this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 4:00pm. jamie acourt, one of the original suspects in the murder of stephen lawrence, is arrested in spain on drugs charges, he'll appear before a judge today. donald trump criticises the level of knife crime in london, comparing one of the capital's hospitals to "a war—zone". they say it's as bad as a militarily war zone hospital. knives, knives, knives. an erupting volcano in hawaii triggers earthquakes, including the most powerful tremor to hit the state since 1975. and... we have lift off. nasa's latest mission to mars has blasted off from california, it plans to map the red planet's interior, and listen for tremors, or "marsquakes". and those controversial president trump comments are discussed by our dateline london panel. that's in half an hour, here on bbc news. good afternoon and

welcome to bbc news. more details have emerged about the arrest of jamie acourt, one of britain's most wanted fugitives. he'd managed to evade detection for years, before being arrested in barcelona on suspicion of drugs offences. jamie acourt was one of five people suspected of being involved in the murder of stephen lawrence in 1993, something he's always denied. spanish police sources say he used false identities. at the time of his arrest, he claimed to be an italian tourist. james waterhouse reports. jamie acourt, not looking too happy after his arrest, was on the list of the most wanted suspects living in spain. spanish police told the bbc he had protection and help, and even claimed he was an italian tourist during his arrest. he was captured by armed officers from the spanish national

police as he left this gym near the sagrada familia cathedral in barcelona. so what i saw was the convergence of the different police officers — i guess a pincer operation, to use the terminology — and the next minute they were escorting him out with his hands behind his back in handcuffs. his arrest comes soon after the 25th anniversary of the murdered teenager stephen lawrence. he was attacked by five men at a bus stop in south—east london in a racially motivated killing. this was acourt in 1998, spitting at protesters as he left the stephen lawrence inquiry. he always denied any involvement in the stabbing, and was never charged. acourt was held as part of a joint effort by authorities in the uk and spain. this was part of a long—running campaign called operation captura, which has now been going on for 12 years. in that time, we have named 96 fugitives that we have been looking for in spain,

and we have captured 81 of them, and that's a joint campaign, along with crimestoppers and the spanish authorities. acourt is due to appear in court next week for an extradition hearing. james waterhouse, bbc news. donald trump has said the uk's strict gun laws have led to a rise in knife crime, adding that a hospital in london was like "a war zone" because of the number of stabbing victims. the president was defending americans‘ right to own guns, which he said were "under siege", in a speech to the powerful national rifle association. gary o'donoghue reports. reporter: there he is. there's donald j trump. travelling to the nra's convention is becoming an annual pilgrimage for president trump, though today, the president remained staunch in his defence of them and their right constitutionally to own a gun. your second amendment rights are under siege. but they will never, ever be under siege as long as i'm your president.

cheering. but after the shooting of 17 students and teachers at the school in parkland, florida on valentine's day, the mood has changed, with young people around the country keeping gun control at the forefront of the debate. my daughter has no voice. she was murdered last week. shortly after that shooting, the president seemed prepared to stand up to the organisation, though little action followed. there was no such tough talk for the nra today. the president also suggesting that just having tight gun laws, like those in london, didn't stop people being killed in other ways. i recently read a story that in london, which has unbelievably tough gun laws, a once very prestigious hospital right in the middle is like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds. yes, that's right.

they don't have guns, they have knives. this was an uncompromising speech by the president. and in a year where there are congressional elections, there's unlikely to be any more compromise from republicans. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, dallas. jeremy corbyn says the local election results leave labour well placed to win the next general election. the party won control of several councils and had their best result in the capital since 1971. the party did however, fail to capture several key targets from the conservatives. the party's former spin—doctor, alastair campbell has criticised the leadership and said labour should at this stage be destroying the tory party. we're kidding ourselves if we think these election results are good. i think what i've been arguing for todayis think what i've been arguing for today is not living in denial of real questions and real problems they want labour to address, but

face up to them. it's not undermine jeremy corbyn to say that out there in the real world people are asking the question whether he could be prime minister. they are asking whether the shadow cabinet is 18, whether the shadow cabinet is 18, whether we are doing the right thing and brexit, whether we have the right positions on foreign policy, whether we are taking anti—semitism seriously. these are real questions. if you look at the way the tories are handling brexit where it's all about wishful thinking, i think there's an element to parts of the labour party if we stop talking and debating real walks into power. it doesn't work like that. earlier i spoke to michael segalov, a journalist and labour party member. he doesn't agree with alastair campbell and he told me he's fed up of the constant criticism ofjeremy corbyn. i think it's quite tedious that we're still going round in circles talking about the leadership, when there's been a clear steer from the labour party leadership over the last two years that jeremy corbyn is the leader. the direction of the labour party is now set. actuall, his was a good result for the labour party, maybe not the gains that some people were predicting, but actually last

