the us restricts travel for diplomats in israel amid fears by an attack by iran after an israeli strike on a consulate in syria. the post office it scandal will hear from adam crozier today, the chief executive of royal mail in 2003. a warning that the catastrophic hunger crisis in sudan is worse than feared according to doctors.

david cameron is travelling to gibraltar today. another of top diplomats will attend. the sides are likely to discuss how to manage the border with gibraltar. the meeting is not expected to result in a final agreement. for more on the let's speak to make it big. tell us how this all came about after brexit. good morning. forthe this all came about after brexit. good morning. for the past four years since brexit, you could say for the past eight years since the fateful vote in 2016, there had been in negotiations between the eu, spain and the uk about what happens to gibraltar and as you outlined, it's geography makes it unique, a british sovereign territory but on the tip of spain and the spanish have said they wanted it back, for the british they say this is a matter of sovereignty and that will not be del carbon and was people

living in gibraltar seem to favour british road, some surveys suggest that. the issue is not creating friction on the border between gibraltar and friction on the border between gibraltarand spain so friction on the border between gibraltar and spain so that's why we have had to talk some more talks today, significant the british foreign secretary is here and his spanish counterpart and top eu officials. as you said no real signs officials. as you said no real signs of a breakthrough and an announcement of a deal but they are saying they are moving in the right direction. i saying they are moving in the right direction. . , ., , . direction. i was reading since october 2021 _ direction. i was reading since october 2021 they _ direction. i was reading since october 2021 they have - direction. i was reading since october 2021 they have had l direction. i was reading since | october 2021 they have had 17 direction. i was reading since - october 2021 they have had 17 rounds of talks on this issue. what october 2021 they have had 17 rounds of talks on this issue.— of talks on this issue. what are the stickin: of talks on this issue. what are the sticking points? _ of talks on this issue. what are the sticking points? i _ of talks on this issue. what are the sticking points? i think— of talks on this issue. what are the sticking points? i think the - of talks on this issue. what are the sticking points? i think the main i sticking points? i think the main sticking points? i think the main sticking points? i think the main sticking point is the airport in gibraltar. this is significant because there is also an raf base, british military base there and who controls the checks on people coming into gibraltar is key to this. to remind ourselves, ever since the

british led the european union, that means free movement of people, people living around europe and goods moving around europe, that aspect went away, that aspect of the membership of the eu disappeared but the problem is if you have a place which is british territory against spain, how do you manage that and the spanish said if they have border guards at the airport doing checks on people coming in they can go to different parts of spain but the british have resisted this, saying that as an intrusion of sovereignty so there is a possible compromise that from text, the european border agency that there are members of staff could do some checks there but this is speculation at the moment and we don't know what sort of deal is being worked on and at what stage they are towards sealing any deal. you say you are not sure what stage they are up at one of the things you talk about is the border issue, it resonates when we remember what happened with the border when it

came to ireland and northern ireland? ~ , , came to ireland and northern ireland? ~ , �* came to ireland and northern ireland? ~ , ~ ., , ireland? absolutely. a really crucial issue _ ireland? absolutely. a really crucial issue in _ ireland? absolutely. a really crucial issue in this - ireland? absolutely. a really crucial issue in this respect. | ireland? absolutely. a really - crucial issue in this respect. when you look at the numbers, 4000 people live in gibraltar but everyday 15,000 workers come from spain across the border to carry out their jobs in gibraltar so the economy is boosted daily by that and all of these workers, a vast majority of them are spanish and we know unemployment is particularly low and not part of spain so they are able to find better paid jobs orjobs in general in gibraltar so at the heart of it you have 15,000 people so there is the incentive for some sort of deal to be done on both sides talk about creating a place which is mutually beneficial and economically prosperous but at the same time politically speaking, politicians talking about neither side losing sovereignty or losing out in anyway sovereignty or losing out in anyway so that's why it's difficult calculation to come take and present

