good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the government has released a new definition of extremism, in order, it says, to try to stop organisations which promote hatred, violence and intolerance. the new terminology will be used to assess whether groups are eligible to receive public funding or support. but critics say the measure threatens freedom of speech and public protest. our political correspondent peter saull has this report. was has become a regular side, thousands _ was has become a regular side, thousands of _ was has become a regular side, thousands of people _ was has become a regular side, thousands of people taking - was has become a regular side, thousands of people taking to the streets in protest of israel's actions in gaza. the current conflict in the middle east has prompted a political debate notjust about the fighting there but about the impact on community cohesion here. in the impact on community cohesion here. . ~', the impact on community cohesion here. . ., ., , here. in recent weeks and months, we've seen — here. in recent weeks and months, we've seen a _ here. in recent weeks and months, we've seen a shocking _ here. in recent weeks and months, we've seen a shocking increase - we've seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality... in extremist disruption and criminality. . ._ extremist disruption and criminality... extremist disruption and criminali , , ., criminality... in a surprise page on downin: criminality... in a surprise page on downing street _ criminality... in a surprise page on downing street two _ criminality... in a surprise page on downing street two weeks - criminality... in a surprise page on downing street two weeks ago, i criminality... in a surprise page on | downing street two weeks ago, the prime minister announced that extremist were trying to tear us apart, but who exactly are these so—called extremists? today the government has published a new definition of extremism. it's described as the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance that aims to negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others, and undermine the uk's system of democracy and democratic rights, or intentionally create a permissive environment for others to do that. it's the brainchild of the communities secretary. michael gove told the house of commons that groups who fall foul of the turmoil, in effect, be blacklisted, excluded from government meetings and funding. tote from government meetings and fundinu. ~ ., from government meetings and fundinu. ~ . ., funding. we are in no way intending to restrict freedom _ funding. we are in no way intending to restrict freedom of _ funding. we are in no way intending to restrict freedom of expression, l to restrict freedom of expression, religion or belief, but the government cannot be in a position where, or not, a it sponsors or subsidises individuals opposed to the freedoms we hold dear. the british national socialist movement and patriotic alternative, who promote neo—nazi ideology and argue for forced promote neo—nazi ideology and argue forforced repatriation promote neo—nazi ideology and argue for forced repatriation and a targeting of ethnic minority groups are the kind of groups about which we should be consumed. he are the kind of groups about which we should be consumed.— are the kind of groups about which we should be consumed. he also said some muslim — we should be consumed. he also said some muslim groups _ we should be consumed. he also said some muslim groups gave _ we should be consumed. he also said some muslim groups gave rise - we should be consumed. he also said some muslim groups gave rise to - some muslim groups gave rise to concern. ., ,., some muslim groups gave rise to concern. ., ., ., ., . j, concern. labour want more. today's statement does _ concern. labour want more. today's statement does not _ concern. labour want more. today's statement does not go _ concern. labour want more. today's statement does not go far— concern. labour want more. today's statement does not go far enough, l statement does not go far enough, and regardless of how workable and effective _ and regardless of how workable and effective this new centre of excellence is, this announcement will not _ excellence is, this announcement will not be — excellence is, this announcement will not be enough. in excellence is, this announcement will not be enough.— will not be enough. in some organisations _ will not be enough. in some organisations already - will not be enough. in some organisations already feel . will not be enough. in some i organisations already feel got will not be enough. in some - organisations already feel got out. communities are very concerned at this time as to how the government is going to apply this consistently and equally, given that it's not a legal definition but one that they have arbitrary power to choose. all have arbitrary power to choose. all of this is pretty fundamental to our democracy — we expect our politicians to defend people's right to speak out, no matter how unpalatable their views might be, but we also expect them to protect the value that most of us hold dear. those currently in power hope that they've struck the right balance. peter saull, bbc news. what will the new definition of extremism actually change? our home and legal correspondent dominic casciani is here to explain. thanks, jane. i'll give it a try! as we've just