12/03/2018 BBC News at Six

The Prime minister says it is highly

likely that Russia was behind

the attack on a former Russian

spy in Salisbury.

Theresa May says Sergei Skripal

and his daughter were poisoned

by a military grade nerve agent

of a type developed by Russia.

This attempted murder

using a weapons-grade nerve agent

in a British town was not just

a crime against the Skripals.

It was an indiscriminate

and reckless act against

the United Kingdom.

As investigations continue,

the Russian ambassador is summoned

and told to explain by tomorrow how

the chemical weapon found

its way to Salisbury.

He brought laughter to millions -

tributes to Ken Dodd,

the last of the great music hall

variety comedians,

who has died aged 90.

Jail for the teenager who carried

out a string of acid

attacks on moped riders

to steal their scooters.

Sky's football pundit

Jamie Carragher is suspended

after he spits at a teenage girl

and her family.

Microplastics, not visible

to the naked eye, but this river

in Greater Manchester is found to be

the most polluted

so far in the world.

Coming up on Sportsday later

in the hour on BBC News -

no British medals on the third day

of the Winter Paralympics.

And big problems for

the snowboarders in Pyeongchang.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

The former Russian spy

Sergei Skripal and his daughter

were poisoned by a military-grade

nerve agent of a type

developed by Russia.

In the last hour, the Prime Minister

has told MPs that it is highly

likely that Russia was

behind the attack.

Now the Russian ambassador has been

summoned and told to explain

by tomorrow night how a nerve agent

made its way to Salisbury.

Theresa May said if there's

no credible response,

the government will conclude

that the attack was an unlawful use

of force by the Russian state

against the United Kingdom.

With the latest,

here's our diplomatic

correspondent James Landale.

Today, police continued to examine

the Salisbury home of Sergei

Skripal, more than a week after the

former Russian intelligence officer

and his daughter were attacked with

a nerve agent, a week during which

it has remained unclear who carried

out the crime and wide. So, this

morning ministers gathered for a

meeting of the National Security

Council, looking for answers. An

update on the investigation from the

police and intelligence services

that would allow them and the Prime

Minister to decide what steps to

take next. For some days ministers

have been pushing Theresa May for

tougher response. This afternoon she

was clear who she thought was

responsible, and what they should

do.

It is now clear that Mr Skripal

and his daughter were poisoned with

a military grade nerve agent of a

type developed by Russia. It is part

of a group of nerve agents known as

Novichok. Based on the analysis of

world leading experts at Porton

down, our knowledge that Russia has

previously produced this agent and

would still be capable of doing so,

the government has concluded that it

is highly likely that Russia was

responsible for the act against

Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

She said

the Foreign Secretary had summoned

the Russian ambassador and told him

he had until the end of tomorrow to

explain whether this was a direct

act by the Russian state or by

others who now control the nerve

agent.

Mr Speaker, this attempted

murder using a weapons grade nerve

agent in a British town was not just

a crime against the Skripals, it was

an industry minute and reckless act

against the United Kingdom, putting

the lives of innocent civilians at

risk. And we will not tolerate such

a brazen attempt to murder in

innocent civilians on our soil.

The

Labour leader called for tougher

sanctions on oligarchs living in

London.

We need to continue seeking

a robust dialogue with Russia on all

the issues currently dividing our

country is, both domestic and

international. Rather than simply

cutting off contact and letting the

tensions and divisions get worse.

Earlier today, before the statement,

President Putin was visiting an

agricultural centre in southern

Russia and dismissed a question from

the BBC's Steve Rosenberg. President

Putin, BBC News - is Russia behind

the poisoning of Sergei Skripal?

TRANSLATION: We are dealing with

agriculture here, as you see, to

create conditions for people's

lives, and you talk to me about some

tragedies. First get to the bottom

of it there and then we will discuss

this.

But now that Russia has been

blamed officially for what happened

in Salisbury, it has 24 hours to

decide how to respond. Our security

correspondent wouldn't there is

here. The Prime Minister was

specific about the substance - what

exactly was it?

