are searching for four teenagers who have gone missing. jevon hirst, harvey owen, wilf henderson and hugo morris are believed to be from shrewsbury and are thought to have been travelling in the harlech and porthmadog areas of gwynedd after camping in the area. harvey's mother crystal owen has told the bbc she is frantically worried. the police have appealed to the public to report any sightings of the group. our correspondent phil mackie joins us now from porthmadog. phil, what's the latest? i have just been through where the road is closed, the police cordoned some way up there. i walked for about a mile and couldn't see anything but we know in the past our north wales police have said they have recovered to the silver ford fiesta they were looking for, in which we know the four boys were travelling to north wales and had apparently come on a camping trip over the weekend. i can tell you that it's a particularly windy, narrow, steep road and these are people who had only recently passed their driving test or tests and so it would have been quite a tricky thing to manoeuvre, particularly if you are not used to driving in these sorts of conditions. their last known location was in porthmadog on sunday at around midday, that's where their phones were pinged to, i believe. yesterday we had an appeal from north wales police. we have seen social media posts from the families of the boys and also shrewsbury college where they were studying, to say they were very concerned and i hope they would be returned safe. until in the past hour we know that the silver ford fiesta in which they have been travelling was recovered further up the road. we also know an air ambulance was seen in this area a little time before that. the relatives — little time before that. the relatives of _ little time before that. the relatives of the _ little time before that. the relatives of the four - little time before that. the relatives of the four missing teenagers are obviously beside themselves with worry. we have heard from some of them. yes. themselves with worry. we have heard from some of them.— from some of them. yes, we heard in articular from some of them. yes, we heard in particular from _ from some of them. yes, we heard in particular from crystal _ from some of them. yes, we heard in particular from crystal owen, - from some of them. yes, we heard in particular from crystal owen, the - particularfrom crystal owen, the mother of harvey, one of the boys travelling up here. she said she didn't know he was coming to north wales, she was frantic with worry and wasn't sure what he was doing here. they have been kept informed by north wales police, he is 17, a student at shrewsbury college doing a—levels along with the other three people in the car, we believe. he left home on saturday night to come to wales, although they didn't know he was coming here, they thought he was going somewhere else. obviously they have been tearing their hair out over the last 2a hours or so. as soon as it became clear firstly that they had been to north wales and secondly they had disappeared. there has been no contact with them since that sighting, ortelecommunications that sighting, or telecommunications that sighting, ortelecommunications that happened around midday in porthmadog yesterday. phil mackie re ortina , porthmadog yesterday. phil mackie reporting. thank — porthmadog yesterday. phil mackie reporting, thank you. _ a damning report has strongly criticised lancashire police for the way it handled the disappearance of nicola bulley, the mother of two who went missing while walking her dog by the river wyre. the review said it was "avoidable and unnecessary" for the police to release sensitive personal information about her health struggles. nicola's body was found in the river in february, several weeks after she vanished. our north of england correspondent danny savage is in preston. this review was carried out by the couege this review was carried out by the college of policing, that basically sets standards in policing here in the uk. broadly speaking this report they came out with today said the investigations by lancashire police were good, but their communications were good, but their communications were not good. one of their key points is this should have been declared, the disappearance of nicola bulley, was a critical incident, much sooner than it actually was. if it had been so there would have been a lot more resource potentially thrown into the investigation, although there was a lot of officers involved, and it would have been handled much differently. and of course we remember nicola because there was so much speculation about what had happened to her at the time and what today's report said is much of that speculation could have been lost if things had been handled differently at the time. for three weeks last winter, nicola bulley�*s picture was everywhere. a 45—year—old mum of two who vanished from a lancashire river bank. her phone was found on this bench, still connected to a work conference call. her dog was off its lead nearby. police quickly declared she had somehow fallen into the water. they were right, but it took three weeks for the river wyre to give up her body. a report today criticised some of the police decision making during the time she was unaccounted for. our thoughts, first and foremost, remain with nicola's family and friends at this difficult time. in particular, a decision to release sensitive personal information about nicola's health. the release of nicola's personal information was unnecessary and avoidable. there were opportunities to stop that happening throughout the investigation. it would have been much better had nicola been declared as a high risk missing person from the outset, and indeed there was an early press conference where some misleading information was given that said there were no issues of vulnerability around nicola which actually probably contributed to a number of the conspiracy theories about, "well, something awful must have happened, then, if there were no vulnerabilities that led to her being high risk." the public was told about her struggles with alcohol and the menopause. today's review said this was avoidable and unnecessary. lancashire police has responded to the criticisms. obviously there is learning that has been identified within the review and you would expect it in a review of this nature, so we are keen to understand, we fully accept the recommendations in the report and we will implement the changes that need to be made for lancashire constabulary. the report does praise