US President Donald Trump seemed to ambush his South African counterpart at the White House on Wednesday, confronting him with a video that Trump said supported his claim that white farmers were being "persecuted" in the country.

The footage, shown during a news conference with Cyril Ramaphosa, purported to show the gravesites of murdered farmers. Trump did not say where it was filmed, and the footage has not been verified by the BBC.

Ramaphosa - who appeared to weigh up carefully how to respond - disputed Trump's allegation. He said black people were far more likely to be victims of violence in South Africa than white people.

Trump also said that he would seek an "explanation" from his guest on widely discredited claims of a white "genocide" in South Africa.

Ramaphosa came to the White House on Wednesday for trade talks to reset US-South African relations.

He had hoped to charm Trump with the inclusion of two of South Africa's best-known golfers in the delegation. Ramaphosa also came equipped with a gift of a huge book featuring his country's golf courses.

But after a cordial start, the mood in the Oval Office shifted as Trump asked for the lighting to be lowered so a video could be played.

• Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims?
• Do Afrikaners want to take Trump up on his refugee offer?
• 'I didn't come here for fun' - Afrikaner defends refugee status in US

The film featured the voice of leading South African opposition figure Julius Malema singing the song: "Shoot the Boer [Afrikaner], Shoot the farmer".

It also showed a field of crosses, which the US president, talking over the images, said was a burial site of white farmers.

He then handed Ramaphosa what appeared to be print-outs of stories of white people being attacked in South Africa.

"What you saw - the speeches that were made... that is not government policy," Ramaphosa responded.

"We have a multiparty democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves.

"Our government policy is completely against what he [Malema] was saying even in the parliament and they are a small minority party, which is allowed to exist according to our constitution."

Ramaphosa said he hoped that Trump would listen to the voices of South Africans on this issue.

The South African leader pointed out the white members of his delegation, including golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, and South Africa's richest man Johann Rupert.

"If there was a genocide, these three gentlemen would not be here," Ramaphosa said.

Trump interrupted: "But you do allow them to take land, and then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer, and when they kill the white farmer nothing happens to them."

"No," Ramaphosa responded.

Trump appeared to be referring to a controversial law signed by Ramaphosa earlier this year, which allows the government to seize privately-owned land without compensation in some circumstances. The South African government says no land has yet been seized under the act.

Speaking to Trump on Wednesday, Ramaphosa did acknowledge that there was "criminality in our country... people who do get killed through criminal activity are not only white people, the majority of them are black people".

As Trump pressed the issue, Ramaphosa stayed calm - and tried to work his charm by making a joke about offering a plane to the US.

He invoked the name of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, saying South Africa remained committed to racial reconciliation.

When a journalist asked what would happen if white farmers left South Africa, Ramaphosa deflected the question to his white agriculture minister, John Steenhuisen, who said that most farmers wanted to stay.

But Trump kept firing salvoes at Ramaphosa, who avoided entering into a shouting match with him - something that happened to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he met Trump in the same room in February.

Earlier this month, a group of 59 white South Africans arrived in the US, where they were granted refugee status. Ramaphosa said at the time they were "cowards".

Before Wednesday's White House meeting, South Africa's leader had stressed that improving trade relations with the US was his priority.

South African exports into the US face a 30% tariff once a pause on Trump's new import taxes ends in July.

Tensions between South Africa and the US ramped up days after Trump took office for his second term in January.

It was at that point that Ramaphosa signed into law the controversial bill that allows South Africa's government to expropriate privately-owned land in cases when it is deemed "equitable and in the public interest".

The move only served to tarnish the image of Africa's biggest economy in the eyes of the Trump administration - already angered by its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

In February, the US president announced the suspension of critical aid to South Africa and offered to allow members of the Afrikaner community - who are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers - to settle in the US as refugees.

South Africa's ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, was also expelled in March after accusing Trump of "mobilising a supremacism" and trying to "project white victimhood as a dog whistle".

Additional reporting by Khanyisile Ngcobo and Farouk Chothia

More on South African-US relations:

• Can Mandela's former negotiator fix fractious relations with Trump?
• Is it checkmate for South Africa after Trump threats?
• What's really driving Trump's fury with South Africa?

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

The prime minister has made tackling illegal immigration and "restoring order" to the asylum system a priority for the government.

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to "smash the gangs". It follows predecessor Rishi Sunak's pledge to "stop the boats".

Yet small boat crossings have reached record levels for this point in the year.

Ahead of the release of the latest official numbers on Thursday, BBC Verify looks at key government pledges - from ending the use of asylum hotels to returning more failed asylum seekers.

'End the use of asylum hotels'

Labour promised to "end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds" in its general election manifesto.

The government wants to fulfil this pledge by the end of this Parliament - meaning by 2029, unless an early election is called.

However, according to figures obtained by BBC Verify via a Freedom of Information request, the number of hotels used to house asylum seekers was higher in December than when Labour took office in July.

In July, 212 hotels were in use. By December, there were 218 - accommodating about 38,000 people.

Once someone applies for asylum, they gain legal protections while awaiting a decision - including accommodation if they cannot support themselves financially.

Almost everyone who arrives by small boat claims asylum - they made up a third of all asylum applications last year. Another large group of claimants were people already in the UK who had overstayed their visas.

The asylum process determines whether a person can remain in the UK because they have a "well-founded fear of persecution" in their home country.

Since 2020, the government has been increasingly reliant on hotels, partly because the supply of other types of asylum accommodation has not kept up with the numbers arriving in small boats.

But using asylum hotels is expensive - costing £8m per day in 2023-24.

'Smash the gangs'

As of 14 May, 12,699 people had arrived in the UK in small boats - up by a third compared with this time last year.

To reduce the number of crossings, the government has pledged to disrupt the people-smuggling gangs behind them.

But it is unclear how the government plans to measure its progress, or when the goal will be met.

The Home Office told us data on actions taken by officials to disrupt criminal gangs was "being collected and may be published in the future".

There is some information on efforts to prevent small boat crossings by French authorities - who, under a 2023 deal, are receiving £476m from the UK over three years.

They say about 17,379 people were prevented from crossing between July and December 2024. We do not know what happened to them or whether they tried to cross again.

There have been high-profile cases of UK-based smugglers being sentenced, including a man who helped smuggle more than 3,000 people and raids on the continent.

And at the recent UK-EU summit both sides pledged to work together on finding solutions to tackle illegal immigration.

Illegal migration includes people who arrive on small boats, or hidden in lorries, and people who remain in the UK after their legal visa expires.

The vast majority of UK immigration is legal - this includes people who have been granted permission to come to work, study, claim asylum or for other authorised purposes.

Last year, about 43,000 people entered the UK illegally - about 4% of the nearly one million people who came to the UK legally in 2024.

'Clear the asylum backlog'

The government has also promised "to clear the asylum backlog".

This refers to the backlog of claims by asylum seekers who are waiting to hear whether they will be granted refugee status and be allowed to remain in the UK.

Since last summer, there has been a 50% increase in decisions on asylum cases.

But despite this, the UK saw a record number of asylum applications across the year, meaning the overall backlog has actually risen since the election.

Under Labour, 41% of asylum claims were granted between October and December 2024.

Another backlog the government wants to clear is the mountain of court appeals from asylum seekers following rejected claims.

That backlog has also got worse since last summer's election, according to the latest figures.

There were about 33,000 cases at the end of June, rising to nearly 42,000 in December - the highest total since at least 2015.

'Increase returns'

The government has also promised to "increase returns" of people with no legal right to be in the UK. It said it would set up a new returns and enforcement unit with 1,000 extra staff.

The number of returns rose by around 2,000 - from just under 22,000 to 24,000 - between July 2024 and March 2025, year-on-year.

The government is meeting this pledge but it is worth noting that the majority of returns were "voluntary", not "enforced".

Just 6,339 people were forcibly removed, which could involve being escorted onto a plane by an immigration official.

Previous figures, up to December, show many of those who did leave voluntarily did so without government assistance or without its knowledge at the time, as BBC Verify has previously pointed out.

This is despite repeated claims from ministers that the government has "removed" or even "deported" this many people.

The Home Office says all returns outcomes are the result of collective efforts by the department.

BBC Verify has approached the Home Office on each of the pledges to ask how the government intends to meet them.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

The Marks & Spencer website is down, leaving users unable to browse, as the retailer continues to deal with the aftermath of a cyber-attack last month.

Customers have been unable to make online orders for weeks but on Wednesday evening users were met with a screen reading: "Sorry you can't browse the site currently. We're making some updates and will be back soon."

M&S has been contacted for comment.

Earlier in the day, the retailer said it estimates that the cyber-attack will hit this year's profits by around £300. It added that its online services would continue to be disrupted until July, with a gradual return to normal.

Following the cyber attack, M&S said some personal customer data was stolen in the recent cyber attack, which could include telephone numbers, home addresses and dates of birth.

