this is bbc news. i'm carrie gracie. the headlines at 3pm. russia summons western ambassadors. london is told to cut its diplomatic contingent in moscow, in the escalating row following the salisbury nerve agent attack. the use of a chemical weapon on the streets of the united kingdom that has threatened the lives of a number of people in my country. we asked some questions of the russian state and we've still not received adequate answers. at least six palestinians have been killed by israeli gun fire as thousands mass on the border ahead of a major protest. new bail rules are leading to thousands of crime suspects, some involving murder and rape, being released without any conditions. nearly a0 labour mps and peers call onjeremy corbyn to suspend a senior official at the centre of the latest row about anti—semitism. also in the next hour. senior staff at some academy trusts are accused of taking unjustifiably high salaries. mps say the academies in england are using public money that

could be better spent on children's education. and the finland experiment where 2,000 unemployed people are paid a basic income. that's in money for nothing in half an hour, here on bbc news. russia has told britain it must further reduce its diplomatic contingent in the country within a month, the latest turn in an escalating row over the poisoning of a former spy, sergei skripal. moscow says the british mission in russia must be the same size as russia's mission in the uk. it has also ordered tit—for—tat expulsions of diplomats from western countries that acted in support of britain. the british foreign office described moscow's latest move as "regrettable."

today, at the foreign ministry in russia, foreign ministers summoned over the salisbury by fallout. they we re over the salisbury by fallout. they were told to reduce the diplomatic presence in the country, a further escalation of the ongoing tension. the uk has been ordered to send more of its staff home from russia, both countries have already expelled 23 star. it important to remember why this crisis has arrived in the first place, the use of chemical weapon on the streets of the united kingdom which has threatened the lives of a number of people on my country. which has threatened the lives of a number of people on my countrym salisbury, the condition of yulia skripal, the daughter of the former russian spy, is improving. she's no longer in a critical condition and the bbc understands she is conscious talking. herfather, sergei skripal

comic still critical but stable. yulia was much younger than her father and the younger you are, whether you're poisoned or you have burned you break bones, the more likely you are to make a quick recovery. it's also quite possible she had a smaller dose than her father and the dose is very important. forensics tests have shown the highest concentration of the nerve agent was found on the front door of the former spy‘s home. how it got there is what detectives are still trying to work out. 0ur correspondent paul adams is in moscow where the russian foreign ministry is continuing its tit—for—tat expulsions of western diplomats that acted in support of britain. there's just been a steady procession of ambassadors at the foreign ministry. as each one has come and gone, we have heard in the subsequent hours that indeed, one or two or three or in some cases four of their diplomats have been told to leave. very much in line with what we're expecting to see, and matching diplomat for diplomat the expulsions that we saw earlier in the week,

the explusions of russian diplomats. the one additional feature has been recalling of the british ambassador to the foreign ministry, and this additional instruction that britain has to reduce the size of its diplomatic presence in russia to the equivalent of the russian presence in the uk. we're not quite sure what that means in practice. but that was described as a response to britain's provocative actions, which, according to russian, had led to other countries following suit and expelling russian diplomats. i think there was a sense that britain had to be singled out for additional punishment. at this end, the foreign office have been issuing their own views on this, a flagrant breach of international law, they're talking about? very much a restatement of the british position, which is to take it back to its origins, it regards russia as having been responsible for the poisoning of sergei and yulia skripal in salisbury

almost four weeks ago. perhaps feeling it was necessary to remind people where this whole episode began, rather than allowing moscow to portray itself as the injured party who did not start any of this. we were just getting some news trickling in, the latest that russia is expelling four german diplomats in that dispute. so the dutch, the finns, the italians, now the germans, now all having diplomats expeued germans, now all having diplomats expelled today. at least 39 labour mps and peers have signed a letter, urging jeremy corbyn to suspend a senior official, over her handling of a complaint about anti—semitism. at least 39 labour mps and peers have signed a letter, urging jeremy corbyn to suspend a senior official, over her handling of a complaint about anti—semitism. christine shawcroft stood down as head of the party's disputes panel, after calling for the reinstatement

