this is bbc news. an first television —— president assad hasjust been giving his first television interview since the us attack on the syrian air strike. we can bring now. no one investigated what happened that day at that moment. as an the control of the armour front, a branch of al-qaeda. —— the al—nusra front, a branch of

al-qaeda. until now the only report has come from that branch of al-qaeda. this is the second al-qaeda. this is the second al-qaeda source that has said the attack happened at 6:30am in the morning, while the syrian attack in the same area was between 11:30am and 12. you can see there ares different stories already. so there was no order to make any attack, we don't have any chemical weapons. we give up our arsenals two years ago and even if we had them we would not use them, and we would never use our chemical arsenal in our history. so what happens? as i said the only source is al-qaeda and we cannot ta ke source is al-qaeda and we cannot take it seriously, but our impression that the west, mainly the united states, is helping the terrorists. they have fabricated the whole story in order to justify the

attack. it was not an attack because of what happened there, it is one event, the first stage. the play that we saw on the social network and on television and the stage of the military attack, that is what we believe is happening because it is only a few days, two days, 48 hours between that and the attacks and no investigations, no concrete evidence about anything. the only thing was allegations then propaganda then the strike. who, according to you, is responsible for this chemical attacks? the allegation itself made by al-qaeda and the al—nusra front, so we by al-qaeda and the al—nusra front, so we don't have to investigated they announced it. it. it is under their control and no one else's. about the attack, as we say, it is

not clear whether it happened or not, because how can you verify video? you have to take videos now. they are al-qaeda, the al—nusra front. they wore white hats, and appeared as humanitarian heroes. which is not the case. the same people were killing syrian soldiers, and we have the proof on the internet, so the same thing for that chemical attack. we do not know whether those dead children... where the dead atoll? —— were they dead at all? who committed the attacks? we have nothing at all, nothing has been investigated. sue you think it isa been investigated. sue you think it is a fabrication? definitely, 10096. we don't have the arsenal and would not use it. and nobody has concrete

information or evidence, but, for example, information or evidence, but, for exa m ple, less information or evidence, but, for example, less than two weeks... ten days before that attack, the terrorists were advancing in many fronts, including the suburbs of damascus, and the area not far from khan sheikhoun. if we had this arsenal, why did we not use it before? actually the timing of the attacks, or the alleged attack, was when the syrian army was advancing very fast and actually the terrorists were collapsing, so why use it at that time, if you have it? and not when you are in a difficult situation. logically, if you have it and you want to do it, again, a

supposition, why not use it against the terrorists that we are fighting? thirdly, in that area we do not have army orany thirdly, in that area we do not have army or any object, in khan sheikhoun, and it is not a strategic area. why attack it? what is the reason, militarily? from a military point of view. of course the foundation for us, morally, we wouldn't do it, even if we had it. we wa nt wouldn't do it, even if we had it. we want the support of the public. every indication is against the whole story, so we can see that this play that they staged does not hold together. the story is not convincing, by any means. with the us airstrike, trump convincing, by any means. with the us air strike, trump seems to have changed his position on you and syria drastically. do you have the feeling you have lost what you have called a potential ally? again, it

isa called a potential ally? again, it is a condition, but if they are serious in fighting terrorists we are going to be partners. not only the united states, but whoever wants to fight terrorists, we are partners. this is basic for khan —— for us. the united states and the west, they are not serious infighting the terrorists. yesterday some of their statements were defending isis, saying that isis does not have chemical weapons. they are defending isis against the syrian government and the syrian army. actually you cannot speak about partnership between us who work against the terrorists and fight terrorism, and others who are explicitly supporting the terrorists. gary o'donoghue is in washington. nothing really we were not expecting

to hear, but that last point where he effectively accuses the us of defending isis, that is not going to go down well? no, fascinating, though, the interview. listening to him veering between on the one hand saying there has been no investigation, there is no evidence either way, then on the other hand describing it as a complete fabrication. the syrian bull—mac president does not seem to be able to make up his mind which it is, in that sense, but is also suggesting there is some sort of plan here strategically and a of the united states and its allies, effectively creating the situation whereby they could attack the syrian airfield with an excuse. i do not think that will go down well here, as you can imagine. the us believes it has irrefutable evidence of syrian involvement in that attack. the pictures which many of us have seen on the ground at the time, he seems

to be calling those into doubt. the one element of his argument which i think is really interesting is his point that what was the logic of syria attacking khan sheikhoun in this way at that moment in time with chemical weapons? the syrian army was on the march, as it were, it had to rush a's backing, the us was very unsure. it is an interesting question why they would have made such a provocative move at that time. some say it was to test the us administration and see where they were. others say they thought they could get away with it, but that is the one interesting element to his argument. what would be the logic behind us doing that? but i don't think it will change any views here in washington that they were behind it. of course his point about isis having chemical weapons. there was some evidence in iraq that isis was

