and it's france versus the uk — stay tuned to find out who won. and on bbc london, it's the end of the road for low traffic we hear about how it could be delay when london becomes net zero. good evening. a woman in los angeles has decided to speak publicly for the first time about an incident in 2008 involving russell brand, which she says happened in an office building shared with the bbc. the woman, who worked for another media company, says russell brand exposed himself to her and then laughed about it on his radio 2 show. she has been telling her story to our correspondent nomia iqbal, who sent this report from la.

you're listening to bbc radio 2. it's the russell brand show. and here's your host, i am! actor, comedian, presenter, and now, alleged sex offender. russell brand is facing a growing list of claims of sexual impropriety, which he denies. now we have spoken to a woman who says brand exposed himself to herjust moments before recording an episode of his bbc radio 2 show in los angeles. olivia, whose identity we are protecting, did not work for the bbc, but did work in the building. she says she was in the bathroom when brand came in and stood over her. and he said, "i'm going to call you betty." and i said, "but that's not my name." and then he said, "well,i i'm going to- you." and i went, "what?" olivia says that the door was closed as this was happening. and he pulled out his penis on his hand and served it to me,

you know, as you would be serving someone some food. and i said, "no, no, no, you're not going t me." and then all of a sudden there was, like, banging, like, bang, bang, bang. like, "russell, you're wanted, russell. you're wanted in the radio studio." olivia said russell brand left the bathroom. he went outside to the hallway to meet his team. moments later, she said she also walked out of the bathroom. she says she remembers feeling ashamed, embarrassed. she said she was red in the face. she also remembers walking past a group of men who were hanging out here in the hallway. she continued herjourney to her office that way. meanwhile, russell brand had entered this studio, where he went on to pre—record his radio 2 show, where he and co—presenter matt morgan laughed and joked about brand exposing himself. the bbc has removed some of brands offensive content from its services, but we think it's important

to hear this moment. russell brand: i won't be able to drag her off into a cubicle - and show her my pubicles! that would never... how long ago did you do that last? been a long while, max, since old russy brand... i 25 minutes since he showed his willy to a lady. laughing: very easy to judge! olivia had been told on the day of the alleged incident that brand was talking about it on air. because management approached her she assumed it never made the final cut but after the news broke about russell brand she say she tracked down a recording of the programme. in a statement the bbc said... what's your reaction to the bbc now investigating? it's a bit late.

but isn't there a sense of duty? the audio that i heard at the weekend was vile. what made the bbc think that was appropriate to go out like that? i just don't understand why they didn't investigate this much sooner. her claims come after an investigation by the sunday times and channel 4's dispatches programme, in which four women allege they were sexually assaulted by russell brand between 2006—2013. the metropolitan police also says it's received a sexual assault allegation from 2003. brand has denied any wrongdoing. i was very, very promiscuous. now, during that time of— promiscuity, the relationships i had were absolutely always consensual. the bbc is looking at these latest claims as part of its review, the corporation faces many times about —— many questions about russell brand's time at the bbc and

what he was allowed to say and do on airfor so what he was allowed to say and do on airforso long. what he was allowed to say and do on airfor so long. we've heard from russell brand's former co—presenter, matt morgan. russell brand's former co-presenter, matt morgan-— matt morgan. that's right, we received this _ matt morgan. that's right, we received this e-mail _ matt morgan. that's right, we received this e-mail from - matt morgan. that's right, we | received this e-mail from matt received this e—mail from matt morgan and it's a long statement. in it he says, i stopped working with russell brand several years ago. he says during the time that he worked with him he was not aware of any allegations of serious sexual misconduct against him. i read another part of the statement verbatim. he says, i was not aware until now of the nature of this encounter that we are reporting. i've expressed my regrets are now, looking back at the impact of the show and this is a further example. the recent coverage has been very distressing to read and i reiterate my absolute condemnation of any form of mistreatment of women. that's the statement that we received a short while ago from matt morgan, who was the co—presenter alongside russell brand on that show that we've been

