hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 12:30. a libyan passenger plane with 118 people on board has been forced to land in malta. it's thought two hijackers had threatened to blow up the aircraft. the main suspect in the berlin lorry attack is shot dead in milan after opening fire on police officers during an id check. anis amri, who is a tunisian national, was killed in the early hours of the morning. an italian officer was injured. there is absolutely no doubt that the person who was killed is anis amri. the suspect of the terrorist attack in berlin. an investigation begins into a disturbance in a prison in kent after prisoners took control of a wing. it will be a

weekend of travel disruption. and britain braces for storm barbara with scotland expected to bear the brunt of 90 mile an hour winds and difficult travelling conditions. more now on the flight that has been hijacked. malta's prime ministerjoseph muscat said on twitter that security and emergency operations are standing by. reports say the airbus a320 of state—owned afriqiyah airways has 118 people aboard. of state—owned afriqiyah airways earlier i spoke to magda magri naudi, the deputy mayor for lija in malta. she gave the latest on what authorities there had heard. well, at the minute, oui’ newscasters have just issued an issue and an address

from the prime minister. he said it is only a few minutes ago that he officially received a statement that a libyan airliner was landing in malta with hijackers on board. the situation was here all ready, but he is onlyjust receive the official news now. there is a meeting where a special committee are addressing the situation. the airport is closed, it is being completely closed and all flights diverted. flights coming after 1130 have been diverted. there are paramedics, there are soldiers, there are all security. there is the army. they are all on stand—by to see what the next step is. we're going to leave that and go

straight to a news conference on the shooting of the berlin suspect. during the attack on during the escape there was a network of accomplices. there was a network of co—offenders and people who knew about the attacks. we need to re—enact the itinerary of escape, hence we are in close contact with the italian authorities. we are also interested in learning as to weather the weapon that anis amri carried in milan was the weapon of the attack in berlin. we are investigating with high intensity. this is for us one of the focal points of our investigation. namely that we want

to investigate as to where and how he managed to get to milan. weather he managed to get to milan. weather he had any aiders or accomplices. what sort of personal contact the may have had in the run—up to the attack. people who might have attacked him. people who might have supported him with money and aided him in the escape. that is something we need to ascertain in the continued investigation. these are questions we need to ask ourselves. for us, today and as we stand here, we need to ask ourselves as to whether there was a network of accomplices were people who knew about him, about the planning of the attack. that is the focal point of oui’ attack. that is the focal point of our investigation in the first instance. if there were any

accomplices and co—offenders, then of course they need to be incorporated into our prosecution and investigation. thank you very much. no, the investigation is ongoing for the time being against anonymous people. you will know the confession of the so—called islamic state which is rather vague in nature and it doesn't specify the offender. i cannot say more than that because the investigation is ongoing. it must go on. we want to carry on the investigation calmly and with high intensity. that, words from the attorney general peter frank speaking from germany. making it very clear that with that

shooting dead of anis amri, that is not by any means the end of the matter. there is no investigation ongoing against, as he put it, anonymous people. various other people who are being sought. perhaps ina people who are being sought. perhaps in a network, perhaps something else. those details will be urging no doubt fairly shortly. let me now ta ke no doubt fairly shortly. let me now take you back to our other major story this afternoon, which is the flight story this afternoon, which is the flight in malta which has been hijacked. it was an internal flight in libya which was hijacked and then diverted to malta where it landed. these are live pictures that you are seeing now of the plane. the maltese prime minister tweeted earlier today that security and emergency operations are standing by. we saw pictures earlier of security officer standing by the perimeterfence. the

airbus a3120. has maybe 111, or maybe 118 people. the accounts are confused. mainly men and —— some women and one in front. —— one infant. joining me now from webcam is herman grech, an editor at the times of malta, he's in the capital valletta. thank you the joining us. thank you thejoining us. the situation remains confused. what more do you know about the plane and the circumstances under which it was forced to land? at this stage, it is not even clear whether this is an act of terrorism or whether it is the result of some internal, bitte viewed in libya. what we do know is that the two people who took over the aircraft threatened to blow it up the aircraft threatened to blow it up and then diverted to malta. what

we do know is that they are from a pro—gadhafi group. they have stopped the plane here, but we are not sure what their demands are. there seemed to be negotiations that are going quite well. the later is that i've heard is that some passengers might actually be released shortly. but of course we don't know much as you can understand in this situation. even the government spokesman are quite relu cta nt to the government spokesman are quite reluctant to diebold any information. —— divulges. reluctant to diebold any information. -- divulges. that is good news. when did you get to hear of this hijacking, if that is what it is, how long have passengers been on that plane? they have been never two hours now. —— been there for.

