19/06/2017 BBC News at Ten

Police are still questioning a man in connection with a terrorist

attack near a mosque in North London last night.

It happened when a van was driven into worshippers

The driver was pinned down by local people until police arrived.

He was shouting, where are all Muslims?

The man arrested has been named as Darren Osborne,

who's 47 and had been living in Cardiff.

11 people were injured at the scene and one man died -

though he'd collapsed before the attack and the cause

There is no place for this hatred in our country today and we need to

work together as one society, as one community, to drive out this

evil that is affecting so many families.

We'll have the latest from the scene and we'll have reaction

from politicians and community and faith leaders.

A minute's silence for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire,

as the number of dead has been revised again to 79.

12 months after the referendum, the official Brexit talks get under

way between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

In central Portugal, extensive areas have been evacuated

as forest fires continue to spread - at least 62 people have died.

And, a cultural giant reborn - we visit Dublin to see the wonders

on display at the new-look National Gallery.

And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News:

A morale-boosting win for England, as the Under-21s come

from behind to beat Slovakia in their European Championships'

Police are still questioning a man on suspicion of terrorism offences,

after a van was driven into a crowd of worshippers last night

Witnesses say the driver shouted that he wanted to kill Muslims.

The attack happened in Finsbury Park shortly after midnight.

11 people were injured and one man died - though he'd

collapsed before the attack and the cause of his

A van was driven onto the pavement, hitting people in its path.

Bystanders held the driver until police arrived.

as Darren Osborne, has been arrested under the Terrorism Act.

Our home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford is at

Yes, we have entered the last week of Muslim holy month, a time of

fasting during the day and coming together as a community at night to

break the fast and pray. But last night on a sweltering summer

evening, the community was subjected to a brutal attack. My report

contains distressing and flashing images.

It was just after midnight in London and the third attack using a vehicle

in just three months. This time the Muslim community was the target.

Basically drove on the pavement, coming straight towards all the

Muslims and as he is coming to them, he hit them. After the van had

crashed through worshippers marking the holy month of Ramadan, men who

had been to prayers found themselves wrestling the driver. I asked him

why, why? Innocent people. He goes, I want to kill Muslims. He said I

want to kill all Muslims. After a struggle, the suspected driver was

arrested. The Imaam had intervened to prevent violence and the suspect

was handed over to the police. Why did you do that? We flagged them

down, told them the situation, there is a man, he mowed down a group of

people and there is a mob attempting to hurt him if you don't take him,

God forbid he may be hurt. He said he had rushed there to a help a

cousin. I couldn't believe it. What I saw there, I was like, oh, like a

field full of... Flesh, people screaming. Half of them were

teenagers. I was telling everyone, look, you know, we can't do nothing

about him. We need to focus on these people. Try and get help to these

people. There is one ambulance and... You know there is other

people injured. We have got cars. The 47-year-old suspect is believed

to be Darren Osborne, a father of four from Cardiff, unknown to MI5.

He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and then of

terrorist offences. As he left, he waved to the crowd. Can we take any

more terror Prime Minister The Prime Minister arrived at the scene,

visiting Finsbury Park Mosque. The terrible terrorist attack that took

place last night was an evil act borne out of hatred and it has

devastated a community. I'm pleased to have been here to see the

strength of that community coming together all faiths, united in one

desire to see extremism and hatred of all sorts driven out of our

society. There is no place for this hatred in our country and we need to

work together as one society, as one community, to drive it out, this

evil that is affect soing many family -- affecting so many

families. The Prime Minister's visit came 12 hours after the van ploughed

into a group of worshippers, Theresa May clearly wanting to be seen among

the community that was attacked, as soon as possible. Jeremy Corbyn, who

is the local MP, was up much of the night talking to his constituents.

And visited the scene with the Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

Throughout the day, the enormity of what happened appeared to weigh on

the shoulders of politicians. It is a terror on the streets and of the

people I'm proud to represent. That is why I'm here. All around the

politicians visiting a huge police operation was under way. The focus -

this white van rented in Wales. It had turned off the main Seven

Sisters Road into a cul-de-sac, hitting people as it went through.