seen, ministers have today released this new definition of extremism. this is not a new debate — prime ministers going all the way back to tony blair have thought about a ban on extremism, but so far, it's proved impossible to achieve. so what's different about this new attempt from michael gove? the previous definition was introduced in 2011. it described extremism as "vocal or active opposition to fundamental british values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and belief." now, that definition raised all sorts of questions, not least, what is a fundamental british value? so the new definition, says mr gove, tries to give government departments clearer guidance. the new definition defines extremism as, "the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others, or undermine, overturn or replace the uk's system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights, intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve those results." what does this mean in practice? as we heard in the commons today, michael gove named a number of far—right and muslim groups that he says will be scrutinised for possible inclusion on a public list of extremists. if they're added, they won't be allowed near the wheels of government. no access to ministers, no right to influence policy, no funding for projects, such as grassroots community schemes. it sounds simple, but the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, jonathan hall kc, says it's fraught with difficulties. it's very different from the way in which the government, quite rightly, manages things like calling a group a terrorist group. in that situation, it's a statutory definition, the home secretary makes the decision, but then it has to be ratified or not by parliament, it's subject to appeal and statutory review. but i think for ministers, even ministers who are advised by some sort of cabal of experts, simply to say, "you are an extremist," is a very big deal and doesn't have the sort of safeguards that should exist if the government is going to do something as potentially significant as that. anyone added to the extremism list will only be able to challenge that through an expensive judicial review of how the minister took the decision. that's not an automatic right of appeal and very difficult to win. crucially, public bodies, from universities through to the police, will be under no obligation to adopt the definition or take notice of the government's list. it won't lead to bans on protests over gaza because that's a question of public safety, rather than what people believe or say. jane. dominic, thank you. dominic casciani. there is wide variation in how long people are waiting for routine hospital treatment in england, according to bbc analysis of new nhs figures. they suggest that patients in the worst performing hospitals are waiting four times longer than at the best performing. it comes as figures for the end of january show the overall waiting list has fallen slightly to 7.6 million. our health editor, hugh pym, reports. this course, who runs a b&b near manchester, had to wait a year for nhs treatment for a gynaecological condition. the symptoms got worse, and she had no idea how long she'd have to wait, so she bothered £11,000 to have it done privately. when they operated, they also found she had cancer.— she had cancer. i am disappointed, because my — she had cancer. i am disappointed, because my whole _ she had cancer. i am disappointed, because my whole life _ she had cancer. i am disappointed, because my whole life i've - because my whole life i've never been a burden on the nhs, and when i've needed it, it let me down. and that's not an ideal situation. i was lucky, it wasn't life—threatening at that point, but it could have been. patients are supposed to get treatment within 18 weeks, but at one hospital 65% had to wait longer for an operational appointment, while at another it was just 16%, according to bbc analysis of official data. the average in england was 43% waiting longer than 18 weeks. at colchester hospital, which is in line with that average, robots are helping reduce waiting lists. more operations are being carried out than before the pandemic. surgeons say the technology helps patients and allows more to be treated. i technology helps patients and allows more to be treated.— more to be treated. i think we could sa , in more to be treated. i think we could say. in every — more to be treated. i think we could say, in every manager— more to be treated. i think we could say, in every manager we _ more to be treated. i think we could say, in every manager we look- more to be treated. i think we could say, in every manager we look at, i say, in every manager we look at, and length of stay, it reduces length of stay, it reduces the pain the patients have, early return to normalfunction, so in terms of efficiency and the numbers of patients we can treat with an active recovery, we benefit in that situation. recovery, we benefit in that situation-— recovery, we benefit in that situation. �* ., ., ., , situation. but other areas of this hos - ital situation. but other areas of this hospital are _ situation. but other areas of this hospital are under _ situation. but other areas of this hospital are under pressure. - situation. but other areas of thisl hospital are under pressure. here situation. but other areas of this - hospital are under pressure. here in the emergency department, there are trolleys in corridors with staff deployed to ensure steve kerr. what does that mean for patients? —— to ensure a safe care. it does that mean for patients? -- to ensure a safe care.