Uk political power . Hello. The turnout was low, a little over 37 . Most voters stayed at home. But the labour party is describing its victory in the rutherglen and Hamilton West by election as seismic. The partys candidate, michael shanks, won over 58 of the vote, more than double that of the snps katy loudon, who came second. That means the swing to labour was over 20 from the Scottish National party. Sir keir starmer claims the result is the first step on an important journey. The conservatives lost their deposit. Our scotland editor james cook has our top story. Michael shanks, scottish labour party, 17,840. Applause. Labour didntjust win here, they triumphed. The snp didntjust lose, they were trounced. My campaign has been focused on offering people here a fresh start, a break away from the divisiveness and distraction of two failing governments and to give a voice to those who are too often voiceless in our society. Applause. A few short hours and several gallons of coffee later, the sun was shining on sir keir starmer, labourjumping forjoy. When i left here a week ago with the team, i said, youve got to win it. You blew the doors off theres a real release of pent up emotion here. These activists have waited a long time for this moment, and they hope he hopes that hell be heading to Downing Street eventually as a result of their work. Are you now heading to Downing Street . Look, we have been on a journeyl since 2019 to get the labour party from our worst election result to a labour majority. For me, that always. The road always ran through scotland. L with victory here, labour now have two scottish seats at westminster, but they have their eyes on another couple of dozen, at least. This is a result that suggests that politics in scotland could be returning to the picture that we had before the 2014 independence referendum. Indeed, if the swings in rutherglen were to be reflected across scotland as a whole, labour would be back to the a0 or so seats that they had in 2010 and the snp would once again be a rump ofjust a half a dozen mps. And that puts the snp leader under severe pressure. Im the leader of the snp. The buck absolutely does stop with me, but i think Everybody Knows that this particular by election has some very difficult contextual factors around it. Margaret ferriers reckless actions, of course, came up time and time again. And the police investigation, of course, thats engulfed the party over the last few months, again came up on a number of doorsteps. It was also a Terrible By Election for the conservatives, whose vote simply collapsed. I think its so tempting to extrapolate a lot. From one single by election. A General Election is i quite some way off yet. I think what we saw last night. Was a continuation of what weve been seeing in scotland over a few months actually, and that is a coming together of the unionist vote to stop the snp being successful. Can i ask you what you thought of the by election result . Yes, yes tell me why. Because the snp have just absolutely ballsed everything up, to be fair. And i think its good that labour are back in. It was predictable. We knew that it was going to happen, but it doesnt really matter. Its more tory austerity. Its just that Keir Starmers going to continue in the same theme as the tories, so no change there. So you want independence, but you didnt vote for the snp. Why . Because, i dont know, theyre just a bit of a shambles now. They dont seem to have independence on their agenda. Itsjust been year. After year of were going to have a referendum, and itjust never happens. Polls suggest the snp� s troubles have not actually affected support for independence, but both labour and the tories insist the union is more secure tonight. James cook, bbc news, rutherglen. Chris is here. Caveats, a by election, a low turnout. What can we really read into this . � ,. ,. , turnout. What can we really read into this . � ,. ,. ,. , into this . Its a fair question. How enuuaed into this . Its a fair question. How engaged should into this . Its a fair question. How engaged should the into this . Its a fair question. How engaged should the rest into this . Its a fair question. How engaged should the rest of into this . Its a fair question. How engaged should the rest of us be. Into this . Its a fair question. Howl engaged should the rest of us be in this poll given a fair chunk of people there werent in terms of turning out to vote, its just one by election, but those who pour over the numbers in by elections, particularly those relatively close to the General Election, Likejohn Curtis who we saw there, so you can read the runes. Context is everything. Back in 2005 when labour last won a General Election they had 41 seats in scotland, but in 2010, when they lost a General Election, they also had 41 seats in scotland. Theyve currently got two. So what does that mean . It means that labour winning big in scotland isnt necessarily enough to win a General Election, but unless they do well in scotland its almost impossible. The conservatives and the snp will conclude from this by election result that labour are back in the game in scotland and probably back in the game big time. Labour themselves privately now think they can be competitive in 25, 30, may be a few more seats in scotland, but