international support for britain over the novichok investigation — as the us, france, germany and canada agree that russia was almost certainly behind the poisoning. britain's ambassador to the un says two russian military intelligence officers carried out the nerve agent attack, but russia says it's all been invented. they tried to murder the skripals. they played dice with the lives of the people of salisbury. they work in a parallel universe, where the normal rules of international affairs are inverted. translation: london needs this story forjust one purpose. to unleash a disgusting anti—russian hysteria, and to involve other countries in this hysteria. we'll have the latest from the united nations in new york. also on the programme tonight: an inquest finds that neglect by a leading children's hospital led to the death of this toddler, who was left waiting days for emergency surgery.

some of donald trump's closest aides line up to say they weren't behind the anonymous article by an insider which has slammed his presidency. the government scraps a planned tax cut for almost three million self—employed workers. british airways says it's investigating the theft of customer data from its website and mobile app, affecting hundreds of thousands of customers. and the hollywood star burt reynolds has died, at the age of 82. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news: wales go in search of revenge on the republic of ireland in the nations league, for ryan giggs' first competitive game in charge. good evening.

world leaders have backed the uk over its assessment that the salisbury novichok attack was carried out by officers from russian military intelligence. the us, france, germany and canada all agreed that the russian government ‘almost certainly‘ approved the poisoning of former spy sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia, in march. this afternoon, the british ambassador to the united nations, karen pierce, laid out the case against russia — prompting a furious response from her russian counterpart, who accused the british government of ‘disgusting, anti—russian hysteria‘. our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports. these are the pictures the government believes show russia‘s responsibility for the first use of chemical weapons on european soil in decades. two russian military intelligence officers — alias alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov —

flying to britain in march, taking the train to salisbury, laying a trail of deadly nerve agent on orders ministers say from the very top. all of which british diplomats in new york said was reckless and malign behaviour by one of the five permanent members of the united nations security council. i p5 member has undertaken a pattern of behaviour which showed they tried to murder the skripals, they played dice with the lives of the people of salisbury. they work in a parallel universe where the normal rules of international fair are inverted. russia insisted its military organisation had nothing to do with the attack or president putin. the russian ambassador said the allegations were unfounded and mendacious. translation: the russian federation categorically rejects all unfounded

accusations regarding its involvement in poisoning with toxic chemicals. london needs this story forjust one chemicals. london needs this story for just one purpose. chemicals. london needs this story forjust one purpose. to unleash a disgusting anti—russian hysteria. today, the leaders of britain‘s closest allies, the us, france, and canada,issued closest allies, the us, france, and canada, issued a statement expressing theirfull canada, issued a statement expressing their full confidence that the operation was almost certainly approved at a senior level in russia and they agreed to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on their territories. we will respond robustly when our security is threatened. dambuster called for greater use of sanctions or the chemical weapons convention to be strengthened, and more powers for international authorities to name and shame countries that use nerve agents. and around the table, there was some support. today, our british friends and

colleagues are providing us with a masterclass on how to stop the spread of chemical weapons. they are creating accountability for those who use chemical agents in providing vital support for the international i'ioi’iti vital support for the international norm against the use of these deadly illegal weapons. the question for the foreign office here is, can all this diplomatic support be translated into real action against russia, such as sanctions? that is unlikely to come from the united nations where russia has a veto so the uk will have to rely on the eu, and the problem is that some european allies are relu cta nt to that some european allies are reluctant to antagonise russia. so this will be a real test of british diplomacy and european unity. an inquest into the death of a toddler who‘d waited days for emergency surgery has found "gross failure" in his care at the royal manchester children‘s hospital. the coroner ruled that the 20 months old child died

in april 2016 of natural causes "contributed to by neglect". the hospital has apologised unreservedly. our health editor, hugh pym, sent this report from manchester. the thing that i miss the most is going home and not hearing him. he‘d shout "nana" or "grandad" the minute you walked in the door because we‘d been at work all day. julie expected her grandson kayden would have a straightforward operation for a chest hernia at one of the country‘s most prestigious children‘s hospitals. but he never came home, after a series of delays and failings with his care. the pain that he was in was horrendous. you know, you picked him up, you‘d nurse him, he‘d literally be climbing over your shoulder because he was in that much pain. and you couldn‘t calm him down. when that pain hit, it was horrendous for him. kayden should have had his operation at royal manchester within 2a hours, but it hadn‘t happened after four days. he went into cardiac arrest and never recovered. his family were left with no choice. life support had to be turned off. the coroner, angharad davies, said at the hospital

