vigils are held in london and cambridge to pay tribute

to the victims of the london bridge terror attack. the prime minister, the labour leader and the mayor of london stood to remember saskia jones and jack merritt with a minute's 00:01:12,1000 --> 00:01:14,236 silence. bell tolls. the girlfriend of jack merritt, along with family and friends, attended a service in cambridge. both victims were graduates of its university. let us pray for all faithful muslims grieving at such acts taken in the name of their faith. the conservatives and labour have continued to exchange accusations about the circumstances of the attacker usman khan's early release. also this lunchtime. the point of no return on climate change is looming. the stark warning from the united nations as leaders gather in madrid for talks.

monday morning misery for commuters on south western railway, at the start of a 27—day strike by rail workers. thousands of people in falkirk endure a freezing night after a gas powerfailure, which could go on until the weekend. and a double century by captain joe root, but will rain hamper england's chances against new zealand in the second test? coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news, the pressure continues to build on everton‘s marco silva after they lose in injury time to leicester. next up, the merseyside derby. good afternoon and welcome

to the bbc news at one. borisjohnson and the labour leaderjeremy corbyn, along with the mayor of london sadiq khan, havejoined a vigil to honour the victims of the stabbing attack at london bridge last week. saskia jones, who was 23, and 25—year—old jack merritt were stabbed to death by usman khan, a convicted terrorist who'd been released from prison on licence. he was then shot dead by police. andy moore reports. at the guildhall in london, friends of saskia jones and jack merritt came with flowers to remember their friends. britain's political leaders also came to pay tribute. we stand in silence once more, following the atrocity on london bridge last friday. our city, vibra nt atrocity on london bridge last friday. our city, vibrant and alive, yet threatened with death. let us keep silent and

remember. the brief service was inclusive of all faiths. let us pray for all faithful muslims grieving at such a cts faithful muslims grieving at such acts taken in the name of their faith. the mayor of london spoke for the people of the capital. the best way to defeat this hatred is not by turning on one another, but it's by focusing on the values that bind us, to take hope from the heroism of ordinary londoners and our emergency services, who ran towards danger, risking their lives to help people they didn't even know. bell in cambridge, a similar vigil was

held. it was attended by leanne o'brien, jack merritt‘s girlfriend. they had just been on holiday together to celebrate his birthday. tributes have also been paid to saskia jones, described by her friends as a determined, ambitious woman, who funded her studies at cambridge by working at mcdonald's. osman khan got a second chance and saskia didn't. that is it. she was just the most perfect soul and she is gone. there will be more acts of memory to come. this was only the first, fault young academics who came to celebrate rehabilitation but found only danger. andy moore, bbc news. usman khan's release from prison on licence has led to a bitter political row over sentencing and the conditions under which offenders are released on licence. our legal correspondent clive coleman reports. remembering the tragedy of london bridge.

among the carnage that day, there was extraordinary bravery. lukasz pulls off the wall, this long stick. he charges towards the bad guy and he impacts him on the chest. the second fatality, named yesterday, saskia jones. young, bright, committed to social justice. emotions are raw. she was fearless. she was a warrior. she was going to change the world. maybe she will. the attacker, usman khan, benefited from a period from 2008 to 2012 when prisoners classified as "dangerous" and placed on so—called extended sentences were automatically released on licence halfway through their custodial term. today, a damning assessment of government and prison measures to de—radicalise and prevent attacks by convicted terrorists. in a bureaucratic

organisation that is highly resistant to change, very secretive, and has a kind of arrogant and delusionary belief in its own expertise, that kind of chaos if you like, or that kind of revolving door of political masters is very useful if you don't want to do anything. both main parties have responded to the london bridge tragedy. the prime minister borisjohnson the london bridge tragedy. the prime minister boris johnson has the london bridge tragedy. the prime minister borisjohnson has said that he wants to end automatic early release for terrorist prisoners, but what is actually in the conservative party ma nifesto 7 what is actually in the conservative party manifesto? serious and violent criminals in prison forfour years oi’ criminals in prison forfour years or more will have to serve two thirds of their sentence before release, that is up from half. 20,000 more police officers in england and wales. and 10,000 extra prison places. so what aboutjeremy corbyn? he does not believe that ending automatic early release for terrorist prisoners will combat terror. he wants a criminaljustice system that is fit for purpose.

