this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 3pm. a father who refused to pay a fine after taking his daughter out of school for an unauthorised holiday has lost his case at the supreme court. to attend regularly no longer means to attend regularly no longer means to attend regularly no longer means to attend frequently. it now means to attend frequently. it now means to attend frequently. it now means to attend on all the days and at all the times that the school requires it. the syrian government has spoken for the first time since the gas attack that killed 70 people — and denies ever using chemical weapons — amid international condemnation. welsh assembly member mark reckless quits ukip — and rejoins the conservatives. jeremy corbyn says a labour government would add vat to private school fees — and use the money to pay for free school meals for all primary pupils in england. i'mjane i'm jane hill. also this hour president donald trump gets set to host his chinese counterpart, xijinping, for two days of talks in the winter white house, mar—a—lago. from trade to currency to north korea, a lot is on the table for the leaders

of the world's two largest economies. as the masters gets underway, concerns about the world number one dustin johnson who's fallen down stairs and injured his back. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. a father has lost a landmark case at the supreme court in a dispute about taking his child out of school without permission. jon platt, from the isle of wight, refused to pay a fine after he took his daughter to florida, and had won previous court cases. but today, the supreme court ruled unanimously that it is disruptive to a child's education to remove them from school during term time. the prime minister theresa may welcomed the ruling, saying it recognised the importance

of children attending school. our legal affairs correspondent clive coleman reports. arriving at the highest court in the land, a father, john platt, about to find out if taking his daughter on holiday in term time meant he had broken the law. in 2015, jon platt took his daughter on a week's holiday. he was fined £120 by his local council on the isle of wight for failing to ensure she regularly attended school. he refused to pay and was prosecuted. but argued successfully that his daughter, who had a more than 90% overall record, was regularly attending school. today the supreme court unanimously disagreed with that. unauthorised absences have a disruptive effect. not only on the education of the individual child, but also on the work of other pupils and of their teachers. outside court, jon platt

was visibly upset by the ruling. this case now has to go back to the isle of wight magistrates and start all over again. i can tell you, i have absolutely no intention of pleading guilty to this offence when it goes back to the magistrates' court. jon platt has lost his case here at the supreme court but he remains defiant. for parents, however, the position is now crystal clear. you have to obey the attendance policy of the school or else you're committing a criminal offence. the government says headteachers still have the ability to decide when exceptional circumstances allow for a child to be absent. but that today's ruling removes the uncertainty for schools that was created by the previousjudgment. many still believe that parents should be able to take their children on holiday during the school year. i think they should be taken out of school because they

always did in our day and it never did us any harm. a week or two they don't lose that much they learn so much when they are on holiday. it's really expensive to take children on holiday during holiday times because the companies want to make money. parents have been warned, but some will inevitably choose to follow jon platt by taking their children on holiday in term time and facing the consequences. clive coleman, bbc news. the syrian government has spoken about the chemical attack in the northwest of the country for the first time — denying it would ever use such weapons. more than 70 people died in the attack in idlib province. turkey says the results of autopsies carried out on victims confirm that chemical weapons were used, and has blamed president assad's forces. this report from richard galpin contains distressing images. this is the moment on tuesday when the rebel held town of khan sheikhoun in idlib province

was hit by an air strike. it soon became clear it was not a conventional attack. dozens of babies, children and adults were left choking and foaming at the mouth. and today, tests on some of those taken to hospital in turkey have proved it was a chemical attack. there's speculation it was the deadly nerve agent sarin. for us president donald trump, this was enough for him to make an abrupt u—turn on his comparatively lenient policy towards the syrian regime. when you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal, that people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses, many, many lines beyond a red line, many lines. these heinous actions by the assad

regime cannot be tolerated. with hints that washington is now even considering military action, the syrian government has acted quickly to deny it used chemical weapons in khan sheikhoun. translation: 0ur army has never used chemical weapons and will not use chemical weapons, not only against our civilians, our people, but also against the terrorists who are attacking civilians. but during the long civil war in syria, government forces have been accused of using chemical weapons on several occasions. including a sarin gas attack near damascus in 2013 which killed hundreds. although this crossed a red line for the then president barack 0bama, there was no military intervention. instead.

piles of chemical weapons in syria were supposed to have been removed. this time some experts think the trump administration may do something more robust. we are looking at some kind of limited air strike, with a symbolic value, from the trump administration, on the assad regime installations. that would at least show that the americans aren't willing to accept these kind of actions. but for now, focus is on diplomatic action at the united nations. britain and other countries want a resolution condemning this latest attack and calling for those responsible to be brought tojustice. richard galpin, bbc news. the united nations has called for a three—day truce in syria to allow it to deliver aid to millions of civilians living under siege conditions across the country. the un humanitarian advisor for syria jan egeland has been speaking to the media at a news conference in geneva — he said he hoped the development could be a catalyst for a cessation of hostilities in the conflict.

