it took more than 300 people to rescue him — we hear from the man trapped in a welsh cave for sa hours. kind of feeling that, you know, one second i was caving, the next minute the world went mad, and then it all went black. heating bills for thousands of families in rural areas are soaring because they rely on oil, which isn't covered by the energy price cap. and coming up on the bbc news channel: watford look set to appoint 74—year—old former crystal palace boss roy hodgson after the club sacked claudio ranieri yesterday. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the metropolitan police is investigating multiple events at downing street and across government, to see if breaches of covid restrictions took place. up until now the met has taken no action, and has been criticised by some because of that. the commisioner of britain's biggest force, cressida dick, confirmed this morning that her officers are now looking into potential rule—breaking as a result of information provided by civil servants, who are also compiling a report on what happened and when. that report won't now be published until the police have finished investigating. our political corresspondent, jonathan blake, has the latest. downing street has said the prime minister doesn't believe he has broken the law. reporter: m50 minister doesn't believe he has broken the law. reporter: also try to have a party _ broken the law. reporter: also try to have a party in — broken the law. reporter: also try to have a party in downing - broken the law. reporter: also try to have a party in downing street? i to have a party in downing street? was it right to have a birthday gathering? a base meeting in person this morning the rules have been relaxed amid new claims about a birthday celebration for boris johnson during lockdown. but birthday celebration for boris johnson during lockdown. but as they cathered, johnson during lockdown. but as they gathered. and — johnson during lockdown. but as they gathered, and already _ johnson during lockdown. but as they gathered, and already serious - gathered, and already serious situation for the government would take another dramatic turn. police said they would not investigate claims of parties and whitehall unless they government inquiry found evidence of criminality. llntiii unless they government inquiry found evidence of criminality.— evidence of criminality. until now. as a result — evidence of criminality. until now. as a result of— evidence of criminality. until now. as a result of the _ evidence of criminality. until now. as a result of the information - as a result of the information provided by the cabinet office inquiry team and secondly the assessment of my own officers, i can confirm that the met is now investigating a number of events that took place at downing street and whitehall in the last two years in relation to potential breaches of covid—i9 regulations. the covid-19 regulations. the commissioner _ covid-19 regulations. the commissioner did - covid-19 regulations. the commissioner did not - covid—19 regulations. the commissioner did not specify which events were under investigation but promised updates at significant points. as news broke, one minister came to borisjohnson�*s defence. the came to boris johnson's defence. the leadershi came to borisjohnson's defence. tue: leadership of came to borisjohnson's defence. tte: leadership of boris johnson this leadership of borisjohnson this country has had has been so brilliant, it has gotten through this incredibly difficult period and he got all the big decisions right. an event on the prime minister's birthday injune 2020 is the latest to come to light. downing street has admitted that staff gathered in the cabinet room, how many is disputed but some say up to 30 were there including interior designer, lulu lytle, leading the refurbishment of the number ten flat. we are told borisjohnson was therefore around ten minutes and was given a cake. social indoor gatherings were banned at that time. laura oakley�*s father died the previous week. to at that time. laura oakley's father died the previous week.— at that time. laura oakley's father died the previous week. to find out boris johnson _ died the previous week. to find out boris johnson is _ died the previous week. to find out boris johnson is having _ died the previous week. to find out boris johnson is having fun - died the previous week. to find out boris johnson is having fun with - died the previous week. to find out boris johnson is having fun with hisi borisjohnson is having fun with his pals in government has brought everything back about not being able to grieve appetite, we could only have ten people at the funeral, we were not allowed to a wake, when we thought we the getting over this, this comes up. thought we the getting over this, this comes unm— thought we the getting over this, this comes up. labour leapt under olice this comes up. labour leapt under police investigation _ this comes up. labour leapt under police investigation and _ this comes up. labour leapt under police investigation and asked - this comes up. labour leapt underl police investigation and asked what it would mean for the ongoing inquiry. it would mean for the ongoing inuui . ~ . . it would mean for the ongoing in.ui _ ~ ., ., , it would mean for the ongoing inuui .