hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2pm: the communications failures which meant that firefighters who heard the manchester arena bomb go off were sent away from the scene. a report finds "poor communication" after the bomb went off meant the first firefighters arrived two hours later. it is vital we learn the lessons of what went less well. this matters for the people of greater manchester and beyond who were caught up in the terrible events of that night. and beyond who were caught up in the terrible events of that night. "we will not tolerate such impudence." angry russia vows to hit back — as more countries expel diplomats — following the salisbury nerve agent attack. labour mps are pressing jeremy corbyn for more action to "root out" anti—semitism in the party — after he issued a new apology to jewish groups. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. he low. we are going to be talking about australia's prime minister, he has had his say on the ball

tampering scandal. we will bring you that as the aussie head coach's future hangs in the balance. he could re—sign in 2a hours. what is happening on the high street chris? it is damp but improving. we will look at forecast in the run—up to easter and elsewhere in weather news this time of year we normally see the arctic ice expanding after what has been a lengthy winter but we will bring you the latest figures and the implications. also coming up — what a hoot. the owl causing chaos at a wedding. swooping majestically to deliver the ring the barn owl then decided to have — well, something of a barney — with the best man. hello everyone — this is afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. "we let you down" — the message

from the manchester fire service to the people caught up in the terrorist attack at the manchester arena. poor communications meant that firefighters who heard the bomb go off were sent away from the scene — that's according to a review of the response to last year's suicide bombing. the first firefighters arrived at the arena two hours later. there was also a ‘catastrophic failure' in the handling of the emergency number for relatives. our correspondent judith moritz reports. it was just chaos. there was just people everywhere on the floor. plenty of which weren't alive, or barely alive. it's... i just went around and tried to do the best i could. for those who were there, the memories are still fresh. those like rob grew, who heard the sound of the blast and ran inside the building, and ordinary member an ordinary member

of the public who gave first aid while some emergency services were kept outside. apart from the three paramedics that were doing a greatjob, that's as far as it went until we realised that no more support was coming from the medical teams, the ambulances. do you think that more people could have been saved if that help and been there? help been there? help had been there? definitely in the first 15 minutes, definitely more could have been done. police and paramedics rushed to the arena, but very few went inside the foyer, where the bomb exploded. it was thought a gunman was inside, and designated a hot zone. and fire crews were held back for two hours by their senior officers, who accept they let the city down. this firefighter, who doesn't want to be identified, was on duty but wasn't sent. paramedics were asking us where we were. people were dying. why weren't we there? and we just were helpless. because obviously when you are in a uniformed service,

you do what you are told to do, and we weren't told to do anything. although the city had planned and rehearsed for a terror attack, on the night that it happened none of those involved had ever encountered such an experience for real. the report says there are many lessons to be learned, but also that manchester has much to be proud of, and there were many heroes that night. we had very, very limited kit for huge number of patients to treat. michael daly is thought to be the first doctor to respond. he set up an area for casualties at the train station next door. theyjust started to be brought down in larger and larger numbers. they were being brought down, notjust stretchers but barriers, billboards were being used as makeshift stretchers by the arena staff to just get people out of the foyer and down to the concourse. the national emergency helpline for such situations failed completely.

a restricted local number was only set up four hours later. martyn hett was at the concert, and his family realised he was missing. it took hours to find out that he died. i tried to also like so many others phone the number that was given initially on the television, and probably 26 times i phoned until i got through. and martyn's friends frantically went from hospital to hospital, trying to find him. the public donated millions of pounds to a charity appeal for those affected. but the report also asks the government to look at financial support for victims of terror, and makes national recommendations that go beyond manchester. it is vital that we learn the lessons of what went less well. this matter is for the people of greater manchester and beyond, who were caught up in the terrible events of that night. but also for other places that might experience an attack in the future. the report doesn't establish whether lives could have been saved

if things were done differently. that will be considered when the inquests are held. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. our correspondent fiona trott is in salford. fiona, it is that two hour period and that initial response from the firefighters that is making the headlines here. that is right. that is main point of discussion here today, why did it take so long? we are learning more about the communication failure between the police, the ambulance service and the fire service too, but what you heard in that report was from that firefighter saying effectively we wait to be told what to do, what action to take, and today, here at the university of salford where they have been discussing that report, they are talking about a difference in culture between the fire service who wait for instruction when working as a team and individuals from the police and ambulance service who will go straight in. what lord kersla ke service who will go straight in. what lord kerslake said today is that two hour delay made a real

difference, he said that the presence of firefighters would have given professional help to move the people who were injured at the arena. we have also heard from the acting fire chief, she says our response fell far short of that which the people of greater manchester have a right to expect, i apologise unreservedly for that she said. the mayor has called for an ongoing review within the fire service, to become a whole service review too, to look at how it is run and how it operates with other emergency services. another important point that has been discussed today is that 0800 number that was important for families to learn what had happened to their relative, it was described as a catastrophic failure, the fact it wasn't up and running, the report is rem recommended because the company has a contract with the home office, the department should seek urgent guarantees from vodafone it won't happen again, and in the news

