A local fire brigade has paid tribute to a nine-year-old killed in an attack on a German Christmas market.

André Gleißner died after a car drove into a crowd of shoppers at the market in Magdeburg on Friday evening, according to the Schöppenstedt fire department.

In a statement they said he was a member of the children's fire brigade in Warle, which is about an hour's drive from Magdeburg.

Four women, aged 45, 52, 67 and 75, also died in the attack. Authorities are holding a suspect in pre-trial detention on counts of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm.

The Saudi authorities, I am told, are currently working flat out to collate everything they have on the Magdeburg market suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, and to share it with Germany's ongoing investigation "in every way possible".

Inside the imposing sand coloured and fortress-like walls of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh there is a perhaps justifiable sense of pique.

The ministry previously warned the German government about al-Abdulmohsen's extremist views.

It sent four so-called "Notes Verbal", three of them to Germany's intelligence agencies and one to the foreign ministry in Berlin. There was, the Saudis say, no response.

Part of the explanation for this may lie in the fact that Taleb al-Abdulmohsen was granted asylum by Germany in 2016, one year after the former Chancellor Angela Merkel threw open her country's borders to let in more than a million migrants from the Middle East, and 10 years after al-Abdulmohsen had taken up residence in Germany.

Coming from a country where Islam is the only religion permitted to be practiced in public, al-Abdulmohsen was a very unusual citizen.

He had turned his back on Islam, making himself a heretic in the eyes of many.

Born in the Saudi date palm oasis town of Hofuf in 1974, little is known about his early life before he decided to leave Saudi Arabia and move to Europe aged 32.

Active on social media, on his Twitter (later X) account he labels himself as both a psychiatrist and founder of Saudi rights movement, together with the tag @SaudiExMuslims.

He founded a website aimed at helping Saudi women flee their country to Europe.

The Saudis say he was a people trafficker and the Ministry of Interior's investigators, the Mabaatheth, are said to have an extensive file on him.

There have been reports in recent years of dissident Saudis coming under hostile surveillance from Saudi government agents, in Canada, the US and in Germany.

There is no question that the German authorities, both federal and state, have made some serious errors of omission in the case of al-Abdulmohsen.

Whatever their reasons for not responding, as the Saudis claim, to the repeated warnings about his extremism, he was clearly a danger to his adopted host country.

There is also, separately, the failure to close off, or at least guard, the emergency access route to Magdeburg Alter Markt that allowed him to allegedly drive his BMW into the crowds.

German authorities have defended the market's layout and said an investigation into the suspect's past is ongoing.

But a complicating factor here is that Saudi Arabia, although considered a friend and ally of the West, has a poor human rights record.

Until June 2018 Saudi women were forbidden to drive and even those women who publicly called for that ban to be lifted before then have been persecuted and imprisoned.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, still only in his 30s, just, is immensely popular in his own country.

While Western leaders largely distanced themselves from him after his alleged involvement in the grisly murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which the crown prince denies, at home his star is still in the ascendant.

Under his de-facto rule, Saudi public life has transformed for the better, with men and women allowed to associate freely, and cinemas reopening, along with big, spectacular sports and entertainment events, even gigs performed by Western artists like David Guetta and the Black Eyed Peas.

But there is a paradox here.

While Saudi public life has flourished there has been a simultaneous crackdown on anything that even hints at more political or religious freedom.

Harsh prison sentences of 10 years or more have been handed down for simple tweets.

No-one is permitted to even question the way the country is run.

It is against this backdrop that Germany appears to have dropped the ball with Taleb al-Abdulmohsen.

Amanda Walker felt trapped in a flat she couldn't sell because of its flammable cladding.

When it turned out that no government scheme would cover the costs of removing the dangerous material from her newly built flat in south London, she started campaigning.

She spent four years trying to get justice for herself, and for millions caught up in the scandal exposed by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Then, at the age of 51, she was found dead in her one-bedroom apartment by her mother and sister. An inquest recently recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.

"She would often phone me late at night when she just couldn't deal with it any more," her mother Glenda recalls.

"I wish she could phone me now."

Half a year earlier, in July 2023, Amanda had addressed peers in the House of Lords investigating the impact of the cladding problem on flat owners.

"It's devastating. It's just a quagmire. It's just chaos," she told them. "It's so unjust. I had done nothing wrong and it's destroyed my life already."

The video of Amanda's address to the Lords is now treasured by her mother, who's speaking for the first time since the inquest's verdict.

Glenda thinks Amanda, an office manager at a hedge fund in the City of London, started drinking to deal with the anxiety of having to face unaffordable bills to fix the cladding, running into the tens of thousands.

"I'm not ashamed for her for that because it was her way of coping. She used the term 'seeking oblivion'."

Amanda wrote countless letters to MPs, local authorities and other responsible bodies - but "always got the statutory response", her mother continues.

"There are still over a million people in this situation and [MPs and civil servants] would write these platitudinous letters saying 'oh we're doing this, we're doing that'."

She doesn't just see those as unhelpful - but as evidence that nobody really understood the scale of the problem and how seriously it was affecting people.

The government did eventually launch a scheme - the Building Safety Fund - to pay to remove the type of dangerous cladding that is on the outside of Amanda's flat.

She was hoping that changes enshrined in a separate landmark law called the Building Safety Act - brought in after the Grenfell tragedy - would help her correct internal fire safety defects, like insufficient fire stopping between flats.

But they didn't. There were significant exceptions to who qualified.

Since some of the other flat owners in her development had bought a share of the building's freehold, she became what's known as a "non-qualifying" leaseholder - meaning she still faced huge uncapped bills to contribute towards the repair costs.

Several proposed amendments to the Building Safety Act that would've protected people in Amanda's position were voted down in the last parliament.

What always scared Amanda was the threat of having to pay unpayable sums. She described it as a "sword of Damocles over my head for three long years". For a brief moment there was hope. "And then they vote against us, on everything," she told peers.

Amanda's drinking increased and her family sought medical help. She agreed to be hospitalised. GPs and psychiatrists were clear in their reports: Amanda's drinking, stress and anxiety were down to the impact of the cladding crisis on her mental state. She was prescribed anti-depressants.

She continued campaigning with her mother, but things began to spiral downhill.

Glenda believes the anti-depressants she was given were not benefiting her. "I think she was over-medicated and her head was all over the place. She wasn't depressed, she kept saying: 'I am not depressed, I'm angry.'"

Amanda's partner split up with her as cladding campaigning consumed more and more of her life. Her mother and sister would make trips to see her to try to offer support.

• If you've been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line

Things came to a head one day this January.

Glenda was growing ever-more nervous about her daughter, and knew she needed urgent medical attention.

She says she'd written a "fairly assertive" letter to a hospital where her daughter had been previously treated, warning her condition was getting serious.

Travelling to London through the rain, she found herself "phoning and phoning and phoning" the hospital to try to get doctors to intervene again.

The following day Amanda was found dead.

Asked if she'd ever thought that her daughter might kill herself, Glenda says: "Manda had talked about it. She'd talked about it."

She says she can understand her daughter's state of mind that weekend.

"Yeah, I've seen it so often. I'm different from her and she felt despair… She wanted justice and she felt it was just awful. I think she lost faith in the government completely."

The government says that work is already underway through the Remediation Acceleration Plan "to make sure those responsible for the cladding crisis pay their fair share".

It says it is "continuing to look at all options to ensure residents no longer have to deal with the nightmare of living in unsafe buildings".

Amanda's flat has now passed to her parents to deal with.

Its exterior cladding has now been replaced and they are trying to sell - but they still haven't been able to, due to structural fire issues inside the property.

Unless the Building Safety Act is amended by fresh legislation, Amanda's parents or any future purchaser will be liable for paying to fix those problems.

Amanda's mother hopes that speaking about her daughter's death has not been in vain, and that her story can be a catalyst.

"You go through grief… and perhaps the anger's getting in there a little bit now.

"For her sake, we'd love to think that she had caused some small change."

Cyclone Chido has killed 94 people in Mozambique since it made landfall in the east African country last week, local authorities have said.

The country's National Institute of Risk and Disaster Management (INGD) said 768 people were injured and more than 622,000 people affected by the natural disaster in some capacity.

Chido hit Mozambique on 15 December with winds of 260 km/h (160mph) and 250mm of rainfall in the first 24 hours.

The same cyclone had first wreaked havoc in the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, before moving on to Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

In Mozambique, the storm struck northern provinces that are regularly battered by cyclones. It first reached Cabo Delgado, then travelled further inland to Niassa and Nampula.

The country's INGD said the cyclone impacted the education and health sector. More than 109,793 students were affected, with school infrastructure severely damaged.

Some 52 sanitary units were damaged, the INGD said, which further risks access to essential health services. This is exacerbated further in areas where access to healthcare facilities were already limited before the cyclone.

Daniel Chapo, leader of Mozambique's ruling party, told local media the government is mobilising support on "all levels" in response to the cyclone.

Speaking during a visit to Cabo Delgado on Sunday, one of the most badly affected areas, Chapo said the government is working alongside the INGD to ensure those affected in the provinces of Mecúfi, Nampula, Memba and Niassa can rebuild.

In Mayotte, Chido was the worst storm to hit the archipelago in 90 years, leaving tens of thousands of people reeling from the catastrophe.

The interior ministry in its latest update confirmed 35 people had died.

Mayotte's prefect previously told local media the death toll could rise significantly once the damage was fully assessed, warning it would "definitely be several hundred" and could reach thousands.

More than 1,300 officers were deployed to support the local population.

One week on, many residents still lack basic necessities, while running water is making a gradual return to the territory's capital. The ministry has advised people to boil water for three minutes before consuming it.

Around 100 tonnes of equipment are being delivered each day, the ministry said, as an air bridge was built between Mayotte, Reunion and mainland France.

In a statement on Friday, interior minister Bruno Retailleau said 80 tonnes of food and 50 tonnes of water had been distributed across Mayotte that day.

Tropical cyclones are characterised by very high wind speeds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges, which are short-term rises to sea-levels. This often causes widespread damage and flooding.

The cyclone, the INGD said, "highlights once again, the vulnerability of social infrastructures to climate change and the need for resilient planning to mitigate future impacts".

Assessing the exact influence of climate change on individual tropical cyclones can be challenging due to the complexity of these storm systems. But rising temperatures do affect these storms in measurable ways.

The UN's climate body, the IPCC, previously said there is "high confidence" that humans have contributed to increases in precipitation associated with tropical cyclones, and "medium confidence" that humans have contributed to the higher probability of a tropical cyclone being more intense.

Magdeburg's Christmas market is a sad sight. This should have been the busiest weekend of the season, but the whole area has been cordoned off and all the stands are shut.

Police are the only people walking around the boarded-up mulled wine and gingerbread stalls.

On the pavement, red candles flicker, tributes laid for the victims.

Lukas, a truck driver, told me he felt compelled to come to pay his respects. "I wasn't there when it happened," he told me.

"But I work here in Magdeburg. I'm here every day. I've driven by here a thousand times."

"It's a tragedy for everyone here in Magdeburg. The perpetrator should be punished."

"We can only hope that the victims and their families find the strength to deal with it."

There is sorrow here – but there is anger too.

Many people here see this attack as a terrible lapse in security. That is a claim the authorities reject, although they have admitted the attacker entered the market using a route planned for emergency responders.

Michael, who also came to pay tributes to the victims, said "there should've been better security".

