hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. my colleague ben brown has our top story and he's live in amesbury. i'm in the road where the couple on saturday fell ill just i'm in the road where the couple on saturday fell illjust here behind me, and they i'm now critically ill in hospital in salisbury after being exposed to novichok, the nerve agent. speaking the in the commons this lunchtime the home secretary sajid javid said he understood the public‘s concerns. i recognise that some local wiltshire residents will be feeling very anxious. let me reassure you, the public safety is of paramount importance. we will bring you the latest from here at amesbury and also from westminster. downing street releases a new plan to deal with customs arrangements after brexit — but will the cabinet and eu agree to it?

don't try getting into london — the message to commuters using the uk's second—busiest rail station — after a signal failure brings travel chaos across the south east. big day for the brits at wimbledon — johnanna konta and kyle edmund looking for a place in the third round this afternoon. thanks, janette. it is getting warmer? certainly is. there will be a few thunderstorms, but it will be blue skies are many, i have the complete forecast in half an hour. —— for many. thanks. also coming up — the national health service is 70 years old. iam in i am in south—west london, st georges hospital, we are also celebrating 70 years of the nhs. hello, everyone —

this is afternoon live. as two more people undergo life—saving treatment in hospital after they were exposed to the deadly nerve—agent novichok questions are being aksed about how this could have happened — just months after the massive decontamination operation which followed the attack on sergei and yulia skripal. the story began on saturday, flat number nine, muggleton road in amesbury, a quiet town in wiltshire in the south west. charlie rowley and dawn stu rgess, in the south west. charlie rowley and dawn sturgess, they were a couple and they fell ill on saturday, they were rushed to hospital and at first the doctors and nurses did not know what was wrong with them, they thought maybe a drugs overdose. four days later it

became clear thanks to experts that they had been exposed to novichok, they had been exposed to novichok, the deadly russian nerve agent used against sergei skripal, a former russian spy, and his daughter yulia skripal. the couple may have gone to salisbury last friday night and somehow became exposed to the novichok, possibly in queen elizabeth gardens, a part in the middle of salisbury. the home secretary has said it is not a cce pta ble secretary has said it is not acceptable for our people to be targeted either deliberately or accidentally, and that the russians need to explain what has gone on. it is not acceptable for our towns to become dumping grounds for poison. this is our report. the police tapes are up again in wiltshire after confirmation that nerve agents have returned to this community. a total of five sites are

being examined in salisbury and amesbury as the new investigation gets under way. the victims this time are dawn sturgess and charlie rowley, both now critically ill in hospital. this is a real testament to the staff at the hospital but also the staff at the nhs, we are so fortu nate to also the staff at the nhs, we are so fortunate to have such skilled staff and they have really come into their own and been able to demonstrate the world —class own and been able to demonstrate the world—class care but also what care people receive every day in the nhs. the last time charlie was seen in public was at this church party in amesbury on saturday afternoon, he was here just hours before he was taken ill. was here just hours before he was ta ken ill. charlie was here just hours before he was taken ill. charlie had come here to the party with a friend but it's not clear at what point he was exposed to the novichok or at what time it took effect on his body. they looked a bit out of sorts, there was something not quite right, one would

assume it was possibly alcohol, but we don't know. we engaged with them and we invited them to eat and they shared some food and wandered around for about 20 minutes and then disappeared. charlie rowley and dawn stu rg ess were disappeared. charlie rowley and dawn stu rgess were at disappeared. charlie rowley and dawn sturgess were at their home in ames b when they were taken to hospital. —— amesbury. a friend said they had all been shaken by the news. all of all been shaken by the news. all of a sudden, one minute they were fine and the next minute they are in intensive care, bit scary. it is four months since sergei skripal yulia skripal were targeted by the same nerve agent, and salisbury has been undergoing a clear up ever since but the question over this latest incident is how did the couple come into contact with novichok? you would expect a halfway competent would—be assassin to dispose of those relatively carefully because they would be a forensic gold mine but it is quite possible and the implication is it is one of the lines of inquiry, that maybe an item was not hidden as well

is expected and has been found and to individuals have become contaminated. the government says the risk to health is low and the people who have visited the sites under investigation must be vigilant. we can issue scientific advice about what to do in a situation and how to make sure you ta ke situation and how to make sure you take precautions to keep yourself safe but the nature of a nerve agent like novichok is that it is an absolute tiny needle in a very large haystack that we have to find. this double exposure of nerve agent affecting a town and city seven miles apart has been a real shock here, the circumstances of who and why it happened may be different but the impact has beenjust why it happened may be different but the impact has been just as potent. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in amesbury. when the attack happened in salisbury in march the government was quick to blame the russian state

and to hold it accountable and now it has said that in the wake of this latest incident the russian government has to explain what has been going on in wiltshire. this is a report. the poisoning of 30 and yulia skripal with novichok in march led to an unprecedented response by the government here. 23 russian diplomats expelled from the embassy in london, many more from other european countries and the united states. when theresa may went to parliament, she was confident that intelligence showed moscow was responsible for the attack. there is no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of mr skripal and his daughter. this represents an unlawful use of force by the russian state against the united kingdom. so now with two more people, dawn sturgess and charlie rowley, in critical condition in salisbury hospital, accusations are again flying

between london and moscow, with relations already at an historic low. can you provide reassurance to the people of salisbury? this morning the government's emergency committee cobra has been meeting to discuss this latest crisis and how it should respond. it is now time that the russian state co m es it is now time that the russian state comes forward and explains exactly what has gone on. let me be clear, we do not have a quarrel with the russian people. rather it is the actions of the russian government that this... continues to undermine oui’ that this... continues to undermine our security and that the international community, we will up to the actions that threaten our security and that of our partners. it is completely unacceptable for oui’ it is completely unacceptable for our people to be either deliberate oi’ our people to be either deliberate or accidental targets or for our streets and parks and towns to be dumping grounds for poison or.

but all this comes at a very sensitive time diplomatically. donald trump will be travelling to europe next week for a nato summit which could prove to be fractious, followed by a visit to britain and then finally a summit meeting with vladimir putin in which mr trump may try to bolster relations with the kremlin. and all that may mean little chance of concerted diplomatic action against moscow in response to this latest poisoning of british citizens. it will be particularly difficult with the world cup continuing and the england team about to play in the quarterfinals. richard galpin, bbc news. it seems that this couple left this property in amesbury on friday night and went to salisbury on a bus and went to queen elizabeth gardens in salisbury and that is where they may have become exposed to the novichok. maybe it had been discarded thereby

whoever attacked the skripals in march, that is one working assumption by the police. novichok was a russian military grade nerve agent developed during the cold war. it is deadly. it can be ingested by mouth or through the skin. 0ur science correspondent has this report. the removal of the park bench where the skripals were found. successfully it seems it was cleared up successfully it seems it was cleared up as there were no further incidents in the city. but how did the nerve agent get to amesbury? there are three crucial questions? could there be more objects, can they be detected, are they still

deadly? we have to bring in the inspectors on the 0pcw from the hague and get them looking at what happened and checking these compounds and making sure this time that we get some way to attribution is to who might have done this. the nerve agent was identified at the chemical weapons research laboratory and porton down, and it spread through contact with c skin and through contact with c skin and through the mouth and by injection, even a tiny amount can cause the mars —— body's muscles to contract. there is no simple test to detect the agent and remains highly poisonous for a long time. our assessment is that the risk to the general public remains low and it is perfectly reasonable to carry on with your normal day—to—day activities. we are giving highly precautionary advice to anybody who was in one of the areas of concern from a ten o'clock on friday night onwards, simply to wash your clothes

thatis onwards, simply to wash your clothes that is the sensible precaution to date. we should all remember not to pick up objects we don't know what they are. novichok can be decontaminated chemically if it is known where they are, but the safest approach is to take suspected objects away and to burn them. we have seen property all around the property all day. —— we have seen activity. we can discuss novichok in more detail. joining me now is professor alastair hay from the university of leeds, who is an an expert in environmental toxicology. do you have any doubt that the novichok that this couple have been exposed to was the same novichok that was used to attacked the skripals? that is the most probable

explanation and until there is an alternative that is the best working hypothesis. that it is related to the same agent, it is the same agent. we heard in that report how potent it is but it is potent over a long period of time and it doesn't degrade. i don't know exactly what the rate of degradation is and there is now officially published data on this. we know the agent was very persistent in the skripals which is why they were unconscious for a long time. it is probably very persistent in the environment. nerve agents breakdown in the environment through contact with water or they evaporate. but some agents take a long time to degrade and they can la st long time to degrade and they can last for using the environment and this particular one may be very similarto this particular one may be very similar to one of those. it seems as if this couple may have gone to

salisbury on friday night and somehow picked up a syringe or some kind of container that the novichok had been in, what are your thoughts about that? that after the hold a —— the whole decontamination in salisbury, there was still novichok lying around. the authorities and the police will be very upset about this because what they did logically was look at the movements of the skripals after the possible contact with the nerve agent and they would have done that very thoroughly and hoped they had covered the area and found everything that was present. but they may not have been able to account for who delivered the agent and put it on the door handle of the house of the skripals and also what they did with the container and that is maybe what we are dealing with now. unanswered questions and a lot of work for the authorities to do, u nfortu nately. of work for the authorities to do, unfortunately. very difficult for

the authorities, because that may have been it, that may have been some novichok that was discarded after the attack, but equally people in salisbury and amesbury will be worried there might be more novichok lying around somewhere. difficult for the authorities to reassure them. the authorities are doing their best and i hope they continue to communicate with people on a very regular basis. the investigation is very complex because you have got to ta ke very complex because you have got to take what samples of surfaces and soil and vegetation samples and process these in a laboratory, and then put them through their expensive equipment and have trained people to do that. it is not as if you can go into the environment with a geiger counter and find something you need immediately. it is a very labour—intensive process and the authorities have used the best intelligence available to them to honein intelligence available to them to hone in on where they think the contamination is and this looks as

if they will have to do even more because there is another couple now exposed may have got to work out their movements and things but i know this is wawrinka people. —— they have got to work out their movements, but i accept that this is very worrying for people. thanks for joining us. 0ur correspondent tomos morgan is in salisbury for us. the people there must be very alarmed about what has happened? yes, concern and bemusement that another incredible incident has happened in their city. i'm standing outside the queen elizabeth gardens in the city, one of six areas that have now been cordoned off as the police continue their investigation into trying to decipher a zachary what happened to that couple from amesbury —— decipher exactly for the

possibly they came into these gardens and came into contact with traces of the nerve agent and things escalated from there. the authorities have stressed to the local public that there is a very low risk that there could be any further contamination but as i mentioned the people i've spoken to, there is still some concern and also concern as to what the long—term effects could be on the town as the businesses have been affected from what happened in march. the authorities continue the investigation here at the queen elizabeth gardens and in six other places across the city. thanks for joining us. in the house of commons sajid javid said there's no civic at risk to the wider public and he wanted to reassure people —— no significant risk. he said people were

understandably anxious but he also reported the warning to people from public health england, that if you have been to any of the six areas that this couple visited from friday night onwards in salisbury and amesbury, areas that are now cordoned off and potentially contaminated, you should wash your clothes and white daniel possessions and belongings. —— wipe down your possessions and belongings. studio: thanks forjoining us. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. a man and a woman remain in a critical condition after being exposed to the nerve agent novichok — the same substance used against the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter in march. downing street releases a new plan to deal with customs arrangements after brexit — but will the cabinet and eu agree to it? disruption for thousands of commuters as trains in and out of london victoria are cancelled due to signalling problems. people are warned not to travel. events to mark the 70th anniversary of the nhs are being held across the uk.

