hello, this is breakfast with naga munchetty and jon kay. britain, the us and france have bombed multiple government targets against president assad in syria. three alleged chemical sites were targeted in an overnight operation, the biggest show of force against the man donald trump described as a monster. a short time ago i ordered the united states armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al—assad. four british tornado jets were used in the operation. theresa may said there was no practicable alternative to the use of force. we cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised, within syria, on the streets of the uk, or anywhere else in ourworld. syrian state television says government forces have shot down more than a dozen missiles.

russia has warned there will be consequences. good morning, it's saturday the 14th of april. also this morning: and in sport here on the gold coast, it's sprinting gold for england. in the last half—hour they've won the axioom relay on the penultimate day of these commonwealth games. and nick has the weather. good morning. coming out of the grey today, something bright and warm for the start of the weekend. most dry today, though, rain around tomorrow and then we are still on for a proper warmup next week. all your

weather coming up. see you later, nick, thanks. good morning. first, our main story. in the early hours of this morning, britain launched a joint air strike with the united states and france against syria in response to the suspected chemical weapons attack in eastern ghouta a week ago. theresa may said she had not taken the decision to commit british armed forces in combat lightly, but had judged it to be in the national interest. in a television broadcast from the white house, president trump described the alleged attack last saturday as the crimes of a monster, not the actions of a man. russia has warned there will be consequences for the air strikes. the syrian government has described them as a flagrant violation of international law. our first report is from ben ando. rockets fly into the sky over damascus as syrian air defences are launched against missiles and aircraft from the united states, britain and france. several

explosions were reported across the city at scientific research facilities that, it's claimed, are being used by the assad regime to develop, to make or to store chemical weapons. this is not about intervening in a civil war, it is not about regime change. it is about a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and that does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties. the targets are said to be chemical weapons research centres on the outskirts of the syrian capital, damascus, and storage depots and a command post located about 50 miles west of homs. the attack on the depot near homs was carried out by former raf tornados with storm shadow cruise missiles, while the french government released pictures of theirjets french government released pictures of their jets taking french government released pictures of theirjets taking off on the raid. as the attack got under way, president trump got on tv with a

message to syria's allies, iran and russia. what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children. the nations of the world can bejudged children. the nations of the world can be judged by children. the nations of the world can bejudged by the children. the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. no nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states‘ brutal tyrants, and murderous dictators. white and response the russian us ambassador tweeted: defiance on the streets of damascus this morning, although the prime minister said the aims of these strikes was to get rid of bashar al—assad‘s chemical weapons, not his regime. then an, bbc news. -- ben

ando. our correspondent chris buckler joins us from washington. it felt like this was going to happen? we were waiting for this military style and it came and it was very quick and very short in its own way. when donald trump went on to television to say missiles were starting to be sent into syria, it was only an hour later the pentagon held a briefing to say the bombing campaign was over and to talk about the results of it. they seem convinced it‘s been successful in targeting chemical weapons facilities, those are places that chemical weapons were being stored and also places where they believe they were being developed. in that there is an attempt to say this was about achieving a specific aim, about achieving a specific aim, about setting out to really try to

ensure that president assad does not use chemical weapons again after the images of what is alleged to have happened in douma. part of that is about really sending a message to russia and iran. at the same time, though, there have been harsh words for russia and iran as well and they‘re both warning there can be potential consequences. the language being used by donald trump, theresa may, emmanuel macron in paris is interesting, isn‘t it, in trying to establish whether this is a i—off or whether this is the beginning of something more sustained and prolonged. the pentagon was very clear today, saying this was a one—time thing. essentially a single strike unless there is a further use of chemical weapons. in some ways that does mirror what happened a year ago whenever the american forces did fire missiles into syria after the use of souring gas. that was intended to send a warning and, again, this was intended to send a

warning. —— sarin gas. but others will ask the question, is that about addressing some of the problem is taking place in syria? certainly donald trump and theresa may have been talking about a pattern of behaviour that‘s taken place. these missiles intended to stop the use of weapons on bashar al—assad‘s own citizens. what is clear from this last attack, and, of course, we certainly haven‘t been shown the evidence yet of what‘s been used in that attack, but it seems to have been regarded as an escalation by london, paris and washington. certainly from the indications we‘ve got so farfrom certainly from the indications we‘ve got so far from us officials, they believe potentially chlorine and a suspected nerve agent were used. but in the last couple of days there‘s been a change in language. we‘ve gone from the shiny smart missile is coming type tweets which president donald trump has talked in a bombastic style to something much more considered —— smart missiles. there remains the threat of military

action hanging in the air if the use of chemical weapons continues inside syria. not surprisingly this operation has been condemned by russia immediately in the last few minutes it has been condemned by iran, talking about a flagrant violation of international law and what it calls regional consequences. that‘s an important part of this, how will this play out and go down across the whole region in the middletons the. it fundamentally goes to the question of what is the wider strategy for each of those western allies —— the middle east. looking at donald trump, it‘s only a matter of two weeks ago since president trump was saying he wanted to re m ove president trump was saying he wanted to remove the 2000 us troops in syria from out of the country, that he wanted to remove them. even in the speech he gave overnight, he was saying very clearly that the middle eastis saying very clearly that the middle east is a compensated place and that the us does not necessarily want to be involved in that —— complicated

