08/06/2017 BBC News at Six

Tonight at 6pm - America's former FBI Director accuses

Donald Trump's White House of lying about him.

He was fired by the President, saying the FBI was in disarray -

The administration then chose to defame me, and more

Also on tonight's programme - three more arrests in the London

New CCTV footage shows the attackers meeting at a gym five days before

The moment armed police ended their rampage -

opening fire as they arrived at the scene.

They have responded and neutralised the threat as firearms officers

I think that is kind of exceptional to the

individuals and the training that they have received.

A castle, a laundrette and a windmill - today

they are all polling stations - voting in the general

Life under the Taliban - three years after British

combat troops left - Helmand is back under their control

Scotland's Episcopal Church agrees to same-sex marriage, a first for

Anglican churches in the UK. And coming up in Sportsday later

in the hour on BBC News: For the first time in over 50 years,

an England football team has reached a World Cup final -

that's after the Under Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six. In one of the most politically

explosive hearings Washington has seen the former director of the FBI

has accused White House James Comey - who was fired

by the President Trump - was giving evidence to a Senate

committee which is trying to establish whether there

was Russian interference in last year's election -

and whether Mr Trump's campaign team As our North America

editor Jon Sopel reports - the hearings could have significant

implications for the People talk about the

crackle of expectation. In Washington this morning,

in this room as James Comey You solemnly swear to tell the

truth, the whole truth and nothing It's being called the political

Super Bowl and the former FBI director's opening

statement didn't disappoint as he reflected on the manner

of his being fired. The shifting explanations

confused me and increasingly They confused me because the

president and I have had multiple conversations about my job both

before and after he took office, and he repeatedly told me

I was doing a great job And he spoke of the President's

portrayal of him and the The administration

then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI

by saying the organisation was in disarray, that it was poorly led,

that the workforce had lost But first the committee

chair wanted to go If this were a game

show, this was the Do you have any doubt

that Russia attempted to Do you have any doubt the Russian

government was behind the intrusions and the DNC

and the DCCC systems and the subsequent leaks

of that information? Do you have any doubt the Russian

government was behind the cyber intrusion in

the state voter files? Michael Flynn, the National Security

Adviser, fired for lying about his contacts with Russia,

the president wanted to protect and according to Comey asked him

to drop the FBI inquiry into him. I don't think it's for me to say

whether the conversation I had with the President

was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing

thing, very concerning, but that's the conclusion I'm sure

the Special Council will work towards to try to understand

what the intention was there and if that's

an offence. But why one senator wanted to know,

if what the President asked about Michael Flynn was so wrong haven't

the FBI Director cried foul immediately?

I was so stunned by the conversation that I just took it in, the only

thing I could think to say, and it was playing in my mind because I

could remember every word he said, it played in my mind, what should my

response be? I carefully chose the words. Comey was at his most damning

when he explained what he needed to keep records of his conversations

with the President. I was concerned he might lie about the nature of our

meeting so I thought it better to document them. Back combination of

things I never experienced before but it led me to believe I had to

write it down in a detailed way. Days after his sacking President

Trump fired out a warning shot on Twitter that Comey had better hope

there are not tapes of their conversations. Today brought this

riposte the former FBI Director. I've seen the tweet about tapes and

I hope there are tapes. In Washington bars opened only to show

the hearing. Everyone will have their views on what happened but the

key judgment on whether there was legal wrongdoing will now rest with

the independent special counsel who has taken over this investigation.

Today marks the end of act one, act two now moves to that inquiry.

There was one bar in Washington offering its clear until a free

drink every time Donald Trump tweeted. Smart move, he didn't tweet

once, but his sun did saying there was no obstruction of justice and I

just bumped into a senior White House staff who said one thing to

me, the President is not a liar. In the next half an hour we are due to

hear from the President's external counsel, his lawyer he has taken on

to deal with this, and I expect him to hit back hard. They will not let

James Comey's testimony stand. The Trump White House wants to hit back.

Jon Sopel, thank you. New images have emerged

of the moment armed police shot dead the three London Bridge attackers -

firing within seconds Police have also been looking at

CCTV footage of the men five days before the attack.