we have the latest from wimbledon. johanna konta, can she go one further? the british number one is in action later as is the men's number one, kyle edmund. anthony joshua will have his next two fights at wembley stadium. back with more on these stories at half—past. downing street has set out some of the detail of a new plan for how customs could be handled after brexit. the latest model is known as a "facilitated customs arrangement". number 10 said it would harness the best aspects of two previous options under consideration — whilst allowing britain

to strike its own trade deals. for more, here's our assistant political editor, norman smith. downing street have begun to release more details on their proposed third way customers arrangement which theresa may will put two cabinet ministers tomorrow in an effort to secure their agreement. it is called the facilitated customs arrangement and is basically a combination of the two previously rejected options, the two previously rejected options, the customs partnership and the maximum facilitation option, the two key parts concern abiding by eu rules and regulations when it comes to goods and a tariff arrangement whereby the uk would in effect be the borderfor eu whereby the uk would in effect be the border for eu tariffs, those goods coming into britain en route from the eu. what are we to make of this? i'm joined byjacob rees—mogg. let's begin with the eu rule book which we are going to continue to observe but we will have the freedom

to divergent in the future if we want, says parliament. the question is, can we do trade deals with countries outside the eu and accept their goods on the basis of equivalence rather than on detailed application of eu rules? if we can't do that, we can't do trade deals, and one of the great advantages of leaving the union macro is the ability to make our own rules and sticking closely to the regulations of the eu would be a mistake. would it in your view undermine what brexiteer like yourself you as the big game, the ability to make trade deals. it would be pointless, because the essence of trade deals is nontariff barriers and bringing those down for the tariff barriers are quite small, so it is the nontariff regulatory issues and

accepting that major countries with good standards may have a different approach but that their goods are equally safe and sensible to trade. how does that marry with what the prime minister has said in the commons yesterday? she said she was stick with her commitment to have an independent trade policy, is that compatible question not we have got to see the details and it is hard to know until then, but i assume the prime minister will stick to what she has said. 0ut prime minister will stick to what she has said. out of the customs union and the single market. we hope it means out of it in reality and not ina it means out of it in reality and not in a pretended legalistic sense, they will be concern if it is being donein they will be concern if it is being done ina they will be concern if it is being done in a way that is merely a form of words rather than a reality. the second element looks at tariffs. downing street says what they are proposing will enable a british government to set the level of ta riffs government to set the level of tariffs for britain that we want, taking back control of our tariffs. 0n taking back control of our tariffs. on that side are you relaxed?m

taking back control of our tariffs. on that side are you relaxed? it is very important to be able to get out of the common tariffs which makes goods more expensive for uk consumers, hitting the incomes of the least well off in our society, this will be one of the great benefits of brexit, so it is crucial that happens. again we need to see the details. how complex and how practical is the system going to be and will extend the transition and will it come under the auspices of the european court ofjustice? european court of justice the european court ofjustice? european court ofjustice is something the prime minister has ruled out many times and this is clearly a red line for eurosceptics. where brady, the chair of the 1922 backbench mitty, a brexiteer, he has appealed for unity —— graham brady, the chair of the 1922 backbench committee. your reservations are such that you would not be able to back the prime minister if you felt the deal she proposed compromised

oui’ the deal she proposed compromised our ability to strike trade deals question i'm strongly supporting the prime minister and question i'm strongly supporting the prime ministerand i'm confident that the prime minister will do what she says, her reputation is for having a high degree of integrity and honesty, so i'm sure she would do that. the issue is not with people like me, it's with senior members of the cabinet and some junior ministers who have been consistently lobbying from inside government against government policy and it is important that the government insists on collective responsibility. how serious leader you take the concerns of some of your colleagues that this is basically an attempt to bounce the party into accepting a very soft brexit? —— has seriously do you take. we know philip hammond and greg clarke will give presentations at chequers. the problem with

bounces is that sometimes they are long hops, and all politicians should be careful of bowling bouncers. jacob rees-mogg, thanks for joining bouncers. jacob rees-mogg, thanks forjoining us. a great cricketing and allergy to end with. —— analogy to end with. the national health service is celebrating it's seventieth anniversary with a host of events being held around the uk. since it's birth in 19118, the nhs has grown to become the world's largest publicly funded health service. staffjoined patients and charities at a service at westminster abbey — and many others will attend a service this evening at york minster. the prince of wales has met patients at a hospital in blaenau gwent — and the duke of cambridge will attend a commemorative reception in edinburgh. martine croxall is at st george's hospital in tooting for us now. good afternoon. we are in the courtyard which is where the tea party to mark the 70th anniversary of the nhs is taking place and i think they have run out of tea, actually. everyone is very thirsty.

there was an enormous cake which lasted just a few minutes. it was eaten and appreciated. i'm here with three women who have clocked up nearly a hundred years of service for the nhs. much of which was spent here. i hope you have been enjoying the celebrations. you were a nurse in the operating theatre for over 30 yea rs, in the operating theatre for over 30 years, how much did your life change? it changed a lot. it was like a family unit. from the beginning until the end. to me it was better at the beginning and at the end it became a bit difficult. things do change and we have to adjust. you retired three years ago. you are still in service? the neonatal unit? yes. you can't quite

retire? no, because i do love my job andl retire? no, because i do love my job and i love the people here, very friendly. i like to come back any time they want me. you told me you retired only last week but i don't bid you have stopped work? —— i don't think. they need you in pathology. they have been short of staff and they ask people if they can help them out and i can't let it gojust like that. it is my home because i have been working for 45 years and the nhs is a great place to work because it is friendly. it is really fantastic institution. in the pathology department you are dealing with thousands and thousands of samples dealing with thousands and thousands of sa m ples every dealing with thousands and thousands of samples every day. yes, because we became southwest london pathology and it comes from croydon and kingston and also to gin, so we are

dealing with 7000 samples a day —— also tooting. you love the nhs, what are your hopes for the future of the nhs? it is getting better and better every day. because of what it can do to treat people? it can do wonderful jobs. the neonatal is brilliant, the things they do now. we met a family with a baby this morning that was born at 24 weeks and a few years ago that would not have been possible. the life expectancy would not have been great. no. but as i say they have done a greatjob and i do like working for the nhs can at which i do now and again. it is a family industry? it is, yes. what do your

children and husband do? my husband was a psychiatric nurse and one of my daughters is a doctor and the other is working in the lab. what is it that makes this hospital so special? everyone has a real attachment to the place. it's a great trauma hospital now and we get very complex injuries and we have a great number of surgeons in this hospital and also nurses. pathology obviously does a lot of tests. this isa obviously does a lot of tests. this is a great place because we are specialising in cardiology and neurology, neonatal, so many other areas. you have worked in other places as well? 0ther areas. you have worked in other places as well? other hospitals?” worked at st james is hospital, when i started myjob in 1973, but that

closed in 1986. sol i started myjob in 1973, but that closed in 1986. so i came here to st georges because the staff were transferred here. i did not want to go anywhere from here. clearly not, after 45 years, go anywhere from here. clearly not, after 45 yea rs, you go anywhere from here. clearly not, after 45 years, you clearly hold the nhs in great affection. thanks for joining us. we will be hearing from the head of fundraising for the st george ‘s hospital charity about the millions of pounds that are raised to support the work done here in south—west london. to support the work done here in south-west london. thanks for joining us. breaking news as sajid javid calls on russia to explain the novichok poisoning after two people are critically ill in hospital after being exposed to it. our russian spokeswoman says the case is still shrouded in darkness, the uk's refusal to cooperate with russia and

effo rts refusal to cooperate with russia and efforts to manipulate undermine trust in the uk government, she says. we are calling on the uk not to get involved in dirty political gains paid by session forces in london. says, we were shocked by suggestions we are not cooperating. stop games regarding chemical substances. they say the government will have to apologise to russia and the world community. we will get more from moscow in a little while. now it is time for the weather forecast. this is a picture from the world's most northerly capital city in iceland. 8 million miles from us as far as whether is concerned so far this summer. a few stats. there with us. ido like us. i do like stats that involve us.

tell us about iceland. there was a stock it is a northerly capital city, with roughly 60 or 70 hours of daylight in june, they city, with roughly 60 or 70 hours of daylight injune, they only had about 70 hours of sunshine, a third of what they normally get. we have had sunshine day after day after day. we have cloud and a crisp breeze. the highest they have hurt injune is barely even 15 degrees, and this is barely even 15 degrees, and this is the one that will have many of them weeping at the moment. rainfall amounts. the wettest may on record. i have been through all of their stats, a greatjob, and in the five dry days since the middle of april. can you imagine? no. let's talk about the efficacy of today i drove home and it was raining. i don't remember you mentioning me. you can't have been listening very carefully. we even zoomed in and said there could be reined in the london area so pay attention.

the reason they have the wet weather is because the position of the jet strea m is because the position of the jet stream is in the north across iceland, bringing low—pressure. that same position which has meant that we have kept high pressure in charge and once again a friday across most of the uk today. the sunshine at the game in scotland but it is a com pletely game in scotland but it is a completely different feeling day. blue skies overhead earlier. let's see if this can move on to show you the picture in scotland earlier. it doesn't want to play. 0ne the picture in scotland earlier. it doesn't want to play. one more time? it has given up. i will keep on pressing it. it has been a lovely sunny day across scotland today but it is significantly cooler by order of around 10 degrees in a few spots. good sunny spells to come in northern ireland through the afternoon with temperatures and like yesterday, which was in the high 20s... 0k! adam has been talking for ten minutes about the jet stream. good luck! lovely afternoon across

scotla nd good luck! lovely afternoon across scotland and northern ireland but feeling cooler than yesterday. england and wales, a much more humid day convicted yesterday and for most of its dry, pay attention, simon, a few more showers and thunderstorms. southern counties through to essex in particular, there could be some intense downpours and temperatures away from it could get to around 30 degrees. that's the area, just there. just across the southern coastal counties. the storms will fade away through the night and another humid night, fresh for the north. i am loving my system. lots of sunshine against. low 20s across northern ireland. england and wales mid to high 20s, potentially 30 degrees again in the south—east corner and the dry weather will continue into the weekend, getting a bit warmer and hotter for england and wales. in the high 20s and 30s.

fitted to the potential high. hopefully some graphics in half an hour. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. a couple from wiltshire exposed to the toxic nerve agent, novichok, remain critically ill in hospital. home secretary sajid javid, who chaired a meeting of the government's emergency cobra committee, has called on russia to explain what happened. downing street has revealed details of a plan to handle customs after brexit. it proposes to use technology to guarantee frictionless trade with the eu, while also allowing britain to strike its own trade deals. thousands of commuters have been hit by train cancellations in and out of london victoria after a massive signalling failure. network rail says the disruption is likely to last all day. it's the 70th anniversary of the national health service. a series of events are being held across the uk to mark the occasion, including a service at westminster abbey. and as england prepare for the quarterfinal against sweden in the world cup, forward, jamie vardy is in doubt after suffering a groin injury.

sport now on afternoon live. good afternoon. we deserve a break from football. we don't start again until saturday so we need time to calm our nerves, do you think, simon? i nerves are shot already! let's start at wimbledon on what is a big day for brits. holly hamilton is there for us — the two british number ones are in action later, but there's been disapointment for katie boulter? a big day at wimbledon. the best of british back in action. we have had katie boulter. it was a big ask for the british wild card earlier, up against naomi 0saka. this is the first time katie has reached the second round of the main draw at

wimbledon. many were hoping for another upset but i'm afraid itjust wasn't to be. she was beaten in straight sets 6—3, 6—4. a very respectable second round campaign from her. next it is over to the british number one is. john hahn quanta in centre court. she is going to be taking on another difficult opponent. —— johanna konta. to be taking on another difficult opponent. ——johanna konta. she made harder work of it than necessary. she will be hoping for a good run, considering last year she reached the semifinals. since then she has lacked consistency and dropped to number 24 lacked consistency and dropped to number24 in the lacked consistency and dropped to number 24 in the world. that will be on centre court later and then after that her counterpart, kyle edmund, with the in action again on centre court, facing another qualifier. desmond will be hoping to reach the

last 32 year for the first time in his career. a lot of pressure considering there is no andy murray. a victory could potentially set up a third—round meeting against novak djokovic and that is something eve ryo ne djokovic and that is something everyone here would like to see. right now on centre court it is the world number one, as if you couldn't tell looking over. the world number one in action against a player from kazakhstan. he is one set up and serving for the second set. you can keep up—to—date with that much over on the website. plenty more action still to come here. let's head to russia, and the world cup where england have an injury worry ahead of that quarter final against sweden. our sports correspondent david 0rnstein is at england's base in repino. yes, england trained today. the

first format training sessions —— the first full training sessions as they returned. it was behind closed doors so we don't know a great deal about what happened but we do think jamie vardy was not involved. he needed an injection for a groin problem he picked up towards the end of the match after coming on as a late substitute and he is now a doubt for the crucial quarterfinal against sweden on saturday. elsewhere, there is still a five problem for ali, a five problem for ashley young. harry kane came away with bumps and bruises butjamie vardy is the only major concerned. fabian delph returns. his child has arrived, he has a baby girl who arrived, he has a baby girl who arrived yesterday morning and he is now back at the camp as they prepare for what could be the chance of a lifetime on saturday. anthony joshua has ended

speculation that he might look to fight in the united states by confirming his next two fights will be at wembley stadium. having defended his world titles in cardiff on the last two occasions, joshua will fight at the national stadium on september 22nd. he's likely to face russian alexander povektin next with talks about a unification fight with deyontay wilder ongoing. that's all the sport for now. jaguar land rover has warned that a "bad" brexit deal would threaten £80bn worth of investment plans for the uk and may force it to close factories. the uk's biggest carmaker, owned by india's tata motors, said its "heart and soul is in the uk". but without frictionless trade jlr said its uk investment plans would be in jeopardy. joining me now from liverpool is maria eagle, labour mp whose constituency of garston and halewood is home to jaguar landrover‘s halewood car plant. 0n the face of it, it looks very

worrying indeed. is. it is shocking that is not surprising, because the company have been expressing these woollies privately to the government in the expectation that the government would he then and would ensure that the brexit deal that they do does not put these 300,000 jobs in the supply chain and atjaguar land rover at risk. the 6000 people who work at the plant whose future is now in doubt if the government's ha rd tory now in doubt if the government's hard tory brexit plans are to go ahead. it's time for the prime minister to set up —— to step up and put a stop to this nonsense, and put jobs and people's livelihoods and futures at the top of things to be secured in this deal. it is about time she did it. do you have some simply for the government position that they are in the middle of these negotiations with the eu and they wouldn't want to show their hand?

now, i have no sympathy with it. they had two years to come to a position and they are fighting amongst themselves about what kind of brexit they want to see because they are jockeying for position to replace the prime minister, who doesn't seem to be able to reconcile her own cabinet, before the turnaround to the eu 27. business is getting fed up waiting for the government to do its job and they are having to plan for a future without taking the uk into account. now, that would be a disasterfor our country, for the people who work at the factory in my constituency. things are getting very real. the government have to step up and stop fighting amongst themselves and start fighting for the good of the whole nation. what sort of effect does this sort of statement from jr have on its tough? ——jl are have on its staff?

