this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm: the us prepares for new sanctions against russian companies with links to president assad of syria and his use of chemical weapons. the government say it has no plans forfurther air strikes — amid deep divisions with opposition parties over syria. i can only think of involvement if there is un backing. there is only one thing to do, to deter the use of chemical weapons there is one overwhelming reason why this was the right thing to do, and thatis this was the right thing to do, and that is to deter at the use of chemical weapons, not just by that is to deter at the use of chemical weapons, notjust by the assad regime but around the world. one week on from the alleged chemical attack — we speak to one of the children caught up in the fighting in douma. i was fainting, my heart was aching. when we went to sleep, the plane

shelled. the chief executive of the world's largest advertising agency, martin sorrell, is stepping down following an internal investigation into claims of personal misconduct. hundreds of australian firefghters are tackling a huge bushfire threatening homes in the suburbs of sydney. clergy in salisbury have blessed the city near the spot where the skripals were found after being poisoned — as the bishop calls for a deeper and lasting solution to the diplomatic fallout between uk and russia. and coming up — despair for some and joy for others on the final day of the commonwealth games. scotland's callum hakins is recovering — after collapsing on the verge of winning the marathon. history in the netball as england beat australia in the final second of the match — securing their first commonwealth gold medal. we'll be speaking to netball england about the victory. and manchester city win the premier league title

as their rivals united fall to a shock defeat at home to bottom of the league west brom. good evening. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has questioned the government's decision to launch air strikes on syria — saying he would only consider taking military action with the backing of the united nations. the strikes by britain, the united states and france targeted suspected chemical weapons sites — today the foreign secretary borisjohnson said no further action was planned. but he said if the assad regime used chemical weapons again, the government would "study the options". here's our political correspondent, ben wright. british jets have already fired their missiles at syrian targets. but the political argument continues.

the government says the purpose of yesterday's air strike was clear, to show the use of chemical weapons whether in salisbury or syria could never be accepted. there is no proposal on the table at the moment for further attacks, because, so far, thank heavens, the assad regime hasn't been so foolish as to launch another chemical weapons attack. he said there would be no slide into this or meddling into the civilian war. and showing how low the relationship with russia has sunk, borisjohnson rubbished recent suggestions by russia. to say that the uk was involved in salisbury — which is offensive. or that we were somehow involved in douma — which is absolutely demented. jeremy corbyn is at odds with the government. opposed to military action in syria without un backing. i can only countenance involvement in syria if there is a un authority behind it.

the russians vetoed un resolutions on this six times now. there is no reason that will stop. both sides have either vetoed or threatened to do that, they're obviously hasn't been an agreement. russia has repeatedly used its un veto to block sanctions and chemical weapons investigations during the civil war in syria. jeremy corbyn said weapons inspectors should be allowed to do their work. confront president assad with that evidence. confront any other group that may be... i am saying maybe, involved, i don't know. then say they must now come in and remove and destroy those weapons. on the legality of this, on the need for a parliamentary vote, the labour leadership strongly disagrees with the government. a row which will be played out in the house of commons tomorrow when theresa may makes a statement to mps. the government does have the power to launch military action without having the consent of mps first,

but opposition parties say that theresa may mustn't sidestep parliament. labour want to clarify parliament's role in sending british forces into combat. the snp also says convention has been ignored. not many good things came out of the iraq war debacle. but one of the things that did was a practice of parliament sanctioning military action. in all bar the most exceptions circumstances. for this to take place without parliamentary approval is a retrograde step. the snp is pushing for a symbolic vote tomorrow. theresa may is likely to face tough questions from all sides about her long—term strategy for syria. the united states says its preparing new sanctions against russia over its support for syria. the us ambassador to the un, nikki haley, said they would affect companies dealing with chemical weapons equipment. president putin has warned that any further western missile strikes against syria

