and kindapped by a police officer. cctv images show the moment sarah was stopped by wayne couzens in south london. he will be sentenced tomorrow. still plenty of long queues for fuel but there are more signs that crisis is gradually easing across the uk. and celebrating the life and achievement of betty campbell, the first black headteacher in wales, with a statue in central cardiff. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, testing times and cheering as losses and's champions league winners chelsea take on italian giantsjuventus. good evening. after four consecutive defeats since the general election of 2010, labour was told today that it would never again ask for people's support without having a serious plan for government. that message was delivered by the party leader sir keir starmer in a conference speech widely seen as a significant moment in labour's quest to get back into government. sir keir set out new policies on education, housing and mental health but he also talked about his own background and values. he told the conference in brighton that the country faced a big moment that demanded leadership and he dismissed borisjohnson as a trickster and a trivial man. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg listened to the speech. a blast of fresh air? that's how keir starmer wants you to see him. labour's week's been bumpy. and he had to show today that he really is in charge, impatient for the chance. i've waited 17 months, 25 days and two hours to appear in front of you in this hall as leader of our great party. applause. choosing first to confront the party's crushing defeat at the election, of the project he was part of, too. to those labour voters who said their grandparents would turn in their graves, but they couldn't trust us with high office. to those who reluctantly chose the tories, i say these simple but powerful words — we will never, under my leadership, go into an election with a manifesto that is not a serious plan for government. applause. with his wife watching on, he explained how family has guided his beliefs. my dad was a toolmaker in a factory who worked on the shop floor all his life. he gave me a deep respect for the dignity of work. and when i tell you that good work and fair growth will be the priority for a labour government, i haven't learned this in some political seminar, i learned it around the kitchen table, from my dad. that is why i am so proud to lead a party whose name is labour! applause. but all week, there has been noise here, angst that keir starmer�*s abandoning jeremy corbyn�*s principles. heckles were hurled at him from the floor. i have no regrets! he had lines ready. shouting slogans or changing lives, conference? then, a new chant. go keir, go keir! he had the hall. he spoke for nearly 90 minutes — sustenance required. with plans for mental health, insulating homes, education and technology, and a real departure from the man who used to stand on that platform — promises on crime, praise for the military, talk of creating wealth and national pride. in this conference hall, we are patriots. and while he didn't say his name, there was a tribute to tony blair... education is so important, i'm tempted to say it three times. ..and... hospital waits, down... ..what labour did in power. that's levelling up! power is his purpose now. this is a big moment that demands leadership, leadership founded on the principles that have informed my life — work, care, equality, security. these are the tools of my trade, and with them, i will go to work. thank you, conference. he didn't mention jeremy corbyn by name. he didn't have to, because it's obvious in this hall, in brighton this week, the power of the left has drained away, giving him a new sense of confidence in a changing party and a bolder voice that labour has been desperate to hear. it was a great speech. it showed that he cares about work and he cares about family. absolutely smashed it. i mean, this is the keir starmer that we all know. you wanted to hear more? that's what i was calling for, that genuine alternative. - they were delighted. the vast majority of the crowd seemed pleased — relieved, maybe. doubts on the left, though, will linger. i didn't think that was his moment. i thought it was quite uninspiring. keir starmer leaves the stage not his party's darling, nor its hero, but perhaps having proven himself a leader — walking taller, with a conviction to win. the leader's team, more than content tonight. but the party's problems remain profound, and he can't know if the country is ready to embrace him yet. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, brighton. the labour leader has acknowledged the scale of the challenge faced by labour to get back to office at westminster for the first time since 2010. winning many marginal seats especially in the midlands and the north of england will be essential. dudley north in the west midlands which turned conservative in 2019 is one of those seats. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has been asking local voters for their response to keir starmer�*s message. once the heart of industrial britain, dudley north was a labour seat for years. i always said that labour was for the working class. i don't know about that now. but i'll still vote labour, anyway. but plenty here have turned away from the party. this brexit—backing town voted tory last time round. i've always been labour but we've turned to the conservatives. we like boris. that's what the labour leader is up against. what about keir starmer? no. keir starmer? know much about him? no, i don't. keir starmer did try to put his personality front and centre today, as these students from dudley college watched closely. he was very articulate when it came on to him as a person, however i'm still not as warm to him as i think i should be. he was saying a lot of good things, we just need to know how he's - going to push them through forward. i wanted to hear more _ about the mental health services. what about all the people who have been waiting. on the waiting lists for years? he was blaming the tories, without actually having an action plan of his own. and i found that quite hypocritical. and i would like to know how he's going to make these changes, how he's going to do all this. i wanted, "this is what i'm going to do, this is