an apology from the head of the parole board to the victims who weren't told of the imminent release of a serial sex attacker. john warboys will be freed having served 10 years in prison — it's thought he could have attacked over 100 women. we believed all the victims had been told of that decision but we're checking today because clearly something went wrong. there are calls for the decision to free warboys to be reconsidered and for parole board reviews to be made public. also tonight: jon venables — one of the killers of the toddlerjames bulger — is charged over indecent images of children. the book donald trump wants to ban and the crowds queuing to buy it. a latte levy — a proposed 25p on each takeaway coffee to encourage recycling. and parts of the united states are blasted with record freezing temperatures below minus 20, blizzards and flooding. and coming up on fa cup sportsday on bbc news. we'll be live from anfield with all the build—up to the 230th merseyside derby. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six.

the chair of the parole board has apologised unreservedly to victims of the serial sex attacker john worboys, after some of them were not told of his imminent release from prison. the black cab driver was jailed in 2009, for offences against 12 women — but detectives later said they believed he'd attacked more than 100 women. mps are now calling for an inquiry into why the victims were not informed. our home editor mark easton reports. rapistjohn worboys has become symbolic of the charge that police and prosecutors in england and wales still don't take violent sexual crimes against women seriously enough. the london cabbie, who drugged and raped or sexually assaulted numerous women in the back of his taxi, is to be released after nine years, a parole board decision

that has prompted fury and questions, not least — were victims ignored? 58 mps have written to thejustice secretary calling for an investigation into why some of worboys‘ victims were not told their attacker would soon be back on the streets. i think it's very difficult at this point in time to know what role the victims have had in the decision to givejohn worboys parole. they do have a clearly defined role and what we're asking is that the secretary of state act to ensure that has happened. the head of the parole board has apologised unreservedly to victims who say they were not informed of worboys‘s imminent release, accepting that the news must have been very distressing. the ministry ofjustice says some victims have chosen not to be informed. but the questions raised by this case go beyond the management of worboys‘ release from prison. 0ne urgent question — why was parole granted? it's likely he accepted guilt by his convictions, but quite how the board decided he now poses no risk must remain secret.

i'm not allowed by law to explain the reasons for our decision. as i've said before, i'd like to get that changed. and so if this pushes the idea that the parole board processes need to be much more open and transparent and we get support for that, then i think some good will have come out of all this. we need to understand whether he's admitted guilt in relation to the offences that he was convicted forand, indeed, the police need to look again at the possibility of prosecuting him for those many further offences for which he is also suspected. given that more than 100 women have said worboys tried to drugged and sexually assault them, the question why were so many allegations not prosecuted is being asked once again. 80 women came forward after his arrest was publicised, more still after his trial, but all the allegations from publicised, more still after his trial, but only the allegations from

12 women were raised at his trial because prosecutors focused on the case is most likely to get a conviction. one of my clients, due to a very poor a police investigation did not succeed in having her case prosecuted. she was told by the police, who be its police, who reinvestigated later, that didn't matter if her case didn't go forward because there weren't enough that were going forward. the director of public prosecutions at the time, keir starmer, now a labour shadow minister, today urged victims to take the allegations to the police. i think these decisions were nine years ago. it's very important that you go to the crown prosecution service and get an accurate readout of the decisions that were made, particularly if further allegations are likely to be made now. thank you very much indeed. but with police saying worboys maybe britain's most prolific sex attacker, did the original punishment fit the crime? this is a guy who drugged 12 women, who carried out a campaign to rape a very large number of women and who has served rather less than ten years in prison and is now said to be safe. it's pretty surprising.