place. those were the clear indications. there‘s a question about the wider strategy and when you have wider conflict it will be unsettling to the region. but what the uk, the us and france would all say and make very clear to iran is what is currently happening in syria is also pretty unstable. what is currently happening in syria is leading to the deaths of many people. it is a conflict that is complicated but it‘s also a conflict that needs to be addressed and perhaps that needs the support and help an intervention notjust of western forces but also those from russia and iran. i think when president trump speaks he‘s saying specifically they‘re giving support to president assad and that needs to change if there is going to be a difference made in syria. chris buckler in washington, thank you very much for the latest and we will speak to you later on breakfast. we can pick up on the iranian position on syria and there have

been comments from the iranian foreign ministry saying the us led attack is a flagrant violation of international law, ignoring the syrian sovereignty and it has said it warned of"regional consequences". comments from antonio guterres, the un secretary general, calling for restraint and avoiding escalation in syria after this combined attack. he has delayed a trip to saudi arabia to deal with the aftermath of the military action. we have seen what‘s been going on in the us and how donald trump has driven the combined air strike. 0ur political correspondent matt cole‘s at downing street for us this morning. we heard from theresa may, very resolute, saying there was no practicable alternative at the moment other than these airstrikes. that‘s right. very sombre, i think, measured televised statement from theresa may overnight. not a normal thing we would anticipate. but such

is the gravity of the situation, she made it clearfrom her statement, this is the first time that she, as prime minister, has sent british troops on a mission of this nature. she says it‘s not a decision she took lightly but in her statement she mention russia and how they had blocked efforts at the un to take other diplomatic channels. she said the fact this has happened should surprise no one —— she mentioned russia. for the british tornados involved overnight she they complimented the missiles used wide the us. theresa may said it‘s important from the perspective of international law that the use of chemical weapons can‘t be normalised, not just by chemical weapons can‘t be normalised, notjust by bashar al—assad‘s regime but anyone else that might be looking on. we have not heard yet comments from the opposition, and the fact that this hasn‘t been put towards parliament,

or in front of parliament, before this was carried out, this was the big debate running up to this action taken overnight. that's right. not justjeremy corbyn, but others, the liberal democrats spoke of the need to have a debate, a vote in parliament for the use and deployment of british troops in this way. there is a convention that that now ta kes way. there is a convention that that now takes place but there are no rules so theresa may has gone ahead without that vote, but certainly jeremy corbyn even yesterday was speaking of the need for more talking, asking for the united states and russia to stop vetoing each other at the un, asking for further talks. this is not the strategy that he wanted to see. 0ther missiles of his party, a smaller minority, said they were supportive of taking this action but by no means across—the—board. even in theresa may‘s own backbenches there wasn‘t unanimous support for this, but the talk of their being time for a vote, recalling

parliament, in the weekjust gone has gone because this action has been taken. matt, thank sorry much, we will get updates from that and all our correspondence around the world through the morning —— thanks very much. —— correspondents. we have seen combined action against targets in syria from france, the uk and the us. theresa may will give a statement at 9am and we will bring that to you. we are trying to get a picture of what has happened overnight. cbs reporter seth doane is in damascus and witnessed the strikes take place. well, very different sounds here in damascus. what we were hearing here was the sound of air strikes almost rambling sort of sound, sounds like thunder in the distance. we were looking out from a balcony facing south—east in damascus, we were listening to donald trump speak

around 4am local time and while the president was speaking we were hearing those airstrikes. we were starting to see behind us over the balcony here streaking through the skies flares lighting up the night sky. we were seeing some and hearing some anti—aircraft fire. the syrian state tv was reporting that 14, according to syrian state tv, 13 missiles had been shot out of the sky. if that proves to be true that would be a badge of honourfor sky. if that proves to be true that would be a badge of honour for the syrians who said that their anti—aircraft defences were working on overdrive early this morning, and certainly a —— standing here we could hear that. seth doane from cbs television in the united states reporting from damascus. we will get more from damascus. we will get more from damascus and russia reaction in the next half an hour. all of that still

to come as we react to the news of airstrikes in syria in the last few hours. some other stories for you this morning: donald trump has called the former director of the fbi an "untruthful slime ball". the us president was reacting after james comey compared him to a mafia boss in his upcoming book. mr comey was fired last year over his handling of the inquiry into hillary clinton‘s emails. his sacking led to claims the white house was interfering in an investigation on possible collusion between russia and the trump presidential campaign. iam about i am about to meet with a person who doesn‘t know me, who has just been elected president of the united states, by all accounts and from watching him during the campaign, could be volatile, and i‘m about to talk to him about allegations that he was involved with prostitutes in moscow and that the russians take it and have low bridge over him. ——