of a council candidate accused of denying the holocaust, but she remains a member of labour's national executive committee. with me is our political reporterjessica parker. i suppose the problem for this group of 39 who have signed the letter is that she is still on the national executive committee? that's correct, she is but we understand more people may have signed that letter overnight. the message that she should be suspended from the labour party and removed from the labour pa rty‘s party and removed from the labour party's ruling national executive committee. interestingly, in a facebook post this afternoon from christine shawcroft, she has reiterated that she did not see the posts that led to this council candidate's suspension, and she said that the thought of holocaust denial sickens her. she says she has already announced she will be standing down from the nec this summer. standing down from the nec this summer. in an earlier facebook post which now appear to have been deleted, she also wrote, this whole i’ow deleted, she also wrote, this whole row is being stirred up tojeremy. —— attacked jeremy. that's likely to

antagonise those people who are calling for her to go. speaking to the labour party today, they say there are procedures in place for this sort of thing when it comes to suspending people in the labour party, it's not an arbitrary decision that the jeremy corbyn party, it's not an arbitrary decision that thejeremy corbyn can take. 0ne decision that thejeremy corbyn can take. one of the signatories we have spoken to today says that's not good enough. who thinks that ifjeremy corbyn didn't said that she should stand down, that it wouldn't happen? nobody. you know, this is about action. we've had enough letters, enough words to paper nelson's column. you know, if people are going to believe us as a party, we need to start following through on that and doing things. jeremy corbyn himself has been speaking today, but rather slightly ata speaking today, but rather slightly at a tangent, because he did issue a passover message? yes, he issued a passover message? yes, he issued a passover message? yes, he issued a passover message and that's after last week, he has issued a number of m essa 9 es last week, he has issued a number of messages trying to reach out of the jewish community on this issue and in this message today he said, in

the fight against anti—semitism, i am your ally the fight against anti—semitism, i am yourally and the fight against anti—semitism, i am your ally and always will be. yesterday he wrote to labour mps addressing particularly the tensions that surround the issue of israel and palestine where some of this is rooted, saying, support forjustice for the palestinian people should not encourage hatred ofjewish people. this mcdonough, you detect the key reason why the letter last night was sent. —— listening to her, you detect it. they wantjeremy corbyn to act in his words and this isa corbyn to act in his words and this is a challenge and a test of his resolve. thousands of suspects under investigation for violent and sexual offences have been released from police custody without any bail conditions attached, according to research by the bbc. new rules were introduced in england and wales a year ago, designed to prevent people being kept on bailfor months and, in some cases, years. the charity women's aid said the figures were shocking, and would worry victims of domestic violence. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw reports. it was the case of paul gambaccini

that sparked concerns about the use of pre—charge, or police bail. the bbc radio presenter was questioned about alleged sex offences, then released on bail for 12 months before being told he wouldn't face any charges. as home secretary, theresa may said the use of police bail had to change. and last year a 28—day limit was imposed. if police want to bail suspects for longer, they need approval from a senior officer or magistrate. as a result, the number of suspects bailed has dropped dramatically, by about two thirds. it means thousands don't have to report back to police and face no restrictions on who they contact or where they go. bbc news obtained figures from 12 forces about people suspected of violent and sexual offences. more than 3,100 were released under investigation without conditions, between april and june last year. the number included 31

murder suspects and 768 people suspected of rape, all still subject to police investigation. we are contacted by survivors all the time who are telling us about their worries about their safety. the failure to use bail conditions in many cases means the victim can be vulnerable to being contacted, to being stalked, harassed or even suffering further violence from a dangerous abuser. the home office said a large drop in the use of bail should not affect the way police respond to incidents of domestic abuse, but it said ministers had asked forces to ensure that those who should be on bail are not being released without conditions. danny shaw, bbc news. 150 million users of the myfitnesspal app and website have had their personal details accessed in a data breach. its owner, under armour, says it happened in late february. user names, emails and encrypted passwords may have been stolen. users are being urged to change their passwords.

