today at 5pm... theresa may's cabinet meet to discuss whether to proceed with military action in syria, following the apparent chemical attack. the prime minister has said she's ready to commit uk forces to joining an american—led military strike. the labour leader says she must get backing from parliament. more bombing, more killing, more war will not save life. it will just take more lives and spawn the war elsewhere. us warships are on the move towards the region as president trump's says an air strike "could be very soon or not so soon at all". we are looking very seriously and closely at that whole situation. we will see what happens, folks, we will see what happens, folks, we will see what happens. it is too bad that the world puts us in a position like that. we'll have the latest from westminster and washington. the other main stories on bbc news at 5... an inquiry into the sexual abuse of young boys in rochdale says

the local council failed to keep children safe for 25 years. waiting times at a&e in england in the last year are the worst since targets were introduced. lawyers for sir cliff richard tell the high court the bbc‘s coverage of a raid at his home was a serious invasion of privacy. and disappointment for england's zharnel hughes as he's denied 200 metres gold after being disqualified at the commonwealth games. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at five. as president trump's national security council meets to discuss possible military action in syria,

theresa may is chairing an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss joining an american—led military strike. it's in response to the apparent 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. jon donnison reports. the might of america's military. this naval strike force now en route for the middle east. the white house says a final decision on military action in syria has not yet been taken but all options are on the table. we are looking very, very seriously, very closely at that whole situation and we will see what happens, folks, we will see what happens. it is too bad that the world puts us in a position like that. in syria itself there were a chance in praise of russia from

supporters of the government celebrating the defeat of rebel fighters in douma in eastern ghouta —— there were chants. it is a major victory for president assad who is backed by russia and iran but the methods used him have caused revulsion. the world health organisation says hundreds were effected by the chemical attack last weekend and dozens were killed. today the french president said he was certain who did it. translation: we have proof that last week, nearly ten days ago now, chemical weapons we re ten days ago now, chemical weapons were used, at least chlorine. and that they were used by bassala sambou's regime. syria, though, continues to deny involvement. —— bashar al—assad's resume. translation aqua nobody in this community demanded an investigation of the situation or raised any doubts of the footage of children and adults pouring water on themselves allegedly demonstrating themselves allegedly demonstrating the use of chemical weapons.

demonstration information was taken at face value. but britain, france and the us believe that syria is lying and are now coordinating what to do next. the us already has a destroyer in the region, armed with more than 50 tomahawk cruise result. britain has tornado fighters and typhoon jet stationed at cyprus. the hms duncan, another destroyer, is already on routine deployment and could participate. are you convinced of the case for military action? the cabinet, which met this afternoon, asa cabinet, which met this afternoon, as a difficult decision to make. cabinet, which met this afternoon, as a difficult decision to makem isa as a difficult decision to makem is a very delicate circumstance and we have to make this judgment on very careful, very deliberate, very well thought through bases, knowing exactly what we're trying to achieve and exactly what we're trying to achieve a nd exa ctly exactly what we're trying to achieve and exactly how strong the evidence is. jeremy corbyn is again and exactly how strong the evidence is. jeremy corbyn is again warning of the dangers of military action. more bombing, more killing, more war

will not save life. it will take more lives and spawn the war. seven yea rs of more lives and spawn the war. seven years of war in syria and its many layers of conflict have caused catastrophic damage. there are no good options for western involvement and the stakes are very high. our chief political correspondent, vicki young, is in westminster. that cabinet meeting seems to be still going on? it has been more than an hourand still going on? it has been more than an hour and a half with senior ministers gathering to make one of the most difficult decisions there is to make. what they will be mulling over will be whether they feel they need to get the support of parliament and the indications are that theresa may does not think she has to do that. legally she does not have too, it has become a bit of a convention but on this occasion it does not look likely. they will also be looking i think at the wider

strategy. they will want to know what they're getting into. david davis said that very clearly. he is interesting because as an mp five yea rs interesting because as an mp five years ago he voted against the idea of military action against the assad regime and he says he has changed his mind but he to note that they are his mind but he to note that they a re clear his mind but he to note that they are clear about the evidence of who carried out that chemical attack. and also to note that it is well thought through and they know what they are trying to achieve. the reason is because so many mps in westminster have lived through iran and libya and they want to note that there is a plan of a wider strategy and they want to be clear about that before making any decisions. at the moment it feels like we are moving towards a situation where there will be some kind of military action and britain will be involved. thank you for now. i'd know you will keep us up—to—date after that meeting. i will be talking to a senior conservative about that in a few minutes but let's assess the situation in washington. our correspondent barbara plett usher is in washington. president trump has been speaking in