taped it. —— leverage. the funeral service of winnie mandela is to be held in south africa this morning. the anti—apartheid activist and former wife of nelson mandela died last week at the age of 81 following a long illness. today‘s ceremony will take place at the orlando stadium in soweto. the parents of terminally ill toddler alfie evans have begun a fresh legal challenge against the ruling that his life support can be removed. they will take their case to the court of appeal for a second time on monday to clarify whether they can take their son to italy to be examined by doctors. alfie‘s father says he has been told he could face prison if he tries to take his son out of hospital. lots more detail and reaction to those attacks in syria overnight to come over the next few hours, i think that will clearly dominate the headlines here on breakfast this morning, but we have to check in with nick who has the weather for us. that morning. good morning, let‘s ta ke us. that morning. good morning, let‘s take a look at what is on the

weather menu for this weekend, some a bit brighter and warmer is on the way, not clear blue sky that some sunny spells coming through the cloud. at the weekend goes on the breeze picks up, particularly in western areas and while most will be dry, there is a chance and will season rain tomorrow. there is a fairamount of season rain tomorrow. there is a fair amount of cloud out there to begin the day, some patchy mist and fog gradually clearing, where you do start with sunshine, some cloud will build. iam hopeful the start with sunshine, some cloud will build. i am hopeful the bright or sunny spells will come through but no one today is talking about clear blue sky, there will be a fair amount of cloud around but the temperatures are a bit higher, particular on the north sea coast we have the onshore wind is going offshore now, they will feel warmer. rain in shetland, the odd shower elsewhere, particularly as we go into the late afternoon and evening across parts of east anglia and south—east england at expecting to stay dry at aintree for the grand national, cloud around but brightness coming through and temperatures at about 1k brightness coming through and temperatures at about 1a or 15. most

will be dry into this evening but notice the show is starting to encroach on parts of east anglia and south—east england, we will most likely see an evening shower, possibly thundery, drifting northwards overnight, cloud in the south—west bringing outbreaks of rain towards south—west england and wales later, a chilly start in north—east scotland but most bridges above freezing going into sunday morning. this is part two of the weekend, were pressured to the west of us, a weather front is coming in and the winds pick up so tomorrow isn‘t looking so good. 0utbreaks and the winds pick up so tomorrow isn‘t looking so good. outbreaks of rain gradually pushing north eastwards a cross rain gradually pushing north eastwards across the uk. i don‘t think it will amount to much of the showery nature as well, it would be co nsta nt. showery nature as well, it would be constant. much of north—east scotla nd constant. much of north—east scotland will stay fine, some sunny spells around, the south—west brightening up but some heavy showers following on behind but with more cloud around tomorrow, reigned for many of us for a time, temperatures will be a little bit low compared with what we were

expecting today. still expecting something warmer next week, midweek for the rest of the week, the warmth becomes widespread, the warmest of the spring so far, temperatures make it as high as 2a but most of us into the high teens, low 20s, even in scotland. we will be feeling the warmth but we‘re not there yet. monday, some sunny spells and mainly dry day for england and wales, the brain in the far north—west of scotla nd brain in the far north—west of scotland to begin with. another weather system comes in monday night introduced over northern ireland and scotland, turning windy, ahead of its temperatures in the mid—to low teens but it will be after that that temperatures start to head up so something much more springlike is on the way. it is about time, nick, thank you. what do we know? four british rafjets were involved in the joint operation in the early hours of this morning with the united states and france on suspected chemical weapons sites in syria. the bbc‘s defence correspondent jonathan beale is at the raf base in cyprus.

let‘s talk to him now. of course, this is where much of the —— many of the launches would have taken place given its proximity. jonathan, what more can you tell us about this operation? we know those for tornado jets took off in the early hours of the morning and they wouldn‘t have had to fly far to be in range of their targets because were carrying these storm shadow cruise missiles that have a range of 300 miles. they were safe outside syrian airspace, not in danger of being shot down by any syrian or russian air defences at all. those missiles would have flown lorry towards their target and then climb and dive into their target. we know that their target was a chemical weapons facility which is 15 miles from the city of homs. the

mod says very careful analysis to maximise the destruction but to minimise risking contamination, they say it wasn‘t an area with civilians. they have carried out these attacks, those aircraft are now back. we think this is a 1—off attack, it is certainly the message from secretary of state jim attack, it is certainly the message from secretary of statejim matters. —— mattis. . ithink from secretary of statejim matters. —— mattis. . i think it is properly it from raf akrotiri but as far as they are concerned this is a successful operation. what happens nextin successful operation. what happens next in terms of analysis from the military side, effective? -- perspective. 0ne military side, effective? -- perspective. one simple measurement as to whether it is effect did and thatis as to whether it is effect did and that is the first president assad, syrian regime, with the backing of russia from carrying out any more chemical attacks? clearly if it happened again, then military action would be back on the table but the hope is this time, remember last

