this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm... the prime minister says 23 russian diplomats will be expelled from the uk after moscow ignored a deadline to explain why a soviet nerve agent was used on a former spy in salisbury. through these expulsions we will fundamentally degrade and if they seek to rebuild it, we will prevent them from doing so. theresa may has also cancelled an invitation to russia's foreign minister to visit the uk. sergei lavrov says britain is staging a political performance. police and the army have also sealed off several new sites — including in gillingham in north dorset — as part of the investigation. also this hour... scientists, politicians and actors pay tribute to stephen hawking. the scientist, who achieved fame with his theories of the universe, died aged 76 at his home in cambridge. the comedian and tv quiz presenter, jim bowen,

has died at the age of 80. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the uk is expelling 23 russian diplomats after moscow refused to explain how a military grade nerve agent was used on a former spy in salisbury. it's the biggest such expulsion for more than 30 years. the prime minister told parliament that the "undeclared intelligence officers" have just one week to leave. the uk has also cut off all high level contacts with russia and announced that government ministers and the royal family will not attend the world cup. here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. it was right to offer russia the opportunity to provide

an explanation but their response demonstrated complete disdain for the gravity of these events. the midnight deadline came and went, leaving a morning with no new answers. theresa may went prepared to prime minister's questions, ready to announce the biggest diplomatic action against russia since the cold war. they have treated the use of a military grade nerve agent in europe with sarcasm, contempt and defiance. there is no alternative conclusion other than the russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of sergei skripal and his daughter, and this represents an unlawful use of force by the russian state against the uk. the uk will retaliate. the united kingdom will expel 23 russian diplomats, who have been identified as undeclared intelligence officers. they have one week to leave.

this was notjust an act of attempted murder, norjust an act against the uk, it is an affront to the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons and an affront to the rules—based system on which we and our international partners depend. 23 diplomats suspected of being spies have seven days to leave, all high—level contact between the uk and russia is suspended and no minister or member of the royal family will go to the world cup. some russian state assets could be frozen, with possible laws to crack down on hostile states. in a tense commons, jeremy corbyn was not quite ready to accept the culpability of the russian state. our response must be decisive and proportionate and based on clear evidence. but listen to rising anger asjeremy corbyn turned some of his fire on the tories.

it is as we have expressed before a matter of huge regret our country's diplomatic capacity has been stripped back with cuts of 25% in the past five years. it is tradition for the two main parties to stick together on foreign policy. not these two. this is not a question of our diplomacy, of what diplomatic support we have around the world, this is a question of the culpability of the russian state. fever rose. there is continued disregard for the rule of law and human rights must be met with condemnation. look, tories cheering labour backbenchers. jeremy corbyn‘s team, arms folded. the russian government has

behaved with arrogance, with inhumanity and with contempt. but does this bother the russian strongman? vladimir putin approaching a election, campaigning in crimea, unapologetic. a spokeswoman claiming on tv... "britain does not understand diplomacy or the law "and is full of liars, fully fledged liars." this is notjust a straightforward foreign policy clash but a fight with a country that ignores the norm. number 10 knows this may only be the start. in an emergency session of the

united nation security council, the us offerfull support united nation security council, the us offer full support to great britain. let me make very clear from the very beginning, the united states stands an absolute solidarity with great britain. the united states believes russia is responsible for the attack on two people in the united kingdom using a military great nerve agent. dozens of civilians and first responders we re of civilians and first responders were also exposed. police officer nick bailey was the first to arrive on the scene and is hospitalised in serious condition. our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this terrible crime. i'm joined now by tonia samsonova, a london correspondent for echo of moscow radio station — which has been critical of president putin. thank you forjoining us. what do you make of what the prime minister here has announced in terms of extra sanctions and kicking out diplomats. will president putin kaaya? president putin probably gets what

he wanted theresa may to give to him, simply than russia say she gave him, simply than russia say she gave him the best birthday present before the russian elections he could possibly dream of. the thing is that pa rt possibly dream of. the thing is that part of this scandal was domestic news, vladimir putin's strategy was to show their russia is surrounded by enemies, nato and even the united nations are coming close to the border and we have to unite as a country, choose a strong leader, which he is, and he wants to persuade his people that russia is surrounded by the enemies and britain is one of that. some people even suggest that the whole case with skripal and salisbury was orchestrated by russia before the elections. the russian opposition, when we add some other commentators, such as the person who tried to run

