this is bbc news. the headlines at a:00: thousands of students have been getting their a—level results— and the number getting the top grades has gone up slightly, for the first time in six years. it's all about working hard, starting from day one and being dedicated — and believing in yourself. it made me feel really good. it's better than what i was predicted and expected so it was good. the government is to withdraw funding from learn direct, one of the largest private training companies in the uk, after a damning report by ofsted. president trump says american history and culture are being ripped apart by the removal of statues which commemorate those who fought to retain slavery. a big rise in the number of migrants crossing from morocco to spain — nearly three times as many people are now attempting the journey. most of the historic world war ii aircraft making up the battle of britain memorial flight have been grounded — hurricanes, spitfires and a lancaster bomber are all affected. also in the next hour we'll be at edgbaston, where a historic test match is about to get under way. for the first time in this country

it'll be a day/night encounter, with play between england and the west indies continuing well into the evening. and how many carrots in this diamond ring? the woman who waited 13 years to find her lost engagement ring in a very strange place. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the wait for a—level results is over for hundreds of thousands of young people in england, wales and northern ireland. overall this year's results show a slight rise in a and a—star grades, for the first time in six years. but the results in england were down slightly, where major changes were made

to the qualifications meaning students now sit all their exams at the end of two years of study, instead of taking modules half way through. in the top grades boys have moved ahead of girls, the first time that has happened in many years. our reporter chi chi izundu has been with students opening their results at a college in east london. results day. years of studying and nervous expectation even to find out what you have got. for the first time in six years those getting top marks at a level has increased and that is despite reforming the system. really, really good. two what does that mean for your future? hopefully going on to studying accounting. are you happy? very happy. have you broken the news to your mum and dad?

my mum, yes. she started screaming! she was screaming a lot, yes. it is good to make her proud. as part of the reform, as modules coursework will not be part of the final grade. students must study for two years and sit an exam at the end. this year, 13 subjects are affected, including chemistry, biology and english literature, and universities have a input to the changes. it is challenging to be the first year to do a new exam, but the new exams reflect the needs of universities and employers. universities were very clear that they wanted to see students arrive for their first year better prepared to cope with the challenges of that difficult first year. but the new changes to the system do not apply to schools in wales, which are still coupling as and a—level grades. we were concerned that the old as qualification disappeared and there was a narrowing of the curriculum.

it was looking like subjects in the creative arts, like music and drama, those are starting to disappear, and the same but modern foreign languages. and this is a time when the what young people to be celebrating creativity but looking to be global citizens, so those are areas of real concern. in a a* grades and a grades, boys have moved ahead of girls compared to last year's results. for those who did better than expected or even those that didn't, they will be checking whether they are onto their course at their university of choice. one very happy student is 20—year—old malala, who tweeted news of her place at oxford. the number of university places allocated has fallen, with tens of thousands of places still available. ucas, the universities and colleges admissions service, says that a16,000 places have so far been confirmed, down 2% on last year, reflecting a dip in the number of 18—year—olds in the uk. this is expected to mean a ‘buyers market‘ with more options available to students looking for university places through the clearing process.

our correspondent phil mackie reports from the admissions service's headquarters in cheltenham. for tens of thousands of teenagers, their parents and teachers, this is their parents and teachers, this is the place they dread calling on results day. but this year if you haven't got the grades, the advice is, don't panic, there are more places available than usual. if you are ringing round, you never know who will pick up the phone. are ringing round, you never know who will pick up the phonem are ringing round, you never know who will pick up the phone. it is lenny henry, the chancellor of birmingham city university. what is your name? although it is expensive, going to university remains the choice of 18—year—olds. going to university remains the choice of 18-year-olds. my mum used to say, you need an education to have something to fall back on. she was right. take advantage of this, it isa

was right. take advantage of this, it is a brilliant, life transforming thing and 40% of the student body mature students, so it is never too late. not everyone agrees. in the daily telegraph, nick timothy said, we have created an unsustainable and ultimately pointless ponzi scheme and young people know it. with average debts of £50,000, british stu d e nts average debts of £50,000, british students are the most indebted in the developed world. more people are choosing to do apprenticeships because you make money while learning. a lot of people think it is quite costly. costs have obviously gone. you have got to put the cost of university in context. students bear a proportion of it, so does the tax payer. it is right there is a sharing out, it would be unfairon the there is a sharing out, it would be unfair on the taxpayer, many of whom

