yulia skripal, who was poisoned alongside her father with a nerve agent last month, says she's growing stronger by the day. it's her first public statement since she and sergei skripal were found critically ill in salisbury. as the police inquiry continues, moscow's ambassador to britain denied russia had any stockpile of the nerve agent involved. it has nothing to do with russia, we never produced it, we never had novichok. this is the creation, you know, of some other countries and some scientists. we'll bring you more on the condition of the skripals, and on how the story is being told in russia. also tonight: the latest teenage victim of a spate of killings in the capital — two boys have been arrested on suspicion of murder. a bbc investigation has found the cladding used at grenfell tower fell short of its claimed safety standard in fire tests. not ice but sugar cubes, the war on sugary drinks starts tomorrow with a new tax. and disappointment for the brownlee brothers at the commonwealth games, but success elsewhere helps england top the medal table.

coming up on bbc news, tiger woods is back at augusta — more than 1000 days after his last round at the masters, he is under way and in search of a fifth green jacket. good evening. yulia skripal, one of the victims of the salisbury poisoning, has issued herfirst public statement, a month after the attack on her and her father. she said she's been conscious for over a week and that her strength is growing every day. she thanked medical staff and the people of salisbury for their help and described the whole episode as being "somewhat disorientating". the attack with a nerve agent on yulia and sergei skripal sparked an international diplomatic crisis,

and the war of words between russia and the west intensified again today. here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale. it's just over four weeks since sergei and yulia skripal were poisoned by a nerve agent on this bench in salisbury. four weeks during which the former russian intelligence officer and his 33—year—old daughter have lain critically ill, at times in a coma. but today ms skripal revealed that she at least was on the mend. in a statement issued on her behalf by the police, she said: i woke iwoke up i woke up over a week ago now and i'm glad to say my strength is growing daily. i'm gratefulfor the interest in the hunt for the many m essa 9 es interest in the hunt for the many m essa g es of interest in the hunt for the many messages of goodwill that i have received. i have many people to thank for my recovery and would especially like to mention the people of salisbury that came to my aid when my father and i were incapacitated. she thanked the staff of salisbury district hospital for their care and added, i'm sure you appreciate that the

entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and i hope that you respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my co nvalescence. earlier, russian television broadcast an unverified recording of an alleged phone call between yulia skripal and her cousin victoria, in which ms skripal reportedly claimed that everyone‘s health was ok, with no irreversible harm, and that she would be discharged soon. in london, the russian ambassador used a news conference once again to deny his country's involvement in the attack on the skripal, and welcomed the news she was recovering. i'm really happy, and i hope that sergei skripal will also recover. i'm quite sure that one day she will come back to moscow. today the foreign office said ms skripal had been told about the russian embassy's offer of consular assistance but had yet to take up the offer. that didn't stop the ambassador again protesting at his lack of access. today, scotland yard and the british government

is refusing to communicate with us. no answer. the telephones are switched off. that's the problem for us. one month on from the attack on the skripals, the russian defiance continues. at an extraordinary news conference, for almost two hours, the russian ambassador denied that russia was involved in the salisbury attack, denied that they ever even made novichok nerve agent and denied that russia was internationally isolated. and tonight russia will step up that defiance at the united nations calling a meeting of the security council to challenge the accusations laid at the door. james landale, bbc news. in a moment, we'll speak to our correspondent steve rosenberg in moscow, but first to leila nathoo in salisbury. leila, yulia skripal‘s first public statement — she's clearly making progress. yes, reeta, it's quite a turnaround

for her. you'll remember that both yulia and a sergei skripal were described as being in a critical condition when they were exposed to that deadly nerve agent in salisbury just over a month ago. two weeks ago, wheeler and further details about their condition from a court protectionjudgment about their condition from a court protection judgment when a judge was giving permission to chemical weapons inspectors to take further blood samples from them. at that time they were described as being heavily sedated, with sergei skripal unable to communicate in any way, yulia unable to communicate in any meaningful way, and medical test showing there could be long—term implications for their mental capacity. just a week later, we reported that yulia had regained consciousness and was talking, the hospital said jihad been improving rapidly and was no longer in a credible condition. clearly, the statement shows just that. now, sergei skripal is himself still in a critical but stable condition. what we don't yet know is why yulia has recovered to this extent and he has

