this is bbc news. i'm carrie gracie. the headlines at nine. the deadline approaches for russia to explain its role in the salisbury attack, but moscow says it wants to see the evidence first. detectives appeal for anyone who saw sergei and yulia skripal in this red bmw to come forward — as they warn the investigation could take weeks. the public are going to continue to see a great deal of police activity in and around the city, including potentially more cordons being erected. but please do not be alarmed. it is necessary as part of this major investigation by the counter terrorism policing network. the prime minister has told russia to explain by midnight what happened as president trump says "us was with the uk all the way". in today's other main news. just over a year after his appointment, president trump sacks his secretary of state, rex tillerson. what is most important is to ensure an orderly and smooth transition at a time when the country continues to face significant policy

and national security challenges. it's an upbeat assessment of the uk economy from the chancellor in his spring statement. labour claim he's ignoring a crisis in public services — but philip hammond forecasts higher growth, lower inflation and lower debt. i, meanwhile, am at my most positively tigger—like today! as i contemplate a country which faces the future with unique strengths. and survivors of the dunblane school shooting — exactly 22 years ago — send a letter of solidarity and support to stoneman douglas high school in florida. good evening and welcome to bbc news.

the prime minister, theresa may, has spoken with donald trump about the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter tonight the foreign office has also been giving more detail about the high—level diplomacy going on as the deadline approaches for a russian explanation as to how a nerve agent came to be used in salisbury. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has spoken with the french and german governments as well as the nato secretary general. meanwhile, police have been giving more details about the last known movements of sergei skripal and his daughter before they collapsed in salisbury 9 days ago. let's get the latest from daniel sandford who's in salisbury. this evening, there was intense police activity at the pound where sergei skripal‘s car was found after being towed away from salisbury town centre. every day, the work has thrown up a different location. counter terrorism detectives warning today that the operation in the city

will last many weeks. we're sifting and assessing all evidence available and we are exploring all investigative avenues. this includes extensive cctv footage from across the city and over 380 exhibits so far. it's vital that we gather all the evidence available to us and we leave no stone unturned in establishing the full circumstances. detectives now believe yulia skripal arrived at heathrow airport from russia at 2.40 in the afternoon of saturday, 3rd march. the next day, the day of the attack, she and her father parked at 1.40pm on the upper deck of the sainsbury‘s car park in salisbury and then went to the mill pub. they took a short walk to zizzi restaurant, where they were between 2.20 and 3.35. at 4.15, they were found seriously

ill on a park bench. police are asking anyone who saw their car, this red bmw, between 1pm and 1.45pm that day to come forward. they said detective sergeant nick bailey, who became seriously ill after becoming contaminated, was making good progress. the two people targeted in the attack, yulia and sergei skripal, are still in intensive care here in salisbury hospital, where staff are having to use special precautions, because of the military grade nerve agents. they're both in a critical condition, but they're both still stable — which means they're not getting significantly worse. i'm told she is doing slightly better than he is. detectives said at this stage they would not be making public any suspect they have in this unique inquiry. daniel sandford, bbc news, salisbury. so, as we've been reporting, donald trump and theresa may have spoken on the phone today, with president trump saying russia must provide unambiguous answers as to how this nerve agent came

to be used. the european union has said it's ready to support britain "in pursuit ofjustice". with more on that, here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale. it began as a brutal attack on the streets of salisbury, the poisoning of a former russian intelligence officer and his daughter, that the uk blames on russia. but it's become a global diplomatic row, with britain looking for allies in its confrontation with moscow. british ministers meeting again to discuss the case have given the kremlin until midnight to explain how a nerve agent developed in russia ended up in britain. if the response isn't credible, they are promising extensive measures against russia. this is a brazen attempt to murder innocent people on uk soil. policeman still in hospital, overwhelmingly likely or highly likely that the russian state was involved, and the use of this

nerve agent would represent the first use of nerve agents on the continent of europe since the second world war. as part of a huge diplomatic effort across europe, british officials told the chemical weapons watchdog in the netherlands that russia was implicated in the use of chemical weapons. germany, france and other allies offered support without attributing blame, but donald trump at least appeared to accept that russia might be involved. theresa may is going to be speaking to me today. it sounds to me like they believe it was russia and i would certainly take that finding as fact. as soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn russia or whoever it may be. russia is already subject to international sanctions because of its interventions in ukraine and crimea. ministers insist these damage russia's economy but their impact on moscow's behaviour is doubtful. crucially, these are largely eu

