this is bbc news. the world's first personalised vaccine for melanoma skin cancer, hailed as a potential "gamechanger" for treatment, is being tested on british patients. we'll be hearing from american secretary of state antony blinken — after china's leader xi jinping says the two countries should be partners, not rivals. it's another big day at the post office inquiry — a former executive accused of covering up knowledge of the faulty it system is giving evidence for a second day. actress ashleyjudd tells the bbc that the overturning of one of harvey weinstein�*s rape convictions is an act of "institutional betrayal". there's no doubt that harvey weinstein is a serial sexual predator. it doesn't change the fact that he committed these crimes.

we start this hour with what experts are calling a potential "game changer" in the treatment of skin cancer. the world's first personalised vaccine for melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer — has begun being tested in britain. some other countries, including australia, are also trying it on patients. the treatment, which uses the same mrna technology as some covid jabs, works by telling the body to hunt down cancer cells and prevent them from coming back. researchers say the jab also has the potential to stop lung, bladder and kidney cancers. more details from our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. steve young, one of the first nhs patients to take part in the trial for what's hoped will be a game—changing treatment. it's for melanoma — the deadliest of all the skin cancers — and it aims to help those at the highest risk of a recurrence. steve was given the experimental treatment at university

college hospital in london. he had a melanoma removed from his scalp last summer. he told us the trial is his best chance of keeping cancer—free. i feel...0k. someone told me i've got survivor syndrome because i actually feel guilty — i feel guilty that i'm completely fine and yet i'm getting all this attention and i'm... you know, i get to have a scan and an mri every three months when i know that people are waiting such a long time. and i... i genuinely feel kind of awful about that. but... ijust really hope that what's happening with the trial and the results they get are going to be good news, and it's going to go on to do amazing things. the personalised treatment works by identifying proteins unique to each person's cancer, and then uses the same technology which created some covid vaccines — called mrna — to prime the immune system to attack the cells.

it's being used in combination with another cancer drug, and previous results suggest together it almost halved the risk of recurrence or death after three years. it's a very specific treatment, highly personalised to each individual's tumour, and it's a really exciting way of hopefully turning the patient's own immune system against their cancer. and it looks like it could be a really effective therapeutic approach. this trial will really prove that's the case or not. this is an international trial. uk doctors are hoping to recruit at least 70 patients across centres including london, manchester, edinburgh and leeds. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. it's another big day at the post office inquiry — a former executive accused

of covering up knowledge of the faulty it system is giving evidence for a second day. she is truly sorry for the devastation caused. what has been the evidence so far this morning? angela van den bogerd was personally in charge of some of the cases. she was also involved in the failed mediation scheme in 2019. she has been asked about one case in particular. that was the sub—postmaster at martin griffiths, who took his own life by stepping in front of that these family accuse the post office of hounding them for tens of tens of thousands of pounds. now, angela van den bogerd has

admitted that faulty communications where the heart of how the can post office conducted its dealings. a letter from martin griffiths is daughter after his death complained about the disgusting way that there family had been handled after his death. she was asked about the £140,000 that death. she was asked about the £1a0,000 that was offered to martin griffiths in exchange for dropping any other legal course. even though his family had came under the mediation scheme at the time. she was also asked about this being an incentive for confidentiality. she did say that that was part of the incentive there. but she went along with it. she was asked whether that

was the compassionate way to move on with this. she acknowledged that that wasn't the on the top of her mind. she didn't intend to suppress confidentiality. you have been talking to some of the postmaster masters and mistresses who have been affected by this. what has been a reaction to this testimony? the? reaction to this testimony? they have caught _ reaction to this testimony? they have caught her _ reaction to this testimony? tie: have caught her apology a non—apology. when said post mistress who became bankrupt and had to sell a home, said that she thought that the whole thing was a non—apology and she had to step out twice yesterday as angela van den bogerd was giving evidence. partly, because she said she doesn't have a filter and didn't want to interrupt proceedings here. but partly, also because she is dealing with health

