this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm... counter—terror officers are now leading the investigation, into the suspected poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury. both are critically ill in hospital. the kremlin is denied any involvement. the foreign secretary said britain would respond britain would respond robustly if moscow were found to be responsible. scientists at the uk's weapons research facility in wiltshire are studying the substance thought to have made mr skripal and his daughter ill. donald trump gives a cautious welcome to news that kim jong—un says he is willing to sit down and talk. a murder investigation‘s been launched after a woman was found dead at in twickenham in west london. her husband and two children were found dead earlier in east sussex. also coming up, britain needs to count calories and cut portion sizes. public health england says it's time for producers and supermarket and

ta ke for producers and supermarket and take away to join the fight against obesity pulls up and as the former bbc presenter bill turnbull revealed he has been diagnosed with prostate and so, he urges other men not to ignore the symptoms. —— prostate cancer. good evening and welcome to bbc news. counter terrorism police are now leading the investigation into why a former russian agent and his daughter suddenly fell ill in salisbury on sunday afternoon. britain's chemical and biological weapons centre is testing the substance they were exposed to. sergei skripal, a double agent who was convicted in russia of passing state secrets to mi6, is fighting for his life in hospital along with his daughter yulia. it's still not known what caused them to collapse. but the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has promised a robust response if there is conclusive

evidence that russia was involved. with the latest from salisbury, here's tom symonds. a father and a daughter apparently struck down in public on a sunday afternoon in salisbury. the bbc revealed today that yulia skripal had been visiting her father, sergei, from russia, when it happened. they were left fighting for their lives. her eyes were just completely white, wide—open, butjust white, and frothing at the mouth. and then the man went stiff, his arms stopped moving. but he was still looking dead straight. cctv images obtained by the bbc appear to show mr skripal and his daughter walking together at 15.47 on sunday afternoon. they were heading for a small park surrounded by shops in the centre of salisbury, called the maltings. the camera which captured these pictures is yards from where they were found. police were called at 4:15pm when people reported the pair were unconscious on a park bench. last night, an italian

restaurant nearby, zizzi, was sealed by police, followed today by a local pub, bishop's mill. did someone slip something into theirfood or drink? for the police, this is a highly sensitive and potentially hazardous investigation, not least for the officers involved. the key question, of course, is what was the substance that left a father and his daughter in such a terrible condition on the park bench covered by the tent behind me? there will be toxicology reports prepared, but we understand that several police officers were admitted to hospital. one has been kept in. symptoms include breathing difficulties and itchy eyes. experts at the research facility porton down are now involved, testing for a wide range of substances. it's from things that are chemically toxic to things that are radiological, such as what was used against litvinenko.

i think people will have an open mind, they'll be looking at what's in the environment, what's on the clothing, on the skin of the people, and also what's in blood and urine and any other samples. so far, the tiny wiltshire police force has led the investigation, but that changed today in a significant development. this afternoon, the metropolitan police have confirmed that, due to the unusual circumstances, the counterterrorism network will be leading this investigation as it has the specialist capability and expertise to do so. after all, as the foreign secretary made clear in parliament this afternoon, this incident could have implications for britain's relationship with russia. should evidence emerge that implies state responsibility, then her majesty's government will respond appropriately and robustly. sergei skripal was arrested in 2004, accused of spying for mi6, convicted, and in 2010 handed over to britain as part of a spy swap. sergei skripal‘s wife,

elder brother and son have died in recent years, the family believe in suspicious circumstances. he has been living quietly here for some years, but under his own name. he would not have been hard to find. tom symonds, bbc news, salisbury. the russian embassy in london says the plight of sergei skripal and his daughter causes serious concern. but they also accuse the media of fuelling an anti—russian campaign by creating the impression it was a planned operation by russia — something they categorically deny. in moscow a spokesman for president putin described the situation as tragic. from moscow, here's steve rosenberg. it sounds chillingly familiar. russia under suspicion of planning and executing an attack 2,000 miles away in britain. in 2006, the target was former russian agent alexander litvinenko,

murdered in london. the man britain believes poisoned him is andrei lugovoy. today, he dismissed claims that moscow had attacked sergei skripal as propaganda. translation: why do they say he was poisoned? perhaps he poisoned himself or had a heart attack. you talk about propaganda, but what about alexander litvinenko? the enquiry in britain into his death found that you had poisoned him, probably on the orders of vladimir putin. translation: there was no official investigation into litvinenko's death. there was an attempt to accuse russia and a russian citizen, me, of poisoning him in britain with polonium. as for the kremlin, well, it's been saying very little today about sergei skripal. president putin's spokesman told me

earlier, "we have no information about what happened. we cannot comment." although he did add it was a tragic situation. but catching spies has become one of vladimir putin's priorities. yesterday, he congratulated russia's security service, the fsb. it uncovered 397 spies last year. spy—mania, and now a former double agent collapsing in britain. moscow denies any connection, but it can only add to the chill in relations between the uk and russia. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. let's go to salisbury and speak to 0lga ivshina from the bbc‘s russian service. you were speaking to relatives of sergei skripal earlier today. what do they believe has happened to him?

