tonight at ten — the high court has blocked the release from prison of the serial sex attackerjohn worboys. two of his victims persuaded the high court to overturn the decision of the parole board, which must now carry out another review. i think a lot of women can actually sleep a little bit happier tonight, not worrying about the outcome, whether he's going to be released, so it was a fantastic result. worboys, a former cab driver, has served 10 years of an indeterminate sentence. lawyers say this is a landmark ruling. i'm incredibly happy for my two clients who have undergone such an incredibly long battle, having been failed by all aspects of the criminaljustice system. we'll be assessing the implications for the parole board, whose chairman was forced to resign today. also tonight... detectives investigating the chemical attack in salisbury say the victims first came into contact with the poison at their home. the leader of north korea, kim jong—un, has been visiting beijing for talks with president xi. a money—back scheme for returning glass,

plastic bottles and cans is to be introduced in england to boost recycling and cut waste. in siberia, the first funerals have taken place for some of the children and adults who lost their lives in a fire at a shopping centre. and australia's cricket captain steve smith and his vice—captain are banned from playing for their country for a year after admitting cheating against south africa. and coming up on sportsday, it's a historic night for english women's football as chelsea and manchester city make it two english clubs through to the semifinals of the champions league for the first time. good evening. the controversial decision by the parole board to release the serial sex offenderjohn worboys has been overturned

by the high court. threejudges backed a legal challenge by two of worboys‘ victims and by the mayor of london saying there should have been further inquiries into his offending. they said worboys, who has served nearly 10 years of an indeterminate sentence, should remain in prison while a new panel considers his case. the chairman of the parole board, nick hardwick, resigned earlier today. our home affairs correspondent june kelly has more details. john worboys is one of the country's most notorious sexual predators. a decade ago the black cab rapist, as he's known, was finally convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting 12 of his passengers. but it's believed he'd done the same to more than 100 more. i believe that a lot of women can sleep a little bit happier tonight. for these women there was no justice and they include this victim, who helped bring today's legal challenge. he has conned the parole board and it's clear

that he conned the parole board. and the fact that he's still doing that and able to deceive people is quite clear indication he hasn't changed because that is what he was like when we got into that cab. at the heart of this case was whetherjohn worboys had acknowledged the scale of his offending and shown true remorse for his crimes. today's court ruling said the parole board had failed to examine these issues properly. after the judgment, lawyers for his victims said even now more women were coming forward and making allegations against him. i've been approached by in excess of ten, ten women who were attacked by him, many of whom never reported it before. and we know that many women still do not have the courage or the confidence, let's say, to report rape and sexual offence. particularly in circumstances where they've been drugged, as they were in these cases. there was drama before the court convened, with the

news that nick hardwick, the head of the parole board, had been made to resign. in his resignation letter to thejustice secretary, his bitterness at being forced out was clear. he wrote... one of the lawyers for worboys‘ victims accused the justice secretary of shifting the blame to nick hardwick. i think it's pure scapegoating, i think it's the typical behaviour of a politician seeking to make political capital out of a situation which is not a political situation. in the commons, the minister himself was having to admit failings in his own department. a dossier on worboys passed from the ministry ofjustice, the m0], to the parole panel, had lacked vital information. i apologise for that but i think we also should be clear that the m0], working through the national probation service, recommended that worboys was not released. for years, john worboys

was the master manipulator, as he humiliated and abused scores of women. his victims have now ta ken control of his immediate future. they've kept him behind bars and he'll be forced to face a new parole hearing. june kelly, bbc news. our home editor, mark easton, is at the ministry ofjustice. there are. vital questions raised by this case — what for you other main implications of what has happened today? i think a light has been shown on the workings of the parole board, based here at the ministry of the justice and it has been found wanting, its head has effectively been sacked and every one of the rules which governs its systems is going to be reviewed, including number 25 witches which said it had to reveal the reasons, should never

