a man is found guilty of murdering british backpacker grace millane in new zealand. she was killed by a 27—year—old who she met online. he strangled her, stuffed her body in a suitcase and buried it in a forest. this footage of grace arriving at a hotel with her killer is the last time she was seen alive. her parents said his conviction would not reduce their pain. grace was our sunshine and she will be missed forever. she didn't deserve to be murdered in such a barbaric way. for legal reasons, the man who killed her cannot be named. also on the programme tonight. promises of revolutionary politics — as both the brexit party and plaid cymru launch their election policies. arrested after shooting his heavily pregnant ex—wife

with a crossbow in london — today ramanodge unmathallegadoo was found guilty of murder. waiting times of up to four years for routine operations in northern ireland prompt warnings that the health service there is close to collapse. and how david walliams‘ best—selling children's book has been turned into a musical with the help of robbie williams. and coming up on bbc news, scotland will face israel in their euro 2020 play—off semifinal in march. the winner will meet either norway or serbia for a place at the tournament. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a man who strangled a british backpacker in new zealand and hid her body inside a suitcase

has been found guilty of murder. grace millane was found buried in bushland outside auckland last december. the 21—year—old from essex, was killed after a night out on the eve of her birthday. her family wept in court as jurors convicted their daughter's killer. he can't be named for legal reasons. shaimaa khalil is in auckland. this was an extraordinary day in court. you could feel the emotion and grief from grace's family and tense moments as the jury members walked into the courtroom, the pa rents walked into the courtroom, the parents holding hands. as they read out the verdict, grace's mother gasp and both parents broke down in tea rs. and both parents broke down in tears. for three weeks the court has heard what happened to grace that night and heard what happened to grace that nightand a heard what happened to grace that night and a warning, some may find report distressing. this is grace millane the night before her 22nd birthday, in december.

the last time she was seen alive. she arrived in auckland last november after graduating from the university of lincoln. grace had been on a round the world trip and travel to new zealand today, united in their grief, david and gillian millane left court after their daughter's killer was convicted of murder. grace was taken away from us in the most brutal fashion a year ago. our lives and family have been ripped apart. grace was a beautiful, talented, loving daughter. grace was our sunshine and she will be missed for ever. she did not deserve to be murdered in such a barbaric way. grace's killer appeared in court today. his identity cannot be disclosed for now, due to a court order. cctv showed the pair out drinking, but, within hours, she was strangled in his apartment in a hotel in the city. this is the killer telling

police why he didn't call an ambulance to help grace. i dialled 111. i did not hit the button. because i was scared how bad it looked. why did you think it looked bad? well, because...a dead person in my room. the jury heard that after the murder, the man searched online for how to dispose of a corpse and watched extreme pornography. they also saw him going out on a date with another woman, while grace's body was still in his room. this is him later, moving the body in a suitcase. he then buried it in a shallow grave in bushland on the outskirts of auckland. the defence argued that grace died accidentally, that this was a consensual sex act gone wrong. but the jury simply

didn't believe it. they heard forensic evidence of how grace endured sustained pressure on her neck for 5—10 minutes. they also heard the prosecution's argument that the killer sexualised her death by taking intimate photos of her dead body. grace's murder shocked this nation. the outpouring of sorrow and support was felt strongly by her family. we would love to thank the people of new zealand. they have opened their hearts to grace and ourfamily. we must return home, and try and pick up the pieces of our lives and day to day without our beloved grace. today's verdict brings some justice for grace's family, but it will not bring back the daughter they say will be missed for ever. more than two years after the manchester arena attack, families have been told that a public inquiry into the bombing may be delayed because police have

failed to provide statements. greater manchester police made a public apology for the delay. our north of england correspondent judith moritz is in manchester. the public inquiry into the attack that happened here is due to start in april but today we learn there are two significant problems with the evidence from the police that could delay it. first, 12 organisations have been asked to provide statements to lawyers, gmp, greater manchester police, is the only one not to have done so by the deadline, missing the deadline for state m e nts deadline, missing the deadline for statements of officers in command that night and also missing sections of recordings from police radio transmissions that cover the time of the attack. the chairman of the enquiry said that if it is delayed asa enquiry said that if it is delayed as a result it would not be fair to families and manchester in general and infact families and manchester in general and in fact greater manchester

