determination to help others. ——and we revisit the young blind boy in war—ravaged yemen and his inspirational determination to help others. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. stories and checking out let's start with a man—hunt in the uk after a dramatic prison break yesterday. the government has ordered an independent review after a terror suspect, daniel khalife, escaped from wandsworth prison by clinging to the underside of a food delivery van leaving the jail. the 21—year—old was awaiting trial, accused of leaving fake bombs at a military base while serving in the army. ports and airports, are now on high alert. graham satchell reports. it looked like business as usual at wandsworth today — prison vans coming and going, but the jail is now at the centre of a growing storm, with serious questions about how a terror suspect managed to escape. daniel khalife was working in the kitchen. he broke out by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery van. in the house of commons, the justice secretary announced a series of reviews to answer some basic questions. who was on duty that morning? in what roles? ranging from the kitchen to the prison gate, what protocols were in place? were they followed? there are more questions. why was a terror suspect being held at a category b prison? what kind of checks were there on the vehicles coming in and out? you'd expect a mirror to be run under the van on its way out in the same way as there is a dome above where you can look down to see if anyone�*s on top of the van. now, why did that fail? daniel khalife is a former soldier. he joined the army in 2019. three years later, he became the subject of a counter—terrorism investigation. he's accused of planting fake bombs at the barracks in stafford where he was based, and was arrested injanuary. he's been charged with preparing an act of terrorism and collecting information useful to a hostile state, now understood to be iran. yesterday's escape has drawn attention to wider problems in the prison system — overcrowding, understaffing. the prison officers' association has blamed the government for what it calls the "decimation of the service". i was made aware that there were significant staff shortages, so i looked about investigating this and actually discovered that in december last year, only seven members of staff turned up for a night shift to look after 1500 inmates. daniel khalife has been on the run for more than 2a hours. police are urging anyone who sees him to call 999. graham satchell, bbc news. meanwhile, charlie taylor, his majesty's chief inspector of prisons, told sarah montague on the world at one that prisons are now failing in their core duties. i think, ultimately, ithink, ultimately, prisons i think, ultimately, prisons have two responsibilities. they have a public protection responsibility to keep people locked up and to stop them getting out, and so they serve their sentence, them getting out, and so they serve theirsentence, but them getting out, and so they serve their sentence, but they also have a public protection responsibility to make sure people are less likely to reoffend when they come out. and if prisoners are coming from a jail where they have been banged up in their cellar for 22 hours a where they have been banged up in their cellarfor 22 hours a day, if they are not getting any opportunities to fill in the huge skills gaps there are for many prisoners, they're not getting a chance to get into work and education, my concern is prisons are failing to fulfil that public protection function in prisoners, when they come out, more likely to reoffend, to create more victims, to cause mayhem in their communities, and that can't be good enough. the communities, and that can't be good enou:h. . ., , , enough. the chief of prisons. -- chief inspector _ enough. the chief of prisons. -- chief inspector of _ enough. the chief of prisons. -- chief inspector of prisons. - live now to the bbc�*s mark lobel who is outside wandsworth prison in south london. questions to be answered about how this man is kept in the first place, but any update on the manhunt itself? it but any update on the manhunt itself? . , ., ., , itself? it was around this time yesterday _ itself? it was around this time yesterday that _ itself? it was around this time yesterday that we _ itself? it was around this time yesterday that we got - itself? it was around this time yesterday that we got the - itself? it was around this time | yesterday that we got the news itself? it was around this time - yesterday that we got the news that he had escaped. an appeal to the public was released by the police, and since then, we have had nothing from the police. it is interesting because at the moment, they are still saying they suspect probably remains in the london area, but you look around you, and we see what is happening in the airports, ports, and the m20, a major motorway leading to the port of dover, and we see huge queues are because of enhanced security checks. we can only imagine police are talking to the family and friends of the suspect and also coming through cctv, notjust here at wandsworth prison from where daniel escaped from, but also around the area. and working out if he was acting alone or not, but at the moment, we have not had any update from the police about any sightings, for example, of the suspect. about any sightings, for example, of the sweet-— the suspect. what are the prison authorities _ the suspect. what are the prison authorities are _ the suspect. what are the prison authorities are saying _ the suspect. what are the prison authorities are saying about - the suspect. what are the prison authorities are saying about the | authorities are saying about the investigation, about every aspect of this, staffing levels, for example, why he was in that category prison in the first place? well, prison officers themselves, inquire defensive position at the moment. they are saying they will await the results of an internal investigation because we are talking about a gate like the one you can see over my shoulder where the food delivery van would have moved into the centre of that area, they would have been dated either side, and we heard in that report, there should have been checks underneath —— they would have been dated. the food delivery van then was then released. any questions or who was on duty, what happened, but they say cuts have consequences. we have heard from a string of police officers and former prisoners saying this was an accident waiting to happen and