yulia skripal, one of two victims who were poisoned by a nerve agent in salisbury, makes her first televised statement since the attack. speaking from an unknown location, yulia said her recovery and that of her father sergei skripal had been "slow and extremely painful". translation: we are so lucky to both have survived this attempted assassination. i don't want to describe the details, but the clinical treatment was invasive and distressing. yulia skripal acknowledged offers of help from russia. she said they weren't ready to take it, but that she hoped to return to her country one day. also tonight. the uk's leading tax official has warned that a post—brexit customs system could cost businesses up to £20 billion a year. i'm with you on the front line — the message from the new home secretary to rank—and—file police officers. a row over the lack of black uk students at oxford,

even though its ethnic minority student numbers are rising. and are we facing limits on the water we use? there's a warning that england faces shortages by 2050. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news... we hear from the new man at arsenal. unai emery spells out his post—wenger vision at the club. good evening. yulia skripal, who was one of two victims to be poisoned by a nerve agent in salisbury in march, has released her first televised statement since being discharged from hospital. she and her father, the former russian spy sergei skripal, were found slumped unconscious on a bench after the attack. ms skripal was discharged from hospital last month,

and has been in an unknown location ever since. in the short statement to reuters, she spoke of how her life had been turned upside down by the attack. the government has pointed the finger of blame at russia, but moscow has always denied involvement. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. for more than 11 weeks, she's been at the centre of an international scandal that saw dozens of russian diplomats expelled from britain, the united states and europe. this afternoon, she stepped out of the shadows in this, herfirst public appearance since being attacked with appearance since being attacked with a nerve agent. translation: we are so lucky to have both survive this attempted assassination. i don't want to describe the details, but the clinical treatment was invasive, painful and depressing. our recovery has been slow and extremely painful. i'm grateful to all of the wonderful, kind staff at salisbury

hospital, a place i have become all too familiar with. i also think fondly of those who helped us on the street on the day of the attack. the nerve agent attack left parts of saul bray looking like a disaster movie, but also caused a huge row with the russian embassy in london, who demanded access to the skripals, something she dealt with in today's statement. translation: i take one day at a time and want to help care for my father until his full recovery. in the longer term, i father until his full recovery. in the longerterm, i hope father until his full recovery. in the longer term, i hope to return home to my country. i wish to address a couple of issues directly, and have chosen to interrupt my rehabilitation to make this short statement. i ask that everyone respects the privacy of me and my father. we need time to recover and come to terms with everything that has happened. i'm grateful for the offers of assistance from the russian embassy, but at the moment i do not wish to avail myself of their services. also i want to reiterate

what i said in my earlier statement, that no one speaks for me or my father but ourselves. she also released a handwritten copy of the statement in both russian and english. her neck showed signs of a tracheotomy, suggesting that her recovery had, as she said, been both difficult and painful. she and her father sergei were attacked on the 4th of march. he was only released from hospital on friday and has not yet been seenin seen in public. and daniel is with me now. what would remake of the way she has released this statement? and why at all? she has chosen not to give an interview as such, but to record a statement, because what she is dealing with is the allegations from the russian government and the russian embassy in london that she has somehow been kidnapped, that she is being held against her will, rumours being put around by russian

bots on social media that they are both dead and they both died weeks ago, and suggestions that she never was ill at all. so she has felt that she needs to get out there on the front foot and deal with some of these issues, dealing again as she has dealt with in written statements that she doesn't want the assistance of the russian embassy at the moment, that she and her father speakfor moment, that she and her father speak for themselves and nobody else speaks for them, but also interestingly, considering that she is in the middle of an international scandal and the british have effectively suggested that people in russia have tried to kill her, she is saying that she does hope one day to be able to return to russia. daniel, thank you. tax officials have suggested that a post—brexit customs system being considered by ministers would cost businesses up to £20 billion a year. they said the option, known as max fac, would leave companies having to pay £32.50 for each customs declaration. the other customs option, known as a partnership, would cost considerably less — but either system could take up to five years to put in place. our business editor

