you're watching bbc news. it is apm. it is lipm. some breaking news this hour. a man has been arrested after an incident in whitehall, near parliament. this is what we know. metropolitan police statement said the man was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation and that there were no reported injuries. and there is no immediate known threat. several knives were recovered and were spotted by witnesses on the floor at the scene. the man is being detained under the terrorism act and is in custody in a south london police station. a downing street spokesman says the prime minister has been informed of the incident and is being kept up todate with developments. our security correspondent frank gardner is with me and one significant piece of information we

have got as we watch those forensic officers at the scene is that this arrest was part of a planned operation. there is no sense there was an attack under way but more that police have their eye on this person. and it is safe to assume the security service were doing this. an intelligence led operation would involve them in a joint operation with police. there was a time when mis with police. there was a time when mi5 worked more or less in competition with the police and did not share stuff with them but that changed after the london bombings in 2005. they work closely and share discussions and priorities. it was an intelligence led operation where they were tracking this person. he has been arrested on suspicion of the commission, instigation and preparation of acts of terrorism and knives have been recovered from him. he has not been charged, we do not know if he will be. he is being held

ata know if he will be. he is being held at a south london police station and the investigation is being conducted by the counterterrorism command, sa 15, part of the metropolitan police, and they will follow—up leads and inevitably, in any investigation like this be guys you see, maybe women as well, in blue, in forensics suits, they will gather forensic evidence and there is also inevitably a digital trail. this person's property will be searched, computer taken, any usb, person's property will be searched, computertaken, any usb, hard drives, usb sticks, etc, as well as mobile phone, who he was in touch with, where did he come from. some of that will be known and some may be presented as evidence if he is charged. that goes into the investigation, it is a kind of jigsaw they put together to come up with it. the fact he had two large

knives classed as offensive weapons, thatis knives classed as offensive weapons, that is significant. you mentioned this man is being questioned at a south london police station. what is open to those questioning him in terms of how long they can talk to him? i understand they have 48 hours. after that they would have to applyjudicially for hours. after that they would have to apply judicially for an extension. that would only be the case if there was more digital evidence that they needed. sometimes in complicated cases, particularly involving translations, where you have potential evidence recovered safe from a hard drive, which is in another language and heavily encrypted and it involves gchq. say it is an international part. there is nothing at the moment to say that is nothing at the moment to say that is what it is. we have to be careful not to get sucked into hyperbole. let's stick with the facts. a single

individual has been arrested at 14:22pm, on suspicion of acts of terrorism and two knives have been recovered in his possession and he is being held at south london. frank gardner, thank you very much indeed. we can bring in our correspondent at the scene. tell us where you are in relation to what has been happening. iam in relation to what has been happening. i am in the centre of the government area of london on whitehall, looking down about 200 yards from the houses of parliament and in the other direction about 200 yards away from downing street. if i step out of the way you can see what is going on at the moment. they have been working on the traffic island. they have been picking up various objects. we have seen a brown backpack that has

been picked up and at least two knives. we know from police this operation started about 220 bm today. it was a stop and search operation, part of an ongoing operation, part of an ongoing operation, the police tell us. armed officers stopped a man. they were firearms officers of specialist command. they stopped the man on the traffic island outside westminster station. we do not know why he was stopped. we do know that he was known to the police. he was stopped, he was handcuffed. it appears one of his hands was bandage. it is not known if he was injured in the arrest operation. he has been taken off. a man in his 20s and he is being questioned at a south london police station on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and also on suspicion of acts of

terrorism. andy, i am going to pull away from you for a moment because we are struggling to hear you over the sound of the news and possibly police helicopters above you. we can show people at home the still photographs from the moment of the arrest. the suspect lying on the ground, having been tackled by police. wearing tracksuit trousers. with a white stripe. some moments later, handcuffed, being held by police, with some sort of injury to his right hand. it appears it has been bandaged up. andy, i think we can bring you back in. we may have got the sound issue more under control. we were showing pictures from a while ago where so much was happening as the arrest was made. what is the scene now? it seems a little quieter. police tell us there

is no ongoing terror threat. it seems to be an evidence gathering operation under way at the moment. the arrest was made by armed officers, and looking around me, there is no evidence of those on the streets at the moment. what you see and what we have seen in the past half—hour, our, is a delicate evidence gathering operation. we have seen forensics officers in boiler suits picking over items on the ground on that traffic island behind me. we saw them picking up objects. two knives, one large bread knife, another object may have been an eye. they picked up a brown backpack and put it in an evidence bag. they were pacing up and down looking at objects on the ground, they were small. we could not see what they were. they took

