tonight at ten — yulia skripal, one of two victims of the nerve agent attack in salisbury, makes her first public statement since falling critically ill. she and her father sergei were poisoned a month ago. se says she's getting stronger by the day. at the united nations, moscow warns britain it's pursuing a dangerous course by accusing russia of being behind the attack. translation: we have told our british colleagues that you're playing with fire and you'll be sorry. but britain said russia was playing fast and loose with global security. also tonight. the latest teenage victim of a spate of killings in the capital — two people 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. and a successful and emotional day for the home teams at the commonwealth games in australia. this isn't about winning a medal, or winning a gold for me,

i've won the battle against any doubts, all the challenges that i've faced. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, arsenal take control of their europa league quarterfinal against cska moscow, thanks in part to aaron ramsey. good evening. yulia skripal, poisoned alongside her father sergei by a nerve agent in salisbury last month, has issued herfirst public statement since the attack. she said she was getting stronger by the day, thanked medical staff and members of the public who'd helped them, and described the whole affair as "somewhat disorientating". tonight, moscow's ambassador to the united nations has made a strongly worded speech, rebuffing the uk's accusation that russia was behind the attack, and accusing london of poisoning

russia's relations with other countries. here's our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. it's just do the four weeks since sergei skripal and yulia were found poisoned by no jake —— nerve agent on this bench in salisbury, four weeks since they've lain critically ill, at times and a cobra. but today, mr skripal revealed she at least is on the mend. in a statement, she said, i woke up over a week ago now and i'm glad to say my strength is growing vaguely. i'm grateful for the interest in my strength is growing vaguely. i'm gratefulfor the interest in me and for the many messages of goodwill i've 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 stuff of salisbury district hospital for

their care and added, i'm sure you appreciate the entire episode is somewhat disorientating and i hope that you will respect my privacy and that you will respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence. today, russian television broadcast an unverified recording of an alleged phone call between yulia skripal and her cousin, victoria. she is hoping to come to britain to visit mr skripal with the help of russian diplomats, if british officials are prepared to risk giving her a reason. in london, the russian ambassador welcomed the news that yulia skripal was recovering. are really happy and i hope that sergei skripal will also recover and i'm quite sure that one day yulia will come back to moscow. butty once again denied any russian involvement in the attack. so amid the claims and counterclaims, what's the claims and counterclaims, what's the uk case? theresa may says the substance used is novichok, a type

of nerve agent developed by russia. british scientists say this grade can only be made by a nation state but they don't say which one. instead its secret intelligence that the government says implicates russia. the conclusion that has the international support of dozens of countries. russia rejects this and says britain lacks real evidence. it denies ever producing novichok, and says other countries could have done so. says other countries could have done so. it's requested samples of the substance for testing and its called for russian officials to be involved inajoint for russian officials to be involved in a joint investigation. at the united nations this evening, there we re united nations this evening, there were smiles between ambassadors come but not for long, as russia accused britain of fabricating intelligence to question the legitimacy of the russian state. translation: couldn't you come up with a better fake story? we all know what the worth of british intelligence information is, based on the experience of tony blair. we have told our british colleagues

that you are playing with fire and you will be sorry. britain in turn accused russia of playing fast and loose with international security. we cannot ignore what has happened in salisbury. we cannot ignore russia turning a blind eye to the use of chemical weapons in syria and in salisbury, and we cannot ignore the way that russia seeks to undermine the international institutions which have kept us safe since the end of the second world war. this confrontation between britain and russia is not over yet, not by a long chalk. james landale, bbc news. to get more on today's developments, we will talk in a moment to steve rosenberg in moscow, and to leila nathoo in salisbury, but first to our north america editorjon sopel in washington. it was a stormy session at the un? yes, and the russians have ready straightforward agenda, broadly, weather was clean water, muddy yet,

