this is bbc news. i'm chris rogers. the headlines at eight. the parliament of catalonia declares independence from spain, with people taking to the streets to celebrate. but spain's central government in madrid approves direct rule over the region — dissolving catalan‘s parliament and calling new elections. as of today, i have dissolved the catalonian parliament and on 21st dec there will be autonomic elections for that autonomic community. i'm tim willcox and i'll have the latest, live from barcelona. despite the threats, pro—independence groups are still celebrating. in other news this hour... the cyber attack which crippled much of the nhs in may could have been prevented with basic security measures, according to a government investigation. files about the assassination

ofjfk are released — but some are held back, at the request of the cia and fbi. what is it? i'm going to have a baby. and in this week's film review, andy serkis will talk about his new film breathe, about a man paralysed by polio. welcome to barcelona where, 26 days after the referendum held here for independence, the catalan parliament

has decided to declare that moment and people are celebrating. this region is divided. madrid is furious. madrid says this was an illegal referendum and that the events of the past few hours are illegal. nonetheless, people are savouring this moment here, even though the situation is, the gated because budget has vowed to impose direct rule. more on that in a moment. let's catch up with the latest events. for centuries, catalonia has been part of the kingdom of spain. this afternoon, after years of growing crisis, those who seek a state of their own took their chance. in barcelona, catalan independence was declared. cheering and applause. some campaigners here have worked for decades for an independent

catalonia and they believe this is now their moment and that they should be free from spain. this independent state, such as it is, has no control of its supposed borders and no single country has come forward to recognise it. but to these demonstrators, the declaration feels real. translation: we are finally free. we are oppressed here. we are fighting for our freedom. finally catalonia will be a free country. but you know that madrid has the power to stop all this. it has the constitutional power. no, madrid has nothing. we have the reason, we are the people. i am thinking about my parents and my grandparents and also about my children and my grandchildren. butjust around the corner, we found a man waving a spanish flag,

and anti—independence emotions. translation: i am not happy. i am not represented. the catalan people as a whole did not vote. translation: it is disastrous, the result of an extended manipulation that does not reflect the will of the catalan people. earlier, in catalonia's regional parliament, pro— and anti—independence groups argued bitterly about the declaration. the opposition speaks for around half the population here which does not want to leave spain. but in parliament, it was outnumbered. some walked out. those on the other side unfurled catalan flags to mark their territory. si, si... the si, the yes vote, came out ahead. citizens of catalonia, there are coming times when we will have to compromise

to keep this country at peace. translation: we must remain peaceful, civilised and dignified. the central government in spain will not let the independence declaration stand. to spain it is a simple matter of obeying the law. the senate will give the prime minister mariano rajoy emergency powers to take control of catalonia. translation: we are not prepared to allow some people to liquidate our constitution and rules that have served our country for the last a0 years. singing. tonight, catalan leaders stand on land they now claim as their own. but they and their opponents in madrid are now both in unknown territory. celebratory fireworks are still going on around me here. some of the

demonstrators and people celebrating tonight are saying we savour this moment. we have been chasing this moment. we have been chasing this moment for so many years, even though they know uncertain times are ahead. mariano rajoy has held a crisis cabinet meeting in the last few hours. he has already said that the catalan parliament will be dissolved and the embassies they have around the world will be closed, apart from the one in brussels and proper elections will be held on december 22nd. he added that the best and the worst of catalonia had been seen in the past few hours. let's catch up with more of what he said earlier. these are his words. translation: as of today i have dissolved the catalonian parliament on the 21st of december they will be elections for that

autonomous community. the president of the general state had the opportunity to return to legality and call elections. it is what the majority of these are citing of catalonia asked for but he didn't wa nt to catalonia asked for but he didn't want to do it so the government of spain takes measures necessary to recover legality and also has decided to call elections in catalonia. we believe that it is very important to return their voice to catalonian citizens, all of them, and two democratic conditions so that they may decide the future so that they may decide the future so that nobody can commit to further illegalities in their name. many people have been fighting for independence for decades, including ca rles independence for decades, including carles puigdemont. in the 1980s