worboys will have to comply with stringent controls while on parole, but his release reactivates the debate about how the criminal justice system still treats perpetrators and victims of sexual crimes. and mark easton is here now. we have had an unreserved apology, and the mps call for inquiry but is anything likely to change?” and the mps call for inquiry but is anything likely to change? i think that the ministers will have to think hard about the questions raced by the case. the head of the parole board himself saying he wants a review of the secrecy that sounds the parole board hearings, and i'm sure that will be considered. the committee of mps that holds the minister ofjury to committee of mps that holds the minister of jury to account, committee of mps that holds the minister ofjury to account, they will look into it and why some victims were not informed of worboys‘s release and looking at the role of the prosecutors in deciding how many of the cases that have come forward , how many of the cases that have come forward, of the 100 different women,

why so few, 12, 1a, of those were involved in the original trial. now the type of sentence worboys was given is an indeterminate sentence, it does not exist anymore. it was used for crimes that don't attract a life sentence but pose a risk to the public. they brought it in, it no longer exists, for these offenders there will be questions as to if we have to look again at that. but the real issue, i think, isjust how is, is the criminaljustice system good enough at dealing with the real sensitivities that always surround these cases of intimate sexual violence. mark, t thank you. one of the killers of the toddler james bulger in 1993 — jon venables — has been charged over indecent images of children. the trial will be held in an unnamed court. one of the killers of the toddler james bulger in 1993 — jon venables — has been charged over indecent images of children. one of the killers of the toddler

james bulger in 1993 — jon venables — has been charged over indecent images of children. the trial will be held in an unnamed court. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford is outside the crown prosecution service in central london. sojon venables back again before the courts as an adult and again one of the killers of the toddler james bulger in 1993 — that's right. the news broke in a carefully worded statement, released by the crown prosecution service from its head quarters in london. the statement said that the man formerly known asjon venables has been charged with offences rerelating to indecent images of children. and that the proceedings are subject to reporting restrictions. because of those we can say little more about the court case itself. but it is worth reminding people, he was first jailed in 1993 along with robert thump cern, ten years old, both of them, jailed for life for the abduction, torture and murder of two—year—old james bulger. they were released eight years later in 2001, robert thompson disappeared with a

new identity into relative obscurity butjon new identity into relative obscurity but jon venables appeared new identity into relative obscurity butjon venables appeared before the courts again in 2010, with possession of child images and released again in 2013 and then once genre called to prison and today came the news that once again he has been charged. daniel sandford, thank you. despite legal efforts by the whitehouse to block it, the controversial book about donald trump's first year as us president has gone on sale and is selling like hotcakes. fire and fury was released four days early, and people have been queuing in the us to buy a copy. it's author, michael wolff, has questioned the president's mental stability and said everyone he spoke to in the whitehouse described mr trump as being like a child in need of instant gratification. 0ur north america editor jon sopel has more. not quite harry potter but at midnight last night, they were queuing to get their hands on fire and fury, and if donald trump had the powers of the young wizard, he'd have made this book disappear

but he doesn't and this damning portrait is now available for everyone to read. well, what i'm most looking forward to is seeing what we all know is going onjust below the surface. i'm expecting the white house to be as absolutely dysfunctional as the leaks make it seem. i don't think anyone really gets tired of palace intrigue. the picture it paints of life in the west wing is unsparing, allegations of marital strain, of tears and tantrums, of dysfunction and improvisation. and at the epicentre of every storm, donald j trump. i will tell you the one description that everyone gave, everyone has in common, they all say he is like a child. and what they mean by that is he has a need for immediate gratification. it's all about him. and the gravest charge of all, michael wolff alleges that a number of his unnamed sources told him that the president was mentally unfit to remain in office,

a charge that brought this response from the president's spokeswoman. it's disgraceful and laughable. if he was unfit he probably wouldn't be sitting there and wouldn't have defeated the most qualified group of candidates that the republican party has ever seen. the president has been on twitter to rubbish the book saying: but that's not how michael wolff remembers it. i absolutely spoke to the president, weather he realised whether he realised it was an interview or not, i don't know but it certainly was not off the record. the author says he stands by every word. although with anonymous sources it's hard to fact—check. the most remarkable thing about this is —