would cause international chaos. here's our middle east editor, jeremy bowen. in damascus, journalists were allowed to see one of the targets. the syrians deny it was a complex used to develop biological and chemical weapons. in the end the operation was a limited attack, a punishment, and a message that the west will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons. powerful hardware was used. this was an american b—i bomber loading up at its base in the us. no wonder there were fears the raids could make syria's war even worse and risk a confrontation with russia and iran. the syrian regime's main allies. but their targets were chosen to avoid hitting them. this was a periscope view of a missile being fired from a us submarine. this week and's winners included those against escalating the war. the americans want nothing to delay

the pull—out of us troops, who have been in northern syria fighting jihadists extremists. president assad's regime wasn't hit, either. his conclusion will be that the us, france, and britain, for all of their power, are not prepared to touch him. no wonder he looked relaxed meeting russian politicians in damascus. this family were caught up in the attack a week ago in douma. the accounts of what happened seemed to corroborate reports it was a chemical attack. the bbc managed to track them down to the relative safety of a camp in northern syria. translation: i saw white smoke like fog. our legs started to get weak. we started to lose the nerves in our legs. had shortness of breath and burning in the nose and chest. there was no oxygen. and we were fighting

death to go upstairs and reach the higherfloors. people were dying. suddenly the civil defence came. they put us on the ground and poured water on us. then they took us to the medical centre, sprayed us, gave us injections. iwas fainting. my heart was aching. when we went to sleep we were covered in dust from the shelling. we went back down to the basement and saw how they were bringing the martyrs. instead of breathing air we breathe in the smell of blood. in douma, the russian military brought in heavy equipment to start clearing rubble. another chemical attack might change things, but after the western rhetoric and raids this looks like business as usual. jeremy bowen, bbc news. let's speak now to richard murphy, former us ambassador to syria under president nixon. he joins me on webcam from new york. thank you very much forjoining us.

what has the reaction been in the united states to these air strikes? there certainly was a group of the administration... not to have a head—on confrontation with the iranians, having warned that such an attack was coming, they had ample time to get their personnel clear. and there was no attack on the facilities which both of those powers have been using. what you think the arguments are for further air strikes rather than the sanctions the white house is talking about? we will see. the sanctions targeting companies, as i understand it, russian companies dealing with the assad regime, and if there is

any connection, particularly with chemical weapons, i think those sanctions could be useful. there is a lwa ys sanctions could be useful. there is always hesitation about military intervention, and clearly the leadership is against getting sucked in to another middle east conflicts anymore than it is today in syria. based on the comments that the us ambassador to the un, head, based on the comments that the us ambassadorto the un, head, has based on the comments that the us ambassador to the un, head, has made today, how much clearer are you about the trump policy towards syria? about the trump policy towards syria ? —— about the trump policy towards syria? —— made by nikki haley. about the trump policy towards syria? -- made by nikki haley. derek isa syria? -- made by nikki haley. derek is a lack of strategy, lack of long—term planning, and attacks such as over this past weekend and last year, they don't deter for any significant period of time the assad regime. times have changed, the

assad regime is more secure today than a year ago. and the some suggestion, the discussions between russia and the syrian regime, that russia and the syrian regime, that russia was certainly not pushing them into the use of chemical weapons a week ago. what role will be knighted nations have to have in this crisis? given that russia has that all—importa nt veto this crisis? given that russia has that all—important veto on the security council. —— the united nations. that is the problem with the council is getting involved. that's pillar of international law being effective, it is not that effective, it is blocked repeated effo rts effective, it is blocked repeated efforts by the americans to carry out serious investigations of the use of chemical weapons. and it is

stopped in its tracks anything except the arrival of the organisation for the prevention of chemical warfare, but that has probably been accepted by moscow because it doesn't have a mandate to assign blame. how likely is it that at some points given that there are hundreds of thousands of displaced syrians who may wish to return home, that some form of negotiation will be impossible to avoid with the assad regime? it's going to be hard for washington to getting to direct talks with the assad regime. it's no longer has the position that assad should step aside or be simply a transitionalfigure, but should step aside or be simply a transitional figure, but i should step aside or be simply a transitionalfigure, but i think should step aside or be simply a transitional figure, but i think the weight of recent history militates against direct engagement. that said, a way must be found as soon as possible to get talks going between