issues and she had to keep her stress levels down. today, when angela van den bogerd did say that pr and comms were always a consideration in the post office's dealings, there were people shaking their heads in the room at the use of the word disgusting. they have been going this for this for decades. they have been waiting for accountability and financial redress. they want to be here when his questions are being asked. several of them have said that this is a moment that they had been waiting for. but that doesn't mean it's easy. waiting for. but that doesn't mean it's eas . . ~' waiting for. but that doesn't mean it's eas . ., ~ , . ., it's easy. thank you very much for “oininu us it's easy. thank you very much for joining us from — it's easy. thank you very much for joining us from the _ it's easy. thank you very much for joining us from the inquiry. - it's easy. thank you very much for joining us from the inquiry. you i it's easy. thank you very much for. joining us from the inquiry. you can follow it live on the bbc website. and also on the bbc iplayer. actress ashleyjudd tells the bbc that the overturning of one of harvey weinstein�*s rape

convictions is an act of "institutional betrayal". she was the first woman to go public with the allegations against weinstein. new york's highest court has ruled he didn't get a fair trial although the 72—year—old remains in prison. he may face a fresh trial. weinstein was separately convicted of rape in los angeles — with both cases seen as landmark moments in the �*me too' movement. when harvey weinstein, one of the most powerful men in hollywood, was accused of rape, it led to an outpouring about a culture of sexual assault and misogyny experienced by women around the world — what became known as the metoo movement. many women came forward accusing harvey weinstein of forcing them into sex. for years, there was a fear of speaking out, they said, because of his ability to make or break careers. but now the rape conviction against harvey weinstein that came out of the metoo movement has been overturned in new york.

the court of appeals said prosecutors had called witnesses whose accusations were not part of the charges against him. that meant it said he was unfairly tried for past behaviour. harvey weinstein was also convicted of rape in a separate case here in la. last year, he was sentenced to 16 years for raping a woman in a beverly hills hotel. he will remain in prison while a decision is made in new york over whether to retry him. harvey weinstein�*s lawyer has commended the appeals court, he said, for upholding the principles that should govern a criminal trial. in this courthouse behind us at that trial, the law was not applied fairly to harvey weinstein. you can't throw out 100 years of legal precedent because someone is unpopular. harvey weinstein�*s conviction in california is also being appealed. his legal team are looking into what implications the new york

ruling could have here. emma vardy, bbc news, los angeles. you know, what's important to know is that a courtroom is not a safe environment for survivors of male sexual violence. they can be very traumatising spaces. you know, the most dangerous place in america for a woman is in her home. we know the men who assault and rape and murder us. and a lot ofjudges are still catching up to that reality. and juries don't necessarily know that information either. we still think of rape as stranger rape as someone who jumps us in an alley. and so a courtroom isn't necessarily even if harvey were retried and convicted in the state of new york, the place where survivors are going to get their healing. and that's what we need.

that's what we need. it may be a fair outcome if he were convicted in new york, and that would sure be a magic wand. but survivors need trauma informed help and for men to stop raping women. his lawyer said that everyone has the right to justice. he said even people who are very unpopular in our society, no—one is above the law, but no—one is below the law either, he said... and i agree with that. yes, of course i do. everyone deserves justice and i support due process. i had the opportunity to meet the great supreme courtjustice ruth bader ginsburg, and we talked about due process, even for people who are accused of the most egregious sexual crimes. and actually right now at the university of kentucky, where i did my undergraduate degree, a couple of our former student athletes experienced terrible institutional betrayal and have

accused my university, of which i'm very proud, in which i love, of complicity and and other betrayals. and we're going to go through due process there. and i love my university enough to hold it accountable. so i definitely support due process. and there's no doubt that harvey weinstein is a serial sexual predator. it doesn't change the fact that he committed these crimes. 0ver100 women came forward after i was the named source in the new york times investigation. and on that point, a separate 16—year sentence handed down in california is not affected. he will stay in prison. he won't be freed. does that bring you and other survivors any sense of comfort, any sense ofjustice or that healing that you're describing? you know, it's more complex than that because i don't think the carceral system in the united states does perpetrators of male sexual violence any favours either. you know, what i would love to have is a restorative justice conversation with harvey weinstein. you know, i think that it's stories,

it's narrative that helps change hearts and minds. i'm not about punitive measures. i'm about community and safety and belonging and forgiveness. i forgave harvey weinstein a long time ago and it was no favour to him. i did it for myself. and, you know, it's a whole other conversation in terms of the american carceral system. but harvey hasn't had a change of heart. he doesn't necessarily — his last words when he was convicted and he was walking out of the courtroom. "so how does this happen in the united states?" you know, and what would be a more satisfying outcome is if men looked at their entitlement to female bodies and thought, that is a person of dignity, she is a person of worth, and i do not have the right to encroach on her bodily autonomy. that would be satisfying.

