —— the day's other main news. after the latest talks to avert strike action by nurses, the head of the royal college of nursing has accused the health secretary steve barclay of showing disrespect to the profession, and of turning down an opportunity to get an agreement before the strike takes place. this week sees a new wave of strikes in many sectors. train strikes are to go ahead from tomorrow, after members of the rmt, the uk's largest rail union, rejected a pay offerfrom network rail. the rmt is also involved in a battle with the rail delivery group, where it represents about 20,000 workers at 14 train companies. one look at the calendar for december highlights the extent of the strike action. we have marked the action and for more. if you look at rail, two strikes going ahead this week and then another two on friday and saturday. it is a long—running dispute over pay and working practices, as we know. if we look at another part of the calendar, nurses take ac

phil mackie, thank you.aims. the government has been talking about how to tackle what it thinks are illegal asylum claims happening in the uk. today we got the outline of what rishi sunak plans to do. it's something he has been working on since he became prime minister and there was quite a lot in there. there is going to be a new unit based in the channel to tackle small boats crossing from france illegally. they are going to be more asylum caseworkers to try and speed up asylum caseworkers to try and speed up the process when it comes to asylum applications. there is going to be less money spent on hotels, which is designed to make it less attractive for people to come and claim asylum here. in particular, there was a focus on albania. the government is worried about the number of people claiming asylum coming overfrom number of people claiming asylum coming over from albania at the moment. there is going to be an attempt to try and bring down those cases by raising the threshold for modern slavery applica

a six—year old boy remains critically ill in hospital. 0ur midlands correspondent phil mackie reportsen—year—old jackjohnson was one of the three who died. today his school is back open after an impossibly difficult 24 hours. one of the boys was in my daughter's class, and we told her yesterday, and it was really heartbreaking. we all went to get some flowers, and it kind of eased her pain, and there is a sense of community spirit, so, you know, it's just tragic. really tragic. the grief is still clearly visible. after school, many of jack's friends brought flowers to add to the growing mass of tributes which have been placed just outside the police cordon. among them were one of the girls injack�*s year and her mum. everyone today was quiet in the morning and started crying, but as the day went on, because some of our teachers who had left came back for the day, everybody started getting happier as the day went on. it's nice they've been all together today. i they were classmates, so, it'sjust hard. - and it's notjust family and friends today. we've seen firefighters, police officers

witnesses reported seeing six people on the ice prior to the incident. 0ur midlands correspondent phil mackie this afternoon, the emergency services were using every piece of equipment available to try to find anyone still missing. the lake had frozen and a group of children had been playing on the ice, when first one and then others fell through and into the water. police, paramedics and firefighters were all called just after 2.30pm and did all they could when they arrived to save them. they pulled four children out of the water. firefighters and police officers went into the freezing water to pull the children out. they managed to get the four of them to hospital, where they are suffering from cardiac arrest. there is no update on their condition other than to say it is critical. locals gathered to offered theirsupport, including a local church which provided hot drinks for the rescuers. we were quite upset to see so many men working relentlessly and itjust, you know, we could come back and offer some hot drinks to them. feel really upset about what has happened. the initial 999 calls sugg

i am nowjoined by our news corespondent phil mackie in birmingham.en the allows of this morning. both men will be questioned by west middlesbrough was on the suspicion of the murder of 22—year—old footballer cody fisher, who was stabbed on the dance floor of the crane nightclub in the digg button birmingham on boxing day. there was a race taking place. he was stabbed at around 11.45, medics tried to save him but could not, and he died at the scene. we have had tribute from his current and former football clubs as well as his family, who said that their hearts are broken. but we also have an update from west midlands police today, notjust on the rest but also on the progress of the rest but also on the progress of the investigation, they have said they are making good progress and they are making good progress and they have a better understanding of what happened on the night of that code it was stabbed. they are still appealing for information, and want to live in the hundreds of people who would have been in the nightclub. anyone who has not already