they are very cautious because they are still very much concerned for their well—being and that of him and his daughter. first of all they told us his daughter. first of all they told us that they strongly condemn any allegations that sergei skripal worked for the british security services, they say he was the biggest patriot of russia they have ever known. they are very suspicious to the chain of events which happened in the family in recent yea rs, happened in the family in recent years, that one by one he lost his wife, his elder brother and last year his son. skripal called his mum just two weeks ago, we were told, and he sounded very as a tip and promised to go back soon but at the same time his relatives underlined he was always vigilant and he said that russian security services might come after him at any time. to be clear, he was worried for his life despite the spy swap and the pardon

from president medvedev, despite everything that suggested he could live a quiet, normal life in wiltshire? in the way russian officers and many of the people living in russia perceive this, he betrayed his country, as that it wouldn't would say, betrayed his comrades in arms. it is a widespread belief that such people should be punished. 0f belief that such people should be punished. of course he was aware of that and his relatives told that and he was told the story back in russia when hejoined military intelligence. he was preparing something might happen even though they said he was never nervous but just vigilant. thank you for that. well, joining me now is samuel greene, who's director of the russia institute at king's college london. what are your initial thoughts on

all of this? probably not too different to everybody else, everybody‘s attention turns to russia when this broke. the reality is twofold. we don't have a lot of evidence and we're waiting the investigation to point us in some direction. but there is a history, the relationship between russia and most of the rest of the world. there is not a lot of trust in it. frankly people don't have much faith in russia's intentions, we know something of their capabilities so the natural thing that happens is that we ask questions about them in cases like this. ijust that we ask questions about them in cases like this. i just want to play a clip from 2010, this was the year the russia spy swap. a number of

spies in the west who were russian we re spies in the west who were russian were transferred for prisoners in the eastern bloc, in russia. and mr skripal was one of them. this was the response president putin after that swap. translation: traitors will kick the bucket, trust me. these people betrayed their friends, their brothers in arms. whatever they got in exchange for it, there's 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them. it is early daysin they will choke on them. it is early days in the investigation, nothing has been proved and we know that whatever chemical substance was involved in this alleged poisoning is being tested as we speak. but the point that our report that made at salisbury was that if you join the fsb, the russian security services and become a traitor, that's it. that does seem to be the expectation. it has not stopped a

number of people from doing what skripal and litvinenko have done in terms of switching sides and becoming double agents. some of that rhetoric, putin is a politician and he had to fight elections, not that he had to fight elections, not that he is in danger of losing, but has to project to his people some sense of strength and he has to explain that he is not being lenient in letting these people leave the country even though they have betrayed it from a russian perspective. but as we have heard, people like skripal had reason to fearfor people like skripal had reason to fear for their lives. it is somewhat different from saying that the kremlin would have ordered this. most of what we know, a lot of the things that russia seems to be doing around the world, whether it is assassinations, things like a murder in moscow itself interfering in elections, there are a number of people and agencies and

organisations at various degrees of distance from the kremlin who are empowered to do things that they believe the kremlin will like without having to operate in a strict command and control environment. the kremlin is able to maintaina large environment. the kremlin is able to maintain a large degree of plausible deniability and make sure that whatever evidentiary trail is turned up whatever evidentiary trail is turned up does not lead clearly and directly back to the russian leadership. that is interesting. this could be a hit, you are suggesting, but not necessarily on the direct orders of the kremlin? it's hard to see, there is a lot going on, we don't know what mr skripal has been up to since being in the uk having kept a low profile. there may be any number of reasons why this happened. hopefully the investigation will shed some light on it. the reality is it is difficult to see why now, with an election in a few days' time and

eventually wanting to get out from under sanctions, may be coming to a deal on syria and ukraine, you would find hard to see why it is beneficial to the kremlin right now. thank you forjoining us. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10.a0pm this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are camilla tominey, political editor at the sunday express, and dharshini david, economics commentator and author. a murder investigation is underway after a woman was found dead at her home in twickenham yesterday evening. she's believed to be in her 40s, and was discovered with stab injuries. scotland yard detectives looking to find her two boys, aged 7 and 10, and missing husband, 57, were told by sussex police yesterday that the bodies of a man and two children were found at eastbourne seafront, east sussex. earlier our correspondent tolu adeoye gave us

the latest from twickenham. police were first called here just before 6pm yesterday evening after concerns were raised about the family who live in the property set back behind me. they forced their way into the property and discovered a woman in her 40s dead. she had suffered stab wounds. at that stage they started making urgent enquiries about the welfare of the rest of her family, a 57—year—old man and two sons, aged ten and seven. meanwhile, an hour before this, sussex police had been called by a member of the public to the discovery of a man's body and two boys' bodies in eastbourne. they then contacted the metropolitan police about the discovery and that is when the link was made. while there is no formal identification as yet, as i say, police believe they are the deceased woman's immediate family. a postmortem examination is due on all four bodies. at this early stage police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with what has happened here but they are treating what happened to the woman at a murder investigation. they are asking anyone who has any information to come forward. we understand that next of kin have