to their respective people. thank ou so to their respective people. thank you so much _ to their respective people. thank you so much for— to their respective people. thank you so much for taking _ to their respective people. thank you so much for taking us - to their respective people. thank| you so much for taking us through that. well let's take you straight to central london. and to the post office inquiry. to remind you of course, the post of the scandal here in the uk has led to this inquiry examining howa in the uk has led to this inquiry examining how a faulty computer system known as horizon led to the persecution of hundreds of people across the uk who ran post offices and they were wrongly convicted of theft and fraud. let's listen into theft and fraud. let's listen into the evidence being presented. find i the evidence being presented. and i am seekin: the evidence being presented. and i am seeking to _ the evidence being presented. and i am seeking to clarify _ the evidence being presented. fific i am seeking to clarify that there the evidence being presented. fific i am seeking to clarify that there is nothing wrong with the statement as it stood then but there have been three cases identified since. at it stood then but there have been three cases identified since. at the time ou three cases identified since. at the time you sign _ three cases identified since. at the time you sign the _ three cases identified since. at the time you sign the statement - three cases identified since. at the time you sign the statement you . time you sign the statement you believe paragraph 89 to be true. the

evidence today, at the moment is being heard from alan cooke, a former independent non—executive director and former managing director and former managing director of the post office and later today we will hear from adam crozier. let's listen in. they are. thank you. that stance is your evidence to the inquiry and i'm going to ask you some questions about it. briefly, in terms of your background you were pointed as a non—executive director of post office limited on the 23rd of 0ffice limited on the 23rd of february 2005. yes, sorry. your statement you described having a long and varied career in public private sectors? yes, indeed. you were chief executive officer of national savings and investments until 2002. you who do grow

non—executive director of post office limited, is that correct? but 0ffice limited, is that correct? but in march 2006 you were appointed as managing director of post office limited. underthat managing director of post office limited. under that point you stepped down from national savings and investment banking?— stepped down from national savings. and investment banking?- we and investment banking? correct. we don't need to — and investment banking? correct. we don't need to turn _ and investment banking? correct. we don't need to turn a _ and investment banking? correct. we don't need to turn a dog _ and investment banking? correct. we don't need to turn a dog but - and investment banking? correct. we don't need to turn a dog but in - and investment banking? correct. we don't need to turn a dog but in your. don't need to turn a dog but in your witness statement you refer to the role of non—executive director and you said you had a duty to challenge management on any aspect of the business and their proposed approach to running the business and the direction in which post office limited was being taken and you still agree with that? i limited was being taken and you still agree with that?— limited was being taken and you still agree with that? i do. in order to carry _ still agree with that? i do. in order to carry out _ still agree with that? i do. in order to carry out their - still agree with that? i do. in order to carry out their dutyl order to carry out their duty effectively you would broadly need to know what the post office operations were?— to know what the post office i operations were?- how to know what the post office - operations were?- how were operations were? correct. how were ou operations were? correct. how were you introduced — operations were? correct. how were you introduced or— operations were? correct. how were you introduced or inducted _ operations were? correct. how were you introduced or inducted to - operations were? correct. how were you introduced or inducted to the . you introduced or inducted to the

business when you became a non—executive director? figs business when you became a non—executive director? $5 i non-executive director? as i exoiained — non-executive director? as i exoiained i _ non-executive director? as i explained i had _ non-executive director? as i explained i had quite - non-executive director? as i explained i had quite a - non—executive director? 23 i explained i had quite a bit of dealings to the post office prior to becoming a non—executive director because it was the primary distribution channel for the national savings and investment products so that's how i got to know some of the people at the post office. however if it is a different order of magnitude if you become a board member. so they set up a programme for me. going around visiting a number of branches, visiting a number of branches, visiting heads of different functions inside the building, it lasted several months to be honest, on and off, this was not a full—time role. because i had a full—time role with national savings who were happy to allow me to do this. it was a reasonably comprehensive induction. do you remember getting any talks or induction sessions from the legal

