man he bettered by phil taylor, the man he mentors, who was to become the greatest of all time. his influence on the sport was huge. he lost his job as a television pundit 18 months ago following social media comments about the victims of barry bennell and the football abuse scandal — something he apologised for. the darts family were always going to forgive him, one of their legends and still such a popular figure on the circuit. there were tears last night — and tributes. there'll be many more. eric bristow, who died last night at the age of 60. time for a look at the weather, here's ben rich. well, after the glorious sunshine of yesterday, today was always go to struggle to match up, more cloud around generally, particularly in the west, some of it quite impressive, a lenticular cloud there from a weather watcher in somerset,

this is close to an area of low pressure on the satellite picture. further east, drawing in some very mild airfrom the further east, drawing in some very mild air from the south, so temperatures through the afternoon in parts of the south—east likely to climb up to the dizzy heights of 18 degrees. with that, some hazy sunshine, a pleasant enough date for a weather watcher in east sussex. some rain in the north west of scotland, blustery winds as well, eastern scotland is not doing so badly. rain tending to clear from northern ireland, leaving sunshine and showers, cloud for the western side of england and wales, confirmation of hazy sunshine down towards the south—east, temperatures up towards the south—east, temperatures up to 18 degrees, although it will be quite breezy. the breeze will tend to ease through the night, some rain across north—west scotland, then a rain across north—west scotland, thenafairamount rain across north—west scotland, then a fair amount of dry weather, mist and fog developing, then in the south—west a fresh clutch of downpours beginning to push in by the end of the night. and that is

because we have a fly in the ointment, a problematic weather front which will wriggle around across the british isles for a good pa rt across the british isles for a good part of the weekend, actually, and along that weather front we will see pulses of moisture from the south to the north, so blobs of rain, essentially, moving northwards through the weekend. on saturday, some uncertainty about this, but it looks likely we will see rain across the midlands, the north of england, some of its heavy, tending to ease into the afternoon. elsewhere, generally large amounts of cloud, scotla nd generally large amounts of cloud, scotland and northern ireland are some sunny scotland and northern ireland are some sunny spells, glimmers of brightness towards the south—east, and wherever you are it will feel very mild. this wriggling weather front will still be with us into sunday, pulses of moisture, pulses of energy running along it, so it looks likely that we will see another area of showery rain drifting in towards the south on sunday. again, mist and fog patches to start the day, but i am hopeful that the cloud will break up to give one 01’ that the cloud will break up to give one or two spells of sunshine, and

again temperatures not doing badly at all, 30 degrees in edinburgh, a high of 15 london. so not looking too bad through the weekend, generally mild, generally quite cloudy as well, but if you are lucky you will get some sunshine, some rain at times, so not matching up to the sunshine of yesterday, but not too bad. a reminder of our main story this lunchtime: a sugar tax comes into force, increasing the price of many soft drinks, as part of a government drive to tackle obesity. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello there you're watching bbc news the time is 1:33pm. i'm ollie foster at the bbc sports centre. it has been another good day for the home

nations at the commonwealth games. katie archibald has won gold for scotla nd katie archibald has won gold for scotland in the 3000 metre individual pursuit. she claimed her first commonwealth title. she has w011 first commonwealth title. she has won olympic and european titles. earlier in the day, archibald had set a new games record. her older brother, john, one silver. scotland are fourth in the medal table. sarah va izey are fourth in the medal table. sarah vaizey beat the favourite in the pool in the 50 metre breaststroke final. she pushed the jamaican into silver. early this morning, there was a first gold at the games for wales. gareth evans winning. the former pension decorator was very quick to thank his coach there.

wales are ninth in the table. the second round of the masters is just getting under at augusta. the 20 15th winnerjordan spieth leads the way after the first round. he's on six under after a row of five birdies ina six under after a row of five birdies in a row on the back nine at augusta. it is golf‘s first master of the year. tiger woods is won over in his first major in over two yea rs. in his first major in over two years. scotland's hopes of qualifying for next year's women's world cup have been hit after losing one nil to switzerland. england and wales play each other tonight at southampton‘s st mary's stadium. england recently finished second at the petition in the united states. his side are currently a point behind wales who top group one but they do have a game in hand. the games in america were great for me asa games in america were great for me as a learning curve in terms of getting to know my players understand that that they are rats.

