05/03/2018 BBC News at Six

Britain's most decorated Olympian,

Sir Bradley Wiggins,

tells the BBC he's not a cheat

after MPs accuse him

of crossing an ethical line.

Sir Bradley strongly rejects

a report by MPs which accuses him

of using asthma drugs to enhance

performance and says life has

become a living hell.

This whole thing has just been,

you know, a complete mess

of innuendo and rumour and nothing

has been substantiated

and it is just...

I am having to deal

with the fallout of that now.

It's the first interview Sir Bradley

has given since these allegations -

we'll have more in a moment.

Also on the programme tonight.

Decontamination teams

deployed in Salisbury

after a former Russian spy -

exposed to an unknown substance -

is left critically ill.

The Prime Minister promises

to rewrite the rules on planning

as she urges developers

to up their game and build

more homes in England.

First the big freeze -

now the big thaw.

Lorry loads of bottled water

as burst pipes leave thousands

without running water.

But for others - helicopters

are the only way to get supplies in.

Some villages in Cumbria have been

cut off by snow for five days.

And Gary Oldman wins his first Oscar

for best actor in Darkest Hour

and thanks his 99-year-old mother.

I say, to my mother,

thank you for your love and support.

Put the kettle on.

I'm bringing Oscar home.

And coming up on Sportsday on BBC

News, Manchester City manager,

Pep Guardiola, accepts his FA charge

for wearing a yellow ribbon

in support of imprisoned

politicians in Catalonia.

Good evening and welcome

to the news at six.

Britain's most decorated Olympican,

Sir Bradley Wiggins has told the BBC

that he did not cheat

and that his life has been made

a living hell after he was accused

of using medical treatments

to enhance his performance.

In a damning report into doping

in sport, MPs say the champion

cyclist and his former employer

Team Sky crossed an ethical line -

though they did not break any rules

- by using powerful asthma drugs.

We'll hear from Sir Bradley

himself in a moment -

in his only interview

since the report was published -

but first here's Richard Conway.

He is a sporting icon, a Tour de

France winner and Britain's most

decorated Olympian but a damning

report has accused Sir Bradley

Wiggins of unethical behaviour over

his use of drugs that MPs say were

taken to boost performance and not

just for medical need.

As we make

clear, this is not a breach of the

rolls, it is a question about an

ethical line. Looking up the

evidence other people have taken,

the use of this medication which is

a matter of public record that he

took this medication,

can be used to enhance performance

and they believe that is why it is

being taken.

MPs say that Bradley

Wiggins and Team Sky used an

anti-inflammatory steroid that can

have legitimate medical use but it

can also help cyclists shed weight

while retaining pedal power. The

report also brings into question the

credibility of the team's founder,

who launched Team Sky with an

ambition to be seen as whiter than

white, but is now embroiled in the

sport's grey areas.

The buck stops

with Dave Brailsford. It is pretty

damning. I do not see how they can

remain in this position with all

that is going on.

Dave Brailsford

and Team Sky denied using drugs for

competitive advantage, as does

Bradley Wiggins who said today, I

find it so sad that accusations can

be made, where people can be accused

of things they have never done,

which are then regarded as facts.

The details in this report came

about after MPs heard evidence at

Westminster, but the shock waves

have spread far and wide into the

world of cycling and so too, into

athletics. There was criticism for

UK athletics over bad record-keeping

regarding an injection of a

substance given to Mo Farah, but MPs

went further with Lord Coe, the

President of the athletics governing

body saying he provided misleading

answers over when he first knew

about corruption and doping

allegations regarding Russian

athletes.

I was certainly not aware

of the specific allegations that

have been made around the corruption

of anti-doping processors.

Lord Coe

has denied there was any discrepancy

between his evidence and what e-mail

saying he knew, or while the

committee has pointed to sweeping

reforms of the governance of the

sport. Elite sport has always been

judged by the finest of margins. It

seems its ethical margins are even

smaller. Richard Conway, BBC News.

This afternoon Sir Bradley spoke

to the BBC in his first interview

since the report was published.

He told our sports editor Dan Roan

that the allegations have

made his life a living hell.

The report by the Select Committee

says that you crossed the ethical

line, is that fair?

Did you? Know,

we did not. Not at any time during

my career could be crossed the

ethical line. As I said before, I

had a medical condition, that I went

to a doctor. This has been treated

since back in 2003 when I was

diagnosed with it, through the

doctors at British cycling at that

time. This was the treatment that I

had been prescribed for that

particular occasion, which was seven

years ago now. Under specialist

supervision as well. And in place of

the roles of that time, you were

allowed to apply for use of this

medication. This was not a

medication that was abused in order

to gain an advantage.

