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. also on the programme tonight... buckingham palace says the duke of edinburgh has undergone a successful hip replacement operation and is in good spirits. a 78—year—old man is arrested on suspicion of murder

after a suspected burglar was killed at his home in london. 50 years after the civil rights leader, martin luther king, was murdered, commemorations are held across the usa. perhaps those commemorations will be most keenly felt here. they are already under way, where martin luther king died from a single gunshot that rang out right across the world... the former england captain ray wilkins has died in hospital at the age of 61. and coming up on bbc news, it's all eyes on anfield as liverpool get set to host manchester city in the first leg of their champions league quarterfinal. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six.

the foreign secretary borisjohnson has hit back at claims from labour that he exaggerated evidence that moscow was responsible for the salisbury nerve agent attack. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn says mrjohnson has serious questions to answer after the porton down defence laboratory said it couldn't confirm the precise source of the nerve agent. but borisjohnson accused the labour leader of playing russia's game and trying to discredit the uk over the salisbury attack. russia has called for an urgent meeting of the un security council to discuss britain's allegations, as our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. more than one month on in salisbury, the investigation continues into a nerve agent attack that britain believes was carried out by russia. no other country has a combination of the capability, the intent and motive to carry out such an act. but

the head of the porton down military blog oratory has muddied the waters, saying in an interview that it was not thejob of saying in an interview that it was not the job of the scientists to say whether novichok a nerve agent had been made. contrary to what the foreign secretary appeared to suggest a few weeks ago. the people from porton down, they were absolutely categorical. i asked the quy absolutely categorical. i asked the guy myself, i said, are you sure? he said there was no doubt. today the foreign office deleted and inaccurate tweet from the last month which also suggested porton down pointed the finger at russia. that gave russian diplomats another chance to question britain's evidence, calling at short notice a meeting with the chemical weapons watchdog, opcw, and a joint investigation with the uk. they have accused britain of an anti—russian campaign, but today struck a less controversial tone... translation: we are waiting for common sense to prevail so

international relations are no longer damaged in the way that they have been, as we have seen recently. british diplomats and ministers insisted that the job of porton down was to identify the nerve agent, and it was for police and intelligence services to establish who used it, and why. porton down identified fairly quickly the strain of nerve agent. when identified committee removed from the list of suspects 99.9% of people. we know the russians designed it and that they we re russians designed it and that they were the only people to make it and stockpile it. for now, at least, the international coalition behind the uk appears to be holding. the eu issued a statement saying they had full confidence in the uk's assessment and investigation, and attacking russia for what it called attacking russia for what it called a flood of insinuations. but the labour leader remains more sceptical, questioning what he sees as the foreign secretary's rush to blame russia, when he believes other explanations could emerge... boris

johnson seems to have completely exceeded the information that he had been given, and told the world in categorical terms what he believed had happened. and it is not backed up had happened. and it is not backed up by had happened. and it is not backed up by the evidence that he claimed to have got from porton down in the first place. but mrjohnson hit back, accusing mr corbyn in a tweet of playing russia's game. 28 countries had backed britain, he said, butjeremy corbyn sided with what he called the russians spin machine. the diplomatic and political fallout from salisbury continues. russia is calling for a meeting with un security council on thursday. james landale, bbc news. our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg joins me. the british government has again pointed the finger at russia over this — what's been the reaction there? well, the russians have seized on those comments by porton down yesterday, that it was unable to verify the precise source of the novichok nerve agent. the kremlin spokesman was quick to say that theresa may and borisjohnson should

apologise to moscow for their accusations. but what we have heard the russia today reminds me of the national symbol of this country. the double headed eagle. two heads looking in two different directions. one of those heads was vladimir putin's, sounding conservatory and talking about hoping that common sense prevails, not only in the case of skripal but internationally generally. the other had belonged to russia's top security chiefs. they launched a blistering attack on britain and the west today, we heard the head of russia's foreign intelligence service accusing the west are putting up a new iron curtain and starting a new cold war, and saying that the ellsbury poisoning was a grotesque provocation by the american and british secret services —— salisbury poisoning. steve rosenberg in moscow, thank you. buckingham palace says the duke of edinburgh has had a successful hip replacement operation today and is in good spirits. 96—year—old prince phillip is likely