"We should have been prepared better but that was not done properly."

• Investigation: Police probe market security and warnings about suspect
• Explained: What we know so far about Magdeburg Christmas market attack
• From the scene: Eyewitness heard rumbling and shattering glass

Standing at the security cordon, I heard a group of locals complaining loudly about Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional politicians.

"They are wasting our tax money, they are just looking out for themselves. They are not interested in us. We just hear empty promises," one man said.

"They are turning what happened here around and want to put the blame on the opposition and use it for their election campaign," he said.

On Saturday evening, around the same time as the square in front of Magdeburg's Gothic cathedral was filled with mourners watching a memorial service, a demonstration took place nearby.

Protesters held a banner that read "Remigration now!" – a concept popular among the far-right – and shouted "those who do not love Germany should leave Germany".

It is not clear yet what impact this attack may have on Germany's upcoming election.

Germany has been hit by a number of deadly Islamist attacks in the past, but investigators said the evidence they have gathered so far suggests a different picture in this case.

Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the suspect appears to have been "Islamophobic".

The suspect, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, is from Saudi Arabia, and his social media posts suggest he had been critical of Islam.

He also expressed sympathy on social media for Germany's far-right political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), re-tweeting posts from the party's leader and a far-right activist.

A Church of England priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed to a senior role during the Archbishop of York's time as Bishop of Chelmsford, the BBC can reveal.

A BBC investigation previously revealed how David Tudor remained in post nine years after Stephen Cottrell was first told of concerns about him.

New information shows Tudor's contract as area dean in Essex was renewed in 2013 and 2018, at which times Mr Cottrell knew he had paid compensation to a woman who says she was abused by him as a child.

The Archbishop of York said he regrets his handling of the case, with a spokesperson saying "he acknowledges this could have been handled differently".

They added that "all the risks around David Tudor were regularly reviewed" and that was the "main focus".

Rachel Ford, who told the investigation she was groomed by Tudor as a child, said the renewal of his contract as area dean was "an insult to all of his victims".

Ms Ford added that if responsibility for that lay with Mr Cottrell, it strengthened her feeling that he should resign.

The pressure on Mr Cottrell comes at a time of turmoil in the Church of England following a damning report into how it covered up prolific abuse by the barrister John Smyth.

The report led to the resignation of the Church's most senior figure, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Mr Cottrell will take over his role temporarily for a few months in the New Year.

The BBC investigation showed Mr Cottrell was briefed in his first week as Bishop of Chelmsford about serious safeguarding issues surrounding Tudor.

These included that Tudor was convicted of indecently assaulting three underage girls and was jailed for six months in 1988, although the conviction was quashed on technical grounds. Mr Cottrell would also have known Tudor served a five-year ban from ministry.

By 2012, Mr Cottrell also knew Tudor had paid a £10,000 settlement to a woman who says she was sexually abused by him from the age of 11. In 2018, the Church of England issued an apology and a six-figure pay-out to another alleged victim.

Yet the priest was suspended only in 2019 when a police investigation was launched after another woman came forward alleging Tudor had abused her in the 1980s.

When first responding to the BBC's investigation, the Archbishop of York said he was "deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier", insisting he had acted at the first opportunity that was legally available to him.

Mr Cottrell also said he had been faced with a "horrible and intolerable" situation and that it was "awful to live with and to manage".

When Mr Cottrell became bishop in 2010, Tudor was into the second year of a five-year term as an area dean, a role overseeing 12 parishes in Essex.

His appointment to that post, under a different bishop, happened despite him working under a safeguarding agreement that barred him from being alone with children and entering schools.

The title was renewed twice under Mr Cottrell - in 2013 and 2018 - and he lost the title only when the term of office expired in 2020. It was not taken from him.

A spokesperson for the Archbishop said he "accepts responsibility for David Tudor remaining as Area Dean".

"No-one advised him that David Tudor should not continue as an Area Dean," said the Archbishop's office.

Another of Tudor's victims, who does not want to be identified, said she was "shocked and disappointed" to hear his tenure as area dean was twice renewed during Mr Cottrell's time as Bishop of Chelmsford.

"These are not the actions of a bishop dealing with a situation that was intolerable to him, in fact, quite the opposite. I call on him to do the honourable thing for the sake of the Church and resign," she says.

In 2015, under Mr Cottrell, Tudor was also made honorary canon of Chelmsford Cathedral.

The Archbishop's office insisted it happened because of a change in Church policy during Mr Cottrell's time as Bishop of Chelmsford, meaning area deans were automatically made honorary canons.

It was "not a promotion and not a personal reward".

However, a social media post from Tudor's Canvey Island parish in July 2015 suggests it was seen there as a reward.

Tudor's "hard work, determination and commitment to this place have been recognised by the diocese and this new position in the Church is very well-deserved," it said.

The BBC has also seen evidence - in leaked minutes from internal Church meetings in 2018 and 2019 - that Tudor's titles of area dean and honorary canon were discussed and there had been a suggestion Mr Cottrell could immediately have taken them away.

In October 2018, a meeting at Church House - the London headquarters of the Church of England - heard that Chelmsford diocese took the view that if Tudor "can be a parish priest, he can undertake the other roles".

A bishop from another diocese said "the Bishop of Chelmsford could remove DT's [David Tudor's] Canon and Area Dean titles straight away".

But in a follow-up discussion in November 2018, Chelmsford diocese advised it would not be appropriate because of "the difficulty of removing those titles without explaining why."

We asked Mr Cottrell's office why he had not followed the suggestion to remove Tudor's titles. We were told "it would not be appropriate to comment on any notes or decisions from a core group process which are confidential".

The investigation also highlighted the significant role played by former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey in the case.

We revealed Lord Carey had agreed to Tudor's return to priesthood after being suspended in 1989, and had also agreed to have Tudor's name removed from the list of clergy that had faced disciplinary action. He had also advocated for the priest.

After the BBC put this information to the former Archbishop of Canterbury, he wrote to give up his "permission to officiate", ending more than 65 years of ministry in the Church of England. Lord Carey made the announcement on Tuesday.

In October 2024, Tudor admitted sexual misconduct and was sacked by the Church. At no point has he responded to the BBC's attempts to speak with him.

Usyk v Fury 2 - who won each round of heavyweight fight?

Magdeburg's Christmas market is a sad sight. This should have been the busiest weekend of the season, but the whole area has been cordoned off and all the stands are shut.

Police are the only people walking around the boarded-up mulled wine and gingerbread stalls.

On the pavement, red candles flicker, tributes laid for the victims.

Lukas, a truck driver, told me he felt compelled to come to pay his respects. "I wasn't there when it happened," he told me.

"But I work here in Magdeburg. I'm here every day. I've driven by here a thousand times."

"It's a tragedy for everyone here in Magdeburg. The perpetrator should be punished."

"We can only hope that the victims and their families find the strength to deal with it."

There is sorrow here – but there is anger too.

Many people here see this attack as a terrible lapse in security. That is a claim the authorities reject, although they have admitted the attacker entered the market using a route planned for emergency responders.

Michael, who also came to pay tributes to the victims, said "there should've been better security".

"We should have been prepared better but that was not done properly."

• Investigation: Police probe market security and warnings about suspect
• Explained: What we know so far about Magdeburg Christmas market attack
• From the scene: Eyewitness heard rumbling and shattering glass

Standing at the security cordon, I heard a group of locals complaining loudly about Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional politicians.

"They are wasting our tax money, they are just looking out for themselves. They are not interested in us. We just hear empty promises," one man said.

"They are turning what happened here around and want to put the blame on the opposition and use it for their election campaign," he said.

On Saturday evening, around the same time as the square in front of Magdeburg's Gothic cathedral was filled with mourners watching a memorial service, a demonstration took place nearby.

Protesters held a banner that read "Remigration now!" – a concept popular among the far-right – and shouted "those who do not love Germany should leave Germany".

It is not clear yet what impact this attack may have on Germany's upcoming election.

Germany has been hit by a number of deadly Islamist attacks in the past, but investigators said the evidence they have gathered so far suggests a different picture in this case.

Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the suspect appears to have been "Islamophobic".

The suspect, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, is from Saudi Arabia, and his social media posts suggest he had been critical of Islam.

He also expressed sympathy on social media for Germany's far-right political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), re-tweeting posts from the party's leader and a far-right activist.

Ukrainian sniper Oleksandr Matsievsky was captured by Russians in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Later, a video emerged showing him smoking his last cigarette in a forest, apparently next to a grave he had been forced to dig.

"Glory to Ukraine!" he says to his captors. Moments later, shots ring out and he falls dead.

His execution is one of many.

In October this year, nine captured Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly shot dead by Russian forces in Kursk region. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the case including a photo showing half-naked bodies lying on the ground. This photo was enough for one of the victims, drone operator Ruslan Holubenko, to be identified by his parents.

"I recognised him by his underwear," his distraught mother told local broadcaster Suspilne Chernihiv. "I bought it for him before a trip to the sea. I also knew that his shoulder had been shot through. You could see that in the picture."

The list of executions goes on. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating reports of beheadings and a sword being used to kill a Ukrainian soldier with his hands tied behind his back.

In another instance, a video showed 16 Ukrainian soldiers apparently being lined up and then mowed down with automatic gunfire after emerging from a woods to surrender.

Some of the executions were filmed by Russian forces themselves, while others were observed by Ukrainian drones hovering above.

The killings captured on such videos usually take place in woods or fields lacking distinctive features, which makes confirming their exact location difficult. BBC Verify, however, has been able to confirm in several cases - such as one beheading - that the victims wear Ukrainian uniforms and that the videos are recent.

Rising numbers

The Ukrainian prosecution service says that at least 147 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been executed by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion, 127 of them this year.

"The upward trend is very clear, very obvious," says Yuri Belousov, the head of the War Department at the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office.

"Executions became systemic from November last year and have continued throughout all of this year. Sadly, their number has been particularly on the rise this summer and autumn. This tells us that they are not isolated cases. They are happening across vast areas and they have clear signs of being part of a policy - there is evidence that instructions to this effect are being issued."

International humanitarian law - particularly the Third Geneva Convention - offers protection to prisoners of war, and executing them is a war crime.

Despite this, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Russia's Chechnya, briefly ordered his commanders involved in the Ukraine war "to take no prisoners".

Impunity

Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, says there is no shortage of evidence supporting allegations of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russian troops. According to her, impunity plays a key part, and the Russian army has some serious questions to answer.

"What instructions do these units have, either formally or informally from their commanders? Are their commanders being quite clear about what the Geneva Conventions say about the treatment of prisoners of war? What are Russian military commanders telling their units about their conduct? What steps is the chain of command taking to investigate these instances? And if higher ups are not investigating, or not taking steps to prevent that conduct, are they aware that they too are criminally liable and can be held accountable?" she asks.

So far, there has been nothing to suggest that Russia is formally investigating claims that its forces have been executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. Even mentioning similar allegations is punishable by lengthy prison sentences in Russia.

According to Vladimir Putin, Russian forces have "always" treated Ukrainian prisoners of war "strictly in line with international legal documents and international conventions".

Ukrainian forces have also been accused of executing Russian prisoners of war, but the number of such claims has been much smaller.

Yuri Belousov says that the Ukrainian prosecution service treats such accusations "very seriously" and is investigating them - but so far no one has been charged.