i hope that this is a watershed moment. i hope. and with all of these world leaders saying that they have again woken up to the suffering of the civilians that we see every single day. i hope, i hope that it's a re—birth really for diplomacy, both humanitarian and political. i will continue working, we don't have the luxury to look away. the un humanitarian adviser, jan egeland. speaking in geneva. earlier i spoke to our diplomatic correspondent jonathan marcus, who said it was very unlikely for the un to reach an agreement on the situation in syria. i think the russians have given, as it were, multiple alibis to their syrian ally, if one assumes, as many experts do, that the evidence so far

suggests that this was a chemical attack. the russians obviously are not accepting that, neither are the syrians. russia has made it very clear in its interventions yesterday that it sees this whole process as pointless and unacceptable. they are not going to allow the syrian regime to be criticised here. it's understandable, as you heard, people try and take from this incident, if perhaps a momentary reprieve, to get aid into besieged places. but very sadly i'm afraid the syrian crisis seems to lurch from face—to—face, the problems become even more entrenched, and there aren't any really clear ideas at the moment how to resolve things. know, and it's interesting to listen what comes out of the white house and try to unravel what donald trump's thinking about this might be. is very difficult to do that, he is an unpredictable figure, not well versed in these matters. he says these events have changed his view

on syria. somehow this administration has focused almost entirely on combating so—called is, islamic state. it's pretty well moved in a direction that frankly the 0bama administration had accepted reluctantly that mr assad was not going to be removed from power any time soon. that was rather more explicitly the current administration's view. whether he will change the view and believes mr assad should be in some sense forced from power, i don't know yet. also what we don't know is what he intends to do in the wake of this particular attack, is there going to be some kind of american military response, the un ambassador hinted that countries have to take action themselves sometimes. will there be an effort to arm opposition groups in syria? 0ne an effort to arm opposition groups in syria? one wonders who exactly americans might arm. it hasn't been a successful policy in the past. in many ways with russian aircraft in

the area of assyria, russian air defences on the ground, with the assad regime more entrenched than ever, it's very hard to see, practically, what the us administration can do. the ukip welsh assembly member and former mp mark reckless has left the party and will now vote with the conservative group in cardiff bay. the resignation of the former mp mark reckless from ukip follows in the footsteps of the departure of douglas carswell as its only mp last month. he has been speaking to nick servini about his reasons for leaving. he has been speaking to nick servini about his reasons for leavingli think now article 50 has been triggered the conservative government is taking us out of the european union. it's something i've campaigned for my adult life. i would like to support them in doing that, and here in wales i think andrew rt davies is the leader of the opposition, working with the uk government we can make sure that welsh interests are protected. this is devastating for your former

party, you surely realise that.” wish my former colleagues in ukip well, there is no personal animosity. it's just i want to see the conservatives as the official opposition in the assembly and andrew rt davies the leader. i think i'll have more influence with my constituents in south—east wales and i want to support the uk government as it takes us out of the european union and six to get us the best deal. as you get the sinking ship? i don't know what the future of ukip will be. others will speak for themselves. —— is ukip the sinking ship? we have achieved ourjoint objective. leading the boat to get out of the european union. i now wa nt to out of the european union. i now want to work with conservatives in the welsh assembly to take the fight to labour and ensure there is a real voice standing up for those let down by the labour government in wales. quite a brutal response from your former ukip colleague saying, look,

this is a betrayal. they have a point, don't they? you were voted as an assembly member, as a member of ukip. now you're not, surely the logical position would be resigning as an am. i would love to put my decision to the electorate in a by—election as i have before in a different context. u nfortu nately with the proportional list system we have in wales it is not possible but many of the people who did vote for ukip back in may last year are coming over to the conservatives at all coming over to the conservatives at a ll levels, coming over to the conservatives at all levels, just as i am in the assembly. the leader of ukip in the welsh assembly, neil hamilton, accused mr reckless of betraying the trust of party supporters. he didn't have the courtesy or courage to speak to me about any doubts about his future in ukip. or what he might get from the conservative party. i think it shows a lack of character to start with. fundamentally, he was

elected to the assembly not as mark reckless, but as a ukip candidate for the south—east wales region. he's betrayed the trust of all those who selected him in the first place asa who selected him in the first place as a candidate and those who worked for him to be elected to the assembly. he's got no mandate to sit in the assembly as a member of the conservative group. daniel davies is in cardiff bay for us. it looks like the conservatives are now the second party. they are, they've overtaken plaid cymru, who were the second largest party after the election last year. but plaid cymru have suffered defections and then. the tories are now the biggest opposition group to the labour government here in the welsh assembly. in the assembly there is no official opposition in the way there is in westminster. nevertheless, certainly a feather in the cap for andrew rt davies, the

welsh conservative leader, who is now leader of the biggest party on the opposition benches in the chamber behind me. we've had a statement today to say he's delighted to welcome mark reckless on board and looks forward to working with him. he has been a hard—working working with him. he has been a ha rd—working and dedicated working with him. he has been a hard—working and dedicated assembly member since being elected last year and he says hejoins member since being elected last year and he says he joins a strong and united team. mark reckless has been repeating that line himself today about a strong and united conservative group, quite a pointed reference really to the fact that the ukip group here in the assembly has been riven by factions and is disagreement. he's not the first ukip disagreement. he's not the first uhpam disagreement. he's not the first ukip am to walk away from the group. nathan gill, who was until quite recently the leader of ukip wales, is now an independent assembly member here in cardiff bay. all of that really contributes to these questions about what is ukip for?