the various powers involved in syria and the regime. how it can be done i don't know, it's going to be a very difficultjob to construct that meeting. always good to get your insights. richard murphy, former ambassador. thanks for your time. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening in the papers — our guests joining me tonight are owen bennett, deputy political editor at huffpost uk and rosamund urwin, financial service correspondent at the sunday times. the founder and chief executive of the world's largest advertising group wpp, sir martin sorrell, has resigned — less than a fortnight after it announced he was being investigated for misconduct. he leaves wpp after 33 years in the job. sir martin denies any wrongdoing as our business editor, simonjack, explains. advertisers want you to remember the products they are selling, not the name of the company that made the adverts. many of the biggest advertising agencies, and pr firms,

are owned by an even bigger one. it is called wpp and has been run since 1985 by sir martin sorrell. he gobbled up dozens of businesses over the years creating a £15 billion global giant. a big figure on the world business stage his views were sought... if the eu does not give on that... he was happy to give his opinion. after 33 years at the top he stepped down with immediate effect, after accusations he may have mr used the funds of wpp. he denies this claim. more advertisers are going direct to google and facebook, rather than via wpp agencies. the company has lost a third of its value, prompting this goodbye statement: his critics say he was overpaid

and ran the company like his own private fiefdom, when in fact he earned less than 2%. some shareholders told the bbc it was time for a change. for many in the world of advertising sir martin sorrell was more of a money man band an ad man, treating it like a professional service rather than a creative industry. more of a moneyman van and ad man. but british business has lost a true giant. simon jack, bbc news. a man has died, and a woman is in a critical condition, after the vehicle they were in, collided with a car during a police pursuit, on the outskirts of stoke—on—trent. the pair were being followed by officers on the a50 near longton after their vehicle failed to stop. they collided with a car on the eastbound carriageway at around 6.15am this morning. staffordshire police have referred the incident to the independent office for police conduct, which is routine when somebody dies during an operation. police have launched a murder investigation after a man was shot dead in birmingham. officers were called to a shooting in the bordesley area of the city at just after midnight.

a 20—year—old man was pronounced dead at the scene. police are appealing for information from the public a car that ploughed into a group of people in canvey island yesterday had been stolen. five men were treated for serious injuries — three of them remain in hospital. two teenagers have been arrested. mark cartright has the latest. where the stolen car was left. mounted on the pavement, where five men in their 20s had been struck. two seriously hurt, with reports of life changing injuries. this, eyewitness footage. one of three air ambulances landing, carrying the injured away. joining a fleet of emergency vehicles. all i saw on the stretchers was, obviously, them taking, loading them onto the ambulances. once they were on the stretchers, i saw the ambulances leave. i've not seen anything round here at all like this. i was quite shocked when i saw it. as soon as i saw the helicopters fly over, i thought it was something serious.

police investigators cordoning the road off, and today the clear up. traffic cones replacing bollards smashed away by the car. speaking to residents here, they said they heard a loud screech. and then a bang. they came out of their homes, they told me to see the victims lying on the ground here. dialling 999, they did what they could until the paramedics arrived. crew of the essex and herts air ambulance treating the injured. certainly two patients with critical injuries, a further patient with injuries, who was quite unwell, and two a car that ploughed into a group of people the police investigation ongoing into how five young men were hit by the car. three of them tonight in hospital. the headlines on bbc news: the us prepares for new sanctions against russian companies with links to president assad of syria and his use of chemical weapons. the government say it has

no plans for further air strikes on syria — amid deep divisions with opposition parties over syria. the chief executive of the world's largest advertising agency, martin sorrell, is stepping down and coming up — a look at this diner in washington dc — celebrating 60 years of serving political heavyweights with a fiery hotdog. that's in the travel show at 8:30pm. sport now...and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. good evening. manchester city or the premier league champions for the third time in six years. they won the title thanks to a defeat for their nearest rivals. manchester united lost to the bottom club west bromwich old trafford this afternoon. jay rodriguez with the

