this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm. richard osborn—brooks — arrested on suspicion of murdering a suspected burglar — has been released without charge. sergei skripal, the former russian spy, is no longer in a critical condition and is responding well to treatment. the foreign office has refused his niece a visa to come to the uk and visit her relatives in hospital. the met police commissioner offers reassurance to londoners, after a string of murders. we have not lost control of the streets. i understand why some people are worried. in particularly in some areas of london. palestinian sources say israeli troops have killed at least six people and wounded more than 400, in renewed violence on gaza's border with israel. campaigners have hailed the introduction of a tax on sugary soft drinks. also in the next hour, controversy at the sumo wrestling. the head of japan's sumo association has apologised after two women were ordered to leave the ring where they were performing

life—saving first aid. it is my understanding people to guess there's an angry spirit. is that true? and, martin freeman stars in the horror anthology ghost stories — as a play it left audiences on the edge of their seats. find out whatjames king made of the big screen version in the film review. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a pensioner who was arrested on suspicion of murder, after a struggle with a burglar at his home in south london, has been told by police that no further action will be taken against him. richard osborn—brooks, who's 78, was detained after the incident at the property in hither green, on wednesday morning. our correspondent simon jones is with me now.

just a little bit more about this. richard osborn—brooks contacted the police in the early hours of wednesday morning to say there were two intruders inside his house. it is thought that one of the intruders was armed with a screwdriver and had threatened the pensioner. the police then said there was a struggle that followed, and in that one of the suspected burglars who has been named as henry vincent from kent was stabbed. he was bound a short time later in the street, a short distance away from home. he was rushed to hospital were based admin to his upper body. he could not be saved. after that, the police arrested the pensioner on suspicion initially of grievous bodily harm, but then on suspicion of murder and question him over that. but we have heard that they are not going to

ta ke heard that they are not going to take any further action against him in this case. what does the law say about the situation like this? in this case. what does the law say about the situation like thi57m in this case. what does the law say about the situation like this? it is all about reasonable force. the law says any householder has the right to defend themselves if they are people for their own safety. the question is, what is reasonable? the law was clarified back in 2013 and during that time it is said that if someone during that time it is said that if someone is in genuine fearfor their own safety, in the moment they can use what is considered to be reasonable force, even if in the cold light of day that might seem disproportionate to stop the key thing in terms of the law and that cannot be grossly disproportionate. for example, if you're then intruder in your house who is an armed, apache you use a gun on them, the law may well consider that to be grossly disproportionate. generally, ifa grossly disproportionate. generally, if a homeowner picks up a weapon if they are in genuine fear and often that will not result in them being prosecuted. there has been some

insight into government thinking on this, and now a decision by the met. they said, before they made this decision, the government's synthase well with who resorted to house... householders who resist. the met police in expanding their decision today said they had informed the family of the suspected burglar who had been killed, and they also said it was right and proper for them to thoroughly investigate deaths. they defended their decision to arrest him on suspicion of murder. they said it was right that this investigation took place. there was of course an outcry following that from neighbours, who felt this was unfair. there was even fund—raising for the pensioner, and a lot of tabloid headlines about this. it appears now in consideration of this, along with the crown prosecution service, they have decided in this case is that it amounted to reasonable force. the former russian agent, sergei skripal, is no longer in a critical condition, and is responding well to treatment.

he's recovering at salisbury district hospital, after being poisoned with a nerve agent last month. his daughter yulia, who was also attacked, said yesterday she is gaining strength daily. britain has refused to grant a visitors' visa to mr skripal‘s niece, victoria. a government source told the bbc it appeared russia was trying to use her "as a pawn". our home affairs correspondent leila nathoo reports. targeted with a chemical weapon, sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were exposed to nerve agent, a toxic chemical designed to shut down the human body. today, the hospital gave this update. as yulia herself says, her strength is growing daily and she cannot forward to the day when she can leave hospital. i also want to update you on the condition of her father sergei. he is improving rapidly and no longer in a

critical condition. 0n the 11th of march, the two were found incapacitated in the centre of salisbury, critically ill. a police officer one of the first to respond to the incident was also admitted to hospital and discharged a fortnight later. last week, yulia regained consciousness and now her father appears to be making progress. it's fantastic news and somewhat unexpected. we heard earlier this week that yulia is getting better and to hear that sergei is recovering well is also great news and i hope to hear more in the coming week. in a statement, the foreign office has said... yulia skripal is communicating, yesterday she put out a statement

