15/03/2018 BBC News at One

The Prime Minister visits Salisbury,

for the first time

since the poisoning there of

a former Russian spy and daughter.

Theresa May thanks the emergency

services

and says there is no doubt

who is behind the attack:

We do hold Russia

culpable for this brazen,

brazen act, and

despicable act,

that's taken place on the streets

of what is such a remarkable city.

Russia says it will expel

British diplomats soon,

we'll have the latest

from Salisbury and Moscow.

Also this lunchtime.

Tests on a door from Grenfell Tower

show it held back fire for only half

as long as it was meant to.

The government says the risk

to public safety is low.

Northamptonshire County Council

should be abolished,

a government inspection recommends

a complete restructure,

after the council

struggled with a deficit.

The situation in Syria is described

as a colossal human tragedy,

by the UN Refugee Agency,

as the war exceeds seven years.

In the sport on BBC News.

Ahead of their Europa League

tie with AC Milan,

Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger,

calls on his players to produce

the performances that will encourage

fans back to the Emirates Stadium.

Hello, good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

The Prime Minister is in Salisbury

this afternoon in the wake

of the poisoning of a former Russian

spy and his daughter.

The Kremlin has said British

diplomats will be ordered

to leave Moscow soon,

following the expulsion yesterday

of 23 Russians from London.

The Prime Minister took the action

after Moscow refused to explain how

a Russian-made nerve agent was used

on Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

France says it agrees that Russia

was responsible for the attack

and last night the US government

expressed its full support for

Britain in relation to the attack.

Our diplomatic correspondent

Paul Adams reports.

In the last few minutes, the leaders

of France, Germany and the United

States have joined the UK in issuing

a joint statement, condemning the

use of military grade nerve agent,

saying this constitutes the first

offensive use of a nerve agent in

Europe since the Second World War.

Our diplomatic correspondent

Paul Adams reports.

Theresa May in the quiet English

town where events 11

days ago triggered this

growing diplomatic row.

Visiting for the first time

the scene of the crime,

the first use of a military grade

nerve agent on British soil.

The consequences of

this shocking act now

reverberating around the world.

I'm pleased to have been able

to come down here to Salisbury,

to speak to people who responded

to this terrible incident

that took place.

And, as you know, I announced

in the House of Commons

the action we are taking,

we do hold Russia culpable for this,

this brazen, brazen act,

and despicable act that has taken

place on the streets

of what is such a remarkable city.

Last night at the United Nations,

an emergency session

of the Security Council,

and an emphatic expression

of support from Donald

Trump's representative.

No two nations enjoy

a stronger bond.

Ours is truly a special

relationship, when our friends

in Great Britain face a challenge,

the United States will

always be there for them.

Always.

And from the White House,

confirmation that America agrees

with Theresa May on who poisoned

Sergei and Yulia Skripal,

the United States shares

the assessment that Russia

is responsible for the reckless

nerve agent attack on a British

citizen and his daughter.

But are Britain's allies willing

to go further and take

actions of their own?

President Emmanuel Macron spoke

with Theresa May this morning

and agrees there is no other

plausible explanation

for what happened in Salisbury

and he says he will announce his own

measures in the coming days.

There is a global disgust

at what has happened,

and that is very important,

and we will continue to make

the case to our friends and allies

that, as a committee of nations,

we need to stand up to Russia.

But Russia is undaunted.

The government continuing

to deny any involvement and now

threatening to retaliate.

TRANSLATION:

Due to action,

non-friendly actions,

taken by the British

against the Russian Federation,

we are going to talk

about retaliatory measures

that we will take, we're working

on them at the moment

and we will take them

as soon as possible.

At the British Embassy,

diplomats and spies wait

to hear if they too will be

packing their bags;

it seems, inevitable.

