all charges are dropped against a former police chief accused of blaming liverpool fans for the hillsborough disaster. sir norman bettison was facing four counts of misconduct in a public office, but prosecutors said there wasn't enough evidence — a decision he welcomed. i've been forced to deny strenuously that i have done anything wrong, in the aftermath of the disaster, and today's outcome vindicates that position. but relatives of some of the 96 who died say they're distressed by the decision, and are calling for an independent review. five other men are all still facing separate charges in connection with hillsborough, and its aftermath. also tonight: heading to brussels for more talks — the brexit secretary says all eu citizens currently in the uk can stay, whether or not there's a deal. dramatic developments for two of president trump's former senior aides, with his ex—lawyer and his former campaign manager both guilty of fraud. thousands of venezuela ns

flee their country as its economic crisis intensifies. inflation could reach1 million per cent by the end of the year. caught out again — one more wicket stands between england and defeat in the third test against india at trent bridge. coming up on sportsday on bbc news: it's been another successful day for great britain at the european para athletics championships, with three more golds in berlin. good evening. a former chief co nsta ble of good evening. a former chief constable of merseyside police and west yorkshire police who was accused of trying to blame liverpool fa ns accused of trying to blame liverpool fans for the hillsborough disaster has had all charges against him

dropped. sir norman bettison was facing four counts of misconduct in a public office, but the crown prosecution said it decided there was no realistic prospect of a conviction. families of the 96 people who died say they have grave concerns about the decision and they have plans to call for an independent review. five other men all facing separate charges in connection with the disaster and its aftermath. sir norman bettison says he's been the whipping boy for revenge. his name long linked with hillsborough. accused of lying and blaming the fans. he was facing prosecution but, today, the announcement that he won't stand trial. my involvement in the events around hillsborough has often been misrepresented, even in parliament. since then, i've been forced to deny strenuously that i have done anything wrong, in the aftermath of the disaster, and today's outcome vindicates that position. there may be no criminal case,

but did you always behave properly, sir norman? have you a clear conscience, sir norman? can you say anything directly to the families? you say you're vindicated. it's been you against them for a long time. 96 liverpool fans died when the terraces at hillsborough became overcrowded in 1989. in the wake of the tragedy, sir norman — then chief inspector — was part of a team that gathered evidence about the police for the taylor public inquiry. in 1998, he was appointed chief constable of merseyside, home to many of the bereaved families. his appointment was deeply unpopular. one of the recent charges faced by sir norman bettison goes back to the time of his appointment on merseyside. he was accused of lying about his role, in the wake of hillsborough. sir norman was also facing prosecution for his behaviour when he was chief constable

of west yorkshire, in 2012. he was accused of issuing untrue press releases, which said he'd never blamed fans for the disaster. so, you've just had a meeting with the cps. yeah. in court today, the bereaved families heard there's no longer enough evidence to prosecute sir norman. afterwards, some of them met with the team who'd investigated him. it got very angry, and i can assure you, we put a lot of people in their place in that room today. you asked questions of them? we asked them whether they'd done their job right. the money, the millions of pounds that this investigation has cost, and i'm talking about millions now. they've had the evidence there, and what happened today, for it basically to fall is down to a lot of people. sir norman bettison left court without further comment. some hillsborough families say they believe the wrong charge was brought and they want a review of today's decision. in his book, sir norman bettison

described himself as the poster boy for conspiracy theorists and in court today, his barrister said there had been naked political interference in the case. and that the former police watchdog, the ipcc, had been put under pressure to bring these charges. the crown prosecution service has said this afternoon it is discontinuing the case because there have been significant changes in the available evidence, that one witness has passed away, two others have changed that account. he said there was no longer realistic prospect of conviction. but it is not the end of the legal road for hillsborough. big men are being prosecuted still in connection with the disaster and its aftermath. the first of those, the match commander, david duckenfield, he faces 95 charges of gross negligence, manslaughter. his trial

