to the death of a man — who died after being restrained by police in luton. and where there's a will there's a way... former royal marine mark ormrod, who lost his legs and arm in an ied attack in afghanistan, takes on and completes an extraordinary personal challenge. what do you think? are you confident dad can do it? 100%? more than 100%? one trillion zillion kazilion percent! in the last few minutes the metropolitan police have confirmed that a body found in kent woodland is that of sarah everard. it comes as the police watchdog investigates scotland yard's handling of an allegation of indecent exposure made against the officer suspected of murdering the 33 year old. it will consider if the metropolitan police �*responded appropriately�* to the alleged incident, which happened three days before ms everard was last seen in clapham, in south london. simonjones reports. the police investigation continues at pace. officers say they are determined to find answers for sarah everard's family, described as a wonderful daughter and sister. in a statement, her family say she was bright and beautiful, she broughtjoy to their lives. they thanked the police for all they're doing. but the met is now facing serious questions about how it has handled the investigation into one of its own officers. the police watchdog has been looking into five separate aspects of the case. among them, whether it responded appropriately to allegations that, three days before sarah disappeared, the suspect exposed himself in a fast—food restaurant. and how he got a serious head injury while in custody, which led to him being taken to hospital. doubt has now been thrown on a proposed vigil for sarah to be held on clapham common tomorrow. organisers say they have been told they could face heavy fines for breaking lockdown rules. they are going to court today to challenge that. yes, of course it should be allowed to go ahead, and i think it's appalling that they are having to go to court. they have had to crowdfund in order to be able to get the resources to do that. i have, this morning, sent a message to the home secretary saying please step in here, allow this vigil to go ahead. sarah everard was last seen on wednesday last week, on her way home from a friend's house in clapham in south london. almost a week later, on tuesday night, the met police officer was arrested in kent. police have been searching a house in deal and woodland near ashford. the met says it understands the public strength of feeling and is continuing discussions with the vigil�*s organisers. sarah's disappearance has highlighted the fear that many women feel while walking alone. the government say they are developing a new national strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. we do recognise this needs to be a focus. i think my reaction to all of the media coverage over the last few days, listening to the hundreds of stories, thousands of stories about women feeling unsafe, is that we do need to do more. more flowers are laid for sarah, expressing the shock and anger felt by the community here. simonjones, bbc news, ashford. well, let's hear that update from assistant commisioner of the metropolitan police nick ephgrave as he confirmed the body found in kent was that of sarah everard. as you know on wednesday evening detectives investigating the disappearance of sarah everard discovered a body secreted in woodland in kent. the body has now been recovered and a formal identification procedure has been undertaken. i can now confirm that it is the body of sarah everard. clearly, sarah's wrote family have been updated with this most distressing news and ijust want been updated with this most distressing news and i just want to pause for a moment and say that my thoughts and prayers and those of the entire organisation remain with them at this most awful time. specialist officers remain in constant contact with sarah's family and will continue to support them throughout the investigation and beyond. that investigation continues at pace and we have hundreds of officers working around the clock to establish the full circumstances of her disappearance and her murder. a man remains in custody in a london police station on suspicion of committing those crimes. i know that the public feel hurt and angry about what has happened. and those sentiments i share personally and i know my colleagues here at scotland yard and across the met share as well. i also recognise the wider concerns that have been raised quite rightly about women in public spaces, in london, and elsewhere in the country, and i want to say right now that this organisation and everyone in it remains committed to protecting londoners, where they are in this city. that commitment is undiminished by these events and if anything the commitment has strengthened by these tragic circumstances. thank you very much. that statement coming 20 minutes ago. simonjones is in ashford, kent. still so many questions around this case but the confirmation, the terrible confirmation for sarah's family, the news they will have been dreading. the family, the news they will have been dreadina. ~ . , dreading. the met police say they are determined _ dreading. the met police say they are determined to _ dreading. the met police say they are determined to provide - dreading. the met police say they| are determined to provide answers for sarah everard's family and one of the questions has now been answered. we know human remains were discovered at this woodland behind me on wednesday following a big search by police officers here and on wednesday evening the police said it would take them some time to formally identify those remains and now we have heard that the body has indeed been identified as sarah everard and the family has been kept constantly informed. we heard a sense that from the police of how they are feeling about it, their thoughts and prayers very much with the family. it is a difficult investigation for the metropolitan police because they are now of course questioning one of their own on suspicion of murder of sarah everard following the discovery of her body here. everard following the discovery of her body here-— her body here. further still, the allegations _ her body here. further still, the allegations of _ her body here. further still, the allegations of indecent - her body here. further still, the| allegations of indecent exposure against the officer suspected, and the met police also being investigated.