of it tough? ——jl are have on its staff? of it causes great uncertainty and fear. the most published their plans as soon as fear. the most published their plans as soon as possible, sort out what they are trying to do is put at the very top of the list, instead of their own political careers and who is going to be the next leader of the tory party, people's jobs, livelihoods, the good of our economy going forward into the future and the future of the manufacturing industry, not only automotive, but particularly in this instance, our automotive manufacturing industry. we have been talking about tomorrow. what would you want to come out of that? we want a realistic plan for the softest possible brexit. i have been clear that we need to stay in the single market, stay in the customs union, prevent the direction of more trade barriers and more costs for industry. remember, integrated supply trains with

matching across europe. hard brexit can only make it more difficult and destroy the competitiveness of industries like jaguar land rover and that is why they are contemplating moving, so that it is time now to look to the good of the people of this country to save our industry and stop is invalid, fighting over the future of the tory party and do the right thing by the party. you do not sense that the boss is just bluffing? ido just bluffing? i do not have any sense at all, because it is clearly true that with an integrated supply chain, if you start erecting posts and borders, that increases cost enormously. it makes it impossible to continue to manufacture ca rs makes it impossible to continue to manufacture cars that are competitive globally in the same way and of course they have to plan for and of course they have to plan for a future that avoids those extra

costs a nd a future that avoids those extra costs and we need more barriers to trade so that future may not be in britain. that is what he said, and it stands to reason to me that it makes sense to the company to retain its global competitiveness, but it doesn't have to be like this. let's ta ke doesn't have to be like this. let's take ideology away from it. stop fighting over the future of tory leadership. the fighting for the future of this country. jamie robertson is here — in a moment they will be telling us what's hot and what's not in the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. theresa may has said it's deeply disturbing that — for a second time — a man and woman in britain have been exposed to the nerve agent novichok. downing street has set out a new proposal for how trade between the uk and the eu could be handled after brexit. but will it unite the cabinet? and commuters in the south east are warned of a second day of disruption

as rail bosses say trains in and out of london victoria will be affected by signalling problems until at least tomorrow morning. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. mark carney governor of the bank of england has said he now has more confidence in the uk economy, and that the latest data suggested a slow down earlier in the year was largely due to the bad weather. however he also warned that a global trade war could dampen economic growth. the uk's biggest carmaker — jaguar land rover — is the latest big company to warn of the dangers of a so—called "bad" brexit deal. it says it could cost it more than £1.2 billion in profit each year — jeopardising future investment in britain. jlr says it needs "free and frictionless trade with the eu and unrestricted access to the single market." energy giant edf is to increase standard tariff prices by an average of 6% for those customers who take both gas and electricity. it said these dual—fuel customers would on average pay £1.35 a week more from 31 august. it increased electricity charges by 2.7% in april.

there's going to be another strike at rya nair? the cabin crew are joining irish ryanair pilots who on tuesday announced a strike forjuly 12, saying europe's largest low—cost carrier had failed to improve conditions sufficiently after recognising unions in december. italian cabin crews are coming on on the 25th and there could be more coming behind. depending on your point of view, it goes back to when 0'leary unleashed the floodgates by allowing unions in ryanair. now they are saying that all agreements he came to with the unions then and not enough and they want more. they want better pay, basically. they also wa nt better pay, basically. they also want better conditions. they think

disciplinary procedures are draconian and harsh. it could get worse as well. not much worse, because that is the start of the summer holiday. were you planning to use ryanair to go anywhere? no. ijust wondered if you had any interest. i'm going nowhere. true of everything. and still up in the air — boeing has taken over a brazilian aircraft maker? do you remember when lombardi eight we re do you remember when lombardi eight were taken to court —— bombardier. airbus took over that part of

bombardier. boeing says it wants it. we have been speaking to paul blake at the new york stock exchange. tell us at the new york stock exchange. tell us about how this deal works? boeing has been courting embraerfor some time. the brazilian firm is one of the world's biggest manufacturers of small passengerjets. they are going to form a newjoint ventured. the management will be based down in brazil but it will report to boeing in the us. we are hoping they could get regulatory approval by the end of 2019. what is this resistance we hear of? it british government has an issue with the attempts by boeing to take

over the other company, a key player in the brazilian market place. it is a major brazilian company. it is also a major supplier to the brazilian military that the government has been in the path very concerned about what influence the us and a us company could have in a company that is so key to the brazilian military‘s aviation. the us company says it will hope to get past any issues, not controlling the military part of the operations. how important is it to boeing? it is important because it is about a rivalry with airbus. and then for the company it is about competition with bombardier. it is a key

competition with the smaller section of the aviation market. when they we re of the aviation market. when they were tied up it became quite a big threat of competition to boeing and so threat of competition to boeing and so then it is combining forces with embraer. i'd have a look at the markets. looking reasonably strong. the pound, that is looking quite strong... it jumped up. is it stronger or weaker? it started strong because of what mark carney, the governor of the bank of england was saying about the economy. jimmy, much more from you later on. thank you very much. let's return to the 70th anniversary of the nhs. staffjoined patients and charities

at a service at westminster abbey and many others will attend a service this evening at york minster. martine croxall is at st george's hospital in tooting for us now. raising temperatures there. trying to keep cool, simon. we are in the courtyard with a tea has been taking place. you can probably hear the gentle strains of a welsh harp in the background. you mention the nhs and very often funding will be the next topic of conversation and for many years, charities have supported the work of the nhs. that is very much the case here in saint georges in tooting, where there is a hospital charity and the head of fundraising is noel cramer. hejoins us now. fundraising is noel cramer. hejoins us now. charitable work in hospitals goes back a very long way, doesn't it? yes. this hospital was founded in 1733 from someone who wanted to make a charitable donation to the port of

london and ever since that time, until 1948 when the nhs was created, it has been largely funded by charitable giving. it isa charitable giving. it is a very professional operation. how much did you raise an average each year? we awarded nearly 2 million in grants and awards to the hospital last year, thanks to donations and grants and active fundraising techniques. and who tends to be the people who donate? 0ften it's people who have come through the hospital themselves and have first—hand experience of wonderful care from the staff, their relatives or themselves or very appreciative of the care and they wa nt to appreciative of the care and they want to give something back. £2 million is a lot of money to have to raise that it is quickly spent. it is quickly spent and we are careful because we don't find anything the nhs is responsible for funding soi anything the nhs is responsible for funding so i was is anything that is

supplemental to what the core service provides. examples are when we founded a dementia support group forfamilies of we founded a dementia support group for families of people with early—onset dementia who didn't have a means of coming together and learning about ways of coping unless it was for the hospital charity. we are one of many, doing soft things like that and also funding and pieces of medical equipment like portable echo machines for cardiac patients. what would you say to people who say, we pay our taxes and that is how the nhs should be funded fully. why should anyone have to raise money? i think often with charities the situation is that you understand how the service is funded but it is out of appreciation and respect for what they have received a human level that allows people to go on to help the next patient and family that might require support from the nhs. nobody is demanding people pay when it comes to hospital, this is all

volu nta ry it comes to hospital, this is all voluntary so it is out of the goodness of people's hearts. of course, we know that many people argue there is a funding gap in the nhs and the government has said there will be £20 billion extra by 2023. what are the challenges you will try to support the hospital through in the next five or ten yea rs ? that is a long window, we look ahead by around two years and it is often things that are immediately needed. we know for instance children's appeals are what we need to support. there are bits of equipment that people want to have that don't have to have them. there are things people wish to have in the awards and units that make a fundamental change to the patient experience and we are here to make it better. the best of luck to you. thank you very much. we are off to a laboratory where they do 3d printing

on things like linz and hans —— things like body parts. apparently they might even make a miniature model of me. the mind boggles. nurse! thank you very much. that's how they look at the weather forecast. let's see if it works. here's matt taylor. the big difference now is how warm it feels out there. the warmest parts of the country. it is the temperature dropped this afternoon. we have noticed a pushing up afternoon. we have noticed a pushing up of the atlantic. if you notice as we run the sequence it has been breaking up quite nicely. the cloud breaking up quite nicely. the cloud breaking up quite nicely. the cloud breaking up to a lovely sunshine through and it is very pleasant. temperatures in the low 20s, if not

the high teens. england and wales with lighter wind. that humidity is setting off a few thunderstorms into the evening with a couple of severe winds towards the south—east. hit and miss with most places avoiding them, staying dry. some guidance will get a welcome drop of rain. they will feed into the night, down the eastern coast of england. long clear skies for many. fresh across the north and humid in the south with temperatures still in the mid teens. into friday, another dry and sunny day. any showers will be isolated across england and wales. sunny spells for scotland and northern ireland a bit here and there was this far north—west of robben island. it could be above 30 degrees once again. into the weekend high pressure is firmly in charge. it has kept us strive for so long and it is a uk wide into the weekend

so and it is a uk wide into the weekend so whenever you and it is a uk wide into the weekend so whenever you are and it is a uk wide into the weekend so whenever you are most of the time it will be dry. a couple of exceptions on sunday. 0n it will be dry. a couple of exceptions on sunday. on saturday, lung sunny spells. a little bit of a bubbling up. temperatures into the mid—20s. as for sunday, that slight change i mentioned will be the chance of a few showers toured the highlands and islands of a weak weather front clips by. away from that, much of england and wales, long sunny spells. warming up nicely, well above average for the time of year. mid to high 20s. 30—32 in the south—east corner. a little bit fresher compared to saturday across northern scotland. goodbye for now. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. my colleague ben brown has our top story and he's live in amesbury for us. i'm here in wiltshire at the scene where dawn sturgess and charlie rowley remain in a critical condition — police say there was "nothing in their background" to suggest the pair were targeted. speaking in the commons

this lunchtime the home secretary sajid javid said he understood the public‘s concerns. i recognise that some local wiltshire residents will be feeling very anxious. let me reassure you, the public safety is of paramount importance. we ll bring you the latest developments from here in wiltshire. and also from westminster. downing street releases a new plan to deal with customs arrangements after brexit — but will the cabinet and eu agree to it? don't try getting into london — the message to commuters using the uk's second—busiest rail station victoria — after a signal failure brings travel chaos across the south east. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. british number ones — kyle edmund and johanna konta will be looking for a place in the third round at wimbledon this afternoon. thanks.

blue skies everywhere, but a few isolated showers, will they come your way? the details at half—past. thanks. also coming up — happy birthday to the nhs. celebrations across the uk as the health service turns 70. hello, everyone — this is afternoon live. as two more people undergo life—saving treatment in hospital after they were exposed to the deadly nerve—agent novichok, questions are being asked about how this could have happened — just months after the massive decontamination operation which followed the attack on sergei and yulia skripal. ben brown is at the scene in amesbury for us now. the story began here, muggleton road

in amesbury, and the couple involved, charlie rowley and dawn stu rg ess, involved, charlie rowley and dawn sturgess, they set off last friday ona sturgess, they set off last friday on a bus ride to salisbury and it is thought they somehow got contaminated by novichok, the same that was used in the attack on the skripals in march. that was friday night. on saturday here, they fell ill, they were both taken to hospital on saturday. doctors and nurses could not work out what was wrong with them and thought maybe they had ta ken wrong with them and thought maybe they had taken a drugs overdose. it took a few days for the authorities took a few days for the authorities to work out they had in fact been exposed to novichok, these deadly russian military grade nerve agent —— this. the home secretary has said it is time for the russian state to explain exactly what has gone on in wiltshire and he also said it is unacceptable for people in this

country to become either the deliberate or accidental targets and it is unacceptable for our streets and our parks and towns to become dumping grounds for poison. duncan kennedy has the first report. the police tapes are up again in wiltshire after confirmation that nerve agents have returned to this community. a total of five sites are being examined in salisbury and amesbury as the new investigation gets under way. the victims this time are dawn sturgess and charlie rowley, both now critically ill in hospital. this is a real testament to our staff at the hospital but also the staff in the nhs. we are so fortunate to have such skilled staff and they have really come into their own and been able to demonstrate the world—class care but also what care people receive every day across the nhs.

the last time charlie was seen in public was at this church party in amesbury on saturday afternoon — he was here just hours before he was taken ill. charlie had come here to the party with a friend but it's not clear at what point he was exposed to the novichok or at what time it took effect on his body. they looked a bit out of sorts, there was something not quite right, one would have assumed it was possibly alcohol, but we don't know for sure. we engaged with them and we invited them to eat and they shared some food and wandered around for about 20 minutes and then disappeared. charlie rowley and dawn sturgess were at their home in amesbury when they were taken to hospital. a friend of dawn's said they had all been shaken by the news. all of a sudden, one minute they were fine and the next minute they are in intensive care, it's a bit scary. it is four months since sergei skripal and yulia skripal were targeted by the same nerve agent.

salisbury has been undergoing a clear up ever since but the question over this latest incident is how did the couple come into contact with novichok? you would expect a halfway competent would—be assassin to dispose of those relatively carefully because they would be a forensic gold mine but it is quite possible, and the implication is it is one of the leading lines of inquiry, that maybe an item was not hidden as well as expected and has been found and two individuals have become contaminated because of it. the government says the risk to health is low and the people who have visited the sites under investigation must be vigilant. we can issue scientific advice about what to do in a situation and how to make sure you take precautions to keep yourself safe but the nature of a nerve agent like novichok is that it is an absolute tiny needle in a very large haystack that we have to find. this double exposure of nerve agent

affecting a town and city seven miles apart has been a real shock here, the circumstances of who and why it happened may be different but the impact has been just as potent. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in amesbury. after the attack on sergei skripal and yulia skripal, the british government were quick to say that had been the work of the russian state. russia has always angrily denied that. this is a report on the diplomatic background to what has happened here. the poisoning of sergei and yulia skripal with novichok in march led to an unprecedented response by the government here. 23 russian diplomats expelled from the embassy in london,

many more from other european countries and the united states. when theresa may went to parliament, she was confident that intelligence showed moscow was responsible for the attack. there is no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of mr skripal and his daughter. this represents an unlawful use of force by the russian state against the united kingdom. so now with two more people, dawn sturgess and charlie rowley, in critical condition in salisbury hospital, accusations are again flying between london and moscow, with relations already at an historic low. can you provide reassurance to the people of salisbury? this morning the government's emergency committee cobra has been meeting to discuss this latest crisis and how it should respond. it is now time that the russian state comes forward and explains exactly what has gone on. let me be clear, we do not have a quarrel with the russian people. rather it is the actions

of the russian government that continues to undermine our security and that of the international community, we will stand up to the actions that threaten our security and that of our partners. it is completely unacceptable for our people to be either deliberate or accidental targets or for our streets and parks and towns to be dumping grounds for poison. but all this comes at a very sensitive time diplomatically. donald trump will be travelling to europe next week for a nato summit which could prove to be fractious, followed by a visit to britain and then finally a summit meeting with vladimir putin in which mr trump may try to bolster relations with the kremlin. and all that may mean little chance of concerted diplomatic action against moscow in response to this latest poisoning of british citizens. it will be particularly difficult with the world cup continuing and the england team about to play in the quarterfinals. richard galpin, bbc news.