is expected to start here in preston in the new year. thank you. there've been dramatic developments tonight concerning two of president trumps former senior aides. michael cohen — who was his personal lawyer — has surrendered to the fbi and pleaded guilty to fraud and campaign finance charges. meanwhile, paul mannafort. .. the president's former campaign manager, has been found guilty of tax fraud. our north america editorjon sopel is in washington. so two former senior aides now facing jail. yes, extraordinary developments that have happened in the last half an hour. let's deal with michael cole first, the long—standing mr fixit, the personal lawyer of donald trump. it emerged earlier he had surrendered to the fbi and was doing the deal so he would plead guilty in return for a more lenient sentence and we thought that would be about fraud charges relating to a separate

business, but it goes. i too donald trump's run for the presidency because he has pleaded guilty to campaignfinance in because he has pleaded guilty to campaign finance in fractions and he says he broke campaign more inchoate donation web and at the direction of the candidate for federal office. in other words, donald trump was the co—conspirator. donald trump has paid michael cohen for years to make problems go away. it may be that michael cohen is about to become donald trump's biggest problem. thank you. the brexit secretary, dominic raab, has told the bbc that in the event of a no deal on brexit, he will move swiftly to secure the rights of european union citizens in the uk. mr raab said there was absolutely ‘no question of eu citizens being turfed out'. he was speaking after talks with the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, who says overrall discussions, are now entering their final stage, but some fundamental disagreements remain.

from brussels, ben wright reports. many of the continent—hopping train travellers at the eurostar this morning probably didn't notice the man who now leads the uk's brexit negotiating team. dominic raab landed the job last month after david davis quit the cabinet in frustration at the government's own brexit plan. so it's mr raab who is now trying to get a deal with the eu over the line by the end of march next year. but what if there is no agreement? some of theresa may's ministers have ramped up warnings it could happen. i asked the brexit secretary what that could mean for the many eu citizens who now live in the uk. we value their contribution. we want them to stay. it's inconceivable we would do anything other than make sure that they're legally in a position where they're secure to stay. but we would need to set out the details of that in due course, to do it in a responsible way. so it's working out the structure but, legally, they would be able to stay?

they shouldn't worry if there is a no deal, about being turfed out of the uk? absolutely, there is no question that you are going to see eu citizens turfed out. we've made that clear in the past, i've made it clear in the past and i'm happy to give that reassurance again. the eu's chief negotiator has a new opposite number, but his message today was familiar. he warned talks on trade and the irish border were lagging behind and he was unimpressed by threats of a no deal. translation: i hear the debate in the uk of course about no deal, etc. and to be very frank with you, i do see this blame game starting against the european union in the case of a no deal. but the european union is not going to be impressed by that kind of blame game. everyone should understand that. the two sides are trying to hammer out the brexit divorce deal and the outline of a future trade and security relationship by the autumn. we focus, our overriding focus is on getting a deal, is within reach,

i am confident of that, if the ambition and the pragmatism is reciprocated on the other side. but isn't the truth that even if you have a vague outline of what the future relationship will look like, really, we will leave the eu and it is a leap into the dark. we are not going to know. it will take years to negotiate this stuff. no. that is wrong. certainly, we will want to make sure that we hammer out as much of the detail as possible. it will be really important to make sure for people at home and also for the eu that we choose a clear model for our relationship and we are both committed to it. ministers and officials are clocking up the miles. brexit talks are now intense. the clock is against them. and the final destination remains farfrom certain. ben wright, bbc news, brussels. the freight industry has raised concerns about the impact brexit will have on goods being brought in and out of the uk — amid fears it could lead to traffic chaos around the port of dover. companies in kent are now considering places to store goods awaiting customs clearance, as our home editor, mark easton, reports.

taking control of our borders was one of the central promises of the brexit campaign. as negotiations continue, the government insists, whatever else, britain will leave the eu's customs union next march and freight arriving in dover will cross an international boundary. now, whether brexit is soft, hard or no deal, there'll need to be some kind of system for checking just what is coming in. currently, lorries from within the eu don't need even to pause at dover but, after brexit, 210 million containers a year will potentially be added to those requiring customs checks. 40% of the food we eat in this country comes from europe. that's 1,000 trucks a day that are coming through dover here on the ferries and through the tunnel, bringing the food to our supermarkets and restaurants. any interruption in that supply chain is going to be very quickly noticed. the m20 — already used as a short—term lorry park when channel

