of scotland for tomorrow. and labour celebrates two by election victories, labelling them a game changer. the party overturned huge conservative majorities in tamworth and mid bedfordshire. and the republicans dump and the republicans duminmjordan as their house speaker nominee after losing three successive votes for the role. welcome back. here in the uk, the labour party are pretty happy after overturning the majorities to win mid bedfordshire and tamworth by elections. keir starmer said labour where redrawing the clinical map, 24% swing to labour in tamworth. the conservatives have pointed to things like low turnout. for a full summary of everything that happened, here's our political editor chris mason. jubilation and sleep deprivation has all sorts of effects on political activists, particularly labour ones celebrating victory in a home counties village, marston moretaine. red placards and labour smiles, in rural bedfordshire, of all places. mid bedfordshire has been conservative for decades and decades and decades. listen out now for the one word keir starmer is rather keen on. they are crying out for change, positive change that the labour party can bring them. positive change that a changed labour party can bring them. the prime minister claimed he was the agent of change a few weeks back. keir starmer wants to own that label too. did you allow yourself a little jig round the living room when the results came in? a couple ofjigs around the living room as both results came in! jigs and photos on a day of breezy political change. 80 miles up the road, not farfrom birmingham, tamworth in staffordshire, where this happened in the middle of the night... i do hereby declare that sarah siena edwards is duly elected. the defeated conservative candidate did not hang about. he bolted it out of a side door while the winner gave her victory speech, leaving the prime minister, in egypt, to do the explaining. they are obviously disappointing results and not least because our candidates, festus and andrew, worked very hard and i know they will continue to be great local champions in their communities. it is important to remember the context — mid—term by—elections are always difficult for incumbent governments. by late morning, tamworth fc was hosting labour, another partisan crowd cheering on their team, in what was also another very safe conservative seat. people told me that it was not possible to win this seat in this by—election and you absolutely smashed it. is there a niggling doubt that some of this could be down to conservative voters simply staying at home? no, i don't think that is right. because this is a huge swing. are you more confident than you have ever been about becoming prime minister? i always knew that it was a huge job to get the labour party from where we landed in 2019 to a victory at an election in 202a. we are bang on schedule. in 1996, the man on the left won a by—election here for labour the year before labour won a general election. does their victory here again today point towards history repeating itself? a second victory lap in just one morning for labour. it is results like these that allow them to begin to believe they can actually win and convinces so many conservatives that they are doomed. labour are scoring rather a lot at the moment, but by—elections are still tiddlers compared to the real deal of a general election. chris mason. we still do not know when that general election will be. live now to our political correspondent hannah miller. we have had a few hours to digest the results, the parties have. where do things stand now? i the results, the parties have. where do things stand now?— do things stand now? i think you heard rishi _ do things stand now? i think you heard rishi sunak, _ do things stand now? i think you heard rishi sunak, the _ do things stand now? i think you heard rishi sunak, the prime - heard rishi sunak, the prime minister, saying governments don't often do in by elections, but the swing who saw of over 20 points last night really are absolutely enormous, and there are a lot of conservative mps tonight looking at the majorities that have been overturned and thinking that they could also be in trouble if there is no kind of change. i think the thing thatis no kind of change. i think the thing that is interesting is that there is very little agreement within the conservative party about what exactly they need to do to respond to this. we have had mps suggesting to this. we have had mps suggesting to us today that the party needs to focus on voters's priorities and then some listing slightly different priorities. we have it other suggesting that the recent decisions we have seen from rishi sunak on that zero and hs2, where he has attempted to cast himself as a leader and someone who is willing to make difficult decisions, questions about whether that has really made very much difference, so there is within the conservative party perhaps a bit of a sense that this is worse than they certainly wanted it to be, and an uncertainty about what to do next, whereas on the other hand of course you got labour, absolutely delighted with these results, but then the same time, trying to contain themselves, rein themselves in, because they don't want to be seen to be assuming that they've won the next general election already when he could be a year away. election already when he could be a ear awa . �* , election already when he could be a ear awa . �*, ., ., ., year away. let's look forward to that general _ year away. let's look forward to that general election, _ year away. let's look forward to that general election, perhaps l year away. let's look forward to j that general election, perhaps a little unfairly, given you say we don't know when it is exactly, but there is always that health warning of translating by election or any kind of opinion polls, by election results, and looking ahead to the general election, but what are the potential conversations they are now in westminster about what could happen? 