today at 5: moscow is refusing to co—operate with the investigation into the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter — as police give more details about the attack. more is known about the movements of sergei and yulia skripal, but police still don't know how the nerve agent was administered. the public are going to continue to see great deal of police activity in and around the city — including potentially more cordons being erected. please don't be alarmed — it is neccessary as part of this major investigation by the counter terrorism policing networks. in truth, it may last many weeks. we'll have the latest from salisbury and on the the measures britain could use if the attack is officially blamed on russia. the other main stories on bbc news at 5: rex tillerson has been sacked as us secretary of state. president trump says they had areas of disagreement. rex and i have been talking about this for a long time — we got along actually quite well, but we disagreed on things. the chancellor reveals forecasts for higher growth,

lower inflation and debt in his spring statement and hints at possible spending rises in the future. we will continue to deliver a balanced approach. balancing debt reduction against the need for investment in britain's future, support to hard—working families through lower tax and our commitment to our public services. and we report on the idea of a tax on single—use plastic, as a consultation is announced by ministers. it's 5 o'clock. our main story is that russia says it will not co—operate with the investigation into how a former spy and his daughter were poisoned until it's been given a sample of the substance used.

that was the statement from the foreign minister after theresa may announced a deadline of midnight tonight for moscow to explain why a russian—made nerve agent was used in the attack in salisbury over a week ago. police have given more details of the attack and have appealed for witnesses who saw the pair's red bmw car before the incident happened. scotland yard says the investigation will take many weeks, with the prime focus being how the poison was administered. our correspondent andy moore has the latest. many questions remain unanswered about what happened in salisbury, but today police made a specific appeal for information about sergei skripal‘s car. he drove it to the city centre last sunday lunchtime. i'm appealing for anyone who saw sergei and yulia in sergei's car, which is a red bmw with a registration plate hdo9 wao — hotel delta oscar nine whisky alpha oscar —

in the salisbury area between approximately 1pm and 1.45pm on sunday, 4th march. police said they had no information about any suspects, nor would they say where and when the nerve agent was ingested, but they have confirmed it was novichok. this is the most deadly chemical agent we've ever come across that has the potential to kill many millions of people. it is a new chemical weapon, very sophisticated, very toxic and very persistent. a total of 38 people have been treated by medical staff. three remain in hospital, one is being monitored as an out—patient. from around the world has come support for the british position and this the first comment from the american president. well, it sounds to me, i'm speaking to theresa may today, it sounds to me like it with would be russia —

based on all the evidence they have. i don't know if they have come to a conclusion, but she's calling me today. russia has been given a deadline of tonight to give more information about its alleged role in the attempted murder. moscow says it will ignore that ultimatum, unless the uk hands over samples of the nerve agent. andy moore, bbc news. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, says he's been encouraged by the support britain has received internationally following the nerve agent attack. france, germany, and the eu, have all pledged their backing, after the uk said it was ‘highly likely‘ that russia was behind the attempted murder of sergei and yulia skripal. so, if the salisbury attack is officially declared to have been ordered by the russian state, what are the options for the british government? paul adams reports. theresa may and vladimir putin are now locked in a diplomatic standoff.

what chance of a break through in the coming hours? at the foreign office, there is a feeling that support for britain's position is growing. i have been very encouraged is far by the strength of the support that we're getting. i think in particular from president macron of france. i talked to sigmar gabriel, my german counterpart, and from washington where, rex tillerson last night made it clear that he sees this as part of a pattern of disruptive behaviour and increasingly malign behaviour. the outgoing secretary of state said the us has full confidence in britain's assessment that russia was probably responsible for the nerve agent. are you worried about russia after the attack in the uk? yes. and in europe, frustrations over brexit have for the moment been set aside. i believe that the european council should in clear terms express its full solidarity with the british people and the british government in

addressing this issue. but in moscow, little immediate sign of a resolution. britain's ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry this morning. i reiterated the points made by prime minister may, that we expect by the end of today an account from the russian state as to how this material came to be used in salisbury. the prime minister will take a decision and make an announcement in the course of tomorrow as to what our response will be. thank you. for its part, russia is demanding information about the investigation and says it's been thwarted. "we have already said it is rubbish," says russia's foreign minister, sergey lavrov, "we have nothing to do with it." he said russia was ready to co—operate in accordance with the convention of chemical weapons, but said this would take time. so what will britain do if russia doesn't respond by tonight? there are plenty of options. russian diplomats could be expelled.

