A woman who unknowingly had a criminal record for 56 years for being a lesbian in the military is encouraging more women to apply to a government pardons scheme.

Liz Stead, 78, was thrown out of the RAF in 1969 when bosses discovered a love letter from her then-girlfriend.

More than 50 years later Liz discovered she was also given a criminal conviction for "perceived same-sex sexual activity" and had unknowingly lived with a criminal record for most of her adult life.

She is one of 40 people in England and Wales who have had convictions of this nature overturned since 2023, when the government's Disregards and Pardons Scheme was expanded to include women for the first time.

Liz, from Chichester, West Sussex, first learned of her criminal record in December last year, when applying for a different scheme, which awards financial redress to veterans who were sacked during a ban on homosexuality in the armed forces which was lifted in the year 2000.

In emails seen by the BBC, her application for the payment was initially denied because of the conviction, and she was advised to apply for it to be pardoned by the Home Office.

She applied to have the application fast-tracked due to ill health - and says she was "astonished" to learn of the charges.

She now wonders what unknown impact it has had on her life.

"I can think of one job where it might have been the reason I didn't get it. I've worked in local government most of my life and I have to wonder, had they known about this, would I have still had that job?," she said.

In 2012, the government's Disregards and Pardons scheme was launched to allow people historically convicted for consensual same-sex activities to have those convictions deleted from official records.

The scheme was expanded in 2023 to include women and more former military personnel affected by the pre-2000 ban on LGBT+ service members.

Since the expansion, there have been 40 people given pardons, with the majority granted to former military personnel.

Liz is now encouraging other women who may have been in contact with police, or those who were thrown out of the military for their sexuality to apply for pardons in order to find out if they have an unknown conviction.

She said: "I can't think how it is on my records and I've never known about it, but I can't be the only one, they can't have just pinpointed me.

"I didn't know anything about it, so I had no idea what the pardon would even be for but I was told it was related to same-sex activity."

Liz served for three and a half years in the RAF and had an exemplary record, but was thrown out when bosses investigated her then-girlfriend and found love letters between the two.

She was interrogated by the Special Investigation Branch - the detective arm of the military police which at the time often focussed investigations on same-sex sexual activity - and dismissed.

The partial decriminalisation of homosexuality began in the UK in 1967 with the passing of the Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalised homosexual acts between men over the age of 21 in England and Wales.

In Scotland, the law was changed in 1980 and in Northern Ireland, 1982.

However, homosexuality remained illegal in Britain's armed forces until the year 2000, when the European Court of Human Rights ruled the ban illegal.

As part of reparations made to LGBT Veterans, Liz was invited to a ceremony to return her medals and re-welcome her into the military family.

Although the day was once a fond memory for her, she said it was now "tainted" because of the criminal record and she might have considered not attending had she known about that at the time.

Peter Gibson, CEO of LGBT+ military charity Fighting With Pride, which helped Liz apply for the pardon, said: "Liz's experience shows how important it is that justice is properly done to all LGBT+ veterans who suffered under the cruel ban. Lives and careers were ruined under that 'gay ban'.

"It's shocking that some people who served for their country and were kicked out for simply being their true selves might also have had a criminal record without even knowing."

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said that criminal records for same-sex relationships "should never have existed in the first place."

She added: "Each pardon represents real changes to real lives. Some could now have their military medals returned while others can finally walk taller knowing a painful injustice has been finally righted.

"I urge anyone with convictions under these cruel and prejudiced laws to apply to our scheme. You deserve justice and we remain committed to righting these historical wrongs."

Sir Keir Starmer has said that he is "determined that we will retake control of the borders," as he begins a visit to Albania.

In his first official visit to the country, the prime minister is expected to announce further measures to crack down on organised crime and illegal immigration.

The UK is to step up intelligence sharing with Albanian law enforcement and provide funding for forensics, as part of the plans announced.

The number of people crossing the Channel has passed 12,000 since January, putting 2025 on course to be a record year.

Speaking in Albania, Sir Keir said: "The last government lost control of the borders. I am determined that we will retake control of the borders.

"That means that we have got to have a concerted effort to smash the gangs that are running this vile trade."

He said greater co-operation with Albania had "driven down those numbers" and that he wanted to "see more of that".

Immigration has been a strong focus of the government this week - on Monday it set out plans to reduce the level of legal migration in a White Paper.

The government said there has been a 95% reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals in the last three years, and that the number of Albanians returned has doubled in the past two years.

The prime minister is expected to announce the expansion of the Joint Migration Task Force - which shares intelligence and carries out operations against people smugglers in the Western Balkans - to include North Macedonia.

The enhanced co-operation with Albania set to be announced will include measures to tackle a "revolving door effect", of migrants returning home, evading law enforcement and leaving the country again, the government said.

The plans will also include:

• A new programme to help young Albanians reintegrate into society and find employment
• Funding a new forensic evidence programme to share and track DNA of criminals in Albania to solve crimes in the UK
• A further £1m investment to upgrade Albania's forensics, biometrics and digital capability
• Greater intelligence sharing to allow local law, using UK-funded drones, to "snare gangsters" transporting migrants through the Western Balkans corridor

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described Sir Keir's visit as "pure theatre".

He said: "The returns deal with Albania was decisive action taken by the previous Conservative government."

"So why is Starmer now flying out for a handshake in Tirana to claim credit? If the scheme is already working, what exactly is this trip for?" he added.

The jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering two men in London before dumping some of their remains in suitcases in Bristol has been discharged.

Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, denies murdering Albert Afonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, on or before 11 July 2024 and was on trial at the Old Bailey in London.

Parts of their bodies were found in Shepherd's Bush, while some were discovered in a suitcase and trunk left near Clifton Suspension Bridge.

The prosecution opened its case on 30 April but trial judge Mr Justice Bennathan discharged the jury earlier.

Justice Bennathan said there had been problems identifying the accurate times of searches made by Mosquera on his laptop, which had been used as evidence in the trial.

He told jurors the trial "simply cannot continue".

"We simply have to resolve this before we have a fair trial," he added.

The judge thanked jurors for their service and said he was sorry for where the trial had "ended up".

Mosquera has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Alfonso by way of loss of self-control, but denies both charges of murder.

There is due to be a pre-trial review hearing for Mr Mosquera at the Old Bailey on 13 June and provisional retrial date has been set for 30 June at Woolwich Crown Court.

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The UK economy grew by 0.7% at the start of this year.

This was better than expected, but this level of growth is not predicted to last.

It's better than forecast

The numbers matter because a higher growth rate usually means people are getting paid a little bit more, can spend more and more jobs are created.

Before the announcement, experts expected the economy to grow by 0.6% between January and March, compared with the last three months of 2024.

The fact the actual number is a tiny bit higher at 0.7% suggests people were willing to spend more than was expected.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which works out the figure, said spending on services such as retail, hospitality and finance in particular was strong.

The growth figure for March 2025 also beat expectations.

Analysts predicted no growth at all in March, but the economy ended up expanding by 0.2% that month.

• What is GDP?

The UK is growing faster than other big countries

Though the UK's growth rate of under 1% might seem small, it's higher than that seen by other large economies around the world.

It was the highest in the G7, which is a group of countries that includes the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

All of these countries have had to deal with a big shock to global trade - the tariffs brought in by the US at the start of the year.

They make goods going into the US more expensive, which means the US may be likely to buy less from other countries.

That could reduce the amount the UK sells to US customers.

The fact that the UK was still able to beat expectations in this time is a promising sign.

Trump's tariffs hadn't come in yet

The US is the UK's biggest foreign market after the European Union, which means what happens across the Atlantic matters.

Donald Trump's so-called "Liberation Day", when he announced most of the tariffs on foreign goods, came on 2 April, and the tariffs themselves came into force shortly after.

That is after the period measured in the latest economy figures, so we won't see the full effects of the tariffs for a while.

Many businesses expected the tariffs to come, so made sure they exported their goods to the US before they kicked in.

That extra increase in production and sales is part of the reason the economy grew from January until March.

Economist Paul Dales from Capital Economics said this growth "might be as good as it gets for the year".

That's because UK exports to the US may fall now that the tariffs are being applied, and economists expect that to slow growth.

The UK did a deal with the US last week which cut some tariffs, but it is unclear when this will take effect as the details are ironed out.

• What is in the UK-US tariff deal?

Tax and bill rises mean we might not feel richer

Any positive effects from a bigger UK economy might not be felt that widely.

That is because some bills and taxes went up at the start of April.

Energy, water, phone and broadband bills all rose.

Council tax also increased, alongside car tax and TV licences.

Some businesses have complained that a rise in the amount of National Insurance they have to pay, as well as an increase in the minimum wage, mean they cannot hire as many workers.

The UK's economy grew by more than expected in the first three months of the year, according to the latest official figures.

The economy expanded by 0.7% in the January-to-March period, which was stronger than the 0.6% that analysts had forecast.

The Office for National Statistics said growth was largely driven by the UK services sector, although production also "grew significantly".

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the latest figures showed "the strength and potential of the UK economy".

"In the first three months of the year, the UK economy has grown faster than the US, Canada, France, Italy and Germany," she added.

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Co-op narrowly averted being locked out of its computer systems during the cyber attack that saw customer data stolen and store shelves left bare, the hackers who claim responsibility have told the BBC.

The revelation could help explain why Co-op has started to recover more quickly than fellow retailer M&S, which had its systems more comprehensively compromised, and is still unable to carry out online orders.

Hackers who have claimed responsibility for both attacks told the BBC they tried to infect Co-op with malicious software known as ransomware - but failed when the firm discovered the attack in action.

Both Co-op and M&S declined to comment.

The gang, using the cyber crime service DragonForce, sent the BBC a long, offensive rant about their attack.

"Co-op's network never ever suffered ransomware. They yanked their own plug - tanking sales, burning logistics, and torching shareholder value," the criminals said.

But cyber experts like Jen Ellis from the Ransomware Task Force said the response from Co-op was sensible.

"Co-op seems to have opted for self-imposed immediate-term disruption as a means of avoiding criminal-imposed, longer-term disruption. It seems to have been a good call for them in this instance," she said.

Ms Ellis said these kinds of crisis decisions are often taken quickly when hackers have breached a network and can be extremely difficult.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, the criminals claimed to have breached Co-op's computer systems long before they were discovered.

"We spent a while seated in their network," they boasted.

They stole a large amount of private customer data and were planning to infect the company with ransomware, but were detected.

Ransomware is a kind of attack where hackers scramble computer systems and demand payment from victims in exchange for handing back control.

It would also have made the restoration of Co-op's systems more complex, time-consuming and expensive - exactly the problems M&S appears to be wrestling with.

The criminals claim they were also behind the attack on M&S which struck over Easter.

Although M&S has yet to confirm it is dealing with ransomware, cyber experts have long said that is the situation and M&S has not issued any advice or corrections to the contrary.

Nearly three weeks on, the retailer is still struggling to get back to normal, as online orders are still suspended and some shops have had continued issues with contactless payments and empty shelves this week.

An analysis from Bank of America estimates the fallout from the hack is costing M&S £43m per week.

On Tuesday, M&S admitted personal customer data was stolen in the hack, which could include telephone numbers, home addresses and dates of birth.

It added the data theft did not include useable payment or card details, or any account passwords - but nonetheless urged customers to reset their account details and be wary of potential scammers using the information to make contact.

Co-op seems to be recovering more quickly, saying its shelves will start to return to normal from this weekend.

Nonetheless it is expected to feel the effects of the cyber attack for some time.

"Co-op have acted quickly and their work on the recovery helps to soften things slightly, but rebuilding trust is a bit harder," Prof Oli Buckley, a cyber security expert at Loughborough University, told the BBC.

"It will be a process of showing that lessons have been learned and there are stronger defences in place," he added.

The same cyber-crime group has also claimed responsibility for an attempted hack of the London department store Harrods.

The hackers who contacted the BBC say they are from DragonForce which operates an affiliate cyber crime service so anyone can use their malicious software and website to carry out attacks and extortions.

