the biggest ever mass expulsion of russian diplomats in history as the international community gets behind the uk. 22 countries unite to make their anger clear to russia following the nerve agent attack in salisbury. together, we have sent a message that we will not tolerate russia's continued attempts to flout international law and undermine our values. russia says the expulsions are a mistake and it will respond in kind. also tonight... protests at westminster against claimed anti—semitism in the labour party — despitejeremy corbyn‘s apologies. a record £2 million fine against a health trust after the deaths of two patients. the human cost of the escalation of violence in the democratic republic of congo — the un admits it's failing there. the organisation i work for is letting these people down, their government is letting these people down, and i think the world is also letting these people down. the porn star and the president — stormy daniels warns of more revelations to come about donald

trump. and the crisis in cricket — what next for australia in the ball tampering row? and coming up on sportsday, ryan giggs suffers his first defeat since taking charge of wales after his side were beaten 1—0 by uruguay in the china cup final. good evening. it's the greatest collective expulsion of russian diplomats and intelligence officials in history. 22 countries, including america and 16 eu nations, have united in response to the nerve agent attack in salisbury. the united states is to expel 60 russian diplomats. most are based in washington, but a dozen will leave from the un in new york.

16 eu member states, including france and germany, are taking similar action. today's unprecedented move follows the poisoning of former russian agent sergei skripal and his daughter and the subsequent expulsion of 23 russian diplomats from the uk last week. moscow says the expulsions are a mistake and it will respond "symmetrically" to them in the coming days. our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins, has the latest. sometimes size really does matter. this diplomatic action against russia by western democracies is unprecedented in its scale. on their own the american expulsions are startling. 60 russians being ordered out by the white house — a new record in the post—cold war world. france, germany and poland, each kicking four russians out, topping the list of european government action. more than half of eu states

are expelling, backing britain with action, notjust words. nato ally canada is also clearing out some russians, as is one of president putin's largest victims, ukraine. the list may get longer. the prime minister could hardly have hoped for more. she told the commons it was the largest collective expulsion of russian intelligence officers in history. i have found great solidarity from ourfriends and partners in the eu, north america, nato and beyond, over the past three weeks, as we have confronted the aftermath of the salisbury incident. together we have sent a message we will not tolerate russia's continued attempts to flout international law and undermine our values. three weeks after the salisbury attack, as the investigation goes on, and warnings to those who were in the area at the time remain in place, the diplomatic heat on president putin is being turned up again. in brussels, the president of the european council, donald tusk, said the action today could be extended quite quickly. additional measures, including further expulsions

within the common eu framework, are not to be excluded in the coming days and weeks. today's action has its roots in years of alleged russian misbehaviour. from president putin's annexation of crimea, judged illegal by most of the outside world, to armed intervention in eastern ukraine to destabilise the country, to accusations of kremlin fingerprints on a catalogue of cyber attacks on the west, combined with the use of social media and plots to undermine elections and democracy in europe and the united states. russia's immediate reaction? translation: what the united states of america is doing today is destroying what little remains in terms of russian and american relations. i would like to add that

the entire responsibility for the consequences of that destruction lies on america. tonight, i asked the foreign secretary why so many countries have been willing to act together. the reason why you have seen this outpouring of revulsion at what russia has done is because so many other countries in the last ten yea rs have now many other countries in the last ten years have now experienced provocations of one kind or another. they have had disruption of their elections, cyber warfare, all kinds of russian aggression and malign behaviour. are you braced for whatever retaliation russia chooses? they might go to cyber warfare? let's be very clear, it is notjust we that are placing in every possible protection we have taken, it is our friends and partners. they know that they probably will face now some kind of retaliation from russia. that, for me, is all the