given michael wolff's track record — why white house staff gave him access to the inner sanctum of the west wing for months on end as virtually a semi—resident. the author was asked this morning what he had to say about the threatening legal letter the president's lawyers had sent? the president's lawyers had sent. his reply? where do i send the box of chocolates? jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the murder of a two—year—old boy in wolverhampton could not have been predicted but improvements need to be made to safeguarding children in the area. that's the conclusion of a serious case review after jeremiah regis—ngaujah was beaten to death by his stepfather. he was the fifth child to be killed by an adult in wolverhampton in less than 10 years. new car sales fell for the first time in six years last year and demand for diesel cars dropped by almost a fifth — hit by fears about pollution and higher taxes. industry experts say they expect car sales to continue to drop this year because of a decline in business and consumer confidence and confusion over what type of car to buy. here's our business editor simonjack. 2017 was the year the showroom shine

began to fade. for the first time in six years, sales of new cars fell, dragged down by a plunge in diesel sales. it started with revelations that vax wagon and other ma nufa ctu res that vax wagon and other manufactures had hidden the amount of harmful particles that they were pumping out. customers lost faith, governments clamped down it led to confusion. why are people not buying diesel? they were telling us to buy diesels, because of emissions and helping the community, the world, 110w helping the community, the world, now they are telling us not to buy diesels. it is confusing people. would you buy a diesel? no, i wouldn't. why not? because they are not so good for the environment. i'm worried for the future, for my children and everything. here at this garage, the customers and staff had concerns.

perception today is that they're bad for the environment. the perception 18 months ago, two years ago, they we re 18 months ago, two years ago, they were the best thing since sliced bread. for years and years they said that diesel was safe, better, for years and years they said that dieselwas safe, better, everyone bought diesel cars. if they want us to go petrol, what do we do with the diesel cars? that customer confusion about diesel as been showing up in the sales numbers big time in 2017. up the sales numbers big time in 2017. up to march, the sales were hanging in there. after that, there is a fall in the sale of deals cars and in fact here in december, down a whopping 31%. now you would think that the buyers would be buying other types of vehicles like petrol but even petrol sales were down in december, what is going on? there is evidence that diesel owners have held off from buying a new car, rather than buying a petrol or an electric vehicle, they want to know the right decision. they need

reassurance. it takes senior members of the government to put their weight behind it. but the government wants to ban the sales of new diesel and petrol cars but not until 2040 but is letting councils tackle pollution charges introduced in london. the thing is as the drivers ditch diesel for one type of pollution, there have been other rises for the first time in 20 years. our top story this evening: the imminent release of the serial sex attackerjon worboys — the head of the parole board apologises to his victims who weren't told. who weren't am . ‘.,. gm. qf “hue m135”?-

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you see, the outer paper is sealed to the inner plastic that makes it watertight and separating those two materials to reuse them is a pretty sticky task... and there are just three plants in the country that can do that, like this one in kendal. environmental campaigners say that it is time that the government rather than consumers coughed up for more coffee recycling. there isn't really the opportunity for customers to do the right thing, to recycle these disposable cups. the facilities don't exist. we have run schemes in the past, in manchester and in inner london, showing if you do provide the facilities to the public, they will use them. some consumers say that they are tired of top up taxes. i don't think it is necessarily right. we've got the charge on the 5p bags, haven't we? it's not ideal, but i think it's

probably necessary because they are a massive environmental issue. today, the coffee industry has fought back. some already use fully compostable cups, and lots compostable cups, and lots offer a reverse levy of sorts, a price reduction if you bring your own cup. there is a worry that this new tax could be hard for some customers to swallow. if they are coming from the office, for their lunch coffee, theyjust might get a cafetiere for the office, and they can just do it in the office instead. so you think it could be bad for the coffee industry? it might be, yes. where consumers create problems, entrepreneurs innovate. we think it is unique, in the sense that it is three sizes in one. there's a growing market for cups that you can keep. it is reusable and that means over 1000 occasions, you can use this, minimum. so, close it up... non—drip, into the pocket of a handbag. the government must now respond to this storm in a coffee cup and decide whether it is them, the coffee industry, or consumers, who are to carry the costs.