crossings are interrupted — is being prepared forfar greater disruption. and the disused airport at manston, 20 miles north of dover, has been earmarked as an overflow park once the motorway is full. a sensible precaution, or scaremongering? this is where project fear and brexit reality may well meet. a roundabout, on the a256, just outside sandwich. this is the road from manston to dover. with potentially hundreds of extra lorries, some have suggested the town of sandwich will be cut off. it's just a nightmare. it'll be a nightmare. a nightmare for the town. it's a situation that can only end in disaster. the fear about the 30—mile queue is fear. this business of project fear. in the town square, i met the local kent county councillor. the authority recently wrote to the government, concerned that plans for an orderly brexit are years behind schedule. there's technology that could provide the answers. whether the technology can be in place fast enough to do

that is a different issue, and i think people need to work extremely hard to work out how that's going to happen. you've only got a few months, though. i know. and that's why people are so concerned, isn't it? with the threat of disruption, warehouse companies are building speculatively on sites in essex and kent. we've got a matter of two or three months to put infrastructure in place to cope with five times as many customs clearances as we currently do. another logistics veteran, richard perryman, fears that whatever kind of brexit we get, fragile supply chains won't survive. the stories that are being told currently about needing to stockpile food and medicine is realistic. i really do believe there's going to be a major disruption to supply chains. isn't this just project fear? the kind of infrastructure that we need to support what i foresee as being the requirement cannot be fixed by the end of march. well, this is real world—class infrastructure... could the kind of facility operating

at london gateway be a long—term solution to the customs conundrum? more than a million containers — from 60 countries — are moved through each year, but the current rules say one container in 25 must be inspected. the border force checks for smuggling. there are ten government agencies which examine food shipments. all of the fruit and vegetable products coming through here are subject to inspection, and in the case of chicken from brazil, 100%. so what's going to happen with chicken coming from poland? so we can't get frictionless trade? there's no such thing as frictionless trade. some have suggested that after brexit next march, in the short—term, the authorities at dover might simply wave through trucks from europe without any checks, and they anticipate that the french — on the other side — might do something similar, to keep traffic flowing. kent voted strongly for brexit and you'll find plenty of people, local mps included, insistent that all will be well. but if it means keeping our main

european crossing open, opponents on both sides are sure to ask if, rather than taking control of our borders, britain is giving up any control at all. mark easton, bbc news, kent. the treasury received £2 billion more in tax last month than it spent — that's the biggest surplus for the month ofjuly in 18 years. self—employed tax receipts helped boost the figures. as the chancellor comes under pressure to spend more on public services, our economics editor, kamal ahmed, has been considering how november's budget could be affected. he's with me now. thanks very much. the story of government borrowing over the last 18 years is a story about our economy. back in 2000, when the economy was stronger, the government was actually raising more in taxes than it was spending on public services. borrowing fell, creating what's called a surplus — here in green on the graph. but then the financial crisis hit, followed by recession — and borrowing ballooned

as the amount of tax paid fell and government costs rose. then came austerity and a slow economic recovery — leading to today's better figures. but why was the chancellor philip hammond's reaction to these better figures this — "we must not be complacent"? because the overall debt of the government — the total amount it has borrowed over years and years, is this — £1.8 trillion. that's £1.8 million million. the government is committed to bringing that figure down. the figures at the moment are significantly better than expected. it still leaves the chancellor with a big choice to make. he could decide to spend more but if he does decide to spend more but if he does decide to spend more but if he does decide to do that it's going to look

very unlikely he will meet his own target, to get us to budget balance inafew target, to get us to budget balance in a few years' time. economically we could probably afford it but it's only a year since the general election when the conservative party was very clear it wanted to get all the way to budget balance. mr hammond knows he is under pressure. there are demands for more spending on health, on the police, on defence, on prisons. yes, these betterfigures mean the treasury could have more to spend in the autumn budget — but the risks around the economy still remain. sophie. the home secretary, sajid javid, has apologised to 18 members of the so—called windrush generation, after a review found that they may have been wrongfully removed from the uk or detained. the windrush generation refers to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who moved to the uk from the caribbean and other commonwealth states, between 19118 and 1971, but who were never given proper documentation. almost 12,000 cases have been re—examined. the home secretary says he's committed to "righting the wrongs of the past." chi chi izundu reports.

