the breast cancer screening scandal, it is undated as people get in touch after a major computer error. the it problem and that 450,000 women were not invited for a final mammogram. there's a good chance it would have been picked up and operated on sooner. tonight it's emerged that concerns had been raised last year by two nhs trusts — but they were told it was not a national problem. also tonight. president trump confirms he paid his lawyer to buy the silence of a porn star over an alleged affair. fierce dust storms in northern india leave over 100 people dead and many more injured. the anti—anxiety pills being traded at school — the teenagers putting their health at risk by using the powerful drugs. they've been a little bit off—key during their lessons and so presented with slurred speech with being unable to walk. looking a little bit like they're drunk. it's au revoir, arsene, as the gunners crash out of europe

against atletico madrid tonight. and britain's smallest ever baby boy — born four months early at 24 weeks. later in the hour we will have sport on the bbc news channel with the latest reports and interviews and features from the bbc sports centre. good evening. more than 8,000 women have contacted a helpline set up to deal with a failure in the programme to screen for breast cancer. the error — dating back nine years — has meant that around 450,000 women in england could have been affected. up to 270 women — all in their 70s — may have had their lives shortened. tonight the bbc has learnt that two

nhs trusts raised concerns about it issues as early as march last year but they were told the problems were a local — not national — matter. here's our health editor hugh pym. rowena, who's 70, is one of those who says she never got any letter offering routine screening, which might have detected her breast cancer sooner. she was diagnosed in 2016. i hadn't had any communication at all, to ask me to go fora mammogram. when i went to my gp, he said, "have you had any requests?" and i said no, i hadn't. who's to say? the role of gps in the screening failures has been raised, that they point out they don't run the programme or get involved in sending out letters.

they can only and react to concerns raised by their patients. gps have said to us that they have had women in the past to have said to them, i think i have missed my screen, but they have rightly and properly said the women, here's the number of the local screening unit, you need to phone up yourself and ask the question, because we have no control and no input into the process. letters like this have been sent to tens of thousands of women who missed a final routine screening. some will be offered a catch—up appointment. hello, you're through to breast cancer care's helpline. breast cancer charities running helplines said they were extremely busy. 0ne reporting 40 calls in the first 15 minutes this morning, with women wanting to know whether they were affected by what's been called a colossal system failure with breast screening. hundreds of thousands not receiving invitations to have mammograms. it has emerged this evening that in two areas of england, concerns about it problems in breast screening were raised by nhs trusts in march last year.

local public health officials passed them on to the it contractor, who said they were localised problems with no national significance. so who exactly knew what and when? in 2016, an it upgrade for the screening programme in england was started. last year, the local concerns emerged. but public health england say it was not untiljanuary this year they were aware it was a national problem. in march, minsters were informed. critics say a swifter response was needed. officials say it couldn't be rushed. we've had an expert advisory group running with expert clinicians, who have told us they are very clear that women need to have a helpline in place, to have all of these things there and for us to have the complete picture before we go out to them, so that we don't cause them any more anxiety than the current situation is. helen is one of many who want to know who is responsible for the catalogue of errors. her mother ann was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 72 and died two years later. helen remembers her saying she hadn't been called

for a screening for a long time before the diagnosis. i think the worst bit is itjust brings back all the grief. it brings back all the grief of losing somebody, with a whole load of questions around could it have been different? could her life have been longer? could her quality of life have been better? because by the time she had the diagnosis, the cancer was well advanced and there was nothing really they could do for her. many like helen will want to know where the blame lies but the confusion is over the fact nationally public health england has responsibility for the screening programme but it is implemented locally so public health england said it did not know the scale of the national problem until earlier this year but in two areas of england, officials realised there we re england, officials realised there were concerns in march last year. an it contractor said they were not significant. a review will have to

