this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at apm. home secretary amber rudd calls on technology firms such as whatsapp to allow security services access to encrypted messages in terrorism cases. there should be no place for terrorists to hide. we need to make sure that organisations like whatsapp and others do not provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate. the westminster attacker khalid masood acted alone, say the police. his motive may never be known. detectives confirmed the attack lasted just 82 seconds. the family of the police officer who was killed, pc keith palmer, has thanked the people who tried to save his life. they say they're grateful he did not die alone. more than 30 people have been injured — two seriously — after a suspected gas explosion on merseyside. police clamp down on anti—corruption protests across russia main opposition leader alexei navalny is among those arrested. at least 18 people have been injured after an escalator malfunctioned at a shopping mall in hong kong.

also in the next hour: the beginning of the end for mercedes‘ dominance of formula one? ferrari's sebastian vettel pips lewis hamilton to the chequered flag in the opening race of the season in melbourne — his first win since 2015. and coming up in half an hour — the week's best stories from the bbc‘s inside out teams. hello, welcome to bbc news. the home secretary, amber rudd, has called on technology firms to allow access to encrypted material in terrorism cases. it's understood that the westminster attacker, khalid masood, used the whatsapp messaging service seconds before he killed four people last wednesday, but it's not known

what was communicated. nick beake reports. an attack at the heart of london and its chaotic aftermath. scotland yard believes all this was the work of one man acting alone. but was khalid masood encouraged in some way? he was active on the messaging app whatsapp on his phone just seconds before he struck but the police are unable to see the content of these encrypted messages and in an interview this morning the home secretary said social media companies must do more to help the authorities. it is completely unacceptable, there should be no place for terrorists to hide. we need to make sure that organisations like whatsapp and there are plenty of others like it do not provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate. it used to be people would steam open envelopes or listen in on phones when they wanted to find out what people were doing, legally, through warrants, but in this situation we need to make sure the intelligence services have the ability to get

into in situations like encrypted whatsapp. and her message was supported by the man running the eu crime—fighting agency. i agree with the call for changes to be made. what the solution for that is for her and other lawmakers to decide but from my point of view i would agree something has to be done to make sure we can apply a more consistent form of interception of communication in all parts of the way in which terrorists invade our lives. all messages sent on whatsapp have end to end encryption which means they are scrambled and even if they are intercepted data cannot be read. but whatsapp, which is owned by facebook, said it had a duty to protect the private communications of its billion users worldwide. here at westminster at the tributes to pc keith palmer and the other victims continue to grow. the metropolitan police have now released more details about what was a brief but deadly assault.

at 2:40pm on wednesday afternoon khalid masood mounts the pavement on westminster bridge. he drives on and 30 seconds later crashes into the palace of westminster. the first 999 call is then received and half a minute later khalid masood is shot dead. a rampage lasting 82 seconds from start to finish. but for the police it is an ongoing and complex investigation. they warn they may never understand why khalid masood carried out the attack, which has carried criticism of the prevent strategy, the current government policy for combating extremism. i think in its current form it has huge problems, it is broken, the brand is toxic. there are questions about the training and the trainers and the level of quality of training within schools, how it is being implemented on the front line and therefore what i have asked for is a pause, an independent review. any changes will be too late

for the victims of the westminster attack including pc keith palmer. his family have thanked those who tried to save him and say they have been overwhelmed by the love and support they have received. merseyside fire and rescue service says it could be several days before people caught up in a suspected gas explosion can go home. dozen of people were hurt in the blast last night. several buildings collapsed. linsey smith reports. the scale of the devastation shows just how powerful the explosion was. one building, housing three businesses, totally destroyed. this is what it looked like before last night. the blast was heard up to six miles away. the sound of the building blowing up was captured by a car's dashboard camera. explosion what was that?!

i heard a loud bang and everything flew in past me. i am sure i saw glass flying and masonry. two people were taken to a trauma unit in liverpool with serious injuries. 32 others were treated at hospitals in wirral and chester. there is a multitude of injuries that have happened but the two patients that have gone through to the major trauma unit at aintree, they have significant injuries. the emergency services won't speculate on the cause of the blast but a number of local people had said they smelt gas yesterday and on friday national grid engineers were on the scene. this incident is likely to be protracted, this is likely to last several days, very significant damage as you can tell. so it will be some time before people will be allowed back into their homes. some people whose homes had to be evacuated spent the night in a local church. nearby roads are likely to be closed for some time. the pictures in the report are

