a big rise in violent crime in england and wales, according to new figures. murder, manslaughter and knife crime are all up, according to the latest police data. we need real term solutions now and that comes with proper investment in policing and getting our numbers up to where they need to be. we'll have full analysis of the latest crime figures. also on the programme: scotland yard won't discuss reports that police have identified several russians they suspect of involvement in the nerve agent attack in salisbury in march. the new brexit secretary, dominic raab, promises to step up the pace of negotiations with the eu. the former chair of the bbc trust, lord patten, says the corporation would be crazy to appeal against the ruling in the sir cliff richard privacy case. heroes of the london bridge terrorist attack, including two people who died, are being honoured for their bravery.

and the 147th open championship is under way at carnoustie — can britain's top golfers break the americans‘ grip on the sport's majors? and coming up on bbc news... lewis hamilton signs a new deal with mercedes worth up to £40 million a year over at least two more seasons. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. there has been a big rise in violent crimes recorded by police in england and wales — with murder, manslaughter and knife crime all up in the 12 months to march. official figures for the year to march also show a 30% increase in robberies, but offences involving guns are down.

the crime survey, which is an indicator of longer—term trends, suggests no change in overall crime levels. richard lister has more. dawn raids this morning in west london, part of an operation aimed at drug dealers and knife crime suspects. so far this week the operation has seen almost 70 people arrested and nearly 50 charged, part ofa arrested and nearly 50 charged, part of a growing problem with violent crime. the figures show homicides in england and wales at a ten year reich, more than 700 people were victims of murder or manslaughter in the year to the end of march, a 12% rise on the previous year and excludes terror attacks. the figures suggest knife crime is up by 16% and there were 30% more robberies.

suggest knife crime is up by 16% and there were 3096 more robberies. we know what works, a combination of robust law enforcement and really effective invention and that is what oui’ effective invention and that is what our strategy is intent on delivering. the report says recorded crimes involving weapons and violence tend to be concentrated in london and other cities. the crime survey, which people across england and wales about their experience of crime, suggests overall levels are stable. the crime survey has a limited sample the adult population and it seriously under samples young men, who are most likely to be the victims of physical violence so it is no wonder it doesn't show rises that the are registering. today's report shows police cannot identify a suspect in more than half of all robberies and 15% of crimes of violence. home office figures today show the number of police officers in england and wales has fallen for the ninth year running. there is

only so much officers can do in the available time they have got and we know from our own survey results that the increased pressure and demand on policing is impacting on oui’ demand on policing is impacting on our officers to adequately do their jobs appropriately. another arrest this morning, the government says it is spending almost £1 billion more on policing now than three years ago but today's figures suggest the problems are bigger too. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw is here. you have been looking through the figures and there are also statistics — top to us about the number being solved. yes, more work for the police to do but they are solving fewer of them. we have figures from the home office for detecting and —— detections and 9% of all crimes result in a suspect being charged or summonsed, down

from 15% in 2015 when these figures we re from 15% in 2015 when these figures were first compiled. that is really worrying because it suggests there are more offenders committing crimes and we are not being caught so you could get a potential spiral where the crime is continuing to rise and rise. that is a real concern for the police and home office. it may be a reflection of the fact we are getting more complex crimes, more sexual offences reported. these are more difficult crimes to solve but it could also be a reflection of the increased stretch of police forces. the police workforce, the number of officers is down again, 122,400 offices so you have fewer officers, more crimes being recorded and as a result detection rates are coming down. think you. scotland yard has declined to discuss reports that police have identified several russians they suspect of being involved in the nerve agent attack in salisbury in march. the press association says it has spoken to a source close to the investigation. today, the inquest into