have not been to university to bear the entire cost. here, it is busy as ever and clearing will be part of the annual ritual, as will training up. the government is to stop funding one of the largest private training companies in the uk, after a damning report by the education regulator 0fsted. learndirect ltd, which provides apprenticeships and adult training to more than 70,000 people, has been rated inadequate in its latest inspection. the department for education will withdraw all funding by nextjuly, and has stopped the firm taking on new apprentices. adina campbell reports. insufficient training, lack of planning and poor quality teaching. just some of the findings in the 0fsted report today which inspected learndirect ltd earlier this year. the company, one of the largest learning providers in the uk, was given the lowest possible rating for its training and performance. and those in the industry have

described it as a scandal. it is very clear the senior leaders and directors haven't really played the attention they need to quality. quality doesn't just happen by chance. you have to work at it all the time. unfortunately it is learners and apprentices who will be losing out. 0n the learndirect ltd facebook page reviews have been mixed. one said it was a huge waste of time. another claimed that staff were undertrained. someone else complained of no support or communication. another said staff had been very helpful, inspirational, even. learndirect ltd didn't want to appear on camera. but they did send as a statement. it says the 0fsted report is not an accurate reflection of their performance. they also say that they are financially stable and will continue to meet the needs of their learners.

learndirect ltd was privatised in 2011. since then, it is estimated it has received £600 million of public funding. that money has come from the government. due to the nature of this latest report, the contract is now going to be wound up. but that will not happen until nextjuly. it is a particularly big scandal. the response from the government has been to give them special treatment. absolutely no doubt about that. in fact, learndirect said they expected to get three months termination on the contract which would put them into administration. instead, special treatment, those termination notices are not being served and they will continue to offer apprenticeships under a company that they have set up last year. the company tried to block publication of this critical report in court, but failed. it is now hoped changes will strewn be made to ensure that more trainees get the guidance and support they need to improve their futures.

president trump says american history and culture are being ripped apart by the removal of statues which commemorate those who fought to retain slavery. it follows intense criticism of the president over his response to the white nationalist violence which broke out at a rally in charlottesville at the weekend. the rally was in protest at the removal of a statue of robert e lee, a general who fought for the pro—slavery confederacy during the us civil war. the president tweeted earlier today... "sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. you can't change history, but you can learn from it. robert e lee, stonewalljackson, who's next, washington, jefferson? so foolish!" also... "the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never

able to be comparably replaced!" earlier i spoke to our washington correspondent gary 0'donoghue. this is a doubling down, in many ways. he reaffirmed his view on tuesday the charlottesville difficulties were caused by both sides. he mentioned the difficulty from his point of view, of monuments and talked then about george washington and thomasjefferson. here we have him saying i don't think these monuments to those southern generals, those generals who fought in defence of slavery, i don't think they should be pulled down. that puts him firmly on one side of an argument. notjust an argument that is going on across america, but it puts him, in many people'seyes, in sympathy with those on the far right, who often use

those arguments about monuments as proxies for other things. so, despite his insistence he draws no moral equivalence between the two sides of those rioters on saturday, i think many will believe that actually he is telling us where his sympathies lie. it is no surprise that key figures in business and industry in the states are falling away from the president, leaving the committees that he brought them onto because they don't want to be associated with this controversy, do they? they are running a mile from donald trump. he has disbanded two key advisory bodies are manufacturing and strategic policy. they were absolutely stuffed full of chief executive officers from america's big businesses, general

election, people from walmart, campbell soup, johnson and johnson, the big names of american industry and manufacturing. the people donald trump needed to fulfil his promise to bring jobs and manufacturing back to bring jobs and manufacturing back to the united states. they have decided, a swathe of them have decided, a swathe of them have decided he is too toxic to have anything to do with, so they are. what of steve bannon, some thought he would be off after the controversy at the weekend, but the death, of course, of a woman who was protesting against these white supremacist. he is still at the white house, part of the administration and coming out swinging? yes, some of the medieval courts, everyone's plays is precarious in this white house, from one week to the next. steve bannon, thought to be the sort of

ideological backbone for donald trump, very much what he would call an economic nationalist in favour of this idea of america first, in terms of trade deals except. but for many associated with anti—semitism, associated with anti—semitism, associated with anti—semitism, associated with the far right, having established a pretty far right news organisation called breitbart. steve right news organisation called breitba rt. steve bannon, right news organisation called breitbart. steve bannon, in this article describing those neo—nazis in cha rlottesville article describing those neo—nazis in charlottesville as losers and clowns, which again, many people will take issue with. those losers and clowns did end up killing a 32—year—old woman. so they are a bit more dangerous than losers and clowns. but they will take issue with his attempt to distance himself from those views because while he protests he is certainly not a neo—nazi or a white nationalists in that sense, many people believe he

is. gary o'donoghue. jeremy corbyn has said "the ethnicity of abusers isn't a factor" after labour frontbencher sarah champion quit after she claimed the country had a problem with "british pakistani men raping white girls". she apologised for what she said was an "extremely poor choice of words". with me now is our political correspondent emma va rdy. tell us more about this response from jeremy corbyn? today he has been pressed for more of his thoughts on sarah champion's comments. she stood down last night, he accepted her resignation and when asked what she sacked, he said no. butjeremy corbyn has put the emphasis is on the crime, saying abuse and exploitation of women is a crime against women and girls, no matter who the perpetrators and saying it has been wrong to basically tar and whole community with the same brush. i don't think you can label a whole community.