there was only about 12% support for independence. let's speak to a catalan, based in london who has decided to fly back for today's announcement. how do you feel today? a mix of emotions, happiness because something is happening. we are paving the way for our children's future but also a lot of anger because we have been fighting for this for many years and tried always to have a peaceful dialogue and discuss independence, ourfuture, a different rule. why do you want independence? you have autonomy. you ta ke independence? you have autonomy. you take a third of the taxes from this region, you are allowed to speak your own language, have your own culture. we're not in the days of franco. that's not that i create --

accurate. we have a constitution since 1978 that was imposed. the socialist party weren't truly necrotic. the last few years, rajoy fought a rule from the catalan people that had been voted for and he took it to a constitutional court thatis he took it to a constitutional court that is biased and controlled by the conservative party. to overturn something that people decided. since 2006, rajoy chose to abolish the new rule. the constitutional court suppressed that ruling. in spain there is no democracy, thejudiciary is controlled by the stage. the army has a big role. a few weeks ago, the

king took sides and did a speech that was rajoy‘s speech. it wasn't what was expected of the king. this country has always been divided. they have been hiding behind the law claiming that the minority wants to impose something on the others but we we re impose something on the others but we were only asking to vote. i suspect that it may not be a minority. also, there is an economic point. 1500 companies, big business have moved out of catalonia. even the spanish king was calling companies to move their registered office outside catalonia. they are not closing the offices or sacking people. they are not effectively moving. this is an orchestrated move by the spanish government. they are worried about the finances. catalans bring 16—20%. worried about the finances. catalans bring 16-20%. 1996. 0k.

worried about the finances. catalans bring 16-20%. 1996. ok. spanish debt bring 16-2096. 1996. ok. spanish debt is the largest in europe. they have been using the pensions fund to buy their own debt which is illegal. mariano rajoy has already started the process of direct rule. how will people react? how will you react?|j don't people react? how will you react?” don't know. i have a ticket to go back to london on tuesday morning. i don't know if i'll be able to go back. tonight they may detain the government. people will come to the streets to protect our institutions. is. more and more people are angry at the violence. we have 10,000 spanish police and an army deployment in spain that nobody is listening and realising that they are sending the army against its people. people are going to react with anger. peacefully. defending, and accepting to be beaten up by the police. we will take it and put the

other cheek but we will not be moved. thank you very much indeed. these are extremely uncertain times. article 155 has never been invoked before. the most serious constitutional crisis for spain since the attempted coup back in 1981. all eyes on madrid and the measures that they are going to impose. and also how strongly they are going to impose them. actor you in london. tim, thank you. —— back to you. we've been gauging reaction on social media. reaction to the declaration coming in from across europe. president of the european council donald tusk has said... this from the scottish cabinet

secretary for external affairs... let's hear from someone who joins let's hearfrom someone whojoins me in the studio who supports the spanish government. i'm joined by toni timoner salva, a senior member of the uk branch of spain's ruling popular party. what was interesting about those

comments from various political people and parties is there is concern about how the spanish government deals with this. are you happy with what your prime minister is doing? is it going the right way? are you concerned about heavy—handed nurse on the streets of catalonia tonight? i don't have concern. i think he's doing the right thing. so is the whole political majority in spain. he has all support of the main parties. is sacking the police chief and the current parliament and holding elections on december 21 democratic? is it the way to go forward ? democratic? is it the way to go forward? we're going to see all parties elected, are we? it was not democratic today to have the announcement of independence with half of the catalan assembly is empty. we've already heard from the

will of the people of catalonia?e million people voting out of 5.5 eligible. the polls show a majority of cata la ns eligible. the polls show a majority of catalans still don't support independence. why are they remaining so independence. why are they remaining so silent if they feel so strongly that they should remain in spain? the people who want independence are more radical and the majority is moderate people like you and me. they have homes, family, their own problems. they think politicians should solve problems, not create them. so the prime minister is thinking that on the 21st of december, all catalonian to have their say without taking to the streets ? their say without taking to the streets? we have had 11 elections in the last 110 years. they are simply asking for another type of election. a blank slate and starting over. the

