hello this is bbc news with clive myrie. tonight at 6: the headlines: britain's most senior police officer clashes with theresa may over counter—terror police are investigating three packages the effects of police cuts containing explosives found on violent crime. at heathrow airport, london city airport and waterloo station. as police fight a wave britain's most senior police officer — the metropolitan police of knife attacks, commissioner, cressida dick — has said there is a link between falling police numbers the met police chief contradicts and violent crime. the prime minister — bmw has warned it could there is a link, she says. consider moving production of its mini from its cowley plant there is some link between violent in oxford crime on the streets, in the event obviously, and police numbers, of a no—deal brexit. of course there is, and i think everybody would see that. traces it's notjust london — in this nottingham hospital, of a no—deal brexit. of the hiv virus have become dozens have been treated undetectable traces of the hiv virus have become undetectable following a stem for knife wounds. my max i've ever seen is — in one night i had six stabbings. and that was in a 12 hour period, from 7—7. so, yeah, it's certainly increasing a lot. the prime minister has now ordered ministers to come up with a government—wide reponse. also tonight: production of the iconic mini could be moved from britain. the stark warning from owners bmw

if there is a no—deal brexit. a counter terrorism operation underway in london, after explosive devices were found at heathrow, city airport and waterloo station. it's early days, but a london patient who's been clear of hiv for more than a year could point the way to a cure. the bloody sunday killings — we hear from the families waiting to find out if any of the soldiers who opened fire on innocent civilians will be prosecuted. coming up on bbc news: the controversial shake—up in welsh rugby that's left clubs and players fearing for their futures. good evening, and welcome

to the bbc news at six. britain 5 most senior police officer has contradicted the prime minister by linking the rise in violent crime to cuts in police numbers. metropolitan police commissioner, cressida dick, was speaking just a day after theresa may said there was "no direct correlation" between the two. this afternoon, mrs may ordered the home office to coordinate a series of ministerial meetings on knife crime. there were 285 knife killings in all last year 7 the highest toll since the second world war. here's our home affairs editor, mark easton. a youth in a balaclava with a knife. the video of this incident in lancashire yesterday quickly went viral on social media. no one was seriously hurt and police quickly made arrests, but once again knife crime is britain's waking nightmare. 0h crime is britain's waking nightmare. oh my god! what can be done, what can we do to prevent young people getting involved in nike right ——

knife crime? was the recent spike in stabbings down to cuts and officer numbers, she was asked? there has been more demand for policing and therefore there must be something between violent crime on the streets, obviously, and police numbers, of course there is. i think everybody would see that. her comments appeared to contradict the prime minister yesterday said this... there is no direct correlation between certain crimes and police numbers. so is that right? since 2010, the number of police officers in england and wales has fallen from around 140,000, down to 117,000 last year. at the same time, the number of violent crime is causing injury has also gone down, from about a million incidents a year at the beginning of the decade, to around 600,000 in recent years. the figures don't offer compelling evidence that more officers means less crime. murders are up, but attempted murders are down. knife crime is up

but gun crime is down. it's not that straightforward. the prime minister told the cabinet today the government's response to knife crime went beyond the police to what she called a whole government approach. there were hints of extra resources, with ministerial meeting is being urgently convened. right now, there is an airof urgently convened. right now, there is an air of crisis. why do you think people carry knives as a young person yourself? there might be people after them stop by at the crib youth centre in london, anthony is taking part in a knife crime awareness course. is taking part in a knife crime awareness course . do is taking part in a knife crime awareness course. do think people protect themselves with a knife?m depends on what situation they are in. they worry about cuts police here and cuts to youth services but they also worry that the wider community is not taking its responsibility. yesterday we were called to an area where a young person was getting jumped and beat up. we ran out and went to that area. there were people in that