labour also wants more police officers, 22,000. it wants to restore prison officer numbers to 2010 levels. there's been a 9% drop since then. he also wants to review the prevent and protect programmes, which combat extremism and protect the public. all of the political parties one form or another said they would invest the criminal justice system but can the threat from convicted terrorists ever be eliminated? you absolutely cannot just sentence your way out of this problem by locking people up for longer and longer periods. you have to use the time they are in custody, year after year, to use the time they are in custody, year after yea r, to to use the time they are in custody, year after year, to work with them and ensure that supervision on release is fit for purpose and it is not at the moment. you also have to recognise that there is always going to be some risk. however that prevention becomes, the uncomfortable truth is that we will all have to live with some level of threat for the foreseeable future. clive coleman, bbc news. let's speak to our assistant

political editor norman smith. he is at westminster now. this attack seems to have prompted a political blame game. it does and i suspect many people will be surprised and probably appalled by the speed and ferocity with which politicians have sought to score political points, almost within hours of the london bridge attack. in contrast, really, to normal times, if you have a terror attack, politicians tend to drawback because there is an awareness that families are grieving and there is a need to establish exactly what happened. the nation has to come to terms with events. that absolutely has not happened in the wake of london bridge. i think in particular, the prime minister gave a very abrasive interview on the bbc yesterday, in which he sought to directly and unequivocally blame the previous labour government for changes to sentencing policy which he said led to the release of us men

khan, which in turn resulted in the killings at london bridge. —— the release of usman khan. we know it is a lot more complicated and i get in an election, things become more intense and get speeded up and clearly there was a nervousness in borisjohnson‘s camp that there should be no repeat of what happened to theresa may during the last election when you will remember in the wake of the manchester bombing during the election campaign, she spent days on the defensive, having to answer questions about police cuts. but the risk in coming out so forcefully is ofa risk in coming out so forcefully is of a backlash from people who just think it is distasteful and inappropriate. interestingly, this morning, we have seen a different tone, including from thejustice secretary, robert buckland, just appealing for people to make sure they get the tone right. norman, many thanks, our assistant political editor, norman smith, there. the un secretary general has warned that the world is almost at the point of no—return when it comes to climate change. speaking as leaders gather in madrid for two weeks of talks,

antonio guterres said the climate crisis was imminent, and that it was essential that countries commit to more ambitious carbon—cutting targets. last week, the world meteorological organisation said the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere had reached the highest level on record. our global science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. there are warnings that the world could be at the point of no return. in africa, millions are facing hunger after cyclones and droughts. it's been a year of extremes, and scientists warn if temperatures keep on going up, there will be far worse to come. now negotiators from 200 countries are gathering to begin two weeks of climate talks. it's the 25th round of this un meeting, where they are thrashing out the details of the plan to stop global warming. but the window to act is closing. let us open our eyes to the imminent threat facing us all. let us open our minds to the unanimity of the science. there is no time and no reason to delay.

we have the tools, we have the science, we have the resources. let us show we also have the political will that people demand from us. to do anything less will be a betrayal of our entire human family and all the generations to come. here in madrid, the fate of the planet is under intense discussions. the un has already said we should try and keep global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees to stop the worst effects of climate change. but this will mean drastic cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. it will require sweeping changes to the way we live, from using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, to shifting to electric cars and making our homes more energy efficient. but there are warnings that nations are not going far enough. there are definitely things that individuals can do, from really checking how much meat you are consuming to whether an in—country flight is really necessary, taking the train more, not using your car.

