this bbc is news. the headlines at four: angela merkel visits the scene of a lorry attack on a christmas market in berlin which killed 12 people. it's being investigated as terrorism. german police are questioning a suspect but say they can't be sure he was behind the attack. it was so loud, and it sounded like a massive explosion. it sounded like gunshots, and our reaction like eve ryo ne gunshots, and our reaction like everyone around us gunshots, and our reaction like everyone around us was to get up and look and try and help. also this hour: president putin promises to "step up the fight against terrorism" after russia's ambassador to turkey was murdered yesterday. the body of andrey karlov, who was shot dead by an off—duty turkish police officer in ankara, is being repatriated to moscow. here, theresa may tells mps

she will set out more details of her approach to brexit in a major speech early in the new year. she says transitional arrangements will not give cause for the uk to delay leaving the eu. straight to robert hall now in berlin. if we were in paris, i would be standing on the champs—elysees, london, oxford street or regent street, but this is the heart of the christmas festivities in berlin. in this great city, beyond the police lines behind me, silence. there is

no sense of festivity, the market stores are closed as the investigation continues around the attack which is now confirmed to have been a terrorist incident, and which claimed 12 lives and left 30 people seriously injured. we are going to be going over the events of the day during the next few minutes, but for now, let's hear about the latest from the investigation with paul adams. berlin early this morning, amid the scattered debris of the festive season, a weapon of mass murder is slowly removed. chaotic scenes last night after the truck ploughed through the market. dozens of people caught up in the mayhem.

i heard loud noises and screams, that was the first impression. i heard loud noises and screams, that was the first impressionlj i heard loud noises and screams, that was the first impression. i can show you from my balcony, from my houseit show you from my balcony, from my house it is two minutes' drive. you can't think of anything, you are just shocked and you want to help the people who are asking for help, ijust took, i couldn't do much, i couldn't help them all. there were people lying on the ground, bodies being twisted, arms and legs, people we re being twisted, arms and legs, people were on top of each other. the truck had polish numberplates. a body found in the cab is thought to be that of its polish driver, but a masked man behind the wheel escaped on foot. soon afterwards, a suspect was picked up just on foot. soon afterwards, a suspect was picked upjust over my on foot. soon afterwards, a suspect was picked up just over my away. he is said to be a pakistani citizen who arrived in germany a year ago.

if this was the work of an asylum seeker, it poses a real challenge for the woman who threw open the country's draws over a year ago. translation: i know it will be particularly difficult for us all to bear if it is confirmed that the perpetrator had asked for asylum in germany. that would be particularly repulsively for the many, many germans who are engaged day in, day out, in helping refugees, and for those who generally do need our protection and are striving to integrate themselves into our country. germany's interior minister said security would be stepped up, but germans should not succumb to fear. translation: we must not compromise our lifestyle, the way we want to live. we must not let people who wa nt live. we must not let people who want to destroy that way of life, because if we do that, the enemies

of freedom have already won. the attack took place next to the rude church that stands as a monument to the savagery of the second world war. translation: the priest says it is important for germans to tell each other what the people of france have told each other, that life must not be stopped. at the scene of the massacre, the christmas stalls are shuttered and silent, but there is fresh anxiety, the police now saying they are not sure if they have the right man. the perpetrator of this, they fear, may still be at large. a lot of the detail on the investigation has been coming from the german federal prosecutor, peter frank. during his press conference this afternoon he drew parallels with the nice attack injuly. he talked about uncertainty surrounding

the individual paul referred to who is said to have been fleeing the scene and found a mile or so from where i am standing here, and he also gave further details as to how the wider investigation in berlin and further afield was progressing. translation: the event reminds you of what happened in nice. and again, the choice of an aim which had a lot of symbolism, like a christmas market. and these kind of things are selected in past calls of islamists terror organisation who have called for that kind of attack. but we don't have a video yet where anybody says they did it, so we cannot give any conclusive statements about the background. for now, we don't know whether there was one attacker or several attackers. we also don't know whether they had support. this

pa rt of know whether they had support. this part of the investigation is not yet entirely concluded, but we have to think that the person who was arrested yesterday, a man of pakistani nationality, we have to be open to the idea that he could possibly not have been the attacker. the area behind me is now ringed with armed police, and as you walk through this part of the city, there are through this part of the city, there a re co nvoys through this part of the city, there a re convoys of through this part of the city, there are convoys of police vehicles, a very heavy police residents, but this attack is just one of a series on european cities, so what can be done to protect the public, particularly at this time, a busy time of year? here is our security correspondent, frank gardner. after the carnage, the search for clues. german forensic teams have been going through the wreckage left