only goal of the game 17 minutes from time. united are 16 points behind manchester city. only their second home defeat of the season, they handed manchester city the title without the new champions having to kick a ball.|j title without the new champions having to kick a ball. i think there will be several city fans who love the fact that united played a part in handing it back, although it is seeming as if the stores are lines if city could win against united and it didn't happen. much to city had to sit refocus and get themselves backin to sit refocus and get themselves back in gear against tottenham. we knew it was inevitable but we didn't think it would be united that would hand it to manchester city. arsenal may be through to the last four of the rugby league but are in danger of not finishing in the top six. they lost 2—1 at newcastle. abouta about a a0 point mark. matt ritchie with the winner. arsenal remain the only team in the top four

divisions yet you had an away league point in 2018. celtic edge closer to back—to—back domestic travels after thrashing old firm rivals rangers and the scottish semifinals. a little over 20 minutes passed before the holders were ahead at hampden park thanks to tom rob each. celtic attempted to extend their unbeaten run against rangers to ten matches, continuing to to dominate. allan mcgregor added a deserved second before half time. a bird when moussa dembele tucked away a penalty. rangers down to ten men by that point. they played motherwell who they beat in the league cup final backin they beat in the league cup final back in november in the final at hampden park. the women's fa cup final will be between arsenal and chelsea who could still win a trouble after beating manchester city in their semifinal. england international frank irby ‘s third —— scored both of chelsea's goals. earlier, arsenal reached their 16th

fa cup final as louise quinn's stoppage time had beat everton. the finalists —— final is on the 5th of may at wembley. it has been a historic final day at the commonwealth games with england's that bothers pulling off their biggest win, shocking australia to ta ke biggest win, shocking australia to take the title. they only reached the final thanks to wait last goal. history repeated at elf, tied up 51-51. history repeated at elf, tied up 51—51. helen helsby made a sharp to round off the gains in some style. it's the first time they have been the final. it beats the previous best results which was a world cup silver back in 19 75. it's my dream come true. the girls worked so hard over the last international phase. they put in against the world number 12, they are renowned at not being number one is on the whole cycle i have been here. to beat them at that time is stupendous. the preparation

yesterday really put us up. i'm relieved, really proud. danny riccardo won a chaotic chinese grand prix in his rebel after his team—mate crashed into a title contenderfor team—mate crashed into a title contender for the second straight week. a processional race was turned on its head when the two tour rosso is collided on the 13th —— 30th lap. the safety car came out and riccardo made a pit stop. after the pit stop, he moved from 61st in ten laps to ta ke he moved from 61st in ten laps to take his first win in 15 races. sebastien battle who started from pole could only finish eighth after being hit by max verstappen. lewis hamilton claimed fourth. sebastien battle's championship lead now down to nine points. and that is all your sport for an hour. thank you very much. hundreds of firefighters in australia are tackling a large bush fire on the outer edges of sydney. flames threatened to engulf homes in the city's southern suburbs after unseasonably hot weather in recent days. police say the fire may have been started deliberately. from sydney, phil mercer reports.

strong winds have pushed the flames toward suburban streets, about 35 kilometres from the centre of sydney. as the blaze approached, many residents left, while others stayed to join a huge firefighting effort. authorities said the fast—moving outbreak was aggressive and unpredictable. while 500 firefighters confronted the inferno on the ground, they were supported in the skies by more than a dozen aircraft. very warm autumn weather and a lack of rain have turned bushland on sydney's outer fringes into a tinderbox. we have to deal with the worst that mother nature can throw at us. and the worse australians are presented with by nature, the better it brings up the australian spirit. conditions in the fire zone are reported to be easing. but crews will again be working through the night to try to contain the blaze.