when i was clean air, blow as much quantity of industrial smokers you can. the russian ambassador a mixture of sarcasm to pick holes in the case. he said, where was the evidence. he betrayed russia as a victim in this, part of the conspiracy to discredit moscow, he said. on the british ambassador it was a much less theatrical performance, a recitation of the fa cts , performance, a recitation of the facts, if you like, and she said she was happy to leave it to the office for the prohibition of chemical weapons to do their investigation. russia has said it's not going to accept the conclusions because they are not part of the investigating team, what to which the british ambassador said that would rather be like asking an arsonist to investigate his own fire. the agenda from the russians can broadly be summarised in two words today, sow doubt. here in moscow they saw the un security council mix meeting as

an important platform, for voicing russian alternative views on the salisbury attack and for deflecting criticism and undermining britain's accusations and we've seen russia doing a lot of that in recent days. publicly promoting its narrative that the russian state is the victim and not the perpetrator and certainly the view from moscow tonight is that russians have the british authorities on the back foot. for example they point to political infighting in the uk over salisbury, and with all the conspiracy theories bubbling up originating here, certainly the feeling is that russia is determined to keep denying culpability for the salisbury poisoning. now that yulia skripal is recovering here at salisbury hospital to the extent that she is awake, she is talking, clearly aware of what has happened to her, it's clear that she is now going to become central to both the diplomatic tussle and the police investigation. today, we have the russian ambassador to london

saying that he hoped yulia would be able to provide some answers, stressing again that moscow wanted consular stressing again that moscow wanted c0 nsu la i’ a ccess stressing again that moscow wanted consular access to her. the foreign office meanwhile saying that offer had been conveyed to yulia who is able to make our own decisions now, but it's not yet been accepted. police are clearly hoping that yulia will be able to shed some light on her father's movements, will be able to shed some light on herfather‘s movements, her movements on that day more than a month ago, how they became exposed to that military gay nerve agent. yulia making better progress than her father, yulia making better progress than herfather, —— yulia making better progress than her father, —— the yulia making better progress than herfather, —— the military grade nerve agent. sergei skripal is in a critical condition in hospital. thank you very much. david lammy, the labour mp for tottenham, has said that the level of violence in london is the worst he's ever known. it comes after the latest victim was named as israel ogunsola — an 18—year—old who was fatally stabbed on a street in hackney yesterday evening. it brings to more than 50 the number of people killed in the capital this year. adina campbell reports. tributes for the latest victim

killed in london. 18—year—old israel ogunsola died last night after being stabbed here in hackney will. he was studying at a local academy. friends say he was popular, warm and humble. his body was found in this alleyway. as day by day the number of victims of violent crime keep rising. last night, also in the area, a man in his 50s died after being assaulted, and earlier this week 17—year—old tanesha melbourne was killed in a drive—by shooting a few miles away in tottenham. speaking exclusively to the bbc, her brother says the family are devastated. to the bbc, her brother says the family are devastatedlj to the bbc, her brother says the family are devastated. ijust came

up family are devastated. ijust came up from university, like, i don't have a clue. tanesha was in the wrong place at the wrong time. i don't have a clue, man. time and timei don't have a clue, man. time and time i told her, i get she's growing up, she wants to be with her friends and things, but the streets nowadays, it's cold. i don't know, man. and when did you get to see her afterwards ? man. and when did you get to see her afterwards? i saw her today. how bad are the problems in london at the moment, particularly in areas where you live? it's crazy at the moment, that's why i left will stop i left like two years ago. i realised it's crazy. every other day

there is a stabbing, or a shooting, oi’ there is a stabbing, or a shooting, or something is happening. when something happens, it's always tit—for—tat. i don't know, man. something happens, it's always tit—for—tat. idon‘t know, man. it's crazy right now. i loved her, you know. i didn't get to see her. she loved to sing. i loved her voice. i told her, one day you will be a star. and i promised that i would ta ke to star. and i promised that i would take to studios so she could sing and at least try, because not eve ryo ne and at least try, because not everyone makes it but she had lots of potential. this stuff needs to end, seriously. like i'm coming from someone end, seriously. like i'm coming from someone who is actually felt that kind of pain. 23-year-old you land has posted this video on facebook. speaking ina has posted this video on facebook. speaking in a park in tottenham, she says she personally knew some of