50 in westminster about what could ha . en? in westminster about what could hauen? in westminster about what could ha en? . , . , in westminster about what could ha en? ., , ., , ., happen? so the absolute latest that voters would _ happen? so the absolute latest that voters would be _ happen? so the absolute latest that voters would be going _ happen? so the absolute latest that voters would be going to _ happen? so the absolute latest that voters would be going to the - happen? so the absolute latest that voters would be going to the polls l voters would be going to the polls in the uk isjanuary voters would be going to the polls in the uk is january 2025. that would be if the election was called right at the very last moment in december, and that would give rishi sunak the maximum amount of time to make as many changes or try out as many different strategies, see things happen, as he might want them to, but a lot of the conversation is veering towards whether or not the general election realistically is more likely to be in the autumn, perhaps originally it was thought that it would be in the spring, as general elections in the uk have generally tended to be. there is a sense that the conservative party have got an awful lot of work to do if they want to be having a general election by the spring, but as you say, by elections are not always a totally reliable proxy for general elections. the turnout that we saw in these yesterday was kind of standard, really, for by elections, very much in line with the averages we have been seeing, but much lower than you do get in a general election, so we have to be careful drawing too many conclusions, but there is no doubt that the results from last night are very good for labour and much less good for the conservatives.— conservatives. great stuff, thanks for that. let's _ conservatives. great stuff, thanks for that. let's get _ conservatives. great stuff, thanks for that. let's get an _ conservatives. great stuff, thanks for that. let's get an update - conservatives. great stuff, thanks for that. let's get an update on i conservatives. great stuff, thanksl for that. let's get an update on our breaking news over the past 90 minutes or so that we have been covering here. hamas has said it has freed two american hostages, a woman and her doctor. and our broadcast partners in the us, cbs news, have spoken to an unnamed diplomat who has confirmed that news to them. we are waiting for official confirmation. in fact, we are waiting for two press conferences, on the left there, you can see the israeli flag, we are waiting for a press preaching from israel, and on the right—hand side, you canjust see israel, and on the right—hand side, you can just see the bottom of the flag there, the united states state department. we are waiting for a press briefing there. they have a daily press briefing, it was expected couple of hours ago, it was delayed for a couple of hours, we were told. we don't have the specific reason why. but we should potentially pretty soon find out, as you can see there, that gentleman standing there as they get ready to officially start. as and when any officials do stand in front of either of those microphones, we will cross to them, of course. live now, though, to an associate professor in more studies at king's college london. thank you very much for coming on the programme. apologies in advance if we have to break away from either of those press conferences. and i want to do say, the bbc has not independent e—verify the bbc has not independent e—verify the release of these two hostages by hamas, but if we take it that cbs news's confirmation does end up being officially confirmed by either of these press conferences, what do you make of it, the significance of it? it you make of it, the significance of it? , , you make of it, the significance of it? , y , you make of it, the significance of it? , y, it? it is very significant, because i think there _ it? it is very significant, because i think there is _ it? it is very significant, because i think there is a clever of - it? it is very significant, because i think there is a clever of hope i i think there is a clever of hope after a couple of, or we should say ten days, of actually no hope and fear of escalation and further escalation and a ground invasion, it shows that mediation still has a chance and diplomacy still stands a chance and diplomacy still stands a chance to stop it is quite clear that the countries have brokered this deal so far. pressing on hamas to make a sign of goodwill and saying that hamas is willing to talk and negotiate. it seems to be a unilateral release of these two hostages. we will see what the israelis will make out of it, but there seems to be a chance to get more of these hostages released if the idf operations on the ground are delayed indefinitely, which is what pretty much of rumour like to see in order to create a humanitarian corridor and kind of get a break in that level of violence we have seen over the last couple of days, but we will have to see to what extent israel is willing to enter into any negotiations with hamas at this point. negotiations with hamas at this oint. , , ., ., ., ., negotiations with hamas at this oint. , , . . ., ., , point. give us an idea of how this diplomacy _ point. give us an idea of how this diplomacy works _ point. give us an idea of how this diplomacy works behind - point. give us an idea of how this diplomacy works behind the - point. give us an idea of how this l diplomacy works behind the scenes when it comes to hostages.