saying she was getting stronger daily. it's not sure whether sergei scrip out is recovering to the same extent. they will now become crucial witnesses in an investigation which is one of the most competent and largest the police have ever undertaken. earlier our political reporter jessica parker spoke to us from salisbury district hospital. this afternoon, we had a statement from the medical director here at salisbury district hospital. in it, she said what was the key point, i wa nt to she said what was the key point, i want to update you on the condition of sergei skripal. he is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly

and is no longer in a critical condition. this comes a day after we heard a statement directly from yulia that she was going stronger by the day. she had been awake for over a week, and she also thanked the people at salisbury for helping her and her father i people at salisbury for helping her and herfather i neverfound incapacity to it on a park bench. this is quite a turnaround, give it was two weeks ago when we heard from courts when a judge was granting chemical weapons inspectors the right to take blood samples at the power but both heavily sedated. sergei skripal unable to can indicate, yulia unable to communicate in any meaningful way. a major change in their condition over recent weeks. special issue will now turn in terms of what it could mean for the investigation, how much the pair might be able to help with that investigation, and there has been immediate reaction stop i will tell you what we have had from the russian embassy. we were told today they welcomed the news of progress

and sergei skripal‘s recovery. they say they are grateful to the medical staff treating him and his daughter. they wished them well to get well $0011. they wished them well to get well soon. they also said we are confident that an objective probe will ultimately establish the claims against russia by the uk government are null and void. that gives you a sense of the heightened sensitivity around any news coming out from salisbury district hospital about the condition of the two patients. we also heard from the uk foreign and commonwealth office who also say they are pleased that both patients are improving. this is a tribute, they say, to the hard—working and talented nhs staff insult me who have provided outstanding care, but they also add, letters be clear, this was attempted murder using an illegal chemical weapon that we know russia possesses. the head of the metropolitan police has rejected accusations that the force has lost control of london's streets. following a string of murders in the capital,

commissioner cressida dig said it wasn't a time for blame, but for working together, although she did admit her officers were ‘stretched'. our community affairs correspondent adina campbell has this assessment of the mood of londoners following the series of violent incidents over the last month. after spending most of this week jumping from one community to the next and speaking to people impacted by this rising level of gun and knife crime in london, there were two things that we keep hearing time and again. some people say they feel forgotten and others believe that the police have lost control. many of the incidents are happening in poorer communities here in the capital. some people believe that more stop and searches should be taking place to ensure that people feel less vulnerable and better protected. police have said today that measures are in place, and action is being taken. as every day

passes, but more victims, one thing is for sure. this problem will not be solved overnight. well we can speak now to james treadwell, who's a professor of criminology from staffordshire university, who's written that the spike in violent crime in london can't be solved by a new york police crackdown. professor treadwelljoins us live from our studio in birmingham. thank you forjoining us. how useful are those comparisons between the murder rate in london and that of new york? i think that is somewhat ofa new york? i think that is somewhat of a red herring. the press have been the quickly seize on the fact that the murder rate in london is higher than in new york. but it is a berry short—term thing. it has happened over two months. new york in many ways is not the benchmark for the united states of america more generally. in some ways it is a good comparison for london, because of size, there are some similarities. i think we somewhat

get lost if we start to think that in london the problems are in any way like those based on the united states of america. which are the statistics that are useful in trying to understand what is happening in london? i don't think it is necessarily about statistics. normally if you look at murder rates, for example, you see the united states and its violent crime rate generally at its homicide rate is much higher than the united kingdom. that is partly about the availability of firearms. that is not to deny that london is going through some very specific problems. we often ask why that is. i think cressida dig has been very savvy in saying that the police are stretched. the reality is austerity are starting to bite, and that is not just impacting in are starting to bite, and that is notjust impacting in terms of the impact on the metropolitan police who have been forced to make enormous cost savings. it is also

about the cutting of the social welfare services to jog people that very often act to prevent violence and to intervene before violence players and before it happens. talking about the responses to these numbers of deaths in a moment, but what are you noticing about the people who are affected by this sort of crime? one of the things that is interesting is that when we gather a whole array of murders, what is sometimes heading is the diversity, and yes it is certainly true that all young men on the streets of london in poor areas, knife violence is happening quite frequently at the moment. what when we look at the 50 plus murders that have occurred, we also see domestic homicides, the murder of a 68 old russian oligarch, who is very much linked to the russian state, we have a murder in a prison of a 25 man. although there area number of

