accepting the apology today — abdel hakim belhaj says a tip off from mi6 led to him and his wife being captured in thailand and thenjailed in libya. translation: it's been six years of prison and six years of waiting, which was a continuation of the suffering for me and my family, and hopefully today represents the ends of all that. today he and his wife accepted the unprecedented apology and £500,000 compensation. on behalf of her majesty's government, i apologise unreservedly. we are profoundly sorry for the ordeal that you both suffered, and our role in it. also on the programme tonight: no interest rate rise this month after all as the bank of england says the uk economy has hit a temporary soft patch. freed by north korea — president trump welcomes three american prisoners home as he reveals he's meeting

kimjong—un in singapore next month. bt announces plans to cut 1,300 jobs — most of them in the uk — as part of a billion pound cost cutting drive. and four years after she was first diagnosed, dame barbara windsor‘s husband reveals his 80—year—old wife has alzheimer's. and coming up on bbc news. manager carlos carvalhal will leave swansea at the end of the season. the club are all be relegated from the premier league after eight matches without a win. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the prime minister has apologised to a libyan dissident after the uk played a part in his detention and torture by colonel gadaffi's forces 1a years ago.

theresa may said abdul hakim, and his wife, fatima boudchar, who was pregnant at the time, had suffered "appalling treatment". the couple say an mi6 tip—off helped the us kidnap them in thailand. they were then taken to libya, where mr belhaf was tortured. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera has been to meet him in istanbul. there's flash photography at the start of his report. in istanbul a meeting between britain's ambassador and abdul hakim belhadj, a man who says britain colluded in his torture. a letter from the prime minister and a handshake, signals the closing of a dark chapter for the uk government. unprecedented apology in parliament to him and his wife. 0n on behalf or her majesty's

government i am profoundly sorry, we apologise for the ordeal you suffered is and our role in it. the uk government has learned many lessons from this period. the uk government has learned many lessons from this period. in an exclusive tv interview, mr belhadj told me he was grateful, even though it had taken so long. translation: it's been six years of prison and six years of waiting, which was a continuation of the suffering for me and my family. and hopefully today represents the end of all that. the story begins with another handshake — between tony blair and colonel gaddafi in 200a. the libyan leader gave up his nuclear weapons programme. britain promised to help him against his opponents. the same month mr belhadj, who had fought against gaddafi, was detained by the cia in asia, based on a british tip—off. he was flown to libya — with him was his pregnant wife. he says he was then tortured by colonel gaddafi's regime and also interrogated by british officials. after gaddafi's fall in 2011, letters from mi6 to libyan officials were discovered,

detailing britain's involvement. belhadj launched a legal action against the british government, sir mark alan, an mi6 officer named in the files, and jack straw, who was foreign secretary. today jack straw acknowledged he had given verbal approval for some intelligence to be shared, but says he had always sought to act lawfully. after years of damaging revelations, the british government has finally decided to apologise in return for the legal case being dropped. their hope is this will draw a line under the past, a past in which deals with dubious regimes took britain and its spies into difficult places. in london, mr belhadj's wife and son went to parliament to hear the attorney general‘s apology in person. she received compensation of £500,000. but her husband had not asked for money. all he said he wanted was an apology, and today he got it. gordon corera, bbc news istanbul.

the bank of england says the uk economy has hit a temporary soft patch which means interest rates will remain unchanged at 0.5%. economists had been widely expecting rates to rise this month. an increase is still expected later this year. the bank blamed the bad weather — the beast from the east — for the slowdown which disrupted construction and kept shoppers at home. 0ur economics editor kamal ahmed has this report. time for a different tune from the bank. three mondays ago all the noise was about an interest rate rise. not any more. three months of weak growth drag bounce by the beast from the east has left people cautious about the strength of they. here it might be sunnier now but will it last?

