this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11am. syria and russia blame israel for an overnight attack on a military airbase near the city of homs. falling police numbers may have contributed to a rise in serious crime, according to a leaked home office document. if someone carries a knife anywhere, they are scared, they are scared for their own life. i don't think someone their own life. i don't think someone wakes their own life. i don't think someone wakes up their own life. i don't think someone wakes up and says i'm just going to carry a knife because i wa nt to going to carry a knife because i want to be barred for i want to stab someone, want to be barred for i want to stab someone, they are scared. police shoot and kill a man in romford in east london — officers say he claimed to have a gun. also in the next hour — the latest action from the commonwealth games. england's alice kinsella wins gold in the beam event — giving the home nations nine medals in gymnastics. and in golf, the american patrick

reed wins the masters in augusta — his first major title. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. syria and its ally, russia, have blamed israel for a missile attack on a government air base. a russian news agency said israeli war planes had carried out the strikes from lebanese air space. the tiyas airbase — known as ta — came under attack in the early hours of this morning. observers say 14 people were killed. both the us and france denied carrying out an air strike. israel has declined to comment. the missile attack

comes after dozens of civilians were reported to have been killed in a suspected chemical weapons incident on saturday. unverified footage shows children and adults being treated in hospital. the reported attack took place in rebel—held douma, in the eastern ghouta region. the international community strongly condemned the incident. syria and russia both deny chemical weapons were used. the un security council is expected to discuss the growing crisis in syria today. our middle east correspondent lina sinjab is in beirut this morning. just bring us up to date, at the moment the finger is being pointed at israel as being responsible for this air strike at israel as being responsible for this airstrike in at israel as being responsible for this air strike in syria. yes, both the syrian government and russian

defence ministry say israel has launched guided missiles over the air space launched guided missiles over the airspace in dublin, launched guided missiles over the air space in dublin, targeting that key for air space in dublin, targeting that keyforair air space in dublin, targeting that key for air hommes. they say the syrian government destroyed five of these guided missiles while three at these guided missiles while three at the airbase. we also know this is a military base for many iranian revolutionary guards and their affiliated militias. in february this year, israel targeted the same airbase and so far the information is only confirmed from the syrian government and russia about who is responsible for this attack. israel has carried out air strikes on syrian targets before but what about the chemical attack, the suspected chemical attack? what is the latest

on getting more information on that? so far all the maddox and the doctors who are looking at the pictures and images coming out, they all confirm at least 42 cases of the overall death toll over the weekend we re overall death toll over the weekend were dying because of suffocation because of some sort of chemical gas. the suspected chlorine gas. there is international condemnation and strong words coming from donald trump saying that russia and syria would pay the price for such an attack and an investigation will be opened immediately into this attack. france joined opened immediately into this attack. francejoined in opened immediately into this attack. france joined in the statement, but we know from previous experiences when chemical attacks took place, the syrian government always denied it although not least a couple of

occasions there was evidence that the government was behind these attacks, especially last year's attacks, especially last year's attack when it was clear the syrian government was behind it. you mentioned those tweets from president trump pointing the finger at russia. is it possible to ascertain the likely evidence of russian involvement? it is hard to believe that russia would approve or believe that russia would approve or be involved in any chemical attacks, it is an international player and they don't want to have escalation on the international level, especially after what happened in london for they are accused of using chemical weapons to kill the russian spy. chemical weapons to kill the russian spy. but they are responsible according to the american speakers

they are strong allies for president assad and are responsible for his and his troops‘ actions, so the us is calling on russia to be responsible in opening corridors for investigation and put an end to these atrocities conducted by president assad and his forces. we‘re joined by tom tugendhat, conservative mp and chair of the foreign affairs committee. he‘s in florence this morning. what do you think the response of the british government should be to this? the british government has done well in the last few weeks in bringing together an international coalition to respond to russia‘s chemical weapons used in salisbury and this shows the power british diplomacy can have and we should make sure that coalition hold strong now against syrian chemical weapons use, which we have seen so often

before. when one sees the footage that you and sky and others have reported of the children being murdered, women looking after them being murdered, it is right that we respond. we cannot have this level of violence and chemical weapons used in a modern country. but as we heard, very difficult to establish with any clarity who was responsible for this alleged chemical attack. when you say there should be a response, are you talking about a diplomatic response or about air strikes? it's not that hard, there are only aeroplanes from one country flying over that part of syria and thatis flying over that part of syria and that is the syrian government. the bombs were dropped by their craft and it points squarely to the assad regime. it also points to their

enablers because those aircraft are being serviced by russian and iranian engineers, supplied with russian and uranium weapons, flown with russian and a fuel. this is all being done with the support of two other regimes. the idea that by spreading propaganda, i know that is not what lena was doing, but as some of the oppressors claiming to be protecting the victims, that is not true. we‘re watching the brutal murder of civilians, not for the first time, since 2013 we have seen chemical weapons attacks on civilians in syria and we have seen people make excuses as though it is ha rd to people make excuses as though it is hard to know, but there is only one authority here using chemical weapons and that is the syrian

government and its backers know it and are therefore responsible. given that the british parliament voted backin that the british parliament voted back in 2013 against taking any military action against the syrian regime, what are the options left to the government? diplomatic pressure, is that what we are left with? the uk government has various options available. it can use targeted strikes against syrian restoring these weapons. it can thus restoring these weapons. it can work with others to share intelligence as to where these weapons and the delivery mechanisms that the aircraft are being stored orfuel for that the aircraft are being stored or fuel for controlled from, and that the aircraft are being stored orfuel for controlled from, and it can bring together the international coalition that pressure russia after the attack in salisbury, but we have

to recognise that the uk isn‘t acting alone, we‘re alongside france and germany and the us and others who have seen this use of chemical weapons by the assad regime, enabled by their allies in tehran and moscow, some 15,000 iranian troops in syria at the moment and several thousand russian troops. without them the assad regime would have fallen a long time ago so we must use diplomatic pressure on all those areas. if the us, for example, asked the uk to get involved in military action, what should the response to that the? the uk government has legal authority under the 2005 accord for responsibility to protect that all of us sign up to at the un and we also have obligations on the

geneva gasparotto call that banned the use and storage of chemical weapons, so the use and storage of chemical weapons, so there are many international treaties which give the un and member states the authority to respond to such vile attacks and i think the uk government should explore all options. thank you very much for that. we have just heard some comments from russia, sergei lavrov has been saying, rejecting those suggestions the chemical weapons attack was carried out by the syrians. the home secretary, amber rudd, has insisted it‘s a "mistake" to attribute a rise in violent crime to falling police numbers. bbc news has seen a leaked government document that suggests that cuts in policing are likely to have contributed to the recent crime wave, but speaking on the today programme this morning, ms rudd said she had not seen the leaked report. she‘ll unveil new measures to tackle violent crime later, including tough restrictions on the online sale of knives. jessica parker reports.

a boy of 15 goes out to sell drugs in darwen, lancashire. forced to live here, he is being controlled by a gang in merseyside, a system known as county lines. gangs get young and vulnerable people to traffic drugs out of the cities to sell in the counties, using dedicated mobile phones known as lines. it leads to exploitation and violence. after falling out with the gang, the boy, alongside his girlfriend, is chased by gang members. he escapes. a police investigation sees nearly two dozen people sentenced. the network was designed to protect those higher up in the chain. 0rganised crime individuals hold none of the risk. they are not going out dealing with drugs, they are not interacting with drug dealers and they have no

drugs on their person. the government has announced the creation of a new centre to co—ordinate a national response to the issue of county lines. it is part of a £40 million strategy to tackle serious violence on the streets. leaked home office analysis seen by the bbc says a fall in police numbers has likely contributed, at least in part, to a rise in serious violence. the government states it will not comment on leaks but the analysis will give its critics plenty to say. 0ur political correspondent ben wright is in westminster for us. thank you forjoining us. this lea ked thank you forjoining us. this leaked document which appears to contradict what the home secretary says, rather embarrassing for the government. it is awkward for

ministers, we are talking about a slide from a presentation on leaked to the bbc and the guardian looking at the contribution this cut in police numbers might have made to the rise in violent crime and it‘s believed this was shown within the home office in february in the run—up to the government releasing its new crime strategy, and the slide shows that a reduction in police numbers, coupled with a rise in the reporting of sex offences, has meant the numbers of those being charged for violent crime has dropped and that may have encouraged some offending, that is the phrase this presentation users. it says it is not the main driving factor but it isa is not the main driving factor but it is a polite and that is why it has been seized on by labour and others, saying an important part in their argument that the reason for their argument that the reason for

