this is bbc news. police investigating claims of sexual abuse against the former prime minister edward the three he would have been questioned if he we re would have been questioned if he were still alive, but says no inference of guilt should be made. four days after the las vegas shooting, some senior republicans said they may be willing to consider a form of gun—control. spain's contribution —— court says it could vote to declare independence for catalonia. tonight, churchill's rallying cry was, we shall fight them on the beaches. now we learn defence cuts may render that impossible. good evening and welcome. yorkshire

police said they would question the former prime minister sir edward heath about allegations of historical child abuse were he still alive. the claims include the alleged rape of a trial. police stress that is not to say the former prime minister was guilty. but the investigation has been severely criticised by sir edward's friends and family and the former head of public as editions. for many, he is now a figure from distant history. the prime minister in the early ‘70s who took us into europe. but today, the police set out staggering claims against sir edward heath. that he raped a child in 1961. indecently assaulted six others. children and adults. we have gone where the evidence has taken us,

whether it supports or negates the allegations. most importantly, the report does not draw any conclusions as to the likely guilt or innocence of sir edward heath. because the former prime minister is dead, can't answer his accusers, can't be prosecuted. police said they had a0 allegations in all. the two—year investigation found discrepancies in most of the accounts. two were proved to be false. but if he'd been alive, seven cases would have justified sir edward being interviewed after receiving a caution that his account might be used in court. these claims spanned a period between 1961 and 1992, but not his time as prime minister. there is a similar pattern of alleged behaviour in three cases, that he paid for sexual encounters. so how much evidence is needed for a suspect to be questioned? the threshold for interviewing somebody after caution is very low. and many innocent people are interviewed after caution. that is for...

that is as far as the legislation will allow me to go and that is as far as i'm willing to go in relation to this investigation. but the obvious outcome of that discussion is that you have, there's really no other way of putting this, tainted the reputation of a man who can only be innocent under the law. i think the guidance is clear and i think when people read the report they will see that it's been put together very carefully, very precisely, so that people don't draw that inference. in fact the inquiry‘s critics say today's report is more about justifying the investigation than presenting meaningful conclusions. in essence what the police are doing by making the assertion they would have interviewed sir edward had he been alive is to cover their own backs at the expense of a dead man. but why did the investigation start? lawyers for wiltshire police advised that people who made allegations of sexual abuse had a right to an investigation, a human right, especially if the person accused was powerful. and the force said it already had five allegations when in 2015 it

made a controversial appeal for victims in front of sir edward's former home. i'm really appealing for anybody that's been a victim of crime, or as a witness to anything that may have taken place involving sir ted heath, please come forward. the police now say making the appeal here was wrong. two years on, sir edward heath's supporters are now demanding a judge be given all the evidence and asked to review it. there will always be a number of people who will not wish to be persuaded. and i'm afraid there's probably not much we can do about those. but we want to do our best to give his reputation a fair chance. we think he'll be exonerated. but this report now takes its place in sir edward's history. it will be passed to the national child abuse inquiry, and an unedited version will be placed, top secret, into government archives. after theresa may's ordeal of a

conference speech yesterday, senior conservatives have urged the party to focus on the threat from labour, despite rumours about the prime minister's future. a group of mps are discussing whether to ask the standout rather than mount a direct challenge. it was an ordeal to deliver and difficult to watch. a prankster, a cough, a disintegrating set derailed theresa may's keynote speech to the tory party conference. she looked vulnerable and exposed, but battled on. and, just as they did yesterday, her cabinet has rallied round. what did you think of mrs may's speech? very brave, very good speech. sir, is there a plot against her? i should think not. "should think not", the brexit secretary snapped. she has my full support, thank you. there was already heightened tension in the tory party after the snap election that destroyed the conservatives‘ commons majority. and the prime minister's

rotten luck yesterday has got her critics circling again. in public, most people are being pretty loyal. i think in private people are very concerned. i think there will be quite a few people who will now be pretty firm in the view that she should resign. the tory party conference was a great opportunity to reboot the party and, therefore, reboot the country, to give a clear sense of direction, and that didn't happen. foreign secretary, is the prime minister going to resign? in recent weeks there has been much speculation about borisjohnson‘s own leadership plans. but in the absence of a standout successor to theresa may, and fear of another general election running deep within the party, this senior mp from the tory backbenches thinks his colleagues must get a grip. there are always tory members of parliament who have been grumbling about leadership. they grumbled about david cameron, they grumbled before that about michael howard. they‘ re now grumbling about theresa may. you always get that. what would you say to your fellow tory mps who think this is the moment to try and depose theresa may?

well, i haven't found any yet and i haven't talked to any yet but next week when the house returns i will find them and i'll politely ask them to shut up. at the moment there doesn't seem to be enough momentum among a minority of tory mps to threaten theresa may, who is, of course, embroiled in brexit and bridging divisions within her party on the issue. most tory mps i've talked to are very sympathetic about the prime minister's struggles yesterday. one cabinet minister told me it was proper and fair to stand by her. number 10 scoffs at any suggestion theresa may might quit. so for now the embattled prime minister fights on. ben wright, bbc news, downing street. the national rifle association which campaigns for gun rights in the us says it might be willing to consider some form of gun—control in the wake of the mass shooting in las vegas at the weekend. that view is backed by some senior republicans, including the speaker of the house of representatives. the golden glass was shattered by a man intent on mayhem. why, police still don't know.