The High Street giant assured customers that the data theft did not include useable payment or card details, or any account passwords, but added that online order histories could be included in the personal data stolen.

The attack took place over the Easter weekend, initially affecting click-and-collect and contactless payments. A few days later M&S put a banner on its website apologising that online ordering was not available.

M&S estimates that the cyber attack will hit this year's profits by around £300m - more than analysts had expected and the equivalent to a third of its profit - a sum that would only partly be covered by any insurance pay-out.

"Over the last few weeks, we have been managing a highly sophisticated and targeted cyber-attack, which has led to a limited period of disruption," said M&S chief executive Stuart Machin.

Police are focusing on a notorious group of English-speaking hackers, known as Scattered Spider, the BBC has learned.

The same group is believed to have been behind attacks on the Co-op and Harrods, but it was M&S that suffered the biggest impact.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, is "actively reviewing" banning or restricting the private prescription of cross-sex hormones to young people, according to evidence given to the High Court.

Government lawyers say an expert panel will report in July on the use of this type of medication by under 18s wishing to change their gender.

An application by campaigners for a full judicial review of the secretary of state's handling of the issue was rejected on Wednesday afternoon.

Dismissing the application, Lady Justice Whipple said "the case had moved on substantially" as a result of the government setting up a review in April.

The case calling for a full judicial review was brought after the NHS announced in December last year that under-18s would no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at gender identity clinics.

Campaigners argued that the prescription of cross-sex hormones should also be addressed and criticised the government's failure to intervene.

But Lady Justice Whipple said it was not "unreasonable or irrational" for the government to address the question of puberty blockers first and later come to cross-sex hormones.

The court in London was also told health officials are looking at "alternative legal mechanisms" to tackle issues around private and overseas providers who prescribe such drugs.

Cross-sex hormones are given to people who identify as a gender that is different to their biological sex. The medication helps someone who is transitioning to develop characteristics associated with their preferred gender.

For instance, it would help a trans man, a biological female who identifies as a man, develop a deeper voice and facial hair. Existing NHS guidance allows the hormones to be prescribed people aged 16 and over.

They differ from puberty blockers, which stop the onset of puberty by suppressing the release of hormones.

Existing NHS guidance allows the hormones to be prescribed to people aged 16 and over.

The case calling for a full judicial review was brought by Keira Bell and two others, who are remaining anonymous.

They wanted a ban on the prescription of cross-sex hormones by non-NHS organisations, such as private clinics and overseas providers.

As a teenager, Ms Bell was given cross-sex hormones after attending the now closed NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) run by the Tavistock clinic.

At the time she identified as male, but says she deeply regrets the decision to take medication that altered her body permanently.

Responding to this afternoon's judgment she said: "I am relieved that the secretary of state is now actively considering a ban on cross-sex hormones outside of the NHS.

"These powerful drugs should not be given to children and young people."

Her barrister, Zoe Gannon, had argued that while the health secretary banned the private prescription of puberty suppressing drugs in gender cases involving under-18s, he had "failed or refused" to take the same action in relation to cross-sex hormones, and this was "irrational".

Iain Steele, barrister for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), told the court Mr Streeting "is currently seeking clinical and expert advice from NHS England".

He also said there were a wide range of medical uses for hormones, such as testosterone and oestrogen, which made decisions on whether to restrict or ban their use in different situations complex.

Delivering the judgment rejecting the application for a judicial review, Lady Justice Whipple, sitting with Mr Justice Johnson, said the secretary of state had acted rationally.

She said, "This is an immensely difficult and sensitive area of policy formation where there are strong and genuinely held views on each side of the debate and where there is no consensus."

She added Mr Streeting was taking practical steps and was therefore entitled to more time to consider the issues.

She continued that it was appropriate that there was an active review and that was to be welcomed.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said children's healthcare "must always be led by evidence".

"That is why this government is implementing the recommendations from the Cass Review and acted immediately to extend the puberty blockers ban and make it permanent."

The government continues to work with the NHS to reform gender services to young people, the spokesperson added.

A member of Irish language hip-hop group Kneecap has been charged with a terror offence.

Liam O'Hanna, aged 27 from Belfast, has been charged via postal requisition, with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, the Metropolitan Police has said.

It relates to an incident on 21 November 2024, in the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London.

Mr O'Hanna, who performs under the name Mo Chara, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday 18 June.

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As Israel's war in Gaza enters a new, violent phase, a growing number of voices within the country are speaking out against it - and how it's being fought.

Yair Golan, a left-wing politician and former deputy commander of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), sparked outrage on Monday when he said: "Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state, like South Africa was, if we don't return to acting like a sane country.

"A sane state does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not set itself the goal of depopulating the population," he told Israeli public radio's popular morning news programme.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back, describing the comments as "blood libel".

But on Wednesday, a former Israeli minister of defence and IDF chief of staff - Moshe "Bogi" Ya'alon - went further.

"This is not a 'hobby'," he wrote in a post on X, "but a government policy, whose ultimate goal is to hold on to power. And it is leading us to destruction."

Just 19 months ago, when Hamas gunmen crossed the fence into Israel and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, taking 251 others back to Gaza as hostages - statements like these seemed almost unthinkable.

But now Gaza is in ruins, Israel has launched a new military offensive, and, though it has also agreed to lift its 11-week blockade on the territory, just a trickle of aid has so far entered.

Recent polling by Israel's Channel 12 found that 61% of Israelis want to end the war and see the hostages returned. Just 25% support expanding the fighting and occupying Gaza, as Netanyahu has promised.

The Israeli government insists it will destroy Hamas and rescue the remaining hostages. Netanyahu says he can achieve "total victory" - and he maintains a strong core of supporters.

But the mood among others in Israeli society "is one of despair, trauma, and a lack of a sense of ability to change anything", says former Israeli hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin.

"The overwhelming majority of all the hostage families think that the war has to end, and there has to be an agreement," he adds.

"A small minority think that the primary goal of finishing off Hamas is what has to be done, and then the hostages will be freed".

On Sunday, around 500 protesters, many wearing T-shirts with the inscription "Stop the horrors in Gaza" and carrying pictures of babies killed by Israeli air strikes, attempted to march from the town of Sderot to the Gaza border, in protest at Israel's new offensive.

They were led by Standing Together - a small but growing anti-war group of Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel. After attempting to block a road, the leader of the group Alon-Lee Green was arrested, along with eight others.

From house arrest, Mr Green told the BBC: "I think it's obvious that you can see an awakening within the Israeli public. You can see that more and more people are taking a position."

Another Standing Together activist, Uri Weltmann, said he thinks there's a growing belief that continuing the war is "not only harmful to the Palestinian civilian population, but also risks the lives of hostages, risks the lives of soldiers, risks the lives of all of us".

In April, thousands of Israeli reservists - from all branches of the military - signed letters demanding that Netanyahu's government stop the fighting and concentrate instead on reaching a deal to bring back the remaining hostages.

Yet, many in Israel hold differing views.

At the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza on Wednesday, the BBC spoke to Gideon Hashavit, who was part of a group protesting against aid being allowed in.

"They're not innocent people," he said of those in Gaza, "they make their choice, they chose a terrorist organisation."

It is against some of Israel's most extreme parts of society - settler groups - that the UK on Tuesday announced fresh sanctions.

In its strongest move yet, the UK also suspended talks on a trade deal with Israel and summoned the country's ambassador - with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy calling the military escalation in Gaza "morally unjustifiable".

The EU said it is reviewing its association agreement with Israel, which governs its political and economic relationship - with foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas saying a "strong majority" of members favoured looking again at the 25-year-old agreement.

On Monday night, the UK joined France and Canada in signing a strongly worded joint statement, condemning Israel's military action and warning of "further concrete actions" if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve.

"The mood is changing," says Weltmann, "the wind is starting to blow in the other direction."

Palestinians have taken to the streets in southern Gaza for a third day to protest against Hamas.

Hundreds of demonstrators were seen in videos posted on social media calling for an end to the war and for the removal of the armed group from Gaza. "Out! Out! Out! All of Hamas, out!" they chanted.

Speaking out against Hamas can be dangerous in Gaza and threats circulated on journalists' WhatsApp groups on Tuesday, forbidding them from publishing any "negative news that could affect the morale of the people".

Activists said young people started the protests on Monday and were joined by others on their way to get food from community kitchens, who were still holding their pots.

The protesters directed their anger at Hamas's leadership after an interview with senior official Sami Abu Zuhri circulated on social media.

Speaking on a podcast which originally aired in late March, he said that the war with Israel was "eternal", adding: "We will rebuild the houses and produce dozens more babies for each martyr."

Videos from the protests in Khan Younis show young men criticizing Hamas for selling their "blood for a dollar… To those with Hamas, be aware the people of Gaza will dig your grave".