to remain in hospital for a number of days. our royal correspondent sarah campbell is at the king edward vii hospital in london. sophie, that is right. prince philip was admitted here yesterday. we were told it was for a planned operation on his hip. in the last hour, buckingham palace released a statement saying that it was indeed a hip replacement operation. the statement says that he is progressing satisfactorily and is co mforta ble progressing satisfactorily and is comfortable and in good spirits. prince philip retired from royal duties last august. but he was expected to attend and accompany the queen to three recent events. he did not appear. it subsequently emerged that he had been suffering with problems with his hip for the last month or so. hip

replacements are a common procedure, more than 800 of them were carried out on people over the age of 90, those are the latest figures for 2016. prince philip's was carried out under general anaesthetic. a statement from the palace says that his royal highness is likely to stay in hospitalfor a few his royal highness is likely to stay in hospital for a few days. the queen has remained at windsor castle rock, she has been kept fully informed as to her husband's progress. the family will hope that he is fully recovered by may the 19th, the wedding date, of course of prince harry and meghan markle. sophie, thank you. vauxhall has announced it will build its new van at the company's luton factory safeguarding 1,400 jobs. the new vivaro van will replace the current model from 2019. vauxall‘s french owner, psa, says it has made the investment "despite brexit uncertainties". but the unite union says there is still "a cloud hanging over" vauxhall‘s ellesmere port plant. our business editor, simonjack reports from luton. the future of vauxhall‘s two uk pla nts the future of vauxhall‘s two uk plants here at luton and ellesmere port has been a concern ever since foxhill became part of the peugeot and citroen family, when psa bought the european business. the boss of

psa has previously said that brexit uncertainty would delay major investment decisions. what has changed? we have a strong performance plan for the plant, that we will implement to give the plant the possibility to catch up in terms of cost and quality competitiveness with all the other european plants. he is also feeling more confident about an eventual brexit deal. he is also feeling more confident about an eventual brexit deallj he is also feeling more confident about an eventual brexit deal. i do think there is a common interest, that this deal will be supporting the interest of both parties and therefore there is a good probability that something looking like a frictionless trade deal will be made. the government will contribute £9 million to a total investment of over £100 million. currently, luton can produce up to 70,000 fans per year and the extra investment will mean that goes up to 100,000 -- investment will mean that goes up to 100,000 —— vans. industry insiders say that this was the main attraction, luton is the only place with a paint facility compatible with a paint facility compatible with the model of the psa wants to

make. they have been very good at extracting public money, something they would do anyway? these big automotive investments, we are talking about over £100 million, making sure that this is going to be here for long into the future. these are highly competitive firm investments. you know that there is great competition between other pla nts great competition between other plants across europe and around the world. this is obviously great news for vauxhall and the 11100 people who work here in luton. the life of those vans is 10—15 years so the jobs are secured until 2029 and beyond. the same is not necessarily true of ellesmere port, 200 miles that way, finding out whether or not they will build the new vauxhall astra. union leaders say that effo rts astra. union leaders say that efforts to protect the 1200 jobs at risk in the north—west are already under way. it is critical medically to the company that luton does not stand alone, it is luton and ellesmere port. negotiations are

taking place and i am confident that it will reach a position that will secure the long—term future for ellesmere port. that decision will be made in 2020, time, say psa, for ellesmere port to improve its efficiency and for there to be greater clarity on brexit. simon jack, bbc news. a pensioner from south east london has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after a suspected burglar was fatally stabbed. police are questioning the man about the incident, which happened shortly after midnight. our correspondent jessica parker reports. we can't revive him, i think he's gone. residents watch on as emergency crews try to revive a man in the early hours of this morning. police say a 38—year—old suspected burglar was stabbed after a struggle with a 78—year—old homeowner. earlier reports said a suspect had forced the pensioner into the kitchen with claims that the intruder was armed with a screwdriver. the neighbour who filmed the footage says she saw one suspect flee the scene in a van, leaving the other, injured, behind on the road.