In a moment we will hear

from Richard Galpin in Moscow,

but first our home affairs

correspondent Daniel

Sandford is in Salisbury

Very interesting visit, sombre mood,

at this stage two are unwell but no

one has died from the nerve agent

attack and the lot of the focus was

on the businesses here in Salisbury,

she started by going into a

cookshop, then walked past the scene

of the bench where the couple were

found so seriously ill on Sunday,

the Skripals, at ago, then talking

to business owners in the near

vicinity of the bench before going

down to the Mill Pub, the first

place that they visited on the

Sunday, then she went over to the

Guildhall, and we think she is

probably likely to go to the

hospital and visit some of the

patients there in the hospital

before heading back to London. In

terms of police activity, a lot of

activity at the place where cars are

towed away from Salisbury town

centre are, that is where Sergei

Skripal's car was towed and likely

to still be there. A lot of work,

these officers and soldiers wearing

gas masks. New location, military

low loaders turned up to take away

another vehicle, in the town of

older halt, and that is where we

believe Detective Sergeant Nick

Bailey, the police officer who

became very ill after being

contaminated, lives. -- Alderholt.

It is likely to be a vehicle related

to him.

Crossing to Moscow, Richard

Galpin, where you are, absolute

denial of any involvement in this?

Yes, absolutely, that has been the

position for several days, looks

like we are getting closer to some

kind of announcement on what Russia

will do in retaliation, the Kremlin

today, not long before they respond,

and Vladimir Putin will take the

final decision on what the measures

are and how they will be lamented,

and the British government will be

informed first, as to exactly where

it will happen, it seems likely that

British diplomats will be expelled.

Expelled from Moscow. In the British

Embassy. We expect amongst them some

of them to be British spies. We are

still waiting for the full

announcement, from the government,

here. Vladimir Putin is back in

town, knew was down in Crimea, he is

now back, there may be some work

from Vladimir Putin himself in the

coming hours.

Thank you very much.

In the last few minutes,

Britain, Germany, France

and the United States have issued

a joint statement about the attack

Our Assistant Political Editor

Norman Smith is in Westminster

This will be seen as significant,

despite the bulge and other Russian

diplomats and the other measures

announced, it was widely held in

Westminster that there is a limit to

what Britain can do on its own and

if they want to really punish

president Vladimir Putin, they must

pull together a broad coalition of

international countries. That

appears to be taking shape with this

joint statement from Britain, the

United States, Germany and France,

condemning Russia, in very

forthright terms, let me give you

some of the statement: I agree it is

highly likely that Russia was

responsible, we share the UK

assessment that there is no

plausible alternative explanation,

it goes on to say, we call on Russia

to address all questions related to

the attack in Salisbury, Russia

should in particular provide full

and complete disclosure of the

Novichok programme, the nerve agent

involved, and concerns are

heightened against the background of

a pattern of earlier irresponsible

Russian behaviour. Of itself, that

has not mean that there is a package

of sanctions ready to be imposed

more broadly, by international

allies, but it does suggest that

maybe, the British government is

beginning to make some sort of

headway, and I suspect the hope is

that if, as expected, Russia

retaliates, then Britain will be

able to respond, not purely by

perhaps kicking out more Russian

diplomats, but by a much broader

range of international sanctions

involving other countries.

Thank

you.

The laboratory where scientists

helped identify the nerve agent

used in Salisbury will receive

what the government has

described as a significant

increase in funding.

In his first major speech

as Defence Secretary,

Gavin Williamson confirmed plans

to create a multi-million pound

centre to counter the threat

of chemical weapons,

at the Ministry of Defence

laboratory Porton Down.

Naomi Grimley reports.

It's a sobering thought, most of the

UK's chemical warfare capability has

been tied up over the last few days

in the small cathedral city of

Salisbury, so how well equipped with

the UK be, if a country such as

Russia launched a larger attack than

this? Today, the Defence Secretary

admitted that ministers should have

thought more about this kind of

threat.

State -based dangers are

increasing, back in 2010, we did not

believe they posed us a credible

threat. With the benefit of

hindsight, this can at best be

described as naive.