— does that mean for patients? -- to ensure a safe care. it means whites, which we hate _ ensure a safe care. it means whites, which we hate seeing _ ensure a safe care. it means whites, which we hate seeing and _ ensure a safe care. it means whites, which we hate seeing and we - ensure a safe care. it means whites, which we hate seeing and we are - which we hate seeing and we are forever apologetic for, but we just have to work with what we have, and thatis have to work with what we have, and that is what the staff knuckle down to do. we have been doing a good job this winter. the to do. we have been doing a good 'ob this winter. ., , . ., this winter. the more patients come into the front _ this winter. the more patients come into the front door— this winter. the more patients come into the front door of _ this winter. the more patients come into the front door of hospitals - this winter. the more patients come into the front door of hospitals for l into the front door of hospitals for emergency care, the more demand there is for birds. that means it can be harder to find space for those needing less urgent treatment and the task of cutting waiting list doesn't get any easier. you pain, bbc news. —— hugh pym, bbc news. you can check the latest data for hospitals near you by using the bbc�*s nhs winter tracker. wherever you are in the uk, put in your postcode to see the latest published information on waiting times in a&e and for routine operations and ambulances. a 17—year—old boy has pleaded guilty in court to the manslaughter of 15—year—old elianne andam in croydon in south london last september, but he has denied murdering her. 0ur correspondent sonja jessup is at the old bailey. what's happened in court, sonja? yeah, the 17—year—old boy we cannot name for reasons because of his age appeared by video link at the old bailey this morning, and elianne andam's family were also in court to watch proceeding. the 17—year—old spoke only to confirm his name in to plead not guilty to elianne's murder, but he did admit manslaughter. he's also pleaded not guilty to possessing a kitchen knife in a public place without good reason. now, elianne andam was 15 years old, she was on her way to school in croydon in south london last september when she was fatally stabbed. shejust got last september when she was fatally stabbed. she just got off the bus with her friends when she was attacked, she was given first aid at the scene but did not survive. and her killing led to huge shock in the local community, hundreds of people came out in croydon to at individuals for her. her family described her as a beautiful person inside and out, and they said she had a bright future ahead of him. prosecutors here have not accepted a not guilty plea, and he will stand trial for not guilty plea, and he will stand trialfor murder in november. not guilty plea, and he will stand trial for murder in november. trialfor murder in november. son'a, thank you. — trialfor murder in november. son'a, thank you. sonja d trialfor murder in november. son'a, thank you. sonja jessup. i an interim report into a major technical failure at the uk's air—traffic control provider, nats, on the august bank holiday last year, has found it took an on—call engineer more than 90 minutes to arrive on site to help. an independent panel commissioned by the civil aviation authority also found no evidence that rehearsals for managing such a scenario had been carried out, despite that being best practice. a final report is expected later this year. at least 60 migrants are reported to have died after a rubber dinghy capsized in the mediterranean. 25 people were rescued by the ocean viking, a vessel operated by the humanitarian group 505 mediterranee. the survivors told the ocean viking crew that they'd set off from libya seven days before and that the dingy�*s engine had broken after three days, leaving them adrift without food or water. israel has said it will move displaced palestinians in southern gaza to what it's calling "humanitarian islands" in the centre of the territory. it's planning to launch a ground offensive on the city of rafah, where about 1.4 million people are sheltering, having been forced to leave their homes following israel's offensive in northern and central gaza. 0ur correspondent anna foster is injerusalem. tell us more about this idea of moving people to what they are calling these humanitarian islands. well, what's for sure is that this will not happen quickly. if you look at the southern city of rafah right at the southern city of rafah right at the southern city of rafah right at the tip of the gaza strip, it is home to more than half of gaza's population, people who have been displaced from their home, people who are living in tents, people who have very little food or water or humanitarian aid. it is an enormously difficult position for them there, but israel has made it clear that it cannot carry out its stated aim of fully removing hamas from gaza unless it launches a ground operation in rafah. so it needs to move those civilians out of the way, and what it's proposing is these humanitarian islands in the centre of the strip, but when you look at the centre of the strip now, it is a picture of destruction after months of