a big increase in the number of crimes being recorded in england and wales. the number of violent incidents have risen — including those involving knives: it's just devasted the whole family. it's so unreal to us. we still haven't taken it in. and the number of crimes being solved has fallen — we'll have the latest on all today's figures. also on tonight's programme: the new brexit secretary promises to step up the pace, as he holds his first talks with the eu's chief negotiator. reports that police may have identified several suspects in the novichok attack on sergei and yulia skripal. can a plastic bag ever be fully biodegradable? we have a special report. iamat i am at carnoustie. the scorched course has proved a real test for the world's best golfers on day one

of the open. coming from bbc news, geraint thomas retains the yellow jersey and becomes the first british rider to conquer alpe d'huez at the tour de france. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. recorded crime is on the rise in england and wales — and the number of violent incidents recorded by the police has seen a particularly big increase. the overall crime rate went up by 11% in the year to march, according to new figures from the office for national statistics. the number of killings and murders rose by 12%. and crimes involving a knife rose by 16%. there was also a 30% increase in the number of robberies, which include muggings.

it comes as other figures today show that detection rates are at their lowest level for three years. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. when the more violent crime is being reported this is the sort of crime fighting that is needed. we are with a specialist team tackling the mopeds gangs. tonight active in west london. they are known to carry weapons, including hamas and knives. they use these nippy scooters to steal and terrified, driving up the number of reported robberies. police say they hunt in packs because scooters are hard to stop. —— including hammers and knives. two men have run a red light on a

tide of scooter often used by the gangs. —— type. but there is no evidence they are involved in robbery. it's all about getting the officers into the right place at the right time in force to target specific types of crime like this. and these officers to believe they are now making a difference. in their area are now making a difference. in theirarea in are now making a difference. in their area in the city of london there were 36 robberies injanuary, but just two last there were 36 robberies injanuary, butjust two last month, a small dent in the national crime figures. is it dent in the national crime figures. isita dent in the national crime figures. is it a bit depressing to see the crime figures going up when you are doing this type of work? it is. because we want to be seen to be working well. we know that there are days where we will suffer offences because we cannot be everywhere at the same time. true, reported crime

is rising, but increasingly police also have to deal with other social problems which are not crying. simultaneously, police numbers have been cut to 1996 levels. —— which are not crimes. that is 2000 fewer officers and real pressure. myself and my members are as frustrated as the public that we cannot do as much as we used to do, or cannot do it as effectively. that causes real frustrated to our officers who simply want to do the bestjob for the public and that is a real concern. which may explain another crucial statistic, in nine out of ten cases nobody is charged. in london today there were raids in the fight against knife crime, up again in these figures. the family of daniel fox, stabbed to death in merseyside, believed the police need help. they've been distributing cards to jun people, help. they've been distributing cards tojun people, giving advice as to how to raise the alarm if they

see a knife. —— to young people. as to how to raise the alarm if they see a knife. —— to young peoplem has devastated the whole family. it is unreal. we still haven't taken it in. doing the campaign has taken our minds off it. back in london a scooter has failed to stop, contrary to what many believe is that the police do not chase them. but he steps away. and tom is with me now. people will be concerned by the figures and the news that the number of crimes being solved has fallen. the detection rate, jess. in 2015 the detection rate was 15, which are still quite low, and it has fallen to 9%. -- still quite low, and it has fallen to 9%. —— the detection rate, yes. it might be to do with the national amount of detectives, they are trying to recruit more. but some of the crimes increasing the hardest to detect and solve, in particular,

rate. the nationalfigure for all crimes, it 3% for rape. —— hardest to detect and solve, in particular, rape. half of robberies and muggings are solved. it is about targeting some of those high harm crimes, as the police call them. those are the crimes were people are most likely to be injured, most likely to be badly hurt. as a result those crimes are still quite a few in number. if you take the national crime survey, which is asking everybody what crime they have suffered in the last year, we are still seeing a reduction. so it isa we are still seeing a reduction. so it is a mixed picture, these statistics. thanks. the new brexit secretary has held his first talks with the eu's chief negotiator in brussels. dominic raab — appointed following david davis's resignation — met michel barnier as the european commission instructed other eu states to prepare for a ‘no—deal‘ brexit — the situation where no formal agreement is reached by next march. 0ur europe editor katya adler reports.