photographs of the objects and measured them and were looking around to see if there was any thing they had missed. it seems they have picked up all objects on the grey van is still in place. but, it seems that police are trying to get the centre of london moving again. this stretch of road is closed off, of about 100 yards in one direction on whitehall. the other side of the road is still open and parliament square is still open. so a limited operation ongoing at the moment here at the centre of whitehall with police doing their best to keep the rest of london moving as easily as possible. it seemed from the pictures we were looking at that a small area was cordoned off but people, onlookers, curious to know what was going on, seem to be able to get close to the police cordons. that is right. we are not too far—away, about 100

yards. the cordon ends at the other end of the street, just beyond the grey van, you can end of the street, just beyond the grey van, you can see end of the street, just beyond the grey van, you can see the police van with the blue lights flashing, that is the other end of the cordon, so a relatively short area of the street closed off. media at both ends. members of the public have been coming up to ask, asking what is going on. the police are removing the cordon as we speak, so it seems they are keen to get this section of whitehall open as soon as possible. the cordon is being removed at this end. we don't know if that is in preparation for opening the street. we are being asked to move from our present location. it looks as if the grave forensics ban might be moving off shortly. certainly it has the characteristics of an operation that is ending here on the ground. there we re is ending here on the ground. there were of course the questioning of the man is carrying on. ok. thank

you. it looks like you are being required to possibly move on. we will leave our correspondent for now. a little while ago we talked to various people who have seen what had gone on. i spoke to helen chandler. i saw a backpack on the ground with knives laid next to it. pa rt ground with knives laid next to it. part of the road was cut off by police. 0ther part of the road was cut off by police. other than that it seemed normal. traffic still flowing, people sat on the bus waiting to get to the next stop. did you see the actual arrest? we had pictures of a number of armed officers and what looked like somebody on the ground as he was arrested. yes, i saw a man bundled into a car who i believe might have been the attacker, but i cannot say for sure. a guy followed with policeman and traffic officers. was that done fairly quickly as far

as you could tell? i think i arrived on the scene maybe five, ten minutes after the attack. he was held for questioning only a short time, i think because there were so many eyewitnesses who could say that it was him. not held up too long i think. we should say. you used the word attack, a sense that something had gone or wry but there is no suggestion at the moment that anybody was hurt or injured. i want to stress that to those listening. how would you describe the atmosphere? is there people can move around. people acting as normal. not even a proper police cordon across the road. a group of tourists asking if someone famous was about to stop by, they thought the queen was coming. it seemed like an ordinary day in westminster, but u nfortu nately, day in westminster, but unfortunately, with some incident happening as well. in terms of the

number of officers and police vehicles, forensics teams, what sense did you get off the scale of the operation? nothing like the attack which happened earlier this year. not on that scale. a couple of police cars and plainclothed police cars, as well. i cannot say for sure. that is my perspective. a number of police officers, but not a big, threatening presence, at all. that from our eyewitness of a little earlier. these are the live pictures from the news helicopter above whitehall. giving you a sense of where it happened. the street running up off to the right on your picture. the activity happening has calmed down in the last few moments. it appeared to be police cordon was in the process of being removed. the

forensics officers who have been working an hour or so on the scene having concluded the work they needed to do. this now is the shot above whitehall, where traffic has been suspended for sometime. this following an incident that happened according to police at approximately 2:22pm. following a stop and search as part of an ongoing operation. a man you as part of an ongoing operation. a man you see as part of an ongoing operation. a man you see lying on the floor, arrested in parliament street on the junction with parliament square, by armed officers. from the metropolitan police specialist firearms command. this man, aged in his late 20s according to police, arrested on suspicion of possession ofan arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. police say knives have been recovered from him and he is being questioned in a south london police station. no immediate threat

according to police and nobody hurt in that operation that happened some two hours ago in central london. we will have more from the centre of london as it unfolds. just one of a line of copy coming to us from the reuters news agency. reports are emerging from germany that a shot has been fired in a hospital in the kreuzberg area of berlin. police there saying they have shot and injured a man, in the lead, ata hospital in berlin. a spokesman confirmed the shooting but the circumstances and exact location of the incident are not clear. the accident and emergency department of the hospital in that district has been cordoned off. more details as we get it. a high courtjudge has told the government it must publish its draft anti—pollution

strategy the day after the local election. ministers claimed they couldn't abide by a previous court ruling to publish the consultation document before the 30th ofjune because it would break so—called purdah rules in the run—up to the general election. but environmental campaigners argued clean air was a public health issue and such rules should not apply. the london mayor said he is pleased the government will now have to face its responsibilities. more breaking news. a royal marine who had his sentence reduced for killing a wounded taliban fighter in afghanistan will be released from prison tomorrow. alexander blackman's conviction was quashed on appeal and replaced with manslaughter. campaigners say sergeant blackman, who became known as marine a, will walk free tomorrow. the foreign secretary has suggested britain could take military action in syria without a vote in the house of commons. borisjohnson said it would be ‘very difficult to say no'