the new war of words after this latest incident between london and moscow. we have had a statement from the russian foreign ministry, saying, we were shocked by uk officials statements that russia is not cooperating. they say they have sent dozens of cooperation and they say they are calling on theresa may was my government to stop playing games and intrigues involving chemical substances —— theresa may's government. it also says theresa may's government will have to apologise to russia and the world community, so a defiant statement from the russian foreign ministry spokes person. speaking in berlin alongside the german chancellor angela merkel,

the prime minister theresa may gave her reaction to events in amesbury. cani can i take this opportunity to say thank you for the support that germany has shown us in recent weeks, the unwavering support you showed after the chemical weapons attack that took place in salisbury, and of course my thoughts are with the people of wiltshire following the people of wiltshire following the fact that we have seen two people this week again affected by this nerve agent, to see two more people exposed to the novichok in the uk is clearly deeply disturbing. the police will be leaving no stone unturned in their investigation in relation to what has happened. that was theresa may speaking in berlin. what exactly is novichok? developed by the russians in the cold war, it is particularly deadly. we have been discussing novichok

with an environment and top subjects expert. —— doxology. earlier i spoke to professor alastair hay from the university of leeds, who is an an expert in environmental toxicology. that is the most probable explanation and until there is an alternative that is the best working hypothesis. that it is related to the same agent — it is the same agent. we heard in that report how potent it is but it is potent over a long period of time and it doesn't degrade? i don't know exactly what the rate of degradation is and there is no officially published data on this. we know the agent was very persistent in the skripals which is why they were unconscious for such a long time. it is probably very persistent in the environment. nerve agents breakdown in the environment through contact with water or they evaporate. contact with moisture in the air degrades them. but some agents take a long time

to degrade and they can last for years in the environment and this particular one may be very similar to one of those. it seems as if this couple may have gone to salisbury on friday night and somehow picked up a syringe or some kind of container that the novichok had been in, what are your thoughts about that? that after the whole decontamination operation in salisbury, there was still novichok lying around. the authorities and the police will be very upset about this because what they did logically was look at the movements of the skripals after the possible contact with the nerve agent. and they would have done that very thoroughly and hoped they had covered the area and found everything that was present. but they may not have been able to account for who delivered the agent and put it on the door handle of the house of the skripals and also what they did with any container and that is maybe

what we are dealing with now. unanswered questions and a lot of work for the authorities still to do, unfortunately. very difficult for the authorities, because that may have been it, that may have been some novichok that was discarded after the attack, but equally people in salisbury and amesbury will be worried there might be more novichok lying around somewhere. very difficult for the authorities to reassure them. yes. the authorities are doing their best and i hope they continue to communicate with people on a very regular basis. the investigation is very complex because you have got to take white samples of surfaces and soil and vegetation samples and process these in a laboratory, and then put them through their expensive equipment and have trained people to do that. it is not as if you can go into the environment with a geiger counter and find something immediately. it is a very

labour—intensive process. the authorities have used the best intelligence available to them to hone in on where they think the contamination is and this looks as if they will have to do even more because there is another couple now who have been exposed. they have got to work out their movements, but i accept that this is very worrying for people. sajid javid had a piece of advice for people who had been in any of the six areas which have been linked

to the couple. in amesbury and wiltshire. the advice is the people who have been to those areas to wash their clothes thoroughly and to wipe down any possessions they had with them. that is the advice. back to them. that is the advice. back to the studio. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. theresa may has said it's deeply disturbing that — for a second time — a man and woman in britain have been exposed to the nerve agent novichok. downing street has set out a new proposal for how trade between the uk and the eu could be handled after brexit. but will it unite the cabinet? and commuters in the south east are warned of a second day of disruption as rail bosses say trains in and out of london victoria will be affected by signalling problems until at least tomorrow morning. at wimbledon, johanna konta is on

centre court next, followed by kyle edmund. marin cilic is out, he has lost in five sets just now. anthony joshua confirms his next two fights will be at wembley stadium. i will be back with more on those stories later. downing street has set out some of the detail of a new plan for how customs could be handled after brexit. the latest model is known as a "facilitated customs arrangement". number ten said it would harness the best aspects of two previous options under consideration — whilst allowing britain to strike its own trade deals. the car makerjaguar land rover says it urgently needs greater certainty if it is to continue to invest heavily in the uk. 0ur political correspondent iain watston reports. here are the problems downing street is trying to solve. how to keep the irish border open with no customs checks.

and how to avoid what the government calls friction, and what the rest of us call queues at the uk's borders. 0therwise simply businesses such as car—makerjaguar land rover are threatening to reduce investment and possibly move production, but never mind the economics. the politics are even more important, for now at least. the prime minister has to convince those who campaigned to leave that brexit really does mean brexit. so what's the government's future customs plan after brexit? well, the title just rolls off the tongs. the facilitated customs arrangement. to keep access to eu markets and keep manufacturers happy, the uk would mirror existing eu rules and regulations on goods. to try to keep brexiteers happy the uk would decide whether to adopt new eu rules, this wouldn't happen automatically. and the uk would set its own tariffs on goods from outside the eu allowing the government to do trade

deals, but technology would track goods that go on to the eu and the eu's tariffs would be charged on them. the prime minister's complicated plan is designed to answer some tricky questions, but in the process it raises quite a few more, practically, how long would it take to put new customs technology in place? economically, what would the eu want in return for access to their markets? and politically, would it unite orfurther divide the prime minister's own party? some say that anyone who doesn't back the prime minister should be swept aside. she should be able to bring the cabinet behind her, finally producing a unified front. and i think if there are any who can't get behind her than they really should be either sacked or walk away at this stage because we can't carry on with this mixed message coming out of the government. but some leave campaigners

are not on board. it's farcical. to be honest we'd be better offjust saying if you don't want to do a free—trade deal with us just say it. in that case we'll have a global free trade deal based on wto rules. that's the choice. cabinet ministers will discuss the plan at the prime minister's country retreat tomorrow. and of course every day counts with fresh fruit, so if that changes interrupted at all, the impact on the consumer could be less choice, higher prices or indeed gaps on shelves. cabinet ministers will discuss the plan at the prime minister's country retreat tomorrow. no one is expected to walk out, it's a long way to the gate, but it doesn't mean they'll all be in agreement. iain watson, bbc news. thousands of passengers are being urged not to travel to the uk's second busiest station

due to a signalling error. dozens of gatwick express, thameslink and southern services to and from london victoria, were cancelled due to the fault. national rail says the disruption is likely to continue for the rest of the day. 0ur transport correspondent victoria fritz reports. the service to west croydon has been cancelled... an all—too—familiar warning and another tough morning for passengers using britain's rail services. over 75 million people come through london victoria each year. for some, it is the route to work. for others, it is the way home or to holidays. how destructive is this to your journey today? it sucks! it is so bad. it is either this or get a two hour bus home. where are you trying to get to? i am trying to get to balham. ijust came from luton airport, and with heavy bags. stephen has been standing here for an hour and a half trying to get to work. his shop is closed,

he's losing business, and he's fed up with excuses. i have been doing thisjourney for almost 15 years, and there is always delays and stuff like that, and nothing has been done since. we're always getting excuses and promises, but nothing has been done. at the end of the line and the end of their tether, passengers in brighton took to twitter to show others what they are up against. 0rdinarily, these tracks are some of the busiest in britain. today they are eerily silent. the reason — a powerfailure to the signalling system means that almost all services from the south of england to the capital have been cancelled or delayed. thousands of services in the north and south of england have been cancelled in the last month. those that do run have been late and overcrowded. pressure is mounting on politicians to act. what we need is concerted action by the government, by network rail, and by the train operator, to fix these desperately serious transport problems.

it is not acceptable for my constituents using great northern to be subjected to this day after day. season—ticket holders on thameslink and great northern will now be eligible for special compensation. the industry will foot the bill until a solution for all becomes clear. victoria fritz, bbc news. almost two weeks into the heatwave that has seen temperatures hit 30 degrees in many places, and farmers are warning of the impact the weather could have on crops and livestock. in many areas grass has stopped growing and some livestock farmers are struggling to find feed for their animals. however, it's boom—time for owners of solar panels — many of which are postioned on farmland. claire marshall has sent this report from gloucestershire. with the heat come the flies. the group we've got here are all huddled up to try and communally move the flies away, create a little personal shade. when cows are uncomfortable, they don't eat a lot, which means they don't produce

as much milk. this is already having a financial impact. this farm is now losing around £1400 a week. we've lost about 500 litres a day. it adds up, yeah, and that's off the top, so that's £200 less we've got to pay bills and do other things, so you wouldn't want it to get worse or carry on for too long. so it's a worry? it is, it's a real worry. crops are also suffering. this barley should still be green and growing. instead, it's scorched. the heatwave means that, in many areas, grass that livestock should be grazing is withering. some farmers are having to use feed they were saving for winter. the national farmers' union is now helping to provide emergency supplies. take a look at this. what the sun has done to this earth here, it's completely dried it out. so for some farmers, the heat has caused real problems,

but for others it's a different story. last weekend, solar power supplied almost 30% of the uk's electricity, and farmers own two thirds of britain's solar power supply. andrew troughton's family made the decision to diversify in the 1990s. now panels cover a quarter of their land. for the solar farm it's great, itjust basically, the summer are the months that pay the bills on it and produce the income. there's nothing else farming wise that could just sit here and produce the revenue, the energy and the revenue, so it is better. but much of the countryside now wants and needs relief from the heat and what it's bringing with it. clare marshall, bbc news, gloucestershire. police in scotland are questioning a teenager on suspicion of murdering six—year—old alesha macphail on the isle of bute. alesha's body was found near rothesay on the isle of bute on monday, just hours after she was reported missing. the boy, who is under the age of 18,

was arrested last night. we are expecting a news conference in the next few minutes. we will ta ke in the next few minutes. we will take you to that when it gets under way. to mark the 70th anniversary of the nhs — bbc news has been speaking to staff and patients to find some of the stories of the health service throughout the years. richard crow was left paralysed about motorcycling accident in his late teens in the 1970's. he spent over a year in hospital and was given 25 years to live. despite that, he's still here today and he even met a special someone in hospital. here's his story. i was out riding my bike one night in essex and i went down the road with a u—turn in front of me and i broke my back spent four months in a local hospital and then i went to stoke manacle hospital in buckinghamshire for another ten

months. —— stoke mandeville. i was younger “— months. —— stoke mandeville. i was younger —— i was young, the impacted me taught me anti 5 z t" 7

z: :1 zfigé me to e f " 553352 55; eng; me to go out i 553352 ‘f’; eng; me to go out forfi auxiliary. he asked me to go out for auxiliary. he asked me to go out for a drink and love blossomed. we got married two years later in 1980 and we will be married for 38 years this july. the nhs means great health care, done on a fabulous budget, and i know we have financial restraints, but the care you get is fantastic and it is second to none in the world. you can go around the world and get private health care but the nhs is one of the greatest if not the greatest institutions we have. that was richard crowe talking. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. dry and sunny and a bit more humid across parts of england and wales, scotla nd across parts of england and wales, scotland and northern ireland a bit fresher compared with yesterday, but still long sunny spells into the afternoon. but more comfortable in terms of the temperatures, in the low 20s. a few isolated and severe thunderstorms in the southern counties of england, they will fade

away, mostly dried to take us into friday morning. —— dry macro. maybe some doubt eastern coasts of england, but most of that will break up, into another day of long sunny spells for the vast majority. more crowd to the west of ireland and the fat north west of scotland. —— far. isolated showers again maybe tonight. another present—day in the sunshine for the north. we're all warm up into the start of the weekend, over 30 degrees in southern areas both saturday and sunday, as well. goodbye for now. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. a couple from wiltshire exposed to the toxic nerve agent, novichok, remain critically ill in hospital. home secretary sajid javid, who chaired a meeting of the government's emergency cobra committee, has called on russia to explain what happened. we have already seen multiple

explanations from state—sponsored russian media regarding this latest incident. we can anticipate further disinformation from the kremlin as we saw following the salisbury attack. thousands of commuters face long delays this afternoon, after a massive signalling failure at london victoria. trains in and out of the station had to be cancelled throughout the day. it's the 70th anniversary of the national health service. a series of events are being held across the uk to mark the occasion, including a service at westminster abbey. downing street has revealed details of a plan to handle customs after brexit. it proposes to use technology to guarantee frictionless trade with the eu, while also allowing britain to strike its own trade deals. as england prepare for the quarterfinal against sweden in the world cup, forward, jamie vardy is in doubt after suffering a groin injury. and still to come, a creative concept that's turning food production upside down. a supermarket in belgium is growing some of its own fruit and vegetables. 0n the rooftop.

