tonight at ten, theresa may hails a historic victory for the conservatives in copeland, as they sweep labour aside. they've got a lot to celebrate — pulling off the first by—election win for a party in power in 35 years. this is an astounding victory for the conservative party, but also for the people of copeland. you know, labour have held this seat since the 1930s. meanwhile labour did hold on to stoke central, seeing off a challenge by ukip. it's a message about the economy, it's a message about jobs, it's a message about this country. but above all it was a message that hope triumphs over fear. we'll be asking why ukip failed to win in stoke, an area which voted strongly to leave the eu. also tonight. the battle for mosul — iraqi troops enter the west of the city for the first time, to face strong resistance from so—called islamic state.

a nerve agent classed as a weapon of mass destruction is found on the face of the murdered half—brother of north korea's leader. i'm live in hollywood, amid the preparations for sunday night's oscars, where it might be the speeches, not the films, that gets everybody talking. and coming up in sportsday on bbc news: the world of football reacts to claudio ranieri's sacking. jose mourinho said he'd been let down by the "selfishness" of others. good evening. theresa may has said winning the copeland by—election was an "astounding victory" for the conservatives. it's the first time a party in government has taken a seat in a by—election for 35 years.

labour had held copeland since 1935, but the conservatives overturned a labour majority of more than 2500. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, described the defeat as "very disappointing". but he said he wouldn't be standing down. in a second by—election in stoke—on—trent central, labour did see off a challenge from the ukip leader paul nuttall — but with a reduced majority. our first report tonight is from our deputy political editorjohn pienaar. his report does contain some flash photography. sometimes party leaders seem to grow a little after a win. theresa may's victory appearance here today told you she'd use the tories' win in 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 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 does work 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 myself. i'm a member of the labour party. but 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, it's a message aboutjobs, it's a message about this country. but, above all, it was a message that hope triumphs over fear. what about copeland, mr corbyn? he'd already been dogged by that defeat all day. our party mentorship is in good heart, it's very large, very strong and we'll 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... are you going to resign, paul? ..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 more that will happen, 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, 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'll see you on monday. but back to business means back to brexit and there's nothing easy about that. john pienaar, bbc news, copeland. the stoke constituency was dubbed the "capital of brexit" after recording one of the highest leave votes in the eu referendum lastjune. but ukip, which was running against a remain labour candidate there, couldn't win it. our political correspondent alex forsyth has been looking at what went wrong for them. 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 brexitjust doesn't mean ukip. no, it doesn't and that's

what we think ukip's all about, just brexit. they've got no coherent policies whatsoever, whereas labour had. stoke's long been a labour stronghold, a collection of west midlands towns with a rich industrial heritage. a prime target for ukip's leader, who is keen to prove the party can win over working people. but paul nuttall had a tough campaign, forced to correct claims he'd 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 was this 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've been around for years. we've been around for years, as a party. yes, focused on one single issue, getting britain out of the european union. we're 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's 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. we'll have to look at that and think. were we tough enough and clear enough with the electorate? in stoke, local ukip members who were out on the doorstep admit the party must broaden its appeal, particularly given 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. our 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. let's go back tojohn pienaar in copeland. labour were relieved to hold on to stoke, but suffered this big loss to the conservatives in copeland, where does that leave the party and jeremy corbyn? it leaves labour and jeremy corbyn with good reason to worry. the copeland by—election, on top of a thick file of opinion polls has convinced some tories they can follow margaret thatcher in running away with millions of working—class votes. the danger to labour voters not look existential, judging by stoke. jeremy corbyn has time and space to prove the poles and the pundits wrong. but many of his enemies in his own party in westminster will agree with that old colleague david miliband who has told tomorrow's times that labour is