how i'm going to get it done." i think a lot of people are looking for that reassurance. yeah. there is a lack of trust here, in a community, like many, where people feel disconnected, that's exactly what labour needs to overcome. but this local butcher isn't convinced keir starmer is yet speaking the right language. i liked him at first, and i've become a little bit undecided. what would you want to hear from them? common sense. and the local barber? all they can do is - criticise everybody else. you get nowhere in life byjust l criticising and having no answer. at the book shop, though, there are higher expectations. he's a good man, he's forthright. i think there's room for a good, skilful, organised opposition party. i think there's a lot of opportunity here. the local labour party has spoken to hundreds of people, trying to work out why they turned away. what do you make of what you're hearing from the national labour party at the moment? are they saying the right things to win back places like dudley? well, it's a work in progress and i think what we have seen today, and over the course of this week, is some positives. what we've got to do is go out and regain the trust of the people that we wish to represent. that is labour's challenge, and it has to find a way back in places like this if it's to find a way back to power. alex forsyth, bbc news, dudley. the mother of sarah everard has told the old bailey she is tormented by the thought of what her daughter endured. sarah was 33 when she was abducted in south london by a serving metropolitan police officer who falsely arrested her before raping and strangling her and setting fire to her body. wayne couzens, who will be sentenced tomorrow, was in court as sarah's family described the depth of their pain and grief. our special correspondent lucy manning reports. "she was my precious little girl," said sarah everard's mother. "i can never talk to her, never hold her again. i am tormented at the thought of what she endured." that was at the hands of wayne couzens, in handcuffs when he was arrested at home, telling lie after lie. he'd already kidnapped, raped, murdered and burnt sarah. he's asked if he knows her. do you know sarah? i don't, no. 0k. do you know where sarah is? no. all right. i'm sat in handcuffs and... so you must have something to say that i know her. within minutes, he's pretending he's handed sarah over alive to an eastern european gang. they said, you've done good. they threatened to take my family away from me. as sarah walked from her friend's house, couzens was hunting for a victim. this, the moment of that deception. his car on the pavement, hazard lights on, he stops sarah. his arm outstretched, showing her his warrant card. using his handcuffs, he arrests her. he'd previously been on covid patrols, so knew what to say. witnesses see sarah with her arms behind her back, but they think it's an undercover police operation. it was kidnap. he used all the equipment and knowledge of being a police officer to do it. couzens sat in the dock, never lifting his head. sarah's family and friends listened to the devastating detail that is their daily reality. in the hours after kidnapping her, there was a mixture of the banal and the evil. after dumping sarah's body in woods in kent, he stops at costa coffee to get a hot chocolate. police think he's raped and murdered sarah by this time. the next day, he goes to buy a green can and fills it up with petrol. he returns to the woods and burns sarah's body in a fridge. later, it's dumped in water. that same day, he calls the family vet as if nothing has happened. yeah, i was wondering if i could book my dog in for the vet, so i can have a discussion about her issues, please. he goes back again to the woods for a family trip with his wife and children, just days after he'd left sarah's remains there. sarah's family remained so dignified as they told the court about sarah and about what they had lost. her father and sister asked couzens, who had his head bowed, to face them. couzens started shaking. mr everard told him, "sarah was handcuffed and unable to defend herself. "this preys on my mind all the time. "i can never forgive you for taking sarah away from us. "all my family want is sarah back. "you have broken our hearts." her mother, susan, said... her sister told couzens. .. couzens has still never explained what exactly happened that night. a police officer betraying his uniform, a family left with no answers and without sarah, and a woman who had her life, herfuture, taken. and lucy is with me now. just after that report, lucy, where you have outlined the horrifying detail of what happened, can we talk about the police, the metropolitan police, and really what this case presents them with in terms of questions. weill. with in terms of questions. well, the idea that _ with in terms of questions. well, the idea that a _ with in terms of questions. well, the idea that a police _ with in terms of questions. well, the idea that a police officer- with in terms of questions. well, the idea that a police officer can | the idea that a police officer can use his privileged position of trust to rape and murder someone isjust the most chilling of circumstances, and it does raise questions. could he have been stopped, could they have known about it? he was accused twice of indecent exposure, once in 2015 when he was in kent working for the civil nuclear constabulary, and againjust the civil nuclear constabulary, and again just three days before sarah disappeared exposed himself in a takeaway restaurant. was that investigation done properly quest mac were there delays? the police take the sort of flashing incidents seriously? and has the trust of women been eroded? will women be scared to trust police if they are stopped? when something this horrific happens on your watch, it has happened on cressida dick's watch, does she have to take some responsibility quest mac she was in court today listening to the family's strong and emotional statements, and the met said today it was sickened, angered and devastated by his crimes. couzens will be sentenced tomorrow, and the prosecution are saying he should never be released because of his behaviour, using his police background to kidnap and murder. lucy, many thanks once again. lucy manning, ourspecial lucy, many thanks once again. lucy