by last night's attack. there was never much doubt it was deliberate. now attention is turning to the likely motive. analysts suspect it may be have been a response to a call byjihadi is. this could be something that was inspired by the magazine of al-anda, they are promoting among their followers these kind of attacks, easy to organise, very little coordination needed. this is what they have been proposing. the attack in berlin bears a striking similarity to what happened in nice on bastille day five months ago. a tunisian jihadist in nice on bastille day five months ago. a tunisianjihadist rammed a 19 tonne truck into a crowd of pedestrians, killing 86 people. so can this sort of low—tech high—speed attack be prevented ? can this sort of low—tech high—speed attack be prevented? yes, if you are prepared to put in this level of protective security. this

demonstration in berkshire shows a seven tonne truck being successfully stopped in its tracks, but you can't protect everywhere, and one of britain's most experienced counterterrorism officers says the key is intelligence. more bollards and troops on the street is not the a nswer to and troops on the street is not the answer to this threat. you have to build your intelligence capabilities more. you have to encourage people to come forward and in particular you have to encourage the muslim community to come forward and trust the agencies and report information and concerns that they have got. the agencies and report information and concerns that they have gotm berlin, the clues are still being analysed, and the question remains, what more needs to happen to stop further attacks like this? frank gardner, bbc news. it is difficult to express the impact this has had an berlins and thousands of people who visit at this time of year. it is the best

expressed by a visit to the little shrine set up at the foot of the church tower behind me. people on their way home from shops and offices pausing and laying flowers as their way of trying to connect with those who have lost so much in the last 2a hours. robert hall in berlin, and we will talk more about that story after half past. one of our other main stories here today. president putin has promised to "step up the fight against terror" after russia's ambassador to turkey was murdered yesterday. andrey karlov was shot dead by an off—duty police officer as he made a speech in ankara. the leaders of russia and turkey describe the killing as an attempt to damage relations between the two countries, which have backed opposing sides in the syrian civil war. from moscow, steve rosenberg, reports. in moscow today, there were flowers outside the foreign ministry, a makeshift shrine in memory of andrei karlov, the russian ambassador assassinated in turkey.

terrorism won't win, it says. to many russians, the war on terror has felt far away. this murder has made people remember. now, it is hitting home. inside, the foreign ministers of russia and turkey paid their respects. ambassador karlov was killed hours before the start of talks here on syria between russia, turkey and iran. "if we work together", said the turkish foreign minister, we will find out who was behind this wretched, despicable crime. " in ankara, the russian ambassador had been making a speech at a photo exhibition. standing behind him, the assassin, a 22—year—old riot squad police officer. he starts shooting and shouting. "god is greatest." "don't forget about aleppo, about syria." "so long as they aren't safe,

you won't taste safety either." the assassination of russia's ambassador to turkey has shocked this country, and its president, vladimir putin, says there can only be one response — a strengthening of the fight against terror. but the problem for russia and for other countries waging such a war on terror is there is no end in sight. still, this is a war moscow is determined to win. we should send a clear message to those who support terrorists, that terrorists, with our air forces and our military, any attack towards russians would be, would have a very dangerous and terrible result for those who can't possibly stand behind them. the politicians are talking tough, but the public is nervous. i was upset on a human level and upset as a citizen of the country which is being affected and humiliated in a way,

but also really, really hope it won't lead to escalation of the situation in general. today, a team of russian detectives arrived in turkey. this will be a joint investigation. moscow and ankara displaying a united front in the face of terror. that was our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg. let's hear a little more from him in the last couple of hours. moscow and ankara are putting forward a united front at the moment. in recent times, these two countries have had a difficult, sometimes explosive relationship, think backjust over a year to when the turkish air force shot down a russian bomb it said had strayed into turkish airspace. but in recent months, both countries have tried to put their differences behind them and forge a new relationship, a new

partnership are basically because both presidents believe it is in their interests to do so, in terms of what happens in syria and economic ties. so in the last few hours, moscow and ankara have been going out of their way to project this united front and make it clear they are determined not to let this crime come between them, and to maintain this unity. with me is fadi hakura from the international affairs think think tank chatham house. that united front our correspondent is talking about, is that real? what is talking about, is that real? what is your take on how relations must be now? i think there is some substance behind the positive rhetoric humming out of moscow and ankara. russia is keen to establish a trilateral alliance with turkey and iran, to forge a future peace agreement in syria and try to

minimise the role of the united states and united nations. so that, name will continue, is that your contention, despite the brazenness of what we saw yesterday? already today the foreign minister is of turkey, russia and iran met together in moscow and came out with what russia calls the moscow declaration, trying to bring where the three countries agree to push the different parties together, to bring about a future settlement in syria. your specialism is turkey. i wonder what went through your mind about the apparent ease with which this attack was carried out. turkey has witnessed some major bomb attacks in ankara and istanbul over the last year, year and ankara and istanbul over the last year, yearand a ankara and istanbul over the last year, year and a half, really major bomb attacks targeting foreign tourists. turkish soldiers, turkish

