this is bbc news. the headlines at 2.00: tensions between north korea and the us have worsened after pyongyang accused president trump of declaring war. we've not declared war on north korea and, frankly, the suggestion of that is absurd. theresa may says the uk and eu can find a way to brexit "by being creative" as she holds talks with the european council president, donald tusk. preparing for government, labour says its plans include a strategy to deal with a dramatic fall in the pound if it came to power. also this hour... the dangers of school rugby? researchers call for an end to scrums and tackling to reduce head injuries. say you've never loved anybody else? i've never loved anybody else, shall igo and i've never loved anybody else, shall i go and get your slippers? one of the biggest stars of the small screen

for more than 30 years. liz dawn, who played coronation street's vera duckworth has died at the age of 77. thousands of children harmed in the womb by the epilepsy drug valproate — some of their mothers begin giving evidence at a public hearing in london. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the united states has dismissed as absurd north korea's claim that america has declared war them. tensions between the united states and north korea are continuing to escalate, with recriminations and accusations on both sides. the americans have warned pyongyang to stop its provocations after it said it had the right to shoot down us bombers. south korea has called for a level—headed response and warned that accidental clashes in the region could quickly spiral out of control. from seoul danny savage reports. american military aircraft preparing for a show of force close to the north korean coast. these planes went on to fly

in international airspace near the east of the country, further north in the region than they ever have been. the us says it was a demonstration of their resolve. now, north korea has reacted to donald trump's threats and action by declaring the united states has declared war on them. translation: since the us declared war on our country, we have every right to take countermeasures, including shooting down us strategic bombers, even when they're not yet inside the airspace border of our country. the question of who won't be around much longer will be answered then. the white house, though, says it's absurd to think they're at war with north korea, and is trying to strike a more diplomatic tone overnight. it's never appropriate for a country to shoot down another country's aircraft when it's over international waters.

our goal is still the same, we continue to seek the peaceful denuclearisation of the korean peninsular, that's our focus. doing that through both the most maximum, economic and diplomatic pressures. it was a point echoed by the us defence secretary on a visit to india, jim mattis said diplomatic efforts were continuing. that is our goal, to solve this diplomatically, and i believe president trump has been very clear on this issue. but north korea's interpretation of us actions, and its proposed response is another escalation in this ongoing crisis. this former secretary—general of the united nations, who himself is south korean, says the situation is alarming. even during the height of the cold war, including soviet union, they have never threatened to use nuclear weapons, unless they are attacked by nuclear weapons. but north korea has blatantly publicly threatened that they will strike the united states

with nuclear weapons. so far, this has been and remains a war of words. but if american planes do clash with the north korean military, the risk of tipping into conflict increases dramatically. danny savage, bbc news, seoul. let's speak to our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue. it isa it is a war of words but the message to the white house ‘s, tone it down? yes, and that's not happened this morning. the president has been on social media talking in particular about the case of the students who came back from north korea after a yearin came back from north korea after a year in prison and fair, came back ina coma year in prison and fair, came back in a coma and shortly after, died. at the time the president talked

about the brutality of the regime being a total disgrace, but at the time he didn't call it torture. but he has called it torture this morning saying the student was unbelievably tortured. that will ratchet up the rhetoric even more. the rhetoric has become so personal between the two leaders, donald trump keeps calling kimjong—un rocket man and our word for do—tard used against donald trump is somebody who is of the week of mind and one thing the north koreans reacted is the insult of their leaders. i think it will take a loose finger somewhere for there to be in incident. that is why the

pressure is on donald trump and on north korea of course, but how they respond is a different matter, but certainly on the americans to bring the temperature down a bit?” certainly on the americans to bring the temperature down a bit? i think thatis the temperature down a bit? i think that is right andjim the temperature down a bit? i think that is right and jim matters, the defence secretary in india is trying to do that to some extent. as is the chief of staff, trying to do that to some extent as well. the difficulty is, there is a real sense in washington that the escalation in north korean capacity capabilities and also talk of potentially exploding nuclear device for an atmospheric test, which no country has done for nearly a0 years. we're not into a new bout of north korean worry, we are into a different ball game here, things are getting too close for comfort in terms of their

capabilities and abilities. nobody knows what to do about that because they are not going to give up and they are not going to give up and they said they will not give up their nuclear weapons they cannot be negotiated away, there isn't a price that can be paid in a sense to stop them developing nuclear weapons. 0n them developing nuclear weapons. 0n the other hand, you have donald trump and the rest of the world saying, you cannot have them, we will not allow you to have them. isn't any way in which those two positions meet. gary o'donoghue, thank you much. donald tusk, the european council president is at downing street for talks with theresa may. next month the eu is due to decide if it's ready to discuss a new trade relationship with britain. brussels has been demanding more details on citizens' rights, a financial settlement and the future of the irish border. let's hear from donald let's hearfrom donald tusk let's hear from donald tusk at downing street. good afternoon. i feel cautiously optimistic about...