the last hour or so? that's right, he said he would be meeting with his national security officials shortly and we will see what happens, which is sort of noncommittal, but he put a decision could be taken fairly soon. we have also had the secretary of defence, general mattis, giving testimony at a committee here and he has been quite cautious, saying, for example, that he is convinced a chemical weapons attack took place but he said they could not say they had evidence despite the social media statements, which is a polite way of referring to donald trump's tweets, which have been quite gung ho about eight military response. he says he wants international inspectors on the ground but the longer that is delayed the less evidence there will be. he is hoping that the inspectors from the pcw,

the chemical watchdog, will get there within the week. we did not reveal a ny there within the week. we did not reveal any information about military planning but said his main concerns would be possible civilian casualties and also that this might escalate things out of control, which i think was a reference to the possible confrontation with russia if strikes are launched. he said a decision had not been taken yet but he said he would keep congress in the loop when it is, although he did not confirm that he would alert congress ahead of time. we understand he will be leaving for the white house dab is meeting with the white house dab is meeting with the president and other national security officials. —— to have this meeting. thank you for now, barbara. my colleague matthew price is in beirut. i know you have been talking to people today. what is the sense you have been getting and what have people been saying to you?” have been getting and what have people been saying to you? i have been talking to a lot of syrians, there are around a million refugees

from the syrian conflict living here in lebanon at the moment. i think you can characterise the mood amongst both them and syrians still inside syria itself at a mixture of cynicism and concern. that goes for both sides come those who support president assad and those opposed to him. in terms of the cynicism, firstly that donald trump tweet you have been talking about that he put out earlier has raised the level of cynicism among those who believed that these estimates are just not going to happen. more widely, the cynicism on both side is that even ifa cynicism on both side is that even if a strike take place, they will not change anything, not change the fa cts o n not change anything, not change the facts on the ground and not going to bring an end to what they see as a dictatorship and the beginning of democracy in syria. it is not going to be the start of a path towards what they want, the opposition. i mentioned with that cynicism that

there was concern and that is also on both sides, and from president assad's perspective, it is clear they have been moving military equipment. they have been putting security forces underground, in effect, out of harm ‘s way. we have it all but confirmed here in beirut that the syrians have been moving theirair that the syrians have been moving their air force that the syrians have been moving their airforce and that the syrians have been moving theirairforce and air that the syrians have been moving their air force and air capability north to the russian airbase, the airbase the russians have been using at tartars, with the thought being that the americans will not start firing missiles into a base that has large numbers of russian personnel in it. there is concern amongst resident's —— president assad's forces and his government itself but on the other hand there is surely concern among opposition activists. it is quite widespread, especially if you're among those syrians who have fled to the last two remaining rebel strongholds, idlib in the

north and dehra to the south. those are the last two remaining rebel stronghold and the fear is that if air strikes do not come, if a clear message is not sent by the united states and its allies to president assad, then the syrians and the opposition activists in those two areas fear that president assad will ta ke areas fear that president assad will take it as a green light to do what he wants to them. matthew, thank you. we have been talking of course about the emergency cabinet meeting which is going on at the moment. i am looking at the screen, our cameras are trained on the front door of number ten and if the meeting breaks up and people come out, we will be back to see if there is any instant responses to it. from what we can see, it looks like it is still going on. we can discuss the

options open to theresa may as she chairs that meeting. iain duncan—smithjoins chairs that meeting. iain duncan—smith joins me from chairs that meeting. iain duncan—smithjoins me from his constituency, the former leader of the conservative. your thoughts on what theresa may should be saying to the cabinet, what do you feel is the way forward? i'm pretty certain that theresa may will be presenting the cabinet with the evidence first of all cabinet with the evidence first of a ll calls cabinet with the evidence first of all calls of you have already heard president macron saying he has very clear evidence that the syrians not only used this but is deployed it, the chemical weapons that is, and therefore i expect the british government will be in possession of almost the same information, as will the americans. the question is whether this was an attack by syria, the syrian government, president assad, and the answer is yes, and it was a chemical weapons attack. if they it is