in this presidential election against putin, he was the most vibrant critic, when he saw the reaction he said, my god, putin is crying right now. obviously he is not, obviously it is not very painful and what we have is something that the russian position was dreading. it is a lukewarm reaction. there are very high and very big words but nothing actually is done. so what would happen if the international community did get together and do something more meaningful thanjust together and do something more meaningful than just tough words that we have heard today? is there anything that would make president putin think again about some of the things he has done?” putin think again about some of the things he has done? i hope that the international community would not be strong enough to gather around russia. judging from previous experience, we have never saw the exa m ples experience, we have never saw the examples when that actually happened. the international

community is very good when there is an actual war, and we saw that in the first in second world war, when countries united together to fight an enemy. “— countries united together to fight an enemy. —— in the first and second world war. i hope at least that russia is not seeking to have a war. but what russia will get if the international community unites is the growing of the spending for the military and the declining of poor life of people whose standards of life of people whose standards of life is not high enough for today. what would be really painful for vladimir putin, and that was proposed by the members of parliament today but not put into action, is personal sections dunn sanctions against all the... action, is personal sections dunn sanctions against all the. .. people close to putin? his cronies, because his power is with those people he cannot betray their interests because this circle is very

important. the other thing probably is to do something personal that hits the most. thank you very much for speaking to us this evening. so the prime minister declared russia culpable for the poison attack and salisbury. the british government is about to introduce into lord the madejski act, which countries including america have adopted. it was named after the businessman sergei magnitsky, who died in a russian prison after exposing a major putin—connected corruption scheme. any person found guilty of human rights abuses could lead to legal action. personal assets of russians in the uk obtained by dubious means, including property, could be serious. travel bans could be imposed on citizens from russia considered a threat to britain.

well we can now speak to bill browder, anti—corruption campaigner against the putin regime. and the man behind the us bringing in the magnitsky act in 2012. as he heard, his business partner was sergei magnitsky. hejoins us live from our studio this evening. —— mr browder joins live from our studio this evening. —— mr browderjoins as lad. why would it be so important for the uk to bring in this act to try to get to bring in this act to try to get to russians and others in terms of human rights violations? as your previous guest pointed out, the one thing putin cares about is money. he is not like a normal head of state, he is effectively a mafia boss who is in charge of a country, who has stolen an is in charge of a country, who has stolen an enormous is in charge of a country, who has stolen an enormous amount of money. he does not keep that in russia, he keeps it in the west. in london, switzerland and new york. by going after his money and that of the top

people in his regime, including the oligarchs holding the money for them, that has a dramatic unserious affect on how putin views the world —— dramatic and serious about. i have been aborted a campaign to get justice for my murdered lawyer sergei magnitsky, i have been getting these of law passed in different countries. when the united states passed the magnitsky act in 2012, putin said publicly that it was the single largest foreign policy priority to try to repeal the magnitsky act. do you think the uk, london in particular, has a reputation as being a place where extremely rich, well—connected russians come, do you think london is that place? do you think the uk has been a bit remiss in not doing this earlier? good question. london has laid out the welcome mat for criminals, corrupt russians, corrupt government officials to come to london to spend their money. there

has never been a consequence, never a money—laundering investigation. there has been a number of suspicious deaths, including another death connected to the magnitsky case which i been uninvestigated, they call it londongrad, a place where russians feel safe. could britain have acted before with the laws that they have? it sounds like you are saying that these are people whose money has been made illegally, surely laws are in place already to deal with this? what would have thought so, and there are laws in place. i have been trying to get the british government, the british law enforcement authorities to investigate a money—laundering in the uk of about £30 million worth of money connected to the magnitsky crime for the last eight years. i

have had five different rejections from the british law—enforcement agencies. do you think there is anything that the international community can do to make president putin listen? we have seen reaction already from russia as to what has been announced today and they do not seem to be, let's face it, particularly bothered. is there anything the international community can do? absolutely, to freeze the assets of putin and his cronies. they will pay close attention and they will not be laughing at about. bill browder, thank you very much for speaking to us thank you very much for speaking to us live from new york. meanwhile, police and army had sealed off areas of the north dorset town of delhi as part of the investigation. they called and was put in place around a truck thought to have recovered sergei skripal‘s are from salisbury. —— the north dorset town of killing. two police ta nks dorset town of killing. two police tanks were set up with people putting on protective suits inside. and we'll find out how this story —