manning, our special correspondent. let's turn to the latest on the fuel crisis. a reserve tanker fleet is now being deployed to boost fuel deliveries. they're being driven by civilians but ministers say soldiers will also be used in the coming days. the fuel industry says the situation at the pumps has started to improve and it was working with the government to maintain regular deliveries. there are still long queues in many areas, but the number of petrol stations running dry has halved since the weekend, as our business editor simonjack reports. it's a question on millions of workers' minds — how many miles do i have left in the tank? we've got 150 at the moment. that should see us through today. nurses lindsay and adele are heading out to see patients and can ill afford to stop to refuel. i'm not going to be able to stop now because we've got to get to this patient as soon as possible. and by the time they've seen their patients, it's too late. we have managed to go past fuel stations that have queues, so we know they've got fuel, but we've been unable to get in the queue and wait because time is critical for us. by the time we've made our visits and made those patients comfortable, those fuel stations, sadly, have been empty. the fuel industry and government insist the situation is slowly improving, but the business secretary today said the army would be on our streets soon. it takes a couple of days, sometimes a few days, to get troops on the ground. we've decided to do that and i think in the next couple of days people will see some soldiers driving the tanker fleet. clearly, there are still major problems about the availability of fuel but what about prices? as you can see here, they have been rising steadily since the beginning of the year and are now at an eight—year high. the effect of this crisis — comparatively small. the real reason they are rising is this. this is the global crude oil price and the bad news is that this recent spike is yet to be reflected in pump prices, so they are expected to go even higher even after this current crisis ends. if you add that to this horror show — this is the wholesale gas price which has bankrupted lots of energy companies, seen millions of people facing higher bills — and we have the makings of a proper cost of living crunch this winter. economists are worried that mounting costs for businesses and consumers threaten to choke off an economic recovery — an unpleasant combination known as stagflation. it's when you have stagnant or flat economic activity- and accelerating prices, _ and it's bad news because businesses are having to raise their costs i at the same time as households are actually unable to pay higher prices, so households— are seeing their incomes squeezed. it's essentially the i worst of both worlds. just this afternoon, three more energy companies went bust. igloo, enstroga and symbio's combined quarter of a million customers face higher bills from the new providers taking them on. the petrol crisis will inevitably end. the financial pressure on household incomes is arguablyjust starting. simon jack, bbc news. the government insists it will not be introducing visa schemes for those sectors facing staff shortages following the interventions to help the haulage and food industries. the answer according to ministers is for companies to improve their pay and conditions instead. retailers including next have warned that deliveries at christmas may be slower unless the rules are eased. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. picking, packing and dispatching our online shopping. these big warehouses now play a crucial role in the economy and there are labour shortages here, too. tens of thousands of workers are already needed for full—time roles. we have fewer workers than we used to have and some of that is down to brexit. so something like 15% of the hgv drivers we had a couple of years ago were eu nationals, but the proportion for forklift truck drivers was more like 34%. if anything, warehousing has been harder hit than driving by the exodus of people from our workforce. and now christmas is coming. next warned today that a lack of warehouse workers could impact deliveries. they and everyone else need an army of seasonal workers to meet demand and pay is quickly going up. we're seeing wages going up across the board, nearly all of our customers we have spoken to have said, if they want us to satisfy anything like their normal pre—christmas demand, they will need to be paying more. and this online juggernaut just upped the ante. here at amazon, they're about to start recruiting for 20,000 people, and for the first time, in some areas where there is the biggest battle for workers, they will be offering £1,000 signing on bonuses for these temps to make sure they get all their parcels out. experts reckon there is going to be even more parcels this christmas than last, and that could come at a cost. we're seeing carriers having to look at potentially adding surcharges, i in terms of delivery surcharges, to consumers in order to pay. for the staff that they need to have on their books for this christmas i to meet that peak demand. more people are needed than ever before in this fast—growing part of logistics. the government says it won't introduce visa schemes for any other sector facing staff shortages. but pressure is now on to deliver for christmas. and this time workers can choose which company they want to go to. emma simpson, bbc news. the latest on the pandemic. the uk's latest coronavirus figures show there were 36,722 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. on average, 35,204 new cases were reported per day in the last week. 150 deaths were reported in the latest 24—hour period. that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, 129 deaths were announced every day. as for vaccinations, 89.8% of people aged 16 or over have had theirfirstjab, while 82.5% are now double vaccinated. the legal battle by britney spears to end her father's guardianship the legal battle by britney spears to end herfather�*s guardianship is getting under way in los angeles. the us pop star has been seeking to dismiss her father from the role, and has called for him to be charged with "conservatorship abuse". 