these are the top stories developing. parliament will stop for a minute's silence today on the first anniversary of the westminster bridge attack, in which five people we re bridge attack, in which five people were killed. we would spend all our time together, and now all of this doesn't make any sense. a sombre day of remembrance here, as people recall the day terrorism came to the heart of westminster. theresa may will tell eu leaders later that moscow has no respect for international law and will call for european unity against russia. anger from some conservative mps as it is reported britain's post brexit passport will be manufactured in the eu. the people waiting days for a police response to a 999 call. the inspectorate of constabulary says forces are overwhelmed by demand. and england are bowled out for 58,

their sixth lowest total of, as new zealand dominate day one of the first text. —— test. good morning. parliament will hold a minute's silence on the first anniversary of the westminster bridge attack in central london. five people, including a police officer, were killed by the islamist extremist calla rd officer, were killed by the islamist extremist callard massoud before he was shot dead. a memorial is also been unveiled for those who lost their lives or were injured in all of last yea r‘s their lives or were injured in all of last year's terrorist attacks in london. our chief political correspondent is in westminster.

it will be a day of remembrance. walking in here, i saw the flowers laid in parliament square, one from the prime minister, one being led by the prime minister, one being led by the deputy leader of the labour party, as everybody recalls that day one year ago. here in central lobby, there were hundreds of people hiding here, not really knowing what was going on. they had heard gunshots, they feared a gunman might be on the loose in parliament. it was of course a shocking day. we had stories of doctors working in saint thomas's hospital who came down and spent hours on the bridge after that car had more people down. they stood there, they tended the injured, not all of them survived, of course. earlier, i was speaking to the no defence minister who was on the scene. he had heard the gunshots ring out, he realised something catastrophic was happening. he decided to go over and help, and

what he saw, of course, was a shocking thing. he tried to help, tending to a pc keith palmer. he was not able to save them. i asked his memories were. he was talking about when he got home that evening and the shock really started to sink in about what had happened, particularly when he had to speak to speak to his young son about it. the other reflection and vivid image i haveis other reflection and vivid image i have is returning home after what had happened and finding my son on the top of the stairs. he was in tea rs. the top of the stairs. he was in tears. he was on his own. i sat next to him and then hejust asked tears. he was on his own. i sat next to him and then he just asked why. he couldn't understand why i stepped forward , he couldn't understand why i stepped forward, why somebody had been killed, why somebody was yielding a knife in a place he had visited many times. all i could offer was that there are some bad people in the

world, but there are a lot more good people, and it is the good people that win. one of the five people who died that day in the attack was a romanian tourist, andreea cristea. she was on her first trip to london. she was on her first trip to london. she was on her first trip to london. she was thrown into the river thames and she died in hospital two weeks later. her sister magda has been speaking to the bbc and she says she still cannot make sense of what happened. there are moments when we ta ke happened. there are moments when we take the phone to call her or to write on the messenger. and when we go to constanta to the beach, all the time, we met, we go to the beach together. we spent the whole time together. we spent the whole time together. and now all of this does not make any sense. it is not the

same thing. and it won't be the same. a lot of the focus today but beyond pc keith palmer. he was an armed, standing at the gates, protecting people. carriage gates, the entrance as you come into parliament. was fatally stabbed by the attacker. his friends and collea g u es the attacker. his friends and colleagues have been paying tribute to him. you wouldn't expect anything like that to happen there. considering the jobs that we have done before, we were on the territorial support group, doing drugs raids, loads of rapid entries and things like that. things where you get involved in things. you can muster imagine it happening there, but not in what seemed fairly safe place, to be working at the houses of parliament. and he loved his work there, he loved his work. whenever he was, he enjoyed work, he came in

with a smile on his face and he just wanted to get on and his best. yearon, it is wanted to get on and his best. year on, it is clear to see things have changed, even here, when it comes to security, there are now far more armed officers around, particularly on the gates. there's a lot of talk about dedication to duty, the idea that someone could come to work not knowing what is going to confront them, but for so many people that day, notjust the families and friends who died, but those who were very seriously injured, it was a terrible moments, which people will be looking back on. in the house of commons, there will be a minute's silence before proceedings start. there will also be services in the chapel in the house of commons for all the hundreds and thousands of people who work here, for them to go and a member. and servers starting at 12 o'clock, a service of commemoration. thank you. we will be back there at 12 for that commemorative event of

prayer and reflection. theresa may will tell a summit of eu leaders in brussels today that they must remain united against the threat from russia to all european democracies. the prime minister will argue that the nerve agent attacked and salisbury shows moscow has no respect for international law or an invitation if a,” an invitation ll .. had it was an invitation some had prime minister, why are you refused. prime minister, why are you taking part in this meeting? but these foreign diplomats had accepted, to comment here moscow's side of the story on the nerve agent attacked. britain said a diplomat to the foreign ministry, but the british ambassador stayed away. this is what he missed. translation: the british authorities are either unable to secure protection from such an attack on their territory or the directly or indirectly have a

direct of this attack against a russian citizen. my name is emma nottingham and i'm from the british embassy. sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia in what we see as an attempted assassination. translation: what is going on in their heads, he replies. take a break from your russell phobia and your island mentality. in britain, a labourmp your island mentality. in britain, a labour mp suggested that vladimir putin reduce the world cup like adolf hitler had used the 1936 olympics, to cover up, as he put it, a brittle, corrupt regime. the foreign secretary agreed. a brittle, corrupt regime. the foreign secretary agreedlj a brittle, corrupt regime. the foreign secretary agreed. i think the comparison with 1936 is certainly right and i think it is an

emetic prospects, frankly, to think of vladimir putin glorying in this sporting event. meanwhile, russia's propaganda machine tries to discredit sergei skripal. we witnessed this bizarre webcast, where two convicted murderers claimed to be ex—cellmates of the former double agent. on air, the accused of drug addiction, even paedophilia. but after the show, one of the magnets to me he saw nothing. translation: it was just empty gossiped. the poisoning in salisbury has spawned an information war, one moscow is determined to win. let's stop to our assistant political editor. do you think theresa may will get is some sort of

unified statement from eu leaders condemning russia? unified statement from eu leaders condemning russia ?|j unified statement from eu leaders condemning russia? i think the hard—headed condemning russia? i think the ha rd—headed reality is condemning russia? i think the hard—headed reality is they certainly will not get any increased sanctions or diplomatic moves against russia tonight. i think the best hope of tim may is a beefed up statement of condemnation and perhaps directly blaming russia for salisbury. but that might be a bit ofa salisbury. but that might be a bit of a reach. it seems the game plan of a reach. it seems the game plan of mrs may is to try and almost shop other eu leaders into recognising and accepting the scale of the thread russia now poses, so government officials now openly talking about russia now being a strategic enemy of britain's, and they posed a threat for years to come. a noticeable hardening in the language, designed perhaps to try and give the eu leaders a greater awareness of the sort of things russia has been up to. i am joined

by the conservative mp who has written extensively about russia and worked there as a journalist. this phrase, strategic enemy, is that the right way to characterise russia? phrase, strategic enemy, is that the right way to characterise russia ?|j think right way to characterise russia?” think understanding the situation is important, they have been strategic rivals since 2004, isjust important, they have been strategic rivals since 2004, is just we have been looking the other way. there is that the potential enemies. it's off but we are in this position. i think the russians believe themselves to have been in a cold war with us since 2007. but many eu countries have been much more equivocal attitude to russia, so what are the chances of getting greater support or even action from the eu? good question. the equivocation is in pa rt question. the equivocation is in part because of strenuous russian diplomatic efforts in hungary and greece and trying to hive of bits of the eu and friendly states within it. the prime minister is right to

make the point that this is cross—border and make the point that this is cross— border and its make the point that this is cross—border and its long—term and we need to treat it as such. which means doing what is? exposing methodically russian disinformation campaigns and taking robust action. the era of gesture politics is over. our foreign policy has been looking after our people, we need to dump the new church politics and we need to relearn the art of strategy. we should not be pointing fingers but we need to be series about attending the russians. in practicalterms of what is that? breaking up the espionage networks, hitting finance to make sure it's cleaner london and we deter the kremlin's cronies, exposing russian disinformation campaigns, expanding funding for the bbc world service, russian service, supporting ukraine more to get it into the european camp and to make sure it is a transparent and democratic state rather than a crony

