13/03/2018 BBC News at Six

The deadline approaches

for Russia to explain its role

in the Salisbury attack -

but Moscow warns Britain not

to threaten a nuclear power.

Police reveal more details

about Sergei and Yulia Skripal's

last known movements before

they collapsed nine days ago.

Detectives appeal for anyone

who saw them in this red

BMW to come forward,

as they warn the investigation

could take weeks.

as they warn the investigation

The

as they warn the investigation

The public

as they warn the investigation

The public will

as they warn the investigation

The public will continue

as they warn the investigation

The public will continue to

as they warn the investigation

The public will continue to see

as they warn the investigation

The public will continue to see a

as they warn the investigation

The public will continue to see a

great deal of police activity around

the city, including more is being

erected. Don't be alarmed, it is

necessary as part of this major

investigation.

The Prime Minister has told Russia

to explain by midnight

what happened as President Trump

gives her his support.

It sounds to me like they believe

it was Russia and I would certainly

take that finding as fact.

Moscow has again denied

being involved and says it wants

to see the evidence.

Also tonight: Surprise

as President Trump fires Secretary

of State Rex Tillerson

after a series of public rifts over

Russia, Iran and North Korea.

An upbeat assessment of the UK

economy from the Chancellor

in his Spring Statement but Labour

claim he's ignoring a crisis

in public services.

What can I do for you, Mrs Whatsit?

And Disney's new film

A Wrinkle In Time -

why it's a bittersweet moment

for the black woman who directed it.

And coming up on Sportsday

on BBC News...

We'll round-up day one

of the Cheltenham Festival,

where Buveur D'Air won the big race

of the day, the Champion Hurdle.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

Police have been giving more details

about the last known movements

of Sergei Skripal and his daughter

before they collapsed

in Salisbury nine days ago.

33-year-old Yulia Skripal arrived

in the UK the day before

they were poisoned with a military

grade nerve agent.

Time is running out for Russia

to respond to the Prime Minister's

demand for a credible explanation

as to how the nerve agent

ended up in Salisbury.

The deadline is midnight tonight.

Let's get the latest

from Daniel Sandford,

who's in Salisbury.

Police describe this today as an

extremely challenging investigation

that unique and complex issues, and

that is because of the dangers to

everyone involved from that Russia

and nerve agent used in what police

call a despicable, reckless and

targeted attack.

This evening, there was intense

police activity at the pound where

Sergei Skripal's car was found

after being towed away

from Salisbury town centre.

Every day, the work has thrown up

a different location.

Counter terrorism detectives warning

today that the operation in the city

will last many weeks.

We're sifting and assessing

all evidence available

and we are exploring

all investigative avenues.

This includes extensive

CCTV footage from across

the city and over

380 exhibits so far.

It's vital that we gather all

the evidence available to us and we

leave no stone unturned in

establishing the full circumstances.

Police believe Yulia Skripal arrived

at Heathrow Airport from Russia at

2.40 in the afternoon

of Saturday, 3rd March.

The next day, the day

of the attack, she and her father

parked at 1.40pm on the upper deck

of the Sainsbury's car park in

Salisbury and then

went to the Mill pub.

They took a short walk to Zizzi's

restaurant, where they were

between 2.20 and 3.35.

At 4.15, they were found seriously

ill on a park bench.

Police are asking anyone who saw

their car, this red BMW, between

1pm and 1.45pm that

day to come forward.

They said Detective Sergeant Nick

Bailey, who became seriously ill

after becoming contaminated,

was

making good progress.

The two people targeted

in the attack, Yulia and

Sergei Skripal, are still

in intensive care here in Salisbury

Hospital, where staff are having

to use special precautions,

because of the military

grade nerve agents.

They're both in a critical

condition, but they're both still

stable, which means they're not

getting significantly worse.

I understand she is doing

slightly better than he is.

Detectives said at this stage

they would not be making

public any suspect they have

in this unique inquiry.

Daniel Sandford,

BBC News, Salisbury.

President Trump has made his first

public comments about the attack.

He said as soon as the facts

were straight, America would condemn

Russia or whoever it may be.

And the European Union has said it's

ready to support Britain

"in pursuit of justice".

Here's our Diplomatic

Correspondent James Landale.

It began as a brutal attack

on the streets of Salisbury,

the poisoning of a former Russian

intelligence

officer and his daughter,

that the UK blames on Russia.

But it's become a global

diplomatic row, with Britain

looking for allies in its

confrontation with Moscow.

