of inappropriate conduct. sir michael said his past conduct had fallen below the high standards required, and it was right to step down. he spoke to the bbc tonight and claimed that the understanding of acceptable conduct had changed. the culture has changed over the years. what might have been acceptable 15, ten years ago, is clearly not acceptable now. sir michael's resignation means that the prime minister loses one of her most important allies in the cabinet. and this on the day theresa may called for party leaders to unite on new measures to tackle sexual harrassment at westminster. also tonight... new york police say the man who killed eight people yesterday had been inspired by so—called islamic state, as the president ordered rigorous immigration checks. we have to get much tougher. we have to get much smarter. and we have to get much less politically correct. this 14—year—old was one of the many teenage victims of gun

violence in london — a crime that's rising sharply. a 14—year—old being killed in a playground in the middle of the day. eriksen, 3—0. and in tonight's football, tottenham hotspur have beaten the european champions, real madrid, at wembley. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... a look at the new tennis world rankings, and andy murray falls out of the top 10 for the first time in three years. good evening. the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, has resigned

in the light of allegations about his past conduct. he's admitted that his behaviour in the past may have "fallen short of the high standards required". sir michael had already apologised for putting his hand on the knee of a female journalist, in an incident more than a decade ago. sir michael — who's been one of the prime minister's strongest supporters in cabinet — told the bbc he believed it was right that the issue of sexual harassment was now being taken very seriously. live to our political editor laura kuenssberg with the latest. in this very volatile atmosphere at westminster, sir michael fallon had for yea rs westminster, sir michael fallon had for years been seen as one of the most reliable, one of the steadiest and most trustworthy of figures. but since allegations have been swirling around, his name is one of those that emerged. now, one of the prime minister's most senior allies‘ cabinet minister‘s most senior allies‘ cabinet career is at an end. his is the first casualty of what has been

dominating westminster for days. quiet outside the ministry of defence tonight, but inside, turmoil. the secretary of state quits. in recent days allegations have been made about mps‘ conduct, including my own. many of these allegations have been false. but i realise that in the past i may have fallen below the high standards that we require of the armed forces that i have the honour to represent. i have reflected now on my position in government, and i am therefore resigning as defence secretary. the letter to the prime minister that spells the end of his long cabinet career. the reply from theresa may thanking him for his service. his resignation comes only the day after a front—page story telling that he put his hand on a well—known journalist‘s knee years ago. sources admit more could emerge. were you worried more is going to come out?

the culture has changed over the yea rs. the culture has changed over the years. what might have been a cce pta ble years. what might have been acceptable 15, ten years ago, is clearly not acceptable now. parliament is now has to look at itself, and the prime minister has made very clear, that conduct needs to be improved and we need to protect the staff of westminster against any particular allegations of harassment. but do you feel that you, yourself, have done anything wrong? i have behaved in the past, clearly, in a way that has occasionally been below the standards that we require of the armed forces. i don‘t think it‘s right for me to go on as defence secretary expecting the very highest standards of our service men and women and failed to meet them myself. do you feel you should apologise for what has happened?” feel we all have to look back at the past now. there are always things you regret and could have done differently. do you believe there is

a widespread problem in the culture at westminster? clearly, the prime minister has made it clear, a number of allegations are swirling around and many of them are obviously false. but there are some serious issues here that staff at westminster need to be better protected, and that claims of harassment need to be properly investigated. the prime minister has now set that machinery in motion, and clearly from now on that has to apply to all of us. apply how? theresa may is under pressure to act after days of allegations of harassment. she wants to tighten up the westminster rules with a new independent system to listen to victims‘ claims. independent system to listen to victims' claims. i have written to all party leaders inviting them to a meeting early next week so we can agree on it transparent procedure for all those working in westminster. we have a duty to all of those coming here to contribute to public life is treated with respect. but just to public life is treated with respect. butjust as pressing a problem for her tonight is who will

walk up this street in his place. the ministry of defence is in a huge review. we are only weeks from the budget. when ministers are all pressing for money. it's a great day for the royal navy. and irony of ironies, michael fallon was seen as mr reliable. should the foreign secretary be sacked over comments about libya ? secretary be sacked over comments about libya? more used to defending other errant colleagues. he had served four previous prime ministers, from theresa may back to margaret thatcher. what have you got for me today? jobs in education, energy and business. he has been an mp since 1983. you need to have a conservative mp to put pressure on the government to do more and more. but a minister no more. one of the most senior government seats empty for tonight. somebody else‘s job for tomorrow, but the past can‘t be erased. studio: laura, as you have

underlined, michael fallon was a very important part of the cabinet. how does this departure affect the government and the prime minister? in several ways. first there is the immediate and pressing problem of finding a new defence secretary tomorrow. it‘s a big job with the department in the middle of a big strategic review. it also extremely important issues that whoever gets thejob will deal with. important issues that whoever gets the job will deal with. secondly, it‘s a huge challenge because the government is fragile. theresa may suffered such a loss of authority after the election that the balance of the cabinet is very delicate. it was very carefully constructed and put together to try to create the most put together to try to create the m ost sta ble put together to try to create the most stable impression as possible. and to remove one of the chess pieces, there is the risk that the whole board suddenly looks very different. so this is not a time when theresa may would have been hoping to be forced to make changes. i understand that rather than having

