this is bbc news. the headlines at 11: a child sex network in newcastle. 18 people are convicted of abusing young girls and women. northumbria police defend paying a convicted child rapist £10,000 to act as an informer. donald trump issues a fresh warning to north korea. he says america's nuclear arsenal is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before. and on newsnight, no—one can forget our mps expenses scandal. well, there are some details of eu commmission expenses out today. they say its all reasonable. we'll ask if they're right. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. 17 men and a woman have been

convicted of being involved in the sexual exploitation of vulnerable young girls and women in newcastle. most of the men were from pakistani, indian or bangladeshi backgrounds. their youngest victim was just fourteen. the convictions are the result of operation sanctuary. 0ur correspondent, peter harris, has been following the case. guilty of causing girls and women serious harm. caught as part of operation sanctuary, one of the biggest sexual exploitation investigations in the north of england. almost 100 perpetrators have now been convicted. 0ne17—year—old was raped at a party session organised by local men. it's a familiar story. i woke up in the morning. the wardrobe was pushed

up against the door... her police interview was played to the court. to protect her identity, we have asked actors to read what was said. he'd sex with us while i was asleep. still now, i'm a bit confused about it. how did you feel when he told you he done that to you? dirty. confused. how many sessions would you say you have been to? about 60. it's in houses like these where the sessions took place. drugs, cash... victims were given drink and drugs and could not defend themselves against sexual abuse. but in 2013, two of them came forward. one had been trafficked from a children's home. the other had learning difficulties. it started a long and complex investigation. controversially, officers recruited a convicted child rapist as an informant. he was paid around £10,000. it's not an easy decision, and i'm not going to sit

here and suggest for one moment it was. it's a decision that we've had to wrestle with ourselves. but i can categorically state sitting here today, that there are dangerous men behind bars now and vulnerable people protected. that would not have been the case had we not used that informant, and it's in that context that you have to view those deployments. and yet there are still concerns. a charity that campaigns against child abuse says such an offender should never have been put out in the field. it beggars belief, frankly, the decision to cross this child protection line, really, by employing a child rapist. so, in all other aspects it seems to us at the nspcc that a very good job was done by northumbria police, except for this very, very concerning situation, where they used and deployed and paid a child rapist. most of the perpetrators were from pakistani, indian, or bangladeshi backgrounds. some of these men, they're stuck

in theirways, but... this city councillor says leaders from all faiths could re—educate some local men to stop similar exploitation in the future. people should not be telling the asian community how to live their lives and what to do. it's quite important. it's just like saying to the white community that we should be talking about whatjimmy savile did. we should not do that. however, there's a huge opportunity to talk about these issues on a regular basis of rights of women, and i think it's important to use religion, particularly islam, to educate some of these people. what happened on these streets is now the subject of a serious case review. but the council's chief executive says it's not the only authority with problems of this kind. we do not believe that what we have uncovered in newcastle is unique. indeed, there has been evidence of similar offending in many other towns and cities. we believe that any area that says it does not have a problem is simply not looking for it.

for the victims they harmed, it's been a long and traumatic journey, but the evidence they gave has helped to jail four of these perpetrators. the rest are due to be sentenced next month. fiona trott, bbc news, newcastle. earlier, the chief prosecutor for the north—west of england was here. they said the decision to use the informant was crossing a line. they said the decision to use the informant was crossing a linelj would not have done it. there is a line that cannot be crossed. with organised crime you often have to deal with people who are criminals who inform. but this is a line would not cross, sexual criminals. you are putting a predator with other predators alone with prey. i would love to see the risk assessment. you are not in a position to manage the

risks to the children and young people abused by the rest of the gang. it is notjust about the risk, the primary concern i have, but the evidence. the judge made it clear in deciding to not allow that man to give evidence. his evidence is unreliable. their readers the possibility other defenders blame him. -- possibility other defenders blame him. —— there is the. possibility other defenders blame him. -- there is the. but the chief co nsta ble, him. -- there is the. but the chief constable, his argument is powerful. he said it is a decision we have had to wrestle with ourselves, but i can categorically state there are dangerous man behind bars now and vulnerable people protected that would not have been the case had we not used that informant. the alternative then, as far as he and his offices were concerned, is those children continue to be abused and those men continued to walk free. children continue to be abused and those men continued to walk freelj don't accept that. i have dealings

with prosecutors for two decades. uk news lots of evidence. they had phenomenal undercover evidence. they could get it. what you have is how do you manage the risk? as i said earlier on, you are putting this convicted sex offender of children with people offending against children. you don't have the ability to go straight in the moment you discover someone is being raped, harmed, to protect them. that is where the nspcc has made it clear that a line has been crossed. and now for some other news. president trump has issued another warning to north korea telling the country's leader that america's nuclear arsenal is "more powerful than ever before. " he was responding to a warning from north korea that it was considering firing missiles at the us pacific territory of guam.