been informed but we still don't know the names of those who have died. the headlines on bbc news: moscow is denied any involvement in the suspected poisoning a former russian spy in wiltshire. counterterror officers are leading the investigation. donald trump gives a cautious welcome to news that kim jong—un says he's willing to sit down and talk, after reports north korea is willing to discuss giving up its nuclear weapons, in return for security guarantees. a murder investigation's been launched after a woman's body was found at a house in west london. her husband and two children were found dead earlier in east sussex. time for some support from the bbc sport centre.

the big one from your point of view is tomorrow night clive! we can bring up—to—date with the champions league games, liverpool surely already into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009. they have a 5—0 first leg lead over porto. still goalless at anfield with around half an hour gone. sadio mane went closest so far. liveable made five changes with the likes of mohamed salah on the bench with the tie already settled you would imagine —— liverpool made. in paris, psg trailed real madrid 3—1 after the first leg. psg without neymar but kylian mbappe is back in, gareth bale on the bench for madrid. sergio ramos at the best chance so far. the england women play their final match of the she believes cup against world champion usa tomorrow knowing

a point would be enough to win in the tournament. phil neville says the tournament. phil neville says the performances in the tournament showed his players trust him.|j the performances in the tournament showed his players trust him. i see this game as a bit of a... not where we canjust this game as a bit of a... not where we can just go for it this game as a bit of a... not where we canjust go for it in a this game as a bit of a... not where we can just go for it in a way this game as a bit of a... not where we canjust go for it in a way and gamble and risk, because you need to find out about your players in the biggest game. they could be a world cup final biggest game. they could be a world cupfinal in12 biggest game. they could be a world cup final in 12 months' time and i wa nt to cup final in 12 months' time and i want to see if we can play this way in12 want to see if we can play this way in 12 months in the biggest occasions. i will test my players even more. russia remained suspended from international athletics and the governing body of the sport said it could permanently exclude the country in the doping reporters are not met. the iaaf still banned russia in november 2015 of evidence of state—sponsored doping. chairman lord coe insists he did not mislead the digital culture media and sport select committee when they were trying to get to the bottom of what he knew four years ago. everything we have done in the sport, the 200

changes, the suspension of the russian federation, the journey changes, the suspension of the russian federation, thejourney we have taken in the last two years, tells me we are in much better shape than we were two years ago. it is that of two others to judge what we have done but not what i say, i think it is what we have achieved as a sport. our sport is not in tatters, it is extremely strong. we wa nt exa ctly tatters, it is extremely strong. we want exactly what the group of mps wa nt want exactly what the group of mps want which is the eradication of drugs in sport and a road map to that. i think we have provided a road map not just that. i think we have provided a road map notjust to —— at a national level but a tebbutt. serena williams will return to the wta tour tomorrow at indian wells in the usa. the former world number one has only played one combative doubles match in the last 1a months after having her first in the last 1a months after having herfirst child. e23 hybrid time grand slam winner warmed up a new tie—break exhibition in new york, going out in the semifinals but beat marion bartoli who is also on the comeback trail —— the 23 time grand

slam winner. she is trying to keep expectations to a minimum. slam winner. she is trying to keep expectations to a minimumm slam winner. she is trying to keep expectations to a minimum. it has been hard. so many days, even still, that i'm like, how am i going to keep going? it has been really difficult but i keep going and i know that i might not be at my best yet but i'm getting there and every day is a new day and every day i should be getting better. as long as i'm moving forward, even if it is that a turtle's pace i'm ok with that. england rugby union captain dyla n that. england rugby union captain dylan hartley is a doubt for saturday's a must win six nations match against france. he has muscle tightness in his leg and will be assessed daily. jack nowell is definitely out for the rest of the championship with an ankle problem. we have been used as a replacement in all three matches so far, scoring against italy in the opening weekend and featured against wales and scotland. flanker sam and the health has a toe problem and he will miss the trip to paris. —— sam underhill.

