today at 5pm: essex police are investigating the deaths of 39 people, whose bodies were found in a lorry container. the vehicle is thought to have crossed the english channel from belgium to the uk, and police are investigating the possible involvement of organised crime groups. the bodies of 38 adults and one teenager were found inside the lorry container. a 25—year—old man from northern ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder. this is an absolute tragedy and very sad day for essex police and the local community. we will continue to work alongside many other partner agencies to find out what led to these deaths. i'm ben brown live where the lorry

was found. in the last minute or so, it has been driven away from here by police who say they want to take it toa police who say they want to take it to a secure location so that the bodies can be identified and in time removed, with respect and dignity. more from ben in a moment — and we'll be talking to a former head of the uk border force. the other main stories on bbc news at 5pm... the prime minister goes to meet the labour leader to try to agree a timetable for a brexit deal after mps backed the plan, but rejected the three—day limit on debate. they said that we couldn't open the withdrawal agreement, and we did. they said we couldn't get rid of the backstop, and we did. they said we couldn't get a new deal, mr speaker, and we did! and donald trump has said he will lift the sanctions he imposed on turkey, following its military action against the syrian kurds.

it's 5pm — our main story is the discovery of 39 bodies in a lorry container in essex. the vehicle, which is thought to have crossed the english channel from zeebrugge in belgium to the port of tilbury in essex, was apparently being driven by a 25—year—old man from northern ireland, who's been arrested on suspicion of murder. police say that identifying the victims is the first priority, but it's likely to be a lengthy process. my colleague ben brown is in grays in essex, with the latest. and in the last 2—3 minutes, the police have actually moved the lorry involved from this industrial estate in grays in essex away to what they call a secure location. they want to

be able to take their time in that secure location to try to identify the bodies still on board, and to remove them with dignity and respect. they say they really want to show dignity and respect for the victims. of this unimaginable tragedy, as the perimeter has called it. they also say they are still holding a 25—year—old man from northern ireland in custody on suspicion of murder. and the tractor pa rt suspicion of murder. and the tractor part of this lori was registered in northern ireland. we have this report on the latest developments from john donaldson. report on the latest developments from john donaldson. the grim discovery was made earlier this morning in this container in the back of a lorry in an industrial park in grays. officers have been working at the scene all day. police say identifying the bodies will be a long and collocated operation. officers now say the container was transported from zeebrugge in

belgium and doctored in perfleet in x six last night before being moved to the water glade industrial park nearby —— essex. cctv shows a carrier container arriving at the park. it is not clear where the lorry originates from. police came to the scene after they were alerted by the ambulance service at 1:40am this morning. an investigation was launched in the lorry driver, a 25—year—old man from northern ireland, was arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody. at this stage, we have not identified where the victims are from or their identities, and we anticipate this could be a lengthy process. we will continue to work so the micro alongside many other partner agencies to find out what led to these deaths. in the house of commons this afternoon, the home secretary suggested tougher sentences for people traffickers. what we have basically seen through the actions of these traffickers is the actions of these traffickers is the worst of humanity. and it is

right that we use our law enforcement to all aspects of the law through existing legislation, to make sure that justice law through existing legislation, to make sure thatjustice is served and that the perpetrators are prosecuted. local people have begun to leave flowers at the scene of the tragedy. i'm completely and utterly shocked and devastated that that has actually happened here today. especially in this area — my mum only worked on the road, my dad works down there. so this is the area i drive down all the time, so for that to happen is completely shocking. this evening, the industrial park remains sealed off. the bodies are expected to be removed this evening. in order to meet the micro ensure we maintain the dignity of the people who sadly lost their lives, we will be moving the lori and the train shortly. once that has happened, we will remain here to complete some scene examination before we can allow all the business operators back to the

premises. the police investigation will first have to establish where the victims came from. and then, who they might have paid to bring them here. john donaldson, bbc news. asi as i mentioned earlier, police or holding a 25 rolled man from northern ireland on suspicion of murder —— 25—year—old man. he has been named locally in northern ireland as mo robinson, the 25—year—old arrested in essex this morning on suspicion of murder. he has been named locally in northern ireland as the driver of the lori and remains in custody, having been arrested by essex police in the early hours of this morning. let's also just show you pictures of the lorry itself being driven away from the estate where it was parked and found overnight. and it has been taken to a secure location, it was

driven away just taken to a secure location, it was driven awayjust before 5pm this evening by the police. the deputy chief constable was telling us that the police really want to take their time ina the police really want to take their time in a place of dignity and respect to examine the bodies, to try to identify the bodies still on board. 39 bodies, at 38 of them adults and one teenager — and also, ultimately to remove those bodies, as well. so who are these people and where are they from? we can speak now to anthony steen, chair and founder of the human trafficking foundation. that is the first question, these 39 people victims of what the prime minister called an unimaginable tragedy. where might they be from in your view? first of all, i agree with the prime minister, this is nothing to do with brexit or the government. what you are witnessing is things that are happening probably every day either going across the english channel or in airports — or in this case,

