a special report from the small indian state of manipur where brutal ethnic violence has divided communities and shattered lives. it feels extremely tense. it feels like things could erupt very quickly, even with the slightest spark. and manchester city begin the defence of their champions league title. tonight... new analysis of the landmark puberty blocker study that led to a dramatic change in nhs policy, which did away with any age limits for the drug. good evening. in a potential major policy shift, the prime minister is considering watering down some of the government's main environmental commitments. rishi sunak confirmed tonight that he wants to be "honest

about costs and trade offs." discussions are ongoing ahead of a speech in the coming days. mr sunak said the biggest commitment, to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, won't be abandoned. but the bbc has learned that some longstanding commitments are under threat. they include delaying a ban on the sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035. the plan to phase out the installation of gas boilers by 2035 could be weakened, with only 80% phased out by then. and homeowners and landlords could be told there will be no new energy efficiency regulations on homes. 0ur political editor chris mason reports. within the conservative party in recent months, a fuming row, cost of living squeeze but recent months, a fuming row, cost of living squeez— living squeeze but extra cost for families to _ living squeeze but extra cost for families to green _ living squeeze but extra cost for families to green targets. - living squeeze but extra cost for - families to green targets. long-term families to green targets. long—term promises, short—term political pressures. and then, this moment...

13,965. in pressures. and then, this moment... 13,965. ., ., , , ,, 13,965. in the london suburbs, the tory bv-election — 13,965. in the london suburbs, the tory by-election victory _ 13,965. in the london suburbs, the tory by-election victory this - 13,965. in the london suburbs, the i tory by-election victory this summer tory by—election victory this summer when many expected defeat. and the key issue? a costly clampdown on dirty vehicles imposed by the capital's labour mayor, an idea the conservatives oppose. cutting carbon matters, the prime minister has long argued, but a balance has got to be struck. �* _, ., ., struck. i'm committed to net zero, of course. — struck. i'm committed to net zero, of course. but _ struck. i'm committed to net zero, of course, but we _ struck. i'm committed to net zero, of course, but we would _ struck. i'm committed to net zero, of course, but we would do - struck. i'm committed to net zero, of course, but we would do that i struck. i'm committed to net zero, of course, but we would do that in | struck. i'm committed to net zero, l of course, but we would do that in a pragmatic and proportionate way without unnecessarily adding costs and burdens to families, especially at a time like now when the cost of living is a challenge for people with inflation where it is. let me exlain with inflation where it is. let me exnlain how _ with inflation where it is. let me explain how and _ with inflation where it is. let me explain how and why _ with inflation where it is. let me explain how and why we - with inflation where it is. let me explain how and why we are - with inflation where it is. let me - explain how and why we are reporting this now, what we know and what we don't know. what we do know is the prime minister wishes these had not leaked and he has lost control of the choreography of his announcement, and i can tell you that downing street have asked government departments to consider

delaying, watering down or not committing to eight environmentally related themes and we have reported if you already, let me read a few more... no new taxes to discourage flying, no policies to change people's diet are no measures to encourage carpooling. what we don't know yet is having considered these ideas, is exactly which ones he actually commits to. in new york this week as world leaders gather at the un, intense debate about climate change and what to do about it. amongst those there, this conservative mp, who led a review into the approach of the government to net zero. this into the approach of the government to net zero. , , into the approach of the government to net urn-— into the approach of the government to net zer0-— to net zero. this is going to be an economic disaster, _ to net zero. this is going to be an economic disaster, and _ to net zero. this is going to be an economic disaster, and we - to net zero. this is going to be an economic disaster, and we are . economic disaster, and we are missing out already, we see the us where i am here at un climate week, turbo—charging their efforts towards a green industrial revolution. why do we want to fall behind? did your

