hello, you're watching afternoon live. the pressure on russia grows — as the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain in the diplomatic row over the poisoning of a spy. theresa may visits salisbury — she praises the work of first responders — and says she has no doubt who was behind the poison attack. we do hold russia culpable for this brazen, brazen act and despicable act, that's taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city tests on a door from grenfell tower show it held back fire for only half as long as it was meant to. abolish it — the shock recommendation of a report into northamptonshire county council as it struggles with a huge deficit. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. yes, good afternoon. ryan giggs and gareth southgate have named their respective wales and england squads for their upcoming friendlies. their rugby union counterparts have done the same heading into the final six nations weekend. and we'll have the latest

from the cheltenham festival with two very big races on the way during afternoon live. the weather forecast? winter returns this weekend, biting easterly wind and growing concern about some disruptive snowfall and there are warnings at which we will tell you about. thanks, helen. also coming up — huw edwards goes back to school — to help students identify fake news. hello everyone — this is afternoon live. the pressure on russia is growing — as the international community begins to line up in support of britain in the diplomatic row over the poisoning of a russian double—agent, his daughter, and a british police officer. the leaders of france, germany,

and the united statesjoined the uk in issuing a joint statement — condemning the use of a military—grade nerve agent — saying this "constitutes the first offensive use" of a nerve agent in europe since the second world war". all this as the prime minister visited salisbury — to see for herself the scene of the attack. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. theresa may in the quiet english town where events 11 days ago triggered this growing diplomatic row. visiting for the first time the scene of the crime — the first use of a military grade nerve agent on british soil. the consequences of this shocking act now reverberating around the world. i'm pleased to have been able to come down here to salisbury, to speak to people who responded to this terrible incident that took place. and, as you know, iannounced in the house of commons the action we are taking. we do hold russia culpable for this, this brazen, brazen act, and despicable act that has taken

place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. last night at the united nations, an emergency session of the security council, and an emphatic expression of support from donald trump's representative. no two nations enjoy a stronger bond than that of the us and the uk. ours is truly a special relationship, and when our friends in great britain face a challenge, the united states will always be there for them. always. and from the white house, confirmation that america agrees with theresa may on who poisoned sergei and yulia skripal, the united states shares the assessment that russia is responsible for the reckless nerve agent attack on a british citizen and his daughter. but are britain's allies willing to go further and take actions of their own? president macron spoke with theresa may this morning and he agrees there is no other plausible explanation for what happened in salisbury

and he says he will announce his own measures in the coming days. there's a global disgust at what has happened, and that is very important. and we will continue to make the case to our friends and allies that, as a committee of nations, we need to stand up to russia. but russia is undaunted. the government continuing to deny any involvement and now threatening to retaliate. translation: due to action, non—friendly actions, taken by the british against the russian federation, we are going to talk about retaliatory measures that we will take, we're working on them at the moment and we will take them as soon as possible. at the british embassy, diplomats and spies wait to hear if they too will be packing their bags. it seems inevitable. in a moment we will talk our

correspondent vicki young in moscow. but first to duncan kennedy in salisbury. you spoke to the prime minister, what impression did you get of her visit? she has seen everything she wa nted visit? she has seen everything she wanted to see, to get a real first—hand account of what went on here, she has been briefed by police and intelligence officers in london but she hadn't seen the actual site, the five sites that are at the centre of this investigation. theresa may is en route to the hospital where sergei skripal and yulia skripal are being treated and also she will meet detective sergeant mick bailey who took part in the operation to rescue sergei skripal and his daughter —— nick bailey. we understand theresa may will get a few words with him, even

though his condition is serious, but we know he is also making the progress. he has been able to talk to his wife and family and we understand theresa may will talk to him as well about what happened and to reassure him that everything is being done as part of the investigation. earlier theresa may came to where i'm standing which is the seat where sergei skripal and his daughter were found and there is a bench behind me in a tent behind me, and that is where theresa may stood to see what had happened. she had already been to the restaurant, and then after here, she went to the pub where sergei skripal and his daughter had a drink, so visiting all the areas of this city which are at the centre of the investigation and she also met businesspeople who are involved in this incident because it has been shut off and they have lost a lot of money. they are talking about compensation for business owners and also in the guildhall in front of many hundreds of people who gathered outside she

met other people, first responders, the ambulance and fire people who took part in the operation two weeks ago and she was able to get a first—hand account from them, but overall what this purpose was to give reassurance to the people of salisbury, the micro level, if you like, but also to be very visible at the macro level to send another signal to russia along with washington, germany and france, to russia that the western allies are standing together but they are on the front foot on this, pointing the finger at russia and getting a proper response from them as this continuing story develops but the very visible presence from theresa may today and she will have achieved what you wanted to achieve, to reassure people and also show others that britain is on the front foot are not going to stand for russian attacks on british soil. duncan, thanks macro.

—— thanks for joining —— thanks forjoining us. we can now hear from —— thanks forjoining us. we can now hearfrom jeremy corbyn, —— thanks forjoining us. we can now hear from jeremy corbyn, his response has come in for criticism. i was extremely definite yesterday that i totally condemn the attack, the perpetrators must be brought to justice and the international chemical weapons convention must be invoked and the source of this weapon which appears to be russia, either from the state or from a rogue element, must be brought to justice as a result, this is a very serious issue and has to be dealt with. i made that very clear. your shadow defence secretary said russia is responsible, that is different from what you are saying. the evidence points towards russia on this, therefore the responsibility must be borne by those that made the weapon and those that brought the weapon and those that brought the weapon into the country and those that used the weapon, but what i was asking for is questions about the

identity of the weapon and questions about the reference to the weapons convention and also the support of other allies, those are the questions i was asking, that is what the opposition is for. we can speak to our chief correspondent. we have not heard anything that strong from jeremy corbyn before. he has gone a bit further, there was disquiet yesterday from some in his team, in the shadow cabinet and especially amongst backbenchers, that he wasn't as clear as that, and they felt he was saying there was still the possibility that this nerve agent had fallen into the wrong hands. it was complicated by his spokesperson who went further, who was also questioning the british government command that is what irritated people like the shadow defence spokeswoman near nia.

jeremy corbyn is still keeping the possibility that it is done by a rogue state element within russia, and he has had support today, the welsh first minister says jeremy corbyn is being unfairly maligned and he says the role of the opposition is to question. some on the backbenchers said it is not the moment for that and we have got to show unity when we are potentially under attack and this is a unique set of circumstances, butjeremy corbyn arguing you still have to ask questions of ministers. very important for theresa may, the joint statement from other leaders. she has talking about building a robust international response and downing street said they felt their allies

had been steadfast in their support and this goes to prove that point, with a joint statement from germany, france and the united states alongside the uk, saying this use of alongside the uk, saying this use of a military grade nerve agent, of a type developed by russia, constitutes the first use of this on european soil since the second world warand european soil since the second world war and they say this is an attack on uk sovereignty and they say they believe what the british are saying and they are urging russia to answer the questions and they say when it comes to complete disclosure of the novichok programme, the nerve agent that was used in salisbury, and their point is this is a pattern of behaviour. not just a their point is this is a pattern of behaviour. notjust a one—off event, there's a pattern of behaviour from russia and they point to the fact that russia is member of the united nations security council and they say they have a responsibility to uphold international peace and security, so there is pressure from russia. the british government will be looking to emmanuel macron who

said he will come forward with sanctions in the next few days and thatis sanctions in the next few days and that is what they are looking for, because they know the impact on russia could be much more powerful if it is done by the international community rather than the uk alone. they can now hear from theresa may. i welcome the statement from the united states and france and germany, and the support from our allies and we have been very clear in attribute in this act to russia. it is right that the government reacts in a robust way to what has happened here in salisbury and that is exactly what we have done and i've announce that we will be expelling 23 russian diplomats who are undeclared intelligence offices and that will have an impact on the intelligence network, and there will be other measures we will be taking, looking at extra powers we can take in relation to hostile state activity making sure that people are

not able to come into the uk when they are potentially involved in hostile state activity and there are other measures that we will be looking at and if we face further provocation from russia there are other measures we can deploy. what is important in the international arena and we have taken this to nato and the united nations, and the european union, our allies are standing with us and saying this is pa rt standing with us and saying this is part of a pattern activity that we have seen from russia in their interference and their disruption that they have perpetrated across a number of countries in europe, this happened in the uk, but it could have happened anywhere. let's talk to our domestic politics setting, this is a moment when theresa may is looking prime minister real and some say this could be the equivalent of margaret thatcher's falkland islands moment. it is possible. we know

theresa may feels more comfortable when it comes to issues of security for the obvious reason that she was the top of the home office for many yea rs. the top of the home office for many years. when you see her talking about that particular issue she feels on solid ground and she's much more comfortable with all of that, but it is a big test, going head—to—head with russia in this way, it was a big diplomatic and international moment, one you could argue she hasn't really had to face until now. it is important how she reacts but also what the government more widely does. what was interesting when we heard from her, she is clearly suggesting that there is more still to come, and from conversations i've had, they know russia will retaliate, and they need to have something more as well, you get into the tit—for—tat back and forth, but they know that this is just the beginning of what is potentially going to go on. she spoke about travel bans and many mps

i've spoken to, they say the way to make vladimir putin think is to get to those close to him, to those who are in this country, in london, especially when it comes to money assets, freezing that, there are measures already in place that have been used, ministers say, but they wa nt to been used, ministers say, but they want to broaden that so they can catch more people effectively, those who have been accused of human rights violations, rather than people who have been involved in corruption, so there is more the government is looking at and they are waiting to see the move that russia makes. thanks forjoining us. the laboratory where scientists helped identify the rare nerve agent used in salisbury will receive what the government has described as a significant increase in funding. in his first major speech as defence secretary, gavin williamson confirmed plans to create a multi—million pound centre to counter the threat of chemical weapons, at the ministry of defence laboratory porton down. naomi grimley reports.

it's a sobering thought, most of the uk's chemical warfare capability has been tied up over the last few days in the small cathedral city of salisbury. so how well equipped would the uk be, if a country such as russia launched a larger attack than this? today, the defence secretary admitted that ministers should have thought more about this kind of threat. state—based dangers are increasing. back in 2010, we did not believe they posed us a credible threat. with the benefit of hindsight, this can at best be described as naive. russia, he said, was ripping up the international rule book. frankly, russia should go away, it should shut up. he brought forward a planned announcement. we are investing £48

million in a new chemical weapons defence centre, to maintain our cutting edge in chemical analysis and defence. this is the defence science and technology laboratory at porton down, shown here in a bbc documentary. it may be a world—class facility but since 2010, there have been painful cuts to the units which specialise in this kind of research. some experts also point to syria, arguing the west should have enforced red lines on chemical weapons there, and not allow them to be used with impunity. the rules have changed on the use of chemical weapons because we have done nothing about it, and it has been very salutary that here in the united kingdom, we have seen a weapon of mass destruction, a chemical weapon attack on our soil, the first ever. now, i think that is bringing it clearly home to the government that they must act. it was also announced today that thousands of front line troops will be vaccinated against anthrax. it may be a precaution but it

will start a debate, are we properly equipped for all the threats of an unpredictable world? you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain as the prime minister visits salisbury, for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. tests on a door from grenfell tower said it held back fire for only half as long as it was meant to. northamptonshire's county council leader resigns — after a government inspection recommends a complete restructure. we have all the news on the cheltenham festival, and there is news in football, ashley young and jack wilshire have been record, and there are also four new faces. aaron ramsay is a notable absentee

from the first wales squad named by ryan giggs. and owen farrell returns to fly half for england as eddiejonesd names a much changed side for their final six nationa game against ireland. police say tests carried out on a door from a flat in grenfell tower showed the door held back fire for only half as long as it was designed to. the housing secretary sajid javid told the commons that the government has ordered further tests — but stressed there was no evidence it's a systemic issue, and the risk to public safety is low. 71 people died and dozens were injured in the fire lets speak to our home affairs correspondent tom symonds. presumably these doors are still in existent is in other tower blocks as

well as some of the cladding that was involved? this was a sample of a door taken from grenfell tower, one which was not damaged in the fire, and it was submitted to a test which sees how well it resists fire, there is a heat behind the door, how well it stands up. they should have lasted 30 minutes but it lasted 15 minutes and so the police have said that raised concerns for them and they needed to tell the government. the government has put out its own statement which is to the effect that there are no wider safety concerns but this will be of great interest to the investigation into the fire because the police are investigating any potential criminal offences that might have led to what happened and clearly they need to know more about the door as wet as the cladding and the installation that was used to refurbish it in 2014, 20 15 that was used to refurbish it in 2014, 2015 -- as that was used to refurbish it in 2014, 2015 —— as well as. but the

door it was tested was not put in them, it was put in in 2012, earlier than that —— but the door it tested was not put in them. they might look at whether it was ok for the standards at the time and whether it should have been tested again during the refurbishment. where are we with the refurbishment. where are we with the investigation? we are in the middle of a long process, two investigations are central, one is the police, this is a majorjob for them, one of the most complex and technical investigations the metropolitan police has ever done. the police take priority, and after that we have the public inquiry, that we have the public inquiry, that will start soon, but it went the able to do some of the work of going to witnesses and some of the information that the police are dealing with until the police are finished because criminal prosecutions have got to take priority. that is a parallel track,

the police will find out if anyone has committed an offence and the public inquiry will look at whether there are any wider failures, like in the building regulation system, and whether there is anything we can say about this terrible tragedy which can prevent similar fires happening again. thanks forjoining us. the leadership of northamptonshire council has resigned. this follows a report in which it said the council should be abolished. the report into northamptonshire county council said living within budget constraints was not part of its culture, and recommended that it should be replaced with two new unitary authorities. our correspondentjo black is in northampton. a few recommendations from the independent inspector, that the council in northampton which represents northamptonshire is