That's right. She

said it was Novichok, which is a

form of nerve agent, it is a class

of -- class of nerve agents,

developed during the summit union

times to get around detection and

prevention systems used by the west,

and even the chemical warfare suits

they used to give two soldiers. That

was revealed, the existence of these

Novichok agents by defectors and

scientists at Porton down will have

been working on a band they will

have been able to match the samples

that they got from the Skripals in

Salisbury with the signatures that

they have developed office Novichok

style of agents. The significance of

this is that this is a specifically

Russian developed form of nerve

agent. It is not like sarin or other

types which a number of countries

use. And it is for that reason that

the Prime Minister was able to save

there are only two possibilities,

either the Russian state itself used

it or somehow it had lost control of

its own nerve agent.

In Salisbury,

hundreds of police officers have

been working around the clock, along

with experts from the Armed Forces,

to try to establish exactly what

happened on that Sunday afternoon

eight days ago. Our home affairs

correspondent Daniel Sandford

reports from Salisbury on the latest

in the investigation. The surreal

scenes of chemical warfare experts

in gas masks and protective suits

spread out from Salisbury into the

surrounding countryside today. Here,

they were removing a van belonging

to a company that runs told Fox.

Vehicles being recovered during the

operation are being taken to the

nearby chemical weapons laboratory

at Porton Down. So widespread is the

possible contamination of this nerve

agent that these specialist troops

are now working in a village more

than five miles from the centre of

Salisbury. In the city itself,

counter-terrorism officers, one in a

balaclava, sealed off the top deck

of the Sainsbury's multistorey car

park. The Prime Minister said the

people of Salisbury had responded

with fortitude and calmness, but

there are still concerns that it

took the Chief Medical Officer seven

days to give people who were in the

contaminated restaurant and pub

advice to wash their clothes.

The

disappointment in this case is that

it has taken them so long to release

some information that might be of

interest and might affect the

individual people of Salisbury.

It

is extraordinary that this medieval

cathedral city has seen the

deployment of warn of a group of

Russian military grade nerve agents

called Novichok.

These are super

nerve agents which were developed

many years ago by the Russians.

Because the red lines on the use of

chemical weapons have disappeared

and the 100 year taboo has

disappeared, because we have done

nothing about the huge amount of its

use in Syria, if it is Mr Putin, he

might be feeling that he can use

chemical weapons and nobody is going

to do anything about it.

Salisbury

has had the air of a science-fiction

film these last nine days, the site

of what the Prime Minister called

today a reckless and despicable act.

Much of what we have been seeing

over the last few days has been

decontamination work, and clearly a

lot of scientific work has been done

in identifying that military grade

nerve agent. But detectives are

saying very little about what

progress they are making in

identifying the attackers themselves

just a circus show in the British

Parliament, another campaign based

on propagation, that was the first

response from Russia tonight. We

will hear from our political editor,

Laura Kuenssberg, in a moment. But

first we can go to Steve Rosenberg,

who is in Krasnodar near the Black

Sea. They're talking about the

British invented fairy tales?

The

response tonight from the Russian

foreign ministry described Theresa

May's statement in the Commons as a

circus show, dismissing the

allegations against Moscow as this

information campaign, talking about

fairy tales. And that is no surprise

because in recent days we have had

several Russian officials dismiss

claims that Moscow is linked to this

attack as auntie Russian hysteria. I

think the biggest problem that

Britain faces right now is the way

it is perceived by the Kremlin, and

it is perceived as a weak country.

Moscow hears British politicians

huffing and puffing but believe

they're capable of blowing the house

down, of taking strong measures

against Moscow. So, I think the key

question now, if London concludes

that this was a state-sponsored act

of force against Britain, what

measures can Britain perhaps

together with her allies, going to

take against Russia?

And Laura

Kuenssberg, our political editor, in

Westminster, it was a dramatic

moment in parliament, and strong

language used by the Prime Minister?

Yes, no fudging, no hanging back,

from the Prime Minister, who is

essentially delivered an ultimatum

to Russia to explain itself, on

whether or not it took direct action

on British soil or whether it made a

mistake and allowed this nerve

agents to fall into the hands of

people who should not have been

anywhere near it. The question as

Steve suggests will be, what will be

the government's response if there

is no credible explanation from

Russia, if the Russian ambassador in

London does not buy when state give

some believable account of exactly

what happened? Theresa May was

absolutely firm and serious in her

words this afternoon, but the crunch

may come later this week on

Wednesday, whether she will be firm

and serious in the actions she could

take.

Thank you both.

Sir Ken Dodd, one of the most

popular entertainers of his time,

has died at the age of 90.

