good afternoon. the prime minister has announced that the threat level facing the uk is being reduced from critical to severe following significant progress by police in their investigation into the manchester bombing. in their investigation it means that an attack is no longer regarded as imminent but remains highly likely. regarded as imminent soldiers who have been assisting police will be withdrawn from the streets from midnight on monday. overnight police in manchester made two more arrests. they are now questioning 11 men over the attack by salman abedi on monday. 11 men over the attack from manchester our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. another correspondent tom symonds reports. morning in i\ another another morning in manchester, another area to have city evacuated. this is a terrorism investigation thatis this is a terrorism investigation that is not yet over. this time it was moss side. police had been searching here for some time and this morning roads were closed off again and the bomb disposal team arrived. they're trying to work out where the bomb was made or its components stored, and that means there is a constant risk. the

investigation is now focussing on who abedi knew, resulting in more arrests. about 3 o'clock, i heard a blast... a blast this morning as police in cheetham hill blew open this door in yet another raid. local people have helped us establish the identities of the 20 and 22—year—old men arrested here last night and we have been able to establish a link between one of them and a member of salman abedi's family. that's the pattern of the police investigation — start with the bomber, find out who his friends and acquaintances are and arrest them. police are increasingly confident. they've got a good understanding now of salman abedi's network of movements. they're more certain about ongoing risk so the prime minister was able to make this statement. jtac, the independent joint terrorism to make this statement. jtac, the independent joint terrorism analysis ce ntre independent joint terrorism analysis centre has this morning taken the decision to reduce the threat level from critical to severe. the public

should be clear about what this means. a threat level of severe means. a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. the country should remain vigilant. and so for this bank holiday weekend at least, the high levels of police activity around the country will continue. tom is in salford for us. this change in threat level really suggesting the investigation is making real progress? that is right, martine. i think it is saying that. i think the crucial point in what police have been saying today is this statement — we are getting a greater understanding of the preparation of the bomb. that's quite important because it allows them to understand, for example, whether there is enough material around that another bomb could have been made or evidence that somebody might be planning to use a device somewhere else. the hope is, as a member of public i think i can say that, that the police now think that that, that the police now think that thatis that, that the police now think that

that is less likely than they did before and hence they've been able to reduce or advise the government that the level of threat can be reduced. so that is certainly good news. the prime minister paid tribute to the police today and all the work they are doing and also to the work they are doing and also to the health services. nhs england said today that 63 people are still being treated in eight hospitals, so this is something that is going to go on this is something that is going to gooni this is something that is going to go on i think for weeks. thank you very much. the change in the threat level comes on one of the busiest days of the year, with major events being held across the country over the bank holiday weekend. being held across the country over extra police and security staff have been deployed at sporting events, music festivals and around manchester. judith moritz reports. manchester. they're on they‘ re on hand they're on hand for photos, but the armed police out on the streets are there to protect and reassure the crowds who've turned out for the bank holiday weekend. shoppers mixed with hen parties in manchester as the threat level was lowered. with hen parties in manchester as the threat level was loweredm just made you feel much more zour be

quite honest having that so yes, i think only sort of five days after something critical‘s happened in manchester, to reduce it so quickly, there's still a lot of investigation going ahead. there is also the side that though that you trust the fact the investigation's shown that maybe it's not the threat that we thought so it's not the threat that we thought so you could feel possibly a bit comforted with that. increased security will be evident at 1300 events happening this weekend, including at wembley for the fa cup final between arsenal and chelsea. at the let's rock festival in shrewsbury, armed officers are mingling with gig—goers and every one of the 50,000 spectators at radio 1's big weekend in hull will be searched at least once. radio 1's big weekend in hull will be searched at least oncelj radio 1's big weekend in hull will be searched at least once. i got searched twice, once at the transport and once here. no—one minds, because it's all about the safety. i would personally rather wait the extra half hour and get checked. they've got to be there haven't they, that's understandable.

although the threat level‘s been reduced, the increased security will continue until midnight on monday. we made the decision that the resources we planned for this week's events will continue, so they'll still see the high level of police presence, some armed, some unarmed. once we are past the weekend, we are going to look forward to stepping down the extra resources we put in place over the last week. georgina calendar was killed in the blast. her mum was frantically trying to find her after the concert. today she spoke about the moment that she found her daughter. there she was on the stretcher and they were working doing resuscitation and getting her down the stairs and i was just screaming and shouting at her. i was rubbing her hands, rubbing her tummy, rubbing her face rubbing her hands, rubbing her tummy, rubbing herface and all the

