an explosion on a packed tube train at parsons green in london — 22 people are injured. the device had a timer — police are treating it as a terrorist attack. there are many urgent enquiries ongoing with hundreds of detectives involved looking at cctv and speaking to witnesses. this is being supported by mi5 and bringing their intelligence expertise to bear on the case. eyewitnesses say the blast set off a fireball in the train — there was a stampede as passengers fled in panic. i was sitting in the back carriage, and suddenly i heard a big bang. i turned left, and i saw the fireball to the side. i'm here at parsons green, the tube station is about aoom behind me in this leafy south—west part of london. i was on the scene moments

after that attack this morning. i'll have all the very latest. and in other news this lunchtime. unions representing a million health workers demand a pay rise of 3.9%. sirens sound injapan as north korea fires another missile — to world wide condemnation. nasa's cassini space probe collects its last data from saturn before its ripped to pieces in the planet's atmosphere. it's very sad to see it go, but on the other hand it's made us think about our place in the universe. and coming up in the sport on bbc news, uefa charge both arsenal and cologne after crowd disturbances before and during their europa league match last night. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.

an explosion on an underground train in south—west london this morning is being treated as a terrorist attack. the train at parsons green station was packed with rush hour commuters when the blast went off — it sent a fireball through the carriage. 22 passengers were injured, none of them seriously. the device appears to have been in a white container in a plastic bag with wires coming out of it. the mayor of london says a manhunt for the attacker is now under way. it detonated at 8.20am this morning at parsons green station — on the district line in south west london. my colleague sophie raworth was at the scene moments after the incident, and she's there for us now, sophie. i arrived here about ten or 15 minutes after the attack this morning. people were still coming out of the tube station. it was

sealed off. there were police, helicopters flying in the sky, as there are now, ambulances, fire engines and lots of many distressed people wandering around. a woman i spoke to with a police officer said she was there when it happened. describing how she had been standing on the tube, suddenly a bang, a pause, then fire coming towards her. people around her burnt. she said she was protected as there were people in front of her. people described the panic as they tried to leave the station. a crush of people going down the stairs. it's a very small station. one exit, one staircase. people were terrified and really running for their lives. the police this morning have said there will be a heightened police presence around the transport network in london today. we have this first report this afternoon. 8.20am this morning. a commuter catching this on her camera through

the window on the tube station. it's still alight. the makings of a make shift bomb. guys let's get away... seconds before a flash of flame caused panic and serious burns. i heard a large bang from the doors on the other side of the tube train. then this fireball above my head has come. singed all of my hair. i have burn marks at the top of my head. everyone just ran off the train. it was quite scary. suddenly i heard a big bang. iturned was quite scary. suddenly i heard a big bang. i turned left. was quite scary. suddenly i heard a big bang. iturned left. i was quite scary. suddenly i heard a big bang. i turned left. i saw the fireball surge to my side. meanwhile, i heard a lot of ladies screaming and crying and people very panicked. it happened as the train was coming into parsons green. people rushed to get out. i walked into the station. there was just blood on the floor, people

running down the stairs screaming to get out. people crying and running and the whole station was evacuated. but people were coming out of the station covered in blood, dirt, yeah... the bbc news presenter, sophie raworth was nearby. i have just seen a woman stretchered off here. and clearly her legs are wrapped up. she has been burnt. she has burns to herface. she is conscious. she was taking oxygen, and pain relief as well. but clearly people have sustained nasty burns. she seemed to have burns all over her body from top to toe, her legs a wrapped up in a protective plastic film. she definitely had burns to herface as film. she definitely had burns to her face as well. so very clearly people have been injured. the london ambulance service began its emergency response. but early reports suggest of 18

people taken to hospital, none have life—threatening injuries. as police cordoned off large sections of the area, there was disruption for the local people. a counter—terrorism investigation is 110w counter—terrorism investigation is now under way. we now assess that this was a detonation of an improvised explosive device. as you will have seen the reports of 18 injuries, i understand most of those to be flash burns. the scene remains cordoned off and the investigation continues. it's a terrorist attack, the police, the services are involved in a manhunt. the person or the people responsible for the attack will be caught and brought forward for justice. the train was barely damaged. there was no blast. the device inside the carriage may have detonated prematurely. the