year they attacked an airbase where they believe those chemical attacks we re they believe those chemical attacks were launched. this time they have gone to the actual chemical weapons facilities. including, among other targets, were a research centre where they believed they developed the chemical weapons program, that was in damascus, and also again near homs where they think is another chemical weapons storage facility and a command control centre. so their hope is they have now degraded these ability of the syrian regime to carry out these kind of attacks that we will have to wait and see. jonathan, thank you so much. of course, all of our correspondence we are getting together will bring us up—to—date through the morning from around the world. rear admiral chris parry is a former nato commander. hejoins us now. to talk us through what would have been going on behind the scenes and what is unfolding. at this become inevitable do you think? the

dialogue had broken down, frankly, by the russians and the syrians in denial were ——, there was a clear chemical attack, a red line had been crossed, and the americans would have had a contingency plan in place to deal with this, were it to happen, andi to deal with this, were it to happen, and i think that is what we‘ve seen, a targeted very limited strike but i think it was designed to hurt, mind you, as is gone in overnight and were successful. if only because the missiles have struck home. jonathan was talking about the effectiveness, how we know whether or not this has been effective and he said the idea is whether their capabilities has been degraded. how soon do you have that intelligence? they are degraded now, we know their defence system isn‘t capable of taking on cruise missiles on the other munitions that the americans, french and ourselves have fired. there was the threat, wasn't there? the bravado saying we can come back at you from russia. that is true, we have seen huffing and

puffing before from russia, it is their standard default setting as well is not actually telling the truth about things. syrians, of course, it knew that retribution was coming, they have seen it before, they know the track record of the trump administration and to be perfectly fair, this is a limited targeted strike which has achieved its objectives. the syrians are saying, chris, they managed to hit about 12 of these weapons and stop them hitting their targets. what do you make of that? they would say that, wouldn‘t they? everytime you have an air raid in the 20th or 21st century is there are claims that things have been shot down but i have seen no video evidence, i have the missiles tearing away into the sky but none brought to earth, have seen no pictures on syrian state tv of any components from any allied missile. i suspect all of those missiles struck home. take us back to basics, it was around to am that this operation was carried out so save from bryant yesterday evening

in terms of coordination between the united states, france and the uk, and then in terms of how these instructions were portrayed, what would have happened in those hours leading up the operation? —— 2am. lots of homework, satellite and surveillance systems would be looking to the targets they wanted to strike, it would have been a coordinated strike plan between the three countries, and right up to the last minute there would have been real ca re last minute there would have been real care taken to make sure that the missiles only hit the target they were designed to attack. who would have decided, we had fourjets involved, who would have decided what equipment and troops would have been used and machinery etc? what equipment and troops would have been used and machinery etc7m terms of what was achieved here, there is a fairly clear pattern, we have seen a lot of aircraft and missiles used and what we used —— call a stand—off mode, none would have been operating within the anti—aircraft envelope of the russian or syrian armed forces. how would nato have played into the kind

of chain of command is the wrong term but in the chain of communication? i think they would have been in a collaborative mode. all of the decisions he would have been taken within i think probably an ad hoc arrangement between the french, british, americans. nato would have been informed about what would have been informed about what would happen to they could be conflict are that air—traffic, civilian air traffic as well. but this would have been done between the three countries. there are well established cooperative mechanisms in place and this is quite a simple operation, actually. it is an air raid, essentially, using stand—off missiles. the coordination is required between planning, suppressing the enemy air defences, and then create the windows for your missiles to fly in. if this is simple and if it has been as effective as you think it has been, there would be many people watching this morning saying why didn‘t they do this sooner? i didn‘t they take up do this sooner? i didn‘t they take

up these chemical sites that the horrible events that we saw one week ago couldn‘t have happened? horrible events that we saw one week ago couldn't have happened? in the first place we had to identify where the sites were, what were the target works to the syrians. a clever thing that was done is actually pumping up the volume if you like from president trump. the syrians started moving stuff around and the best way to identify a target is where they go to, not where they are out, so if you can get them to move that is good. 0peration you can get them to move that is good. operation is required, one can‘t go when straightaway unless you have identified the targets and make sure you have no collateral damage which is very important to all damage which is very important to a ll western damage which is very important to all western nations. of course, to make sure that the effect that you wa nt to make sure that the effect that you want to have is the one that you actually put on the ground. we have seen limited strike, it will of course have caused pain, no question, but it has to give the impression of greater pain to follow if you don‘t do as we say. with air defences looking pretty useless, that leaves them naked and

vulnerable to a follow—on strike, a heavier strike, if they don‘t behave themselves. we have seen from nato statement, the secretary general jens stoltenberg has tweeted support, saying those he used chemical weapons must be held accountable, she supports the action that we have been taken by the us, uk and france. she said this will bridge in —— reduce their ability to attack their people with chemical weapons, of course that was the intention. russian defence ministry saying more than 100 missiles fired at the rear, a significant number we re at the rear, a significant number were intercepted. you laugh at this andi were intercepted. you laugh at this and i suppose it is easy on this side of the world to be glib about russia‘s capabilities and russia‘s bravado but surely, some seriousness is given to this. i mean, essentially you are talking about chemical weapons because a few years ago this country was meant to have given up their chemical weapons in an operation that was actually supervised by the russians and yet here we are in 2018 talking about a