colony of russia. there's lots we can do across the board, but we need to think strategically. we can take these actions ourselves, but without international solidarity, there is a limit to how much pain we can inflict on russia. we are looking at bad russian behaviour in cyprus, human rights abuses in ukraine, and manipulation of the spanish referenda in catalonia, cyber attacks in france and germany, manipulation of the us elections. we have to work out a common front, because this is notjust happening in britain, it's happening across europe and north america. we should get a sense of how the eu is responding later tonight, because mrs may will set out her views at dinnerand mrs may will set out her views at dinner and after that, maybe there will be some sort of text from eu leaders that will be examined closely to see if the eu does directly apportion blame on russia for the attack on salisbury. joining

us now for the attack on salisbury. joining us now real webcam is the former diplomat who worked on the alexander litvinenko case. back to begin with that language calling russia a strategic enemy. what do you make of that? it sounds more permanent than some of her comments? it sounds quite stark, but i think is accurate. we have to be realistic about dealing with this situation. by about dealing with this situation. by the pattern of his actions over the last decade, russia has shown itself to be exactly that. your last best listed many of the things they have been doing, so to me, that sounds absolutely accurate.“ have been doing, so to me, that sounds absolutely accurate. if a beefed up statement from eu leaders is potentially a stretch, never mind further sanctions, what pressure is

there to compel russia to change its ways ? there to compel russia to change its ways? it's difficult, buti there to compel russia to change its ways? it's difficult, but i think the beginnings of what theresa may is doing is the right action. we are making clear that this is even international threat. we should bear in mind that other countries are aware of that, our partners, many of them, have suffered cyber attacks and military brinkmanship with planes and russian warships and many other things, so it's not that they are unaware of the level of international threat that russia poses. it does take time to build up measures that work, but i think calmly and methodically working to build that support is the right way to go and what we are looking for here, we're not looking for short—term confrontation or any confrontation at all, but long—term containment of russia. i think the

measures that have been widely discussed about looking at financial assets, beefing up the capacity to deter cyber attacks, even old—fashioned military strengthening, are all areas that need to be looked at, but those are not things you do overnight. the thing that has been done quickly was the right thing, i think, in britain's case, to get rid of some russian intelligence agents from london and disrupt their operations there. hopefully, we can persuade our partners to act similarly, because it is in their own interests as well as ours. you worked on the alexander litvinenko case when you we re alexander litvinenko case when you were posted at the embassy in moscow and you said they were too slow to ta ke and you said they were too slow to take enough action in that case. how does the response compare this time?

do you think lessons have been learned? i ensure that they have. i think it was full with good reason. with hindsight, perhaps we were a little too focused on trying to get the actual hands—on culprits, who delivered the radioactive poison, rather than 100% focused on the bigger issue, the people, the country that sent them. but it is similar in many ways. that is quite a complex process of piecing together the evidence, and we do things properly, we build the case, because, by having your case watertight, that is how you build support. i think that is the main difference. i'm seeing on this occasion that we have moved to really focusing completely on the really focusing completely on the real issue, which is the threat from the vladimir putin regime in russia, really 100%.

the vladimir putin regime in russia, really 10096. your thoughts briefly news coming into us, a tweet from the russian embassy, saying that as a result of the irresponsible actions of the uk government, in their words, which led to the expulsion of diplomats including consular section staff, the consular service for applicants has been seriously affected. it says, given the circumstances caused by the british side, the processing time for visa applicants will be increased. they are saying that because of your staff, it will take longer to process these applications than would otherwise, than it would otherwise take. just to repeat, it is calling the actions of the uk government irresponsible. what are your thoughts on that? probably no surprise. there's no comparison if we're talking about irresponsible than slightly slow bees operations or deploying a nerve agent on the

streets of britain. if they want to use the word irresponsible, i think it's clear which action it applies to most in this instance. thank you very much free time today. the headlines now. parliament. 40 minutes's silence today on the first anniversary of the westminster bridge attack, in which five people we re bridge attack, in which five people were killed. theresa may will tell eu leaders later that moscow has no respect for international law and will call for international duty against russia. angerfrom some conservative mps that is is reported britain's post brexit passport will be manufactured in the eu. and in sport, england head coach trevor bayliss said his players were like deer in headlights as they collapsed 15 all out in their innings in the first test against new zealand. west ham give lifetime bans new zealand. west ham give lifetime ba ns to new zealand. west ham give lifetime bans to five supporters invaded the

pitch during their 3—0 defeat to burnley earlier this month. and manchester united have submitted an application to have a professional tea m application to have a professional team in the women's super league. the club have been heavily criticised for not having an adult women's side. i will be back with more on those stories just after half past. the british company which makes uk passports says it has failed to win the contract to produce the traditional blue passport which will be reintroduced after brexit. the company says it has been told that the franco dutch firm has about two signa the franco dutch firm has about two sign a deal to put the passport after undercutting its rivals. home of the says it has run a fair and open competition, but leading brexiteer ‘s have condemned the decision as perverse. the company says it will appeal the decision. in a post brexit britain, my company was plying his trade around the

world, we export passports to countries around the world, with the biggest and best passport manufactured globally, i think it's surprising the british government does not support british industry. more than that, it's disappointing for my workforce, who i'll have to talk to later today or in the coming days and explain to them why theresa may and amber but don't believe the british passport should be manufactured by them. more than this with our correspondent. have we had confirmation whether or not the contract has formally been awarded to the franco dutch firm? we have heard from the culture secretary that the process is ongoing. that information is coming from de la rue, the company you just saw speaking about it. that company has been producing the burgundy passports we have absence 1988 in a factory in gateshead. we're getting new passports from october 20 19.

that company, along with several others from different countries, bid to get that new contract. we are hearing from de la rue that the contract was won by a french— dutch firm and not by the british company. it is not just firm and not by the british company. it is notjust the boss of de la rue thatis it is notjust the boss of de la rue that is disappointed and surprised by this decision. a lot of people have been talking about the fact that blue passports represent independence from the eu the fact they will be produced in an eu country seems contradictory. yes, the de la rue has been saying —— yes, the boss of de la rue has said he's not allowed to tender for french passport work because of the regulations in france, so the iranian this will not be lost on people. yes, they have also said that they would like to theresa may to say why taking back control means some of thejobs to say why taking back control means some of the jobs that company might now be at risk. that is a longer

term strategy. we've heard from the company today, it will not happen immediately, but they will be to look for other contracts to full—back. look for other contracts to full- back. de look for other contracts to full-back. de la rue talking about an appeals process, given the controversy that is among leading brexiteer is. do you think there is a possibility yet that the decision over the contract may be reviewed?” think it's interesting that they say the final decision has not been made, so we will have to wait and see if de la rue's appeal is going to be successful. it has emerged that some victims of domestic violence and other serious crimes are not being seen by police officers for hours or even days because of a failure to respond prom ptly because of a failure to respond pro m ptly to because of a failure to respond promptly to 999 calls. the inspector of constabulary says a quarter of forces in england and wales are struggling to respond to calls and i've often overwhelmed by demand. our correspondent reports. hello, police, what's your emergency? as

the thin blue line become too thin? the body that monitors the police says the service is under stress, with vulnerable victims often not getting a prompt response. every 999 collars graded according to how quickly police need to take action, but an inspection team found that thousands of calls which needed officers to attend within 60 minutes, were not dealt with four hours or in some cases, several days. the inspectorate of co nsta bula ry days. the inspectorate of constabulary report on effectiveness also identified other concerns. it said there was a shortfall of 5000 investigators and detectives. forces we re investigators and detectives. forces were not doing enough to track suspects wanted by police, and basic tasks were overlooked during investigations into crimes such as robbery, burglary, cartheftand assault. the national police chief ‘s council says it is working with forces in england and wales to boost