remarkable, especially the aerial shots. a report said there had been a dance centre at the centre of the site, quite a lot of relief that notwithstanding injuries it was not as populated and area as it would have been on a weekday. yes, we heard how in the dance centre an hour before it was filled with children, there is relief in the area, people are still in hospital, two seriously injured but the feeling is it could have been far far worse. the police and fire services and people from national grid are investigating how this happened. the building destroyed, there were three businesses contained within the building and it

is not known which of the buildings the explosion happened within. until the explosion happened within. until the investigation concludes, the clean—up here cannot really progress and as you saw from the pictures, some people were told it will be 2a hours before they are in their homes but looking at the properties, the front has been completely blown off. you can speculate safely it will not be 2a hours but many days and weeks before they can go back home. and a lot of interest over reports the gas board had been called out in the last few days to reports of a leak. we do not know if it is connected but people must be speculating. yes, we have not had that terrified but there were local people saying they smelt gas on friday and saturday. and that is why the investigation is taking place and it is important to establish what happened. can you

tell us what the latest is on the casualties? well, all we know is they are still in hospital, two people and more people, some were taken by ambulance and some made their own way last night, some have come home but the two seriously injured are still in hospital. police have named the two boys who died at the cliffs at saltburn in north yorkshire. the boys are alex yeoman and harry watson from the east cleveland area, both aged 17. their bodies were found at the bottom of the cliffs on friday. enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances of what happened. however, police are not treating the incident as suspicious at this time. in the united states, police in ohio say one person was killed and 15 others injured when at least two men opened fire in a nightclub in cincinnati. they say hundreds of people were in the club at the time, and that it was a "horrific situation".

the authorities say it's not clear what prompted the shooting and that the investigation is ongoing. cincinati reporter megan mitchell from wlwt news five gave us this update from a nearby medical facility. i am at a medical centre, eight victims are in different conditions, one is in critical condition and there is one person found dead on the scene. this happened after one o'clock and there were hundreds of people in a key nightclub, 18 plus and in the united states it is spring break in cincinnati and that contributed to the population and i spoke to a witness earlier described the scene as chaotic and someone came over the speaker is saying evacuate the dance floor and shots were fired, 20 shots, you said and you can imagine how chaotic the scene was. really really chaotic.

three people have been taken to hospital after a car mounted a pavement and hit a group of drinkers outside a pub in north london. four teenagers have been arrested. the police say the incident in islington is not terror—related. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn says labour will oppose plans to give ministers the powers to change some aspects of european laws, without needing the approving of parliament. speaking ahead of this thursday's publication of a white paper on the great repeal bill, he insisted that parliament could not be bypassed. we need total accountability at every stage of this whole brexit negotiation. i understand there is going to be about 12 ancillary related bills. we're not going to sit there and hand over power to this government to override parliament, override democracy and just set down a series of diktats for what is going to happen in the future.

we'd be failing in our duty as democratically—elected parliamentarians if we did that. the way they want to go about that is to transition the law into british law but they do not want any legal black holes. the government wants to give ministers special powers so they can tidy up the stuff they say will not be necessary or make sense to have like if you advertise a public service contract you have to put it into an eu publication or the many mention of ease institutions. jeremy corbyn says he is opposed to any special powers and anything taking power away from parliament as we heard him properly scrutinising the bill and a response from the leader of the house of commons and let us hear what he said. a limited and defined power,

not to act like diktat but by secondary legislation. the scope, the definition of those powers and when they can be used is something parliament will have to approve. he said the special powers will have to be voted on in parliament. the timing, definition and the rest of it. by coming into force, they will come through parliament so he says the sovereignty lies with them. the actual bill itself would not be voted on until the spring so plenty of time for the two parties to thrash out their position. this will be a complicated process because in a0 years so much of the legislation has been introduced since 1972 has incorporated elements of european laws and somehow we have to take out the bits we don't want and keep the bits we do. it sounds like a needle in a haystack. you have so much to do in two years

if the government sticks with its timetable to avoid the black holes. what the government wants to do is kick the can down the road and bring everything in and it says it is an efficient way giving ministers powers but labour is nervous behind—the—scenes about what the government might do with these powers and if changes that change the meaning of laws, notjust the tidying up exercise. the former ukip leader nigel farage has said that mp douglas carswell — who resigned from the party yesterday — has a duty to trigger a by—election in his clacton consituency. the two men have been odds about the future of ukip. mr farage told us that he'd caused "endless division" in the party. just remember this — clacton is demographically the number—one eurosceptic seat in this country, and i would say this, a lot of people who voted him into parliament did not vote just because of him, they voted ukip,