police's barrister apologised to families explaining work is under way to sort out issues but a relative was heard to say they did not accept the apology. thank you. in other news — the first group of orphaned british children to be returned from the area in northern syria — formerly controlled by the islamic state group — have arrived back in the uk. they were brought home after a request from a high courtjudge. the group have been met by theirfamily and are said to be in good spirits. a hospital in glasgow has been put into special measures, following a series of infections that led to the deaths of two children. both had been treated on a ward at the royal hospital for children, which had been affected by water contamination. the hospital will now be run by a board appointed by the scottish government. nigel farage has unveiled the brexit party's general election policies, promising a "political revolution that puts ordinary people first". apart from leaving the european union, the party leader also pledged to cut the foreign aid budget, abolish the house of lords and put a cap on permanent immigration

at 50,000 people a year. this report, from our political correspondent alex forsyth, contains flash photography. nigel farage! he might be synonymous with brexit but today, nigel farage tried to widen his pitch, setting out what else his party stands for, insisting it has a place. we now want to lead the next phase, which is a political revolution that puts the ordinary people first. maintaining his antiestablishment stance, this was not called a manifesto but a contract with the people. not a programme for government, he knows he won't get there, but a small book calling for big change. a new voting system, capping immigration, cutting the cost of living. a pitch to labour voters now he has pulled out of tory seats. the question, though, is his strategy right? would it make sense for us to stand against sitting conservatives when they are now beginning to say the right thing? that wouldn't have made sense. we are taking on labour

in their heartlands, in those seats, we are the challenger, that we can get brexit party voices in the house of commons, then we can keep boris to his promises. you've effectively said the conservatives can get brexit over the line so you've cut what is your central message... well, what i've said is... ..off at the knees. what i've said is the conservatives have shifted their position because we exist. if we didn't exist... but the conservatives have now shifted their position... yeah, and... so why would you vote for the brexit party? because the conservative party have let us down over the course of the last three and half years by making promises and not delivering on them. in coventry, where the party first launched, they are still standing, trying to tap into brexit frustration. nigel farage says he needs mps in parliament to keep brexit on track but he's struggled to turn support into seats in the past and there is a risk, in limiting where his party are standing, that he's put it on the sidelines of this contest. in this labourarea, some brexit party supporters aren't persuaded. farage has got some very good policies. i agree with a lot of the stuff.

i feel the same with the conservatives, hopefully the deal will go through. at the pilot pub, jim had a similar view. nigel farage has done a good job as far as getting out of europe. i agree with a lot of them things. but as far as a general election, it will split the vote. but for some avid brexit party backers, the only wish is they were standing more widely. i think they should have stuck it out, gone for all the 600—odd seats, because i think the people of this country are so sick of the people in parliament today. that's what this campaign is banking on, a brexit backlash to win support, but it might not be an easy ride. alex forsyth, bbc news. meanwhile, plaid cymru is promising a £20 billion investment in what it calls a ‘green jobs revolution‘ for wales. launching its election manifesto, the party's leader, adam price, said they would also invest in rail and bus services, a new offshore

wind farm and three tidal lagoons to generate electricity. he also talked about his ambition for an independent wales, as hywel griffith reports. once, these valleys powered britain's industrial revolution. now the rhondda's coal mines have become museums. post—industrial wales is a place struggling with its political identity, where some sense and opportunity. plaid cymru sees this brexit election as a chance to sell its vision. although most people here voted to leave the eu, it wants wales to remain as an independent nation. we want to be at the heart of europe, on our own terms, in our own right, standing proud. the party's manifesto calls for another referendum on eu membership. it also pledges thousands ofjobs from green energy projects like tidal lagoons and wind farms. and it offers an extra £35 a week for every child in a low income family. as it sets out ideas for the future, plaid has been drawing