with that and then saying that it is a breach of their international agreements and also, if you remember, president putin said back when president obama did not take action, he said he would guarantee there would be no more chemical weapons in syria and that he and the russians would stop the syrian government from using them. he has failed to do that. either he is complicit and knows what has gone on or they are basically incompetent and don't care. one way or the other there needs to be action taken against the use of chemical weapons. this is not about regime change. so your position is that britain should support the us in this? that the use of chemical weapons is a line in the sand? i don't want to put words in your mouth but this is what makes it different for you? i think it is. sorry... there is clearly a delay on

the line which will make it tricky for you also should there be a recall of parliament because some are calling for that? first and foremost, remember that we have had chemical attacks by the russian today stood up by the international community on british citizens. they are deeply rooted in this problem. the second thing is, does parliament need to be recalled? my general view is that if this is a specific and reasonably short term attack, in the short—term parliament does not need to be recalled but i do think it will eventually add a vote and could be next week parliament will have a say on this and will take a vote on it. if it is is to take action quickly and swiftly that i think the government should get on with that and not

delay it any longer. as you have seen, if you delay much longer, some of the targets that america, france or britain will want to strike, chemical production factories, command and control issues, the delivery mechanisms, they will have moved. they need to move quickly in that process. and the action, if there is any, is to what end in your opinion? the talk today is the concern that there might be a lack of future strategy given recent conflicts we have seen. of future strategy given recent conflicts we have seenlj of future strategy given recent conflicts we have seen. i think the limato all of this is what does success look like —— the key element. this is what the prime minister will be concerned about. if our objective is to firstly destroy the chemical weapons production facility and their ability to deliver that the that is very simple and focused target and therefore you are able to say, when you have attacked those targets, that you

have done what you said you would do. you need to discourage anybody else. if we don't do this now, we saw what happened when president obama did not followed through last time, those weapons have been used again and this means that if we don't do it this time you could end up don't do it this time you could end up with them becoming a war fighting weapon used throughout the middle east and this would be and disaster for populations in that area and the rest of the world, as we have seen in salisbury. it needs to be clear that there is an international ban on the use of biological and chemical weapons and that has to be enforced. it is in our interests, as we have seen what has happened in the source grid, to enforce that belief that you cannot use those weapons in any event not to —— what has happened in salisbury. thank you for talking to us, iain duncan smith. in terms of the issue of parliament and what sort of support that might or might not be for this, we have heard from the snp talking

about possible military action. their defence spokesman stewart mcdonald spoke to the bbc earlier and said mps should be consulted before any action is taken. the only reason uk forces are engaged in syria is because the government carried a parliamentary vote in december 2015 for the very specific purpose of targeting isil in that country. if the prime minister wishes to change that she should only do it at the behest of parliament. ignoring parliament on this would be a scandal and no parliamentarian worth their salt, whether in favour of action or not, should allow it to happen without the consent of parliament. we will be talking more about this story later in the hour and in particular about public opinion around the issue of military action as well. now look at some of the other main stories. an inquiry into the sexual abuse of young boys in rochdale says

the local council failed to keep children safe for 25 years. the new report said the former council leader richard farnell‘s claim that he was unaware of child sex abuse "defied belief". judith moritz‘ report contains some scenes you may find upsetting. there was this man there, enormous. i was small for my age... he is a pensioner now but once he was a vulnerable child in care where he faced cyril smith. he asked me to ta ke faced cyril smith. he asked me to take my pants down. in turn round and face the wall... and he sought to bring his hand at the side of my legs. this was years ago. yes. the

pain is still very sharp. legs. this was years ago. yes. the pain is still very sharplj legs. this was years ago. yes. the pain is still very sharp. i am 70 now pain is still very sharp. i am 70 and then mp, the will smith mayor and then mp, the will smith wielded power and influence. he was never charged. —— cyril smith. he helped found a school for troubled boys. for 25 years, staff abused pupils and sex between boys was thought normal. the independent found that former council leader richard farnell light on oath when he denied knowing about the abuse. you were completely and utterly oblivious to what was going on at knowle view for all those years? they did not bring that to my attention. he said he did not lie but the report authors are firm. clearly that is a matter for others to ta ke clearly that is a matter for others to take forward but the panel are very clear that they felt that he had lied in his evidence. a matter