department at post office limited? i cannot remembera department at post office limited? i cannot remember a particular event or a particular person that i saw. i would have probably been updated by that area from the finance director lisa corbett. would be my recollection.— lisa corbett. would be my recollection. ~ , ., ., , lisa corbett. would be my recollection. ~ ., recollection. when you sad as a non-executive _ recollection. when you sad as a non-executive director - recollection. when you sad as a non-executive director did - recollection. when you sad as a non-executive director did you | recollection. when you sad as a - non-executive director did you apply non—executive director did you apply or take into account any code is relevant to corporate governance and management? this relevant to corporate governance and management?— management? this is the first time i had been a non-executive _ management? this is the first time i had been a non-executive director, l management? this is the first time i had been a non-executive director, i had been a non—executive director, i had been a non—executive director, i had been a non—executive director, i had been on boards that had non—executive directors on them. the corporate governance code, i have gone on in later life to spend a lot of time working on boards so i would confess much more expert now than i was then but certainly, i was well

aware of my overall responsibilities in terms of challenging management, i was aware that i was not the decision—maker and that i had to contribute to the conversation and express reservations if i felt so inclined or supportive comments if it felt to be the right thing to do. just to clarify, when you were non—executive director, would you have applied the corporate announcing code or not? yes. in your your expectations of standards for corporate governance. as limited different to that of a publicly listed company?— listed company? well, it is different. _ listed company? well, it is different, it _ listed company? well, it is different, it was _ listed company? well, it is different, it was different. | listed company? well, it is| different, it was different. i listed company? well, it is - different, it was different. i had a board at national savings and investments which i sat on as the chief executive rather than as a

non—executive director but on that national savings and investment board i was outnumbered by the non—executives deliberately, that would be a typical feature so there were more people in the room independent than were employed. the post office board was the other way round so it was primarily the senior management team, sir mike hodgkinson who you saw yesterday who was the chairman was a non—executive director. brian goggin, the chief executive at bank of ireland, and then myself so both of us, the two independent directors had also business relationships with the post office if you see what i mean? imilieu office if you see what i mean? when ou refer office if you see what i mean? when you refer to — office if you see what i mean? when you refer to being _ office if you see what i mean? when you refer to being outnumbered and being the other way round on post office limited board, to what extent 0ffice limited board, to what extent did that affect the adequacy of the

corporate governance or oversight? i think corporate governance is better performed at the non—executives are greater in number than the executives, if you see what i mean? it does not mean to say it is no good but i think it would be of a higher standard with more independent people on the board. white want more independent members on the board? irlat white want more independent members on the board?— on the board? not known to me but what i on the board? not known to me but what i would _ on the board? not known to me but what i would say _ on the board? not known to me but what i would say is _ on the board? not known to me but what i would say is the _ on the board? not known to me but what i would say is the board - on the board? not known to me but what i would say is the board was i on the board? not known to me but what i would say is the board was a| what i would say is the board was a subsidiary to the holdings board, when yes indeed the independent members were in the majority so i think technically, if you looked at it, it was ok because the royal mail parent had that independence. to what extent are you involved with the royal mail business whilst a non—executive director? trier? the royal mail business whilst a non-executive director? very little, reall . as non-executive director? very little, really- as part _ non-executive director? very little, really- as part of — non-executive director? very little, really. as part of my _ non-executive director? very little, really. as part of my induction - non-executive director? very little, really. as part of my induction i - really. as part of my induction i might have gone to some of the functions that sat in royal mail working for the post office, for example but in terms of the business activities of royal mail, then i did

not get very involved in that at all. ., ., ~ not get very involved in that at all. ., ., 4' , not get very involved in that at all. , ,, , all. looking up responsibilities, would you _ all. looking up responsibilities, would you agree _ all. looking up responsibilities, would you agree post _ all. looking up responsibilities, would you agree post office - all. looking up responsibilities, - would you agree post office limited board was responsible for oversight of the operations of the post office business? correct. do you agree with this that the identification, analysis and management of risk is very important to running a company? indeed. and do you accept the board of post office limited was responsible for overseeing how the executive team identified, analysed and managed risk?— executive team identified, analysed and managed risk?- let's. executive team identified, analysed| and managed risk?- let's go and managed risk? correct. let's go to our and managed risk? correct. let's go to your appointment _ and managed risk? correct. let's go to your appointment in _ and managed risk? correct. let's go to your appointment in march - and managed risk? correct. let's go to your appointment in march 2006| and managed risk? correct. let's go i to your appointment in march 2006 as management director and can be bring up management director and can be bring up the witness statement at page 16 paragraph 46?