trouble is, looking at those scenes live in barcelona, thousands of people feel very strongly that they have done what they need to do, have had a referendum, have declared independence, they have a right to do that. what they have is the right to vote within the limits of what is a democracy. will they trusted? that's what i'm asking. will they trust that election? they have been trusting those elections over the past 110 years. the government they have had today is with the majority of votes in parliament. a minority of votes in parliament. a minority of votes in the street. it was elected in these elections. we are asking for more elections. it is a very honest and transparent approach. it is a fantastic offer and the government of catalonia should have taken it but it is too late and now the government has intervened. if the catalonian government get re—elected on

december the 21st and promised independence, is that something that your government is going to allowed to continue democratically asked about are they going to recognise it. this is a transparent election. it could happen. there has always been a democratic way for spain with independence. they have offered it twice before. you go to madrid, you go to the senate or the national parliament. the place where these decisions are made. you put forward your proposition and it is discussed. you need constitutional change. you need to go through the avenues of of the legal order. the basics of any constitution and regime. here in uk, europe, in france, and germany. we're asking only for that. thanks very much for coming in. we will keep you updated on all the developments and bring

you all the scenes from spain tonight. it remains our top headline here on bbc news. catalonia's parliament votes to declare independence from spain. but spain's central government in madrid approves direct rule over the region — dissolving catalan‘s parliament and calling new elections. a cyber attack on the nhs could have been prevented with simple security measure, a government report says — adding that the attack came from north korea. and president trump has released some — but not all — of the files on the assassination ofjfk, after requests to hold back some documents are made by the fbi and cia. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, australia have been showing why they are the world's best in the opening match of the rugby league world cup beating england in melbourne. england made the perfect start with

the opening try of the match but they were pegged back by two australian tries to lead 10—4 at half—time. australia ten got their third late in the second half to cap an 18—1; win. defeat shouldn't affect england's chances of making the knockout stage. sam burgess was taken off with a knee injury and is unlikely to be back until the semifinals if england make it that far. second practice is underway in the last 15 minutes for the mexican grand prix. lewis hamilton was almost half a second behind valtteri bottas in first factors. finish fifth or better on sunday and he will be world champion for the fourth time no matter what happens to his closest rivals sebastian vettel. he has struggled so far in mexico. we will bring you up—to—date with the results of second practice over the course of the evening. 0nto

by, over the course of the evening. 0nto rugby, premiership champions exeter are in manchester to take on sale. the game is half an hour in and you can see the latest score on screen. three other games in the pro 16. anthonyjoshua has anthony joshua has weighed anthonyjoshua has weighed in as the heaviest he has ever been for a professionalfight at 18 heaviest he has ever been for a professional fight at 18 stone £2. he is defending his title is against the standing ta kam he is defending his title is against the standing takam who weighed in to stone lighter. harry kane scored twice last sunday but had to be

substituted late in the game. morrissey pochettino has called it a minorstrain morrissey pochettino has called it a minor strain that is enough to keep him out this weekend. top of the table action in the championship. sheffield united took an early lead against rivals leeds. billy sharp with the goal. it is currently 1—1. as test captain joe with the goal. it is currently 1—1. as test captainjoe root prepares for the start of the ashes series without all—arounder ben stokes, he insists senior players will behave themselves on tour. stokes is staying at home. he won't have trouble with the squad. —— he won't travel with the squad after trouble in bristol on a night out. there is

and drinking culture in the squad. we will address issues to make sure things like will not happen again. we are grown men and no how to behave and will make sure we conduct ourselves on this tour. it's disappointing that he is not going to be with others but we are a strong squad. it gives other guy is an opportunity to stand up and put their stamp on test cricket. to come into the squad and strengthen the depth of the squad for when ben is able to come back and play. caroline garcia is through to the next round of the wta championships at the expense of simona halep. carolina press code will replace simona halep as world number one if she wins the title in singapore. kyle edmund maintained his fine form with a win putting him into his third atp

semifinal of the year. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you at 10:30pm. back to you now, chris. let's return to our main story this evening — the constitutional crisis in spain. i can now speak to mep josep—maria terricabras, from the catalonia republican left party who is pro—independence. hejoins me via webcam from girona. declaration of independence, that's what happened today. was it really the right way to spearhead bearing in mind that there is already so much autonomy for catalonia. it retains its culture, some of its taxes, its language. what was the point? the point was that the people