scrapped and two unitary authorities are created, another recommendation is that government commissioners are sent here to the services for northamptonshire but sajid javid is yet to decide what to do about that, we are told he will make the decision in due course. two rather damning recommendations from that inspector's report, and heather smith, the councillor who was the leader here, at northamptonshire cou nty leader here, at northamptonshire county council, she has stepped down, resigned in the last half an hour. this is what she had to say. having been elected leader of northamptonshire county council in may 2016 | northamptonshire county council in may 2016 i have now made the decision to resign from that role with immediate effect. i gave an undertaking earlier this year that come what may i would oversee the budget setting process and the best

value inspection report. the budget is set and the inspection report has been published this morning. let media viewer a few more comments that she made, she was critical of what she said was vicious attacks by four local mps —— let me give you for the she said if the machinery of government turns against you you cannot win. she has resigned in the last half an hour. let me give you some background to the severe financial pressures that the council here is facing. it was dubbed by one of the local mps as one of the worst run authorities in the country and has been struggling financially for a while. earlier this year it imposed spending controls on its own money because they thought they were going to run out of cash this year. it has set next year ‘s budget, £48 million worth of cuts, many subsidies will go, 21 libraries will

close, training standards budget will be cut and there will be fewer road repairs, that sort of thing. people here are very concerned across northamptonshire and very exercised about the services they might lose. that report says this authority could be abolished and that two unitary authorities could be created and it could have government commissioners coming inside. a few comments from the report, way forward with a clean sheet leaving all the history behind it is required, one comment. in conclusion, living within budget constraints is not part of the culture of northa nts constraints is not part of the culture of northants county council. heather smith has resigned, but the council has pointed to the pressures they are facing, the costs of adult social care and children services, those costs are going up and the grant from central government have been reduced and they say that has added to their woes. thanks for joining us. i'm joined now byjonathan

carr—west, chief executive of the local government information unit. a recommendation that they should abolish the council. the severity of the report is striking, there is no punches pulled. we have seen real organisation in other places, and in dorset bay had created smaller unitary councils —— they had. the secretary of state said he was minded to create a single unitary committee in buckinghamshire, so this does happen, but to happen in this does happen, but to happen in this way, under such figures as, thatis this way, under such figures as, that is unusual. —— such severe criticism. it filed to do boring stuff well. —— filed. stuff well. -- filed. that is important, there are significant failings, and they got the strategy wrong, but i also filed to do the nuts and bolts, the daily grind ——

they also failed. you have got to convert the jargon into the basics and do that every day but clearly that did not happen. what does this mean for the people who are governed by this council? anxious times, for eve ryo ne by this council? anxious times, for everyone who works for the council and for all of the council ‘s because the proposal is that all of the council ‘s in northamptonshire should go and be replaced by two smaller unitary councils but also an anxious time for over 700,000 people who live in northamptonshire and rely on the services delivered by cou nty rely on the services delivered by county and district councils, the basic stuff of everyday life, schools, streets, are your elderly relatives being looked after? the important stuff. and has my money being utterly wasted. yes. we don't know what the future will look like

but it is important to point out that the recommendation is that these the —— is that the secretary of state has got to look at this, you can't impose this, but it is about the council is coming together, saying this is how we propose to go forward, so we welcome that emphasis and it is important that emphasis and it is important that those councils engage with local people because we know they can't work effectively if they don't have the legitimacy and support of the local community, and clearly that will be hugely damaged now so there is a big rebuilding job to do. is this a one—off? there is a big rebuilding job to do. is this a one-off? you would like to think so but we know from our research that eight out of ten council leaders don't have any faith in the sustainability of local government. industry experts think there's another half—dozen councils that are close to the brink and we need to focus on what has happened in northamptonshire but we should not let this just be about one council and we need to look at the way in which we fund and deliver local services. thanks forjoining

us. a 44—year—old man has beenjailed for at least 30 years, after admitting stabbing to death a woman while she was at work in an aldi supermarket in skipton just before christmas. neville hord pleaded guilty to murdering 30—year—old jodie willsher, who was the daughter of his former partner. the mother of one died at the scene. prosecutors described hord's motive for the killing as ‘revenge'. the crown prosecution service has ruled out a further review by prosecutors into the death of 13—month—old poppi worthington, in barrow—in—furness in december 2012. a coroner concluded in january that poppi had been sexually assaulted by her father, paul worthington, before she died of asphyxia. he denies any wrongdoing. the cps said no new evidence had emerged that could change its decision not to prosecute. poppi's mother said she was "extremely disappointed" by the decision. time for a look at the weather. we saw these pictures earlier and we

are going to show people, just explain. this is the north east, the snow in boston, do you recognise this character? frozen. absolutely, a character from the film, else. this character? frozen. absolutely, a characterfrom the film, else. —— elsa. yes, it is when she hitches up her skirt. there we go! we have got to show these. purely because we can. they still have problems with the snow in the north—east but this is being used as a tourist destination. this is great. a person dressed in a thick wet suit, this is inside the arctic circle. norwegian island. people go there, some of the best waves, better than southern europe, but the sea is only four degrees and bs outside is —15 —— the

sea degrees and bs outside is —15 —— the sea outside. you would do that in pembrokeshire? yes, but it is much warmer than that. that is relative. they are great pictures. it is a great place to visit. and now the northern lights? beautiful. nearer home, warnings already. yes, snow is on the way. we could have several centimetres falling by the end the weekend in some places and it is not just end the weekend in some places and it is notjust the weekend, could see it materialising on the hills tonight. the rain heading northwards. a relatively mild still. and through tomorrow, that cold siberian air takes its hills and. to

the south, it is still mild and under the influence of south—westerly winds. for scotland, temperatures lower by a couple of degrees. the snow keep piling up and there will be flooding issues. in perth and angus. over the hills, the snow. lower levels by the end the. across the north yorks moors, chilly and newcastle. showers to the south and newcastle. showers to the south and the west. tonight, the call that ta kes and the west. tonight, the call that takes hold and as the weather system wea ke ns takes hold and as the weather system weakens and pushes west, more turns to snow and it is much colder tomorrow night. especially across central and eastern areas. and with the biting wind, a shock to the system. scandinavian high—pressure sinking southwards, siberian air digging its hills and across the uk. the bridges on saturday 8—10d lower than today —— temperatures. because the air is so cold, the showers for

a snow at lower levels. one and two, perhaps four in the west. it is a strong wind and it will feel significantly colder. it will be a shock to the system for many given it was so springlike last weekend. and we have a fly on the eichmann to. on sunday, we could have snow across southern parts of the country. remi garde on the details through the next couple of days. —— we will firm up on the details. a big rugby day saturday, sporting events big rugby day saturday, sporting eve nts o n big rugby day saturday, sporting events on sunday, another cold day and significant travel disruption as and significant travel disruption as a result of that snow. you can stay up—to—date with the warnings. we will keep you updated as it goes. this is bbc news.

our latest headlines: the us, france, and germany have issued a joint statement with the uk, saying that russian action is the only plausible explanation for the poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter in salisbury. we do hold russia culpable for this brazen, brazen act and despicable act that's taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. a fire door taken from grenfell tower resisted flames for only half as long as expected when tested by police, but the housing secretary has told mps there is no evidence of wider problems. and the leader of northamptonshire county council has resigned, following a report that called for the council to be abolished. an independent inspection concluded failings left the organisation facing huge debts. sport now on afternoon live. it's known as st patrick's thursday at the cheltenham festival, it is indeed. day three of the cheltenham festival is underway — already, it has provided the usual

thrills and spills and today should be no different. lizzie greenwood hughes is at the racecouse for us. the feature race coming up soon and the punters hoping for a fairy tale from one of the favourite horses in the festival. yes, and it is unusual that for the first time, we have got a true great ones. but we have the feature race which is worth more money and we have two campaigners. cue card, who is 12, up against the last winner of the ruby chase. ruby walsh is out because of the nasty for yesterday. the rya nair chase walsh is out because of the nasty for yesterday. the ryanair chase is for yesterday. the ryanair chase is for horses not fast enough for the queen mother champion race and do not have enough stamina for the gold cup. so that goes on at 2:50pm and

we have another feature race for the best long—distance hurdlers on the planet. over three miles and there could be a fairy tale winner in that race. sam spinner, his trainer had cancer and nearly gave up his career and his jockey spends time in prison. they, in in the 3:30pm and eve ryo ne prison. they, in in the 3:30pm and everyone will go wild in cheltenham. and the irish fans will be going wild if they do win. in the press break—up. they have been going well this year. yes, the competition between great britain and ireland, including results over the cheltenham festival. ireland winning it for the last couple of years. the first day here looks like it would be britain's year but ireland storming back and gordon elliott shines for michael o weary, mr ryanair, and he is the winner of the

first two years. so ireland well up in the prestbury cup but still the day or two to go so we will have to see what happens. enjoy the rest of the afternoon. there are a number of surprise names in gareth southgate's squad for england's upcoming friendlies against the netherlands and italy. manchester united's ashley young and arsenal midfielder jack wilshere return to the fold, with four uncapped players named. burnley‘s james tarkowski and nick pope, plus swansea's alfie mawson and lewis cook, of bournemouth, have all been included, as southgate takes another look at his options, ahead of this summer's world cup. soi so i have got to now, leading into the world cup, looked at, who are the world cup, looked at, who are the players we believe can play at the players we believe can play at the level, who are the players that have done well for us in the past. there are clearly some inclusions of players play well for clubs and getting their first call—up. so there is a little bit more complex minefield to get through. head coach eddie jones

has rung the changes for saturday's six nations meeting with grand slam—chasing ireland. fly—half george ford has been dropped, with owen farrell moving to ten instead. dylan hartley returns to captain the side. while scrum—half danny care and forwardsjoe launchbury and dan cole all drop out of the starting xv, as england look to recover from back—to—back defeats. that is all the sport for now. now, across the bbc, it's the day when thousands of young people get behind the microphone — or in front of the camera — for school report. the focus of this year's project is helping young people to identify real news and filter out so—called ‘fake news'. let's cross live now to noel phillips, who has been meeting some of the young people visiting us at the bbc today. busy afternoon outside new broadcasting house and you can see a workshop and awake to encourage more young people into engineering and technical roles. let me show you

quickly for you guys at home, what goes into making tv. this is what we call a sat truck that transmits images and allows you guys to see us at home. it is a lot more technical than! we will speak to some very talented john people at this sat truck. these teenagers have been playing a game called i report. launched this morning, it gives young people an idea as to how journalism works. so they pretend, a sickly in the virtual world, they area bbc sickly in the virtual world, they are a bbc news journalist or editor and they have two navigate their wordy —— their way around checking sources and making sure the news they produce is credible and accurate. with me is kieran and his friends. how are you guys finding it so friends. how are you guys finding it so far? good! i was friends. how are you guys finding it so far? good! iwas in friends. how are you guys finding it so far? good! i was in your classroom last week and you guys

we re classroom last week and you guys were feeding back and telling us exactly how you wanted this game to be. for people at home, tell us about it. essentially, you assume the role of the bbc reporter and you are given the challenge of making the news stories at every couple of hours. and you have to find sources and information and check which are credible and which are not and post the right information. the storyline behind it is everybody had their data disappearing and social media accounts were locked out and your job is to find out what is going on and who has caused the shutdown on social media. so the game is very much a scenario and you have to navigate your way around what is false and what is real. how often she spent on social media, because it plays a big role in everybody‘s life? a lot of time. especially out

of school, you can connect to your friends and especially if you don't see them out of school. so i use social media a lot. and how well—prepared do you feel on social media when you come across a story thatis media when you come across a story that is not true and it is basically fa ke that is not true and it is basically fake news? well, it doesn't really prepare you that much. but this game is really helping people. fake news might make you start believing something fake and you might believe that for the rest of your life, but this can help you make —— tell the difference between real news and fa ke difference between real news and fake news which i like. wise words, and look at that! we are on the tv! let's move on. thank you so much. it is not often journalists like to trade their secrets. but huw edwards is one of many presenters the bbc

has sent out and about to teach young people about fake news and help them to understand the importance of reporting real news. hello. sorry to interrupt. how you? very good, we bright. mi:77:; ::w_;f~;— , ,. , a . ,.. this is part of bbc world service. this is part of the delight of school report today, you meet a wide range of people. and also, to talk to people about what they have got out of it and that is a bit ofa they have got out of it and that is a bit of a thrill. school report is about getting young people involved and asking intelligent questions, which they are all doing. and in this year, we have focused on how you can sort out stories and integrity and facts and truth and what is trustworthy and not. and by what is trustworthy and not. and by what i have heard so far, they have been thinking very intelligently about that, so it has been great. you have a fan base growing, look at

that! i didn't force them to come here, i promise you! you had been out and about in classrooms. sadly not in coventry, next time, i expect an invitation to commentary as well! i have visited a number of schools this year as part of the thrill of school report. to see what people are up to in terms of literacy skills, spotting stories, explaining how we choose stories, what makes a good story. what makes a good journalist, if you are curious, are you asking the right questions? are you asking the right questions? are you puzzled about what is going on in the world? it doesn't have to be the big wide world, it can be your local community and your school. they are alljournalistic schools. i visited a number of schools, one of them earlier this year was in catford, lewisham, south east london. i went along and we filmed a little report and we had a bit of fun. let's take a look. i have come back to school to talk

to students about what amuses, what makes a good news story and very importantly these days, to really give guidance on how to differentiate between what is true and what is false, real news if you like and fake news. the whole thing aboutjournalism is like and fake news. the whole thing about journalism is interesting like and fake news. the whole thing aboutjournalism is interesting in terms of what is the word i am looking for? accuracy, being precise. reporting things in a truthful and accurate way. i think it is a very important thing to empower people in this way, we are ina to empower people in this way, we are in a world where there is unlimited choice of information. it is providing a life skill, the ability to filter information and make an informed decision based on that. the bbc is duty—bound to be impartial to the best of its ability and is to provide facts which are reliable. we provide a service called reality check which is about fa ct called reality check which is about fact checking and has proved popular online and with radio listeners and

television viewers. people have an appetite for reliable information. my favourite part of today was learning about fake news and how you can maybe identify some of it. don't trust everything because sometimes, ican trust everything because sometimes, i can see it is not true. it is really obvious. sometimes, i am just a bit confused. sometimes, where you insert elements of the truth but then insert far more misleading stuff around those elements, it can be very difficult to try to put things, which is why i think providing tools for people to make that informed decision is more important today than it has ever been. so for me, it is a really important contribution. having too much fun in that classroom! you have a quick question for huw edwards. how did you get to the place where you are now?|j for huw edwards. how did you get to the place where you are now? i think lots of luck and a bit of hardware, the way. school newspaper which is what you are doing, and i carry that

on at university. and i tried for a job at the bbc as a trainee and luckily got a place on that. that is how the journey started. the have up up the work, well done. w up the work, well done. huw keep up the work, well done. huw edwards could —— and his career into seconds. thank you so much. from one legends to another, simon! look at his face, it was whether it is for that! thank you very much! i don't know how i feel about that! and you can see more stories by young reporters from the region, and all over the uk, on the bbc school report website: bbc. co. uk/schoolreport. police say tests carried out on a door from a flat in grenfell tower showed the door held back fire for only half as long as it was designed to.