trying to develop some very basic chemical weapons, but the one thing isis does not have is an ever forced to drop them with, so that would seem to drop them with, so that would seem a to drop them with, so that would seem a pretty outlandish suggestion. yes, he said the peace talks on resolving this war were not getting anywhere because in his words washington "wasn't serious about ending the conflict." no, and there is not much to say about that. the idea that the us and its coalition, having spent the last two and a half yea rs having spent the last two and a half years saying isis is the enemy, is somehow in cahoots with islamic state i think we'll get short shrift here and around the world. but, you know, in terms of what he has been saying it is pretty consistent with the russian position. bashar al—assad is much stronger now because of the russian involvement in syria, stating the obvious. but they have helped him turn things around there, particularly against

what we sometimes call the more moderate opposition forces. he has regained quite a lot of ground. he is feeling pretty confident, so that means his need to go to the negotiating table becomes less and less. you can imagine president trump's frustration watching that interview, because there he was almost reasonably saying, look, if you want to keep fighting the terrorists we can still be a partner to? yes, and that was a message that president trump also, during the election campaign, he reached out with that kind of idea to russia as well, and relations with russia have gone straight down the toilet, haven't they, since then? so that does not seem very likely. the one problem the us has had in the last couple of weeks, it has been sending mixed messages about president assad's position, depending on who

you listen to, whether it be rex tillerson, the un, the president, it has not been entirely clear to what extent they believe assad can be a pa rt extent they believe assad can be a part of the negotiation going forward. in moscow yesterday rex tillerson was pretty clear that he didn't think the assad family had any role, not just didn't think the assad family had any role, notjust president assad, but the whole family, had any role in the future in syria whatsoever, so in the future in syria whatsoever, so another hardening of the line, i think. gary, for now, thank you very much. gary o'donoghue from washington. the education secretary justine greening has defended plans to push ahead with new grammar schools in england saying she wants to create schools that are "truly open to all." in a speech this morning, she said she wanted grammar schools to serve more children from disadvantaged backgrounds. labour argues that poorer pupils won't be helped by new grammars. our education correspondent gillian hargreaves reports. it's big business coaching children to pass the test for grammar school. there are only 163 such schools

in england at the moment, but the government plans to open more. some parents, like these at a tuition centre in kent, find such an education immensely appealing. my daughter has been in a grammar school for the past five years, and i have found that she is really progressing. the girls of the grammar school, they are really behaving themselves, and it's notjust the academics. they do extracurricular activities, which can kind of polish their personality, and they are much more focused. it's about having more options for what schools my son can go to at the age of 11. there's a variety of schools open to him, but there's no guarantee, so it wasjust about us giving him more choices, more options. critics say grammars only benefit wealthier families, which is why the government says they must do more to appeal to what they describe as ordinary working families. this morning, they defined such families as those with a household income of around £33,000 per year.

36% of grammar school places are taken up by these families. but grammars are dominated by the most well—off families. more than half, 53% of places, are taken up by them. i want these new schools to work for everyone. this will be a new model of grammars, truly open to all. we will insist on that. and it will reflect the choices of local parents and communities. labour changed the law in 1998 to prevent any new grammar schools being built, saying they only helped the privileged few. unfortunately, grammar schools are not open to everyone and they are selective in their nature, and all the evidence suggests that people from working—class backgrounds don't get into grammar schools. you have to pay for private tuition to get into them. and they are a closed shop for most children, and actually a comprehensive system is the best way forward. a new generation of grammar schools would be controversial,

but the education secretary says she wants them open to all children, whatever their backgrounds. she is, in effect, rebranding grammar schools in the hope that she can see off the critics. plans for new grammar schools are still being drawn up, but are expected to be published before the summer. gillian hargreaves, bbc news. with me is mark morrin, the policy lead at the non—partisan think tank respublica. thank you for coming in this afternoon. we don't know all that much about the plans but we do know they want to see more grammar schools. what do you think of justine greening's proposals? we have been broadly supportive of grammar schools as a potential engine for social mobility, but particularly in areas where currently there are no good or outstanding schools, and that may be huge swathe across the north of england but not necessarily other coastal areas struggling in terms of educational performance, so as part

of the whole system approach and recognising we already have a kind of multitiered education system then, yes, we see grammar schools playing a vital part in delivering excellence to the most academically able children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. but why a grammar school in particular? precisely because it does play to the academic ability and achievements of children is not necessarily from the more prosperous backgrounds and areas, and it enables them to create their own peer group. why shouldn't enables them to create their own peer group. why shouldn‘t they enables them to create their own peer group. why shouldn't they have their own peer group? why should they be expected to conform with the comprehensive universal system that does not necessarily play to their strengths? could that be at all workable, having grammar schools simply in areas where there are not any simply in areas where there are not a ny ofsted simply in areas where there are not any ofsted rated outstanding or good