~ ., ., , ., inquiry. what a truly damning reflection _ inquiry. what a truly damning reflection on _ inquiry. what a truly damning reflection on our _ inquiry. what a truly damning reflection on our nationmy . inquiry. what a truly damning i reflection on our nationmy very highest — reflection on our nationmy very highest office. sol reflection on our nationmy very highest office. so i ask the minister, given this morning's announcement, when will the sue gray report— announcement, when will the sue gray report to _ announcement, when will the sue gray report to finally be published? the minister's report to finally be published? tte: minister's reply, events report to finally be published? tt2 minister's reply, events will have to take their course. she minister's reply, events will have to take their course.— minister's reply, events will have to take their course. she asks about details of the _ to take their course. she asks about details of the investigation, - to take their course. she asks about details of the investigation, there i details of the investigation, there are matters for the cabinet office and the police, not details of which i would be informed, i would not expect to be informed because the police have independent operational assessment of matters before them and they will conduct the matter as they see fit. and they will conduct the matter as they see fit-— they see fit. downing street said they see fit. downing street said the prime minister _ they see fit. downing street said the prime minister does - they see fit. downing street said the prime minister does not - they see fit. downing street said i the prime minister does not believe he has broken the law, opposition parties argue it should not have come to this. until this morning the metropolitan police had said it wouldn't normally investigate historic complaints about lockdown breaches, so what's changed? here's our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford. for months, whitehall has been gripped by arguments around alleged parties and breaches of coronavirus regulations in downing street and its garden. the metropolitan police had said nothing except it wasn't church with sue gray, who is leading the cabinet office investigation. but the head of the force cressida dick, speaking to the london assembly police and crime commissioner this morning, said while the met was generally reluctant to investigate breaches of regulations that took place three months ago, three factors might change that. the months ago, three factors might change that-— months ago, three factors might chance that. .,. ., , ., change that. the factors were and are there was _ change that. the factors were and are there was evidence _ change that. the factors were and are there was evidence that - change that. the factors were and are there was evidence that those i are there was evidence that those involved new order to known that what they were doing was an offence, where not investigate it would significantly undermine the law, and where there was little ambiguity around the absence of any reasonable defence. the around the absence of any reasonable defence. ~ ., , , ., , defence. the met has been heavily criticised for _ defence. the met has been heavily criticised for not _ defence. the met has been heavily criticised for not investigating - criticised for not investigating earlier that has waited for the cabinet office to gather evidence first and has now decided it should actively investigate some of the alleged parties. but what about the officers who work in downing street everyday? didn't they notice the events when they were happening? tt events when they were happening? tit sounds like there was a culture of lawbreaking parties rather than a single one—off events. we have heard reports of suitcases of drink clanking through security. surely some officers were concerned about what they were seen at the time? cressida dick would not comment on that today except to say that if it was relevant it would be included in the investigation. even two months into the first lockdown, police had still been actively patrolling public spaces, making sure nobody was mixing with people outside the household, so there remains a worry about double standards. there household, so there remains a worry about double standards.— about double standards. there is no ruestion, about double standards. there is no question. there _ about double standards. there is no question, there is _ about double standards. there is no question, there is a _ about double standards. there is no question, there is a huge _ about double standards. there is no question, there is a huge level- about double standards. there is no question, there is a huge level of. question, there is a huge level of public concern about this and know much about the met had said it looks like one law for them and another for another. like one law for them and another for another-— like one law for them and another for another. anyone found to have attended an _ for another. anyone found to have attended an illegal— for another. anyone found to have attended an illegal gathering - for another. anyone found to have attended an illegal gathering in i attended an illegal gathering in downing street during lockdown faces a fight. at the start of the pandemic they were £60, later rising to 110 is. —— to pandemic they were £60, later rising to 110 is. -- to £100. our political correspondent, chris mason, is in the houses of parliament. how much does this raise the stakes for the pm? it cranks up the stakes because of the involvement to the police and poses a question we do not know the answer to, frankly, what