this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm: another terror alert in westminster — police arrest a man suspected of planning terrorist attacks. he was arrested by armed officers after an intelligence led operation. a rucksack and knives were taken from him. the prime minister 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. the foreign secretary says britain could take military action against the syrian regime without a vote in parliament. the government loses a court bid to delay publication of its air pollution strategy until after the general election. also this hour — tackling online bullying. exactly a year ago felix alexander took his own life — now a children's charity says social media sites need to do more. mugwump. mugwump is correct.

borisjohnson used a newspaper column to describejeremy corbyn as one, but what is a mugwump? good evening and welcome to bbc news. police have arrested a man after another terror alert just yards away from last month's deadly attack in westminster. the man is being held under the terrorism act and a number of knives he was carrying were seized. it's now clear that the suspect — who was captured on whitehall — was under surveillance by scotland yard's anti—terror squad. asjune kelly reports, there's been a high profile police presence in the area

since khaled massood killed five people — including pc keith palmer — in march. under arrest in the shadow of government buildings in whitehall. the man was detained by armed officers near parliament square. this wasn't a random stop, search and arrest. it is understood the man was targeted by police as part of an ongoing operation by scotland yard's counterterrorism command. it was just before 2:30pm this afternoon that officers moved in on him. and this is what he left behind. a rucksack and his knives. police are said to have wrestled the subject of a ground on a traffic island. it is close to the foreign office and the entrance to downing street. there was something happening in parliament square so i walked quickly here. there were police officers, it was cordoned off, and then ijust officers, it was cordoned off, and then i just spotted

officers, it was cordoned off, and then ijust spotted the suspect. he was literally just next then ijust spotted the suspect. he was literallyjust next to this red box public phone and he was cornered by heavily armed police officers. the prime minister was away from london on an election visit to derbyshire. a man has been arrested in whitehall today and the individual has been arrested on the basis of a terrorism charge. obviously i can't say much more about it because 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 always are, looking to keep us safe and secure. for the second time in just over a month westminster was once again on a terror alert. but this time, to the relief of those who work here, and the many visitors, any threat was stopped, no one was harmed. the suspect is said to have no link to khalid masood who launched his murderous assault, first with a car

and then with a knife. he was shot dead by police. he took the lives of five people including pc keith palmer who, unarmed, confronted five people including pc keith palmerwho, unarmed, confronted him inside the grounds of the houses of parliament. since then there has been a heightened sense of security here. the fact he is in a location that has recently been the subject ofa that has recently been the subject of a terrorist attack would make any investigating officer think this is the time we need to step in before he causes some harm. the fact that perhaps he was making his way towards parliament as well is a very key point that they would want to ta ke key point that they would want to take him out while he was least expecting it. the man now in custody is said to be 27 and from london. it is said to be 27 and from london. it is understood he holds a british passport but wasn't born in the uk. counterterrorism detectives and the security service mi5 will have built a picture of him as they monitored his movements. they will now be looking at his mental state, his beliefs and his associates. june kelly, bbc news. let's speak to our

correspondent richard lister who is on the scene at westminster. it all looks very calm behind you and carrying on as usual. yes, as you can see, westminster has really go back to normal. the incident itself really just lasted a few back to normal. the incident itself reallyjust lasted a few minutes and half of whitehall was closed for about two hours while forensics officers went over that traffic island you can see behind me, which island you can see behind me, which is where it all took place. very dramatic events, the streets were busy then as they are now and people watched in some disbelief at what was unfolding in front of them. that individual was stopped, as we heard, as the result of an ongoing corporation dummett operation, police knew who he was when he was stopped and searched, a number of knives were recovered and he was arrested on suspicion of possession ofan arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and the instigation and commission and preparation of terrorist acts and is being questioned at a south london

police station. a number of other premises were also searched as part of the investigation by police. you can tell as we look around here now that this clearly under the shadow of big ben, is a very sensitive area, just down the road from downing street and security was stepped up in the wake of the attack by khalid masood just over a month ago. richard lister in westminster, thank you. let's talk to peter power, a former counter terrorism officer with scotland yard who now consults on crisis management for situations like the one we've seen today. he's in our southampton studio. thank you forjoining us this evening, peter. first off, your reaction to the incident today. evening, peter. first off, your reaction to the incident todaylj think my reaction is rather like the government's. we were warned about this. right at the beginning of the year the government issued an app for our mobile telephones called citizen aid and you press the app

