we have witnessed large rocks raining down on police officers and police vehicles being set alight. and our other main story on the programme tonight: israel hits a built—up neighbourhood in lebanon's capital beirut. one woman is killed and others injured. building on england's green belt: the government gives details of its plans for 1.5 million new homes by 2029. it isa it is a golden moment! in paris! the gymnast simone biles dazzles the paris olympics, leading the us to victory in the women's team event. gold to great britain for the men! and a spectacular swim by team gb earns them a gold in the men's 4x200 freestyle relay. and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents

in the uk and around the world. hello and welcome to southport, a town still very much reeling from the attack yesterday in this street, an attack on a taylor swift inspired dance class for children, which has left three little girls dead and many others critically wounded. today, we have had the names of all those little girls who lost their lives. nine—year—old alice aguiar, six—year—old bebe king and elsie stancombe, who was seven.

earlier this evening, hundreds attended a vigil in the centre of the town to pay their respects. i was at that vigil and we will hear more of that later. but also tonight, there have been violent clashes between protesters and police. you might be able to hear police helicopters above us. merseyside police tonight have described that violence as "sickening". we will have more on that in just a moment, but first, my colleague judith mortiz has more on the victims of yesterday's attack. alice aguiar, only nine years old, his parents said today she will always be their princess and told her, keep smiling and dancing like you love to do. elsie stancombe, smiling proudly for her school photograph. the head remembers how she used to love to be carried to lessons on her father's shoulders. and bebe king,

her milk teeth missing, whose school says it has lost one of the shining stars and his family says it has no words to describe the devastation that has hit them. how can you find the words? three children who were just dancing, now they are gone. tonight, thousands turned up to a vigil in the town to gain collective strength as a community, each person struggling to take all of this in. the firefighters of green watch who went to help the children yesterday are numb stop the ambulance crews who raced to save them and treat their wounds feel the same. all anyone can do now is show their sorrow and offer their support. my sorrow and offer their support. my daughter goes to a drama club is very close, so it is close to home. obviously, if she went to a holiday club, you think your child is going to be safe, and something like this happens, it is absolutely awful. it is a place we would all go as mummies _ it is a place we would all go as mummies and mummies to be, to go and

feelsafe_ mummies and mummies to be, to go and feel safe and _ mummies and mummies to be, to go and feel safe and to be with our children_ feel safe and to be with our children there. it is the most gorgeous— children there. it is the most gorgeous place. you would never, ever think— gorgeous place. you would never, ever think of anything like that would — ever think of anything like that would happen. emotions have been near the surface all day. the prime minister brought flowers and came to pay his respects, but found that, for some, feelings were riding high. the person i've held as a child, and you can't do bleep! come here, sweetheart. he camt— come here, sweetheart. he can't do— come here, sweetheart. he can't do bleep! - come here, sweetheart. he can't do bleep!- come here, sweetheart. he can't do bleep! the prime minister! _ minister! i- minister! i came here to pay my minister! — i came here to pay my respects minisieii — i came here to pay my respects to the victims _ i came here to pay my respects to the victims and families who are going _ the victims and families who are going through raw pain and grief that most— going through raw pain and grief that most of us can't imagine. i can't _ that most of us can't imagine. i can't imagine it as a dad myself. to -et can't imagine it as a dad myself. to get a _ can't imagine it as a dad myself. to get a briefing from the chief constable and emergency services about _ constable and emergency services about the — constable and emergency services about the ongoing investigation, but also, importantly, to have the opportunity to say to those that were _ opportunity to say to those that were responding yesterday from the emergency services, to say a personal— emergency services, to say a

personal thank you to them and to shake _ personal thank you to them and to shake their— personal thank you to them and to shake their hand and to say that, as prime _ shake their hand and to say that, as prime minister, on behalf of the country. — prime minister, on behalf of the country, we are grateful for what they did~ — they did. more information has they die. — more information has been emerging about the heroes of this tragedy. this is leanne lucas, who is understood to have been running the children's dance class, and who is thought to have been stabbed while trying to protect them. her condition is not currently known. and this isjoel verity, a window cleaner who went to confront the knifeman before waiting for police to arrive and then carried a child away from the scene. his friends have been speaking about his bravery. in that situation, you know, no one knows how they are going to react, no one knows if their fight or flight is going to kick in, and which one will kick in, and in that second, being a father himself, i thinkjoel... he heard kids and thought he had to help out. he went straightaway. he was truly fearless, and i am personally so proud of him.