Some of them were treating a man who was apparently suffering from a

heart attack. The man later died. This was clearly an attack on

Muslims who looked like they were probably Muslims and they were

coming from a prayer meeting. We treat this as a terrorist attack and

we in Met are as shocked as anybody in this local community or across

the country at what's happened. In this year of terror, the Muslim

community of North London was a new target. But the consequences of the

violence were the same - some people in hospital have potentially

life-changing injuries. As we've heard, the BBC

understands the suspect to be Darren Osborne,

who's 47 and a father of four, who'd been living in Cardiff,

but is believed to be from Somerset. Police have been searching

a residential address in the Pentwyn area of the city,

as our Wales correspondent More than a 150 miles from Finsbury

Park, this house in Cardiff is a central part of police

investigation. The home of Darren Osborne, originally from

Weston-super-Mare, who has been living here for ten years with his

partner and four children. This woman and her family moved next

door. Darren Osborne had helped her with DIY. Us j a shock. -- just a

shock. He seemed an every day guy, I see walking the dog and taking the

kids to school. He was never up pleasant to me. Did you see him at

the house yesterday? Yes, he was singing at dinner time with his kids

as normal. His family issued a statement saying:

This family run-company has played a part in the investigation. The

vehicle used in the attack came from here. Managers at the company said

they're shocked and saddened by what happened in Finsbury Park. They say

they're helping the investigation. Police continue to guard the family

home, during the afternoon I spoke to many people who live in the

street, who knew the family, and they're overwhelming feeling is of

shock. Over the coming days, the questions will continue - what was

it that led to this terror attack? As we heard, the Metropolitan Police

Commissioner said this was 'clearly an attack on Muslims'

in one of the most diverse There have been growing calls

for action to tackle the growth in Islamophobic hate crime,

especially since the Our Religious Affairs Correspondent,

Martin Bashir, has spent the day talking to people

near the Finsbury Park mosque. With temperatures and tensions

rising in this multiethnic part of north London,

the chairman of Finsbury Park Mosque An attack on one faith is an attack

on all faith and communities. Those who try to divide us

and who aim to spread fear, hatred But the events of last night have

shattered the peace in north London. We can't go to the mosque

without looking behind our back. Who's going to want

to go to mosque now? We have to look behind our backs,

just to practice our religion The aftermath when I was here

talking to some of the people, there was a lot of anger and a lot

of hostility because once again Muslims have fallen victim

to another terrorist attack. We have allowed in this country

for Islamophobia to grow and thrive. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid

came to visit the crime scene. As he spoke to reporters

he was interrupted by As a Muslim how do I

keep my son and I safe? Because we don't, we don't

feel safe at the moment. I don't even want to

send him to school. And I know many members

of the community across Britain that will express a very similar feeling

to what you've just said. Sajid Javid tried to

offer some consolation. This is my community,

to hear all these things happening in London,

as a Muslim you feel so pushed out. Whilst religious leaders have

condemned this attack in unison, many in this community are angered

by the media coverage and what they say is the rush

to connect acts of terror with Islam, but a reluctance to do

so when the victims are Muslim. Other faith leaders argue that

if Muslims are being asked to help in the fight against radical

extremism, then the least they deserve is fairness

when they become the victims. I think Islamophobia

probably has lurked below And I think sometimes incidents

like this happen and it brings it to the surface and I think

the community leaders have a real responsibility to speak out and say

this is not acceptable. Those community leaders will now

play a central role as people in north London respond to this

latest terror attack. Martin Bashir, BBC

News, Finsbury Park. The Muslim Council of Britain

condemned the Finsbury Park attack saying this was the most violent

manifestation to date of Islamophobia and called for more

to be done to protect mosques. Theresa May chaired a meeting

of the government's emergency committee this morning and announced

extra police to be deployed around mosques and she urged people to come

together in the face of extremism, as our security correspondent

Frank Gardner reports. This attack targeting British

Muslims, has been labelled one of Britain's most violent incidents of

Islamophobia to date. It took the Government just eight minutes to

call it a terrorist attack. The attack tar getted the ordinary. The

Prime Minister called it as sickening as the other attack this

year and repeated her intention to set up a commission to counter

extremism. But while police and emergency services were soon on the

scene, there are suggestions that policy makers may have

underestimated the threat from far right extremism. The whole counter

extremism agenda has focussed on Islamist extremism and we have seen

a growing concern around the far right and individuals who adhere to

extremist ideologies, but haven't been tackled. Far right extremism in

Britain is a growing problem. In 2012 to 2013 172 extremists were

referred to police. By 2015 to 16 it has increased. Less is known public

about these cases, there isn't the same level of prop gran Da as that

put out by Jihadist and there is no international organisation driving

it. They're harder to detect. The nature of these incidents, we have a

lone individual using rudimentary tools, to launch a terrorist

atrocity against a range of targets, if they haven't told anyone it is

difficult for the Security Services. Now this will be looked again with

earlier assumptions being examined. Tracking far right extremism is the

job of the police and counter terrorism. But they're dealing with

lone individuals and knowing when they move from violent ideas to

action is extremely difficult. Let's return to Finsbury

Park and speak to our What is your assessment to night of

the way this investigation is coming together and the mood in Finsbury

Park? Clearly the police have one suspect at the moment and he is in

custody. So far as the mood is concerned, there is no doubt that

overnight there was raw anger and even at dawn this morning groups of

very angry young man who witnessed the incident were expressing their

raids. The mood tonight has moved more towards one of solidarity. It

is a mixture of the old, white, working-class community with

immigrants from the West Indies and North Africa and more recently

middle-class professionals like lawyers and bankers who have lived

and moved into the area. This is an area where I will Hamza was in

charge at Finsbury Park mosque and they got through that. Theresa May

was visiting that mosque today and this feeling of solidarity which has

developed through the day is represented by the fact that most of

the people who are leaving flowers this evening are not from the Muslim

The number of people believed to have died in the Grenfell Tower

disaster in west London last week has risen to 79.

The Metropolitan Police have warned that they may never be able

A minute's silence for the dead was observed at 11 o'clock this

The BBC has seen letters which reveal that four government

ministers received warnings that fire regulations were not keeping

people safe in high-rise blocks like Grenfell Tower.

Our home editor Mark Easton has more details.

There have been too many days like this.

The firefighters of Red Watch, first on the scene last Wednesday,

linking arms with others across the United Kingdom,

the country pausing to reflect on the Grenfell Tower tragedy,

a nation once again standing silently united in grief.

And then for Red Watch it was back to their harrowing

As the official count of those now presumed to have died

in the fire rose to 79, police today confirmed that

24-year-old Khadija Saye, 65-year-old Tony Disson

and 39-year-old Abutars Ibrahim were among the dead.

And tonight it was announced that 52-year-old Khadijah Khalloufi also

This was the reaction of firefighters when they raced

It emerged tonight that one crew had extinguished the blaze that started

the fire and were leaving when it was realised flames

were rising up outside the block with a ferocity that

I've investigated major crime for most of my service and I've seen

some terrible things but I don't think anything prepared me

for what I was going to see when I was in there.

The Grenfell fire response team, including the Red Cross,

London boroughs and Whitehall departments, is now

providing financial, physical and psychological support

Over ?200,000 in aid has been given out, hotels and estate agents

are helping find temporary bed and permanent homes.

Is almost as though you have arrived three days too late.

The arrangements were not invoked by the Royal Borough of Kensington

At that point that is when we can step in.

Why didn't they ask for help earlier?

That is obviously something that people would want

Some residents from evacuated homes next door to Grenfell Tower say

they have been told their only option is to return to the flats.

One resident, Joe Delaney, says a number of his neighbours

are now in homes without hot water and other amenities.

Without hot water and with water coming from a tank that is under

that charred husk of a tower, yes, that is where we are being

The authorities say no one has been forced to move back.

The blackened shell of Grenfell Tower stands

against the clear blue sky on a summer's day and seems

to challenge all those who stand in its shadow to demand answers

and to demand justice for the scores of people we now know

Tonight a BBC Panorama broadcast details some angry letters sent

to government ministers by MPs on a fire safety committee.

The MPs say, can we really afford to wait for another tragedy?

they complain life safety implications are not

And just two months ago they were still warning

the government it is now time to listen.