we ran over to him and he wasjust staring at us going... imitates gasping. and i knew he was going to go because of his pupils. they were dilating and i thought, "he's going to go." and then the police turned up. a frightening experience? yes, very. very. i'll not forget that because he was staring right into my eyes. now the incident happened at a property on south park crescent but the injured suspect was actually found collapsed down on further green road. he was taken to a hospital in central london where he was pronounced dead atjust after half past three this morning. the man who lived in the house is now being held on suspicion of murder. it is a case that will remind some of tony martin, the norfolk farmer who was jailed for killing a burglar at his home in 1999. people in this area of south london say burglary is a long—standing concern, but this incident will stand out for its fatal consequences. jessica parker, bbc news. the liberal democrat

leader sir vince cable has launched his local election campaign saying his party is a "well—kept secret" that's set to defy opinion polls. he said the lib dems were winning local council by—elections in all areas, which had gone unreported. voters go to the polls across england on may 3rd for local elections. the former chelsea and england captain ray wilkins has died at the age of 61. he was being treated in hospital in london after suffering a cardiac arrest last week. ray wilkins made his name at chelsea and went on to play for manchester united, ac milan, rangers and qpr. this afternoon his family thanked friends, colleagues and the public for all the messages they've had since he was taken ill. richard conway reports. commentato ry: wilkins has curled one, and that's absolutely magnificent! goals and glory weren't the biggest part of ray wilkins' game, but he provided plenty of them nonetheless. such as here in 1983 fa cup final. for club and country he was the oil

in the team's engine, emphasising passing and possession long before those qualities were as widely appreciated as they are today. that was my philosophy of the game, keep the ball. make the opposition work, so when they receive the ball you know, they are tired because they have 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! a natural leader, he captained chelsea while still a teenager. after six years at stamford bridge it was onto manchester united, which incorporated that fa cup win. he then signed for rangers after a spell at ac milan. commentator: ray wilkins scores for england! but it was arguably england where he set himself apart. winning 84 caps over the course of a decade. his sending—off at the 1986 world cup demonstrating the passion that was always a part of his play. he lived for the game and he loved the game, ray. and he was massively

passionate when he played, he had high expectations of you when you played alongside him. people genuinely loved the man. he was a great guy and a wonderful footballer. after retiring as a player, he naturally progressed to managing and coaching, assisting chelsea to a premier league and fa cup double in 2010. ray wilkins will be remembered as a gentleman of the game, who did the little things for some of the biggest clubs. perhaps the ultimate team player. ray wilkins — who has died at the age of 61. our top story this evening. the foreign secretary hits back after he's accused by labour of exaggerating evidence that russia was responsible for the salisbury nerve agent attack. and still to come: a two week festival of sport — the commonwealth games opens in australia.

coming up on sportsday on bbc news, we'll be live in augusta ahead of this year's masters. spain's sergio garcia getting set to defend his title. 50 years ago today the civil rights leader, martin luther king, was murdered. he was shot in tennessee. tonight a ceremony of remembrance will be held in memphis. clive myrie is there. people have been queueing all day for the commemoration services here which are well under way. we are outside the more tale where dr king was killed by a single gunshot which ran around the world. his message of nonviolence resonated globally, including newcastle, the only place in the uk he visited when he was alive. nevermore.

