the cabinet prepares to meet in emergency session to debate military action in syria, in the wake of the apparent chemical attack. warships are on the move as president trump says any us strike might be "very soon, or not so soon at all." we're trained, we're ready, any mission, any time, anywhere, we're ready to go. president assad tells syrian television that any action on the country will only destabilise the region. we'll have the latest from the middle east and from westminster in the run up to the cabinet meeting. also this lunchtime. lawyers for sir cliff richard tell the high court the bbc‘s coverage of a raid on his home was a serious invasion of privacy. the international chemical weapons watchdog backs the british government confirming sergei and yulia skripal were poisoned in salisbury with a military grade nerve agent. a&e waiting times for the last year in england are the worst since targets were introduced.

and remembering the contribution of bomber command. world war ii veterans cut the ribbon at the opening of a memorial to the thousands of aircrew who died. we had such an evil thing to face in the nazis and with hitler. at 19, there was only one answer, that we betterjoin up and do something about it. and coming up on bbc news, it's been another strong day for the home nations at the commonwealth games including a 1—2 in the women's mountain biking. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. as president trump's national

security council meets to discuss possible military action in syria, theresa may will chair an emergency cabinet meeting this afternoon to discuss joining an american—led military strike. it's in response to the alleged chemical attack in douma at the weekend, suspected to have been carried out by the assad regime. the prime minister is said to be ready to commit uk forces to action, without pa rliament‘s prior approval. caroline hawley reports. this american naval strikeforce is on its way to the middle east as the us weighs up how to respond. the white house says a final decision on military action hasn't yet been taken, but that all options are on the table. i'm so pleased and proud of the harry s truman carrier striker team. 6500 of the finest american you could ever sail with or serve with. we're trained, we're ready, any mission, any time, anywhere, we're ready to go.

in syria itself, supporters of the government are celebrating the defeat of rebel fighters in douma, eastern ghouta, with chants in praise of russia. it's a major victory for president assad, who is backed by russia and iran. but the methods the regime used to win here have caused revulsion. the world health organisation say at least 500 people were affected by the chemical attack last weekend. dozens were killed. syria denies involvement, neither britain nor france, nor the us believe it, and they're now coordinating what to do next. the us already has a destroyer in the region, the uss donald cook, armed with more than 50 tomahawk cruise missiles. britain has tornado fighters and typhoon jets stationed at raf akrotiri in cyprus. the hms duncan, another destroyer, is on a routine deployment in the mediterranean and could participate. are we going to attack syria without parliamentary consent? the cabinet which meets

this afternoon has a difficult decision to make. it's a very, very delicate circumstance, and we've got to make this judgment on very careful, very deliberate, very well thought through basis, knowing exactly what we're trying to achieve, and exactly how strong the evidence is. and jeremy corbyn is again warning of the dangers of military action. more bombing, more killing, more war will not save life, it'lljust take more lives. and spawn a war elsewhere. this survey, donald trump warned russia yesterday, to be ready, that nice, new american missiles were coming. this morning came this, "never said when an attack on syria would take place. could be very soon or not soon at all." this syrian war and its many layers of conflict have caused catastrophic damage. there are no good options for western involvement, but fateful decisions are now to be made, and the stakes are very high. caroline hawley, bbc news. in a moment, we'll speak

to our correspondent martin patience in beirut but first vicki young who's in westminster. in the run—up to the cabinet meeting, how much do we know about the unanimity over this? and we know the unanimity over this? and we know the cabinet ministers will be coming here in the next couple of hours for an extremely difficult meeting, on the agenda partly will be about a parliamentary vote. we know theresa may is considering taking action without one, but that would of course be controversial. she doesn't have to do, but it has become a bit ofan have to do, but it has become a bit of an issue over the years that prime ministers have sought the approval of mps. jeremy corbyn, other opposition leaders are saying that mps must be consulted. the other issues the cabinet ministers is going to be about this idea of a wider strategy. they will be very mindful of iraq and libya, the idea of knowing what they get into, do they know and have they got a clear

picture of exactly what president trump is calling for? is it going to be longer military engagement? all of those things able be focusing on. evenif of those things able be focusing on. even if theresa may does not seek parliamentary approval for any action, she will have to make the case to the public and to parliament for her actions. thank you. and martin, the view in the feeling in beirut where you are. there's a real sense of nervousness across this region. we've been hearing from the syrian president bashar al—assad, and he says that any american military action with france and britain on board risks in stabilising the entire region, throwing it into chaos. we have heard reports that the syrian government are taking this very seriously, we know that some of their aircraft have been taken from airfields and put onto a russian military base and that illustrates what is at stake. any american military action on the syrian

government could involve attacking russia as well as iranian personnel. so there is a great deal of unknowns. many people in the are region worried that we could potentially see a direct confrontation between america and russia in syria. all of that said, we had a lot of rhetoric from president donald trump but we understand those two military 's are speaking to each other, they have spoken in the past to try and the prevent these kind of accident, perhaps the accidental killing of rushing service men which could —— russian servicemen which could escalate the crisis further. lawyers for sir cliff richard have told the high court that the bbc‘s coverage of a raid on the his home in berkshire four years ago was a very serious invasion of his privacy. sir cliff was named as a suspect in an alleged historical sexual assault but he was never arrested or charged. the bbc argues its coverage was in the public interest. helena lee is at the high court.