they were invited to come and help rebuild britain after the second world war, but questions over proper documentation proving their indefinite right to remain have left thousands with problems accessing things like health care, getting a job or even remaining in the country. today, the home secretary offered a formal apology to 18 people. the home office found they were unable to demonstrate their continuous residence, which led to them being removed or detained. but, for some, sorry is not good enough. it questions the value and validity of an apology. what is the value and merit of an apology when you've got thousands of people up and down

the country in britain, british citizens of caribbean heritage, who haven't been given any compensation? the government have refused to even consider interim payments. the treatment of the windrush generation caused a furious backlash against the government since highlighted earlier this year. today, some have welcomed this symbolic first step. i think when you are issuing personal apologies you have to bear in mind that carries some weight in terms of accepting liability. so, it is progress. the home office also confirmed the 18 will be put in contact with a special task force set up in response to the crisis. but, for the thousands waiting like glenda, life is still on hold. we are still going through difficulties. in the beginning if we were allowed to work, if we were entitled to the benefits that we paid into,

then, perhaps, we would have felt some kind of way to say thank you very much. but we are still going through difficulties. the home secretary also said that today's findings expose many problems over many years over many governments. what we know is this is just part of the commitment that the home secretary has made to give monthly updates on the windrush scandal. we know they have looked into 11,800 historical cases, and as well as those 18 which got the apology today, they also found 164 other cases where people were wrongfully detained, forcibly removed or mistakenly asked to leave the country. the reason they haven't gotan the country. the reason they haven't got an apology is because it is still unclear about the specifics around their case. amnesty international has called today's apology "worrying". thousands of people are continuing

to flee venezuela the country's economic crisis intensifies. yesterday the government introduced a new currency to try to deal with hyperinflation, which has led to prices spiralling out of control. the situation, which has been going on for years, is so bad now that the inflation rate is expected to hit1 million per cent by the end of this year. more than a million people are now malnourished because families can't afford to feed themselves properly. our correspondent guillermo olmo reports from caracas. people here queue to withdraw what they can of the new currency, part of reforms the government says will tackle the country's economic problems. we have talked to some of the people in this queue and they've told us problems continue. the atms working over there are just giving them the small amount of ten sovereign bolivars, and that is less than what they will be asked for if they want to have a cup of coffee in one of the cafeterias near the area. years of economic crisis and government mismanagement has

left shops empty and many people malnourished and scrambling for food. for this couple, juan and petra, every day is a struggle. translation: it is difficult. difficult, difficult. if you get the things they are too expensive. if you buy chicken, you cannot buy flour, and if you buy flour you can't buy chicken. it is very difficult because i work on my own and i don't get the material i need for work. i can't get any chemicals, you cannot get anything. it would cost 40 million, it costs 70 million now of the old currency. now, with the new currency, we don't know any more. the uncertainty here continues, new currency or not, and that's what is leading to people fleeing the country. in the last three years, more than 2 million

venezuelans are thought to have fled their country. that's 7% of the population. many of them have gone to columbia. 3,500 people are arriving there every day. katy watson reports from the columbia—venezuela border. getting out any way they can, venezuelan migrants nestle among the cars on this track. it's their way of getting to the ecuadorian border. others simply walk, taking with them any belongings they can. but ecuador has tightened its migration rules, peru later this week will do the same. many now fear they will be stranded. anthony and his family have only just arrived in colombia. he used to work as a taxi driver but couldn't make ends meet. translation: the situation in venezuela is critical, and now president maduro is removing zeros from the currency. i can guarantee things will get worse. this is one of the main reasons i had to leave. they are headed for peru.

