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woman: a successful business owner sells his company and restores his father's historic jazz club with his son. a raymond james financial advisor get to know you, your passions, and the way you bring people together. life well planned. 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: and now, "bbc news" >> hello. this is the context. >> months ago, the families and i were able to speak with them over telephone from the oval office. earlier today, they were flown to turkey and soon they will be wheels up on their way home to see their families. >> families and friends of evan gershkovich, paul whelan and

dissidents like vladimir karaurza, this is a moment to celebrate. keep in mind, for the kremlin, this is mission accomplished. they got what they wanted. >> it was difficult for germany to agree to accept the idea that they would have to return a convicted assassin to russia, in any circumstances. >> one of the biggest prisoner swap's since the cold war has taken place today between russia and the u.s. 26 people have been traded, some after spending years behind bars. also tonight, the bbc director general has defended the corporation's decision not to sack hugh edwards despite him being arrested with the most serious images of child sexual abuse. we will bring you the latest

from the stabbing in southport. the 17-year-old attacker has been arrested for the murders of three girls. a very good evening. the largest prisoner swap between the u.s. and russia since the cold war has taken place. 16 people were freed from russian and belarusian gels -- jails including wall street journal reporter evan gershkovich. two people were -- two children were also sent back to russia. the exchange took place in a highly complex operation with planes arriving from six different countries. russia, the united states, germany, poland, slovenia and norway. among those freed by russia were gershkovich, paul whelan, and alsu kurmasheva. going the other way was the russian assassin, vadim krasikov , who had been held in a german

prison since 2019 for the murder of a chechen exile in berlin. additionally several deep cover illegal spies arrested in norway pennsylvania along with russians held on criminal charges in u.s. jails. turkish intelligence says they have been helping to put together the exchange for months. negotiations finalized today. >> it was a complex operation. planes flying in from east and west. the location had been a closely guarded secret. the stage for the largest prisoner swap since the cold war. and involved 26 people being held in seven different countries. among those freed from russian jails, wall street journal reporter evan gershkovich, former u.s. marine paul whelan and u.s.-russian journalist, alsu kurmasheva. released too, prominent kremlin

critic's and antiwar campaigners like vladimir kara-murza and human rights campaigner oleg orlov. back to russia, convicted assassin vadim krasikov, identified by a german court as having links to the russian state, and nine others the kremlin wanted back. for paul whelan, this ends an ordeal that began more than five years ago when he was arrested in russia, convicted of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison. it is a charge she has always fiercely denied -- charge he has always fiercely denied. president biden gave his reaction. >> it says a lot about the united states that we worked relentlessly to free americans who are unjustly held around the world, but it also says a lot about us that this includes the release of russian political prisoners. they stood up for democracy and human rights. their own leaders through them in prison. the united states helped secure their release. >> america has repeatedly

accused moscow of jailing u.s. citizens with the aim of treating them for russians jailed abroad. for family and friends of evan gershkovich, paul whelan and dissidents like kuara-murza. for the kremlin, it got what it's wanted, they got their agents back. for moscow, the take away from all of this is that hostage diplomacy wks. that means we are likely to see more of it. more prisoners being used as bargaining chips. and more prison exchanges like this one may be needed to bring them home. >> with us tonight, the russian political activist and political strategist who managed the election campaign of alexei navalny in 201 his youtube channel has more than 200,000 subscribers.

we are also joined by a former u.k. ambassador to belarus and a senior fellow at the international institute of strategic studies. thank you both for being with us this evening. maybe i could start with you, ma xim because what we have learned from the national security adsor at the white house is that this deal was supposed to include alexei navalny. he was part of the negotiation, but of course was killed by the russian prison authorities. what do you make of that? >> this was discussed back in january and february. it was discussed back then. germany said they were not interested in exchanging krasikov for anyone else except navalny. as far as we can understand now, this swap was prepared to

include alexei navalny but unfortunately he died in february. he was killed in a russian jail and was not included. >> sad for his family to hear those details today. dr. gold davis, could you explain to us the complexity of this? how difficult it is to bring 6, 7 countries together to pull off something of this magnitude? >> it is complex with respect to the sheer numbers of people being exchanged. as you said, it is also an additional layer of complexity that several other countries are involved and they had to negotiate with one another. it seems the kremlin fought for a deal with america and america would tell germany -- germany

would simply do america's bidding. that was not the case. these were independent countries of course. there was a process of discussion and negotiation within the west, as well as with russia. in addition to that, i think it is very significant that it is not only the citizens of the two sides that have been exchanged, but a number of russian dissidents and activists, including people who had significant positions in alexei navalny's organization. the west has managed to get them out as well. >> just before i put that to maxim, do you think there was something that sort of orchestrated it all coming together in the last few days? was there a particular prisoner they were focused on?