i say nevermore, should we allow history to be repeated. words from a newcastle poet sheree mack, who says martin luther king is her biggest icon. he's a great orator. he's got such a wonderful voice and what he speaks is that, is, is the things that people are feeling but cannot speak. justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. thank you. five months before he was assassinated, dr king made a surprisingly short visit to newcastle university to accept an honorary doctorate. no one expected the civil rights leader to make a speech that day. but he did. and nick nicholson led the ceremony. once he started to talk, in that speech with his southern baptist minister voice, the images he creates, the words and phrases he uses, it was amazing. paul barry was in his first year

at university when he was asked to photograph the american activist in action. it was phenomenal. i was not anticipating the level of emotion that he built up in anyone who heard it. but the one comment that really stayed with me all my life was, you may not be able to change people's hearts, but you can change the law. little did he know that the content of his impromptu speech which focused on overcoming racism, war and poverty would have a long—lasting impact, leading to this indelible reminder 51 years later. and i can assure you that this day will remain dear to me. these young people in newcastle say dr king's legacy continues to inspire them. i think it's really positive that newcastle uni did

this so many years ago. for me anyway, it's a really proud moment. when i see the likes of king, malcolm x, rosa parks and their sacrifice and all they did to pave the way, so i can apply for a job and the next guy next to me can apply for a job, i can walk the street with a smile on my face and not be hassled. it empowers me that his legacy lives on in us. it is hard to believe that he was just 39 when he died, he pushed through the civil rights act, the voting rights act, he won the nobel peace prize, so iconic was his message. at one minute past six here in memphis, tennessee, across the country and maybe around the world bells will peel out 39 times marking the exact moment he did. british companies employing more than 250 staff have just a few hours left to submit figures showing the average difference in pay for male and female employees. the deadline is midnight tonight.

more than 9,000 companies have already published their data. it has revealed that 78% of businesses pay men more than women. 14% pay women more. and only 8% of companies have no pay gap. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. how much we earn. it's long been a stubborn problem between the sexes. but now for the first time, our biggest employers have been forced to reveal the pay gap between their male and female workers. and the results aren't pretty. now this isn't about equal pay. take bobby and laura here. they do the same job for the same pay. that's the law. the gender pay gap is the difference between average salaries of all men and women in a workforce. whatever theirjob or position. here at the tsb that gap is 24%. not as high as some other banks, but the boss says it's going to come down.

we have fewer women in senior roles. this is the real issue for us. we need to focus on getting more women into senior roles across tsb. we think that's good for our business, we think it's good for our customers and ultimately it's good for the uk economy. lunchtime in croydon, a pit stop for workers. in every sector of our economy men get paid more than women. the construction industry has a 25% gap. the biggest, followed by finance and insurance at 22%. industries where men dominate at the top. it's the same at ryanair with its 72% gap. it says that that is because most of its pilots are men. but in hotels and restaurants there is just a 1% pay gap. that's because most staff are working for the same hourly rate. in fact kfc, starbucks and mcdonald's say they don't have a pay gap at all based on the middle earners.

interesting to know but you always want to know what they are going to do about it. i'm not surprised. disappointed, but not surprised. the problem is that we've not promoted women higher up the ranks where the big gaps arise and until we do we won't create equality throughout. that is what they have managed to do at this technology services company. it is a record they are proud of. we can't get away from the fact that women are still taking time off to raise families and often women have to come back in 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. it's not going to be easy or quick. but with the numbers laid bare, companies will now be under pressure to do better. emma simpson, bbc news. if you want to find out what the gender pay gap is at your company — there's a tool on the bbc website — along with lots more analysis of the figures. visit bbc.co.uk/news.

