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is "the context." >> we understand you are still in business, still smuggling people across the channel. >> we were confident we had our man because we had one of our team members posing as a migrant, and we arranged a trip. >> to have, like, a normal life like everybody. >> that's what you miss? you think you will have one soon? christian: hunted down in luxembourg by the bbc. the iraqi people smugglers who loaded a boat so full that a seven-year-old girl drowned in the english channel. we have a special report from our 51-date search for those responsible. also, the turn of joe biden and donald trump to debate tonight, their first of the presidential campaign, a critical encounter.

we will be live in a lad to assess the state of the race. how do you get the international space station out of orbit safely? elon musk's spacex has been contracted the job. a very good evening. we begin with an exclusive investigation. the bbc has tcked down and confronted a people smugglers who was responsible for organizing a small boat crossing to the u.k. in april, in which a seven-year-old girl died. our correspondent andrew harding was on theeach in france during that incident, and in a lengthy investigation, has tracked the smugglers through europe to luxembourg. andrew: excuse me, sir, andrew harding from bbc news. we have come to luxembourg to confront them and we have been chasing across europe. we know you are a smuggler. >> no. andrew: he is responsible for

putting hundreds of people in small boats heading from france to england, and responsible for one vote in particular-- boat in particular. this one. we came across it back in april on a beach in northern france. police battling with a group of smugglers. chaos as people clambered onto the boat. we saw a girl in a pink coat. she was one of five to die at the scene. her name was sarah, seven years old, born in belgium, raised in sweden. a a few days later we found her father, an iraqi man consumed by grief and also by guilt. but what of the smugglers? multiple sources tell us the man paid to arrange sarah's journey is still active and working from a distant city. so we have come to antwerp, a

city in northern belgium, to try to track down the smuggler, the man who organized the boat, who to some extent is responsible for sara's death. and so we set a trap. one of our team poses as a migrant looking to cross the channel. under hidden camer he goes to meet a middleman in antwerp, someone who can put us in touch with the smuggler. and the plan works. we are now waiting for the smuggler to call us. he's just sent us a text message, so he could be any moment now. finally, he does call, believing he is talking to a potential client, he offers us seats on his next boat. so, the smuggler is still in business.

but 's not in belgium anymore. we now here he may be on the run, that he is heading to luxembourg, and we are in pursuit. we've received a photo and video suggesting he is hiding in some sort of camp. an online search directs us to this migrant reception center in the city of luxembourg. our new plant is a stakeout.. we have been watching for three whole days now. still no sign of him. bye-bye now we have more evidence -- but by now we have more evidence, this photo of the smuggler and passport. and then we catch this glimpse of him inside the camp. and a few hours later we raced to catch him outside. that's my colleague ahead of me. we know who you are. you are a smuggler. >> no. andrew: he insists we have the wrong man. "i swear it," he says.

same number we have been calling. and then we call him on his mobile, the same number he used when he offered to smuggle us to england. so he's answering the phone -- we know this is you, sir. 100% that you are smuggler, that you are responsible for the death of this seven-year-old, that you put her on a boat, took money from her parents, that she and four other people died. that's you. we know this is our man. he is getting on the tram now. we're going to let him go, there's not much more we can do. so he leaves. and while we don'tollow him, we inform the french authorities, who declined to comment. as for the family sara left behind, they are being housed temporarily in this tiny french village. ahmed has claimed that hiring a smuggler was his only option. true or not, he now says he has

learned a hard lesson. "the smugglers only care about money," he says. "i hope they will be arrested and my daughter's death will not be in vain." but his other children have no access to school here, and no idea what comes next. what do you miss most? >> to have, like, a normal life like everybody. andrew: that's what you miss? do you think you will have one soon? where do you think? >> in england. andrew: i'm sorry. but there's little chance of that right now. her sister's body has been buried here in france. but this grieving family has no permission to settle anywhere anymore.

