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 will review ken livingstone's commentsmed other senior labourfigures livingstone's commentsmed other senior labour figures also slam the pa rty‘s senior labour figures also slam the party's decision not to expel him. i feel ashamed that once again my

party has been dragged into a row about anti—semitism and the way ken livingstone has handled this inquiry he showed no contrition. he has not apoll yised. the he showed no contrition. he has not apollyised. 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. the first driverless vehicle to be tested on britain's roads. how will itfairon tested on britain's roads. how will it fair on london's busy streets? good afternoon. and welcome to bbc news live at welsh assembly in —— westminster

abbey. the scene of a terror attack two weeks ago which killed people. prince harry and princial were at a service of hope. the duke of westminster expressing bewilderment of what happened. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. two weeks ago the area around the 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 a murder of an unarmed police officer, one of the four innocent people who died that day. two weeks later at westminster

abbey, a service, quite deliberately not a memorial service, it is 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 this city from around the world and the killing of a police constable on duty at the palace of westminster have 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... in his address the dean of westminster recalled that among those directly affected by the attack were people from britain and 12 other nations. he posed the 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 at 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 pledging respect between different communities. well, as we were hearing it was a multi—faith service. the focus on the diverse nature of our society. a little earlier i spoke to

representatives of the muslim community and i asked them what they thought of the mood of today's service. it wasn't a memorial service. it wasn't a memorial service. it wasn't a memorial service. it didn't feel like a memorial service. it felt like wounds were very raw and walking past the police and talking to the police you could feel how raw the wounds were. so it was a very different feel and i thought the dean handled it brilliantly. he did it so his address didn't even sort of end in a formal way. it ended with us doing this act of commitment, lighting the candles and that was absolutely right. it was something to say ok, we're going to do whatever we can to stop this happening again. the dean stressed the importance, this should bring everybody closer to together? there is an element of human kindness that joins us together. the dean spoke on

behalf of humanity. we have got to end this hatred and the mindset that keeps blowing people up. it's terrible. in terms of the congregation, there we re in terms of the congregation, there were relatives of those who died and indeed, there were some of those who we re indeed, there were some of those who were injured. did you get a sense of how they were coping with this, given that it's so recent? it was an extraordinary feeling. there was quite raw emotion, you could feel the emotion in the abbey, but you didn't feel many tears or people breaking down, they were holding it because it was such an amazing service, but they were quite raw and it was very moving. extraordinarily moving. he brought out the entire sentiment that people feel out into the service. the prince of the royal family and the presence of so many ambassadors, it underlined notjust the british, but particularly what london is about, just the diversity of this city and how many countries we re of this city and how many countries were involved? it was mentioned, 270

countries which are represented in london and 3 lun dialects are spokenment all of us will stand together now. it is interesting rabbi, becausejust together now. it is interesting rabbi, because just walking together now. it is interesting rabbi, becausejust walking her today, there are the flowers in parliament square and in the railings outside the houses of westminster. you can feel peel wanting to talk to the police officers and thank them for what they do. there is a strange mood in this place? it has changed. people have always been friendly to the police for instance at the palace of westminster. i'm in the house of lords. it is a different thing. everybody goes up and thanks them and says, "how are you?" there is a lot of, "how are you doing?" it's nice that and also the fact that we had sadiq khan, who is a practising muslim, reading something that comes from francis of assisi and holding

us from francis of assisi and holding us together as mayor of london. that's an extraordinary feeling. we're not going could be overcome by this feeling that came out of the service. that must be something you picked up as well? we hope this is the end of it and there isn't any further violence ever in this land. talking about the raw emotion and it is difficult to thinkjust two weeks ago, half an hour ago, two weeks ago, half an hour ago, two weeks ago, this attack had taken place here in the heart of london. just outside the palace of westminster. and part of the point of this service was to help those involved, whether they were the first responders, many of whom were in the service, those who were injuredks a few of them in the service and of course, the relatives who died and there were several of them at this service as well. the point was to help them not to come to terms with what has happened, but pras to just try and show the unity around them, the love and support around them and help them to move on in some way.

