15/03/2018 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten:

Three of Britain's closest allies

strongly criticise Russia,

following the chemical attack

on a former spy in Salisbury.

During the day, Theresa May visited

Salisbury, meeting members

of the emergency services

and welcoming the support she's had

from the USA, France and Germany.

This happened in the UK,

but it could have happened anywhere,

and we take a united

stance against it.

In Moscow - where Vladimir Putin

is facing a presidential election -

they're still denying any

involvement in the attack.

What rational person could imagine

that a few days before

the presidential election,

the Russian Federation suddenly

decides to do something like that?

And Moscow has again

warned it will retaliate,

following the explusion of some

Russian diplomats from the UK.

Also tonight:

In Syria, thousand of civilians

have fled the rebel area

of Eastern Ghouta, on the seventh

anniversary of the start

of the Syrian conflict.

We'll be hearing the story

of a seven-year-old who was born

in the year the conflict began.

Tests on a fire door

from Grenfell Tower have shown

that it was far less flame-resistant

than it was claimed to be.

In Florida, a newly-built pedestrian

bridge has collapsed,

killing a number of people.

Many are still trapped.

And at the Emirates tonight,

Arsenal have been playing AC Milan

in the Europa League.

And coming up on

Sportsday on BBC News:

The Irish dominate at Cheltenham,

while trainer Willie Mullins

and Penhill were the big winners

on Day Three of the festival.

Good evening.

Three of Britain's closest allies

have declared their strong support

for Theresa May's response

to the poisoning of a former Russian

spy and his daughter in Salisbury.

The United States, France

and Germany blamed Russia

for the chemical attack,

which they said was an attack

on British sovereignty.

During the day, Theresa May visited

Salisbury for the first time

since the incident and met health

officials and members

of the emergency services,

including the police officer

who attended the scene

and is still in hospital -

as our diplomatic correspondent,

James Landale, reports.

His report contains flashing lights.

This was Theresa May's

first visit to Salisbury

since the nerve agent attack.

A chance to be briefed by the police

and public health officials.

But also a chance to meet

members of the public,

to chat, to reassure.

And, yes, even to do this.

She visited the scene of the attack

on the former Russian intelligence

officer Sergei Skripal

and his daughter, Yulia.

The restaurant where they ate.

The park bench, under a tent,

where they were found.

The Prime Minister thanked some

of the police officers who'd first

responded to the call.

Thank you.

What you did is what the police

do day in and day out.

You go to a routine call,

as you say, you don't

know what you'll find.

Then, at the local hospital,

she met and thanked

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey,

who's still recovering

from exposure to the nerve agent.

She said she'd expelled

23 Russian diplomats

for this despicable attack,

but was ready to do more.

There are other measures

we're looking at.

And if we face further provocation

from Russia, there are further

measures that we can deploy.

But what is important

in the international arena,

and we have taken this into Nato,

the United Nations and we will be

taking it into the European Union,

is that allies are standing

alongside us.

And saying this is part

of a pattern of activity

that we have seen from Russia.

That united stance came

in a joint statement

from the leaders of Britain,

France, Germany and the US,

all blaming Russia unequivocally.

I spoke with the Prime Minister

and we are in deep discussions.

A very sad situation.

It certainly looks like

the Russians are behind it.

Something that should

never, ever happen.

And we're taking it very seriously,

as I think are many others.

The joint statement is significant

because it shows the Foreign Office

and Downing Street are convincing

Britain's allies that the Salisbury

attack is different,

that it represents an escalation

of Russia's hostile behaviour.

And, as such, those allies

are now ready to crank up

the pressure on Moscow.

That diplomacy continued at Nato

headquarters in Brussels,

where British officials briefed

allies about what they

called Russia's 'reckless

and unlawful behaviour'.

And promised to support other

countries facing similar threats.

And in the Netherlands,

ministers confirmed that officials

from the chemical weapons watchdog,

the OPCW, would get access to

samples of the nerve agent to verify

that it was developed in Russia.

They would get that access

here at the military research

laboratory at Porton Down,

where the Novichok was identified.

Today, the Defence Secretary

announced Porton Down will get

another £45 million in funding.

And the Russians would

get short shrift.

If you're a nation and another

nation has launched a nerve agent

attack on your people,

I think we have every right to tell

Russia to shut up and go away.

Meanwhile, near Salisbury,

the investigation and

decontamination process continues.

The graves of Mr Skripal's wife

and son were still being inspected

and two vehicles were recovered

from near the home of DS Bailey.

James Landale, BBC News.

In Moscow, the Russian Government

says that President Putin

will decide soon what action to take

- in response to the expulsion

of 23 Russian diplomats,

thought to be intelligence officers

from the UK.