the rise in crime has been the drop in police numbers over the last eight years. labour say it is cut is not just to eight years. labour say it is cut is notjust to police numbers but also children‘s services, that are contributing to this rise we have seen contributing to this rise we have seenin contributing to this rise we have seen in violent crimes. there is a lot of cross—party overlap on this issue. labour say the issue of cutting police numbers has to be addressed, there has to be more money than the government is putting m, money than the government is putting in, those numbers have to increase in that argument has been made by sadiq khan, a politician at the forefront of this, but across the parties there is an understanding that this is notjust about arresting more people but it is a whole variety of issues around social media, the content and drug culture, gang violence, but there is this row about the way the police

numbers are feeding into it. thank you for the latest from millbank. so what support is there to help people walk away from violent crimes? we‘ve spent some time with a group of men, who were taken off london‘s streets and given the opportunity to try something different. chi chi izundo reports. a close friend of mine died of knife crime. ifeel like a close friend of mine died of knife crime. i feel like it‘s just a close friend of mine died of knife crime. ifeel like it‘sjust a stupid ideology, as young boys, young black boys, it‘s a stupid ideology like what is your postcode, what gang are you? it‘s just stupid. i know mums who have shared a million tears because of sons getting stabbed. unfortunately i

chose the wrong path but key for life helped me. they kept visiting me in prison, that was a strong thing for me, some i don‘t note taking their own time, voluntarily coming to see me, a stranger, wanting to help me, i thought they must be good people in the world for them to come to see me, that is what i thought, i will not be half—hearted and light to them, i will cut off the bad people in my life. i‘m going to network and meet the people and so far all i have seen is positivity, so that is why i am still with them. horses,

they are like people, they have their own characters. not every horse is the same, but they have their own personalities. the great courts had surgery so we have to be easy how we approach it, they are animals so their instincts will kick in. so we‘ve got to learn how to approach them. it‘s like taking these skills into everyday life. trust me, a lot of young people need to see this come down get caught up in this lifestyle. it‘s not meant for everyone, trust me. the home secretary will be launching her plan to reduce violent crime on britain‘s streets this hour. we‘ll bring you that live as we get it. let‘s get the latest breaking news

on syria. we have heard from the russian foreign minister who said allegations that the syrian government carried out a gas attack on the besieged rebel held town were false and a provocation. he told reporters and air strikes carried out on a syrian air base was a dangerous development and he also said the area had been visited by russia‘s military specialists and representatives from the syrian red crescent, who found no evidence of traces of chlorine or any other chemical substance being used against peaceful civilians, so those are the latest comments from surrogate lavrov and we also had comments from the 0pcw, the global watchdog which is investigating these latest reports. it said it has made a preliminary analysis of the

reports of alleged use of chemical weapons immediately after they were issues and information is being gathered to establish whether chemical weapons were used, so that is the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, saying it is investigating to find out whether chemical weapons were used. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: syria and russia blame israel for an overnight attack on a military airbase near the city of homs. falling police numbers may have contributed to a rise in serious crime, according to a leaked home office document. police shoot and kill a man in romford in east london — officers say he claimed to have a gun. let‘s get the latest from the commonwealth games now with mike bushell on the gold coast. hello and welcome to day five of

these commonwealth games on the gold coast on the east side of australia. in the moment we will cross live to the athletics and the pool but first let‘s update you on what has been a great day for england‘s gymnasts. nile wilson has done it again, he has won his third gold medal of these games. he already had two golds and two silvers including one silver earlier today, he said he was exhausted but elated. it's been fantastic, today was amazing to be out there, deja vu of four years ago, being hit on the pea bars but to do two routines very well, i couldn‘t be happier. two more

medals, it‘s amazing. couldn‘t be happier. two more medals, it's amazing. before nile wilson there was alice kinsella, who took gold on the beam. that is her second medal of these games, adding to the bronze she won earlier, so that has six goals in total in gymnastics for england. 0n that has six goals in total in gymnastics for england. on this busiest day so far, there has been some dramatic climaxes to some of the finals in which the margin between gold and silver has come down to one little moment. it started at the broad beach bowls club, as ben croucher now reports. the hottest day so far on the gold coast but the welsh didn‘t wilt. alex marshall was chasing another title, he had the chance to steal the winning. he was wide. wales went

wild. wales have won the gold medal. we have done what we had to do and come away with a gold medal so you always have to back yourself or there is no point. surprise success in squash succeeded them, beating the a time world champion for bronze. the third step of the podium was popularfor english weig htlifters, was popularfor english weightlifters, who both took bronze us weightlifters, who both took bronze us to take england‘s tally to six. mixed team badminton bronx for england while ben llewelyn picked up silver. so what is happening now? let‘s go to the athletics to get the

latest from nathalie perks. the big news here is that wales have their fifth gold of the games, hollie arnold on the para javelin had to throw a world record with her final row and check this out, what pressure, she final row and check this out, what pressure, she was final row and check this out, what pressure, she was in the silver medal position but she won the gold. later it is the men and women‘s 100 metre final and england‘s adam gemili is out of the games. he tweeted that he is dotted that an injury he picked up in the semi means he will not be in the final, so even means he will not be in the final, so even without usain bolt, jamaica should be dominant. it also means despite that big win just eight months ago, there will not be a home nations representative in the men‘s 100. asher philip will go in the women‘s 100 metres. let‘s head over

now to the aquatics centre. we are getting very used to the phrase australia one here. the first to medal races were dominated by the aussies, taking gold, silver and bronze. the second was the women‘s 800 metre freestyle final, jazz carlin went into the water as the reigning champion but it wasn‘t a good night for her, she struggled in the first few laps of the pool and finished a sad sight. she came out of the water and said she was disappointed, she does have another event but maybe she is looking more towards open water swimming. adam peaty swims later, so there is some hope of a home nations medal, and also chloe turner. all that means that australia have

clear water now at the top of the medals table. that‘s all for now from the commonwealth games but there is more in sportsday at 6:30pm andi there is more in sportsday at 6:30pm and i will be back with another round—up tomorrow at 11:30 am. see you soon. let me bring up to date with the breaking news on reports of a chemical attack in syria. we had comments from the foreign secretary borisjohnson, who comments from the foreign secretary boris johnson, who has comments from the foreign secretary borisjohnson, who has spoken to his french counterpart and underlined the urgent need to investigate what happened in duma, where it is alleged that chemical weapons were used, to ensure a robust international response. he and his french counterpart noted that

international investigators have found that on at least four occasions since 2014, there have been attacks carried out by the assad regime and they both condemned the use of chemical weapons and have agreed on the need for the chemical weapons convention to be respected and have agreed that today‘s meeting of the un security council should be an important next step in determining the international response and that a full range of options should be on the table, so those are the latest comments from borisjohnson those are the latest comments from boris johnson speaking to those are the latest comments from borisjohnson speaking to his french counterpart, looking ahead to the un security council meeting this evening. a man has been shot dead by police in east london. firearms officers were called to an address in romford just before 4am this morning following reports of a man making threats and carrying a weapon. just under an hour later a man was shot dead by police in collier row. the incident has been referred

to the independent 0ffice for police conduct. the prime minister is travelling to denmark and sweden today. theresa may will hold talks with the leaders of both countries. the suspected chemical attack in syria is expected to dominate discussions. police say a carbon monoxide leak might be to blame for the deaths of two men in a house in edgware in north london. paramedics took five other people, including two boys, to hospital as a precaution. neighbours say the occupants only recently moved into the property. police are working with the health and safety executive to investigate further. the prime minister of hungary, viktor 0rban, has won a third consecutive term in office, with a decisive victory in yesterday‘s general election. his right—wing party is projected to have won nearly half the vote and two—thirds of the seats in parliament. he campaigned strongly against immigration and said his re—election would ensure the defence of the country‘s borders. jenny hill reports. viktor 0rban‘s done it again.

divisive, defiant — hungary‘s prime minister has secured a third term in office. translation: there is a big battle behind us. we won a crucial victory, got a chance, given ourselves a chance to defend hungary. translation: i respect the decision of the voters even if it hurts and feels bad — even as one expected more support for one's party. but we have to accept as part of live and part when things go differently to what we would like. for a while, hungary held its breath. a record turnout led to delays in the count. but among those who queued —

in some cases for hours — were plenty demanding change. translation: we need change because what is happening here is chaos. translation: the problem - everything! corruption, health care in ruins, low wages... viktor orban was always confident of success. europe is watching closely. viktor orban knows how to upset his neighbours. his dream for the eu: closed doors, illiberal values, and, most of all, no migrants. it‘s proved again to be a winning tactic. a simple message: hungary comes first for us all. translation: mr 0rban, very few migrants are coming into this country. why the focus on emigration when so few people come? this is a question of the future. translation: the eu say that you flout its values and laws.