that attack just two weeks ago and just some 200 yards away from here. rachel. simon, thank you very much indeed. it's 3.10pm. the un security council is meeting in emergency session today to discuss the suspected gas attack on a rebel—held town in syria. the united states, britain and france have put forward a resolution that blames president assad's forces for using chemical weapons to kill more than 70 people. russia says the proposed resolution is unacceptable. 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 a 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 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 khan sheikhoun's only hospital. 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 airstrike 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 at 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 could only have been carried out by the regime. there is no indication that the moderate syrian rebels

were involved in chemical production, particularly if something difficult to do like sarin. as government airstrikes 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. well, we can cross live to the un now. the un security council meeting just getting under way in the last quarter of an hour. we can hearfrom the french ambassador to the un. let's listen in. france trance france has strongly condemned this carnage and new proof of the kind of barbarism that's been, that has struck syria over the past few yea rs. struck syria over the past few years. well, some have claimed this was a strike against a warehouse of

chemical substances belonging to terrorists. i want to recall a number of facts, three of them. first of all, there was no fire even though such a strike would have caused a fire and the consequences would have been much more certificate for the civilian population. furthermore, this is an area where the syrian army and air force are in fa ct the syrian army and air force are in fact operating and in fact, additional strikes were observed in the area of idlib yesterday. finally, the responsibility of the syrian air force has already been mentioned for the use of chem chemical weapons three times at least and irrefute pli based on the conclusions of thejoint investigative mechanism mandated by this council. the atrocities

committed yesterday which constitute crimes of war are to be added to further suspicion of the use of chlorine at the end of last month and multiple cases that have been reported over the last few months and in particular aleppo during december of 2016, these atrocities madam president illustrate tragically the destructive folly of the assad regime and even those who support that regime can't prevent these atrocities and in fact their silence is a justification for this action. this new act of barbarism once again proves that until there isa once again proves that until there is a true political transition no one can guarantee the security and safety of the syrian people or the stability of the middle east. so, a political transition must be put into place as soon as possible at this council approved by adapth

dapting the resolution and the geneva communique. that has been the position of france from the very beginning. madam president, light should be shed on the details of this horrible massacre. we fully support the fact finding mission of the opcw support the fact finding mission of the 0pcw so they could investigate as soon as possible. all the allegation on the use of chemical weapons must be the subject of an indepartment investigation and follow—up in monitoring, however, that's not enough, of course, it is essential that those responsible for these attacks to respond for their actions and to be prosecuted, to face justice, it is actions and to be prosecuted, to facejustice, it is high time actions and to be prosecuted, to face justice, it is high time for the international community to put an end to the crimes of the syrian regime. no political alliance can justify closing one's eyes on mass

atrocities or to try to distract the attention of the world to other tragedies. in other words to deny the evidence. russia has a guarantor of the truce established on 20th december 2016 and as a permanent member of the security council, carries a particular responsibility that it must assume today together with all the other members of this council and this context france, the united kingdom and the united states have taken the initiative of submitting a draft resolution that we hope can unite the international community based on clear and firm positions and based on refusing what is unacceptable. madam president in the face of facts that pointed to the face of facts that pointed to the repeated and bar barrous views of weapons of mass destruction, in this case, chemical weapons against

civilian population more over, inaction or lack of action are not options. 0ur collective credibility as guardians of international peace and security, our individual credibility as states, committed to combatting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is at sta ke. weapons of mass destruction is at stake. we're talking about respect for international humanitarian law and our capacity to establish an international norm that has been openly flouted, that is the use of weapons of mass destruction against chemical, against the civilian population, the international community sought to prohibit this, ban this once and for all a century ago. we have a responsibility to protect the non proliferation of chemical weapons regime which on which there has been a consensus in this council, but which has been undermined. the risk that as we undermined. the risk that as we undermine that regime, we will undermine that regime, we will undermine all the other proliferation regimes that we have built patiently day by day over the

past decades. the reappearance of these weapons in syria including in hands of daesh, without the international system and community being able to react would be a signal of sending a signal of impunity which is unacceptable and which is extremely dangerous. all the syrian chemical capacity must be dismantled to protect the syrian civilian pop lawings and beyond this to protect our collective security. madam president in the fog that surrounds us, there are some truths that we cannot simply overlook. the fundamental aspects of our values, of what unites us, speaking of values, who won't condemn those who have killed children and women, innocent women and children in the worst horrible conditions and made