Five days before the rampage, the three attackers meet, Khuram Butt,

Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba. Redouane puts his phone on the

ground while they walk away for a conversation, perhaps worried it

will somehow be used to record what he has said. They seem in good

spirits, there is no sign they are about to kill and maim innocent

people. The cameras outside a gym where one of the three Khuram Butt

worked out. The gym is closed, renovations and today a massive

media attention. But outside Wynette Fahad Khan, Khuram Butt's cousin in

law. He argued with Khuram Butt about his religious views and his

desire to put them into practice abroad. He wanted to go to Syria to

fight. Because of the family pressure, or it might be

intervention by the authorities, who seized his passport or whatever, he

couldn't go. He identified from the picture another man regularly seen

at the gym. He was once accused of being a leading member of the band

Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, although he has denied it in the

past. You are the leader of al-Muhajiroun? No, I wasn't. On the

wall is a statement that says he is not employed at the gym and does not

own the business. That might be strictly true, but a number of

people told us that he is directly connected with this place. More CCTV

images today showed the final seconds of the attack in Borough

market. The killers had just set up on the final victim. When a police

armed response team arrived. They had seconds to assess the situation.

They opened fire and it was over. I don't think anything more could

have been done given the circumstances. They have responded

to an incident which has lasted eight minutes, they have responded

and neutralised the threat as firearms officers within six seconds

and I think that is credit to the individuals and training. Among many

stories from that night, one stands out, the British Transport Police

officer who stepped in to stop the attack. In a statement today he

said, I want to say to the families that lost their loved ones, I am

sorry I could not do more and I want you to know I did everything I

could. He started off engaging with one of the terrorists and ended up

fighting with all three of them. It is an astonishing story when you

hear it. The victims have all now been identified. Eight people from

five countries killed in an attack on the people of an international

city. Tom Symons, BBC News. Voting is taking place

in the general election. Polling stations opened at seven

this morning and you've got until ten o'clock this evening

to cast your vote. Nearly 47 million people

are registered to vote - The first results are

expected from around 11pm. Our political correspondent

Gary O'Donoghue reports. Bright and early, the first

of the leaders out this morning was the Prime Minister with husband

Philip, voting in her Not long after came the man

who wants her job, Jeremy Corbyn greeting the photographers

with a smile and a thumbs up as he made his way into a polling

station in north London. Just a hint of irony

from the Lib Dem leader Tim Farron as he braved the elements on the way

into the polling station. But he was well out of the way

when tempers frayed among And up-and-down the country

other party leaders The SNP's Nicola Sturgeon,

and Paul Nuttall from the UK 47 million of us are registered

at this election, one that's been overshadowed by the terrorist

attacks in Manchester and London. Those attacks have meant a bigger

police presence than usual. Everyone conscious that the threat

level is still severe. This Westminster polling station

is just one of 40,000 the length and breadth of the UK where you're

electing your 650 representatives to the House of Commons,

just a couple of hundred yards down Those new MPs will be here next

Tuesday and on Monday week the Queen will open Parliament and set out

the new government's plans. Some peculiar places have

been pressed into action This one is in a

launderette in Oxford. And this pub was playing host

to voters in Exeter. Last orders for casting a ballot

are at 10pm tonight with the first And if you'd like to see

all the results as they come in - you can join David Dimbleby

and the team tonight on BBC One and the BBC

News Channel for Election 2017. The Scottish Episcopal Church has

made history, voting to allow same-sex couples to be

married in church. That makes it the first branch

of the Anglican communion to do so. For Scottish Anglicans it's now a

case of here comes the bride scum of the Episcopal Church, born of

Protestantism's schism with Catholicism, has separated itself

once more from the wider Anglican family. At its General Synod in

Edinburgh the church backed a proposal to allow gay marriages in

its churches by just one vote. The motion is therefore carried. The

supporters of this change had quiet satisfaction rather than unbridled

joy. It means equality for gay couples who want to come and get

married in church, equality for gay pistes like me. It also means we

have been a church that has decided to stay together over this and it

means that people who disagree with me will still have an honoured place

within the church. The vote will improve Scotland's reputation as a

global wedding venue. Thousands of couples like them come to the town

each year to tie the knot from across the UK. And now gay Anglican

couples could join the marital March north. So far this church has not

been able to capitalise on Gretna's worldwide reputation for holding

weddings. That could all change now this vote has been passed. Gay

Anglican couples can now come to Scotland to get married in church.

For gay campaigners in the Church of England, which doesn't allow

same-sex marriage, today's news is a bittersweet moment. Lucky for me I

have friends and family in Scotland, and, yes, potentially I have

churches that I know up there. But I must admit I yearn to get married in

my home church where I have worshipped for many years with my

partner so that you can have our friends, family and community around

us. Traditionalists, however, are appalled and seek support for gay

marriage as the latest sign that Anglican churches, first in North

America and now Scotland, are moving further from God's teachings.