but the reality is that a lot of the big stuff needs to come from governments. an individual can make a decision about purchasing an electric vehicle, but they can't lay down the infrastructure that would actually allow you to use it. so it really needs to be that combination of a whole of society push. on her way to the talks is 16—year—old greta thunberg. she's sparked a global climate movement, with millions of young people taking to the streets. they say the world needs to act on climate now because it is their future that is at stake. and we can speak to rebecca now. a real sense of crisis in madrid, but what realistically can we expect from these talks? that really is the big question here. this is the 25th round of these un climate talks. to give you an idea of how slow these negotiations are, but the main message this morning is that governments really need to step up

their actions. what they are committing to at the moment is not enough to stop dangerous levels of climate change. they will be discussing the finer detail, though, which will include money, the pot of money required for a climate action plan. poorer countries, too, who are also facing some of their biggest impacts of climate change, they want a formal mechanism to be introduced that will help them and that is also going to mean funding. but there will be some key arrivals here this week. greta thunberg is on her way across the atlantic by yacht and is due to arrive very soon. some key people who are not here, donald trump is in the uk and just last month, he started the formal process of pulling out of the paris agreement. instead, the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi is here, and talking to the meeting this afternoon. it is going to be fascinating to see how these talks play out over the next two weeks but there has never been a greater sense of urgency for them. 0k, rebecca, many thanks.

let's take a look at some of today's election news. sinn fein have launched their election manifesto. speaking at the event in londonderry, the party's president mary lou mcdonald explained why she believed this election was the most important for years. this election is, as has been said, the election of a generation. you know, that's notjust rhetoric. that's the truth of it. because brexit has changed everything for all of us. it has had the effect of uniting improbable allies in the face of real threats to people's livelihoods, to our rural communities. labour has pledged to cut train fares by a third and introduce free rail travel for under 16s if it wins the general election. the proposal is part of broader plans to nationalise the network. and the leader of the snp, nicola sturgeon, has defended her argument for a second independence referendum during a bbc phone

in. she also said the party had an opportunity to try and stop boris johnson. i think borisjohnson winning this election would undoubtedly make the case for independence even stronger, but the point i was going to make, i don't want these bad things to happen. i didn't want brexit to happen. i don't want borisjohnson to be in downing street. and we've got an opportunity because in scotland, the snp is the challenger in every single tory held seat so we have got an opportunity next week, on election day, to play our part in trying to stop borisjohnson. and throughout the election campaign, we are asking what questions you would like answered. send us your election question at #bbcyourquestions or yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. hundreds of thousands of commuters in southern england are facing weeks of rail disruption after members of the rmt union on south western railway began a major strike.

they will take part in 27 days of industrial action lasting until new year's day. passengers have been warned that only around half of services will run, including those to and from london waterloo, the country's busiest railway station. theo leggett reports. the picket line was in place early this morning at london waterloo as commuters faced a journey to work that was even more stressful than usual. south western railway, which runs services into london waterloo from towns such as portsmouth, weymouth and reading, is facing 27 days of disruption thanks to a strike called by the rmt union. and passengers were faced with far fewer trains than usual. the train pulling in behind me is the 7:37am service from guildford to london waterloo. i'm going to try and get aboard it but i suspect it is going to be rather crowded. i did manage to squeeze on board but others were not so lucky. at earlsfield on the outskirts of london, people were forced

to queue just to get into the station. some 600,000 people normally travel on the south western railway network every weekday. the company runs 1800 daily services. but during the strike that figure is down to about 1000. the dispute focuses on the role of guards aboard trains. on newer trains being introduced next year the drivers will be able to close the doors themselves removing one of the guard's main duties. but the rmt says that that will undermine safety. the guard is the person that dispatches a train, makes sure no one is stuck in the doors of the train. and the management want to take that role away and put it on a driver who doesn't want it. the driver is busy enough. we have seen trap and drag accidents go through the roof. we have seen assaults on the train increase by over 100% in the last five years. and the last thing we need to do is get rid of the safety critical guard. the train company insists that passengers will not be

put in danger. we are committed to retaining a guard on our trains with safety critical skills but we want to make sure that when the new trains come into service from the middle of next year they are operated in the best possible way to give our customers and more punctual service. commuters who made it to london today seemed resigned to the situation. this isjust the beginning of the strike, it usually gets progressively worse. we paid for a full season ticket and i will lose money on it. it is very busy and uncomfortable on the platforms. not quite sure how the rest of the month will go. so far it seems the disruption has been serious but not disastrous. the evening rush hour may offer a sterner test of south—western railway‘s emergency timetable. our top story this lunchtime. vigils are held in london and cambridge to pay tribute to the