them suffer terribly? secondly, worst horrible conditions and made them sufferterribly? secondly, law, them sufferterribly? secondly, law, the security council has unanimously stated that those responsible for such attacks must be condemned and punished. what are we waiting for to do this? lastly what's at stake is our security. if we close our eyes on chemical attacks against civilian population, what kind of legitimacy will we have in the future to condemn nuclear terrorism or a potential apocalypse of biological terrorism? who will be ready to assume that responsibility in the face of history. just a few weeks ago i called on all of us here, each one of us, to assume our responsibilities and we should make no mistake of lack of consensus in this council on 20th february of this council on 20th february of this year to sanction and condemn the use of chemical weapons by the syrian regime already was sending a

strong message of impunity. the horrible massacre is a terrible reminder of the reality and a call to our collective responsibility, the time has come for us to act collectively with all necessary firmness in the face of the use of weapons of mass destruction and i would like to express the hope that we can at lastjoin and together reiterate our rejection of the use of chemical weaponsment the world is watching us. in particular, it is watching us. in particular, it is watching those who by protecting an indefensible regime become privy, become in some ways indirectly participating in those crimes. thank you very much. that impassioned statement from the french ambassador to the united nations giving a sense of the sense of feeling really, very

strong condemnation there about the use of chemical weapons against the civilian population in syria and that draft resolution he spoke of being put together by the united states, france and the uk. he's hoping to have approval, but we know that the russians are likely to have their own views on that. let's rejoin proceedings there because we're hearing from the uk representative. could have sent a clear message. a clear signal that there would be consequences for using these horrific weapons, for violating international law. a clear signal that there was security council unit and global unity against any use of these weapons, but after russia and china vetoed, it seems that the only message sent to assad was one of encouragement. and yesterday, we saw the consequences of those vetoes. those consequences of those vetoes. those consequences are painted on the

stricken faces of the children. killed potentially by a regime that will stop at nothing to hold on to power. history willjudge all of us for how we respond to these unforgettable and unforgivable images of the innocent who had already suffered so much, even before yesterday's attack. how long are we going to sit here and pretend that actions in this chamber have no consequences? that vetoes have no bearing on the lives of innocent men, women and children? russia has said that the opposition is responsible. that a regime air strike struck an opposition depot for munitions, but we have seen nothing to suggest that any non—state actors in syria have the sort of chemical weapons that would be consistent with the symptoms that we saw yesterday. russia will say simply that we don't

have enough information about the attack. and yet, we have every indication that this was a sustained attack using aircraft over a number of hours. we see all the signs of an attack using a nerve agent capable of killing over 100 people and harming hundreds more. if that is not enough to demand action, what is? there is only one air force that has used such weapons in syria. there is only one party to this conflict that the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons says has and i quote, "gaps, inconsistencies" in its chemical weapons convention declaration. 0nly its chemical weapons convention declaration. only one party that still refuses inspectors access to its facilities. this doesn't look like the work of terrorists. this doesn't look like the work of the opposition. this bears all the

hallmarks of the assad regime and the use of chemical weapons is a war crime. make no mistake — this regime seems intent on making a mockery of the russian—backed ceasefire. russia has blocked council action claiming that we might undermine the process. yet the only thing undermining the process is assad, the very man they seek to protect. russia deployed the full weight of its armed forces to help him. they reduced aleppo to ruins, and displaced hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, all in the name of fighting terrorism. and what does russia get as repayment? assad humiliates russia in the eyes of the world. by intensifying his attacks, by reducing the ceasefire to rubble. assad humiliates russia by showing just how empty syria's promise was

to re m ove just how empty syria's promise was to remove all its chemical weapons. if russia is to restore its credibility, they will need to join us credibility, they will need to join us in condemning this attack and in urging the 0pcw to investigate it as soon as urging the 0pcw to investigate it as soon as possible. they willjoin us in calling for the fullest support and co—operation for the investigation team, they will help not hinder our efforts to strengthen accountability through the vital work of thejoint accountability through the vital work of the joint investigative mechanism, there can be no further delay in fully staffing the leadership of that mechanism. it must have the right technical and analytical capacity to take on the task ahead. if russia fails to did so, if russia falls back on its old ways, defending the indefensible, we will not be deterred. the united kingdom, with our allies, will continue to seek justice kingdom, with our allies, will continue to seekjustice for the victims of chemical weapons attacks in syria and elsewhere, we will continue to pursue other avenues for

