16/03/2018 BBC News at Six

Police launch a murder inquiry

into the death of another

Russian exile in London.

Nikolai Glushkov, a Russian

businessman, was found dead

in his home on Monday.

It appears he was strangled.

Police are guarding his house.

They say there is nothing

to link his death to the poisoning

of the Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

With Mr Skripal and his daughter

still critical in hospital,

the Foreign Secretary blames

Vladimir Putin for the attack.

Our quarrel is with Putin's Kremlin,

and with his decision.

And we think it overwhelmingly

likely that it was his decision.

The Kremlin calls Mr Johnson's

comments shocking and unforgivable.

We'll bring you the latest

on this developing story.

Also tonight:

The Iraqi teenager found guilty

of the Parsons Green Tube bombing,

who was on the government's

counter-terror

programme at the time.

At least six people have been killed

in Miami after the collapse

of a bridge built in just six hours

less than a week ago.

And the women animators winning

awards and trying to encourage

other women to join them.

Coming up on Sportsday on BBC News,

Liverpool and Manchester City

will meet in the last eight

of the Champions League,

the first all-English

quarterfinal since 2011.

It is Liverpool

versus Manchester City.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

A murder inquiry has been launched

into the death of a Russian

businessman in London on Monday.

A postmortem has concluded

Nikolai Glushkov died

from compression to the neck,

suggesting he was strangled.

Detectives say there's nothing

at this stage to link the murder

with the nerve agent attacks

in Salisbury of Sergei Skripal

and his daughter.

Boris Johnson says he believes it's

"overwhelmingly likely" that

President Putin was personally

responsible for ordering

the death of Mr Skripal.

The Kremlin has called his comments

shocking and unforgivable.

Our diplomatic correspondent

James Landale has more.

Boris Johnson brought the Polish

Foreign Minister to a Battle of

Britain Museum today, a memorial to

a war fought in the air.

Every

single plane that Britain had was up

in the sky.

The Foreign Secretary

used the opportunity to push forward

Britain's current battle with

Russia, fought this time over the

airwaves, blaming Vladimir Putin

personally for the nerve agent

attack in Salisbury.

Our quarrel is

with Putin's Kremlin, and with his

decision. And we think it

overwhelmingly likely that it was

his decision to direct the use of a

nerve agent on the streets of the

UK, the streets of Europe, for the

first time since the Second World

War. That is why we are at odds with

Russia.

The Kremlin spokesmen issued

an angry statement, saying that

mentioning President Putin's name in

connection with the attack was

shocking and unpardonable dramatic

misconduct. The Kremlin also

confirmed that some British

diplomats based at the embassy in

Moscow would be expelled, and that

an announcement could come at any

moment. It is retaliation for the

UK's decision to expel 23 Russian

intelligence officers who will leave

London next Tuesday. Again, Russia's

Foreign Minister denied any

involvement in the Salisbury attack.

TRANSLATION:

I don't want to comment

on the current situation. Let it

stay on the conscience of those who

have started this shameless,

groundless business.

And as for the

language of the Defence Secretary?

TRANSLATION:

He says Russia should

go away and shut up. Maybe he lacks

education. I don't know.

Officials

at the Foreign Office believe the

robustness of written's response and

the unity of the Western allies has

surprised Russia, and they say they

are ready for any retaliation coming

from Moscow. As one source said, we

have more stuff in the locker. But

amid the diplomatic war of words,

the Metropolitan Police announced

that a Russian businessman who had

been found dead at his South West

London home on Monday, had been

murdered. The 68 it rolled Nikolai

Glushkov was a former associate of

known opponents of President Putin.

Detectives said they were keeping an

open mind but there was nothing to

link his death to the nerve agent

attack. In Salisbury, two weeks on,

police were still in protective gear

in investigating the attempted

murder of the former Russian

intelligence officer Sergei Skripal

and his daughter, Yulia, still

making the streets safe.

Our security correspondent

Gordon Corera is with me now.

Nikolai Glushkov, an exiled Russian

businessman in London

with an intriguing past in Moscow.

What more can you tell us about him?

