the two russians named as suspects in the salisbury nerve agent attack appear on state tv to say that they were just tourists. the men say they work in fitness, not military intelligence — and weren't involved in the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. translation: ourfriends had been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful town. salisbury, a wonderful town? there's the famous salisbury cathedral, famous not only in europe, but in the whole world. i don't think any of their interview is plausible. i've watched it a couple of times now, and i think if i was their defence lawyer, my advice to them would be, "keep quiet". the government's accused russia of responding with "obfuscation and lies". also tonight... mobiles, travel and driving abroad — there could be big changes for the british if there's no deal on brexit, says the government. the boyfriend of the romanian tourist who died after being knocked into the thames during the westminster terror attack tells the inquest how he almost jumped in to find her. you're not really that normal kid no more, you're just that young carer. almost a million children are acting

as carers in england — far more than previously thought, according to new research. and the hurricane bearing down on the east coast of america amid warnings it will bring catastrophic flooding. and coming up on bbc news, not out — surrey‘s wait is over. they win the county championship for the first time in 16 years. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the two men named as suspects in the salisbury nerve agent attack have appeared on russian state television and denied being involved. the men, who identified themselves as alexander petrov and ruslan boshirov, dismissed british claims that they were intelligence

officers, insisting instead that they work in the fitness industry. they said they'd taken a short break in the uk to visit the world—famous salisbury cathedral. from moscow, sarah rainsford reports. speaking out for the first time, the two russians accused of the deadly nerve agent attack in salisbury. today, they appeared on programming television to declare their innocence. translation: our friends had been suggesting for a long time that we visit this wonderful city. they do resemble the two men identified by british police, but they deny they are russian intelligence agents. asked what they we re intelligence agents. asked what they were doing in salisbury, they came up were doing in salisbury, they came up with this. translation: it's a tourist city. they have a famous cathedral there am a salisbury cathedral. it's famous throughout europe and around the world, i think. it's famous for its 123

metres by. it's famous for its clock. it's the oldest working clock in the world. the men claim they we re in the world. the men claim they were so in the world. the men claim they were so keen to in the world. the men claim they were so keen to see in the world. the men claim they were so keen to see the sights that they made two trips here in two days. the weather was so bad that they came back. british police believe the first visit was actually a recce for the attack. so did they visit the house where sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned? translation: maybe we passed it or maybe we didn't. i never heard about them before this nightmare started. i never heard this name before. i didn't know anything about them. from the start, the kremlin has dismissed the accusations coming from london as lies. officials here have called the whole affair absurd, a soap opera. now these two men are being presented as definitive proof of that, however implausible of their own story actually sounds. the skripal ‘s survived the poisoning, but dawn sturgess died after spring

novichok from a perfume bottle her boyfriend had found. police believe thatis boyfriend had found. police believe that is how the nerve agent was brought to britain. translation: when you go through customs, they check all your belongings, so if we had only thing suspicious, any police officer would have questions. why would a man have women's perfume in his luggage? accused by britain, the men now claim they are worried for their lives. they even demand an apology. the but disappearance was carefully controlled. the suspects who had vanished suddenly appeared for the state tv camera. so the russians say they were just tourists here for a weekend, staying in east london for two nights. they visited salisbury twice — on saturday and sunday — around two hours each time. duncan kennedy is in salisbury. the two russians claim they came here to salisbury to see the famous

cathedral. they claimed they were tourists, but the british government has today described that as ridiculous and said the real reason they came here was to murder sergei skripal. we have been trying to piece together their movements during the time they spent here in the city to see if the russian story stands up. the two russians agree they did travel to salisbury station on saturday march the 3rd, but they say they only spent one hour and 46 minutes in the city because it was snowing. the men say they then returned to london. the police hearsay that their first visit here to salisbury was in fact a reconnaissance mission. the next day, sunday the 4th of march, the two men returned to salisbury, arriving at 11.40 eight. again, there is no dispute with the british version. but this is where timings become crucial. from the station, they say they visited the cathedral in the city centre. so what were