schools? that would be the reason for having one there. precisely because the current system is not working and has not worked for a long time, and if you look at the data, the places which are falling behind in the performance tables correlate very strongly with the most disadvantaged areas in terms of deprivation, so it is precisely then because they are struggling that they need excellence in order to just achieve average, and grammar schools potentially either vehicle to deliver that. what about the argument that says it is simply wrong to separate children at the age of 11 on the basis of ability, because children develop an all sorts of different rates and it is just wrong to label somebody a failure at 11? i am sympathetic to that argument. it is a fact, you know, whether you separate children at the age of 11 or any other age, it can be quite arbitrary, but the fa ct it can be quite arbitrary, but the fact is we accept excellence needs

to be achieved in any other kind of severe and facet of human life, and whether it is sporting excellence or musical excellence we look to separate to that degree, and academic excellence in that regard should not be treated differently. that is not to say there can't be a role for grammar schools supporting across all phases of education, whether it is early years and primary, and it is also not to say we can't recognise the technical strengths of some other pupils who may want to go down a different group, downa may want to go down a different group, down a vocational route, and may be more aligned with industry and local industry but, you know, that's not to say that that is a second—class option. that's not to say that that is a second-class option. it is interesting, isn't it? at the moment the debate is very much between social mobility and the one hand and excellence on the other, but using the two can be combined? they have to be, and the need to be focused in areas where social mobility is

currently stag na nt. areas where social mobility is currently stagnant. looking across the north, we know there are very few social mobility hotspots. putting grammar schools in areas where potentially they are not needed where we do have mobility, where we have affluence and we are arguably —— and were arguably the comprehensive system can will serve families and their children is arguably not the right approach, so we would like to see a kind of place —based element to this policy. we would like to see a kind of place -based element to this policy. mark morrin, we will leave it there. thank you very much. just to bring you a tweet that donald trump has just released, he says everything will work out fine between the us and russia, that eve ryo ne between the us and russia, that everyone will come to their senses and there will be lasting peace. there you are, he has just tweeted that. not much analysis of that to be done. it is what it is, but as i say he tweeted that a couple of

minutes ago. now, 13 years ago, more than 1000 people were taken hostage by chechen rebels at a school in beslan in russia. more thah 330 people were killed after russian forces eventually stormed the building — half of those who died were children. today the european court of human rights ruled that the russian government should have done more to prevent the bloodshed, and it awarded compensation of around £2.5 million to relatives. sophie long reports — you may find some of the images upsetting. when rebels stormed school number one in beslan and forced more than 1100 children, parents and teachers into the gym, more than 330 people died. 186 of them were children. the attackers wanted russian troops to leave the nearby republic of chechnya. the terror inside and around the school lasted for 52 hours. there were bombs taped to the walls and hanging from the ceiling. children were forced to stand by the windows as human shields. some, like this little girl, managed to escape. for them, and for those forced to wait for three days, terrified, listening to gunshots, this ruling is the result

they had hoped for. translation: the court said that russia failed to take reasonable steps to protect the lives of the hostages, that critical intelligence was not acted on adequately to prevent the attack, and that once the siege had begun, russian officials failed to minimise the loss of life. russian security forces had surrounded the school. when they stormed the building, they used tanks and flame—throwers — when hundreds of children were still inside. some survivors say they will continue their fight for justice. zarina dzampaeva was eight at the time and lost her mother in the attack. still guilty people are not punished, and we can't say that

guilty people are punished already, so, as for me, there should be taken extra measures to investigate it because still nobody is responsible. the kremlin have said the ruling is absolutely unacceptable. but the court awarded $3 million in compensation and underlined that there should now be a new objective investigation. a survivors group, mothers of beslan, say they will push for that. they argue they owe it to their children to make sure the people responsible for their deaths are held to account. sophie long, bbc news. a british airways co—pilot who believed he had been poisoned by contaminated cockpit area has died from an overdose of sedatives, the coroner has ruled. our correspondent is at salisbury coroner court for us

now. duncan? the coroner said in the weeks and months leading to the death of richard westgate, a british airways pilot, he was suffering from anxiety and depression, but that when he lost his life in a hotel room in amsterdam in 2012 he took some sleeping pills, and he had done so some sleeping pills, and he had done so accidentally. the coroner said he had not intended to take his own life. afterwards, richard westgate's family expressed frustration with this inquest because they see the whole issue captaincy contamination was not addressed and they feel it was not addressed and they feel it was a contributory factor leading up to his death —— the whole issue of cabiinfume to his death —— the whole issue of cabiin fume contamination was not addressed. richard westgate who was 43 died in 2012, having suffered a series of