The Foreign Minister,

Sergei Lavrov, accused Britain

of acting in a boorish way,

and insisted again that

Russia was not involved

in the Salisbury attack -

as our correspondent

Steve Rosenberg reports.

Well, in three days' time, Russians

go to the polls to elect a new

President. And there is little doubt

that Vladimir Putin will be the

winner. The Kremlin insists that

President Putin is focused

completely on the election campaign,

but the nerve agent attack in

Salisbury has sparked, on the Eve of

the vote, a diplomatic war with

Britain, and the next move is

Vladimir Putin's.

Vladimir Putin's.

It may be feeling like a Cold War,

but in Moscow today,

there was a warm reception

for the President.

Vladimir Putin the star guest

at a youth conference.

Lots of smiles, but no mention

of diplomatic expulsions.

The Kremlin leader keeping his

plans for retaliation

against Britain to himself.

Across town, at the British Embassy,

they waited for news.

Would Moscow expel

British diplomats?

The UK had expelled 23 Russians.

And the news on Russian TV -

Britain has been Russia's

enemy for centuries.

The message to viewers -

the UK cannot be trusted.

Russia's Foreign Minister,

Sergei Lavrov, claimed

Britain was using the poisoning

of Sergei Skripal to distract

attention from Brexit.

Then, pictures from the Kremlin.

The President meeting his security

chiefs to discuss UK sanctions.

Moscow's response expected soon.

Russia may be coming under

increasing international pressure,

but the language coming out

of the Kremlin is

increasingly defiant.

Vladimir Putin's spokesman today

described Britain's stance

as 'destructive and provocative'.

The President, he said,

would take the final decision

on how Russia responds.

And just when you think relations

can't get any worse,

the Defence Secretary tells

Russia to 'shut up'.

The reaction in Moscow?

It's not only a mistake,

it's worse than a mistake

because it's stupid.

Or it's done on purpose,

it's a provocation, they want

the Russians to be provoked.

Criticism of Russia, too, by Nato.

It agrees Moscow was behind

the Salisbury attack.

All of us agree that the attack

was a clear breach of international

norms and agreements.

This is unacceptable.

It has no place

in a civilised world.

Tonight, Russia is feeling

increasingly isolated

and in a new Cold War it blames

on the West.

In a moment, we'll

speak to our security

correspondent, Gordon Corera.

But first, live to Washington

and our North America

editor, Jon Sopel.

A notable change of tone in

Washington, what is behind it?

Well, you could argue that Theresa

May has been more successful than

the US intelligence services because

she has convinced Donald Trump that

the Russians have been up to no good

and for the past 15 months, Donald

Trump has been very wary, almost

open in refusing to accept that.

What was striking was the statement

issued last night by the White House

press secretary, full square behind

Theresa May and the need to expel

the diplomats and the belief that

Russia was behind it. Then the most

unlikely thing this morning, a joint

letter signed by Trump, the leader

of France and Germany and Britain.

And one other thing as well, America

has announced that it is imposing

its own sanctions on 19 individuals

and private entities. Not connected

directly with the Salisbury attack,

but with the hacking of the US

election in 2016 and Russian

involvement in that. I think that

has come today because the Americans

want to send a sign to Russia as

well as the French and the Germans,

it is not Britain alone against

Vladimir Putin. There are a lot of

mighty powers who think what

happened in Salisbury overstepped

the mark.

Many thanks. Can we talk

about that, Gordon, the basis for

the consensus? Can we assume France,

Germany and the United States have

seen the intelligence and agree with

it?

Britain has been busy showing

this assessment with different

allies and that is based on a number

of things. The technical element,

which shows written says this was a

Russian developed nerve agent, a

Novichok. And the broad assessment

that not only did Russia have the

means in terms of that agent, but

the motive, having made calls to

kill what it considers traitors, and

the track record using

unconventional weapons. The use of

polonium to kill Alexander

Litvinenko. That is not a direct

trail of evidence of what happened,

but it is enough clearly for allies

and it was important in the

statement they said, there was no

plausible alternative explanation

other than Moscow's involvement.

There will be an independent,

scientific analysis done by the

chemical weapons inspectors from the

OPCW, but that is slow and it took

months for them to come to

conclusions about Syrian chemical

weapons and British professionals

were clear, they wanted to maintain

the initiative. If you look back to

the Litvinenko case, they felt

played by the Russians, played for

time inviting the police to Moscow

and making their life very

difficult. This time, British

officials wanted to keep up the

momentum and they will be encouraged

by the way that has gone with allies

today and they will hope the

Russians will be on the back foot as

they work out how to respond.