they doing on the outskirts of salisbury at wilton road, close to sergei skripal‘s home? they arrive at this petrol station on wilton road at 11.58, even though it is not near any of the monuments they came to see. and crucially, say the police, it is just a short distance from this petrol station to sergei skripal‘s house just up there. in fa ct, skripal‘s house just up there. in fact, it took us just two minutes to walk from that petrol station here to sergei skripal‘s house. the russians say they were never here, that they only came as tourists to see salisbury cathedral. yet here at the cathedral, there doesn't seem to be any cctv footage of them to back up be any cctv footage of them to back up their claims. and not only that. just look again at the photographic evidence and the timings in all of this. remember that we saw them at the petrol station at 11.58 was make their necks photographed in the city centre at 13.05, heading towards the

train station to leave salisbury, a total of just one hour train station to leave salisbury, a total ofjust one hour and seven minutes. yet in that one hour and seven minutes, apparently going by foot, the men managed to get into the city centre, visit the cathedral and takea the city centre, visit the cathedral and take a series of photographs. just over one hour in a city they had flown all the way from moscow to see. i don't think any of their interview is plausible. i have watched it a couple of times now, andi watched it a couple of times now, and i think if i was their defence lawyer, my advice to them would be, keep quiet and wait till a trial, when your alibi will be tested by oui’ when your alibi will be tested by our evidence. but with the russian government denials of any involvement in the nerve agent attack, the chances of a trial in britain are minimal. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in salisbury. well, our security correspondent gordon corera is here. that interview provoked a lot of raised eyebrows. that's right. a lot

of people will have to make up their own minds. but the official line from the police is that this interview is offensive and insulting to the victims, but i think they are actually relieved of that, because they're feeling is that set against they're feeling is that set against the cctv and the evidence that was laid out last week, this will not convince people. it raises more questions than answers. the plausibility of why they came to salisbury to see the 123 metres by, the of why their movements on a particular day, cctv showed them going away from the tourist sites and towards the skripals' house. and the questions of their identities. britain still believes these worse usernames for russian intelligence officers, and it was notable in the interview that they don't really go into detail about their business or their background. i think people will start to look and question how strong their legends are, in some by parlance, they're strong their legends are, in some by parlance, they‘ re back strong their legends are, in some by parlance, they're back stories about who they are. so for those reasons from the british government, this interview will have done little good for the russian case at all. gordon

corera, thank you. british drivers may have to get an international driving permit to drive on the continent if no deal is reached in the brexit negotiations before next march. the warning comes in papers published by the government to help businesses and consumers plan for life outside the eu. and there's no guarantee that free mobile phone roaming in the eu will remain the same. the prime minister has been holding a cabinet meeting to discuss the latest preparations, as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. sending a message across the continent, making a call, hiring a car. if there is no deal between the uk and the eu, free and easy becomes costly a nd uk and the eu, free and easy becomes costly and hard. the brexit secretary hopes the government has it under control. we would face short—term risks and short—term disruption. what we need to have in place and what people would expect us place and what people would expect us to have in place is a set of plans and proposals and a readiness amongst our institutional capacity for staff and government to manage those risks, avoid them were possible, or mitigate them. that is

what we are confident that we have got. no dealwould mean a lot what we are confident that we have got. no deal would mean a lot of hassle and potentially cost for a lot of people. there is no guarantee you would be able to use your mobile abroad without huge bills, even though the government says they would cap roaming charges. if you are on the road in europe, you might need to get an international driving licence. and if you want to go to the consulate at all, —— if you want to go to the continent at all, you might need to make sure you have six months might need to make sure you have six m o nths left might need to make sure you have six months left on your passport or you might not be able to travel at all. the brexit secretary presented there is no deal plans to his colleagues this morning. he didn't emerge for three and a half hours, a flavour of how much there is to worry about. today's meeting was about making sure we are prepared for all eventualities, and it was very successful. the cabinet afterwards, striving to find reasons to be cheerful. we are working towards a good deal and we expect to get one. the bank of england governor slipping out of the back after taking part too. he and other governments know that no deal would