and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:a0pm in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are hugh muir, associate editor at the guardian, and steve hawkes, deputy political editor at the sun. one of the greatest scientists of modern times — professor stephen hawking — has died at the age of 76. he was diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease when he was 22 and told he had only a few years to live. but he defied all expectations and went on to become one of the most famous physicists in the world thanks to his studies on black holes and relativity. our science editor david shukman looks back at his life. there is nothing like the eureka moment of discovering something no one knew before. stephen hawking had a gift for inspiration, a powerful spirit overcoming an ailing body to allow a mind to roam the cosmos. earning him a place as the most famous scientist in the world. it has been a glorious time to be alive and researching and doing theoretical physics. who else could draw

crowds like this? the man who gazed at the stars became one himself. his story poignant and uplifting, his career involved concept so alien and complicated for most it was a struggle to keep up but he explored the strangest of features of the universe, black holes, drawing together the science of the largest things in space with the science of the small, part of a quest to come up with a theory for the universe. he made these incredibly original insights that set up the modern theory of black holes. and made great contributions to cosmology, and so he was a huge figure. i was devastated, really upset. i met him a couple of times but he had an impact on my life. it is the passing of a great scientist who will be truly missed. as a student his intelligence stood

out that at that moment he was given a warning that motor neurone disease would cut his life short. when i was diagnosed, i was told it would kill me in two, three years. i was 21. somehow he kept going. in a high—tech wheelchair and a synthesised voice. iam i am happier now than before i develop the condition. communicating first by touch, then by twitching a single muscle in his cheek, a daunting burden for anyone. his children saw him as an example. people who live in extreme circumstances seem to find something inspirational in his example of perseverance and his ability to rise above the suffering and still want to communicate at a higher level. life was not straightforward, his first marriage ending in divorce, as did a second to one of his nurses. claims that he had been physically abused, the case dropped because of lack of evidence.

none of this held him back. his book sold at least 10 million copies and everyone wanted to meet him from the pope in the vatican, to the queen. to president obama, who awarded him a medal of honour. his fame reached beyond the world of science. your theory of a doughnut shaped universe is intriguing. even appearing in the simpsons. i did not say that. in an episode of star trek he had the chance to tease isaac newton. not the apple story again! astounding to think the lord created this in seven days. incorrect. it took 13.8 million years. let's not get bogged down in that ain! more recently he was happy to play along for comic relief.

he saw himself as an ambassador for science and in this interview told me of his hopes for the large hadron collider. he had a sense of adventure. i am very excited. as you can imagine. i have been wheelchair—bound almost four decades and the chance to float free in zero g will be wonderful. even braving a zero gravity flight. no surprise his death prompted tributes. tim berners—lee tweeted... nasa said... if you reverse time and the universe is getting smaller. eddie redmayne played him in the film the theory of everything and today said, we have lost a truly beautiful mind. a scientist who delved into the realm of black holes offered an incredibly engaging story

that achieved something remarkable, it touched a global audience. stephen hawkins, who has died at the age of 76. with me now is professor cumrun vafa, string theory expert at the harvard university of physics. thank you forjoining us this evening. you knew stephen hawking, what would you say was the feature, the trait of his personality that most impressed you? this spirit he had in science and non—science issues alike. the fact he did not give up, despite his physical advert city. he was always positive, always engaging, always trying to push forward, whether it be science or other issues. we are seeing some pictures of you and him ata seeing some pictures of you and him at a dinner, i think it was. what

was he like to be with? we all know about his incredible ability when it came to science, what was he like as a person? i got to know him when my colleague andi i got to know him when my colleague and i did some work on string theory which confirmed some of the predictions that stephen had made in its 70s. we did this in the mid—90s, 20 years after his prediction. i got to know him, he visited us at harvard around 1999 and we invited stephen into our home, and in that setting i remember my wife asking if he had ever had a persian meal, we are from iran, and he replied that not only had he had it that he had visited iran. he was communicating with his quick and he was recounting aspects of this visit to iran in 1962, just after he had graduated from oxford and just before he was diagnosed with ms. he was recounting the story 37 years after that with

such precision and such detail that it was amazing. he was remembering the name of these cities, ten cities in iran that he had visited, and he was bringing letter by letter down from his computer screen using the clicker and ten words, ten cities which you wouldn't think someone would remember after 37 years. no m ista kes would remember after 37 years. no mistakes and with precision and no frustration. really, really calm, letter by letter. that was really a lesson to me, just watching him. such patients precision at the same time. it was quite remarkable. i think he was an inspiration to physicists and non—physicists alike, for his physics accomplishment and in other spheres of human activity. can you explain, people have said his theories will inspire generations to come. for those who do not study physics and have not read into this, what does he leave behind for those generations? one of