if president trump asked for british help in punishing the syrian regime for another chemical weapons attack. meanwhile mrjohnson has also waded into the election campaign for the first time, with a highly personal attack on the labour leader jeremy corbyn — he's called him a "mutton—headed old mugwump". here's our political correspondent, alex forsyth. us missile strikes on a syrian airfield earlier this month, this the first direct us action against syrian government forces, a response to a chemical attack which killed civilians. today the foreign secretary suggested, if asked, the uk would support such strikes in the future, possibly without the approval of parliament. if they come to us and ask for our support, whatever it happens to be, as was the case in 2013, in my view, and i know this is the view of the prime minister,

it would be very difficult for us to say no. you would have to go to the commons. i think that has to be tested. i think it would be very difficult for us to say no. mps said no when asked to back air strikes in syria by david cameron in 2013. today, opposition parties said the process for making such decisions was vital. unilateral illegal intervention would be counter—productive. it seems to me boris johnson is following tony blair in that respect. if the government wants to have parliamentary authority they should ask for parliamentary authority, not speculate wildly and jump to whatever president trump does. and support america regardless. sources close to borisjohnson said the situation has not changed. he has not ruled out a parliamentary vote. a parliamentary vote. this is one of the dividing lines between the parties. the tories think for them it is a strength, trying

to portrayjeremy corbyn as a threat to national security. in the sun newspaper today, borisjohnson launched a personal attack on the labour leader today calling him a mutton—headed old mugwump who would be calamitous in downing street. campaigning in essex, jeremy corbyn said they were focused on serious debate, not name—calling. asked about the possibility of air strikes in syria, he said labour wanted a political solution. above all, we need to bend ourselves totally to getting a political settlement in syria and allow the inspectors space to work, allow them to make sure we know

who committed that terrible chemical weapons attack and recognise that inspectors are destroying any stocks of chemical weapons they find. this campaign will determine who sits in number 10. who gets to make those decisions about policy abroad and at home. politicians know their vision for the nation's future is vital. the former london mayoral candidate zac goldsmith has been chosen by the conservatives to stand for parliament in his old constituency of richmond park. mr goldsmith was ousted as mp by the liberal democrats during a by—election in december. he had previously left the conservative party in protest at the government's backing of a third heathrow runway. the liberal democrats have decided not to contest the brighton pavilion seat currently held by the only green party mp, caroline lucas. last week, she called for a "progressive alliance" — where parties did not put up candidates in some seats to avoid the vote against the conservatives being split. the labour leader has been out campaigning in harlow and has been

talking about housing. labour have pledged to build a million homes overfive years, half of which would be council houses. this is a key issue. we are not building the houses we should in this country. we're building less than at any time since the 1920s. 0ur pledge is to build 1 million homes over the lifetime of the parliament, half of which will be council and housing association builds, for rent and affordable housing. we need to have our country properly housed. young people living in overcrowded places don't do so well in school. it is very stressful not knowing how long a tenancy will last in the private sector. especially if you don't know how long your policy is in the private sector. those are the policies we are producing in our manifesto. we have just heard, we havejust heard, according we have just heard, according to a western security source, this being

put out by the reuters news agency, that the man detained in london after the westminster incident was known to counterterrorism police and british intelligence before his arrest. that adding to the picture that police had given of a man who was being arrested after a stop and search operation, an ongoing operation. we can also bring you now pictures of the arrest. some new pictures. this from earlier, i believe, of the man who was arrested by police on whitehall. handcuffed. his hand in some way, it appeared, sustaining an injury, that has been bandaged, all wrapped up in some way. we know that, according to police, that man was aged in his late 20s. he is being questioned at

a south london police station and these pictures we are now able to show you. a clearer picture of the man who was arrested at the time at around 2:22pm stop as i said, in custody now at a south london police station. arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. that is the latest according to the metropolitan police. crime in england and wales has risen in almost every category according to the latest statistics. violent crime is up sharply by 19 per cent. it's the final set of crime figures before the general election and our home affairs correspondent has the details. a brutal attack outside a west midlands pub last month by half a dozen men who are still being sought by police. it appears to have been a targeted

attack using a machete at a time when there are signs that crime is on the increase in england and wales, particularly violent crime and crimes involving knives and guns. the number of offences recorded by police was up 9% last year. burglary was up 4% and vehicle crime up 8%, both crimes that have been falling for decades. the office for national statistics says some of the increases can be explained by changes in police record keeping. i think any rises we are seeing are genuine because those improvements stabilised a long time ago. it is not good enough for 0ns to keep on saying they are to do with improved recording. i think they must be genuine. one of the biggest concerns in police forces at the moment is what seems to be a clear rise in knife and gun crime. more people seem to be carrying knives and using them. more guns are being fired. 0verall, violent crime

