tonight at ten... downing street says the prime minister is appalled by allegations that women were sexually abused at an all men charity dinner in london. an undercover reporter — hired as a hostess — filmed at the presidents club dinner last week and said she was groped. it's sparked outrage. women were bought as bait for men, rich men, not a mile from where we stand, as if that is an acceptable behaviour. it is totally unacceptable. after hosting exclusive dinners for more than 30 years, the presidents club has cancelled all future events. also tonight... jailed for 175 years for molesting young gymnasts — the disgraced usa gymnastics team doctor larry nassar apologises to his victims. controversial monkey business — 20 years after dolly the sheep scientists in china have cloned two monkeys. an exclusive report from inside

northern serbia after turkey opens up northern serbia after turkey opens upa new northern serbia after turkey opens up a new front in syria's seven—year war. “— up a new front in syria's seven—year war. —— northern syria. baroness tessa jowell gives her first interview since being diagnosed last may with a severe form of brain cancer. i am not afraid. i feel... very clear about my sense of purpose. not the best first day in a newjob for phil neville as the new manager of the england women's football team apologises for sexist treats. coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, will it be chelsea or arsenal heading to wembley to face manchester city in the league cup final? good evening.

the exclusive men—only presidents club, which has held charity dinners in london for more than 30 years, has cancelled all future events after women employed at the event say they were groped and sexually harassed by the guests. downing street says the prime minister is appalled by the revelations. an undercover reporter filmed last week's dinner at the dorchester. a government adviser who helped organise it has resigned, and some of the charities for which money was raised are handing back hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations. here's our special correspondent lucy manning. all the presidents club men appear to be enjoying themselves at their charity dinner, the women working there much less so, with claims that they were groped at the men only event for those in business and politics. women working as table hostesses were made to wear revealing outfits, their phones confiscated. madison marriage is the financial times journalist who went undercover

to expose the dinner. multiple women told me that they had been touched inappropriately, and that ranged from, you know, holding their hands, touching their bums, kind of grabbing them, pulling them into their laps. yeah, there was a complete range of sexual harassment. and did that happen to you? yes. yeah, i had three men touch me inappropriately. were you surprised that this was happening in this day and age? i am surprised by the institutionalised scale of this particular event. the charity auction offered the men—only diners hospitality with the foreign secretary and bank of england governor, although both said they knew nothing about it, or even the chance to, as it was put, "spice up the wife with plastic surgery". this is the contracts of the women

we re this is the contracts of the women were made to sign at the dinner two yea rs were made to sign at the dinner two years ago. this event has many influential people attending, remain discreet. they had to sign along —— a nondisclosure agreement. absolutely nothing must be discussed or disclosed before, during or after the event to anyone, ever. adding, it will be fun. the company said you to the calibre of the guests it would be astonished if any claims of sexual harassment were made. some of the men are now paying for their attendance. david meller, one of the organisers, resigned as a member of the department for education's board. education minister nadhim zahawi faced questions about his decision to go to the dinner. he was brought in to see the chief whip. he said he unequivocally condemned the behaviour.

down the road from the dorchester, where the dinner was held last week, mps couldn't contain their anger today. women were bought as bait for men, rich men, not a mile from where we stand, as if that is an acceptable behaviour. it is totally unacceptable. it is quite extraordinary to me, mr speaker, that in the 215t century, allegations of this kind are stillemerging. women have the right to feel safe wherever they work. charities are now returning money donated by the presidents club. great ormond street says it will hand back half a million pounds. but bbc news has learned of claims that it was warned previously not to take the money. we have been told at a meeting it was raised with senior fundraisers that the presidents club had questionable practices and whether money should be taken from them. great ormond street has very strict policies and it was brought up great ormond street said tonight: "we have checked our records and can find nothing to suggest we were aware of all discussed any concerns about the presidents club".