be much more than holiday hassles. the french foreign minister said planes could be grounded, trains not able to go. if we do nothing and if we reach no agreement, this is what would happen. and even without a deal, we would still have to pay. not a penny more than maastricht legal obligations, but what that would not be would be a set out in the withdrawal agreement which didn't then get signed. —— not a penny more than our strict legal obligations. but given the figure we are excited to pay if there is a deal, 40 billion, can you tell the public what we might expect if there isn't a deal? i am going to put a figure on it. but for our viewers, why can't you tell them how much we would pay if there is a deal when we didn't know if there is a deal, when you can't say how much it would be if there isn't a deal? well, we would pay our strict legal obligations. cos laity that into a

some might need it to go to arbitration. can you see there being arbitration. can you see there being a deal if the eu doesn't modify its position on northern ireland? we can't see an agreement that threatens the integrity of the united kingdom. through our proposals, we have shown ambition and pragmatism. if the eu meat is halfway, we do the deal. and do you expect them therefore to shift their language, their attitude on northern ireland? language, their attitude on northern ireland ? sounds like language, their attitude on northern ireland? sounds like you do. there will have to be a shift across the board in the eu's approach and they will have to meet us halfway. labour says no deal would be a crisis of the tories‘ own making. unlikely, perhaps, but a journey few want to make. and today's plans are not the last of the government's no deal scenarios. the consequences in the short—term could be drastic. a no deal right now, it's important to say, is not what the government is aiming for. most people in

westminster think there will be an arrangement of some sort. but there are two ways it might happen if the prime minister is unable to meet the european union halfway in the negotiations, the talks could fail. or it could be that she comes back with her deal and brings it to the house of parliament and a majority of mps decide to reject what she puts on the table. again, that is not the most likely outcome, is the consensus around here. but so much is febrile in westminster at the moment, there is so much turmoil, that the government can't be sure they will be able to keep the lid on pandora's box. laura kuenssberg in westminster, thank you. profits at the john lewis partnership fell dramatically to almost nothing in the six months tojuly. they were down 99% on the previous year. the group, which includes the department stores and waitrose supermarkets, made a profit ofjust 1.2 million. the company said its price—matching strategy had been severely tested by discounts elsewhere. a tourist has described how he almostjumped into the thames

after the westminster terror attack to find his girlfriend who'd been hit by khalid masood's car. the couple from romania had been taking photos on the bridge when the attack happened. andreea cristea was thrown into the air and ended up in the river. she died two weeks later from her injuries. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford reports from the old bailey. andrei burnaz was himself injured during the westminster bridge attack last year but today, grim—faced, he had to give evidence in the inquest into the death of his girlfriend, andreea cristea. on holiday from romania, they'd been to visit westminster abbey and were heading over the bridge when khalid masood's 4x4 drove into them at speed. "after the vehicle passed, i looked on the left side of me to search for andreea but i couldn't see her," he told the court. "i started searching for andreea and i started running over the bridge." michael brown was driving past as it happened and saw what andrei hadn't. andreea had been knocked

clean over the parapet. "she went about ten feet in the air," he told the inquest, "and as she came down, she went straight into the thames." michael brown told the inquest that he rushed to his van, got his phone and dialled 999, then looked over the edge of the bridge, where he saw andreea lying face down in the water. he immediately shouted to get the attention of the captain of a nearby passenger boat. the millennium diamond reacted quickly, with captain gordon markley using a boat hook to stop andreea floating away. about five minutes after she fell in, a london fire brigade boat, the fire flash, managed to get her out of the water still alive. today ,gordon markley and his colleague danny cooper from the passenger ship, both in dark glasses, were asked by andreea's family's lawyers if they couldn't have pulled her out more quickly, but they said they thought she was dead and that they'd done what they could. andreea cristea died in hospital two weeks later. a doctor said today he didn't know if her long time in the water had worsened her chance of survival.