According to Human Rights Watch, since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 the Russian forces have committed "a litany of violations, including those which should be investigated as war crimes or crimes against humanity".

The Russian army's record of abuses is such that some Ukrainian soldiers prefer death to capture.

"He told me: Mum, I'll never surrender, never. Forgive me, I know you'll cry, but I don't want to be tortured," Ruslan Holubenko's mother says. Her son is still officially classed as missing in action, and she hopes against hope.

"I'll do everything that's possible and impossible to get my child back. I keep looking at this photo. Maybe he is just unconscious? I want to believe, I don't want to think that he's gone."

A Church of England priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed to a senior role during the Archbishop of York's time as Bishop of Chelmsford, the BBC can reveal.

A BBC investigation previously revealed how David Tudor remained in post nine years after Stephen Cottrell was first told of concerns about him.

New information shows Tudor's contract as area dean in Essex was renewed in 2013 and 2018, at which times Mr Cottrell knew he had paid compensation to a woman who says she was abused by him as a child.

The Archbishop of York said he regrets his handling of the case, with a spokesperson saying "he acknowledges this could have been handled differently".

They added that "all the risks around David Tudor were regularly reviewed" and that was the "main focus".

Rachel Ford, who told the investigation she was groomed by Tudor as a child, said the renewal of his contract as area dean was "an insult to all of his victims".

Ms Ford added that if responsibility for that lay with Mr Cottrell, it strengthened her feeling that he should resign.

The pressure on Mr Cottrell comes at a time of turmoil in the Church of England following a damning report into how it covered up prolific abuse by the barrister John Smyth.

The report led to the resignation of the Church's most senior figure, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Mr Cottrell will take over his role temporarily for a few months in the New Year.

The BBC investigation showed Mr Cottrell was briefed in his first week as Bishop of Chelmsford about serious safeguarding issues surrounding Tudor.

These included that Tudor was convicted of indecently assaulting three underage girls and was jailed for six months in 1988, although the conviction was quashed on technical grounds. Mr Cottrell would also have known Tudor served a five-year ban from ministry.

By 2012, Mr Cottrell also knew Tudor had paid a £10,000 settlement to a woman who says she was sexually abused by him from the age of 11. In 2018, the Church of England issued an apology and a six-figure pay-out to another alleged victim.

Yet the priest was suspended only in 2019 when a police investigation was launched after another woman came forward alleging Tudor had abused her in the 1980s.

When first responding to the BBC's investigation, the Archbishop of York said he was "deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier", insisting he had acted at the first opportunity that was legally available to him.

Mr Cottrell also said he had been faced with a "horrible and intolerable" situation and that it was "awful to live with and to manage".

When Mr Cottrell became bishop in 2010, Tudor was into the second year of a five-year term as an area dean, a role overseeing 12 parishes in Essex.

His appointment to that post, under a different bishop, happened despite him working under a safeguarding agreement that barred him from being alone with children and entering schools.

The title was renewed twice under Mr Cottrell - in 2013 and 2018 - and he lost the title only when the term of office expired in 2020. It was not taken from him.

A spokesperson for the Archbishop said he "accepts responsibility for David Tudor remaining as Area Dean".

"No-one advised him that David Tudor should not continue as an Area Dean," said the Archbishop's office.

Another of Tudor's victims, who does not want to be identified, said she was "shocked and disappointed" to hear his tenure as area dean was twice renewed during Mr Cottrell's time as Bishop of Chelmsford.

"These are not the actions of a bishop dealing with a situation that was intolerable to him, in fact, quite the opposite. I call on him to do the honourable thing for the sake of the Church and resign," she says.

In 2015, under Mr Cottrell, Tudor was also made honorary canon of Chelmsford Cathedral.

The Archbishop's office insisted it happened because of a change in Church policy during Mr Cottrell's time as Bishop of Chelmsford, meaning area deans were automatically made honorary canons.

It was "not a promotion and not a personal reward".

However, a social media post from Tudor's Canvey Island parish in July 2015 suggests it was seen there as a reward.

Tudor's "hard work, determination and commitment to this place have been recognised by the diocese and this new position in the Church is very well-deserved," it said.

The BBC has also seen evidence - in leaked minutes from internal Church meetings in 2018 and 2019 - that Tudor's titles of area dean and honorary canon were discussed and there had been a suggestion Mr Cottrell could immediately have taken them away.

In October 2018, a meeting at Church House - the London headquarters of the Church of England - heard that Chelmsford diocese took the view that if Tudor "can be a parish priest, he can undertake the other roles".

A bishop from another diocese said "the Bishop of Chelmsford could remove DT's [David Tudor's] Canon and Area Dean titles straight away".

But in a follow-up discussion in November 2018, Chelmsford diocese advised it would not be appropriate because of "the difficulty of removing those titles without explaining why."

We asked Mr Cottrell's office why he had not followed the suggestion to remove Tudor's titles. We were told "it would not be appropriate to comment on any notes or decisions from a core group process which are confidential".

The investigation also highlighted the significant role played by former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey in the case.

We revealed Lord Carey had agreed to Tudor's return to priesthood after being suspended in 1989, and had also agreed to have Tudor's name removed from the list of clergy that had faced disciplinary action. He had also advocated for the priest.

After the BBC put this information to the former Archbishop of Canterbury, he wrote to give up his "permission to officiate", ending more than 65 years of ministry in the Church of England. Lord Carey made the announcement on Tuesday.

In October 2024, Tudor admitted sexual misconduct and was sacked by the Church. At no point has he responded to the BBC's attempts to speak with him.

On Friday evening, a man ploughed a car into a crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg.

The attack has left five people dead and more than 200 injured, with many in a critical condition.

One man has been arrested over the attack, and police believe he was solely responsible.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travelled to Magdeburg on Saturday, and a city councillor declared Christmas over for the city.

How did the attack unfold?

Unverified footage on social media showed a black BMW travelling at high speeds through the pedestrian walkway between Christmas stalls.

Eyewitnesses described jumping out of the car's path, fleeing or hiding. One told the Reuters news agency that police were already at the venue and chased after the car before arresting the suspect.

Footage from verified sources showed armed police confronting and arresting a man who can be seen lying on the ground next to a stationary vehicle - a black BMW with significant damage to its front bumper.

BBC correspondent Damien McGuinness in Magdeburg reported that the market is "surrounded by concrete blocks". However, "there is a gap which is wide enough for pedestrians to go through, but tragically wide enough for a car to go into the Christmas market", he said.

City officials said around 100 police, medics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue service personnel rushed to the scene in the aftermath of the attack.

Images from the scene on Friday night showed an area outside the market awash with blue lights as dozens of first responders attended to the injured.

Who are the victims?

Five people have died in the attack, one of whom is a child.

More than 200 people have been injured and at least 41 are in a critical condition.

The toll had earlier been reported as two dead and 68 injured, but was revised to the much higher totals on Saturday morning.

None of the victims have been identified yet.

Who is the suspect?

German media has identified the suspect as Taleb A, a psychiatrist who lives in Bernburg, around 40km (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.

The motive behind the attack remains unclear, but authorities have reported that they believe he carried out the attack alone.

Originally from Saudi Arabia, he arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee.

He ran a website that aimed to help other former Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homelands.

Evidenced by social media posts, the suspect is an outspoken critic of Islam, and has promoted conspiracy theories regarding a plot to seek Islamic supremacy in Europe.

A report from Der Spiegel said a complaint was filed against Taleb A with the authorities a year ago over statements he made. Officials did not see any concrete threat, the report says.

What have officials said about the attack?

"The reports from Magdeburg raise the worst fears," the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on social media platform X.

Magdeburg's city councillor for public order, Ronni Krug, said the Christmas market will stay closed and that "Christmas in Magdeburg is over", according to German public broadcaster MDR.

That sentiment was echoed on the market's website, which in the wake of the attack featured only a black screen with words of mourning, announcing that the market was over.

The Saudi government expressed "solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims", in a statement on X, and "affirmed its rejection of violence".

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was "horrified by the atrocious attack in Magdeburg", adding that his thoughts were with "the victims, their families and all those affected" in a post on X on Friday night.

Grief and anger are boiling over in Magdeburg after an attacker used an access lane for emergency vehicles to drive into a Christmas market, killing five people and injuring hundreds.

On a visit on Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, ministers and regional political leaders were heckled by members of the public, some seemingly outraged by what was criticised as a lapse in security.

German authorities have defended the layout and security at the market.

Authorities are also facing questions after reports that they were warned last year about the suspect, with police saying they had conducted an evaluation as to whether the perpetrator might be a potential threat a year ago.

The suspect has been ordered into pre-trial detention and faces charges of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm.

• Full report: Five dead, more than 200 injured in attack
• Explained: What we know so far about Magdeburg Christmas market attack
• From the scene: Eyewitness heard rumbling and shattering glass

Usually at this time of the year, German city centres are full of shoppers and revellers drinking mulled wine, but this year the mood is very different.

The main Christmas market is cordoned off by tape and surrounded by police vans as armed officers patrol the shops and malls nearby.

There is sadness in the air in Magdeburg, as well as bafflement and anger, as people ask how could this have happened.

As Scholz and his colleagues walked out of the cordoned-off market during their visit on Saturday, they were met with booing and heckling and shouts of "hau ab", an extremely aggressive form of "get lost".

Some people seemed enraged by a perceived lapse in security. Others appeared simply annoyed and irritated in general at Germany's political leaders.

Security has ramped up at Christmas markets across Germany since a similar attack in Berlin in 2016 when a man drove a lorry into a market crowd, killing 12 people.

Open-plan Christmas markets now have some sort of barrier around them — typically large concrete blocks, which is the case in Magdeburg.

However, the gap in the barriers was large enough to allow emergency vehicles to pass through.

City official Ronni Krug told reporters at a press conference on Saturday that emergency responders needed an evacuation route in case of a "conventional" emergency, and all the relevant agencies approved the plan.

"A safety and security concept must, on the one hand, protect those visiting an event as much as possible, but also needs to ensure, at the same time, if something does happen, they are able to leave the site safely and rapidly", he said.

"Perhaps it is something that could not have been prevented", he added.

German media reported that before the attack, there had been warnings into a potential threat from the suspect.

The suspect, a doctor from Saudi Arabia named Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee.

An atheist, he ran a website that aimed to help other former Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homelands. His social media was full of anti-Islamic sentiment and conspiracy theories.

At Saturday's press conference, Magdeburg police chief Tom-Oliver Langhans said police had conducted an evaluation as to whether the perpetrator might be a potential threat, "but that discussion was one year ago".

He added that investigations into the suspect's past were ongoing and declined to comment further.

One of those tip-offs is believed to have come from Saudi Arabia, the suspect's home country.

A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it sent four official notifications known as "Notes Verbal" to German authorities, warning them about what they said were "the very extreme views" held by al-Abdulmohsen.

However, a counter-terrorism expert told the BBC the Saudis may have been mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.

On Saturday, Langhans said he did not have information when asked about Saudi Arabia issuing warnings.

Later, the head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, told public broadcaster ZDF that his office had received a notice from Saudi Arabia in November 2023. He said local police took appropriate investigative measures, but the matter was unspecific.

He added that the suspect "had various contacts with authorities, insulted them and even made threats, but he was not known for violent acts".

Past investigations would need to be revisited, Münch said.

Weather warnings for strong winds are set to come into force in parts of the UK on Saturday morning as millions of people take to the roads ahead of Christmas.