instead, they wait in limbo, while the smuggling industry thrives. andrew harding, bbc news. christian: that's an extraordinary report, isn't it. thanks to andrew for that. let's get to zoe gardner, an expert in migration policy. andrew harding found this guy. sue mitchell found one of the other notorious people smugglers. if our guys, as good as they are, can find these people, why aren't interpol, french police, european police doing as good a job? >> your investigators are obviously brilliantbut i think there is a bigger pblem here, which is that we are fighting an unwinnable war. there will always be a market for smugglers as long as we don't give families like the one we have been hearing from any kind of solution. and so even if you're a poll didn't manage to rest of man that you confronted, there would

simply be -- did manageo arrest the man that you confronted, there would seemly be another one willing to take the money and take people and about to cross, because there isn't a solution for them -- christian: but that is the solution labor is offering, is it not, in this election, that they would invest half a million pounds, 500 million pounds, i should say, and a bder force that will break up the gangs. and you are telling me that is not the solution. zoe: it isn't the solution because the smugglers are not the root of the problem. the root of the problem is what we just heard. that was a family from iraq. they were so scared that even though they had been living in europe for years, even though their children had been born in eupe, they were so scared of being deported back to danger in iraq that they thought they were better off trying to take a dangerous journey to reach where they hope they might eventually be safe in the u.k. and if you arrest another smuggler but you don't give that family a solution, that little

boy that we just heard from who spoke to us in english, 12 years old, he needs a solution. as europeans, we are not offering that it is an important reminder that keir starmer and rishi sunak and even nigel farage, they seem to be in this race against each other about who is going to propose the policies that will push people away -- christian: how do you manage this? i take your point that you need legal routes in the united states looking at is as well, the europeans have tried it. but you can't set a quota for these things, and once you set up the legal routes, don't you invite more and more to come? and what is the limit? zoe: well, at the moment we are using the risk of death and the death of this seven-year-old little girl as the way that we have of preventing supposed greater numbers from coming, and that is morally repugnant and not acceptable. but it also goes to the fact that we are in an international race to the bottom here. as i say, rishi sunak and keir

starmer are not just competing against each other to push people away, they are competing against the rest of europe. this is something nobody can wi and people will die. what is necessary, the only viable long-term solution, is european cooperation to permit affair distribution of sharing responsibility but safe access to asylum systems across the continent. that is desperately needed. europe has an aging population, we are in desperate need of workers, so this can be mutually beneficial. are there we continue to plow money into these failed determines measures that end up with children dying on our shores, or we can share responsibility and put that money into our communities so that they are supported to be able to receive people, and those are people that we need any dust. -- that we need they need us. christian: zoe gardner, good to have you on the program. at around the u.k., you are watching bbc news.

one person in england has died, linked to the ongoing e. coli outbreak. according to the u.k. health security agency, the person died in may and had underlying health conditions. the outbreak is thought to be caused by some supermarket synergies containing salad leaves. the number of metropolitan police officers suspected of placing bets on the timing of the election has risen to seven. one of them a member of rishi sunak's close protection team has been arrested and suspended. scotland yard says it is in vista getting a small number of cases where it is possible that offenses including misconduct in public office may have been committed. and we've just one week to go for the general election. most opinion polls suggested the lib dems could become the third-largest party in the house of commons. they won just 11 seats in 2019, but their leader told the bbc he is hopeful that the party finally turning a corner.

a week today we will be voting in the u.k. last night in their final televised debate, rishi sunak and sir keir starmer clashed on tax, immigration, and the welfare budget. the prime minister urged voters not to surrender to labor government, while sir keir accused rishi sunak of lying. tonight attention turns to the contest in northern ireland, where the leaders of the parties take the debate stage in belfast. for our u.k. viewers, you will be able to watch it on this channel at 9:00 tonight. let's bring in our island correspondent who is there for us. remind us if you would about the resulting dish that results in 2019 and what is at stake in northern ireland. >> there are 18 seats up for grabs out west -- at westminster, and the way that worked out last time, it's on

