today at five. russia demands a joint investigation into the salisbury spy poisoning and accuses the uk of ‘grotesque provocation‘. as delegations attend the chemical weapons watchdog in the hague — the uk accuses russia of diversionary tactics as the poisoning scandal shows no signs of abating. but boris johnson's assertion that the poison was definitely made in russia has been undermined by british scientists, leading to this response from labour. either the foreign secretary has information that he is not sharing with porton down, or it was a bit of exaggeration. i don't know which it is. we'll be live in the hague to hear the russian response — and we'll be talking to a chemical weapons expert. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. vauxhall announce they will build a new van model at their plant in luton — securing 1,400 jobs. in south—east london — a 78 year—old man is arrested on suspicion of murder after an intruder was stabbed in a suspected burglary. the duke of edinburgh — who's 96 — is in hospital in central london for a planned

operation on his hip. commentator: and wilkins has curled one, and that's absolutely magnificent! and the former england football captain ray wilkins has died following a heart attack at the age of 61. it's 5 o'clock. our main story is that britain has rejected a russian proposal for a joint investigation into the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter — describing the offer as perverse. the british delegation to the opcw — the international chemical weapons regulator — said the suggestion was a ‘diversionary tactic‘ intended to undermine the agency. the opcw is holding an emergency meeting at the hague to discuss the poisoning — at moscow‘s request.

the foreign secretary borisjohnson is facing new questions about his assertion that the nerve agent used in the attack was definitely produced in russia. our security correspondent frank gardner reports. poisoned in salisbury, and the row continues. the government repeated today that russia had poisoned sergei and yulia skripal with a nerve agent. moscow says even britain‘s own scientists don‘t know where it came from and that proves the government is unfairly blaming russia. international chemical weapons experts met at the hague today at russia‘s request. moscow is demanding to see scientific evidence linking the nerve agent to russia. it is still reeling from the expulsion of more than 100 diplomatic staff from over 20 countries. all based on material shared by britain with its allies. but visiting turkey, president putin said he hoped a line could be drawn under last month‘s poisoning in salisbury.

britain‘s chemical warfare research establishment at porton down has inadvertently thrown moscow a lifeline. in an interview yesterday, its chief executive said his scientists had identified the poison but not its source. opponents of the government say this is somewhat at odds with earlier assertions made to german media by the foreign secretary. how did you manage to find it out so quickly? does britain possess samples of this? when i look at the evidence, i mean the people from porton down, the laboratory... so they have the samples? they do. and they were absolutely categorical. and i asked the guy myself, i said, are you sure. and he said there‘s no doubt. visiting a nursery in watford today, the opposition leader accused borisjohnson of not being straight with his information. well, he claimed categorically, i think he used the words "ioi%", that it had come from russia.

porton down have not said that. they have said that they have identified it as novichok but they cannot identify the source of it. and so either the foreign secretary has information that he is not sharing with porton down, or it was a bit of exaggeration. number ten may now come under pressure to reveal more of what it knows. today the international trade secretary liam fox strongly defended the government‘s position. we know that russia has been stockpiling amounts of this. investigating ways of delivering it. we know that russia has previously been willing to poison outside its own borders including in the united kingdom. we know that it regards ex—agents as being candidates for assassination. but part of the government‘s case rests on secret intelligence, gathered by mi6 and other spy agencies, from sources government will not want to reveal. meanwhile the former russian spy turned double agent remains in critical condition in hospital as relations with russia plunge to a new low. frank gardner, bbc news.

our security correspondent frank gardner joins me. picking up on that report, some people today say russia is taking advantage of perhaps a kind of vague area in terms of the assertions being made and they are winning the propaganda war. there is a risk of that. i think the government did not help itself by not being are still clear. boris johnson help itself by not being are still clear. borisjohnson interview i think was equivocal. we tried hard to find the part where he is alleged to find the part where he is alleged to have said porton down told him it definitely came from russia, who could not find that but maybe he said that in another interview. so what he is referring to their is they are certain it was not the talk and that it was developed by the former soviet union. when kerry aide the chief executive of porton down gave the interview yesterday he was sticking to his remit which was to

identify the agent and they did that. it is part of another top, no one denies that another top was developed by the former soviet union. the question is whether this particular sample come from. russia has suggested it could even have come from porton down itself because it is close to salisbury. porton down that it is impossible with the safeguards put in place by the organisation. the suggestion in some quarters today is that the government and other agencies could put more information in the public main which would shed more light on this. i think politically they may need to and this is going to be difficult for them because the government covered their case is based on the scientific evidence established by the porton down which has been shared with the opcw. that will only go so far as to identify the agent and the type of nerve agent used. they have, that together with secret intelligence and this is where the problem is. you and i

