assault are being failed by a collapse in prosecutions in the uk, according to a group of british mps demanding reforms. —— a collapse in prosecutions in england and wales. new figures show that wage growth failed to keep up with the rising cost of living between december and february in the uk. and johnny depp�*s legal battle with former wife amber heard begins in the united states over allegations made by the actress about domestic abuse. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the uk has warned that fighting is likely to intensify in eastern ukraine over the next two or three weeks, with russian attacks staying focused on donetsk and luhansk. it comes as the british government has said it's investigating reports that chemical weapons were used against ukrainian fighters. let's take a look at some of the detail. there have been claims by ukraine's azov regiment defending mariupol that russian troops "used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against ukrainian forces and civilians" in the besieged southern port city. the us and uk have said they are investigating the reports, which have been denied by pro—russian separatist forces. in march, the us presidentjoe biden said nato "would respond" if russia used chemical weapons in ukraine, and said "the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use". as more russian forces head to the east of the country for a major new offensive, atrocities including the killing of civilians and the rape of women and children are being uncovered in the villages and towns close to the capital in the north that they used to control. mark lobel reports. a playground turned battleground in ukraine's east, where pro—russian troops claim to be liberating ukrainians held hostage. ukraine says russian tanks have begun advancing towards the eastern donbas region for a renewed offensive. as battle rages in the besieged city of mariupol, ukraine's azov regiment say russian drones have dropped chemicals causing breathing problems and vertigo—like symptoms after a pro—russian military spokesman threatened smoking out ukrainian defenders of a major steel plant there. translation: today, the occupiers issued a new statement _ which testifies to their preparation for a new stage of terror against ukraine and our defenders. one of the mouthpieces of the occupiers stated that they could use chemical weapons against the defenders of mariupol. we take this as seriously as possible. i want to remind the world's leaders that the possible use of chemical weapons by the russian military has already been discussed. as britain's foreign secretary seeks to verify the claims, she says putin would be held to account for any callous escalation of this conflict. we are working urgently to understand whether or not chemical weapons have been used. and if they have, as the foreign secretary has said, the people responsible will be held to account. the use of chemical weapons is abhorrent, it does cross a line and all options are on the table for how we would respond. as the war approaches its eighth week, ukraine's deputy prime minister claims more than 500 female ukrainian civilians are in russian prisons. translation: they shave their heads. they check them every day, forcing them to undress and get naked. they humiliate their human dignity. i know facts of rape, i saw spines that had been beaten. so we have to act. we have to be strong and durable. we need to understand that the absolute evil is working against us. it's the evil that feeds on weakness. a mother's reaction as her son's body is recovered in front of her eyes close to kiev. explosion. hundreds more small explosive devices are being discovered in residential areas such as here in kharkiv, landing as people sleep. in this relentless war, where the fighting never stops. mark lobel bbc news. jamie shea is a former nato official and now professor of strategy and security at the university of exeter. thank you forjoining us. i wonder if i could start with your thoughts on the allegations that chemical weapons may have been used in ukraine? ., ., ., ~ ,. ukraine? good morning and thank you for havin: ukraine? good morning and thank you for having me — ukraine? good morning and thank you for having me on _ ukraine? good morning and thank you for having me on the _ ukraine? good morning and thank you for having me on the programme. - ukraine? good morning and thank you| for having me on the programme. this is nerve—racking and very worrying because it would represent yet another red line that president putin will have crossed in his complete disregard for all international norms and standards since invading ukraine, particularly coming on the back of these stories you are covering yesterday regarding rape as a weapon of subjugation. they're all kinds of chemical agents, not all clusters chemical weapons, clearly we want to establish the facts, as will nato, before going forward. as you asked me to speculate a little on the reasons, in the last few days we had seen a new commander—in—chief of the russian forces, general alexander dvornikov, being appointed. he was in syria and notoriously he was working with the assad regime who it has been proven used chemical weapons in syria, it could be peter's desperation to break the resistance in mariupol before the may the 9th military parade in moscow. if he can seize mariupol he can claim the success of his linking the donbas region to the crimea. so it seems like putinism preparing to rape and use even more brutal tactics, but we might need to get the facts —— so a could seem like putinism preparing to up the ante and use even more brutal tactics. things are highly nuanced, a riot may use a form of gas to dispel crowds, but when we talk about a conflict area and collecting the facts for nerve agents such as chlorine, siren, whatever might have been used, how would you collect the evidence and how long does it last for in terms of accessing the area? —— chlorine, sarin. for in terms of accessing the area? -- chlorine, sarin._ for in terms of accessing the area? -- chlorine, sarin. chemicalweapons can dissipate — -- chlorine, sarin. chemicalweapons can dissipate quickly _ -- chlorine, sarin. chemicalweapons can dissipate quickly into _ -- chlorine, sarin. chemicalweapons can dissipate quickly into the - can dissipate quickly into the atmosphere so you need to get your team is it quickly. ukrainians still control part of mariupol so one question as to what extent the ukrainians themselves have the expertise. the nato countries have been supplying them with protective equipment, decontamination equipment and forensic equipment so they will have an autonomous capability but it will also be activating the organisation for the prevention of chemical weapons in the hague, under the un chemical weapons treaty which really has the international standard for conducting these investigations, like in syria, and presenting the facts. so it is gathering the evidence very quickly. if people have been injured they will be in hospital and medical treatment can be useful, as in syria, in ascertaining the use of chemical weapons. the idea of keeping the opcw in the loop is it helps to continue much to build credibility, not propaganda but facts, but also the overall support of the un general assembly, the international community, which has been very instrumental so far in isolating putin regime. in been very instrumental so far in isolating putin regime.- been very instrumental so far in isolating putin regime. in terms of turnin: isolating putin regime. in terms of turning around _ isolating putin regime. in terms of turning around the _ isolating putin regime. in terms of turning around the fact-finding, i isolating putin regime. in terms of turning around the fact-finding, it| turning around the fact—finding, it sounds like that could be fairly quick. again, the uk armed forces minister said people will be held to account. if example we are taking minister said people will be held to account. i of (ample we are taking minister said people will be held to account. i of the ple we are taking minister said people will be held to account. i of the fact ve are taking minister said people will be held to account. i of the fact russia aking minister said people will be held to account. i of the fact russia is ing minister said people will be held to account. i of the fact russia is part the opcw of the fact russia is part of that un mechanism, how do we can bring president putin to have his day in block the opcw going into a going into a useful; into certainly that is a useful also, as i certainly that is a useful the also, as i certainly that is a useful the us a, as i certainly that is a useful the us nato i certainly that is a useful large he us natoi certainly that is a useful large he us n�* of i certainly that is a useful large he us n�* of expert certainly that is a useful large he us to )f expert certainly that is a useful large he us to putlpert certainly that is a useful large he us to put them the surface of the ukrainians immediately to dossier evidence. the war crimes dossier against �* power shelling of �*po with shelling of �*po with humanitarian; of �*po with humanitarian relief and with humanitarian relief and no1 humanitarian relief and no chemical arian relief and no chemical weapons. f and no chemical weapons. we efforts and no chemical weapons. we need to see the chain of command being used to deliver these chemical agents and who has taken those decisions, but this will be just one more big element in adjusting of war crimes investigations that no doubt await putin and many other representatives of the regime sooner or later. it takes time that establishing the facts is critical for any ultimately successful prosecution. i for any ultimately successful prosecution.— for any ultimately successful prosecution. i suspect lots of governments _ prosecution. i suspect lots of governments in _ prosecution. i suspect lots of governments in nato - prosecution. i suspect lots of governments in nato are - prosecution. i suspect lots of i governments in nato are going through the possible iterations of the findings, so if evidence is found joe biden said nato would respond in kind, james heappey again has said if the red line has been crossed, all options are on the table. what options does nato and the western allies have in taking action against russia? what the western allies have in taking action against russia?— the western allies have in taking action against russia? what we know as the us and — action against russia? what we know as the us and the _ action against russia? what we know as the us and the uk _ action against russia? what we know as the us and the uk have _ as the us and the uk have anticipated for some time that russia may choose chemical weapons, you have reported this on the bbc several times that they have explicitly warned russia not to do this. in nato countries between the uk ambiguous i have been teams of defence specialists meeting two, if you like, stop preparing options —— in nato countries between the uk and the us there have been teams. i am not privy to those discussions so i do not know what package of options will be decided on, but more weaponry has been going to ukraine in the last few days, heavier, longer range and more sophisticated weapons. more training could be part of the package. we have looked at the war crimes suspect, we can look at further economic sanctions. more help to the ukrainians with protective and decontamination equipment which i mentioned too. there might be options to interfere with the russian chain of command when it comes to their ability to carry out these attacks in the future through cover or other measures. i don't know ultimately what will be decided, all i can say is that as nato countries have said they will make a forceful response, they will make a forceful response, they had to make that. to my mind it would be a calamity to repeat what happens with the obama administration in syria a few years back when i forceful response was promised eight assad used chemical weapons, he did so and that response was not delivered, that such as back several years, full response has been promised but i don't know what it will be yet. in been promised but i don't know what it will be yet-— it will be yet. in the last hour i asked a guest, _ it will be yet. in the last hour i asked a guest, comparing - it will be yet. in the last hour i | asked a guest, comparing what it will be yet. in the last hour i - asked a guest, comparing what we see now and the possible reaction that could be taken to what was done in syria when chemical weapons were time to have been used, and some of the western allies actually launched cruise missiles targeting the sites where, for example, planes were taking off that were carrying the chemicals or where they were stored, i'm talking about france, the uk, the us. can you see that happening again? i the us. can you see that happening auain? .., the us. can you see that happening auain? , ., again? i can see in the case of another assad, _ again? i can see in the case of another assad, colonel - again? i can see in the case of| another assad, colonel gaddafi again? i can see in the case of- another assad, colonel gaddafi or a milosevic, but we have all known russia is a nuclear power, a major power, with nature armed forces, so it is in a different category. i'm not saying they're a lot military options which could be on the table, i have mentioned covert operations and so on. i'm sure when the allies say all options on the table they have been looking up the full panoply of what can be done and i imagine a response which contain a variety of different things like ratcheting up economic sanctions or weapons to ukraine. so i don't know is the answer of what exactly that would be, buti is the answer of what exactly that would be, but i know everybody recognises that the failure to respond in syria a few years back such as back in being a signal to dictators that they could break international law with impunity, so having separable be a forceful response, there has to be. we shall see what happens, _ response, there has to be. we shall see what happens, thank— response, there has to be. we shall see what happens, thank you - response, there has to be. we shall see what happens, thank you for . response, there has to be. we shall i see what happens, thank you for your time, jamie shea. president vladimir putin has been telling russian media that the military operation in ukraine would undoubtedly achieve what he said were its "noble" objectives. these pictures were taken at an awards ceremony at the vostochny cosmodrome in the russian far east with belarus president lukashenko. at the event, putin was quoted as saying by russian news agencies that moscow had no other choice but to launch a military operation to protect russia and that a clash with ukraine's anti—russian forces had been inevitable. let's talk to our moscow correspondentjenny hill. she has been following events for us. tell us what he has been saying, please? us. tell us what he has been saying, lease? ., ., , ,., please? vladimir putin has sought, i think, to reemphasise _ please? vladimir putin has sought, i think, to reemphasise his— please? vladimir putin has sought, i think, to reemphasise his narrative, | think, to reemphasise his narrative, which casts his country as the victim. he has told workers at that space centre that his country had no choice but to go into ukraine because the government in kyiv was committing genocide against russian speaking populations in the east of the country. it is a baseless accusation but it is the justification time and again vladimir putin has given for this invasion. beyond that he has sought again and again to represent ukraine itself as a threat to russian security, we heard more on that from him today saying the regime in kyiv has in effect been nurturing neo—nazis. it is a powerful narrative on tuesday a lot to justify this war, russians are told in terms which very much echo and bring back very long memories of the second world war, the great patriotic war as a quality, in which so many russians lost their lives fighting german nazi forces. that is used again and again to justify the war, we have heard more about from vladimir putin today and he said ukraine was being used as a launch pad for anti—russian sentiment in general, telling russians he is not waging war in ukraine because he really wants to because he sees it as a necessary step to defend russian interests. as you know, this is what russians are told because it is what russians are told because it is all being parroted on state media, very little independent alternatives available. mr putin very upbeat, not admitting the invasion has not perhaps gone according to plan, he has said it is all going well, it will achieve its aims and the soldiers fighting are both heroic, noble and using the most modern weaponry wisely and skilfully. most modern weaponry wisely and skilfull . , , most modern weaponry wisely and skilfull . , y ., ~ most modern weaponry wisely and skilfull ., , ., ~ , ., skilfully. jenny hill, thank you very much _ skilfully. jenny hill, thank you very much indeed. _ in his latest address to a foreign parliament, ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, told lithuanian mps about some of the things that russian troops are doing. translation: they don't keep the bodies in the streets, they| take them away and burn them, they do mass deportations from occupied regions, they have deported hundreds of thousands of people, place them in special filtration camps. they have seized documents, tortured them. how many of those are killed, it is not known yet. they place them in the regions of russia and they forbid them to move from there, and it is obvious this is an effort to get rid of evidence of russian war crimes in ukraine. is it possible that the russian military are doing it without orders from their commanders? no, it is not possible. is it possible that russian political leaders are not aware of the consequences of these orders? no, it is not possible, and it is happening in our ukrainian soil. the answer is quite simple. they are confident the world will forget about this, we'll forgive them or they could just turn away from this. we can speak now to mantas adomenas, vice—minister of foreign affairs of the republic of lithuania. thank you very much forjoining us this morning on bbc news. i wonder first off, what you make of president zelensky�*s address to your parliament? president zelensky's address to your parliament? , , ., parliament? president zelensky had three elements, _ parliament? president zelensky had three elements, one _ parliament? president zelensky had three elements, one is _ parliament? president zelensky had three elements, one is human - parliament? president zelensky had | three elements, one is human rights atrocities committed by the russian army in its occupied areas of western sanctions and the implications of the outcome of this war the european security. an underlying threat was the need to refer to principled politics vis—a—vis russia, vis—a—vis authoritarian regimes by the west, when the west makes compromises and slips up inputting pragmatic interests ahead of the fundamental values like the rule of law and the protection of human life and human freedom and democracy, space is created for such aggression as the russian attack on ukraine. he has dwelled a long time on the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by russia and the impression that comes with this mounting evidence that the russians are fighting a different war, it is are fighting a different war, it is a war of extermination, not of territory. it grows heavier and heavier that in putinism are dealing with a comparative phenomenon to nazism and soviet communism in its disregard for human life. what nazism and soviet communism in its disregard for human life. what would ou like the disregard for human life. what would you like the west _ disregard for human life. what would you like the west to _ disregard for human life. what would you like the west to do, _ disregard for human life. what would you like the west to do, it _ disregard for human life. what would you like the west to do, it seems - you like the west to do, it seems you like the west to do, it seems you feel more could be done? certainly we could have faster and deeper sanctions, sanctions work. we can stop you to's war machine from being constantly oiled with our money —— we can stop vladimir putin's more machine. secondly, the armaments, lithuania was the first, albeit at a relatively small size, to deliver stingers and anti—tank missiles to ukraine. i take account of how much weaponry is being delivered but we have to be fast, it is a race against time and if we do not stop putin in ukraine we will have to stop him in the baltic states, in poland or moldova. we have to do now, help ukrainians to win this victory.— have to do now, help ukrainians to win this victory. how concerned are ou about win this victory. how concerned are you about your— win this victory. how concerned are you about your borders _ win this victory. how concerned are you about your borders as - win this victory. how concerned are you about your borders as you - win this victory. how concerned are l you about your borders as you watch what is taking place by russia and the support it is receiving from belarus? . , the support it is receiving from belarus? ., , ., belarus? certainly we are under the nato umbrella _ belarus? certainly we are under the nato umbrella and _ belarus? certainly we are under the nato umbrella and we _ belarus? certainly we are under the nato umbrella and we trust - belarus? certainly we are under the nato umbrella and we trust that - belarus? certainly we are under the i nato umbrella and we trust that nato will react at least as forcefully as it has assured us. the problem is currently the existing posture is the tripwire deterrent, token forces in the baltic countries which means they are just acting as deterrence. there is the capability to defend lithuania, latvia and estonia from potential aggression either from the territory of belarus or from heavily militarised other areas. there has been an increased russian regiment recently saying they want a land corridor two: a grudge which can only be achieved through nato countries over territory either via lithuania or poland, so this new narrative which appears from various russian administration officials is very worrying because usually such innovations are narrative our lads by military adventures and raising military threat —— are led by military threat —— are led by military adventures. the military threat -- are led by military adventures. the lithuanian government — military adventures. the lithuanian government has _ military adventures. the lithuanian government has taken _ military adventures. the lithuanian government has taken decisive - military adventures. the lithuanian l government has taken decisive action against russia, the russian ambassador has been expelled, the lithuanian president has called for ukraine to be granted considered status for eu membership, —— candidate status. you had stopped importing russian gas. than? candidate status. you had stopped importing russian gas.