she also had a fractured skull. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey. the time isjust after quarter past six. our top story this evening: the two russians accused of the novichok poisonings claim they're just tourists who wanted to see salisbury cathedral. iam i am live in north carolina where the waters are starting to rise and the waters are starting to rise and the winds are starting to strengthen as people prepare for the full force of hurricane florence. coming up for you on sportsday on bbc news, the british rider simon yates holds onto his lead in the vuelta a espana as he attempts to win the tour of spain. the number of children in england who are having to act as carers for someone at home is much higher than previously thought, according to research carried out by the bbc with the university of nottingham. the report shows one in five young

people aged between 11 and 16 consider themselves to be a carer, helping to look after someone at home with an illness or disability. it means that more than 800,000 children are providing some level of care to family members or siblings. our special correspondent ed thomas has been to meet three children, whose families depend on them for everyday living. nobody knows how many times you saved me. young and loyal. in all this chaos, he's a really calm, considerate child. he's like a mini adult. the children who put theirfamilies first. rather than be out playing with her friends, she's at home caring me, which is unfair. you're not really that normal kid no more, you're just that young carer. katie's 11 and looks after her mum.

if i cut my body in half, half of it would feel like an adult, half of it would feel like a child. do you mind getting my lunchtime medicine? charlotte nearly died from sepsis. pass me the pills, please. she lost her fingers and her feet. carers do help out four times a day, but everything else is katie. she helps me in the shower... fetch, carry and bring. i feel like sepsis has ta ken her childhood away. what is she to you? she's my world, my baby girl. your mum! i'm your mum right now. for many young carers, there's constant worry. i have heard someone say, "you and your mum are silly cows, silly bitches". and loads of effing and jeffing. how has this affected her schooling? she's fallen behind a lot. how much?

about two years. she deserves a medal, she really does. i don't really have a choice to not do stuff, really. i have to do it. what does your mum mean to you? the world. these young people have stresses and strains far beyond their years. they're less likely to be able to get a steady and secure job and they're much more likely to have mental health issues. vihaan is six years old and he can talk a little bit. aleeza is seven and enjoys playing with toys. they are different. they have autism. and it's safa who understands their needs. with a dad working nights, she helps her mum. she cares for her siblings, and she's only nine. we need safa. safa is like the cement in ourfamily. i got aleeza a jumper, because she needed one...

like many young carers, the emotional support matters. do you know that, safa? that mummy really, really needs you in my life, don't i? mm—hmm. what do you say to me when i'm sad? it's ok, i'll help you. we ignore these children at our peril. they are under the radar, and many of them need to be seen because if we can see them, we can hopefully support them. he helps to change me and wash me and look after his brother and sister, as well as all the housework. a day injamil‘s life. i'm going back to school now. going to the shop. and when i get back home, i'm going to need to cook for my mum.

i shouldn't have given you such a big late, should i? and my brother and sister, and help my mum a bit. my legs ache! i've just been diagnosed with a mental illness and chronic back pain, and that won't get any better. and anxiety. 13, and jamil feels responsible for his family. he tucks me in bed. he sometimes makes food. he kisses me. he gives me more hugs. there are tens of thousands of young carersjust like jamil, providing the highest levels of care. luckily for me, i've got my grandad, who's always there for me. if i ever need a break on the weekend, i can. i can always go to his house and have my own time. but it's the homework that i struggle with. it makes me feel sad because now i've got so much homework building up and building up and i can't do anything about it. carers do help the family, but it's jamil who's always there for his mum. my mum needs me to bits.

without me, she wouldn't be here right now. you know i'm lost without you. yeah. you're my best friend, you know. you know that? yeah. that was jamil and his mother ending that report by ed thomas. thousands of cancer patients in england are waiting longer than they should to start their treatment according to the latest figures from the nhs. our health editor hugh pym is here. it must be incredibly distressing for the patients waiting, why is it getting worse? the target in england is forward majority of cancer patients to start their treatment within two months but that has been missed for some time. the latest figures forjuly show that just over 11,200 patients had started their treatment within two months but that