sanctions, the uk can't impose them on its own. so, what unilateral options is the government considering? some of russia's 58 diplomats in london could be expelled but that might promote a tit for tat expulsion of british diplomats. wealthy russians in london with links to the kremlin could face financial sanctions and travel bans, but who and how? there could be tougher laws to crack down on russian officials guilty of human rights abuses, and russian tv stations like rt could be targeted. the media regulator has already warned it could lose its licence. here at the foreign office, they are also investing a lot of effort and diplomacy in trying to bring international pressure to bear on russia, but the bar is high. russia has a veto at the un and some eu countries are reluctant to contemplate yet more sanctions. to date, the russian embassy said accusations of involvement in the salisbury attack were groundless as diplomats promised retaliation against any new sanctions. russia is not a country to be spoken

to in the language of ultimatums. i think it is high time the uk learned that. but unless moscow gives britain a satisfactory answer by midnight, some russian diplomats here might be clearing their desks very soon. james landale, bbc news. we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are michael booker, deputy editor of the daily express, and the times columnist jenni russell. counter—terrorism police are investigating the unexplained death of a russian businessman in london. 68—year—old nikolai glushkov was found at his home in new malden last night. our correspondent andy moore — who's there — has been explaining

the background to the story. police say that were called to this has about a quarter to 11 last night, you may see the police cars behind me that, the cord and has been extended in the last few minutes. the call came last night. this is being investigated by counterterrorism officers as a precaution because of this man's associates. it is not being linked with what happened in salisbury at the moment, police say there is no evidence that but you can understand why there is this thorough investigation. police have been accused of not investigating thoroughly some 1a deaths in the uk of russian businessman and x—files. so they will want to get to the bottom of this one, especially in the circumstances. what do we know of nikolai glushkov? 68 years old, he was a former aeroflot executive. he was convicted of fraud in russia, jailed briefly, then he came to the

uk. authorities tried to charge him on another charge, the british authorities said he wouldn't be extradited. the man in his 60s, there are some reports that he had been suffering some sort of heart problems. asbo briefly to a neighbour who said he was a lovely man, and she said he had been suffering health problems at the moment, a postmortem examination being carried out so the priest might be able to tell us more about the cause of death at some stage. and eat more.— andy moore. president trump has sacked his top diplomat, the us secretary of state, rex tillerson — apparently without warning. the two men have had a series of public rifts over issues like russia, north korea and iran. here's what the outgoing secretary of state had to say. i received a call today from the president of the united states this afternoon from air force one and i have also

spoken to white house chief of staff kelly, to ensure we have clarity for the days ahead. what is most important is to ensure an orderly and smooth transition at a time when the country continues to face security challenges. earlier i spoke to our state department correspondent barbara plett—usher who said that the decision to sack rex tillerson had come as a surprise. there has been a lot of reporting about mr trump and mr tillerson, over the past months, their differences in personality and policy and at one point there were rumours that rex tillerson was on his way out but those rumours seemed to have died down and they seemed to have found a way to work together although the rumours never went away so we were never sure. but we never thought it would happen out of the blue, announced via twitter. at least we thought rex tillerson would be able to set his own terms or retire. say he'd done his thing. but in this humiliating

way and he made it clear that he didn't actually talk to the president until sometime after that tweet was issued so the president didn't even have the courtesy to call him and tell him what he was going to do so it was a shock. we heard mr tillerson talking about a smooth and orderly transition, will there be a smooth and orderly transition in terms of policy? in terms of policy mr tillerson counselled mr trump on issues that by and large had an establishment line, the traditional way of dealing with adversaries and allies promoting diplomacy of over aggressive statements, he worked on that very hard, especially with the north korea campaign, to isolate it economically and diplomatically. but his successor has quite a different approach. he has been more hawkish on iranfor example, this is mike pompeo. he has also been more belligerent rhetorically on north korea, so he

will handle those files now as secretary of state. we will see key changes but his past suggests he will have a different approach, one more in line with mr trump's instincts. and how do you imagine that the run—up to this incredibly important north korean summit will go? that is the question, isn't it? even before rex tillerson left there was the question of how this could be prepared such an important meeting with no groundwork done on diplomacy, even as rex tillerson was coming back from a trip to africa, he arrived this morning, just hours before he was fired, he was talking about that, saying he had great experience in these negotiations, he knew how to get disparate parties into the same room and have success. perhaps with hindsight this was his final plug for why he should be kept. now mr pompeo will take over this file and we will see how he does