and it tells you what to do in the case of a marauding gunman or marauding knifeman, perhaps like we have seen today, had he got through and committed the act. the government is aware of this, not many people were aware of that app which is surprising but it tells me one other thing as well. there is a continuing pattern where terrorists are demonstrating they have changed their weapon. they are using things you find in your kitchen, in the street, in your garage, and it makes detecting these items very difficult. most times they are comparatively innocent. it is only when the crime is committed they become an offensive weapon. on the plus side, though, where there is intelligence as in this case that there is a knife attack, the police can there is a knife attack, the police ca n afford there is a knife attack, the police can afford to wait a little longer and get the evidence as well as intelligence, is only evidence will convicted in court, not intelligence. had it been the other way round and the terrorist today had a lorry full of an enormous chemical bomb, for example, the police and mi5 and so on, would have

had to intercept that much early on intelligence only and almost certainly no evidence. so what we have seen today is very much an intelligence led operation, on the same day of course as another young man who believes in his own faith, oi’ man who believes in his own faith, or his interpretation of islam, pleaded guilty at the old bailey to an attempt to try and blow up part of central london. mr power, you said it is all about the intelligence and also be evidence. is that why we should look at it as being, well, this incident, was done very publicly because they knew what he was doing, they knew what he was carrying, couldn't they have done this slightly less out of the public eye? it is a very high—profile location. the truth is neither you nor i know what the intelligence was that led to today but we are told there was intelligence. when you say down out of the public eye, there is a danger that the evidence might not

be there. somebody just a danger that the evidence might not be there. somebodyjust with a knife alone can only be convicted of something under the offences against persons act, what you might call a routine knife carrying but this is different. the police did chance theirarm, different. the police did chance their arm, perhaps, but different. the police did chance theirarm, perhaps, but they different. the police did chance their arm, perhaps, but they were absolutely certain they could contain this person, bring him to the ground without a risk to the public. i think that was fairly good. the worry i have also is an economic one. tourism coming to london is a vast unable to our global economy. in fact, tourism accou nts global economy. in fact, tourism accounts for over £100 billion to the uk gross domestic product, 9% is tourism. half of that comes from tourists visiting central london. were these events to continue and we turn the tap off even slightly the economic hit on london and the uk as a whole could be enormous. how long oui’ a whole could be enormous. how long our people put under surveillance for in your experience? did you say how long they are under

surveillance? yes, how long do they tend to be under surveillance because obviously it is a cost to the taxpayer. not only is it a cost to the taxpayer, it takes in the region of 2a police officers to monitor somebody 2a hours a day. he 01’ monitor somebody 2a hours a day. he or she, where they go, who they meet, what they drive, are they sadly, will they avoid detectives who are following them? it is extremely expensive, but not only in cost, but also in manpower. you can't just cost, but also in manpower. you can'tjust open cost, but also in manpower. you can't just open up cost, but also in manpower. you can'tjust open up another box of police officers or m15 secret agents. they take a lot of training and so on. so every single week, sometimes every single day, men and women at m15, m16 and scotland yard, have to decide who are they going to follow and who are they not. if you go back to 2013 it didn't go according to plan because it resulted in the death of a soldier by the name of lee rigby. today was an outstanding success. so many questions but we will leave it there for now. peter power, thank you very

much. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:a0pm this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are the political commentator, lance price and caroline wheeler, political editor of the sunday express. ido i do hope you canjoin us for that. boris johnson weighed into the election campaign for the first time today — and immediately ran into some political flak. he told the bbc that — if asked — britain would take part in further american action in syria — even without a vote in the house of commons. labour have also criticised what they say is a highly personalised attack onjeremy corbyn. our political editor laura kuenssberg has been speaking to both men. anybody got a cup of coffee? coffee fuels campaigns. so do big personalities, and they do start early. borisjohnson burst out this morning. it seems incredible when you have a threat... with both barrels, claiming jeremy corbyn is weak on defence

and cannot be trusted. good morning, john. and suggesting the uk could join in, if america again bombed syria. if they come to us and ask for our support, whether it is with submarine—based missiles in the med, or whatever it happens to be, as was the case in 2013, john, in my view, and i know it is also the view of the prime minister, it would be very difficult for us to say no. you would have to go to the commons. that needs to be tested. you are not sure? i think it would be very difficult for us to say no. he's said similar before, but it matters now because the tories believejeremy corbyn is soft on defence, whether regarding syria or the rest of the world. i think there is a risk that people will say, he isjust an islingtonian herbivore, a muddle—headed mugwump, or whatever. only the labour party's putting forward any ideas so far.