reveal, the reasons why it had made its decision. so, more transparency andi its decision. so, more transparency and i inked it will be such that victims will get a better understanding of why a prisoner has been released. the panels i think will be beefed up, particularly in controversial, high—profile cases like the worboys case, with perhaps a retired judge involved. there will also be a focus on what evidence should be considered relevant in the decision—making, and controversially weather allegations of crimes that have never been pursued or dried or tested in a court of law, should those form part of the deliberations? the high court think they should. so, big change on the way and a balancing act to be struck i think between dealing with the shortcomings identified in this case it but also looking to protect the precious independence of the parole board are about mark easton, thank you very much at the ministry of justice. there's been a new development tonight in the investigation into the chemical attack in salisbury ——which has left the former russian spy

sergei skripal and his daughter yulia critically ill in hospital. the metropolitan police say that as a result of detailed forensic and scientific examination, they believe the skripals first came into contact with the nerve agent at their home address. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera is here with the latest. more details, and what is significant about this revelation? it isa significant about this revelation? it is a significant update from the police, that scientific, forensic trail has been crucial to this very complex investigation. they have looked to try and match the movements of the skripals with the location of any contamination from this nerve agent, done by police supported by military scientists from the porton down laboratory nearby. preserving evidence and also not getting contaminated themselves. crucially it has led them to the conclusion that the skripals were poisoned most likely at their own home, and specifically the highest concentration of the nerve agent which they found was on the front door handle. i understand from independent scientists that it is

possible to administer this kind of substance, this nerve agent, which could have been smeared onto the door handle, and in turn that would explain why it was found in so many other places, like the car door and the restaurant because they may have transferred it with their own hands. while this is significant it does not necessarily tell us who did it but it makes it perhaps less likely that the skripals came face—to—face with their attackers. but the investigation will now very much focus on the house, the forensics around it, talking to neighbours, seeing if they can work out who might have gone to this house in a quiet cul—de—sac and administered a military grade nerve agents. gordon corera, thank you very much. the leader of north korea, kim jong—un, has been visiting beijing for talks with president xi. it's his first known foreign trip since he assumed power in 2011 and comes ahead of planned summits with south korea next month and with president trump in may. mr trump said he's looking forward

to that meeting after receiving reports from china that the talks this week had gone well. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports. this is no ordinary train. heavily armoured, on board, north korea's leader, who had travelled to china to see his giant of an ally. unexplained convoys in beijing, a bizarre secret visit only announced after it was all over. behind closed doors, kimjong—un was honoured with due ceremony, but china's president xi is by turns supportive and suspicious of his maverick nuclear neighbour. the north korean, 30 years his junior, looked suitably awed, even a bit submissive, as he dutifully took his own notes at meetings which surely focused on the hope china shares with the united states that north korea will at the very least freeze its nuclear weapons programme everyone sees as a threat. kim's next big meeting could be with donald trump.

so the north korean would naturally turn to china first for reassurance he and his regime can survive if he does start to disarm. 0nly china can provide him with a certain level of security, 0k? and, of course, if china can persuade others also to provide this kind of security, then so much the better. president trump welcomed news of progress following the beijing talks. "now there is a good chance that kim jong—un will do what is right for his people and for humanity," mr trump treated. adding in his next message that president xi had told him mr kim also "looks forward to his meeting with me". so what are the prospects? i turn to drjim hoare. this is the vice minister who looked after europe... he opened britain's first embassy in north korea before its weapons programme really took off.

what does kim now want? that might well include a lifting of sanctions, or a reduction of some of the sanctions. they're not all going to be lifted. in exchange for...? in exchange for a cap on their nuclear programme and the continued moratorium of their rocket development. huge doubts remain. could this be a new north korean nuclear reactor capable of producing weapons grade plutonium? satellite images from last month suggest that possibility. so behind kim's extraordinary beijing visit and ahead of a possible first encounter with donald trump, the stakes could hardly be higher. james robbins, bbc news. the cost of drinks in plastic bottles and cans in england could increase under plans for a refundable deposit scheme to reduce waste and increase recycling. consumers would receive their money back when they returned bottles and cans to a collecting point. environmental groups say the idea is a big step towards cutting plastic waste but some businesses have expressed concern. scotland has already committed

to a deposit scheme, and wales is considering the idea. 0ur science editor david shukman reports. plastic bottles are suddenly getting political attention. 13 billion of them are bought in the uk every year. but at least three billion are never recycled. and this is where discarded plastic can end up, drifting in the oceans and polluting them on an ever—growing scale. ten years ago, i saw for myself how sea birds in the pacific can suffer from plastic waste. and some countries have responded quickly to this emerging threat. in norway, for example, people returning bottles get a refund of the small deposit they paid when buying the drinks. germany and denmark have similar schemes. and they have massively increased the rate of recycling. british ministers think something similar could work here. other countries have got it right.