country that has chemical weapons again. in blatant contravention of international law, being supported by the country that was supposed to have guaranteed with the rest of us that they didn‘t use chemical weapons again. as far as the russian missiles are concerned, i suspect the 5400, missiles are concerned, i suspect the s400, the much lauded russian system, was not used. the last thing the russians would have wanted is for the missiles to have flown at its own system and fit to be seen as useless. the syrian machine wasn‘t effective, ourselves, the americans and french have sent in pretty capable missiles, they fly in the kruse, they are low, they are precision guided almost to within 10 metres. chris, for now, thank you indeed. chris will be with us all morning. he will be guiding us through what is happening. we will also be getting the view of syrians living in the uk within the next hour. we will keep you up—to—date all

morning long and we will be back with you shortly. hello, this is breakfast with naga munchetty and jon kay. good morning, here‘s a summary of today‘s main stories from bbc news. britain, the united states and france have carried out heavy air strikes in syria in the early hours of this morning. the syrian government has described them as a flagrant violation of international law. the action was taken in response to the suspected chemical weapons attack on civilians in the town of douma a week ago. loud explosions have been reported in the capital, damascus, and in the city of homs where three locations were targeted. these are the latest pictures from damascus, showing air defence missiles being launched by the syrian regime. they will be coming to you shortly. we will give you up to date and tell you what‘s been happening.

at just after 2am this morning, the prime minister sent this statement. this evening, i have authorised the british armed forces to conduct co—ordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the syrian regime's chemical weapons capability and to detertheiruse. we are acting together with our american and french allies. in douma last saturday, a chemical weapons attack killed up to 75 people, including young children, in circumstances of pure horror. the fact of this attack should surprise no—one. the syrian regime has a history of using chemical weapons against its own people in the most cruel and abhorrent way. and a significant body of information, including intelligence, indicates the syrian regime is responsible for this latest attack. this persistent pattern of behaviour must be stopped,

notjust to protect innocent people in syria from the horrific deaths and casualties caused by chemical weapons, but also because we cannot allow the erosion of the international norm that prevents the use of these weapons. we have sought to use every possible diplomatic channel to achieve this. but our efforts have been repeatedly thwarted. even this week, the russians vetoed a resolution at the un security council which would have established an independent investigation into the douma attack. so there is no practical alternative to the use of force to degrade and deter the use of chemical weapons by the syrian regime. theresa may speaking shortly after

the strikes. president trump announced the air strikes in a television broadcast from the white house and directly addressed last week‘s suspected chemical attack in douma. these are not the actions of a man, they are crimes of a monster instead. following the horrors of world war i, a century ago, civilised nations joined together to ban chemical warfare. chemical weapons are uniquely dangerous, not only because they inflict gruesome suffering, but because even small amounts can unleash widespread devastation. the purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons. establishing this deterrent is a vital national security interest of the united states. the combined american,

british and french response to these atrocities will integrate all instruments of our national power — military, economic and diplomatic. we are prepared to sustain this response until the syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents. i also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting, equipping and financing the criminal assad regime. to iran and to russia, i ask what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children? the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. no nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants and

murderous dictators. the co—ordinated strikes against those alleged chemical weapons sites in syria. we can show you the latest pictures we have of those strikes taking place. three sites, explosions taking place near damascus, the capital, douma also, where the chemical weapons attack a week ago was reportedly taking place. russia has warned there will be consequences to those airstrikes. 0ur correspondentjonah fisher joins us from moscow. what has moscow said so far and how has it reacted ? what has moscow said so far and how has it reacted? we've had a couple of pieces of reaction from the russian ambassador to the united

states, as you mentioned there, anatoly antonov. he said, we warned such actions will not be left without consequences —— worn. he didn‘t specify what those consequences might be so perhaps deliberately vague. we heard from the foreign ministry spokesperson here. " those the foreign ministry spokesperson here. "those behind all this claim moral leadership in the world and declare they are exceptional. you really need to be exceptional to shell‘s syria‘s capital at the moment when it‘s gained the chance ofa moment when it‘s gained the chance of a peaceful future. moment when it‘s gained the chance of a peacefulfuture. " moment when it‘s gained the chance of a peaceful future. " the moment when it‘s gained the chance of a peacefulfuture. " the most releva nt of a peacefulfuture. " the most relevant piece of reaction this morning has come from the ministry of defence and it has confirmed none of defence and it has confirmed none of the airstrikes by the us, britain and france hit or indeed went near any of the russian assets in syria, neither its military or naval bases. that makes it less likely, despite

all the talk, that there will be a feeling here that they need to respond in a military weight. so far there‘s been words of indignation, people are saying they are outraged, but the fact the us military and the russian military haven‘t come into contact during this strike has taken away a significant part of the risk that this strike might develop into something much more serious and much bigger. the russian and this ambassador in the us has said this action is an insult to vladimir putin, has said this is an unacceptable insult, that makes this very personal, doesn‘t it, the language? it does and it's the words we have come to expect from russia and russian ambassadors around the world. in the last few weeks we have

