07/03/2018 BBC News at One

The Home Secretary

says more is now known

about the substance used

in the suspected poisoning

of a Russian spy.

-- former Russian spy.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter

remain critically ill,

after collapsing in Salisbury.

as ministers move to

reassure local people.

I want to make sure that this

investigation response to evidence,

not to rumour, but I can reassure

the public that all action will be

taken to keep everybody safe.

We'll have the latest

on the continuing investigation.

Also this lunchtime...

The President of the EU says a free

trade agreement will have to be put

into place after Brexit -

and says the UK's position will have

"negative economic consequences."

A pick and mix approach for a

nonmember State is out of the

question. We are not going to

sacrifice these principles. It is

simply not in our interest.

Saudi's Crown Prince arrives

in the UK on a three-day visit

for talks with ministers and lunch

with the Queen - but

protests are expected.

A clamp-down on the extra fees

charged by secondary ticket websites

- they must now be upfront

about the full price

of all purchases.

And why pine martens could be

the key to the recovery

of the endangered red squirrel

population in the UK.

And coming up in the

sport on BBC News...

It's all to play for in the final

one-day international,

after New Zealand beat England

by five wickets to level

the series in Dunedin.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News At One.

The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd,

has said more is now known

about the substance involved

in the suspected poisoning

of a former Russian

spy and his daughter.

The Home Secretary says

the police will reveal more

details later today,

and insists the investigation must

respond to evidence, not rumour.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter

Yulia remain critically ill in

hospital in Salisbury in Wiltshire,

after collapsing on Sunday.

Richard Galpin reports.

With the former Russian intelligence

officer Sergei Skripal and his

daughter Yulia still fighting

for their lives in hospital,

counterterrorism police are now

running the investigation.

And they want any witnesses to come

forward with information. For

example, at the restaurant where the

Skripals eight not long before they

collapsed on a bench in the city

centre. Today, another sign of how

seriously this incident is being

treated.

Good morning. You attending

Cobra?

Senior ministers and

intelligence officials holding a

meeting at the Government's

emergency response committee called

Cobra. And afterwards, the Home

Secretary announced they had been

progress in the investigation into

what had made to the Skripals so ill

last Sunday.

We do know more about

the substance and the police will be

making a further substance this

afternoon in order to share some of

that. We must let the police carry

on their work. They will share what

they come this afternoon and I'm

sure there will be more updates as

the investigation continues.

Scientists at the Government's

research laboratories at Porton down

near Salisbury have been examining

samples to try to work out exactly

what substance was involved but

despite suspicions, -- suspicions

that Russia might be behind what has

happened, there are warnings against

jumping to conclusions.

We need to

bear in mind that the police need to

look at all avenues, it is not just

a case of deciding that this is a

Russian state incident. This could

be someone else and it is quite

possible that someone else has done

this so it is really important that

we keep an open mind as police

officers.

In Moscow there is growing

anger at the way the British media

has been reporting the incident.

TRANSLATION:

These people have been

used by the foreign media for an

anti-Russian campaign. It is a

traditional campaign. The tradition

is to make things up. We can only

see it as a provocation.

Meanwhile,

several key locations in Salisbury

remain cordoned off by the police.

It has now been revealed that an

ambulance station outside the city

has also been sealed off. There are

reports of a fire engine being used

to hose down the ambulance which

took the Skripals to hospital.

Richard Galpin, BBC News.

In a moment we'll get the latest

from our correspondent

Sarah Rainsford in Moscow,

but first let's speak

to Leila Nathoo in Salisbury.

Brings us right up to date with this

police investigation.

We know that

scientists at the UK's military

research facility have been

analysing that substance that

surrogate and Yulia Skripal were

exposed to and we heard from the

Home Secretary, Amber Rudd after she

chaired that high level emergency

committee this morning that now do

know more about it and we are

expecting an update from police

later this afternoon. We know it is

counterterror police who are now

leading this inquiry. They are

appealing for anyone who was in

Salisbury city centre on Sunday

afternoon from 1:30pm, when they

believe Sergei Skripal and Yulia and

the city centre. They are appealing

for anyone who was around at that

time to come forward with any they

have. In the last 15 minutes there

has been a flurry of activity near

arrest that has been cordoned off,

just behind me, and that has now

been renewed. There is police and

ambulances coming to the scene. We

don't yet know what that means but

we are expecting to hear more from

the police later this afternoon and,

as the Home Secretary said, it is

likely to be a lengthy

investigation.