is this the direction that hungary should be going? we are spending for democracy now. after all, he has powerful friends, russia, poland — and brussels, paris and berlin will analyse the result. this vote may symbolise a battle for the soul of hungary but it also represents the struggle at the very part of the european project. the latest breaking news of the alleged chemical attack on syria. we have had to some comments from the premise to‘s official spokesman, saying russia must not again obstruct investigations in syria into that alleged attack. on the spokesman has also said that the uk was not involved in the overnight strikes on an airbase in syria. the uk not involved in those overnight strikes. we will bring you more on that when we get it. shortly we will

be crossing to hear from the home secretary, amber rudd, who is due to be announcing the government‘s latest initiatives on tackling violent crime. there are going to be tough restrictions on the online sale of knives and new restrictions designed to tackle people who are carrying acid which is also being used in several recent attacks. the home secretary is due to be setting out the government‘s responds as the government itself has faced some pressure over cuts government itself has faced some pressure over cuts to police numbers. she has again denied that cuts to police numbers are contributing to that rise in violent crime. we will be hearing from her, and we will go to that live as soon as she gets to her feet. before that, let‘s catch up with the weather. we started off with some

mist and fog this morning but that is clearing away and for many we have some sunshine. this is a lovely scene here in cornwall. absolutely cracking. we have sunshine across many northern and western areas, but that was the south—east a lot more cloud and some patchy rain affecting anywhere from the wash to the bristol channel and the south—east of that. a few heavy showers developing in scotland and northern ireland, they could be thundery. maximum temperature up to ten to 14. overnight the rain will move north and west and there will be heavier rain pushing from the south, particularly in south—west england, north east england. temperatures fall to nine tonight. a wet start to tuesday. heavy rain clearing away, sunny spells and then it will turn pretty warm in the sun. this is bbc news — our latest headlines: after an alleged chemical

attack on the syrian rebel—held town of douma — russia claims to have found no trace of chlorine or any other chemical weapon used against civilians. meanwhile, syria and russia blame israel for an overnight attack on a military airbase near the city of homs. falling police numbers may have contributed to a rise in serious crime — according to a leaked home office document. police shoot and kill a man in romford in east london — officers say he claimed to have a gun. opening statements are set to begin today in the second trial of comedian bill cosby. he is charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his mansion in pennsylvania 14 years ago. once the most watched man on american television, the 80—year—old comedian has more recently been in the spotlight for allegedly assaulting nearly 60 women over a period of five decades. from new york, nada tawfik reports.

bill cosby is once again on trial. it has been less than a year since a hung jury sent him walking free, but this time, the comedian faces a very different courtroom and a country reeling from the metoo movement. nearly 60 women have accused cosby of sexual assault over a period of five decades. all except andrea constand ran out of time to bring charges. in the first trial, the jury was only able to hear evidence from her and one other accuser. if the court allows more accusers to testify next time, it might make a difference. in other words, testify next time, it might make a difference. in otherwords, it testify next time, it might make a difference. in other words, it is too early to celebrate, mister cos by. this time around, five additional women will take the witness stand, including a woman who was just 17 when she says bill cosby drugged and assaulted her in 1986. i could not open my eyes.

i could not move or say anything. prosecutors will argue that this shows a pattern of behaviour. modeljanice dickinson says cosby drugged and raped her. the last thing i rememberwas drugged and raped her. the last thing i remember was mister drugged and raped her. the last thing i rememberwas mister cosby patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me. prosecutors will argue that this shows a pattern of behaviour. andrea constand says he offered her pills to relax, which left her incapacitated and unable to reject his sexual advances. mr cosby‘s lawyers say they had a romantic relationship and he was the victim of false charges. ultimately the verdict will hinge on andrea‘s case. will the me to movement helped her? it definitely helps in terms of making something that would not have been viewed in

the past as credible now very much viewed as credible, that this is pervasive, that they are telling the truth. bill cosby was a trailblazer for african—americans in hollywood and was called america‘s favourite tv dad. the 80—year—old continues to be in the spotlight now under very different circumstances. nada tawfik, bbc news. as figures show a 300% rise in the number of victims of modern slavery in the uk over the past six years, a bbc wales investigation has uncovered evidence of traffickers targeting vulnerable people abroad, bringing them to the uk and forcing them to work for little or no money. and as wyre davies reports, police forces across the uk are being urged to take tougher action against criminals who exploit workers. why did you force men to work as slaves in the uk? two people traffickers sentenced to lengthy prison terms in the czech republic. a rare victory for international police cooperation in the fight against modern slavery.

these men deliberately targeted homeless and vulnerable men sleeping rough or at railway stations, to south wales and put them to work in cleaning jobs for little or no money. one victim told us he‘d been bored by the traffickers bought by the traffickers and was essentially now their property. translation: when he himself told me he had bought me for 700 euros so i should behave in accordance with that, what i did was i got drunk and i tried to commit suicide. astonishingly, british police on the trail of the traffickers discovered the trafficker had twice been convicted of ordering murder, but had come to the uk and ran businesses in the welsh capital. one of their cleaning contracts was within a stone‘s throw of the welsh assembly building. this is an organised crime group. part of the group were based here in cardiff, the other part were based in the czech republic. they were running a slavery operation, they were running

an operation to make money on the back of others. next to drugs trafficking, modern day slavery is thought to be the world‘s most lucrative crime. last year more than 5000 men, women and children were identified as potential victims in the uk — a 35% increase on the previous year and a 300% rise since records began six years ago. but there could be thousands more victims out there. modern slavery and labour exploitation take many forms. we sent an undercover reporter to several roadside car washes in south wales. at this business, working alongside a team of romanians and kurds, he is offered £30 for a ten—hour day. well below the legal minimum wage. £30 a day, 0k. the manager later bragged the business was making up to £4000 a week. when later challenged, managers deny the allegations raised in our investigation and said the business had now changed hands. you helped recruit guys to work

here for £3 an hour. no. you deny that, yeah? the public have got a massive responsibility. i would ask people to ask themselves if you take six or seven individuals to clean your car for a quarter of an hour for £5, are they getting the minimum wage? we all know when we use certain services if they are very, very cheap let‘s question ourselves where these individuals come from. there are now laws to protect victims, but campaigners say labour exploitation and slavery happen every day in virtually every community, in plain sight and under our very noses. just a reminder we are waiting to hear from the just a reminder we are waiting to hearfrom the home just a reminder we are waiting to hear from the home secretary who is due to set out the government‘s latest initiatives to tackle violent crime. she will be setting out new

measures to make it more difficult to buy knives online and also new measures to prevent people carrying acid without good reason. amber rudd herself of course has been under pressure insisting there is no link cuts numbese and , ,, 7 between cuts to police numbers and the recent spate of violent crimes in particular in london. and she is due to be announcing the government‘s latest response to all of this in central london shortly. and we will bring you that live as soon as and we will bring you that live as soon as it happens. more now on the wider impact of violent crime. families of the dozens of young people who have died after being attacked on britain‘s streets this year are calling for answers. we spoke to two families whose son and cousin were killed on the streets of london just months a part about the devastating impact it‘s had on their lives. noel philips reports. who do

one. who do on it one. he was like any teenager. he loved playing - especially i to rugby. i want people to remember him as the kind, - loving, caring this family are living young men. this family are living through an unimaginable nightmare. the 80—year—old son 18—year—old son was reportedly stabbed. the 80—year—old son 18—year—old son was reportedly stabbedlj the 80—year—old son 18—year—old son was reportedly stabbed. i got to the hospital, my boy was already dead. soi hospital, my boy was already dead. so i didn‘t get to speak to him. it broke me totally. all i was doing was crying. we were just all crying. he had dreams of going to university and was a role model to his younger brothers. and we are going to drop that to go live to the amber rudd home secretary. and it rings from his jacket pocket behind the police

caught on. this young man is only 17. less than two hours later, a separate incident, a promising a ccou nta nt separate incident, a promising accountant leaves separate incident, a promising accou nta nt leaves a separate incident, a promising accountant leaves a tragic voice mailfor his mother after accountant leaves a tragic voice mail for his mother after he too is fatally stabbed with a samurai sword. we seem to be having a little bit of a problem with the line. let‘s see if we can establish the connection because amber rudd was setting out some of the background to the government as mark‘s latest initiative to tackle violent crime. she will be talking about a new crackdown on buying knives online and also people who are carrying acid, which has been used in recent attacks. let‘s see if we can hear again from the home secretary. stabbed to death in wandsworth on easter sunday. gunned down in

totte n ha m , easter sunday. gunned down in tottenham, fatally shot in waltha mstow, tottenham, fatally shot in walthamstow, fatally stabbed in hackney. in each case the recurring question has been why. as home secretary i have been searching for the answer. that is why last october i commissioned a review into violent crime. to explore why it is there has been an increase in homicide, knife crime and gun crime and what we should do about it. i knew then just as i do now that this is a problem we must get a grip on. today iam problem we must get a grip on. today i am pleased to announce that i am publishing our serious violence strategy. it marks a major shift in the approach to recent rises in knife and gun crime and is being supported by £40 million of home office funding. the strategy represents a real step change in the way we think about and respond to these personal chat tragedies which