the housing secretary, sajid javid, told the commons that the government has ordered further tests, but stressed there was no evidence it's a systemic issue, and the risk to public safety is low. nine months ago, we faced a loss of life and suffering on an unimaginable scale at grenfell. since then, significant efforts have been made by the government and others to support survivors to find new homes and keep people safe. however, i know that the matters that i raise today will raise questions, and i want to reiterate that, on the basis of expert advice my department has received, there is no evidence that risks to the public have changed. and i want to reassure honourable members that all possible steps are being taken to properly investigate the issues and to take action where needed. public safety is paramount and our position is clear, the events of 14th ofjune 2017 must never be allowed to happen again. i commend this statement to the house. joining me now is peter apps, editor of inside housing. just listening to sajid javid, you

reassured? not hugely, i have to say. the government has not yet done any kind of tests or investigation to see how many of this type of door are installed elsewhere or which company it is which is told them so it isa company it is which is told them so it is a stretch to be so confident. do we know if this door is still being manufactured ? do we know if this door is still being manufactured? it was manufactured by a company that is no longer in business. but they would have been installed around 2013. a big issue is that this would have been certified to british standards. toa been certified to british standards. to a testing regime. and if that has not detected this fault and it was installed , not detected this fault and it was installed, is that the case for the doors certified in the same way? that is the question, are these doors still out there? if you listen to what sajid javid was saying, his

confidence is based on the fact that when there has been other fires confidence is based on the fact that when there has been otherfires in high—rise flats, the fire has not spread out of the door routinely, so it is too much to think all fire doors like this. butjust based on the snapshot evidence from previous buyers, it is hardly a huge sample. nine months later, where'd you think we are? anybody in high—rise flat who may have had issues with the migratory and had it removed perhaps in some parts of the country, do you sense we are getting an idea of what has gone wrong? -- had issues with the cladding. the story today is important. previously, we focused on the outside of the building. but obviously, before people can be heard by the fire, it has to spread internally. so now we are moving to asking those questions about the high—rises, that is quite a big development. the advice to people at

the time was, stay in your flat. if the time was, stay in your flat. if the fire brigade had known those doors would not withstand, the advice would have been different. and the fired up attacks the people inside the flat and it stops the fire getting out into the areas people can escape from. if you listen to the evidence of survivors of grenfell, they talk about the corridors filling with smoke very quickly. so if the smoke was able to get out, it traps people, and that is one reason why fire drills also important. it is notjust the folks on the building itself but the issues of the risk assessments carried out. there were risk assessments in 2015 and 2016 at grenfell. yes, we have seen a risk assessment from 2012 noting there we re assessment from 2012 noting there were not cold smoke signals on all the doors but did not ask for that to be changed. the risk assessments in 2015 and 2016 have not been released publicly despite repeated calls but they would have been checked and signed off by that risk assessment. wondering if somebody is

watching right now and they have beenin watching right now and they have been ina watching right now and they have been in a tower block and they are watching you in that tower block and they have seen sajid javid say, there is no real cause for concern. do you share that view # it is really difficult because every tower block and every fire door is different. the government has said they will investigate further. those investigations need to be done before we can say wholeheartedly whether people are definitely safe. it is good of you to come, thank you very much. thanks. taking you to washington and the white house because very soon, the irish premier mr leo varadkar will arrive for talks with donald trump. topping the agenda the proposed trade war donald trump seems intent on launching, especially with the eu as part of the eu membership team,

leo varadkar is expected to talk to donald trump. and highly likely on the agenda is the poison attack in salisbury, in the uk. we will keep an eye on those pictures. and we will take you when they appear. in a moment, the business news. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live. the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain as the prime minister visits salisbury, for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. tests on a door from grenfell tower show it held back fire for only half as long as it was meant to. the government says the risk to public safety is low. northamptonshire's county council leader resigns, after a government inspection recommends a complete restructure. here's your business headlines on afternoon live: love it or hate it — the maker of marmite and dove soap

has chosen rotterdam over london for its headquarters. anglo—dutch consumer goods giant unilever say the company will move to a single legal entity in the netherlands, in an effort to become "more agile". they say the decision is "not about brexit". the toystore giant toys r us says it will close all 735 of its us stores as it winds down the company after failing to secure a buyer or a rescue deal. yesterday, it was announced that all uk toys r us shops will close in the next six weeks. airbus has warned that it could not give any new business to uk engineering giant gkn if it is taken over by turnaround specialist melrose — stressing the need for long—term investment. gkn makes wing components and other key aircraft parts for airbus, which is its biggest customer. melrose, which has mounted the hostile bid, responded by saying they ‘invest as if we were to own the business forever‘. as we've been hearing, unilever has chosen rotterdam over

london for its headquarters. they say it is nothing to do with brexit, what is it about. they say it is a very decision to make the company a single entity based in rotterdam. but this is a big deal. the company has annual uk sales of £1.8 billion, it sells a raft of well—known goods from marmite to ben &jerry‘s, of soap. they say they want to make the company more agile. it is nothing to do with the lack of confidence in britain ahead of brexit and they say the reverse, two parts will be housed in the uk and they will continue to operate out of their iconic building in blackfriars, london. they say uk jobs will not be affected and some may have teak relocate to rotterdam, but shares will be listed in london. whichever way you look at it, at a time of

such fragile confidence in the state britain's business, this is not helpful our business editor got a bit more detailfrom helpful our business editor got a bit more detail from the ceo paul polman earlier. well, we've made two decisions today and both of them are meant to make the company more agile, more focused and obviously create the longer term shareholder value, or continue to create that. we have announced that we will move to three divisions, two of them here located in the uk, which is the beauty and personal ca re which is the beauty and personal care division and the home care division which is about 60% of our business and fastest—growing, that secures about £1 billion a year. the second decision we've made is instead of having two legal strictures, we are now having one legal structure in the netherlands and that will allow us again once more to run our business little bit faster and more efficiently. in the us, the senate passing a bill to roll back banking regulations.

yes, we are referring to the. f act of 2010, put in place in the obama administration to prevent any crisis happening again, and it beefed up the controls and checks and balances the controls and checks and balances the banks had to undergo in the us. trump made a campaign promise to repeal the bill, calling it a disaster and has made good on his promise. somebody who knows more on thatis promise. somebody who knows more on that is here. joining us now to explain more is kim gittleson, our new york business correspondent. can you explain what is the dodd—frank act? can you explain what is the dodd-frank act? in the wake of the financial crisis, one keeping the regulator said the banking system was weak on was keeping enough assets on hand in a panic. the dodd—frank act instructed banks to keep assets on hand so they could not loan them out or make money on

them but it meant if and when there was another banking crisis and credit dried up, but have enough to pay their creditors. so what this bill does, it was passed by the senate, it has not been passed by the house so it is not law yet, but it lives some of those requirements. so the regulations stated 50 banks with more than $50 billion in assets would be subject to scrutiny. the new senate bill suggests only banks with more than $250 billion, a fivefold increase, must be subject to oversight by the us federal reserve. there is some leeway, thanks between 200 and 250 billion could be subject to scrutiny but many people say this relieves banks are burdensome regulations. many progressive democrats disagree and they say is that makes the system is safe, so we will see how it goes when it gets the house later, in a month. we have just had breaking news. the us treasury department has

just placed new sanctions against russian individuals, is that right? right, this is breaking news. just coming out in the past ten minutes. the us treasury department has sanctioned 19 individuals and five entities. they cited meddling in 2016 us presidential election and the cyber security attack that was attributed to russian agents earlier this year. these are the strongest sanctions yet for the trump administration on russia. one of the organisations they placed a sanction on is the internet research agency which is the group that many us security officials say was responsible for placing some of those fake news adverts which facebook and twitter have been struggling to justify. we will see how this plays out throughout the day. thanks very much. from the stock exchange. time for a look at the weather. many have seen great conditions

through the day but the sun came out as the weather system cleared away in southern areas. more showers to follow across southern and western parts. through the night, the rain turns to snow across the hills and here, frost. for many of us, given we have an and cloud, we willjust have lots of mist and low cloud. on friday, colder air coming have lots of mist and low cloud. on friday, colderair coming in and have lots of mist and low cloud. on friday, colder air coming in and the snow becomes increasingly more of an issue across scotland, several centimetres building up. mostly over the hills and settling snow over lower levels as temperatures expected to be 45 degrees below freezing. further south and west with a heavy showers, still relatively mild at when to care. that changes on friday night. into saturday, the easterly wind, the risk of snow showers more widespread. and it will feel bitterly cold with that strong east wind. hello, you're watching

afternoon live. the pressure on russia grows — as the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain in the diplomatic row over the poisoning of a spy. allies are standing alongside us saying this is part of a pattern of behaviour from russia. the evidence points towards russia and the responsibility must be borne by those who made the weapon and those who used the weapon. tests on a door from grenfell tower show it held back fire for only half as long as it was meant to. northamptonshire's county council leader resigns — after a government inspection recommends a complete restructure. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. yes, good afternoon. it was a sad moment for fans of one

of cheltenham's greats cue card as he was pulled up with five fences tojump in the ryanair chase at may well be his last appearance at the festival. it was won by balko des flo. the weather forecast? winter returns this weekend, biting easterly wind and growing concern about some disruptive snowfall and there are warnings which we will tell you about. thanks, helen. also coming up. chris morris asks how much homework teachers should be handing out, in school report. hello everyone — this is afternoon live. the pressure on russia is growing — as the international community begins to line up in support of britain in the diplomatic row over the poisoning of a russian double—agent, his daughter, and a british police officer. the leaders of france, germany, and the united statesjoined the uk in issuing a joint statement — condemning the use of

a military—grade nerve agent — saying this "constitutes the first offensive use" of a nerve agent in europe since the second world war". all this as the prime minister visited salisbury — to see for herself the scene of the attack. she called on russia to address all questions regarding the incident. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. theresa may in the quiet english town where events 11 days ago triggered this growing diplomatic row. visiting for the first time the scene of the crime — the first use of a military grade nerve agent on british soil. the consequences of this shocking act now reverberating around the world. i'm pleased to have been able to come down here to salisbury, to speak to people who responded to this terrible incident that took place. and, as you know, iannounced in the house of commons the action we are taking. we do hold russia culpable for this, this brazen, brazen act, and despicable act that has taken

place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. last night at the united nations, an emergency session of the security council, and an emphatic expression of support from donald trump's representative. no two nations enjoy a stronger bond than that of the us and the uk. ours is truly a special relationship, and when our friends in great britain face a challenge, the united states will always be there for them. always. and from the white house, confirmation that america agrees with theresa may on who poisoned sergei and yulia skripal. but are britain's allies willing to go further and take actions of their own? president macron spoke with theresa may this morning and he agrees there is no other plausible explanation for what happened in salisbury

and he says he will announce his own measures in the coming days. there's a global disgust at what has happened, and that is very important. and we will continue to make the case to our friends and allies that, as a committee of nations, we need to stand up to russia. but russia is undaunted. the government continuing to deny any involvement and now threatening to retaliate. translation: due to action, non—friendly actions, taken by the british against the russian federation, we are going to talk about retaliatory measures that we will take, we're working on them at the moment and we will take them as soon as possible. at the british embassy, diplomats and spies wait to hear if they too will be packing their bags. it seems inevitable. in a moment we will talk

to our correspondent vicki young at westminster. and richard galpin in moscow. but first to duncan kennedy in salisbury. the prime minister is in the area and might be talking to the police officer who suffered after this attack? that is why, nick bailey, we understand theresa may spent 30 minutes at the hospital where he and sergei skripal and yulia skripal we re sergei skripal and yulia skripal were taken. it was a private meeting and we are not expecting any media coverage of it and we do not know how long she spent with sergeant bailey. we know he has a serious condition but is making progress and he is able to speak to his family and no doubt he will have a —— have had a few words with theresa may. this is about the prime minister being a presence, and providing

reassurance, she came being a presence, and providing reassurance, she came to the locations connected with this attempted murder on sergei skripal and his daughter angie also went to the pub and other locations. —— and his daughter, and she also went to the pub. it is not a wiltshire police inquiry, it is with the counterterrorism squad, but theresa may was able to meet local business people and people insoles brick to reassure them, —— people in salisbury to reassure them. she went on to meet emergency responders and people who reacted to this incident when it unfolded two weeks ago. including those members of staff at the hospital and to sergeant bailey himself. a comprehensive visit and all parts of the joint effort from the government, the united states and france and germany have come out

ina and france and germany have come out in a statement with them, and theresa may will take heart that the international community is now united behind britain in their condemnation of what she called a despicable act. duncan, thanks for joining us. our chief political correspondent vicki young is at westminster. hugely significant, the joint statement backing the uk, because this includes the united states, france and germany. yes, the point is, theresa may has said from the beginning that she wants a robust response from the international community and today downing street said they felt the allies she had spoken to, several of them, had been very steadfast in their support. she will be very galvanised by this. the statement says this is the first offensive use of a nerve agent in europe since the second world war and they see this as an assault on uk sovereignty and they point the finger pretty clearly at rush and they go along with what britain has