conference today, lord kerslake went further than that and said the company should now apologise to the victims. the mayor andy burnham spoke about the city's response to the terror attack, he said everyone played their part. manchester was a beacon of hope, terrorists will never win and the spirit of the people of manchester is something, it is one of the positives that has come out of the positives that has come out of the positives that has come out of the kerslake report from the vigil, to the fundraising for the victim, one person told the panel they did a fantasticjob of boosting they did a fantasticjob of boosting the morale of those affected. making us the morale of those affected. making us feel as though we were not alone. fiona, thank you very much. among the reports finding, a duty inspector in thes for declared operation plato, that is a prearranged plan, the greater manchester fire and rescue service and the control room felt they had

let down the people of greater manchester on the night of the blast, and it was because of poor communications between the police and the fire service, which meant fire crews only arrived two hours and six minutes after the bombing. let us speak to the mare of greater manchester andy burnham who joins me now from salford. two hours and six minute, it takes your breath away? it does, and, people across greater manchester will ask, how did this happen, it was because i was receiving e—mails and reports from ordinary firefighters in the days after the attack that i first committed to commissioning this independent report. i would say to those firefighters who raised those concerns they were absolutely right to do so. what the panel has revealed, a weakness in the practice, leadership and culture within the fire service and they

must be addressed but i would also ask you to look at the overall finding of the report, that the response of greater manchester was overwhelmingly positive, and things we re overwhelmingly positive, and things were done that meant support was provided, actually that may not have been had they followed national protocols to the letters. lessons need to be learn, we hear that every time there is a review like this, yet in feature when you hear of an attack like this, there is an assumption that someone somewhere knows how to get the fire brigade there, knows how to set up an emergency number in time so that the relatives who are, you know, terrified, worried in fear of what is going on, at least have a contact number, this didn't happen again here. 0h, here. oh, i know, and there are real questions there, notjust for vodafone but for the home office as

well as the holders of that contract, because we needed that system, that moment in time. those families needed that system, and the whole point in having a contract like that is so it does click in, just at that moment when you need it. and of curse that didn't happen, it. and of curse that didn't happen, it would seem, because of a very simple technical error by one of those responsible forjoer simple technical error by one of those responsible for joer seeing it. so, ithink those responsible for joer seeing it. so, i think we need to hearfrom the home office today about how that happened, because it added to the distress of families as lord kerslake said and it didn't help people hear on —— here on ground respond in the way we would have wa nted respond in the way we would have wanted to. iam imagining wanted to. i am imagining that those firefighters who got in touch with you in the days after, there was more thanjust you in the days after, there was more than just a sense of frustration, i suspect some of them we re frustration, i suspect some of them were probably angry because a lot of them heard the blast go off. yes, thatis them heard the blast go off. yes, that is right. they were, and they communicated that very directly, to me, and it is why i set up the

review, because those concerns is, when you hear them in that way from ordinary firefighters, you know, you know it means something, if they we re know it means something, if they were expressing themselves in that way, you know, iwant were expressing themselves in that way, you know, i want to be clear today, to firefighters, paramedic, police officers, working round greater manchester, in no way does this report criticise them or undermine them, in no way does it do that. what it does is it asks questions about the leadership and culture of public service, and it is myjob, as mayor, to have that duty of care towards them, to ensure that at all times that are supported by the best possible practise leadership and culture, and it is why we were right to commission this report, and we will act on it to make necessary improvements. that awful phrase the blame game, but there are people at the heart of these decisions in those seconds, those minutes after an event like this, mistakes were made, i

wonderful where the buck stops with that. i don't go inthat because i don't think this say any individual was to blame, and i come back to the point, the response of the greater manchester public services was overwhelmingly positive, and the plans they had put in place were brutally tested in the words of lord kerslake but stood up well. i think eve ryo ne kerslake but stood up well. i think everyone has to put themselves in that position, in that moment of chaos, these are really terribly difficultjudgments to chaos, these are really terribly difficult judgments to make. chaos, these are really terribly difficultjudgments to make. the fire service made the wrong judgment but police and paramedics made excellentjudgment, one the police duty force officer made a decision people could stay in the foyer of the manchester arena, contrary to the manchester arena, contrary to the letter of national guidance and that decision i think led to people getting help earlier than they might have otherwise received it. the advance paramedic set up a casualty clearing station and patients were sent to the hospitals they needed to

be going to, where a bed was waiting for then. so that was managed incredibly well, and those individuals didn't necessarily follow the letter of national guidance, they used their common—sense and good judgment, and asa common—sense and good judgment, and as a result of that, i think they got help to people nor quickly than might otherwise have been the case. you know this report word—by—word, i am wondering if you believe, it is a difficult question, whether you believe that some of those who died might have survived had the fire service god got there earlier? -- got. i can't answer that question, and it is not a politician's answer avoiding the question, it is because it is properly for the inquest that will follow. i didn't set up the review to answer question, it is not something i am qualified to answer because i haven't got that, that evidence, we will have to wait for the inquest to that, what i can say to you, is something that i said a moment ago, because of the way our

public services got to the scene quickly, because of some of the judgments they made, the response was better than it might otherwise have been, and reports in today's newspapers that are suggesting that paramedics only a small number went, actually they wouldn't have been there at all if they carried on sticking to the letter of what they, what the guidance said, so the emergency service, within the most difficult circumstances imaginable, andi difficult circumstances imaginable, and i would stress that, i think did as well as they could, and actually, helped people in way that might not otherwise have happened and i want to pay tribute to them today, as mayor i am immensely proud of the public services of greater manchester, but i always will be the kind of person, if people bring concerns to me i will act on them, i wa nt concerns to me i will act on them, i want our front line firefighter, police and paramedics to be supported by the best possible leadership in their organisations and where there are any shortcomingser i will will always act on that. nobody would argue

