you're watching bbc news. i'm simon mccoy live at westminster abbey where the duke and duchess of cambridge led a "service of hope" to remember those killed and injured in the westminster attack. the dean of westminster said we are all left bewildered and disturbed by the attack. we weep for the violence, the hatred, for the loss of life, for all that divides and spoils our world. i'm rachel schofield. the other main headlines on bbc news: at least 70 people are now known to have been killed in the suspected chemical attack in syria — germany says russia bears some responsibility. labour's deputy leader tom watson says the failure to expel ken livingstone from the party over his hitler remarks "shames us all".

i feel ashamed that once again my party is dragged into a row about anti—semitism and the way ken livingstone has handled this enquiry... he's showed no contrition nor apologised. the european parliament votes on its position for brexit talks — as its chief negotiator describes britain's decision to leave the eu as a stupidity. and, the first driverless vehicle to be tested on britain's roads; how will it fare on london's busy streets? good afternoon. live from

westminster abbey where, as short time ago, a service of hope was led in the hope of reuniting divisions in british society after the terror attack of two weeks ago. the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry were among those in the congregation and they sat near those directly affected. the first responders in the attack, some of the victims‘ relatives also attended and some of those injured and still showing signs of their injury also came. a candlelit moment where reflections were held, remembering the five people who died and the many who are still being treated in hospital. the dean of westminster said it left this city and this country bewildered and with one question, why? this correspondence from our royal correspondence —— report, nicholas witchell. two weeks ago the area around westminster abbey was caught up in the chaos of that afternoon.

nearby on westminster bridge there were casualties. people mown down as they enjoyed the sights of london. closer stilljust inside the gates of the houses of parliament, there were gunshots. and the murder of an unarmed police officer, one of the four innocent people who died that day. two weeks later at westminster abbey, the service. quite deliberately not a memorial service — it‘s felt to be too soon after the event for that. but what the abbey described as "a service of hope". leaders of the different faith communities from across the uk were joined in the congregation by the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry along with members of the emergency services, some of the bereaved families and some of those who were injured. the violent assault two weeks ago against londoners and visitors

to the city from around the world and the killing of a police constable on duty at the palace of westminster has shocked people everywhere. at a time of sorrow, a time when we are tempted to despair, may we find hope. the humanity of those who came to the aid of the injured and dying was remembered. the duke of cambridge read from the parable of the good samaritan. which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? he said, the one who showed him mercy. jesus said to him, "go and do likewise". in the name of the father... the dean of westminster recorded that among those directly affected

by the attack were people from britain and 12 other nations. and he posed a question so many have asked, why? what happened a fortnight ago leaves us bewildered. what could possibly motivate a man to hire a car and take it from birmingham to brighton to london and then drive it fast through people he had never met, couldn‘t possibly know, against whom he had no personal grudge and no reason to hate them, and then ran at the gates of the palace of westminster to cause another death? it seems likely that we shall never know. candles were lit as a symbol of the light which can never be extinguished by the darkness of terror. and prayers were offered from across the different faiths over pledging respect

between different communities. nicholas witchell, bbc news. with me is the labour mp who was in the service. i want to talk about the service. i want to talk about the mood of it given the bee attack was only two weeks ago. there were a lot of people believing in the ceremony and it‘s important to remember that lots of people from the palace of westminster who —— we re the palace of westminster who —— were there and they‘ve lost a friend and colleague. some very sombre faces but the feeling was much more of resolution, standing in solidarity with pc palmer‘s family and the families of the other victim and the families of the other victim and those who were injured. ambassadors and nhs workers were there today and it was apparent —— powerful tribute to this global city which welcomes people from wherever

they come. the dean of westminster pulled no punches in terms of asking questions everyone is asking. why? how should we respond? it was powerful and at the beginning he questioned, don‘t ask for who the bell tolls, it tolls for you. a quote from john donne. and there was a parable of the good samaritan. who is my neighbour? the person who comes to your aid. everyone in the service will have had their own thoughts. you, of course, were in westminster and the palace of westminster and the palace of westminster when it happened. what was going through your mind?|j bumped was going through your mind?” bumped into the managing director of london underground as we were on our way in and we chatted about efforts to shut down westminster tube station. really it‘s about how all the public services worked together,