- diplomacy works behind the scenes when it comes to hostages. right, so obviously we — when it comes to hostages. right, so obviously we have _ when it comes to hostages. right, so obviously we have to _ when it comes to hostages. right, so obviously we have to understand - when it comes to hostages. right, so obviously we have to understand that j obviously we have to understand that hamas as a network consists at a lot of different parties, it is not a unitary actor. part of the political leadership of hamas is based in doha, another is based in turkey, and they are not necessarily always in touch with what is going on on the night in gaza, but one of the arguments qatar has made in the arguments qatar has made in the arguments qatar has made in the arguments qatar has made any —— wants to retain that hamas office in qatar is celik in retain that mediation role, and it turns out it is significantly important, it is something that can shift the terms of the conflict, they are able to speak in qatar and speak to some of the brigades actually press something happening on the ground about actually pressing them to change their course and their actions. the countries are in direct contact with the americans, in direct contact with the israelis as well, and have been. this hamas office was created by the 0bama administration in qatar. it is not only consented by the americans but has always played an important role for the israelis because the countries have a direct contact with the is release as well, despite the fact that neither side would probably admit to that, so the countries are able to speak to the us, to iran, to hamas directly and to israel, which makes them the best actor to connect the different dots and hopefully avert a greater, larger escalation and a regional conflict we are all trying to avoid. interesting, we shall see. andreas krieg, thank you very much for coming on the programme. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. when the police use horses, normally, you think of crowd control, but this plan is very different. dorset�*s a rural county, and some places can be quite hard to reach by road, so volunteer horse riders on a rota will be an extra set of eyes and ears for the police stop. about two and a half years ago, there was three individuals in the rural crime team. we've now moved, we now have about 18, and we have the rural mounted volunteers. we are now launching, in effect, a neighbourhood watch on horseback — and that's what you're seeing behind me. i go out three or four times a week in the countryside. and i'm quite nosy, so this will fit in perfectly. i'll be able to have a look around and, you know, if there's anything a bit unusual, i'll be able to report on that. everyone taking part has been vetted. the police currently has six volunteers, but they're hoping that will rise to 24. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you are alive with bbc news. i am lewis vaughanjones. breaking news to bring you. is really officials have confirmed to the bbc that two american hostages have been released by hamas —— israeli officials. they were taken by a kibbutz on october the 7th. to complete that, two american hostages have been released by hamas, they were taken hostage originally had —— ady key boots on october the 7th. you will know we have been reporting unconfirmed reports that these two hostages have been released. we do have their names. they have been released, mother and... we have not had it confirmed their mother and daughter, the initial reports were that they are mother and daughter, but i was not included in this reporting by paul adams, so i am going to hold back from an official confirmation of that detail, but israeli officials have confirmed to the bbc that does make american hostages have been released by hamas, so we first heard of this book on social media —— two american hostages. we heard a mother and daughter had been released on him unitary and grounds. next our broadcast partners, cbs news, in the us, with their contacts in the us, confirmed by an unnamed diplomat that who hostages had been released by hamas, and now the bbc have confirmed that two american hostages have been released by hamas. we will bring you more details of that a little later in the programme. let's speak now to glenjohnson. he is a former aide to us secretary of statejohn kerry from 2013 to 2017. he is also author of window seat on the world, a book on diplomacy which details the israeli—palestinian peace effort byjohn kerry. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thanks for having me. first of all, the programme. thanks for having me. first of all. can — the programme. thanks for having me. first of all. can i— the programme. thanks for having me. first of all, can i ask _ the programme. thanks for having me. first of all, can i ask you _ first of all, can i ask you the reaction to this developing news we are getting, the release of those two us hostages? aha, are getting, the release of those two us hostages?— are getting, the release of those two us hostages? are getting, the release of those two us hostaues? �* ., ., , two us hostages? a glimmer of a very aood news two us hostages? a glimmer of a very good news that _ two us hostages? a glimmer of a very good news that is very _ two us hostages? a glimmer of a very good news that is very welcome - two us hostages? a glimmer of a very good news that is very welcome afterl good news that is very welcome after these ten days of real pain and destruction over in that area, and i'm sure the by—product of the very aggressive diplomacy by secretary of state tony blinken, the special envoy that he brought over with him, as well as president biden. this only happens through a lot of outreach, i am sure, to the qatar ease, as your prior guest had indicated, as well as the egyptians and others with influence with hamas. i and others with influence with hamas. . . and others with influence with hamas. , ., ., , hamas. i 'ust want to bring some more hamas. ijust want to bring some more details _ hamas. ijust want to bring some more details on _ hamas. ijust want to bring some more details on that. _ hamas. ijust want to bring some more details on that. we - hamas. ijust want to bring some more details on that. we are - hamas. i