it seems all the tory party will do is be rude aboutjeremy corbyn. the world is more unstable and more uncertain than perhaps we thought it was going to be 20 years ago, and that is why theresa may's leadership now is so important and why it is so important for me, i'm afraid, to draw the contrast between her approach and what i think would be the chaotic approach underjeremy corbyn. jeremy corbyn is in their sights. you could call him the underdog. in a park today in the marginal seat of harlow. cheering but labour mps fear their leader has to be reminded notjust to talk to his true believers, but to the whole country. the tories think that makes him a real outsider. we take a message out to the country. politics is of course always personal, but so far, this campaign has been much more about tory attacks on jeremy corbyn than a big battle of ideas. what do you think about what the tories have been doing?

it is getting very personal. that is their nature, david cameron was a bully and now they are proving to be bullies. it seems like a witchhunt. it does seem like a bit of a hunt. why doesn't boris johnson talk about tory policies for the general election and not have a go at the labour leader? his wife seems to want to avoid the attention. this is an awkward moment for labour. are you worried it is turning into a personality contest? it is clearly what the tories are trying to do is make it very much about you. i don't do personal abuse, i don't do name—calling, i don't believe in that kind of politics. i think we are sent to parliament to represent people and put forward a serious debate and that is what we will do. if you were prime minister and the president of america asked the uk to support them in a strike on syria, what would you do? call the general secretary of the united nations. we need a multi—lateral approach to syria, we need an enhanced pressure to get a political

settlement in syria. good morning, all. raising potential military action against syria is controversial in any campaign. the other parties were not impressed. a unilateral, illegal intervention would be counter—productive and it seems to me borisjohnson is following tony blair in that respect. if the government wants to have parliamentary authority they should ask for it, not speculate wildly and jump to whatever president trump does. the prime minister would not go quite as far as her foreign secretary on a more staid visit in derbyshire. but she and he believe jeremy corbyn is vulnerable. and they plan to make it hurt. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. theresa may has been on the election campaign trail in west yorkshire this evening. the prime minister told party supporters in leeds that brexit negotiations were going to be

tough and urged voters to act in the national interest. let's cross now to our political correspondent iain watson who's in westminster. that's right, theresa may was speaking in leith east, a constituency held by labour with a majority of more than 12,500, emphasising she felt there was no no—go areas. she didn't get everything her own way when answering questions for the press. she was asked about the questions, comments by boris johnson she was asked about the questions, comments by borisjohnson on syria and whether she would contemplate air strikes on syria without parliamentary approval and time and again she said it is hypothetical question and stressed a diplomatic and political solution. her main message was rather interesting because theresa may struck an optimistic note on the negotiations with the european union for some months, she has talked about the benefits we could potentially receive, talked about the opportunities of brexit, but this time she was emphasising the difficulties of those negotiations. 27 other countries lining up against us, tough talks, why? she suggested

she was the only one tough enough to go into those negotiations and bat for britain. rather audaciously she said to labour supporting voters, or people who supported the party at the last election, they should now lend their support to her. i know that this is a city, a place where perhaps people usually might say that it's a traditional labour area. but here and in constituencies across the country, although it may save labour on the ballot, it will be jeremy corbyn who gets the votes. and there are only two people who it's possible to be prime minister onjune the it's possible to be prime minister on june the 9th, it's possible to be prime minister onjune the 9th, only two people who can possibly represent britain in europe, and the choice is between five years of strong and stable leadership with me as prime

minister, or the coalition of chaos withjeremy minister, or the coalition of chaos with jeremy corbyn at the helm. a weak leader negotiating brexit, higher taxes, more waste, more debt. so notjust a personal attack for boris johnson but a personal attack from the prime minister calling him a weak leader. interestingly the conservatives seem to be mentioning jeremy corbyn more than labour mps but labour reacted to theresa may's comments and said she's trying to fall the british people and avoid talking about her own record in government and that the people of leeds wouldn't be flawed, only the labour party, they said, stands up for working people. thank you, iain watson. brexit is a key issue in this election and today the german chancellor angela merkel has been speaking about what kind of deal britain might expect. she told the german parliament that some people had what she called "illusions" that britain outside the eu could enjoy the same privileges that it currently has inside the union. let's hear what she said: translation: unfortunately, i have to say clearly that