cost of living is going up quite significantly, and the wages really aren't. i think it will take quite a bit of time before hopefully it will get easier. i was always hard up when we were young. but now there is me and my husband and we are better off. a lot better off was not true for the rest of the economy as the governor made clear. growth at 0.196 in the first quarter was weaker and inflation was notably lower than we had projected in february. the key question is whether this softness will prove temporary or persistent. in other words, was the weakness in the first quarter due to the weather, or the climate? the bank thinks it is mostly snow, others are not so sure. for us there is things that the weather doesn't explain and the statisticians said that today. they said we can't tell what the impact of the weather was but for things like manufacturing it was minimal so there is something

else goes on as well. later i asked the governor was the sharp growth downgrade a one off? we expected the uk economy is going to pick back up, not rocket but pick back up, largely driven by those exporters and businesses investing, less so on household pending an we think in the end it will need to do some adjustment, increases in interest rates, over time, but adjustment, increases in interest rates, overtime, but at adjustment, increases in interest rates, over time, but at a pretty gentle pace. you have been described as the unreliable boyfriend, you mar up as the unreliable boyfriend, you mar ”p ”p as the unreliable boyfriend, you mar up up the hill and back down again, how do you respond to those criticisms? there is uncertainty in the world, it is possible of course, that we something bad could happen abroad. it is possible that the brexit negotiation that slow the economy for a period of time and it has been reliable to, for the bank to then react to those event, and ajust. i took two big.ers from my interview

with the governor, firstly he does believe that the bad economic news from the start of the year is likely to be reversed and if the economy does bounce back, and that is an if, thenit does bounce back, and that is an if, then it is likely there will be an interest rate rise before the end of the year. president trump has announced he is meeting north korea's leader, kimjong—un in singapore onjune the 12th next month — saying he would try to make it a very special moment for world peace. it comes after donald trump personally welcomed home three americans who had been detained in north korea. nick bryant reports from washington. in the middle of the night, before the birds or the president had started tweeting, the plane carrying the freed prisoners touched down on american soil. from the trauma of the tension, to a triumphant welcome from donald trump. he didn't want to miss this dramatic homecoming. it offers flesh and blood proof that his unconventional approach to diplomacy is working. my proudest achievement will be —

this is a part of it — but will be when we denuclearise that entire peninsula. this is what people have been waiting for for a long time. nobody thought we could be on this track in terms of speed, so i'm very honoured to have helped the three folks. this was a made—for—television moment, but the white house quickly turned it into cinema. slow motion footage, stirring hollywood style music. the former reality tv star said this must have set the all—time record for ratings at three o'clock in the morning. the north korean state broadcaster doesn't have quite the same panache, but these are remarkable pictures, nonetheless. kim jong—un meeting the new us secretary of state mike pompeo in pyongyang. the leader mocked as little rocket man, enjoying a lighter

moment with the americans, head of his summit with mr trump. vice president mike pence has been talking about us expectations for that meeting. the president centres an opening that may result in a historic agreement. what kim jong—un has said, publicly, and in discussions, is that he is prepared to negotiate to achieve complete denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. it's now been announced that the north korean leader's security team will soon be pounding the streets of singapore. that's where the much anticipated summit will be held onjune the 12th. so in a week when donald trump withdrew from a nuclear deal with iran, it's full speed ahead with negotiating a new nuclear deal with north korea. and having alienated his closest european allies, his administration is forging an improbable relationship, with one of america's long—standing enemies. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. israel says it has hit nearly

all of iran's military infrastructure in syria, in response to rocket attacks by iranian forces. around 20 missiles were fired from syria at israeli military positions in the golan heights, which israel has occupied since the 1960s. the military says most of the iranian rockets missed their targets, others were intercepted by air defences. 0ur correspondent tom bateman is in the golan heights. israeli missiles in the skies above damascus overnight. it was part of the biggest single strike by israel, against neighbouring syria in a generation. the assault targeted vainian military positions deep in the country, including a battery israel says launched a barrage of 20 rocks towards its territory. the iranian forces, the units that are

deemployed all over syria are 1600 kilometres away from iran, the iranians are the aggressor, they are building offensive military infrastructure inside syria, with the clear outspoken goal of being able to menace and terrorise israeli civilians. residents of the golan heights had been urged to open bomb shelters. you can hear everything, the air force, the bombs. syria's military said the israeli strikes killed three people, it claimed its air defences destroyed a large part of the barrage. israel has seen the balance of power change during the years of war in its northern neighbour, it sees a growing threat from iran's presence in syria. but the iranians are staying put, determined to support the syrian regime. israel and iran have been on a collision course, and last night, saw a significant escalation. as calm returned to israeli