remember in 2000 the run—up to the iraq invasion, wmd, someone who we both know saying trust us if you had seen the intelligence i seen, etc. they got it wrong. now mi6, their supporters in the foreign office will say there has been a wooden branch root out of all the safety methods so that could never happen again. but basically back in 2002 mi6 was in a hurry to do what the government wanted. they are saying that could never happen again but frankly he was going to trust the good intelligence agencies on wmd given what happened. so i think there will have to come up with something stronger than what they have got. and that may mean revealing sources which will be useful to russia and which mi6 and gchq will not want to reveal. but surely the process to do that would be very problematic and sensitive

and there would be voices raised against that. there may even be people in place, wiretaps, digital interceptions, and they will not wa nt interceptions, and they will not want russia to know that they know. but for the public to trust them, to believe them on this, they may have to because already some people are comparing this to the tony blair run—up to the iraq invasion. i do not think most of the country think that, because look at who was poisoned, a russian traitor in the eyes of hughton and another child was developed by the former soviet union. i think most people would draw their own conclusions. nevertheless i think the government has not entirely help themselves on the way they have handled this. staying on this theme. 0ur political correspondent eleanor garnierjoins me now from westminster. well to some extent the government

has been left on the back foot over the past 2a hours. to some extent this is a bit of a self—inflicted injury and after a sustained criticism from the labour party, from jeremy corbyn in the past day, we have now just from jeremy corbyn in the past day, we have nowjust heard from the foreign secretary borisjohnson who has hit back defending his own handling of the case but also accusing jeremy corbyn of siding with the russians and their spin machine. he said it is lamentable thatjeremy corbyn is now playing russia‘s game and trying to discredit the uk over the falls attack. he went on to say that 28 other countries have been so convinced by the case that the uk has put forward that they have expeued has put forward that they have expelled russians and in contrast he says jeremy corbyn expelled russians and in contrast he sasteremy corbyn chooses decide with the russian spin machine. that is the latest from the foreign secretary today. we‘ve also heard from the security minister ben wallace who has been defending the

government handling of the issue. saying that russia is just trying to frustrate the investigation. porton down identified fairly quickly the strain of nerve agent and once that is identified you remove from the list of suspects 99.9% of people. we know that the russians designed it. and we know the russians were the only people to make it and stockpile it. so if very quickly eliminates most of the other suspects potentially and then add that to russia's form, russia's evidence of previous assassinations, the president of russia's view that traitor should kick the bucket. and the fact that we had other bits of intelligence, we can add all that up together to say that we think beyond reasonable doubt that this is russia. nowjeremy corbyn refused to categorically condemn russia for the attack on salisbury and his stance on the issue was met with fury from some labour mps but we‘ve heard from the shadow home secretary diane

abbott today saying that his more cautious approach should actually be credited. in although i think the fundamentals have not changed. i think the fear and government must be that the international community, that their supporters might get a bit nervous and maybe fade away but certainly that has not happened and we heard the chemical weapons watchdog meeting, the eu spokesman sticking by the uk and sticking by its criticism of russia. eleanor, many thanks. fifty years to the day since the assassination of martin luther king — the prime figure in the us civil rights movement — racial inequality remains a persistent feature of life in america. commemorations are being held across the usa today to remember the moment dr king was shot by a white supremacist in memphis, tennessee. my colleague clive myrie is in memphis. commemorations got under way in the

last couple of hours, we had some speakers on the podium behind me. this of course is the national civil rights museum but in 1968 it was the motel where doctor martin littered king was assassinated on that fateful day on a second—floor balcony just fateful day on a second—floor balconyjust behind me. —— martin luther king. he was killed within an hour of that shot striking his neck. the reference jesse jackson was there at that time and spoke about trying to staunch the blood, dave. but doctor martin luther king was pronounced dead an hour later in hospital. of course he shone a light on the injustices of this country and made america look into the soul about the problems affecting african americans. much of that done through his rhetoric, his speeches and the power of words. and many young activists now are using the power of

words to get across issues relating to their times here in modern america. the problems they face now. do me a favour and put your hands together for smoke. give it up for smoke, everyone! it‘s open mic night at the slice of soul club in memphis. a chance for poets and musicians to come together to reflect the reality of what it means to be black in america. when the black man is ashamed to be successful because his homeboys say he is selling out. when the bayou queen is demeaned and deemed by her measurements, rather than her intelligence. for social relevance, she sells her soul. the poetry often involves the trials of african americans. police brutality, racism, and the importance of being proud of who you are. me, myselfand i. we are a team called self—esteem. don‘t let anything come in between me and my dream. the organiser of the evening says a younger generation, just like martin luther king, is using the power of words to try to effect social change.

they still dream, and feel that they can be more. and they know they can be more. and that‘s why these spaces are important, it‘s about the dream, right? and i've seen the promised land... i may not get there with you, but i want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. this was doctor king‘s final speech, delivered here in memphis. so i‘m happy tonight, i‘m not worried about anything. i‘m not fearing any man. mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord! many african—americans are still waiting for that promised land. a point darius clayton said artists have a duty to explain. don‘t get it twisted. it‘s not great. we‘ve got a long way to still go. and we have to remember that.

