the uk's biggest ever modern—slavery gang is broken up after a three—year police investigation. some of its 400 victims lived in squalid conditions while forced to work for a pittance while the gang raked in millions. they were systematically, psychologically predominantly, but sometimes physically coerced into doing the work for the organised crime group. eight people from poland have all been convicted of forced labour offences, people trafficking, and money laundering. also on the programme tonight: a glimpse into an electric future — jaguar land rover unveils plans to build a range of battery—powered cars at its plant in the west midlands. the former leader of the far—right english defence league, tommy robinson, has been found

guilty of contempt of court. learning to move again — this man was left paralysed after an accident, now pioneering surgery means he can use his arms again. ladbrokes went 4—1, hill's 5—1, coral‘s 8—1, that's been taken... the racing punditjohn mccririck, for many years the face of british horse racing, has died at the age of 79. and a centre court debut for the american 15—year—old tennis sensation coco gauff. and coming up on bbc news... we'll round up the rest of the day's play from wimbledon, with the defending champion in the men's singles, novak djokovic, back in action. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a gang has been convicted of running the uk's largest modern slavery ring. police believe up to 400

victims were forced to work by a gang of polish criminals in the west midlands who raked in millions. the gang lured vulnerable people from poland to the uk where they forced them to work for a pittance. eight people have been found guilty of offences including trafficking, money laundering and forcing people to perform forced labour. sima kotecha is in birmingham. sophie, this gang manipulated its victims and made them feel like there was no way out. after a four year investigation, today for the first time we are able to report the true horror of what was taking place here in the west midlands. after sentencing today, the judge told the court of the offenders had subjected their victims to a demi— life of misery and poverty, robbing them of their human dignity. their victims, some as young as 17, were made to live in rooms like these — filthy, often rat—infested, with no heating or light, toilets

blocked and the stench unbearable. the gang was made up of five men and three women, all from poland. 52—year—old ignacy brzezinski, 41—year—old wojciech nowa kowski and 26—year—old jan sadowski were sentenced today to more than a total of 20 years for modern slavery offences. for the first time, the bbc can report that, in february, five others were convicted of their roles in the conspiracy and were also jailed. together, they preyed on the vulnerable in poland and lured them to the west midlands, promising them a wealthy life. they targeted former prisoners, the homeless, alcoholics. translation: to be honest, i came here to start a new life, but i didn't know that this new life would start with such really big problems. i couldn't even leave the house to go for a walk. they were following me, spying on me. they were controlling me.

more than 90 victims gave evidence during the trial here, but police believe the true number of victims is in the hundreds. they were forced to carry out manual labour on farms and in factories and were paid as little as 50p a day, while their masters kept most of their earnings. the anti—slavery commissioner said this case sends a strong message that trafficking will not be tolerated. west midlands police began looking into what was happening four years. they would convince the victims, for example, that they were unlawfully in the country, that if they left the house that the traffickers provided for them, that they would be arrested by the police. sometimes they were given a debt, so they were told that they owed the traffickers £5,000, and they had to work off that debt. so there's a lot of these methods the traffickers would use to make them feel trapped. 0ne slave was given a chicken as payment for redecorating a house. another man had to wash in a canal because he had no other water.

the gang was discovered after charities identified victims. this man works undercover and wants to remain anonymous. very withdrawn, physically shaken, disorientated. we had victims presenting with black eyes, one victim presented with a broken arm, so his broken arm had re—set itself out of alignment. ripped clothing, emaciated. while the victims suffered, the gang bosses lived an opulent lifestyle, driving lavish cars and buying designer clothes. over five years, they made at least £2 million. after sentencing, judge mary stacey told the court, the harm in this case was at the very highest level, and she warned that all too often such offences were being carried out in plain sight. sima kotecha, bbc news, birmingham crown court.

