this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines at 11:00: scientists at the uk's weapons research facility in wiltshire are working to identify the substance which a former russian spy was exposed to in salisbury. the kremlin is denying any involvement, but the foreign secretary says britain will respond robustly if moscow is found to be responsible. donald trump gives a cautious welcome to news that kim jong—un says he's willing to sit down and talk, after reports that north korea is willing to discuss giving up its nuclear weapons, in return for security guarantees. tonight as a russian double agent and his daughter remain in hospital, we look at what happened at salisbury. counter—terrorism officers

is leading the investigation into the suspected poisoning of a former russian agent and his daughter in salisbury on sunday. sergei skripal had been convicted in russia of passing secrets to mi6, and came to britain following a spy swap. the foreign secretary has promised a robust response if there's conclusive evidence that. 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, they were wide open butjust white and frothing at the mouth. and the man went stiff, his arms stopped moving, but he was still looking dead straight. cctv images obtained by the bbc

appeared 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 zizzi, an italian restaurant nearby, 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. from things that are chemically toxic to things that are radiological such as was used against litvinenko. i think people will have an open mind, they will be looking at what is in the environment, what is on the clothing, on the skin of the people and also what is 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 department. 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 m16, convicted, but in 2010 handed over to britain as part of a spy swap. sergei skripal‘s wife, older brother and son have died in recent years — the family believe in suspicious circumstances. he has been living quietly here, vigilant and fearful of russian intelligence, his relatives said, but under his own name. he would not have been hard to find. tom symonds, bbc news, salisbury. in moscow, the russian government has vehemently denied any suggestion of involvement and promised to cooperate with the inquiry if asked. a foreign ministry spokesman accused

boris johnson of making "wild" and "preposterous" statements and the russian ambassador in london accused the british media of trying to demonise russia. 0ur correspondent steve rosenberg reports from moscow. 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 inquiry 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, the former kgb officer praised russia's security service for uncovering 397 spies last year. the kremlin leader has never hidden his contempt for those who betray the motherland for money. "traitors will kick the bucket, trust me." these people betrayed their friends,

their brothers in arms. whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them. yet sergei skripal wasn't an obvious target for the kremlin. translation: there are certain rules that the secret services keep to. when there's an exchange of spies, the matter is considered closed. skripal had been exchanged, russia had no problem with him. moscow denies any connection, but a former double agent, collapsing in britain, it can only add to the chill in relations between the uk and russia. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. after months of growing tensions on the korean peninsula north korea's leader, kimjong—un has hinted he is willing to start talks about dismantling his nuclear weapons

if his country's safety could be guaranteed. he's agreed to meet the south korean leader at a summit next month, the first meeting of its kind for more than a decade. 0ur seoul correspondent laura bicker said today's announcements were extraordinary. not only is kim jong—un willing to discuss getting rid of his nuclear weapons but also to do so with the united states and he said he will hold any missile tests while those talks take place. these are extraordinary announcement will not they come from a dinner in pyongyang where he hosted prime ministers from south korea for the first time. they will brief the truck administration and the us president believes it is his policy of maximum pressure, that international sanctions that have forced kim jong—un kim jong—un to the table and it may be that gunn yang is running out of cash. it could also be that kim jong—un isn't

lying, tried to buy time to continue his nuclear programme. he may be looking for something that his father and his father failed to achieve, a peace treaty. ministers in the sol city are dealing with the north with clear eyes but they are also very aware of the effects of war on this initial and they are willing to go wherever these talks may lead them. the body of a woman who'd been stabbed has been found in herfamily home in south west london. the discovery was made an hour after the bodies of her husband and two boys, aged 7 and 10, were discovered at the foot of cliffs in east sussex. police say they're not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation. 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. ryszard masherak who's 31, parked his lorry in lane 1 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 is what officials as saying. leading to an obesity epidemic. food companies have been told to reduce the calories in their products or face legislation if they fail to comply. it's time for action and food companies must cut calories. that is 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 for dinner

with more than 800 calories. but that's nearly 600 above the recommended limit for children, which is like 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 diet under control. there is an ice cream van right now outside the school. there's something everywhere, isn't there? it's hard, but i do try. if children want an ice cream, they just want an 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. mcdonalds, in fact, is one of the big companies which has agreed to a calorie cutting plan for its meals and it's 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 says all its individual items are under 600 calories. do you acknowledge that your company and others

have contributed to this problem? i think with the 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's 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 aren't on track? so what we need to see is regular, transparent reporting so we can see which parts of industry are playing their role and who is lagging behind. if change doesn't happen fast enough we need the government to introduce legislation to make this mandatory. there's 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 for years beyond that. four years beyond that. some say that's not fast enough to tackle what's been called an obesity epidemic.

hugh pym, bbc news. that's a summary of the news, now it's time for newsnight with kirsty. the foreign secretary laid into the russian state today as we await to hear what has befallen the one time double agent, former mi6 spy, and russian colonel sergei skripal and his daughter yulia, who are still critically ill in hospital. we're live from salisbury. i am in the city finding out about the man who, we understand, it chose salisbury for its low crime rate and his daughter who moved freely between russia and the uk. so as the counter terrorism unit in the met takes over the case, what do we actually know? as the foreign secretary talks about russia as a ‘malign force' on the international scene, the former spy and his daughter fight for their lives. we'll be hearing from the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, and the former security minister baroness neville jones. also tonight, the bank of england chief economist on addressing its elitist past? i was probably one of the first vintages that did not go to oxford or cambridge.

that did not go to a public school. that might come at things from slightly different angles. and this... and hundreds of videos. and his 33—year—old daughter yulia, are still in a critical condition in hospital in salisbury. in hospital too is one of the emergency services personnel who attended the scene when they were found unconscious in the town.

the military research facility at porton down is believed to be examining unknown material, and the counter terrorism policing network at the met is now in charge of the investigation, but so far, we know nothing about what happened to them, if they were poisoned, or, if they were, by whom. that didn't stop the foreign secretary borisjohnson addressing the commons to say that the disturbing incident had echoes i'm joined by our diplomatic editor mark urban, who has news of a development tonight. what i am hearing tonight samples to porton down, that they still do not know