That is not

what your former coach said. He said

that your use of that drug was,

quote, unethical.

That hurts me,

actually. Shane knows around that

time, exactly what and why I was

taking her medication.

Only one

other time did you use the drug

other than the times we know about?

The report says, they suggest you

may have taken it nine times in four

years.

There is, I do not know where

that has come from. I really would

like to know. This is an anonymous

source, an anonymous person.

It does

not mean it is wrong. Your say Mrs a

light?

I refute that 100%. Yes. This

is malicious. This is a direct...

This is someone trying to smear me.

Sitting here now, you can

categorically say that you did not

cheat?

100%. Never throughout my

career. No. I worked and have the

passion I had for this board for 15

or 20 years. Jerseys, I am doing a

book, I have been writing a book,

about my love of the sport. To do

that to the sport... I mean, it is

just absurd. These allegations, it

is the worst thing to be accused of,

I said that before. It is also the

hardest thing to prove you have not

done. We are not dealing in the

legal system. I would have more

rights if I had murdered someone in

this process. I have been gagged for

the

last 18 months because there was a

legal investigation going on and I

could not say anything. We were

still waiting on this report. These

allegations had never been put to me

until now. I have only found out

today what I am being accused.

The

whole jiffy bag thing was a

shambles.

What was in it? God knows!

Your guess is as good as mine. That

package, as we have been told in the

houses of Parliament, contain the

drug. I had drugs that might -- I

have the drug that night. If they

were short of it and they needed

more, I was on at the whole week. I

am tried to do other things with my

life and the effect it has had, the

widespread effect it has had on the

family, it is horrific and I do not

know how I will pick up the pieces

with the kids and stuff and I am

left to do that as well as try and

salvage my reputation from this. I

would not wish it upon anyone.

Sir

Bradley Wiggins there.

An aid convoy has delivered

supplies to people in

Syria's eastern Ghouta -

for the first time since a major

bombardment by pro-government forces

began two weeks ago.

The United Nations says it hopes

the 46 lorries will provide food

to around 27,000 people.

Shelling and artillery fire have

continued in the region,

despite a UN backed ceasefire.

Our Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen

was there as the convoy set off

into eastern Ghouta -

heading for the town of Douma -

and sent this report.

46 lorries moved through some

of the most dangerous territory

around Damascus to get

into eastern Ghouta.

The Syrians refused to let them take

in some surgical and trauma kits,

but they carried food and medical

supplies for 27,500 people.

It was a start.

We need to be sending convoys

at least three times a week

to a besieged area such as eastern

Ghouta, where there are serious

shortages of medical equipment,

medical supplies, food and

nutrition for nearly 400,000 people

trapped on the inside.

The lorries moved through the final

Syrian army checkpoint

at the edge of eastern Ghouta.

The fact this convoy has moved

shows Assad's confidence.

Syrian armed forces are pressing

into eastern Ghouta

that way, of course,

with their Russian allies.

And if they win, and at the moment

that's the way it appears to be,

President Assad will have scored

a significant victory,

because, for the first time

since the war started,

he will have secured his capital.

The enclave has been controlled

by Islamist militias since 2012.

Some militias are negotiating,

and there is talk of a deal,

but not yet.

The UN's call for a ceasefire

has been ignored.

Syria's president says the west is

lying about the humanitarian crisis.

The UN Secretary-General calls

eastern Ghouta "hell on earth".

Allahu Akbar!

Casualties go to a network

of underground clinics.

A doctor working in one of them

didn't think the convoy

would change anything.

What can a small convoy help us?

What can it benefit us?

It's including some food

and some limited materials.

It doesn't have enough for a few

people for a few days.

It's a densely populated area

where there's no escape

from the grown-ups' war.

Jeremy Bowen, BBC News, Damascus.

The BBC understands...

A former Russian spy

is in a critical condition

in hospital in Wiltshire,

along with a woman in her 30s,

after they were both taken ill

at a shopping centre in Salisbury.

Police say they'd both been exposed

to an unknown substance.

A major incident was declared

and decontamination teams

were called in to the local

hospital, and part of the city.

Our Home Affairs correspondent

Tom Symonds reports from Salisbury.

Last night, what happened here in

the centre of Salisbury resulted in

teams wearing full protective suits,

decontaminating the streets, where

several areas remain cordoned off.