bbc‘s been told it had a timer. from this crime scene, the investigation is spreading. the area's been secured. we have seen sniffer dogs checking that nothing else has been left that might cause harm. at the station across the park here, clearly a majorforensics across the park here, clearly a major forensics investigation is under way. but intelligence officers and counter—terrorism detectives will be asking if they know already who may have planted the device and who may have planted the device and who else might have been involved and they will want to know if further attacks are planned. it has become a weary routine this year. local people we have spoken to and some of those on the train at the time are shaken but there is a sense this could have been far worse, a bomb in the corner in a tube train, a p pa re ntly bomb in the corner in a tube train, apparently not spotted by anyone. the police warned for the need of calm, and also vigilance. this area around parsons green is

still very much locked down. there isa still very much locked down. there is a school behind me, 400 to 500 girls in there, they are not allowed to leave. many of them will travel on the tube, when the teachers have established that the children are safe, they have been told that they are. daniel sandford is at scotland ya rd are. daniel sandford is at scotland yard for us. we know it was a device, we think it possibly had a timer. from the people that i have spoken to this morning on that tube, they are feeling like they have had a lucky escape. it is starting to look as if it was a very, very lucky escape. let's pick it apart with the details. this was a large bucket of some kind of kennel call subject, the top section appears to have detonated or exploded in some way. it looks like a device where the initiator has

detonated it in some way but the main charge of the device has not. it has been described by the police as an improvised explosive device, a home—made bomb and we understand it was detonated by a timer. so unusually, the bomber, himself or herself was not present. i can think of only one attack in enrecent yea rs, of only one attack in enrecent years, 01’ of only one attack in enrecent years, or attempted attack in recent yea rs, years, or attempted attack in recent years, the attack in north greenwich, where a timer was used. normally in recent years it has been a suicide style attack. the fact this was left on a busy commuter carriage at rush hour, then detonated by timer gives the police opportunities of course, that they can trace back the point at which this was brought on to the train by use of cctv and from there, traced back who might have brought it on. that will be the centre of this investigation. it is involving

hundreds of detectives, primarily, sorting through cctv. daniel sandford, at scotland yard, thank you. let's go to westminster. the prime minister has returned from her constituencies and is chairing a cobra session. a political correspondent, leila nathoois a political correspondent, leila nathoo is there for us now. cobra consists of ministers, senior civil servants, police, intelligence and emergency services. it has met a number of times this year in response to other terror attacks but the prime minister returned from her constituencies to chair this meeting. within the last 15 minutes we have seen senior figures going into the building, sir michael fallon, the mayor of london, sadiq khan and the british transport police officials. . the prime minister has said she

has been kept up—to—date. she said that her thoughts are with the injured and praised the emergency services for their first response. but this is her chance to be briefed on what happened, how the investigation is progressing and leads that the police or the intelligence service have, and whether or not precautionary measures are needed across the city 01’ measures are needed across the city or the country. but the meeting is under way at the moment, we shall expect to hear an update this afternoon. to give you an idea of the tube that this explosion took place on, it was a ashton—under—lyne train, it goes from wimbledon, into town, into the centre of london, it is not a train with carriages but an open train. everybody on the train would have heard the screams. it was not contained in one carriage. you can see from one end to the other. i was talking to a woman called emma stevie. what she described was the panic and the crush as people tried

to get out of this station. it's a very small station. it has one staircase. people were told to run and they did run. people were literally tramled underfoot. it was at the steps it was like a proper human crush. there was a lady underneath me who was pregnant. a little boyce whose face was smacked into the step. i was holding on to the railing, trying not to put my weight on anyone but there were just layers and layers of screaming. it was awful... just really traumatic. that was emma stevie, on the train, describing what happened as she tried to get out of the station. another man i spoke to on the tube, luke warmsley. he was here, and after looked shell—shocked. he described what he saw.