cameras were rushed to the scene. this is obviously not something that regularly happens. malta hasjust one airport, so obviously the plane has disrupted operations. most of the flights were diverted to neighbouring cicely. it is resuming now. it is obviously disrupted the place in a big way. malta is a small island and tourism is our mainstay, so of course this drama happening at our doorstep. the government is directly involved. the prime minister has spoken to the libyan prime minister to find out how this can be resolved. the problem is we still don't know what the two hijackers really want. and the situation of course remains a bit confused. there are different accou nts

confused. there are different accounts coming from different sources. there are reports that the hijackers have grenades with them. is that something that you have heard? is that something that you can confirm? at least one of the hijackers is claiming to have a hand grenade on board. that is confirmed. so are clearly a very worrying situation. of course. they did threatened to blow the plane up. there are 11 passengers and seven —— 111 and seven crew members on board. all libyan nationals and no foreigners on board. this is obviously bringing possibly a very serious domestic situation and political problem in libya of, close to our doorstep. basically at the doorstep of europe. it shows that five years after the fall of gaddafi of the situation is still very serious. thank you very much indeed for joining serious. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. let us bring you up

to date on the shooting of the terror suspect anis amri. there's been confirmed that he is the man who was shot dead in milan overnight. is understood to have travelled to italy from germany via france. even as a europe—wide manhunt intensified. that information came from the interior minister for information came from the interior ministerfor germany as information came from the interior minister for germany as a news conference. last night, at three in the morning, in milan, during a normal patrol of our police officers, one of our police officers on patrol stopped a person who looked very suspect, who was just walking around, looking very suspect. in the moment he was stopped, the man without hesitating, he immediately took his gun and shot.

he shot. he shot at the police officer who asked him for his identification papers. the police officer, christian movio, immediately reacted to the shoot out. luckily, our police officer was not shot fatally and he is now in hospital recovering. the police officers reacted to the shoot out. the person who attacked our police officer was killed. the police officers on patrol...

the person who was killed after all, there is no doubt that the person who was killed is anis amri. the suspect of the terror attack in berlin. that is the italian interior medicine there. our reporter is outside the train station in a suburb of milan where anis amri, the man suspected of carrying out that attack was shot by police. he sent us attack was shot by police. he sent us this update. chalk circle in a bloodstained on what we think is the exact location where two one was shot by the italian police. we

understand by the information given to us by the italian interior minister that he got off a train here in the suburb of milan in sesto san giovanni and he was stopped by police for a regular identity check. he then extracted a gun at his backpack and shot one police officer who was injured. in should a shoot out happened. he spent five years here, four of which in a jail in cicely. he was known for his violent behaviour. eventually, he was issued with a deputation order which did not materialise and eventually escaped to germany where he is believed to have taken part in and carried out those attacks in berlin. our correspondence bethany bell is in berlin where she said there is a sense of relief amongst germans. everyone is very relieved that this man who is arms is no longer posing a threat to the public. the german

authorities have said that they have not officially confirmed his identity yet, but they say that there is little doubt that this was anis amri who was shot in milan today. we understand bureaucratically it will take a little bit longer before the german authorities confirm him. a spokesman for the interior ministry here in germany said that there was a sense of relief that this man no longer posed a threat. our correspondence with any belt there. here is what is known about anis amri movements prior to the bowling attack. he left his family in tunisia in going to italy in 2011. he spent four years there injailfor violence italy in 2011. he spent four years there in jail for violence and theft. he could not be deported because of a lack of a passport. denied asylum, he was once again not deported. he —— it was feared he was