Russia, he said,

was ripping up the international

rule book.

Frankly, Russia should go

away, it should shut up...

Brought

forward a planned announcement: we

are investing £48 million in a new

chemical weapons defence centre, to

maintain our cutting edge in

chemical analysis and defence.

This is the defence science and

technology laboratory at Porton

Down, shown here in a BBC

documentary. It may be a world-class

facility but since 2010, there have

been painful cuts to the units which

specialise in this kind of research.

Some experts also point to Syria,

arguing the West should have been

forced -- enforced red lines on

chemical weapons there, and not

allow them to be used with impunity.

The rules have changed on the use of

chemical weapons because we have

done nothing about it, and it has

been very salutary that here in the

United Kingdom, we have seen a

weapon of mass destruction, a

chemical weapon attack on our soil,

the first ever. Now, I think that is

bringing it home to the government

that they must act.

It was also

announced today that thousands of

front line troops will be vaccinated

against anthrax, it may be a

precaution but it will start a

debate, are we properly equipped for

all the threats of an unpredictable

world?

The Anglo-Dutch consumer group,

Unilever, has chosen Rotterdam

for its headquarters,

rather than London.

The company, which makes dozens

of household brands,

including Dove soap and Marmite,

currently has head

offices in both cities.

Our business correspondent

Theo Leggett reports.

Unilever may not be a household name

but its products can be found in

almost every British household,

including Marmite, Pot Noodles and

PG tips.

PG tips. Unilever is a British

business but it is also Dutch, it is

to companies, one based in the

building behind me, and the other in

Rotterdam and now it has decided

that is too unwieldy, so it will

become one company based in the

Netherlands. Unilever has 169,000

employees worldwide, more than 7000

based in the UK. That is not

expected to change.

Instead of

having two legal structures we will

simply have one, in the Netherlands,

and that will allow us to run our

business a little bit faster and

more efficiently.

The government has

played down the decision and said it

is not connected in Brexit.

It is

only the corporate headquarters that

is moving, a relatively small number

of jobs, it will not impact on the

net of tax that Unilever pays in the

UK, and most importantly, the two

fastest growing divisions within

Unilever household products, and

personal care products will be

concentrated in the UK.

Analysts

agree that business considerations

will have influenced the company

more than Britain leaving the EU.

It's very easy to view everything at

the moment through the prism of

Brexit but there's a lot of other

factors in play with Unilever, not

least the fact that the heritage

lies both in the UK and the

Netherlands.

It had to choose one of

the two. Politically, Unilever's

decision comes at an awkward time

for a government which is trying to

prove that written will be open for

business outside the the EU.

Police say tests carried out

on a door from a flat

in Grenfell Tower showed the door

held back fire for only half as long

as it was designed to.

The Housing Secretary Sajid Javid

told the Commons that the Government

has ordered further tests

but stressed there was no evidence

it's a systemic issue,

and the risk to public

safety is low.

Seventy one people died and dozens

were injured in the fire

in London last June.

Lucinda Adam reports.

Witnesses to the Grenfell Tower fire

and the emergency services were

shocked by how quickly the fire

spread around the tower block, now,

expert test on a glazed front door

taken from an undamaged flat have

found it held a fire for just 15

minutes, not the 30 minutes it had

been designed for.

It is very

important for survivors of Grenfell

Tower and bereaved families to feel

that we can honour the memories 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, that means

tightening regulations, that means

honouring what happened at Grenfell,

by ensuring that people all around

the United Kingdom feel safe in

their homes, but that also includes

people in social housing.

Nine

months on, the Metropolitan Police

continued frenzied investigations at

the scene, other expert test is

being done off-site. So far, the

cladding and insulation on the

outside of the building has failed

tests by the government. Once again,

the failure of the door to resist

fire has raised questions about

whether people living in public

housing are safe.