i have the feeling some people in great britain still have illusions. this, however, will be time wasted. angela merkel speaking there. chancellor merkel was speaking in berlin as ministers from the eu's remaining 27 countries met in luxemburg to finalise their negotiating stance on brexit. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas was there. i think what angela merkel sought to do today addressing her parliament was to introduce some hard—headed clarity about what the eu side is prepared to agree to and also show some frustration. she said a country that leaves the eu once it is a third country outside the single market and outside the customs union, cannot enjoy the same benefits as it does as a member of the club. she said that was both self—evident and she thought that to try and argue about that was a waste

of time. i think that's for two reasons. they are worried about the m essa g es reasons. they are worried about the messages being sent to the uk that a deal could be achieved via leader taking a tough approach with the eu and also worried about the possible impact on the negotiations. interestingly, all of that was reflected here today by the vice president of the commission, deputy tojean—claude president of the commission, deputy to jean—claude juncker, he was president of the commission, deputy tojean—claudejuncker, he was here for the ministers' meeting and he told me that whatever happens in the uk election we will have little or no bearing on the sort of deal the eu will be prepared to do with the uk. a bigger mandate, he said, would not mean a better deal and the eu side say they are now ready for those talks. thank you. just to bring you an update on the news dummett story that has been in the news since april the 9th, united airlines has confirmed that it has reached a settle m e nt confirmed that it has reached a settlement with the passenger who

was dragged from the plane, left bruised and lost two teeth as a result of that, confirmation that united airlines have reached a settle m e nt united airlines have reached a settlement with dr david dao. it is undisclosed but the incident took place on april the night at chicago o'hare. now let's catch up with the sport. unusual to be talking about a manchester derby taking place on a thursday evening at the etihad. a place in the top four is the most they can hope for. city started the nightjust inside the top for one place and one point above united. the hosts almost scoring at the etihad, sergio aguero hit the post after good work by kevin de bruyne. 0-0 after good work by kevin de bruyne. 0—0 after 20 minutes. the 18—month ban given to burnley midfielderjoey barton, for breaching gambling rules, has come under scrutiny today. the football association, says it's the shortest possible suspension, it could have given to the player,

under its current rules, but his club manager, says the punishment handed down to barton, who has admitted, he is addicted to gambling, is too harsh. one of the most obvious things that springs to mind when i was a younger man was the legend that is eric ca nto na man was the legend that is eric ca ntona kung fu man was the legend that is eric cantona kung fu kicking somebody, i think he got a nine—month ban. you are looking at somebody, although i must medically, we know the rules, don't gamble on football when you are in football and that is clear, and he knows that. when you think the fa made it clear there is no intent of anything other than his personal gambling, they have made it clear his integrity is intact, nothing about trying to change games orany of nothing about trying to change games or any of that, or consortium betting, just his own personal situation. you think 18 months seems a long time to me in lieu of some of the things i've seen in the game. sepp blatter, the former president of fifa has been questioned, as part of ongoing investigations, into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 world cups. french prosecutors have been speaking to blatter, as they look into the awarding of the world cups

to russia and qatar. le monde newspaper reports that prosecutors are looking into allegations of corruption, and that blatter was spoken to as a witness. anthony joshua says his heavyweight unification bout with wladimir klitschko, is a ‘stepping stone to greatness', as he prepares to fight, in front of 90,000 at wembley, he's been facing, the two time world champion today as well at the pre—fight press conference. joshua is the favourite and seemed focused on beyond saturday's fight. even though it's such an amazing event i always try to strip everything back down to reality and what it really is and just focus on it is just what it really is and just focus on it isjust me what it really is and just focus on it is just me and what it really is and just focus on it isjust me and a man coming to blows and the best man will win. you know, i'm still up very early in the morning of sleeping late at night, working diligently with my strength and conditioning coach and mentors physically and mentally to prepare for any battle and that is what i enjoy the sport, i take it

