tonight at ten, fire chiefs apologise unreservedly for their slow response to the terror attack at the manchester arena last year. 22 people were killed and hundreds injured when a suicide bomber targeted the crowd leaving a pop concert last may. an official report says the overall emergency response was positive but the fire service had been out of the loop because of a failure of leadership. the greater manchester fire and rescue service did not arrive at the scene and therefore played no meaningful role in the response to the attack for nearly two hours. firefighters did feel let down that night by some of the decisions by the senior leaders, and i can understand their frustration. we'll be looking at the dozens of recommendations in the official report. we report on the british employers

increasingly concerned about their ability to recruit foreign workers after brexit. you didn't cheat? what about the sugar in the pocket, what was that about? and the coach is staying put, but three australian cricketers alex mcleish goes in search of his first win since taking up the scotland job for his second time. good evening.

there's been a comprehensive apology by fire chiefs for their response to the terror attack in the manchester arena last year in which 22 people were killed and hundreds were injured by a suicide bomber. the report found the fire service played "no meaningful role", for nearly two hours after the attack. there were poor communications between police and fire crews to co—ordinate their response. and a helpline service for relatives provided by vodafone failed completely. the kerslake report is also highly critical of the conduct of some of the media following the attack. let's join our correspondent judith moritz in manchester tonight. huw, this report makes for bittersweet reading. those failings held up for scrutiny, strong criticisms contained in here, but the team behind the review said

today they wanted the overwhelming story to be a positive one. they say there is much to be learned from this, but also that they have barely scraped the surface of the thousands of a cts scraped the surface of the thousands of acts of individual bravery and selflessness which they say were on show in the city here that night. screaming it was just chaos, there was people everywhere on the floor. plenty of which weren't alive, or barely alive. ijust...yeah, i don't know, 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, an ordinary member of the public who gave first aid in the foyer where the bomb went off, whilst most emergency services were kept out amid fears of a gunman. apart from the three paramedics, who were doing a greatjob, that's as far as it went, until we realised that no more

support was coming from the medical teams or the ambulances. do you think that more people could have been saved, if that help had been there? definitely in the first 15 minutes. definitely more could have been done. police and paramedics rushed to the arena and, following protocols for a firearms terror attack, mostly worked in areas adjacent to the blast zone. but fire crews didn't attend at all for two hours, held back by their senior officers, who now accept they let the city down. it means they couldn't get people out of the foyer or help with first aid. 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 were just helpless, because obviously when you're in a uniform service, you do what you're told to do, and we weren't told to do anything.

the fire service has a new chief officer. she knows front—line firefighters wanted to help. we've spoken to one of them who's furious. there's a huge amount of anger there, amongst the rank and file. firefighters did feel let down that night by some of the decisions by the senior leaders, and i can understand their frustration, because they really did want to respond. but they showed self—discipline, and they followed orders, and they followed the processes, even though every fibre in their body, they wanted to respond to that incident. we had very, very limited kit for a huge number of patients to treat. there's praise for those who went to help, like the first doctor to respond, michael daley, who helped 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 not just on 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. its operator, vodafone, has apologised. martyn hett was at the concert, and his family realised he was missing. it took hours to find out that he'd died. i tried to also, like so many others, find that number that was given initially on the television. probably 26 times i phoned until i got through, and martyn‘s friends frantically went from hospital to hospital, trying to find him. the report authors say the story of how the city responded is overwhelmingly positive, and that the whole country can learn from the mistakes that were made. as well as celebrating the things that went well, however, it is vital that 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, but also for other places that might experience an attack in the future. the public donated millions of pounds to a charity appeal for those affected, but the report also asks the government to consider financial support for victims of terror. it's something that the government needs to look at. beyond party politics, can we come to an agreement about what should be provided in these circumstances? it shouldn't be left purely to the generosity of the people of greater manchester, as much as i appreciate that, for support to be provided. the review doesn't establish whether lives could have been saved if things had been done differently. that will be considered when the inquests are held. well, judith, we heard any report,