repeated air and ground attacks in central gaza, the picture is bleak. now, the israeli defense forces have said very little at the moment, this isjust a small grain of detail about how it would work, but they say there would be temporary housing for people there, also aid for those who moved. but of course the aid situation in gaza remains desperate and difficult, we have seen once again this morning aid drops of pallets hanging from parachutes dropped by the jordanian parachutes dropped by thejordanian air parachutes dropped by the jordanian air force parachutes dropped by thejordanian air force and parachutes dropped by the jordanian air force and the parachutes dropped by thejordanian air force and the us military, which provides a small amount of additional aid for the gaza strip. and we are also tracking the progress of a boat, a spanish charity about which is pulling a barge which would inaugurate this new maritime aid corridor between cyprus and gaza. now, that is due to arrive in gaza, we believe, in the next few hours. the problem will be safely unloading and distributing that aid to desperate people there. anna foster, thank you. police forces across the uk are launching a new anti—corruption hotline which can be used by the public to report concerns about officers and volunteers. it follows the success of a scheme run by the metropolitan police which saw more than 700 investigations opened into the conduct of staff members. nicky schiller has more. a series of scandals, including the murder of sarah everard by serving officer wayne couzens and serial rapist david carrick carrying out his crimes whilst he was a police officer, severely damaged the metropolitan police's reputation and led it to become the first force to trial the anti—corruption hotline in november 2022. it is now being rolled out nationally. run by the charity crimestoppers, it allows anyone to report concerns about corrupt, abusive or criminal police officers and staff. reports can be made online or by phone, and people can choose to remain anonymous. any information will be passed to the relevant force for assessment and may lead to an investigation. since it launched in november 2022, the met has had more than 2,800 online reports and calls made to the service. that information led to 728 investigations. last month, an independent review found a series of red flags were missed about wayne couzens, and police chiefs acknowledge scandals like sarah everard's murder have impacted the trust the public have in policing and the ability to identify wrongdoing within their own ranks. well, trust in the police is at the lowest level it's ever been, so having a new independent hotline is extremely important to give people confidence to report wrongdoing by police officers, so they have a degree of confidence that the matter will be looked at independently and assessed, and the police will not be marking their own homework. the government agrees that public confidence in the police has been severely damaged. marking the launch of the hotline, the minister for policing, chris philp, said, "there can be no stone left unturned in our efforts "to clean up the workforce and culture and rebuild trust." he added he hoped the service would give people the confidence to challenge the behaviour of officers who fall below the high standards the public deserve. nicky schiller, bbc news. our top story this afternoon... the government outlines a new definition of extremism to try to stop organisations which promote hatred and intolerance. still to come, the children of sub—postmasters wrongly convicted in the horizon scandal fight for compensation. and coming up in sport on bbc news, mohamed salah is ready for his first start since new year's day, as liverpool look to seal their place in the quarterfinals of the europa league. a rocket is due to blast off from elon musk�*s spacex launch site. it's the third attempt by the company to launch this rocket, starship, which is its most powerful. two previous launches ended in high—altitude explosions. the starship is a00ft tall and is uncrewed, but it is hoped it will pave the way for taking astronauts to the moon in the future. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh is with me. watching the screen, watching the potential blastoff, they will be hoping third time lucky. that is ri . ht. hoping third time lucky. that is right- time _ hoping third time lucky. that is right. time was _ hoping third time lucky. that is right. time was you _ hoping third time lucky. that is right. time was you would - hoping third time lucky. that is. right. time was you would watch hoping third time lucky. that is i right. time was you would watch a launch for the launch but these days you have a bonus explosion as well, sometimes two, they are crude, no one gets hurt, but both those previous attempts were not failures because the explosions, test flights, part of the process —— they were uncrewed. the company believes testing early and often so it gets a whole fleet of spacecraft in space. so far, so good. it is due to lift off at 1:25 5p, all of the conditions are good apart from the wind. it may go up, it may not. we are watching. remind us of the bigger picture, what are they trying to achieve? it is bigger picture, what are they trying to achieve? , ., ., ., to achieve? it is about a long-term resence to achieve? it is about a long-term presence on _ to achieve? it is about a long-term presence on the _ to achieve? it is about a long-term presence on the moon _ to achieve? it is about a long-term presence on the moon and the - to achieve? it is about a long-term i presence on the moon and the apollo programme was simply to bring in the —— was simply too expensive. bring in the private sector to lower the cost and have rockets going up so often we do not think it is extraordinary, we do not report it on the news any more. for extraordinary, we do not report it on the news any more.