sanctions could be applied against russian individuals, or businesses. russian broadcasters like rt could be blocked in the uk. and british officials could boycott the world cup. at the hague today, a routine meeting of the organisation which monitors chemical weapons. its director general has condemned the attack in salisbury, but it's not clear what if any action the organisation is preparing to take. britain's representative says those who have used chemical weapons cannot be immune from the consequence of their actions. paul adams, bbc news. our news correspondent duncan kennedy is in salisbury for us. bring us up—to—date on the activity you have seen there today. we learned three types of information today. about the people involved this, the time line and the police investigation. with regard to the

people, we know 38 people were caught up in this incident nine days ago now. three remain in hospital. sergei skripal, his daughter and sergeant bailey, the police officer who helped them, who is said to be ina who helped them, who is said to be in a serious condition, but making good progress. one other person is being treated as an out—patient and they're being monitored. for the time looiven, line, yulia arrived in this country the day before the incident. they both came into the town centre, where they went to the barand had town centre, where they went to the bar and had their meal at the restau ra nt. bar and had their meal at the restaurant. we learned the police put out a request for the public to check their dash cams and any other information they might have. this is a city of something like 50,000 people and the police are convinced although they have cctv footage, there could be people in lorries and ca i’s there could be people in lorries and cars that might have seen sergei skripal and his daughter and

particularly their red bmw that you heard referred to. they want to trace anybody who may have seen that bmw, particularly around sunday lunchtime. with regards to the investigation, hundreds of police officers are involved across five main sites in salisbury. there is the bench where the pair were discovered. there are others popping up. we can bring you pictures of supermarket just in front up. we can bring you pictures of supermarketjust in front of me, a sainsbury‘s supermarket where the police have been looking at the car park there as well. we are not sure why. we are not being told why. there have been officers in hazchem uniforms. this what is police called a massive operation, which they also wa nted a massive operation, which they also wanted today could go on for many weeks. but they reiterated there was no need for the public to be alarmed

about what they're doing. thank you. scotland yard counter—terrorism police are investigating the death of nikolai glushkov — who lived in new malden in south west london and was a former associate of the the late tycoon boris berezovsky. mr glushkov was 68 years old. our home affairs correspondent tom symondsjoins me. what do we know? we know he was found at quarter to ii what do we know? we know he was found at quarter to 11 last night at his home, found dead. police are treating this death as unexplained at this stage. they're also saying that there is no link necessarily to the salisbury case. but, as you said, they have brought in counter terrorism officer, because of this man's history. he is a former

russian airline executive and he was a deputy director general of aeroflot and came to this counts country and received political asylum. in russian he was convicted of embezzling money. he is a friend of embezzling money. he is a friend of boris berezovsky and boris berezovs ky of boris berezovsky and boris berezovsky is a friend of alexander litvinenko and so clearly the timing of this death and those links mean that this is something the police will look at. they have not confirmed his name. but friends of nicholai glushakov confirmed his name. but friends of nicholai glusha kov have confirmed his name. but friends of nicholai glushakov have confirmed he has died. he was 68. thank you. president donald trump has sacked his secretary of state, rex tillerson, who's been replaced by the director of the cia, mike pompeo. the state department said mr tillerson had not spoken to the president and was ‘unaware of the reason‘ for his firing. speaking to reporters as he prepared to board a helicopter in washington,

mr trump said he and his former secretary of state had not seen eye—to—eye on a number of issues — particularly the deal with iran to curb its nuclear programme. i am really at the point where we are getting very close to having the cabinet and other things that i want. but i think mike pompeo will be a truly great secretary of state. i have total confidence in him and as far as rex tillerson is concerned, i very much appreciate his commitment and his service and i wish him well. he is a good man. mr president, what did you say to him? rex and i have been talking about this for a long time. we get along actually quite well, but we disagreed on things. when you look at the iran deal i think it is terrible. i guess he thought it was ok. i wanted to either break it or do something and he felt a little bit differently. so we were not really thinking the same. with mike pompeo we have a very

similar thought process and i think it is going to go very well. rex is a very good man, i like rex a lot, i really appreciate his commitment and his service and i will be speaking to rex over a long period of time. several things raised there. the president saying they had disagreements on the iran deal and questions about how the sacking was achieved. as we understand it, mr tillerson has nod had a proper explanation and has not spoken directly to the president. let‘s speak to our washington correspondent gary o‘donoghue. we have discussed this in the past and there were rumours this was going to happen? yes it is not unexpected in itself, if you forgive