their detective numbers and specialist capability, to help them manage and reduce demand. iamjoined manage and reduce demand. i am joined now by so wet billing, who is the inspector of constabulary, and she joins who is the inspector of constabulary, and shejoins me from central london. when you say some forces have overwhelmed, what you mean? paint a picture for us. it's important to put this in context, and today being the first anniversary of the westminster bridge attacks, we saw how pc keith palmer put himself in harm's way and paid the ultimate sacrifice. in the wa ke paid the ultimate sacrifice. in the wake of that and other attacks, we saw enormous spikes in demand for police because of fear and anxiety. that, combined with the complexity of crime police are dealing with at the moment, meant that police are very much under pressure. where we have seen this pressure now bursting out is around the response to emergency calls. it's all me any

quarter of forces, we are saying that most forces are doing well, but we are seeing unacceptable delays in police responding to emergency calls, that is putting some victims at risk. is that because of the level of demand ? is at risk. is that because of the level of demand? is it because of cuts to police budgets? i'm sure there is a complexjigsaw behind cuts to police budgets? i'm sure there is a complex jigsaw behind the problems you are identifying. there isa problems you are identifying. there is a combination of factors. one of theissuesis is a combination of factors. one of the issues is that is a lot of demand is coming into control rooms, and on occasions, there are simply not enough response officers available at that busy time in order to be able to respond as quickly as they should. what is happening is calls are stacking up and incidents are stacking up, and within those, calls are attendance from police officers, there could be vulnerable victims who need to be attended quickly. victims of abuse, for example, who need to see a police

officer much more popular than they are able to. these delays of hours, days and in some of the worst instances, weeks, is simply not acceptable. but understanding the very difficult context in which the police are operating. thus more by police are operating. thus more rugby to be done when calls are coming into call centres, to triage calls to where the priority lies and the responses should be? that's a good question. the call handlers are doing a very good job as the 999 call comes in and they are identifying that an emergency response is needed. the trouble is they don't have enough officers, some of these forces, in order to be able to centre that emergency response, so able to centre that emergency response, so the calls are waiting a backlog, and what forces should at the least be doing, if they cannot respond immediately it's having a syste m respond immediately it's having a system in place to be able to look into that backlog to make sure there are not terrorised victims of

domestic abuse, for example, where the perpetrator has left the premises, but need to be seen quickly by a police officer, both to be safeguarded, but also so that those golden hour investigations, the body worn video, the house—to—house enquiries, this ticking of statements, can take effect and the perpetrator can be brought tojustice. effect and the perpetrator can be brought to justice. this must be incredibly frustrating for police officers, who are clearly spread much too thin and simply cannot be everywhere at the same time. is the simple answer, and i use the word simple answer, and i use the word simple advisedly, more officers? there is a stretch in the system thatis there is a stretch in the system that is what we see in a report. but what we are also seeing is that three quarters of forces are not seeing these types of problems. they are managing to deal with the volume of demand, so that is combination of factors, as you said, that are treating these problems. what's

important for us is that where there is the stretch in demand in the syste m is the stretch in demand in the system that the police service is where it is happening and can take rapid steps. is it a level playing field? those forces not overwhelmed, ibe field? those forces not overwhelmed, i be dealing with the same issues that the forces who are overwhelmed by dealing with? it is really interesting. we have looked at the characteristics of the forces struggling. there are big forces with lots of volume of crime coming m, with lots of volume of crime coming in, there are smaller forces, that are better funded forces, less well funded forces, busier and less busy forces. there is not one single reason why those particular forces at the time of inspection were experiencing difficulties. there was one single reason, i can guarantee you that problem would have been put right. so it's not a simple situation where it is simply the money. there is a whole combination of factors and what is important is police forces are able to spot those

problems before they become acute, before we see the instances of domestic abuse waiting hours or days or even weeks in order to see a police officer, who will attend, not only to the safeguarding needs, but also take the right steps to bring the perpetrators to justice. good to talk to you, thank you very much via time today. —— for your time today. the industrial action is in protest at the president's is meant retirement of french public sector workers. let's get more on this from our correspondent in paris. so here we have the unions, traditionally a really powerful force in france versus president macron. he has vowed not to yield to them so is this the start of a prolonged period of industrial action? it could be.

it is certainly what i would say is the first real test for macron. there were protest back in october, eve ryo ne there were protest back in october, everyone said back then it will be an autumn of this consent after the president brought in his labour reforms, the labour code and so on. they came to nothing, predictably in my view. this is more serious. it has the possibility to go into a protracted period of confrontation between government and unions particularly because the railway workers are involved. they railway workers are involved. they railway workers are involved. they railway workers are the heavy brigade on the union side and they have announced a series of strikes over the next three months, two days a week which will cause a lot of disruption. todayis will cause a lot of disruption. today is the kick—off for this. it's a day of protest notjust by the railway workers but also civil serva nts railway workers but also civil servants as well. and broadly their beef is about government plans to

change the way they operate. the government's retort is yes we do intend to change the way you operate because that is what we were voted in to do. macron's big argument is just that, that is opposed to previous reform attempts in this case he came to power promising to do this and it is a very, very strong argument and the government feels quite confident that it will see this wave of strikes through but it is also cautious. this is a test that we're now entering into. where is public opinion on this? with the government with the unions?” is public opinion on this? with the government with the unions? i would say on balance it is with the president. if you ask the right question of the french public you will get the right answer. if you asked them do you support the grievance of the strikers? most of them would probably say yes. no one in france thinks that the civil serva nts in france thinks that the civil servants and railway workers have a cushy life, it is not that and that they are somehow privileged and should get back to work. some people

would generally think they work hard and deserve more but there is now a body of opinion in the country that is coalescing and probably a majority view that reform is essential, the time for reform has come and that as i said before, macron promised to do this. so he goes ahead and does it you can hardly bring him —— you can hardly blame him for it. time now for the weather forecast, here blame him for it. time now for the weatherforecast, here is simon king. things are clouding over across the uk at the moment. thicker cloud and some rain in western areas but further east we still have sunshine and in london at the moment still some sunny spells here. temperatures into double figures. we keep the sunshine for longest across the eastern parts of england and eastern scotland where those temperatures - reach

rain spreading its way intethewest rain spreading its way intathewest scotla nd rain spreading its way intdthewest scotland by the if of—"lll ,,,,...,...,. rain spreading its way intdthewest scotland by the if of the l ,,,,...,...,. rain spreading its way intdthewest scotland by the g of the day = of scotland by the end of the day and maximum temperatures with the cloud about nine to 11 degrees celsius. this rain will continue to move eastwards, it will turn heavy for a time into wales, eventually into northern england and scotland. those dark blues is where the rain set in. into friday, the rain will ease in northern areas but showers across northern parts of england, further south and east drier and brighter before the next batch of rain moves in across the far south—west. in the sunshine, temperatures up to 13. he protested his innocence and ever since that has always been a debate on what really happened in cabin one to six. hello, good morning. this is bbc

news, our latest headlines. there will be a two—minute silence today ata will be a two—minute silence today at a memorial service in the palace of westminster on the first anniversary of the westminster bridge attack, which killed five people. theresa may will tell eu lay leaders later that moscow has no respect for international law and will cool for european unity against russia. been reported that britain's post brexit passports will be manufactured in the eu. and the inspectorate of constabulary is says forces are overwhelmed by demand. it's time for the sport, let's get the latest with jessica and it's time for the sport, let's get the latest withjessica and the cricket. oh, dear! yellow mac oh dear indeed! i'm sure you've seen the pictures are neater. let's get into it. it was a terrible first

innings by england in the first test against new zealand to the point where head coach trevor bayliss described his players as deer in headlights. 58 all out, there are six lowest test total ever. alastair cook was the first to go out for five. six wickets for 32 runs in including captain joe root five. six wickets for 32 runs in including captainjoe root and ben stokes were out for a duck. and 91 for new zealand took them to a lead. so dismal england performance but one former england bowler thinks the blame lies only with the players. england just batted terribly, it was bad. i been in teams where that happens sometimes, a juggernaut of destruction comes when you cannot stop it. adversely i've been in the bowling team when it's all going your way, we bowled out new zealand at lord's a few years ago when

