this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00: donald trump signs off on higher tariffs for aluminium and steel imports, sparking fears of a global trade war. the actions we are taking today are not a matter of choice. they are a matter of necessity for our security. wiltshire police praise the bravery of an officer, who went to the aid of the russian former spy and his daughter, poisoned by a nerve agent. tonight the area in salisbury where the attack took place, remains cordoned off. new figures show tens of thousands of patients had non urgent operations cancelled, as the nhs struggled to cope with the winter crisis. and on newsnight tonight harrassment, bullying and intimdation inside the palace of westminster — we have an exlcusive report and testimonies from the women at the centre. good evening and

welcome to bbc news. president trump has signed into law new tariffs on steel and aluminium entering the united states, prompting fears of a global trade war. the european union and china have already said they'll retaliate, and the president's chief economic advisor, has resigned over the issue. mr trump says the new tariffs are being imposed for national security reasons, and that american industry has been "ravaged by aggressive foreign trade practices," for far too long. our north america correspondent nick bryant reports. history is often written with a presidential pen, and with steelworkers who helped put him in the white house at his shoulder, donald trump added his name to a signature campaign promise — putting american first

by imposing tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium. applause. the american steel and aluminium industry has been ravaged by aggressive foreign trade practices. it's really an assault on our country. the workers who poured their souls into building this great nation were betrayed, but that betrayal is now over. defending america's industrial heartland has prompted his most protectionist move yet, one that strikes a blow against globalisation — the integrated system of worldwide commerce, from which these rust belt communities feel excluded. american steel... a promise made, a promise kept. wait till you see what i'm going to do for steel. now it's time for action. it's the glut of steel produced in china that's angered the president, but that accounts for just 2% of us steel imports. bigger importers, such

as canada and mexico, are initially exempted. it's not clear whether britain will be punished. european union countries could be hard—hit. president trump has recently said, and i quote... "trade wars are good and easy to win." but the truth is quite the opposite. trade war are bad and easy to lose. trade wars are bad and easy to lose. harley—davidson, the quintessential middle america brand, and for that very reason a likely target for eu retaliation. trump supporters in key battle ground states, like wisconsin, could be caught in the crossfire. a trade war won't benefit anybody. i generally believe in free trade. i don't think he's serious about it, regardless. i think he's just trying to scare people into getting some concessions, which is how he rolls. it's too late to save these old steel mills in pennsylvania. many senior republicans fear that this act of economic

nationalism could also be an act of national self harm. police in wiltshire have praised the bravery of one of their officers, who went to the aid of the former russian spy, sergei skripal and his daughter, after they were poisoned by a nerve agent in salisbury. detective sergeant nick bailey is still in a serious condition in hospital. it's still unclear how and why mr skripal, and his 33 year—old daughter, were targetted last sunday afternoon. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports from salisbury. detective sergeant nick bailey is 38 years old, a decorated officer with plenty of experience on the front line of policing. he's still in a serious condition, but the good news today is he is awake and talking. he's a great character. he is a huge presence in wiltshire police, a well—loved and massively dedicated officer. he is clearly receiving high, specialist treatment. he is well, he's sat up.

he's not the nick i know, but he is receiving a high level of treatment. he's very anxious, he's very concerned. he did his very best on that night. all of our stuff that attended the incident in salisbury in the maltings performed the role that police officers and police staff do every day up and down the country. the inquiry‘s not letting up. police began what appeared to be a major search and possible decontamination of sergei skripal‘s house today. for a while, they even taped off the graves of his wife and son. the use of a nerve agent on uk soil is a brazen and reckless act. this was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way. people are right to want to know who to hold to account. but if we are to be rigorous in this investigation we must avoid speculation and allow the police to carry on their investigation.

the bbc has been told the nerve agent used was not sarin or vx, which have been used as weapons of the past, but rarer. decontamination teams were heavily protected but look at the picture earlier in the day. these officers were not to know they were to deal with a chemical weapon in their city. the risk became obvious today when a bench was exposed by casts of wins. just look at the operation needed to go in and take it down, for days on from the incident. but it was just police officers who risk being exposed that afternoon. i have spoken to doctor who was there. she came across sergei skripal. she stepped in, she got the daughter up

from the floor, got her breathing and handed the woman. she is concerned about what she was exposed at but she is feeling fine at the moment. sergei and yulia skripal not getting better. suggestions that the kremlin may have been involved in the poisoning, have sparked anger in russia. state media has complained of an anti—russian campaign by the west, with little sympathy for sergei skripal, as our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. moscow feels a world away from the drama of salisbury. relaxed russians are out enjoying a public holiday, determined not to allow a spy scandal to spoil their day. people here are short on sympathy for sergei skripal. translation: the fewer secrets you sell, the longer you'll live. translation: don't

betray your motherland. then you'll have no problems. translation: when he was in prison in russia, he was healthy. he goes to britain and gets poisoned. he should have stayed here. it's a similar message from russian tv. the kremlin—controlled media have been mocking boris johnson and making fun of britain. if you're a professional traitor, he says, my advice, don't move to england. something's not right there, the climate, perhaps. but too many bad things go on there — people are hanged, poisoned, helicopter crashes or they fall out of windows. undeeradimir putin, the kremlin has sent a very clear message to the russian people that their country is a besieged fortress, threatened by enemies abroad and traitors at home. that's why there's little sympathy here for sergei skripal. and if moscow did target sergei skripal...