there were deficiencies in handovers between consultants and in the way patients needing urgent operations were managed. she said there were difficulties with the culture, which sometimes allowed routine surgery to be prioritised over urgent operations. the coroner ruled neglect had contributed to kayden‘s death — highly significant, according to lawyers for his mother shannon and his grandmother. it's very surprising that a trust of that size, with those resources and that reputation, could have had failings that were considered to be so gross so as to constitute neglect. the trust has apologised to the family and said it‘s made changes. how could a series of these tragic errors have happened at a leading children‘s hospital like yours? when any incident like this happens, it's critical to look at all the different processes that might have contributed to that, and it's important for us to learn from those circumstances and put in place the actions that prevent those things happening again.

he passed away on shannon when they turned the machines off. and then i took him off shannon and... they took all his tubes out and i washed him and put him into his pyjamas. because i didn‘t want them doing it. it must have been a horrendous decision to make at that point on that sunday? it was. it was the worst thing ever. for kayden‘s family, today‘s ruling at least recognises the full extent of the failings of the hospital which let him down. hugh pym, bbc news, manchester. urgent action is being taken against shrewsbury and telford hospital trust by the regulator, the care quality commission. it follows an unannounced inspection a week ago which revealed widespread concerns about the quality of patient care and safety. the trust was already under investigation for a cluster of baby deaths in its maternity services. our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, is in telford for us this evening. michael.

a&e problems are often driven by unprecedented demand, the problem here is an inability to hire enough staff to cope with predicted demand. there are not enough consultants and junior doctors so inspectors found high dependency unit with no staff at one point. staff are also complaining that too many patients we re complaining that too many patients were being treated in an undignified manner. the trust say they are working hard to ensure the right procedures are in place but, as you say, this is just procedures are in place but, as you say, this isjust after they procedures are in place but, as you say, this is just after they are trying to cope with a growing and deepening scandal of errors in its maternity department and allegations that the numbers of babies died because of those mistakes. —— number of babies. the care quality commission have issued a warning to another west midlands trust today, the dudley group of been told their a&e department is not good enough and questions have been raised over the number of deaths at that trust.

again, they‘ll say —— they say they are working hard to improve conditions. thank you. many of president trump‘s closest aides have publicly denied being the author of an anonymous article — apparently written by an insider — which describes how staff are secretly ignoring mr trump‘s orders. the author says members of the administration are trying to counter the president‘s ‘recklessness‘ and protect the country from his ‘worst inclinations‘. our north america correspondent, nick bryant, reports. this american stately home is now the scene of a dramatic washington whodunnit. which administration official was in the new york times with an article stabbing the president in the back? the anonymous editorial claims some trump appointees are working diligently to frustrate parts of his agenda, that he is impetuous, adversarial, petty, ineffective, anti—democratic, that his presidency is defined by amorality. god bless you and thank you, mr president. the article struck washington like a lightning bolt and shortly afterwards, at a meeting with american sheriffs, the president delivered his unsmiling response.

if the failing new york times has an anonymous editorial — can you believe it? — anonymous, meaning gutless, a gutless editorial, we‘re doing a greatjob. the poll numbers are through the roof, our poll numbers are great, and guess what? nobody is going to come close to beating me in 2020. so thank you very much, i appreciate it. the white house issued a statement calling for the "coward" who wrote the article to resign. the president demanded that the new york times turn him or her over to the government for national security purposes. there was also this one—word tweet written in capital letters, asking — treason? with the rumour mill in overdrive, even the vice—president had to issue a denial, saying — it wasn‘t me. anyone who would write an anonymous editorial, smearing this president, who has provided extraordinary

