today at 5pm: two russian nationals are named as suspects in the poisoning of former spy sergei skripal, and his daughter yulia. after an extensive study of cctv and other images scotland yard says there's sufficient evidence to charge the two men identified by the authorities. it came six months after the skripals were poisoned by a russian—made nerve agent in salisbury, prompting a huge international outcry. the two individuals named by the police and cps are officers from the russian military intelligence service. also known as the gru. the men have been named as alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov, whose movements have been traced in detail by the british authorities. four months people here in salisbury have had so many questions but very few a nswers, have had so many questions but very few answers, tonight they have a blizzard of information to come to terms with. we'll have the latest from salisbury, westminster and moscow, and we'll be

talking to a former british ambassador to moscow. the other main stories on bbc news at 5: nine times out of ten it is benign. tributes are paid to the bbc‘s rachel bland who's died at the age of 40, presenter of an award—winning podcast documenting her treatment for cancer. in japan passengers are trapped at an airport after a tanker crashed into the access bridge in the most powerful typhoon to hit the country for 25 years. and britain's first—ever disabled air display team takes to the skies, inspired by douglas bader, the legendary spitfire pilot. it's 5pm. our main story is the major development in the investigation into the poisoning of sergei skripal

and his daughterjulia. two russian nationals have been named today, as suspects in the attempted murder of the former russian spy and his daughter. the men, using the names alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov, are thought to be officers from russia's military intelligence service. scotland yard say there is enough evidence to charge the men. mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned with the nerve agent novichok, in salisbury, in march this year. police are linking the attack to a separate poisoning injune when dawn sturgess and charlie rowley were taken ill, and ms sturgess died in hospital on 9th july. a european arrest warrant was issued as scotland yard gave extensive background detail to the attack on the skripals, as our correspondent richard galpin reports. these are the two men, both russian nationals, who are suspected of poisoning sergei and yulia skripal with the deadly nerve agent novichok, named as alexander petrov

and ruslan boshirov, although these are probably aliases. the government has concluded that the two individuals named by the police and cps are officers from the russian military intelligence service. also known as the gru. the gru isa service. also known as the gru. the gru is a highly disciplined organisation with a well established chain of command. so this was not a rogue operation. it was almost certainly also approved outside the gru ata certainly also approved outside the gru at a senior level of the russian state. some of the key evidence comes from video footage obtained by the police showing the two men's movements from the moment they arrived here at gatwick airport on march the 2nd, two days before the

poisoning. from gatwick they travelled to east london, checking into this hotel where investigators later found traces of novichok. on sunday march four they travelled to salisbury by train and seen near the house around the time it is believed the nerve agent was sprayed onto the door. i was later sergei skripal fell critically ill along with his daughter. meanwhile we suspect are making their getaway, arriving at heathrow airport in the evening for a flight back to moscow. salisbury was soon turned into a major crime scene after it became clear in a lot of great nerve agent had been used in the attack, this is the fake perking bottle which contain the novichok. it's taken six months but this painstaking investigation involving hundreds of police officers and soldiers has clearly

yielded very important results. today's announcement by the crown prosecution service marks the most significant development in this investigation. we now have sufficient evidence to bring charges in relation to the attack on sergei and yulia skripal in salisbury, and domestic and european arrest warrants have been issued for the two suspects and we will be seeking to circulate interpol red notices. but as for putting alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov on trial in this country, there is no prospect of that. russia does not extradite its own nationals who are accused of crimes in other countries. our correspondentjon kay is in salisbury. tell us a little more about the response in that area given the rather startling news?” response in that area given the rather startling news? i think people here are pretty overwhelmed by the amount of information may

have suddenly got. for six months, exactly six months this week all they have really had is that house, thatis they have really had is that house, that is where sergei skripal left and is where the attack is alleged to have happened. people have wondered how much do the authorities here really know about this case, do they really know who he had done it or who were suspected of doing it, how, when our wife. people are frustrated about a lack of information and a lack of answers and suddenly out of the blue today they have more than the house to look at, they have all these images, mugshots of the suspects, cctv pictures of these men flying in and out of britain, pictures of these men on the streets of salisbury in the minutes before this alleged attack on the skripal‘s. people here are overwhelmed but now it's over to this community again, the police are keen to hear from this community again, the police are keen to hearfrom individuals this community again, the police are keen to hear from individuals who might have seen those men on the streets of salisbury at that time or

who might have seen the perking bottle. we now have images of the perfume bottle which we think charlie rowley found in a rubbish bin in the centre of salisbury which we think then poisoned him and his late girlfriend dawn sturgess. where was it for three months? i think authorities will be keen for people to have a look at the image of this fa ke to have a look at the image of this fake perking bottle with the applicator inside which would have allowed people to spray novichok onto the door handle and hope somebody side somewhere else which could provide potentially extra pieces for this checks. or they have got more information i think people in the community wants to know what happens next. richard hasjust said extradition is highly unlikely and face to face charges and a court case seem face to face charges and a court