health issues that affected his nervous system including severe pain in his head. the coroner said the issue of cabiin fumes was beyond the scope of his inquiry and in the conclusion he said mr westgate, who worked for ba, was suffering from depression and anxiety. he concluded he had taken some sleeping pills accidentally and had not intended to kill himself, but afterwards richard westgate's family say they still believed cabiin air was an issue in this case. we know there are more sick passengers and crew and we encourage people who fly to ask questions to ensure something is done to make sure others don't suffer like our son. the vast majority of aliens use a system bleeds in cabiin air through the engines. the airline industry maintains it is a safe system —— the vast majority of airlines use a system that bleeds in cabin air.

where campaigners and the airline industry do agree is that what is most important is the safety of passengers and crew. the civil aviation authority and british regulators both insist the air is safe. those campaigners and some of the families involved in all of this see what is needed is more research and more action. but others who have flown literally millions of miles say they are not convinced cabin fumes area say they are not convinced cabin fumes are a threat to cabin crew or passengers. if it was as bad as some people make out then there would be a lot more instances of it. i personally have never experienced anything like it and therefore one becomes sceptical about the whole thing. british airways has already said they would not fly jets thing. british airways has already said they would not flyjets is the thought cabin air was dangerous, but

campaigners and the family of richard westgate do not agree, and theircampaign richard westgate do not agree, and their campaign will continue. that family was certainly frustrated today that the inquest hadn't looked at the wider issue of cabin fumes in passenger jets. the at the wider issue of cabin fumes in passengerjets. the coroner made it clear cabin fumes was beyond the scope of this inquest and so confined his inquiry solely to the events in that amsterdam hotel room in 2012 when richard westgate died. the airline industry has insisted all along cabin air is absolutely safe, but as you heard in that report there are some families and campaigners who disagree and say more research is needed. duncan kennedy there, thank you. german prosecutors investigating three explosions which hit the borussia dortmund football team bus on tuesday night say the suspect being questioned was a member of the islamic state group in iraq. meanwhile the manager of the club has criticised uefa for disregarding the feelings of his shaken players by staging their champions league game against monaco less than 24 hours after the attack.

richard conway reports. three explosions, devices packed with metal pins. 18 left in shock. —— a team left in shock. but less than 24 hours after a targeted attack, borussia dortmund walked out to play their postponed uefa champions league quarterfinal against monaco. despite their usual passionate support, they lost the game, with players expressing afterwards how the emotion of the incident made it difficult to focus on what was ultimatelyjust a game of football. until i was on the pitch, in the second half, i didn't think about football, to be honest. because last night i didn't realise what happened, and when i was at home, my wife and son were waiting in front of the door, and there i felt how lucky we were. i know we earn a lot of money, we have a privileged life, but we are human beings and there is so much more

than football in this world. dortmund's fans made their feelings known about the hasty rearrangement, while the team's head coach accused uefa of ignoring them when deciding the new kick—off date. nobody asked us for our opinion. we were informed of the uefa decision by text message. the fact it was decided in switzerland after what happened to us affected us greatly. but speaking to the bbc before the game kicked off, a senior uefa official insisted all parties had been consulted. all decisions were made in full agreement with the two clubs. i guess this was done in full conscience and knowledge of the situation, and also knowing that a different option would be quite difficult. uefa has since reiterated it was in constant

contact with the clubs and say it received no indication of reluctance to play. meanwhile, one of dortmund's former coaches spoke of his admiration for his former club. everyone would have understood if they had said, we wait to play it, we will find a solution next week, whatever. i saw the game and i was really proud of borussia dortmund, how they handled it. borussia dortmund are keen to look to the future, and to the return game against monaco, but with shock subsiding, there is now a mix of regret and some simmering anger. time for a look at the weather now. things have been calling down a touch over the past few days but we still have some decent spells of sunshine out there as well. through the next few days that theme continues. it will feel cooler but a lot of dry and fairly bright weather

as well. this is the satellite image at the moment. sunshine particularly around southern and eastern parts of the uk. further north and west, more cloud, which is producing some outbreaks of rain particularly across scotland, some showers from west to east, and also a few across northern ireland, here in fermanagh. into this evening and overnight, the cloud increases from the west. a couple of fronts pushing in bringing patchy rain to northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england and parts of wales. south of that, as we start good friday, some dry weather and sunny spells, and to the north a return to bit of sunshine for northern ireland and scotland, some showers, and even a little sleet and snow in the hills of scotland. we could see 16 degrees further south. throughout the easter weekend, things remaining rather cool weekend, things remaining rather cool. a lot of dry weather with some sunshine. some of us will see a little bit of rain as well. hello.