leadership for this country, should not be working for this administration. they ought to do the honourable thing and they ought to resign. but, look, the bottom line is the american people see through all of this. but the article reinforces the central narrative in this explosive new book from bob woodward — that administration officials are trying to protect the american people from america‘s elected leader. so who — of all the president‘s men and women — make up this quiet resistance? with more than 20 cabinet officials issuing denials, it remains washington‘s great unanswered question. for critics of the president, this article offers proof of a white house in chaos. for his supporters, it backs up his fervent claim that the political establishment and liberal media is out to get him. that what he calls the "deep state" is trying to subvert his presidency. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. the government has abandoned plans to cut taxes for three million self—employed workers. the treasury had announced two years

ago that it would scrap some national insurance contributions. our political correspondent, alex forsyth, is in westminster. so, why do you turn? this was a tax cut first announcement just by george osborne but it was delayed and now it has been scrapped altogether. this was because the plan to abolish a class of national insurance contributions which would have seen 3 million workers pay £150 a year less, that by abolishing that class, it would have pushed some of the lowest earners into a higher class meaning they would have had to pay more. the treasury could not find a way to make that fair and so it has ditched the plan. this is not the first time the chancellor has had to go back on a proposed change to the tax system for the self—employed, he did so when he found himself in political hot water after last year‘s budget. labour says the government should not promised things they cannot deliver

and has accused them of betraying the self—employed. and has accused them of betraying the self-employed. thank you. 11 million people could save around £75 a year after the regulator announced plans to cap some energy bills. ofgem‘s proposals will affect customers on a standard variable tariff — as our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, reports. pick any crowd of people. this is st albans market, in hertfordshire, and it‘s likely that nearly half of them are on the most expensive gas and electricity rates their suppliers have on offer. liz, who cares for three special needs children, is on the costly standard variable tariff — the one now being capped — and she‘s just had a £30—a—month increase. things like energy are just... you know, itjust keeps going up and up and up. what do you think about capping energy prices? erm, i think it‘s a brilliant idea, if they set it at a reasonable level. any bill that comes in is sickening. but, you know, we‘re a typical st albans middle—class family and yet we don‘t turn the heating on in the winter. the cap will save liz money. the problem is, it can vary upwards.

the price cap that already exists for people on prepayment meters — that went up by £57 for the average gas and electricity bill in april. and it‘s going up again in october. it'll be £1,136. which is what happens if you have a variable price cap. the new wider price cap starts at the same level for typical usage but, beware, it can be pushed up as well. we can't control what it costs to produce energy, but what we can assure any family is that they'll pay a fair price. that if costs rise or if costs fall, the price cap will adjust transparently and automatically to reflect those underlying costs. the biggest saving from the new cap — more than £121 a year, on average — will be for scottishpower‘s standard rate customers. next is £94, with npower.

and a typical £69 saving with british gas. suppliers warn the impact could be that other deals start costing more. the risk is that companies have to put their prices up to cover this across—the—board. my flip side argument though is, actually, that‘s why we need to maintain competition — so you force those prices down via competition, not via market intervention. but competition, people switching energy suppliers, isn‘t heating up enough. that‘s why we‘re getting a price cap. simon gompertz, bbc news, st albans. british airways says it‘s investigating the theft of customer data from its website and mobile app. it says personal and financial details were compromised between august 21st and last night, but the stolen data did not include travel or passport details. our correspondent sarah campbell is here. it involves hundreds of thousands of transactions doesn‘t it? potentially anybody who has booked a

holiday or flight in those two dates but the last two weeks, either on the website or the mobile app could be affected and bar calling it eight investigate the theft and criminal act they became aware of last night -- ba act they became aware of last night —— ba are calling it. they said many ca rd —— ba are calling it. they said many card payments could of been compromised. e—mailed by going out to ba customers come there is a national newspaper ad campaign fund for tomorrow and the message is to anybody who thinks they might be affected to contact your bank and contact your credit card provider and follow the advice. they say the problem has been resolved and the website is fully functioning again all stop the police have been contacted and this evening their chief executive has apologised to customers for the disruption. sarah, thank you. india‘s supreme court has ruled that being gay is no

longer a criminal offence. the historic decision reverses a colonial—era law that categorised homosexuality as an ‘unnatural offence‘. our correspondent, divya ayra, reports. it‘s a wave of relief. the end of two decades of legal struggle to take out a victorian law that made gay sex criminal. the court struck off the law and said it was a weapon for the harassment of india‘s lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community. two consenting adults has sex of any type, in private. if there is consent and it is in private, it will not be an offence under 377. i haven't come out to my parents so i'm going to do that! it is a huge turn of events and i didn't expect, like, the whole... ijust came here to listen to whatever the verdict was and now i'm out! the colonial—era law known