the children had been at a taylor swift themed dance workshop. today, the star posted her thoughts on instagram, saying the horror of the attack is washing over her, and she is completely in shock. fans of the singer have raised a quarter of £1 million to support the families involved. some were at the vigil in the town centre, determined to keep positive against these odds. especially, southport is our holiday resort. _ especially, southport is our holiday resort. and — especially, southport is our holiday resort, and unfortunately, we find ourselves— resort, and unfortunately, we find ourselves in a situation where we are how— ourselves in a situation where we are how on — ourselves in a situation where we are now on the map for all the wrong reasons, _ are now on the map for all the wrong reasons, and — are now on the map for all the wrong reasons, and it's so, so sad to be in that— reasons, and it's so, so sad to be in that situation. there _ in that situation. there are many still waiting anxiously for news and praying for those who remain critically hurt, and tonight, three families are devastated. unable to believe that their little girls aren't here any more. as we say, in the last few hours, we have seen violent disturbances here,

demonstrators chanting far right slogans clashing with police. missiles have been thrown. one officer was injured by a missile, and a police van was set alight. a 17—year—old man remains in custody following yesterday's attack. we know he was born in cardiff to rwandan parents and moved to the southport area in 2013. our home affairs correspondent daniel sanford has the latest. tonight, the tragedy of southport descended into violence. a few hundred people had gathered outside a local mosque for a protest. they had been fired up by social media posts that suggested, incorrectly, and is alarmist link to monday's stabbings. —— an islamist link. now the protest has turned into a small riot, with large rocks being thrown at police officers wearing riot helmets and carrying shields.

at times, there was extreme violence, as heavy rocks rained down on officers, and a police vehicle was set on fire. the home secretary had earlier warned about disinformation links to the attack. this seems to have been one of the consequences. the suspect has no known links to islam. yesterday, the usual quiet of this modern cul—de—sac, where the 17—year—old suspect lived, in banks, just outside southport, had been shattered by the arrival of armed police officers, and today, the close remained closed, as forensic officers meticulously gathered evidence. the 17—year—old is being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. the suspect was born in cardiff to parents who had moved to the uk from rwanda. the family, including his older brother, moved to the southport area i! family, including his older brother, moved to the southport area 11 years ago, and to this in banks seven

years ago. we do know his name, but it is unlawfulfor us years ago. we do know his name, but it is unlawful for us to identify him, because he is under 18 and involved criminal proceedings. neighbours say he left his home in banks yesterday in a taxi at around 11:30am. he was wearing a covid style facemask. around a quarter of an hour later, a man arrived in a taxi on hart street. the police were called at 11:1t7am to reports of a stabbing at the taylor swift themed dance eventjust off hart street. the suspect was arrested at the scene. this sd the suspect was arrested at the scene. this 3d animation shows how the hart space dance studio, where the hart space dance studio, where the stabbings happen, is down a cul—de—sac, with only one way in and out, so it may have been difficult for people to escape once the attack started. the new home secretary was in southport this morning to lay flowers and meet the police, fire and ambulance staff who responded to what she called an unimaginable attack. it's beyond every parent's worst

nightmare. you had what should have been a children's party, having fun at the beginning of the summer holidays, could then turn into something so devastating. with police forensics teams poring over the streets around the attack site today, 17—year—old remains in custody but has not been charged. but that was before tonight's riot, in which one officer suffered a broken nose. merseyside police said the violence was sickening for a community already devastated by the tragic loss of three young lives. we have retreated from those scenes of violence to send our report, and merseyside police said that it thought those responsible were supporters of the english defence league. the home secretary yvette cooper has condemned the violence as appalling and a total disgrace. she said that those responsible were thugs who have no respect for a grieving community, and certainly what we saw tonight, with the

protesters cheering as a bloodied police officer was led away from the scene, is very much at odds with what we have experienced in the rest of the town. daniel, thank you. let's pick up on some of that. my let's pick up on some of that. my colleaguejudith moritz was with me, and as daniel suggested there, dark scenes tonight, but not perhaps representative of really how this town feels? i think that's absolutely right, jane. this is a community that has been spending today in quiet reflection, and now we have the sound of the police helicopter overhead. we have had sirens all night. this is a town that has been bringing flowers here to this cordon, and the smell of those looms is now mixing with the acrid smoke thatis is now mixing with the acrid smoke that is rising behind us. this is not a community which wants this to be the lasting image here, this violence, and they have been saying that to me just tonight as i came to