not, whether it is because she has responded better so far to treatment, or in fact whether she was exposed to a lesser extent to that nerve agent. steve, the narrative in russia is very different. yes. if you look at what russian officials are saying about this story, and what the russian state—controlled media is saying about this story, you begin to see that the picture painted here of the salisbury poisoning is very different than the one seen in the uk. russia paints itself as the victim, falsely accused of attempted murder, and what's more, the russians believe that they have the british authorities on the back foot. they point to political infighting in the uk over the source of the nerve agent, and they say, look at yulia skripal, she is recovering, prove, say the russians, that there was no military grade russian nerve agent, and add to that the gaggle of conspiracy there the

russians have been coming up with in recent days to try to explain who may have attacked them and why, and you can see why moscow might believe that it has proved its innocence. steve, thank you, steve rosenberg in moscow. thank you too to leila nathoo in salisbury. here, two teenagers have been arrested after an 18 year—old man was stabbed to death in east london last night. a 53—year—old man also died at a bookmaker‘s in london following reports of an assault. it brings the total number of murders in the capital to over 50 so far this year. the government says it's looking at new laws to deal with offensive and dangerous weapons. adina campbell reports. the latest victim of violent crime in london —18—year—old israel 0gunsola died last night after being stabbed in hackney. this is where his body was found, and other white tent with a police cordon, and other stark reminder of this week's

violence in the capital. and just a couple of miles away, a man in his 50s also died last night after being assaulted. wake up, man. this stuff needs to end, seriously. like, i'm coming from someone who's actually felt that kind of pain. 23-year-old yolanda has posted this video on facebook. she personally knew some of this week's victims and has lost family and friends through violence over the last ten years. seeing that there's so much this year alone, it just got me annoyed, ijust had to round out as well. it doesn'tjust affect our generation, it is affecting everyone involved. meanwhile, mother of two deana, lived in london for more than two decades, has recently moved away from the capital. sometimes i feel scared to be out on the road at

certain times of day, there has been something going around on social media where it is a points system now, so media where it is a points system now, so you media where it is a points system now, so you don't have to be affiliated with that person who would want to shoot you, stab you, rob you. it is just a points system for them, so it could be anybody. and the mp for tottenham, david lammy, says he has also had enough. he has been meeting concerned constituents in his community, where 17—year—old tanesha melbourne was killed in a drive—by shooting on monday. it is just killed in a drive—by shooting on monday. it isjust heartbreaking, people are frightened now, frightened for their children to walk the streets. i've not seen the home secretary, i've not seen the mayor. it's unacceptable. why is life in my constituency with less than lives in other parts of the country? if all young people were dying ina country? if all young people were dying in a leafy shire, they would be all over it. but action is being

promised by those in charge. we have announced a violent crime task force, 120 officers, working across london to grapple the issue of gun crime and knife crime. i plead with anybody who has any information to please ring. more than 50 people have been killed in london this year, and some people there things could get worse before they get better. well, this is where israel 0gunsola's body was found last night, and as you can see, the police cordon is still in place and there has been forensically activity happening here all day. meanwhile, just a few miles away from here, this afternoon a man in his 20s was also stabbed. his injuries aren't thought to be life—threatening, but it is another example of the rising violence here in london. adina, thank you. a former nhs consultant who drew up an assassination list of former colleagues has been jailed for 12 years for possessing firearms with intent to endanger life. martin watt‘s arsenal included

three submachine guns. the 62—year—old had lost his job in the accident and emergency department of monklands hospital in airdrie. police have named an intruder who was fatally stabbed at the home of pensioner richard 0sborn—brooks in south—east london. he's 37—year—old henry vincent, who was known to police and wanted in connection with other burglaries. mr 0sborn—brooks was today released on bail. jessica parker reports. police making door—to—door inquiries today, after a 78—year—old man named locally as richard 0sborn—brooks was released on bail. the pensioner had been arrested on suspicion of murder. police say he had found two men in his house in the early hours of wednesday morning, one of them, it's believed, armed with a screwdriver. after a struggle, one of the suspected burglars was stabbed and found collapsed on a street nearby. the dead man has been named today as 37—year—old henry vincent from kent.