controlled territory, there was a call from russia and france for restraint. but the us accused iran of reckless action, syria's war still threatened to spill out further into this region. royal bank of scotland has agreed a 5.6 billion fine with us regulators to end a long—running investigation into its actions in the lead—up to the financial crisis. the bank, which is partly owned by the taxpayer, had been accused of selling risky financial products. the settlement is expected to pave the way for the government to sell it's been revealed that the eastenders actress dame barbara windsor has alzheimer's disease. her husband says the 80—year—old was diagnosed four years ago. he has decided to make it public now because her condition is worsening. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. oh, my dear friend. you won't never leave me, will you? dame barbara windsor in herfinal appearance in eastenders in 2016, two years after being diagnosed with alzheimer's disease,

the degenerative brain condition. increasing difficulty remembering her lines is one reason why she decided to leave the soap. her career on tv and in nine carry on films has made dame barbara entertainment royalty. seen here with her husband scott mitchell in 2000 collecting an mbe, scott said the couple had kept her dementia diagnosis private for the past four years, but since barbara's 80th birthday last august, "a definite continual confusion has set in, so it is becoming a lot more difficult for us to hide". he added, "i want us to be able to go out and if something isn't quite right, it will be ok because people will now know she has alzheimer's, and will accept it for what it is". look at these tadpoles. 850,000 people in the uk have dementia, among them brenda, who is 75.

alzheimer's affects her short—term memory and balance. married for 56 years, her husband steven says being open about the condition has helped both of them. we've had the diagnosis for three years now, we've carried on living as best we can, overcoming all of the difficulties. we have come to terms with it. we're living with it and living through it. we're making the best of it, so please don't be sad for us. so, brenda, what's your philosophy in life. ijust go with the flow. what happens happens, what doesn't happen doesn't matter. alzheimer's charities say overcoming the stigma surrounding dementia is vital, and they have praised dame barbara and her husband for speaking out. fergus walsh, bbc news. the time is quarter past six.

our top story this evening: the prime minister apologises to a libyan dissident for britain's part in his kidnap and subsequent torture by colonel gaddafi's regime. and still to come — plans to inspire a new generation of british asians to take up cricket. coming up on sportsday, andy murray's motherjudy says he is stillaiming to be murray's motherjudy says he is still aiming to be fit in time for wimbledon. the three—time grandstand champion is recovering from injury. when it comes to cancer, you want to be diagnosed and treated fast. but doctors say that tens of thousands of people across the uk are having to wait too long to be seen and that's putting their lives at risk. the latest figures show england, scotland, wales and northern ireland have all failed to hit their targets on waiting times for cancer treatment. patients who are urgently referred with suspected cancer

should be treated within two months in england. 85% of people should be seen within that time. elsewhere the target is 95%. but the number, right across the uk, having to wait longer than that has risen by nearly 80% in the past five years. 0ur health editor hugh pym has been talking to people about their experiences. i lost my father 22 years ago.|j i lost my father 22 years ago. i had breast cancer ten years ago but fortunately i am a survivor. once you get used to it, you take it on board. it was the most frightening thing ever to be diagnosed with. board. it was the most frightening thing ever to be diagnosed withfi affect semenya us in different ways, friends and family. half the population will develop cancer at some stage in the left —— it affects so some stage in the left —— it affects so many of us. my grandfather died of cancer. it upsets me to see kids with cancer. ron is losing his battle with liver cancer. he was diagnosed in january last year but

had to wait until october for any specialist care near his home in cardiff, far longer than the nhs target for the start of cancer treatment. they have well exceeded their30—60 treatment. they have well exceeded their 30—60 days. treatment. they have well exceeded their 30-60 days. ez during that time the tumour got larger and the doctors then admitted there was no chance of any therapy working. doctors then admitted there was no chance of any therapy workingm doctors then admitted there was no chance of any therapy working. it is annoying to think it might have given you a chance if it was treated when it was only five centimetres. it was a fast—growing malignant cancer. i guess just it was a fast—growing malignant cancer. i guessjust we it was a fast—growing malignant cancer. i guess just we crack on, keep smiling, and do what we can. across the uk the number being treated for cancer has increased over five years, but so, too, treated for cancer has increased overfive years, but so, too, has those facing long waits. in england and wales, there are now two more people for every ten people waiting for treatment, and in england it is more than seven in ten, end northern ireland it has more than doubled and in scotland it has gone up even more