Deeply concerned,

but not surprised: we have long

through campaigns talked about the

fact that there has been a legacy of

neglect. It is vital, when we

specified fire doors, it is my will

that we know what the product are,

and that information is validated by

third parties.

Today, the housing

secretary told the Commons there was

no evidence fire doors were a

systematic issue, but ordered

further investigation.

The expert

panel has advised the risk to the

public safety remains low. 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 those affected by

the Grenfell tragedy, and that is

why based on expert advice, we have

begun the process of conducting

further tests.

The Metropolitan

Police say it is too early to say

what these tests and others may

impact upon the criminal

investigation into what happened

here, which will determine whether

corporate manslaughter charges can

be brought, but these latest results

will only fuel the community's

demand for answers about why the

fire was so devastating and why so

many died.

The time is 1:17pm.

Our top story this lunchtime:

The Prime Minister visits Salisbury,

for the first time since

the poisoning there of a former

Russian spy and daughter.

Theresa May thanks the emergency

services and says there is no doubt

who is behind the attack.

And coming up...

Pupils taking part in the BBC's

School Report are learning how

to separate real news

from fake news.

Keep on asking because at some point

you may get to the dark secrets.

Coming up in sport, Great Britain

can now not win a medal

in the wheelchair curling

at the Winter Paralympics.

Defeat to South Korea in their

penultimate round-robin match.

And Norway's victory over Slovakia

means Britain failed

to make the medal play-off.

The United Nations Refugee Agency

has described the civil war in Syria

as a colossal human tragedy,

as it passes its

seventh anniversary.

Half a million Syrians have been

killed and 13 million are in need

of humanitarian assistance

because of the fighting.

Here, Cabinet ministers have branded

as utterly abhorrent the Syrian

regime's use of food and medical

supplies as weapons of war.

Martin Patience sent

this report from Beirut.

This is a war with no end in sight.

The rescuer calls to a young boy

buried in the rubble, where are you?

His home was hit by an air strike,

but the boy survived. Where is my

mother, he cries.

mother, he cries. Eastern Ghouta is

the latest front line of Syria's war

and nowhere is safe. Hospitals in

the rebels's stronghold are

overwhelmed by the injured.

overwhelmed by the injured. Some of

the most vulnerable have been

allowed to leave eastern Ghouta for

medical treatment. Among them, this

farmer. But he's lost in his own

country.

TRANSLATION:

I don't know anything

about my family until now. I haven't

heard from them in ten days. I hope

I can return to my family and see my

children again.

The war began when Syrian stuck to

the streets demanding the fall of

President Bashar al-Assad. They

didn't know it then, but it was the

start of a failed revolution. The

Syrian regime launched a brutal

crackdown. In 2013, it carried out a

chemical attack in eastern Ghouta,

killing hundreds. America said it

crossed the red line and was poised

to attack. But at the last minute,

Washington pulled out. That was a

major turning point in the war. Two

years later, Russia entered the

conflict but on the side of the

Syrian government. Moscow's support

of President Bashar al-Assad has now

tilted the war in his favour. Amid

the chaos, the Islamic State group

seized control of large parts of the

country but it has now been largely

defeated. Today the Syrian army

appears closer to re-taking eastern

Ghouta. An extraordinary exodus of

thousands of civilians is under way.

For years, these people have

survived a siege and bombardment.

They have now left behind their

homes and have no idea what lies

ahead.

A 44 year old man has been jailed

for at least 30 years,

after admitting stabbing to death

a woman while she was at work

in an Aldi supermarket in Skipton

just before Christmas.

Neville Hord pleaded

guilty to murdering

30-year-old Jodie Willsher,

who was the daughter

of his former partner.

The mother-of-one died at the scene.

Prosecutors described Hord's motive

for the killing as 'revenge'.

The Crown Prosecution Service has

ruled out a further review

by prosecutors into the death

of 13-month-old Poppi Worthington in

Barrow-in-Furness in December 2012.