area, other adults, standing around. there is a group of around 35 people around one young child. it's our responsibility as well notjust around one young child. it's our responsibility as well not just to stand there and let these things happen. as police in london search for a full close to the stabbing of jody szczesny, families backed calls for longerjail time for carrying knives. people want it to stop but experience tells us there are no quick and easy solutions. mark easton, bbc news. while knife crimes in london often make the headlines, there's growing evidence that it's becoming a serious challenge across england and wales. nottinghamshire police is the only force outside the capital to have a dedicated knife crime unit. noel phillips, from the bbc‘s victoria derbyshire programme, spent the day with them. the officers have stopped the car on fenton road and straightaway they have noticed a hammer in the vehicle. these specialist officers are responding to reports of a man with a deadly weapon. the bbc has been given exclusive access to the

nottinghamshire police's knife crime unit, the only force outside of london with a dedicated knife crime task force. do you understand why you have been stopped? why you have been arrested? in the last 12 months, 125 weapons have been removed from the streets. this is what you recovered from the car? yeah, this was just down by the driver's feet, —— seat, literally within arms reach of the driver. he claims it is a tool from his tool box. nearly 900 incidents involving knives were recorded in nottinghamshire last year, compared to 794 the previous 12 months. we have had a load of changes to the way we are trained in first aid. we carry tourniquets in the vehicles now, especially in some of the armed response vehicles, defibrillation kits, tourniquets. 20—year—old esrom ghide was stabbed to death on the streets of nottingham last september. my my son is my everything for me. i miss my son. i'm crying every day, 24-7 i'm miss my son. i'm crying every day,

24—7 i'm crying. miss my son. i'm crying every day, 24-7 i'm crying. they came to the uk from eritrea in 2011 hoping for a better life. this is one of the last videos she has of her son. before, i'm bringing my son, he is not answering me. i'm sending a text message, he's not answering. my body is in shock, what is going on with my son? i'm scared every minute because maybe he's. .. my son? i'm scared every minute because maybe he's... maybe he's calling my name, saying mummy or something, i don't know. five teenagers have pleaded not guilty to his murder. last year at one of the uk's busiest trauma centres, doctors resuscitated 28 children with serious knife wounds. 50% more than in the previous year. the last 12 months have been the busiest 12 months have been the busiest 12 months we have ever seen for violence leading to trauma, and certainly for knife crime. nearly every day, certainly every other day, we are having someone come in

who has been the victim of knife violence. there is 26-year-old knows why so many young people are carrying weapons. he spent most of his teens in gangs and has has served time for carrying a blade. his teens in gangs and has has served time for carrying a bladem ididn't served time for carrying a bladem i didn't carry a knife i didn't feel safe. my life could have been taken in an instant if i didn't have a knife. i was naive and younger at the time. i used to think weapons are power. knives last -- matt lives lost, family scarred and authority are struggling to cope with knife crime. communities across the country are demanding urgent action to reverse this deadly trend. noel phillips, bbc news, nottinghamshire. a former labour mp who was jailed for perverting the course ofjustice over a speeding fine has lost her appeal against the case. labour says it will now support efforts to trigger a by—election in peterborough where fiona 0nasanya is currently representing constituents as an independent mp. the conservative peer, baroness warsi, says

the party has a deep—rooted problem with islamophobia. the tory peer accused the prime minister of "burying her head in the sand" over the issue, and said efforts to modernise the party had "gone into reverse" since theresa may became leader. a spokesman for the party said discrimination or abuse of any kind would not be tolerated. a counter—terror investigation has been launched, after three small explosive devices were found at buildings at major transport hubs in london. the met police counter terrorism command say packages were found at heathrow airport, london city airport and waterloo train station this morning. let's get the latest from our correspondent robert hall at waterloo station. three locations, what more can you tell us? we got some sort of sense of the timetable. the first alert came in atjust before ten o'clock this morning that an office block near heathrow, the package in that

case identical to the other two was ina case identical to the other two was in a white plastic envelope, crudely addressed to that office block, containing ajiffy addressed to that office block, containing a jiffy bad. addressed to that office block, containing ajiffy bad. inside addressed to that office block, containing a jiffy bad. inside the jiffy bag what specialists i was a viable device capable of starting a small fire within the package. at heathrow, that is what happens when a member of staff opened the package. here at waterloo an hour or so later, another package and the officers of network rail. and at lunchtime as third package at another location near london city airport. very worrying because people could have been hurt. it was lucky that nobody was. the investigation is now widening. the counter terrorism command says there is no obvious motive but there is clearly a link. in the last few minutes, the irish police have said that they are now co—operating with this investigation. robert, thank you very much. bmw, owners of the iconic mini, have issued a stark warning