It's not known who is ultimately using the service to attack the retailers, but some security experts say the tactics seen are similar to that of a loosely coordinated group of hackers who have been called Scattered Spider or Octo Tempest.

The gang operates on Telegram and Discord channels and is English-speaking and young – in some cases only teenagers.

Conversations with Co-op hackers were carried out in text form - but it is clear the hacker, who called himself a spokesperson, was a fluent English speaker.

They say two of the hackers want to be known as "Raymond Reddington" and "Dembe Zuma" after characters from US crime thriller Blacklist which involves a wanted criminal helping police take down other criminals on a 'blacklist'.

The hackers say "we're putting UK retailers on the Blacklist".

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US President Donald Trump says that Iran has "sort of" agreed to the terms of a nuclear deal with the United States.

Trump described the latest talks between the two countries, which ended on Sunday, as "very serious negotiations" for "long-term peace".

Earlier, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader told NBC News that Tehran was willing to make concessions on its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

The US has insisted that Iran must scrap its uranium enrichment to prevent the country developing nuclear weapons - though Iran insists its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful.

Speaking on Thursday in Qatar, on the second stop of his multi-day Gulf tour, Trump said that a deal was close on Iran's nuclear programme and suggested a military strike on Tehran's sites could be avoided.

"We're not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran," Trump said after a meeting in Doha with business leaders.

"I think we're getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this.

"You probably read today the story about Iran. It's sort of agreed to the terms."

The president did not specify which remarks he was referring to, but an adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Shamkhani, said in a US media interview that Tehran was willing to accept far-reaching curbs on its nuclear programme.

Shamkhani told ABC News that Iran would give up stockpiles of highly enriched uranium as part of a deal in which the US lifts sanctions.

The latest talks over Tehran's nuclear programme finished on Sunday, with both sides agreeing to meet again.

US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff said they were encouraging, while Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described them as "difficult but useful".

Trump pulled out of a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and five other world powers in 2018.

He previously warned of possible military action against Iran's nuclear facilities if the fresh set of talks, which began in April, did not succeed.

A senior US official said the latest discussions lasted more than three hours, adding: "Agreement was reached to move forward with the talks to continue working through technical elements.

"We are encouraged by today's outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future."

Sir Keir Starmer has said that he is "determined that we will retake control of the borders," as he begins a visit to Albania.

In his first official visit to the country, the prime minister is expected to announce further measures to crack down on organised crime and illegal immigration.

The UK is to step up intelligence sharing with Albanian law enforcement and provide funding for forensics, as part of the plans announced.

The number of people crossing the Channel has passed 12,000 since January, putting 2025 on course to be a record year.

Speaking in Albania, Sir Keir said: "The last government lost control of the borders. I am determined that we will retake control of the borders.

"That means that we have got to have a concerted effort to smash the gangs that are running this vile trade."

He said greater co-operation with Albania had "driven down those numbers" and that he wanted to "see more of that".

Immigration has been a strong focus of the government this week - on Monday it set out plans to reduce the level of legal migration in a White Paper.

The government said there has been a 95% reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals in the last three years, and that the number of Albanians returned has doubled in the past two years.

The prime minister is expected to announce the expansion of the Joint Migration Task Force - which shares intelligence and carries out operations against people smugglers in the Western Balkans - to include North Macedonia.

The enhanced co-operation with Albania set to be announced will include measures to tackle a "revolving door effect", of migrants returning home, evading law enforcement and leaving the country again, the government said.

The plans will also include:

• A new programme to help young Albanians reintegrate into society and find employment
• Funding a new forensic evidence programme to share and track DNA of criminals in Albania to solve crimes in the UK
• A further £1m investment to upgrade Albania's forensics, biometrics and digital capability
• Greater intelligence sharing to allow local law, using UK-funded drones, to "snare gangsters" transporting migrants through the Western Balkans corridor

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described Sir Keir's visit as "pure theatre".

He said: "The returns deal with Albania was decisive action taken by the previous Conservative government."

"So why is Starmer now flying out for a handshake in Tirana to claim credit? If the scheme is already working, what exactly is this trip for?" he added.

To the blast of a trumpet and the beating of drums, Fatima Hazzouri has come home.

Thirteen years after civil war forced her to leave, she's back in her native city, Homs in Syria, blinking in the sunshine as she steps off a bus crammed with returning women and children, part of a long convoy of coaches and trucks.

In a central square, they're greeted ecstatically by musicians and dancers in embroidered silk shirts.

Fatima is one of the seven million Syrians who were displaced within their country by the conflict between the government of former President Bashar al-Assad and rebel forces. It began in 2011 and finally ended with a rebel victory in December 2024. A further six million people fled abroad in those years. In total, more than half the population was forced to move.

Bringing them back is perhaps the biggest challenge Syria now faces - because many no longer have a home to return to. But now, following President Donald Trump's decision to lift US sanctions on Syria, there's suddenly new hope that the shattered country can be rebuilt.

"I'm overjoyed to be back," Fatima says. She shrieks in delight. The 124 families returning in the convoy have come from the north of Syria, where millions of displaced people live in tents and makeshift shelters. They've been on the road for eight exhausting hours - but it won't be an easy homecoming.

Homs, Syria's third largest city, saw some of the fiercest fighting of the war. Whole districts are still in ruins. In 2012, two rockets fired by government forces slammed into Fatima's house, largely destroying it.

Fatima jostles to get free food and clothing provided by the private Dubai-based charity Waqf al-Farah, which organised the convoy. Then she heads for the flat her family is renting until they can repair their old home. Like the other men in the convoy, her son-in-law Abdulrazaq has gone ahead, riding on top of the family's possessions piled high on a truck.

When Fatima arrives, mattresses, carpets, pots and pans are already being hauled through an upstairs window.

In the north, Fatima got occasional work picking grapes or olives. Abdulrazaq was a teacher. But he doesn't know whether he'll get work in Homs to help pay the rent for the flat.

"I don't know what our future will be," he says. "We'll wait for the new government to decide."

"The biggest problem we have is lack of jobs," says Khalifa al-Hakmi, who helped organise the convoy. "People have nothing to do when they come back."

Providing work is just part of the huge task faced by Syria's new rulers, the former Islamist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as they try to rebuild the country.

Three million homes were destroyed. Essential services are lacking in many places. Homs, like most parts of Syria, gets only a few hours of electricity a day.

So far neither the government nor international agencies have put forward any comprehensive plan for resettling refugees. But the end of the crippling sanctions originally imposed on Syria by the US under the Assad regime means the country can again become part of the international banking system – and the economy can start to revive.

For now, though, returnees still have to fend for themselves. Yasir al-Nagdali and his mother Siham returned to Homs three years ago. Their house was a shell. But now they've replaced the windows and the ceiling and Yasir - a trained carpenter - has made their flat homely again.

There's even a canary in a cage. Keeping birds is Yasir's hobby. He can't forget how they escaped at the height of the battle for Homs. They crawled on their hands and knees as regime soldiers raked their street with machine-gun fire.

But Siham also remembers happier times in the house – such as when she got married at the age of 14. In those days, she says, there were belly-dancers at weddings – and she wore 12 different dresses, singing a song each time she changed.

For others in Homs, there's no happy return. Artist Samira Madwar sees no prospect of repairing the flat she grew up in. It was shelled, then burned, and looted by government forces.

Samira now lives on the outskirts of the city. She bursts into tears when she sees the state of her beloved old home. Amid the rubble and broken plaster littering the floor, she finds old family photographs – and the remains of a book she wrote, that falls apart when she picks up.

"In my brain, there is a hole," she says. "My paintings, my books – everything - they took it, and left us without a memory about our life."

Despite everything, Samira stayed in Syria throughout the war. But many of her friends left the country. One was Ammar Azzouz. He trained as an architect in Homs and now researches at the University of Oxford in the UK. He's overwhelmed with emotions after coming back to his city for the first time since 2011.

"I was aching for this day when I can walk the streets, touch the stones, meet the people, look at their faces, struggling to understand the scale of loss and grief," he says.

But like many other Syrians who've successfully started new lives abroad, he's thinking of dividing his time between his native and adopted countries, rather than returning permanently.

"Many people are describing it as the honeymoon period," Ammar says, talking about the first months after the fall of Assad.

"There's a new energy and excitement and hope and optimism. At the same time, the reality is harsh. But I think building bridges between those who are outside and inside would be fascinating, because they bring in new skills, opportunities, networks and knowledge that we need so much."

Rebuilding Syria will require all those things - and huge financial input. The United Nations estimates that 90 percent of Syrians now live below the poverty line – that's less than $2.15 USD a day.

After the family's belongings have been unloaded at their new, temporary home, Fatima goes back to visit her old house. Only two rooms are habitable, and two of her children are already living there. Just building a roof and tiling the floor would cost about $6-7,000 USD, she says. She can't imagine where such money would come from.

But today, after 13 years away, she just wants to celebrate.

The real identity of the man who brutally murdered Diane Sindall was known by people on the estates in Birkenhead, a charity set up in her memory has claimed.

Peter Sullivan, now 68, was acquitted of her murder at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday thanks to new DNA evidence after spending almost 40 years in prison.

RASA Merseyside was set up to help victims of sexual violence after the 21-year-old was beaten to death in August 1986 as she walked home from a shift behind the bar at a Bebington pub.

Josephine Wood from the charity told the BBC they had been approached by several local people who told them police had the wrong man, but they would not reveal the identity to detectives.

• 'Real chance' true killer from 1986 still at large
• Who is Peter Sullivan and why was he jailed?
• Why was Peter Sullivan not freed earlier?

These people did not share the name of the man they suspected was the real killer, and were unwilling to come forward as sources to help the investigation.

"I know that we were approached on occasions by people who felt they could come to us and talk to us because we'd been set up almost in memory to Diane and as a tribute to her," Ms Wood said.

"We were told on several occasions that the police had the wrong man.

"But we didn't have evidence, we didn't have anything to offer, we just knew what we'd been told and the people are adamant that you've got the wrong person.

"But without any evidence, without names, without people willing to come forward which is a really big deal, seriously what could be done?"

Ms Wood said some deprived areas around Birkenhead at the time had "tribal" and "tight-knit" communities that made it difficult for people to come forward.

"If something had happened in that estate it would be really hard for someone to actually come forward and say 'we know who this is', for fear of repercussions, for fear of what might happen," she said.

"I would like to think that maybe 40 years down the line we can actually now go back to those people and say 'come on tell us what you know'.

"Tell us what happened, you must feel safer now, you must feel a way that you can come forward, because if this guy hasn't done it somebody else has and we need to find out who that was."

After Mr Sullivan's acquittal, Merseyside Police issued an urgent appeal for anyone who had any suspicions about someone they believed could have committed the crime in 1986 to get in touch.

Det Ch Supt Karen Jaundrill, head of investigations at the force, told the BBC she wanted the communities of Birkenhead to "try and reflect on any individuals that you weren't happy with at the time".

"It may be that somebody has passed away and you weren't happy with their behaviour at the time and you think they were linked," she said.

"My ask would be please contact us, regardless of how insignificant you think the information is, and let us judge where that fits into our investigation."

'Cannot admit'

Det Ch Supt Jaundrill said the force had been notified in 2023 that a new DNA profile had been extracted from semen samples preserved from the crime scene.

More than 260 men identified as part of the original investigation had been tested and eliminated as potential suspects.

Mr Sullivan's solicitor, Sarah Myatt, previously told the BBC that Mr Sullivan had "never lost hope" that he would be acquitted.

She said he continued to maintain his innocence despite the fact he would have had a much stronger case to be freed on licence if he had told the parole board he accepted what he had done.

Ms Myatt added: "He said 'I cannot admit to something I haven't done', even though that meant that the parole board would consider things in that way."

Both the Crown Prosecution Service and Merseyside Police said they appreciated the impact of the miscarriage of justice on Mr Sullivan, but said the technology to get a DNA profile from samples like the ones recovered did not exist until very recently.