— on the news any more. for now an a , on the news any more. for now anyway. pallab— on the news any more. for now anyway, pallab ghosh, - on the news any more. for now anyway, pallab ghosh, thank i on the news any more. for now. anyway, pallab ghosh, thank you. children of some of the subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted and convicted in the horizon it scandal are asking for compensation for the impact it's had on their lives, often negatively affecting them both physically and mentally. they've formed a support group, as emma simpson reports. katie downey is stepping out to tell her story. her dad ended up bankrupt, trying to make up for the huge shortfalls at his post office. nice to meet you, finally. i know. of course, i've met your dad. she had an idyllic life, until one day they suddenly fled abroad. she only found out the truth six months ago. i wasn't able to say goodbye. i wasn't able to finish my sats and year 6 and ijust had to go to a country where i couldn't speak the language. for 15 years, i've blamed my parents, which really upsets me, and i feel guilty saying that now. but that's not the case. the post office did that to my family, and that's why our family unit was destroyed. i'm so pleased to meet you all. she invited me to meet some of the members of her new support group called lost chances for subpostmaster children. rebecca foote has a close—knit family. she started working from the age of 13 — extra cash to keep up with her friends. it was kind of like 60—hour weeks in the summer. i loved it. but also it did take away that that summer holiday childhood. so, you were an adult before your time? for sure, yeah. millie castleton was bullied at school and ended up with an eating disorder. and it kind of snowballed . incredibly when i went to uni because no—one's watching me at uni, i so i had this control over this one i aspect of my life when things i were falling apart and that really impacted my health quite drastically. i all adults now and working, and they want their voices to be heard. it's always been the post office to blame for this, and not our parents. but it's also equally important for our parents and also the wider public to understand how this has affected the children. hands up if you all want compensation. katie's wasting no time. she's already had a reply from the boss of fujitsu. he hopes she can be included in a wider meeting with victims. but you'd like them to offer some money as well? yes, offer the financial redress that they've spoken about and other things that they would possibly be able to offer us, education... counselling? counselling. 41 have signed up in the space of a few days. her message could soon reach many hundreds more. emma simpson, bbc news. one year ago, an intruder got into a secondary school in slough, in berkshire, armed with a knife and claiming to have a gun. matthew lennox has since been detained indefinitely in a secure psychiatric hospital. the school's head teacher, ciran stapleton, was credited with defusing the situation, keeping staff and students safe until armed police arrived. for the first time, he's spoken to tim muffett about the ordeal and how he's teaching students about the wider issues it raised. so, on that day, it's about break time... it's almost one year since head teacher ciran stapleton found himself, his staff and his students in a terrifying situation. 0ur intruder was literally right in front of us, here at the end of this corridor. now, at that point, one of my other colleagues revealed that he'd actually said that he had a gun with him. this guy was really edgy, really, reallyjumpy. he had kind of a man bag wrapped around his body. he had his hand within that bag and certainly shaped as if he was carrying some kind of firearm, very quickly pointed and quite erratically around. what he started saying at the same time was talking about the end of the world and about how he was going to finish it all. at some point, wires started to come out of this bag. and then there was a light within it that we could see shining out, like a red light shining out of it. and that's when we thought, "well, he's either got a gun "or he could have his finger on some kind of detonator at some point." it turned out the intruder hadn't been carrying a gun or explosives but had been carrying a large knife. coincidentally, the school had practised going into lockdown in a similar scenario two weeks before. chris robinson was teaching students in a nearby classroom. everyone had to get undertheir desks, lock and secure the room. it's absolute silence and making sure that everyone is calm. at the end of the day, what we ended up dealing with was with a young man who was really hurting, who needed to be listened to, didn't feel loved, and consequently was willing to kind of really take that out. and that's really what the root i think of this potential situation was. and so that's how we came into sort