prison of a 25 man. although there are a number of murders, they are actually quite diverse and different. the headlines or highlight of youth involvement and involvement of young men carrying knives, but we ought not to forget that in the united kingdom, two women a week are killed by a partner of former partner. murder, while it disproportionally impacts upon and is perpetrated both by and against young men in deprived areas, murder is very varied and of those murders in london, the 50 plus, there is a lock and advise them as well as unites them. the temptation then for police forces is to reach for the old zero tolerance method, to put more officers on the street. maybe resort to stop and search. how effective our business is going to be, what are the alternatives, giving the cuts to funding?” be, what are the alternatives, giving the cuts to funding? i think thatis giving the cuts to funding? i think that is the problem. what really is

effective in dealing with bias is violence prevention. that comes before anybody has been stabbed and before anybody has been stabbed and before joining before anybody has been stabbed and beforejoining have picked up nice. 0ne beforejoining have picked up nice. one of the things that is quite interesting, particularly in this case about the framing of the continent, is not reaching for that asa continent, is not reaching for that as a solution. the problem with zero tolerance and tolerance and stop and search is we know full well that what it is not very effective when it comes to finding weapons, and we also know that it really does damage these community relations. it makes that community and intelligence led policing harder in the long—term. it could cause more problems than it solves is a quick response. to cite new york style zero tolerance and essentially look at stop and search is the solution is very short—sighted. is the solution is very short-sighted. thank you very much for talking to us. we will have the interview with the

police commissioner later. and we'll find out how this story, and many others, are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are torcuil crichton, political editor at the daily record, and lynn davidson, whitehall correspondent at the sun. a 16—year—old boy is among at least six people killed, during protests on gaza's border with israel. troops opened fire on the protesters attempting to breach the frontier fence. last week, hundreds of palestinians were injured and more than a dozen killed, in the bloodiest day of violence since the war in gaza four years ago. the un's high commissioner for human rights has called on israel to stop the use of what it called ‘excessive force'. in policing the green line fence, israeli security forces are required by international human rights law to respect the rights to peaceful assembly and expression used to the extent possible nonviolent means to

discharge their duties. the un commissioner speaking earlier. the headlines on bbc news: richard 0sborn—brooks — arrested on suspicion of murdering a suspected burglar, has been released without charge. sergei skripal, the former russian spy is no longer in a critical condition and is responding well to treatment. the met police commissioner offers reassurance to londoners, after a string of murders. time now for the sport. you sound surprised. good evening. the second—round of the masters is under way at augusta, the course is continuing to really test with the leaderboard ever changing. continuing to really test with the leaderboa rd ever changing. we continuing to really test with the leaderboard ever changing. we have an outright leader in patrick reed, the american having the round of the day with a birdie on his first three holes. that will cause trouble for

many. he is six under, leading. mark leishman sa shots behind him and having a good round. meanwhile northern ireland post by rory mcavoy has had a topsy—turvy round with plenty of birdies and bogeys. he is now challenging for the lead, currently four under par. two shots behind patrick reed. this is how the leaderboard looks. it is a who's who of golf. henrik stenson making a move on three under. jordan spieth, the al-qaeda leader yesterday, had a wonderful round yesterday, a tricky round so far in the second round. we shall be keeping you up—to—date throughout the evening as to what is happening at the masters. manchester city can win the premier league title tomorrow if they beat manchester united with six games to spare, it will be the earliest 18 has ever won the title. pep guardiola is not allowed the derby state is to distract him or his team from the big prize. it is quite

close to be champion. we have had the chance. it is a true incidence occurs and is a derby, but it does not matter. we don't prepare the season to to win the premier league, so the situation is what it is. we just focus on what we have to do to win the game. meanwhile england spotlight women are in action against wales in a world cup qualifier this evening. wells came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half, when natasha harding's effort was cleared, but replay showed the ball may have cost line. no goal—line technology being used at saint mary ‘s evening. that was not a given. here are live pictures. it is still without a goal at the moment, 59 minutes. it is better say it is definitely been more england one—way traffic any a lot of part of the match. they have d eftly lot of part of the match. they have deftly been dominating the game. they should be looking at their ranking. they ranked second in the