on the past and talking about wales as a country once rich in natural resources like coal, which has been stripped of its assets and left in poverty. it has demanded reparation payments to be made after decades of what the leader calls "british rule". adam price wants £20 billion to reboot a nation. who should pay this money? what we're saying is, the uk government should actually increase its level of infrastructure investment. as a debt owed to wales, as reparation payments? look, as an investment in our own future. exactly what the welsh contribution... some of these first—time voters say they are curious about independence but are they persuaded to back plaid? in theory, i am indy—curious, because i do like the idea. but i really don't see myself voting in that direction. i don't think people know the ins and outs of, like, how a trade deal would be formed, how we would get money into the country, what we would export and i feel like because of that,

it's a big stumbling block for people. remaining in europe, breaking out of the uk, plaid hopes its manifesto can bring more voters on board. hywel griffith, bbc news, pontypridd. tonight boris johnson, jeremy corbyn, jo swinson and nicola sturgeon will all face a question time audience in sheffield. the programme is live — our deputy political editor, john piennaar is there. it isa it is a big night for these leaders and an event like this rarely transforms a campaign but it can willed up or dent credibility, it can expose vulnerability, which makes it a big opportunity but also a risk especially as when tonight they will face they do not know what kind of questions to a studio line. jeremy corbyn will be up first, he has just published the most radical ma nifesto has just published the most radical manifesto from labour in decades where asjohnson is leading in the polls and he will want not to blow

it tonight. in between they will be jo swinson, the lib dems leader. theircampaign it jo swinson, the lib dems leader. their campaign it seems could use more momentum. and nicola sturgeon who hopes for a new scottish referendum which this time she hopes to win. brexit has magnified all of the bets on the table. promises have never been bigger and trust in politics never lower and they will all try to build up their trust rating this evening. i suspect the time may go quickly. and that question time leaders‘ special will start here on bbc one at seven o'clock. follow the debate with our reality check team on line at bbc.co.uk/news. the time is 6.15. our top story this evening. a man is found guilty of murdering british backpacker grace millane in new zealand. two weeks to write 2a songs! how robbie williams had to work fast to adapt david walliams‘s

bestselling book into a musical. coming up on bbc news, sam curran takes the crucial wicket of captain kane williamson as the shadows lengthen on day two of the first test between england and new zealand, who are 209 runs behind. back to the election, and throughout the campaign, bbc news is looking closely at the places where the election could be won and lost in the uk and those seats which will be closely contested. today, we're in norwich. reeta chakrabarti is there. we are in the centre of norwich, norfolk‘s main city and although it's the county's biggest urban area, it is politically very different from the surrounding region. norfolk is agricultural and as a whole predominantly conservative. but this city is split into two. norwich south is a safe labour seat. the party's held it since 2015. norwich north is a tory marginal.

they've a majority ofjust 507. the city as a whole voted 56% to remain in the european union and the rest of east anglia voted overwhelmingly to leave. people here have been watching the parties make major spending pledges during this campaign, spending that's in marked contrast to the squeeze in the last decade. here in norwich, despite the apparent prosperity in the centre, people are struggling with child poverty, to take one measure, a third higher than the rate across england. it's 8:45am, and time for school. among the arrivals isjudy, a mother of six with another baby on the way. her partner works a 12—hour day and she copes with the children alone. a sure start children's's centre that a sure start children's centre that used to be attached to the school was a lifeline of professional expertise. i was just nervous about meeting

other people and things like that, really, because obviously, it's just me and the children, normally. i'm not really used to adult company. so when i did start going, it wasn't actually as bad as i thought and i actually did like it, so that's when i then started going. and then i found out it then closed down. it's not the only one. 38 out of 53 children's centres across norfolk have been axed, places that brought together health visitors, parenting classes and specialist advice. stacey was also a regular at the centre here. so how much did you use the child ren‘s centre? she's a single mother of three and relied on it for practical and emotional support. how did you feel when it shut down? um, i was really sad because now i have to find somewhere else to go. and a lot of the time, you have to pay for, like, courses or pay for creche, whereas here, that was all free. this was where the building... the executive head

of this and two other schools in the city tells me that cutting resources for deprived families could affect children's life chances later. i do think it is short—sighted, not of our local authority but in general, national policy terms, to cut funding in that area, because i think we will ultimately be paying the price at each stage of a child's education. on its own, number four. for people later in life, poverty is also an issue in norwich. six and seven, 67. pensioner poverty is nearly twice as high here as across england. this community centre was set up 60 years ago to help combat one of the consequences of poverty, isolation. i feel lonely at times. i've got family but you can't expect them to be with me all the while. those who help run the centre say politicians should remember that loneliness can have real knock—on effects. it can accelerate other issues, in terms of mental health type problems, even dementia.