seriously, and april 29 isjust another stepping stone towards greatness. andy murray's preparations for next month's french open, continue in barcelona, where he's into the quarter—finals, after a straight—sets win over feliciano lopez. the world number one's return from elbow injury didn't go to plan in monte carlo, losing in the third round there, but he's back on track in spain. he won the first set 6—4. and picked up the second by the same score, breaking lopez's serve in the final game. maria sharapova's comeback from a doping ban continued in stuttgart with a straight sets defeat of her fellow russian ekaterina makarova. the former world number one said after the match that she was, way above responding to comments made by another player eugenie bouchard, describing her as a cheater. defeat forjohanna konta in stuttgart — she was beaten in straight sets by latvia's anastasia sevastova. finally the latest from the world championship,

and ding junhui, is leading the defending champion mark selby 5—3, after the first session. but it was selby, who had the early momentum, playing shots like this, to take a 3—2 lead. ding managed to regroup, and ended strongly winning, the final three frames — the last of which, was a century of 110. they will resume tomorrow at 10am. let's look at live pictures of the other semifinal taking place at the crucible. john higgins, who leads barry hawkins at the moment 3—0 in their semifinal. early in this one, best of 33 frames. higgins was the last winner, when he was given the trophy the fourth time, and the last non—englishman to win the trophy. higgins, the scotsman, very much on top. that's all sport for now. i will have more for you in a couple of hours. mike, thank you very much.

children and young people feel social media sites are not doing enough to protect them from inappropriate content. the nspcc said four out of five youngsters felt sites like facebook and askfm were not shielding them enough. felix alexander was a victim of online bullying. exactly a year ago the seventeen year old, who was victimised exactly a year ago the 17 year—old, who was victimised at school, took his own life. our media editor amol rajan has been speaking to felix alexander's mother lucy. when social media kicked in about the age of 13 or 1a, it became something he couldn't escape from. it became people who he didn't even know would be messaging him, telling him he was hated, he wasn't welcome. 17—year—old felix alexander seemed a teenager like any other, with plenty of friends and a love of sport. but there was a much darker side to his life. years of abuse online destroyed his self—confidence. one year ago today, he took his own life by stepping

in front of a train. his mother says that with modern social media, there is no respite from bullies. everything is very instantaneous, everything has to have a reaction immediately, and they look for that the whole time, so it becomes all—encompassing. it becomes completely overwhelming. even if i took felix's phone away, he would come down in the middle of the night to try to find it just to see what people were saying. it becomes just this thing that takes over your entire life and you can't see further than that. lucy alexander is now working with schools across her home city of worcester to warn pupils about bullying on social media. online abuse is invading and destroying lives across the country. but tackling it goes to the heart of a debate about the role and responsibilities of internet companies. is it up to big technology firms to clamp down on abuse? or do we need new and smarter regulation? many high—profile celebrities have

become advocates of reform, having endured abuse themselves. they include former footballer gary lineker. in many ways, whether it be facebook, whether it be twitter, or whether it be the other things that are around these days, i think it should be their responsibility and i think they need to make greater efforts to stop the kind of abuse, to stop the kind of bullying that can have... yes, i can deal with it but a lot of people can't. the mental health of teenagers is a growing concern for the health secretary. he says tech companies need to do much more. what technology companies can't do is just sit on the sidelines and say, "this is nothing to do with us, we are just the medium through which people communicate, we have absolutely no responsibility." and for people who are underage, i don't think it's unreasonable to ask tech companies to help us sort out this problem. they should be part of the solution. at the moment, they are the problem. jeremy hunt accepts the government also has a role.

for their part, tech companies argue they've taken decisive action already. twitter say they are providing users with new tools to block or mute abuse, safer search results, and that they're stopping the creation of abusive new accounts. what's the age gap between felix and his next sibling? four years. as lucy alexander marks a first anniversary few parents can imagine, the question of who will take responsibility for cleaning up social media remains open. amol rajan, bbc news. some of the other stories making bbc news tonight. royal marine alexander blackman, who had his sentenced reduced for killing a wounded taliban fighter in afghanistan, will be released from prison tomorrow say his supporters. sergeant blackman, known as ‘marine a' during the case had his murder conviction quashed on appeal last month — it was replaced with manslaughter. police have written to politicians in scotland giving them advice on how to handle suspicious packages.