the constructive and more realistic tone in the prime minister's speech in florence and of our discussion today. this shows that the philosophy of having a cake and eating it, is finally coming at an end. at least, i hope so. and so thatis end. at least, i hope so. and so that is good news. of course, no one will ever tell me that brexit is a good thing, because as i have always said, in fact,

good thing, because as i have always said, infact, brexit good thing, because as i have always said, in fact, brexit is about damage control and i didn't change my opinion. ifeel damage control and i didn't change my opinion. i feel now we will discuss our future relations with the uk once there is a so—called sufficient progress. that the sides are working and will work hard at it, but if you ask me and today, member states ask me, i would say there is no sufficient progress yet. but we will work on it. thank you. thank you very much, for now that is all. sorry. no sign of a

breakthrough, but he said he was cautiously optimistic following talks with theresa may and it was positive, the speech he gave in florence last week but echoing the words of michel barnier yesterday, no sufficient progress yet. let's go to our political correspondent in downing street. we need to see that donald tusk, wealth there is deadlock elsewhere, is one of those people who could move things forward ? people who could move things forward? the real action is going on in brussels, it is michel barnier carrying out those negotiations on behalf of the eu. these talks between donald tusk and theresa may are going on in parallel, have been going on in parallel. they have been there for over an hour and a half but he struck almost the same time we we re but he struck almost the same time we were hearing from michel barnier in brussels as the latest round of negotiations have got underway. talking about being cautiously

optimistic. he was happy to hear the uk was getting more real and more constructive and he hoped this was the end of having our cake and eating it part of negotiation. but it was damage control, as far as he was concerned and no sufficient progress had been made yet. but theresa may, will hope that her speech in florence has gone some way towards shifting that view. we have this round of negotiations next week and then one more round in early 0ctober before the eu 27 leaders and the heads of the 27 eu states have to decide whether sufficient progress has been made. we had a mixed tone, cautiously optimistic was the way he summed it up, but i don't think this lunch this afternoon has taken us very far.“ one mood would define the mood music of yesterday and today, would be

frustration? yes, the uk has been keen to get over these three issues, the irish border, eu citizen rights and the divorce bill. theresa may hope that by offering to honour the uk's obligations, financial obligations, setting out her idea of a transition period and talking in stronger language about eu citizen rights, to get it going and move the talks on. but brussels has been clear a ll talks on. but brussels has been clear all along, they are united in saying no, these issues have to be dealt with. we haven't had a figure from theresa may about the brexit bill and that will be up for discussion this week. from the uk side, they are keen to get going, they have wanted to get going and that was the initial position in the uk wanted to discuss, both the divorce agreement and the future relationship at the same time. the eu said that was not going to happen. so the eu has been keen to

get going with that. theresa may hopes this speech will have done enough to shift it along. we will only be able to tell whether any slight progress has been made at the end of these negotiations. thank you very much. the shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, has said labour is preparing for government with "war game type scenario planning", including what to do if there were a dramatic fall in the value of the pound. he was speaking last night at a fringe meeting in brighton organised by the campaign group, momentum. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports from the conference. is this the day the labour party changed definitively? the conference is voting to give mps less power, and members more say in future leadership elections. policy is changing, too. labour is now an anti—austerity party, commmited to opposing spending cuts and pay restraints. and at a fringe meeting last night, the shadow chancellor seemed to suggest this is creating new enemies. plans would be needed to oppose a tax on a left—wing labour government, including a potential run on the pound.

we will face all the challenges that i am sure you discussed before i got here and paul mentioned as well. and we have got a scenario plan for those. that is exactly what we are doing at the moment, bringing the relevant expertise together at every level to talk through what happens if, what happens if there is such and such reaction. what if there is a run on the pound? what happens if there is this concept of capital flight? i don't think there will, but you never know. so we have got a scenario plan for that. and this former shadow minister thinks the threat could be real. if you look at history, you will see that history has shown that sometimes big business, corporations, the city, don't always look favourably on a labour government. especially a labour government that is talking about a re—negotiating the kind of social compact within our society and economy — trying to make it far more equitable. so what has been going on in the labour party? why would it be potentially facing such threats? the campaign group, momentum has been credited with shifting

the party to the left. two years ago, this group didn't even exist. it was set up to keep the spirit ofjeremy corbyn‘s first leadership campaign alive. but now, it is increasingly influential, no longerjust on the fringes of the labour party conference but taking part on the conference floor. but at the activists insist it is all about democracy. it is significant on the basis of internal party democracy. if you look at the tory party, they don't let members choose the candidates. it only goes down to two. as a measure of how labour has changed, many mps opposed jeremy corbyn‘s leadership, aren't even trying to resist further reductions in their power. so labour is changing, and its leadership is now saying openly that they need to plan for potentially more hostile opposition than any recent government has faced. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in brighton for us now. this war—gaming john mcdonnell is

