a former russian spy is critical in hospital after a suspected poisoning in salisbury. sergei skripal, convicted of spying on russia for the uk, has been living in britain for nearly eight years. police in protective clothing have sealed the area after the russian and a young woman were found unconscious on a bench. there was a couple, an older guy and a younger girl. she was sort of leant in on him, it looked like she had passed out, maybe. he was doing some strange hand movements, looking up to the sky. we'll bring you the latest as police and doctors race to establish if this is another example of a russian being poisoned on uk soil. also tonight.... bradley wiggins tells the bbc he's not a drugs cheat after mps accuse him of taking medicine to boost his performance. this whole thing has just been, you know, a complete mess of innuendo and rumour and nothing has been substantiated and it is just... i am having to deal with the fallout of that now. an aid convoy gets in at last to the people trapped by bombing in eastern ghouta in syria.

and gary oldman wins his first oscar at 59 while profoundly deaf maisie sly is in her first oscar winning film aged just six. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, find out if manchester united can get a win at crystal palace tonight, which would take them back to second in the premier league. good evening. could this be another example of a russian being poisoned on uk soil? the bbc understands that a man in hospital tonight is sergei skripal, a russian convicted in moscow for spying for britain and now living in the uk, is in a critical condition. he and a young woman were found unconscious on a bench in a shopping

centre in salisbury. she is also critically ill. a number of locations in the city centre have been cordoned off and police in full protective gear have been using hoses to decontaminate the street. the hospital where the couple are being treated has declared a major incident. tom symonds has more. whatever happened here is now the subject of a delicate and potentially hazardous investigation. and so officers in respirators were tonight searching bins in the square where sergei skirpal and the 33—year—old woman he was with were found slumped and delirious yesterday afternoon. eyewitnesses said the pair had been sitting on a bench now covered with a police ten when it became clear that something was wrong. there was a couple, an older guy and a younger girl. she was sort of leaning on him, looked

like she had passed out, maybe. he was doing some strange hand movements and looking up to the sky. i felt anxious and like i should step in, but they look so out of it andi step in, but they look so out of it and i thought i was not sure how i could help. after they went to hospital, the square was cordoned... and teams in full hazardous material suits were called in to make the area safe. a major incident was under way. both victims are in a critical condition at salisbury district hospital. sergei skirpal is russian. he is 66 years old. he was arrested by russian secret service officers in 2004, accused of handing over state secrets to mi6. in 2006, he was convicted by a military court in moscow of high treason. but in 2010, he was pardoned by the russian authorities and came to this country in return for the release of ten

spies from the us. police who were at his home in salisbury today said they are keeping an open mind. we have access to a wide range of resources and services that are helping us to understand what we are oi’ helping us to understand what we are orare helping us to understand what we are or are not dealing with at this time. the focus at this moment is trying to establish what cause these people have —— to become critically ill and we people have —— to become critically illand we are people have —— to become critically ill and we are working with partners to prioritise this diagnosis. they would not discuss the possibility that he was targeted because of his past. if so, there are many unanswered questions. why did it happen here in the centre of salisbury in such a public area? how was he targeted? the pair were both found with no sign of external injuries and why and why now? and tonight, sections of the city centre remain closed off while a few miles away, two people are fighting for their lives in hospital. tom symons, bbc news, salisbury. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera is here. if this is a poisoning, too early to say, it has

uncomfortable echoes with what happened to another russian living in the uk, alexander litvinienko. what are the priorities for this investigation? that is right. the parallels are striking to the case of alexander living and go. he was a former russian intelligence officer who came to the uk and fell ill for reasons initially unclear which turned out to be poisoning. again we have a former russian intelligence officer falling ill of what is said to be an unknown substance. the police are stressing they do not know what cause the owners and their not saying that they even know of a crime was committed. while there are similarities, it is too early to say that these are the same. in the case of alexander litvinenko, it took days to establish what had happened and what the poison was. in that case, eventually, a judge found that the link and the orders for it went not just to the the link and the orders for it went notjust to the kremlin but most likely to vladimir putin himself. what are the priorities? the first