more impressive that they have chosen to do it nonetheless. moscow is sticking with denial. russian retaliation is inevitable. the crisis, triggered by attempted murder in salisbury, continues to grow at a startling pace. we can talk to our correspondents in brussels and moscow but first to washington and our north america editorjon sopel. for president trump to expel 60 russian officials, this is a big step by him? yes, not since the cold war, not since russia was the soviet union, have so many diplomats been expelled in one go. this is tough, aggressive action by the united states. frankly, it is that the total at the end of expectations of what the british embassy in washington had been anticipating. it is in line with what we have heard from the white house over the past two or three weeks, in terms of their written statements. in written state m e nts written statements. in written statements they have been full square behind theresa may, they signed a joint letter with the french, germans and british. there

has been fierce condemnation in a statement released today. the only dissonance has come from donald trump himself, who ran vladimir putin to congratulate him on his election victory, did not raise the salisbury attack or the possibility that diplomats might be expelled. when he was criticised afterwards, he tweeted, getting along with russia is a good thing, not a bad thing, well, they are not getting along today. the lack of any comment from donald trump could leave you to think that his heart really isn't in these expulsions. a dramatic move in these expulsions. a dramatic move in the us, matched with a headline grabbing response from europe. in the eu, foreign policy decisions have to be taken unanimously. eu countries wanting to respond to salisbury attacks, and that is the majority of them, including big powers france and germany, today they took matters into their own hands, expelling russian diplomats themselves. even countries like hungary, traditionally with much closer ties to moscow, have also taken part in this coordinated

response, with talk of possible further measures to come. this, after an unprecedented step by the eu when it brought home its ambassador to russia. eu leaders say this is all out of solidarity with the uk, but there are wider concerns about russia as well, following on from the action in syria and ukraine. of course, salisbury that is much closer to home. tweeting this afternoon, the czech foreign minister said his country had also taken action after it was commonly said, falsely accused by russia of producing the news leeds nerve agent used in the salisbury attack. tonight, i watched tonight, iwatched russian tonight, i watched russian state television to see how they were covering this story. bizarrely, it felt like watching the eurovision song contest. they had a giant scoreboard in the studio, listing all of the countries expelling russian diplomats and the corresponding numbers beside. in the political contest, the disharmony is deafening. russia and the west tonight are at loggerheads. was

moscow surprised by the strength of the coordinated action taken against it? undoubtedly. does this send a strong signal to the kremlin, as theresa may suggested? i think it does. the problem facing the west right now, in this escalating diplomatic war with russia, the man that works behind me, vladimir putin, he does not react positively to pressure. in any application with the west he will be determined to emerge the winner. thank you all. there have been protests outside westminster this evening asjewish groups and labour mps demonstrated against what they say is rising anti—semitism in the labour party. jeremy corbyn apologised yesterday and again today and has offered to meetjewish leaders to discuss their concerns. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. crowd chants: shame on you! shame on you! a struggle to be heard? those who fear bigotry againstjews in labour feel used to being shouted down.

you're here to attack the labour party. but those who object to the criticism ofjeremy corbyn turned up, too. you're not socialists! lama i am a socialist! tonight, mps said enough. denial is not an option. prevarication is not an option. being a bystander who turns their head the other way is not an option. the time for action is now. our commitment to you is to work with every ounce of strength to drain the cesspit of anti—semitism in the labour party, so you can come back and proudly call it your party again. we're standing together to speak out against anti—semitism and to call on our leader to act to get rid of this scourge. frustration boiled over afterjeremy corbyn was forced to apologise over an image that you might find offensive. he questioned why this mural in london, depicting well—known

stereotypes of jews, was being removed. but since he's been leader, there have been claims he's too soft on anti—semitism. he's always said he condemns all racism. but not until the last 2a hours has he shown such a specific level of regret. refusing interviews, but writing to jewish leaders: "i recognise that anti—semitism has surfaced within the labour party, and has too often been dismissed as simply a matter of a few bad apples. this has caused pain and hurt tojewish numbers of our party and the widerjewish community. i am sincerely sorry for the pain which has been caused and pledged to redouble my efforts to bring this anxiety to an end. i am your ally and always will be." we treat this matter extraordinarily seriously. we know exactly what this means, and i want people to have no illusions whatsoever that the labour party will deal with this, and deal with this properly in the right way.