talking about, planning for a run on the pound if they are elected? he said it was one of the things that may happen and what he was suggesting is labour has such a radical programme it wants to put in place once you get into government, it has to be prepared for anything. he suggested that might be one of the things that could happen. their argument is, they are completely trying to shake things up, it is not just a break with previous conservative governments, but a break with previous labour governments, under tony blair and gordon brown when you look at issues like pfi and the contracts that help bring hospitals and schools, bring them back in and have a bigger role for the state, denationalised the railways. there is a lot in the agenda and you could hearfrom railways. there is a lot in the agenda and you could hear from the meeting last night, there are those in the labour party who fear the

establishment, the media and possibly people in parliament, they mean people in the city he will not like what they see and they will try any way of stopping it. so earlier, john mcdonnell was chased around the conference centre by some jealous and asked exactly what he meant by all of this. are you planning for a run on the banks undera labour are you planning for a run on the banks under a labour government? no. momentum, they were looking at all different options. our investors getting spooked with the prospect of you in the treasury? i have been sitting down with asset managers and others through the summer. they are very interested in our infrastructure proposals on how we can work with them. you don't think there will be financial instability undera labour there will be financial instability under a labour government? quite the reverse. billions and billions more debt? quite the reverse. the asset

managers like the infrastructure investment they can link up with. they come to us for security around brexit. it was us putting forward a transition deal. i am confident. why would your policy is potentially cause a run on the banks? they wouldn't. why would you entertain that? i am not. conservative ministers seizing on the comments from last night and saying it shows the policies he wa nts to saying it shows the policies he wants to bring in, although he says they are radical, they say they will bring down the british economy. it is controversial stuff but he is sticking by the things he wants to change. looking at that interview, there was a touchiness we have seen with labour and conferences, what is the atmosphere like? the delegates are getting on very well and enjoying it, but what with the

relationship with the media? we do interviews all the time, so it is all functioning, but there is some within the labour party who feel they have not had a fair ride from they have not had a fair ride from the newspapers and from broadcasters. they feel they were written off at the general election by everybody and they prove them wrong, even though they didn't win the election. so, there is a feeling there may be a problem and jeremy corbyn and his team have denied they have pulled out of interviews with bbc radio this morning. there is a certain amount of touchiness but it is still functioning and in the next hour you will havejeremy corbyn speaking to our very own laura kuenssberg. vicky young, thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news: the us defence secretary is seeking a diplomatic solution to rising

tensions with north korea. following talks in downing street, the european council president donald tusk, said there had been no significant progress on brexit negotiations, but they would work on it. labour says its plans include a strategy to deal with a dramatic fall in the pound if it came to power. ben stokes will not be available for tamara's one—day match against west indies after being arrested yesterday morning following an incident in bristol nightclub. manchester city are one of three british teams in actions in the champions league tonight. they welcome the re—inside to the etihad. liverpool and tottenham also have group games and freddy shepherd, the newcastle chairman has died. he was chairman at saint james newcastle chairman has died. he was chairman at saintjames ‘s park for ten yea rs chairman at saintjames ‘s park for ten years from 1997. he was 76. i will be back with more on those stories just after 2:30pm.

women from across europe whose children have been harmed by an epilepsy drug after they took it during pregnancy will give evidence at a public hearing in london which hasjust got under way. it's thought that tens of thousands of children around the world have physical abnormalities or learning difficulties after being exposed to valproate in the womb. many women who were prescribed the drug for epilepsy or mood disorders say they were never told it could harm their unborn babies. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. lillias and ian's son was diagnosed with severe learning difficulties when he was three years old. it was caused by the epilepsy drug sodium valproate, that lillias took when she was pregnant. the couple say they'd asked doctors whether it was safe to take the drug while expecting, and later were horrified to discover they'd been wrongly reassured. devastated, upset, angry. just... i felt i was let down by the health service. it's estimated tens of thousands of children across the world have

been harmed after being exposed to valproate medicines in the womb. it carries a 10% risk of physical problems, and a a0% risk of developmental disorders. today, a safety review by the european medicines agency will look at whether new warnings on pillboxes in the uk, and a range of other strengthened measures, are actually reaching women of childbearing age. the uk's medicines watchdog, the mhra, said it supports the review, and stressed it's important that women don't stop taking valproate without first discussing it with their doctor. parents from across europe, like lillias and ian, with children harmed by sodium valproate, will give evidence to the public hearing, amid concerns that babies are still being damaged by the drug. sophie huthinson, bbc news. a man who was caught on camera killing and torturing of vulnerable