reporting on. {lila brand on that show that we've been reporting on-— brand on that show that we've been re ortin on, ., , ., ., ., reporting on. ok, many thanks, nomia lubal. joining reporting on. ok, many thanks, nomia joininu me reporting on. ok, many thanks, nomia joining me as — reporting on. ok, many thanks, nomia joining me as our— reporting on. ok, many thanks, nomia joining me as our legal _ reporting on. ok, many thanks, nomia joining me as our legal affairs - joining me as our legal affairs correspondent, dominic casciani. legally where does this leave russell brand and the women who say they were his victims? the russell brand and the women who say they were his victims?— they were his victims? the first thin is they were his victims? the first thing is we _ they were his victims? the first thing is we have _ they were his victims? the first thing is we have to _ they were his victims? the first thing is we have to say it's - they were his victims? the first thing is we have to say it's a . thing is we have to say it's a series of media allegations which russell brand denied that the weekend and media allegations are not proof of a crime. alleged victims need to go to the police if they want to report a crime. this is effectively fairly obvious stuff. it's only then when police assess a complaint they can decide whether there is a potential crime to investigate and passed to prosecutors to charge and we are nowhere near that situation because there is no criminal investigation at the moment. all we know of is there is this 2003 allegation report to the metropolitan police. we don't know where that is going to end up. the other side of this is civil cases. can people see damages. it's

a similar situation. if somebody wants to seek damages for some kind of perceived wrong it's up to the victim, the complainant, to say, i want to take the body to court and they have to work out who it is they want to take to court, what they are alleging, how strong their evidences, how far they want to go, what do they really want to achieve there. in some cases you could go for the alleged abuser or you could go for the people around them such as an organisation they were part of, we've seen that in the cases such as the church, but we are nowhere near that situation. it's very complex, a long way and as we said russell brand has denied the allegations which were made at the weekend. a , allegations which were made at the weekend. , ., . weekend. many thanks, dominic casciani. for decades, rupert murdoch has arguably been the world's most powerful and controversial media tycoon. now, at the age of 92, he says he's retiring as chairman of fox and news corporation — which owns the sun and the times newspapers. his son, lachlan, will take over. in a letter to staff, rupert murdoch said he would still take an active interest in the companies and in what he called

"the daily contest of ideas". here's our culture editor, katie razzall. the most powerful media mogul in the world, rupert murdoch is rumoured to be able to change governments, making and destroying political careers. for more than half a century his influence on britain has been profound. his professed philosophy always antiestablishment was yellow we don't believe that people who set themselves up in positions of privilege or of public figures or public role models and either make money from that or get power from that, we either make money from that or get powerfrom that, we believe either make money from that or get power from that, we believe they should be looked at. indie power from that, we believe they should be looked at.— power from that, we believe they should be looked at. we believe in a democracy now— should be looked at. we believe in a democracy now -- — should be looked at. we believe in a democracy now -- we _ should be looked at. we believe in a democracy now -- we live _ should be looked at. we believe in a democracy now -- we live in - should be looked at. we believe in a democracy now -- we live in a - democracy now —— we live in a democracy now —— we live in a democracy now. democracy now -- we live in a democracy nova— democracy now -- we live in a democracy now. now at 92 he is ste -|n~ democracy now. now at 92 he is stepping down _ democracy now. now at 92 he is stepping down as _ democracy now. now at 92 he is stepping down as chairman - democracy now. now at 92 he is stepping down as chairman in i democracy now. now at 92 he is - stepping down as chairman in favour of his son lachlan. in a statement today, he said his companies are in robust health, as am i, we have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years, i certainly aren't

planned to participate in them. i can guarantee i will be involved every day in the of ideas. —— in the contest of ideas. the murdoch dynasty inspired the tv series succession with its brutal power struggles to take control of the business. in real life, of rupert murdoch's six children, three have vied at different times to play significant roles. liz runs her own media company, james quit the board in 2020 over editorial disagreements and lachlan is now at the helm. lachlan murdoch is no rupert murdoch. he hasn't got the force of personality or the experience of the genius of murdoch, i think, to hold that company together, so it will be interesting to see whether he can prevent it breaking up. the murdoch ath to prevent it breaking up. the murdoch path to influencing _ prevent it breaking up. the murdoch path to influencing the _ prevent it breaking up. the murdoch path to influencing the uk _ prevent it breaking up. the murdoch path to influencing the uk came - prevent it breaking up. the murdoch| path to influencing the uk came with the australian's purchase of the news of the world and later the sun. he reinvented the british tabloid, taking on the print unions in a huge