i think what you have to do is label those that perpetrate disgusting and disgraceful crimes against people. and they can be from any community. they can be white, they can be black, they can be any community, but they have to be dealt with as the crime of what it is. a number of people have criticised jeremy corbyn from these comments and they have hit back at sarah champion's resignation saying she has been pushed out from her position was simply addressing an issue and telling the truth and saying something may be other politicians were afraid to do. there has been a comment from sajid davitt, the british pakistani mp and has criticised jeremy corbyn. he said we need an honest, open debate on child exploitation, including racial motivation. the reason this is being debated is we have seen a succession of cases coming through

the courts, in towns and cities across the country, there have been across the country, there have been a number of gangs convicted of grooming and exploiting young girls, where the perpetrators have been mostly south asian men. that is why this sort of stuff is being debated. there has been questions over whether race, ethnicity, a fear of being called a racist, has meant authorities and police have somewhat avoided this issue. this is the sort of thing sarah champion was trying to address. but for some, of thing sarah champion was trying to address. but forsome, her comments went too far. she has apologised to those. jeremy corbyn said it was wrong for her to single out an entire community. 0thers said it was wrong for her to single out an entire community. others say sarah champion did nothing wrong and should not have had to step down. emma, thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news: thousands of students have been getting their a—level results — and the number getting the top grades has gone up slightly, for the first time in six years. the government is to withdraw funding from learn direct,

one of the largest private training companies in the uk — after a damning report by ofsted. president trump says american history and culture are being ‘ripped apart‘ by removing statues commemorating those who fought to retain slavery. the first day, night test match is happening at edgbaston today with the pink ball already posing a challenge. alistair cooke has an unbeaten half—century as england reached lunch. england's women have booked their place in the semifinal rugby world cup with a comprehensive 47-26 rugby world cup with a comprehensive 47—26 victory over the united states in dublin. an usain bolt‘s hamstring injury suffered in his final race at the world athletics championships is worse than first thought. it means he will be able to play for manchester united legends in a charity game next month. more for

you at liz30pm. charity game next month. more for you at 4:30pm. breaking news coming in from barcelona where police in the city confirm there has been, what they describe as a massive crash in the city centre. it involves a van, say police. we understand it is in the last ramblas district, which is the main pedestrian street, tourist street in barcelona. some are coming in from the police in barcelona. they say several people have been injured. 0n a separate twitter feed from the cata la n a separate twitter feed from the catalan police, they say there has been a large incident on last ramblas, in barcelona by a person with a van, possibly several injured. we don't know what the

nature of this incident is yet, but this news coming in. just to repeat, police in barcelona are saying on twitter, there are several people injured as a result of a van crash in the city centre. we understand this is in the last ramblas area. several people injured. described by cata la n several people injured. described by catalan police as a large incident on last ramblas by a person with a van. they say possibly several injured. the afp news agency describing this as a van ploughing into a crowd in barcelona. last ramblas is certainly one of the main tourist areas of the spanish city. afp describing this as a van ploughing into a stage but at this stage we don't know the nature of

this incident. whether it was an accident or whether there was a more sinister motivation. just checking out some more details. the emergency services in the area are talking about an incident in catalunya in barcelona, urging people to avoid going into the area. other reports saying a car hitting people, rather than a saying a car hitting people, rather thana van. saying a car hitting people, rather than a van. that people are down on the ground, have been injured by the vehicle. but the two official line is we are getting so far on this incident are from the catalan police and the police in barcelona, saying that there has been, what they call, a large incident on las ramblas in

barcelona city by a person with a van, possibly several injured. we are going to keep an eye on that situation and come back to it as soon situation and come back to it as soon as we situation and come back to it as soon as we get situation and come back to it as soon as we get more situation and come back to it as soon as we get more information. we will come back to that very shortly. let's go back to the a level news now and our correspondent phil mackie, whojoins us from the ucas clearing centre in cheltenham. incredibly busy day for the people behind you? it has been. they have been working since about 7am but clearing only officially started at 3pm. the first figures we have is they have fewer people coming through clearing land they had in the same ten minutes last year. there are slightly fewer people and slightly more places, so that should be interesting as well. managing it