heart sink when _ do we want to fall behind? did your heart sink when you _ do we want to fall behind? did your heart sink when you heard - do we want to fall behind? did your heart sink when you heard about i heart sink when you heard about this? ~ , ., , heart sink when you heard about this? . , . , . this? we still have days in which the prime minister _ this? we still have days in which the prime minister might - this? we still have days in which the prime minister might want l this? we still have days in which| the prime minister might want to change his mind so hopefully if he listens to this programme, he will reconsider. but listens to this programme, he will reconsider-— listens to this programme, he will reconsider. �* ., , ., , reconsider. but some conservatives and others have _ reconsider. but some conservatives and others have long _ reconsider. but some conservatives and others have long campaigned . reconsider. but some conservativesl and others have long campaigned for just this kind of policy shift, and here was the last prime minister just yesterday... indie here was the last prime minister just yesterday. . ._ here was the last prime minister 'ust esterda , ., ., , just yesterday... we showed as many other western _ just yesterday... we showed as many other western countries _ just yesterday... we showed as many other western countries already - other western countries already doing, delay implementing net zero commitments such as the ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030. other environmental regulations which are hiking the cost of living like enforcing the replacement of gas and oil boilers should also be abandoned. tonight, labour said... _ should also be abandoned. tonight, labour said... this _ should also be abandoned. tonight, labour said... this is _ should also be abandoned. tonight, labour said... this is an _ should also be abandoned. tonight, labour said... this is an absolute i labour said... this is an absolute farce, labour said... this is an absolute farce. this _ labour said... this is an absolute farce. this is _ labour said... this is an absolute farce, this is absolutely - labour said... this is an absolute farce, this is absolutely no - labour said... this is an absolute farce, this is absolutely no way . labour said... this is an absolute | farce, this is absolutely no way to run a _ farce, this is absolutely no way to run a country, late—night policy statements from the downing street bunker _ statements from the downing street bunker is _ statements from the downing street bunker is ever driven by the absolute _ bunker is ever driven by the absolute chaos within the conservative party with a weak prime ministen _ conservative party with a weak prime minister. but conservative party with a weak prime minister. �* ., , .,

minister. but there was no commitment _ minister. but there was no commitment from - minister. but there was no commitment from labourl minister. but there was no | commitment from labour to minister. but there was no - commitment from labour to restore any targets that are dropped. a leak within government and a huge row boiling over more than ever. and in a moment we'll speak to chris about what this all means, but first our climate editor justin rowlatt is here. what impact could these changes have? i have got repeat that we do not know what is coming back rishi sunak said he will stick to the 2015 net zero target which essentially means, we will kick these carbon targets down the road, we will have to cut it more in the future if we do not cut it now, and making these changes now, switching to electric vehicles, heat pumps, making homes more efficient, it is good for the country, it is a chance for the uk to lead potentially in all these technologies that the whole world is going to want in the future. i was talking to a senior figure going to want in the future. i was talking to a seniorfigure in going to want in the future. i was talking to a senior figure in the car industry and he says most car companies want the uk to stick to its 2030 ban on pure petrol and

diesel cars, and they are spending hundreds of millions of pounds retooling one of the biggest industries and they want there to be a market for their product. it is also reputation been good for the country, and uk really has led the world on cutting carbon and that has given the country diplomatic heft, but rollback and ring commitments and the leadership could be lost. —— on a green commitments. the reason the uk is at the leading role on climate is there has been a consensus amongst all parties but this move could breach that consensus and potentially politicise tackling climate change.— tackling climate change. thanks for “oininu us. tackling climate change. thanks for joining us. chris, _ tackling climate change. thanks for joining us. chris, in _ tackling climate change. thanks for joining us. chris, in westminster, l joining us. chris, in westminster, what is the political calculation? governments hate it when they lose control_ governments hate it when they lose control of— governments hate it when they lose control of what they are planning to say and _ control of what they are planning to say and when, when there are lakes, that precisely what has happened with what we have revealed tonight

