tonight at ten, 3 special report on the steep rise in knife crime in england and wales and the struggle to contain it. we have access to one of europe's busiest trauma units, in east london, and we talk to the families of those affected. they have just got to open him up and see where the knife‘s gone, see what it's hit and take it from there, really. there's a lot of things that could go wrong. emergency services say they're over—stretched and doctors express alarm at the growing number of young victims. what's going on out there? i hope that it'sjust a blip, i worry that there's a change in attitude towards knife injury. we'll have an extended report on a problem that's increased

rapidly in recent years. also tonight: following the death of this teenager in a road accident in northamptonshire, the uk calls on the us to waive the diplomatic immunity of the american woman who's the main suspect. the businesswoman alleged to have been offered favours by borisjohnson when he was mayor of londonrefuses to deny they had an affair. as american troops withdraw from northern syria, the us's main allies in the fight against the islamic state group, the kurds, say they've been stabbed in the back by president trump. and more than 200 arrests in central london as climate activists take to the streets as part of a worldwide protest against global warming. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, we look at the cricketing credentials of former bowling coach chris silverwood, as he takes the top job with the england cricket team.

good evening. we start tonight with a special report on the relentless increase in knife crime across england and wales. police say they're struggling to contain the problem not only in london, where the problem is acute, but also in other areas. the trauma team at the royal london hospital in the heart of the east end is one of the busiest in europe, with experts dealing with the effects of knife and gun attacks. my colleague clive myrie was given exclusive access to their work over a period of several months, and this is his extended report. this the pained face of knife crime in britain. still early, the guys aren't even

tipping out the pubs yet, and absolutely anything could happen tonight. these are stories over a three month period, from the front line of the epidemic. when he came in, he'd lost a lot of blood volume, his pulses were very weak. stories of courage, kindness and honesty. let's face it, it doesn't take much to get stabbed in our society today, bottom line. arterial bleeder there. stories of cowardice, and for some, immense strength. we got a phone call that my son had been stabbed. they'd just stabbed him. 0h... this is 16—year—old lucas. at approximately 16.30, he's been allegedly assaulted by a group of people, and sustained a single incision wound to the left upper quadrant. lucas perry has been stabbed in the chest. one of two knife victims admitted to the royal london hospital this evening.

his painkillers haven't kicked in. they've just got to open him up and see where the knife‘s gone, what it's hit, and take it from there, really. there's lots of things that could go wrong. it's absolutely awful. consultant martin griffiths will soon operate on lucas. he's stable, but nothing's certain. how you doing? i'm right here, open your eyes, look at me, take my hand. what's your name? lucas. how old are you? 16. and what happened to you? i got stabbed. the attacker‘s knife pierced his liver and punctured his stomach, after lucas refused to hand over his bike and phone to a group of teen robbers. martin is a veteran of the violence, but even he's shocked at what's happening now.

we know we're seeing a lot more, about 10% rise year on year, and we get the feeling we are seeing more complex wounds. what do you think is going on then, what is going on out there? i hope it'sjust a blip. i worry that there's a change in attitude towards knife injury, that people are becoming better educated on how to cause more damage. the attacks are no longerjust random slashes but targeted strikes, designed to permanently maim or kill. it's late at night and martin's on duty again. just named nhs violent crime reduction chief for london, his role is to help society better understand why some carry knives, to reframe the debate, to save lives. let's strip away convention, let's strip away what we expect to happen in our lives, let's strip away the resource, shelter, warmth, comfort, parenting, structure. let's introduce chaotic

parenting, inconsistent food, inconsistent shelter, no aspiration, and a group or society around you in which that behaviour is the norm. and put around that a big fence. peoplejudging you and deeming you as being worthless. let us give you no access to get out of that place. let's see how you behave. what will happen? it's going to be explosive, it won't be positive. we are dealing with a generation that are angry, disheartened, that have been neglected, that are let down, that no—one really cares about. roisin kerville is part of martin griffith's team. an outreach worker based in the hospital, she can offer the direct support some families need as patients recover, to prevent young people turning to violence. if you've got a parent who is substance misuse or mental health orjust domestic violence,