i'm particularly focusing on the german, rico krieger. he was on death row, but he was part of this deal. i'm wondering if it was one leader w suddenly said yeah, we are prepared to deal. >> go ahead dr. gold davis. i will put to you -- put it to you and a second, maxim. >> i think mr. krieger was used as a last-minute bargaining chip. there was clearly an end game where other prisoners were being ded for two so-call illegals, deep cover agents in slovenia. the larger point here, and i don't think this was

sufficiently appreciated is how long -- how well overall the u.s. has done here. the point was made earlier that for putin, hostage diplomacy works. look at the terms of it. the west has gotten twice as many people out, and it seems that putin was forced in the course of these months of complex negotiations, to accept a heavier price than the parity that is normally featured in these things. the larger lesson is that if you are firm with putin and hold out, for all of his toughness and bluster, if there is something he wants, he will make concessions. >> with that said, we used to trade spies for spies. there is no equivalence for the people he was releasing and the people who have gone back the other way to russia. >> i'm not sure there is any example in history of political

prisoners swapped for spies. maybe there is that i don't know, especially not in these numbers. people like ilya yashin or oleg orlov, they were important leaders of the russian resistance and it is very important. in my opinion, this is the most important part of this swap. it was not only a swap between american citizens or german citizens and russian citizens. russian dissidents were added into this deal. this is very significant and important. i don't think putin wanted it. i don't think he wanted to include these people in the swap but as far as i know, germany insisted on that. these people were included and it is very important. >> when we talk about russian dissidents coming home, we should be clear that they are

nocoming home, they are going into exile, leaving russia, leaving their family and friends behind. there is always this question about whether the russians abide by the terms of the agreement. we all are never what happened to -- it was exchanged in 2010 and came to settle here in the u.k. they came after him and try to kill him. -- tried to kill him. >> these risks are always with us. we understand them. everyone who makes any kind of russian political activities, especially the kind that those people who are exchanged now were doing, we were always under this risk. however, it is much better to be abroad than -- abroad and under this risk than in jail. they will be able to help the

opposition movement, when they are free and can work and join back to the stage. >> dr. gold davis, i'm curious about the timing. less than 100 days to an american election, they just handed joe biden a diplomatic coup. he looks like an art strategist, able to bring the german chancellor to the table, able to strong-arm putin. why would the russians give him that so close to an election? >> i don't think the timing has anything to do with the recent turmoil and developments in the american political scene. i think it is simply that the negotiations came to conclusion -- to a conclusion. the fact that biden isn't

standing again that it is actually hder for the biden administration, overall to take credit. the current vice president, kamala harris will want to be seen as part of this arrangement, but to the extent that biden claims credit for it, the fact that he is not standing for reelection makes it easier for russia to reh that agreement. the other point, just watching the tone and dynamics of these long negotiations, it really stands out to me, how much, how committed putin was to bringing vadim krasikov back. it seems the single individual seems to have been a matter of -- >> he was a former kgb officer. >> i think that is right. there is a precedent, a similar

swap in december of 2022. this emphasis that putin has that we don't leave our own behind, bringing back members of the russian intelligence services. in this case, that has been a lever. it is really an important point, that the west has got out several opposition figures, out of russia. these figures, brave people were given punitive exemplary prison sentences in russia to deter other people from also taking up oppositional activity. and now henceforth they will be free abroad at a safe distance or a safer distance to carry on their message. >> really interesting. we will get the thoughts of bill browder in the next hour, who himself has been -- you s his

own experience of being chased by the kremlin. thank you very much for being with us. around the world, and across the u.k., you're watching bbc news.