was up 19% last year. again some of that increase can be explained by record—keeping changes but firearms offences were up 13% and knife offences were up 14%. recent figures from hospitals suggested a dip in serious violence—related injuries. a crime expert told me it is probably too early to know why violence is rising but there are some possible reasons. speculations would focus around things that we think might be related to crime, like levels of police numbers, cutting services, mental health is becoming an important issue raised in public awareness over the election campaign and is important in relation to crime. the police—recorded crime figures are contradicted by the official crime survey of people's experiences of crime, which appear to be stable but statisticians believe the survey may be lagging slightly behind. also out today were separate figures on violence in prison showing a big

increase in assaults on staff, self—harm, homicide and suicide. more now on the ruling from a high courtjudge that more now on the ruling from a high court judge that told more now on the ruling from a high courtjudge that told the government it must publish its draft antipollution strategy the day after the local election. we can join our correspondent, who has been following this. tell us more about this case. the government has since 2010 been supposed to have cleaned up britain's airand it supposed to have cleaned up britain's air and it has found a number of reasons not to do so, it would be too expensive, too disruptive, but a judge told them they had to come up with a plan by this last monday. they did not do it but instead put in an application to delay the publication of the plan until after the election. the

barrister for the government laid out the government case and said publishing now would create what he called a controversy in the middle of the election during the purdah period when sensitive issues are not supposed to be dealt with. it would distract the public, the election, from discussing the air pollution d raft from discussing the air pollution draft consultation, and it would be inefficient, it would be more efficient for the government to get on with governing without having to deal with this during an election, and it would be hard for any new government to come in with this d raft government to come in with this draft consultation in place, surely it would be better to leave it to the new government to get a draft consultation of its own making. what did thejudge consultation of its own making. what did the judge said? consultation of its own making. what did thejudge said? thejudge did not seem to be very impressed and a lot of his body language was strict. the government barrister this morning was turning red and read. thejudge said this morning was turning red and read. the judge said this afternoon that purdah is a convention, it is not the law and it does not overrule the

law. he said even if purdah was a law, there is an exemption for serious public health issues and by the government's own figures there are 64 deaths a day contributed to by air pollution,. he said any new government coming in would have to face the law and come up with their own plan so this would not make much difference and he said the government hat to publish as soon as possible. is it over and done with now? those of us reporting on it may wish it was over and done with but the government has indicated it may consider an appeal. the judge told the government if they are considering an appeal they have to haveit considering an appeal they have to have it heard before the due date he set of may the night. he has given a little slippage. we were supposed to have the publication this week but thejudge is saying he has given the government until may the 9th, because of the local elections. he accepted the government case that

because there are cities where a lot of activity may be going, he did not mention diesel cars, but that is an obvious one, it could cause disruption to the local elections, so he postponed it. but this is far from the june so he postponed it. but this is far from thejune the 30th postponement the government wanted to kick it the long grass after the election. thanks. police investigating the murder of a man who was hit as his car was stolen from outside his home in manchester have made two further arrests. mike samwell, who was 35, died after confronting two men at his home in the chorlton area of the city in the early hours of sunday morning. a 29—year—old man and 15—year—old boy are being questioned on suspicion of murder and burglary. two other men, aged 20 and 21, have been bailed pending further inquiries. the german chancellor angela merkel says some people in britain have "illusions" about the reality of brexit. she's also insisted there should be agreement on the uk's divorce bill from the european union —

before any negotiations on trade can begin. it comes as ministers from the eu's remaining 27 countries meet in luxembourg to finalise their negotiating stance on brexit. earlier, our europe correspondent damian grammaticas gave us this update. some would see it as tough. chancellor merkel says she was laying out what she thought was obvious, and that she said once the uk was outside the eu, it will be a third country and not have the same benefits. i think what she meant by those illusions was addressing the idea the uk can negotiate a deal with the same access as it currently enjoys. that is what we have heard here today in luxembourg. the 27 countries, minsters here have quickly signed off on the negotiating guidelines. they have said certain core things mattered — there would be no special access to the single market, no individual deals for single sectors like banking, and the bill —

the costs, the liabilities the uk has built up, would have to continue to be paid beyond even brexit. interestingly, too, the deputy to jean—claude juncker, the vice president of the european commission, he said on the way in, that what happens in the uk election will have no influence at all on the eu's side, on the negotiating position it is now adopting. he said even the size of the majority would have no bearing. he said the eu's decision would be determined by the eu's interests seen by the 27 remaining countries. these will be signed off on saturday and the eu will then formally, be ready to begin talks. now the weather. the afternoon. this month has not lived to its reputation on till the last few days. we found some april showers. some of them have been a

