The UK's economy grew by 0.1% between July and September, according to the latest official figures.
Growth was lower than expected and the Office for National Statistics said activity was subdued across most industries during the three months.
Labour made boosting economic growth its top priority when it came into power but Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was "not satisfied" with these latest figures.
This week she announced plans to reform the pensions sector to try to boost investment but the government is facing a backlash by some businesses who have criticised tax rises in the Budget.
The latest growth figures mark a slowdown from 0.5% expansion between April to June.
BBC News's Dan Johnson holding one of the purchased knives
Zombie knives and machetes are still available to buy online, some for under £20, more than a month after they were banned in England and Wales.
BBC News was able to purchase four knives from online retailers with UK websites, two of which were shipped from overseas.
After being presented with our findings, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said the law might need to be toughened further in future.
The Home Office said it was carrying out a "rapid review" into the sale of knives online.
In September, "zombie-style knives" and "zombie-style machetes" were banned in England and Wales, making it an imprisonable offence to own, make, transport or sell a wide range of “statement” knives favoured by criminal gangs.
However, our investigation suggests they are still making their way onto Britain's streets because some retailers are breaching - knowingly or unwittingly - the latest restrictions on advertising and selling them.
The four knives the BBC was able to buy from the UK websites of online retailers
We placed orders via the UK websites of four online retailers. It took just a few clicks to confirm the orders - in one case just two - in a standard online transaction. One retailer cancelled our order but three accepted, and couriers delivered the knives days later without the need for a signature.
Hunting&Knives sold us two serrated machetes, both 18 inches (45cm) long - one costing £19.99, the other £30.83.
HuntingCrossbows sold us a "Defender Xtreme Hunting Combat knife" with a 10-inch blade and a serrated edge, priced at £34.99. It appears the knife was shipped from the USA despite no indication it was being imported.
Meanwhile, NineFit sold us a "Fantasy Master Skull Crusher" sword for £60, listed as having a 20-inch (50cm) blade, which again appeared to have been sent from overseas.
The largest knife had a 20-inch (50cm) blade
Zombie-style knives are officially defined as a blade over eight inches (20.32cm) in length with a sharp point and a plain cutting edge, plus either a serrated edge, more than one hole in the blade, spikes, or more than two sharp points.
Four out of the five experts we spoke to agreed the weapons we purchased appeared to meet the legal definition of a banned knife.
"They all look like offensive weapons under the Act," said Anthony Orchard KC, a criminal barrister who’s prosecuted many stabbings and knife offences.
"Over the last eight to 10 years, these knives have become more and more common in the sort of murder cases that unfortunately we are prosecuting across the country."
One expert questioned whether the two machetes we bought met the definition of having a "sharp pointed end" - a definition that hasn’t been considered yet in court.
Commander Stephen Clayman, the NPCC's lead for knife crime, says the recent ban was a step forward - but more action is needed. He is conducting a review into the availability of knives online, especially on social media.
"This ban will have an impact, how much of an impact is difficult to say but we do know some of the large UK retailers will no longer be selling these knives and that’s got to be a good thing," he told the BBC.
"Is it enough? Time will tell. Will we have to change the law again, quite possibly."
Commander Stephen Clayman says we might need stricter laws in future
NineFit UK/Handelnine Global Limited didn’t reply to our request for comment, but the other two companies we purchased the knives from did.
Hunting&Knives said it had been reviewing and removing "articles that did not comply with the new law", adding: "It is not our intention to make prohibited articles available to the end customer."
HuntingCrossbows replied to our query about the legality of the weapon it sold us and other knives for sale on its website by saying "these are cosplay or display knives for decoration use only".
"These knives and manchettes (sic) can not damage any person unless modified," it added, a claim Mr Orchard said was “astonishing”.
There were more than 50,000 incidents of knife crime recorded in 2023-2024, an increase of 4% on the previous year, according to the latest ONS figures.
The government has made reducing knife crime a priority with a target of halving offences by 2034.
Border Force is responsible for scanning international mail suspected of containing drugs, firearms, knives, and counterfeit items or goods with unpaid customs fees - but not every package is checked.
The Home Office said: "When we receive information like this, it is very important Border Force can investigate potential illegal activity."
It said it had "launched a rapid review into the online sale of knives" and warned social media executives they would be held liable for advertising knives on their platforms. A consultation on banning "ninja swords" was also announced this week.
Dr Olumide Wole-Madariola's teenage son, Malcolm, was stabbed to death in a zombie knife attack in 2018
Dr Olumide Wole-Madariola, whose son Malcolm was stabbed to death aged 17 in November 2018 when he tried to stop an attack on a stranger, says more still needs to be done.
"It was a zombie knife, a serrated zombie knife," Mr Olumide said of the attack on his son outside Clapham South underground station in South London. "A very cheap knife as well, it cost £19.99. That was the cost of the life of my son."
He has campaigned to ban zombie knives - and agreed to look at pictures of the knives we purchased. "It scares me when I see this," he said. "It scares me because lives are being lost daily.
"The government needs to do more. Each time a knife is used on someone, lives are shattered forever, homes are destroyed forever, futures are destroyed forever."
The Home Office "cut corners" and made "a series of poor decisions", whilst under pressure to stop migrants being housed in hotels, when it paid £15m for an asbestos-contaminated derelict prison, the government's spending watchdog has said.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said the amount paid for the Northeye site in East Sussex, purchased in 2023 under the Conservative government, was more than twice what the seller had paid just a year earlier.
A report found "corners [were] cut" so the site could be acquired at speed to house asylum seekers, despite an assessment deeming it "high risk", and that the site was ultimately deemed "unfit for its intended purpose due to contamination".
The Home Office said the report related to the actions of the last government and that it remained "committed to ending the use of hotels and... achieving better value for the taxpayer".
In December 2022, then-prime minister Rishi Sunak delivered a statement in Parliament in which he vowed to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, saying that the government would "work to achieve this as quickly as possible".
In its report, the NAO said the statement "generated significant pressure within the Home Office to identify and secure sites for asylum accommodation at pace".
It added that, the following January, a decision to acquire Northeye was taken by a small group of ministers and officials from across Whitehall, despite the "technical due diligence and approvals process not having been undertaken".
The group included the minister for immigration and the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the report said, positions then held by Robert Jenrick and Oliver Dowden.
In February 2023, an environmental review identified a contamination risk from "asbestos-containing materials in existing buildings and contaminated ground", while a due diligence report assessed conditions at the site as "high risk".
The diligence report also estimated the cost of repairs to buildings at the site to be £20m, although this figure was not included in advice later submitted to ministers.
The following month, Jenrick announced that Northeye would be developed to house 1,200 people, and the sale was completed in September 2023.
The final price paid for the site was £15.4m, including £0.9m paid to the vendors - Brockwell Group Bexhill LLP - because the Home Office had underestimated how long it would take to complete the purchase.
Brockwell had bought Northeye in August 2022 for £6.3m.
The costs of remediation because of the contamination at the site were estimated to be between £1.1m and £3.6m.
The NAO concluded that the Home Office's attempt to acquire Northeye "within just a few months... led it to cut corners and make a series of poor decisions".
"This resulted in it purchasing a site that was unsuitable for [its] original purpose, and it paying more for it than it needed to."
In July, the Home Office said no decision had been taken on the use of the site and that it would “consider its strategy and broader requirements before taking a view on the future use of it”.
Responding to the NAO's report, it said: “Having inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of cases stuck in a backlog, we remain committed to ending the use of hotels and housing people in more suitable and cost-effective achieving better value for the taxpayer".
“We will continue to restore order to the system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly."
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, a Conservative MP and chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said that, “once again, rushed and misjudged decision-making has resulted in the Home Office overpaying for an asylum accommodation site that is not fit for purpose".
“I am concerned that the Home Office deviated from standard practice, overlooked warnings about the condition of the site and lacked expertise to properly oversee the purchase of Northeye.”
The first batch of Glastonbury 2025 tickets sold out within 30 minutes
The first group of tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2025 sold out in 30 minutes, organisers have confirmed.
Festival-goers had to navigate a new booking process when the sale for coach travel tickets opened at 18:00 GMT on Thursday.
Fans were "randomly assigned a place in a queue" rather than having to refresh the holding page when the tickets went live.
A statement from the official festival X account announced at 18:32 that tickets had sold out, alongside a note on its website.
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The change came after a spotlight was shone on various issues within online ticket selling including the use of dynamic pricing and tickets being resold by touts.
The subject made headlines after the release of Oasis tickets in September prompted the government and the UK's competition watchdog to pledge they would look at the use of prices surging in line with demand.
Getty Images
Glastonbury Festival 2025 will take place from 25-29 June
In a bid to prevent touting, Glastonbury customers have to register in advance to buy tickets for the event, which will take place at Worthy Farm in Somerset from June 25 to 29.
Tickets for Glastonbury 2025 cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, which is a £18.40 rise from the 2024 price of £355 plus a £5 booking fee.
Last year, coach tickets sold out within 25 minutes while standard tickets were all bought within an hour.
Festival organiser Emily Eavis has previously said 2026 will be a fallow year for Glastonbury, to allow the land to rest and recover, but she is already in talks with acts to headline in 2025.
The Desperate Housewives star is considered a power broker in Democratic politics
Hollywood actress Eva Longoria has revealed that her family no longer lives in the United States, and is splitting time between Mexico and Spain.
In an interview with French magazine Marie Claire for its November cover story, Longoria attributed the decision to the country's "changing vibe" after the Covid-19 pandemic, homelessness and high taxation in California, and the re-election of Donald Trump.
She also acknowledged she was "privileged" enough to move, saying: “Most Americans aren’t so lucky. They’re going to be stuck in this dystopian country."
The Desperate Housewives star is viewed as a power broker for women and Latinos in Democratic Party politics.
With a keen interest in immigration policy, she has been visibly involved with Democratic candidates at the national and local level since at least 2012.
She spoke at the Democratic National Convention and hit the campaign trail on behalf of Kamala Harris this year, with a tagline for the 2024 presidential candidate that adopted the Spanish translation of Barack Obama's famed "Yes, we can" slogan ("Si se puede") into the phrase "She se puede".
In her Marie Claire interview, published on Thursday, Longoria described being dispirited at Trump's victory over Harris last week
“If he keeps his promises, it’s going to be a scary place," she said.
She added that Trump's win in 2016 had crushed her belief that "the best person wins" in politics.
“I had my whole adult life here,” Longoria said of Los Angeles, adding that “it just feels like this chapter in my life is done now”.
She said work now has her often spending time in Europe or South America.
Longoria is a ninth-generation Texan who moved to California in her twenties. In 2006, she earned a Golden Globe nomination in her starring role as Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives.
More recently, she has hosted the CNN mini-series Searching for Mexico and Searching for Spain.
She is married to José "Pepe" Bastón, her third husband and the president of Mexican broadcaster Televisa.
The couple share a six-year-old boy, Santiago, while Bastón also has three children from a previous marriage.
Donald Trump has moved speedily since winning the US presidential election to set the foundations of his second term in the White House.
He has made his early priorities clear - and stunned some in Washington and around the world while doing so.
Here’s what we’ve learned from his rollercoaster first week as president-elect.
1) He’s building a loyal team to shake up government
Trump started building his top team almost immediately, nominating cabinet picks for Senate approval and appointing White House advisers and other senior aides.