they need about 130 more seats on top of the ones they already have in england, wales and scotland to get a majority at the next election, so the mountain they confront is huge. Chris mcthank you, chris mason, our political editor. A man has appeared in court charged with plotting to kidnap and murder the tv presenter holly willoughby. Gavin plumb, whos 36 and from harlow in essex, was remanded in custody. Ms willoughby didnt appear on yesterdays edition of this morning, and itv says its providing full support to her and herfamily at a very distressing time. Heres charlotte gallagher. Music. Hi, good morning, and welcome to your wednesdays this morning. Holly willoughby, one of the most recognisable faces on british television. This was her on wednesday during her last appearance on this morning. She was due to return the next day, but was replaced at the last minute by alison hammond. Now we know why an alleged plot to kidnap and murder the television presenter. Gavin plumb was arrested at his home in harlow in essex on wednesday. The 36 year old, who once appeared on the bbc talking about weight loss, appeared in court today, accused of soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap. Gavin plumb was allegedly formulating a plan with another person, who was going to travel from america to the uk next week in order to take part in the crimes. Chelmsford Magistrates Court also heard that mr plumb was assembling a restraint and kidnap kit. He was remanded into custody. Today, while appearing on this morning, the Prime Minister offered his support to holly willoughby. Ijust wanted to send my best to her and herfamily. Thank you, we appreciate that. It has been a difficult year for holly willoughby, professionally and personally. She was forced to defend herself after being accused of skipping the queue to pay her respects to Queen Elizabeth at westminster hall. Then her co host, phillip schofield, quit in may after admitting a relationship with a younger, more junior colleague. Holly willoughby� s own future on this morning was also questioned. Tonight, the presenter is reportedly under police guard at herfamily home in london. Charlotte gallagher, bbc news. There have been fresh russian air strikes on North Eastern ukraine, with one attack, according to a regional governor, killing a ten year old boy in the city of kharkiv. It follows a Missile Strike yesterday on a village in the same region, that killed more than 50 people. The United Nations is now sending investigators to the village of hroza, 50 miles south east of kharkiv, where family and friends of those who died have been gathering. Heres james waterhouse. A symbol of innocence. Against a backdrop of desperation. This playground is now the site of a deadly puzzle. Its the retrieval phase listing, identifying who or what is left. Ukraine is certain this wasntjust an act of war, but a war crime. Translation after investigation we can say it was a deliberate attack on civilians. I cant tell how they choose the targets because i dont understand their logic. The kremlin says it always targets military sites. We saw no evidence suggesting that this was one. Heres whats left of the cafe. Its a deep wound, its a picture of finality. You see the shop next door has been blown through as well. Now, locals say hroza is spared the shelling other villages have to go through. That ended yesterday. For a moment hroza, meaning thunderstorm, lived up to its name. Some reminders of what happened might be washed away, but this Small Community has already been damaged. In the evening, this woman tells us she was here, at home, when she heard the explosion. Translation i ran out of the yard and saw a plume of smoke. My husband rushed there. He came back and said our children are gone. Our son in law was found dead but our daughter was still alive when Emergency Workers arrived. She told one of them, her friend, take me out, take me out. Thats it, those were her last words. Who would return my children to me . Who . Lyubov and her communitys pain is palpable. Her village is a darker place. James waterhouse, bbc news, hroza, kharkiv region. The winner of this years Nobel Peace Prize is injail in iran, and unlikely to make the journey to europe anytime soon to collect her award. Narges mohammadi has been honoured for her fight against the oppression of women in her country, where shes played a leading role in the campaign against mandatory hijabs. Shes now serving multiple sentences in tehran� s notorious evin prison. Caroline hawley has that story. Narges mohammadi is a woman, a human rights advocate and a freedom fighter. Her brave struggle has come with tremendous personal cost. Altogether, the regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. Ms mohammadi is still in prison as i speak. She hasnt seen her husband and children, now in exile in paris, in years. Her son told the bbc shes always in his heart. Translation i wasjust happy and proud of my mum, just like im always, like yesterday and the day before that. This award belongs to iranian people. The Nobel Committee said the prize was also for the hundreds of thousands of iranians whove demonstrated against the theocratic regimes oppression against women. This uprising, spearheaded by women, began last september after