The Met Office says gusts could reach 50-60mph and disruption is expected on what motoring experts are predicting will the busiest weekend of motoring this year.

The yellow warning is in place from 07:00 GMT on Saturday to 21:00 GMT on Sunday for Scotland, North West and North East England, and parts of Wales and Northern Ireland.

The area covered by the warning widens on Sunday to take in South West England, Derbyshire, Hampshire, parts of the West Midlands and Yorkshire, and all of Wales and Northern Ireland.

Westerly winds are forecast to pick up over Saturday.

Forecasters say there was a small chance of gusts reaching 80mph in the far north of Scotland and Orkney and Shetland on Saturday afternoon and evening.

"Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard," the Met Office added.

Transport Scotland, said road, rail, air and ferry services are "all likely to be affected by the conditions" with cancellations and restrictions on bridges possible.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: "With the weekend bringing a mix of strong winds along with heavy, and in some places wintry, showers, it's going to make many of the estimated seven million getaway trips by car a pretty exhausting experience."

When non-leisure traffic is taken into account, nearly 14 million drivers are expected to take to road during the weekend - a new record, according to the RAC.

The winds are expected to ease by Monday, but a white Christmas is looking unlikely with cloud and rain expected to move in.

"Crisp blue skies and snow on the ground" are "decidedly unlikely" over Christmas, the Met Office said.

Christmas Day itself "will be a fairly cloudy, nondescript day", Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Rebekah Hicks added.

When Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Damascus and gave a victory speech on the heels of a lightning military campaign that swept through the country and toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime, one remark went widely unnoticed. That was his reference to an illegal narcotic that has flooded the Middle East over the past ten years.

"Syria has become the biggest producer of Captagon on earth," he said. "And today, Syria is going to be purified by the grace of God."

Mostly unknown outside of the Middle East, Captagon is an addictive, amphetamine-like pill, sometimes called "poor man's cocaine".

Its production has proliferated in Syria amid an economy broken by war, sanctions and the mass displacement of Syrians abroad. Authorities in neighbouring countries have struggled to cope with the smuggling of huge quantities of pills across their borders.

All the evidence pointed to Syria being the main source of Captogan's illicit trade with an annual value placed at $5.6bn (£4.5bn) by the World Bank.

At the scale that the pills were being produced and dispatched, the suspicion was that this was not simply the work of criminal gangs - but of an industry orchestrated by the regime itself.

Weeks on from the speech by al-Sharaa (previously known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani), spectacular images have emerged that suggest the suspicion was correct.

Videos filmed by Syrians raiding properties allegedly owned by relatives of Assad show rooms full of pills being made and packaged, hidden in fake industrial products.

Other footage shows piles of pills found in what appears to be a Syrian military airbase, set on fire by the rebels.

I spent a year investigating Captagon for a BBC World Service documentary and saw how the drug became as popular among the wealthy youth of Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia as it was among the working class in countries like Jordan.

"I was 19 years old, I started taking Captagon and my life started to fall apart," Yasser, a young male addict in a rehab clinic told us in Jordan's capital, Amman. "I started hanging out with people who take this thing. You work, you live without food, so the body is a wreck."

So how will al-Sharaa and his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), deal with the large number of people in Syria and around the Middle East addicted to Captagon who may suddenly find themselves without a supply?

Caroline Rose, an expert on Syrian drug trafficking at the New Lines Institute, has concerns around this. "My fear is that they will really crack down on supply and not necessarily try to do any sort of demand reduction."

But there is a broader question at play too: that is, what effect will the loss of such a lucrative trade have on Syria's economy? And as those behind it move aside, how will al-Sharaa keep at bay any other criminals waiting in the wings to replace them?

The narco-war in the Middle East

The proliferation of Captagon pushed the Middle East into a genuine narco-war.

While filming with the Jordanian army on their desert border with Syria, we saw how the soldiers had reinforced their fences and learned about their comrades who had been killed in shoot-outs with Captagon smugglers. They accused the Syrian soldiers across the border of aiding the smugglers.

Other countries in the region have been just as disturbed by the trade.

For a while, Saudi Arabia suspended imports of fruit and vegetables from Lebanon because authorities were frequently finding shipping containers full of produce like pomegranates which had been hollowed out and filled with bags of Captagon pills.

We filmed in five countries, including in regime-held and rebel-held Syria, consulted well-placed sources, and gained access to confidential records from court cases in Germany and Lebanon.

We were able to name two major parties as having their hands in the trade - Assad's extended family and the Syrian armed forces, in particular its Fourth Division, led by Assad's brother, Maher.

Questions surrounding Assad's brother

Maher al-Assad was perhaps the most powerful man in Syria aside from his brother.

He was sanctioned by many Western powers for the violence he wrought against protesters during the pro-democracy uprising in 2011 that precipitated the bloody civil war. The French judiciary has also issued an international arrest warrant for him and his brother for their alleged responsibility in chemical weapons attacks in Syria in 2013.

Gaining access to the WhatsApp chats of a Captagon trader imprisoned in Lebanon, we were able to implicate Maher al-Assad's Fourth Division and his second-in-command, General Ghassan Bilal.

The revelation was a huge milestone in confirming the role of Syria's armed forces and Bashar al-Assad's inner circle in the trade.

Seeing the recent images of demoralised Syrian army troops fleeing without a fight as the rebels advanced, I was reminded of an interview we conducted with a regime soldier last year.

He told us his monthly army pay of $30 (£24) barely covered three days of food for his family, so his unit became involved in criminality and Captagon.

"It's what brings most of the money now," he said.

In May 2023, the Arab League agreed to re-admit Syria 12 years after it was expelled for violently suppressing the popular uprising. It was seen as a diplomatic coup for Assad, using promises to tackle the Captagon trade as leverage to be rehabilitated.

Can the rebel leaders crack down?

Now, as Syria's rebel leaders consolidate their power over the organs of state, it seems they are fully aware of positive signals they are sending to wary neighbouring states when they promise to crack down on the Captagon trade.

But it might be a steeper task for them to wrest the country away from a lucrative criminal enterprise after so many years when it was encouraged by the state itself.

Issam Al Reis was a major engineer in the Syrian army until he defected at the beginning of the uprising against the Assad regime, and has spent time investigating the Captagon trade. He believes that HTS will not need to do much to stop the trade initially "because the main players have left" and there's already been a dramatic drop in Captagon exports - but he warns that "new guys" might be waiting in the wings to take over.

This will be particularly problematic if the demand side isn't tackled too. There is little evidence of investment in rehabilitation from the time HTS controlled Idlib province in north-west Syria, according to Ms Rose. "[There was a] very poor picture for trying to address Captagon consumption," she says.

She also says there has already been an uptick in another drug being trafficked through Syria.

"I think many users will seek out crystal meth as an alternative, especially users who have already established a tolerance to Captagon and need something that's a bit more strong."

The other problem, as Mr Al Reis points out, is a financial one. As he puts it: "Syrians need the money."

His hope is that the international community will help prevent people entering the drug trade through humanitarian aid and easing sanctions.

But Ms Rose argues the new leaders will need to identify a "new and alternative economic pathways to encourage Syrians to participate in the licit formal economy."

While the kingpins have fled, many of those involved in manufacturing and smuggling the drug remain inside the country, she said.

"And old habits die hard."

Additional reporting by George Wright

Top picture credit: Getty Images

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Driving into Mezzeh 86, a working-class neighbourhood in the west of Damascus, we are waved through a checkpoint manned by fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Buildings are rundown and in need of repairs.

This area is dominated by people from Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam whose members make up one of Syria's biggest religious minorities.

Alawites controlled power in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country for the 50 years of the Assad family's rule, holding top positions in the government, military and intelligence services.

Now, many from the community fear reprisals following the overthrow of the Assad regime by rebels led by HTS, a Sunni Islamist group that was once al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

Dozens of Alawites who we had contacted by phone had refused to speak to us, with many saying they were scared.

In Mezzeh 86, the presence of HTS fighters at a checkpoint did not appear to be a source of anxiety.

Many Alawites did come up and speak with us - keen to distance themselves from Assad's regime.

"During the Assad regime, the stereotype about the Alawites is that they got all the work opportunities and that they are wealthy. But, in fact, most Alawites are poor and you'll only find one among a thousand who is rich," said Mohammad Shaheen, a 26-year-old pharmacy student.

"Even when HTS went to Alawite villages near the coast, they found all villages were poor. Only the Assad family amassed wealth," he added, referring to the Alawite heartland in the country's west.

Hasan Dawood, a shopkeeper, chimed in: "We were slaves for him - drivers, cooks and cleaners."

There's also a sense of betrayal.

"Bashar was a traitor. And the way he fled was cowardly. He should have at least addressed people and told us what was happening. He left without a word, which made the situation chaotic," said Mohammad.

But people from the Alawite community, and indeed from this neighbourhood, did serve in Assad's brutal security forces. Do they fear reprisals against them, we asked.

"Those who were in the military and did bad things have fled. No-one knows where they are. They are afraid of revenge," said Thaier Shaheen, a construction worker.

"But people who don't have blood on their hands, they are not scared, and have stayed back."

There have been reports of a few reprisal killings in parts of the country, but so far there is no evidence to suggest they were carried out by HTS.

"Until now, we are OK. We are talking to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and they are respectful. But there are people who aren't from HTS but pretend to be them who are making threats. They want our society to fail and they are the ones we are scared of," said Mohammad.

After taking control of Damascus, HTS and its allies said those from the deposed regime who had been involved in torture and killings would be held to account, although it is unclear so far what form that justice will take.

HTS also said that the rights and freedoms of religious and ethnic minorities would be protected.

The group has a jihadist past which it has distanced itself from. But it has an Islamist present, and many are asking what that will mean for Syria's plural society.

"I'm so happy because the Assad regime fell. This is like a dream come true. No-one wants to live under dictatorship. But there is concern. I have to be realistic," said Youssef Sabbagh, a Christian lawyer.

"HTS are here now, and they are an Islamic militia. That's what they are. I wish, I pray they will be a modern Islamic militia."

"I speak not just as a Christian, a lot of Syrians, Muslims and everyone, we don't want Syria to become another Afghanistan, we don't want to become a new Libya. We have already suffered a lot."

Syria's Christian community is one of the oldest in the world, with the country home to some renowned holy sites.

When the uprising against Assad began in 2011, Christians were initially cautious about taking sides, but eventually members from the community fought on both sides of the conflict.

In the past week, the Archbishop of Homs, Jacques Murad, told the BBC there had already been three meetings with HTS, and they had been able to express their views and concerns honestly.

So far, the signs are re-assuring for many Christians.

Bars and restaurants serving alcohol are open in the Christian quarter of Old Damascus and in other parts of the city. Christmas decorations are also up in many places.

At a restaurant in the Old City, we met lawyer Ouday al-Khayat, who is a Shia Muslim.

"There's no doubt that there's anticipation and anxiety. The signs that come from HTS are good, but we must wait and watch," he said.

"It's not possible to know the opinions of all Shia but there is a concern about a scenario similar to Libya or Iraq. I believe, though, that Syria is different. Syrian society has been diverse for a very long time."

We drove around 110km (70 miles) south-east of Damascus, through black volcanic hills, to the city of Suweida, which is home to most of Syria's Druze population.

The Druze faith is another offshoot of Shia Islam, but has its own unique identity and beliefs.