explain what's been heard so far today. sir cliff richard's barrister described him as one of the most well—known entertainers in the world. but he went on to say that his private life was shattered as a result of the coverage of the bbc of that police raid that you mentioned on his apartment in sunnydale in 2014. south yorkshire police had been investigating an historical allegation of sexual abuse, made by allegation of sexual abuse, made by a boy who was under the age of 16 at the time, in sheffield in the 1980s. the bbc covered the story, they named to sir cliff richard as the individual being investigated. as pa rt individual being investigated. as part of the coverage, they used a helicopter to take that it of the raid taking place. sir cliff richard was never arrested 01’

raid taking place. sir cliff richard was never arrested or charged, the crown prosecution service dropped the case two years later. and he is suing the bbc for a breach of his privacy and is also seeking damages. in court today come his lawyer said, what happened on that day can only be described as a media circus. it was the work of one media organisation, he said, the bbc. and he went on to say, we are talking about intrusive footage and talking about intrusive footage and talking about serving it to the british public as a sensational news story. how lord rees must be spinning in his grave, he said. the bbc is expected to give its opening statement this over afternoon, it said it acted in good faith, and it was in the public interest to broadcast what it did. we expect sir cliff richard to give evidence himself in court tomorrow. the international chemical weapons watchdog has backed the uk's assessment of what substance was used to poison the former spy sergei skripal and his daughter

yulia in salisbury. scientists at porton down identified the chemical as novichok, a military grade nerve agent developed by russia. moscow has strongly denied any involvement. from salisbury, duncan kennedy reports. removing the bench where sergei and yulia skripal were found was one of many clean—up operations in salisbury. police say traces of the substance of a nerve attack agent we re substance of a nerve attack agent were found in the city centre and at mr skripal‘s home in the suburbs of salisbury. the first confirmation that it was an over —— novichok nerve agent came from porton down then theresa may said russia was responsible. now the organisation

set up to rid the world of chemical weapons has confirmed the british conclusions. after carrying out its own tests, the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons says... crucially, while the report does not namea crucially, while the report does not name a country where the nerve agent came from, it does say that the toxic chemical was of high purity, implying it was made by a state. and that in turn has led to a forceful and immediate response from boris johnson, the foreign secretary. in a statement he says, there can be no doubt what was used and there remains no alternative explanation about who was responsible. he says, only russia has the means, the motive and the record. and chemical weapons experts say the confirmation today of the british scientific conclusion is important. this report

further corroborate the technical assessments on which the british accusation is based. it can't go further than that because it's not in its mandate. the question of guilt is of course now the major question, there's a massive russian information warfare offensive. at the same time, yulia skripal has given an update on her progress. in a statement issued by the met police she says, i've been made aware of my specific contact of the russian embassy who have kindly offered their assistance... russia has questioned whether she is being held against her will and has a lwa ys being held against her will and has always denied any involvement in the salisbury attack. but they's report by the world's chemical weapons watchdog appears to create more pressure on them and more support of a response by the international community. 0ur security correspondent frank gardner is at the foreign office. as we say, moscow has always denied

involvement of the salisbury attack so involvement of the salisbury attack so where does this report leave all of this now? this is the public version of the report, there are actually two reports. this is the executive summary, and let's be really clear what it says and what it does not say. it says that their samples it does not say. it says that their sa m ples collected it does not say. it says that their samples collected id 0p cw team confirmed the findings of the united kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical used in salisbury which severely injured three people. what it does not say is that it was novichok or that it came from russia, or that it was distributed ina certain russia, or that it was distributed in a certain way. that's not in the remit of the report but it has been seized upon by officials here at the foreign office behind me because there was a briefing for all uk and international media here in which

they basically said, their findings are vindicated. because in the second classified report, that we don't get to sleep but which all 190 plus signatories to the chemical weapons convention had been given, there is the fall chemical formula, there is the fall chemical formula, the chemical analysis of the nerve agent used. which britain says it is identical to novichok. even though it doesn't say it in the report, britain says it is so they say they are proven right by this. we are still waiting to hear what russia will say. the next stage is that next wednesday, there will be a meeting of the executive council of the op cw meeting of the executive council of the 0p cw in the hague and they will have to decide what to do next because this looks like an infringement of the convention. an inquiry into the sexual abuse of young boys in rochdale says the local council failed to keep children safe for 25 years. a new report says sexual exploitation and trafficking of boys was well known to staff members at knowl view, a school for troubled youngsters. you may find some of this report,