how the systems that keep our capital city moving worked together. and, last week, ortwo capital city moving worked together. and, last week, or two weeks ago, we saw the worst of humanity with the attack but also the best of humanity, coming together, and we saw that again today in renewed resolution and solidarity with the families. when it all started at nearly quarter past two, there was panic. when were you first aware this wasn‘t something normal? panic. when were you first aware this wasn't something normal?” panic. when were you first aware this wasn't something normal? i was first aware when i saw people running towards me saying someone had been shot on the estate. i knew it was only serious and that we had to get out. we didn‘t realise until 20 minutes later what had happened on the bridge. we were all unaware. an hour later, we realised the true magnitude of what had occurred. lot of people think this is odd that the service has taken place just two

weeks afterwards, but is part of the healing and reuniting process, isn‘t it? it's the stating is taking place in the easter holidays as so many people are unable to be here. but as we prepare for pc palmer‘s funeral on monday, it is important that his family know he is and they are held in our thoughts and prayers. thank you forjoining us. the royalfamily held private talks with some of the victims‘ relatives here at the abbey and they are still in there, as far as we know. a week after the attack, prince william visited some of those in hospital and the royalfamily are very much at the heart of what is happening today. prince harry is taking part with the duke and duchess of cambridge today as well. 0 nto duchess of cambridge today as well. 0nto other news: the un security council is meeting in emergency session today to discuss the suspected gas attack on a rebel—held town in syria.

the attack is believed to have killed more than 70 people, including children. washington has accused the assad regime of barbarism — but the regime denies using chemical weapons. russia says a proposed resolution is unacceptable. 0ur correspondent wyre davies has the latest — you may find some of the pictures in his report upsetting. the reverberations of what happened in the syrian town of khan sheikhoun are being felt around the world. distressing images of civilians, many of them children, suffering from the appalling effects of a gas or chemical attack. unable to breathe, choking and foaming at the mouth. dozens were killed and for many it marked a new low in the conflict that has already seen so much suffering and depravity. what we‘ve seen yesterday has horrified all of us. i can say this is a politician, but first of all as a mother. and the images we have seen yesterday from syria remind us all that here we have a responsibility. to unite for real with a serious engagement,

the international community, the regional players, but also the syrian parties, to beat this. —— to make peace. syrian opposition groups and western powers have unequivocally blamed the regime of bashar al—assad for the attack that as these images show, continued even as the victims are being treated in the only hospital in the town. this security guard said that about an hour after the initial strike, government aircraft deliberately bombed the hospital itself, putting it out of service. the syrian government and its chief ally, russia, have been equally vehement in their denials. this was, says a russian military spokesman, the direct consequence of an air strike on a militant weapons factory that must have included nerve gas or chemical weapons. and for that, says the government, the opposition bears all responsibility. that argument isn‘t being bought in western capitals and in a special conference on syria in brussels

where many accuse the assad regime of committing a war crime. all the evidence i have seen suggests that this was the assad regime who did it in the full knowledge that they were using illegal weapons in a barbaric attack on their own people. with rescuers frantically dousing survivors in water to wash off chemicals, and graphic eyewitness accounts of what happened, many experts conclude this can only have been carried out by the regime. there is no indication that the moderate syrian rebels were involved in chemical production, particularly something difficult to do like sarin. as government air strikes against rebel areas continue, some victims are being treated in neighbouring turkey. the assad regime has been emboldened by russian military support and a reluctance by critics to take meaningful action against it. even after the horror

of what happened at khan sheikhoun, that is unlikely to change. thenjames then james is monitoring thenjames is monitoring events from beirut and joins me now. all of this highlights one small the conflict between different members of the international community in relation to syria. indeed, and those two narratives explained in that report, between those who are very much blaming the government of president assad and their allies for the chemical attack on this strategic town in the north—west of syria, opposition controlled area, and on the other side those voices, including from russia, saying this was some kind of ammunition all chemical manufacturing depot that was hit by a strike which then

released those chemicals. some of those claims have been debunked by experts, including the colonel who called it an unsustainable set of circumstances in the interview he gave to the bbc. such an cap —— an attack that hit a manufacturing facility would not have spread a nerve agent in this way. and the russian defence ministry said it wasn‘t as strike at 1130 in the morning and into the afternoon. but people on the ground say the strike happened at 6:20am so there are some inconsistencies in the narratives and descriptions of what happened. it's and descriptions of what happened. it‘s worth reminding people that a great many of the people in the town at the time are still being treated, many were taken to turkey to get treatment for what they suffered will stop more than 30 are being