said that it is highly likely that russia is responsible for the attack and has urged them to answer questions about their chemical weapons programme. they see this as a pattern of behaviour by russia which threatens not just a pattern of behaviour by russia which threatens notjust the uk but other countries in the west, as well. this is the of theresa may. i welcome the statement we have made with the united states and france and germany, and the support from our allies, and we have been very clear in attributing this act to russia. it is right that the government reacts in a robust way to what has happened here in salisbury and that is exactly what we have done. i've announced that we will be expelling 23 russian diplomats who are undeclared intelligence offices and that will have an impact on the intelligence network, and there will be other measures we will be taking, looking at extra powers we can take

in relation to hostile state activity making sure that people are not able to come into the uk when they are potentially involved in hostile state activity. jeremy corbyn got himself into trouble yesterday, because his own mps thought he was not strong enough on his line against russia and some said it was almost as if he was following the russian line of argument. he has been under pressure and this is what he said. the evidence points towards russia on this, therefore the responsibility must be borne by those that made the weapon and those that brought the weapon into the country and those that used the weapon, but what i was asking for is questions about the identity of the weapon and questions about the reference to the weapons convention and also the support of other allies, those are the questions i was asking,

that is what the opposition is for. there are still some there who feel he could be stronger, and jeremy corbyn still leaving open the possibility that it could be a rogue element within russia, but he is now saying he has been very clear that russia is responsible. we can go to our correspondent in moscow. we are expecting a tit—for—tat retaliation from the kremlin? yes, they say it will be reciprocal, but when this happens, we don't know, but the kremlin has said there will be a response soon. kremlin has said there will be a response soon. vladimir putin will make a final decision as to the measures and when it will happen and that the uk government will be informed first. by the russians. essentially, because it is reciprocal, we assume it will be expulsion of british diplomats based here at the british embassy in

moscow and amongst them we expect there will be british spies. one other interesting line which has come out in the last few minutes, a deputy russian foreign minister is now saying that neither russia or the soviet union ever had a programme to develop the novichok nerve agent which is the nerve agent having been identified in the poisoning of sergei skripal, so they are denying they ever developed this nerve agent. this flies in the face of everything that has been said by russian dissidents who moved to the united states and who said he was pa rt united states and who said he was part of the programme and he was involved in it and has written in great detail about the programme here in russia, which started in the 19705 here in russia, which started in the 1970s or the 1980s. so nothing to do with us? yes, they have said a lot of things about why it is not russia and this is the latest. they have

been allegations that it was the work of the british intelligence agencies at porton down which has a lot of chemical and biological capabilities, so there have been different allegations put out by russian officials over the last few days and this one about novichok is just the latest. richard in moscow, and to our other correspondents, thanks forjoining us. we are now going to go to washington where leo varadkar has been in talks with donald trump. they have been talking about various issues, but including sanctions as a result of what happened in salisbury. the famous oval office.|j the famous oval office. i started off down in texas. great place. are

you going to come and visit us soon? yes, i love it. i have property there and i hope to see it again. do you play golf? i do. do you? no, but i'm always willing to learn. interesting border. two interesting borders, one which where you are, right, and it is my great honour to have the very popular prime minister of ireland with us. we are having some good talks about trade and military and cyber and the other things that we are talking about, the relationship is outstanding and only getting better and it really is a very special group of people, a tremendous number of irish are living in the united states. these are truly wonderful people and we love them. mr prime minister, great

to have you. it is my pleasure, thanks for the invitation. i will be in new york on saturday for the parade. marching down fifth ave. in new york on saturday for the parade. marching down fifth avelj would like to do it with you. does it go past trump tower? yes, it does for top i used to watch it all the time, i would watch it all the time, so time, i would watch it all the time, so you will be there on saturday? yes, many of the american side of my family came through new york. that would make sense. this is the first time in the oval office.|j would make sense. this is the first time in the oval office. i was telling president macro i was here asa telling president macro i was here as a congressional intern in 2000 but they did not let me into the oval office —— iwas but they did not let me into the oval office —— i was telling president macro. but now we do. we have made great progress. any comment about vladimir putin? is

russia behind the instant question what i spoke —— behind the instant? i have spoken to the prime minister and it is something which should never have happened and we are taking it seriously. as are many others. what about the story? the story was very false. we have a new incredible secretary of state we have someone for ideas and i got to know a lot of people. i've been in washington for little more than the year but some have been here for 30-40 year but some have been here for 30—40 years for the there will a lwa ys 30—40 years for the there will always be change. it was a false story, very exaggerated. there will a lwa ys story, very exaggerated. there will always be change and i think you wa nt to always be change and i think you want to see change and i also want to see different ideas. larry cutler

just came in and i think he will be outstanding as the economic adviser, so we outstanding as the economic adviser, so we look forward to it, but we will talk to you about it later, thank you very much. thank you everybody. thank you very much. studio: that is clearly the end of the news conference as far as the president is concerned. to pick up on the developments in the ongoing crisis developing after the poisoning in salisbury. with me in the studio isjohn loff, associate fellow of the russia programme at chatham house and former nato representative in moscow. i want to talk about the statement issued by france, germany, the united states, backing the uk. that is significant? it is significant for the british government and this isa for the british government and this is a bigger victory and what they would have hoped for, they want to demonstrate to moscow that there is solidarity at the root of the nato

alliance and for those countries to state that this impacts the security of everyone, that's a big statement, and there is a basis now at nato to talk about this further. a rather less strong statement which ex presses less strong statement which expresses deep concern from nato, and you tend to roll your eyes when they express deep concern, they did that when russia annexed crimea, but to get this backing from paris and berlin and the united states, and for president trump to come down on the right side of the line as far as the right side of the line as far as the uk are concerned and say that he believes russia is responsible for this and they take serious do what the uk is saying and they demonstrate this will notjust fizzle out that seriously. russia are now saying that they or the soviet union never dealt with this nerve agent but the facts suggest

otherwise. i'm no expert on chemical weapons, but to have somebody who was involved in that development in russia now in the united states telling the story, very detailed story, interesting that the russians did not issue the denial when they we re did not issue the denial when they were given 36 hours notice so this is all about muddying the waters and creating confusion, this fits a pattern. you have no doubt we will get some sort of retaliation, british diplomats being kicked out of moscow question up inevitable. —— moscow? i gig e

gig m f», f- agvff: f-za ave a broad hint that the minister gave a broad hint that the uk authorities might start to look at this more seriously but it has to do that in a rather subtle fashion because due process has got to be observed. you are a former nato representative in moscow and you understand what would hurt the russians and what might make them think twice. is it money? is itjust the fact that the world is beginning to unite against them? a number of things. they do fear the fact that nato will mount a serious military response over the longer term, rearming and developing a different defence posture and making it clear that it will defend its interests on its eastern borders and that it will continue, western countries will pf°p up continue, western countries will prop up the ukraine, for example, and that this is for the long—term. the soviet union lost the cold war because it could not afford to

compete and there are indications that russia cannot afford this over the long—term but they are trying to exploit the visible witnesses in our alliances in our societies, believing that we don't really have the commitment to go that extra mile in the way that we did in the cold war. have theyjust started another cold war? we have been in a form of confrontation for the last, probably, five years at least, which some would say is a new cold war, but we have to be careful that terminology, but the russians see this that they are at war with the west but this involves the use of different instruments in different ways and this will take place in a different arena, and we are seeing them use these instruments, quite effectively, but on other occasions rather clumsily, testing our resolve, and this is a key test of our resolve, this is the gauntlet thrown down to us. can we get the

support of the key allies question up support of the key allies question up france have a wobble last night but we had a clearer statement from them today —— the key allies? this will indicate that within nato they will indicate that within nato they will look at this very seriously, to call russia to account, to make sure that the chemical weapons convention is properly observed. this could be rather embarrassing for russia and that might be part of the russian system which are not comfortable with this and it will be interesting to see how this develops. the uk is going to throw up close, look at what happened in the alexander litvinenko murder, there were russian fingerprints all over it from british airways aircraft to tea pots from british airways aircraft to teapots in a cafe in london, and i think the investigation will throw up think the investigation will throw up some very interesting facts. thanks forjoining us. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain as the prime minister visits

salisbury, for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. tests on a door from grenfell tower said it held back fire for only half as long as it was meant to. the government says the risk to public safety is low. northamptonshire's county council leader resigns — after a government inspection recommends a complete restructure. and now to the sport. there is a bittersweet moment at the cheltenham festival. there is news in football, ashley young and jack wilshire have been recalled for england. there are also four new faces for the friendlies with the netherlands and italy. aaron ramsay is a notable absentee from the first wales squad squad squad named by ryan giggs. the arsenal midfielder will miss the china cup to have a "small procedure" during the break. real madrid's gareth bale is named. and owen farrell returns to fly half for england as eddiejones names a much changed side for their final six nationa game against ireland. back with more just after 330.

police say tests carried out on a door from a flat in grenfell tower showed the door held back fire for only half as long as it was designed to. the housing secretary sajid javid told the commons that the government has ordered further tests — but stressed there was no evidence it's a systemic issue, and the risk to public safety is low. 71 people died and dozens were injured in the fire in london lastjune. lucinda adam reports. a little earlier our home affairs correspondent tom symonds explained how the tests had been carried out. this was a sample of a door taken from grenfell tower, one which was not damaged in the fire, and it was submitted to a test which sees how well it resists fire, there is heat behind the door, to see how how well it stands up. they should have lasted 30 minutes but it lasted 15 minutes. so the police have said that raised concerns for them and they needed to tell the government.

the government has put out its own statement which is to the effect that there are no wider safety concerns but this will be of great interest to the investigation into the fire because the police are investigating any potential criminal offences that might have led to what happened here. and clearly they need to know more about the door as well as the cladding and the installation that was used to refurbish it in 2014, 2015. but the door it tested was not put in then, it was put in in 2012, earlier than that. they might look at whether it was ok for the standards at the time or whether it should have been tested again during the refurbishment. nine months on, where are we with the investigation? we are in the middle of a very long process — two investigations are central.

one is the police, this is a majorjob for them, one of the most complex and technical investigations the metropolitan police has ever done. the police take priority. after that we have the public inquiry, that will start soon, but it won't be able to do some of the work of going to witnesses and some of the information that the police are dealing with until the police are finished because criminal prosecutions have got to take priority. that is a parallel track. the police will find out if anyone has committed an offence and the public inquiry will look at whether there are any wider failures. like in the building regulation system, and whether there is anything we can say about this terrible tragedy which can prevent similar fires happening again. that was our correspondent at g re nfell tower. a 44—year—old man has beenjailed for at least 30 years, after admitting stabbing to death

a woman while she was at work in an aldi supermarket in skipton just before christmas. neville hord pleaded guilty to murdering 30—year—old jodie willsher, who was the daughter of his former partner. the mother of one died at the scene. prosecutors described hord's motive for the killing as ‘revenge'. the crown prosecution service has ruled out a further review by prosecutors into the death of 13—month—old poppi worthington, in barrow—in—furness in december 2012. a coroner concluded in january that poppi had been sexually assaulted by her father, paul worthington, before she died of asphyxia. he denies any wrongdoing. the cps said no new evidence had emerged that could change its decision not to prosecute. poppi's mother said she was "extremely disappointed" by the decision. the leader of northamptonshire county council has resigned after a report recommended that the council should be abolished. the report by a government inspector said living within budget constraints was not part of the council's culture, and recommended that it should be replaced with two new unitary authorities. our correspondentjo black

is in northampton. this council was recently dubbed by one of the local mps as the worst run authority in the country. it is facing severe financial pressures and problems and has done now for a while. it imposed a control on its spending earlier this year because it thought it was going to run out of cash and it has put together next yea r‘s of cash and it has put together next year's budget and in that are £4o million worth of cuts, things like bus subsidies will grow, around 21 libraries will close —— will grow. local people are concerned about those measures. we are concerned the limo —— we are standing outside this brand—new council building and already the council is thinking of selling it off to raise about £50 million, that is how bad things are. the leader heather smith, well, she

was delayed until a few hours ago, she stepped down and this is what she stepped down and this is what she had to say, she said she thought she had to say, she said she thought she had to say, she said she thought she had been made a scapegoat. the personal pressure of vicious personal attacks by four local mps seeking to make me scapegoat has not been present for anyone to witness. i have continued to fight for fairer funding for northamptonshire residence in spite of the personal attacks. but as i was told a few days ago, if the machinery of government has turned against you then you cannot win. strong words from heather smith, she is reacting to the report which has been published by the independent inspector, two recommendations which are worth looking at, one that the council is completely abolished and two new unitary authorities are set up, and another recommendation is

that government commissioners are sentin that government commissioners are sent in to run the services here in northamptonshire. people here are very concerned about this, they are worried about the services that could be affected and that could go. a few comments from the report, a way forward with a clean sheet leaving all the history behind is required, says the inspector, and living within budget constraints is not part of the culture of northamptonshire county council. thanks forjoining us. time for a look at the weather. many have seen some grey and damp conditions, but the sunshine came out as the weather system cleared away in southern areas, with more showers to follow, though, in southern and western areas, and we will also see the rain turned to snow across the hills. so a frost but for many of us, given we have a breeze and cloud, we have missed and low cloud as we start the friday

morning. through friday we start to have colder air, the snow will become increasingly more of an issue across scotland, several centimetres, mostly for the hills but also at lower levels as temperatures are only expected to be 4-5 temperatures are only expected to be 4—5 below freezing and they will also give away in the north—west of england, and further south and west still relatively mild but that all changes through friday night. we are bringing in the easterly wind and the risk of snow showers is more widespread on saturday. it will feel bitterly cold with the strong east wind. this is bbc news.