93v killing and torturing of vulnerable gay man in his own home has been jailed for life. he is starting a life sentence of at least 39 years for the murder. schools should ban what's being called "harmful contact" in rugby for children under the age of 16 — that's according to researchers at newcastle university. they say all schools should ban tackling and scrums to make it saferfor children. last year, the four senior doctors ruled out a ban, but this latest research says the risk of head injuries and concussion are not adequately reduced by safety equipment. here's our sports correspondent katie gornall. he took a fear some fun. it is a fundamental part of the sport, but does it belong in school? today there are fresh calls to remove contact from school rugby, claiming a ban could reduce injuries such as concussion. we a ban could reduce injuries such as concussion . we are a ban could reduce injuries such as concussion. we are finding children are having a one in one in four chance of injury. they can be

serious, they could be fractures, ligament tears, dislocated shoulders that need operating on an concussion. that analysis found by concussion. that analysis found rugby had higher concussion rates in children compared to ice hockey and american football. but world rugby hasissued american football. but world rugby has issued a response saying the claims are not based on like—for—like injury statistics and these alarmist conclusions are not supported by the data. the risk for preteens is not unacceptably high compare to other popular sports. 0pinion compare to other popular sports. opinion on this issue is divided. last year chief medical officers rejected a call for a ban on tackling in youth rugby saying the benefits are playing the sport outweighed the risk of injury. there is nothing scary about it if you do it well. i like tackling and getting in the rocks and scrums. the concerns about player welfare are being raised at all levels of the game, following another injury

setback at the weekend, billy vunipola said he would take a pay cut to play less rugby. how to tackle the issue of contact and the impact it has on players is an ongoing debate. joining us from twickenham is steve grainger, rugby development officer at the rugby football union. it isa it is a fundamental part of the game, could the game survive without that sort of contact? as you said, it isa that sort of contact? as you said, it is a fundamental part of the game and of course we take our responsibilities towards player safety a nd responsibilities towards player safety and welfare very significantly. contact is not the only format of the game, of course. we have thousands of youngsters in schools up and down the country that are picking a rugby ball up, playing touch rugby and tag rugby and many move on to contact rugby and when thatis move on to contact rugby and when that is introduced in a safe environment with an experienced teacher or coach, it is something as

many young people should benefit from. in schools, where children are difficult to keep control of all the time, that there is a risk and it isn't a risk worth taking? where the game is introduced by teachers who have received the appropriate training and we have worked a lot with teachers and coaches in clubs and schools, you can introduce contact and the scrum in an incremental way, we don't go into full contact, we bring the tackle in gradually, we increased the number of players in the team gradually. so the teachers and coaches working with the youngsters feel they've got the necessary skills to play the game. risk of injury is part of that, is it? i think

game. risk of injury is part of that, is it? ithink any game. risk of injury is part of that, is it? i think any sport, game. risk of injury is part of that, is it? ithink any sport, any activity, any aspect of life carries risks. 0urjob is to make sure the risks. 0urjob is to make sure the risk is managed, mitigated and the people working with the players and indeed the players themselves, know how to manage that and know how to ta ke how to manage that and know how to take their own safety seriously. you probably won't tell me, but i am wondering when you first heard of this particular piece of research and advice, when you are with your colleagues, is there a moment when you go, my goodness, we are all getting a bit soft? this research has been around for a couple of yea rs. has been around for a couple of years. this isn't the first time we have heard of press press pollock's research. we have undertaken our own survey of schoolboy rugby and the incidence and in jewellery rate. it is something we take seriously but we believe the values of the sport, and the attributes of young people accrue from taking part in rugby, is why we do it. we want to continue to

do that. we have had 600 state secondary schools taking the sport up secondary schools taking the sport up since 2012, 20% of the state secondary schools in england. those headteachers are making the decision to introduce rugby into the school because they see the benefit it brings to their students. as part of an overall exercise regime, it is important those youngsters playing a game of rugby fit when they start? absolutely. that is why in the majority of schools, it is physical education that is compulsory in our schools, headteachers take the decision about which sport and which activity they want to see as part of the curriculum. i think we would all share a belief we want our young people to be active on taking part in exercise. we want them to be taking part in team sports because of the other benefits that accrue from that, friendship, camaraderie, and respect for other people.

finally, if tackling and scrimmages where taking out of the game at this level, what would that do to the sport in this country? first of all, i don't think there is any need to ta ke i don't think there is any need to take tackling or scrimmaging out of the sport. for those youngsters who don't enjoy contact, and there will be still some of them, they can pick a be still some of them, they can pick by be still some of them, they can pick a rugby ball up and play touch and tag rugby. but the scrimmage and other aspects of cantata are an important part of the game. we will ta ke important part of the game. we will take our responsibility introducing those in a safe way. we don't anticipate a day when the tackle and scrum don't exist in our game. steve grainger, thank you very much. we will have all the headlines and go to the labour party conference in a moment, but first the weather. it may be nearly the end of