lord kerslake talking about the wider implications of the findings of the report, tell us more about that. yes, this report has made difficult reading, both here in manchester and further afield, especially, of course, for those who were bereaved. one family telling me tonight that their new reality is continuing to live every parent's worst nightmare, and a report knowledge knowledge that anguish but seeks to draw lessons in the knowledge that terror attacks are a continuing reality and lessons from manchester may apply elsewhere. for example, lord kerslake elsewhere. for example, lord kersla ke wants to elsewhere. for example, lord kerslake wants to look at the national protocols around emergency responses to terror attacks so that the emergency services in future can respond in an informed way, regardless of whether firearms are thought to be involved. he makes recommendations for the nhs, for the ministry of defence, for the home

office, for better mental health provision for victims of terror attacks, and full statutory funding for people in that position as well. and right at the heart of the review are the families of the 22 people who died. the report team say they are humbled that those families are prepared to relive the horror of their experiences so that others can learn lessons from them. judith, many thanks, once again, judith, many thanks, once again, judith moritz, our correspondent in greater manchester. the nhs in england is to get a long—term funding plan to help it cope with extra demands. the prime minister signalled her support for such a move when she gave evidence to a parliamentary comittee today, as she recognised "serious cost and demand pressures" on the service. but theresa may didn't say how much more money would be invested, or where it would come from, as our health editor, hugh pym, reports. crowded a&e departments, long waits for some patients on trolleys, a shortage of beds. scenes like this — from the bbc series hospital — have highlighted the extreme pressure on the system this winter. the debate on the future

of the nhs has been reignited, now the prime minister has promised a new long—term plan for england. speaking to a committee of mps, she said there was a need to get away from annual budget top—ups. this year, and in advance of next year's spending review, i do want to come forward with a long—term plan. i want that to be done in conjunction with leaders of the nhs, with clinicians and health experts, and the government will provide a multi—year funding settlement in support of the plan, consistent with our fiscal rules and balanced approach. the health and social care secretary, jeremy hunt, has called for a ten—year spending plan to provide stability for the nhs. mrs may hasn't said how long it will be, but clearly more than the usual three—year spending review period. well, i'm very sceptical, because the government have refused to give the nhs the funding it desperately needs over eight years now. that's why the nhs is in crisis. that's why waiting lists have grown so dramatically. the government has decided it needs

to come up with a plan before another pressurised winter in the nhs, and ahead of the spending review for other departments due next year. but that doesn't leave a lot of time to come up with credible proposals. the government has been increasing health spending in england above inflation, but patient demand has been rising faster, and trying to assess where that trend goes, with all the demographic pressures, will be quite a challenge for the government as it works out how much more money will be needed. under current plans, health spending in england is rising above £125 billion a year. and if current trends continue, this is where it will get to by 2022. but health think tanks believe patient demand will carry on rising more rapidly, leaving a gap of around £20 billion. they say the plan will have to address that and the years ahead. the nhs does need predictable, long—term funding. but really, the acid tests of this commitment will be does it include the nhs and the social care system?

with an ageing population, it is simply not credible to fund the nhs but starve social care of resources. and, most importantly, what is the level of funding increase? nhs england said the announcement of a long—term plan was welcome and significant. staff and patients, though, will want to see the detail before deciding whether it can put the service on a secure footing. hugh pym, bbc news. our deputy political editor, john pienaar, is at westminster. what is your reading of the thinking behind this, john? well, theresa may, huw, clearly means it when she says she is a supporter of the nhs but she is under enormous pressure from nhs professionals and managers and the public, and from mps at westminster, including her own health secretary, who was floated the idea of a dedicated nhs tax. this could be a significant moment.