they say there is evidence stephen paddock had planned to survive the attack, and that he may have had help. we know stephen paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood. so far, there has been a lot of attention paid to the actions of the man who was in that building and what he did, firing down on this concert below. but what many people who were at that gig have told us is that they think the focus should be on the response and the bravery that was on display there. kristin babik showed immense courage. the 24—year—old kept running from the bullets, even after she had been shot in the back. i felt something hit me really hard and then i felt something splatter on my back, so i thought it was either somebody‘s drink, it kind of felt like a paintball or something like that. it's not fair and it's not right... and now i'll forever have

to have a bullet in my back... ..for no reason. so i'm just sorry other people have to deal with similar or worse. the girlfriend of the man who inflicted such suffering says he was kind, caring and quiet. marilou danley has now been questioned by the fbi. in a statement she insisted she had no warning that something horrible like this was going to happen. that horror was intensified by the rapidity of the shooting. made possible by a device called a bump stock, which increases the rate of fire on a gun. this advert for bump stock salutes the founding fathers who codified the right to bear arms. senior republicans, the white house, even the powerful national rifle association, are talking about a ban. in a statement tonight, the nra said such devices should be subject to additional regulations.

but banning this accessory is not gun control, which is anathema to the nra and to the republican party it helps to bankroll. meanwhile, the killing continues. since 59 people died here, at least 87 more americans have been shot dead. that's a las vegas massacre every three days. james cook, bbc news, in las vegas. a session of catalonia's regional parliament, that was due to take place on monday, has been suspended by spain's constitutional court in an attempt to create a declaration of independence. it is the ongoing issue between the catalan government and spain's government. wherever you go in spain at the moment, people argue, angst and vent about it. the catalan question, and how on earth it can be resolved. in the capital madrid there's talk of little else.

translation: of course we are concerned about the situation, and so are a lot of catalans, who don't want independence. translation: a lot of us don't understand what's going on. the politicians on both sides are acting in their own interests. they should be looking out for us, the people. tension is mounting. today, spain's constitutional court banned monday's meeting of the catalan parliament, where lawmakers were expected to declare independence. but the catalan government has ignored constitutional rulings before and you get the feeling they're going to do it again. translation: we condemn this ruling which violates the freedom of expression. we will not be censored. inside the spanish parliament meanwhile, prime minister rajoy is feeling the heat.

he is famous for his wait and see approach, in this case a kind of cat and mouse waiting game of will they or won't they declare unilateral independence in catalonia? but he's coming under increasing pressure from those on the left who want him to start a dialogue with the catalan nationalists, and those on the right. who favour what spaniards have dubbed the nuclear option. translation: we have to trigger article 155 of our constitution, dissolving the catalan parliament, revoking catalan autonomy, until new regional elections can be held there. i asked him if he felt differently about the situation because he is catalan. translation: i, like many catalans, are torn between our mother, that is catalonia, and our father, that is spain, but i believe, like gordon brown said before the scottish referendum, that we are stronger together. in a nod to those demanding action, spain's prime minister has warned

catalan leaders to abandon their unilateral independence plans, orface greater evils. former nato secretary general and eu foreign policy chief javier sola na has offered to mediate. i lived many events in the balkans i saw breaking countries, i saw changing borders. it leads nowhere. we are in a century where we have to go together and i don't want catalonia to go another brexit in the european union, they want to be the european union and they are demanding to be in the european union with spain. passion for the beautiful game unites all spaniards but tonight in a sign of national nervousness, football club fc barcelona appealed for the dialogue to end the catalan crisis, while big bank sabadell moved its legal headquarters out of the region. this is a country bracing itself for what might happen next. katya adler, bbc news, madrid. now it's time for newsnight.

we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall never surrender! churchill's rallying cry has echoed through the decades. now we learn of defence cuts to the royal navy, which may render that impossible. many defence insiders blamed the distorting effect of the carrier programme for what is now happening. one senior royal marine told me it was the worst procurement decision of the last 50 years, and now the royal marines will be sacrificed for it. we will speak to our guest chris parry about the impact of cuts on the armed services. police say that if sir edward heath was alive, he would have been questioned. but friends of the former prime minister say that claims of sexual abuse against him are groundless. so how should police investigate these allegations of

historic abuse? we debate with a former tory mp himself accused and cleared. police in las vegas are no closer to understanding the gunmen‘s motivation, newsnight heads to his hometown of mesquite. the right to bear arms is carved into the american soul. the battle over guns is where you draw the lines. it is which weapons are permitted, and which are not. i have a shot gun, a 22 pistol, a 38 pistol and a 22 rifle. four guns. why do you need four guns? you live next to a golf course! it is part of your dna to have a gun! what is the female equivalent of manspreading, and should we be doing more of it? we speak to amy cuddy.