still left just over 3100 treatment within two months but that still leftjust over 3100 who had had to wait longer than the two month period so the proportion who had started the treatment on time was the lowest since records began in 2009. nhs england says it's a case of more people being referred for treatment, they are treating more cancer patients but health unions and charities are saying this is unacceptable and it's causing u ntold is unacceptable and it's causing untold stress and misery for patients and their families. thank you. the home office has rejected calls for protester buffer zones to be introduced outside abortion clinics in england and wales. the home secretary sajid javid said a review had concluded it wasn't a "proportional response". labour have condemned the decision as a shocking failure to protect women. a hurricane is bearing down on the east coast of the united states amid warnings it could cause catastrophic flooding across a wide area. florence is expected to hit north carolina in the early hours of tomorrow. the national hurricane centre says it could lingerfor days, dropping up to a metre of rain.

georgia, north and south carolina, virginia and maryland are now all in a state of emergency. chris buckler is in wilmington in north carolina. the coastal ridges along the carolinas have now been closed, the water is starting to rise. as it is hurricane florence is 100 miles into the atlantic and she has wakened. however she remains a dangerous storm and the authorities are concerned people could become complacent. they have said explicitly that a lot of people could be killed. home after home is boarded up and in many cases abandoned. families who live in the path of florence have been listening to the warnings but this storm is likely to threaten both properties and lives. the roads that lead to the coastal towns across the carolinas have been closed. only residents can now drive in, and the police are allowing that with an obvious reluctance. there's talk about storm surges

of maybe nine feet, and if it stalls like they are saying we could be going through two high tides. the hurricane has been downgraded to a category two storm, but the authorities are doing everything they can to emphasise how dangerous it remains. in terms of size, it is simply huge. don't get complacent. stay on guard. this is a powerful storm that can kill. today the threat becomes a reality. there has been deep criticism of how the authorities responded to last year's hurricane in puerto rico. it caused widespread destruction and according to the island's official estimate, almost 3000 deaths. but today donald trump denied that, tweeting bluntly and controversially that 3,000 did not die in the two hurricanes that hit the us

territory, saying instead it was closer to between six and 18 deaths. all that means that there will be a close focus on the response to this storm once the waves rise and florence arrives. chris buckler, bbc news, wilmington in north carolina. and finally, he's the fastest man on earth and it seems usain bolt‘s also quite nippy in space — well, zero gravity. the olympic champion got to experience it as part of an advert he's filming in france in an airbus normally used for scientific experiments. he called the experience "mindblowing". time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. the weather throwing a bit of everything at us at the moment. it is southern and eastern areas that had the best of the sunshine today. further north and west there were

scenes like this. we had extra cloud across the north—western portion of the country with outbreaks of touchy rain, beginning to turn more persistent across parts of western scotla nd persistent across parts of western scotland and northern ireland. across the northern half of the uk we will continue to see cloud and rain through this evening and overnight. further south clear skies but it shouldn't get as chilly as it did last night, most places holding up did last night, most places holding up at nine or 10 degrees. tomorrow we will seek rain across parts of northern ireland, the north—west and scotland. to the south—east of that, that's where we will have decent spells of sunshine and the lion's share of any warmth, 19 or 20 degrees, compared to 12 in stornoway. then we start the weekend with high pressure in control so not a bad start of the weekend. most places will be dry during saturday,

we will see spells of sunshine but frontal system is approaching the north—west so once again we see cloud falling into northern ireland, western scotland, with more of the breeze here as well. 21 degrees in the south—east, and by sunday the warmth will continue to build where we keep the sunny skies across east anglia and south—east england. a band of rain moving but sizzling away am not much rain reaching the south—east. 22 degrees in london, and into next week things for many will turn warmer but there will also be wet and windy weather at times. ina word, be wet and windy weather at times. in a word, mixed. thank you. a reminder of our top story... the two russians claim they were tourists who wanted to see salisbury cathedral. that's all from the bbc news at six so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news. time for the latest headlines. two russian men

have gone on state tv to deny carrying out a nerve agent attack in salisbury, claiming they were tourists who happen to be there at the time. the government has published the latest badge of contingency measures being prepared in case there is no brexit deal. westminster bridge attack inquest hears how a romanian tourist almost jumped into the thames to