still goalless in both champions league games. more at 10:30pm. a lorry driver has been found guilty of causing the deaths of eight people by dangerous driving in a crash on the m1 near milton keynes last summer. 31—year—old rysza rd masierak, who parked his lorry in lane one of the motorway for 12 minutes, was also found guilty of four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. britain needs to go on a diet — that's the stark message from leading public health officials. they say too many people eat too many calories every day and it's led to an obesity epidemic. now public health england is calling on food companies to cut portion sizes for things like pizzas, ready meals, processed meat and takeaways, to try to reduce calories by 20% over the next few years. our health editor, hugh pym, reports. it's time for action, and food companies must cut calories. that's the demand from public health chiefs who want to see new recipes, smaller portions, or more effort

to move customers to healthy options. here's the obesity problem. a child's diet might include breakfast with nearly 500 calories, a packed lunch with more than 1000, an after—school snack at around 250, and pasta and a pudding later with more than 800 calories. but that is well above the recommended limit for children. in fact, it's as much as eating an extra meal a day. but with an ice cream van parked outside this school in salford today, parents told us it wasn't easy keeping their children's diets under control. there's an ice cream van right there outside the school. there is something everywhere, isn't there, so it's hard, but i do try. if the children want ice cream, they just want ice cream, don't they? kids are just going in mcdonald's and eating burgers and stuff and even i don't know what calories are in them to be fair. mcdonald's, in fact, is one of the big companies that has agreed to a calorie cutting plan for its meals. and it has backed a campaign telling customers what they can get

if they want to stick to a 600 calorie limit. subway is another company publicising nutritional information and it says all its individual items are under 600 calories. do you acknowledge your company and others have contributed to this problem? i think with choice that customers have today, there is so much choice on the high street. four out of ten subs purchased every single week is from our low—fat range. there is still a lot of detail to be worked out on how the calorie reduction plan will work in practice. the fast—food chains and supermarkets have until 2024 to deliver the 20% cut. so the question arises — what happens if things are not on track? what we need to see is regular, transparent reporting so we see which parts of industry are playing their role and who is lagging behind. if change does not happen fast enough we need the government to introduce legislation to make this mandatory. there is already a sugar reduction plan for cakes and other sweet items.

that has to deliver by 2020. but the new calorie initiative for other food runs four years beyond that. some say that isn't fast enough to tackle what is being called an obesity epidemic. hugh pym, bbc news. joining me now from east sussex is charlotte stirling—reed, from the nutritionists association. thank you for being with us. what do you make of the announcement from public health england? a step in the right direction? it definitely is. we have a long way to go but it is a positive change and something we have been calling for from the government to take action on and i believe that they are doing it with this latest campaign. a lot of people would suggest that what is good if they are targeting, as well as individuals, the producers and the food companies and the fast food

restau ra nts a nd the food companies and the fast food restaurants and all that kind of stuff saying that you have been increasing portion sizes and putting more calories into the diets, stop it. absolutely, i could not agree more, it is important we are working with the food industry. we need a joined up approach, there is no use just having government telling us or putting it onto individuals, we need the government and food industry and health care professionals and pa rents, health care professionals and parents, everybody, schools as well, working together to make changes. i'm really pleased to see this and it's so important that a lot of us eating food at home and foods that are ready—made or processed. it is no use just encouraging people to change their diet or cook from scratch because it's not necessarily realistic for everyone and this is why it is keyword doing it. realistic for everyone and this is why it is keyword doing itm realistic for everyone and this is why it is keyword doing it. it makes you wonder, bearing in mind we have been sitting on this obesity time bomb for a while, while this more holistic approach has not been taken in the first place. a good question.

i think for years we have been trying to get the research and have government put enough money in and it seems we are taking a step in the right direction now. that is we are a bit late on the bandwagon but i think it is positive disease change happening now. public health takes a lot of time and often when we are looking at research it takes years for us to actually get enough done to be able to say we need to make changes here and here. i think finally we have got the research to go on. it does not help when it comes to the obesity in young kids having ice cream vans outside or fast food shops in the close vicinity. environment is key and that is one of the things we need to look at a bit more that has perhaps been missed. things like office in supermarkets, then we go there, the sort of foods that are around us, things at eye level for young

children. environment is key and we have to start making changes to make sure children grow up in environments that are less likely to encourage consumption. thank you, charlotte. north and south korea are due to hold direct talks at a summit next month, seoul's envoy says, after visiting pyongyang. south korea says kimjong—un is willing to discuss getting rid of nuclear weapons at the talks but only if north korea's security is guaranteed. donald trump has welcomed the development. john everard was the uk are bustards in north korea between 2006 and 2008 and he was on the un security council panel of experts between 2011 and 2012. that evening. thank you for being with us. you have been here before some of the world has been here before, north korea saying that it been here before, north korea saying thatitis been here before, north korea saying

that it is willing to get rid of its nuclear weapons if there are guarantees. talks happen and nothing transpires. are we in a similar situation? we all hope that we are not. we hope that this is the change in north korean behaviour that we have been waiting for and pressing for but of course, given the history as you point out, everybody is going to be treading very cautiously. we have to remember in the agreed framework in the late 90s, a situation where north korea suspended its nuclear weapons programmes in exchange for ligier help. in 2005 we got as far as them agreeing to abandoning the programmes and moving towards democratic recognition with the us and both of those fell apart. there must be some concern that this will as well. it is part of the problem, as well. it is part of the problem, a lack of trust on the part of the west and america and south korea, a

