a sharp rise in serious violent crime and sex offences, as the number of incidents recorded by police in england and wales last year soars. more than 37,000 knife crimes were recorded — a rise of more than 20%. the mother of one victim says the government needs to do more. they are standing up and doing their token gesture. and it isn't working. how many young people have to die for them to admit that what we are doing is not correct? we'll be examining the figures in reality. also tonight... a rift? what rift? president trump tells theresa may he loves britain and expects a tremendous increase in trade between america and the uk. we have great respect for everything you're doing. we love your country. we think it's really great. more than 4,500 people sleeping rough on the streets of england — the highest level since current records began. cutting down on plastic — plans for a new network of shops, businesses and water fountains where the public can refill their bottles.

and a standing ovation for baroness tessa jowell, after an emotional speech in the lords about dealing with cancer. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news... the woman who presided over phil neville‘s appointment as england women's manager, defends the move amid criticism of the fa's recruitment process. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. there's been a sharp rise in the number of serious violent crimes and sex offences recorded by police in england and wales. and official figures show cases of murder and manslaughter are at their highest level in almost a decade. a separate survey based on people's

experiences suggests that overall crime is continuing to fall. tom symonds has this report. behind the statistics, wasted lives. a decade after this boy first tried out the bike he had been given as a present, he became one of the four young men stabbed to death in london on new year's eve, leaving his father confronting a nightmare. you saw his body? yes. what is it like for a father to see his son dead in front of him? i was crying. he tells us front of him? i was crying. he tells us in his native portuguese he has no idea why it happened, what might have been going on in his son's life. translation: my advice brother pa rents would translation: my advice brother parents would be to talk more to your kids, try to find out, even if your kids, try to find out, even if

you think they have secrets away from home. the figures set out the rise in violent crime recorded by police. knife crime went up by 21%. gun crime up by 20%. manslaughter and murder went up by 10%. now the official survey of crime shows that the number of people who say they have been a victim is falling steadily. but police records are seen and is an accurate measure of serious violent crime. and despite schemes like this were knives coming handed in, it is rising steadily. he said he didn't mean to kill him, that was not his intention. hejust wa nted that was not his intention. hejust wanted to wear tim up, cut him and ta ke wanted to wear tim up, cut him and take photos. alison cope is talking about the murder of her own son. her audience, students at coventry college. josh was a grime artist. a

single slash of a knife took his life in 2013. his eyes flicker, they close, hits the floor. it is a tough listen. alison tells them, these are the consequences, but carrying a knife is your choice. she believes telling them not to doesn't work. she says that is how the current policy of the god month comes across. they are standing up and doing their token gesture and it isn't working. how many young people have to die for them to admit that what we are doing is not correct? government policy recently has centred on enforcement, tough rules on knives, tough policing. tough sentences. but today, ministers appeared to signal a change towards alison's way. we have to get to the root causes and work as a society, government police and civil society,

to try and get to the root of this cultural issue, try and steer young people away from violence. but serious proposals for work with young people are not going to come cheap. and by the way, police numbers are now at their lowest level for two decades. tom symonds, bbc news. joining me is our home editor, mark easton. two separate sets of crime figures — put them in context for us. 0ne says serious violent crime is up, the other that it is down. it is confusing. what is the reality? my interpretation is that broadly this is very good news but with a real note of caution. good news because by the best measure we have, the chances of someone being a victim of crime is at its lowest level in england and wales since records began. the number of victims, 10% down year—on—year, and 60% down since the number we had in the mid—905. that is encouraging. that comes from what people actually say

to pollsters about their experience of crime. not what is recorded by police. the note of caution, violent crime recorded by police. these categories which the police are recording in larger numbers. given the serious nature of them, we are probably seeing something real. your chances of being a victim, even of those crimes, even homicide, are lower than they were ten years ago. but are we seeing them start to take 7 but are we seeing them start to take hey but are we seeing them start to take re but are we seeing them start to take up? they are relatively rare events. but the stress and harm these issues cause is huge. that is why the politicians and police want to reduce them. mark easton, thank you. it was a much anticipated meeting — the first time theresa may and president trump had seen each other since an online spat over tweets from the far right group britain first. that was followed swiftly by the president cancelling a visit to london to open the new us embassy. but today, in the swiss resort of davos, the pair insisted the special relationship was as strong as ever.