south—eastern australia is one of the world's most fire prone regions. most outbreaks are sparked by lightning, or accidentally by power lines. sometimes more sinister hands are to blame. australian police believe this monstrous fire in south—western sydney may have been lit on purpose. experts say that australia's annual bushfire season is starting earlier and ending later. they believe that climate change is making the threat worse. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. hundreds of thousands of people have protested in barcelona to demand the release of politicians jailed over catalonia's bid for independence from spain. (00v) tensions have been running high in catalonia since december‘s elections. the former catalan president, carles puigdemont, was recently freed on bail after being held in a german prison. spanish authorities wanted to extradite him to face charges of sedition and rebellion. a group of mps, peers, business leaders and celebrities

came together today to launch a campaign to give the public a vote on the final brexit deal. those backing the people's vote — launched at an event in london this afternoon — say it's not a re—run of the referendum and the public must be given the change to either accept or reject britain's brexit deal. a service has been held in salisbury this afternoon with the purpose of symbolically reclaiming the city for the common good, after the nerve agent attack last month. the bishop of salisbury, nick holtam hosted the "service of cleansing and celebration" at st thomas's church, close to where sergei skripal and his daughter were found. our correspondent, john mcmanus, spoke to the bishop before the service well, it's a service in which we want to thank the community that have really carried salisbury through this. and to have an opportunity to gather together and to reclaim the city, and so this has got a number of functions but it's about saying that salisbury is open, in business and that we're wanting new life in this easter season. we are actually wanting to reclaim the new life that it's given us.

more now on that gold medal victory for england's netballers at the commonwealth games. coach tracey neville says winning gold is a dream come true after the team beat favourites australia 52—51 in a thrilling final this morning. let's speak now to the director of development at netball england, fran connolly... a major get up early to watch it, but worth the early start? —— they made you. absolutely, worth all the early alarms this week. anyone that must sport almost that ball, it has been worth it. how much of an ordeal was it for england to take on australia? for people not involved in the sports, it's really hard to appreciate what this means. australia and new zealand dominate the sport for so many years. we have never made a commonwealth final. beyond lots of the people who viewed

it this morning, it is 1975 the last time we made a world cup final. lots of viewers will never have seen us get a final before. we truly did make history and has shaken up the world of international netball. people now understand we are a true force to be reckoned with. i'm very pleased to be talking to you because my younger sister still plays national league netball and is mad about the sport. people don't necessarily understand the sheer pace of it at this level. yes, i think you were right. what we witnessed on that court shows what incredible athletes these girls are. they play at phenomenal pace and the intensity and injury and is required is huge. what people don't recognise as well is that's just one form of the game. we have lots of different forms of the game that suit different people's needs. we have an incredibly new sport with people

playing in their 80s and 90s which isa playing in their 80s and 90s which is a slower pace. people shouldn't be put off if they think they haven't played when defence since school. you have a lot of initiatives that have been very successful in getting people back into netball. that's right, we have worked incredibly hard over the last six to seven years to develop new games. they are varied and see people's different needs. whether you are returning to sport after pregnancy or a significant period out, there is hour back to netball programme. we will have 100,000 women through that programme. if you wa nt women through that programme. if you want something a little more slow, our walking netball initiative is still in its infancy. that has seen 10,000 people already through the scheme, developing new friendships and benefiting from the health and well—being benefits this programme offers. i have just well—being benefits this programme offers. i havejust had well—being benefits this programme offers. i have just had a tweet from

someone who says it was very exciting even though i had no idea what was happening. it will have gripped people even if they're not sure of the rules. what will a victory like this do for the sport generally? it will absolutely catapult us the next level of exposure. it is really hard to appreciate just how mad it has been over the last 2a hours. we have had huge success and we have people following us across all of our social channels. we want that to continue. we are in a really fortu nate continue. we are in a really fortunate position that we, unlike some legacy programmes, have the ability to make that momentum continue. we have a world cup next yearin continue. we have a world cup next year in liverpool injuly, and we... we are going to keep talking to people about netball, we are going to use like this unique opportunity and keep it in the headlines. we will direct every woman and girl, mum orgrandma to will direct every woman and girl, mum or grandma to a court near them

to try netball. in whatever form works for them. what position do you play? wing attack. i was colder than that i was tall. a use site shooting. thank you very much for sharing your enjoyment of today's victory. thank you. i was not very good, better at hockey! it has been a miserable april so far, but things are set to warm up this week. you could see 25 degrees in the south—east that it is not just the south—east, tom white greg —— some widespread warmth across the country. in the far north it is been a beautiful afternoon as you can see by this weather watchers picture.