is understanding what that unknown substance is. that is vital for treating these people. it is vital to establish for sure whether it was a deliberate poisoning, because if it was, it means that the perpetrators could still be at large, perhaps even still in the uk and beyond that, the question as with alexander litvinenko is why? is this someone who was targeted because russian intelligence but he was a traitor or is there another reason, if it was a deliberate poisoning? if it was and the trail leads back to moscow, then i think there will be real pressure on the british government to respond and real questions asked about whether they did enough in the past to respond to previous incidents to deterrent this kind of thing happening again and again and perhaps again. thank you. sir bradley wiggins has told the bbc that he is categorically not a drugs cheat — after he was accused of "crossing an ethical line". a report on doping compiled by a committee of mps claims he took an asthma medicine, which is permitted for health reasons, to boost his performance.

the findings cast a shadow on the cyclist‘s victory in the tour de france in 2012. in an exclusive interview with our sports editor dan roan, sir bradley said he had done nothing wrong — and that his family was going through a "living hell". he's britain's most decorated 0lympian, but today sir bradley wiggins was effectively accused of cheating. mps alleging the first tour de france winner that he used asthma drugs to boost performance and not just for medical need. but today, in his first interview for 18 months, wiggins came out fighting, telling me he'd done nothing wrong. the report by the dcms select committee said you cross the ethical line, did you? the report by the select committee says that you crossed the ethical line, is that fair? did you? no, we did not. not at any time during my career could be crossed the ethical line. as i said before, i had a medical condition, that i went to a doctor. this has been treated since back in 2003 when i was diagnosed with it, through the doctors at british cycling at

that time. this was the treatment that i had been prescribed for that particular occasion, which was seven years ago now. under specialist supervision as well. and in place of the rules of that time, you were allowed to apply for use of this medication. this was not a medication that was abused in order to gain an advantage. that is not what your former coach said. he said that your use of that drug was, quote, unethical. that hurts me, actually. shane knows around that time, exactly what and why i was taking her medication. taking that medication. the revelations that he used exemptions for a powerful banned steroid before three major races triggered the saga. mps have suggested he came to rely on it to shed weight without losing power. only one other time did you use the drug other than the times we know about?

the report says, they suggest you may have taken it nine times in four yea rs. this, i do not know where that has come from. i really would like to know. this is an anonymous source, an anonymous person. it does not mean it is wrong. you say it is a lie? i refute that 100%. yes. this is malicious. this is a direct... this is someone trying to smear me. sitting here now, you can categorically say that you did not cheat? 100%. never throughout my career. no. i worked and had the passion i had for this sport for 15 or 20 years. jerseys, i am doing a book, i have been writing a book, about my love of the sport. to do that to the sport... i mean, it isjust absurd. these allegations, it is the worst thing to be accused of,

i said that before. it is also the hardest thing to prove you have not done. we are not dealing in the legal system. i would have more rights if i had murdered someone in this process. i have been gagged for the last 18 months because there was a legal investigation going on and i could not say anything. we were still waiting on this report. these allegations had never been put to me until now. i have only found out today what i am being accused of. the whole jiffy bag thing was a shambles. the geoffrey bible is a mystery medical delivery in 2011, and lack of record—keeping adding to the suspicion, bradley wiggins insist he only had a legal decongestant that they —— thejiffy bag. what was in it? god knows! your guess is as good as mine. that package, as we have been told in the houses of parliament, contain the drug. at the end of the day, the buck stops with me. we travelled six hours later on a train with the doctor came and i was treated that evening. the report's criticism has raised questions over the future of

sir david aylesford who launched tea m sir david aylesford who launched team sky promising to be whiter than white but despite denials of wrongdoing, he is now embroiled in the grey areas —— sir david brailsford. if proven, maybe he should go, but until that is, we cannot take this report as that is it, set in concrete. how much of the toll has this taken on a bradley wiggins? i am trying to do other things with my life and the effect it has had, the widespread effect it has had on the family, it is horrific and i do not know how i will pick up the pieces with the kids and stuff and i am left to do that as well as try and salvage my reputation from this. i would not wish it upon anyone. but the mps report as gone way beyond cycling. record—keeping around the injection of a substance

