rochdale council has apologised forfailing children.ther to take action. judith moritz, bbc news. latest figures for accident and emergency waiting times in england are the worst since records began 14 years ago. the health watchdog nhs improvement says hospitals are continuing to face a "mammoth task" coping with rising numbers of patients. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. staff working flat out trying to cope with sicker patients and a struggle to find beds. it was a familiar story in hospitals this winter. the latest a&e figures for england show there's been no letup with the arrival of spring. what we're seeing is that nurses are struggling to deliver the quality and level of care that they want to deliver, patients are frustrated because they're not getting the care they want. it is just a very difficult situation. the proportion of patients treated or assessed within four hours in a&e was the lowest over a year since records began in england. by march it was just 84.6% dealt with in that time. slightly higher was the latest fig

rochdale council has apologised for failing children. this is bbc news at 5pm. the headlines... theresa may's cabinet meets to discuss whether to proceed with military action in syria following the apparent chemical attack in douma. warships are on the move to syria as president trump says an air strike could be very soon or not so soon at all. a report into allegations of sexual abuse at a boys home in rochdale says the local council failed to keep children safe for more than two decades. in sport, former world heavyweight champion tyson fury has announced his plans to return to the sport with his first fight in two and a half years, in manchester injune. having won the race, england's zharnel hughes is disqualified from the men's two metres final at the commonwealth games for leaving his lane. jereem richards wins the gold instead. and jack laugher with another gold for england in the diving. he can add to that tomorrow as well. i will have more on this story is just after 5:30pm. russia have said they will not accept the conclusions o

judith moritz, bbc news, rochdale. our top story this lunchtime.le action in syria, as the cabinet here prepares to meet to discuss any uk involvement. and coming up, diving for gold down under — england's jack laugher scoops his second gold of the games. coming up on bbc news, english referee michael 0liver is criticised by juventus' gianluigi buffon after a big penalty decision in the champions league semifinals against real madrid last night. they were members of bomber command, taking part in operations which had a significant impact on the outcome of world war two. almost 58,000 men and women lost their lives serving or supporting the raf — and as part of the raf‘s centenary hundreds of veterans are attending the opening of a new international centre, which recognises the vital role of bomber command. danny savage is in lincoln. some of the ceremony are still going on behind us at the moment, with the pipes and drums passing behind us. not ideal conditions for veterans agedin not ideal conditions for veterans aged in their mid—90s upwards, to

into allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation at a boys‘ hostel and a residential school in rochdalepublished in the next hour. good morning. it's thursday 12th april. i'm rebecca jones. welcome to bbc newsroom live. theresa may has summoned ministers to an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the uk's response to the suspected chemical weapons attack in syria. ministers are expected to back her call tojoin military action threatened by the united states and its allies. however, the prime minister is reported to be ready to take action without pa rliament‘s approval. joining me now from westminster is our chief political correspondent vicki young. is it your view that the prime minister has made up her mind? the cabinet is yet to meet, so of course, that is a crucial moment for theresa may. she, as we understand it, is certainly willing to consider joining action with donald trump, with the french and other allies, without a parliamentary vote. there is no legal reason whyjihad to speak to parliament or get their authority, but it has become a bit ofa authority, but it has become a b

in the of rochdale and rotherham and telford grooming scandals, the heart sinks to read more cases whereave been neglected by people supposed to be caring for them. the story goes on to say some of these missing children were seen as troublemakers which is exactly what we saw in those cases as well. there isa we saw in those cases as well. there is a whole systematic problem we're dealing with. we don't know why these cases are not being brought to court, not resulting in charges, whether it is a problem with the legislation, with the police investigation. i think there could be parallels with the debate we have about the prosecution of female genital mutilation. the police need to have either specialist knowledge 01’ to have either specialist knowledge or communities in which these things, from which these allegations spring, to be able to investigate these cases. it maybe don't have them. they are difficult cases to crack. they are very time—consuming. they use up a lot of resources. lots of different stories in the papers in the morning. the daily mail, not sure whether this is good o

an inquiry into the sexual abuse of young boys says rochdale council failed for 25 years to keep childrenir cliff richard's lawyers tell the high court that bbc coverage of a raid at his home was a serious invasion of privacy. in a moment, it will be time for sportsday, but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. at seven o'clock, in beyond one hundred days, we'll be live in the middle east, as britain and america decide whether to retaliate to the apparent chemical attack in syria. as the international chemical weapons watchdog backs the uk's assessment of the agent used in the salisbury spy poisoning, we'll be speaking to an expert in chemical and biological warfare. and car theft is on the rise in england and wales — we'll look at calls to restrict the sales of a device that tricks cars into thinking a key is being used. that's all ahead on bbc news. now it's time for sportday. hello and welcome to sports day, i am hugh woozencroft, our main headlines: heartbreak for hughes, am hugh woozencroft, our main headlines: heartbreakfor hughes, is arnel hughes left sho