simonjack reports. they roll on, they roll off. goods moving between the uk and the eu through dover with no customs checks. the english channel, no more significant a border than the mersey, the thames or the clyde, but after brexit, that will change, and the head of uk customs told mps today analysing the government's two alternatives is a big job. we have employed more than 1100 staff working on brexit now. i think two is enough. so what are those two options. 0ption one is a streamlined customs process, 01’ maximum facilitation, max fac for short. it uses new technology like numberplate recognition. new technology and trusted traders could speed things through, and there would be exemptions for small businesses, resulting in minimalfriction at

exemptions for small businesses, resulting in minimal friction at the border. but this comes with a massive price tag. you need to think about the highly streamlined customs arrangement costing businesses somewhere in the late teens of billions of pounds. i have started to lose count now of the number of billions. somewhere between 17 and 20 billion. and what about option two ? 20 billion. and what about option two? that is a new customs partnership. the uk would collect ta riffs partnership. the uk would collect tariffs on goods arriving from outside the eu on its behalf, terrace forbids headed to the eu would be handed over, and forbids staying in the uk, we can offer refunds if we decided on a lower tariff. the great advantage, no hard border between the uk and the eu. but it could take five years to implement because it's complicated. in the new customs partnership, we are being clear that the individual tariff would be there, but the repayment mechanism would take a bit longer because it requires some

fairly significant further technology. and then businesses themselves need to decide whether they are going to engage in technology, and they may need further technology bills. outside of this building, very few people had heard of a customs union a couple of yea rs heard of a customs union a couple of years ago, but the mechanism by which goods flow from the uk and the eu is criticalfor which goods flow from the uk and the eu is critical for business and has become central to this negotiation. both customs options on the table are both on tried and untested, could take years, with ten months to until we officially leave the eu, businesses are still in dark. businesses like fizzy drink maker cost and press who export 10 billion ca ns to cost and press who export 10 billion cans to the eu every year. they don't know what to do. in terms of taking specific actions, we haven't done anything, because we don't know. because there is no clarity, we could spend a lot of time developing solutions were a situation that doesn't arise. business lobbying groups are clear what the government should do. what

we think this says is that until we have a solution that can eradicate this cost, the uk should remain in a customs union with the european union. until a decision is made, brexit remains held up at customs. simon jack, bbc news. "i'm listening and i get it." the conciliatory words of the new home secretary sajid javid to police officers, promising them the resources they need to meet the challenges they face. mrjavid, whose brother is a chief superintendent in the west midlands, said he wants to reset the relationship between government and the police. a warning, sarah campbell's report contains a racially offensive term. a raid just after dawn this morning by london's new violent crime task force. the capital has been reeling from a sharp upturn in murders, shootings and stabbings, as have other cities. against that backdrop, and a severe threat from terrorism, the new home secretary came to

birmingham knowing he needs the police on his side. sajid javid's brother baz is a serving officer, something he reminded the conference of. recording in the speech the extremely race to the offensive language he witnessed when he joined his brother a control car. teenagers giving them the middle finger, swearing and spitting. and, worst of all, at one point when his car approached lights and slowed down, one teenager leaned over and yelled at my brother, "you paki bastard". he promised the rank and file officers that he would increase funding and conceded that lack of resources could have an impact on crime. let's reset the relationship between the government and the police. i will give you the tools, the powers and the back—up that you need to get the job done. that funding promise reopened the wounds of the past. three years ago,

theresa may accused us of crying wolf. we were accused of scaremongering over the effects of budget cuts to policing. albot warnings to cutting police officers and the effect on crime were dismissed. the labour party says sajid javid is in denial about the impact cuts have had on policing and the level of crime. his first set piece speech does seem to signal a change in tone from theresa may's time in the home office, and her infamous battles with the police federation. sajid javid highlighted that black people are more likely to be murder victims than other ethnic groups, whereas theresa may restricted to stop and search, sajid javid said today if it saves lives, it has to be right. sarah campbell, bbc news. a woman who left her former boyfriend with horrific injuries after attacking him with acid has been jailed for life. berlinah wallace was told by a judge at bristol crown court that her actions were ‘pure evil.‘ the victim, mark van dongen, later ended his life through euthanasia ,

saying he could no longer stand the pain of his injuries. marks and spencer has suffered a big fall in annual profits following a costly store closure plan. annual pre—tax profits fell by almost two—thirds to £66.8 million as sales of food, clothing and homeware all declined. but it's the overhaul of the business and the expense of closing up to 100 stores by 2020 that have most damaged profits. the families of the people who died in the grenfell tower fire have been remembering their loved ones, on the third day of the public inquiry into the disaster. our special correspondent lucy manning reports. it was a day about parents and their children who had lived together at grenfell and died together. rania ibrahim died with her two girls, fethia and hania. four—year—old fethia's sweet voice filled the inquiry room. i want to hug you... and do something with yourselves.