-- when _ with what we have revealed tonight —— when there are leaks. usually ministers — —— when there are leaks. usually ministers say we do not comment on leaks _ ministers say we do not comment on leaks but _ ministers say we do not comment on leaks but tonight a written statement from the prime minister, effectively acknowledging what we are reporting, saying he is committed to net zero but insisting that there — committed to net zero but insisting that there has to be an honesty about— that there has to be an honesty about the — that there has to be an honesty about the costs and the trade—offs and an_ about the costs and the trade—offs and an implication that others have not been _ and an implication that others have not been. there are people around rishi _ not been. there are people around rishi sunak— not been. there are people around rishi sunak who have long wanted him to demonstrate in public what they see as _ to demonstrate in public what they see as the — to demonstrate in public what they see as the real rishi sunak, not a politician — see as the real rishi sunak, not a politician managing crises political or pandemic but setting out what he really _ or pandemic but setting out what he really believes and what they think is a balanced and pragmatic approach. where we stand tonight is approach. where we stand tonight is a reignited _ approach. where we stand tonight is a reignited row over the politics of climate _ a reignited row over the politics of climate and it will provoke anger and controversy within the conservatives and around parliament and beyond. just the kind of thing that a _ and beyond. just the kind of thing that a prime minister who is in a hole _ that a prime minister who is in a hole in— that a prime minister who is in a hole in the — that a prime minister who is in a hole in the polling needs to do.

chris— hole in the polling needs to do. chris mason, thanks forjoining us. the father, stepmother and uncle of 10 year old sara sharif have appeared at the old bailey and told they will stand trial next septemberfor murder, and causing or allowing the death of a child. 0ur correspondent daniel sandford joins us now from outside the old bailey. what did we learn today? the case of the death of ten—year—old sara sharif is now going to the crown court system and she was found dead almost six weeks ago at herfamily she was found dead almost six weeks ago at her family home she was found dead almost six weeks ago at herfamily home in she was found dead almost six weeks ago at her family home in woking she was found dead almost six weeks ago at herfamily home in woking in the early hours of the 10th of august. the three adults who lived with her, father, stepmother and uncle all left the country the day before, and last wednesday faisal malik and beinash batool and faisal malik and beinash batool and faisal malik returned to the uk and they have been charged with murder and also causing or allowing the death of the child —— urfan sharif. we

heard new details about the extent of the injuries that sara sharif had suffered and the prosecution talked about a constellation of injuries including a broken collarbone, multiple rib fractures to the front and rear, bruising to her torso and her limbs and a brain haemorrhage and the police previously talked about multiple injuries sustained over an extended period of time. the judge told the three they would remain in prison until their trial preparation hearing on the 1st of december. to give you some idea, the trial is scheduled for september which shows you the state of the court system at the moment. thanks for “oininr court system at the moment. thanks forjoining us- _ a damning report on the mistreatment of detainees at an immigration removal centre has recommended that no one should be held for more than 28 days while awaiting deportation. currently there is no time limit. the report is the result of a public inquiry triggered by a bbc panorama documentary in 2017 which investigated the mistreatment

of men held at brook house near gatwick airport. the report found a "toxic" culture among staff, and that it was a place of "stress and distress". tom symonds reports. when a young custody officer working in britain's immigration system agreed to go undercover for the bbc... my name's callum tulley. two years ago, i was just another lad trying to work out what to do with the rest of my life. ..he had no idea that hisjournalism would result in a highly critical report by a public inquiry. then i got a job here at a place you've probably never heard of — brook house. where people are detained up before being deported. callum obtained footage of incidents like this. an egyptian detainee with mental health problems, held to the ground by the neck by a custody officer. inhuman and degrading

treatment, the inquiry found. and this former detainee in brook house at the time said the culture was abusive. i was terrified. that place, they treated you like animals. they were trying to manhandle you by putting handcuffs on you or a lot of officers would come and ram you down and put you to the ground, try to get everyone locked up, then come for you physically and aggressively, making sly comments, "you black monkey. "what are you doing here? go back to your country. "go back to where you're from." the inquiry concluded the human rights of detainees were repeatedly violated during a five—month period and this was one of the reasons... the use of force approach is based on a prison model and immigration detainees are not prisoners. so it's completely inappropriate. i found evidence of misuse of dangerous techniques being used, of inappropriate and excessive use of force. i'm not the first person to say that a 28—day time limit is needed. i think the evidence showed