a new face in brussels. confronting the same old brexit challenges. michel barnier, the chief negotiator, has been in on this process from the start. our challenge will be to find common ground between the fundamental principles that define the eu and the ukip smacker position. the smiling enthusiasm of the new brexit secretary came in stark contrast. —— the uk's position. we have details ina the uk's position. we have details in a white paper, which you would have seen. i am looking forward to the negotiations and making sure we're in the best position to get the best deal. if the government is sta ble the best deal. if the government is stable enough to make a deal with

brussels? the eu is not convinced of the british line that big progress is being made in negotiations. are you sure? we have presented several positions. britain was even facing resignations of ministers and state secretaries. now we have a new brexit secretary. which has caught the eu thinking that the possibility of the uk crashing out of the club without a deal has become a lot more likely. —— got the eu thinking. but what is this no deal brexit? all of this terminology, the political toing and froing, it can make the brexit process seem theoretical and far away from everyday life. that's why the european commission has come up why the european commission has come up with this, a stark warning about planes, trains, and queues at borders. published just as the new brexit secretary arrives in town. it

isa brexit secretary arrives in town. it is a reminder to eu countries to do more contingency planning in case, after more than a0 years of being intertwined, the uk and the eu now break apart without any practical agreement in place of how to work together after brexit. remember these border queues when there have been hold—ups in calais in the past? expect the same or worse says the european commission in its paper. if they are all subject to new post brexit checks between the uk and the eu. it is something the uk says it is preparing for too, just in case. the eu paper has more warnings of the potential disruptions for europeans, including at airports. if eu uk aviation and passenger rights deals are no longer valid. for businesses, if the uk is a key export or import of goods, the financial services sector will be affected. and insecurity issues as

well. —— and in security issues, as well. —— and in security issues, as well. the uk and eu say they are still determined to reach a brexit agreement. but things tend to slow down over the summer. time for talks is running out with no immediate sign of meaningful progress. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. police are reported to have identified suspects in the novichok attack on a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury in march. the press association has reported that police believe several russians, identified through cctv, were involved in the attempted murder of sergei and yulia skripal. earlier this month, dawn sturgess, from wiltshire, died after being poisoned by the nerve agent, and her partner remains in hospital. police believe the incidents are linked. daniel sandford is in salisbury tonight. counterterrorism police have been careful not to comment themselves on

their nerve agent investigations today. but there have been signs of a number of breakthroughs in recent weeks which means detectives may be coming close to working out who it was that smeared or sprayed novichok here and worsened the relations between russia and britain. in central salisbury this afternoon, troops in gas masks again gathering possible evidence of the nerve agent attack. the focus on this occasion, a large plastic container which was taken away for examination. it's now more than four months since sergei skripal and his daughter yulia fell ill after being contaminated by a military grade russian—made nerve agent, the novichok that was left on his front door. the cnn network in the united states suggested today that detectives have used cctv and facial recognition software to isolate pictures of two suspects seen leaving britain soon after the attack, though it's not known if they are russian and it's not clear if they have been fully identified. counterterrorism detectives refused

to discuss the report, leaving only the russian ambassador to comment. unfortunately we don't have official statements of the british side. i want to hear that from scotland yard or the foreign office. a lot of versions that we hear in the newspapers, they're not supported by the statements or the foreign office. the attack ended up taking dawn sturgess's life. she is thought to be contaminated by a perfume bottle which somehow ended up in her partner's flat. the inquest into her death opened and adjourned at the local coroner's court today. the coroner confirmed that police had recovered a bottle of liquid novichok. one of the last places dawn sturgess went before falling ill was the queen elizabeth gardens in salisbury. that has been the focus of the police searches for the last two days. detectives now have a bottle of the possible chemical weapon and may have images of two suspects to work with.

this unique investigation appears to be edging gently forward. daniel sandford, bbc news, salisbury. students have painted over a muralfeaturing rudyard kipling's poem ‘if‘ — in a stand against what they say is his racist work. students at manchester university replaced the poem with a piece by maya angelou. 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley has the story. students at the university of manchester painting over the poem if, one of rudyard kipling's most famous works. it's been replaced with still i rise by the african—american author and black civil rights activist, maya angelou. you may write me down in history... with your bitter, twisted lies... you may trod me in the very dirt... but still, like dust, i rise. i felt angry, i felt a very strong emotional reaction. these students say it's about challenging ideas about historical figures, celebrated on campuses. we want to make sure those

brown and black voices are heard, and we want... that's literally what our students want, so that's why we decided to take this stance as a whole team. is this sanitising? you can see physically on the wall, we made the decision not to completely raise kipling's palin. —— to completely raise kipling's poem. you can still see it in the background, it's been smudged over but our intention was that people would come up to the wall and see this piece of art and they would ask questions. so, they would be, like, what was there before? why was it painted over? rudyard kipling was born in india in 1865. his books include children's classics such as thejungle book. but there is also a darker side to his work, which celebrates colonialism, imperialism and empire. chanting: rhodes must fall! take it down! controversial figures of the past present modern—day dilemmas. at oxford university, there's been a high profile campaign to remove a statue of imperialist cecil rhodes, but some argue