our latest headlines: the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain, as the prime minister visits salisbury for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. we do hold russia culpable for this brazen, brazen act and despicable act that's taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. a fire door taken from grenfell tower resisted flames for only half as long as expected when tested by police, but the housing secretary has told mps there is no evidence of wider problems. and the leader of northamptonshire county council has resigned, following a report that called for the council to be abolished. an independent inspection concluded failings left the organisation facing huge debts. sport now on afternoon live. we are talking cheltenham and some

rather sad news, one of the sta lwa rts rather sad news, one of the stalwarts of the festival. yes, it could be the last time we see cue ca rd could be the last time we see cue card at cheltenham. he was given a huge cheer and a round of applause from the grandstand at cheltenham, after so many great moments there. the winner of the champion bumper back in 2010 — that's the most prestigious flat race in the national hunt calendar. he won today's race, the ryanair chase, back in 2013, but he was pulled up byjockey paddy brennan today, with six fences to jump. you can see the 12 year old at the back of the field here. that was a disappointment for the punters, but they got a big surprise at the finish. odds—on favourite un de sceaux beaten by balko des flos, ridden by davy russell, who's having a brilliant week, and owned by michael o'leary. handy for him — he's the ryanair owner and has sponsored the race, so he could hand the prize money to himself. the feature race — the stayers' hurdle — isjust under way. we will hopefully bring you the latest on that in a moment.

and new names in gareth southgate's england squad. this is a squad that will definitely raise some eyebrows — as england and southgate look to test out something different in the upcoming friendlies against the netherlands and italy. i think, though, on paper it's not a squad from which an abundance of depth or quality will immediately jump out. four uncapped players have been named. burnley‘s solid season has been rewarded with call—ups for defenderjames tarkowski and keeper nick pope. bournemouth midfielder cook has been called up for the second time — you may remember he helped england's u2o squad lift the world cup last year. manchester united's ashley young and arsenal midfielderjack wilshere return to the fold, as southgate takes another look at his options, ahead of this summer's world cup. so i've got to now, leading into a world cup, look at — who are the players we believe can play at the level, who are the players that have done

well for us in the past? are playing well for clubs and are getting their first call—up. so there's a little bit more complex minefield to get through. arsenal midfielder aaron ramsey was a notable absentee as ryan giggs named his first squad as wales manager... execs acted it was good times had minor surgery. we have been in discussion with arsenal over the last couple of weeks and he has got a small procedure. it is the ideal time during that international break to get that done. he will be in the squad tonight for the game against ac milan, but, no, it is a good time to get this done. and, yes, it is a blow obviously because he is a quality player, but it is the best

thing to do going into the future and for aaron. head coach eddie jones has rung the changes for saturday's six nations meeting with grand slam—chasing ireland. fly—half george ford has been dropped, with owen farrell moving to ten instead. dylan hartley returns to captain the side. while scrum—half danny care and forwardsjoe launchbury and dan cole all drop out of the starting xv, as england look to recover from back—to—back defeats. warren gatland has brought dan biggar back at fly—half for wales, as they aim for a second—placed finish in this year's championship. he takes over from gareth anscombe, who drops to the bench. justin tipuric and taulupe faletau keep their back—row places, whilejosh navidi takes over at open—side from james davies. still six to jump at cheltenham. you can still six to jump at cheltenham. you ca n follow still six to jump at cheltenham. you can follow that on radio 5 live. that's all the sport for now. thank you very much. the united states has expanded its sanctions against russia, in response to allegations that

moscow meddled in the 2016 us presidential election, including cyber attacks. the kremlin has denied all allegations. let's speak to our correspondent gary o'donoghue, who's in washington. how significant is this? it is significant, there are 19 individuals they have named, plus five separate entities including groups like the military intelligence in russia, the gi you and the fsb as well. and they say, this is their quota, the administration is confronting malign russian cyber activity including that attempted interference in us elections, destructive cyber attacks and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure. so it is notjust elections, it is also things like the malware that they believe the russians were behind that attacked certain hospitals in the us and in the uk previously. and there is a

certain overlap between this list and that list of indictments if you remember that the fbi publish, robert mueller the special council published, in terms of the russian interference in the election, centring around this organisation called the internet research agency which they said was the harp for organising these fake news accounts, these fake twitter accounts, these attem pts these fake twitter accounts, these atte m pts if these fake twitter accounts, these attempts if you like to influence things. and added that is what is going on here and the investigation to that agent attack. united states, we saw it from the president, he is getting more and more angry. yes, we saw an unequivocal backing in a press co nfe re nce saw an unequivocal backing in a press conference he had with the irish taoiseach, the backing for the conclusion that britain come to in terms of who was responsible for the attack in salisbury. the us has also

joined that statement signed by the french and the uk condemning in very strong terms the activity at the un. but it does appear that of all the things that russia likes the least, it is the sanctions side of things. that does seem to be the area where they get the most angry and it seems to hurt them the most, not being able to travel and get hold of money and foreign accounts. so this may be and foreign accounts. so this may be a smart move by the americans in that sense, because rhetoricjust flows off and it doesn't seem to matter to the kremlin in that way. thank you very much, from washington. our diplomatic correspondent jonathan marcus is in nato. and the uk could be satisfied with what they are hearing at the moment. he and i think they can, it is interesting

that almost exactly the same form of words is being used at the nato headquarters, by the lanes, by the city general. the same wording in the four nation statement that came out early in the day. if radiology being repeated by the british prime minister theresa may. —— phraseology. rallying around three orfour key points phraseology. rallying around three or four key points there is no other plausible explanation for what happened in salisbury other than russia was involved, that russia is in breach of its obligations under the chemical weapons convention, that russia must make a full this of its activities. and crucially, that what russia did on the streets of a british city is just one part of a much broader pattern of russian behaviour which nato here in brussels and many of its key allies in capitals around europe and the united states are increasingly worried about. the issue of article

five, the principle that an attack on one member of nato is an attack on them all, it is their disquiet about where this could be going? no, i don't think so. there has been no recourse to article five as you mentioned. that, ithink, would be for a much more significant attack in the sense that would require a military response. it would be up to the british government to raise that. even the consultation mechanism at nato, the formal mechanism at nato, the formal mechanism which will be done under article four of the nato treaty, that has not been invoked by britain and they have been happy with the day—to—day mechanics. they had a meeting of nato ambassadors yesterday and they are having another today and they will be briefed, it is under way now, they will be briefed by the british national security adviser. so the existing avenues are being pursued. 0f existing avenues are being pursued. of course, the crucial question is,

words are important, but are any of these sympathetic and supportive words ultimately going to be turned into concerted action against the russian government? from brussels, thank you very much. now, across the bbc, it's the day when thousands of young people get behind the microphone — or in front of the camera — for school report. the focus of this year's project is helping young people to identify real news and filter out so—called ‘fake news'. let's cross live now to noel phillips, who has been meeting some of the young people visiting us at the bbc today. iam in i am in the background, if i go like that, there i am! give us a wave! look at that! we are inside the bbc‘s newsroom where the news happens. this is world news. we have domestic news to the right. and these are the people who work very ha rd every these are the people who work very hard every day to bring you news. young people up and down the country

had been doing their bit to generate great stories and films and pieces of radio. fake news is one of the most talked about subjects and so we have a responsibility to ensure young people have the skills to know if stories are real and if they are not. we have been giving young people a taste of what it is like to bea people a taste of what it is like to be a bbc journalist. people a taste of what it is like to be a bbcjournalist. and they have been enjoying it! one of the big issuesis been enjoying it! one of the big issues is fake news. my colleague chris morris, from the bbc‘s reality check team, has been in nottingham with some young people speaking to them about a subject that is very close to their hearts. for anyone involved with schools, it's the big question, how much time should be spent on homework? you know the deadline, i don't want to see anything late. off you go. at suton community academy, they are trying to get the

balance right. what do the school reporters think? do you think how mark watt hope you academically? yes, because homework helps you for your next lesson. do you think you get too much homework? yes, sometimes. in subjects like art, i think the homework will not be useful. reality check and school report have teamed up. they say year nine pupils averaging up to three hours homework on an average night are up to ten times more likely to end up with good gcses than those who don't. but how much is too much? if you get too much and have to get it done really quickly, you still have to do stuff around the house. it can be really stressful because you get so much and it can be difficult, but it's also helping you. schools in this country are also now given

flexability in setting homework levels. how do we compare with other systems around the world? in china, pupils are given the most homework and are amongst the highest achievers academically. but in italy, despite also having a lot of homework, results aren't that good. in finland, homework is minimised compared to the uk to allow for more extra curricular activities, and they have one of successful education systems in the world. when it comes down what can each people cope with? if you are under pressure and, when you take into account different schools and home lives, it can easily become too much, counter—productive. our conclusion, homework is important, it does make a difference, but the does come a point where handing out more and more

went hand in hand with better results. in all, work/life balance is a big factor in schools too. this is sutton community academy reporting for bbc news school report. welcome to all. a year ago, we hardly used the phrase fake news and it is now dominating our lives, what do you think about it? as young people, we have so much social media, the fact we are a lot more exposed to it. ifeel like exposed to it. i feel like social media and ourselves, we need to know how to spot fake news to tailor it to get it out of our social media feeds. it sounds so clever, like a scientist, i want to ask you, do you trust the things you read on social media? i don't always trust the things i need —— i read on social media because sometimes it seems too good to be true. and some people

post thingsjust to good to be true. and some people post things just to make a joke out of it and some people take it seriously and spread it as if it is real news. but i think that is why, thatis real news. but i think that is why, that is one of the main reasons i don't believe in the things i see on social media. that is why the bbc has launched a new game called i reporter which allows you to be bbc journalists and to see the process we go through when it comes to getting a story on the tv or radio or online and the checks we make. tell the viewers about the game. the game is all about picking out which is fake news and which is real news and it gives you the insight of what it is like to be a reporter inside the bbc. and along the way, you get messages, e—mails and video calls from different acquaintances and people. and i feel like it is a great game for people that don't know much about fake news. and it

kind of shows a bit of insight to people that are gullible and in a way that it helps them. fantastic, thank you so much. before we had back to simon, it is only right we try and spread a bit of wisdom and tell people the number one think to look out for online in order to avoid reposting or tweeting about fa ke avoid reposting or tweeting about fake news. always make sure whatever news you like or share, check if it is fake first because that is feeding back onto your feed at the end of the day. even if it is real, don't always spread it because not everybody wants to hear some sort of news. and if you are thinking it might be real news, go and check on the bbc website to make sure it is real. i love about you guys the trust you have in the bbc. and we adore that trust and we never take it for granted. that is what today's bout, giving young people the

opportunity to be real—life journalists and understand the procedures and editorial procedures we go through when it comes to getting a story on air. you can find out much more about school report on what has been happening in your area, where should people go? think you so much. simon, back to you. it is good we young and stick together! thank you very much! no need to laugh quite so much! palaces here. in a moment, the business news. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live. the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain as the prime minister visits salisbury, for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. tests on a door from grenfell tower show it held back fire for only half as long as it was meant to. the government says the risk to public safety is low. northamptonshire's county council leader resigns, after a government inspection recommends a complete restructure. here's your business

headlines on afternoon live: love it or hate it — the maker of marmite and dove soap has chosen rotterdam over london for its headquarters. anglo—dutch consumer goods giant unilever say the company will move to a single legal entity in the netherlands, in an effort to become "more agile". they say the decision is "not about brexit". the toystore giant toys r us says it will close all 735 of its us stores as it winds down the company, after failing to secure a buyer or a rescue deal. yesterday, it was announced that all uk toys r us shops will close in the next six weeks. airbus has warned that it could not give any new business to uk melrose — stressing the need for long—term investment. gkn makes wing components and other key aircraft parts for airbus, which is its biggest customer. melrose, which has mounted

the hostile bid, responded by saying they ‘invest as if we were to own the business forever‘. tough times on the high street. another big retailer is struggling at the moment? yes, sweden‘s h&m — the world‘s second—largest clothes retailer — has reported flat sales for the first quarter of its financial year, they‘re not keeping up with their biggest competitor, the owner of zara, inditex. they are blaming the bad weather. last month, the company warned that its main budget fashion brand was having to cut prices to shift stock. over the past decade, we have seen revenue increase, lots of new shops opening up. but they have struggled to keep that level of profit—making up, they have not transitioned with people moving online, they have not

paid attention to those budget competitors appearing on the high street as well as some of the other retailers. so lots of things going on. earlier, i spoke to sam dover, senior retail analyst at mintel. i think what is happening at h&m, it mirrors what is going on in the widerfashion market. a lot of increased competition and the growth in online means people are less brand loyal and shopping around a lot more. we have so much more access to so lot more. we have so much more access to so many more lot more. we have so much more access to so many more brands and if you cannot find the right product at the right price, you can easily go elsewhere and that is the challenge a lot of these mainstream retailers are facing now. the 2012 increase in tuition fees in england is having an impact — in particular — on part—time students. yes, according to some sutton trust research. they have said those increases in tuition fees five years ago resulted in over 40,000 lost potential part—time students. they say those

numbers were declining anyway, but the introduction of those fees accelerated the process. but they say the open university is losing out even more because a lot of their courses which fall below degree level a re courses which fall below degree level are not eligible for loans. so less people replying to do the open university courses. they have had a drop of 63%. so a lot going on here. iamjoined by drop of 63%. so a lot going on here. i am joined by professor claire callender, the lead author of that research at the sutton trust. what we re research at the sutton trust. what were your main takeaway is from the research? well, as you rightly say, there has been a massive drop in participation. 40% of that can be attributed to the rise in fees that happened in 2012, 20 13. attributed to the rise in fees that happened in 2012, 2013. this matters for widening participation and for improving the skills in the existing workforce. part—time stu d e nts existing workforce. part—time students are different from

full—time students, they are older, they have family commitments and they have family commitments and they are working. part—time study gives older people an opportunity to go to university that they may not have had first time around. it also gives them opportunities to rhys gilland up gives them opportunities to rhys gill and up skill. so to improve their employment positions. why do you think the increase in tuition fees has affected part—time students in particular? so much more than full—time. loans were introduced for the first time for part—time students. and what we know is that older people, given their responsibilities, they are much more price sensitive than younger stu d e nts price sensitive than younger students and more likely to be debt averse. so older people are much more hesitant about taking out loa ns. more hesitant about taking out loans. compared to younger full—time students. interesting stuff, thanks

very much right, ok! let‘s look at the markets. the last three sessions have been in the red. the third—largest company unilever, after the news it is moving to one base in rotterdam, it is down 1.3%. tesco has been a top riser all day thanks to the appointment of a new chief technology officer which has happened today. see you later, thank you very much. the motor industry should finance a clean airfund, and new laws should be passed to clean up the poisonous air in parts of the uk. these are among the conclusions reached by mps who sit on four parliamentary committees, and who‘ve joined forces to call for a new clean air act. here‘s our environment analyst, roger harrabin. the air in many of britain‘s cities is officially unfit to breathe. mps are angry that despite a series

of court defeats, the government still hasn‘t cleaned it up. the young and old are particularly at risk, and the un children‘s organisation unicef is demanding that britain‘s children get clean air. the evidence shows the impact is extremely severe, we are seeing children‘s lungs are not developing as they should, we are seeing a risk to children‘s immune system and even the deterioration of children‘s brain development — and these impact children throughout their lives. vehicles produce 80% of nitrogen—based pollution. the government aims to end sales of new conventional diesel and petrol vehicles by 2040, but india will do it ten years earlier. over successive years, over many governments, this issue has not been given the priority it deserves and everybody has a right to breathe clean air, so we want to see the government put public health right at the heart of this issue.

