the attack on a former russian spy in salisbury. theresa may says sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned by a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia. this attempted murder using a weapons—grade nerve agent in a british town was notjust a crime against the skripals. it was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the united kingdom. as investigations continue, the russian ambassador is summoned and told to explain by tomorrow how the chemical weapon found its way to salisbury. he brought laughter to millions — tributes to ken dodd, the last of the great music hall variety comedians, who has died aged 90. jail for the teenager who carried out a string of acid attacks on moped riders to steal their scooters. sky's football pundit jamie carragher is suspended after he spits at a teenage girl and her family.

microplastics, not visible to the naked eye, but this river in greater manchester is found to be the most polluted so far in the world. coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news — no british medals on the third day of the winter paralympics. and big problems for the snowboarders in pyeongchang. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia. in the last hour, the prime minister has told mps that it is highly likely that russia was behind the attack. now the russian ambassador has been summoned and told to explain by tomorrow night how a nerve agent

made its way to salisbury. theresa may said if there's no credible response, the government will conclude that the attack was an unlawful use of force by the russian state against the united kingdom. with the latest, here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale. today, police continued to examine the salisbury home of sergei skripal, more than a week after the former russian intelligence officer and his daughter were attacked with and his daughter were attacked with a nerve agent, a week during which it has remained unclear who carried out the crime and wide. so, this morning ministers gathered for a meeting of the national security council, looking for answers. an update on the investigation from the police and intelligence services that would allow them and the prime minister to decide what steps to ta ke minister to decide what steps to take next. for some days ministers have been pushing theresa may for tougher response. this afternoon she

was clear who she thought was responsible, and what they should do. it is now clear that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned with and his daughter were poisoned with a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia. it is part ofa group type developed by russia. it is part of a group of nerve agents known as novichok. based on the analysis of world leading experts at porton down, our knowledge that russia has previously produced this agent and would still be capable of doing so, the government has concluded that it is highly likely that russia was responsible for the act against sergei and yulia skripal. she said the foreign secretary had summoned the foreign secretary had summoned the russian ambassador and told him he had until the end of tomorrow to explain whether this was a direct act by the russian state or by others who now control the nerve agent. mr speaker, this attempted murder using a weapons grade nerve agent in a british town was notjust

agent in a british town was notjust a crime against the skripals, it was an industry minute and reckless act against the united kingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk. and we will not tolerate such a brazen attempt to murder in innocent civilians on our soil. the labour leader called for tougher sanctions on oligarchs living in london. we need to continue seeking a robust dialogue with russia on all theissues a robust dialogue with russia on all the issues currently dividing our country is, both domestic and international. rather than simply cutting off contact and letting the tensions and divisions get worse. earlier today, before the statement, president putin was visiting an agricultural centre in southern russia and dismissed a question from the bbc‘s steve rosenberg. president putin, bbc news — is russia behind the poisoning of sergei skripal? translation: we are dealing with

agriculture here, as you see, to create conditions for people's lives, and you talk to me about some tragedies. first get to the bottom of it there and then we will discuss this. but now that russia has been blamed officially for what happened in salisbury, it has 2a hours to decide how to respond. our security correspondent wouldn't there is here. the prime minister was specific about the substance — what exactly was it? that's right. she said it was novichok, which is a form of nerve agent, it is a class of —— class of nerve agents, developed during the summit union times to get around detection and prevention systems used by the west, and even the chemical warfare suits they used to give two soldiers. that was revealed, the existence of these novichok agents by defectors and scientists at porton down will have

been working on a band they will have been able to match the samples that they got from the skripals in salisbury with the signatures that they have developed office novichok style of agents. the significance of this is that this is a specifically russian developed form of nerve agent. it is not like sarin or other types which a number of countries use. types which a number of countries use. and it is for that reason that the prime minister was able to save there are only two possibilities, either the russian state itself used it or somehow it had lost control of its own nerve agent. in salisbury, hundreds of police officers have been working around the clock, along with experts from the armed forces, to try to establish exactly what happened on that sunday afternoon eight days ago. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports from salisbury on the latest in the investigation. the surreal scenes of chemical warfare experts in gas masks and protective suits spread out from salisbury into the surrounding countryside today. here,