wa nted point? the point was that the people wanted independence and i think in a democratic country you have to respect the wish of the people. it's no more than that. what is the point of voting? if you want a divorce, then divorce. that's it. thousands of people on the street celebrating tonight. they would have known the reaction of the madrid government would be to send the policing, sack eve ryo ne would be to send the policing, sack everyone and possibly call an election. probably. yes. we have already tested the way of behaving of spain's police on october the 1st

when these police were beating people peacefully going to vote. 0ur reaction will be a peaceful one. we have adopted a kindly attitude. as one, we will not react violently against violence. again, my point is, what was the point of declaring independence knowing that everyone in power would be fired and the state media would take control, moving the policing. where is it getting the people of catalonia who wa nt to getting the people of catalonia who want to independence? if you're so scared that you are just waiting for what your opponent does, in order not to react, then no step forward would have been done in history. black people knew their problem.

women know which is the problem. homosexuals know what is the problem. some countries know very well their problems but nevertheless they are able to react. let me put a couple of points to you. a senior member of the ruling popular party said to me moments ago, election is called by the spanish prime minister on december the 21st would be transparent, fair and democratic, every party pro and against independence will have their place in the election and be able to be voted in. do you trust that? i'm not going to laugh because the matter is too serious but how can it be democratic that a prime minister fires the politicians elected by the

people? that's what mr rajoy did tonight. imagine theresa may firing nicola sturgeon in britain. so what happens now? where does catalonia go from now? where does catalonia go from now? do you think the boycott will bea now? do you think the boycott will be a waste of time? not a waste of time. we will have difficult times until we have some international recognition. i'm sure that's not possible in the first days and weeks. that's absolutely natural. i'm not expecting much from the leaders of the european union. they said what they have to say, they protect each other. it's a block of

states so they protect each other but when things change, they are extremely pragmatic people. this happened in estonia, in the years of the former yugoslavia, at the very beginning, they said no, you are not becoming independent states, we are not going to recognise, and now many of them are now members of the european union. thanks very much forjoining us. clearly very happy about the declaration of independence. much more on the bbc news website. let's catch up with the weather now. the wind will blow in more clout to

northern and western parts. the numbers in towns and cities here, in rural areas it could be down to three or four. strong rural areas it could be down to three orfour. strong rain and drizzle over the hills further north. with the on high ground in the east. temperatures could get high as 16 with some sunshine tomorrow. cold air will come rushing down tomorrow night into sunday feeling particularly chilly where we have the strong winds. a few showers near the coast. lots of sunshine but temperatures a bit higher. 16 or 15.

this is bbc news, our latest headlines: the parliament of catalonia declares independence from spain — in response, the spanish senate has approved imposing direct rule from madrid — dissolving catalan's parliament and calling new elections. the cyber attack which crippled much of the nhs in may could have been prevented with basic security updates, says an investigation. files about the assassination ofjfk are released — but some are held back, at the request of the cia and fbi. the department of health and the nhs have been told to "get their act together" and improve their cyber security, following a major hacking

attack in may this year. the national audit office said more than a third of trusts in england were affected, with around seven thousand appointments cancelled. our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones reports. it was a cyber attack that locked up computers around the world with a message demanding a ransom payment, but the nhs was among the organisations worst hit and it wasn't ready to deal with it. 81 health trusts across england were affected. more than 19,000 appointments were cancelled, including 139 potential cancer referrals. everything we do is based around the use of computers for the records so when you don't have that it's basically impossible to work with any degree of efficiency. this gp surgery on merseyside was among nearly 600 whose work was disrupted, with no clear instructions about what to do. in medicine we have this thing called the golden hour. when anything major happens, that first hour is critical. nothing happened, there was no "please check business continuity is accessible, you might want to print off your list of patients this afternoon, you might want to put some contact numbers in there, you might want to do social media" or whatever.

all that side of communications was absent. this, the royal london, was one of the worst affected hospitals, with ambulances having to be diverted to other a&e departments. there was a national plan to deal with a cyber attack but it hadn't been rehearsed at local level. that meant people didn't know who to contact and the fact their computers weren't working made it even trickier. all this could have been avoided if health trusts had followed instructions to apply security patches which would have stopped the ransomware in its tracks. it wasn't a terribly sophisticated virus and so the patches that are issued nationally by nhs digital and updated locally by those bodies, in some cases that hadn't happened and so it was quite simple for the virus to get into those organisations. now the nhs has been told it needs a clear plan to respond to future cyber attacks. we have been getting our act together, we are getting our act together, we are putting funding in, we are putting education in.