— candidate status. you had stopped importing russian gas. any more can do? in the economic _ importing russian gas. any more can do? in the economic sanctions - importing russian gas. any more can do? in the economic sanctions we . importing russian gas. any more can| do? in the economic sanctions we had to move together with the rest of the eu, because individual member states cannot apply their own economic sanctions policy. if we were larger than certainly there are areas we would sanction too but we areas we would sanction too but we are working together with allies to move all the 27 eu states to adopt much further reaching sanctions like a total embargo on oil, a more rapid phasing out of gas, sanctions on banks and other sanctions which would really hurt the russian economy and stop the war machine from grinding on and on. idice from grinding on and on. vice minister mantas _ from grinding on and on. vice minister mantas adomenas, thank you very much for your time on the abc news. —— on bbc news. as more russian forces head to the east of the country for a major new offensive, horrors are being uncovered in the villages and towns close to the capital in the north, that they used to control. there are repeated stories of violence against women — in particular of soldiers using rape as a weapon of war. sharing these stories is important as it shines a light on claims of abuses, and gives a voice to our correspondent yogita limaye has been speaking to some of those affected — and a warning that her report does contain material you may find upsetting, including descriptions of sexual violence. a quiet rural neighbourhood, shattered by barbaric violence. in a village west of kyiv, a first—hand account of rape by invading soldiers. when we started talking to this woman, we didn't know what we were to hear. we are hiding her identity to protect her. translation: a soldier entered our house. - my husband and i were there. at gunpoint, he took me to a neighbouring house. he was ordering me, take your clothes off or i'll shoot you. then he started raping me. while he was doing that, four more soldiers entered. i thought i was done for, but they took him away. she returned home to find her husband shot in the abdomen. he died two days later. she buried him in the backyard. translation: i found drugs and alcohol they left behind. j they would get high and they were drunk. most of the invading soldiers are killers, rapists and looters. only a few are ok. i want to ask putin, why is this happening? i don't understand. we are not living in the stone age. just up the road, we heard of another rape case. it is being investigated by the police. this is the house a woman was taken to and assaulted. upstairs, the bedroom where she was later killed. it's a disturbing scene. on the mirror, a message in lipstick. "tortured by unknown people, buried by russian soldiers," it says. out in the garden, we were shown her grave. a day after we went, ukrainian police exhumed her body. the note, we are told, was left by a separate unit of russians who found her body and buried her here. they later told a neighbour, oksana, about the dead woman. translation: they told me she had been raped and that her throat - was either slit or stabbed. they said she bled to death and there was a lot of blood. we travelled 70 miles east to another village. to what used to be the home of a family. a couple in their 30s and their young child. signs of their peaceful, ordinary life lie amidst the ruins. on the 9th of march, russian tanks rolled in. two soldiers shot the man dead. the woman who lived in this house managed to escape along with her child. she called the ukrainian police and she has given them her testimony. she has told them she was raped multiple times by the two drunk russian soldiers who killed her husband. and she said that they threatened to kill her little boy, too, if she didn't do exactly as they said. as the soldiers left, they burned down the house. the tillage chief has children's they have gathered evidence and they plan to go to the international court —— the police chief has told us they have gathered evidence. in kyiv, we met ukraine's human rights ombudsman, who has been recording rape cases. translation: about 25 girls - and women aged 14-24 were raped during the occupation in the basement of one house in bucha. nine of them are pregnant. a 25—year—old woman called to tell us her 16—year—old sister was raped in the street in front of her. to calculate the number of such sexual crimes is impossible at the moment because not everyone has come to us, not everyone is willing to talk to us. among the people we met, there is no relief that the russians have gone. because they have left behind deeply wounded lives that might never recover. yogita limaye, bbc news, kyiv. if you've been affected by sexual violence, there are details of organisations in the uk, offering information and support. just head to bbc.co.uk/actionline. or bbc.com/actionline if outside the uk. or you can call forfree, at any time, to hear recorded information on 0800 077 077. the former conservative minister, crispin blunt, has apologised for his comments on twitter, supporting a tory mp who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy. in a statement, he said he's decided to retract his statement defending imran ahmad khan, and said he's sorry that his comments were the cause of significant upset. he had previously described khan's conviction as — "nothing short of an international scandal", which attracted widespread criticism. our chief political correspondent, adam fleming, has been giving us the latest. imran ahmad khan was elected as a conservative mp and wakefield in the 2019 general election, the first conservative to hold that seat in the 1930s. on his election, though, that triggered some memories from a boy who was 15 in 2008 who said he was sexually assaulted by the mp, who was then charged and yesterday convicted. in the meantime he had been suspended from the conservative party and on conviction he was expelled from the conservative party. one of his friends is the former prisons minister crispin blunt who put a statement on his website last night saying the trial had been a miscarriage ofjustice and his friend was a victim of outdated tropes about lgbt identity in the muslim community. that was met with quite a lot of controversy so the conservative party said it did not agree with those comments. then a series of opposition mps resigned from lgbt+ global issues group that crispin blunt was the chair of. then this morning we had conservative sources saying they had spoken to crispin blunt overnight and expected him to retract what he said. then the armed forces ministerjames heappey as on the airwaves completely distancing the government from what crispin blunt had said. they are not something that i associate myself with, and they are certainly not the view of the government. the government recognises that mr khan was found guilty yesterday in a court of law and that guilt, therefore, is proven. whatever he goes on to do in terms of an appeal is a matter for him. i have no idea what crispin is referring to in his statement but he is definitely not speaking for the government. if crispin blunt had wanted to continue as a conservative member of parliament he was left with no choice, but not only deleting his comments but putting out a new statement retracting them and distancing himself from them. do you think this is the end of the matter or has a lot of damage been done? crispin blunt has offered to resign as the chair of that lgbt+ global issues group — i imagine a lot of his colleagues will take him up on that. i'm sure he will lose that position of influence. there will be plenty of conservative backbenchers worried about the effect this will have on the conservative party's image. i think that is why the conservative party issued the statements so quickly and applied so much pressure to him overnight and at least got the retraction they wanted very quickly. that was adam fleming. victims of rape and sexual assault are being failed by a collapse in prosecutions and poor provision of support services according to a group of mps. the home affairs committee says the government's plans to improve "lack ambition" and that it could miss its target after the number of rape offences recorded in england and wales last year reached a record high. lauren moss reports. emily hunt has been a campaigner against sexual violence ever since she was filmed while naked and unconscious one night by a man she had onlyjust met. emily advised the uk government on its rape review last year, a review which mps think will miss its targets to improve prosecutions. we have over 120,000 rapes a year in our country and we are not prosecuting enough of them, and too many rapists are going on to do it again. rape is a horrible, intimate crime, and you feel like your life is being pulled apart. and, you know, 50% of rape victims develop ptsd and... i don't really think that anyone can really understand what it feels like to have your control so completely taken away from you as a result of a crime and then have your control also... feel like you have your control taken away from you through the criminaljustice system as well. the home affairs committee says it has little confidence that a government pledge to return to 2016 prosecution levels by 2024 will be met and court delays, harmful evidence gathering processes and poor provision of support services are stopping people from seeking justice. in the year to september 2021, more than 63,000 rape offences were recorded in england and wales — the highest ever. but the number of prosecutions has fallen in the past five years, from 5,000 in 2017 to 1,500 in 2021. cross—party group of mps have branded the figures truly shocking and completely unacceptable. this report, following on from the reports of her majesty's inspectorate of constabulary and other statements that have been made about current performance on rape, is a wake—up call to all the agencies in this field, that what you are doing is not enough. what we are doing is not properly resourced and the victim survivors are just not going to getjustice at all, given the efforts that are currently being made. the home affairs committee is calling for significant funding to make a national impact. it wants counselling and independent legal advice to be made available to victims and survivors and specialist rape units created in all police forces. the government says there has been a modest increase in the number of charges for rape, but campaigners say more change is needed and fast. it's gone beyond being failed at this stage, they are being harmed by the criminaljustice system and i do not believe that we are on track and i do not believe that what's been outlined by the government is enough to change the situation as it is. and i have real worries for survivors that are caught up in this process for four, five, six seven years. in a statement, a government spokesperson says, "they're clear much more needs to be done and they are recruiting more sexual violence advisers and boosting funding for victim support services by at least £440 million over the next three years." but for survivors of sexual violence, the wait for justice continues for now. lauren moss, bbc news. if you've been affected by sexual violence, there are details of organisations in the uk offering information and support. just go to bbc.co.uk/actionline. or you can call forfree, at any time, to hear recorded information on 0800 077 077. there's been a huge outpouring of sympathy since war broke out in ukraine, and many millions of pounds have been donated to help those affected. sadly, though, cybercriminals are taking advantage of this goodwill, using emotional posts online to divert money away from charities and into their own pockets. the bbc�*s global disinformation reporter, hannah gelbart, has more. as the war broke out in ukraine, the government put out a plea on twitter for donations. with the war affecting national infrastructure, zelensky signed a law to make crypto currency legal tender in ukraine. it's one of the few countries to do so. so far, they say they have received $70 million in crypto currencies alone. and it set something else in motion as well, criminals, scammers, fired into action, making fake appeals from every corner of the internet. somebody is capitalising on this, and i had a feeling people would fall for this and people are falling for this. so if you look at my history... ax is a cyber security researcher who has been tracking how much money these scams are making. it's just a pattern we're seeing. cryptocurrency wallets are publicly viewable so you can see the balance and a history of transactions. as of today, this particular wallet has a total balance of over us$90,000. this wallet address is on a fake charity website and it's been used in other scams before. we also found e—mails from people impersonating real charities, like the british red cross and unicef. it is not accurate. it's not unicef branded, it's not in our colours and there is no typical donate button. this scam has made $540. and there are plenty of clues that it's fake. different e—mail addresses in the from and reply to fields. a contact button with yet another fake e—mail address. an ip address based in vietnam. another email claims to be from a children's doctor called maxim aranov in ukraine. i'm writing to you on behalf of the children's clinic here in kharkiv which was destroyed as a result of the russian invasion. i wanted to find out who this doctor was. i looked for the clinic on google earth and asked ukrainian colleagues, but we found no evidence of a children's clinic. a reverse image search matched the facebook profile picture of another doctor, but he's from mexico city. translation: this person is using my hoto of my identity to ask for money and donations for a children's hospital. it's completely false. these scams have many victims. the people who have unknowingly donated to fake charities. real charities worried their donors may lose trust. but most of all, the citizens of ukraine, in desperate need of aid. hannah gelbart, bbc news. president putin has been speaking today after he met the belarusian president lukashenko during a visit to the centre no space centre. let's hear what he had to say. translation:— hear what he had to say. translation: _, ., ., ., ., ., translation: good afternoon, dear friends. translation: good afternoon, dear friends- more — translation: good afternoon, dear friends. more than _ translation: good afternoon, dear friends. more than 6000 _ translation: good afternoon, dear friends. more than 6000 years - translation: good afternoon, dear friends. more than 6000 years ago i translation: good afternoon, dear. friends. more than 6000 years ago on april the 12th 1961, aleksandr grigoryan, yuri gagarin, made a first in history humanity went into space and in the memory of this hero's deed we celebrate the day of cosmonaut tics, and everybody has special feelings today, the cosmonaut tics, and everybody has specialfeelings today, the pride cosmonaut tics, and everybody has special feelings today, the pride of the generation who did this national heroic breakthrough at the same time as the belief in our future and strength and our continuous development. —— cosmonautics day. we believe we will complete all set goals and i'm confident this will happen. from my heart i congratulate you all, all our citizens, of russia and belorussia, all of our compatriots, our cosmonauts and the staff of the space centre. special words to the military here and space forces. these forces are all intricately connected. we are aware that today our officers are participating in the special operation in donbas in ukraine, providing assistance to the people's republic of donbas, they are acting heroically and applying the most modern types of equipment, with modern types of equipment, with modern features. the basis of our achievements and achieving defence objectives and exploration of space, the designs and achievements of our compatriots, and other scientists and the labour of collectives and engineers and workers from all of the former soviet union, they were working for the sake of their country, fighting for their country, for the motherland in their design bureaus and in the plants and factories, and they won in this space race and they created piloted spacecraft, they prepared an autonomous mission to explore the moon and mars, and the space apparatus first landed on venus's surface. this solution and other solutions in rocket technologies, no other state managed to design that. we are left with an enormous head start but all the values were trying to be on par with the examples and values of comradeship, braveness that inspire us today. this is the message coming from our ancestors to go forward, irrespective any any kind of difficulties or any efforts to interfere in our move forward coming from outside. we will be implementing all plans and we will continue creating a new spacecraft, transport spacecraft, we have some good designs and advantages. we will relaunch the main programme which launches from the space centre at the automated complex luna 25. i want to underscore we need to successfully react to the challenges of exploring space in order to more efficiently strengthen our defence and sovereignty, technological sovereignty, create new designs in microelectronics, ecology and environment, medicine, etc, communications, in order to implement further digital services in all areas of the economy in state governance, in education, in medical care, in all spheres. governance, in education, in medical care, in allspheres. we governance, in education, in medical care, in all spheres. we need to implement to use the new opportunities provided by the new technologies for this, and in the programme sphere we plan to increase the potential of our space group in terms of the distance probing of earth. there is a big project to launch a special spacecraft and equipment. we actually got involved some major companies of both russia and belarus. those were an excellent experience, even from the soviet times of the conflicts, radio electronics and other systems. one important example of our cooperation is the establishing of infrastructure which would guarantee the union's access to state, and our companies from russia and belarus will obtain the opportunity to develop the towns where the space centre is. changes in russian laws have been approved by the russian duma, and in the nearfuture the decision of the federation council will be taken and a new law will be signed shortly. one more important decision i would like to mention. i would like to ask for the provision of the preparation and space flight on a russian spacecraft represented from belarus to be given this opportunity. we discussed this but there is still the question, and we believe it will become a new stage of our space exploration. dear friends, cosmonaut, without any exaggeration, is one of the most heroic professions, because every space mission is always a heroic deed going into the unknown and working at the edge of their abilities, implementing engineering and technology and demonstrating the spirit and braveness and skills and qualifications, they serve a precious mission. and they deserve the highest possible orders, and i will be happy to give these words to our cosmonauts. we have been waiting for this for quite long to do this ceremony in a festive atmosphere. the hero of the russian federation, the title and the title of the pilot cosmonaut is given to alexi, on his first space mission he managed to do a space walk on two occasions and explored and assessed the outer surface of the spacecraft. that is a heroic deed. i understand there were no proper conditions provided. this is another story. but three long space missions for those two cosmonauts, for their responsible service to the motherland, they made great contributions to the role of russia in piloted space exploration, and they are awarded an order of russia. and once again, i will congratulate our cosmonauts for these high awards. to the award ceremony. the decree of the president of the russian federation is for the heroic deeds during the long space mission on the international space station, the title of the hero of this russian federation is given. cosmonauts of the yuri gagarin space centre. studio: what we are, what we were just watching was russia's president putin who was speaking at the cosmodrome, the space centre after a meeting after the meeting with belarus's president lukashenko. more details of what was said, a couple of remarks worth noting, we will get you those once we have those here and translated. in the meantime, some breaking news concerning frances o'grady, the general secretary of the tuc. on twitter, we will show you her page, announcing that she is stepping down as the tuc general secretary at the end of the year. leading the uk's trade union movement has been the greatest honour of my life. many thanks to all our reps and officers for what you do. you are the lifeblood of our movement. it is worth noting that frances o'grady was the first woman to hold the position of general secretary at the tuc in 2013. possibly getting reaction later here on bbc news. in the meantime, workers in the uk have seen living standards fall for the third month in a row because whilst wages are rising, prices are rising faster. that's according to the latest official figures. in the three months to february, average pay in the uk went up by 4% — compared to a year earlier. but real wages fell by 1% — when you take inflation into account during that time. last month, inflation hit 6.2% — and figures out tomorrow are expected to show another rise. earlier i spoke to our economics correspondent andy verity. he told me that people are already feeling the squeeze in living standards. they are feeling it when they open their bills that come through the door from their energy companies and they wince. i think we all are going to in the coming months when we see those bills, and it's also just going shopping. because of the high cost of fuel, partly because of the war in ukraine, but also partlyjust