from judith moritz upsetting. there was this man there, i can only describe as enormous. to me he looked massive, because i was only small for my age. he's a pensioner now but once he was a vulnerable child in care. where he was summoned by cyril smith. he asked me to take my pants down. and i had to turn around and face the wall. he started running his hands all over my body and he started bringing his hand up the inside of my legs. this was years ago? yes. the pain is still very sharp? i'm 70 now, and still feeling the pain and suffering as i did. several boys told police about the abuse but cyril smith

was a politician who wielded power and influence. he was never charged. do you want a man to represent you or do you want a party robot? smith had free reign here at cambridge house, now a private home. in the 19605 he ran it as a hostel for troubled boys. he was also involved at a residential school, knowl view, where men accused boys for more than 25 years. —— web boys were abused for more than 25 years. martin deegan was a care worker at knowl view. in the ‘90s he raised concerns about widespread abuse at the school. but nothing was done. you've got the education department, you've got the social services department, you've got central council and you've got the greater manchester police. and between those four factions, they decided for whatever reason not to pull this together and represent the young people whose lives had been ruined as a consequence of no action being taken on their behalf. the independent inquiry has found

that the leader lied under oath when he said he did not know about the abuse. you were oblivious asked what was going on over those years? of all those people mentioned, they did not bring it to my attention. the panel felt that he lied to the enquiry in his evidence to them. and he lied under oath, that is a criminal offence. he lied under oath that he'd given to tell the truth. rochdale has lurched from one scandal to the next, from cyril smith in the 1960s, to the wider abuse of boys and care, to the satanic abuse allegations and the more recent grooming of teenage girls, and there are many here who feel that this town can't move on until the full truth is known. and there is more detail to come. abuse allegations about cyril smith at westminster are expected to be examined by the inquiry next year.

judith moritz, bbc news, rochdale. our top story this lunchtime. the us military prepares for possible action in syria, as the cabinet here prepares to meet to discuss any uk involvement. and coming up, diving for gold down under — england's jack laugher scoops his second gold of the games. coming up on bbc news, english referee michael 0liver is criticised by juventus' gianluigi buffon after a big penalty decision in the champions league semifinals against real madrid last night. they were members of bomber command, taking part in operations which had a significant impact on the outcome of world war two. almost 58,000 men and women lost their lives serving or supporting the raf — and as part of the raf‘s centenary hundreds of veterans are attending

the opening of a new international centre, which recognises the vital role of bomber command. danny savage is in lincoln. some of the ceremony are still going on behind us at the moment, with the pipes and drums passing behind us. not ideal conditions for veterans agedin not ideal conditions for veterans aged in their mid—90s upwards, to be sitting outside this morning. it's overcast, it's dank, there's low cloud and sadly the fly—past that should have taken place didn't. but it's still an important day for these veterans. many of whom feel their role during the war was forgotten in the years that followed. if you flew one of these during world war ii, you had a 50—50 chance of surviving. news archive: raf lancasters of bomber command fly through a curtain of heavy flak... life expectancy for some bomber command crews was just two weeks. today, a memorial to those who died

was officially opened by those who survived. the youngest veteran is 93. this is likely to be the last formal gathering of those from world war ii. this is where it belongs, in bomber country. as you say, lincolnshire was full of them. they were banging against each other almost, you know. so lincolnshire has a very large corner of my heart. the names of more than 57,000 members of bomber command are on this memorial, but because of the huge numbers of civilian deaths they inflicted during the war, after the event they were seen as rather controversial, which is why it's only now, in recent years, that we've seen medals handed out to bomber command veterans and memorials such as this. i must admit i felt guilty about the number of people i might have killed taking part in this, but on the other hand we had such an evil thing to fight in the nazis and hitler.

at 19 there was only one answer — we'd betterjoin up and do something about it. but bomber command didn't just deliver death and destruction in war, it also delivered life. coby van reil still remembers nearly starving to death towards the end of the war and being saved by bombers dropping food supplies. just the things to start, you know, the main things — butter, cheese, maybe. so bomber command literally saved your life? oh yeah, oh yes, and i'm still so very thankful. it almost makes me still emotional because if they hadn't come maybe i wouldn't have been here, i wouldn't have met my husband, i wouldn't have had my children and grandchildren. so i'm for ever, ever, very, very thankful. this is what the memorial at the new international bomber command centre looks like. this morning, a special service took place to officially open the site. with veterans present from all over the world, this will be remembered

as a significant day in the county from where so many bomber command missions were flown. it's not just it's notjust this sort of it's not just this sort of static memorial behind us, a very powerful monument which is now in place with the names of all those veterans on here on this hilltop just to the south of lincoln. there's also a big building with an interactive display as well. there's been a real effort as well. there's been a real effort as part of this monument to record the memories and thoughts and pictures digitally for the veterans, so pictures digitally for the veterans, so that people in many years to come, for generations yet, can still come, for generations yet, can still come here and see the memories of what it was like to be a member of bomber command and to remember those who took part in that campaign. danny savage in lincoln, thanks. accident and emergency waiting times for the last year in england are the worst since the target was introduced 14 years ago, according to new figures.