his main works was the fact that he showed that black holes are not quite black, they radiate. not only do they radiate, they gradually lose energy by this and gradually disappear. there was a puzzle in the context of qua ntu m disappear. there was a puzzle in the context of quantum mechanics that there are things that are probable, but we still know with certain probability what will happen. he said god does not roll dice. stephen hawking added a phrase to light, not only does god play dice but sometimes he throws it places where you can retrieve. he meant the black holes. the idea would be that the days had gone inside the black hole and whatever the role was, you would not know because after a while the black hole would disappear, and with it at the dice. so you lose information. the issue of information. the issue of information loss that he discovered in the mid—1970s is still one of the most important topics in theoretical physics today. the importance of it

has been growing ever since he discovered it. we have still not understood deeply how it works, it is such a deep fact he discovered and it affects many branches of theoretical physics. professor, we must leave it alike, but thank you for sharing your memories of stephen hawking tonight. for a full round—up from the bbc sports centre now, here'sjessica. chelsea have it all to do at the nou camp to progress to the quarterfinals of the champions league. having drawn 1—1 in the first leg they got off to the worst possible start, lionel messi, who else, scored past to go courtois. chelsea responded well but they were hit by a major blow. 2—0, a long way back for antonio conte's side. 37 minutes on the clock. in the day's other game, bayern munich enjoyed a comfortable

evening in turkey as they beat besiktas 8—1 on aggregate. bayern, 5—0 up from the first leg, opened the scoring through thiago. and in the closing minutes sandro wagner made it 3—1 on the night with his chest. it's a seventh successive champions league quarter final for bayern. let's move on to racing and the cheltenham festival where the big race of the day — the queen mother champion chase — was won by the favourite altior. the nicky henderson—trained horse, ridden by nico de boinville stormed home in impressive style to win the race by around 12 lengths. he is brave enough, he kept his jumping together. yes, you was off the bridle for a moment, but as soon as they put out from behind the other horses, you could just see him pick it up and the good old gears changed and off he went. it was game over, actually, in a matter of

strides. the day's racing,though, was marred by a serious—looking injury to ruby walsh. cheltenham's most successful jockey was taken to hospital after a heavy fall in the rsa chase and it's now been confirmed he will miss the rest of the festival. england have delayed naming their side to face ireland at twickenham on saturday after more injury doubts emerged over the fitness of their captain dylan hartley and winger elliot daly. it's bad news too for courtney lawes and nathan hughes. both will be out for the rest of the season with kneee ligament injuries they suffered in england's defeat in paris, and both are now doubts for england's summer tour of south africa. meanwhile, england head coach eddie jones has apologised unreservedly active that it should emerge of her making offensive under rubber tree comments about wales and ireland. the comments were made at a private event last year and the rfu will

apologise to the irish and welsh rugby unions. in south korea, britain's menna fitzpatrick and guidejen kehoe have won their third paralympic medal after finishing second in the women's visually impaired giant slalom. it comes after already winning a super combined silver and super—g bronze. we skied really well. we worked together just like any we skied really well. we worked togetherjust like any other day, teamwork was perfect, everything was perfect. it was just a really great day. for me in particular this is five yea rs of ha rd for me in particular this is five years of hard work, having missed out on sochi due to a knee injury, soa out on sochi due to a knee injury, so a huge amount of emotion. and having not had the best season last season, we picked ourselves up from that and had an amazing season. in rugby league, castleford tigers have signed hull fc prop liam watts for a "significa nt fee" on a three—year deal. watts helped hull win back—to—back challenge cups in 2016 and 2017 but his recent career has been effected by disciplinary problems. watts is currently serving

a three match ban for headbutting an opponent. warrington wolves stand—off kevin brown has retired from international rugby league with england. brown was a member of the england squad that lost to australia in last year's world cup final. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website — that's bbc. co. uk/sport — and we'll have more for you in sportsday at 10:30pm. thank you, jessica. now the weather with phil avebury. hello once again. it's been one of those days across many western parts of the british isles, and for that you have to thank this big area of low pressure. a lot of isobars around it, and a weather front as well. so it's a combination of wet and windy weather that's been on offer across the south west of england, getting through the irish sea area, western side of wales, up into northern ireland, too. and through the evening