The government runs a compensation scheme for victims of miscarriages of justice, which is capped at a maximum of £1m for those who spent more than 10 years in prison.

The Miscarriage of Justice Compensation Scheme is separate to any civil legal action that could be brought against any public authority.

Ms Myatt, from law firm Switalskis, said she and her colleagues would support any compensation claim Mr Sullivan wished to bring.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We acknowledge the grave impact miscarriages of justice have and are committed to supporting individuals in rebuilding their lives.

"We are actively considering options to ensure any compensation properly supports people and will set out next steps in due course."

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The average cost of a place at a private school has increased by 22.6% in the last year – more than government estimates – after the introduction of VAT on fees, the body representing most UK independent schools says.

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) says it expects a reduction in pupils applying for private school as a result but that it is too soon to know the full effects of the policy, which was introduced mid-year.

The average termly fee for a day school in January was £7,382, which includes 20% VAT, according to the ISC. In January last year the average was £6,021.

But an HM Treasury spokesperson says the increase in fees are not only down to VAT and the data "misrepresents reality".

VAT on private school fees was introduced on 1 January across the UK.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the money raised would help "provide the highest quality of support and teaching" in the state sector.

At the time, the government predicted fees would increase by about 10% as a result of the changes, saying some schools would be able to absorb part of the cost.

The ISC says that many schools were able to reduce their fees, excluding VAT, in January to "cushion the impact" on parents.

But the ISC chief executive Julie Robinson says the sector has been hit a "triple whammy" of national insurance changes, an end to charitable business rates relief and "the blow of 20% VAT on fees".

"It seems clear to us that the government has underestimated the effect," she said.

"We know parents have already left the sector because of the threat of VAT coming in so we do expect the reality of this to lead to further decreases but the full effects will only become apparent over the next few years," Ms Robinson added.

The 22.6% increase in average fees compares with an 8.4% rise in 2024 and a 6.4% rise in 2023.

The figures were provided to the BBC by the ISC, which represents about 1,400 private schools across the UK. Its annual census, which looks at fees and pupil numbers, is conducted in January and is due to be released next week.

Kath decided to remove her 12-year-old son from his private school in October after she was made aware the fees would be increasing in January.

"We worked it out and it was unaffordable. Within two terms the cost was going up by 26% to almost £8,000 a term, " she says.

Her son has special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and she originally choose the private sector due to the small class sizes and support offered.

"We are a typical middle class family, we are not rolling in it, we have one second hand car and few holidays, we watch our money. At the very least I believe they should have brought it in at the start of the academic year."

"Moving him mid-year was a traumatic experience but we only had 15 days to take a place once we were offered one", she explains.

Kath has now started the process of applying for an education, health and care plan to help her son get the support he needs in his new school.

"The state system is stretched and underfunded. He is a happy and resilient boy and now we have to fight for his needs to be met."

David Morton, headmaster of The King's School in Gloucester, which charges pupils between £3,725 and £9,050 a term, says the policy is "misjudged".

"The government is trying to tax the more affluent areas of society in order to support the least affluent, but the wealthiest people have been affected the least."

"It's low to middle income families and those children on bursaries where the impact of VAT is being felt most," Mr Morton adds.

Given overall student numbers are set to fall by 700,000 in England by 2030, the government is confident that schools in the state sector will be able to accommodate any additional pupils moving from private schools.

It estimates about 35,000 will move to the state sector in the long term and the impact will be "very small".

Research by the think tank, the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), says it would be possible for the state sector to easily accommodate extra pupils as the number leaving is bigger than the total number of children attending private schools.

The ISC says some of its members reported a 4.6% fall in Year 7 pupils in September 2024, but experts say the declining birth rate and cost of living could be having an impact.

A judicial review of the policy has been brought by three separate groups, including parents of children with SEND and low-paying faith schools. A decision is expected soon.

The court heard how the government decided to bring the policy in mid-year to maximise the amount of money it raised.

It estimates that the policy will raise an extra £460m this year, rising to £1.8bn by 2029/30.

As part of their election campaign, Labour promised this would be used to recruit 6,500 specialist teachers in England over their parliamentary term.

The state sector is struggling with recruitment and retention and unfilled vacancies are at a record high.

The government says average fees in private schools have risen over the past 25 years and pupil numbers have remained steady.

Average fees have risen by 55% in real terms since 2003, even without VAT, according to the IFS.

"Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029-30 to help deliver 6,500 new teachers and raise school standards, supporting the 94% of children in state schools to achieve and thrive", an HM Treasury spokesperson said.

In his eagerness to accept a plane from Qatar, Donald Trump has achieved a remarkable feat, uniting many partisans across America's bitter political divide.

The problem for the White House is that unity is happening in opposition to it.

Predictably, Trump's opponents in the Democratic Party slammed the president after he indicated he would accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family.

More noteworthy – and potentially more troubling for the president – is that some of his strongest supporters also have serious reservations about the deal, even as it's not yet finalised.

Maga influencers have described the move as a "bribe", grift, or an example of the high-level corruption that Trump himself has consistently promised root out.

The Qatari royal family plans to give the luxury Boeing 747-8, estimated to be worth $400m (£300m), to the US Department of Defence to be used as part of a fleet of planes dubbed Air Force One – the president's official mode of air travel.

The current fleet includes two 747-200 jets which have been in use since 1990, along with several smaller and somewhat secretive 757s.

The White House says that the new plane – which could require years and millions of dollars to refit and upgrade – will be transferred to Trump's presidential library at the end of his term.

After the news broke on Sunday, the backlash was fierce and immediate.

"I think the technical term is 'skeezy'," deadpanned conservative Daily Wire commentator Ben Shapiro on his podcast.

"Qatar is not allegedly giving President Trump a $400m jet out of the goodness of their sweet little hearts," he said. "They try to stuff money into pockets in totally bipartisan fashion."

He and others pointed to allegations that Qatar has funnelled money into terrorist groups – allegations the country has denied – and called Qataris "the world's largest proponents of terrorism on an international scale."

Laura Loomer, the conspiracy-spreading social media influencer who agitates for sackings of top White House officials deemed insufficiently loyal, interrupted her steady stream of pro-Trump messaging to criticise the move.

Although she said she still supports the president, she called the plane deal "a stain" and posted a cartoon of the Trojan Horse, redrawn as a plane and filled with armed Islamist militants.

Trump found little support for the plan in more mainstream outlets as well.

The New York Post, which usually can be counted on to back much of the populist Maga agenda, ran a blunt editorial: "Qatar's 'Palace in the Sky' jet is NOT a 'free gift' - and Trump shouldn't accept it as one."

And Mark Levin, a consistent cheerleader of the president on Fox News and his radio talk show, posted on X accusing Qatar of being a "terror state" and wrote: "Their jet and all the other things they are buying in our country does not provide them with the cover they seek".

During his first term, Trump himself accused Qatar of funding terror groups.

When contacted by the BBC, the Qatari embassy in Washington pointed to an interview Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani gave CNN about the plane.

"It is a government-to-government transaction. It has nothing to do with personal relationships - neither on the US side, nor the Qatari side. It's between the two defence ministries," he said.

"Why would we buy influence in the United States?" he added, arguing Qatar has "always been a reliable and trusted partner. This is not a one-way relationship."

• Is Trump allowed to accept a $400m luxury plane as a gift?

In response to criticism of the deal, the White House has doubled down. Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the administration was "committed to full transparency".

"Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws," she said.

Although there has been nothing offered in exchange for the plane, many commentators said it would be naïve to expect that that Qatari royal family would hand out such a large item with no strings attached.

"They very obviously see that if you reward Donald Trump with gifts, that may pay off down the road," Doug Heye, a political strategist and former communications director for the Republican National Committee, told the BBC. "Flattery gets you somewhere with Donald Trump, and we've seen that time and time again."

The US Constitution includes a clause preventing officials from accepting "any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

But the White House has pointed out that, at least to begin with, the plane is being gifted to the US government.

Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly investigated the legality of the deal and determined that because there are no explicit conditions attached, it would not amount to a bribe.

Conservatives and others were quick to point out that Bondi was registered as a lobbyist for Qatar prior to joining Trump's cabinet, at some points earning up to $115,0000 (£87,000) a month from her work for the Qatari government.

The Trump Organisation also continues to maintain links to Qatar and last month announced a deal to build a luxury golf resort in the country.

During a news conference at the White House on Tuesday the president berated a reporter who raised questions about the ethics of the transaction.

"What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you?" asked ABC reporter Rachel Scott.

"You should be embarrassed asking that question," Trump replied, after using his standard "fake news" jibe.

"They're giving us a free jet," the president said. "I could say 'No, no, no, don't give us, I want to pay you a billion or 400 million'… or I could say 'thank you very much'."

On Truth Social, the president later reposted several messages pointing out that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, and wrote late Tuesday: "The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME!"

"Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country," he wrote.

However even some within Trump's Republican Party were expressing concern.

"I think it's not worth the appearance of impropriety, whether it's improper or not," Rand Paul, Republican senator from Kentucky, told Fox News.

"I wonder if our ability to judge [Qatar's] human rights record will be clouded by the fact of this large gift," Paul said.

Another Republican senator, Ted Cruz of Texas, said accepting the gift would pose "significant espionage and surveillance problems".

Trump did find some support within his party. "Free is good. You know, we don't have a lot of money right now to buy things like that," Sen Tommy Tuberville told CNN.

Doug Heye, the Republican strategist, suggested that the deal might not hurt Trump's popularity with his base in the long term.

"Trump has been able for years now to turn scandals that would otherwise be debilitating for other politicians into things that we forget," he said. "He's very skilled at that."

Scratching the surface of a planned vegetable plot in a back garden has been a journey of discovery for one family.

Underneath a mound of earth and nestled away for decades on a property in Pontypool, Torfaen, were more than 1,000 vintage bottles.

Some beer bottles and medicinal glass jars have been brought to the surface - but their existence in just one spot is "puzzling", said mum-of-two Zoe Brown.

"We started digging and found there's loads of rubbish - we went a metre down and found a whole bottle and thought this is really cool - maybe there's more stuff.

"It got absolutely out of hand."

Zoe said after they moved the family decided to "do the house up a bit at first" but there was a nice outdoor space to decided to work on that, and "maybe grow some veg".

Upon finding the bottles she said she emailed a lady who told her that before the war people had to get rid of their own rubbish, and said "if you go any deeper you will find out more".

"There's quite a lot all over the place, we found an old wall there as well. Glasses were popping up we were picking them out, there's over 1,000 bottles altogether - we picked loads out but some of them are still in the garden."

After using a mechanical digger and finding more than they anticipated - Zoe decided to call it a day.

"I washed hundreds of them out and my boy Reg and my little girl Tilly chose the ones they liked."

As well brewery bottles from Abersychan, Rhymney, Newport and Cardiff there were also vintage bottles featuring Abergavenny's Morgans and Evans.

"There's loads of brewery ones - and little jars like the ones from Boots the Chemist with little tablespoon marks on the side, and one find was like a bottle of hair gel with a comb marking on it - where you dip the comb in and wash your hair.

"I emailed some auction places but there's too much to go through. We wheeled them up to the back of the garden - some of them had liquids in them so we had to be careful."

Zoe added: "We've got loads of flowers there now- rather than grow veg because of the liquids we found. We knew the area had glass in it because when it rains glass keeps on popping up.

"Part of you wants to keep going but where do you cut off? It got to the point where it's level and that's enough.

"There's easy 1000 little jars and bottles which have come out."

We were flying through the warm light of the setting sun. There were villages and small towns where the lights were coming on. It was a peaceful landscape where people walked and drove without constantly looking to the sky.

We were over the suburbs of Amman when Safa'a Salha held up her mobile phone so that I could read a message she'd written.

"Oh my God," this Gaza mother wrote, "Jordan is so beautiful."

The evacuees had come to the Jordanian border by road. I joined them there for the final part of the journey by helicopter to Amman.

Safa'a spoke very little English, and in any case the noise of the helicopter made it impossible to converse.