images are so vivid now, i can see everything... for every victim, a harrowing story. so much loss, unimaginable grief. the pain of this tragedy is still raw. st ann's square has become a focal point for much of that grief and this evening, the family of georgina callander came here, her parents bringing flowers and releasing balloons in her memory. the crowd paid their respects, breaking into a round of applause as the family did so. round of applause as the family did so. thank you very much. british airways passengers around the world are facing flight cancellations and delays after a globalfailure of the company's computer systems. after a globalfailure planes have been grounded at many aiports worldwide. all ba flights from london heathrow and gatwick have been cancelled until 6 o'clock this evening. and gatwick have been cancelled passengers on later flights have been told to check before

travelling to the airports. been told to check before ba has apologised and said it's "working to resolve the problem". our business correspondent joe lynam reports. this joe lynam reports. is what happens when there is i major this is what happens when there is a major it failure. queues were snaking out of the door at terminal 5 snaking out of the door at terminal sat snaking out of the door at terminal 5 at heathrow airport for thousands of ba passengers. the long bank holiday didn't start very well for these people. people have been standing in the queues for up to 120 minutes in some cases. the queue stretches from the check—in desks all the way out to the back of the terminal and down in front of the terminal and down in front of the terminal where all the taxis deliver people. and many passengers contacted the bbc with their experiences. we've just literallyjust bbc with their experiences. we've just literally just now bbc with their experiences. we've just literallyjust now been told that nothing's happening, no flights until 6 o'clock. prior to that, we hadn't been told very much at all, there were no tannoy announcements whatsoever. travelling with my

80—year—old grandma for her birthday, it's a celebration weekend, 13 of us going and we have heard nothing, haven't been offered any chairs, water, vouchers, nothing. by this afternoon, the disruption was such that ba took the unusual step of cancelling all flights after 6 from heathrow and gatwick airports. this is the queue for customers leaving the terminal. and there have been reports of severe delays for ba flights around the world. this isjfk in new york. and this is rome. ba said it had experienced an it outage which had affected the airline's global network. it said it was working to resolve the problem and apologised to customers. a seniorfigure in to customers. a senior figure in the aviation industry said an it failure of this magnitude was extraordinary and rarely seen. he added ba had taken

the right step to stop all departures. for some ba passengers though, the long bank holiday weekend could be very long indeed. joe lynam, bbc news. president donald trump has said he will make a final decision next week on whether or not the us will continue to support the paris accord on combating climate change. will continue to support the paris on the final day of the g7 summit of the top industrial nations in italy, leaders have failed to agree a new statement on climate change. to agree a new statement america is the only country refusing to re—commit to the deal, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. angela greenhouse gas emissions. merkel described the situation angela merkel described the situation as very unsatisfactory as donald trump said he'd make a decision next week. the so—called islamic group say they were the perpetrators of a shooting yesterday. a group of coptic christians were ta ken yesterday. a group of coptic christians were taken to a monastery. the egyptian military‘s carried out strikes in libya in

retaliation. the fa cup final, between arsenal and chelsea, will get underway in just over an hour's time. and chelsea, will get underway fans are beginning to arrive at wembley stadium, where extra security has been brought in following monday's terror attack in manchester. in following monday's terror olly foster is outside the stadium. in following monday's terror martine, 90,000 fans are pouring into the stadium, the gates are open. they'll have noticed a lot of armed officers on their approach. there's going to be a minutes' silence before kick off. the ding is going to lay a commemorative wreath —— the duke of cambridge is going to lay a reeth and the players will be wearing black arm bands. a tale of two managers for chelsea antonio co nte two managers for chelsea antonio conte looking to complete the double. they won the league in his debut season. for the arsenal manager arsene wenger after 20 years he's looking for a record seventh fa cup triumph but there is a large

section of fans that want him to leave at the end of the season. unclear whether the result of this match will have anything to do with that. it may save their season somewhat but may not necessarily save him as manager. we are going to see. it's a half five kick off and it's across the bbc of course. thank you. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. we're back with the late news at a 9.115 but now on bbc1 hello, this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. more now on the news that the uk terror threat level has been reduced from critical to severe. theresa may says it's because police have made significant progress in the past 2a hours in the investigation into the manchester bombing. officers now have 11 suspects in custody. the change to the threat level means soldiers deployed to support the police will gradually be

withdrawn after the bank holiday weekend. this is what the prime minister had to say earlier — after chairing the latest meeting of the government's emergency committee. i have just chaired a meeting of cobra this morning where i had been updated by the police and the security services on the investigation into monday's terrible attack in manchester. a significant amount of police activity has taken place over the last 2a hours, and there are now 11 suspects in custody. in the light of these developments, jtac, the independentjoint terrorism analysis centre, has this morning taken the decision to reduce the threat level from critical to severe. the public should be clear about what this means. a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. the country should remain vigilant. in recent days, members of the armed forces have been assisting police in providing reassurance to the public