that the levels of distress, the anxiety, the uncertainty, are very real for people in an environment such as brook house. but the government is likely to detain more people as it tries to stop the boats. the home secretary did not respond to the call for a limit today. she said... a report which details 19 abusive incidents which have also left their mark on callum tulley. i was in the room for the majority of those wearing a secret camera and although it was incredibly hard to witness those cases of abuse, i took some comfort knowing that this stuff would be broadcast at some point and people would see these cases of abuse for what they were. the inquiry would not have

happened without him. it has asked the government to respond within six months. tom symonds, bbc news. for the first time in the history of the nhs, junior doctors and consultants in england will tomorrow strike together over their pay dispute with the government. the consultants began their two day walk out today. emergency care will be covered throughout, but some cancer care, for example, is affected. here's our health editor, hugh pym. it's the first big surgery i've had so it took some getting used to. it's all the things you can't initially do when you have had surgery... today, charlii is at the hospital discussing her breast cancer treatment. she's had surgery and now there are regular scans but previous appointments have been affected by doctors' strikes. i had a 30—day wait between having a scan and receiving the results of the scan, which, as you can imagine, is psychologically very difficult. there's a lot of anxiety in the lead up to a scan,

but also in the lead up to getting results. charlii supports the doctors' right to strike, but is concerned if the dispute runs on for some time. that's really difficult as a patient, having increased anxiety from delays, having anxiety around your childcare and life admin and the thought of this industrial action continuing or even increasing is really, really worrying. at this major london cancer centre, 100 appointments and 30 operations have been cancelled because of strikes this week. the biggest impact is on the surgery for our cancer patients. and although this is what you would term, "planned elective care", clearly it's essential that these patients are able to have the surgery for their cancer within a timely fashion. so, how have you been? very well, actually. but urgent cancer care has continued. zofia has come in today for her immunotherapy treatment.

i'm very happy that all my treatment has proceeded without any interruption. i don't know whether i'm happy about the consultants going on strike, but i know that my treatment here and the oncologists i've been seeing have not, and therefore i haven't been impacted by it at all. with no sign of the pay row being resolved and winter approaching, hospital managers are more worried. we are in no doubt that harm will be coming to patients as a consequence of the repeated cumulative industrial action that has gone on for so long. tomorrow sees a joint walk—out by consultants and junior doctors and a new chapter in this bitter dispute. hugh pym, bbc news. hospitals are braced now for what they see as the most difficult day of this long running dispute with this unprecedented joint walk out of junior doctors and consultants leaving on a christmas day cover for the most urgent cases. hospital

bosses are even more worried about three days of these joint walk—outs in early october no doubt leaving thousands of patients with cancelled operations and appointments. there have been some very preliminary talks between government officials and the british medical association but no sign of any progress right now. in fact the day has ended with acrimonious exchanges between the two sides. studio: hugh pym reporting, thank you. birmingham city council is to be run by officials sent in by the government, after it effectively declared itself bankrupt. britain's largest local authority is facing a bill of hundreds of millions of pounds for spiralling equal pay claims and failures over a new it system. it's the latest in a number of local authorities that have declared they can't balance the books over the last couple of years. phil mackie reports. this community centre used to be run by birmingham city council, but they had to let it go during the last big round of cuts. it's still here and thriving.

this morning, it was the parent and toddler group's turn. however, the community association that runs it still gets council money and is worried that it will be taken away. we've supported local residents with warm spaces over the cost of living crisis, food hampers, things like that. a lot of that has been funded through council initiatives. cost of living's still going to be an issue for people with less resources in the council, but actually local residents are going to be hit really hard. and most of the people who come here say things have got worse. jade lives in a council house with her daughter and disabled mum. you could see how it's sort of gone downhill, if you like, over a period of time. like, they try and sort of make it better and stuff like that. but you can see that we are struggling as a city. now the government says it's appointing commissioners to take over. for years now, the city has suffered as the council has failed to grip under—performance. poor leadership, weak governance, woeful mismanagement of employee relations and ineffective service delivery have harmed the city.