in five years. cancer experts make the point that people are living longer, so there are more likely to develop cancer, and that is a challenge for the nhs. we are diagnosing more patients because our workload is extremely high, so we are under pressure with regards treating patients with aggressive disease, so we do need more resources . disease, so we do need more resources. in england cancer treatment waiting times did improve in march, though some other areas of the nhs struggled. the numbers of operations cancelled at the last minute was the highest since records began. we put our lives, as it were, in their hands, and think they are doing the right thing, and all this time we are being misled. ron and his wife and can only reflect on their experience. the local health board said it had apologised for brea kd owns board said it had apologised for breakdowns in communication and said the cancer was difficult to diagnose, but they feel the system has let them down. hugh pym, bbc news. and you can find out about cancer waiting times and performance targets in your area by entering your postcode

on the bbc‘s nhs tracker that's at bbc.co.uk/health. a 104—year—old australian scientist and advocate for assisted suicide has ended his life at a swiss clinic. david goodall, who was born in london, was not terminally ill, but said old age had made his quality of life significantly worse. an 18—year—old woman accused of planning a terror attack on the british museum has gone on trial at the old bailey. safaa boular is also accused of planning to travel to syria to join her fiance who was fighting with the islamic state group. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports. safaa boular, on the left, growing up safaa boular, on the left, growing up with her older sister, rizlaine, and their mother. today the old bailey heard that by the time she was 17 her mother and sister were encouraging her on a suicide mission so she could join her dead jihadi

fiance in paradise. the teenager was brought to court to stand trial for planning to travel to syria to be with her fiance and planning to travel to syria to be with herfiance and is planning to travel to syria to be with her fiance and is fighter. planning to travel to syria to be with herfiance and is fighter. she is also accused of planning terror attacks in the uk. she denies the charges. the court heard safaa boular had never met the man she wa nted boular had never met the man she wanted to marry, and their relationship was conducted via social media. but it is claimed that they were intending to be together, and then plan to don suicide belts then leave the world holding hands, taking others with them. but safaa boular was thwarted in her plans to get to syria, and he was killed in the city of raqqa. after his death the city of raqqa. after his death thejury the city of raqqa. after his death the jury heard the city of raqqa. after his death thejury heard she the city of raqqa. after his death the jury heard she was back on social media talking about mounting an attack in the uk. she didn't realise she was communicating with undercover agents from the british security services. she spoke about using a carand security services. she spoke about using a car and a knife. she had previously discussed an ambush with

grenades orfirearms. safaa boular allegedly planned to launch an attack here in the area around the british museum in central london. described in court as a cultural jewel and a popular tourist attraction. the jury was told this would have been an attack that at the very least would have caused widespread panic, but was intended to inflict serious injury and death. her barrister told the court she had been sexually groomed to be radicalised a man twice her age and herfamily had radicalised a man twice her age and her family had encouraged radicalised a man twice her age and herfamily had encouraged and celebrated her radicalisation. it can now the reported that her older sister rizlaine has admitted planning a separate knife attack in the area around the houses of parliament. their mother provided support and assistance. june kelly, bbc news, at the old bailey. bt is to cut 13,000 jobs. two thirds of the posts will go in the uk with mainly back—office and management staff affected.

the company is trying to cut its costs by more than £1.5 billion over the next three years. our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones is at bt‘s headquarters in london. sophie, over the three decades since it was privatised bt has tried to reinvent several times to reinvent itself — but this is a really big shake—up. the company has more work than 106,000 employees around the world. but 13,000 jobs are going in, two thirds in the uk. among the places the close, versus bt‘s head office right in the heart of the city of london, which is closing, a big rationalisation of the sheer number of buildings the company has, stripping away lots of layers of management. that is because it is facing big cost pressures. bt spent