we can learn from them. but there are particular circumstances in the uk. the way in which local government, for example, currently recycles material. the way in which our corner shops attract custom as well. we've got to make sure that this scheme works. but some key questions about the new scheme have yet to be decided. the types of bottles to be included — all drinks orjust some? where the collection machines will go — that could be tricky in small shops. and crucially, who will pay for the scheme? retailers are waiting for the hard details. we do have some concerns. 0ne concern is how it will interact with the current recycling collection system we have by local authorities. we would like one scheme across the uk, and we know scotland is looking at this already. we don't want four separate schemes. already a lot of plastic does get recycled. in dagenham in east london today, the waste firm veolia showed us what they do with 300 million plastic bottles a year. some kinds of plastic can be used again, and they fetch very good money.

so this is just one example of how plastic can be recycled. 0ld milk bottles brought in to be chopped up into these fragments and then processed into these pellets, which are the raw material of the plastics industry, going on to make new plastic milk bottles. it's what they call a circular economy, and the deposit scheme should encourage it. in many ways, all this is an old idea. getting the deposit back on empty glass bottles used to be standard. so how do the public react now to doing this with plastic bottles? recycling is a serious thing, especially where we are now in our day and age. the more incentives we can offer the public, the better, really. yeah, it's worth a try. it might work. i'd do it. we're paying 5p for the bag charge, so we're used to it by now. but definitely if it means saving the environment, because plastic pollution isjust insane. plastic waste can produce strong reactions.

in the town of keynsham in somerset, there was a highly unusual protest yesterday. shoppers pulled theirfood out of the plastic packaging. plastic is now a major issue and the government has clearly noticed. david shukman, bbc news. a brief look at some of the day's other other news stories... a motorist who knocked down and killed three teenage boys in hayes in west london has beenjailed for 13 years after admitting causing death by dangerous driving. jaynesh chudasama was two and a half times over the drink—drive limit when he struck harry rice, george wilkinson and josh mcguinness at more than 70 mph. detectives investigating the hatton garden jewel robbery three years ago have charged a man with conspiracy to burgle. he's been named as 57—year—old michael seed from islington in london. some £14 million was stolen — the biggest burglary in legal history. six men have already beenjailed for their part in the raid. two ulster and ireland rugby players have been cleared of rape after a nine—week trial. stuart 0lding and paddyjackson had been accused of assaulting the same woman in south belfast injune 2016.

mrjackson was also cleared of sexual assault. the first funerals have taken place in russia for some of the 64 people who lost their lives in a fire at a shopping centre on sunday. most of those who died in the city of kemerovo were children. relatives claim dozens of other people are still missing. moscow has declared a national day of mourning. there were harrowing scenes at today's funeral services, as our correspondent sarah rainsford reports. they are desperate not to let go. a couple cling to the coffin of their ten—year—old daughter. masha's little brother and their grandma were also killed in the kemerovo fire in a day out at the cinema. for those left behind, saying goodbye is too much to bear. wailing. "save their souls, take them to paradise," natalia begs

as her children are lowered into a shared grave. and then she cries out their names. they are three of the 64 who were trapped in a burning shopping centre where no fire alarm went off and emergency doors were blocked. sergei wants to know why. translation: someone has to answer for this. this can't be allowed. it's so hard to understand why those trying to escape did not make it out. this is just one of many burials here today, and there are many still to come. this city is plunged in grief, and for the families that pain is even fiercer because they know this tragedy could have been avoided. this giant burnt carcass is now the focus of a criminal investigation. though vladimir putin has already blamed negligence and corruption. so today the first suspect appeared in court. a security guard accused of turning the alarms off. he claimed the system has been