thank you, goodbye! everyone struggled with their emotions, including the inquiry chairman. rania's niece read her mother's tribute. i watched her grow into a young woman. i prepared herfor her wedding and watched her children grow with mine. never in my life have i thought that i would be in herfuneral. also lost in the fire, zainab deen and her two—year—old son jeremiah. he loved football, adventures and exploring. throughout your short time here on earth, you were so connected with your mother that even death cannot separate you both. mother and son marjorie and ernie vital were found

together in the fire. a seamstress, her surviving son said she was proud of her home in the tower. my brother was a very down—to—earth person, very approachable. he constantly lived with my mother. i think his umbilical cord was never cut. tony disson, who'd lived in the area all of his life loved his children, supporting their boxing careers and was besotted with his granddaughter. gary maunders was also a devoted dad. he loved marvin gaye and manchester united, and always cheered people up. ali yawarjafari's family described how their father had come from afghanistan, how his neighbours praised his kindness but how hard his death had hit the family. i've never dream or thought of going to heaven, but now i find every day, every second, because i want to join

my dad, and i pray every day and even i request my friends to pray for me i'd die soon, to meet my father. lucy manning, bbc news. the time is 6:15. our top story this evening: yulia skripal, one of two victims who were poisoned by a nerve agent in salisbury, makes her first televised statement since the attack. and i will be reporting on a warning about the future of water supplies and what it might mean for us. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes and bbc news... it's a test and lord's debut dom bess. the young england spinner is given his chance against pakistan in the first test. in two days' time voters in ireland will go to the polls to decide whether to overturn

the country's strict ban on abortion. currently terminations are only allowed if there is a substantial risk to the life of the mother. each year thousands of irish women travel to the uk to access abortions in britain. emma vardy has been meeting those on both sides of the debate. the idea of ending the natural process of pregnancy before its time was just not something i could comprehend doing. this is one of ireland's most contentious issues. here, women make choices in the face of a deep moral divide. i knew i could not continue with the pregnancy for another 19 weeks and watch this baby and feel this baby grow stronger. laura was told at 22 weeks that her unborn baby would not survive after birth. the next step for us and the choice that we made was to travel. mentally, we just make that decision, "0k, this is going to happen, our baby's going to die one way or another, regardless.

we can't change that fact and we can't fix that fact". it was either prolong the agony and wait the a0 weeks and go through all of that, or decide to terminate but then we could draw a line in the sand and hopefully move on from it. she flew to a hospital in liverpool for a procedure that would have been illegal at home. in ireland, the 8th amendment of the country's constitution gives an equal right to live for both mother and baby and this lady is fighting to keep it that way. he lived for 17 minutes and for all his 17 minutes he was held... ireland's protection of the unborn, she says, gave her strength to continue a pregnancy knowing her baby had a condition he couldn't survive. and he was told how loved he was. it was an incredibly rewarding experience. why do you believe it would be wrong to offer women at least the choice? it's a choice about ending the life, notjust potentially harming, but deliberately ending the life of another. i don't think that's ever the right solution. more than 3000 women from ireland

travel abroad and pay privately for abortions every year. many come here to liverpool, where it is dr rachel foggin treats irish women each day. quite often they might be alone. they may not have told anybody, they may have had to arrange childcare and time off work in secret. why do you yourself believe that women should have access to abortions? i just think for so many different reasons women find themselves in situations, either it's an abnormal pregnancy, it's just not the right time... it should be talked about. it's a normal part of health care. back in ireland, campaigners have toured the country to get their message across. this referendum stirs strong emotions on both sides. you're an absolute disgrace to yourselves. this amendment... why would i want that? you're full of it, you're all full of it and you women should be utterly ashamed of yourselves!