In recent months, protests against Hamas have been on the rise in northern Gaza, but activists say the group's presence in the south has remained strong and it has successfully suppressed public dissent until now.

International journalists including those with the BBC are blocked by Israel from reporting in Gaza and anti-Hamas sentiment remains difficult to assess from afar.

Israel has carried out daily air strikes on Khan Younis since Monday, when the Israeli army issued residents with one of the largest evacuation orders this year, telling those in the eastern half of the city to head immediately towards camps in the coastal al-Mawasi area.

One man, who we are calling Alaa, was among those who started the protests. He agreed to speak to the BBC on condition of anonymity, for fear of reprisals from Hamas.

"The people do not care anymore about Hamas' attempts to suppress their voice because they are literally dying from hunger, evacuation, and the bombings," he said.

Alaa, who is originally from northern Gaza, said he had had to move around 20 times over the course of the 19-month war and could not afford to buy a tent for shelter.

Previously imprisoned for taking part in anti-Hamas protests in 2019, Alaa said Hamas needed to leave.

"Resistance was not born with Hamas, and even if Hamas is gone, there will be other faces of resistance [to the Israeli occupation]. But this current policy will cost us all of Palestine and the nation."

"We just want our children to live in peace, and we deliver a message to the whole world, to try their best in pressuring Israel and Hamas so we can save us and our children from this war."

In Gaza, public criticism of Hamas carries significant risks.

In March, 22-year old Oday a-Rubai was abducted and tortured to death by armed gunmen after taking part in anti-Hamas protests in Gaza City.

There are reports that others have been beaten, shot or killed for publicly opposing the group.

Alaa said that as their protest approached Nasser hospital on Monday a group of men told them to stop.

"There was one man who wanted to pull out his gun, but his friend stopped him. They couldn't do anything because they were outnumbered by the number of protesters."

Moumen al-Natour, who is a lawyer, former political prisoner, and co-founder of the anti-Hamas protest movement, We Want to Live, said: "The fatigue, effort and cost of displacement is pushing people to revolt against Hamas who refuse to surrender and hand over their weapons."

The United Nations says that since 15 May, more than 57,000 people have been displaced in southern Gaza due to the fighting and evacuation orders.

More than 53,000 people have been killed across Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, 82 of them in the past 24 hours.

Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas after the group's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages.

The US has accepted a plane from Qatar, a gift that sparked criticism including from some of President Trump's biggest supporters.

"The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations," Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Wednesday.

The plane will need to be modified before it can be used as part of the Air Force One fleet - the president's official mode of air transport.

The White House insists that the gift is legal, but the announcement of the transfer a week ago caused huge controversy.

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The prime minister has made tackling illegal immigration and "restoring order" to the asylum system a priority for the government.

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to "smash the gangs". It follows predecessor Rishi Sunak's pledge to "stop the boats".

Yet small boat crossings have reached record levels for this point in the year.

Ahead of the release of the latest official numbers on Thursday, BBC Verify looks at key government pledges - from ending the use of asylum hotels to returning more failed asylum seekers.

'End the use of asylum hotels'

Labour promised to "end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds" in its general election manifesto.

The government wants to fulfil this pledge by the end of this Parliament - meaning by 2029, unless an early election is called.

However, according to figures obtained by BBC Verify via a Freedom of Information request, the number of hotels used to house asylum seekers was higher in December than when Labour took office in July.

In July, 212 hotels were in use. By December, there were 218 - accommodating about 38,000 people.

Once someone applies for asylum, they gain legal protections while awaiting a decision - including accommodation if they cannot support themselves financially.

Almost everyone who arrives by small boat claims asylum - they made up a third of all asylum applications last year. Another large group of claimants were people already in the UK who had overstayed their visas.

The asylum process determines whether a person can remain in the UK because they have a "well-founded fear of persecution" in their home country.

Since 2020, the government has been increasingly reliant on hotels, partly because the supply of other types of asylum accommodation has not kept up with the numbers arriving in small boats.

But using asylum hotels is expensive - costing £8m per day in 2023-24.

'Smash the gangs'

As of 14 May, 12,699 people had arrived in the UK in small boats - up by a third compared with this time last year.

To reduce the number of crossings, the government has pledged to disrupt the people-smuggling gangs behind them.

But it is unclear how the government plans to measure its progress, or when the goal will be met.

The Home Office told us data on actions taken by officials to disrupt criminal gangs was "being collected and may be published in the future".

There is some information on efforts to prevent small boat crossings by French authorities - who, under a 2023 deal, are receiving £476m from the UK over three years.

They say about 17,379 people were prevented from crossing between July and December 2024. We do not know what happened to them or whether they tried to cross again.

There have been high-profile cases of UK-based smugglers being sentenced, including a man who helped smuggle more than 3,000 people and raids on the continent.

And at the recent UK-EU summit both sides pledged to work together on finding solutions to tackle illegal immigration.

Illegal migration includes people who arrive on small boats, or hidden in lorries, and people who remain in the UK after their legal visa expires.

The vast majority of UK immigration is legal - this includes people who have been granted permission to come to work, study, claim asylum or for other authorised purposes.

Last year, about 43,000 people entered the UK illegally - about 4% of the nearly one million people who came to the UK legally in 2024.

'Clear the asylum backlog'

The government has also promised "to clear the asylum backlog".

This refers to the backlog of claims by asylum seekers who are waiting to hear whether they will be granted refugee status and be allowed to remain in the UK.

Since last summer, there has been a 50% increase in decisions on asylum cases.

But despite this, the UK saw a record number of asylum applications across the year, meaning the overall backlog has actually risen since the election.

Under Labour, 41% of asylum claims were granted between October and December 2024.

Another backlog the government wants to clear is the mountain of court appeals from asylum seekers following rejected claims.

That backlog has also got worse since last summer's election, according to the latest figures.

There were about 33,000 cases at the end of June, rising to nearly 42,000 in December - the highest total since at least 2015.

'Increase returns'

The government has also promised to "increase returns" of people with no legal right to be in the UK. It said it would set up a new returns and enforcement unit with 1,000 extra staff.

The number of returns rose by around 2,000 - from just under 22,000 to 24,000 - between July 2024 and March 2025, year-on-year.

The government is meeting this pledge but it is worth noting that the majority of returns were "voluntary", not "enforced".

Just 6,339 people were forcibly removed, which could involve being escorted onto a plane by an immigration official.

Previous figures, up to December, show many of those who did leave voluntarily did so without government assistance or without its knowledge at the time, as BBC Verify has previously pointed out.

This is despite repeated claims from ministers that the government has "removed" or even "deported" this many people.

The Home Office says all returns outcomes are the result of collective efforts by the department.

BBC Verify has approached the Home Office on each of the pledges to ask how the government intends to meet them.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Fish similar to those made famous by the movie Finding Nemo are shrinking to cope with marine heatwaves, a study has found.

The research recorded clownfish living on coral reefs slimmed down drastically when ocean temperatures rocketed in 2023.

Scientists say the discovery was a big surprise and could help explain the rapidly declining size of other fish in the world's oceans.

A growing body of evidence suggests animals are shape shifting to cope with climate change, including birds, lizards and insects.

"Nemos can shrink, and they do it to survive these heat stress events," said Dr Theresa Rueger, senior lecturer in Tropical Marine Sciences at Newcastle University.

The researchers studied pairs of clownfish living in reefs off Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea, a hot spot of marine biodiversity

The wild clownfish are almost identical to the ones depicted in the movie Finding Nemo, in which a timid clownfish living off the Great Barrier Reef goes in search of his son.

The scientific study took place in the summer of 2023, when temperatures shot up in the oceans, leading to large swathes of coral turning white.

The scientists took multiple measurements of individual clownfish coping with the heat.

They found the tiny fish didn't just lose weight but got shorter by several millimetres. And it wasn't a one-off - 75% of fish shrunk at least once during the heatwave.

Dr Rueger explained: "It's not just them going on a diet and losing lots of weight, but they're actively changing their size and making themselves into a smaller individual that needs less food and is more efficient with oxygen."

The fish may be absorbing fat and bone, as has been seen in other animals, such as marine iguanas, although this needs to be confirmed through laboratory studies.

Dr Rueger joked that a little bit of movie rewriting might be necessary, with a new chapter ahead for Nemo.

"The movie told a really good story, but the next chapter of the story surely is, how does Nemo deal with ongoing environmental change?" she told BBC News.

Global warming is a big challenge for warm-blooded animals, which must maintain a constant body temperature to prevent their bodies from overheating.

Animals are responding in various ways: moving to cooler areas or higher ground, changing the timing of key life events such as breeding and migration, or switching their body size.

The research is published in the journal, Science Advances.

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Friends and witnesses who were in Tenerife with Jay Slater when he disappeared "could not be located" to take part in his inquest despite months-long police efforts to find them.

Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, went missing in the early hours of 17 June 2024 after attending a music festival in Playa de las Americas on the Spanish island.