disruption to the media industry after he acquired the times newspapers. his empire expanded into the us and into the wider broadcasting sphere. murdoch's influence became legendary, courted by many uk prime ministers. i’m influence became legendary, courted by many uk prime ministers.- by many uk prime ministers. i'm not hidin: by many uk prime ministers. i'm not hiding behind — by many uk prime ministers. i'm not hiding behind an _ by many uk prime ministers. i'm not hiding behind an editor— by many uk prime ministers. i'm not hiding behind an editor in _ by many uk prime ministers. i'm not hiding behind an editor in saying - by many uk prime ministers. i'm not hiding behind an editor in saying i i hiding behind an editor in saying i had nothing to do with the policy, i do get involved and i don't make a secret of it. do get involved and i don't make a secret of it— secret of it. despicable, that's. .. in 2011 it emerged _ secret of it. despicable, that's. .. in 2011 it emerged his _ secret of it. despicable, that's. .. in 2011 it emerged his news - secret of it. despicable, that's. .. in 2011 it emerged his news of l secret of it. despicable, that's. .. l in 2011 it emerged his news of the world had illegally listened to the voicemails of the murdered schoolgirl milly dowler. the wider phone hacking scandal forced the paper to close and was a humiliation. i’d paper to close and was a humiliation.— paper to close and was a humiliation. �* ~ ., ., humiliation. i'd like to say one sentence- _ humiliation. i'd like to say one sentence. this _ humiliation. i'd like to say one sentence. this is _ humiliation. i'd like to say one sentence. this is the most - humiliation. i'd like to say one - sentence. this is the most humble day of my life. he sentence. this is the most humble day of my life-— day of my life. he is reported to have spent _ day of my life. he is reported to have spent more _ day of my life. he is reported to have spent more than _ day of my life. he is reported to have spent more than £1 - day of my life. he is reported to have spent more than £1 billion| have spent more than £1 billion paying out to phone hacking victims and earlier this year came another huge settlement, more than three quarters of $1 billion in a defamation lawsuit against fox news

over comments made in the voting machines used in the 2020 presidential election. he has passed the baton to the next generation. i doubt whether the sun will be a print product in the next couple of years. they will be other difficult decisions. i imagine rupert will want to hand onto somebody else. there is absolutely no point in saying, lachlan, you are the chairman and you turn out to be actually chief operating officer. from november rupert murdoch will be the company's chairman emeritus, a man who made politicians sit up and listen. will future prime ministers feel as inclined to pick up the phone? katie russell, bbc news. in a moment we'll speak to katie, but first to our north america correspondentjohn sudworth, who's outside fox news hq in new york. john, one of the world's biggest media figures stepping back. what do you think his impact has been? well, reeta, from that first

australian newspaper mr murdoch built an extraordinary global empire and although at the age of 92 there has long been speculation about this moment, now that it is here there is still a sense of shock, notjust from his employees, like those here at fox news, but around the world, because of the huge political, cultural and social influence he was able to wield for so many decades through so many publications. in a statement he said his son lachlan was a principled and passionate leader who would take the companies into the future. his brand of populist right—wing content as well as his revolutionising of an industry made him a hero to some, but the opposite to others, reinforced by those scandals, the phone hacking scandal in the uk as well of course those unfounded claims of election rigging here in america for which fox news was eventually had to settle for almost $800 million.—

eventually had to settle for almost $800 million. thank you, john. our media editor— $800 million. thank you, john. our media editor katie _ $800 million. thank you, john. our media editor katie russell - $800 million. thank you, john. our media editor katie russell is - $800 million. thank you, john. our media editor katie russell is with i media editor katie russell is with me. do we read anything into the timing of this? it me. do we read anything into the timing of this?— me. do we read anything into the timing of this? it certainly comes, this decision, _ timing of this? it certainly comes, this decision, at _ timing of this? it certainly comes, this decision, at a _ timing of this? it certainly comes, this decision, at a key _ timing of this? it certainly comes, this decision, at a key moment. timing of this? it certainly comes, i this decision, at a key moment with elections here in the uk and the us looming. mr murdoch and his empire have traditionally been seen as kingmakers. many people here will rememberfrom the 1992 kingmakers. many people here will remember from the 1992 general election, it's the sun wot won it, it may not be as simple as that but his grip on the media empire has been secured for many decades, yes, with wobbles, but its influence and reach has really been unprecedented so now he is stepping back there are questions for the future. his son lachlan is believed to be as conservative as mr murdoch. the battle for succession is finished for now at least but we are in very different time, a very different era from the murdoch heyday unlike the rest of the media industry his companies face testing time so the influence of newspapers is not what it was, they are under assault from the internet, as is television by

