this is bbc news. i'm nicholas owen. the headlines at 8.00pm: theresa may hails an historic victory, as the conservatives win a seat in cumbria held by labour for more than 80 years. this truly is a government that is working for everyone and for every part of the country. meanwhile labour does hang on to its seat in stoke central, seeing off a challenge by ukip. and a message aboutjobs, and about this country —— ekiza message. —— it is a message. but above all, it was a message that hope triumphs over fear. the half brother of north korea's leader was killed by a substance classified as a weapon of mass destruction, according to malaysian authorities. the government outlines plans

for fast—track degrees lasting two years instead of three — but they'll come at a cost. claudio ranieri says his dream has died following leicester city's decision to sack him yesterday. do you have anything to say to the fans? yes, i am very sad for them. i wish them all the best. the italian guided the foxes to the premier league title nine months ago — the club say the decision wasn't down to a player revolt. and coming up on hardtalk we hearfrom tzipi livni, the prominent israeli politician widely considered the most powerful woman in the country. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the conservative party has won a historic by—election victory in copeland. it's the first time a party in government has taken a seat in a by—election for 35 years, and it's a major political upset.

theresa may said her party had secured an outstanding victory. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn described their defeat as very disappointing, but he said he wouldn't be standing down. labour has held copeland since 1935, but the conservatives overturned a labour majority of more than 2500. in a second by—election in stoke—on—trent central, labour saw off a concerted challenge from the ukip leader paul nuttall — with a reduced majority. in a moment, we'll have a full report from stoke, but first our deputy political editorjohn pienaar reports from copeland. sometimes party leaders seem to grow a little after a win. theresa may's victory appearance here today told you that she'd use the tories winning copeland to claim she could reach people and parts of britain no tory leader has won over since margaret thatcher. this truly is a government that is working for everyone and for every part of the country.

as for the idea that the tories could win too big, that good government needs good opposition, try telling them that — or her. does britain need a strong opposition to hold you to account over brexit? the opposition will do what they will do, what i'm concerned about is what the government does, what the conservative government does. we are working for a country that truly works for everyone, notjust the privileged few. that's the message that people here in copeland have heard. did you think that copeland would vote tory in this way? no. we could dream of it. i've been a councillor for 20 something years and we dreamt one day it would. nothing like this has ever happened. the conservative party candidate, 13,748. cheering and applause. it was a big win. the first win in a by—election by any government over its opposition in 35 years, and in a place that's been labour since 1935. it's been very clear, talking to people throughout this campaign, thatjeremy corbyn doesn't represent them. and this is tory territory now,

labour folk don't like it and some feel they know a reason why. copeland depends on sellafield, jeremy corbyn has opposed nuclear power. the nuclear probably had quite a lot to do with it, because jeremy corbyn said he didn't want it. he did do a u—turn on that, but who knows. the men have done no good when they've been prime ministers, so maybe a woman changes everything. i don't think there's any hope. no hope for labour underjeremy corbyn? i don't think so. i have to back him, because i am a labour man. i'm a member of the labour party. and you're telling me it's hopeless? i think it is. he's not strong enough. stoke had been a safe seat for labour butjeremy corbyn turned up keen to celebrate holding out against ukip. it's a message about the economy, aboutjobs, about this country. but, above all, it was a message that hope triumphs over fear. what about copeland ?

he had already been dogged by that defeat all day. 0ur party mentorship is in good heart, it is very large, very strong and we will be out again tomorrow, and every other day, campaigning to get the message across of socialjustice in britain. yet beating ukip in stoke was a big relief to labour and a painful blow to ukip and its defeated candidate and leader. this seat was number 72 on our hit list, there's a a lot this seat was number 72 on our hit list, there's a lot more that will happen, there's a lot more to come from us. we're not going anywhere, i'm not going anywhere, so therefore, we move on and our time will come. paul nuttall may not be on his way out as leader but his campaign wobbled and then failed and the question's being raised, when ukip lost nigel farage, did it lose its way? those are beautiful! just now theresa may looks the biggest winner, ruling her party against weakened and divided opponents with an assurance that's almost regal.

