Tried to investigate. Hes been talking to the bbc� s amol rajan. Phillip, come on in. Good to see you. Thank you. Phillip schofield granted this interview because he wanted to say sorry, he wanted to show contrition and he wanted to correct some of what he sees as the false narratives in the Public Domain over the past week. Are you feeling 0k to do this . Are you feeling Strong Enough to do this interview . Yeah, i have to. Schofield described the enormous toll recent days have taken on him. It is relentless. It is day after day after day after day. If you do that. If you dont think that is going to have the most catastrophic effect on someone� s mind. Do you want me to die . Because thats where i am. I have lost everything. Schofield says he is extremely concerned for the welfare of the young man with whom he had an extramarital affair. There is an innocent person here who didnt do anything wrong. When did you first meet this young man in question . What were the circumstances . I was invited by a friend of mine to go to open a drama school and thats where the picture was taken. But whether it was immediately or some time after, he said, will you follow him on twitter because hes a fan . Isaid, yeah, sure, no problem, which i did. And he was, what, 15 at the time . Yeah. And this was over a decade ago . I follow 11,300 people. And in all the time ive been on twitter, there has never been any whiff of impropriety. And how often were you in touch with him . Hardly at all. And that was it for a while. And then he asked if he could visit the studios, Work Experience type of thing. I said, come down, have a look, for sure, which he did. How old was he when he first said to you, im interested in television . Was he 18 by that point . 19 then, i would think. 19 by then. When you look back now. If you were to look back at those messages now, is there any sense in which you were flirting with him . No. Then when you met him in person, was there a little moment of Sexual Attraction then even . Absolutely not. 0k. So, to be absolutely clear, how old was this young man when you first had any kind of Sexual Contact with him . 20. This is obviously the nub of it, and for the record and to put speculation to rest, let me ask you directly, did you have any kind of sexual relationship or sex with him when he was underage . No, god, no. I think that is. In my statement, it says, consensual relationship, fully legal. I mean, that was approved by both sides. No, no. He had been working at the show for a few months and wed become mates. We were mates. Around the studios, you hang out together and chat to each other, that sort of stuff. And then, in my Dressing Room one day, something happened. Which, obviously. I will regret forever, for him and for me. Mostly him. But that happened maybe four or five times over the next few months and. I know its. Unforgivable. But we werent boyfriends. We werent in a relationship. I was really in a mess with my own sexuality at the time and it just happened. How old was he at this stage . 20, 21. Who knew on the team . Nobody, to my knowledge. And did you ever tell Holly Willoughby . No, god, no. When did you last speak to Holly Willoughby . I whatsapped her on the day i put the statement up and i said to her, i know you cant reply, youre probably not allowed to, but please know that i am so desperately, desperately sorry. Did she reply . No. 0n the Central Question of whether or not he groomed this young man, schofield is emphatic in his denial. It was a totally innocent picture, a totally innocent twitter follow and then it was a completely innocent backwards and forwards over a period of time about a job, about careers. You do that, whats wrong with that . Whats wrong with talking to someone, no matter what age they are . Does that mean that if you are following anyone on twitter, you absolutely dont talk to anybody else or you dont give advice . Attention will now turn to the culture of this morning, and specifically whether or not itv bosses handled it appropriately. Dame carolyn mccall, the boss of itv, is due to be questioned by mps next week. Amol rajan, bbc news. 0ur arts and media correspondent David Sillito has the latest. Theres already been announced an external review of what itv knew, when did they know it and what do they do about it. Because, if you look at that interview and what Phillip Schofield has just said, this is a story that does begin with a visit to a school and ends with a sexual encounter in a Dressing Room in itv studios. Now, questions about what that timeline was, what actually happened, what did people know and what was investigated are very pertinent questions. The head of the Media Select Committee who is also going to be interviewing, Questioning Bosses of itv said, it does raise questions about safeguarding, questions about potential abuse of power. This is, after all, Phillip Schofield, one of the highest Profile Tv Presenters in the country. An older man, and a man with a great deal of power within an organisation and this is an issue which has been raised many times over the last ten years about people who may appear to be untouchable in organisations. What did the bosses know and what do they do about it . Itv says that the first rumours they were aware of were in late 2019. They investigated, both men were questioned and they said both denied it. Phillip schofield in the interview did say, look, i lied about it. And what could itv have done about it . He is not laying the blame there saying that they should have stepped in in certain points, but certainly questions, because there has certainly been a great deal of rumour and speculation about this and requirement now is some hard facts. In the longer interview he says there was a homophobic elements, but downplayed the power dynamic. It has been reported around stories about payoffs and nda. What were the answers eschenbach he said categorically no payoffs, no