for the police? it might be a matter for the police? it might be a matter for the police? it might be a matter for the police. rochdale has lurched from one scandal to the next, from cyril smith in the 60s up to the more recent grooming of teenage girls and there are many here who feel that the town cannot move on until the full truth is told. rochdale council has apologised for failing children. the police say they will consider whether to take action. this is bbc news at 5pm. the headlines... theresa may's cabinet meets to discuss whether to proceed with military action in syria following the apparent chemical attack in douma. warships are on the move to syria as president trump says an air strike could be very soon or not so soon at all. a report into allegations of sexual abuse at a boys home in rochdale says the local council failed to keep children safe for more than two decades. in sport, former world heavyweight

champion tyson fury has announced his plans to return to the sport with his first fight in two and a half years, in manchester injune. having won the race, england's zharnel hughes is disqualified from the men's two metres final at the commonwealth games for leaving his lane. jereem richards wins the gold instead. and jack laugher with another gold for england in the diving. he can add to that tomorrow as well. i will have more on this story is just after 5:30pm. russia have said they will not accept the conclusions of a report produced by the international chemical weapons watchdog into the substance 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.

the russian foreign ministry say they will not accept any conclusions until russian experts are given access. britain has requested a un security council meeting to discuss the findings of the report. from salisbury, duncan kennedy reports. removing the bench where yulia and sergei skripal were found has been one of the mainly clear up operation in salisbury after the nerve agent attack. police say traces of the substance were found in the city centre and especially at his home in one of the suburbs. the first confirmation that it was a novichok nerve agent came from the nearby porton down laboratories. theresa may then pointed the finger at russia saying it was responsible. now the organisation set up to rid the world of chemical weapons has confirmed the british scientific

conclusions. after carrying out its own tests, the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons said its results confirmed the findings of the uk relating to the identity of the uk relating to the identity of the uk relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that was used in salisbury and severely injured three people. whilst its remit is to not name a country, it says that the toxic chemical was of high purity, suggesting it was made by a state. that was immediately followed by a powerful response from the foreign secretary, borisjohnson. powerful response from the foreign secretary, boris johnson. he powerful response from the foreign secretary, borisjohnson. he said that there is no doubt about what was used and no alternative explanation as to who was responsible. he said russia had the means, the motive and the record. but russia then stepped in to reject the report's findings. the foreign ministry spokeswoman said russia would not believe any conclusions until russian experts are given access to sa m ples until russian experts are given access to samples of the nerve

agent. britain has asked the un to call a security council meeting to discuss the op cw report. that is likely to take place next week. but other chemical weapons experts say that the new findings verify britain's case. this report further corroborate the technical assessments on which the british accusation is based. it cannot go further in that book is that it is not in its mandate but the question of guilt is now the major question, there is a massive russian information warfare offensive. at the same time, yulia skripal has updated her progress, saying she is improving but she has made it clear she does not want to talk yet to russian officials saying... russia has questioned whether yulia

is being held against her will. it has always denied any involvement in the salisbury attack. the report today by the world's's chemical weapons watchdog appears to create more pressure on them and more support for the response by the international community. our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, is with me now. striking that the watchdog did not actually have the word novichok in the report but said it supported britain's findings. the british said this was a military grade novichok, soviet era, we think it is from russia. what the scientists from the watchdog said was that they agreed with the analysis up to the point of saying where it comes from. this report does not talk about the origin or source, it was simply the scientists saying that we will take samples and look at everything with our own tests and they have come to the same conclusion. they don't save

novichok anywhere in the report, either in the public or private bit. what they do is have a detailed chemicalformula for what they do is have a detailed chemical formula for this stuff so they know what they're talking about but they did publish it because they don't like to give publicity to this sort of information which might help people do it. to that extent, it supports the british case. but it does not go the whole hog of saying, we think this is where it has come from. as we said, russia does not go along with any of this. what happens now? we have at the blarney today with everybody arguing over what it all means. the british think they have more science on the side and they have called for the meeting of they have called for the meeting of the security council next week. there will also be a meeting of the executive council of the op cw in the hague next week, possibly wednesday as well. and that would be a public airing of the detail and the british government would use