isjohn carberry, be interesting as well. managing it is john carberry, who be interesting as well. managing it isjohn carberry, who has been performing the task for 30 years or thereabouts. lots of different ways to co nta ct thereabouts. lots of different ways to contact you today, but presumably the same message? the same issues, the same message? the same issues, the human stories, young people needing to replan their futures, rethink. they have done better than they expected and there are other options available. they haven't done as well as expected and what can i do now. what other things can i do? not sure if university is right for me, looking at gap years, work —based routes me, looking at gap years, work — based routes into me, looking at gap years, work —based routes into learning, we cover a ll —based routes into learning, we cover all of those things and people need to get through to one of our experienced and professionally trained careers advisers. you are from south yorkshire and people are ringing from all over the country, and that helps because people need knowledge of the institutions they

are ringing up about. we look at stats and the university websites, but if we have a local i know somebody who was at university there, all works there, i will ask them and get them to have a word with you, maybe. it is not as busy asi with you, maybe. it is not as busy as i have remembered it in the past and you have had more time to talk to people? slightly fewer calls, but still very busy. it has given us the opportunity to explore some of the issue is a little bit further, particularly if we pick up from the telephone that they are sort of panicking a little bit. we can say, you have a little bit more time than you have a little bit more time than you realise and that is where we can explore some of the issues. is it the right option for them and what other routes might there be. 0urjob isn't always about giving all the answers, the answers are more

accessible on the internet now, but what we need to do is make sure they ask themselves all the right questions. you have to deal with people in high states of motion, that must be quite difficult as well? it can be, but that is when we use all our years of experience. as parents, older brothers and things like that. we have dealt with, you know young people for years and we have had our own nephews and nieces who have gone through it. working with them, we have got that and so many of us are parents and we can empathise with the parents who ring as well. we can always introduce a bit of humour and it takes the stress out of it. we are very skilled at that sort of thing. i'd better let you get back to it. i think the message from personal spearing is, if you haven't done so well, it's not the worst day of your life. don't panic, if you have done

well, go out and have a good time and enjoy yourself tonight. thank you very much. returning to the breaking news in the last few minutes. let me remind you what we are hearing from barcelona in terms of an official response, we are hearing on twitter from police in barcelona that there has been some sort of incident involving a vehicle in the pedestrianised area of the city, las ramblas. possibly a van, possibly a car. 0ne description describes it as ploughing into people and that there have been several people injured in what police are describing as a massive crash. the catalan emergency services are advising people not to go into this area in the centre of barcelona. please avoid going out in this area, they are saying. we don't

know yet what the nature of this incident is, of course you will understand there is speculation this is terrorist related, but we don't have any confirmation on that as yet. as to whether it was an accident, or indeed, is the result of something altogether more sinister. some more informationjust coming in, the catalan emergency services said they have asked to close metro and train stations in the area close to the scene of this incident. they have asked to close metro and train stations in the area close to the scene of this incident. they are obviously trying to set up some sort of cord and around this area to try to contain the scene of this incident. after a vehicle, either a vehicle or a car crashed into people in this pedestrian area

of central barcelona in las ramblas. there are ports and number of people have been injured. we don't know how seriously, but there is a major police operation and police in barcelona itself are saying ah van has crashed into a crowd in this tourist area of the city. several people have been injured and that is coming into us on a number of sources. just taking you through this information as it is coming in. lots of lines coming in. several injured ina lots of lines coming in. several injured in a massive crash, police say on twitter. again, the advice for people in barcelona not to be going near the area at this point, as the police are trying to contain and control the scene. just a reminder that the emergency services

have asked to close metro and train stations in the immediate facility of this incident. —— vicinity. we will keep a close eye on what is happening and bring you some more details throughout the rest of the afternoon. but right now, we will pause and take a look at the weather forecast and chris is on the balcony. for this afternoon, we have seen a number of showers develop and they have been frequent across northern ireland and western scotland. there have been some across lincolnshire towards the middle part of the day. thunderstorms here. a few showers across wales and south—west england. with the line of showers i showed you on the radar picture, this is what they looked like as they brought the heavy rain across lincoln itself. 0vernight, there will be heavy downpours heading across northern ireland, scotland and northern england. risk of hail