But that doesn’t tell the full story.
His selections make clear that he plans a radical shake up of government, eschewing more conventional and experienced picks for those who are loyal to him and share his vision for a second term that will upend the status quo in Washington.
His choice for defence secretary, for example, has called for a purge of military chiefs enacting “woke” policies. His nominee for health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has said he wants to “clear out corruption” at America’s health agencies and cut “entire departments” at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
And that’s not to mention a promised new department helmed by advisers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, which Trump says will focus on slashing regulations and historic cost-cutting.
The bigger picture is that Trump’s proposed team is almost universally loyal, and favour overhauling their respective government departments.
Republicans have won control of the House as well as the Senate, giving the party a crucial (albeit narrow) majority in both chambers for at least the next two years, when there will be the usual midterm elections.
This is a major boost to Trump’s agenda. It means he will be more easily able to pass legislation and gives his policy priorities a friendly path to becoming law.
What a Republican trifecta means for Trump's second term
The Democratic Party will, naturally, be less able to block and resist his agenda too. And Trump should for now be able to avoid the kind of congressional investigations he faced in the second half of his first term.
Ultimately, Republican control of Congress could prove key in pushing through his big pledges such as mass deportations, sweeping tariffs on foreign imports and the rolling back of environmental protections.
Trump’s influence was put to the test earlier this week when Republicans in the Senate picked their new leader.
While he did not weigh-in on the race directly, there had been a concerted effort from the president-elect’s most vocal allies as well as favourable ‘Maga’ media outlets to get hard-line Trump loyalist Rick Scott elected.
It’s worth noting that this was a secret ballot, so it was far from a public repudiation of Trumpworld.
There will be sterner tests of Trump’s power on Capitol Hill to come, notably when confirmation hearings are held for his more divisive cabinet picks.
Some Senate Republicans, for example, have already signalled their opposition to Trump's shock choice of Matt Gaetz to lead the justice department.
Key moments from loyal Trump supporter Matt Gaetz
4) Trump's criminal conviction could soon be wiped
While much of the focus was on the president-elect’s nominations and appointments, we also had a reminder that his legal troubles have been upended by his victory.
In New York specifically, his criminal fraud conviction in the hush-money case lives on for at least a few more days.
But it could soon be consigned to history. Earlier this week a judge delayed his decision as to whether Trump’s conviction should be thrown out because of a Supreme Court ruling in the summer that expanded presidential immunity.
That decision is now expected to come next week. And while it’s not clear whether the conviction will be tossed out, Trump’s scheduled sentencing on 26 November is likely to be delayed regardless.
It’s no secret that Trump views the world differently to Biden, and could drastically shift US foreign policy over the next few years.
One clear theme that's emerged in recent days is the prominence of China hawks in his proposed team - those who believe Beijing poses a serious threat to US economic and military dominance and want to challenge this more forcefully.
And they are present from the top down.
His nomination for secretary of state - America’s most senior diplomat - Marco Rubio, has described China as the “most advanced adversary America has ever faced”.
Mike Waltz, his national security adviser, has said the US is in a “cold war” with China. Other nominees such as his proposed ambassador to the UN, Elise Stefanik, have directly accused China of election interference.
During Trump’s first administration, relations with Beijing were tense, and they barely warmed under Biden. With tariffs, export controls and pointed rhetoric, the president-elect appears ready to take an even tougher stance this time around.
Watch: Edinburgh shop raids show one thief stuffing gloves into his trousers
Shopkeepers say Edinburgh's Royal Mile has become "lawless" with smash-and-grab thieves stealing thousands of pounds' worth of goods in recent months.
BBC News has obtained CCTV showing people walking out of shops with expensive cashmere scarves, jumpers and jackets in broad daylight.
One man can be seen kicking in a plate-glass window at night to steal armfuls of Harris Tweed bags, costing up to £150 each.
Staff say the area has become dangerous and intimidating, and that despite reporting thefts to police on an almost daily basis, nothing has been done.
Staff at shops in Edinburgh's historic and prestigious Royal Mile say they feel scared to work
Police Scotland says a dedicated team is working with businesses in the area and is investigating every report.
Galab Singh Gold, who owns dozens of shops on and around the Royal Mile, told BBC News he had lost £15,000 worth of stock to theft in the last three months.
He also faces the cost of replacing smashed windows - with a bill for one incident costing £3,000.
He said he had hours of CCTV footage showing how "brazen" thieves had become, "kicking in windows" in front of passers-by.
The 47-year-old said it was the worst he had ever seen in the 35 years his family had been running shops on the famous mile.
He believes gangs are involved as he has noticed the same people stealing high-end items on various occasions.
"Someone is either ordering these bags or they know people that are buying them so they know it will be easy to get rid of the bags," he said.
"The police say they don't have the resources to tackle something like this but it's not just petty crime any more - this is organised theft."
A window smashed at Royal Cashmere on the Royal Mile before it was boarded up earlier this week
Mr Singh Gold said on some occasions thieves had gone into shops during the day and looked at staff "dead in the eye" while picking up piles of cashmere and other expensive items.
One staff member has been punched in the face while others have been knocked to the floor.
Some say they receive intimidation and abuse if they try to apprehend thieves.
Mr Singh Gold added: "We have lost several good members of staff because they feel threatened and unsafe at work now.
"We have had staff threatened at work saying 'I know which bus you catch on the way home and I'm going to be waiting for you'.
"We are sick of calling the police and making reports and downloading CCTV and then nothing happens."
Calling the problem a "theftdemic" Mr Singh Gold said he was going to have to employ security guards during the day at £8,000 a month.
He said the thieves watched his stores for opportunities to lift whole baskets of products before slipping down nearby closes.
"It's shocking that it's allowed to take place on the most prestigious street in the country," he said.
"The city centre has become lawless and this is where they are getting the brazenness because they know that the systems we have in place with the policing and the control of crime has failed."
'We cannot touch them'
Maria Sanchez was punched while at work on the Royal Mile earlier this year
Maria Sanchez, manager of Marchbrae on the Royal Mile, told BBC Scotland she was punched in the face by a woman holding a vape.
The 46-year-old, who has been working for Mr Singh Gold's shop for seven years, said the thieves were "very aggressive".
"They know their rights, they know we cannot touch them and most of the staff are scared of them," she said.
"When we call the police they say if it's not dangerous then they will just take a statement over the phone, and pop out a few days later for you to sign it."
She said the day after she was punched some thieves were waiting for her outside the shop and she had to call colleagues for back-up.
"It's very dark when I leave work and it makes me feel scared," she said. "It is a very dangerous street now as it's full of criminals."
Staff at Woollen Mill have to remove Harris Tweed handbags from the shop windows before closing
Sabine Fischlin, manager of the Woollen Mill on the Royal Mile, said the situation had been getting "significantly worse" since August.
Now staff remove all the Harris Tweed handbags from the shop windows before closing.
She said: "We feel unsafe, stressed and staff members are feeling constantly on edge.
"We are expecting it to happen at any moment and it's affecting some staff member's sleep at this point.
"We are in contact with police on almost a daily basis at this point."
Heritage of Edinburgh around the corner on South Bridge is currently boarded up after a smash and grab incident
Police confirmed that a 43-year-old man had recently been charged over thefts from two shops on the Royal Mile in October.
Ch Insp Mark Hamilton, of Police Scotland, said the force was "fully aware" of ongoing issues with thefts in the area.
He said there was a dedicated team working with businesses and that police carried out regular patrols.
He said: "I can assure everyone that we are investigating all incidents reported to us.
"We work closely with the retail and business sectors to deter, prevent and investigate retail crime.
"Where we identify businesses which are being targeted by shoplifters, we have trained officers who can attend and carry out security surveys and offer advice around prevention."
Recent deadly floods in Valencia, Spain, were made worse by climate change, scientists say
The United Nations' COP climate talks are "no longer fit for purpose" and need an urgent overhaul, key experts including a former UN secretary general and former UN climate chief have said.
In a letter to the UN, senior figures say countries should not host the talks if they don’t support the phase out of fossil energy.
This week the Azerbaijani president told world leaders gathered in his country for COP29 that natural gas was a “gift from God” and he shouldn’t be blamed for bringing it to market.
That came days after the BBC reported that a senior Azerbaijani official appeared to have used his role at COP to arrange a meeting to discuss potential fossil fuel deals.
The UN’s climate talks have made significant progress in recent years, despite the fact that unanimous agreement is needed among almost 200 countries to take action.
The Paris climate agreement, signed in 2015, outlines a long-term plan to rein in rising temperatures, as countries strive to keep that rise under 1.5C this century.
They have also agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, and to treble renewable power by 2030.
But while the authors of this letter recognise these achievements, they feel that the slow-moving COP process is “no longer fit for purpose” in dealing with a fast-moving climate crisis.
"Its current structure simply cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale, which is essential to ensure a safe climate landing for humanity," said its signatories. They include former UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon, former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson.
This year will likely be the warmest on record, with emissions of planet warming gases still rising, while the impacts of warming often outpace the ability of countries to cope.
“Planet Earth is in critical condition,” said leading climate scientist Johan Rockström, another signatory.
“There is still a window of opportunity for a safe landing for humanity, but this requires a global climate policy process that can deliver change at exponential speed and scale,” Prof Rockström said.
Getty Images
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev addressing COP29 delegates
The letter has been prompted by growing concerns about some of the countries chosen to host COP talks and their ability to deliver a significant advance in the fight against rising temperatures.
Just before the latest conference started, a secret recording showed the chief executive of Azerbaijan's COP29 team, Elnur Soltanov, discussing "investment opportunities" in the state oil and gas company with a man posing as a potential investor.
At the start of COP29, the country’s authoritarian leader, Ilham Aliyev, defended Azerbaijan’s current exports of gas and plans to expand production by a third in the next decade.
“Every natural resource whether it's oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, all that are natural resources," he said. "And countries should not be blamed for having them and should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market because the market needs them, the people need them."
The use of oil and gas are major causes of global warming, as they release planet-warming gases like carbon dioxide when they are burned.
President Aliyev also hit out at France for carrying out colonialist “crimes” and “human rights violations” in overseas territories.
Such strongly expressed views are extremely rare from the leader of a COP host, where the aim is to build consensus on how to tackle rising temperatures.
The authors of the letter are also concerned by the selection process for hosting COPs. Azerbaijan followed on from another major oil producer, the United Arab Emirates, which held the conference in Dubai last year.
“At the last COP, fossil fuel lobbyists outnumbered representatives of scientific institutions, Indigenous communities and vulnerable nations," said former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres.
"We cannot hope to achieve a just transition without significant reforms to the COP process that ensure fair representation of those most affected.”
The authors say that host countries “must demonstrate their high level of ambition to uphold the goals of the Paris agreement."
They also want smaller, more frequent COPs with clear accountability for the promises that countries make.
BBC presenter Paddy McGuinness is taking part in an ultra-endurance challenge for Children in Need
BBC Radio 2 presenter Paddy McGuinness is due to complete his epic Children In Need cycling challenge on Friday, after riding 300 miles on a Chopper bike.
The former Top Gear and Question of Sport host, 51, has raised nearly £5.9m during his five-day journey from Wrexham to Glasgow.
Speaking on Thursday, he said he was "in bits physically and emotionally", but thanked the public for the "wave of support".