we can‘t say, "well, it‘s better." it doesn‘t mean that the bleeding has stopped. doctor king gave a voice to the voiceless. his words had energy and life. these performers hope their social commentary has a similar power to, at the very least, make people think. clive myrie, bbc news, in memphis. well beverly robertson former president of the national civil rights museum joins me. what an incredible day and what a commemoration and the celebrations ofan commemoration and the celebrations of an extraordinary life. absolutely, martin luther king was one of the greatest humanitarian and to see the world coming to memphis to see the world coming to memphis to commemorate his legacy and contribution to a movement that transformed the nation and extended to the world. was it a difficult decision to have the museum here come at the place where he was shot and killed. his light was on the

second floor balcony 50 years ago. absolutely wedded to people of great vision to understand the power of this place. and to go and raise funds to make sure that we could transform a site of great tragedy into what is now an educational triumph for the world. it talks about the beginnings of the movement, early on in 1690 and takes you through a journey through the movement and the experiences of the people up until the present time. so there‘s no other place on earth like it and if people have not seen it they had better come. we know the problems of african american incarceration, the unemployment rate, lack of homes and jobs. the increase in poverty. but still a long way to go before the dream of martin luther king is fulfilled. absolutely and i think we need to start with realising that these conditions exist and that racism is still alive and well. and when you

acknowledge that and understand it and look at the data, you cannot do anything but be compelled to try to work to change it. there is economic disparity and yes memphis is one of the major cities in america with high poverty rates. but we need unemployment and educational equity and that is what doctor king fought for. when he died he was fighting for. when he died he was fighting for economic parity, and many people believe it was that stands and his vietnam stance that ultimately got him killed. so we‘re still working ha rd to him killed. so we‘re still working hard to make sure we achieve that. that is critical, that he was trying to galvanise not just african—americans to galvanise not just african—america ns but the to galvanise not just african—americans but the wide working—class poor, millions of whom public this nation. trying to get them together in an alliance to get equality and parity. absolutely and thatis equality and parity. absolutely and that is still needed today. and there are some ministers who are

nationally working now to launch a new war on poverty so that we can begin to continue really the work that doctor king left behind. it will take many years in the future to realise that dream but you cannot stop working on it. beverly robinson, thank you very much. this is bbc news at five — the headlines: britain dismisses russia‘s proposal for a joint investigation into the salisbury spy po|soning as " vauxhall announce they will build a new van at their plant in luton — safeguarding 1,400 jobs. the duke of edinburgh is in hospital for a planned operation. prince phillip — who‘s 96 — is having surgery on his hip. and in sport former england midfielder ray wilkins has died at

the age of 61 and tributes flooded in today. england manager gareth southgate says the former manchester united and ac milan player was a great ambassador for the game, a proud englishman who loved playing for his country. there is an all english champions league quarterfinal to sever the seeming as manchester city travel to anfield with the liverpool bossjurgen klopp proud of their three european cups but urging his side to write their own history. and the 21st commonwealth games are officially under way after the opening ceremony this morning on the gold coast of australia. more on the story is just after half past. as we‘ve just heard, the former england football captain, ray wilkins, has died at the age of 61. he‘d been in hospital since suffering a cardiac arrest last week. he played for many clubs during a long and glittering career — most notably, chelsea, manchester united and ac milan. patrick geary looks back on his life. commentator: and wilkins has

curled one, and that‘s absolutely magnificent! only now and then did ray wilkins get the glory. his goal for manchester united in the cup final, proof of the individual skill of one of english football‘s finest team men. for a decade he patrolled england‘s midfield, underappreciated but unerring, keeping the motor running, allowing the system to flow. that was my philosophy of the game — keep the ball, make the opposition work, so when they receive the ball, you know, they‘re tired because they‘ve had to work hard to get it back. don‘t give the ball away cheaply. normally as a player you have one thing that you can do quite well. and i would like people to say that i could pass the ball well. whether it be sideways or forward, i‘m not too sure. laughter. wilkins‘ leadership skills were spotted early. he captained chelsea as a teenager, driving them back to the first division. after six years there it was on the united, and his big part in that 83 cup victory. he‘d made his england debut eight years earlier. in his first international

tournament he did this to belgium... commentator: ray wilkins scores for england! for the most part, though, he played rhythm, allowing others the solos. it was always wilkins‘ team—mates who appreciated than most. he was no wallflower, though. at the 1986 world cup he launched his most infamous pass. the referee took that as dissent, and wilkins became the first englishman to be sent off in a world cup finals match. by then, he was at ac milan. wilkins went on to win the scottish title with rangers in his 30s, and he was still playing premier league football for queens park rangers not far short of his 40th birthday. wilkins had always seemed happier as an assistant than a manager. forever the team man, perhaps. he was alongside carlo ancelotti and his beloved chelsea as they won the double in 2010, and has been a regular co—commentator and pundit in the years since. at times in his life, wilkins has been troubled by physical and mental health problems. he said his battle against alcohol was tougher than any footballing opponent he had faced.