the president told mrs may that he loved her country, and expected to see a "tremendous increase" in trade between the uk and the us. from davos, here's kamal ahmed. he arrived at lunchtime, a blizzard of rotor blades and hotspot. the president was here. and the world economic forum better sit up and ta ke economic forum better sit up and take notice. he said he was here to spread peace and prosperity. very excited to be here. the united states is doing very well. there was one leader donald trump said he would be delighted to meet. the prime minister and myself have a really great relationship, although some people don't necessarily believe that. but i can tell you i have tremendous respect for the prime minister and the job she's doing. i think the feeling is mutualfrom the point of liking each other a lot. the pm, not quite as loud a presence

in davos today, said she agreed. we've had a great discussion today and we continue to have that really special relationship between the uk and the united states. standing shoulder to shoulder because we are facing the same challenges across the world and as you say, we are working together to defeat those challenges and beat them. and alongside that, working for a trade relationship in the future, which will be to both our benefits. theresa may has faced some rocky moments with the man in the white house, but this wasn't a moment to remember those critical tweets about terror or cancelled official visits. he walked through here like a rock star. the first us president to visit the world economic forum since bill clinton in the year 2000. the big and difficult question for theresa may is this: politically, economically, how close does she want to get to this most controversial of big beasts? there is a contrast in style, certainly, but the uk needs america,

especially as britain plots its exit from the european union. we are not all on the same page. america has a strong relationship with the united kingdom over time and theresa may can't afford to sever that by injecting too much. —— objecting to much. one of the world's leading bankers explained via trump was a hit. the alternative to trump would have been more regulation, higher taxes. instead we have lower taxes and less regulation. that is stimulative to the market, there is a lot of collateral affects and people will debate that so i haven't thrown in all necessary is a good thing, not a bad thing. theresa may left davos tonight, back to the uk and domestic matters. tomorrow, the president's big speech on america, trade and putting the us first. kamalahmed, bbc news, davos. in a moment we'll speak to laura kuennsberg in westminster. but first, our north america editor jon sopel, is in davos. so all friends again? yeah. a huge rapprochement has taken

place. donald trump was saying, troubles in our relationship, almost fa ke troubles in our relationship, almost fake news. it is a false rumour. he has tweeted it was a positive relationship he had with theresa may. downing street saying the pm and president concluded by asking officials to work together on finalising the details of a visit by the president to the uk later this year. a visit, no mention of it being a state visit. 0n the british side they thought they had a visit lochinver february, when donald trump was going to open the new us embassy. —— locked in for a feathery. then he announced he would be coming. the british will not be taking anything for granted. britain needs america if there is going to bea needs america if there is going to be a trade deal post brexit. there we re be a trade deal post brexit. there were positive words notjust from theresa may and donald trump, but from the us treasury secretary. that

is all good. atmospherics help a great deal. the mood helps a great deal. but the details of trade negotiations are immensely complicated and ultimately it's an arm wrestle. and who needs that a trade deal more? britain or the united states? meanwhile, laura — brexit causing the prime minister more headaches in davos? that is right. during all that hobnobbing, theresa may's party seemed to be doing its best to drag her back to their own divisions of brexit. the chancellor, philip hammond, onstage in davos said that ultimately he told the two economies, the eu and the uk would only be very modestly a part —— apart. that comment about staying really close to the rest of the continent after brexit, that horrifies many people on the tory backbenchers, including one leading brexiteer, jacob rees—mogg, who in his speech tonight, will accuse ministers of being cowed by the eu.

he will say they are just managing to time. and calling for the government to change its toll on brexit fundamentally. this may sound like a warof brexit fundamentally. this may sound like a war of words. but this goes right to the heart of theresa may's struggled to stick its party together over its biggest project, how and when, exactly how, we leave the european union. now broadly, the majority of mps, and certainly the majority of mps, and certainly the majority of ministers, think she is the only person, although it seems grim, who is actually able to do this. but in westminster in the last couple of weeks, the tory party has turned pretty sour. 0ne couple of weeks, the tory party has turned pretty sour. one said to me today they are in the mood for a regime change. i don't think we are about to slip into any kind of enormous battle, but certainly things feel very tricky for number 10. however many smiles there were with president trump. laura kuenssberg in westminster and jon sopel in davos, thank you. health officials in england say the outbreak of winter flu appears to have peaked.

although the number of people with the flu is still rising, the rate of the increase is slowing down. rates have risen in wales, but fallen slightly in northern ireland and scotland. the prime minister says she will continue to work to ensure women are "accepted and respected as equals" as the fallout from the men—only charity dinner — the president's club — continues. an undercover reporter says women employed as hostesses as the event last week were groped and sexually harassed. theresa may says it wasn'tjust the event that worried her, but what it said about the wider issue in society and attitudes to women. sarah campbell. the invitation was for a men only, a chance to network, raise money for charity and interact with more than 100 young women, all told to wear short, tight dresses. this was last week. the dinner has been an annual event for more than 30 years. chloe,