McGuinness will find out the total raised by his ultra-endurance challenge during this year's televised Children in Need appeal, which starts at 19:00 GMT on Friday on BBC One.
McGuinness is due to arrive at the finish line in Glasgow earlier in the day.
He was joined by Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy on Thursday, and has received messages of support from astronaut Tim Peake and his Phoenix Nights co-star Peter Kay, as well as hundreds of listeners.
In his message, Kay told him: "Get across that finishing line and get yourself a nice garlic bread. This is the way to Glasgowrilla!"
McGuinness's fundraising total will rise significantly after Scottish businessman and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter said he would double any donations made from Wednesday onwards, up to a £3m limit.
Paddy McGuinness is cycling from Wrexham to Glasgow on a modified Raleigh Chopper bike
The Bolton-born star has said he was motivated to take on the challenge by the people he had met who benefitted from projects funded by BBC Children in Need.
"When you meet these people... that's what spurs you on, and when you see the work that's being done in and around it, and again, when you're out and about, just people stopping me," he said.
The ballad was originally released as a Children In Need song in 2004 and topped the UK chart for two weeks. The 20th anniversary re-release will again raise money for the charity.
A new version of the music video, featuring unseen archive footage, will be screened during Friday's appeal show.
Other highlights on the night will include Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa introducing a preview from the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special.
Doctor Who fans will have the chance to own pieces of memorabilia from the show when two items go up for auction.
There will also be a performance by singer Ella Henderson, while fellow pop star Kylie Minogue has recorded a special message which will be played on the night.
Viewers can also expect a visit from the stars of Gladiators, as well as a special performance from Strictly Come Dancing as the professionals are joined by TV character Bluey.
And actor Gary Oldman will read a CBeebies bedtime story, which will be aired as part of the show.
BBC Children in Need will air at 19:00 on Friday 15 November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Conor McGregor denies raping Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel nearly six years ago
Conor McGregor has admitted taking cocaine on the night it is alleged he raped a Dublin woman.
In court on Thursday, the Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter replied "correct" when John Gordon SC stated he had cocaine in his car along with the alleged victim and another witness.
The court also heard Mr McGregor answered "no comment" to over 100 questions in his first police interview and said he did so under advice of his lawyer because he was in a state of "shock and fear".
Dublin woman Nikita Hand has accused the sportsman of rape after a Christmas night out in December 2018. He denies all allegations.
The trial is a civil case in Dublin High Court after the Director of Public Prosecutions in Ireland refused to charge Mr McGregor criminally.
The interview, held in January 2019, saw Mr McGregor attend Dundrum Garda Station attend an interview with his solicitor and handed over a prepared written statement.
After this, Mr McGregor said "no comment" to such questions as if he and Nikita Hand were from the same area of Crumlin in Dublin.
The judge reminded the eight women and four men of the jury that no inference can be made by Mr McGregor's refusal to comment. It is his legal right.
Mr McGregor said the statement was "to the point" when it was put to him it was "short".
"I would have loved to go to a top of the mountain with a microphone and shout from the hilltops but because of the seriousness of the allegation I went to my lawyer and I took their advice," he said.
Mr McGregor also said he had been "beyond petrified" during the garda interview, because it was the first time anything like that had happened to him.
"I feel I was as good, as cooperative, I took their advice, I put myself in their hands, this is alien to me, it's the first time anything like that has ever happened to me in my life."
Later Mr McGregor added: "These allegations are false, I'm here to say my piece and my truth, these allegations are lies, they're false."
Mr McGregor claims Nikita Hand had consensual sex with him twice. He also claimed in court that Hand had sex with his associate and co-defendant James Lawrence. Nikita Hand says she never had sex with Mr Lawrence.
Mr McGregor said he had one of his staff book the Beacon Hotel
John Gordon SC representing Ms Hand later brought up evidence from Ms Hand's gynaecological assessments.
Forceps were used to remove a tampon which had become wedged inside Ms Hand's vagina.
Mr McGregor claims Ms Hand was not wearing a tampon while she had sex with him. When asked how he thought it got there, Mr McGregor said: "Not with me".
Mr McGregor was also asked if he had paid Mr Lawrence's legal fees.
"I believe I did," he said.
Later, when asked under cross-examination whether Ms Hand had been in fear, Mr McGregor said there had been "no sign of distress, fear, anything other than enjoyment, elations and excitement".
Niall Carson/PA Wire
Nikita Hand is seeking financial damages for sexual assault in a civil court action
Ms Hand, a former hair colourist from Dublin, is seeking financial damages including loss of earnings for the distress she suffered as a result of the alleged sex attacks.
Giving evidence during earlier hearings, she claimed Mr McGregor placed her in a choke hold and choked her three times before raping her.
A paramedic who examined Ms Hand on the day after the alleged attacks told the court on Tuesday that she had not seen such bruising on a patient in a long time.
Brian Lawless/PA Wire
James Lawrence insisted he was not the "fall guy" for Conor McGregor
Mr McGregor's co-defendant, Mr Lawrence took the stand on Thursday afternoon.
He claimed he had consensual sex with Ms Hand twice in the hotel room when Mr McGregor left the hotel.
Mr Lawrence said Ms Hand was flirtatious and initiated the sex.
He added that she was only upset in the room about one small bruise and what she was going to tell her boyfriend about it.
Ms Hand previously told the court she has no memory of ever having sex with Mr Lawrence, but remembered telling him that she had been raped by the MMA fighter and became distressed.
Her claim is that Mr Lawrence was shocked at her allegations and sought to comfort her at the time.
When asked if he was the "fall guy" for Mr McGregor, Mr Lawrence said "not in a million years".
He added he has six sisters and nieces and would not defend such actions if they had occurred.
In a Republic of Ireland civil action - as opposed to a criminal case - neither the complainant nor the accused are entitled to automatic anonymity during the court proceedings.
Paris police are treating the event as a high-risk match and aim to pre-empt any trouble
Thousands of police are being deployed in Paris to ensure security at Thursday’s France-Israel football international, a week after violence in Amsterdam in which Maccabi Tel Aviv fans came under attack.
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said that 4,000 officers would be on patrol, 2,500 at the Stade de France in the northern Paris suburbs and the rest on public transport and inside the capital.
In addition around 1,600 private security guards will be on duty at the stadium, and an elite anti-terrorist police unit will protect the visiting Israeli squad.
“It is a high-risk match [because of] an extremely tense geopolitical context,” Mr Nuñez said.
“We will not allow any attempt to disturb public order.”
The Uefa Nations League match is under intense scrutiny following the violence after last Thursday’s match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Netherlands.
The stadium, which can hold 80,000, will be only a quarter full. Following advice by the Israeli government, no more than 100 or so Israeli fans are expected to travel to Paris, though other Israel supporters may go to the game.
Politicians across Europe decried a “return of antisemitism” after Israeli fans were chased through the streets of Amsterdam.
Maccabi fans were themselves involved in vandalism, tearing down a Palestinian flag, attacking a taxi and chanting anti-Arab slogans, according to city authorities. They were then targeted by “small groups of rioters… on foot, by scooter or car”, the city said in a 12-page report.
Violence between Israel and its neighbours in the Middle East has the potential to spread to Europe.
France, Belgium and the Netherlands all have large Muslim populations of North African origin and they live beside far smaller Jewish populations, who in the main identify strongly with Israel.
To express solidarity with European Jews after Amsterdam, President Emmanuel Macron has said he will attend Thursday’s match, which begins at 20:45 (19:45 GMT).
He will be joined by Prime Minister Michel Barnier as well as previous presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.
FRANCK FIFE/AFP
Security is tight but few Israelis are expected to travel to the match
Supporters have been told to expect identity checks ahead of the game. Bars and restaurants in the area have been told to close from the afternoon.
The Stade de France was the scene of a dangerous breakdown in law-and-order at a Uefa Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in 2022. However since then the Rugby World Cup and Paris Olympics have both been peacefully staged there.
France’s far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party – which sides with Palestinians and Lebanese in the conflicts with Israel – has called for Thursday’s match to be cancelled, or at least for President Macron to refuse to attend.
“We do not want our head of state honouring a country that commits genocide,” said LFI deputy David Guiraud. Israel has denied allegations of genocide as baseless and grossly distorted.
But Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said it was out of the question to cancel or relocate the match. “France does not give way to those who sow hatred,” he said.
France and Israel are in the same group in the Uefa competition, alongside Italy and Belgium. In their first leg – played in Budapest – France beat Israel 4-1.
Pre-match tensions were already in evidence after a pro-Israeli “gala” event was given the go-ahead for Wednesday evening in Paris, which the far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich was at one point expected to attend – although it was later thought his “presence” would be by video-link.
Luc Auffret/Anadolu
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have tried to get Thursday's Uefa Nations League match cancelled
Pro-Palestinian and anti-racist organisations were planning demonstrations in the capital to coincide with the event.
Relations between Macron and Benyamin Netanyahu have come under severe strain in recent weeks, after Macron accused the Israeli prime minister of “spreading barbarism” in Gaza and Lebanon.
French Jews were also upset when Macron was quoted as saying that Netanyahu should accept United Nations calls for a ceasefire because “his country was itself created by a decision of the UN.” This was interpreted in Israel as an insult to Jews who had lost their lives in their country’s war of independence.
France in turn was angered when two French officials were briefly detained by Israeli authorities at a holy site in East Jerusalem that is under French administration.
Macron has been described as pursuing a zigzag in his approach to the Middle East, as in many other domains, flipflopping inconsistently between outspoken statements of support for Israel and then its Arab neighbours.
Tulsi Gabbard - a former Democratic congresswoman who joined the Republican Party to back Donald Trump - is the president-elect's pick for director of national intelligence.
The wide-ranging role would mean she oversees US intelligence agencies like the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency (NSA), which focuses on intelligence gathering.
The nomination has raised questions over Gabbard's lack of experience in intelligence as well as accusations that she has in the past amplified Russia propaganda.
She will require Senate confirmation to take up the role.
But the nomination has sparked criticism in some quarters.
Reacting to the appointment on X, Democratic Virginia congresswoman member of the House Intelligence Committee Abigail Spanberger said she was "appalled at the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard".
"Not only is she ill-prepared and unqualified, but she traffics in conspiracy theories and cozies up to dictators like Bashar-al Assad and Vladimir Putin," she said.
Who is Tulsi Gabbard?
A military veteran who served with a medical unit in Iraq, Gabbard has set a number of political precedents in her career.
She was first elected to the Hawaii State Legislature aged 21 in 2002, the youngest person ever elected in the state. She left after one term when her National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq.
Gabbard went on to represent Hawaii in Congress from 2013 until 2021 - becoming the first Hindu to serve in the House.
She previously championed liberal causes like government-run healthcare, free college tuition and gun control. These issues were part of her 2020 run for the Democratic presidential nomination - which she eventually dropped out of, endorsing Joe Biden.
In 2022 she left the Democratic Party and initially registered as an independent - accusing her former party of being an “elitist cabal of warmongers” driven by "cowardly wokeness".
Becoming a contributor to Fox News, she was vocal on topics such as gender and freedom of speech and became an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump before joining the Republican Party less than a month ago.
In 2019, during Gabbard's bid to secure the Democratic presidential nomination she was criticised by rivals after receiving apparently favourable coverage on Russian state media.
In the same year, she also faced criticism for her perceived support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, seen as a key Russian ally.
