and burning her body in their garden. ouissem medouni and sabrina kouider blamed each other for the death of the 21—year—old at their home in wimbledon in london. sophie lionnet was starved by the couple, and beaten so badly she had five broken ribs at the time of her death. sophie was systematically abused, humiliated and tortured, but we will never know the full extent of the horrors sophie had to endure. we'll have the latest from the old bailey. also this lunchtime... in the last few minutes, two men have been found guilty of the murder of four children after fire bombing their home in walkden in greater manchester. north korea says it's started destroying the tunnels it uses to carry out nuclear tests in advance of a planned meeting between kim jong—un and president trump. £2,000 a yearfrom every british household — the extra funding experts say is needed to maintain the nhs. we are intelligence officers...

secretly we're just like you. mi6 launches its first ever tv advertising campaign to recruit a more diverse workforce. the first day of the opening test against pakistan at lord's. good afternoon, welcome to the bbc news at one. a couple have been found guilty of murdering their 21—year—old french au pair and burning her body in their garden, after holding her prisoner at their home

in wimbledon in london. 0uissem medouni had told the old bailey that his partner, sabrina kouider, had become jealous of sophie lionnet. in the weeks leading up to the au pair's death last september, the couple beat and starved her. sophie long reports from the old bailey. after the jury delivered their guilty verdict a statement was read out in court on behalf of sophie lionnet‘s mother, who said they were monsters who took away her daughter's dignity until she took herfinal, daughter's dignity until she took her final, terrified daughter's dignity until she took herfinal, terrified refs in the bath. sabrina kouider and 0uissem medouni both blamed each other. sophie lionnet, a shy, unworldly but happy young woman. she left her home in france just a few days after her 20th birthday to work as an au pair for a french couple in wimbledon. herfamily would never see her again. when sophie stepped through the door

of 164 wimbledon park road, i'm satisfied this has brought justice for sophie but it will never bring her back. she took —— suffered torture and abuse but today she has finally been heard. when sophie stepped through the door of 164 wimbledon park road, she entered the obsessive and twisted world of sabrina kouider and 0uissem medouni. the couple met 18 years ago and have had an on—off relationship ever since. but kouider had other boyfriends too. 0ne she became obsessed with. mark walton, a former member of the band boyzone. she made many false — the prosecution said — preposterous accusations against him. she claimed sophie was helping him. she even went into the local newsagent telling people he was harassing herfamily.

she said, "have you seen this person?" and she showed me a photo of a blonde—haired man on the phone. i questioned her, what is it with this person, and she said he's a very dangerous person. "why didn't your nanny do anything about it?" and she said the nanny was complicit with mark walton. i didn't know his name at the time, but she said with him. mark walton and sophie lionnet had never met but the couple wouldn't let her go home until she admitted she was colluding with him. sophie spent the last hours of her life a prisoner here. the couple filmed her as they tortured her. they held her head under water in the bath, they threatened her with prison, with rape, with further violence if she didn't confess to crimes she hadn't committed. finally she died. they burned her body in the garden. in the hours after they killed sophie, the couple went

about their daily business. kouider was at the trampolining centre while medouni when shopping. he bought patio cleaner and a pizza, less than an hour before he set light to sophie's body. the toxic combination of kouider and medouni created an unhealthy and dangerous world quite separate from reality. into it, unknowingly, stepped kind, harmless sophie. they harmed her and ultimately killed her in the most inhumane way. mark walton has offered his deepest sympathies to sophie's parents today and also said he'd been deeply hurt by the tissue of lies told about him in court by sabrina kouider. he said he hoped her prison sentence would allow him to reflect on the misery

she has caused. sentencing will take place next month. thank you. in the last few minutes, two men have been found guilty of murdering four children in an arson attack in greater manchester. zac bolland and david worrall were found guilty of murdering demi, brandon, lacie and lia pearson in walkden in december last year. courtney brierley was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter. 0ur correspondent, judith moritz, is at at manchester crown court. yes, there was gasping and sobbing from the wider pearson family when the verdict came in. two men found guilty of murder, zac bolland and his friend david worrall who threw petrol bombs through the pearson family's kitchen window in the middle of the night killing four

