manhunt for a suspect in the christmas—market terror attack. this is the man they want, a tunisian—born asylum—seeker who's thought to be armed and dangerous. his papers were found in the truck. the authorities admit he was known to police. translation: this person attracted the attention of several security services in germany through his contact with a radical islamist. we'll be looking at what's driving this rise in terror attacks in europe. also tonight, life for the property—developer millionaire who murdered his escort girlfriend. he told the police what happened. once i'd attempted to murder her, i'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble for that, and she could have still gone on and blackmailed me. how are you? cared for in her home and not on a ward, the nhs reforms that critics say will end in cuts. the number of vehicles being clamped has doubled

since paper tax discs were dropped. and the young athletes who are already planning for olympic glory in 202a. coming up in sportsday on bbc news, saints escape any punishment for allowing george north to carry on playing after appearing to be knocked out in a match. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a europe—wide manhunt is under way tonight after german police issued a warrant for a suspect in the berlin christmas—market terror attack. he's been named as anis amri, a failed asylum—seeker who arrived in germany last year.

it's emerged that amri was known to german authorities because of his links to an islamist extremist. so tonight the police there are facing serious questions about whether they should have done more to stop him. from berlin, jenny hill sent this report. you're looking at europe's most wanted man. anis amri is the main, the only suspect in the investigation into an attack which shattered germany. translation: there's a new suspect, we are searching for him. we'll keep investigating every lead. we issued a warrant for this suspect‘s arrest at midnight. the warrant covers the whole of germany and most of europe. we're learning more about the 24—year—old tunisian. he arrived in germany last year. he was refused asylum but granted temporary leave to stay. he was known to the authorities, considered a threat because of his links to one of germany's most notorious islamist networks. and he'll be hard to find —

he used six different names and three nationalities. the hijacked lorry used in monday's attack is yielding its grim evidence — documents leading to the suspect and dna. it's thought he struggled with the man who should have been behind the wheel before shooting him dead. germany's misery compounded by the suggestion again that one of those who sought asylum here may have been responsible. more pressure too on angela merkel. earlier, the far—right dutch politician geert wilders posted a picture of the chancellor, her hands covered in blood. do you blame angela merkel for what happened 7 "angela merkel," she says, "is a humanitarian woman." "she did the right thing a year ago, no—one could know this would happen." flowers for the dead, prayers for the injured.

germany's foreign minister joined today by his italian counterpart. among those missing and feared dead is fabrizia di lorenzo, who comes from l'aquila. translation: we have to realise that we are vulnerable right in the middle of our country, of our capital. we have to realise that we aren't spared the kind of attacks that happen elsewhere. tonight, they don't know where their main suspect is. in fact, they're offering a reward of 100,000 euros. but this investigation does now have a face and a focus. that is, for some here perhaps, a little light in the darkness. and we can talk tojenny hill in berlin. the more we learn from your report, the more it feels like the german police could have perhaps, should have done more. yes, and i

think there will be a growing sense of frustration, if not anger, actually, and for two reasons. first of all, anis amri was known to the authorities, they considered him to be dangerous because of his links to an extremist network. secondly, of course, it was 2a hours before they identified him as the main suspect in this case, and bear in mind that during that time the police arrested and finally released an entirely, apparently, ennis and man, giving anis amri a vital head start. —— innocent man. i think too compounding the misery for people in berlin, in germany tonight is the suggestion that somebody who entered this country as an asylum seeker may have been responsible, may have been the perpetrator of this terrible attack. already, this evening, there are demonstrations by the anti—immigrant party, which has been fiercely critical of angela merkel‘s

refugee policy. they have been demonstrating in the city this evening. i would go as far as to say that tonight germany is not simply a country in morning, it is also a country in morning, it is also a country deeply ill at ease. jenny, thank you very much. with me is our security correspondent frank gardner. paris, brussels, nice, berlin, people will be thinking, where next? the jihadist threat to europe is people will be thinking, where next? thejihadist threat to europe is not new, it has been around in various forms for 20 years. in the year 2000, al-qaeda plans to attack a christmas market in strasbourg, some 16 years ago. but we have seen an intensification of plots, and the syrian conflict has drawn in unprecedented numbers of international jihadists, would—be fighters, and some of those have been killed on the battlefield, some have given up the fight, but a large number of them are still there or