not her real name, was a hostess in 2014 and 2015, earning some extra cash as she studied for her masters. you had to sign a nondisclosure agreement. what was in it? i can't remember. we didn't have long enough to look at it. we were given glasses of wine. they also took away mobile phones and they were locked away. what was the atmosphere like? there we re what was the atmosphere like? there were girls sat on people's labs being fondled and groped. that was very early on in the evening. the fa ct we very early on in the evening. the fact we were hired for entertainment, people thought that was ok. and that kind of behaviour was ok. and that kind of behaviour was permissible. the repercussions for those who attended the dinner have continued. nadhim zahawi, the minister for children and families, was reprimanded by his party. he said he left early because he felt uncomfortable and has condemned what he described as the horrific events reported by the financial times. are

you going to lose yourjob? another attendee, a businessman, said he had not seen any inappropriate behaviour. that doesn't mean things couldn't have gone wrong. it is too large a crowd, things could have gone wrong and there is no justification. if anybody felt uncomfortable, if a young lady felt uncomfortable, if a young lady felt uncomfortable, it's completely unpardonable. this morning at the world economic forum in switzerland, the prime minister gave her reaction to how the women were allegedly treated. when i read the report of that event that took place, i was appalled. i thought that that sort of approach to women, that objectification of women, was something we were leaving behind. we have made progress but it is clear there is more thrust do. the dinner will be the last as the presidents club has now closed. but the event is being seen as further evidence of just how far women still have to go to be treated as equals in the world

of work. sarah campbell, bbc news. our top story this evening... a sharp rise in the number of serious violent crimes and sex offences recorded by police in england and wales. and still to come — the new star of british tennis, kyle edmund, bows out in straight sets in the semi final of the australian open. coming up on sportsday in bbc news... the manchester united manager, jose mourinho, commits his future to the club, signing a new deal which will run until 2020. it's an increasingly common sight across towns and cities in england — people sleeping rough on the pavement or in shop doorways. and now the government has released new figures which show that numbers have increased for the seventh year in a row. nearly 5,000 people were sleeping on the streets last year. that's15% more than in 2016. in fact, the latest figures are the highest since records began. the government says it's investing more than a billion pounds

to address the issue. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has been looking at the problem and potential solutions. freezing cold, shivering, rain battering down on you. they kick you, punch you and shock bricks at you, punch you and shock bricks at you while you are asleep. they think it's fun. this can happen to any of us it's fun. this can happen to any of us at any given time. rough sleepers have long been visible in london, but the rising numbers has made the problem visible in many more places. milton keynes is a new town dealing with new problem. within metres of the station, is tony, he is 72. he was evicted from his flat last february, he won't say why. every timei february, he won't say why. every time i wake up, i class it as a

bonus, it's another day i have got to get through. the town is struggling to accommodate its residents despite some of its homeless having jobs.|j residents despite some of its homeless having jobs. i pay for my daughter's nursery fees and right after christmas i've got nothing. isaac is an assistant project manager with an accountancy firm. a domestic incident left him spending two freezing nights in a garage. he hasn't told as employers he's homeless. i go through the night sometimes rough and i have to go through the day without showing that this is the situation throughout the night. i continued my journey north, heading for crewe. two years ago there were officially no rough sleepers in the an area. in the last few years my mum got cancer and died

so few years my mum got cancer and died soi few years my mum got cancer and died so i lost it. in a nearby car park, and increasing phenomenon. people homeless in their hometown. devastated. to sit there on corners, when people walk past him know you, you grew up with, and they look down their nose at you. these figures only apply to england but scotland too has a problem with rough sleeping so i'm heading to glasgow now to see their very different approach to the problem. this was the kitchen area... this flat has been bought specifically for a homeless man. the initiative is called housing first, the idea is to give every rough sleeper in glasgow at home and support worker. whoever is in this flat and goes back to rough sleeping, we will hold this flat for them while we engage with them on the street. the scheme won't be cheap but evidence from abroad

suggests it works and is far less expensive than doing nothing. it must be very dangerous to be a woman on the street. it is, it is aye. very true, very true. michael buchanan, bbc news. several more several more more big names have revealed that they've been caught up in a widespread recall of meat. it started on monday when wetherspoons pulled steaks from its 900 pubs across the uk. its supplier, russell hume, is being investigated by the food standards agency for what it describes as "serious non compliance with food hygiene regulations". all six of its sites have had to suspend meat distribution. and its customers, which included butlins, jamie's italian restaurants, several pub chains and hilton hotels, have withdrawn meat from the supplier. as pressure grows on us all to cut down on the amount of plastic we use, new plans have been unveiled which will give people access to free drinking water in england. the idea is that a new network will be set up — including restaurants,

shops, businesses and new water fountains — where you can fill up your water bottle while out and about, rather than buying a new one. jon kay explains. bradford—on—avon. you won't go thirsty here. in this wiltshire market town, 22 businesses will now top up your water bottle for free. from the cafe... yeah, sure. ..to the supermarket... coming right up. ..to the hardware store. here we are, we have a cluster of them here. jill runs the town scheme and showed me how you can source free water on your phone. what started here in the west of england is now going nationwide. it makes me feel really good that it's having an effect. i play tennis and when i see some of my fellow tennis mates come in with a throwaway bottle,