children aged between 15 and the youngest just three years children aged between 15 and the youngestjust three years old. zac bolland's girlfriend courtney brierley was with them that night and has been convicted of manslaughter. my colleague danny savage now looks at the background to this case. footage from a fire engine responding to a house fire in greater manchester in the dead of night last december. first sight of the scene is horrifying, house ablaze from top to bottom. the final frame captures the panic in the street from helpless neighbours who will be left traumatised by what they saw. brandon and lacie pearson, two of the four children who were in that fierce fire, who were murdered. their home was petrol bombed by two men who had fallen out with the children's older brother. a fire which took hold so quickly, neighbours and family could do nothing to help. i remember going down the street and then just

being surrounded by police officers, and i'm screaming at them. you just wanted to go in and help and you couldn't. the two men who started the fire, zac bolland and david worrall, denied the main charges at their trial. the court heard they believed the house was empty and that the pearson family had been taken into police protection after a row involving the defendants a few hours earlier. 0n the night of the fire, zac bolland and david worrall were dropped here at the end of the street where the pearson family lived. armed with petrol bombs, an axe and a machete, they were clear about what they were going to do. they had spent the previous few hours planning the attack. here at the back of the house, they took out a fence panel and then used the axe to smash the kitchen window. each of them then threw a petrol bomb into the home before running away. bolland later described how he heard the whoosh of the flames as the fire took hold at the foot of the stairs. cctv from nearby shows them lifting out the panel. moments later, it records the flash

of the first petrol bomb, and then the even bigger flash of the second. the intense blaze killed 15—year—old demi pearson, who was last seen at her bedroom window waving the torch on her mobile phone for help. demi will always be remembered as a big character, fun loving, extremely popular in school, and i would say she was popular outside of school but i think her friends will definitely remember demi as being someone that was independent and someone that was always there for her friends whenever they needed. demi's younger siblings, brandon and lacie were murdered that night too. three—year—old lia pearson died of her injuries a few days later. their mother michelle was in a coma for months and was only told about the deaths of her four children last month. they've gone. i can't even turn round and say one has gone. all her young ones, all her babies have gone. bolland and worrall now face long jail terms

for murdering four children in the most horrific circumstances. danny savage, bbc news, manchester. zac bolland was also convicted of trying to murder the three surviving members of the family and david worrall convicted of grievous bodily harm. they will be sentenced later and the court has also been told more of michelle pearson's condition. we are told she is doing well but still very poorly and she has been told about the fact her children have died but it is questionable how much she fully understands at this stage. judith, thank you. also in the last few minutes, an army sergeant has been found guilty of attempting to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute and sabotaging a gas valve at their home. duncan kennedy is at winchester crown court. this has been an extraordinary case

from start to finish, emile cilliers try to kill his wife twice in the space of one week come first by tampering with a gas fixture at theirfamily home, tampering with a gas fixture at their family home, hoping tampering with a gas fixture at theirfamily home, hoping to cause a gas explosion, then trying to sabotage her parachute so she would jump sabotage her parachute so she would jump out of a plane and forth her death. in that case he sabotaged not only her main parachute but also crucially her life—saving reserve chute. victoria, his wife, survived, but only just. today chute. victoria, his wife, survived, but onlyjust. today her husband emile cilliers has been found guilty on all counts of attempted murder. victoria and emile cilliers, husband

and wife, but he wanted her to die. an experienced skydiver, this was victoria during one of herflights. herflight victoria during one of herflights. her flight exactly like this one, over the same airfield in wiltshire where she had her accident. but victoria cilliers plummeted to the ground when her main and reserve parachutes failed to open, as she felt she blacked out. she only lived because she landed in a newly ploughed field. the police were called in when it became clear the slinks like this that connects the harness to the canopy had been deliberately taken off. detectives went to the airbase near salisbury and discovered that emile cilliers was the last to handle the parachute the day before the accident. it was in this toilet that emile cilliers 5 -