stuart broad rolled through them in the same way. don't look at them and say people's heads are going to roll. no one is to blame for it, collectively the england players did not bat well enough. an update on those ugly scenes we saw at west ham a couple of weeks ago. this morning the club have confirmed they have given lifetime bans to five supporters who invaded the pitch during the team's three nil defeat to burnley at the london stadium. several fans have also been band for life for throwing objects or coins with intent to injure or do harm. west ham's next home game is a week on saturday with the hammers just two points above the relegation zone. one of west ham's former players has been placed in temperate charge of charlton. he started his career at charlton before moving on to other clubs. he's been assistant to... they're currently ninth in league 1. after many years of pressure, manchester united may finally be getting an elite senior

women's team. new england women's head coach and former united player phil neville said injanuary he would talk to the club about the issue and now the club have submitted an request to have a team in the women's super league next season. they have not had a women's tea m season. they have not had a women's team for the women's age since 2005 but the club said manchester united women's team must be built in the same image and with the same principles as the men's first team. this is something that people within the game have been calling for for a long time. some may be disappointed that not all away and put an application into b&w sl one but they are going to have a women's team more or less at the top of the women's game which think a lot of people will be incredibly happy about. chelsea ladies have given them a massive two nil advantage in their champions league quarterfinal with montpellier. chelsea have written their luck at times the

match, they meet in the second leg next wednesday. and manchester city women also have had to dash zero advantage in the first leg. they beat swedish side. on to tennis and serena williams has lost in the first round of the miami open against miami sacca. she was unseeded to the tournament after returning from pregnancy, something that has caused quite a lot of debate in the tennis world. she lost in straight sets. the 20—year—old from japan won the indian wells title last week and says she has looked up to serena her whole life. i have never really seen up close, i just see her on the tv so, yeah, i blanked out for a moment there and then i was shaking her hand.

massive win and big things to come from her i'm sure. that's all the sport from now. i'll be back in an hour. now as we been here in the british company that makes british passport has says it has failed to win the contract to produce the traditional blue passport that will be reached used after brexit. join me now from westminster to get his reaction is the conservative mp bill cash. we are hearing officially that the procurement process is not com plete the procurement process is not complete but if it is the case that the contract has been awarded to franco dutch firm, than the irony will not be lost on most people will it? know and as i have already said it? know and as i have already said it is both symbolic and incongruous. it is quite wrong for a situation like this to have occurred in the first place. there are fundamental questions, i'm chairman of the european scrutiny committee in house of commons and i can say this, first

of commons and i can say this, first of all, the question is is debt free and fair competition in this? secondly, why was the company according to what i've heard today andi according to what i've heard today and i been in touch with the company, actually not allowed to compete for the french passport which was been made? that is a really interesting question. the lawyers have got to work on this because basically the question is are the national security issues involved in this as well? data sensitivity and things of that kind. there are many, many really important questions and it is not there forjust one particular contract, it is about the symbolism andi contract, it is about the symbolism and i cannot understand how it is worked out like this in practice, but there is also very much the legal question, have the rules been properly applied? do you think as mr sutherland, the boss of the company has said that the prime minister or

indeed the home secretary should explain to his work is why this decision has apparently been made not to award the contract of them? well, i am interested to know the a nswer to well, i am interested to know the answer to that question but i can only say this, that really and truly the lawyers who i know are crawling all over this at the moment really have got to explain why this happened, how it happened, what the appeal procedure is, is there a public interest test as there is in the case of takeovers and things like that. but the essence of it is free and fair competition and if the company, as i hear, were not allowed to compete for the french contract for the french passport, what on earth is going on? this looks to me as if it is unfair competition and in that case there is no doubt in my mind that we should make it quite clear that belarus should get the

contract here in the uk. -- the company should get the contract here in the uk. do you think in this case given how this is so tied up with the brexit process , this is so tied up with the brexit process, should symbolism outweigh finance and i think it is not free of competition. they cannot have it both ways and if the word undercut means that it was unfair competition, if in fact they were for example been subsidised in some way or another, contrary to eu rules or indeed any proper rules. then the bottom line is this has got to be fought and fought hard because we really don't want to see situations like this a clearing where british workers are put at a disadvantage as a result of unfair competition. so we're not at the end of the cop story yet? i agree. i understand that but the question is are the right questions being asked and i would like to believe that this discussion for example will help to provide a mechanism for ensuring

that a proper appeal process is taken on board and also that the government itself gets involved in the process to be sure that it was free and fair competition. i have very serious doubts about it. i have heard what de la rue have said about there not been allowed to compete for the french passport when it was been made. i think that looks very much as if they were being protectionist and therefore the whole question of free and fair competition is at the heart of this issue. bill cash, thank you. the founder of facebook mark zuckerberg has apologised to the way his body handled the personal details of 50 million users saying it was a major breach of trust. in his first interview since allegations surfaced that the data was misused during the us presidential election, he also said he was open to the idea of more government regulation. from washington, our reporter. more than

2 billion users have entrusted facebook with details including their age, whether they are in a relationship and perhaps crucially their political leanings. cambridge analytica and potentially other firms are accused of exploiting that data in an attempt to influence, among other things, the us presidential election. and ultimately for that breaching trust, facebook and its founder are having to ta ke facebook and its founder are having to take responsibility. if you told me in 2004 when i was getting started with facebook that a big pa rt started with facebook that a big part of my responsibility today would be to help protect the integrity of elections against interference by other governments, you know, i would not have believed that that was going to be something that that was going to be something that i would have to work on. the days, mark zuckerberg was silent while damaging allegations were broadcast around the world of how cambridge analytica took advantage of information from facebook users.

now he is promising a full forensic audit and he says that anyone whose data may have been compromised will be told. but mr zucker burke knows his social network will continue to be tested —— mr mark zuckerberg... will there's a lot more we need to do to make it harderfor nation states like russia and the trolls another‘s folk can't spread fake news but we can get in front of this and we have a responsibility to do this, not only for the 2018th midterms in the us which will be a huge deal, and that is a huge focus for us but there is a big election in india, brazil, there are big elections around the world. politicians in both the uk and us also have questions for mark zuckerberg. he said he would appear before congress in america if it was the right thing to do. and with talk of greater regulation and new rules, the face of facebook may find that

he has little choice. chris butler, bbc news, washington. in a moment we will have a summary of the business news this hour with ten bottles first the headlines. parliament will stop shortly to mark the first anniversary of the westminster bridge attack in which five people we re bridge attack in which five people were killed. theresa may will tell eu leaders later that moscow has no respect for international law and will cool for european unity against russia. and anger from will cool for european unity against russia. and angerfrom some conservative mps as it is reported in britain's post brexit passport will be manufactured in the eu. the government says it was a fair and open competition. hello, is the business news. as you heard just now, a stamp of disapproval from some as a franco dutch firm will reportedly make the new style british covered british passport —— blue covered british passport. the

current manufacturer is british company de la rue which has been making the burgundy passports since 2009. it says it is not yet sure if losing the contract will affect its factory in gateshead. shares in struggling airline lady have... short while ago there were down 20% after the stroke but group decided not to go ahead with the takeover. it had been considering making a bid for the carrier but says it was unable to reach agreement on satisfactory terms. however, it added that the two companies have a range of shared interests and will continue working together. and within the next 15 minutes or so, the bank of england will announce its latest interest rate decision. the base rate is used as a guide by banks to set interest rates on mortgages and savings. last month the committee voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold at o.5%. so at 12 noon exactly we will find

out what the bank of england has decided to do on interest rates this month. generally when interest rates go month. generally when interest rates 9° up month. generally when interest rates go up so do do the costs of borrowing for those who've got loa ns, borrowing for those who've got loans, credit cards and mortgages. but so do interest rates on savings. uk's central bank last raised the base rate in november, that was the first time it'd hiked it in a decade. but so far it has been —— since then it has been held at .5%. we will not know what happens for certain butjohnny me now isjeremy cooke, chief economist at world first. jeremy, good to see you. the expectation among many observers seems to be there not expecting rates to go up. they think that is more likely in may. what they basing that assumption on? on the assumption that the data before this week for the united kingdom has been pretty poor, that the political issues around brexit, the transitional appeal, which had not