try to get automatic weapons for an attack, and surveillance of him was halted in september. frank gardner said it was notjust luck that led policeman in milan to pick up a suspect. he was well—known to the authorities. he had spent many years authorities. he had spent many years a italy. many of imprisoned for trying to burn down a school. it was known already to the italian authorities. the most obvious people who are going to be contacted by the german authorities once they knew who he was was going to be italians and the tunisians. there was the degree of international cooperation here. you can see this as the glass half full or the glass half empty. the glass half empty is, hang on, this guy was able to slip across borders. the word slip is perhaps highly unfair because it was not known exactly... it agreed germans while to figure out that this was the guy they wanted. they

interrogated the wrong driver the first 20 hours for derby was not necessarily being pursued. we managed to get out of germany, across the border into france. very high speed train into during. in the end, he made a mistake going back to italy. he almost certainly would have probably been trying to hide himself in suburbs or make his way eventually over to syria. if indeed islamic state their statement is correct. they claim that he is one of theirs. there is no proof that has been offered and they have not actually identified him as being theirs and said that he was one of theirs and said that he was one of their soldiers, as they put it. the glass half full is that this is superb european co—operation. this is making up for some of the bureaucratic red tape mistakes that have led to this disaster in the place or contributed to it. —— first

place. given the right ide, getting patrols out, stopping people, what was he doing the train station at three in the morning? 0k, though plenty of innocent people doing that, but this is a patrol that stopped and asked to produce of id papers. instead of doing that come he produced a weapon fired at them. it could have been luck, but i suspect it was more of a chip. that is security correspondent, frank gardner. the dissenters other news now. “— gardner. the dissenters other news now. —— let's turn to some. the prison service says a disturbance at swaleside jail in kent is now resolved. specialist guards known as tornado teams were sent in after dozens of inmates took control of part of a wing yesterday evening. the police are now investigating. the prison service said the challenges in the system are long—standing and wouldn't be solved overnight. smitha mundasad reports. a glimpse of the chaos behind closed doors. some prisoners brandishing fire extinguishers. 0thers holding snooker balls —

they're sometimes used as weapons. reports say fires were lit. their faces are covered, but their feelings are clear. it took specialist tornado teams, trained in control and restraint, to end this disturbance, some five hours after it started. but the trade union the prison 0fficers' association says it could all happen again. there are simmering tensions around the estate, so what happened at swaleside last night, we believe could happen at any number of prisons up and down the country at this minute in time. but swaleside is a particularly tough prison to work at. the staff recruitment and retention there has been poor. in the last few years, they've lost lots of experienced staff there and new recruits haven't wanted to stick the job out, due to the toxic nature of the job. and this seems to be becoming a more familiar picture. it's the fourth major incident at an english jail injust four months. on october the 29th, there was a disturbance in lewes, which lasted six hours. and just one day later, there was a riot in bedford,

involving up to 200 inmates. and last month, specialist riot squads were deployed to hmp birmingham, to a disturbance involving hundreds of prisoners. it is not shocking. the last two yea rs we have it is not shocking. the last two years we have seen increases in self harm, suicide, prison deaths, murder. this isjust an harm, suicide, prison deaths, murder. this is just an awakening to realise that these are very real, pressing conditions under reform is desperately necessary and the investment is desperately necessary. the government says the challenges in prisons are long—standing and will not be solved overnight, but the justice secretary is committed to making sure prisons are stable and delivering reform. no—one was hurt on this occasion, but this incident raises yet more questions about the safety of both prisoners and staff. smitha mundasad, bbc news. the homeless charity crisis says that people sleeping rough are 17 times more likely to be a victim of crime than other members of the public. it's also found that 80% of homeless people are regularly attacked and abused,

some even urinated on. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has more. london commuter trains provided a place of safety and shelter for one man who was homeless for five years. he would sleep on the carriages heading in and out of the city. corky became frightened of the streets after becoming the subject of an unprovoked attack one night. i was in leicester square, got into a discussion with a young man around the fact i was homeless. he became quite aggravated i would guess by the fact i was homeless and i was saying being homeless isn't a choice, people are homeless for different reasons and from there he punched me in the face, and it was quite a nasty punch. his experience is fairly common, says today's survey. 30% of rough sleepers say they've been deliberately hit or kicked. 31% say they've had things thrown at them. 7% were actually urinated on. most were attacked by people they didn't know. it's notjust the incident itself