heard that in relation to the skripal case, the poisoning case in salisbury, and the alleged chemical weapons attack in syria. so, no, it is nothing new to see things this personal. russian ambassadors around the world are pretty deft users of social media to get their messages across these days. it‘s interesting that they brought president putin into the matter. i think the overwhelming feeling from here will be that while they are outraged to a certain degree, there‘s also relief that they will almost certainly not have to respond in a military weight. jonah fisher, in moscow, for now, thank you very much indeed —— way. 0ur middle east correspondent martin patience is in beirut. when we think about proximity, beirut very concerned, we understand in the last few days commercial air

flights has been cancelled over beirut in anticipation of this joint air strike taking place. the reaction there? there was real concern across the region, particularly here in lebanon and i think the concern was that perhaps these military strikes would trigger a bigger military reaction but as we we re a bigger military reaction but as we were hearing from jonah, yes, strong words from russia but significantly there was no direct clash between america and all western airstrikes and russian assets on the ground and thatis and russian assets on the ground and that is hugely significant because what we have seen in the past few daysis what we have seen in the past few days is a ratcheting up of the tensions, of the rhetoric. donald trump‘s tweets saying new missiles, smart missiles were on the way and people were very concerned about that. so yes, we are having responses, we are hearing from iran,

macro promising there will be some kind of response but at the moment it is all talk, not action on the ground —— vowing. in terms of what‘s happening on the ground in damascus, we have heard from the syrian government and they have denounced the attack as illegal and said it was doomed to fail. we are seeing pictures from state tv in the capital of life back to normal pretty much. 0ne capital of life back to normal pretty much. one more point, it is believed britain carries out the close to the city of homs. we are getting reports of six civilian casualties there but no deaths. this underscores the point, these targets appear to have been very carefully chosen, there was no russian military personnel inside them. and secondly it appears they were largely empty. we knew this attack was coming, 0k, not the exact time or date, but the syrian government had prepared and was expecting military action. it's interesting

about the detail around how precise these strikes have been and you mentioned the six deaths. in terms of the reaction in beirut, considering its proximity to syria, what have people been saying in terms of whether they feel these strikes are justified? well, i was speaking to syrians in lebanon a couple of days ago and what they were saying was they wa nted what they were saying was they wanted military, strong military action against president bashar al—assad. most of the syrians inside lebanon are anti— assad, they have been forced to flee the fighting. but bashar al—assad, the syrian leader, does have strong support within the country. many in syria we re within the country. many in syria were perhaps expecting a wider response than we will see. the criticism of last year‘s strike, which was carried outjust by america, britain wasn‘t on board for that, was that it was purely

symbolic, it was tokenistic and it didn‘t actually change anything on the ground. i think perhaps there will be some criticism that yes, this strike, there was more missiles, there was more targets, but it‘s unclear whether or not it will send a clear message to the assad regime, or whether they might think actually we‘ve got away with this and we can carry on as normal because, as we were hearing from theresa may there, britain, america and france does not want to change the course of the war. martin, we will keep up to date with you through the morning. thanks for that insight. you heard martin talking about the impact of the strikes, there were reports of six deaths. we‘ve had information from our defence correspondentjonathan information from our defence correspondent jonathan beale and information from our defence correspondentjonathan beale and he said the facility that was strike is located some distance from any known concentrations of civilian habitation, reducing yet further any risk of death, that that information

slowly coming through —— but that. the mod with more technical information coming from this statement, they say these four raf tornadojets statement, they say these four raf tornado jets launched storm statement, they say these four raf tornadojets launched storm shadow missiles firing first at a former mill military missile base 15 miles west of the city of homs. that‘s where the syrian regime is believed to have kept chemical weapons precursor is stockpiled in breach of the syrian obligations under the chemical weapons agreement. —— precursor is. they were saying they we re precursor is. they were saying they were trying to minimise casualties. martin patience on the ground in beirut has heard that six people have been killed near the homs passivity. —— facilities. we will keep you up to date with what‘s

happening from that co—ordinated airstrikes. some other stories for you this morning: to rugby players legally cleared of raping a woman in belfast have been cleared to leave the club. during the trial, a series of sexually explicit messages sent by the men we re explicit messages sent by the men were read out in court. last night protesters gathered outside the stadium to demonstrate against the pair‘s reinstatement. donald trump has called the former director of the fbi an "untruthful slime ball". the us president was reacting afterjames comey compared him to a mafia boss in his upcoming book. mr comey was fired last year over his handling of the inquiry into hillary clinton‘s emails. his sacking led to claims the white house was interfering in an investigation on possible collusion between russia and the trump presidential campaign. the parents of alfie evans has become a fresh challenge