nina warhurst, bbc news, leeds. apple has confirmed that all iphones, ipads and mac computers are affected by two flaws in their computer chips. it emerged this week that technology companies have been working to block the meltdown and spectre bugs, which could allow hackers to steal data. apple says it has released some updates to try to tackle potential problems. a man who killed two of his former partners has been sentenced to a minimum of 26 years in prison for the murder of a third. theodorejohnson, who's 64 and from north london, admitted beating and strangling angela best in december 2016 while on day release from a secure psychiatric hospital. sarah campbell reports. for years, theodorejohnson for years, theodore johnson managed to keep it a secret from his partner, angela best, that he was a double killer. 0n the 15th of

december 20 16th at his flat in north london, unable to accept that she had left him come he killed her. the 51—year—old mother and grandmother, described in court as the life and soul of the family, was hit multiple times with a hammer and strangled with a dressing gown cord. in court, family members listen to the details of her death and of the two other women he previously killed. this convicted murderer tried to play the system, as he has successfully done so twice before. he knew exactly what he was doing, when he planned and executed the horrific murder of our beautiful, beloved angela. this was his wife, the mother of his two sons and his first victim. in 1981 he pushed yvonnejohnson from first victim. in 1981 he pushed yvonne johnson from the first victim. in 1981 he pushed yvonnejohnson from the ninth floor balcony of the flat they shared. he was sentenced to three years for manslaughter. 12 years later in 1993 he pleaded guilty to manslaughter here at the old bailey, after

killing his then partner yvonne bennett. he was sent to a secure mental health unit. 0ne bennett. he was sent to a secure mental health unit. one of the conditions of his release was that he must disclose to authorities any new relationship he may strike up with a woman so that she could be informed of his criminal past. but he repeatedly failed to do so, leaving angela best largely unaware of the danger she could be in. johnson left herfor dead in his flat and then jumped johnson left herfor dead in his flat and thenjumped in johnson left herfor dead in his flat and then jumped in front of an express train. he survived, but with serious injuries. angela best's family say they received a life sentence of inconsolable grief. sarah campbell, bbc news, at the old bailey. eastern parts of the united states are enduring record freezing conditions. up to 19 people are believed to have died as blizzards, flooding and giant waves cause disruption across much of the region. thousands of flights have been cancelled and there are widespread power cuts. new york's mayor is warning temperatures could drop to minus 29 tonight.

0ur correspondent laura trevelyan is in new york. your earmuffs are out, it must be bad? fiona, it's currently —17 degrees with the wind chill. as you can see behind me, this beautifulfountain in bryant park, central manhattan, has been turned into a stunning ice sculpture. temperatures tonight are due to drop as low as —29 degrees in the city but —40 degrees elsewhere in new england. these are prolonged, historic low temperatures in new york. all of this is happening in the aftermath of that blizzard that caused chaos up and down the eastern seaboard... the impact of the bomb cyclone in portland in maine where the storm swallowed up the very foundations of ferry beach as wind and waves lashed the coastline. in massachusetts, the storm brought notjust heavy snowfall but flooding too, due to the high winds. in boston, there was a three foot storm surge. the mayor is blaming

the changing climate. we're keeping an eye on all of those different floodings and if anyone wants to question global warming, just see where the flood zones are. those zones didn't flood 30 years ago. this is the scene in coastal new england today. in the wake of the blizzard, the subzero conditions are making life very difficult. the winter hurricane conditions closed new york's major airports, though they're reopening today. the clear up has begun in manhattan. new yorkers are trying to take it all in their frozen stride. i'm still bundled up. i have so many layers. i feel 0k right now. as long as i go quickly to work, i'm 0k. ijust want it to be over with. it's been way too long. ijust want it to be nice and warm again. the race is on to clear away the snow in manhattan before it turns into dangerous ice. the storm brought in all this cold airfrom the arctic and so, in its aftermath, we're due to have subzero temperatures for the next few days.