lack of trust about the intentions of the north koreans. we found out in the last few weeks they have been telling the metal weapons to the syrians. —— chemical weapons. telling the metal weapons to the syrians. -- chemicalweapons. lack of trust in washington about north korea, distinct nervousness in many parts of seoul and also a mistrust in washington in pyongyang. when you read the history of the nuclear negotiations as seen from the north korean point of view, they see it differently. they believe they were the victims and that it was washington who broke faith. looking at the suggestion from north korea, if the reports are to be believed, that security guarantees might lead them to abandon their nuclear weapons programme. those guarantees would include, one suspects, no joint military exercises between america and the south koreans, potentially american troops leaving south korea, potentially american

troops leaving japan. are these the security guarantees that are viable or possible? north korea in an official contact with the united states has effectively asked for the moon. notjust all the things you have just mentioned but also a guaranteed that the us is unable to strike north korea with nuclear weapons. as us nuclear missiles have a global reach, that effectively is a global reach, that effectively is a demand for the total denuclearisation of the united states of america which of course is not going to happen. north korea often not going to happen. north korea ofte n co m es not going to happen. north korea often comes to negotiations with outrageously high demands. the real question is how far can those demands be bargained down and can they be brought to the realms of reason? we don't yet know, that is the big problem. do you think what seems to be the policy pyongyang at the moment which is to push a little

bit a wedge between seoul and washington, playing nice to south korea, send athletes to the winter olympics in pyeongchang, to say all the right things and at the same time pushing a wedge between seoul and washington, that policy seems to be working? not at all clear that it is. the south koreans, a lot of of people feared would be tempted to go away on their own and turned their back on their own and turned their back on that alliance with the united states. in fact, the south koreans have been very careful to consult washington throughout this process. and indeed, the team recently in pyongyang that has returned to seoul is about to get back on an aircraft to go to washington to see the americans face to face and tell them what happened to them and the north koreans. so they have been kept very carefully in the loop. also, the same team going to beijing and moscow, the south koreans are keen

that the chinese and russians also be consulted. very interesting indeed, thank you very much. thousands of people without water for a fourth day in parts of the uk after frozen pipes burst in the recent cold weather. water companies have continued work to restore water supplies to homes and businesses in london, kent, sussex and wales. suppliers fell well short on planning forward, the regulator says. we have more coming up on the bbc news, time for a look at the a north—south divide, cold and wintry across much of scotland and further south, breaks in the cloud and sunshine. we keep those breaks through the night to allow matching mist and fog to form and a touch of frost. the snow and rain will continue to push out of scotland across to the northern isles. perhaps wintry in places. overnight

lows down to around —2 and we starts tomorrow with sunny spells further inland, but coastal showers. tomorrow with sunny spells further inland, but coastalshowers. some tomorrow with sunny spells further inland, but coastal showers. some of the southeast and some into northern ireland and western scotland. and rain and sleet continues from the northern isles. if you get the sunshine, you will see more warmth, highest values of 6—10. coastal showers likely to continue into the evening. some could be heavy from time to time and as temperatures fall away with a bit of elevation across northern england and southern scotland, there will be snow as well. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: counterterror officers are leading the investigation into the suspected poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter in peach macro. both critically ill in hospital. the

kremlin is denying any involvement, but the foreign secretary says britain will respond robustly if moscow is found to be responsible. donald trump is giving a cautious welcome to news that kim jong—un says he is willing to sit down and talk. a murder investigation has been launched after a woman was found dead at a house in twickenham, west london. her husband and two children were found dead earlier in east sussex. and britain needs to count calories and cut portion sizes, health officials say it is time for producers, supermarkets and ta keaways to producers, supermarkets and takeaways to join the fight against obesity. more now on our top story. counter—terrorism police are now leading the investigation into why a former russian agent and his daughter suddenly fell ill in salisbury on sunday afternoon. it's still not known what caused them to collapse, and britain's chemical and biological weapons centre is testing the substance they were exposed to. sergei skripal has been living in the uk for several years and he came to britain as part of a high—profile spy

swap involving russia and the united states in 2010. so if he has been poisoned, why would he be targeted now? our security correspondent, gordon corera, reports. does the long arm of the kremlin reach all the way from moscow to salisbury, in wiltshire? and if the attack on sergei skripal did come from russia, why? after being released from jail, skripal had spent the last eight years living quietly in salisbury, but he still had enemies. sergei skripal had been imprisoned in russia for selling secrets to british intelligence here at mi6. it was claimed that he provided the identity of hundreds of russians operating undercover in europe. even though he had been pardoned as part of a spy swap, his former colleagues would still have regarded him as a traitor. the fact that he blew a whole range of russian agents, there may be personal animosity there.