dominate the front pages of our newspapers with seeming depressing regularity. before i tell you what the evidence shows, i want to start by addressing head—on some of the theories that have been circulating. one of the contentions is that there are not enough officers on the streets. the evidence however does not support this. in the early 2000 is when serious violent crimes were at the highest, police numbers were rising. in 2008, when knife crime was far greater than the lows we saw in 2013, 14, police numbers were close to the highest we have seen in decades. and ahead of the metropolitan police has said she does not believe the recent spike in attacks is due to cuts to budgets either. equally, to those who blame the recent spate of violence on changes to the provision of youth services, i say that that too is far too simplistic. and in my view

simplistic arguments are no substitute for a serious strategy. that is what i want to spend my time talking about today. in our serious violence strategy we explore the reasons behind serious violence. we find that there is a strong link between drugs and violent crime, and that changes to the drug market appears to be the trickiest driver in the increase in violent crime. —— biggest driver. we nosed since 2014 almost half of homicides involved a victim or suspect usable dealing drugs. we never use of crack cocaine is rising in england and wales and it was a strongly between violence and crack cocaine. we also know that cou nty and crack cocaine. we also know that county lines, drug dealing has become an increasingly popular way of dealing drugs around the country. it involves gangs grooming and using children and vulnerable young people to traffic drugs using dedicated mobile phones or deal lines to new locations outside their home areas.

the way the reach of the gang to further their violence, drug dealing and exploitation spreads. so this is the situation we are faced with. serious violence is on the up and in many cases drugs are an important contributing factor. so first, our response to violent crime must address the misuse of drugs. last year we launched our new drugs strategy and we will be going further. we will focus on reducing the number of people who take drugs, and we will also increase the number of people who recover from drug dependency. we will also work toward putting a stop to the county lines gangs who are selling drugs around the country. a few weeks ago i was talking to the chief constable of norfolk constabulary, and he made it clear what a problem this is for local police forces. in fact, 70% of police forces have reported significant increases in violent crime linked to county lines. and what we are talking about here are

murderers, torture and other types of extreme violence. for example, in one reported case, a man in liverpool had his hand severed by a machete and both legs broken in a punishment attack. that is why i am pleased to announce this government will provide £3.6 million to support a new national county lines coordination centre which is currently being developed by the national police chief counsel and the national crime agency to support more effective action against these types of gangs. this will help the police catch the perpetrators and also support measures to protect vulnerable people who have been drawn into county lines drug dealing networks. it will also provide vital intelligence about illegal drugs markets across the country and it will support police forces to close down the mobile phone numbers used for county lines drugs dealing. in addition to this, we will be running

addition to this, we will be running a nationwide campaign in partnership with the charity crimestoppers. this is to raise awareness of the problem of cou nty is to raise awareness of the problem of county lines and prevent and protect more people from being exploited and drawn into these gangs. and while i do not think we can arrest our way out of the problem of violent crime, i do believe the police have a vital role to play in tackling it. i have heard what the metropolitan police commissioner and others have said about officers losing confidence in stop and search, and that really worries me. let me make by position absolutely clear, i stand fully behind stop and search and i see it asa behind stop and search and i see it as a vital tool for the police. of course, stop and search will always need to be used appropriately, like any other police power. but thanks to the introduction of body worn video across forces, i have greater confidence than ever before that this is the case. i believe a

combination of stop and search, hotspot policing strategies, to focus on those areas where crime is concentrated, as well as better use of data so police forces can routinely monitor a just and test their response to violent crime will make a difference. but i also want to make the police‘sjob make a difference. but i also want to make the police‘s job easier by making weapons harder to come by. i have seen what is going around our streets... have seen what is going around our streets. . . that have seen what is going around our streets... that is amber rudd. we're having some difficulty with the line. apologies for that. we will try to establish the connection. it is rather sporadic problem. she has been talking about how she believes the government‘s proposals are a step change in the way that the government and the other authorities respond to violent crimes. we will go back to that when we can re—establish the line. but she is

talking about the new proposals which include proposals to restrict the online purchase of knives, to ban the possession of things like knuckle—dusters, to give the police greater powers to tackle people who are carrying acid without good cause. she has also said that she rejects the idea that cuts in police officers are behind the rise in violent crime. she said that back in the 2000 is when crime was at its highest for many years, police numbers were rising and back in 2009 when police numbers were again very high there was also an increase in violent crimes. she went on to say that she believed stop and search was a vital tool for the police and of course they should use it with caution. i think we can go back to

the home secretary, amber rudd. and i hope this time we can hear what she has to say. i recently visited new horizons, a youth centre in camden which helps young people who are camden which helps young people who a re often camden which helps young people who are often caught up in violence to build more positive futures. whether thatis build more positive futures. whether that is by helping to find them housing, counselling, or a job. that is by helping to find them housing, counselling, orajob. one young man i met had exchanged being ina gang young man i met had exchanged being in a gang of four fashion and was being supported to build his own clothing line. and earlier today i visited an organisation which successfully intervenes even earlier, helping young people who face multiple challenges in their lives to manage conflict before they can be drawn into gang activity. this is exactly the type of work i wa nt to this is exactly the type of work i want to see moral. and that‘s why i am pleased to announce a new £11 million early intervention youth fund to help communities run early intervention and prevention programmes for young people at risk of getting involved in violence. i

wa nt of getting involved in violence. i want local communities to be front and centre of our response violent crime. this £11 million fund is in addition to the money we are committing to other projects helping young people is to life on the right track, including £30 million to the trusted relationships fund, £40 million for the us investment fund and 920 b in pounds for the troubled families programme. it is a sad fact of life that there will always be the people who pick up knives or other weapons and i need to make sure that they put them down again before they cause irreparable damage. that is why i have just launched a new online advertising campaign, knife free, to raise awareness about the risks and consequences of carrying knives and inspire young people to do something more positive instead. those of it and government are not the only ones who should be doing work online. as i speak, gangs posting videos and music online, that document and

encourage and glamorise violence and godin threaten others. the repercussions can be deadly. last august 15—year—old was knifed to death in south london in the climax ofa death in south london in the climax of a feud between rival gangs posting mocking videos on youtube. it is already in a fence to incite or encourage violence online and i expect to see social media companies to stand by their obligations to remove this content as necessary. that alone is not enough. social media companies must do more so today i am calling on them to have the terms and conditions and make it clear that they will not host any content linked to gangs or gang violence. some might say this is impossible. when i called social media companies to deal with terrorist material they listened and took action. i am asking them to do so took action. i am asking them to do so again because it is the right

thing to do. because fighting crime and keeping each other safe isn‘t just the responsibility of government, it is everybody‘s response pretty. based on what i have said this morning, i hope you will agree that there is a full programme of work ahead. this morning i met with the metropolitan police commissioner, the mayor of london and representatives from key agencies to outline my plan and to listen to their views. i will also urgently convene and lead a new cross party serious violence taka forced —— task force, bringing many groups together including mps from different parties. to make sure everything i have talked about today is being delivered. i‘m pleased to say that a labour mp has already agreed to take part. cross—party dimension to this work is important because as tempting as a blue versus red sprat can be sometimes, the

safety of our neighbourhoods is just too important and we cannot afford too important and we cannot afford to be distracted by party politics. i want to hear some solutions from the opposition front bench rather than just the constant shouts of cuts, cuts, cuts. iwillalso than just the constant shouts of cuts, cuts, cuts. iwill also host an international violent crime symposium to bring together lady leading experts to understand what else is known about trends and drivers of violent crime and what sorts of interventions are working around the world. because we are not alone in having seen a spike in violent crime. in fact, serious violence trends have been similar across many developed nations suggesting there is a global component to it. i truly believe that while there is more to learn what i have outlined today an important start. we will take the competence of approach necessary to make sure that our sons and daughters are protected and our streets are safe. as a government, we will never stand idly by while acid is thrown or knives are

wielded. and i am clear that we must do whatever it takes to tackle this so do whatever it takes to tackle this so that no parent has to bury their child. thank you. iam happy i am happy to take some questions. the secretary ambushed road is setting out the government‘s response to recent increases in violent crime. it is approaching 12 o‘clock, we will stay with this because she is about to take questions. let's listen in. do you think it is appropriate that it has no mentions of it. the leaked document we saw this morning has almost exactly the same language as in this document but no mentions of police numbers. why did you not see that leaked document? it did include a reference to police numbers contributing to a rise in violent crime. if that if that is circulating in your department shouldn't you have wanted to know about it? or if you didn't see it