us unexpected in itself, if you forgive us a moment on the process, that is extraordinary in this case, because it seems that rex tillerson only discovered his departure through donald trump‘s tweet this morning. shortly after that, an under—secretary of state issued a statement that mr tillerson had every intention of staying and hadn‘t spoken to the president. guess what? mr goldstein who made the statement has been sacked as well. so rex tillerson is howe out. -- is well. so rex tillerson is howe out. —— is out. he clearly sided with the british authorities on the attack at salisbury and pointing the finger at the russians, something the white house had notably dodged, significantly dodged earlier. there have been other clashes between the two men. rex tillerson refused to

deny he called the president a moron. and in north korea we have a situation where months ago the president told rex tillerson he was wasting his time with north korea, but the president is on the verge of meeting kim jong—un. it but the president is on the verge of meeting kimjong—un. it is a saga, but it seems the president has the man he trusts, mike pompeo as his secretary of state in his cabinet. can we talk about that? because mike pompeo a very different kind of person with a different kind of ideology, what can we expect? well he is the person that largely daily does the president‘s briefing. so they have got close and they have a similar world view. particularly on things like iran. ers he he is strong on keeping guantanamo bay

open. and also he has a robust view on things like some of the techniques that the cir used —— cia used to use like water boarding. the president has been focussed on saying he doesn‘t think things like that are torture. there is a certain common world view. his replacement at the cia is his no 2, the first woman to become director of the cia. she is not without controversy, gina haspel she is not without controversy, gina haspel. she set up the black sites that the cia had in the early 2000s in places like thailand and poland, where there was interrogation done of suspects connected to al-anda. there is some rocky confirmation hearings to come. a final point, the appointment of mr pompeo, given that

mr tillerson has been seen to be close to the uk, will we see a change there? that is an interesting one. i don‘t think there has been any particular sign that mike pompeo is hostile to the uk. he will understand the cia and the british foreign secret intelligence service does work closely together. he will understand the importance of that relationship in both directions. that augurs well in some senses. it will be interesting to see his first comments on whether he supports mr tillerson‘s view that russia was responsible for the salisbury attack. i‘m sure that is one of the first things he will be asked. thank you. the chancellor philip hammond has unveiled forecasts for higher

growth, lower inflation and debt in his spring statement. he ruled out an immediate end to austerity, but hinted at possible spending rises in the future. in a break with recent tradition — this was not a ‘mini budget‘ and there were no major policy or tax and spending announcements. our political correspondent alex forsyth reports. there was no red box, no stopping for a photo call. is that a spring in your step? but the chancellor did have a smile as he headed to the commons — not for a budget, but an update on the state of economy. order, statement the chancellor of the exchequer. he delivered an upbeat assessment. even cracking a fewjokes. so mr speaker, if there are any eeyores in the chamber, they‘re over there! i meanwhile am at my most positively tigger—like today! he outlined predictions with growth slightly up and borrowing and

debt slightly down. but he urged caution. i do not agree with those who argue that every available penny must be used to reduce the deficit. and nor do i agree with the fiscal fantasists opposite who argue that every available penny should be spent immediately. we will continue to deliver a balanced approach — balancing debt reduction against the need for investment in britain‘s future, support to hard—working families through lower taxes and our commitment to our public services. the chancellor did announce some money for affordable homes, as well as consultations on productivity, online payments, air quality and the use of plastics. and he hinted at more to come. if in the autumn the public finances continue to reflect the improvement that today‘s report hints at, then, in accordance with our balanced approach and using the flexibility

provided by the fiscal rules, i would have capacity to enable further increases in public spending and investment in the years ahead. but while the chancellor said there was light at the end of tunnel, labour accused him of astounding complacency in the face of a public sector funding crisis. hasn't he listened to the doctors, the nurses, the teachers, the police officers, the carers and even his own councillors? they're telling him they can't wait for the next budget. they're telling him to act now. for eight years, they have been ignored by this government and today they have been ignored again. and that wasn‘t the only criticism. slow earnings growth, higher inflation and cuts to the benefit system are resulting in falling incomes for the poorest households and rising inequality. once again, the chancellor has failed to bring his government's disastrous austerity programme to an end and,

worse still, he has his head firmly in the sand over brexit. the chancellor scrapped the spring budget in favour ofjust one a year. so which were told not to expect any major tax or spending measures today. but for some an improving economic picture marks a moment to end austerity — a chance to loosen the purse strings. the government though says now is not the time to splash the cash. so the streets around parliament may be free from the ceremony of a budget, but the political arguments over the economy, well, they aren‘t going anywhere. robert chote is chairman of the office for budget responsibility. if people are wondering when austerity end, what can they tell