speak to you. one lady stopped me in the street and said, please tell them to stop. this is not how we feel. and at the vigil, people saying the same thing. lastly, i should say the chief constable recently reiterating that she believes that this trouble tonight is not the result of local people. she says people who don't care, in fact, about this community. thank you, judith moritz. and that vigiljust a few hours ago in the centre of the town was attended by probably several thousand people. it was extremely moving, extremely sobering. many, many people in tears, lots of people laying flowers. people there of all ages. i went along and spoke to some of the people there about why they wanted to be there. bells toll my children were in a club very

nearby, just one street away. i had a phone call to come and collect my children, and nothing too much was said, really, but ijust knew i had to get there straight away. i could tell by the tone of the lady's voice. i work in local schools as a dinner lady, so a lot of these children, i've seen doing mobile work, and it's hard. and come september, their little faces ain't gonna be in them schools. one of them actually was in my little boy's year, just above or below, sorry, so he's recognised her on the news, and i can't comprehend how any parent would feel, losing a child. so your son has recognised... yeah, on the news. ..one of the little girls? yeah, when the photos came up. just very close to home. my daughter's nine, and she loves taylor swift, and...

and striking how many people have come here tonight. it's amazing, the outpouring, but this is the north—west of england for you. you know, we are passionate, we really love everybody. you know, it's a welcoming community, the whole of the north—west of england, and it's something that... we'll pull together. we always do as a community in the north—west. we're there for everybody. you know, we're there for everybody. it is worth saying that that was just a tiny number of the many people i spoke to at that vigil this evening, and it was really striking how many people were very happy to chat. they wanted to talk, to talk passionately about this sort of town and why they wanted to be at that vigil, but they said the emotions are still so raw, so many of them said to me, ijust cannot be on camera. it is too raw, it is too soon. one man i ended up speaking to

turned out to be a police officer, and he was here on the street yesterday at this tragedy. he was at the vigil this evening with young children of his own, and said, i am born and bred in this town, and that is why i have to be at this vigil with all these people tonight. more from here later. and just before we move on, just a reminder that there'll be more from southport on newsnight tonight — here's victoria derbyshire. we will have more from the ground, we will talk to a local councillor in southport following those clashes in southport following those clashes in the town involving what merseyside police believe our supporters of the english defence league and we will also get insight into the significance of the israeli strikes on beirut tonight, join us on bbc two and iplayer in about ten minutes. in our other major story tonight,

israel has carried out an airstrike on the lebanese capital, beirut, in what it says was a targeted move against a commander of the militant group hezbollah, which is backed by iran. the strike happened in a heavily built—up neighbourhood. one woman was killed and emergency services are still looking for survivors. israel blames hezbollah for an attack last weekend in the israeli—occupied golan heights during which 12 young israelis died. the group denies involvement. from lebanon, here's our correspondent, quentin somerville. israel's response came just before sunset. israel's response came 'ust before sunset. , ., , , ., sunset. explosions could be heard across the city. — sunset. explosions could be heard across the city, an _ sunset. explosions could be heard across the city, an attack - sunset. explosions could be heard across the city, an attack that - across the city, an attack that lebanon has been bracing itself against the days. the target, a hezbollah commander is rob blames for the attack in the occupied golan

heights. emergency services here are still working to rescue the injured, at least one woman died and dozens have been left wounded, it is not known if the commander was killed. this is the building that was struck by an israeli drone we believe, three rockets hit the building, as you can see this as a heavily built—up civilian area but israel says it had a hezbollah commander it holds responsible for the attack on its sites. it is not sure whether he actually made it out alive, but we know that it's a least one woman killed in a number of people injured here tonight. this area of southern beirut was the same area over which a hamas official was targeted and killed by israel back injanuary this year, the big question now though is, what comes next? israel has said its response will be severe and it would take a number of days so the strike may not be the end of

it. a new footage has emerged tonight of saturday's attack in the golan — children playing quietly, then an air raid siren. there was no time to take cover. it left 12 dead, all children and young adults, watching a nearby football match. hezbollah, which has fired thousands of rockets and missiles into israel in the last ten months, denies it was behind the attack. the iranian—backed group stands shoulder to shoulder with hamas, but it's far better armed and its fighters more formidable. the conflict here was mainly contained to border areas and military targets, the unwritten rules of this almost war. but saturday's attack on the golan on civilians has pushed lebanon and israel to the brink. the united states and others have been working to contain things. how hezbollah responds to tonight's assassination attempt, and what israel does next, will determine whether war here is inevitable.