trying to come back, winning their way back into europe. there is a problem on the borders, a problem with all the different names, so the call to attack european countries is about two years old, specifically from so—called islamic state. their spokesman, tojihadist from so—called islamic state. their spokesman, to jihadist he was quite charismatic, and he issued his call —he is charismatic, and he issued his call — he is now dead, but a lot of people that call, and that has outlived him. all right, frank, thank you very much, thank you. a millionaire property developer from south wales has been jailed for life for the murder of his personal escort. peter morgan strangled georgina symonds, who earned up to £10,000 a month, at her home in newport. he had admitted killing her but denied it was murder. sian lloyd reports. georgina symonds, mother to a five—year—old daughter — she was strangled by the man who called himself her sugar daddy. the 25—year—old had met property millionaire peter morgan while working as an escort. the married 54—year—old had become infatuated with her. but the court heard he killed her in a carefully planned attack

out of cold anger on finding out that she planned to blackmail him. in a statement read on her behalf, georgina symonds's mother, deborah, said their family was broken. the death of my daughter, georgina symonds, has been a devastating tragedy for the whole of our family. her beautiful daughter has been left without a mum. georgina has left a hole in our lives that will never be repaired. during their relationship, the father of two had paid georgina symonds up to £10,000 a month, taken her on helicopter flights and bought expensive gifts. she moved into a bungalow in the grounds of a ruined mansion that he owned, but she didn't know that he'd installed a listening device disguised as a plug adapter. the multimillionaire overheard a conversation in which she spoke of plans to blackmail him by threatening to send intimate pictures to his family. police visited her bungalow when she was reported missing after failing to pick up her daughter from school. this body—cam footage records morgan claiming that he didn't

know where she was. where did we think she was going at 12 o'clock? didn't say. she didn't say. shejust wanted me gone by 12. but georgina symonds was already dead. peter morgan had concealed her body in a barn at his family home. this was the moment that peter morgan told police officers what he'd done. the trouble was, once i'd sort of attempted to murder her, i'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble for that, and she could have still gone on and blackmailed me, couldn't she? during his trial, the jury had been told that peter morgan had asperger‘s syndrome. he had denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but the judge told him that the plans that he had made and the steps he had taken to cover up what he'd done showed that he was in control and understood his actions. peter morgan showed no emotion as he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years for the murder of georgina symonds. sian lloyd, bbc news,

newport crown court. the queen and prince philip have delayed plans to travel to their estate in sandringham in norfolk today, because they both have what buckingham palace described as "heavy colds". the queen, who celebrated her 90th birthday this year, and prince philip, who's 95, usually spend the christmas break at sandringham. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell is at buckingham palace. neck, what more can you tell us? well, this is the story of the day, george, all the travel arrangements we re george, all the travel arrangements were in place for a trainjourney from king's cross to king's lynn at around 11 o'clock this morning, the protection people were there but then they were told to stand down, nobody would be travelling. speculation started, at 1:30 buckingham palace let it be known that the queen and the duke had, in their words, heavy colds, and travel

was delayed. the question is whether they will be able to make the journey tomorrow, friday or indeed saturday, christmas eve. there is every expectation that they will, the royal family gather at sandringham for christmas, and they certainly won't want to miss that. the health of the queen in recent times seemingly as robust as ever for somebody in a 91st year. the health or so of the duke, at the age of 95, seemingly good at recent times. so heavy colds, in the words of buckingham palace, an expectation that they will travel, and no undue concern here tonight that i can detect. all right, thank you very much. a former royal marine sergeant, who's serving a life sentence for murdering a wounded afghan fighter in 2011, has been refused bail while he awaits an appeal hearing. the family of alexander blackman — who's known as marine a — had hoped he'd be released from custody in time for christmas. his case is due to be reconsidered next year. at least 31 people are known to have died in a series of explosions at a fireworks market in mexico. around 60 other people were injured,