september, but the weather is feeling pretty summary. they few showers across eastern england, through lincolnshire and kent, for instance. elsewhere, largely dry. after the murky start we saw today, distin spells of sunshine breaking through during the afternoon. fairly light wind and temperatures generally 15 to 20 degrees. it will feel quite warm where you see the sunshine breaking through. into the evening, the showers in the east fade away quite quickly than dry ikea overnight. 0nce fade away quite quickly than dry ikea overnight. once again, similar to last night, turning misty and murky with fog patches around, particularly for central and south—eastern parts of the country. it could be a foggy start to wednesday morning. that should clear away fairly quickly tomorrow. for eastern parts of the country you are likely to stay dry. two of scotland, some sunshine. further towards the south west and west, the rain works m, south west and west, the rain works in, the wind picks up. warm and dry in east. goodbye. this is bbc news, our latest headlines...

the us defence secretary is seeking a diplomatic solution to rising tensions with north korea — who are accusing washington of declaring war. the european council president donald tusk said although there had been no sufficient progress towards brexit talks, they were now on a more realistic footing. this shows that the philosophy of having your ca ke that the philosophy of having your cake and eating it, it is finally coming to an end. shadow chancellor john mcdonnell has been war—gaming a financial crisis, in case party policies alarm investors and cause a fall in the value of the pound. mothers of children harmed in the womb by the epilepsy drug valproate are set to give evidence at a safety review hearing in london. the hearing has heard that as many

as 35,000 women of child—bearing age in the uk are using the drug. liz dawn, the actress best known for her role as vera duckworth in the soap coronation street, has died. her family say she died peacefully in her sleep yesterday. to the bbc sports centre. news of ben stokes? not a positive story to start with this afternoon. england all—rounder ben stokes was arrested after an incident in bristol in the early hours of yesterday morning and won't be available for the fourth one—day match against west indies. he missed training today, along with team—mate alex hales, who's also helping police with their enquiries. the ashes squad to tour australia this winter is announced tomorrow. ben and alex will not be available for tomorrow's one—day international against the west indies. ben was arrested in the early hours of

monday morning, the 25th of september, following an incident in bristol. he was held overnight and released under investigation without charge late on monday. he will not join the team in london. hales, who was with stokes on sunday night did not train, and has returned to bristol voluntarily to help police with their inquiries. we understand we can't provide further details at this point, but we will provide updates when we have more information to give. how does it affect the players' chances of ashes selection? the selectors have been instructed to select the squad based on form and fitness, as they normally would. the lancashire spinner sophie ecclestone has been named in the england women's squad for their ashes, starting next month. she replaces beth langston in the only change to the 15 that won the world cup this summer. it'll be the first time that captain heather knight has led her side into an ashes series.

they leave for brisbane on october the 7th, and another of those cup winners natalie sivver is looking forward to getting going. had a few days off and then straight in to it, so it's kind of been an extended season for us and something we can bring to australia in the summer. a different challenge and hopefully one we can relish. manchester city take on shakhtar donetsk in the champions league tonight — and defender kyle walker says nothing can stop them, if they keep their early season form going. they're top of the premier league and walker says he's really enjoying pep guardiola's style of management. he's always giving us words of encouragement. i think the standard of players in the teams that he's managed in the speaks volumes. you know, it's a good motivation to have. you know the calibre of manager that he is. hopefully we can keep performing as we do. he always

wa nts keep performing as we do. he always wants more from us, which is good, to keep pushing us. loris karius will start in goal for liverpool's match at spartak moscow, as managerjurgen klopp continues his policy of rotating keepers for different competitions. he believes it can only strengthen his goalkeeping options — and for karius, it's an opportunity to impress the boss. i see this as a chance to show the manager i'm ready, i want to prove that of course i want to play also in the premier league. but for now i use this game to perform good and then hopefully also be in goal in then hopefully also be in goal in the premier league. of course, that's my goal for the future. top and will be without christian eriksen, because he fell ill on sunday. —— tottenham. the former chairman of newcastle united frddy shepherd has died. he was 76.

shepherd served as chairman of the club from 1991 until 2007 during the period when they finished premier league runners—up under kevin keegan. he was instrumental in bringing alan shearer to newcastle for a then world record £15 million. shearer has tweeted, "so sad to hear my great friend and former newcastle chairman freddy shepherd has passed away. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. the leaders of a us congressional committee have demanded details of everyone in the trump administration who has used private e—mail accounts to discuss government business. during his election campaign, donald trump repeatedly called for the imprisonment of his rival hillary clinton for using her personal email when she was secretary of state. richard galpin reports. jared kushner, stephen miller, steve bannon and reince priebus — the biggest names to have reportedly used private e—mail accounts while working in the