Police, Fire Services and public

health authorities have declared a

major incident. The first signs that

something was wrong came yesterday

afternoon when a man and a woman

appeared severely unwell in the

Maltings area of central Salisbury.

The emergency services were called

and the pair were taken to halt...

To hospital. It was a couples, an

older guy and a younger girl. She

was leaning on him, it looked like

she had passed out of maybe. He was

doing some strange hand movements,

looking up to the sky.

The man and

woman are being treated at Salisbury

District Hospital where they are in

a critical condition. She is thought

to be in her 30s. The BBC has been

told that he is Sergei Skirpal.

Russian. 66 years old. In 2006 he

was convicted of high treason in

Russia. The allegation was that he

was a British buy. In 2010, he was

pardoned by the Russian authorities

and came to this country in return

for the release of ten spies in the

US -- a British spy. The hospital

has had to reduce operations while

dealing with what appears to be a

suspected poisoning. Police arrived

at Sergei Skirpal's house in

Salisbury yesterday afternoon.

Wiltshire Police said they were

investigating whether a crime had

been committed. I think it is fair

to say that there are more

unanswered questions than there are

facts this evening. It is a very

strange situation, a man in his 60s

and a woman in her 30s found

unconscious, on a bench in the

centre of Salisbury in a very busy

shopping area, with no visible signs

of injury. The police have said very

little about this, they have said

that they do not recognise the

reports that have been put out

tonight around various media outlets

that this was to do with the drug

fentanyl, but they also say they

continue to investigate, really,

initially, to determine whether a

crime has been committed. As far as

we know at this stage, the

counter-terrorism officers that

police are not involved. Thank you.

Our top story this evening.

Britain's most decorated Olympian,

Sir Bradley Wiggins,

has told the BBC he's not a cheat

after Mps accuse him

of crossing an ethical line.

And I am in Hollywood, looking back

on what was a pretty good night for

British Rome at the Oscars. Coming

up on Sportsday on BBC News, we're

here from England rugby union head

coach Eddie Jones for the first time

since that train journey to forget

when he claims he was physically and

verbally abused.

Last week, it was the big

freeze, with most of

the UK blanketed in snow.

This week, for most,

people it's the big thaw.

But the rapid rise in temperatures

has left thousands of people

in England and Wales

without running water,

because of burst pipes.

Some, though, are still snowed in -

like villages in Cumbria,

which could only be reached

today by helicopter.

We'll hear from our correspondent

Danny Savage, who's

in Cumbria, shortly -

but first here's Emma Simpson

on the water shortage.

Grab it while you can. Emergency

water supplies have just arrived on

the streets of south London. They

are going fast in this part of North

Wales, too, and they've got the

bottles lined up near Exeter. It is

the fallout from the big freeze, as

temperatures, and tempers, rise.

7:30am they said that the water was

fixed. Nothing was fixed.

I think

this is absolutely appalling, it is

shocking that there are such poor

communication, well, zero

communication.

Leaks, lots of them.

Frozen pipes bursting in

unprecedented numbers in many parts

of the UK over the last few days.

Darren from Carmarthenshire hasn't

had water since Thursday.

I have

been getting rainwater from outside

and from my neighbour, so it is not

impossible but I would say the worst

thing is not being able to keep the

washing up in the kitchen clean, and

also keep myself clean, having a

shower everyday. Just a very basic

wash in a basin, you know, with cold

water.

This mum's managed to buy in

supplies, for now. She's at home,

because her daughter's school closed

through lack of water too.

You

definitely don't expect it to happen

in London, you assume it will be

fine and there will be no issues but

clearly there are.

What has been the

most tricky thing so far?

The

toilet, not being able to flush the

toilet, and washing your hands,

because I have a two-year-old, so

nappy changes and things like that.

Some of the leaks may be small but

for water companies they are really

adding up.

Since the fall over the

weekend, though we were expecting a

rise in leaks and bursts, the

reaction has been unprecedented and

we have seen a huge increase, about

500 million litres of extra Walker

has been pumped into the system.

Feeling the pressure in the

Midlands. Jaguar Land Rover has

stopped production at this plant,

and so too has Cadbury, to help

seven Trent water keep their taps

running for households and

vulnerable customers. Emma Simpson,

BBC News for

stop here in Cumbria, the worst of

the stone stoploss note but the

problem keeps going on and on. This

is a minor road up in the hills

behind Kirby Stephen. There are lots

of houses still cut off. It is not

just a minor roads, it is the a

roads as well, so today here in this

county they took some pretty extreme

measures to get to some of cut off

communities.