lancashire police for much of its investigative work. experts correctly predicted nearly to the exact day when they believed nicola's body would be found. but the intervening three weeks saw what it described as a global social media frenzy as people voiced alternative theories about what may have happened to her. the role of the independent underwater search expert peter faulding was also criticised. i wish we could have actually at least found something to rule out if nicola's in the river. his public statements caused consternation at lancashire police headquarters, who believed he shouldn't be talking to the press. he says he signed no agreement not to talk publicly. ultimately this whole sorry public saga would have had a lot lower profile if lancashire police had given the bigger picture shortly after nicola bulley disappeared. danny savage, bbc news, preston. england's chief medical officer, professor sir chris whitty, has told the covid inquiry that in hindsight the first lockdown in march 2020 was imposed too late. he denied warning ministers against lockdowns, saying he only made sure the downsides of such actions were clear. our correspondent ellie price reports. he was the man behind this unlikely era defining catchphrase. heat era defining catchphrase. next slide, please. _ era defining catchphrase. next slide, please. professor- era defining catchphrase. next slide, please. professor sir- era defining catchphrase. next l slide, please. professor sir chris whitty was _ slide, please. professor sir chris whitty was the — slide, please. professor sir chris whitty was the chief _ slide, please. professor sir chris whitty was the chief medical - slide, please. professor sir chris - whitty was the chief medical advisor to the uk government during the pandemic, and still is. one half of the scientific double actually watched on the telly most nights for those covid press conferences. yesterday the inquiry heard he had been a delay in his approach to the first lockdown but there had been tensions in his relationship with the chief scientific officer sir patrick vallance was stop the day he said that he was too simple a stick. i think we should be very careful of the narcissism of small differences here. the differences were small stop i was probably further towards, let's think through the disadvantages before we act. he conceded that with the benefit of hindsight the first lockdown was a bit too late but there were reasons to be cautious. i bit too late but there were reasons to be cautious.— to be cautious. i would re'ect it and i continue * to be cautious. i would re'ect it and i continue to i to be cautious. i would re'ect it and i continue to reject h to be cautious. i would reject it and i continue to reject your. and i continue to reject your characterisation of this as overreaction. because that i thought in a sense the action should not happen. what i thought should happen is that people should be aware that without action very serious things would occur, but the downsides of those actions should be made transparent. taste those actions should be made transparent.— those actions should be made transparent. we will follow the science. transparent. we will follow the science- be — transparent. we will follow the science. be guided _ transparent. we will follow the science. be guided by - transparent. we will follow the science. be guided by the - transparent. we will follow the - science. be guided by the science. that's why — science. be guided by the science. that's why we _ science. be guided by the science. that's why we are _ science. be guided by the science. that's why we are following - science. be guided by the science. that's why we are following the i that's why we are following the scientific— that's why we are following the scientific advice _ that's why we are following the scientific advice on _ that's why we are following the scientific advice on the - that's why we are following the scientific advice on the way- that's why we are following the scientific advice on the way we i that's why we are following the - scientific advice on the way we are. it scientific advice on the way we are. it was _ scientific advice on the way we are. it was the — scientific advice on the way we are. it was the government's _ scientific advice on the way we are. it was the government's mantra . scientific advice on the way we are. it was the government's mantra of| it was the government's mantra of the day but professor chris whitty said it made hisjob more difficult. it was a millstone round our necks and didn't help the government either because it blurred the distinction between the very firm, clear demarcation that did exist between technical advice and political decision.— between technical advice and political decision. chris whitty will continue _ political decision. chris whitty will continue to _ political decision. chris whitty will continue to give _ political decision. chris whitty will continue to give evidence | political decision. chris whitty - will continue to give evidence this afternoon and is expected to be asked back for more tomorrow. in the last professor chris whitty said many people in government had cherry picked scientific advice to fit their political views will stop crucially he said that did not include the prime minister, the chancellor or indeed the health secretary at the time. he said boris johnson had a unique style of making decisions, that things could be chaotic, but he seemed to seemed to steer too clear of being personal about it, making clear he needed to work with whoever was in power. of course, professor chris whitty is still in post. i think it's fairly interesting, though, he has been less critical than other witnesses we have heard in this inquiry. his testimony will continue this afternoon and into tomorrow. studio: ellie price reporting, thank you. the leader of hamas says it's close to agreeing a truce with israel after more than six weeks of fighting. a deal could mean the release of some israeli hostages, in return for pauses in air strikes on gaza. hamas is designated a terror organisation by the uk government. our correspondent nick beake has the latest from jerusalem. a warning that you may find some images in his report distressing. the head of hamas, he claims a deal with israel is nearly there. it's raised hopes that some hostages will soon be freed during what would be a pause in the fighting in gaza. it can't come soon enough for the families of the kidnapped. norfor the 2 million people in gaza who have been under bombardment for six weeks. the un says 12 people were killed yesterday at the indonesian hospital. the israeli military said it returned fire after being attacked from within the hospital. the medical director described to us the scene today. we the medical director described to us the scene today.