clearly, we have challenges here in birmingham that we need to address, not least stabilising the finances of this council and delivering the decent services that the people of this city need and deserve. and that's what we'll be working with them to do. critics say the council's only got itself to blame. it's wasted £100 million on a botched it system and it still owes £760 million on equal pay claims from women who were paid less than men on the same grade. this is the men's shed, a space for older men to come for company and support. it's self—sufficient now, but wouldn't be here without council funding. it'll mean that new sheds won't be started up unless there's a commercial company possibly that's prepared to back them. there have been some such where a company has decided to give a start—up grant for sheds. they are few and far between, though. it's barely a year since birmingham was on a high when it hosted the commonwealth games. now its golden years seem far behind and the city will have to reflect on a future of more council tax

and fewer services. phil mackie, bbc news, birmingham. the state of manipur in the north east of india has been rocked by ethnic violence since may, in a conflict marked by brutal murders and sexual crimes against women. the fighting is between the majority meitei and minority kuki communities. it's left more than 200 dead. the state is deeply divided and amid claims the government has been slow to step in civilians are taking matters into their own hands. this report by yogita limaye contains some distressing details. the road that divides the people who used to live peacefully together now feels like a heavily militarised border between countries at war. we crossed seven checkpoints run by security forces, travelling between two communities in a single state, completely separated

since ethnic violence in may. on both sides we couldn't pass without permission from locals. one sign that people are taking matters into their own hands. this is another — a bunker run by civilians. these are men from the kuki minority who live in manipur�*s hills. their guns aimed at an opposing bunker of the meitei majority who live in the valley. this man is a labourer. translation: we are compelled i to pick up arms to defend ourselves. we don't want violence, but we don't fully trust that the security forces will be able to protect us. the men who are in this bunker were civilians doing ordinaryjobs

like farming or keeping a shop. now the words that you hear are words that you hear during war. for example, this is being referred to as a frontline. what's beyond this is being referred to as a buffer zone or no man's land. and it feels extremely tense. it feels like things could erupt very quickly, even with the slightest spark. the conflict that broke out four months ago descended from tensions over quotas in education and jobs, land rights and political power. but the scale was unexpected. in the first few days the dead were overwhelmingly from the kuki minority. they still account for two thirds of all casualties. the violence was savage. this video shows two kuki women paraded naked. one of them allegedly gang raped by the same mob. her father and brother killed.

we spoke to her mother. the family can't be identified according to indian laws on rape. translation: my husband's arms were slashed with knives. - my 19—year—old son was brutally beaten with rods. when i watched the video of what was done to my daughter, it made me want to die. since the first wave of violence, the killings continue. kumartik barely sleeps or eats since his son's death. this family's words almost unbearable to hear. but abraham wants everyone to know what they've been through. he tells us his brother david was tortured and killed by meitei men injuly, and a video of his severed head placed on a fence

surfaced a day later. translation: it is extremely painful. | i don't even keep his photos on my phone because when i see them, i think of disturbing things. we travelled out of the kuki areas. at the end of each journey, stories that explain how the divide became so deep, so quickly. this is a meitei home in mourning. this woman tells us her husband went missing neara kuki area injuly. a day later, this video emerged of him kneeling on the floor with a bloodied face. another one shows him being shot dead. his family believes he was killed by kuki men. these are his children.