quentin somerville, bbc news, beirut. the white house says an all—out war between israel and hezbollah is not inevitable, but there are widespread fears of an escalation. our correspondent, paul adams, is in jerusalem. what's your assessment of the situation tonight? this was clearly a very targeted attack. israel did notjust lash out after the events of the weekend, it took three days to pick a target and then went after that target. it is also quite noticeable that they have not issued any changes in terms of the home front, instructions to civilians, no indication that there was an anticipated significant hezbollah response, that is

interesting. israeli officials are quoted as saying the ball is in hezbollah's court. i think the israelis are convinced this has been successful, in fact, israelis are convinced this has been successful, infact, in israelis are convinced this has been successful, in fact, in the last few minutes they have issued a statement saying they do indeed believe that their intended target is dead, in fact the statement gives a long account of his history and involvement in attacks against israel, stretching way back into the 19905. israel, stretching way back into the 1990s. so i think they feel that this was a very deliberate, very precise strike, israeli officials have been saying that israel's response will be tough but that it could go on for some days, so it may not be an end of the matter and obviously israeli officials have been meeting late tonight and they will be keen to see what the responses. i should just point out one other development, they have been explosions that have targeted pro—iranian shi'ite militias in iraq

tonight, we don't know who is behind those attacks, possibly the united states, possibly israel, but when i spoke to a senior israeli military official over the weekend about israel's response he was a point to point out that all of this could be traced out to iran. —— he was at pains. angela rayner, who is housing secretary as well as deputy prime minister, has been explaining her plans to build homes on some so—called green belt land in order to tackle the housing crisis in england. the green belt is protected and accounts for 13% of land in england, but parts of it are poor quality, ugly areas such as wasteland and disused car parks, and those parts, known as the grey belt, are where the housing secretary wants local authorities to get building. angela rayner says 370,000 new homes must be built in england each year to hit labour's target of 1.5 million by the end of this parliament. here's our political

correspondent, alex forsyth. this is what the government wants to see — diggers in the ground, homes being built to help the many who are struggling with housing and the wider economy. hiya, nice to meet you. the housing secretary visiting a development in basingstoke plans to get tough on councils with new housing targets meaning many more homes in some areas, though fewer in london. there will also be changes on what kind of land can be built on. the government says the first option should be land that has been built on before in towns and cities but, where there's not enough of it, green belt could be used. that's land between towns and cities that's protected from development. but ministers argue that's not always beautiful green fields — it could be disused petrol stations or car parks. it's not the rolling hills of suffolk that we are building on, and there are real strict rules, our golden rules about making sure that there's 50% affordable within there, meeting the local housing needs as well. where there is local opposition to development, what are you going to do — are you just going to

ignore it or override it? no, by having mandatory housing targets and making sure that all areas have local plans, actually, they have to engage and consult on those plans as part of that process. i think the other strand to it is making sure that the infrastructure is there. but to get a sense of the challenge, just look at st albans — close to london with housing demand and prices hugely high, but some 80% of land is green belt with some already earmarked for development. so those in brown are housing... the council leader says there's simply not enough space to build the homes needed in existing towns, but agrees green belt sites must come with the schools, doctors and transport that's needed. we must have the support, which will have to come from national government in some shape or form, to fund the infrastructure and the social housing. there are going to be clear housing targets. what's your take on that? local circumstances should be reflected in those targets. one size does not fit all.

for some, any erosion of the green belt is a concern. near st albans, parish councillor richard has long been campaigning to protect it. i, like people over the last six decades, have thought - that the green belt should be there to stop urban sprawl. l it's good for us as humans to be out in the open. - if we build over it, it's gone forever. i finding ways to convince sceptical communities will be crucial if the government is to build the homes it has promised that are so central to its plans to get the economy moving. alex forsyth, bbc news. if the paris olympics have a superstar, it is the american gymnast simone biles. she pulled out of the tokyo games three years ago with the so—called "twisties", a debilitating mental health issue which causes a lack of spatial awareness for gymnasts. but today she stormed back to claim a gold medal in the women's team event. natalie pirks reports. simone biles has stood here so many times, but her fifth olympic gold