The apprentice bricklayer's body was found by Spanish police at the bottom of a ravine in a remote national park on 15 July, an inquest at Preston Coroner's Court heard.

Senior coroner Dr James Adeley said a number of witnesses, including friends who travelled with him, were still being searched for by police.

Mr Slater had got into a car with two men and was driven to an AirBnB in the remote village of Masca, around 22 miles (36km) away from where he was staying.

He was last heard from around 8:30 BST that morning, when he called his friend Lucy Law and told her he was lost and had 1% battery on his phone before the call cut out, she previously told the BBC.

At the opening of the inquest Dr Adeley said efforts had been made to find Miss Law and also another friend, Brad Hargreaves. Lucy Law is understood to currently be on holiday in Tenerife.

The Metropolitan Police had also tried to serve a witness summons on Ayub Qassim, understood to be the man who had rented the AirBnB, but he was not living at the address the force had on record for him.

One witness who did give evidence via video-link, Joshua Forshaw, said he had got chatting to Mr Slater and his friends at the airport.

He told the court the last time he saw Mr Slater was at the Papayago nightclub, which was hosting the NRG music festival, on the night of 16 June 2024.

"It wasn't long after the event had started," Mr Forshaw said.

"He seemed to be in a happy mood, joyful to be there."

"He was shaking our hands and said hello to us, he seemed dead happy."

The coroner pointed out that in his original statement Mr Forshaw had described Mr Slater as appearing to be "off his head" on drugs.

In court Mr Forshaw said he believed Mr Slater had drunk a lot of alcohol, but was unsure about what drugs he had taken

He said the last time he saw him Mr Slater told him "some kids had just took an AP off somebody" and that he was "on his way to sell it for 10 quid".

He clarified that AP referred to a luxury watch brand and quid was a "code for a grand [£1,000]".

Hours later, when he was in bed, Mr Forshaw received a video from Mr Slater showing him in an area of mountains, which he said was between 05:50 and 07:20 on 17 June.

'No signs of attack'

Giving evidence earlier, Dr Richard Shepherd, a consultant forensic pathologist, told the court Mr Slater's cause of death was likely severe head injury.

He said: "The patterns of the injuries are consistent with a heavy fall from a height, landing particularly onto his head and other contacts causing the fracture to the pelvis."

"It would be entirely consistent with the possibility of a fall down a steep slope or off a height. I think it is more likely it all occurred at or about the same time."

Dr Adeley asked if there were any signs of restraint or assault on the body, which the court heard showed signs of decomposition consistent with lying in a hot conditions for several weeks.

Dr Shepherd responded: "This is something I considered very carefully.

"The patterns of injuries when someone is assaulted or restrained or held or pushed are very different from the types of injuries or patterns I saw with Jay, so I saw nothing to suggest that was the case. "

He said it was not possible to completely rule out a push, as that would not leave a mark, but added there was "nothing to suggest there was an assault, gripping, holding or anything of that sort".

The court also heard toxicology reports found Mr Slater had traces of the recreational drugs MDMA and cocaine in his body when he died.

Other tests conducted by the Spanish authorities also found traces of ketamine.

The month long search generated intense public interest, reflected in Facebook groups about the case with hundreds of thousands of members.

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Does it always rain on a bank holiday weekend?

Israel's success in the public vote at last weekend's Eurovision Song Contest has prompted calls from a string of countries to examine the results and voting system.

Singer Yuval Raphael came top of the viewer vote on Saturday with her ballad New Day Will Rise, but finished second overall to Austria when jury scores were also taken into account.

Broadcasters in Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Iceland and Finland have since raised concerns or questions about the public vote, with some requesting an audit.

Eurovision organisers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said the vote had been independently checked and verified, that they took any concerns seriously.

Israel was ranked joint 14th by the national juries, but shot up the leaderboard thanks to the results of the phone and online vote.

Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom were among the countries whose viewers awarded Israel the maximum 12 points, with Ireland and Finland giving 10.

Irish broadcaster RTE has asked for a full breakdown of the voting from organisers.

That came after Spanish broadcaster RTVE said it would request an investigation of the results and a review of the televoting system.

Viewers can currently vote up to 20 times each by phone, text or app.

Katia Segers, a Flemish MP, said: "A system in which everyone can cast up to 20 votes is a system that encourages manipulation.

"Whether this manipulation occurred in our country and all other participating and non-participating countries must be investigated."

Political tensions

A spokesperson for Flemish public broadcaster VRT said: "We have no indication that the counting of the televotes wasn't carried out correctly, but we are asking for complete transparency on the part of the EBU.

"The question is above all whether the current system guarantees a fair reflection of the opinion of viewers and listeners."

Finland's YLE said: "We will definitely ask the EBU whether it is time to update these rules or at least examine whether the current rules allow for abuses."

On Tuesday, Dutch public broadcasters Avrotros and NPO issued a statement saying the contest was "increasingly influenced by societal and geopolitical tensions".

Israel's involvement "raises the question of whether Eurovision still truly functions as an apolitical, unifying, and cultural event", they said.

In response, the contest's director Martin Green said organisers were "in constant contact with all participating broadcasters" and "take their concerns seriously".

"We can confirm that we have been in touch with several broadcasters since Saturday's Grand Final regarding voting in the competition," he continued.

There will now be a "broad discussion" with participating broadcasters "to reflect and obtain feedback on all aspects of this year's event", he said.

"It is important to emphasise that the voting operation for the Eurovision Song Contest is the most advanced in the world and each country's result is checked and verified by a huge team of people to exclude any suspicious or irregular voting patterns.

"An independent compliance monitor reviews both jury and public vote data to ensure we have a valid result.

"Our voting partner Once has confirmed that a valid vote was recorded in all countries participating in this year's Grand Final and in the Rest of the World."

Eurovision News, which is operated by the EBU, said an agency of the Israeli government paid for adverts and used state social media accounts to encourage people to vote for the Israeli entry.

Mr Green said that did not break the rules.

The government has announced a "one app fits all" approach to paying for parking, to end what it calls the "scramble" to download multiple payment platforms that motorists currently face.

Soon, drivers will be able to use any of the large parking apps to pay, rather than having to download new ones for each new car park, the Department for Transport says.

The National Parking Platform (NPP) has been in trial phase, but will now be handed over an industry body to be expanded across the country - though only to car parks which opt to sign up.

Motorist's association the RAC welcomed the move but said it needed to be taken on by many more car parks before it made a real difference to drivers.

"Paying to park a car should be one of the simplest things any driver does, but things have got much more complicated in recent years", RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said.

"If the arrival of a National Parking Platform removes that hassle, it's definitely a welcome move," he added.

"But the key will be ensuring as many car park operators as possible sign up to the system."

Under the NPP, drivers can use any of the main parking apps in any car park which is signed up to the scheme.

This means, for example, a car park which uses the Ringo app would also accept payments from the JustPark app.

The government said this would end the "scramble to download multiple apps and encouraging a more flexible parking experience".

The trial period included 10 local authorities in England, and more than half a million transactions were made during it, according to the government.

It says the NPP "will be onboarding more local authorities imminently".

NPP literature also says it is open to local authorities and private parking providers across the UK.

The running of the scheme has now been passed from the government to the British Parking Association, (BPA) which represents the parking sector.

"Today's announcement marks the result of six years of dedicated work by our parking sector to make paying for parking easier," said its boss, Andrew Pester.

"We've strongly supported the National Parking Platform from the start, so we're thrilled with this outcome."

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A number of countries have condemned the Israeli military's actions after troops fired warning shots in the vicinity of a diplomatic delegation on a visit to the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military accused the group of straying from an approved route and said warning shots were fired into the air "to distance them away". It said it "regrets the inconvenience caused".

No injuries were reported in the incident, which happened in the city of Jenin, where Israel has been fighting armed Palestinian groups for years.

Many countries, some of whom had diplomats on the visit, have condemned Israel's actions - including Spain, Egypt, France, Turkey and Italy.

Some nations involved have said they will summon Israeli ambassadors to account for the incident, calling for investigations and explanations from Israel.

The Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, has accused the Israeli security forces of deliberately targeting the delegation in a "heinous crime".

It said the group were there on an official visit with Palestinian authorities to "observe and assess the humanitarian situation and document the ongoing violations perpetrated by the [Israeli] occupying forces against the Palestinian people".

The Israeli military has been fighting armed Palestinian factions based there for a number of years, with a recent uptick in clashes following the outbreak of the Gaza war.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that its troops had fired "warning shots" to ensure the delegation did not enter "an area where they were not authorised to be" in Jenin.

It said the diplomats had "deviated from the approved route" and that it "regrets the inconvenience caused" by the incident.

The IDF added it would speak to representatives of the nations involved to update them on the result of an internal investigation into the incident.

A European diplomat said the group had gone to the area "to see the destruction" caused by months of Israeli operations.