it's sanitising history. if we didn't read kipling in the early 21st century, if we didn't read him as part of a wider and nuanced understanding of what empire was and how it came about, then we lose an important part of the story. it's immensely important to look at what we call the subalterns, in other words what we call the victims of empire. while to some, it's rewriting and whitewashing the past, the challenge on campuses is addressing a lack of visible black influential figures and reviewing history with a different lens. the time is quarter past six. our top story this evening... there's been a big increase in the number of crimes being recorded in england and wales. and coming up we take a look at why last year was a record breaking yearfor book sales. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... tiger woods makes an impressive start to his 0pen championship campaign in carnoustie, as he bids for his first major title in ten years. plastic bags that

biodegrade to nothing? it sounds like a perfect solution to the problems of plastic pollution. a british company which makes what are called ‘0xo—biodegradable' bags says they break down in the environment "like a leaf, only quicker", and the technology is being widely used across africa and the middle east. so if they are that good, why are they facing a possible ban by the european commission? ? angus crawford reports. is this a solution to the plastics crisis? 0rdinary plastic with a simple chemical additive. its makers call it oxo—biodegradable. one of the manufacturers is a british company, its product is called d2w. you know this is going to convert basically organically to materials similar to a leaf.

it couldn't be better. d2w automatically breaks down... they have promotional videos, and big name supporters. here's environmentalist chris packham on the bbc‘s one show. there are technologies out there, now. 0xy—biodegradable plastics which will break down very easily... what he didn't declare on the programme, he's one of symphony's paid advisers. the bbc says he's done nothing wrong, and he didn't want to talk to us about it. d2w is now being used in many countries. here in the ivory coast in west africa, for example, where even water is sold in plastic bags. millions per day. they have banned normal bags, encouraging people to use oxo, from manufacturers around the world. including the british d2w. they even have a special police unit, whose job is to track down and seize ordinary plastic. look at this.

it's not popular, but that is the law. hundreds of millions of plastic bags get into the rivers and oceans every year. this technology is meant to provide a solution. if you chuck this away, manufacturers say that within about two years, it will break down to nothing, on land or at sea. but does it really? here's one way to find out. quite a lot of marine life on here now, after several years in the sea... thousands of miles away, hanging in the water, bags placed in the sea at plymouth university. this bag is labelled as d2w. you have had this bag in the sea for more than two years, now. it's probably still strong enough to carry your shopping home in. what's more, scientists fear when they do break down,

they may create tiny pieces. under the microscope, a bag that's more than ten years old. it's degraded as a carrier bag, you could no longer carry your shopping in it, that bit is true. but is this an environmental solution? what we've now got is millions of very small pieces of plastic. the european commission agrees, and is moving to restrict or may even ban oxo products across the eu. it says that there is no evidence oxo—degradable plastic will fully biodegrade in a reasonable time. the eu's report refers to misleading claims to consumers, and warns of a potential increase in littering. it concludes that oxo—degradable technology is not a solution for the environment. that's just bad science, according to one british manufacturer. it insists the product does fully biodegrade. this is what we describe as an insurance policy,

if it ends up in the environment, it probably wouldn't even get to the ocean as a piece of plastic. it would probably end up in the ocean as a biodegradable material. but if you do just drop it in the ocean, which has been our studies, we have shown versus non—degradable products that it degrades and biodegrades an awful lot faster than conventional plastics. in ivory coast, the debate has moved on. the government is now talking about banning all plastic bags, including oxos. the solution here, not better plastic but no plastic at all. the uk government is to compensate thousands of soldiers who faced having to pay more tax because they're stationed in scotland. anyone earning more than £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 are affected

but will be reimbursed to ensure that all armed forces staff pay the same rate of tax. when was the last time you bought a book? if recently, you're not alone because book sales had a record—breaking year. income from sales went up 5% last year and the publishing industry is now worth a massive £5.7 billion according to new figures. danny savage has been finding out what's behind the rise. books are back, bucking the trend against life lived through a screen. 0ur story starts in a book shop in york. if you want a signed copy of this novel that would not be too much bother, in fact you'd be hard—pressed to find one that is not signed because this is the author shortlisted for the manbooker prize who sells books. i think people like the experience of holding a book and turning the pages and feeling the experience of going from the start of a book

to the end of a book. and i think people love the smell of books. i think people love the way that they look. and i think there is something in finishing a book, putting it on your shelf, and being able to show your friends that book, which you can't do if you are reading on an e—reader. sales for the uk reached £5.7 billion, a record—breaking year for the publishing industry. export income was also up 8%, at £3.a billion. keeping the uk's place as the number one exporter of books in the world. i think we are just really good at producing desirable objects that are books. we've got some of the best writers in the world. we have some of the best illustrators in the world. the publishing industry really celebrates the beauty of books. then there is the old saying, neverjudge a book by its cover. that's a bit of an issue these days because part of the attraction of the british book market to foreign buyers is the vibrancy and variety of all the covers.