Once

again, thanks very much. And thanks

very much from the White House.

In Syria, thousands of people

are fleeing the rebel-held

enclave of Eastern Ghouta,

as government forces

intensify their offensive.

Doctors there have been sending

out desperate messages,

saying they are overwhelmed

by the number of casualties.

President Assad's forces

have now retaken large

parts of Eastern Ghouta -

the last rebel stronghold

near the capital, Damascus.

This report by our Middle East

editor, Jeremy Bowen,

contains some distressing scenes.

Thousands are fleeing

parts of Eastern Ghouta,

tredging into an uncertain future

that looks better now than

the deadly present.

In this war, half Syria's population

has fled or been driven from their

homes.

These people are among the latest.

Many families will have

been displaced before.

They've

spent weeks hiding

in basements from the shelling.

Eastern Ghouta is the size

of Manchester, and this isn't

happening everywhere.

One armed group has bought some

quiet by negotiating a

transfer of power.

But many tens of thousands

of civilians are still besieged.

This was filmed by Omar, a cameraman

who gives his material to the BBC.

The attack happened

outside his building.

TRANSLATION:

I was telling

myself that this rocket

was going to kill me.

For a second, I was talking

to myself, saying I'm

about to die.

A small boy was caught up in it.

He's deaf, so he hadn't heard

warnings to take cover.

Omar, the cameraman,

worried the boy would bleed to death

and told us the eight minutes it

took for the ambulance to arrive

were the worst he had

endured since the battle

for Eastern Ghouta began.

Omar carried him to the ambulance,

where he was squeezed in

next to the bodies of the dead.

Omar has seen a lot of death.

He said the boy was a soul

he wanted to save.

We have been following

Dr Amani Ballour,

a paediatrician in an underground

hospital, who spends every day

with the wounded and the dying.

In that place, they are all

fighting fear, aware

that regime soldiers

are

advancing into Eastern Ghouta.

Dr Amani sent a message.

TRANSLATION:

It's the worst

it's been for many days,

the shelling is brutal -

bombs, rockets,

all kinds of weapons.

This may be my last message.

The injured are everywhere,

the operating theatres

are full of wounded people.

We don't have enough

doctors to help them all,

our own homes have been shelled.

A small amount of aid is being

brought into Eastern Ghouta.

All the talk of a humanitarian

ceasefire has been ignored.

This war started seven years ago.

Its horror goes on.

Jeremy Bowen, BBC News.

And for many of those who've managed

to flee the violence in Syria,

the shadow of war remains.

Rouaa and Mustafa -

two seven year olds -

were born in the year

the conflict began.

Our correspondent, Caroline Hawley,

has been following their stories.

Rouaa and her friend Hoda are part

of a whole generation of Syrians

growing up as refugees.

Her family fled Eastern Ghouta

in 2013, after a chemical attack.

A nappy soaked in vinegar

is all her parents have

to try to protect her.

This is home now, she says.

One room for the whole family

to eat, sleep and study in.

And even after nearly five years

here, she still hasn't got used

to the camp's shared toilets.

But here, she is at least safe.

Her cousin, Mohammed,

was killed in an air strike

in Eastern Ghouta this week.

Her father's thighbone

was shattered by a sniper's

bullet and he can't work.

Her sister was hit by shrapnel.

They're just one of so many

families scarred inside

and out by Syria's war.

A barrel bomb killed Mustafa's

parents, broke both of his hips

and lodged a piece of shrapnel

in his brain.

He has severe nerve damage

down his left side.

It's hard for him trying

to keep up with his peers,

but he's determined.

Back at home, his grandmother

brings out a photograph

of his father, Ibrahim.

But Mustafa is now losing

the memory of what his parents

were actually like.

Once a week, Mustafa

comes for physiotherapy.

Beside him is Benin.

She lost her father,

two brothers and a sister

when a shell landed on her home.

Syrian children have paid

a catastrophic price for the war.

And yet, in art therapy,

Mustafa draws himself smiling.

Despite everything he's been

through, everything he's up against,

I've never once seen him complain.

Caroline Hawley, BBC News.

A number of people have died -

and many are believed

trapped under rubble -

after a newly-built

pedestrian bridge collapsed

in the US city of Miami.

A major rescue

operation is under way.

The bridge, weighing

nearly a thousand tonnes,

was opened last Saturday -

as our correspondent,

Gary O'Donoghue, reports.

The bridge just clap stowed of

nowhere. There are cars stuck under

there.

Scrambling to rescue the trapped

and injured after 950 tonnes

of the newly-installed pedestrian

bridge crashed down

onto the road below.