nuisance in eastern england. you have probably had someone today. all in all it has been cloudy with some showers. they will take time to clear, moving steadily north and west overnight. that adds as a blanket of cloud, effecting the temperatures. it will not be as cold and frosty as recent nights. we start tomorrow with cloud and showers in wales and south—west england. behind it, some sunshine. showers tomorrow should be isolated. the best of the sunshine in the south—east. highest values of 8 degrees to 13 degrees. saturday looks good. rain in the forecast for sunday. you're watching bbc news. the headlines: armed police arrest a man on

suspicion of preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism, following an incident in whitehall near parliament. a witness says they saw knives on the ground. scotland ya rd saw knives on the ground. scotland yard say nobody has been injured. 0pposition parties are criticising borisjohnson after he said it would be difficult to say no in the us asked for support in another military strike on syria. meanwhile, labour leaderjeremy corbyn has promised to build a million new homes if labour wins the general election. the german chancellor says britain shouldn't have any illusions about the kind of brexit deal we are likely to get. more now on our main story. police have arrested a man on suspicion of preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism, following an incident in whitehall near parliament. a witness says they saw knives on the

ground. scotland yard says nobody has been injured. the prime minister is beginning her reaction. —— been giving her reaction. i'm aware a man has been arrested in whitehall today and that that individual has been arrested on the basis of a terrorism charge. 0bviously basis of a terrorism charge. obviously i can't say much more. it is an ongoing police investigation. but i think it shows that our police and intelligence and security services are on the alert, as they a lwa ys services are on the alert, as they always are, looking to keep us safeguards. and i would say that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to these people, many of whom are on these people, many of whom are on the scene, unheard, yet the job they do day in, day out to keep us secure, is really important. we should thank them for it. the prime minister giving her reaction to events in whitehall. more to come on that and our other stories. now let's get the sport. we can join tim. hello.

anthonyjoshua says his heavyweight unification fight is a "stepping stone to greatness", as he prepares to face wladimir klitschko in front of 90,000 at wembley on saturday night. he's been facing the two time world champion today, at the pre—fight press conference. klitschko admits to a rare occasion when he's not the favourite, but has still predicted the fight — in a slightly unusual way. i'm a challenger again. ifeel young, hungry, humble. and totally obsessed. 0n young, hungry, humble. and totally obsessed. on this i record a video last week. and the outcome of the fight. this stake is going to be integrated in my role —— robe, which am going to wear on saturday night, sealed. do not ask me after the fight what

is on this stick. even though it is an amazing event, i try to strip everything down to reality and what it really is. and just focus on me and a man coming to blows. the best man will win. i'm still up very early in the morning and sleeping late at night, working diligently with my coach to prepare myself not only physically but mentally, to prepare for any battle. that is why i enjoy the sport, i take it seriously. and april 29 isjust another stepping stone towards greatness. newcastle manager rafa benitez refused to comment today on the raid by hmrc on the club yesterday as pa rt by hmrc on the club yesterday as part ofan by hmrc on the club yesterday as part of an investigation into suspected income tax and national insurance fraud. he did reveal the had his first contact with owner mike ashley senses team won promotion to the premier league on monday. because it's an investigation, something happened

that four or five years ago, i will not talk about that. i will keep doing my usual business in terms of football. i was talking with mike ashley. we have had a conversation about what is going on, what we will do, how we will prepare the next season and everything. so at the moment if you are asking if he congratulated me, yes, he congratulated me, yes, he congratulated everyone. and we will have a meeting and discuss about the future of the club and the future of myself and everything. yes, we will do it in myself and everything. yes, we will do itina myself and everything. yes, we will do it in a professional way like i like to do things. the bbc understands that former newcastle united winger sylvaiun marveuax is one of four people arrested as part of an hmrc investigation into suspected income tax and national insurance fraud. marveaux joined newcastle from french club rennes in 2011 and made 39 appearances for the magpies, scoring one goal. he is currently with another french side, lorient. after winning first match saint are

doping suspension yesterday, maria sharapova is in action again in stuttgart against the katarina marak over. “— stuttgart against the katarina marak over. —— ekaterina makarova. she won the first set. and in the last few moments she easily won the second. johanna konta is out of the wta event in stuttgart at the second round stage, after she was beaten by anastasija sevastova. the british number one, who was the sixth seed for the tournament, was defeated in straight sets by the latvian, who is ranked 26th in the world. defeat for dan evans in barcelona. he lost in three sets to dominik tea m he lost in three sets to dominik team of austria. andy murray meets feliciano lopez very shortly. —— dominic thiem. finally, the latest from the world snooker championship. the first semifinal is between defending champion mark selby and the man he beat in last year's final, dingjunhui. being leaves 5—3 after the first