about the impact a no—deal brexit might have on its production here. the german motor manufacturer said it would "have to consider" moving production of the mini from its cowley plant near 0xford. the japanese car maker — toyota — has also said that a no deal brexit would make it "extremely complicated" to build new models in the uk. here's our business editor simonjack. cowley in oxford is the home of the mini. and although it's now german—owned as a model and as a brand, it doesn't get much more british than this. a new mini drives off the production line here every minute. but bmw warned today that moving production out of the uk was an option in a no—deal brexit scenario. the key in these times is definitely flexibility. we are prepared for a lot of scenarios. we are very flexible in the production, we've pulled forwards some production interruptions, but we also have a plan b if things are changing. so, we will see what the outcome is but bmw will answer with flexibility. this isn't the first warning from mini's owner, bmw,

but it's perhaps the starkest language, the strongest tone we've heard from this company about the potential consequences of a no—deal brexit. it won't be news to the government. the business secretary has continually warned that that outcome would be ruinous for the entire industry and the government stresses it is an outcome they are still very keen to avoid. the amount of money invested in the uk car industry in recent years tells a pretty grim story. in 2015, over £2.5 billion was invested. that has fallen every year since to just under £600 million in 2018. that's a total fall of 80% injust three years. the alarm is industry—wide. the head of toyota's european 0perations said a bad brexit result could jeopardise future investment at its uk factory near derby. if it becomes more difficult, in terms of duties in trading, then it is very difficult to think about the future.

of course, short term, we can overcome any of those problems with logistics or whatever, but we need to think about what is the long—term effect if this is not materialising correctly? today's warnings are further body blows to an industry reeling from honda's recent decision to close its swindon factory. nissan reversing plans to build an additional model in sunderland and jaguar land rover laying off thousands of workers. they all pointed to factors beyond brexit. but bmw and toyota are clear that for them, the chance of a no—deal brexit is the issue putting their uk future at risk. simon jack, bbc news. the time is 6:13pm. our top story this evening. britain's most senior police officer clashes with theresa may over links between police cuts and violent crime. coming up, the challenges facing one refugee from afghanistan as he tries to integrate into british life. coming up on sportsday on bbc news. a defining moment in phil neville's tenure.

can england lift the she believes cup ahead of this summer's world cup? next week, we'll find out if any british soldiers will be prosecuted over the deaths of 13 civilians on "bloody sunday" — the day in 1972 when troops opened fire on a civil rights march in londonderry in northern ireland. it's now been over eight years since the lengthy saville inquiry into the killings concluded that all of the victims were innocent. veteran bbc reporter peter taylor was in derry on bloody sunday and in the first of two special reports has revisited a family he first interviewed more than 25 years ago. singing every year on the anniversary of bloody sunday, families remember husbands, fathers and sons shot dead by soldiers of the parachute regiment nearly half a century ago,

but this year is different. the waiting is over. they will soon know whether the soldiers will stand trialfor murder. if the decision is to prosecute soldiers for the 13 killings on bloody sunday, then families here laying wreaths at the bloody sunday memorial will celebrate. but if the decision goes the other way and there are no prosecutions, then there will be allegations of a cover—up. john young, william nash... the epic saville inquiry into bloody sunday, taking 12 years and costing over £200 million, concluded that all the victims were innocent. gerry mckinney... regina mclaughlin was a little girl of eight the day she lost the father she adored, gerry mckinney. a gentle giant to me, even though he wouldn't have been a big, tall man, but he was my daddy. so we're living for him, in honour of

his name, so, for us, we want people to recognise that our daddy was innocent. i interviewed regina's mother, ida, in 1992. she remembers saying goodbye as gerry left tojoin a civil rights march against internment without trial, along with thousands of others. i made him sandwiches and a cup of tea before he left, and said i'd have the dinnerfor six. so, gerry left, gave me a kiss and hug and said i will see you at six, doll. gerry mckinney killed by a single bullet in the chest. how was he shot? with his hands in the air. the clothes were brought back to me and there were holes in his jacket, on his shirt, and on his heavy coat. and ijust put my fingers... ..through the holes,