She said Assad "is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States" - and defended meeting him in 2017, during Trump's first term.
In that same year, she said in an interview with CNN that she was "sceptical" that the Syrian regime was behind a chemical weapons attack which killed dozens of people.
Trump said there could be "no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons", speaking after the United States launched a missile strike on Syrian air base in response.
In 2019, Gabbard did also describe Assad as a "brutal dictator".
Gabbard has also made a string of controversial statements relating to Russia and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Writing on social media on the day Russia invaded, she said the war could have been prevented if had the US and its Western allies had recognised Russia's "legitimate security concerns" about Ukraine's bid to join Nato.
The following month, she said it was an "undeniable fact" that there were US-funded biolabs in Ukraine that could "release and spread deadly pathogens" as she called for a ceasefire.
In response, Republican senator Mitt Romney said Gabbard had embraced "actual Russian propaganda".
On Russian TV her nomination as intelligence director is being framed as likely to complicate Washington's relations with Ukraine.
Rossiya 1 correspondent Dmitry Melnikov said that her nomination "does not bode well for Kyiv", noting that in the past she "openly accused the Biden administration of provoking Russia".
The channel's presenter also pointed out that Gabbard had "strongly criticised Zelensky and called for dialogue with Russia".
Additional reporting BBC Monitoring's Karine Mirumyan
Alexander Rogers was in his third year at the University of Oxford
The suicide of a young man "cancelled" by his peers at university has prompted a coroner to write to the government warning about "self-policing" among some students.
Alexander Rogers, 20, was in his third year studying at the University of Oxford's Corpus Christi College when he took his own life in January.
Oxfordshire coroner Nicholas Graham said Mr Rogers had been "ostracised" in the preceding days after a woman expressed discomfort about a sexual encounter between the pair.
In a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, the coroner urged the Department for Education to take action to stop similar deaths occurring related to the harmful effects of being socially ostracised.
He said Mr Rogers had reported being subjected to "name calling, targeted behaviour and exclusion and rejection following allegations made against him about his conduct".
Corpus Christi College commissioned an independent serious incident review following the death.
"That review identified evidence of a concerning practice of social ostracism among students, often referred to as a cancel culture," the coroner said.
"[The review's] evidence was that this behaviour, where individuals are isolated and excluded from social groups based on allegations or perceptions of wrongdoing, poses a significant risk to student mental health and well-being."
'Seismic loss'
He said students "appear to employ social ostracism as a means of ‘self-policing’ their community, often in response to allegations of serious misconduct".
"This occurs in the absence of formal processes and without proper investigation or evidence," Mr Graham said.
Mr Graham added: "I did not find on the balance of probabilities that this culture specifically caused or contributed to Alexander’s death, but it did give rise to a concern that circumstances creating a risk of future deaths could occur."
Mr Rogers' family have been raising money for suicide prevention charity PAPYRUS.
In a tribute on a fundraising page, they said: "The loss of Zander has been seismic.
"He was and is the epitome of what is good in this world; kind, warm, funny, and an incredible friend to so many."
The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
Need help? If you have been affected by this story the BBC Action Line web page features a list of organisations which are ready to provide support and advice.
The UK must "rebuild relations" with the EU "while respecting the decision of the British people" who voted to leave in 2016, the Bank of England's governor will say later.
Andrew Bailey's Mansion House speech to investors will mark some of his strongest comments yet on Brexit, saying one of its consequences has been weaker trade.
He has previously avoided commenting on the topic because of the Bank's independence from Westminster politics.
"As a public official, I take no position on Brexit per se," he will say. "But I do have to point out consequences."
Mr Bailey will say the changed relationship with the EU has "weighed" on the economy.
"The impact on trade seems to be more in goods than services... But it underlines why we must be alert to and welcome opportunities to rebuild relations while respecting the decision of the British people."
Mr Bailey will also say the UK should not focus "just on the effects of Brexit", warning about the "broader fragmentation of the global economy".
His Brexit comments go much further than he previously has on the topic. Last November, he said the decision had "led to a reduction in the openness of the UK economy".
Assessing the impact of the UK's decision to leave the EU on the economy has been tricky given the multiple economic shocks in recent years.
The Office for Budget Responsibility and other independent analysts estimate the economy is 4% smaller over the past 15 years as a result.
Goods trade, especially in food and farm exports, has been especially hit by the imposition of new trade barriers. Trade in services, such as banking, has done better than expected, however.
Spain’s Finance Minister Carlos Cuerpo told the BBC: "We need to be positive here and optimistic that a better deal can be actually closed on that front."
A UK government spokesperson said: "We are committed to resetting our relationship with our European partners... and improving our trade and investment relationship."
Mr Bailey's speech will go on to address the wider UK economy and its lack of growth.
"Bottom line, it's not a good story," he will say, describing how productivity has fallen since the 2008 economic crash and has not recovered since.
He will explain that the UK is not alone in having this problem, which he says also affects other parts of Europe, but notes that the US has "a better story to tell".
Mr Bailey will also echo Reeves' concern that the UK pension system is "fragmented" and requires "heavy lifting" to fix it.
Tamzin Hall died after being hit by a car on the M5 on Tuesday
A teenage girl who died after being hit by a car after leaving a stationary police vehicle on the M5, has been named.
Avon and Somerset Police said Tamzin Hall, 17, from Wellington, Somerset, was hit by a car travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton, shortly after 23:00 GMT on Monday.
She had got out of a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side while transporting her, moments before the incident, police added.
"Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss," the force said.
The force referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is now investigating the incident.
"A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
"The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time," the force added.
The IOPC said the teenager was being taken from an address in Taunton to a custody suite in Bridgwater in a police car by two officers.
The police car stopped on the northbound carriageway of the motorway, between junctions 25 and 24 just before 23:00.
At this point, the teenager got out of the car and shortly afterwards was involved in a collision with a member of the public's car on the southbound carriageway, the IOPC said.
An ambulance was called and paramedics attended within a few minutes but Tamzin died at the scene.
Sara Sharif's body was found at her home in Woking on 10 August last year
The father of Sara Sharif has told a jury he was the "worst parent on the planet".
Urfan Sharif described his parenting as "very bad" and accepted he was unkind and cruel under cross-examination at the Old Bailey.
The court previously heard that Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during more than two years of abuse before she was found dead at her family home in Woking, Surrey, last year.
Mr Sharif, 42, Sara's stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, have denied murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.
Warning: This article contains distressing details
A post-mortem examination found Sara had suffered dozens of injuries including "probable human bite marks", an iron burn and scalding from hot water before she died on 8 August 2023.
Mr Sharif agreed that violence to Sara had become "normalised" at times in the house, but he said his brother, Mr Malik - who lived with the family - was unaware of Sara being beaten at home.
The prosecution challenged Mr Sharif about how others in the small three-bedroom home were unaware of violence to Sara.
"Everything was separate from Faisal Malik," Mr Sharif said.
Under cross examination, he was questioned about a burn to Sara’s buttocks and bite marks, which he denies causing.
"To do that to Sara, to press and hold the iron across both her buttocks, two people had to do that?" prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC asked Mr Sharif.
"I don’t know how it happened," Mr Sharif told jurors.
Surrey Police
Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik are each facing two charges relating to the death of Sara Sharif
Mr Emlyn Jones KC asked if someone would have had to hold Sara down and restrain her.
"I don’t know sir, must have been the kids," Mr Sharif told the court.
Mr Emlyn Jones KC asked: "How low will you stoop?"
The court previously heard a bloodstained cricket bat, a rolling pin with Sara’s DNA on it, a metal pole, a belt and rope were found near the family’s outhouse.
Mr Sharif was pressed by Mr Emlyn Jones KC: "When you beat Sara so hard with a cricket bat that you broke her spine, did you intend to cause her a really serious injury?"
"No sir," Mr Sharif said.
Jurors were previously told Mr Sharif’s case was that Ms Batool was responsible for Sara’s death, and he made a false confession in a phone call and also in a note to protect his wife.
The UK must "rebuild relations" with the EU "while respecting the decision of the British people" who voted to leave in 2016, the Bank of England's governor will say later.
Andrew Bailey's Mansion House speech to investors will mark some of his strongest comments yet on Brexit, saying one of its consequences has been weaker trade.
He has previously avoided commenting on the topic because of the Bank's independence from Westminster politics.
"As a public official, I take no position on Brexit per se," he will say. "But I do have to point out consequences."
Mr Bailey will say the changed relationship with the EU has "weighed" on the economy.
"The impact on trade seems to be more in goods than services... But it underlines why we must be alert to and welcome opportunities to rebuild relations while respecting the decision of the British people."
Mr Bailey will also say the UK should not focus "just on the effects of Brexit", warning about the "broader fragmentation of the global economy".
His Brexit comments go much further than he previously has on the topic. Last November, he said the decision had "led to a reduction in the openness of the UK economy".
Assessing the impact of the UK's decision to leave the EU on the economy has been tricky given the multiple economic shocks in recent years.
The Office for Budget Responsibility and other independent analysts estimate the economy is 4% smaller over the past 15 years as a result.
Goods trade, especially in food and farm exports, has been especially hit by the imposition of new trade barriers. Trade in services, such as banking, has done better than expected, however.
Spain’s Finance Minister Carlos Cuerpo told the BBC: "We need to be positive here and optimistic that a better deal can be actually closed on that front."
A UK government spokesperson said: "We are committed to resetting our relationship with our European partners... and improving our trade and investment relationship."
Mr Bailey's speech will go on to address the wider UK economy and its lack of growth.
"Bottom line, it's not a good story," he will say, describing how productivity has fallen since the 2008 economic crash and has not recovered since.
He will explain that the UK is not alone in having this problem, which he says also affects other parts of Europe, but notes that the US has "a better story to tell".
Mr Bailey will also echo Reeves' concern that the UK pension system is "fragmented" and requires "heavy lifting" to fix it.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is facing pushback from senior Labour figures over his repeated strident interventions against a move to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.
MPs will have their say on the issue later this month – in what is known as a free vote, where they are not instructed how to vote by their parties.
The government is attempting to maintain a neutral stance.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, the UK's most senior civil servant, told ministers last month they should "exercise discretion and should not take part in the public debate".
But Streeting’s view became public after he told a large, notionally private, meeting of Labour MPs what he thought.
Some of those hoping for a change in the law fear the health secretary’s interventions risk putting plenty of Labour MPs off backing it.
Others, some publicly, some privately, are irritated with Streeting and think he ought to wind his neck in a bit.
The bill, which was published this week, would allow terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to seek help to end their life.
Two doctors and a High Court judge would have to verify that they were eligible, and had made their decision voluntarily.
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind the bill, said she found some of Streeting's remarks “quite disappointing and quite upsetting”.
And Labour peer Baroness Hodge, a former minister, told the BBC's Politics Live programme that Streeting should take account of what the cabinet secretary had asked of ministers and "hold fire a little bit".
She added: “His argument about costs? We spend most of the NHS money on the last months of life.”
'Different views'
And now, Streeting’s cabinet colleague Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, has spoken out in support of the bill, telling me: “I have always believed in giving people as much choice and control as possible."
She added: “With all the right safeguards that this bill has, I believe it is an important step forward on such a difficult issue.
"Fewer and fewer of us have the sudden deaths that used to happen in the past. People often have a long and slower death. And we do need to talk about what makes for a good death.”