and it can be argued you are never too young to start. four—month—old martha was today being bought her first books for future reference. she's just starting to become really aware of colours and textures and things. i mean, kindles and electronic items, you don't really get that from them. books are a current business success story in britain. society still has a big attachment to the printed word. danny savage, bbc news, york. in cycling, geraint thomas leads the tour de france, after winning one of the most gruelling stages of the race, on alpe d'huez. the welshman sprinted clear in the final few hundred meters of the climb in the alps to retain the leader's yellowjersey, and secure successive stage wins. his fellow team sky rider and defending champion chris froome is second overall. golf's1a7th open championship has teed off in carnoustie. rory mcilroy is among the home

players hoping to break an american stranglehold on the majors. our sports correspondent katherine downes is following the action. carnoustie crisping up nicely in the scottish sunshine, a day for ice cream and suncream, on a course where only the greens are green. there are some benefits of course to playing in these conditions. look at the rough, here. it's nowhere near as thick and lush as it normally is. but look at the fairways in between, they are so smooth and so hard, and that makes the tests and traps of links golf very hard to avoid. and so it proved. the defending champion came dressed for colder conditions, but stayed cool to weave his way to within two of the lead. but then those tests and traps came out, to trip upjordan spieth. a tough first day at the office. that's a shocker. tough for him, and for playing

partnerjustin rose. i've got to find some momentum and just wait for my run, really. 0bviously, today was slow going. just two birdies. you know, i need to find a couple rounds where i'm making six, seven birdies a day. rory, too, will rue missed chances. mcilroy still in the mix, but will want to iron out the errors. come back and try again tomorrow. the leader so far, kevin kisner of the usa, five under the score of the day. and how's this for shot of the day? thailand's kiradech aphibarnrat on the bounce. there's not much bounce in tiger woods — the great champion woke up this morning with a stiff neck. but beware, carnoustie. there are signs the old tiger touch is back. tiger woods still out on the course this evening, he and rory mcilroy in a group of 11 players tied on two under par three shots off the lead.

also in that group the leading british contenders danny willett and matthew southgate whose 28 years old and has been a member here since he was 16 and he's looking to ride the home advantage right through sunday. thank you. it has been one of the warmest and driest summers in living memory. that's great if you're heading for the beach, but not so good for the garden, as satellite images released by the met office reveal. this is the uk back in may, looking very green and pleasant. and this is just two months later injuly — looking rather brown and scorched. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. yes, i haven't had to cut my grass, i think it is all dead. for today,

most of us have had skies like this with spells of sunshine coming through. you can see the extent of the sunshine on the satellite picture today but to the north—west, this is the change coming into. this is the weather front that will be bringing welcome, much—needed rain. the heaviest rain will head into the south west of scotland as well as northern ireland, then we will see it getting to cumbria. it is a dry night in wales, and a warm one in london as well. we start off with the band of rain in the morning across scotland and northern ireland still with heavy bursts around but that will be clearing through. some cloud and brighter spells as we head into the afternoon and the rain will be quite heavy as it works into north—west england, which is one of those areas where people are facing down the barrel of a hosepipe ban next month. the rain is heavy as it reaches northern parts of wales and

we will probably get decent rain too further southwards but it's across eastern england where it will be a hot and sunny day with showers breaking out. some of these could affect london and the home counties, and the worse case scenario is that we could see up to half a month's rainfall in the space of an hour and that could lead to localised flooding. into saturday there is still the risk of some showers across southern and eastern england, maybe some further north and west as well but some spells of sunshine with temperatures into the low 20s for scotland and northern ireland. it gets hotter and hotter through sunday and into next week as well. chris, thank you. that's all from the bbc news at six so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... a big increase in the number of crimes being recorded in england and wales. with a rise in the number of

violent crimes, including those involving knives. the new brexit secretary dominic raab promises to step up the pace as he holds his first talks with the eu's chief negotiator in brussels. four months on from the poisoning of surrogate end yulia skripal, marland yarde will not —— scotland yard will not confirm reports that they know who is involved. 0ur books back in fashion? sales