because the global economy has reopened after the pandemic there is a lot of demand for goods and services, that means lots of demand for transportation as well and the fuel that goes with it. those are all pushing up prices on our supermarket shelves, and also we are seeing the prices of services rise and we are seeing wages rise. it's the most inflationary picture we have really seen in 30 years. and as you mention we expect further inflation tomorrow. it is in that light that you look at the pay rises. now, 4% the average pay rise, not bad compared to the last 15 years, 4%, but then you look at inflation, as you mentioned at the last count, 6.2%, and in the period covered by these stats, it was 5%, which is why you have a 1% fall in living standards. i think a lot of people will be saying, only 1%, it feels like a lot more than that, but you have to remember it is averaged across the whole economy. it is a story we have been reporting for the last 15 years. i can remember reporting in 2011, for example, after the global financial crisis that was when the squeeze in living standards really began. and so although we had a bit of respite between 2017 and about 2021, the pandemic and its aftermath have pitched us back into that squeeze on living standards. all in all it is going to amount to the worst decade for improvements in living standards, the worst 15 years, that we have really ever had on economic record. the implications of that are huge. if consumers aren't driving economic growth because they don't have the money, what does? is it public spending? is it investment by the private sector? that is really what rishi sunak has been gambling on, that investment from the private sector will take the place of public spending, and that will be what drives economic growth. but so far we are not really see any huge sign of that. we are seeing some investment but not enough to really get the economy motoring. that was our economics correspondent andy verity just giving that was our economics correspondent andy verityjust giving us the latest reaction to those figures that have been released concerning wages, employment figures and inflation. we are expecting the next lot of inflation figures to be released for the uk tomorrow. for now on bbc news, goodbye. hello again. temperatures today in parts of the south—east could reach 20 degrees, but from tomorrow more widely temperatures are going to rise. you can see how we have got the oranges and yellows across our shores, so more widely we will be looking at the mid to high teens. above—average temperatures for this stage in april. what we have today is a band of rain pushing northwards and another one pushing northwards too across england and wales, getting into northern ireland and scotland. some of this will be heavy and potentially thundery at times. but some sunshine continuing across the highlands, in through parts of the south—east and later the south—west. temperatures 6—20 degrees but cooler along the north sea coastline and the northern isles where we do have a keen breeze. pollen levels today, and we are talking tree pollen, are moderate across england and wales. northern england seeing low levels, as indeed is scotland and northern ireland. so through this evening and overnight, our band of rain continues to push northwards. there will be some clear skies and a few showers, some patchy mist and fog forming, some coastal mist and fog along the west coast of england, and also west wales. so as a result, not a cold night. but it will be a cloudy start to the day, the rain clearing the mainland of scotland pushing into the northern isles, and through the day we will see the cloud break, sunshine developing, but that will spark off a few showers, especially across england and wales where it could be heavy and thundery. but more widely temperatures are rising. as we go through the evening, you can see we still have all this coastal mist and fog and it is likely to linger. but it does mean not a particularly cold start to the day during the course of thursday. but on thursday itself it will be fairly cloudy to start with, some brighter breaks in the east. high pressure is in charge of our weather by now. we have a weather front trying to come in from the west, but as it bumps into this high pressure it is weakening all the time. these are our temperatures, 8—20 degrees. and then as we head into the bank holiday weekend, you can see this weather front trying to push across, high pressure still in charge, but it depends how dominant this high pressure is as to whether it allows atlantic fronts to come in. so there is the chance, especially on sunday, we could see some rain coming in across the north and the west, but generally it is going to be warm, dry and bright, but don't forget that coastal mist and fog, especially in the west, and parts of the english channel. this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00... as russia advances on ukraine's eastern donbas region, the uk and us say chemical weapons may have been used by russian forces in mariupol. the use of chemical weapons is abhorrent, it does cross a line and all options are on the table for how we would respond. in his latest address to a foreign parliament, president zelensky tells lithuanian mps that mass deportations of civilians are taking place in regions occupied by russian forces. a former conservative minister has apologised for the "significant upset and concern" caused by his defence of fellow mp, imran ahmad khan, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy. victims of rape and sexual assault are being failed by "a collapse in prosecutions" in england and wales, according to a group of british mps demanding reforms. new figures show that wage growth failed to keep up with the rising cost of living between december and february in the uk. and johnny depp's legal battle with former wife amber heard begins in the united states over allegations made by the actress about domestic abuse. the uk has warned that fighting is likely to intensify in eastern ukraine over the next two or three weeks, with russian attacks staying focused on donetsk and luhansk. it comes as the british government has said it's investigating reports that chemical weapons were used against ukrainian fighters. let's take a look at some of the detail. there have been claims by ukraine's azov regiment defending mariupol that russian troops "used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against ukrainian forces and civilians" in the besieged southern port city. the us and uk have say they are investigating the reports which have been denied by pro—russian separatist forces. in march, the us presidentjoe biden said nato "would respond" if russia used chemical weapons in ukraine and said "the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use". as more russian forces head to the east of the country for a major new offensive, atrocities — including the killing of civilians and the rape of women — are being uncovered, in the villages and towns close to the capital in the north, that they used to control. today, president vladimir putin described russia's military objectives in ukraine as "noble", asserting that he has no doubt they will be achieved. he made an appearance at a space centre in the russian far east. mark lobel reports. a playground turned battleground in ukraine's east, where pro—russian troops claim to be liberating ukrainians held hostage. ukraine says russian tanks have begun advancing towards the eastern donbas region for a renewed offensive. as battle rages in the besieged city of mariupol, ukraine's azov regiment say russian drones have dropped chemicals causing breathing problems and vertigo—like symptoms after a pro—russian military spokesman threatened smoking out ukrainian defenders of a major steel plant there. translation: today, the occupiers issued a new statement _ which testifies to their preparation for a new stage of terror against ukraine and our defenders. one of the mouthpieces of the occupiers stated that they could use chemical weapons against the defenders of mariupol. we take this as seriously as possible. i want to remind the world's leaders that the possible use of chemical weapons by the russian military has already been discussed. as britain's foreign secretary seeks to verify the claims, she says putin would be held to account for any callous escalation of this conflict. we are working urgently to understand whether or not chemical weapons have been used. and if they have, as the foreign secretary has said, the people responsible will be held to account. the use of chemical weapons is abhorrent, it does cross a line and all options are on the table for how we would respond. as the war approaches its eighth week, ukraine's deputy prime minister claims more than 500 female ukrainian civilians are in russian prisons. translation: they shave their heads. they check them every day, forcing them to undress and get naked. they humiliate their human dignity. i know facts of rape, i saw spines that had been beaten. so we have to act. we have to be strong and durable. we need to understand that the absolute evil is working against us. it's the evil that feeds on weakness. a mother's reaction as her son's body is recovered in front of her eyes close to kyiv. explosion. hundreds more small explosive devices are being discovered in residential areas such as here in kharkiv, landing as people sleep. in this relentless war, where the fighting never stops. mark lobel, bbc news. hamish de bretton gordon is a chemical and biological weapons expert. he said proving these claims of chemical weapon use in ukraine could be challenging. it will be a challenge to get that evidence. obviously there is a lot on social media and the defence minister has also commented. i am talking to a number of doctors, not in mariupol but in surrounding areas, who are looking at this too. it will be a challenge. they will need to get some environmental, earth—type samples and medical samples to confirm the allegations that some sort of nerve agent or toxic chemical has been used. it is rather out of the playbook that the russians have been using that they saw work so successfully in syria. and they have had trouble taking mariupol. we also know that the ministry of defence in the uk suggested yesterday that they might use white phosphorus, not a chemical weapon but it has similar attributes. it will be a challenge, for sure. you talk about syria, going back in time russian has been part of the opcw, the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons along with the un joint investigative mechanism, are they still part of that? absolutely, tthe russians are part of it, and in 2017 they declared they had no chemical weapons, but they attacked my hometown, salisbury, with chemical weapons just a year later. in effect the ukrainian government could request the organisation of the prohibition of chemical weapons to investigate but doing that in a war zone, somewhere like mariupol, would be virtually impossible and would take time, so we need to rely on intelligence that nato is collecting and the ukrainian government is collecting so we can take a view on whether this is being used, and the response that will happen. i believe we need to bolster the ukrainian military, especially the air force, to try to make sure these atrocities are less likely in the future. carrying along the line of what action was taken in the past and the conflict in syria — france, the uk, the us were directly involved in missile strikes on airfields where the aircraft that were distributing, when it was proven that chemical weapons had been used, they conducted missile strikes on those locations. is that something the western allies and nato would now consider if it were proven they had been used? i am not sure they will go that far. i hope what they will do is provide the intelligence to the ukrainian government of exactly where these key areas are to allow the ukrainian government air force and military to strike those targets and potentially also give them sophisticated and advanced weaponry in order to do that. i still think nato is trying very hard and should try very hard not to get directly involved with russia, because that then extends the conflict. the ukrainian military are doing a brilliantjob, they have defeated the russians in the north and we must enable them to hold them in the south so that hopefully, sooner rather than later, we can get everybody around the negotiating table to sue for some peace. president vladimir putin has been telling russian media today that the military operation in ukraine would undoubtedly achieve what he said were its "noble" objectives. he was speaking at an awards ceremony at space centre in the russian far east with belarus president lukashenko. that's where these pictures have come from. putin was also quoted as saying that moscow had no other choice but to launch a military operation to protect russia and that a clash with ukraine's anti—russian forces had been iinevitable. our moscow correspondent jenny hill can tell us more. vladimir putin has sought, i think, to reemphasise his narrative, which casts his country as the victim here. he has told workers at that space centre that his country had no choice but to go into ukraine because the government in kyiv was committing genocide against russian—speaking populations in the east of the country. it is a baseless accusation but it is the justification that time and again vladimir putin has given for this invasion. beyond that he has sought again and again to represent ukraine itself as a threat to russian security. we heard more of that from him today saying the regime in kyiv has in effect been nurturing neo—nazism. it is a powerful narrative and used a lot to justify this war, russians are told in terms which very much echo and bring back very long memories of the second world war, the great patriotic war as they call it here, in which so many russians lost their lives fighting german nazi forces. that is used again and again to justify the war, we have heard more of that from vladimir putin today and he said ukraine was being used as a launch pad for anti—russian sentiment in general, again telling russians he is not waging war in ukraine because he really wants to, but because he sees it as a necessary step in order to defend russian interests. as you know, this is what russians are told because it is all being parroted on state media, very little independent alternatives available. again, mr putin very upbeat, not admitting the invasion has not perhaps gone according to plan, he has said it is all going well, it will achieve its aims and the soldiers fighting are both heroic, noble and are using the most modern weaponry wisely and skilfully. that was jenny hill. president vladimir putin has described russia's military objectives in ukraine as "noble", asserting that he has no doubt they will be achieved. making a rare public appearance, mr putin said the main aim was, as he put it, to help the people of donbas. translation: we are aware that today our officers are — translation: we are aware that today our officers are participating _ translation: we are aware that today our officers are participating in - our officers are participating in the special operation in donbas in ukraine, providing assistance to the people's republic of donbas. they are acting heroically and applying the most modern types of equipment with modern features. that the most modern types of equipment with modern features.— with modern features. that was president putin _ with modern features. that was president putin speaking - with modern features. that was president putin speaking a - with modern features. that was | president putin speaking a short time ago. anna a n na foster anna foster is on the outskirts of the town of bucha, where president zelensky was talking about some of the findings earlier today when he addressed the lithuanian parliament. i can see a tank behind you that doesn't look to be in good shape. what's going on? ida. doesn't look to be in good shape. what's going on?— what's going on? no, it was particularly _ what's going on? no, it was particularly interesting - what's going on? no, it was particularly interesting to i what's going on? no, it was i particularly interesting to hear what vladimir putin had to say. this was a russian defensive position just outside bucha, a mixture of tanks and armoured personnel carriers. as you can see it was completely destroyed. you can see where the russian soldiers were living here, there are campfires, empty bottles of vodka, things like toothpaste tubes and charred bits of clothing. the reason why it is relevant to what vladimir putin was saying there, he talked about russians having the most modern and up—to—date equipment, but in terms of what i see around here, you see a band and sleeping bags, which were clearly civilian sleeping bags. you see bits of child clothing on the floorjust here, but none of the camouflage matches up so it suggests in a place like this, not modern and slick equipment. this looks like a ragtag bunch of people that was put together and as you can see was completely destroyed by the ukrainians as they managed to push back here. , ., , , , ., ., back here. obviously they have moved out. i know back here. obviously they have moved out- i know it's — back here. obviously they have moved out. i know it's a _ back here. obviously they have moved out. i know it's a strange _ back here. obviously they have moved out. i know it's a strange thing - back here. obviously they have moved out. i know it's a strange thing to - out. i know it's a strange thing to say but it looks like a bit of normality with the traffic moving behind you. in terms of the refocusing of the russian offensive, what do we know about what's taking place in that eastern donbas region? the fighting is moving east and that's why you see, as you rightly point out, these strange moments of the traffic passing by, but also down there you can see people taking selfies, taking photos, picking up bits of war trophies to take home with them, because the fighting has moved away from this area and is now moving towards the east. we have nine humanitarian corridors the ukrainian government says today and they are still urging people to move out of luhansk and donetsk specifically because they say within days the maximum they think two or three weeks, significant amounts of russian weaponry and forces are going to pour into the east. that's the area vladimir putin is focusing on now. �* . the area vladimir putin is focusing on now. ~ ., ., ~ i. as we've been reporting the british government says it's investigating reports that chemical weapons were used against ukrainian fighters. let's speak to our security correspondent gordon corera. pretty significant if proven. yes, but there is _ pretty significant if proven. yes, but there is caution _ pretty significant if proven. yes, but there is caution at _ pretty significant if proven. yes, but there is caution at the - pretty significant if proven. ya: but there is caution at the moment about this. both london and washington say they are looking into these reports, social media reports. it's worth saying in the last couple of hours some of the officials in kyiv have been suggesting it might have been phosphorus and the use of that munition, rather than some kind of nerve agent, which we think of a chemical weapon. white phosphorus is used and has already been used in the conflict, western officials say around donbas and donetsk. it is not an illegal chemical weapon. it is used to illuminate a battlefield or used to illuminate a battlefield or used as a smoke screen, normally by the military. if that is the case, and these are just preliminary reports, that would not necessarily be the red line, use of chemical weapons that people have been talking about. that is not yet confirmed. but the possibility of it being used in mariupol was actually raised yesterday by officials. so that's one possibility. another one, that's one possibility. another one, that us officials have raised, is that us officials have raised, is that they could be some kind of riot control agent, tear gas or something being used against people. so far there are less signs and confirmation that it is something as serious as a nerve agent, what we typically think of chemical weapons, the kind of thing used in syria. to know will take some investigation, it will take samples being taken and people will need to look at the symptoms people are showing to be sure what it was and that will be taking place as we speak. so far people are certainly being quite cautious about leaping to the conclusion that this is the most serious end of chemical weapons being used. serious end of chemical weapons being used-— serious end of chemical weapons bein: used. ., ., . , being used. however that concern is ve real being used. however that concern is very real because _ being used. however that concern is very real because the _ being used. however that concern is very real because the idea _ being used. however that concern is very real because the idea and - very real because the idea and subject of chemical weapons were first brought up at an address at the un general assembly a couple of weeks ago and the us pointed out this might be a three false flag incident russia are setting in place. incident russia are setting in lace. ., ., ., ., place. you are right, one of the reasons this _ place. you are right, one of the reasons this has _ place. you are right, one of the reasons this has attracted - place. you are right, one of the reasons this has attracted so i place. you are right, one of the i reasons this has attracted so much attention and because of the reports it might be a chemical weapon, is because of the concern built up over a period of weeks, and western officials have talked about it a lot, that chemical weapons might be used. the suggestion by western officials is that it might be a false flag, in other words that russians would use it against their own people in some areas and claim it was the ukrainians who had done it was the ukrainians who had done it and then use that as a justification for upping the conflict orfor justification for upping the conflict or for the conflict having taken place in the first place. that was always the suggestion and that is still there. if you look at russian media there are still reports about biological weapons labs and chemical weapons develop meant in ukraine. it is still in people's minds that there might be some false flag use. this doesn't look like it so far and there are a number of possibilities of what it could be so we need to keep quite an open mind and be cautious about jumping to any conclusions at this point. jumping