tonight the presidents club is no more. shuts down after the doors we re more. shuts down after the doors were prised open. the trustees of the presidents club said it would no longer holds any charity events. downing street tonight said the prime minister was appalled and it showed there was still a long way to go before women we re still a long way to go before women were properly treated as equals. the doors have been opened on what normally stays hidden and, for the men who attended this dinner, some are probably having to explain to wives, daughters, female employees and colleagues what went on here. and what went on here certainly did not look good. lucy manning, thank you. the former team doctor for america's gymnastics squad, larry nassar, has been sentenced to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing young female athletes. more than 160 of his victims testified in court. the judge said the 54—year—old didn't deserve to walk out of prison ever again.

america's star olympic gymnast, simone biles, who was also abused, praised those who'd spoken out and said nassar no longer had the power to steal their happiness. rajini vaidya nathan reports. the tables have turned, larry. we are here, we have our voices and we are not going anywhere. the amount of physical, mental and emotional trauma this man has forced upon me is immeasurable. over the last seven days, their voices and their stories have become hard to ignore. 156 women say they were sexually abused by this man, larry nassar. iam giving i am giving you 175 years, which has 2100 months. i havejust signed your death warrant. during the hearing, thejudge invited other women who had been abused to come forward. the response was unprecedented, what started as ten convictions turned into an outpouring of testimony.

today she did not hold back when delivering her verdict. your decision to assault was precise, calculated, manipulative, devious, despicable. i wouldn't send my dogs to you, sir. you do not deserve to walk outside ofa you do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again. today he had this response for his victims. an acceptable apology to all of you is impossible to write and convey. i will carry your words with me for the rest of my days. described as a monster and as satan in court, the former usa gymnastics team doctor treated hundreds of women over decades. from decorated 0lympians and state—level gymnasts to the children of family friends. sent to him for medical treatment instead of taking away their pain, he stole their innocence. you know, ithink

you know, i think we saw yet another example of larry being a master manipulator, that is something society needs to understand better, this is how predators operate. he didn't think he did anything wrong, his words are empty. they are empty they are empty. you would think by now he could take ownership, and he just hasn't. i think we have started a tidal wave of people speaking up, because they feel supported, they feel validated. and that is notjust for nelson victims, but every victim of sexual assault and sexual abuse. mixed emotions as this hearing comes toa mixed emotions as this hearing comes to a close. many here still wonder how larry nelson was able to abuse young and vulnerable women for so long and not to be held to account, but those same women demonstrated

sheer strength in this courtroom. thejudge described them sheer strength in this courtroom. the judge described them as warriors with superwoman steel. the focus of the sentencing has been on those who survived larry nassar‘s abuse. perhaps the biggest victory isn't seeing the man who molested them behind bars, but knowing that together they found the collective strength to confront him. a jury's been told that a man accused of carrying out the finsbury park terror attack last june kept smiling and even blew a kiss at the gathering crowd after ploughing a van into mmslim worshippers. —— into muslim worshippers. darren 0sborne from cardiff denies murder and attempted murder after the attack in north london which left one man dead. darren 0sborne from cardiff denies murder and attempted murder an imam who was one of the first on the scene told the court how he stopped the crowd attacking the driver of the van. daniel sandford reports. witness after witness described how the van der gragt its engines just

before smashing into the group of muslim men and women. —— how the van revved its engines. some said they feared for their lives, thinking somebody would get out with a colonel rene. the jury heard in 999 call for ambulances. he ran over a lot of people, a lot of people have died. in a van? a big fan, he has run over everyone when i died. in a van? a big fan, he has run over everyone when i was died. in a van? a big fan, he has run over everyone when i was calling you, he turned and ran over everyone. within the hour, 51—year—old makram ali was declared dead at the scene. this man suffered life changing injuries, including broken pelvis, broken ribs and a broken lock. he told the court how friends pulled him out from under the van. people grabbed the man they believed to be the van driver to detain him. the court heard how some people punched and kicked him. the imam of the