a lot of money on tv sports rights, spending more on rolling out fast fibre and it has a big hole in its pension fund. it said it will be more competitive after this, but the unions are saying this is a devastating blow to skilled professionals whose expertise will be lost at the company. rory, thank you. the former england football captain, wayne rooney, could be leaving the premier league and heading to america. although no contract has been signed as of yet, his agents have agreed a £12.5 million deal — which could see the 32—year—old leave everton for the major league soccer side dc united this summer. hundreds of thousands of people from the south asian community play cricket for fun in britain, but hardly any play the game professionally. now the england and wales cricket board is trying to change that by getting more involved in the sport. they want better talent—spotting as well as better access to equipment. 0ur sports correspondentjoe wilson has been to east london to find out what more needs to be done.

cricket is part of the history in this corner of east london, but what does it stand for today? there's a community here with roots in south asia, with a big interest in cricket, which hits a barrier. it's a huge pool of talent that i think we are under—utilising so, yes, i hope that this leads to more faces from south asian communities playing cricket, at all levels. so what difference will this scheme actually makes? what differences are we going to see? well, the ecb are talking about 1000 new cricket pitches in urban areas. 100 of them will be turf — traditional — but cricket does not always have to look like that behind me. this scheme is also introducing talent identification, mentoring, and opportunities for coaches. all right, we'll be playing some cricket, learning some skill... england teams will address might have to interview a coach of black, asian or of minority ethnic for any new positions.

it's important that we have female coaches, especially south asian coaches, to be a role model, for them to actually continue and play cricket going forward. succeed, others will follow. that's the idea. isa guha was a world cup winning player with england. moeen ali is a key man in the men's team, and before him monty panesar made a big impression. especially on amar virdi, just 19 and one of the most exciting cricketers in england today. i think it's something that really spurred me on, because it gave me believe that my image will never be a deterrent, and i will never let it bea a deterrent, and i will never let it be a deterrent because someone else has done it. there are so many sports to choose from. if cricket doesn't grab the attention of children, all children, another sport will. joe wilson, bbc news, east london. time for a look at the weather. here's helen willetts. a lovely evening for cricket actually. you can see on the satellite picture there is not that much cloud around. the weather front

has passed through, but behind me we have the next weather front brewing. some fine weather to end the day then overnight, starry skies. yes, chilly, in fact quite chilly for this time of year, talking about a touch of frost in scotland and temperatures following the two or three degrees of freezing, but northern ireland could escape the chill with more cloud and wind so it turns bleak quite quickly tomorrow. could be quite damp and windy day here. rain eventually into the western side of scotland, so an east and west contrast tomorrow. sun shining round the moray firth and in the northern isles, rain not too far away from glasgow, still around for belfast, dry in northern england and central and eastern areas but south—west england, heavy bursts of rain. temperatures are slightly higher tomorrow picking up a southerly wind, so could see 18 or 19 in the strong sunshine. questions still, though, over the weekend. all over how quickly this system will

clear. pushing east, but it comes into our area of high pressure grinding it to a halt, so actorly touch and go for a fine day across the east of the country on saturday -- it is the east of the country on saturday —— it is actually touch and go. drier weather for —— it is actually touch and go. drier weatherfor many —— it is actually touch and go. drier weather for many of us here, then the scattering showers take cold as low pressure medicine. temperatures will do well to reach 1516, about average for this time of year, but still possible to get a wet evening as this moves up the eastern areas and into the north eastern scotland, on sunday showers become more prevalent so it will not become more prevalent so it will not be as last weekend. not a wash—out but if you have plans stay tuned to your focus. thank you but if you have plans stay tuned to yourfocus. thank you —— but if you have plans stay tuned to your focus. thank you —— your forecast. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me — and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news, our latest headlines: the government has made an unreserved apology to a libyan man and his wife after british intelligence contributed to their detention in 20011. abdul hakim belhaj,

who was tortured after he was forced to return to libya, said the government's apology had put an end to "years of suffering". translation: this is a historic day, a historic moment that i have been waiting for. i would like to thank the prime minister and especially the prime minister and especially the attorney general, who i have met personally. donald trump has revealed the time and place of his historic meeting with north korea's kimjong—un. the two leaders will meet in singapore on 12th june. earlier, the president welcomed home three us citizens after they were released from detention by north korea.