She showed me another message. "We used to see this [helicopter] every day and it was coming to bomb and kill. But today the feeling is totally different."

Next to her sat her 16-year-old son Youssef who showed me the scar on his head from his last surgery. He smiled and wanted to speak, not of Gaza but ordinary things. How he was excited by the helicopter, how he liked football. Youssef said he was very happy and gave me a fist bump.

Beside him was nine-year-old Sama Awad, frail and scared-looking, holding the hand of her mother, Isra. Sama has a brain tumour and will have surgery in Amman.

"I hope she can get the best treatment here," said Isra, when we were on the ground and the noise of the engines faded.

I asked a question which had been answered for me many times by looking at images, but not face to face by someone who had just left.

What is Gaza like now?

"It is horrible. It is impossible to describe. Horrible on so many levels. But people are just trying to get on with living," Isra replied.

Four sick children were evacuated to Jordan along with twelve parents and guardians. They left Gaza by ambulance on Wednesday morning and travelled through Israel without stopping until they reached the border crossing.

The plan to evacuate children was first unveiled during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Jordan's King Hussein in February.

Jordan's stated aim is to bring 2,000 sick children to the kingdom for treatment. So far only 33 have been evacuated to Jordan, each travelling with a parent or guardian.

Jordanian sources say Israel has delayed and imposed restrictions and this - along with the resumption of the war - has impeded the evacuation process. Sick Gazans have also been evacuated to other countries via Israel.

We put the Jordanian concerns to the Israeli government organisation responsible - Cogat (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) - who told us that since "the beginning of the year, and especially in recent weeks, there has been a significant increase in the number of Gazans evacuated through Israel for medical care abroad."

Cogat said thousands of patients and escorts had gone to countries, including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the US and others. The statement said that "the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip pose a challenge to the implementation of these evacuation operations."

Israel broke the last ceasefire in March launching a wave of attacks on what it said were Hamas positions.

Gaza remains a claustrophobic zone of hunger and death for its residents. Those who get out for medical treatment are the exception.

According to the UN the population of 2.1 million is facing the risk of famine. The organisation's head of humanitarian affairs, Tom Fletcher, has appealed to the UN Security Council to act to "prevent genocide" in Gaza.

These are strong words for a man trained in the sober traditions of the British Foreign Office and who has served as an ambassador and senior government advisor.

The Israeli blockade is preventing essential aid supplies from reaching the population. That along with the continued bombing explain Isra Abu Jame's description of a place horrible beyond words.

The children who arrived in Jordan on Wednesday from Gaza will join a small community of other wounded and sick youngsters in different Amman hospitals.

Since January we have been following the case of Habiba Al-Askari, who came with her mother Rana in the hope doctors might be able to save three gangrene infected limbs - two arms, and a leg.

But the infection - caused by a rare skin condition - had gone too far. Habiba underwent a triple amputation.

When I met Habiba and Rana again this week, the little girl was using the toes of her remaining foot to scroll, and play children's games on her mum's phone. She blew kisses with the stump of her arm. This was a very different child to the frightened girl I met on the helicopter evacuation five months ago.

"She's a strong person," Rana said. Habiba will be fitted with prosthetic limbs. Already she is determined to walk, asking her mother to hold under her armpits while she hops.

Some day, Rana hopes, she will take Habiba back to Gaza. Mother and child are safe and well cared for in Amman, but their entire world, their family and neighbours are back in the ruins. Concerns about Habiba's health make Rana reluctant to contemplate going back soon.

"We have no house. If we want go back where will we go? We would be going back to a tent full of sand…[but] I truly want to return. Gaza is beautiful, despite everything that has happened. To me Gaza will always be the most precious spot on this entire earth."

They will return. But to war or peace? Nobody knows.

With additional reporting by Alice Doyard, Suha Kawar, Nik Millard and Malaak Khassouneh.

The UK's economy grew by more than expected in the first three months of the year, according to the latest official figures.

The economy expanded by 0.7% in the January-to-March period, which was stronger than the 0.6% that analysts had forecast.

The Office for National Statistics said growth was largely driven by the UK services sector, although production also "grew significantly".

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the latest figures showed "the strength and potential of the UK economy".

"In the first three months of the year, the UK economy has grown faster than the US, Canada, France, Italy and Germany," she added.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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Police searching for the parents of three newborn babies, all abandoned in east London minutes after their birth, say they are now focusing on about 400 nearby houses.

Baby Elsa was left in a Boots carrier bag near a footpath in Newham on 18 January 2024, before being discovered by a dog walker.

Subsequent DNA tests established she was the sibling of two other babies, a boy and a girl, each found in very similar circumstances in 2017 and 2019.

Despite police appeals, the parents of the three babies have still not been identified.

Over the last five weeks, detectives searching for the parents have given BBC News access to part of their operation.

They allowed us to follow officers going door-to-door asking residents to provide DNA samples to see if they are connected to the babies.

They are also contacting people they have found using the national DNA database who may share familial DNA with the children's mother.

Officers who recently met Elsa told the BBC the toddler is a bright girl who is curious and engaging.

It was on 17 September 2017, when the first baby, Harry, was found, over a mile to the west of the spot Elsa was left - just north of the Greenway, a four-mile long footpath and cycleway in Newham. He'd been left in a bush in Plaistow Park, wrapped in a towel.

Sixteen months later, his sister Roman was discovered on a bench by a dog walker in the small children's play park, in Roman Road.

She was found on a freezing evening, at about 22:15. Roman was wrapped in a towel, inside a Sainsbury's shopping bag.

The babies' names were given to them by emergency staff who helped them - they have all since been changed.

DNA tests revealed that Harry and Roman were full siblings, however, that information wasn't initially made public.

It was only when Elsa was found five years later, and the case came before the family court, that we were able to report all three babies had the same parents.

Det Insp Jamie Humm, who became the case's senior investigating officer after Elsa was found, says "it wasn't a huge shock" when DNA confirmed she was the sister of the other two babies.

Elsa had been abandoned just a few minutes' walk from where Roman was found.

For the first 12 months after taking on the investigation, Det Insp Humm assumed the babies' mother was able to contact police, but had been reluctant to do so.

His team scoured the area, knocking on doors, talking to local people, but no-one had seen or heard anything.

In January this year, the charity Crimestoppers offered a £20,000 reward for information, which also proved fruitless.

"Now my strong feeling is that [the mother is] not able to come forward," says Det Insp Humm.

He believes the babies' mother may be restrained in some way - or she may have mental or physical health problems.

Police have been working closely with experts from the National Crime Agency (NCA), as well as psychological and geographical profilers.

They assume the mother left the babies herself. Paediatric experts advised that in war zones, for example, mothers have given birth then "got up and walked" immediately.

Police also believe the mother knows the local area well.

She avoided CCTV cameras and witnesses, yet placed all the babies in locations where they were likely to be found quickly.

Analysis of CCTV footage led officers to rule out the mother using a car to get to the sites - instead they believe she walked along the Greenway.

There is now CCTV where Elsa was found, however, there was none in January 2024, when she was abandoned.

Det Supt Lewis Basford, who has taken on strategic oversight of the investigation, acknowledged that conventional techniques have failed to identify the parents so far.

Now, he says the Met is putting a lot of emphasis on the investigation to open up new lines of enquiry.

To do that, they're using DNA testing, often used in homicides, in a novel way.

First, they have searched the national database to find partial matches. That throws up many thousands of names. They've used other information to focus on people who might be related to the parents.

Det Insp Humm and his team are focusing on about 300 names, and are planning to see them all in person.

Working with the NCA, they have also identified about 400 homes close to the eastern section of the Greenway, from where the mother could have walked with a baby and avoided CCTV.

They're cross-referencing those addresses with information from the electoral roll and other agencies to find the most likely locations, for someone who may be connected with the parents.

In teams of two, officers knock on doors to request DNA samples. Det Sgt Laurence Dight says they generally receive a warm response. People have heard about the babies and want to help.

He says people are often happy to take the test. Some have refused, which is within their rights.

Once they have collected samples, they analyse them, and decide on the next steps.

In the local community, many are mystified. The congregation of East Ham Baptist Church brings together people from all over the world.

They regularly hold prayers for the mother and babies. Pastor George Tikum, originally from Cameroon, said it is possible that the parents are here illegally, and left the babies because they'd have a more secure life if adopted.

He says the mystery has turned many locals into amateur detectives.

"I still think the answer lies with one person coming forward and just giving those answers to Elsa and her siblings as to what happened to them and why it happened," says Det Insp Humm.

His concern is for the babies' mother - and any future children. Officers describe the survival of the three newborns as "miraculous" and worry a fourth child might not be so fortunate.

Elsa is now just over one year old and is toddling and bright.

Det Insp Humm says he met her a couple of months ago, with police colleagues. She was "very curious" he says. "Very engaging. No fear."

Hospital staff called her Elsa - found, only an hour old, on the coldest night of the year - after the character in the Disney film Frozen.

Now in foster care, Elsa has made what family court judge Carol Atkinson calls "astonishing progress".

Det Insp Humm says when officers recently met her "everyone was struggling to keep their emotions in check".

"The one who wasn't was Elsa, she was just the happiest, coolest," he said. "I think she's going to make everyone proud - she'll make her mum proud as well."

The average cost of a place at a private school has increased by 22.6% in the last year – more than government estimates – after the introduction of VAT on fees, the body representing most UK independent schools says.

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) says it expects a reduction in pupils applying for private school as a result but that it is too soon to know the full effects of the policy, which was introduced mid-year.

The average termly fee for a day school in January was £7,382, which includes 20% VAT, according to the ISC. In January last year the average was £6,021.

But an HM Treasury spokesperson says the increase in fees are not only down to VAT and the data "misrepresents reality".

VAT on private school fees was introduced on 1 January across the UK.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the money raised would help "provide the highest quality of support and teaching" in the state sector.

At the time, the government predicted fees would increase by about 10% as a result of the changes, saying some schools would be able to absorb part of the cost.

The ISC says that many schools were able to reduce their fees, excluding VAT, in January to "cushion the impact" on parents.

But the ISC chief executive Julie Robinson says the sector has been hit a "triple whammy" of national insurance changes, an end to charitable business rates relief and "the blow of 20% VAT on fees".

"It seems clear to us that the government has underestimated the effect," she said.

"We know parents have already left the sector because of the threat of VAT coming in so we do expect the reality of this to lead to further decreases but the full effects will only become apparent over the next few years," Ms Robinson added.

The 22.6% increase in average fees compares with an 8.4% rise in 2024 and a 6.4% rise in 2023.

The figures were provided to the BBC by the ISC, which represents about 1,400 private schools across the UK. Its annual census, which looks at fees and pupil numbers, is conducted in January and is due to be released next week.

Kath decided to remove her 12-year-old son from his private school in October after she was made aware the fees would be increasing in January.

"We worked it out and it was unaffordable. Within two terms the cost was going up by 26% to almost £8,000 a term, " she says.

Her son has special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and she originally choose the private sector due to the small class sizes and support offered.

"We are a typical middle class family, we are not rolling in it, we have one second hand car and few holidays, we watch our money. At the very least I believe they should have brought it in at the start of the academic year."

"Moving him mid-year was a traumatic experience but we only had 15 days to take a place once we were offered one", she explains.

Kath has now started the process of applying for an education, health and care plan to help her son get the support he needs in his new school.

"The state system is stretched and underfunded. He is a happy and resilient boy and now we have to fight for his needs to be met."

David Morton, headmaster of The King's School in Gloucester, which charges pupils between £3,725 and £9,050 a term, says the policy is "misjudged".

"The government is trying to tax the more affluent areas of society in order to support the least affluent, but the wealthiest people have been affected the least."

"It's low to middle income families and those children on bursaries where the impact of VAT is being felt most," Mr Morton adds.

Given overall student numbers are set to fall by 700,000 in England by 2030, the government is confident that schools in the state sector will be able to accommodate any additional pupils moving from private schools.

It estimates about 35,000 will move to the state sector in the long term and the impact will be "very small".

