this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 11: theresa may visits salisbury for the first time since the poisoning of a former russian spy, as france, germany and the united statesjoin britain to condemn the attack. rescuers in miami try and reach people trapped under a bridge that collapsed on a highway in florida. several are known to be seriously injured. tests on a fire door from grenfell tower show it was far less fla me— resista nt than what it was claimed to be. and on newsnight, we speak to the exiled russian oligarch who tells us he believes putin has lost control of the russian state. hello.

good evening. welcome to bbc news. three of britain's closest allies have declared their strong support for theresa may's response to the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury. the united states, france and germany have all blamed the russian government for the chemical attack, which they say was an attack on british sovereignty. during the day, theresa may visited salisbury for the first time since the incident and met health officials and members of the emergency services, including the police officer who attended the scene and remains in hospital. our diplomatic correspondent james landale‘s report since the nerve agent attack. a chance to be briefed by the police and public health officials. hello, nice to see you. but also a chance to meet members of the public, to chat, to reassure. and yes, even to do this. she visited the scene of the attack on the former russian intelligence

officer sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia. the restaurant where they ate. the park bench, under a tent, where they were found. the prime minister thanked some of the police officers who'd first responded to the call. well, thank you. because what you did is what the police do day in and day out. you go to a routine call, as you say, you don't know what you'll find. and then, at the local hospital, she met and thanked detective sergeant nick bailey, who's still recovering from exposure to the nerve agent. she said she'd expelled 23 russian diplomats for this despicable attack, but was ready to do more. there are other measures that we will be looking at. and if we face further provocation from russia, then there are further measures that we can deploy. but what is important in the international arena, and we have taken this into nato, into the united nations,

we will be taking it into the european union, is that allies are standing alongside us. and saying this is part of a pattern of behaviour that we have seen from russia. that united stance came in a joint statement from the leaders of britain, france, germany and the us — all blaming russia unequivocally. i spoke with the prime minister and we are in deep discussions. a very sad situation. it certainly looks like the russians are behind it. something that should never, ever happen. and we're taking it very seriously, as i think are many others. thejoint statement is significant because it shows that the foreign office and downing street are convincing britain's allies that the salisbury attack is different, that it represents an escalation of russia's hostile behaviour. and as such, those allies are now ready to crank up

the pressure on moscow. that diplomacy continued at nato headquarters in brussels, where british officials briefed allies about what they called russia's reckless and unlawful behaviour. and promised to support other countries facing similar threats. and in the netherlands, ministers confirmed that officials from the chemical weapons watchdog, the opcw, would get access to samples of the nerve agent to verify that it was developed in russia. they'd get that access here at the military research laboratory at porton down, where the novichok was identified. today the defence secretary announced porton down will get another £45 million in funding. and the russians would get short shrift. if you're a nation and another nation has launched a nerve agent attack on your people, then you have every right to tell russia to shut up and go away. meanwhile, near salisbury, the investigation and decontamination process continues. the graves of mr skripal‘s wife

and son were still being inspected and two vehicles were recovered from near the home of ds bailey. james landale, bbc news. in moscow, the russian government says president putin will decide soon what action to take in retaliation to the expulsion of 23 russian diplomats, thought to be intelligence officers, from the uk. the foreign minister sergei lavrov accused britain of acting in a boorish way and insisted again that russia was not involved in the salisbury attack. here's our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg. it may be feeling like a cold war, but in moscow today, there was a warm reception for the president. vladimir putin the star guest at a youth conference. lots of smiles, but no mention of diplomatic expulsions. the kremlin leader keeping his plans for retaliation against britain to himself. across town, at the british embassy, they waited for news. would moscow expel british diplomats?

the uk had expelled 23 russians. and the news on russian tv: britain has been russia's enemy for centuries. the message to viewers: the uk cannot be trusted. russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, claimed britain was using the poisoning of sergei skripal to distract attention from brexit. then, pictures from the kremlin. the president meeting his security chiefs to discuss uk sanctions. moscow's response expected soon. russia may be coming under increasing international pressure, but the language coming out of the kremlin is increasingly defiant. vladimir putin's spokesman today described britain's stance as "destructive and provocative". the president, he said, will take the final decision on how russia responds. and just when you think relations

can't get any worse, the defence secretary tells russia to shut up. the reaction in moscow? it's not only a mistake, it's worse than a mistake because it's stupid. or it's done on purpose, it's a provocation, they want the russians to be provoked. criticism of russia, too, by nato. it agrees moscow was behind the salisbury attack. all others agree that the attack was a clear breach of international norms and agreements. this is unacceptable. it has no place in a civilised world. tonight, russia is feeling increasingly isolated, and in a new cold war it blames on the west. police say several people have died after the collapse

of a newly—built pedestrian bridge in the us city of miami. a major rescue operation is under way. the bridge, weighing nearly 1000 tons, was opened last saturday, as our correspondent gary 0'donoghue now reports. scrambling to rescue the trapped and injured, after 950 tons of the newly—installed pedestrian bridge crashed down onto the road below. a number of vehicles were crushed as the bridge came down shortly before 2pm. the emergency services dashing to help those pinned under the concrete. the footbridge had only just been completed, designed to take students from the florida international university safely across a six—lane highway to their accommodation. what was soon to become an iconic, staple part of the connectivity between the city and the university has actually turned out to be a national tragedy. our hearts are here extended out to those that — the victims that were actually able to be transported away, as well as those that may not be walking away from the scene.