— the met police also being investigated. the met police also being investiuated. , ., ., , investigated. yes, running alongside the murder investigation _ investigated. yes, running alongside the murder investigation is - investigated. yes, running alongside the murder investigation is also - the murder investigation is also going to be separate investigations from the police watchdog, the independent office for police conduct, and five issues have been raised with them, and one of those is how the police handled an allegation that the suspect they are questioning on suspicion of murder, indecently exposed himself in a restaurant in south london. they also going to be looking at how he came about to have head injuries once he was taken into custody. the met police say they were monitoring him at all times on cctv and he was quickly given first aid, taken to hospital, but he is now back in custody where he is still being questioned. they are also going to look at how they responded to the initial reports that sarah everard had gone missing and how also they responded to the arrest of one of their own officers, so a lot of lines of investigation here. for the officers on the ground here in ashford, the primary concern at the moment is to get answers as to what exactly happened, and we heard from the police there at scotland yard, they have got hundreds of officers working on this case. we have seen a lot of activity at this site in ashford today, a lot of vehicles coming and going, police divers, so the search is continuing here, as it is in other locations, such as the house believed to belong to the suspect in deal in kent and also a garage being searched in dover. a lot of activity today. but now for the family at least, it was not what they wanted to hear, they had hoped against hope that sarah would be found, and would be returned to them, but now confirmed in the last half an hour or so that the body here was that of sarah everard. simon, thanks forjoining us. the disappearance of sarah everard has prompted women across the uk to talk openly about the violence and harassment they have experienced on our streets. to discuss this further, i'm joined by harriet wistrich, director of the centre for women'sjustice. clearly we can't and we should not comment on this case because they are so only questions and answers to be had but it is absolutely right to say that it has prompted many to think about safety on our streets. that's right. the reason that there is such a huge outpouring of anger from women about the lack of safety is because we have a criminal justice system that is failing victims of violence against women very much and there are such low conviction rates especially for sexual offences and domestic violence. we know that although being abducted and being killed by a stranger is, if that is what happened in this case, is a rare event, but we also know that often women are attacked by men who are stalking them or who are former partners who attack them. this is a reflection of a much wider phenomenon which basically shows that all women, virtually all women, do have fear around being able to go about their day—to—day activities. i think every woman modifies her activity in public spaces and within the home in order to protect themselves.— the home in order to protect themselves. , ., ., ~' themselves. indeed so. iwould like to ick u- themselves. indeed so. iwould like to pick up on _ themselves. indeed so. iwould like to pick up on the — themselves. indeed so. iwould like to pick up on the issue _ themselves. indeed so. iwould like to pick up on the issue of _ to pick up on the issue of conviction rates and why that is, but could you set in the context for us at the statistics, the case is that you are referring to, in that regard, in terms of sexual offences and rape. we regard, in terms of sexual offences and ra e. ~ ., regard, in terms of sexual offences and rae. ~ . , ., regard, in terms of sexual offences and rae, . ., , ., . and rape. we have brought a challenge — and rape. we have brought a challenge against _ and rape. we have brought a challenge against the - and rape. we have brought a challenge against the crown | challenge against the crown prosecution service around the dramatically declining volume of rape cases that are prosecuted. such that last year of about 50 60,000 rapes recorded, only under 2000 were prosecuted. there is a very small number of cases that are actually going forward to prosecution and those figures are mirrored with many other sexual offences, so only those offences involving issues of consent —— certainly those offences involving issues of consent and where the victim knows the perpetrator. but the figures in the latest home office statistics for police outcomes was that only three point 2% of sexual offences are charged or summons and that is sexual offences across the board —— 3.2%. we know the most serious offending by many perpetrators, people likejohn worboys, they start with smaller quite often levels of offending and it escalates. so where there is a failure to intervene or prosecute in lower level offences, often these escalate, certainly also in domestic violence, the failure to protect and the failure to intervene where there are less seriously violent incidents, but nonetheless criminal, it enables perpetrators to become emboldened and increase the severity of their attacks. we become emboldened and increase the severity of their attacks.— severity of their attacks. we have an investigation _ severity of their attacks. we have an investigation again _ severity of their attacks. we have an investigation again and - severity of their attacks. we have an investigation again and i'm - an investigation again and i'm hesitant to go there but we have an investigation clearly in that regard investigation clearly in that regard in the case that we are discussing today. in the bigger picture, why are conviction rates still so low? something we come back to time and again but the spotlight is really on that now. ., again but the spotlight is really on that now. . ., , ., that now. there are a number of different reasons _ that now. there are a number of different reasons and _ that now. there are a number of different reasons and in - that now. there are a number of different reasons and in relation | that now. there are a number of. different reasons and in relation to the legal challenge which we are awaiting a judgment on, we believe that the crown prosecution service have taken a more risk averse approach recently and we presented a lot of evidence in the court of appeal around that issue. and that risk averse approach then filtered down to policing as well, so