The PA said dozens of countries were involved, including Egypt, Jordan, Spain, Turkey, France and the UK.

Condemnation has come in from nations in Europe and the wider Middle East, with particular criticism saved for the risk it posed to the lives of diplomats.

Spain, Italy and France were among those that said they would summon their Israeli ambassadors to clarify what happened, while the EU's foreign policy chief said any threats to the lives of diplomats are "unacceptable" and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

Egypt said the shots being fired on the group "violates all diplomatic norms", while Turkey said it was "yet another demonstration of Israel's systematic disregard for international law and human rights".

Both nations called for an immediate investigation and explanation from Israel.

Intensified Israeli ground operations and new evacuation orders are stretching Gaza's health system beyond breaking point, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Indonesian, Kamal Adwan and al-Awda hospitals in the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Jabalia were inside an evacuation zone announced on Tuesday. Another two hospitals are within 1km (0.6 miles) of it.

Kamal Adwan was out of service due to hostilities nearby and the Indonesian hospital was inaccessible because of the presence of Israeli forces around it, he added.

Al-Awda hospital is still functioning, but its director told the BBC on Wednesday that it was "totally under siege".

"Nobody can move out and we can't receive any cases from outside the hospital," Dr Mohammed Salha said.

He added that there was a quadcopter drone "shooting in the surroundings of the hospital and the outdoor area of the hospital".

"We also hear shooting from the tanks... maybe 400 or 500 metres [away]."

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC that it was "operating in the area against terror targets", but that it was "not aware of any siege on the hospital itself".

Dr Tedros said: "Even if health facilities are not attacked or forced to evacuate, hostilities and military presence obstruct patients and staff from accessing care, and WHO from resupplying hospitals, which can quickly make them non-functional."

"We've seen this too many times - it must not be allowed to happen again."

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also said that at least 20 medical facilities across Gaza had been damaged, or forced partially or completely out of service, in the past week by Israeli ground operations, air strikes and evacuation orders.

The charity demanded that Israeli authorities stop what it called the "deliberate asphyxiation of Gaza and the annihilation of its healthcare system".

Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on 2 March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, ending a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on Hamas to release its remaining 58 hostages, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

After several days of intense bombardment, the IDF launched an expanded offensive on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would see ground forces "take control of all areas" of Gaza. The plan reportedly includes completely clearing the north of civilians and forcibly displacing them to the south.

More than 600 people have been killed and 2,000 injured across Gaza over the past week, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. The UN says tens of thousands of people have been newly displaced.

Netanyahu also said Israel would allow a "basic" amount of food into Gaza to prevent a famine. But the UN has so far been unable to collect the dozens of lorry loads of supplies allowed in since Monday.

MSF said the volume of aid allowed in so far was not nearly enough, describing it as "a smokescreen to pretend the siege is over".

On Tuesday, the WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories said he had recently returned from Gaza and witnessed how the health system was facing attacks and acute shortages of supplies.

"Every time you get into Gaza you always think it cannot get worse. But it gets worse," Dr Rik Peeperkorn told reporters in Geneva.

He described how al-Awda hospital was "overwhelmed with injuries" and running low on supplies. Hostilities had damaged the facility, disrupted access and deterred people from seeking healthcare, he added.

He said the Indonesian hospital was barely functioning, almost inaccessible, and that most patients had left last week after a staff member was killed, one patient was injured and the facility was damaged during intensified hostilities.

Only 15 people, including patients and staff, were still inside the hospital as of Tuesday, urgently in need of food and water, he added.

The hospital's generator was also struck by an Israeli quadcopter on Monday night, causing a large fire and a blackout, according to MER-C Indonesia, the NGO that built the facility.

On Wednesday, a woman inside the hospital told the BBC by telephone that two of the patients were in a "serious condition".

In the background of the call, crashes could be heard.

"Five minutes ago, there was intense shooting in the surroundings of the hospital," she said, adding that she could see tanks.

The woman also said that they still had supplies of food inside the hospital, but were "facing a water crisis".

The IDF told the BBC it was operating in the area around the hospital and targeting "terrorist infrastructure sites", but that it was not targeting the hospital itself.

In another incident on Tuesday, a paramedic said his ambulance was shot at by an Israeli drone while he was transporting staff and food between al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals.

Khaled Sadeh said he was with another ambulance when bullets hit both vehicles' windshields. Nobody was injured.

Dr Salha shared photos of the ambulances and confirmed that Mr Sadeh was unable to return to al-Awda because of the threat of Israeli fire.

The BBC supplied details of the allegations and photos to the IDF, but it said it "could not confirm" the reports.

Hospitals and medical personnel are specially protected under international humanitarian law.

Hospitals only lose that protection in certain circumstances. They include being used as a base from which to launch an attack, as a weapons depot, or to hide healthy fighters.

The IDF has insisted that its forces operate in accordance with international law. In most instances where it has attacked hospitals, it has said they were being used improperly by Hamas - an allegation the group has denied.

In the southern city of Khan Younis, the European hospital - the only facility providing neurosurgery, cardiac care and cancer treatment in Gaza - has been out of service since 13 May.

That day, the hospital's courtyard and surrounding area was hit by a series of Israeli air strikes that Israel's defence minister said targeted an underground bunker where the head of Hamas's military wing, Mohammed Sinwar, was hiding. Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said the attack killed at least 28 people, but it is not clear yet whether Sinwar died.

The facility has also been inside an Israeli-designated evacuation zone covering almost the entire eastern half of Khan Younis since Monday.

Dr Tedros said Nasser, al-Amal and al-Aqsa hospitals, as well as one field hospital, were within 1km of the zone.

Dr Victoria Rose, a British surgeon working at Nasser hospital, said in a video posted on social media on Wednesday that she was very worried about the facility being evacuated or cut off by an Israeli troops advance from al-Aqsa, which in the central town of Deir al-Balah.

"If we get cut off from the Middle Area, there really are no other hospitals around us that could cope with the evacuation of Nasser," she explained.

"We have some amazing field hospitals... but none of them are capable of doing the type of surgery that we're doing here. And none of them have ICU capacity or generated oxygen. So, even all of them together couldn't cope with the amount of patients that we have."

She warned: "If Nasser is evacuated, we really are looking at the imminent death of hundreds of patients because we won't be able to take them anywhere."

Nasser was also hit by an Israeli strike on 13 May, killing two people including a Palestinian journalist who was being treated for injuries he sustained in a previous strike on a tented camp at the complex. The attack also destroyed 18 beds in a burns unit, according to the WHO.

The IDF accused the journalist of being a Hamas operative and alleged that the hospital was being used by the group to "carry out terrorist plots".

Another strike on Monday severely damaged Nasser's medical warehouse and destroyed critical WHO supplies, according to the hospital's director.

Suha Shaath, a pharmacist from Khan Younis who has been told by the IDF to evacuate and head to camps in the coastal al-Mawasi area, told the BBC in a voice note: "I have not left my house until now because I haven't found any place to set up my tent."

"The humanitarian situation is very serious - no water, no food, no fuel. The shelling is hitting everywhere," she added.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response Hamas's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 53,655 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 3,509 since the Israeli offensive resumed, according to the territory's health ministry.

Sir Keir Starmer has announced a U-turn on last year's controversial cuts to winter fuel payments.

More than nine million pensioners lost out on payments worth up to £300 after eligibility for the pension top-up was tightened last year.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir said ministers would look again at the threshold to allow "more pensioners" to qualify again.

He did not provide further details, adding that the changes would be made at a future Budget.

But he added the govenrment would only "make decisions we can afford".

The winter fuel payment is a lump-sum amount of £200 a year for pensioners under 80, increasing to £300 for over-80s, paid in November or December.

Last year, the government restricted the payments to those who qualify for pension credit and other income-related benefits, in a bid save £1.4bn.

The move did not feature in Labour's general election manifesto, and meant around nine million pensioners no longer qualify for the top-up.

Some Labour MPs have blamed the policy for losses at last month's local elections, where Labour lost around two-thirds of the seats it was defending.

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The sun may have shone, but April was dubbed "awful" for a reason.

Higher energy bills were followed by the biggest rise in water bills for over 35 years. Add in the continued rises in prices of food and services, a spike in airfares, and you get not only the highest inflation in a year but a situation where prices are rising faster than in France or Germany.

The good news is that, for more workers, pay rises are still outpacing the rate at which prices are rising. That means their money, on the whole, is stretching further. What's more, inflation remains a lot lower than it was - that peak of 11% in late 2022 - and should stay that way.

• UK inflation rate: How quickly are prices rising?
• Bills push inflation to highest in more than a year

But the rise today is not about to be immediately reversed either.

The rise in gas and electricity bills was propelled by higher wholesale global costs – the same factors that triggered the cost of living crisis a few years ago. Those wholesale costs are falling. But, due to the way our bills are set, it will take a while for that to mean lower prices for customers.