year we were told in the 2017 general election that labour had had a successful fluke, that we would never see that sort of result again. but this year labour have built on those results, we have increased our vote share, and that's impressive and should be celebrated. there were some impressive gains in the local results, in places like plymouth. in london, we didn't take some places, kensington and chelsea, wandsworth, westminster, actually the results were pretty good for the labour party in these tory strongholds. in wandsworth, under 100 votes would have swung the council from one to another. in westminster there was only a 1% difference in vote share between labour and the conservatives. they are important gains for the labour party. is it doing enough, though? there have been an increase in the voices saying, "we should be way ahead." "more should have been done." are you happy with the direction of the labour party? personally speaking, what we saw in the last general election, the last key marker, was some exciting policies in terms of national ideas. nationalisation, tuition fees, the nhs, things that really got people engaged in politics. in local elections,

all parties failed to do that. it feels old. as a younger person, i do not really have roots anywhere. issues that are seen as bread—and—butter in local elections are not there. the labour party needs to find ways to radically shake up the way we do local politics, that is the key to making sure those people who came out last year will come out again for the labour party in the future. isjeremy corbyn the man to do that? there's been enough leadership elections to show that clearly is the will of the labour party. it is tiring that we are continually discussing him as a leader. the labour party right now is not about individuals or leadership. what's exciting is that we had people knocking on doors all over the country, people who had not campaigned before, to get people talking about the issues that matter to them. despite what's being said by some people in the press, momentum managed to galvanise people in seats up and down the country, people who had not gone on the ground before, to try and get people talking. i think that's what's exciting here. in a moment we will have a full

round—up of all the day's stories with kate silverton. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. more details have emerged about the arrest of jamie acourt, one of britain's most wanted fugitives. he'd managed to evade detection for two years before being arrested in barcelona on suspicion of drugs offences. jamie acourt was one of five people suspected of being involved in the murder of stephen lawrence in 1993, something he's always denied. spanish police sources say he used false identities. at the time of his arrest, he claimed to be an italian tourist. tom burridge is in barcelona he was a top target for spanish and british police. today jamie he was a top target for spanish and british police. todayjamie acourt is finally in police custody. he was arrested at this german central barcelona. spanish police tell me that when officers moved in, mr acourt claimed he was an italian

tourist. simon macdonald was at the gym. astori, the gossip is police officers were working out in the gym, to keep an eye on him, to make sure he did not run away. —— the story, the gossip. undercover. he saw the police operation happened. story, the gossip. undercover. he saw the police operation happenedlj saw the police operation happened.” saw the police operation happened.” saw the convergence of the police officers, a pincer operation, to use the terminology, the next minute they were escorting him out with his hands behind his back in handcuffs. was there any drama? none whatsoever, it was very silent. a bit eerie. the gym is near the sagrada familia cathedral. police think he lived nearby. there are few places in spain better than central barcelona if you are a foreigner and want to blend in. iam foreigner and want to blend in. i am told by a senior spanish police source that jamie a court was using false names. he had protection and was moving around spain, spending time in parts of the country full of

tourists. mr acourt was trying to keep a low profile in spain. he knew he was wanted and wanted to keep a low profile. we have been on his trail using intelligence methods. jamie acourt was one of the original suspects in the murder of stephen lawrence. the teenager was stabbed to death in an unprovoked racist attack in 1993. five years later, mr acourt, seen here ina five years later, mr acourt, seen here in a black suit and sunglasses, gave evidence at a public inquiry. he has always denied involvement. now he is under arrest in spain on suspicion of a large—scale supply of drugs. so today jamie acourt has a bail hearing, in the coming days he is expected to appear at spain's high court in madrid, where a judge will decide whether or not to extradite him to britain. it could happen really quickly all, if he opposes extradition, it could be a matter of weeks, iam extradition, it could be a matter of weeks, i am told. but it has been

yea rs of weeks, i am told. but it has been years of spanish and british police intelligence work to track him down. thank you, tom. a leading london hospital has criticised donald trump after he compared them to war zones because of the levels of knife crime. the us president used the example to defend us gun laws at a meeting of the national rifle association. but in a statement the royal london hospital said while knife violence was a serious issue for london, the suggestion that guns were part of the solution was ridiculous. russian police have arrested critics of vladimir putin who've been protesting against his inauguration for a fourth term in office. among those detained is the opposition leader alexei navalny, who has called for a nationwide day of action, accusing mr putin ruling like a tsar. a nasa mission to study the composition of mars has begun its six—month journey to the planet. the rocket is carrying a probe which is designed to help scientists find out about what's inside mars, beneath its crust. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill reports. three, two, one, zero.