the death of dawn sturgess, who was exposed to novichok three months after the original attack, was opened and adjourned. sarah campbell reports. it's now more than four months since a nerve agent was used to target a former russian spy, sergei skripal and his daughter yulia survived, but the attack led to a huge and complex investigation into how they were poisoned. the british authorities pointed the finger at russia, russia denied any involvement. then last month, two more people fell ill. tragically 44—year—old dawn sturgess died. her partner, charlie rowley, survived. they had come across a small bottle of fluid which turned out to be novichock. the same nerve agent used in the attack in march. the press association says police sources have told them they have pieced together cctv from march and have cross checked with the records of people coming in and out of the uk. several suspects have been

identified, and the investigators are sure, according to pa, that the poisoners were russian. today in moscow, russia's ambassador to the uk gave this reaction. this is the report of the media. unfortunately we don't have an official statement of the british side, i want to hear that from the scotland yard or the foreign office. the metropolitan police have not commented on the reports that suspects have been identified. their investigation continues. sites across salisbury and nearby amesbury remain the subject of finger tip searches. it is painstaking work — so far more than 400 items have been recovered and tested. the forensic element in relation to this, the gathering of forensic evidence, the piecing together of other elements that may well make up the potential prosecution are so exact, and i am reassured by that to some extent, that the forensic side of it is being so painstakingly undertaken by the investigating team.

salisbury had just started to return to normal after the attack in march. the prince of wales tried to help spread the message that it was business at usual. a week later, the second poisoning occurred. a mother of three died and the police are still unable to reassure a worried public there isn't any more discarded novichock. sarah campbell, bbc news. the new brexit secretary, dominic raab, is promising to step up the pace of negotiations with the european union. he'll be in brussels this afternoon for his first talks with the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier. the meeting comes as the european commission called on eu countries to increase preparations for the uk crashing out of the eu without a deal, as our political correspondent chris mason reports. imagine fora

imagine for a moment you were this man, dominic raab, the new brexit secretary. he's off to brussels later to negotiate the first of the commons. after a turbulent week here, loads of mps are worried the uk could leave the eu next march without a deal, an arrangements for how to cooperate. the advice the government now seems to be hinting at for businesses to prepare for a no deal situation looks a lot like the consequences remainers were criticised during the referendum as project fear. can they reassure the contingency plans will take into account often overlooked areas like clacton? the governments own analysis shows no deal would be a disaster and this week the bank of england warned of economic consequences for the uk. the new brexit secretary said... most of our preparations are developed internally with targeted engagement

with relevant parties. we are now at a point where more of this delivery will become more public and the government will release a series of technical notices to set out what businesses and citizens in various sectors will need to do in a no deal scenario. it is the responsible thing for any government to do. but with conservative backbenchers saying they could reject the prime minister's proposed eu deal, labour said... the burning question for the secretary of state is going to be asked again and again in this house, across the country and i have no doubt by michel barnier later today, is whether he personally is prepared to face down that threat. the government said again today it is working hard to get a deal and the eu says the same thing, but they are also preparing for the opposite. this morning, they published this, their plans for no deal. so what's

in it? it describes what it calls the cliff edge scenario of the uk leaving the eu without a withdrawal agreement which would mean there would be no transition period, no arrangements in place for eu citizens here or uk citizens in the eu, and the eu would apply its ta riffs eu, and the eu would apply its tariffs and regulations at its borders. we are working day and night for a deal, it is clear the uk s night for a deal, it is clear the uk s withdrawal will have repercussions with or without a deal and that's why everybody, in particular it economic operators, need to be prepared. and arriving here soon, the brexit secretary dominic raab. over to you, brussels. damian grammaticas is in brussels. what is michel barnier likely to be saying when he meets dominic raab? you are right, dominic raab will be arriving here very soon and i think

you will be wanting to say layout your position. we have got that agreement now from chequers and he will want to start questioning that. the eu will be saying they want to focus on the issues that are currently outstanding and the real issue that is outstanding, that withdrawal agreement, not the future trade stuff which is not the key thing at the minute, and in that the keyissues thing at the minute, and in that the key issues outstanding, particularly about the irish border issue. what we have today, which will be in the minds of many in the commission, is the document that has been produced bya the document that has been produced by a separate unit, nine months in the preparation, outlining what could happen and warning eu countries, eu companies, eu individuals about the possibilities of no deal. it is pretty stark, they go through it and talk about the possibility of long lines of lorries at the borders, the impact on