local mosque said he should answer for his crimes in a court like this, not on the street, and he stop people from attacking him. the man who made them i know nine call said to the crowd, i have done myjob, you call said to the crowd, i have done my job, you can call said to the crowd, i have done myjob, you can kill me now. he was co nsta ntly myjob, you can kill me now. he was constantly smiling, the 999 call records. darren 0sborne denies charges of murder and attempted murder. he was played video from a police officer's body one camera in which darren 0sborne rants about muslims and says hacked some of that, have some of your own. at least i had a proper go. daniel sandford, bbc news, woolwich crown court. two decades after dolly the sheep, scientists in china have now used the same technique to clone two monkeys. the identical macaques were born several weeks ago at a laboratory in shanghai. scientists say genetically identical monkeys would help with research into human diseases. but critics say the work raises ethical concerns. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh is here with me. tell us more about why they are

doing this? those rather cute baby macaques you just saw, in an incubator with soft toys around them, those images will worry some people and see it rather too close to humans for comfort. the reality is that since dolly the sheep was born in scotland in 1996 we have had loads of different cloned animals. cattle, pigs, dogs, cats, rats, you name it. the significance is this is the first time we have had a nonhuman primate baby born using other dolly method which involves transferring dna to a donor egg, it is incredibly inefficient and it took 79 embryos to produce these macaques. the dna that created them came not from an adult monkey but a foetus. why would you want to do this? why would you want a whole laboratory full of genetically

identical monkey codes? scientists say it will enable them to study primate biology and because of their closeness to humans it will help in research into human diseases, from cancer to alzheimer's and parkinson's. critics will say it will lead to cloned humans. they have said that for the past 25 yea rs, have said that for the past 25 years, as far as we know it has not happened. the chinese team say they are opposed under reputable scientist wants to clone humans. fergus walsh, thank you. -- and no reputable scientist wants to clone humans. figures out today show the number people in work has risen to a record high. unemployment in the uk fell by 3000 to 1.41; million in the three months to november. but the data from the office for national statistics also shows that wage growth remained below the level of inflation. it's emerged that victims of the rapistjohn worboys were sent letters by police and prosecutors after his conviction — telling them he'd be injailfor a long time. many are angry that the 60—year—old former taxi driver has been approved for release from prison by the parole board nine

years after his trial. the former prime minister david cameron has been caught on camera saying that the uk's decision to leave the european union was a mistake, not a disaster. mr cameron was chatting at the world economic forum in davos and heard saying that brexit has turned out "less badly than we first thought." 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. davos — where the great and good allegedly work out what is going on in the world. what happens to the uk outside the european union is one of their concerns. but how is the track record of those types who gather here? look who popped up, admitting he thought, privately, his brexit prediction was not quite so good. but in the expensive alps, there is a view a deal we'd like to do will come with a cost.

there has to be some price for access. to what extent this access is going to be available has to be made dependent on some other contributions. rather different to what ministers tell us at home, where repeatedly the government says the era of big british payments to the eu is over, what is making some conservatives scratchy, though, is not how much we would pay, but what happens on day one after we leave the european union. there is a broad plan for a couple of years of getting used to life outside before we cut all significant ties. but some brexiteers are fearful almost nothing would change — we'd hardly have left at all. we are transitioning from one state to another. we are going from one state to another and you can call it what you like but not vassal.

all right, if not a vassal state, in what sense have we left the european union, other than we have no say... we are leaving as in leaving as in transiting. who is going to punish us if we get on with it now? are we just still acting as if we are in the european union, we are bound by the european union, we are lackeys of the european union? and we are acting as a law—abiding country. bolder. remember, theresa may making her own way to davos desperately needs eurosceptic support. her first challenge, as ever, keeping a handle on her own party. i'm very concerned about the bickering that is still going on on the government side. transitional arrangements are necessary and needed now and we need to agree them. the fact the government still does not have a settled position is deeply worrying. there is some clamour from the eu, too. by the end of the week the government will have shown a bit more of its hand, but as the prime minister joins herfellow leaders in switzerland tonight, there are multiple audiences