case seem unlikely so people want to see ok, we have got this information and it is reassuring but what now? thanks, we will explore some of those questions, thank you for now. the prime minister amid a statement at westminster earlier today. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster. given the significant a mode of information which has been put out there today, what is your sense of where the government has moved on this scandal? i think that's a very good point that was just made there as to what they can do next, we know the prime minister has spoken to the american president to brief him, to the canadian prime ministerjustin trudeau, and they have promised to work together on all of this and the government was pleased with the reaction from the international community back in march. but what more can i be done? there will be a meeting of the un security council tomorrow but there will not be any resolution put forward for the

simple reason that they know russia would veto it. they are promising that there will be more sanctions and labour in particular were calling for more sanctions against russian oligarchs who use london, as they put it, the financial system here to spend their money. theresa may said action was already been taken and has been disrupting the russian intelligence networks in this country and they have promised if these men set foot outside of russia they will be brought to justice but the main issue here is that russia does not extradite its own people for prosecution abroad and that looks likely to change. another word about the leader of the oppositionjeremy another word about the leader of the opposition jeremy corbyn who another word about the leader of the oppositionjeremy corbyn who was accused of weaselly language for not condemning the russian state strongly enough, afterwards his spokesman was asked whetherjeremy corbyn believed it was a deliberate act by the russian state and he said, jeremy corbyn accepts the evidence has now piled up and it

points strongly to direct russian authorship of an attack and the labour party would support further sanctions, other measures as well if they were proportionate. thank you. the bell ringing in westminster for a parliamentary vote. let's look in a parliamentary vote. let's look in a bit more detail at some of the detail and information which has been shared today about the nature of the attack. let's speak to philip ingram, a former senior intelligence officer in the british army, who has worked extensively with thejoint chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear regiment. he's in our birmingham studio. can we start with a few of these things, mentioned the perfume bottle, which had the applicator and all the rest, can you talk us through what kind of sense you can make of that and how that would have been part of this process? novichok is such a deadly agent it would have to go into the bottle in laboratory

conditions very carefully controlled ina way conditions very carefully controlled in a way your state one laboratory so in a way your state one laboratory so did not contaminate those who we re so did not contaminate those who were bringing it the country and carrying out this attempted assassination. it also would have been designed in a way that whenever they applied it to the front door that it would not splash back and contaminate the would—be assassins, or it could be easily put into a cloth and smeared on. there are safety would have been taken into account in the design of the container which was this bottle. that raises further questions about how strong and persistent this poison is, the fact it is not degrade in normal circumstances and thatis degrade in normal circumstances and that is still a matter of grave concern. yes, novichok was designed to do two things, it's called a very persistent nerve agent, it is designed not to degrade under normal conditions and therefore remain in

the environment for a long period of time, months. the second thing is it has been designed to evade detection by the normal detection technology the military would have rather security services would have so it's virtually undetectable and can stay around for a long time. can i asked about the men who have been named, we say named, it is clearly going to be aliases. given that what are the chances you think they can properly identified? this is an ongoing operation which will be happening inside russia where allied intelligence services well, now they have got the photographs, be trying to look at identifying the russian intelligence agents to get proper names against them. there are two elements, they might be false names but now we have images the biometric identity, the facial recognition pattern is something that can be shared across all databases so if

they do step outside russia again they do step outside russia again they will be detected no matter what name they are using or how they are trying to travel. on that very point i think it's a fair assumption to say they will not step outside of russia is that right? i think there are days of going overseas heat on business or pleasure have come to a clear end. the issue of potential arrest or extradition is for the birds isn't it? it is, as we saw with the alexander litvinenko ‘s of yea rs with the alexander litvinenko ‘s of years ago there was a suspect named, the russians refused to hand them over and the russians refused to hand them overand in the russians refused to hand them over and in fact the russian constitution as some commentators have said it does not allow russian individuals, russian national to be extradited. we will see the russians continue to deny they were responsible, they will not carry out any investigation and will not extradite these individuals. they will quietly retire to the deskjobs in moscow. good to talk to you,

thank you. philip ingram, an expert in the field of chemical biological, radiation and nuclear weapons. we mentioned the prime minister gave lots of details in a statement to the house of commons earlier today, a wealth of detail in that. what we would like to do is listen to but more of what theresa may had to say. what we have learned from today's announcement is the specific nature of the threat from the russian gru. we know that the gru has played a key pa rt we know that the gru has played a key part in malign russian activity in recent years. today we have exposed the role by the despicable chemical weapons attack on the streets of salisbury. the actions of the gru are a threat to all our allies and all artisans. and on the basis of what we have learnt in the salisbury investigation and what we know about this organisation more broadly we must now step up our