our midlands correspondent, phil mackie, has more from the scene.noon, the emergency services were using every piece of equipment available to try to find anyone still missing. the lake had frozen and a group of children had been playing on the ice when first one, then others, fell through and into the water. police, paramedics and firefighters were all called just after 2:30 and did all they could when they arrived to save them. they pulled four children out of the water. firefighters and police officers went into the freezing water to pull the children out. they managed to get the four of them to hospital where they are suffering from cardiac arrest. there is no update on their condition other than to say it is critical. locals gathered to offer theirsupport, including a local church which provided hot drinks for the rescuers. we were quite upset to see so many men working relentlessly and it'sjust, you know, we could come back and offer some hot drinks to them and we feel really upset about what has happened. initial 999 calls suggested more chil

phil mackie, bbc news, kingshurst.ounding his assassination have been the subject of massive speculation and numerous conspiracy theories. now, though, thousands of documents relating tojfk's death have been released to the public for the first time. our north america correspondent peter bowes reports. from dallas, texas, the flash, apparently official. president kennedy died at 1pm, central standard time. 59 years ago, presidentjohn f kennedy was shot as he rode in a motorcade through dallas. his accused killer was lee harvey oswald, a former us marine who never stood trial because he too was shot and killed when in police custody. he's been shot, he's been shot. an investigation concluded that oswald had acted alone. but the circumstances surrounding this pivotal moment in us history have never been fully explained to the satisfaction of millions of americans. president biden believes all information relating to president kennedy's assassination should be released to the greatest extent possible, consistent with, aga

fatally injured at the crane nightclub in the digbeth area of the city. 0ur midlands correspondent phil mackiewere here last night. there was a major boxing day event here at the crane, it lasted from three in the afternoon and it was scheduled to finish at midnight. the 23—year—old was stabbed just before the close, a dj from italy called marco carola was playing a set at the time. a lot of people have already been interviewed by the police but they still want to hear from anybody who was here last night and may have something else to add. we had a statement from the crane nightclub in the last half hour or so, they say that they are deeply shocked and saddened that a man lost his life last night as our boxing day event came to a close. our thoughts are with the victim and his family and friends. they say they're working closely with west midlands police. and also the statement from one of the djs who played a set earlier in the afternoon, dj steve lawler. he said, "i'm just hearing now that someone was murdered at the show last night, which is beyond unbelievable and so, so sad. my prayers a

our correspondent, phil mackie, is at derby crown court. this is a deeply distressing case.e us through the detail. i cannot go through a _ take us through the detail. i cannot go through a lot _ take us through the detail. i cannot go through a lot of _ take us through the detail. i cannot go through a lot of the _ take us through the detail. i cannot go through a lot of the details - go through a lot of the details because they were so horrific. this was a traumatic morning for the relatives of those who survived. this women was in a relationship with damien bendall, her son and daughter and friend staying on a sleep over that weekend in a village of killamarsh in derbyshire. we learned more about damien bendall. he had been in an abusive relationship. in time. they were expecting a baby together and he was a drug user with previous convictions. that night he took a hammer and killed them all. we saw body footage from an officer. we also saw footage from lacey who had recorded her charity sweet sound she had been doing with connie the night before she died. there will be a

our correspondent, phil mackie has sent us this report, which some viewers may find distressing.t after 2:30pm, four children had fallen through the ice. police officers raced to help. a few minutes later, firefighters arrived and took over in the water. there was a massive emergency response. a search to see if there were any others continued into the night. four young boys were pulled out and were taken to hospital, all had suffered cardiac arrests. today, we had confirmation of the news everyone feared, three had died, the other aged six is still critical in hospital. we have worked very closely with our colleagues in west midlands fire service and also in west midlands ambulance service, this has been a realjoint effort. it is incredibly sad that we do not have any better news for you today regarding yesterday afternoon's incident. the boys�* deaths are a tragedy beyond words, and the the boys' deaths are a tragedy beyond words, and the thoughts and heartfelt sympathies of everyone here at west midlands fire service with their families, friends and the wider community is this

