doesn't hit you on friday, if you are travelling, bear in mind because there could be some problems with there could be some problems with the weather almost anywhere in the uk during the course of friday at the weekend. as a highly decorated doctor in russian military intelligence. an investigative website claims he is alexander mishkin and russia didn't make it hard to find him. they have so many spies that they are not able to protect everyone‘s identity well. the kremlin has refused to comment but british intelligence is not disputing the identification. also tonight... the company that stockpiled hundreds of tonnes of medical waste is stripped of some of its nhs contracts. a convicted british paedophile is taken to court by five boys from the philippines who claim he abused them there. the boss of ladbrokes and coral calls for gambling advertising on tv to be banned before 9pm. and the bbc confirms seann walsh and his partner

katya jones will dance on strictly this saturday after their relationship sparks controversy. and coming up on bbc news... eight months out from the world cup, england women's preparations are well underway. they take on australia tonight at craven cottage. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the second suspect in the salisbury nerve agent attack is a doctor and highly decorated russian military intelligence officer — that's according to an investigative website called bellingcat. it claims his name is alexander mishkin and that he received a hero of the russian federation award from president putin himself.

the kremlin has made no comment. last month, bellingcat named the first salisbury suspect as a member of russian military intelligence — a claim also rejected by russia. here's our security correspondent gordon corera. alexander mishkin as a young man, and more recently, alexander petrov, two na m es and more recently, alexander petrov, two names but one person, a russian spy. two names but one person, a russian spy. arriving at alexander petrov he was spotted on cctv in salisbury in march and accused by police of poisoning sergei skripal, himself a former russian spy, and his daughter yulia. a discarded perfume bottle used in the attack would later kill dawn sturgess. now petrov has been named as alexander mishkin, so what do we know about him question that he was born injuly 1979. he trained as he was born injuly1979. he trained asa he was born injuly1979. he trained as a doctor at a military medical academy and in 2014 he was awarded the title hero of the russian

federation. why might a doctor have been involved? this is the most deadly chemical warfare agent known to man, they were handling it and taking it on aeroplanes and he would have made sure they did not become casualties and also importantly making sure skripal got a dose that would kill him and hang around to see the symptoms took place before they got on the plane back to moscow. along with the other man previously revealed to be anatoliy chepiga, mishkin went on russian tv saying he was a tourist in salisbury, there to see the cathedral spire. how did researchers from the group bellingcat managed to prove that petrov was really mishkin? they firstly surmised that, like some other operatives, he might have kept his real date of birth and first two names. databases revealed a possible match with which tallied with an individual link to russian intelligence, the gru. next they got

hold the past body does and carried out image analysis to see if there was a visual match and there was. finally they went to his hometown where people confirmed his identity and said his grandmother had proudly showed a picture of him receiving a medalfrom vladimir showed a picture of him receiving a medal from vladimir putin. what does this say about the gru, based in this say about the gru, based in this building, that it is possible to identify their spies?” this building, that it is possible to identify their spies? i think they are doing it as a mass—market product already. they have so many spies that they are not able to protect everyone's identity well and, for me, it is my personal opinion, even though they have amazing hackers and computer departments, that knowledge has not flowed through to the old—fashioned hitsjob departments. flowed through to the old—fashioned hits job departments. with its missions and that is now exposed from vladimir putin, here pictured inside the gru, will now have to decide whether to fundamentally

change how it operates. gordon corera, bbc news. live now to moscow and our correspondent sarah rainsford. now we have a second suspect unmasked. what has the reaction been there? the kremlin has moved from a flat denial to no comment today, vladimir putin's spokesman saying if the british government has any evidence on the identity of the salisbury suspect it should admit it through official channels but he said he would not comment further on what he called rumours that these men are military spies. that is a giant sidestep around some awkward questions for the kremlin. the bbc has spoken to multiple people in the village where this man comes from, who have now confirmed what bellingcat uncovered, that the man calling himself alexander petrov it impact alexander mishkin. 0ne calling himself alexander petrov it impact alexander mishkin. one of them was a school friend, he described him as a boy who ran the school disco pulse of awkward for the kremlin but if putin is feeling