you cannot nurture that child as much as that child really needs nurturing because you're consumed with whatever you are holding as an adult. does it depress you? yes. you seeing this all the time? oh, it breaks my heart. victims admitted to hospital can seek revenge on their attackers and end up needing further treatment. but her work and that of colleagues has cut readdmitance rates to the royal london from 45% to just 1%. all of you been traumatised by this. all of you. lucas is ok. but what about his family? if you look all right, you're probably not all right. yeah. 0k. it's going to be a long process. you all right? ten days later his family tries to heal, as lucas gets better. how you feeling? i'm all right. but will he seek revenge on his attackers? if you're walking along the street and you see them, what's going to happen? obviously i'd want them to go

through that, i'd want them to feel what i feel, but i wouldn't stab them. and not seeking to stab his attacker mayjust save his own life. on any given day in britain, a knife attack will intrude on a young life. the youngest to die this year 14. how best to give our youth a chance, to end the pointless waste, we're still figuring out. clive myrie, bbc news. our home editor mark easton is here. the doctor there, one of them, said, is this possibly a blip in the numbers, orare is this possibly a blip in the numbers, oi’ are we is this possibly a blip in the numbers, or are we looking at something more alarming and persistent. what is your take? my first take is my goodness what a troubling glimpse into the world of front line and the fight against rising knife crime. how bad is it? well the bbc has asked every police

force in england and wales to tell us force in england and wales to tell us about the serious knife crimes they saw last year and the figures confirm that we might expect, the problem is most acute in the capital. of the 17 councils with the highest rates of knife crime, all but one are in london. westminster is the worst in the country. followed by inner city areas like totte n ha m followed by inner city areas like tottenham and islington. after that you have central manchester and liverpool and a whole number of smaller towns and cities, places like slough, nottingham, blackpool, oldham, luton. itan like slough, nottingham, blackpool, oldham, luton. it an urban story, but knife crime thrives in poorer places. those vulnerable to this kind of violence are often people who lack critical support in their lives. i think it seems likely that the long—term answers to knife crime will be in finding way to provide

youngsters who are at risk with the structures and support they desperately need. thank you very much. the prime minister has urged the us to reconsider giving a diplomat‘s wife immunity after she left the uk despite being a suspect in a fatal road crash. harry dunn — who was 19 — died when his motorcycle was in a collision with a car near an an raf base in northamptonshire. anne sacoolas left the uk despite telling police she had no plans to do so. duncan kennedy has the details. harry dunn was just 19 when he was knocked off his motorbike last august. he died of multiple injuries. it happened not far from this american air base in northamptonshire, when he collided with a car driven by the wife of a diplomat who worked at the base. that driver was anne sacoolas, pictured here on her wedding day

in 2003. but within two weeks of crash, she and her family returned to the united states. this is the neighbourhood near washington dc where they own a home. it was her decision to leave britain, despite being a suspect in a fatal car crash, thatt today led to the prime minister to intervene. i do not think that it can be right to use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose and i hope that anne sacoolas will come back and will engage properly with the processes of law as they're carried out in this country. the intervention of the prime minister comes six weeks after harry died here on this roadside in northamptonshire. the air force base where anne sacoolas drove out of is just 200 yards down the road. harry's family say they welcome the move by boris johnson and say they hope it'll bring real pressure on the american government.

harry's parents said today that, whilst they're not seeking a long jail sentence for anne sacoolas, they are finding it hard to forgive her. it was an accident, we know this, she didn't mean to kill our son, it was an accident, i can forgive her for that but forgive her for leaving? we'd have tried to get her a suspended sentence, so she could have carried on being a mum. so that she wasn't taken away from her own children. but forgiveness for leaving — i'm nowhere near. northamptonshire police today said the absence of anne sacoolas is frustrating their investigation. it's difficult when the suspects have left the uk and obviously causes delays in the investigation, but we are making really hard to make sure we gather all the available evidence that remains for us. the foreign secretary has spoken with the american secretary of state.