the family of a woman who carried out a gun attack at youtube's offices say they had warned police that she might go to their headquarters — as she "hated the company". only hours before the shooting — officers found 39 year old nasim aghdam sleeping in her car — 15 miles away from the offices — but did not detained her. three people were injured in the attack last night — one man is in a critical condition. the attacker died after shooting herself. the gold coast commonwealth games have opened in australia — with 11 days of competition to follow. the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall attended the opening ceremony. the organisers insisted that the games — which started as the british empire games in 1930 — are "more relevant now than ever". from queensland here's our sports correspondent natalie pirks. front and centre. australia's indigenous culture was the focus of an opening ceremony themed around reconciliation and friendship. the parade of nations that

followed was as colourful as it was celebratory. it now gives me the greatest pleasure to declare the 21st commonwealth games open. it has not all fun and games, though. critics here have called these the "stolen—wealth games" and the sport has been described as a poor man's olympics. and here goes usain bolt! but not for the greatest sprinter in history. bolt will be here to cheer on the jamaicans and in europe before the games began, he told me he still believes in their importance. it's a championship, you have to look at it like that, you know what i mean. if you're going to go, you have to take it seriously. you know what i mean. i think you should never go to a championship or anything and say, "oh it's the commonwealths." no, it's a competition. here on the gold coast around a500 athletes will compete in 18 sports. seven of which have para events.

they have come from 53 countries, making up a third of the world population. they don't have to have historical links to britain and organisers are keen to move on from the idea ofan empire. it is absolutely crucial that we tackle the uncomfortable history of colonialism and empire, in a very open and engaging way, through the medium of sport, to be a force for good. that was certainly the case for weightlifter precious mckenzie. popular and remarkable little figure. just four feet 11 inches tall. he is eight stone and a whisper. forbidden to represent south africa because of his colour, he moved to england and won three golds at three games before winning another for his second adoptive country, new zealand. now 81, he's back at the games to present a medal. on my deathbed i will never forget england because they were the ones that gave me the opportunity. england was the only country

took me with open arms accept me for what i was. not for what i'm not. an apt way perhaps of describing the commonwealth games. not perfect, not the olympics, but confident of its unique place in sport. natalie pirks, bbc news, the gold coast. time for a look at the weather... here's phil avery. i wonder if we should start making a pleural, i will tell you what i mean ina pleural, i will tell you what i mean in a moment. look at this, glorious on the isle of skye, the same country i can assure you, the same day, look at that, it was notjust in western barton sure, the snow quite wide. it was one of those days, further showers to be had, the frontal system that more continuous band of cloud across the heart of

scotland, that will hit further south dragging the prospect of snow towards the top end of the pennines and then fizzing away somewhat. skies behind it would be called old do across scotland, —6 or —7, about plus five, six, seven further south because you keep the blanket of cloud. as it pushes towards the continent so it will drag its cloud with it and do be careful, there is a decent day breaking out as we get through thursday, once the cloud is gone, look at that, a dry day. thursday if you need a dry day it is your day. make the most about a special across western parts, the breeze in the north—west, 7—13 will cover it. the distinction of using thursday because wouldn't you just know it, the next weather front coming from the atlantic, cloud and wind and rain. it's not for everyone, it will be northern and western pa rt i everyone, it will be northern and

western part i would have thought, generally speaking the further east you are the more dry your day will be, temperatures at best a springlike 15, be, temperatures at best a springlike15, try to predict it will be seven underneath the cloud. a reminder of our main story. the foreign secretary hits back after he's accused by labour of exaggerating evidence that russia was responsible for the salisbury nerve agent attack. that's all from the bbc news at six , so it's goodbye from me — and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: russia demands an emergency meeting of the un security council to discuss britain's allegations into the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter. it comes as russia loses a crucial vote at a chemical weapons meeting in the hague for a new investigation into the nerve agent attack in salisbury. britain dismisses the proposal as ‘perverse'. buckingham palace says the duke of edinburgh has had a successful hip replacement operation. prince philip, who's 96, will remain in hospitalfor several days. vauxhall announce they will build

a new van at their plant in luton, securing 1,400 jobs. a 78—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after an intruder was stabbed in a suspected burglary. in a moment, it will be time for sportsday but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. on beyond 100 days at seven o'clock, the team will be looking at the latest trade tensions between america and china as beijing