get to the bottom of this and come up get to the bottom of this and come up with findings. ultimately politically responsibility lies with the department of health and social care. the buck stops here and with the secretary of state, jeremy hunt. if you want to contact the helpline that has been set up for women affected by this — the number is 0800169 2692, or you can find more information on the nhs choices website. donald trump has admitted that he reimbursed his lawyer for buying the silence of a porn star over an alleged affair. mrtrump said the payment of $130,000 — made before the 2016 election — was designed to stop stormy daniels making false accusations. president trump denies having an affair with her and also denies illegally using money from election campaign funds to pay her off. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. this is the story of the porn star, the president and the president's personal lawyer. stormy daniels claimed she had a one—night fling

with donald trump in 2006, but was paid $130,000 ten years later, and just coincidentally, weeks before the presidential election, to buy her silence. the money was handed over by this man, michael cohen, the president's mr fix it, who says he paid her the cash out of a personal account and was never reimbursed by the president. donald trump has always denied the affair and has maintained he knew nothing of the payment. he was asked about it on air force one four weeks ago. but now, that story has been flatly contradicted by former new york mayor, rudy giuliani, who joined the trump legal team two weeks ago, and says the president has paid michael cohen the money.

he was definitely reimbursed. there is no doubt about it. so why did he say he wasn't? maybe... first of all, if we had to defend this as not being a campaign contribution, i think we can do that. this was for personal reasons. and last night in a separate fox interview, he talked about how much the president knew about what was going on. he did not know about the specifics of it as far as i know. but he did know about the general arrangement, that michael would take care of things like this. like i take care of things like this. this morning, the president's spokeswoman was ambushed in the white house grounds about what she knew and when. she repeatedly said she gave out the best information she had at the time. but at the briefing a truly jaw—dropping moment about how totally out of the loop she was. when did you specifically know that the president repaid mr cohen for the $130,000, you personally? the first awareness i had was during the interview last night. it is very hard to avoid the conclusion that

someone has been lying. is it the president? is it his personal lawyer michael cohen? or is that rudy giuliani, who seems to have put out a fire with a can of kerosene? certainly all of the statements cannot be reconciled. i suppose the bigger question is, does anybody care? certainly, past disclosures have done him no harm with his supporters, but lawyers tend to be less accommodating. today the president proclaimed a national day of prayer across america. but if he has been willing the stormy daniel saga to go away, those prayers have not been answered. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the polls have just closed for this year's local elections in england. there are nearly 4,400 seats up for grabs across 150 local authorities — as well as six mayoral elections. it is the first test for the political parties since last year's general election. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg is in westminster for us.

nine minutes ago, ballot boxes will have been sealed, counters will be anticipating a long night and day ahead tomorrow as voters in towns and cities in england have the chance to have their say. it is important to remember the last time these seats were up for grabs was in 2014, a different political universe with david cameron still prime minister and ed miliband leading the labour party and nick clegg leading the lib dems and ukip and nigel farage were at a high point. where will vote rs farage were at a high point. where will voters go this time? labour is certain of making big chunks of advancesin certain of making big chunks of advances in london and consolidating their position in urban centres around the country. they will look for and cross their fingers for

evidence they can be on the march in the kind of places around the country where there are marginal constituencies at westminster. the tories, a question of trying to stop the slide. they are not expecting great things but any signs of health they will be grateful for. local elections are not the same as general elections. since june three two parties have been roughly level pegging at the polls but these are signposts towards the next general election and we will see if either of the main parties see signs of big changes ahead. you can watch full coverage of the local election results on bbc one and the bbc news channel from 11:45 tonight. two teenagers have gone on trial, accused of plotting to kill pupils and teachers at a school in north yorkshire. the prosecution says the boys wanted to re—enact the columbine high school massacre in the united states. leeds crown court heard they were planning to use guns and explosives at the school in their hometown of northallerton.