collective efforts specifically against the gru. we are increasing our understanding of what the gru is junein our understanding of what the gru is june in our countries, shining a light on their activities and exposing their methods and sharing them with our allies just as we have done with salisbury. mr speaker, while the house will appreciate i cannot go into details, together with our allies we will deploy the full range of tools from across our national security apparatus, in order to counter the threat posed by the gru. i have said before and i say again now that the uk has no quarrel with the russian people. and we continue to hold out hope that we will one day once again enjoy a strong partnership with the government of this great nation. theresa may talking in the house of commons and referring to the prospect sometime in future of having a strong partnership with russia even abdullah strettle incident but clearly underlining the fa ct incident but clearly underlining the fact that no such partnership exists

at the moment. and oleg boldyrev is in moscow now. the response from moscow is we were asking to let us be part of the british investigation, london refused and we are in the dark says moscow. we still do not know who these people are especially because it's while they believed the names are real. so what you want from us? iamjust are real. so what you want from us? i am just reading the extensive interview by the foreign ministry spokeswoman given to one of the moscow radio stations, she said like, these people are given visas by the uk embassy in moscow and it's an incredibly detailed procedure, you should give a lot of information so you should give a lot of information so why not pass this information which went into the visa process to

us so we can which went into the visa process to us so we can look them up? so far the kremlin and foreign ministry spokespeople were saying they don't know who these people are, they don't know if gru employs those men today. thank you for bringing us up today. thank you for bringing us up to date from moscow. joining me is sir andrew wood, former british ambassador to russia and associate fellow of the russia and eurasia programme at chatham house. good to have you with us again, that response, the section there, is that straight out of the russian diplomatic textbook? yes and in a way it shows they have a good sense of human, it's perfectly obvious while they were not part of investigation because they were lying from the beginning so what do you expect? so what have we learned today that takes us on in terms of the response and the kind of strategy which comes out of this incident, peer of incidents really in march in july? i don't think

there is anything radically which would change our policies. of course it would be nice to have good relations but the point of having relations but the point of having relations is they should be effective and currently we are at odds with the russians on a huge range of issues from ukraine to syria and whatever. plus they committed a great crime against us. i think the question we have to think about in the longer term future is how long and in what fashion this particular form future is how long and in what fashion this particularform of governance in russia will last, and what that means. they are in some ways stuck in a cul—de—sac. the economy is not doing well. there is no indication it will do better in the future. the government is paying much more attention to internal security, to military matters and so on. than simple issues like the health and education of the people. and it is i think very hard for vladimir putin to change it. but

there is also a sense of within the population and within the circles around avoid repeating himself as to what the future will be because nobody knows. which is disturbing for any country. what is the prospect for a pattern of change in the government over there? prospect for a pattern of change in the government over there ?|j prospect for a pattern of change in the government over there? i think as blood repeating is there it will get worse rather than better. i don't think there is a prospect of blood repeating being overthrown by his immediate colleagues who are also getting older. but the question of what will happen after 2024, is there and it's very much in the background of people thinking. individual interests have been hurt by the western reactions, sanctions and so on. i think there is a question rather similar to what there was in the 1980s as to where russia is going and how it should be

governed. i don't know how those things are going to change anything but the prospect of things altering in some fashion are certainly more alive than they wear, let's say five, six years ago. going back to the prime minister statement, carefully worded as you would expect, wanting to make a point that relations between the people of britain and the people of russia needed to be in a good place, but then she went out of her way to say look, this attack, less crime was not just sanctioned by the gru, look, this attack, less crime was notjust sanctioned by the gru, it was much higher up in terms of the authority and government of the russian state. first of all do you agree? 100%. how russian state. first of all do you agree? 10096. how high? how high would the authority be? agree? 10096. how high? how high would the authority be ?|j agree? 10096. how high? how high would the authority be? i thought you meant the distinction between the russian people and... well, in most countries like that and i spent many years in yugoslavia and knew

what happened there very well. a senior leader will never sign an order which says poisonous man. he's given general blanket authority for such things to be carried out and talked about silver being stuffed down their throats. it may be that someone down their throats. it may be that someone mentioned to them that we got a chance and now we should take it. but it may not. nonetheless the responsibility of the government for this act is perfectly clear, i should see the presidency, not the government. white mac that opens up an intriguing area for us which is to what extent have the priced in the respond, they must have thought identification was possible, if not likely. so to what extent have the priced in damaging worldwide response to this as part of the strategy and with the expect it to happen and deemed worth it?|j strategy and with the expect it to happen and deemed worth it? i think they did not expect it to happen, first of all the underestimate this

country and secondly they probably thought because of brexit and so on we would not be in a position to do it. and thirdly they possibly still have hopes of a change of heart in the united states. more generally the united states. more generally the information that ghosted putin is heavily influenced by what people suppose he wants to hear. so she is ill informed. he does not actually have a very good methods of consulting other people are putting out suggestions about doing this or that and asking what people think. over time he's got worse at doing that. i believe they did not expect what was going to happen. with that in mind, this is all very interesting for our viewers, i am thinking to what extent will there be concerned by the response? we have had these bullish responses, as you mentioned earlier, it's what we expect, blanket denials and a