against the ruling that his life support can be removed. they will take their case to the court of appeal for a second time on monday to clarify whether they can take their son to italy to be examined by doctors. alfie‘s father says he has been told he could face prison if he tries to take his son out of hospital. let‘s find out what is happening with the morning‘s weather. morning, nick. a good deal of cloud around today, to start the day, but i‘m hopeful things will brighten up a bit more as the day goes on compete with recent days, we have to warm up a little bit, today is probably the best of the weekend, the breeze picks up in western parts especially into tomorrow and tomorrow most of us into tomorrow and tomorrow most of us will see a bit of rain at some stage of the day. a little bit of patchy mist and fog to start, it gradually clears. if you‘re lucky enough to have blue sky, the cloud will build, but cloud first thing, some bright or sunny spells coming through but no one will have clear

blue sky today but most places will be dry and the temperatures are higher than they have been, particularly along this stretch of north sea coast while we have been stuck in single figures all week getting back into double figures as the wind blows offshore rather than onshore but as the wind blows offshore rather than onshore but as high the wind blows offshore rather than onshore but as high as the wind blows offshore rather than onshore but as high as 18 the wind blows offshore rather than onshore but as high as 18 degrees the wind blows offshore rather than onshore but as high as 18 degrees in some spots in south—west england. the grand national, a good deal of cloud around but a bit righter than it has been. —— bright. the chance that we could have one or two late afternoon and evening showers popping up here and there will more especially in the parts of south—east england and east anglia and if you do catch one it could be heavy or thundery. most most of us won‘t though. both temperatures will be chilly, part of north—east scotland, elsewhere above freezing, the odd mist and fog patch. into tomorrow, watching this area of low pressure to the west of

our striving this weather front in and the wind strengthening too said we ta ke and the wind strengthening too said we take a step backwards again in the weather for part two of the weekend, more cloud around, some outbreaks of rain gradually drifting off eastwards. while the scotland staying dry. the arrows suggest there is more of a wind, kicking up in western areas. brightening later in the west, wales, south—west england, heavy showers following and temperatures lower than they have been. we are still expecting things to warm up as we been. we are still expecting things to warm up as we go been. we are still expecting things to warm up as we go through next week. temperatures start to head into the 20s, the warmest weather of the spring so far. high teens, low 20s, as high as 24, not everyone will get there but even in scotland temperatures into the low 20s. next, thank you, we will be back with him later. of course we are going to keep you up—to—date with the correspondence from around the world about the overnight coordinated air strike on syrian basis. that is by

the us, the uk and france. at let‘s ta ke the us, the uk and france. at let‘s take a look at the sport because the brits rather a big competition taking place down under. good morning, mike. yes, good morning to everyone, it is the penultimate day of the commonwealth games on the gold coast where it was raining earlier but now has brightened up and it is the busiest day so far with 44 gold medals up for grabs. already it has been a fantastic day for england to have struck gold in the likes of the boxing, shooting, table tennis and athletics. james burford reports. the roar of the crowd can only mean it is the drama of the 100 metres relay, england fended off south africa and jamaica the goals in the men‘s race, what had been a tricky track to be just the team got off to the best of starts on the gold coast‘s penultimate day. one gold then, how about another? the battle was passed to the women who truly delivered a sprint relay double the tea m delivered a sprint relay double the team england and smiles all round.

british boxing brilliance is showing no signs of fatigue as the ring delivered another golden morning. england‘s lisa wide side overcame karlie normal after years of playing second fiddle to nicola adams finally whiteside on the right side. it is not real, is it? absolutely amazing, i was trying not to cry. we don‘t mind a few tears. i spoke to my family yesterday and when i said that my mum was crying, everyone was crying, so imagine everyone was so static at home, it has been a tough time for me and my family and we have done it. next, the chance of the birmingham‘s own, success runs in the family, his brother callide isa in the family, his brother callide is a world champion. how does it feel them to step out of the shadow? england kept up their record of earning a medal at every commonwealth games since hockey was introduced, emphatically claiming the bronze in a 6—0 win against

india, a victory that also gives the country their 100th medal. the bike brought bronze as danny rose here in the red rolled her way to a podium place in the women‘s road race. whether it is the track, the ring or the road, the home nation is feeling right at home on the gold coast. it is all happening thick and fast. about two more medals to england in the last 10 minutes or so, a gold in the last 10 minutes or so, a gold in the table tennis for ross wilson, in the table tennis for ross wilson, in the tt 610, and laura weyman has won in the bronze medal 500 metres, it isa in the bronze medal 500 metres, it is a good result but for her because she normally runs at 1500 metres is a big step up. away from the games briefly. liverpool got the draw they wanted for the semifinals of the champions league. they‘ll play roma, the side who knocked out barcelona, with the first leg at anfield. in the europa league, arsenal have a really tough draw — they‘ll face atletico madrid.