been signed at the previous meeting, was not looking likely. that it would come to pass and therefore we would come to pass and therefore we would be staring down the barrel of a cliff edge brexit in 2019. but while we're talking about... the growth remotes slowest wages are still pretty weak, the consumer is still pretty weak, the consumer is still under pressure. all in all, coming together to raise borrowing costs may not be the best thing at this moment in time. we found out this moment in time. we found out this week that inflation, the increase in average prices month—to—month, fell. surprises on average are going up not as quickly as they were. presumably that exhibit a pressure of the bag to put interest rates up? it does. yesterday we saw wages run higher at 2.6% and it is one thing the bank of england has been worried about, not so much imported inflation which came as a result of the devaluation of the pound but whether wages

pick—up and therefore businesses feel comfortable putting prices appear in uk and that starts to generate inflation and that is what the bank of england will try to control with further interest rate hikes. nothing today but certainly something in may and i think they will guide towards that when they released their comments in about ten minutes time. am i right in thinking that the bigger impact nowadays seems to come from the notes that the bank provides when they are scoured for clues about the timing and rate of the next rises as and when they come? sure. the world of central banking at the moment is more about communication policy and the loss in the bank of england wa nts to the loss in the bank of england wants to do in this quite skittish economy is wants to do in this quite skittish economy is scare consumers or scare businesses into... in with an interest rate than no one is looking for or heard about. the communication of that policy is going to be very, very key. whether thatis going to be very, very key. whether that is in the statement that we get today, we tend to look at for major meetings over the course of the

year. february, may... and november. that is when mark carney sits in front of the press and explains the decisions and answers questions. we will not get that now but we will in may. he will take that opportunity to raise interest rates explain why. now, six days after the facebook row unfolded, mark zuckerberg has apologised and said he will cooperate in any enquiry. the bbc we re cooperate in any enquiry. the bbc were told earlier that the facebook row has raised wider questions about data protection. —— i welcome the fa ct data protection. —— i welcome the fact that he has apologised but clearly there is much more is that facebook needs to do to make sure that people can trust that it has got their data safe. but it is much broader than that because what this has shown is that it is not right to rely on these big companies to get this subtle balance between people's privacy and the need to use data in

innovative ways. that balance is for society to decide on and for parliament to set the rules on. i be worried about this for some time and so we have introduced the data protection bill, in front of parliament right now, to pick sure that we have strong rules so people can only have the data used with consent and to make sure that there is much more transparency with these big companies. let's take a quick look at the markets, they are all awaiting the bank of england's latest interest rate decision. the pound looking fairly buoyant though. up pound looking fairly buoyant though. up against the dollar and also higher against the euro. the ftse 100 share is down but not quite as much as the frankfurt and paris indices. they have tumbled as the morning as one on. back to you. better warning that councils in england could end up spending most of the taxes they raise providing ca re of the taxes they raise providing care to people who are older and disabled. the institute for fiscal

studies says the government needs to rethink reforms to local authority spending but ministers say they have provided an extra £2 billion to support the social care system. some blueberry muffins sold by cafes and supermarkets contain more sugar than the maximum adults are recommended to consume in an entire day. research done by action on sugar and the obesity health alliance found the obesity health alliance found the cakes can contain up to eight teaspoons of sugar. the recommended daily limit for adults is seven. health experts say the findings show how easy it is to consume huge amounts of sugar. let's return now to the anniversary of the westminster terror attack in which five people died and dozens were injured. khalid masood drove a van into pedestrians on a bridge before stabbing a police officer. a service of members will be held shortly in westminster hall. the mp tobias ellwood tried in vain to save the

life of the officer. his boat to a report earlier. yes, i would very much in all these situations i think you ask yourself camino, if it's in your nature to do these things you ask yourself what can you do? i'm hugely disappointed that we will we we re hugely disappointed that we will we were not, it wasn'tjust me remember, there were many people who step forward we weren't able to save his life. but the more people that do that, the stronger the message we send to any terrorist looking to disrupt our alliances that we are not and be derailed, we're stronger than you. service... sorry, ithink service... sorry, i think there was a problem with my microphone. we're just don't show you the scene inside the palace of westminster, westminster hall that service

weather service of reflection will shortly begin. the archbishops of york and canterbury and the... we'll all addressed that service. we will be back there very shortly. the headlines on the coming up on the bbc news channel. now is the weather. it wasn't as court this morning as it was yesterday morning. frost free really but more cloud around and black cloud has gradually increased for many of us through this morning. this is the scene in shropshire at the moment, grey skies. still some sunshine though in eastern areas. this is in lincolnshire from a weather watcher. blue skies there. quite mild for many of those because we have these south—westerly winds bringing this milderair in. you south—westerly winds bringing this milder air in. you can see the oranges there across the uk. temperature is the many get into double figures. double figures already in the east. further west

though as i showed you earlier, cloudy skies and rain in fact moving its way into northern ireland and the west of scotland. maximum temperatures in the west nine, perhaps 10 celsius. but in the east 12 or 13. the rain will continue to spread eastward, as it does there will be heavier pulses of rain moving through parts of wales, into northern england, northern ireland and parts of scotland. intense rain for a time. further south, the rain will be more patchy. temperatures no lower than 5—7 degrees, a frost free night into friday morning. during friday that continue in northern areas, gradually easing away. showers into northern areas of england through friday afternoon. but a dry day with further spells of sunshine. a bit coolerfurther north but later in the day this area of rain will move its way in towards the isles of scilly angkor more. it

is linked to this area of low pressure which as we going to the weekend will skirt away into france. it is going to give as a glancing blow towards southern and eastern areas into saturday but further north low—pressure dominating that will bring showers and just a little bit wintry over the high ground. further south and east, further rain that it should gradually clear. in between the showers and rain a good bowl of dry bright weather and temperature is about ten or 11 degrees. sunshine on saturday, that will still feel quite pleasant. sunday, we lose the rain across this far south east side of things becoming dry here. still the risk of some showers into the far north—west. again, a little bit wintry over higher ground. 7—9 degrees but some areas up to 13. overall, sunday is looking the drier brighter day of the weekend goodbye. these are the top stories. parliament will fall silent shortly to mark the first anniversary of the

westminster bridge attack, in which five people were killed, including a romanian tourist knocked into the river thames. we spent all the time together and to know all of this doesn't make any sense. it is the day of remembrance here, as people reflect on the moment that terrorism came to the heart of westminster. theresa may will tell eu leaders later that moscow has no respect for international law and will call for european unity against russia. anger from some tory mps as it is reported that britain's post brexit passports will be manufactured in the eu. the government says it was a fair and open competition. people waiting days for a police response to 8999 call. the inspectorate of co nsta bula ry call. the inspectorate of constabulary says forces are overwhelmed by demand. and after a surge in crime committed on mopeds

and scooters, police are told not to be frightened of ending "if they pursue suspects. on the first anniversary of the westminster bridge attack, we will go straight to parliament, to westminster all, for that little of remembrance for the victims of the attack. the reverend rose hudson wilkin is speaking. one year ago today, and this is state and westminster bridge, we were visited by what i regard as evil. today, we stand together to remember the men and women who were injured. those who died on the bridge. in particular, we stand together to

remember the courage, devotion to duty and the self sacrifice in the loss of pc keith palmer. he ran towards the danger in order that we might be safe. he was a son, a husband, a father, a colleague andy friend, who paid the ultimate sacrifice with life. in the pain of loss, we no doubt have found ourselves focused on the way bed i'd and they are departing. the way pc keith palmer died and his departing from our midst. as we mark this

first anniversary, make it enable us to focus on pc keith palmer's life, a life that was full of purpose and a life that was full of purpose and a gift to us all. lam i am created to do some definite service. work has been committed to me, which is not committed to another. i have my mission. i may never know it in this life, but i shall be told it in the next. i am a link ina shall be told it in the next. i am a

link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. i shall do good. i shall do this work. from manchester arena, we stand in solidarity, shoulder to shoulder with london. the message, to respond to violence with violence, increases darkness on a night already devoid of styles. so, light a candle and don't cast the darkness. good list is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate. light is stronger than hate. light is stronger than hate. light is stronger than darkness, life is stronger than darkness, life is

stronger than darkness, life is stronger than death. victory is ours through him who loves us. reverend rose, who graces, parliamentary colleagues, those who work with members, those who work here in the service of the howes, those who care about this work. thank you for coming here, coming here in such large numbers and coming here in a spirit of championing freedom, insisted upon its triumph over evil and respecting those who, as a matter of daily course of events, put themselves in the way of harm, in a bid to ensure

that we do not suffer such. this is a magnificent testimony today, and colleagues, i hope you will agree that it colleagues, i hope you will agree thatitis colleagues, i hope you will agree that it is right, that in particular, we should note, acknowledge and pay the most heartfelt tribute to our emergency services, our first heartfelt tribute to our emergency services, ourfirst responders heartfelt tribute to our emergency services, our first responders and indeed, friends and colleagues, to those here from westminster abbey, who translated care from a wired to a deed, when most it was needed, precisely one year a cool. —— ago. i shall stand for love, even with the broken soul, even with a heavy heart. i shall stand for love, for

the world is wounded, notjust my little piece of land, where i am mostly safe, where i am mostly well, but our world, everywhere, every day. i shall stand for love, because we need more light. not more deaths. not more power. not more homes. not more homes, bombs. i shall stand for love so that our children are safe, so that our friends are sheltered, so that our borders are open. i shall stand for love, even with a broken soul. even with the heavy heart. music plays.