Kendall insisted she was “a great champion of Wes Streeting”, but pointedly added “this is something people have different views about".
One of Streeting’s team told me: “Wes has approached this issue in a genuine, thoughtful and considerate way, setting out his own view while respecting others’ views.”
They said he had initially been asked his views in a private meeting of Labour MPs, but once that leaked, he felt it necessary to explain publicly why he had come to his opinion.
The debate highlights the peril for the government, even when it grants all its MPs, including ministers, a free vote on an issue.
Were the bill to pass, would that leave the health secretary unable to carry on in his role?
His team insist he would carry on, and point out other ministers in the health department disagree with him, so it is certain some health ministers will find themselves on the losing side of the argument.
And what about the prime minister? He has previously set out his support for a change in the law, but will he make that view explicit again this time?
And how awkward could it be if he found himself on the losing side of the argument, were hundreds of his own MPs to oppose a change?
The first vote on the issue will take place in the Commons at the end of the month.
Tuition fees for undergraduate degrees in England will rise in autumn 2025
Almost three quarters of universities in England will face financial problems next year - despite tuition fees increasing, the BBC has been told.
A report to be published on Friday - seen by the BBC - reveals how financial issues faced by most universities are even worse than previously thought. The Office for Students (OfS) predicts more than a third are likely to have serious cash flow problems.
Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Sir David Behan, the regulator’s chairman, called for radical change, saying course closures and university mergers might be needed for financial stability.
The government is considering the long-term funding and reform of universities.
Tuition fees in England will rise for current and existing students by £285 to £9,535 a year for those on full-time degrees, in autumn 2025.
Even so, new analysis by the OfS, the independent regulator of higher education in England, will show a worsening position for universities, the BBC understands.
The regulator had said it expected 40% of universities to be in financial deficit in 2023-24.
Now the OfS says by 2025-26, 72% could be spending more money than they have coming in and may have to use an overdraft or financial reserves.
In 40% of institutions, cash flow may become so tight there will only be enough money in the bank to cover one month at a time of bills including salaries.
Radically reimagined
BRANWEN JEFFREYS/BBC
Forecasts from the OfS predict around 72% of universities will face financial issues
Sir David Behan, the OfS chairman, says a university going bust “isn’t imminent now”, but to reduce the risk higher education needs to be “radically reimagined”.
He suggests universities should think about “a transformation of their offer”, looking closely at the length and range of courses, and how to increase degree apprenticeships where tuition fees are covered mainly through the levy on larger employers.
Apprentices are paid to work while they study, so students end up with less debt.
Sir David says universities also need to collaborate more, and should consider mergers or whether courses at nearby institutions are too similar.
“It doesn’t make sense for universities in the same city - or the same region - to compete in terms of the courses being offered,” Sir David says.
But, he says, as some universities reduce the number of courses on offer he doesn’t want to see “cold spots” where students in more rural locations don’t have a choice of courses at their nearest university.
The outlook has worsened for universities because they have recruited fewer UK and international students than predicted.
For home students the OfS thinks the numbers accepted have increased by around 1.3% this year, compared with the optimistic 5.8% universities had predicted.
Universities that traditionally required higher entry grades have fared better, because they have simply taken a bigger share by accepting some students with lower results.
This has led to lower recruitment and increased pressure in universities that accept middling grades, and some smaller institutions.
International recruitment has also fallen, with overall visa applications down by about 16% this year, and 20% fewer applications from India alone.
Since January, most international students have been banned from bringing family members to live with them in the UK.
The rule was introduced last year by Rishi Sunak's government, which committed to bringing immigration numbers down.
Difficult decisions
All of this comes as the government considers what to do about university funding in England from 2026, in a review likely to conclude next year.
Most universities have already been cutting costs with courses closing and academics losing their jobs, so this is a warning that some rapid decisions are needed about far-reaching change.
The University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich has cut £30m in the last 18 months - almost 10% of its annual spending.
Prof David Maguire, the vice chancellor, says “difficult decisions” have led to a 20% reduction in the number of courses, increased lecture group sizes, less one-to-one contact between academics and students, and fewer staff in student support including in mental health and counselling.
Unlike big city universities, there are no nearby institutions to collaborate with, so remaining financially sustainable is crucial, especially for the many local students who live at home.
Prof Maguire says universities need to know what tuition fees or direct funding they will get through to the next election.
“We don’t want boom and bust, where one year we’re up, the next year we’re down. That doesn’t help anybody.”
The increase in National Insurance contributions the university has to pay as an employer will more than wipe out the increase in tuition fees next year, he adds.
As universities cut back there is a risk to the student experience - this year the largest annual study of undergraduates found only 36% in England thought their course was good or very good value for money.
Sir David says he expects “absolute transparency” about what students are getting in return for fees, whether on contact hours or important services such as mental health support.
He suggests business degrees are one area that might need more scrutiny to demonstrate which offer the best outcomes for students.
BRANWEN JEFFREYS/BBC
Teddy says he can see where his tuition fee goes on his healthcare course
Teddy Darvill-Cutts is a UEA occupational therapy student who says he can see where his tuition fee goes. “I'm surrounded by all this up-to-date technology, everything's working well,” he says.
But another UEA student, Amber Bramham, says not “all students see the benefits equally”.
“When the university doesn't show you where it [the money] is being spent… you can kind of feel like you've been cheated - especially when all you see is that they're asking for more.”
Charley Heywood, a third-year student, says there is a “surplus” of graduates which reduces the value of degrees. She wants to see schools promote alternative routes.
“There needs to be… more targeted educational steps, as opposed to just going to university.”
The financial pressures on universities could lead to very visible changes such as institutions focusing on a smaller number of courses to which they can recruit well.
The forecasts published on Friday will also form part of the public debate, and private negotiations between universities and ministers considering whether tuition fees should rise further in the future.
The heat is now on universities to bring down costs, with renewed scrutiny from ministers and the regulator over how they spend money.
This could renew pressure around vice chancellors pay, even though it is a tiny fraction of the spending of universities with a turnover of £500m or more.
More than 2,000 flights were grounded in August 2023
An engineer's password problem hampered efforts to resolve Bank Holiday airport chaos caused by a flight data fault, a report has said.
More than 700,000 passengers suffered cancellations and delays in August 2023 due to the computer shutdown at NATS, the UK's air traffic control service.
The engineer was unable to reset the system from home and arrived at work more than three hours after the incident began, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said.
NATS said it would review its resilience plans and had ensured the fault could not happen again.
A single flight from Los Angeles to Paris triggered the failure on Monday 28 August, the CAA report confirmed.
Air traffic control systems handling the flight were confused by a duplicate code - DVL - representing both Deauville in France and Devil's Lake in North Dakota, USA.
Watch: The day air traffic control went down... in 71 seconds
The failure was detected at 08:30 BST at NATS headquarters in Swanwick, Hampshire, which contacted the engineer 30 minutes later, the report added.
However, it said “the password login details of the Level 2 engineer could not be readily verified due to the architecture of the system", which was not restored until 14:30.
More than 2,000 flights were cancelled on 28 and 29 August, causing "chaotic conditions" at overcrowded airports, the CAA reported.
It said the total cost of the incident to passengers and air operators was between £75m and £100m.
In a list of recommendations, it said NATS should review its arrangements to manage significant disruption as well as its communication with airlines, remote working policies, and software.
PA Media
Passengers at Belfast International Airport were among those left in limbo
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said: "The report makes clear once again that airlines and passengers were severely let down by NATS due to its failure of resilience and lack of planning.
"Airlines were then left picking up the pieces and costs, which ran into millions."
The air traffic control system had previously processed more than 15 million flight plans without the scenario being seen.
A NATS spokesman said: "We would like to apologise again for the inconvenience passengers suffered because of this very unusual technical incident.
"Our own internal investigation made 48 recommendations, most of which we have already implemented; these include improving our engagement with our airline and airport customers, our wider contingency and crisis response, and our engineering support processes.
"We fixed the specific issue that caused the problem last year as our first priority and it cannot reoccur."
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: "The NATS IT failure last year was an unprecedented event that we all hope never happens again.
"My department will look to introduce reforms, when we can, to provide air travellers with the highest level of protection possible."
Under the Conservative government, in June last year the Department for Transport set out plans to give the CAA "stronger enforcement powers", but no legislation on the issue was introduced to Parliament.
Salah Fayed, left, bought Harrods with Mohamed Al Fayed and another brother in 1985
One of Mohamed Al Fayed's brothers also abused women who worked at the Harrods department store, according to three ex-employees who have made allegations including sexual assault and trafficking to the BBC.
The women allege that Salah Fayed abused them in London, the south of France and Monaco between 1989 and 1997. One woman believes she was raped by Salah after she was drugged.
All three women say they were also sexually assaulted or raped by Mohamed Al Fayed, then chairman of the company.
Harrods, which came under new ownership in 2010, said in a statement that the new claims point to the "breadth of abuse" by Al Fayed and "raise serious allegations" against his brother.
Salah Fayed, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2010, was one of three Fayed brothers who purchased the luxury Knightsbridge department store in 1985. Mohamed added the Arabic "Al" prefix to his surname some time in the 1970s.
One of the three women, Helen, has waived her right to anonymity. She was 23 and had been working at her "dream" job in Harrods for almost two years when Mohamed Al Fayed raped her in a Dubai hotel room.
Months later, when Mohamed offered her some personal assistant work with his younger brother, she saw it as an escape route - but instead she says she was drugged by Salah and believes she was then raped by him while unconscious.
"He [Mohamed Al Fayed] shared me with his brother," she says.
Helen says she was drugged by Salah and describes the moment she woke up afterwards
Helen is speaking for the first time, after feeling silenced for 35 years, in part because of a Harrods non-disclosure agreement that she was told to sign.
"They've stolen a part of me," she says. "It's changed the course of my entire life."
The BBC has also spoken independently to two other women who say they were abused by both Mohamed and Salah.
They say they were trafficked abroad and tricked by Salah into smoking crack cocaine.
"He was trying to get me hooked on crack so he could do whatever he wanted to me," one of the women told the BBC.
Warning: this story contains details of sexual violence
On a business trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in February 1989, she was unnerved to find she had been booked to travel alone with Al Fayed and to stay in his hotel suite, while the rest of his entourage were staying in a separate accommodation.
On the first evening, Helen was in her bathroom getting ready for bed when Mohamed Al Fayed appeared in the mirror behind her without warning.
"It was like out of a horror film," Helen says. "I was in my nightie and he grabbed my hand, started pulling me out the bathroom. I was really trying to stop him, but I couldn't."
She says he took her into his room, pushed her onto the bed and climbed on top of her.
"He raped me that night," she says.
Helen says she was terrified to find herself so far from home and unable to talk to anyone about what had happened.
She was told to sign a Harrods non-disclosure agreement two months after the trip - the BBC has seen this document. Helen says this, and the fear of reprisal, stopped her from speaking out for more than three decades.
Over the next few months, Helen began making plans to leave Harrods. "I didn't want to see his face again,” she says.
So when Al Fayed asked her to do some filing work for his brother, Salah, at his Park Lane home, she saw it as a way out.
Handout
Helen, pictured at a wedding in 1988, says Salah had seemed more friendly than his brother
"I'd met Salah and he seemed really friendly, he didn't seem in the slightest bit like his brother."