to any conclusions at this oint. , . ., , jumping to any conclusions at this oint. , . ~ , , point. very quickly, if it is proven. — point. very quickly, if it is proven. can _ point. very quickly, if it is proven, can we _ point. very quickly, if it is proven, can we look - point. very quickly, if it is proven, can we look back| point. very quickly, if it is - proven, can we look back into the past to see how and what past actions have been taken when something like this has been proven? what options are on the table? thea;r what options are on the table? they were used in — what options are on the table? they were used in syria, _ what options are on the table? they were used in syria, not _ what options are on the table? iie: were used in syria, not by what options are on the table? "iie: were used in syria, not by russia, but by russia's ally and russia in effect covered for it. in that case washington and london talked about a red line and talked about military action but they backed away from it in the end and it was seen as damaging for western credibility. at the moment if you talk about western politicians, they talk about ambiguity and how they would respond. partly that depends on what was proven to be used on the extent, the nature and the intent of it. gordon corera, thank you. the former conservative minister, crispin blunt, has apologised for his comments on twitter, supporting a tory mp who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy. in a statement, he said he's decided to retract his statement defending imran ahmad khan, and said he's sorry that his comments were the cause of significant upset. he had previously described khan's conviction as "nothing short of an international scandal", which attracted widespread criticism. our political correspondent david wallace lockhart is at westminster. we finally get a retraction, but that's not how the morning started. that's right will stop yesterday, the mp for wakefield, imran ahmad khan, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15—year—old in 2008. he had been suspended from the conservative party. he was expelled quite soon after the verdict came in. but his former party colleague crispin blunt, himself a former justice minister in government, issued a statement where he said the verdict was a dreadful miscarriage ofjustice, and he said the case had relied on lazy tropes about lgbt+ people that we might have thought we had put behind us a decade ago. this caused quite a bit of outrage. tory sources were saying the comments were wholly unacceptable. this morning government ministerjames heappey distance himself and the government from crispin blunt�*s comments was that a number of mps said they would resign from a cross—party group on lgbt rights thatis cross—party group on lgbt rights that is chaired by crispin blunt. but we got a u—turn from crispin blunt this morning, issuing a statement saying he would retract the comments he made yesterday. he apologised and said he was sorry for any offence caused, especially to people who had been victims in the past of sexual offences. and he said he did respect the independence and integrity of the justice system, which when you think about it is quite a comment for a former conservativejustice minister quite a comment for a former conservative justice minister to have to make. crispin blunt also added he would be offering his resignation as chair of that cross—party group of mps and lords on lgbt+ rights. i imagine that's something he will have to follow through on. i understand there are others who said they would leave the group if he stayed as its chair. definitely a difficult 24—hour period for crispin blunt. definitely a difficult 24-hour period for crispin blunt. david wallace lockhart, _ period for crispin blunt. david wallace lockhart, thank - period for crispin blunt. david wallace lockhart, thank you. | victims of rape and sexual assault are being failed by a collapse in prosecutions and poor provision of support services, according to a group of mps. the home affairs committee says the government's plans to improve "lack ambition" — and that it could miss its target, after the number of rape offences recorded in england and wales last year reached a record high. lauren moss reports. emily hunt has been a campaigner against sexual violence ever since she was filmed while naked and unconscious one night by a man she had onlyjust met. emily advised the uk government on its rape review last year, a review which mps think will miss its targets to improve prosecutions. we have over 120,000 rapes a year in our country and we are not prosecuting enough of them, and too many rapists are going on to do it again. rape is a horrible, intimate crime, and you feel like your life is being pulled apart. and, you know, 50% of rape victims develop ptsd and... i don't really think that anyone can really understand what it feels like to have your control so completely taken away from you as a result of a crime and then have your control also... feel like you have your control taken away from you through the criminaljustice system as well. the home affairs committee says it has little confidence that a government pledge to return to 2016 prosecution levels by 2024 will be met and court delays, harmful evidence gathering processes and poor provision of support services are stopping people from seeking justice. in the year to september 2021, more than 63,000 rape offences were recorded in england and wales — the highest ever. but the number of prosecutions has fallen in the past five years, from 5,000 in 2017 to 1,500 in 2021. cross—party group of mps have branded the figures truly shocking and completely unacceptable. this report, following on from the reports of her majesty's inspectorate of constabulary and other statements that have been made about current performance on rape, is a wake up call to all the agencies in this field, that what you are doing is not enough. what we are doing is not properly resourced and the victim survivors are just not going to getjustice at all, given the efforts that are currently being made. the home affairs committee is calling for significant funding to make a national impact. it wants counselling and independent legal advice to be made available to victims and survivors and specialist rape units created in all police forces. the government says there has been a modest increase in the number of charges for rape, but campaigners say more change is needed and fast. it's gone beyond being failed at this stage, they are being harmed by the criminaljustice system and i do not believe that we are on track and i do not believe that what's been outlined by the government is enough to change the situation as it is. and i have real worries for survivors that are caught up in this process for four, five, six, seven years. in a statement, a government spokesperson says, "they're clear much more needs to be done and they are recruiting more sexual violence advisers and boosting funding for victim support services by at least £440 million over the next three years." but for survivors of sexual violence, the wait for justice continues for now. lauren moss, bbc news. ellie ball is from the cambridge rape crisis centre. she gave evidence to the home affairs committee last year. you would have also seen her in that report that we just showed you. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. i have to ask you first, your reaction to that report that has been released. brute reaction to that report that has been released.— reaction to that report that has been released. ~ ., , . ., been released. we really welcome the work of the committee _ been released. we really welcome the work of the committee and _ been released. we really welcome the work of the committee and i _ been released. we really welcome the work of the committee and i think - work of the committee and i think it's really important that things like the government's rape review have been properly scrutinised. i think the approach the committee has taken is really thorough and i think therefore we have an adequate assessment of where we are at the moment. ., ., . ., moment. you gave evidence to the home affairs _ moment. you gave evidence to the home affairs committee. _ moment. you gave evidence to the home affairs committee. i - moment. you gave evidence to the home affairs committee. i wonder| moment. you gave evidence to the l home affairs committee. i wonder if you can share some of your key points that you thought had to be reviewed and included. i points that you thought had to be reviewed and included.— points that you thought had to be reviewed and included. i think from our perspective. — reviewed and included. i think from our perspective. i _ reviewed and included. i think from our perspective, i manage - reviewed and included. i think from our perspective, i manage a - reviewed and included. i think from our perspective, i manage a team i reviewed and included. i think from | our perspective, i manage a team of independent sexual violence advocates who support survivors through the criminaljustice system every day. i think that for us, we hear a lot of rhetoric, we hear a lot of talking the talk by different criminaljustice agencies and what we actually see on the ground is then failing to deliver and failing to adhere to their own policies and processes. so from our perspective there are lots of things that can be brought in but adherence is really important and for us we see a crisis of management and governance within these criminaljustice agencies to actually adhere to the correct processes, protocols and sometimes laws. ~ . processes, protocols and sometimes laws. . ., ., ,, , processes, protocols and sometimes laws. ., , ::'~ laws. what happened between 2016, because those _ laws. what happened between 2016, because those are _ laws. what happened between 2016, because those are the _ laws. what happened between 2016, because those are the figures - laws. what happened between 2016, because those are the figures we - laws. what happened between 2016, because those are the figures we are using in the comparison, and now, for the figures to be so woeful? that's an excellent question. there was a legal challenge brought by an organisation that had evidence that the cps had had a change of approach towards charging rape cases and were essentially taking all but the strongest cases out of the system. so that was not upheld in court. so we cannot say that is correct. however, something definitely happened in 2016 and i think it's very indicative that the government have set 2016 as their target. i think they are aware that something changed at that point in time and i think really, the police and cps are best placed to answer for what that is. ~ best placed to answer for what that is. . , , ., 4' best placed to answer for what that is.~ , ., best placed to answer for what that is. we spoke to a guest earlier who said that change _ is. we spoke to a guest earlier who said that change needs _ is. we spoke to a guest earlier who said that change needs to - is. we spoke to a guest earlier who said that change needs to be - is. we spoke to a guest earlier who said that change needs to be made | said that change needs to be made and fast. how realistic is speedy change for something that is so complex? change for something that is so com - lex? , ., , complex? yes, i think it is incredibly _ complex? yes, i think it is incredibly unrealistic. - complex? yes, i think it is- incredibly unrealistic. particularly even when we get to the court process at this stage, it is slightly chaotic, i would say, post—pandemic and i think that if we are talking about the numbers of cases that are charged, even when cases that are charged, even when cases are charged we are seeing repeated cancellations at court, we are seeing court cases that have fixed dates being moved two or three times sometimes. so i don't believe that speedy change is possible but by believe that is imperative we do more than we are doing now because survivors who are trapped in the process, and we support people who have been in this process now for seven years and people who are reporting today, i do not want them to still be trying to pursue justice in seven years time, that would be completely unacceptable. iiirui’iiiiie in seven years time, that would be completely unacceptable. while all this is happening. _ completely unacceptable. while all this is happening, we _ completely unacceptable. while all this is happening, we could - completely unacceptable. while all this is happening, we could carry . completely unacceptable. while all| this is happening, we could carry on the discussion about each stage and how claimants are let down. whilst all this is happening, as the years ticked by, victims are unable to heal. what support is there to help them through that process and make sure their mental health is safe? absolutely. i think the safety of people's mental health is a real concern for us in the work we do. independent sexual violence advocates work incredibly hard to try to mitigate some of the harms of the criminaljustice system and specialist counselling and other services like rape crisis are incredibly important. however, there are approximately 12,000 people on rape crisis waiting lists currently across england and wales, many of them for counselling and specialist therapy. we know a lot of survivors are reluctant to access therapy prior to court because, number one, the cps guidance around pre—trial therapy is not clear, and secondly, evenif therapy is not clear, and secondly, even if they were to access therapy, there is no guarantee of privacy. the current situation is that therapy notes code and are brought into the criminaljustice process. it's an incredibly toxic toxic and harmful environment for people's mental health and well—being. ellie mental health and well-being. ellie ball, from mental health and well-being. ellie ball. from the _ mental health and well—being. ellie ball, from the cambridge crisis centre, thank you. if you've been affected by sexual violence, there are details of organisations in the uk, offering information and support. just go to bbc.co.uk/actionline. or you can call forfree, at any time, to hear recorded information on 0800 077 077. some breaking news coming to us and this is concerning those fixed penalty fines following investigations of events taking place at downing street and whitehall. so we are hearing that the metropolitan police have said that officers have now made more than 50 referrals for fixed penalty fines to the criminal records office over breaches of covid—19 regulations in whitehall and downing street. you will remember a number of weeks ago we had initially heard that 20 fixed penalty notices had been issued but now the metropolitan police have said that more than 50 referrals of a fixed penalty notices have been issued over those covid—19 regulations in whitehall and downing street. of course, we don't know the identities of those who have received them. be getting more on this on bbc news so stay with us. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. yesterday, temperatures at heathrow airport reached 19 degrees. somewhere in the south—east today could reach 20 degrees. we've got rain moving out of the north of scotland into the northern isles and rain moving out of southern england and wales into northern england, northern ireland and also scotland. some of that could be heavy and thundery. temperatures, six in the north, to 19 in degrees. a little bit cooler along the north sea coastline and the northern isles, where we've got a brisk breeze. through this evening and overnight, there goes our rain, continuing its journey northwards. there will be some clear skies, some mist and fog patches forming and some coastal mist and fog hugging the coastline of western england and also wales. as a result it's not going to be a cold night. tomorrow we start off on a cloudy note with the rain continued to push into the northern isles. behind it, the cloud will break, we'll see some sunny skies develop but also some showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery in england and wales, but warmer for most of us. hello, this is bbc news. let's get a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. good morning. we're in the business end of the women's world cup quaifiers and all four home nations are still in contention. england are unbeaten so far and take on northern ireland at windsor park tonight. victory for them, will seal qualification if austria drop points against latvia in their game this evening. last time the lionesses played northern ireland they won rather comfortably, but new captain leah williamson insists the hosts have "raised their game" since then. they are a serious contender in any game they play now in terms of being able to deliver. yeah, i think the qualification for the euros isjust another example of that and hopefully, yeah, they make it more of a regular thing because that's the only way that you really take nations forward, is by sort of putting yourself in those positions. so yeah, i'm delighted for them, and i think a sell—out crowd tomorrow speaks for itself. northern ireland's chances of reaching a first world cup are all but over following their 3—1 defeat by austria last week, which leaves them third. but with a record crowd expected in belfast later, manager kenny shiels says his side must believe that they can cause a huge upset. if we don't think that, what's the point in having the game? we've got to feel we've a chance and the girls are feeling that now and they know that we can... we just want to make sure we play at the top level against the top level and learn from it. having a crowd here will help, definitely. but we can'tjust depend on that, we've got to look at how we can play. that game is on bbc two tonight with coverage starting at 7:30pm. scotland's chances of reaching the finals are very much in the balance. they were due to face ukraine this week. that's been delayed until at least the end ofjune, leaving them with a match against the world's seventh—best side, spain. these are the games you want to play in. these are the games you want to play in you _ these are the games you want to play in you are _ these are the games you want to play in. you are playing against the best players _ in. you are playing against the best players in _ in. you are playing against the best players in the world and we know we are in— players in the world and we know we are in the _ players in the world and we know we are in the middle of the process i suppose — are in the middle of the process i suppose of— are in the middle of the process i suppose of trying to play a certain way and _ suppose of trying to play a certain way and trying to work on a number of things— way and trying to work on a number of things so— way and trying to work on a number of things so what better challenge than to— of things so what better challenge than to play one of the best teams out there. — than to play one of the best teams out there, but we want to focus on our processes and go out there and put on _ our processes and go out there and put on a _ our processes and go out there and put on a pro—performance. wales hopes of qualifying are still in their own hands. they play kazakhstan this afternoon. they're third in their group after losing to france on friday. although they can still finish second if they win their final three qualifiers. it's massive. we have to get three points _ it's massive. we have to get three points that— it's massive. we have to get three points that is— it's massive. we have to get three points. that is the _ it's massive. we have to get three points. that is the aim. _ it's massive. we have to get three points. that is the aim. it- it's massive. we have to get three points. that is the aim. it is- it's massive. we have to get three points. that is the aim. it is going| points. that is the aim. it is going to be _ points. that is the aim. it is going to be tough, — points. that is the aim. it is going to be tough, it's _ points. that is the aim. it is going to be tough, it's always _ points. that is the aim. it is going to be tough, it's always tough - to be tough, it's always tough against — to be tough, it's always tough against teams _ to be tough, it's always tough against teams that _ to be tough, it's always tough against teams that lock - to be tough, it's always tough against teams that lock up . to be tough, it's always toughl against teams that lock up like to be tough, it's always tough - against teams that lock up like we did against— against teams that lock up like we did against france _ against teams that lock up like we did against france in— against teams that lock up like we did against france in a _ against teams that lock up like we did against france in a way. - against teams that lock up like we did against france in a way. it's i did against france in a way. it's tough _ did against france in a way. it's tough and — did against france in a way. it's tough and we _ did against france in a way. it's tough and we have _ did against france in a way. it's tough and we have to _ did against france in a way. it's tough and we have to just - did against france in a way. it's tough and we have to just stayl tough and we have to just stay patient — tough and we have to just stay patient and _ tough and we have to just stay patient and believe _ tough and we have to just stay patient and believe in - tough and we have to just stay. patient and believe in ourselves that we — patient and believe in ourselves that we can _ patient and believe in ourselves that we can get _ patient and believe in ourselves that we can get goals _ patient and believe in ourselves that we can get goals like - patient and believe in ourselves that we can get goals like we i patient and believe in ourselves. that we can get goals like we had patient and believe in ourselves - that we can get goals like we had in previous— that we can get goals like we had in previous games _ that we can get goals like we had in previous games against _ that we can get goals like we had in previous games against them. - on to the champions league then, and chelsea have it all to do if they are to continue the defence of their title. they're in spain for their quarter—final second leg match with real madrid. remember, they have a 3—1 deficit to overturn. and even their manager thomas tuchel accepts that the chances of going through are "almost impossible" it is one of the biggest challenges to perform as an away team in bernabeu, it is even more difficult if you have to, if you have to earn a certain result, if you need to win with a minimum of two goals, or maybe even a three goal difference. then it makes it, yeah, almost impossible and very, very difficult. but it is still worth trying. not long to go until the commonwealth games in birmingham, but we're already looking ahead to the next one, after it was revealed where the 2026 games will be staged and it returns to australia! this time in the state of victoria. it's the sixth time the games have been hosted down under. the last was in 2018, but it's the first time a state or region has been awarded the event. sixteen sports have been confirmed on the initial programme, with up to seven more set to be added. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. as more russian forces head to the east of the country for a major new offensive, horrors are being uncovered in the villages and towns close to the capital in the north, that they used to control. there are repeated stories of violence against women, in particular of soldiers using rape as a weapon of war. sharing these stories is important as it shines a light on claims of abuses and gives a voice to the victims of this war. our correspondent, yogita limaye, has been speaking to some of those affected, and a warning that her report does contain material you may find upsetting, including descriptions of sexual violence. a quiet rural neighbourhood, shattered by barbaric violence. in a village west of kyiv, a first—hand account of rape by invading soldiers. when we started talking to this woman, we didn't know what we were to hear. we are hiding her identity to protect her. translation: a soldier entered our house. - my husband and i were there. at gunpoint, he took me to a neighbouring house. he was ordering me, take your clothes off or i'll shoot you. then he started raping me. while he was doing that, four more soldiers entered. i thought i was done for, but they took him away. she returned home to find her husband shot in the abdomen. he died two days later. she buried him in the backyard. translation: i found drugs and alcohol they left behind. j they would get high and they were drunk. most of the invading soldiers are killers, rapists and looters. only a few are ok. i want to ask putin, why is this happening? i don't understand. we are not living in the stone age. just up the road, we heard of another rape case. it is being investigated by the police. this is the house a woman was taken to and assaulted. upstairs, the bedroom where she was later killed. it's a disturbing scene. on the mirror, a message in lipstick. "tortured by unknown people, buried by russian soldiers," it says. out in the garden, we were shown her grave. a day after we went, ukrainian police exhumed her body. the note, we are told, was left by a separate unit of russians who found her body and buried her here. they later told a neighbour, oksana, about the dead woman. translation: they told me she had been raped and that her throat - was either slit or stabbed. they said she bled to death and there was a lot of blood. we travelled 70 miles east to another village. to what used to be the home of a family. a couple in their 30s and their young child. signs of their peaceful, ordinary life lie amidst the ruins. on the 9th of march, russian tanks rolled in. two soldiers shot the man dead. the woman who lived in this house managed to escape along with her child. she called the ukrainian police and she has given them her testimony. she has told them she was raped multiple times by the two drunk russian soldiers who killed her husband. and she said that they threatened to kill her little boy, too, if she didn't do exactly as they said. as the soldiers left, they burned down the house. the police chief has told us they have gathered evidence and they plan to go to the international court. in kyiv, we met ukraine's human rights ombudsman, who has been recording rape cases. translation: about 25 girls - and women aged 14-24 were raped during the occupation in the basement of one house in bucha. nine of them are pregnant. a 25—year—old woman called to tell us her 16—year—old sister was raped in the street in front of her. to calculate the number of such sexual crimes is impossible at the moment because not everyone has come to us, not everyone is willing to talk to us. among the people we met, there is no relief that the russians have gone. because they have left behind deeply wounded lives that might never recover. yogita limaye, bbc news, kyiv. if you've been affected by sexual violence, there are details of organisations in the uk, offering information and support. just go to bbc.co.uk/actionline. or you can call forfree, at any time, to hear recorded information on 0800 077 077. workers here have seen living standards fall for the third month in a row. that's because while wages are rising prices are still rising faster, according to the latest officialfigures. in the three months to february, average pay in the uk went up by 4% compared to a year earlier. but real wages fell by 1% when you take inflation into account during that time. last month, inflation hit 6.2% and figures out tomorrow are expected to show another rise. we can speak now to grant fitzner, the chief economist for the office for national statistics. thank you forjoining us. i wonder if you could just take us through those figures. hopefully i have detailed the main takeaways but what more can you add to that? {us detailed the main takeaways but what more can you add to that?— more can you add to that? 496 wages urowth in more can you add to that? 496 wages growth in normal— more can you add to that? 496 wages growth in normal times _ more can you add to that? 496 wages growth in normal times would - more can you add to that? 496 wages growth in normal times would be - growth in normal times would be considered pretty good actually but of course _ considered pretty good actually but of course we are in a period of high inflation, _ of course we are in a period of high inflation, the highest numbers we have seen— inflation, the highest numbers we have seen three decades. that is dragging — have seen three decades. that is dragging down the real numbers. we estimate _ dragging down the real numbers. we estimate that over the past year real wages, estimate that over the past year realwages, regular estimate that over the past year real wages, regular pay, fell by about— real wages, regular pay, fell by about i%~ — real wages, regular pay, fell by about 1%. if we were having this conversation a year ago real wages would _ conversation a year ago real wages would be _ conversation a year ago real wages would be rising by around 3.5% so a bil would be rising by around 3.5% so a big change — would be rising by around 3.5% so a big change over the past year. it's all driven— big change over the past year. it's all driven by inflation. is big change over the past year. it's all driven by inflation.— all driven by inflation. is there a big difference _ all driven by inflation. is there a big difference between - all driven by inflation. is there a big difference between the - all driven by inflation. is there a l big difference between the private sector and the public sector when it comes to wages? brute sector and the public sector when it comes to wages?— sector and the public sector when it comes to wages? we have seen the hithest comes to wages? we have seen the highest private _ comes to wages? we have seen the highest private sector— comes to wages? we have seen the highest private sector wage - comes to wages? we have seen the highest private sector wage growth | highest private sector wage growth since 2007, up 6.2%. public sector growth _ since 2007, up 6.2%. public sector growth is _ since 2007, up 6.2%. public sector growth is around 2%. so three times the pace _ growth is around 2%. so three times the pace of— growth is around 2%. so three times the pace of public sector so that the pace of public sector so that the big — the pace of public sector so that the big divide in the wage numbers at the _ the big divide in the wage numbers at the moment.— at the moment. what is actually drivin: at the moment. what is actually driving the _ at the moment. what is actually driving the rise _ at the moment. what is actually driving the rise in _ at the moment. what is actually driving the rise in prices? - at the moment. what is actually driving the rise in prices? howi at the moment. what is actually i driving the rise in prices? how long have ou driving the rise in prices? how long have you got! _ driving the rise in prices? how long have you got! clearly _ driving the rise in prices? how long have you got! clearly we've - driving the rise in prices? how long have you got! clearly we've had - driving the rise in prices? how longj have you got! clearly we've had the global— have you got! clearly we've had the global supply chain disrupted by covid _ global supply chain disrupted by covid it— global supply chain disrupted by covid. it still having an effect. further— covid. it still having an effect. further disruption and further covid lockdown— further disruption and further covid lockdown is. we have seen related injuries— lockdown is. we have seen related injuries to — lockdown is. we have seen related injuries to freight and logistics costs— injuries to freight and logistics costs and on top of that we have seen _ costs and on top of that we have seen big — costs and on top of that we have seen big increases in oil and gas prices _ seen big increases in oil and gas prices so— seen big increases in oil and gas prices. so all of those are having an effect — prices. so all of those are having an effect. the other factor to bear in mind _ an effect. the other factor to bear in mind and — an effect. the other factor to bear in mind and this is a good news story, _ in mind and this is a good news story, global economies including the uk _ story, global economies including the uk really bounce back out of the pandemic— the uk really bounce back out of the pandemic quite fast and that strong demand _ pandemic quite fast and that strong demand has also been driving up goods _ demand has also been driving up goods so — demand has also been driving up goods. so it's a mixed picture. but it partly— goods. so it's a mixed picture. but it partly reflects the fact that we've — it partly reflects the fact that we've had a much sharper recovery in the economy— we've had a much sharper recovery in the economy in the uk than we normally— the economy in the uk than we normally would see. it the economy in the uk than we normally would see.— the economy in the uk than we normally would see. it doesn't feel that way though. _ normally would see. it doesn't feel that way though. it _ normally would see. it doesn't feel that way though. it feels _ normally would see. it doesn't feel that way though. it feels as - normally would see. it doesn't feel that way though. it feels as if - that way though. it feels as if things are going to get worse and worse. we are expecting these inflation figures tomorrow heading inflation figures tomorrow heading in the wrong direction, how long before things settle down? brute in the wrong direction, how long before things settle down? we don't forecast at the _ before things settle down? we don't forecast at the ons, _ before things settle down? we don't forecast at the ons, that _ before things settle down? we don't forecast at the ons, that is - before things settle down? we don't forecast at the ons, that is a - forecast at the ons, that is a question— forecast at the ons, that is a question for the bank of england who are considering what the future path of inflation _ are considering what the future path of inflation needs to look like. clearly— of inflation needs to look like. clearly high—energy rates is not sustainable forever. but your guess is as good _ sustainable forever. but your guess is as good as mine as to how long it will be _ is as good as mine as to how long it will be before we start to see them fall. . ~' will be before we start to see them fall. ., ~ , ., will be before we start to see them fall. . ~ , ., y will be before we start to see them fall. ., ~ i. , . there's been a huge outpouring of sympathy since war broke out in ukraine, and many millions of pounds have been donated to help those affected. sadly, cybercriminals are taking advantage of this goodwill, using emotional posts online to divert money away from charities and into their own pockets. the bbc�*s global disinformation reporter, hannah gelbart, has more. as the war broke out in ukraine, the government put out a plea on twitter for donations. with the war affecting national infrastructure, zelensky signed a law to make crypto currency legal tender in ukraine. it's one of the few countries to do so. so far, they say they have received $70 million in crypto currencies alone. and it set something else in motion as well, criminals, scammers, fired into action, making fake appeals from every corner of the internet. somebody is capitalising on this, and i had a feeling people would fall for this and people are falling for this. so if you look at my history... ax is a cyber security researcher who has been tracking how much money these scams are making. it's a pattern we're seeing. crypto currency wallets are publicly viewable so you can see the balance and a history of transactions. as of today, this particular wallet has a total balance of over 90,000 us dollars. this wallet address is on a fake charity website and it's been used in other scams before. we also found e—mails from people impersonating real charities, like the british red cross and unicef. it is not accurate. it's not unicef branded, it's not in our colours and there is no typical donate button. this scam has made $540. and there are plenty of clues that it's fake. different e—mail addresses in the from and reply to fields. a contact button with yet another fake e—mail address. an ip address based in vietnam. another email claims to be from a children's doctor called maxine aranov in ukraine. i'm writing to you on behalf of the children's clinic here in kharkiv which was destroyed as a result of the russian invasion. i wanted to find out who this doctor was. i looked for the clinic on google earth and asked ukrainian colleagues, but we found no evidence of a children's clinic. a reverse image search matched the facebook profile picture of another doctor, but he's from mexico city. this person is using my photo of my identity to ask for money and donations for a children's hospital. it's completely false. these scams have many victims. the people who have unknowingly donated to fake charities. real charities worried their donors may lose trust. but most of all, the citizens of ukraine, in desperate need of aid. hannah gelbart, bbc news. and hannahjoins me now. there are lots of questions but i think the paramount question is, if i would like to donate, how do i do it and what do i look out for? it’s it and what do i look out for? it's reall it and what do i look out for? it�*s really important when you are donating that you are using the official charity website. as a rule official charity website. as a rule of thumb, if you are receiving text messages or e—mails i would say don't respond to the things that are coming to you, you go out to them and find those charities. you can check the charity is registered with the charities commission and if you are on a website of a charity you don't know have a look for things like spelling mistakes or links that don't work that might be red flags that something isn't quite right. if you in doubt, the government website has got some advice on how you can donate and what we can do to help people in ukraine. talk donate and what we can do to help people in ukraine.— people in ukraine. talk us through what is actually _ people in ukraine. talk us through what is actually going _ people in ukraine. talk us through what is actually going on. - people in ukraine. talk us through what is actually going on. we - people in ukraine. talk us through what is actually going on. we have all seen what's _ what is actually going on. we have all seen what's happening - what is actually going on. we have all seen what's happening in - what is actually going on. we have all seen what's happening in the l all seen what's happening in the news and it's very upsetting and everyone wants to help in anyway they can. that is what scammers are taking advantage of. they are creating these highly emotional appeals, trying to get people to part with their money, but of course we are sending —— people are sending them to the wrong causes. that is because these scams are very convincing. there are e—mails, there are fake websites from completely made up charities, or we have seen the british red cross and unicef being impersonated as well. and we had a look at one of these e—mails and find out they had stolen people's identities and were pretending to be other people to pull those heart strings and get people to donate. loathe pull those heart strings and get people to donate.— pull those heart strings and get people to donate. who are they targeting? _ people to donate. who are they targeting? anyone _ people to donate. who are they targeting? anyone can - people to donate. who are they targeting? anyone can be - people to donate. who are they - targeting? anyone can be targeted. we soke targeting? anyone can be targeted. we spoke to — targeting? anyone can be targeted. we spoke to a _ targeting? anyone can be targeted. we spoke to a cyber _ targeting? anyone can be targeted. we spoke to a cyber expert - targeting? anyone can be targeted. we spoke to a cyber expert who - targeting? anyone can be targeted. | we spoke to a cyber expert who said she had seen 2.8 million of these scam e—mails and a five—day period. so anyone might have these kinds of e—mails in their inbox orjunk folder. apart from that, it's the charities that are being impersonated and on places like twitter we are seeing fundraisers themselves who are promoting all of themselves who are promoting all of the fundraising efforts and then someone else is coming in and cloning their profiles and tweeting pretending to be them and asking their followers for many.- pretending to be them and asking their followers for many. thank you ve much their followers for many. thank you very much for— their followers for many. thank you very much for that. _ a libel case brought by the hollywood actorjohnny depp against his former wife amber heard will start hearing evidence today. the latest legal battle between the pair results from an article she wrote about domestic abuse. although he wasn't specifically named, depp said it implied that he was an abuser. our entertainment correspondent david sillito reports from the us state of virginia, where the trial is taking place. fairfax, virginia, and the fans have arrived for the beginning of this court case betweenjohnny depp and his former wife amber heard. the heart of this libel trial, allegations of repeated assault. this is of course the second time they've met in court arguing over the issue. it was in the summer of 2020 that johnny depp tried to sue the sun over an allegation he was a wife—beater. he lost the case. the judge ruled that the case was substantially true. johnny depp said the judgment was perverse and bewildering. so two accounts of a marriage that are diametrically opposed. and the previous judgment was overwhelmingly in amber heard's favour. so this, second attempt to try to restore a reputation. and the jury has today been to tell their families they could be here for seven weeks. forjohnny depp at the judgment in london had an immediate impact. he was, for instance, dropped from the fantastic beasts movie. but many of his fans have remained loyal. hopefullyjust being here, knowing that we support him, that we care enough to show up and make plans for this kind of thing will encourage him and support him to go through this ordeal. and for amber heard, who didn't even name johnny depp in the article in question in the washington post, another long court case, challenging her account of suffering abuse and assault. david sillito, bbc news. from star wars to blade runner, science fiction writers have long been fascinated by the idea of robots living alongside people. in reality, that's a long way off, but in the mean time scientists are trying to understand what makes a robot likeable. our science correspondent richard westcott has more. come on, wake up. how do you make a robot likeable? sorry. it's a simple enough question. but it needs complex science to find an answer. if we are going to live with robots in the future we have to make them likeable, we have to give them strong characters. it is casper and i know he is a little bit intimidating to look at but that is consciously designed in, the lack of expression, because the use casper to talk to kids with autism. he would normally have hair and clothes but casper is not the centrepiece of this research. bb eight is. they used bb eight to test what people like the robot. here is the experiment in action. first scientists at the university of hertfordshire asked volunteers to play with a simple reactive robot. the same robot was then programmed with an algorithm to make it playful and curious. they compared what people thought. this and curious. they compared what people thought-— and curious. they compared what people thought. this is the starting idea but it's — people thought. this is the starting idea but it's the _ people thought. this is the starting idea but it's the first _ people thought. this is the starting idea but it's the first of _ people thought. this is the starting idea but it's the first of its - people thought. this is the starting idea but it's the first of its kind. - idea but it's the first of its kind. we know now that humans interact with a curious robot and we know they find this robot more suitable. from here we know if he has this element in the robot people might like this robot. 50 element in the robot people might like this robot.— like this robot. so basically you are making _ like this robot. so basically you are making a — like this robot. so basically you are making a football _ like this robot. so basically you are making a football team - like this robot. so basically you are making a football team full| like this robot. so basically you i are making a football team full of robots to win international competition. it's a first step but the team says it could still be decades before you've got a robot sharing your home. it’s decades before you've got a robot sharing your home.