session. he finished the session with the first century of the match. —— ding. they will resume tomorrow at10am. —— ding. they will resume tomorrow at 10am. barry hawkins againstjohn higgins is the second semifinal later. that is all the sport for now. mike bushell will be back in an hour. let's return to the incident in westminster. a man has been arrested near parliament. metropolitan police say the man was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation. there were no reported injuries and there is no immediate known threat. jonny may is a visiting fellow with nottingham university, an expert on defence, security and diplomacy. thank you for coming in. 0bviously security and diplomacy. thank you for coming in. obviously an arrest has been made. we don't want to speak specifically about this incident, because there is a lot we don't know. but just

incident, because there is a lot we don't know. butjust remind us what the state of security alert is currently in the uk? it is severe. it isa currently in the uk? it is severe. it is a state that reflects the fact that terrorist attacks, attempted attacks, are very likely to happen. so we have been very fortunate. apart from the tragic events in westminster a few weeks ago, we haven't had anything of major significance, despite the fact the threat has been very high for a long time. do we have a sense of how the dreadful incidents of the westminster bridge attacks may have informed how counter—terrorism police are working? obviously it is —— they are at higher threat levels. they will be keeping an eye out for people using unconventional weapons, knives, vehicles etc. and i think what this tells us is that

intelligence and the police have been on top of their games. it is very u nfortu nate been on top of their games. it is very unfortunate that the westminster attack managed to get through the net. the vast majority of these plots are detected and disrupted well before they get to the stage where they do harm. in this particular case, if it is one of terrorism, and we don't know that, as you rightly say, isjust of terrorism, and we don't know that, as you rightly say, is just an example of how policing and intelligence working together to try and thwart these attempts. the u nfortu nate and thwart these attempts. the unfortunate thing is that there will be and there are, and there will likely continue to be, several people who will want to carry on this thing. and as long as the organisation that inspires them is preparing to demonstrate success. this organisation, isis, is out there. they say the world has been against them for several years, the

world hasn't got rid of them, they will carry on surviving and succeeding. some people will believe that propaganda, sadly, and try to do their bit to propagate this regime of terror. we do need to look at that as the primary cause. the police and intelligence services are buying is valued the all time. they can't get rid of the problem. -- valuable time. we heard in this particular instance the suggestion was this was part of an ongoing operation. just pointing to the fact that all the time police and counterterrorist experts are busy with surveillance. there are people they are looking at. we don't know in this incident what was involved. 0na more in this incident what was involved. on a more general level, what do we know about how they are working with surveillance and keeping an eye macron people? it is three of the 65 days a year, 24—hour as a day, a large number of suspects are under

surveillance. do we think a growing number? do we have a sense of the trajectory of that number? the number has grown progressively over the years. from some of the state m e nts the years. from some of the statements made, there was a drop—off. that occurred between 2010 until about 2014. this roughly coincides with the killing of bin ladin and the emergence of daesh or isis. it spiked following the emergence of daesh and isis. we can see a correlation between the su ccesses see a correlation between the successes that organisations such as al-qaeda demonstrated on 9/11, and how daesh or isis demonstrated success in 2014, when all of a suddenin success in 2014, when all of a sudden in a matter of weeks, it was 30 kilometres from baghdad. and the caliphate was declared. it is these

things that inspire large numbers, several dozens, hundreds of suspects, to try and emulate, to try and do something. this is a huge task for the intelligence services to keep on top of, which, on the whole, they are doing with remarkable success. sadly, occasionally we have these things with these tragic deaths and the events of westminster bridge just a few weeks ago. but on the whole, arab intelligence and police services seem to be doing incredibly well given the task they have got. —— our intelligence and police services. on a national scale we have police and intelligence officers working to identify suspects, suspects who will be people not known to us, people who don't have a big name. but on an international scale, there are key people in these organisations who presumably hold governments, —— hold

governments, whole nations working together to try and take out. how does that work in terms of the low—level, everyday threat that we look at in our capital cities, and the much more international picture of the leadership of these organisations? as you said, that is working with the international coalition. we have intelligence personnel from the united kingdom working with their opposite numbers throughout the world. most of these incidents have taken place in the middle east. we work with them. we work with the us, canada and others, intelligence sharing, targeting those individuals. we have had several reports recently of senior british people, senior people in isis, daesh who have been taken out by various coalition operations. the

problem is that those people are a lwa ys problem is that those people are always replaceable. and the only thing that can have a sustainable success is to demonstrate the failure of this organisation. and that means destroying the territory that means destroying the territory that — destroying the organisation in terms of its territorial control, and showing that what it stands for, this mythical state, no longer exists. that is the only sustainable success against this organisation. thank you very much for your time. it is quarter to five. an update coming in. it is regarding the general election. ukip leader paul nuttall has confirmed he will stand for parliament at the general election. but he has declined to reveal which seat he will contest. that just coming into reveal which seat he will contest. thatjust coming into us. paul nuttall, ukip leader, will stand for parliament in the hope of getting that all elusive ukip parliament seat.