the death in Police Custody of a young woman detained for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly. 20,000 people were detained in a brutal crackdown which Narges Mohammadi condemned from behind bars. Nazanin zaghari ratcliffe, who was held with her, welcomed the award, saying it was for all women facing injustice. Bbc persian has been monitoring the wider response on social media to todays announcement. After a year of protests and according to Rights Groups i over 500 people were killed, bad news after bad news,. This nobel prize was the first piece of good news that iranians heard l in overa year. And that is probably going to embolden iranian women in their fight for democracy and freedom. But the fate of this 16 Year Old Girl underlines the frightening reality for women taking a stand in iran. Earlier this week, she bravely tried to get on the tehran metro with her hair uncovered. Allegedly beaten by irans morality police, shes now in a coma. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Narges Mohammadi sends a very strong message that the world is watching the iranian regime. Caroline hawley, bbc news. The most Vulnerable Children will be living with the long shadow of the covid experience for the next ten or 20 years those the words of the former childrens commissioner for england. Anne longfield was giving evidence to the Covid Inquiry. Our health correspondent, Dominic Hughesjoins us. Dominic, what more did she have to say . Dominic, what more did she have to sa . ~. ,. , say . Well, today, clive, the covid inuui say . Well, today, clive, the Covid Inquiry heard say . Well, today, clive, the Covid Inquiry heard from say . Well, today, clive, the Covid Inquiry heard from a say . Well, today, clive, the Covid Inquiry heard from a number say . Well, today, clive, the Covid Inquiry heard from a number of. Inquiry heard from a number of experts who laid bare the devastating impact the pandemic had on the lives of some of the most Vulnerable Children, the loss of education, the impact on their physical and mental health, even on the social development of some of the social development of some of the youngest children, and we did hearfrom anne the youngest children, and we did hear from anne longfield, the youngest children, and we did hearfrom anne longfield, the former childrens commissioner in england, described Government Policy as at times being incoherent. As a result she said children were often overlooked and there were even occasions when it felt that government was indifferent to childrens experience of covid. One thing she particularly highlighted was the eat out to help out policy where pubs and restaurants were opened up even as schools remained firmly shut to the vast majority of children. She described that as a terrible mistake, she said in a future pandemic, schools should be the first thing to open up and the last thing to close. The first thing to open up and the last thing to close. Dominic, thank ou for last thing to close. Dominic, thank you for that last thing to close. Dominic, thank you for that. Dominic last thing to close. Dominic, thank you for that. Dominic hughes you for that. Dominic hughes reporting for us. The on going conflict in syria has slipped from the headlines in recent months, but Government Forces have now launched a massive bombardment of an area of the country controlled by islamist rebels. Its in response to a drone attack on a military Graduation Ceremony yesterday which killed more than 100 people, and was one of the deadliest attacks on the Syrian Armed Forces in the 12 year long civil war. The funerals of those who died have been taking place in the city of homs, as Frank Gardner reports. A funeral for the fallen after a devastating drone attack on a military academy. One of the worst single attacks in syrias 12 years of civil war, it killed over 100 and injured hundreds more. Amongst the mourners, this man, who lost his brother. And this young officer. His mother had come to watch him graduate. She died in the drone strike. Translation my mother came to celebrate my graduation. Its the worst day. Children, students, my friends, they all died. Witnesses say the attack came out of nowhere, with multiple iranian made explosive drones. Most of the pictures are too graphic to show. Syrias government blames what it calls terrorist groups. Syrias Defence Minister was at the funeral, telling people that sacrifices had to be made for the sake of the nation. He had left the ceremonyjust minutes before the attack. After years of civil war, syria is a fractured nation. President assad here controls only part of his country, thats the area shown in purple, which includes homs, the city where the attack took place. Islamist rebels still hold out in the orange area right up in the north west in idlib province, while kurdish militias operate in those green areas. And to complicate matters even further, several nations have a Military Presence in syria, including the us, russia, turkey and iran. Within hours, the Syrian Government hit back, targeting civilians and rebels alike, in areas beyond its control. Yet there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the homs drone attack. With so many competing factions in this country, its hard to tell who or what was really