was only half the story for a woman now empowered to write her own endings. in the sweltering sun, stars and stripes fluttered in place of the tricolour as far as the eye could see. usa! hollywood royalty was in the house, but there was only one star fans were here for. go, simone biles! go, simone! biles started her road back to olympics glory on vault. this, would you believe, her easier routine. as herfamous friends looked on, the mental health issues of tokyo seemed a world away. for team gb, becky downie was back on the biggest stage for the first time in eight years. this is massive. it was also the heavenly birthday of her brother, josh, who died three years ago. the 32—year—old harnessed all her emotion to nail britain's highest—scoring routine. wow, becky! but with all lenses trained on the four foot seven phenomenon, biles showed she was human after all. oh, wow, that was a bit wild!

it was still enough to keep her team way out front. well, look at this — standing room only as team usa close in on yet another olympic gold with just the floor to go. this was biles' redemption song. and when the troubles of tokyo fell from her shoulders, with every twist and tumble, 15,000 rose as one. and that routine marks the start of her golden return to the olympics! britain was simply brilliant but fell agonisingly short in fourth behind brazil. but the usa were unmatched for biles' 38th major medal and first of a possible five here. hear the roar as the gold medal is hung around her neck. after opting to focus on her mental health after the last olympics, some labelled her a quitter. how foolish they must feel now. natalie pirks, bbc news, paris. and there was more british success

at the olympics today with gold medals in the trap shooting and in the swimming pool, where the men's 4x200m freestyle relay team defended their title, as patrick gearey reports. trap shooting is sport at its most clinical. the world sealed off, the target locked on. a nerveless world in which nathan hales rarely fails. the world record—holder in his first olympic final. the arm remained steady, the aim remains true. it came down to a shoot off and, when his chinese opponent missed, hales had a margin for error that of course he wouldn't need. and nathan hales destroys that target and throws his _ fist up into the air! hales, a 28—year—old from chatham in kent, hit 48 of 50 targets, a new olympic record for the new olympic champion. and finally those sharp eyes could

water, but how had he shot it all out? it water, but how had he shot it all out? ., , , water, but how had he shot it all out? . , , ' . out? it was very difficult, especially _ out? it was very difficult, especially when - out? it was very difficult, especially when we - out? it was very difficult, especially when we knew| out? it was very difficult, - especially when we knew who was out? it was very difficult, _ especially when we knew who was in the medals and try to stay grounded the medals and try to stay grounded the whole way through, stuck to my routine, used breathing techniques. andy murray is rarely so still, he will be all action to the end and together with dan evans took another step towards finishing his career with an olympic medal, after saving two match points they reached the doubles quarterfinals, the dream lives on. the 800 metres freestyle came down to a frothy, frantic finale, and a moment of history, daniel, who swims for ireland, became the first athlete from northern ireland to win an olympic gold in 36 years. and in the final race of the day, britain's fab four were hunting glory in the freestyle relay, an all—star team qualified fastest, started fastest and

dominated throughout, it was just down to scott to finish it and defend the olympic title. the team gb, gold medalfour on day number four of these games with the hope of more to come tomorrow. let's go back to our main story, and jane in southport. this town is still reeling from the horror of yesterday. so many more children and adults still in hospital in a critical condition. but there has also been violence in the last few hours, only a few streets from here, violence that the police have described as sickening. daniel, bring us the

latest. ~ ., sickening. daniel, bring us the latest. . . ., , ., latest. what we have seen tonight in south tort latest. what we have seen tonight in southport is — latest. what we have seen tonight in southport is about _ latest. what we have seen tonight in southport is about two _ latest. what we have seen tonight in southport is about two hours - latest. what we have seen tonight in southport is about two hours or - southport is about two hours or more, of really quite serious but contain violence. there were a few hundred people that gathered outside the mosque here in southport, and the mosque here in southport, and the mood was quite angry, right from the mood was quite angry, right from the very beginning, and fairly soon it descended into stone throwing and then into rock—throwing and then quite large bits of rock being hurled at police officers hiding behind their riot shields and riot helmets, wheelie bins being thrown at officers, we saw one officer being led away with blood pouring from his nose, merseyside police later confirmed an officer had broken his nose, they have spoken about several other officers being injured, and we also saw a police vehicle being quite deliberately set alight, and also rocks being hurled into the site of the other police

vehicles. merseyside police believe those responsible