A number of vehicles were crushed

as the bridge came down,

shortly before 2pm.

The emergency services,

dashing to help those

pinned under the concrete.

The footbridge had only

just been completed,

designed to take students

from the Florida International

University safely across a six-lane

highway to their accommodation.

What was soon to become an iconic,

staple part of the connectivity

between the city and the University

has actually turned out

to be a national tragedy.

Our hearts are extended out

to those, the victims that

were actually able to be transported

away, as well as those that may not

be walking away from the scene.

The collapsed section of the bridge

was only put in place last Saturday,

using a method known as advanced

bridge construction,

designed to be fast and cause

the least disruption

as possible to traffic.

This is crazy, God bless everyone

involved.

The National Transportation Safety

Board says it is sending

investigators to the scene,

and the building company employed

to put up the bridge, MCM,

says it will co-operate fully.

A brief look at some of the day's

other other news stories.

Following the death of an Egyptian

student in Nottingham,

Egypt is to send a delegation

of parliamentarians to Britain.

Mariam Moustafa died

in hospital yesterday,

a month after being attacked

in the city centre.

Police say they're aware

of suggestions on social media

that she was the victim of a hate

crime, but they're not

currently treating the attack

as being racially motivated.

Neville Hord has been jailed

for at least 30 years -

after admitting stabbing to death

the daughter of his former partner

at an Aldi supermarket in Skipton

just before Christmas.

30-year-old Jodie Willsher died

after being stabbed 11 times.

Prosecutors described Hord's motive

for the killing as 'revenge'.

A government inspector

has recommended that

Northamptonshire County Council,

which has faced serious

financial problems,

should be abolished,

and replaced with two new councils.

The Conservative council has

accepted the findings,

and its leader has resigned.

HSBC has revealed that its female

staff in the UK earned 59%

less than their male

colleagues last year.

Bonuses at the bank awarded

to men were 86% higher

than those given to women.

HSBC said less than a quarter of

senior roles were filled by women.

Police investigating the fire

at Grenfell Tower in west London,

which claimed the lives of 71

people, say tests on a front door

from one of the flats,

showed it was far less

fire-resistant than intended.

Survivors of the blaze have

described the finding as

'shocking' as our home affairs

correspondent Tom Symonds reports.

Could what happened

here be the result of

corporate manslaughter?

That is what the police

are investigating.

Highly technical work,

including the test of a door

from a Grenfell flat.

One that was undamaged in the fire.

In this standard test,

heat is applied to one side

and the door must

hold for 30 minutes.

Here, there's some smoke, but this

door easily passes the test.

The sample from Grenfell

lasted 15 minutes.

The police informed the government,

which has consulted its own experts.

The response...

There is no change

to fire safety advice

that the public should follow.

I, nevertheless, fully appreciate

that this news will be

troubling for many people,

not least all those affected

by the Grenfell tragedy.

That is why, based on expert advice,

we have begun the process

of conducting further tests

and we will continue to consult

with the expert panel

to identify the implications

of these further tests.

This picture is from

before the fire.

Flats appear to have

had a variety of doors,

but they were fairly new.

The doors were replaced in 2012,

not as part as the major

refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.

After that work there

was a safety inspection.

The investigators will want to know

were the doors properly assessed?

For the survivors, understanding why

it happened is vital.

It's very important for Grenfell

survivors and the bereaved families

to feel that we can honour

the memory of those who have died.

One way we can bring justice

is to make sure that regulations

and progressive policies ensure that

people feel safe in their homes once

again and that means

tightening the regulations.

But those questions will come later.

For now, this is still the scene

of a criminal investigation.

Tom Symonds, BBC News,

at Grenfell Tower.

The Anglo-Dutch consumer company

Unilever, the third-biggest firm

in the UK, has denied that Brexit

is a factor in its decision

to base its new headquarters

in Rotterdam rather than London.

The firm, which owns

well-known brands such

as Marmite and Hellmann's,

insisted it's fully committed

to its British operations.

Our business editor Simon Jack

is at the firm's current

headquarters in London.

When they say it is not to do with

Brexit what do you make of that?

I

think they've got good reasons why

that is a credible explanation.

Since 1930 this rather beautiful

building Unilever house has been the

UK headquarters of the maker of

Marmite, of Dove and personal and

throw those decades it's adding

another headquarters in Rotterdam in

the Netherlands. Today the company,

historic move, said its future,

there is only room for one

headquarters and it's not going to

be here. So why are they doing it?

They say they need to save money and

be more streamlined, be more agile.