appallingly and sadly, in the back ofa appallingly and sadly, in the back of a lorry. these are people probably not trafficked, but people who are asylum—seekers fleeing persecution, probably afghanistan or syria will stop that is my hunch, and they came via bulgaria and were delivered to britain. i believe they we re delivered to britain. i believe they were escaping appalling tyranny in their countries, and they desperately wanted to get away. that is certainly different than if they we re is certainly different than if they were trafficked. if they were deceived into situations that didn't actually happen here in britain. they probably weren't, they were probably deliberately asylum—seekers trying to get to britain for a better life, but not necessarily deceived. and that is quite an important difference. that is who they probably are. and why they were ina they probably are. and why they were in a sealed unit is hard to imagine,

but i have heard of other cases were similar things have happened. but fortu nately, similar things have happened. but fortunately, the other people survived. this is an appalling case that focuses attention on the desperation of people leaving tyranny and hardship, and violence. so what, in your view, should the authorities here in both the uk and across the world do to try to stop this thing happening? first of all, one must accept that we live in a global village. it is easy to get away and get across seas, get across airspace and arrive in different countries. this is a new scenario, and there is no way you will halt the movement of people away from hardship, horror, and violence in a way that in the past they couldn't

do. now they can. you won't change that. secondly, you will not, however good you are bored or force is and however good your management of the police is dashboard orforce, oi’ of the police is dashboard orforce, or her ever good your customs people are —— border force, or her ever good your customs people are —— borderforce, you will get smugglers coming into this country and other countries where in fact they are not invited to come. so it has less to do with sentencing the traffickers, but about preventing victims getting in the position they we re victims getting in the position they were in this case. and it won't change easily. this emanates in countries written with poverty and people desperate to get out —— riddled with poverty. in dealing with criminals who can smuggle them in and get them through the systems. and in this case, i think it is tragic, but they failed and exposed

what had happened. if they had not died, they would havejustjumped out of the lori and disappeared. they probably would've disappeared into someone was my house, it may be organised all the way along —— lorry. on the other hand, the smugglers may have only contracted to get them to britain, which they didn't. the question is, could the borderforce or police didn't. the question is, could the border force or police do any more? in my view, it is possible with a clear borderforce, in my view, it is possible with a clear border force, and with a bigger borderforce, we could intercept more people who should not be allowed here. and of course after brexit, everyone will be in asylum—seekers who tries to get here, because there won't any longer be any borders. so this is a question where there will be a change and we must adapt to that change, because we are likely to get more people coming in, even though we have the so—called secure borders. so all in all, i think

there's lots of things that could be done. but whether it would have any effect in the long run from these war stricken countries wanting to come to a country they believe has good human rights and will treat them humanely — i don't think we will be able to reduce or stop that. it is human nature wanting to get away from terrible, terrible situations. and we in this country should be magnanimous enough to recognise we can't accept everybody, but we need to accept people who are fleeing from war—torn countries and maybe be more welcoming and hospitable. and that might be something which needs to be considered. but certainly, i think the police are doing theirjob and doing it well. i think the border force may need some extra help, but i don't think you would have discovered this because it was all sealed, and that made even more so the answer is, it is a tragedy, and i'm not sure you will stop other

tragedies from happening. thank you very much indeed for your thoughts and analysis. just to say that the essex police have said that they are working very hard indeed to try to identify those 39 victims, but they are warning that it may take some time, and they are appealing to any family members who are concerned about relatives or loved ones, or friends to get in touch with them. they're also trying to piece together the route of the lori. —— three. they think it came into the uk from zeebrugge, direct into the port here and arrived here where we are shortly after midnight. that is the latest from grays in essex, back to you in the studio. just as an

added note to what ben was saying there, the harbourmaster at zeebrugge, the port where this trucker originated, has been telling the bbc in the last few minutes that right now, there are 4000 trailers which make their way back and forth between zeebrugge and the uk every day. in a statement, he said "this summer was day. in a statement, he said "this summer was relatively calm, but in the past few weeks, we have found migrants every day in our searches. ina unit migrants every day in our searches. in a unit of uk borderforces migrants every day in our searches. in a unit of uk border forces works in the port of zeebrugge in collaboration with the belgian maritime police." butjust that message from the harbourmaster in zeebrugge, a huge volume of traffic and that they have noticed an increase in recent weeks in the number of migrants trying to get through. let's move on to some of