from the statement. there is lot of it to come. the deficit is still over 2% of national income and the plans for public expenditure will meana plans for public expenditure will mean a continued squeeze on public services spending, a squeeze on welfare payments, particularly to people of working age, in order to get the deficit down. there is still a bit of tunnel to go before you get to the light. reading about tax receipts being higher, how much leeway does the chancellor have to increase spending say on public services like health? well, it is the case that receipts have come in more strongly than we anticipated backin more strongly than we anticipated back in november. but not much of that good news is going to last over the next few years. the chancellor has a variety of targets for his

management of public finances. the target for the size of the deficit and getting public sector debt falling, he has room to spare against those. but he has what he described a as broader fiscal objective to get the budget back into balance by 2025 and it is not clear he is on course to achieve that yet. when we talk about higher forecasts for growth and lower in nation and borrowing, are these small movements, are something you would consider to be more significant? they're not trivial, but the medium term picture for the economy and the public finances is little different from how it looked in november. the short—term momentum behind the economy is stronger, thanks to the world economy doing well. as i say, the surprisingly wea k well. as i say, the surprisingly weak or surprisingly small budget deficit, well, that surprise is average for this time of year and it

is not all going to last over the next five years. the big picture has not changed significantly since the time of the last budget in november. thank you. mr hammond told our political editor it would be unfair to force the next if next generation of people to spend more. i reject the argument that every penny that is available has to be used to reduce the deficit. we decided to change the fiscal rules so we could take longer to get the deficit down and start repaying our debt, so we can invest in britain‘s infrastructure, put money into our public services and provide some relief to families

through tax breaks, which we have delivered again this year. what do you say to many people and your own mps, who think there has just been enough of this tight control of spending. this is the eighth year. the eighth year in a row when a conservative chancellor has said to the public that dealing with the accou nts the public that dealing with the accounts is more important than what they may feel they need. accounts is more important than what they may feel they needlj accounts is more important than what they may feel they need. i hear what you‘re saying, but the facts speak for themselves, i have put £11 billion since i have been chancellor, £11 billion additionally into public spending in 2018/19... and will put more in we get a deal on pay in the nhs. the chancellor talking a short while ago. in a few moments we will be back at westminster. but let‘s talk to a guest. i can speak now to the exchequer

secretary to the treasury, robertjenrick, who is in the houses of parliament. can people be confident today that the health service for example will get a much needed injection of funds before the end of the year. there was positive news the chancellor was able to deliver. the economy will continue to grow as it has, employment will continue to rise. and inflation is going to peak, but we hope slowly fall, enabling real wages to rise. but we are going to continue to take a balanced approach and not spend as the labour party would have us do and won‘t forget the lessons that have been learned over the last ten years when we have managed the economy responsibly. if the economy could continue to grow and we could continue to pay down the debt, we will use any

opportunity to invest in public services as we have. but you already know that your tax receipts are higher than you thought they would be and you know some even in your party acknowledge there is a funding crisis in parts of public sector, not least the health service, why can‘t you commit, given what you know, to higher levels of spending for health than you knew before? first, today was not a budget. it was the spring statement. we decided against having two budgets each year, because businesses and working people said that was not the right way to run the economy, chopping and changes, we wanted to give more certainty to businesses. so there we re certainty to businesses. so there were no fiscal measures in today‘s statement. but we are putting more money into the public services. we did in the autumn budget that was only four months ago. the chancellor announced he would put 6.3 billion more into the nhs and there is 25 billion more being spent on health

services in england than in 2010. so money is being invested into public services. but we want to make sure thatis services. but we want to make sure that is done in a measured way and we don‘t start spend and borrowing and raising taxes as the labour party did and we are going to take a mashed balanced a—— measured, balanced approach before the autumn budget and then a new spending review next year to assess the needs of the public services, given the amount we may have available to spend. we heard we heard a lot last year about setting money aside in case of uncertainty around brexit. is money still being set aside and how would you characterise the kind of safety net that you‘re construct something one of the things that was announced today by the chancellor and alongside it was more money to prepare for brexit, so we are investing through the home office with the borders that we will need