forthright and confident and bullish response but behind the scenes are concerned will they be? they will be concerned will they be? they will be concerned because it reinforces the question of where russia is going and doubts about that. i don't think they will necessarily be especially upset by the idea of having bad relations with the uk, they will wonder about how they will transmit themselves into the european wide reaction and what will the result be in the united states. that's the real fear. the sanctions, in the united states. that's the realfear. the sanctions, the increase of sanctions has been more damaging to vladimir putin's circle and the financial interests of russia as a whole than they had expected and i believe that will get more intense rather than less. always good to talk to you, thank you for coming in. the former british ambassador to moscow, good of him to come in and share his expertise. we'll have more on the novichok attack a little later in the programme when we'll be talking to our security correspondent frank gardner,

but the day's other main news stories now. the former bank of england governor mervyn king has branded britain's preparations for leaving the eu as "incompetent". lord king has previously spoken of his optimism about leaving the european union. but speaking to our business editor, simonjack, he now says the lack of planning for the possibility of a no—deal brexit has undermined the government in the negotiations. it beggars belief that the sixth biggest economy in the world should get itself into that position. if the government cannot take action to prevent these catastrophic outcomes, whatever position you take on the eu, it issues a lack of preparation and it does not tell us whether the policy of the eu is good or bad, it tells us everything about the incompetence of the preparation for it. the bbc 5live newsreader rachael bland who was widely praised for her podcast describing her treatment for breast cancer has died.

she was 40. her family said that her death had left a huge hole that they would never be able to fill, and that her work had helped to reduce the stigma around the disease. judith moritz reports. so i went to the doctor and she did the same thing, "nine times out of ten when we refer someone to the breast clinic, it is benign, so try not to worry too much." as a broadcaster rachael bland was used to reading the news, but it was her own story which became the most important. diagnosed with breast cancer, she chose to share herjourney. we thought we would come back with a bang and talk about death! the reason we're all terrified of our cancer coming back and getting worse and going down that road is that the ultimately we worry it's going to kill us. rachael wrote an award—winning blog which she started after her diagnosis in 2016. and then with two others she launched you, me and the big c — a podcast to put the "can" into cancer. all three presenters have or had

the disease and supported each other as well as their growing audience. i would not be able to talk or do or even function half the time if not for the support that she showed me. so i'm so grateful to her. i'm just so grateful to her for allowing me to be part of her life. i want it to be a party, do not wear black. the women were frank and funny, talking about cancer in a fresh way and they were so popular that yesterday they went to number one in the uk podcast charts. it confounded the expectations of the bosses who put it on air. she came to me with an idea to do a podcast that i thought was not going to work and then i heard the first episode of it and thought it was the most important conversation i've ever heard about the subject. because it was so honest and so real and funny in places as well.

she was not frightened to make it funny and that was why it worked so well. rachael's impact has been huge, with tributes everywhere from the london underground to the health secretary who said her legacy is a testament to how much more needs to be done to beat cancer. she really wanted you, me and the big c to punch through. and there are many tributes from those who worked alongside rachael at bbc radio 5 live. she really did cut loose and find her own voice and open up a conversation that other people perhaps could not find the right words for, but she managed to do that and did it in a really brave and bold way. this morning rachael's death was announced on the station where she worked for 17 years. our beloved colleague, 5 live presenter and newsreader rachael bland has died this morning.

amongst the tributes, the most poignant from her husband steve and their little boy freddie. at the end they say even though her body was at its weakest, rachael's voice was at its strongest and most powerful and she will always be an inspiration. judith moritz, bbc news. lots of tributes to the following the tragic death at the age of 40. in the moment the headlines and we will look at the sport as well. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. clear skies on the way after a perfectly acceptable day of whether,

it was pleasant indeed, some sunshine across many western areas but rain is on the way, it's already across parts of northern island, west of scotland and the rest of the week will turn more and more u nsettled week will turn more and more unsettled across the country. in the south this evening pretty bright, temperatures hovering around the high teens and overnight a bit of rain on the way for northern england, that clears away from scotla nd england, that clears away from scotland and we are left with clear skies for most of us. 12 degrees the overnight low in london, in the north more fresh, tomorrow as promised a little more unsettled, showers and cooler north—westerly winds, also potentially some rain getting into wales but i think the most dry place, not a guarantee that probably staying dry is east anglia and the south—east, london are around 21, some not so bad in the south—east. this is bbc news.