Research by the think tank, the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), says it would be possible for the state sector to easily accommodate extra pupils as the number leaving is bigger than the total number of children attending private schools.

The ISC says some of its members reported a 4.6% fall in Year 7 pupils in September 2024, but experts say the declining birth rate and cost of living could be having an impact.

A judicial review of the policy has been brought by three separate groups, including parents of children with SEND and low-paying faith schools. A decision is expected soon.

The court heard how the government decided to bring the policy in mid-year to maximise the amount of money it raised.

It estimates that the policy will raise an extra £460m this year, rising to £1.8bn by 2029/30.

As part of their election campaign, Labour promised this would be used to recruit 6,500 specialist teachers in England over their parliamentary term.

The state sector is struggling with recruitment and retention and unfilled vacancies are at a record high.

The government says average fees in private schools have risen over the past 25 years and pupil numbers have remained steady.

Average fees have risen by 55% in real terms since 2003, even without VAT, according to the IFS.

"Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029-30 to help deliver 6,500 new teachers and raise school standards, supporting the 94% of children in state schools to achieve and thrive", an HM Treasury spokesperson said.

A manuscript once considered an unofficial "copy" of the Magna Carta is now believed to be a genuine version and ''one of the world's most valuable documents'', according to UK academics.

Harvard Law School paid $27.50 (then about £7) for it in 1946 and for years it has remained tucked away in its library, its true identity unknown.

But two medieval history professors have concluded it is an extraordinarily rare and lost original Magna Carta from 1300, in the reign of King Edward I, that could be worth millions.

''This is a fantastic discovery," said Prof David Carpenter from King's College London, who began analysing it after seeing digitised images of it on the US university's website.

"It is the last Magna Carta... [and it] deserves celebration, not as some mere copy, stained and faded, but as an original of one of the most significant documents in world constitutional history; a cornerstone of freedoms past, present and yet to be won."

He said he was "absolutely astonished" that not only had he discovered this authentic version, but that, over the years, no-one seemed to know what they had and that it had been sold "for peanuts".

According to Harvard's library accession register, the document catalogued as HLS MS 172 was acquired in 1946 and was described in an auction catalogue as a "copy made in 1327… somewhat rubbed and damp-stained".

The Magna Carta is a charter first issued by King John in 1215 that guaranteed the liberties and rights of his subjects and also placed the Crown under the authority of the law.

Considered a key step in the evolution of human rights against oppressive rulers, Magna Carta has influenced the framing of constitutions around the world.

The document - which was circulated across the counties of England - was reissued after 1215 by successive kings through the years to 1300, meaning "there may have been 200 originals", said Prof Nicholas Vincent of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, who helped Prof Carpenter establish the Harvard document's authenticity and provenance.

Today, 25 of these originals survive from the various editions between 1215 and 1300, most of which are in the UK.

There are two more in Washington DC's National Archives, and one in Parliament House in Canberra, Australia.

"It is an icon both of the Western political tradition and of constitutional law," said Prof Vincent.

''If you asked anybody what the most famous single document in the history of the world is, they would probably name Magna Carta."

The professors, who spent a year researching Harvard's document, believe it is from the town of Appleby, Cumbria.

They think the trail from Appleby to Harvard involves the Lowthers, a land-owning family who gave the Magna Carta to Thomas Clarkson, a leading abolitionist of the 1780s.

Clarkson's estate passed through a series of heirs to the Maynard family, then at the end of 1945, AVM Forster Maynard sold it at auction at Sotheby's.

A London bookseller paid £42 for the document, months before Harvard bought it for a fraction of that price.

As for its value today, Prof Vincent said: "I would hesitate to suggest a figure, but the 1297 Magna Carta that sold at auction in New York in 2007 fetched $21m [about £10.5m at the time], so we're talking about a very large sum of money."

Because HLS MS 172 is in places badly faded, the academics worked not from the original but from pictures obtained using ultraviolet light and spectral imaging.

They discovered that the handwriting and dimensions were consistent with those of the six previously known 1300 originals.

They also did a detailed check of the actual text. Because the wording of Magna Carta evolved over the years, the words and their order needed to be identical to that found in the other 1300 originals.

It passed this test "with flying colours". The identity of the text was "the crucial proof", explained Prof Carpenter.

Congratulating the academics for their discovery, Amanda Watson, Harvard Law School's assistant dean for library services, said this exemplified what happened when collections were opened to brilliant scholars.

"Behind every scholarly revelation stands the essential work of librarians, who not only collect and preserve materials, but create pathways that otherwise would remain hidden," she said.

The professors are hopeful Harvard's Magna Carta will soon be displayed to the public so its message and significance can be more widely known.

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Ulrich Janse van Vuuren has made it his passion to share and showcase some of South Africa's best features with his legion of social media followers.

The 38-year-old white South African often takes snapshots capturing scenes such as a cold Johannesburg morning, the purple Jacaranda trees famously associated with Pretoria or Cape Town's popular beachfronts.

"Promoting South Africa is something I am passionate about - I have no intention of taking up [US President Donald Trump's] offer because South Africa is my home," the proud Afrikaner tells the BBC, days after a small group of his fellow white compatriots left South Africa for their new life as refugees in the US.

The US president, and his South-Africa born ally Elon Musk, says that white Afrikaners are being persecuted in their home country, and that they are being subjected to a "genocide".

This is a claim that has been circulating for many years even though it has been widely discredited.

Although some white farmers have been attacked and killed, South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, so this is an issue that affects all of its citizens, whatever their race.

"For me, South Africa is home. It's a place where my roots and heritage are, where I can contribute to the story of our nation and make a meaningful impact," said Mr Janse van Vuuren, who has more than one million followers on social media.

"I'm deeply invested in South Africa's success and I am proud to be part of its journey."

And while he wished those who have taken up Trump's offer all the best in the US and urged them to "not look back", he insisted that none of them were refugees, but rather "opportunists".

"They've enjoyed more than their share of South Africa's resources and privileges, and none are fleeing racial persecution," he said.

Thirty years after the end of the racist system of apartheid, average living standards among South Africa's white community remain far higher than for the black majority.

Mr Janse van Vuuren said that the debate about the status of Afrikaners in South Africa had only served to make him "more determined than ever to step up and contribute to South Africa in every way I can".

Four centuries after the first group of Dutch settlers arrived in what is now South Africa, most Afrikaners regard themselves as fully African – as seen in the name – and no longer identify with their European roots.

But many are unhappy both with the high crime rate and the government's policies aimed at reducing economic inequality in the country – especially a law passed earlier this year that allowed the government to seize land without compensation "when it is just and equitable and in the public interest". White South Africans are 7% of the country's population, but own half of its farmland.

Some Afrikaners are farmers and see the law as being aimed at them.

Trump said the legislation prompted him to offer to help resettle "Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination".

The status of white South African farmers has long been a rallying cry on the right and far-right of American politics.

But despite numerous claims in the past of the systematic targeting of the country's white Afrikaner minority group, local crime statistics figures paint a different picture.

South Africa does not release crime figures based on race but the latest figures revealed that 6,953 people were murdered in the country between October and December 2024. Of these, 12 were killed in farm attacks. Of the 12, one was a farmer, while five were farm dwellers and four were employees, who are likely to have been black.

On Monday, the first group of 59 Afrikaners granted refugee status arrived at the Dulles airport near Washington DC after choosing to leave their home country.

The arrival of the group drew dismay and outrage across South Africa, as the country's civil society and leadership sought to dispel the claims that the white minority was being persecuted.

"They are leaving because they don't want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country and our constitution," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

He later labelled their move a "cowardly act" as he addressed farmers at a convention held in the Free State province.

The president's sentiments were echoed by many South Africans, including Mr Janse van Vuuren, who is proud of his Afrikaner origins.

While he was not raised in a farming family, he has relatives and friends in agriculture who have been victims of crime.

He said that while it was undeniable that some farmers faced "genuine threats and hardships", it was important to be cautious "when discussing claims of persecution or discrimination that portray an entire group as victims of targeted violence or systemic oppression".

While many white South Africans echo Mr Janse van Vuuren's sentiments, there are also those who see themselves as a persecuted minority.

Among them is Ilse Steenkamp, who along with her family, has applied for the programme but has not received feedback. She did not want us to use her real name.

Ms Steenkamp, 47, and her husband, both Afrikaners, were commercial farmers but said they had lost their land recently after it was invaded by people who "took over the whole farm" just as they were about to sell it in order to "downscale".

She said they had bought the land two decades ago, after the end of apartheid.

The people who invaded destroyed critical infrastructure, making it impossible to sell, she said.

Despite efforts to have them removed through the courts, Ms Steenkamp said they were forced to abandon the land as it was repossessed by the bank.

Ms Steenkamp said that while she and her family were familiar with South Africa's high crime levels and often tried to "not let it get us under", this latest attack "was the straw that broke the camel's back".

Even though her family were eager to embrace Trump's offer when it was first announced, the mother-of-three told the BBC that the decision to leave "was very difficult because you're... leaving a whole way of life".

Asked whether it was unfair that Afrikaners were being granted refugee status at a time when the US was cracking down on refugees and asylum seekers from everywhere else in the world, Ms Steenkamp said she "completely disagreed".

She pointed to assaults on farmers, saying there was a "hatred that seems to go with these attacks".

"Any farmer that has gone through that [kind of] attack and is now wanting to flee, I think should be treated as a refugee because they are fleeing from a government that will not even admit that these things are happening," she said.

Sam Busà, 60, is another white South African who has applied for the refugee programme.

She is the founder of Amerikaners, a platform aimed at providing information to white South Africans interested in the US resettlement offer.

While Ms Busà, who is of English, not Afrikaner, descent, and her three sons have submitted their applications, they have not been interviewed yet.

While it was initially believed that the executive order, vague in its original wording, only applied to white Afrikaners, Ms Busà said it "clearly is targeting white South Africans".

On Monday, the US embassy in South Africa released a statement clarifying the criteria for those applying for resettlement, which said applicants need to be:

• Of South African nationality
• Afrikaner or from a racial minority
• Able to cite an incident of past persecution or fear of persecution in the future

Responding to the criticism that they were not genuine refugees, Ms Busà said: "When someone strips away your hope for the future, even though you're not in a warzone... someone ripping away your dreams and hope for the future, that is very dramatic. It's a mental anguish and emotional abuse in a sense."

• What's really driving Trump's fury with South Africa?
• Is it checkmate for South Africa after Trump threats?

But Dr Piet Croucamp, an associate professor in political studies at South Africa's North West University, disagreed, echoing the view that those taking up this offer were not refugees as "South Africa does not persecute people".

Rather, he speculated that it may be those who have been victims of a crime and "could define their existence as an unsecure one".

Dr Croucamp, who is an Afrikaner, said that while he did not expect a significant number of white South Africans to follow suit, there would always be "opportunistic" people taking advantage of the situation.

"This is a small group of people leaving – the vast majority of Afrikaners are going nowhere and they have expressed themselves. Even the right-wing Afrikaners… [like] AfriForum and Solidarity have said they are not going anywhere. So even within Afrikaner circles, this is a small group of people," he said.

Despite their criticism of the government and its race-based policies, prominent Afrikaner lobby groups AfriForum and the Solidarity Movement have both reiterated their intention to remain in South Africa.

AfriForum said that while the government was to blame for the departure of the group granted refugee status, they would stay and continue their "efforts to help create a future for Afrikaners here at the southern tip of Africa".

This is a view with which Mr Janse van Vuuren agreed.

"While some may choose to leave as refugees, the majority of us are here to stay, working together to build a better future for all in South Africa."

More BBC stories on South Africa:

• Racially charged row between Musk and South Africa over Starlink
• The expelled envoy at the heart of the latest US-South Africa row
• South Africa in 'uncharted waters' as budget splits coalition government

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

MPs are calling for a change in the law to prevent benefit claimants from suffering harm at the hands of the government department that is meant to help them.