the day's other news. the prime minister has met the labour leaderjeremy corbyn to discuss the deadlock over brexit. the meeting comes after mps backed borisjohnson‘s brexit deal, but rejected his fast—track timetable to rush it through parliament. at prime minister's questions today, mrjohnson said mps had "willed the end but not the means", and it was now the eu's decision whether to grant an extension beyond 31 october — the current deadline. mr corbyn said mps must have the necessary time to improve on what he called "this worse—than—terrible treaty". our political correspondent helen catt reports. get ready for brexit on the 31st of october. it is the date we've been told the uk would leave the eu, do or die, for months. but after yesterday's events in parliament, it now looks virtually impossible to meet with a deal. so the plan may be about to change... get ready for brexit. ..to a delay, a general election, or even both. borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn met

earlier to talk about brexit next steps, but it is understood that no particular agreement was reached. and at prime minister's questions, each blamed the other for the withdrawal bill being put on hold. it was a shame that the house, as it were, willed the end but not the means, but there is still time for the right honourable gentleman to do that and to explain to the people of this country how he proposes to honour his promise that he made repeatedly, and deliver on the will of the people and get brexit done. he threw northern ireland under a bus. he ripped up protections for workers' rights and environmental standards, lost every vote along the way, and tried to prevent genuine democratic scrutiny and debate. veteran former conservative ken clarke urged the prime minister to ignore the dates and agree a longer timetable to look over legislation. will he, having reflected, let us know that he is about to table

a reasonable timetable motion so that this house can complete the task of finalising the details of the withdrawal bill so we can move on on a basis which might begin to reunite the nation once again for the future? much will depend on the eu, though. if it agrees to push back brexit day to january, as parliament wanted, ruling out a new deal exit next week, borisjohnson had said he would try to call the election. boris johnson has already tried to get a general election twice in recent months and on both occasions, he has failed. that is because under the fixed—term parliaments act, he needs two—thirds of mps to vote in favour and both times, opposition parties said they wouldn't until they could be sure that a new deal brexit was of the table. —— that a no—deal brexit was off the table. the leader of the snp is certainly keen to go to the polls. the extension now secured should not

just be long enough to scrutinise a bad bill for a week or two longer. it should in my view be long enough to allow a general election or a referendum, or perhaps more realistically, the former, leading to the latter. for now, delay looks almost certain, a general election pretty lightly. the question is when? helen catt, bbc news, westminster. first to westminster, and our chief political correspondent, vicki young. let's talk about the chat between borisjohnson let's talk about the chat between boris johnson and jeremy corbyn. what did you learn about that? boris johnson and jeremy corbyn. what did you learn about that7m doesn't seem to have gotten very far. it was a very rare meeting of the two. they had others with them, as well. they had their advisers with them, and labour have said they have tried to offer to agree on a new timetable to get this bill through, offering a few more days for them to do it. now it seems as if the other side, the government,

have not taken them up on it. the problem is boris johnson have not taken them up on it. the problem is borisjohnson has spent the last few months over and over again in public that he will make sure the uk leaves the eu without a deal or with on 31 october. to leave without would seem to be breaking his promise, so the decision he must make is whether he pursues trying to get that deal through and breaking that promise, or whether he uses any delay that is granted by the eu to try and get a general election. now neither of those are easy parts. it is not easy for a prime minister these days to get a prime —— general election. you can't just these days to get a prime —— general election. you can'tjust call it any more, he would need two thirds of mps to back him, which means he needs labour mps if he wants the general election. but it is clear to —— unclear to everyone in

westminster which of those routes is best to take. thank you, vicki. you have teed up the next bit for us very nicely, because i want to talk about the mechanisms, really. if the eu accepts a further brexit delay, borisjohnson has said he will push for a general election, but achieving that aim would not be straightforward. let me explain to you some of the options. the first option is the prime minister can ask parliament to support an election, under the fixed—term parliaments act. it requires the backing of two—thirds of the mps in the house of commons, but opposition parties have rejected this twice already. another possibility for the government is to call a motion of no confidence in itself. this seems the most unlikely choice, as it risks the prime minister being removed from downing street, if other parties rally around another candidate, to form a government of national unity.

that is a very risky move for boris johnson. the final option is a one—line bill, which requires a simple majority of mps. however, this can be amended including an attempt to lower the voting age — a move the government has previously ruled out. i'm just making the point again that these options come with potential risks. let's discuss this more with sirjohn curtice, professor of politics at strathclyde university. thanks for coming in again. those options that have just gone through, the three of them — to any of them stand out to you as the potential routes for boris johnson? firstly, we must realise that christmas is coming. and if we make the assumption that the latest possible date that everybody might agree is reasonable to hold an election is 12 december, then frankly, and bear in