Many Druze were loyal to the Assad regime, who they believed would protect minorities.

But opposition grew steadily during the war, and there were frequent protests in recent years.

The latest started in Suweida's central square in August 2023 and continued until the day the regime fell.

Activist Wajiha al-Hajjar believes that the protests were not brutally cracked down on like others in Syria, because Assad wanted to show the world and his foreign allies that he was protecting minorities.

"They did try to suppress our protest but in a different way - not through weapons or shelling, but by depriving us of passports and civil rights, and access to official documents. It became difficult to leave Suweida and a kind of siege was imposed," she said.

Hundreds still gather at the square every day. When we visited, there was an air of celebration. Songs were blaring on a loudspeaker, and young girls and boys were doing a gymnastics performance, their families clapping and cheering for them.

"We are celebrating the fall of the regime, but this gathering is also a show of strength. In the event that there is an extreme regime with extreme laws, we are prepared to stay in this square and demand our rights and demand equality," Wajiha said.

Suweida had a quasi-autonomous status under Assad, and the Druze want that to continue.

It is just one example of the diversity and complexity of Syrian society, and the challenges facing the country's new government.

Additional reporting by Aamir Peerzada, Leen Al-Saadi and Sanjay Ganguly

A Church of England priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed to a senior role during the Archbishop of York's time as Bishop of Chelmsford, the BBC can reveal.

A BBC investigation previously revealed how David Tudor remained in post nine years after Stephen Cottrell was first told of concerns about him.

New information shows Tudor's contract as area dean in Essex was renewed in 2013 and 2018, at which times Mr Cottrell knew he had paid compensation to a woman who says she was abused by him as a child.

The Archbishop of York said he regrets his handling of the case, with a spokesperson saying "he acknowledges this could have been handled differently".

They added that "all the risks around David Tudor were regularly reviewed" and that was the "main focus".

Rachel Ford, who told the investigation she was groomed by Tudor as a child, said the renewal of his contract as area dean was "an insult to all of his victims".

Ms Ford added that if responsibility for that lay with Mr Cottrell, it strengthened her feeling that he should resign.

The pressure on Mr Cottrell comes at a time of turmoil in the Church of England following a damning report into how it covered up prolific abuse by the barrister John Smyth.

The report led to the resignation of the Church's most senior figure, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Mr Cottrell will take over his role temporarily for a few months in the New Year.

The BBC investigation showed Mr Cottrell was briefed in his first week as Bishop of Chelmsford about serious safeguarding issues surrounding Tudor.

These included that Tudor was convicted of indecently assaulting three underage girls and was jailed for six months in 1988, although the conviction was quashed on technical grounds. Mr Cottrell would also have known Tudor served a five-year ban from ministry.

By 2012, Mr Cottrell also knew Tudor had paid a £10,000 settlement to a woman who says she was sexually abused by him from the age of 11. In 2018, the Church of England issued an apology and a six-figure pay-out to another alleged victim.

Yet the priest was suspended only in 2019 when a police investigation was launched after another woman came forward alleging Tudor had abused her in the 1980s.

When first responding to the BBC's investigation, the Archbishop of York said he was "deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier", insisting he had acted at the first opportunity that was legally available to him.

Mr Cottrell also said he had been faced with a "horrible and intolerable" situation and that it was "awful to live with and to manage".

When Mr Cottrell became bishop in 2010, Tudor was into the second year of a five-year term as an area dean, a role overseeing 12 parishes in Essex.

His appointment to that post, under a different bishop, happened despite him working under a safeguarding agreement that barred him from being alone with children and entering schools.

The title was renewed twice under Mr Cottrell - in 2013 and 2018 - and he lost the title only when the term of office expired in 2020. It was not taken from him.

A spokesperson for the Archbishop said he "accepts responsibility for David Tudor remaining as Area Dean".

"No-one advised him that David Tudor should not continue as an Area Dean," said the Archbishop's office.

Another of Tudor's victims, who does not want to be identified, said she was "shocked and disappointed" to hear his tenure as area dean was twice renewed during Mr Cottrell's time as Bishop of Chelmsford.

"These are not the actions of a bishop dealing with a situation that was intolerable to him, in fact, quite the opposite. I call on him to do the honourable thing for the sake of the Church and resign," she says.

In 2015, under Mr Cottrell, Tudor was also made honorary canon of Chelmsford Cathedral.

The Archbishop's office insisted it happened because of a change in Church policy during Mr Cottrell's time as Bishop of Chelmsford, meaning area deans were automatically made honorary canons.

It was "not a promotion and not a personal reward".

However, a social media post from Tudor's Canvey Island parish in July 2015 suggests it was seen there as a reward.

Tudor's "hard work, determination and commitment to this place have been recognised by the diocese and this new position in the Church is very well-deserved," it said.

The BBC has also seen evidence - in leaked minutes from internal Church meetings in 2018 and 2019 - that Tudor's titles of area dean and honorary canon were discussed and there had been a suggestion Mr Cottrell could immediately have taken them away.

In October 2018, a meeting at Church House - the London headquarters of the Church of England - heard that Chelmsford diocese took the view that if Tudor "can be a parish priest, he can undertake the other roles".

A bishop from another diocese said "the Bishop of Chelmsford could remove DT's [David Tudor's] Canon and Area Dean titles straight away".

But in a follow-up discussion in November 2018, Chelmsford diocese advised it would not be appropriate because of "the difficulty of removing those titles without explaining why."

We asked Mr Cottrell's office why he had not followed the suggestion to remove Tudor's titles. We were told "it would not be appropriate to comment on any notes or decisions from a core group process which are confidential".

The investigation also highlighted the significant role played by former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey in the case.

We revealed Lord Carey had agreed to Tudor's return to priesthood after being suspended in 1989, and had also agreed to have Tudor's name removed from the list of clergy that had faced disciplinary action. He had also advocated for the priest.

After the BBC put this information to the former Archbishop of Canterbury, he wrote to give up his "permission to officiate", ending more than 65 years of ministry in the Church of England. Lord Carey made the announcement on Tuesday.

In October 2024, Tudor admitted sexual misconduct and was sacked by the Church. At no point has he responded to the BBC's attempts to speak with him.

The US military says it has carried out a series of air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa targeting a missile storage site and command facilities operated by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

US Central Command added it also hit multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea.

It comes hours after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel which injured more than a dozen people in a Tel Aviv park.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls north-western Yemen, began attacking Israel and international shipping shortly after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

In a statement, the US military's Central Command said the strikes aimed to "disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden".

The US military also said it struck "multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, or drones, and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea".

American F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets were used in the operation, the US Central Command added.

• Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking Red Sea ships?

Since November 2023, Houthi missile attacks have sunk two vessels in the Red Sea and damaged others. They have claimed, often falsely, that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

Last December, the US, UK and 12 other nations launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect Red Sea shipping lanes against the attacks.

On Saturday, Israel's military said its attempts to shoot down a projectile launched from Yemen were unsuccessful and the missile struck a park in Tel Aviv.

Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's emergency medical service, said it treated 16 people who were "mildly injured" by glass shards from shattered windows in nearby buildings.

Another 14 people suffered minor injuries on their way to protected areas were also treated, it said.

A Houthi spokesman said the group hit a military target using a hypersonic ballistic missile.

Earlier this week, Israel conducted a series of strikes against what it said were Houthi military targets, hitting ports as well as energy infrastructure in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that nine people were killed in the port of Salif and the Ras Issa oil terminal.

The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks until the war in Gaza ends. The US says its latest strike is part of a commitment to protect itself and its allies.

Amanda Walker felt trapped in a flat she couldn't sell because of its flammable cladding.

When it turned out that no government scheme would cover the costs of removing the dangerous material from her newly built flat in south London, she started campaigning.

She spent four years trying to get justice for herself, and for millions caught up in the scandal exposed by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Then, at the age of 51, she was found dead in her one-bedroom apartment by her mother and sister. An inquest recently recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.

"She would often phone me late at night when she just couldn't deal with it any more," her mother Glenda recalls.

"I wish she could phone me now."

Half a year earlier, in July 2023, Amanda had addressed peers in the House of Lords investigating the impact of the cladding problem on flat owners.

"It's devastating. It's just a quagmire. It's just chaos," she told them. "It's so unjust. I had done nothing wrong and it's destroyed my life already."

The video of Amanda's address to the Lords is now treasured by her mother, who's speaking for the first time since the inquest's verdict.

Glenda thinks Amanda, an office manager at a hedge fund in the City of London, started drinking to deal with the anxiety of having to face unaffordable bills to fix the cladding, running into the tens of thousands.

"I'm not ashamed for her for that because it was her way of coping. She used the term 'seeking oblivion'."

Amanda wrote countless letters to MPs, local authorities and other responsible bodies - but "always got the statutory response", her mother continues.

"There are still over a million people in this situation and [MPs and civil servants] would write these platitudinous letters saying 'oh we're doing this, we're doing that'."

She doesn't just see those as unhelpful - but as evidence that nobody really understood the scale of the problem and how seriously it was affecting people.

The government did eventually launch a scheme - the Building Safety Fund - to pay to remove the type of dangerous cladding that is on the outside of Amanda's flat.

She was hoping that changes enshrined in a separate landmark law called the Building Safety Act - brought in after the Grenfell tragedy - would help her correct internal fire safety defects, like insufficient fire stopping between flats.

But they didn't. There were significant exceptions to who qualified.

Since some of the other flat owners in her development had bought a share of the building's freehold, she became what's known as a "non-qualifying" leaseholder - meaning she still faced huge uncapped bills to contribute towards the repair costs.

Several proposed amendments to the Building Safety Act that would've protected people in Amanda's position were voted down in the last parliament.

What always scared Amanda was the threat of having to pay unpayable sums. She described it as a "sword of Damocles over my head for three long years". For a brief moment there was hope. "And then they vote against us, on everything," she told peers.

Amanda's drinking increased and her family sought medical help. She agreed to be hospitalised. GPs and psychiatrists were clear in their reports: Amanda's drinking, stress and anxiety were down to the impact of the cladding crisis on her mental state. She was prescribed anti-depressants.

She continued campaigning with her mother, but things began to spiral downhill.

Glenda believes the anti-depressants she was given were not benefiting her. "I think she was over-medicated and her head was all over the place. She wasn't depressed, she kept saying: 'I am not depressed, I'm angry.'"

Amanda's partner split up with her as cladding campaigning consumed more and more of her life. Her mother and sister would make trips to see her to try to offer support.

• If you've been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line

Things came to a head one day this January.

Glenda was growing ever-more nervous about her daughter, and knew she needed urgent medical attention.

She says she'd written a "fairly assertive" letter to a hospital where her daughter had been previously treated, warning her condition was getting serious.

Travelling to London through the rain, she found herself "phoning and phoning and phoning" the hospital to try to get doctors to intervene again.

The following day Amanda was found dead.

Asked if she'd ever thought that her daughter might kill herself, Glenda says: "Manda had talked about it. She'd talked about it."

She says she can understand her daughter's state of mind that weekend.

"Yeah, I've seen it so often. I'm different from her and she felt despair… She wanted justice and she felt it was just awful. I think she lost faith in the government completely."

The government says that work is already underway through the Remediation Acceleration Plan "to make sure those responsible for the cladding crisis pay their fair share".