and investing through defra to ensure we have the agricultural and environmental protections and staff in place whether we secure a deal or not. so we are preparing for brexit. but what you have described is the reason why we want to proceed with this careful approach, rather than rushing to spend money as soon as it comes in, we want to ensure that the economy is resilient, notjust in case there are any issues with brexit, but anything else that the global economy might throw at us. the public, their job global economy might throw at us. the public, theirjob and livelihoods are at stake and we want to ensure that we have a cautious management of finances. but if there are opportunities, we will continue to invest in public services and the opportunity to do that will be both at the budget later in the year and the spending review that will follow it. thank you very much. the shadow economic secretary for

the treasury is with us. the minister said we are engaged in the careful management of public finances and surely that is a goal but the labour party would share. i‘m astounded by that complacency in the interview and with what the chancellor said today. looking at the long term figures, at the end of 2022 he‘s said that growth would be revised downwards and productivity would be revised downwards. business investment downwards. and to try to present this as a better set of economic figures but that was not the information that was presented with the dhs is under great pressure, and in local government even some conservative councils have effectively gone bankrupt. so it is astounding that they have not tried to correct those problems and even told us there are more difficult times ahead. the current set of

financial public spending figures, where is the leeway to spend more for example on the health service. looking at the government approach of austerity it clearly has not worked. it has had as the situation where we still have the deficit, which was supposed to have disappeared in 2015. and it has put tremendous pain on the health service and other public services. we think that all balanced approach would involve some tax rises in other parts of the economy but fundamentally the country needs much stronger public services and much higher regard for investment and to try to find a way to get better and higher paid jobs. it means a different approach to that that the chancellor has pursued and indeed the conservatives has pursued since 2010. people might be listening to you thinking ok, we concede that there needs to be spending on this

or that the basic bastion you are facing is where do you allocate the money from. where does that come from from within what most people would accept is a pretty daunting set of topics spending figures already. it needs a change of direction and in the election we set out clearly costed set of policy pledges and the ways that we would raise revenue for them. so raising corporation tax and for people earning the top 5%, a modest tax rise. you cannot have a situation where social care is so underfunded that councils cannot meet their legal responsibilities and where conservative county councils are even effectively been declared bankrupt and where people need the health care they pay for the nhs cannot deliver that. so the parents

would we are going down is not working. today was the chance to put some of that right and the chancellor chose not to take it. jonathan reynolds there, the shadow economic secretary to the treasury. a quick look at the headlines in a moment. first the weather. not a bad day today, most of us got to see some sunshine. there will be some sunshine around tomorrow as well but further west the chance of some cloud and rain. heading through this evening and tonight, clearest skies around and some frost. across the east of the country. but out west out of and rain and strengthening wind. that sets us up for tomorrow, followed east of scotland and eastern half of england we have sunshine to start with. that‘s real turn hazy through the

day. but out west we have thicker cloud and rain. even some issues with localised flooding. windy with some gales in the west. temperatures turned gradually colder by the end of the week. 4 degrees are best by the weekend and that could even bring some snow. this is bbc news — the headlines. moscow refuses to co—operate with the investigation into the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter — they want the uk to provide them with evidence. scotland ya rd‘s counter—terrorism unit continue to appeal for witnesses after it emerged that sergei skripal and his daughter were in a red bmw on the day of the incident. counter—terrorism police are also investigating the death of 68 year

old nikolai glushkov — a former associate of the the late tycoon boris berezovsky — who has been found dead in london. president trump sacks his secretary of state, rex tillerson — announcing his dismissal on twitter. he‘ll be replaced by the head of the cia, mike pompeo. let‘s catch up with the sports news. lets start at cheltenham where day one of the festival is coming to a close. the big race of the day, the champion hurdle was won by favourite buveur d‘air. a gutsy performance to defend his title, just pipped melon to the finish. there were doubts over 2015 winner faugheen, could he recapture his old magic and form. u nfortu nately

unfortunately he faded towards the end. ruby walsh is the most succesful jockey at cheltenham festival — taking his second win of day in the mares hurdle aboard benie de dieux. incredibly he only returned to saddle five days ago after his breaking leg. walsh beat hot favourite apple jade in third and midnight tour in second. earlier walsh won the arkle chase, on footpad. away from cheltenham, there‘s a huge night at old trafford. manchester united legend ryan giggs has backed his old club to reach the quarter finals of the champions league, ahead of their vital match with sevilla tonight. jose mourinho‘s side were held to a goalless draw in spain three weeks ago. despite the tie still being very much in the balance, giggs believes united‘s impressive home record will be enough to see them through to the last eight. there is always a danger in that score, we had that a few times at real madrid. but you‘re always susceptible to that away goal. which would count as double. so it is not

over but i think you see the strength of united at home. we do not get beaten very often. i think they will go through. i think quite co mforta bly they will go through. i think quite comfortably as well. a labour mp has told the bbc that england‘s participation in the world cup ought to be in question, in response to the poisoning of a former russian agent and his daughter. john woodcock also wants all nato members not to send any dignitaries to the tournament this summer as a show of solidarity. but, the former england goalkeeper peter shilton says he is against a boycott by england. the fans would suffer, and financially we would suffer, the fa would suffer and what would it achieve. i think if there is a boycott in terms of what it would have to be done by a lot of other countries as well. i do not think it would achieve everything and it is dangerous to mix sport with politics. great britain have won their 11th medal at the winter paralympics in south korea.