Thanks for now. Let's

get the latest from Moscow. We heard

about the anger from Moscow in

Richard's report did not tell us

more about what is being said where

you are.

That is the strongest

reaction we have had so far from

Moscow, coming from the foreign

ministry, the spokesperson there,

who has described the accusations

and half accusations coming from the

UK as utterly groundless. She has

taught about baseless accusations

and says this incident is being

exploited as part of what she sees

as a deliberate campaign to damage

relations between the West more

broadly and Russia are. She was very

critical of the Western media,

saying that this is being whipped up

and is an anti-Russian campaign, and

just speculation, and she was

talking about the need for an open

investigation into what happened and

for Russia to be involved with that.

She said Russia was willing and open

to cooperation, in fact very keen to

co-operate with any inquiry. Another

interesting point from here in

Russia is how the media here has

been covering what is going on and

the extraordinary thing is that

there has been almost no mention in

the very powerful, influential

state-run media here. The three key

TV channels have not mentioned a

word and the only discussion in some

newspapers has been to suggest that

this is some kind of anti-Russian

campaign being conducted in the UK

and there is no basis for the

accusations whatsoever.

Sarah, thank

you. Sarah Raynsford and Leila

Nathoo.

In the past hour, the President

of the EU, Donald Tusk, has been

giving more details about ties

with Britain after Brexit.

He says a free trade arrangement

is the only workable option -

and that there could be

an arrangement resembling the one

that Brussels has with Canada.

Adam Fleming is in Luxembourg.

Tell us more about what Donald Tusk

has been outlining.

Well, Donald Tusk is the man who

chairs the summits of EU leaders and

there is going to be one of those in

a couple of weeks, where they will

sign off on their blueprint for the

next phase of Brexit talks, which is

all about negotiating the shape of

the future relationship with the UK

after Brexit and the message from

Donald Tusk here today was that with

the current UK redlines, the best he

could offer would be a partnership

on security, defence, aviation and

on trade the best would be a free

trade agreement. He explained what

that meant

like this.

Our agreement will not make trade

between the UK and the EU

frictioness or smoother.

-- frictionless.

It will make it more complicated

and costly for all of us.

This is the essence of Brexit.

A pick and mix approach for a

nonmember State is out of the

question. We are not going to

sacrifice these principles. That is

simply not in our interest.

To

Brexit watchers, lots of this will

not come as a surprise because it is

the sort of thing the EU has been

saying for weeks and weeks when they

have looked at what the British want

but I thought it was interesting

when I spoke to Donald Tusk at news

conference, when I asked him, does

this come anything close to what the

prime minister asked for in her

mansion house speech on Friday? He

gave an incredibly long pause, which

suggests he knows that it isn't. I

think what will

think what will probably be shopping

for some people is seeing it written

down in text form saying, this is

what is going to happen, and reading

the warning circulating in the

document by the EU today that this

will have serious economic

consequences for Britain. But if you

read the small print, there was a

section of the document that says

that other options are on the table

if the UK is willing to reconsider

its redlines. That is the EU saying

to the UK, if you are prepared to

make some big compromises, we are

prepared to make some big

compromises too.

Let's get reaction to all of that.

Our assistant political editor,

Norman Smith, is following

everything at Westminster. That is

fascinating about the redlines.

It is because while at first glance

this looks like a bucket of cold

water being poured over Mrs May,

with the EU rejecting, rebirthing or

ignoring all the sort of emollient

language and compromises offered by

Mrs May last week suggesting that we

could stay in some EU agencies, we

would be happy to pay and observe EU

standards, we would stick by some EU

rules and there would be no race to

the bottom. That has all been

rejected and at first glance, you

say that looks like a blow to the

solar plexus for Mrs May. Talking to

Downing Street folk, they say that

this is only a draft text, it is

early days, we hope the EU will

respond more imaginatively and

creatively, and they're great hope

is that EU leaders in individual

European capitals will be much more

receptive to the sort of hand of

friendship being reached out by Mrs

May and will be much more willing to

do a deal. Why? Self-interest,

because they do an awful lot of

trade with Britain and they do not

want to lose that. Britain is also a

huge contributor in terms of

European security and, crucially,

hard cash. We have offered up to £39

billion but we are not handing over

the money unless we get that deal.