It says it is "continuing to look at all options to ensure residents no longer have to deal with the nightmare of living in unsafe buildings".

Amanda's flat has now passed to her parents to deal with.

Its exterior cladding has now been replaced and they are trying to sell - but they still haven't been able to, due to structural fire issues inside the property.

Unless the Building Safety Act is amended by fresh legislation, Amanda's parents or any future purchaser will be liable for paying to fix those problems.

Amanda's mother hopes that speaking about her daughter's death has not been in vain, and that her story can be a catalyst.

"You go through grief… and perhaps the anger's getting in there a little bit now.

"For her sake, we'd love to think that she had caused some small change."

A man accused of murdering four women and a nine-year-old boy by driving a car into them at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has been remanded in custody.

The 50-year-old was brought before Magdeburg district court on Saturday evening following the incident on Friday when a black BMW car ploughed through the crowded market injuring more than 200 people.

Magdeburg Police said investigations are continuing and officers are appealing for witnesses to send in photos or video of the incident.

The suspect has been named in local media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had worked as a doctor.

On Sunday morning, Magdeburg police confirmed four women - aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 - were also killed in the incident.

"The judge ordered pre-trial detention for five counts of murder, multiple attempted murder and multiple counts of dangerous bodily harm," its statement said.

City officials said around 100 police, medics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue service personnel, went to the scene shortly after 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Friday.

Witnesses described how they had to jump out of the car's path during the attack.

In an interview with German paper Bild, one woman called Nadine described being at the Christmas market with her boyfriend Marco when the car came speeding towards them.

"He was hit and pulled away from my side," the 32-year-old told the paper. "It was terrible."

Lars Frohmüller, a reporter for German public broadcaster MDR, told BBC Radio 4's World Tonight programme he saw "blood on the floor" as well as "many doctors trying to keep people warm and help them with their injuries".

• What we know so far about Magdeburg market attack
• Eyewitness saw car hit boyfriend in attack
• Reporter describes 'chaotic situation'

A memorial service for victims of the attack was held at Magdeburg Cathedral on Saturday evening

The service was attended by families of the victims, emergency workers and federal government officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

During a visit to the market earlier on Saturday, Scholz described the attack as a "dreadful tragedy" as "so many people were injured and killed with such brutality" in a place that is supposed to be "joyful".

He told reporters that there were serious concerns for those who had been critically injured and that "all resources" will be allocated to investigating the suspect behind the attack.

Previously, Reiner Haseloff, the premier of Saxony-Anhalt state, said a preliminary investigation suggested the alleged attacker was acting alone.

On Friday evening, a man ploughed a car into a crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg.

The attack has left five people dead and more than 200 injured, with many in a critical condition.

One man has been arrested over the attack, and police believe he was solely responsible.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travelled to Magdeburg on Saturday, and a city councillor declared Christmas over for the city.

How did the attack unfold?

Unverified footage on social media showed a black BMW travelling at high speeds through the pedestrian walkway between Christmas stalls.

Eyewitnesses described jumping out of the car's path, fleeing or hiding. One told the Reuters news agency that police were already at the venue and chased after the car before arresting the suspect.

Footage from verified sources showed armed police confronting and arresting a man who can be seen lying on the ground next to a stationary vehicle - a black BMW with significant damage to its front bumper.

BBC correspondent Damien McGuinness in Magdeburg reported that the market is "surrounded by concrete blocks". However, "there is a gap which is wide enough for pedestrians to go through, but tragically wide enough for a car to go into the Christmas market", he said.

City officials said around 100 police, medics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue service personnel rushed to the scene in the aftermath of the attack.

Images from the scene on Friday night showed an area outside the market awash with blue lights as dozens of first responders attended to the injured.

Who are the victims?

Five people have died in the attack, one of whom is a child.

More than 200 people have been injured and at least 41 are in a critical condition.

The toll had earlier been reported as two dead and 68 injured, but was revised to the much higher totals on Saturday morning.

None of the victims have been identified yet.

Who is the suspect?

German media has identified the suspect as Taleb A, a psychiatrist who lives in Bernburg, around 40km (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.

The motive behind the attack remains unclear, but authorities have reported that they believe he carried out the attack alone.

Originally from Saudi Arabia, he arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee.

He ran a website that aimed to help other former Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homelands.

Evidenced by social media posts, the suspect is an outspoken critic of Islam, and has promoted conspiracy theories regarding a plot to seek Islamic supremacy in Europe.

A report from Der Spiegel said a complaint was filed against Taleb A with the authorities a year ago over statements he made. Officials did not see any concrete threat, the report says.

What have officials said about the attack?

"The reports from Magdeburg raise the worst fears," the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on social media platform X.

Magdeburg's city councillor for public order, Ronni Krug, said the Christmas market will stay closed and that "Christmas in Magdeburg is over", according to German public broadcaster MDR.

That sentiment was echoed on the market's website, which in the wake of the attack featured only a black screen with words of mourning, announcing that the market was over.

The Saudi government expressed "solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims", in a statement on X, and "affirmed its rejection of violence".

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was "horrified by the atrocious attack in Magdeburg", adding that his thoughts were with "the victims, their families and all those affected" in a post on X on Friday night.

Superstar Usyk edges a showcase of elite level boxing

Best of era Usyk running out of opponents

When Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Damascus and gave a victory speech on the heels of a lightning military campaign that swept through the country and toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime, one remark went widely unnoticed. That was his reference to an illegal narcotic that has flooded the Middle East over the past ten years.

"Syria has become the biggest producer of Captagon on earth," he said. "And today, Syria is going to be purified by the grace of God."

Mostly unknown outside of the Middle East, Captagon is an addictive, amphetamine-like pill, sometimes called "poor man's cocaine".

Its production has proliferated in Syria amid an economy broken by war, sanctions and the mass displacement of Syrians abroad. Authorities in neighbouring countries have struggled to cope with the smuggling of huge quantities of pills across their borders.

All the evidence pointed to Syria being the main source of Captogan's illicit trade with an annual value placed at $5.6bn (£4.5bn) by the World Bank.

At the scale that the pills were being produced and dispatched, the suspicion was that this was not simply the work of criminal gangs - but of an industry orchestrated by the regime itself.

Weeks on from the speech by al-Sharaa (previously known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani), spectacular images have emerged that suggest the suspicion was correct.

Videos filmed by Syrians raiding properties allegedly owned by relatives of Assad show rooms full of pills being made and packaged, hidden in fake industrial products.

Other footage shows piles of pills found in what appears to be a Syrian military airbase, set on fire by the rebels.

I spent a year investigating Captagon for a BBC World Service documentary and saw how the drug became as popular among the wealthy youth of Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia as it was among the working class in countries like Jordan.

"I was 19 years old, I started taking Captagon and my life started to fall apart," Yasser, a young male addict in a rehab clinic told us in Jordan's capital, Amman. "I started hanging out with people who take this thing. You work, you live without food, so the body is a wreck."

So how will al-Sharaa and his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), deal with the large number of people in Syria and around the Middle East addicted to Captagon who may suddenly find themselves without a supply?

Caroline Rose, an expert on Syrian drug trafficking at the New Lines Institute, has concerns around this. "My fear is that they will really crack down on supply and not necessarily try to do any sort of demand reduction."

But there is a broader question at play too: that is, what effect will the loss of such a lucrative trade have on Syria's economy? And as those behind it move aside, how will al-Sharaa keep at bay any other criminals waiting in the wings to replace them?

The narco-war in the Middle East

The proliferation of Captagon pushed the Middle East into a genuine narco-war.

While filming with the Jordanian army on their desert border with Syria, we saw how the soldiers had reinforced their fences and learned about their comrades who had been killed in shoot-outs with Captagon smugglers. They accused the Syrian soldiers across the border of aiding the smugglers.

Other countries in the region have been just as disturbed by the trade.

For a while, Saudi Arabia suspended imports of fruit and vegetables from Lebanon because authorities were frequently finding shipping containers full of produce like pomegranates which had been hollowed out and filled with bags of Captagon pills.

We filmed in five countries, including in regime-held and rebel-held Syria, consulted well-placed sources, and gained access to confidential records from court cases in Germany and Lebanon.

We were able to name two major parties as having their hands in the trade - Assad's extended family and the Syrian armed forces, in particular its Fourth Division, led by Assad's brother, Maher.

Questions surrounding Assad's brother

Maher al-Assad was perhaps the most powerful man in Syria aside from his brother.

He was sanctioned by many Western powers for the violence he wrought against protesters during the pro-democracy uprising in 2011 that precipitated the bloody civil war. The French judiciary has also issued an international arrest warrant for him and his brother for their alleged responsibility in chemical weapons attacks in Syria in 2013.

Gaining access to the WhatsApp chats of a Captagon trader imprisoned in Lebanon, we were able to implicate Maher al-Assad's Fourth Division and his second-in-command, General Ghassan Bilal.

The revelation was a huge milestone in confirming the role of Syria's armed forces and Bashar al-Assad's inner circle in the trade.

Seeing the recent images of demoralised Syrian army troops fleeing without a fight as the rebels advanced, I was reminded of an interview we conducted with a regime soldier last year.

He told us his monthly army pay of $30 (£24) barely covered three days of food for his family, so his unit became involved in criminality and Captagon.

"It's what brings most of the money now," he said.

In May 2023, the Arab League agreed to re-admit Syria 12 years after it was expelled for violently suppressing the popular uprising. It was seen as a diplomatic coup for Assad, using promises to tackle the Captagon trade as leverage to be rehabilitated.

Can the rebel leaders crack down?

Now, as Syria's rebel leaders consolidate their power over the organs of state, it seems they are fully aware of positive signals they are sending to wary neighbouring states when they promise to crack down on the Captagon trade.

But it might be a steeper task for them to wrest the country away from a lucrative criminal enterprise after so many years when it was encouraged by the state itself.

Issam Al Reis was a major engineer in the Syrian army until he defected at the beginning of the uprising against the Assad regime, and has spent time investigating the Captagon trade. He believes that HTS will not need to do much to stop the trade initially "because the main players have left" and there's already been a dramatic drop in Captagon exports - but he warns that "new guys" might be waiting in the wings to take over.

This will be particularly problematic if the demand side isn't tackled too. There is little evidence of investment in rehabilitation from the time HTS controlled Idlib province in north-west Syria, according to Ms Rose. "[There was a] very poor picture for trying to address Captagon consumption," she says.

She also says there has already been an uptick in another drug being trafficked through Syria.

"I think many users will seek out crystal meth as an alternative, especially users who have already established a tolerance to Captagon and need something that's a bit more strong."

The other problem, as Mr Al Reis points out, is a financial one. As he puts it: "Syrians need the money."

His hope is that the international community will help prevent people entering the drug trade through humanitarian aid and easing sanctions.

But Ms Rose argues the new leaders will need to identify a "new and alternative economic pathways to encourage Syrians to participate in the licit formal economy."

While the kingpins have fled, many of those involved in manufacturing and smuggling the drug remain inside the country, she said.

"And old habits die hard."

Additional reporting by George Wright

Top picture credit: Getty Images

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In 2012, Elon Musk had just completed a business trip to London and Oxford. "Just returned… I met with many interesting people," he wrote on Twitter. "I really like Britain!"

Fast-forward to 2024, and Musk's views on Britain are a little different.

"Civil war is inevitable" … "Britain is going full Stalin"… "The people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state".