Just last year they had a nasty

shock when they were the subject to

one of the biggest takeover bids in

history when the US giant Kraft

Heinz tried to buy them. A lot of

people see under Dutch law that

takeover would have been more

difficult to actually pull off.

There is more protection afforded

under Dutch law. It does not mean

Unilever is leaving the UK, seven

and a half thousand jobs here and

will stay, they will run two

divisions, but it does mean Unilever

will fall out of the FTSE 100 index

of leading shares. They say it's not

to do with Brexit. Having said that,

the Prime Minister and the Business

Secretary lobbied very hard for this

not to happen because they know full

well that with just over a year to

go before we leave the European

Union this move will send a very

uncomfortable and very unpleasant

message to the rest of the corporate

sector and very, very sensitive

time.

Thank you very much, our

business editor Simon Jack at

Unilever headquarters in London.

The Danish prime minister has told

the BBC that Britain can rely

upon its European neighbours,

in moments of crisis.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen said that

although Britain had

decided to leave the EU,

they still had the

closest ties possible.

And he warned that the EU

would be sending a very

clear message to Russia,

in relation to the Salisbury attack,

when it meets next week.

Our Europe editor

Katya Adler reports.

Denmark is one of the UK's

closest European allies,

a fellow nonconformist,

rather Eurosceptic nation.

Today, as we walked

through the Danish Parliament,

Prime Minister Rasmussen wanted

to talk first about the Salisbury

attack and whether the EU

would take concrete action.

I think it's time to step up

and speak out very loud and very

clear to Russia that we will not

accept this because this is a threat

to everybody's security.

This is in a way the first

real test after Brexit.

12 months of very

bad-tempered negotiations.

Can the UK still rely

on its European allies

in a moment of crisis?

Yes.

I'm absolutely convinced that

Britain can rely on Europe.

Even though the British have decided

to leave the EU as an institution,

Britain is still a part of Europe.

Because so far Britain

has been disappointed

by its traditional allies,

in that in the Brexit negotiations,

Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland,

in the negotiations have chosen,

if you like, the EU over ally UK.

Well, I wouldn't put it that way.

Even though I love Britain,

I mean, I have to be aware

of what the Danish interest

is in this case.

I have to protect my business

environment in the same way that

Theresa May has to protect

the British business community.

And you believe that

changing rules for the UK

would damage the single market?

That could be the case.

It could be, you know,

followed by other countries wanting

to go down the same lane,

if we allow this kind

of cherry picking.

But Denmark is keen on some

cherry picking of its own.

It's one of the world's biggest

exporters of fish but Danish

fishermen rely heavily on access

to UK waters.

They want that to

continue after Brexit.

This is definitely something

we have to negotiate.

I mean, that's what it's

all about, negotiating.

So will there be that give and take?

My point of departure

is that we have to reach out

for a balanced agreement.

Let's look at this idea

the transition deal.

The UK is hoping for that to be

confirmed at the EU's leaders summit

on Thursday and Friday.

You will be there.

Will it be a yes?

I will echo those who say

that we need to send a clear signal

about a transitional agreement

so that we can postpone

uncertainty until 2020.

That Brexit uncertainty

is disruptive for Denmark

and the rest of Europe

as well as the UK.

Whatever is decided at next week's

EU summit, months of tough

negotiations still lie ahead.

Katya Adler, BBC News, Copenhagen.

Football, and Arsenal have

been playing tonight

in the Europa League.

They have beaten AC Milan at the

Emirates I 3-1 to get to the

quarterfinals.

It's been a dark

winter in Islington.

Arsenal's league season went into

a tunnel and ended up in a hole.

But they found escapism in Europe.

Last week they beat AC Milan

2-0, a morale boost,

but also a mental test,

for in the second leg Milan

knew they could change

the mood in a moment.

Calhanoglu with a strike

to shake the try.

How were those nerves?

Well, how about this for a settler?

Not two minutes later

Danny Welbeck broke and fell.

A plea, a pause.

A penalty.

Back to Welbeck.

Pressure.

In a kick a stadium exhaled.

Arsenal aren't always suitable

for before the watershed.

Though always a chance of jump

scares courtesy of a desperate Milan

with nothing to lose.

Arsenal ensured they had

nothing to gain either.

Xhaka aimed for one corner

and somehow scored in the other.

Safety.

Then time for luxury.

They queued up for a

third, Welbeck got it.

A competition which was never

supposed to be a priority

for Arsenal has helped them regain

a little of their identity.

Patrick Gearey, BBC News.

Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two.

Here is an Ollie.

Tonight we talk to the excelled

Russian oligarch who believes blood

and Putin has lost control of the

Russian state. During the night on

BBC Two.