trump administration. mr kushner, one of the most powerful advisers in the white house, allegedly using a private account to send or receive 100 work—related e—mails in the months after after mr trump became president. ivanka trump, the president's daughter, is also implicated. and all this after donald trump and his team had made the use of private e—mail accounts by his rival hillary clinton a huge issue during last year's election campaign. hillary set up an illegal server for the obvious purpose of shielding her criminal conduct from public disclosure and exposure. lock herup! his supporters shouting "lock her up" became a familiar chant on the campaign trail. but now it's mr trump's team in the white house

which is under fire. the administration is trying to play down the scale of what has happened. the very limited white house counsel has instructed all white house staff to use the government e—mail for official business and only use that e—mail. hillary clinton has accused the trump administration of the height of hypocrisy. her chance of becoming president were badly damaged by mr trump's focus on the revelations about her private e—mail accounts. richard galpin, bbc news. a snapshot of the challenges faced by families who adopt children has revealed that the majority of those questioned had faced violence or aggression from the youngsters they'd taken in, that's according to research by bbc radio four‘s file on four programme and the charity adoption uk. graham satchell has been speaking to one couple who experienced problems after bringing up a little girl as their own almost eight years ago. you may find some of the details upsetting. jane and keith met late in life and wanted their own family.

they tried ivf, but that failed, and then they decided to adopt. she was very cute, very bright. she had a strong mind. and then things after that started getting more and more challenging. we have a lot of empathy, a lot of love to give, but nowhere did we imagine that to adopt would be as awful as it was. by the time their daughter louise was six, jane and keith were struggling to cope. we've changed the names of everyone involved to protect their identity. it just became a fight every day. she would punch you, she would hit you, she would run away, she would spit at you and it wasn't just one incident a day, it was about 30. around 5,500 children are adopted in the uk every year. radio a's final thought programme conducted a survey with the charity adoption uk. almost 3,000 adoptors responded.

it's not a representative sample and the results are just a snapshot, but they show that almost two—thirds of families said their child had displayed aggressive behaviour. a third believed they didn't receive full and correct information about their children before the adoption and a quarter said their adoption is at risk of breakdown. or had already been disrupted. after years of struggle, jane and keith reached breaking point. their relationship was at risk. they decided to hand louise back to the care of the local authority. it was heartbreaking because you feel like you're a failure, you feel like you're to blame, but the trauma hasn't come from you, you just try to fix it, to mend it. we received a report fairly recently. there were allegations that louise witnessed her birth father raping and beating her birth mother and allegations that her birth father beat and burnt louise with cigarette stubs. and if we'd been given that information before we'd even said

yes, we're willing to consider louise, we would have said no. we weren't equipped to deal with sexual assault of any sort. they have to give you all the facts before you decide and this was obviously a glaring gap. since she's been back in care, she's had a team of about eight people, various foster carers, therapeutic teams, psychologists, psychiatrists. had we had all the support she has now... we'd have had a fighting chance. ..we would have had a chance. jane and keith's local authority told the bbc they provide an extensive range of support and training and that they share all the information they have about a child prior to placing them with a family. the department for education in england told us help is available for families through the adoption support fund and they are spending £28 million on it this year. many adoptions do work, but campaigners say families like keith and jane simply aren't getting the help they need. coronation street actress liz dawn,

who played vera duckworth for more than three decades, has died at the age of 77. she first appeared in a show in 197a, but retired through illness ten years ago. her family said she had been the love, light and inspiration in their lives. all i can say is i hope prince charles never sets eyes on it! admiring my stone cladding, are you? well, it's certainly eye—catching. certain neighbours may have been snooty about vera duckworth's taste, but without her, coronation street just wouldn't have been the same. nobody'll dispute that! are you trying to be funny or what? aren't you going to carry her over the threshold? when liz dawn first arrived, she said she felt like cinderella, her palace, 9 coronation street. and prince charming —jack duckworth, played by bill tarmey. you haven't met my husband, jack? where's my dog?

have you moved it? vera, i wouldn't have done, only it was an emergency! their ups and downs, the laughter — for fellow cast members there is much to miss. her kindness, generosity, natural comedy timing and talent, there was not much difference between her and vera in that they were both very grounded, warm—hearted, generous spirited, working—class women. will you make us some chips? oh, you're a right romantic! the marriage was a threesome, vera, jack and the pigeons, and despite the bruises, it lasted because there was something special in this double act. come back here! you! she was born sylvia butterfield, home was the halton moor estate in leeds. i never really felt poor. because we always had love and nobody had anything in them days. she did all sorts ofjobs, from selling wigs to singing in working men's clubs under

a new stage name, liz dawn. the money were good. i had three children under school—age and i really did it for money, singing at weekends. you'll hear from my solicitors, love. the tv acting work came at a time when directors were looking for talent that was natural, authentic, the sort of person you could truly believe would live on coronation street. you will laugh on the other side of yourface! get off me! off duty, liz dawn was a keen campaigner for the labour party and became lady mayoress of leeds. say you've never loved anybody else. i've never loved anybody else, shall i go and get your slippers? after 3a years of laughter and ups and downs, liz dawn had proved she was one of acting's naturals, admitting even she didn't even quite know where liz stopped and vera began. coronation street theme. the actor and political activist tony booth,

who was the father of cherie blair, has died at the age of 85. he starred as mike in the bbc sitcom till death us do part, in a 50 year acting career spanning film and television. he also served as president of the actor's union equity. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc news. the united states denies north korea's claim that it has declared war, with the defence secretary saying they are seeking diplomatic solutions. donald tusk says he is pleased that the policy of having your cake and eating it has ended. hello, now the business news.