and cut pieces off the parachute and cut pieces off the parachute and cut pieces off the parachute “t " it. he reserve parachute to sabotage it. he hoped that when she left out of the aircraft she would jump to her death. the police organised this demonstration to see if there was time and space for a parachute to be sabotaged in the cubicle. there was. i have known it in the past, however i certainly would have thought he never would be capable of doing something like this. jeff montgomery from the british parachute association knows emile cilliers and says he still can't believe what he did. nobody would want to believe somebody could do that to somebody else because we are all bonded by the sport together. i just don't think people would want to believe that. but incredibly, emile cilliers

had gone further. a week before the parachute incident he had ‘ja: ~ , w . at ‘ja: —~ ,, f at his “we!“ :"ee pines? his heme :—., , . . ~ , in ifizéattempt ,, ,. , “we!“ :"ee pines? his heme :—., , . . ~ , in if”; attempt to , . , “we!“ :"ee pines? his heme :—., , . . ~ , in if”; attempt to try . , ww--- 7—7—7 225.11 he f555? and not 7 to kill victoria. he turned and not to kill victoria. he turned and not to create a leak hoping for an explosion. —— turned a nut. but why would emile cilliers want to kill victoria? police would emile cilliers want to kill victoria 7 police discovered would emile cilliers want to kill victoria? police discovered he was having sex with his former wife and an affair with this woman, stefanie goller. they exchanged thousands of texts, including on the night victoria was taken to hospital after our chute accident. he also hoped to get a massive insurance pay—out if victoria died. victoria had no idea what her husband was trying to do to her in her kitchen or over the fields. two attempted murders and one woman who survived.

when thejury one woman who survived. when the jury came back with their guilty verdict there was no reaction whatsoever from emile cilliers guilty verdict there was no reaction whatsoeverfrom emile cilliers in the dock. the prosecution described him as psychopaths. thejudge said he now has to decide how dangerous he now has to decide how dangerous he is before sentencing and that sentence will come at a later date. duncan kennedy, thank you. north korea says they have started to destroy the tunnels it uses to carry out nuclear tests. it had offered to put the site out of use as a gesture, before a planned summit between its leader, kimjong—un, and president trump next month. the regime tookjournalists to the site to witness controlled explosions in the last few hours. paul adams has the latest. the world has grown accustomed to north korea's displays of military prowess, but now, foreignjournalists have been invited to see something else. what they did is they blew up the three remaining test tunnels. they claim that two of those tunnels were still usable,

that they could have conducted further tests there, but they put explosives inside and they blew them up. before they did that, they actually opened up the tunnels and we were able to walk right up to them, see the explosives inside, and then they removed us to some viewing stands further away and blew them up. but what does blowing up the test site really mean? it's remote, far from the capital pyongyang. it's seen six nuclear tests deep underground since 2006. the largest, probably a hydrogen bomb, took place last september. last month scientists said part of the mountain had collapsed. now north korea says the whole site has been disabled. whatever the reality is about this test site, it's not significant about the future of the north korean nuclear programme. they can test if they wanted to test somewhere else, and they may be planning and preparing to do that, perhaps on a contingency basis, already. so what is kim jong—un trying to achieve? in april he met south korea's president in the demilitarised zone between the two countries.

they agreed to work towards the complete denuclearisation of the korean peninsula, but their declaration was vague, leaving lots of room for interpretation and doubt. donald trump certainly wants a deal, seeing next month's summit with kim jong—un as the stage for a major breakthrough. my proudest achievement will be — this is a part of it — but will be when we denuclearise that entire peninsula. could this be the start? recent satellite images from the nuclear test site punggye—ri appear to show preparations for its closure. but hopes have been raised in the past. ten years ago north korea made another big televised gesture, demolishing the cooling tower at its main nuclear reactor, but talks fizzled out and the plant reopened the following year. and then there's north korea's ballistic missile programme,

capable, it says, of delivering a nuclear warhead all the way to the united states. how willing will kim jong—un be to give all this up, and what exactly will be his price? multiple reasons then to be sceptical about today's public relations exercise and the long, complex diplomatic process that may soon follow. paul adams, bbc news. taxes will have to rise to pay for the nhs — if the uk is to avoid ‘a decade of misery‘ in which older and more vulnerable people are let down. that's the conclusion of a report by two think tanks, which says the health service will require the equivalent of 2,000 pounds a year from every british household for more than a decade. here's our health correspondent dominic hughes. the prime minister has promised a long—term funding plan for the nhs in england which is expected in weeks, but there's high—level