that to put more pressure on russia. here is the data, then ask a series of questions, and that might end up with the british saying, we think the opcw should now have access to russian laboratories. thank you for now on that. lawyers for sir cliff richard have told the high court that the bbc‘s coverage of a raid on his home in berkshire four years ago was a "very serious invasion of his privacy". the singer was in court as the hearing began today, with lawyers for the bbc arguing that its reporting of the raid was in the public interest. helena lee is at the high court. explain more about what was said in court. the background to this case as you mentioned, south yorkshire police in 2014 carried out a raid on sir cliff richard's apartment in sunningdale in berkshire. they were investigating an historical

allegation of sexual abuse by a boy who was under the age of 16 at the time in sheffield. sir cliff richard was abroad at the time and he was watching this story unfold on bbc news, he said. bbc news named him as the man being investigated. they also covered it by using a helicopter to show footage of the search itself and some of that was pictures of an officer inside sir cliff richard's home, going through some of his belongings. sir cliff richard denied the allegation, he was never arrested or charged and the crown prosecution service dropped the case two years later. and he is suing the bbc because he says he has a right to privacy, that the bbc should not have named him and the coverage was over the top. we heard earlier from and the coverage was over the top. we heard earlierfrom his barrister

in court, the opening statement, and the barrister said, "what happened on that they can only be described asa on that they can only be described as a media circus. it was the work of one media organisation, the bbc. a bbc news—gathering team had shown an obsessive desire to scoop rivals and wanted to make headlines rather than report the news and a reg retta ble failure than report the news and a regrettable failure of senior staff to even idea to proper standards." we also heard" court that sir cliff richard is calling for an award at the top end of the scale. the bbc has defended its decision to cover the story in the way it did, saying it had a public duty to do so and there was a public interest in the case. the case has finished for the day and sir cliff richard is expected to give evidence in the witness box here in court tomorrow.

the trial itself is expected to last a couple of weeks. eleanor, thank you. the princess royal has visited her father, the duke of edinburgh, at the king edward vii hospital in london. the duke, who is 96, has been recovering for 10 days after a hip operation. joining me now from outside the hospital is our correspondent, jane frances kelly. was very much said, jane? well, princess and is believed to be her father's first visitor. she came out smiling, she said he is very good form, they spent about 45 minutes —— princess anne. they are known to have a very good relationship, they are similar sort of personalities, quite blunt speaking, good sense of humour, a love of horses, and equestrian eventing. now the duke of edinburgh has been in hospitalfor

ten days. this is longer than is normalfor ten days. this is longer than is normal for the ten days. this is longer than is normalfor the average ten days. this is longer than is normal for the average patient, ten days. this is longer than is normalfor the average patient, they are normally in between sort of food five days, but no doubt his doctors are taking account of his age, and also thejuke are taking account of his age, and also the juke is are taking account of his age, and also thejuke is no doubt are taking account of his age, and also the juke is no doubt taking are taking account of his age, and also thejuke is no doubt taking —— the duke is taking advantage of the great expertise here to help strengthen his muscle, which is absolutely vital for this sort of procedure. people are expected to do, once they leave hospital, physiotherapy for, you know, between four and six weeks, and, you know, they will be on crutches, but no doubt the duke of edinburgh will be wanting to be walking unaided when he attends prince harry and meghan markle's wedding next month. jane frances—kelly, thank you for stud let's pause and catch up with the weather prospects. somewhere behind me is a road in

lowestoft in suffolk, you can't really see it, poor visibility, fabrics of rain, through the midlands, northern parts of england, and also some sunshine, very easy to see where. northern scotland, south—west wales and south—west england, but through this evening and overnight we have more rain to come, working its way through the midlands, northern parts of england and into wales, another band of rain coming from the near continent fishing into south—east england, east anglia, and that extends northwards too. a lot of cloud around wherever you are to read, temperatures on a par with last night, between four and eight celsius. for most another grey and gloomy start of the day, some outbreaks of rain, mainly across northern england, pushing their way up northern england, pushing their way up through scotland through the day. behind that rain, a lot of cloud, but mainly dry, some brighter breaks along the south coast, here the highest of the temperatures, some changes through the weekend. where we have had some cloud, we will see some sunshine, it will feel a bit warmer, the breeze strengthens, and we could just see some heavy