this is bbc news. the headlines: syria's president assad says reports of last weeks chemical attack —— syria's president assad says reports of last week's chemical attack in the country is a 100% fabrication and that the syrian army had given up all chemical weapons. there was no order to give an attack, and we gave up our chemical weapons years ago. the european court ofjustice rules that... landlords are offering rent—free accommodation to young vulnerable people in exchange for sex. now, the sport.

great britain have picked up a second medal at the track cycling world championships in hong kong after elinor barker picked up a silver in the womens scratch race yesterday chris latham has won a bronze in the men's race today. but that's been the only success today, with gb's cyclists missing out on a bronze in the mean pursuit earlier. quite happy with that. i think the lads were a little bit unlucky. i'm happy to come away with a medal, finally. and yeah... the six—man shortlist for the pfa player of the year awards has been revealed. riyad mahrez won it last yearfor his part in leicester's premier league triumph. and another of their title winning heroes has made the list again, this time for helping push chelsea

to the top of the table. he's only scored twice this season, but the last was the winner against manchester united in the fa cup quarterfinals to keep them on for a possible double. they face tottenham in the semi—finals in less than a fortnight. also on the list is fellow blue eden hazard, in the top left. manchester united's zlatan ibrahimovic, tottenhams harry kane and everton's romelu lukaku are both up for the main award and also the young player of the year. and arsenal's alexis sanchez makes up the six. you can find the full young players' list and also the contenders for the women's awards on the bbc sport website. west ham's michail antonio is out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury that he picked up in their win over swansea last weekend. antonio's scored nine goals this season and he's also been called up by england. he might miss out on the next squad for the world cup qualifier against scotland in june. it is a big blow, of course, we know what us in every game. he is one of our best players and of course it is a big blow that we are going to be without him until the end of the season.

jenson button looks set to replace fernando alonso for next month's monaco grand prix. alonso misses the race to take part in the indy 500. button retired from formula one at the end of last season, but is contracted to mclaren as a reserve driver. the draw has been made for the first round of the world snooker championship that starts this saturday in sheffield. the defending champion mark selby will face fergal o'brien. and the five—time champion ronnie o'sullivan will play gary wilson. coverage from the crucible is across the bbc. that is all the sport for now. a bit more in the next hour. a bit more? a bit! thanks! now, yes, right! it's me! president assad claims that the

there was no use of chemical weapons by his regime. even if we had them, we would not use them. we have never used our chemical arsenal in our history. so what happened? we cannot ta ke history. so what happened? we cannot take it seriously, but our information is that the united states are hand in glove with the terrorists and fabricated the story. it is one event, stage one, the play that we saw on the social networking and on tv, and the propaganda. stage two, with a military attack. that is

what we believe is happening, because it's only 48 hours between the play and the attacks. no investigations, no concrete evidence about anything. the only things were allegations, propaganda, and the air strike. so, who, according to you, is responsible about this alleged chemical attack? al-qaeda. we don't have too investigate who, they announced it. our diplomatic correspondentjoins us. we were just saying, we have heard similar stuff before, but coming from assad, the first reaction to that chemical attack — how significant is this?

this is what the syrian government's narrative is. the first thing one should say is, it seems to be different from what the russians we re different from what the russians were initially saying in the wake of the attack. remember, they were alleging that a bombing strike by the syrian air force might well have hit a store of chemical weapons belonging to islamic state or some other group, from the russians insist are terrorists. that material was released inadvertently and that is what accounted for the casualties and so on. the syrian president seems to be suggesting that, actually, it is all make—believe and actually, it is all make—believe and a play, and he has to account for a number of things which are facts. bodies have been analysed in turkey, and the results have come back for a sarin — like substance. we have detailed statements from the americans as to how they track the

aircraft leaving this particular airbase, being over the village at the appropriate time and so on. you then have a range of video material that has come out. in the olden days, you could say this is a video, and it might have been made six weeks ago. today, these videos, particularly from independent organisations who look at these things and analyse them, they pinpoint them in terms of location, in terms of time, and those organisations seem to be convinced that the videos are real. again, you heard the syrian president say they have never used chemical weapons, they don't have any left. well, we know that the international body thatis know that the international body that is charged with enforcing the chemical weapons prohibition has already stated that there have been already stated that there have been a number of episodes they have looked into where chlorine gas has been used as a weapon by the syrian