prepare for the talks, he is someone that mr trump feels comfortable with, he likes and trusts him. so in that sense the preparation will go smoothly between the state department and the white house in terms of what they will come up with, with regards to an agenda is something we don't know at this point. barbara plett usher. here, the chancellor philip hammond has delivered an upbeat assessment of the uk economy, claiming there's "light at the end of the tunnel" and hinting at possible public spending increases in the autumn. mr hammond delivered his spring statement to mps, saying growth and employment were up and inflation was set to fall. but labour accused the chancellor of ignoring a public sector funding crisis. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. is there anybody out there? no 11 didn't want us to pay that much attention. no fuss, no frills. reporter: do you have good news today, chancellor? only the chancellor

slipping off to work. the speaker: statement, the chancellor of the exchequer. but what was this, a cheery philip hammond rushing to his place? if there are any eeyores in the chamber, they're over there. i, meanwhile, am at my most positively tigger—like today. not much has changed from the world outside. true, the economy will grow a little bit faster. the debt will start to fall, just. the day—to—day deficit, remember that, it's gone. but compared to other countries, the economy is sluggish and slow. spending will stay tight. 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. but a glimmer for the end of the year. if, in the autumn, the public finances continue to reflect the improvements that today's report hints at, then, in accordance with our balanced approach, i would have capacity to enable further increases in public spending. that might have delighted his side. the speaker: john mcdonnell. but labour accused him of not being in the real world. 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. but is he listening? this is the eighth year, the eighth year in a row when a conservative chancellor has said to the public that dealing with the accounts is more important

than what they might feel they need. well, i hear what you're saying, laura, but the facts speak for themselves. i've put £11 billion, this is just what i've done since i've been chancellor, £11 billion additionally into public spending in 2018/19 and have promised to put more into the national health service this year if we get a deal on pay. many of your colleagues now believe that the evidence is overwhelming for more money to go into the nhs in the longer term? well, the evidence is clearly there that our population is getting older. that technology is developing in a way that makes more and more interventions possible, and indeed desirable in the health service. that does represent a continuous upward pressure. is the cabinet at the moment discussing how to find more money

for the health service, as some of your colleagues have told me? this is my responsibility to look at these things, but of course we look at all these issues. as we approach the budget in the autumn and then the spending review in 2019, of course we will look at all these pressures across the piece. not good enough for these opponents. this is a chancellor asleep at the wheel. he really had to show today he was prepared to take action. there was nothing in that statement that creates confidence. wales being shackled to brexit britannia is not doing any good for our economy. the only solution is for us to get the full portfolio of economic powers devolved to wales. what the chancellor should have done, i think, is to be much more open and honest with the public and say there is no more public money for public services, which is badly needed, therefore we will have to have an increase in taxation to pay for it. not admissions the government is ready to make. hard choices that will linger long after today. along with the brexit bill, revealed to be hanging around until 2064. spring has not yet really sprung. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the headlines on bbc news. russia says it will not co—operate

with the investigation into how a former spy and his daughter were poisoned in salisbury until it's been provided with evidence. president trump has sacked his secretary of state, rex tillerson, replacing him with the director of the cia. and the chancellor delivers his spring statement saying growth has risen and employment is up — but labour accuse him of astounding complacency. now, a full round up from the sports centre. good evening. let's start at old trafford where manchester united are looking to join manchester city and liverpool in the quarter—finals of the champions league. they're taking on spanish side sevilla, and in the last few minutes sevilla have gone 2—0 up. that was the first goal and know they have to very important away goals. manchester united no lead at least three in response. “— united no lead at least three in response. —— they now need at least three. earlier lingard came close to

scoring but it's 2— 02 sevilla on the night and on aggregate. roma up bidding for a place in the last eight, playing shakhtar donetsk. they did hold an advantage that it is roma who scored on the night by the former manchester city player is edin dzeko. a lot happening in the championship at both ends of the table, cardiff could go level on points with wolves at the top, they are currently winning away at brentford, with a 3—1 advantage. they are currently three points above them. they are also winning 2-0 at above them. they are also winning 2—0 at home to reading. further calls today for england to consider a boycott of the football world cup in russia in the summer. that's

if vladimir putin and the russian state are found to be involved in the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury at the weekend. the labour mpjohn woodcock has told the bbc that england's participation "ought to be in question". but the fa's position is that international relations are a matter for the government. the more likely option is, the dignitaries, the suits not going to moscow, saint petersburg and the rest. will that affect the russians? not really. will it make people feel better that there is some symbolic gesture ? perhaps. away from football, the big race of the opening day of the cheltenham festival, the champions hurdle was won by buveur d'air, the odds—on favourite. the nicky henderson—trained horse, ridden byjockey barry geraghty, has nowjoined some ofjump racing's greats by winning back to back stagings of the prestigious race. a seventh champions hurdle for henderson and for the ownerjp mcmanus. the great thing about today was that he found himself in a battle for the first time in his career really. it has all been easy for him.

today he had to fight and hejolly did, he was great. he put his head down. it is tough out there today. the ground is testing. meanwhile ruby walsh, the most successful jockey at the cheltenham festival got his second win of the day in the mares‘ hurdle. he only returned to the saddle five days ago after breaking his leg. he beat the hot favourite apple trade in third. earlier ruby walsh won the arkle challenge trophy novices' chase aboard footpad. 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.