menna fitzpatrick and guide jen keogh took silver in the women‘s visually impaired super combined event. they were second after the super g run and despite an impressive slalom effort they were unable to get the better of the slovakians. britain‘s millie knight missed out on a third straight medal with brett wild, they were fourth. i have no words, it has not sunk in yet. we're just amazed to be your and so grateful that it all went right today. the strategy we put in place was to go for it in the super g and we had the confidence from two days ago. so we thought we would pushit days ago. so we thought we would push it a bit more and skied really well in that run. then we gave it all for the slalom this afternoon. team sky have scored their first major victory of the 2018 cycling season — michal kwiatkowski has won the week—long

tirreno—adriatico race, while team—mate geraint thomas finished third overall. the final stage on italy‘s adriatic coast was a time trial, and thomas was fast enough to move up from fourth and take the last podium spot. michal kwiatkowski started with just a three second lead at the top of the standings, but put in a storming run on the six—mile course to claim the leader‘s blue jersey by 2a seconds. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. president trump has sacked his secretary of state, rex tillerson. he‘s been replaced by the director of the cia, mike pompeo. the state department said mr tillerson had not spoken to the president and was "unaware of the reason" for his firing. and i‘m been told that in about 20 minutes rex tillerson is expected to make a statement on camera following his departure. that is coming up for

top joining me now from for top washington is philipj crowley — former us. assistant secretary of state and author of red line: american foreign policy in a time of fractured politics and failing states. we will come to the method of the dismissal in a moment but can i ask you first about the significance of the sacking in itself is far as american policy and its status in the world is concerned. american policy and its status in the world is concernedlj american policy and its status in the world is concerned. i do not think we were surprised that the break—up occurred. there was tension in that relationship and it has been visible in washington for months. i think that the timing is remarkable given that it comes on the heels of the president‘s and bolts of decision to meet in the coming weeks with the north korean leader. — impulse of decision. i think mike

pompeo has been clearly focused on north korea and he could make the lea p north korea and he could make the leap from langley to foggy bottom. but in terms of assessing itjust adds to the turmoil at the state department as we begin to prepare for this important meeting. this meeting could define his presidency. interesting in terms of the dynamics. some people are presenting this as a positive move in the sense that mike pompeo they say will divide more stable leadership in tune with the white house. is that how you see it. well as the president reflected in his comments today, he has a strong relationship with mike pompeo put up there on the same wavelength as the president said. and that is important and clearly in a number of areas, from how he views russia to the iran deal, trump and to listen were on

different wavelengths. so yes, and mike pompeo as a politician by background, he will be actually more co mforta ble background, he will be actually more comfortable in the public spotlight as the secretary of state. i thought that rex tillerson was gradually getting used to the bright light of being the american secretary of state. but ironically his greatest struggle was managing the department of state. he oversaw a very sharp reduction in the budget, oversaw a haemorrhaging of talent and experience within the department of state. so mike pompeo could well begin to repair the impact of the rex tillerson rain on the department of state. even by the standards of the ungritted debility of this white house are you surprised that this sacking took case as it did, which as we believe to be the case, there was no conversation between them and

he found out on social media. well the present lives and dies by twitter so i do not think we are surprised. they delivered this news on twitter. but just surprised. they delivered this news on twitter. butjust underlines his leadership and management style, it is chaotic. there has been the word most closely associated with how he manages the white house staff. and once again itjust shows that the trump administration has already set a new record in terms of staff turmoilfor a new record in terms of staff turmoil for the just last week we had the departure of the national economic adviser. and ijust think it isa economic adviser. and ijust think it is a tremendous challenge in terms of american presidents are most effective when they have a sta ble most effective when they have a stable and trusted team around them