welcomer wales 34. but no goals at the moment. it has been a good day for the home teams in the commonwealth games with gold for scotland, england and wales. katie archibald beat as julia scotland, england and wales. katie archibald beat asjulia popped back competitor in the women' thousand metres. that gave scotland their second gold of the games. doi it means so much. it is a nice feeling. i feel uncomfortable with that. but with this event, it means so much. pa rt with this event, it means so much. part older brotherjohn could not replicate the winner with his gold medal match. he missed out and he meant what thousand metre pursuit to england's charlie ca nfield. meant what thousand metre pursuit to england's charlie canfield. gareth evans one wales spotlight first gold. he was working as a painter and decorator before and has had to fight funding issues just reaches

third commonwealth games. the sealed first place in the podium many 69 kilo category. england continued their good start to the competition in the pool with sarah basie picked up in the pool with sarah basie picked upa in the pool with sarah basie picked up a surprise gold in the 60 metre breastmilk. world record—holder also won gold for england in the f9 backstroke. tamara and pda will look to add to the tally when he races in the final of the watford metres breast stroke. jimmy wright and had mixed fortunes at the clock if our supine on the day ahead of this week's grand prix. the 2007 formula 1 world champion was just 100th of a second behind his team—mate. there we re second behind his team—mate. there were red faces of this pariah its crew toward the end of the second session after they sent him out without securing his wheel. lewis hamilton could only manage fifth fastest. more than a second half a second father of the pace. that is only spot for now. just like that is

all the sport. the nub of prisoners in england and wales had dropped to its lowest level for more than seven years. it coincides with a sharp rise in the number of offenders released early. in england and wells there are 3028 prisoners wearing tax. that is an increase of more than 1007 months. the ministry ofjustice says there are 83,617 people locked up. that's down 2,000 in four months. welljoining us now is ian lawrence. he's the general secretary of the national association the number of people currently in prison. there are always ghastly number goes up, should we be automatically pleased when the number comes down? a reduction in the prison publishing welcome. picking up on the story earlier, my

concern is the people who are being released with electronic tags is all well and good, but it does not provide the home solution to preventing reoffending. what are the differences between how male and female inmates are treated and the reason is that they are imprisoned's 0lley if you look at any number of reports, independent reports that tell you there are far too many women in the prison population. doi party many people in prison generally. people who output on tagging should be given the right levels of supervision. that is my worry. a tag will not tell you or the judiciary worry. a tag will not tell you or thejudiciary or anyone worry. a tag will not tell you or the judiciary or anyone how this particular offender is running their life, a change in circumstances, so we need a company of tagging and

skill, practitioners trying to help people turn their lives around. what a super version and to the rehabilitation of a former prisoner? the mac it gives our skilled practitioners an opportunity to the circumstances that they are living m, circumstances that they are living in, have come off alcohol or drugs? are they involved with the wrong right people? the social circumstances that surround particular flight when they are released back into the diminutive. it is important that the committee feels trusting of the system. the people are not being released to earlier, that people have been supervised properly. how is the probation service coping with this large number of people who are out with electronic tags? because of the appalling privatisation of part of the service and the pressure on the national service in terms of staffing and a failure to be able to recruit, other of our. and it is

ha rd recruit, other of our. and it is hard for our members. they are struggling to deal with the current caseload. they do the best of work they can do. they are not been supported by the minister, they have not had a decent pay rise for seven yea rs not had a decent pay rise for seven years and are working every hour you can imagine. it is a struggle. privatisation is often criticised by those who have worked in the public sector, at least for some of their careers. why could a properly funded private service not be a match for a public one? cauley you talk about funding, the hundred £4 million pumped into them from the taxpayer to keep them afloat. this company has come in to the probation service but pond see to cut reoffending, create safer communities, and they have been found wanting. they have not delivered, and the taxpayer has

paid through the nose for that. then it be an urgent review by parliament, currently going on, it is the worst of these companies and they are. privatisation is foul. it has failed clients and staff and it has failed clients and staff and it has failed clients and staff and it has failed the taxpayer. guys like thatis has failed the taxpayer. guys like that is true, why would the government possessed with a policy thatis government possessed with a policy that is not working? as it has no choice, it has boxed itself into a corner of privatisation. long before this, they told us it would not —— we told them it would not work and be happy proven right. we need to work with all parties to try and restore the probation service into public ownership so that everybody knows what is going on, so that all the agencies involved in the criminal justice system the agencies involved in the criminaljustice system can join together and properly ensure that people are supervised in the right conditions for people to come out into the trinity. the ministry ofjustice have sent us a statement "while we have said that we want to see the prison population come down, we are clear that public