it he is not showing it and in fact on state tv that he was shown smiling, visiting an apple orchard. crucially, people i speak to hear say that what this will not change is moscow's attack. 0ne say that what this will not change is moscow's attack. one man described the mentality in the kremlin and said we are at war, that is how the kremlin sees this. although russia has perhaps lost its battle, he said it would go away to learn its lessons and come back to the fight. sarah in moscow, thank you. a firm has been stripped of nhs contracts after hundreds of tonnes of clinical waste from hospitals was allowed to pile up at its sites. healthcare environmental services was responsible for removing waste, including body parts, from a number of hospitals in england and scotland. the environmental agency has launched a criminal investigation. here's our health editor, hugh pym. a backlog of medical waste including body parts which should have been disposed of. questions about who knew what and when. the company blaming a lack of facilities to incinerate hospital waste. today the government

gave its response, with a new contractor brought in. throughout, mr speaker, our priority has been to ensure measures were put in place so that the nhs can continue operating as normal. no gap in service provision has been reported and we're working to ensure that this remains the case. but labour went on the attack. mr speaker, this is an absolutely horrific scandal where a private contractor has failed in their responsibilities to a quite staggering degree. 350 tonnes of waste including human body parts, amputated limbs and infectious fluid, substances from cancer, left effectively stockpiled and not safely disposed of. it's an absolute scandal. mps have branded it a scandal partly because parliament was not told sooner. 0njuly the 31st, the environment agency informed the government. in september, ministers discussed it at a meeting of the cobra emergency committee. but it was only last week that the issue was uncovered by the health service journal.

i asked the health secretary why it had taken so long for the public to be told. my clear goal throughout has been to make sure that the public are safe and also that nhs services can continue. we have secured those goals. we have now moved the contract away from the company that was failing to deliver. we have got a new company in and that is the point at which we could go public about this issue. there will be continuing questions here at westminster about the more than 30 hospitals which still have contracts with the company hes. what contingency plans have been made, and whether there are still long—term problems with medical waste disposal which need to be tackled. hes itself strongly denies it has ever stockpiled body parts and says only about 1% of what it processes is anatomical waste. none of the company's contracts with scottish health boards have been terminated. hugh pym, bbc news.

the brexit secretary, dominic raab, has told mps he's confident of reaching a deal with the eu in the coming months, and said the government should hold its nerve. it comes as theresa may faces growing calls from within her own party and the opposition to change course as the government embarks on the final stages of negotiations. 0ur deputy political editor, john pienaar, reports. who is backing mrs may's planned for brexit? are you facing brexited mutiny? the cabinet is behind her, at least in public for now. but keeping tory discipline is a bit like herding cats. it is almost as if time is speeding up ahead of brexit day. these negotiations, mr speaker, were always bound to be tough in the final stretch. that is all the more reason why we should hold our nerve, stay resolute and focused, and i remain confident we will reach a deal this autumn. because it is still the best

interests of the uk and the european union. no government has the right to plunge the country into chaos as a result of its own failure. time is running out but there is still time to change course and i urge the secretary of state to do so. tory splits run deep. a former minister warning today the pm's plans could mean dire consequences, election defeat, and amidst the split in parliament, brexiteers say they can and will defeat their own government. i'm absolutely confident there are at least 40—45 colleagues willing in the last ditch to vote down that non—come from eyes of a half in conor harte out brexit. if we end up with the eu in the long—term position of deciding when we can do themselves governing, i would expect more resignations. and what about the higher ranks? how strong is the straight in the cabinet? today want brexit minister was careful about what she said and what she did not. have you ever and he'd ever contemplated resigning

over the prime minister's brexit tom pernice —— did you ever contemplate. i think we need to let the prime minister and her negotiating team get on with it. i'm supporting her in doing that. but for how long? was the backing guaranteed? the prime minister can count on my support but what i would say is that we don't know where this is going to end up. so not quite loyalty come what may and so far there is still a deadlock in brussels. the eu chief negotiator met ulster‘s democratic unionists today. he has rejected mrs may's compper mize, sticking by common rules for trade in goods but he would accept special treatment for northern ireland to avoid an irish border. the unionists have closed the door on special treatment as a threat to the union. i am a unionist, i believe in the union of the united kingdom but what happens in five years, ten years, 20 years, we do not want northern ireland going off in a different direction