Several people have died in recent years after failures by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

A cross-party committee of MPs says new legislation and "deep-rooted cultural change" at the DWP are needed to protect vulnerable clients.

A DWP spokesperson said the government was "currently consulting on a new safeguarding approach" which "genuinely supports vulnerable people".

In recent years, the deaths of Errol Graham, Philippa Day and Kevin Gale have seen the DWP widely criticized for its handling of vulnerable clients.

• Mr Graham, who suffered from severe mental health problems, weighed just four-and-a-half stone when he died in 2018 after his benefits were wrongly stopped
• In 2019, a coroner found that Ms Day took her own life after her benefits were cut in error
• Kevin Gale died by suicide in 2022, having been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety, exacerbated by his universal credit application

In Mr Gale's case, the coroner highlighted "that current DWP procedures may not be practical for those with mental health illness and can exacerbate symptoms".

The inquest heard of the number and length of DWP forms that claimants were required to complete, the length of telephone queues for DWP advisers, and the requirement to travel long distances for appointments for people affected by mental health illness.

Thursday's report, from the Work and Pensions Select Committee, reveals the deaths of at least 274 people have been investigated internally by the DWP in since April 2015.

Such inquiries - Internal Process Reviews - are launched when there is an allegation that a case has been mishandled by the DWP which has potentially contributed to serious harm or a safeguarding concern.

During the same period, 58 reviews were opened into cases where customers suffered harm - but the MPs said the scale of the failings was likely to be greater.

"That people continue to face harm after dealing with the DWP is a self-evident failure of safeguarding in the system," said committee chair Debbie Abrahams MP.

"Until recently, getting people back into work to cut costs had been prioritised over providing support and care for vulnerable people," Ms Abrahams added.

"We heard evidence that the process of engaging with the DWP... too often led to mental distress.

"Deep-rooted cultural change of the DWP is desperately needed to rebuild trust and put safeguarding at the heart of policy development.

"Introducing a statutory duty to safeguard vulnerable claimants for the department is a fundamental part of this."

A new law, holding the secretary of state accountable for safeguarding clients, would ensure that everyone saw it as their responsibility to protect claimants, says the committee.

'Nasty and traumatic'

Carl, 44, a former roofer from Croydon, south London, said his first interaction with the DWP "felt quite a nasty and traumatic experience".

He had struggled for 18 months with a degenerative back condition that had left him with mobility issues and constant pain, requiring strong painkillers.

In 2018, after trying a variety of less manual roles, such as plastering and carpet fitting, he realised he could no longer hold down a job.

He applied for universal credit, his first ever benefit application, which led to an appointment at his local job centre.

Carl says the work coach was "very dismissive and patronising".

"He said: 'If you want money from us, you're going to have to jump through these hoops.'

"It almost felt like he was trying to imply that I was being dishonest and I was putting it on.

"It was a very uncaring response. I wanted support to get a non-manual job."

'Absolutely life-changing'

Shannon Johnstone, 28, who found herself sleeping rough about seven years ago before turning to the DWP for help, said the recommendations "are going to be absolutely life-changing for people... if they're done right".

At the start of her claim, she remembers the DWP told her: "We can't help with your homelessness," which she says was understandable but off-putting.

She does not know if they referred her case to homeless organisations as she was never told. Now she welcomes the recommendation to include the views of people with lived experience in the design, planning and implementation of DWP policy.

"People who have gone through the system understand what it feels like to be interviewed by a [DWP] inspector," says Shannon who now works for the charity, Expert Link.

"They understand what it's like to gather lots of paperwork, so by including them in the design of the system, it's going to work so much better."

In a statement, the DWP said the government was committed to protecting the people who use its services "and fixing the broken welfare system we inherited so it works for those who need it".

"That's why we are currently consulting on a new safeguarding approach and our reforms will improve people's lives and rebuild trust, by establishing an approach that genuinely supports vulnerable people."

The spokesperson added that the government was encouraging people to have their voices heard in the consultation and help build a system "that works better for all".

Israel is preparing a series of sites in Gaza that could be used as distribution centres for humanitarian aid in a controversial new plan, satellite images show.

The Israeli government suspended food and medicine deliveries into Gaza in March.

Ministers said the move, which has been condemned by UN, European and Middle Eastern leaders, was intended to put pressure on Hamas to release its remaining hostages. Israel also accused Hamas of stealing aid – an allegation the group has denied.

The UN has said the blockade has caused severe shortages of food, medicines and fuel, and an assessment on Monday warned that Gaza's population of around 2.1 million people was at "critical risk" of famine.

The US confirmed last week that it was preparing a new system for providing aid from a series of hubs inside Gaza, which would be run by private companies and protected by security contractors and Israeli forces.

Images analysed by BBC Verify show that land has already been cleared, with new roads and staging areas constructed at a number of locations in southern and central Gaza in recent weeks.

Israel has not publicly said where the hubs will be, but humanitarian sources - briefed previously by Israeli officials - told BBC Verify that at least four centres will be built in the southern section of Gaza and one further north near the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land controlled by the military that effectively divides the territory.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - an organisation set up to support the plan - initially said food, water and hygiene kits would be supplied to 1.2 million people, less than 60% of the population.

On Wednesday it announced it would start operations before the end of May, and appeared to call for Israel to allow aid through normal channels until its distribution centres were fully operational. It also called for aid hubs to be built in northern Gaza, something not envisaged under the original plan.

UN agencies have insisted they will not co-operate with the plan - which is in line with one previously approved by Israel's government - saying it contradicted fundamental humanitarian principles.

A spokesperson for the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) accused Israel of seeking to use "food and fuel as leverage, as part of a military strategy".

"All aid would be channelled through a handful of militarised hubs," Olga Cherevko told BBC Verify.

"That kind of arrangement would cut off vast areas of Gaza – particularly the most vulnerable, who can't move easily, or are otherwise marginalised – from any help at all."

Meanwhile, Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam described the new plan as a "farce".

"No logistical solution is going to address Israel's strategy of forcible displacement and using starvation as a weapon of war. Lift the siege, open the crossings and let us do our job."

It is understood that the proposed new system has not yet had final sign-off from the Israeli government.

'Secure distribution sites'

BBC Verify used satellite imagery to identify four potential sites based on the limited available information about their locations.

The sites are similar in size, shape and design to existing open-air distribution sites inside Gaza, such as at Erez, Erez West and Kisufim. The largest site we've looked at is bigger - more comparable to the area inside Gaza at Kerem Shalom crossing.

Our analysis of the imagery shows significant development at one of the sites in south-west Gaza, close to the ruins of a village that is now an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) base.

Satellite photos since early April show the construction of a road there and a large staging area, surrounded by berms - large defensive barriers made of piled sand - about 650m (2,130ft) from the border with Egypt.

A high-resolution image captured on 8 May shows bulldozers and excavators working on a section of land spanning about 20 acres (8 hectares). IDF armoured vehicles are at a fortified building nearby.

A photo taken on site, geolocated by BBC Verify, also shows lighting being installed on the perimeter.

Further imagery from 11 and 12 May shows this, along with three other sites, continuing to expand. One site is about half a kilometre from a collection of eight UN warehouses, and 280m from another large warehouse.

Stu Ray - a senior imagery analyst with McKenzie Intelligence - agreed the sites were likely to be secure distribution centres. He noted that some of the facilities are in "close proximity to IDF Forward Operating Bases which ties in with the IDF wishing to have some control over the sites".

Analysts with another intelligence firm, Maiar, said the facilities appeared to be designed with separate entrances for trucks to move in and out, and with other gaps in the berms that would be suitable for pedestrian entrances.

The IDF did not comment on the potential aid centres when approached by BBC Verify, but said that its operations in Gaza were carried out "in accordance with international law". Cogat - the Israeli body responsible for managing crossings into Gaza - did not respond to a request for comment.

Three of the four sites located by BBC Verify are south of the IDF's newly created Morag Corridor.

What is the Morag Corridor?

This is an Israeli military zone that runs across the Gaza Strip and separates the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.

Since the IDF established a security zone there in early April, a six-mile (10km) road has been built covering two thirds of the width of Gaza, bordered by defensive berms and dotted with IDF outposts.

This new road leads directly to one of the development sites visible in satellite imagery, and a pre-existing road connects it to two more.

This entire area has been subjected to extensive land clearance by the IDF. BBC Verify has geolocated video and images of areas throughout the Morag Corridor, and south of it, filmed by Israeli forces, which show controlled demolitions using explosives and heavy machinery, and extensive destruction of buildings.

Humanitarian sources said Israeli briefings indicated that aid would enter Gaza via Kerem Shalom crossing.

Satellite imagery shows ongoing construction work happening there too over the past few months, with the apparent expansion of its storage areas, and new roads added.

Since Israel stopped new aid supplies in March, the UN has reiterated that it has an obligation under international law to ensure that the basic needs of the population under its control are met.

Israel has insisted that it is complying with international law and that there is no shortage of aid in Gaza.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Israel has issued one of the most sweeping evacuation orders for civilians in Gaza yet seen in this war.

Large swathes of Gaza City, a conurbation already partially destroyed by bombing, have been declared unsafe, the residents taking shelter there told to leave for their own safety ahead of "intense strikes" by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Among the buildings highlighted by Israel are the Islamic University, Al-Shifa Hospital and three former schools.

While Israel alleges that the buildings are being used by Hamas as "command and control centres", local authorities and aid agencies say there are thousands of civilians sheltering there.

Evacuating these areas would require time, they say, and there could be huge numbers of casualties.

It's an ominous sign of Israel's threat to significantly expand its military campaign in Gaza.

The former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has been one of very few senior Israelis so far to speak out against expanding the military campaign in Gaza.

In an interview with the BBC, Olmert said: "Most Israelis are against what is happening, large numbers of the [army's] commanders are against expanding the military operation and want to end the war right now."

Olmert is a frequent and increasingly vocal critic of Israel's current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his views reflect growing concern about the impact of the 20-month-long war on the country's morale, economy and international standing.

Olmert was also outspoken on the humanitarian impact of the war on the residents of Gaza.

"It's totally intolerable, unacceptable and unforgivable, it needs to be stopped right away," said the former top official, who has been accused by pro-government outlets of "lobbying for Palestinians".

He added: "We have to provide all of the humanitarian needs of the population. We can't allow morally the beginning of famine in Gaza. That has to stop."

Such opinions are rarely reflected in the Israeli media or in public opinion polls but they've been urgently repeated in passionate speeches in recent days by UN organisations, aid agencies and by some of Israel's allies abroad – French President Emmanuel Macron called Israel's actions in Gaza "shameful". Netanyahu accused him of "standing with Hamas".

There's growing evidence of profound suffering across Gaza after a 10-week blockade, during which Israel has prevented the entry of any food, medicines or fuel into the Palestinian enclave.

A UN-backed assessment has said that Gaza's population of around 2.1 million Palestinians is at "critical risk" of famine and faces "extreme levels of food insecurity". The World Health Organisation says without enough nutritious food, clean water and access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently affected.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer insisted to the BBC that "Israel is certainly not starving Gaza".

"I don't dispute that there is hunger in Gaza, but we believe that it is hunger caused by Hamas. There is food in Gaza, that's our information. There is no famine," he said.

Israel also resumed its aerial bombardment of Gaza on 18 March and its attacks have killed 2,799 since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, including 80 people on Wednesday.

There are faint hopes that an updated US-sponsored ceasefire proposal could still be accepted by Israel and Hamas. It reportedly would see the release of some remaining hostages in exchange for an unspecified period of calm.

However Netanyahu has said Israel will expand its military offensive in Gaza and that nothing will stop the war. Hamas meanwhile has refused to release the remaining hostages unless Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire and withdraws from Gaza.

On Wednesday evening 67 former hostages signed a letter urging Netanyahu to reach a "comprehensive deal" for the return of all captives still being held by Hamas.

"The majority of Israeli society wants the hostages home - even at the cost of halting military operations," the letter said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the letter was written to build on the "historic momentum" after Edan Alexander's release. Hamas said it freed the 21-year-old as a goodwill gesture to Donald Trump, who is visiting the region.