♪ >> the bbc has defended its decision not to sack hugh edwards despite knowing he had been arrested for being in possession of the most serious category of indecent images of children. in an interview tonight, the director general says the bbc is exploring whether it can recover some of hugh edwards's salary. >> yesterday the bbc said it was shocd. but you knew about this in november of last year. you knew it related to child abuse. you didn't sack him, why? >> we were shocked, that is the first thing i wanted to say. no one knew about the specifics

of what we heard over the last few days, which has been deeply disturbing. >> when it comes to the decision that we made in november, when we were faced with a very difficult decision and we considered it very carefully. the police came to us and gave us information that they had arrested mr. edwards. they wanted to be assured of total confidence, and the reason they ran to that point was to ensure it was a technical process, to ensure employees are protected and there is no risk. they are very clear that at that point, it is totally confidential. as mr. edwards was suspended at the time, so he was not at the bbc, we can assure ourselves in terms of employees, and at that point we did have a decision.

we really thought very long and hard, and considered it extremely carefully. i think people will understand. when someone is arrested, there is no charges. also, another factor at this point was a very significant duty and care consideration. it was right for us to say look, we will at the police do this and when charges happen, we will act. >> not only did you not sack him, you gave him a pay increase. >> very importantly, the payraise dates from well before any allegations. it was a minor inflationary increase, standard stuff. in terms of the big payraise you saw in the annual report, that related to -- the glory of hindsight -- but that related to mr. edwards's work at the bbc, expanding the scope of his work

and that relates to way before any allegations or the first story happened. at that point you have a salary set. >> in november you knew this related to images of child abuse. you are worried about the welfare of huw edwards. what about the welfare of the children? >> absolutely the primary thoughts here are for the victims of these terrible situations and crimes. because quite simply, the police came to us and said we need to do our work in total confidence. we've arrested -- let's keep this confidential. i think at that point, the principle is clear in my mind. we've thought long and hard about this. this was not a knee-jerk decision. it was difficult. if you think about this in terms of precedent, people do get

arrested and then we've had situations where no charges, and there is nothing there to be followed up on. in this case, we knew no specifics, apart from the category of the potential offenses. >> this wasn't the beginning the. last year, and also bbc staff of came with complaints about huw edwards. this was the end of a long process of realizing what he was like. >> i think there are very specific things. you have to be careful not to just lump everything together. we had to deal with specifics and detail. when the sun first ran their story, we absolutely did our investigation. we collected evidence and we provided that to the police we also did work in terms of our complaints progress -- process. we also told people if you have

any concerns, bring them forward and we will always look into them. that is how we ran the pross. i'm satisfied we did that properly and judiciously. what we have seen the last few days is truly shocking because that is something that was completely unknown and very disturbing, and we do think about it. you think about the victims and the impacts on those individuals as your primary concern. >> the director general of the bbc. the 17-year-old boy charged with murdering three girls and attempting to murder 10 others in southport has appeared in court in liverpool. it is understood the teenager has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and has at times refused to leave his house. the home affairs correspondent live. >> three days after the

horrifying mass stabbing in southport, the police's only suspect was brought to court and a white custody van. accompanied by two police cars, three riot vans and several other vehicles, he was driven to the main court complex in liverpool where the road was briefly closed. dozens of other officers providing extra security because of tuesday nights riot in southport. the first hearing in the youth court lasted about five minutes. the 17-year-old, at that stage still could not be named was wearing a police issued gray tracksuit made of sweatsuit material. he kept his face covered at all times. throughout the hearing because of the defendant's young age, the judge spoke to him using only his first name, as well as being charged with murder and attempted murder, he is also

charged with possessing a kitchen kni with a curved blade. a second hearing in the crown court an hour later, the judge lifted the legal restrictions, saying that in the public interest, the suspect should be publicly named. the young girls he is accused of murdering at monday's taylor swift themed dance class. he is accused of attempting to murder the class organizer. john hays, who rushed to help. eight other girls who cannot be named because of court reporting restrictions. >> these charges are a significant milestone in this investigation. this remains very much a live investigation and we contue to work with our partners from lancashire police and counterterrorism police in northwest. >> the suspect, seen here in old

photos was born in cardiff but grew up in southport and went to local schools. it is understood he has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and has at times refused to leave the house. for the last seven years he had been living in this close just outside southport with his parents, who were originally from rwanda. as he was driven from court, angry bystanders shouted at the van. he will be held in youth detention accommodation until his 18th birthday next week. his next court appearance will be a plea hearing on october 25. >> i want to take you to tel aviv, where there is a concert underway and a demonstration for those families who lose loved ones were taken hostage -- whose loved ones were taken hostage. they are marking 300 days of captivity.

among them, two children, one nine months old. he has spent most of his life in captivity. the other, his brother, marking his fifth birthday this monday in captivity. you can see the faces of many of the hostages who are still being held by hamas. cease-fire negotiations are further away than they've been in recent times, given the assassination of ismail haniyeh, the hamas political announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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