punch through the ice as he and others attempted to rescue the group. 0ur midlands correspondent phil mackieember, a short distance from where the tragedy unfolded. the children had been playing next to the partially frozen lake when they ventured on to the ice and it gave way. first one, then the others fell in. by the time darkness fell yesterday, the four boys had been pulled out. they had all suffered cardiac arrests. it was a massive response from the emergency services, as everyone did their very best to save their lives. the first call came at 2.31; in the afternoon. the first ambulance arrived within seven minutes, shortly after the police and firefighters. at 8.20, the four children were confirmed as being in a critical condition. today, the news broke that three of them had died. on behalf of everybody in the community and i would like to pass on our deepest sympathies at this time. the tragic circumstances yesterday afternoon, so close to christmas time, and our sympathies with the families who have lost loved ones. we have seen footage that police officers initially went into the

let's talk to our correspondent phil mackie who's at the scene.tigation? the? what is the iatest from the police on the investigation?— on the investigation? they are desnerate _ on the investigation? they are desnerate to _ on the investigation? they are desperate to talk _ on the investigation? they are desperate to talk to _ on the investigation? they are desperate to talk to people . on the investigation? they are l desperate to talk to people who on the investigation? they are - desperate to talk to people who were here last night. a major boxing day event here which lasted until 3pm and were scheduled to finish at midnight. the 23—year—old was stabbed just before the close, a dj from italy was playing a set at the time. a lot of people had been interviewed by the police but still want to hear from anyone who is here last night and may have something else to add. we have had a statement from the night club in the last half an hour or so. they said they are deeply shocked and saddened a man lost his life last night at the boxing day event. the

witnesses reported seeing six people on the ice prior to the incident. 0ur midlands correspondent, phil mackie they were trying to find anyone missing. first others filter into the water. police, paramedics and firefighters were all called just after 230 and did all they could to save them. they pulled for children out of the water. firefighters and police officers went into the freezing water to pull the children out. they managed to get the four of them to hospital where they are suffering from cardiac arrest. there is no update on the condition other than saying it is critical. locals gathered to offer their support including a local church which provided hot drinks to the rescuers. indie local church which provided hot drinks to the rescuers. we were uuite drinks to the rescuers. we were quite unset _ drinks to the rescuers. we were quite unset to — drinks to the rescuers. we were quite upset to see _ drinks to the rescuers. we were quite upset to see so _ drinks to the rescuers. we were quite upset to see so many - drinks to the rescuers. we were | quite upset to see so many men working r

had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but changed his plea in the last few hours. 0ur corresponent, phil mackief the background to this. this was a september 2021 in the town of kilmartin north derbyshire on the outskirts of sheffield. terry harris and her two children, son john and daughter lacey as well as lacey's friend, were murdered by damien bendall at their house. the run up to that involved some fairly gruesome details which rather traumatic the members of the family had to sit through and here in court this morning. we also learned a lot more about the man who has now admitted those murders, damien bendall. a man with a string of previous convictions. he was a heavy drug user, cannabis and cocaine. he was in an abusive relationship with terry harris hui was expecting a child with. he had been for instance selling her positions —— possessions to fuel her —— a drug habit. 0ne selling her positions —— possessions to fuel her —— a drug habit. one of the most heartbreaking things we saw was some phone footage from lacey and connie who was staving over for the sleepover shed text messages wi

our midlands correspondent phil mackie has been following the story and reports from kingshurst.hildren had been playing next to the partially frozen lake when they ventured on to the ice and it gave way. first one, then the others fell in. by the time darkness fell yesterday, the four boys had been pulled out, they had all suffered cardiac arrests. it was a massive response from the emergency services are, as everyone did their best to save their lives. the first call came at 2.34. the first ambulance arrived within 7 minutes shortly after the police and firefighter, at 8.20 the four children were confirmed as being in a critical condition. today, the news broke that three of them had died. 0n that three of them had died. on behalf of everybody in the community and west midlands police i would like to pass on our deepest sympathies at this time. the tragic circumstances yesterday afternoon, so close to christmas time, and our sympathies with the families who have lost loved ones in this incident. have lost loved ones in this incident-— have lost loved ones in this incident. ~ .