for mo farah has seen athletics criticise. the most powerfulfigure in track and field, lord coe accused of misleading parliament about when he first knew about corruption allegations, claim he denied. this isa allegations, claim he denied. this is a chastening day for some of britain's biggest sporting reputations. an aid convoy has delivered supplies to people trapped in syria's eastern ghouta — for the first time since a major bombardment by pro—government forces began two weeks ago. but it was forced to cut its mission short as shelling began. dozens of people are reported to have been killed today. forty six lorries carried provisions intended to feed around 27,000 people. the region has a population of around 400 thousand — and bombing and artillery fire have continued , despite a un backed ceasefire. 0ur middle east editorjeremy bowen was there as the convoy set off into eastern ghouta — heading for the town of douma — and sent this report. 46 lorries moved through some of the most dangerous territory around damascus to get into eastern ghouta. the syrians refused

to let them take in 70% of their surgical and trauma kits, but they carried food and medical supplies for 27,500 people. it was a start. we need to be sending convoys at least three times a week to a besieged area such as eastern ghouta, where there are serious shortages of medical equipment, medical supplies, food and nutrition for nearly 400,000 people trapped on the inside. the lorries moved through the final syrian army checkpoint on the edge of eastern ghouta. the fact this convoy is moving at all is a sign of president assad's confidence. syrian armed forces are pressing ahead into eastern ghouta that way, of course, with their russian allies. and if they win, and at the moment that's the way it appears to be, president assad will have scored a significant victory, because, for the first time since the war started, he will have secured his capital. the enclave has been controlled

by islamist militias since 2012. some militias are negotiating, and there's talk of a deal, but not yet. the syrian army says it is fighting terrorists in eastern gouta, who fired hundreds of mortars into damascus this year, killing many civilians. even so, damascus, a few miles away, has suffered much less destruction and death than eastern ghouta. but, as i found in a small basement flat, statistics don't matter when an attack has changed your family's life for ever. everyone in this family was wounded by a mortar ten days ago. they were

out together, picking up the children from school when the mortar hit. this man lost three toes. his wife has a serious leg mood and —— leg wound. i asked them what they would take to the man who fired? "i would tell him, when you fire the mortar at innocent people, imagine if these were your kids. would you wa nt if these were your kids. would you want this to happen to your kids? your blood is on your hands until judgment day." . i would tell him he was an evil coward, if he wasn't a coward he wouldn't fire on us. president bashar al—assad is the strongest he has been since the war

started. he says the west is lying about the humanitarian crisis in eastern ghouta. inside the siege, heavy shelling and air strikes continued throughout the day. a white helmet civil defence rescue tea m a white helmet civil defence rescue team was caught up in an attack. into this came the aid convoy. carrying a limited amount of relief, for a place the un secretary general calls "hell on earth". they ran out of time, leaving before they could unload all beaten tracks, because of more shelling. —— all the trucks. eastern ghouta's underground clinics have been working at full stretch for weeks. more casualties were

coming in, and for this doctor it was almost nonstop. this was filmed for the bbc. the syrian government won't allow us into eastern ghouta. the doctor doesn't flinch any more when shells, in. she didn't think the convoy would change anything. how can a small convoy help us, including some food and materials? it isn't enough even for a few days. people live close together in eastern ghouta. there is nowhere to hide, and plenty of places to die. the grown—ups war is spending and breaking another generation. ——

bending and breaking another generation. three men have appeared in court in leicester in connection with an explosion that killed five people in the city. they are all charged with manslaughter and arson and remanded in custody. the blast, in the hinkley road area, destroyed a shop and the flat above it. after the big freeze has come the big thaw — and it's causing problems with thousands of people losing their water supply because of burst pipes. water companies in london, the midlands and south wales are urging people to use as little as possible to conserve supplies. bottled water has been distributed to people in parts of the capital. but in cumbria, remote households remain cut off by snow and helicopters have been making drops of food and firewood, as danny savage reports. getting to the cut—off communities of the pennines can only be done on foot or quad bike. the ‘farmy army‘ are still doing their bit. the snow was up to the top of the door here, with the window. we had snow all over