but it's the impact it has on that individual, on their mental health, on their ability to even ask for help. we found that most homeless people who are rough sleeping actually feel ashamed already and surely if you're then urinated on you're going to feel more ashamed and even more marginalised. crisis say homeless people rarely report crimes as they don't think the police will take them seriously. they want officers to send a strong message to rough sleepers that their safety is paramount and that any abuses they suffer will be fully investigated. michael buchanan, bbc news. we can take you now to live shots of the passenger plane that was devoted from tunisia to malta. the door is

open, you can see steps going up to there. we are heard earlier that there. we are heard earlier that there may have been during negotiations and agreements for some passengers to be let out and i think you can see some passengers in the doorway and somebody coming down the steps. 0bviously, doorway and somebody coming down the steps. obviously, we are at some distance. we are only able to see through the trees. this is a afriqiyah airways plane. that was on an internal libyan flight. it then diverted to malta. it was said to have been hijacked by two men. two men reportedly with grenades and i think you can see through the leaves

their more people coming down the steps and clearly quite a lot of noise and commotion going on. but clearly, some movement then now on that plane that has been at malta airport for several hours now. it looks as if there might be some staff from the airport there in the maltese capital. they are at the bottom of the steps, clearly waiting to receive people who have come off. we know that there are 111 patent is on board, plus the plane's crew. mostly men. some women and one infant. and that's is in fact information that was tweeted by the country's prime minister. the plane

is an airbus a320. it was on a internal domestic libyan flight was to malta earlier this morning. so, it does look like there are more people coming down. we havejust lost that picture for a moment, but you can see now a different image. 0h, you can see now a different image. oh, there we are. from a slightly further away, but clearly people coming out. going down the stairs, so they will have quite an ordeal. rights, we will of course be bringing you much more on that story as soon as we get it. clearly, it is

as soon as we get it. clearly, it is a moving story right now. there without hijacked plane. for the moment, let's go over tojohn hammond with the weather. to name storms now. it will impact this to a greater or lesser extent. we have a band going eastwards across the country. squally winds. the winds are going to increase further later on this afternoon and more this evening across the far north of scotland. this is where the peak of the winds will be. gusts of over 80 or 90 mph. the most exposed parts of the northern isles, potentially. an amber warning in force from the met office. be prepared. barbara. barbara continues to whistle away into scandinavia. frequent wintry showers. ice will be a significant risk later on tonight particularly on a higher level. it

will settle down and turned quite chilly as we start christmas eve. here's the map is weak start christmas eve. ridgeway north—eastwards. this run of very strong winds. frequent wintry showers. low levels across parts of scotla nd showers. low levels across parts of scotland in the titular. using a touch as more rain piles across northern ireland and eventually western scotland. relatively quiet, a bright and breezy day. not too cold in the south in the sunshine, at least. things go downhill again as we head through christmas eve night with wet and windy weather piling through ireland and scotland in particular. patchy rain the south as well. this deepening area of low pressure is to blame. time, we have warmth wrapped into that low pressure system. chris morning is going to be remarkably mild. temperatures into the mid—teens in some places. there will be some winds, and that front is quite important. it was a cold front will

bring rain south through the country. that is during the course of christmas day. behind that as we head into christmas night, much lower temperatures which could again turn the showers quite wintry. for some of us in the high areas of scotla nd some of us in the high areas of scotland particular, we could end up with a white christmas. boxing day, that low pressure has developed into a named connor. 80 or 90 mph. quieter, brighter and drier. the man suspected of the lorry attack on the berlin christmas market has been shot dead by police. anis amri was killed in milan early this morning in a shoot out with italian police after he was stopped in a routine check. amri had been on the run since monday's attack in which twelve people were killed — it's thought he travelled from berlin to milan by train. translation: he was the most wanted man in europe and he immediately

identified him and neutralised him. this means our security is working really well. we'll have the very latest from italy and berlin. also this lunchtime. a libyan passenger plane with more than 100 people on board has been hijacked and forced to land in malta. in the last few minutes, some passengers have begun to be released. here, the christmas getaway gets underway — but delays are expected on the roads and railways.