why not? saturday night we were out with birmingham police patrol. the man in charge of the west midlands, thatis man in charge of the west midlands, that is 6 million people being is ke pt that is 6 million people being is kept safe, told us he had 23 fewer police officers than he needed to keep the city safe. are you co mforta ble keep the city safe. are you comfortable with that? i have good news the birmingham. we have set out additional resources for each area to be able to access. they can raise the money through the precept so that they can have the additional officers they need. in terms of pressure on officers, i recognise there is additional pressure all over the country. the reason for thatis over the country. the reason for that is there is more crime being reported. not just what that is there is more crime being reported. notjust what people call traditional crime but crime in areas which they were not looking for before, modern sly three, child exploitation, domestic abuse, all these areas are increasing reporting

for police. that is why we have set out additional resources for them. i saw kent announced two or three weeks ago that this was going to enable them to raise another to have another 200 police working in their force, which is good news. i have addressed the pressure on them by making sure they have the resources when they need them. let me deal now with this issue of the document that is floating around. i haven‘t seen it because whoever have this has not sent it over to us. i understand it is something to do with the home office but i have not seen the late element, but what i have seen is a huge amount of work the home office has done to inform a serious violent crime strategy. there is a lot of evidence—based information and conclusions and i urge everyone to look at it, because iam not urge everyone to look at it, because i am not interested in making poor

cd systems based on anecdote but based on evidence. in terms of police numbers, we have a process and the policing minister spoke to all 43 police forces last year, i spoke to some myself, to make sure we respond to what they need. there are areas where police forces can do more to help themselves, new equipment they can put in place, they told me the new equipment they have, especially reporting crimes on hand told devices, can save time, so we have to make sure police used the resources they have. we have provided extra resources, that was an evidence filled piece of research we did, this is a different part of our delivery, looking at the causes of serious violence and putting a strategy together. i'm pleased to

welcome the strategy, i'm also pleased on the focus on early intervention and prevention and recognising the exploitation of children and young people in county lines and the role the voluntary sector can play to address this often gets forgotten. everyone who has worked in this field over many years will say this challenge demands a long—term sustained intervention, short—term sticking plaster solutions do not work. your thoughts on that would be helpful. the focus on early intervention need to include a detailed understanding of the risk factors that bring young people either into victimisation or perpetration, whether that is

disrupted family lives, early trauma which often goes unsupported, all these add to that vulnerability and risks for young people. from i glance i am not sure how well that is addressed here. i hope you will come back to me when you have had a longer glance and let me know where else we can improve it because this is not just for else we can improve it because this is notjust for government else we can improve it because this is not just for government but for us all to do and the voluntary sector plays an important part in that underworked barnardo‘s does is important, the work you have done with us working on the child sector centre of excellence is critical. i acknowledge the stop and start nature of image to address this come this morning i hosted a round table with pupils from community groups who made that point. this is why it is important this is a cross—party

initiative and i am pleased we have other parties working on this and i‘m pleased we have the commitment of leading members of police and other organisations to make sure that commitment doesn‘tjust start but has a long period of engagement and support, and we will address that. i'm very encouraged to hear about the measures you have outlined today. we heard about police numbers and the fleece feeling beleaguered that they are not the only people involved in the solution to feel this way. there are families who are grieving today and this strategy, the message may get lost to the human element in those communities. what message does a home office want to 70 young people whose lives are being affected by this? it is those

families and children who i am determined to help and to work the focus of this strategy. this morning i met with people and talk to them about the impact it has had on families. i met some children living locally who need this sort of support i am talking about. amber rudd speaking there in central london. we are having problems with the line but she was setting out the government‘s responds to the recent spate of violent crimes in london. i think we have the line back. and we will listen to you. people often ask me ifi will listen to you. people often ask me if i talked to the people who have been impacted, who have lost somebody, i met a couple of mothers

who were engaged in activity to support their community, i talked to them and that is their experience that will inform the strategy we put together. i will take the last question. you mention about social media, it is good you are looking at those companies, but with the government go slightly further and have those conversations with the music industry itself. historically we have correctly banned homophobic songs it certain types of words played continuously into people's minds can have negative behaviour. we currently have many songs, that promote, guns, france to hit mainstream radio and mainstream tv to the extent we make those people

role models, so there is a mixed message given to young people, so we should be talking to the music industry itself and having a universal ban on those. in terms of early intervention, would it be possible to make it mandatory for schools in particular... we know especially with the county lines issue, it is usually those children who were involved in early exclusions who get caught up in that, so the exclusion is pushing young people to be trafficked but thatis young people to be trafficked but that is not involved in any community impact assessment. very helpful comments about the music industry and social media. it is easy to underestimate how much of young people‘s lives are spent on social media and we need to influence some of the output so it doesn‘t have the impact we have

seen, so looking to the music industry to have a positive influence is a good suggestion, and your second point? on schools. what your second point? on schools. what you are drawing attention to is the need for the home office to work closely with the department for education, which is what i plan on doing. we have plans of working more closely together to address that. several people have raised the issue of children being excluded and are they getting another form of support, is that working or are they most likely to fall prey? it suggests to me that those aren‘t likely to fall break, and as i have to conclude now, it brings me to the most important point in what i am trying to launch today and is different. that is the way that drugs are being moved around, the

trade has become more sophisticated thanit trade has become more sophisticated than it needs a coordinated answer from us, protecting our communities from us, protecting our communities from violence and that is what this strategy does. that was amber rudd announcing the government‘s strategy on tackling violent crime. she said it amounted to a step change in how problems were dealt with. she announced new legislation which will make it illegal for people to buy names online, to have minds such as knuckle—dusters, she was going to announce extra police powers for tackling people carrying acid and she rejected those claims but cuts in police numbers have contributed to the rise in violent crime. david jamieson is the labour elected police and crime commissioner for the west midlands. what did you make of what the home

secretary told us? i find it extraordinary that she makes a major speech on violent crime but has not seen a speech on violent crime but has not seen a report from her department which i have here on serious violence and its drivers. this has been produced not by me but by her own a nalysts been produced not by me but by her own analysts and civil servants and in this document it says the reduction in police resources is a major contributor to violence involved with drugs. but she did those statistics, for example she talked about 2009 when police numbers were at an all—time high and violent crime was also high. the police are dealing with different types of crime now, cyber crime and sexual related crimes which we were not dealing with them, which she says police numbers are not affecting crime when a report from

her own department is saying that. it is misleading the public and i think by repeating that, she doesn‘t apologise, i don‘t see how a minister of the crown can give information that is contrary to what her own officials advise her. she says £40 million plus another £11 million, but this is not new money, it is taken out of the police budget so it is taken out of the police budget so this is less money for police forces but more for her to make decisions over. i agree with that much of that diversionary work, especially with young boys and men, is where we should be putting emphasis. she announced extra funding for early intervention, for troubled families. do you not accept that those programmes or what will make the difference in terms of preventing these problems developing? they are, and as i

understand it that is not new money, she‘s taking it out of the global police budget and passing it back to areas she thinks are appropriate. i lost a report before christmas on gang violence, it considered piece of work which i sent to the home secretary. we have also done work on drugs in the west midlands. i would be happy to join drugs in the west midlands. i would be happy tojoin her task drugs in the west midlands. i would be happy to join her task force to look at the documents and see how we can work together to solve these problems. we have very little time left but you expressed concerns about this issue of police numbers. what are the statistics in the areas you are dealing within terms of numbers and what difference has that made? we have lost 2000 police officers in the last eight years and have seen violent crime go up. there isa have seen violent crime go up. there is a connection between the two and

eve ryo ne is a connection between the two and everyone on the street understands that. they see burglary going up because we do not have the number of police officers we had, and the home office seem to be in denial of that. i think she ought to accept that as a problem, she needs to look at police funding but i am happy to work on the diversionary work and i would be pleased to discuss the work that we are doing to look at how she can help us put more resources into that type of work to get young people, especially boys and young men, away from violence. thank you for joining men, away from violence. thank you forjoining us. our political correspondent ben wright is in westminster for us. we heard there from david jamieson, he isa we heard there from david jamieson, he is a labour pcc but he was clearly saying there is a link between cuts in the numbers of police in his area and the rise in

violent crime, something the home secretary is rejecting. it is politically difficult, this issue, for the government, because they have been clear in the last few days that they don‘t think there is a direct link between police numbers and violent crime and they pointed back to historic trends. the new document today makes no reference to police resources for two the fact the number of officers overall in england and wales has dropped by 14% so england and wales has dropped by 14% so you wonder what evidence has gone into this strategy. we know because of the slide emerged overnight that was shown to the home office in february that showed there was an increase in the number of sex offenders being investigated and

that was diminishing the amount of time police had to charge people for violent offences and this could have encouraged violent offending. jeremy corbyn has jumped on encouraged violent offending. jeremy corbyn hasjumped on this, he was asked about it during the labour local election launch in london earlier. too many families are facing the loss of a child they have nurtured in early years, never to see the potential of that love and support that has been realised. as political leaders, we must act, we have to tackle full on the reasons so many of our young people are having their lives extinguished. tomorrow i will be holding a round table meeting with those on the front line of violent crime. i will be meeting police officers, families who have lost children, and organisations working to end the curse of knife and gun crime. i have to say this, having that families of young ones who have lost their lives in knife crime, and going to the funerals of those young people, you see a life extinguished at the age of 16 or 17,