aviation, on financial services, at the borders, the impact on aviation, on financialservices, on pharmaceuticals, on many different areas. that is all a warning, they areas. that is all a warning, they are saying, about the dangers of no deal but here they say they are working to try to achieve something and that is what michel barnier will be sitting with dominic raab saying how can we sort out the difficulties we now have to get the exit deal sorted. dalian, thank you. -- damian. the former chair of the bbc trust, lord patten, has said the corporation would be ‘crazy‘ to appeal against the ruling in the sir cliff richard privacy case. sir cliff was awarded an initial £210,000 in damages yesterday, after a judge ruled that the bbc had infringed his privacy with its coverage of a police raid on his home in 2014. jon donnison has more. # congratulations...#

for cliff richard and his fans, something to celebrate after a four—year ordeal. one national treasure, pitted against another. and the bbc the big loser. i don't think this is the bbc journalism at its best. the decisions made by some very good people whom i much respect in the bbc were wrong. this case and those decisions, made in part by bbc editors fran unsworth and jonathan munroe, could end up co—ing the corporation millions in license fee payers‘ money. and the bbc is now considering an expensive appeal. i think it would be crazy for the bbc arguing that there is some principle of freedom of speech involved to appeal this decision. i think they should swallow hard, say they made a mistake, apologise as they have to cliff richard, move on and not do it again. after he left court yesterday, cliff richard said the bbc apology and more than £200,000 in damages was not enough. he said heads deserved to roll at the bbc. there must be something done at that

top echelon of people. this has to be something done that says you cannot do this again. you must not do it again and i'll still not sure why they didn't have some kind of legal advice that would stop them. i was never even arrested, let alone charged, and i've had to suffer all of this financially and more importantly emotionally, for what? for absolutely doing zero. but much of the media has backed the bbc‘s argument on press freedom for this case and believe this might not be the end of it. if we are heading down the road towards outlawing the naming of anyone who is under investigation prior to arrest or charge, as some people are advocating, then, this massive change to the law and also to the rights of the press and the public‘s right to know, would have to go through parliament and the bbc, ifeel would be justified and would get a lot

of support across the media landscape if they do decide to take this case to appeal and even potentially through to the supreme court. cliff richard says it will take time to recover from the mental trauma of this case. but with an appeal still possible, it might not be over. president trump has now said he holds vladimir putin personally responsible for russian interference in the 2016 us presidential election. his comments follow the backlash against his remarks at the news conference with the russian president in helsinki, when mr trump appeared to value russia's denials above the findings of his country's intelligence services. he has since said he misspoke. chris buckler reports from washington. when president trump shared a stage with vladimir putin in helsinki, to some within his republican party it appeared all too cosy, particularly as he seemed to side with the russian president over

america's own intelligence agencies. now, after days of criticism, in an interview with america's cbs news, he's taken a deliberately tougher line. you say you agree with us intelligence that russia meddled in the election in 2016. yeah, and i've said that before, jeff. i have said that numerous times before, and i would say that that is true, yeah. but you haven't condemned putin specifically. do you hold him personally responsible? well, iwould, because he's in charge of the country, just like i consider myself to be responsible for things that happen in this country. so certainly as the leader of a country, you would have to hold him responsible, yes. after he returned to washington, the president claimed he misspoke when he said at that now notorious news conference in helsinki that he didn't see why russia would have been involved in electoral interference. on twitter, donald trump said some people simply hated the fact that he got

along well with president putin, something which he called trump derangement syndrome. and, in reaching out to russia, the president is continuing to defend his own unique style of diplomacy. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. #123450 i6789 our top story this lunchtime... a big rise in violent crime in england and wales — with murder, manslaughter and knife crime all up. and still to come — could you be flying to work in one of these? we take a look at the latest model of flying car. coming up on bbc news. after coming back from injury, danny willett finds some much—needed form at the open, with a solid two—under—par first round. eight people who confronted the london bridge attackers,