faulty for years and said he had reported that. but this city feels numb now, more than angry. everybody knows the victims. they are friends, friends' children or neighbours or... just relatives. it's... we feel like a family now. everybody is talking only about this disaster. and yet russians know the causes of this disaster run deep, and so they wonder how much will really change even after all this. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kemerovo. in a year's time the uk is set to leave the european union — entering a transition period with much negotiating yet to be done. so, with 12 months to go, what do voters make of the progress of brexit? we've been to coventry, a city where just over 55% of people voted leave, to meet a group of leavers

and remainers to find out. they were selected for the bbc by the research company britain thinks. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg was listening in. i just thought it was a straight "out." you know? goodbye. i don't think anybody knows. i don't think the prime minister knows who's going to be the winner. we've left. so let's get on with the leaving. for all the political shenanigans, brexit was a decision taken by the public. what you're about to see isn't scientific but a slice of opinion — a flavour of the conversations that you, we, are all having around the country about brexit with a year to go. i think that they were really clever... yeah, it's clever because they chose the two biggest issues that bother us — the nhs and immigration. absolutely pummelled us all with that and then didn't give us enough information to stay in but they attacked us with the weaknesses, if you know what i mean. with people's emotions.

yeah, yeah. i work with some fantastic nurses from eu countries. fantastic nurses and doctors. and without them being able to move freely, we wouldn't have those staff. but, on the flip side, we're treating so many non—british patients. that's putting a strain on us. just not happy about it at all. and it worries me, like the future of kids. i put up with brexit because of the large companies threatening to pull out. if we go ahead with it, and this is going to happen, we're talking thousands ofjobs. so, it's ruined for everybody because it's notjust, say, a big company, it's all, like, the supply chain and it's a ripple effect. it's billions of pounds that we're still going to be paying into the eu when we've left. and they've done a deal and they're going to pay this or pay that. and you think, where's it all come from? where does it go to?

where is this eu market? they need to break down and say "this is what we're going to achieve with the borders, this with ireland, this is what we'll do with the economy, this is what we'll do with the pound." simple things. they need to break it down. we are arguing with 27 other countries, i think it is, who do not want us to leave. that's right. so how on earth are we going to get anything out of it that is advantageous to britain? and it's nearly two years since we've been left. i don't know why we couldn't have left sooner than we have done. most of us have children, our main concern is their futures. and by the time my children grow up, we will be in full, you know, we will be a country on our own, and in what position are we going to be? when votes are required, we are promised the world but when we then vote and someone comes into force, then nothing happens. toughen up. stand up for people of the uk and what is best for them and the country and stand up

to brussels and stop pandering to them. yeah. don't back down and keep telling us the truth — start telling us the truth, sorry — and fight for the nhs. stop beating around the bush. be strong in what we've decided, be proud in what we are, who we are. we won't crumble. this is the uk. some pride, some fears but impatience too. brexit was a promise that is not straightforward to keep. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, coventry. you can see more of that discussion on the bbc news channel at 23:30pm, and tomorrow laura will be putting some of those points to the prime minister. households in england will be hit with the steepest council tax increase in 1a years from april. the average home will be paying an extra £81. the increase works out atjust over 5% on band d properties. it comes as local authorities take advantage of new freedoms to increase bills.

egypt's president abdel fattah al—sisi is heading for a convincing victory in the presidential election. but human rights groups say the egyptian government has trampled over even the minimum requirements for free and fair elections. back in 2011, egyptians demonstrated in tahrir square in central cairo for freedom and democracy, which led to the eventual overthrow of president mubarak. in a free election in 2012, the muslim brotherhood president muhammed mursi was elected. but in 2013 the military — led by field marshall sisi — seized power, removing the muslim brotherhood from government, and killing hundreds of their supporters. 0ur middle east editor jeremy bowen is in cairo where polls have just closed. another cautious dawn in cairo. egyptians tread carefully these days, especially if they disagree with the regime. president abdul fattah