safety is paramount. no one will be allowed out of prison without a thorough risk—assessment, strict license conditions, and close monitoring. "if someone has committed a crime found worthy of a custodial sentence, we will not hesitate to lock them up." a fraudster who posed as a survivor of the grenfell tower disaster, has beenjailed for four—and—a—half years. joyce msokeri who's 47, claimed her husband had died in the fire, to claim food, clothing, and hotel accommodation worth £19,000. the old bailey heard how she was in fact single, and living miles away. health campaigners have welcomed a new tax on sugary soft drinks which has come into force throughout the uk. the levy of up to 24p a litre is part of a government attempt to tackle obesity. ministers believe the measure has already made an impact, with many firms reducing sugar content ahead of the change. 0ur correspondent judith moritz reports. a treat in the school holidays, coca—cola at lunchtime.

customers of all ages queuing up to quench their thirst at the national children's museum, eureka. there's plenty of choice here, but sugary drinks are popular. coke, because it's nice to have, have some sugar. the introduction of the uk's sugar tax has not gone unnoticed here, but for some sweet habits die hard. if i want it and i like it i'm going to buy it, because it's like an addiction, isn't it? i can't stop. it's the same with everything. you'll find a tax for everything saying it's healthy,, but at the end of the day they're trying to take food choice away. i think it's brilliant, and it's a shame they've taken this long to introduce it. they learn about healthy teeth here, but in england a child has a tooth removed in hospital every ten minutes due to decay. it's recommended that the maximum amount of added sugar in your diet is 5% of your calories, but children up to age four are

consuming more than double this at 12%, and teenagers are eating and drinking more than three times as much added sugar as they should. i'm 13. i like fizzy drinks, i like... sugary drinks? yeah, they taste good, i guess. some brands, including fanta, and ribena have already cut their sugar content, thus avoiding the tax. you've chosen fanta today. have you noticed a change in the taste? they've reduced some of the sugar. just a bit. it's not major, but you can tell the difference. how do you find it? i think it's better. at this corner shop some drinks now cost more, despite bottles holding less. and the owners says customers have complained. the price has gone up and the sizes have come down. the customers have been asking why did you put the

price up? some view the new levy as a tax on treats, others say it's a much—needed boost to our health. judith moritz, bbc news, halifax. despite the cloudy weather today, cloudier compared to what we had yesterday, it was actually the warmest day of the year so far. temperatures got up to 17 degrees in london, but that isjust london. for most of us it was a bit fresher than that. here's the forecast for tonight. you can see a little rain reaching southwestern parts of england and southern wales by earlier saturday morning. rain in northwestern scotland, otherwise for most of us it is dry at least for a time, early saturday morning, then we are expecting some rain to go through bristol, cardiff, up to birmingham into manchester and across into newcastle as well. there will be a spell of rain moving

across some of these western areas of the uk during the day. still managing to get up to around 16 or 17 in the south around the teams in the north and a quick look at the weather on sunday. similaragain. another spell of rain for a time across southwestern areas but i think for most of us there'll be a fair bit of dry weather around during the course of the weekend. we are here with all of the stories behind the metal. get the news and analysis and special guest from the gold coast. this is bbc news our latest headlines. prosecutors will not be charging a man who was arrested after fatally stabbing a burglar who

had broken into his home. the metropolitan police say no further action will be taken. sergei skripal the former russian spy poisoned with a nerve agent in salisbury a month ago with his daughter is no longer in critical condition. the british authorities have pulled his knees that she will not be granted a visa to come to britain to visit. the metropolitan police commissioner says an extra 300 police officers will be on the streets of london this week and as police try to curb an upsurge in violence. more than people —— 50 people have been murdered in the capital this year. palestinian sources say israeli troops delete records killed at least three people in the league would've more than 400 drink for new demonstrations on the border of gaza with israel. —— wounded more than 400 during demonstrations. let's return to the increase in violent crime in london. police say there we re crime in london. police say there were eight more stabbings across the capital yesterday following two shootings on monday. 0ne capital yesterday following two shootings on monday. one of the victims was a 17—year—old tanisha was shot dead in tottenham. her brother has been speaking to our