he has given up the label on which he was elected, and this is the man who led the charge in parliament for real recall, to give people a mechanism by which if 20% of the constituency, if they voted to have a by—election, they should legally be able to have one. so what we will do is take him at his word, and we will now write to every house in clacton and ask them, "do you want "a by—election or not?" if more than 20% say they do, we will find outjust how honourable mr ca rswell is. the headlines... amber rudd says the government will ta ke amber rudd says the government will take action against companies who do not do more to help combat terrorism. 30 have been injured in a gas explosion on merseyside. it

could be several days before residents can go home. home. thousands have joined anti—corruption protests in russia. alexei navalny has been arrested. it is quarter past four. a round—up of the sport. it is quarter past four! we start in australia. ferarri's sebastian vettel has won the first formula one grand prix of the season beating lewis hamilton in to second place in australia. vettel‘s first win since the singapore gp in september 2015 the introduction of faster cars, and today ferrari were simply quicker in melbourne hamilton started in pole but vettel had an advantage on pace and tyre wear and took control after hamilton got stuck behind

max verstappen after a pit stop. england, scotland and northern ireland are all in action this evening, in their latest qualifiers for next year's world cup. gareth southgate is looking for his first victory since taking the england manager'sjob full time — and scotland have a must win game, according to gordon strachan — they face slovenia. while northern ireland host norway. james burford reports. lithuania looming large for gareth southgate and his men and a chance to set right the midweek defeat in germany. joe hart more used to the italian way of life will captain but a newcomer is the talk of the town. the first call—up for the middlesbrough actin so is southgate playing three at the back again or is that a crowd? we have the flexibility to play a number of different ways and it's important oui’

different ways and it's important our players can do that, we have to be adaptable as we go through the next 18 months. we need to be a bitter change quickly and as that progresses to do that in games and at the start. so, it is a key skill for us to develop. scotland can just about keep alive their world cup qualifying hopes if they beat slovenia at hampden park. suffer defeat and the enormous mountain to climb would only get higher. sometimes it's easier for a climb would only get higher. sometimes it's easierfor a manager to say this is what we will do and sometimes if we draw, win or lose but we have to win. we do not have to win in the first ten minutes. northern ireland are on course to clinch second place and norway is the next test and the big chance to step towards qualification. the opportunity to get ten points and then you start to believe it is possible and to put yourself in a position to qualify and experience

of qualifying for france, we have been through that and those experiences we know what is required. a significant test for the home nations with a place at russia 2018 on the line and every little helps. england's jermain 2018 on the line and every little helps. england'sjermain defoe will start against lithuania. his first start against lithuania. his first start in 13 years! three years! he has had a great season for sunderland. his first start in three yea rs, sunderland. his first start in three years, jermain defoe. two games in the aviva premiership today. wasps look to be extending their lead at the top of the table — they‘ re currently leading worcester 26—19 with 20 minutes to play there. -- 33-19. saracens are third but a bonus point win over bath today will reduce the gap on second placed exeter to a single point. they've ran in three first half tries —

scotland winger sean maitland with the third just before half time. 20-10 20—10 lead with half an hour left to play. tennis and world number 11 johanna konta is just starting her third round match at the miami open. konta was taken to three sets in the previous round but is playing pauline parmentier of france who is ranked 46 places lower. the match is under way. it is one game all in the first set. that is all for now. keep up—to—date on the bbc website and the gymnastics. more in the next hour and i will get my maths right! thousands of russians are on the streets of moscow and other cities to protest against corruption. the protesters want the prime minister — dmitry medvedev — to resign over corruption allegations. several people have been detained,

including the main organiser — the opposition activist alexei navalny. a short while ago, i spoke to our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg, who was at a protest in moscow, and gave us an update on mr nalavny. alexei navalny was detained and we are being moved by the police away from the square and the protest looks to be coming to an end. navalny will not been surprised to have been arrested. presumably the authorities will have to handle this delicately given the likely response if he is not treated respectfully? absolutely. it is no surprise that he was detained. it is a dilemma because if they clamp down hard on alexei navalny that could see support across the country. there was a good turnout today

for the protests across russia. but if they decide not to press charges against him, then we could see protests in the coming weeks. it is a dilemma for the authorities. looking ahead at the russian economy, if there are further economic problems here, social problems, that encourage more people to attend future protests. iraqi army is —— iraqi state tv says it has captured a damn. no sign of a pause in the attacks in the wake of an airstrike pause in the attacks in the wake of an air strike which is believed to have killed many civilians earlier this month. the military denied reports the strike by the coalition