The government said tonight that work on new fire regulations

was under way with a consultation due this summer, although after

the Grenfell Tower tragedy they would reflect on the correct

Meanwhile, a criminal investigation is under way with Scotland Yard

promising to go wherever the evidence takes them.

Where offences have been committed I will do everything within my gift

to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

This evening a silent protest in the shadow of Grenfell Tower

from a community that says it hasn't been listened to for far too long.

The government has now started to make emergency fund payments

to those made homeless by the fire at Grenfell Tower.

Ministers say every surviving family will get ?500 pounds in cash

Our special correspondent Lucy Manning reports on the impact

of the relief effort and the continuing

She is called Firdaws, just 12 years old, but those who know her say

Firdaws starred in a Comic Relief debate just two months ago.

I unrealistically think that poverty is just

going to disappear like this, but as Bill Gates said

Now Firdaws, her six-year-old brother, 13-year-old brother

and parents are feared to have been killed in the fire.

There is no doubt that she and the other children all had

Sean and Hadil took the children away on activity trips and ran

They were very sensible, always asking intelligent questions

She was always learning and teaching the younger children

and Yahya, the oldest child, absolutely loved football.

He was always making jokes, had a brilliant sense of humour.

The youngest child, Yaqub, was just a bundle of energy.

They could have been alive today but they were neglected

So many children lost in this community, a community

still struggling to get all the help that it needs.

Miguel Alvez lived on the 13th floor of Grenfell and now his home

is a room on the 14th floor of a hotel with his

They promised me that they will do something in the next

So you think you will be in a hotel for three to four weeks?

I really don't know but I expect that, yes.

So you had to ask the council for help?

They didn't come and offer it to you?

Miguel's family did receive ?500 from them yesterday,

but Miguel is struggling to get new documents and needs his family's

Ryan and Tina write a message for six-year-old Yaqub

Their mum was happy for them to talk about him.

He was so good at handwriting and good at running and scooter bikes.

He sounds like a really nice friend so you have good

Everyone from the Royal family are keeping on coming and making

sure and double checking that everyone in this country

And some of the parents here believe their children

Twelve months after the United Kingdom voted to leave

the European Union the first formal talks to set the terms of departure

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, said he hoped

the talks would be held in a constructive atmosphere.

For the UK the Brexit Secretary, David Davis, talked of forging

Mr Davis said he'd secure a deal "like no other in history".

Our Europe editor Katya Adler is in Brussels with the day's events.

Today was just day one of what will now be many rounds of EU - UK Brexit

negotiations, but it was a historic day for the UK where many do dream

of new beginnings and for the EU as well, which up until now as a union

has only grown in size, but today began those exit talks for one of

its prized members. Hanging onto that handshake as hard

as he could, this was David Davis's show of strength today, the first

day of face-to-face Brexit negotiations almost 12 months since

the UK voted to leave the EU. I am here in Brussels today like Michel

Barnier to begin the next phase of our work, to begin anew, deep and

special partnership. Determined to sound confident and upbeat everyone

knew the Secretary of State carried British political uncertainty in his

back pocket and he knew that they knew. Fast forward through this

first day of negotiations were Brexit divorce details like the

Irish border, citizens' rights and a possible exit bill were discussed

and it became clear that David Davis had given in on what he pledged

would be the row of the summer, his demands to talk trade with the EU

from the start. There were the closing press conferences at the

European Commission, there was one Brexit promise he insisted he was

sticking to. Can the EU trust that what you ask for today or tomorrow

will eat what you ask for in a few days' time considering the political

confusion in the UK? The position has not changed. Because the

membership of the single market requires the four freedoms to be

obeyed and we want to bring back control of our laws and borders, we

will be leaving the single market. He said the UK would leave the

European customs union as well. I then Michel Barnier's intentional

upbeat mood erupted into this. TRANSLATION: The UK decided to leave

the EU, not the other way round, and the consequences are substantial,

human, social, financial, legal and political. This is not about

punishment and revenge, but do not underestimate those consequences.

