07/03/2018 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at 10, Scotland Yard reveals

that a nerve agent was used

to poison a former Russian spy

and his daughter in Salisbury.

A police officer is also

in a serious condition.

These are new images

of Sergei Skripal.

He and his daughter Yulia

are still critically ill

after the attack on Sunday.

Having established that a nerve

agent is the cause of the symptoms,

leading us to treat this

as attempted murder,

I can also confirm that we believe

the two people who

originally became unwell

were targeted specifically.

Police are still searching tonight.

There are hundreds of officers

involved but they are not giving

more details of the substance used.

We'll have the latest

on the investigation,

as Moscow complains of black

propaganda being directed

against Russia.

Also tonight...

Newly-released images

of the teenager accused of planting

a bomb on a London underground

train last September.

After the M1 crash in which eight

people died, one lorry driver

is cleared of causing death

by dangerous driving.

Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman

holding talks on trade

and security in Downing Street,

as Labour protests about the Saudis'

involvement in the war in Yemen.

And coming up on Sportsday on BBC

News, can Tottenham Hotspur hold on

against Italian giants

Juventus to make it

through to the quarterfinals

of the Champions League?

We'll have the latest report and

features from the BBC sports Centre.

Good evening.

A nerve agent was used

to try to murder a former Russian

spy and his daughter

in Salisbury at the weekend.

Scotland Yard said they had

identified the substance,

but weren't prepared to make that

information public at this stage.

Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found

unconscious on Sunday afternoon

and they remain critically ill,

along with a police

officer who was the first

to attend the scene.

Police say that Mr Skripal

and his daughter were targeted

specifically and the

attack is being treated

as attempted murder.

Our home affairs correspondent

Tom Symonds has the latest.

Sergei Skripal is a man

with a shadowy past.

Relatives said he feared it

would catch up with him,

That he would be targeted.

But he was using his own name,

living a normal life,

popping into a corner shop last

month for milk and bacon.

Tonight, he and his daughter

are gravely ill and now,

The most senior counterterrorism

officer revealed why.

In summary, this is being treated

as a major incident

involved attempting murder

by the administration

of a nerve agent.

As you know, these two people remain

critically ill in hospital.

Sadly, in addition, a police officer

who was one of the first to attend

the scene and respond

to the incident is now also

in a serious condition in hospital.

It wasn't just police officers and

ambulance teams who came into

contact with the victims. So did

people who just tried to help. Could

they have been affected?

As your

Chief Medical Officer, my message to

the public is that this event poses

a low risk to the public on the

evidence that we have.

Now the focus

is on the nearly three hours between

them arriving in this area and being

taken ill. Key locations remain

cordoned off, including the Zizzi

restaurant, where they had lunch

around 2pm. An eyewitness who saw

them there, and wanted to remain

anonymous, told me something

appeared to be wrong. What was your

view of them?

Initially I thought he

had mental problems. It was out of

the blue. There was no one around

him. He started screaming at the top

of his voice. He didn't look right.

He looked like he was going to lose

his cool.

He and other eyewitnesses

say that Yulia had dark hair, as she

appeared in this picture. Police

have seized this CCTV footage from

just before 4pm, a man with a blonde

haired woman entering the shopping

area. Detectives will need to sort

through a mass of eyewitness reports

and CCTV to establish the truth. The

Government was briefed on the

inquiry today.

We need to keep a cool head and make

sure that we collect

all the evidence we can,

and we need to make sure

that we respond not to rumour

but to all the evidence

that they collect.

And then, we will need to decide

what action to take.

But life in Salisbury is now

dominated by the response to the

suspected poisoning. When a woman

was taken ill at an office this

lunchtime, this was the emergency

services' reaction. This evening,

teams in protective suits and

respirators were at a nearby

ambulance station. Someone has used

a chemical weapon among the shoppers

of this peaceful city. Nobody is

taking any chances.

As we heard, police are not

revealing any more information

at this stage about the exact

substance they've identified

other than categorising

it as a nerve agent.

Here to examine what we know

about these nerve agents,

and who might have access to them,

is our security

correspondent Gordon Corera.

Today, the police made the dramatic

revelation that a nerve agent had

been deployed on British soil.