our correspondent, phil mackie has sent us this report, which some viewers may find distressing.ter 2:30pm yesterday, four children had fallen through the ice. police officers raced to help. a few minutes later, firefighters arrived and took over in the water. there was a massive emergency response. the search to see if there were any others continued into the night. four young boys were pulled out and were taken to hospital, all had suffered cardiac arrests. today, we had confirmation of the news everyone feared, three have died, the other aged six is still critical in hospital. we've worked very closely with our colleagues in west midlands fire service and also in west midlands ambulance service, and this has been a realjoint effort. it is incredibly sad that we do not have any better news for you today regarding yesterday afternoon's incident. the boys' deaths are a tragedy beyond words, and the thoughts and heartfelt sympathies of everyone here at west midlands fire service are with their families, friends and the wider community at this distressing time. they are still not s

this report from our midlands correspondent phil mackie contains flashing images. light faded during the afternoon, the emergency services used every piece of equipment available to try to find anyone still missing. the lake had frozen and a group of children had been playing on the ice when first one, then others, fell through and into the water. police, paramedics and firefighters were all called just after 2:30pm and did all they could to save them. they pulled four out of the water. after being rescued, the four children were immediately assessed and actively treated at the scene by ambulance staff. all four children who were rescued were taken on blue lights to hospital, each within an enhanced care team travelling in the back of the ambulance, providing advanced life support. locals gathered to offer their support, including a local church who provided hot drinks for the rescuers. we were quite upset to see so many men working relentlessly and itjust, you know, we could come back and offer some hot drinks to them. and we feel really upset about what has happe

phil mackie, bbc news. you are watching bbc news.nd had lunch — but then, it was when she went back to his house after lunch that they had sex in his garden. and little did she know that it was being filmed on seven outdoor cctv cameras — and we heard in the court that later, stephen bear not only sent this to a friend that evening, but several months later, when the court found out when he was around £12,000 in debt, he then sold it on the subscription site onlyfans and made around £40,000 from the content he put on onlyfans between october 2020 and december 2020. and he was found guilty by the jury, he had denied the charges? yeah, he had said that he had deleted the video as soon a the footage was made on that night in august 2020. he said that he had potentially been hacked, and he denied that the video ever made it onto the onlyfans platform — despite onlyfans providing the evidence that it had in fact been put on the platform, and also had been not only part of a subscription service, but you had to pay extra money to access th

phil mackie reporting.nd friends _ that without blame? our thoughts are with the family and friends with - that without blame? our thoughts are with the family and friends with the i with the family and friends with the boys who have died, and i don�*t want to forget, we�*ve heard from the emergency services a moment ago in the community support workers that are working with the family and the friends in the community. such a difficultjob and a terrible situation. but this is and unfortunate, terrible opportunity for education to remind everybody that the message of, stay out of these situations. you can�*t always see the danger that is there below. the best and most obvious advice is to keep away from it, keep off the ice and keep away from the ice as well. if the people that drown accidentally, nearly 50% have no intention of entering the water at all. once people are aware of that, they�*ll take on more advisory approach to what they do. the they'll take on more advisory approach to what they do. the dra