she needs to keep onside. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. let's speak to our economics editor kamal ahmed, who's at the world economics forum in davos. theresa may has arrived. what reception can she expect tomorrow? i think this is not her natural habitat. rather dismissively people here are sometimes described as the global elite and speaking to business leaders they are baffled at the decision for britain to leave the decision for britain to leave the european union but do not forget, these are the type of people who backed britain staying in the european union. for businesses they will want to hear from theresa may and open armed message about britain being open for business. i am not sure they will quite get that. she will talk about technology, the importance of technology in developments of economies and a

warning about technology, saying technology companies had to do more to stop the spread of extremist material and terrorist material, so a warning as well as the embracing language that technology is good for growth. it will not be her public speech that will be the big issue tomorrow, it will be the bilateral with the other global leader arriving tomorrow, that is president trump. this will be the first meeting between the prime minister and president trump since that rather embarrassing diplomatic incident when president trump abandoned a plan to visit the uk, and open the new embassy in london, saying he did not like the building very much. there will be bridge building tomorrow between theresa may and donald trump but actually the big excitement will be the arrival of the us president, the first time a us president has come to davos since bill clinton in 2000.

what message will he be sending on friday when he makes his big speech to the world economic forum? will he be conciliar tree, say he does agree with some forms of globalisation, or will he be hard—nosed, we need protectionism to protect the american economy and american jobs? president trump has spoken to the turkish president and urged him to de—escalate turkey's military operations in northern syria to stop any risk of conflict between turkish and american forces. on saturday turkey launched an assault on kurdish forces on the other side of the border in syria. turkey believes the kurdish militia — known as the ypg — is a terrorist group. the ypg group controls all this — more than 250 miles of syria's northern border. but turkey wants them out, to stop the kurds consolidating their hold on the area. 0ur turkey correspondent mark lowen is the first western journalist to be granted access to the border town, from where the turkish operation is being launched. the drill of war.

syrian opposition police training for a new front. they are backed by turkey, the two working side by side in the offensive against the kurdish militia or ypg. the target, says turkey, ypg is linked to the pkk, the kurdish insurgents inside turkey. so some troops here are kurds, taking up arms against the kurdish militia. this commander denies he is betraying his people. translation: i am taking part in this offensive, not to fight the kurds but to save them from the terrorism of the ypg. they planted terror into the heads of our youth. the shelling intensified today as turkey's president vowed to neutralise every last terrorist. many of those involved are sent from here to the nearby front line.

the terrain is bumpy. the threat is constant. any car, any passer—by, is scanned for explosives. we are patrolling the front line with turkish troops. the closest position of the ypg militia just a few hundred metres from the direction where they fire artillery. we just heard a couple of incoming mortars. the turkish military offensive is focused on clearing the villages around this area of the ypg. turkey says it wants to establish a buffer zone, pushing the militia 20 miles deep away from its border into northern syria. among local residents there is trust in those keeping guard and in the operation itself. the kurdish militia stole our villages, killed our young people and displaced us arabs, says this refugee. god should bless the military offensive. but ypg resistance is fierce. they are armed by the us, which says the offensive distracts from fighting the islamic state group.

the kurds say civilians are being killed by turkish artillery. turkey denies it. but for those in areas hit by air strikes, it is hell. translation: there is no one here, i am alone. there is no electricity and they are firing on us. they are shaking the world with this. everybody has left. here it is scarred by the legacy of a seven—year long war. in syria, territory is power and as the country has fallen apart, turkey is determined to stop its age—old foes from grabbing a piece of it. it's his first full day in the job but already phil neville — the new head coach of the england women's football team — has had to apologise for sexist remarks on twitter. the former manchester united player said the comments were not "a true and genuine reflection" of his beliefs. our sports correspondent natalie pirks reports. just everything about this was the perfect opportunity for me,