about the actions of those on the night. in one word, when you put that report down, were you frustrated, were you angry, how would you assess your reaction to it? a mix of emotions. i felt it was right to have commissioned the report, as difficult as it is. i didn't have to. but i did so, to learn as quickly as we could from what happened so we could get on with the job of making greater manchester safer, so it was right to do it. yes, there were things that went wrong, but i don't think people acted in bad faith. in moments of great stress, there will always be the wrong judgments made, the question is are you strong enough to face up to those, those decisions, and make changes as a result. here, we are strong enough to do that, but what i also feel was and this was a clear conclusion of the panel, the public and accept civic response was

exceptional. i have a huge degree of pride in the people of greater manchester, the strength, the resilience, the unity, the solidarity of this sip, was palpable and it helped me and others respond because of to that public backing that we had. —— city. in the end i feel an immense degree of pride, in the way our public services and the wider general public responded, and i think wider general public responded, and ithink in wider general public responded, and i think in that moment when weer we re i think in that moment when weer were tested, greater manchester sent a clear message that the terrorists would never win, we sent another message that we would always stand together against hate and i think in some way we gave some hope to people around the world. andy burnham, thank you very much for your time this afternoon. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines a review of the reaction to the manchester suicide bombing says there were pure communication in the emergency services. russia hit back

following the ex punalion of diplomats. labour mps are pushing jeremy corbyn... in sport australia's cricketers arrive in johannesburg for the for ourselves test against south africa in the middle of a ball tampering scandal. the head coach is waiting to find out what will happen to him. stop the negativity, show us live. sterling wants the england fans getting behind the team. england face italy at wembley in their final game before gareth southgate names his squad. ahead of the unification fight in cardiff. joseph parker says he will beet antonyjoshua. he says iam taking he will beet antonyjoshua. he says i am taking the belt back to new zealand. i will be back with more at 2.30. see you then. emergency exits were blocked.

relatives claim dozens of people are still missing, most of them children. russia has promised a tough response to the decision by more than 20 countries to expel its diplomats in response to the nerve agent attack in salisbury. the foreign minister sergei lavrov said his country won't tolerate such impudence, and will take action. ireland and australia have become the latest countries to join the global protest. australian prime minister malcolm turnbull said the poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter was a brazen attack on the sovereignty of all nations. tom burridge reports. president putin's russia has never faced such a co—ordinated diplomatic punishment like this. the list of countries which will expel russian officials has grown longer, so far,

more than 130 diplomats or spies will have to leave 25 countries. it is rare that words in diplomacy are backed up by so much action. the foreign secretary today buoyed by the response. following the abhorrent chemical attack in salisbury i have had a number of discussion with counterparts across the eu, the us and elsewhere which had helped foster an unprecedented robust, international response to this reckless russian act. russia's alleged involvement in the nerve agent attack on a former russian intelligence officer and his daughter in salisbury three weeks' ago, the catalyst for this unprecedented international response. but australia's prime minister said it was just the latest aggressive move by the russian state. itm reflects a pattern of recklessness and aggression by the russian government. including the annex asian of crimea, the invasion of the eastern ukraine, the downing of

mhi7, cyber attacks and efforts to manipulate western nations elections. the latest this latest incident demanded a response. the united states is expelling 60 russian officials and closing the russian officials and closing the russian consulate in seattle because it is nearan russian consulate in seattle because it is near an american submarine base. some say this is about more than degrading russia's capability to spy. yes it was partly house cleaning but i think it was to show this unprecedented some car dithety with great britain and in the us it is not unconnected to the russian election interference in 2016 and the fact our government says the russians are continuing to interfere in the cyber and social media spear in the cyber and social media spear in the us as we face our own midterm collection. —— election. in the us as we face our own midterm collection. -- election. in syria and elsewhere russia has become more assertive while at home the kremlin has argued that russia is the victim, so the expulsion of russian

officials will feed into that. the russian foreign minister said his government would not tolerate impugh december and respond. for now vladimir putin is focussed on mourning those who died in a fire at a shopping mall in siberia. but with nato expected to announce further measures it is only a question of when russia will respond. measures it is only a question of when russia will respond. the government is providing £1 million to help businesses in salisbury following the nerve agent attack. the leader of wiltshire council, baroness scott, says the rescue package was agreed at a meeting in westminster yesterday. the council has also given more details about the number of people affected by the nerve agent — which has left sergei and yulia skripal critically ill in hospital 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy is in salisbury. what has the council being saying? well, we have had this meeting a couple of hours ago, where about 100 members of the public turned up to question the council, the police,

the health authority, to update them, and tell them what is going on away from that international diplomacy about russian diplomats being kicked out. here at the local level if you like. the main figure to come away from it was the number of people actually affected by this nerve agent attack, there have been figures bandied round in the past three week, 30, a0 people may have been affected. the public health official said four people have been affected by the nerve agent in terms of being made ill by it, they are sergei and yulia skripal, sergeant nick bailey, and one other people who we understand to be another police officer, who is being treated on an out patient basis. nobody else has been affected by the nerve agent although others have been to hospital thinking they might have been. they have been told they have symptoms of something else. another figure is the number of businesses affected by this shut down here in salisbury, eight businesses have been closed all together, and 30