Today's decision by the Scottish Episcopal Church to change the

biblical and historic definition of marriage has highlighted the need to

respond to the cries and pleas of those Scots who today have been

marginalised by their leaders. The attempt to redefine marriage is not

one that a faithful Christian can support. The first gay marriage

should take place in the Episcopal Church later this year, and while no

priest will be forced to conduct such a wedding today's vote will put

pressure on other Anglican churches to follow suit. Michael Buchanan,

BBC News, Edinburgh. The time is nearly 6:15pm. The top

story this evening. The former FBI Director accuses Donald Trump's

White House of lying about him. James Comey hits back after he was

fired by the President. And still to come, we've just got to put our own

package together. Cutting dialogue -

how the National Theatre's latest play is hoping

to attract new audiences. Coming up in Sportsday in the next

15 minutes on BBC News: A very happy birthday

for Jelena Ostapenko - the first unseeded player to reach

the French Open final It's almost three years

since British combat troops withdrew from Afghanistan

after more than a decade Some of the heaviest fighting took

place in Helmand Province where over Since the withdrawal,

Helmand and many other parts of the country have fallen back

into the hands of the Taliban. Auliya Atrafi from the BBC's Afghan

service has been given rare access to the Taliban's effective capital,

Musa Qala. All we had to do was get off

the main road and we were in. We passed through Sangin,

where so many British The bustling market looks

like any in Afghanistan but there are some tell-tale signs

we are in Taliban territory. The men are all wearing

traditional clothes, We leave the market and head

for the local high school. It's religious studies and only

boys get an education. Our Taliban minder insists

there are other lessons, and that girls can go to school,

just not here. The Taliban used

to burn schools down. Now they are running them,

funded by the central government. The Government inspectors do

their supervision, the Taliban don't In the playground, the main

attraction seems to be our cameras. Most of these children have never

seen anything like them. It's a reminder just how isolated

these communities are. But it's not just schools

that the Taliban are running. It is also funded by the Government,

but lacks supplies. There's no female doctor

or child specialist. You can't even have

a chest x-ray here. And now the surgeon is leaving too

because he hasn't been paid The next day we meet

the Taliban's spokesman. They remain a deeply

controversial organisation in deaths. But they claim their

approach to governance has changed. The Taliban has a separate

committee for education, We don't only have military setups

but also administrative systems. The Taliban have captured huge

territories in Helmand, The next challenge is how much they

join the modern world and how much Auliya Atrafi, BBC

News, Afghanistan. The parents of a terminally ill baby

are said to be devastated after losing a legal battle

in the Supreme Court, to take their son to

the United States for treatment. Chris Gard and Connie Yates want

ten-month-old Charlie Gard, who suffers from a rare genetic

condition and has brain damage, Our Medical Correspondent, Fergus

Walsh, is at the Supreme Court. A terribly sad story, is this the

end of the road for the parents? Almost. The Supreme Court has said

doctors should continue life support for Charlie until 5pm tomorrow night

to give time for the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to

decide if it wants to hear the case. If it doesn't, doctors at Great

Ormond Street Hospital will be free after that point to switch off the

mechanical ventilator that keeps him alive. The judges said they have the

utmost sympathy for his parents, who left the court distraught, but they

said it was Charlie's best interests that were paramount. They said

prolonging his life was simply prolong his suffering. The treatment

being proposed was futile and that's why he should be allowed to die with

dignity. Fergus, thank you very much.

A company director has gone on trial accused of the manslaughter

of four sailors who died when one of his yachts capsized

The crew on board the Cheeki Rafiki were returning from Antigua

to the UK in May 2014 when it got into trouble.

Today a court heard that Douglas Innes failed to maintain

the vessel and allowed it to set sail.