The ex-hostages letter appealed to Trump not to "let this historic momentum stop".

A poll for Israel's Channel 12 at the end of April suggested that 68% of respondents supported signing a hostage deal with Hamas even if it meant ending the war, while just 22% supported continued fighting in Gaza.

So far Netanyahu remains unmoved.

"Despite American determination, there is no change in the PM's position - we will not allow an end to the war," an official in Mr Netanyahu's entourage said, according to diplomatic sources.

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

At least 52,928 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the health ministry says.

Co-op narrowly averted being locked out of its computer systems during the cyber attack that saw customer data stolen and store shelves left bare, the hackers who claim responsibility have told the BBC.

The revelation could help explain why Co-op has started to recover more quickly than fellow retailer M&S, which had its systems more comprehensively compromised, and is still unable to carry out online orders.

Hackers who have claimed responsibility for both attacks told the BBC they tried to infect Co-op with malicious software known as ransomware - but failed when the firm discovered the attack in action.

Both Co-op and M&S declined to comment.

The gang, using the cyber crime service DragonForce, sent the BBC a long, offensive rant about their attack.

"Co-op's network never ever suffered ransomware. They yanked their own plug - tanking sales, burning logistics, and torching shareholder value," the criminals said.

But cyber experts like Jen Ellis from the Ransomware Task Force said the response from Co-op was sensible.

"Co-op seems to have opted for self-imposed immediate-term disruption as a means of avoiding criminal-imposed, longer-term disruption. It seems to have been a good call for them in this instance," she said.

Ms Ellis said these kinds of crisis decisions are often taken quickly when hackers have breached a network and can be extremely difficult.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, the criminals claimed to have breached Co-op's computer systems long before they were discovered.

"We spent a while seated in their network," they boasted.

They stole a large amount of private customer data and were planning to infect the company with ransomware, but were detected.

Ransomware is a kind of attack where hackers scramble computer systems and demand payment from victims in exchange for handing back control.

It would also have made the restoration of Co-op's systems more complex, time-consuming and expensive - exactly the problems M&S appears to be wrestling with.

The criminals claim they were also behind the attack on M&S which struck over Easter.

Although M&S has yet to confirm it is dealing with ransomware, cyber experts have long said that is the situation and M&S has not issued any advice or corrections to the contrary.

Nearly three weeks on, the retailer is still struggling to get back to normal, as online orders are still suspended and some shops have had continued issues with contactless payments and empty shelves this week.

An analysis from Bank of America estimates the fallout from the hack is costing M&S £43m per week.

On Tuesday, M&S admitted personal customer data was stolen in the hack, which could include telephone numbers, home addresses and dates of birth.

It added the data theft did not include useable payment or card details, or any account passwords - but nonetheless urged customers to reset their account details and be wary of potential scammers using the information to make contact.

Co-op seems to be recovering more quickly, saying its shelves will start to return to normal from this weekend.

Nonetheless it is expected to feel the effects of the cyber attack for some time.

"Co-op have acted quickly and their work on the recovery helps to soften things slightly, but rebuilding trust is a bit harder," Prof Oli Buckley, a cyber security expert at Loughborough University, told the BBC.

"It will be a process of showing that lessons have been learned and there are stronger defences in place," he added.

The same cyber-crime group has also claimed responsibility for an attempted hack of the London department store Harrods.

The hackers who contacted the BBC say they are from DragonForce which operates an affiliate cyber crime service so anyone can use their malicious software and website to carry out attacks and extortions.

It's not known who is ultimately using the service to attack the retailers, but some security experts say the tactics seen are similar to that of a loosely coordinated group of hackers who have been called Scattered Spider or Octo Tempest.

The gang operates on Telegram and Discord channels and is English-speaking and young – in some cases only teenagers.

Conversations with Co-op hackers were carried out in text form - but it is clear the hacker, who called himself a spokesperson, was a fluent English speaker.

They say two of the hackers want to be known as "Raymond Reddington" and "Dembe Zuma" after characters from US crime thriller Blacklist which involves a wanted criminal helping police take down other criminals on a 'blacklist'.

The hackers say "we're putting UK retailers on the Blacklist".

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The BBC Radio 2 breakfast show lost more than 360,000 listeners following Zoe Ball's exit, new audience figures show.

The presenter hosted her final breakfast programme in December after six years in the slot, and recently took up a new role fronting Saturday afternoons on the station.

After her departure, DJ Mark Goodier covered the show for most of January, until new host Scott Mills took over at the end of that month.

Radio 2 still comfortably has the most popular breakfast show in the UK, attracting an audience of 6.45 million between January and March, a 5% drop on the previous quarter, according to industry ratings body Rajar.

Ball had added more than 200,000 listeners during her final three months on the programme.

After taking over the breakfast show, Mills was replaced on his former afternoon slot by Trevor Nelson, whose evening programme was taken over by DJ Spoony.

Vernon Kay attracted an audience of 6.73 million in the first three months of 2025, meaning his mid-morning show retained its crown as the most popular radio programme in the UK.

The show is down, however, on the audience of 8.2 million achieved by his predecessor Ken Bruce, who left in 2023.

The station's weekly audience fell by about half a million compared with its previous total of 13.65 million in the final quarter of 2024, Rajar said.

Radio 2 chief Helen Thomas said: "In a quarter which saw Radio 2 launch a new daytime schedule in late January, host some of the world's most loved musicians in the Piano Room throughout February, and celebrate country music in March, I'm thrilled that Radio 2 remains the UK's most popular radio station with 13.11m listeners each week."

Listening figures often drop after major schedule changes, and Ball herself lost nearly 800,000 listeners in 2019 after Chris Evans' departure.

The breakfast show regularly attracted more than nine million listeners during Evans' tenure. That figure has not been matched since, although radio audiences have become increasingly fragmented in recent years.

The BBC, and Radio 2 in particular, went through a tumultuous period around 2022, which saw several high-profile figures leave the station, either by choice or through schedule shake-ups.

Elsewhere, Heart's breakfast show, hosted by Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden, has seen its audience rise by 250,000 listeners.

It attracted a record audience of 4.3 million in the first quarter of the year, cementing its status as the most popular commercial breakfast show in the UK.

Meanwhile, Gok Wan's first three months co-hosting Magic Radio's breakfast show, alongside Harriet Scott, saw the programme marginally increase its audience to 862,000.

However, it is still significantly down on the 1.2 million listeners it had a year ago, when it was fronted by former Boyzone singer Ronan Keating.

Capital's breakfast show, hosted by Jordan North, was down by 140,000 listeners after a leap in listeners following his arrival last year.

And after a loss of more than a quarter of a million in 2024, Kiss Breakfast, hosted by Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely, climbed by 80,000 in the latest quarter.

Big plumes of smoke are visible on a screen that's providing a live feed from Ukrainian drones hovering over the outskirts of the eastern city of Pokrovsk, one of the most intense front lines in Ukraine.

A few seconds earlier, Ukrainian artillery strikes Russian positions, places where we'd seen Russian soldiers moving about as they try to advance towards a key road going into Pokrovsk.

At least one Russian soldier is injured, possibly dead after the strike.

It's chilling to watch the live footage. It drives home the bloody consequences of the war that Russia started, in which hundreds of thousands have so far been killed, a "never-ending bloodbath" as US President Donald Trump calls it.

We are in a rural house converted into a command centre for the 155th mechanised brigade of the Ukrainian army. It's a few miles from front-line artillery positions.

The scale of the devastation that we see on the screens, homes and buildings completely flattened, is far greater than what we saw six months ago.

It is evidence of the fierce battle that has been fought over the past several months to defend Pokrovsk, a crucial transport hub in the Donetsk region.

This week, there's cautious optimism, even among sceptical soldiers who have witnessed hopes of a ceasefire being dashed over and over again, as diplomatic efforts from the US, Europe, Turkey and others have pushed Russia and Ukraine to direct talks for the first time in three years.

"I think something should happen since Russia was the first one to push for these talks. I mean since 2022, they have refused to go into any contact," says an officer who wants to be referred to with his call sign "Kozak".

"I want to believe this would be the beginning of the end of the war.

"But now I see, we have been successful in destroying their rear positions and their supply lines. Russia does not have the same strength and power it had at the beginning. So I think that something will happen."

Yurii, 37, used to work in a technology company before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "They (Russia and Ukraine) have to start talking. Us soldiers, we wish this war would end. But it's important to remember that we cannot stop it because we did not start it," he says.

He looks up at the screen and spots Russian soldiers moving again. He and his colleagues calculate the co-ordinates of their positions and pass them on to their artillery unit.

We drive from the command centre to the artillery position, on mud tracks running through a wide expanse of open fields. Clumps of mud fly in the air, our car slips and slides, as we move as fast as possible. The speed is a mitigation against strikes from drones, which have sharply increased fatalities for both Russia and Ukraine since they were deployed in large numbers in 2023.

And war technology keeps evolving. Now there's a new threat – drones equipped with a real fibre optic cable which unrolls as they fly. "We cannot detect them or neutralise them, so there are probably a lot more drones in the area right now than we know," says Yurii.

As we drive into the artillery position hidden under trees and bushes, soldiers are already loading the gun. It's a French made self-propelled artillery gun called the "Caesar". Scores have been deployed in Ukraine since the start of the war, and France has been trying to ramp up production.

"I'm very impressed by its accuracy, and we can use a large range of ammunition. The most important thing is that bringing it into combat is very fast. It is much more effective than the old Soviet equipment I've used," says Kozak.

Ukrainian soldiers fire four rounds, each one emitting a deafening sound. From around us, we also hear the sound of incoming shells. The battle rages on.

"As you can hear, there is a wave of assaults from the enemy and we need a lot of ammunition to suppress that. We hope our international partners can give us as much ammunition as possible, because if we have to start choosing priority and non-priority targets then the enemy will be successful," says Kozak.

We ask the soldiers how they feel about suggestions that Ukraine will have to make concessions, that it might have to give up land to secure peace.

"It's painful to hear that. Even I want to go home to my family. My daughter is eight and I miss her so much. But we need to be strong. I don't believe that if we give up some territory, they will stop. In a couple of years, they will return and start over," says Yurii.

"A person who has not come here, who hasn't felt the consequences of Russian aggression, those armchair commentators say you can give up land and everything will be over. They will never understand how many brothers and friends we have lost. We shouldn't give up a single metre of our land," says Kozak.

The cost Ukraine has paid to defend its land is visible everywhere, most acutely in the photos of smiling, young soldiers posted by the side of highways, on memorial walls in central city squares, and on rows and rows of freshly dug graves in the country.

Yana Stepanenko lovingly buys her son's favourite treats - a cup of steaming hot chocolate and a chocolate roll.

Then she drives out to a cemetery in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, and places them neatly by 22-year-old Vladislav's grave. She and her daughter, 13-year-old Nicole, wipe the grave with wet tissues. Before long, they break down inconsolably into each other's arms.

Vladislav was a drone operator with the Ukrainian military. He was killed in combat in a Russian strike on 21 February this year.

For Yana, news of direct talks resuming bring no hope.

"It seems to me that this war is eternal. Of course, I hope they will find a solution. Because people are dying here and there (in Russia). But Putin is greedy. His hunger for our land is insatiable," says Yana.

Parts of the Zaporizhzhia region are currently occupied by Russia, the front line less than 40 miles from the city. But Russia has on more than one occasion demanded control of the full regions of Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson as part of any peace deal.

"No way. I want to live in Ukraine, not Russia. We have seen what they do under occupation, what they did in places like Bucha – their cruelty and torture," says Yana. "Can you imagine, they've not even spared this graveyard," she adds, pointing to a big crater nearby where a bomb exploded some months ago.

Tears rolling down her eyes, she adds.

"I hope my child did not die for nothing. That there will still be a victory and all of Ukraine will become free."

Additional reporting by Imogen Anderson, Volodymyr Lozhko, Anastasiia Levchenko, Sanjay Ganguly

A mosquito-borne disease freshly arrived in Britain has spread large distances, with scientists racing to understand the risks to wild birds.