where the bullets went. ida is now 80. but her attitude today towards the soldiers, one of whom killed her husband, is not what you might expect. i forgive them all now, it took me a while, but i did forgive them. why did you forgive them? because what's the point? it's not for me, hatred, it's not me. could you forgive the soldier who was responsible for the death of your father? i forgave a long time ago, a long, long time ago. it's easier, because it doesn't hold me back from loving. i wouldn't i suppose give them the gratification of thinking thatjust because they killed my daddy that they have killed our lives as well. i refuse to let it dictate my life. i don't want to live with revenge.

i don't want to live with hatred. after a wait of 47 years, the families will soon know whether soldiers will be prosecuted. and on the news at ten tonight we'll be hearing a different side of the story, speaking to one of the paratroopers who was involved in the bloody sunday killings and to a family who want to see soldiers prosecuted. murder is murder, no matter how long it is justice must to be done. the full report at ten tonight here on bbc news. a patient in the uk has become only the second person in the world to be declared clear of hiv. his remission followed a stem cell transplant, part of the treatment for a cancer which he also developed. the donor was resistant to the virus. experts say it's too early to say he's been cured. our medical correspondent fergus walsh is here with the details.

this case gives a tantalising glimpse of how, in rare cases, hiv might be defeated. the patient needed a bone marrow transplant to treat cancer. his donor had a mutation in both copies of the ccr5 gene — this makes them resistant to hiv infection. about 1% of people of north european descent have this immunity. that resistance was passed to the patient, and for the past 18 months he's been off all antretroviral therapy. so, clear, of hiv, but too early to know if he is cured. this is just the second time a patient has had prolonged remission from hiv — the first was the so—called berlin patient. timothy brown is now more than a decade clear of hiv. i think it proves that the first patient, the so—called berlin

patient,, was patient, the so—called berlin patient, , was not patient, the so—called berlin patient,, was not a fluke. they did get cured of hiv and this is another potential cure and it shows that the ccr5 molecule is crucial as a means to target prevented strategies to stop people getting diagnosed with hiv. three years ago, i reported from san francisco on another approach to try to defeat hiv — matt's immune cells were edited to confer the ccr5 mutation — he'd been off all meds for two years. the researchers, writing in the journal nature, say the bone marrow transplant is aggressive, complex and expensive so it's not suitable for the vast majority of hiv patients who are better off on daily hiv medication, which is highly effective. but it confirms that the ccr5 mutation is crucial for researchers trying to target new ways to treat hiv. amber rudd, the work and pensions secretary, has said that disabled pensioners will no longer face repeat assessments to continue receiving their benefits.

from this spring, about 270,000 people will not have to have their personal independence payments regularly reviewed. but a disability group said the reform would still leave millions of younger people "stuck in a failing system". 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. i have trouble getting on and off transport, buses, and i cannot get on a train at all. buses are difficult, so without the car i would be totally... housebound. when diane barrett lost her car for six months following a benefit assessment, she says she lost her independence. the 69—year—old who lives with parkinson's disease fought the decision and won. today's government announcement means she won't now have any more reassessments for personal independence payments. it is a relief certainly, yes, and it's great. it is wonderful they are taking some notice and listened. funnily enough, i was only thinking about it the other day. i was thinking, ooh, the thought, you know,

of going through that again, because you have a wodge of papers and that again, with parkinson's, your writing is very bad, and the stress of it. we are not just talking about equality for people with physical disabilities... as well as specific help for pensioners with disabilities amber rudd said she wanted to see more disabled people in work and to change her department's overall image. the benefits system should be the ally of disabled people. it should support them. people with disabilities and health conditions have enough challenges in life. dealing with my department should not be one of them. the government is struggling to make the system work. personal independence payments is 20% more expensive than the benefit it is replacing, and its roll—out is five years behind schedule. claimants are increasingly going to court to overturn negative decisions and almost three quarters of them are winning their cases. the problem with pip is the assessment process. people are called in for an assessment with a health care professional who doesn't know them,