The aim to kill.

So what does that tell us about who

was behind the attack?

Tests have been going

on here at Porton Down,

the Ministry of Defence's biological

and chemical research establishment.

Its specialists have been analysing

samples brought from Salisbury.

The tests established that a nerve

agent had been used to specifically

target two of the victims.

So what is a nerve agent?

Nerve agents were first created

in the 1930s for warfare.

They are manufactured rather

than naturally occurring.

They are fast acting

and, unless quickly

treated, often deadly.

And they work by crippling

the nervous system.

Essentially many of the muscles go

into spasm, so imagine that

you were just having

to hold your breath,

and just hold it, keep holding

it, keep holding it.

And this is one of the effects,

and this is why people

struggle to breathe.

But you also get massive secretion

of fluid in the lungs,

and people are trying

to breathe through that.

And the fluid in the lungs

is a surfactant, so it's

a slightly soapy consistency.

So when people are breathing

through it you often see them sort

of foaming at the mouth.

It's not the only time we've

seen a nerve agent used

to target individuals.

A year ago at Kuala Lumpur airport,

two women smeared a nerve agent

called VX on the face

of the North Korean

leader's half brother.

He was soon dead.

That's one method of delivery.

A nerve agent can also be

inhaled or ingested,

but it's not easy to make.

Nerve agents require not

an insignificant financial,

logistical and technical back-up

to actually be manufactured.

And so that would lead

to a more likelihood

of a state manufacturing it.

The police have been careful not

to reveal precisely which nerve

agent was used in Salisbury.

Tests can often trace such agents

to a specific country or even

laboratory of origin.

Officials have been careful

not to blame Russia.

But it is the only suspect so far

which has the means,

the track record and the motive

to kill a man whom some in Moscow

Trevor was behind it would have

known that the nerve agent would

almost certainly be identified, a

sign of just how brazenly attack is.

In Moscow, the foreign ministry said

the speculation about Russia's

involvement was "black propaganda"

and insisted that its case

against Sergei Skripal had ended

when he was part of an exchange

of spies in 2010.

Skripal had been jailed in Russia

for passing secrets to MI6.

Our Moscow correspondent

Steve Rosenberg has been speaking

to some of those who knew Skripal

in his previous life.

Piece by piece, a picture

is emerging of Sergei Skripal,

the former Russian double agent

poisoned in Britain.

Vladimir Svyatski knew

Sergei Skripal in the late 1960s.

They studied together

in a military college.

TRANSLATION:

He was very

active, with a positive

attitude, and creative.

A real friend.

Many of the students

looked up to him.

Oleg Ivanov worked with

Sergei Skripal for two and a half

years in the Moscow regional

government after Skripal had retired

from Russian military intelligence.

TRANSLATION:

Sergei was the life

and soul of the party.

He could find a common

language with anyone.

All his colleagues respected him.

So when he was arrested for spying

it was a real shock.

Today Russia's Foreign Ministry

responded to claims that Moscow had

targeted Sergei Skripal.

This was provocation, it said,

and an anti-Russian campaign.

Unfortunately we regard this

as a piece of disinformation.

Because what actually the media

and all the people need

is actual information,

official information on this case.

As for President Putin,

he is yet to comment

on events in the UK.

He was on the campaign trail today,

visiting a cake factory.

The sweet picture a stark

contrast to suspicions

of possible Russian involvement

in the nerve agent attack.

Russian officials have said

they are willing to cooperate

with the UK investigation

if they are asked to.

What Moscow isn't prepared to do,

though, is accept that the Russian

state was behind this attack.

Tonight, Moscow is waiting to see

whether Britain will officially

declare it the prime suspect.

Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Moscow.

Let's go live to New Scotland Yard

and Daniel Stanford. Bring us

up-to-date on this investigation and

tell us something about the scale of

it.

As you can imagine, after a

nerve agent attack on a

quintessentially English medieval

cathedral city, huge resources are

now being thrown at this

investigation tonight.

Counterterrorism detectives at

Scotland Yard thought they would

never see anything as extraordinary

as the polonium attack on Alexander

Litvinenko. If anything, this could

be harder, because there would be no

trail of radiation to follow.