i could see where it happened, the smoke rose up. you could see down the carriage, people were running from the carriage, bringing the other people down. when we got off, we could see remnants of people's bags, and... yeah, they left what they could. luke warmsly describing what he saw on the tube at 8.20am this morning. there is still a heavy police presence, you can hear the helicopter above me, it has been here all this morning. there are police cars, all of the areas has been locked down for half a mile. people are not allowed in their home, the schoolchildren behind me cannot leave for the time being. i will be lack bart in the programme with more. sophie, many thanks indeed. let's talk about what happened at parsons green with frank gardner. so, as the mayor of london said,

there is a manhunt under way as to there is a manhunt under way as to the person who may have placed this device. from cctv they should identify from the footage quickly what he or she looks like. the fact that somebody placed what could have been a really devastating device on a packed train, that they are stale at large, that under review right now is the national terrorism threat level it is currently severe, mean meaning that a terrorist attack is likely but they are looking to raise it to critical. meaning that one is imminent. if they are able to do this device, they could do another. at the manchester bombing, at the time it was thought that there was a separate bomb maker who did not die in the blast, they raced that to critical. it is not an easy decision to make, it is made byjtac, advising the government whether or not to do it. it is pretty much an

order. the government would not disagree with it. the device itself has been described to me by experts as a defromming ration, rather than a detonation. what does it mean? it means instead of creating an outward blast with the shrapnel and mortal injuries you would get had it worked as planned, it was a flame that went mainly upwards, so mainly burn injuries but had it worked 100% successfully, it would have killed eve ryo ne successfully, it would have killed everyone around it in that carriage. thank you very much. other news now, unions representing nurses and other nhs staff, have written to the chancellor, demanding a 3.9% pay rise linked to inflation. they say it's to make up for the pay freeze of recent years. fourteen unions have joined together to ask for the increase, as our health editor

hugh pym reports. after a week of intense debate about pay policy, nhs unions say there's still confusion for more than a million health workers in the uk. they say they've written directly to ministers with a pay claim, as there's been no government submission to the official pay review body. they argue that a higher pay rise will make it easier for hospitals to recruit, and will make up for previous wage rises below inflation. the unions want an increase of 3.9%, in line with the broader retail prices index inflation measure. they also want £800 each for staff they say is money lost in previous years. they say the total cost of £2.5 billion should come from new treasury funding. every day, people are leaving the nhs for better paid work elsewhere, so we're taking the unprecedented step as the trade unions to seize this initiative and setting out what we would like the chancellor to set aside in the budget, so that all nhs staff can get a fair pay rise.

some staff say the pressure of the job and low pay increases have progressively undermined morale. we're being so undervalued, it's a unique skill set, nursing. to be able to smile at someone who has just thrown a commode at you, or to be able to offer care in someone's darkest moment, and being told with worth less and less, and less every year, carrying on with that is really difficult. in an unusual move, a group representing nhs employers in england said it was broadly sympathetic to the claim, because it was increasingly difficult to recruit and retain staff. i think it's absolutely understandable that the health unions have called for an end to the pay cap. we've seen austerity now biting for the past seven years, and it's absolutely critical that we see that pay cap lifted so that we get enough staff on the front line, and we keep those staff that are there. a government spokeperson said the priority was to ensure

the overall package was fair, whilst also being affordable to taxpayers. submissions to official pay review bodies will be made in due course. hugh pym, bbc news. north korea has fired another ballistic missile over japan, creating renewed tension in the region. the missile travelled more than two thousand miles, landing in the sea off hokkaido. the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe, said his country would not tolerate what he called "dangerous provocative action". the united states has condemned the launch, and called a un security council meeting tonight, as richard lister reports. siren across parts of northern japan, people woke to the sound of sirens again this morning. "take cover," said the message, "missile launch from north korea." it's the second time in less than a month. the intermediate range missile was launched near the north korean capital, flew into space above hokkaido, before crashing into the pacific.