to china next. we are expecting the us secretary of state, antony blinken to give a speech. we will be back live in beijing as soon as he appears at the podium. this is bbc news.

we are expecting a news conference by the us secretary of state, antony

blinken after his talks with the chinese president. there is the podium waiting for that news conference. we will go to it as soon as he appears at that podium. some of the news. first minister, humza yousaf is preparing to give a speech in dundee. the bbc understands he will not be announcing his resignation despite the scottish conservatives tabling a vote of confidence. that's likely to take place at holyrood next week. 0ur scottish political correspondent david henderson has the story. the bute house agreement lasted less than 1,000 days, but it brought green ministers into government for the first time anywhere in the uk — and with them came a raft of green policies. so what do voters think now they're gone? i think it's sad because i think the greens are a good influence on the snp, but i guess we've had a minority government before, so i guess it's

going to happen again. yeah, like, ivote green most of the time. but, yeah, it hasn't been brilliant. for months, this power—sharing deal was under pressure, with key plans like the deposit return scheme stalled, then ditched. chanting: trans rights! the final straw — a row over the pause on the prescription of puberty blockers for under—18s, and the scrapping of climate targets. so now the deal�*s collapsed, there's pressure on humza yousaf to change direction. but the balance of power at holyrood means it's not that simple. with the greens backing that no—confidence vote, the alba party's sole msp is crucial. well, luckily for humza, he's put the decision—making power of the parliament effectively into the hands of one of the brightest and best and most responsible msps in the parliament, which is ash regan of the alba party. she's one of the few adults in the room. so he has the opportunity to try and secure her vote, but he'll have to work at it.

and what now for the greens? they're out of office, but not — they think — out of power. wherever we are in the parliament, i we will fight for our principles, . and whereverwe are, we canwirx _ you know, one of our flagship policies — - free bus travel for under—22s — was a victory that we won - from the scottish government before we entered government _ for the first time. so we can win in government, l we can win out of government. so the scene's set for days of horse trading, then a knife—edge vote we are going straight to beijing. we we are going straight to beijing. - want to strengthen our high—level channels of communication. i had some constructive conversations with president zine. i made sure that we would be able to work together.

those discussions were made followed by senior level visits. to help lay the foundations for communication with president biden. 0ur leaders agreed on concrete steps to cooperate on issues that matter to our people. i reduce the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation. in a month since then, we have focused intensively on advancing those issues. we have returned to china this week to take stock of those issues. to see what has to be done so that we can deliver tangible results. that has been the focus of our meetings over the last few days. we had met with the president and his ministers. since the woodside summit, we have advanced our cooperation on other synthetic

drugs. specifically, prc has taken an enforcement action against some companies. because of their chemical ingredients that make up some of these products. the us and china have set up a working group to collaborate on policy—making and law enforcement and technical expertise. thanks to working group efforts, we are cooperating on law enforcement, to track illicit drugs. we are sharing best practice and closing loopholes that criminal enterprises used to launder money. this is important progress, but more needs to be done. in our discussions, we emphasise the importance of the prc taking action, for prosecuting

individuals who are you manufacturing drugs. we must take action on disrupting this trade. we have also resumed direct military communications on all levels. us and prc defence officials met in january. air unable personnel held talks. we have direct, clear open lines of communication. to avoidance calculations. i am communication. to avoidance calculations. iam pleased communication. to avoidance calculations. i am pleased to announce that early today we held the first us pcr talks and an artificial intelligence. we said our