mind the following, if the government forced through a vote of no—confidence, it takes seven weeks before you can call the election. that effectively means if the —— we are going to have an election by 12 december, it needs to happen tomorrow, and i don't think it will. so that mechanism is now ruled out. it is still open to the opposition parties to put down a vote of no—confidence in the belief they can replace the government an alternative one. but getting an election decided christmas, we will have run out of rubber. the one line bill could be done — if it's either that, or simply as a two thirds of mps, that would be five weeks notice. we have the first thursday in novemberfor that notice. we have the first thursday in november for that decision to be made. the straight forward to third solution is the most straightforward, but as you pointed out, it needs the labour party's

support, and they are currently a bit cagey as to whether they support it. the one line bill is the alternative, because in theory for that, you only need to pass legislation by a majority. and it is thought for example that may be the snp may be willing to back such a bill. that said, but do bear in mind that that bill must go through the house of lords. so if labour and the lib dems were determined to stop it, they could possibly still do so. meanwhile you are right in theory, mps could try to add to it and enfranchise 16—17 —year—olds. but it would also effectively nullify the bill because it is impossible to organise the enfranchisement of 16-17 organise the enfranchisement of 16—17 —year—olds in that timeframe. so all these things have risks, and there is a time pressure. so at the moment the government is deciding to wait for the eu to pronounce what it will do about an extension, but that may not happen until next week. so you can then see the timeframe available for making a decision

about trying to go for an election, which is very narrow. we cannot rule out the possibility that the government decides it doesn't want to try to pursue the bill, it tries to try to pursue the bill, it tries to go foran to try to pursue the bill, it tries to go for an election, and it fails. what then? in those circumstances, the government will have to frankly soldier on. presumably at that point, it would have to try and put the bill through a longer programme motion, but they want to avoid this because their concern is that if they go down that path, that basically the risk of the bill being amended in such a way that by the time we get to the third meeting with a vote on the bill in general, the majority that they have will disappear. so that is why they're trying to push this through, as well as the sense of momentum and saying that they had promised by the end of october. the truth is having lost about last night, the idea that it

has to be done by this month's about last night, the idea that it has to be done by this months and is gone, and the government has lost that forward sense of momentum, and the alternative is if there is election, the government can give up on the bill and we then have an interesting question and general as to whether we face the potential cliff of a no—deal brexit, and whether or not the speaker, whoever is in place then, would be willing to allow the opponents of a no—deal brexit to use the same mechanisms they used hitherto to pass emergency legislation to stop a no—deal brexit. so bear in mind the potential government's back position is that a no deal scenario becomes the default at the end of january, and the less the opposition parties will try to stop it. how much is hanging on what the eu says in terms of extension? what we are told, rumoured out of number ten, if the

eu grants the three month extension to the end of january, that the so—called been bill envisages, the government will be going for an election because they think that is too long. some suggest if the eu we re too long. some suggest if the eu were to come back and say how about 15 november, the government tried for a programme motion slightly more generous than the one lost yesterday and do it by then. but the expectation is, certainly from twitter feed from donald tusk, is they will probably go for three months simply on the basis of that is what they have been asked for, and anything that they would do that is different from that will have been seen to be potentially getting involved in the internal domestic politics of what at this point in time is still a member state of the eu. john, good to talk to you, thank you very much. our thanks to him for his analysis.

donald trump says his intervention to halt the advance of turkish troops in syria has saved many thousands of kurdish lives. he said that, in return, he was now lifting all sanctions against turkey. he said some captured islamic state fighters had escaped, but that most were still in custody. turkish forces crossed the border into north—eastern syria two weeks ago after us troops withdrew from the area. speaking at the white house, he said it was time for some one else to fight over the area. turkey, syria, and all forms of the kurds have been fighting for centuries. we have done them a great service and we have done a greatjob for all of them. and now we are getting out. long time. we were supposed to be there for 30 days —

that was almost ten years ago. so we we re that was almost ten years ago. so we were there for days, and 30 now we are leaving. supposed to be a very quick hit and let's get out — and it was a quick hit, but they stayed for nearly ten years. let someone else fight over this long, bloodstained sand. we can speak to our correspondent chris buckler in washington. what did you think of trump's angle of eve nts ? what did you think of trump's angle of events? this was essentially trumped claiming victory by saying that america was clearing out of a battlefield. and there will be many who watch this that say that he argues against this, but that he in some way give a green light for president to want to launch that invasion into northern syria. there have been hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes, and there have been many deaths. but

he has regarding this as a victory. and part of that is because there have been no american troops killed. he argued that the... it's ultimately not america's place to be there. but there are republicans inside congress who argued very strongly, members of trump's own party, saying that they have a responsibility and that by clearing this battlefield, they are leaving open russia, turkey, and others — and there will still be instability there. but if you listen to some of there. but if you listen to some of the words — for example, that bit where he says let someone else fight over this bloodstained sand and we are getting out — and the fact that the pain and suffering of a three—day fight after he removed american troops from the border, he said that was responsible for getting the kurds in turkey to make a deal. but ultimately he has abandoned his kurdish allies who