One other thing that may comfort

Number Ten from this response is

that one consequence of Mrs May's

speech was to begin to bind the Tory

party together. I wonder if this

very tough language from the EU will

further solidify Tory support behind

Mrs May, if they think the EU is

trying to push her around.

Norman, thank you.

We'll hear more about

what the Government wants

for the UK financial sector

after Brexit when the

Chancellor gives a speech

in London this afternoon.

Our economics editor

Kamal Ahmed is here.

An important part of the economy, of

course.

Absolutely, so a big issue

for us these Brexit negotiations

will be financial services. They

employ over 2 million people across

the UK, not just in London, and we

have a trade surplus with the EU

with about £20 billion a year so,

for us, it is a very important part

of the Brexit negotiation. Philip

Hammond this afternoon is likely to

say that any free-trade deal should

include a good deal on financial

services, maintaining access between

the EU and Britain. So far, the

European commission has been pretty

negative on this idea. Michel

Barnier, the chief Brexit negotiator

for the commission, has said there

has never been a free-trade deal

including financial services done by

the EU with a third country, which

is what we will be. Butternut Donald

Tusk press conference we have just

seen that Norman was talking about,

he did say that a free-trade deal

would look at all areas, including

services. So there could be a slight

opening for a negotiation. This is a

negotiation. Philip Hammond will set

out one stall, close alignment, the

European Union are going to say that

that will be really difficult.

Somewhere in the middle, I am sure,

there will be a way of organising it

so that the deal me, yes, be more

difficult in terms of the

relationship between the EU and

Britain, but it won't be a complete

brick wall between the two sites.

,

Ahmed, thank you very much.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince,

Mohammed Bin Salman,

is having lunch with the Queen

at the start of a three-day visit

to the UK, during which he's also

scheduled to have dinner

with the Prince of Wales,

and talks with the Prime Minister

about trade and security.

But campaigners are planning

protests - highlighting

Saudi Arabia's human rights record,

and its role in the war in Yemen.

Here's our security

correspondent Frank Gardner.

Touching down in Britain last night,

Saudi TV showed Brown crisper

hammered Bilson man being greeted by

Boris Johnson and others. -- Crown

Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A lavish

public relations campaign has

alerted Londoners to his visit. But

so too has this, anti-war protesters

say the Prince has blood on his

hands for Saudi led air strikes in

Yemen. They want the Government to

stop defence sales to Saudi Arabia.

Defence and security contracts

dominate trade with the UK. They are

worth billions of pounds and employ

thousands of Britons but in

neighbouring Yemen, Saudi led air

strikes on who the rebels have been

blamed for mounting civilian

casualties, which prompted a

question in Parliament this morning

over whether with a poor human

rights record, Saudi Arabia is a

suitable ally.

As she makes her arms

sales pitch, will see also call the

Crown prince to stop the shocking

abuse of human rights in Saudi

Arabia?

The link that we have with

Saudi Arabia is historic, it is an

important want it I will be raising

concerns about human rights with the

Crown prince when I meet him.

Back

home, the Crown Prince is rapidly

modernising his country. He has

lifted the ban on women driving from

June. Cinemas public entertainment

are being reintroduced and a new

mega city built. He is also aiming

to diversify the economy away from

oil, which means attracting British

investment. And with Brexit looming,

the Government here is looking to

boost its with it biggest trading

partner. The Crown Prince is no

democratic top slot at 200 prominent

Saudis in this hotel last year,

accusing them of corruption. His

critics say beheadings have

increased since he rose to power and

his ethics are worrying some foreign

investors. The Crown Prince is a man

in a hurry, as he sits down for

lunch with the Queen today, and his

message is that a new modern Saudi

Arabia is open for business. But

this relationship will always be a

controversial one. Frank Gardner,

BBC News.