does it due to the momentum at westminster among the most important electorate in the country right now, conservative mps, who hold the fate of borisjohnson in the hands. there was a countdown this week towards the publication of sue gray's reports, the senior civil servant looking into these westminster shindigs during the pandemic. the expectation it was coming in hours or days but now we know there will be at least a partial delay. downing street saying this lunchtime that the element of sue gray's report that are the subject of police inquiry will be delayed but they hope the other elements could come sooner rather than later. the question of conservative mps is what do they do in the interim? does the prospect of this police investigation mean they feel duty—bound to act, there was a flurry of additional letters sent to a senior backbencher triggering a vote of confidence, or do they hold on to see what the police might find out, but could take lighting on time, orwhat out, but could take lighting on time, or what comes out partially from sue gray? is there a cranking up from sue gray? is there a cranking up or cranking of momentum? we do not know the answer that, the two directly answer your question, yes, it raises the stakes, it means these questions hovering over boris johnson continue to hover, and babel have a fulsome time.— have a fulsome time. thank you, chris mason. _ have a fulsome time. thank you, chris mason. -- _ have a fulsome time. thank you, chris mason. -- and _ have a fulsome time. thank you, chris mason. -- and they - have a fulsome time. thank you, chris mason. -- and they will. have a fulsome time. thank you, i chris mason. -- and they will hover for sometime. _ the kremlin has said it's greatly concerned by washington's decision to put thousands of us troops on alert because of fears of russian aggression against ukraine, accusing the united states of "whipping up tensions." it comes after the prime minister, president biden and other nato leaders met via video link to talk about how to stop russia invading ukraine. tension in the region has been building, with around 100,000 russian troops gathered near ukraine's borders. president putin has publicly stated his belief that russia and ukraine are one people. he claims one of his key concerns is the expansion of nato — that's the military alliance of european and north american countries. many nations in eastern europe became members after the break—up of the soviet union. the russian president's demand that ukraine will never be allowed tojoin nato has been rejected. our world affairs correspondent, caroline hawley reports. the might of the russian army on display and its ally belarus, ukraine's northern neighbour. joint military exercises are planned for next months as moscow also builds up troops on ukraine's eastern border. someone hundred thousand soldiers in all, image growing fears of the russian invasion, another war in europe. western leaders held a virtuous crisis talks last night. together with our allies we are standing up to russian aggression. the foreign secretary has just announced she will visit ukraine next week. t announced she will visit ukraine next week-— next week. i further military incursion — next week. i further military incursion by _ next week. i further military incursion by russia - next week. i further military incursion by russia into - next week. i further military - incursion by russia into ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake and come with a severe custard russia's economy, including coordinated sanctions. —— a severe cost to russia's economy. this coordinated sanctions. -- a severe cost to russia's economy.- cost to russia's economy. this is a danish frigate _ cost to russia's economy. this is a danish frigate on _ cost to russia's economy. this is a danish frigate on its _ cost to russia's economy. this is a danish frigate on its way _ cost to russia's economy. this is a danish frigate on its way to - danish frigate on its way to the baltic sea. joe biden says western leaders are unanimous about how to respond, he has placed 8500 american troops on alert to deploy a chilled notice to europe if they need to. the west also threatens an unprecedented range of sanctions of president putin indeed gives orders to engage. a, president putin indeed gives orders to enarae. �* president putin indeed gives orders toenarae. �* ., to engage. a sovereign and independent _ to engage. a sovereign and independent ukraine - to engage. a sovereign and independent ukraine is - to engage. a sovereign and independent ukraine is a i to engage. a sovereign and - independent ukraine is a direct affront to his ambitions to restore russia as a great power, but given the nature of his demands, given he has rejected the only reasonable compromise, it is hard for me to see how he can avoid having to follow through to some extent. in how he can avoid having to follow through to some extent.