have been seriously affecteded with all the cordons and what have you, we are told 80% of takings have disappeared because of the closures and because of the restrictions and about 20% of takings across the whole of the city have been lost by businesses, because of the numbers of people coming to the city have dropped. that is a city of about 50,000 people. that i were told today at this meeting that the government was going to pump in £1 million to salisbury to help businesses get through this, and also, £100,000 hardshipfund, what you have here, are lots of people in shops like where i am standing here who are not getting paid, they need their wage, and the government says we will help you out with that as well, with a hardship fund. 0ne other piece of news, you will see be mind me there are the police here and these cordoned officer area, so far they have been crime scenes you have seen detectives and others working on the crime scene, from next week that will change, from

thenit next week that will change, from then it will be a decontamination process , then it will be a decontamination process, people will come in and start cleaning up areas like this behind me, they will be removing turf, they may remove bricks from under ourfeet to turf, they may remove bricks from under our feet to get rid of anything that might possibly be contaminated. we are told that could ta ke contaminated. we are told that could take many months. thank you very much. the foreign secretary has been talking about it in parliament. jonathan blake. we will get to that ina jonathan blake. we will get to that in a moment. i think this morning downing street have been clear to underline how significant they see this response from other country, expelling diplomats in the wake of the salisbury attack, the prime minister's official spokesman updating reporters on a cabinet discussion about the strong collective international response, describing it as unprecedented. also, the fact that it demonstrates not just solidarity with the uk, also, the fact that it demonstrates notjust solidarity with the uk, but

that these other countries recognise the threat to their own nations as well. and the prime minister's official spokesman describing this asa official spokesman describing this as a significant moment in the uk's response to what they described as a reckless act of aggression, it really further underlines the fact it the government has had expectations met if not exceeded by the way other countries have followed suit in responsed to what they see as russia's culpability. if woe go back to the joint statement with the uk, the us, france and germany, then all the member states of the european union, jointly condemning russia and recalling brussels ambassador to moscow and now individual countries acting to expel diplomats and recall ambassadors as well. as you said, the foreign secretary was updating mps in the house of commons on this earlier but it was during that session that something slightly unusual happened. it is not often

senior government ministers get a ticking off in public but that was exactly what the foreign secretary got from the speaker, when he he responded to a question from the shadow foreign secretary emily thornberry who was responding on behalf of the labour party. and he referred to her as lady..ly thornbury is married to a high court judge but she chooses not to go by his name and used her maiden name. as you will hear the foreign secretary's words got him in deep water and the speaker was not impressed. say no says the learned lady, the bar innocencelj impressed. say no says the learned lady, the bar innocence i don't want to be unkind, or discourteous to the foreign secretary but i say on advice as the clerks swivel round to me, two things, we don't name call in this chamber, and secondly, secondly, i am dealing with the matter, the right honourable gentleman will listen and benefit

frommen willing. secondly we do not add press people by the titles of their spouses. the shadow foreign secretary has a name. and it is not lady something, we know what her name is, and it is inappropriate and frankly sexist to speak in those terms. lam not terms. i am not having it in this chamber. that is the end of the matter. no matter how senior a member, that pa rla nce matter how senior a member, that parlance is not legitimate, it will not be allowed. and that was him told. the horn secretary apologised for his —— foreign secretary later apologised. that was jonathan blake foreign secretary later apologised. that wasjonathan blake in westminster. an owl that's been trained to act as a ring—bearer at weddings has caused a bit of a flap at a ceremony in cheshire. the bird delighted the congregation as it swooped over them to deliver the ring at the marriage ofjeni arrowsmith and mark wood.

but then it defied wedding planners by charging at the best man — knocking him from his perch. let's talk to the wedding photographer, stacey 0liver. let us describe the moment, because this is the moment some almost bit of the ceremony. this is the rings being handed over and it was rather nice idea in the plan, just describe what happened when this owl first appeared. basically, the congregation didn't know anything about the owl, it was a bit of a surprise for the guests, and the owl came in, with the keeper, and the best man basically stood up, put his arm out, the owl is supposed to fly m, arm out, the owl is supposed to fly in, and land on the glove with the rings. and that is when the best man ta kes rings. and that is when the best man takes the rings off. but as you can see, on the video, one of the best

men that was sat down, points to the owl and that was the signal obviously to fly, and it flew into the other best man, who is absolutely terrified of birds. the other best man, who is absolutely terrified of birdslj absolutely terrified of birds.” shouldn't laugh, but i mean, every time you look at it you do. you are laughing as well. so that is all great. you are there as the photographer, you must have got some good pictures yourself. amazing. absolutely, i couldn't have asked for anything better to happen, i meani for anything better to happen, i mean i have been a press photographerfor 20 mean i have been a press photographer for 20 years, and mean i have been a press photographerfor 20 years, and i've not seen anything quite like it. it was amazing. have you made a bit of money out of this? it wasn't about the money. that is right, stacy... it is that picture. that is the rights answer. it mean, it all, it should all work brilliantly, but, animal, you can never tell what is going to happen never know, never know. it was the most solemn bit of