— the scene today. we have no water, we have no — the scene today. we have no water, we have no food. _ the scene today. we have no water, we have no food. israelis _ the scene today. we have no water, we have no food. israelis are - we have no food. israelis are surrounding the hospital. but for america, which _ surrounding the hospital. but for america, which has— surrounding the hospital. but for america, which has been - surrounding the hospital. but for| america, which has been involved surrounding the hospital. but for. america, which has been involved in the talks, there is also growing hope that some sort of deal is being finalised. i5 hope that some sort of deal is being finalised. is a hope that some sort of deal is being finalised. , ., .,, ., ., hope that some sort of deal is being finalised. , ., ., ., ., hope that some sort of deal is being finalised-— i i finalised. is a hostage deal near? i believe so but _ finalised. is a hostage deal near? i believe so but i'm _ finalised. is a hostage deal near? i believe so but i'm not _ finalised. is a hostage deal near? i believe so but i'm not prepared - believe so but i'm not prepared tom _ believe so but i'm not prepared tom yes! — believe so but i'm not prepared t0- -- yes!— believe so but i'm not prepared tom yes!_ a - believe so but i'm not prepared to... yes!_ a white | believe so but i'm not prepared - to... yes!_ a white house to... yes! how soon? a white house official went — to... yes! how soon? a white house official went further. _ to... yes! how soon? a white house official went further. we _ to... yes! how soon? a white house official went further. we believe - to... yes! how soon? a white house official went further. we believe we i official went further. we believe we are closer than _ official went further. we believe we are closer than we've _ official went further. we believe we are closer than we've ever - official went further. we believe we are closer than we've ever been - official went further. we believe we are closer than we've ever been so | are closer than we've ever been so we are hopeful but there is still work to be done and nothing is done until it's all done. so we are going to keep working on this. the families of— to keep working on this. the families of the _ to keep working on this. the families of the hostages say they don't yet know the details of the negotiations. many have argued the israeli government should have focused more on bringing home their loved ones rather than destroying hamas. . ~ loved ones rather than destroying hamas. ., ,, ., ., ., , ,, , hamas. taking down hamas, we keep heafina hamas. taking down hamas, we keep hearing from — hamas. taking down hamas, we keep hearing from them, _ hamas. taking down hamas, we keep hearing from them, is _ hamas. taking down hamas, we keep hearing from them, is going - hamas. taking down hamas, we keep hearing from them, is going to - hamas. taking down hamas, we keep hearing from them, is going to take i hearing from them, is going to take months or years and it will take a long time. on the other hand the other objective is time sensitive. people are dying. the united nations sa s some people are dying. the united nations says some sort _ people are dying. the united nations says some sort of _ people are dying. the united nations says some sort of ceasefire _ people are dying. the united nations says some sort of ceasefire is - says some sort of ceasefire is urgently needed. this was the aftermath this morning of a strike on a refugee camp. gaza is desperately short of food and medicine and disease is spreading. it is hoped any deal would allow hostages out and more aid in. as it stands, no deal has been done but a hamas spokesperson has indicated a possible agreement could involve israeli women and children being released at the same time that palestinian women and children are released from israeli prisons. it's been reported here in israel that tonight the war cabinet may be meeting. it could be that's to sign off a possible prisoner release. in terms of the here and now, there are lots of considerations on the ground in gaza, notably that if a deal is done, how are these prisoners going to be released, because the assumption is the hostages were taken to many different places in gaza after being taken on october the 7th. so there is growing optimism this lunchtime but also an awareness that these sorts of deals can fall apart at the 11th hour. studio: nick beake reporting from jerusalem, thank you. the war in gaza means three international footballers who are trapped there can'tjoin the palestine world cup team for a qualifying game against australia today. the game was originally due to be held in the west bank but has now been moved to kuwait. our correspondent yogita limaye has the story from ramallah — parts of her report now were filmed in gaza by amro talabash. stuck in gaza, displaced, under the threat of bombardment. ibrahim abuimeir should have been on a football pitch, training for the world cup qualifiers with the rest of the palestinian team. this is what's left of his home. translation: 17 people died here. we found only one of the bodies intact. the others were ripped apart. two bodies are still under the rubble. we haven't been able to dig them out. we've had to identify people from parts of their bodies. my grandparents were injured. it took us two days to pull them out. his grandfather has recovered now, but a daily struggle for water and food continues. amid the grief of war, there's also heartache of losing out on the opportunity of a lifetime, in a sport where careers usually have a short span. ibrahim was described as one of the stars of the palestinian defence by his team's trainer. translation: i haven't played for 44 days. - each day gets harder than the previous one, and i'm constantly scared for my life. away from gaza, in the west bank, we met one of the palestinian national team's trainers, ehab abujazar. his father died of an illness in gaza on the second day of the war. he wasn't able to attend the funeral. ehab's family is moving from one place to another for safety. thousands of people have been killed in gaza. amidst these circumstances, why is it important that the palestinian team play football? translation: football. is notjust a game for us. it is a matter through which we st