As for services inflation, part of the reason it rose in April was a spike in airfares because of the late Easter holidays this year. That distorted the figures and will be reversed. And the rise in vehicle excise duty was also a one-off.

But price pressures in other services – such as restaurant meals – remain higher than the Bank of England would like to see. And some economists worry that rises in those kind of areas suggest that bosses are passing on National insurance Contributions and other wage cost increases.

That could continue. The government's own policies risk adding to inflation.

It's those kind of factors that prompt economists to think that inflation could inch up further over the next few months, although they think it will remain below 4%. And won't fall back until 3% until next year.

It is why some don't expect the Bank of England to cut the interest rates more than one more time this year – which may come as a disappointment for the hundreds of thousands of homeowners looking to remortgage over the next year.

But there are also some factors that could help bring inflation down.

US President Donald Trump's trade war has led to expectations of weaker global growth and so brought down the price of oil and many other commodities on world markets. That should bring petrol down further – and help curb increases in food bills, as could the deal struck wit the EU this week. And the continued uncertainty over the President's ultimate trade policy could yet see more cheap imports from the likes of China imported here.

As ever, inflation is an uncertain beast.

As the Chancellor acknowledges, it is painful for households – particularly those whose incomes aren't keeping up. But the outlook could be gloomier.

Friends and witnesses who were in Tenerife with Jay Slater when he disappeared "could not be located" to take part in his inquest despite months-long police efforts to find them.

Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, went missing in the early hours of 17 June 2024 after attending a music festival in Playa de las Americas on the Spanish island.

The apprentice bricklayer's body was found by Spanish police at the bottom of a ravine in a remote national park on 15 July, an inquest at Preston Coroner's Court heard.

Senior coroner Dr James Adeley said a number of witnesses, including friends who travelled with him, were still being searched for by police.

Mr Slater had got into a car with two men and was driven to an AirBnB in the remote village of Masca, around 22 miles (36km) away from where he was staying.

He was last heard from around 8:30 BST that morning, when he called his friend Lucy Law and told her he was lost and had 1% battery on his phone before the call cut out, she previously told the BBC.

At the opening of the inquest Dr Adeley said efforts had been made to find Miss Law and also another friend, Brad Hargreaves. Lucy Law is understood to currently be on holiday in Tenerife.

The Metropolitan Police had also tried to serve a witness summons on Ayub Qassim, understood to be the man who had rented the AirBnB, but he was not living at the address the force had on record for him.

One witness who did give evidence via video-link, Joshua Forshaw, said he had got chatting to Mr Slater and his friends at the airport.

He told the court the last time he saw Mr Slater was at the Papayago nightclub, which was hosting the NRG music festival, on the night of 16 June 2024.

"It wasn't long after the event had started," Mr Forshaw said.

"He seemed to be in a happy mood, joyful to be there."

"He was shaking our hands and said hello to us, he seemed dead happy."

The coroner pointed out that in his original statement Mr Forshaw had described Mr Slater as appearing to be "off his head" on drugs.

In court Mr Forshaw said he believed Mr Slater had drunk a lot of alcohol, but was unsure about what drugs he had taken

He said the last time he saw him Mr Slater told him "some kids had just took an AP off somebody" and that he was "on his way to sell it for 10 quid".

He clarified that AP referred to a luxury watch brand and quid was a "code for a grand [£1,000]".

Hours later, when he was in bed, Mr Forshaw received a video from Mr Slater showing him in an area of mountains, which he said was between 05:50 and 07:20 on 17 June.

'No signs of attack'

Giving evidence earlier, Dr Richard Shepherd, a consultant forensic pathologist, told the court Mr Slater's cause of death was likely severe head injury.

He said: "The patterns of the injuries are consistent with a heavy fall from a height, landing particularly onto his head and other contacts causing the fracture to the pelvis."

"It would be entirely consistent with the possibility of a fall down a steep slope or off a height. I think it is more likely it all occurred at or about the same time."

Dr Adeley asked if there were any signs of restraint or assault on the body, which the court heard showed signs of decomposition consistent with lying in a hot conditions for several weeks.

Dr Shepherd responded: "This is something I considered very carefully.

"The patterns of injuries when someone is assaulted or restrained or held or pushed are very different from the types of injuries or patterns I saw with Jay, so I saw nothing to suggest that was the case. "

He said it was not possible to completely rule out a push, as that would not leave a mark, but added there was "nothing to suggest there was an assault, gripping, holding or anything of that sort".

The court also heard toxicology reports found Mr Slater had traces of the recreational drugs MDMA and cocaine in his body when he died.

Other tests conducted by the Spanish authorities also found traces of ketamine.

The month long search generated intense public interest, reflected in Facebook groups about the case with hundreds of thousands of members.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.

Mark Gordon has blamed the police manhunt for the death of his newborn baby Victoria.

"If it had naturally played out, I believe the baby would have been alive today," the court heard as he gave evidence for the first time during his retrial at the Old Bailey in London.

Gordon, 50, and his partner Constance Marten, 38, deny manslaughter by gross negligence and causing or allowing the death of a child.

Their daughter's decomposed body was found in a shopping bag in a Brighton allotment shed in March 2023, two months after they went on the run.

During the previous trial, Marten and Gordon were found guilty of concealing Victoria's birth and perverting the course of justice by not reporting her death.

Gordon no longer has barristers to represent him, so the judge Mark Lucraft KC asked him questions to lead him through his evidence.

Talking of Marten, he described her as his "beautiful, noble wife" and "a passionate strong individual".

But he said the couple face opposition. He said it "made it very difficult for us who were in love, sincerely in love".

He told the jury that private detectives hired by Marten's family were following them and observing them.

Explaining why he and Marten started living in hotels and holiday lets before and after the birth of their fifth child Victoria, he said "she wanted some time with the baby" and the couple never would have predicted what went on to happen.

"It was a range of calamitous events, one after the other," he said.

After their car caught fire, and police realised the couple had another baby, detectives launched a public appeal for the couple.

Gordon told the jury "if that manhunt hadn't happened…who knows what could have happened".

"No laws were being broken to justify a national manhunt," he said.

"There are risk assessments that you should do, people - if somebody's on the side of a ledge about to jump off, you don't rush them."

He added: "If it had naturally played out, I believe the baby would have been alive today."

"Who gave the command to do a national manhunt?" he asked.

"We are not silly people. We are not irresponsible people.

"My position is firmly is that had the manhunt not taken place, these circumstances would not have happened.

"Paranoia - call it what you want - but definitely not criminal intent," he told the court.

'We never wanted her to come to harm'

Talking about how the couple felt when their first four children were removed he said: "When someone doesn't have a child around them it affects them psychologically… when a parent loses a child they lose part of themselves."

He told the jury it is "bad enough" to lose Victoria, who he has not "had time to grieve".

"When I was apprehended I was dehydrated, malnourished and completely out of my head," he explained. "It is very important to consider, when you consider this allegation that has been made about us, our state of mind."

As he spoke about the death of "blessed, beautiful baby Victoria", he became emotional and started crying.

He said he was asleep when Marten had been feeding the baby and was in a "state of shock and complete disbelief" when he woke up and was told Victoria was not moving.

"It was a surreal moment for me. She was holding my baby's limp body in her arms," he said.

"At no point in time did we intentionally or recklessly put that baby at harm... We never wanted her to come to harm. I want you to know that," he said.

"Don't put people in prison who don't need to be in prison.... We are the ones who have to live with what has happened forever."

"This isn't the right way to handle this case," he told the jurors.

The trial continues.

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has been charged with harassment causing fear of violence against two men in August last year, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.

This is a developing story.

A former leading Ukrainian official has been shot dead outside an American school in the Spanish capital Madrid, authorities have confirmed.

Andriy Portnov, 51, had just dropped his children off at the school in the Pozuelo de Alarcón area of the city.

At least one unidentified attacker fired several shots at the victim before fleeing into a wooded area in a nearby public park, witnesses said.

Portnov had been an MP and deputy head in the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president ousted in 2014 after months of protests.

He had previously been an MP in Yulia Tymoshenko's governing party.

He left Ukraine after the revolution only to return in 2019 after Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president.

He then left Ukraine again, and in 2021 was sanctioned by the US Treasury, which said he had been "widely known as a court fixer" who had taken steps to control the judiciary and undermine reform efforts.

The European Union had earlier imposed sanctions on Portnov, but he challenged the move in court and won the case.

It was not clear who was behind the shooting that took place at about 09:15 local time (07:15 GMT) on Wednesday, reportedly as children were still entering the school.

Police drones and a helicopter searched the area for a gunman who, according to witnesses, was a thin man in a blue tracksuit. Spanish reports suggested the gunman may have had at least one accomplice riding on a motorbike.

A similar gun attack took place in 2018, when a Colombian drug trafficker was fatally shot outside a British Council school a few kilometres away.