this week's victims. seeing that there's so much death this year alone, it got me annoyed. i kind of had to vent it. it doesn'tjust affect our generation, it's affecting everyone involved. and local mp david lammy also says he's had enough. it'sjust 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 is unacceptable. why is life in my constituency worth less than lives in other parts of the country? if all these young people had died in a leafy shires they'd be all over it. and those in charge say they are frustrated over the lack of action. that's why a game today i've called on the prime minister to meet with me. it's been six weeks since i made my first request, she said no. meet with me to discuss how we can

solve this urgently. it won't be solved overnight, i accept that. complex issues are responsible for the increase in knife crime and gun crime, it's a national problem. tonight, more violence on the capital's streets. in bow, three young men including two aged 15 have been taken to hospital in a stabbing there. while in ealing, west london, a man has been stabbed. the metropolitan police says the number is not unusually high. adina campbell, bbc news, in hackney. now, the government today said they are consulting on new laws to deal with offensive weapons — and a serious violence strategy is due to be published within days. but ministers accept that more will be needed if they are to deal with the gang—related violence thought to be behind the rise in killings in london. our home editor mark easton reports. the spread of london killings this year has been compared to a virus, and the spike in young people stabbed and shot in the capital should be treated in the same way we would tackle a public health emergency.

senior police officers know that one killing in the headlines can spread fear, making it more likely scared young men will carry weapons and potentially use them. killing can be contagious. here in glasgow, for more than a decade, they've been successfully reducing gang violence by treating it like a disease. i remember saying it would be a good thing to get a thousand extra police officers, it would be really clever to get a thousand extra health visitors, that would be the smart thing to do. if you want to prevent it, it's intergenerational. what are we doing right now about the men in prison? because they're also fathers. what are we doing about them? are we just locking them up at the cheapest cost and doing nothing about rehabilitation? that's silly. a uk survey found inordinately high levels of mental health problems among gang members, often young men for whom the slightest provocation can trigger extreme violence. tonight, scotland yard said they were working with social media platforms to prevent their content pushing people over the edge. i think some of the things that have

changed, we see very quickly small issues becoming big issues. we see social media being used, where some of these offences are glamorised and people are provoked into reprisals. i think those are some of the reasons about why this is happening. he's 16, he's been stabbed. the youth charity redthread, partly funded by the government, has been working in the emergency units of london hospitals, talking to the victims of gang violence and helping them find a different path. today, in nottingham, the charity launched a new service to try to deal with the gang problems in that city. we know that the young people we see often are very entrenched in these cycles of violence and we know that violence begets violence as well, so they've been exposed to it and they're involved in violent behaviour perhaps, so if we can interrupt them in a really vulnerable moment when actually they are frightened, they are alone, they are in pain — it sounds terrible, but actually it's a really good moment to say

to them it doesn't have to be like this and there are ways to change and ways to develop. the causes of youth crime are complex and so are the solutions. a tough criminaljustice approach may foil individual acts of violence, but it can also infect communities with resentment and distrust that are the breeding grounds of the gangsters. mark easton, bbc news. a brief look at some of the day's other other news stories: the green party has launched its campaign ahead of next month's english local elections, urging an end to what it calls "one—party state councils". it wants to see a green on every council in future. the party is also predicting big gains on the 3rd of may, when seats on 150 councils are up for grabs. a former a&e consultant has been jailed for 12 years for possessing firearms, including three sub—machine guns and ammunition, with intent to endanger life. martin watt had also written a hit—list of people he blamed for his sacking from a hospital in airdrie in 2012.

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. 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. and i walked past the telly, and i noticed the fire. peter, not his real name, has worked on some of britain's biggest construction projects. not grenfell, but the fire, providing.