was caused by the coalition. earlier, we spoke to our correspondent yalda hakim who's in the nearby city of irbil who gave us this update on the us air strikes in the region. for over a week we have been hearing reports that us—led air strikes have left at least 150 people dead in west mosul. they did issue a statement yesterday, saying they had launched an investigation, that they respect human life, but that they wouldn't abandon this operation. this is perhaps the most difficult part or phase of this whole operation for iraqi forces. the front line has now reached the old city, it is densely populated, the streets and alleyways are incredibly narrow, so they will not be able to use tanks, and there will be a lot of street—to—street fighting, as well as house—to—house fighting. they will also be relying on air strikes, and so it is difficult, in the fog of war, in the murkiness of all this, for us as the bbc to be able to verify a lot of these reports. our middle east editor, jeremy bowen, is in west mosul,

and he has spoken to civilians who say that there are ongoing air strikes in the area, that they are very angry about it, but that is militants are also using them as human shields, positioning snipers within their homes, as well as on their rooftops. voters in the german state of saarland go to the polls today. in a regional election seen as an indicator of angela merkel‘s chances of staying on as chancellor in the german general election in the autumn. her party polling neck and neck with the social democrats. martin schiltz said he would stand against angela merkel. not a vote cast yet, but already a victory march. the social democrats think the saarland, and germany, is ready for change. translation: he is a breath of fresh air for the party,

he has many new ideas, and i think he can deliver them. she is talking about martin schultz the man from brussels who has stirred up berlin. the book—seller turned politician famously beat alcohol addition. he has got angela merkel‘s conservatives on the back foot. in saarland they are fighting back, pretzels and politics at the factory gates. like angela merkel, the region's prime minister is established and well known here. but like angela merkel, she might well lose her seat. translation: it is a challenge, yes, but that is the essence of democracy. from now until the national election it is about who has got a better plan for the country, and on this martin schultz has not delivered anything. we on the other hand, will offer a better plan and an excellent candidate. saarland may be small, but what happens here matters.

translation: it is a regional election which should deal with regional issues, but this time everything is different. the schultz effect is strong, and this is germany's first regional election this year. the vote will be heavily influenced by national politics. but the result will also affect the general election. translation: he puts too much emphasis on criticising the other parties. i like merkel better. she showed her a human side in the refugee crisis. he comes across as authentic, he says what he thinks, people like that. but i think you cannot implement many of the things he promises. this is what the schultz effect is all about. it could transform this tiny german state, and it might, just might,

change the face of german politics. the taxi firm uber has suspended its pilot programme for driverless cars after an early model of its self—driving car crashed on a roadway in arizona. the accident is the latest in a series of crashes involving autonomous vehicles. it's not yet known whether the car was in self driving mode at the time of the crash. uber said it caused no serious injuries. yesterday was the warmest day of the year until today. 20 degrees in some highland glen is courtesy of clear sky. most of us had blue skies from dawn until dusk. it will stay dry into the evening. some changes, low

cloud and missed in eastern areas and areas of fog by dawn. it will be cold and in rural spots in the north—west dipping down to close to freezing. watch out for low cloud, fog patches. the overcast conditions prevail across north—east england nudging into the south—east of scotla nd nudging into the south—east of scotland knocking temperatures on the head. we will settle into a fine day, plenty of sunshine and warmth, 17 degrees in london. we lose the breeze across southern counties. some rain spreading from the west but sunshine in between. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the home secretary has called on social media providers to end the encryption of messaging services. her comments come after it was revealed khalid masood used whatsapp messaging just before launching his attack in westminster last week.

scotland yard has confirmed the attack carried out by masood took just 82 seconds. detectives have revealed his motive may never be known. they believe he acted alone, despite one of the 11 people arrested in connection with the attack remaining in custody. the family of pc keith palmer, who was killed in the attack, have paid tribute to him and thanked those who helped him after he was stabbed. they said they wanted to ‘express their gratitude' to the people who were with him in his last moments. more than 30 people have been injured, two seriously, after a suspected gas explosion in merseyside. several buildings collapsed and others were damaged in the incident and homes nearby have been evacuated, it could be several days before owners can return. police have named the two boys whose bodies were found at the cliffs at saltburn in north yorkshire on friday as alex yeoman and harry watson both aged 17. detectives in cleveland are investigating the circumstances surrounding their deaths. now on bbc news the week's strongest stories from the bbc‘s

inside out teams... hello and welcome to inside out. stories and investigations from where you live. the grieving families fighting for answers from the probation service. he was just snuffed out in half an hour. no family should have to go what we went through. and the whistle—blowers worried about a service under strain. the probation service isjust waiting for somebody to be murdered, raped or very seriously wounded. also tonight, prepare for a transformation. this will be the last time we will see you like this. i would really like to have full hair again.