ndas, injunctions or super injunctions, categorically no. No ndas, injunctions or super but the question, of course, is would it be the same level of scrutiny and attention if it had been a 20 or 21 year old woman rather than a man and he said there is clearly, he feels, some element of homophobia in this. He said that explicitly. The question also arises, how was it that this person arrived in the workplace in the first place . Because he had a role in there being a Work Placement and this man getting a job in the first place. And it was, he says, just chit chat about careers, a few messages on twitter dms. But there will be some scrutiny about the journey from the school trip to what happened in the end. And if youve been affected by any of the issues raised in that interview with Phillip Schofield, there is a list of organisations which can provide help. Its at the bbc action line website, at bbc. Co. Uk actionline head there much more information. Staying in the uk, the latest development regarding material demanded by an inquiry into the governments handling of covid 19. Former Prime Minister borisjohnson has said he is giving unredacted whatsapp messages dating back to may 2021 directly to the covid inquiry, bypassing the government which has refused to hand them over. Yesterday, the Cabinet Office said it was seeking a Judicial Review of the demand for messages from the former pm and other officials to be handed over to the inquiry chair. Earlier i spoke to sonia sodha the 0beserver� s chief leader writer who told me more. Absolutely, there is this big Question Mark about what the government is going to hand over to the inquiry and what it isnt. 0n the one hand, we have the Cabinet Office saying it is going to launch a Judicial Review of the inquiry. Its own inquiry, it is resisting the call to share unredacted material, including whatsapp messages. 0n the other hand, you have borisjohnson who is no longer in government, saying he is perfectly happy to share his whatsapp messages with the inquiry. Hes already shared them with the Cabinet Office, he says. But also, we know these are only whatsapp messages pertaining to may 2021 because of a Security Issue with his phone before that point. And, of course, its the period before may 2021, is when the three lockdowns happened, which the inquiry will be so interested in. That is the period of the bulk of, of course, the covid pandemic. This other phone which is being referenced. In terms of taking a step back, the basic look of this, what is your assessment in terms of the governments position that there should be areas of privacy or the opponents that say it looks like a cover up . Well, i think that the government position is unsustainable. They are saying they are taking a Judicial Review, lots of lawyers predicts they are likely to lose thatJudicial Review and will end up having to hand over unredacted messages anyway. When you take a step back, as you say, the government set up this inquiry, they made it a statutory inquiry, an independent inquiry chaired by an extremely respected independentjudge, baroness hallett. It is in her right to ask for the material that she thinks she needs for the inquiry to draw its conclusions. The governments case is, theres lots of private material in these messages and it would be to compromise the privacy of ministers if we were to hand it all over. For me, that doesnt quite wash because you are handing it over to a judge, not making it public. The judge herself can look at the messages and decide what needs to be redacted and what is in the Public Interest for us to know. Im sure we can trust a very experienced seniorjudge to make those decisions. The fact of the matter is, if it is Whatsapp Communications on government phones, it is Government Business and i think this is where ministers are running into trouble. I think theres a tendency, these days, for politicians to use whatsapp quite casually. Whereas, if you are using whatsapp on government phones, it is. Or even personal phones to conduct Government Business, there is a Public Interest in seeing that material. Around the world and across the uk. This is bbc news. So to some other stories making news in the uk. A teenagerfrom essex, has been sentenced to a minimum of six years in prison, after pleading guilty to Planning Terror attacks. 19 year old matthew king admitted carrying out surveillance at police stations, railway stations, and an British Army Barracks in london. The rmt union says, it regrets the inconvenience caused by its latest round of strikes but it says, the dispute will continue until it has a fair pay deal. Many operators have a limited Service Today and theres another strike planned by Train Drivers in the aslef Union Planned for tomorrow. The government says its made fair and reasonable pay offers. A local safety group says, a Cheese Rolling Event puts a strain on Emergency Services. Hundreds of competitors chased a cheese down coopers hill near gloucester on monday. Some people suffered serious injuries during the annual event. The Tewkesbury Borough Safety Group says, Emergency Services will no longer staff the event, until organisers come up with a safety plan. Youre live with bbc news. Were going to turn now to some pictures which emerged after sevillas win over roma in the Europa League final on wednesday. After the match, roma manager Jose Mourinho was seen approaching the referee Anthony Taylor with a few choice words over certain decisions made during the match. Well, in the last hour, uefa which runs the Europa League has charged the roma manager following that exchange. The abuse didnt stop at the stadium, either. When taylor made his way through the airport, he and his family, were accosted by fans. The pgmol, thats the group which officiates all premier League Matches a League Taylor usually works in, said theyre appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse and have offered anthony and his family their full support. The Premier League has also supported the official saying its shocked and appalled by the abuse. It went on to describe taylor as one of their most experienced and accomplished match officials. Earlier i spoke to the former premier League Referee Keith Hackett and i asked him if he thinks eufa were right to open the enquiry a againstJose Mourinho. Absolutely. They had to act. When we look at the behaviour of the plays on the field, the occupants of the technical area, Anthony Taylor, a world class referee, issued 13 yellow cards. Our average in the Premier League is about three, three. 