it is so cold out here, —10 celsius, that already i can hardly feel my fingers or my toes. can you believe this is tallahassee, florida? and we are getting snow? that was the reaction in tallahassee, florida, where they haven't seen snow in almost three decades. and the freezing temperatures are prompting many americans to experiment. this particular trick is proving very popular in the deep freeze. laura trevelyan, bbc news, new york. the queen's granddaughter zara tindall has announced she is pregnant. the baby will be her second child with husband mike tindall, the former rugby player. the announcement comes just over a year after zara suffered a miscarriage. cricket, and australia have seized the initiative on the second day of the fifth ashes test against england. captain steve smith scored his 6000th test run as the hosts

finished the day on 193 for two to close in on england's first innings of 346 all out. closer to home, and it's a big night in merseyside as liverpool and everton face each other in the 230th merseyside derby. they'll be competing in the third round of the fa cup at anfield. 0ur sports correspondent andy swiss is there... yes, fiona, when they made the fa cup draw last month, organisers would have hoped to get a few intriguing ties, but to get one of the biggest rivalries in football so early in the competition is something very special. liverpool against everton, and it is the latest chapter in one of football's most enthralling sagas... it is a city and a rivalry that once ruled the fa cup. everton brought the cup back to merseyside, where it had been in liverpool's keeping for a year. and now the men at goodison park have won it. this fa cup must like it up here! 0n the far side, is this three?

it is! but since the glory days of the 19805 when liverpool and everton contested two finals, that famous trophy has proved rather harder to lift. not since liverpool 12 years ago has either side won it... gerrard! it's gone in! now the footballing fates have thrown them together in their search for that elusive silverware... we all know how desperate our supporters are to get something. and believe me, we are in exactly the same mood. we are exactly as greedy on things like that. it is a glory game, and you go out and seek the glory, and try and win it. if we are to get through, we have to beat liverpool. simple as that. but this derby could also be about a debut for the world's most expensive defender — liverpool's new £75 million signing, virgilvan dijk.

as one star arrives at anfield though, another could be on his way out... philippe coutinho, linked with barcelona for an eye watering £140 million. tonight though is no time for distractions... everton might be the underdogs. after all, they haven't lifted the cup since 1995. but this is a fixture which stirs passion like few others. for two teams hoping to recapture that trophy—winning feeling. andy swiss, bbc news, anfield. darren bett, before you tell us about the weather, there is something you want to say? come on you reds! you've got me in serious trouble now! things are changing. you'll never walk alone on this beach in carnoustie. there will be less cloud and less mess across the weather in the uk, instead there's this kind of weather this weekend. increasing sunshine and more dry weather too

but it does mean that it will be called. we are looking at more in the way of frost on saturday night, increased amounts of sunshine. more widely across the uk as the weekend goes on. more cloud around, more showers in the south. this wintry mix of rain, sleet, hill snow sneaking away from scotland and northern england. colder air coming in across scotland but the clouds are unreliable in the central areas. a touch of frost and icy patches around in the south—west, in particular scotland and north east england kumble with the wintry showers. a lot of sunshine here, you would struggle to get much sunshine further south, this zone of cloud slipping southwards and bringing with it rain and drizzle, and a cold wind blowing across southern areas. low temperatures further north but at least there is sunshine. 0vernight, these winds blow across southern areas and the cloud takes a while to sink away into the english

channel. further north, temperatures fall away sharply. these are the numbers in towns and cities, it could get as low as —10 in the north—west. there's no cloud all went in this area of high pressure. southwards, there's colder air and more sunshine. still some strong winds in the south on sunday. 0therwise, winds in the south on sunday. otherwise, a nice and crisp winter day. thank you. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me — and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 6:30pm. the chairman of the parole board apologises after some victims of the serial sex attacker john worboys weren't told he was about to be released. my understanding at the moment is we were informed that the victims had been told about the decision and then we released the decision on that basis, but nevertheless this was a problem with the parole system and i apologise unreservedly to them.

jon venables, one of the killers of the toddlerjames bulger, is charged in relation to indecent images of children. president trump dismisses a new book about him as "full of lies". its author says he stands by everything he wrote. sales of new cars fall for the first time in six years, with demand for diesel models plunging by almost a fifth. in a moment, it will be time for sportsday, but first a look