he did so with much support. ray wilkins will be remembered as one of the best players of his generation — but, more profoundly, as one of the nicest in the game. ray wilkins, who has died at the age of 61. vauxhall is to build a new van model in luton — the decision will safeguard 1,400 jobs and should secure the plant‘s future until 2030. the business secretary greg clark said the announcement was a vote of confidence in vauxhall‘s workforce and in the uk‘s car industry. our business correspondent theo leggett reports. this is vauxhall‘s factory in luton. it builds vans and employs 11100 people. but its future has been in doubt as vauxhall and its parent group 0pal were taken over last year by the french giant psa group — the owner of peugeot and citroen. the vauxhall vivaro, it is made in luton and exported across europe. and will be for another few years.

but after that, the plant is going to need more work. and that‘s what today‘s announcement promises to provide. psa says it will start to make a new version of the vivaro in luton next year. and is planning to expand the factory. 60,000 vans were made there last year. it currently has a maximum capacity of 70,000. but psa says it wants to increase that figure to 100,000. the plan unveiled today by psa boss carlos tavares is understood to involve an investment of more than £100 million. with the government providing 9 million. it is about not only safeguarding the 11100 jobs that are here, but expanding the jobs that would be available in the future. and more importantly, it is making sure that for many years to come, that luton continues to be synonymous with commercial vehicles. psa‘s decision comes despite rising concerns within the automotive

industry about the uncertainty caused by britain leaving the european union. but experts say luton does have advantages over other european plants. well luton is a very productive plant, it has got a paint shop which is quite unusual for van sites. you need a big paint shop for van sites. and really it is an easy answer to the question for psa, "where should they build vans?" luton has all the facilities and is a great place to build them. with the future of one factory now secure, attention‘s now likely to move to vauxhall‘s other uk plant at ellesmere port in cheshire. it builds the vauxhall astra but will need more work when the current model is phased out in a few years‘ time. unions are already calling on the company to ensure that its cars as well as its vans continue to be made in britain. theo leggett, bbc news. a pensioner has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a suspected burglar

was stabbed to death in his home in south—east london. police believe the 78—year—old was involved in a struggle with an intruder at his property in hither green. a 38—year—old man suffered a fatal stab wound to his upper body. 0ur correspondent keith doyle is outside the house in hither green in south—east london. what is the latest. all afternoon and into the evening police have been carrying out a search of the gardens of the houses behind me. i‘m going through all the rubbish bins and searching every part of the street looking for anyone that might help them with the investigation. what we do know is 78 man disturbed two intruders in the early hours of the money in his house. 0ne forced him into his kitchen armed with a screwdriver while the other one went upstairs. then there was some altercation and 38—year—old man was found injured on the street behind me with a stab wound to his chest.

witnesses have told us they were cut during the night and heard the noise and commotion and they thought of white van down the road with another man getting out and trying to get the injured man into the van. he was screaming at him we were told saying it up and get up. then the van and drove off in a short time later the police and paramedics arrived and we do know the 38—year—old man did die later in hospital. the 78—year—old householder has been arrested on suspicion of murder and police are still searching for that second intruder. thank you for that update. the duke of edinburgh is in hospital in central london for a planned operation on his hip. buckingham palace says prince philip — who‘s 96 — was admitted to king edward vi! hospital yesterday afternoon — but they have released few other details, as our royal correspondent sarah campbell reports. this morning it was business as usual at the hospital‘s main entrance. a police presence and the gathered media the only sign that royalty was inside.

three cheers for the captain general! hip hip! hurray! since his retirement from public engagement last august, sightings of the duke have been less frequent. however, when he was seen out and about, such as here at sandringham on christmas day, he seemed fit and well. just last month the 96—year—old was photographed carriage riding, a favourite pastime of his. his absence at two services over the easter break, when he would have been expected to accompany the queen, were a clear sign that there was an issue. yesterday the palace released a statement saying that the duke had been admitted to hospital for planned surgery on his hip. it emerged he had been experiencing discomfort with it for the past month. precise details of the operation have not been released. but clinicians agree the duke‘s general good health will aid his recovery. well the challenges with an older person — and again i must stress that this

is not unusual that people in their 90s are having hip replacements — but the most important thing is the other core mobilities, whatever other ailments the duke might have and what medication he is on. and these would determine what kind of an anaesthetic he would have. more than 20 years ago queen elizabeth the queen mother had two hip replacement operations in her 90s. since then the number of such operations has risen — more than 800 people over the age of 90 had hip replacements if 2016. the queen, who is in windsor, is being kept informed of her husband‘s condition. with their grandson due to get married in just over six weeks, it is be hoped the duke will be back to full mobility by then. 0ur correspondent richard lister is at the hospital where prince philip is being treated. very few details still. have they