what direction will the party take now it has its cherished goal of brexit. britain is leaving the european union. what holds ukip together now? ukip have said today firmly that if that is or mark reckless joined the party for, if brexit was the only reason he came over, he perhaps shouldn't have done in the first place. there is a lot more the party has to offer, they say. to repeat what we heard in that interview with neil hamilton earlier, they think mr reckless should do as he did when he was an mp, stand down if he's not going to remain asa mp, stand down if he's not going to remain as a ukip member, having been elected a match ticket, on a ma nifesto elected a match ticket, on a manifesto that he himself wrote, then he should stand down as an assembly member. it is a bit more difficult than that, the electoral system here in the assembly, because he was elected as original am. forcing a by—election isn't that

simple and he says he'll be joining the conservative benches in the assembly. not the conservative party. so the champagne corks that would normally be popping are staying in the bottle over an event like this? it's an unusual defection in that sense. he's becoming a tory am but not member of the tory party. he says there is still bad blood there. he caused a lot of anger and dismay, to put it mildly, when he left the tories under david cameron. he won't be rejoining the party but he'll be recognised as a conservative assembly member. there has been no photo 0p today with him and andrew rt davies. normally when and andrew rt davies. normally when a defection happens there are photo opportunities of warm handshakes, smiles all round, but none of that today. andrew rt davies isn't at the assembly, he's busy elsewhere, i'm told. yes mark reckless is a tory am

but not a conservative party member, makes it an unusual defection. thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news. a father who refused to pay a fine after taking his daughter out of school for an unauthorised holiday has lost his case at the supreme court. the syrian government has spoken for the first time since the gas attack that killed 70 people and denies ever using chemical weapons amid international condemnation. welsh assembly member mark reckless quits ukip and rejoins the conservatives. in sport, the masters is underway at augusta but doubts still remain over the fitness of the world number one dustinjohnson, who the fitness of the world number one dustin johnson, who is the fitness of the world number one dustinjohnson, who is due to tee off at seven o'clock this evening. america'sjb off at seven o'clock this evening. america's jb holmes has off at seven o'clock this evening. america'sjb holmes has the early lead at two under. chelsea striker diego costa work face retrospective

action after appearing to kick out at manchester city captain vincent kompany in last night's match at sta mford kompany in last night's match at stamford bridge. tea for two written by lizzie kelly wins the big race of the day at aintree. cue card finished second. thanks, jessica, see you a little bit later. the chair of the us intelligence committee, devon nunez, says he will step down. mr nunes cites what he said were "entirely false" accusations filed against him, concerning his close professional relationship with donald trump. us house speaker paul ryan has since said that mr nunes still has his trust, and that he supports his decision to step aside. he has earned my trust over many

yea rs he has earned my trust over many years for his integrity and dedication to the critical work that the intelligence community does to keep americans say. he continues to have that trust and i know he is eager to demonstrate to the ethics committee that he has followed all proper guidelines and laws. in the meantime this process would be a distraction to the intelligence committee's inquiry into russian interference. devin nunes has agreed to step aside as the lead republican on this probe and i fully support his decision. paul ryan still he still supports mr nunes. first comment coming through from the democrats on this, saying the investigation of russian involvement in the us presidential election needs to get fully back on track. that is the first comment from the democrats. we'll have more from washington, dc later in the afternoon. for the first time since his election, president donald trump

will meet the leader of the other economic superpower, president xi jinping of china. mr trump has said he believes the summit in florida will be ‘very difficult‘. relations have become fraught — with the us president taking a confrontational stance on trade and the north korean nuclear programme. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher reports. muscatine, iowa, the pearl of the mississippi. an old industrial town in the american heartland, a brief stopping point for mark twain and more recently for anotherfamous visitor. xijinping has friends here. he met them during an agricultural research trip as a young man 30 years ago and returned for a reunion shortly before he became president. this is the house where he stayed? yes, and i think he had not home stayed before, so... certainly haven't home state before. he ate around the breakfast table. the chinese leader got a taste of american life by staying with a localfamily, then the bedroom was filled with star trek toys, now the house has been turned into a museum aimed at promoting us china ties. ithink xijinping

has great presence and when he comes in the room, shakes his hand, you know, i believe donald trump... i hate to say it this way... this is a guy i can make a deal with. we can't continue to allow china to rape our country. donald trump's brand is bashing china, particularly on trade. they've ta ken our jobs. could a dose of iowa hospitality fix that? ask the chinese businessman behind the project. maybe president trump, i think, maybe need some time to know more about china. maybe donald trump needs to visit muscatine. yeah! he knows the story about muscatine to china. i think he will have great interest. the story is bigger than friendship, its business. there is no trade deficit in iowa, it exports a lot to china, especially agricultural products. this town and this state voted