they were removing a van belonging toa they were removing a van belonging to a company that runs told fox. vehicles being recovered during the operation are being taken to the nearby chemical weapons laboratory at porton down. so widespread is the possible contamination of this nerve agent that these specialist troops are now working in a village more than five miles from the centre of salisbury. in the city itself, counter—terrorism officers, one in a bala clava, counter—terrorism officers, one in a balaclava, sealed off the top deck of the sainsbury‘s multistorey car park. the prime minister said the people of salisbury had responded with fortitude and calmness, but there are still concerns that it took the chief medical officer seven days to give people who were in the contaminated days to give people who were in the co nta m i nated restau ra nt days to give people who were in the contaminated restaurant and pub advice to wash their clothes. the disappointment in this case is that it has taken them so long to release some information that might be of interest and might affect the individual people of salisbury. interest and might affect the individual people of salisburym

is extraordinary that this medieval cathedral city has seen the deployment of warn of a group of russian military grade nerve agents called novichok. these are super nerve agents which were developed many years ago by the russians. because the red lines on the use of chemical weapons have disappeared and the 100 year taboo has disappeared, because we have done nothing about the huge amount of its use nothing about the huge amount of its use in syria, if it is mr putin, he might be feeling that he can use chemical weapons and nobody is going to do anything about it. salisbury has had the air of a science—fiction film these last nine days, the site of what the prime minister called today a reckless and despicable act. much of what we have been seeing over the last few days has been decontamination work, and clearly a lot of scientific work has been done in identifying that military grade nerve agent. but detectives are saying very little about what progress they are making in

identifying the attackers themselves just a circus show in the british parliament, another campaign based on propagation, that was the first response from russia tonight. we will hear from our political editor, laura kuenssberg, in a moment. but first we can go to steve rosenberg, who is in krasnodar near the black sea. they're talking about the british invented fairy tales? the response tonight from the russian foreign ministry described theresa may's statement in the commons as a circus show, dismissing the allegations against moscow as this information campaign, talking about fairy tales. and that is no surprise because in recent days we have had several russian officials dismiss claims that moscow is linked to this attack as auntie russian hysteria. i think the biggest problem that britain faces right now is the way it is perceived by the kremlin, and it is perceived by the kremlin, and it is perceived as a weak country. moscow hears british politicians

huffing and puffing but believe they're huffing and puffing but believe they‘ re capable of huffing and puffing but believe they're capable of blowing the house down, of taking strong measures against moscow. so, i think the key question now, if london concludes that this was a state—sponsored act of force against britain, what measures can britain perhaps together with her allies, going to ta ke together with her allies, going to take against russia 7 together with her allies, going to take against russia? and laura kuenssberg, our political editor, in westminster, it was a dramatic moment in parliament, and strong language used by the prime minister? yes, no fudging, no hanging back, from the prime minister, who is essentially delivered an ultimatum to russia to explain itself, on whether or not it took direct action on british soil or whether it made a mistake and allowed this nerve agents to fall into the hands of people who should not have been anywhere near it. the question as steve suggests will be, what will be the government's response if there is no credible explanation from russia, if the russian ambassador in

london does not buy when state give some believable account of exactly what happened? some believable account of exactly what happened ? theresa some believable account of exactly what happened? theresa may was absolutely firm and serious in her words this afternoon, but the crunch may come later this week on wednesday, whether she will be firm and serious in the actions she could take. thank you both. sir ken dodd, one of the most popular entertainers of his time, has died at the age of 90. he was a man who brought happiness and tears of laughter to thousands of people with his legendary live performances during a career which spanned more than 60 years. sir ken died yesterday in liverpool in the house where he was born, with his partner of a0 years by his side. they got married last friday. david sillito looks back at his colourful life. the tickling sticks, the wild hair and surreal flights of fancy were only a part of it. ken dodd was a