wrangling across whitehall over how much more money will be required. today, two leading think tanks have come up with proposals. their report says significant funding increases will be needed because of our ageing population, and that will probably mean higher taxes. the number of people aged over 85 will go up by 1.3 million over 15 years, almost as much as the increase in the entire population under 65. average uk health spending increases between 2014 and 2016 were 2.3% per year, but the report says 3.3% per year will be needed over the next 15 years just to sustain current levels of care. even slight improvements will need increases of 4% a year. if paid for by higher tax, that could add £2,000 to household bills in 15 years' time. health and social care spending is easily the biggest thing that government does. if you increase the biggest bit of government spending,

that's very costly and in the long run that must mean higher taxes to pay for it because it's very hard to see what else you could cut. but raising taxes comes with a level of political risk, so would voters support paying more for the health service? how can you cut back on things that people need? desperately need, sometimes. so at the end of the day, why not? it's for us. they've got to tighten their safety nets a little bit more before i think they should start increasing the tax on it. i've travelled abroad and they don't have the health service, and the medical situation is dire so, yes, definitely, more tax for the nhs. the body that represents health service trusts, the nhs confederation, commissioned this report and said it was now time for a wider public debate to try and avoid a decade of misery for the old, the sick and vulnerable. the consequences if we don't fund our health care system is really a process of managed decline. it will mean more organisations are in deficit.

the government's commitment to a long—term funding plan for the health service in england has been welcomed. today's report highlights that tough choices lie ahead, but in essence they boil down to tax more — or accept the nhs will have to do less. dominic hughes, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime. a couple have been found guilty of murdering their 21—year—old french au pair, after holiding her prisoner at their home in wimbledon in london. and still to come... can the england cricket team put their winter woes behind them? coming up on bbc news, the team leaves later but the fans need a head start. liverpool supporters set off for kiev on a 48—hour coach journey through europe. they'll arrive on the morning of the champions league final against real madrid. for many he stole the show —

the preacher at saturday's wedding of the duke and duchess of sussex. the american bishop, reverend michael curry, is having to adjust to fame, because he's now one of the most sought—after guests on the us talk show circuit. 0ur religion editor martin bashir has been to meet bishop curry in new york. imagine this tired old world when love is the way, when love is the way... there was passion in his preaching, rhythm in his voice, as bishop michael curry fused race and religion at the royal wedding. harnessed fire made that possible... reverend michael curry, the presiding bishop... since returning to new york, his feet haven't touched the ground. that man right there, presiding bishop michael curry... a preacher, now the most sought—after interviewee on american television. amen! that service, it was all of us, it was people from different nationalities, different races, different ethnicities, different worlds.

those two people, their love, brought a variety of worlds together. you were quoting dr martin luther king at the very heart of the british establishment — and its historical associations with things like colonialism and slavery. we all have history, we all have a past. and our task now is to figure out how do we love each other in such a way that we can actually change the world around us? please, i have to take a... bishop michael is capitalising on his celebrity by taking his message of god's transformative love to the white house, where he says there's a crisis of moral leadership, particularly in the way donald trump treats his political opponents. we can agree and disagree, but i've got to love you. i can't demonise you, i can't dismiss you, i can't treat you as something less than a child of god — that even in our disagreements i've

got to relate to you as the beloved, one of the beloved children of god. given saturday's global television audience, bishop michael preached to the largest congregation of his life. but he says he's not seeking stardom, only the opportunity to preach his message of love for god and love for one another. martin bashir, bbc news, new york. more prisoners could be allowed out on a temporary licence to work, as part of a new government strategy to try to cut reoffending. only about a sixth of offenders are in regular employment one year after serving their sentence. jon ironmonger reports. workshop near wigan macro with a difference. it's inside hindley prison and the men making housing panels are all serving jail sentences. like keenan, who was