i totally endorse all the words that mr speaker hasjust i totally endorse all the words that mr speaker has just spoken and i emphasise our total appreciation for the services of the police handle the services of the police handle the emergency services, who are represented here today. reading from

the book of revelation, i, john, so a new heaven and a new earth. for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and i heard a loud voice from the throne saying, see, the home of god is among mortals. he will dwell with them, they will be his people. and god himself will be with them. he will wipe every tear from their eyes. death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more. for the first things have passed away. and the one who was seated on the throne said, see, iam who was seated on the throne said, see, i am making all things new. then he said to me, it is done. i am the alpha and the lawmaker, the beginning and the end. to the

thirsty, i will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. music plays. time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too short for those who rejoice, but for

those who love, time is eternity. and those of you who are seated, please stand. as we are gathered to remember, we approach a period of silence and reflection. we remember those who died, those who were injured and those who hear the scars on their hearts and in their minds. we honour all and give thanks for love and compassion companionship, tolerance and freedom. we now begin our silence. thank you. that silence, as the

service of commemoration in westminster all draws to a close, marking the first anniversary of the westminster bridge attack, the day when, as the reverend rose hudson wilkin, who opened the service, said, westminster was visited by evil. we're going to take unite to a news co nfe re nce evil. we're going to take unite to a news conference in london, where the russian ambassador to britain is making a statement. by now, no facts have been officially presented, either to the old pcw or to us or to the uk authorities or to the public. ladies and gentlemen, we cannot take

british words for granted. the uk had a record, a bad record, of violating international law and misleading the international community, which include invading yugoslavia, 78 days of bombing, iraq and libya, under the false pretext, and libya, under the false pretext, and supporting the coup d' tat in ukraine. at the end, i would like to quote president ronald regan, who frequently referred to the russian proverb, trust or paedophile. history shows that britain's state m e nts history shows that britain's statements must be verified. we demand full transparency of the investigation and full cooperation with russia and the old pcw. so this

is the end of my remarks and i will be happy to add to your questions. how would you comment on boris johnson's statement, comparing the world cup in russia to the olympic games in germany? i am authorised to say that moscow considers this kind of statement, made under the level of statement, made under the level of the foreign secretary, in any way unacceptable and of the foreign secretary, in any way u na cce pta ble a nd totally irresponsible. the british government is free to make a decision about isba dissipation in the world cup, but nobody has the right to insult the russian people, who defeated nazism and lost more

than 25 million people, by comparing our country to nazi germany. that goes beyond common sense, and we do not think british war veterans, including those of the arctic convoys , including those of the arctic convoys, would share this opinion. starting from the front line. yesterday, mrjohnson raised concern of the safety of the england fans at the world cup. how can you reassure the world cup. how can you reassure the uk regarding this? first of all, i will be happy to invite all the fans, they will be safe in russia. all the necessary measures are being taken, and the british special

authorities are in contact with the russian special authorities to provide this security of the fans and all the british who will be in the territory of russia. it's not about britain, is just regular precautions we are doing with every single country and every single federation who are going to participate in this world cup games. iam sure participate in this world cup games. i am sure that there will be full security and, by the way, there will bea security and, by the way, there will be a breeze up free regime for those who are going to come to moscow. if they have a ticket, they are not entitled just to the visa applying, so they will be the guests of russia. nick robinson from cnn. would you take the microphone? some people will be happy to enjoy the louder voice. nick robinson. when do

you anticipate the russian government will respond to that british question of, was this a state act or was it out of the hands of state institutions? this is an been echoed by members of the eu and the united states as well. we will a nswer the united states as well. we will answer this question the next day, as soon as we answer this question the next day, as soon as we get the note. i was summoned to the foreign secretary, by the foreign secretary, and the next day was sent to the official note from the embassy, that russia has nothing to do with this incident. that was clearly stated at an official level. then it was repeated to the public the same day by the statement of the minister of foreign affairs. and i'm just putting the question, what kind of other answers we need, once it was officially stated. there is another

question that bothers me, it is that we do not have any access to the investigation. we were blamed, that russia did it, and we want to know who was behind that and we're happy to investigate together, because this is the russian citizens, but so far, we don't have any cooperation with the uk on that matter, and that really bothers us. why? i will a nswer really bothers us. why? i will answer other questions. please. itv news. on sunday, the embassy tweeted, we definitely need hercule poirot in salisbury! my question is for you, is this a joke? are you treating this seriously? of course, the message was very simple. we don't have any information. the investigation is classified. we

don't know the motivation of the british government, that's why, as this case is so complicated, we need some wisdom from the person like hercule poirot to investigate it. that was the message, that's it, nothing special behind it. surely that's not the right tone. listen, we're not going to talk about the tone, because twitter has so many british humour and we're putting something from the british newspapers, you can ask me whether it is the right tone. it's notjust a political statement, this is also for the public, and they liked it. i'm sorry, too much time. please. please. the lady, the lady in front. the times. theresa may will be

urging her eu counterparts to follow suit with the british action to expel russian diplomats. a new indignation about british violations of conventions, that strange when your president says any trace of russia should get that treatment. as far as to theresa may's activity in the eu, i spoke to several eu ambassadors yesterday. and i asked them whether they received any evidence from britain, and they said no. so, basically, all the countries

of the eu will be happy to see something before they come to conclusions. what i was told by one ambassadors yesterday, he said, first, we want to see the evidence, then to make conclusions. this is then to make conclusions. this is the answer. as far as the statement from my president, that was said in an absolutely different context and this is nothing to do with britain. the second row. yes. thank you very much, john sweeney. last week, panorama, this week, bbc newsnight. president vladimir putin has said that the idea that russia poisoned these two people in salisbury is unimaginable. iwant these two people in salisbury is unimaginable. i want to ask you what happened... there'sa unimaginable. i want to ask you what happened... there's a problem with this microphone. you president has

said that the poisonings in salisbury, that russia is responsible, that is unimaginable. i put to you what has happened to a numberof put to you what has happened to a number of people who are openly critical of vladimir putin. several we re critical of vladimir putin. several were poisoned and short. alexander litvinenko, a traitor to the president, poisoned. with that track record, how reliable is the word of vladimir putin? i think his word is very reliable. let me just point out one simple fact. you mentioned alexander litvinenko, but you didn't mention another who died there. you didn't mention another man who died

hugein didn't mention another man who died huge in london recently. and of course, i mentioned another who died. what is the common factor around that? there are critics of vladimir putin. and all the investigations were classified. within that access —— we did not have access to any investigation, any papers. so, my question, in this country, the people who were linked to the secret services and to know that alexander litvinenko work for the secret service is, and others, who we don't know if they were agents. we still have to understand that. all of them died and all of them, the investigation information and all the papers, they were classified and they are still classified. the investigation was

done and the people were punished. if you did the decisions of the court, all the people were punished. and this is the big difference. in our case, the investigation and the court was open. in the case of britain, everything is classified. we still don't have any access to these papers. and my question is why. because there is something, somebody here is trying to hide from us somebody here is trying to hide from us and notjust from us, but also from the british public opinion. can you list the number of british opposition figures who have been shot and poisoned in the last decade? i'm not going to talk about this, it's an internal matter for britain. what i want to say is that