the headlines: two russian intelligence officers are named as suspects in the poisoning of former spy sergei skripal and his daughter yulia in salisbury. after an extensive study of cctv and other images, scotland yard says there's sufficient evidence to charge the two men, identified by the authorities. the two individuals named by the police and cps are officers from the russian military intelligence service, also known as the gru. tributes are paid to the bbc‘s rachel bland, who's died at the age of 40 — presenter of an award—winning podcast documenting her treatment for cancer. in japan, passengers are trapped at an airport after a tanker crashed into the access bridge in the most powerful typhoon to hit the country for 25 years. sport now with holly hamilton.

good evening. when europe ryder cup captain thomas bjorn was picking his team, the usa's victory at hazeltine two years ago won't have been farfrom his mind. perhaps that's why, his team has been loaded with experience, including england's ian poulter. he's helped europe win the event four times, but was injured and missed the defeat in 2016. however, he slumped below 200 in the world rankings less than two years ago following a combination of injuries and loss of form. but bjorn says he's the man for the occasion and a special person. he was even more glowing about sergio garcia, describing his as the heartbeat of a team. however the spaniard has been lackig in form of late. despite winning the masters in 2017, he has missed the cut at the last five majors, but he again has the experience

and this will be his ninth ryder cup. thomas has picked sergio which was the fourth spot up in the air. he has gone with form is temporary but class is permanent and sergio has tonnes of experience in the ryder cup and thomas is banking he will bring the enthusiasm he often does to the ryder cup. it is all about winning points and many players deserve a spot in the ryder cup team. but nobody is here to do anybody favours. how can you assemble i2 anybody favours. how can you assemble 12 guys to put points on the board when it counts? the other two wild card picks are henrik stenson and paul casey, joining the eight who have qualified by right. the top four on the european money list, then the top four europeans in the world rankings and five rookies to the ryder cup in there as well. former england captain, alastair cook, has admitted he cried

when he told his team—mates last weekend of his decision to retire from international cricket after the oval test match which starts on friday. but revealed that he's been mulling it over for the past six months. england have already won the series against india but cook has been well below par throughout. he says he had just lost his edge, but he says there will always be a star of the future to replace him. iam i am definitely not irreplaceable. there will be another very good player come along, i am sure. but with the same attributes as you?m is not for me to say. i have still got another game to play and i am determined to go and play well in this game. it is very nice for the kind words everyone has said, it is as ifi kind words everyone has said, it is as if i have died and never will be around again. but it has been a surreal couple of days. let's play well in this game and try and win

4-1. ryan giggs says he's preparing his wales side for a match against the unknown as they take on denmark on sunday. the danish fa have had to call in players from lower leagues and futsal after a disagreement over commercial rights. but while giggs maintained that his side are focussed on their match against the republic of ireland on thursday, his first home match as manager, the wales boss admitted that he had been surprised by the situation in denmark. they are a top ten team. it is strange, especially they did well in the world cup. the last few years theirform the world cup. the last few years their form has been the world cup. the last few years theirform has been brilliant. it is strange. as a football player, you just want to play football. but if you feel you are not getting a good deal or the other side of the coin federation think they are getting a good deal, you think it would be sorted out by now. but it is not, like i say i will face the problem when it comes. that's all your sport — azi farni have more for you in sportsday at 6:30.

in the last few minutes, labour's parliamentary party has agreed to adopt the international definition and examples of anti semitism without any caveats. it comes a day after the ruling national executive also adopted the code but added a proviso that free speech on israel and palestine would be protected. our political corresponent iain watson is in the house of commons for us. what is the significance of this decision? it shows the division between labour mps on one hand and the labour leadership on the other. the vote to adopt the full example of anti—semitism was overwhelming, aik under daily—macro understand it was 205 votes in favour and only

eight against. overwhelmingly, labour mps backing this without any caveats. without the caveat that was agreed by the executive yesterday on freedom of speech of israel and palestine which felt necessary to protect members' rights to speak out. what was interesting about this vote, it was done to put pressure on the national executive. labour mps decided to hold this bollard before the parliamentary recess but couldn't vote during the recess and have done so at the first opportunity. but the national executive, which was under pressure as move. yesterday they try to have as move. yesterday they try to have a more extensive caveat, saying criticising the foundation of the israeli state would not be seen as anti—semitic. many of the labour national executive at that time felt it seemed to be watering down the international code. there was no majority for that in the room

yesterday so no vote was held. i am now hearing from allies of the labour leader he is likely to bring his statement back to a further meeting of the national executive committee, perhaps the next meeting, perhaps the one after that when more of his own supporters are going to be there. if they vote to keep extensive caveat, then i think we will see the rift between the parliamentary party and the party leadership are widened. that is intriguing because if that course is followed, what would be your reading then of the prospects of drawing a line under this? i think it would be very difficult. it was felt yesterday that most people were happy with the relatively small caveat of protecting ex—freedom of expression. it was expected it would wrap up under half an hour yesterday but it took almost three hours to get that kind of compromise. it was the view of senior shadow cabinet