most russian people, not me, of course, most russian people would take pride in it because there is a very black and white worldview — it's us against them. putin has brought this back in a big way. today, the president delivered a special address. no mention of spies. he congratulated russian women on international women's day. moscow knows it's under suspicion but the kremlin is acting as if it's business as usual. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. a jury at the old bailey has been shown a video, of the moment a bomb partially exploded on a tube train in south west london. some of the passengers have been describing in court, how their hairand clothes caught fire, in the packed carriage, last september. thirty people were injured at parsons green station. ahmed hassan who's 18, denies attempted murder. june kelly has more. the moment when a fireball engulfed

a packed train carriage. it left passengers burning and screaming in pain, the old bailey heard today. this is ahmed hassan, the teenager on trial for the attack. here shopping at asda the day before, and being asked for his id. he bought batteries and screwdrivers. hassan is an 18—year—old asylum seeker, and the following morning cctv showed him leaving his foster parents' home in sunbury, in surrey. other cameras captured his journey as he carried a little plastic bag, said to contain his bomb. at wimbledon station he went into the toilets, where it's alleged he set the timer on the device, and then he made for an underground train. a few stops down the district line, he got off, leaving his little bag and its contents behind. as the train pulled

into parsons green station, the device only partially exploded, but a number of passengers were burned by the fireball. this computer—generated graphic shows the scene on board the train after the attack. today, some of those caught up in the blast described in court how the ball of flame rolled down the carriage. aimee colville told the jury that her hair caught fire and she saw a wall of glass. victoria holloway spoke of a whooshing sound, as if someone had lit a bunsen burner. she said the flames were touching her legs and wrapping around her skin. two of the passengers were in tears as they gave their evidence. they testified from behind a screen and could be seen by only the judge, jury and lawyers. one of them, known only as miss s, described how on that morning her coat was burning and her tights were melting. she's been left scarred

after burns to her hands, legs and face. june kelly, bbc news, at the old bailey. a shortage of hospital beds meant tens of thousands of patients in england, had their non—urgent operations like hip and knee replacements postponed in december and january. new figures also show a&e departments missed waiting time targets, in their worst performance since records began. our health editor, hugh pym has more. new year brought extraordinary pressure, illustrated in the new bbc hospital series filmed at nottingham university hospitals trust. today we have run out of space. we are being asked to cancel any nonessential activities. so not cancer, not clinically urgent, but pretty much anything else. i can't see the sense in cancelling... word has come through from nhs leaders that all non—urgent surgery should be cancelled for the month to free up beds for emergencies. i'm very sorry, but i don't know if you've heard the recent news, but we have a bed crisis in the hospital. we're going to have to cancel

operations at this moment. i'm afraid it's bad news. we are going to have to cancel tomorrow. i'm really sorry. sometimes that meant operating theatres were lying empty. we don't know when we can start operating again at the moment. we've never had it as bad as this before. we're just left, largely, at a loose end. we're being paid to work, but just trying to find something constructive to do. by february operations had resumed. but patients elsewhere, like scott, are still facing delays. he was told the day before his back operation it had been put off, and he doesn't know when it will happen. i'm very, very frustrated. i'm annoyed and i'm hurt, because now i've got to go through this all over again. in december there were nearly 27,000 fewer routine operations carried out in england than the same month a year earlier. injanuary, after the national nhs intervention,

there was a drop of nearly 111,500. for the most recent two week period, bed occupancy in hospitals at more than 95% was the highest this winter. some hospitals though worked hard to avoid cancelling operations. it is a very bad patient experience to cancel surgery. these patients have very often been waiting for a very long time to have their procedure done and then cancelling it one or two days before it's been planned is a thing that you really want to avoid. nhs england said february was the most pressurised month in the history of the service, with high levels of flu — the background to another deterioration in a&e performance. hugh pym, bbc news. and you can see more from that documentary, hospital, featured in hugh's report, on bbc 2 at 9 o'clock on monday 26th march.

that's a summary of the news, newsday is coming up at midnight. now on bbc news it's time for newsnight with emily maitlis. awarning, a warning, the programme contains some strong language. he was particularly nasty to those he felt were below him. i witnessed him sort of explode at people. he was known for having a dreadful temper. so he harasses you, the solution is he gets a quiet word, you have to change jobs? yes. aggressive, dismissive, rude. and ultimately, bullying. it ground her down. it basically reached crisis point and she could no longer do herjob.