- through to some extent. in the ukrainian capital _ through to some extent. in the ukrainian capital kyiv _ through to some extent. in the ukrainian capital kyiv there - through to some extent. in the ukrainian capital kyiv there is l through to some extent. in the j ukrainian capital kyiv there is a wary, uncertain calm, some quietly calculating what they will do, how they will keep the family say fresher in baits. moscow insists it has no such plans and has accused the americans are whipping up tensions by touching troops on alert, but it has also made clear that diplomacy is not yet dead, leaving a glimmer of hope that a new conflict could still be averted. an investigation into the fire that destroyed glasgow school of art in 2018 has failed to find a cause. the scottish fire and rescue service spent more than three years investigating the blaze but said the damage was so bad that any possible evidence was lost. the fire broke out during a multi—million pound restoration of the world—renowned mackintosh building following another fire four years before. royal mail plans to cut around 700 managementjobs. the company says the move will deliver annual savings of around £40 million. a royal mail spokesperson says it's currently discussing the changes with trade unions representing its staff. the caver trapped in the brecon beacons in what became britain's longest cave rescue has been reunited with the volunteers that saved his life. george linnane broke his leg, jaw and ribs in a fall underground and was stuck there for sa hours before 300 caving volunteers from all over the uk worked together to rescue him. george is now training to join a rescue team, as hywel griffith reports. did you think that you might not survive? honestly? yes, at times. i sort of flipped between two states. there was the, "i'm going to fight this thing and i'm going to survive" state, which then became, "i really don't care, and i wish you'd stop talking to me." back in november, george found himself at the centre of britain's longest ever cave rescue. he'd been here in the brecon beacons dozens of times. but on that day, deep underground, his life changed in a split second. the first thing i knew about it was this... ..instantaneous feeling of legs whirling around in mid—air and arms grabbing for something and just this kind of feeling that, you know, one second i was caving, the next minute the world went mad. and then it all went black. and then two minutes later, i kind of woke up in a very different state to... to when i'd started. his friend went to raise the alarm. george had broken his leg, his jaw, several ribs and was bleeding. after three hours, the first rescuers arrived. i remember hearing the voices in the distance and realising that this time they weren't in my head. they were actually real people that were coming. i remember those first aiders turning up. i've basically lost somewhere between 12 and 18 hours, probably towards the 18 hour end. so there's bits of rescue that i don't remember. are you all right? how are you doing? nice to see you. i know who you are! to help george piece together what happened, we reunited him with some of the 300 volunteers from around britain who stopped what they were doing to answer the call. it's in human nature, isn't it? and, erm, we've all been in those remote situations, and we know that if something happened to us, our colleagues would come and get us. and part of that is to do the reverse and do whatever is necessary, and everybody brought their a—game. so we've got rope set up 30 metres. despite his injuries, george says he will return to caving. and to show his gratitude, he's training tojoin the team who rescued him. for 300 people to come to my aid from across the country, all come together to achieve one thing as a team, and the single bloody mindedness of it as well, you know? there's no way they were going to leave you? there's no way they were going to let anything other than a good outcome happen, you know? i take my hat off to them. george linnane ending that report there from hywel griffith. the time is 13:17. our top story this lunchtime: the metropolitan police say they will now investigate multiple events that took place in downing street and whitehall during lockdown. and still to come the floor of the world—famous blackpool tower ballroom springs back to life, after a £1 million upgrade. coming up on the bbc news channel: cruising into the semi—finals. ash barty, the women's number one, makes light work of her opponent at the australian open, as she looks to become a home grand slam champion in melbourne. it's 73 miles long, runs from tyneside to the solway firth, and this year marks the 1,900th anniversary of the building of hadrian's wall. it marks the northern boundary of the roman empire and is one of the most important historical sites in the country, but archaeologists now say that climate change is threatening the survival of some of the extraordinary treasures buried there. here's our climate editor, justin rowlatt. for the romans, this was the end of civilisation. at 73 miles long, hadrian's wall is the greatest roman structure in britain. it's reckoned it took 15,000 men six years to build, and the sites around the wall have been the source of some of the most incredible roman artifacts everfound in britain. the waterlogged peat soils here mean organic materials, like this child's shoe, don't rot. they've found boxing gloves, some of the oldest handwritten messages in the world, even a roman toilet seat. but now, climate change is threatening the ancient objects preserved along the wall. so, what we've got here is a field where it should be very, very wet, but what's happening is it's drying out throughout the year and the land is dropping. this is magna, one of the biggest roman forts. the site has never been dug, and archaeologists are now worried because the treasures buried here could begin to rot away. pretty much everything that they used on this site for 300 or 400 years has the potential to be preserved in more or less the same