and overnight, that is where i suspect we will find the very heaviest of the rain. as the front just tends to swing its way out of the south—west, pushing the threat of rain towards wales, the midlands, into the south—east. further east, underneath clearer skies, the temperatures will dribble away at it. three, four or five degrees or so. relatively mild underneath that shield of cloud. come thursday, the front makes progress of a further towards the north and east. —— progress ever further. some moderate bursts of rain in there. brighter skies fall in behind, but the chance of some pretty hefty showers. underneath that front, it will not be a particularly warm day. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: the prime minister says 23 russian diplomats will be expelled from the uk — the largest number for more than 30 years — after it ignored a deadline to explain why a soviet nerve agent was used on a former spy in salisbury. theresa may said britain

won't tolerate a threat our diplomatic correspondentt-

it's also interesting that theresa may made clear clear that in her view,

the 23 being sent home, all of them spies. the anti—remmtier‘. grannieztien. — —— — —— ~ —— of existing legal measures but it really is the expulsions en an. unprecedented sealer ., ,, was bold in her claims and said, if the russians seek to rebuild

their intelligence capability, we will prevent them from doing so. un iii] rum iiii rum - i£3 emergency session to discuss this issue, what has been the response from the international community? well, the uk representativejonathan allen laid out to council members why the united kingdom believes that russia is highly likely responsible for this attack. and he said they would be calling on the opc deby, the independent chemical weapons watchdog to do their own independent investigation so they could update council members. he said this was an attack on the united kingdom and that russia, they used to nails, destruction and threats. he said this is what russia does. so is

strong attack on russia for their belief they had used chemical weapons against another member state. the nikki that safes); 2,333.4: 2.3.4, .:l—..:. 32.24, rhyme warranted security russia's rhyme warranted security council action. now, for the most part, most members were supportive of the united kingdom. russia did have a turn to make a statement and the russian ambassador denied that russia had any involvement and attacked the united kingdom for the way they have handled this case. i attacked the united kingdom for the way the) it ave handled this case. i attacked the united kingdom for the way the) it is e handled this case. i attacked the united kingdom for the way the) it is e handled t the ase. i intervention? theresa may american intervention? theresa may has said she wants a robust response from the international community, issue likely to get that, do you

think? i think they have called for allies to ta ke i think they have called for allies to take actions against russia. unilateral actions. to take actions against russia. unilateralactions. given to take actions against russia. unilateral actions. given that nikki haley was so strong saying she does believe russia was responsible, calling on other member states to ta ke calling on other member states to take action, saying this is a defining moment and nothing is done, will continue and do other attacks against other states of the un, it was a strong endorsement of the united kingdom's position that russia was responsible. as far as action from this council, as nikki haley has called for, we know that russia is a permanent veto wielding member of the council and so it is unlikely we will see concrete action from the un security council. but certainly, it shows the international committee's stands with the united kingdom against russia in this case. thank you very much indeed. high school students across america walked out today in protest of gun

violence and calling for gun control reform. this was the scene in washington, where students gathered outside of the white house. the walkout started on the east coast at 10am local time and swept across the country as the clocks struck ten across the different time zones. students walked out at columbine high school in colorado, where 13 people were killed in a school shooting in 1999. and this was the scene in florida, where westglades middle school students walked to the stoneman douglas football field, to join in solidarity one month on from the shooting there. the walkouts were seventeen minutes long for each life lost in that school. stu d e nts students walking out all across the country, and to the after the shooting at marjory stoneman douglas high school. and a reference to the columbine students shootings in 1999 and some look at that as the date

where an epidemic of modern mass shootings began in the united states. here, we are at high school with some students who worked out a short time ago. why did you walk out, what is your message? our messages school safety. we believe what happened in paco and should never happen again. we walked out for the 17 who tragically lost their lives to one of them and to continue to walk out but changing schools because we need to say —— the changes, they should never happen again. you talk about congress, what is your message say? our sign says, we re is your message say? our sign says, were you at? a lot of us will turn 18, even freshmen students in 18 years, and congress needs to listen to others and we want out to show our voices need to be heard because change has to happen. this epidemic has to end. jacqueline, you have personal experience of gun violence. you knew somebody who died in the last shooting. yes, my cousin

christopher. it has been really rough these past five months. when the park when shooting happened, it really was close to home because i have experienced a loss of such a tragic event. and there were high school students just like us. tragic event. and there were high school studentsjust like us. and your sign says, we need action, not thoughts and prayers, in reference to some politicians who often say it is not the time in the immediate aftermath of a shooting for something to happen but for thoughts and prayers. thoughts and prayers arejust words, it and prayers. thoughts and prayers are just words, it is not going to do anything to change our country. we need reforms and we need them now. you were we need reforms and we need them now. you were among we need reforms and we need them now. you were among the students who walked out, what was it like, what was the scene, how many a g

