this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 11:00: the parole board apologises after victims of a sex attacker are not told he is about to be let out ofjail. jon venables, one of the killers of the toddlerjames bulger, is charged in relation to indecent images of children. president trump hits back at a controversial book about him, saying it's full of lies as copies fly off the shelves. and on newsnight — we discuss the most explosive political kiss and tell book we've ever seen about a sitting president. and if you own a pug or a bulldog, are you being cruel to animals? edward and spike will be here to help you decide. 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 some victims were not informed and whether their views were sufficiently taken into account. 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‘ imminent release, accepting that the news must have been very distressing. the ministry ofjustice says some victims had 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 for 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. and 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 for and the police need to look again at the possibility of prosecuting him for those many further offences for which he was also suspected. given that more than 100 women have said worboys tried to drug and sexually assault them, the question why were so many allegations not prosecuted is being asked once again. allegations from 83 women were referred to the crown prosecution service, but only the experiences 01:14 were raised at his trial because prosecutors believed the evidence in the other cases was not good enough to secure a conviction. one of my clients, due to a very poor police investigation, did not succeed in having her case prosecuted. she was told by the police, who reinvestigated it later, that it didn't matter if her case didn't go forward

because there were enough that were going forward. scotland yard and the cps have both issued statements tonight defending their actions in the case. the director of public prosecutions at the time, keir starmer, who was not involved in the decision—making, has urged victims to take any 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 may be 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 attempting 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 criminaljustice system

still treats perpetrators and victims of sexual violence. 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 has been to the crown prosecution service in central london the news broke in a statement released, a very carefully worded statement released, by the crown prosecution service from its headquarters here in london. the statement said the man formerly known asjon venables has been charged with offences relating to indecent images of children and he will appear in the crown court. in order thatjustice can be done, no further details are being released at this stage and the proceedings are subject to reporting restrictions and because of those reporting restrictions, we can say very little more about the court case itself, but it's worth reminding people thatjon venables was first jailed in 1993 along with his friend robert thompson. both of them were 10

years old and they were jailed for life for the abduction, torture and murder of two—year—old james bulger. quite controversially, they were released just eight years later in 2001. robert thompson disappeared with a new identity into relative obscurity, butjon venables appeared before the courts again and was convicted in 2010 of possession of child abuse images before being released again from prison in 2013. at the back end of last year, he was once again recalled to prison and today came the news that once again, he has been charged. the author of a controversial new book about donald trump's first year as us president says everyone he spoke to at the white house described the president as like a child, in need of instant gratification. the book called fire and fury has gone on sale — four days early — despite the white house trying to block its publication. president trump has called it a phoney book full of lies. 0ur north america editor jon sopel reports. 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. what i'm most looking forward to is seeing what we all know is going on just below the surface. i'm expecting the white house to be as absolutely dysfunctional as the leaks would 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 — 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, 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. his reply? "where do i send the box of chocolates?" jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the murder of a 2—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 afterjeremiah regis newgaujah 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. 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. he already has two manslaughter convictions. he pushed his wife off a ninth—floor balcony in 1981 and strangled a former partner in 1993. new car sales fell for the first time in six years last year. the demand for diesel cars dropped by almost a fifth — mainly because of concerns about about pollution and higher taxes. industry experts say they expect car sales to continue to fall this year because of a decline in business and consumer confidence as well as confusion over diesel cars. our business editor simonjack reports. 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 volkswagen and other manufactures

had hidden the amount of harmful particles that they were pumping out. customers lost faith, governments clamped down, and it led to confusion. would you buy a diesel? no, i wouldn't. why not? because they are not so good for the environment. i'm worried about the future, for my children and everything. i did want a diesel car initially and then we heard on the news somewhere that within a couple of years' time, we won't be allowed to use diesel cars. at a nearby garage, customers, and even staff, had similar concerns. perception today is that they are bad for the environment. perception 18 months ago, two years ago, were that they were the best thing since sliced bread. for years and years, they told us diesel was safe, diesel was better. and everybody has gone out and bought diesel cars. if they want us to go petrol, what do we all do about diesel cars? that customer confusion about diesel has been showing up in the sales

numbers big time in 2017. right up to march, the sales were hanging in there, just about. after that, there is a precipitous fall in the sale of diesel cars and in fact here in december, down a whopping 31%. now you would think that those buyers would be buying other types of vehicles like petrol, but even petrol sales were down in december. so what is going on? there is a lot of evidence that diesel owners have simply held off from buying a new car, rather than going out and buying a petrol or an electrified vehicle, they want to know if it's the right decision. they need reassurance. that will take very senior members of the government to put their weight behind it. motoring organisations agree the government needs to send a much clearer message. newer diesel vehicles, typically those that have come onto the market since 2016, are actually some of the cleanest that are coming onto the road. and they are much cleaner than the older diesels, and indeed some of the older petrol vehicles. but as it stands, the government

wants to ban the sales of new diesel and petrol cars, but not until 2040. however, it's already letting councils introduce their own charges to tackle pollution. it's already been introduced in london. the thing is, as drivers ditch diesel to reduce one type of air pollution, carbon dioxide emissions — higher in petrol cars — have seen their first rise in 20 years. simon jack, bbc news. house of fraser, which has 59 stores across the uk, has confirmed tonight that they have contacted some of their landlords asking for rent reductions. the company is due to publish its christmas trading results next week and has been trying to cut costs and revive sales. now on bbc news, it's time for newsnight. a man and to govern america

betrayed. how much of it is true? to those who work with donald trump recognise the chaos it describes? we speak to the white house insider sebastian mand janice middleton. why was the sentence forjohn worboys so lenient? do we forget about the victims of sex crimes too quickly? we examine how they are treated by the justice system. and we examine how they are treated by thejustice system. and isn't we examine how they are treated by the justice system. and isn't cruel to breed puppies like this? half of all flat faced dogs needed treatment to help issues last year. why we insist on making them that's when they are so hard to breathe? good evening. "the events i've described in these pages", writes michael wolff, "are based on conversations that took place over 18 months with the president and most members of his senior staff". the rest of the book is explosive.

he describes a president who behaves sometimes like a child, other times like an emperor, neurotic, scared, phobic and scorned by his own aides. the president himself denounced the book as lies, denied the author even had access. he tried to stop its very publication — that only sped things up and put it in the best—seller list. so tonight, on the day the book is published — four days early — and at the end of a long week when it's dominated news the world over, we speak to those inside the white house. and to one present on the same occasions described within the book's pages. we will ask how much of these allegations are revelations and how much will they change the mind of the base that brought donald trump to power.