state it was thrown away in, under the ground where we're standing, which is an incredible opportunity. just think of the range of stuff that we could be standing on right now, and what kind of story that can tell us about life here almost 2,000 years ago. they've dug boreholes to monitor what's happening, and at teesside university, they're analysing soil samples. specifically, we're looking at moisture levels, total carbon, total nitrogen, the chemistry and microbiology changes that go on with the drying out of that peat area. and what if it is continuing to dry out, what does that mean for the archaeological remains? they will disappear. we will lose our heritage. and it isn'tjust roman remains at risk. there are reckoned to be more than 22,000 archaeological sites in uk peatlands. peatland represents such a small l part of the ecology of britain, l but the story that they can tell is massive, and it has such- a big implication for not. just our personal history, but also our climatic history. and our environmental history, and we need to protect them. who knows what else will be lost, unless these sites are preserved? justin rowlatt, bbc news, hadrian's wall. taylor swift has criticised the lead singer of blur and the gorillaz, after he claimed in an interview that she didn't write her own songs. on twitter, swift posted a message to damon albarn saying, "i was such a big fan of yours until i saw this. i write all my own songs. your hot take is completely false and so damaging." albarn has apologised. three children and two adults have been taken to hospital after a double—decker bus hit a shop in north—east london. police said it happened at around 20 past 8 this morning. labour mayor of london sadiq khan said his thoughts were with those affected by the "terrible incident". thousands of families are being hit by rising energy bills, despite the price cap being in place. around a third of households in some rural areas rely on oil because they're not connected to mains gas. the price cap does not cover oil, and with domestic oil prices rising by 50% in the last year, some are now struggling to pay their bills. our correspondent sarah dickins reports from ceredigion, in west wales. these homes are hardly old stone cottages, they're relatively modern, but like so many others in rural communities, they're not connected to the mains gas and are dependent on oilfor their heating and hot water. one in three homes in this county have oil heating, and most of rural wales is the same. this is the oil tank. i keep it, at the minute, it's about here. to fill it up to here is about £1,000. sarah bate is widowed, lives with her teenage daughter and is looking for work. with £220 a fortnight for the two of them, filling the oil tank is impossible. she buys in smaller quantities, but that's more expensive. i have it on if it's freezing. if it's not freezing, we don't have it on. i don't have too many luxuries, to be honest, you know, to be fair. everything's gone a bit more basic. basic food, basic washing, basic... i need new shoes, but they're going to have to wait! i could get rid of my car, but then, you see, i'm looking for work, and round here, if you're looking for work, you need a car because we don't have a bus service any more. oil tanks dominate the gardens here and concern is widespread about how to pay the bills. all these prices are just creeping up and up and up, and it's putting so much pressure on people. people having to make the choice as to whether they heat or eat. it would be wrong to suggest that the regulator's price cap doesn't help families' bills, it clearly does, but come to a community like this — and many others across wales — and we're reminded of a time when houses were built fuelled by coal, and then oil, because they were cheap. they certainly aren't now, and prices are expected to go further. and household bills would continue to be under pressure. the experience in wales is repeated across rural england too, with communities in cumbria, norfolk, suffolk, amongst others, seeing around one in four homes dependent on oil heating. those households on oil for heating still have their electricity bills protected by the regulator's price cap, and the uk government says they can be eligible for warm home discount of £140 a year. also, that there are winter fuel and cold weather payments for vulnerable and low—income households. in wales, the welsh government offers an additional £100 winter fuel supplement for people on certain benefits, and oil customers like sarah can apply for £250 a year towards their fuel bills from the discretionary assistance fund. the fact that they're saying it's going to go up again worries me more because i do think, well, what will we do then, you know? am i going to have longer and longer periods without heat? but the price rises are a result of global changes and are expected to rise further. sarah dickins, bbc news, ceredigion. at least eight people have been killed and 38 injured in a crush outside an africa cup of nations match in cameroon. witnesses described chaotic scenes outside the stadium in the capital, yaounde, as thousands of football fans struggled to get in. let's speak to our correspondent nick cavell, who's there now. why did this happen, nick? because behind me here, this is one of only about three gates along here that actually was open yesterday evening for the match between cameroon and comoros. there were other gates around the stadium, but these were the only ones open