and northern england. risk of hail and thunder mixed in. it will be cooler compared with last night. temperatures in belfast, 11 or 12 degrees. we will have some rain tomorrow working across north east scotla nd tomorrow working across north east scotland so the risk of localised surface flooding here and there will bea surface flooding here and there will be a zone of brisk winds blowing across northern ireland, north—west england and north west wales. it could potentially reach 50 miles an hour, strong enough to bring down a few branches so there could be localised disruption. between the showers and the sunshine it will feel cooler on account of the wind and temperatures a few degrees cooler for most of us tomorrow. that is your weather. hello, this is bbc news with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines for you now at liz3ipm. the breaking news just coming into us in the last few minutes is that a van has ploughed into a crowd of people in the lamb laughs —— the ramblas area of barcelona several people reported injured. much more on that coming up

for you. injured. much more on that coming up foryou. in injured. much more on that coming up for you. in other news... the number of people receiving top a—level grades has increased for the first time in six years as teenagers across england , wales and northern ireland collect their results. changes introduced by the government in england have seen a number of results solely based on final exams rather than coursework. the government have ended their contract with learn direct, one of britain's biggest training companies, amid concerns about standards following an 0fsted report. there has been a big rise in the number of migrants making the crossing from morocco to spain. the spanish coastguard has rescued 600 migrants in the last day. it is time for sport. the latest with lear. well, england won the toss and captainjoe root chose to bat in the first ‘day—night‘ test on home soil. they're taking on west indies at edgbaston — let's go live to our

sport correspondentjoe wilson who is in birmingham for us. england are doing well, despite the pink ball — joe. yes, slightly surreal that we have the lunch interval at about half past four, that takes some getting your head round i suppose but really same old same old thing when, because the first session in which joe root and alastair cook as ever got england out of trouble, a lot of fours scored of the first session, probably more to do with some poor west indies feeling than any vague talk of the paintball. we saw some movement with the ball, kemar roach with a good delivery together. mark stoneman, who lasted just six balls on his debut. remember another opening partnerfor on his debut. remember another opening partner for alastair cook at the top of the order, and then tom westley near the start of his test match career also went for eight. and lbw decision overturned on review for the west indies. so far a pretty normal session of play. of course at some point in the next hour or two, the floodlights will come on at edgbaston. they will really have an effect may be during

the last hour of play. remember the day is due to finish at 9pm. certainly during the preparation, the practice days that this, england noted that the pink ball did behave differently under floodlights in the evening so we will see if that happens. we will also see if we do get a flurry of spectators perhaps coming along to edgbaston after work. thank you. england have made it to the semi—finals of the women's rugby world cup with a comprehensive victory over the usa. marlie packer scored twice as england won 47—26 in their final group match in dublin. earlier, new zealand made it to the last four — they comfortably beat canada 48—5 to top pool a. wales take on hong kong at quarter past five — but neither they, nor their opponents, can go through. also bidding to get there are the hosts, ireland — they have made six changes for their match with france, knowing defeat would eliminate them from the tournament. we are going to hand back to the news channel for some breaking news. thank you. we are going to

return to this news coming into us from barcelona of an incident involving we are told a van crashing into people in a popular tourist pa rt into people in a popular tourist part of the city, last ramblas. these images just part of the city, last ramblas. these imagesjust coming into us part of the city, last ramblas. these images just coming into us of close to the scene but not overlooking the sea and directly, as far as we know. we are hearing from the foreign office, saying they are aware of the incident but have no comment as yet. 0ur correspondence richard galpin is with me now. richard, just take us through what we know so far. the police have confirmed there has been a very major incident in barcelona. we can see video already coming out from people in the area, showing a white van come to a halt. the front of the vehicle is badly damaged. you can also see people on the ground who have clearly either been injured or

are possibly dead. so this is a very serious situation. we also understand from the police that they are wanting the metro stations in the area to be closed, and that may be, of course we don't know exactly, but maybe that may indicate that someone but maybe that may indicate that someone is on the run. it does indicate that this incident is perhaps more than an accident. yes. it is difficult to tell at the moment. we don't know, we don't have any confirmed information about what exactly this is, but we know what it looks like, given the previous incidents we have seen in many different capital cities of europe in recent months. we are just going to talk to a man and wife who is in barcelona and was walking down last last ramblas. when you heard a commotion. it is a beautiful sunny

day. it is right in the heart of the city, i was it about to sit down for something to eat, and then i decided to walk down a bit further and literally seconds later i heard a crashing noise. the whole street, screaming, everybody started to run, so screaming, everybody started to run, soi screaming, everybody started to run, so i started to run in the direction people running. in the shops. people we re people running. in the shops. people were screaming, kids being taken out of prams, within seconds police officers were out. i noticed yesterday when i arrived in the city that there is a heavy police presence, and police officers were on the scene within seconds, guns we re on the scene within seconds, guns were out, ambulances, fire engines. you could see up the top of the street vans, and then i spoke to one man who try to get into a shot because people were panicking. there was a shopkeeper who was speaking and said something about a van. he