k -e; never ti is just want be .. rage. 7: fri; ' prkland, afr: ’ but :~, who afr; and but :~7 who to so nothing isgohgto changeso we to nothing isgoingto ehangeso we to work together. we need to hate. whether e hate. whether left 7” hate. whether left or 3” hate. whether left or right, é some hate. whether left or right, just come together to make a change because nobody wants dead people. thank you all very much indeed. that is the view here from this high school, back to you. toys r us is closing all 100 of its uk stores in the next six weeks —

after administrators some 25 stores have either already closed in recent days or are due to close by tomorrow. the comedian and tv presenter jim bowen has died. he was 80 years old and had been ill in hospital for some time. the beauty box. and, as its host used to say, ‘all for the throw of a dart‘. jim bowen lived most of his life in lancashire. i was adopted by a couple who lived in accrington. and i went accrington grammar school. i did national service in shrewsbury, fought for my country there,

defended us against the welsh. then i went to chester college, came back to teach in accrington. a show in blackpool persuaded him to give up a teaching career for stand—up comedy. and i watched ken dodd one night at the opera house in blackpool, 3,500 people in. and i watched him just bury them for, like, an hour. yeah. and i thought, what a sensation this man must have, the power! and that decided me. i said, i'm going to do it. i was working this catholic club last night in wigan. i can tell you it was a catholic club because they called the bingo numbers out in latin so that the protestants couldn't win... laughter. his big break was the comedians. how would you sum up jim bowen as a comic? it's fair to say he wasn't the strongest punch—punch stand—up comedian in the world. neitheram i, i don't suggest that i am. but he had this ineffable thing which all great comics have, and it's warmth. you look at peter kay, he's got warmth, kindness. in the ‘80s came a new career as a tv host — after a rocky start.

we did 21 night. it was a monday night. and the head of itv then, said, burn them. and we burned the first two shows. £46,000. in1980. why? but they were rubbish. in the ‘90s, jim became a pub landlord in hornby, near lancaster. i'm slowing down a little bit and i'm quite enjoying slowing down. i don't feel the need for the adrenaline, the buzz of the audience. but he couldn't resist the chance to entertain a new audience. i'm going to show you what my newjob is, and it's here, at bbc radio lancashire. i'm going to be a radio presenter for the bbc. as well as the radio job, jim enjoyed a spell as president of morecambe fc and appeared alongside a leading light of a new generation of comedians. i had cannon and ball when they were funny. bloody hell, that's going back some years! i rememberjim, and i always will, as a right nice man. funny, very, very good act. but more than that, for me, a nice, nice man. that's how i'll remember him. jim bowen lived his life in lancashire and never lost his love for the county

he might have called ‘super, smashing, grand!'. stuart flinders, bbc news, lancashire. we can now speak to the broadcaster nick owen, who was a friend ofjim's and narrated the first series of bullseye. thank you forjoining us. just seeing that footage takes us back to those saturday nights. what was he like to work with? he looked like he was just incredibly good fun. like to work with? he looked like he wasjust incredibly good fun. he was a lovely man, he really was an absolute charmer and a pleasure to be with. i feel really privileged to have known him. ifirst got to realise he existed when he was on the comedians in the 1970s, i loved comedy and i loved watching it. he was absolutely fantastic them. and i got eaten in the early 1980s doing brea kfast got eaten in the early 1980s doing breakfast television, he was a guest very early days on tv am. we were doing a series called through the

keyhole, which became a game show and we visited his home, a converted railway station in the lake district which was fascinating. he was a warm, accessible guy, down—to—earth, self—effacing, very humble and good company. they were talking about him being a stand—up comedian, what do you think it was bullseye and being on the tv in that prime slot that did bring the frame for him? oh, and. bullseye run for about 1k series in the 1980s and 1990s. i was lucky enough to do the voice—over is of some of the prizes in the very early stages. but that was filmed and recorded at the atb studios in bombing where i started on television in 1978. so i got to know him about them. in later years, we work together on lots of things and iwasa work together on lots of things and i was a guest on bullseye, which was great fun. he was perfectly aware that he was not born broadcaster,