some radical reshuffle, which some in the conservative party want her to, there will be some sideways move, or perhaps one person moving up move, or perhaps one person moving up from the second tier of government, rather than a whole new cast list suddenly emerging in the morning. thirdly, and where theresa may supporters might find some comfort in all of this, if indeed some can be found after such a sorry affairand a some can be found after such a sorry affair and a sorry end to a cabinet career, is it has been suggested to me tonight that fresh concerns about sir michael were put to number ten through the course of today. almost as soon as that happened, theresa may took the view that basically he would have to go. number ten are not getting into that conversation at all this evening. they are not confirming that account of things in any way. they don‘t get into the wides and wherefores of why that happened. but it shows that when

theresa may promised to take this seriously, losing one of her senior cabinet colleagues is evidence she is doing that. but that also creates the potential problem, if this kind of thing emerges about one of her other significant senior colleagues, she will have to take the same kind of action whatever the political cost. laura kuenssberg with the latest at westminster, thank you. police in new york say a man who drove into cyclists and pedestrians last night, killing eight people, had been planning the attack for several weeks, and had been influenced by the islamic state group. the suspect — an immigrant from uzbekistan — has been interviewed by police in hospital. president trump said he‘d ordered an increase in the extreme vetting of immigrants. our north america correspondent nick bryant has the latest. this is the kind of scene that preys on the minds of new yorkers, one that recalls the trauma of 9/11, one that reveals how this city is vulnerable to new forms of terror.

a rented pick—up truck that became weaponised. a mode of attack that‘s common in europe, but now used to deadly effect on american soil, and just yards from ground zero, the site of the september 11th attacks. the antenna on the new world trade center, bathed in red, white and blue, to honour the eight people killed. this is the suspected attacker, sayfullo saipov, a 29—year—old who reportedly shouted "allahu akbar", "god is great", as he left his truck. he was brandishing fake weapons, and was shot by the police and taken into custody. moments earlier, he‘d driven at high speed along a riverside bike path, mowing down cyclists and pedestrians. this was an attack on the united states of america and an attack on new york city, an attack on our people, and it was the definition of terrorism, an effort to take away people‘s hope and spirit and to make them change, and what new yorkers showed already is we will not change.

saipov is an uzbek immigrant who came to the united states in 2010. he chose halloween because the streets would be more crowded. he told police he was pleased with the success of the attack. the fbi is seeking evidence about a second uzbekistan man involved in the attack. one of the early clues that investigators found at the scene were hand—written notes in arabic pledging allegiance to the group calling itself islamic state. but there‘s no evidence yet of a direct link to that group. you got kids in there? yeah. all right, hold on. his attack came to an end when he crashed into a school bus. oh, my god. oh, my god! ok, i need an ambulance right here. that was an accident, because he wanted to continue

further to the brookklyn bridge. police found knives in his vehicle and think the attack had been planned for weeks. he appears to have followed, almost exactly to a t, the instructions that isis has put out in its social media channels before with instructions to their followers on how to carry out such an attack. among those killed, five friends from argentina, men in their late 40s, in new york to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation from college. look at the camaraderie and fun they were having, just a short while before, as they rode bikes down the hudson river, on a perfect autumn day. president trump is demanding a more aggressive criminaljustice system. we need quick justice and we need strong justice, much quicker and much stronger than we have right now because what we have right now is a joke and it‘s a laughing stock, and no wonder so much of this stuff takes place. in his home town, this tower

was erected in defiance of terror, a symbol of a resurgent city that refused after 9/11 to be cowed, and at the ground level this morning that spirit was very much in evidence, joggers following their normal routes. even a cyclist berating a pedestrian for getting in her way, a scene that speaks of every day new york. the city has experienced worse dawns and waking up to the threat of terror may well be an irreversible fact of life. nick bryant, bbc news, manhattan. responding to the attack, president trump called for tighter immigration measures, which he said would help tackle terrorism. mr trump said he wanted to end what‘s called the diversity lottery programme — the method of obtaining a us visa used by the suspect. the president said america needed to get tougher, smarter and less politically correct.