correspondent adena campbell. brother has been speaking to our correspondent adena campbelllj brother has been speaking to our correspondent adena campbell. ijust came up from university. i don't have a clue. she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. i don't have a clue. time and time i told her, i get that she's growing up, she wants to be with her friends and things, but the streets nowadays, it is cold. when did you get to see her afterwards?” nowadays, it is cold. 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 is crazy at the moment. that is why i left. i left two years ago. i realised it is

crazy. every other day, a lot of stabbings and shootings or something is happening. when something happens there is retaliation and it is a lwa ys there is retaliation and it is always that delete this or that, tit—for—tat. it is crazy right now. she was right little sister.” tit—for—tat. it is crazy right now. she was right little sister. i love her. i didn't even get to see her. she loved to sing. i love her voice. i told her one date you will be a star. and i promised her thati i told her one date you will be a star. and i promised her that i will ta ke star. and i promised her that i will take her to the studio so she can sing and at least try, because not eve ryo ne sing and at least try, because not everyone makes it, but has lots of potential. hakeem blake the brother of tanesha melbourne speaking to our correspondent. the metropolitan police commissioner says the force has not lost control in the streets

of london following the most recent spate of attacks in the capital. he's been speaking to our home editor. have you lost control of the streets of london? we have not lost control of the streets. i can understand why some people are very worried at the moment. particularly in some areas of london. we have had some ghastly homicide as you know, particularly in the last few days, including those of really young people. that is bound to be very frightening. people are scared stiff out there. what can you say to reassure them? what i can say is the metropolitan police are out there. just this weekend we have an extra 300 officers each day in the areas which are the most significant hotspots where there has been high levels of knife crime, but they are above and beyond all the other officers, those working in covert roles, those on patrol, those in the neighbourhood. the people who are saving lives every day, arresting people, taking weapons off the street, targeting the most violent and doing everything they can to

bear down on street violence. we cannot solve this by ourselves and we are working with the whole range of other people, but we also need the help of the public. have you got enough resources? have you got enough resources? have you got enough police officers? you have perhaps heard that we are setting out a new violent crime task force with another hundred 20 officers for the long term over and above what we have had, and that has come from new funding from the mayor. another hundred million pounds we have secured for the coming years and we would be putting that into knife crime. every body would always want more officers and more resources of course, it is myjob to make the case for more and also to make the best use of what we've got. do you think that the awful tragic spike in homicides that we have seen this year is down to cuts in police budgets? no, i don't. ithink that ourjob is stretched. last year as you know a really challenging year

for the met, for london, awful things happened. enormous terrorist incidents and the grenfell fire. we are stretched. there is no doubt about that, but the causes of knife crime and violent crime are very complex and long running. this is something i talked about from the day i arrived as one of my highest priorities together with terrorism. it continues to be so i'm glad there is so much attention being given to it now. i'm really sorry these people have lost their lives will stop i don't say they have lost their lives because we suffered cuts, but of course i need to make the best use of my officers, i need to get as many people as i can out on the street. that is what we are doing this weekend and what we will be doing in the weeks to come. you talk about priorities. what about the priority of infiltrating games, getting that intelligence that means you're one step ahead? one of the things that have been really challenging about the changing nature of homicide if it is affecting younger people, knife crime, usually but not always, mostly fuelled by drug markets,

group attacks and sometimes but not always gangs very heavily involved. these are challenging things to investigate but you will probably have noticed we nearly always arrest people, we nearly always charge people. we have a fantastic homicide investigation capability of five tragic cases this week we have arrested already in all but one of them andl arrested already in all but one of them and i expect us to have charges following. is it too late after the crime. you need to be inside those gangs so that the attacks cannot happen. you are right and you will have heard of our trident gangs command who are very successful in locking up gangsters. last year we walked up hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people we know to be gangsters. we took nearly a thousand guns off the streets. we have been doing that partly through infiltrating gangs, but we need the help of the public. we need people to give us information, we need them not to turn a blind eye, we need people to say that is not ok to deal

a bit of drugs or carry a knife, it is not. i appeal to parents. if you know your child is involved in the street drug dealing or is carrying a weapon, please stop them. some of your officers say they have been deprived of the tools they need, the cuts to stop and search for instance has made it more difficult for them. they blamed political correctness. there has been a very big decrease in stop and search over the last six years. and there has been an increase in violent crime in london since about 2014. quite a steep increase. last year it did not go up very much. i'm a complete supporter of stop and search, i said so from the day i arrived a year ago. stop and search is a usable tactic and my office rs and search is a usable tactic and my officers are professional, they are well—trained, they have their body worn video, they must use intelligence and do targeted professional stop search, it's a very effective way of dealing with knife crime. you are doing far less