ijust 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. crucial questions about reynobond pe, the panels of plastic sandwiched with aluminium, which might have resulted in them not being considered for a project like grenfell tower. but first, you need to know this — the standard european test of a material's reaction to fire gives it a rating. ai 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 years before grenfell, a french testing body, the cstb gave the cladding an e classification, possibly because the testing process wasn't fully completed. another result was classed 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? well, 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'd 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 tests, 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, "we previously provided the classification results to various customers and certification authorities, and they were also posted on the cstb's publicly available website." 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 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's one possible reason. we can reveal that halfway through the grenfell refurbishment, 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 types. 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 enquiry are now investigating why this product was used. tom symonds, bbc news, g re nfell tower. police have named the intruder

fatally stabbed at the home of a pensioner in south east london. he's henry vincent. the 37—year—old from kent was wanted by police for questioning about other burglaries. pensioner richard osborn—brooks has been released on police bail. the bollywood superstar salman khan has been jailed for five years for poaching a rare antelope in 1998. khan killed two blackbucks, a protected species, in the western state of rajasthan while shooting a film. the actor has been acquitted three times before over the crime and can appeal against this jail sentence. the government's tax on sugary drinks comes into force tomorrow. the cost of some drinks will go up by as much as 24p a litre. but a number of companies have reduced the sugar content of their recipes to escape the new levy, as our health editor hugh pym explains. it's part of a government plan to tackle obesity, and supermarkets are already getting the message out there. some soft drinks 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, so sugar needs to be taxed, it needs to be out of our diets. i'll allow 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 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 and robinsons are among brands to have taken products out

of the sugar tax net, so too lucozade ribena, whose factory was visited by a minister today, promising more action. the government have published a comprehensive obesity strategy, of which the soft drinks is levy was an important element. and we've said that that isn't the end of the process, it's the beginning. and we're looking at all options, including advertising. some argue 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 a sort of government overreach to some degree. reduced sugar drinks may not appeal to everyone's taste, some customers said that about irn—bru. others argued the tax will hit low income families hardest. from tomorrow, the full impact will start becoming clear. hugh pym, bbc news. in the last half hour, it has been

announced, the five time world darts champion eric bristow has died after suffering a heart attack. he was 60. bristow — known as the crafty cockney — dominated darts in the 1980s and helped popularise the game on television. he famously mentored and supported phil ‘the power‘ taylor who was to go on and become world champion himself by beating bristow in the 1990 final. the us masters got underway this afternoon with spain's sergio garcia hoping to defend his title, that was until the 15th hole, asjoe wilson explains. wejoin sergio garcia, the defending masters champion on the 15th hole at augusta, and we will remain with him on the 15th hole, that'sjust augusta, and we will remain with him on the 15th hole, that's just the start. that, again, is wet. his idea, get the ball to pick and roll

back to the hole. the trouble is, once you go past the flag, there is just the descent. slowly, surely, the slippery slope. sergio... these are not replay is, this is one of the world's best golfers on the cars where he achieved his finest moment 12 months ago. when you fail, it's a penalty. go back and try again. sergio heading into double figures. in total, he found the water five times with every disappearing ball so times with every disappearing ball so vanished garcia's hopes in the tournament. he deserves some credit for finally tournament. he deserves some credit forfinally finishing tournament. he deserves some credit for finally finishing the hole inverting. jo wilson, bbc news. it has been the first day of action at the commonwealth games. there has been disappointment for england's brownlee brothers in the triathalon. but elsewhere, there was success for most of the home nations in cycling, swimming and gymnastics. natalie pirks reports from the gold coast. dayi 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 brownlee1—2 here. south african henri schoeman has put paid to that. the brownlees are out of the medals, but scotland's mark 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've happened. so, i'mjust glad i delivered what i could. i knew i was going to struggle on the run. ijust literally have probably just run a handful of times

in the last month or something. and i knew i'd swim in back well, but i struggled. injuries are an unfortunate theme at these games. the poster girl for australia, world champion hurdler sally pearson confirmed she's out with an achilles injury. no such worries for 11—year—old anna hursey, wales's youngest ever competitor at a senior event, won her doubles match in the table tennis. astonishing how she already looks at home on the big stage. 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, this isn't about winning a medal or winning a gold. for me, i've won the battle against any doubts, all the challenges i've 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. so, after the first day of the games, england lead the medal table with six golds and 12 medals overall. scotland are fifth, with one gold and five medals, with wales making the top ten with a silver medal. let's join natalie now on the gold coast. what can we expect from the games in the coming hours? it's another very