many with severe burns, at the market outside mexico city. the cause of the fire is unknown, but it's believed one stall caught fire before triggering a chain reaction of blasts. it's the third major fire at the market since 2005. nhs england has hit back at suggestions from some campaigners that it's about to embark on a major programme of cuts. medical director sir bruce keogh has told the bbc that plans to make radical changes to the way the nhs is run — with services concentrated on fewer sites — will deliver better patient care. but sir bruce has acknowledged that what he called "difficult choices" will have to be made. this report from our health editor, hugh pym. with threats to local hospitals, cue protesters, and that's what's happening here in banbury. chanting: hands off the horton! they fear nhs reform plans will mean

the local a&e being downgraded, with longerjourneys to oxford. local managers say nothing's finalised, but with maternity services recently reduced, these demonstrators claim there's more to come. we need a hospital that is going to support the population of banbury, and i feel that reducing the services of banbury and forcing people to go elsewhere is going to put lives at risk. i want the horton to stay as it is and grow, really. not to shrink, to get better and bigger. it's just one example of sustainability and transformation plans drawn up in every area of england, with local health and social—ca re leaders urged to do more to look after people away from hospitals. campaigners out trying to protect local hospital services is nothing new in nhs politics. the question is whether protests like this become more widespread. nhs leaders know they have to work hard to convince the public that changes could benefit patients. it's incumbent on those who are

putting those proposals forward to be absolutely clear about what the benefits and risks of each proposed change are, because many communities will have some pretty difficult choices to make. what would you say to those who say this is a smoke screen for cuts and there's a hidden agenda? there will always be people that think that. but actually, this is really about a proper conversation about how we improve the services, and in particular how we link up social care and the national health service. the local plan in kent draws on pioneering work in the margate area. known as primary care home, it sees gps, the nhs and social care looking after patients together. how are you? i'm a lot better than i was, darling. barbara, who has heart, lung and kidney problems, has visits whenever she needs, so she can live in her own home. the doctors come in and nurses,

the carers come in and say to me... the team is absolutely marvellous. i recommend being at home to get better, rather than being in hospital. northern ireland and scotland already have integrated health and social care. the landscape's the same across the uk, with an ageing population and stretched budgets. england's attempts to join up local services offers opportunities, but it won't be plain sailing. hugh pym, bbc news. the time is 6.15pm: our top story this evening... police in germany have launched a europe wide manhunt for a suspect in the berlin christmas market attack. and still to come: the success of rio 2016 is still fresh in our minds, but these athletes are already thinking of olympic glory in eight years' time. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news,

kvitova's injury is worse than feared, the two—time wimbledon champion said to be out for six months after injuring her hand in a knife attack in her home. businesses and politicians are warning that northern ireland will be especially vulnerable when the uk finally leaves the eu. the two parties in stormont‘s power sharing government were on different sides during the brexit campaign. but since then they have been united in calling for a deal that recognises northern ireland's unique position as the only part of the uk with a land border with another eu country. in the latest of our series of reports looking at brexit six months after the vote, here's our ireland correspondent chris buckler. londonderry is known as the walled city. these barriers were built as defences four centuries ago. but to protect itself in the future, most here want derry to be

seen as an open city. there is particular concern among businesses about what the uk losing its european union branding will mean. this labelling company sits just a mile from the border between northern ireland and the republic. soon that line will mark the point where the uk starts and ends. northern ireland, i believe, should have a special deal. not only for the movement of goods and services but for the movement of people within the island of ireland. it would be a nonsense to think that the island will be divided in some way. it has been pointed out time and time again that northern ireland is the only part of the uk to have a land border with another eu country. but it's only when you come to a city like derry that you really realise what that means. there are people who live on one side and they work on the other. and people cross that borderjust to see friends and family or to do their shopping. fearing stormy times ahead, scotland has also been pushing for a special deal,

or potentially even a second independence referendum. something irish nationalists have been watching closely. at this cultural centre in derry you can order the christmas special in irish as well as english. and there are some here who say if scotland gets a vote on independence, there should also be a referendum on irish unity. it's the same argument, really. if their argument to get another vote is based on remaining in europe, the same argument should apply here. a majority on this side of the irish sea did vote to stay in the eu. but polls suggest there has been no real rise in support for a united ireland. yet since the brexit decision, even in unionist areas like north down, post offices have seen a surge in demand for applications for irish and what will remain european passports. people from northern ireland are entitled to joint citizenship. i would like to feel european, but i won't now, will i?