it's after packages containing white powder were sent to an elected official, the headquarters of a political party and a council building. officials say all three packages were associated in some way with june's general election. an inquestjury has concluded that "gross failures" in the care given to a mother suffering from a rare post—natal mental condition in a london hospital contributed to her death. alice gibson—watt, a jewellery expert who'd appeared on the bbc‘s antiques roadshow, suffered a severe psychotic episode four weeks after giving birth in 2012. she was admitted to a mental—health unit, where she suffered a cardiac arrest and later died. the online retailer amazon says it is creating 1,200 jobs at a new warehouse in cheshire. the company says it is recruiting for managers, engineers, human—resources and it specialists for the site, which will open in warrington this autumn.

it's one of four new centres the us company will open in the uk this year. do you know what a mugwump is? writing in a newspaper today boris johnson called jeremy corbyn a "mutton—headed old mugwump". here's a quick look at what the strange word actually means. a mugwump. well, let's chat about the colourful subject of political insults over the years. joining me from the times newsroom is the paper's political sketch writer patrick kidd.

i suspect it will be the political insult of the year, what did you think when you heard it? as the father of a six—year old daughter, i know it from roald dahl, it appears ina know it from roald dahl, it appears in a couple of his books. although you have gone into various possible meanings, and it comes from american politics, for the turncoat in the 18705, it politics, for the turncoat in the 1870s, it is a borisism. it contains the word mug, and wump, which sounds like chump, and rob. you talk about it being the political word of the year, maybe he had last year's phrase, because given the referendum he had another word. he is a journalist first and foremost, a colourful and effervescent one. although he is perfectly capable of coming up with these when he is

speaking, it is no commented on is he wrote this, so i would not look at the exact meaning, it is more the inference will stop a mugwump is definitely a derogatory term, but you should hear what the labour mp say about him. tell us about some of your favourites, who are your favourites and who have a real... who mastered the art of delivering a political insult? there have been some lovely ones, how would wilson was good, he had a line about ted heath that was nicked by paul keating about his rival. he described him as a shiver looking for a spine to run up. i like that. michael foot once described norman tebbit as a semi—housetrained polecat. but he could receive as well as give, he was described as looking like was all gummidge by kenneth baker. more recently we had vince cable described gordon brown is going from stalin to mr bean when he went from being chancellor to

prime minister, and i like david cameron's description of liam byrne, he called him baldimort. there is an element of wit, sharp wit. yes, we have learned a new word today, but it also points to having very good use of the english language. that is borisjohnson all over. you can read any of his columns and you will find any of his columns and you will find a fuwairt you have never heard of before. he is colourful and creative and he does what he does. we have just had several days of theresa may saying over and over again the boring phrase, strong and stable, we had it said 16 times in prime minister's questions, we had strong economy said 20 times, and it is so bland. i hope the public love it when boris comes out and say something a bit wacky. what about

the best put—down, a response to the insult? is there anybody who you remember being quick off the mark in responding? there was the one that royjenkins made about geoffrey howe, the attacks by him was like being savaged by a dead sheep, and someone, i can't remember if it was him responding or one of his colleagues, said thatjenkins was a bit like being nuzzled by a wild boar. there must be an instance, something of limits, when an insult crosses the line. can you run time when it backfired on to the insult? if you are too personal,... we can make fun about michael fabricant, with his exotic hairdo, he plays up to it, but if you pray on someone's weakness, i cannot think of a

precise examples, but if you, it on someone's white, that goes too far. but nicholas soames has called boris johnson a mugwump in the past, it was said of him that making love to him must be like having a wardrobe full on top of you with the key still in the lock. i do not think he took that too badly. no response to that! for many at the now classic day of sunny spells and april showers. in the sunshine it has felt warm, but some of the showers have been an nuisance in the east of england. they will move south and west overnight. the week whether from a cts overnight. the week whether from acts like a blanket preventing the temperatures from falling too far. ona temperatures from falling too far. on a positive note, it will not be as cold a night of the one that has

just passed, and it will be predominately frost free. we start tomorrow morning on a dull note, a key scattered showers across wales, southern and south—west england. behind it, some breaks in the cloud, some sunshine, the showers should be fairly isolated. it looks as though saturday will be a decent day, lots of dry sunny weather in the story, make the most of it, the breeze will pick up, and there is rain in the west the sunday. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines. a 27—year—old man is arrested in whitehall after an intelligence—led operation. several knives were discovered at the scene. the prime minister, who wasn't 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.