or helped on the night of the attack, are being recognised for their bravery with a royal medal. a baker who threw bread crates at the attackers, and a banker who died while confronting them, are among 20 people included on this year's civilian gallantry list — which rewards "outstanding bravery". caroline davies has more. a summer's evening turned to one of terror. lastjune three attackers armed with knives drove a van into pedestrians on london bridge before launching an attack. eight people were killed, but the number could have been higher if it hadn't been for the bravery of those who stayed to help. one of the first on the scene was pc wayne marks, a police officer with the british transport police. he was severely injured trying to fend off the attackers with only his baton. bravery was the furthest thing from my mind. what was going through my mind

was that people were hurt and dying. the only thing that was going through my head and basicallyjust hold on until the cavalry arrived. and back—up did come. pc leon mcleod, and off duty police officer, charles guenigault. autopilot kicks in, and you just do what you think you need to do and that's what it was. i wasn't really thinking too much ahead or even what i was doing, it was just kind of an automatic reaction really. when i wake up, i see the scars on my face, on my body, and i know what i did. i know how i came through it. there's no point in trying to hide away from it, you just have to accept it and hopefully it changes you for the better. all three have been recognised by the queen for their bravery, included on this year's civilians gallantry list. also listed are the two people who helped save charles' life. ellen gauntlet and her boyfriend justin jones. even when the gunshots were going off,

they stayed and took me to hospital, stayed with me in hospital until they basically knew that i was going to get through it really and i cannot thank them enough. the romanian baker, florin morariu, who threw two bread crates at the terrorists and shouted passers by trying to escape was also recognised. not all who showed bravery survived that night. ignacio echeverria, a spanish banker, was killed trying to defend a woman using his skateboard. on the anniversary of the attack, ignacio's father spoke about his son's courage. his son and a nurse were also given awards. the scars of that night have still not faded. but after a difficult

year, the awards are recognition of the fea rlessness year, the awards are recognition of the fearlessness shown that evening. i couldn't not do anything. and it's the same that goes for many of my collea g u es the same that goes for many of my colleagues that nights and many of the people there, you see people in danger and it's just a will to do something. caroline davis. bbc news. the uk government is to compensate thousands of soldiers who faced having to pay more income tax because they're stationed in scotland. anyone earning more than about £26,000 a year now pays higher income tax in scotland than elsewhere in the uk. the ministry of defence says about 8,000 military personnel have been affected, but they will be reimbursed — to ensure that all armed forces staff pay the same rate of tax. students at manchester university have defaced a mural featuring rudyard kipling's poem ‘if‘ — in a stand against the work which they have described as racist. the author's 1895 poem was painted on a wall of the university's newly renovated union building.

but student leaders erased the work, replacing it with a piece by maya angelou in a bid to reverse "black and brown voices" being written out of history. the union has apologised for failing to consult students on its choice of poem. last year was a record—breaker for british book sales. new figures from the publishers association show sales of printed books have risen for the third consecutive year, while sales of digital e—books fell. lizo mzimba reports. jamie oliver's best seller. 2017 most popular book. it helped the british publishing industry to achieve a record—breaking year. sales of printed books were up, with hard back fiction in particular seeing a big rise of almost a third, thanks in part to new thrillers from authors like dan brown, lee child and shari lapena.

readers fundamentally still value the printed word. publishers have invested a huge amount of time, effort and resource making sure that books are still really attractive, that people want to buy them, and also obviously they themselves very much to gifts as well. it's the third year in a row that sales of physical books have increased, while at the same time sales of digital books have decreased. demonstrating that fears from some that e—books might soon replace traditional books are unfounded. for the time being. i just like having something to hold, really. i don't know, it's nice when you can, like, i don't know, like feel the paper, you have something physical. i'm not into modern technology, and certainly not kindle. it's not the same. this is something nice about looking at your book shelf, and then seeing all your favourite books on there. this is for my grand daughter, so, you know, this isjust the kind of thing i like to do with her. the income from audio books rose

