the energy regulator ofgem has asked suppliers to pause the forced installation of prepaid metres. it follows revelations that a debt collection company working for british gas broke into the homes of vulnerable people to install the metres. prepayment metres require customers to pay for their energy in advance. it s more expensive than paying by direct debit, but are sometimes the only option for people who have struggled to pay and are in debt to a supplier. ben king has more. an undercover reporter from the times newspaper joined a team of debt collectors, entering the home of a single father with three young children. they count as vulnerable. but, these workers from arvato financial solutions, working for british gas, opened the door and installed a prepayment meter anyway. installing prepayment meters by force is legal, but it s meant to be a last resort, and should not be done to vulnerable households. if people cannot afford to top up the meters, they will be left wit
the contaminated blood scandal of the 19705 and 80s is hearing its final evidence. 30,000 people are thought to have been infected with hiv or hepatitis c. it s this life that i was living perfectly happily and then it went, everything went. it was cataclysmic. energy companies are asked by the regulator to suspend the forced installation of prepayment meters in households that are behind with their bills. the us believes this is a chinese surveillance balloon it s been spotted over several american states. beijing has appealed for calm following the sightings. and, trying to make football greener. how teams and fans will get together this weekend, to try to reduce the carbon footprint of the game. and coming up on the bbc news channel: can britain s davis cup team overcome the altitude in bogota, and special balls, to beat colombia this weekend? good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at 0ne. the partner of a woman who s now been missing in lancashire for a week, says
but his owners say the secret to his 20 long years is the calm, peaceful environment he lives in. time for a look at the weather. here s tomasz schafernaker. the weekend is not looking bad at all for most of us, we have some sunshine in the forecast. the main feature is it is going to be turning a little bit colder and also overnight frosts will return, and on top of that we will have some mist and fog but it won t happen until early into next week. at the moment it is relatively mild out there, you can see this wedge of mild air, warm air over us, can see this wedge of mild air, warm airover us, but can see this wedge of mild air, warm air over us, but the wind will change direction from sunday onwards and we will have a colder area of whether over us. but at the moment mild and often cloudy, some of the cloud is quite thick, producing a little bit of drizzle and light rain here and there, particularly in northern scotland and western coasts of the uk. glimmers of brightne
for motor neurone disease. campaigners say new research funding needs to be handed out quicker. i met imeta i met a family bakery in manchester finding out what the interest rate rise means for businesses and customers. manchester united to decide on the future of their player mason greenwood after charges of attempted rape and coercive behaviours against him are dropped. while some of you will see some light rain or drizzle through the day it will actually be a mild day when the sunshine comes out with a feel of spring in fact. don t get too used to use that, though. i will have the full forecast here on breakfast. it s friday, the 3rd of february. the family of a woman who s gone missing in lancashire has made an emotional plea for people to come forward with information. 45 year old nicola bulley disappeared a week ago, while walking her dog in st michael s on wyre. we can speak now to our reporter, dave guest, while walking her dog in st michael s on wyre. who joins us fr
for a summit on ukraine president zelensky says he believes his country deserves talks on joining the eu this year. deserted railway stations as train drivers in england stage their second walkout this week. australian tennis star nick kyrgios admits assaulting his ex girlfriend but avoids a criminal conviction we ll have the latest from canberra. # falling in our hearts # here again, hawai i # aloha, aloha # and could this song by the former sex pistols by the former sex pistolsrontmanjohn lydon written about his wife s alzheimer s be chosen to represent ireland at the eurovision song contest? it s very hard to be away from her. but i have to do this. i have to bring awareness to this problem. hello, and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. the us department of defence says it s tracking what s believed to be a chinese surveillance balloon that entered american airspace two days ago. the military considered shooting it down over the state of montan