The two men did agree that this must be an orderly Brexit and this is the

EU proposed timetable. Phase one, which began today, focuses on the

divorce, the UK and tangling itself from 44 years of EU membership.

Brussels hopes to start phase two by the end of this year, sketching out

the future relationship, including trade and security cooperation and

deciding whether a limited transition agreement would be

needed. Phase three before negotiations legally end in March,

2019, parliaments in 27 EU countries, the European Parliament

and the British Parliament will vote on the final Brexit deal. Time is

very tight, which is why the UK wants to talk about trade and its

future EU relationship from the word go. Whatever happens, Brexit

negotiations will be tough, Peter Mandelson told me. He was EU trade

Commissioner for four years. The whole negotiation will be messy,

fraught, unhelpful, two from both sides and whilst there will be some

give and flexibility, at the end of the day the European Union will

negotiate and reach an agreement on the basis of its laws and until

people understand that, it will not be within hailing distance of

getting that final agreement. David Davis today declared himself a

determined optimist, but the EU warned a path to a fair deal for

both sides is fraught with risk. Insiders at today's talks insist the

mood was positive and constructive, but how much hard bargaining can you

do on day one? The UK and the EU both want a good deal, but what is

good for one side is not always good for the other and with Brexit so

politically sensitive on both sides of the Channel compromises will be

hard to reach. Our Europe editor in Brussels.

In Portugal emergency workers have been evacuating areas in the path

of major forest fires which so far are reported to have claimed

Hundreds of firefighters are tackling the fires

which are thought to have been started by a lightning

Our correspondent James Reynolds has been to the region where relief

These are the flames of Portugal's worst disaster for more

For a third day here in the centre of the country, forests burn.

On Saturday, flames quickly engulfed this road.

The fire caught families who'd been trying to drive to safety.

It's hard to conceive of their last minutes.

Portugal has more forest fires than any other

It's had years to make proper preparations,

and yet on this road dozens lost their lives in the fire.

The village of Nodeirinho watched the fires approach.

A dozen residents jumped into this water tank to escape.

84-year-old Marta da Conceicao was helped in by her daughter.

"Oh god, oh god, it was awful", she tells me.

The rescue effort continues during a three-day period

The country now asks why its most isolated residents

James Reynolds, BBC News, central Portugal.

The former Play School and Play Away presenter Brian Cant has

A mainstay of children's TV throughout the 1960s and 70s he also

provided the voiceovers for programmes such

Brian Cant had been suffering from Parkinson's Disease

There have been many tributes today to a real pioneer of children's

The National Gallery of Ireland, home to great masters

including Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Goya, has played

a leading role in Irish culture for more than 150 years,

inspiring giants such as George Bernard Shaw,

The Gallery has now reopened after a multi-million pound

refurbishment with a spectacular show of the works of the Dutch

Our arts editor Will Gompertz has been to Dublin to see the reborn

institution said to be at the heart of the nation

Finally, having been locked firmly shut for the last

six years, the gates to Ireland's National Gallery open

once again to reveal what has been a much-needed,

We've had the decades of dilapidation, the buckets

on the floor, the mouldy paintings and the obvious necessity

of improving the gallery and here we are now.

It has taken a long time, we have had a whole banking collapse

and we have had a huge recession, we have had the literal decimation

of all the capital budgets in government and we managed to keep

It has been possible to see some of the gallery's masterpieces

in the few rooms kept open during the refurbishment but not

like this, not in their full glory, where Rubens hangs alongside

Rembrandt, next door to a Breugel with a Yeats below

We can't tell, no one knows what she is writing

but there is a sense of her doing something that matters.

Vermeer's famous painting Woman Writing A Letter With Her Maid.

More than anything it is about how scarce northern

There is a great sense of him withholding, holding in,

knowing that what he really wants you to do is move your eye

always towards this face, that you are going to move

in towards something you cannot know and cannot see,

which is her gazing at the words she is making.

She will have plenty of company in the weeks ahead in the form

of nine other Vermeer paintings that the National Gallery of Ireland

has borrowed from museums around the world for a special exhibition

Tonight on the day of yet another terror attack we have a

behind-the-scenes look at our hospital dealing with a major

terrorist incident. It is both moving and uplifting.