torrent ofjokes. his shows would often end in the early hours of the morning. geronimo! thank you very much! what a beautiful day for going up much! what a beautiful day for going up and saying, you will never sell a sausage up and saying, you will never sell a sausage that size! offstage, he was very private, but one of his close circle of friends was his joke writer, john martin. i always say writing good joke sir ken dodd was almost like being asked to mix the paints for van almost like being asked to mix the paints forvan gogh, almost like being asked to mix the paints for van gogh, it was that big an honour. how are you diddling?! tea rs an honour. how are you diddling?! tears in 19605 five wa5 an honour. how are you diddling?! tears in 19605 five was one of the biggest selling 5ingle5 tears in 19605 five was one of the biggest selling singles of the 19605. his run at the london palladium broke records. john

bishop, brian conley, le5 dennis, david walliams, comedians have been lining up today to pay tribute. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome ken dodd! when he walked on, the place used to go up and he hadn't even said anything! now, that doesn't happen very often! how tickled we were! how tickled we are! he would fire the gag5 out at you! in liverpool we call it he would fire the gag5 out at you! in liverpoolwe call it "hur". he stayed loyal to liverpool, living all his life in the same house, where three days ago he finally married anne, his partner of a0 years. i've been overwhelmed by the love and affection which i've already received from dear friends and the public. and i thank you all for being here. there was the issue

of his tax affairs, but he was acquitted and it just of his tax affairs, but he was acquitted and itju5t became more material for his act. the job i fa ncy material for his act. the job i fancy i5 chancellor of the exchequer —at fancy i5 chancellor of the exchequer — at least i would be reunited with my money! he was one of the last link5 my money! he was one of the last links to music hall. ken dodd — it really is the end of an era. sir ken dodd, who has died at the age of 90. in our top story this evening: theresa may says sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned by a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia. it is highly likely that russia was behind the attack. it is highly likely that russia was behind the attack. and still to come: how other countries tackle obesity and why norwegians are sweet on swedi5h 5weet5. coming up on sport5day on bbc news: the manchester united captain michael carrick says his body has told him to stop. he's won every club trophy but at 36 he'll retire at the end of the season. plastic and the problems it causes

in oceans and rivers around the world are already well known. but what's not so clear is how much damage microplastic5 are doing, the tiny particles of plastic le55 than 5 millimetres in size. they can be found in all kinds of things from industrial pollution to cosmetics. and now researchers have discovered that a river in greater manchester has the highest levels of micropla5tic pollution so far recorded anywhere in the world. our 5cience correspondent victoria gill reports. they are the veins of our country, running through towns, cities, suburbs and the countryside, but there is a pollutant buried in all these riverbed5. all along this river bank you can see evidence of plastic litter, plastic bags, plastic bottles, food containers. but it is when things like this break down into much smaller fragments that they are just one source of the micro plastic5 that end up in the riverbed.

waste water treatment plants and industry are other major contributors. but to investigate the scale of this problem 5cienti5ts need to take a piece of the river back to the lab. this has now isolated this area of the channel bed. when i disturb the gravel5 in here, all the mud and silt and clay and micro plastic particles will come into suspension into the water. the team analysed 5ilt at a0 different locations, from remote rural 5tream5 to city centre waterways. they found micro plastic everywhere. where lots of people live we found extraordinarily high levels of micro plastic contamination. just a few kilometres upstream from here we found micro plastic concentrations that are the highest so far recorded anywhere in the world, over 500,000 micro plastic particles per metre square of riverbed.

enormou5ly high levels of contamination. and that is just a few miles upstream from where we are standing in greater manchester? a typical suburban stretch of the river mersey. and in this 250 grams jar there will be 5000 individual pieces of micro plastic. aquatic insects, birds and fish can ingest these microscopic pieces of plastic. and this is where the problem becomes visible. this is all plastic? yes, indeed. how many fragments would you have in this? so in this sample just from a few grams about 100 micro plastic pieces. finding the source of this problem will be scientists' next step to stop our riverbeds becoming an invisible dumping ground for billions of pieces of plastic. victoria gill, bbc news. the leader of the house of commons has recommended a short, independently—led inquiry into claims of bullying