Nikolai Glushkov was found at his

home on Monday night, dead. The

initial thought was that he may have

taken his own life. But the police,

given his background, put the

Counterterrorism Command on the

investigation and there was a

special postmortem yesterday which

today brought back details of the

cause of death as compression of the

neck, suggesting another person may

have been involved. The context is

that Nikolai Glushkov was a

controversial businessman who had

been put on trial in Russia in his

absence for large-scale embezzlement

and fraud. In the UK, he was linked

to Boris Berezovsky, another

businessman who had come to the UK,

a critic of Vladimir Putin, and

himself died in 2013. Nikolai

Glushkov have thought that death was

suspicious. Those circumstances have

put Counterterrorism Command in

charge of the investigation, but

they are stressing that there is no

link that they have found to the

events in Salisbury, and no

suggestion of any kind of poisoning

in this context and this

investigation. But clearly they will

be taking it seriously because of

the wider context of concerns about

threats to Russians in the UK at the

moment.

Steve Rosenberg is in Moscow.

What's the latest reaction

there to the developments here?

Well, here, we are still waiting for

Russia's retaliation to UK

sanctions. The Kremlin spokesmen

this morning suggested that an

announcement could come at any

moment, but he said that hours ago,

and there is still nothing. It feels

as if Moscow is in no hurry to

reveal its response. What we have

been hearing today are Russian

officials criticising British

government ministers. The Kremlin

slammed Boris Johnson. The Russian

Foreign Minister said Gavin

Williamson, the Defence Secretary,

was a nice young man who lacked

education. Meanwhile, Moscow

continues to pump out all kinds of

conspiracy theories about the attack

in Salisbury, which appear designed

to spread confusion and to sow

doubt. On Russian TV today, one

Russian official claimed the nerve

agent used in Salisbury have been

produced not in Russia but in

Britain or America. We have heard

other Russian officials suggest that

this whole drama has been dreamt up

by the British government to

distract attention from the problems

of Brexit.

Thank you.

Police say that 46 people have been

to Salisbury District Hospital

expressing concerns since

the attack, but none have been

admitted to hospital.

Investigators say they've identified

131 people who've potentially been

in contact with the nerve agent.

It's now 12 days since

the poisoning, and our correspondent

Duncan Kennedy is in Salisbury.

This will have had a sizeable

impact on the community

and local businesses.

Very much so, Fiona. Those numbers

showed just how many people have

been caught up in this incident over

the past two weeks. Yet again

tonight there is police activity all

over Salisbury. All of that activity

has led to a drop in the numbers

coming into Salisbury and is having

a negative affect on some of the

businesses here, although the city

says it is open and safe.

It has been an extraordinary two

weeks for the 50,000 people of

Salisbury, a city that attracts

4 million visitors to its medieval

riches, but a city now redefined

by its connection with espionage and

poison.

The unwanted attention

is harming local businesses,

like this fudge shop.

It is half a mile from the scene

of the nerve agent attack.

Even here, customers

have disappeared.

We're at least two thirds

down in terms of taking.

The street are pretty much empty.

Charity shops are also suffering.

This one helps children

with life-threatening illnesses.

Sales are down 70%.

Just how bad is business?

These little children rely

on our little shops to actually make

a difference to them.

So I really need to try and get

all the customers back in.

Even the homeless are feeling

helpless because of

the drop in numbers.

How much fewer people

do think are coming?

50%.

50%, yes, definitely.

What does that mean

for what you earn?

I don't earn much at all.

Not much at all.

Last night, local

councillors agreed a

package of measures to help

the city, including

free park-and-ride.

Most here say the police presence

doesn't bother them.

Seeing all this police activity

wouldn't stop you coming?

No, not at all.

I hope it doesn't put

people off using the

local businesses.

You don't have any worries

walking around the city?

No, none at all.

I'm fine with it.

This city may be at the centre

of an unprecedented investigation.

But the message it wants

to give is that it

is safe and open.

An Iraqi teenager, who sought asylum

in the UK as a child,

has been found guilty

of the London Tube bombing

at Parson's Green.

18-year-old Ahmed Hassan

left his bomb on a packed

Underground train during rush hour.

The device only partially detonated,

but injured 50 people.

It's emerged that Hassan

was on the government's

de-radicalisation programme,

Prevent, while he was

plotting the attack.

The government says

there are lessons to be

learned from the case.

June Kelly reports.