al—sisi is certain to be elected for a second term. his posters are everywhere. it's a cult of personality more than an election campaign. the army sisi used to command guard the polling stations. his supporters say his tough line saved egypt from becoming another syria. the defence minister came for an inspection. the uniforms are in charge in egypt, as they've been since the 50s. human rights groups said the vote was farcical, while the sisi regime repressed the people and tortured prisoners in the name of fighting terrorism. esma rove is a spokeswoman for the sisi campaign. translation: of course it's a 1,000,000% democratic process. and the evidence is that

all the egyptian people, including big numbers of youth and elderly, have come out to vote, and even children, as you can see here. they are coming here to say yes to mr president, yes to egypt. we are here to say yes to egypt. the president's opponent is one of his own supporters. credible candidates were jailed. others including muhammad anwar el—sadat, nephew of the late president, decided not to take the risk of standing. the idea is that we would like to give a message to the people that know one lasts forever. would you use the word democracy to describe in anyway what's going on in egypt at the moment? well, honestly we are not enjoying the democracy we all hoped to see after 2011. modern egypt has a lot of problems.

tourism is still down, corruption is endemic. and the millions who support the muslim brotherhood are seen as the regime as the enemy within. this is kerdasa, a cairo district regarded by the police as hostile territory. it's a stronghold of the brotherhood, banned since the coup ousted it in 2013. no sisi posters are on these streets. at the bakery i didn't ask them to talk about politics. they wouldn't have answered and i didn't want to get them in trouble. instead, walid told me how he learned the egyptian way to deliver bread when he was a boy but by now, he'd been hoping for something better. translation: sisi is good, he's doing a big national project. i have a degree, so why am i doing thisjob? help out young people and those who have degrees. egyptians have been promised better

lives by the president but dreams of freedom don't die easily. no—one's expecting another revolution, president sisi's supporters say that he's rebuilding the country. but the preconditions that led to the uprising of 2011 are still here, including very significant unemployment among the young. if he can't get them jobs, if the president can't deal with people's grievances, then he'll face more discontent and that could spill out onto the streets. cairo is a city that doesn't sleep. but many here have been forced into silence by the pressure and fear of the police state. president sisi says the measures he is taking are the only way to stabilise and rebuild egypt. all he asks in return is almost total control. if he can deliver prosperity, sisi mightjust do it.

if not, the enemies he's making will wait for his first slip. jeremy bowen, bbc news, cairo. a memorial service for the french police officer who was murdered after trading places with a hostage during last week's islamist attack has taken place in paris. lieutena nt—colonel arnaud beltrame's funeral procession crossed paris, before president macron led tributes. the 44—year—old has been awarded france's highest honour, the legion d'honneur. there were thousands of people on the streets of liverpool today for the funeral of sir ken dodd, a man described by admirers as a comedy genius and a great entertainer. more than 2,000 people attended the service at the city's anglican cathedral, which included memories of his seven decades in showbusiness.

the comedian died earlier this month at the age of 90. austrialia's cricket captain steve smith and his vice—captain david warner have been banned from playing for their country for a year after admitting to cheating against south africa. cameron bancroft, who was caught tampering with the ball, was given a nine—month ban. the country's head coach has apologised to fans and said he hopes the players would be given a second chance, as our sports editor, dan roan, reports. cast into cricketing exile, australia captain steve smith leaving johannesburg today, the best batsman in the world sent home in disgrace. one of three players banned as the damning details of the sport's ball tampering scandal were laid bare, and cricket bosses got tough. do you honestly believe that only three men were involved in this plot? our investigation which was done by iain roy, our head of integrity, has found there were only three players who knew of this plan, and we are absolutely

satisfied of that. people want to use their own words, but cheating is certainly one of them that is probably appropriate in the circumstances. one of australian sport's most famous faces, david warner, was found to have concocted the plot. one of the things i look forward to when i come home is actually being able to sit on my couch... the vice captain will certainly have more time to do that now, also banned for a year. and in a shocking twist it was revealed thatjunior batsman cameron bancroft was instructed to use sandpaper to rough up one side of the ball during the cape town test — not sticky tape, as initially claimed. he gets a nine—month ban. australia were meant to be training here at the wanderers today ahead of the fourth and final test match against south africa on friday, but their session has been cancelled. their preparations in disarray.