Hundreds of police officers,

detectives, forensic scientists and

analysts have been involved in this

investigation. The best lead they

have is in fact that nerve agent. If

it is rare enough, that could lead

them to the place where it was made,

if it was something that could only

have been made in a very few number

of places. So, what is going on now

is that there is a huge trawl of

eyewitnesses and CCTV from the day

of the attack and the days leading

up to it. They need more public help

on that. There will be an attempt to

identify where the nerve agent came

from and also, of course, an attempt

to find the needle in a haystack,

the personal people that delivered

the poison. Once the evidence has

been gathered, if it still points to

a foreign power, it will be up to

the Government to handle the

fallout.

Thanks very much for the

latest.

A teenager has gone on trial

at the Old Bailey, accused

of planting a bomb on a London

underground train last September.

30 people were hurt in the incident

during the morning rush hour

at Parson's Green station.

18-year-old Ahmed Hassan,

from Sunbury in Surrey,

denies attempted murder and causing

an explosion likely to endanger

life, as our home affairs

correspondent June Kelly reports.

SIRENS

An autumn morning in the rush-hour

and a major security operation

on the London Underground system.

Today the Old Bailey heard how

an improvised explosive device

partially detonated on a train just

after it pulled into

Parsons Green station.

It created a large

fireball in a carriage

with around 93 passengers.

Some were caught by the flames

and suffered serious burns.

This is the teenager

on trial for the attack,

18-year-old Ahmed Hassan,

captured on CCTV in the weeks

before, when his plans were said

to be well under way.

On this bus ride, in his plastic

bag, he was allegedly carry

one of the components,

hydrogen peroxide, he needed

for his homemade bomb.

Today the jury was told

Hassan left his device

in a bucket on the train.

Described as loaded with shrapnel

to cause maximum harm

and damage and containing

the volatile explosive TATP.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan said

of the passengers...

"Many ran in fear and panic.

They were fortunate.

Had the device fully detonated,

it is inevitable that serious injury

and significant damage would have

been caused within the carriage.

Those in close-proximity

to the device may well

have been killed."

Hassan came to Britain as an asylum

seeker from Iraq and was living

with foster parents.

Ahmed Hassan arrived in this country

three years ago on a lorry.

He told immigration officials that

he'd been forcibly taken

by the Islamic State group

and trained to kill by them.

But he said he was opposed

to IS and was in fear of them.

It was said to be a matter

of luck that the device

here did not fully go off,

it had been fitted with a timer.

Ahmed Hassan had got off the train

at the station before,

he was arrested 24-hours later.

June Kelly, BBC News,

at the Old Bailey.

The President of the European

Council Donald Tusk has warned that

trade with the UK will be more

complicated and costly after Brexit.

Mr Tusk was introducing

the EU's draft approach,

to talks on the future relationship.

Mr Tusk offered the prospect

of what he called an ambitious

and advanced free trade agreement,

but said it was out of the question

for Britain to take a pick and mix

approach to the single market.

The Chancellor Philip Hammond has

appealed for financial services

to be included in any free trade

agreement, as our political editor

Laura Kuenssberg reports.

A different mansion house -

this time in a Luxembourg garden.

But there's strife ahead,

even in the most tranquil

continental surroundings.

The European Union

revealed its response

to Theresa May's plans for Brexit.

It will make it more complicated

and costly than today for all of us.

This is the essence of Brexit.

A pick and mix approach

for a non-member state

is out of the question.

We are not going to

sacrifice these principles.

It's simply not in our interests.

Unfortunately, and we have

to know, there will be no

winners after the Brexit.

Both sides will be losing.

The EU has been united

with that gloomy message.

But it was only on Friday

the Prime Minister said she wanted

an ambitious trade partnership

with the bloc, but accepted

compromises would be made.

So, how do the two sides compare?

Well, the EU guidelines

of a possible deal say there will be

negative economic consequences.

And while the Prime Minister

said all agreements mean

picking and choosing,

the EU insists the UK can't

cherry-pick the bits

of the EU it likes.

But the union's accepted

the goal of a trade deal

where there are no tariffs -

taxes on imports or exports.