These are just some of his recent comments on X, as he renamed the site after he bought it.

He has repeatedly got into spats with politicians including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, he has amplified voices on the right and far-right online and is in talks to donate to Reform UK, according to the party's leader Nigel Farage.

So why has Musk's relationship with America's closest ally apparently soured and what, if anything, does he hope to achieve?

We would love to ask him ourselves but he didn't respond to our requests for an interview.

His X timeline offers some clues though.

The self-proclaimed "Chief Troll Officer" often exaggerates in an ambiguous way, unclear if he's being sincere or ironic.

When he writes, "Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?" he doesn't really mean that Britain is a totalitarian Communist state but also, he sort of does. Often he reposts content with just a single word - "interesting" - or an emoji, rather than going into details.

In recent years, however, Musk watchers have noticed that the kinds of things he boosts to his 200 million followers tend to come from a particular place: a world view that is libertarian and "anti-woke", against progressives and centrists.

'What's happening in the UK?'

The shift was explicit during last summer's riots following the horrific killing of three girls at a dance class in the north-west England town of Southport.

False rumours about the attacker were circulated on X, including by far-right accounts which had been unbanned since Musk took over the company two years before.

As a protest turned violent and rioting flared, Sir Keir issued a warning: "To large social media companies, and those who run them - violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime.

"It's happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere."

Musk replied with one word: "Insane".

Later, he would state that "civil war is inevitable" and spread a false message from the leader of a far-right party, claiming that Sir Keir was considering building detainment camps for rioters on the Falkland Islands. By the time he deleted the post, it had been viewed more than a million times.

Musk also criticised Britain's "prison overcrowding situation" on Joe Rogan's podcast - watched 19m times on YouTube - saying we should "make Orwell fiction again", a reference to George Orwell's writings about dystopian society.

While free speech is not Musk's only big issue - he appears to care a lot about existential questions around the future of humanity too - it's a subject that the Tesla, SpaceX and X owner has repeatedly returned to.

Just a few weeks ago, in response to a tweet from a right-wing American influencer, making an exaggerated claim about a report from the last government on radicalisation, he commented: "What is happening in the UK?"

And he may be planning to do more than tweet. He was recently pictured with Farage and Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy, amid reports he is preparing to donate a large sum of money to the party.

Why Musk cares about Britain

Musk's interest in UK affairs could be a reflection of how his own political beliefs have changed. He previously described himself as a centrist and even donated to Hillary Clinton's campaign, but now he talks a lot about the "woke mind virus".

According to interviews he's given and a recent biography, the transition of one of his children from male to female - and that child, Vivian Wilson, subsequently cutting him off from her life - appears to be one of the key turning points.

Winston Marshall, a former Mumford & Sons guitarist turned podcast host and right-leaning political commentator whose father jointly owns TV channel GB News, speculates that Musk could be picking fights because "he cares very deeply about the UK".

"Britain is the birthplace of liberal democracy, of many of the great philosophies that underpin America," Marshall says.

"So then he looks over to the UK and he sees what's been going on for several years, but which is now crescendoing after the August riots, with many, many people being given long jail sentences for literally Facebook memes in some cases."

"Facebook memes" sounds pretty harmless but these examples include - for instance - a three-month jail sentence for a person who posted a meme along with the caption "let's [expletive] riot" on a Facebook group with "riot/protest" in the name during the Southport disorder.

Some question whether the tycoon is really as committed to free speech as he claims.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate, which scrutinises social media companies, was critical of Musk's tenure at X - prompting the tycoon to sue, accusing the organisation of misusing data and scaring off advertisers. The case was thrown out by a US judge.

Its CEO Imran Ahmed called the incident "indicative of the mindset of a man who simply cannot understand that freedom of speech is a freedom afforded to all, not just to him".

Other critics have pointed out that Musk has been careful not to criticise the president of China, a country where Tesla has huge business interests, despite Beijing's well-documented culture of censorship.

He has far less at stake, business-wise, in Britain, but the country could still affect his bottom line via the Online Safety Act, passed by Parliament in late 2023. It will allow regulator Ofcom to issue huge fines to social media companies if they're found to have certain types of illegal content on their platforms.

Andrew Chadwick, professor of political communication at Loughborough University, explains that while some provisions in the bill are uncontroversial, "where it gets a bit more tricky is where this illegal content blurs across into what we might call the kinds of disinformation or misinformation that we see circulate on a daily basis on social media platforms".

This could include "racially or religiously aggravated public order offences or the incitement of violence," he says.

The Act comes with some potentially huge punishments – a fine of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue.

Could it be that Musk is worried about Britain biting off a chunk of X's revenues – or even, as the Act allows for in some circumstances, blocking access to the site in the UK?

Defenders of the Act argue that it's got nothing to do with censoring free speech. Gawain Towler, former head of press for Reform UK, says while Musk might not have "a forensic knowledge of all the details of backbench committee" he does "see the bigger picture" – what Reform activists and others describe as a creeping culture of censorship.

"You don't have to concentrate always on the trees. And I think Musk sees the forest quite, quite well," he adds.

Nobody can read the mind of the world's richest man.

But it's clear that Musk has funnelled his vast wealth into influence and is now exporting his values – including a mainstream American view of free speech and largely unfettered capitalism – around the world.

And one thing's for sure – he's not yet done with the UK.

Two Somali fishermen wearing big scarves over their heads to hide their faces glance around furtively as they walk into the room for a secret meeting to tell me why they have recently decided to become gun-wielding pirates - in search of million-dollar ransoms.

"You are free to record - we accept," one tells me as they sit down nervously for the interview that has taken months to set up in the small coastal town of Eyl.

This behaviour is in start contrast to the bravado of the pirates who used to strut around this charming, ancient port nestled between arid mountains on Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast.

It has always been considered strategic, not only because of its location but also because it has a fresh-water source - and during the piracy boom of the early to mid-2000s the pirates made it their base.

It became known as "Harunta Burcadda" - the Pirate Capital. From here, they targeted the container ships that transport goods around the world and even some oil tankers, forcing shipping companies to change their routes.

The regional authorities held no sway - and the local police force was too scared to enter the town.

Pirates kept their hijacked ships anchored offshore and businesses in the town and region profited from ransom payments. Between 2005 and 2012 the World Bank estimates pirate groups earned between $339m (£267m) and $413m.

But the pirates suffered a reversal of fortunes when international navies began to patrol the seas off Somalia and these days the Puntland Maritime Police Force has a base in Eyl.

Most people in the town welcomed this as the pirates brought with them eye-watering inflation, drugs, alcohol and a notoriety that the local Muslim elders shunned.

But the longstanding resentment felt towards foreign shipping, in particular fishing trawlers, has never gone away in a town full of fishermen that depends on the sea for its survival. To this day they accuse these fishing boats of stealing their living - often violently.

"Ships came and took all our equipment and belongings," Farah, one of the fisherman-turned-pirates looking out defensively from behind his blue scarf, tells the BBC.

Both his name and that of his friend Diiriye, who is wrapped in a white headscarf, have been changed - one of the conditions of our meeting.

He and a few others had invested approximately $10,000 in a fishing venture for a boat, outboard engine and nets. But Farah says last year the crew of one foreign trawler came and stole the nets, along with its catch, and then shot the engine - destroying it.

The pair give another example: some of their relatives had gone out to check their nets one morning and never came back - usually the fisherman go out at dawn and return before the midday heat hits.

Three days later they were found, floating towards the beach.

"There were bullets in their bodies," Diiriye says.

"They had no guns; they had gone to the sea with their nets to make their livelihood."

Farah goes on: "We work and live by the sea. The sea is our business.

"When someone intimidates you and robs you, it is compulsory to fight. They caused the fight. Had they not taken our property, we would not go to piracy."

These men - aged in their 30s - are not alone in making the decision over the last year to turn to piracy.

According to the European Union’s naval force Operation Atalanta, which patrols nearby, there were 26 pirate attacks between 2013 and 2019 - and then not a single one from 2020 to 2022. But they resumed in 2023, with six attacks and surged to 22 this year, figures until 5 December show.

Most of these skirmishes do not end up in a successful hijacking - but when it does, it pays. Pirates say they received a ransom of $5m to release the Bangladesh-flagged MV Abdullah, hijacked in March 2024. The vessel's owner has not confirmed this, but did say it was freed following negotiations.

Sources in the semi-autonomous Puntland state, where Eyl is located, told the BBC they estimate about 10 gangs, each with around 12 members, are operating in the area.

They go off to sea for 15 to 30 days at a time, packing their small speed-boats with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), food and fuel.

Farah and Diiriye say their aim is to hijack a medium-sized vessel deep in the Indian Ocean and then make it back to their mother ship, using its GPS tracking system to find bigger ships to target.

"You can attack the ships using small speed boats," says Farah.

Their Bazooka rocket launcher is also an essential part of their strategy.

"We use the RPG to stop the ship. When the ship doesn’t stop, we shoot over it. We don’t kill. The aim is to get something, not to kill. [The aim is] to frighten them," says Diiriye.

All this weaponry does not come cheap - so the gangs essentially seek funding from interested investors. The disgruntled fishermen put out feelers and a syndicate is formed often involving different businessmen from the cities of Garowe and Bosaso.

One may fund the boats, another the weapons and a third sundries like fuel. These entrepreneurs sometimes invest in several groups in the hope that one of them will hit the jackpot when a vessel is captured so they can get their cut of the ransom.

And it is easy to get hold of a gun in Somalia - even in Eyl you can pick up an AK-47 for about $1,200, a legacy of its two-decade civil war and years of lawlessness.

Farah and Diiriye say they were not involved in the piracy boomtime and have not taken any advice from retired pirates, some of whom also started out as disgruntled fishermen.

Most of these old pirates have left the area - often they have gone abroad or have repented.

In one famous case a former pirate - Abdirahman Bakeyle - gave away his wealth. In 2020, he donated the houses and hotels he had bought in Garowe to Muslim charities and is now a travelling preacher going from town to town in Puntland urging people to lead an austere and morally upright life.

Adado, a town in central Somalia where pirates once invested, earned the nicknamed "Blue City" because their newly built mansions often had blue-painted iron sheet roofs.

A good deal of these houses now lie empty - or available to rent for as little as $100 a month.

In Eyl, the town elders say the main legacy of piracy is the prevalence of alcohol, often smuggled in from Ethiopia, and drugs such as opioids - with concerns that some young men who already chew the stimulant leaf khat, a popular afternoon pastime, are becoming addicts.

The men who gather outside teashops in the afternoons to play dominoes and discuss the news say they do not approve of piracy - although they understand the enmity towards foreign ships.

The recent incident of the three fishermen who were shot dead clearly rankles with many.

Ali Mursal Muse, who has been fishing for lobsters and sharks off Eyl for about 40 years to support his wife and 12 children, believes they may have been mistaken for pirates - as he was years ago.

"We left here with another fishing boat and went to the sea. At the same time pirates tried to hijack a ship. A plane came. My boat came to the shore; the other fishing boat was attacked," he recalls.

Forty-year-old widow Hawa Mohamed Zubery believes her husband suffered the same fate 14 years ago when he went missing.

This was when piracy was at its peak and she had just given birth to a son, whom they wanted to circumcise.

"My husband was thinking that if he caught a shark then we could pay to have the baby circumcised," she tells the BBC, clearly still distressed about his death. She says she struggles to pay school fees for her children from her living selling samosas.