for donald trump but it doesn't mean iowa buys his approach to china, here they see china as a business opportunity, not threat. this state does so much trade with china it would have a lot to lose if mr trump started a trade war. there is no sense of uncertainty here. an established family run business pounding out steel stamps for more than 100 years. the new owner has branched out to tap new markets, now looking vulnerable to trade disputes. i'm concerned about it, i think the chance of it happening on a large scale is pretty small so i don't lose sleep over it. i'm exporting a lot of goods to china, i know about the import taxes i pay on my product going in. i think there does need to be rebalancing. rebalancing a complex and crucial relationship will take more than cornfield diplomacy. with me is professor steve tsang, director of the china institute at the school of oriental and african studies. president trump says things are very

difficult. xijinping will president trump says things are very difficult. xi jinping will approach this how? because when they say to him, you're not as open as america and there is a real problem, they've got a point, haven't they? they do have a point but if president xi sta rts have a point but if president xi starts to raise issues about currency manipulation, implying the chinese have been deliberately undervaluing the chinese currency to promote exports to the us, then that would be inaccurate, because for the last two years the chinese government have been supporting the chinese yuan. i think the position president trump takes is about ten yea rs president trump takes is about ten years out of date. it's not going to bea years out of date. it's not going to be a meeting of minds, it's probably fairto be a meeting of minds, it's probably fair to say. their first meeting. how do you think they will play it? will the personal relationship be

able to develop when they both seem to be starting from such a low base? the personal relationship will be the key to it. the chinese side will have very careful calculation. if the chinese president thinks there is no chance the meeting will be successful, i don't think he would be in florida. the calculation is he may well be able to charm mr trump, and get the personal chemistry right. where i think we have to be careful about is, we are dealing with two primadonnas and the risk of them not working well together is not a negligible one. sometimes two primadonnas understand each other and get on rather well.” primadonnas understand each other and get on rather well. i think that is one calculation that they have, that because they do in that sense understand each other, and neither of them is particularly worried

about things like constitutions or human rights or democracy, they do have something in common. how does the chinese president deal with that handshake? well i think the chinese president will have been very well briefed about the handshake. and i would expect that if president trump should refuse to offer his hand to president xi, president xi may well still extend his hand and make himself look rather nice on camera and allow president trump to look awkward and ill mannered by not offering his hand. he will be fully briefed ready for this, won't he? well the preparation for this meeting is probably the single most important issue for the chinese embassy in washington. their careers are on the line. the chinese diplomats will have been spending

all the time in the last few weeks trying to make sure any contingency will have been anticipated and president xi properly briefed as to how to deal with them. of course we are still dealing with president trump. fossa dating. idon't are still dealing with president trump. fossa dating. i don't know why you were laughing when i said sometimes two primadonnas can get an! —— fascinating. more on that story later in the day. tomorrow as well, i'm sure. to domestic politics. labour has proposed adding vat to private school fees, and using the money raised to pay for free school meals for all primary school children in england. critics say the plan would force less wealthy families to remove their children from private education, at the same time as subsidising the better off in the state sector. 0ur political correspondent ellie price reports. soggy brussels sprouts and lumpy mashed potato are as a general rule a thing of the past in school dinners these days. in fact, they're healthier and more appealing.

labour now want free school meals to be available to every primary school pupil in england, and they will pay for it by imposing vat on private school fees. we want all children to get it. all the evidence from those councils that do provide free school meals is that there is higher levels of attainment, better concentration and better health for all of the children. launching the policy this morning, labour estimates it would cost up to £900 million a year, while introducing vat on private school fees would raise around £1.5 billion annually. critics say the sums don't add up. this would put up the fees of independent schools, so these hard—working parents who are working really hard to pay the fees, they would no longer be able to afford them. so smaller schools would have to close and that would move pupils out of our system into the state system. at the moment, all children up to the age of about eight are eligible for free school meals. after that, eligibility depends on whether a family

receives certain benefits. the latest figures show that just under 14.5% of pupils in year three to year six are known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals. i would much rather see the extra money, any extra money, being derived from taxation, whether it is on private schools or other sources, given to the poorest children in our country, and not necessarily subsidising those parents who can afford free school meals. the policy may sound familiar. that's because it was in the lib dems' election manifesto in 2015, although they did not suggest putting vat on private school fees. before that, the labour government under gordon brown had promised to pilot the idea at the 2010 election. what's new about today's policy is the idea of raising the money to fund it through private school fees. jeremy corbyn‘s pitch is that it's taxing the rich to feed the poor. he says it is about fairness, a message he hopes will appeal beyond labour's base.