the fact that he was a british spy, a former member of the russian military, in most russians' minds, it will categorise him as a traitor so, yes, there will be people there who are delighted to see him dead. nobody is yet confirming that moscow was involved, but there have been other incidents involving russians in the uk. most famously, alexander litvinenko, another former russian spy poisoned in london's mayfair. and other figures have aroused suspicions. alexander perepilichny died suddenlyjogging in surrey. one study revealed traces of a rare toxin in his stomach, and a businessman campaigning over his death said not enough has been done to deter russia. based on the reaction of the british government to the murder in mayfair using nuclear material of alexander litvinenko, which was nothing, it basically gave

a green light to vladimir putin that he can do whatever he wants here — and he has doing whatever he wants here for quite a while. it's still too early to be sure where this investigation will go, but if the trail does connect salisbury to moscow, then the pressure will be on the british government to respond. gordon corera, bbc news. our chief political correspondent, vicki young, spoke to the conservative chair of the commons foreign affairs committee, tom tugendhat, about the government's response to the incident. it's an awful incident and it's a tragedy for the two people concerned and their families, but what it does is, it demonstrates a pattern that will continue and grow, unless it's stopped. and that's why i support tobias ellwood, the minister for defence, who's been absolutely right in calling for an increase in the defence budget. again, this isn't because this is a military confrontation, but sending a signal that we are prepared to defend ourselves, we're prepared to stand up for what matters, defend our

principles and defend our allies is what we must do to deter this kind of action. you've talked about it as a soft war and we've heard people from the security services, for example, talking about russian interference, attacking our infrastructure, cyber attacks — what more can be done to counter that? well, look, the work done by gchq and the intelligence agencies is phenomenal. and certainly, when you look at the national cyber centre and what it's been doing and the way it's been resisting quite a lot of attacks these many years, it's really very impressive. but this is a soft war — by which, i mean it's not tanks rolling over the border, it's not bombs falling on london or anything like that, but it's a soft progression of hostile and malign actions that are designed to demoralise us, to destabilise us, to bring about independent and small crises and to normalise. and each moment is supposed to be a step. each step is supposed to undermine us that little bit more, and that worse. and in doing so, it's supposed to undermine our alliances and give russia and her friends freedom of manoeuvre not only amongst our allies —

certainly, in eastern europe — but also, within the united kingdom itself. one of the suspects in the poisoning of former kgb agent alexander litvinenko in 2006 has accused british media of unfairly pointing the finger at moscow. speaking to the bbc, russian politician andrei lugovoi said the uk isjumping to the wrong conclusions. why do you say he was poisoned? maybe it was food poisoning or a heart attack or something else happened to this man, but the media straightaway says he was poisoned and since he's from russia's military intelligence and was expeued military intelligence and was expelled the uk, there must be a russian wing. these conclusions were quick. this is busily surprising. i would like to add one thing and it is an important thing, special services have certain rules. different countries have a practice

of it to changing spies. when a swap is done, it is considered that the matter is closed. skripal was swapped and pardoned by the russian president so in essence, the incident is over. russia has no complaints with skripal, he has not fled anywhere, he has been involuntarily moved by russia to the uk territory. you see that russia has an image problem here? because as soon as something happens like this, the media is pointing the finger at moscow. this is a serious problem for russia. no, it is not russia's problem. i think it is propoganda by the uk and the us. it is not about russia. britain gives shelter to people and then you get problems because russians are hiding behind this so—called british wall of justice. they are always having problems.

these people are problems by themselves, usually criminals or people who betrayed their motherland, or are working against it. so of course they will create problems. they are simply chances. they are simply chancers. six months after hurricane irma tore through parts of the caribbean, killing dozens of people and destroying thousands of homes, many of the survivors are still living in shelters. one of the worst hit places was the island of tortola, in the british virgin islands. more than 80% of the buildings there were either damaged or completely destroyed. aleem maqbool has been to the island, to find out how the community there is recovering. it is shocking that so long after the storm, there are still those living in shelters. they are among the thousands whose homes were torn apart by irma. we've been here, like, five, six months and nothing. it seems to me that everybody just gave up on us.

we're just here. irma was the most devastating hurricane ever to be recorded in this region, barely a building on this island was left untouched, boats were lifted clean into the air and dumped on the land. tortola now still has the signs everywhere you look that a massive storm came this way. well, even though it is desperately needed, tourism here has suffered immensely over the last six months and they've suffered a huge blowjust in recent weeks, with two of the biggest cruise companies serving this area saying, for this season, they won't be bringing their ships to the british virgin islands. peak season a couple of years ago — sometimes, it looks like there's more boats than water. you can't see the water for the yachts. it's not a good feeling, you know, back then to compare it now. it's not a good feeling. the window went in. the window went in and went out.

but light has been hard to come by in the last six months here, just ask rita, whose home was badly damaged by irma and who says, in this uk territory, that she saw little aid from the uk. me have no aid, apart from the six bottles of water i get. that was it. i don't have no aid. it was a common perception we heard here, that apart from the work done by british troops immediately after the storm, more could have been done. when we did need them to show that we are truly a child of the united kingdom, i think they disappointed us. so it changed our view, in terms of the relationship. the governor of these islands says he's proud of the uk's contribution. we've got the electricity back on. we've got businesses back open. we've got all children getting educated. so we won't underestimate the scale of the challenge still ahead of us, but we've made good progress after the last six months.