as section 377 categorised gay sex as an unnatural offence and was decriminalised in 2009. only to be made criminal again in 2013 after an appeal. in its finaljudgment, the supreme court has now said that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of fundamental rights. the rain clearly hasn‘t dampened the spirits here. they all want to soak in the moment and celebrate their freedom. the 157—year—old colonial law meant there was a sense of fear and it pushed many into the closet. but today they are out and proud. activists say there is a tough battle of social stigma and homophobia still to be fought. it will take a lot of time. we have to fight the stigma in our home, in the neighbourhood, the friends circle, in offices.

i mean, it‘s a long battle. this victory came after a long legal fight with religious groups and the government and it‘s only the beginning. now, they dare to dream of the right to marry, adopt and inherit property, just like heterosexuals. divya ayra, bbc news, delhi. britain and other european nations have tonight voiced they‘re "deeply concerned" at the prospect ofjoint russian and syrian military action in the syrian region of idlib. the last rebel—held province, which is also home to violent jihadists, has a population of nearly three million people. many have fled there from parts of the country previously held by rebels. the un says as many as 800,000 people could be displaced?and warned that an attack on idlib "has the potential to create a humanitarian emergency on a scale not yet seen". with the border to turkey closed, it‘s feared civilians could be trapped.

tomorrow, key talks will be held between russia, turkey?and iran. our middle east correspondent quentin somerville reports. the world for abu ibrahim‘s family just keeps getting smaller. nine of them have two rooms, in a building shared with 60 families. for those opposed to bashar al—assad, idlib is the last refuge. and now it, and abu ibrahim‘s family, are under threat. translation: turkey has closed its border and people trying to cross are getting hit by snipers. i'm worried about my children. and there is no place to go. it's very difficult to move and run with children when the bombing is happening. turkey and other routes are closed. we are trapped here. the battle proper for idlib hasn‘t begun yet, but in al—tamanah to the south, they‘re getting a taste of what‘s to come. tens of thousands of regime forces are standing by, along with dozens of russian and regime aircraft. the un has warned that

in this cruellest of wars, idlib will be the perfect storm. the population of the province has doubled, as the opposition and islamists took refuge from a regime on a victory roll. on the streets of idlib city, they‘re expecting the worst. translation: people are afraid of chemical weapons like chlorine or sarin, but in god‘s will, we are prepared for them. rebel groups are digging in. this is the turkish—aligned faylaq al—sham. translation: we've been preparing and digging trenches, giving our soldiers extra training on all kinds of weapons. we're prepared to defend our territory against the regime and the russian invaders. as faylaq‘s fighters man the defences, russia says it‘s got its eyes on other rebels — hts nusra, the al-qaeda linked jihadists that control much of the province. moscow is promising to liquidate them. but syria‘s conflict isn‘t just a war of armies,

it‘s a war on people. there are more than two and a half million trapped here. atma camp for the displaced stretches from the turkish border to the horizon. there‘s no room for more people and there‘s no escape. the fate of the last fight in syria‘s civil war appears set before it begins. rebel idlib may be the battle already lost. quentin somerville, bbc news, beirut. members of the northern ireland assembly will have their pay cut by about a third because they‘re not carrying out their full duties. there‘s been no devolved government since power—sharing collapsed in january last year. our ireland correspondent, emma vardy, reports. sightseeing. free stormont tours until 3pm. stormont still draws the crowds, even if the political parties stay away. there‘s been no sitting assembly here for more

than a year and a half. but elected members have continued to receive their salaries. today the secretary of state at westminster decided the time had come for that to change. people should only be remunerated for the work that they‘re doing. they quite clearly cannot be doing any work while we have the situation we do in stormont, although they are working for their constituents. so, how much has been paid out while stormont has been suspended? for the last financial year, more than £4.5 million was paid in salaries to members of the northern ireland assembly. their basic salary isjust under £50,000. today‘s announcement would bring that figure down tojust under £36,000. the stalemate has continued because northern ireland‘s two largest parties, the dup and sinn fein, have failed to restore power—sharing despite many rounds of talks. that every mla has been punished as a result of the failure of one party, sinn fein, to actually enter the assembly without preconditions is, i think, a tragedy. sinn fein denies it‘s the party that is prolonging the deadlock. it says hitting politicians