the united states says it will try to pressurise north korea into dismantling its nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes by using diplomatic means and tightening economic sections —— sanctions. china has called it a positive move. but as were a davies reports, tension inside. not a sign of rapprochement between two countries on the brink of war but a crude attempt at parody this week in hong kong. donald trump and north korea's kim jong—un are not about to kiss and make up but, following an apparently softer tone from washington, the chinese government, which had urged both sides to show restraint, saw some positive scenes of hope. translation: we have noted the relevant comments and have noted the messages conveyed in these comments, hoping to resolve the korean nuclear issue peacefully through dialogue and consultation. we believe this message is positive and should be affirmed. president trump's approach to north korea's growing nuclear

programme is carrot and stick. on one hand, calling for tough international sanctions, on the other, accelerating the deployment in south korea of the american anti—missile defence system known as thaad. a south korean defence ministry spokesman said the decision to deploy thaad had been taken as a direct result of the grave security situation in the region. following this week's high—profile joint american military exercise with south korea, what isn't clear is if president trump has abandoned the long—standing but unsuccessful policy of containment through sanctions or if he is genuinely preparing to attack. a much—publicised white house briefing on korea for all 100 members of the us senate came up with few answers. it is more of a pep talk. the secretary of defence, secretary of state, the top administration officials,

i think it is to try to get the senate to support the president whatever he might decide to do. china aside, the north korean regime has few powerful allies, but in a letter reportedly sent to regional leaders, pyongyang appealed for support in order to prevent what it warned could be a nuclear holocaust. let's get a business update with alice. hello. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. markets came off very early lows today. after starting the session deepin today. after starting the session deep in negative territory, the main european stock markets at least

partially clawed back some of their losses late in the day. we also saw the pound hit a seven low high against the dollar today, pushing above that $1 29 mark before falling back slightly. that rise being credited to polls putting theresa may well ahead of the opposition. the dollar suffered from disappointment over the lack of detail in donald trump's tax reform plans. more on that in a moment. keeping with the macro theme, the european central bank kept its main interest rate on hold today. it is zero for another month. it opted against changing its bond buying plan as inflation missed the ecb target for a fifth straight year. european central bank head mario draghi has said the eurozone's economic recovery is "increasingly solid" and faces fewer risks. he is filling bullish. —— feeling. lloyds banking group has reported a rise in profits in the three months to the end of march despite a

challenging environment. it said pre—tax profits doubled from a year ago to £1.3 billion in the first quarter, although last year's figure included a hefty one—off cost. one of the uk's biggest house builders has set aside £130 million and apologised to home buyers, in a dispute over ground rents. taylor wimpey is the first major builder to apologise after criticism for leaving customers with onerous leasehold deals. the other house builder in the uk, person, reported an 11% drop in sales. —— persimmon. talk us through what happened with those house—builders today? what happened with those house-builders today? both had their first—quarter trading statement and both reported strong forward sales. taylor wimpey reported falling cancellations. the bourse said normally he gets worried going into general elections as they tend to seek people hold off on purchases.

he hasn't seen any indication of that. there is strong demand. pricing is firm, visibility is good. both did bleed a little bit about planning problems slowing down housing sales. but overall, strong set of figures and the share price has responded. i want to talk to you about lloyds of the uk. joining other banks in producing better than expected first—quarter numbers? other banks in producing better than expected first-quarter numbers? yes, it was very much a matter of the quantity of profit being very good. the quality was quite weak. that is in keeping with deutsche bank of germany, credits wiese, santander in spain. it has been the same pattern. underlying profit broadly flat. lloyds‘ numbers were disappointing in some respects. there were £500 million of provisions for conduct, payment protection insurance compensation. they are still not out

of the woods. the number was good, the quality was weak. shares open up 596. the quality was weak. shares open up 5%. they finished the day barely at one. let's talk about central bank today. we heard from the european central bank and the bank injapan. neither surprising anyone by not doing much at all? no changes in interest rates, no changes in bond buying programmes. it is not a massive vote of confidence in any of the economies despite what mario draghi was saying. that is in contrast to the us federal reserve we re contrast to the us federal reserve were janet yellen and will probably not raise interest rates next wednesday but may lay the groundwork foran wednesday but may lay the groundwork for an increase in june, wednesday but may lay the groundwork for an increase injune, possibly july. there seems to be more confidence in the us, even if there isa confidence in the us, even if there is a creeping concern over whether president trump can deliver on some, all or any of his promises. let's talk about trump. is it fair to say

the main driving force behind today's lacklustre performance on the markets on both sides of the pond, was that lack of detail in his tax plan? i think it is. pond, was that lack of detail in his tax plan? ithink it is. it is pond, was that lack of detail in his tax plan? i think it is. it is not clear how the fund will be funded. republicans insist that is the case. it is not clear if the plan will go through. and to be fair, if you look at the federal statistics in the us, american corporations are playing historical is —— paying historical low levels of tax anywhere. it is not clear there would be a huge profits boost to companies. look at boeing. it left its guidance for plane deliveries unchanged, increased its profit guidance on the grounds of paying less tax than expected. i'm not sure this will provide a huge profit boost to the us economy that everybody expects. the dollar has been weakening and that has been affecting the ftse 100. thank you. a quick recap of our markets are doing. the nasdaq is slightly up.