the collapsed section of the bridge was only put in place last saturday, using a method known as advanced bridge construction — designed to be fast and cause the least disruption as possible to traffic. the national transportation safety board says it's sending investigators to the scene, and the building company employed to put up the bridge, mcm, says it will co—operate fully. 0n the line now is someone who was with city officials just 100 feet from where the bridge collapsed. it is so much for talking to us on bbc news. can you describe what happened? thank you. well, i am still and see now. you heard the commentary from our city's mayo. he isa commentary from our city's mayo. he is a huge support for this bridge and its induction, i am the other hand had been an opponent of it. we

we re hand had been an opponent of it. we were having coffee with city officials and actually talking about the unveiling of the bridge, which i was there this saturday, with officials, our congressmen, county officials. we will there, it was a huge ceremony, everyone spoke to we re huge ceremony, everyone spoke to were having copy today talking about, as a matter of fact, and all ofa about, as a matter of fact, and all of a sudden we hear bank. it was not allowed one but i look to the assistant chief and i said oh my god, the bridge, and then he looks at me and says no, not the bridge. 0ne at me and says no, not the bridge. one of the other offices, i tell him where is your radio? see what all the ruckus is about, because as soon as that noise happened, we saw a lot of cop cars near city hall, which is literally one block away from the bridge. he grabs his radio and he says oh my god, the bridge, the bridge, and i ran that, we all round and that is why you see my photos from the twitter feed. 0ver

and that is why you see my photos from the twitter feed. over 18 cars at leased under that bridge, squished to the point we do not even the tyres. i mean there was just, it was horrible. i thought it was a movie scene, i could not believe it. none of us could believe it. and judging by the pictures, the bridge seems to have collapsed in the middle, just kind of collapsed in the middle and ended up in like a letter victory —— v shape. the middle and ended up in like a letter victory -- v shape. right under the intersection, it was red and all of the cars that wonder that intersection were trucked because they were stopped at a red light. what happen when the bridge collapsed, and i can tell you this because i was on the scene and i was there, a lot of people say it they we re there, a lot of people say it they were rushed into it, no, what happened is that a piece of the crane fell on the right side of the bridge, and that is why you see the

less said the bridge tilted up andean. so in effect, it is that weight hitting the bridge that seems to have destabilised it? exactly, thatis to have destabilised it? exactly, that is what caused it. -- the left side of the bridge tilted up. we had been told that it would withhold category five storm is, it could not even withhold a piece of equipment. the terrible day for miami, we await news on those who may have been injured and those who have lost their lives. they give very much for giving us your first hand accounts there. and eyewitness telling us there. and eyewitness telling us there about the terrible bridge collapse. we will have more on the bbc website about that story through the night. police investigating the fire at grenfell tower in west london — which claimed the lives of 71 people — say tests on a front door from one of the flats

showed it was far less fire—resista nt than intended. survivors of the blaze have described the finding as "shocking", as our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. the result of corporate manslaughter. that is what the police are investigating, highly technical work, police are investigating, highly technicalwork, including police are investigating, highly technical work, including the test ofa technical work, including the test of a doorfrom a grenfell flat, one that was undamaged in the fire. in this standard test, heat is applied to one side and the door must withstand it for 30 minutes. here there is smoke that this door easily passes the test, at this level from g re nfell lasted passes the test, at this level from grenfell lasted 15 minutes. the police informed the government, which has consulted its own experts. the response... there is no change to fire safety advice that the public should follow. i nevertheless fully appreciate that this news will be troubling for many people, not least all those affected by the g re nfell least all those affected by the grenfell tragedy. that is why based on expert advice, we have begun the process of conducting further tests and will continue to consult with

the expert panel to identify the implications of these further tests. this picture's from before the fire. lights appear to have had a variety of doors, but they were fairly new. the doors were replaced in 2012, not as part of the major of grenfell tower. after that work, there was a safety inspection. the investigators will want to know were the doors properly assessed? for the survivors, understanding why it happened is vital. it is very important for grenfell survivors and the grieving families to feel that we can honour the memories of those who have died, and one way we can bring justice is to make sure that regulations and progressive policies ensure that people feel safe in their homes once again, and that means tightening regulations. but those questions will come later. canal, this is still the scene of a criminal investigation. that's a summary of the news.

newsday is coming up at midnight. now on bbc news, it's time for newsnight with emily maitlis. russia's most famous dissident tells me he believes putin himself is losing control of the russian state. translation: today, in my opinion, this inner circle within the criminal gang has learned how to manipulate putin quite effectively. and we've seen this demonstrated a number of times. meanwhile, russia's defence agency accuses the government here of intellectually impotency and calls the defence minister a vulgar old harpy. they were responding to this: russia should go away — it should shut up. jeremy corbyn seems to have been more cautious. was he right to be? or does he risk isolating his own party? also tonight, seven years to the day since the syrian uprising began,