right on time, shrouded in fog at 4:05 local time, the atlas v rocket carrying nasa's mars insight lander, launched from vandenberg air force base on the californian coast. this is, the us space agency says, is notjust another mission to the red planet, but a journey back in time. probing beneath the surface of mars for the first time, insight will aim to take the pulse of the planet to work out how it formed more than 11.5 billion years ago. once it's unfolded its vital solar panels, the robotic lander will carefully put down its own scientific instruments which will map the deep structure of the planet. these will take the temperature of mars and analyse the structure of its core. 0ne instrument, a seismometer, will pick up signals from martian earthquakes, or marsquakes. unlike previous missions — the most recent missions have been

looking for water and habitability — this particular one is looking at how the planet itself is made up, how it's built. earth and mars formed at the same time, probably by similar processes, so this mission can also shed light on why the two planets are so different. beyond a trip to mars, scientists say this is a mission to our solar system's past. peering beneath mars' surface could also help us understand how earth, the moon and even distant exoplanets around other stars involved. —— evolved. victoria gill, bbc news. the governor of hawaii has declared a state of emergency after a series of powerful earthquakes hit one of the islands. the epicentre was beneath the erupting volcano mount kilauea. the 6.9 magnitude quake sent people fleeing from buildings and briefly cut power supplies. charlotte gallagher reports. a ribbon of thick lava snakes through the suburban streets and forests, the molten liquid destroying anything in its path. lava has been surging

across the island since thursday, sometimes shooting up to 100 feet in the air. it was really smoking bad, you could smell it in the air. we're going to get cut off is what i think‘s going to happen. residents rushed to flee their homes, grabbing what they could. it broke out right down the hill from our house, i smelt it and i ran to the corner and that's when i ran into a military officer that told me that it's smoking and, sure as heck enough, i take the turn, and one of my favourite streets, at least, was on fire. 1,700 people have been ordered to evacuate. those who refuse have been warned no one will rescue them because of the toxic smoke suffocating the area. these deep cracks have appeared on roads and streets. residents say it felt like a giant snake was moving under their houses. you can feel the heat coming from the ground.

yeah, there's heat coming up out of there. there's lava under there. this is where the lava is coming from. the kilauea volcano. normally tourists can go right up to the rim. today it's only safe viewed from the air. much of the landscape is now scorched earth with homes, businesses and forests destroyed. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. uk temperatures are forecast to soar over the weekend, with monday heading for a record high. forecasters say temperatures could reach 28 degrees celsius. but sun worshippers are also enjoying highs today too of 2a in the south—east and the midlands. duncan kennedy is in southsea. an enviablejob! an enviable job! very busy? indeed. it has been an extraordinary

day right across the uk, with almost wall—to—wall sunshine. here in southsea it has been heaving, not just on the beach but in the local theme parks as well. we have spoken to lots of people who say it is fantastic, also speaking to a lot of businesses who say it is great because makes summer that bit longer. temperature wise, it is about 21 degrees, although in the water it is half that, about 10 celsius. in london and the south—east, 2a, 25, cooler the further north you go. you are right, it is getting warmer. tomorrowland into monday. 0n it is getting warmer. tomorrowland into monday. on monday it could hits 28, if it does, it could be the hottest early bank holiday monday since it was introduced in 1978. studio: lets hope it continues. thank you, duncan. stoke city have been relegated from the premier league after ten years of top flight football. they lost 2—1 to crystal

palace this lunchtime, meaning they can't climb out of the bottom three with one match to play. arsenal women play chelsea ladies in the women's fa cup final in a little over an hour. around 40,000 fans are expected at wembley — which will be a record crowd for the competition. glorious sunshine at wembley stadium, lots of sunshine around, the fans are very happy. they are beginning to find their seats in the stadium. lots of young girls, as you might imagine, quite a few of them wearing chelsea and arsenal replica shirts with their heroes' names on the backs, chelsea striker fran kirby and arsenal midfielderjordan nobbs. arsenal going for a record 15th women's fa cup title. it could bea cup 15th women's fa cup title. it could be a cup double, having claimed the league trophy earlier this season.

chelsea will be looking to rewrite history, they came and played arsenal in the 2016 final two years ago and lost that 1—0, they will be looking for a better outcome today. the kick—off is at 5pm, 40,000 tickets sold, it should be a record crowd at wembley. you can follow all the action on bbc one and bbc radio 5 live. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. we are back with the late news at 10:05pm. hello. this is bbc news. i am lu kwesa burak. sir david attenborough has been sharing his views on plastic, brexit and tv fakery. in an interview with the bbc‘s martha kearney, to mark the re—opening of the world's largest victorian glasshouse, the temperate house, at kew gardens, sir david said that plastic is a "major danger" to the planet. we can never go far enough. we will always be overwhelmed with plastic. at the moment, we are using plastic in a pretty functionless way. it baffles me.