other than the fact i've got an irish passport, so i've got my feet in both camps! it's not yet clear what gifts could be offered by the eu or westminster to this part of the uk. but on the road to brexit, northern ireland needs to find a way of ensuring its unique position stands out. chris buckler, bbc news, derry. a brief look at some of the day's other other news stories. the european court ofjustice has ruled that the "indiscriminate" collecting of emails and other electronic data by the uk government is illegal. eu judges said communications information can only be retained if it's targeted and used to fight serious crime. the home office says it'll try to get the decision overturned. the italian parliament has approved a government plan for a possible £16 billion bailout of the country's banks. it follows an announcement from one of the oldest surviving banks in the world, monte dei paschi, that it may run out of funds next year.

it's believed the italian treasury would use the fund to prop up that bank and others in trouble too. inspectors raised "serious concerns" about patient safety at one of england's main abortion providers, marie stopes international. concerns over the quality of training for some staff and checks on the skills of anaesthetists, doctors and other staff were raised. marie stopes international says "considerable changes" have been made since the inspections this summer. a labour mp has announced he is quitting parliament to take a job in the nuclear industry. jamie reed — an ex—shadow health minister — has represented copeland in west cumbria since 2005. his resignation, which he called the "hardest decision of his life", has triggered a by—election in a seat labour retained in 2015 with a 2,500 majority. new figures show that the clamping of cars for non—payment of vehicle tax has soared since the paper tax disc was scrapped two years ago. the data obtained by bbc news

through a freedom of information request shows that the number of vehicles clamped was running at 5,100 a month in the run—up to the paper disc going. but in the latest six months — up to october this year — the average was 9,200 a month. that's a rise of 80%. some people complain that they forgot to renew because they didn't have the disc to remind them. our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, reports. it's the last thing you want to see locked onto your car. and the cost of getting rid of the clamp can be much more than the car tax itself. it was quite shocking. i'd just finished a 13 hour shift... joanne, a nurse in salford, had to pay £3110 when she was clamped. she'd moved house. the reminder went astray and

110w house. the reminder went astray and now there is no paper tax disc on the windscreen to jog her memory. now there is no paper tax disc on the windscreen to jog her memorylj noticed the windscreen to jog her memory.” noticed it had been clamped. in all the years i've been driving, i've missed one, and that's only since they removed the tax disc. mine has a lwa ys they removed the tax disc. mine has always been paid on time. i think it's a bit heavy—handed. i was shocked, annoyed, upset. this is how the cost can mount. an £80 late payment penalty and a £100 release fee for the clamp, rising to £200 once they have taken your vehicle to the car pound after a day. £21 a day in the pound and if you don't come and pick it up, this is what they can do to your car. they can crush it, break it up or just sell it. this is one of 75 clamping fans on the hunt. cameras check number plates as they pass vehicles on the roadside. alerting

their clampers when they spot one which isn't taxed. 9000 clamps a month is nearly doubled two years ago. the dvla has deliberately stepped up the rate to send a message to evaders. the law is that you message to evaders. the law is that y°u pay message to evaders. the law is that you pay your tax. message to evaders. the law is that you pay yourtax. some of message to evaders. the law is that you pay your tax. some of those people are saying is heavy—handed, they never meant not to pay the tax. there are plenty of people, in fact the vast majority pay their taxes no problem at all. the fact there's a small tax disc in the window shouldn't be an issue. after all, people pay their tv licence and they do have to put a little licence in their front window. so do have to put a little licence in theirfront window. so in do have to put a little licence in their front window. so in the end, their front window. so in the end, the most important thing is people do pay their tax. there is little doubt the end of a tax disc has provided more targets for the clampers, but the dvla promises its fa ns clampers, but the dvla promises its fans will scour every postcode area twice a year, saying all car owners have a responsibility to pay. simon gompertz, bbc news.