said anything at the hospital this afternoon? just in the past few seconds the palace has released another statement saying the duke of edinburgh has undergone a successful hip replacement operation. he is progressing satisfactorily at this early stage. it goes on, his royal highness is likely to remain in hospitalfor highness is likely to remain in hospital for several days, yet co mforta ble hospital for several days, yet comfortable and in good spirits. and the end by saying further updates will be issued when appropriate. so a fairly brief but quite informative statement at the top line is that he has had hip replacement surgery. that was not confirmed in a statement yesterday but it seems to have gone well. progressing satisfactorily. and the duke is said to be comfortable. so it does answer some questions we had about exactly what procedure the duke was undergoing here and good to hear that it has happened. the palace confirmed earlier today that he would be undergoing a general

anaesthetic and that perhaps gave a hint that it was slightly more serious but of course a hip replacement operation now it‘s quite witty and in england and wales last year more than 800 people in the 90s had a hip replacement. so the duke of edinburgh certainly not alone and as we heard, the queen mother queen elizabeth the queen mother had a hip replacement age 90 five. so this is something that the duke imagine in his usual way will shrug off. we will be looking to see whether he can expect visitors perhaps tomorrow. many thanks. and just to recap, statement, the duke of edinburgh has undergone a successful hip replacement operation, and progressing satisfactorily at this early stage. likely to remain in hospitalfor early stage. likely to remain in hospital for several days. they say he is comfortable and in good spirits. time for a look at the weather.

here‘s phil avery. further north have had snow to contend with. under clear skies and clearing skies for the rest of scotla nd clearing skies for the rest of scotland and northern ireland there will be a sharp frost. further south that won‘t be such an issue. you will keep the weather front. the odd bit and piece of rain. snow to highest ground on the pennines. that will ease away. the front will continue to ease away towards the near continent. high pressure just sneaking in, in time for thursday. a decent day will break out on thursday widely across the british isles, as you see. maybe a passing shower to the western side of scotland. sunshine more hazy towards

northern ireland and the far west of cornwall and wales, too. not the warmest of days, nine to 13 should cover it. this is bbc news, the headlines. russia demands a joint investigation into the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter. britain rejects the proposal, calling it "perverse". vauxhall announce they will build a new van at their plant in luton, securing 1,400 jobs. the duke of edinburgh is in hospital in central london for a planned operation. prince philip, who‘s 96, will stay in hospital for several days. a 78—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a intruder was stabbed

inside his home in a suspected burglary. now the sport. former england and chelsea midfielder, ray wilkins, has died in hospital at the age of 61. wilkins, who also played for manchester united, ac milan, rangers and qpr, was being treated at st george‘s hospital in london following a cardiac arrest. he was capped 84 times by england, 10 of those as captain. lots of reaction to the sad news this afternoon. england say... chelsea, a club so close to ray‘s heart, they say... carlo ancelotti says... some of the high esteem in which wilkins was held. he was a really talented player. not only to succeed

in this country, internationally, but to play abroad for one of the great teams that you had to be a seriously good play tore play for milan in the 80s. ray really was a very gifted footballer. he was massively passionate when he played. he had high expectations of you when you played alongside him. ifound that out for myself on occasions, if he thought i was slacking a little bit. you would hearfrom him. it was a lwa ys bit. you would hearfrom him. it was always in a polite way. he had a lovely manner to him. even though he was respectful to his team—mates and passionate, he was also very calm in a different way. elsewhere today, a huge match ahead at anfield as liverpool take on manchester city in their champion league quarter—final first leg. city will wrap up the premier league title on saturday if they beat manchester united, with liverpool the only team to beat them all season in the league. liverpool boss, jurgen klopp, knows they have to be at their absolute best and has told his side to "write their own history."

i meet people over the day, they can tell me each goal liverpool scored 37 years ago, and in the 56th minute. i think there are 10 players who did that, and they can say the names. this‘s all good, and i like that, but this team we need to be proud of our history, but we need to create our own. they are so clinical, so they punish you on your mistakes because they are so fast and they are so direct, and that's good. it's a good challenge for us. it's 180 minutes we're going to make a good performance here, to try and score goals and give a good result to manchester. former australia cricket captain steve smith and batsman cameron bancroft have both confirmed on social media this morning that they won‘t contest their ball tampering bans.

smith, along with ex—vice captain david warner, were both given one—year bans and bancroft handed a nine—month suspension by cricket australia after the incident against south africa. smith says "i meant what i said about taking full responsibility." the 21st commonwealth games are officially under way after a spectacular opening ceremony on australia‘s gold coast. a heavy downpour of rain greeted the start of proceedings. the crowd and athletes were then treated to a ceremony showcasing music and dance, drawing on australia‘s history and traditions. more than 4,500 athletes from 71 nations and territories will be competing for 275 gold medals over the 11 days of competition. the sport gets under way a little after midnight uk time. full coverage, of course, across the bbc. we‘ll have more for you in sportsday at 6.30pm. many thanks. we will see you later

on. russia has lost a vote at that 0pcw meeting in the hague trying to force a new inquiry into salisbury. let‘s go over there. let's go over there. it's a cynical ploy. . it sought ultimately to show confusion and frustrate the process. in the event, i think russia will be disappointed with how today has gone. they needed 28 votes for the resolution they put forward to pass, they got just resolution they put forward to pass, they gotjust six. the international community has firmly rebuffed yet another attempt by russia to confuse and frustrate this process. ultimately, it‘s becoming impossible