treated in clinics there, we understand. the world health organisation has released a statement saying the symptoms people we re statement saying the symptoms people were suffering from our consistent with the effects of some kind of nerve agent that could include sarin although it is inconclusive at this time. thanks very much for that update, ben. the duke and duchess of cambridge have attended a special service at westminster abbey for the victims of the westminster terrorist attack. britain hasjoined the us and france in condemning the syrian government for a suspected chemical attack yesterday where more than 70 died, many children. the eu‘s chief negotiator has told the european parliament that britain was mistaken to demand that talks on a new trade deal should be held at the same time as talks on withdrawal. it is broad, british olympic

showjumping champion, nick skelton, has announced his retirement. he won gold in the real olympics last summer on his horse, big star. alistair cooke will miss the forthcoming match due to a hip injury. 24 injury. 2a hours to go until the start of the masters and players are making their final preparations at augusta. all those and other stories just before half past. labour‘s deputy leader has called the decision not to expel ken livingstone after his comments on hitler & is incomprehensible. he was yesterday suspended for another year. mr watson has said the party is indulging mr livingstone and it "shames us all".

strong words from a senior member of the labour party which came after the labour party which came after the ruling last night stating that the ruling last night stating that the former mayor of london, ken livingstone, should business bended from holding public office already sending the labour party for another year. he‘s already been suspended since he made the comments year ago. this morning we had fun deputy leader tom watson who said he felt that suspending mr livingstone had failed the jewish community that suspending mr livingstone had failed thejewish community and failed thejewish community and failed thejewish community and failed the labour party members, too. earlier he spoke to the bbc.” feel ashamed that once again my party is being dragged into around about anti—semitism. the way ken livingstone has handled this enquiry, he has shown no contrition nor apologised. he seems to be drunk on his own information. his caused great offence to many people in the jewish community and those members of the labour party who have fought

against racism all —— in all its forms and it's unacceptable. the shadow brexit secretary has also said there can be no place for this in our party. ed miliband, the former labour leader, has also made his comments clear. he said the strength of their response goes towards the responsibility to tackle prejudice and hate in all its forms. there are some in thejewish community who have backed ken livingstone, saying it is an issue of freedom of expression. for ken livingstone‘s part, he remains unrepentant and is considering challenging the outcome of the ruling. the story seems to be developing our buy our with more people speaking. any further comment in the last couple of hours? it is an issue that has gone on since this time last year. part of the issue is the fact that ken livingstone has refused to apologise. we‘ve just had

that ken livingstone has refused to apologise. we‘vejust had in that ken livingstone has refused to apologise. we‘ve just had in the past have an hour from the shadow attorney general who said that it is theissue attorney general who said that it is the issue of ken livingstone being unrepentant and refusing to apologise. saying, she is horrified and there could be grounds for further investigation by the party. the official line from labour is that they have acknowledged the ruling but we have not heard anything from jeremy corbyn yet. he says labour‘s policy has been to root out any form of anti—semitism within the party but there are fingers pointed this afternoon at the leadership, suggesting more could be done. thank you. members of the european parliament have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking a tough start over brexit negotiations, citing red lines that can‘t be crossed. there were testy exchanges. one said brexit was the

stupidity caused by a catfight inside the conservative party and that britain will one day asked to rejoin the eu. nigel farrell raj accused politicians from other countries of being nasty and vindictive —— nigel barry h. a handshake offered from the eu‘s chief negotiator. smiles in return from the architect of brexit. but then harsh realities began to be laid out. the uk told it cannot expect special access to the eu‘s single market. i have to clarify, this will not happen. cherry picking will not happen. a state outside the european union cannot have the same or better conditions than a state inside of the european union. what is expected is that the uk will pay its bills. it‘s like moving house, said the leader of the socialist group. "the gas bill, the electricity, it all has to be settled", he said. just a week since article 50 was triggered, this may be a foretaste of things to come.