the ceremony. how did they recover themselves? they didn't. the whole congregation was just fits of laughter, as you can see by the p i ctu reses laughter, as you can see by the pictureses that the owl, when he flew in and the guy fell off the chair, it was instant, from the faces of the guests, that it was just the funniest moment ever, and when the owl sort of decided where it was going to go next, it hand landed on the registrar's desk, you might see it on one of the picture, he just sits might see it on one of the picture, hejust sits on might see it on one of the picture, he just sits on the desk and it was just an amazing moment, really. the great thing is, everybody has a good laugh except for the poor bloke who ends up on the floor.” good laugh except for the poor bloke who ends up on the floor. i know 0 i know. poor guy! yeah, you almost sound as though you mean that. we have had a good laugh at his expense. i think whole country is doing that, this will go viral as

you know, so you stay by that phone. stacy, really good of you to talk to us, thank you very much. follow that. i know someone who has got to, he has the weather forecast. iam going got to, he has the weather forecast. i am going to get a map lesson? northern in hemisphere winter, you get more ice forming under the cold air. but this year, the maximum ice was on the 17th of march. it is the second lowest ice extent in the arctic in the 13 nine—year record. we get a something that isn't an

insignificant amount of ice. what ice has formed around the edges isn't as thick as normal so it is more prone to melting. we have darker coloured seed that is exposed to the sunlight. if you have the darker seas exposed, it absorbs more heat and that is one of the feedback processes we have with global warming. we know the arctic part of the planet is warming twice as quickly and this is more evidence of climate change taking place. that ice is retreating because we enter spring, summer so what happens in the next few days? a week ago there was a prediction of the beast from the east, but that has now gone

away? there is a link to some of the temperatures we have seen across the arctic, and massive heatwave across the north pole and temperatures are just above freezing, despite the fa ct just above freezing, despite the fact it is dark day and night. it is caused by the stratospheric warming. what leads to that is planetary waves in the atmosphere that pushes warm air northwards and that is why temperatures in the optic got quite warm for the time of year, record—breaking even. that created the beast from the east and the mini beast that brought us the snow. the cold can move into the middle latitudes and bring cold weather. but perhaps not this easter? no, just a little cool down. let's look at what has been going on today. we have seen a bit of rain this morning for most areas of the uk. that has been pushing eastwards and we are seeing brighter skies pushing in

from the west. this was one of the pictures from west yorkshire, little rainbow with a few showers around. you can see the extent of the showers following the main band three. showers across northern ireland and scotland where they will be quite prolonged. brighter weather working into wales and across much of england so there will be some sunny spells getting to the cloud. temperatures not too bad this afternoon. for most of us, double figures and 11 to 13 degrees widely. 0vernight, showers will fade away and clearing skies. we could see pockets of frost across the north and east of the uk. the cloud will thicken later in the night and we will see a band of rain pushing into south—west england. this area of rain is all tied in with low pressure and there is some uncertainty. 0n the satellite picture, there is this area of low cloud moving towards the british isles and it is an area of low

pressure that is developing at the moment. the main uncertainty is how far northwards this band of rain pushes. if it moves northwards it will interact with the cold air to the north of us and we could see some of the rain turning to snow. it is most likely rain for the most of us is most likely rain for the most of us during the morning and maybe a little bit of sleet over high ground, the chilterns and the mendips, but that is open to quite a bit of uncertainty. tomorrow, is a day of sunshine and showers, some of the showers wintry over high ground. but tomorrow will be a cold day. temperatures in single figures, seven to nine celsius. take a look at thursday's weather picture and we have low pressure to the south—west of the country. heavy downpours moving into south—west england and wales. no snow, but this weather front across northern scotland over the high ground, it is colder. if

you go into the high hills of northern scotland you could see some snow here. looking ahead to the easter weather prospects, generally things starting on a cool note. spells of rain at times, particularly in the south but not a com plete particularly in the south but not a complete wash—out. there will be decent sunshine at times on sunday, turning mother as we get to easter monday as well. that is your latest weather. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. firefighters who heard the manchester arena bomb go off last may — in which 22 people were killed, were sent away from the scene according to an inquiry. poor communication meant fire crews were finally deployed two hours after the explosion the kremlin says it will "respond harshly" to the mass expulsion of diplomats following the salisbury nerve agent attack. meanwhile — there have been calls for president putin to resign, during a protest by russians angry about a huge fire at a shopping centre in siberia.

6a people are said to have died — most of them children. the most of them children. labour leaderjeremy corb) facing the labour leaderjeremy corbyn is facing mounting pressure from his mps to dispel anti—semitism in the party after he issued a new apology to jewish groups. employers warn they are fearful about the uk's immigration system after britain leaves the eu — businesses say they're concerned about their ability to recruit workers from the eu after brexit. sport now on afternoon live. we have got to talk about ball tampering? this is an incredible story. it has got legs and it will run and run. the futures of darren liman, steve smith and shane warne of australia very much in the balance. a lot of the papers over here are warning lemon curd and in his resignation. smith says this was a one—off but