the comedy actor bill maynard has died at the age of 89 his family has confirmed. maynard first made his name in the itv comedy 'oh no, it's selwyn froggatt!‘ in the 1970s before starring in the popular drama heartbeat in the i990s. an imam has been charged with assaulting two boys at a mosque in rochdale. 0ur correspondent fiona trott is in newcastle. i know details are sketchy on this right now but what can you tell us? greater manchester police have told us greater manchester police have told us that 51—year—old abdelwahab from watchdog has been charged with two assaults against boys that from rochdale has been charged with two assaults. he has also been charged with 19 other assaults against other children. it is understood that

these incidents happened on crawford street in the mosque in rochdale over the past year. the suspect is due to appear in court next month. greater manchester police are asking anyone with information to come forward. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news this afternoon. councils with high numbers of rough sleepers are to receive a share of a £30 million fund to tackle the problem. a rough sleeping task force, made up of experts from government departments and agencies will provide services to try to reduce the numbers of homeless people in england and wales. labour called the initiative "a pitiful response to a national crisis". two men in theirfifties have been arrested in connection with the death of a restaurant owner in ayr more than 2a years ago. ansar shah was stabbed to death in a seafront car park in the town in october 1993. the government has called for an inquiry into the costs of fuel at the country's motorway service stations. the transport secretary chris grayling says fuel at motorway service stations costs up to 19 pence per litre more than elsewhere.

he's asked the competition and markets authority to find out why. some academy schools in england are using taxpayers money to pay excessive salaries to senior staff. that's according to a report by mps, who say it's taking money away from pupils. the report comes as the national education union, formally the national union of teachers, meets for its annual conference in brighton. 0ur education correspondent marc ashdown spoke to me earlier. after that nhs pay deal recently, the buzz here in brighton is around whether teachers may be in line for something similar. teacher pay is one of the motions set to be debated. school budgets are under intense pressure, headteachers have been for years have been saying they struggle to balance the books. any move to remove pay restraint would mean extra funding. this report is timely into academy budgets, they are schools that set their own

budgets. it questions excessive salaries. more than 100 heads of academies are on more than £150,000 per year, the government has written to many asking if it is value for money. we are also expecting debates on workload stress and recruitment and retention. this matters because at the last general election, education became a hot topic on the doorsteps. with the local elections just around the corner, teachers know their voices will never be louder. the nobel peace prize winner malala yousafzai has been speaking to the bbc about her return to pakistan, for the first time since she was shot by taliban militants in 2012. malala, who is now 20, and a student at oxford university, was shot in the head because she was campaigning for girl's education. details of her trip to pakistan were kept secret, because of fears that she might be targeted again. however malala told the bbc that the vast majority of the country is behind her. this is not the whole of pakistan. this does not reflect... that image of pakistan, it is completely wrong. we should not make a conclusion

by looking at what is on social media, what do we see on media or on television. 200 million people and i know 99%, more than that, stand with me in support. they believe in education, they believe in their daughters, and i know so many parents who send their daughters to school because they have heard my story. so many parents have named their daughter after me. because they believe in their daughters. i think there is a change coming. anyone who is against me or wants to say something should just come and talk to me. the headlines on bbc news: russia summons western ambassadors. london is told to cut its diplomatic contingent in moscow in the escalating row following the salisbury nerve agent attack. at least six palestinians have been killed by israeli gun fire as thousands mass on the border ahead of a major protest. thousands of crime suspects, some involving murder and rape,

are being released without any conditions because new bail rules. sport now, and for a full round up, let's go to the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. anthonyjoshua showed a leaner physique at the weigh in ahead of his clash withjoseph parker tomorrow. wba super and ibf heavyweight championjoshua weighed in at 17st albs, 12lbs lighter than his last world title defence. while parker, who is the wbo heavyweight champion, came in at 16st 12lbs. the fight in cardiff will be the first heavyweight unification bout held on british soil. england's on field problems continued on the first day of the second test against new zealand in christchurch. they found themselves metaphor —

five untiljonny they found themselves metaphor — five until jonny bairstow they found themselves metaphor — five untiljonny bairstow and mark wood led a comeback. first they finished the day with 97 not out with england 290 48. alastair cook gone, fragility exposed. england's best batsmen falling. a painfully familiar collapse, only given a temporary halt whenjonny collapse, only given a temporary halt when jonny bairstow sprung collapse, only given a temporary halt whenjonny bairstow sprung to the wicket, offering england away to repair damage. 0thers seemingly intent of simply causing more. stuart broad the seventh to go, they're still stuart broad the seventh to go, they‘ re still left to stuart broad the seventh to go, they're still left to pick up the pieces. he passed 50 in fine fashion, supported by mark wood who