not to conclude lush ya will always prevent attempts to hold those responsible for using chemical weapons to account whether it‘s ear syria. —— in syria or in salisbury. russia losing a vote at the chemical weapons body. they had been seeking a new inquiry into the salisbury poisoning. they didn‘t have the votes. the uk delegate saying they had been rebuffed. joining me now from salisbury is hamish de bretton—gordon, a former commander of the british chemical and biological forces who has been following this case closely. what do you make of the way that russia is trying to co—ordinate its own propaganda campaign around this? well, it‘s not surprising the russia

disinformation campaign has actually been brilliant in a preverse sort of way. they are weaving around trying to avoid getting involved in an investigation wherever they can. they are absolutely guilty. i agree with the prime minister‘s statement the other day. we now have porton down confirming novichok was used in the salisbury attack and all the other evidence points towards russia. they are trying to prevent the investigation. but they are signatures to the chemical weapons convention and should be supporting it. they are really, in my mind, showing that they are a guilty party here and will do anything to get out of answering the very serious questions of using a chemical weapon in this country. what do you make of the debate around the source of the novichok? that has been a discussion today. it‘s been a political debate today. it‘s been a political debate today. the suggestion that maybe there is more evidence out there, which is not being shared with the public, that the source is pretty

clear, but the public is not being told that. what do you make of that? i think it‘s always very difficult when talking about intelligence and intelligence sources. it‘s very clear, certainly the evidence that i have seen, that the russians are square in the frame for this. no doubt the security service is balancing whether giving out that will information will ruin the source and therefore potentially ruin this investigation. balanced against providing information that the public want. at the moment the russians are very much on the front foot and winning the information battle. i‘m delighted that at last... i'm sorry. let us pause for a second. he was halfway through a sentence there. hamish, are you still there? yes, still there. i'm sorry, the link went down. you were making the point you felt the russians had been on the front foot. does that mean that you think that

there is a stronger case now for sharing some of this intelligence which hasn‘t so far been made public? well i think it might be helpful for the government. it needs to improve its information campaign to improve its information campaign to ta ke to improve its information campaign to take the russians off the front foot. but it might well be helpful to give some of that information that doesn‘t endanger sources. so that doesn‘t endanger sources. so that everybody has a good idea what‘s going on. presumably, the government is sharing this very detailed information with allies because we‘ve got such a strong coalition supporting the uk against russia. but i think it would be helpful. i‘m sure there is information i‘ve seen that would not be damaging if it was made public. in which case, what do you think is holding that up? well, i think it's a lwa ys holding that up? well, i think it's always very difficult when talking about intelligence sources and also the security service and u nfortu nately the security service and unfortunately the way that our government works it‘s a lot slower than the russians who don‘t worry so

much about these things. very careful consideration will be given because some of this might be signals, intelligence from phone tappings or human intelligence which on... people are looking whether the balance is better to put it in the public domain or not. i think it would be helpful for some public domain or not. i think it would be helpfulfor some of public domain or not. i think it would be helpful for some of it to be put in the public domain so people are reassured. i‘m under no doubt at all that the russians, the russian state is square in the frame for this and we must allow the un security council and the organisation of the prohibiton of chemical weapons to do the job and russia must answer to that. good to talk to you. thank you very much for sharing your views with us today. pleasure. thanks very much. by midnight tonight, all companies with more than 250 staff must reveal their average pay figures to show the difference between male and female employees.

of more than 9,000 firms that have reported so far, the figures show that 78% of companies pay men more on average than they pay women. 13% pay women more than they pay men. and only 8% have reported no pay gap at all. our business correspondent simon gompertz reports. the pay gap, revealed for all to see. 72% at ryanair. individual employers being shown up. a 37% gap at british gas. some of the worst in finance and construction. women getting 44% less at ba rclays bank. another bank, tsb, has a 24% gap. but that‘s still big. and the question is, why? the reason we have a gender pay gap is not because we don‘t pay men and women in the same job

the same amount. however, we do have more women in more junior roles typically in our branches and more men in senior roles. now, what that means to us is to figure out how we fix that problem, of getting more women into senior roles. to these women working in the city of london, lawyers, insurance experts and bankers, it‘s right that every company has to come clean. in order to galvanise change you need data and you need to be having that conversation inside the organisation. it is unfairforwomen, but unfortunately they live it day in and day out, quietly. it's not surprising. i hope this is the start of more people having uncomfortable conversations. some big high street names, costa and starbucks, say they don‘t have a gap. also, mcdonald‘s. so, will the others face some sort of punishment? it is against the law to pay one gender, and usually it is women, less for a similarjob of work. but the information that companies