under operation temperer. today marks the start of a busy bank holiday weekend, with many sporting events and other events taking place, for which detailed security plans are already in place. to provide maximum reassurance to the public, operation tempura temperer. will continue to operate until the bank holiday concludes. and then, on monday from midnight, there will be a well—planned and gradual withdrawal of members of the armed forces, who will return to normal duties. the police will make a statement shortly to give further details of precisely how this will take place. since the attack on monday, our police, our security services and nhs staff have worked round the clock in difficult and traumatic circumstances, and on behalf of the country, i would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their tremendous service. let's return to manchester — and the continuing investigations

following monday's arena attack. our correspondent dan johnson is in moss side where homes have been evacuated as officers carry out further searches. what has been happening? most of the residents in this suburb to the south of manchester city centre have now been able to get back to their homes, although this terraced house in street remains cordoned off and people living here have to give details to the police to get through the cordoned to go home. that is the property they have been searching. they have spent most of the de gea, police detectives and forensics teams this was a big operation when it started. a bomb disposal unit was brought to check inside the house. that caused officers concern and evacuated streets in this area. some local residents saw one person that away but that is not confirmed by

the police. this is one of so many addresses across manchester and beyond surged as this investigation has progressed with more leads, arrests and people for the police to talk to. two arrests to the north of manchester this morning, more properties searched. police activity still underway. all the stages we have seen across the week quite upsetting for local people because these have been intense raids that have been carried out by serious teams of highly armed police officers. sometimes involving controlled explosions to blow the doors in to get actors as quickly as possible. there are 11 men in custody, there were 13 arrested in total but two have been released without charge. the casualties, 63 people in hospital, 20 of those in

critical condition. well, there's extra security at a number of major sporting events today. thousands of fans are heading for wembley for this afternoon's fa cup final — which kicks off in the next hour. let's talk to our correspondent at wembley, olly foster. olly, tell us more about the security in place ahead of the big game. ever impartial, of course. trying to be. iam ever impartial, of course. trying to be. i am here, ever impartial, of course. trying to be. iam here, i have to ever impartial, of course. trying to be. i am here, i have to watch it, it should be fantastic. the gates are open. 90,000 expected in here from whatever corner of london. they haven't come very far, arsenal and chelsea fans. many more and officers the football association have asked them to arrive one hour early, coming through the turnstiles in the next 15 minutes or so. a one—minute

silence, the duke of cambridge as capacity of chairman of the football association —— and german greg clark, players wearing black armbands. also play—off finals, so 250,000 fans through the doors over the next while. 20 years ago, ruud, will chelsea win it, stronger on paper? on paper, very good. they are the strongest team the whole year. the rest have to adapt to it. arsenal will adapt it, mirror their tactics in order to stop chelsea. arsenal have the defensive worries.

we will have team news in the next ten minutes or something like that. you talk about systems, and in a simple way, antonio conte chased everything when they were beaten 3—0 by arsenal in september and go back to what she did best in italy. by arsenal in september and go back to what she did best in italym was clever thing to do. if you started with it and it didn't work, he would have a problem. he kept on going until it was there. he changed it, did it withjoe venters, the national team, and in italy, it, did it withjoe venters, the nationalteam, and in italy, —— juventus. for your first season in the premier league to win the league and do the double as well? fantastic. when i won the fa cup the first time, i was happy. that was

something incredible that i sulk when i was a child. i did not live in england and did not feel what it meant for the english but i could imagine. so antonio conte winning the championship, that was a major achievement already. this was the icing on the cake. arsenal will do everything to make a season of it. it has been a difficult season, not only for arsenal, for arsene vega and arsenal fans and the players. record seventh fa cup for arsene wenger. exceptional. that is football, you cannot win them all. i saw the interview today on television, he looked like he was fighting. he wants the board to take a sensible decision, notjudged by feeling only, but also by using your

head. what is right for the club. i think they board of arsenal knows what to do. thank you very much indeed. 2017, which way will it go? we are in the chelsea in, arsenal at the other end. 5:30pm kick—off. radio 1's big weekend has held a minute's silence at the event to remember victims of the manchester bombing. the two—day festival kicked—off with an increased police presence following the atrocity at manchester arena. here's the moment radio1 dj nick grimshaw took to the stage to introduce the minute's silence following a set by james arthur. like you guys, oliver us had been thinking about manchester all week. -- all thinking about manchester all week. —— all of us. we are heartbroken. we thought it would be nice for a one—minute silence for everyone who lost their lives in manchester on

monday. after that, we will make as much noise as we can to defiantly make a loud noise as a community of music lovers. pleasejoin me in a silence for manchester. shortly after the minute's silence at 3pm, our reporter noel phillips spoke to the controller of bbc radio one. we have just had a very powerful and poignant moment when the young people of hull decided to stop and held a minute's silence for those affected by the tragedy in manchester in the week. it was almost as if someone had switched the sound off. and then, a run of applause, cheering. it was quite a moment. remarkable to see people posing, remembering those who sadly