what is most worrying, do you believe, about these particular historical allegations from rochdale?d that and seeing it again and again with historic abuse allegations that have come out over recent years, that silencing. there is much we can learn from this and from other similar scandals as well. it is about ensuring organisations have got really clear safeguarding and child protection procedures, that people who are concerned about things are unable to speak out at the earliest opportunity because we know how silencing abuse can be, really effective whistle— blowing policies. and of course, ensuring that the victims, children, young people or adults, that they have got the help they need and help for children, adults and young people, to help it is still hugely under resourced, we need much more of it and we needed much better integrated and we needed much better integrated and organised across the country. as we have been discussing, historic abuse allegations, do you think there is... there are many things we can learn from even 40 years ago that can inform the culture and the

in my constituency of hayward and middleton in rochdale, 1 of 3 of year 6 children are overweight or obese. and with our children being bombarded with junk food ads on their television programs, billboards, and even to bus tickets, will the prime minister take the bold steps needed to tackle junk food marketing and support jamie oliver's latest campaign and say that she too has had enough? >> can i say to the honorable lady, we already have plans to tackle childhood obesity that are world-leading. no other developed country has done anything as ambitious. our soft drinks industry levy, that's bold action that we're taking. our sugar reduction program is going to cut the amounts of sugar consumed by young people. and of course we're putting in plans in relation to the amount of exercise that primary schoolchildren get every day. physical activity that they get every day. those steps will make a real difference and a real help in reversing a problem that has been decades in the making. but of course we haven't ruled out further action. if the right results aren't seen. >> does the prim

rochdale council has apologised forfailing children.d the high court today that bbc coverage of a police raid on the singer's home was a "very serious invasion of privacy." sir cliff is suing the broadcaster, claiming breach of privacy and data protection, after officers went into his berkshire home in 2014 following an allegation of sexual assault. cliff richard denied any wrongdoing. he was not arrested and was not charged with any offence. our special correspondent lucy manning reports. sir cliff richard is more used to walking out on stage than into a court room. the singer has sold millions of records, achieved fame and fortune, but claims the bbc seriously invaded his privacy and he wants very substantial damages. south yorkshire police have confirmed they are searching a property in berkshire. this news report from 2014 was highly intrusive, said sir cliff richard's barrister. as the bbc filmed from a helicopter, the south yorkshire police searched his flat. they were investigating an allegation of historical sexual abuse, which

an inquiry into the sexual abuse of young boys in rochdale says the local council failed to keep childrenhard at the high court — he claims the bbc breached his privacy and data protection over a police raid on his home.

it is difficult for the people of rochdale to move on? rochdale to move on?ho were in authority. and can present —— someone who was in a nonresidential school. in a nonresidential school. as victims, they were seen as the authors of their own abuse. authors of their own abuse. afternoon he has been suspended by the labour party. the labour party. in abuse and the reasons why he was never prosecuted. never prosecuted. inadequate in their response and that was deeply disturbing. that was deeply disturbing. thanks forjoining us. celibate mother four years after his parents died in a car crash. parents died in a car crash. in 2013 had frozen several embryos hoping to have a child through ivf. hoping to have a child through ivf. fought a protracted legal battle to be able to use the embryos. be able to use the embryos. was born in december to a woman from laos. i'm guessing that is not here. sunshine returning i thought we would talk about snow. would talk about snow. can't we talk about the warmth returning? about the warmth returning? spain, where people will be

an inquiry into the sexual abuse of young boys in rochdale says the local council failed to keep children safe for 25 years. latest figures for accident and emergency waiting times in england are the worst since records began 1a years ago sir cliff richard at the high court — he claims the bbc breached his privacy and data protection over a police raid on his home. and bolt‘s back, but not on the track — the former champion arrives in the gold coast to cheer on the commonwealth games athletes. and coming up on bbc news, arsenal are in relaxed mood ahead of their europa league second leg in moscow. but what about their fans? good evening. president trump has said decisions on how to respond to the chemical attack in syria will be made "soon". his defence secretary, jim mattis, said no decision had yet been made to launch military attacks, and that the options would be discussed at a meeting of the national security council today. president macron of france said they had proof the syrian government carried out the chemical attack, and asserted that france and the us would react at a time of