members that they hope that the whole thing has been settled. but if it is reopened again and if they have a narrow majority on the national executive for it, many people will start hitting, jewish labour mps people will start hitting, jewish labourmps in people will start hitting, jewish labour mps in particular but also given the overwhelming vote by the parliamentary party, very many more atjeremy corbyn's parliamentary party, very many more at jeremy corbyn's mps parliamentary party, very many more atjeremy corbyn's mps are starting to say, you are doing the good work that was done to try to rebuild trust with the widerjewish community, because it is an extensive caveat thatjeremy corbyn wanted. that would force more people in his party to come out and criticise in the run—up to what seems to be a crucial labour conference at the end of this month will show will be agreeing to a lot of changes to the rules in other areas. there is a danger that will be overshadowed by the anti—semitism row which has raged all summer. thank you not thank you very much

for the update. more now on our top story — two russian military intelligence officers have been named today, as suspects in the attempted murder of the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter yulia. the men went by the names alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov although they are believed to be aliases. scotland yard say there is enough evidence to charge them. mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned with the nerve agent novichok, in salisbury in march this year. police have released a timeline of the movements of the suspects. at 3pm on friday, 2nd march, the two suspects arrived at gatwick airport, having flown from moscow on an aeroflot flight. from there, police think the pair travelled by train into london, arriving at victoria station ataround 5.40pm. they then travelled on public transport to waterloo and onwards to the city stay hotel in east london for the night. the pair left the hotel the next morning and took the tube to waterloo station, before getting on a train to salisbury, arriving at about 2.25pm. it's believed that this is when they carried out reconnaissance on the skripals before returning to london.

on sunday they went back to salisbury, when police think they contaminated the front door of the skripals' house with novichok nerve agent. our security correspondent frank gardnerjoins me now. when we went through this statement today, what stood out for you as the things most significant? the most significant moment was when theresa may announced in the commons specifically that they were officers from the gru, not rogue agents acting on their own initiative. the fa ct acting on their own initiative. the fact she is pinning it on an arm of the russian state is very significant. you have only got to hear the gasps from mps in the chamber. that was significant, but this is a very forensic, painstaking investigation by the police. it is important it is done by the police rather than by the government or in

independent investigator. a crime has been committed, someone has died. nerve agent, horrendous chemical that can only be synthetically produced. this isn't something that occurs in the atmosphere or on plants. it is synthetically produced by governments and britain believes it was produced by russia and russia denies it and it has been used in an assassination, effectively. this was assassination, effectively. this was a forensic, blow by blow account that we in the media have been pushing the government to release. it isa pushing the government to release. it is a result of 250 police detectives working in shifts and going through hours and hours of cctv footage and going through the 1400 witness statements. but there isa 1400 witness statements. but there is a parallel investigation going on and that is what the spooks have been up to, the intelligence agencies, mi5, mi6 and gchq. their

job is to find out who ordered this. that i think we'll have led into, andi that i think we'll have led into, and i am assuming here, i have no evidence, but i am assuming it is what led the prime minister to specifically say it is gru. it is russian military intelligence, less famous than the kgb but it does a lot of intelligence, a lot of operations overseas and clearly britain believes they were behind this and america seems to share that view. just to pick up on the status of them, the fact they were not rogues, was that uprising? did you not expect they would be part of an official structure? this isn't my view, we are reporting on what the government is saying. let's have a look at what happened. sergei skripal in russian eyes is a traitor. he served as a gru

intelligence officer in afghanistan alongside other officers. he then betrayed them to mi6. he revealed a list of gru operatives in europe to m16. he list of gru operatives in europe to mi6. he was caught and arrested in 2006, given a lengthy prison sentence. but three years later he was traded in a spy swap with a number of russian spies that america handed over and he came to live quietly in salisbury in vulture. not so quietly in salisbury in vulture. not so quietly it turns out, because he isa so quietly it turns out, because he is a marked man. maybe he was told daily—macro still feeding in what information he had left to mi6, but a nyway information he had left to mi6, but anyway somebody wanted him dead. given the international outcry and the musick risk to russia in terms of sanctions, what would be the thinking in taking the risk on this, was the desire to get rid of him so

big they were prepared to take on the risk of enormous and other economic damage? you asking me to look inside the head of whoever it was ordered this poisoning. i don't know who that is. there is a number of theories. one is, it is a warning to opponents of the russian government. in 2006, russia incorporated into its constitution, a new clause that allows it to go after its opponents anywhere in the world, beyond its national boundaries. it is significant. essentially authorising targeted assassinations of its opponents. that is one possibility. up until now there was an idea it could be road people acting on without any knowledge from above. russian authorities have always discounted that. and elements of groundhog day

because we had alexander litvinenko being assassinated by polonium in 2006. i don't think we are ever, we may never find out who authorised this, who ordered it. what is lacking in this is the actual smoking gun, metaphorically. we don't see somebody actually spraying the stuff and that would absolutely pin these two to it but they will not come out of russia anyhow. thank you very much. let's talk to alistair hay, a professor of environmental toxicology at the university of leeds. professor, thank you for waiting. what for you is the significant new information that we have today, what took your interest? clearly it was the gadget that was used to dispense the gadget that was used to dispense the poison. that is what i found particularly interesting. i found