He was a man who brought happiness

and tears of laughter to thousands

of people with his legendary live

performances during a career

which spanned more than 60 years.

Sir Ken died yesterday in Liverpool

in the house where he was born,

with his partner of 40 years

by his side.

They got married last Friday.

David Sillito looks back

at his colourful life.

The tickling sticks, the wild hair

and surreal flights of fancy were

only a part of it. Ken Dodd was a

torrent of jokes. His shows would

often end in the early hours of the

morning.

Geronimo! Thank you very

much! What a beautiful day for going

up and saying, you will never sell a

sausage that size!

Offstage, he was

very private, but one of his close

circle of friends was his joke

writer, John Martin.

I always say

writing good joke Sir Ken Dodd was

almost like being asked to mix the

paints for van Gogh, it was that big

an honour.

an honour.

How are you diddling?!

Tears in 1960s five was one of the

biggest selling singles of the

1960s. His run at the London

Palladium broke records. John

Bishop, Brian Conley, Les Dennis,

David Walliams, comedians have been

lining up today to pay tribute.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome

Ken Dodd!

When he walked on, the

place used to go up and he hadn't

even said anything! Now, that

doesn't happen very often! How

tickled we were! How tickled we are!

He would fire the gags out at you!

In Liverpool we call it "hur".

He

stayed loyal to Liverpool, living

all his life in the same house,

where three days ago he finally

married Anne, his partner of 40

years.

I've been overwhelmed by the

love and affection which I've

already received from dear friends

and the public. And I thank you all

for being here.

There was the issue

of his tax affairs, but he was

acquitted and it just became more

material for his act.

The job I

fancy is Chancellor of the Exchequer

- at least I would be reunited with

my money!

He was one of the last

links to music hall. Ken Dodd - it

really is the end of an era.

Sir Ken Dodd, who has

died at the age of 90.

In

In

Our top story this evening:

Theresa May says Sergei Skripal

and his daughter were poisoned

by a military grade nerve agent

of a type developed by Russia.

it is highly likely that Russia was

behind the attack.

it is highly likely that Russia

was behind the attack.

And still to come: How other

countries tackle obesity and why

Norwegians are sweet

on Swedish sweets.

Coming up on Sportsday on BBC News:

The Manchester United Captain

Michael carrick says his body has

told him to stop.

He's won every club trophy

but at 36 he'll retire

at the end of the season.

Plastic and the problems it causes

in oceans and rivers around

the world are already well known.

But what's not so clear is how much

damage microplastics are doing,

the tiny particles of plastic less

than 5 millimetres in size.

They can be found in all kinds

of things from industrial

pollution to cosmetics.

And now researchers have discovered

that a river in Greater Manchester

has the highest levels

of microplastic pollution so far

recorded anywhere in the world.

Our science correspondent

Victoria Gill reports.

They are the veins of our country,

running through towns, cities,

suburbs and the countryside,

but there is a pollutant buried

in all these riverbeds.

All along this river bank you can

see evidence of plastic litter,

plastic bags, plastic

bottles, food containers.

But it is when things like this

break down into much smaller

fragments that they are just one

source of the micro plastics that

end up in the riverbed.

Waste water treatment plants

and industry are other

major contributors.

But to investigate the scale of this

problem scientists need to take

a piece of the river back

to the lab.

This has now isolated this

area of the channel bed.

When I disturb the gravels in here,

all the mud and silt and clay

and micro plastic particles

will come into suspension

into the water.

The team analysed silt at 40

different locations,

from remote rural streams

to city centre waterways.

They found micro plastic everywhere.

Where lots of people live we found

extraordinarily high levels of micro

plastic contamination.

Just a few kilometres upstream

from here we found micro plastic

concentrations that are the highest

so far recorded anywhere

in the world, over 500,000 micro

plastic particles per metre

square of riverbed.

Enormously high levels

of contamination.

And that is just a few miles

upstream from where we are standing

in Greater Manchester?

Yes.

This is a jar of sediment

from the bed of this river,

a typical suburban stretch

of the River Mersey.

And in this 250 grams jar

there will be 5000 individual

pieces of micro plastic.

Aquatic insects, birds

and fish can ingest these

microscopic pieces of plastic.

And this is where the

problem becomes visible.

This is all plastic?