and everybody was trying to get through. people also having to go through covid tests in front of us, creating a bottleneck, it was getting closer to the match between the host to get into that stadium, there was a lot of noise early on. it was only meant to be 80% full and 60% capacity. i was inside during the game and it was a lot fuller than 80% so a lot of people trying to get in here and, unfortunately, that led to the crash that happened here yesterday evening. and in the last few minutes, the head of the confederation of african football has been passed here looking at the scene of the accidents, he has also just made an announcement in another part of town in yaounde that there will be a minute's silence before the games and that the match that was due to take place here on sunday has now been moved across town to yaounde, to another stadium in town a lot older and a lot less new than this one. so that will be happening on sunday. this one. so that will be happening on sunda . . ~ this one. so that will be happening on sunda . ., ,, , this one. so that will be happening on sunda . ., ,, i. , . a committee of mps investigating racism in cricket have been hearing from representatives from the top of the sport this morning. during the session, the chairman of middlesex county cricket club made comments about diversity which have angered some. our sports correspondent joe wilson was listening. what did he say? this was part of the government has my ongoing attempt to hold cricket to account in the wake of azeem rafiq's revelations and testimony. as part of the professional proceedings, county cricket what is to give their accounts really of the diversity, or lack of it within their clubs. and during that session, the chair of middlesex county cricket club, based in central london, said this. the football and rugby world becomes much more attractive to the afro—caribbean community. and in terms of the south asian community, there is a moment where we're finding that they do not want, necessarily, to commit the same time that is necessary to go to the next step because they prefer — i'm not always saying they do it, they sometimes prefer — to go into other educational fields and then cricket becomes secondary. so that is mike o'farrell, realities or cliches, victoria? two pieces of reaction. ebony brent, former england cricketer who chairs ace, about bringing people in london back to critics, she said, those outdated views on the game are exactly why we are in this position. unfortunately, the decision—makers hold onto these myths. i, that young black people like football, asian community only interested in education. meanwhile, to check my quote says, this has confirmed what an endemic problem the game has, i actually can't believe what i'm listening to on social media.— believe what i'm listening to on social media. hashtag, give me strenuth. social media. hashtag, give me strength. thank _ social media. hashtag, give me strength. thank you _ social media. hashtag, give me strength. thank you very - social media. hashtag, give me| strength. thank you very much, social media. hashtag, give me - strength. thank you very much, joe wilson reporting. the floor of blackpool tower's world—famous ballroom hasjust had a £1 million upgrade. experts have broken down more than 100 layers of lacquer, before sanding and resealing its floor. our entertainment correspondent, colin paterson, reports. what lord's is to cricket and st andrews is to golf, blackpool tower is to ballroom dancing, and it's had a makeover. this always was the floor, in terms of ballroom dancing, but now they've resurfaced it, it really is a floor. for the first time in more than 30 years, the ballroom was specifically shut, to allow all 30,602 individual blocks in the dance floor to be stripped back to their original state. oak, mahogany and walnut. yeah, it was a mess. it was over 100 coats of seal on the floor that we had to take off before we got back to the original wood, to even start to make it look like this, so... 100 layers of varnish? yeah, yeah. yeah, there's more than we've ever had to take off before. the ballroom opened in 1894, and all that dancing over the years had taken its toll. now, what i've learnt is that this used to be the area to avoid on the dance floor because there was a big dip. no more — after the restoration, it's smooth. it's been obviously in need of doing for a long time because there have| been terrible bits on the floor. you're dancing and, suddenly, you'd hit a sticky bit and it- just stops you abruptly. and then, some of the places, it's very, very slippy, - so then you slide along and you tend to fall. i but now, there's no sticky bits. we've been coming for 37 years, and we've never... we never realised what the pattern was on this floor. what's changed ? now, you just glide even better. it's absolutely magic. yeah _ it's wonderful. and the newly—polished floor should have the chance to shine on strictly come dancing. blackpool, give us your best hello. for the last two years, covid meant blackpool week didn't happen. now an american smooth could be really smooth. the largest sprung dance floor in europe back to its bouncing best. colin paterson, bbc news, blackpool. time for a look at the weather — here's nick miller. judging by our recent winter weather, this is clearly not a picture from the uk and the clue is what this person is taking a photograph of. it is the acropolis in athens. yes, it is greece, with so much snow yesterday. the top