our north america editor jon sopel reports. he‘s the fbi‘s worst nightmare. sayfullo saipov, an immigrant from uzbekistan in central asia who‘s become radicalised in the us and has barely flickered on their radar screen. as forensic experts continued to pour over the truck that he weaponised, the president is combing over america‘s immigration system and is demanding that the green card lottery be ripped up. so we want to immediately work with congress on the diversity lottery programme, on terminating it, getting rid of it. we have to get much tougher, we have to get much smarter and we have to get much less politically correct. the tradition has always been that after a terrorist attack when the nation is in mourning, the political class will put aside their differences and come together, united. not in today‘s america. less than 2a hours after the attack in lower manhattan, the political

battle lines have been drawn in a sharply divisive way. the president tweeted this morning, the terrorist came into our country through what is called the diversity visa lottery program, a chuck schumer beauty. i want merit—based. the visa lottery was introduced when republican president george hw bush was in the white house and though democratic senator chuck schumer was one of its architects, it was supported across the political divide. today, the new york senator fired back. the president ought to stop tweeting and start leading. the american people long for leadership, not divisiveness, not finger—pointing, not name—calling. this is a tragedy. it‘s less than a day than after it occurred and he can‘t refrain from his nasty, divisive habits. the green card lottery allows 50,000 people from across the globe to settle in the us each year. millions apply.

in 2015, just over 4000 came from uzbekistan, a country that‘s never been on donald trump‘s target list. and in tampa, where saipov settled for a while, he steered clear of conventional islam. we‘ve worked with the fbi in a number of cases of trying to protect youth from being targeted by groups like isis and the first tactic isis does is try to get them away from mosques because they know the messaging of the mosques undermines the deviant extremist heretical message of groups like isis. in newjersey, where he‘d been living most recently, the police are trying to piece together every aspect of his life. his attack killed eight in lower manhattan. it‘s likely to affect the immigration prospect of hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. let‘s speak to nick bryant, who‘s in new york. the latest you have there on the state of this investigation? huw,

federal charges, two federal charges, have been issued in the last few minutes for an attack that came to an end just behind me, on the highway down below. to give you a sense of my advantage point i‘m here on ground zero. the federal charges could bring the death penalty if the government finds, gets a guilty verdict and also seeks it. those charge sheets are full of fascinating detail. for instance, the planning of this attack had been going on for months. he had hired a vehicle before, so that he could practice turns. he intended to keep going to brooklyn bridge. that is a five or six minute drive away. he had considered using islamic state flags in the front window and the back window. he was concerned it might draw attention to him. when he was taken to hospital after being wounded by the police, he tried to get them to put an is flag up in his hospital room. he apparently had two phones, one to download is

propaganda and another to look up hallowe‘en and how to rent cars. he deliberately planned this for hallowe‘en because the streets would be crowded with so many people and so many children. now in the last few minutes the police have been saying they were looking for a second uzbec man in connection with this attack. now they are saying they are not looking for that individual any more. huw, this is a very fast moving investigation, but at the moment it does seem that they are considering that he wasn‘t part ofa are considering that he wasn‘t part of a broader plot, he was inspired by is, but not directed by it. nick many thanks for the update. nooibg brya nt many thanks for the update. nooibg bryant there for us with the latest on the investigation there in new york. a brief look at some of the day‘s other news stories: two 14—year—old boys from northallerton, in north yorkshire, have been charged with conspiracy to murder following an investigation by counter—terrorism detectives. they‘ll appear in court tomorrow in leeds. the government has announced it will take steps to introduce a budget bill

for northern ireland at westminster. james brokenshire, the secretary of state, the secretary of state, said that it was unlikely that power—sharing could be restored at stormont before northern ireland ran out of money at the end of this month. new allegations have been made by a number of men accusing the hollywood actor kevin spacey of sexual misconduct. one man, who wishes to remain anonymous and is now in his 50s, told the bbc that when he was 17 the actor tried to get him into bed. there‘s been no comment from mr spacey or his representatives. the former ukip donor arron banks is being investigated in connection with allegations that he breached finance rules during the eu referendum campaign. the electoral commission has announced it will examine whether he committed offences in relation to donations or loans made to campaigners. the number of crimes involving guns has risen starkly in some areas of the uk, with many of the victims teenagers. the number of crimes involving a firearm rose by 27% in england and wales last year.

in london, the rise was even more pronounced, it was up 42% in total. the bbc has learned that one in six of all victims of gun crime in london so far this year were 17 years old or younger than that. our special correspondent, ed thomas, has been investigating the effect of gun crime on people‘s lives. his report contains some distressing scenes. for six months, the bbc‘s investigated the rise in gun crime. tonight, we speak to the innocent caught in the cross fire. it was like a bang, ijumped out of my sleep. that‘s no way to live, man. the mother whose child was murdered. part of me‘s gone, a part of me died on that day. we face the people who carry guns. is that loaded? of course it‘s loaded. this was london last saturday, a club night, and you‘re

about to see a semi—automatic weapon being fired. gunfire first, the shock... then the panic. and the lights come on. on the floor is mr elliott, he‘s been shot and his belt is now a tourniquet, and he‘s holding on for his life. now he cannot walk and cannot forget. i was so close to my life taking away, do you know what i mean. a machine gun, man. so many shots in a small place. no, man, this is reality. you understand ? your life can just be taken away, just like that. you don‘t have to have

no beef with no—one. you can‘t even be walking to the car and not lose a life. these things ruin people lives. it does. who are not involved. from night attacks to the day.