Infected insects can spread the deadly Usutu virus to blackbirds, raising fears for the famous songsters.

New data shows Usutu has spread across much of southern England in five years, and has been linked to declines in some blackbird populations.

Scientists are monitoring its spread amid warnings that mosquitoes and the diseases they carry may expand their range under climate change.

"We've seen that the virus has spread further than we thought it might do, and it's persisted," Dr Arran Folly of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) told the BBC.

Scientists at the APHA in Weybridge, Surrey, have been tracking mosquito-borne diseases in wild birds for decades, amid warnings that climate change is turning Europe into a potential breeding ground for the insects.

Longer summers, hotter temperatures and heavy rainfall are creating conditions for the nuisance insects to move into areas that were previously inhospitable to them.

Until 2020, all results came back clear. Then, after the summer heatwave of that year, Usutu was detected in several blackbirds in Greater London.

"Blackbirds specifically are quite susceptible to the virus and since 2020 we've found a decline in blackbirds of approximately 40% in Greater London," said Dr Folly.

"It gives an indication that in the future we might get other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes emerging in the UK."

Diseases such as Usutu are a growing threat to wild birds, amid a host of other pressures, including habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use.

What is Usutu?

• Usutu virus was first detected more than half a century ago around southern Africa's Usutu River

• It has since spread around the world, reaching Europe three decades ago, and was picked up for the first time in the UK in 2020

• Blackbirds are particularly susceptible to the virus, which can also infect horses and, from time to time, humans.

• The virus is regarded as generally of low risk to people, and there have been no human cases reported in the UK to date.

The latest data shows that Usutu has spread further than the scientists expected.

It has now been detected in wild birds across much of southern England, at least as far west as Dorset and as far north as Cambridgeshire.

How big a risk Usutu poses to wild birds is uncertain. The virus has been linked to mass die-offs of blackbirds elsewhere in Europe, though that doesn't seem to be the case in Britain.

And the blackbird remains one of the commonest garden birds with numbers holding steady in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas, and in the north.

To untangle the puzzle – and gather more data on blackbird numbers – the scientists have joined forces with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

They are calling for volunteers to count blackbirds in their gardens over the summer months to find out more about the comings and goings of the birds.

Around now blackbirds are breeding and raising their young, frequently seen hopping along the ground and singing from the branches of trees on summer evenings.

Lucy Love, a garden birdwatch ambassador for the BTO, knows the blackbirds in her gardens by sight and has grown fond of them.

"They're beautiful birds – intelligent, friendly and they have the most beautiful song with a lovely melodic tone to it," she explained.

"And we cannot lose them – they're a vital part of our ecosystem."

A luxury superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, killing the tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch along with six others, was knocked over by "extreme wind" and could not recover, according to an interim report into the disaster.

The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), which has led the international investigation, said winds of over 80mph "violently" hit the vessel, causing it to flood within seconds.

The Bayesian sank near the town of Portofino on 19 August of last year during freak weather, with reports of water spouts.

Seven of the 22 people onboard were killed, including Mr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

Investigators say the yacht was knocked to a 90-degree angle within 15 seconds at 04:06 am local time, causing people, furniture and loose items to fall across the deck.

"There was no indication of flooding inside Bayesian until water came in over the starboard rails and, within seconds, entered the internal spaces down the stairwells," the report says.

The MAIB's chief inspector of marine accidents Andrew Moll said the situation was "irrecoverable" once the yacht tilted beyond 70 degrees.

The Bayesian was also "vulnerable" to lighter winds, according to the report, with speeds of 73mph able to tip it over.

The owner and crew of the yacht were unaware of this, as it was not included in the onboard stability information book, it adds.

The MAIB is investigating the incident as the Bayesian was registered in the UK. No date has been set for when its final report will be published.

It said its report was based on "a limited amount of verified evidence" as a criminal investigation by Italian authorities has restricted access to the wreck.

An operation to raise the 56-metre vessel from the seabed was paused over the weekend after a diver died while working on the wreck. Work is set to resume on Thursday.

The report lays out more detail as to how the sinking unfolded.

Investigators say the yacht sailed to the site where it sank on the previous day, in order to "shelter" from forecast thunderstorms. The sails were furled at the time.

Wind speed was "no more than eight knots (9mph)" at 03:00 - about an hour before the incident. Some 55 minutes later it had increased to 30 knots (34.5mph), and it had accelerated to 70 knots (80.6mph) by 04:06 when the yacht capsized.

As the storm intensified, several crew members were working in response to the conditions. The deck hand went onto the deck to close the yacht's windows.

Five people were injured "either by falling or from things falling on them" and the deck hand was "thrown into the sea", the report says.

Two of the yacht's guests used furniture drawers "as an improvised ladder" to escape their cabin, it adds.

Dr Simon Boxall, Oceanographer at the University of Southampton, said the Bayesian was in "the wrong place at the wrong time".

"The priorities for the crew would have been to shut the hatches and the doors, which they did," he told the BBC.

This means speculation about water flooding in because everything was open is "obviously not the case".

"The next priority would have been to start the engines - so they would have some manoeuvrability to position themselves within a storm - and to then lift anchor, which the crew did, but this takes time," he added.

"It's not like a car where you jump in and turn the key. It would take 5 or 10 minutes before you can start the engines with a vessel of this size."

Survivors escaped on the Bayesian's life raft and were rescued by a small boat dispatched from another nearby yacht, the report says.

Mike Lynch was a prominent figure in the UK tech industry, where his backing of successful companies led to him being dubbed the British equivalent of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

But the latter years of his life were consumed by a long-running legal dispute which resulted in him being controversially extradited to the US.

Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer, who were all British nationals.

US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo also died in the sinking, along with Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as the yacht's chef.

Fifteen people managed to escape on a lifeboat, including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares.

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Thirty-five seconds. That's all the time you get to change the set at Eurovision.

Thirty-five seconds to get one set of performers off the stage and put the next ones in the right place.

Thirty-five seconds to make sure everyone has the right microphones and earpieces.

Thirty-five seconds to make sure the props are in place and tightly secured.

While you're at home watching the introductory videos known as postcards, dozens of people swarm the stage, setting the scene for whatever comes next.

"We call it the Formula 1 tyre change," says Richard van Rouwendaal, the affable Dutch stage manager who makes it all work.

"Each person in the crew can only do one thing. You run on stage with one light bulb or one prop. You always walk on the same line. If you go off course, you will hit somebody.

"It's a bit like ice skating."

The stage crew start rehearsing their "F1 tyre change" weeks before the contestants even arrive.

Every country sends detailed plans of their staging, and Eurovision hires stand-ins to play the acts (in Liverpool 2023, it was pupils from the local performing arts school), while stagehands start shaving precious seconds off the changeovers.

"We have about two weeks," says Van Rouwendaal, who's normally based in Utrecht but is in Basel for this year's contest.

"My company is around 13 Dutchies and 30 local guys and girls, who rock it in Switzerland.

"In those two weeks, I have to figure out who's right for each job. Someone's good at running, someone's good at lifting, someone's good at organising the backstage area. It is a bit like being good at Tetris because you have to line everything up in a small space, in the perfect way."

As soon as a song finishes, the team are ready to roll.

As well as the stagehands, there are people responsible for positioning lights and setting pyrotechnics; and 10 cleaners who sweep the stage with mops and vacuum cleaners between every performance.

"My cleaners are just as important as the stage crew. You need a clean stage for the dancers - but also, if there's an overhead shot of somebody lying down, you don't want to see shoeprints on the floor."

The attention to detail is clinical. Backstage, every performer has their own microphone stand, set to the correct height and angle, to make sure every performance is camera perfect.

"Sometimes the delegation will say the artist wants to wear a different shoe for the grand final," says Van Rouwendaal. "But if that happens, the mic stand is at the wrong height, so we've got a problem!"

Spontaneously changing footwear isn't the worst problem he's faced, though. At the 2022 contest in Turin, the stage was 10m (33ft) higher than the backstage area.

As a result, they were pushing heavy stage props – including a mechanical bull – up a steep ramp between every act.

"We were exhausted every night," he recalls. "This year is better. We've even got an extra backstage tent where we prepare the props."

Props are a huge part of Eurovision. The tradition started at the second ever contest in 1957, when Germany's Margot Hielscher sang part of her song Telefon, Telefon into (you guessed it) a telephone.

Over the intervening decades, the staging has become ever more elaborate. In 2014, Ukraine's Mariya Yaremchuk trapped one of her dancers in a giant hamster wheel, while Romania brought a literal cannon to their performance in 2017.

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• Swiss host city Basel promises 'everyone is welcome'

This year, we've got disco balls, space hoppers, a magical food blender, a Swedish sauna and, for the UK, a fallen chandelier.

"It's a big logistics effort, actually, to get all the props organised," says Damaris Reist, deputy head of production for this year's contest.

"It's all organised in a kind of a circle. The [props] come onto the stage from the left, and then get taken off to the right.

"Backstage, the props that have been used are pushed back to the back of the queue, and so on. It's all in the planning."

'Smuggling routes'

During the show, there are several secret passageways and "smuggling routes" to get props in and out of vision, especially when a performance requires new elements half-way through.

Cast your mind back, if you will, to Sam Ryder's performance for the UK at the 2022 contest in Italy.

There he was, alone on the stage, belting out falsetto notes in his spangly jumpsuit, when suddenly, an electric guitar appeared out of thin air and landed in his hands.

And guess who put it there? Richard van Rouwendaal.

"I'm a magician," he laughs. "No, no, no… That was a collaboration between the camera director, the British delegation and the stage crew."

In other words, Richard ducked onto the stage, guitar in hand, while the director cut to a wide shot, concealing his presence from viewers at home.

"It's choreographed to the nearest millimetre," he says. "We're not invisible, but we have to be invisible."

What if it all goes wrong?

There are certain tricks the audience will never notice, Van Rouwendaal reveals.

If he announces "stage not clear" into his headset, the director can buy time by showing an extended shot of the audience.

In the event of a bigger incident – "a camera can break, a prop can fall" – they cut to a presenter in the green room, who can fill for a couple of minutes.

Up in the control room, a tape of the dress rehearsal plays in sync with the live show, allowing directors to switch to pre-recorded footage in the event of something like a stage invasion or a malfunctioning microphone.

A visual glitch isn't enough to trigger the back-up tape, however - as Switzerland's Zoë Më discovered at Tuesday's first semi-final.

Her performance was briefly interrupted when the feed from an on-stage camera froze, but producers simply cut to a wide shot until it was fixed. (If it had happened in the final, she'd have been offered the chance to perform again.)

"There's actually lots of measures that are being taken to make sure that every act can be shown in the best way," says Reist.

"There are people who know the regulations by heart, who have been playing through what could happen and what we would do in various different situations.

"I'll be sitting next to our head of production, and if there's [a situation] where somebody has to run, maybe that's going to be me!"

It's no surprise to learn that staging a live three-hour broadcast with thousands of moving parts is incredibly stressful.

This year, organisers have introduced measures to protect the welfare of contestants and crew, including closed-door rehearsals, longer breaks between shows, and the creation of a "disconnected zone" where cameras are banned.

Even so, Reist says she has worked every weekend for the past two months, while Van Rouwendaal and his team are regularly pulling 20-hour days.

The shifts are so long that, back in 2008, Eurovision production legend Ola Melzig built a bunker under the stage, complete with a sofa, a "sadly underused" PS3 and two (yes, two) espresso machines.

"I don't have hidden luxuries like Ola. I'm not at that level yet!" laughs Van Rouwendaal

"But backstage, I've got a spot with my crew. We've got stroopwafels there and, last week, it was King's Day in Holland, so I baked pancakes for everyone.

"I try to make it fun. Sometimes we go out and have a drink and cheer because we had a great day.

"Yes, we have to be on top, and we have to be sharp as a knife, but having fun together is also very important."

And if all goes to plan, you won't see them at all this weekend.

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