the front window. it just stuck, it's like living in an igloo. gill and her husband have been cut—off for a week. so this raf chinook over their home was a welcome sight. it's been doing the rounds in cumbria today, going from isolated hamlets to cut off farms, offering help. they've run out of heating oil here, so a delivery of logs for the burner was very welcome. what is their reaction when you drop in? i think they're quite surprised, but i think they are pleased to see us. we are here to assure them that help is on its way. 0bviously working with the police and the mountain rescue and they are doing their bit as well. a few minutes later, they were away to their next cut—off location. further south, rising temperatures have seen a sudden spike in burst water pipes. supplies have been cut off in london, kent, scotland and wales. in carmarthenshire, darren has been without running

water since thursday. getting rainwaterfrom outside and from my neighbour, so it's not been impossible. but i would say the worst thing is not being able to keep the washing up in the kitchen clean and also keep myself clean, having a shower everyday. just a very basic wash in a basin with cold water. as people queued for bottled water in south london, frustration grew at the lack of a basic service. 7:30 in the morning they sent me a message the water was fixed. nothing was fixed. i think this is absolutely appalling. it's shocking that there is such poor... well, there is zero communication. in the midlands, big companies like jaguar land rover and cadbury, halted production so severn trent could sustain supplies to households. the cold weather devastated wildlife too. the storms killed millions of sea creatures. in east yorkshire, they have been rescuing lobsters and reviving them in salt water at fish markets.

i think the industry will be fine, but from an natural perspective, it's quite shocking what mother nature can do. back in the hills of northern england, people living beyond the snowdrifts hope to be reached by road, rather than air over the next couple of days. danny savage, bbc news, cumbria. two anti—establishment parties in italy have each claimed they have won the right to govern the country following yesterday's general election. support for the far—right anti immigration league party also surged to record levels. the eurosceptic five star movement became italy's largest single party — which has won almost a third of the vote. a hung parliament is the most likely outcome with weeks of negotiation and coalition building ahead..0ur europe editor katya adler reports. her report contains

flash photography. luigi di maio's populist party has turned italian politics on its head. now, he can't walk up on stage without getting crushed. what a scrum, the press are hungry for him. before the elections, luigi di maio and the five star movement were dismissed by the italian establishment as naive, populist shambles. now he's the man and they are the party of the moment. looking like he couldn't quite believe what's just happened, the 31 year—old declared a new italian republic — of the people, for the people. five star's leaders have holed up in this rome hotel, planning their next move. but are they really ready to govern? translation: this is a revolution. italians understood they can't trust the old politicians. it's time for us to work on serious issues. but here is the dampener on those plans — five star hasn't won an absolute majority. just look at this map. italy is divided.

five star supporters in the south, highlighted in orange, while a group of right—wing parties dominates the north, led now by this man, another italian populist, but this time of the anti—immigration eurosceptic kind. translation: in brussels, some people are worried. they are wrong. with the italian vote, the people of europe have taken a step towards liberation from rules and regulation that bring about poverty and insecurity. now, behind guarded doors, the political horse trading begins. it will be weeks before italians know which populist politicians make it into government and whether they keep their promises. the eu is watching events unfold here carefully. brussels isjumpy.