are rushing to submit before the deadline tonight is an average across a number of differentjobs within an organisation. now, they could get into trouble with the courts if they submit it incorrectly, or late. but beyond that, the government is hoping that exposing and shaming the worst will spur employers into dealing with the problem. well, i think the difference it will make is that people looking to work for organisations can readily access what their gender pay gap is and actually organisations themselves, who want to close the gender pay gap, have now got the opportunity. this technology consultancy firm has eliminated gender pay differences by having women in half its senior roles, despite frequently caring for children or elderly relations as well. 0ften women have to come back on a part—time basis. employers have to be cognisant of this and have to be much more flexible, i believe, in order

to shift the dial. and diageo, the company which sells guinness and also smirnoff vodka, has the opposite pay gap. women are 10% ahead of men. the more that happens, the more the average will move in the right direction. simon gompertz, bbc news. 0n the bbc website you can find out the gender pay gap at any organisation that‘s released its figures. that is bbc. co. uk/business. you can click on the link and find out if there is a gender pay gap in the company you want to look at. the liberal democrats have launched their local election campaign, promising to focus on education, social care and combating rising crime. speaking at the launch event at watford‘s football stadium, the party‘s leader, sir vince cable, said his party was the "secret phenomenon in british politics." i think there‘s one reason why we do well locally, is that we actually believe

in local government. you know, we‘ve got a system that has become massively centralised. you know, we need to have local councils building homes, but they can‘t borrow to build because they‘re prevented from doing so. this is bbc news at five, the headlines: britain dismisses russia‘s proposal for a joint investigation into the salisbury spy po|soning as " vauxhall announce they will build a new van at their plant in luton, safeguarding 1,400 jobs. buckingham palace says the duke of edinburgh has had a successful hip replacement operation. prince philip, who‘s 96, will remain in hospital for several days. an update on the market numbers for you: here‘s how london and frankfurt ended the day. and in the united states,

this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. a group of young pipers and drummers representing the western isles are heading off to new york to join the celebrations for tartan week. the pipe band is made up of children from uist and barra. they‘ll be taking part in a variety of events, but they‘ll also play a tribute to one of their bandmates, eilidh macleod, who was killed in the manchester terror attack last year. iain macinnes reports. sgoil lionacleit pipe band preparing to take their music stateside. in their thoughts, though, their friend, eilidh macleod, a talented piper and dedicated member of the band, taken from them in last year‘s terror attack on manchester, at the age ofjust 14. not only was she an excellent player, she was a great team player. eilidh brought a lot of spirit into our band, and i‘m very pleased to say that spirit is very much alive today.

eilidh herself was one of those who took so much enjoyment from being part of the band. piping was a greatjoy to eilidh. eilidh loved life and she got enormous pleasure out of playing the pipes. the next stop for the band from a wet and windy uist is 3,000 miles across the atlantic ocean to new york, where they will pay their own tribute to theirfallen piper. 0n the streets of the big apple the tune fair maid of barra will ring out, a song praising the beauty of a fair haired girl from barra. remembering their eilidh means a lot to the children. yeah, i think it‘s really important to the band that we all remember her and nobody‘s going to forget. it‘s going to be a really good experience going to new york and playing that set. eilidh was a band member and we all were very good friends with her and all close. but for the family the band‘s upcoming trip is bittersweet in a way. we would all love to see eilidh there. the fact that the band has had the courage and the strength to go on is a testament to themselves

and it is an enormous pleasure to see that happening. to see them going from strength to strength, and eilidh‘s spirit will be with them. iain macinnes, reporting scotland, in uist. nice tributes there to eilidh macleod after what happened in those dreadful attacks in manchester last year. he‘s one of the biggest artists in british music right now. he‘s gone from playing in small local clubs, posting videos online, to playing in big venues to crowds of thousands. he‘s yougn bane — a singer, songwriter and rapperfrom east london — who‘s already had a taste of chart success as well as being nominated for a mobo award and gaining tens of millions of views on his music videos. he‘s done all this at the age of 21. before we meet him, let‘s have a taste of his music. # give me the love... #

last year was just loads of studio work and just loads of travelling and just learning and finding myself and just learning and finding myself and finding my sound. then expressing myself and now it‘s just, yeah, putting it out there and letting the world hear it. # ah, man... # # you see where i‘m from... # is just isjust a is just a taste. he‘s with me. good have you with us. thank you. remarkable story. the you can is sells you have piled up in a very short space of time. yeah. what drives you? is it ambition, what is it? definitely. it's ambition and the fact that i‘ve understood what i want, which is success, it‘s a youry. it‘s every day getting up and

working harder than yesterday. youry. it‘s every day getting up and working harder than yesterdaylj mean, working harder than yesterday.” mean, it‘s a great message for all kinds of young people. where did it come from? does it come from your home, your parents, where does the drive come from? from home. i think it started at home. i think it started at home. then just the family. wanting to do well for the family. wanting to do well for the family and for the love of the people around you. i think that definitely generated the ambition and it definitely, i would say, started at home. definitely. where are your parents from and what your family‘s background is? are your parents from and what your family's background is? my mum is congo, raised in east london my whole life. born in canning town went to college in essex. we are here today. how did the singing start? what kind of age were you thinking, 0k, music is it? this is the funny thing. i‘ve never actually... i never thought! the funny thing. i‘ve never actually... i never thought i would bea actually... i never thought i would be a musician or anything. i always