members of the cricket australia board have members of the cricket australia boa rd have flown members of the cricket australia board have flown to cape town where the third test was taking place to investigate. they have flown to johannesburg and this is them arriving a few hours ago for the fourth test against south africa. what is going to happen to these guys? this is steve smith with the sunglasses on and the spotlight is very much on these two with david warner part of the leadership group of the australian cricket team. malcolm turnbull, the australian prime minister has joined malcolm turnbull, the australian prime minister hasjoined in the debate with some scathing remarks. they now have to make sure that this great, national game, this great international game, that is anonymous with fairplay, is once againa game anonymous with fairplay, is once again a game that is played by champions, that everybody can look up champions, that everybody can look up to. this has been a shocking

affront to australia. how many of us, as children, how many of us as fathers and mothers have had children who have looked up to the australian team ? children who have looked up to the australian team? strong words for the australian prime minister. in the australian prime minister. in the last half an hour, well krkic‘s governing body will look into claims australia's players tampered with the ball during their ashes win. michael vaughan said he was pretty sure australia were doing the same thing back then but apparently the time limit has passed for them to investigate if there was any tampering during the ashes defeat for england. this is a team that has been dishing it out to the others in the meantime. we move on, changes to your rover rules which could bring

changes to the games? players can represent two different clu bs players can represent two different clubs in the same european competition. uefa said january signings cannot play for a second clu b signings cannot play for a second club in the champions league or the europa league if they have already featured in the competition. fourth substitute will be allowed in extra time and this is only in knockout ties. 12 substitutes will be named if they get to the final. some champions league games will kick off earlier as well. this, i guess the liverpool fans, barcelona fans, this is interesting, philip coutinho, their record signing, barcelona could not play in the champions league knockout ties because he featured in the competition for liverpool. aubameyang couldn't do the same parcel. so interesting news coming out of uefa. anthonyjoshua

said he expects to knockoutjosie parker ina said he expects to knockoutjosie parker in a unification fight this weekend but he has a contingency plan in place if he is taking the distance. they fight on saturday night in the principality stadium. joshua said he is prepared for a 12 round fight. he said let see if i have £20 in my pocket, i would put it on myself to knockout parker the show. parker says i feel it is my time, iam show. parker says i feel it is my time, i am young, fast undetermined andi time, i am young, fast undetermined and i am here to be part of history and i am here to be part of history andi and i am here to be part of history and i am here to be part of history and i am not doing itjust myself, i am doing it for my team, my family and my country i and i am taking these belts back to new zealand. england's women captain steph houghton is back in the squad she missed the last cup with an ankle injury. she is playing alongside

jordan nobbs on they take on wales on the 6th of april before an away game against bosnia and herzegovina. as playing's men they play italy in a friendly at wembley as they finalise their preparation for russia. raheem sterling said showed the team some love because sometimes there is too much negativity felt by there is too much negativity felt by the players. gareth southgate has until mid—may to finalise his squad but he is expected to settle on his 23 byjune. 0ne but he is expected to settle on his 23 byjune. one of his biggest decisions is he will be in the goalkeeper position and whether to keepjoe hart goalkeeper position and whether to keep joe hart as first goalkeeper position and whether to keepjoe hart as first choice. goalkeeper position and whether to keep joe hart as first choice. he has always performed well and we have the best defensive record in europe in qualifying. we have continued to defend well and he has been a big part of that. even though he knew he would not be playing in the game is coming he has been a fantastic influence with the rest of the players and the goalkeepers, especially. alex mcleish is back in

the hot seat as scotland head coach. he said he will select a more experienced side against hungary. that is all the sport now. you can keep up today in the next hour. we are going to nato because the secretary—general has withdrawn accreditation of seven staff to nato. it is relating to the salisbury attack and reckless behaviour by russia. we adopted a strong statement by nato on the 1ath of march. national security at pfizer met with the north atlantic council and boris johnson met pfizer met with the north atlantic council and borisjohnson met with the headquarters and we discussed different measures, including expulsion of russian diplomats. as a result of this consultation between nato allies and many of them are

also eu members, many nato allies decided to expel russian diplomats. we also have some new announcement today and we have an announcement is not only by nato allies today and yesterday, but by the nato alliance today to reduce the maximum number of diplomats accredited to nato from 30 down to 20, a reduction of ten. this has been part of the political process , this has been part of the political process, which is a response to the broader picture we see with that reckless behaviour, the lack of constructive response from the russian side and therefore the need to send a very clear message. the practical implications of course, russia will have a reduced capability to do intelligence work

in nato countries and in those countries they are expelled from. and therefore, this is a clear and very strong message that it has costs a nd very strong message that it has costs and consequences, to behave the way russia has behaved. mr secretary—general, are these expulsions enough to raise the cost to moscow or is it more of a first step to deter interference in the west? secondly, won't reducing the size of the russian mission complicate the diplomacy side of the terror and diplomacy, isn't it harder to talk to them if they have fewer diplomats? russia will still have a diplomatic mission to nato and that size of 20 diplomats will

be big enough to facilitate their political dialogue with nato, between nato and russia. as i said, we are not changing our approach to russia, which is still based on a dual track approach meaning stronger defence and dialogue and we will continue to prepare for the next meeting between the russia and nato council. this is a response, it is a clear message but not a change of our policy, we will continue to work towards meaningful, political dialogue with russia. what triggered this was the salisbury attack. but it is part of a broader response by nato allies to a pathan of an a cce pta ble nato allies to a pathan of an acceptable and aimless behaviour by