Mr Muse says the main issue for him these days is the unethical behaviour of fishing fleets from countries like Iran and Yemen which often steal his equipment.

He believes they are issued with fake Somali fishing licences by powerful local backers who also provide them with gunmen for protection. He accused them of looting their catches and muscling in on their fishing grounds.

"They have a zone they work and they even come on the beach. When we go and ask for our equipment back, they shoot at us. Recently, they hurt some people. They shot a boy, wounding his hand and leg."

The fisherman says he has complained to the local authorities on multiple occasions, but nothing is ever done.

Puntland’s Information Minister Caydid Dirir admits the presence of some illegal vessels and says some foreign ships may be granted licences and "misuse them".

"Illegal fishing exists in all seas, and piracy can occur anywhere. Progress is being made gradually," he tells the BBC.

Illegal fishing has been a controversial issue in Somalia for many years.

Many fishing vessels operate without licences or with licences issued by bodies without the authority to do so, according to the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime.

It quotes evidence, including satellite navigational data, to show that many of the vessels originate from China, Iran, Yemen and south-east Asia. A report from the US embassy in Mogadishu suggests Somalia loses $300m each year as a result.

Operation Atalanta’s Rear Admiral Manuel Alvargonzález Méndez says his forces only target pirate vessels and now also have to protect ships from Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

But he maintains the area is much safer and Somalis can now "cast their fishing nets without fear" - as does the Puntland Maritime Police Force, which works closely with the EU naval mission.

Its commander Farhan Awil Hashi is confident that it will not return to the "bad old days" of piracy.

He believes the long-term answer is "job creation".

"Young people must get jobs, always. If the person is busy doing something, they will not think about heading to the sea and hijacking ships," he tells the BBC.

Farah and Diiriye make the same argument - they say because fishing no longer pays, hijacking a ship for ransom is the only way they can support their children.

They know piracy is wrong - and Diiriye admits he is too scared to tell his own mother.

"If she knew, she would be very disappointed. In fact, she would inform the authorities."

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

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The Princess of Wales enlisted the help of recently-widowed Lady Gabriella Windsor in planning her Westminster Abbey carol service this year.

Lady Gabriella, whose husband Thomas Kingston took his own life in February, helped select which musical performances featured at the annual Together at Christmas event.

The second cousin of King Charles enjoyed her role in the service and was excited to take part after a difficult year, the BBC understands.

This year's service on 6 December marked Catherine's biggest return to royal duties after finishing chemotherapy. The event was dedicated to individuals who have shown love, kindness and empathy to their communities.

The Princess of Wales asked Lady Gabriella to be involved in the summer with Catherine understood to have been incredibly grateful for her contribution.

Lady Gabriella is the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent - with Prince Michael, aged 81, a grandson of King George V and first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Lady Gabriella's husband, financier Thomas Kingston, died from a head injury at his parents' home in the Cotswolds. In October, a coroner concluded that he took his own life at the age of 45.

In a tribute shared at the time of his death, Lady Gabriella and his family called Mr Kingston "an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him".

The Christmas message at this year's service was about promoting "love, not fear".

"Love is the light that can shine bright, even in our darkest times," the princess wrote in a letter to guests.

It marked the end of what has been a difficult year for her and her family with both Catherine and King Charles undergoing cancer treatment.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were joined by their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at the service.

The 1,600-strong congregation all held candles during the service that will be broadcast by ITV on Christmas Eve.

The world-renowned Abbey Choir performed a number of carols and the event featured performances by Paloma Faith, Gregory Porter, Olivia Dean, and singer-songwriter JP Morgan who performed alongside the Soul Sanctuary Choir.

Readings were given by actor Richard E Grant, Olympic swimming gold medallist Adam Peaty and Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery.

It will feature three films about people and organisations that have inspired and comforted others in times of need.

In a pre-recorded opening address, Catherine will read extracts from a letter she wrote about love and empathy that was included in the event's order of service.

She will say: "The Christmas story encourages us to consider the experiences and feelings of others.

"It also reflects our own vulnerabilities and reminds us of the importance of giving and receiving empathy, as well as just how much we need each other in spite of our differences.

"Above all else, it encourages us to turn to love, not fear. The love that we show ourselves and the love we show others. Love that listens with empathy, love that is kind and understanding, love that is forgiving, and love that brings joy and hope."

Ukrainian sniper Oleksandr Matsievsky was captured by Russians in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Later, a video emerged showing him smoking his last cigarette in a forest, apparently next to a grave he had been forced to dig.

"Glory to Ukraine!" he says to his captors. Moments later, shots ring out and he falls dead.

His execution is one of many.

In October this year, nine captured Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly shot dead by Russian forces in Kursk region. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the case including a photo showing half-naked bodies lying on the ground. This photo was enough for one of the victims, drone operator Ruslan Holubenko, to be identified by his parents.

"I recognised him by his underwear," his distraught mother told local broadcaster Suspilne Chernihiv. "I bought it for him before a trip to the sea. I also knew that his shoulder had been shot through. You could see that in the picture."

The list of executions goes on. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating reports of beheadings and a sword being used to kill a Ukrainian soldier with his hands tied behind his back.

In another instance, a video showed 16 Ukrainian soldiers apparently being lined up and then mowed down with automatic gunfire after emerging from a woods to surrender.

Some of the executions were filmed by Russian forces themselves, while others were observed by Ukrainian drones hovering above.

The killings captured on such videos usually take place in woods or fields lacking distinctive features, which makes confirming their exact location difficult. BBC Verify, however, has been able to confirm in several cases - such as one beheading - that the victims wear Ukrainian uniforms and that the videos are recent.

Rising numbers

The Ukrainian prosecution service says that at least 147 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been executed by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion, 127 of them this year.

"The upward trend is very clear, very obvious," says Yuri Belousov, the head of the War Department at the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office.

"Executions became systemic from November last year and have continued throughout all of this year. Sadly, their number has been particularly on the rise this summer and autumn. This tells us that they are not isolated cases. They are happening across vast areas and they have clear signs of being part of a policy - there is evidence that instructions to this effect are being issued."

International humanitarian law - particularly the Third Geneva Convention - offers protection to prisoners of war, and executing them is a war crime.

Despite this, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Russia's Chechnya, briefly ordered his commanders involved in the Ukraine war "to take no prisoners".

Impunity

Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, says there is no shortage of evidence supporting allegations of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russian troops. According to her, impunity plays a key part, and the Russian army has some serious questions to answer.

"What instructions do these units have, either formally or informally from their commanders? Are their commanders being quite clear about what the Geneva Conventions say about the treatment of prisoners of war? What are Russian military commanders telling their units about their conduct? What steps is the chain of command taking to investigate these instances? And if higher ups are not investigating, or not taking steps to prevent that conduct, are they aware that they too are criminally liable and can be held accountable?" she asks.

So far, there has been nothing to suggest that Russia is formally investigating claims that its forces have been executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. Even mentioning similar allegations is punishable by lengthy prison sentences in Russia.

According to Vladimir Putin, Russian forces have "always" treated Ukrainian prisoners of war "strictly in line with international legal documents and international conventions".

Ukrainian forces have also been accused of executing Russian prisoners of war, but the number of such claims has been much smaller.

Yuri Belousov says that the Ukrainian prosecution service treats such accusations "very seriously" and is investigating them - but so far no one has been charged.

According to Human Rights Watch, since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 the Russian forces have committed "a litany of violations, including those which should be investigated as war crimes or crimes against humanity".

The Russian army's record of abuses is such that some Ukrainian soldiers prefer death to capture.

"He told me: Mum, I'll never surrender, never. Forgive me, I know you'll cry, but I don't want to be tortured," Ruslan Holubenko's mother says. Her son is still officially classed as missing in action, and she hopes against hope.

"I'll do everything that's possible and impossible to get my child back. I keep looking at this photo. Maybe he is just unconscious? I want to believe, I don't want to think that he's gone."

The US military says it has carried out a series of air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa targeting a missile storage site and command facilities operated by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

US Central Command added it also hit multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea.

It comes hours after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel which injured more than a dozen people in a Tel Aviv park.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls north-western Yemen, began attacking Israel and international shipping shortly after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

In a statement, the US military's Central Command said the strikes aimed to "disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden".

The US military also said it struck "multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, or drones, and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea".

American F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets were used in the operation, the US Central Command added.

• Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking Red Sea ships?

Since November 2023, Houthi missile attacks have sunk two vessels in the Red Sea and damaged others. They have claimed, often falsely, that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

Last December, the US, UK and 12 other nations launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect Red Sea shipping lanes against the attacks.

On Saturday, Israel's military said its attempts to shoot down a projectile launched from Yemen were unsuccessful and the missile struck a park in Tel Aviv.

Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's emergency medical service, said it treated 16 people who were "mildly injured" by glass shards from shattered windows in nearby buildings.

Another 14 people suffered minor injuries on their way to protected areas were also treated, it said.

A Houthi spokesman said the group hit a military target using a hypersonic ballistic missile.

Earlier this week, Israel conducted a series of strikes against what it said were Houthi military targets, hitting ports as well as energy infrastructure in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that nine people were killed in the port of Salif and the Ras Issa oil terminal.

The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks until the war in Gaza ends. The US says its latest strike is part of a commitment to protect itself and its allies.

US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed British TV executive Mark Burnett, who produced him on The Apprentice, as his special envoy to the UK.

Trump said it was his "great honour" to pick his former colleague for the role, which is separate to the position of US ambassador to the UK.

"Mark will work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges," he added.

Burnett said in a statement: "I am truly honoured to serve The United States of America and President Trump as his Special Envoy to the United Kingdom."

He created The Apprentice and produced it along with a range of other reality TV programmes, winning 12 Emmy Awards.

"With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday.

The president-elect, who takes office next month, has already picked billionaire donor Warren Stephens as his ambassador to the UK. While Stephens's nomination requires confirmation by the US Senate, Burnett's role needs no such approval.

Burnett, 64, was raised in Essex and served as a paratrooper in Army before emigrating to the US in 1982, when he was 22.

He went on to work for MGM and became known as a significant figure in reality television.

In addition to creating and producing The Apprentice, Burnett created formats such as Survivor, The Voice and Shark Tank - the US version of Dragon's Den.

He helped propel Trump, a real estate developer, to new heights of fame as he starred in The Apprentice from 2008-15.

Burnett became president of MGM Television in December 2015, but stood aside in 2022 when Amazon acquired the studio.

He had a role in planning Trump's first inauguration in 2017.

Burnett told the BBC in 2010 that Trump was "fearless" and "a big, strong tough guy".

"He is a very, very down-to-earth normal guy and he's a really, really loyal friend and, as I've seen him with many other people, not the kind of enemy you would want," said Burnett.

Trump's first run for the presidency as Republican nominee in 2016 was plunged into crisis as tapes emerged of him telling Access Hollywood presenter Billy Bush that "you can do anything" to women "when you're a star".

Burnett released a statement at the time denying he was a supporter of Trump.

"Further, my wife and I reject the hatred, division and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign," he said. Burnett is married to Londonderry-born actress Roma Downey.

Another former producer of The Apprentice subsequently claimed that Trump had been heard making "far worse" remarks in recordings from the show.

But Burnett rejected calls to release all outtakes of Trump, saying he was unable to do so and citing "various contractual and legal requirements".