well done indeed. i will see you on monday. back to business means back to brexit and there's nothing easy about that. asjohn mentioned, it wasn'tjust labour who suffered defeat in yesterday's by—elections — ukip struggled too, a fact particularly marked in stoke—on—trent, which had voted overwhelmingly for brexit. so what next for ukip — and their leader paul nuttall? alex forsyth reports. the morning after a hard—fought campaign brought dawning realisation for ukip. they'd been rejected by voters. the party had hoped for a big win. in stoke, more than two thirds of people voted to leave the eu, but even where brexit proved

so popular, ukip suffered defeat. people may have voted brexit but brexit just doesn't mean ukip. no, it doesn't and that's what we think ukip is all about, brexit. they've got no coherent policies whatsoever, whereas labour had. stoke has long been a labour stronghold, a collection of west midlands towns with a rich industrial heritage. a prime target for the ukip leader, who is keen to prove that the party can win over working people. but paul nuttall had a tough campaign, forced to correct claims he had lost close personal friends at hillsborough. senior figures say that did play a part, but insist he's still the right man to lead ukip. was this a ukip failure or a paul nuttall failure? this is a party failure. we haven't won. that is a party failure. winning by—elections like this takes time and people have to get used to you as a party. you have been around for years! we have been around for years, as a party.

yes, focused on one single issue, getting britain out of the european union and we are now evolving into something bigger and we have to get that across to the electorate. this was a significant defeat for ukip, instead of proving it can win over disillusioned labour voters, it is left struggling to explain what it stands for beyond brexit. its former leader said the campaign failed to cut through on key issues. there is a debate in ukip as to how strong we should be on the immigration issue. i personally feel we should own it. so we will have to look at that and think. were we tough enough and clear enough with the electorate? in stoke, local ukip members who were on the doorstep admit that the party has to broaden its appeal, particularly given that the conservatives in government have promised to deliver brexit. there's no point in trying to dress up as reasonable what was a defeat, compared with expectations. we need to press on. 0ur number one target was to get the uk out of the european union, that is what we campaigned for, but that was only the first goal. we have to move on and get our

message across to people on issues other than the european union. but having failed to do that here in stoke, ukip is once again searching for direction. alex forsyth, bbc news, stoke—on—trent. james bloodworth is a columnist at the international business times and the former editor of the left foot forward blog. good evening to you. let's start with the left then, and what happened particularly in copeland, a pretty stunning setback for labour however you look at it? yes, i think it would be bad enough if they were in office, but as the opposition you would expect them to be making gains across the country, and copeland was across the country, and copeland was a seat labour had won every year since i think 1935. stoke again is labour heartland. they won feint—mac but if you look at the breakdown of

the vote, the right wing vote was split —— they won copeland but if you look. theresa may retains the popularity she is enjoying at the moment. there is every chance labour might even lose stoke if there is a general election in 2020, it is that bad at the moment. it has always been said that the northern cities, no matter what happened over brexit, there is that core support for labour. but you think it could be crumbling away? i think you see that residual working—class base labour has relied on for such a long time, i think you can see it melting away to some extent. i feel like ukip i think you can see it melting away to some extent. ifeel like ukip has served purpose now and we are leaving the european union anyway, so leaving the european union anyway, soi leaving the european union anyway, so i don't think it will go there, andi so i don't think it will go there, and i think theresa may is tapping into that working—class conservatism which we have not really seen a conservative politician do since the heyday of margaret thatcher. we have been discussing the special circumstances, about copeland, sellafield in particular. and it is

difficult to know what labour really thinks, if it can think together, but the nuclear industry? yes, labour has this problem already with its metropolitan base in the cities and university towns and the working—class base, but i think there is also the issue of credibility a round jeremy corbyn and the nuclear issue is one of those areas where jeremy and the nuclear issue is one of those areas wherejeremy corbyn seems to lack credibility but i think there is a whole host of things. i think the public sees theresa may is a more credible person to be steering the ship of brexit, if you like, over the next few years, van jeremy brexit, if you like, over the next few years, vanjeremy corbyn, so i think he needs to ask himself and the left more generally need to ask themselves hard questions about who should be leading the labour party right now. he is absolutely clear he is carrying on. he has survived so many things, of the infighting that goes on as well, but he is absolutely there, no intention of moving on. it will not happen very suddenly, will it? let's get into the prediction business, shall we?