many want to see a clean airfund. in a statement, the industry said... but car engines are not the only source of vehicle emissions. tyres creating friction on the road make dust pollution too, so do brakes. the government says air pollution is getting better, which it is. it‘s promising a new air strategy later in the year, but it may be aiming at a moving target because the latest science suggests, no proof yet, but suggests air pollution at very low levels could be linked with alzheimer‘s and attention deficit in children. this is no easy problem. time for a look at the weather.

hello. many have seen grey conditions through the day, but the sun came out as the weather system cleared away in southern areas. more showers to follow across southern and western parts. through the night, the rain turns to snow across the hills and here, a frost. for many of us, given we have a breeze and cloud, we willjust have lots of mist and low cloud. on friday, colder air coming in and the snow becomes increasingly more of an issue across scotland, several centimetres building up. mostly over the hills, and settling snow over lower levels, as temperatures expected to be 4—5 degrees below freezing. further south and west, with the heavy showers, still relatively mild. that changes on friday night. into saturday, the easterly wind, the risk of snow showers more widespread. and it will feel bitterly cold

with that strong east wind. hello, you‘re watching afternoon live. today at 4:00pm: theresa may visits salisbury — she praises the work of the first responders and says she has no doubt who was behind the poison attack. we do hold russia culpable for this brazen, brazen act and despicable act that‘s taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. the pressure on russia grows as the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain in the diplomatic row over the poisoning of a spy and his daughter. tests on a door from grenfell tower show it held back fire for only half as long as it was meant to. northamptonshire‘s county council leader resigns after a government inspection recommends a complete restructure. coming up on afternoon live all the sport — holly. we have dragged you away from the

tv, because presumably you are watching cheltenham ? tv, because presumably you are watching cheltenham? the big race of the day, it was penhill in his first race for nearly a year. we be talking about gareth southgate who has named his world cup squad and there are a few. let‘s get a weather update with helen. it is an important forecast this weekend, a blast of siberian air with this weekend, a blast of siberian airwith an this weekend, a blast of siberian air with an increasing threat of significance, possibly disruptive snow. there are warnings out and i will fill you in in about half an hour. thanks helen. also coming up: we‘ll hear from students from around the country in a special school report edition of news nationwide. hello everyone, this is afternoon live. the pressure on russia is growing, as the international community begins to line up in support

of britain in the diplomatic row over the poisoning of a russian double—agent, his daughter, and a british police officer. the leaders of france, germany, and the united statesjoined the uk in issuing a joint statement, condemning the use of a military—grade nerve agent, saying this "constitutes the first offensive use" of a nerve agent in europe since the second world war". all this as the prime minister visited salisbury to see for herself the scene of the attack. she called on russia to address "all questions" about the incident. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. theresa may in the quiet english town, where events 11 days ago triggered this growing diplomatic row. visiting for the first time the scene of the crime, the first use of a military grade nerve agent on british soil. the consequences of this shocking act now reverberating around the world. i'm pleased to have been able to come down here to salisbury, to speak to people who responded to this terrible incident

that took place. and, as you know, iannounced in the house of commons yesterday the action we are taking. we do hold russia culpable for this, this brazen, brazen act, and despicable act that has taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. last night at the united nations, an emergency session of the security council, and an emphatic expression of support from donald trump‘s representative. no two nations enjoy a stronger bond than the united states and the united kingdom. ours is truly a special relationship. when our friends in great britain face a challenge, the united states will always be there for them. always. and from the white house, confirmation that america agrees with theresa may on who poisoned sergei and yulia skripal. the united states shares the uk‘s assessment that russia is responsible for the reckless nerve agent attack on a british citizen and his daughter.

but are britain‘s allies willing to go further and take actions of their own? president macron spoke with theresa may this morning and agrees there is no other plausible explanation for what happened in salisbury, and he says he will announce his own measures in the coming days. there is a global disgust at what has happened, and that‘s very important, and we will continue to make the case to our friends and allies that, as a committee of nations, we need to stand up to russia. but russia is undaunted. the government continuing to deny any involvement and now threatening to retaliate. translation: due to action, non—friendly actions, taken by the british against the russian federation, we are going to talk about retaliatory measures that we will take, we're working on them at the moment and we will take them as soon as possible. at the british embassy,

diplomats and spies wait to hear if they too will be packing their bags. it seems inevitable. paul adams, bbc news. richard galpin is in moscow. it does seem inevitable, do we know when we‘ll get news about what they plan? no, iwas still waiting when we‘ll get news about what they plan? no, i was still waiting to hear more detail. there has been some information from the kremlin spokesman saying, it won‘t be long before they respond and also saying that president putin will make the final decision about what the measures will be and when it will ta ke measures will be and when it will take place and they will inform the uk government first. at the moment we don‘t have any sign of exactly when it will happen, exactly what the measures will be. basically we are ina the measures will be. basically we are in a waiting game but i think eve ryo ne are in a waiting game but i think everyone is assuming, because a lot

of officials have said yes, it will be reciprocal and symmetrical so eve ryo ne be reciprocal and symmetrical so everyone is assuming it will be the expulsion of british diplomats. perhaps the same number, 23, same number as the russians he will be expeued number as the russians he will be expelled from the uk. therefore, it will be diplomats from britain, possibly also members of m16 had been thrown out of the country from here. at the centre of this, this particular nerve agent which has been at identified of soviet manufacture, but the russians are saying manufacture, but the russians are s . manufacture, but the russians are saying no? in the last hour, a deputy foreign minister has been quoted on one of the major russian news agencies here saying there was no scientific programme going back to the 1980s. essentially, they never produced anything, this never existed. as far as i understand it it flies in the face of reams of

evidence that out there by at least one scientist, one russian scientist, who defected to the united states and one worked within the programme and blew the whistle on it. he was horrified by what was going on inside these labs at the time when russia was supposed to be getting rid of chemical weapons. you know, it is a hard one to square. com pletely know, it is a hard one to square. completely opposite views coming across from russia. richard, thank you. just hearing the prime minister has met the police officer who is in hospital as a result of the poison attack. she had a private conversation with him. that is all we are hearing and we will bring you more on that later on. our chief political correspondent vicki young told me that theresa may had welcomed the news that britain‘s allies were offering their support. i think the point is, theresa may has said from the beginning she wants a robust response from the international community

and today, downing street said they felt the allies she had spoken to, several of them, had been very steadfast in their support. so she will certainly be very much galvanised by this. where, the statement says that actually this is the first offensive use of a nerve agent in europe since the second world war and they see it as an assault on uk sovereignty. they also point the finger pretty clearly out russia saying they go along with what britain has said, that it is highly likely russia is responsible for the attack and urged russia to answer questions about its chemical weapons programme. they very much see it as a pattern of behaviour by russia, which they believe threatens, notjust the uk, but many other countries in the west as well. this is theresa may‘s reaction to that statement. i welcome the statement we have been able to make today with the united states, france and germany and the sport france and germany and the support from our allies, who have been very

clear in attributing this act to russia. it is right that the uk government reacts in a robust way to what has happened here in salisbury. that is exactly what we've done. i have announced we will be expelling 23 russian diplomats who are undeclared intelligence officers. that will have an impact on their intelligence network. there will be other measures we'll be taking. looking at extra powers we can take in relation to hostile state activity. of course, theresa may knows that acting with other countries will have a much more powerful affect on president putin. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, got himself into a bit of trouble yesterday with his own mps. they were unhappy, they felt he wasn‘t being strong enough in the house of commons in his condemnation of russia. there was a line of questioning from him which some mps i‘ve spoken to today, said sounded like he was just following the russian line of arguments. he has been under pressure and he came out today and this is what he had to say about the poisoning. the evidence points towards russia on this.

therefore, the responsibility must be borne by those that made the weapon, those that brought the weapon into the country and those that used the weapon. what i was asking was questions. questions about the identity of the weapon, questions about the reference to the weapons convention and also the support of other allies in this. those were the questions i was asking, but what i was asking, that's what oppositions are there for. but there are still some, including in his shadow cabinet, that feel he could have been clearer. some of them have been clearer. jeremy corbyn still leaving open the possibility, that it wasn‘t particularly the kremlin or moscow. but it could have been a rogue elements within russia, but he says he‘s been very clear saying russia is responsible for this. our correspondent duncan kennedy is in salisbury and has more details about theresa may‘s visit to the city to find out how the investigation is going. detective sergeant nick bailey, we

understand she spent 30 minutes at the salisbury hospital where he, sergei skripal and yulia skripal we re sergei skripal and yulia skripal were taken nearly sergei skripal and yulia skripal were ta ken nearly two sergei skripal and yulia skripal were taken nearly two weeks ago. it isa were taken nearly two weeks ago. it is a private meeting and we‘re not expecting any media coverage of. we have known from the police beforehand he is in a serious condition but is making good progress. he is able to speak to his family and no doubt will have had a few words with theresa may. but this is about theresa may being visible and vocal, not only to the domestic audience, but also the world audience. she came to where i am standing here, and other locations in connection to this attempted murder on sergei skripal with his daughter. she went to the pub alongside and various other locations and she was briefed by the acting chief constable of wiltshire. it is not a wiltshire police enquiry, it is with the

anti—terrorist branch. but theresa may was able to meet local business people, local people in salisbury. all, she told me to reassure them, make sure they knew what was going on and to reassure them the risk to them was very low. she went on to meet emergency responders, people who reacted to this incident when it unfolded two weeks ago, including those members of staff at the hospital and to sergeant bailey himself. a comprehensive visit and pa rt himself. a comprehensive visit and part of thejoined himself. a comprehensive visit and part of the joined up effort by the government, as we now know, united states, germany and france have come out in condemnation with great britain. theresa may will take heart that the international community is now united behind the country in their condemnation in what she called a despicable act. duncan kennedy, there. the laboratory where scientists helped identify the rare nerve agent used in salisbury will receive what the government has described as a significant increase in funding. in his first major speech as defence secretary, gavin williamson confirmed plans

to create a multi—million pound centre to counter the threat of chemical weapons, at the ministry of defence laboratory porton down. naomi grimley reports. it‘s a sobering thought — most of the uk‘s chemical warfare capability has been tied up over the last few days in the small cathedral city of salisbury. so, how well equipped with the uk be if a country such as russia launched a larger attack than this? today, the defence secretary admitted that ministers should have thought more about this kind of threat. state—based dangers are increasing. back in 2010, we did not believe they posed us a credible threat. with the benefit of hindsight, this can at best be described as naive. russia, he said, was ripping up the international rule book. frankly, russia should go away, it should shut up... and he brought forward a planned announcement. we are investing £48 million in a new chemical weapons defence

centre, to maintain our cutting edge in chemical analysis and defence. this is the defence, science and technology laboratory at porton down, shown here in a bbc documentary. it may be a world—class facility but, since 2010, there have been painful cuts to the units which specialise in this kind of research. some experts also point to syria, arguing the west should have enforced red lines on chemical weapons there, and not allow them to be used with impunity. the rules have changed on the use of chemical weapons because we have done nothing about it, and it has been very salutary that we've, here in the united kingdom, we have seen a weapon of mass destruction, a chemical weapon attack on our soil, the first ever. now, i think that is bringing it home to the government that they must act. it was also announced today that thousands of front line troops

will be vaccinated against anthrax. it may be a precaution, but it will start a debate — are we properly equipped for all the threats of an unpredictable world? naomi grimley, bbc news. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain as the prime minister visits salisbury, for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. tests on the door from grenfell tower show did only held back fire for half the time it was meant to. northamptonshire county council leader resigns after the government recommends a complete restructure. and in sport, penn hill won the big race of the day at cheltenham. it was willie mullins‘s 60th win. gareth southgate has named four

uncapped players in his squad against the netherlands and italy. the england captain has recalled ashley young and jack walsh. aaron ramsey is a notable absentee from the squad named by ryan giggs. he will miss the china cup to have a small procedure during the week. gareth bale has been included. owen farrell moves back to fly—half england as eddie jones owen farrell moves back to fly—half england as eddiejones names much changed side firing‘s final six nations fixture against ireland this weekend. i will be back on more of those stories later. police say tests carried out on a door from a flat in grenfell tower showed it held back fire for only half as long as it was designed to. the housing, communities and local government secretary sajid javid told the commons that the government has ordered further tests — but stressed there was no evidence it‘s a systemic issue, and the risk to public safety is low.