but not all of mr corbyn‘s supporters seem to quite agree. he's pro—palestine, and there are certain people that don't like that. we believe that this campaign by the board of deputies and thejewish leadership council is aimed at corbyn because he's left—wing. this is not a new problem. in 2016, an official report said the labour party was "occasionally toxic". and while one senior source said jeremy corbyn is not anti—semitic, the accusation is that, from time to time, he has tolerated it. and for the labour party, that's notjust a distraction, but damaging to its relations. shame! you should be ashamed of yourselves! thoroughly ashamed if you're jewish. mr corbyn has formally asked for a meeting withjewish leaders. the problem in plain sight, the solution not yet in view. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.

a man has pleaded guilty to causing the death of two young brothers in a hit—and—run in coventry. casper and corey platt—may — who were six and two — were killed as they crossed the road with their mother last month. robert brown — who had been out of prison for less than a week — admitted causing the deaths by dangerous driving. he will be sentenced next month. the health trust southern health has been fined a record £2 million after admitting failures that led to the entirely avoidable deaths of two patients. connor sparrowhawk, who was 18 and had epilepsy, drowned in a bath five years ago, in a unit run by southern health in oxford. teresa colvin, who was a5, died at a mental health hospital in hampshire, in 2012. michael buchanan has the story. he mattered. connor should still be here. it's as simple as that. once your child dies, you develop a fearlessness that the worst thing that could ever happen has happened. and so it's sort of like,

bring it on, really, we'll get to the bottom of this and we will get answers. connor sparrowhawk had an epileptic seizure and drowned in a bath under the care of the nhs. he had learning disabilities, autism and epilepsy but the reason he is dead is because he was neglected by southern health. today his family and supporters came to court to hear the trust be fined more than £1 million for allowing the 18—year—old to die. if connor was here now in the shadow of oxford crown court and the police station, he would say, "why, mum?" and i would have to say, i don't know but we've done you proud. the family's campaign shone a light on other preventable deaths at southern health, including that of tj colvin. she killed herself in 2012 in a hospital run by the trust, leading to another prosecution by the health and safety executive. today, southern health

was fined nearly £1 million over tj's death, too. their deaths were preventable and entirely avoidable. that is a matter of profound regret to me and the organisation, and i am truly sorry. today's fulsome apology came after years of lies and obfuscations from southern health, forcing connor's family to confront the trust's former board. this is the first time i felt like i'd been apologised to, and i've had to ask for it. and i'm 16, and this is a room full of adults, you know? his brother tom looks back on what they've been through with disbelief. kind of seemed like they all got carried away, in a way. and i just couldn't quite understand, especially when i was 13. even now, i can't understand what would bring them to do that. connor was affectionately known as laughing boy. as he aged, he developed a strong sense ofjustice, which his family felt compelled to respect. we had our dark moments quite regularly. and i think that we do have to hold onto what we've achieved and look at that and think, yeah, we did him proud. the british government has tonight

warned of a "horrifying escalation of violence" in the democratic republic of congo. the international development secretary, penny mordaunt, has told the bbc the authorities must allow free and fair elections. last year the uk was the second largest aid donor to congo, a country where 13 million people are now in need of humanitarian aid. under the current president, joseph kabila, the country has been marred by civil war, corruption, and government repression. his refusal to step down when his mandate ended in 2016 has inflamed tensions. one area that's seen an increase in violence is the province of ituri, where two ethnic groups — the lendu and the hema — are again in conflict. our africa editor fergal keane and cameraman tony fallshaw travelled to mazzei — the scene of a recent village massacre in which more than a0 people were killed. the killers arrived at the hema village of maze, as the people