lost their lives. i was wondering, how important was today's event to go ahead? what we have seen today is the young people of hull and the surrounding area coming together and sing, did you know what, we want to reflect the sadness and the anger we feel but we also want to say, we are going to go out as normal and have fun ata going to go out as normal and have fun at a festival. it was right for us fun at a festival. it was right for us to carry on and make sure we got the tone right, the mood right, and make sure it was safe and secure for everyone. before going ahead, you met with senior police officers and carried out a comprehensive review of the security. are you happy with how it went? i am very happy with how it went? i am very happy with how it went? i am very happy with how it has gone so far today. i would like to thank everyone for their patience. we have a full house. the merged people were in,

the humour that they had, they had to queue for longer than they would normally expect. they had to be searched twice. i just normally expect. they had to be searched twice. ijust want normally expect. they had to be searched twice. i just want to say thank you very much indeed. you have made it much easierfor us thank you very much indeed. you have made it much easier for us to thank you very much indeed. you have made it much easierfor us to put thank you very much indeed. you have made it much easier for us to put on a safe and secure event. british airways has cancelled all flights from heathrow and gatwick until at least six o'clock this evening because of a computer systems failure. the airline says there's no evidence that a cyber attack is to blame — and it's working to fix the problem. let's speak now tojulian bray, who is an aviation expert. i suppose it shows how absolutely dependent and airline is these days on computers? it is. this is a particularly bad situation because what has happened, it is a worldwide outage. originally, they said a power problem near the heathrow have. now, extended everywhere. ——

hub. it has frozen the whole system is no british airways plane can take off, they cannot move the baggage, issue passenger credentials or do anything at all. this is a very serious problem and i do think they are downplaying the situation, baa. we have just heard that the flights are cancelled for the rest of today, not just until are cancelled for the rest of today, notjust until six o'clock this evening. a bigger problem than first suggested. could they be giving more information to passenger stuck on planes and at airports? it sounds as if information is not getting through. it sounds like they have the information but do not want to release it at the moment. normally, when you have a disaster, you have a secondary back—up. switch to an alternative system servers. surely,

british airways should be able to do this. it sounds like they are trying to pass off the problem as terribly difficult when it is a major problem. it is a worldwide system, they are all interlinked into travel agents, booking agents, suppliers, cargo companies. one piece, it is like a series of dominoes, if one goes, they will all fall over. the point is, they should have been able to switch to an alternative system. however, we have to realise british airways is not a british company, it isa airways is not a british company, it is a british — spanish company. perhaps they have not been putting the investment in where they should. we will find out. the gmb union is saying all of this could be have —— could have been avoided. loyal it

staff redundant and work outsourced to india? how fair is that? that us realise that india is a major it centre. a lot of countries to outsource their work to india and it works well. it also means the actual operational source of their computing system is fairly distant. the gmb is quite right. they did cut right back on it. it does look as though some of the chickens are coming home to roost. we should not rule out the fact we live in dangerous times at the moment and it could well be that someone is causing a bit of mischief somewhere. it only takes some very bright hacker in a bedroom to actually upset the apple cart. so much -- ba ising it upset the apple cart. so much -- ba i sing it is not a cyber attack. we do not know what it is. what about

the prospects of those hoping to travel this weekend? if you have lots of people arriving at airport terminals, you cannot actually get them on a plane, you create a whole lot of other... a pinch point. lots of other people standing around waiting for something to happen. my advice would be tune into radio and television to find out what the latest situation is. and also ring your travel agent, because i do not think anything will move before midnight. then you are faced with a situation that every aircraft in the fleet on a schedule is out opposition. the banks won't be where they should be, the passengers are not where they should be. —— bags are not fully should be of the planes are not where they should be. they will have to drafting new cruise, new pilots to make the schedule work. it is a major problem. i think they should come

off with a better statement. as luck would have it. a major system failure, it explains, helping customers due to fly. anyone who cannot will be offered a full refund. affected call centres, website. they have issued an apology, saying they are doing all they can and, we will continue to provide information on our website and social media and communication channels. not getting through to some people, though. reputational, how great is the damage? this is a major catastrophe. british airways have come under a lot of stick lately. you may recall they have cut back on the catering option. cutting corners and there are other airlines

out there actually... ryanair is up there. really, british airways have to look at this from the bottom up to look at this from the bottom up to make sure these things work. there are disaster recovery systems. they should have clicked in immediately. if they are cutting corners on it, this is happening, as a supposition the shareholders should be angry, very angry indeed. you cannot cut back on these systems, we rely on computing. if something goes wrong, it has a knock—on effect. it causes no end problems. its chorus it means air cargo operation will be cut, will be hit. the assignments heading for aircraft, won't be loaded. they could track baggage from airport to airport by road to catch up. some

passengers might have to leave their baggage