police, and civilians. so what we are seeing here, this really brazen attack against the russian ambassador, further fuels the suspicion that turkey is becoming increasingly an unstable and insecure place for people. because local authorities have been saying, one in particular saying it is highly unlikely the man was acting alone. what is your take on that? highly unlikely the man was acting alone. what is your take on that7m is remarkable be assassin came so close to murder the russian ambassador point—blank range, and also at a public event in the capital city of ankara, this raises serious questions about the level and quality of turkish security, particularly in such a sensitive area of turkey. and the impact on

the public, although this was targeted at i's pacific individual, but you talk about the many bomb attacks we have been witnessing, the sense of nervousness among the public must be extremely great. we have already seen over 50% of hotel bookings have been cancelled, so once upon a hotel bookings have been cancelled, so once upon a time, turkey was a very popular destination for tourists, now these bomb attacks and this assassination have dented tu rkey‘s this assassination have dented turkey's appeal to tourism. fadi hakura, good of you to come and speak to us, thank you. our latest headlines: the german chancellor, angela merkel, has been visiting the scene of the lorry attack in berlin which killed 12 people at a christmas market. it is being investigated as an act of terrorism. police say they can't

rule out that a suspect or suspects may still be a large, despite the arrest of a man shortly after the incident. and as you have been hearing, the body of russia's ambassador to turkey is being repatriated to moscow after he was shot dead by an off—duty turkish police offers. and its board, twice wimbledon champion petra kvitova says she is fortunate to be alive after being attacked with a knife by an intruder in her home at the czech republic. alastair cook is refusing to be rushed into a decision on his future as england captain after another humiliating defeat in the final test against india in chen i. and jamie vardy will serve a three match ban after his claim for wrongful dismissal was rejected by the fa. he was shown a straight red for a tackle in le i ceste r‘s straight red for a tackle in leicester's game against stoke on saturday. i will be back with more on those stories that have passed. —— at half past. the prime minister, theresa may, has been quizzed by mps

on the commons liaison committee on a wide range of subjects. they covered a wide range of subjects, but addicted lily brexit. —— particularly brexit. our political correspondent carole walker is in westminster for us. she did tell us there would be a speech in the new year where she might give us more detail. that's right, for about one hour and 45 minutes, the prime minister answered questions from senior parliamentarians, and there was a real tension between them trying to find out more about the government's strategy and approach to brexit, but she said from the outset, going into these negotiations it would not help britain's case forgetting the best eel if she gave away too much of the negotiating hand. but she promised to make a speech in the new year when she said she would explain more about the overall approach to this

whole process. she was also pressed on whether parliament would get a vote on the final deal. what the prime minister said was there would be plenty of opportunity for mps to discuss and debate the brexit recess, and they would of course have a say on this great repeal bill, the legislation which essentially incorporate eu law into british law, but she was pressed time and time again, this time by andrew tyrie who chaired the whole committee, to say whether parliamentarians would get a vote on the final deal. is it your intention that parliament should vote on a final deal once it has been negotiated? this was a question put to me earlier, and what i have said it is it is my intention that parliament should have every opportunity to consider these matters, but what i am also clear about is to ensure that we deliver on the vote of the british people, which was a vote to leave the european union. again, was that a

yes or no. i gave the answer i gave, chairman. so no specific commitment to give mps a vote on the final deal, and the other issue on which she was tackled was immigration. she has said she believed the british people do want to get back control of immigration, the government intends to deliver on that, but she was pressed by yvette cooper, who for quite some time was her opposite number as shadow home secretary when theresa may was home secretary on this issue of the government ozma net migration target, the pledge to get net migration down to the tens of thousands, and yvette cooper wa nted of thousands, and yvette cooper wanted to know when the government goes into the negotiations, part of getting back control of immigration would be to achieve that target. prime minister, you are refusing to answer my questions and you seem to have a certain tone of contempt towards having a figure as a target, but you have chosen to have a net

migration target for the whole of immigration, and you have chosen to stick with it rather than to change it when you became prime minister. so let me ask you again, in terms of meeting the net migration target, given that non—eu is karen clay 196,000 -- given that non—eu is karen clay 196,000 —— currently 196,000, unchanged in six years, how are you expecting to meet your target if you have no way to reduce the non—eu net migration, and you are refusing to say what your plans are for eu migration? what i have said is that we will have set out and made decisions about the arrangements that we wish to have in place for the immigration controls for people coming from the european union, but it is not possible to say that only one aspect of looking at the issue of migration is the only one that you need to focus on, the only when

you need to focus on, the only when you need to think about in order for looking at the broader aspect of the net migration figures. and that is the whole point, this is a very wide issue that cannot be encapsulated simply in terms of what the brexit negotiations are. she was also asked about this questionable possible transition deal at the end of those two years of negotiations. she didn't rule it out altogether, but she insisted the government was not planning to need a transition deal. she said she believed the government would be able to stick to its timetable to trigger article 50 by the end of march next year and to leave the european union two years after that. carole walker, thank you very much. a court has ruled that doctors should stop providing life—support treatment to a policeman who was left in a coma after a road accident. former gulf war veteran paul briggs suffered a brain injury in a motorcycle crash while serving with merseyside police last year.