prepared their evening meal. the extreme cruelty of what followed lives in the memory of the village. they were attacked by members of the lendu ethnic group. this man witnessed his sister's marie's murder as he fled. when un and local officials arrived the following morning, they found scenes of horror. women and children hacked where they had been cornered. four—year—old rose was strapped to her mother's back when both were set upon by a man with a machete. she was found beside

her murdered mother. now, her father says rose is silent and far away. the dead were placed in these mass graves. bougainvillea flowers laid freshly each day. the men here were angry with us, with the un, the foreigners who listened to their stories, but did not save them. the un chief for the province

visited maze the morning after the massacre and feels a personal sense of failure. i think that the organisation that i work for is letting these people down. their government is letting these people down and i think the world is also letting these people down. that is why we try as much as we can to make sure that these kind of horrific things are not happening on our watches. but how? with just 15,000 un troops in congo, a country the size of western europe? where four million people have been uprooted by different conflicts. villages razed by fire, schools and hospitals closed. medical staff have been murdered in previous massacres. yet we met a nurse who decided to stay,

despite the risk of being killed. he is the only one of 52 colleagues who remains at this hospital. here, he is helping a child seriously ill with malaria. for the parents, hope rests in the hands of one brave nurse. many times i have walked through abandoned villages like this, notjust here in congo, but in other african countries as well and it is almost always described as the consequence of ethnic violence, but it is neverjust that. what happened in maze can't be separated from the greater political crisis in congo. from corruption, from misrule, from a president clinging to power. this is a place without trust, where the state and its agents are feared. even before the violence here,

the opposition accused the government of spreading chaos in other areas to prevent elections. in another village, i met a lendu elder who told me he worried that both sides were being manipulated. but the state's highest ranking official here, the governor, jefferson abdallah, rejects any suggestion that any ethnic conflict is being manipulated to keep the president in power. in the countryside around maze, night brings a huddling

together for protection. people have crowded in here for safety and that is largely because there is a un base up the road, but the killers are still out there and a new attack could come at any time. in a country where millions have already died in conflict, the massacre at maze is a warning to the world of what can happen as congo slides ever deeper into crisis. fergal keane, bbc news, ituri province. police searching for missing airman corrie mckeague say their investigation has drawn to a conclusion and there is no evidence of foul play. the 23—year—old hasn't been sighted since september 2016. he was last seen walking through bury st edmunds on cctv. the most likely theory is that he climbed into a waste bin and was accidentally crushed when the rubbish was collected. the independent inquiry

into child sexual abuse has announced plans to go to telford in the next few months, to hear evidence from victims and survivors in the area. the announcement comes after reports that vulnerable teenagers have been targeted in the town since the 1980s, and claims that it is still happening. more than 60 people — many of them children — have died in a large fire at a busy shopping centre in siberia. emergency services in russia say they're struggling to recover bodies from inside the complex, in the industrial city of kemerovo. investigators say fire exits were blocked and the alarm system had been turned off — as sarah rainsford reports. it was a children's play area on a busy sunday afternoon. and then this. a security camera caught the moment fire tore through and then smoke. there was no emergency alarm here. on the floors below, confused crowds made for the exit.

the woman filming describes how she was up in the cinema when the fire broke out. there was panic, she says, children screaming. it is a nightmare. rescuers battled the blaze for hours. but this fire was fierce and fast. but this fire was fierce and vast. and now officials say emergency exits inside were locked, trapping dozens. some fled to the roof, others jumped for their lives, through the choking smoke. there were queues today to donate blood for the injured. from locals who just wanted to help. this girl says her friends were at the mall and their children are still missing. people have been scouring lists at hospitals all day, looking for relatives. dmitri cannot find his five—year—old daughter or his son. he will be ten in april, he says. translation: when my wife called,

she said, dima, help us. we are suffocating. i could hear them, the children crying. most of the victims here were children. so, as this city mourns, it also has many angry questions. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. mps are to hold an emergency debate tomorrow on claims by a whistleblower that the "vote leave" campaign may have exceeded spending limits during the european union referendum campaign. the organisation — which was accused of siphoning money through another organisation to help fund its case — is insisting it's done nothing wrong. the american porn star who claims she had sex with donald trump has warned of further revelations to come. the president has denied again that he ever slept with stormy daniels after she gave an interview on prime time american tv last night. mr trump's lawyers are suing for millions of pounds in damages from her, saying she's broken a non—disclosure deal. she is suing them in return. james cook reports from los angeles.