nigel farage accused the eu of making impossible demands. vindictive and nasty, he called it. you‘re behaving like the mafia. you think we‘re a hostage, we‘re not. we‘re free to go. we are free to go. groans at the mafia comparison stopped him mid—flow. then this, from the parliament‘s italian president. "i‘m sorry, mr farage", he interrupted, "but saying this parliament is behaving like the mafia is unacceptable". michel barnier, the man who will have to keep negotiations calm, said he will not seek to punish the uk, only ask that it live up to its financial obligations. and, he said, "it will have to agree the separation terms before the trade talks can begin". the sooner we agree to the principles of an orderly withdrawal, the sooner we can

prepare the future. a different future was laid out, too, where a young generation of britons want to rejoin the eu. a young generation that will see brexit for what it really is — a catfight in the conservative party that got out of hand. a lot of time, a waste of energy, and, ithink, stupidity. but for now the eu is ready in what it says will be a tough negotiating position. a woman who claimed damages after a worker photographed her urinating in sand dunes near us president donald trump‘s aberdeenshire golf course has lost her case. sixty—two year old rohan beyts, sought £3,000 in damages claiming staff breached data protection laws by "secretly filming" her. a sheriff sitting in edinburgh said she should "not have been photographed" but ruled that distress was not caused

by the company‘s failure to register under the data protection act. originally police charged her with an offence but no action was taken. let‘s get more from our correspondence whose there. this was the case of one woman against a giant organisation. she was taking on trump international. she had been on trump international. she had been ona on trump international. she had been on a walk with her friend and they had to go the golf development in aberdeenshire to get access to the beach. on the beach, she said she needed the loo urgently because of a medical edition and she went into sand dunes thinking no one could see her. three days later she was shocked when she got a knock on the doorfrom the shocked when she got a knock on the door from the police charging her with urinating in a public place. they told her later that three men,

two of whom were trump employees, secretly filmed her while she was urinating. she said she was horrified to think she was in the view of anyone. no action was taken on this but she turned the tables and took the trump organisation to court. she lost the case as the golf course wasn‘t being registered as a data controller. she said this was not what caused the distress but the secret filling. jump international had made a frivolous complaint to police and he went on to say that officious men urinating —— taking photos of women in the countryside... she had this to say as she left court. to me it was never about the monetary compensation. i wasn't interested in money. i was only interested in

clearing my name when the trump organisation representative spoke of me committing a deliberate and shameful act within a few feet of the clubhouse in full view of staff and guests. that was not the case. now, she had never made any secret and she talked about it in court that she was opposed to the golf development. it has been controversial since its inception as some people were against it on environmental grounds. trump international responded to the result saying they are satisfied justice has prevailed. they say that the claim was disingenuous and that a perversion of the truth and nothing more than a poor attempt at self publicity. but she said she has won the moral

victory today. thanks very much, katrina. a toddler is in hospital with life—threatening injuries, after being bitten by a dog in a park in chatham in kent. neighbours say the victim is a two—year—old girl. two people have been arrested. the dog was shot dead by police last night. a man who was spared jail after beating his wife is to have his sentence reviewed. the 34—year—old was given an 18 month suspended sentence at manchester crown court in march for the assault. he was said to have beaten her with a cricket bat and forced her to drink bleach. after sentencing, thejudge was criticised by domestic abuse campaigners after saying the victim was not vulnerable as she was a graduate. the centres will be

reviewed on friday. thousands of families hit by the benefit cap had been left with just 50pa benefit cap had been left with just 50p a week in housing benefit to pay their rent, a bbc investigation has found. a cap was introduced last november and limits the amount of benefits of family can receive. bbc panorama survey to councils across britain and found that more than 7500 households are now getting just 50pa 7500 households are now getting just 50p a week. let us return to the news that ken livingstone, suspended from the labour party, and the reaction today. we hadn‘t heard from the labour leader but we have just had a statement from the labour press office quoting him. "quentin livingstone‘s, have been offensive and hurtful to thejewish community. the national constitutional

committee has found him guilty of bringing the party into disrepute and suspended him for two years. it is deeply disappointing that, despite his long record of standing up despite his long record of standing up to racism, ken has failed to acknowledge your apologise for the haughty has caused. many are understandably upset but he has continued to make offensive remarks which could open him to further disciplinary action. since initiating the process, i have not interfered with it and respect the independence of the party‘s disciplinary bodies but his subsequent comments and actions will now be considered by the national executive committee after representations from party members". so that response is from the labour leader to the ken livingstone suspension and just comes in in the last few minutes. more on that and more on our other stories, but first the weather. things will change very slowly over

the next few days. lots more dry weather to come and for some of us some sunshine. some have seen beautiful sunshine today. but looking at the satellite picture, cloud has been rolling in from the north—west. they will often be quite a lot of cloud in the sky over the next of days. best of the sunshine this afternoon in the south and the channel islands. many areas will be cloudy. perhaps a touch of frost but most of us perhaps a touch of frost but most of us will be too cloudy for that. tomorrow, a cloudy day but some breaks. eastern scotland and north east in england and maybe parts of the south west. cloud will thin and break a bit in the afternoon. the odd splash of rainfall western scotla nd odd splash of rainfall western scotland but most of us will be dry. temperatures will climb as we head towards the weekend. we could get to