his wife wants him to be allowed to die but doctors said there was potential for mr briggs to emerge from a minimally conscious state. our correspondent daniel boettcher is at the old bailey in central london for us now. tell us more about this case. tell us more about this caselj tell us more about this case. i am actually outside the royal courts of justice, and the judgment today follows a hearing at the court of protection in manchester three weeks ago, which was considering these issues and considering the application by paul briggs‘ wife, lindsey, that life—sustaining treatment should be withdrawn, and thejudge, mrjustice charles, said in hisjudgment thejudge, mrjustice charles, said in his judgment today that the case raised issues of life and death, and vitally important principles and strongly held views. he went on to say in the statement, the life of paul briggs does confer benefit and has value, this means that this case raises fundamental issues relating

to the protection of persons who are extremely vulnerable and who have not previously made and now cannot make decisions for themselves, but thejudge ruled that make decisions for themselves, but the judge ruled that this life—sustaining treatment should be withdrawn, but it could be legally withheld, and he said at the end of thisjudgment it withheld, and he said at the end of this judgment it means the court is doing on behalf of mr briggs what he would have wanted and done for himself and what he thought was his own best interests. but this may not be the end of the case, because there could potentially still be an appeal, and a statement was read out on behalf of lindsay briggs by her solicitor, matthew culverhouse, at the end of today‘s judgment. solicitor, matthew culverhouse, at the end of today'sjudgment. when we we re the end of today'sjudgment. when we were first notified of the court's decision that it was not in paul's best interest for his life—sustaining treatment to continue, we were relieved. we accepted this decision and began to come to terms with the idea that

paul would finally be free of the pain and suffering and we could find peace at christmas time knowing this. we are therefore dismayed to learn this decision may be appealed. we feel overwhelming despair and sorrow, but we know that we have to try to somehow cope, and to continue for paul. given this continued uncertainty, christmas will now not bea uncertainty, christmas will now not be a peaceful occasion for us. to explain that potential appeal, thejudge in the to explain that potential appeal, the judge in the court today rejected an application for appeal, but it can be taken to a higher court, and that application would be made by lawyers acting for the office of the official solicitor, who represents people in litigation who represents people in litigation who are vulnerable and so are not able to represent themselves, so in this case representing paul briggs. daniel, thank you very much indeed. an update from hurling for you. the

major story here the last 2a hours. we have had a few details through from berlin police talking about the number of people injured in that lorry attack of the christmas market. a glimmer of good news, they are talking about a sizeable number of people i now being released from hospital. 2a people have been able to leave hospital today. a little earlier in the day there was a news conference where the authorities we re conference where the authorities were talking about 30 people being seriously injured. so there is a slight lack of clarity about the figures but certainly some good news that 24 figures but certainly some good news that 2a people have been deemed well enough to leave hospital, clearly still a sizeable number of people in hospital, but some are now on their way home. the time isjust the time is just approaching half past four. let‘s get the latest weather with tomasz schafernaker.

the weather is going downhill over the next couple of days, it has already gone downhill over north—western parts of the country. the rain is sweeping in, the wind increasing, gale force winds of western scotland, the seas will be building across many areas, so a thoroughly wet evening across many north—western areas, and then overnight some of that rain will reach southern parts of the uk, and this is nippy air tapping in behind this is nippy air tapping in behind this cold front. blustery in the north tomorrow, wintry showers across the hills, hail and thunder at times, so a really changeable, turbulent day on the way for the northern half of the country. further south, the wind will be lighter, there will be soggy rain around from london all the way to the south—west, and then as we skip to the end of the week, an amber

warning from the met office, storm barbra arrives on friday. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: police are questioning a pakistani asylum seeker in connection with the berlin lorry attack, but say they can‘t be certain he was the driver. they say there could be more than one perpetrator. 24 2a people meanwhile have been released from hospital after that attack. the german chancellor, angela merkel, said those behind the attack would be punished as harshly as the law allowed. translation: if it is confirmed that the perpetrator had asked for protection and asylum in germany, that would be particularly repulsive for the many germans who are engaged day in, day out in helping refugees. in other news... president putin has promised to "step up the fight against terror",

after the assassination of the russian ambassador to ankara by an off—duty turkish policeman. russia has sent a team of investigators to turkey. theresa may is appearing in front of a committee of mps, answering questions about different aspects of government policy. she refused to promise parliament a vote on the final brexit deal. ajudge has ruled doctors should stop providing life support treatment to a policeman who was left in a minimally conscious state after a road accident. a look at all the very latest sports now. we can go to the bbc sports centre and get all of that. good afternoon. the twice wimbledon champion petra kvitova is undergoing potentially career—saving surgery, after a knife attack this morning. the world number 11 says she‘s ‘fortunate to be alive‘ after the attack during a burglary at her home in the czech republic. the full extent of the damage will not be clear until kvitova emerges from surgery. as part of a statement, kvitova said... "in my attempt to defend myself, i was badly injured on my left hand.