mr speaker, nine months ago, we faced a loss of life and suffering on an unimaginable scale at grenfell. since then, significant efforts have been made by the government and others to support survivors to find new homes and keep people safe. however, i know that the matters i raise today will raise questions, and i want to reiterate that, on the basis of expert advice my department has received, there is no evidence that risks to public have changed. i want to reassure honourable members that all possible steps are being taken to properly investigate the issues and take action when needed. public safety is paramount and our position is clear, the events of 14th ofjune 2017 must never be allowed to happen again. i commend this statement to the house. our news reporter, lucinda adam has been following the story. tell us more about these tests?

there were carried out by metropolitan police experts and they took one of the front doors from a flat that was not damaged in the fire and tested it for its resista nce fire and tested it for its resistance to fire and heat. these doors were designed to stand up to 30 minutes of fire and heat but failed after 15 minutes. what is the reaction in the local community?” was there this afternoon and the reaction is strong. they want there to be no short cuts on safety, they feel the wishaw cuts when the refurbishment to sergei skripal tower was done. they said the best legacy to honour people see improvements to fire safety and changes in legislation, if it is needed. there will be concerns for viewers into the tower blocks that these doors are still around? that raised concerns today in the commons. these are the latest test and we have seen cladding and insulation on the outside of the

building was tested against fire in government tests and that also failed. safety is being looked at, particularly people living in social housing are safe. but the housing and community secretary said this afternoon, there was no evidence this was a systematic issue and there was a low risk to the public and they are beginning their own investigations into fire doors. thank you very much. the leader of northamptonshire county council has resigned after a report recommended that the council should be abolished. the report by a government inspector said living within budget constraints was not part of the council‘s culture, and recommended that it should be replaced with two new unitary authorities. our correspondentjo black gave us this update from northampton. this council was recently dubbed by a local mp as one of the worst run in the country. it is facing severe financial pressures and problems and has done for a while. it imposed a

control on its spending earlier this year because it thought it was going to run out of cash. it has put together next year‘s budget and there are £4o together next year‘s budget and there are £40 million worth of cuts. things like bus subsidies will go, 21 libraries will close. local people are really concerned about those sorts of measures. here we are standing outside this brand—new building. the council moved into this building around six months ago and already it is thinking of selling it off to raise about £50 million. that is how bad things are. the leader, heather smith, well she was the leader until a few hours ago. she stepped down earlier and this is what she had to say, she said she thought she had been made a scapegoat. the personal pressure of vicious personal attacks by four local mps seeking to make me scapegoat has not been pleasant for anyone to witness. i have continued to fight for fairer funding for northamptonshire residents in spite of the personal attacks. but as i was told a few days ago, if the machinery of government has

turned against you then you cannot win. she is reacting to this report by an inspector. two recommendations have come across, one but the council is abolished and two unitary authorities are set up. another recommendation is government commissioners are sent in to run services here in northamptonshire. like i said, people concerned, they are worried about the services that could be affected and that could go. let me give you a couple of comments before we go, a way forward with a clea n before we go, a way forward with a clean sheet leaving all the history

behind is required, says the inspector. and living within budget constraints is not part of the culture of northamptonshire county council. andrew gwynne is in the shadow cabinet and joins me now. shocking state of affairs for the call of the abolition of the whole council? it is virtually unprecedented, i have never seen a report like this or like the kpmg auditor‘s report about a month ago. it is very clear northamptonshire has been totally mismanaged by the conservative administration. the conservative administration. the conservative government cannot be let off the hook either, because they have let it get to the extent where a council has effectively declared itself bankrupt and they have let this situation go unnoticed, under their control. isn‘t this a local issue and the report makes it clear, the council was pretty badly run and they were

doing even the boring stuff badly? absolutely, and as i say it is a combination of mismanagement nationally, where we will have seen by2020, nationally, where we will have seen by 2020, massive cuts in local government. there will be a funding shortfall after almost a decade of austerity about is having an impact on councils of all political persuasions up and down the country. but it is worse because in northamptonshire, they have followed the former community secretary eric pickles‘ advice and that was to diminish your reserves, sell off all your assets. you can only do both of those things once. once you have sold everything you own and used all of your reserves, you have no more money left and you had to make the tough choices that other councils have been making for the last eight yea rs. have been making for the last eight years. northamptonshire points out they are not the only council would be sorts of difficulties?

absolutely, and what is frightening, the national audit office last week, commissioned a report which shows that if the cuts continue from central government, around one in ten of england‘s councils will be in a similar predicament over the next three years. it really is the case that children and adult services, the pressures increasing in both those areas that most people don‘t use, but are vital, local services are pushing councils towards a financial cliff edge. unless we get more investment from central government to help fund local services, northamptonshire will be the first, but it will be the last council to effectively go bankrupt. andrew, with your shadow cabinet hats on, i was wondering where you stand. we have ourjeremy corbyn your leader, saying today that all the evidence points to rush of being responsible for the salisbury

attack. where do you stand on this? any chemical attack in our country should be condemned unreservedly. we do condemn it because it is an atrocious attack. what is clearly evidence points to russia either being responsible or culpable. we support the measures the prime minister has put in place. but we wa nt to minister has put in place. but we want to go further, we think there should be much stronger sanctions on financial transactions, making sure that russian money is stopped in this country and that we have tighter controls on all of those mechanisms. so we do condemn what has happened in salisbury. we support the government‘s measures but we want the government to go further. so he pointed the finger firmly at russia? the prime minister has said this, jeremy corbyn has

said this himself... has he? he hasn‘t gone but strongly. said this himself... has he? he hasn't gone but strongly. he has, if you look at what he said in the house of commons, the post he put on social media, we make it clear the russian authorities are either directly responsible or they are culpable because they have lost control of this chemical agent. in either respect, it is something that ought to be condemned, should be fully investigated and we ought to be using what ever sanctions are available to this country to make it very clear to the russian authorities that an attack like this, in the united kingdom is unacceptable. given the severity of where we are at, of what is a hugely important and significant international development, it is this time the unity? we have backed the government in the measures they announced in the house of commons. we think they should go further terms of financial sanctions and we

will support them to make sure that happens. what is clear from all sides of the house and the shadow cabinet and the leader of the labour party, is that this attack is rightly condemned and we will do all we can to make sure those who perpetrated it are brought to justice. andrew gwynne, thank you for your time this afternoon. a 44—year—old man has beenjailed for at least 30 years, after admitting stabbing to death a woman while she was at work in an aldi supermarket in skipton just before christmas. neville hord pleaded guilty to murdering 30—year—old jodie willsher, who was the daughter of his former partner. the mother of one died at the scene. prosecutors described hord‘s motive for the killing as ‘revenge‘. the crown prosecution service has ruled out a further review by prosecutors into the death of 13—month—old poppi worthington, in barrow—in—furness in december 2012. a coroner concluded in january that poppi had been sexually assaulted by her father, paul worthington, before she died of asphyxia. he denies any wrongdoing.

the cps said no new evidence had emerged that could change its decision not to prosecute. poppi‘s mother said she was "extremely disappointed" by the decision. the brexit secretary, david davis, has said he‘s prepared to accept the eu‘s offer of a shortened transition period, after the uk leaves the european union in march 2019. he said he would agree to a call for transition to end in december 2020 if that helped secure a deal at next week‘s eu summit. time for a look at the weather... we have got some pictures from boston, you had better take the story over. this was elsa helping the boston police department. here she is trying to help the boston police

department out of the snow. she hasn‘t got her stilettos on. look what she does to her skirt in a minute. it is difficult to wear a long skirt and pushing, so what do you do? you do that. still problems in the united states and canada. that is stunning. this is the arctic circle, a norwegian island where people go to serve. that is snow on the beach, people in the sea at four celsius and it is —15 when you get out. they are braver than me. i have been surfing, but in the warmer waters around west wales. it is still cold even when you do it and you take your children out. there are issues of cruelty, which

we will not go into. this, you obviously have to be well kitted out, simon. i am sure it is somewhere you have been to plenty of times. let me show you some of the other joys you times. let me show you some of the otherjoys you can enjoyjust off the coast of norway in the arctic circles. the beautiful northern lights, the beautiful slurped on the snow in the day and the lovely display, if you are lucky. it is stunning. back to earth with a bomb. several warnings out this weekend? we could go to amber over the weekend and the main concern is the amount of snow we are expecting. the main concern is rain, falling across southern and western areas, but pushing north and starting to clear now. behind it, mostly rain to come this evening and overnight. over the scottish mountains it will progressively turned to snow as the colder air starts to come in across the north sea from scandinavia.

tonight is still relatively mild with a lot of cloud and rain around, still a fairly stiff breeze but missed and low cloud will greet us on friday morning in the east. more rain in northern ireland where we have already had a couple of inches in the last 24 hours. as we go through tomorrow, we‘ll see some snow in the hills of northern england. temperatures today haven‘t been the dizzy heights of double figures across scotland but they have been at eight or 9 degrees, four or five have been at eight or 9 degrees, four orfive in the east have been at eight or 9 degrees, four or five in the east tomorrow and through the afternoon across the north—east of england. further west, the rain hoping to clear away from northern ireland. showers across england and wales, but still relatively mild across the north and west. but then it will all change tomorrow evening and overnight as the easterly takes hold. a change of wind direction with the weather front passing east again. it will fall as snow even over lower levels. temperatures much lower tomorrow night and widespread frost across

central and eastern areas because the higher pressure across scandinavia has sunk south, allowing an easterly siberian winds to return and it will be a shock to the system as we head into saturday. all the showers coming after the north sea into central and eastern areas will fall as snow because the air is cold. it will push west but that is the best of a chance for sunshine, in the west. temperatures are 8—10 breeze down from today. adding on the wind—chill, —6 or 7 degrees, bitterly cold with winter returning. we are growing more concerned about what could happen on sunday with an area of more widespread snow as opposed to showers across the south. looking quite scary and we will keep you updated on its progress but we could have a few centimetres in the south, and it could cause fairly significant disruption, it‘s a big weekend of sport and if you are heading out please wrap up warm and stay tuned to the forecast for further updates. this is bbc news — our latest headlines.

the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain as the prime minister visits salisbury, for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian double agent and his daughter. we do hold russia culpable for this brazen, brazen act and despicable act that‘s taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. a fire door taken from grenfell tower resisted flames for only half as long as expected when tested by police — but the housing secretary has told mps there is no evidence of wider problems. and the leader of northamptonshire county council has resigned following a report that called for the council to be abolished. an independent inspection concluded failings left the organisation facing huge debts. sport now on afternoon live. holly is there and lots of people are watching us. you can tell them what‘s happening at cheltenham. absolutely. they call it a saint

patrick‘s thursday. it seems to be fitting today with the big race of the day won by penhill, a fantastic victory for willie mullins and paul townend in the stayers hurdle. especially when you consider this was penhill‘s first run of the year. he actually won the albert bartlett at cheltenham last year so that means he is the first horse to claim that double. it also gives willie mullins his 60th winner at the festival equalling nicky henderson‘s record.. well let‘s head over to cheltenham now where lizzy greenwood hughes is for us this afternoon — lizzie what a fantastic run for penhill — a bit of a surprise winner too? he was, and it‘s been a wonderful day for the irish. five races at the festival so far today and all five being won by ireland. willie mullins in this one. there are two big races of the day. both grade one. the

stayers‘ hurdle is one of the big four. he beat off sam spinner earlier in the race. penhill taking advantage of that big hill, as you come up to the finishing post at cheltenham. it was a difficult race for willie mullins, his son patrick mullins was riding bacardis because normal top jockey ruby walsh is injured and out for the rest of the festival. he had to watch his son fall in the race so it was difficult for him to be a trainer of the winning horse and then having to make sure his son is ok. but he is and we feel ruby walsh is also back at the course. a good day for willie mullins and for the irish so far. a sad moment for fans of one of cheltenham‘s greats cue card earlier — we may have seen his last appearance at this festival. we may have seen his last appearance

altogether. we will have to wait and see. cue card is one of the nation‘s favourite racehorses. aged 12 years, came second in his last race and looked full of running. they brought him in to see if he could fire up some form but it wasn‘t to be. he did lead for about half his race but pulled up towards the end. this is quite a difficult race because it‘s for the horses that are not quite fast enough for the champion chase and don‘t have enough stamina for the gold cup. cue card was the one many people thought could win but he didn‘t do it. the winning horse is owned by michael o‘leary who owns ryanair, and this is the first time he has won his own race. a wonderful occasion for him. trainer hemery de bromhead said he could be a cold cup horse for the future. we‘ll have to see what happens there. but no win

for cue card. gordon elliott is now thejoint for cue card. gordon elliott is now the joint leading trainer of the festival and he was the leading trainer ina festival and he was the leading trainer in a last festival. a great week and great day for the irish. michael o‘leary will be flying high. what a moment, lizzie. thank you very much. in other news, there were a number of surprise names in gareth southgate‘s squad for england‘s upcoming friendlies against the netherlands and italy. burnley‘s solid season has been rewarded with call ups for defender james tarkowski and keeper nick pope. bournemouth midfielder lewis cook has been called up for the second time — you may remember he helped england‘s u2o squad lift the world cup last year. manchester united‘s ashley young and arsenal midfielderjack wilshere return to the fold as southgate takes another look at his options ahead of this summer‘s world cup. arsenal midfielder aaron ramsey was a notable absentee as ryan giggs named his first squad as wales manager. ramsey is expected to play for arsenal in the second leg of their europa league tie with ac milan later this evening, but giggs accepted the international break was "a good time"

to have minor surgery. rugby and head coach eddiejones has rung the changes for england‘s six nations meeting with already crowned champions ireland — who are bidding for their third grand slam. fly—half george ford has been dropped... with owen farrell moving to 10 instead. dylan hartley returns to captain the side. while scrum—half danny care and forwardsjoe launchbury and dan cole all drop out of the starting 15 as england look to avoid a third straight defeat. ireland have brought iain henderson back into their squad for the game with england. the ulster lock replaces devin toner in the only change to the group that beat scotland last weekend. peter o‘mahony, rob kearney and cian healy have shaken off injuries to take their places in the squad. warren gatland has brought dan biggar back at fly—half for wales as they aim for a second—placed finish in this year‘s championship. he takes over from gareth anscombe, who drops to the bench. that‘s all the sport for now.