from the rest of the uk. that to me is fundamental. in the end it will be settled here. another european summit next week and another next month and if there is a deal, a reckoning in parliament where both main parties could split and every vote could count. it is looking like a cliffhanger, inevitably as winter follows autumn. information that a man who murdered a school teacher had previously had violent fantasies about raping and murdering women was never passed onto his mental health team. a report into the care of carl langdell, commissioned by nhs england, found details of his long history of mental illness had not been fully shared between his mental health workers. he was jailed for 26 years in 2016 for the murder of katie locke at a hertfordshire hotel on christmas eve in 2015. a convicted british paedophile is being sued for damages by five young filipinos who claim they were sexually exploited by him. it's thought to be the first case of its kind. the five are giving evidence to the high court via video link about abuse they said they suffered when douglas slade lived

in the philippines between 2009 and 2015. slade, who was jailed two years ago, denies the claims. angus crawford reports. a dangerous and manipulative paedophile, douglas slade, now behind bars in the uk. but, for 30 years, he lived here, angeles city in the philippines. neighbours say he threw sweets down to children in the street, inviting them in through what they called the magic door, it is claimed, to be sexually abused. the way he abused us, i'm teased, i'm too embarrassed to get out of the house. if i'm with all my friends, they called me by slade's name. a member of the notorious paedophile information exchange, in 2016 he was tried and convicted of sex offences against children in the uk. but today he faces

a new legal battle. five young people in the philippines are suing him over the abuse they allege they suffered. he says their claims are a total fabrication. the first witness appeared on a big screen in court 20 on a live video link from manila. he was only referred to by the initials pvx. in a statement already submitted to the court, he said he was sexually abused forfour years, starting in 2009. his abuser, he claims, was douglas slade. here we have some alleged victims coming forward and saying, no, just because we live on the other side of the world in poor circumstances, we are going to be heard and we are going to use the british justice system to ensure that we are heard and that there is accountability. angeles city, once slade's home, now notorious for the sexual exploitation of children by foreigners. corruption and inadequate law enforcement leaves many victims unprotected but campaigners hope

the case against slade will send a powerful message. we will pursue them whenever possible and we continue to search and try to catch them here in the philippines. and wherever they will be, we will pursue them with legal action. slade may spend the rest of his life behind bars but, on the other side of the world, there are those still seeking justice. angus crawford, bbc news. the time is 6.15pm. our top story this evening. the second suspsect in the salisbury nerve agent attack has been unmasked as a highly decorated doctor in russian military intelligence. coming up, we live in devon, where they are toasting the british wine industry. a cold winter, a long hot summer means industry. a cold winter, a long hot summer means a record grape harvest. coming up on sportsday on bbc news. as england's men prepare

to face croatia and spain, the chelsea midfielder ross barkley says he deserves to back in the squad. the boss of one of britain's biggest betting operators, which owns ladbrokes and coral, has called for a ban on gambling advertising on television before the 9 o'clock watershed. the industry has been under pressure to tackle problems associated with gambling. the industry itself is on the rise. in 2014 to 2015, it was worth £12.5 billion in the uk. two years later, that went up to nearly £14 billion. 0ur media editor, amol rajan, has been to meet two families who've experienced the terrible consequences when gambling can become an overwhelming addiction. jack ritchie was a bright, middle—class sheffield boy. butjust under a year ago, to the utter shock

of his family, he took his own life from a rooftop in hanoi. the reason? gambling. his parents, lees and charles, are campaigning for a landmark legal ruling arguing that is right to life under the european union convention was violated. together with other bereaved families, they want tougher restrictions on gambling. the mental health issues that gambling raises are immense. and the number of people, the number of young people who died because of gambling is a scandal. chris was 25 when a gambling loss led to him driving his motorbike in the middle of the night toa motorbike in the middle of the night to a rural spot where he took his own life. he started off at the bookies when he was younger. as the world cup hit in 2014, that is when he started the online gambling on apps on his phone. he had binges where he would gamble lots of money