action, european union sanctions announced last month show we can still take steps to hold individuals to hold, that we can still show that use of chemical weapons brings consequences. but until russia changes its ways, this security council will remain blocked and that is the sad reality that the world has got used to. they view us as a table of diplomats doing nothing, our hands tied behind our backs, be holden to russian intransigence. but the world should be under no illusion, what russia does in this chamber does not cause inaction, defending the indefensible causes suffering. each and every abuse of their veto has consequences and for their veto has consequences and for the people of syria, those consequences have been unspeakable. let me close by asking russia — what is your plan? what is your plan to stop these horrific senseless attacks? we had a plan and we had the support and you rejected it to protect assad. it is time now for

you to stop blocking and start helping byjoining security council consensus, our draft resolution condemns this attack and calls for consequencesment all 15 security council members should be able to condemn this attack and every use of chemical weapons. we expect your support. thank you to the representative of the united kingdom. now we will give the floor to the representative of bolivia. zmrz the uk's permanent representative of the uk to the un joining with the french representative as well to condemn wholeheartedly the actions of the syrian regime in that chemical attack, but more—over and perhaps more significantly, in political terms, calling on russia to stop their support for assad's regime and challenging the them to join with that draft resolution that they have

put together. just one line of copy coming to us on that chemical attack, this is via the reuters news agency. they are reporting that the turkish president has said that more than 100 people have been killed in that chemical attack. we were saying around 72 including 20 children, but as you may have heard in our reporting, a number of those who we re reporting, a number of those who were affected by the chemical attack we re were affected by the chemical attack were being treated across the border in turkey and it looks like the turkish authorities have revised those figures. they have said that the total of people killed now comes to 100 according to the turkish president. we will have more to come. the former mayor of london was

yesterday suspended from standing for office or representing labour for office or representing labour for two years for comments he made about adolf hitler and zionism. he served a year of the suspension and remains a member of the party. labour + deputy leader tom watson called the party decision not to expel ken livingstone as incomprehensible and said labour was indulging ken livingstone with an outcome that he said shames us all. i feel ashamed that once again my party has been dragged into a row about anti—semitism and the weekend livingstone has handled this

inquiry, he has showed no contrition, not apologised, inquiry, he has showed no contrition, notapologised, he inquiry, he has showed no contrition, not apologised, he seems to be drunk on his infamy, he has caused offence to thejewish community and members of the labour party who have been fighting against racism and it is unacceptable. the shadow brexit secretary insisted ken livingstone should have been expelled. labour has rightly got easier or poland debt, —— a zero tolerance policy. he should have been expelled brother than suspended. the latest development on this, the statement from the labour leaderjeremy corbyn, what did you make of that? a very positive move less tha n make of that? a very positive move less than 2a hours of real turmoil. the heart, the turmoil that people

felt with the sentence that was handed down to ken livingstone last night exploded across social media networks across the whole of the labour party. people were outraged. 0n the one hand he could be found guilty on three counts of bringing the party into disrepute for the comments he made and on the other hand being given basically a slap in the rest that manyjewish members felt was a slap in the face. you would have liked to have seen him expeued? would have liked to have seen him expelled? yes. would have liked to have seen him expelled ? yes. what would have liked to have seen him expelled? yes. what about calls from some people, we were hearing from a rabbi earlier who was saying that she hoped that her fellow —— dues would leave the labour party. is that what you want? no. we

helped set up this party and create the values of tolerance and diversity that the labour party enjoys so the idea that people should be forced out of the labour party by this incomprehensible decision, absolutely not. we stand and fight. another comment that has come through today was from the board of deputies of british dues saying that relations have reached an all—time low. saying that relations have reached an all-time low. the nub of the case against ken livingstone was not about that, it was about the ruining of relationships between thejewish community and the labour party. i first found out about his diatribe on bbc radio one did last year when

i was on bbc radio one did last year when iwas campaigning on bbc radio one did last year when i was campaigning in finchley, one of the mostjewish parts of the capital. when we go out on the doorstep and we talked tojewish voters they ask why ken livingstone are still a member of the party. it is the touchstone of how to restore belief and a sense of trust. and ownership between thejewish community and the labour party. the actions that the leaders and the deputy leader have taken today show that the party has a zero tolerance approach and is prepared to intervene in any way necessary. you mentioned the actions of the leadership. some people would say jeremy corbyn has taken a long time to respond and others have criticised him. the labour party has made it clear that there should be zero tolerance approach to anti—semitism. we have had comments from the mayor of london today. the important thing is that people have