and here we are a0 month in and this is very much a work in progress. thank you. more on that subject a bit later on. and in about 15 minutes time with respect rex tillerson to make a statement on his departure from the state department. clearly there will be a lot of interest in what he has to say. russia has until midnight to explain its alleged role in the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury last week. theresa may said it was ‘highly likely‘ that the kremlin was behind the attack on sergei and yulia skripal — but russia‘s foreign minister sergei lavrov has dismissed the claims as ‘rubbish‘. those comments echoed by the russian

ambassador at to the eu. russia does not possess any chemical weapons since they were destroyed on the basis of the international convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons. also if that particular substance which i actually do not know had earlier been produced in the soviet union, may i remind you the soviet union collapsed and its successor is 15 independent states, some of them good friends of the uk. russia is not a country to be spoken to in the language of ultimatum. it is high time the uk land that. and what with the response be from russia if the uk takes measures after midnight

tonight, say against russian citizens, russian interests? certainly we will respond appropriately. that was the russian ambassador to the uk speaking a short time ago. let‘s discuss this more with arkady ostrovsky, russia editor at the economist, and author of the book invention of russia: the rise of putin and the age of fake news. good to have you with us. how high are the stakes. they are very high, the statement in parliament yesterday why the prime minister basically invoked warlike language. russia is threatening, you know perpetrating reckless acts and the uk, unlawful aggression against the uk. it could not get more serious than that. i think that the language is warranted. she rightly put it in context of every thing else that

happened, the annexation of premier, the poisoning of litvenenko. really the poisoning of litvenenko. really the question is whether the rhetoric is followed up by real action. because to say these things is dangerous if you do not follow it up with action. that would actually wea ken with action. that would actually weaken the uk in the end and we need to show that she really means business. looking at the response and before you came in today lots more things coming in, lots of official statements from different parts of the russian government in moscow and abroad. we are a nuclear power, do not mess with us is one kind of statement we had. and the embassy in london think any threat against russia would meet with the response that the british should be aware of. does the term surprise you? not at all, the really interesting question is how nervous they are behind the scenes in russia. the fact that putin would

deny this, this implausible deniability if you like it was beyond doubt. the deadline set out by theresa may, of course that will be ignored, they have already said they will not cooperate until they see samples. but the question to ask is how far theresa may is prepared to go because the reaction has to be real. it has to go to the core of the kremlin and their financial interests and russian financial interests. you know this can of mismatch between rhetoric and the lack of action is what created vulnerability in a way in the uk. and if britain does go after the financial interests of the kremlin elite, their children, it will affect the interest of british businesses. bp and the city. whether theresa may can muster enough political will to do that will be

important for the security of the country now. the other question you need to ask is what is going on here, who is this signal to. and this is coming just a few days before the russian presidential elections. russians now blaming the ukfor elections. russians now blaming the uk for discrediting them but the escalation making circles in moscow is this is a message from putin to his own elite, do not switch sides, do not betray me. as he said on russian television, one thing i do not forgive is betrayal. also coming ata time not forgive is betrayal. also coming at a time when he made this statement all about nuclear threat and that he was showing the graphics of missiles flying towards the florida coast. this is a lot for domestic consumption, he craved this attention and he has got it now. he ina way attention and he has got it now. he in a way is setting up the narrative for his next six years and i‘m

afraid it is not good news. i think the narrative is going to be about war. so far in rhetoric but he has enjoyed the escalation dominance in the past and i think the uk needs to show that if indeed it is material coming from russia and russian attack, the response really needs to be serious. just expelling a few diplomats and boycotting the world cup will not do. thank you very much. let‘s get more reaction to president trump‘s decision to sack his secretary of state, rex tillerson. joining me now from austin, texas is matt mackoviak — a republican consultant who has advised two us senators and a governor. what do you make of the events today? well they feel saddened because they were announced on the social media that from twitter. but if you had been paying attention this has been building since last autumn. the secretary of state

position is one where you have to have a strong relationship with the president or else you‘re not going to be able to effectively representing in foreign capital. i think what happened here is you have crucial decisions ahead on iran, and north korea. i think the president decided he could not go forward with rex tillerson in this position given the stakes in the next couple of months and wants to put on someone who he trusts and thinks could do a betterjob and that is mike pompeo. so is this then an admission by the president that the appointment was the wrong one and a misjudgement. rex tillerson was recommended by former secretary of defence robert gates was served under barack obama and george bush. he had a good reputation having been the ceo of