But, controversially,

only if the EU keeps access

to fish British waters.

But, crucially, there

is space to budge.

The document says if the UK

positions were to evolve,

the Union will be prepared

to reconsider its offer.

And there is the chance

of brokering some kind

of limited deal over services,

including the giant money machine

of the City of London,

where the Chancellor shrugged off

the Brussels position.

They are very skilled and very

disciplined in the way they carry

out their negotiation.

It does not surprise me

remotely that what they have

set out this morning

is a very tough position.

Oh, lovely!

But Labour claims the Government's

approache is all over the place.

We can change the tone into one

of mutual interest, mutual respect.

We can get the deal

that will protect our

economy and protect jobs.

There are big gaps between

what the Government wants

and what the EU is willing to give.

And it's clear it's easier

for Brussels, not Westminster,

to call the shots.

But in this long, tortured process,

today is not a moment of political

panic, it is clear from both sides,

and from these guidelines, there

is a real conversation to be had.

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC

News, Westminster.

Simon Jack, our business editor,

is in the City of London.

Simon, what is your reading of the

response from the City of London

today to what has been said?

Well,

the Chancellor's speech went down

pretty well. People thought it was

pretty plausible and pretty detailed

attempt to achieve what Brussels

said was impossible. Including

financial services all-important to

the UK economy in a final trade

deal. The Chancellor said, look, it

is possible because Brussels tried

to include it in a deal they tried

to do with the EU - the US sorry.

Not only is it possible it's

desirable. Physical you split up the

expertise, the capital, the people

that you find here in this one stop

stop shop of London and spreaded it

around Europe it will cause European

Union businesses and customers a lot

more money. That was all pretty

good. However, as one person put it

to me in the City today, this was

really the end of the beginning.

This was one side in the argument

fleshing out its own position. That

is very different from actually

making substantial progress in the

negotiation itself. You heard

yourself what Donald Tusk had to say

about that. Now, the one thing I was

told that nothing that was said

today or indeed last week will make

businesses, banks, insurance

companies hit the halt or even the

pause button on the post-Brexit

contingency plans. All the rules and

regulations will stay the same until

December 2020. That is what they are

waiting for. If they do that, that

will calm nerves. A good effort

today by the Chancellor, but still a

great deal of work still to do.

Simon many thanks again. Simon Jack

there for us in the City of London.

A lorry driver, involved

in a collision on the M1 last

August, has been cleared of eight

charges of causing death

by dangerous driving.

54-year-old David Wagstaff

from Stoke-on Trent

was on a hands-free phone call

at the time of the collision

and had already admitted

to careless driving.

Yesterday another driver,

31-year-old Ryszard Masierak,

who was driving the other lorry

involved, was convicted of causing

death by dangerous driving.

Our correspondent,

Helena Lee, reports.

The sheer force of the impact

of the crash is clear to see.

A crash that was entirely

avoidable, the trial heard,

with the most catastrophic

and tragic of consequences.

Ryszard Masierak stopped his

lorry in the slow lane

of the M1 for 12 minutes.

The jury was shown this dash-cam

footage from another lorry driver

on the road before the collision.

He passed Masierak's

lorry, here on the left,

stationary in the slow lane.

The court heard Masierak was twice

over the legal limit and he'd

been driving erratically

in the hours before.

Soon after, Cyriac Joseph,

the minibus driver, tried to go

round Masierak's lorry.

He missed his chance, stopped behind

it and put his hazards on.

Moments later, David

Wagstaff's lorry ploughed

into the back of the minibus.

During the trial, the court heard

how Wagstaff had been

on a hands-free call for nearly

an hour at the time of the crash,

and his lorry on cruise control.

Cyriac Joseph and seven

of his passengers died in the crash,

he'd been taking them to London,

where they were going

on to Disneyland in Paris.

Four others in the minibus

were seriously injured.

Six months on from the crash,

and Mr Joseph's family

feel his loss deeply.

I miss him a lot.

I mean, my life has

completely changed,

like completely changed so much.

Yeah, it's hard, and I'm trying

to get through it, like we all are.

Today, outside court,

tributes were paid to those

who helped at the scene.