i am shaken, but fortunate to be alive. alastair cook says now isn‘t the time for him to make a decision about his future as england captain after his side lost the final test against india. defeat to india by an innings and 75 runs means they‘ve lost the series 4—0. here‘s our sports correspondent, joe wilson. here‘s how india might look from the plane home. it‘s a view england longed for. one more day. perhaps with a foretaste of christmas, the collapse came after lunch. cook, the captain, first out. ravi jadeja once more the bowl. 103-1. they‘d had to wait, but india were off and running. indeed. keating jennings, a gentle return catch to jadeja. now chennai awoke. after india scored 759 on monday, england‘s only incentive was to deny them victory by batting all day. with the help of an lbw

review, root fell to six. jonny bairstow on one — up, up and out. jadeja‘s catch, who else? still moeen ali fought to 44, then this. oh, no. the six wicket was stokes. dawson soon followed 40, and the england dressing room, speechless. with over an hour left in the day england lost their eighth wicket. dressing room, right. back camejadeja to take the ninth. still over half an hour for india to wrap it up. jake ball batted, jadeja bowled his seventh wicket, england all out for 207. they‘d lost ten wickets forjust104 runs. to lose a series 4—0, to lose like this displays a week streak far wider than england imagined. and alastair cook will now consider his future starting on the flight home. joe wilson, bbc news.

it's it‘s the wrong time to make those decisions, because your energy is low, you know, morale is low. and you can make some foolish decisions at the time. so why there‘s not a test match for seven months, it will seem very test match for seven months, it will seem very foolish to stand here now and makea seem very foolish to stand here now and make a decision, which either you regret or you don‘t. so, if there was a test match in three weeks‘ time, then you‘d have to think, now there is a bit of space, why not use it? jamie vardy will serve a three match ban after his claim for wrongful dismissal was rejected by the fa. vardy was shown a straight red for a two—footed tackle during leicester city‘s match against stoke on saturday. he won the ball, but made contact with mame diouf‘s shins. he‘ll now miss the premier league champions‘ games with everton, west ham and middlesbrough. newcastle united midfielder jonjo shelvey has been banned for five games and fined £100,000 after being found guilty of using racially abusive language towrds an opponent. shelvey was charged

following an incident with wolves midfielder romain saiss in a 2—0 defeat in september. he‘s also been ordered to attend an fa education course. team sky say they are confident uk anti—doping will find no wrongdoing when it publishes its report into the contents of a package delivered to the team in 2011. the package was handed over during the criterium du dauphine — an event won by sir bradley wiggins. sir dave brailsford told mps yesterday it contained an over—the—counter decongestant, flumucil. team sky say they‘re co—operating fully and look forward to the report. that‘s all sport for now. i‘ll have more in the next hour. thank you. more now on the lorry attack at a christmas market in germany which has left 12 people dead. german prosecutor peter frank says no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, adding that it was not yet clear who was behind it.

translation: the results of all these investigations are not yet ready. so for now, we don‘t know whether there was one attacker or several attackers. we also don‘t know whether they had support. this pa rt know whether they had support. this part of the investigation is not yet entirely concluded. but we have to think that the person who was arrested yesterday, a man of pakistani nationality, we have to be open to the idea that he could possibly, that he could possibly not have been the attacker. that was the german federal prosecutor peter frank. two british people were caught up in the attack last night, and they‘ve been speaking

about what they saw. we‘d literallyjust sat down with a bite to eat. and we‘ve heard what we thought were explosions, and we sort of leapt to our feet to go, ten metres, three feet round the corner to see. when we realised a lorry had gone through, we just were completely shocked. but instinct prevailed for us to sort of get in there and get helping as much as we could. but i don‘t think we really comprehended what was going on until, you know, we started shifting stalls. i think the instant we realised something was wrong, when we luckily decided to sit on that bench, and we heard this massive noise. it was so loud. it sounded like a massive explosion. it sounded like gunshots. our instant reaction, the same as everyone

else that was around us, was to get up and look and try and help. a lot of people were very shocked. some people were just staring at the scene in front of us. a few people were putting people into recovery positions. mother and, you know, their children, were trying to take them away from the scene, because what we saw, you know. it was absolutely horrific. and i don‘t think we can put really into detail enough words reallyjust how devastating the scene was. i think it was a situation where we didn't realise at that specific time that it was a lorry that went through. it hit about five christmas stalls. the stall that we saw, obviously there was people lying on the floor. we weren't sure if it was red wine or if it was blood. but we did see, i remember there were people trying