it's been a massive effort by people here just to get this far, but they're worried again, the next hurricane season is less than 100 days away. aleem maqbool, bbc news, on tortola, in the british virgin islands. a 17—year—old girl and a man have been arrested, after sustaining injuries during an incident in a police vehicle in perth. 45—year—old stuart lymer and the teenager — who can't be named — had been missing since last friday. the pair are being treated in hospital after the incident, which is understood to have involved a bladed weapon. their injuries are not thought to be life—threatening. president trump has said the world is watching and waiting, after reports that north korea is willing to discuss giving up its nuclear weapons, in return for security guarantees. north and south korea are due to hold direct talks at a summit next month. speaking at the white house, mr trump said the progress had been positive. hopefully, it's going

to be the proper way. the proper way is the way that everybody knows, er, and everybody wants. but we are prepared to go either way. i think that their statement and the statements coming out of south korea — and north korea — have been very positive. that would be a great thing for the world. a great thing for the world. so we'll see how it all comes about. and we hope to get the latest out of washington in the next couple of minutes. the headlines on bbc news: moscow denies any involvement in the suspected poisoning of a former russian spy in wiltshire. counter—terror officers are now leading the investigation. donald trump gives a cautious welcome to news that kim jong—un says he's willing to sit down and talk, after reports north korea is willing to discuss giving up its nuclear weapons, in return for security guarantees. a murder investigation's been launched after a woman's body was found at a house in west london. her husband and two children were found dead earlier in east sussex. an update on the market numbers for you. here's how london and frankfurt ended the day. in positive territory. 14 minutes

before the closing bell on wall street, both doing rather well. the former bbc breakfast presenter bill turnbull has revealed he's suffering from advanced prostate cancer. the 62—year—old broadcaster says he was diagnosed at the end of last year, and that he wants to encourage men to get tested. our medical correspondent, fergus walsh, reports. there were some moments there that i had forgotten about entirely. bill turnbull on his last day on bbc breakfast in 2016, after presenting the programme for 15 years. a star of many shows, among them strictly, he tweeted the news that he was diagnosed with prostate and bone cancer last november. he added, "i'm in good

spirits and i hope to be around for some time yet." i will place that there. oh, that's so sweet! the diagnosis came when he was recording a special celebrity bake off for stand up to cancer, which begins tonight. in an interview, he said... in an interview in the radio times, bill urges men symptoms that might indicate prostate cancer, which will affect one in eight men. the key symptoms are any very rapid changes to how often you go to the toilet to urinate, any pain when you do, or pain generally in the pelvic area. those symptoms might not be cancer, they probably aren't, but they would potentially suggest there is an issue and men should go

to their gp if they have any symptoms. bill says he's still working and does not want to be defined by his illness. he adds, although cancer will shorten his life, his consultant's ambition is, he will see another 18 years. with me is heather blake, from prostate cancer uk. you know what some men are like. reticent to go and see the doctor. reticence to go and get checked out. if you are not feeling the symptoms we heard in that report, pain in the pelvic area, your usual routine when going to the lavatory and not being upset or whatever, should you still be getting tested ? upset or whatever, should you still be getting tested? well, it is a difficult area and i would like to say how sorry i am to hear about bill turnbull‘s prostate cancer, he is very brave to speak out and that will have an impact on helping other

men think and talk about it. so the issue with prostate cancer is that in its early stages, it often has no symptoms. men need to be aware of whether they are at higher risk of the disease. the risk factors are key. if you are older, older than 50, four men who have a family history of the disease, with a brother or father who have been affected, and for black men, there isa affected, and for black men, there is a higher risk of prostate cancer. it is one in eight will get prostate cancer in the population in general, for like men and men with a family history, it is one in four. the key to the testing is it is a simple blood test. not particularly invasive, simple procedure. there is a simple blood test called the psa test. the issue, it is the best test we have got at the moment as an early indication there might be a problem, but it is not perfect, it

is not especially accurate. so we recommend men taught their gp about whether the test is right for them. so what other test is there? that is the first test. men go to their gp and have a conversation with the gp about the fact that they need to make that choice as to whether to go ahead with the test. because the issue with the test is that it might diagnose some of prostate cancer which is low risk and might never harm you. so you have to be aware there are potential side—effects from being treated for prostate cancer which may never have harmed you, but also set against that, especially for high—risk men, it is a very good idea to have that conversation with the gp about whether you should have that test. that sounds rather confusing. the bottom line is, if you are black, over 50 and with a history of it in yourfamily, you over 50 and with a history of it in your family, you should over 50 and with a history of it in yourfamily, you should be over 50 and with a history of it in your family, you should be tested regularly. but potentially, get more ofa regularly. but potentially, get more of a test than the blood test? what