jaguar land rover is investing hundreds of millions of pounds to build a range of electric vehicles at its plant in birmingham. it will begin with an electric version of the jaguar xj from 2020. the company says it will help secure the jobs of more than 2,500 workers at the plant, although it announced almost double the number of job losses earlier in the year. but with purely electric cars accounting for just i% of the market, does today's decision reflect consumer choice? our business editor, simonjack, reports. after 6000 lay—offs in the last two years, workers at jaguar land rover finally had a reason to be cheerful as they arrived at work today. the boss announced the company was spending nearly £1 billion on electrifying one of its most famous models. julia and martin davies got married after meeting at the plant. 0ur son—in—law‘s here, so this is the next generation, they're taking it on. it's secured their futures, it is just fantastic. and that genesis... jlr has been very downbeat about the damage a no—deal brexit could do to future investment.

today there was a change of tune. today is the day of electrifying the plant and honouring our people who are going with us to define a new electrified future. you are spending nearly £1 billion when you said the prospect of a no—deal brexit would stop investment in the uk. some will say you were crying wolf. we have made clear our statement to brexit, and nothing has changed. however, it's also quite clear that we have a clear strategy, and really want to go ahead, and we are, from our heart and soul point of view, we are a british company. seeing a production line standing idle like this is not normally good news, but not today, this lot is going to be stripped out, totally re—tooled to make the electric successor to the xj model. in the race for electrification, jaguar land rover started almost in last place, with 90% of its fleet

powered by diesel — this is a very big step into an electric future. £1 billion sounds a lot, but it is tiny compared to what others are spending. the big manufacturers are making very big moves. vw alone is investing £70 billion in electric cars. daimler, the owner of mercedes, is spending 33 billion. in total, car—makers have announced investments of £2110 billion, with nearly half of that earmarked for projects in china, with the rest in north america, europe and japan. the car industry has fundamentally changed. there is going to be more change in the next ten or 15 years than the previous hundred years, and it's a great shame that at this critical moment, the uk is punching below its weight because of concerns and uncertainty over brexit, for example, and we've got to cut through that as quickly as possible. there might be a risk that companies are moving faster than consumers here. although the numbers are growing fast, electric cars only make up

1% of those on the road, principally because there aren't enough of these charging points. there's got to be a risk that we're not ready to buy the cars they want to make. it's the end of an era for the xj, as the last of the old generation leaves the building. privately, the company says, brexit permitting, other models may follow where the xj has led. simon jack, bbc news, castle bromwich. the former leader of the far—right english defence league, tommy robinson, faces jail after being found guilty of contempt of court. robinson, whose real name is stephen yaxley—lennon, was convicted of filming defendants in a child sexual exploitation trial and broadcasting the footage on social media, in breach of a reporting ban on the case. our special correspondent lucy manning reports. shame on you! the news that stephen yaxley—lennon had been found in contempt of court did not go down well with his supporters outside the old bailey. some surged at the police — missiles thrown, batons raised.

it had been calmer in court, where the man also known as tommy robinson just shook his head as thejudge said he had interfered with the justice process. how are you feeling about your verdict? about your verdict? what verdict? how are you feeling about the verdict? it was this controversial broadcast live on social media last year that meant he had broken strict rules about what can be reported about court cases. it doesn't seem like much guilt. he'd filmed and confronted defendants accused of sexual exploitation of girls outside leeds crown court. it was viewed more than 250,000 times. thejudge said mr yaxley—lennon‘s behaviour, aggressively confronting some of the defendants, live—streaming from outside leeds crown court, and breaking reporting restrictions was a serious interference with the administration ofjustice. leaving the courtroom, mr yaxley—lennon claimed, "i've been convicted for who i am,

not what i've done." you have now been found in contempt of court, do you think the myth of tommy robinson has been burst now? you don't care that people's freedoms have been taken away that a judicial system hasjust freedoms have been taken away that a judicial system has just prosecuted someone because judicial system has just prosecuted someone because of who they are, not what they've done, you don't care, do you? do you not care about people's freedoms to report? you are meant to be a journalist! do you think you are going back to prison? i know i am going back to prison. last may, mr yaxley—lennon was sent to jail for 13 months but released after just two because it was found the decision had been rushed. he will now be sentenced again and could return to prison. lucy manning, bbc news. families of the victims of the serial killer stephen port have been told fresh inquests will focus on possible police failings. he drugged four young men and dumped their