you see the fear and the horror on the faces of all their friends who come to the funeral, and there is something deeply moving and poignant about it. we have got to do better. we have got to end knife and gun crime in london, and save those young people from losing their lives at the hands of their own knife or gun or somebody else's knife or gun. he is not saying cuts to police numbers by the main driving factor in this rise in violent crime but they are putting pressure on the government to address the issue of numbers. there is a lot of cross— party numbers. there is a lot of cross—party agreement that this issue goes far beyond numbers and is about social media, gang culture, drug culture, so there was a high degree of labour support for much of this strategy more broadly. then

right, thank you for the latest from westminster. we have just had the home office on the phone? up on something which david jamieson, the pcc for west midlands, said to us. he said a lot of the money had been diverted from other programmes. the home office have called us to say he is wrong and there is additional police money. we can speak now to our home affairs correspondent danny shaw, who was at a community centre in central london. that row about the effect or not on cuts to police numbers continues. amber rudd again rejecting the suggestion that reducing the numbers in police contributed to this rise in violent crime, others disagreeing. this is a simmering row going on. amber rudd has just given simmering row going on. amber rudd hasjust given a simmering row going on. amber rudd has just given a speech here

launching the strategy document, 114 pages on serious violence but not one mention of police resources or the fact that police officer numbers have fallen by 21,000, kinsey support officers are down 7000 since 2010, not once mention on additional demands on policing that may lead to them not tackling violent crime as well, and it is a glaring omission from the document and amber rudd sidestepped a question on that. it has been brought into focus by this lea ked has been brought into focus by this leaked document, an analysis done for the home office about the drivers behind serious violence and resources . resources. they said, maybe police resourceng-hey had to cope with the huge rise have had to cope with the huge rise in sexual and child exploitation

offences and saturn may have led to them not being able to charge so many robbery suspects. that is not in the strategy document and it was not addressed by amber rudd today, who took one question from a journalist at this launch and that hasn‘t gone down well either. journalist at this launch and that hasn't gone down well either. danny shaw, thank you for the latest on the home secretary‘s response to violent crime. russia has described claims of syrian government involvement in a suspected gas attack on a rebel—held town as a "major provocation". its foreign minister sergei lavrov said russian military experts had visited the scene in douma — and found no traces of chlorine or other chemicals being used against civilians. here, downing street said reports of an alleged chemical weapons attack in syria were "deeply disturbing" and the uk was looking at "a range of options." meanwhile, syria and its ally, russia, have blamed israel for a missile attack on a government air base. a russian news agency said israeli war planes had carried out the strikes from lebanese air space. the tiyas airbase —

known as t4 — came under attack in the early hours of this morning. observers say 14 people were killed. both the us and france denied carrying out an airstrike. israel has declined to comment. the missile attack comes after dozens of civilians were reported to have been killed in a suspected chemical weapons incident on saturday. unverified footage shows children and adults being treated in hospital. the reported attack took place in rebel—held douma, in the eastern ghouta region. the international community strongly condemned the incident — syria and russia both deny chemical weapons were used. the un security council is expected to discuss the growing crisis in syria today. our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford joins us now. thank you. some strong comments there from sergei lavrov on these

latest allegations. yes, the russian approach to this is 2—pronged, one is to address whether there was a chemical attack in douma at all because russia says there was no such thing, calling the whole thing a provocation. we heard the foreign minister pointing out that some days ago, russia had been warning this would happen, so we said it is strange that he is not commenting on what he warned would happen, which is that russia claims weapon —— rebels within douma staged a fabricated attack because they were coming under pressure from syrian troops taking back that area of eastern ghouta, so on the one hand the foreign ministry saying this is a fabrication and also citing the defence ministry sending people into the area and there is no evidence of

any attack, they say they have also spoken to doctors who have reported no patients reporting symptoms of attacks, so flat—out denial of any chemical attack by the syrian government, then the other side is this strike on that syrian military airbase this morning. russia is pointing the finger at israel, we just heard from the crumlin, they say they are in contact with the israelis to make calling the situation concerning, saying it has towns. we heard from the foreign minister saying the us and other allies of israel participating in the coalition must be aware this is a dangerous development. sarah, many thanks. now let‘s catch up with all the sport and joints are. in the last few minutes england‘s

adam peaty has just missed out on claiming a second gold at the commonwealth games. he won a silver in the breaststroke but was disappointed after his first gold on saturday, saying his time wasn‘t good enough. he lost out to cameron vandenberg of south africa. a close finish. england‘s james wilby took the bronze. there were other positive results for england and elsewhere, james willstrop has taken gold in the men‘s‘s singles but also success for wales as hollie arnold in the javelin set a new world record on herfinal throat to in the javelin set a new world record on her final throat to clinch victory. it has been a great day for england‘s gymnasts. alice kinsella took gold on the beam before now

wilson won his third goal of the game is linked to victory on the horizontal bar. wilson already had one silver medal in the parallel bars and said he was exhausted but elated. it's been fantastic, amazing to be out there. deja vu of four years ago, being hit on the pea bars but to do two routines very well, i couldn‘t be happier. two more medals, it‘s amazing. england‘s women have won the second one—day international against india thanks to an amazing bowling display. india made 113 all out in night per. bingen then knocked off the runs with 21 overs remaining to win by eight wickets and level the score. valentino rossi has accused marc

marquez of deliberately crashing into riders at the motor gp saying he is scared to ride with them. marquez finished 18th after being given a penalty for crushing with rossias given a penalty for crushing with rossi as he tried to overtake the race, which was won by cal crutchlow. rossi accused the moto gp champion of destroying the sport. marquez was seen champion of destroying the sport. marquez was seen trying to apologise afterwards but was ushered away. that is all the sport for now. it‘s the 20th anniversary of the good friday agreement — which brought an end to the troubles which had afflicted northern ireland for 30 years. the former head of the church of ireland, right reverend alan harper, made this statement earlier on behalf of the three loyalist paramilitary groups — the ulster volunteer force, the ulster defence association and the red hand commando. for too long we have been berated for our past and not able to imagine a betterfuture. we must challenge that outlook by no longer being apologists for conflict

but advocates for change — working to create a society that is at ease with itself in its diversity and difference. we made clear at the time of the clmc 1994 ceasefire statement our abject and true remorse for the suffering we inflicted during the conflict. that remains the case today. our ireland correspondent, chris page, is in belfast for us now. those remarks on this anniversary come at a time when there is a renewed spotlight on the good friday agreement, given the questions about what will happen to the irish border

after brexit and the continued difficulties over the lack of a devolved administration in belfast. that‘s right, the good friday agreement was signed 20 years ago tomorrow it couldn‘t have happened without the participation of loyalist paramilitaries without the participation of loyalist pa ramilitaries and without the participation of loyalist paramilitaries and this news co nfe re nce we loyalist paramilitaries and this news conference we have just had is the first time the three main loyalist paramilitary organisations have released a joint statement since they called a ceasefire back in the mid—19 90s. the purpose of the news conference was to issue a statement in which they said they we re statement in which they said they were serious about moving northern ireland forward, in particular the uvf, the ulster defence association and the red hand commando said they fully supported the rule of law in all areas of life and condemned all forms of criminal activity. in recent yea rs forms of criminal activity. in recent years as those groups have

remain active, police and security forces have pointed to the involvement of loyalist paramilitary members in organised crime and there has been a deep sense that working—class unionist communities have felt they had been left behind in the peace process. there are high levels of social deprivation in those areas, so today leaders of the three loyalist pa ramilitaries those areas, so today leaders of the three loyalist paramilitaries came together and said they wanted to provide community leadership and this was the result of discussions they had with the former leader of they had with the former leader of the anglican church in ireland and two other protestant clergyman. there will be scepticism about this, it‘s not the first time loyalist paramilitaries sites they wanted to move away from crime, but the leader of the uda, jackie mcdonald, said he wa nted of the uda, jackie mcdonald, said he wanted the media, politicians and police to accept the statement was

genuine and he didn‘t think a genuine and he didn‘t think a genuine loyalist could have a problem with what was laid out today. the fact we have had these organisations are holding a news conference is a sign of how much things have changed since the good friday agreement came into force. yes, there was lots of discussion as to what the agreement meant, how it has changed northern ireland. there isa has changed northern ireland. there is a lot less violence, the paramilitaries still exist but in terms of violence on the streets, bullets and bombs, northern ireland isa bullets and bombs, northern ireland is a much different place in that respect. there has been a focus on the divisions in society, the fact it finds itself more politically polarised then at many times in the last 20 years, there is no devolved government at stormont, it collapsed 14 months ago, so people are alive to the problems that remain here in

spite of the lack of violence and that will be a major point of debate tomorrow when i conference will be held at queens university to bring together a lot of people who were involved on that historic day in 1998. let's catch up with all the weather prospects and cross over to tom shafran machar, who has all the details. not so great across the south right now, we have some blue sky around, the weather is better today around scotland and northern ireland although here it is fairly cloudy, so rain at times and this is the story since yesterday, pretty 5°99y the story since yesterday, pretty soggy downside, all that flowed drifting out of france across the english channel has reached the southern uk, we keep getting pulses of rain to the south, so this is where the rain is across the

midlands and south west at northern ireland and parts of scotland will see showers through the day. we might need our brollies. temperatures weather north or will be more or less from nine to 12 celsius, then this evening and even wetter, some more soggy weather on the way. this is bbc newsroom live — our latest headlines: the home secretary insists dealing with violent crime is a priority for the government, as she launches a new strategy to tackle the issue.