sport now on afternoon live with janette — another rest day in the world cup but wimbledon is in full swing. good afternoon. let's head to wimbledon on what is a big day for brits. holly hamilton is there for us. a huge day for the british year but a shock in the men's draw at wimbledon. cilic is out. he had been playing in his match last night. he was an cold one. —— an quarter number one. the match was interrupted. the argentina came back, eventually winning 7—5. a huge

shock here today. later on, the winner said he thought the weather might have helped him somewhat. yesterday he was playing so, so good. hitting the ball so hard that i couldn't do anything. so the rain helped me a lot and today i think i played different. i tried to be more aggressive. he started to feel a little bit uncomfortable on court so i tried to hit the ball hard and fight every ball and in the end i think that's why i won. the first major upset in the member's draw. cilic won at queens last week. many thinking perhaps fedor and nadal could have a pretty straight run to the final but it is clearly days yet. nadal is in action on centre court. he is facing a

player from kazakhstan. he on centre court. he is facing a playerfrom kazakhstan. he is currently leading by two sets and he is 15-0 currently leading by two sets and he is 15—0 down. serving for the match. taking his time after taking the first two comfortably. fresh from his victory at the french open. many seeing him as the favourite alongside roger federer here in wimbledon this week. 30—15 down in the third set, serving for the match. many people, as i say, hoping that if he claims victory here he could enjoy a comfortable run to the final against roger federer, a great repeat of ten years ago, believe it or not. johanna konta will be up first on centre court, taking on the former number four. a first on centre court, taking on the former numberfour. a nervy victory during her opener so she will be open for a comfortable run here at

wimbledon when you consider it was last year she made it to the semifinals. since then she has lacked consistency, dropping to world number 24. fans here are certainly right behind her. her counterpart, kyle edmund, the british 11, in action on centre court after that. he faces another qualifier, proudly. he will be hoping to reach the last 32 year for the first time in his career. a lot of pressure on him with no andy murray here this year so everyone is talking about him. the british hopeful in the men's draw. victory here could set up a potential meeting with novak djokovic, in action right now. if you want to keep up—to—date, access on the website and across the bbc. spoilt for choice today. thanks. let's head to russia, and the world cup where england have less than 48 hours to go until they face sweden

in the quarterfinals. defenderjohn stones says they team under no illusions of the task ahead. if you say it's an easy game in the quarterfinal of a world cup, you are stupid to say that. they have got a lot of quality and resilience as a team. they play very structured from the back. they sit quite deep and what we have seen and we know what we are up what we have seen and we know what we are up against. i think they sometimes can throw you these teams and go under the radar that you know, there is no question that they area know, there is no question that they are a good team and they wouldn't be where they are if they weren't. so we will show them the respect that we will show them the respect that we do to every team. anthony joshua has ended speculation that he might look to fight in the united states by confirming his next two fights will be at wembley stadium. having defended his world titles in cardiff on the last two occasions, joshua will fight at the national stadium on september 22nd. he's likely to face russian alexander povektin next. talks about a unification fight with deyontay wilder are ongoing.

that's all the sport for now. i'll will have more for you in the next hour. more now on our top story. the home secretary sajid javid, has been chairing a meeting of the government's emergency committee, cobra, to discuss the nerve agent poisonings at amesbury in wiltshire. charlie rowley and dawn sturgess are critically ill in salisbury district hospital. scientists say they're victims of the same toxin, novichok, that was used to attack the former russian spy, sergei skripal, and his daughter in salisbury in march. but the authorities don't believe they were targeted. joining me now is dr chris morris, senior lecturer and member of the medical toxicology centre at newcastle university. given where they live and how close in proximity this is to salisbury, do you think it's fair to assume it is the same batch? i suspect it probably is. i mean,

you don't get very rare chemical compounds like this turning up at london so i think this is what has happened in this case. they be able to discover that from tests on the latest victims? they should be. each chemical batch will probably have a similar molecular chemical signature to it so molecular chemical signature to it so if they can match that to the previous batch there is every likelihood they will come up with the same answer here, that it is the same batch that was used previously. we keep describing it as deadly but it wasn't that way for the skripals and considering the experience the hospital has in dealing with this, there is a chance for these people as well. i think there is every chance. in the first incident we had it was last known what was happening there and still be high quality of care that the nhs can provide managed to get them over the first hurdle and

then over the longer term care, managed to bring them back to probably what is almost for health now. the first line of response from the emergency responders and now an experienced team within the salisbury district hospital will have given those two individuals the very biggest chance for full recovery. you can understand why people living with the see decontamination work, everything shut down for weeks and say, how rss this happened? —— how on earth has this happened? the thing to put into perspective here is that what has happened is that the initial site from several months ago, that is certainly decontaminated so there is not a problem here. isuspect decontaminated so there is not a problem here. i suspect the speculation has been that these two individuals have come across will probably what is a discarded sample

of this agent in some kind of protected environment. they have come across that by chance and that is the only contamination they are going to come across, so the wider environment is probably very, very safe. what is clear is just how unpleasant this stuff is and what it does to you, because we've now seen this stuff is and what it does to you, because we've now seen four cases of it. yes, i think we are seeing a good picture of how this particular compound works. very similar to the other nerve agents. they are reflecting the nervous system, preventing the notes from turning off so they are constantly active and because of the ucd specific symptoms, with the gradual decline in the person. doctor chris morris, thank you for joining us. rescuers in thailand say they re facing a race against the weather to free the group of boys and their football coach who've now been trapped underground for 12 days.

they say good conditions in the last 24 hours have helped lower the water level inside by an average of a centimetre and a half every hour ? but they re concerned a turn in the weather could reverse the progress they ve made. our correspondent sophie long is in tham luang and gave us this update. the big concern is that there will be more monsoon rains, heavy rains over the weekend. sunday in particular is what's causing concern. that is their main worry, the weather. in terms of how the operation is developing at the moment, we are told they have been able to reduce the water levels inside the cave complex significantly. we have been told this morning by the guy running the operation that they have managed to pump out 128 million litres of water. their aim is to bring the water levels down enough so that they can get the boys out the way that they came in without having to teach them to dive or use full scuba equipment. when we heard from the governor of tham luang province this morning who is running the operation, he said that if there is a window of 90% possibility they can get them out then they will take it.

he also said that they wouldn't necessarily bring all the boys out together. if some, they felt, were strong enough in terms of swimming and physical health, mental health, then they would be brought out first. jamie robertson is here — in a moment he will be telling us what's hot and what's not in the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live theresa may has said it's deeply disturbing that — for a second time — a man and woman in britain have been exposed to the nerve agent novichok. downing street has set out a new proposal for how trade between the uk and the eu could be handled after brexit. but will it unite the cabinet? and warnings of a second day of disruption on the railways as rail bosses say trains in and out of london victoria will be affected by signalling problems until at least tomorrow morning. here's your business headlines on afternoon live.

mark carney governor of the bank of england has said he now has more confidence in the uk economy,and that the latest data suggested a slow down earlier in the year was largely due to the bad weather. however he also warned that a global trade war could dampen economic growth. the uk's biggest carmaker — jaguar land rover — is the latest big company to warn of the dangers of a so—called "bad" brexit deal. it says it could cost it more than £1.2 billion in profit each year — jeopardising future investment in britain. jlr says it needs "free and frictionless trade with the eu and unrestricted access to the single market." energy giant edf is to increase standard tariff prices by an average of 6% for those customers who take both gas and electricity. it said these dual—fuel customers would on average pay £1.35 a week more from 31 august. it increased electricity charges by 2.7% in april. fears over the food

supply chain after brexit? that's right, the british retail consortium, has written to uk prime minister theresa may and the european union 5 chief brexit negotiator michel barnier to highlight the potential for damaging consequences for millions of uk consumers and tens of thousands of eu—based producers if an agreement in the brexit negotiations is not reached that protects the free flow of goods between the eu and uk from 29 march 2019. a third of the food consumed in the uk is imported from the eu. if you start to slow her down at any point, but in checks and things have to sit in ports for a number of time, they are talking about rotting food in the broader. they are amongst a whole range, as we have been reporting on over the last few weeks, about the importance of

frictionless borders. uncertainty being the problem at the moment. 0ne of the things about food production is it is difficult to move it. it is difficult to move something like airbus but if you're talking about farmers and food production here, this is where the market is and you can't say we are going to up sticks. well, you can, but it's not easy. we spoke to the chair of the uk retail consortium. this is what he said, a third of our food comes from eu farms and factories suffered another way, if we all eat three meals a day, one of those meals comes from the eu. that isa those meals comes from the eu. that is a huge volume of food which is coming through a very sophisticated, very complex, real—time supply chain. and we don't want to see any disruption to that next march or april. there has been a vote on copyright

in the european parliament and it hasn't gone the way some people might have wished. yes, paula, a and... meps in brussels vote on a new controversial copyright directive which could see the like's of google 5 youtube, other platforms and individuals forced to pay record companies or artists whenever their work is posted online. they would have the authority to control the websites. it was rejected, mps saying no, this is not what we want. a number of fairly high—profile internet founders like tim berners—lee, for example, was against this. he said this actually restricts the freedom of the internet and what you ought to be

doing is getting in there and making sure that youtube pays royalties to whatever kind of music that is being played so someday gets a fee. it is all about notes. yes, we can talk tojeff it is all about notes. yes, we can talk to jeff taylor. it is all about notes. yes, we can talk tojeff taylor. —— joining us now is geoff taylor, the chief executive officer of the bf! & brit awards. this could have been a very significant change because at the moment we are in a ridiculous situation where large tech platforms who are making a lot of money have to pay very little back to the creators, and we want to see a more balanced framework of copyright whereby there is a negotiation between service and creators. that is what this proposal would do. so the law or regulation as it was, did you go along with what they were proposing? yes, we supported the proposal. the

european parliament wants to have a full look at it. it is not the end of the discussion and we will be talking to meps and trying to persuade them that this isn'tjust about creativity because creativity is one of the fastest—growing industries. we want them to grow hand—in—hand. you seem to be saying this is going in the right direction but also needs to be change or modified slightly? no, ithink slightly? no, i think the proposals are very good as presented and we need to have some open communication. there was a have some open communication. there wasa campaign have some open communication. there was a campaign run by the us tech lobby suggesting this could break the internet, completely without foundation. we need to speak to mps about those concerns that this was passed in september when it comes back to the european parliament, it would not only be good for the artists and songwriters and create create everything we enjoy as entertainment, but also really good for the technology companies because if you look at spotify and apple

music, they are growing strongly having done deals with creators. we wa nt having done deals with creators. we want a level playing field. let's have a look at the markets. the yougov. —— there you go. that's the sort of analysis that really gets us going. the pound is looking pretty strong. the other markets have started strong and weak enough. the pound strong to strong but weakened off. it's such a strong because of what mark carney was saying this morning about the economy, looking a bit stronger than they thought earlier on in the euro. jamie, thank you very much. ijust want jamie, thank you very much. i just want to take you live to amesbury. 0ur helicopter is over the street, this is actually muggleton roadin street, this is actually muggleton road in amesbury and this is the house that is at the centre of this novichok investigation. 0n house that is at the centre of this novichok investigation. on saturday paramedics were called first at 11am

after dawn stu rg ess paramedics were called first at 11am after dawn sturgess collapsed and later the same day after it was reported that charlie rowley had also been taken ill in the house. wiltshire police said it was initially thought the patient had been using drugs from a contaminated batch of drugs but of course, as we now know, the contamination has shown that novichok was involved. we can see a huge police operation with marquees being set up in the close by the house searched the area for what may be may be potentially the source of this novichok but certainly they will now be concerned about issues of contamination in the house and the area around the house as they are critically ill in hospital at salisbury district hospital, which is where the skripals were also treated for norwich poisoning. you can see there

the yellow roof of a tent and another tent being used by police as they continue their investigation. scotla nd they continue their investigation. scotland yard now involved, with counterterrorism officers being brought in. downing street calling on russia to explain this latest poisoning. dawn sturgess and charlie rowley falling ill. in their 405. they have been critically ill ever since. sajid javid 5aid they have been critically ill ever since. sajid javid said that the agent was the same type that the x russian agent, sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia skripal, were expo5ed his daughter, yulia skripal, were exposed to. it has raised questions about the process after the salisbury attack but it is suggested

this exposure may have come from outside the clean—up area. that is the scene in amesbury and we will be joining ben brown in the area in the next ten minutes. the national health service is celebrating its seventieth anniversary with a host of events being held around the uk. since its birth in 1948, the nhs has grown to become the world's largest publicly funded health service. staffjoined patients and charities at a service at westminster abbey and many others will attend a service this evening at york minster, the prince of wales has met patients at a hospital in blaenau gwent, and the duke of cambridge will attend a commemorative reception in edinburgh. martine croxall is at st george's hospital in tooting for us now. there she is. 13. i have come inside to the maxillofacial land which prosthetics are made for people who have perhaps had trauma to the head or face or undergone some sort of surgery and it is here that these prosthetics

are increasingly being made by 3—d printer, and we will look at one now with the lab manager, ian nelson. thank you for posting this afternoon. behind you there is a 3—d printer. can you talk u5 afternoon. behind you there is a 3—d printer. can you talk us through the various elements of what you are doing here and why? patients normally get a ct scan for whatever their i55ue might be and we can use that data to then manipulate into 3—d imaging to help the will surgeon it ever they want to design or put in. at the moment we have a case of the moment and these are showing each slice of the data. how many altogether? i think we are on about 83 slices. 0rdinarily there will be around two or 300. this has roughly 850 because it is or 300. this has roughly 850 because it i5a or 300. this has roughly 850 because it is a false goal —— a full skull.