bodies. since the conviction, the victims' families have questioned why he was not stopped sooner. surgeons in australia have successfully rewired the nerves of paralysed patients to give them movement in their arms and hands. 16 patients who had no use of any of their limbs were operated on. 13 of them can now bend their elbows and use their hands to grip things. the surgery has been described as life—changing. here's our health correspondent james gallagher. this might seem simple, but it's remarkable. 0nce—paralysed patients have been given the use of their arms and hands again. they can feed themselves, put on make—up or hold hands with a partner. paul robinson was injured in a dirt—bike accident four years ago. i can pick something with my left that i wouldn't be able to do with my right. but he can now live independently and play wheelchair rugby after having his nerves rewired. the reason you can move your hands and fingers is because messages come from your brain, travel down your spinal cord

and then through nerves in your arms to control the muscles in your arms and hands. after a spinal—cord injury, those messages from the brain get blocked, they get stopped, you lose control and become paralysed. in this study, all the patients had a small amount of control over muscles in the upper arm and shoulder, so what the doctors did was they took the nerves that controlled these muscles and rewired them. they connected them to the nerves further down the arm, allowing patients to bend at the elbow and to open and close their hands. this is jake, learning to use his arms and hands again after an accident in a swimming pool left him paralysed. surgery can't completely reverse the damage, but doctors say they are transforming lives. it's going to make an enormous difference. it's going to mean back to work, more involved in family life and more independence. experts warn the procedure

will not work for everyone but say the study shows the brain's incredible ability to adapt. your brain can relearn that the muscle that used to turn your hand or move your shoulder can now do something different, so you have this amazing adaptability. huge advances are being made in paralysis. electronic implants or cells taken from the nose are helping people move their legs again. it's early days, but all these approaches show paralysis may not have to be permanent. james gallagher, bbc news. our top story this evening: the uk's biggest ever modern slavery gang is broken up after a four—year police investigation. eight people from poland have been convicted of forced labour offences, people trafficking and money—laundering. and still to come, double trouble as andy murray and serena williams prepared to start their mixed doubles campaign. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... fifa pledge to stretch

the women's world cup to 32 teams and to double its prize money, as well as launching a women's club world cup. two crashes in indonesia and ethiopia within six months of each other left 346 people dead. he both involved boeing's 737 max 8 aircraft, and in both cases the pilots experienced catastrophic problems with the plane's flight control system. this week, boeing promised to give £80 million to the families and communities affected. but that gesture has not stopped the questions from those who've lost their loved ones — namely, why were the planes not grounded sooner? simon browning reports. everywhere we look, there's a blank where she should be. shock and disbelief. nadia and michael's daughter, samya rose, was on a boeing plane that crashed in ethiopia. samya is right here. she was one of 157 people that died.

the same fault brought down an identicaljet five months earlier. the 737 max hasn't flown since. critics say the development and launch of the jets was rushed, and that boeing cut corners at the expense of safety. definitely, my daughter died for the profit of boeing, and i don't want anyone else to die for that reason. i want these planes to be safe and invest in the company and the hardware, the infrastructure to make our aviation system safe. nadia and michael want answers, and they are now asking them of the american government. they are representing families from across north america. when et302 crashed, there were passengers from more than 30 countries on board. the highest proportion of those were from kenya, because the flight was bound for nairobi, but the second highest amount were from here in canada, and families in toronto are starting to want answers as to why their loved ones were killed.

well, i lost my wife, carole, my three children, ryan, kelly and ruby, and i also lost my mum—in—law. paul njorogre lost his entire family. 0verwhelming grief and the need for answers now dominate his mind. my family died because of boeing's negligence, arrogance, what i call management dysfunction and lack of internal oversight within boeing. the moores were a family of four. their daughter, danielle, was also on board flight et302. after four months, another crash happened, and they told us it will be one of the safest planes. it's not the safest plane. it took away the lives of the people that we love so much. in a statement, boeing's president, dennis muilenburg, said...