authorities. so, an awful lot of what mr assad is saying, president assad is saying, simply don't correspond with many things, the fa cts , correspond with many things, the facts, which seemed to have emerged since the attack last week. there is nothing there that we weren't expecting, to be honest, but the problem for the united states is, we are now at some sort of impasse, aren't we? donald trump, in the last few minutes, with this rather remarkable suite, suggesting that all is well and things will work out in the end with russia. it is curious, isn't it? this is part of the problems — not only do we have a new administration trying to get to grips with some very difficult problems, and it is not within america's power to resolve the syrian crisis, but you have key figures in the administration coming up figures in the administration coming up with slightly different lines. on one hand, is america's priority to

destroy the is, to destroy chemical weapons, is america going to get more involved in syria? mr trump recently said they are not. then you have this bizarre parallel commentary on american foreign policy in the president's own sweets, where he is saying, don't worry, things may be bad with the russians but not long ago... let's look at the wording. he says, quite clearly, things will work out fine. at the right time, everyone will come to their senses and there will be lasting peace. absolutely, and only yesterday, he was saying that we we re only yesterday, he was saying that we were at an all—time low in our relationship with russia. he seems to have forgotten the cuban missile crisis, when they were on the brink ofa crisis, when they were on the brink of a real shooting war. it is a bizarre aspects of what is a really serious set of issues. as ever,

thank you very much. the education secretary, justine greening, says she wants a new model of grammar schools in england which are open for everyone. she says she particularly wants to make sure there are stronger educational outcomes for what she refers to as ordinary working families, and not just the privileged few. but new analysis from the government shows a majority of selective school places go to more affluent families. joining me now from our brighton studio is caroline barlow, headteacher at heathfield community college in east sussex. you head up a nonselective institution. my guess is that you are against the grammar schools expansion proposal. are against the grammar schools expansion proposallj are against the grammar schools expansion proposal. i think, are against the grammar schools expansion proposal. ithink, like many headteachers across the country, i am cautious about the proposals that are being suggested. whilst delighted that the goverment is finding finance their education, i think most of us would like to see

it directed towards the majority of schools that already exist and that are doing an excellentjob for the pupils. so, is this because the proposals come against a background of schools complaining about having to make cuts? absolutely. we will see an 8% real terms cut in our funding over the next few years. we have been making strong claims about that over the last year, if not more, and it is disappointing that the government is finding funds that they wish to direct in the direction of selection rather than the direction of existing schools. we know that 89% of schools are good or outstanding, producing really good outcomes for all pupils. so that is about real and present worries about resources . about real and present worries about resources. what about the principle of grammar schools and more selection? sorry, can you say that ain? selection? sorry, can you say that again? the principle of extending

selection, apart from the use of resources . selection, apart from the use of resources. it is difficult to say that selection will benefit all stu d e nts that selection will benefit all students and will be open to all. the thing that people forget about selective schools is that they selective schools is that they select the children that go to them, whereas at the moment in a nonselective environment, the pa rents nonselective environment, the parents choose the school that they believe is right for their child. i worry that what people are forgetting is that in the selective system it is the school that selects the child, not the family that selects the school, and there will bea selects the school, and there will be a substantial number of children who do not get the opportunities that it who do not get the opportunities thatitis who do not get the opportunities that it is being suggested they will under this proposal. by many parents will say they have had experiences where they have failed to get their child into the school they want because of catchment areas and so on. absolutely, and all the more reason why the funds the government seems to be able to find available

should be directed into ensuring that every single school across the country is providing an outstanding education for the students in its community. really good schools, rooted in their community, with an understanding of the community, and serving them well, is where we are most efficiently using our resources . most efficiently using our resources. time and again, that is what is shown to be effective. the peas are systems across the world that our highest performing our nonselective. the borough ‘s and counties across england at our best performing our nonselective. —— pisa system. we had a researcher on earlier who suggested that grammar schools would be a good idea if they we re schools would be a good idea if they were put in disadvantaged areas, where there are no good or outstanding schools. what do you make of that suggestion?” outstanding schools. what do you make of that suggestion? i think it is interesting. the detail of the proposals as they come up will be interesting to unpick, whether that

is what transpires. i suppose, i would return again to the argument of, if funding is available to create new schools in those areas, why is it not directed to secure the necessary improvement in schools that already exist, that know the environment and the families they are dealing with, that maybe need some extra resource and support to become as good as they are capable of being? we have to leave it there. thanks forjoining us. the thames will resemble its 19th century heyday this weekend as it'll be home to some of the most spectacular sailing ships from around europe. they'll be parading along the river as part of the 2017 tall ships festival. the event is back in london, where 3 years ago it attracted more than 1.1 million visitors. our correspondent nesta mcgregor is on woolwich pier in south east london. if you are fanatical about all things nautical, this is really the hottest ticket in town at the weekend. as you mentioned, over the next three days, more than 30 ships