i say stop doing it. you need water, every time you come here you need water. how difficult it is for you to look in your cupboard to find a refillable one? the scheme is now backed by hotel and pub chains, water companies... and this skate park in manchester, who have also agreed to offer refills. even if it means taking less money at the till. we just feel like water is a major need of everybody so, particularly if you're doing a sporting activity, so to stop people having and accessing it seems unreasonable. bristol. there are already more than 200 free water points here, but the body that represents bottled water companies says lots of us still want the convenience of buying it chilled or fizzy. we like flavour, obviously, in this country so i think it will be a tough choice for people. it's hard to choose no flavour over flavour. tough choice for you? yes. i usually only buy them

if i've forgotten a bottle. how much was that? about 80p. ok. over there you could have had it forfree. they didn't come from that way, i came from the centre. jon kay, bbc news, bristol. he's the new star of british tennis but kyle edmund's brilliant run at the australian open came to an end today as he was overpowered in the semi—finals. he lost in straight sets to the sixth seed marin cilic. but edmund said he'd been bitten by the grand slam bug and was determined to come back for more. hywel griffith reports from melbourne. keep cool and carry on, under melbourne's baking sun, it's the only way to succeed. and as some famous names went home early, britain's big, new hope forged ahead. kyle edmund's done amazing. we've seen some of his matches and we're rooting for him all the way. after years in andy murray's shadow, kyle edmund arrived at the australian open without much expectation weighing him down. but in the biggest game

of his life, that changed. some early errors and his nerves started to show. his serve broken twice, he lost the first set and showed signs of injury. in the second, things didn't get better. get the referee on, i'm not having it. frustrated by a late call, he took his anger out on the umpire, the referee, and eventually his opponent. maybe he was channelling his inner murray. it worked for a while, but he narrowly lost the second set. and from there, cilic powered through, showing why he's in the world's top ten. a ranking edmund can aspire to one day, once he's over the defeat. it's sad to lose, the run has ended. 0bviously frustration tonight with my performance. but, in the short term, i'm disappointed and i have to accept that. disappointing, yes. devastating?

hardly. kyle edmund's shown here there's a lot more to british men's tennis than just andy murray. he's not the finished article just yet, but he should fly home happy. there, he's bound to be given a hero's welcome. at his old school in yorkshire, they're still pretty proud. hywel griffith, bbc news, melbourne. baroness tessa jowell was given a standing ovation in the lords this afternoon after delivering an emotional speech calling for new cancer treatments to be available on the nhs. yesterday the former labour cabinet minister gave her first interview since being diagnosed with a severe form of brain cancer last may. i hope that this debate will give hope to other cancer patients, like me, so that we can live well together with cancer. notjust dying of it. all of us for longer.

thank you. applause. it was a really moving speech and a wonderful reaction to tessa jowell afterwards in the house of lords. time for a look at the weather. here's lucy martin. there were some beautiful blue skies around earlier today, this photo sentin around earlier today, this photo sent in from ireland. unfortunately that wasn't the case for all of us, some heavy and thundery showers moving in from the west. the brighter the colour, the heavier the shower. as we move through this evening and overnight, they will continue to work eastwards. losing a bit of their intensity and gradually

fizzling out, some could fall as something wintry over higher ground. where we have more in the way of cloud in the south and east, not quite as cold and still a few outbreaks of light rain and drizzle. as we move into tomorrow, an area of high pressure pushes in from the south—west and that will settle things down and bring a northerly breeze. so cool feel to things tomorrow, particularly where we see the clear skies overnight. we could see a touch of frost to begin with. quickly brightening up where we see the cloud to begin with so wintry sunshine around, dry and bright weather, and with light winds it will not feel too bad. a maximum of nine celsius. 0n will not feel too bad. a maximum of nine celsius. on saturday we start to see this weather front pushing in from the west. it won't be quite as cold. a dry start in the south—east but that rain moving eastwards, the heaviest rain in the north. temperatures back in the double

figures thanks to the milder air. that there continues to move in from the south—west as we go into sunday, so the south—west as we go into sunday, so sunday another mild day but a fairly cloudy on with some outbreaks of rain in the north which could be quite heavy, and gales and severe gales in the far north of scotland. temperatures back in the double figures. a reminder of our main story... 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. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: a rise in recorded crime in england and wales with even bigger increases in knife crime, robbery and six offences. theresa may and donald trump hold talks at the world economic forum with the president insisting that traders at the top of their agenda. the prime minister has condemned the men only presidents club dinner. she said that it object to fight the women who were there. the number of people

sleeping rough on the streets in england reaches the highest level since current records began. now, in a moment it will be time for sports day, but first a look at what else is coming up on bbc news.