do you think he will be leading them in the next general election?” think there are far more credible figures, but i think it will be someone from that wing of the party. ido someone from that wing of the party. i do not think he can be deposed and i think that has been tried. i think those around him since what is going on and sense if there was a general election now, with the way the polls are looking, it would be a complete disaster for labour, and are looking, it would be a complete disasterfor labour, and i think figures around that wing of the labour party should persuade him someone else would be a far more credible leader of the labour party to ta ke credible leader of the labour party to take them into a general great day for the tories in copeland, but thenit day for the tories in copeland, but then it is, asjohn pienaar was saying, back to business with brexit. if that turns out to be more concentrated than people expect, more difficult, things might not go theresa may's wait much longer? yes, there is every chance things could go wrong in terms of brexit, that the economy could take a downturn again. ijust cannot the economy could take a downturn again. i just cannot seejeremy corbyn and his labour party capitalising on it. i cannot see it.

ido capitalising on it. i cannot see it. i do not know where the votes will go if theresa may starts to lose support but i cannot see them going tojeremy support but i cannot see them going to jeremy corbyn‘s support but i cannot see them going tojeremy corbyn‘s labour party as it stands at the moment. james bloodworth, thank you very much indeed. and we'll find out how this story, and many others, are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are ben chu, economics editor at the independent, and alex deane, a public affairs consultant. a woman who died after being hit by debris in wolverhampton city centre during yesterday's storm has been named as tahnie martin. she was 29 and from stafford. storm doris brought winds of nearly 100 miles per hour. it caused power cuts and travel chaos as flights were grounded and train services disrupted. police in malaysia say a highly toxic nerve agent called vx has been found on the face of kim jong—nam, the murdered half brother of north korea's leader kim jong—un. mr kim died last week after two women accosted him briefly in a check—in hall at an airport in kuala lumpur. the nerve agent, vx, is classified as a weapon.

—— a weapon of mass destruction, by the united nations. rupert wingfield—hayes reports from kuala lumpur. last week at kuala lumpur airport someone chose to attack kim jong—nam in full view of at least half a dozen cctv cameras. it was a very deliberate and very public act of violence. today we learned what killed him. and it's even more shocking. it is the vx nerve agent, which is a chemical weapon. kim jong—nam was walking across this busy departures hall last week when he was attacked at this spot. now we know what was used to kill him, vx, one of the most deadly nerve agents ever invented. just a tiny drop, one hundredth of a gram, would have been enough to kill him. vx is also banned under international convention, and yet someone decided to use it here in the midst of this international airport.

vx is colourless and odourless with, the feel of engine oil. it is so deadly it is classified by the united nations as a weapon of mass destruction. symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, vomiting and muscle convulsions. south korea says the north started producing chemical weapons in the 1980s and has up to 5000 tonnes of stocks. north korea's young dictator kim jong un already has nuclear weapons. north korea's young dictator kim jong—un already has nuclear weapons. some think he is now sending a chilling new message, by killing his older brother with the world's deadliest nerve agent. what they have demonstrated is that they do have a weapon of mass destruction, vx, which has the potential to kill many thousands of people. they have shown that they want to be part of the weapons of mass destruction club and that they should be ta ken seriously. and if we do nothing, then we're going to be in a very difficult position. this is probably far more dangerous than the nuclear weapons programme which has been much vaunted in public in the last 12 months.

the more we learn, the more bizarre this story becomes. this is one of the alleged assassins taking part in a vietnamese tv talent show. this is her facebook page. nothing about her suggests she could be a killer. about the only thing we know for sure is that kimjong—nam must have died in excruciating pain. his body convulsed, his lungs gasping for air. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in kuala lumpur. back here, kenneth noye, who's serving a life sentence for murdering a man in a road—rage attack, has won a high court battle over whether he gets moved to an open prison. noye, who's 69, stabbed a man to death in 1996 on the m25 in kent. he'd argued that it was unfair and irrational not to allow him to go to a jail with lower security.

a man has beenjailed for six years for killing an innocent bystander with a single punch in an unprovoked attack. trevor timon, who's 31, admitted the manslaughter of oliver dearlove in blackheath in south—east london last august, but was cleared of murder. the judge said the "senseless" attack had caused "untold misery" for mr dearlove's family. a former suspect in the murder of black teenager stephen lawrence is facing jail for his role in a £4 million drugs plot. neil acourt is due to be sentenced at kingston crown court alongside five other men for funnelling drugs between london and the northe—east of england. it is just it isjust coming up it is just coming up to 18 it isjust coming up to 18 minutes past eight. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may hails an historic victory, as the conservative's win a seat in cumbria held by labour for more than 80 years.