Our Diplomatic

Correspondent James Robbins

is at Buckingham Palace.

And the Crown Prince is now bear. He

is, he's having lunch now with the

Queen and it is a mark of the

seriousness which the government

applies to this visit and this

relationship that he is having lunch

with the Queen and dinner later on

with the heiress to the throne,

Prince Charles and Prince William

put up an indication of the fact

that this is everything short of a

state visit. The Tories may have

been cleared this is a controversial

visit, strongly opposed to many. She

and the government take the view

they think it is vital that the UK

maintains its long-standing

lectureship with Saudi Arabia in

spite of all the criticism. So for

instance we can expect the Crown

Prince to receive a detailed

briefing on security from senior

officials on the National Security

Council, but the UK said Saudi

Arabia through its security

cooperation with UK helps to keep us

safe. I think we can expect some new

trade deals unveiled by the Crown

Prince is in London. The UK says it

wants to broaden trade but would

like to see diversification away

from the huge emphasis on arms sales

which is so controversial. So I

think you may see deals perhaps

selling some educational and health

care services to Saudi Arabia,

perhaps a private school opening

shortly in the kingdom. But it

remains a difficult and

controversial path that the

government is steering.

Thank you.

Our top story this lunchtime.

The Home Secretary says more is now

known about the substance

used in the suspected poisoning

of a Russian spy and his

daughter, in Salisbury.

Coming up.

How a police officer

seriously injured

in the Westminster Bridge attack

will finally be heading home -

thanks to an army of volunteers.

Coming up in sport.

We build up to a huge

Champions League night

at Wembley for Tottenham,

with last year's finalists Juventus

standing in their way of a place

in the quarter finals.

A teenager has gone on trial

accused of planting a bomb

on a London underground train last

September.

30 people were hurt

in the incident during rush hour

at Parsons Green station.

18-year-old Ahmed Hassan,

from Sunbury in Surrey,

denies attempted murder and causing

an explosion likely

to endanger life.

Our Home Affairs Correspondent

June Kelly is following

the trial at the Old Bailey.

I'm sure people not just in London

but around the country will remember

a major security alert on the cheap

in London last September. Today the

Old Bailey was told a tragedy was

only averted because the device

involved failed to fully go off.

An autumn morning in the rush-hour

and there an emergency

on an underground train in west

London.

Today the Old Bailey heard how last

September an improvised explosive

device partially detonated

on a District line train.

It had just pulled into

Parsons Green station.

This partial explosion created

a large fireball in the carriage.

There were around 93 passengers

in the carriage, the court was told,

some were caught by the flames

and sustained significant burns.

Today the teenager on trial

for the attack was brought to court

to face charges of attempted murder

and causing an explosion

likely to endanger life.

18-year-old Ahmed Hassan,

an asylum seeker from Iraq,

is pleading not guilty.

At the time of his arrest he had

been living with foster parents.

Opening the case,

the 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.

The jury heard that Ahmed Hassan had

left the device in a bucket.

It was said to be loaded

with shrapnel to cause

maximum harm and carnage.

And he had used the explosive DHCP.

The device was fitted with a timer.

Ahmed Hassan had got off

the train one station before.

He was arrested 24 hours later.

Well Ahmed Hassan was actually

arrested in Dover. The jury have

been shown the effect of the

fireball in the carriage as part of

the prosecution case.

President Trump's top

economic advisor,

Gary Cohn, has resigned -

in the latest high profile departure

from the White House team.

Mr Cohn - a Democrat -

was a key architect

of the Administration's huge

package of tax cuts.

The former Wall St Banker

is rumoured to have been unhappy

that Mr Trump could trigger a trade

war by imposing tariffs on steel

and aluminium imports.

It's the latest in a series

of high-profile departures

from President Trump's team.

The country's four main secondary

ticketing agencies have

been banned from using some price

strategies which the Advertising

Standards Authority

says are misleading.

It means StubHub, Get Me In,

Viagogo and Seatwave must be clear

from the outset about the total

price of any ticket they sell -

or face prosecution.