just want to bring some i more details on that. we are going to get onto talk about wider diplomacy in the region, but these details have come through. this is from a statement from a spokesperson for the israeli prime ministers office. this evening, friday, judith and natalie were released from the hands of the terrorist organisation hamas. the two were kidnapped by the terrorist organisation hamas in the murderous surprise attack last saturday, when they were staying in a kibbutz. the person in charge of the abductees as receive them at the border of the gaza strip. at this moment they are on their way to a meeting point at a military base in the centre of the country. their family members are waiting there. the government of israel, the idf and the entire security establishment will continue to operate to the best of their abilities and efforts in order to locate all of the missing and return all of the abductor these home. i know you were just hearing that for the first time, as i read it, just wondered your reaction to that extra detail? it wondered your reaction to that extra detail? . wondered your reaction to that extra detail? , ,., ., detail? it is important, the israelis make _ detail? it is important, the israelis make this - detail? it is important, the i israelis make this statement, detail? it is important, the - israelis make this statement, they use the language they abuse, describing hamas as a terrorist organisation, every mention of hamas, they talk about the murderous attack on october the 7th, so that is very much on message for the israeli government, but what hamas has done here is a least a step in the right direction. everybody has been looking for some weight to de—escalate the tension there, to take the trigger and pushed back away from the israeli gun and try and get this back to a situation where even more diplomacy can take place and at least this shows that there is some resonance within whatever leadership remains of hamas to try and give the israelis reasons to try and give the israelis reasons to pause before they put the hammer down on the whole gaza strip. thank ou for down on the whole gaza strip. thank you for that — down on the whole gaza strip. thank you for that and _ down on the whole gaza strip. thank you for that and just _ down on the whole gaza strip. thank you for that and just to _ down on the whole gaza strip. thank you for that and just to bring - down on the whole gaza strip. thank you for that and just to bring some more detail as well, the mother and teenager we believe to be from near chicago, friends and family members saying the pair have been visiting relatives at the kibbutz in southern israel, which is close to gaza. yuri raanan, judith's ex—husband and natalie's father, said he was texted after the attack began. the pair were hiding in a bunker or safe room. this is according to abc seven chicago, but the neighbours said they saw hamas militants escort both judith and natalie out of the house. in the latest confirmation we have is that those two us hostages have been released by hamas. let's bring glenn back in. we will return to the details of the hostages being released injust a moment, but ijust want hostages being released injust a moment, but i just want to touch moment, but ijust want to touch on the wider politics and perhaps the diplomacy around hostages feeds into this, but the wider politics of all this, the peace process, that you were so heavily involved in. given everything that is happened over the last two weeks, where does it stand now? ., . , last two weeks, where does it stand now? ., ., , ., ., , , now? unfortunately, what happened was both foreseeable _ now? unfortunately, what happened was both foreseeable and _ now? unfortunately, what happened was both foreseeable and foreseen. | was both foreseeable and foreseen. the official i work for, secretary of state john the official i work for, secretary of statejohn kerry, worked very aggressively from 2013 22014 to try and avoid just has happened right now. the basically of the 0bama administration in the second term was that it was an untenable situation for israel to continue to try and tamp down both the west bank and the gaza strip while it continued to build settlements across the palestinians got —— basically. what i am sorry to interrupt. we will go live to an israeli idf briefing.— interrupt. we will go live to an israeli idf briefing. let's listen in. as you can see, and here, it is in hebrew. we are waiting to establish potentially an english translation. the reason we have cut to it is because we are waiting for any details, clearly, of the ongoing operation there by idf forces, both in gaza, and potentially details on the rafah crossing, but clearly waiting for details on the release of two hostages which just in the last few minutes has been confirmed by the bbc, as well as earlier being confirmed by our broadcast partners cbs news. there are a couple more lines coming in here. we are being told from the prime ministers office that the hostages are on their way to a military base in central israel, so new details coming in from the prime minister's office, that the hostages are on their way to a military base in central israel. that is coming in from the prime minister's office there, from a statement in israel, that is from the reuters news agency. and just seeing there is another line from that statement, from the prime minister's office, there is indeed, saying the israeli army and security forces received the hostages on the gaza border, so no details on where, at which crossing, but this is new information coming out of the prime minister's office there in israel, the is really army and security forces being received —— israeli army and security forces receiving the hostages on the gaza border there. we will keep across, trying to get a translation of the idea statement. as we do, let's go back to glen and pick up on those bigger pictures. sorry