the energy regulator ofgem has asked suppliers to pause the forced installation of prepaid metres. it follows revelations that a debt collection company working for british gas broke into the homes of vulnerable people to install the metres. prepayment metres require customers to pay for their energy in advance. it s more expensive than paying by direct debit, but are sometimes the only option for people who have struggled to pay and are in debt to a supplier. ben king has more. an undercover reporter from the times newspaper joined a team of debt collectors, entering the home of a single father with three young children. they count as vulnerable. but, these workers from arvato financial solutions, working for british gas, opened the door and installed a prepayment meter anyway. installing prepayment meters by force is legal, but it s meant to be a last resort, and should not be done to vulnerable households. if people cannot afford to top up the meters, they will be left wit
foreign ministry spokesperson said that all sides should remain calm. and urged against speculation and artificially generated hype, saying that these things would not lead to a solution to this fresh crisis, i suppose, these fresh tensions between the us and china. [30 suppose, these fresh tensions between the us and china. do you think that if between the us and china. do you think that if it between the us and china. do you think that if it does between the us and china. do you think that if it does end between the us and china. do you think that if it does end up - between the us and china. do you think that if it does end up being l between the us and china. do you think that if it does end up being a chinese made balloon and chinese release balloon, do you think the chinese would admit to that? potentially. i don t know. it s funny because there is no secret that the us and china are spying on one another, us spy planes are flying over china all the time, at high altitude
given its high altitude, it might therefore be surprising to hear, but apparently some pilots of civilian aircraft have actually seen it. and moving forward, it looks as if the strategy is wait and see. there was some consideration given to shooting it down and there was some manoeuvres involving military aircraft to try to make that happen. but it was decided against it because of the threat of debris falling from the balloon and potentially hitting people on the ground. it was just considered too dangerous. so moving forward, it is still somewhere, the pentagon believes, over the united states. they re not saying where. and clearly, given the current tensions between the united states and china that have been going on, of course, for many months now, in many respects concerning security issues, this is another awkward situation, perhaps even more awkward with the visit of anthony blinken, the us secretary of state, to china. he s planning to go to beijing to meet president xi in the
released a statement about a high altitude surveillance balloon and say they are working with us partners. this is the first image we ve received believed to be of the balloon but it s not been independently verified. the department of defence says it was most certainly launched by china. the chinese government has called for calm and warned against the artificial hype regarding the balloon. 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, has more. this is an unusual but not unprecedented situation. what the pentagon believes is a chinese surveillance balloon hovering over the northern united states after previously hovering in a similar way over canada. and we re hearing similar statements from the ministry of defence in canada, as well as the pentagon, and that is that there is no danger posed to members of the public on the ground. indeed, civilian aircraft are not in any danger either, given the high altitude of this balloon it is in the stratosphere.
this is bbc news with the latest headlines. energy regulator ofgem tells energy companies to suspend the forced installation of prepayment metres. it s one week since nicola bulley went missing in lancashire her family make an appeal for her safe return. anything that you can remember that just doesn t seem right, then please, reach out to the police. please, just get in touch and get my sister back. china urges calm after the united states said it s tracking a suspected chinese surveillance balloon seen over sensitive sites in recent days. deserted railway stations as train drivers in england stage their second walk out this week. australian tennis star nick kyrgios admits assaulting his ex girlfriend but avoids a criminal conviction we ll have the latest from canberra.