the internet, as is television by the streamers. we are truly in a digital age. the streamers. we are truly in a digitalage. media the streamers. we are truly in a digital age. media companies are struggling and we don't yet know who will survive in the long term. katie , man will survive in the long term. katie . many thanks- — after 1a consecutive rises in interest rates, the bank of england has decided to hold them for the first time in almost two years — at 5.25%. the governor of the bank, andrew bailey, said that inflation had fallen a lot, and he expected that trend to continue. our economics editor faisal islam has more. at a development near grimsby, the slow—burn impact of a relentless series of rate rises is hitting home and hitting house—building in particular. a small development like this for us, 12 bungalows, would normally be fully reserved very early on in the build. however, even though inquiries are coming in at high levels every week, reservations have been very, very slow and impacted massively.

the hold in interest rates goes down well in this sector. very welcome news, very welcome news. it will create some confidence in the market and hopefully kick—start some sales again. in just over two years, rates have risen 1a times as the world tries to cope with a series of inflationary shocks. other nations across the world have also raised rates sharply, but are now on pause too. governor, is this decision to pause rate rises a turning point? well, it's a point when we've stopped tightening because we've had very good news this week on the inflation front, very welcome news. we could see that inflation was coming down. but this week's news is good because it's a sign that we've had more than we expected, and that's very good. but of course, the job's not done yet. we can't be complacent about this. this is a pause, at least, in the sharpest series of interest rate rises we've seen in a generation. it was a knife—edge decision, reflecting the very delicate

tightrope between inflationary pressures on the one hand and the overall health of the economy. and while if things remain as they are, we should expect that this could be the peak in interest rates, the central expectation of forecasters is that they will remain around this level for some time to come, which offers some respite for borrowers from further rises. just don't expect a cut in rates any time soon. i can tell you that we have not had any discussion on the monetary policy committee about reducing rates, because that would be very, very premature. ourjob is to get inflation down. as i see it, we've got a big job to do. we've got quite a long way to go yet. it's encouraging, but i'm afraid we can't be complacent. and of course, we will watch the evidence very carefully, as we always do. is your sense that the medicine is now working? yes, i think the effects of what we have done over the last — not far off two years now, actually, are coming through. we've used the word restrictive. what i mean by that is,

we can see policy having effects. we can see it, in a sense, having the effects we hoped it would. and that, of course, is reducing the inflationary pressure in the economy. for those in the housing market impacted by ever—rising borrowing costs, today will be some relief, but it's far from the end of the matter. faisal islam, bbc news. the interest rate hikes over the last few years followed a decade of low borrowing costs, and have been keenly felt by many people. our cost of living correspondent colletta smith reports from selby in north yorkshire. come on, let's build a den. niall�*s dreaming of a new house, but his parents have plans of their own. morgan and rob are selling up and moving into a bigger new—build just as soon as it's ready. so hearing that rates aren't rising again is a relief. it's got to be seen as a positive thing, although rates are still high. the goalposts were moving, then, while you were house hunting?

yeah, exactly. we had a budget between a certain amount that we wanted to spend, and the way that rates wentjust meant that we were looking towards the lower end of that budget, and even below. the last thing we want to do is to be spending so much a month that we can't afford to do those other things. if you've already got a mortgage offer or an agreement in principle, it might be worth checking again to see if you could get a better rate now. and if you go to the bbc news website on the tackling it together section, there's a mortgage calculator where you could find out what a new mortgage rate at a higher level would look like for your mortgage, because before christmas, nearly half a million households are going to be coming off fixed rates and facing something very different. and plenty of people are already in arrears, struggling with debt as rates went up so fast, so quickly. i owe several thousand in my mortgage payments. jackie had to stop working as ba cabin crew because of