we are waiting on a court decision in america that could have a major impact on northern ireland's biggest industrial employer. the canadian plane maker bombardier employs a,500 people in the province. but several american rivals have taken it to court — claming it gets illegal state aid. ag barr — the company behind drinks like irn bru and tizer — has reported strong sales but weaker profits. that's partly because the firm is in the middle of trying to make their drinks less sugary. tomas cook says it expects the price of holidays in spain to rise by as much as to 10% next year because of the weak pound. but it's not just sterling that's to blame. the company boss told the bbc that spain is becoming an increasingly popular destination — because of safety fears elsewhere and that's also driving up prices. let's head to the us now where its just been announced

that the boss of the credit reference agency eqiufax is stepping down. this comes after 1a3 million customers in america had their details hacked. some customers here in the uk were also affected. let's speak to our north america business correspondent michelle fleury who joins us from new york. this resignation comes as they are in an interesting time? the country has been mired in scandal, it was the beginning of september that the company disclosed they had a cyber security attack, in which millions of americans, about 1a3 million americans had personal information stolen. this is everything from social security numbers, birth date, addresses, all of the kind of things that you need to get a mortgage, open a bank account, and the fear is of course that you could have your identity stolen. i believe it also

affects as many as a00,000 people in the uk. so, there has been a lot of scrutiny of the company since then and now we have seen the chief executive falling on his sword, stepping down, effective immediately. they have announced an interim leader to take charge while they look for a new ceo following this data breach. the ceo was due to give evidence before lawmakers in about a week's time? that's right, next tuesday, richard smith, the outgoing chief executive and chairman, was due to give testimony. it will be interesting to see if he goes ahead and gives testimony as he was in charge at the time the breach happened. in the meantime, the company is really struggling to get behind this. they were slow initially in their response and took a lot of criticism for some of the initial measures they take with handling this crisis. i suspect that will be the focus of the hearing when they face lawmakers. they are also being investigated by attorney generals, facing several lawsuits from across the country. so, the

problems keep mounting for this firm. of course, many people are still concerned about what this will mean for their data. it will take more than the resignation of a c02 resolve this reputational issue for the company? —— resignation of a ceo. experts in risk management would say this is the least you would say this is the least you would expect to happen given the scale of the problem. just to give you a flavour of what the company said, they said that at this time, this critical juncture, i said, they said that at this time, this criticaljuncture, i believe it is in the best interests of the country to have new leadership to move the company forward. a board member, who is involved in the company, also said it was totally focused on the cyber security incident. i think they are slowly catching up to getting a handle on this crisis. but there was a sense they were slow off the mark. in other business news...

the national grid is calling this year's summer the greenest on record. that's because more than half our electricity came from low carbon sources. the grid has launched software that aims to tell us the cheapest time to turn on appliances. the competition and markets authority is investigating a price comparison website over allegations it helped to push up prices of home insurance. the investigation comes at the end of year long examination into the sector. the number of dads with young kids who opt to work part—time is on the rise. it's not a massive number — fewer than 7% all fathers with young children are working part time. but that's still double what it was 20 years ago. and weatherspoons has announced that it will stop using plastic straws in its pubs by the end of this year, replacing them with biodegradable paper straws instead. end ofan end of an era! lets have a look at

how the markets are performing. the ftse is reversing earlier losses. a lot of pressure on company selling consumer goods abroad, that is because of the strength of the pound. oil companies are doing quite well because the price of crude is close to a two year high. lets more on that story we mentioned in sport. the england and wales cricket board has said that ben stokes and alex hales won't be available for england's fourth one day international against west indies tomorrow. he was arrested in bristol in the early hours of yesterday morning after a nightclub incident. he was later released without charge. does it matter what has happened at this stage? the timing couldn't be worse? absolutely, the overlit set for a training session for the west indies team this morning. england we re indies team this morning. england were training here without ben stokes and without alex hales. ickes hails, it should be pointed out,

went to bristol voluntarily to help police with their investigations. it is stokes who is under investigation as police seek witnesses to an incident of actual bodily harm in this nightclub. timing, absolutely, you have the fourth one—day international happening tomorrow which he will not be involved in. before that, in the morning, there will be the announcement for the ashes squad which will travel to australia. they will fly in three weeks' time. now, theoretically, ben stokes is the vice captain of the england test team. in terms of his global reputation, he is the world's most talented all—round cricketer. andrew strauss, the director for cricket, former captain and opening batsman gave a statement and did not really have the details. he said the squad will be picked on normal criteria, or form and fitness. therefore, we can assume that england are planning for ben stokes to be named in the ashes squad.