russia. we have seen the illegal annexation of crimea, we have seen cyber attacks, we have seen hybrid attacks, we have seen russia investing heavily in modern military equipment and the willingness to use military force against neighbours. all of that has led to an adaptation in nato, where we also strengthen our capabilities when it comes to dealing with hybrid tactics and cyber attacks but also increasing defence spending, investing more in our defence, which includes also, nato allies have more resources to invest, for instance, in equipment and technology, to detect and also protect against chemical attacks. so this announcement today is part of a

broader pathan, a broader response of nato allies to a pathan of reckless behaviour by russia. maybe you should change your approach because after crimea you downsize the mission, you took away some accreditations and yet you see these acts from moscow, apparently it hasn't worked. so do you think, as my colleague asked, will this make a difference? it sends a very clear message to russia that it has costs. i actually think russia has underestimated the unity of nato allies. the way we have responded, the unity we have shown, both when it comes to implementing the biggest reinforcements of our collective defence and is the end of the cold war, with the battle groups to be

eastern part of the alliance and also, with the fact after years of reducing defence investments, we are increasing defence investments. by dumping russia expected that. second, i don't think they expected that nato allies, with partners, have been able to agree and to stand united in implementing economic sanctions. so the combination of increased military presence, more defence spending and economic sanctions by nato allies and other countries, is a very strong response and which imposes costs on russia, because of their behaviour i have seen since the illegal annexation of crimea. 0n seen since the illegal annexation of crimea. on top of that, we see a very unified response by nato allies and our many partners to the salisbury attack. what i said is

that we still have a dual track approach to russia, meaning deterrence, defence and dialogue, but we are changing the way we do that, partly because we have significantly increased and strengthened our deterrence on defence and we will continue to do so. we have suspended all practical cooperation with russia but we strive for a more constructive relationship with russia and we will work towards meaningful and political dialogue which means preparations for the next meeting of the nato and allies council. so nato is expelling russian diplomats. another bit of breaking news which is the ascendancy of the police officer darren mackay. he was found guilty of the murder of his

wife who was also a police officer. he had 20 years police service and he killed after she found he had used her signature fraudulently gain alone. thejudge said it used her signature fraudulently gain alone. the judge said it was a cruel killing and then you abused the public trust in you as a senior police officer, you set about disposing of your wife's body in a callous and despicable way. he dumped his wife's body in the pointon reservoir. thejudge said you have robbed your children of their mother and her parents of their mother and her parents of their only child. that sentence coming in the last few moments. in a moment the business news. first a look at the headlines

on afternoon live. a review of the response to the suicide bombing at manchester arena last year has revealed that it took nearly two hours for firefighters to be deployed. russia vows to hit back, as a growing number of countries expel diplomats following the nerve agent attack in salisbury. labour mps are pressing jeremy corbyn for more action to "root out" anti—semitism in the party after he issued a new apology to jewish groups. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. the battle for gkn goes on. it's the country's second biggest engineering company. melrose industries has offered to buy it for £8.1bn. now business secretary greg clark has said yes but if it wins the bid it's got to agree to a series of "binding" commitments to protect the workforce, research and development, and pension schemes. he's also raised concerns over national security — gkn supplies the uk armed forces everything from tank parts tojet engines. gsk the pharmaceutical company, it used to be glaxo years ago, may be about to sell horlicks, the malt drink business. the reason — it wants to buy something else, full control

of a joint venture with novartis. if novartis agrees and gsk pays £9 billion it will get a consumer health business which sells things like sensodyne toothpaste and panadol headache tablets. mps have asked facebook‘s chief product officer chris cox to answer questions on its data breach after mark zuckerberg refused to appear in front of a parliamentary committee. even though mr cox has agreed to give evidence, the committee said they did still want to talk to mr zuckerberg. terrible numbers from h&m — another high street disaster? it is the second biggest clothing company in the world. in has about 250 or so branches here. the problem with it has been its not really been able to get to grips with online yet. it says it is getting there and it should be able to go

full stea m there and it should be able to go full steam ahead in terms of online but it also has had problems with the cold weather. last week, it warned of its first drop in several years. the shares are ata drop in several years. the shares are at a 10—year low and h&m have got it so right, for so long, it shows how hard it is to stay at the top. competition is very fierce. retailers, you have got to be on top of your products, on top of the online and social engagement and keep your stop turning quickly or you will have to discount your way out of trouble. h&m admitted that, too much stock and there will have too much stock and there will have to discount and that will hurt their margins. it can be done right but it is hard to do it in an environment when consumers are not feeling flush right now. donald trump has been treating, no

news there but is lauding the latest stock market figures and they are on the up? they are, but they were very much down last week. it is all to do with these talks that were meant to be going on between the us and china over trade. joe mellor is in the states at the new york stock exchange. what do you make of this, it is all to do with trade? life in donald trump's economy is like being ona donald trump's economy is like being on a roller—coaster. 0n donald trump's economy is like being on a roller—coaster. on friday i was here and the mood was literally like a funeral parlour. fears of a building trade war, stocks were tanking. the dow rose by 700 points, one of the better days in history in terms of point rises. that was one report in the wall street journal which suggested there was a war

