good morning. it is a fairly cloudy start for money. some drizzle in the west, some heavier rain in scotland. that will push north eastwards through the day, with brighter skies in central and eastern areas. details later in the programme. good morning. it s thursday, 2nd february. british gas is facing an investigation after using debt collectors to break into the homes of vulnerable people and forcibly fit pre payment energy meters. the tactic which results in someone s heating being cut off if they don t have the cash to top up their meter is only supposed to be used in homes where there are no young children, pensioners or other vulnerable people. but an undercover reporter from the times newspaper found the meters were being fitted in homes which should be protected. aru na iyengar reports. hello? british gas, your gas supplier. we re here with a court warrant. can you please open the door? otherwise we will have to open it for you. this is the exciting bit. i love t
pressure and is preparing to send leopard 2 tanks to ukraine. and everything, everywhere all at once leads the oscar nominations, with 11 nods. we ll look at what else has made the cut. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it s newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. we start the show in new zealand, where chris hipkins has just been sworn in as the country s new prime minister after the shock resignation of jacinda ardern last week, who said she didn t have enough in the tank to continue in the job. prime minister hipkins was sworn in at government house in wellington, alongside carmel sepuloni, who becomes the country s first pasifika deputy prime minister. mr hipkins labour party will face a general election in october. for more on this, i m joined by stephen hoadley, associate professor of politics and international relations at the university of auckland. it s wonderful to get you on the programme. in the first instance, perhaps you could tell us mo
welcome to the programme. the bank of england has warned the uk is facing its longest recession since records began, as it raised interest rates, by the biggest rise in 30 years. the 0.75 percentage point rise the eighth consecutive hike takes uk rates to from 2.25 per cent to 3 percent, meaning higher mortgage bills for many homeowners. the bank of england s move matches the us central bank s rate hike on wednesday, taking us rates to 3.75 to 4.0%. here s the bank of england governor. these are big changes. they have a real impact on people s lives. so, why are we doing it, and why are we doing it now when so many people are struggling with higher energy and food prices and other bills? we are increasing bank rate because inflation is too high. it is the bank s job to bring it down. a rise in interest rates can have an influence on things like credit card repayments and mortgages but also the interest paid on your savings. but the governor says this is the only way to r