the two main populist parties are sceptical in nature, they don't want to leave the eu but want to change and are much less likely to keep to its rules. that could put rome on collision course with paris and berlin just as they are trying to deepen european integration. and when it comes to brexit, political turmoil in italy means yet another eu country could be distracted from negotiations with the uk. thank you. one of the most significant political gatherings for a generation has opened in china. the national people's congress will consider a proposal to abolish presidential term limits, which would hand the current president, xijinping, a mandate for life. the idea was welcomed with applause at today's meeting. the prime minister is urging developers to do their duty and build the homes the country needs. she says owning a property is now largely unaffordable to young people without "the bank of mum and dad". theresa may claims changes

to planning rules — which would penalise developers who delay building on their land — should help to deal with the shortage of properties. labour described the proposed changes as ‘feeble.’ here's our home editor mark easton. the prime minister donned the hi—vis today, determined to show she's tackling what she describes as a national housing crisis. but theresa may's not the first senior tory to get her shoes muddy on a building site. remember him? and him? today, the pm had the big builders and developers in her sights, blaming some of them for putting profit before their patriotic duty to restore the dream of home ownership. the bonuses paid to the heads of some of our biggest developers are based not on the number of homes they build but on their profits or share price. i expect developers to do their duty for britain and build the homes our country needs. some builders will tell you their first responsibility is to their shareholders, and it is unusual for

a conservative prime minister to tell private companies she's considering changing the rules to make it more difficult for them to make a profit. among possible planning reforms is the idea that developers with a reputation for not building homes fast enough, might be denied planning permission by councils. not only do house—builders make returns to their shareholders, we're also cross subsidising almost half of the affordable housing in this country every single year. so we're doing the job of government. mrs may wants lots more houses but doesn't want to upset her core vote. hello, do you know about... people like these residents in true blue surrey, who are supported by their mp, environment secretary michael gove, in their opposition to a new garden village. planning reform worries these campaigners. i think this is going to be a backward step and we are really worried that these sort

of developments, which are really damaging to the environment and the community as a whole, will be pushed forward, against the peoples' wishes. some conservatives want the treasury to relax borrowing rules so councils and housing associations can build many more genuinely affordable homes. others see the priority as protecting england's precious green landscape. it's a surprise, perhaps, the prime minister didn't think it wise to wear a hard hat today. mark easton, bbc news. the inventor trevor baylis — best known for developing the wind—up radio — has died at the age of 80. and to make it work, you simply wind this and now... mr baylis was inspired to design the radio after watching a documentary about aids in africa. he believed the invention would help halt the disease by making educational radio broadcasts accessible to more people. he died this morning at his home on eel pie island, in south—west london,

after a long illness. the british actor gary oldman is celebrating after winning his first oscar. he picked up the award for his portrayal of sir winston churchill in darkest hour. the british short film — the silent child — starring six—year—old maisie sly from swindon who's deaf — also won an oscar. but the night belonged to the shape of water which won four awards, including best film. our arts editor will gompertz was there. the night began with host jimmy kimmel using his opening monologue to round up some of the elephants in the room. black panther and wonder woman were massive hits, which is almost miraculous, because i remember a time when the major studios didn't believe a woman or a minority could open a superhero movie. and the reason i remember that time is because it was march of last year. laughter thatjoke set the agenda for the evening. in the year of the 90th academy awards, it was time's up for a monocultural male dominated movie business. it's a new day in hollywood...

said jennifer lawrence, before announcing that the winner of actress in a leading role was... francis mcdormand, three billboards outside ebbing, missouri. so, i'm hyperventilating a little bit. if i fall over, pick me up, because i've got some things to say. if i may be so honoured to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight, the actors... meryl, if you do it, everyone else will, come on. the film—makers. .. look around everybody, look around ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. the call for equality and tolerance was made time and again and was perhaps best captured by guillermo del toro, whose film the shape of water, a story of misfits and outcasts, won best picture and he best director. i am an immigrant, and like many, many of you, the greatest our art does and our industry does is to erase the lines in the sand.

we should continue doing that when the world tells us to make them deeper. roger a deakins... there were long—awaited wins for two british veterans. after 13 failed attempts, the cinematographer roger deakins finally converted a nomination into a golden statue for his work on blade runner 2049. and for his portrayal of winston churchill in the darkest hour, gary oldman won his first oscar. i say to my mother, thank you for your love and support. put the kettle on, i'm bringing oscar home! the silent child, a british film about a deaf four—year—old, played by maisie sly, won the short film category. i made a promise to our six—year—old lead actress that i'd sign this speech. my hands are shaking a little bit, so i apologise. cheering and applause