0ur correspondent sophie long is outside the court. that hearing is now under way, just over three months after we had that emotional testimony from britney spears, ending years of speculation about what she felt about the lack of control she had over her own life. she told the court she found her father intimidating at the kova —— they conservatorship abusive. both sides are applied to the court to have the current arrangement terminated. the hearing itself is likely to focus on britney spears' fatherjamie. there are several possible outcomes. thejudge fatherjamie. there are several possible outcomes. the judge could decide to have jamie spears removed, or to have the conservatorship and it completely. 0r she could deny both petitions and the situation could continue unchanged. this would have an enormous impact on the life of the star herself i could have further reaching implications. the people campaigning to have the conservatorship system overhaul they're watching this very carefully. they're watching this very carefully-— they're watching this very carefull. ., , ., ., carefully. sophie, many thanks for the latest outside _ carefully. sophie, many thanks for the latest outside the _ carefully. sophie, many thanks for the latest outside the court - carefully. sophie, many thanks for the latest outside the court there l the latest outside the court there in los angeles. in tonight's champions league football, chelsea, the holders, were in italy to playjuventus while manchester united were trying to revive their fortunes at home against spanish opponents. joe wilson was watching. old trafford, as ever, expects. history makes a club's reputation and the players. cristiano ronaldo's 178th champions league match — that's a record. he's good at records. but in brightest yellow, upstarts of spanish football, villarreal. challenging the elite is what they do. commentator: he's got room for the shot, - and that's a big save... manchester united were stretched often. if a team's permitted to create chances, they will eventually turn an opportunity into a goal. and with this, united were behind. now, those faces, many of them famous, needed reassurance that this was their united. cue from defence alex telles. great hit! and it's a great goal! that's what manchester united needed! seconds left in the match, one more chance for united — and how. and who? after everything he's done, don't dream that he's finished. cristiano ronaldo, your head—to—toe hero. to turin — immaculate striped turf and the famous home shirts to match. juventus are trying to rebuild their reputation right now. beating chelsea 1—0 certainly helped, and proof you can win without ronaldo. joe wilson, bbc news. the remarkable life of betty campell, the first black headteacher appointed in wales, has been celebrated with the unveiling of a statue in the centre of cardiff. her ambition from a young age had been to take charge of a school, but she was told that being black and working class would prevent her from achieving her goal. 0ur correspondent hywell griffith reports. two, one... go! history uncovered. betty campbell's life was in itself a lesson in how the power of education and determination can combine. as wales's first ever black head teacher, she worked in cardiff's deprived docklands, refusing to accept that race or gender should define a child's life. i went out to the headmistress and told her that i wanted to be a teacher. and she said, "oh, get the idea out of your head right away. "you'd have insurmountable problems. " and even at that tender age of 15, i knew that she meant if you're black, that's your lot. she was the first to make black history part of the curriculum. the community looked to her to lead. if nan said she was going to do something, she absolutely was going to do it. and i think that worked in her favour when it came just to kind ofjust trying to support the community. whether it was, i don't know, some additional resources or some additional funding. she absolutely went away and did it. incredibly, this is the first and only monument for a real—life woman in wales. for centuries, public spaces have been reserved for figures of white men. it's redressing the wrongs of the past, but it's also telling a new story, which is the story of a multicultural britain, multicultural wales, and a long history of wales that has been kind of, not suppressed, but kind of forgotten. betty campbell's statue is the first of five female figures being raised around wales. signs of a slow but monumental change. hywel griffith, bbc news, cardiff. that's it. now on bbc one it's time to get the news where you are. have a very good night. hello. wednesday ended on a dry and clean up for most of us, but the weather is already changing, and to thursday and into the weekend, we'll see spells of rain, it will be windy, some writer interludes. we will keep a lot of showery rain on and off through the day. best chance of any sunshine across northeast scotland and maybe for a time the far southeast of england. it is good to be a windy day, temperatures generally between 1a and a high of 18 degrees there across northwest england. further pulses of rain, so very heavy bursts of rain swinging in through the west in the early hours of friday, but will be a mild start to friday morning. and then as we head through friday and into the weekend, the weather is quite turbulent. heavy winds and temperatures between 12 and 17 degrees. this is bbc news, the headlines. it's a day of drama and diplomacy for president biden, who's working round the clock trying two massive builds are hanging in the balance. two massive builds are hanging in the balance. a massive infrastructure bill on thursday. america's top military chiefs are appearing for a second day of hearings on the us exit from afghanistan this time in the house of representatives. they're being pressed on earlier testimony that two top generals told president biden that two and a half thousand troops, should be left in afghanistan. japan's governing liberal democratic party has elected a new leader fumio kishida. he's set to become the country's prime minister within days. mr kishida won after a tight election within his party. and lava from an erupting volcano on spain's la palma has reached the atlantic ocean, raising fears of toxic gases being released and explosions. located alabama as reach the ocean raising fears of toxic gases being released.