and learning about the standard of the other teams in the world. —— that they are at. wales are top of the group so we have to make sure by the group so we have to make sure by the end of play on friday we are at the end of play on friday we are at the top of the group, where we believe we should be. daniel riccardo have topped the time sheets ahead of this we can's bahrain grand prix. this is the bahrain international circuit. britain's lewis hamilton was more than one second off the pace in fifth. immediately behind sebastien bettel who won the opening race of the season who won the opening race of the season a fortnight ago in australia. conor mcgregor has been charged with assault and criminal mischief by the new york city police. the former ufc champion was one of a group of men alleged to have vandalised bus containing rivalfighters alleged to have vandalised bus containing rival fighters on thursday. the irishman handed himself into police. he faces a

judge later today. the footage on social media appears to show mcgregor throwing a trolley at the bus, smashing a window. ufc says two fighters were injured and they have been removed from saturday's. mean things i said, people each other's faces and grab each other and do things like that. it is completely normal. we always contain it and handle it as part of the business but what happened today was criminal. disgusting, despicable, it makes me sick and we as an organisation need to make sure that this never happens again. that is all the sport for now. much, much more on the bbc sport website. lots of highlights on there of the best of highlights on there of the best of day two of the commonwealth games on the gold coast and also there will be a live text covering the master is pretty soon as they tee

off in the second round at augusta. we will have a place for you throughout the rest of the afternoon on bbc news. thanks. you're watching bbc news. let's look at some of our main stories today. we will start with the increase in violent crime in london. police say there were eight more stabbings across the capital yesterday. in one incident, a 13—year—old boy was left with serious injuries in newham. this follows two shootings on monday. one of the victims was 17—year—old tanesha melbourne who was shot and killed in tottenham. her brother, hakeem blake, has been talking to our correspondent adina campbell. ijust came up from university like, i don't have a clue. tanesha was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. i don't have a clue, man... time and time i told, i get she's growing up and she wants to be with her and things got the streets

nowadays, it's cold. i don't even know, man. and when did you get to see her afterwards? i saw her... today. sorry. 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. i left two years ago because i realised it's crazy. i left two years ago because i realised it's crazy. every other day, if there's not a stabbing there's a shooting, or something's happening. you know when something happens, retaliation, and it's always just this, that, tit—for—tat. i don't know, man. it's crazy right now. she was your little sister.

willey i loved her. i didn't even get to see her. she loved to sing. i loved her voice. itold her, one day you will be a star. and i promised her that i would take two studios so that she could sing and at least try because not everyone makes it but she had lots of potential. that was the brother speaking about his sister who were shot dead in totte n ha m sister who were shot dead in tottenham on monday. a delivery driver who fantasised about murdering the queen has beenjailed for eight years for attempting to join islamic state. 38—year—old somalian, aweys shikhey, discussed taking part in violentjihad online and was planning to marry a jihadi bride from norway and travel to syria. his fantasies included murdering the queen, the then prime minister david cameron as well as attacking tottenham football fans and jews in north london with ak47 rifles. a cousin of yulia skripal, who was poisoned in the nerve agent

attack in salisbury, says she is sure their phone call yesterday was genuine. viktoria skripal, who lives in moscow, recorded the conversation, which was later broadcast on russian state television. last night she spoke to newsnight‘s gabriel gatehouse: that was the cousin of yulia skripal on the phone there. now interestingly just while we were listening to that interview we have had a statement through from salisbury district hospital and interesting it is worth reading you the bulk of this because it's a statement from the medical director at the statement who says following

intensive media attention yesterday. last thursday i informed you that usually scribble's condition had improved. she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital but any speculation as to when that day would be is just speculation as to when that day would be isjust that, speculation. and that is interesting because in the recording that we were talking about so much yesterday of course two three appears to say she would be out of hospital in a week or so where is the hospital says it is a matter of speculation. in the meantime, the statement goes on, yulia skripal has asked for privacy as she continues to get better and i would ask the media to respect that. there follows then an update on her father, this is the former spy sergei skripal. the hospital says he is responding well to treatment. he

is responding well to treatment. he is no longer in a critical condition. they say that is the end of the update and there will be no more updates that they are aware of. so, yulia skripal, the former spy —— sergei skripal, the former spy, is no longer in a critical condition. yulia skripal will be able to leave hospital at some point but no suggestion when that will be. we will be speaking more to our correspondent in salisbury in the next while. let's just remind ourselves of the latest headlines with the time just gone 145 they be. —— 1:45pm. with the time just gone 145 they be. ——1:45pm. the with the time just gone 145 they be. —— 1:45pm. the former spy sergei skripal is no longer in a critical condition according to a statement just released by the hospital. seven more people were stabbed in london