less cases were being sent for prosecution if they were felt to be difficult, and it is extremely concerning where you have a case where there is a lot of evidence that sexual violence has taken place. if you use the example of john worboys, a well—known case, he was able to attack well over 100 women before he was eventually apprehended. that was despite ten cases being reported before he was eventually apprehended. many women don't have confidence in the system and don't even report but when they do report often those cases are not prosecuted because there is an assessment that the evidence is not good enough to prosecute. we need to have a more robust and courageous approach to prosecution and we need to have more resource in and we need to have more resource in and we need to have more resource in and we need to have a greater understanding of the dynamics of violence. we also need a public education programme so that there is a greater understanding really of the way in which different forms of sexual violence and domestic violence are perpetrated and how they rely on victim blaming, misogynistic culture, to persist, and to have... we havejuries and culture, to persist, and to have... we have juries and we have people culture, to persist, and to have... we havejuries and we have people in all the criminaljustice organisations who unfortunately have imbibed a lot of those victim blaming and misogynistic attitudes around women's behaviour, unfortunately, so order that needs to be tackled at every level. harriet, thanks forjoining us. the former british cycling and team sky chief doctor, richard freeman, has been found guilty of ordering the banned drug testosterone in 2011, �*knowing or believing�* it was to help to dope a rider. a medical tribunal ruled freeman ordered the substance with the knowledge �*it was to be administered to an athlete to improve their athletic performance�*. the verdict will cast a shadow over a glorious period for british cycling, when riders from the uk dominated the sport. dan roan reports. for a decade, british cycling has enjoyed a period of unprecedented success, dominating on both the road and track. for much of that time, richard freeman was the sport�*s top doctor, but two years after his medical tribunal began, today he was found to have ordered a banned drug to help to dope a rider. the big question is, which rider was the testosterone ordered for? it�*s seriously damaging. i�*m not sure how british cycling and the sport can recover. the reputation of the sport in terms of management and governance is in tatters. the saga began in 2011 when freeman ordered 30 sachets of testogel to the sport�*s headquarters. six years later, having already left team sky, the medic resigned from british cycling. in 2019, he admitted to 18 general medical council charges, including initially lying to uk anti—doping, and last month he was charged by the agency with two anti—doping rule violations. freeman, who has been at the centre of a number of controversies in recent years, told the tribunal he ordered the testosterone to treat the erectile dysfunction of this man, former british cycling and team sky technical director shane sutton, who denied the claim. i got myself into an emotional state, because when you know that you're not lying and you are accused of lying, you get yourself worked up. pretty disappointed at the way i have been singled out and feel like i'm on trial. back in 2018, freeman told me he�*d clear his name. i can clear everything up, but at the moment i am under investigation about my medicines management policy by the general medical council, and therefore i am not at liberty at the present time, due to respect for them, not to talk about it. but no wrongdoing? no wrongdoing. but today he learned the tribunal panel had found against him. the controversy sparked by the delivery of a banned performance enhancing drug here to the national velodrome, known as the medal factory, almost a decade ago, has hung over british cycling for years. the fear will be that today�*s ruling does lasting damage to the reputation of one of the country�*s most successful and best—funded sports. two years ago, amid mounting scrutiny, team sky became team ineos in what was seen as a fresh start, but british cycling�*s bid to move on from the past has just become harder. exports of goods to the european union dropped by more than 40% injanuary. that�*s the largest monthly fall since records began. at the same time, the british economy shrank by 2.9%, largely because of covid restrictions. andy verity reports. this dorset—based seafood exporter now knows all too well how its business has changed since the end of the brexit transition, not less paperwork, but much more, long forms and new costs like paying for vet checks have made it much harder to compete. what we�*ve actually faced is that we are still here in march and we�*re still facing what we believe are challenges at the border. it still has an impact because if you face one delay at the border, that can actually have a knock—on effect for the rest of your trading week. the extra checks act as a non—tariff barrier to trade, one of the reasons why inside the eu we saw so little meat or poultry on supermarket shelves from the rest of the world. overall, export of goods to the eu dropped by 40.7%, the biggest fall on record. by far the hardest hit were exporters of food and live animals, with dairy down 50%, meat exports down 59%, and fish and shellfish exports down by 83%. the department of trade said the figures didn�*t reflect the overall trading relationship with the eu, blaming what it said was a unique combination of factors, including stockpiling ahead of the end of the transition period, covid lockdowns and businesses adjusting to the new regime. when you account for the fact that half of our trade is done with the eu, a 40% slump in exports, a 29% slump in imports is really worrying. i think what everyone will be hoping is that is a combination of teething problems, and also there was a lot of stockpiling, so companies were anticipating the transition, so they were using up that supply. the official forecast is that once the vaccination programme is done and restrictions are lifted, the wider economy will accelerate away, with 7% growth pencilled in for next year. but for now, lockdown mark three means some businesses, like the goodwood racetrack in sussex, still have big costs going out and no revenue coming in. after the economy was brought screeching to a halt by last spring�*s lockdown, it picked up speed in the summer and in t