people send me letters, if they are important they put them in a plastic envelope and then put that in another envelope. why? i can't understand. i mean, i suppose it makes them look precious or something. but it is quite functionless. we use plastic, or have done until now, with total abandon, without any care or concern about where it's going to go and what it might do. if we can pull ourselves together and recognise it is a major danger, particularly in the sea, we are stepping in the right direction. a lot of people are working now on ways in which we can deal with plastic waste. one of the problems is plastic is not just plastic, there are lots of different kinds, chemically. what works for one kind does not necessarily work for another. those are the problems. was it a conscious decision in the programme to highlight the pollution of plastic?

well, it was certainly in the mind of the producers that there would be a sequence. but i've been saying that and we've been making programmes about that sort of thing for decades. i mean, i have certainly talked about plastic many times before and many other people have too. why is it happening just now? i really can't tell. itjust struck a particular moment in the national mood when people were sensitive to that particular danger. why, i don't know. but it certainly has had a huge effect. sometimes nature programmes have come under criticism, including for not highlighting the problems. one person said, these programmes are still made as if this worldwide mass

extinction was not happening. that certainly was a criticism. i would defend the fact that occasionally you want to do a programme about zoology, about natural history, and whether an animal is or is not endangered, that is not the primary point of that particular programme. if you wanted to do a programme about kerbs, why should you not do that? -- about kerbs, why should you not do that? —— kerbs. if you were doing a different programme, about the danger of particular problems in africa, that is a different thing. as some people once said, it is alive to show one creature because it is endangered. that is not a lie. it is what that particular species is like. that is what talking about. there is a time and a space for all these things. we have been doing

programmes about conservation, particularly about conservation. it would be a great mistake if you decided that if every time you put ona decided that if every time you put on a natural history programme, you had to say, i the on a natural history programme, you had to s are. the on a natural history programme, you had tosare the and been if you say, i am walking across me. if you say, i am walking across thisjungle, me. if you say, i am walking across this jungle, and suddenly, me. if you say, i am walking across thisjungle, and suddenly, i saw thisjungle, and suddenly, i saw this creature here, and we are lucky to see it, and then use sure shot of an animal that was taken in a zoo, thatis an animal that was taken in a zoo, that is the key, but if you're seeing, i want to show you how a

snow leopard actually treads on snow, and does so silently, and you went to a area where there was a reserve where there were snow leopards, and there was fresh snow, that seems to be perfectly possible and perfectly acceptable. we're not talking about conservation, we're not talking about the state of the species, we are talking about its natural history. lots of debate about brexit and in particular what it will mean for conservation policy, for wildlife, with as leaving the common agricultural policy. what difference do you think that could make? well, those in favour of leaving would say that at last we have been able to tailor our regulations precisely to our own particular circumstances without having to conform to regulations which were designed to govern the whole of europe. whether that is true or not, i do not know, but what it does mean is that the way we can

look after our land is up to us. where we stand in terms of the gra nts we where we stand in terms of the grants we would have got from the eu,i grants we would have got from the eu, ido grants we would have got from the eu, i do not know. but there are pros and cons to brexit as far as the countryside is concerned. what kind of approach would you like to see to safeguard wildlife? well, to be very aware of what our circumstances are. and to recognise that we do have that opportunity to look after a run intros. the thing about wildlife is, although some is static, a lot of it is not. lots of oui’ static, a lot of it is not. lots of our birds, they migrate, and we get them for part of the year and they go elsewhere, not only in europe, but far beyond, into africa. and so

it colleges and people looking about the natural world really ought to be looking at the world as one unit. —— ecologists. if we are in charge of foreign affairs, we should maintain that perspective and recognise that we share the natural world, and even though we may not be governed by rules and regulations, that once affected us, that we do not give up on getting legislation which will affect us, but not only us, but our neighbours and the rest of the world. and recently you made a conversation with the queen into a television programme, talking about the commonwealth canopy tree programme. what about your legacy? i have been lucky enough to have been making natural history programmes for 60 years,

and with a lot of other people too. we have all worked together and produced a great corpus of stuff. i would like to think that there will not be any of it which you couldn't do again, and perhaps better, but it could be that quite a lot of those things will become extinct in 50 or 100 years' time, in which case that would be a legacy that future generations could treasure. think about what it would be like if you could see a pterodactyl coming across and a brontosaurus coming thundering through these newly planted palm trees! thank you very much indeed, sir david attenborough. let's go before the pterodactyls come. sir david attenborough speaking from kew gardens. now let's have a look at what the weather is doing. thank

you forjoining me. time to update you forjoining me. time to update you on the rest of the bank holiday weekend. for many it will be this glorious. we've got a weather front close by to the north and west of scotland. some rain here and some cloud for northern ireland. around the irish sea coast there is a bit of murk to be had. on sunday, similar sort of fare. perhaps the cloud a bit more extensive for a time but even here it breaks up.