A coroner concluded in January that

Poppi had been sexually

assaulted by her father,

Paul Worthington, before

she died of asphyxia.

He denies any wrongdoing.

The CPS said no new evidence had

emerged that could change

its decision not to prosecute.

Today Poppi's mother

said she was "extremely

disappointed" by the decision.

Government inspectors have

recommended abolishing

Northamptonshire County Council,

and replacing it with two

new unitary authorities.

The council has been facing

serious financial problems.

Our correspondent Jo Black

is at the council's headquarters.

Explain what has happened here and

what it means.

This council here in

Northampton has been dubbed the

worst run authority in the country

by one of the local MPs and it's

facing severe financial pressures,

and has been doing for quite a while

now. I can confirm that in the last

few minutes it's been announced the

leader here, councillor Heather

Smith, has quit as leader so that is

coming through in the last few

minutes. There's a press conference

going on across the road is reacting

to this report, which has been

published today by an independent

inspector. Like I say, they have

been facing financial woes here for

some time and this report won't make

many people very happy. Let me give

you a run-through of what's been

going on, earlier this year they

imposed emergency spending controls

because they thought they would run

out of cash. They put the budget

together for year and there's £40

million worth of cuts so things like

bus subsidies will go, libraries

will close, trading standards will

have their budgets cut. This

brand-new building which is worth

around £50 million, the council only

moved into its six months ago and is

now thinking of selling it to raise

cash. If you look at this report,

the inspector says the council could

be abolished and replaced by two

unitary authorities, that's one

recommendation, and it also says it

is up to the Secretary of State

Savage of it to consider whether to

sending government Commissioner to

run the services here. There is a

press conference going on and we

will get more efficient -- official

lines, but there has been alarmed --

and ongoing demand for extra

services.

services.

Thank you, apologies with

the problems with Jo's microphone

there.

The World Health Organisation

is to carry out a review

of the potential impact of plastic

on human health.

The move follows the release

of a new study that found tiny

particles of plastic in major brands

of drinking water.

The motor industry should

finance a clean air fund,

and new laws should be passed

to clean up the poisonous

air in parts of the UK.

These are among the conclusions

reached by MPs who sit on four

parliamentary committees,

and who've joined forces to call

for a new Clean Air Act.

Here's our Environment

Analyst, Roger Harrabin.

The air in many of Britain's cities

is officially unfit to breathe. MPs

are angry that despite a series of

court defeats the Government still

hasn't cleaned it up. The young and

old are particularly at risk and the

UN children's organisation Unicef is

demanding Britain's children get

clean air.

The evidence shows the

impact is extremely severe, we are

seeing children's lungs are not

developing as they should, we are

seeing a risk to children's immune

system and even the deterioration of

children's brain development and

these impacts children throughout

their lives.

Vehicles produce 80% of

nitrogen -based pollution. The

Government aims to end sales of new

conventional diesel and petrol

vehicles by 2040 but India will do

it ten years earlier.

Over

successive years over many

governments, this issue has not been

given the priority it deserves and

everybody has a right to breathe

clean air so we want to see the

Government put health at the heart

of this issue.

Many want to see a

clean air fund. In a statement, the

industry said:

But car engines are not the only

source of vehicle emissions. Tyres

creating friction on the road make

dust pollution too, so do breaks.

The Government says air pollution is

getting better, which it is. It is

promising a new air strategy later

in the year but it may be aiming at

a moving target because the latest

science suggests, no proof yet, but

suggests air pollution at very low

levels could be linked with

Alzheimer's and attention deficit in

children. This is no easy problem.

Across the BBC, today is the day

when thousands of pupils around

the country find stories

in their local area,

and produce news bulletins

for their own School Report.

The focus of this year's project

is helping young people

identify real news and filter out

so-called fake news.

And a game has been launched that

challenges young people

to spot false stories.

Our correspondent John Maguire has

been meeting some of the students

involved in its development.