All of the emergency services,

together with staff

and Highways England and members

of the public, worked

extremely hard to bring

comfort to those involved

in exceptionally

difficult circumstances.

Everyone who attended

will not forget the scene

they faced that day.

The Crown Prosecution Service says

this case serves as a stark warning

to other drivers.

It's a clear reminder

to all drivers that holding

a drivers licence brings with it

a high degree of responsibility that

should be at the forefront of every

driver's mind.

Today, the judge praised

the families of those who

lost loved ones for their constant

dignity in what he said was a

dreadful case.

Helena Lee, BBC News,

Reading Crown Court.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

of Saudi Arabia has started

a three-day visit to Britain

by having lunch with the Queen

and holding talks with

the Prime Minister in Downing Street

about trade and security.

But the visit is not appropriate,

according to human rights

campaigners, who point

to Saudi Arabia's role

in the conflict in Yemen,

where the UN says there's

a humanitarian crisis.

Our security correspondent,

Frank Gardner, has more details.

A Downing Street welcome for the man

who is shaking up Saudi Arabia with

radical reforms. Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman and his

delegation have come to Britain

looking for new deals and new

partnerships. This meeting concluded

with an agreed target of £65 billion

of future trade deals, spread across

education, healthcare, energy and

defence. Today, the Crown Prince was

given an audience and lunch with the

Queen. Tonight he is dining with

Prince Charles and Prince William.

The lunch that Crown Prince Mohammed

bin Salman had with the Queen is a

mark of just how highly the

Government values its relations with

Saudi Arabia. He's not a Head of

State and four years ago almost

no-one had heard of him. Not

everyone in Britain though welcomes

this visit. A small, but noisy

demonstration outside Downing

Street, protesting Saudi Arabia's

air strikes on Yemen and its poor

human rights record. Britain is a

major supplier of arms to Saudi

Arabia, contracts are worth billions

of pounds and employ thousands of

Britons. In neighbouring Yemen,

Saudi led air strikes on Houthi

rebels are blamed for the majority

of civilian casualties. In

Parliament today a question over

whether Saudi Arabia is a suitable

ally.

There has been a sharp

increase in the arrest and detention

of dissidents, torture of prisoners

is common, human rights defenders

routinely sentenced to lengthy

prison terms.

But the Government

places huge value on Saudi

co-operation in counter terrorism.

The link we have with Saudi Arabia

is historic it, it hes a an

important one and it has saved the

lives of potentially hundreds of

people in this country.

Crown Prince

Mohammed is pushing a sweeping

economic and social reform

programme, reintroducing cinemas and

public entertainment. He's also gig

Saudi women much more freedom to

enjoy public life. From June they

can drive. We spoke to a prominent

women's rights campaigner.

When it

comes to human rights I think

there's no reform yet. I think

everything is going to happen

because people nowadays are like,

you know, 70% of the population are

youth, youngsters, and they all want

change. The Saudi Crown Prince is no

democrat. He locked up citizens in

this hotel until they handed over

their assets. Young Saudis admire

him. If he can deliver on his

economic promises, with Britain's

help, he will go down in history as

the man who modernised Saudi Arabia.

Frank Gardner, BBC News.

A brief look at some

of the day's other news stories.

Syrian government forces

have reportedly taken

half of Eastern Ghouta,

the last rebel-held enclave close

to the capital Damascus.

More aerial bombing has

killed at least 20 people.

Troops and tanks have advanced,

with many local residents trying

to flee the violence.

The leader and deputy leader

of the far-right group,

Britain First, have been jailed

after being found guilty of

religiously-aggravated harassment.

Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen have

been sentenced to four-and-a-half

months and nine months respectively

after targeting Muslims

they believed were part of a rape

trial taking place last May.

Almost 1,000 jobs are to be

lost at the high street

fashion chain New Look.

The retailer says it's planning

to close 60 stores and reduce rent

on 400 shops as part

of rescue plans.

The company says the cuts

are tough but necessary

to restore profitability.

The Government is to pay

£50 million in cold weather

benefits because of last

week's freezing temperatures.

Around two million households

are receiving a top-up

to their benefits, worth £25 pounds,

because their area stayed below zero

degrees for seven days.