translation: it's really hard for me to accept he's gone. _ my eldest son keeps asking where he is. my husband was a good man. tens of thousands are displaced in their own state, too afraid to return home. no dialogue yet between the two sides. people from both sides of the conflict are expecting prime minister narendra modi's national government to step in and resolve the crisis. they say they're disappointed that despite the severity of the violence, for months he didn't speak about it. and they say even now there are no concrete steps being taken on the ground. this is a meitei bunker facing kukis in the hills. the number of armed civilians we've seen on both sides is striking. most first held a weapon

just a few months ago. the government says peace is returning. we found a conflict that continues to erupt. yogita limaye, bbc news, manipur. data in a landmark study into the impact of puberty blockers — which was used to justify lowering the age at which they could be offered on the nhs — has been reanalysed, with significant new findings. puberty blockers are drugs taken by children who say they are transgender. the original conclusion had been that the drugs had no impact on mental health. but the reanalysis shows significant changes to mental health, for better and for worse. newsnight�*s hannah barnes reports. using drugs to stop children going through puberty is one of the most polarising issues of our time.

there's a lack of robust evidence around their use to treat gender distress but now one of the few studies looking at their impact has been rea nalysed. the 2011 study of 44 12—15—year—olds, carried out by uclh and the tavistock�*s gender identity development service, or gids, found there had been no changes in the well—being of those children — no benefit, no harm. the study used scores from parent and child questionnaires that assessed children's behavioural and emotional problems. the finding of no change was based on averaging the scores for all participants. in this situation the mean is essentially meaningless, because if you've got 44 young people, let's say, and let's say over a period of time in 11 do extremely well on the puberty blocker. 11 do quite well, 11 do extremely badly and 11 do quite badly, and you make an average, you get no change. together with professor susan mcpherson from essex university, david freedman has reanalysed

the study�*s raw data, this time exploring changes at an individual level. the work isn't peer reviewed yet but found that after 12 months of puberty blocker injections, the majority of children saw their mental health significantly impacted, for both good and bad. 34% had deteriorated, 29% had improved. 37% showed no change. we can't say that these changes in well—being were caused by being on the puberty blockers because of the way the study was designed, without a control group. plus, it's a small study of just 44 young people. but despite these limitations, this new analysis raises important questions. it may well be that there are children who will benefit from being on the puberty blockers, but there are children who might be harmed. the two nhs trusts behind the study said they welcomed new evidence

around how to support these young people and this new analysis will now be considered along with an up—to—date evidence review by those making recommendations for new gender identity services for children. hannah barnes, bbc news. there's more from hannah on newsnight on bbc two in ten minutes. three british teams were playing tonight in the champions league, including newcastle's first match in europe's top tier in 20 years. joe wilson was watching all the action. here's what it's for — all that saudi arabian investment to get newcastle back among europe's elite. in milan against one of the most successful european teams there has ever been. here we go, rafael leao... ac milan found many ways not to score. this was the most elaborate. after 94 minutes mainly defending, newcastle were here... well, 0—0, a point towards the dream. here's mike summerbee of manchester city past with the big trophy.

city defending champions. look carefully at osman bukari of red star belgrade. video replays analysed, and he was onside. the joy lasted until city's equaliser. this finish was exquisite from alvarez. next, an embarrassing moment for red star's goalkeeper. the most popular glazer in manchester! 3—1 was the final score. it was a frustrating evening for celtic in rotterdam. this was their second red card. yep, for that. this was the second goal feyenoord scored against them. 2—0 it finished. the manager is back to take on europe. he has time to think about it. joe wilson, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith—lucas. we had a bit of sunshine and some showers. the recipe for rainbows out there today. but there will be more wet weather on the cards over the

next few days and things will turn increasingly blustery as well. this was the view this afternoon where we saw skies brightening in north yorkshire. overthe saw skies brightening in north yorkshire. over the next 2a, 48 hours, yorkshire. over the next 24, 48 hours, we have the remnants of a former hurricane moving our way bringing strong winds and torrential downpours at times so the weather could cause some disruption. that area of low pressure moving in with area of low pressure moving in with a trailing weather front sweeping slowly eastwards. we will see the rain through scotland, northern ireland as well over the next few hours and as we head through into the early hours of wednesday morning it will be sitting across northern england and down to the south—west. temperature is mild for most, the mid—teens, but through midday the band of heavy rain and squally wind pushing its way gradually further east. we will see gusts of up to about 60 mph around coastal wales through the morning. blustery for east anglia and