thought a van had driven into the crowd, five or six people were very seriously injured. at that point the ambulances, fire brigade and police officers were on the scene with machine guns and guns very quickly. they were very jittery, machine guns and guns very quickly. they were veryjittery, people were panicking, then we were pushed back again, and pushed further back and we keep getting pushed back. the police are everywhere at the moment. so the police... people are just police are everywhere at the moment. so the police... people arejust in shock. of course, and you say the police very quick to respond, you say you are aware of a police presence on the streets? sadly because of the terrorist acts over the last few years, it is very noticeable when you go into a major city, and barcelona is one of those, you do notice the police. they are on street corners. clearly they have a large number of planes clothes

police officers who are always present in las ramblas, as well as uniformed officers, so the place was literally flooded with hundreds of police officers. i have to say the emergency services response was immediate, literally within one minute there were ambulances, fire brigades, police officers armed, unarmed. just absolutely everywhere. they pushed the crowd back very quickly and there are still more coming into the area. we have been told that the police in the city have asked for the train and metro stations in the vicinity to be closed down. i don't know if that is something you can see from where you are, are people able to access metro stations or are they largely on foot? everyone is on foot, people are standing around, dazed. a lot of people are still standing inside the shops, obviously worried. we have been pushed back further down. now

it is three quarters of the way down the las ramblas, people are being pushed back. it isjust the las ramblas, people are being pushed back. it is just basically police officers, plain clothes and uniform, officers with guns. everybody just standing about.|j uniform, officers with guns. everybodyjust standing about. i saw some reports on twitter, people saying they were hiding out inside various shops or officers. but it sounds as though now people have either come back out onto the streets or were on the streets throughout this incident. everyone ran down the street and in the shops. some shops pulled the shutters down, shouting at people to get in. i kept running and then when we stopped, once the police came out, the shopkeepers started letting people out. that's 200 metres or so

has literally been cleared out now. we are all behind the ticker tape. it is just awful. i can't speculate but from what that man said, the place walking down was jam—packed with families, with children, old people, young people, just a beautiful‘s summers day. people, young people, just a beautiful's summers day. thank you very much per talking to us. and do ta ke very much per talking to us. and do take care as you try to get around barcelona. 0ur correspondent richard galpin is here. richard, as i have been speaking there, some new lines coming through to us from barcelona. regarding the driver of the van. yes, i haven't seen it actually. regarding the driver of the van. yes, i haven't seen it actuallylj yes, i haven't seen it actually.” beg your pardon, this is a line that

says the driver of the van is reported as having fled the vehicle on foot, which would explain why the police are trying to close down the metro and train stations, but tell us metro and train stations, but tell us what else you have seen in the last few moments. we are waiting for more information to come in, but as we we re more information to come in, but as we were hearing from that eyewitness account, it is clearly a very serious incident, and the key point is this is right in the heart, this is this is right in the heart, this is the real centre for where tourists would congregate. as you we re tourists would congregate. as you were saying, it was very busy indeed. a large number of people there. clearly this band careened into the area. we don't know at this stage exactly why but what we do know is as you are saying that the police are saying they think the driver has flared. there have been calls for the metro stations and other forms of public transport to be closed down in the area, which suggests they are trying to find somebody who is on the run. richard,

thank you for the update. these images coming into us from barcelona. let me just take you through what we know so far. police in the city say a van has crashed into a crowd of people in the centre of barcelona, a popular tourist part of barcelona, a popular tourist part of the city, las ramblas, around the pla ca of the city, las ramblas, around the placa catalunya. 0ne of the city, las ramblas, around the placa catalunya. one report says the driver of the ban has fled on foot. the police have asked for metro and train stations in the facility to be closed down, which could perhaps suggest that they are searching for the occupant or occupants of this vehicle. we know that a number of

people have been injured, are lying on the ground. the witness we spoke toa on the ground. the witness we spoke to a few moments ago described walking down las ramblas when he heard screaming, banging noises. he said everyone started to run in one direction. people were grabbing children from prams and just running. he said very quickly the police were on the scene, trying to contain the incident, and basically pushing pedestrians back. a lot of people were running in the shops. he said some shopkeepers were pulling down the shutters. but as large numbers of police arrived on the scene, people then were starting to

move back out onto the street. but moving in one direction. and we are just hearing on the afp news agency, andi just hearing on the afp news agency, and i should stress this is just on one newsagency at the moment, saying that police in barcelona are confirming this as a terrorist attack. so according to the afp news agency, police in barcelona are confirming fierce as a terrorist attack. it does bear the hallmarks of other terrorist incidents, in the sense that this is a very popular tourist area in the centre of this city. crowded with people, as our