what started as a tragedy on a quiet english country road has become an international cause of division and heartache. the american businesswoman jennifer arcuri has insisted she never received favouritism from borisjohnson when he was mayor of london, but she refused to say whether they had had an affair. mrjohnson insists he did not break any code of conduct whenjennifer arcuri's company received grants and she was included on trade missions. she made her comments in an interview on itv this morning. our special correspondent lucy manning reports i hope you're having a productive... just what was it about the charismatic studentjennifer arcuri that attracted boris johnson, then mayor of london, to support her technology events? i'm ready to hang out, yes i am! yeah! boris is hanging out! mrjohnson‘s been accused of a conflict of interest, after she got public

money and was allowed on trade trips he led. you like hanging out with us, right? i do. i'm always happy to hang out. today, she had her say, although six times she refused to say if they'd had an affair. the answer that i'm going to give is now being going to be weaponised against this man. it's really categorically no one's business what private life we had or didn't have, and, categorically, more important, boris never, ever gave me favouritism. never once did i ask him for a favour. never once did he write a letter of recommendation for me. he didn't know about my asking to go to trips. mrjohnson‘s also refused to say if they did or didn't have a relationship. it's notjust a personal question, the business woman got £26,000, went on three trade trips and later her company was awarded £100,000 from the culture department. absolutely nothing to do with mrjohnson, she insisted.

did you ever have any intimate relationship with boris johnson, yes or no? because the press have made me this objectified ex—model, poledancer, i really am not going to answer that question. so you won't deny it? i'm sorry. ms arcuri says borisjohnson visited her at her flat here in east london five, ten, a handful of times. there are now four investigations to see whether mr johnson helped her to receive any funds or access to trade trips. the london assembly has given him until tomorrow night to provide any e—mails or documents. if he doesn't, then they could summons him to appear. if he ignores that, then it could be a fine or even prison. the prime minister had little to add. did you break the gla code of conduct? no, and i've said i think everything

i'm going to say on that matter. ms arcuri said they had a very close bond. labour says she should have declared this. he has a duty to declare his relationship with ms arcurie. he had a duty to make that declaration under the code of conduct, which he needed to have abided by. jennifer arcuri has spoken, but the prime minister still has questions. lucy manning, bbc news. a retired high courtjudge has accused the police watchdog of "shocking failures" in its investigation of what went wrong during the metropolitan‘s police inquiry into an alleged paedophile network at westminster. operation midland ended without any arrests, after one man, carl beech, made a series of false allegations against public figures. the head of the met, cressida dick, apologised again today and the police watchdog defended its decision not to recommend disciplinary action against any of the officers involved.

us troops have started to withdraw from north—eastern syria, with president trump defending the move, saying it was time to get out of these ridiculous endless wars. it opens the way for a full—scale turkish assault against kurdish fighters, who are regarded by the turkish government as terrorists. but the syrian democratic forces or sdf, led by the kurds, had been the americans' main allies in the fight against the islamic state group, reducing areas under is control to virtually nothing. yesterday president erdogan and president trump said they would set up a 20 mile so—called safe zone along the border, in order to combat what they call terrorists, and help the return of millions of syrian refugees currently in turkey. the sdf were shocked by the move, and called the us withdrawal a stab in the back. our international correspondent orla guerin is on the border

tonight with the latest. well, tonight there is a growing sense on both sides of the border here that the countdown to a turkish offensive has begun. the pentagon has warned that turkey risks destabilising the region and beyond. britain, france and germany have warned against any action that could damage the fight against the islamic state group. the european union has warned that massive numbers of refugees could be displaced, and un humanitarian officials say they are preparing for the worst. a pull out at dawn. us troops, leaving observation posts along the syrian border. washington says only a small number of troops were moved a short distance. but kurdish forces fear they are clearing the way for a turkish invasion.