the police statement incredible. it was a brilliant investigation that has been conducted by the police officers. very forensic, superb piece of work putting it all together. of course, it is hugely revealing to have the information now in the public domain. let's talk about the means of contamination and given what we now know today, does it change your understanding of how things happen? no, what we have now isa things happen? no, what we have now is a clearer picture of how it was probably applied. this little bottle that looked like a perfume bottle, with an adapter that could be used to spray something onto a door handle all of the surface, is clear now. that gives you an indication of how it might have been used and obviously what kind of protection people might have used when they

we re people might have used when they were applying the substance. when we look at the way this investigation will proceed now and there are lots of layers to it, from your particular point of view, what would be the priority now in terms of trying to uncover a little more of the truth of what happened? clearly, what the government would love is for russia to say, yes, we did it. we planned it. that is going to be difficult. the russians are never going to say that and it is going to be impossible to actually find the original source of this. you need to be able to look at the batch and the preparation of the material and where it was made. but what we have got now is a great deal of material, when knitted together, points the finger at these two individuals and the application of this particular substance. novichok agents are and as frank gardiner said, the

production is likely to be by the state because of the purity of the substance. now we know how it was applied and also we can also consider whether there are risks to the public, which i think there are not. professor, good to talk to you and thank you for coming in. an emirates aeroplane travelling from dubai has been quarantined at new york'sjfk airport, after about a hundred passengers reported feeling ill while on board. officials said they examined the 521—person flight after passengers and crew complained of coughing and fifa. ten people have been officially delcared as unwell, and emergency services have transported several people to hospital. britain's first—ever disabled air display team has taken to the skies today. the three pilots were inspired

by the world war two flying ace, sir douglas bader, who flew spitfires despite having no legs. one of the crew, who has been a wheelchair user for 20 years, says learning to fly has been "like the light coming on again". our correspondent duncan kennedy sent this report from blackbushe airport in hampshire. mike, barry and alan. three men who live with disability, but who are all determined to reach for the skies. today, they became britain's first ever disabled air display team, taking off over surrey in a unique triple formation. the fact that you may be disabled, you can achieve great things. barry hobkirk became a paraplegic after a rugby accident, but was determined nothing would stop him getting airborne. from being told in 1990 that i would probably never walk again, and i'd certainly neverfly again, to being in a three ship formation team... yes, ifeel very proud, yes. the three men have been practising for three months, dealing with the stresses of formation flying without the full use of their limbs.

mike wildeman lost the lower part of his leg in a motorbike accident, but says aviation can be an inspiration. at the moment we are flying in training aircraft which have been adapted for a training role here at blackbushe, but eventually we'd like to be flying in aerobatic aeroplanes and doing close aerobatic formation work, just the same as other teams you see on the display circuit. archive: bader: tin legs and iron courage... the team was inspired by sir douglas bader, the world war ii spitfire pilot who flew despite having no legs. he was later shot down and became a pow. today's display involved several complicated manoeuvres. the aircraft feet controls are adapted to help the pilots, each one of which is hoping to send a clear, inclusive message about flying — put into words by alan robinson, who lost part of his leg in a motorbike accident. disabled people, once you get into an aeroplane,

are as able—bodied as anybody else. there are no real limitations. no limitations on ambitions and no limitations on the numbers of disabled people applying to this team. their team disabled people put their names forward to be part of what is going on here. this is believed to be only the second disabled air display team anywhere in the world. the setbacks of physical limitations set aside in the freedom of the skies. the un refugee agency has warned that migrants and asylum seekers crossing the mediterranean now face an even deadlierjourney then they have in the past. in a report out this week, the agency says that while the number of people arriving in europe has fallen significantly, the number of deaths has risen sharply due to traffickers taking greater risks to try and bypass increased surveillance

from the libyan coastguard. khaled hosseini is the best—selling author of the kite runner and is a goodwill ambassador for the un refugee agency. his new book, sea prayer, was inspired by migrantjourneys and tells the story of a father telling his young son the stories of his childhood in syria as they wait for a boat to take them across the sea in search of a new life. all proceeds from the book are going towards assisting refugees and vulnerable people. very nice and a great honour to have you in the studio. before i start, i should share with viewers, a very distressing image from three years ago. this is in and the images of

the three—year—old boy being held by the three—year—old boy being held by the rescuer whose body was washed up on the shores following one of these dreadful crossings. i think it is fairto dreadful crossings. i think it is fair to say that this really prompted your creative process in producing see prayer, so where did this come from? i, like millions of people around the world, when i saw those photographs of this young boy lying dead on the beach and his body being picked up by somebody who did know him, did know his name, didn't know him, did know his name, didn't know the sound of his voice, didn't know the sound of his voice, didn't know what his laughter sounded like, i was gutted. i am a father, i have a son and a daughter and when i saw those photographs, i couldn't help but feel bludgeoned to think what the nightmare his father must be going through. that was the impetus for me. i always wanted to do a story around refugees and migrants