but the jury was told that the boys claim it was a fantasy they'd never act upon. more than 100 people have been killed and many more have been injured in fierce dust storms that have swept across northern india. many of the dead were sleeping when their houses collapsed, after being struck by intense bursts of lightning and high winds. it was the most intense storm for decades in uttar pradesh and rajasthan. it uprooted trees, flattened crops and killed livestock. and it is thought there are more storms on their way. 0ur correspondentjustin rowlatt sent this report. first came the choking dust. huge clouds of it whipped up by winds of up to 80 miles an hour. then came the rain. a torrential downpour. the storm swept across north india, bringing devastation. electricity pylons were torn down, the arcing cables sparked this ferocious fire. storms are common in india at this time of year,

but this one was much bigger and more damaging than had been forecast. as always, it was the poorest who suffered most. many were killed or injured when theirfeeble mud and brick homes collapsed, crushing those inside. there were widespread power cuts. trees and other debris closed roads, making it hard for rescue teams to get to those in need. the indian met office, the country's main weather forecaster, admits that the intensity of the storm took it by surprise. and it had a warning today — this turbulent weather is not over, more storms are on their way. justin rowlatt, bbc news, delhi. volkswagen's former chief executive has been charged in america, over his role in the company's diesel emissions scandal. martin winterkorn is accused by prosecutors of conspiring to mislead regulators over volkswagen's emissions test cheating. nick bryant is in new york for us. and this is a big development

in the volkswagen story? it isa it is a huge indictment and hard to remember prosecutors in the us going after such a senior international executive. martin winterkorn was a dominant figure in german industry, the chairman of volkswagen for seven yea rs the chairman of volkswagen for seven years and the highest—paid ceo in a country. he blamed the emissions candle on the mistakes of a few people but the justice candle on the mistakes of a few people but thejustice department in america said that is not true. he was informed of the scandal and conspired with executives they say to perpetuate the fraud and keep on misleading us regulators. a tough worded statement from the us attorney general in the last few minutes. volkswagen's scheme to cheat requirements went to the top

of the company. a brief look at some of the day's other other news stories. a former official at the houses of parliament has accused the commons speaker, john bercow, of behaviour "unworthy of someone in public office". david leakey — who retired as black rod last year — said he had experienced "intolerable" rudeness from mr bercow. he is the second person this week to make allegations against the speaker, who strongly denies the claims. more than 330 million twitter users worldwide have been urged to change their passwords. the social media network said a glitch had exposed some passwords on its internal computer network. twitter says it has now resolved the issue and there is no indication that any passwords have been stolen or misused. downing street says it is confident that a solution can be reached on the uk's post—brexit customs arrangements with the eu. the prime minister's spokesman said the two proposals under consideration were being refined. yesterday, a meeting of senior cabinet ministers failed to reach agreement on either option. 0ur europe editor, katya adler,

has been gauging opinion in brussels and joins us now. are they as confident in downing street? the eu is the trading partner when it comes to brexit. david davis is hardly to be seen in brussels these days and bile at a technical level, talks are ongoing, such an impasse has been reached now, that a real sense of pessimism has descended over brussels. there is renewed talk of the possibility of the uk leaving next year without a deal in place. this would be damaging for european as countries well and i have noticed a change of tone in the german press. very mindful of the huge amount of exports to the uk that they want to maintain after brexit. he read editorials on eu negotiations to be

less stuff on the uk. for the moment, at a political level, eu unity over brexit is holding. the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court has arrived in the democratic republic of congo to investigate allegations of extreme violence against civilians. the catholic church is one of the groups demanding justice. it says its supporters have been shot and beaten during peaceful protests calling for the resignation of presidentjoseph kabila. the congo has seen years of conflict, fuelled in part by its vast mineral wealth. the united nations says 13 million people there are in need of humanitarian aid. the uk is the second biggest donor. 0ur africa editor fergal keane's report from the capital, kinshasa, contains some distressing scenes. bells ringing. in a fast and divided land,