turkey's president was viewing serbian troops today, an honour guard on a state visit, as concerns grow internationally about what he is planning for northern syria. before leaving home, he seemed ready for unilateral action soon. "we talked to the americans last night", he said. "and we keep talking. we have made a decision. and as we always say, we might come suddenly one night." that's a major threat for these kurdish fighters from the sdf, the syrian democratic forces, who have fought street to street against islamic state with help from the us. they have been washington's key allies in battle. but with the us pull—out, they believe they're being thrown to the wolves.

they have vowed to resist any offensive, and defend their land at all costs. their spokesman, mustafa bali, told us that an attack by turkey risks giving is sleeper cells a chance to regroup, and even retake some territory. from president trump, a bellicose warning, via his usual undiplomatic channel. "if turkey does anything that i, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, i will totally destroy and obliterate the economy of turkey." just last month, american and turkish troops were carrying out these joint patrols at the border. but now ankara intends to go it alone, taking the battle to kurdish forces it views as terrorists and a threat to its security. the pentagon may be voicing concern, but washington has no intention of getting caught in the crossfire. orla guerin, bbc news,

on the turkey—syria border. lets go live to washington, and our north american editorjon sopel. can we talk about the reaction in washington, not least among the president's own republican allies? well, there was astonishment last night when a white house statement came out saying turkey is about to launch its long planned offensive into northern syria, there will be no american troops that can get in the way, so, broadly speaking, here isa the way, so, broadly speaking, here is a green light, go ahead if you wa nt is a green light, go ahead if you want to. that brought an extraordinary reaction from donald trump's allies, who normally get an attack of the vapours at the mere thought of criticising dahlstrom. yet lindsey graham, senator from south carolina, came out and said it was a disaster and the making, nikki haley, the former un ambassador, saying it would be a big mistake to

let our allies die. and then we heard that tweet that was quoted there, donald trump rowing back, seemingly. so, last night a green light, today i will destroy your economy, talking about his unmatched wisdom. just going slightly wider, with a wider lens, donald trump is facing impeachment charges, potentially. he needs all the help we can get from his republican allies. you don't need unmatched wisdom to say it would be a big mistake to have them questioning his judgment. jon, many thanks again. the former conservative mp heidi allen is the latest parliamentarian to join the liberal democrats. the mp for south cambridgeshire, who has been sitting as an independent after leaving the change uk group injune, takes the lib dem tally in the house of commons to 19. the media regulator ofcom says it has found no evidence that the bbc presenter naga munchetty broke impartiality rules

by speaking on air about her experience of racism in light of comments made by president trump. but ofcom said it had serious concerns about transparency in the bbc‘s complaints process. thousands of climate change activists have been on the streets in cities around the world, at the start of two weeks of global protest. the campaign is being coordinated by extinction rebellion, and is calling for urgent government action to stop rising carbon emissions. in london there were more than 250 arrests as protestors blocked bridges and roads in the city centre. our chief environment correspondent justin rowlatt has the latest. there wasn't much the police could do as vehicles blocked key junctions and protesters swiftly chained themselves underneath. careful, mate. we're trying to shut central london to draw attention to the climate

and ecological violence. go, go, go! but officers drew the line when activists tried to set up a kitchen — yep, sink and all — in the middle of trafalgar square. this was a numbers game. there were hundreds of police. there are no official numbers yet, but thousands of protesters. campsites and kitchens quickly sprang up in the heart of government. there was even an impromptu wedding on westminster bridge. cheering and applause it brought parts of central london to a standstill. everyone's going to lose money. i might as well go home now. my day's finished. i ain't going to earn nothing, am i? it certainly was disruptive. it took hours for police to unglue protesters from this scaffolding tower. and how would you cut this guy free from his hearse? not everyone agreed with the tactics. i think you're hysterical extremists and you are alienating public opinion and i am not going to turn off their lights until you ask them to individually.