aston villa are guaranteed at least a championship play—off place thanks to a 1—0 win over leeds. lewis grabban with the goal. they‘re only two points behind the second automatic promotion spot. pep guardiola says his players are ready to put a bad week behind them. we are human beings and they are disappointed because we did it absolutely everything so, so in that situation that is normal but now we have in front of us the most important title in the season by far because of course to win, you can win the champions league injust seven games, but in the league, no? aston villa are guaranteed at least a championship play—off place thanks to their 1—0 a championship play—off place thanks to their1—0 win a championship play—off place thanks to their 1—0 win over leeds. they are only two points behind the second automatic promotion spot. it

seems lewis hamilton will have to raise his game somewhat. that‘s if he‘s to take pole position for the chinese grand prix. the world champion struggled in final practice in shanghai, more than a second off the pace of sebastian vettel, who topped the timesheets. qualifying gets underway at 7 o‘clock with red bull struggling to get daniel ricciardo‘s car ready in time after the renault engine blew in final practice. it‘s the grand national this afternoon but the going is heavy after a lot of rain fell on ladies day and overnight. you can see all of the umbrellas there. today‘s race will be notable for featuring three female jockeys for the first time for 30 years. an estimated £150 million will be bet on the race with 70,000 people expected at the course and 600 million following it worldwide. including i dare say a fairfew here, when it will be to 15 in the

morning. —— 2:15. the netball, england and jamaica, you can follow but right now on the bbc red button. i will have more further at seven o‘clock. in the last few hours around two o‘clock this morning was confirmed by us president donald trump that military action is under way syria. there have been coordinated attacks between the uk, the us and france against three alleged syrian camel would site in britain‘s military action since president asaad so far. we have been getting reaction from president trump, as naga said, he called the syrian leader a monster. we are expecting more statements from theresa may in the next couple of hours. right now, i‘d like to talk

to bilal shami who talk to is the research —— bilal shami who is the research and policy coordinator for the rethink rebuild society which works with syrians now living in the uk. he joins us on the phone from london. have been showing these pictures of the skyline around damascus and hong said explosions overnight. as the syrian watching, what is your mind overnight —— homs. syrian watching, what is your mind overnight -- homs. it is a specific —— the question i ask is what about attacks committed by this regime using non— chemical weapons? theresa may mentions that around 75 civilians were killed by this latest chemical attack. put it into context. before this attack there was a horrendous bombing campaign that killed around 2000 civilians.

effectively what this message this to the regime is that you can continue your military campaign to reta ke continue your military campaign to retake the country at just continue your military campaign to retake the country atjust don‘t use chemical weapons and that is unacceptable. basically what i‘m saying is there is a critical moment to actually spear this military response into pressuring the assad regime to commit to a ceasefire, to start to put the process against the wall. from what i understand, you think this action overnight is too little and too late? it is too late because i mean syrians have been suffering the seven years under continuous bombardment, forced displacement, torture, attainment, at what i‘m saying is regardless of the significance or amount of the attack it should have been spared towards the regime and to the negotiating table, not just towards the regime and to the negotiating table, notjust to ring them from using a specific type of weapon. civilians have been killed throughout the past seven years war with the chemical weapons,

conventional weapons, and chemical weapons. the message from britain, from america, from paris this morning, very clear communicated message, they are trying to say this isn‘t the start of a war, this is a one off, a warning, if you like, to president asaad in syria. what do you think will, and should, happen after this night? after these attacks? the next following steps should be very clear, messages of pressure on the assad regime, on russia and iran, showing they are serious about not letting these atrocities continue, there should be clear steps towards an immediate ceasefire that stops all kinds of atrocities and spend the us general mattis released a statement earlier today and said that there should be international agreement on stopping the war and international agreement on stopping the warand on international agreement on stopping the war and on agreeing to a political process and i think all steps political process and i think all ste ps ta ke n political process and i think all steps taken for now should go in

that direction. do you think that political diplomatic process is now more likely or less likely as a result of these coordinated strikes overnight? it is definitely more likely, this shows that they are actually serious and they will intervene but there needs to be consistency in these types of m essa g es consistency in these types of messages and they need to be clearly framed, a more holistic path towards the whole conflict, ending the whole conflict, not just very the whole conflict, ending the whole conflict, notjust very directed towards the middle attacks. talking about the politics and the diplomacy and military action, for you as a syria now living in the uk, four other members of the syrian community living in the uk, on a human level watching these pictures and seeing the headlines over the last week, what is it like for you right now? horrific. i mean, the problem is we have been seeing these images first seven years. to the extent it is becoming normalised, and it shouldn‘t happen. it is what

iam urging, and it shouldn‘t happen. it is what i am urging, and there is a slight frustration on my part, but i still cannot see material steps towards ending the war, and that is why i wa nt ending the war, and that is why i want more seriousness, there needs to be political, diplomatic, military pressure into stopping these regime from militarily taking over this country and actually agreeing to a ceasefire, and start ofa agreeing to a ceasefire, and start of a good process, the political process is going on and it is not good at the regime thinks it has the upper hand militarily, we need that to change. bilil, thank you for joining us. we have been hearing reaction to a coordinated strike against three alleged syrian illegal weapons like that happened in the early hours of this morning, coordinated between the us, uk and france. it will keep you up—to—date throughout the morning and we will see you shortly. —— we will keep you. hello, this is breakfast with naga munchetty and jon kay. britain, the us and france have bombed multiple government targets

against president assad in syria.