and, literally, i haven't slept because of the excitement. sleepless nights all round now, though, as the fa get to grips with another scandal around their women's head coach. phil neville's tweets from six years ago alluded to such things as women being too busy doing domestic chores to watch sport, and another ill—advised joke referred to him battering his wife. he's deleted his twitter account and apologised. the fa says it was aware of some but not all the tweets before they hired him, but the fa also confirmed he won't be punished because the comments don't reach their threshold for a charge. was it discriminatory in language, in nature? yes, it was. was it in context? yes, it was. did people find it offensive? yes, they did. i kind of thought that was what the threshold was. but the twitter storm seems to be obscuring the real issue, which is whether phil neville is actually qualified for the job, having never managed before and never worked in the women's game. the fa confirmed tonight that two of the four final candidates

for thejob were female, but all four withdrew from the process. the fa desperately needed to get this one right. neville's predecessor mark sampson had guided england to third in the world, before becoming embroiled in a racism scandal, late last year, and being sacked for inappropriate behaviour, uncovered from a previous role. phil neville's friends in the game, though, are backing him to do well. a bit of flak, you've got to be able to take that, but all i can say is i have known philip a number of years, he will do a really good job. many say a qualified woman could have done the job equally as well, though, and neville is fast learning things don't always go to plan when you step into the lionesses' den. natalie pirks, bbc news, wembley. a nun has broken down in tears at the scottish child abuse inquiry and apologised to anyone who may have been abused at a notorious care home in lanarkshire. dozens of former residents at the smyllum park orphanage claim they were attacked by nuns

between the 19405 and 19705. from edinburgh, our correspondent michael buchanan reports. former residents say a culture of evil existed at smyllum, a children's home in lanark run by the daughters of charity. dozens of people who lived here have alleged they were abused. a bbc investigation last year also suggested around 400 children from smyllum are buried in this nearby cemetery in an unmarked grave. theresa mcgrane, who lived in the home in the 19605 and 19705, says she was sexually assaulted by a priest then punished by a nun who discovered the abuse. she finds the refusal to admit what happened ridiculous. people have been battered, people have been, like myself, flung into a wall. it is just like this red thread going through everyone's explanations. they have been physically, gro55ly abused. reporter: do you accept the abuse took place? today the current head of the daughters of charity came to edinburgh to give some answers. in evidence to the scottish child abuse inquiry,

sister ellen flynn offered a sincere apology. she said through tears... but she refused to admit abu5e had taken place. the nun5 did admit to failing to investigate more than 100 allegations of abuse made in the 19905 against staff at smyllum. eddie mccoll, who says he was beaten by nun5 in the 19505, wa5 appalled by today's evidence. it is always "if" this happened and "if" that happened. it is not "if," it did happen, and they are just... they're in denial. today's evidence will be of little comfort to the former residents who say they were abused at smyllum. some were hoping for an apology, an acknowledgement of what had happened, and the nuns‘ unwillingness to do that will merely infuriate them further. the nuns could give few details of how many children from smyllum re buried in the unmarked grave.

they said an expert was working with them to identify each body. michael buchanan, bbc news, edinburgh. mark e smith, the singer and songwriter who founded the fall, has died aged 60. he was the driving force behind the band and the only constant memberforfour decades. # hit the north! # 95% of hayseeds (hit the north!) are corn—pones, guaranteed # hit the north.# mark e smith who died today. the former labour cabinet minister baroness tessa jowell will lead a debate in the house of lords tomorrow arguing that people should be given the chance to pursue all options to try to beat their cancer. she's given her first interview since she was diagnosed last may with a severe form of brain cancer.

passion, determination, a sense of mission, that is what tessa jowell displayed as the minister who helped bring the olympics to london. now she is showing all that and more as she speaks publicly for the first time about the brain tumour she discovered she had last may. it came with absolutely no expectation. no warning? absolutely none at all, i did not have a single apparent symptom. her symptoms now include a struggle to find words which used to come so easily. anyone who has had cancer knows that particularly for people like you, and maybe for me, the hardest thing is to get used to not being in control. i don't think i immediately leapt to the inevitability of cancer.

i think that to begin with i felt that i would have this tumour, it is actually much harder now, because now my life is day by day affected by this tumour. and affected by the uncertainty of what my cancer is actually going to mean. i can feel your frustration because there are words occasionally that do not come. that is the tumour, sadly