After working for two days with Salah, Helen recalls him offering her a glass of champagne to thank her.
"Within a few sips I was starting to feel a bit groggy, but I can't describe it as drunk. It was a really dizzy and weird feeling. I wasn’t feeling right."
Salah began playing music and Helen felt "it was definitely time to go, he was getting too cozy".
Helen says Salah pressured her to "just have one puff" of a bong containing crack cocaine. "This will make you feel better," she remembers him telling her. "That's the last thing I knew of that whole evening," she says.
She recalls waking up lying on a settee in a completely different room, with double vision and her whole body shaking. Salah was sitting at her feet holding a glass of water and a tablet, looking "nervous and panicky", she says.
As she got up, she noticed her jeans’ button was undone and her belt was missing.
Helen recalls feeling a sensation between her legs and discovering semen. "It wasn't just in one place, it was in another."
She adds: "I knew then what had happened. I knew."
Helen says Salah Fayed then made a call to his brother, Mohamed, in front of her to let him know she would not be going to work at Harrods that day. Their conversation was in Arabic, and Helen says all she could hear "was them laughing to each other".
Because she was still feeling the effects of the drugs, Helen says she needed help walking back to her own apartment. As Salah was walking her home, he suggested they make a stop to visit a friend.
The first thing Salah's friend said to her, she recalls, was: "Hi Helen, how are you this morning?"
She says she did not know the man and when she looked at Salah quizzically, she says he told her: "He saw you last night."
Helen decided to leave. "I just needed to be on my own. As I shut the door, I could hear those two men laughing."
Helen now believes that Salah's friend also raped her that night while she was unconscious and feels sure that she was raped vaginally and anally.
"That's the hardest thing I've ever had to say," says Helen.
Shortly after, Helen resigned from Harrods.
Getty Images
Two of the women say they were lured to Monaco with deceptive offers of work and then abused
Two other women working at Harrods say they believe the way they were brought to Monaco and the south of France to be abused by Salah would now be considered trafficking, because they were lured with deceptive offers of work and sexually exploited.
Rachael was 23 and working at Mohamed Al Fayed's private office in 1994, when she was rung by the Harrods human resources team and offered a position as personal assistant to Salah.
On starting the job, Rachael says she was not given any personal assistant work to do and instead felt like a "companion", attending dinners and "getting to know him".
One night in Monaco, Rachael says she woke up "petrified" to find Salah getting into her bed. She lay awake frozen in fear all night and in the morning he left.
During her time working as his personal assistant, Rachael recalls being introduced to older men by Salah who she says "sexually propositioned" her. She now wonders: "Was I there to be passed around?"
She says Salah encouraged her to smoke "hubbly bubbly" - a hookah pipe used to smoke flavoured tobacco - but she later discover it contained crack cocaine.
Rachael says she felt his goal was to get her addicted to make it easier to abuse her.
She had been told that if the role with Salah did not suit her, she could return to Harrods. She went back, but Rachael says 18 months later she was lured to Mohamed Al Fayed’s Park Lane home where he sexually assaulted her.
A third woman, who we are calling Rebecca, says she was also sexually assaulted by Mohamed Al Fayed in Park Lane. It was 1997 and she was aged 19, working at Harrods.
She was later asked by him to go to Monaco to work as a personal assistant for his younger brother, Salah, but on her arrival, she found there was very little work to do.
In Monaco, she recalls, Salah put her on the phone to his brother, Mohamed, who she says asked: "Is my brother looking after you?" He ended the call by telling her to "just have fun".
She remembers experiencing a "really uncomfortable feeling" in her stomach at that moment. "It's like the penny was dropping, the expectation is that you’re there for a job, and actually you’re just there as a potential piece of meat."
Rebecca says she was pressured to sit with Salah in a hot tub in his Monaco apartment where he sexually assaulted her.
She also told the BBC he had encouraged her to smoke what he told her was "tree resin" from a homemade bong. In fact, it was crack cocaine.
Harrods said it "supports the bravery of these women in coming forward" and urged them to make claims to the company's compensation scheme.
It said it hoped they are also looking at "every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice", including the police and the Fayed family and estate.
In her final days at Harrods, Helen remembers a new girl starting who seemed "so young and naive", like she once had been. Finishing a shift together away from the office, Helen says she confided in her and warned her about Mohamed Al Fayed.
Looking back, she says she is pleased she did what she could to try to dissuade her from staying.
"I told her he'd be trying to have sex with her, he'd be touching her, putting her under pressure. I did tell her that I'd been raped by him. She looked horrified but I don't know to this day whether she stayed or left."
Before she left, Helen says she was given cash which, at the time, she thought was a normal severance procedure - now she thinks it was to keep her quiet.
She says what she thought would be her dream job ended up leaving her with lifelong trauma.
"It's taken 35 years to speak, that's how frightened I've been of speaking," she says. "I want to stand up for victims of abuse, whether corporate or domestic, to let them know that they can speak up too."
If you have information about this story that you would like to share please get in touch. Email MAFinvestigation@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.
A boat alleged to have been supplied to people smugglers
A man suspected of being a significant supplier of small boats equipment to people smugglers has been arrested.
The man is suspected of supplying engines and boats to smugglers in northern France, according to the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA).
The Turkish national, 44, was arrested at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Wednesday, as part of an operation involving the NCA and Dutch and Belgian partners.
He will be extradited to Belgium to face charges of human smuggling.
Authorities said the man, who has not been named, shipped supplies from Turkey, stored them in Germany, then transported them to northern France.
He was arrested after authorities learned he was travelling from Turkey to the Netherlands.
NCA director general for operations Rob Jones said the man is thought to be a "major supplier" of "highly dangerous" boats and engines to smugglers operating in Belgium and northern France.
He called the arrest a milestone in one of the agency's "most significant investigations into organised immigration crime".
National Crime Agency
The man is alleged to have supplied equipment to smugglers in northern France and Belgium
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the investigation showed the importance of working "with our international partners to get results".
"We will stop at nothing to root out criminal networks wherever we find them.”
More than 50 people have died trying to cross the English Channel in 2024.
Over 32,000 people have made the crossing in 2024 so far - more than the total figure of 29,437 for 2023.
Donald Trump’s nomination of Congressman Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general arrived like a thunder-clap in Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon.
Of all the president-elect’s picks for his administration so far, this is easily the most controversial - and sends a clear message that Trump intends to shake up the establishment when he returns to power.
The firebrand Florida politician is perhaps best known for spearheading the effort to unseat then-Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy last year. But he has a consistent history of being a flamethrower in the staid halls of Congress.
In 2018, he brought a right-wing Holocaust denier to the State of the Union, and later tried to expel two fathers who lost children in a mass shooting from a hearing after they objected to a claim he made about gun control.
His bombastic approach means he has no shortage of enemies, including within his own party. And so Trump's choice of Gaetz for this crucial role is a signal to those Republicans, too - his second administration will be staffed by loyalists who he trusts to enact his agenda, conventional political opinion be damned.
Gasps were heard during a meeting of Republican lawmakers when the nomination for America's top US prosecutor was announced, Axios reported, citing sources in the room.
Republican Congressman Mike Simpson of Idaho reportedly responded with an expletive.
“I don't think it's a serious nomination for the attorney general,” Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said. “This one was not on my Bingo card.”
Gaetz does have some allies on Capitol Hill who share an unwavering loyalty to Trump. The Florida lawmaker has been one of the president-elect's most aggressive and relentless defenders - at congressional hearings, in press conferences and during television appearances.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, another devoted Trump loyalist, called Gaetz an "accomplished attorney".
"He's a reformer in his mind and heart, and I think that he'll bring a lot to the table on that," said Johnson.
In a social media post, Trump spelled out how he intends to use Gaetz as a wrecking ball to radically change the US Department of Justice, which he has regularly blamed for his multiple legal troubles.
“Matt will root out the systemic corruption at the DOJ, and return the department to its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and constitution,” he wrote.
During the campaign, Trump promised retribution for the numerous investigations launched against him. Now, it appears, Gaetz will be at the frontlines of Trump’s efforts to bring the justice department to heel.
The department also investigated Gaetz himself.
Last year, it declined to bring charges over allegations he violated sex trafficking laws during a trip he took to the Bahamas with paid escorts. He was the subject of an ongoing ethics investigation in the House of Representatives into allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and misuse of campaign funds.
But on Wednesday evening, Johnson said Gaetz had resigned as a lawmaker, effectively ending the House probe since the committee only investigates members.
Gaetz has denied all the allegations against him.
According to CBS News, Gaetz had asked Trump for a pre-emptive pardon for any related crimes prior to the president leaving office in January 2021.
All this makes him an unlikely choice for a position that typically goes to more senior politicians, well versed in law.
Gaetz, 42, has a law degree and worked for a Florida law firm before his eight years in Congress. Joe Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, was a senior federal appellate court judge. Trump in his first term picked US Senator Jeff Sessions, and later Bill Barr, who had decades of experience in Republican presidential administrations.
The Senate will be responsible for confirming Gaetz’s nomination, and the Florida congressman has ruffled more then a few feathers in that chamber – including among Republicans. While his party has a majority, it would only take four “no” votes, joined by unified Democratic opposition, to sink his chances.
Gaetz himself said last year that he would love to be attorney general while acknowledging it was unlikely.
“The world is not ready, probably,” he told Newsmax in an interview. “Certainly Senate confirmation wouldn’t be, but you know, a boy can dream.”
For the moment, however, Trump’s closest supporters are celebrating his pick.
“The hammer of justice is coming,” Elon Musk posted about Gaetz on X.
Regardless of the ultimate outcome of Gaetz’s bid to be attorney general, Trump has fired a warning shot across the bow of US government. While his second term in office may be more organised than his first, it may end up being even more confrontational.
North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his twice weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
Tim Edwards, the father of murdered beautician Elle Edwards, said the decision "makes me angry"
The father of young woman shot dead on Christmas Eve said the early release of her killer's accomplice due to prison overcrowding "makes a mockery" of justice.
Elle Edwards was sitting on a raised flower bed outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, on 24 December 2022, when she was struck by two stray sub-machine gun bullets.
Thomas Waring, then 20, was in the dock alongside gunman Connor Chapman and was convicted of assisting an offender and possession of a firearm in July 2023.
Miss Edwards' father, Tim Edwards, received a letter from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) explaining that Waring would be released early due to "significant issues with the prison population".
During the trial, jurors heard that Chapman drove to Waring's family home in Private Drive, Barnston, after the shooting and left his Mercedes car and a Skorpion sub-machine gun there.
Waring was also said to have helped Chapman take the car to a rural location near Frodsham, Cheshire, on New Year's Eve, where it was later found burned out.
Merseyside Police
Connor Chapman (left) drove to the home of his friend Thomas Waring (right) after the shooting in Wallasey Village
He was sentenced to nine years in jail, including time spent on remand, and under the previous rules would have been released on licence at the half-way stage.
However the letter stated that Waring's release date has been brought forward almost a year, from September 2027 to the week commencing 11 October 2026.
Mr Edwards has also learned that Waring could be free as early as April 2026 under the Home Detention Curfew scheme, although the MOJ said this would only happen subject to a risk assessment closer to the time.
For Mr Edwards, Waring was "right at the core" of what happened to his daughter shortly before midnight on 24 December 2022.