yesterday including the 13—year—old boy as the series of violent crimes across the capital continues. a new sugar tax of up to twenty four pence a litre comes into force in the uk — in a bid to tackle childhood obesity and tooth decay. i'm ben bland. in the business news... millions of workers will face a threefold increase in their minimum pension contributions from today. the government's raising the amount which will need to be paid into the auto—enrolment schemes. employees will have to pay at least 3% of their income, with employers adding another 2%. britain's economy chalked up solid productivity growth in the last three months of 2017. labour productivity, or output per hour worked, rose by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 the co—operative group has returned to profit after what it called a "year of progress". the group reported a profit of £72m

for 2017, after a loss of £132m the year before when it wrote off the value of its stake in the co—operative bank. when the the apprenticeship levy came into effect last april, the government had high hopes that it would ‘fundamentally change apprenticeships for the better‘. under the new rule, companies with a wage bill of more than £3 billion must pay 0.5% of it to the education and skills funding agency, which is part of the department for education. all very well and good. that's the threshold over which they have to then contribute to the levy if their wage bill is over £3 billion. but a report from the open university shows that £1.28 billion of the £1.39 billion paid by businesses is currently sitting unused in apprenticeship accounts. it isl.28

it is 1.28 not 128! this data has been acquired through a foi request from the education skills and funding agency. it means only 9% of levy funding has been used so far and organisations only have 12 months to use it up before the funding expires. let's talk to david willett, corporate director, the open university. david, if it is there, the money, why is it not being used?” david, if it is there, the money, why is it not being used? i think the money is being used. it is taking a little while for employers to get to grips with how they're going to use the levy and how it will help them develop apprenticeship programmes within their businesses. it has been a fundamental change, it is a new system needs time to bed in. according to this research, 91% of the money that was putting to these apprenticeship accounts is still sitting there. what happens if it

expires, where does it go? ultimately, if the money is not used within two yea rs of if the money is not used within two years of it going in, the education and funding skills agency will take that money back. that money is supporting smaller employers develop apprenticeship programmes as well as large employers. so where do you think the fault lies for this money perhaps not being used as quickly and effectively as it should? perhaps not being used as quickly and effectively as it should ?|j don't really think there is a fault. asi don't really think there is a fault. as i said, there has been a fundamental shift in how we design and deliver and fund apprenticeships in england and that is just taking a little time to bed in. those employers that values in the levy are starting to see transformational changes inside their businesses. for employers who perhaps set some of this money aside and are thinking about how best to use it, what do you think the most effective use of the money would be in terms of aiding apprenticeships? we know the

majority of employers, 92% of employers, are in favour of the apprenticeship levy. what employers are calling for is some more flexibility around how they use the levy. what we have the open university are calling for is a move towards apprenticeships that will give greater flexibility for employers and employers will then be able to design and deliver programmes that really meet their business needs. have you come across any particularly outstanding good examples? there are some great exa m ples examples? there are some great examples and we have the open university are working with a range of employers from micro and small businesses through to some very large corporate, delivering a range of apprenticeship programmes in everything from management and leadership through to health care and we're about to launch some policing apprenticeships as well. thank you very much. the european commissioner commissioner forjustice, vera jourova, will speak to facebook‘s co—founder and chief executive mark zuckerberg next week, according to an eu spokesman. the two will talk on the telephone after facebook admitted that 2.7 million people in the european union may have

had their data improperly shared with cambridge analytica. meanwhile, over in westminster, the digital, culture, media and sport committee has announced that alexander nix, the former boss of political consultancy cambridge analytica, will appear before mps on wednesday 18 april as part of an inquiry into "fake news". cambridge analytica is at the centre of a scandal involving facebook which this week admitted that the data of up to 87 million people was improperly shared with the political consultancy. and scotland's new system of income tax rates and bands has come into force. until today, the structure of the tax system was matched with the rest of the uk, with three bands — a basic rate at 20%, a higher rate at 40% and a 45% top rate. the new scottish system adds a 19% "starter" rate for those on low incomes, as well as a 21% rate for those who earn above the median salary.