called this case out for what it is and voiced the sense that we have which is on the one hand ken livingstone has been found guilty as charged but let off with the sentence which means nothing, so for him to step in this afternoon is right and him to step in this afternoon is rightand fairand him to step in this afternoon is right and fair and we feel it is swift action well taken and we will keep the pressure on to make sure the right result comes out and that sense of trust between thejewish community and the labour party can be fully restored. we are hoping to speak to ken livingstone in the next hour. now the spot. 0lympic showjumping champion nick skelton has announced his retirement from the sport. skelton, who's 59, won gold at the rio games last summer on his horse big star. four years earlier at london 2012,

he helped great britain to a team gold medal. in a statement skelton said the sport has given him more than he could have hoped for over the past 43 years. 0ur reporter lizzie greenwood hughes said the news is almost as much about the horse, big star, as its famous rider. he always said when that horse retired he would retire and i said to him recently did part of him which the horse was 16, the horse is about 13, did he wish the horse was 16 or 17 so they could say that was it and they had done it and they do not have to compete. he has barely done much competing since then. he did not want anyone else to write that horse. i heard word on the grapevine recently that the horse was not quite right so i wondered if this might be coming. he is a stallion is they can make a lot of money for him at stud but nick skelton does not have anything to prove. 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. the republic of ireland women's team will meet with their governing body tonight, after threatening to go on strike. a group of players have spoken out about the poor treatment and lack of support they've received from the fai, and are fighting for compensation for loss of earnings whilst on international duty. 0ur football reporter david 0rnstein has more. these issues have been building for some years. the players have complained about a lack of pay corp. compensate the lack of earnings from their dayjob. also being forced to

change in public toilets. last year the players approached their union to help resolve this issue and yesterday morning they gathered in dublin for a press conference to talk publicly about their grievances. the governing body the feido grievances. the governing body the fe i do not want to deal with the union, that is the issue, they want to deal with the players directly, but the players want their union to mediate and that is why we have reached this point of a possible strike that could threaten that match against slovakia on monday. the players will be to see how this 6pm meeting goes before deciding whether they want to resume training. final practice has been suspended in augusta and head of the masters. that is because of severe thunderstorms on the way. 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, 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... it felt 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. we will be back in an hour. let's return now to syria and, as we've been hearing, the un security council is going to hold an emergency session this afternoon to discuss the suspected gas attack on a rebel—held town. the uk ambassador to the un said it bore the hallmarks of an attack by president assad's regime. meanwhile in brussels, a major aid conference is taking place to discuss the future of syria.

let's speak to gregory koblentz from the think tank the centre for arms control and non—proliferation which specialises in security. he joins us now via webcam from washington. what do you make of the varying claims around this chemical attack? this is pretty clearly another example of the syrian regime using chemical weapons against its own people and if all reports are true from the ground about the skill of the attack with over 100 people dead this would be the worst attack, chemical attack, since an attack in august 2013 that killed over 1000 people —— scale of the attack. august 2013 that killed over 1000 people -- scale of the attack. there have been mixed messages. the syrian regime suggesting this is connected with rebel held stockpiles. what does the science tell us? the evidence we have so far indicates

this was a syrian government attack. witnesses report that the chemicals we re witnesses report that the chemicals were delivered by aircraft and the rebels do not have an aircraft. the number of people exposed indicates there is a large amount of chemical agent released, most likely sarin, one of the most advanced chemical weapons. we know islamic state has experimented with chlorine and mustered but no indication of any ability to develop this quantity of sarin and release it in this way. monitoring events in new york this afternoon, very strong condemnation from among others france and the united kingdom. the staff resolution from france, the uk and the us calling on russia essentially to step up and as they said stop blocking condemnation of the syrian regime. do you think there is much

hope of any agreement on this? u nfortu nately i hope of any agreement on this? unfortunately i do not think there is hope of any agreement. russia vetoed a resolution six weeks ago that would have put sanctions on the syrian officials responsible for previous chemical weapons attacks so ido previous chemical weapons attacks so i do not see any chance the russian government will reverse course. i expect them to veto any resolution and continue to protect their ally in damascus. what is the next move from the new president because president trump has been very critical of barack president trump has been very critical of ba rack 0bama president trump has been very critical of barack 0bama and his policy on syria but do we know how he will play less? that is very uncertain. the administration finds itself between a rock and a hard place. they have supported resolution so they are on record in condemning these attacks and said they will take action but the administration has indicated they are no longer interested in hosting president assad and may be willing