we have to split it into two because of the restriction of height on the printer. you need to keep the light and. eventually the5e 5hapes will rise from the liquor. they will rise out of the soup and this is the kind of thing they will do. this game and a couple of days ago, and as it print5 it drops down into the material they are buying there. when it finishes we ri5e it up there. when it finishes we ri5e it up with the hope that it is printed fully. this is a range of things we have done in the past. in the times you have been a prosthetics, 20 years or so, you mu5t've seen by us and technology change in not. we have gone from a lots of practical physical work to almost relying on the computer technology the5e relying on the computer technology these days. it addresses what we used to do very much sitting at the

bench with our hands. what difference does this make to the surgeons rebuilding peoples heads and faces, and the patients themselves? 0ne themselves? one of the main things you have heard a look today is cost, this reduces time and to us, time is money. so in theatre we can be saving up to an hour or even possibly more, we don't know yet, having something they can already do prior to going to surgery and going into theatre. they know what they are dealing with. in this instance they can bend ed byrne played under this and once they have accepted a cancerous part of the bone, there is no bending it in theatre, which can take another half an hour or 40 minutes. you are still working up the capabilities of this technology, which must be changing all the time. we are. there are several seminars going on all the time round the world. we have just going on all the time round the world. we havejust had going on all the time round the world. we have just had a going on all the time round the world. we havejust had a seminar

which specialises in the software which specialises in the software which makes these designs. things are coming through, new ideas. the only restriction is what we can think of at the moment. the imagination. ian nelson, thank you very much forjoining us. we are going to move around the hospital again ina going to move around the hospital again in a little while and take your life in our hands and visit the paediatric ward. you know they say never work with children and animals? we will ignore that and meet with the children. you have worked with me before! thank you. now, let's just tell you about a giant balloon which has been dubbed champ baby. it has been given the green light to fly near parliament during the president's visit to next week. the london mayor, siddique khan, no fan of the president, has approved a request for a flight

after a crowdfunding campaign raised £16,000 to get the six foot incredible of the ground. strict rules are in the for the flight. it will be restricted to 398 feet high. 9:30am and 1130 next friday, friday the 13th, coinciding with the president's visit. they have their own twitter account and say, huge news, trump baby will fly! let's get a weather forecast. a little bit more cloud so far today but many sunny breaks. the big difference is how warm it. pictures yesterday pete at 30 degrees. notice the temperature dropped. it is going

behind this area of cloud. it is breaking up quite nicely so plenty of blue sky to be hard and even cloud in ireland breaking up to allow the sunshine through. then it is pleasant rather than hot, with temperatures in the 205 if not high teens. england and wales with lighter winds and it is a bit wonky this recent days. that is helping to set off a few showers and thunderstorms into the evening with a couple of severe ones for the south—east. hit and miss and many pieces staying dry, but a couple of gardens with a will can drop of rain. a bit more cloud through parts of scotland, down the eastern coast of scotland, down the eastern coast of england but long clear skies from any. fresh across the north and humid in the south with temperatures in the mid teens. into friday another dry and sunny day. any showers will be isolated across england and wales. sun is also scotla nd england and wales. sun is also scotland and northern ireland with a bit more cloud across the west. the

odd spot of rain across northern ireland. temperatures could the above 30 degrees in the south. this weekend high pressure is firmly in charge. it has kept us dry for so long now and it is uk wide into the weekend so where ever you are, mostly dry with a couple of exceptions on sunday. long sunny spells and a bit of cloud bubbling up spells and a bit of cloud bubbling up and spreading out in places but still a fine and warm day across scotla nd still a fine and warm day across scotland and northern ireland, with temperatures into the 205. as for sunday, the slight change i mentioned will be the chance of a few showers in the highlands and ireland as a week with different clips by. away from that much of england and wales, long sunny spells. the temperature map is warming up nicely and well above average for this time of year with temperatures into the mid to high 205. 32 in the south—east corner. a little bit fresher converge on saturday across the north of scotland. hello, you're watching

afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. my colleague ben brown has our top story and he's live in amesbury for us. i'm in the road in amesbury were charlie rowley and dawn sturgess we re charlie rowley and dawn sturgess were taken ill on saturday, they now critically ill in hospital after being contaminated by novichok. theresa may has been talking about the incident on her visit to germany. to see two more people exposed to the novichok in the uk is clearly deeply disturbing. the police will be leaving no stone unturned. we ll bring you the latest developments from here in wiltshire. and also from westminster.

downing street releases a new plan to deal with customs arrangements after brexit — but will the cabinet and eu agree to it? commuters in london face major disrution during rush hour as the uk's second—busiest rail station victoria grinds to a halt — after a signal failure brings travel chaos across the south east. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. british number one johanna konta british number onejohanna konta is in action on celtic or at wimbledon, applying for a place in the third round —— on centre court at wimbledon. the weather forecast? this was east sussex in the last half an hour, but for most of you the outlook remains dry. hello everyone — this is afternoon live.

as two more people undergo life—saving treatment in hospital after they were exposed to the deadly nerve—agent novichok questions are being aksed about how this could have happened — just months after the massive decontamination operation which followed the attack on sergei and yulia skripal. ben brown is at the scene in amesbury for us now. charlie rowley and dawn sturgess we re charlie rowley and dawn sturgess were taken ill in this property behind me on the muggleton road in amesbury on saturday. it was thought they had maybe taken a drugs overdose but then it turned out they had been exposed in some way to the novichok nerve agent, the same russian manner fractured military grade nerve agent used to attack sergei skripal and his daughter yulia skripal in march. —— manufactured. there is intense police activity here behind me. these are pictures from the helicopter, showing that the police have erected a number of tents next to the flat where charlie rowley lived and where dawn sturgess was with him on saturday when they both

fell ill. huge forensic operation to work out exactly what happened to this couple. we know they took a bus from here in amesbury last friday night and went to salisbury. it is understood that while they were there, maybe in queen elizabeth gardens, that is where they came into co nta ct gardens, that is where they came into contact with the novichok which may have been a residue left over by the attack on the skripals in march by whoever carried out that attack. maybe they dropped the container and it was never found maybe they dropped the container and it was neverfound in maybe they dropped the container and it was never found in the clear up operation in salisbury afterwards. those two people are now critically ill in hospital. the home secretary sajid javid has said the russian state must now explain exactly what has gone on in wiltshire and heal so said it is not acceptable that our streets and our parks and towns are becoming dumping grounds for poison. duncan kennedy reports.

the police tapes are up again in wiltshire after confirmation that nerve agent has returned to this community. a total of five sites are being examined in salisbury and amesbury as the new investigation gets under way. the victims this time are dawn sturgess and charlie rowley, both now critically ill in hospital. this is a real testament to our staff at the hospital but also the staff in the nhs. we are so fortunate to have such skilled staff and they have really come into their own and been able to demonstrate the world—class care here but also what care people receive every day across the nhs. the last time charlie was seen in public was at this church party in amesbury on saturday afternoon — he was here just hours before he was taken ill. charlie had come here to the party with a friend but it's not clear at what point he was exposed to the novichok or at what time it

took effect on his body. they looked a bit out of sorts, there was something not quite right, one would have assumed it was possibly alcohol, but we don't know for sure. we engaged with them and we invited them to eat and they shared some food and wandered around for about 20 minutes and then disappeared. charlie rowley and dawn sturgess were at their home in amesbury when they were taken to hospital. a friend of dawn's said they had all been shaken by the news. all of a sudden, one minute they were fine and the next minute they are in intensive care, it's a bit scary. it is four months since sergei skripal and yulia skripal were targeted by the same nerve agent. salisbury has been undergoing a multi location clear up ever since but the question over this latest incident is how did the couple come into contact with novichok?

you would expect a halfway competent would—be assassin to dispose of those relatively carefully because they would be a forensic gold mine but it is quite possible, and the implication is it is one of the leading lines of inquiry, that maybe an item was not hidden as well as expected and has been found and two individuals have become contaminated because of it. the government says the risk to health is low and the people who have visited the sites under investigation must be vigilant. we can issue scientific advice about what to do in a situation and how to make sure you take precautions to keep yourself safe but the nature of a nerve agent like novichok is that it is an absolute tiny needle in a very large haystack that we have to find. this double exposure of nerve agent affecting a town and city seven miles apart has been a real shock here, the circumstances of who and why it happened may be different but the impact has been just as potent. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in amesbury. this latest incident has provoked

another war of words between london and moscow. the russian foreign ministry saying the british government should stop playing games and that the british government will have to apologise to russia and the world. the home secretary said that it was time for the russian state to explain exactly what they have been doing in wiltshire. this is our report. the poisoning of sergei and yulia skripal with novichok in march led to an unprecedented response by the government here. 23 russian diplomats expelled from the embassy in london, many more from other european countries and the united states. when theresa may went to parliament, she was confident that intelligence showed moscow was responsible for the attack. there is no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable for the attempted

murder of mr skripal and his daughter. this represents an unlawful use of force by the russian state against the united kingdom. so now with two more people, dawn sturgess and charlie rowley, in critical condition in salisbury hospital, accusations are again flying between london and moscow, with relations already at an historic low. can you provide reassurance to the people of salisbury? this morning the government's emergency committee cobra has been meeting to discuss this latest crisis and how it should respond. it is now time that the russian state comes forward and explains exactly what has gone on. let me be clear, we do not have a quarrel with the russian people. rather it is the actions of the russian government that continues to undermine our security and that of the international community.

we will stand up to the actions that threaten our security and that of our partners. it is completely unacceptable for our people to be either deliberate or accidental targets or for our streets and parks and towns to be dumping grounds for poison. but in response the russian foreign ministry today made more claims that the novichok poisonings are the work of the british government. translation: for the sake of an safety of an of this continent we call for the government of theresa may to stop the intrigues and games with chemical poison agents and start building up obstacles to the joint investigation of what has happened in the territory of great britain with russian citizens —— stop building up. this comes at a very sensitive time diplomatically. donald trump will be travelling to europe next week for a nato summit which could prove to be

fractious, followed by a visit to britain and then finally a summit meeting with vladimir putin in which mr trump may try to bolster relations with the kremlin. and all that may mean little chance of concerted diplomatic action against moscow in response to this latest poisoning of british citizens. it will be particularly difficult with the world cup continuing and the england team about to play in the quarterfinals. richard galpin, bbc news. we are outside the property where the couple were taken ill on saturday. some vehicles are just coming out of the property, they have been erecting those tents we showed you from our helicopter, in the courtyard of the flat where they are doing intensive forensic work to work out exactly what has happened and how this couple became

contaminated with novichok. it has been a day of very intense work, by wiltshire police and a hundred officers from counterterror command. we know novichok is a military grade nerve agent developed in the cold war in the soviet union. this is our report. the removal of the park bench where the skripals were found. after they were attacked. this and other areas of salisbury were cordoned off and cleaned up. successfully, it seemed, as there were no further incidents in the city. but how did the nerve agent get to amesbury? the current explanation is that it was from an object that was used to carry the nerve agent. there are three crucial questions. could there be more objects, can they be detected,

and are they still deadly? we have to bring in the inspectors from the 0pcw from the hague and get them looking at what happened here and checking these compounds. and making sure this time that we get some way to attribution as to who might have done this. the nerve agent was identified at britain's chemical weapons research laboratory in porton down. it spreads through contact with the skin, the mouth or by injection, even a tiny amount can cause the body's muscles to contract. making it difficult to breed and causing a heart attack. —— difficult to breathe. there is no simple test to detect the agent and remains highly poisonous for a long time. 0ur assessment is that the risk to the general public remains low and it is perfectly reasonable to carry on with your normal day—to—day activities. we are giving highly precautionary advice to anybody who was in one of the areas of concern from 2200 on friday night onwards —

simply to wash your clothes, that is the sensible precaution. and we should all remember not to pick up objects that we don't know what they are. novichok can be decontaminated chemically if it is known where they are, but the safest approach is to take suspected objects away and to burn them. in the house of commons the home secretary said there was no significant risk to the wider public but the repeated the advice from public health england, saying to people if they have been in any of the areas, the six areas where the couple from here who are now ill we re couple from here who are now ill were thought to have been since friday night, they should wash their clothes and also wipe down any belongings and possessions they had with them at the time. six sites that this couple are thought to have visited since friday night, three insoles briand three in amesbury. ——

three in salisbury and three in amesbury. thanks forjoining us. downing street has set out some of the detail of a new plan for how customs could be handled after brexit. the latest model is known as a "facilitated customs arrangement". no 10 said it would harness the best aspects of two previous options under consideration — whilst allowing britain to strike its own trade deals. the car makerjaguar land rover says it urgently needs greater certainty if it is to continue to invest heavily in the uk. 0ur political correspondent iain watston reports. here are the problems downing street is trying to solve. how to keep the irish border open with no customs checks. and how to avoid what the government calls friction, and what the rest of us call queues at the uk's borders. 0therwise simply businesses such as car—makerjaguar land rover are threatening to reduce investment and possibly move production, but never mind the economics —

the politics are even more important, for now at least. the prime minister has to convince those who campaigned to leave that brexit really does mean brexit. so what's the government's future customs plan after brexit? well, the title just rolls off the tongue. the facilitated customs arrangement. to keep access to eu markets and keep manufacturers happy, the uk would mirror existing eu rules and regulations on goods. to try to keep brexiteers happy the uk would decide whether to adopt new eu rules — this wouldn't happen automatically. and the uk would set its own tariffs on goods from outside the eu allowing the government to do trade deals, but technology would track goods that go on to the eu and the eu's tariffs would be charged on them. the prime minister's complicated plan is designed to answer some tricky questions, but in the process it raises quite a few more, practically, how long would it take to put new customs technology in place?