would happen if the blood test indicates there is an issue and that could be something completely benign, it could not be cancer, what would happen, you would be referred toa would happen, you would be referred to a neurology clinic and they would do further tests. including things like mri scans and a biopsy to give a firm indication of whether there is cancer. bill has been told by doctors the hope is that he will live another 18, 20 years. this is a disease that you can live with for some time. absolutely. the issue that we have is that it is very difficult. with the testing that we have, to distinguish between the aggressive cancer that is rapidly advancing and a slower growing cancer. one issue we are investing a great deal of research in in order to find a better testing approach which could ultimately lead to a more accurate approach and to a

screening programme, to enable is not to be in the situation where it is really left in quite confusing for men. many thanks. proms prostate cancer uk. as we've been hearing, health officials are asking food manufacturers to limit the amount of calories in takeaways and ready meals, in the hope of decreasing obesity in the uk by 20%. rupert vann knows better than most what a difference it makes when you shed the pounds. he lost twelve stone injust two years, and hejoins us now via webcam. hello, thank you forjoining us. how did you do it? i started eating less and the right stuff and going to the gym. and pumping iron. but crucially, you watch what you took into your body. how difficult was that? it was difficult at first. i used it anything and everything and

in very large quantities. but slowly and surely swapping the bad stuff and surely swapping the bad stuff and adding chicken and broccoli. what we meeting before them? just anything and everything. a lot ofjunk, nonstop. it was the counting of the calories that has led to you losing so much weight? yes, instead of just led to you losing so much weight? yes, instead ofjust eating morning noon and night, it was sticking to three meals throughout the day and eating the right quantities and the right stuff. that is the problem that a lot of people face now, if they go to a restau ra nt people face now, if they go to a restaurant or fast—food joint, it is not just the quality restaurant or fast—food joint, it is notjust the quality of restaurant or fast—food joint, it is not just the quality of the food, it is the quantity and the portions that people are served that could be pa rt that people are served that could be part of the problem. absolutely. whenever i go out to eat, portions are huge and for a tiny bit more money, you can super—size, so it is making the right choices and eating a little less. that is why public health england have now targeted, as well

as individuals like yourself and myself, telling us we should eat correctly, they are talking to the producers and food manufacturers to say, be careful with those portion sizes and what you put into these meals. yes, absolutely. a lot of the time, portions are the biggest thing. if you buy something too big or prepare something for yourself that is too big, it is instinct, you are told as a child to clean your plate and finish everything, but if people ta ke finish everything, but if people take the time and stop when they fall, they will see a big change straightaway. robert, good to see you, thank you. and congratulations, thank you. danish toy maker lego has admitted it's made too many bricks, which has led to its first fall in sales in 13 years. the company's ceo says they've had to sell off excess stock at a discounted price to deal with the issue. 1400 jobs were cut in september last year. 75 billion are sold annually

world wide, is that really true? lego is now concentrating on developing markets in asia. three uk dementia scientists have one 1 million euros brain prize for crucial work that has changed how we understand alzheimer's disease. the man, all based in the uk, won the prize alongside a man from germany. they picked a key protein changes that lead to the most common type of dementia and their work has been the foundation for much of the research into developing new venture drugs. alzheimer's and other types of dementia affect 50 million people around the world. time for a look at the weather. we had contrasting conditions across the country today. you may get some sunshine coming through and it felt almost springlike. further north, it has been a cold story and still further snow. that snow fairly frequent across

central and northern scotland. rain along the coast through the latter stages of the afternoon and feeling quite raw out there. still that combination of snow and rain gradually moving north through the end of the day. overnight tonight, we continue to see those skies clearing and some mist and fog forming. with perhaps the exception of the south—east, where we could see some showers. overnight, just below freezing in a few places, some frost here and there and it starts off quieter tomorrow. some scattered showers across western scotland and northern ireland, some of these heavy at times. generally speaking, the further inland you come,

you'll see some decent sunshine and temperatures getting into double digits in some places. towards thursday, we see low—pressure threatening into the south—west and still under the influence of low pressure in the north. so those showers never too far away. still quite a wintry flavour to them further north. as we move out of thursday into friday, we start to notice the change. that low—pressure likely to squeeze up from the south—west, bringing some wet weather. but milder in the south. and where that frontal system sits, we could see some snow moving into the weekend. but likely only to be to the north and for a time, turning milder behind that, with some sunny spells. this is outside source, welcome to

those watching in the uk on the bbc news channel and on bbc world news, this is a live press conference with the swedish prime minister and donald trump. believe me, every body wa nts to donald trump. believe me, every body wants to work in the white house, they all want a piece about oval office, of the west wing. not only into and looks great on the errors made but a great place to work. it has tremendous energy, it's tough, i like tom clicked and people with two different points of view and i have that and i make the decision. i like watching it and stealing it and i think it's the best way to go. i like different points of view. the white house has to minus energy and talent. there will be people who change, they always change. sometimes they want to