Ahmed Hassan buying batteries

and screwdrivers in Asda -

everyday items but, for a violent

extremist, part

of his bomb-making kit.

He's asked for ID.

He may have looked young but Hassan

is said to be mature, highly

intelligent and calculating.

CCTV cameras captured

his journey as the

following morning he left home early

with his bomb in a bag and a

murderous plan in his head.

He was setting off to cause carnage

on the London Underground system.

He made for a train and then,

a few stops down the District Line,

he got off, empty-handed,

his bomb on a timer left behind.

Just after the train pulled

into Parsons Green station,

the bomb detonated, creating

a massive fireball which rolled

down the carriage.

Passengers were left burning

and screaming in pain.

A gassy flare ran up

above my head, singed my hair.

There was panic all

around me on the train.

People were diving off the train.

Fortunately the doors

were open so I managed to

get off the train.

My initial reaction

was that there was a fault

on the train rather than a device.

Hassan had strapped

shrapnel to the device -

nuts, bolts, screws and knives

to cause maximum death and injury.

It was said to be pure luck that his

bomb only partially exploded.

This computer-generated graphic

shows the scene in the

carriage after the attack.

He had used the explosive TATP,

known as Mother of Satan.

At Parsons Green a major emergency

operation got under way.

Terrified passengers

were taken off the train,

injured commuters carried out

of the station.

Meanwhile, the teenage bomber left

London and went on the run.

The year before he declared

it was his duty to hate Britain

because his father had been killed

by coalition forces in Iraq.

At the time of his attack

he was on the government's

de-radicalisation programme,

Prevent, aimed at turning people

away from terrorism.

He was very cunning and devious and,

on the face of it, Hassan

was engaged on the programme

but coming back to his devious

nature, he kept it very secretive

in relation to what he was doing,

what he was planning,

and nobody around him actually

knew what his plot was.

24 hours on from the attack,

firearms officers were surrounding

Hassan's house in Sunbury in Surrey.

Inside were his petrified

elderly foster parents,

Penny and Ron Jones.

This was a couple who had received

MBEs from the Queen for fostering

hundreds of children.

Ahmed Hassan repaid them

for giving him a home by secretly

building a bomb in their kitchen.

And it came out in court that

the teenager staying in their spare

bedroom had told immigration

officials he had been kidnapped and

trained to kill by the

Islamic State group.

It is understood the Joneses

were not given his full story.

After the bombing,

Hassan headed for Dover.

He was arrested as he tried to flee

the country which had given

him a home and an education

but for which he felt only hatred.

He will be sentenced next week.

How was it that a programmme

designed to prevent him taking part

in terror activity failed to spot

that he was planning a terror

attack at that very time?

It is extraordinary. From his first

immigration interview alarm bells

were ringing over Hassan. He said he

had been trained to kill by Islamic

State fighters. He was caught

looking at IS propaganda on his

phone, and was understood to have

sent money to them, and he told his

tutor it was his duty to hate

Britain. He was then under the

control of Surrey County Council,

who were looking after his welfare,

and they decided he was a candidate

for the government de-radicalisation

programme, Prevent. But we are told

he did not have a specialist

mentors. So at the same time as he

was seemingly engaged on the

programme, he was building a bomb.

Surrey County Council have

apologised for shortcomings, saying

lessons have been learned and

improvements made. They have also

apologised to the foster couple.

They say they were told about his

background. We have been told they

were not given the full picture.

South Africa's former president

Jacob Zuma is to face prosecution

for 16 charges of corruption

relating to a multi-billion dollar

arms deal before he took office.

The charges, which Mr Zuma denies,

include counts of fraud,

racketeering and money laundering.

Mr Zuma was forced

to resign last month.

Syria's government is urging people

to leave the last rebel-held

areas of Eastern Ghouta,

as thousands flee for their lives.

Dozens have died in renewed

shelling, and the Syrian army says

it has retaken 70% of

the territory from the rebels.

Some 20,000 people have been

forced from their homes.

In Florida, at least six people have

been killed after a newly built

bridge collapsed onto a busy

road in Miami.

The bridge had been put up in six

hours just six days ago

using a method called "accelerated

construction" to avoid

traffic disruption.

Ten people have been taken

to hospital, and the emergency

services have been working

at the scene since last night.

Here's how the disaster unfolded.