downing street calls for the international community to respond to alleged gas attack against syrian civilians. meanwhile,syria and russia blame israel for an attack overnight on a military airbase near the city of homs. the police shoot dead a man in romford in east london — officers say he claimed to have a gun. downing street has said reports of an alleged chemical weapons attack in syria are "deeply disturbing" and that they should be "urgently investigated." russia claims that it has investigated the allegations and has found no trace of chemical substances being used. russia and syria have also accused israel of carrying out an overnight air strike on a syrian military airbase that reportedly killed 14 people. middle east correspondent yolande knell is in jerusalem. on in israel. and coming from both

the russian defence ministry and also from the syrians and they are saying there were two israeli warplanes that in the early hours of the morning fired several missiles at this air base in the central district of homs. it damaged part of the airbase. they say no one was hurt. but the syrian human rights say 14 fighters based at this site we re say 14 fighters based at this site were killed including some iranians. and we do note that at this base

there are as well as the syrian military and its close allies from iran, the rations there as well. israel is not commenting on this. the military spokesperson has declined to comment. that is quite typical because we know that israel has taken action dozens of times in syria to protect what it says are its national security interests, usually acting it says against one of its red lines is advanced r of its red lines is advanced weaponry being passed to his villa. it isa weaponry being passed to his villa. it is a sworn enemy of israel and it has complained repeatedly about irradiated entrenchment in syria, the idea that iran is looking to maintain its military presence. people will be looking at this, it is an incredibly complex situation

they‘re in syria, you talked there about how israel has carried out strikes before. how significant is israel‘s role in this incredibly complex conflict? as we move into what many people say is perhaps the final phase of fighting in syria with the president‘s forces, his strong allies, particularly the russians looking like they are steadily winning back large swathes of the country, israel is incredibly concerned and may take a position where it is increasingly confrontational with iran. it is extremely worried about the idea that it could have permanent military sides very close to the border with israel and it could use those locations perhaps in future to launch attacks on israel in conjunction with its proxy because iran of course is a sponsor of

hesbolah. we have also heard from israeli officials, a lot of support for the idea that the us could take military action in syria against that suspected chemical weapons attack just a couple that suspected chemical weapons attackjust a couple of days ago. of course the first reports that came out of syria after the early morning strikes that they suspected the us was responsible because they were just hours after president trump had tweeted about having to pay a big price for what is suspected happened in the rebel held town of douma. the israelis are not denying that they carried out the air strike in response to reports of the chemical attack. what we are hearing from israeli ministers, nothing directly about what has happened but they say israel acts independently, it acts

in its own national security interests, certainly it is suggesting it would not have to act in conjunction with the us although the us is of course its closest ally. perhaps there might be some coordination but the israelis suggesting that really they have their own set of interests here and there have been a lot of interest voices of concern about the signals from the trump and frustration that they could be looking in future to remove us forces from inside syria. israel would be very worried about the consequences of that. thank you very much. let‘s get reaction from washington — our us state department correspondent barbara plett usher is there. overnight we had these very strongly worded tweets from the us president. yes, and he has been saying there will be a big price to pay for syria. he says which he accuses of carrying out chemical weapons attacked. he also blames russia and

iran and he mentions vladimir putin, somebody he has failed to criticise eyes over the last year or so and has been notably silent when his astrologer criticise president peter. what that means in terms of action we need to see his homeland security adviser said yesterday he would probably take another day or two to have meetings and think about it. we are all wondering if he will launch another unilateral limited air strike against launch another unilateral limited airstrike againsta launch another unilateral limited air strike against a syrian target which he did almost year ago when there was another chemical attack, they fired mohawk missiles at a syrian air base from which they said the attack had been carried out. they thought at the time it was a deterrent but it seems it has not been, so will he do that, will he do

nothing? probably he will have to do something given the tweets he has been issuing. given the president from last year and given that he likes to criticise obama from what he says was drawing a red line in the sand about chemical weapons and then allowing president assad to cross it. the russians have not only denied any responsibility for the chemical attack but have said they don‘t think there were any chemicals used in this attack. where do you think this leaves relations between the us and russia? it is another example of where the russian us relationship has hit a... another example of where the relationship is in difficulty. it is not only with the us. there will be a un security council meeting later today and there again we will see on display there again we will see on display the deep divide between russia and particularly western countries but also members of the security council

over the issue of chemical weapons. at one point we had two meetings happening today, the russians called one and then a minute later britain, the us and others called one, and they have different agendas. there will only be one meeting now, but the russians are clearly going to say at the meeting that there was no chemical attack and this is false accusations, and the others will say there has been a disturbing pattern of increased chemical attacks, they will demand access, they will demand an independent investigation and accountability, none of which will happen because of this deep divide not only between russia and the us but between russia and other numbers of the security council. the home secretary, amber rudd, has insisted that dealing with violent crime is a priority for the government, and said she would do whatever was necessary to make the streets safer. but what support is there to help young people who have got mixed up in gangs? we‘ve spent some time with a group of men — who were taken off london‘s streets — and given the opportunity to try chi chi izundo reports.

iama i am a victim of life crime. i have is friends who are victims of knife crime. a close friend of mine died of knife crime. i feel like it‘s just a stupid ideology, as young boys, young black boys, it‘s a stupid ideology like... what is your postcode? what gang are you? it‘sjust stupid. i know mums who have shed a million tears because of sons getting stabbed. you get good people and bad people. unfortunately i chose the wrong path but key4life helped me. they kept visiting me in prison, that was a strong thing for me, someone i don‘t know

taking their own time, voluntarily coming to see me, a stranger, wanting to help me. i thought, there must be good people in the world for them to come to see me. that is what i thought, i won‘t be half—hearted and lie to them and say i‘ll come to see them, i will cut off the bad people in my life. with key4life i‘m going to network and meet good people and so far all i‘ve seen is positivity, so that‘s why i‘m still with them. horses, they‘re like people, they have their own characters. not every horse is the same, but they have their own personalities. the grey horse had surgery so we have to be easy how we approach it, they‘re animals so their instincts will kick in. so we‘ve got to learn how to approach them.

it‘s like taking these skills into everyday life. trust me, a lot of young people need to see this. don‘t get caught up in this lifestyle. it‘s not meant for everyone, trust me. that was some of those who have been helped to break out of the cycles of violence as the home secretary announces new measures to deal with violent crime. a man has been shot dead by police in east london. firearms officers were called to an address in romford just before four o‘clock this morning — following reports of a man making threats and carrying a weapon. just under an hour later a man was shot dead by police in collier row. the incident has been referred to the independent office for police conduct.

police say a carbon monoxide leak might be to blame for the deaths of two men in a house in edgware in north london. paramedics took five other people, including two boys, to hospital as a precaution. neighbours say the occupants only recently moved into the property. police are working with the health and safety executive to investigate further. as figures show a 300% rise in the number of victims of modern slavery in the uk over the past six years, a bbc wales investigation has uncovered evidence of traffickers targeting vulnerable people abroad, bringing them to the uk and forcing them to work for little or no money. and, as wyre davies reports, police forces across the uk are being urged to take tougher action against criminals who exploit workers. why did you force men to work as slaves in the uk? two people traffickers sentenced to lengthy prison terms

—— trafficked them to south wales. one victim told us he‘d been bought by the traffickers and was essentially now their property. translation: when he himself told me he had bought me for 700 euros so i should behave in accordance with that, what i did was i got drunk and i tried to commit suicide. astonishingly, british police on the trail of the traffickers discovered the trafficker had twice been convicted of ordering murder, but had come to the uk and ran businesses in the welsh capital. one of their cleaning contracts was within a stone‘s throw of the welsh assembly building. this is an organised crime group. part of the group were based here in cardiff, the other part were based in the czech republic. they were running a slavery operation, they were running an operation to make money on the back of others. next to drugs trafficking,

modern day slavery is thought to be the world‘s most lucrative crime. last year more than 5000 men, women and children were identified as potential victims in the uk — a 35% increase on the previous year and a 300% rise since records began six years ago. but there could be thousands more victims out there. modern slavery and labour exploitation take many forms. we sent an undercover reporter to several roadside car washes in south wales. at this business, working alongside a team of romanians and kurds, he is offered £30 for a ten—hour day — well below the legal minimum wage. £30 a day, 0k. the manager later bragged the business was making up to £4000 a week. when later challenged, managers deny the allegations raised in our investigation and said the business had now changed hands. you helped recruit guys to work here for £3 an hour? no.