But the motive behind Wednesday's attack is not yet known. Emergency services at the scene could only confirm that that Portnov had suffered several bullet wounds in the back and the head.

Portnov's black Mercedes car was cordoned off and the school wrote to parents to confirm that all the students inside were safe.

Although Ukraine's intelligence services have been linked to several killings in Russia and occupied areas of Ukraine, a fatal attack in Spain in February last year was linked to Russian hitmen.

The victim, a Russian helicopter pilot, was shot dead near Alicante, months after defecting to Ukraine.

Authorities in Kyiv said they had offered to protect Maxim Kuzminov in Ukraine, but he is believed to have moved to Spain's south-east coast under a false identity.

A British teenager held in prison in Georgia on suspicion of drug offences has been described as "not far from childhood" by her new lawyer.

Bella Culley, 18, from Billingham on Teesside, has had the first meeting with her new family-appointed lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia, who said he had to explain to her where she was geographically.

She is being detained for 55 days before trial while the prosecution investigates where the 12kg (26lbs) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lbs) of hashish found in a travel bag came from, and whether she was planning on handing it over to someone else.

Mr Salakaia said Miss Culley was in "good health" but he would not describe her as an adequate adult.

The lawyer, who does not speak English and specialises in juvenile law, has been communicating with his client using a translator.

Their first meeting lasted two hours in prison number 5, near the town of Rustavi.

Mr Salakaia said his client was in good health, did not have any complaints about the place of detention and was ready to defend herself in court.

When asked whether he would describe Miss Culley as an adequate adult, his answer was "no".

He said he had the impression she was "not far from childhood".

During their meeting, the 18-year-old was also giving evidence to Georgian investigators.

Miss Culley asked for advice about what to say and on some questions she chose to remain silent.

At the previous pre-trial hearing on 13 May, Miss Culley told the court she was pregnant.

Georgian Police said officers had seized marijuana and the narcotic drug hashish in a travel bag at Tbilisi International Airport.

The BBC understands Ms Culley arrived in Tbilisi on a flight from Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, on 10 May.

The BBC has been told the British Embassy has advised the teenager's family not to speak to the press.

Miss Culley was charged by Georgian police with illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics.

A spokesperson said the arrest was the result of a joint operation between multiple departments and, if she was found guilty, Miss Culley could face up to 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.

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A yoga instructor who survived the Southport stabbings said feelings of discomfort around knives in her own kitchen had inspired her to call for safer alternatives.

Leanne Lucas was critically injured in the 29 July 2024 attack that claimed the lives of three children - Alice Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King.

She said she wanted to drive a cultural shift in which people swap their traditional pointed-tip blades with blunt-ended knives, which present a much lower risk of causing serious injury.

Ms Lucas told BBC News she recently realised that cooking had become a "trigger" for the feelings of hyper-vigilance she had experienced since the Southport attack.

"When I'm maybe with friends or family and they're cooking away and we're having a conversation," said Ms Lucas, "I've noticed I'm watching what they're doing, rather than listening.

"When this idea about the blunt-tip knives came in I just thought 'this is a no-brainer, I don't understand why our kitchen isn't safer in the first place'."

Ms Lucas said she had read articles, quoting actor Idris Elba and celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, talking up the potential benefits of blunt-tipped knives.

Last year, Ms Lucas arranged a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop for children during the summer holidays.

It was targeted for unknown reasons by then 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana.

He was later jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the three murders, as well as the attempted murders of Miss Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight other children who survived their injuries.

As the first anniversary of the attack approaches, Miss Lucas has announced the launch of the Let's Be Blunt campaign.

In addition to selling standard pointed-tip blades, manufacturer Viners has been selling blunt-tip knives since 2020.

Jamie O'Brien, chief executive of The Rayware Group which owns Viners, said: "Knife crime is obviously a very complex issue and a complex societal issue.

"Our product won't change that but what we believe is [that] design can make simple steps to dramatically improve safety, just as with seatbelts or with safety lids on kids' medicines."

When challenged on why his company still sells pointed-knives, Mr O'Brien said: "For us, it's about the legislation from the government.

"We don't believe in necessarily banning retailers - that is not our decision.

"We believe in legislation that improves the effectiveness of safer options."

Ms Lucas also compared the Let's Be Blunt campaign to previous widespread shifts in public behaviour like the the ban on smoking indoors.

"I don't think it's something that would happen overnight," she said.

"There are barriers there - I'm very aware of that.

"But we just want to form that education. We want to bring that awareness to light."

'Form of epidemic'

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were about 50,000 offences involving a sharp instrument in the year ending March 2024.

That is about 4.4% higher than the previous 12-month period, although just under 3% lower than in 2019-20.

"What worries me is we're in this form of epidemic, and we're not seeing it as an epidemic," Ms Lucas said.

"Knife crime is increasing year on year, and I don't see how we're going to get hold of it if we don't all work together."

Ms Lucas has been invited to a Parliamentary reception on behalf of knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust.

Its CEO Patrick Green said hearing the voices of people like Leanne, who have been directly affected, is critical.

"It brings two things, it brings passion and determination to tackle knife crime, but it also brings something particularly when talking to young people about lived experience and the authenticity of those messages which cuts through statistics, which explains the horror of knife crime in a way nothing else can".

Ms Lucas is also hoping her story will have an impact when making her case later to MPs in Westminster.

"We need to all get on board as a member of the general public and say we're not OK with the increase in knife crime, and we want to play a tiny part towards preventing future knife crime," she said.

"I can't now 'unsee' what's in the kitchen, so I've got to do something about that.

"And I think that's the movement we're trying to create."

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At just 37 hectares, the Philippines-controlled island of Pagasa – or "hope" – is barely big enough to live on. There is almost nothing there.

The 300 or so inhabitants live in a cluster of small, wooden houses. They fish in the clear, turquoise waters, and grow what vegetables they can in the sandy ground.

But they are not alone in these disputed waters: just off shore, to the west, lies an armada of ships.

These are all Chinese, from the navy, the coastguard or the so-called maritime militia – large fishing vessels repurposed to maintain Chinese dominance of this sea. As our plane approached the island we counted at least 20.

For the past 10 years, China has been expanding its presence in the South China Sea, taking over submerged coral reefs, building three large air bases on them, and deploying hundreds of ships, to reinforce its claim to almost all of the strategic sea lanes running south from the great exporting cities on the Chinese coast.

Few of the South East Asian countries which also claim islands in the same sea have dared to push back against China; only Vietnam and the Philippines have done so. The militaries of both countries are much smaller than China's, but they are holding on to a handful of reefs and islands.

Pagasa – also known as Thitu and other names, as it is claimed by several other countries – is the largest of these.

What makes it exceptional, though, is the civilian population, found nowhere else on the islands of the South China Sea. From the point of view of the Philippines this, and the fact that Pagasa is solid land, not a partially submerged reef or sandy cay, strengthens its legal claims in the area.

"Pagasa is very important to us," Jonathan Malaya, assistant director-general of the Philippines National Security Council, tells the BBC.

"It has a runway. It can support life – it has a resident Filipino community, and fishermen living there.

"And given the size of the island, one of the few that did not need reclaiming from the sea, under international law it generates its own territorial sea of 12 nautical miles.

"So it is, in a way, a linchpin for the Philippine presence."

Reaching Pagasa is a two-to-three-day boat ride from the Philippines island of Palawan, or a one-hour plane ride, but both are at the mercy of frequent stormy weather.

Until they surfaced the runway two years ago, and lengthened it to 1,300m (4,600ft), only small planes could land. Now they can bring in big C130 transport aircraft. Travelling in them, as we did, is a bit like riding a bus in rush hour.

Everything has to be brought from the mainland, which is why our plane was packed, floor to ceiling, with mattresses, eggs, bags of rice, a couple of motorbikes and piles of luggage – not to mention lots of military personnel, most of whom had to stand for the entire flight.

A lot has changed in recent years. There is a new hangar, big enough to shelter aircraft during storms. They are building a control tower and dredging a small harbour to allow bigger boats to dock. We were driven around the island by some of the Philippines marines who are stationed there, though given its size it hardly seemed necessary

The Philippines seized Pagasa from Taiwan in 1971, when the Taiwanese garrison left it during a typhoon. It was formally annexed by the Philippines in 1978.

Later, the government started encouraging civilians to settle there. But they need support to survive on this remote sliver of land. Families get official donations of food, water and other groceries every month. They now have electricity and mobile phone connectivity, but that only came four years ago.

Aside from government jobs, fishing is the only viable way to make a living, and since the arrival of the Chinese flotillas even that has become difficult.

Fisherman Larry Hugo has lived on the island for 16 years, and has chronicled the increasing Chinese control of the area. He filmed the initial construction on Subi Reef, around 32km (20 miles) from Pagasa, which eventually became a full-size military air base. One of his videos, showing his little wooden boat being nearly rammed by a Chinese coastguard ship in 2021 made him a minor celebrity.