British ministers

meeting again to discuss

the case have given the Kremlin

until midnight to explain how a

nerve agent developed in Russia

ended up in Britain.

If the response is implausible,

they are promising

extensive measures against Russia.

This is a brazen attempt to murder

innocent people on UK soil.

Policemen still in hospital,

overwhelmingly likely or highly

likely the Russian state was

involved, and the use of this nerve

agent would represent the first use

of nerve agents on the continent of

Europe since the Second World War.

As part of a huge diplomatic effort

across Europe, British officials

told the chemicals weapon watchdog

that Russia was implicated in the

use of chemical weapons. Germany,

France and other allies offered

support without attributing blame

but Donald Trump at least appeared

to accept Russia might be involved.

Theresa May is going to be speaking

to me today. It sounds to me like

they believe it was Russia and I

would certainly take that finding as

fact. As soon as we get the facts

straight, if we agree with them, we

will condemn Russia or whoever it

may be.

Russia is already subject to

sanctions. Ministers insist these

damage Russia's economy but their

impact on behaviour is doubtful.

Crucially these are largely EU

sanctions, the UK cannot impose them

on its own. So what unilateral

options is the Government

considering? Some of Russia's 58

diplomats in London could be

expelled but that might promote a

tit for tat expulsion. Russians

could face travel bans, but who and

how? There could be tougher laws to

crack down on Russian officials

guilty of human rights abuses, and

Russian television stations like RT

could be targeted. Here at the

Foreign Office, they are also

investing a lot of effort and

diplomacy in trying to bring

international pressure to bear on

Russia but the bar is high. Russia

has a veto at the UN and some EU

countries are reluctant to

contemplate yet more sanctions. To

date, the Russian Embassy said

accusations of involvement in the

Salisbury attack were groundless as

diplomats promised retaliation

against any new sanctions.

Russia is

not a country to be spoken to in the

language of ultimatums. I think it

is high time the UK learned that.

But unless Moscow gives Britain a

satisfactory answer by midnight,

some Russian diplomats here might be

clearing their desks very soon.

The Russian government has once

again denied being involved.

Russia's Foreign Minister says

Britain isn't letting the Kremlin

see the evidence of the nerve agent

attack, as required

under international law.

Sarah Rainsford in Moscow -

and something of a diplomatic

standoff?

I think that's right and it's only

going to escalate.

going to escalate. Britain expects

some answers. The Foreign Ministry

said he came to hear the Russian

protest against what Russia calls

the sordid attempt to discredit this

country. Strong language coming from

Moscow, and the strongest we have

heard yet coming from the minister

himself, Sergey Lavrov. He has

essentially rejected the deadline.

He said Britain is violating the

chemical weapons Convention by only

giving Russia 24 hours to respond to

the allegation of a chemical attack.

He says there should be ten days to

respond so unless the UK sticks to

the rules, Russia has no intention

of doing so either, was pretty much

the message from Sergey Lavrov. When

I asked him directly if Russia was

responsible for the attack, he said

that was nonsense. We heard as well

from his spokeswoman later today

with even stronger language. She

said today, "Who does Britain think

it is issuing ultimatums to a

nuclear power?" So no sign of Russia

even meeting the deadline or backing

down on its stance over this attack.

Our Security Correspondent

Gordon Corera is here -

investigations continue and they're

now widening to include

the deaths of other Russians.

That's right, there have been a

series of questions over the deaths

of other Russians and people

connected to Russia over the last

decade or so in Britain. Follow your

question, the Home Secretary today

said police and MI5 will review some

of those cases to check effectively

there was nothing suspicious about

those. As if to make the point, we

just learned today that the police

are investigating another what they

call unexplained death in New Malden

south of London and they are

investigating the death here of a

man called Nikolai Glushkov, who was

a close ally and friend of Boris

Berezovsky, a critic of Vladimir

Putin who himself died in 2013 and

is likely to be the subject of one

of those reviews into so-called

suspicious deaths. Counterterrorism

command are leading this

investigation in New Malden, they

say as a precautionary measure given

the man's contacts, no evidence yet

it is suspicious, and they are

saying there's no link to Salisbury

but you can get a sense of the

change in context in the way these

deaths are being viewed because of

the sense of what Russia might be

able to do has changed, but very

much the priority for police and MI5

will be the investigation in

Salisbury at the you.

President Trump has

sacked his top diplomat,

the US Secretary of State,

Rex Tillerson -

apparently without warning.

The two men have had

a series of public rifts

over issues like Russia,

North Korea and Iran.