23 degrees high sunday in the south—east. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry have attended a "service of hope" to remember those killed and injured in the westminster attack. the dean of westminster praised the unity of britons and londoners in the aftermath of the attack. the un security council is meeting in new york this afternoon to discuss the suspected chemical weapons attack in syria that killed at least 70 people. the syrian government and its ally, russia, have denied using poison gas against civilians. the deputy leader of the labour party, tom watson, has said the decision not to expel ken livingstone from the party over controversial remarks regarding adolf hitler and zionism was "incomprehensible". jeremy corbyn said it was disappointing that ken livingstone had failed to apologise for the heart he had caused. the european parliament has

set out its priorities for brexit negotiations, warning that the uk government must agree to honour any financial obligations to the eu. now the sport. olympic show jumping champion nick skelton has announced his retirement from the sport. the 59—year—old won gold at the rio games last summer on his horse big star and was voted in the top three at last year‘s sports personality of the year. joining us now is our reporter lizzie greenwood—hughes. lizzie, what a career, this is someone who‘s been riding since he was 18 months old. what is behind his decision to retire? it is a lot to do with his

horse. he won two olympic golds. he arguably should have one might be olympic gold for the team, individual. he has won something like 16 championship medals. the horse has achieved something that very few horses have achieved. at two separate olympic games. as much about the horse as about him. he a lwa ys about the horse as about him. he always said when a horse retired he would retire. i asked always said when a horse retired he would retire. iasked him if part always said when a horse retired he would retire. i asked him if part of him wish that the horse was 16 or 17 so they could say they have done it and they do not have to compete anymore, and he has barely done much competing anyway since then, but he did not want anyone else to write that horse. i hear word on the grapevine recently that the horse was not quite great so i wondered if

this might be coming. he is a stallions have they can make a lot of money for them at stud but nick skelton has nothing to prove. how do you think you will be remembered? he will be remembered for one of the best there has ever been. he is not going to stop doing what he is doing, training young riders, he spends a lot of time in america, bringing on young horses. he will carry on doing that. he does not have to prove anything. his sons are heavily involved in national hunt racing so he will maybe train a few of those horses. he broke his neck in 2000 so he has had a lot of injuries. he will be putting his feet up and remembering a wonderful career. well-deserved. former england captain alastair cook will miss the first county championship match of the new season for essex because of a hip injury.

cook was cleared to play for his county in the opening round of fixtures along with other centrally contracted england players, and was due to face international team mate james anderson on friday when essex take on lancashire. essex say cook‘s been receiving treatment for the injury for several weeks, but it isn‘t thought to be serious. just 2a hours to go until the masters gets underway, and the players are out on the practice field. rory mcilroy says he‘s putting in the practice hours at augusta to make sure he feels at home once the competition begins. mcilroy has played 99 practice holes so far, and will play a further nine holes today as he aims for his first masters win to complete an historic grand slam of major titles. i‘m ready. i‘ve played enough golf around here this year. you know, even driving down magnolia lane this morning for the first time this week, it didn‘t feel...

like i‘ve never been away, it didn‘t feel that special because i‘ve done it so much. it‘s been nice. i‘ve said in a couple of pieces, the more you can make augusta national feel like your home golf course, the better. you‘re just comfortable in your surroundings. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more in the next hour. more now on the story that the un security council is meeting in an emergency session today to discuss the suspected gas attack on a rebel—held town in syria. there are international correspondentjoins us from brussels where the meeting is taking place. what more can you tell us? world leaders have been gathering here in brussels. the meeting was arranged before this latest atrocity and they we re before this latest atrocity and they were going to be discussing the future of syria including the very delicate question about when funds can delicate question about when funds

ca n start delicate question about when funds can start to be provided, to start to rebuild syria. what has happened in the last 2a hours has emphasised thatis in the last 2a hours has emphasised that is very hard if not politically impossible to start rebuilding when the work continues and with such devastating effect. but while leaders are arrived this morning. the consequences of the chemical attack, the repercussions, at the top of their minds. they weren‘t there would be consequences. the same thing will happen tonight in new york. what is going to be done about it? so that this will be different from all the other times when nothing was done or not enough was done to stop this cycle from happening over and over again. the feeling is one in many communities of despair that anything can be done. putting yourself in the shoes of syrians, a country won more than half of the prewar population is