and then he would lose quite a lot. a few weeks later, he would somehow win his money back. as a mum, i could tell he was in pain, although he didn't show me. i want other people to know how rife gambling is now with young people, especially young men and i don't want anybody to have to go through what we are going through. talking to these aggrieved families, several things become clear. first there is the unbearable sense of loss and wasted potential, then there is the absolute dedication to making sure otherfamilies don't absolute dedication to making sure other families don't go through the same thing. and finally there is the real conviction that history is on their side and there is real political momentum behind a decisive and fundamental shift in attitudes and fundamental shift in attitudes and policies towards gambling. in recent weeks, labour have announced

they would introduce a whistle to whistle ban on gambling adverts and enforce a tough levy on companies. meanwhile, the government this year reduced the maximum bets on fixed odds terminals from £100 down to £2. 0ver odds terminals from £100 down to £2. over 100,000 odds terminals from £100 down to £2. 0ver100,000 people work in the sector which generates billions in tax, and many punters gamble without harming anyone. but with one of the top bosses in british gambling coming out for a ban on pre—watershed advertising, it seems the industry knows a reckoning is innocent —— imminent. the snp's goal of scottish independence is "clearly in sight", nicola sturgeon has told the party's conference. in her speech to snp members, the first minister accused westminster of stumbling from disaster to disaster over brexit and said an independent scotland would be a beacon for equality, opportunity and fairness. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith reports from the conference. two big questions have been hanging over this conference. when will nicola sturgeon set a date for another independence referendum? and would she, like theresa may, dance on stage?

you will have noticed my shoes. i can barely walk in these heels. dancing was never an option. scotland needs independence now more than ever, she said, and she had a message for the pm who made clear again this week that she would not allow another independence vote. you can oppose independence, that is your democratic right. but you cannot and you will not deny scotland's right to choose. but there was not even a hint of when she might ask scottish voters to make that choice. the snp leader will not even discuss the timing until the terms of brexit are clear. so she told her party they had to be pragmatic and patient, as well as passionate. the challenge for nicola sturgeon is how to maintain this level of enthusiasm as she is telling her party that they have

to wait for another referendum and be patient. it depends how long. you know, patient? till early next year? oh, i think patience is a virtue and we have got that in spades. we know we are not quite ready, but pretty soon, hopefully. and you've got the energy to keep campaigning for years to come? absolutely. i'm waiting for a new hip and two knees, and there will be no stopping me. nicola sturgeon has been cheered by recent polls suggesting support for independence is increasing, but not to a level that means she could confidently expect a victory. sarah smith, bbc news, glasgow. the duke and duchess of cambridge have taken part in a summit in london aimed at helping to improve mental health around the world. prince william and kate were greeted by the health secretary, matt hancock. experts and policy makers are attending the two—day event to discuss issues such as how to deal with the stigma and perception of mental health. the bbc has confirmed that the comedian seann walsh

will be dancing with his partner katya jones on strictly this saturday. it follows speculation that the pair might have to quit the show after they found themselves on the front pages this morning, photographed kissing on a night out. msjones is married to another dancer on the show, the girlfriend of seann walsh has publicly chucked him and criticised his behaviour towards her. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba has the latest. seann walsh and his dance partner katya jones wowing the audience and the judges on saturday night's strictly. they were watched by millions at home... ..and cheered on in the studio by walsh's girlfriend rebecca humphries, apparently unaware that walsh and his strictly partner had kissed after a night out that followed one of their dance rehearsals. after it was revealed in a sunday newspaper,

they both apologised, walsh saying it was "a one—off, drunken mistake which i am truly sorry for." walsh's girlfriend rebecca humphries, who has now ended the relationship, has since made allegations about his behaviour, describing on social media the night walsh and his strictly partner secretly kissed. she said she was alone at home on her birthday when walsh texted her to say he and katya jones were going for an innocent drink. "we spoke and i told him, not for the first time, that his actions over the past three weeks had led me to believe something inappropriate was going on. he aggressively, and repeatedly, called me a psycho/nuts/mental, as he has done countless times throughout our relationship when i have questioned his inappropriate, hurtful behaviour. " this afternoon the bbc said that next saturday walsh and katya jones plan to dance the charleston. because of the allegations made against him, it is uncertain