also reached a half—century. best day three short of three figures, a recovery of sorts, —— bairstow finished the day three short of three figures, a recovery of sorts but after a long week there remains a long way to go. australia's cricketers are back in action for the first time, as the fall out continues to the ball tampering scandal. the search for a new head coach will begin when darren lehman steps down after the fourth and final test in what's become an ill fated series with south africa. the man he replaced and the current pakistan coach micky arthur, believes the culture of the team hasn't been right for some time. it was disappointed to see what has happened, i was really upset for all the players. and i'm disappointed for the knock that australian cricket is taking at the moment and world cricket in general. i have been disappointed with the behaviour of the australian team over the last couple of years, i think they felt they are almost above everyone is so

that has been disappointing. they are good enough cricket team, they're very skilled cricketers, to win games without resorting to the types of tactics they have. in that fourth and final test between south africa and australia it's been a solid start by the home team. aiden markram has hit a unbeaten half century. he made 152 in the end, hasjust been dismissed. it is being played without steve smith, david warner and cameron bancroft to have returned home. hull fc beat hull kr today in in the hole —— hull derby. the managed to win despite being down to 12 players after a sendoff for a high challenge. hull fc now fourth in the league table. all of the super league scores and the latest from good friday's

football fixtures are on the bbc sport website. that is it for me for the moment. at least seven palestinians have reportedly been killed in clashes near the israeli border in gaza, where thousands are demonstrating at the start of a six—week protest. palestinian officials say more than 300 and 50 people have been injured in the confrontations near the borderfence, some by israeli gunfire. let's go to yolande knell injerusalem. bring us up—to—date? bring us up-to-date? we're being told by health officials in gaza that they are dealing with some 350 people who have been injured, many of them injured, they say, by live bullets. and now there is still a large presence along the israel gaza border, it's not just large presence along the israel gaza border, it's notjust in one location, there are a chilly five protest ca m ps location, there are a chilly five protest camps that have been set up from the very south to the very

north. and people have been urged to gather at those, is what they are calling part of the great march of return. it has been called by hamas, the faction that controls gaza, and other palestinian political factions. this is the start of six weeks of protests. people are supposed to stay in these camps for the duration of that period going into mid—may. that is when it will be 70 years since the creation of the state of israel, israel will be celebrating that. the palestinians call it the catastrophe and they remember how hundreds and thousands of people were forced to leave or fled their homes in what became israel. and of the population of gaza, about 2 million people, most of them are either refugees or

descendants of those original palestinian refugees. going back to the injuries we were talking about at the top, 350 people, that's a lot of people. do we know how many of those injuries are from gunfire? there say that about half of the injured and injuries they are dealing with are from gunfire. we know the israeli military deployed snipers and tanks along the israel gaza border and said it would deal very seriously that anyone who entered this no—go zone which is adjacent to the fence. and attempted to reach israeli sovereignty, as the israelis see it. there have been many instances gas has been used many instances gas has been —— israelis see it. there have been many instances gas has been —— wear tear gas has been used to push back protesters and we know that life but have been used in some cases. if you're a parent, one of the moments you never forget

is seeing your child take their first steps. but for five—year—old felix from northumberland those steps came very late and were completely unexpected. felix has a condition that's thought to affect only a few hundred people in the world, and has never walked unaided, until now. gerry jackson reports. his classmates witnessed it but his parents feared it might never happen. felix has ca rdio—facio—cutaneous, very rare. only a few hundred people on the planet and around 20 in the uk share this condition. he began showing the symptoms in infancy, and while his peers were beginning to walk, felix simply couldn't. but that didn't mean he'd given up. with supporting hands, he has been practising for the past couple of years. and suddenly, here was his moment, at school, caught on a mobile phone. walking, walking... ping some pong.