we are rolling out the programmes that were in place before this attack, and we will continue to improve over time. the government now says north korea was behind the wannacry ransomware and further attacks can't be ruled out but hospitals are warning that cyber security is costly and they will need more money to shore up their defences. rory cellan—jones, bbc news. downing street has said any allegations of sexual harassment and abuse at westminster are "deeply concerning". it was responding to claims reported by the sun newspaper made by researchers and assistants on social media. a short time ago, our political correspondent ben wright gave us this update. no complaints have been made and no mps have been named but the prime minister's official spokeswoman was responding to a report in the sun newspaper that claims some female researchers working at westminster for members of parliament have been shown information on what sat about

allegedly sleazy and inappropriate behaviour by some mps. we don't know if this group exists, but number ten responded, and the prime minister's official spokeswoman said any reported sexual harassment is deeply concerning, allegations made would be taken seriously and urged anybody with information to contact the authorities and this was echoed by the house of commons. which pointed out that many researchers are employed directly by mps said there isa limit employed directly by mps said there is a limit to how much the parliamentary authorities can intervene although the spokesperson for the house of commons said there isa for the house of commons said there is a phone helpline for anybody with concerns. historians, journalists and conspiracy theorists have begun poring over thousands of newly—declassified files relating to the assassination of presidentjohn f kennedy. but president trump has decided to to keep hundreds of other files secret, at least for the time being, at the request of security agencies. jon donnison reports: dallas, november the 22nd, 1963. newsreel: it appears as though

something has happened in the motorcade route, something i repeat has happened in the motorcade route... a day that shocked america and the world, and became the holy grail for conspiracy theorists. newsreel: president kennedy has been assassinated. the official version of events is that the gunman, lee harvey oswald, acted alone. newsreel: after the shots were fired, he happened to look up at about the fifth or sixth floor of the texas book depository. he said he saw the rifle being pulled back in. but more than half a century on, polls show most americans still don't believe that to be true. were the cia involved? the russians, the cubans or the mafia ? analysts are now poring over almost 3,000 government documents released from the national archive. there is nothing really of a bombshell there than understanding that bureaucrats in 1960 operated probably much like bureaucrats do today. it's easier to think of a conspiracy when really it's our own far more mundane failings that result in these tragedies.

there is some fuel, though, for the conspiracy theorists, and even a british angle. an fbi memo tells of how a local newspaper in cambridge received an anonymous phone call 25 minutes before the assassination, warning to expect some big news out of america. and what of the some would say convenient murder of lee harvey oswald, shot by nightclub ownerjack ruby? the new documents reveal the fbi had warned dallas police about death threats towards 0swald. in downtown dallas today, a whole industry has been built around the mystery surrounding president kennedy's death. president trump, who indulged some of the conspiracy theories himself, in the end decided to hold back some of the most sensitive files, at least for now. and whether they're eventually released or not, the speculation over one of the defining events of the 20th century is unlikely to end.

jon donnison, bbc news. it's now been nearly two months since hurricane irma tore a destructive path through the caribbean and south—eastern parts of the united states. at its peak, irma was a category five storm with winds topping 185 miles per hour. over 130 people were killed in the disaster and and estimated 1.2 million were affected. one of the places hardest hit was the island nation of anguilla, where radio announcer nisha dupuis experienced the full force of irma. she broadcast regular updates from the radio station she worked at via the social media site periscope. we'll talk to her in a moment, but first let's have a look at one of her reports during the height of the storm. 0k, 0k, we're here. hurricane irma

is to approaching, but with a force so strong, many of the shutters are being blown down and we are being flooded even within the radio station. it is in a bad state and we are getting calls from all over that shutters have been blown out, this isa shutters have been blown out, this is a state of disaster, i'm not declaring it personally, butjust from personal observation. we are doing our best here to keep it together. martin is also having a ha rd together. martin is also having a hard time. i will let you see what is going on here at the station. the shutters have been completely blown down. this is what is happening now. lots of flooding going on. you had water coming into the studio. i can