to pick up the stall, we decided to put our food down and lift the stall up with them. we realised, you know, that the people unfortunately underneath were already passed. so then rhys was trying to help them with the stall. i saw a man trying to move on the ground. so my first reaction was, i need to see if he's 0k. i'm hoping he's all right now. unfortunately, i wouldn't know. he was speaking a different language. but it was more of a murmur. unfortunately, he had a severe gash on the side of his head. i rememberjust holding his hand and saying, you know, everything's going to be ok. you're fine, just lie there. because obviously we didn't know the extent of the injuries. it was, i think another woman went to me as well, and we were both holding the man's hand. unfortunately, from what i saw, he was the only one that was really moving by that stall. and the rescue officer then came over to us and said, you know, he needs to lie down and we'll get everything sorted. so then we tried to move away from

the scene. it'sjust amazing how a peaceful, festive, happy atmosphere just changed instantly. and you‘ve just changed instantly. and you‘ve just got this scene of utter devastation. two british tourists caught up in that attack yesterday. here, the metropolitan police says it‘s carrying out a routine review of its plans for christmas and the new year in the light of the attack in berlin. richard walton was head of counterterrorism at new scotland yard — he says it‘s very hard to prevent these type of attacks. he‘s been speaking to our security correspondent, frank gardner. we don‘t know its isis, but it‘s likely to be isis or a group that is affiliated to isas, or even al-anda. but i think the most probable organisation responsible for this attack is isis. and it is likely to have been inspired at the very least by isis. what is the

secret, do you think, to preventing or at least reducing the chances of success of this kind of attack? the only way to prevent an attack of this nature is with good intelligence. and that can often come from members of the community reporting concerns that they‘ve got around individuals, and in particular muslim communities coming forward , particular muslim communities coming forward, stepping forward, if they see changes in behaviour in their families or the mosques or the communities. how good relations incontinent or europe between populations and the police and intelligence agencies? there is a significant difference between the approach that the united kingdom is police also have taken, if you like, the counterterrorism police network, and the engagement strategies with muslim communities, there is a significant difference between that approach and the approach we have seen approach and the approach we have seenin approach and the approach we have seen in european countries, mainland european countries, in particular france, belgium and germany. and it‘s going to take a long time to

rectify this issue. and for those countries to engage to the level they need to engage at the event this kind of attack. and fiercely what we‘ve seen in the united kingdom in the last few years, even ten yea rs kingdom in the last few years, even ten years —— and obviously. it is a significant emphasis and attempt, a largely successful attempt, to engage with muslim communities to come forward. a lot of terrorist attacks on our being prevented from information actually coming from the public, and is not coming from intelligence agencies and from the information overseas will stop we need to be very, very careful not to com plete need to be very, very careful not to complete the refugee issue and crisis with the threat from isis across europe. the two are quite distinct challenges. we need to remind ourselves that most terrorist attacks and most plots that have been disrupted have been carried out or planned by individuals who have been born in dripping countries. and that includes in the uk, where the vast majority of those arrested or actually being born and educated in

this country. this is not a question of refugees and the threat from refugees per se. the threat is far more complex than that. that was richard walton talking to frank gardner. he is the former head of counterterrorism at new scotland yard. just tell you in the last few minutes, just to update you. we saw the president obama has spoken to germany‘s chancellor angela merkel in the last little while. they have had a covering call and he offered american assistance after what he called that horrific apparent terrorist attack. so president obama has found angela merkel to offer us assistance. —— has phoned. now we will talk more about the assassination of russia‘s ambassador to turkey yesterday. president putin has vowed to step up the fight against terrorism in response. andrei karlov was shot dead by an off duty police officer whilst he was making a speech in ankara.

russia‘s ambassador to the european union, vladimir chizhov, has been speaking to bbc news —— and he gave his reflections on a death of a colleague whom he had known throughout his career. he was a personal friend of mine. actually, we joined the diplomatic service together over a0 years ago after graduating from the moscow institute of international relations. he was a well—known specialist on asian affairs, particularly on career. and actually his first diplomatic posting as ambassador was to north korea in 2001 the 2006. and three years ago he went as ambassador to turkey, a country that was not familiar for him. but he did a greatjob there. and the event which became so tragic

for his life to be lost there, was an event devoted to strengthening mutual understanding and friendship between the russian and the turkish people. i‘m sure this is the shock that all of my colleagues in the russian diplomatic service, and more widely the russian public opinion, as well as the whole world, should feel. because it‘s not done every day that ambassadors are getting killed. it‘s not every year that they are getting killed. this is an exceptional event which of course is a terrorist attacks, a very horrible terrorist attack. and if its aim was to spread fear and intimidate