"As far as I'm concerned, he was as guilty as the person who pulled the trigger", Mr Edwards said.
"He tried to cover up the tracks of the killer by helping them burn out the car, disposing of the firearm, which is to this day, has never been found.
"As far as we know it is still out there, it could still be active somewhere in someone's possession."
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Elle Edwards was described as an innocent bystander hit by shots fired as part of a gang rivalry which had nothing to do with her
Mr Edwards, from New Brighton, said the letter made him "very angry", adding: "I'm not going to let this go."
"It's a mockery isn't it?" he said.
"It makes a whole laughing stock of the justice system and the sentencing.
"He was doing his best to make sure that the killer got away with it."
Mr Edwards has written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to express his concern and has asked for an in-person meeting.
In the letter, he described how, in the wake of Miss Edwards's loss, he has tried to warn future generations of the consequences of gang culture to "make sure Elle's murder was not to be in vain".
He accused the early release scheme of "severely undermining our efforts".
PA Media
Tim Edwards, pictured alongside Det Supt Sue Coombs from Merseyside Police, appeared at a press conference shortly after the murder calling for information
As the second anniversary of Miss Edwards's death approaches, Mr Edwards said this development made it even tougher to deal with.
He said: "This is just like a kick in the teeth, and you just feel like you're constantly fighting against a system.
"It's just fundamentally wrong and it needs to change."
Chapman, then 23, was convicted of murdering Miss Edwards and the attempted murder of two men who were the intended targets of the shooting, as well as wounding three other bystanders and related firearms offences.
He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 48 years in prison.
The government brought in rules to allow certain prisoners to be released earlier to deal with what it said was a "crisis in prison places".
Meta has been fined €798m (£664m) for breaking competition law by embedding Facebook Marketplace within its social network.
The European Commission said this meant alternative classified ads services had faced "unfair trading conditions", making it harder for them to compete.
In addition to the fine, it has ordered Meta to stop imposing these conditions on other services.
Meta said it rejected the Commission's findings and would appeal.
EU antitrust head Margrethe Vestager said Facebook had impeded other online classified ads service providers.
"It did so to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that other online classified ads service providers could not match," she added,
She said Meta "must stop this behaviour", with the EU asking the firm to "refrain from repeating" the infringement.
Meta said the Commission had provided "no evidence" of harm either to competitors or consumers.
"This decision ignores the market realities, and will only serve to protect incumbent marketplaces from competition."
The ruling is the result of an investigation which the Commission opened in 2021, after Meta's rivals complained that Facebook Marketplace gave it an unfair advantage.
Fine, fine, fine
Meta has not previously faced a fine from the EU over competition rules - though it was told to pay €110m in 2017 for not handing over correct information when it purchased WhatsApp.
The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has also previously fined Meta more than €1bn over mishandling people's data when transferring it between Europe and the United States.
And it also had to pay a comparatively tiny £50m in 2021, when the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accused it of deliberately breaking rules over its attempt to acquire Gif-maker Giphy - and ultimately demanded it sell the company altogether.
The decision comes as regulators are taking a firmer stance with big tech companies worldwide, with the US government considering a breakup of Google.
Folic acid is to be added to non-wholemeal wheat flour in the UK to help prevent birth defects.
Adding folic acid to flour could prevent around 200 cases of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, every year, and improve the health of pregnant women, says the government, which is giving manufacturers until the end of 2026 to conform to the new legal requirement.
Expectant mothers and women trying to conceive should continue to take supplementary folic acid - the synthetic version of the vitamin folate - as currently advised by medical practioners.
Folic acid is particularly important in early pregnancy, aiding proper development of the baby's brain, skull and spinal cord.
Experts, many of whom have called for the move for a number of years, have welcomed the government's decision.
The announcement follows health improvements in other countries, such as Australia and Canada, where the practice is already carried out.
Some say the change doesn't go far enough, however, and more foods should be included.
Prof Neena Modi, professor of neonatal medicine at Imperial College London, said: "This will disadvantage groups such as women who are sensitive to gluten, eat rice in preference to bread, and products made from wholemeal flour - excluding them and their babies from benefiting, and thus adding to the considerable health inequities that already exist in the UK."
The vitamin folate, also known as vitamin B9, is found in everyday foods such as beans and some green vegetables, meaning most people receive a sufficient dose from eating a regular, healthy diet.
In addition, the NHS recommends women who are trying for a baby take folic acid supplements for approximately three months before getting pregnant, and for at least 12 weeks after becoming pregnant. This recommendation will remain in place.
It is estimated that half of all pregnancies in the UK are unplanned. The fortification of flour will therefore help boost intake of folic acid across the population, and, indirectly, better protect unborn babies.
The government's independent advisory body has looked at all the evidence and is satisfied that fortification is the right course of action for society as a whole.
Small-scale millers (producing less than 500 metric tonnes of flour a year) will be exempt.
Flour is already fortified with calcium, niacin, thiamine and iron as a means of improving public health.
Edith Nyachuru says her brother was due to become head boy at his school when he died
The sister of a 16-year-old boy who drowned while swimming naked at a Christian holiday camp in Zimbabwe run by child abuser John Smyth blames the Church of England for his death.
"The Church knew about the abuses that John Smyth was doing. They should have stopped him. Had they stopped him, I think my brother [Guide Nyachuru] would still be alive," Edith Nyachuru told the BBC.
The British barrister had moved to Zimbabwe with his wife and four children from Winchester in England in 1984 to work with an evangelistic organisation.
This was two years after an investigation revealed he had subjected boys in the UK, many of whom he had met at Christian holiday camps run by a charity he chaired that was linked to the Church, to traumatic physical, psychological and sexual abuse.
The 1982 report, prepared by Anglican clergyman Mark Ruston, about the canings said "the scale and severity of the practice was horrific", with accounts of boys beaten so badly they bled, with one describing how he needed to wear nappies until his wounds scabbed over.
Despite these shocking revelations, mainly involving boys from elite British public schools, the Rushton report was not widely circulated.
A decade on, aged 50, Smyth had established himself as a respected member of the Christian community in Zimbabwe. He had set up his own organisation, Zambesi Ministries, with funding from the UK - and was meting out similar punishments at camps that he marketed at the country’s top schools.
Ms Nyachuru says her brother’s trip had been an early Christmas present from one of his other sisters, who had picked up one of Smyth’s brochures and been impressed with all the activities on offer for the week.
As she looks at an old photograph of Guide, she says he was the youngest of eight siblings, and the only boy: "He was very loved by everyone.
"A lovely boy... Guide was due to be made head boy the following year," she remembers, adding that he was "an intelligent boy, a good swimmer, strong, healthy with no known medical conditions".
This is the only image Edith Nyachuru has of her younger brother
But within 12 hours of him being dropped at the camp at Ruzawi School in Marondera, 74km (46 miles) from the capital, Harare, on the evening of 15 December 1992, the family received a call to say he had died.
Witnesses say that like all the boys, Guide had gone swimming naked in a pool before bed - a camp tradition. The other boys returned to the dormitory, but Guide’s absence was not noticed - which his sister finds surprising - and his body was found at the bottom of the pool the next morning.
His family rushed to the mortuary but Ms Nyachuru’s shock was compounded by confusion when she was stopped by officers from viewing his body: "They told me: 'You can’t go in there because he is indecently dressed.'
"It was only my father, my brother-in-law and our pastor who went in and put him in the coffin."
Nakedness appears to be something Smyth was fixated on at his camps. Camp attendees have told of how he would often parade around without clothes in the boys’ dormitories - where he also slept, unlike other staff members.
He would also shower naked with them in the communal showers and the boys were ordered not to wear underpants in bed.
"He promoted nakedness and encouraged the boys to walk around naked at the summer camp," a former student who attended a camp at Ruzawi in 1991 told the BBC.
But his jocular manner put many of them at ease, he said.
"Smyth was very friendly, laid-back, approachable, he was really fun, always joking.
"Smyth would also walk the dorms and shower area wearing nothing but a towel slung over his shoulder."
The reason given for the no-underwear-in-the-evening rule was "because it would make them grow", he recalled.
As a British lawyer, John Smyth was respected in Zimbabwe
Smyth gave talks on masturbation, would sometimes lead prayers in the nude and encouraged naked trampolining, an activity he described as "flappy jumping" - all behaviour noted in an investigation by Zimbabwean lawyer David Coltart that was launched in May 1993.
It was the thrashings that Smyth was giving boys with a notorious table tennis bat, dubbed "TTB", that led a parent to the door of Coltart, who worked at a law practice in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo.
She wanted to know why one of her sons had returned from a holiday camp with bruises on his buttocks so severe that she took him to a doctor, who found a "12cm x 12cm bruise".
"She saw these and demanded to know what happened and then it came out that her son had been badly beaten in the nude, and she came to me for advice," Coltart, now mayor of Bulawayo, told the BBC.
"When I heard that this was a Christian organisation - I’m an elder in the Presbyterian Church - I got hold of my pastor and we got hold of the Baptist Church Methodist Church and two other churches in the city and then I was instructed by those churches to investigate the matter," he said.
Forty-four-year old Jason Leanders, who went on the camp that immediately followed Guide’s death, said he was beaten three to four times a day by Smyth, who would put his hands into his pants to check he had not put on extra layers to cushion his buttocks.
"My bum was black," he told the BBC. "But being a boy, you act tough."
For many boarding school students, corporal punishment was regarded as "normal", former Zimbabwean cricketer Henry Olonga, who was attending the camp the night Guide died, said in his 2015 autobiography.
But after Coltart managed to track down the Rushton report, the severity of the problem became apparent. He wrote to Smyth instructing him to immediately stop the Zambesi Ministries camps.
"It was calculated, he focused on boys. He groomed young men. He encouraged them to take showers in the nude with him. There was a pattern of violence," he said.
But Coltart’s dealings with Smyth proved difficult.
"He was a highly articulate man and quite aggressive in the meetings that I had with him. He employed all his skills as a barrister to seek to intimidate. He was older than me. I was then a relatively young lawyer in my 30s. He exploited the fact that he was an English QC [Queen's Counsel]."
Rather than comply with Coltart’s various requests, he doubled down and in a letter to parents ahead of the August 1993 camps, described himself as "a father figure to the camp" and defended the nudity and corporal punishment, writing: "I never cane the boys, but I do whack with a table tennis bat when necessary… although most regard TTB (as it is affectionately known) as little more than a joke."
This time there appears to have been no cloaking of the beatings as "spiritual discipline" as had been the case in the UK. He also admitted to Coltart that he took photographs of naked boys, but said they were "from shoulders up" for publicity purposes.
Coltart contacted two psychologists with his findings, both of whom advised that Smyth should stop working with children.
His 21-page report was then published in October 1993, and circulated to head teachers and church leaders in Zimbabwe.
"The report was never published widely, conscious of the dangers of a defamation suit," Coltart said.
However it "basically stopped him in his tracks in Zimbabwe" as the private schools were his harvesting ground, he said. Zambesi Ministries camps did continue in some guise, but not at schools or under Smyth’s leadership
Coltart then instructed another law firm to pursue a legal case against Smyth who was eventually charged with culpable homicide over Guide’s death, as well as charges relating to the beatings.
But, according to former BBC TV producer Andrew Graystone in his 2021 book about the abuse, the case was bedevilled with problems, police documents were missing and Smyth’s legal prowess led to the prosecutor being removed - another one was never appointed, so the case was essentially shelved in 1997.