we are told there will be more money, but we have no idea how much. we do know, i can tell you, one cabinet minister told me recently that the amount needed to get the nhs toa that the amount needed to get the nhs to a higher standard and satisfy the public was eye—watering. mrs may wa nts to the public was eye—watering. mrs may wants to save money on preventative health care and on productivity and put more money in on top, but it will be hard for her to satisfy the growing needs of the nhs and the expectations of the public, and i can only add this, huw — those hoping for a new golden era of cross— party hoping for a new golden era of cross—party co—operation should think again, labour has made the nhs a principle line of attack. one downing street insider told me that number ten would not be holding its breath waiting for a lot of co—operation and support from jeremy corbyn and his team, so mrs may can expect a lot of harsh scrutiny. she clearly wa nts expect a lot of harsh scrutiny. she clearly wants to take on and try to deal with the problems of the nhs. much less clear at this stage, huw, is how. when ijohn pienaar, thank you. in the latest diplomatic response to the chemical attack in salisbury,

nato has expelled seven russian diplomats from its headquarters in brussels. 25 countries have now taken similar action, expelling dozens of diplomats, and russia's foreign minister the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter, who were the victims of the chemical attack, are still critically ill in hospital. mr skripal‘s niece has told the bbc about the pain it has caused the family. from moscow, our correspondent steve rosenberg reports. it looks like a game show, but this was russian tv on the diplomatic war with the west. the names in the frames, the string of countries who had expelled russian diplomats over the salisbury attack. 26 countries have now ordered expulsions. moscow's point is that the west has got it in for russia. this is not about poisoning some former agents. this is about containing russia, creating problems for russia with its sovereign and independent foreign policy. and could a diplomatic war morph into something more dangerous? this confrontation has certain logic,

and this logic is to step up — each next move should be stronger than the previous one. and with this, we can reach a pretty dangerous situation where militarisation of behaviour will be inevitable. the one expression you hear more and more to describe the growing tension between russia and the west is "new cold war". but in fact what we have now is potentially more dangerous than the cold war, because back in the days of communism against capitalism, both sides stuck to the rules of the game. today, it seems, there are no rules. meanwhile, sergei and yulia skripal remain in a critical but stable condition in a salisbury hospital. their relatives back home have said little about this drama. but in her first tv interview, sergei's niece viktoria has told the bbc russian service that political tensions are the last

thing her family once. translation: i don't want there to be this massive conflict between our two countries, for all this to get worse, and for it to happen because of my family. the family still hasn't told sergei's 90—year—old mother that her son has been poisoned. translation: she doesn't know, and she won't find out until the situation reaches its logical conclusion. there is all this scandal in the media at the moment, and it's painful for us. the nerve agent attack in salisbury is a family tragedy — and a political crisis. it has put russia and the west at loggerheads, on the path to confrontation. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. in russia, president putin has declared a national day of mourning after 64 people,

most of them children, died in a fire at a shopping centre in siberia on sunday. people in the city of kemerovo have been holding protests, as mr putin blamed what he called "criminal negligence" for the tragedy and suggested that safety certificates had been obtained with bribes. our correspondent, paul adams, sent this report. grief turning to fury on the streets of the siberian mining town. two days after the fire, people are angry. "resign, resign," they shout. local officials are bombarded with questions — how many people really died, were children locked inside, why were the fire alarms not working? the crowd smells corruption. the sign above the mayor's assistant reads, "how much are your closed eyes worth?" translation: i've got nothing more to lose, my whole family has died, my younger sister, my wife and my three children.

my wife rang me quite late, shejust wanted to say goodbye to me. inside what's left of the shopping complex, a scene of utter devastation. this place was packed on sunday. when the fire broke out, it swept through the building with appalling speed. on one of the upper floors, the cinema, where many of the children died. the man leading the investigation says those responsible for safety simply run away. the view from above is equally shocking. is there evidence here that corners were cut? vladimir putin visited the city this morning, offering condolences, saying what happened was inexcusable. translation: an investigation group of 100 people is working here. they will go through the whole chain, starting with those who issued licenses and up to those who were responsible for safety. in moscow this evening, a silent vigil for the victims, the people here promising not