But Chinese harassment has forced him to fish in a smaller area closer to home.

"Their ships are huge compared to ours. They threaten us, coming close and sounding their horns to chase us away. They really scare us. So I no longer go to my old fishing grounds further away. I now have to fish close to the island, but the fish stocks here are falling, and it is much harder to fill our tubs like we used to."

Realyn Limbo has been a teacher on the island for 10 years, and seen the school grow from a small hut to full-size school teaching more than 100 pupils, from kindergarten to 18 years old.

"To me this island is like paradise," she says. "All our basic needs are taken care of. It is clean and peaceful – the children can play basketball or go swimming after school. We don't need shopping malls or all that materialism."

Pagasa is really quiet. In the fierce midday heat we found most people snoozing in hammocks, or playing music on their porches. We came across Melania Alojado, a village health worker, rocking a small baby to help it sleep.

"The biggest challenge for us is when people, especially children, fall ill," she says.

"If it is serious then we need to evacuate them to the mainland. I am not a registered nurse, so I cannot perform complicated medical tasks. But planes are not always available, and sometimes the weather is too rough to travel.

"When that happens we just have to care for them as best we can."

But she too values the tranquillity of island life. "We are free of many stresses. We get subsidised food, and we can grow some of our own. In the big city everything you do needs money."

We saw a few new houses being built, but there really isn't room for Pagasa to accommodate many more people. With very few jobs, young people usually leave the island once they finish school. For all of its sleepy charm, and stunning white-sand beaches, it has the feel of a garrison community, holding the line against the overpowering Chinese presence which is clearly visible just offshore.

"The Chinese at the airbase on Subi Reef always challenge us when we approach Pagasa," the pilot says. "They always warn us we are entering Chinese territory without permission."

Do they ever try to stop you? "No, it's a routine. We tell them this is Philippines territory. We do this every time."

Jonathan Malaya says his government has made a formal diplomatic protest every week to the Chinese Embassy over the presence of its ships in what the Philippines views as the territorial waters of Pagasa. This is in marked contrast to the previous administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, which avoided confrontations with China in the hope of getting more investment in the Philippines.

"I think we will get more respect from China if we hold our ground, and show them we can play this game as well. But the problem of democracies like the Philippines is policies can change with new administrations. China does not have that problem."

The details will follow in the Budget this autumn. But make no mistake, this is a U-turn.

The decision to means test the winter fuel allowance was one of the first announcements made by Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves almost a year ago.

It was intended to demonstrate both the dire state of the government's economic inheritance and the new regime's willingness to take tough decisions in response.

It didn't quite turn out that way.

Early grumblings from MPs generally on the Labour left rapidly spread into more unexpected parts of the party.

Even those MPs who made a decent fist of defending the policy right to the end admitted that it was the most frequently raised issue by members of the public when they were out campaigning.

It was widely blamed for a bad set of local election results and the dismal defeat to Reform at the Runcorn and Helsby by-election on the same day.

There is an interesting debate even among those MPs who were clamouring for a U-turn of this sort about whether the policy was always destined to be a failure.

Some believe that it was intrinsically inept to target a benefit paid to pensioners. Others believe the threshold should have been set higher so that fewer pensioners lost out. Another group say that if the Budget - with a big tax rise and funding boost for public services - had come at the same time, it would have made the winter fuel policy less isolated and as a result less controversial.

And yet another group believe that the government's failure lay in neglecting to make a positive case for the policy.

Instead of sorrowfully saying they had been forced into the means-testing by Conservative misrule, this argument goes, Sir Keir and Ms Reeves should have argued that there were many pensioners who simply did not need the money.

All that is of academic interest now. A consensus had formed across the Labour Party that the policy was a colossal political misstep and from that point on the logic facing this prime minister - who is utterly unsentimental about moving on from old policy positions - was remorseless.

Why now though?

One reason may be that rumours had reached overdrive that an announcement was in the offing. Given that ministers' conspicuous non-denials were becoming non-stop, there may have been a calculation that it made more sense just to acknowledge the inevitable now.

But it is also worth considering the broader context. Winter fuel was by no means the only contentious element of this government's economic policy.

There is a rebellion brewing on the government's welfare cuts. Those are likely to face a vote in the Commons next month although estimates of how big the rebellion might be vary wildly.

The government is in no mood to concede on that issue - as demonstrated by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall's speech this morning. Apart from anything else, they cannot afford to. The welfare reforms raise far more money than the means-testing of winter fuel was meant to.

But Sir Keir and his party whips will now be able to reassure anxious Labour MPs that they do listen to their complaints, even if they cannot address them in every area.

Fundamentally this is embarrassing for Reeves. She made a big, bold and early call and has reversed it within 10 months.

Her economic and political judgment is increasingly widely questioned within her own party - as demonstrated, just as one example, by the memo from Angela Rayner's department splashed across the front page of the Telegraph this morning.

The most important verdict on this reversal, though, will come from the public.

Is it a sign of strength from a pragmatic government willing to listen to criticism and act fast in response? Or a sign of weakness from an ideologically unmoored government which does not know what it believes?

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Friends and witnesses who were in Tenerife with Jay Slater when he disappeared "could not be located" to take part in his inquest despite months-long police efforts to find them.

Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, went missing in the early hours of 17 June 2024 after attending a music festival in Playa de las Americas on the Spanish island.

The apprentice bricklayer's body was found by Spanish police at the bottom of a ravine in a remote national park on 15 July, an inquest at Preston Coroner's Court heard.

Senior coroner Dr James Adeley said a number of witnesses, including friends who travelled with him, were still being searched for by police.

Mr Slater had got into a car with two men and was driven to an AirBnB in the remote village of Masca, around 22 miles (36km) away from where he was staying.

He was last heard from around 8:30 BST that morning, when he called his friend Lucy Law and told her he was lost and had 1% battery on his phone before the call cut out, she previously told the BBC.

At the opening of the inquest Dr Adeley said efforts had been made to find Miss Law and also another friend, Brad Hargreaves. Lucy Law is understood to currently be on holiday in Tenerife.

The Metropolitan Police had also tried to serve a witness summons on Ayub Qassim, understood to be the man who had rented the AirBnB, but he was not living at the address the force had on record for him.

One witness who did give evidence via video-link, Joshua Forshaw, said he had got chatting to Mr Slater and his friends at the airport.

He told the court the last time he saw Mr Slater was at the Papayago nightclub, which was hosting the NRG music festival, on the night of 16 June 2024.

"It wasn't long after the event had started," Mr Forshaw said.

"He seemed to be in a happy mood, joyful to be there."

"He was shaking our hands and said hello to us, he seemed dead happy."

The coroner pointed out that in his original statement Mr Forshaw had described Mr Slater as appearing to be "off his head" on drugs.

In court Mr Forshaw said he believed Mr Slater had drunk a lot of alcohol, but was unsure about what drugs he had taken

He said the last time he saw him Mr Slater told him "some kids had just took an AP off somebody" and that he was "on his way to sell it for 10 quid".

He clarified that AP referred to a luxury watch brand and quid was a "code for a grand [£1,000]".

Hours later, when he was in bed, Mr Forshaw received a video from Mr Slater showing him in an area of mountains, which he said was between 05:50 and 07:20 on 17 June.

'No signs of attack'

Giving evidence earlier, Dr Richard Shepherd, a consultant forensic pathologist, told the court Mr Slater's cause of death was likely severe head injury.

He said: "The patterns of the injuries are consistent with a heavy fall from a height, landing particularly onto his head and other contacts causing the fracture to the pelvis."

"It would be entirely consistent with the possibility of a fall down a steep slope or off a height. I think it is more likely it all occurred at or about the same time."

Dr Adeley asked if there were any signs of restraint or assault on the body, which the court heard showed signs of decomposition consistent with lying in a hot conditions for several weeks.

Dr Shepherd responded: "This is something I considered very carefully.

"The patterns of injuries when someone is assaulted or restrained or held or pushed are very different from the types of injuries or patterns I saw with Jay, so I saw nothing to suggest that was the case. "

He said it was not possible to completely rule out a push, as that would not leave a mark, but added there was "nothing to suggest there was an assault, gripping, holding or anything of that sort".

The court also heard toxicology reports found Mr Slater had traces of the recreational drugs MDMA and cocaine in his body when he died.

Other tests conducted by the Spanish authorities also found traces of ketamine.

The month long search generated intense public interest, reflected in Facebook groups about the case with hundreds of thousands of members.

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US singer Chris Brown has been freed on bail by a court in London after being charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm in an "unprovoked attack".

The 36-year-old star, who has not yet been asked to enter a plea, was arrested at Salford's Lowry Hotel last week and later charged over an alleged assault at a central London nightclub in 2023.

He was not present at Southwark Crown Court when Judge Tony Baumgartner granted him bail.