Yes, indeed.

How many fragments

would you have in this?

So in this sample just

from a few grams about 100

micro plastic pieces.

Finding the source of this problem

will be scientists' next step

to stop our riverbeds becoming

an invisible dumping ground

for billions of pieces of plastic.

Victoria Gill, BBC News.

The leader of the House of Commons

has recommended a short,

independently-led inquiry

into claims of bullying

of parliamentary staff.

It follow allegations against

the Commons Speaker John Bercow

and two MPs after an investigation

by the BBC's Newsnight programme.

All three strongly

deny the allegations.

A 17-year-old has been sentenced

to ten-and-a-half years in jail

for carrying out a series of acid

attacks on moped riders

in London last July.

Derryck John, from Croydon,

sprayed six people with acid

in the space of an hour and a half.

He stole two mopeds and attempted

to take another four.

The judge described his

crimes as "despicable".

Tom Burridge reports.

He'd thrown acid into

the face of six men.

But here's Derryck John calmly

paying the petrol that night.

With his visor up, he was linked

to the stolen moped but the person

seen here driving him around

still hasn't been identified.

Later, when Derryck John drove

a stolen bike himself, this -

an accident which linked him

to a string of violent acid attacks.

This victim says his face felt

like it was on fire.

Attacked by Derryck John

while delivering takeways,

Jabed Hussain is still suffering

today.

I have to keep my eyes everywhere.

I don't trust in the street.

If anyone shouts next

to me, I get scared.

If I want to go out, I always

lock my car doors and windows.

I used to be busy myself,

I'm a working class guy.

After the incident,

I am totally different.

I can't believe myself that

I am stuck and alone.

Today, the 17-year-old was sentenced

to ten and a half years in jail.

The judge said an adult would have

gone to prison for much longer.

We are very pleased with

the sentencing Mr John has received,

I think it does send a strong

message that even as a youth

offender, a ten-year plus sentence

still sends a strong message

that this will not be tolerated.

The same judge sentenced

Arthur Collins, seen here throwing

acid across a crowded dance floor,

to 20 years in prison.

Criminals are increasingly

using acid as a weapon.

It is hoped sending this young man's

prison for several years will deter

It is hoped sending this

young man to prison

for several years will deter

others from the same.

The trial of a teenager accused of

planting a bomb on a London

underground train has heard that he

blamed Britain for causing the death

of his dad in Iraq. Giving evidence

to date a college lecturer said she

had heard the students saying it was

his duty to hate Britain.

had heard the students saying

it was his duty to hate Britain.

The BBC is appealing

to the United Nations to protect

the rights of its Persian Service

journalists and their

families in Iran.

The broadcaster says its staff

are being "persecuted",

subjected to arbitrary arrest,

travel bans and the

seizure of assets.

Iran says the BBC is not independent

because its services

in the country have links

to British security services.

Sky has suspended the football

pundit Jamie Carragher after footage

emerged of him spitting

through a car window

towards a teenage girl.

The former England and Liverpool

footballer described it as a "moment

of madness" after he was goaded.

He said he would apologise

again to the family.

Andy Swiss's report contains

footage of the incident.

Jamie Carragher, look.

He is one of football's

most famous pundits,

but after being spotted by a fan

on Sunday, Jamie Carragher winds

down his window and this happens.

Unlucky, Jamie, lad.

2-1, lad.

He spat on me.

"He spat on me," -

the voice of the driver's

14-year-old daughter.

Jamie Carragher spat

on my daughter, nice.

Carragher, who had just watched his

former club Liverpool lose,

said he'd been goaded

and lost his rag.

Have you been sacked?

But this morning, he arrived

in London to be told he'd been

suspended from his job

with Sky Sports.

Carragher, who has a 14-year-old

daughter himself, admitted his

behaviour was unacceptable.

It looks awful and I accept that.

It's not something I've done before,

it's not something I will do again.

I'm sure of that.

I've had a moment of madness,

I made a big, huge mistake,

a stain on my character.

I have to accept that.

I have let my family down

but I think the family I've let down

more than anyone is the people

in the car.

Well, what Jamie Carragher did

on his way home from the match

at Old Trafford has been strongly

condemned by his employers.

In a statement, Sky said his

behaviour fell well below

the standards they expect.

The question now is

whether his apology will be

enough to save his job.