Our North America editor,

Jon Sopel, is in Washington.

Was this a surprise

or a long time coming?

I think the White House are trying

to frame this as we are getting the

right team in place for the

challenges ahead, most notably talks

on North Korea, but there were

differences and on Russia the

response to what happened in

Salisbury, part of those rifts.

Nevertheless, even for those with

steel reinforced jawbones, the

casual brutality with which Donald

Trump dispatched his Secretary of

State today has left many

slack-jawed.

Rex Tillerson was flying back to

Washington from a long trip to North

Africa when he cut loose with

journalists but unknown to him the

president had signed his death

warrant and it would be death by

tweet. Mike Pompeo, director of the

CIA, will become the new Secretary

of State. He will do a fantastic

job. Thank you to Rex Tillerson for

his service. But Rex Tillerson is

not on Twitter so it fell to his

chief of staff to ring him and

inform them of his demise, only

after this from the president.

I

wish Rex a lot of good things, I

think he will be happy, much happier

now but I really appreciate his

service.

Rex Tillerson's fate was

probably sealed a long time ago when

he apparently called the president a

moron, a claim the Secretary of

State did not exactly deny.

I'm not

going to deal with petty stuff like

that. This is what I don't

understand about Washington. I'm not

from this place but the places I

come from we don't deal with that

kind of petty nonsense.

Then there

was the public undermining of the

Secretary of State by the President,

sending family members to do some of

the work that would normally be done

by America's top diplomat and public

shaming on Twitter like this. "I

Told Rex Tillerson that he's wasting

his time trying to negotiate with

little rocket man". The new man will

be Mike Pompeo. He recently spoke to

the BBC. On most things he's firmly

aligned with the president but on

Russia he acknowledges the threat

they continue to pose to US

elections.

I have every expectation

they will continue to try to do that

but I'm confident America will have

a free and fair election, and push

back in a way that is sufficiently

robust that the impact they have

robust that the impact they have on

our election won't be great.

Tillerson and Trump never gelled, it

was a corporate titan but now

political roadkill. Surely the place

with lowest life expectancy anywhere

in the world, being a member of the

Trump Administration.

Our top story this evening:

The Salisbury nerve agent attack,

President Trump gives Theresa May

his full support and says Russia

must provide unambiguous answers

about what happened.

Still to come:

Victims of the sex offender

John Worboys go to the High Court

to challenge his release.

Coming up on Sportsday on BBC News:

Can Manchester United join Liverpool

and Manchester City in the quarter

finals of the Champions League?

They face Sevilla at Old Trafford

tonight after a goalless first leg.

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond,

has delivered an upbeat

assessment of the UK economy,

claiming there's "light at the end

of the tunnel" and hinting

at possible public spending

increases in the Autumn.

Mr Hammond delivered his Spring

statement to MPs, saying growth

and employment were up and inflation

was set to fall.

He's also given the clearest

hint yet, to the BBC,

that he's prepared to increase

spending on health.

But Labour accused the Chancellor

of ignoring a public

sector funding crisis.

Here's our political

editor, Laura Kuennsberg.

Is there anybody out there?

Number Eleven didn't want us to pay

that much attention.

No fuss, no frills.

REPORTER:

Do you have good

news today, Chancellor?

Only the Chancellor

slipping off to work.

THE SPEAKER:

Statement,

the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

But what was this, a cheery

Philip Hammond rushing to his place?

If there are any Eeyores

in the chamber, they're over there.

I, meanwhile, am at my most

positively Tigger-like today.

Not much has changed

from the world outside.

True, the economy will grow

a little bit faster.

The debt will start to fall, just.

The day-to-day deficit,

remember that, it's gone.

But compared to other countries,

the economy is sluggish and slow.

Spending will stay stay tight.

I do not agree with those who argue

that every available penny must be

used to reduce the deficit.

And nor do I agree with the fantasts

opposite who argue that every

available penny should

be spent immediately.

But a glimmer for

the end of the year.

If, in the Autumn, the public

finances continue to reflect

the improvements that today's report

hints at, then, in accordance

with our balanced approach,

I would have capacity to enable

further increases

in public spending.

That might have delighted his side.

THE SPEAKER:

John McDonnell.

But Labour accused him of not

being in the real world.

Hasn't he listened to the doctors,

the nurses, the teachers,

the police officers,

the carers and even his own

councillors, they're telling him

they can't wait for the next budget.

They're telling him to act now.

But is he listening?