he has been wanted in connection with another burglary. a woman who told me she's his cousin came to lay flowers at the scene. speaking to me anonymously, she says she's angry the pensioner has been bailed. some people will say that if you're an intruder in somebody‘s home, that homeowner has the right to defend themselves. i don't know what happened in that home. all i do know is that my cousin is dead today. the henry i know, he was such a loving person. it's probably something what just went wrong. he shouldn't have died out of it. but for many in this community, their sympathies lie with their neighbour, richard 0sborn—brooks. i thought the bloke was a hero, really. if anyone breaks into your house, they shouldn't be there. so you get what's coming to you, you know. it must be very traumatic for him and his wife as it is, and to be arrested and taken away must be awful for him. the metropolitan police say inquiries are ongoing, and they continue to

appeal for witnesses. jessica parker, bbc news. the time is 30 minutes past six. our top story this evening: one of the victims of the salisbury poisoning, yulia skripal, releases her first statement since the attack. and still to come — bollywood superstar salman khan is sentenced to five years in jail for poaching rare antelope. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, arsenal take on cska moscow in the first leg of their quarterfinal in the europa league, the competition that offers arsene wenger‘s side their only prospect of a trophy this season. the horrific blaze which killed 71 people at grenfell tower last year led to outrage that the fire could have taken hold so quickly. now a bbc investigation can reveal that fire tests of the brand of cladding panels used at grenfell tower failed to meet the safety standards claimed by the manufacturer.

the firm, arconic, knew its product had fallen short, but it didn't tell the uk body which issues certificates for the building industry. arconic says it did share the tests with some certification authorities. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds has this exclusive report. it happened so fast — an inferno, unstoppable. the plastic in the cladding panels fixed to grenfell tower caught and burned. the night of the grenfell fire, i actually woke up for some reason and the telly was on. i walked past the telly and i noticed the fire. peter, not his real name, has worked on some of britain's biggest cladding projects. not grenfell, but the fire horrified him. i just thought, "oh, my god," i knew what material it was and ijust knew the material shouldn't react like that. the government was just as concerned. result — cladding stripped

from towers like these in north london after 71 deaths. but our investigation reveals concerns about the fire performance of the cladding long before the disaster. if it had been made public, it's possible that reynobond pe — panels of plastic sandwiched with aluminium — would never have been considered for a project like grenfell tower. but first you need to know this. the standard european test of the material's reaction to fire gives it a rating. a1 is best and f is worst. the cladding used at grenfell tower had a b rating for about ten years, and there was a certificate to prove it. this is it. issued by the bba, a not—for—profit body based on technical data provided by the manufacturer. this document is relied on by the industry. but we've discovered that three yea rs before g re nfell, a french testing body, the cstb, gave the cladding

an e classification, possibly because the testing process wasn't fully completed. another result was class c, again not the class b on the certificate. these tests of reynobond pe in various configurations were commissioned by its manufacturer. so, who did the company tell? after grenfell, peter tried to find out. i instructed all my people to search our databases. i wanted any relevant information, e—mails between ourselves and reynobond, to make sure we had ticked all the boxes. he says only then did he find this single letter sent in 2015. it appears to show that at this point the company regarded reynobond pe as having an e classification. e is worse than b? well, to be blunt, you wouldn't put e on a dog kennel. peter believes there should have been a full product recall, and the bba which issued the product certificate said it was not told about the test and it is a requirement

of the certification process that the bba is informed of information like this. another group of people would like to have seen those test results too — building inspectors. we are very dependent on the manufacturer telling us that there's been changes to that product. if there's a change to the results, then that needs to be advised. the product's manufacturer is the multinational company arconic, which said... the results are not on the website now and the company couldn't give them to us. and on reynobond's product information for the pe cladding, there's no mention of these tests. but the company agrees, its product is combustible. and this laboratory, prime solutions near edinburgh, demonstrated for us what that might mean.