an autoimmune disease. after a relationship break—up, she's struggled to keep herself and two girls afloat. at the moment, ijust do a goodwill gesture whenever i can. ijust pay a bit a month, but it always leaves me short for the month. i try to be positive, but... it's too much for one person to bear. after months of price hikes and rate rises, hope has been hard to come by. but for some, at least, today has brought a brighter horizon. colletta smith, bbc news, in selby. our political editor chris mason is here. some people have had a difficult time, as we saw there. what has been the political reaction to the rate freeze and how will it shape the debate leading to the election? this

week we have _ debate leading to the election? ti 3 week we have had a few brushstrokes added to the economic landscape. so often, it's the economic landscape that shapes the political landscape. speaking to folk in westminster tonight, there is a cautious welcome of this week's news, but a keen awareness of the reality of life, as we were just seeing, for so many people. the government makes the argument on inflation that it thinks it can meet its target of halving inflation this year, given the figures we have had in the last couple of days. as for labour, the message they have had today, and we will hear this over and over again between now and the general election, is posing the question to families around the country — do you feel better off now than you did a year ago? feel better off now than you did a yearago? do feel better off now than you did a year ago? do you feel better off now than you did 13 years ago, when the conservatives came to power? they hope people will blame the government and potentially be willing to switch to labour. as for the conservatives, quite striking tonight was that we have heard from chancellorjeremy hunt, who has been

on the radio. he was saying it is virtually impossible at the moment, given the constraints he has looked at, to consider tax cuts. he will hope between now and the election that there is the scope for him to cut taxes. so as the economic landscape potentially begins to change, but perhaps only a little, so the political landscape does too as the battle for economic credibility between the parties at westminster shapes up ahead of the election. , a, ,., five people from bulgaria who've been living in the uk are to be charged with spying for russia. the three men and two women, aged between 29 and a5, will appear at westminster magistrates�* court next week. our correspondent daniel de simone reports. a businessman, a beautician, two community organisers among five citizens of the communist bloc state thuggery accused of being spies. the

five defendants are alleged to have worked in a russian spy cell, carrying out surveillance on targets, perceived enemies of russia, here in london and in europe. this businessman accused of running the operations and passing information to moscow. his home was the seaside guest in norfolk where he is alleged to have forged passports for the spy cell. it is alleged that the group posed as journalists using fake identity cards during one spying operation in europe. katrin ivanova lived in the series of houses in london suburbs. the pair told neighbours they worked in health care. they ran a bulgarian community organisation in london and promoted it online. they provide courses on british values for immigrants. courses on british values for immigrants-— courses on british values for immiurants. ., . ., ., �* , immigrants. introduction to british values. immigrants. introduction to british values- vanya _

immigrants. introduction to british values. vanya run _ immigrants. introduction to british values. vanya run a _ immigrants. introduction to british values. vanya run a business - immigrants. introduction to british| values. vanya run a business called re values. vanya run a business called pretty woman _ values. vanya run a business called pretty woman and _ values. vanya run a business called pretty woman and was _ values. vanya run a business called pretty woman and was a _ values. vanya run a business called pretty woman and was a judge - values. vanya run a business called pretty woman and was a judge at i pretty woman and was a judge at eyelash competitions. three of the defendants were charged earlier in the year with possessing fake identity documents for nine different countries. all five defendants will appear in court next week. police are spending a growing amount of time on investigations into suspected espionage involving russia. the concern follows notorious incidents like the fatal salisbury nerve agent attack five years ago. daniel de simone, bbc news. a simmering row between canada and india escalated today over the murder of a sikh separatist leader in british columbia. canada's prime ministerjustin trudeau provoked anger earlier this week when he said the indian government may have been behind the killing. today, he urged india to cooperate with the murder investigation — but not before india announced it was stopping issuing visas to canadian citizens. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has the story. this is the scene of a brazen murder near vancouver, a killing back injune that's now

led to an escalating diplomatic row between allies — one with global consequences. police in canada have been investigating the crime for weeks, watched closely by the country's sikh community. today, the canadian leader, at the un in new york, repeated his explosive allegation. there are credible reasons to believe that agents of the government of india were involved in the killing of a canadian on canadian soil. now, we call upon the government of india to engage with us, to move forward on getting to the truth of this matter. india says it's now suspending visa services for canadian citizens and canada is cutting back its presence in india, saying its diplomats in delhi have received threats on social media. hardeep singh nijjar