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 sportsday at half past ten. thank you jess. survivors of the dunblane shooting and their families have sent a letter of support to the school in florida, where a gunman shot dead seventeen people last month. they say they want to help them in theircampaign to change america's gun laws. it's exactly 22 years since a gunman walked into dunblane primary school killing sixteen children and their teacher. it led to a ban on handguns in the uk. aileen clarke reports. four weeks ago in florida, the marjory stoneman douglas high school became the latest american school gripped by terror. and now mourn their dead.

a lone gunman, a former student, shot dead 17 people here. it's 22 years ago today that same kind of horror was seen in dunblane when lone gunman thomas hamilton killed 16 primary pupils and the irteacher. but through their grief and sadness, the dunblane families that lost children that day mounted a huge and successful campaign for a change in the gun laws, and handguns were banned. we want you to know that change can happen. now they have come together to send a message of support and encouragement to the families and friends of those lost in parkland, florida. the child victims were our sons and our daughters, our brothers and our sisters. the teacher was our wife, our sister and our mother. the gunman owned legal weapons and it was so easy for him to obtain these legal weapons. and like you, we vowed to do something about it. the crozier family.

emma crozier was just five years old when she was killed in the shooting. i was two years old. when dunblane happened. it was my parents and the parents of the rest of the people involved, 20 years ago. it's the young people in america standing up and the young people in dunblane we support you and the parents. i don't have the baggage of the campaigns of what happened. i have not all of those difficult times they will have to go through. i'vejust got optimism. that is what we hope can change things. the recent school shooting in florida has given a new urgency to growing calls in the united states for gun control. the fault of the people who let him buy the guns in the first place, those at the gun shows, the people who encouraged him to buy accessories for his guns to make them fully automatic... tonight we will be lighting 17 candles. this open letter from dunblane to those

most acutely affected in florida is a dignified and determined illustration that out of the worst of events, change can come to help protect future generations. never again. never again. a very moving attempt by dunblane to make common cause with the people in florida who want to achieve gun—control there. time for a look at the weather. a winter storm is targeting the north—east of the united states, the heaviest snow will be moving into eastern massachusetts, throughout new hampshire and into maine as well, 30 centimetres of snow, combined with winds of 65 mph, imagine the scope for disruption.

the disruption will affect boston so anyone planning to catch a flight, don't be surprised if it is cancelled because we will get huge amounts of snow. that should move into nova scotia and new brunswick. in montreal the snow should ease later as we move towards the weekend, as it will in boston but it will stay cold with sharp overnight frosts. meanwhile the pacific northwest, showers dotted around the next few days and temperatures generally reaching double figures. looking at the weather at the north of madagascar, an area of low pressure at the moment forming this area of cloud. widespread showers in the area but may see this low— pressure the area but may see this low—pressure concentrate to become a cyclone over the next few days. if it does it will drift towards the north—east of madagascar taking torrential bursts of rain this week and the risk of localised flooding.

it is not the only place we are watching developments because a cross sri lanka we had wet weather in the last 2a hours thanks to low pressure. this may concentrate into a tropical depression which will bring further rain, to the south of india as well and also the maldives, bringing in some slow—moving downpours over the next few days. we have seen some wet weather for the far north of new zealand thanks to former tropical cyclone but this area moving down into the cold sea over the northern tarzan and this is cyclone lender. not likely to strengthen much but drifting slowly to the eastern side of queensland with the potential for heavy rain skirting into the far north—east of new south wales as well. it should stay dry for the most part in new zealand although we should start to see some rain edging in later this week across the far north. some wet and windy weather on the way to

parts of spain and portugal. we could get gusts of around 60 or 70 mph around coastal parts of north—west spain. some wet weather as well so localised flooding is possible, ahead of that we are dredging upa possible, ahead of that we are dredging up a mild s015 degrees in paris, 1a in london although it won't stay mild for long because we will get easterly winds flowing in towards the weekend and that will threaten some snow. that's your weather. this is bbc world news america. reporting from washington, i'm laura trevelyan. he's fired. rex tillerson is out as secretary of state, the latest departure from the turbulent trump administration. my my commission as secretary of state will terminate at midnight, march the 31st. as britain demands answers from russia over the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter, president trump declares the us is with britain all the way. he lost his mother to cancer and now

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