in worse trouble than it seems in the last 50 years and itsjeremy corbyn‘s full. there will be no coup, no organised mutiny. they are saying that would strengthen jeremy corbyn. in the meantime they believe that labour, as it stands, is simply too weak to win, too strong to die. deepin too weak to win, too strong to die. deep in the doldrums and deeper in trouble. john, john pienaar, many thanks. iraqi troops have entered western mosulfor the first time in their offensive to drive out so—called islamic state from the country's second city. west mosul is the last is stronghold in iraq. they're surrounded, along with an estimated 750,000 civilians. but government forces today met fierce resistance, as they fought their way into the city from the airport. quentin somerville and cameraman nick millard were the first journalists to head in to the district of jawsaq. they've sent this report. the so—called islamic state — breached. the very first iraqi government forces roll into west mosul,

and into a firefight. is were waiting, and well defended. iraqi forces are encountering heavy resistance as they move into west mosul. it has taken them less than a week to get this far, but this is a victory two years in the making after the humiliation of the islamic state sweep across iraq... that was an outgoing rocket there. for these men, they realise that beyond here, beyond this neighbourhood, they are likely facing the battle of their lives. the assault started in now practised fashion, armoured columns moving fast across open ground. these iraqi officers plotted the route. past some greenhouses, they said, and right into is territory.

the caliphate is shrinking, and with few options for their escape, is is in a fight to the death. iraq's superior firepower hasn't prevented it from suffering high casualties at the hands of is. so while the attack was determined, it was cautious. standing at the breach, the iraqi commander in charge... translation: i don't know how long it will take to liberate this area. our humvees have now moved in, and we will open the road toward is. inside the city — signs of civilian life. but in the midst of all this no one dared leave their homes.

there are three quarters of a million people in the streets beyond here, and a few thousand is fighters. distinguishing between the two will be very difficult. translation: when we liberated the last village we lost a few people, but we overwhelmed is. we have taken this area in mosul, and we will protect it, and we will not leave until we beat terrorism. iraq is finally retaking mosul. it is the sixth day of the campaign, but in the words of one commander, it's only the first. the real fighting started today when they entered the city. quentin sommerville, bbc news, west mosul. police in malaysia say the substance used to kill the half brother of the north korean leader, at a kuala lumpur airport, is one of the world's deadliest nerve agents. the authorities say tests on the body of kim jong nam revealed traces of vx, classified by the un as a weapon

of mass destruction. from kuala lumpur, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. 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, 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. symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, vomiting and muscle convulsions. south korea says the north started producing chemical weapons in the 19805 and has up to 5000 tonnes of stocks. 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. 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 that has been much vaunted in the public over 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. claudio ranieri this afternoon spoke about his abrupt sacking by leicester, saying, "yesterday, my dream died". ranieri led leicester to the premier league title just nine months ago. but he was dismissed last night after a string of poor results that has left the side just one point above the relegation zone. dan roan reports from leicester. at least there is still some loyalty here in leicester. claudio ranieri remained in demand this afternoon, as both he and the city came to terms with his dismissal. the miracle worker, out of work.

is there anything you would like to say to the fans, claudio? i'm very sad for them. i wish them all the best. emotions among the neighbours running high. what he's done for us. it's a disgrace. claudio ranieri. having masterminded the least likely and most popular triumph ever seen in the premier league, the italian has become the victim of its most controversial sacking. nine months ago, ranieri was the toast of leicester. everybody. cheers. but the fizz has long gone. today's press conference, flat. the man who stood alongside ranieri in the dugout was left to describe his mood. bit shocked, as we all were, but his tone was no different. as i say, he's very level—headed in terms of, that's football. can you categorically say that he hadn't lost some parts of the dressing room, claudio ranieri? that's pure speculation. but what i would say is there was a lot of frustration because of results, but he hadn't

lost the dressing room. but the ruthlessness of the dismissal has shocked even those who've spent a lifetime in the game. former leicester star gary lineker didn't just present ranieri with coach of the year. he paid a very public price for doubting the team's success. and he's angry. i'm not ashamed to say that last night when the news broke, i shed a tear. i shed a tearfor claudio, i shed a tear for football and i shed a tearfor my club. ranieri's barely believable triumph last season won admirers across the world, but since then the euphoria has evaporated. the champions are languishing one point above the relegation zone. leicester's thai owners said the club was in crisis and with premier league survival on the line, decided to act. the fans are divided. 50% of the fans want him sacked because of results, but for me, i would have kept him. to come back to find out he's been sacked after last year, it's disgusting. ranieri's former rivals, meanwhile, were struggling to understand. it's not only football, for me.