This is the eighth year,

the eighth year in a row

when a Conservative Chancellor has

said to the public that dealing

with the accounts is more important

than what they might feel they need.

Well, I hear what you're saying

Laura, but the facts

speak for themselves.

I've put £11 billion,

this is just what I've done,

since I've been Chancellor,

£11 billion additionally into public

spending in 2018-19 and have

promised to put more

into the National Health Service

this year if we get a deal on pay.

Many of your colleagues now believe

that the evidence is overwhelming

for more money to go into the NHS

in the longer term?

Well, the evidence is

clearly there that our

population is getting older.

That technology is developing

in a way that makes more and more

interventions possible,

and indeed desirable

in the health service.

That does represent

a continuous upward pressure.

Is the Cabinet at the moment

discussing how to find more money

for the health service,

as some of your

colleagues have told me?

This is my responsibility

to look at these things,

but of course we look

at all these issues.

As we approach the budget

in the autumn and then

the spending review in 2019,

of course we will look at all these

pressures across the piece.

Not good enough for these opponents

This is a Chancellor asleep at the

wheel. He had to show he was

prepared to take action. In nothing

in that statement creates

confidence.

The only solution is for

us to get the full portfolio of

economic powers, devolved to Wales.

What the Chancellor should have done

I think is to be much more open and

honest with the public and say there

is no more p public money for public

services, which is badly needed, we

will have to have an increase in

taxation to pay for it.

Not

admissions the Government is ready

to make. Hard choices that will

linger long after today. Along with

the Brexit bill, revealed to be

hanging around until 2064. Spring

has not yet really sprung. Laura

Kuenssberg, BBC News, Westminster.

Well, the Chancellor described

himself as positively tigger

like about the economy today.

How much reason does

he have to be cheerful?

Our economics editor, Kamal Ahmed,

has been looking at the figures.

The verdict?

Yes, he was at his

Tiggerish best. The data, there is

evidence for the Eeyores around him.

The reasons for that are multitude.

Some of the better news is that

borrowing is better and growth is

better. Inflation is coming down.

Wages are starting to go up. There

could be a reversal of that living

squeeze that so many people have

been suffering over recent years.

That is the better news. For the

Eeyores there is this big challenge.

It's a big challenge for the

Chancellor. The new normal for

growth in the UK is 1.5%. That is

well below the 2% to 2.5% we used to

enjoy. The OECD brought it into

sharp relief. It said Britain's

growth next year would be at the

bottom of the G20 leading

industrialised nations. We used to

be at the top. That is the big

challenge for Philip Hammond, growth

that is not as strong as it used to

be. Less income for the Government.

Less ability to spend money on those

big challenges of health, defence

and the police.

Thank you.

A teenager accused of planting

a bomb on a Tube train

at Parsons Green in London has said

it became a fantasy

for him when he was bored

during the school holidays.

Ahmed Hassan admitted building

the device that partially

detonated last September,

but denies attempted murder.

He told the court the idea

of being chased by police was "very

attractive" and he wanted attention.

Two victims of the serial sex

attacker John Worboys have

taken their case to the High Court.

They're challenging a decision

by the Parole Board to release

the former taxi driver from prison.

Worboys has served 10 years in jail

for attacks on 12 women in London.

Tom Burridge was in court.

John Worboys tricked and drugged

young women. Just eight years ago,

he was jailed indefinitely for one

rape and several assaults in the

back of his taxi. When the Parole

Board announced earlier this year he

was to be released, it caused

outrage especially among his

victims. Now, two women he attacked

are hoping to overturn that

decision. One of them was in the

High Court today with war boys

appearing via videolink as we learnt

why the Parole Board thought he was

fit for release. It believed war

boys had become "open and honest."

That he had taken "full

responsibility for his offences" and

he had, the Parole Board thought,

"shown insight into factors could

cause him to re-offend." The case

put forward by the victims'

barrister painted a very Devon

different picture. He said that he

had still only admitted the attacks

on 12 women for which he was

convicted. She presented graphic

evidence to back up the police's

assertion he actually raped and

assaulted more than 100 women.

According to these court documents,

as recent as September, prison

officials decided to keep Worboys in

a category A prison because he was

deemed of sufficient risk. That was

just three months before the Parole

Board decided he should be released.

Those campaigning on behalf of

Worboys' victims say vital evidence

was ignored.

We heard in court today

that the Parole Board didn't listen

to the women who had been raped by

John Worboys or look at any evidence

from the trial or the judge's

finding that hes with a risk to

empiano. It looks like the Parole

Board's decision was completely

irrational to release John Worboys

and it's good we are able it review

that decision now.