but labour sees off a threat from ukip and holds onto stoke. jeremy corbyn says the politics of hope overcame the politics of fear. the half brother of north korea's leader was killed by a substance classified as a weapon of mass destruction, according to malaysian authorities. sport now, and for a full round—up let's go to the bbc sport centre. good evening, lizzie. good evening. in the last few minutes claudio ranieri has given his reaction to being sacked last night. the now ex—leicester city manager said in a statement: "yesterday my dream died. after the euphoria of last season and being crowned premier league champions all i dreamt of was staying with leicester city, the club i love, for always. sadly this was not to be." well, leicester are currently one point above the relegation zone. earlier the team's interim manager craig shakespeare, who was his assistant, said ranieri did not lose the support of the players in the run—up

to his sacking, and told bbc sport editor dan roan the players needed the fans on their side. i can't tell the fans how to behave, but what i will say is we will need their support over the next couple of matches, starting with liverpool on monday. can you categorically say he had not lost some parts of the dressing room? again it is pure speculation, but what i would say is there was a lot of frustration because of results, but he had not lost the dressing room. well, the decision to sack ranieri hasn't gone down well with the lifelong leicester fan and former striker gary lineker. he told us he's saddened by the club's treatment of the man who led them to their first title in the club's history. last season was the inexplicable one, not this season. the fact that they managed to get in a recent opposition in the last 16 of the champions league

with a 50—50 chance of getting through to the quarterfinals, and they are not in the bottom three, and given the magic of last season, surely we have some sentiment and empathy for him. ican i can only speak for myself as a leicester fan, and perhaps i can only speak for myself as a leicesterfan, and perhaps some i can only speak for myself as a leicester fan, and perhaps some will disagree. but i think the way that he handled everything this season, the fact that he gave leicester so much, the fact that he made the whole country get behind leicester, a lot of that was down to, you know, no silly football so—called mind games etc, he wasjust genuine, he was just warm, and the whole country warmed to him and to the club. now, that will have evaporated today. there's one game in the scottish prmeiership tonight. third placed rangers against bottom side inverness. half an hour gone... it is currently goalless. rangers are looking to close the gap on aberdeen in second but it when for inverness would lift them off the bottom of the table. —— a win for

inverness. rugby union's six nations championship continues this weekend with the third round of matches. but the women's tournament is slightly ahead and scotland have won their first six nations match for six years — they've beaten wales by 15 points to 1a. the first time in 30 meetings they have beaten the welsh. they did it the hard way, coming back from 14—0 down — sarah law with the vital penalty to push them over the line at broadwood stadium. domestically, there's one game in the permiership... harlequins against leicester — the visitors can move into the top four with a win. a freddie burns' penalty gave the visitors the lead at the stoop but nick evans has just levelled for quins. quins are currently leading 10—3 at the stoop. there are three games in the pro 12 edinburgh are at home to cardiff

and it's a tight game, edinburgh with the only try so far at myreside — neil cochrane the scorer. it's now 12—6 to edinburgh. there are five games in rugby league's super league tonight... warrington, fresh from their win over the brisbane broncos in the world club series are playing castleford. and they're looking good again 6—4 the latest score, andre savelio with his second try of the season. these other games. that is the sport for now. goodbye. president trump has promised to carry out what he called one of the greatest military build—ups in american history. in a speech to conservative activists in maryland, he said nobody would dare to question american military might ever again. we are also putting in a massive budget request for our beloved military. and we will be substantially upgrading all of our military,

all of our military. offensive, defensive, everything. bigger and better and stronger than ever before. and hopefully we'll never have to use it. but nobody is going to mess with us, folks. nobody. the president also again railed against what he calls the ‘fake news media' — but he said his criticism didn't apply to all journalists. and he questioned the use of unnamed sources, saying the practice ‘shouldn‘t be allowed': i'm against the people that make up stories and make up sources. they shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody‘s name. let their name be put out there. let their name be put out. a source says that donald trump

is a horrible, horrible human being. let them say it to my face. president trump. royal bank of scotland has suffered a huge increase in its annual losses. the bank — 72%t of which is owned by the government, or the taxpayer — reported a loss of £7 billion for 2015, more than treble the amount for the year before. it's the ninth consecutive year that the bank has made a loss — and is one of the worst annual results for rbs since the government bailed out the banking group in 2008. chief executive ross mcewan said the figures were "disappointing" but should not come as a surprise given the problems that the bank's current management had inherited.