Getting to the cut-off communities

of the Pennines can only be done

on foot or quad bike.

The Farmy Army are

still doing their bit.

At the end of this high lane

is a handful of properties

At the end of this high lane

is a handful of properties,

which have been cut off days.

The snow was up to that of the door

here with the window.

We had snow all over the front

windows, just stuck.

It's like living in an igloo.

Jill and her husband have been

struggling in deep snow.

Their home was engulfed,

and when we got to them,

they were running low on supplies.

So this RAF Chinook over the home

was a welcome sight.

It has been doing the rounds

in Cumbria today, going

from isolated hamlets to cut off

farms offering help.

They'd run out of heating oil here,

so the logs delivered

by the Marines were very welcome.

What is people's reaction

when you drop in?

I think they are quite

surprised but I think

they are pleased to see us.

We are here to assure them

that help is on its way.

Obviously we are working

with the police and the Mountain

Rescue, and they are

doing their bit as well.

A few minutes later, they were away

to their next cut-off location.

Inside, Mick was already

putting the logs to use,

but he still can't get out.

I'm waiting for an operation,

and could be called at any day,

and the road is still blocked.

Elsewhere, the sudden

temperature drop killed

millions of sea creatures.

In East Yorkshire, they have been

rescuing lobsters and reviving them

in saltwater at Fish markets.

I think the industry will be fine,

but from a natural perspective

it is quite shocking what mother

nature can do.

The stormy weather also wrecked

roads in South Devon.

Back in the hills of northern

England, it is more of a community

effort to keep going.

It is the local farmers

and contractors who have got stuck

in and got the roads clear

for everybody to manage

to get stuff back in.

People beyond the drifts hope to be

reached by road rather than air over

the next couple of days.

Danny Savage, BBC News, Cumbria.

The Prime Minister is urging

developers to up their game

and build more homes in England.

Theresa May said for young people

owning a property is now largely

unaffordable without "the bank

of mum and dad".

She said changes to planning rules -

which would penalise developers

who delay building on their land -

should help to deal

with the shortage of properties.

But Labour described

the measures as 'feeble.'

Here's our Home Editor Mark Easton.

The Prime Minister donned the Hi-Vis

today,

determined to show she's

tackling what she describes

as a housing crisis,

but Theresa May's not the first

senior Tory to get her shoes

muddy on a building site.

Remember him, and him, and him?

Today, the PM had the big builders

and developers in her sights,

blaming some of them

for putting profit before

their patriotic duty

to

restore the dream of home ownership.

The bonuses paid to the heads

of some of our biggest developers

are based not on the number of homes

they build, but on

their profit margins.

their profits or share price.

I

expect developers to do their Judy

Dunn duty.

Among possible planning reforms

is the idea that developers

with a reputation for not building

homes fast now be denied planning

permission by councils.

Not only do house-builders make

returns to their shareholders,

we are also cross-subsidising almost

half of the affordable

housing in this

country every single

year, so we are doing

the job of government.

For Conservatives, home

ownership is central

to their vision for housing.

The Prime Minister today said

she met young voters at thee last

election angry to get on the ladder.

To even think about affording

something like that

because the price is so high anyway

so I don't know how I would get

the deposit together

in order to buy one,

even if it was available.

But Mrs May also wants to keep

the Conservative core vote on side.

Hello, do you know

about Fair Oaks...?

People like these residents

in trueblue Surrey,

who are supported by their MP,

Environment Secretary Michael Gove,

in their opposition

to a new garden village.

Planning reform worries

these campaigners.

I think this will be a backward

step, and we are really worried

that these sort of developments,

which are really damaging

to the environment and the community

as a whole, will be pushed forward

against the people's wishes.

Some Conservatives want the Treasury

to relax borrowing rules so councils

and housing associations can build

many more genuinely

affordable homes.

Others see the priority

as protecting England's

precious green landscape.

It is a surprise perhaps

the Prime Minister didn't think it

wise to wear a hard hat today.

Mark Easton, BBC News.

The British actor Gary Oldman

is celebrating after

winning his first Oscar.

He picked up the award

for his portrayl of Sir Winston

Churchill in Darkest Hour.

The British short film -

The Silent Child -

starring six-year-old Maisie Sly

from Swindon who's profoundly deaf -

also won an Oscar.

But the night belonged

to The Shape of Water,

which won four Oscars,

including best film.