i think loneliness tends to increase that significantly. the message from both young and old is that prevention is better than cure, a conclusion they hope the politicians will take to heart. with me now is the bbc‘s political correspondent for the east of england, andrew sinclair. how is this election playing out in the region more widely? there are some real issues facing the city, you've touched on two of them but we could add mental health provision, the local trust here is in special measures, and the rise in drug use and drug deaths. these issues raise questions about public spending and about inequality and labour is trying really hard to force them onto the agenda here in this election, but on the doorsteps, from what i am hearing, all people want to talk about, notjust in norwich but in the wider region, is brexit. that is going to cause real problems

for labour in a region where just about every seat is already held by the conservatives and just about every seat voted to leave in the referendum. at the last election, labour won seven seats in the east and they know they have a job and they had to do as well this time. andrew, thank you, that is the view in norwich and with that, back to sophie in the studio. a man who shot dead his heavily pregnant ex—wife with a crossbow has been found guilty of murder. sana muhammad, who was a mother of five, was killed by her ex—husband when he burst into her home in east london last november. her unborn baby survived. richard lister reports. this is the moment ramanodge unmathallegadoo was arrested, just minutes after shooting his ex—wife with a crossbow. you are under arrest for the offence of attempted murder. he is unrepentant, saying that she'd got in the way when he was aiming for her husband.

that you fired and shot her, 0k?|j shut it into. yes, but you've told me that. sana muhammad had escaped her abusive ex—husband years before and remarried, but unmathallegadoo was obsessed with her. he bought two of these crossbows, duct tape and a hammer and hid in a shed in the garden of sana's family home with several crossbow bolts, waiting to attack the couple. police say, when spotted, he ran into the house and fired his ex—wife as she tried to flee. heavily pregnant, she was fatally injured, but medical teams were able to save her baby. it's amazing. a crossbow is a lethal weapon. the bolts missed the baby, and the baby was born healthy and is now a healthy one—year—old child. it's nothing short of a miracle. in court, the prosecution said unmathallegadoo had planned to kill sana and her husband and probably the baby, too. he will be sentenced next week. sana's husband, imtiaz,

said she was his soulmate and best friend and that he and her six children were lost without her. richard lister, bbc news. ba rclays has barclays has pulled out of prince andrew's start—up scheme, saying it would no long participate in the programme. prince andrew has been riding with the queen on the grounds of winter castle today, the first time he has stepped down —— he has been since he stepped down after the interview about his of a chip with convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. two metal detectorists have been jailed for stealing a hoard of viking treasure they discovered in herefordshire in 2015. 51—year—old layton davies was jailed for eight and half years and george powell, who's 38, got ten years. the judge said they'd "cheated" both the landowner and the public of exceptionally rare and significant coins. hospital waiting times in northern ireland are at their highest ever level

with some people waiting over four years to see a specialist for even routine issues. an independent health think tank has warned that parts of northern ireland's health service have collapsed and people are experiencing agonising waits that wouldn't happen if they lived elsewhere in the uk. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. a formerfirefighter, eugene hynes is now battling to save his eyesight. he is one of more than 6,000 people in northern ireland waiting for a cataract operation, some waiting several years. i have been told that i am 6,555th on the list and that is only to see a consultant and i'm very, very worried for my eyes. from the age of 40, you've more chance of going blind and i'm 52 and itjust really scares me. i don't want to go blind. i really don't.