The Parole Board

will present its case over why this

conle convicted rapist was ready for

release. The reasoning behind such

decisions is normally kept secret.

This case has raised questions over

whether that should change. Tom

Burridge, BBC News, at the High

Court.

Disney's new film, A Wrinkle in

Time, premieres in London tonight.

The film, which stars Oprah Winfrey

and Reese Witherspoon,

is already topping the box

office in America.

And what makes this film different

is that it's the first time a black

woman has directed such a big

budget film, costing

more than $100 million.

But Ava DuVernay says for her it's

a bittersweet moment.

Our reporter, Chi Chi Izundu,

went to meet her.

Your father has accomplished

something extraordinary.

Based on the 1962 fantasy novel,

A Wrinkle in Time tells the story

of a young teenage girl whose

scientist father goes missing

and it's down to her to find him

and save the universe.

And the only one who

can stop it - is you.

Wrinkle currently holds the number

two spot at the US box office.

Start over, and we'll burn it all.

In at number one is the Marvel

epic Black Panther,

which has also just surpassed

the $1 billion mark worldwide.

To the rest of the world.

Plus, it's the first time in history

that two black directors

with budgets over $100 million have

ever taken the top two

spots at the box office.

An achievement the Wrinkle

director, Ava DuVernay,

has described as bitter sweet.

There are amazing women

throughout history of cinema

who were black women,

women of colour, who should have had

these opportunities,

but Hollywood and the industry

didn't give them the opportunities.

So because Hollywood has decided

to give me the opportunity,

it doesn't really have to do

anything with me, it has

to do with the time.

So it's bittersweet when we hear

about some of these

firsts happening in 2018.

Do you think Hollywood's changed

towards people of colour

being forefront and centre of film?

Changing, not changed.

Changed means it's done

and it's happened.

That's certainly not the case.

But changing, I hope so.

That hope is turning into a reality.

Since the start of her career,

Ava has insisted on a diverse cast

and crew, something other production

houses and actors are

now actively including

in their contracts in Hollywood.

Here we're here trying to make

something that loves a wider

audience and we say,

we love you back - if you're a girl,

if you're a person of colour,

if you're a Caucasian boy,

if you're a south east Asian woman,

if you're a Filipino boy.

We have everybody in this film

because we want the film to love

everyone so they can see a bit

of themselves in it.

Chi Chi Izundu, BBC News.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Ben Rich.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Ben Rich.

More snow on the way?

Yeah not until

the weekend and not for everyone.

Will firm up on the details of where

the snow will fall.

Today many of us

got to enjoy sunshine across western

parts of the UK. This picture came

to us from a weather watcher from

Helensburgh, blue skies overhead.

You can see from the satellite

picture the eastern side of Scotland

and eastern side of England had more

cloud. It produced the odd shower.

For most places the cloud has been

breaking up. So, as we go through

tonight, for central and eastern

areas where we keep clear skies

temperatures will dip away, close to

freezing. Some spots just below. A

touch of frost and mist patches as

well. Out west the beginnings of a

change. Thickening cloud, outbreaks

of rain and strengthening winds as

well. This area of low pressure will

be working its way in from the west

as we go into tomorrow morning.

Strong winds, which could touch gale

force in western areas, but those

winds coming from a mild place. Very

mild air moving across the country.

Whereas today the western areas had

the best of the brightness it will

be eastern areas with the best of

the brightingness. Eastern Scotland

and eastern England holding on to

sunshine which will turn hazy.

Further west a different story. For

the south-west of England persistent

rain that could cause flooding and

travel issues. That will fringe into

Wales and Northern Ireland could see

disruption from that persistent

rain. Across western areas there

will be strong winds, touching gale

force in the most exposed spots. All

the while those pars parts of

northern and eastern Scotland,

central and eastern England holding

on to the hazy sunshine. With the

mild air from the south 12 degrees

in Edinburgh and 14 in London. Don't

get used to temperatures like those.

As we head through the coming days

the temperatures slowly dipping

away. The north you see on Thursday

and Friday temperatures in Edinburgh

down to eight, seven, six degrees.

By the weekend significantly colder

wherever you are. There is the

potential for some snow. As I I said

at the start we have to keep a close

eye on the exact details of where.

at the start we have to keep a close

eye on the exact details of where.

Our main story. President Trump

gives Theresa May his full support

and says Russia must provide

unambiguous answers about what

happened. That's it from us.