The bridge at FIU just

collapsed out of nowhere.

There's cars stuck under there.

We tried to get people

out but we couldn't.

They were all stuck.

Two construction workers also

fell from the crane.

I mean, it was horrible,

it was a disaster.

What I saw was it slowly coming

down, and the dust and the cement

just shattering on top of the cars.

We exhausted last night

all of our search and rescue

capabilities in the hopes

of finding additional survivors.

We used auditory, we used visual,

we used our canines,

and we determined that there is no

longer any survivors.

That's why we transitioned

into this recovery mode.

The time is just after a quarter

past six.

Our top story this evening...

Police have launched a murder

inquiry into the death

of a Russian businessman,

apparently strangled

in his London home.

And still to come...

The three-mile duel that

saw Native River win

the Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

Coming up in Six Nations Sports

Direct later we look at the final

weekend in this year's tournament

with Ireland the champions but can

they do the grand slam -- sports

day.

It's an industry that's estimated

to generate more than £300 million

a year and it's growing fast.

And last night, the best

in the animation industry were

celebrated at their annual awards.

A record number of women

were nominated this year.

One of the winners, Paloma Baeza,

believes more needs to be done

to encourage young women

to be animators.

Chi Chi Izundu went to meet her.

Hiya!

It's an enemies to friends story.

So nice to finally

have some company.

A polar bear and a grizzly bear

forced into survival together

because of their changing

environments.

We could team up!

Four paws better than two, right?

But this year's winner

for the favourite film

at the British Animation Awards says

it's important more women

in the industry are given

opportunity to create.

Young women coming up,

even little girls coming up feel

that this is something

that is achievable.

So it is important,

it is important because it puts it

there as a possibility as opposed

to feeling swamped in a world

where it feels unattainable.

According to 2017 figures,

the animation industry

employs around 7750 people.

Out of that number, just

over 2300 are women.

But look at the percentage

of creators in comparison to back

office roles for women -

only 21% are animators.

The rest work in distribution,

sales and marketing.

Demand for animation is increasing

with the growing popularity

of streaming and immersive

experiences like augmented reality

and virtual reality.

And Paloma says that should create

more chances for female-led stories.

What we all want in the industry

is for equality so it's not

a situation where a woman

is being hired

because she's a woman.

Really, parity and equality

comes from opportunity

and equal opportunity and it

being an even playing field.

The last of the dried supplies.

Chi Chi Izundu, BBC News.

The clothing chain Topman

has apologised for any

offence that was caused,

after criticism that

a T-shirt it had been selling

could be seen to refer

to the Hillsborough disaster.

The red top, which has now been

withdrawn from sale,

has a large 96 on the back

and is being interpreted by some

Liverpool fans as a reference

to the number of people who died

in the 1989 disaster.

Topman say the design was inspired

by a Bob Marley song.

The Royal College of Nursing says

hundreds of nursing students at nine

universities have been hit

with errors in their

student loan payments.

The students were told they'd been

overpaid between £600 and £5,000

by the Student Loans Company

and to expect no more

payments this year.

Some students say they've been left

struggling to pay bills and rent.

The father of a female engineering

student allegedly attacked

by a group of women in Nottingham

has called for "justice"

for his daughter.

18-year-old Mariam Moustafa died

on Wednesday, nearly a month

after she was assaulted on a bus

in the city centre.

Nottinghamshire Police says

there is nothing to suggest

it was a hate crime,

although they are

"keeping an open mind".

Sima Kotecha sent us

the latest from Nottingham.

18-year-old Mariam Moustafa, an

engineering student in Nottingham.

Her family are from Egypt and came

here for a better life.

Her sister and father

described her as loving,

cheerful and intelligent.

Mariam was always looking

up, looking forward

for being in engineering.

She was a hard worker.

She always put all her effort

to being in engineering.

In February, as the teenager

was making her way to see her mother

and sister, she was attacked.

She caught a bus on this street

to try to get away from the girls.

However, they followed her.

Police say she was

punched several times.

She died on Wednesday.

This footage on social media shows

what happened on the bus.

You move out of my way,

you move out of my way.

Yesterday police said there was no

information at this stage

to suggest it was a hate crime

but that they were

keeping an open mind.

She was discharged from hospital

after the attack but then she fell

ill and was readmitted.