the foreign secretary borisjohnson has hinted that britain could take military action against the syrian regime without a vote in the house of commons. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has insisted that the uk must work through the un to find a political settlement in syria. the government has lost a case in the high court to delay publishing its plans to tackle illegal air pollution until after the general election. let's return now to comments earlier by the foreign secretary borisjohnson, when he suggested that britain could take military action in syria without a vote in the house of commons. let's hear what he said. i think it would be very difficult if the united states had a proposal to have some sort of action in response to a chemical—weapons attack, and if they come to us

and ask for our support, whether it is for submarine—based cruise missiles or whatever it happens to be, as was the case back in 2013, in my view, and this is also the view of the prime minister, it would be very difficult for us to say no. you would have to go to the commons. that is to be tested. you are not sure? it would be very difficult for us to say no. we can speak to rear admiral chris parry, former royal navy officer and nato commander, and now strategic forecaster. what did you think was behind what he said? i think he is telling it how it is. the united states is our old est how it is. the united states is our oldest and closest ally, and he says what is the truth. we would support

them if they ask for our help, if they needed our help. do they need our help? a lot of people say this goes some way to building and strengthening that special relationship, but is this how we do it? the united states has always been able to rely on us in the past, when we have seen what has to be donein when we have seen what has to be done ina when we have seen what has to be done in a campaign or in relation to something like syria. they only ask is if there are things that we have and they don't. for example, they will ask us for the use of bases for refuelling, for combat intelligence and surveillance and things like that. they have lots of cruise missiles, a craft that can deliver munitions, very many folks powerful capabilities, so if they ask, it is because they needed. trishjohnson is saying it would be churlish for

us is saying it would be churlish for us to turn it down. when everybody is trying to calibrate themselves against the new donald trump regime, we wa nt against the new donald trump regime, we want to be friends with america, especially as we head towards brexit and things in europe start to unravel. it is one thing being able to allow the us to use your airbase, or your intel, what about an all—out military air strike to back up the us? would that be going too far, but could we go that far? it depends on the nature of the campaign and what military action the united states is contemplating. whatever is contemplated, the uk will scale its contribution according to what the americans need. we would be speculating at this stage. there is one point that runs through the conversation that has been going on today, there is no need for the government to go to the commons if it wishes to take military action. that has been mandated before against bashar al—assad and islamic

state. there are two campaigns going on in syria, notjust the one against islamic state, but also this partial one against the assad regime, but there is no constitutional requirement for the government to go to the commons every time they want to use military force. it is a habit that has crept in recently, robbery under the cameron government, who wanted reassurance that the country was behind them. government plans to tackle air pollution will now have to be published before the general election, following a ruling at the high court. ministers had argued that publishing the document would break rules on official policy announcements during the lead—up to polling day. heavy traffic outside the high court as the government once again faced questions about air pollution. this time because of another delay in releasing its plans.

an environmental group, client earth, was there to argue that ministers should speed up. the government case is that an election rule, called purdah, prevents them doing that. in hisjudgment, mrjustice garnham said that purdah was not a reason for delay. "it is not a trump card to be deployed at will," he said. he described the dangers of nitrogen dioxide, a key pollutant. the government told the court that it was ready to publish its clean—air plan, but couldn't because of the convention known as purdah, restricting the release of major new policies during an election campaign. but the judge didn't accept that. he said the government's own figures showed as many as 64 people were dying prematurely every day because of dirty air. so, what's the next step in this battle over air pollution? well, the judgment orders the government to publish its new plan right after the local elections next month. it's a sensitive time. well, i think it's very important

for everyone to understand that this isn't a political decision and that cleaning up the air isn't a matter of politics. what thejudge said, very, very clearly is when you have a legal obligation, and a court order, to do something as important as protect the public health by cleaning up the air, politics does not come into it. the government is considering whether to appeal. whatever it does, the court's ruling will eventually have an impact on millions of drivers, as new measures to tackle pollution come a little closer. with me is anna jones, clean—air campaigner at the environmental charity greenpeace uk. you must be over the moon? really happy that the court found in the favour of client earth. the government has delayed action on air pollution.