the japanese prime minister made clear he's expecting a tough international response. shinzo abe said north korea needs to be made to understand that if it continues on this path, there's no bright future for it. but north korea's leader kim jong—un seems untroubled by such threats. he's tested more missiles in a year than his predecessor did in a lifetime. and he's perfecting the nuclear warheads to arm them with. with american cities now in range, it's become an urgent problem for washington. the secretary of state rex tillerson leaving london this morning stressed the need for china and russia to take action, sentiments echoed by britain. kimjong—un is going to continue with these absolutely reckless and deranged provocations against what he sees as his enemies until somebody puts the kind of pressure on him that's going to make him sit up and listen.

the only people who can do that are the chinese. china hasjust backed more un sanctions against pyongyang, but refuses to end its oil sales to north korea. it's urging restraint and talks. but south korea's now boosting its own missile programme, and toughening its rhetoric. translation: dialogue with north korea is impossible at this point. sanctions and pressure will be stronger. but until north korea believes talking is in its best interest, the testing seems likely to continue. richard lister, bbc news. the time is1:20pm. our top story this lunchtime: 22 people are injured after an explosion on a packed commuter train on the london underground this morning. police say they are treating it as a terrorist attack. there are many urgent enquiries on going out with hundreds of

detectives involved, looking at cctv, forensic work and speaking to witnesses. this investigation is supported by our colleagues from mi5, supported by our colleagues from m15, and bringing their intelligence expertise to bear on this case. it has been a 20 year mission to explore the outer reaches of the solar system, the nasa space craft in the last hour, cassini was deliberately crashed into saturn at a speed of 76,000 mph, ripping it to pieces. it had run out of fuel and there were fears it would spin out of control. congratulations to you all, this has

been an incredible mission, an incredible spacecraft, and you are allan incredible spacecraft, and you are all an incredible team. i'm going to call this the end of mission. a bittersweet moment at mission. a bittersweet moment at mission control. many of them have worked with the cassini spacecraft the 30 years, and now it's over. these are real images taken as cassini approached saturn. taking detailed pictures of the giant planet's features, a mysterious hexagon on the top, and swirls in its atmosphere. and here, stunning details of its rings. the spacecraft is1 billion miles from earth, but closely looking, you can see a star below its rings. it's very sad to see it go, on the other hand, the data which it's got has really changed the way we think about our place in the universe, and that is

what we set out to do, and that has been so successful. saturn has 62 moons, all varied in size and shape. one of them is nicknamed the death star. the largest moon, titan, is shrouded by cloud, but a probe to t shrouded by cloud, but a probe to opt into its atmosphere revealed a world that is both alien, and yet strangely similar to earth. again, these are real pictures and what you are hearing is the sound of its atmosphere. the biggest discovery of all came from pictures of the moon insipidus, 300 miles wide. a closer look showed that jets insipidus, 300 miles wide. a closer look showed thatjets of insipidus, 300 miles wide. a closer look showed that jets of water were spurting from an ocean beneath its south pole, it was an amazing discovery, which showed that the tiny world could harbour life. discovery, which showed that the tiny world could harbour lifelj think a senior's major legacy will be that now but we have found worlds with liquid water oceans underneath their icy crusts, and that these

ocean worlds exist in the outer solar system. you don't have to be like the earth in the goldilocks zone, like the earth in the goldilocks zone , you like the earth in the goldilocks zone, you can be a world about a giant valid and have editions that are right for life. the spacecraft is now destroyed, but the mission's scientific legacy lives on, inspiring many more missions in search of life to answer one of the biggest questions in science, whether we are alone in the universe. our science correspondent rebecca morelle is in pasadena now. yes, here in mission control there has been an outpouring of emotion as those scientists witnessed the signal of this mission. it has been in space for 20 years, and it vanished from their screens. some people have spent whole careers working on this, so it really was a sad moment. iamjoined byjim