within a minute of applying a flame... ok, so the polymer now is melting and it's running down as a stream. it burns for another three minutes until there's almost no filling left. this is why the government and some experts now insist cladding for tall buildings needs to be not class b, c or even class b, but class a. however, scottish building regulations for tower blocks and the rules for some lower buildings in england and wales do allow class b cladding, raising new questions about the use of reynobond pe given its past test results. the manufacturer would not tell us why it did the testing, but here is one possible reason. we can reveal that halfway through the grenfell refurbishments, the plastic used in the cladding was altered. in 2015, arconic changed the design of its cladding, replacing this clear plastic filler with a black version

which performs better in sunlight. grenfell tower has both versions. the black version burns less fast. in our demonstration and in the manufacturer's testing, it performed better than the older cladding, but an opportunity appears to have been missed to replace the older cladding which had already been put on the tower. reynobond pe is no longer on sale for buildings, but its manufacturer has stressed customers should conduct their own full systems testing or analysis of the entire cladding system. the police and a major public inquiry are now investigating why this product was used. tom symonds, bbc news, g re nfell tower. one of bollywood's biggest stars, salman khan, has been sentenced to five years in prison for poaching rare blackbuck antelope. the case dates back to 1998. khan, who's 52, has appeared

in more than 100 films. from delhi, rajini vaidya nathan reports. he's one of the world's highest—paid actors. salman khan is known as the bad boy of bollywood, both on and off—screen. today he was in court after a judge found him guilty of killing two blackbucks, an endangered breed of antelope. the case dates back to 1998, when he was shooting for this film, hum saath saath hain. few celebrities are as worshipped or idolised as salman khan is here in india. his cult status is so huge that it's unlikely this conviction will dent his popularity or damage his career. this isn't his first brush with the law. in 2015 he was found guilty of killing a homeless man near his house in mumbai in a hit—and—run, but was acquitted later that year. salman khan's lawyers say

he will appeal the sentence and apply for bail, but tonight one of bollywood's biggest stars is behind bars. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, delhi. liverpool are being investigated by european football's governing body uefa. it follows an attack on the manchester city team bus before last night's champions' league match at anfield, which liverpool won 3—0. the green party has urged an end to "one—party—state councils" as it launches its campaign for next month's local elections in england. co—leaderjonathan bartley called for a green on every council. he also predicted big gains for his party on the 3rd of may when seats on 150 councils are upforgrabs. if you've got a sweet tooth you'll find that from tomorrow you'll be paying more for your habit, as the government's tax on sugary drinks comes into force. the cost of some drinks will go up by as much as 24p a litre. our health editor hugh pym reports. it's part of a government

plan to tackle obesity, and supermarkets are already getting the message out there. some soft drink prices will go up tomorrow, some won't, depending on how much sugar they contain. shoppers we spoke to were in favour. i look at every ingredient on anything i give my son. sugar needs to be taxed. it needs to be out of our diets. i would love my kids not to have more sugar, to be honest, because it's spoiling them and it's more about obesity. but even before the introduction of the sugar tax, some manufacturers and retailers have started cutting sugar in their products so that they fall below the level at which the tax kicks in. that means they won't have to increase prices. here's how the new levy will work from tomorrow. a two litre bottle of full sugar cola will cost 48p more. companies who want to avoid it will have to remove at least half the sugar, equivalent to 23 cubes. this slightly less sugary drink will cost 36p more. to get

below the tax threshold, it would need eight cubes removed. tesco has taken its own brands out of the sugar tax net. the maker of robinsons is another to move in that direction. some consumers will always like full sugar, but overall, however you look at the trends, consumers want help to make a healthier choice. the job for us as a drinks brand is to provide that healthier choice in a way that doesn't make them feel like there's any compromise with flavour. some argue that the whole idea of a sugar tax is wrong. taxes should be there to help the functioning and running of governments. they shouldn't be there to be dictating people's choices. it's kind of straying into government overreach, to some degree. the maker of irn—bru faced a backlash from some customers who didn't like the new reduced sugar recipe, and that's a test of the new policy. will people go along with lower sugar drinks, or from tomorrow, will they want to splash out on the less healthy options? hugh pym, bbc news.