5, so it gives you some perspective. I think there is no question that what has got to happen now is a thorough investigation. I think uefa have got to look at their Security Issues around the referee getting to the airport and then onto the plane home. I think that has to be part of the review, but in the case ofJose Mourinho, i think this has to be a massive ban. This is not the first occasion, he is a serial offender and i hope uefa will treat it very seriously and give an appropriate suspension. I it very seriously and give an appropriate suspension. I will come back to jose appropriate suspension. I will come back to Jose Mourinho appropriate suspension. I will come back to Jose Mourinho in appropriate suspension. I will come back to Jose Mourinho in the appropriate suspension. I will come i back to Jose Mourinho in the moment, back toJose Mourinho in the moment, we are seeing pictures of his family going through the airport, some of the fans and the disturbances there. Going back to joe the fans and the disturbances there. Going back Tojoe Say Moreno himself, we are used to seeing staff pitch side, on the pitch between players and referees, managers and referees, but this to happen in a car park, that initial confrontation, how much of a crossing of the line is that . I think its a crossing of the line when a manager, even though he is disappointed, shows disrespect for a match official and this is what hes done. I believe that those threats he made, those comments that he made, actually cascaded, listened to by some of the fans and then created the problem at the airport. You know, for anthony and his family to actually endure that. A chair was thrown towards him this is totally unacceptable. Its unheard of, and i know that uefa will act. Unacceptable. Its unheardof, and i know that uefa will act. Know that uefa will act. Briefly, ou know that uefa will act. Briefly, you described know that uefa will act. Briefly, you described him know that uefa will act. Briefly, you described him as know that uefa will act. Briefly, you described him as a know that uefa will act. Briefly, you described him as a serial i you described him as a serial offender. 0ne remembers that story when he was banned for a Champions League match and brought into the Changing Room at half time in a laundry basket. There should, you think, be a really long ban to send out a message . I think, be a really long ban to send out a message . Think, be a really long ban to send out a message . I think ten matches would probably out a message . I think ten matches would probably be out a message . I think ten matches would probably be appropriate. Out a message . I think ten matches would probably be appropriate. A i out a message . I think ten matches. Would probably be appropriate. A ban in europe means more than a ban here, a Touchline Ban in england, in europe it means often you are not allowed to go to the ground. Let us see uefas reaction and how they deal with it. We will have more on that story a little later. Antony blinken americas top diplomat has described president putins invasion of ukraine as a strategic failure for russia. His comments came as the us Secretary Of State arrived in finland, months after it became natos newest member. Mr blinken also said the war had strengthened the very alliances russia had sought to weaken, both nato and the eu. Lets have a listen to some of what he had to say. Today what i want to do is set out this and the many other ways putins War Of Aggression against ukraine has been a strategic failure, greatly diminishing russias power, its interests and its influence for years to come. And ill also share our vision of the path to a just and lasting peace. When you look at president putins long strategic aims and objectives, there is no question, russia is significantly worse off today than it was before its full scale invasion of ukraine, militarily, economically, geopolitically. Jamie shea ,former Deputy Assistant secretary general for emerging Security Challenges at nato ,spoke to us earlier about secretary blinkens comments yes, that is certainly the case because not only has finland recentlyjoined nato but hopefully, now that the elections in turkey are over, sweden will be joining nato to very shortly. In time for natos next summit injuly. And, of course, one of the big topics will be when will ukraine become a member of nato too . Because the allies, since putins invasion last year, have reiterated on many occasions that natos door is open to ukraine and that ukraine will be a member of nato one day. Vilnius i think the whole Debate Injuly will be about whether that can take place immediately once the war is over or whether the west will have to provide some sort of bilateral Security Guarantees to ukraine while ukraine is waiting for the day it can join nato. We heard president Zelinsky Repeat that message only yesterday. The worry all the way through this war has been about different points that might escalate things. We had that argument about tanks, we are having it aboutjets, ukrainejoining nato, shouldnt theyjust get on with it and do it now . I think they are, more and more, in the sense that when we started out, the debate about whether to supply air Defence Systems took the best part of six months and then the