victims of the london bridge terror attack. and still to come — as margate prepares to host art's biggest prize — we'll hear how an afterschool class is helping bring the community together. coming up in the sport in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, a double ton from joe root in new zealand has rescued england, but it probably won't be enough for them to level the series. thousands of people in falkirk have spent a freezing night without heating — after a major gas network failure. heaters and portable cookers have been distributed to vulnerable residents, and schools and nurseries in the area have been closed. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon is in camelon near falkirk for us now. it is very cold here and

in this wintry weather engineers are warning that in the worst case scenario some homes could be without gas until the weekend. at the start of winter in this part of central scotland thousands have been left unexpectedly without gas to their homes. the cost entry area a large operation to help those in need is swing into action. it has been a cold night? just a bit. we we re been a cold night? just a bit. we were all in the one bed trying to stay warm. hot plates and heaters are being handed out. how many are they giving you? two per household, there are six of us but it is better than nothing. you have to worry about older people and people with kids. angeline perry's baby daughter is nine months old and with schools and nurseries are shut in the area at the rest of her children are also now off school. the gas supply was

turned up yesterday and they are using portable heaters to warm one room. we are just using the kettle to boil all the water now and we do not have any gas. so we rely on the oven. no heating or hot water, how are you coping? i'm just trying to think how i'm going to go through the week and just think about night time. during the day we can handle in one room butjust trying to plan ahead for the week. hundreds of engineers are going door—to—door to disconnect thousands of homes for safety reasons all those affected will need the gas turned off. we apologise for the full that happened, a piece of equipment has failed but we are making sure that people are getting gas back as quickly as possible so we are focused on making sure that nobody who has vulnerability and needs extra help may be young children, old people, no one is going to be

missed. the main fault has now been fixed but it is possible it could be next weekend before the gas supply, gas central heating and hot water to those affected comes back online. and with the gas off to so many homeless people are using more electricity of khoisan people in the area are being urged to be mindful of their electricity usage following a number of power outages overnight. women and girls should be able to get hold of emergency contraception more easily, without having to consult a pharmacist, that's the finding of a report by the royal college of obstetricians and gynaecologists. they say the morning—after pill should be sold "straight off the shelf" like condoms. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. for many women, the morning after pill has been an important form of emergency contraception. but at the moment, you need to have a consultation with a pharmacist or doctor before you take it. and for some, that has been a difficult conversation, leaving them

feeling embarrassed orjudged. i think i took the morning after pill first of all when i was 16 years old. i definitely was in school uniform, because i remember that. and i was really intimidated by it because i had heard that you had to have this consultation with a pharmacist. so i ended up taking two of my friends with me. today's report says that when it comes to taking the morning after pill, consulting with a pharmacist remains a good idea. but that women and girls should be able to buy the pill straight off the shelf, just like you can with condoms. and that needing a consultation shouldn't be a barrier to accessing emergency contraception. the royal college of obstetricians and gynaecologists says a record number of abortions in england and wales last year shows women are struggling to get the right advice and access to services. so many women are finding it very difficult to access basic needs, contraception, cervical screening, we just want to make it easierfor them. they've got lots of other things to do in their lives and we need them to get on and do that rather

than fighting a system which is unfortunately a very good health care system, but the way we have commissioned it at the moment often means that you or i will have difficulty getting some very basic maintenance checks done swiftly. and for those like rose stokes, good education around contraception plays a key role. i think it's a really good idea to make it more accessible, particularly because i think it puts a lot of young women off because it is quite an intimidating process as it is. but i think if we were going to do that, we would need to ensure that there was greater education around how to take it and how to make it most effective. this report calls for the creation of a network of one—stop women's health clinics to provide specialised care. doctors believe that too many barriers exist between women and access to the best health care. dominic hughes, bbc news. margate, on the kent coast, was once a prime seaside resort — but like many towns fell on hard times thanks to cheap foreign holidays and some areas have