but, for the families, life has changed for ever. their resolve now, finding the truth. simon browning, bbc news, toronto. four people have been injured in derbyshire, three of them seriously after a van drove into a queue near after a van drove into a queue near a food bank. it happened around 9am. a37—year—old man has been arrested. police say it's not being treated as a terrorist incident. the conservative leadership contender borisjohnson has denied he was prevented from accessing secret intelligence when he was foreign secretary. the bbc understands from multiple sources that downing street tried to withhold some of the most sensitive security information from mrjohnson, amid concerns about a lack of discipline on his part. number 10 has declined to comment.

meanwhile, boris johnson and jeremy hunt are in scotland this evening ahead of party hustings in perth. both men have promised to protect the union while delivering brexit. but nicola sturgeon says scotland is heading towards independence, regardless of who wins the contest. 0ur scotland editor, sarah smith, has been speaking to tory party members, and sent this report from perth. tory activists need to work hard in perth. they lost this seat by just 21 votes at the last general election. but which potential leader could deliver victory next time? i don't think boris has got the gravitas or the attention span to deal with all the serious issues that are facing the country at this point in time. i'm going to be voting for boris. we need somebody who believed and believes in brexit in order to deliver brexit. at the moment, i consider boris to be the best candidate for thejob. i think jeremy hunt is definitely the best candidate to keep the union. it's quite clear on doors that people that usually vote conservative will be put off if it's

boris johnson that's leader. jeremy hunt arrived in scotland with promises to support the green energy sector and boost whisky exports, saying he can deliver a brexit but keeps the uk united. i want a brexit that works for the union. i am a passionate and committed unionist. borisjohnson took a tour of bae systems in glasgow. he says he is convinced that delivering brexit properly could strengthen the union. i think that's actually what will happen is that, once we've done a sensible, pragmatic brexit, what will happen is that the whole uk, the awesome foursome, all four nations will come together, scotland and the rest. hunting with foxhounds may prove popular at the scottish game fair, but it's not how people will choose their candidate. i hate to say it, but probably boris. why? oh, gosh. i don't know. because he has more

personality, i think. the tories in scotland have enjoyed something of a resurgence in recent years. they need a new leader who won't do anything to reverse those gains. their top priority is a leader who won't increase support for scottish independence. borisjohnson would be more likely to lead to an independent scotland in the shorter term. why? just because he is rather outspoken and, to a certain extent, he is the antithesis of what people in scotland are looking for as a politician. i think boris is not popular in scotland. why is that? why is boris...? not popular in scotland? i think he's too flippant. i don't think he's serious enough for the scots. he's not down to earth enough. some polling evidence does suggest that scottish voters may be more likely to support independence if borisjohnson becomes prime minister. both candidates will be questioned in detail on their scottish policies in the next couple of hours. sarah smith, bbc news, perth.

the racing punditjohn mccririck, who for many years was the face of british horse racing, has died at the age of 79. mccririck made his career as the face of channel 4's racing coverage, and was famous for his loud, eccentric style and his signature deerstalker hat. in later life, he went on to appear on reality tv shows such as celebrity big brother. sarah campbell looks back on his life. ladbrokes went 4—1, hill's 5—1, coral‘s 8—1... with his deerstalker hat, wild gesticulations and memorable turn of phrase, for decades, john mccririck was the face of racing. the sport has lost one of its most colourful characters. you listened to me and got on! he was such a massive figure, he was a marmite figure, because there were people who absolutely loved him or couldn't abide him. there was not really anything in between. but for the sport, he was so well known, he was flying the flag for horse racing. each way, 1—2—3...

first at itv and then channel 4, he became a household name, explaining the odds. but away from the racecourse, his forthright opinions were often less well received. even the normally genial alan titchmarsh asked him to leave after he insulted a fellow guest. after controversial appearances on reality tv shows, including celebrity big brother... 0ne condition, on one condition... he's kissing my neck! ..he was dropped by channel 4 from their racing coverage. he lost a subsequent age—discrimination tribunal which determined his pantomime persona and male—chauvinist views were unpalatable to audiences. it was a devastating loss to a man who lived for his work. last year, viewers were shocked by his gaunt appearance following an illness. imagine if you woke up, nojob, you worked all your lives

and suddenly, for whatever reason, either through illness or some of the executives, the suits and asserts sacked you, what would you do? having no purpose in life, it's terrible. he died less than a year after this interview, survived by jenny, his wife of 48 years, who always referred to as the booby. 6-1... offensive or old school eccentric — in what he called the betting jungle, john mccririck was king. the racing journalist john mccririck, who's died aged 79. 15—year—old american prodigy coco gauff is making her centre court debut at the moment, hoping to continue her winning campaign. andy murray and serena williams will be pairing up in the next hour in their first mixed doubles match. natalie pirks has the latest on all the day's tennis.