anthony has a passport, but his wife and daughter don't. translation: it is horrible. i'm just really sad, because i had to leave all my family behind, and i can't get them out of the country. we can't live there any more. like many desperate venezuelans, all they can do is hope that soon the borders will be open again. colombia has been the worst affected by the migrant crisis, especially here on the border. people are sleeping on the streets, filling up hospitals. now with these restrictions from ecuador and peru asking for passports, colombia is worried there could be a bottleneck and it will make things far worse. studio: thank you. thousands of veneuzelans are also trying to seek refuge in brazil — despite attempts by the authorities

there to shut down makeshift migrant camps on the border last weekend. a brazilian army spokesman says there's been a steep rise in numbers crossing the border with almost 1,000 venezuelans arriving in one state alone yesterday. julia carneiro reports from the border between brazil and venezuela. hunger calls for an early start. brea kfast hunger calls for an early start. breakfast offered by this local church is the only regular meal many of these venezuelans get. violence against immigrants at the brazilian border had scared many away, but on tuesday 1000 turned up for bread and coffee. today's message is that honda has defeated fear. people were treated like animals on the weekend. —— hunger has defeated here. treated like animals on the weekend. -- hunger has defeated here. on saturday, residents attacked immigrants and called for them to

leave, but men, women, children, whole families keep streaming through the borders, packing their pasts into suitcases and applying for passports to a new life. annelise is one of the newcomers, leaving what she most cherished behind. i'm very distressed, because of my children and my mother. i wanted to bring them with me but i couldn't. that is what hurts me. i hope to bring them later, to find a sta ble hope to bring them later, to find a stable job so i can afford to take ca re of stable job so i can afford to take care of them. many other venezuelans are so desperate they aren't scared away by the clashes we saw on the weekend. the situation is so difficult they have no other option but to leave. julia carneiro, bbc news, brazil. a new treatment for non—cancerous prostate enlargement — which cuts hospital stays and the risk of complications — can now be used on the nhs in england, scotland and wales. the procedure involves injecting steam into the gland. it can be done using local anaesthetic —

without an overnight hospital stay — and should avoid the serious side effects that some men can experience after surgery. oxfam has been left tens of millions of pounds in the will of british businessman richard cousins. the former head of the catering company compass was killed along with members of his family in a plane crash in australia on new year's eve. it's thought to be the biggest single donation to the charity, which has been struggling to recover from a sex abuse scandal. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has told the bbc that supporting saudi arabia's controversial role in the war in yemen stops bombs going off on the streets of britain. he was defending continuing british arms sales, following a saudi air attack which killed dozens of children in the city of saada 12 days ago. mr hunt has been in washington making his first speech since becoming foreign secretary. he's been talking to our diplomatic correspondent james robbins — you may find some of the pictures in his report distressing. all that remains of a school bus after a saudi air raid

in yemen earlier this month. 40 children were killed in this market square and 11 adults, the latest in a long line of civilian casualties. the saudis say their target was rebel houthi rocket launchers, but britain and the us arm and support the saudi side. so, when i metjeremy hunt at the ambassador's residence in washington, i asked him if britain bore some responsibility. what happened with that bus was truly awful. i think it's impossible not to be deeply shocked when you find out what happened. the complexity there is our relationship with saudi arabia which is a very, very important military ally to the uk. we are their partners in fighting islamist extremism and our relationship with saudi arabia means that we stop bombs going off on the streets of britain. compelling evidence is emerging that the actual munition that destroyed the bus and killed all those children was an american lockheed martin bomb.

are you going to use your meetings here in washington to urge the administration to review their entire approach to the war in yemen? well, we are of course going to be talking about the yemen situation with the administration here. i think they have a very similar approach to us. as far as britain is concerned, when it comes to arms sales, we have one of the strictest regimes in the world and we constantly review the arms agreements we make, where we sell them and whether they are being adhered to. the new foreign secretary deliberately chose washington to make his first speech. jeremy hunt wants to restore an international order based on rules. he blames russia and to an extent china for undermining it. but mr hunt rejects any suggestion that president trump too must share the blame. there are plenty of things we disagree on, but let's not in the fog of all the things we disagree with forget that on 95% of issues we are on exactly the same page as the united states.

we share their values, they are our friends, they are our allies. so, the post—boris foreign secretary is using a whole series of meetings, this one with the senate foreign relations committee, to try to ensure britain doesn't lose any ground on this side of the atlantic. james robinson, bbc news, washington. the british director danny boyle will no longer direct the newjames bond film. its producers say he's stepping aside due to — what they've described as — "creative differences". filming is due to begin on the 25th bond later this year. it's expected to be the last time daniel craig will play 007. cricket — and despite a first test century byjos buttler, england are facing defeat against india. they ended the fourth day of the third test at trent bridge with nine wickets down and needing 210 runs for victory.