you set out how you were appointed as managing director. and you say at the bottom half, i therefore accepted the role of managing director with the understanding that i would have full accountability and responsibility for the post office limited business but that i would be dependent on royal mail group for delivery or oversight of certain functions for example human resources, legal, finance and it. are you effectively saying you have ultimate executive accountability for the operations of the post office limited company but you are 0ffice limited company but you are not responsible for the services provided by royal mail group? i have accountability. _ provided by royal mail group? i have accountability, yes, _ provided by royal mail group? i have accountability, yes, but _ provided by royal mail group? i have accountability, yes, but the - accountability, yes, but the responsibility was not direct. what

responsibility was not direct. what do ou responsibility was not direct. what do you mean _ responsibility was not direct. what do you mean by — responsibility was not direct. what do you mean by that? _ responsibility was not direct. what do you mean by that? the - responsibility was not direct. what do you mean by that? the people| do you mean by that? the people doinu that do you mean by that? the people doing that work, _ do you mean by that? the people doing that work, did _ do you mean by that? the people doing that work, did not - do you mean by that? the people doing that work, did not work - do you mean by that? the people doing that work, did not work for| do you mean by that? the people i doing that work, did not work for me or somebody that worked for me. which people are you referring to? in the shared service functions, hr... ., ., ., in the shared service functions, hr... you are not responsible for those people. — hr... you are not responsible for those people. is _ hr... you are not responsible for those people, is that _ hr... you are not responsible for those people, is that right? i hr. .. you are not responsible for those people, is that right? i- hr... you are not responsible for those people, is that right? i am| those people, is that right? i am not saying _ those people, is that right? i am not saying i— those people, is that right? i am not saying i was _ those people, is that right? i —ii not saying i was responsible for the issues, but the people... studio: we will leave that inquiry for the moment but people come back to that of course as we follow what is happening. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

here in the uk — labour leader sir keir starmer has said a labour government would aim to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gdp "as soon as resources allow". he also told the i newspaper he would conduct a strategic review of defence and security "to be clear what the priorities are". sir keir�*s aim matches that

of chancellorjeremy hunt, who has also said he wants defence spending to rise to 2.5%. it currently stands at 2.1% of gdp. let's speak to our correspondent nick eardley, in westminster this is really starting to feel like an election year, we are hearing from all parties about what their plans would be but tell us more about what sir keir starmer has said. ., ., ., . said. you mentioned that defence sendin: said. you mentioned that defence spending pledge _ said. you mentioned that defence spending pledge and _ said. you mentioned that defence spending pledge and yes - said. you mentioned that defence spending pledge and yes it - said. you mentioned that defence spending pledge and yes it is i spending pledge and yes it is interesting that keir starmer is saying i would hope at some stage to get to that 2.5% of economic output spent on defence but there is a pretty big caveat there. it's when it's possible and it doesn't feel to me like that's a particularly cast—iron pledge that we can hold a potential future labour government to account on all that easily

because they just aren't to account on all that easily because theyjust aren't giving a timeframe for it at the moment but what is significant and what feels like a big pledge from him today is what he calls an absolute commitment to retaining nuclear weapons if the labour party wins power. that's significant for a couple of reasons. one is that keir starmer says labour will spend what it takes to maintain the system and to upgrade it and secondly he says it is a long—term promise, designed to be one that labour says would last for decades, a generational promise and some are putting it. and that is significant because that is not really what the labour party has done in the past. you remember in 2019 they said yes we will renew nuclear weapons but they almost did it reluctantly, saying we would much rather have come at labour, that is, multilateral disarmament and they planned to lead the process but keir starmer seems to be saying something