doesn't understand their condition and often get scored zero points or very few points, and the benefit is taken away from them. diane barrett may no longer need to go through an assessment process which she describes as deeply flawed. despite today's relief for pensioners, around 1.8 million other people on the benefit will continue to struggle with a system that many campaigners say is broken. michael buchanan, bbc news. it is tough enough arriving in britain as a child refugee — these unaccompanied minors have often fled the most harrowing experiences. but once they have been granted asylum and placed in the care of a local authority they face new challenges — not least trying to integrate into their new home. they speak little or no english and are unfamiliar with british culture. as part of the bbc‘s crossing divides series our correspondent, ashley john—ba ptiste, has been to meet a young refugee. when i arrived from a war—torn country to a developed country, it was extremely tough

to find my feet. three years ago, atjust 16—years—old, ahmed arrived in england from afghanistan by himself and couldn't speak a word of english. he's now in local authority care, has been granted asylum and lives in this shared accommodation in london. life back home in afghanistan had its own goods and bads, to be honest. the good thing is that you're with family, you have people around you. the bad thing, sometimes when you leave home, you didn't know if you're going to come back home alive or not. what was it like moving to the uk? very difficult. you know, at the beginning, to live by yourself... when you have the language barrier as well, and you don't know what to do. at a young age, you know, you have to look after yourself. i wasjust in an alien land, to be honest, for me.

ahmed is now studying three a—levels at college and has been offered a place at a top university to study politics. how would you define hard power? ahmed, off you go. hard power is the use of military and economic... how did the care system help you integrate? they provided me with a key worker. i had to see my key worker several times in a week. i was keen, as well, on education, because my family was very supportive, you have to learn. but when i came here, as well, my key worker helped me to get myself into college. i started learning the language, move on. councils have a legal requirement to support unaccompanied child asylum seekers, but experience in dealing with the unique needs varies between local authorities. from the start of their training, when they first go to college, social workers learn about appreciating the different cultural circumstances that they'll experience. there are councils that have

experience of one or two asylum seeking children. there are other councils, like kent and hillingdon, that have supported thousands of asylum seeking children over the years. clearly, those with the experience will find that support easier to provide. i have integrated into the society. i have learned about the culture. i know what it means to be british, to be tolerant. the last few years have been an intense journey for ahmed, but with the help of the care system, he's had the chance to integrate and now sees a future for himself in britain. ashleyjohn—baptiste, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear, hard to believe this time last week we we re hard to believe this time last week we were talking about record—breaking heat, but we've had some nuisance rain today especially across the scottish borders and there are signs of that easing away that there is more wet weather on the way, already drifting north and

east, pushing into wales and the midlands and across the london area with may be a heavy burst across the south—west and that is where we see the cloud arriving and the heavy rain pushing in over the last couple of hours. it's this area of low pressure that will push northwards in the next few hours and bring with it cloud, wind and rain and the wind is not quite as severe as we had with storm freya but it will be 60 mph on exposed coasts and some of the rain is heavy and persistent as it pushes northwards. the only exception is the far north as we keep clears —— clearer skies, and low enough for a touch of frost, but further south the cloud and wind and rain acting like a blanket and its tail is mild through the night. morning rush hour tomorrow, what is in store? heavy, persistent rain, but not for all and a rather chilly start in the northern isles, may be some patchy mist and fog as well but you should get a bit of sunshine and

the rain, there it is, across central scotland, snow above 400 metres and some of the rain heavy but it should ease down into northern ireland and north west england and then a trail of scattered showers looks likely to be the story, so a cloudy, windy start for england and wales, and this —— showers out to the west but they will pushing land through the day, the low pushes away and sunny spells and scattered showers come through. relatively mild across england and wales, especially with the sunshine with highs of 13 or 15 degrees, but colder further north and that's an indication of what is to come from thursday onwards. colder for all. sounds ominous. a reminder of our top story. britain's most senior police officer clashes with theresa may over links between cuts and violent crimes. that's all from the news at six, now time tojoin the that's all from the news at six, now time to join the team is where you are.