the democratic unionist party is the biggest party with 8 seats, sinn fein following with seven, sdlp had2, alliance had one. final preparations are underway here where the northern ireland leaders debate should be taking place. audience members are taking their seats, and we know the politicians, the leaders are in the building. they may not be as jovial as audience members are, but i think it is fair to say it has been a lackluster campaign here in northern ireland so far. even the party's manifesto launches have been low-key. what has been in those manifestoes, there has been no surprises. it's all issues rehearsed by the parties again and again. dup and sdlp launched their manifestoes yesterday. it does feel like things are getting up and running in a northern ireland with seven days to go. audience members you can see

behind me, some of them will be asking questions of those political leaders. and i for listening into some of the discussions, some of the snippets. we can, i hope, give you an idea of the issues of her discussion. health service is a big one in northern ireland. waiting lists are the longest in the u.k. here. i'm waiting discussions of what is happening in the middle east, how norther ireland is funded, and trust in politicians. i've heard a few audience members talk about that. you can watch that debate on the bbc news channel at 9:00 and also -- how all of that is discuss this evening. christian: thank you very much indeed. let me take you to georgia, atlanta -- atlanta, georgia -- where president biden come down the steps of air force one. he's about to be transferred to cnn studios for tonight's live televised debate. he has been in a debate prep.

last few days at camp david, but through his paces by his team. it is a crucial night for joe biden. in all the swing states, seven swing states in all, he is trailing donald trump. this an opportunity to put a stamp on the campaign earlier than normal, of course, this debate. they don't usually get on so early. joe biden certainly looking forward to an opportunity to put his case to the u.s. voters tonight. we watch these pictures, let's bring in caitríona perry, who will be covering it tonight. she will be in the spin room, which will be busy, as it always is. >> hr will.--it sure will. christian: 70% of people will be i can't imagine there is much they don't know about these candidates, but it is the nature of the debate in america right

now that you can't take your eyes off it. >> i think that is part of the fascination, chrtian, people are so familiar with with of these men. joe biden's president, donald trump was president, everyone knows who they are, everybody thinks they know what -- the personality, what they are like as president. everyone i've been speaking to across the country in the last few weeks traveling around are planning on watching this. will they watch the whole hour and a half? i don't know, does that take a special type of political nerd to sit through an hour and a half? maybe. they will watch some of it and consume whatever clips come out of it later on. i talking to you from the spin room, georgia tech university. this place is known as the thrillerdome. we wish you thriller tonight? -- will we see a thriller tonight? who knows. this is the first time that two people who have been president or our president are facing each

other. it's the first time in many years there hasn't been an audience in the room with them as well. it is the first time the campaigns have gone outside the presidential commission to organize this debate with only one media organization, cnn. that is why you see so much cnn branding around me. cnn are running the show here, so much so that the breaking news, the white house correspondents association without a statement criticizing cnn for refusing to let one single white house pool reporter be in the studio during the debate. both campaigns have said they don't have an issue with it, but cnn are saying no. why is that an issue? it is the first time the microphones will be muted during the entirety of the debate. there will be a countdown clock for each candidate and their mic will turn off. from a journalistic perspective, if the other candidate keeps talking and you are watching at home or another room, you won't know what they say. the other candidate will hear them, but nobody else will.

christian: i have a countdown clock and they faded my mic out and it makes a difference, i can tell you, caitríona. [laughter] joe biden needs this most -- looking at the polls, he does, he needs momentum. caitríona: absolutely. we have got to take polling with a giant truck load of salt, with the greatest of respect to it is hard to drill down into who are the voters. and the particular thing about the u.s. presidential election is everyone's vote matters in a way, but only the undecided voters in 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 battleground state -- that number varies depending on who you speak to -- they're the ones who really decide the selection. in those key battleground states, donald trump is ahead of joe biden for the last few months in almost every poll, sometimes by 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 point, still small but beyond the margin of ever. it is very far away from election day. it would be a full two predictor

the out -- you would be a for the project the outcome at this point in time for -- you would be a fool to predict the outcome at this point in time . both of these candidates are that have really, really high on favorability readings with the american people- -- unfavorability readings with the american people. christian: caitríona, we will talk to you later tonight. standby. you can watch live coverage of the cnn presidential debate from 0100 to 0500 bst, 9:00 eastern on the bbc news channel, or bbc.com. if you're in the u.k., you can watch it stream live on bbc. it's as big as a football field, heavier than 200 elephants. it is safe to say you would not want the international space station falling on your head. so how do you get it out of orbit safely and landed back on