had a genuine interest in music. since i was a kid i remember my dad used to play music around the house. music was always there.ful” used to play music around the house. music was always there.ful i went to the studio with a friend. we were leaving, i didn‘t record. it i went there just to support him, i guess. as we were leaving the engineer, he wasn‘t supposed to be there, he played an instrumental. i was like, wow, i want that. he gave it to me. that was lone wolf. that is circumstance, really, isn‘t it? yeah. how old were you? 19. even thenit yeah. how old were you? 19. even then it was just more, yeah. how old were you? 19. even then it wasjust more, like, that was my hobby, i guess. that is when it became a hobby. when i met my manager we released shape of you, the reaction it caused i thought — 0k, cool, you can really do this. it's 0k, cool, you can really do this. it‘s quite a leap, isn‘t it? definitely. from what is a nice

hobby to my life. yeah my life and career. exactly. when you think of your audience, what do you think of? i try to definitely speak to my generation, but also try to speak to everybody. it‘s definitely everybody in my audience, which is why the content is so broad. i try to aim to speak to everyone. my target is everyone. definitely everyone. everyone asked do you have a message or, basically, are you on a journey that will take you, for reasons we understand, to something pretty commercial, to be honest. you reach mega success. where are you on that journey? i'm still, to me i'm still in the beginning. to me it‘s a still a long way to go. success is just a journey. i don‘t even feel like there is a destination. ijust feel like you keep going. where i am todayis like you keep going. where i am today is still the beginning, baby steps. it‘s still a lot of work to do. do you think of yourself as a role model? when you think of your

background? i understand i definitely have a role to play because of who i am and the statuses obviously being a musician and we have a voice. so definitely understand that. when you think of the fact that so many people seem, young people especially, seem to not have a voice or they feel cut off from society. they feel they don‘t have a stake. do you have something to say to them? what do you say to them? look at the likes of myself or alex iwobi who plays for arsenal. we grew up alex iwobi who plays for arsenal. we grew up on alex iwobi who plays for arsenal. we grew up on estates, estates in lesses privileged areas. it‘s for is and is 7:2; 3 ”i, , l actually become your reality. so that‘s why i always emphasise or

a lwa ys that‘s why i always emphasise or always try to always explain and make people understand that no—one understands their journey better than them. once you do that your dreams become your reality. who is your experience growing up in an area with its own challenges. there area with its own challenges. there area with its own challenges. there are a lot of those in parts of the uk. ina are a lot of those in parts of the uk. in a week we have been talking about rising crime and the problem in london and sadiq khan saying it needs to be dealt with. what is your perspective on that and is there something that people could be doing that they are not doing? maybe... i feel like definitely is something happening. if you look at the music scene, for example, there is a great outburst of young, new black musicians. do you know what i mean? it looks like... we are looking and doing positive things as well. i feel like we are going to get to a time where it will all be positive. we are getting there. the likes of ourselves who a voice, everybody has

as sis. the same teenagers on estates you can go to the studio and voice that as i do. understand the world is bigger than the estate you are on. it's a daft question. in five years where do you see yourself? in five years. have you set a goal what you want to be in five years‘ time? set a goal what you want to be in five years' time? i understand what iam.i five years' time? i understand what i am. i want to be great. so keep working until... le what you have achieved so far is amazing. thanks very much. nice to see you. thank you for coming in. thank you. you can come back any time. thank you. nice to have you with us in the studio. that will have pleased a lot of people. thanks to him. i think it‘s about time to join phil again for the weather. a handshake from huw almost like paul hollywood. the weather, no handshakes here, a mish

mash of showers, sunny spells for sun across england and wales. northern ireland missed most of the weather action. snow to scotland creeping south of the border tonight. snow for the top end of the pennines. clear skies following on behind. showers to the western side of scotland. cold night under the clear skies, less so further south. cloudy start until the weather front moves away towards the near continent. with that ridge of high pressure it will be a decent day. a cold start across scotland and northern ireland. look at this, it‘s dry for most of us, for most of the day. i haven‘t said that so far this week. that‘s for sure. a breeze in the north—west. not the warmest of days. seven to 13 will cover it. the foreign secretary hits back after he‘s accused by labour of exaggerating evidence that russia was responsible for the salisbury nerve agent attack. it comes after the government‘s porton down research centre said it couldn‘t determine exactly where the nerve agent was made.

so borisjohnson seems to have completely exceeded the information that he had been given, and told the world in categorical terms what he believed had happened. but borisjohnson accuses the labour leader of siding with the russian spin machine as the government insists all evidence points to moscow. we know that the russians designed it and that they were the only people to make it and stockpile it. that quickly eliminates most of the other suspects, potentially. tonight, russia has called for an urgent meeting of the un of the un security council.