to cooperate with the syrian regime against is. this puts them in a bind. the world is waiting to see how the administration will respond. perhaps the hesitation, the wait and see approach potentially of the trumpet ina see approach potentially of the trumpet in a station, and the fact the russians are unlikely to cooperate, can we see a way forward? —— trump administration. cooperate, can we see a way forward? -- trump administration. it is incumbent on individuals, groups and countries that are concerned about these attacks to take actions they can either to help the victims of the attacks or to support efforts to bring those who are responsible as the perpetrators to justice. bring those who are responsible as the perpetrators tojustice. that may take some time but it is going to be the long—term goal of trying to be the long—term goal of trying to prevent future attacks and putting pressure notjust on the regime itself in damascus but those countries that support syria and the

use of these atrocious weapons. thank you. members of the european parliament have voted on taking a tough stance on brexit negotiations. there were testy exchanges as the parliament's brexit the goal shooters said that brexit is a stupidity that was caused by a cat fight inside the conservative party and that britain will one day i asked to rejoin the eu. nigel farage accused politicians from other countries of being nasty and vindictive. 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". 0k — all right. 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. the duke and duchess of cambridge have attended a special service at westminster abbey for the victims of the westminster terror attack. britain hasjoined the us and france in condemning the syria government for a suspected chemical attack yesterday where more than seventy people died, many of them children. jeremy corbyn has said labour's national executive committee will review ken livingstone's comments in the wake of his suspension from the party. i'm egon cossou with your business 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 trade 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 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. we are being encouraged to make our lives as green as possible and business leaders are calling on the

government to do more to make our industrial strategy greener as well. the green alliance pressure group has just released, what's essentially a rallying cry from corporate britain, demanding a real drive to turn the country into a low carbon economy. let's speak to angela francis, who is a senior economist with the green alliance, a charity and think tank focused on getting us, and government, to think about environmental issues. what practical steps are you calling for? it is more than warm words. we are trying to say to government business leaders, unions, people involved in industrial policy recognise that green growth is a pa rt recognise that green growth is a part of delivering productivity. we are seeing you cannot do that unless you embrace the opportunities that green growth is delivering for the

uk. it is already a sector that is the fastest—growing in the uk despite the recession and it has enormous potential to deliver for formal industrial towns and areas not performing as well as they should be —— former. not performing as well as they should be -- former. this comes when the biggest economy in the world the us is looking to loosen regulations on the environment. want your call put this country at a disadvantage to the americans? that is an interesting point in the us have taken a different tack to what we would recommend for the eu. for the uk. the markets we are looking at when we are looking at growing the green economy are primarily developing markets so there is a 23 trillion market in green infrastructure for smart investment around the world, 15 trillion of thatis around the world, 15 trillion of that is in china and the chinese wa nt to that is in china and the chinese want to work with us because the uk has been at the forefront of

developing green energy markets, green finance. the us is taking a different route. they are less exposed than the uk is to export markets, only about 13% of their gdp is dependent on exports and in the uk it is about 27% so it is right that the uk is looking around the world than looking where the growth is and it should be in green growth and resource efficiency. thank you. scotland's economy is hovering close to recession, according to the most recent figures from the scottish government. they show output from the economy contracted in the final three months of last year, after several quarters today's figures cover the final three months of last year with the output from the whole scottish economy falling by 0.2%. production, construction, down the most the

services sector flat. compared with 0.7% growth for the uk economy as a whole. for the whole of the year, 2016 so the scottish economy grow by 0.4%, very weak growth. the uk economy growing more than four times faster. what seems to be contrasting between scotland and the uk may be at that be beloved scotland have more awareness of the impact it is going have on the scottish economy and there'sa going have on the scottish economy and there's a different attitude to europe and the different attitude to the single market, 62% of people voting voted to remain within the eu in scotland. there is a diver and voting voted to remain within the eu in scotland. there is a diverand is of opinion and an impact on consumer confidence as well as the actual impact on the downturn in the oil and gas sector. some economic indicators for this year that look better but not by much. inflation is on the rise, part of the squeeze on household spending. the main feature

of the economy this year remains uncertainty. here in london the ftse100 has risen — extending yesterday's gains. it's mainly mining shares and oil stocks which have led the rally. that's helping the index outperform the broader european market. globally there is still quite a lot of uncertainty around — and a level of nervousness ahead of tomorrow's meeting between the leaders of america and china. donald trump has vowed to take a hard line on countries such as china which have large trade surpluses with the united states. there's also uncertainty ahead of the release of the minutes from the latest meeting of the us federal reserve — which is also affecting trade. that's all the business news. how would you feel about about being in a driverless car making your way through congested city streets?