celebrity supporters defended the action. this is a movement for everybody, this is not about party politics, it's not about brexit, it is bigger than that. and it wasn'tjust london. extinction rebellion protests included a mass lie—in in mumbai, road blocks in berlin, actions in new zealand, and in dublin, too. the crowds are thinning out now, though some activists do plan to sleep over, despite the rain. but it's unlikely to be comfortable, especially when you are chained to a friend. what are your plans for the night? to stay here, keep the strand blocked, yeah, keep the blockage. aren't you worried the police are going to come and arrest you in the middle of night? no, a cell might be a bit drier than this. # we are getting stronger by the hour... and remember that guy in the hearse? he's still there, though now his passenger is wearing the bike lock. one of the co—founders of extinction rebellion says these dramatic gestures are needed.

people have got to get their heads around how serious this crisis is. it's not going away. so, what does extinction rebellion want? they want the uk government to declare an immediate climate and ecological emergency and begin drastic cuts to uk carbon emissions. they have planned 13 days more of a direct action like this to try to achieve that. justin rowlatt, with the latest on the climate change protest in central london. the british scientist sir peter ratcliffe has been named as one of three recipients of this year's nobel prize for medicine. celebrating today in his laboratory at oxford university, sir peter will share his prize with two american scientists for research into how cells sense and adapt to oxygen levels, leading to potential breakthroughs in treating disease. a major new exhibition exploring how western artists have been influenced by the islamic world for centuries,

and the extent of the exchange between the two cultures, is opening at the british museum. the show also looks at western stereotypes about the east. many of the works have never been seen before in the uk, as our arts editor will gompertz reports. laid out before us, 500 years of inspiration, appropriation and exchange between the islamic world on the west. a near conversation between two cultures, whose artists were intrigued and influenced by each other. so, this room demonstrates the cultural exchange between the west and the east, or the west and the orient. two dishes, which you would think are made at the same time, because they're nearly identical. but this one, here, was actually made in the 19th century. this was made by a french ceramicist and his name was theodore deck. this one here was made in turkey, and this was actually made in the 16th century.

so, you can see that theodore deck, here, nearly 300 years later, has done a very good job at imitating this. the central room in the exhibition confronts a central issue in the show, which is the way that western artists controversially painted the islamic world in the 19th century — depicting it as the romantic orient, exotic and quaint. colonial powers like great britain were seeking to expand the empire, and sustain it. and one of the strategies of doing so was to derogatise or belittle other cultures. whilst they look romantic at first glance, actually, if they were truly romantic, they'd be romanticising islamic civilisation as a whole. which, as we know, contributed tremendously to art, culture, science, philosophy and beyond. bringing us up to the 21st century perspective, here we have an artist who's from palestine, and she's directly referencing traditional harem scenes that we might have seen in 19th century orientalist paintings,

done by generally male westerners. but also isn't it in conversation with western art? i mean, the reclining nude? absolutely, absolutely. coming from the perspective of somebody from the middle east and critiquing traditional western art, their view of the east. it's a great play back and forth. the conversation continues? it does. it is the way of artists, whether from the east or the west, to explore, exchange and reinterpret ideas and experiences. that is the history and future of art. will gompertz, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. this hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm james pearce. the headlines this evening...

this is the new head coach of england's men cricketers. we look at the credentials of chris silverwood — as he replaces trevor bayliss in the topjob. that feeling of frustration when you're playing andy murray and he's starting to rediscover his form. emotions running high in shanghai as murray wins again. and england wait for news on the fitness of billy vunipola while an incoming typhoon threatens this weekend's rugby world cup matches. hello and welcome to sportsday. in most sports if you were taking over a team that was already world champions you'd think that the only from there was down, but not with english cricket. chris silverwood, the new head

coach of the men's team,