Ms Nyachuru says no post-mortem was carried out at the time - Guide was buried on the day he drowned in the family's home village, with Smyth presiding over the funeral.
Following the Coltart report, Smyth faced deportation from Zimbabwe but Graystone says he used his significant connections to avoid this, lobbying various cabinet ministers - some of whose sons had attended his camps - with suggestions that even then-President Robert Mugabe was approached by one of Smyth’s associates.
In Justin Welby's letter, he said that while he did not know about John Smyth's behaviour at the time, he admitted Smyth was responsible for the death of her brother
But from the time of Smyth’s prosecution, the family were given temporary residency permits, which had to be renewed every 30 days.
In 2001, having spent too long out of the country on a trip, Smyth and his wife Anne were refused re-entry, prompting their move to South Africa’s coastal city of Durban and then a few years later to Cape Town, where the couple were living when the Church of England became fully aware in 2013 of the abuses he had committed in the UK.
"The Anglican church in Cape Town in which John Smyth worshipped… has reported that it never received any reports suggesting he abused or groomed young people," Thabo Makgoba, the archbishop of Cape Town, said in statement responding to this week's resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Smyth was only excommunicated by his local church the year before his death in 2018, after he was named publicly as an abuser in a Channel 4 News report.
Ms Nyachuru told the BBC it was not until 2021 that she received a written apology from Welby about the death of her brother, in which he admitted that Smyth was responsible and the church had failed her family.
She wrote back describing the apology as "too little, too late" and is now calling for other senior church leaders who failed to intervene to prevent Smyth's abuse to resign: "I just think people of the church, if they see something not going in the right direction, if it needs the police they should go to the police."
Coltart feels it is not just the Church that is to blame, and suggests other institutions in the UK need to face up to their failure to warn people in Zimbabwe.
He commended the Church of England’s recent Makin report, saying it "left no stone unturned". The report estimates that around "85 boys and young men were physically abused in African countries, including Zimbabwe".
Coltart urged the Church to reach out to them.
"I think possibly there are still victims in Zimbabwe, perhaps in South Africa, who are suffering from PTSD and I think the Anglican church has a responsibility to identify those individuals and to supply them with the medical assistance that they might require," he said.
Mr Leanders says many of friends are still "so traumatised by the beatings they are not even prepared to talk about it".
"Smyth was protected in England and he was protected in Zimbabwe. The protection went on for so long it robbed victims the chance to confront Smyth as adults."
Additional reporting from the BBC's Gabriela Pomeroy.
Tulsi Gabbard - a former Democratic congresswoman who joined the Republican Party to back Donald Trump - is the president-elect's pick for director of national intelligence.
The wide-ranging role would mean she oversees US intelligence agencies like the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency (NSA), which focuses on intelligence gathering.
The nomination has raised questions over Gabbard's lack of experience in intelligence as well as accusations that she has in the past amplified Russia propaganda.
She will require Senate confirmation to take up the role.
But the nomination has sparked criticism in some quarters.
Reacting to the appointment on X, Democratic Virginia congresswoman member of the House Intelligence Committee Abigail Spanberger said she was "appalled at the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard".
"Not only is she ill-prepared and unqualified, but she traffics in conspiracy theories and cozies up to dictators like Bashar-al Assad and Vladimir Putin," she said.
Who is Tulsi Gabbard?
A military veteran who served with a medical unit in Iraq, Gabbard has set a number of political precedents in her career.
She was first elected to the Hawaii State Legislature aged 21 in 2002, the youngest person ever elected in the state. She left after one term when her National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq.
Gabbard went on to represent Hawaii in Congress from 2013 until 2021 - becoming the first Hindu to serve in the House.
She previously championed liberal causes like government-run healthcare, free college tuition and gun control. These issues were part of her 2020 run for the Democratic presidential nomination - which she eventually dropped out of, endorsing Joe Biden.
In 2022 she left the Democratic Party and initially registered as an independent - accusing her former party of being an “elitist cabal of warmongers” driven by "cowardly wokeness".
Becoming a contributor to Fox News, she was vocal on topics such as gender and freedom of speech and became an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump before joining the Republican Party less than a month ago.
In 2019, during Gabbard's bid to secure the Democratic presidential nomination she was criticised by rivals after receiving apparently favourable coverage on Russian state media.
In the same year, she also faced criticism for her perceived support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, seen as a key Russian ally.
She said Assad "is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States" - and defended meeting him in 2017, during Trump's first term.
In that same year, she said in an interview with CNN that she was "sceptical" that the Syrian regime was behind a chemical weapons attack which killed dozens of people.
Trump said there could be "no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons", speaking after the United States launched a missile strike on Syrian air base in response.
In 2019, Gabbard did also describe Assad as a "brutal dictator".
Gabbard has also made a string of controversial statements relating to Russia and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Writing on social media on the day Russia invaded, she said the war could have been prevented if had the US and its Western allies had recognised Russia's "legitimate security concerns" about Ukraine's bid to join Nato.
The following month, she said it was an "undeniable fact" that there were US-funded biolabs in Ukraine that could "release and spread deadly pathogens" as she called for a ceasefire.
In response, Republican senator Mitt Romney said Gabbard had embraced "actual Russian propaganda".
On Russian TV her nomination as intelligence director is being framed as likely to complicate Washington's relations with Ukraine.
Rossiya 1 correspondent Dmitry Melnikov said that her nomination "does not bode well for Kyiv", noting that in the past she "openly accused the Biden administration of provoking Russia".
The channel's presenter also pointed out that Gabbard had "strongly criticised Zelensky and called for dialogue with Russia".
Additional reporting BBC Monitoring's Karine Mirumyan
Lucy took her own life after suffering from postnatal depression
Lucy will never again dance with her three-year-old daughter or hold her 12-month-old baby boy. She died by suicide in September this year after suffering from postnatal depression and psychosis.
Her family say she was failed by mental health services. It was the second time Lucy suffered with the condition, but she had no extra support in her second pregnancy.
They are calling on the government to end what they say is a postcode lottery of perinatal mental health care.
'It's like a living nightmare'
Lucy died on 23 September after going missing from a psychiatric unit in Scarborough where she had been staying as a voluntary inpatient.
After hours of searching with mountain rescue, her sister Faye was told that the "bubbly, caring and brilliant mum" had taken her own life.
“I just howled. It was unbelievable. It’s like a living nightmare for the whole family," Faye said. "Her three-year-old is still asking when mummy is coming home and pointing to mummy’s side of the bed."
But Lucy’s death was not out of the blue.
Family handout
Lucy's family noticed a big change in her behaviour after her daughter's birth
Lucy started suffering from postnatal depression when her first baby turned three months old.
“She changed massively. A dark cloud came over her and took all of the life out of her," Faye said.
"Any joy that she took from life was just gone. Her anxiety went through the roof. Her depression was horrendous. The insomnia and fatigue - it took over her life.”
Faye says postnatal depression robbed her sister of her any joy
Her parents moved Lucy and the baby into their home, she was prescribed antidepressants and at around the time her daughter turned one she began to recover.
“We had Lucy back and she was marvellous”, said her mum Ann.
Lucy told her family she did not recognise the person she was while she was suffering with the depression.
Family handout
Lucy was an "amazing mum" to her two children, her family said
When Lucy fell pregnant with her second baby in 2023, her family were shocked to discover no extra support was provided.
“I assumed there would be more wraparound care, knowing she had depression with her first. But no extra support or care was offered”, Faye said.
After the birth of her son, the first three months were brilliant, her family say.
“She was an amazing mum. So creative. She did everything for her kids”, Faye added.
But again, the depression hit when her baby was three months old, and despite the best efforts of her family they said this time round it was even worse.
“We were floundering. We needed help as well. We gave her the medication and it was constantly being changed. It wasn’t working,” Ann said.
Lucy's parents Ann and David moved her and the children in while she was suffering from postnatal depression
Lucy started talking seriously about taking her own life, and her husband contacted the crisis mental health team.
She received some counselling and home visits, and she was then referred to the perinatal team which provided weekly counselling sessions
But staff sickness meant face-to-face sessions were replaced with phone calls and her condition deteriorated.
In August she made an attempt on her life. She also started hearing voices, a sign of psychosis that can result from severe postnatal depression.
Family handout
The family feel warning signs were missed, despite the involvement of mental health services
“We were all absolutely terrified at this point. We were so lost and scared about how we could support her knowing what she had done”, Faye said.
Lucy was admitted to a psychiatric unit on a voluntary basis, which meant she could come and go freely.
She was offered the option of finding a bed in a mother and baby unit but turned it down, which Faye feels was a warning sign.
“She should have been sectioned and sent to a mother and baby unit automatically," she said.
"If the mother doesn’t feel like they want to be with their baby, there should be alarm bells ringing."
Eight days before she died, in her hospital journal, Lucy wrote “help me”.
Family handout
Lucy had been keeping a journal while in hospital
On the day Lucy died her mum visited her in hospital and took her out for lunch. It was the last time she saw her daughter alive - Lucy never returned to to the hospital, or home to her babies.
“No child should ever have to ask why their mummy isn’t coming home. No husband should be without their wife. And no parents should have to bury their daughter for something that is so treatable,” Faye said.
Family handout
Pictures drawn by Lucy's daughter were placed on her coffin
Lucy's death is part of a bigger picture.
The postcode lottery of perinatal services is stark. Yet one in 10 women suffer from postnatal depression according to the NHS.
Research from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) reveals North Yorkshire, where Lucy lived, did not meet the care quality standards for perinatal care set by the Royal College of Psychiatrists 2023.
The orange sections of the map highlight the areas where staffing and services fall short.
Maternal Mental Health Alliance
Maternal Mental Health Alliance map of perinatal mental health provision
Karen Middleton, head of policy at MMHA, says mums are being failed by the lack of consistent maternal mental health care.
“Maternal mental health isn’t fully understood and has been historically under-invested," she said.
"We need to raise awareness so commissioners and managers at the local level provide sustainable funding that is based on the levels of need in their area.”
Maternal suicide is the leading cause of direct death for mums when babies are between six weeks and one year old, according to the latest Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care (SLIMC) report.
This remains unchanged since 2009.
Care under review
A spokesperson for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are looking closely at the care Lucy received from us and, in keeping with national guidance, we will establish if there is anything different we could have done to prevent Lucy’s death.
"We will support Lucy’s family through this process as their involvement is incredibly important."
A spokesperson for NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) expressed their condolences to Lucy's family and friends, and said it would "not be appropriate" to comment further while a review is under way.
The Department for Health and social care said it was "unacceptable" that anyone should feel let down by maternity support services.
“Specialist perinatal mental health services are established in all parts of England, but we know more is needed," a spokesperson said.
"Too many people with mental health issues, including mothers who have recently given birth, are not getting the support or care they need.
“That’s why we’re reforming the Mental Health Act to fix the broken system and give more people greater say over their care.”
Family handout
Lucy's family are now campaigning for better support for other women
Lucy's family say she was a victim of the system. But they are determined to fight for change.
“Mummies are dying and it’s something so preventable. We’ve got a baby and three-year-old growing up without their mummy," Faye said.
"We need to save the mummies."
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can visit the BBC Action Line.
You can also email yorkslincsinvestigations@bbc.co.uk to share your experiences.
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