it has opened a pandora's box on the state of uk prisons. we heard about the investigations that have been opened up by thejustice secretary just 2a hours after the public learned about the some investigation into the categorisation of wandsworth prisoners and those in custody charged with terrorism charges are being reviewed at the moment. �* , _, , live now to rob peerce from the howard league for penal reform. thank you for being here in the programme. when you hear the details of the security failings, it almost beggars belief, doesn't it? it is very concerning _ beggars belief, doesn't it? it 3 very concerning indeed. we do not know the precise details as to what has happened, but what we have been able to glean so far is extremely concerning. what we do know is that wandsworth is a prison under immense pressure. we at the howard league keep a record of the prison population, how it goes up and down. wandsworth is a big prison in london, the second most overcrowded prison in england and wales and at the end ofjuly it is designed to hold no more than 950 men, but was holding 1600 at that time. as your correspondent has rightly identified, staffing shortages as well. everyone in one's ward has been working under extreme pressure, so i'm not surprised something like this has happened, although prison escapes being quite rare. in this has happened, although prison escapes being quite rare.— escapes being quite rare. in terms of a staffing _ escapes being quite rare. in terms of a staffing shortages, _ escapes being quite rare. in terms of a staffing shortages, what - escapes being quite rare. in terms of a staffing shortages, what are l of a staffing shortages, what are the sort of numbers we are actually talking about here. 17 the sort of numbers we are actually talking about here.— the sort of numbers we are actually talking about here. ? we are seeing more peeple — talking about here. ? we are seeing more people leaving _ talking about here. ? we are seeing more people leaving the _ talking about here. ? we are seeing more people leaving the service - talking about here. ? we are seeingj more people leaving the service and joining in some prisons and in wandsworth, we are hearing of a very small numbers. i can't go into precise detail. it varies at different times of the week. we see reports on weekends where staffing is much smaller and in the evenings as well. what we know is a staffing shortages are such that most people are spending hours on end locked inside their cells with nothing to do. it is not unusual in prison such as wandsworth to hear people spending as little as an hour outside their cells in every day. what it means is they are not getting access to exercise, education, training, work, all the things you would expect to see going on any present, and we have seen alongside that, a rise in incidents of self—harm in many prisons, high levels of violence. so this is what we have at the moment, more than half of men's prisons... more than half of men's prisons... more than half of men's prisons... more than half of prisons across england and wales are overcrowded, even more so among men's presents, and people had been asked to do too much for too long with two little —— men's prisons. we have seen high skill disturbances in the past, very worrying statistics elsewhere, and this is the first escape we have seenin this is the first escape we have seen in a while, but i fear it will not be the last if we continue to see the system running to the ground as it is at the moment. in see the system running to the ground as it is at the moment.— as it is at the moment. in terms of recent inspections, _ as it is at the moment. in terms of recent inspections, have _ as it is at the moment. in terms of recent inspections, have there - as it is at the moment. in terms of. recent inspections, have there been obvious red flags?— obvious red flags? their heart. the official prisons _ obvious red flags? their heart. the official prisons watchdog, - obvious red flags? their heart. the official prisons watchdog, his - official prisons watchdog, his majesty's inspectorateof prisons, visited the jail last year and raised a number of concerns. they revisited the prison injune last year to check the progress against recommendations and found a mixed picture, but pointed to the chronic overcrowding we have seen in wandsworth and high rates of violence. it is simply unconscionable you could have a prison that is designed to hold 950 men holding more than 1600. how can you possibly get anything positive happening inside the jail? it provides some context to this incident, but the precise details were still waiting find out and this investigation is really important. thank you very much for that update. if we hear any more from the authorities, police or prison officials, we will obviously bring that to you. let's move to ukraine. 0fficials there say a number of russian drones have attacked the danube river port of izmail for the fourth time in five days. the regional governor said the assault lasted for three hours and saw civil and port infrastructure facilities, an elevator and an administrative building damaged. one person sustained minor injuries. meanwhile russia says it downed several ukrainian drones during attempted attacks on the capital moscow and the rostov and bryansk regions in the early hours of thursday. the latest overnight attacks come as the us secretary of state, antony blinken, continues a two—day visit to kyiv, during which he announced a further package of aid for ukraine worth more than a billion dollars. well, let's go live now to our diplomatic correspondent paul adams in kyiv. paul, what do we know about these drone overnight in moscow and southern russia? it is very much a pattern, it has been going on for more than a month now —— those overnight russian attacks. we have had attacks on those port facilities along the danube river, which forms the border between ukraine and romania. and since russia pulled out of the un brokered black sea grain initiative, which was brokered a year ago, since they pulled out of that injuly, ukraine has been trying to compensate by getting green out along the danube and boats that hug the remaining coast down to the port of consta nza, the remaining coast down to the port of constanza, then at the ships can move from there. russia has been trying to stop this, which is why we have seen these repeated drone attacks. wave and wave. they are aware that the ukrainian air defences in that region are not nearly as sophisticated as here in the capital kyiv. the ukrainians do manage to shed quite a few of those drawn down, but every night we are about damage, damage to storage facilities, port infrastructure. and it is definitely having an impact and are something that is a worrying at the ukrainians a great deal because exporting their grain is absolutely vital. i because exporting their grain is absolutely vital.