either forcibly displaced from their homes inside syria or a refugee outside or is dead. half of the country. more and more syrians continue to flee the violence. we have spent two weeks in syria were every few days there was reporting another chemical attack and nobody paid attention to it. they did not make it to the headlines. no displacement. —— more. the world is paying attention now but will it be any different to previous times? russia and iran taking the side of president assad and its supporters and western powers taking the sides of the opposition. hopelessly gridlocked and leaving syrians without hope. with me is dr beyza unal, research fellow with the international security department at chatham house. the focus at the moment is very much

on this latest chemical attack and the differing accounts of what has caused this. what are your thoughts? there is speculation whether this is a nerve agent or a different type of chemical attack that happened. i think what we have seen was use of a similar type of nerve agent that was dropped from a jet plane, possibly from the syrian government or affiliates of the government. you would query the segment we are getting from the syrian regime that this was an accidental bombing of a militant arm stipple essentially where that kind of agent was being stored? yes. i read the news about that and i think that is the russian claim as well. there are some technical problems if that was the case. if the toxic materials were actually there in the missile

facility then they should be in the form of phosphate, organic phosphate. if it was bombed the dispersal of that material would not cause the damage that we have seen today. technically it would not be possible. also it vaporise his under heat as well so that creates the problem as well. the second narrative is a bit dubious. problem as well. the second narrative is a bit dubiousm problem as well. the second narrative is a bit dubious. if we accept as many people seem to be suggesting that this is the syrian government and not rebels, what are they trying to gain from a move like this which clearly cold these huge international condemnation and civilian casualties? one thing is we need to see here, i think both sides suggest that it was the jet plane that dropped either a conventional

weapon or weaponry ammunition or chemical agents. it weapon or weaponry ammunition or chemicalagents. it still weapon or weaponry ammunition or chemical agents. it still is the syrian military or the syrian government that use this, did this attack. i do not think there is any way that the rebels could do it. because the delivery system is the jet plane which is affiliated to the government itself. we need to clarify that part. the problem i see in here is that because of this whole polarisation between syria and the united states right now we cannot come up with any kind of conclusion and it has been years that chemical weapons attack has been going on in syria and we do not have any solutions. the whole issue has been coming to the force since 2013. there have been chemical attacks. do you think they are likely to ramp up? are we going to

see any debt munition? we hope so. the syrian government did an agreement and there was a joint team to ta ke agreement and there was a joint team to take out all the materials outside of syria. it is clear there are still materials in syria. we need to clarify that we need to make sure that these materials are going to be taken out and the syrian government is actually responsible to do that under international laws. how realistic an expectation do you think that is given that we have the un security council meeting in new york this afternoon? we know that any sort of statement from them is likely to be problematic because russia will not agree. the idea to send monitors then to check what the government is doing is difficult. send monitors then to check what the government is doing is difficultm depends on the political will. if the political will is there i cannot see any issue that cannot be

handled. we handled the so—called issues before. between russia and the united states and european countries coming together and agreeing on the future of the iran issue. similarly with syria we need to disagree on g8 national interest from the entries of humanity —— differentiate national interest. thank you. north korea has fired a medium—range ballistic missile, which landed in the sea ofjapan. the launch, close to the port of sinpo, comes on the eve of a visit by china‘s president, xijinping, to the united states to meet president trump. the two will discuss, among other things, how to curb north korea‘s nuclear weapons programme. mr trump said recently that if beijing didn‘t help, the us would do it alone. our correspondent steve evans is in the south korean capital seoul. this launch was relatively unspectacular.

the distance was short. only about 60 kilometres or a0 miles. last month for instance north korea loosed off four missiles simultaneously. what is significant about the launch, though, is the timing. president trump and president xi of china are about to meet in florida. with north korea right at the top of the agenda. president trump wants china to rein in north korea. if it doesn‘t, america will do it alone, is the message. at the moment american troops are exercising alongside south korean troops. despite chinese calls for these exercises to be halted. president trump says his policy towards north korea is very different from the obama policy. but it is not clear exactly how. what is true is that talk of military action against north korea is now

much, much louder. and so is concern here, which is well within range of conventional north korean artillery. some military analysts say there is now a real danger of mis—steps and foolish acts leading to a second korean war. thousands of families affected by the benefit cap have been left with only 50p a week towards their rent, according to a bbc investigation. a panorama survey of hundreds of local councils across britain discovered that more than 7,500 families had had their weekly housing benefit cut to this level. charities say some families could end up losing their home. the cuts are part of the government‘s drive to get unemployed people into work by capping their benefit payments. richard bilton reports. it‘s just all so wrong. maria is a single mum of three, she‘s been capped and her