from all over europe will gather here before sailing to places like portugal, bermuda, boston and as far as canada. the ship we are wrong now is pretty menacing to look at — jet black. this is one of the most popular here by far, because it has a little baked the litany —— a little bit of navigation history. this was the first ship to successfully sale across the world. joining me is the logistics officer on board. as i mentioned, this is an exact replica of the first ship to sail around the world. the spanish are rape right people, so some significance in spanish history? yeah, we are very proud of it. it was the first ship to circumnavigate the world, promoted by the crown of spain, and the replica is also a spanish ship, built in 1991 in spain. as we mentioned, an exact

replica with a few changes. i have seen a replica with a few changes. i have seen a television downstairs, and some beds below deck. this was part ofa some beds below deck. this was part of a fleet that left seville in 1519, 245 men left in just 18 returned. what would life on a ship like this have been like all those yea rs like this have been like all those years ago? a hard life. they slept on the main deck, where no matter what the conditions where. they have punishment if they didn't do the right thing, like, they killed them. they ran out of water and food for pa rt they ran out of water and food for part of the journey, so it was very tough. thank you. as i mentioned, this is definitely one of the main attractions today. this is the quarterdeck. this is the whip staff, andi quarterdeck. this is the whip staff, and i can tell you now i am about to set course for lunch. we have been

here all morning. i reckon there should be some good italian food if we go south west. back to you guys. enjoy your lunch! ina enjoy your lunch! in a moment, a summary of the business news, but first, the headlines on bbc news. president assad says that reports of chemical weapons attacks last week are 100% fabricated. the education secretary says she will introduce new grammar schools in england open to all families and not just a privileged in england open to all families and notjust a privileged few. the european court of human rights says that russia should have done more to prevent the beslan school siege in 2004. the russians will appeal against the ruling. starbucks has blamed a collapse in uk profits on the impact of the brexit vote and a fall in the number of customers. pre—tax profits at the us coffee

chain slumped to £13.4m in the year to 2nd october 2016, down 60% on the £34.2m it made in 2015. it said, starbucks in the uk has experienced significant economic and geopolitical headwinds this year which affected sales. postal unions are threatening to ballot for industrial action after royal mail said it would close its defined benefit pension scheme in 2018. the postal service said that the pension plan was currently in surplus, but it was not sustainable. royal mail contributes about 400m pounds a year, but it said this would have to increase to more than £1 billion by 2018. it's famous for its hefty catalogue, but argos will make another 60 of its stores into digital ones, where you can browse and order on a tablet. it's also opening its 50th in—store concession in sainsbury‘s supermakets, with plans

for another 200. but with increasing competition from online retailers like amazon, the boss wants to see business rates radically reformed. us banks are releasing their results. morgan chase announced a 16% increase in profits. citibank has also reported strong results, up 1796. has also reported strong results, up 17%. samir hussein is at the new york ‘sjob —— 17%. samir hussein is at the new york ‘s job —— the 17%. samir hussein is at the new york ‘sjob —— the new york 17%. samir hussein is at the new york ‘s job —— the new york stock exchange. why don't we talk about the two banks together? there are two things that boosted both of their profits. first, the rise in interest rates, which has increased lending, which helped both banks. the second thing is trading. we have talked about this over the last couple of months. but we have seen

the stock market rising to record levels and breaking those records, and both banks have benefited from increased trading revenues. what does this tell us about the wider economy? is it significant in terms of the amount of business that is going on in the economy generally? there are two things to look at. first, the impact of rising interest rates, which is having a big impact on banks. second, banks and their general euphoria over the possibility of president donald trump rolling back some regulations. there is a third bank that reported earnings today, and that was wells fargo. its earnings were flat. there area fargo. its earnings were flat. there are a few reasons, but marilyn, —— but primarily it is the banking scandal after which they are trying

to rebuild their reputation. customers are just not going to them for their banking needs. are these figures going to have an impact on the wider market? we saw the market getting to a peak about a month ago, and it has really begun to fade away. all that post—election euphoria seems to come out of the market. or do you think that figures like this will put a bit more life back into it? what is happening, really, is there is uncertainty with regard to the trump administration and what they can get accomplish. between some of the geopolitical issues the trump administration is facing, and the domestic issues that the banks want pushed through, including the $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, rolling back regulation, that is why you are