of parliamentary staff. it follow allegations against the commons speakerjohn bercow and two mp5 after an investigation by the bbc‘s newsnight programme. all three strongly deny the allegations. a 17—year—old has been sentenced to ten—and—a—half years in jail for carrying out a series of acid attacks on moped riders in london lastjuly. derryckjohn, from croydon, sprayed six people with acid in the space of an hour and a half. he stole two mopeds and attempted to take another four. thejudge described his crimes as "despicable". tom burridge reports. he'd thrown acid into the face of six men. but here's derryckjohn calmly paying the petrol that night. with his visor up, he was linked to the stolen moped but the person seen here driving him around still hasn't been identified. later, when derryckjohn drove a stolen bike himself, this — an accident which linked him to a string of violent acid attacks. this victim says his face felt

like it was on fire. attacked by derryck john while delivering ta keways, jabed hussain is still suffering today. i have to keep my eyes everywhere. i don't trust in the street. if anyone shouts next to me, i get scared. if i want to go out, i always lock my car doors and windows. i used to be busy myself, i'm a working class guy. after the incident, i am totally different. i can't believe myself that i am stuck and alone. today, the 17—year—old was sentenced to ten and a half years in jail. the judge said an adult would have gone to prison for much longer. we are very pleased with the sentencing mrjohn has received, i think it does send a strong message that even as a youth offender, a ten—year plus sentence still sends a strong message that this will not be tolerated. the same judge sentenced arthur collins, seen here throwing acid across a crowded dance floor, to 20 years in prison. criminals are increasingly

using acid as a weapon. it is hoped sending this young man's prison for several years will deter it is hoped sending this young man to prison for several years will deter others from the same. the trial of a teenager accused of planting a bomb on a london underground train has heard that he blamed britain for causing the death of his dad in iraq. giving evidence to date a college lecturer said she had heard the students saying it was his duty to hate britain. had heard the students saying it was his duty to hate britain. the bbc is appealing to the united nations to protect the rights of its persian service journalists and their families in iran. the broadcaster says its staff are being "persecuted", subjected to arbitrary arrest, travel bans and the seizure of assets. iran says the bbc is not independent because its services in the country have links to british security services. sky has suspended the football

pundit jamie carragher after footage emerged of him spitting through a car window towards a teenage girl. the former england and liverpool footballer described it as a "moment of madness" after he was goaded. he said he would apologise again to the family. andy swiss‘s report contains footage of the incident. jamie carragher, look. he is one of football's most famous pundits, but after being spotted by a fan on sunday, jamie carragher winds down his window and this happens. unlucky, jamie, lad. 2—1, lad. he spat on me. "he spat on me," — the voice of the driver's 1a—year—old daughter. jamie carragher spat on my daughter, nice. carragher, who had just watched his former club liverpool lose, said he'd been goaded and lost his rag. have you been sacked? but this morning, he arrived in london to be told he'd been suspended from hisjob with sky sports. carragher, who has a 1a—year—old daughter himself, admitted his behaviour was unacceptable.

it looks awful and i accept that. it's not something i've done before, it's not something i will do again. i'm sure of that. i've had a moment of madness, i made a big, huge mistake, a stain on my character. i have to accept that. i have let my family down but i think the family i've let down more than anyone is the people in the car. well, what jamie carragher did on his way home from the match at old trafford has been strongly condemned by his employers. in a statement, sky said his behaviour fell well below the standards they expect. the question now is whether his apology will be enough to save his job. carragher was supposed to be on sky's coverage tonight but won't now take his customary place in the studio. his transition to tough—talking pundit from tough—tackling player had seemed seamless but after retiring on the pitch, his new career could yet face an early farewell.

next month a tax on sugary drinks will be introduced for the first time in the uk in a bid to tackle obesity. you'll be paying between 18 and 2a pence extra per litre for many drinks depending on how much extra sugar has been added. our health editor hugh pym has been to norway where a sugar tax has been in place for years. and recently the tax was almost doubled with some unintended consequences. there are sweet and lots of them in this shop favoured by some norwegians, but it is not in their own country, it is just over the border in sweden. the store owner is offering all of this at half the price as norwegians pay at home. in january the sugar tax levied in norway went up more than 60%. some have driven long distances to cross the borderfor their shopping.