very different today, thinking nuclear weapons will be a key part of the uk defence portfolio and he is saying it would be absolutely at the centre of a labour defence strategy. 50 the centre of a labour defence strate: . , , , strategy. so interesting because it's only been — strategy. so interesting because it's only been a _ strategy. so interesting because it's only been a few— strategy. so interesting because it's only been a few days - strategy. so interesting because it's only been a few days since i strategy. so interesting because. it's only been a few days since we heard from the former armed forces ministerjames tp saying more broadly he felt the uk was not prepared enough for any possible war so defence likely to be at the heart of some more of these discussions as we enter a general election year? i think it will certainly be discussed and it will be an issue and it's interesting the government and labour are pretty much in the same place, offering 2.5% of gdp as a golfer spending, place, offering 2.5% of gdp as a golferspending, not place, offering 2.5% of gdp as a golfer spending, not as a commitment. and both are now committed completely to retaining the nuclear weapons system. i think though the politics of this really matters. the conservatives traditionally are seen as the party

of defence, the ones who offer decent spending commitments to the army who want to be seen as appealing to those voters who think appealing to those voters who think a strong armed forces is important that an election. sir keir starmer is trying to say under his leadership he would keep labour very much with strong commitments to the military and it's very much a pitch to the centre ground and my suspicion is the commitment to nuclear weapons will anger some on the left of the labour party.- the left of the labour party. thank ou. argentina's second highest court has held iran responsible for two attacks in buenos aires in the 1990s. suicide bombings at the israeli embassy and a jewish centre led to more than 85

people being killed. provisional figures for winter 2024 show there was higher than average rainfall across the uk. we ve been hearing a lot about the wet and rainy weather across the uk recently but now the national farmers union is warning it could be putting our ability to produce food at risk. farmers are struggling to get crops in the ground and say their livestock is also affected. our rural affairs correspondent, lucy vladev is at a farm in warwickshire. it's been a hard time for farmers. this field doesn't have anything in this year. there's no way you can get a crop in that. you really do question why you do it. a really hard time for a long time. we've been putting on little coats on some of the newborn lambs to help protect them from the rain. most fields haven't dried out since last year as the uk experienced its wettest 18 months on record. there's a good girl, hey? how's your tummy? are you nice and full? rachel farms land

here in north wales. on a scale of one to ten, we're probably at the moment, how wet our land is is probably about a 15. she's been forced to keep 300 of her ewes in lambing sheds on expensive bought—in feed. to date we're probably riding at about at least between probably about five and £8,000 increased cost for this sort of wet winter, exacerbated in the last month or so. like, what can you do? it's not so much about perhaps the money. it's more about when you literally haven't got anywhere for animals to go or you're really trying to shift them around the farm. it has a massive impact. so yeah, the mental health burden is pretty colossal. over in gloucestershire, it's a similar picture. this was debbie wilkins' field three months ago. it's still under water. we can't stop the water coming, but we can change how we manage the fields to try and be more resilient to flooding. but even with that this year, we're still not being able to graze the fields when we should be able to. it's so bad that agricultural

organisations and the national farmers' union are warning of a drastic reduction in crops, saying a crisis is building for both food supplies and farmers' finances. it will have a financial implication, yes, definitely. and there's also the implications from actually when the floods were high and they knocked fences down, they destroyed crops that we have to reseed. there's rubbish that i'm going to have to pick up on the fields. so there's more than just the lack of being able to go there. it's the fact that things aren't growing and i have to do repairs. this week the government announced its compensation plans forfarmers in england affected by flooding over the winter. but many say it's not enough. it'll go a small way, but it's not going to make, it's not going to make any inroads at all into what i have to do to put right and buy extra food and things. the government says they've launched the initial phase to ensure grants reach farmers as quickly as possible and are now looking to expand. but in the meantime, farmers are warning that unless rapid action is taken

to support those producing the food on our plates, the wider public will soon feel the impacts. what's the oldest car you've ever driven? there are some amazing classic vehicles on the road but they'd all be hard pushed to beat this one. cecil the campervan has gone 14 times around the clock but the highly collectible — rusty but trusty — vw camper is still going strong. our reporterjonathan morris, went to find out more. owners of old cars often give them names — like daisy. well, meet cecil, the vw campervan. cecil is special because he's done nearly a million miles. in australia, they call him a combi — meaning combination — and that's very much what cecil is. he's a people carrier for my family, seven seats. he's a camper van for adventures and holidays. he's also a crane — he's got an attachment on the front for picking stuff up and down. steve found cecil in australia in 1998, and brought him back to the uk.

