Broadcast timeline
BBC News
Sunday 4 October 2026 · 13:00 BST · 10m · 6 stories · 15 annotated moments · 10 of 10 min on news stories (99%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
Government plans to restrict some jury trials in England and Wales have been scrapped. The proposals, which had been proposed during Sir Keir Starmer's time as prime minister, would have left judges alone to decide trials where the sentence was less than three years, as part of an effort to tackle record case backlogs. Justice Secretary Alex Norris said dropping the plans would speed up the process of bringing down a backlog of around 80,000 Crown Court cases. Barristers who led the campaign to save jury trials welcomed the decision, and Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said it was common sense. The bulletin also reported that 700 prisoners were released early this week to stop jails running out of spaces, with around 4,500 due for early release by next summer. There are fears that some dangerous offenders will not be closely monitored in the community, and the Probation Service Union said it was worried its members could not monitor them all and might strike.
In Yemen, government forces said they had carried out attacks on Houthi positions across the country after the Iran-backed Houthis said they struck an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, which the Saudis denied. Government forces backed by Saudi Arabia were trying to weaken the Houthis, who have held Sana'a for more than a decade, and the attacks had widened across Yemen. It was not yet clear whether this represented a new phase in the conflict, which has been reignited as a knock-on effect of the Iran war, with the Houthis trying to block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The Houthis said they targeted an oil facility near Riyadh with drones and missiles, while the Saudi-led coalition dismissed this as misleading. The front line remained focused around Taiz. Russia again struck a major bridge in Kyiv, hitting the north bridge as vehicles travelled across it; the bridge was also struck yesterday and the south bridge has been attacked five times since Thursday. The latest strike happened as Germany's chancellor arrived in Kyiv to show European support, and there were no reports of casualties.
Former Premier League footballer Andy Carroll named Kevin Adams as the person jailed for sexually assaulting him in 2021. Carroll had written about the assault in his recent autobiography, initially describing the attacker as a male celebrity, and said he named Adams after discovering his identity was already public in court documents. Adams, a former dance coach on the BBC talent show Fame Academy and more recently on Strictly It Takes Two, was convicted of sexual assault in 2023, jailed and placed on the sex offenders' register. Carroll, who now plays for the non-league club Dagenham and Redbridge, said the trauma had never gone away and he hoped that speaking out could help even one person. The Conservative Party conference began in Birmingham with Kemi Badenoch promising to scrap the limit that removes extra childcare help for parents earning more than £100,000 a year; under current rules in England, working parents can get 30 hours free a week if they earn up to £100,000. She said the threshold could encourage some high earners to work less, and she argued for low tax, less state intervention and rewarding work, while saying she would keep the pensions triple lock. The report noted that her party was still lagging in the polls.
- 0:06
- 2:07
Contested quote Alex Norris scraps judge-only trials as court backlog set to keep rising
British public is a decision reached by 12 people discussing the facts together and reaching a collective view. Finally, we have some common sense. Common sense is what I have been trying to get the Labour Party to see on this issue for a long time. Nick Timothy, the Shadow Justice Secretary, has raised this again and again.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 2:07-2:15
- 3:39
Claim Yemen government declares all-out war to retake Houthi-held territory
Yemeni government forces said they attacked Houthi positions across Yemen.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 3:39-3:51
- 3:39
Claim Yemen government declares all-out war to retake Houthi-held territory
Yemeni government forces said they attacked Houthi positions across Yemen.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 3:39-3:51
- 3:43
- 3:47
Claim Yemen government declares all-out war to retake Houthi-held territory
The Houthis claimed they struck an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, a claim denied by Saudi or Saudi-led coalition officials.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 3:47-3:59
- 3:47
Claim Yemen government declares all-out war to retake Houthi-held territory
The Houthis claimed they struck an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, a claim denied by Saudi or Saudi-led coalition officials.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 3:47-3:59
- 4:47
Claim Yemen government declares all-out war to retake Houthi-held territory
The Houthis claimed they struck an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, a claim denied by Saudi or Saudi-led coalition officials.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 4:47-4:55
- 5:19
- 5:25
Claim Russia hits Kyiv bridge again, injuring two, as German chancellor visits
Russia launched repeated strikes on bridges in Kyiv, including the northern and southern bridges, with no reported casualties from the latest strike.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 5:25-5:33
- 5:29
Claim Russia hits Kyiv bridge again, injuring two, as German chancellor visits
Russia launched repeated strikes on bridges in Kyiv, including the northern and southern bridges, with no reported casualties from the latest strike.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 5:29-5:37
- 5:33
Claim Russia hits Kyiv bridge again, injuring two, as German chancellor visits
Russia launched repeated strikes on bridges in Kyiv, including the northern and southern bridges, with no reported casualties from the latest strike.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 5:33-5:47
- 5:41
Claim Andy Carroll names Kevin Adams as man jailed for sexually assaulting him
Carroll's unnamed attacker was later found guilty of sex offences.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 5:41-5:55
- 5:47
- 6:47
Claim Andy Carroll names Kevin Adams as man jailed for sexually assaulting him
Carroll's unnamed attacker was later found guilty of sex offences.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 6:47-6:59
- 7:16
- 9:46
- 9:46
Claim Max Verstappen wins chaotic rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held in Malaysia because of conflict in the Middle East, after a chaotic start and a rain delay, marking his first win of the year.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 9:46-9:54
- 9:46
Claim Max Verstappen wins chaotic rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
The Bahrain Grand Prix was held in Malaysia because of ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 9:46-9:54
- 9:54
Claim Max Verstappen wins chaotic rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held in Malaysia because of conflict in the Middle East, after a chaotic start and a rain delay, marking his first win of the year.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 9:54-10:01
- 10:01
Claim Max Verstappen wins chaotic rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held in Malaysia because of conflict in the Middle East, after a chaotic start and a rain delay, marking his first win of the year.
BBC One, BBC News, 4 October 2026, 10:01-10:09
Source: BBC ONE West, "BBC News", Sunday 4 October 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.