sunny at westminster. lets see if it's sunny elsewhere. that was clever. thank you. it's not sunny everywhere. it's not often it is com pletely everywhere. it's not often it is completely sunny across the uk. there's always some cloud somewhere. we have got some clouds today. this is what it looks like right now. affair but across the north—west and western areas of the uk because the wind is blowing around like so. high—pressure drugs in the moisture and shunts it north—west would. eastern areas, more sheltered in the south. —— drags. cloud floating around. at best, temperatures 7—8. 0utside

around. at best, temperatures 7—8. outside of time, as low as 2—3. are pretty nippy night in rural spots and tomorrow some sunny spells along the way. a pleasant day. cloud in the way. a pleasant day. cloud in the north—west. a few spots of rain. temperatures in the mid to high teens. the weekend outlook, strong sunshine, highs of 20 celsius. by saturday. especially across southern and central areas. good news for the weekend. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines. a father who took his six—year—old daughter out of school to go on holiday to disney world loses his case at the supreme court. the judgment says unauthorised absences have a disruptive effect on pupils and teachers. the syrian foreign minister insists his regime has never

used chemical weapons, following the attack in idlib which killed 70 people. jeremy corbyn says a labour government would add vat to private school fees and use the money to provide free school meals for all primary school children in england. welsh assembly member mark reckless quits ukip and rejoins the conservatives. i was going to introducejessica with the sport. i was trying to save you from a telling off because you know what simon is like about requests he makes in the previous hour. if he doesn't deliver... i'm saying nothing. i know exactly what you're talking about, jane. simon, i may have a surprise for you at the end of the bulletin of. that is

athletics but we start with the golf. the 81st masters is underway at augusta, with ceremonial starters and former champions jack nicklaus and gary player hitting the first ball, before the first groups came out onto the course. americanjb holmes is the early leader on 2 under par 0ne of the main talking points in the build—up has been about world number one dustin johnson, who might not be fit to compete. he fell down the stairs in his rented home last night, and injured his back. johnson has been in great form, winning his past three tournaments, and is favourite to win the greenjacket on sunday. but he's currently taking anti—inflammatories to ensure he makes his tee time just after 7 o'clock this evening. rory mcilroy is now second favourite in the betting ahead ofjohnson. it's been a relatively quiet build—up to the masters for me which has been quite nice. it is made a bit of a change from the last couple of years, especially coming off the

back of two major winds in a row, grand slam and, even last year, i felt like the spotlight was shared among a few guys but this year with dustinjohnson winning three times, he is the inform player right now. there is a lot of storylines but i feel like it's been relatively quiet, which has been quite nice. not to feel like i can fly under the radar any more, but, not to feel like i can fly under the radarany more, but, at not to feel like i can fly under the radar any more, but, at the same time, it has sought to felt that way to me and it's been nice to be able to me and it's been nice to be able to prepare and just go about my business and try to get ready for this tournament. a major battle at aintree for the line as the two horses went head—to—head. le became the first female rider to win a grade one race in britain. at

kempton. the centrepiece, the grand national itself is on saturday at 5.15. armed police are in attendance at the course in the wake of the westminster terror attack and marks the 20th anniversary of the national being delayed by an ira bomb scare. merseyside police have said that race goers can expect to see high visibility policing across the three days of the event. chelsea striker diego costa will not face any retrospective action after appearing to kick out at manchester city captain vincent kompany in last night's match at stamford bridge. there had been suggestions that the spaniard could face a ban, but referee mike dean did actually see the incident so the case can't be dealt with any further. neither chelsea manager antonio conte or his city counterpart pep guardiola saw what happened. the republic of ireland women's team have reached an agreement with their governing body, after allegations from players that they weren't being treated properly. the team had threatened not to train if demands for compensation whilst

on international duty and improved support weren't met. after mediation talks, fai confirmed this morning that all issues have now been resolved, and the players will resume training ahead of monday's game against slovakia. kyle edmund will play the first match of britain's davis cup quarter—final tomorrow against france's luca pwee. edmund helped britain to the last eight by winning his second singles in the tie against canada in february and takes on pwee, who reached the quarter—finals of wimbledon last year. dan evans, british number one for the tie in the absence of andy murray, facejeremy chardy in the reverse singles. there's coverage of the tie in rouen across the bbc. one of the best 200 metre runners in the world has switched his allegiance to great britain — not usain bolt, but his training partner miguel francis. i hope you're watching, simon. he's 22 years old and was born

in the british 0verseas territory of montserrat, which doesn't have its own 0lympic committee. until now he's been competing for antigua and barbuda. francis ran a personal best of 19.88 seconds last summer, which was the seventh fastest time in the world in 2016. he is pretty fast, simon. what do you think? well done, jessica. take the rest of the day. send me the bill for the pictures. thank you. more sport in a moment. you are watching bbc news. two former barclays bankers have been found not guilty of conspiring to rig the libor inter—bank interest rate. stelios contogoulas and ryan reich were cleared in this second trial, after a jury failed to reach a verdict last year.