fought alongside him against islamic state. but at the same time he said he had been speaking to a kurdish general who said that he had thanked him for what the americans had done. in fact, we have a statement from the stf spokesman where they say, "we thank mr trump for his efforts to stop the attack. mr trump promise long—term support at various affairs." although what that long—term support is questionable given that trump has said he wants no part of it. many thanks for the latest there. the headlines in a moment, but let's catch up with the weather. susan is with me today. let's catch up with her before he catches up with us. for some there is another dollop of potentially double medic rain to come before the week is out. some rain is around at the moment, a front in the southeast and went to

the northwest. that pushes off towards the continent by the time we get to friday, but then this weather front will sneak across southern parts of uk and england and wales in particular, for the best part of 36 hours as we move to the beginning of the weekend. some of those totals could cause disruption. for this evening and overnight, most of the rain across eastern england clearing with heavier downpours possible across england. a few showers around with a few clear spells, 5—6dc the high across england, but generally milder than last night. into thursday, we have the remnants of a pairof thursday, we have the remnants of a pair of weather fronts producing some heavier rain across southern and eastern areas. brighter skies following from the west, look out for squally showers pushing across scotla nd for squally showers pushing across scotland and northern ireland. temperatures 12—14dc.

this is bbc news. the time is 32 minutes past five and these are the headlines. fx police are investigating the depths of 39 people whose bodies were found in the larry container. this matter has attracted national and international interests and it's absolutely imperative that the operation is conducted with the utmost respect for the 39 people who lost their lives. the goal is to meet their labour leader who tries to agree a brexit beer after mps backed the plan but rejected for three day limit. and as he heard president trump has said he would lift the

sanctions that he imposed on turkey following its military action against the syrian kurds. questions about the future of fracking in the uk, as that public spending watchdog raises serious concerns. let is catch—up at this point. we will start with some football after big wins for spurs and manchester city in the champions league last night, we will see how liverpool and chelsea get on this evening. could bea chelsea get on this evening. could be a tough night for chelsea. they are in amsterdam facing and kicking off in the next 20 minutes or so. our football correspondence either. it is the last season you will play the is against the champions league semifinalists and i started up with wings in the grips so it looks as though this is the toughest match in the group for chelsea on paper. absolutely no doubt. they have been

in great form this season, totally carrying on from where they finished la st carrying on from where they finished last season and a huge challenge for the young squad. do you still think they have got as much about them as i season? i can potentially we might have more and i know they lost some key performances from last season's team but they have been with that players and their form has been outstanding. chelsea is looking good as well? absolutely. they started a bit shaky but in the recent four or five weeks they looked really strong. they will have commentary tonight and we will be on air for it at about half past five and it kicks off at 555. they are under the dash on already, most allah could return from injury this evening. they train with the squad yesterday after recovering from an ankle problem. they are second in group e but the bottom with one point but that's was from derek troy —— draw with

nappanee, their team who beat them last month. we don't want to make things bigger than they are but they are the champions league and they can be annoying when they play against nappanee, they had big chances but they play good football, it's a brief team. they became the champion. there is commentary it's -- it champion. there is commentary it's —— it gets under way in hempstead and in the next 20 minutes. . the welsh rugby union team met prince charles this morning as he continue their preparations for the 12 cup semifinal in japan. his their preparations for the 12 cup semifinal injapan. his royal highness was at the training session in tokyo. they play south africa on sunday and they feel the all blacks on saturday. they just sunday and they feel the all blacks on saturday. theyjust got past france last weekend with victory by a single point. they lost their number eight with a hampstead ——

hamstring injury but they think they have made it this far relatively unscathed. obviously got... it is not the best of me is because it's he's a quality prayer and there has been bumps and bruises in the back soap training has been great having here and he brought great energy. tributes have been paid to the belgian paralympic champion who ended her life through euthanasia at the age ofjust 40. she won the gold that the paralympics in 20121 had an incurable muscle disease which cause co nsta nt incurable muscle disease which cause constant pain and features. she described her sport as her medicine. we will have more reaction to her death in sports day at half past six. that's all the support for now.

thank you. the time is 536. more now on our main story, and 39 people have died after being found inside a lorry container in essex. police believe the lorry came from bulgaria and entered the country via holyhead in north wales on saturday. the authorities are trying to identify the victims, but say this could be a lengthy process. there are no details yet as to where the people who died, were from as lisa hampele reports. desperate enough to risk their lives, crossing the busiest shipping lane in the world. they are coming in record numbers in small boats. it is not confirmed that those who died today were migrants, but since thejungle camp was closed in calais and security was increased at dover, smugglers have found new routes. as well as boats, migrants continue to be found in lorries. today's discovery is the worst tragedy of this

kind in recent years. the whole house will be shocked by the appalling news that 39 bodies have been discovered in a lorry container in essex. this is an unimaginable tragedy and truly heartbreaking. i know that the thoughts and prayers of all members are with those who lost their lives and their loved ones. can we just think for a moment of what it must have been like for those 39 people, obviously in a desperate and dangerous situation, for their lives to end, suffocated to death in a container? this is an unbelievable human tragedy that happened in our country at this time. the local mp was among many giving their condolences. she said it was sickening news, and people—trafficking is a vile and dangerous business. once again, campaigners say serious measures are needed to stop migrants dying. all we know at this point is that 39 people, who had hopes and dreams and fears like you and me, are no longer alive today.