to interrupt your flow, but the big picture issues. it is very important to separate between two things here. the attack that hamas waged was indiscriminate and a terrorist act and innocent people died because of it. but what has happened in the aftermath of thatis has happened in the aftermath of that is particularly —— practically by the immediate israeli response, with bombing, with very strict deadlines for people to evacuate, instrument act like cutting off water and electricity, it diluted sympathy for them over what was a terrorist act, and refocused attention on the lack of progress towards a two state solution. the palestinians have failed aggrieved for decades and have been trying to get people to listen to them, and in the aftermath of the attack, when the aftermath of the attack, when the world's attention was drawn to israel and the suffering of its own people, people had a chance to learn more about the suffering of the palestinian people, separate from what hamas did, and the fact that the israelis were talking about retaliating so have a heavily, capture the world attention. and israel has very broad support in the circles farther away from the region, but within the region there was a lot of sympathy for the palestinians, a huge arab population with which they align, and has created this atmosphere with the israeli government and is trying to take actions that it feels are justified by a terrorist act, but it is running into the weight of history, where they heavily kept the palestinian people under their thumb and have not made any progress towards giving them the homeland they believe they deserve... fik. glen, thank you for coming on the programme. the context with christian is coming out next. we are going to take a brief pause and look at the weather. hello there. storm babet has been pummeling parts of the uk with strong winds and some torrential rain. this was sunderland, and around some of our north sea coasts today, we've had gusts of wind running into the 60s of miles an hour. meanwhile, elsewhere, flooding has been the cause of some major concern and we still have a number of severe flood warnings, a plethora of other warnings still in force across various parts of the uk. probably the best way to keep up to date with this ever—changing situation is looking at the bbc weather website for the latest number of warnings. but looking at the weather warnings, well, overnight, we've got this warning still in force across the peaks of the pennines, into the scottish borders, and further warnings issued into scotland. by saturday, it's these scottish warnings thatjust remain in force. you'll notice another red one for parts of angus and aberdeenshire. remember, they're the top level warnings. another 70 to 100 millimetres of rain expected. further severe flooding is a certainty for this part of the world. now, overnight, some of the heaviest rain will continue to drift northwards across from northern england, into eastern scotland, with the winds continuing to be very gusty here. meanwhile, further south, across the midlands, we've seen lots of flood warnings through the day. the rain tending to become lighter and patchier before clearing out of the way, so we should see a modest improvement with the weather here as we go through saturday. the rain eventually turning a bit lighter and patchier as well across northern england on saturday, but this part of the world, there are some rivers that take quite a while to respond to the rainfall that has fallen, so there could be some communities where flooding gets worse before it gets better. but the main focus of the heavy rain will be across eastern areas of scotland, still with those amber and red weather warnings in force throughout the day. further severe flooding, then, is very likely indeed. as we go through saturday night, finally, the majority of the rain pulls away. what's left across north—east scotland will tend to be a bit lighter and patchier. a few mist and fog patches elsewhere to start the day on sunday, but sunday is a much, much drier day. plenty of sunny spells around, and our temperatures quite close to average — around 12 to 15 degrees celsius. but of course, there will still be some areas suffering from flooding even as the sunshine comes out and the rain finally stops falling. it might be a brief hiatus, though, because next week does look pretty unsettled. low pressure in charge, and that means further rain on the way. hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. two us citizens had been released for humanitarian reasons. they are notjust they are not just trucks, they are notjust trucks, they they are not just trucks, they are a lifeline, the difference between lifeline, the difference between life and death are so many people in gaza. brute life and death are so many people in gaza. ~ . ., ., ., life and death are so many people in gaza. ~ . ., , ., ,, gaza. we have made good progress in tanuible gaza. we have made good progress in tangible areas — gaza. we have made good progress in tangible areas like _ gaza. we have made good progress in tangible areas like ensuring _ gaza. we have made good progress in tangible areas like ensuring access - tangible areas like ensuring access to humanitarian aid for those who but most — to humanitarian aid for those who but most importantly it is important to intensify dialogue because we all have a _ to intensify dialogue because we all have a shared interest in peace and stability— have a shared interest in peace and stability in — have a shared interest in peace and stability in the region. hamas has released two hostages an american mother and daughter. they arejudith and nathalie raanan. they were handed over to the palestinian red cross on humanitarian grounds, the mother is said to be unwell. they were taken hostage at kibbutz nahal oz, on october 7th the us state department is about to hold a press briefing in washington. we'll bring you that live.