a powerfulforce is preaching defiance, challenging the state. the priest warns against corruption, citing the parable ofjudas and the 30 pieces of silver. in a country where roughly half the population is catholic, the church has the power to mobilise across ethnic and social groups. the catholic church is part of a much broader coalition of civic activism that's come about because of a sense that politics is tainted here. the opposition is deeply divided. partly because the government has become so good at the politics of divide and rule. but the cost is high. church sponsored protests demanding free elections have been attacked. here at the church of st francis in kinshasa, police opened fire on a peaceful march,

killing a 24—year—old novice nun. a personal tragedy of profound political importance. it's the story of an educated generation that refuses to be bought off or beaten down. are you afraid of the state? no. is that because you are angry? the government promises elections before the end of the year, but activists fear even if they do take place, they won't be free and fair, setting the stage for confrontation. but can peaceful protests succeed in a place whose history whose history were so often based on the triumph of ruthlessness? tucked out of the way

in a kinshasa museum, the colonial era monuments to king leopold of the belgians and his agent, the british explorer, henry morton stanley. they are symbols of an era that claim to millions that claimed millions of congolese lives. from then, through the chaos of independence from belgian, through the three decades rule of president mobutu, one of africa's most corrupt dictators. and the wars that brought the kabila family to power. it's usually those with the guns and the money who have triumphed. congo could be moving towards a decisive moment, with millions now displaced,

hunger stalking the young and militias targeting the most vulnerable. we have reported on all of this and in kinshasa, i had the chance to put the church's allegations of oppression to a close ally of president kabila. might it be the case that these bishops have taken a moral leadership role because you and the government are morally bankrupt? he laughs. i don't know if it is because the government is bankrupt, that the bishops are taking a moral role, but they don't have the rule. you want to play a political role, please go for elections and tell people to give you a mandate. in africa's second largest country, political change has usually come violently. peaceful change matters

for the progress of democracy across africa and for the lives of millions of congolese. fergal keane, bbc, kinshasa. british military police have started digging up a river bank in germany to search for the remains of a british soldier's daughter who went missing 36 years ago. two—year—old katrice lee, from hartlepool, was last seen at a supermarket near paderborn in 1981. she had been shopping with her mother when she disappeared. america's academy of motion picture arts responsible for motion picture arts responsible for the oscars has expelled roman polanski 40 years after he fled the united states while awaiting sentencing for unlawful sex with a 13—year—old girl. the oscar winning director admitted plying her with champagne and sedatives. it has also expelled the comedian bill cosby after he was convicted

last week of sedating and sexually assaulting an actress. it's a powerful tranquiliser designed to combat stress and anxiety but an investigation by the bbc has found that xanax is becoming increasingly popular among young teenagers, with some dealing it at school and others getting it from social media. 0ne teacher told us that some teenagers are using xanax to cope with stress ahead of exam season. chi chi izundu has this report this is the drug that can cost less than £1 per pill. it's 20 times stronger than its nhs equivalent diazepam, and in the last year it's become the latest trend amongst teenagers. in medical terms, xanax is a benzodiazepine — a powerful tranquilliser used to treat stress, anxiety and panic attacks. it's "zan", "xaney" or "bar" to its users and we're being told it's been dealt and taken in schools. we're certainly beginning to see it from year 9 upwards, so from 13 or so. we're getting calls on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis from schools, from educational settings, telling us about young people who are both consuming, using, dealing and buying xanax on school premises.

in fact, just before we started this interview with neil, he was contacted by a school who had two girls who'd been caught dealing xanax. neil also introduced us to this 17—year—old, who wanted to remain anonymous. he started using xanax at 14. theyjust reduce the anxiety of everyday sort of stuff. i've always tried to to self medicated. people just need to be careful, because you can take one bar and be feeling absolutely fine, and then you can take another one and then two days later wake up in a police cell or a hospital with absolutely no memory of what happened. i'm speaking from personal experience — it is scary. xanax is a brand name. the drug in it is called alprazolam and last year border force seized more than 50 kilograms of it, estimated to be able to make more than 25 million pills.