have driven long distances to cross the border for their shoppinglj have driven long distances to cross the border for their shopping. i am coming once a month to buy food, so it is worth it. it is not only because of the price, but i like to have a treat and we buy a lot when we come here. the company says trade has picked up since the norwegian tax rise, equivalent to about 10p on a chocolate bar. it is hard to imagine anything else quite like it. the swedish owner says this is one of the biggest sweet shops in the world. it has 20 of them all a short distance from the border. 95% of customers come over from norway. norwegians are used to the sugar tax which was introduced some time ago. locals in oslo are philosophical about it, even after the tax increase. people are not happy with the tax increasing, but i think it is good. there are a lot of other taxes that i would react on, but this one is ok. the government says

the tax has helped control child obesity rates which are below sweden's. we managed now to stabilise the obesity of the children and young people and i am happy about that. it means what we have done up to now has been functioning in the right way. the uk is now going down the same track with attacks on sugary soft drinks. the aim is to move shoppers towards lower sugar options. groups like this have already done that. this cookery class with healthy recipes for pa rents cookery class with healthy recipes for parents and children is run by a charity made in hackney, putting somejuices with fruit charity made in hackney, putting some juices with fruit but no added sugar are on the menu. the peas are in there. when you are on a tree you will not have a fizzy drink, but i wa nt to will not have a fizzy drink, but i want to stop, so i am here learning about this. the norwegian example shows people can learn to live with the sugar tax, even though when it

comes to their behaviour the message is expect the unexpected. megan markle has attended her first official event with the queen at a service to mark commonwealth day. m5 markle, who is due to marry prince harry in may, was joined by other senior royals at westminster abbey. the event is used to celebrate the 53 commonwealth countries. the duke of edinburgh, who retired from public service last year, did not attend. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. in the coming weekend some of us could have some snow in the forecast again believe it or not. but rain has been causing problems and part of the midland has had some flooding. this picture comes from leicestershire. that rain is in no real mood to clear away either. only very slowly easing eastwards overnight, keeping a lot of clout in

many central and eastern areas. out west some clear spells developing. parts of northern and are may have a touch of frost, but most places stay above freezing. tomorrow is not a bad looking day, certainly a drier day. quite a lot of cloud for central and eastern parts of england, but the further west you are, northern ireland, western scotland, wales and the south west, more in the way of sunshine. temperatures between 9—11. but a change for the middle of the week and this area of low pressure trying to squash its way into the atlantic. the isobars show we have some strong winds in the forecast. some could be a touch gale force on wednesday. but some mild air wafting up from the south. some uncertainty aboutjust how far east the rain will get. it looks like only western areas will see the heavy rain. strong and blustery winds touching gale force

in exposed spots. with that mild air pollution in the sunshine could lift the temperatures up to 1a or 15. into thursday and friday things change and becomes a little bit colder, particularly in the north with outbreaks of rain. over the weekend we picked up an easterly wind and it will feel cold and pretty windy and there is a risk of snow showers. theresa may says it is highly likely russia was behind the attack on former russian spy sergei skripal using weapons grade nerve agent. russia accuses her inventing fairy tales. russia accuses her inventing fairy tales. that's it. now on bbc one we can join the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news, our latest headlines: the prime minister says a military grade nerve agent, the type developed by russia, was used to poison the former spy sergei skripal and his daughter in salisbury. has concluded that it is highly

likely that russia was responsible for the act against sergei and yulia skripal. —— the government has concluded. a sainsbury‘s car park in salisbury city centre is the latest place to be sealed off by police as investigations continues. a life enhancing, brilliant, creative comedian — the words of sir ken dodd's wife — as she pays tribute to her husband — who's died at the age of 90 as she pays tribute to her husband — a teenager who carried out a string of acid attacks on moped riders in order to steal their scooters has beenjailed for ten and a half years. and meghan markle attends her first official event with her majesty the queen, at a service to mark commonwealth day at westminster abbey. in a moment it will be time for sportsday but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. we'll be talking to reverend kelvin inglis, rector at st thomas' church

in salisbury whose parish was center to the attack on the former