remind us about the whole scandal. there was a lot of talk about it at the time. libor rigging is one of the time. libor rigging is one of the city ‘s biggest scandals. 9 billion dollars in fines around banks around the world. they will spend the money on various military charitable exercises etc, but to remind you about the scandal, libor measures the real cost of borrowing money. forgets about the bank of england rate, whether it's going to go england rate, whether it's going to 9° up england rate, whether it's going to go up and down, that's not what determines the cost of the mortgage, but how much it costs the bank to get hold of funds, so libor tracks it. everyday 16 banks say how much they thought they would have to pay in interest to borrow money and they would average it to get libor. at the same time, the banks were betting which way libor would go, up or down. server trader would get in

touch with the people who are stating the rate and what they would be and say, can be habit higher or lower? —— have it higher or lower? was this really criminal? what has been shown in the trial, no, we were doing ourjob. we didn't have any intent to disobey the rules and, in fa ct, intent to disobey the rules and, in fact, this is the first libor trial where the jury has been required to determine whether they wilfully disobeyed the rules for setting libor and julie found they hadn't. the earlier trials where tom hayes was convicted and four other traders -- du was convicted and four other traders —— du rees, there has a lower burden of proof for the prosecution. —— they didn't have to produce a victim or quantify losses. this has been a disgraceful process according to them. they feel sad it's taken so

long to expose the cases against them. he was 23, just doing his job. it's a fundamental misunderstanding of the facts. quite a few people today will have a deep think about whether they're doing the right thing in the serious fraud office. when people think how does this affect me? is this about the rules being wrong, too strict? what is the overall impact? do people operate still in this way? trader requests happen with other rates, which traders get in touch. although it looks corrupt on the surface, this is normal commercial practice. if you ask me, an estate agent, what the price of your house was an eye gave you the answer in pence, you would look at me suspiciously. there will be a range where you set it. it could be 310 grand, and another

could be 310 grand, and another could save 290 grand. is that fraudulent? no. thank you very much for now. an inquest has opened into the death of a british airways pilot. 43—year—old richard westgate had complained for years of severe headaches and vision problems and was convinced he was being poisoned by toxic fumes leaking onto planes. duncan kennedy reports. this is a british airways a320, just one of a type of aircraft richard westgate flew for many years, and one of the safest in the skies. but when the 43—year—old pilot died in 2012, it came after he complained of long—term health problems that he said were due to breathing cabin air. his mother and brother, who came to his inquest today, also believe he was the victim of toxic cabin air, having breathed it over many years whilst flying, which they say affected his nervous system. this 2015 flight from florida to new york shows a visible example of what the industry calls "a cabin fume event". richard westgate was not

involved with this flight. the pictures appear to show what can happen when oil vapour from the engine is sucked into the aircraft itself. as you can see, it's black... tristan loraine, who says he also suffered air toxicity as a pilot, showed me the kind of pipe that links an engine to the cabin. he says nearly all commercial aircraft could be affected by this problem and the industry must accept what's happening. you assume everything is safe, you board a train, you assume it's safe, and the airline industry is an incredibly safe industry, you know, it is. but the reality is on this particular issue, this is the achilles' heel of aviation — contaminated air. this doesn't just affect british airways. both ba and the civil aviation authority have denied there's a problem with cabin air. ba has said it wouldn't operate an aircraft if there was contamination. it says there's been substantial research into cabin air and none of it shows there's a risk to long—term health. this in question not a public

enquiry into cabin airfuels. whilst the industry says the cabin air is clea n, the industry says the cabin air is clean, the pilot's family and others believe this issue is real and must now be taken seriously. serious questions have been raised about why a paedophile who admitted his crimes to police has never been prosecuted. an historical abuse inquiry heard last year that henry clarke abused three boys when he worked in children's homes in northern ireland during the late 1960s and 1970s. a bbc investigations team travelled to canada to confront henry clarke where they discovered he'd set up a children's home and worked at several churches after emigrating to the country. and as chris buckler reports, the canadian authorities were never told of his admission. it's no secret that some children were abused under

the cloak of being cared for. earlier this year an enquiry into historical abuse in northern ireland published its final report, which detailed the failings of institutions and the crimes of individuals. but some escaped prosecution and the bbc has discovered that one former children's home worker was able to start a new life in a new country — and the canadian authorities were never informed of his admission that he'd sexually abused boys. i'm admitting, yes, i abused three boys back in my past, and for that there's no excuse. but yes, there's feelings within me, but... and again, i'm not trying to make an excuse to say i'm not a paedophile, but it's a strong word from where i'm sitting. not only was henry clarke able to move to canada. in the early 1980s he set up

a children's home in ontario. he only left that post having been questioned by police while on holiday back in belfast in 1985. the historical institutional abuse inquiry was told that after those interviews he admitted to detectives that he'd abused three boys at three different care homes where he worked in northern ireland. yet he was never prosecuted and it's believed that information wasn't passed on to anyone in canada. after making the admission to police, he left the children's home he'd set up in ontario and went on to become a pastor at several churches in canada. he insists he was never involved in further abuse and that no allegations have been made against him in the country. i enjoyed caring for young people and... but you enjoyed it because you were getting access to children. that's not fair. i didn't do it for that reason. that's not the reason