and this is an unspeakable tragedy that could have been avoided. it is not the first time people have died like this. 19 years ago, 58 people suffocated to death in the back of a lorry in dover. today's tragedy is a reminder that people are as desperate as ever to risk everything to get to britain. lisa hampele, bbc news. in our central london studio is alp mehmet, chairman of migration watch uk, an organisation that campaigns for reduced level of immigration into the uk. thank you forjoining us, it's good to have you with us. what does this episode we know something about it, we are waiting for my police information but so far what does this tell you about problems that there are in terms of some of our ports? firstly, it is so, so sad that 39 human beings have died

largely because of evil, wicked scumbags frankly excuse me for using that word. but a lot of this is driven by traffickers making pots of money out of this. the other question i wonder whether the government should be asking itself is how so many of them get away with this as often as not. we know from the figures that the independent chief inspector of immigration came up chief inspector of immigration came up with, in16 chief inspector of immigration came up with, in 16 period in 2015 there was something like 7000 illegal drops in 2017 there were 30,000 attem pts drops in 2017 there were 30,000 atte m pts to drops in 2017 there were 30,000 attempts to get in here. we know it's going on and this is probably the tip of the iceberg. i can understand why it's happening because traffickers go out, find

these wretched people desperate for a better life, they promised and betterjobs, income, they promised and they will be able to send money back home. of course they are going to ta ke back home. of course they are going to take the opportunities. the sad fa ct to take the opportunities. the sad fact is most of them end up as a little more than slaves frankly, working in the criminal underworld and that is something that has to stop. when we spoke when we spoke earlier today he was saying look, the volume of traffic here just on a daily basis is immense. 4000 lorries going back and forth every day and he said the senator had been at relatively calm but that they had been an increase in the number of migrants trying to get across for whatever reason in recent weeks. is it for you a question of resources? are there resources in the right

place right now or not? it's all there frankly. this is not near, this is going on in the 70s particularly of course we need more resources , particularly of course we need more resources, there more cooperation needed between our agency in this country we do need better intelligence, we need the border to be better resourced rather than reason was to fail as one immigration said not so long ago we've also got to do something about returning those with no right to be here and it's know that sending out the message that once you get here everything is going to be fine. if the government is saying what we are doing that already, all i will say is you are not doing enough frankly. it is not good enough and you have got to do better.

let's discuss this further with tony smith, former director general of the uk border force. hejoins me via webcam from south london. thanks for talking to us once again. we acknowledge there are lots of circumstances of this that are still unclear. we are not pretending we know everything about what happened here except of course that it is a terrible tragedy on a human level. what does it tell you in terms of the problem of monitoring the kind of traffic that comes into these points? terrible tragedy isn't it? and blocking people in containers is not normal. we've had it before. only once or twice. it does put them ina only once or twice. it does put them in a perilous situation because containers like these, larry containers like these, larry containers can shop and pick up anywhere. they can be left on a

unattended and and i'm afraid god when those wendy's people were in there for. it must have been miserable for them to not know and not be able to get out of a container in the circumstances but it is unusual. it is partly because been securing our border in recent yea rs been securing our border in recent years and we have tightened up considerably we see what happens if the people coming across in small boats across into cans, very, very dangerous but i'm afraid this is just another episode of ruthless smugglers doing horrible things for money, no regard for human life just taking advantage of people i'm afraid. what in your view is the kind of extent and efficacy of cross—border cooperation. you mentioned for example you look at the kind of people involved in this

kind of trafficking in many insta nces kind of trafficking in many instances are people smuggling, how successful have we been and other european states spin and actually nipping that in the blood in the countries where it originates. we work really well with our colleagues here bilaterally in france and belgium andi here bilaterally in france and belgium and i can say that with some authority. i use to host meetings and deal with exchanges, officer exchanges and intelligence exchanges between these courts. it is really, really good but i think we ought to recognise the eu external frontier it's extremely fragile, there are big movements across the mediterranean the baltic roads are not completely boxed up, there's a significant supply chain of irregular migrants in europe where there aren't any part is of course, wanting to get here. at that i am afraid many of them have been partying with significant sums of money to criminal gangs who have set