by 25%, but the biggest contributor to the latest record—breaking figures is international trade. most of the british publishing industry's income, some 60%, comes from overseas. physical book sales to australasia are up 14%, while sales to the rest of europe, the industry's biggest market, have increased to a figure approaching half a billion. lizo mzimba, bbc news. the race is on to develop the first flying car. aston martin has a prototype in development, and now a company called kitty hawk, which is owned by the founder of google larry page, has developed a version. it's taking pre—orders for its model, and our north america techonology reporter dave lee has been to see one in las vegas. so here it is, the kitty hawk flyer.

i'm sitting in it right now. it's very very simple in here, just two controls — one for altitude, one for the direction of where this thing can go. around me you'll see there are ten propellers, ten motors that keep this thing in the air. essentially, i guess you could say it's just basically a big drone that a human being can fit in. right now, they limit the speed, to around six miles an hour. the battery life will keep it going for around 20 minutes. all of that will improve in time, they certainly make it go faster right now, butjust to be cautious they are keeping it around six miles an hour. in terms of when you can get one of these, the company is taking preorders right now. they won't tell us exactly how much it's going to cost, but they say it's going to be comparable to a high end electric car, so the tens of thousands of dollars, i guess you could say. but what we're sitting

in, many people think is a glimpse of the future. they say their goal is to eliminate traffic, and that's a goal i think many of us can get behind. whether it will be in one of these, that remains to be seen, but it's certainly aer have very interesting and futuristic concept. that was dave lee reporting. the first round of the 147th open championship is under way at carnoustie, with britain's top golfers aiming to break the us's grip on the sport's majors — the last five have all been won by americans. after the recent heatwave, the competition has begun in conditions not usually expected on a scottish links course. katherine downes is at carnoustie. hi catherine. hi, yes, these are the gold fairways of khanty, hi, yes, these are the gold fairways of kha nty, baked hi, yes, these are the gold fairways of khanty, baked hard by the sun.

play got under wayjust after 6.30 with barely a breath of wind in the airand under with barely a breath of wind in the air and under these conditions, it is precision rather than power that will which the claretjug. ice—cream, and suncream. it is t—shirt and shorts weather in scotland. the defending champion went with a body warmer, waiting perhaps for his game to heat up over the opening holes. by the second it was shirt sleeves for spieth. the course itself looks more like the serengetti than scotland. there are some benefits to playing in these conditions, look at the rough here, it nowhere near as thick and lush as it normally is. look at the fairway, they are so smooth and hard, that makes the tests and traps of links golf hard to avoid. as home hero sandy lyle found out, there is no stopping the ball once it gets going. if you guess well it feels good, other times you can curse

yourself because you catch one of those bogus bunkers you have forgotten about round a hill somewhere. there will be those who thrive here, deven kisner is from south carolina, the american is the early leader by 5—under. danny willett leads the way for the brit, just three off the pace, for those with feel there are chances to be taken. the with feel there are chances to be ta ken. the early with feel there are chances to be taken. the early starters must make hay while the sun shines. couldn't land better than that. well defending champion jordan spieth couldn't land better than that. well defending championjordan spieth you say there going well. he is on 3—under through 13, certainly one of the favourites to win the title again this year, but links golf famed for its changeable conditions, rain is expected overnight and the wind has picked up here, that will affect the later tee time, rory mcilroy setting out on his opening round while tiger woods tees off at 3.21, a late start on his first open

back after two years away, but once again he is at carnoustie the box office star. time for a look at the weather... here's chris fawkes this very dry period we have had through may and june, i have finally found you some rain. it is mainly coming overnight and tomorrow. for the time being we have sunny spells for most of the country. you can see how the cloud has been developing, for southern scotland. parts of the midland and northern ireland too, but still, the weather will stay fair, really through the rest of this afternoon, with spells of sunshine coming, the best in southern counties and wales as well. and the temperatures, a bit higher than yesterday. i