than you used to. sorry to cut across you. you will see that we are seizing more weapon. and search and we are continuously doing more stop and search for weapons. although the overall number have come down, the are going up and they are continuing to go up and the public should expect us to do that. who should ta ke expect us to do that. who should take the blame for the increase in homicides of this year? is a you or someone else? don't think this is a matter of blame. these poor people have lost their lives. their families lives will be wrecked, the offenders, when we lock them up, their life will be wrecked and their families life will be wrecked and communities will be very fearful. i don't think this is the time for blame or pointing fingers. this is the time for us to come together, all of us, government, local government, policing of course and the public together with the children services, people in health, all the other agencies to say what can we do together to stop this violence? finally a question

specifically for you. you have been criticised for not coming out and taking reporters questions sooner. we have had a week of lauren headlines. by that now that you are here taking our questions —— lurid headlines. is not the only now i'm taking her questions. i've been talking about the subject for over a year. i have taken many questions about the subject for many months. i've given several interviews this week. maybe not to you but several interviews. i have been in london throughout, working with my team, out and about on the streets, talking to my officers, leading our operations. i am talking to my officers, leading our operations. iam now talking to my officers, leading our operations. i am now talking to the media. thank you very much. thank you. the former russian spy sergei skripal is no longer in critical condition. doctors in salisbury reported that both sergei and his daughter are responding well to treatment a month after their poisoning. earlier we spoke to professor david, an expert in urology at imperial college london about their recovery from the nerve

agent. nerve agents do not target the brain, they don't directly kill you. they indirectly kill you, so if you. they indirectly kill you, so if you don't die within the first hours or so then there is a good chance you will recover. particularly as there are treatments which can be administered. it seems that the treatments they got, especially in those initial circumstances where the right ones. how do you tell that this was a nerve agent? that is a very good question. i think you have to ask the hospital experts there. whatever they did clearly dealt with the two main issues, which you get with nerve agents, the heart stomping and the breeding stock thing. if you can overcome both of those —— the heart stomping and the breathing stop in, then the agent in the body, the body replaces the damaged enzymes that didn't nerve agent target and in theory could make a full recovery. in fact that

does not happen because very often there are residual effects on the muscles, the heart which could last for ever. so, a full recovery could potentially take place, but not necessarily so. when it comes to the dosage that we saw here, what do you make of that? what do you read into the fact that these two family members are recovering? it makes one suspect that they were not given as much as was intended to be given to them. 0bviously much as was intended to be given to them. obviously the effects of these agents is very dose—related. if you block every single molecule in the body of the enzymes are targeting with the nerve agent it is pretty unlikely you would recover, but what seems happened is the affect was slowly on coming because probably it was absorbed through the skin and that gives the body of chance to adapt. when these agents are in hell they produce a very rapid and immediate death, but in this case ——

when these agents are inhaled, in this case maybe they did not get enough or dosing was wrong or slow absorption helped protect them. when it comes to be treatment that was available to them, what would you expect? what is the line of procedure that takes place in the initial circumstances? initially i think people would have just done standard resuscitative procedures to keep them breathing and they would have made sure they did not have seizures, giving them anti—convulsants. seizures, giving them anti—convulsa nts. when seizures, giving them anti—convulsants. when it became clear it was a nerve agent that may have taken several hours there was an antidote that could be given you could give drugs which block the effects of the access —— excess nerve agent which is and in some cases you can get substances to mop up cases you can get substances to mop up any spare or unused nerve agent to clear it from the system. the

professor of neuropsychopharmacology at imperial college london. you are watching bbc news. these are the headlines tonight. richard osborne brooks arrested on suspicion of murdering a suspected burglar has been released without charge. sergei skripal the former russian spy is no longer in critical condition and is responding well to treatment. the police commissioner offers reassurance to londoners after a string of murders. an update on the market numbers. here his out —— here is how london and frankfurt ended the day and how the dow and nasdaq are getting on in the us. now bbc news the film review. hello and a warm welcome to the film review on bbc news. to take us through this week's cinema releases is james king.