we try and explain this as logically as possible, that it's never 0k to end the life of any innocent human being. if we're to build a humane society, we need to respect the right to life. and this vote is about what kind of society ireland wants to be. the declining influence of the catholic church means social attitudes are changing. in 2015, ireland voted by a large majority to legalise same—sex marriage, but in this referendum, both sides believe the vote could be much tighter. on friday, voters will decide whether ireland should offer women a new choice. access to abortion — a deeply private issue, now rests on the outcome of a very public debate. emma vardy, bbc news, dublin. donald trump's personal lawyer, michael cohen, received a secret payment of at least $100,000 to arrange talks between the ukrainian president and president trump. that's according to sources

with direct knowledge of the matter who have spoken to the bbc. they say the money was sent to mr cohen by intermediaries acting for the ukrainian leader, petro poroshenko. the allegations have been denied by mr cohen and the two intermediaries. train services continue to be disrupted following the introduction of a new timetable a few days ago, with hundreds of services cancelled by northern, govia and thameslink. one in ten trains due to run by northern have been cancelled since sunday, with many more delayed. fiona trott is in victoria station in manchester for us. the frustration continues for commuters? it does. passengers here this afternoon at victoria station saying you don't want to be a commuter in the north of england at the moment. they are tailoring us about cancellations, delays, trained skipping stations because the carriages are twofold. whilst we

we re carriages are twofold. whilst we were here we heard announcements about disruption because there were no train crews available. since the new timetables were introduced on sunday in the uk, one in every ten trains due to be run by the company northern have been complaints, leading to customers using the hashtag northern file rather than northern rail. the company says it will now submit an urgent action plan to the department for transport, including improving driver rosters are getting trains running, and more trains at peak services. that will be discussed in the north of england is bad. but, passengers say they have been complaining about northern services for months. the company has a apologised at the department for transport is looking at whether it has breached the terms of its franchise. passengers braced for more disruption, as the rmt strike is still due to go ahead. thank you. the labour mp david lammy has said oxford university is "failing

badly", after the institution revealed figures showing around a third of its colleges accepted three or fewer black applicants in the last three years. 0xford agreed it needs to do more, although its data also shows the overall proportion of uk ethnic minority students there is actually higher than in the population overall. elaine dunkley reports. 0xford oxford university is steeped in tradition but when it comes to admissions there are calls for change. its students are still overwhelmingly white, affluent and from the south. those least likely to go to oxford black students and those from the north—east. these stu d e nts those from the north—east. these students in their third year says that have been some progress but more needs to be done. that have been some progress but more needs to be donelj that have been some progress but more needs to be done. ijoin the programme andi more needs to be done. ijoin the programme and i was in year 11, and that helped me to see myself in this space, fitting in. at kenton school in newcastle,

aspirations are high but the numbers applying for oxford are low. they're universities close by and perception isa universities close by and perception is a big factor. you never hear anyone from newcastle has gone there, you don't hear about it. it's a lwa ys there, you don't hear about it. it's always those clothes to their from wealthy areas. the fact is they are not choosing to go to oxford but other places like this head of sixth form says it is the university doing enough. a lot of it is interview and perception paste. if you are not used that sort of questioning, if you might have a tutor that works with you on a more one—on—one basis of the man who can build up your confidence in those settings more readily, it makes it more difficult for students to advance themselves. in the last three years corpus christi college had won just black student despite attracting a dozen such applications. london and the south—east made up nearly half of all uk applications whilst the north—east that accounted for just 296. north—east that accounted for just 2%. at the heart of this issue, are

the top british institutions close to black candidates and those from poor candidates? unless the status quo changes, this will continue. we have a load of different methods in place for us to improve the diversity profile. i think it is clear from that we're making progress. in the past the mp david lammy accused the university of social apartheid. today, a war of words started on social media after the university retweeted eight week calling him bitter. i'm pleased oxford have apologised but the reason i do this is because it is important to ask the question, why, despite getting those straight a ‘s, if you are a northerner you are less likely to get on the other side of? why if you are a black man growing up why if you are a black man growing up in tottenham despite getting those eight grades, you are less likely to get in? oxford university renowned for excellence, but it's challenge remains in showing it is not elitist. england is facing water shortages by 2050, unless rapid action is taken to curb use and wastage.