very self—effacing and humble. and hewitt said that because he was a bit wooden as a presenter that bullseye set television back 15 yea rs! bullseye set television back 15 years! what was he like off screen, exactly the same? yes, he was a really good guy to chat with. he had lots of use, really interesting guy, very well read and educated guy who knew a lot about the world we live in so you could have a really serious conversation, but he was full ofjokes. so very entertaining, good company. and someone you just had happy memories of and i feel so sad that my last contact was on the phone a couple of years ago when he had had a stroke and was struggling to speak and he kept saying, can you understand what i am saying? are you getting the message because i am really struggling? so sad to remember him like that, somebody who was so articulate and very cerebral

and a really intelligent guy, great company. we must leave it there, thank you for sharing your memories this evening. thank you. one of the greatest scientists of all times has died at 76. he lived with motor neurone disease for many yea rs. professor with motor neurone disease for many years. professor lisa randall studies particle physics, shejoins us studies particle physics, shejoins us from newjersey. thank you for joining us, you met stephen hawking and you knew him, what are your personal memories of him? so many people know him better than i do but i think anyone who meets him, you don't expect necessarily to meet someone who is just engaging and has a sense of humour and is really sharp. and of course, the process of speaking takes a long time. but it was always worth it. i was very fortu nate was always worth it. i was very fortunate i went to a conference where i was late, somebody pulled me

aside and said, stephen hawking has saved you a seat. because he really was interested in the research i had been doing at the time. i sat at the table with him and a number of other people and we would talk amongst ourselves and when he was ready to speak, we would drop things. so we could listen. and i got to see how he functioned and worked and i met him later on at a couple of conferences. oddly enough, his frailty, a larger than life personality, it was interesting. people talked about him inspiring the generations to come, the people who don't study physics and don't get the detail of what he did, what is it he will leave to those future generations? well, there is lots of technical work, but i think one of the reasons his work is so famous because he said something magnificent. among many other

accomplishments, one of his most famous is black holes decay, before that, it was thought they were objects that lasted forever. but they would stick a. that might not sound like a big deal, many objects get formed and decay, but things get destroyed in the process of going into a black hole so it gives rise to lots of fundamental questions about what happens to information and how does causality get maintained? these are deep and important questions and it is decades people have been thinking about these problems and black holes post these challenges that you thought you had this nice way of thinking of everything and suddenly, these questions emerged that have really driven research. it is not just him, it is the questions behind that have come about because of what he told us that have led to a legacy of subsequent research. and many other aspects of these problems about gravity. in singularity.

really important questions. professor, thank you very much for joining us this evening with your memories. thank you. my colleague earlier spoke to jonathan memories. thank you. my colleague earlier spoke tojonathan halliwell who was taught by stephen and is a preface dutch professor at imperial. dame mary anouk vetter knew him from her time at cambridge university. dame mary anouk vetter knew him from her time at cambridge universitylj didn't her time at cambridge university.” didn't exactly meet him but i was very aware of him. he was already, overused word, but so true of him, an iconic figure. you would see him in his wheelchair which he could drive himself go down king's parade to his college caius. sol drive himself go down king's parade to his college caius. so i got to know of him. and i got to know his family a bit through sinking because jane's husband jonathan pays the organ at the choir i sing in. jane's

second husband. and you were taught by him, tell us about that experience. i was a ph.d. student with him 30 years ago and i went to cambridge originally for a demanding postgraduate programme they put everybody through. after that, i had the extreme good fortune to be offered a ph.d. place to work with stephen and i had three extremely exciting years working with him. he works on the things that really exciting to anyone starting out in theoretical physics and the questions of, what does it really mean for the universe to begin with a big bang, what is going on inside a big bang, what is going on inside a black hole, the singular is the in the centre, what happens to black holes? the questions that grip eve ryo ne holes? the questions that grip everyone in physics and continue 30 yea rs everyone in physics and continue 30 years later. it was a really fantastic experience. was the

inspirational or was he tough, was he hard on those working alongside him? what was he like as a teacher and academic? he was daunting because he was a genius. when he was at oxford, he just did one because he was a genius. when he was at oxford, hejust did one hour's work a day including lectures. that is something he told me. and i can believe that. so he was very quick. and it was hard to keep up with him intellectually. but that is how you improve and learn, big being in a challenging environment like that andi challenging environment like that and i really relished that. i loved the atmosphere around him that in those days, he did not have proper nursing care and often, students would help with that. we would have tea together and lunch together every day. it was a very nice community, which was very supportive and rewarding to work on. and i have heard a lot of people today talk