house is on the line. you are entitled to less housing benefit because of the benefit cap the government has introduced. the benefit cap reduction is £65.67. itjust seems so wrong that they can give you the benefit. her housing benefit used to cover her rent, now it has been reduced by £65 and she is £700 in arrears. her housing association wants to evict her. just don‘t know whether i‘m going to have a house next month, the stress, the worry, it‘s all hard. panorama has spoken to councils across britain. 67,000 households have been capped so far. 11% have had their housing benefit reduced to just 50p. the government says those families are still getting £20,000 a year in other benefits, and that‘s as much as many working families earn. the benefit cap was introduced

to try and level up the playing field between families who are in work and those who are reliant on benefits. and fundamentally what we sought to do was incentivise work because we know the outcomes for children will be better if they are in families that are working. i'm just going to get some advice. if maria worked for 16 hours she would get her benefits back. she says she can‘t because of her health and her childcare responsibilities. she has applied for emergency support and hopes the eviction can be stopped. so you‘re not prepared to stop repossession proceedings on the grounds that she paid no payments of the £65? 0k. right, ok. nojoy. her landlord still plans to evict her. it's totally shocked me, that. there is no leeway whatsoever. for single—parent families just...

prepared to see you on the streets. maria has an eviction hearing in may but hopes to keep her house. charities say other capped families will lose their homes if they don‘t find work. richard bilton, bbc news. the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry have attended a "service of hope" to remember those killed and injured in the westminster attack. i‘m egon cossou with your money update.

are you one of the people who bought a new car last month to beat tax changes? well, if you were, you helped boost new car sales to a record high. more than 562,000 new cars were registered last month, according to industry body the smmt. and sales of diesel vehicles continued to rise, despite controversy over the pollution they produce. there are signs that inflation might sneak up higher than the 3% most people are expecting. last month, companies in the services sector raised prices at their fastest pace since 2008. the closely watched pmi index also showed the sector was expanding faster than expected. lloyds bank has named 100 branches which are due to close as part of their restructuring plan. they include 22 branches of halifax and 2a branches of bank of scotland.

200 jobs will go according to the union unite. well, he promised to shake things up, and donald trump is continuing to do just that. this time he‘s turned his attention to the banking sector. he‘s promising big reforms to regulations that were introduced after the financial crisis. let‘s speak to samira hussain whojoins us from the new york stock exchange. how important are these regulations? it depends who you ask. if you look at the people who are within the sector these will say that these begging regulations are too onerous and prevents the banks from being able to conduct a lot of business. if you ask those people who want to protect the banking industry they will say this is really important. remember these banking regulations we re remember these banking regulations were put in place by the barack

obama administration after the banking crisis to try to protect banks from becoming too big to fail. why does donald trump want to die would these regulations? just in general he is anti—regulations. he wa nts to general he is anti—regulations. he wants to see fewer regulations across the industry because he believes regulations mp business growth and economic growth. that same idea applies to the banking sector where he believes there are too many regulations and if he rolled back some of these regulations we will see banks doing more lending and that would spark economic growth in the states. he has had problems getting through things like the travel ban, repealing or obamacare.

obamaca re. with obamacare. with regards to his ability to get something pushed through congress the fell year of obamacare through congress the fell year of obamaca re showed that through congress the fell year of obamacare showed that there are steep learning curve is for the administration. there is some question about how much the administration can accomplish and what lessons they have learned from what lessons they have learned from what happened with the replacement of the health care act. anchor. in other business stories we‘re following today workers at bmw are going to stage a series of eight 24—hour strikes later this month in a dispute over pensions. this follows a huge vote for industrial action by members of the unite union. unite says the strikes will "significantly disrupt" production. housebuilder galliford try has given up trying to buy its rival bovis homes. this comes just a week after redrow also walked away from trying to buy bovis.