witness said, on what was a beautiful sunny day in barcelona. so the afp news agency at the moment are saying that police in barcelona are saying that police in barcelona are confirming this as a terrorist attack. we are just seeing that from one source at the moment but certainly it is fair to say that is the main direction of speculation at the main direction of speculation at the moment. and we are hearing reports that the driver of this van,, we reports that the driver of this van, , we have reports that the driver of this van,, we have various reports of how many people have been injured, but we are seeing reports that the driver of the van fled the vehicle on foot, and we know that the police in barcelona have called for metro stations and train stations in the vicinity to beat closed down, as

they tried to contain the scene. —— to be closed down. these images the latest coming into us from barcelona. huge crowds of people on the street pushed back to a perimeter by the police. and meanwhile the police and of course the other emergency services tending to those who have been hurt in this incident. we do not know how seriously, but the early reports from the police in barcelona talk about a massive crash, that was the description used by the police in their first reports description used by the police in theirfirst reports on description used by the police in their first reports on twitter. we

are also seeing on the reuters news agency, and again this isjust are also seeing on the reuters news agency, and again this is just one source at the moment, i should say, is that the reuters agency is quoting local media as saying that two armed men have entered a restau ra nt two armed men have entered a restaurant in barcelona, after the van crash. just seeing that on one source at the moment, the reuters agency, saying that two armed men have entered a restaurant in barcelona after the van crash and this is the reuters news agency quoting local media. and a reminder that the afp news agency is quoting a police source in barcelona, confirming this, they said, as a terrorist attack. this has all

unfolded in the last few minutes, as we heard, from our witness, who had been walking down las ramblas, if anyone watching has been to barcelona, you will know this as possibly the most popular tourist pa rt possibly the most popular tourist part of the city, with numerous shops and restaurants pedestrianised in large part, but certainly a focal point for visitors to barcelona. we know that a van crashed into a crowd of people, we have heard they be half a dozen people injured but no firm figures on this at all. we hear reports that the driver possibly fled on foot. and we know that the police have asked for metro and train stations in the area to be closed down. just to remind you, the

afp news agency quoting police in barcelona, saying this is confirmed asa barcelona, saying this is confirmed as a terrorist attack, the reuters news agency quoting local media saying two armed men have entered a restau ra nt saying two armed men have entered a restaurant in barcelona after the van crash. i can talk now to somebody on the line, steve garrett, a witness to this. steve, i think i saw something from you on twitter a few minutes ago saying that you and a number of other people were inside, was at a bakery, taking shelter while you try to find out what was going on? that's correct. we were in a large kind of open market area just off las ramblas, where large number of people came into the market area in a wave, lots of screaming and shouting. security guards immediately responded. we ran into the bakery with four or five other people and ran straight upstairs. we hunkered down whilst an

enormous wave of people went through the market, and obviously coming from england it was reminding me a craig gilroy what happened in london, so we were very concerned about what might be going on next. the lady that was with us next said she heard some gunshots. we did know what was going on, and then a second wave of people came through, lots more screaming and shouting, and that was followed by armed police, as they seemed to sweep through the market area. they were going very carefully a nd market area. they were going very carefully and cautiously stall the stall, and then they worked their way through the market and disappeared up one of the alleyways, one of the many alleyways to come off that area. we were basically sat there for half an hour, 45 minutes, just with sirens, lots of screaming. there were a few waves of other people running from other directions, quite a lot of confusion on the ground as to where the problem actually was. then we source and pictures on twitter, which

showed that the incident happened on las ramblas, and we were told it was all clear. but everyone has been evacuated away from las ramblas, so we are outside the centre of contemporary culture in barcelona, which i had never been to before, but it looks lovely. it is astonishing to listen to what you have told us and what has unfolded for you in the last short while, in the last few minutes. it must seem quite surreal, i imagine, somehow? yes, you can't help but think about what could have been. we were literally about to walk out onto las ramblas, and ironicallyi literally about to walk out onto las ramblas, and ironically i spotted a very large muffin in the bakery, it sounds very silly now, but that was the reason why we actually stopped at the bakery. my girlfriend is a street photographer and we thought it might make a nice picture, to be

perfectly frank, and that is the reason we were not walking out on las ramblas when the van was driving down. you cannot think about what could have been. wejust happen to be in the right place at the right time to be safe. so a little bit shaky, trying to find a bar that is open right now, to be honest and! just ascribe to ask our people standing around in large groups, are people able to move away from the scene, what is the situation at the moment? actually it has return to normality quite quickly, where i am standing at the moment there were people playing basketball, looking very calm. the tourists are more shaken than the locals. large groups of tourists wandering around, they look a little bit lost because they have all been pushed away from the normal thoroughfares where the tourists are going to walk. lots of people tried to figure out how to navigate the back streets to get to where they are going. lots of people on phones, standing at street