was a sikh separatist leader. he'd publicly campaigned for an independent homeland in india and the indian government labelled him a terrorist. earlier this week, the canadian high commissioner in delhi was summoned after canada said it was kicking out the most senior indian intelligence agent there. in a tit—for—tat expulsion, a canadian diplomat was asked to leave india. it's angrily denied any involvement in the killing, hitting out at canada over what it calls anti—india activity being allowed there. to talk about reputational issues and reputational damage, if there is one, any country that needs to look at this, i think it's canada and its growing reputation as a place, as a safe haven for terrorists, for extremists. at the g20 summit hosted by india earlier this month, justin trudeau met narendra modi. evident in their body language, the strain in relations. but they've now plunged to an unprecedented low, leaving other allies like britain watching on nervously, hoping they won't have to take sides. caroline hawley, bbc news.

king charles received a standing ovation as he addressed the french senate in paris — which he did in both english and french. in the parliament, he delivered a strongly—worded call for a victory for ukraine in its war against russia's invasion, and he called for france and the uk to work together to protect the world from climate change. just as we stand together against military aggression, so must we strive together to protect the world from our most existential challenge of all, that of global warming, climate change and the catastrophic destruction of nature. and away from the formalities, the queen and the president's wife brigitte macron indulged in a little sporting rivalry. it took place on a joint visit to a sports centre near paris. neither player showed much ping—pong prowess, but that didn't detract

from the entertainment. football — and brighton and hove albion have played their first match in europe tonight. it was a thrilling debut against aek athens in the europa league, but the seagulls were ultimately disappointed, losing 3—2 to the greek side. nesta mcgregor was watching. as the well—known saying goes — you never forget your first. brighton's european debut and an atmosphere to match the occasion. hoping to spoil the party, aek athens, who didn't need long to make their mark. it's a good ball and a fantastic header. the home side, a goal down, were given a chance to draw level from the penalty spot. joao pedro, the club's record signing, nowjust a kick away from the history books. a landmark goal. the seagulls primed for take—off, or so they thought, because the greek side were back in frontjust before half—time, much to the brighton

manager's disappointment. however, his mood may have quickly improved after the break. his team given another chance to draw level, another penalty, another goal forjoao pedro. but the greek champions are no strangers to big european nights and they made that experience count. brighton 3—2 losers, but a night that will live long in the memory regardless of the result. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. and an electrifying photo? yes, we had some lively showers in the last few hours. this was one crackling across the skyline of stratford, this area of the olympic park. we have seen a few of these storms come up have seen a few of these storms come up over recent hours, affecting south—east england and moving into east anglia, some rain across parts of scotland and northern ireland. this clump is going to last for quite a while, working its way into east anglia. maybe even a few showers hanging around by dawn. the

showers hanging around by dawn. the showers across south—west england will probably clear, one or two for the north west of england and west wales. and we will see continuing showers for scotland and northern ireland, where it will continue to be when the other night. tomorrow, same area of low pressure still in the same kind of place. the weather is similar to what we had today. showers across northern and western areas. then in the afternoon, the showers developed pretty much anywhere. we could see the odd heavy downpour, the chancellor rumble of thunder or two as well. temperatures are close to average at the moment. the average at this time of year in london is about 19. heading into the weekend, some better weather coming our way for one day. we get this ridge of high pressure building on ahead of the next weather system. that ridge brings descending air, that squishy is any showers. so it's going to be a dry morning with plenty of sunshine. a bit of cloud will develop in the west later. we could see the odd spit of drizzle in

south—west england. maybe a few spots of rain in northern ireland. but by afternoon, most of saturday is dry, bright and sunny. heading into sunday, we have wet and windy weather moving on, particularly to northern and western areas, some of it really heavy. and next week, it looks like it's going to be quite unsettled, a mixture of sunshine and showers. but temperatures for the most part will be running a bit above average for the time of year, so it will stay on the mild side. but some of the showers or outbreaks of rain could be quite heavy. thanks, chris. and that's bbc news at ten. there's more analysis of the day's main stories on newsnight with victoria derbyshire, which is just getting under way on bbc two. they've got a special programme this evening about migrant boat crossings. the news continues here on bbc one, as now it's time to join our colleagues for the news where you are. channel crossings, the debate.