this leaves bovis without any potential deals on the table, but it says it still has faith in the future after appointing new leadership. parliament in iceland has presented a bill designed to guarantee equal pay for men and women across the public and private sectors. if it becomes law all companies employing more than 25 staff would actually have to prove they offer equal pay. this would be a world first. a pretty mixed picture on the markets. the ftse extending yesterday‘s gains. helping the index outperformed much of the broader european market. globally still quite a lot of uncertainty around and nervousness ahead of the meeting between america and china. donald trump has vowed to take a hard line on countries like china. in the us

there is uncertainty ahead of the release of the minutes of the latest meeting of the federal reserve which is also affecting trade. i will be backin is also affecting trade. i will be back in an hour. this weekend, some extraordinary acts by young people are being celebrated at the rotary young citizen awards in manchester. there are seven winners from across great britain and the republic of ireland, one of whom is kare adenegan. she suffers from cerebral palsy diplegia, which affects her legs and mobility. she was inspired by the london 2012 paralympics to take up wheelchair racing. four years later, she brought home three medals from rio. she nowjuggles the life of a full time athlete as well as taking her gcses. nick clitheroe has been meet her. pushing hard in every training session to be the best but fast times on the track are not the

16—year—old‘s only target. her gcses arejust around 16—year—old‘s only target. her gcses are just around the corner making for of the edge. i get to school for about 80 and i have lessons until apm. i get home and i am onto the track for two hours and then after that i have homework. it is quite busy but i know it will be worth it injuly. busy but i know it will be worth it in july. she was born with cerebral palsy. she took up wheelchair racing after watching london 2012. four yea rs later after watching london 2012. four years later she came home with medals. i was so proud i almost cried. i did cry. my whole family gathered in front of the tv and we we re gathered in front of the tv and we were waiting to see her and it was fantastic. i was so happy for her. their support will be important this year and they are not the only ones.

the sport does not come cheap. this nature has grossed more than £11000. the championships this year are the big target. expectations are high but so are the competition.” big target. expectations are high but so are the competition. i have been working quite hard and training ha rd been working quite hard and training hard andi been working quite hard and training hard and i hope i can get a podium finish despite gcses and what a busy year it is. i want to be there in front of the home crowd. she is determined she will inspire the next generation as she was inspired by the london paralympics. all this week, the bbc news channel will be featuring the stories of past and present award winners. and on saturday, we‘ll be broadcasting the ten year anniversary ceremony live from manchester. that‘s at 10:30am this saturday. if it is warm weather you are after

stay tuned until the end. i have some on the way. by the time being temperatures are aware they should be for the time of year but there is some fine weather out there. this was the scene in wales. by the next few days we are going to stick with this largely dry seemed to the weather. some spells of sunshine, fairly large amounts of cloud and by the end of the week and into the weekend those temperatures are going to begin to go up. for the time being quite a lot of cloud coming in from the bit —— west. the best of the sunshine across southern areas. into the channel islands and the south coast a lovely and to the day with some sunshine coming into south wales. ba rely with some sunshine coming into south wales. barely broken cloud into the midlands, north wales and thicker cloud for northern england and northern ireland perhaps producing the occasional spots of rain. perhaps the occasional spots of rain

in western scotland. into a night where we have had bright skies by day we will have cleared skies. if the skies stay clear for any length of time there could be a touch of brass frost but generally speaking too much cloud for that. tomorrow a pretty cloudy start to the day. the cloud will be breaking up a little. we should see some spells of sunshine. the best of the sunshine for eastern scotland and north—east england. always the chance of patchy rain in western scotland. friday, more of the same, a fair amount of cloud, increasing amounts of sunshine through the day and then we get into the weekend. starting with high pressure over the top of the british isles so a restart and then drifting eastwards which opens the way for a fairly light southerly winds to bring best warm dry here in

our direction which means more sunshine and rising temperatures. saturday is a day of patchy cloud and sunny spells. some places could get 18 or 19. on sunday particularly in england and wales beautiful sunshine and feeling warm. trying to bring rain into north—western scotla nd bring rain into north—western scotland and northern ireland and hear temperatures will struggle. 21 in north—west england and maybe 23 degrees across parts of the south—east. if you want to keep tabs on the temperatures your local weather is available online. i will be back in half an hour. i‘m simon mccoy live at westminster abbey where a short time ago the

duke and duchess of cambridge led a service of hope. amongst the congregation relatives of those who died in the terror attack. the westminster said people were still bewildered by what had happened. westminster said people were still bewildered by what had happenedm weep for the violence, for the hatred, for the loss of life, for all that divides and spoils our world. i'm rachel schofield. the headlines: the headlines: the un security council is set to meet in the next hour to discuss the alleged chemical weapons attack in syria that killed around 70 people. jeremy corbyn says labour‘s national executive committee