— decades before you've got a robot sharing your home. it's probably the hardest environment _ sharing your home. it's probably the hardest environment you _ sharing your home. it's probably the hardest environment you can - sharing your home. it's probably the l hardest environment you can imagine because _ hardest environment you can imagine because it's _ hardest environment you can imagine because it's so unstructured, unpredictable, it can change and there _ unpredictable, it can change and there are — unpredictable, it can change and there are many actors in it. which you count — there are many actors in it. which you count readily. in a company you could _ you count readily. in a company you could make — you count readily. in a company you could make rules about how things are placed — could make rules about how things are placed in where people can go, you can't— are placed in where people can go, you can't do— are placed in where people can go, you can't do that in a household. | you can't do that in a household. i love you can't do that in a household. love the you can't do that in a household. i love the idea that a robot could beat anybody in the world chess but can't clean a shelf. learning what people accept is the first step to designing a likeable companion for your house. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. yesterday, temperatures at heathrow airport reached 19 degrees. somewhere in the south—east today could reach 20 degrees. we've got rain moving out of the north of scotland into the northern isles and rain moving out of southern england and wales into northern england, northern ireland and also scotland. some of that could be heavy and thundery. some sense and continuing across the highlands and in parts of the south—east. temperatures between six and 20 degrees but cooler along the north sea coastline and the northern isles where we do have a breeze. pollen levels today and moderate across england and is. northern england and scotland seeing low levels. through this evening and overnight a band of rain continues to push northwards. they will be some clear skies and a few showers. some patchy mist and fog forming and coastal mist and fog along the west coastal mist and fog along the west coast of england and also west wales. as a result, not a cold night. it will be a cloudy start of the day. rain clearing in the mainland of scotland and putting it in northern ireland is in the cloud will break with sunshine developing but that will spark off a few showers especially across england and where they could be heavy and thundery. but more widely temperatures are rising. as we go through the evening you can see we still have all this coastal mist and fog and it's likely to linger. but it does mean not a particularly cold start to thursday. on thursday itself it will be cloudy to start with. some brighter breaks in the east. high pressure is in charge and we have a weather front trying to come in from the west but as it bumped into this high—pressure it's weakening over time. these are the temperatures. as we head into the bank holiday weekend you can see this weather front trying to put across. high pressure is still in charge but it depends how dominant this high—pressure is as to whether it allows atlantic france to come in. so there is a chance especially on sunday we could see some rain coming in across the north and west but generally it's going to be warm, dry and bright, but don't forget that coastal mist and fog in parts of the english channel. this is bbc news. the headlines... in a rare public appearance at a space centre, president putin describes the russian military�*s goals in ukraine as "noble". translation: what we're doing is saving people on one hand, i and on the other hand we are under taking some measures to provide for the security of russia. as russia advances on ukraine's eastern donbas region, the uk and us say they are investigating whether chemical weapons have been used by russian forces in mariupol. the use of chemical weapons is abhorrent, it does cross a line and all options are on the table for how we would respond. the met police issues at least 30 more fixed penalty notices for breaches of lockdown regulations in whitehall and downing street. this comes on top of the 20 fines sent out last month. a former conservative minister has apologised for the "significant upset and concern" caused by his defence of fellow mp, imran ahmad khan, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy. victims of rape and sexual assault are being failed by "a collapse in prosecutions" in england and wales, according to a group of british mps demanding reforms. new figures show that wage growth failed to keep up with the rising cost of living between december and february in the uk. and johnny depp's legal battle with former wife amber heard begins in the united states over allegations made by the actress about domestic abuse. president vladimir putin has described russia's military objectives in ukraine as "noble", six weeks after he launched an invasion in which large numbers of civilians have been killed. mr putin said the aim was to help the people of the eastern region of donbas. he was speaking at a space centre in the russian far east which is where these pictures were filmed. it comes as ukraine's azov regiment, who are defending mariupol, claim that russian troops "used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against ukrainian forces and civilians" in the besieged southern port city. the us and uk say they are investigating the reports which have been denied by pro russian separatist forces. last month, the us presidentjoe biden said nato "would respond" if russia used chemical weapons in ukraine and said "the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use". as more russian forces head to the east of the country ahead of what's expected to be a major new offensive, atrocities — including the killing of civilians and the rape of women — are being uncovered in the villages and towns close to the capital in the north, that they used to control. we'll have more on those elements later, but first lets hear what vladamir putin had to say. translation: what we're doing is saving people on one hand, i and on the other hand we are under taking some measures to provide for the security of russia. we had no other choice. and there is no doubt, no doubt, that the objectives will be achieved. in his nightly address, ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky urged the west to do all it could to deter the kremlin from using chemical weapons. elsewhere, officials in the eastern ukrainian region of luhansk say russian tanks have started advancing for a renewed assault. mark lobel has the latest. a playground turned battleground in ukraine's east, where pro—russian troops claim to be liberating ukrainians held hostage. ukraine says russian tanks have begun advancing towards the eastern donbas region for a renewed offensive. as battle rages in the besieged city of mariupol, ukraine's azov regiment say russian drones have dropped chemicals causing breathing problems and vertigo—like symptoms after a pro—russian military spokesman threatened smoking out ukrainian defenders of a major steel plant there. translation: today, the occupiers issued a new statement _ which testifies to their preparation for a new stage of terror against ukraine and our defenders. one of the mouthpieces of the occupiers stated that they could use chemical weapons against the defenders of mariupol. we take this as seriously as possible. i want to remind the world's leaders that the possible use of chemical weapons by the russian military has already been discussed. as britain's foreign secretary seeks to verify the claims, she says putin would be held to account for any callous escalation of this conflict. we are working urgently to understand whether or not chemical weapons have been used. and if they have, as the foreign secretary has said, the people responsible will be held to account. the use of chemical weapons is abhorrent, it does cross a line and all options are on the table for how we would respond. as the war approaches its eighth week, ukraine's deputy prime minister claims more than 500 female ukrainian civilians are in russian prisons. translation: they shave their heads. they check them every day, forcing them to undress and get naked. they humiliate their human dignity. i know facts of rape, i saw spines that had been beaten. so we have to act. we have to be strong and durable. we need to understand that the absolute evil is working against us. it's the evil that feeds on weakness. a mother's reaction as her son's body is recovered in front of her eyes close to kyiv. explosion. hundreds more small explosive devices are being discovered in residential areas such as here in kharkiv, landing as people sleep. in this relentless war, where the fighting never stops. mark lobel, bbc news. let's talk to dr ralf trapp, an independent disarmament consultant and former member of the opcw, the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, which is the poison gas watchdog. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. from your area of expertise, what do you make of these initial allegations that some sort of chemical poison had been used? rumours to this extent had already been going on for some time, the possibility that russia might use chemical weapons. possibility that russia might use chemicalweapons. of possibility that russia might use chemical weapons. of course one has to remember that russia is a member of the weapons convention doesn't have chemical weapons stockpiles any more, at least that is the rule under the treaty, so we need to be careful about what actually happened. these allegations have not yet been confirmed, we await confirmation. had there been an attack, we need to understand more clearly what was done, what kind of chemical was used, how much was used and then we can determine the consequences of the attack. iloathed and then we can determine the consequences of the attack. what is the likelihood _ consequences of the attack. what is the likelihood that _ consequences of the attack. what is the likelihood that russia _ consequences of the attack. what is the likelihood that russia has - the likelihood that russia has adhered to the rule of that treaty you mentioned, because we are hearing a lot about their role played in the syria. there had been a report that from being an enabler, russia quickly became a perpetrator of chemical weapons in syria. ih of chemical weapons in syria. i�*i syria, russia was acting positively in the beginning of the conflict, in 2013 it was supportive of the programme and was in fact one of the authors of the project of eliminating these kinds of weapons, but that changed with russian troops on the ground in syria and as you said, russia then basically supported syria both politically and militarily with use of its forces, and i would include, i presume, knowledge and cooperation with the syrians when chemical weapons were used by the syrian armed forces. so it is a difficult picture. basically russia is under obligation not to have and not to use chemical weapons, and that applies also to the use of such things as riot control agents in the use of military operations and combat in ukraine. we still hope this will turn out to not be a case of chemical weapons use, but if it is one then it will have consequences. what sort of consequences on the legal stage? we know what it will do on the ground, civilians and forces that will be targeted, but legally what options are on the table? it is a situation that _ what options are on the table? it 3 a situation that needs to be taken up a situation that needs to be taken up by the political organs of the opcw. there is clearly a case if it can be demonstrated that russia was behind such use, then it would be a flagrant violation of the chemical weapons convention and that would lead to decision—making for taking action against russia. it depends very much on the context and what the nature of the use would have been, if there has been such use. there's also the possible to duck theissueis there's also the possible to duck the issue is then taken to the united nations, and in the security council we know russia has a veto but there are other things that could be done in the context of the general assembly. and there are other mechanisms that are available, again with the qualify that because of russia's position as one of the veto holders in the security council, there are limitations as to what action can be taken.- council, there are limitations as to what action can be taken. thank you for speaking — what action can be taken. thank you for speaking to _ what action can be taken. thank you for speaking to us _ what action can be taken. thank you for speaking to us today. _ the metropolitan police say officers have issued at least 30 more fines for breaches of lockdown regulations in whitehall and downing street, on top of the 20 fines sent out last month. this is part of their investigation into twelve illegal lockdown parties on eight different dates during covid restrictions. the met say they're not naming the people who have been given these fixed penalty notices, or which events they attended. however, downing street have previously confirmed that it would say if the prime minister or cabinet secretary receive one. our political correspondent david wallace lockhart is at westminster. take us through the news we got regarding these fixed penalty notices. . , regarding these fixed penalty notices. ., , , ., ., regarding these fixed penalty notices. , ., ., ., notices. the last update we got from the met police _ notices. the last update we got from the met police was _ notices. the last update we got from the met police was the _ notices. the last update we got from the met police was the 29th - notices. the last update we got from the met police was the 29th of- notices. the last update we got from| the met police was the 29th of march at which point they confirmed that 20 referrals for fixed at which point they confirmed that 20 referrals forfixed penalty notices for breaching covid rules had been issued relating to those events at whitehall while covid regulations had been in place. we now have a further update and we now know the number stands at over 50 referrals made. that doesn't necessarily mean 50 people, itjust means 50 instances where the police have judged the law to have been broken and have issued fines so one person could be getting more than one fine. the police are not saying who has received fines and are not saying what events they relate to. we know there are 12 specific events that there are 12 specific events that the met were looking at. number ten have been saying they will confirm if the prime minister or the country's top civil servant simon case get fined. we have approached downing street but have not heard back on that front yet. interestingly, at this point the met has made referrals for the fines and that does not necessarily mean the people getting them have had them arrive yet. so we may be in a period where they are not aware yet. what we do know is that downing street has said the rules were followed during the period that covid regulations were in place and we know the met police has fined over 50 instances where they believe the roots were not followed. blaze roots were not followed. also developing — roots were not followed. also developing today, _ roots were not followed. also developing today, earlier this morning, the repercussions of a statement put out by crispin blunt, defending his colleague. what has happened since then?— defending his colleague. what has happened since then? that's right. the wakefield — happened since then? that's right. the wakefield mp _ happened since then? that's right. the wakefield mp imran _ happened since then? that's right. the wakefield mp imran ahmad i happened since then? that's right. i the wakefield mp imran ahmad khan was found guilty yesterday of sexually assaulting a 15—year—old in 2008. he has since been expelled from the conservative party after that verdict. his former party colleague crispin blunt issued a statement yesterday saying he felt this was a dreadful miscarriage of justice. he is a formerjustice minister himself and he got a lot of flakfor that minister himself and he got a lot of flak for that statement. government ministers distanced themselves from it. opposition mps who sit on a cross—party lgbt group were very unhappy he made the comments. he has since retracted them and has apologised for that statement, and stressed he did not mean to cause upset and he respect the integrity of the justice process and he has now resigned as chair of that cross—party group on lgbt rights, for mps and members of the house of lords. . ., ,, ., ., ,, lords. david wallace lockhart, thank ou. workers here have seen living standards fall for the third month in a row. that's because, while wages are rising, prices are still rising faster, according to the latest officialfigures. in the three months to february, average pay in the uk went up by 4% compared to a year earlier. but real wages fell by 1% when you take inflation into account during that time. last month, inflation hit 6.2%, and figures out tomorrow are expected to show another rise. earlier i spoke to our economics correspondent andy verity. he told me that people are already feeling the squeeze in living standards. they're feeling it when they open their bills that come through the door from their energy companies and they wince. i think we all are going to in the coming months when we see those bills, and it's also just going shopping. because of the high cost of fuel, partly because of the war in ukraine, but also partlyjust because the global economy has reopened after the pandemic, there is a lot of demand for goods and services, that means lots of demand for transportation as well and the fuel that goes with it. those are all pushing up prices on our supermarket shelves, and also we are seeing the prices of services rise and we are seeing wages rise. it's the most inflationary picture we have really seen in 30 years. and as you mentioned we expect further inflation tomorrow. it is in that light that you look at the pay rises. now, 4%, the average pay rise, not bad compared to the last 15 years, 4%, but then you look at inflation, as you mentioned at the last count, 6.2%, and in the period covered by these stats, it was 5%, which is why you have a 1% fall in living standards. i think a lot of people will be saying, only 1%, it feels like a lot more than that, but you have to remember this is averaged across the whole economy. it is a story we have been reporting for the last 15 years. i can remember reporting back in 2011, for example, after the global financial crisis, that was when the squeeze in living standards really began. and so although we had a bit of respite between 2017 and about 2021, the pandemic and its aftermath have pitched us back into that squeeze on living standards. all in all it is going to amount to the worst decade for improvements in living standards, the worst 15 years, that we have really ever had on economic record. the implications of that are huge. if consumers aren't driving economic growth because they don't have the money, what does? is it public spending? is it investment by the private sector? that is really what rishi sunak has been gambling on, that investment from the private sector will take the place of public spending, and that will be what drives economic growth. but so far we are not really see a huge sign of that. we are seeing some investment but not enough to really get the economy motoring. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: as russia advances on ukraine's eastern donbas region, president putin makes a rare public appearance at a space centre, and descibes the russian military�*s goals as noble. the met police issues at least 30 more fixed penalty notices for breaches of lockdown regulations in whitehall and downing street. this comes on top of the 20 fines sent out last month. a former conservative minister has apologised for the �*significant upset and concern' caused by his defence of fellow mp, imran ahmad khan, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy. sport and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good morning. we're in the business end of the women's world cup quaifiers and all four home nations are still in contention. england are unbeaten so far and take on northern ireland at windsor park tonight. victory for them will seal qualification if austria drop points against latvia in their game this evening. last time the lionesses played northern ireland they won rather comfortably, but new captain leah williamson insists the hosts have "raised their game" since then. they are a serious contender in any game they play now in terms of being able to deliver. yeah, i think the qualification for the euros isjust another example of that and hopefully, yeah, they make it more of a regular thing because that's the only way that you really take nations forward, is by sort of putting yourself in those positions. so yeah, i'm delighted for them, and i think a sell—out crowd tomorrow speaks for itself. that game is on bbc two tonight with coverage starting at 7:30pm. wales ta ke wales take on kazakhstan this afternoon. scotland's chances of reaching the finals are very much in the balance. they were due to face ukraine this week. that's been delayed until at least the end ofjune, leaving them with a match against the world's seventh—best side, spain. these are the games you want to play in. you are challenging against the best players in the world and we know we are in the middle of the process i suppose of trying to play a certain way and trying to work on a number of things so what better challenge than to play one of the best teams out there, but we want to focus on our processes and go out there and put on a proud performance. on to the champions league then, and chelsea have it all to do if they are to continue the defence of their title. they're in spain for their quarter—final second leg match with real madrid. remember, they have a 3—1 deficit to overturn. and even their manager thomas tuchel accepts that the chances of going through are "almost impossible". it is one of the biggest challenges to perform as an away team in bernabeu, it is even more difficult if you have to, if you have to earn a certain result, if you need to win with a minimum of two goals, or maybe even a three goal difference. then it makes it, yeah, almost impossible and very, very difficult. but it is still worth trying. that's all the sport for now. victims of rape and sexual assault are being failed by a collapse in prosecutions and poor provision of support services, according to a group of mps. the home affairs committee says the government's plans to improve "lack ambition" — and that it could miss its target, after the number of rape offences recorded in england and wales last year reached a record high. lauren moss reports. emily hunt has been a campaigner against sexual violence ever since she was filmed while naked and unconscious one night by a man she had onlyjust met. emily advised the uk government on its rape review last year, a review which mps think will miss its targets to improve prosecutions. we have over 120,000 rapes a year in our country and we are not prosecuting enough of them, and too many rapists are going on to do it again. rape is a horrible, intimate crime, and you feel like your life is being pulled apart. and, you know, 50% of rape victims develop ptsd and... i don't really think that anyone can really understand what it feels like to have your control so completely taken away from you as a result of a crime and then have your control also... feel like you have your control taken away from you through the criminaljustice system as well. the home affairs committee says it has little confidence that a government pledge to return to 2016 prosecution levels by 2024 will be met and court delays, harmful evidence gathering processes and poor provision of support services are stopping people from seeking justice. in the year to september 2021, more than 63,000 rape offences were recorded in england and wales — the highest ever. but the number of prosecutions has fallen in the past five years, from 5,000 in 2017 to 1,500 in 2021. cross—party group of mps have branded the figures truly shocking and completely unacceptable. this report, following on from the reports of her majesty's inspectorate of constabulary and other statements that have been made about current performance on rape, is a wake up call to all the agencies in this field, that what you are doing is not enough. what we are doing is not properly resourced and the victim survivors are just not going to getjustice at all, given the efforts that are currently being made. the home affairs committee is calling for significant funding to make a national impact. it wants counselling and independent legal advice to be made available to victims and survivors and specialist rape units created in all police forces. the government says there has been a modest increase in the number of charges for rape, but campaigners say more change is needed and fast. it's gone beyond being failed at this stage, they are being harmed by the criminaljustice system and i do not believe that we are on track and i do not believe that what's been outlined by the government is enough to change the situation as it is. and i have real worries for survivors that are caught up in this process for four, five, six, seven years. in a statement, a government spokesperson says, "they're clear much more needs to be done and they are recruiting more sexual violence advisers and boosting funding for victim support services by at least £440 million over the next three years." but for survivors of sexual violence, the wait for justice continues for now. lauren moss, bbc news. if you've been affected by sexual violence, there are details of organisations in the uk, offering information and support. just go to bbc.co.uk/actionline. or you can call forfree, at any time, to hear recorded information on 0800 077 077. the uk's ministry of defence says moscow's current war plans remain focused on ukrainian positions near donetsk and luhansk, in the east. our security correspondent, frank gardner, has been looking at the military strategy both sides are deploying ahead of russia's anticipated big push. president putin has today claimed russia "had no other choice" but to start this invasion in ukraine in order to protect russia. in a rare public appearance he described the russian military�*s goals in ukraine as "noble". let's have a look at how those goals are workiung out for russia in this war that is now approaching 50 daysso this is how the overall picture has changed. two weeks ago the invading russian forces in red were massed in the north around the capital kyiv but they failed to take it so....this is how it s looking today. you can see how they ve largely vanished from the north. they ve pulled back across the border ready to be redeployed in the coming battles in the east, the region known as the donbas. and this is where the entire direction of this war is likely to be decided. it s here that some of ukraine s most experienced troops are dug in, in well—prepared, fortified positions. working against them is geography. they are much closer to the russian border than they are to kyiv and their rear support lines. getting supplies for them in these dugout positions will be tough but this is where the battle is going to be decided. moving further south to mariupol, the besieged port down at the sea of azov. it's still not completely in russian hands, despite nearly 50 days of intense shelling and response by russians was not a hard core are holding out, some of them from the azov battalion, with their alleged far right links. today we have heard there has been an alleged chemical attack. it is very hard to actually prove this but already britain's james heappey, the armed forces minister, has promised a serious response if it is proven that russia was behind this alleged chemical attack. lute that russia was behind this alleged chemical attack.— chemical attack. we are working ura entl chemical attack. we are working urgently to _ chemical attack. we are working urgently to understand - chemical attack. we are working urgently to understand whether| chemical attack. we are working i urgently to understand whether or not chemical weapons have been used and if they have, as the foreign secretary has said, the people responsible will be held to account. the use of chemical weapons is aberrant, it crosses a line, and all options are on the table as to how we would respond. —— make the use of chemical weapons is abhorrent. the man who can _ chemical weapons is abhorrent. the man who can stop all this is the man who started, president vladimir putin. he talked today at a rare appearance. i don't think and i don't think any analyst thinks he will stop this invasion and this war until he has some tangible aim is that he can show that he has brought ukraine back in the way russia wants, perhaps controlling the donbas, holding on to the crimea and making sure ukraine neverjoins nato. but he will want tangible aims to prove to his people that all this bloodshed and cost was worth it. the general secretary of the trades union congress, frances o'grady, says she will stand down at the end of the year. she's led the body, which represents the majority of trade unions in england and wales for over nine years. in a tweet, she said leading the movement "had been the greatest honour of her life." now it's time for a look at the weather. hello again. yesterday, temperatures at heathrow airport reached 19 degrees. somewhere in the south—east today could reach 20 degrees. we've got rain moving out of the north of scotland into the northern isles and rain moving out of southern england and wales into northern england, northern ireland and also scotland. some of that could be heavy and thundery. temperatures, six in the north, to 19 in degrees. a little bit cooler along the north sea coastline and the northern isles, where we've got a brisk breeze. through this evening and overnight, there goes our rain, continuing its journey northwards. there will be some clear skies, some mist and fog patches forming and some coastal mist and fog hugging the coastline of western england and also wales. as a result it's not going to be a cold night. tomorrow we start off on a cloudy note with the rain continued to push into the northern isles. behind it, the cloud will break, we'll see some sunny skies develop but also some showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery in england and wales, but warmer for most of us. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: as russia advances on ukraine's eastern donbas region, president putin makes a rare public appearance at a space centre, and descibes the russian military�*s goals as noble. the uk and us say they are investigating whether chemical weapons have been used by russian forces in mariupol. the met police issues at least 30 more fixed penalty notices for breaches of lockdown regulations in whitehall and downing street. this comes on top of the 20 fines sent out last month. a former conservative minister has apologised for the �*significant upset and concern' caused by his defence of fellow mp, imran ahmad khan, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy. victims of rape and sexual assault are being failed by �*a collapse in prosecutions' in england and wales, according to a group of british mps demanding reforms. new figures show that wage growth failed to keep up with the rising cost of living between december and february in the uk. let's return to partygate now and we've heard in the last hour that the met police say officers have issued at least 30 more fines for breaches of lockdown regulations in whitehall and downing street. that's on top of the 20 fines sent out last month. in the last few minutes, the labour leader, sir keir starmer was asked for his reaction. this is further evidence that blows the prime — this is further evidence that blows the prime minister's _ this is further evidence that blows the prime minister's defence - this is further evidence that blows the prime minister's defence out i this is further evidence that blowsl the prime minister's defence out of the prime minister's defence out of the water~ — the prime minister's defence out of the water~ he — the prime minister's defence out of the water. he told _ the prime minister's defence out of the water. he told the country - the prime minister's defence out of the water. he told the country until parliament— the water. he told the country until parliament that _ the water. he told the country until parliament that all— the water. he told the country until parliament that all the _ the water. he told the country until parliament that all the rules - the water. he told the country until parliament that all the rules were i parliament that all the rules were compliant — parliament that all the rules were compliant with _ parliament that all the rules were compliant with in _ parliament that all the rules were compliant with in downing - parliament that all the rules were compliant with in downing streetl compliant with in downing street where _ compliant with in downing street where he — compliant with in downing street where he lives _ compliant with in downing street where he lives and _ compliant with in downing street where he lives and works - compliant with in downing street where he lives and works and - compliant with in downing streetl where he lives and works and now it's obvious — where he lives and works and now it's obvious there _ where he lives and works and now it's obvious there was _ where he lives and works and now it's obvious there was widespread| it's obvious there was widespread criminality — it's obvious there was widespread criminality so _ it's obvious there was widespread criminality. so i'm _ it's obvious there was widespread criminality. so i'm afraid - it's obvious there was widespread criminality. so i'm afraid it- it's obvious there was widespread criminality. so i'm afraid it calls i criminality. so i'm afraid it calls into even — criminality. so i'm afraid it calls into even further— criminality. so i'm afraid it calls into even further question - criminality. so i'm afraid it calls into even further question the i into even further question the honesty— into even further question the honesty and _ into even further question the honesty and integrity - into even further question the honesty and integrity of - into even further question the honesty and integrity of the i into even further question the - honesty and integrity of the prime minister— honesty and integrity of the prime minister who— honesty and integrity of the prime minister who stood _ honesty and integrity of the prime minister who stood up— honesty and integrity of the prime minister who stood up and - honesty and integrity of the prime minister who stood up and said i minister who stood up and said nothing — minister who stood up and said nothing was _ minister who stood up and said nothing was going _ minister who stood up and said nothing was going on— minister who stood up and said nothing was going on that - minister who stood up and said i nothing was going on that should minister who stood up and said - nothing was going on that should not have gone _ nothing was going on that should not have gone on— nothing was going on that should not have gone on and _ nothing was going on that should not have gone on and all— nothing was going on that should not have gone on and all the _ nothing was going on that should not have gone on and all the rules - nothing was going on that should not have gone on and all the rules were. have gone on and all the rules were compliant _ have gone on and all the rules were compliant with _ have gone on and all the rules were compliant with. it's _ have gone on and all the rules were compliant with. it's obvious - have gone on and all the rules were compliant with. it's obvious that. compliant with. it's obvious that was wrong — compliant with. it's obvious that was wrong and _ compliant with. it's obvious that was wrong and it _ compliant with. it's obvious that was wrong and it reflects - compliant with. it's obvious that was wrong and it reflects very i compliant with. it's obvious that. was wrong and it reflects very badly on the _ was wrong and it reflects very badly on the prime — was wrong and it reflects very badly on the prime minister. _ was wrong and it reflects very badly on the prime minister. his- was wrong and it reflects very badly on the prime minister. his defencel on the prime minister. his defence has been _ on the prime minister. his defence has been absolutely _ on the prime minister. his defence has been absolutely blown - on the prime minister. his defence has been absolutely blown out - on the prime minister. his defence has been absolutely blown out of i on the prime minister. his defence i has been absolutely blown out of the water~ _ the union which represents border force workers, says that staff shortages will mean a very difficult summer lays ahead at airports and ports and that staffing levels were so bad that incentives were being offered for working shifts at heathrow airport. meanwhile, there's continued disruption at the port of dover, as ferry operators work to clear freight backlogs and process passengers despite reduced fleet capacity. and with the upcoming easter getaway this weekend, the roads are expected to be busy too. our business correspondent simon browning has the latest. the rail transport can end in going on at the moment. a really stark warning from the head of the immigration services union who looks after the border force officials at the airport. we see all of these cues now for a couple of weeks. passenger demand has researched after the pandemic. we have seen lots of people going back into airports but the problem is there just aren't enough staff at the moment to cope with these huge volumes of us who want to go back to travel again. we want to get back to the costa del sol and back to the beaches and back to see families again who live overseas. the problem is, there are huge staffing crunches in the airport and this goes the border force officials, those who check our passports, and as we heard this morning we are going into this summer and weekend catastrophically understaffed. that is a big concern for those that are running airports and especially airlines and operators who are desperate to see these passages come back. the revenue has increased again and now they are short of staff to process people. so it's not the best news. they are offering huge incentives for staff from scotland who are not working to come down and work at heathrow to try and clear some of this backlog. so airports are under a lot of pressure. one recruiter had said this morning when problem has been that brexit has not helped with theissue, been that brexit has not helped with the issue, we have a natural attraction from the eu would apply for vacancies and since brexit we have lost some of that talent pool. that is why some of these airports are just so supportive staff. let’s are just so supportive staff. let's finish off with _ are just so supportive staff. let's finish off with the _ are just so supportive staff. let's finish off with the ports. - finish off with the ports. felixstowe and particularly dover, damaging reports saying the uk was at risk of losing its reputation because of the situation and eu hauliers refusing to come to the uk. it's been a problem for many transport operators in the last two years because of the delays and because of brexit. i've just had a textbook from one of the transport operators and he said to me last week was an absolute nightmare, 40 hours waiting to cross the channel. it's much better today sorry yesterday but delays are backing up again. one of the big operators that crosses the channel has said in the last hour it is running to time. this has all been caused by piano removing three ships from servicing the channel and we have seen a big crunch in supply. one of those vessels is currently being inspected and they have said that inspection is still ongoing but they are hoping and there is that the thought that if p&0 get that there back in the service we will see more channel crossings. the us state department has instructed its non—emergency consular staff based in the chinese city of shanghai to leave, as a stringent covid lockdown affecting 26 million people causes increasing hardship. the instructions were issued despite the authorities announcing a plan to ease some restrictions. video posted in recent days on social media show angry residents saying that after three weeks of lockdown, they are running out of food. our correspondent, stephen mcdonell, gave us this update from beijing. certainly many people have had enough. they don't have enough provisions. the problem is not so much that there isn't enough food in the city of shanghai, it's that there are not enough drivers to get there are not enough drivers to get the food the last mile or two to people's doorstep. if you are going to lock down the city of 25 million people you would think that you might make drivers similar to police or emergency workers and in that way keep them out of being locked down at home but they haven't done that and so there are not enough people to deliver provisions. two people who are locked down. you mentioned that decision by the us government to remove all nonessential staff from the shanghai consulate, we have just heard from the chinese foreign ministry that representations have been made with the us government, thatis been made with the us government, that is diplomatic speak for an official complaint from beijing to washington, i guess the chinese government is worried that this appears internationally like the situation is out of control in shanghai. there is a bit of good news though in that city today. today for the first time since april in terms of official numbers, the cases have come down. there's been a huge outpouring of sympathy since war broke out in ukraine, and many millions of pounds have been donated to help those affected. sadly, cybercriminals are taking advantage of this goodwill, using emotional posts online to divert money away from charities and into their own pockets. the bbc�*s global disinformation reporter, hannah gelbart, has more. as the war broke out in ukraine, the government put out a plea on twitter for donations. with the war affecting national infrastructure, zelensky signed a law to make crypto currency legal tender in ukraine. it's one of the few countries to do so. so far, they say they have received $70 million in crypto currencies alone. and it set something else in motion as well, criminals, scammers, fired into action, making fake appeals from every corner of the internet. somebody is capitalising on this, and i had a feeling people would fall for this and people are falling for this. so if you look at my history... ax is a cyber security researcher who has been tracking how much money these scams are making. it's a pattern we're seeing. crypto currency wallets are publicly viewable so you can see the balance and a history of transactions. as of today, this particular wallet has a total balance of over 90,000 us dollars. this wallet address is on a fake charity website and it's been used in other scams before. we also found e—mails from people impersonating real charities, like the british red cross and unicef. it is not accurate. it's not unicef branded, it's not in our colours and there is no typical donate button. this scam has made $540. and there are plenty of clues that it's fake. different e—mail addresses in the from and reply to fields. a contact button with yet another fake e—mail address. an ip address based in vietnam. another email claims to be from a children's doctor called maxine aranov in ukraine. i'm writing to you on behalf of the children's clinic here in kharkiv which was destroyed as a result of the russian invasion. i wanted to find out who this doctor was. i looked for the clinic on google earth and asked ukrainian colleagues, but we found no evidence of a children's clinic. a reverse image search matched the facebook profile picture of another doctor, but he's from mexico city. this person is using my photo of my identity to ask for money and donations for a children's hospital. it's completely false. these scams have many victims. the people who have unknowingly donated to fake charities. real charities worried their donors may lose trust. but most of all, the citizens of ukraine, in desperate need of aid. hannah gelbart, bbc news. president biden has announced new rules to crack down on what are known as �*ghost guns�* which are privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly being used in violent crime in the us. "ghost guns" are sold in kits and do not require a licence or a background check. mr biden said such guns were the weapons of choice for many criminals. is it extreme to protect police officers? is it extreme to protect our children? protect police officers? is it extreme to protect our children? extreme to keep guns out of the hands of people who couldn�*t even pass a background check? look, the idea that someone on a terrorist list could purchase one of these guns is extreme. this isn�*t extreme, it�*s just basic common sense. a man who lost his uncle in the grenfell tower fire has told the public inquiry into the disaster that the authorities were more concerned about a riot than helping him. karim mussilhy, who helped form the campaign group grenfell united, described the government and local council as crooks and criminals . he said in the chaotic days following the fire he received no help to discover what had happened to his uncle, hesham rahman, whose death was only officially confirmed 2 months later. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds is here. some pretty moving testimony. the inquiry is focusing on the chaotic days following the ground felt our fire in june days following the ground felt our fire injune 2017. the streets were full of police cordons, desperate relatives trying to find people who might have died or escaped from the tower. it was absolute chaos. the inquiry wants to know how well the council in particular responded to the crisis. the council has already accepted it did not respond well. the uncle was on the top floor of the tower so the most difficult place for firefighters to attempt to get to and his nephewjust didn�*t know whether his uncle had gone out alive. he is still giving evidence about his desperate search in those days through the streets to try and find anybody to give him any information and he said the police were only concerned about keeping people out of the cordons they had set up, there was no sign of anybody from the council, he said it was important —— impossible to get into the various rest centres that had been set up. journalists were acting very poorly said trying to get close to people and eventually he got some family liaison officers from the police and in those early days they also had no information for him. he said his general impression was they were so much tension in the area of the council and the police were more worried about riots happening than actually helping the relatives of those in the tower. so a pretty damning testimony. and he told the inquiry that the first time he realised that his uncle might have died was when he saw some firefighters t—shirts that had been ploughed in one of the streets with notes from firefighters saying they were very sorry but they had not got to the 21st floor of the tower and as i said he lived on the top floor of the tower. this is what he told the inquiry. it of the tower. this is what he told the inquiry-— the inquiry. it was 'ust a heart sinkin: the inquiry. it was 'ust a heart sinking moment. _ the inquiry. it was 'ust a heart sinking moment. i]— the inquiry. it wasjust a heart sinking moment. i still- the inquiry. it wasjust a heart sinking moment. i still feel. the inquiry. it wasjust a heart sinking moment. i still feel it| sinking moment. i still feel it today — sinking moment. i still feel it today. notjust my uncle, for everybody. you know, they were doomed — everybody. you know, they were doomed. there was no way they were going _ doomed. there was no way they were going to _ doomed. there was no way they were going to survive. they were left. he also going to survive. they were left. also says that going to survive. they were left. he: also says that the relatives were left on their own with no help and he actually became one of the leading lights and the founding members of grenfell united which represents many of the people in the area and he said grenfell united exists because the authorities nonexistence. they purposely left people to fend for themselves. the headlines on bbc news: as russia advances on ukraine�*s eastern donbas region, president putin makes a rare public appearance at a space centre, and descibes the russian military�*s goals as noble. the met police issues at least 30 more fixed penalty notices for breaches of lockdown regulations in whitehall and downing street. this comes on top of the 20 fines sent out last month. a former conservative minister has apologised for the �*significant upset and concern�* caused by his defence of fellow mp, imran ahmad khan, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy. a libel case brought by the hollywood actorjohnny depp against his former wife amber heard will start hearing evidence today. the latest legal battle between the pair results from an article she wrote about domestic abuse. although he wasn�*t specifically named, depp said it implied that he was an abuser. our entertainment correspondent david sillito reports from the us state of virginia, where the trial is taking place. fairfax, virginia, and the fans have arrived for the beginning of this court case betweenjohnny depp and his former wife amber heard. the heart of this libel trial, allegations of repeated assault. this is of course the second time they�*ve met in court arguing over the issue. it was in the summer of 2020 that johnny depp tried to sue the sun over an allegation he was a wife—beater. he lost the case. the judge ruled that the case was substantially true. johnny depp said the judgment was perverse and bewildering. so two accounts of a marriage that are diametrically opposed. and the previous judgment was overwhelmingly in amber heard�*s favour. so this, second attempt to try to restore a reputation. and the jury has today been to tell their families they could be here for seven weeks. forjohnny depp at the judgment in london had an immediate impact. he was, for instance, dropped from the fantastic beasts movie. but many of his fans have remained loyal. hopefullyjust being here, knowing that we support him, that we care enough to show up and make plans for this kind of thing will encourage him and support him to go through this ordeal. and for amber heard, who didn�*t even namejohnny depp in the article in question in the washington post, another long court case, challenging her account of suffering abuse and assault. david sillito, bbc news. harry and harley crane are thought to be britain�*s most premature babies to have survived. they spent the first five months of their lives in intensive care, and needed a series of operations, but they�*re both finally home. graham satchell has been catching up with their parents. when baby harley was born in october last year she was just 15 centimetres long and weighed 500 grams orjust over £1 centimetres long and weighed 500 grams orjust over e1 in old money. her twin brother harry borne an hour later weighed a fraction more, 520 grams. they were so tiny they could fit in the palm of your hand. harley and harry�*s mum and dad will rememberforever and harry�*s mum and dad will remember forever the and harry�*s mum and dad will rememberforever the momentjade remember forever the moment jade went into rememberforever the momentjade went into labour early at 22 weeks and five days. i went into labour early at 22 weeks and five days-— went into labour early at 22 weeks and five da s. , ,, ., ., ~' and five days. i remember you looked at me and said _ and five days. i remember you looked at me and said that _ and five days. i remember you looked at me and said that this _ and five days. i remember you looked at me and said that this could - and five days. i remember you looked at me and said that this could be - at me and said that this could be the worst day of our lives. ihls i at me and said that this could be the worst day of our lives. as i was sa in: it i the worst day of our lives. as i was saying it i corrected _ the worst day of our lives. as i was saying it i corrected myself - the worst day of our lives. as i was saying it i corrected myself and - the worst day of our lives. as i was saying it i corrected myself and i i saying it i corrected myself and i was thinking this was going to be the worst— was thinking this was going to be the worst day of our lives and as i was saying — the worst day of our lives and as i was saying that i corrected myself and said _ was saying that i corrected myself and said it — was saying that i corrected myself and said it could be the worst day of our— and said it could be the worst day of our lives — and said it could be the worst day of our lives and it could also be the best— of our lives and it could also be the best and here we are. defied all the best and here we are. defied all the odds. babies _ the best and here we are. defied all the odds. babies are _ the best and here we are. defied all the odds. babies are not _ the best and here we are. defied all the odds. babies are not normally i the odds. babies are not normally considered viable until 24 weeks so when harley was born expectations were low. then something remarkable happened. were low. then something remarkable hauened. ., , . happened. harley cried, it was almost a defiant _ happened. harley cried, it was almost a defiant i _ happened. harley cried, it was almost a defiant i am - happened. harley cried, it was almost a defiant i am here - happened. harley cried, it wasj almost a defiant i am here and happened. harley cried, it was i almost a defiant i am here and of course then ijumped in the air. there was a sign of life and everything absolutely kicked in and the support and expertise in that room in particularly of a few doctors and nurses that came with us on the journey from that point and saved their lives. the on the journey from that point and saved their lives.— saved their lives. the twins spent 140 da s saved their lives. the twins spent 140 days in _ saved their lives. the twins spent 140 days in intensive _ saved their lives. the twins spent 140 days in intensive care - saved their lives. the twins spent 140 days in intensive care and - saved their lives. the twins spent | 140 days in intensive care and had saved their lives. the twins spent i 140 days in intensive care and had a series of operations on almost all the major organs. before one operationjade and steve were told to say goodbye. lute operation jade and steve were told to say goodbye-— operation jade and steve were told to say goodbye. we quickly arranged a christening — to say goodbye. we quickly arranged a christening and _ to say goodbye. we quickly arranged a christening and it _ to say goodbye. we quickly arranged a christening and it felt _ to say goodbye. we quickly arranged a christening and it felt like - to say goodbye. we quickly arranged a christening and it felt like a - a christening and it felt like a funeral. that was the worst point for me, the lowest point. it funeral. that was the worst point for me, the lowest point.- funeral. that was the worst point for me, the lowest point. it was a ve lona for me, the lowest point. it was a very long time — for me, the lowest point. it was a very long time until— for me, the lowest point. it was a very long time until we _ for me, the lowest point. it was a very long time until we had - for me, the lowest point. it was a very long time until we had a - for me, the lowest point. it was a i very long time until we had a decent day. very long time until we had a decent day hn— very long time until we had a decent da . �* ., , , . day. an optimistic day where we were not told that — day. an optimistic day where we were not told that they _ day. an optimistic day where we were not told that they are _ day. an optimistic day where we were not told that they are still _ day. an optimistic day where we were not told that they are still very - not told that they are still very much in the woods. teh not told that they are still very much in the woods. ten weeks i think. much in the woods. ten weeks i think- ten _ much in the woods. ten weeks i think. ten weeks _ much in the woods. ten weeks i think. ten weeks of _ much in the woods. ten weeks i think. ten weeks of being - much in the woods. ten weeks i think. ten weeks of being told i much in the woods. ten weeks i | think. ten weeks of being told it was probably — think. ten weeks of being told it was probably not _ think. ten weeks of being told it was probably not going - think. ten weeks of being told it was probably not going to - think. ten weeks of being told it was probably not going to work. think. ten weeks of being told it - was probably not going to work out. after almost four months in intensive care, jade and steve were able to bring their babies home. at 22 weeks and five days harley and harry are the most premature twins to survive in the uk and thought to be the third most premature in the world. it be the third most premature in the world. , , ., be the third most premature in the world. , , ,, ., world. it definitely feels like a miracle. world. it definitely feels like a miracle- it _ world. it definitely feels like a miracle. it definitely - world. it definitely feels like a miracle. it definitely does. i world. it definitely feels like a i miracle. it definitely does. these miracles are happening more often now. i think things are changing. and notjust that now. i think things are changing. and not just that they survived birth, it�*s everything on this journey since, theyjust birth, it�*s everything on this journey since, they just seem to birth, it�*s everything on this journey since, theyjust seem to be reacting strongly to and winning the small battles. the war is not one yet but everything that has been thrown at them, they seem to be able to recover from and overcome. the twins have — to recover from and overcome. the twins have now _ to recover from and overcome. the twins have now been home for a month and are doing well. babies born before 20 weeks are very likely to have developmental problem butjade says they should still be given every chance. i says they should still be given every chance-— says they should still be given every chance. says they should still be given eve chance. ., , ., every chance. i always used to say, will they be — every chance. i always used to say, will they be able _ every chance. i always used to say, will they be able to _ every chance. i always used to say, will they be able to feel— every chance. i always used to say, will they be able to feel love? - every chance. i always used to say, will they be able to feel love? that| will they be able to feel love? that is the _ will they be able to feel love? that is the main — will they be able to feel love? that is the main thing for me. and they cah _ is the main thing for me. and they cah at— is the main thing for me. and they cah at the — is the main thing for me. and they can. at the moment they seem absolutely perfect. we could have problems— absolutely perfect. we could have problems along the way but that's not to— problems along the way but that's not to say— problems along the way but that's not to say that anybody or a baby that is _ not to say that anybody or a baby that is born — not to say that anybody or a baby that is born at 30 weeks full—term, they go— that is born at 30 weeks full—term, they go on— that is born at 30 weeks full—term, they go on to have problems. we know that from _ they go on to have problems. we know that from being in the unit for so long _ that from being in the unit for so long. babies are full—term can have develop _ long. babies are full—term can have develop mental problems. people say they could _ develop mental problems. people say they could have health problems in they could have health problems in the future — they could have health problems in the future but so could you. five weeks _ the future but so could you. five weeks at — the future but so could you. five weeks at home. how are you feeling harry— weeks at home. how are you feeling harry and _ weeks at home. how are you feeling harry and harley? 0k. are you all right— harry and harley? 0k. are you all right harry? — harry and harley? 0k. are you all right harry? yes. and harley? hello. i right harry? yes. and harley? hello. ican't _ right harry? yes. and harley? hello. ican't wait _ right harry? yes. and harley? hello. ican't wait to— right harry? yes. and harley? hello. i can't wait to be able to i can�*t wait to be able to communicate to them how proud of them i am. anything is possible for them i am. anything is possible for them because of what they have done already. it�*s notjustice either, doctors are amazed by what they are doing. specialists can�*t believe their development. it seems just miraculous. their development. it seems 'ust miraculouefi miraculous. they give me my strength- _ miraculous. they give me my strength- i— miraculous. they give me my strength. i am _ miraculous. they give me my strength. i am so _ miraculous. they give me my strength. i am so proud - miraculous. they give me my strength. i am so proud of i miraculous. they give me my - strength. i am so proud of them. they— strength. i am so proud of them. they are — strength. i am so proud of them. they are true fighters. i am just so proud _ they are true fighters. i am just so proud of— they are true fighters. i am just so proud of them and i can't wait to be able to— proud of them and i can't wait to be able to tell— proud of them and i can't wait to be able to tell them this story and how proud _ able to tell them this story and how proud we _ able to tell them this story and how proud we are. jade able to tell them this story and how proud we are-— able to tell them this story and how proud we are. jade and steve had ivf treatment for — proud we are. jade and steve had ivf treatment for 11 _ proud we are. jade and steve had ivf treatment for 11 years _ proud we are. jade and steve had ivf treatment for 11 years before - proud we are. jade and steve had ivf treatment for 11 years before they - treatment for 11 years before they were successful. it�*s been a long fight to get this far but they are now relishing the journey ahead. from star wars to blade runner, science fiction writers have long been fascinated by the idea of robots living alongside people. in reality, that�*s a long way off. but in the mean time, scientists are trying to understand what makes a robot likeable. our science correspondent, richard westcott, has more. come on, wake up bb8. come on. how do you make a robot likeable? ooh, sorry, sorry, sorry. it�*s a simple enough question... you�*re just being grumpy now. ..but it needs complex science to find an answer. if we are going to live with robots in the future we have to make them likeable, we have to give them strong characters. it is casper and i know casper is a little bit intimidating to look at but that is consciously designed in, the lack of expression, because they use casper to talk to kids with autism. he would normally have hair and clothes on. but casper is not the centrepiece of this research. bb8 is. hello. they used bb8 to test what people like in a robot. here is the experiment in action. first, scientists at the university of hertfordshire asked volunteers to play with a simple reactive robot. the same robot was then programmed with an algorithm to make it playful and curious. then they compared what people thought. this is the starting idea but it�*s the first of its kind. we put it on a simple robot. we know now with comparing it with humans who interact with a reactive and curious robot and we know they find this robot more sociable. from here we know if he has this element in the robot people might likeable towards this robot, the more happy and receptive it is around them. something we don�*t quite know how we can do it, the acceptance of robots. so daniel, basically you are making a football team full of robots to win international competition, is that it? indeed. it�*s a first step but the team says it could still be decades before you�*ve got a robot sharing your home. it's probably the hardest environment you can imagine because it's so unstructured, unpredictable, it can change and there are many actors in it, which you can't regulate. in a company you could make rules about how things are placed and where people can go, you can't do that in a household. i love the idea that a robot could beat anybody in the world at chess but it can�*t clean a shelf. so a real bb8 is years off, but learning what people accept is the first step to designing a likeable companion for your house. he's hiding! now it�*s time for a look at the weather. the rest of this week is looking quiet weather—wise. higher pressure will be largely dominating the scene. we should see some settled weather around. variable amounts of cloud and some sunshine. what you will notice, it will be feeling quite warm for the time of year. our air source will be coming in from the south and you can see the oranges and yellows dominating the weather map. for the rest of the day, it has been wet through central and western areas. that rain is spilling northwards. one or two showers following on behind but they will be some sunny spells around, the best of it across the south—east quadrant. it will be quite warm. less so further north. pollen levels through the day will be moderate for england and wales and lower further north. as we head through the evening, that area of rain continues to spill northwards gradually. it will take time to clear from the north—east of the uk but further south it will be drying up with clear spells and there will be some mist and fog and local developing. no one is going to be particularly cold. wednesday morning we start off cloudy and damp across the north—east of scotland but that rain will clear and it�*s a brighter afternoon. good spells of sunshine developing but they will be a few showers dotted around. across england and wales some of them could turn out heavy and thundery. he won the day generally across the board with temperatures into the mid to high teens. wednesday night, it will turn misty across central and western areas, some low cloud around, but it�*s going to be a fairly mild night especially for england and wales. the thursday we could start off rather grey with that low cloud and mist affecting coastal areas, that low cloud and mist affecting coastalareas, probably that low cloud and mist affecting coastal areas, probably the best of the sunshine in parts of the midlands and south—east where we could see 20 degrees again. but even where we have the cloud, temperatures are on the mid teens. as we move into the easter weekend high pressure will dominate the scene for a while but a bit of uncertainty to how quickly if and when this high pressure breaks down. if it does so it will allow these areas of low pressure pushing from the west for part two of the easter weekend. so to start with it will be warm and there will be some dry weather around the chance of rain towards the second part the weekend. today at one, we�*re live in ukraine, with pressure building in the east of the country as russia prepares for a major new offensive. the fighting is expected to intensify significantly in the coming weeks according to the pentagon and the uk ministry of defence. ordinary lives transformed by an extraordinary war. we follow the fortunes of one suburban ukrainian family. translation: "woman, stay," they commanded. | "you go outside, i take you down." so i stood in the yard, and i heard two shots. it was so hard, i thought they were dead. also this lunchtime... wages continue to fail to keep up with the rising cost of living,