see your colleague with his reins on. “— see your colleague with his reins on. —— his raincoat on. see your colleague with his reins on. -- his raincoat on. yes, we had leaves and stones coming through the shutters, thanks to the force of hurricane irma, 185 mph winds. periscope is a bit like skype, and eve ryo ne periscope is a bit like skype, and everyone can watch around the world, theyjoin a link and that is how you broadcast. looking back at the broadcast, how do you feel? to be honest, i feel incredible, broadcast, how do you feel? to be honest, ifeel incredible, because that broadcast was able to bring so much awareness to people and i was able to connect a lot of people with theirfamilies after able to connect a lot of people with their families after hurricane irma, and it was quite intense, broadcasting right in front of an exposed window but i was happy that we we re exposed window but i was happy that we were able to make the global community aware of what was going on at the time. you went into

journalist mode. definitely. isay that, not many journalists journalist mode. definitely. isay that, not manyjournalists would continue broadcasting in a category five hurricane! i said i would go out and do a report early in the day, and doing the all—night shift, it became... when the radio system crashed, my natural instinct was there. the station eventually came off air? yes, the signal failed. the equipment was getting wet? yes. you then went on to twitter and he continued to broadcast incredible footage like this, through the window, this is a riverfalling from the sky, in high winds. what is it like, experiencing a hurricane in that way? many people leave the

area, that way? many people leave the area , were you that way? many people leave the area, were you scared? at 1.1 was, my mother is a nurse, and she said bea my mother is a nurse, and she said be a voice note to say that the roof was blowing off —— at 1.1 was. with people calling me, saying help, help, because we serve as an emergency line, as well, and with people calling to say that, yes, i recognised other people were in former ties in situations. —— in traumatising. situations bring out your best self, even in the middle of everything going on, and that is what i tried to do that night. at some point you stop thinking about it as scary when you have other people with babies in the room calling you and telling you that they are in danger. almost self—sacrificing, i would say, at a certain point. you felt like a public service in a way? definitely. it is the only to bring awareness at a time like that, although the locals, at home, they would not have

been able to see that, the global community would have been made aware. this is the damage, clearly, afterwards. it looks like a war zone. it was very traumatising when you went outside, i don't want to say... there was barely any leaves on the trees, as you can see, the high school there devastated, the hospital, critical sectors, and even to this day, which i want to say, we are still in a state of restoration, it is not all completed there. it is still a real situation going on on the british 0verseas territory. still a real situation going on on the british overseas territorym enough money coming in?” the british overseas territorym enough money coming in? i want to focus on the electricity company, they are short for linesmen at the moment and their objective is to get electricity restored on island by december, but currently because they are understaffed they are seeing

another six months before the entire island will be able to get electricity. there are zones that have electricity but right now there is not full electricity. how do you cope? the best way you can, there are centres, like the music academy, they are setting up places for people to get some wi—fi, to send e—mails, anything you want, to serve the public. these people are bringing out their resources to serve others. if the water is restored, that's a good think about other sectors have got to put up, like education, the students are still on a shift system, so if you are on the afternoon shift, to go home with no electricity, to do homework, that is a very trying time for the for the moment. do islanders feel neglected? there has been paid

from the british government, but the chief minister has said that we need to come together to try to do more, andi to come together to try to do more, and i believe a proposed budget in 2018, we are looking for the full support and commitment of the british government, and i think the people have proven their resilience and they are able to get tourism even back up and running and we are encouraging visitors to visit the island. although resources are not all the way back up, there are still villas and hotels that are able to function and some entertainment that people will be able to enjoy. you we re very people will be able to enjoy. you were very brave to stay on air for as long as you did, presumably that was for the local population, to keep them informed. and then you had a global audience on social media, but looking back at the footage, seeing the water and the stones coming through the windows, quite

flimsy looking walls, is it something you would do again? to be honest, if it allows me to be a journalist, if it allows me to share information, to be that person, i would say i would definitely do it again. if you called me right now and said you have a hurricane and you need someone to report, i would be like, definitely, yes. it is dangerous, you could have been killed. that is true, and there is someone who lost their life. is there a story worth losing a life for? i understand what you are saying, but i'm still alive, i'm here with you talking right now, continuing to shed light and bring awareness, and i think in some respect it serves a greater purpose, i think, but the