well about 100 people are being given the opportunity to do just that — test a driverless vehicle for the first time on uk roads. they'll travel in a prototype shuttle along a two mile route, in greenwich in london. 0ur correspondent fiona lamdin has been to greenwich to find out more. this is a driverless pods. it works on sensors and a camera at the front. it is on trial for the next couple of weeks. hopefully the doors will open. in we go. hello. explain. this is a driverless pods that goes automatically but how does it work?

it uses a combination of cameras and lasers to understand where it is and how it needs to move to get to its destination. how safe is it? if a pedestrian was awry in front of us what would happen? we have done a programme of test of street and in this environment to make sure it behaves as we expected to. cameras are making predictions about how people are moving so the vehicle can stop safely if needed. we have to understand what the public‘s hopes and fears are and assuming it is positive we can see the roll—out over the next couple of years in cities particularly where we can use automated clean vehicles to improve ability. by 2020 years think these vehicles will be everywhere? maybe not everywhere but we will see them emerge where it makes more sense and we will see them flourish. statistics say 95% of all car

accidents are down to human error so the question is, is this safe? changes in our weather will be slow over the next few days which means more dry weather to come. there will be fairly large areas of cloud around but also decent spells of sunshine. the summary for the next few days, staying largely dry with some sunshine. by the weekend things are going to warm up quite dramatically, temperatures will be up dramatically, temperatures will be up into the 20s for some of us. here and now we have the best of the sunshine in southern areas. more cloud from the north—west. not a com plete cloud from the north—west. not a complete continuous sheet of cloud but some breaks. six o'clock, fine weather for the south—west. not a

continuous sheet of cloud across east anglia, the south—east, that midlands, some styles of sunshine, but thicker cloud for northern england, northern ireland and western scotland. eastern scotland having a decent the day. into the evening where we have had sunny skies by day we will have clear skies by day we will have clear skies overnight. it could get cold enough for a touch of frost. there could be some breaks in the cloud. for many of us it will be between seven and 9 degrees. tomorrow, a cloudy start with some sunshine. north—eastern england looking favoured. some breaks in the cloud elsewhere. the thickest of the cloud across western scotland could produce drizzle. essentially it is dry. 11—15 is about where we will be on friday. a fair amount of cloud but sunshine breaking through at

times. into the weekend, high pressure bringing this dry weather and as it drifts eastwards it will allow us to draw and more of a southerly wind which will bring drier warm southerly wind which will bring drierwarm air southerly wind which will bring drier warm airfrom the southerly wind which will bring drier warm air from the continent which will move northwards across many parts of the british isles. for the weekend, saturday a fine day for the weekend, saturday a fine day for the most part with sunny spells, patchy cloud, temperatures easily 12-16 but 18 patchy cloud, temperatures easily 12—16 but 18 or patchy cloud, temperatures easily 12-16 but 18 or 19 patchy cloud, temperatures easily 12—16 but 18 or 19 for a few places. sunday, england and wales beautiful sunshine. thicker cloud into northern and western parts of scotland. maybe northern ireland. that will pick the temperatures back. the further south you are, into the 20s and maybe 23 across the south—east. something pretty warm under way as we go through the weekend. you can check the prospects online. we will be back in half an hour. this is bbc news. i'm rachel schofield.

the headlines at apm: the un security council is meeting to discuss tuesday's deadly gas attack in syria. western powers believe assad's forces used chemical weapons to kill more than 70 people. this doesn't look like the work of terroristsment this doesn't look like the work of the opposition. this bears all the hallmarks of the assad regime and the use of chemical weapons is a war crime. jeremy corbyn says labour's national executive committee will review ken livingstone's comments since he was suspended. other senior labour figures slam the party's decision not to expel him. i feel ashamed that once again my party is being dragged into a row about anti—semitism and the way ken livingstone has handled this inquiry