up money to criminal gangs who have set up supply chains to test us and that isa up supply chains to test us and that is a real challenge, we do need to continue to work with our friends and colleagues in mainland europe and colleagues in mainland europe and holland and france and also with the port authorities and the shipping companies. you don't get to hear this too often unfortunately but it is a really tough battle for us. when my question, because of the political context, they were saying nobody should link this to changes associated in coming up with brexit and the rest of it but because we are talking about a change in our relationship tracked —— possibly in security terms as well with other european states coming up in the next few years if brexit happens, what concerns do you have that the level of cooperation that you've been talking about can be sustained? i don't think the smugglers care one way or another that what's happening particularly they just want the money. in terms of an operational

perspective it will be important what every dealer agreement we come to with our friends and neighbours across the channel but that includes security across supported surveillance and intelligence exchanges which we have now. it's really important that continues and i hope it will. thank you for joining us. the headlines on bbc news: essex police are investigating the deaths of 39 people —— whose bodies were found in a lorry container. the driver has been named locally in northern ireland as 25 year old mo robinson, and he's been arrested on suspicion of murder. the prime minister goes to meet the labour leader —— to try to agree a timetable for a brexit deal —— after mps backed the plan —— but rejected the 3—day limit on debate.

a man accused of stabbing to death, the teenagerjodie chesney has denied her murder and pointed the finger at one of his co—defendants. four young men are on trial accused of killing the 17 year old in a park in east london earlier this year. one of the accused, svenson ong—a— kwie gave evidence today. our correspondent dan johnson has been following the trial at the old bailey. he has admitted in court being a prolific dealer of cannabis who was well known and he sat on the night of friday the 1st of march that he asked for a lift to the park to deal drugs and he said he expected to meet someone there to drop some candidates but he described how putting up by the park they could not see the man be expected so he and his 17—year—old codefendants have gone out of the car and crossed

the park in the darkness to see if they could find him. the play area is veryjodi and her friends where i sat enjoying their friday night not expecting anything to happen. he was asked directly at the start of his evidence did you do that, did you carry out the attack. he said no, i did not stop her and he was asked to date and at that point he named his 17—year—old co—defendant, he said he noticed something to the left of him and then as they turned and ran he heard screams. he said he did not realise until they got back into the car that someone had been stabbed. he claimed the 17—year—old had thought he was stabbing someone else but it was a case of mistaken identity. spencer has denied that he had issues with other drug dealers in the area although he admits that he himself had been stabbed on a previous occasion and he witnessed another local character being stabbed in a row. he said he had never carried weapons and he did not

go there that evening intent on violence. his co—defendant gave evidence area and said he had driven their group there that evening but he did not know anything by that was planned. he realised afterwards that anyone had been stabbed. the 17—year—old defendant is expected to give evidence here tomorrow and the case is due to last another week. he was one of britain's most wanted criminals, but today shane o'brien, who stabbed a man to death in a hillingdon bar, has been jailed for life. after murdering josh hanson in 2015, he then went on the run for more than three years. today he was told he'd have to serve at least 26 years behind bars. detective chief inspector noel mchugh has been telling bbc london how he tracked him down. deep just deepjust in the deep just in the bar with deepjust in the bar with his girlfriend and friends and shane o'brien is with his group towards the end of the evening he stands up and he uses words to the effect of

what is your problem at which point you can see josh what is your problem at which point you can seejosh is really quite surprised and shocked and shane o'brien reached into his pocket and he sticking out a knife and he cut josh from his ear across to his chest. he then turns around and calmly walks out of the bar and b would see that he was drinking from beakers of the recovered fingerprints and e—mail its shane o'brien he was bearing a canada goose jacket but on thatjacket there were spots of blood that way josh‘s blood. we released his picture with a crime a wide and a lady saw the picture and she believed he was in the pub and it was asked for it and he would go out with his friend and they would have beer and look quite relaxed not as if you just killed somebody. the next thing we know is they go to as hford next thing we know is they go to ashford shopping centre where he buys new clothes, he disconnected a

serious crime and he grabbed whatever came to have but he's quite relaxed about it and very calm and paying -- paying relaxed about it and very calm and paying —— paying in cash and then we resell confidently new errata u nfortu nately resell confidently new errata unfortunately 12 hours behind where is he going to make a mistake? we went actually thinking he would have gone out on a plane. we now know he has travelled around europe so he got ina has travelled around europe so he got in a dispute in a nightclub he was a relatively low level offence but police took photographs of him and of his tattoo which had been changed and take a fingerprint, they had no reason to doubt his identification and they released him on bail. his fingerprints with subsequent —— subsequently be identified as being shane o'brien so we received a phone call from a solicitor who said that shane o'brien was contemplating handing himself, is this another ruse to pull us all the way over a two

romania so we work with police which would ultimately result in them detaining him so he was front back ijy detaining him so he was front back by exhibition unit. you are trying to think why on earth did you do this. he said that he reached for it he never intended to connect with josh, which in itself is really hard to comprehend because the cut is from his ear across his chest. you wa nt to from his ear across his chest. you want to shout and grabbed his arm to try and stop him, we can never bring their left one back but we can bring some closure in getting him the truth about what happened. fracking has divided opinion in the uk in recent years. some local communities have raised concerns about the environmental impact of the technique, which captures gas found deep underground in shale rock, the industry itself insists it has huge potential to supply energy.