thank you very much. prince harry and his girlfriend meghan markle have made their first official public appearance together at the invictus games in toronto. they walked hand—in—hand before sitting together to watch wheelchair tennis at the sports event for injured service personnel, which was founded by the prince. sarah campbell reports. finally, pictures to accompany a royal love story. the couple have been togetherfor over a year, but until this week, have gone to great lengths to keep their relationship out of sight. no more — their affection for each other obvious. prince harry is in toronto as the founder of the invictus games, and this is home for meghan markle. she stars in a television show which is filmed in the city centre. here they are on on their way to watch some wheelchair tennis, looking casual and comfortable in each other‘s presence. she did attend the opening ceremony on saturday, but was seated some distance from the prince. harry told the bbc he was loving the games. toronto as a city has embraced the games. they have come here to support all the nations. and there's these interactions

happening as well, where young kids and their parents are asking questions and learning stories. the pictures will feature on front pages around the world. in a recent magazine article, meghan markle said they were a couple, and in love — and it shows. just to let you know we will be going over to brighton, the labour party conference shortly. we are waiting to hear from the shadow health secretary, jon ashworth. he is not yet on the podium but we will return there are soon as that gets under way. also in a moment we will have a full weather forecast. first, a man and woman have appeared in court charged with murder following the discovery of a burnt body in a garden in south—west london. let's go to our correspondent at the old bailey. in the last few minutes, as you say, two people have appeared at the old bailey charged with murder.

it was a very short court appearance. they both appeared through video link. a provisional date has been set for the 19th of march, next year. sabrina sabrina kouider was visibly upset. this is after a badly burned body was found in southfields on sunday. it was so badly burned that police we re it was so badly burned that police were unable to identify the victim. more postmortem tests are going to be carried out. the victim has been named locally as a french nanny. the two defendants have been remanded in custody. the trial date has been set

for the 19th of march next year. that depends on the next crown court appearance, on the 12th of december later in the year. let's get a weather update. for many, the weather is shaping up to be financed right through the remainder of the day. it was a murky start, high—pressure setting up towards the near continent and scandinavia. that is dominating the weather. low pressure sitting in the atlantic. after a murky start of the morning, things have been brightening up nicely. this is the scene in hampton court, taken by one of our weather watchers. as we head to the rest of the day it is not going to be dry across—the—board. we will see a few showers cropping up across parts of eastern england. away from this zone, elsewhere, looking largely financed dry, reasonably warm with a southerly breeze, particularly for northern parts of scotland. it will be a decent afternoon. also for northern

ireland, plenty of sunshine. one two showers across parts of northumberland towards lincolnshire. it is making its way further south—west across wales, towards and devon, a fine afternoon in store after the mist we have this morning. it is brightening up. edit of fair weather cloud here and there aren't isolated showers. most cases dry, temperatures towards the london region of 20 or 21 degrees. we have a southerly breeze continuing into this evening. any isolated showers in the east fade away. overnight, most of us clear and dry. once again we will see mist and fog forming fairly widely across many central and south—eastern areas in particular. it will be a mild night, but you may well wake up to a murky start a wednesday morning. through wednesday we will soon see the rain arriving across parts of northern ireland. later, pushing into western parts of wales, the south—west of england. this rain will be quite heavy at times from northern ireland. there could be some standing water around us we head through to the afternoon hours. low— pressure moves through to the afternoon hours. low—pressure moves in from the

atlantic. for central and eastern parts of the country, you are likely to stay dry for a good part of the day. it will feel reasonably warm in the sunshine with temperatures about 21 degrees in the south—east. cooler in the west with the arrival of that heavy rain later on. as we moved to wednesday evening, overnight into thursday, that frontal system hence its way from west to east across all of the country. we will see a spell of the country. we will see a spell of rain us we head through into thursday morning. during thursday, asa thursday morning. during thursday, as a ridge of high pressure ilton, it will be an improving picture. some rain lingering in the far north—east. elsewhere, clear, dry, reasonably warm, 15 to 20 degrees. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3.00: after meeting theresa may in downing street the european council president donald tusk, says there has not been sufficient progress in brexit talks but that he's pleased the uk is adopting a "more realistic tone". this shows that the philosophy of having a cake and eating it is finally coming at an end. jeremy corbyn says the shadow

chancellor is right to look into a scenario where there could be a dramatic fall in the pound if labour came to power. tensions between north korea and the us have worsened after pyongyang accused president trump of declaring war. thousands of children harmed in the womb by the epilepsy drug valproate — some of their mothers begin giving evidence at a public hearing in london. also this hour...