— because exporting their grain is absolutel vital. ., �* ., , absolutely vital. i mentioned antony blinken. absolutely vital. i mentioned antony blinken- took _ absolutely vital. i mentioned antony blinken. took me _ absolutely vital. i mentioned antony blinken. took me through _ absolutely vital. i mentioned antony blinken. took me through the - absolutely vital. i mentioned antony blinken. took me through the latest about that trip, because he has been talking today about landmines, and immediate problem for ukraine. and i very much a long—term one as well. absolutely. definitely both. it is part of the aid package he brought with him that had a military component and many, many civilian components too. it is notjust about the minefields we have been hearing a great deal about down on the battlefield in the south, minefields that the ukrainian forces have had to work their way through. it is also about the fact that the vast swathes of this country have been mined, including territory where the ukrainians have taken it back, and at their having to painstakingly go through their territory to make sure there is no unexploded ordinance or mines littered around in the fields near communities, so mr blinken paid a visit to a border guard facility just outside of the city today and had these words to say about the problem of mines in ukraine. it's so easy to sometimes get lost in abstractions, numbers — how many people lost their lives or were wounded? what the larger effects are? but it all comes down to the human dimension, to the lives, the stories of men, of women and children, like the men, women and children who were imprisoned in the basement of this building next to us, which normally was a school, and were held there for a month. 127 people in a room not even fit for one person for human habitation. children as young as a month old not allowed to come out. and this isjust one building in one village, in one community in ukraine. and this is a story that we've seen again and again and again. antony blinken has also announced an extra billion dollars worth of support and military aid, including depleted uranium tank shells, doesn't it? in terms of how that has gone down, tell me that that? this is all art gone down, tell me that that? this is all part of _ gone down, tell me that that? this is all part of the _ gone down, tell me that that? ti 3 is all part of the americans trying to inject a bit more momentum into a counteroffensive in the south that, by general admission, has not gone as quickly as people would have hoped. so the americans have done two things in the last few weeks, that they were reluctant to do before, one, say they will supply cluster munitions to the ukrainian military, and the other now talking about depleted uranium rounds, which haven't yet arrived, should arrive later this month. this is about giving the ukrainians the ability to deal with the enormous array of russian defences in the south, in those trenches, those minefields, and all of those defences, but also when the time comes, to send their armoured vehicles through any gap that the ukrainians managed to establish, that those armoured vehicles, those tanks, whether they be leopards, abrahams, early british challenger, that they have the ability cut as much damage as possible. those depleted rounds, that have caused concern over the decades, over whether that have caused concern over the decades, overwhether or that have caused concern over the decades, over whether or not they leave a radioactive residue or dust, most scientific studies suggest that danger is minimal. what they really are very good at is punching holes in armoured vehicles. they are a devastating way of attack. russians are almost certainly using depleted uranium rounds already in the battlefield in ukraine, so americans are saying you should have them too. paul adams, thank you, life as they are in care. around the world and across the uk, you're watching bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. police say they're launching an investigation into maternity failures at nottingham university hospitals nhs trust. the care provided by the trust is already the subject of the biggest maternity inquiry in the history of the health service — with at least 1700 families involved after dozens of babies died or were left with serious injuries. a review of veterinary services in the uk has been launched over concerns that pet owners are facing "eye—watering" bills. the competition and markets authority said vet fees were rising faster than other goods and services during the cost of living crisis and people may not be getting value for money. royal mail has unveiled a collection of stamps to mark 70 years since the start of dame shirley bassey�*s career. they include a picture of the welsh singer's performance at the opening ceremony of the 1999 rugby world cup in cardiff. she is the first solo female music artist to be honoured with a dedicated stamp issue. you're live with bbc news. a deal has been struck for the uk to rejoin the european union's flagship scientific research programme horizon. post—brexit trading rows meant british—based scientists were missing out on grants for their work from a 95 billion euro fund — that's around £81 billion. here's pallab ghosh. the first picture of a black hole, implants that help the paralyzed walk again, mapping the human brain — these are just some of the projects funded by europe's horizon programme. the uk should have been part of it after brexit, but disagreements with the eu meant that britain was frozen out and falling behind other eu countries. together we will transform these ideas into new solutions. but finally, after years of delay, we're back. well, this is really the best of news. ifelt a genuine kind of burst ofjoy when i heard the news was actually confirmed, and i know that science and research—led organisations, including all of our members — these are businesses, universities, health charities — they are going to be delighted today and also relieved. constantinos pitsiladis is among the researchers celebrating the news. did that hurt? not too bad. until now, his project to find better medicines for