earth? elon musk's company spacex has been tasked with finding that solution. the california-based company will build a vehicle capable of pushing the space station int orbit and into a remote part of the pacific ocean in the next decade. splashdown target is there. it's called point nemo, named after the famous submarine sailor from jules vern's "20,000 leagues under the sea." when the space station doesn't splashdown -- does splash down, it will join hundreds of other spacecraft at the bottom of the ocean. who better to talk to than the man who commanded the space station, are good friend and asked leroy chow, lived aborted for -- and astronaut leroy chow, who lived aboard it for six months? we have never done anything like

this before. it is big, it is unwieldy. why push it this way back to earth rather than pushing the other way into outer space? >> while, the bottom -- well, the bottom line is it would take a lot less energy to slow it down so it is captured by the atmosphere and than the drag brings it down. in the way you want to do it is in a controlled matter like this. you attach a series of rocket engines and a fuel tanker, and you slowly push against the space station to slow it down until it can be captured by the atmosphere. you planned the trajectory so it does come down in that space graveyard vicinity. the last time we had a large object come down, it was the mir space station. the russians used one of their progress resupply ship tugs to do exactly that, slow it down and plan it and go in a place you want it to go. that worked out. there is uncertainty, but i

would suspect with something like this, spacex certainly has the ability to do it. i think they will be able to do it well.; christian: why are we getting rid of it, leroy? is it becoming more dangerous? the stresses othe space, do they take their toll on the space station eventually? leroy: everything runs its course, and that space station was designed to have that 30-year life. 2030 -- for many years now it has been the plan that it will be decommissioned around 2030. the parts -- some of the parts are showing age, particularly the russian segment. we've had some cracks and leaks that have been passed with other materials. generally speaking, 2030 is going to be about 30 years of service life. that is really what it was planned for. russian partners are indicating they might want to pull out a little earlier.

they threw 2028 out there. everybody is comfortable with that 2030 timeframe, and it is good to start planning for now in case it needs to be moved up for political reasons. christian: we were just discussing in the office earlier why they are not -- we took it out piece by piece, so why are we not bringing it down piece by piece so people can enjoy it and see it rather than sticking at the bottom of the ocean? leroy: sure, and in the very beginning of the program, one of the questions that was discussed was this, what are we going to do with it end of life. we can't just let it tumble out of orbit and see where it goes. we have a budget for bringing it down in a controlled manner. does it make more sense to take it apart like we put it together? one of the big problems is we don't have a space shuttle anymore, so we can't really bring the pieces back down that way. also, it is the expense. even if we did have the space

shuttle, the money we woul spend it to bring the pieces down would be a lot more than disposing the whole thing. unfortunately, i guess this is the way it works, we get budgeted to build a vehicle, we don't really get a budget to take it apart. and even when it was designed, there was no money to decommission it. now there is a budget for that and we are beginning to study it early enough and designed for it early enough that we can responsibly get it done. christian: just quickly before the break, leroy, will we need another, or have we learned enough from our low-earth orbit that the focus is the moon, mars, bases around the world? leroy: oh, no, space station is very much part of the exploration program. serving not only is a testing ground for astronauts and engineering studies on long-duration life-support systems, which is surprisingly difficult to do, but also it serves a biomedical tests

because there are a lot of bad -- biomedical things that happen to people when they go into space for a long-duration, and we have to work out these countermeasures and develop and test them before we can confidently send humans to, say, mars for a long-duration mission. the space station has been playing that will very much as well. nasa has already seated commercial companies to begin developing their own private commercial space stations. in the idea would be that by the time it is time to decommission the iss, there would be one or more commercial stations we could send astronauts to continue this kind of work. christian: fasnating. leroy, always grateful for your expertise. thank you for coming on the program. we will take a short break. other side of that break, a announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. cunard is a proud supporter of public television.

announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... woman: a law partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you,