economically, what would the eu want in return for access to their markets? and politically, would it unite orfurther divide the prime minister's own party? some say that anyone who doesn't back the prime minister should be swept aside. she should be able to bring all the cabinet behind her, finally producing a unified front. and i think if there are any who can't get behind her they really should be either sacked or walk away at this stage because we can't carry on with this mixed message coming out of the government. some leave campaigners are refusing to come on board. it's farcical. to be honest we'd be better offjust saying if you don't want to do a free—trade deal with us, just say it. in that case we'll have a global free trade deal based on wto rules. that's the choice. some businesses say a trade deal with eu is essential. we have a very

sophisticated supply chain through europe. crops harvested in europe are on our supermarket shelves right now as a result of frictionless trade. and of course every day counts with fresh fruit, so if that change is interrupted at all, the impact on the consumer could be less choice, higher prices or indeed gaps on the shelves. cabinet ministers will discuss the plan at the prime minister's country retreat tomorrow. no one is expected to walk out — it's a long way to the gate. but it doesn't mean they'll all be in agreement. iain watson, bbc news. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. police continue to search the flat where two people were taken ill after being exposed to the nerve agent novichok. the prime ministers says the incident is "deeply disturbing". downing street has set out a new proposal for how trade between the uk and the eu could be handled after brexit. but will it unite the cabinet? and commuters in the south east are warned of a second day of disruption as rail bosses say trains in and out

of london victoria will be affected by signalling problems until at least tomorrow morning. johanna konta the british number one is playing at the moment for a third—round place on centre court. she has just been third—round place on centre court. she hasjust been broken. she will be followed by kyle edmund. last yea r‘s be followed by kyle edmund. last year's finalist marion chiriches is out —— marin cilic is out. anthony joshua confirms his next two fights will be at wembley stadium. more on those stories in the next hour. thousands of passengers are being urged not to travel to the uk's second busiest station due to a signalling error. dozens of gatwick express, thameslink and southern services to and from london victoria, were cancelled because of the fault. national rail says the disruption is likely to continue for the rest of the day. 0ur transport correspondent

victoria fritz reports. the service to west croydon has been cancelled... an all—too—familiar warning and another tough morning for passengers using britain's rail services. over 75 million people come through london victoria each year. for some, it is the route to work. for others, it is the way home or to holidays. how disruptive is this to your journey today? it sucks! it is so bad. it is either this or get a two hour bus home. where are you trying to get to? i am trying to get to balham. ijust came from luton airport with heavy bags. stephen has been standing here for an hour and a half trying to get to work. his shop is closed, he's losing business, and he's fed up with excuses. i have been doing thisjourney for almost 15 years, and there is always delays and stuff like that, and nothing has been done since. we're always getting excuses and promises,

but nothing has been done. at the end of the line and the end of their tether, passengers in brighton took to twitter to show others what they are up against. 0rdinarily, these tracks are some of the busiest in britain. today they are eerily silent. the reason — a powerfailure to the signalling system means that almost all services from the south of england to the capital have been cancelled or delayed. thousands of services in the north and south of england have been cancelled in the last month. those that do run have been late and overcrowded. pressure is mounting on politicians to act. what we need is concerted action by the government, by network rail, and by the train operator, to fix these desperately serious transport problems. it is not acceptable for my constituents using great northern to be subjected to this day after day. season—ticket holders on thameslink and great northern will now be eligible for special compensation.

the industry will foot the bill until a solution for all becomes clear. victoria fritz, bbc news. almost two weeks into the heatwave that has seen temperatures hit 30 degrees in many places, and farmers are warning of the impact the weather could have on crops and livestock. in many areas grass has stopped growing and some livestock farmers are struggling to find feed for their animals. however, its boom—time for owners of solar panels — many of which are postioned on farmland. claire marshall has sent this report from gloucestershire. with the heat come the flies. the group we've got here are all huddled up to try and communally move the flies away, create a little personal shade. when cows are uncomfortable, they don't eat a lot, which means they don't produce as much milk. this is already having a financial impact. this farm is now losing around £1400 a week. we've lost about 500 litres a day.

it adds up, yeah, and that's off the top, so that's £200 less we've got to pay bills and do other things, so you wouldn't want it to get worse or carry on for too long. so it's a worry? it is, it's a real worry. crops are also suffering. this barley should still be green and growing. instead, it's scorched. the heatwave means that, in many areas, grass that livestock should be grazing is withering. some farmers are having to use feed they were saving for winter. the national farmers' union is now helping to provide emergency supplies. take a look at this. what the sun has done to this earth here, it's completely dried it out. so for some farmers, the heat has caused real problems, but for others it's a different story. last weekend, solar power supplied almost 30% of the uk's electricity, and farmers own two thirds of britain's solar power supply.

andrew troughton's family made the decision to diversify in the 19905. now panels cover a quarter of their land. for the solar farm it's great, itjust basically, the summer are the months that pay the bills on it and produce the income. there's nothing else farming wise that could just sit here and produce the revenue, the energy and the revenue, so it is better. but much of the countryside now wants and needs relief from the heat and what it's bringing with it. clare marshall, bbc news, gloucestershire. to mark the 70th anniversary of the nhs — bbc news has been speaking to staff and patients to hear some of the stories of the health service throughout the years. richard crow was left paralysed after a motorcycling accident in his late teens in the 19705. he spent over a year in hospital and was given 25 years to live. despite that, he's still here today and he even met a special someone in hospital. here's his story. i was out riding my bike

one night in essex. i went down the road and a drunk did a u—turn in front of me. i broke my back. spent four months in a local hospital and then i went to stoke mandeville hospital in buckinghamshire for another ten months. it impacted me badly. i was young. i had to learn how to be in a wheelchair. but they taught me how to get out of a car by myself. they taught me how to do everything you would as an able—bodied person. back then in 1977 you were able to smoke in bed, which they would not recommend today! but it was fantastic treatment. they pioneered spinal injuries treatment at stoke mandeville and even

back then and now today the treatment was fantastic. it teaches you everything to have a normal life. i was in there, there was this beautiful nurse that i had my eyes on, and she had nothing to do with me, she didn't like me. so i decided to date sharon instead, that's her standing joke. she was a nursing auxiliary. he eventually asked me to go out for a drink and love blossomed. we got married two years later in 1980 and we've been married for 38 years thisjuly. for me, the nhs means great health care, done on a fabulous budget. i know we have financial restraints, but the care you get is fantastic and it is second to none in the world. you can go around the world and get private health care but the nhs is one of the greatest if not the greatest institution we have. time for a look at the weather. you are desperate to know what is

happening in wreckage of it. —— ricky vic. yes, just a few hours away from us. we have been having amazing weather this summer. but here in iceland it has been horrendous. just short of 70 hours of sunshine injune. they should have around 16 hours a day each and every day, that shows how grey and cloudy and cold it has been. it has not even got above 15 in the whole ofjune. very wet, as well. a record—breaking month for rainfall and they have only had five dry days since the middle of april. we are crying out for rain. anything

else to tell us about iceland? by donor much else, but a lovely place to visit, apparently. —— i don't know much else. what about here? it is the jet stream ? know much else. what about here? it is the jet stream? yes, directing these weather systems towards iceland but because that has been to the north we have had high pressure over our shores which continues at the moment. it has been a cracking day most again. blue skies in the western scotland. similar pitches to what we had yesterday but it feels different —— pictures. a cold front has gone through overnight and it feels a bit fresher in scotland. you can't even recognise the cold front, it is this fragmented area of cloud. hot and it is this fragmented area of cloud. hotand humid it is this fragmented area of cloud. hot and humid to the south.

temperatures will be peaking at 30 in derbyshire and also worcestershire, but the heat and humidity combined... along southern and coastal counties we have had severe thunderstorms, sussex and kent especially. if your garden needs a drink of water, the most of you it will not get it. it will stay dry tonight as well. bit of a breeze in the north, but for many, temperatures in the south staying very humid and muggy. into friday. it will be a dry day for most. long sunny spells. the low cloud will clear and temperature will lift into the afternoon. a bit more co mforta ble the afternoon. a bit more comfortable for the afternoon. a bit more co mforta ble for scotla nd the afternoon. a bit more comfortable for scotland and northern ireland. if you have plans of the high—pressure that has brought the dry weather for us, that

is still with us. most will be dry again on saturday, long sunny spells, a bit of cloud into the west of northern ireland and the west of scotland, with an isolated shower, and scotland and northern ireland warming up compared to what we have in the next couple of days. indeed into sunday, greater chance of a few showers in the highlands and islands and maybe a bit cooler, but widely the deep orange colours, temperatures into the low to mid 205, is not high 205, where we could see temperatures peaking at around 30-32. it see temperatures peaking at around 30—32. it may call off a bit at the start of next week but for most the heatwave will continue —— cool off. that is it for now. a. this is bbc news —

our latest headlines. a couple from wiltshire exposed to the toxic nerve agent, novichok, remain critically ill in hospital. home secretary sajid javid has called on russia to explain what happened. a couple from wiltshire exposed to the toxic nerve agent, the prime minister says the people of wiltshire are in her thoughts. downing street has revealed details of a plan to handle customs after brexit. it proposes to use technology to guarantee frictionless trade with the eu, while also allowing britain to strike its own trade deals. commuters face long delays this afternoon, after a massive signalling failure at london victoria. trains in and out of the station had to be cancelled throughout the day. it's the 70th anniversary of the national health service. a series of events are being held across the uk to mark the occasion, including a service at westminster abbey. rescuers are facing a race against the weather to free the group of boys and their football coach, who've now been trapped in a flooded cave in thailand for 12 days.

and coming up: as the royal air force celebrates its 100th anniversary, we meet one of the last living pilots who fought in the iconic battle of britain, 99—year—old wing commander, paul farnes. sport now on afternoon live with janette — another rest day a news conference starting with the emergency services in amesbury. miller minded afternoon. welcome to amesbury. i am the chief possible for wiltshire police. i will start today by reading a short statement, and then we will be available for a short series of questions once we have finished. it is unbelievable

that we are here today to talk about another novichok incident that has happened across our county. we like our communities and the public are shocked that a major incident of a similar nature has unfolded in wiltshire. that said, we have learned a vast amount from the first incident back in march, and that has greatly informed our multi—agency response in both amesbury and salisbury. the communities here have shown extraordinary resilience and spirit since the events of the 4th of march this year. i have no doubt that they will rise to this latest challenge in the same way. of course, my thoughts are with the two individuals who remain critically ill following their exposure to the novichok nerve agent. both with their friends novichok nerve agent. both with theirfriends and novichok nerve agent. both with their friends and their families, this undoubtedly will be a

terrifying time and experience for them all. others like to spend some time talking about the contact of our initial response with wiltshire police, some of the key decisions that my staff took based on the information that was available to them at that time. have we have previously stated, we were contacted by the southwest and in—service, following the admission of the second patient to salisbury district hospital on saturday afternoon. based on the information we received, from a friend who had been with the couple all day, alongside the initial medical diagnosis within that day, and based upon items that had been located at the address, there was a strong indication that there was a strong indication that the decline in the health may have been connected to a contaminated batch of illegal drugs. this formed our initial work —— working hypotheses. 0ur response is entirely

proportionate and i fully support the decisions that were taken by initial police responders and by our commanders. i have spoken to the initial responders to provide my support and to reassure them concerning their decisions, based on the intelligence and information that was available to them at that time. following concerns from medical staff, regarding the symptoms the couple were showing, samples were subsequently sent to the stl and porton down for analysis. preliminary results of these tests came back on tuesday evening, indicating they may have been exposed to a nerve agent, and this quite obviously shifted our working hypotheses. with then declared a major incident and thereafter, as soon as we had the position, scientists were subsequently able to confirm our fears that the couple had been

exposed to a novichok nerve agent. it is the incident in march, we formed a close working relationship with our colleagues in the counterterrorism policing network, and as such we had very early conversations with them regarding this incident. as you are aware, last night the counterterrorism policing network confirmed that they will be taking primacy in this investigation. they also stated they are not in a position to say whether the nerve agent used in this latest incident was from the same batch that was used both with sergei skripal and his daughter and our officer nick bailey, who clearly we re officer nick bailey, who clearly were exposed in this back in march of this year. the possibility that these two investigations might be linked is clearly a line of enquiry, but it is important that we keep an open mind and we do not speculate on this issue at this moment. although

we are not leading this investigation, wiltshire police have a crucial role to play in supporting our colleagues in the counterterrorism policing network. we support them as their enquiries continue. this is a complex and fast paced investigation, and mine officers, staff and volunteers at wiltshire police are absolutely up to the task in hand. 0ur wiltshire police are absolutely up to the task in hand. our top priority now, and always will be, the safety of everybody across our communities. to that end, people in amesbury and salisbury will see a significant increase in the amount of police officers and resources that we have here available. this will include officers in protective equipment as they carry out activity across a number of our sites. this boggy assurance but look similar to the activity that we saw and salisbury earlier in the year. i don't want people to be alarmed by this, but to be reassured. we are there to support the ongoing