there are 43 russian criminals, they we re there are 43 russian criminals, they were asking to extradite them to russia, because they committed crime in russia. they are involved in money—laundering, in different financial affairs. and some of them are at serial killers. and all these people have britain is refusing to extradite them to russia. my question is why these people are threatening the public in this country. because there are criminals and what is the policy of this government if they are trying to keep these people use in this country. we do not accept explanations about the human and russianjails. do you think that vladimir putin

deserves to host the world cup in russia given the silencing of his critics and also is the tournament going to be a propaganda victory for russia? you are trying to quote borisjohnson but russia? you are trying to quote boris johnson but from a russia? you are trying to quote borisjohnson but from a different angle, i'm right? i'm drawing on his comments, yes. the first question, the decision to host the world cup

is not just the decision to host the world cup is notjust the decision of russia, this is the decision of the world community. so the way how the world community. so the way how the world community thinks about russia, not just britain but the work unity, which is much bigger than one country so this is the answer to your question. whether it will be advertising, of course it will be advertising, of course it will be advertising because the competition will take place in 11 cities. we build absolutely fascinating infrastructure, we are going to host how many people are going to host from britain? something like 20,000 maybe 30,000 the people who are buying tickets, they will go to russia and if you take the other countries there will be even more of them. new facilities, fascinating hotels, so we are hosting all these people and so this of course will be

the advertising of the russian standard of living, the country is growing very fast and we are growing 2.596 growing very fast and we are growing 2.5%a yearand growing very fast and we are growing 2.5% a year and before the elections, my president said that russia is going to grow even further. he wants to grow faster than the average world economic growth so about 4%. so basically we are confident and we will be happy to welcome everybody and as i said, it is the decision not of one country but this is the decision of the world. bbc news. can we be clear, is russia willing to absolutely condemn the sells attack asa absolutely condemn the sells attack as a terrible crime? can you be surprised that russia is not involving russia as a partner in the

investigation when britain, theresa may, clearly regards russia as the principal if not the only suspect. it would be very therefore view to be actively involved in investigation. the only thing we wa nt to investigation. the only thing we want to have is the evidence. if you area want to have is the evidence. if you are a serious country, you have two support, your allegation. so far we do not have any proof of that, the only thing that we see absolutely hysteric media campaign and a very strong statement on the side of the prime minister. but we will be happy to see the facts and i will tell you frankly that i am surprised why britain is not going to cooperate with us. why britain is refusing to cooperate with us. to me, it is a big question. maybe you know the a nswer to big question. maybe you know the answer to that. i do not have it. to

condemn the crime are terrible at. that is exactly what my president said because we considered this is terrible terrible act. this is the poisoning of the people by the russian people. you have to know that. so we have to investigate this case, we want to know the truth. and so case, we want to know the truth. and so far, we don't have any information or released any fish to do something together. so for us that's a big question. when it comes international response, you see... much more cautious position. from your perspective, what you think...

inaudible. we are in very close contact with all the countries of the world and what really worries us is that the way how the international law is applied because in order to keep the world stable, we believe that all the countries should follow international law and thatis should follow international law and that is exactly what india is doing, china is doing, russia return. we are the leaders of that and if you look at the deeds in the international arena, so we are trying to do that. so basically in this state, let's say... countries they have the same vision of the world, they've see the same trends and this is the new reality. juanmi

one moment boris johnson and this is the new reality. juanmi one moment borisjohnson is saying russia is not threaten axes comparing putin to hitler. what does it say about the state of your diplomacy in general at the moment? well in general i will tell you is very difficult because we believe that the top diplomats should be very cautious with the language because there are certain that say political narratives in this world and it is very difficult for us because we are facing the new realities, the new diplomacy here in the uk. but we understand how it works, we understand what the people are thinking. i understand the policy of britain but what really worries us is a hell it is being presented. it creates a serious

problem for the uk itself because after two weeks of this kind of really wild statements, how i quenched at the russians? because as isaid quenched at the russians? because as i said today, it was really very insulting to the russian people. but this is a new reality here in the uk andi this is a new reality here in the uk and i think this will be the way how we have to deal with with the british foreign service. it's difficult. i'll give the answers to everything. any russian businessmen

here so there is facing serious crash from the british media. the russian sitters is, i in the business people, they address the problems and we see more and more restrictions on the activity here in the uk. they are puzzled, some of them are frightened the only recommendation that we gave them is once you have serious problems you have to go to court. and solve your problems in the court. this is one story. but we have another side of that lets save story is the threats to the russian journalists. that lets save story is the threats to the russianjournalists. that that lets save story is the threats to the russian journalists. that has happened after the wild media

campaign in instant in salisbury and some of them are threatened physically and in this case we recommended them to work with the police because from my point of view, the pressure, that kind of pressure from the media is absolutely unacceptable. we raised this question in our organisation of the security and cooperation in europe and they are now being involved with every single case because this is the violation of the international law from the british side and we of course alerted the foreign office, we sent an official note to the foreign office and we are demanding explanations. looks at the microphone doesn't work, no? you

said earlier that the uk has given precedence to serial killers. i think it might be in reference to extradition requirements. well, we have the data protection act in this country so i can make it only privately to you because it's the bilateral nature. but if you want to have some names, we could provide to us have some names, we could provide to us the background because we are not allowed to say this publicly. that was a request from the british side. i'm sorry about that. this week we have reported on the activities of cambridge analytica and rather nice photograph of the former chief executive receiving the prize from

you at a polo match. can i ask you a serious question, in response to this, hillary clinton has told us that she believes russian money was involved in the campaign in america. are you able to confirm that you do have more than a passing relationship with cambridge analytica and it may extend to involvement in other people's collections? i give you this story. i've been here seven years and i am met thousands of people.” i've been here seven years and i am met thousands of people. i refresh your memory. —— it's all right. one day i was invited to windsor and the main price was the russian vodka and the organisers asked me, since this

is the russian vodka which is available in uk, why don't you give the prize to all the members of the tea m the prize to all the members of the team who just got the prize. so what idid was team who just got the prize. so what i did was i gave them prize to maybe ten people, 12 people and that was the only time that i have met this gentleman. and there were at least ten of them i think you don't render them. i'm quite sure that you know them. i'm quite sure that you know the higher officials, when they are sometimes participating in clubs like the windsor club and henley, giving these prizes, and not so sure that they remember all of them. but what about the wider relationship with cambridge analytic? we didn't have any contact with cambridge analytica and i will tell you that i

only read the official reports which we re only read the official reports which were published in the british media. and what i concerned, we did not have any connections, we did not meet with anybody and that was the only time when i met this gentleman in the windsor polo club. sorry about that. please. ambassador, it seems to me this is a... between russia and britain. i don't exactly know what this is going to do to the national problems like syria, yemen, to discuss especially knowing... the role russia plays in these conflicts. of course, britain is a

permanent member of the un security council and we have very close day—to—day contact on the syrian matter, the middle east, because my job is to explain the russian position and to explain this in detail and we are using all the levels and of course every time when i have an opportunity i am talking directly to boris johnson i have an opportunity i am talking directly to borisjohnson and explaining what we're going to do. the last time we met on that matter, that was about gunter and today of —— syria. if memory serves me, 80,000 people were released, we provided the area with 30,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid and even the

armed people are leaving that area of syria. but my request to the british government is very simple, could they do something, could boris johnson do something if they have any influence on those who are armed in that area to urge them to lay down their weapons, stop killing the citizens, stop using them as a life shield, do something to save lives. then i refer to him a few days later andi then i refer to him a few days later and i asked, well, did you do something? so actually i was hinted that basically not. but still we have to talk to the british side because we definitely know that they have links with the armed opposition and if you look at the activity of the white helmets, you will find

that this so—called. .. the white helmets, you will find that this so—called... is the white helmets, you will find that this so—called. .. is financed by the british government. so they have access on the ground and that is why we have to use all our capacity to convince the british government to use their influence on these armed groups. to save the lives of the syrians. so that was my message and i'm quite sure that we're going to work on this in the future. well, until there will be a full settlement in syria. any other questions? who didn't ask a question? would you miss england's football tea m question? would you miss england's football team at the world cup at the decision was taken not to go? well, as i understand the football