there's a few strange decisions in16, 17. brexit, trump, ranieri. so, um... tonight, ranieri said his dream had died. even if his former club now stays in the premier league, his dismissal, for many, will forever be a symbol of betrayal. ranieri's remarkable story restored faith in sport and now something has been lost. dan roan, bbc news, leicester. a woman who died after being hit by debris in yesterday's storm has been named as tanya martin. storm doris brought winds of nearly 100 mph, causing power cuts and travel chaos, as flights were grounded and train services disrupted. a man has beenjailed for six years for killing an innocent bystander with a single punch

in an unprovoked attack. trevor timon, 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 the black teenager stephen lawrence has beenjailed for drugs offences. 41—year—old neil acourt received a six—year sentence. he was described as the "man at the top" of a drugs ring which supplied cannabis worth £4 million to addresses in the north of england. past problems are continuing to haunt the royal bank of scotland. the bank, which is over 70% owned by the government, warned today that it made a loss of nearly £7 billion last year. that's three times more than the loss they made the year before. simonjack takes a look at what's happening at rbs. not so much a lost decade, as a decade of losses. 2008 was the big one. £24 billion. since then, £4 billion, £1 billion, £2 billion, £6 billion, £9 billion,

£3 billion, £2 billion, and today, £7 billion. £58 billion in total. for the ninth time in a row, fines and compensation for sins of the past have laid waste to any profits made, and further cost—cutting could mean thousands of job losses. there will be job losses. i have not put a number out and i won't. my view is, always talk to our people first where they are affected. there will be job cuts in this organisation. there has to be, given that over the next four years we will take £2 billion of costs out of this organisation to reshape it to be a really good bank. but that is not going to happen quite yet. you will eventually see a coherent uk retail and commercial bank arising out of the ashes. but we're still a long, long way away from that. even in rbs‘s own plans, we are four years away, and their own plans have a degree of hope. i stood here in 2008.

i did not expect to still be here in 2017 reporting on yet another multi—billion pound loss. it was not supposed to take this long to fix, and the fact that it has shows that no one really knew just how big a mess the world's biggest bank at that time had got itself into. in 2008, the government of the day announced an emergency £45 billion bailout to prevent a complete collapse. could things have been done differently? with the benefit of hindsight, it should have been fully nationalised and broken up and used in the national interest. but the taxpayer is now stuck with the losses and it could be some years before it can be returned in a way that taxpayers get their money back. the bank is much healthier today but with more losses yet to come, it seems certain we will be marking a full decade in the red this time next year. the 89th academy awards.

la la land, a tribute to hollywood itself, is widely expected to do well, as is the coming—of—age film moonlight. the ceremony is no stranger to controversy, and this year is set to be more political than usual. will gompertz is in los angeles and joins us from the red carpet. lam i am watching the preparations being made for the oscars ceremony, which i think is going to be fascinating, not so much for the movies, which are great. we know all about them. but what might the winners say on this very public stage about the world as it is now that will be memorable, that will capture the times? in the past, there have been some crackers and some real howlers. i went to find out what makes a winning oscar speech. i went to find out what makes a winning oscar speech. oscar night in hollywood, with the motion picture industry

agog to know the winners of those coveted awards. once upon a time, going up to collect your oscar was a straightforward affair. you shook a hand, smiled politely and maybe offered a brief remark. thank you with all my heart. but then marlon brando upped the speech making game in 1973 without saying a word, and asking a native he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. and the reasons for this being the treatment of american indians today by the film industry. excuse me. in these politically charged times, this could be a vintage year for memorable oscar winners' speeches, if those making them follow the rules. first of all, you have to start with the hallmarks of what makes a great speech in the first place. you have to speak with authenticity, you have to speak from the heart. you have to connect