behind it. Frank gardner, bbc news. Every year thousands of people in england and wales are accused of crimes of which theyre later acquitted. But while their names may have been cleared, theyre often left emotionally and financially devastated. Some of those who stand trial face claims that are simply untrue. The latest figures show that of the cases in england and wales that went to court in the year to march, more than 31,000 defendants pleaded not guilty. Of those around 19,000 were found guilty while nearly 12,500, just under 40 , were aquitted. Now one of the countrys most senior legal figures is calling for more action against those who make false and malicious accusations. Nick garnett has our special report. Accused of crimes she didnt commit. I can remember every single moment from the trial. Its etched on my brain. Rebecca whitehurst says the allegations she faced were never fully investigated. Theres no case of innocent until proven guilty, i dont think. Each year, thousands of people go to trial accused of crimes and are found not guilty. Sir Richard Henriques wrote a high profile report on the impact of false and deliberate allegations. Its worse than burglary, its a very, very bad assault upon a fellow human being and should be visited with a criminal sanction. Rebecca was a teacher accused of Sexual Activity and communications with one of her students. She was shown pages of texts the police said she had sent. I saw the evidence, and i used to think that evidence meant proof. I now understand it doesnt mean that at all. It was salacious messages, essentially, that were purportedly from me, but it was just so obvious to me that they werent right. It took rebecca and her husband months of research to prepare for the trial. They brought in forensic and legal experts to help build their case. The date of the trial arrived, and for rebecca, reality hit home. It was about halfway through the trial i realised, oh, my god, those 12 people in thejury, they dont know me from adam. Im just a face sitting behind a perspex screen. They dont know anything about me. The jury came back and found her not guilty of all three charges. I could in theory have been sent to prison for 14 years. The thought of that is just. Horrific. Sorry, ill compose myself. But in british law, no one is ever described as being innocent. But youve still only been found not guilty. I was unanimously found not guilty in the briefest amount of time possible. For me, i take that. Her accuser has lifelong anonymity because the charges related to sex abuse. So, for you, what was the cost of innocence . Financially, its been the best part of £50,000. You can apply to have some costs refunded, and that did happen. Because of her household income, rebecca didnt qualify for legal aid. Come on, baby. The government says it plans to make everyone eligible for help with Crown Court Costs within the next two years, but the fear is, this wont solve the problem. Those who undertake legally aided work are not financed to the same degree. Theyre not able to provide the same degree of service. There is a real danger of a miscarriage ofjustice. That is plainly a weakness in our system. There are also weaknesses in the system that can affect victims, especially those of sexual crime. The number of cases that actually make it to court is tiny compared to the number of allegations that are made to the police. The stress has been too much. This has been three years of my life. Dog barks. One year on, rebecca is still waiting for help after being diagnosed with ptsd by her doctor. The cost, emotionally, i dont want to allow it to take up any more of my time, because i think i deserve a life. What does the future hold for you . Id like to do something to support people whove been through this sort of situation if i can. Good girl. And to break down the stigma that surrounds those accused of crimes they didnt commit. Nick garnett, bbc news. And you can see more about rebeccas story in the cost of innocence available now on iplayer. Plaid cymru has opened its annual conference in aberystwyth, setting out a vision for a new wales. In his first Conference Speech as leader, rhun ap iorwerth detailed his plan to lay the foundations for an independent wales and he hit out at the record of both labour and the conservatives. Westminster governments red and blue have tried and failed, and i tell you, theyll never try hard enough for wales. Look around you do you think this is the best things can get . No, it isnt and thats why were determined to build a new wales. The green party have also opened their conference in brighton. The co leader carla denyer says she wants to increase their number of seats in the commons to four at the next election and give renters a legal right to demand landlords insulate their homes. With four green mps in parliament, well have the voices to call for a nationwide Home Insulation scheme notjust to lower emissions but to make peoples homes warm in winter and cut their bills for good. By the end of the weekend, wilko stores will be no more, with the shutters coming down on a high street presence which was first established almost 100 years ago. The homewares chain, with around 12,500 workers, went into administration in august, and emma simpson has been to one branch in leicester where the brand was founded, and where the staff have been saying their goodbyes. When youve worked together for many years, the last day on the shop floor isnt easy. Because its a family, its my extended family. Been here a long time loved it. I thought wed be saved. Everybody thought wed be saved. £1 cake tin, sir . Never have enough, good for your baking. Now everything has to go. Serving customers right to the end. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hundreds have left messages. This Tribute Board at least will survive, heading to a local museum. Staff are recording their own memories, too. Bye so long, farewell, au revoir, auf wiedersehen. Just like wilko workers up and down the country. Heres the team at the Distribution Centre going out in style. Sha la la, la la, la la la. Back in leicester, meet two workers with nearly a century at wilko between them. Jan even worked with the founder. The good old days. Cheap and cheerful, that was our name. Yeah. We learned how to trade, trade aggressively just like jk wilkinson, and we had the pleasure of working with him. Wilkos has been my life and ijoined it when i was 18 and im still here now on this very last day. Its been our lives, you know, and its been. We grew up with people, weve met people, weve learned from people. Its been a fabulous ride. But the ride is coming to an end now. We want to go out with a big smile and to say goodbye and people remember you and thank you, yeah. Bye. Applause and cheering. And thats exactly what the team here did as the shutters closed for the last time. Bye emma simpson, bbc news, leicester. Rugby and france demolished italy in style in their world cup match in lyon tonight to take them into the quarterfinals. The host nation chalked up 60 points to italys 7 as they ran away with the game to come top of their group, dashing italys hopes of reaching the knock out stage for the first time. Simone biles has secured her place as the greatest gymnast in history tonight. The american won gold in the womens all round final at the World Championships in antwerp. Natalie pirks watched her in action. Its gold for simone biles the most decorated, the most venerated quite simply, the greatest. She takes the all around title. Simon biles soared into a class of her own and she did it with her trademark style and smile. Wherever the goat goes, fans go, too. For her parents, whod come to watch her make history again, it was a special moment. The way notjust the United States but the entire world looks up to her and the fact that she is such a role model for so many people, its humbling. The smallest figure but the biggest cheer. Biles is box office in belgium. Her vault got the party started. Huge britainsjessica gadirova had pulled out at the last minute as a precaution. Alice kinsella took her place. But at the halfway stage it was biles extending her lead. She was enjoying herself. But the reigning champion from brazil was not going down without a fight. Where others faltered, biles was focused. A medal of any colour here will make simone biles the most decorated gymnast of all time in the history of the sport, male or female. Shes going to leave it all out on the floor. But as the audience clapped along biles showed shes human after all. 0h she could afford a smirk it was still in the bag. What a fabulous routine her 21st world gold. Today, i felt a little bit more relaxed. I feel comfortable where im at with my gymnastics. I knew it was going to be a fun night, a good night, so i had a really good time tonight. There were times she thought she couldnt do this any more. The tears were perhaps realisation that she was back on top of the world. Natalie pirks, bbc news, antwerp. The race for space between jeff bezos and elon musk heated up this evening with bezos Amazon Company launching two rockets with satellites on board from Cape Canaveral in florida. The test flights are part of a battle between the two men to provide Satellite Networks in space that can improve internet communications. To the weather with ben, and astonishing contrasts across the country coming up. Yes, we dont often see contrasts quite as great as these, clive. I am going to talk about some warm weather in a moment but first i have to talk about some very wet weather. Some of us saw a lot of rain today, like north west england, but i think tomorrow it will be scotland which bears the brunt of the rain. There is a met Office Amber Warning in force across Central Scotland up into the southern highlands, and we could see in the very wettest places 180 millimetres of rain, but even if you dont see that much, there is likely to be enough for flooding and disruption and as you can see from the Radar Picture that rain is already falling and will continue to do so. Keep an eye on this rain band as we move through this forecast sequence, it is not going to move far. Furthersouth sequence, it is not going to move far. Further south tonight, very, very mild, 15 or 16, Northern Scotland on the chilly side. Tomorrow, our band of heavy rain just sits in place, of that, northern ireland, england and wales, a little bit murky for some western coasts but some spells of extremely warm sunshine for the time of year. It will not however be warm in scotland, 9 degrees in