who are taking these desperate journeys across the sea. so sea prayer was inspired by that tragedy. it isn't about him, but it is about the thousands of others who have made the same agonising choices and thousands of them have perished and gone missing at sea since the little boy's drowning. so it is a reminder or something that is calling attention, you call it a prayer, but what is the purpose of the prayer, what is the purpose of the prayer, what are you asking people to reflect on when they read the book? it is the third anniversary of the tragedy and there is a report called the desperate journey. tragedy and there is a report called the desperatejourney. it tragedy and there is a report called the desperate journey. it alludes to the desperate journey. it alludes to the numbers of refugees and migrants coming to european shores have decreased. the journey is coming to european shores have decreased. thejourney is more lethal than ever. the story hasn't ended, people are still being driven from their homes by war, terror and by persecution and people are still

dying at sea, for a little more than a measure of sanctuary and dignity. so this book is to pay tribute to these people but also to remind everybody of the collective outrage we felt and the indignation we felt when we saw those photographs and to remind everybody there is much more to be done. if your many fans across the world are expecting a novel, as they have enjoyed in the past, that is not sea prayer, is it? your concept is very different? this is not a full—length novel, it is a short, illustrated book. it is beautifully illustrated by the artist, dan williams. i am deeply indebted to him for his gorgeous illustrations. it really speaks very poetically to the plight of this father and his son and those images just elevate the words to an emotional level. i'm trying to get

to the impact of the book cos there are all kinds of dimensions, political, economical and cultural quy political, economical and cultural guy mentions. when you were writing, where you aware people would draw conclusions about what you are saying, the attitudes of governments, where ever they are two levels of immigration and the refugee crisis, as we saw it. are you trying to fold in a message of that kind as well? they're all those dimensions you mention. but as a writer, the most important thing is the human and i mention. what i want the human and i mention. what i want the readers of this book to do, imagined themselves being in the shoes of this man in the book. what would it take you to abandon lands, property, home, possessions and your roots, the foundational structures of your life, take your life savings and take this journey to the seat knowing along the way you could be

detained, extorted, beaten and raped and then pay the smugglers, who have no regard for human life whose business pivots on human struggle and pain. then set out on the open sea, sometimes for days in the pitch black, all for an uncertain future, not knowing if you will make it alive. nobody makes this choice lightly, it is appalling. these boats are vessels of desperation and the things that drive the people into them are often existential in nature. we are seeing some images now families who have come in recent yea rs now families who have come in recent years and their condition is desperate. i am years and their condition is desperate. iam bound years and their condition is desperate. i am bound to put a tube, pa rt desperate. i am bound to put a tube, part of the debate, certainly in terms of european politics has been to do with questioning whether people need to come, questioning the refugee status, questioning whether they need to undertake the journey. and when you mention tragedies like

this, in some cases the response has been, they shouldn't have come in the first place. is this an answer, a reminder to people but you don't undertake these risks and less you are absolutely desperate to do so? yes, the fact is most of them don't come here. the vast majority of refugees are not coming to the uk, germany, italy, the us or canada, they live in neighbouring countries centring around their own birthplace, uganda where there are over1 million south sudanese refugees. my fellow afghans lived in pakistan for decades. in lebanon, one out of six people is a syrian refugee. 85% of refugees live in those developing, neighbouring nations. less than 1% of refugees are settled nations. less than 1% of refugees a re settled everywhere nations. less than 1% of refugees are settled everywhere else and the vast majority of them have a deep desire to return home. your family,

ifiam desire to return home. your family, if i am correct, went to america in 1980 after the russian invasion of afghanistan. you have had a great life in california, i think? do you reflect on the fact that political and cultural attitudes have changed in the state towards immigrants and refugees in the past three years? is that something you think is valid?|j that something you think is valid?” think it is a fair question. i have not only had a personal collection to the experience of being displaced but also the leadership the us brings a row for this issue. i am a living example the american story has been, in many ways, about opening doors, about reuniting families. so i have seen first—hand what happens families are disrupted. it is great to talk to you, i am sorry our time is up. now it is time

are named as the main suspects. ruslan boshirov and alexander petrov flew from moscow to london in march. they're accused of attempting to murder a former russian spy and his daughter. police have caught them on cctv in london and salisbury after trawling through 11,000 hours of footage. this was not a rogue operation. it was almost certainly also approved outside the gru at a senior level of the russian state. iam i am live in salisbury looking at how the police identified the suspects. we'll have the latest reaction from moscow as well. also tonight... we are three friends, we're also bloggers, we all have one thing in common — we all have or have had cancer.