the environment agency has said that enough water to meet the needs of 20 million people is lost through leaks every day. the agency wants people to have a personal water target, as our science editor, david shukman, reports. we're using more and more water, and there are more and more of us. and add the effect of a warming climate, and the environment agency is warning that there could be shortages in the decades ahead. this isn't the first time we've heard this. archive: it seems fantastic that britain, with all our rainfall, should ever suffer from drought... there was a water crisis back in the ‘50s, but since then the population has grown dramatically, and there is much greater pressure on supplies. in the most extreme scenarios of really extreme drought, things would look pretty bad. you'd have severe threats to health — so water—borne diseases, respiratory diseases, mental health would suffer. there'd be damage to the environment, because our businesses, our industry, our energy depends on reliable water, and there'd be huge damage to the environment.

so it's very important that we make sure that we never get there. it's homes that use more than half of the country's water supply, and that's why this issue has the potential to become highly sensitive. so the environment agency wants us all to be more aware of how much water we're using, but what does that mean in practice? well, in a typical household, 22% of the water is run through the cold—water taps, and that's why we're always being asked not to run them while we're brushing our teeth. next, the toilets. now, they also account for 22% of the water used in a typical household, and modern designs are becoming much more efficient. but the biggest user is the shower, at 25%. now, no—one's talking about restrictions, but they do want us to realise that, in the decades ahead, supplies may be more limited. but every day, 3 billion litres of water are wasted. the water companies say they've spent billions over the last 30

years trying to fix the leaks. the good news is that we've reduced leakage over that time by about a third, but there is a lot more to do, and companies at the moment preparing very ambitious plans for the next five years to reduce leaks. so what about the future? well, piping water from wetter scotland to dryer england would be expensive. and so is taking sea water and stripping out the salt. but if droughts become more common and shortages really bite, radical answers may well be needed. david shukman, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's helen willetts. thank you very much indeed. lots of sunshine enjoyed today by many. let's ta ke sunshine enjoyed today by many. let's take a look at this behind me. what a beautiful end to the day here. earlier in the day, quite a lot of low cloud sitting across the eastern side of the country so it was a glorious blue skies to start with. that has been pegged back to

the close. the cloud in the south has produced a few showers in the far south—east of england that is a sign of change. as we go through the evening, the cloud will thicken and showers will become more prevalent, humidity increases. not as gillian herself but it will be in the north, especially with this mistimed low cloud. 3—4 in the glens of scotland. a fresh start but plenty of sunshine in the morning along with northern ireland. some low cloud around the east coast. more cloud than we are generally seen today and earlier in the day, because of this band of shower will be rain. some of it could be heavy, some of it could be a little on the front of each side. not all, still warm and humid, sunshine between. the north sea coast will have that rather low cloud keeping things called wood and murky but just the cloud keeping things called wood and murky butjust the coast cloud keeping things called wood and murky but just the coast again. inland, to bridges in the high teens or low 20s. in northern ireland, could pick up a shower later in the day. those showers continue through tomorrow evening and overnight,

perhaps pushing a little further north as we move into friday. again, scotla nd north as we move into friday. again, scotland and northern ireland having afairday and scotland and northern ireland having a fair day and the sunshine returns to the south, but quite a bit of rain in between. still warm if you're not in that rain and away from the east coast. the heat continues to build as we go into the bank holiday weekend. pushing or pulling in this warmer air from france, from iberia but with it low pressure and increased risk of some thunderstorms. so fine and dry for some at least. thank you, helen. that's it. now on bbc one we can join the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news, our latest headlines: yulia skripal, one of the victims poisoned by a nerve agent in salisbury, makes herfirst television appearance following the attack. she told the reuters news agency that she was lucky to have survived. hmrc bosses warn a post—brexit customs system could cost businesses up to £20 billion a year, and take between three to five years to fully implement. donald trump's personal lawyer, michael cohen, allegedly received a secret payment to arrange talks

between the ukrainian president and donald trump.