i did it at all. i did it because i enjoyed looking after them, i enjoyed the work. the opportunity arose and i took the opportunity, which again is what we're agreeing today is wrong, but i didn't take the jobs for that to happen. until now, henry clarke's past wasn't known in the relatively remote part of canada where he now lives. but thousands of miles away in northern ireland, one of his victims, whom he abused decades ago, has given up his right to anonymity to call for him to be prosecuted. of course you want him brought tojustice. why should he live his happy life and i've lived in hell, or any of the other boys he abused. why does he sit there, "i turned to god" — no disrespect to god. "i've turned to god. so forgive me, i want you to forgive me." no chance. how can i forgive a monster like that there? in canada, questions will also be asked — about how henry clarke managed to continue to work in the church and with children, hiding away

in small towns from the truth and the victims he left behind. chris buckler, bbc news. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first the headlines on bbc news: a father who refused to pay a fine after taking his daughter out of school for an unauthorised holiday has lost his case at the supreme court. the syrian government has spoken for the first time since the gas attack that killed 70 people — and denies ever using chemical weapons — amid international condemnation. welsh assembly member mark reckless quits ukip — and rejoins the conservatives. hello there, i'm alex baxter with a business news now. taking a cut.

not guilty, that's the verdict. taking a cut: the boss of oil giant bp — bob dudley — saw his pay package plunge 40% last year. mr dudley‘s total pay was slashed from £155 million to £9.3 million. the firm says it's due to a drop in performance—related pay. this year's shareholder vote on salary policy is binding — unlike last year when bp shareholders protested against mr dudley‘s 2015 pay package. more on that in just a moment. the government's flagship savings programme, the lifetime isa, has been snubbed by banks and building societies on the day it launches. none of them will be offering the product immediately. only three providers will offer the lisa this month, and they are all investment platforms. the co—op group has reported its first annual loss since 2013 after declaring that its stake in co—operative bank is worth nothing. it reduced the value of its 20% stake in co—operative bank from £185m to zero, reflecting the bank's continuing problems. the firm made a loss before tax of £132 million for 2016. so bob dudley — the chief executive

of oil giant bp has had his annual pay package cut by a0%. quite a hefty chunk — but he still walks away with £9.3m for 2016 — down from the £15.5m he got the previous year. it follows a rebellion by shareholders, who last year voted against mr dudley‘s 2015 pay award — which was 20% higher than the last — despite bp reporting a record loss and slashing 3,000 jobs. the rebellion prompted bp to review its pay policy and it says the resulting proposals will "better align pay and performance" and reduce the maximum amount its boss can receive. ashley hamilton claxton, corporate governance manager at royal london asset management — they hold a stake in bp worth almost £680 million pounds.

where you are amongst those shareholders who revolted against bob dudley‘s 2015 pay package? shareholders who revolted against bob dudley's 2015 pay package? yes, because we were quite concerned he was getting a record pay package when the company was making a record loss. so presumably you welcome today's announcement? how big a milestone and you think this is?” think it's significant, because it's where we have companies coming to us to consult about reducing pay packages. i think this is a nice step ahead and the borders and a good job. do you think this sets a good job. do you think this sets a good example to other companies? yes, there will be lots of binding votes a nd yes, there will be lots of binding votes and this sets a good example for the other companies with shareholders in the coming months at their agms. it is up to the board to hold their executives to account,

isn't it? a boss can ask for whatever pay he wants but it's up to a board to decide whether they get it and here in the uk, boards have been accused in the past of being too soft on executive pay. british companies were a last chance saloon on this issue. there is a concern of. the decision rests with the board and many shareholders are decided this year to potentially vote against board directors where we feel they're not listening to shareholder concerns, with issues about pay packages over many years. talk me through what you make of the other proposals that have been put forward by bp today, including making the maximum long—term bonus cut to five times salary and generally trying to draw the bonuses that can be received by the bosses, by managers further down the food chain? they are cut from five times salary down to seven times salary

and that significant and we welcome the board making that decision. they have simplified their pay package to stop doing share matching schemes so we think that's also an improvement and the overall pay package looks much simpler and lower so i think we are fairly happy with it. ok, ashley hamilton, representing the major shareholders of bp, giving meet her assessments on those changes to the pay package of bp boss bob dudley today. unilever, which owns some of the uk's most famous household brands, has announced plans to sell its margarine business, including flora and stork. the move comes as part of a wide—ranging review at the anglo—dutch firm, which recently saw off a takeover bid from us food giant kraft heinz. unilever‘s boss says the margarine business was a "declining segment" that could be "better managed by others". sales at the baby goods retailer mothercare dropped 2.2% last year as currency fluctuations hit its international revenue. the company reported that international sales were down 2.4%