what kind of reception he will receive on the bbc‘s flagship family entertainment show. after one of the hottest summers on record the british wine industry is now reaping the rewards with what promises to be their best ever grape harvest. there's been a steady increase in wine production in the uk over the past few years. 0ur correspondentjon kay is at a vineyard in devon now. it looks glorious. it is. glorious day again. sunshine out, as temperatures in the high teens, but not just the long temperatures in the high teens, but notjust the long hot summer temperatures in the high teens, but not just the long hot summer that temperatures in the high teens, but notjust the long hot summer that is being good in the british wine industry, there was also the freezing, icy, record—breaking winter and the wet spring, and that all combine to produce a bumper crop. 0n the banks of the river dart, it is a vintage year. today alone they picked six tonnes of grapes on the sharpham estate. that's four times more than normal. anna's secateurs hardly stop.

filling as many boxes as she can in these last few days of the season. between 20 and 28 crates. a day? a day. i'm not a very fast picker, either. some of the other guys, they do 30, 40 crates. so i've got a long way to go. we're going to be picking these in about a week's time. duncan schwab is the head winemaker on this estate. try one of these. really sweet. you have incredible sweetness in there. incredible punchiness of flavour. he says it's also a record year for red grapes, which they normally struggle to grow here in devon. we've had the perfect year. it's been absolutely fantastic. nice early start. we had some snow, actually, in april. so a lot of bugs and diseases got killed. the vines went very dormant. then a wet spring which got them all growing really well and from then onwards, the sun has been out, it has beenjust absolutely perfect. the grapes picked here today should

produce 6,000 bottles of wine. and it's a similar story this year at other uk vineyards. even before this summer's crop, britain's wine industry was flourishing. just under 6 million bottles were produced here in 2017. sales have increased by more than 30% in the last couple of years. and that is set to continue, with 1.7 million new vines due to be planted this year. but it's notjust about quantity. uk producers will also have to make wines of quality, at a good price, if they are going to compete around the world. cheers! and what if next year's weather isn't quite so perfect? jon kay, bbc news, devon. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. nerve grape growing weather in

store ? nerve grape growing weather in store? —— have you grape growing weather in store? we have, to think we are in october. it will be beautiful in the next 24 hours but some parts of the country, but in the western isles, it has not been a good day. it was pouring and it's still raining there and there has been flooding and even landslips s0 has been flooding and even landslips so big contrasts across the uk whilst this hot air, i suppose you could call it, because it will approach the high 20s in france, and right across europe we have all of that warm air so this evening look at the temperatures, 17 in london and north west of scotland is still pretty chilly with strong winds in stornoway with heavy rain but now what is happening overnight is that the wind will switch direction and just as we were promising youth, it is pushing the weather front out to sea. first thing in the morning, hate or 11 degrees but quickly the

sun will warm up the air, lots of sunshine and crucially it is that grape growing weather tomorrow, at plenty of sunshine and whether you are in the tip of cornwall or lerwick, a beautiful sunny day. the oranges showing temperatures in the 20s from london across the midlands into parts of yorkshire and we will probably reach 24 celsius, which is about the average forjuly. 19 or 20 in glasgow and edinburgh and belfast as well. on thursday the weather goes downhill, initially across the west of the uk has a weather front approaches and brings rain, but by the time you get to friday it will call off across the uk and the wind will have picked up and this spinning thing, that is a storm approaching the shores and the thinking that will affect north—western parts of the country but stay tuned in case there are changes. a reminder of our top story. the second suspsect in the salisbury nerve agent attack

has been unmasked as a hghly decorated doctor in russian military intelligence. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... theresa may faces growing calls from senior figures in her own party to change course on brexit, orface dire electoral consequences. in a suprise move, the us ambassador to the united nations, nikki haley, is another casualty from president trump's cabinet. she gives no reason for stepping down after two years. the second russian suspect involved in the salisbury chemical poisoning is now identified as alexander mishkin — a military doctor who works for the intelligence agency the gru.