2016 results, i think we should say. plans have been announced for more universities in england to offer two—year degree courses. in return, they'll be able to increase annual tuition fees to more than £13,000. the minister for universities, jo johnson, told university leaders that charging three years' fees for a two—year course was fair. he said, "it's not fewer credits, or lower quality of provision, it's the same standard, the same quality, but in a compressed period of time and that involves an increase in resources, which needs to be recognised in the fee structure." he went on to say, "there are clear advantages for the student." well, here's what maddalaine ansell from university alliance had to say earlier on. she told me some students would welcome the proposal. wealth for many students they would still prefer the traditional three—year undergraduate living away from home experience, —— whilst for many students, there are a set of students, there are a set of

students, perhaps mature students, who may already be working and have caring responsibility, who will be very attracted by the possibility of doing their degree in two years rather than three. that was maddalaine ansell from university alliance. well, with me do discuss this in more detail is sorana vieru, vice president of the —— well, with me to discuss this alliance. in more detail is sorana vieru, vice president of the nation union of students. you might have more time to support yourself with your studies, develop yourself with your studies, develop your cv, have extracurricular activities, make contact with employers, very crucial for underprivileged students may not

have the contact is more well off stu d e nts have the contact is more well off students will have in order to get their foot into the students will have in order to get theirfoot into thejob students will have in order to get their foot into the job ladder. one question i had earlier, this business about the pressure on university staff as well. they will have to change how they operate if this is taken up widely? absolutely. we also need to think whether this serves the needs of lifelong learning as well. we heard her say that, but if we look at the numbers of part—time that, but if we look at the numbers of pa rt—time numbers that, but if we look at the numbers of part—time numbers since the fees we re of part—time numbers since the fees were introduced they plummeted. mature students, their numbers fell by 29%. we know students are more averse to depths. we need to look at tuition fees, will that act as a deterrent for students? simply graduating earlier does not mean you will end up having a job straightaway so i think we need to be really careful with the government simply trying to say that costis government simply trying to say that cost is not a problem for students,

debt is not a problem for students. if you think of the reality of life at university, you would have to have these courses separate, wouldn't you ? you have these courses separate, wouldn't you? you cannot mix up two and three courses. what about people who think, i will do it in two years because it suits me, i want to get on with my life or whatever, then discover it is not for them, they would have to be some switching around and it would be very complicated? absolutely, and we have to look at how the loan system works. if you have already done an undergraduate course you cannot access the support for tuition fees or maintenance so you would not be able to try another degree without having to pay for it. do you think there are some people for whom it will be an attractive proposition? absolutely which is why we need to get the details right and i don't think those proposals should be rushed through parliament. we need to have proper scrutiny and consultation in order to meet the needs of students and not simply universities. thank you very much indeed. what about the prospects for

the weather over the weekend? let's get the latest from tomasz schafernaker. finally we have a speu schafernaker. finally we have a spell of good weather, some sunshine around, but going downhill by the weekend. some rain on the way and it will turn blustery but at least it will turn blustery but at least it will be on the mild side. let's see what happens this evening. most rain will continue to move across northern and western areas. the further east and south—east you are the dryer it will be tonight. i suspect places like kent are perhaps just about getting away with the rain. 10 degrees in plymouth, very mild, thatis that is saturday. northern scotland is even around 6—9d. tomorrow is turning windy particularly around these costs, the western isles, the irish sea, rain on and off through the course of the day. brightening up the course of the day. brightening up later across scotland and perhaps northern ireland by sunset also with some showers. comparing saturday and

sunday, a mixed bag, but at least those temperatures into double figures, but breezy. hello this is bbc news with me nicolas selman. here are the headlines. the conservatives celebrate their by—election victory in copeland, an area that labour has represented for 80 years. theresa may said that it was an endorsement of the government ‘s performance. but labour sort of the threat from ukip and saw the stoke by—election. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn said that it was proof that hope triumphs over the fear. authorities in malaysia ‘s, says that the cousin of —— half brother of a north korean leader was killed by vx nerve agent. the woman