in the year to march — but that stripping out the effects of currency changes, they were up 10.3%. british shares dropped on thursday after minutes of the federal reserve's last meeting indicated the bank would shrink its balance sheet later this year. so the blue chip ftse100 currently down 0.15%. budget airline easyjet has overtaken miner anlgo american as the biggest gainer while pearson, the educational publisher, has shed the most. that's all the business from me and the team. i will be back in the next

hour. thanks, alice. just want to bring you some news we are getting a statement from downing street. the arrival at number ten of the european council president donald tusk. a statement from downing street saying following last weeks article 50 notification, the pm reiterates the places i've have a deep relationship with the eu after the exit and noted it constructive guidelines published last week. she said the uk looks forward to formally beginning negotiations once on the 27 states have agreed guidelines and the two leaders agreed apparently that the tone of the discussions had been positive on both sides. i think we will hear more from our political correspondence is following that meeting at westminster. was talk about gibraltar. the prime minister said the uk's position has not changed. the uk would seek the best

dealfor changed. the uk would seek the best deal for gibraltar as changed. the uk would seek the best dealfor gibraltar as the changed. the uk would seek the best deal for gibraltar as the uk exits the eu. fairly cordial talks, they look like. we will hear more of that later. 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 harry mccann from county kildare. molly was determined to act up the thing home of people living in sleeping on the streets of their hometown in ireland. this is her story. i was walking around dublin in december 2015 and i'd just saw the amount of homeless people and i'd decided i needed to make a difference, so i'm trying anyway. i'm molly, 18 years old, and i'll is in bray, county wicklow, ireland. for me, dignity is being clean swept

or maybe i could put together a pack of things that we take for granted to keep it clean that homeless people might not necessarily be able to buy. i just people might not necessarily be able to buy. ijust decided to put in a rucksack because it is reusable. there's everything from scarves, gloves, socks, airbags, deodorant, toothpaste, pretty much everything we all take for granted but need. everyone's smiling, thanking me when they get it and receive them. hi, guys, they get it and receive them. hi, guys, i'm just going to leave some stuff here for you. that's an amazing feeling in itself. people are amazing feeling in itself. people a re really amazing feeling in itself. people are really happy to receive them which makes me feel ten times better. it just makes which makes me feel ten times better. itjust makes me really sad that people do have to live that way. i'm trying my best to make it a little bit easier. winning the award is amazing. i never in my wildest

tree is thought i would. to win it is incredible. i couldn't believe it. more from manchester, full coverage on saturday morning. here on bbc news. 10:30am. time now for a look at the weather. news of warmth? news of sunshine and cloud, of course. it's that sort of weather. a lovely day across many parts of the country today. this was the scene sentin country today. this was the scene sent in from clacton on sea in essex, but across this part of wales it's been a very different story. much more cloud which is held back the temperatures. many parts of wales has seen some sunshine.

eastern scotland, stubbornly cloud in western scotland, north—west england, north wales and northern ireland. that's how it will be in the evening. some sunshine further south and east. we may see some cloud spilling through the midlands toward central, southern england, but a lot of uncertainty again. it looks like be cloudy for northern ireland. south—west england, eastern england, eastern scotland quite cold again tonight. two or three degrees. as it happens, we could get more cloud through the day. probably the best of sunshine will be across eastern england, wales, south—west england, and temperatures, 15—17. but western scotland, northern ireland, hanging on to more cloud. pollen levels are higher. high tree pollen levels and i'm suffering at the moment. the weekend, sunshine

spread more evenly across the uk with some sunshine across western scotla nd with some sunshine across western scotland and northern ireland. most of us are seeing temperatures higher and it should be nice and warm for the grand national at aintree on saturday. no rain in the site for the aintree meeting at all. it will be dry and sunny and it's getting warmerfor many be dry and sunny and it's getting warmer for many of us as we had through the weekend. the high—pressure sitting over as right now slips away towards the east allowing us to see this weather front approaching the north—west about at the same time draws up warm, clearairfrom about at the same time draws up warm, clear airfrom the about at the same time draws up warm, clear air from the south from the continent and lift the temperatures particular for central and eastern parts of england. towards the north—west, more cloud moving into western parts of england and wales. it's not going to be really warm everywhere. the highest temperatures into the low 20s more likely for central and eastern areas of england. 23 is likely but only briefly. the weather front bringing rain in the north—west introducing

cooler northerly air on monday. this is bbc news. the headlines at apm. a father who refused to pay a fine after taking his daughter out of school for an unauthorised holiday has lost his case at the supreme court. to attend regularly no longer means to attend frequently. it now means to attend on all the days and at all the times that the school requires it. the syrian government has spoken for the first time since the gas attack that killed 70 people — and denies ever using chemical weapons — amid international condemnation. es. a senior police officer says possession of drugs should not be punished with imprisonment. welsh assembly member mark reckless quits ukip — and rejoins the conservatives. jeremy corbyn says a labour government would add vat