to forget what happened in siberia two days ago. what began as a local tragedy now has the potential to turn into a national scandal. fires like this are not uncommon in russia, and behind them there's often a story of corruption, fast money and lax oversight. this disaster raises a host difficult questions. pauladams, bbc news, moscow. a report has found that employers are concerned about their ability to recruit foreign workers after brexit. the migration advisory committee took evidence from more than 400 businesses and other organisations about patterns of migration from the european economic area, the eea, which includes eu countries. the findings are designed to help ministers develop new immigration controls. our home editor, mark easton, explains now. as british and stylish as james bond himself, the aston martin is one

of the west midlands' most iconic creations. only around 5% of workers here come from the european union, but the prospect of losing access to skilled engineers from outside the uk after brexit leaves the boss shaken, if not stirred. well, aston martin is a global company, so we need access to the best global talent. why can't we get british workers to do the jobs that you're employing foreigners for? well, i'm sure we can. i mean, these are high skilled jobs and you need to invest in the training, and we're doing that now. we're recruiting every year more and more apprentices, but it takes ten years to create an engineer. today's migration report identifies widespread concern among employers that a post—brexit policy, designed to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, will damage growth and threatenjobs. today, the west midlands' mayor was in westminster, pressing the case for a policy to protect his region's economy. what i often hear is how there is already a skills shortage, for example, in engineering, in the advanced manufacturing sector, and it's good that we're

going to be responsible for our own migration policy, but we're going to need to make sure that people in really important roles are able to come in in the future. the government's migration advisers, though, say their concern is not the short—term profits of uk business, but the long—term welfare of british people. that might mean more training and better pay for home—grown workers in sectors where businesses exploited a ready and willing pool of foreign labour. it's the balti argument. birmingham's famous take on indian cuisine employs large numbers of migrant chefs, but why not train local people instead ? it's a question that leave activist saqib bhatti believes should be asked about eu workers too. there are many opportunities that have arisen from brexit. of course, if you've got chefs who are trained in balti restaurants, for example, they have a certain skill set. what we need to do is have a system where that skill set is then

transferred over to our young people because, of course, they are the future of our region and the future of our generations. the west midlands engine, as they call it, powers a quarter of all uk exports, but tuning the economy for a low migration, post—brexitjourney will be challenging. employers hope the terms don't prove too tight. mark easton, bbc news, the west midlands. a brief look at some of the day's other news stories: the facebook founder, mark zuckerberg, has turned down an invitation to appear before a parliamentary committee at westminster. facebook, which is at the centre of a row over the gathering of personal data, will send a senior executive instead. they'll give evidence to mps next month. the uk might not have voted for brexit if it hadn't been for cheating by the leave campaign, that was the allegation made to mps by christopher wylie, a former employee of cambridge analytica. vote leave denies the allegations.

a man from leicester has beenjailed for a minimum of 20 years after deliberately running down a muslim woman, in what the court heard was revenge for the london bombings of 2005 and the parsons green tube attack last year. 21—year—old paul moore attacked zaynab hussein last september. she suffered life—changing injuries. australia's cricket officials have announced that the coach, darren lehmann, will remain in post following the controversy over ball—tampering in the third test against south africa. cricket australia said knowledge of the incident was limited to three people — the captain, steve smith, the vice—captain, david warner, and the player who carried out the tampering, cameron bancroft. the three players will be sent home tomorrow and "significant sanctions" are being considered against them. our sports editor, dan roan, reports. in the eye of a cricketing storm. reporter: david, are you going to get banned today? australia's players arriving here injohannesburg this morning, their preparations for the final test against south africa totally overshadowed by the ball—tampering scandal that has shocked the sport.