The head of world cycling's

governing body, the UCI,

is calling for an investigation

into Team Sky following

a parliamentary report.

David Lappartient has told the BBC

that the findings of the inquiry

into doping in sport

were "unacceptable"

and "could affect the global

credibility" of cycling.

The report accused Team Sky

and Sir Bradley Wiggins of having

"crossed an ethical line"

by using drugs allowed under

anti-doping rules to enhance

performance instead of just

for medical purposes.

From Switzerland our sports

editor, Dan Roan, reports.

They may be the dominant

force in cycling, but

the pressure is on Team Sky.

Today, they tried to focus

on their latest race in Italy,

but it's the way they've won

in the past that's under scrutiny.

Team Sky have admitted mistakes

following this week's damning report

by a parliamentary committee,

but today the most powerful figure

in the sport told me

that wasn't good enough.

Mistake is something you've done

with the intention to be wrong.

The report, it's

a little bit different.

It seems that it was a little bit

organised, so it's maybe not

a mistake but a fault,

which is different, because that

could affect the credibility

globally of our sport,

and that's why I'm

concerned about this.

The MPs alleged Sir Bradley Wiggins

used asthma drugs to boost

performance, and not

just for medical need,

when he rode for Team Sky.

A claim that both they and he deny,

but Lappartient seems unconvinced.

Do you feel an ethical line

was crossed, as the MPs suggest?

It's what in the report

and what I read.

When you can see that

substances were used,

not for health problems,

but to increase your performances,

then, yes, that's something

unacceptable for me

and the philosophy we have.

So if it's not breaking the rules,

can it be cheating?

If you are using, you know,

substances to increase your

performances, I think this

is exactly what is cheating.

Despite the controversy,

Sir Dave Brailsford remains

in charge of Team Sky,

but Lappartient told me he now wants

the World Federation's

anti-doping division

to launch their own inquiry.

I want them to investigate

and to see if there is some

violation of anti-doping rules.

Britain's top rider, Chris Froome,

continues to compete

despite an adverse drugs test last

year, and the Team Sky star

could defend his title in this

summer's Tour de France

with the case still unresolved.

What would the effect of that be?

That would be a disaster

for the image of cycling.

Even if...

On the legal point of view

he has a right to ride,

but for the image of our sport,

that could be a disaster.

The UCI president now wants

Chris Froome to withdraw from racing

until either he clears his name

or is banned.

The road to reputational recovery

could be a long one.

Dan Roan, BBC News.

In tonight's Champions League

football it's been a hugely

disappointing night for Tottenham,

who needed to avoid a home defeat

by Juventus to book a place

in the quarter-finals.

Spurs went ahead early in the tie,

but the Italians fought

back in the second half.

From Wembley, Natalie Pirks reports.

The saying goes that

football is more important

than life or death.

Tonight began with a reminder

that simply isn't true.

Emotion etched on the face

of Giorgio Chiellini.

In honour of their former

international team-mate,

the Italians were up for it.

Spurs, too.

Son had been threatening

the goal all match.

There's the chance,

oh, it's gone in!

This was just reward.

Yes, the strike wasn't

exactly vintage, but it

was huge unimportance.

How quickly things

can change, though.

First, Higuain levelled for Juve.

And there's the goal,

the flag stays down!

And, mere moments later, Dybala sent

travelling fans into raptures.

The Old Lady had awoken.

Spurs had gone from composed

to rattled, in the blink of an eye.

A Spurs goal would take

the game into extra time.

Hoisted in towards Harry Kane!

But the post stood between Harry

Kane and Tottenham fans' dreams.

Vital clearance by the

Italian international.

Inconsolable on the turf,

yet another year of disappointment.

Spurs had the advantage of of away

goals from the first-leg and when

Son scored everybody thought they

would go through. Juve have reached

two of the last three finals and

tonight that experience just told.

4-3 the final score across two legs.

Tottenham left shell-shocked. Better

news for Manchester City. They are

through to the quarter-finals

despite losing 2-1 on the night.

Basel inflicting their first home

defeat since 2016. City won 5-2 on

aggregate. City and Liverpool

through to the last eight.

Tottenham's run alas is over.

Natalie many thanks once again.