That's when she went into a coma.

The family gave us these pictures.

For me to now think that she's gone,

I still feel like she's around me,

I feel like she's going to come

knocking on the door.

But that's not happening.

The Egyptian government,

as well as her family,

have called on the UK authorities

to bring those who did

this to justice quickly.

A 17-year-old girl was arrested

on suspicion of assault but has been

released on conditional bail.

In a tweet this afternoon,

the Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, assured the Egyptian

authorities that Nottinghamshire

Police was investigating the case.

Sima Kotecha, BBC News, Nottingham.

The first polar bear cub born

in Britain for a quarter

of a century has been filmed

for the first time after

being born in December

in the Scottish Highlands.

As you can see, mum

and cub are doing well.

The footage was captured by remote

cameras for a Channel 4 documentary.

Highland Wildlife Park is yet

to find out if the cub is a boy

or a girl, but it's already proving

to be a confident and

curious little character.

In a thrilling two-horse race

finale, Native River,

ridden by champion jockey

Richard Johnson, has beaten

the favourite, Might Bite,

to win the Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

It's Johnson's second Gold Cup win

and comes nearly two

decades after his first.

Our Sports Correspondent,

Andy Swiss, was there

to see all the action.

Andy.

It was an incredible battle from

start to finish.

Cheltenham has seen some

extraordinary battles over the years

but this was right up there, two

forces leading from start to finish

but in the end the day and the Gold

Cup belongs to Native River.

In racing you need that bit

of optimism and with what seemed

like the most open of Gold Cups...

Any more bets?

Punters certainly required it.

So many factors,

not least the soggy,

stamina-sapping conditions.

But while there were 15

runners, this proved

the ultimate two-horse race.

In the white nose band Native River,

and next to him Might Bite.

The rest mere observers

as fence after fence,

furlong after furlong,

they slugged it out.

Going into the last,

seemingly inseparable...

Who will prevail on

the Cheltenham hill?

Native River and Might Bite...

But on that final, gruelling

gradient it was Native River

who edged ahead, a remarkable duel

and a remarkable victory.

He wins the Gold Cup!

For jockey Richard Johnson,

a second Gold Cup win some 18

years after his first.

This was even sweeter.

I'm still a bit speechless now.

The first time I don't think

I realised how amazing

it was and how hard it is.

18 years later, you realise just

to get one of these horse to ride,

let alone to win the race,

is very difficult.

And delight too for Dorset

trainer Colin Tizzard -

once a dairy farmer and now part

of a Gold Cup winning team on a day

when leading from the start

produced the perfect finish.

Andy Swiss, BBC News, Cheltenham.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Sarah Keith-Lucas.

It has been like a spring day in

London but snow is on the way?

What a contrast tomorrow is going to

be, there has been some spring

sunshine for some, but some snow in

the north but in the south it has

felt pleasant. This was the sunset

in Kent. This is set to be the calm

before the snow because things will

turn more wintry over the weekend, a

dip in temperature with snow and ice

with the Met Office issuing amber

warnings and disruption is likely

because of it. We have some snow

showers already in Scotland, rain

further south in north-east England

but moving through tonight 's those

snow showers fall too low levels and

push further south west. For many it

will be a subzero start of the

weekend, some snow showers from the

word go and we will continue to is

it the cold air coming in. High

pressure in Scandinavia and the

easterly winds rolling around. On

Saturday, snow showers from the word

go across southern England, south

Wales as well and with the easterly

wind a mix of Sunnis above and

scattered snow showers almost

anywhere. Tempered is struggling to

get much above freezing and with the

wind chill it can feel as -8. The

driest weather probably in Northern

Ireland and western Scotland but

elsewhere we could have some heavy

and disrupted snow. These are the

amber warnings for ice and snow,

particularly these three regions,

but you could see some disruptive

snow almost anywhere. Moving into

Sunday, still be easterly wind

bringing further snow showers, some

brighter weather coming in from the

East later. Another very cold day,

particularly when you are exposed to

the biting easterly wind.

A reminder of our main story...

A reminder of our main story...

Police have launched a murder

inquiry into the death

of a Russian businessman,

apparently strangled

in his London home.

That's all from the BBC News at Six

so it's goodbye from me

and on BBC One we now join the BBC's

news teams where you are.