court smuggling drugs to support his family. we had a babyjust before i came to jail family. we had a babyjust before i came tojailand my family. we had a babyjust before i came to jail and my girlfriend, this has changed my life, jail. i'm more determined to get a job when i get out and i was before, because i know what it's like to come here now. hmp sudbury engages local businesses to train up determined offenders and give them jobs on release. it's a model the government hopes to replicate, meeting offenders involved in a similar scheme at this present today, the justice secretary said his objective was to cut reoffending and therefore crime. year after leaving prison only 17% of ex—prisoners are work. we want to get that number up. we haven't set a target today, but i certainly want to see that increased. so how will he do it? the new strategy sets out several measures. there will be a

consultation on getting more prisoners into workplaces on temporary licences. businesses will be lobbied to employ ex—offenders and could receive tax incentives, and could receive tax incentives, and governors will be given greater control over education programmes. reoffending is a huge problem for stock nearly half of all adult prisoners commit another crime within 12 months of being released, costing the taxpayer around £15 billion a year and heaping more pressure on a prison system that is already overcrowded. no extra funding has been found for today's announcement and critics say ministers are ignoring the basics. of course rehabilitation is important, but rehabilitation isn't going to work while we've got record numbers of assaults and attacks taking place in our understaffed prisons. putting prisoners into work asa prisons. putting prisoners into work as a common goal of successive governments but the challenge is real and the rate of reoffending has barely changed for a decade. jon ironmonger, bbc news.

"secretly, we're just like you." that's the message of a new recruitment campaign by mi6, which wants to attract people who would never think of themselves working with spies. mi6 says it needs more women and minorities among its ranks — and its first—ever tv advertising campaign starts tonight. gordon corera reports. we are intelligence officers. but we don't do what you think. the opening is straight out of a james bond film. it's picking up on the silent cues that matter, understanding others, helping them... but the aim of this tv ad is to subvert the stereotypes around mi6 and persuade those who haven't thought of applying to be a spy to think again. secretly, we're just like you. the real—life spies here at mi6 have always had a complicated relationship with their fictional portrayal. the image ofjames bond — the ruthless super spy with a licence to kill, going round saving the world — may have done wonders for their reputation on the one

hand, but on the other it doesn't really reflect the work that goes on here at mi6. and the concern is it may have put some people off applying to join. the targets of the new ad are women and ethnic minorities, who have been underrepresented here. ensuring diversity, officials say, is a way of drawing on the widest possible pool of talent. i think for women, when they grow up, all the sort of popular images that there are of spies are either male, or they're women who are — to put it bluntly — often using their sort of sexuality as part of theirjob. officials also say since the attack in salisbury, when a russian who spied for mi6 was targeted, there has been a surge of interest from highly motivated individuals. intelligence officers say their priority is making sure those who do apply now come from the widest background possible. gordon corera, bbc news.

cricket — and after their disappointing winter, england started their summer campaign against pakistan at lord's this morning. joe root won the toss and batted. at lunch england were a shaky 72—3. joe wilson reports. these are the most important people in english cricket right now, the all stars. it's the new scheme to enrol and engage a new generation, almost six, which flora told me as her age. how long have you been playing cricket? i only started two weeks ago. what do you think of it? i love it. that's the spirit, finding children who liked cricket is a long—term challenge for the sport. finding a tea m challenge for the sport. finding a team to win a test match was the immediate issue

at lord's. 15 minutes into the summer, that was mark stoneman removed for four. 0pening summer, that was mark stoneman removed forfour. 0pening batsman is a recurring problem for england as pakistan know. now batting the eternal alastair cook and joe root, the calm heads. hang on, was that close ? the calm heads. hang on, was that close? very. but you have to stay positive while you're still in. a little nudge and watch the ball run between the fielders. cook has been doing that for a dozen years in test matches. and our‘s play, england we re matches. and our‘s play, england were going 0k matches. and our‘s play, england were going ok but one of the great truths of this ground in this sport, you can't lose concentration. not even for a second. 0ne rash shot and joe root was court, boom indeed. stand—by for ali's celebration again as malan fell, england 113—3. by lunch on the first day of the new summer, england found