it also adds a penny to the higher and top rates, bringing them to 41% and 46%. a lot of numbers there. you can read about it on our website. it's all there for you. a quick look at the markets. a quick look at the markets. stock markets, including the ftse 100, have edged downwards again after us president donald trump's threat to impose an extra $100 billion in tariffs on china exacerbated fears of a more serious trade dispute. on the ftse 100 specifically — retailers were among the worst performers as downgrades from citi sent marks & spencer and next shares down. a bright spot — to be found among utility company stocks like centrica, united utilities and sse. that's all the business news. i will be back in about an hour. next month will mark the first anniversary

of the manchester terror attack. one of the 22 people killed at the ariana grande concert was martyn hett. since martyn's death, his brother daniel has been reflecting on the experience of dealing with grief, and has created a video game about what it's like to lose a sibling. tim muffett has more. exploring grief through a game. he was two years younger than me and we were worlds apart, completely different as people. i'm a lot quieter than he was. just larger than life, life of the party guy, and yeah, we miss him. i created this game in response to everything that i went through last year. it does loosely tell the story of what happened, but it doesn't mention any people or any places, it's more about the experience that i went through. the loss levels consists of many stages. they address the most difficult circumstances imaginable. i was taken into

the room at the time and i knew that ijust had to sit down and be given the news. my parents‘ house the next day, we were quite literally swamped with flowers and cards from strangers. i revisited the arena and saw the roses that were scattered over the floor that marked the victims. you're dealing with grief, with loss. that's quite unusual, it seems, for a videogame to deal with those issues. it is, but there is sort of an untapped strength in video games, and i think as a medium, they are often dismissed, i think. the game will premiere at an exhibition called now play this at somerset house in london. the theme this year is whether gaming can help make sense of the world around us. for my games, i give them away for nothing, so i've produced this game for this exhibition and when it's finished, i will put it online and everyone can experience it in exactly the same way. how cathartic has this been?

yeah, very, very cathartic. i think there's enormous scope for therapy and catharsis in creative work and i don't think videogames are any different. you can use games, even very simplistic one, to explore themes that are notjust shooting and killing. the anniversary of martyn's death is coming up. how have you coped over the past year? it's been a difficult sort of year, of course, but i think everybody is dealing with it in different ways, certainly. for me, keeping busy and making things and doing things that are productive, dealing with stuff is how i've dealt. it's difficult, i'm sure it's going to continue to be difficult but being active in this kind of way is a great help for me. a videogame like no other. almost a year after his death, martyn hett‘s ability to inspire others can still be seen and heard. tim muffett, bbc news. we will catch up with the weather

now. there is generally more cloud today than yesterday but for some of is actually a pretty mild fields of the weather. the satellite shows what is going on. this area of cloud spinning round, an area of pressure. ahead of that low pressure we have bringing mild airfrom the ahead of that low pressure we have bringing mild air from the south. temperatures across the southeast this afternoon getting up to 18 degrees. with that for southern and eastern areas there is at least some hazy sunshine, a different story north and west though. thick cloud for scotland, blustery wind as well, brighterfor

for scotland, blustery wind as well, brighter for eastern scotland. some range stretching into north—west england before northern ireland brightening up this afternoon. sunshine hefty showers. the odd spot of rain at further east where we get the best of the hazy sunshine, that is where the temperatures could get up is where the temperatures could get up to 17 or18 is where the temperatures could get up to 17 or 18 degrees. during tonight rain will persist across the of scotland, a lot of dry weather to be found no. mist and fog patches will develop and in the south—west another clutch of downpours shows its hand in the night. it will be milder out there between five and 9 degrees and the wind will ease through the night. tomorrow we could start off with mist and fog but then afairamount of start off with mist and fog but then a fair amount of dry weather. generally quite a lot of cloud but we also have this area of rain that will move across wales into the midlands and north of england. some of it will be heavy, petering out as the afternoon goes on. scotland,

northern ireland and the south—east of england a little bit of brightness coming through, double digit temperaturesjust brightness coming through, double digit temperatures just about where you are. as we move through saturday into sunday this weather front wriggles around, pulses of moisture along it. we're likely to see another batch of rain on sunday, a bit of uncertainty at this stage about exactly where. generally lots of cloud around on the odd shower but if you are lucky that will break up but if you are lucky that will break upa but if you are lucky that will break up a little bit to show the odd sunny spells and temperatures doing quite well. 13 degrees in edinburgh, 12 in cardiff. to sum things up this weekend it will feel mild, often cloudy but some glimmers of brightness. rain at times. a mixed picture but it will feel mild. hello.

you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at 2pm: sergei skripal, poisoned alongside his daughter in the salisbury attack, is improving rapidly and is now no longer critical in hospital. calls for communities to mobilise against knife crime after yet more attacks in london. a sugar tax comes into force, increasing the price of many soft drinks, as part of a government drive to help tackle obesity. coming up on afternoon live: all the sport. with azi and the latest from the commonwealth games. good afternoon, simon. i will be speaking about sibling rivalry at the game, where katie and john archibald have both won muddles in australia's gold coast. tahti won muddles in australia's gold coast. ta hti took won muddles in australia's gold coast. tahti took gold whilst her all the brother took silver in the

men's 4000 metre individual pursuit.