in the pocket is long overdue. we argued for a mla pay cut a long time back. it wasn't our responsibility she'd refused to act on that. you'd have to ask those who held her back. and what we want to see is the institutions restored. today karen bradley also ruled out calling another snap assembly election. so, for many voters, it‘s that cut in pay they hope will focus the politicians‘ minds, because the longer this impasse continues, the more public services and people are suffering. it might give them an idea of, just a doublethink of what‘s going on. will it encourage them to get back into government? probably not. why‘s that? ijust think there's too much bad blood between them. sightseeing tours! it‘s likely to take more than today‘s intervention if stormont is to be anything other than a tourist attraction. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. a ugandan politician who says he was tortured by the military after criticising the ugandan

government has vowed to return to his country after receiving medical treatment for his injuries in america. the mp and former popstar bobi wine, who was released on bail in uganda last week, flew straight to washington. he‘s been a staunch critic of president museveni, who‘s led the country for more than 30 years. uganda‘s government denies bobi wine was tortured and insists he should return to uganda to face trial for treason. from the country‘s capital, kampala, our africa editor, fergal keane, sent this report. uganda has one of the youngest populations in the world. # we are fighting for freedom... many now inspired by the music of this man. bobi wine has gone from the ghetto to parliament, from singer to mp. a leading figure in a younger generation of africans that is energetic, social media savvy, and seeking change across the continent. but bobi wine‘s activism has had a high price. in recent weeks he‘s been arrested,

severely tortured, he alleges, and now forced to leave uganda for medical treatment in america where he has spoken to the bbc. i am going to continue the fight for freedom, and it is the fight that we must either win or die trying. back in kampala, his message resonates strongly with the young. # we‘re busting to the next generation! we went to bobi wine‘s studio where young artists believe that 30 years of one leader in power can be brought to an end. i have a very, very big hope in me that we can change, we can change, we can make a very big change. but in the uganda of president museveni, that is optimistic. he calls the opposition terrorists and hooligans and rejects allegations of torture. these images an example of the brutality that can be meted out by his police and army, an army that has had peacekeeping

training from britain. betty nambooze is an opposition mp who has suffered for challenging the president. her spine was fractured after she was attacked inside parliament by what she calls the full muscle of the state. sometimes ijust find myself crying because that muscle... it‘s so bad to have all the institutions of government working against you. it‘s one of the worst conditions a human being will everface. this monument is a mass grave. it's one of the many mass graves... but the ruling party does notjust depend on an iron fist or powers of patronage. an older generation remembers terror and massacre under leaders like idi amin and milton obote. party chiefs tell them that president museveni is the guarantor of stability. they are afraid the country may slip back to those bad days where there was anarchy. there was no government. we had a president

but life was not easy. it was like running every day, people dying every day. # this is a message to the government... so what‘s likely to happen in the battle between the hero of the ghetto and the president? the challenge to president museveni from the younger generation is significant but he has outmanoeuvred and defeated his opponents and right now, here, it does not feel there is any serious threat to his grip on power. fergal keane, bbc news, kampala. football now and wales were in action against ireland on the opening night of the uefa nations league, a new competition which aims to make international matches more meaningful. the welsh ran out easy winnners by four goals to one. the pick of the goals was this stunning strike from the edge of the area by gareth bale. the hollywood actor burt reynolds has died at the age of 82.

he shot to fame in deliverance and starred in films like smokey and the bandit, boogie nights and the cannonball run. he died in hospital in florida after suffering a heart attack. his family described him as notjust a tough movie icon, but a generous, passionate and sensitive man. from los angeles, james cook reports. i thought they'd surely kill us. whatever. whatever, sure. burt reynolds, in deliverance, taking on the wilderness and its murderous inhabitants — the embodiment of the macho american. bring it out! all right, i got it straight. oh, my god! he even did his own stunts, despite nearly drowning filming this.