come on! clever boy! so felix's mum had missed his milestone. a quick phone call brought her to share the celebrations. it was amazing. everyone was in tears. i'd gone armed with a pack of hankies, and it wasjust incredible, incredible to see. he's amazing. got home, she showed us the video, and we almost fainted. it was amazing. yes, just thinking after five years, every day we're thinking no, he's not going to do it, he's not going to walk. and one day, he eventually did it. we don't know what he'd be like if he wasn't like this. but we wouldn't change it, would we? no, felix is perfect. felix has many battles left to fight, but he can tick one breakthrough off the list. good lad! fantastic felix!

an unmanned chinese space station weighing more than eight tonnes is expected to crash back to earth this weekend. experts aren't sure exactly where or when tiangong—1 will come down as our science correspondent jonathan amos reports. a memorable day in space. this was astronaut wang yaping giving a lecture on life in space to millions of schoolchildren across china but now her a laboratory and classroom in the sky is heading down to earth. tiangong has been abandoned and engineers on the ground have lost contact with it. quite where it will come in is uncertain but its flight path means it can only be in this pink band around the equator. the experts say no—one should be alarmed, however. my estimate is that the probability to be injured by one of these fragments is similar to the probability of being hit by lightning twice in the same year. there is a huge burst. as with previous returning spacecraft, the chances are that with earth mostly covered by ocean,

any tiangong debris will hit water. and as for china, it's pressing on with its space ambitions. it's putting up more modules and hopes to have a bigger and more permanent manned space station built in a decade. jonathan amos, bbc news. the prince of wales has recorded an easter message in support of persecuted christians and other faiths around the world. in the video, prince charles describes how moved he's been while meeting christians who have had to flee from persecution. he also expresses sympathy for anyone being persecuted because of their faith. here's our royal correspondent nick witchell. there's some flash photography in his report. he has a long—standing interest in interfaith dialogue and a particular concern about the persecution of christian communities in the middle east. in the past, prince charles has spoken out about the destruction of christian churches in syria, iraq and elsewhere.

and so, from the prince on this good friday, an easter message calling for greater understanding between the three abrahamic faiths — christianity, judaism and islam — and a sharp condemnation of those who use violence in the name of religion. all three abrahamic faiths have known and continue to know the bitterness of persecution, when religion has fallen into the barbaric grip of those who distort and misrepresent faith. so, this easter, i want to salute the fortitude of all those who, whatever their faith, are persecuted for remaining faithful to the true essence of their beliefs. one day, when he is britain's king, he knows his freedom to speak out will be curtailed. until then, the prince feels an obligation to raise awareness about predominantly christian communities who are suffering

because of their beliefs. nicholas witchell, bbc news. ben rich has the weather. hello there. it isn't cloudy everywhere this friday afternoon, but it is way in quite a few places. -- it is but it is way in quite a few places. —— it is grey in quite a few places, this is in lowestoft, leaden skies ever overhead. but in argyll and bute, some sunshine. mixed this weekend, rain at times, snow on monday, a cool feel but there will be some styles of sunshine. low pressure is bringing cloud in across the british isles, add bags of rain in southern areas in particular as we head into the evening. —— outbreaks of rain. when serena ‘s in

higher ground. wintry showers in northern scotland and a brisk breeze here, but for north scotland and northern ireland, some clear spells overnight which could allow a touch of frost. extra cloud further south means it won't be as cold. a chilly and damp day tomorrow for most, some areas of rain and health note moving northwards but fiddling away. mostly dry across generally quite cloudy and quite cool as well. easter day does look dry, almost, the odd shower in the north. quite a lot of cloud around but some spells of sunshine here and there. a bit of rain into the far south—west later on, heavy rain and strengthening winds as well, which isa sign strengthening winds as well, which is a sign of what is to come on easter monday. this area of low pressure bringing a frontal system northwards across the country and as

the front runs into some pretty cold air, there is the potentialfor a speu air, there is the potentialfor a spell of snow. there is still some uncertainty about this but for part of mid wales and the midlands, northwards, we will see some snow for a time. a lot of snipers achieved for northern england and long island, there is the potential for some disruption but as milder air pushes in from the south, it is going to be mainly wet. with the risk of some snow there could be disruption on easter monday, stay tuned to the forecast.