the mass bond buying scheme on chains as well. that is all from me. more on our website. let's return to the incident in westminster. a man has been arrested near parliament. the metropolitan police say he was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation. there were no reported injuries and there is no immediate known threat. just worth saying, a little bit more information coming in from june kelly. she says it is now understand —— understood the man is 27, lives in london. is said to hold a british passport but is not believed to have been born here. and apparently searches of addresses linked to him are now being carried out. he, of course, being questioned at a police station in south london. the prime

minister saying in the last half an hour that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the police. joining me now is the director for the centre of defence studies at king's college in london. the prime minister saying how much we owe to police. it really just highlights the fact that the police and counterterrorism officers are on high alert, and presumably little do we know much of it, busy all the time with surveillance? yes, we have at what is now approaching the 20 year point of a pretty high level of risk. 18 years since the first al-qaeda related plot in 2004 is quite sophisticated conspiracies have also been accompanied by quite low—level individual threats. and in recent times we have seen two of those incidents, if this proves to be terrorism related, in london, but

also an attackjust be terrorism related, in london, but also an attack just last be terrorism related, in london, but also an attackjust last week in france, again with an individual, this time armed with a semiautomatic weapon. individuals not necessarily fitting the standard model for what people may call lone wolves. it is not a concept i'm happy with. in this case, this man was on some colour radar, and was being monitored. this looks like it preventative action by the police. you mentioned on the radar, what do we mean that bad —— by that? presumably there are different levels of surveillance, different levels of surveillance, different levels of surveillance, different levels of people being on the radar? the police and security services are faced with a difficult chance. we wa nt to faced with a difficult chance. we want to prevent attacks and stop terrorist incidents. that is the priority on one level. counter—terrorism also needs to undermine radicalisation and not create another generation of people who want to carry out terror attacks. you mustn't criminalise a

whole community through post —— profiling and the like. there is a delicate balance to be struck between having lists of people based on actual intelligence and linkages with other intelligent —— terrorist conspiracies, versus saying, these people have come into contact with others and should be monitored or on a list, but not subject to invasive surveillance. it is very difficult. it is also linked to resources, which cannot possibly monitor the number of people who could be put onto the list. some of your viewers may have heard last week the french election campaign even talked about some of these numbers, were one of the candidates talk about more than 10,000 ona the candidates talk about more than 10,000 on a watch list in france. actually some people put the figure nearer 15,000. completely actually some people put the figure nearer 15, 000. completely beyond actually some people put the figure nearer 15,000. completely beyond the resources of anything other than a police state. you are talking about different concepts of how terrorists work, the idea of the lone wolf. we don't know what has happened this

afternoon, but we know that police will always try to find out any associates of anyone they have arrested, they were looking to their life and background. yourfeeling is it is rare to find anybody who works to be without a network? it depends what the network is. there is little evidence that people are radicalised by going online and then going to do something. usually there are other relationships as well. and there are key points at which people can quite quickly go from being non—violent to being violent. this is on the research. there is no one way. however, the police have genuinely found that many people are linked to other people through close relationships. thank you very much. time is tight. more from ben at five o'clock. time for the weather. hello. another quiet day. a little more cloud around today. still a scattering of showers. april living up to its

reputation eventually. the showers will gradually drift south and west through the night tonight. quite a lot of cloud. it should be frost free in comparison to the nightjust passed. further north and east, clearer skies. temperatures falling away. it will not too bad. two to 8 degrees in towns and city centres. we start tomorrow with cloud. still some showery rain in wales and the south—west. the best of the brightness in the use. showers should be few and far between. temperatures climbing at eight to 13. looking ahead, a good deal of dry and sunny weather in the story for the start of the bank holiday weekend. there is some rain but it will arrive during the latter stages of saturday night into sunday morning from the south—west. today at five:

an alert in whitehall as police arrest a man suspected of planning terrorist attacks. the suspect, in his late 20s, was arrested by armed officers after an intelligence led operation. a rucksack and several knives were discovered at the scene, but no one was injured. this is the scene live in westminster. the prime minister — who was not in downing street at the time — is being kept informed of developments. i think it shows that our police and our intelligence and security services are on the alert, as they always are, looking to keep us safe and secure. it comes just over a month after the westminster attack in which four pedestrians were killed and a police officer stabbed to death. the other main stories on bbc news at five. the foreign secretary says britain could take military action