Nina Warhurst reports.

The Rolling Stones are coming

to town and I'm keen to be there.

The secondary ticketing site Viagogo

is reselling a ticket for £141.

But when I go to pay, this happens.

SHE GASPS.

£47 VAT and booking fee.

So a ticket that we thought

was costing us £141

is now almost 200 quid.

These nasty surprises are common.

Claire used Viagogo to buy

four Ed Sheerin tickets.

She thought it was costing less

than £300, but that was for one

ticket and after fees were added,

more than £1400 left her account.

I rang my daughter crying

and I said, you know,

and thought I had done something...

I think the awful feeling is that

I felt I'd done something wrong.

Then I realised I hadn't,

actually, that this whole

practice was very deceptive.

We contacted Viagogo for a response

but didn't get a reply.

And today new guidelines come

into play which could see

secondary sellers prosecuted

if they mislead consumers.

We are saying that they've got to be

much more clear and upfront

about the prices that we are paying

when we buy tickets

through their sites.

And in a nutshell we are saying

the price that we see when we first

input how many tickets we want

should be the price

that we pay at the end.

But some artists say that

still leaves space for expensive

exploitation of fans.

So what would they like to see?

If you can't make a show, you can

sell it through the secondary

site for the same price

and you get your money back

and then someone can buy it

for face value plus whatever

the administration was.

So if they can actually

still see their favourite artist

without sacrificing a family

holiday, for example.

If you've already forked out fees

to see Mick and the gang,

you can appeal them and next time

they are on tour, the ticket price

you see should be what you get.

Nina Warhurst, BBC News.

Nearly a year ago, the life

of police constable

Kris Aves changed forever,

when he was injured in the terrorist

attack on Westminster bridge.

He was left paralysed

and no longer able to live

at home with his family.

But a call for help from the DIY SOS

team was met with the biggest

response for volunteers

in the show's history.

Daniela Relph has the story.

Thursday, the 23rd of March.

The morning after the

Westminster Bridge attack.

Five people died and 40

people were injured,

some of them suffering what has been

described as catastrophic

injuries...

One of those with catastrophic

injuries was Metropolitan Police

constable Kris Aves.

Critically injured as he walked

across the bridge.

For much of the past year he's been

in Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

He dislocated his vertebrae,

damaged his spinal cord

and is now in a wheelchair.

But what he wanted more

than anything was to get home to his

partner and two young children.

It makes me sad

when I think forward.

To go swimming, I don't know how I'm

going to be in a pool having

a fun session with them.

I won't be able to stand up and kick

a football with them.

And I kind of just feel...

You know, it's just been

taken away from me.

And it's not fair.

The kids just ask a lot of questions

about stuff and about why did daddy

get hit, was he not looking

when he crossed the road?

And things like that.

And it's quite hard to answer them.

At the end of last year the DIY

SOS team stepped in.

This is DIY SOS!

They took the family's north London

home and transformed it.

They asked for volunteers to help.

The programme had never had such

an enormous response.

Sometimes we look at the police

and the people who go out,

emergency services, and do

what they do for us.

But we forget, behind every

person there is a family.

They are not just uniforms,

there are people in uniforms

and their families are affected too.

And obviously what happened to Kris

had a massive effect on the family.

We had exclusive access to the build

and the team's work.

Doorways were widened allowing

access for Kris's wheelchair.

In the kitchen surfaces were lowered

and space made to cook.

A lift was built.

The first of its kind

in a family home, so Kris can

move between floors.

In the garden, a complete redesign.

All to ensure there is space to play

with his son and daughter.

This entire project has been

about creating a family home.

A place where everyone

could be involved.

And live properly, together again.

The whole build took

nine days to complete.

And depended totally

on the generosity of others.

Every day there was

just ten, 20 people.

Do you want a hand?

Do you need a tiler?

Do you need a decorator?

And not just builders.

Cake.

We get lots of cake delivered.

Crucial!

Cake is crucial!

Yeah, that's how the site works.

Cake and tea.

Tonight the programme will reveal

what Kris Aves made of his new home.

And the impact on one family

whose life was so changed

by events of almost a year ago.