investigation and provide a visible policing presence, which we hope help to reassure the community '5 doing this unprecedented period. we are also there to answer any questions from the public, and i have encourage you all to speak to my officers and staff across the sites over this period. however like to reiterate that we set up to phone numbers for anyone who has concerns about this incident. there is a freephone number, zero 800 092 0410. if you cannot access that, there is a second number, 0207, 1580124. the sewer lines are being jointly resource between wiltshire police and colleagues from public health england. to date we have taken more than 100 calls. please use this number if you have concerns or if you have information in relation to this incident. 0ur you have information in relation to this incident. our staff are ready to receive your call. my colleague

from public health england will shortly provide an update, but i wa nt to shortly provide an update, but i want to reiterate that the public safety message that has been provided is supported and you will hear more about that message shortly. further to that, there is helpful public safety advice that is available on the public health england website. alongside our dedicated phone lines. wiltshire police continue to coordinate a large—scale multi—agency response to this incident. we are working in support and in conjunction with 12 of our partners across agencies such as health, our local authorities here in wiltshire and swindon, other blue light services, colleagues from the military and across government departments. locally, ifully appreciate the effect that the court and is on people here and at immunities and across our business amenities. —— in the cordons. my

officers, staff, partner agencies and colleagues on the counterterrorism pleasing network will do all that we can to progress this investigation as soon as we are able in order that we can help to return the committees here in him to be and salisbury back to a position of normality. you know what started the protective barriers being put up to replace some of the cordons that we had locally will stop again i wa nt to we had locally will stop again i want to reassure you that this is following a request from a counterterrorism colleagues and is simply to allow police officers and partners the space to carry out the investigation. do not be alarmed by those. i would ask the public to respect the cordons that are in place. throughout this we will be doing all that we can to update the public on any developments, but i need to be emphasised to you, it is a complex and developing incident at it is difficult to know and clarify to use windows updates will be

known. finally, as stated, the counterterrorism policing network have already suggested, but i want to reiterate their appeal. any person with any information at all should make contact with us immediately either to those helpline numbers or directly into the police. i will not hand over to my colleague from public hapag health england. good afternoon. my name is debbie stark, i good afternoon. my name is debbie stark, lam good afternoon. my name is debbie stark, i am the deputy centre director for public health england in the south—west. 0ur role in this into debt is to provide advice to the police, the council, national government and the public about all aspects as any people's health. and like to start off by reiterating that based on current evidence, the risk to the general public as a result of this incident remains low. i understand that people in amesbury and salisbury and those who have re ce ntly and salisbury and those who have recently visited the area will be concerned about this incident. i

would like to reassure you that it is safe to continue with your daily business. obviously, incidents like this one are very rare. we would like to reassure you that when any health protection incident occurs, we put in place well established response plans and follow clear processes to ensure we keep the community safe. we evaluate the information that we have and assess the risk to the public constantly, based on what we know. it is by using this information that we can confidently advise that the rest of the public and salisbury and amesbury remains low. as a highly precautionary measure, however, we are advising that anyone who may have been in any of the areas that are now cordoned off from 10pm friday evening, last friday evening, could take a number of steps. what's the clothing that they were wearing

in an orderly washing machine, using regular detergent added temperature recommended for those items of clothing. this will not damage the washing machine. wipe any personal items such as phones and laptops, other electronic items, with cleansing baby wipes, and dispose of those whites in the ben, and that is an ordinary domestic waste disposal. if your items are dry clean only, keep them double bagged and securely fastened. further details will follow. you should thoroughly wash your hands with water after cleaning any items, you do not need to seek advice from a health professional unless you are experiencing symptoms —— soap and water. those people from the area who feel they are experiencing symptoms should follow the normal route and bring nhs 111. as the chief medical officer said yesterday, the public should always be careful of picking up dangerous all unknown objects. is as already

been mentioned areas of salisbury that have already been cleaned as pa rt of that have already been cleaned as part of the previous incident and which are now back in use, like the maltings, say. i understand that the events of the past few days and the appearance of further cordons in salisbury and amesbury will be a cause for concern. | salisbury and amesbury will be a cause for concern. i would like to reassure you that we are working together alongside national and local partners to ensure that the public remain safe and we keep our advice under review and up—to—date. i would like to pass on now to my colleague from the hospital. the— i am the chief executive of salisbury district hospital. break we have seen district hospital. break we have seen the two patients on saturday and have been treating them had a hospital ever since. both of these patients remain in critical condition. having been exposed to a nerve agent, they are clearly

acutely unwell. we will continue to keep you updated on the condition of all these individuals, while respecting the privacy to which they and all our pages are entitled. we have seen other members of the public will have come to the hospital with concerns about their health following this incident. we have carried out appropriate tests and none of these individuals have needed treatment. given the events in march, we at salisbury district hospital have developed a wealth of knowledge and experience in treating those exposed to nerve agents. this has meant that we can give these patients the expert care that they need while ensuring the safety of our staff, how other patients and visitors to the hospital. i want to reiterate that the hospital remains completely open and operating as normal. if you have an appointment, you should continue to come to the hospital unless you are otherwise informed. today marks the 70th birthday of the nhs, and has been marked this historic event we pay tribute to the millions of staff who

have worked tirelessly, providing amazing care have worked tirelessly, providing amazing ca re across have worked tirelessly, providing amazing care across the country, every single basis 1948. i want to pay a special tribute to the staff at salisbury district hospital. yet again they have found themselves sheeting patients in the most extraordinary circumstances. despite these challenges, they have given these challenges, they have given these pages the same level of outstanding care we strive to give all our patients. this is as true for clinical staff as for those working hard behind the scenes. on our 70th birthday, the treatment of these patients at salisbury district hospital is a shining example of the world leading care provided by our nhs. this hospital has been a vital pa rt of nhs. this hospital has been a vital part of the community for many years, and i, like my colleagues, wa nt years, and i, like my colleagues, want to thank the public body support that they have shown us during this time. thank you.” support that they have shown us during this time. thank you. i am chair of the salisbury recovery...

for the past four months, we have been supporting salisbury, particularly in the local community and businesses. the message remains clear, as our public health partners have stated, the risk to the public is low. as we have heard, they will keep this assessment under constant review as further information becomes available. right now, we provide support for our partners as needed. we are delayed between central government and the local communities effective in salisbury and amesbury. there has been and will continue to be an impact on businesses and footfall in innsbruck town centre and salisbury city centre. we will continue to provide support to those affected as we have done since the first incident of march. i would urge any business who are concerned about the impact of this recent incident to contact the swindon and wiltshire grove have bia—bi website of that name, or call

012 to 5,402 096, and they will receive advice and support. we are also supporting president affected by this incident, including those who need to be rehoused temporarily. this is a precautionary measure. the with residents to offer help and support and we will continue to do this and all we can to assist the community and local residents during this extraordinary time. if any residents have concerns they should call the public information lines already mentioned that i will repeat those numbers. 0800 0920 410, or 01 series 71580124. the lies are currently open from 8am until 8pm, but we are looking to extend these in the near future. but we are looking to extend these

in the nearfuture. the recovery programme following the first incident is continuing, and for sites have been signed off as clean and safe for use. this has been done by the government's decontamination size advisory group. the remaining site are currently being cleaned by specialist teams, overseen by ben fry, with the exception of sergei skripal‘s residence which is still under police investigation. a working assumption is the couple came into contact with the nerve agent in a different location than the sites that what part of the original investigation. all the sites had been decontaminated following the previous incident and are safe. following the previous incident and a re safe. we following the previous incident and are safe. we are holding a meeting in the salisbury area tonight at 7pm in the salisbury area tonight at 7pm in the city hall. a panel of partners involved in this reason is a double update the local community and answers will be available to any questions the residents and businesses may have. an opportunity

for some questions now. categorically, there is some contaminants that has remained at large, lain undiscovered since the attack on sergei skripal. what we are now working alongside with our collea g u es are now working alongside with our colleagues in the counterterrorism network, and they are hugely competent, i have every degree of confidence in their personal lives and their ability to understand the chronology of events. at this stage it is far too early for us to go into any further information and details, but the chronology of events is clearly a key line of enquiry for our colleagues within the counterterrorism network. does that mean you are now expanding the search area of decontamination sites

with this new discovery? what we are saying is that based on the areas we think are new to patients have been to, we have operated within the best scientific and public health advice to be able to identify those locations and put some control around those, so that is why we are now seeing several of the areas in both salisbury and amesbury that are under protective guard, under the control of the counterterrorism network bots aborted by wiltshire police. they will be decontaminated in the same way? we are still in the response phase of the major incident. we are working closely alongside colleagues on which a local authority who will be leading the recovery, that is the decontamination aspect of the major incident which waffle and in the remit of the recovery group. the process to date has been around testing these sites, cleaning the

size, sam king again and going through that process until such time as detection, which is no remaining nerve agent in the premise, and that is when sites are declared clean and headed back to us. we have a process from government of looking at the evidence, cross— referencing with from government of looking at the evidence, cross—referencing with our director of public health, who actually goes to the committee itself and observes to make sure that everything is in hand, and then we hand there was sites back to the owners of the sites. we have a protest that is very rigorous, very robust. it is ensuring that size i clean when they are handed back. that is the process we follow. clean when they are handed back. that is the process we followm looks very difficult for you, sitting hair, reassuring members of the public not to worry and yet we have had two members of the public

poisoned by suspected novichok. this isa poisoned by suspected novichok. this is a failure of your clean—ups to clean up after the first incident, or is it? no, the working assumption is that this couple, terms of becoming ill, being poisoned, was not associated with any of the size of the previous investigation. that is why the investigation is targeting other sites and tracking their movements. we have to let that investigation run its course. very clearly, those sites that have been cleaned cleaned and remain clean. are looking at the investigation, piecing together where those people went, how they got ill. we do except that there is a member of the public, it is almost irrelevant that it is not connected to the first set of sites? it was in the public... to

people with families, desperately ill in hospital. isn't it a relevant vibrators connected to the previous one or not? the fact is it has occurred. it has, it is usually regrettable. this incident is unprecedented in terms of the targeting of sergei skripal and his daughter initially. we can only follow the evidence and the scientific advice. if we stray from that, and the intelligence coming out from the investigation, we enter a world where we have no bounce. the work that we have done, i am satisfied that the specialist, and i have worked with the specialist over a long period of time, i doing an incredibly difficult job in a difficult circumstances, and we are real—world situation. i will come back to the point that we are going to follow the evidence and the best advice based on that evidence, and this investigation will enable other is to understand how they were

affected, and then obviously that enables us to then follow through with the decontamination of the sites. have you found that this day is the source of the contaminant, any paraphernalia or anything? that sits in the primacy of the counterterrorism network. their set strategy and investigation is clearly looking to identify the source of the contaminant. further information... can be yet say they have not identified the?” information... can be yet say they have not identified the? i think those are questions that would be best ways with the counterterrorism network. we have asked for contained in the area, and letting them continue with their investigation. have you find the site? miller maxima to the last response. we have identified areas where we think the two patients who have now fallen gravely ill visited prior to their declining health. our responsibility

is alongside public health support and site of support, headed by those located, control them and enable now counterterrorism network to systematically work through those scenes. hundreds of people in the gardens at the weekend, that is one of the places now cordoned off. a lot of people worried. they might have touched something that the patients may have touched. what kind of reassurance for them? the resident chance of them being contaminated? i completely understand why people would be anxious, but i would like to remind you that we are working on the best information we have. we have not had any other members of the public that have protected with symptoms. we have protected with symptoms. we have worked with the police to track the movements of the two individuals and cordoned off the areas that we think are of the most interest. we have ta ken steps think are of the most interest. we have taken steps to reduce any risks to the public. i would just

reiterate, we have not had anybody else present with symptoms that require treatment. you mentioned an illegal substance, can you explain a bit more about what those items were? indistinct. potentially cocaine or heroin, based on the advice that we were given from the clinician at the hospital, follow the admission patient, based the information provided by the associates and friends of the two patients, and the details of substances, paraphernalia found inside the location, which i do not wa nt to inside the location, which i do not want to go into. the working

hypothesis from the officers at that time was that they were dealing with a potential contaminated source of illicit drugs. i don't believe the police officers were wearing hazmat suits at that stage. was the container used to deliver the novichok and the original incident used again? that is part of the counterterrorism enquiry to establish the entire chronology of the first incident and to draw any comparison to this latest incident. again that is information that will be resting with the counterterrorism network. can be confident that there is no more novichok out there in salisbury and the surrounding area has? and think we have heard that we have based the response phase and the recovery phase on the best information and intelligence and advice we have been given from our

collea g u es advice we have been given from our colleagues and public health and science information, which enables us science information, which enables us to control a number of arla cases, some others which are still under police control, and other collea g u es under police control, and other colleagues working through the recovery ce ntres . colleagues working through the recovery centres. we can only operate with the information that we have available to us. the only other thing to say, we have heard from scientists that the substance degrades in a natural environment, overtime, so we're degrades in a natural environment, over time, so we're focusing on the investigative work being undertaken, which will identify those sites need to concentrate on. it is not... we're not looking at the blanket approach, this would be evidence led, as with the previous investigation and the decontamination work that followed. it is clear that this is an unprecedented incident. this is the second unprecedented incident. it will raise a huge level of public concern and anxiety for many of us

we re concern and anxiety for many of us were residents in the county, those that are responding to that across the police and partner agencies, so we are working and she were hard to try to understand the circumstances, chronology, but we are also trying to demonstrate the support and control we have crossed the partnership agency to protect areas, fundamentally to detect the public and provide a best advice and reassures to members of the community. that would be something the investigation will look at but, as i said, in the open environment, it grades. so we are not considering that that is a proposition. the hypothesis is that this is in a different location to those sites that are already under investigation. the in evidence

coming out would lead to wear that decontamination works in the future. isn't the truth none of this is that you cannot be sure whether there was novichok out the?