0ur health editor hugh pym is at the royal london hospital. how bad is this for the nhs in its current state? well, the figures tell one story, that both the month of march was the worst since records began in terms of a&e performance, and the full year, as you've said, so and the full year, as you've said, so in march, 84.6% of patients across england were treated, assessed or discharged within four hours and that's the lowest since that series began. what nhs leaders will say is that that's against the backdrop of more people coming into hospitals, more emergency admissions. they are dealing with higher patient demand and in the circumstances they think their performance has held up. for example at this hospital, the royal london, various measures have been taken to

try to manage the flow of patients better. you get a senior consultant from a&e going out with a paramedic to people's homes to see if they can be treated at home, rather than coming into a&e. equally, better plans to try to discharge patients when they are medically fit. but the backdrop is extreme pressure, extremely difficult times for the nhs, demands for more money, and the prime minister has set a new plan will be put together for the long—term. a lot of eyes will be on that in the months ahead. hugh pym, thanks. the owner of british airways, international airlines group, has confirmed that it is considering buying the budget carrier norwegian air shuttle. iag has acquired an initial 4.6% stake in the airline, which has shaken up the long—haul market by offering cheaper flights. shares in norwegian air rose sharply following the news. car theft is on the rise across england and wales, with more than 100,000 vehicles stolen last year, as criminals use new technology which is available online. special devices can trick a vehicle into thinking the key is being used. there are calls for the sale of such technology to be restricted.

sima kotecha reports from birmingham. within seconds, two men are able to steal this car from a driveway in solihull. and it's happening all the time. official statistics show that over the last decade, one in every seven crimes in england and wales are vehicle theft related. well, it's very intrusive, and also, not only intrusive, it makes me feel insecure. this woman is worried about being targeted again, so we've protected her identity. my car was stolen, and it's made me feel very disappointed with the manufacturers, that i had put my keys in my house and they were well secured, but the thieves have the ability to take my car. today, in coventry, a summit for manufacturers to discuss what more they can do to make cars more secure. but if you've got the know—how, breaking in is not difficult.

physical means to steal a car — break into it, smash the ignition locks, doesn't happen now. we're talking about electronic compromise, the vehicle's own actual internal electronics. that takes various different forms, but we're seeing an increase in that type of activity, which we're working with both manufacturers and national law enforcement organisations to try and combat. the west midlands has seen the biggest increase in car theft in the country. it's gone up by almost 80% over the last two years. so a growing number of thieves are using what's called a relay box, and what that does is it picks up a signalfrom a fob or a key inside a property, and transmit that signal to another box nearer to the car, which enables the thief to get in and drive away. so, what more can people do to keep their car secure? a lot of customers we're seeing now are buying actual steering wheel locks, devices that cover the whole

steering wheel, because they act as a very good visual deterrent. as cars evolve technologically, so do thieves. it's now up to the manufacturers to stay one step ahead. and that's proving to be not always possible. sima kotecha, bbc news, in the west midlands. the english diverjack laugher has become the latest gold medallist for the home nations. there was a gold too for mountain biker annie last, and more medals on the track with scottish hurdler eilidh doyle picking up silver, and bronze for welsh sprinter 0livia breen. alex gulrajani has a round—up of the day's events — including a special visitor to the gold coast. he may have retired last year, but usain bolt remains the face of athletics. arriving at a major championships as a spectator, for the first time in a long time. his

message to those in line to take his title was clear. this is your time, you know what i mean? the sport needs somebody else to really step up needs somebody else to really step up and to be that person, so it's a wide—open playing field. up and to be that person, so it's a wide-open playing field. and bolt was in position to see if anyone would rise up in one of his old races, the 200 metres. could that man big zharnel hughes, the english sprinter had to holding one of the games‘ most dramatic finishes to cross the line first, but was disqualified for stepping out of his lane. in the women's race, bolt‘s compatriot elaine thompson came up short. deena rather —— dina asher—smith was dead. eilidh doyle, silver medallist at home games four yea rs silver medallist at home games four years ago couldn't go one better. 15th championship medal for years ago couldn't go one better. 15th championship medalfor eilidh