showers, particularly on sunday. this is bbc news — the headlines. theresa may holds an emergency meeting of the cabinet to decide whether to proceeds with military action in syria — following the apparent chemical attack in douma. us warships are headed towards the region as president trump says a decision on air strikes will be made ‘soon'. an inquiry into the sexual abuse of young boys in rochdale says the local council failed to keep children safe for 25 years. lawyers for sir cliff richard tell the high court the bbc‘s coverage of a raid at his home was a serious invasion of privacy. we have sports news coming up in just a moment. before that, we will just a moment. before that, we will

just take a look at ten downing st, at that famous door in downing street because we have been talking all day about the emergency cabinet meeting, and as you say, just in the last few moments, ministers have been leaving. we havejust last few moments, ministers have been leaving. we have just seen michael gove leave, the environment secretary, and that cabinet secretary meeting was due to begin at 3:30pm, so assuming it started on time, that does suggest a two hour long meeting. we arejust time, that does suggest a two hour long meeting. we are just waiting to see whether any of the key ministers involved in this extremely important decision saying anything to journalists as they leave. that is why we were keen to keep an eye on the front door. our political correspondent is there of course. if any of the ministers say anything as they leave, we will be back there because of course a very important meeting taking place over the last couple of hours. donald trump has

been talking saying that over in the states a decision will be made soon. that was the only guidance he gave. he said a decision would be taken soon. he said a decision would be taken soon. and theresa may discussing whether britain should support the us in any decision about military action, all following on from that apparent chemical attack in the town of duma. we will be back at downing street if more decisions emerge. as promised, we catch up with the sports news with hugh ferris. after two and a half years, tyson fury will be making his long—awaited comeback to the ring. the former world heavyweight championship will —— champion will fight an unnamed opponent in january. after —— champion will fight an unnamed opponent injanuary. after receiving a activated ban for a doping

license, his licence was reinstated. anthonyjoshua is license, his licence was reinstated. anthony joshua is now license, his licence was reinstated. anthonyjoshua is now in possession of those three belts that tyson fury used own. i was very burnt out with at all, like a candle on its last flame. i have been boxing a long time, i needed a change, i wasn't going to keep oxen, no matter what, for any amount of money and for any belts. i couldn't box any more, i just had had enough. so i spent time with my family, i got two more kids out of it, which is worth all the money in the world to me. i am ready to come back and take what is mine and prove myself as well, basically. england sprinters arnel hughes was disqualified after two finishing first and only found out after what he thought was his victory lap halfway through. one of the races of the game so far, as he seemed to have picked the trinidad and true ——

trinidad & tobago. he seemed to have impeded richards with his left arm. england lost their appeal against that decision and it means leon reed of northern ireland has been upgraded to bronze. it means sophie hahn has won england boss mike only athletics gold so far in australia. she completed a clean sweep of titles in the 238100 metres. she was already the paralympic world and european champion and has now added commonwealths to her collection. olivia breen took bronze for wales for stud there has been more success for stud there has been more success for england in the aquatic centre, as diverjack cork won his second medal of the games, adding to the one metre title he has claimed. he is going for a third tomorrow in the three—metre synchro with chris mears, with whom he won olympic gold two years ago. i am really proud to come out here, outdoors at night and really nail a competition, get a fantastic score to get my first ever three—metre commonwealths title, the

one that probably means the most e. fantastic list, i am really happy with how me and my coach have worked it and make sure we came back from the disaster of this morning to nail it this evening. there was a 1-2 as england won their first ever commonwealth games medals in mountain biking. richard had been leading until she was overtaken around the ninth lonard to mark. she finished 48 seconds behind. former soldier guy disney has become the first jockey to soldier guy disney has become the firstjockey to ride of soldier guy disney has become the first jockey to ride of the soldier guy disney has become the firstjockey to ride of the grand national fences at aintree. it was won by last you's runner—up. disney was riding gallery exhibition and eventually came in in eighth place. arsenal have a three—goal advantage in the second leg of the europa league quarterfinal against cska moscow. arsene wenger said events in