you deny that, yeah? the public have got a massive responsibility. i would ask people to ask themselves if you take six or seven individuals to clean your car for a quarter of an hour for £5, are they getting the minimum wage? we all know when we use certain services if they are very, very cheap, let‘s question ourselves where these individuals come from. there are now laws to protect victims, but campaigners say labour exploitation and slavery happen every day in virtually every community, in plain sight and under our very noses. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: the home secretary has insisted that dealing with violent crime is a priority for the government and she‘ll do whatever it takes to make the streets safer. downing street says the alleged chemical weapon attack in syria must be urgently investigated, and said they would look at a range of options for responding to the incident. syria and russia blame israel

for an overnight attack on a military airbase near the city of homs. the prime minister of hungary, viktor orban, has won a third consecutive term in office, with a decisive victory in yesterday‘s general election. his right—wing party is projected to have won nearly half the vote and two—thirds of the seats in parliament. he campaigned strongly against immigration and said his re—election would ensure the defence of the country‘s borders. jenny hill reports. viktor orban‘s done it again. divisive, defiant — hungary‘s prime minister has secured a third term in office. translation: there is a big battle behind us. we have won a crucial victory, got a chance, given ourselves

a chance to defend hungary. translation: i respect the decision of the voters, even if it hurts and feels bad — even if one expected more support for one's party. but we have to accept as part of life and part of democracy when things go differently to what we would like. for a while, hungary held its breath. a record turnout led to delays in the count. but among those who queued — in some cases for hours — were plenty demanding change. translation: we need change because what is happening here is chaos. translation: the problem - everything! corruption, health care in ruins, low wages... viktor orban was always confident of success. europe is watching closely. viktor orban knows how to upset his neighbours.

his dream for the eu: closed doors, illiberal values, and, most of all, no migrants. it‘s proved again to be a winning tactic. a simple message — hungary comes first for us all. translation: mr 0rban, very few migrants are coming into this country. why the focus on immigration when so few people come? this is a question of the future. translation: the eu say that you flout its values and laws. is this the direction that hungary should be going? we are spending for democracy now. after all, he has powerful friends, russia, poland — and brussels, paris and berlin will analyse the result. this vote may symbolise a battle for the soul of hungary but it also represents the struggle at the very heart of the european project. opening statements are set to begin today in the second trial

of comedian bill cosby. he is charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his mansion in pennsylvania 14 years ago. once the most watched man on american television, the 80—year—old comedian has more recently been in the spotlight for allegedly assaulting nearly 60 women over a period of five decades. from new york, nada tawfik reports. bill cosby is once again on trial. it has been less than a year since a hung jury sent him walking free, but this time, the comedian faces a very different courtroom and a country reeling from the metoo movement. nearly 60 women have accused cosby of sexual assault over a period of five decades. all except andrea constand ran out of time to bring charges. in the first trial, the jury was only able to hear evidence from her and one other accuser. if the court allows more accusers to testify next time, it might make a

difference. in other words, it is too early to celebrate, mister cosby. this time around, five additional women will take the witness stand, including a woman who was just 17 when she says bill cosby drugged and assaulted her in 1986. i could not open my eyes. i could not move or say anything. modeljanice dickinson says cosby drugged and raped her. the last thing i rememberwas mister cosby patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me. prosecutors will argue that this shows a pattern of behaviour. andrea constand says he offered her pills to relax, which left her incapacitated and unable to reject his sexual advances. ultimately the verdict will hinge on

andrea‘s case. will the me to movement helped her? it definitely helps in terms of making something that would not have been viewed in the past as credible now very much viewed as credible, that this is pervasive, that they are telling the truth. bill cosby was a trailblazer for african—americans in hollywood and was called america‘s favourite tv dad. the 80—year—old continues to be in the spotlight now under very different circumstances. nada tawfik, bbc news. in the last few moments we‘ve had a statement from prince harry and meghan markle saying they are incredibly grateful for the goodwill shown to them since they

announcement of their engagement and they are keen that as many people as possible benefit from the generosity of spirit. they have been asked that anyone who wishes to mark the occasion of their wedding should consider making a donation to charity rather than sending a wedding gift. they have personally still selected seven organisations reflecting a range of issues they ca re reflecting a range of issues they care about including sports and social change, women‘s empowerment, the environment, and many of these include small charities they hope will benefit on the occasion of their wedding. stars of the stage, have been on the red carpet, at the prestigious olivier awards, the biggest night in uk theatre. but it was a hip hop musical from across the atlantic about the us founding father alexander hamilton that swept the boards. here‘s our arts editor will gompertz. it was supposed to be

hamilton‘s big night. the rap musical imported from broadway which tells the story of america‘s founding fathers in a way that‘s never been told before was in line to win a record—breaking 13 olivier awards. that didn‘t happen, although with seven oliviers, it was still last night‘s biggest winner including a best actor in a musical award for giles terera. ijust focused on the man and his life and his circumstances and tried to do that the best i can. all the other stuff is a distraction and i think that paid off. best actor went to bryan cranston for his performance as a news anchorman having a nervous breakdown in network. oh, it's very difficult to be mad as hell when you're holding an olivier. tonight i would like to dedicate this award to the company of network actors and crew who i'm giving a huge hug to tonight and maybe sometime tomorrow, will let go. it was another american win,

noted the guardian‘s theatre critic, michael billington. roughtly half of the awards, if you look at them, are work of american origin. that‘s very nice in some ways, but we always hear about the brits conquering broadway but we never talk about the americans colonising our theatre. and i think that‘s starting to happen. the lamp's on fire. don't change the subject. just pointing it out. jez butterworth‘s the ferryman, a story set in rural northern ireland during the troubles, shows there is still plenty of good work being made on this side of this side of the atlantic. it won in three major categories — best new play, best director for sam mendes, who‘s previously worked with butterworth on the bond film spectre, and best actress for laura donnelly. jez talked to me about it the whole way through the writing so by the time i actually had the full script, i felt like i was already in the body of the work so completely so that it kind of felt like a very natural thing. it kind of made it the easiest job i‘ve ever done. james graham, the prolific young

british playwright who‘s currently enjoying a purple patch in the west end, won the best new comedy olivier for his party political send—up labour of love. expect to see a lot more of him and his work in the future. will gompertz, bbc news. ina in a moment the news at one but first the weather. pretty gloomy at that some of us, particularly in the south. it has been like that since yesterday, not very pleasant at all. the rest of today, than any of us it isa the rest of today, than any of us it is a case of rain at times, a bit of sunshine around, the best of the weather by far is across northern england, scotland and northern ireland today. and it will stay like that. all the rain bearing cloud has drifted out of france, moved across the channel, this is where the rebel front is during the middle of the afternoon, across the south, the further north you are the better the weather will be. the air over us

right now is slightly cooler, you can see the blue, the real warmth has drifted into much of central and eastern europe. let‘s see what is happening for the rest of the afternoon. we have that rain across the south which will be very slowly moving northwards. eventually reaching the peak district by the middle of the afternoon, perhaps later. despite the cloud and the damp weather, 12 degrees isn‘t going to feel that cold, it is still relatively mild air coming out of the continent. in the north through the continent. in the north through the evening it will be quite dry, particularly in scotland, but look at the rain, if anything it turns heavier across some southern, central and eastern areas. also heavy for cornwall and devon. so on tuesday we have rather fronts across the uk, this low here is driving our weather. more rain on the cards

during tuesday morning, this time a little further north. potentially in northern ireland for the afternoon. the wind is coming out of the south east where it is warm so that means tomorrow afternoon it could get up tomorrow afternoon it could get up to 17, it depends on how much sunshine we get for example in london and east anglia. in the middle of the week it looks like this. no pressure to the south but we watch this cloud drifting out of germany, there will be some rain within that. but with that air coming out of the continent it looks like we will keep that mild air in the south. britain and france say all options are on the table after an alleged chemical weapons

attack in syria there‘s an emergency meeting of the un security council amid international outrage over the attack which left dozens dead. overnight warplanes carried out missile strikes on a syrian government airbas. the syrians and russia are blaming israel. we‘ll have the latest from our correspondents in the middle east and washington. also this lunchtime: a leaked document from the home office says falling police numbers have contributed to rising levels of violent crime. facebook will send a message to all its users who‘ve had their data improperly accessed. the retrial begins of the american entertainer bill cosby, charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 14 years ago. and at the commonwealth games,