about a great sense of humour. is that something you picked up? very much, he was very british. his remark about eddie redman, he played him very well, but of course he was not as good looking! he was a good friend of the science museum and would do wonderful short talks and always infused with that wonderful economy with words he had grown to adopt out of necessity which became so elegant. and often shot through with humour. and presumably, for any event at the science museum, an enormous straw? yes, a huge draw. in 2014, he came to the museum to launch our exhibition about the work of the large hadron collider and he did that with peter hicks, another big celebrity. and that drew a huge

crowd. as in the higgs boson. and in 2015, he came to another great exhibition about the russian space programme. and he did that with the russian cosmonaut, the first man to walk in space. not easy to upstage alexei but stephen did it. stephen did have in 2016 at imperial college, he gave a large lecture and there were 800 seats and we had 25,000 applications. we could have used the albert hall! he would still have filled it. that is the sort of rock star status he has. it is a measure of the excitement he generates amongst young people. yes, and lovely hearing from today's young students. i don't wish to talk as if he is the only scientist this country is produced because we have

produced many and two sitting here. but he was magnetic. and i suppose people, is it fair to say that people, is it fair to say that people really admired his determination? i use the word because so many people have talked about it today including his children. i think that is it. his extraordinary triumph over adversity and he defied his prognosis to die within two years of motor neurone disease. and not merely went on survive, but to thrive intellectually. and it is an astonishing story. and of course, he did not get the chair of mathematics at cambridge out of any sense of sympathy. that is the most prestigious chair of science in the world, i would say, prestigious chair of science in the world, iwould say, previously occupied by isaac newton, charles

babbage. and he held it for 30 years. that is right, he was someone who really did not see boundaries. he has the spirit that does not see limitations. interestingly, one of his most important scientific ideas is called the no boundary proposal, a detailed model about how the universe started. the big bang model was an infinite singular to you but he had this fascinating idea that many people worked on that somehow, the universe does not have a boundary at the beginning. it really strikes me that he said, the universe does not have this limitation and in his own life, he did not recognise boundaries. he was a regular guy whojust did not recognise boundaries. he was a regular guy who just left a normal life as much as he possibly could. and that was really inspirational. perhaps i might ask, do you think his disability in some way contributed to his intellectual greatness? he has often said that it did because he needed so much

physical looking after, it gave him a freedom to just think. and that did have i am sure a huge contribution to what he accomplished. good evening. it has been one of those days across western parts. an u nfortu nate those days across western parts. an unfortunate combination of wet and windy weather. the lights on the clock really shining out. that was roundabout the early part of the afternoon. the culprit, not me, of course, it is that area of low pressure throwing the weather front into western parts. i suppose that chart and you have had that combination in some parts of wet and windy weather. further east, a decent state with sunshine turning hazy. overnight, the bottom end of this weather front pushing further east and many eastern spots under clear skies sea temperatures down to three, four, 5 degrees. as we start the new day, in time for your

commute, or the school run, quite heavy rain across parts of wales into the peak district towards the m6 and russia. and the rain keeps coming. across good parts of northern ireland. and before it rains in northern ireland, we could see 40, 50 millimetres of rain. thursday sees the weather front drifting towards the borders of scotla nd drifting towards the borders of scotland to the eastern side of england, and brighter skies behind, but a raft of heavy showers into wales and parts of the south—west and you will see the very best of the temperatures here, 12, 13 degrees. anywhere near the weather front, you're stuck much closer to six, seven, eightand it front, you're stuck much closer to six, seven, eight and it is one of those days. into the night, further heavy showers into wales and the south—west and as we look further north, friday sees on the higher ground of northern england and scotla nd ground of northern england and scotland some snowfall and rain at lower levels, heavy showers in the brighter skies further south and the demarcation in the temperatures, 12,

13 degrees in the south. and that is the last time i will say that sort of thing to you because just in time for the weekend, here we have an area of high pressure beginning to feeding cold air from area of high pressure beginning to feeding cold airfrom scandinavia down through northern europe into the british isles. the weekend is cold and windy and there will be some snow in the forecast as well. so we will keep a close eye on that, forget about 12 or 13, if that is what you have got, the weekend for many will be two, three, four. this is bbc news. reporting from washington, i'm laura trevelya n. a return to the cold war chill, britain's prime minister expels 23 russian diplomats in retaliation for the poisoning of a former russian spy the poisoning of a former russian spy in the uk. they have treated the use of a military grade nerve agent in europe with sarcasm, contempt and defiance. us students make the case

for gun control, walking out of their classrooms one month after the pub shooting. some time ago i discovered black holes are not that black. remembering a scientific genius as stephen hawking ‘s's discoveries have