a dramatic champions league week reminded his side that his tie is not yet won. in the real world, we are in the quarterfinal, and that is are in the quarterfinal, and that is a long way to go to the final. we have to do the job tomorrow night and try to win the game. i think it is for us vital. we have to focus on the performance after. but we have to turn up with a strong performance. much more build-up to that in sports day at half past six coming up with hugh woozencroft, i will see you later on. more now on the news that 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. the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons said it agreed

with the uk's findings on its identity but it did not name the nerve agent as novichok. moscow has strongly denied any involvement. in our bristol studio is the independent chemical weapons expert, dr richard guthrie. a very good evening to you. good evening. in terms of today's report, this is presumably what you would have expected it to say, is it? yes, it is broadly in line, i mean i think the foreign office or the british tubman would not have gone to the opc wsa had not been confident in their notification the poisonous chemical. i think the key deer tells we see from this report isa deer tells we see from this report is a comment about the level of purity from the material, identified as highly pure because there are very few impurities, which actually ta kes a very few impurities, which actually takes a lot of effort to get it that pure. but also if you read between

the lines there are at least four laboratories outside of the uk that have handled samples that were taken by the opc double to do the analysis, and those four laboratories have all come up with the same identification of the agent. —— opcw. the same identification of the agent. -- opcw. last time you and i spoke, we were reflecting on the fa ct spoke, we were reflecting on the fact that russia then was saying there were ten or a dozen countries that had the capability to manufacture novichok. russia said a lot of them were in europe. does that comment from russia hold any water now, or does it go to your point about the purity issue? 0h, water now, or does it go to your point about the purity issue? oh, i think there will be laboratories in western europe and elsewhere, a few, western europe and elsewhere, a few, we are talking the dozen marks, who will be capable of synthesising this sort of product. it is with they then want to use those for an

assassination attempt? that is the evidence that really is the strongest contextual evidence pointing towards russia, the history of what they have done for example with the alexander litvinenko assassination 12 years ago. that is very suggestive of russia, the contextual evidence can you look of the quality of the material on the fa ct the quality of the material on the fact it would have to be from a state run activity almost certainly. that makes very strong evidence, u nfortu nately not yet that makes very strong evidence, unfortunately not yet absolute proof, but very strong evidence it was russia. and do we know in what form this was administered, delivered, whether it is a powder or a gel or what the other options are? that is not clear in any of this reporting, it might be in the classified version, the public document makes reference to the fact thatis document makes reference to the fact that is what is in opcw terms highly protected. that is probably sensible

because there may well be information sensitive in terms of proliferation. it would give other people guidance of how to make the material. i think there is a more important underlying thread here though about the origin of this material, which is that the russians or the soviets who originally developed the novichok programme in order to evade some of the international controls. there was very little pressure put on them to come clean about them because there we re come clean about them because there were other bigger issues at the time, and we are talking the early 19905. time, and we are talking the early 1990s. this document, which says this material was responsible for poisoning individuals, so clearly has a weapons use, that makes a very compelling case to adverse chemical and the of the novichok family onto the schedules of the weapons, which means countries have to declare what they are doing with them, and i think that will be an interesting area to look at to see what the russian response will be. thank you. more now on our top story —

theresa may has been chairing an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss joining an american—led military strike on syria. it follows the alleged chemical attack in douma at the weekend. discussions about to begin in washington, dc as well about what action should be taken. but what pa rt action should be taken. but what part should the uk play in all of this, if any? the polling polling company yougov have surveyed 1,600 people, and found that fewer than a quarter of brits would support missile attacks. chris curtis was behind that research and joins me now. you carried out all of this research

for yougov, thank you for coming in, that was just the headlines of your findings. go through exactly what the british public was asked in this survey, and what the responses were. that was the most interesting finding we found from this survey, just under a quarter of the british public, 22%, supported this military list of missile attacks on syrian military targets, which is quite an interesting finding to us. there was not necessarily what we expected when we put this poll into the field a couple of days ago, after the latest news that came through on the attacks. so the point is the poll was carried out after people would have been seeing all of the images from this apparent chemical attack, and so that people were asked, even though it appears that chemical weapons were used on innocent civilians, that is your point, people still didn't want... and this is happening despite the fact that 61% of the british public, a majority of the british public,

think that syria's allies were probably responsible for these attacks and the these attacks taking place. is it possible with those surveys to drill down and establish why people give those sort of responses, what of are the latest

an update on the market numbers

for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states, this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on.