you were 27, he was 60. were you physically attracted to him? no. not at all? no. did you want to have sex with him? no. but i didn't say no. i'm not a victim. i'm not... it was entirely consensual? oh, yes. yes. this saga of the president and the pawn star is the scandal and the porn star is the scandal that won't go away. 11 days before the presidential election, donald trump's lawyer paid stormy daniels $130,000, or £90,000, to stay silent. she now says she only signed the deal because she'd been threatened in the past. i was in a parking lot, going to a fitness class with my infant daughter, and a guy walked up on me. and said to me, "leave trump alone. forget the story." and then he leaned round and looked at my daughter, and said, "a beautiful little girl, it'd be a shame if anything happened to her mum." and then he was gone. stormy daniels and team trump are now battling in court here in los angeles. but hang on...

american voters knew he was hardly a sign, he was hardly a saint, and they elected mr trump anyway. so does any of this matter? yes, says this lawyer, whose client also alleges an affair with mr trump just after he married the first lady. my guess is it matters to melania but it's a bigger issue than his private sexual, consented to conduct. it really has to do with truth, and the fact the truth matters. the law matters, too. critics say the payment to stormy daniels was an illegal contribution to the trump campaign. his lawyer denies wrongdoing, and has now sent ms daniels a cease and desist letter. as for the white house... the president strongly, clearly and has consistently denied these underlying claims. the only person who's been inconsistent is the one making the claims. americans are transfixed.

20 million tuned in. the reality tv presidency continues... james cook, bbc news, los angeles. officials from australian cricket's governing body are in cape town to start their investigation into what exactly went on when members of the australian side tampered with the ball during the third test against south africa. today australia's captain, steve smith, stepped down as the skipper of an indian premier league cricket team after admitting his part in the scandal. from cape town our sports editor dan roan reports. the inquest had begun. australian cricket investigators arriving at the team's cape town hotel this morning, sent here to get to the bottom of a scandal that stunned the sport. a warm welcome from spinner, nathan lyon, one of those potentially implicated, but the next 2a hours could be painfulfor both players and management. australia's plan to getjunior batsman cameron bancroft to deliberately tamper with the ball using sticky tape in their match against south africa quickly unravelled in the full glare of the tv cameras.

the man known as the voice of australian cricket today telling me just how much damage had been done by his compatriots. ifelt, as it settled into my brain overnight, a sense of sort of outrage that they dared to perpetrate such a crime on the field. this was so blatant. and, ok, a little bit premeditated as well. so, that is what sticks in the craw of australian fans. australian captain steve smith confessed to the plot and has been suspended for one match, but his long—term position now looks untenable. the batsman today stepping aside as captain of the rajasthan royals, his indian premier league team. it will be very difficult for him to continue as captain of australia. sadly. he has been a fine captain for australia. the cheating that occurred here at newlands on saturday afternoon will go down as one of the most infamous episodes in the history of cricket.

a scandal that has shocked a sport and shamed a nation and the full repercussions will soon become clear. pictures have now also emerged which allegedly show bancroft putting sugar in his pocket during a recent ashes series. it has led to questions over whether the incident in cape town was the first time australia had used illegal methods to get the ball to swing, making it harder to bat against. i am pretty sure that it was going on throughout the ashes series, but it was not the reason that england lost 4—0. england still would have lost that series, australia probably needed their little trick of the trade, maybe in melbourne it did not work, but other than that, i don't think they required it. but i am pretty sure it has been going on for quite a while. and amid so much controversy, it is easy to forget that there is another test match to be played in this acrimonious series.