Daniella Relph, BBC

News, north London.

And you can see the full

programme tonight -

that's DIY SOS, on BBC One at 8pm,

and available shortly

afterwards on the iPlayer.

For decades red squirrels have been

in decline across the UK,

as the non-native grey

species has spread.

Now it appears the pine marten may

be key to the recovery

of the red population.

Scientists at the University

of Aberdeen have carried

out an in-depth study

of the relationship

between the three species.

Our Science Correspondent

Victoria Gill explains.

It is an idyllic woodland site but a

glimpse of ecological warfare. Red

squirrels have been losing a battle

with the larger invasive grey

squirrels for a century but a new

character has joined in the fray.

Scientists from the University of

Aberdeen used feeding boxes to

gather forensic evidence of how the

three species coexist in Scottish

forest.

forest. Feeding boxes like this are

ideal for gathering evidence about

how the three species are

interacting. The red squirrels are

using them and the grey squirrels

and also the pine martens. Leading

evidence behind for scientists to

gather. Every time an animal visits

the feeding box it leaves behind a

hair sample. This evidence along

with images from remote cameras has

revealed that pine martens are

giving the red squirrels and

unexpected boost.

Where activities

high amongst pine martens you have a

lot of red squirrels coming back

into areas where they had not been

in some time. So the higher the

activity of pine martens the more

likely you are to see red squirrels

and the less likely to see grey

squirrels. So they are retracting

from areas that they had been in

previously as the pine martens moved

in.

These nocturnal tree climbing

predators are gradually returning to

Scottish bars after being hunted as

pets and for their fur almost to

extinction. Scientists think that

pine martens are able to catch and

eat the grey squirrel is more easily

than the red squirrels. Grey

squirrels spend more time on the

ground and in North America where

they evolved they did not encounter

a hunter quite so adept at climbing

trees. This newly discovered

relationship between native species

scientists say will be crucial to

the woodland recovery of the red

squirrels. Now just an update on the

main story.

The suspected poisoning

of the former Russian spy -

and his daughter.

Leila Nathoo has the latest.

Well you can see behind me the

Italian restaurant that has been

sealed off since Monday. Within the

last 30 minutes we had a major

emergency service presence here. You

can see police and ambulances are

now here and we had fire engines and

more ambulances that came to the

building next to the Italian

restaurant. There was a big

presence, an instant response unit

and one woman was accompanied into

an ambulance from that doping. We do

not know as yet whether this is

connect to what happened but the

building the emergency services went

into was next to the Italian

restaurant that has been a place of

interest certainly for the

investigation so far. Thank you.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Stav Danaos.

Good afternoon. Still quite a wintry

theme across the northern half of

the UK today. And you can see

further snowfall around in races.

But further south any showers are

rain and in the sunshine it will

feel almost springlike. So for the

rest of the afternoon a mixture of

sunny spells and showers. Many

places staying dry altogether. The

showers Kent to fizzle out into this

evening. A couple of wintry showers

continuing towards Scotland put up

and cold with some ice to watch out

for. Across the South and West we

have this feature, mainly rain but

also some cold air and that could

give rise to some snowfall even down

to lower levels for a time. So there

could be a bit of disruption from

this feature, nothing compared to

what we had last week. But those

white areas indicating the snow. It

could give rise to a couple of

centimetres of snow, enough to cause

a bit of disruption through the

morning rush. It should clear away

later in the morning and in fact

things brightening up quite nicely

for most. Some showers across the

North and West and again wintry over

the higher ground in Scotland.

Further south up to 10 degrees.

Further south up to 10 degrees. Into

Friday, and I'm - again a decent day

with a lot of sunshine around. More

showers across Scotland wintry over

the higher ground bust up and into

the far south of the country we have

an area of rain pushing into the

Southern counties in towards the

south-west. That will arrive with

some milder air. That will spread

its way slowly north as we had into

the weekend. The blue colour holding

on across the northern half of the

country so as the rain across the

South moves north, likely to have

some snow on its leading edge. But

further south noticeably milder with

some sunny spells. Back to you.

further south noticeably milder with

some sunny spells. Back to you.