well today the spending watchdog the national audit office says fracking has progressed in this country at a far slower pace than originally predicted, and that it is losing public support. here's our environment analyst roger harrabin. the shale gas boom in the usa. it's had energy prices tumbling. a downing street official told the then prime minister david cameron, who predicted a shale gas bonanza in the uk. one report said it'd generate £38 billion in revenue and create 64,000 jobs, with 400 wells being fractal a year. but the uk is not the us. protesters have held up fracking over earth tremors. the uk's geology has proved very different, too. every community that has been faced

with fracking is opposed to the industry. it is not the time to be introducing a new industry we need to look at alternatives. and there is no sign of lower prices. what's more, the project is losing support. the economic benefits around fracking now are very uncertain, not least because the government doesn't really know how much shale gas could be extracted from england. the government itself doesn't think that it will have a significant impact on gas prices, which are set internationally, and the scale of the shale gas industry, if it were to take off in the uk, wouldn't really be significant enough to change that much. if the class there is a good quality and if it pretty simple, we will answer that yes i guess. after that is the question for the uk government and for uk policymakers as to how quickly do they want to

exploit and develop that resource. we have been using gas for many yea rs we have been using gas for many years to come and they say we might as well use british gas but this has been a bad day for them. here's the latest news from police in camps, on the m20 multi—array they say they we re the m20 multi—array they say they were called at 340 this afternoon to reports of people in the back of a lorry on that multi—way offices that then that the carriageway between man and a threat that larry was stopped. nine people are being checked as a precaution by the southeast coast ambulance service before they are passed to the home office integration offices and the multi—way was closed by this incident was being investigated. we arejust incident was being investigated. we are just reporting incident was being investigated. we arejust reporting on incident was being investigated. we are just reporting on the latest from kent police on that incident on the m20. i will be back at 10pm but

susanis the m20. i will be back at 10pm but susan is back with the weather. i will be back at 10pm but susan is back time for a look at the weather. it's another dollop of heavy rain on the way for some parts of the uk potentially problematic rain as well because for some areas it's going to prove rather relentless let's bear with us next week prospects look settled i think we will switch from wet and windy to write a clearer crisper conditions. here we are at the moment, low pressure to the northwest of the uk what weather front in the southeast bringing rain currently and another with one digging infrom currently and another with one digging in from the west more rain as well to the course of the evening and overnight and then the tomatoes of those fronts will merge into one band of rain and we will have clear skies following on from the northwest. for scotland and northern ireland it's a largely dry seeing by the end of the night. a clear spot across the netherlands could see loads of five or six but generally a much milder night than last night. we will start off tomorrow with some rain across western england and wales clearing as the day goes on but i think the rain will turn

happier as it searches through the afternoon. some sharp showers as well with dreams for scotland and northern ireland and some heavy downpour is here. that is they say i think it's become a bit quieterjust briefly ethical overnight but on intel friday we have got cold air digging down to the uk still mounted to the south but this weather front feeding in between the two. the big contrast for the best part of 36 hours or some areas there are rain hundred millimetres of rain for some areas risks of local flooding hundred millimetres of rain for some areas risks of localflooding much of the conditions are on friday and saturday some snow across as it bumps into cold air further north and snow showers possible across stu bs and snow showers possible across stubs of the mountains for scotland as well. that front does not go from parts of lives as eagle on into saturday some websites over the

weekend but adding up all the time some clear conditions trying to begin from the north and cold some showers across scotland and click —— gusty winds at time. the area is primary concern some disruption to a friday and saturday and wales and the northwest of england anticipating the highest rating. until next week as soon as sunday the high and should build and into cooler air, just a chance that area of low pressure to the south could come into play as he looked for that i head into next week. said to me south could come into play as he looked further ahead into next week. setting the sunday's prospects are drier and chillier as well.

39 people are found dead in the back of a container lorry in essex — one was a teenager. the horrifying discovery was made in the small hours. it's not yet known who the people were or where they came from. this is an absolute tragedy and a very sad day for essex police and the local community. we will continue to work alongside many other partner agencies to find out what led to these deaths. the moment the lorry arrived at its final destination at around 1.15am this morning at an industrial park in grays. the lorry driver, who's 25, from northern ireland and named locally as mo robinson, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. tonight, the police have appealed for information about who the victims

are and who might have organised their fatal journey here. also tonight... borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn meet to try to find a way