green, director of planetary science at here. you were there in mission control. i was. what was it like? the signal went down, everyone was very professional, they went through their sequencing, determined that their sequencing, determined that the last bit of data had come in, and then it was over. and after the announcement, it was really exciting in the sense that what an enormous accomplishment, knowing that one phase of the mission has ended, but a new phase has now started. more data analysis, more thinking about how to go back to that wonderful system, visiting. thank you very much for that. as you heard, thoughts now turning towards the future, and people here already think we need to go back to saturn. it is as exciting, too much stuff going on, particularly at the moon where there is potential for life. cassini may be over and done with, the ambition to explore our solar

system certainly carries on. ok, rebecca. many thanks indeed. you can see more about the end of the cassini mission on monday, in a special horizon programme on bbc two at 9:00pm. a former resident of a catholic run care home has told the bbc she was abused by a priest on the premises, and then punished by a nun who discovered what had happened. the allegations centre on the smyllum care home in lanarkshire. an investigation by bbc news earlier this week suggested that the bodies of at least 400 children who died at the care home are buried in a mass grave nearby. this from our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan. the report may contain details you find distressing. theresa mcgrane works as a successful psychologist in norway. on display in her office are crucified is, a symbol of her catholic faith. arguably, the sight of them should repel her. in 1968, when she was just six years, theresa was sent

to a children's home, a brutal regime, orchestrated by catholic nuns. i would say practically every child in my group at one point or another was beaten, punished, locked in a dark room, made to eat their own vomit. this is smyllum care home in lanark, it closed in 1981, but not before scarring many former residents. theresa mcgrane says that when she was eight, a priest started sexually abusing her in the church. after several assaults, a nun walked in and caught the priest abusing theresa. i thought, "yes, finally, someone is realising what's going on here." and instead of being a great income she got angry at me, and she yanked me by the left arm so hard, flung me across the room, and called me a whore. and told me to get out of there. the order runs smyllum, the daughters of charity, say they were shocked by the allegations, and urged any victim of crime to contact the police. this is all that's left

of the old smyllum care home. but what happened inside echoes throughout the decades. the ongoing scottish child abuse enquiry is an examining closely allegations of abuse, and former residents hope that finally that will give them the answers they've sought for so long. the allegations of sexual abuse come just days after an investigation by the bbc and sunday post newspaper revealed that at least 400 children died at smyllum over a hundred year period, are believed to be buried at this local cemetery in a large unmarked grave. theresa mcgrane eventually graduated from glasgow university and built a successful career for herself. her childhood has not defined her life. some of the former smyllum residents, however, are not so fortunate. michael buchanan, bbc news, lanarkshire. the pound has hit its highest level against the dollar since the brexit vote, after a senior bank of england official fuelled speculation that interest rates could rise this year. gertyan vleeger said the "moment is approaching" when rates

might need to go up. he pointed to falling unemployment, as well as signs that households are spending more. sterling rose more than 1% against the dollar, hitting $1.36. the government is considering whether tougher action is needed to stop people posting comments on social media about criminal trials in england and wales. people who comment online about court cases can affect the defendant's right to a fair hearing, and it's meant some trials have collapsed. time for a look at the weather. here is lucy martin. continuing with the cool and showery theme through the next few days. rain this morning, but as is the case with many of the showers, not everybody will see them. we have seen good spells of sunshine this money, this photo sent in by a

weather watcher in suffolk. a fair amount of dry weather, but wales and the south—west seeing showers as we move through the morning. as we move into this afternoon, we will continue to see a mix of sunny spells and showers, a northerly breeze means it is not feeling particularly warm either. the showers will be persisted across parts of east anglia, heavy as well. a few showers as we move into south—west england and wales, continuing to see them after this morning. again, heavy with the odd rumble of thunder not out of the question across inland and wales. temperatures down on yesterday things to a northerly breeze. as we moved north, from northern england and southern scotland, shelter means fewer showers, but a scattering a showers for northern ireland. temperatures in the mid teens. as we go through the evening and overnight, inland showers will