so this little engine used to be in a peugeot 205. cecil�*s engine was converted to run on waste chip—fat oil. he was an airport shuttle bus from canberra to sydney. he's approaching 14 times round the clock, which is...in english speak is approaching 900,000 miles. which i think — as far as we can find out — is the highest mileage of one of these in the world. it's a two—way relationship. like, i definitely... number of hours spent fixing cecil for number of hours driving him are probably similar. it's definitely an expression of my silly character and my ridiculous optimism and total lack of understanding of the laws of physics. with that kind of pedigree, you might expect that cecil would be in the retirement garage. but cecil is also the workhorse of steve green's clean ocean sailing organisation, and he's got lots to do. let's go and have a look. doing a counting and sorting day next week.

clean ocean picks up plastic — like old fishing nets — around the coast, and takes them through recycling in steve's traditional boat, annie. they've picked up more than 70 tonnes so far. some of the waste gets turned into kayaks, like this one. we've got 87 kilos of plastic rubbish in this one. can do 350 — this is as far as we've taken it. it all looks a bit scary around 350 — the back wheels start going in the air! well, he's been going 52 years. i can't see why he won't last another 52. but we're going to just keep cutting the rust out and keep repairing him and keep him going as he is. why not? the boat's over 100 years old and still working so, yeah, let's see if we can keep the old van going for a century. and with steve's tender care, it's far from the end of the road for cecil. jonathan morris, bbc news.

we all need a cecil in our lives. now it's time for the weather with helen. hello there. this temperature profile is hanging around in the south but temperatures back down to average. some sunshine today, for the north—east of scotland, it's lingering but we have a week with a front further south and west and it will pep up so the ring turning every in northern ireland and the west of scotland but for many parts of england and wales, it's warm, wince a little bit up on it's warm, wince a little bit up on it yesterday but we could still get 20 or 21 degrees. by this evening gale force winds pushing rain in across the bulk of scotland, southwards through northern ireland. in dribs and drabs further south but

misty and murky but there is more rain to come in the north west of scotland. it's mild, not the night just gone but no frost issues. quite a bit of cloud on saturday morning, high pressure keeping things fine and dry in the south and that will clear early morning mist and mark but the weather front might produce some sharp showers across central areas and this gives wet weather for scotland, northern ireland, heavy showers and brisk winds continue, sunshine returning the temperatures dipping away by several degrees in scotland and northern ireland. but one further south and east. we are replacing the south—westerly wind with more of a westerly breeze so it turns cooler through the second part of the weekend and we might even have frost in scotland first thing sunday. perhaps a mist and fog in the south but the wind is escalating later, pushing in more showers turning to snow over the scottish

hills during the day on sunday, and for northern ireland, pretty chilly, tens and 11 degrees and the dip in temperature further south. so a chilly start to the new working week on monday, but high pressure may build in the south and give strike weather into next week. this is one to watch and as ever, there is lots more on the website. live from london, this is bbc news.

the us restricts travel for its diplomats in israel as the uk's foreign office updates its travel advice amid fears of an attack by iran after an israeli strike on the iranian consulate in syria. the inquiry into the post office it scandal will today hear from adam crozier, who became the royal mail's chief executive in 2003. a warning that the catastrophic hunger crisis in sudan is even worse than feared according to doctors. we will bring you their footage from the country's darfur region. sir keir starmer says the labour government would aim to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gdp, matching goals are set out by chancellorjeremy hunt. we begin this hour in the middle east where american diplomats and their families in israel have been told not to travel outside of tel aviv,

jerusalem and be'er—sheva.