to the material and the moment. i sincerely hope i will always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. my heart is too full to tell you just how i feel. and may i say thank you, god bless. ok, so anybody going up on stage to pick up one of these on sunday night — except theirs will not be made out of chocolate — is being told to keep their speech down to 45 seconds. it is, of course, a live show, so theoretically they could bang on forever. except the organisers have a humiliating weapon they can deploy, which is to ask the band to strike up and drown the winner out. it's an awful feeling, because i don't make that decision arbitrarily. the director tells me, "ok, get them off". yourtime is up. a classic example of how not to do it, and that would be michael moore's example when he received the best documentary award for bowling for columbine. there was a great amount of negativity about george bush, who was the president at the time.

his attack, though, was so personal, so clearly biased, that he was almost booed off the stage, even though nothing that he said was necessarily inaccurate. this year, the academy has asked the winners to deliver a heartfelt, memorable message. that, or possibly face the indignity of hearing the dreaded "wrap it up" music. will gompertz, bbc news, los angeles. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. good evening. i'm asad ahmad. the mother of a man who was killed when he was attacked on a night out in south east london says "no parent should have to make the decision to switch off their child's life support".

30—year—old oliver dearlove was killed when trevor timon punched him in blackheath village in august last year. the attack was unprovoked. ayshea buksh has the details. oliver dearlove was 30 years old. he worked in banking. thejudge described him as a young man of fine character with long and promising career in front of him. he had been out in blackheath and was waiting for a taxi home. out in blackheath and was waiting fora taxi home. he out in blackheath and was waiting for a taxi home. he started chatting toa group for a taxi home. he started chatting to a group of women. trevor timon from plumstead didn't like what he saw. he went over to oliver dea rlove, saw. he went over to oliver dearlove, punched in the side of head and knocked him to the ground. mr dea rlove head and knocked him to the ground. mr dearlove was airlifted to hospital, but soon passed away. a postmortem examination found he died of bleeding to the brain. we spoke to his mother about what happened that night. we had a whatsapp message come through about 4am, because there's no signal where we were, and the children couldn't get in contact with us.

we were told that oliver had been assaulted and it was quite serious, so we jumped in the car straightaway. we slung our clothes in the boot and started to drive as fast as we could, really, to get to the motorway. the police tried to help us by blue lighting us, but we never actually caught up with them, so we just drove as fast as we could. then clare came back to us and told us there was nothing they could for ollie. so that was the worst car journey ever. tell us their style currently one point above the relegation zone after issuing of poor performances. craig shakespeare was his assistant insisted that ranieri had not lost support of the players. and they said the players need the fans on

their side. i can't tell the fans how to behave but i will say that we need their support over the next coming matches. finally from me can you categorically say that he hadn't lost some parts of the dressing room? again, pure speculation, there was a lot of frustration because of the results, he hadn't 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 their history. last season is the inextricable one, not this season, so the fact they have managed to get in a reasonable position in the last 16 in the champions league with a 50—50 chance of getting into the quarterfinals and they are not in the bottom three and they are not in the bottom three and given the magic of last season surely he deserved a bit more time and they would have some sentiment and they would have some sentiment and empathy for him. i think, i can't speak for all leicester fans

but i think, the way that he handled everything last season, the fact that he gave leicester so much, the fa ct that he gave leicester so much, the fact that he made the whole country get behind leicester, and they lot of that was down to him, no silly football mind games etc. he was just genuine and warm and the whole country warmed to him and they warmed to the club. that would have evaporated today. manchester united have been given, what managerjose mourionho described as a ‘bad draw‘ in the europa league. they face russian side rostov in the last 16... although rostov are the lowest—ranked team in the draw... it's not ideal for united as they face a near 5,000 mile round trip for the first leg in russia, before their fa cup tie at chelsea just four days later.