here's phil mackie with the latest.as light faded during the afternoon, the emergency services used every piece of equipment available to try to find anyone still missing. the lake had frozen and a group of children had been playing on the ice when first one, then others, fell through and into the water. police, paramedics and firefighters were all called just after 2:30pm and did all they could to save them. they pulled four out of the water. after being rescued, the four children were immediately assessed and actively treated at the scene by ambulance staff. all four children who were rescued were taken on blue lights to hospital, each within an enhanced care team travelling in the back of the ambulance, providing advanced life support. locals gathered to offer their support, including a local church who provided hot drinks for the rescuers. we were quite upset to see so many men working relentlessly and itjust, you know, we could come back and offer some hot drinks to them. and we feel really upset about what has hap

let's get more now with our correspondent phil mackie who's been following this story.t from the school, that is striking that they talk about the ten—year—old as having a heart of gold because it appears he did not know the other boys had gotten into difficulty. it has appeared throughout that he might have been somebody who just happen to be there and is one of those who might have tried to save the other boys. a ten—year—old has potentially given his own life to save others younger than him. i know that they held a mass at saint anthony's and it was attended by his parents. and the cruel from the fire station who were the first firefighters on the scene on sunday afternoon, i saw them earlier in the week when they came to present their own tributes at that kind of makeshift shrine, not very far from the school that jack attended. what we have not really known, although we have not really known, although we suspected were the details of the other boys. we knew that there were two brothers. they are finlay butler and samuel butler. we've seen floral tributes and messag

phil mackie sent this update from derby crown court.ginally pleaded guilty for manslaughter and not murder. the forward victims were terry houses her daughter her son and macy's friend who was at a sleepover in killamarsh on the night that damien brendan committed these murders. so he change his plea to murders. so he change his plea to murderfirst thing. the prosecution opened the case and then there was sentencing in which he gave damien bendall five whole life sentences. the murders including the rape of lacey was up it was a harness case. i can't go into detail but he killed them with a hammer. it was an awful afternoon and the families were in court had not hurled a lot of the details before and had already gone through hell. and here it they were having to hear some of the most gruesome information about some of their loved ones. when mrjustice salinas told mendel he was going to prison for the rest of the life and there was no pearl several of the funding said yes that is what they wanted. that is also what ben does barrister sai

phil mackie, there. the post office it scandal was the uk's most widespread miscarriage ofjustice, the prosecution of postmasters was based on flawed information from the horizon computer system. joining me now is calum greenhow — chief executive officer of the national federation of sub postmasters. he also runs the post office in west linton in scotland. thanks forjoining us. we welcome this announcement?— thanks forjoining us. we welcome this announcement? yes, i do. but it is alwa s this announcement? yes, i do. but it is always the — this announcement? yes, i do. but it is always the fact _ this announcement? yes, i do. but it is always the fact that _ this announcement? yes, i do. but it is always the fact that the _ this announcement? yes, i do. but it is always the fact that the devil i this announcement? yes, i do. but it is always the fact that the devil is i is always the fact that the devil is in the detail so we need to know exactly how much compensation is going to be available and how we c

fourth boy, who's six years old, is still in hospital in a critical condition. 0ur correspondent phil mackie more information about the children later. ten—year—old jackjohnson was one of the three who died. today his school was back opened after an impossibly difficult 24 hours. one of the boys was in my daughter's class, and they told her yesterday, you know, it was really heartbreaking, we all went to lace and flowers, and it kind of eased her pain, and there is a sense of community spirit, so it is just tragic, really tragic. the grief is still clearly visible as the mass of tributes continues to grow. there are also messages from friends and family of the other boys who died, as well as from political leaders like the mayor of the west midlands, andy street, and organisations like west midlands police federation and one of the local fire crews. the risks of playing on ice have never been more stark. the lake where the boys died is notjust out of bounds while the police search, but it might be so for a long time to come. so, there are specialist teams from nottinghamshire police here tod