it's been a bright start for the home nations on day one of gold coast 2018. 0verall they picked up 18 medals. scotland's ross murdoch was favourite for the 200m breast—stroke, but was pipped to gold by a late surge from england's james wilby. over at the gymnastics, england took gold in the men's team event, while scotland picked up the bronze and this all came after triathlete flora duffy won the first gold of the games for bermuda in the women's triathlon ahead of england's jessica learmouth in second. it leaves the medal table looking like this... england currently lie first, scotland are fifth and wales tenth. the other home teams, northern ireland, jersey, guernsey and the isle of man have yet to get a medal. natalie pirks reports. day one was a day of surprises. everywhere you looked, even in the sky. torrential rain greeted

the men's triathlon, and the clouds would prove ominous for two famous brothers. both the brownlees had been injured in the lead up but it appeared to be business as usual. alistair and jonny side by side as so often before. but it was henri schoeman who then turned up the heat in the run. mark austin, 22nd at the last games, put in a cracking effort to leave himself in medal contention, but the brownlees were dropping further away. where is alistair brownlee? has he been left behind? after four years of dominance, this was a rare sight indeed. well no brownlee one—two here. south african henri schoeman has put paid to that. the brownlees are out of the medals but scotland's marc austin will take the bronze. preparation coming into this has just been perfect so if it wasn't going to happen today, i don't think it would have happened. so i'm just glad i delivered what i could. i knew i was going to struggle on the run. literally i've probably run a handful of times in the last month or something. and yes, i knew i would swim

and bike well but i struggled. injuries are an unfortunate theme at these games. the poster girl for australia, world champion hurdler sally pearson, confirmed she is out with an achilles injury. the best for the home nations was saved until last. scotland's first gold came in the velodrome, courtesy of a new games record by visually impaired cyclist neil fachie. wales's james ball with the silver. and moments later in the pool, england had their first gold. scotland's hannah miley was hotly tipped to win her third consecutive commonwealth title, but she lost the 400 metre medley to aimee willmott. it's never usually good to end the night in tears, but 16—year—old ellie robinson's were of joy. the para swimmer won her first commonwealth title in the 50 metre butterfly. for me, i have won the battle

against like any doubts or the challenges i have faced so it means so much. a night to remember then in the pool, getting a royal seal of approval. natalie pirks, bbc news, the gold coast. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. what a day. sunshinejust what a day. sunshine just about wherever you looked, this was the scene on the kent coast and the satellite picture shows what happened. this is the view from space. what you see here is snow lying around on the hills of scotla nd lying around on the hills of scotland but we have been bringing cloud in from western areas and overnight that cloud will thicken up. we will see outbreaks of rain phenomenon island, west fringes of wales and scotland as well, but further east we keep hold of clearer spells and here it will turn a little bit chilly, perhaps

cold enough in some places for a touch of frost. tomorrow low pressure will be driving the weather, this frontal system pushing to the west but it gets stranded and doesn't make much progress. for central and eastern areas, the most notable central and eastern areas, the most nota ble feature central and eastern areas, the most notable feature of tomorrow's weather will be mild air drawn up from the south on a pretty brisk breeze. northern ireland and western scotla nd breeze. northern ireland and western scotland will see cloud and outbreaks of rain tomorrow but further east spells of sunshine. that sunshine perhaps a little bit hazy at times. it will be windy but look at these temperatures, 17 degrees towards the south—east and in the sunshine that won't feel too bad at all. on saturday a lot of dry weather around, one complication is this area of rain. how to say exactly where it will turn up at this stage, but sunny spells either side and we could get up to 18 degrees in the best of the brightness on saturday. a similar theme into sunday, some to round things up for the weekend it will be mild with sunny spells but rain at times and the chance of some mist

and fog as well. 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. one of the victims of the salisbury poisoning, yulia skripal, has released her first statement since the attack. she says she woke up a week ago and that her strength is growing daily. it comes as russian state television broadcasts an unverified recording of a phone call. it claims yulia skripal tells her cousin in russia that "everything is fine". a bbc investigation has found cladding used at grenfell tower fell short of its claimed safety standard in fire tests — and a uk body that grades building materials wasn't informed. concern over the capital's growing murder rate as two more men die in separate attacks in east london. the suspected burglar who died after a struggle with a pensioner at his home has been named as 37—year—old henry vincent. and a former nhs consultant has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of possessing firearms with intent to endanger life.