between washington and beijing and talks were going on behind the scenes to prevent some escalation of these sanctions or proposed sanctions. what traders are trying to work out is, it is what the trump administration doing, for all of its bluster and the president's tweeting, similar to what previous administrations have done, and that is having grievous daily—macro grievances about not being able to do business in china. it is the rhetoric that is different but is there an underlying policy change? it seems, at least for this week, the market believes it is business as usual and donald trump seems to be confirming that tweeting, saying it will all be ok in the end and these talks have been going on for years, nothing to see here. we will see what it feels like next week. quick look at the markets. super dry had some bad figures. the

chief executive is leaving but giving £1 million to charity, to a marine conservation body and he is leaving and that is why the investors are leaving and that is why the investors a re not leaving and that is why the investors are not happy. jamie, thank you and more later on. let's have a quick look at the weather. and the rain has been pushing through, overnight looking and more rain coming in across parts of wales and south—west england and further showers in the north—west. where we see the lowest temperatures across the north and east of the uk, we could have some pockets of frost in the countryside. tomorrow, eyes are on this developing low pressure in the south. it will bring areas a

spell of wet weather. but there could be some wintry showers over the brecon beacons, the chilterns and the mendips. tomorrow, a day of sunshine and showers. some of them could be wintry over the high ground in scotland. it will feel cooler and fresher. temperatures typically staying in single figures, seven and 9 degrees. that is your weather. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at three. the communications failures which meant that firefighters who heard the manchester arena bomb go off were sent away from the scene.

a report finds "poor communication" after the bomb went off meant the first firefighters arrived two hours later. it is vital we learn the lessons of what went less well. this matter is for the people of greater manchester, and beyond, who were caught up in the terrible i events of that night. i events of that night. "‘we will not tolerate such impudence". angry russia vows to hit back — as nato and more countries expel diplomats, following the salisbury nerve agent attack. i have today withdrawn the accreditation of seven staff at the russian mission to nato. i will also deny pending' cred tasting requests for three others. labour mps are pressing jeremy corbyn for more action to "root out" anti—semitism in the party — after he issued a new apology to jewish groups. coming up on afternoon

live all the sport. crickets governing body say they will not look into claims that australian's players tampered with the ball in the ashes win over england. the time limit for the icc pass passed, for reporting any such offences but the spotlight well and truly on australia's head coach darren lehmann this afternoon. thank you. now a look at the weather with chris. 0n the high street it is damp but an improving picture we will look at forecast in the run—up to easter and elsewhere in weather new news this time of year we normally see the arctic ice expanding after what has been a lengthy winter but we will bring you the latest figure for arctic sea ice and the implications about why it not be as thick as normal. also coming up... what a hoot. the owl causes chaos at

a wedding swooping to deliver the ring, the owl decided to have something of a barney with the best man. hello everyone — this is afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. "we let you down" — the message from the manchester fire service to the people caught up in the terrorist attack at the manchester arena. poor communications meant that firefighters who heard the bomb go off were sent away from the scene — that's according to a review of the response to last year's suicide bombing. the first firefighters arrived at the arena two hours later. there was also a "catastrophic failure'” in the handling of the emergency number for relatives. 0ur correspondent judith moritz reports. it was just chaos. there was just people everywhere on the floor. plenty of which weren't alive, or barely alive. it's...

i just went around and tried to do the best i could. for those who were there, the memories are still fresh. those like rob grew, who heard the sound of the blast and ran inside the building, and ordinary member an ordinary member of the public who gave first aid while some emergency services were kept outside. apart from the three paramedics that were doing a greatjob, that's as far as it went until we realised that no more support was coming from the medical teams, the ambulances. help had been there? definitely in the first 15 minutes, definitely more could have been done. police and paramedics rushed to the arena, but very few went inside the foyer, where the bomb exploded. it was thought a gunman was inside, and designated a hot zone. and fire crews were held back for two hours by their senior

officers, who accept they let the city down. this firefighter, who doesn't want to be identified, was on duty but wasn't sent. paramedics were asking us where we were. people were dying. why weren't we there? and we just were helpless. because obviously when you are in a uniformed service, you do what you are told to do, and we weren't told to do anything. although the city had planned and rehearsed for a terror attack, on the night that it happened none of those involved had ever encountered such an experience for real. the report says there are many lessons to be learned, but also that manchester has much to be proud of, and there were many heroes that night. we had very, very limited kit for a huge number of patients to treat. michael daly is thought to be the first doctor to respond. he set up an area the casualties at the train next door. at the train station next door.

theyjust started to be brought down in larger and larger numbers. they were being brought down, notjust stretchers but barriers, billboards were being used as makeshift stretchers by the arena staff to just get people out of the foyer and down to the concourse. the national emergency helpline for such situations failed completely. a restricted local number was only set up four hours later. martyn hett was at the concert, and his family realised he was missing. it took hours to find out that he died. i tried to also like so many others phone number that was given phone that number that was given initially on the television, and probably 26 times i phoned until i got through. and martyn's friends frantically went from hospital to hospital, trying to find him. the public donated millions of pounds to a charity appeal for those affected. but the report also asks the government to look at financial support for victims of terror, and makes national recommendations that go beyond manchester.

it is vital that we learn the lessons of what went less well. this matter is for the people of greater manchester and beyond, who were caught up in the terrible events of that night. but also for other places that might experience an attack in the future. that will be consideredfi l 77 fl