Our Arts Editor Will

Gompertz was there.

Denied began with host Jimmy Kimmel

using his opening monologue to round

up some of the elephants in the

room.

Black panther and wonder woman

come I remember a time when the

major studios didn't believe a

minority or a woman could open a

superhero movie. The reason I

remember that time is because it was

March of last year.

That joke set the agenda

for the evening.

In the year of the 90th

Academy Awards, it was Time's Up

for a monocultural,

male-dominated movie business.

It's a new day in Hollywood...

..said Jennifer Lawrence,

before announcing that the winner

of actress in a leading role was...

Frances McDormand - Three Billboards

Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

So I'm hyperventilating

a little bit.

If I fall over, pick me up,

'cos I've got some things to say.

If I may be so honoured to have

all the female nominees in every

category stand with me

in this room tonight.

The actors...

Meryl, if you do it,

everybody else will.

Come on.

The film-makers...

Look around, everybody.

Look around, ladies and gentlemen,

because we all have stories to tell

and projects we need to finance.

The call for equality and tolerance

was made time and again,

and was perhaps best captured

by Guillermo del Toro,

whose film The Shape Of Water,

a story of misfits and outcasts,

won Best Picture,

and he, Best Director.

I am an immigrant

like many, many of you.

The greatest thing our art does

and our industry does is to erase

the lines in the sand.

We should continue doing that,

when the world tells us

to make them deeper.

Roger A Deakins, Blade Runner...

There were long-awaited wins

for two British veterans.

After 13 failed attempts,

the cinematographer Roger Deakins

finally converted a nomination

into a golden statue for his work

on Blade Runner 2049.

And for his portrayal

of Winston Churchill

in The Darkest Hour,

Gary Oldman won his first Oscar.

I say to my mother, thank

you for your love and support.

Put the kettle on.

I'm bringing Oscar home.

The Silent Child, a British film

about a deaf four-year-old

played by Maisie Sly,

won the short film category.

I made a promise to our six-year-old

lead actress that I'd sign this

speech, but my hands are shaking

a little bit, so I apologise.

Deafness is a silent disability.

You can't see it and it's

not life-threatening,

so I want to say the biggest

of thank-yous to the

Academy for allowing us

to put this in front

of a mainstream audience.

Such a great story, isn't it, well

done. Some of the reaction in

Hollywood is that the Oscars were a

bit boring, there were no surprises,

but that really underplays what was

last night, which I think is a

seismic change, underlined by what

Jennifer Lawrence said, it is a new

day in Hollywood. I think it will be

much more multicultural, it will be

across agendas. We had our first

transgender presenter last night. I

think we are looking at a major

moment in history of the Oscars on

this 90th Academy Awards.

Time for a look at the weather...

Here's Matt Taylor.

A little bit quiet on the weather

front this week?

A little bit quiet on the weather

front this week? Thankfully, yes,

not quite out of the woods as far as

winter is concerned, Stolberg

assigned across Scotland, snow on

the ground, falling from the clouds

as well -- still signs of winter

across Scotland. For other parts of

the country it feels like we have

rolled out the red carpet for

spring. Nottingham, it has changed a

bit since that picture was taken.

Low pressure is with us.

Low pressure is with us. Further

south, outbreaks of rain rather than

snow. Wet evening across Wales,

Midlands and into northern England

eventually. Overnight, snow over the

higher grounds. South East Anglia

not seen too much rain but

continuing to seek snow across the

Southern Grampians, rain around the

coast, temperatures not 1 million

miles away from freezing. A cool

start to tomorrow morning, touch of

frost here and there, clear skies,

some fog as well. Rain in early

northern England, the rest of Wales,

only a few drops of showers. Staying

cloudy across Scotland, rain and

hills now pushing its way

northwards. We could see a further

six inches of snow in parts of the

Grampians and the Highlands by the

end of the day, but temperatures to

the south-east are 12 or 13 degrees

has topped misses take you into

Tuesday night, tomorrow night into

Wednesday, some break around, still

snowing across northern Scotland, it

spreads its way across Orkney and

Shetland. For England and Wales, a

few more showers compared with

tomorrow, but fairly well scattered.

Most places will be dry after a

great start, sunny spells around,

although temper just down a little

bit on how we started the week, but

another cool start Thursday morning,

early mist and fog clears. Chance of

someone pushing through the Channel

Islands, snow in the Highlands and

Hebrides, in between one or two

showers, many places will be dry.

That's all from the BBC News at Six

- so it's goodbye from me -