phil mackie was at derby crown court.'s family and terri harris' family, their victim impact statements. the thing that is most memorable of all those things is angela smith, who was the grandmother of lacey bennett dan john, she said when they were around, she used to tell them there were no monsters and how wrong i was, she said an adjective statement was, she said an adjective statement was not damien bendall, no reaction from him. his barrister said he was expecting and wanted a whole life sentence was he was a heavy drug user. he had been selling off his partner's child possibly has possessions. he sold genre possibly has xbox for drugs. five whole life sentences for damien bendall today. we have just five whole life sentences for damien bendall today. we havejust seen family members leaving court and it has been a horrible day today. nothing they said in their victim impact statements will bring their loved ones back but they got what they wanted, which was that sentence. thousands of families workers in england and

phil mackie, bbc news, kingshurst.und with serious injuries at a home in northamptonshire. police were called to flats in kettering yesterday morning, where a boy and a girl, believed to be aged six and four, were found. a 52—year—old man is in custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder. police say they're not looking for anyone else in connection to the incident. labour have held their seat in stretford and urmston, as andrew western becomes the country's newest mp. mr western, who previously led trafford council, secured nearly 70% of the vote. he succeeds kate green, who resigned last month, after being nominated as deputy mayor of greater manchester. the share of the vote saw a 10.5% swing from the conservatives to labour since the 2019 election. i'm absolutely delighted. this is the constituency that i call home, and where i've been the council leader for the last five years. it is an absolute privilege to be elected as the member of parliament. i know the hard work starts now. i'm incredibly grateful to

phil mackie, bbc news, staffordshire. our thanks go to jess.ampaigners for three days, three days often isn't enough anyway?— isn't enough anyway? yeah, absolutely- _ isn't enough anyway? yeah, absolutely. the _ isn't enough anyway? yeah, absolutely. the story - isn't enough anyway? yeah, absolutely. the story isn't i isn't enough anyway? yeah, - absolutely. the story isn't unusual. we carried — absolutely. the story isn't unusual. we carried out some research and among _ we carried out some research and among the — we carried out some research and among the people we spoke to, but half of— among the people we spoke to, but half of them said they had to return to work— half of them said they had to return to work too— half of them said they had to return to work too soon, and that might be because _ to work too soon, and that might be because they were not being paid, an employer— because they were not being paid, an employer wasn't supportive, the miscarriage wasn't being treated seriously— miscarriage wasn't being treated seriously in the wor

phil mackie reports.�*s being sensible, not letting her flat get cold, but she is grateful for the extra money. every little helps. i've also got the cost—of—living rise and my fuel, my energy money. that's all gone into the bank. the cold weather has a massive impact on everybody, not least the homeless. this is derby city mission where up to eight people will sleep tonight in pods like this. they can have 12 people in a day and they are always full year round. there is something called the severe weather emergency protocol that has been put into place in derby. that means that they guarantee everybody who can�*t get in here will get a bed somewhere, perhaps in a bed and breakfast. in hundreds of homes in stannington in sheffield, a burst water main leaked into the gas supply, so for six days it�*s been electric heaters or nothing. that�*s left people like nikki, a nurse, shivering in her own home. last night i was absolutely fed up and just wanted to go to bed and go under the covers and, you know, thin

that news is just coming to us from our bbc midlands correspondent phil mackie.ylum seekers illegally in early november. internal emails obtained by the bbc in a freedom of information request reveal details about several centres across the country including manston — the migrant processing facility in kent. police are investigating allegations that a home office official assaulted an asylum seeker at manston, as vinnie 0'dowd reports. this man spent 24 days in manston. today we hear his allegations of assault by a home office official. translation: he put his arm around my neck to the extent| that i couldn't breathe. we can reveal that police are investigating the allegation at the holding facility in kent. 0fficers came in. we had no idea that they are coming to attack and beat us. and we've obtained exclusive evidence that the home office has detained asylum seekers illegally at centres that were used as overflow from manston. ahmed, not his real name, arrived by boat. he fled his country out of fear of persecution. he told us about his 24 days in manston. he