members of the russian diplomatic service, and russia as a country, i think this attempt failed. and let me add, if it was an attempt, which is obvious, to provoke a rift between russia and turkey, two countries that had an uneasy relationship in the last several months, i am sure it also failed. russia‘s ambassador to the eu. speaking to the bbc in the last hour. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour. but first, the headlines on bbc news: angela merkel visits the scene of a lorry attack on a christmas market in berlin which killed 12 people. it‘s being investigated as terrorism. police say they can‘t rule out that a suspect or suspects may still be at large, despite the arrest of a man shortly after the incident. tthe body of russia‘s ambassador

to turkey is repatriated to moscow after he was shot dead by an off—duty turkish policeman. good afternoon, i‘m jamie good afternoon, i‘mjamie roberts. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. the markets are all on the up today. they seem to have ignored political problems and the terrorist attacks in europe and turkey. the oil price is also heading a little higher, and there‘s news of a bit of merger activity, which always encourages markets and gives them a small glow of optimism. the most interesting one in the uk is the decision by lloyds banking group, still 7% owned by the british taxpayer, to buy mbna from bank of america for $2.a billion, a move that would make the british lender the second—biggest credit card provider in the country. the uk market is above the 7,000 level, but the dow is closing in on 20,000 for the first time ever, which although in itself

important, gives investors a sense of excitement. meanwhile, the euro is on the way down, or more accurately the dollar is on the way up, driven by the expectation that interest rates in the us may go up notjust three times but possibly four next year — that‘s likely to be one whole percentage point people or even talking now about the dollar —jory people or even talking now about the dollar — jory parity. $1 fori people or even talking now about the dollar —jory parity. $1 fori euro, possibly. let‘s get some more analysis on this. mike, let‘s talk about the dollar first. in itself, it‘s not particularly important. but my goodness it must be helping the european economy. very good news for the europeans. they‘ve been challenging to get growth and inflation up. ironically, inflation has been stubbornly low in europe.

as the euro goes down, that will raise import prices and ultimately get them to an inflation rate, closer to the target, having been languishing in the 0.1% type of region. i think they will be happy with that. are you convinced by any of the signs of growth within the eurozone at the moment? the euro isn‘t doing too badly for the last 12 months, they have been running about 1.5% annual gdp growth, which is not bad in the context of where europe has been. even southern economies? the southern economies, spain, actually, is one of the strongest economies in europe at the moment. they are coming back, but has been a slow road back. they have had a number of problems to deal with. not least, you know, the level of unemployment in southern europe is still very, very high. so the growth rate is looking ok. but

unemployment there is still a big challenge. what about this takeover by lloyds of mdma? what does that tell you about what is happening at lloyds ? tell you about what is happening at lloyds? it is interesting and tells you a couple of things. the government with its 7% stake is going to be selling that pretty quickly. lloyds is looking now to the future. the other thing it tells you that lloyds is focused on the uk economy. they have bought uk assets, uk credit cards. i think what we can look forward to with lloyds is that they are very much focused on our own economy, the domestic economy. this is really about beefing up the footprint here. looking to the united states, the dowjones moving in on 20,000. this figure doesn‘t meana in on 20,000. this figure doesn‘t mean a huge amount but it is a huge rally. ii.5% mean a huge amount but it is a huge rally. 11.5% or something since the election. what does it tell you about the american economy? it's very interesting. the movement in the us energy market and the strength of the dollar and weakness of the euro are all part of the same thing, which is an optimism that the new us administration will come you know, will basically be spending

some bunny. and will accelerate growth in the us. there are challenges —— spending some money. we have seen a lot of domestic policy. i think we will get to the 20,000 level. we would caution about getting too enthusiastic about buying here. we think a pull—back at some stage would not be a big surprise given how quickly. higher interest rates, three or four times next year, a whole percentage point? we think that is a bit on the high side. we are pencilling in two to three rises next year. maybe half a point on interest rates. so that would be two rises, something of that level. they might possibly get the three if things go well. don‘t forget the dollar going up makes us exports more expensive and does do some degree do the work of higher interest rates on its own. so it will probably mean, you know, three orfour will probably mean, you know, three or four would will probably mean, you know, three orfour would be will probably mean, you know, three or four would be ambitious, will probably mean, you know, three orfour would be ambitious, i think. thank you. just to recap on those

markets. all of them on the rise across europe and the united states. the dowjones across europe and the united states. the dow jones closing across europe and the united states. the dowjones closing in on the 20,000 level. the ftse is less than 100 point away from its all—time high, which was 7128. that was about one year ago. that‘s all from me, there is a round—up of all the other top business stories on our website — bbc.co.uk/business thanks, jamie. scotland‘s first minister, nicola sturgeon, has set out out how she thinks scotland could stay in the european single market when the uk leaves the eu. she says leaving the free trade bloc could be devastating to scotland‘s prosperity. she called for a transfer of more powers from westminster to holyrood so powers from westminster to holyrood so that scotland can negotiate its own special status with brussels. nicola sturgeon described brexit is