of contact with mark, really, and the kiyan prince foundation. kiyan prince was stabbed and killed in 2006, aged 15. i think if you're dealing _ with symptoms, how do you tackle the real illness, right? his dad, mark, is a former light—heavyweight boxing champion and has received an 0be for his work in tackling youth violence. when my son died and i had - to bury him and put him in a coffin and put him in the ground, - there's something that i had to do, there's a part that i had to play. young people don't know- how their minds work and how they can become their greater version of themselves - by the way that they think. then they're going to be trapped in a lot of the traps i fell- in because a lot of the young people are hurting, just like i was— when i was growing up. when we go out and represent our family, we're a brand. _ this powerful message i got out of the talk of mark was probably about the mind and how a lot of issues do arise from the mind and how you think. there's other children out there that may not be as lucky as me, and it empowered me to maybe go on and try and help. there's not enough being done... in this school a year ago, tragedy was thankfully avoided. but there is determination here to empower young people to make the right choices in life. tim muffett, bbc news. now a look at some other stories making the news today. welsh water has been ordered to pay nearly £40 million to customers by the industry watchdog. 0fwat said the firm had been misleading about its record of tackling leaks and saving water over a five—year period and had shown significant failure of governance and management oversight. beijing has criticised the us government because the house of representatives has voted to ban tiktok, unless the app splits from its chinese parent company. us legislators have concerns that the app may be sharing user information with the foreign government. a chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the legislation, which has still to be approved by the us senate, contravened fair competition and international trade rules. and the headline acts of the glastonbury festival have been announced. they are dua lipa and sza. shania twain will take the sunday legends slot and coldplay will take to the pyramid stage on the saturday, becoming the first act to headline glastonbury five times. now, those of us who enjoy gardening are being urged to reassess our attitude to slugs. we may view them as pests who munch through our plants, but the royal horticultural society and the wildlife trust are reminding us that slugs play an important part in enriching soil, and much more besides. 0ur environment correspondentjonah fisher is at rhs wisley in surrey. spring is very much in the air, a time of year when gardeners start thinking about putting seeds and seedlings into the ground and the start of what can be an epic struggle between gardeners and slugs and snails as to who gets to enjoy the vegetables and plants first. does it have to be that way? the royal horticultural society say it doesn't, they want us to stop looking at slugs and snails as our enemies and instead look at them as ourfriends. they're so beautiful. that face, how can you not love them? could you learn to love slugs and snails? good job i had a shower this morning, isn't it? abby march certainly has. my favorite slug in particular would be the leopard slug. abby likes leopard slugs so much, she even dressed as one for a christmas party. that's her on the left. why wouldn't you ? if you could be any animal, why not be a slug? really? what is so great about a slug? well, apart from all of those beautiful aesthetic things that i said, so beautiful, they also provide... they're really good for ecosystems. the wildlife trusts have joined up with the royal horticultural society to stress the positive things slugs and snails bring to gardens, like clearing up rotting rubbish and enriching the soil. i have really grown to love them over the years. but what about all the damage they do, munching their way through plants and flowers? if i do truly love the slug and i make my garden too comfortable for them, won't they just take over? no, no, because if you make your garden comfortable for slugs, you're making your garden comfortable for those natural enemies as well. so, if your garden's comfortable for slugs, it's comfortable for frogs, toads, thrushes. so, there'll be a balance? there'll be a balance. it's working towards that balance in gardens. this is quite a rebrand that's being attempted. so, are gardeners really ready to call a truce with the slugs and snails? do you think you could learn to love the slug? with difficulty. i really can't stand the things. we try to buy plants that are slug resistant and put up as many reinforcements as we can around the plants. does that work? sometimes. what should i be doing with them? you should be learning to live with them. 0h. oh, dear! when they eat all my little plants, i'm not overly happy, you know? what do you do with slugs in your garden? throw them next door! jonah fisher, bbc news, in wisley. is that my neighbour? just to tell you the rocket we were telling you about has blasted off from the spacex launch site, 400 feet will, remember, no one on board, but it appears this is the live shot, it appears this is the live shot, it appears it is successful so far. we will keep an eye on that through the day on bbc news. time for a look at the weather.