the early bird may catch the worm, the sleepy punter misses the match. fortu nately, the sleepy punter misses the match. fortunately, those on centre court we re fortunately, those on centre court were on betterform. fortunately, those on centre court were on better form. everybody out of their seats! last year's finalist kevin anderson sent packing in straight sets. the man who beat him to ta ke straight sets. the man who beat him to take the title, novak djokovic, also having a tricky day. with the mercury rising, opponent hubert hurkacz wasn't fazed by the four times wimbledon winner. 29 shots of pure quality. the six foot five polish man lost the first set but took the second in a thrilling tie break. they are still on the court. later tonight, the hotly anticipated matchup between a night of the realm and a queen of the slams. doubles is only played at major tournaments, so what we will see between williams and murray is anybody‘s while crowds

wait for them, they'll be paying close attention to a certain 15—year—old. coco gauff has been given star billing on centre court later, and everybody who has seen her this week has been struck by how calm she is under pressure. she'd be the youngest player sincejennifer capriati in 1991 to advance to the last 16 if she beat polona hercog, and there is nothing these crowds like more than a story. i'm really enjoying it. and we love a fairy tale, and we've been loving you. they have, it's super exciting. it shows how life can change overnight. game face on for the biggest match of her life, sees just walked out against her heavily tattooed opponent. if she wins the match, she'd move into the top 150 players in the world. she looks so calm. she

is now in unfamiliar territory, having lost the first set of her wimbledon adventure. well, coco needs to get her mojo back and fast. too many mistakes have crept in, and she is 4—2 down in the second set to polona hercog. earlier, that djokovic against hubert hurkacz match, djokovic has taken the third and fourth sets to reach the fourth round. jamie murray and his partner, neal skupski, have been knocked out of the men's doubles, and they were the number ten seeds, but it's now all about his brother and the much anticipated matchup in the mixed doubles with serena williams. time for a look at the weather. here's matt taylor. more blue sky ahead? not quite, we could have rain at wimbledon tomorrow. it will be a close call for today, blue skies in the southern half of the country, and in

the south—west midlands we hit 27, and in the northern half of the country, this was the view. we are going to even out the contrast as we head through the weekend. bringing the change is a weather front which is across scotland and northern ireland this evening, outbreaks of rain on that, pushing south into northern england and wales later. some clear skies to the north, but temperatures will be fresh in the morning in the countryside, single figures, but a woman often night in the far south. for the weekend, something a bit cooler, but still nice enough if you have the sunshine. most will be dry except close to the weather front. saturday sta rts close to the weather front. saturday starts across the far south, north wales and the north midlands, a mix of rain and drizzle. it will fragment, and we can't guarantee you will see any rain in the southern counties of england, but different to the past few days, a lot more cloud and rain. the best is on the channel islands. it may still get to

24 or 25 on the south coast. low 20s elsewhere. in east anglia, the midlands and north wales, brightening up. for the north, sunny spells, which means best in scotland and northern ireland might feel a bit warmer than recently. —— western scotland. 0ne bit warmer than recently. —— western scotland. one or two showers in the east of scotland in the evening. that weather front will still be lingering across the same areas as we go into sunday, stretching back into increasing cloud in the south—west. there might be the odd isolated shower elsewhere, but the vast majority have a day of sunny spells. not as warm as it has been, but it should feel pleasant in the sun. a reminder of our top story. the uk's biggest ever modern slavery gang is broken up after a four—year investigation. eight people from poland have been vindicated of offences. that's all from the bbc news at six. 0n bbc one, we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. goodbye.

this is bbc news. the headlines. the biggest network of modern—day slavery is exposed in the uk. eight people are convicted after forcing

more than 400 victims