the exxon company. but i think he was mismatched here, he was unable to manage the state department and establish a relationship with the president which you need to have. so i think probably it was a mistake and resident tramp probably saw that early on but felt he did not want to shake up such an important office in his first year. they got through the first year but not the second. and it does mean that mike pompeo is already seen as a strong figure and now is being brought in to sort things out and he is in a very strong position. that is right and his deputy now takes over at the cia so he may have some control or influence at least there as well. he was a respected member of congress, running the house intelligence committee. he graduated first in his class at the college where the us army train. so he has a good

reputation but this is a big job, bigger than the cia, more outward facing. given the public relations aspect of thejob. facing. given the public relations aspect of the job. i think he was more behind—the—scenes as cia director especially leaving the president of this is more a public facing job, a differentjob and the bureaucracy of the state department and complexity of- of the issues and complexity of some of the issues makes it a very difficultjob for mike pompeo to do. well we just have images from the state department and rex tillerson is going to make his statement in about seven or eight minutes. as we look at that what are your thoughts about body might say how nervous the white house might be feeling the top — feeling. how nervous the white house might be feeling the top - feeling. there could be some nerves and you can understand why rex tillerson might be frustrated. that this decision was made while he was travelling. even the report, but the president

did not tell them directly. clearly he did not have time to discuss his consent and the president wanted to make the decision while he was gone. exactly what he did with james carmi infiring him exactly what he did with james carmi in firing him while he was in los angeles. so this is something that could explain the way that tramp likes to operate, firing people not in person so they can push back. but doing it at a remote distance. i think rex tillerson is a professional, he will think that he should thank the president and all the people he works with. probably try to take a bit of a victory lap. but he needs to put the punctuation mark on his tenure as secretary of state. what do you think of those saying that this is more proof that this is a white house that is in

chaos and more proof of the dysfunctionality of this administration. you cannot deny this administration. you cannot deny this administration has been chaotic. and this president travels in operating ina this president travels in operating in a chaotic manner. normally in washington when and administration is accused of being in chaos, the administration would deny it and go out to prove that it is. in this case the drug administration embraces it. given just case the drug administration embraces it. givenjust the case the drug administration embraces it. given just the stunning member of departures of high—level officials. the list is dozens at this point. we‘ve never seen anything like this. but if it does not bother the president and it seems not to, that is not likely to change. good to talk to you, thank you forjoining us today. later we have coverage because of

that statement from rex tillerson. and i will be back at ten o‘clock. but now we catch up with the latest on the weather. some changes on the way, things turning significantly colder. if you have sunshine today you might think it feels like spring. there was a lot of sunshine around especially for western areas. you can see from the satellite picture where we had the satellite picture where we had the best of the franchise in western area. a bit more of a struggle further east but even here the cloud has broken up for the end of the day. then going into the evening, we keep hold of some clear skies and temperatures dip await site close to freezing in places. out west we have thickening cloud and outbreaks of rain coming in and also feeling

windy. and that is a sign of what is to come tomorrow. low—pressure moving in from the atlantic. outbreaks of rain and the isobars squeezing together so we expect some pretty strong wind, even dell force of fines in some western areas. but coming from a mild place. — gale force. so you still areas tomorrow seeing the best of the sunshine tomorrow .— eastern areas. out west are very different feeling, a lot of clout and some heavy breasts of rain. and really quite persistent as well. so there is the potential for some localised flooding and perhaps some travel disruption. a similar story for northern ireland, you can see the strength of the wind, approaching gale force in some

exposed spots. further east it is a different story, some hazy sunshine and temperatures up to around 12 degrees. into thursday we have this band of rain which moves the bit further north and east. making slow progress. to the south—west of that we have brighter skies but also some heavy showers. to the north—east and turning a bit colder. the first sign of that change. towards the end of the week and into the weekend, the frontal system running into an area high pressure. so that is the weekend forecast, cold and windy with the potential for snow. weekend forecast, cold and windy with the potentialfor snow. if you‘re concerned about that stage and to our forecast. the deadline approaches for russia to explain its role in the salisbury attack — but moscow warns britain not to threaten a nuclear power.

police reveal more details about sergei and yulia skripal‘s last known movements before they collapsed nine days ago. detectives appeal for anyone who saw them in this red bmw to come forward, as they warn the investigation could take weeks. as they warn the investigation the as they warn the investigation public will continue 1 great the public will continue to see a great deal of police activity around the city, including more is being erected. don‘t be alarmed, it is necessary as part of this major investigation. the prime minister has told russia to explain by midnight what happened as president trump gives her his support. it sounds to me like they believe it was russia and i would certainly take that finding as fact. moscow has again denied being involved and says it wants