figures obtained by the bbc show patients in northern ireland are waiting years for appointments across a range of health conditions. four years and ten months for gastroenterology, more than four years for neurology and for a child to see an allergy specialist. the think tank the nuffield trust says a weight of even 12 months would be highly unusualfor many patients elsewhere in the uk. and here in northern ireland, there is now a warning that some patients may be at risk of dying while they wait for treatment. there is little health trusts can do without political intervention from higher up. here is where decisions should be taken to help tackle the problem, but there is paralysis at stormont, because northern ireland has been without a devolved government for nearly three years since power—sharing collapsed. civil servants running northern ireland's health service say up to £1 billion of funding is needed to eradicate waiting lists, but without a minister, their powers are limited. the minister, in my view, would have either sought more money and may have got it,

or they would have changed the priorities and would have spent more money on the waiting list times. if stormont isn't restored soon, with patients at risk, there will be pressure on westminster to intervene. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. the boy in the dress. it's a best—selling children's book and was written by the tv star and author david walliams about a 12—year—old footballer who wants to wear a dress. now the book has been turned into a musical, with the help of the royal shakespeare company and the pop star robbie williams. 0ur arts editor will gompertz reports. # though it feels so right to me # how do i know that it isn't wrong?# you gave us two weeks! two weeks to write 2a songs. # feel like i belong #. elton john wrote the songs for billy elliott in one week. yeah, but i can go... but, you know, i can't... i don't know how to do that! words are very different.

i bet eltonjohn did, but i bet you... lee hall, i think, wrote the lyrics. well, i bet you lee hall took about two months to think of the words. all right. # you have to admit # that's a perfect fit # i've never dressed up like a girl # you wouldn't ever know it #. it's written before you had a child. it's written before instagram and social media has become a big thing. if you were writing it today, would you write it differently? um, i hope not because i think the theme is always relevant, because the theme is what it is to be different and the celebration of someone who has the courage to be different and do their own thing. the interesting thing is, that debate has kind of moved on a lot in ten years, because when the book came out, it wasn't much of a success commercially because i think that people were quite resistant to maybe the title of the book.

and then the creative process? my process is, "i'm going into the studio today to get a hit." you know, where i think that other people that may have written musicals before are thinking about the book and the journey and where it needs to go and the elements, it's like, each individual song, i'm just thinking, should be a number one somewhere in the history of music. # dance, dance, dance # forget about tomorrow #. does this show relate to shakespeare? i think it does in a way. there was a point where i decided on a cunning piece of programming, which was that we would do as you like it and the boy in the dress, so the girl in the trousers and the boy in the dress. you know, rosalind in as you like it puts on her trousers and understands a different perspective on humankind and i think dennis does the same in the boy in the dress. # dance, dance, dance!# time for a look at the weather.

here's ben rich. what has the weekend got in store for us? after a break from the west of the wet weather, heavy rain returns with a vengeance over wet weather, heavy rain returns with a vengeance over the next 24—hour is. the first area we are concerned about, the south—west of england and the south—west of wales, could be some localised flooding and travel problems tonight and into tomorrow morning. a met office yellow weather warning and buckle some high ground over dartmoor, say, could see 50 millimetres of rain, enough to see some flooding problems and some atrocious road conditions. more widely, rain spanning across parts of england and wales and wet weather for northern ireland. scotland largely dry and the finals it will be clear and chilly but for most, cloudy and breezy with rain and it is going to be much milder than recent nights. tomorrow, outbreaks of rain drifting quite erratically northwards across england and wales and into southern and northern ireland. as we get into the afternoon, for east anglia and the south—east, signs that the cloud will break a bit and we will see some sunny

will break a bit and we will see some sunny spells. the rain petering out across the south—west and to an extent across wales. the focus of wet weather shifts further north, through the east midlands coming to north—east england, yellow warning from the met office, the ground is sodden, further, persistent rain could cause further flooding problems and it turns increasingly wet across southern and eastern scotland, northern scotland through daylight hours should stay dry but through the evening, the wettest weather moves across the eastern and northern parts of scotland, and again, that could cause flooding. further south tomorrow night, it will start to dry up and sunday promises to be a drier day because of this area of high pressure. notice the weight bulges up towards us. notice the weight bulges up towards us. it is a narrow window of dry weather. in the window, there is likely to be a lot of fog and low cloud to take us through sunday. rain to the far north—east and the far south—west. it is another milder day, 9—12 but at least sunday will bea day, 9—12 but at least sunday will be a bit drier than saturday. that's all from the bbc news at six. 0n bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. 00:30:00,231 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 goodbye.