the us defence secretary also issued a warning to pyongyang saying north korea should stop any actions that would lead to the "end of its regime and the destruction of its people." 0ur north america correspondent, nick bryant, reports. a far—off american outpost in the tropical waters of the western pacific now finds itself at the centre of a dangerous stand—off. this is guam, the site this summer of us military exercises. american territory, that north korea says could now be in the firing line. from north korean state tv came this chilling headline, that guam could be targeted by medium to long—range rockets. and it came just hours after president trump threatened pyongyang with some of the most incendiary rhetoric used by a us president in decades. the words, improvised, the tone, agreed upon beforehand with aides. north korea best not make anymore threats to the united states.

they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. and more tough talk on twitter this morning. "my first order as president was to renovate and modernise our nuclear arsenal. it is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before. " "hopefully we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time when we are not the most powerful nation in the world." on a refuelling stop—over in guam, the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, used more soothing language. "the island faced no imminent threat," he said. "and americans shouldn't lose any sleep." what the president is doing is sending a strong message to north korea in language that kim jong—un would understand, because he doesn't seem to understand diplomatic language. this small island is more than 2,000 miles away from pyongyang, but well within range of its missiles. with two military bases, it's a strategic military hub for america in the pacific,

and the home to 160,000 people. i guess the first thing that comes to mind is, immediately, first, where is my family? to come up with a plan if anything happens. i think the response that president trump has presented is pretty much spot on. past administrations have just let it slide and kicked the can down the road, so, now north korea feels like they can get away with anything. donald trump has vowed that he will be the president who deals decisively with the north korean problem. with the rhetoric already at such a perilous pitch, there's the danger that both sides become captive to their own tough words. that they talk themselves into a more serious confrontation. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. here, the family of an 83—year—old man who was stabbed to death while walking his dogs have described him as "a lovely, gentle husband, dad and grandfather. " peter wrighton was stabbed in the head and neck while out

in woodland on saturday morning in east harland in norfolk. police are still looking for his attacker. five men, including former senior police officers, have appeared in court for the first time, to face charges in connection with the hillsborough disaster. the men were charged injune, nearly three decades after 96 people died as a result of the crush at the fa cup semi—final between liverpool and nottingham forest. a fantasist who killed a man in london before fleeing to italy has been found guilty of a murder that happened four years ago. 28—year—old, jason marshall, pretended to be a policeman and secret agent during his attacks. it was thought the victim had died in an accidental fire until a relative stumbled across a video recording years later. nick beake has the story. a bungalow in a quiet street in west london, a visitor arrives. he's come to kill.

over the next few hours, while acting out the role of a policeman, he will attack his victim and leave him for dead. it's all captured on this cctv. but jason marshall nearly got away with it. on his way out, he set fire to the property. in 2013, investigators concluded peter fasoli, a 58—year—old with heart problems, had died in an accidental blaze. some of peter fasoli's possessions, including his computer, had been recovered from his flat after the fire. they were kept in storage for more than a year. but then his nephew, out of curiosity, thought he'd have a look at the hard drive. and at that point, he discovered the video that showed his uncle had been murdered. it's obviously disappointing that the cctv was not seen until 18 months later, but i'm satisfied the initial investigation between the london fire brigade and the metropolitan police into the cause of the fire was sufficient.

and, again, there was no pathological evidence to suggest any third party involvement. marshall had smothered his victim while classic fm played in the background. he then drained his bank account and fled the country. three weeks later, at this flat in rome, he strangled 67—year—old vincenzo iale, who he had also met on the website badoo. and days later, posing as an official from the british embassy, he tried to kill another man. martin was caught and jailed in italy for both crimes and brought home to stand trial for the west london killing. in the dock at the old bailey, he claimed he had no memory of the attack. a killer who thought he'd covered his tracks and fooled investigators, but the emergence of this evidence has now brought him to justice. nick beake, bbc london news. that's a summary of the news. newsday is coming up at midnight.

now on bbc news, it's time for newsnight. north korea versus the usa — the language on both sides is increasingly extreme. but is there any logic to actual military action by either side? the world woke up to what felt like a serious prospect that we'll see a slide into conflict. however, we may take heart from the fact that there are few military options. one of the problems trump faces is, as belligerent and as inflammatory as his rhetoric gets, it's actually pretty difficult to use the stick. we'll ask if strong words have value, or raise the chance of some kind of miscalculation? it was like pulling teeth to get information, but european expenses were published today. do they tell us anything we need to know? # ar ben waun tredegar mae ffrwythau o bob rhyw also tonight, the welsh debate the role of welsh. is it government's job to promote

it, and is it a help or hindrance to the nation? and we look at electro—fishing, a way of disturbing bottom—dwelling fish in order to catch them. you feel it? oh, yes. yes, it's like pins and needles in yourfingers. like pins and needles. hello, president trump didn'tjust shock the world last night, with his words of fire and fury aimed at north korea, he also shocked some of his advisors apparently, as he was ad libbing rather than giving agreed lines. that's according to the new york times. but even before the president had spoken, north korea had issued its own threat, saying the country is carefully