i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. now on afternoon live, let‘s go nationwide and see what‘s happening around the country, in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. we‘ve got a bbc school report special today with amelia reynolds in norwich. and in salford is rogerjohnson. looking very relaxed, if i might say, roger. i've been very busy, simon! amelia, what's been happening in your region with the school report? we've had hundreds of 11-18 —year—olds across norfolk, and essex getting involved. we have one very special film to tell you about in a moment. let me give you a taste of

what else has been happening today. in chelmsford pupils have been filming in the city centre, filming with homeless people. particularly poignant in that city because it was just last month in the severe whether that a rough sleeper died. they have interviewing some people on the streets and in their words, they want to put a face to the crisis of homelessness. in a high school in norfolk they have been looking at what life is like in a rural school, looking at transport, the environment, and that mental health. in suffolk we have westerly middle school, and this sounds like fun, the pupils there have been interviewing one of the parents who has just bought themselves a brand—new electric car. a snapshot of the schools across the region. and some older students have been producing their own reports. that's what i was mentioning with the bbc sports team who have been working with two students in norwich. one

student decided he wanted to make a film about the safety of school by film about the safety of school rugby after his friend was severely injured after a match. this is a taste of the film they put together. i dislocated my thumb, but that's the only thing i could feel, really. i thought, oh my god, i'm going to miss school. who's going to tell my boss, i can't do my paper round. that was the least of his concerns. will had broken his neck. he spent three months in hospital, initially in norwich. then away at a specialist spinal clinic in sheffield. doctors feared he'd never walk again, but after months of treatment and physio he proved them all wrong. he still has a limp, but he's fit, healthy, lucky. what happened to will was a bit of a freak accident, but there are some who think tackling, in fact all forms of contact, should be banned from the game to reduce

the risk of injury. it really is an excellent report. we will be showing all of it on bbc look east tonight from 6:30pm. and we will have the two boys featured ina we will have the two boys featured in a report on the sofa. we have had lots of students in here and i walk around thinking my days are numbered. they are all right the good! let‘s go to rogerjohnson in sa lfo rd. good! let‘s go to rogerjohnson in salford. what‘s been going on there? i know the feeling, lots of talented youngsters here, hence my casual, down with the kids attire. i apologise for that. we‘ve had hundreds of kids from salford and the north of england here today, coming from the north—east and north—west and north yorkshire as well. i have been chatting to some of them during the course of the day, telling 55.5} i of them during the course of the day, telling ‘f its} $25: the = i

also been’getting involvedand" ea; . — was issues @ pebble up. it‘s a chance to come growing up. it‘s a chance to come here and look; city in here and look at media city in sa lfo rd , here and look at media city in salford, a bit like yourselves in new broadcasting house in london, there is a lot happening here. bbc sport and children‘s is based here. they have been looking at the match of the day studio and reading sports bulletins. lots of them and perhaps targeting a media career. what have they made of the studios? you have beenin they made of the studios? you have been in this studio and its underwhelming li small. but the wide—angle lens on the cameras enables you to make a small space much bigger. this isn‘t very far across. it‘s big enough, the bbc brea kfast across. it‘s big enough, the bbc breakfast studio in the morning. i don‘t know if they were underwhelmed, but i don‘t think all of them were quite as impressed with

what they see on the tv. it's a lot more different than what i thought it was going to be. it's a lot more open and itjust feels really cosy and really... i can see now why people can connect to the bbc more than they can with other formal things. i don't know, itjust feels really cosy and really comfortable. there are a lot of vibes. it seems so formal and clean—cut at first, and then you see people joking around. it's brilliant. so they‘re surprised that you are actually quite human! and its cosy, i heard that twice. and also formal and clean cut, not something to describe me at the moment. we have been showing them how to make videos today. perhaps watching the way i do it, that‘s the how not to part, so they will take that away, i‘m sure.

roger, nobody is arguing with you! plenty more at 6:30pm with you on northwest tonight. thank you to rogerjohnson and amelia from bbc look east. that was nationwide. and if you would like to see more on any of those stories come you can access them via the bbc iplayer. and a reminder, we go nationwide every weekday afternoon at 4:30pm here on afternoon live. the motor industry should finance a clean airfund, and new laws should be passed to clean up the poisonous air in parts of the uk. these are among the conclusions reached by mps who sit on four parliamentary committees, and who‘ve joined forces to call for a new clean air act. here‘s our environment analyst, roger harrabin. the air in many of britain‘s cities is officially unfit to breathe. mps are angry that despite a series of court defeats, the government still hasn‘t cleaned it up. the young and old are particularly

at risk, and the un children‘s organisation unicef is demanding that britain‘s children get clean air. the evidence shows the impact is extremely severe, we are seeing children‘s lungs are not developing as they should, we are seeing a risk to children‘s immune system, and even the deterioration of children‘s brain development. and these health issues impact children throughout their lives. vehicles produce 80% of nitrogen—based pollution. the government aims to end sales of new conventional diesel and petrol vehicles by 2040, but india will do it ten years earlier. over successive years over many governments, this issue has not been given the priority it deserves, and everybody has the right to breathe clean air so we want to see the government put public health at the heart of this issue. the mps say motor firms should pay into a clean airfund because they cheated tests on diesel engines. in a statement, the industry said: but car engines are not the only

source of vehicle emissions. tyres creating friction on the road make dust pollution too, so do brakes. the government says air pollution is getting better, which it is. it‘s promising a new air strategy later in the year but it may be aiming at a moving target because the latest science suggests, no proof yet, but suggests air pollution at very low levels could be linked with alzheimer‘s and attention deficit in children. this is no easy problem. roger harrabin, bbc news. in a moment the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live.

the leaders of france, germany and the united states back britain as the prime minister visits salisbury for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian double agent and his daughter. tests on a door from grenfell tower show it held back fire for only half as long as it was meant to. northamptonshire‘s county council leader resigns — after a government inspection recommends a complete restructure. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. love it or hate it — the maker of marmite and dove soap has chosen rotterdam over london for its headquarters. anglo—dutch consumer goods giant unilever say the company will move to a single legal entity in the netherlands in an effort to become "more agile". they say the decision is "not about brexit". the toystore giant toys r us says it will close all 735 of its us stores as it winds down the company after failing to secure a buyer or a rescue deal. yesterday it was announced that

all uk toys r us shops will close in the next 6 weeks. airbus has warned that it could not give any new business to uk engineering giant gkn if it is taken over by turnaround specialist melrose — stressing the need for long term investment. gkn makes wing components and other key aircraft parts for airbus, which is its biggest customer. melrose, which has mounted the hostile bid, responded by saying they ‘invest as if we were to own the business forever‘. in the united states, the senate is rolling back on legislation put in place in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. the dodd-frank bill was put in place in 2010 by the obama administration. it beefed up legislation for banks, making them hold a large amount of reserves and undergo stress tests. president trump made it a key pledge of his campaign to repeal that bill, describing it as a disaster for the

financial sector. he has now made good on that promise. about two thirds of the sector will no longer have to abide by the rules. german airline giant lufthansa is reporting considerable profits from 2017. the best ever for the group. it comes in the wake of one of its competitors, cathay pacific, reporting very bad results. the boss said they were able to reduce costs while being the first airline able to reduce costs while being the firstairline in able to reduce costs while being the first airline in europe to maintain a 5—star rating. however, he warned the good times are not necessarily here to stay for ever because he says a rise in fuel costs will impact the business down the line. unilever announced this morning it is moving its headquarters to rotterdam instead of london. inevitably people think there is a brexit issue. but they say not. they do say no, and the government says not. they are saying it‘s a legal issue and they want to become a single legal entity based in the netherlands. they do make marmite,

thatis netherlands. they do make marmite, that is why that has appeared there. they have been based in london and rotterdam for the last 48 years, since they were founded. they also say if you look at the facts, they are dividing the company into three divisions and two of them will be based in london. they will keep their iconic headquarters at blackfriars in london. they will keep their shares listed in london and no uk employees will lose their jobs. but whatever way you look at it, the fact such a major company is leaving the uk at a time of such fragile business confidence, it‘s not helpful. for more on this, and a different take, justin joins me alive back on the line, the co—founder and director of seven investment. good to talk to you. you also don‘t think the move by unilever is necessarily to do with brexit. not really at all. it's actually much more to do with what happened last year with you believe when they were being pursued by a rather aggressive investor potentially to try to break up the

business and get hold of those extremely valuable brands. even if you don't like marmite it has a huge amount of value to it, and they could then split the business and extract further shareholder value, as they would say. unilever i try to cut costs where they can add one of those exercises is to have a single headquarters, it's either london or rotterdam, and they have chosen rotterdam. at least the no brexit line is something both the bosses of unilever and the government have been stressing today. let‘s talk about lufthansa, the airline. it‘s an umbrella company, owning austrian airlines, swiss, brussels and euro wings. it has reported its best ever profits in its history. what is it doing so right when so many in the industry are struggling? you only have to look at what happened to air berlin recently. you mentioned cathay pacific, where that came out with some dreadful figures, not

actually showing a good sign that they are trying to reform and for a change themselves. lufthansa have done a greatjob. the figure is actually lower than expected. it would have been higher but they didn't get some of their new airbus neos delivered and they had problems with their pratt and whitney engines as well. so despite that, they have some very good figures. more pratt and whitney. how'd you get away with that! and the dodd-frank bill being repealed by the us senate today. it has a repealed by the us senate today. it hasa campaign repealed by the us senate today. it has a campaign promise by donald trump. he has made good on that promise. it‘s something that is being welcomed, i imagine, by the financial community in the us. what are the wider and global applications for this decision? as you quite rightly said, this was brought in after the banking crisis ten years ago to try to tighten up and the risk some of the trading, particularly in regard proprietary trading, that's trading the banks

we re trading, that's trading the banks were doing for themselves on their own books, therefore taking a greater level of shareholder risk. it specifically addressed that. it hasn't rolled back to allow them to start doing that, but it has allowed banks, the smaller sized banks, to have less of a burden with the regulation, but for larger banks involved in a proprietary trading, they will still have the same level of control. banks who think they will get a lighter regulation soon will get a lighter regulation soon will be sadly disappointed, but for the ones with small assets, they will have some of the regulations rolled back. justin, thank you for speaking to us. let's look at the markets. the ftse 100, speaking to us. let's look at the markets. the ftse100, the major london index, on the rise today, snapping a three—day losing streak we have seen, coming to the close of the session, up o.18%. we have seen unilever shares down on the ftse

100. is that a surprise. you would expect unilever to say that they are doing something to help themselves, it would put the market up. investors clearly just got jitters after change and uncertainty. people don‘t appreciate that, and it‘s a change in strategy. experience, the world‘s largest credit data company has overtaken tesco on the top rising companies. that‘s after it announced it would take over clear score for £270 million, that announcement in the last hour or so. that‘s it from your afternoon live team for today, next the bbc news at 5:00pm. time for a look at the weather. the cold weather is set to return just in time for the weekend. so we will see temperatures dipping significantly. at the moment it‘s all about the rain. it has caused some issues across northern ireland, virtually 24 hours of rain. behind it we saw in

guernsey some sunshine. underneath the rain band, it has been pretty bleak. for most, it was 3 or 4 hours of rain and it has finally cleared for northern ireland, but you have the potential for more showers to come back overnight. over the hills of scotland, some snow. again, temperatures should be widely above freezing because of all the cloud and murk overnight, in the glens of scotland, clearly in the high ground it will be below freezing. progressing as the snow continues to pile up through the day and into tomorrow. in the south and west, some sunshine, some mild atlantic air but with low pressure close by we will see some further showers, sharp showers at that, potentially with some hail and thunder. but it‘s snow the concern for friday across scotland. even at lower levels we will see some falling, but with temperatures around four or 5 degrees, even in eastern scotland, it should be mostly the hills where it settles initially. temperatures falling away for the likes of north—east england, maintaining with some sunshine across northern ireland, 8 degrees, and milder to the south of our weather across england and wales and the south. but then through friday evening and overnight, the risk of snow showers progresses

further southwards and indeed westwards. so a colder, much colder, night to come on friday night into saturday morning and quite a biting wind coming in from the east. that‘s the change, we really start to feel the effects are right the way across the uk of this bitter easterly, this siberian wind once again. the tightly packed isobars indicate that the winds will be pretty strong. so the snow will blow around. those snow showers will keep pestering east and southern parts through saturday. the further west you are, the better chance of seeing slightly higher temperatures and some sunshine and dry weather. there will be a lot of cold and cloudy weather in the east and temperatures might get above freezing but it will feel bitter and significantly lower. this is what it will feel like out and about. sunday, a similar scenario with a cold easterly, but increasing chances of significant disruptive snow across the southern half of the uk in particular. we will be honing the details in the next 24—36 hours. please stay tuned if you have plans for the weekend but it will be another bitterly cold day for most of us. goodbye. today at five — france, germany and united statesjoin

with britain to condemn the poison attack on a former russian agent and his daughter in salisbury. theresa may visits salisbury today, for the first time since sergei and yulia skripal were poisoned. she welcomed the international support for britain‘s response. we do hold russia culpable for this brazen, brazen act, this despicable act, that has taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city. russia denies any involvement and says it will expel british diplomats in response to the uk‘s action. we‘ll have the latest — and we‘ll be talking to a former british ambassador to moscow. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. tests on a door from grenfell tower show it was only fire resistant for half the time it was meant to be. there are calls to dismantle northampton county council,