Author: BBC

Branwen JeffreysEducation editorGetty ImagesThe poorest children are missing more school and falling further behind classmates, research shared with the BBC suggests.According to new analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) – which looked at pupil performance after the Covid-19 pandemic – children from the lowest income families are now up to 19 months behind peers by the time they are 16 years old.Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told BBC Panorama Covid had led to a “serious and profound shift” in attitudes to attendance. She said lockdowns had cast “a long shadow” over the life chances of the youngest children.The latest statistics…

Samantha GranvilleBBC News, Los AngelesGetty ImagesThe will of legendary actor Gene Hackman has been released, but uncertainty lingers over his $80m (£62m) fortune.The two-time Academy Award winner left his entire estate to his wife of 30 years, Betsy Arakawa. But Arakawa, 65, was found dead alongside her husband in their New Mexico home last month.Legal experts have now said that, because authorities say Arakawa died seven days before her husband, Hackman’s children could now potentially inherit his fortune, despite not being named in the will.His three children with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese – Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie,…

Tom Espiner & Charlotte EdwardsBusiness reporters, BBC NewsAlisonAlison says the thought of a cut to her benefits is “extremely upsetting”The government is set to announce cuts to spending on welfare this week, after the prime minister called the current system “unsustainable, indefensible and unfair”. The axe is expected to come down heavily on long-term sickness and disability benefits, especially Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which may see a £5bn cut.An increase in the number of people claiming long-term, health-related benefits has pushed the total welfare bill to £64bn a year. Some argue that reforming the system would encourage claimants to work,…

Apple’s encrypted data case against the UK government has begun in secret at the Royal Courts of Justice.The Home Office has demanded the right to access data from Apple users that have turned on Advanced Data Protection (ADP), a tool that prevents anyone other than the user – including the tech giant – from reading their files.Apple says it is important for privacy – but the UK government says it needs to be able access data if there is a national security risk.The BBC – along with civil liberties groups and some US politicians – argue the case should be…

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesRichard Meddings, a former banker, is the chair of NHS EnglandThe chair of NHS England has said he does not disagree with the abolishing of the organisation – although he warns that the buck will now stop with ministers.”There will no longer be a separate vehicle that can be pointed [at] to say that’s what got it wrong,” Richard Meddings told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend, in the first interview with a senior official from the organisation since it was announced it would be abolished.Earlier this week the government confirmed the administrative body would…

Yasmin RufoCulture reporterGetty ImagesA healthy dose of 90s nostalgia… Clueless is backCher Horowitz has brought her life of Beverly Hills high fashion, friendship and matchmaking to London’s West End, as classic 1990s teen film Clueless has been given a musical makeover.Clueless has been brought to the stage by the film’s original writer and director Amy Heckerling – who says keeping the 90s theme was integral to the show.Heckerling insists she has “no interest in being modern” – which will come as a relief to the audiences who grew up quoting “As if!” and aspiring to Cher’s plaid and Prada-filled wardrobe.The…

Jennifer MeierhansBusiness reporter, BBC NewsSnagSophie models for Snag and gets positive and negative comments about her weightThe boss of online clothing brand Snag has told the BBC it gets more than 100 complaints a day that the models in its adverts are “too fat”.Chief executive Brigitte Read says models of her size 4-38 clothing are frequently the target of “hateful” posts about their weight.The brand was cited in an online debate over whether adverts showing “unhealthily fat” models should be banned after a Next advert, in which a model appeared “unhealthily thin”, was banned.The UK’s advertising watchdog says it has…

Peter Gillibrand and Tom RichardsonBBC NewsbeatEA/Hazelight StudiosVideo game director Josef Fares says his studio is “the best in the world” at making co-operative adventuresThink of video games, and you’ll probably think of something competitive.Some of the most popular titles in the world, such as Fortnite and Call of Duty, are focused on outgunning, outrunning or outclassing opponents.But, as Josef Fares and his studio Hazelight have shown, that’s not the only thing gamers want.His latest, Split Fiction, is a collaborative experience where two players work together to solve puzzles and beat obstacles.The adventure game has received rave reviews, sold one million…

Michael BuchananSocial affairs correspondentGetty ImagesAfter Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement this week that NHS England (NHSE) is to be disbanded, the BBC looks at whether the changes present a new opportunity to improve patient safety within the NHS.A hospital chief executive once described NHSE as “the biggest kiss up, kick down, organisation in public life.” The comment came to mind when Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Thursday said the scrapping of NHSE would “end the infantilisation of frontline NHS leaders.”Time and again, NHS trusts have complained about the total control that NHSE, the body responsible for the day-to-day running…

Brian FarmerBBC News, BuckinghamshireReporting fromHigh Wycombe Magistrates’ CourtGetty ImagesCheryl Tweedy said she “immediately panicked” upon seeing Daniel Bannister at her homeA man who stalked Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy has been jailed for 16 weeks after leaving the pop star “frightened” when he turned up at her home.Daniel Bannister, of no fixed address, targeted the singer three times last year in the Chalfonts area of Buckinghamshire.The 50-year-old was given a restraining order having said he had “come to get Cheryl” when he visited her home in January, and returned in July when he asked for a glass of wine.Having visited…