now, it was one of the highlights of the year. team gb‘s performance in rio delivered gold medal after gold medal and will live long in the memory of sports fans. now, team gb‘s bosses are looking ahead, not just to 2020, but they're already working with the athletes of 202a. our sports correspondent natalie pirks has been to meet some of them. it was a summer of unprecedented sporting success. yes, come on! golds were boldly won where golds hadn't been won before. sensational! never before had a nation exceeded their medal tally at a summer olympics, immediately after a home games. adam peaty takes 0lympic gold for great britain. tokyo has a lot to live up to. but future stars are already on the springboard, and not just for 2020. uk sport was you big when it launched its eight—year pathway programmes. —— was unique. not only does it invest in athletes

with what it calls "podium potential" for the next 0lympics, but also for the athletes coming up behind them, like diver kat torrance, with two golds at the recent world junior championships she's an olympic hopeful learning her trade alongside 0lympic champions. an olympic medal, a gold one for team gb had never happened, so it did almost seem impossible, but now they've done it, it's like ok, maybe it's not impossible, maybe it could be repeated in the next 0lympics. so, they're a big inspiration to us. it's kind of weird to think we are role models for them, but i think they were hugely inspired by watching the olympics and seeing the success that we got. we've got such talent, just here, and its young talent as well, which is really exciting. so looking forward to 2020 and onwards, it's going to be amazing. another sport to exceed expectations in rio, with seven medals, was gymnastics. everybody‘s looked at gymnastics in great britain and thought london was going to be a fluke and then it would drop off the cliff. we set out to make sure that that was sustainable going through to rio, and in the same way now, we expect that to be

sustainable going on to tokyo and beyond to 202k. one of the gymnasts on the eight—year pathway is 16—year—old jamie lewis. he's part of great britain's juniors, who this year won their fifth european team gold in a row. the ultimate dream, to win an all—round medal at the olympic games, at least by 2024, or a medal at tokyo in 2020. do you think 2024 is more realistic? yes, yes, i think so. 2020 is a dream, and 2024 is reality? yes. laughter. you're that confident? yeah. wow. with confidence like that, it seems britain's future medal prospects remain bright. natalie pirks, bbc news. we have been hearing about some rough weather on the way. let's get the latest. here's darren bett.

looking ahead to christmas and in the next few days alternating between rain and windy weather. it will remain very windy. through this evening and overnight, saint gales and frequent wintry showers in north—west scotland. rain developing in southern england will clear away and as it does so we will see some patchy fog forming in the south—east later. as sky is clear it will turn chilly in the countryside. close to freezing and some icy patches in scotland, especially at high levels, with the snow continuing. gales and showers in northern ireland. a few coming into western ireland and wales. much of england dry and quite sunny. there will be a chilly feel in there. not bad where the winds are lighter in the south and you get the sunshine, but vertically cold with the gales and showers towards the north—west. we have our storm, barbara, heading towards the north—west of scotland. a deep area

of low pressure. that weather front on friday will give us all a spell of rain. the wind will be the main feature. the met office have issued this amber wind warning for friday and into friday night. the strongest of the winds will develop across the north west of scotland. cost of 90 miles an hour. across the rest of scotla nd miles an hour. across the rest of scotland on friday and friday night, gusts of 70 miles an hour, so doing northern ireland and north wales. christmas eve morning, the winds becoming lighter. still blustery showers in the north and some could be wintry. it's not as wintry further south, but clouding over, just in time for christmas debts. very windy, especially in the north, but it could be very mild. thank you very much. that's all from the bbc news at 6. so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one, we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 6.30pm. a manhunt is under way for a tunisian man suspected of carrying out the lorry attack on a christmas market. berlin police say anis amri arrived in germany last year, but his application for asylum was rejected. tributes continue to be paid for the 12 people killed when the lorry ploughed through the crowds in the centre of berlin on monday night, and security has now been stepped up across germany. meanwhile, here in london, extra security measures are brought in for the changing of the guard ceremony at buckingham palace.