views on the safety concerns and how best to manage them. we also talked about ways in which we can continue to grow the ties between our countries. particularly, the educational exchanges. we want to create opening conditions for these programmes. i had a chance to meet yesterday with some american and chinese students who out learning side by side on programmes in china. these experience deepen their knowledge, inside and outside the classroom, forge ties that will last well beyond their educational experience. while there are more than —— macro we have many american studying here in china. the president said that he wants to

increase the number of americans studying in china in the coming years. if ourfuture studying in china in the coming years. if our future leaders, whether it's in government or in business, civil society or other fields, if they are going to be able to collaborate, they are going to be able to solve big problems. if they're going to be able to work through our differences, they will need to know and understand each other, language, culture and history. what i told my pcr counterparts was that they want to attract more americans here to china. they want to create the conditions that allow a free and open discussion of ideas. ease of travel, safety and privacy. even as we seek to deepen cooperation, the

united states is very clear about the challenges posed by the prc. america will always defend our interests. my discussions today, i reiterated my concern about the pcr and the war in ukraine. moscow is using a lot of weapons against ukraine. president putin is using these weapons to invade a sovereign country. russia would struggle to keep its assault on ukraine without china's support. fuelling rashes

defence base, it threatens european security. china needs to have better relations with europe. we have told china present time, ensuring transatlantic security is very important. if china does notjet dresses we will. i also expressed my concern about the prc's trade policies. we will need solar panels, electric vehicles in the future. china is producing more than 100% of global demand for these items. it is

putting at risk the livelihoods and businesses around the world. this is a movie that we have seen before. and we know how it ends. it ends in americanjobs being lost. president biden will not let this happen on his watch. we will do what is necessary to ensure that american weapons can compete on a level playing field. we do not want to hold back china's development, because that would be disastrous for the global economy including for the united states. we want to china's economy to grow. we want american businesses and investors here to flourish but the way china grows matters. that means fostering a healthy economic relationship where american workers and firms are treated equally and fairly. in those meetings, i discussed the prc's

dangerous actions in the south china sea. freedom of navigation is important in these waterways. it is very important to every nation in the pacific. we have expressed concern about the prc's maritime manoeuvres. 0ur defence commitment to the philippines remind innings intact. it is of critical importance for maintaining peace and stability in the region. president biden and i will not rest until people had been detained are back with their families. we are also concerned about the erosion of hong kong's economy. as well as repression and

human rights abuses. there is a number of human rights cases. i appreciate that the prc granted short—term visas to a number of foreign journalists so that they can cover this visit. in my meetings, i encourage my prc counterparts to provide equal access to our two country's organisations. we continue to insist on proper processes and cross—cultural exchanges. we also discussed regional and global crises. we are encouraging china to use its influence, to discourage iran and to ask them to engage in dialogue. all of the policies that

they united states has piloted over they united states has piloted over the last few years, at home and around the world are driven by a singular objective. delivery for the american people. leading the challenges that they face, creating the opportunities that they see. building a future where they and their children are secure, free, prosperous and healthy. that is what has motivated the historic investment in our competitors at home and in invigorating our alliances and partnerships around the world. that same core objective has been what this visit to china has been what this visit to china has been what this visit to china has been about. it is so consequential for our two nations and the entire world. i'm happy to take some questions.

the us is taking endless messages to suppress— the us is taking endless messages to surlpress -- _ the us is taking endless messages to suppress —— do you think that the biden_ suppress —— do you think that the biden administration's investigation into china _ biden administration's investigation into china cossack shipping is going to push— into china cossack shipping is going to push the — into china cossack shipping is going to push the relationship back. is the us— to push the relationship back. is the us ready to move forward with sanctions? — the us ready to move forward with sanctions? given north korea is also sending _ sanctions? given north korea is also sending massive shipments of music missions— sending massive shipments of music missions to — sending massive shipments of music missions to russia, did you bring that up— missions to russia, did you bring that up with your chinese counterpart? did you get any chinese cooperation— counterpart? did you get any chinese cooperation there? did tick—tock of the station — cooperation there? did tick—tock of the station today? have you expected chinese _ the station today? have you expected chinese to _ the station today? have you expected chinese to respond?

that