Sometimes it's difficult to tell

what is real and what is not.

Fake news is a major issue

in this internet age,

especially for children.

These students at Whitley Academy

in Coventry have been helping

to create an online game to teach

youngsters how to detect

when news is made up.

Like I said, what I can say,

it's too early to say.

But that doesn't mean we don't know,

it's just that we don't know yet.

The scenario involves a major

problem with a social media company.

I'm dealing with a

major incident here!

The students act as journalists,

trying to find out what is happening

and deciding how and when to

publish their story.

Always keep on asking,

because at one point,

you might get to the bottom of it,

the dark secrets that the CEO wants

to keep from their users.

I think it teaches you how

to make the right decisions

about what is happening.

And I think that really helps,

because now in social media

and stuff, they give out a lot

of fake news on the Internet,

and some people believe a lot of it,

and that can get them

into a lot of trouble.

The game is being released online

by the BBC on School Report day.

It is created in partnership

with the animators and

film-makers Aardman.

Here at their headquarters,

media students from the City

of Bristol College have also been

involved in the process.

So, what do you think

of the characters that

were put in there?

Yeah, I really like them.

Personally, my favourite is Sly Fox.

Before this, I didn't know

about fake news at all,

so this has brought

it to my attention.

It might encourage younger kids,

if they hear anything

on the news to research it.

And see if it is true or false.

Part of this game is about trying

to find the sources,

finding out if it is real

and if it is safe to share it,

if other people are open to finding

out about it as well.

30,000 students take part

in School Report each year,

helping them to understand

what is going on in the world.

And this game is designed

to inform and protect them

from malicious fake news.

Teaching them to question, to ask

what, how, and crucially, why.

You made it.

Welcome to the social media team.

The weather forecast is all true,

I'm sure, even if we sometimes don't

like it, Helen.

I'm sure, even if we sometimes don't

like it, Helen.

That is the point, many people will

be asking why is winter returning

this weekend! Rain under the weather

front but it is now clearing

northwards. It is raining we are

concerned about at the moment, we've

had almost two inches in Northern

Ireland but it is clearing away. As

the evening and night wears on it

will turn progressively to snow.

More rain falling behind so with the

cloud again it will be particularly

cold, perhaps a little more chilly

than last night and missed and cloud

to greet us as well as rain tomorrow

morning. Friday looks like it will

start on a grey note with snow

falling over the hills to start with

but initially, sorry through the day

it will fall at lower levels as

well. Temperatures around 7 degrees

in Scotland, the west holding onto

brightness. There are issues with

flooding because it has been raining

today, will be tonight and tomorrow.

Further south still relatively mild

with sharp showers to contend with

tomorrow. Then tomorrow night look

at this, as that easterly wind takes

effect the rain showers will turn to

snow and it will be much colder

tomorrow night, quite widespread

frost, especially in the east,

accentuated by the wind. Let's talk

of the wind, the reason for the

change. This Scandinavia high

pressure allows the wind to blast

once again across our shores so any

of the showers falling through

Saturday will fall as snow except

the far south and west. They will

continue to fester central and

eastern areas, temperatures will be

8-10d lower than today and tomorrow

a real shock to the system when you

add on the effect of the wind.

Winter is definitely returning.

Obviously we need to give you more

details with regard to time of the

snow but there's an added

complication across the southern

half of the UK on Sunday with

several centimetres of snow falling.

Snow and ice, hazards to be

concerned about, and bitterly cold.

So please do keep your eyes on the

forecast, don't make this on the

list you see if you do have plans,

but it looks like a nasty wintry

weather to

but it looks like a nasty wintry

weather to -- returning to our

shores.

Thank you, Helen. A reminder of our

main story - the primers to visit

Salisbury

Salisbury -- the Prime Minister

visit Salisbury for the first time

since the poisoning of a Russian

spy.

That's all from the BBC News at One

so it's goodbye from me -