reporter: did you cheat during the ashes as well? have you done it before? are you going to resign, darren? the most powerful man in australian cricket also in town, in a bid to get a grip of the crisis. i want to apologise to all australians that these events have taken place and particularly to all the kids who love cricket and idolise the players. an investigation has found that the plot was confined to three players — cameron bancroft, who used sticky tape to tamper with the ball, captain steve smith and his deputy, david warner, all will be sent home in disgrace tomorrow. in regard to the three players on report, i want to stress that we are contemplating significant sanctions in each case. these sanctions will reflect the gravity with which we view what has occurred and the damage it has done to the standing of australian cricket.

meanwhile, head coach darren lehmann was found to be unaware of the cheating scheme and, despite concerns over the culture he presides over, remains in hisjob. cricket australia knew their announcement here at this johannesburg hotel this evening came amid intense scrutiny, notjust from the cricketing public, but also sponsors and even the australian government. a sense of outrage ensuring that this is now a test case for the integrity of the sport. i think it's desperately sad. obviously, individuals occasionally cross over the boundaries between fair play and unfair play, but to have organised, orchestrated cheating in this way, with the australian captain, captain of a side that set itself out to claim the moral high ground, now they're caught doing this, and i really don't think almost any punishment is too big. shame and anger now follow this team. australia hoping that swift action and appropriate punishments allow them to move on from this cricketing crisis. dan roan, bbc news, johannesburg.

in a year's time, on 29 march 2019, the united kingdom will formally leave the european union and enter a transition period, but there's still a mountain of negotiations ahead in the coming year. our europe editor, katya adler, has been looking at the eu's likely approach, and whether it will speak with one voice when it comes to deciding a future trade deal with the uk. when it comes to brexit, the eu is desperate to appear united, but it isn't, especially when it comes a future trade deal with the uk. 27 different eu countries and a whole host of opinions, from pragmatic to hard line, like france. france's economy minister insists there's no wiggle room to make a special deal for the uk after brexit. are you trying to punish the uk for leaving? we have guidelines. we do not want to punish the uk. nobody wants to punish the uk.

you cannot punish such a big nation, like the uk. you cannot punish the nation of shakespeare and churchill. this is nonsense. but we have also to protect our own interests. we have to protect our financial stability. financial services won't be in the free trade agreement. will you not, in the end, bend those rules for the uk to keep it close? i really think that we have to stick to the rules, and we do not have any intention to change the rules for the uk. french businesses do worry about brexit, of course, but eu giants, france and germany, believe they gain more from protecting the eu for its members than they lose from weaker trade ties post—brexit with the uk. the fear is, if a special deal is done for us when we leave the eu, then remaining club members and outside partners,

like the us and japan, will want to fiddle with eu rules as well. turning what seems like a single market paradise into a hellish trade mess. but poland takes a different view. warsaw's bloody history of defending itself against its neighbours means it worries about russia and wants continued uk support after brexit. poland's prime minister is also under pressure to ensure post—brexit rights for the hundreds of thousands of poles living in the uk. from him, a brexit word rarely heard from the eu — compromise. i think that the common sense will prevail and we will find an appropriate solution for both parties. we will miss, for many reasons, the united kingdom's presence in the european union and i think that this is very possible

also to find compromise between the uk and the eu. we, the eu, we will give up something and the uk will give up another thing. so you think there will be a bending of those red lines on both sides. there will be a bending of those red lines. on the eu side as well? on the eu and the uk, yeah. on show and in public, eu countries have been strictly in step with one another over brexit, until now. national interests in trade talks will surely strain that unity, to what the uk hopes will be its advantage. katya adler, bbc news, warsaw. football, and england have taken on italy in a friendly at wembley tonight ahead of this summer's world cup. our sports correspondent,

natalie pirks, was watching. the first home game of the year for england was the last chance to impress before russia. italy failed to qualify for their first world cup in 60 years. right from the off, it was hard to see why. immobile, immobile long enough forjohn stones to clear. it took more than 20 minutes for england to string any meaningful passes together. but when they did, some quick feet from sterling and some wonderful quick thinking from lingard reaped rewards. the goal was good. var wasn't on england's side in the second—half. why replays showed that tarkowski had stepped on his foot.