players are coming. i like british football. i'm not a big fan of football. i'm not a big fan of football but when you've seek good play everyone enjoys it. that is why we'll be happy to see the british football players but as i understand, at government level there was a decision not to go by there was a decision not to go by the officials and some others but this is the decision of the country, this is the decision of the country, this is the decision of the country, this is just this is the decision of the country, this isjust a this is the decision of the country, this is just a fact of life. this is the decision of the country, this isjust a fact of life. what you expect from the european summit today? what you think will be the tone? it is difficult to pick expect, to say what i'm expecting. but what i would like to expect is that the british government should present the evidence and the

european countries, the leaders, will make conclusions based on the evidence. don't take the words of the british for granted. i mean, first, and i'm quoting ronald reagan, trust but verify. i think thatis reagan, trust but verify. i think that is exactly what should happen in the european summit. you're still here! surreal question! so the question is, if looking at the history of political murder, the murder of putin's critics... is not a correct question, it goes too far. not in this house. respect the

ambassador, please. respect the ambassador. so recently... emigrant a nswer ambassador. so recently... emigrant answer question because it goes too far. there should be some kind of good manners. a senior government official has described russia as a strategic enemy, is that correct? ...and strategic enemy, is that correct? and are you fearful that the european union... inaudible. unlike propensities press conference i decided to have a look at the national security strategy and strategic defence and security review 2015. that is a great document. and this is written here, this is an official document of the united kingdom, russia is considered

as the main state —based threat to the security of the united kingdom and its allies. according to this document, russia is an aggressive, authoritarian and national estate defining itself in a position to the west and willing to undermine wider international standards of cooperation. so this is the official policy of britain. and what we see from the speech of prime minister theresa may, she said, and she designated russia as the main threat... in which the west depends. as she put it, russia is the chief among those who seek to undermine open economies and free societies. so basically this will explain to you while we have all this anti—russian campaign. because the government is supposed to follow the decision, like they have taken an

official level. this is the strategy official level. this is the strategy of the uk and for others, of course, we regret it because we always promoted a strong and friendly and equal relations with an absolute majority of countries in the world. this is russia's foreign policy priority which is specifically mentioned by president putin and his address to the nation. the united kingdom is not an section, u nfortu nately we kingdom is not an section, unfortunately we do not see political will from the british government to sustain normal relations with russia. and that is the russian ambassador to britain who a moment ago was talking to the fa ct who a moment ago was talking to the fact russia are facing up to new realities of a new diplomacy with britain. talking about and responding to many questions of course on the salisbury poisoning. he said we have not received any

information, the british authorities refused to provide samples. the only news we have had is the medical condition of... he also criticised those comments yesterday from the foreign secretary borisjohnson saying it was beneath the foreign secretary and that he had insulted the russian people by comparing their country to nazi germany. while, meanwhile, the labour leader jeremy corbyn has condemned government warnings over the threat posed by russia. speaking a little earlier, the labour leader again cold for a dialogue with russia in the wake of the salisbury attack. i'm not sure the language used by some of our ministers is particularly helpful or sensible. i don't have any problem with the people of russia, i'd have any problem with people of country. do we have problems with people who've abused human rights? sure we do and

thatis abused human rights? sure we do and that is where we have to distinguish. my hope at the end of this weekend, the council of ministers will, with a statement thatis ministers will, with a statement that is both strong and robust but also makes sure there is dialogue, robust and serious dialogue, in the future. and theresa may is travelling to a summit of eu leaders in brussels today with the salisbury poisoning high on her agenda. the prime minister will say that the eu must remain united against the threat from russia. also under .l. trade .— .7. ..7 l. .l. trade “1.7. ..7 l. and77 7 fiéioofiseie on l . ll ans talk fiéioofiseie onl l ll ll l ans talk to ioofiseie onl l ll l ans talk to ourrseie onl l ll l russia. let's talk to our russia correspondent who is in brussels. how difficult will it be for theresa may to get the beefed up response from the eu that she is looking for on this? i think she's going to get

it, we know she's get a get because there's been quite a lot of the planet in the build—up to this summit today. foreign ministers, defence ministers at nato, all of them we have heard eu leaders as well individually coming out quite strongly in support of the uk. now what we have heard this morning from leaders as their gathering here, just to give you a flavour, the cheque prime minister —— the czech republic prime minister said we will roof support the uk. the danish by ministers say they definitely agree. the luxembourg minister as well. he says if there is a personal state behind this there has to be a reaction. what i think we will get to night then is after the dinner, theresa may will brief leaders on the state of that investigation and they will respond with a statement of support, of solidarity. what they do say is that the investigations have to follow their course and that once those are finished then the response will be required from

russia and reactions could follow that. back to you. just before we go to the weather forecast, some other news coming into is from the central criminal court where a 50—year—old lawyer who had been accused of forcing his eldest daughter to undergo female genital mutilation has been found not guilty on the charges he faced. he had argued that charges he fazed.77!=ie7had7argded§hat-j the li— :.‘., .u.;.,,. , , ? his children and adored his children and she had never seen any adored his children and she had never seen any ill—treatment. so a 50 or lawyer found not never seen any ill—treatment. so a 50 or lawyerfound not guilty never seen any ill—treatment. so a 50 or lawyer found not guilty of forcing his eldest daughter to undergo female genital mutilation. ina undergo female genital mutilation. in a moment, the news at 1pm with jane hill but first here's the weather forecast. the weekend

jane hill but first here's the weatherforecast. the weekend is fast approaching, let's see what is happening on the weather front and in the next 24 hours or so i think most others will see at least a little bit of rain sweeping through. it will be reaching western and north—western parts of the country through the course of today, at least later today. here are the weather systems trailing across the atlantic. that is where the air is coming from. a plume of milder air, the yellows here across the uk for the yellows here across the uk for the next day or two and behind it a little bit

cooler for northern areas through the course of the weekend. as far as this league is concerned, here is the rain reaching western areas, eight or 9 degrees this evening. through the course the night that weather front sweeps across the uk, the heaviest of the rain across the north. dark blues here. in the south mostly light rain by the time it reaches london and norwich early on friday morning. frost free toni ght with all of that cloud, wind and rain. five or tomorrow the north of the country wakes up to at the dig across scotland. blustery wind. in the south and east temperatures might get up to 13 depending how much sunshine be kept but at the dig across scotland. blustery wind. in the south and east temperatures might get up to 13 depending how much sunshine we kept there is more rain on the way for friday afternoon as far as south—western parts of the country are concerned. this low pressure will swing rain for plymouth and cardiff friday evening. the weekend itself, a little bit straightforward sunshine and showers sunshine, real mix. i do not think we'll see a deluge. you can see the jet cloud, some others with sunshine, real mix. i do not think we will see a deluge. you can see the jet stream and most are missing is. we are weather systems are missing us. we are in a slightly on saturday but that should clear away the brighter weather and just a few showers across north—western areas.

temperatures little bit low because slightly cooler air has come out of the north atlantic so, a bit of rain around in southern and eastern areas on saturday but that should clear away the brighter weather and just a few showers across north—western areas. temperatures little bit low because slightly cooler air has come out of the north atlantic so eight 10 degrees, not into the teens over the weekend. sunday quieter day, you can see where the winds are coming from in the north, single figure temperatures down to seven in some places, other places recovering to 13 10 degrees, not into the teens over the weekend. sunday quieter day, you can see where the winds are coming from in the north, single figure temperatures down to seven in some places, other places recovering to 13. the war of words sparked by the salisbury poisoning intensifies — russia's ambassador to the uk accuses boris johnson of insulting the russian people. he says the comparison of his country to nazi germany is "unacceptable" and "irresponsible". nobody has the right to insult the russian people, who defeated nazism and lost more than 25 million people,

by comparing our country to nazi germany. this afternoon the prime minister will call for unity at an eu summit in the wake of the salisbury attack. also this lunchtime... on the first anniversary of the westminster bridge attack, a memorial in lights to all those killed through terrorism in the capital last year. if we allow our communities to fragment and be scared, then