an unprecedented situation not of scotla nd an unprecedented situation not of scotland is making. she insists that the options for a second referendum on scottish independence must remain on scottish independence must remain on the table. she said this weighty document was about exploring all options going forward. it‘s almost six months since the uk voted to leave the eu and the majority in scotland voted to stay. since then, there‘s been plenty of political positioning on what any brexit negotiations should involve, but not much detail. now, today, scotland‘s first minister set out how she hopes scotland‘s interests can be protected. we propose that the uk as a whole should stay in the single market by remaining a party to the european economic area agreement. i accept that there is a mandate in england and wales to take the uk out of the eu. however, i do not accept that there is a mandate to take any part of the uk out

of the single market. calls too from miss sturgeon for further powers to be devolved to the scottish parliament. fishing and farming policy should, she said, be transferred from brussels directly to holyrood. she argued that msps should be able to legislate in key areas such as employment and should have the power to set immigration policy, too. this scottish company, which employs seven people, sees europe as a growing market for its products and a source of talent for its team. its finnish owner says clarity is needed about what brexit will mean for his business. we need some certainty. i personally need some certainty. i‘m born in finland, i‘ve lived in the uk for 15 years. we are a growing business, we need to know where we can find future employees that we want to hire. and i want to know, can i stay in the uk myself. the conservatives insist there will be no separate deals for different parts of the uk. what we absolutely do not want to see is anything that jeopardises scotland‘s trading relationship with

the rest of the uk. scotland trades four times as much with the rest of the uk as it does with the whole of the european union, and that‘s the single market that we‘ve really got to preserve. some light shed today by scotland‘s government on what it wants from the brexit negotiations. but with no formal role in those talks, they are reliant on the government at westminster to agree. well, ultimately it will be up to theresa may, the prime minister and her cabinet, to decide what of these proposals from the scottish government to take forward. theresa may has said she will look very carefully at these proposals, and there will be a meeting of the devolved administrations injanuary. lorna gordon at holyrood. much more coming up from 5pm, live in berlin with the very latest following the attack on the christmas market yesterday. in the meantime, we will leave you

with a look at the weather with tomasz shafenaker. it‘s looking pretty rough on the weather front at least. it will turn quite stormy. certainly a storm yet spell than we have had so far this winter. —— the stormiest spell. you can see on the satellite picture, this ribbon of cloud driven by a powerfuljet stream. we will see storms forming, there is one close to why flintjust now. it is pushing the weather front through western areas. sobhi in the north—west, blustery gales. —— soggy. north—west, blustery gales. —— soggy. the wet weather is moving further south through the night. all of us will get a few drops of rain, but it will be heavy in the north—west. chilly are chucking in behind this cold front. —— tucking in. the winds will be strong, gales across the north—west. hailsham hours, sleet showers across the hills. but a bit of sunshine, too.

-- hail hills. but a bit of sunshine, too. —— hail showers. after a bright start it will turn quite soggy. from cornwall into east anglia, it will be on the milder side, and also quite wet. tomorrow evening, colder airdigs in behind. quite wet. tomorrow evening, colder air digs in behind. this weather front here, you can see the snow showers across the north. first thing on thursday morning it will be maybe, a touch of frost. again, strong winds howling across the coasts. the seas will be building higher and higher as we go through the next few days beyond that. really i think chilly, blustery day, but with some crisp sunshine in between on thursday as well. and then on friday it really is going to be all about this, the story is going to be storm barbara, which hasn‘t formed yet but we are forecasting it to sweep to the north—west of the british isles. there is already an amber warning from the met office because of the

severity of the storm. we could be getting gusts of about 90 mph in the north west of scotland. and even in the south, 70 mph, which could prove disruptive and damaging. that‘s not over. christmas eve in the christmas day we could see yet another storm. there is still uncertainty with the second one. throughout the christmas period there will be potential for disruption. stay tuned for local radio station. make sure you keep tuning into updates here on the bbc. today at five. the german government say an attack in berlin last night was terrorism. twelve people have died and almost fifty others are injured after a lorry was driven into a crowded christmas market in the german capital last night. a pakistani man has been arrested, but denies involvement. authorities won‘t rule out that a suspect — or suspects — may still be at large. the german chancellor, angela merkel, has laid flowers and signed a book of condolence.

she vows that germans will live freely and openly. translation: we do not want to live with the fear of evil paralysing us, even when that is sometimes hard. we will find the strength to live as we in germany want to live: free, together and open. i'm robert hall, live from berlin, where people are getting ready for a vigil to honour the dead and injured.