This is the Cheeki Rafiki on an earlier voyage before it capsized

into the Atlantic, leading to the deaths of these men. The prosecution

say the yacht was being brought back to the UK from the Caribbean but

that it was broken and not safe. The Cheeki Rafiki was operated by

Douglas Innes. There was a search by the American Coast Guard, they were

criticised calling it off too soon and later resumed it. The court

heard it is possible James mail and Andrew Bridge may have survived some

time after Cheeki Rafiki. The prosecution say the bodies were

never found. It was the loss of the Cheeki Rafiki keel that led to the

capsizing. They said Douglas Innes had failed to get the boat properly

maintained. They saw this three Tom keel had been broken off. In court

the prosecution said Douglas Innes had been trying to cut costs and had

let the men set sail without proper chart. He denies four counts of

manslaughter by gross negligence and the first witnesses in this case

will give evidence tomorrow. The growing resistance of bacteria

to antibiotics is one of the most pressing challenges

facing modern medicine. The problem has been made worse

by the extensive use Now researchers at Leicester

University are developing an alternative way of treating

diseases in pigs. As our our science correspondent,

Pallab Ghosh reports it's hoped the findings will have

benefits for humans too. Nearly half the antibiotics used

in Britain are given to livestock Simon Watchorn raised his pigs

outside so he doesn't But indoor intensive farms do,

so if their animals become infected with drug-resistant superbugs,

then the infection could be passed on to people if the meat

isn't properly cooked. There was a suggestion that

resistant bacteria in animals might be passed to humans,

and if we've got another tool in our tool box where we can deal

with resistant bacteria - whether it be in the animal

population or the human population - Researchers at Leicester University

may have come up with just the tool farmers are asking for -

of virus called a phage that kills The phage attaches itself

to a salmonella bug. The virus then injects it

with its DNA and makes developing in animals,

it will reduce the risk to people. It can be completely

transformative for human health. There are many bacteria that we just

can't treat now with antibiotics because they have become resistant

to all the antibiotics we know. So using this natural enemy

of the bacteria for specific diseases could really change the way

that we treat infection So far, they've shown that it works

in the lab and they have freeze-dried the phage

into a white power powder. The next phase is to feed

the phage to pigs to see If it does, it could begin

to replace antibiotics, and that could greatly reduce

the risk of superbugs Trials are due to begin

later this year. If they are successful,

doctors can then see if the phage The barber's chair is taking

centre stage in a new play The Barbershop Chronicles

is the latest work by award-winning It explores issues around black

identity and immigration. Our correspondent

Elaine Dunkley reports. From Lagos to London,

the black barbershop The sound of clippers

the backdrop to conversations, Why is the barbershop such a source

of fascination and beauty? I think the reason why it's sacred

is because lots of places where men gather to show strong emotion

in Britain have been historically hostile to black men,

and I think of places like football stadiums or working men bars

and little places like that. Therefore barbershops,

where these are safe places Your work explores

black masculinity, I was born in Nigeria and up

until 12 my experience of the world was seen through a very

Nigerian lens. And when I came to the UK,

I realised I was black firstly, And within all of that,

I realised there were kind Those of being rappers,

being naturally born athletes, aspects of identity where

they are projected onto me and clashed with who I actually

was or who I actually felt like. There is a buzz around

Inua Ellams's work. He's received awards

and accolades but perhaps most importantly he is attracting

a new audience to theatre. Parts of that I started to,

like, get emotional because I saw my father in parts,

I saw myself in parts. For me as an Indian woman,

when I go and get eyebrow threading, it's the conversations I have

so it was just so beautiful to have, and this is what we need

in the theatre right now. We have had a lot of cloud around

today with outbreaks of rain, a bit like this picture taken by one of

our weather watchers earlier in north Wales. However there has been

some sunshine out the too. This is deal in Kent. Some clear skies as we

had through to this evening but there are some heavy showers around.

This is the recent satellite and radar showing the heavy showers.

More persistent rain across Scotland and that will push its way

northwards overnight so towards the north-west of Scotland more

persistent rain, whereas further south across the UK clearer spells

and scattered showers, particularly across the west of England and Wales

too. During tomorrow I think we will have fewer outbreaks of rain

compared to today. Still some showers working from west to east

during the day but equally good deal of sunshine, so the show was passing

through fairly quickly on the breeze and temperatures touch warmer than

today. Heading through Friday evening, overnight into Saturday,

initially drive but then the next area of frameworks in from the

south-west. The wind is picking up too, so rather unsubtle start of the

weekend. We have wind and rain, particularly across north and

western parts of the country. On Saturday that rain moves eastwards.

Saturday in the south-east stays dry for most of the day if not all of

the day. Temperatures not doing too badly, between 18 and 22 degrees.

For most, Sunday will be the better day of the weekend. Sunny spells,

showers, and temperatures around 23 degrees. More details on our

website. That's all from the BBC News at 6pm,

so it's goodbye from me and on BBC One we now join the BBC's

news teams where you are.