corners, trying to talk to the police. very concerned about secondary attacks and that kind of stuff. you can't move anywhere near las ramblas, probably two or three streets away, there is kind of record. as we were walking out, an ambulance went past us with its sirens going. that was someone who was injured. we have heard a rumour that the terrorist was shot, and also that somebody got out of the van and were running through the market, was the rumour that we heard. what i saw from the police seem heard. what i saw from the police seem to back that up. again, this is just what we have heard from people, there is nothing i can say that is definite. of course. steve, we appreciate you talking to us and do ta ke appreciate you talking to us and do take care, steve garrett, who was

caught up in the events in barcelona on folding this afternoon. we are seeing a statement from the spanish prime minister, who says he is in contact with all of the authorities after the barcelona van crash. he says the priority is to attend to the injured. that from the spanish prime minister we have not got precise numbers on the number of people who have been hurt in this crash. some reports suggesting around six, possibly more. no information on the condition of those injured. it is early days. but we are seeing that the police in barcelona are confirming this as a terrorist incident, according to one news agency. 0ur news correspondence

andy moore is with me now and has been keeping a check on the information coming into us from the news agencies and on twitter and so on. just bring us up to date. well, this is an attack, a terror attack, now confirmed by the police in las ramblas, barcelona. and people who know this street, it is the main street, a very busy tourist area, a pedestrian area. we have it from official police sources that a white van has run over several people. there are several people who have been wounded and injured. we heard that the driver of that plan, according to some sources, had fled on foot, that he wasn't arrested. we are now getting separately reports ofan are now getting separately reports of an incident in a restaurant, where armed men, perhaps two armed men, have taken hostage hostages, and some sort of instant is underway. in a sense this is reminiscent —— some sort of

incident. it is a mess and —— reminiscent of the incident on london bridge, where the vehicle attack was only phase one of the attack. those attack as we know went on to stab many people in the area of borough market. it seems in this incident the attack with a van is only the first phase of the incident. absolutely, and as i was mentioning earlier, it very much bears the hallmarks of other terrorist attacks around europe, with a vehicle being used in an area thatis with a vehicle being used in an area that is hugely popular with tourists. we only have to think back of similar incidents like this, and there have been far too many. there have been the incident in london, on london bridge, where several people we re london bridge, where several people were killed. sorry, that was westminster bridge, the first incident, then the incident on london bridge, again people were killed on the bridge by a vehicle, and then in the stabbings in borough

market afterwards. there was a similar attack in stockholm, with a vehicle, several were killed there, there was the attack on the market in berlin, a very large truck was used in that incident, and of course the incident in nice, where more than 80 people were killed with a truck. 0n than 80 people were killed with a truck. on this occasion, the vehicle that was used was a white van. i have had a look at some of the images, and it seems it belongs to a telecoms company of some sort. the images i have seen of the vehicle, it has come to a rest, the front of the vehicle is damaged, and you can see unfortunately casualties lying all around. 0k, andy, thank you very much for that. so the spanish prime minister mariano rajoy says he is in contact with all the authorities after this incident in the centre of barcelona, the popular tourist part

of the city on las ramblas, where a van has ploughed into a crowd of people. it was a busy, busy street ona people. it was a busy, busy street on a sunny afternoon in the spanish city when this van ploughed into the crowd. police in barcelona say they are dealing with a terrorist attack. they have confirmed this as a terrorist attack. meanwhile, reports are coming in that two armed men have entered a restaurant in another pa rt have entered a restaurant in another part of barcelona. police are calling for all metro and train stations in the immediate vicinity to be shut down. jane hill will be here with the news at 5pm and will keep you updated with all the latest development is, but from me, goodbye, and here is the weather with chris fox. terror attack in barcelona, dozens of people injured as a van ploughs into pedestrians. the van hit people on las ramblas in the city centre. the driver is said

to have fled on foot. the authorities have called for the metro and railway stations in the area to be closed. these are live pictures from the scene these are live pictures from the scene this evening. we are also hearing reports that two and men have entered a restaurant in the area. “— have entered a restaurant in the area. —— armed men. we will bring you the latest on that developing situation in barcelona. 0ur you the latest on that developing situation in barcelona. our other main story on bbc news... a rise in the top a—level grades for the first time in six years — with boys overtaking girls in the highest grades for the first