debate about supplying tanks took the best part of two months. And now, we see within a matter of days, decisions being made to train ukrainian pilots onjets. The uk are supplying missiles and more and more advanced weaponry going into ukraine with a minimum of debate. I think whats happened is the nato allies have reached a conclusion of, look, there is always a risk of escalation but the worst risk is not giving ukraine enough western equipment to make its defences a Success Meaning that the war will go on for a long, long time and the west will have to keep this effort up, notjust for one year but year after year. Better to try to help ukrainians to achieve success this year rather than in two or three years. Aside from that particular worry, with the counteroffensive that everyone is waiting for, what other critical points do crimea, for example, if president zelinsky attempts to take back that given that everything russia has said about viewing that is their own territory now. What are the areas of worry . Certainly the nato allies, the western general, is still reluctant to see ukraine strike russian territory in a significant way. There is some tolerance for these low level attacks that have been going on over the last couple of weeks. The drones over moscow, the Sabotage Operations on fuel dumps and ammunition dumps and the like. As long as ukraine is not using those advanced western weapons like the missiles i referred to a moment ago, there is a sense that putin for a few months has been waging this all out attack on ukrainian cities. Kyiv has been attacked 17 times alone last month, killing many civilians, no pretence of attacking military targets. If ukraine are using Covert Operation strikes across the border, the west can turn a blind eye as long as the western weapons are not being used. Crimea is ukrainian sovereign territory, it was annexed by russia in 2014, nobody in the west has recognised that and to have a free and independent ukraine means that ukraine recovers crimea. Controls has begun his first overseas visit since his coronation visiting romania. He overseas visit since his coronation visiting romania. Overseas visit since his coronation visiting romania. He began his trip with a bilateral visiting romania. He began his trip with a bilateral meeting visiting romania. He began his trip with a bilateral meeting with visiting romania. He began his trip with a bilateral meeting with the i with a bilateral meeting with the remaining president in the capital bucharest. The king was a guest and the two men sat down for talks during the Cop 26 Summit In Glasgow in 2021. We are going to take a short break, when we are back in a moment we will have the latest on the blood test for cancer that is exciting scientists. Also, we will have the latest on those austrian prisoners who have been released from iran. That, and more, coming up in a moment or two. Hello there. The wind flow hasnt changed, but were seeing more sunshine across the uk today and thats because whilst the winds are still coming in off the north sea, its drier air thats heading our way from norway and the cloud has been much thinner and has been breaking up more widely. So plenty of sunshine around, feels warm in the sunshine as well. Its still a little cooler right on those North Sea Coasts because weve got that north easterly breeze. Its still quite breezy in the South East Of England as well. 0vernight, some of that cloud will come back in across some eastern areas of england, and well see some patchy cloud in the north of scotland. 0therwise, skies will be clear. Its going to be pretty chilly out there as well. Colder than it was last night in england and wales, 11 5 celsius, perhaps even lower than that in North East England and south east scotland. Therell be some cloud around from overnight first thing, itll burn off again and well see lengthy spells of sunshine, bit of Fairweather Cloud bubbling up over the high ground in scotland and across some southern parts of england as well. But a fine day, temperatures may be a little bit higher widely, up to 20 to 22 degrees. Again, cooler around some of those sorth sea coasts, but a pleasant day nonetheless. And sunshine far and wide, and its high uv levels as well. Weve still got High Pressure in charge right the way through the weekend. There it is centred to the north west of the uk. Theres a lot of cloud in that, and that cloud is going to run across Northern Scotland and then push back down across the north sea into some eastern areas of england overnight into sunday morning. So a bit more cloud around. It will retreat back to those North Sea Coasts, but it could stay cloudy in a few more places. Otherwise, a lot of sunshine around. Dry day as well. Warmest out towards the west. Temperatures reaching 23 or 2a degrees, but a lovely weekend for many parts of the country, and High Pressure isnt going anywhere really at all next week. Still got some blustery winds through the English Channel and the South East Of England. Otherwise, the winds will be light. This cloud that we start with across the midlands and eastern england, burning back to some of those North Sea Coasts. Sunshine developing across more of the country, and those temperatures climbing up to 23 or 2a degrees or so. So, this Weather Pattern is still with us and its not changing at all through next week. High pressure will be dominant, staying dry. There will be some areas of cloud around. West is going to be best in terms of sunshine and also the highest temperatures. This is bbc news, the headlines the former british tv star, Philip Schofield tells the bbc his career is over after admitting to lying about an affair with a younger colleague. What was unwise was the fact that it happened, and that was a very, very grave error. Now, it was consensual, but it was my fault. The Austrian Foreign Ministry Says two men have been released from jail in tehran. Excitement over a