suffered real deprivation. but could that all be about to change? the town is hosting britain's best known art competition — the turner prize — thanks in part to a huge influx of artists who have made margate their home and are helping to bridge the cultural divide between some communities — with a rather special after—school club. our arts correspondent david sillito reports. welcome to margate, and the reason i'm here? not the gallery, or the beach, but an after—school club. so, they said an art school. um, "meet by the lollipop," and i'm guessing that's the lollipop. meet the despacito art group. and this, the round—up. and it all began when a group of artists moved to the area, and the kids in the street wanted to join in. they seem quite enthusiastic. yep! how did this all happen? basically, we used to be in that building over there when we first moved in 2017, and they

were all knocking... off the road, please! no, no, no! off the road. thank you. they were knocking on the door, asking what we were doing, being really curious and interested. and obviously, we're an art school, so it felt only natural to set up an art school for this lot. so theyjust knocked on the door? literally knocked consistently on the door and they were screaming through the letterbox, "let us in, we want to do art!" the background to this, margate's booming community of artists. even the old woolworths has been taken over. and then there's the other margate. cliftonville is one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in britain. it's also very diverse. sorting out the parental permissions for this filming was quite a job. czech, slovak, russian, polish, bulgarian, and then obviously english. so six languages in one form. so you speak three languages, don't you? yeah, four. four?! english! english... czech...

czech, slovak... gypsy. and gypsy. and the reaction to this new population? these streets have been a focus of some uncomfortable attention. there's been conflict. but in the art group, it's fun and it's safe. there are strict rules, and it's a place for quiet, private conversations with some friendly adults. the stuff they tell you, there's a lot going on in these young lives. and no—one bullies you here? cos there's rules. and at the end, it's back to the fun stuff — showing off the artwork. this is dmitri's upside—down water droplet. it's all part of the water cycle... with river, leaf and tree. you know, it's evaporation and... ..and all that stuff. these conversations matter. margate is changing fast, and new arrivals always bring new issues. but at least open school east is a place to talk it over. financial and parental

responsibilities prevent the kids from doing other activities, so we're their one guaranteed outcome they have, where they can come, be creative, have an outlet, let off some steam, but we also talk to them about life and discuss things with them. all: bye, damian! see you soon! and with that, it was goodbye to children of the despacito art club. david sillito... walk likea human! thank you. ..bbc news, margate. and the winner of the turner prize will be announced in a special programme — live from margate — on the bbc news channel at 9.30 tomorrow evening. england captainjoe root made a double century on day 4 of the second test against new zealand — but england's hopes of winning the match and drawing the two match test series may be hampered by the weather. olly foster reports. he'd waited ten months to reach three figures for england. this wasjoe root bringing up his highest score as skipper. he says he's been more irritated than worried

by the dip in form that made it look like he was just another one for the list of great english cricketers to be weighed down by the burden of captaincy. resuming on 11a, this was a flashback to the 2014 cricketer of the year. this was the world number one batsman in 2015, this was root enjoying himself. not his biggest knock, but he had never spent longer at the crease. for 10.5 hours in hamilton, he faced 4111 deliveries. the kiwi bowlers, bludgeoned. he batted a long period of time, so it was almostjoe i think showing himself as well as others that he can bat with discipline, in a low—risk fashion, and play a big innings. more of a traditional type test match innings. root had batted through the whole of day three, but he could not make it to the end of day four. 226 runs, the second highest test score of his career had given england just a glimmer of hope, a platform to build a first—innings lead. jofra archer hit one

out of the ground. a dilemma for one england fan, find the ball, or finish that ice cream? good choice, rain's coming. they took two new zealand wickets by the close, both openers gone, and of course it was root who took a catch. it was his day, one in which he might have persuaded a few that the captaincy is in safe hands after all. olly foster, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's stav da naos. it was the first day of meteorological winter yesterday and it did feel like it as it did this morning for england and wales with frost and fog around. it is going to beat cold to start this week thanks to high pressure and dry for many but all change by the end of the week to something more unsettled.

high pressure is dominating