seeing markets getting jittery. jamie, ijust want to seeing markets getting jittery. jamie, i just want to say, seeing markets getting jittery. jamie, ijust want to say, you are seeing a lot of activity around me. there are three companies starting to trade on the stock exchange. thanks very much. it's famous for its hefty catalogue, but argos will make another 60 of its stores into digital ones, where you can browse and order on a tablet. it's also opening its 50th in—store concession in sainsbury‘s supermakets, with plans for another 200. the boss says argos will keep its presence on the high street. but with increasing competition from online retailers like amazon, the boss wants to see business rates radically reformed. between sainsbury‘s and argos, we pay over £500 million in business rates and we would ask the government to look at fundamentally

reforming the rates system. it is an anachronistic tax and is focused on property, prejudicing those retailers with huge property portfolios, and in an increasingly digital world, it is increasingly less relevant. we welcome some of the small changes made to the system and processes in the last year or so, but we are fundamentally asking for major reform. the markets are all a little bit sluggish at the moment. that is the business news. back with more in an hour. a missing link in the evolution of dinosaurs has been found. a lost fossil has been found which had been forgotten for decades. this is how we imagine dinosaurs.

tyrannosaurus rex was one of the very last of them. the first evolved 230 million years ago from crocodile—like creatures which walked on four legs. this is a skull of the mighty tyrannosaurus rex, one of the most fearsome creatures to walk the planet. the very first dinosaurs were much smaller — about the size of a chicken. one of the biggest questions is how these creatures first emerged. what we are looking at now is the skeleton of one individual animal. the answer lies in the fossil of this animal, called "teleocrater". analysis of its bones suggests it had many dinosaur traits, such as a small head and a long, slender neck and long legs. but also some crocodile—like features, such as the structure of its ankles. this is what it looked like. although it is not a direct ancestor, it gives the best indication yet of how the first dinosaurs evolved. in many ways, this animal is a missing link between dinosaurs and crocodiles, and shows how some

of the features that were previously just appeared in dinosaurs actually first evolved. so, for example, dinosaurs start off as two—legged animals, whereas most of their ancestors seem to be four—legged. this animal helps show how some of that transition between a four—legged, crocodile—like animal and a two—legged dinosaur actually happened. the discovery, published in thejournal nature, fills a critical gap in the fossil record and shows that some dinosaur features evolved much earlier than previously thought. pallab ghosh, bbc news. the queen has given money to pensioners in leicester to mark maundy thursday, a tradition dating back to the 13th century. she was with the duke of edinburgh as she distributed money to 91 men and 91 women — representing each of her 91 years. hundreds of well—wishers lined the streets outside leicester cathedral to welcome them for the service. theresa may inspected the guard that

the royal military academy at sandhurst. the military band played the sounds of star wars. needless to say, that has gone viral on social media. she did look a bit startled. it was marvellous! time for the weather. we have fine and dry weather in store for much of the easter weekend though there will be some rain on the cards. a few showers out there for the rest of this afternoon. for most of us, it is dry. a couple of pictures for you, the first taken on the isle of wight, shoving a fair

amount of cloud. cloud has been pushing in from the west today, as you can see. fraser boro in aberdeenshire started the day with plenty of sunshine. in the afternoon, here is the view. the cloud has been increasing. it is mostly fair weather cloud. in southern and eastern england, parts of eastern scotland, a bit of brightness. around 6pm, it still looks dry in the south—west of england. temperatures of 10—11 c. perhaps a rogue shower in the midlands and east anglia, most places staying dry. a bit of late brightness across wales, one or two showers across the north west of england. belfast is likely to be driver cloudy. scotland will see further showers, becoming focused up towards the northern isles and far north of mainland scotland, where it is also quite windy tonight and overnight. cloud increases in the west overnight, and with it, and

bricks of rain. —— outbreaks of rain. through the easter weekend, week eight —— wiki a rather cool theme. we could do with some rain in theme. we could do with some rain in the south—east, but it is staying dry across many southern counties. rain across wales and northern england. it will pack up in the afternoon. —— pep up in the afternoon. —— pep up in the afternoon. these cold fronts are introducing chilly air on saturday. windy in the north, particularly across the northern isles of scotland. one or two shower was in the north—west, but for the bulk of the north—west, but for the bulk of the country, not a bad day at all. if you have outdoor plans, saturday will be the brightest day of the

region. more cloud on sunday, particularly through the central slice of the country. uncertainty about the detail of any rain showers. more details on the weather for the week ahead on our website. this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 3.00pm: syria's president says reports that his regime carried out last week's suspected chemical attack are "100% fabrication." our impression that the west, mainly the united states, is hand in glove with the terrorists. they fabricated the whole story in order to have a pretext for the attack. the education secretary wants new grammar schools in england to do more to help "ordinary working families." the european court of human rights rules that russia should have done more to prevent the beslan school siege in 2004. a bbc investigation finds that landlords are offering rent—free accommodation to young, vulnerable people in exchange for sex.

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