for the young people that i've seen that have obviously taken a xanax overdose, young people who've taken it during the course of their school day and then it's been noted that they've been a little bit off key during their lessons, and so have presented with slurred speech, with being unable to walk, looking a little bit like they're drunk. the dozens of schools we were approached were reluctant to talk about this on camera, but one school, redland green in bristol, did put their head above the parapet because they want mums, dads, students and the local community to help combat the problem. we also hear of students using it for different reasons. sometimes it's because they're experimenting with drugs, sometimes young people are using it as they see it as a form of stress relief, they know that the background of xanax is of an antidepressants, so they think they can use it when they've got exam stress or going through difficult times in their lives. although being labelled a prescription drug, in the uk xanax is not available on the nhs. you can get it on a private prescription, though,

but the haul students are using are largely obtained firstly through the dark web. we've also been told that the drugs are being bought and sold on social media sites like snapchat, instagram, facebook and whatsapp. all those social media platforms told us that the buying and selling of drugs is allowed on their sites. so exactly how many under 18s have been medically treated for a xa nax overdose? getting concrete figures has been difficult, because of how it's recorded by medical experts. north—east ambulance service, though, says the number of teenagers it's treated has tripled over the last five years, and that includes 11—year—olds. the concerning part of this is that every expert, doctor, psychiatrist and teacher we spoke to says they are worried that teenagers are now self diagnosing and self—medicating, and xanax isn't the only drug they're doing it with. chi chi izundu, bbc news. the tour de yorkshire has got under way, with both the women and men setting off on stage one,

from beverley in the east riding. the full length of the men's race stretches across more than 440 miles, and riders can look forward to nearly 8,000 metres of climbing in total. today's leg saw them pass through more than 40 towns and villages ahead of the finish line in doncaster, with thousands of people lining the streets to cheer them on. football, and arsene wenger‘s hopes of winning a major trophy in his final season as arsenal manager are over. his team were beaten 1—0 by athletico madrid tonight, in the semifinal of the europa league. from madrid, joe wilson reports. central madrid, arsenal shirts, sunshine, the old european routine. but the action was going on out of town. that's where you'll find atletico, the best team in this city, any city, according to the local noise. here comes the team bus. remember, in the first leg of their semifinal in london, atletico had a man sent

off and still drew 1—1. at their home ground, they felt invincible. inside ten minutes of this game, two things happened to concern arsenal. firstly, diego costa, madrid's muscle, well—known to english defences, almost scored. on a different level, arsenal's captain, koscielny, was carried off injured. in the 250 european games arsene wenger has learned to manage the unexpected, he puts the players on the pitch come he cannot make on the pitch, he cannot make them score goals and arsenal needed a goal. the team which got one on the brink of half—time was atletico madrid. diego costa. forward came arsenal in the second half, as they had to. 2—1 down on aggregate but still goal shy. atletico's manager banished to the stands for bad behaviour

agonised through every second. the qatari and came on and blasted over. all over, 1—0 on the night for atletico. there will be no trophy and no glory to go with something's goodbye. it all remains the arsene wenger and arsenal's three more premier league games and they have been off the pace in the premier league for some time. he has said he wa nts to league for some time. he has said he wants to lend his love story with arsenal well, sophie but as he knows in football, there are no guarantees. he was born 4 months early — when his mother was just 24 weeks pregnant. when he came into this world, frankie thompson weighed less than a tin of baked beans. but he defied the odds and suffered none of the usual complications associated with premature births. when he was born, he wasn't breathing. they had to resuscitate him next to us. put him in a little sandwich bag. if you saw him, he looked like a little bird. his eyes were fused together and his skin was

see—through. so we didn't really hold out much hope. but he's proved everyone wrong and it's amazing. it was a day by day process.