Carragher was supposed to be

on Sky's coverage tonight

but won't now take his customary

place in the studio.

His transition to tough-talking

pundit from tough-tackling

player had seemed seamless

but after retiring on the pitch,

his new career could yet

face an early farewell.

Next month a tax on sugary drinks

will be introduced for the first

time in the UK in a bid

to tackle obesity.

You'll be paying between 18 and 24

pence extra per litre for many

drinks depending on how much extra

sugar has been added.

Our health editor Hugh Pym has been

to Norway where a sugar tax has

been in place for years.

And recently the tax

was almost doubled with some

unintended consequences.

There are sweet and lots of them in

this shop favoured by some

Norwegians, but it is not in their

own country, it is just over the

border in Sweden. The store owner is

offering all of this at half the

price as Norwegians pay at home. In

January the sugar tax levied in

Norway went up more than 60%. Some

have driven long distances to cross

the border for their shopping.

I am

coming once a month to buy food, so

it is worth it.

It is not only

because of the price, but I like to

have a treat and we buy a lot when

we come here.

The company says trade

has picked up since the Norwegian

tax rise, equivalent to about 10p on

a chocolate bar. It is hard to

imagine anything else quite like it.

The Swedish owner says this is one

of the biggest sweet shops in the

world. It has 20 of them all a short

distance from the border. 95% of

customers come over from Norway.

Norwegians are used to the sugar tax

which was introduced some time ago.

Locals in Oslo are philosophical

about it, even after the tax

increase. People are not happy with

the tax increasing, but I think it

is good.

There are a lot of other

taxes that I would react on, but

this one is OK.

The government says

the tax has helped control child

obesity rates which are below

Sweden's.

We managed now to

stabilise the obesity of the

children and young people and I am

happy about that. It means what we

have done up to now has been

functioning in the right way.

The UK

is now going down the same track

with attacks on sugary soft drinks.

The aim is to move shoppers towards

lower sugar options. Groups like

this have already done that. This

cookery class with healthy recipes

for parents and children is run by a

charity made in Hackney, putting

some juices with fruit but no added

sugar are on the menu.

The peas are

in there. When you are on a tree you

will not have a fizzy drink, but I

want to stop, so I am here learning

about this.

The Norwegian example

shows people can learn to live with

the sugar tax, even though when it

comes to their behaviour the message

is expect the unexpected.

is expect the unexpected.

Megan Markle has attended her first

official event with the Queen

at a service to mark Commonwealth

Day.

Ms Markle, who is due to marry

Prince Harry in May,

was joined by other senior royals

at Westminster Abbey.

The event is used to celebrate

the 53 Commonwealth countries.

The Duke of Edinburgh,

who retired from public service last

year, did not attend.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Ben Rich.

In the coming weekend some of us

could have some snow in the forecast

again believe it or not. But rain

has been causing problems and part

of the Midland has had some

flooding. This picture comes from

Leicestershire. That rain is in no

real mood to clear away either. Only

very slowly easing eastwards

overnight, keeping a lot of clout in

many central and eastern areas. Out

West some clear spells developing.

Parts of northern and are may have a

touch of frost, but most places stay

above freezing. Tomorrow is not a

bad looking day, certainly a drier

day. Quite a lot of cloud for

central and eastern parts of

England, but the further west you

are, Northern Ireland, western

Scotland, Wales and the South West,

more in the way of sunshine.

Temperatures between 9-11. But a

change for the middle of the week

and this area of low pressure trying

to squash its way into the Atlantic.

The isobars show we have some strong

winds in the forecast. Some could be

a touch gale force on Wednesday. But

some mild air wafting up from the

south. Some uncertainty about just

how far east the rain will get. It

looks like only western areas will

see the heavy rain. Strong and

blustery winds touching gale force

in exposed spots. With that mild air

pollution in the sunshine could lift

the temperatures up to 14 or 15.

Into Thursday and Friday things

change and becomes a little bit

colder, particularly in the North

with outbreaks of rain. Over the

weekend we picked up an easterly

wind and it will feel cold and

pretty windy and there is a risk of

snow showers.

snow showers. Theresa May says it is

highly likely Russia was behind the

attack on former Russian spy Sergei

Skripal using weapons grade nerve

agent. Russia accuses her inventing

fairy tales.

Russia accuses her

inventing fairy tales.