a man described by police as one of the most dangerous sex offenders ever seen in the uk has been found guilty of a string of charges including rape, false imprisonment and kidnap. 34—year—old joseph mccann was accused of 37 charges relating to 11 women and children, to 11 women and children. joseph mccann is a horrendously dangerous individual who has shown com plete co ntem pt dangerous individual who has shown complete contempt for his victims and he is clearly one of the most dangerous sex offenders we have ever seenin dangerous sex offenders we have ever seen in this country. we will have the very latest from the old bailey. also this lunchtime. former conservative prime ministerjohn major calls on voters in some areas not to back the tories. i think that he is wrong. and i think that he represents a view that is outdated, alas, greatly though

i respect him and his record. and i think that what we need to do now is honour the will of the people and get brexit done. meanwhile, the labour leader claims a leaked government document shows the prime minister is misleading people about his brexit deal this is cold, hard evidence that categorically shows the impact a damaging brexit deal would have on large parts of our country. the london fire brigade commissioner — strongly criticised over the grenfell disaster — agrees to stand down early. the miracle of a woman who's heart stopped beating for six hours and lived to tell the tale. it feels really incredible that i survived it and i'm just really lucky to be here and to kind of be able to get on with my life. and coming up on bbc news. chelsea manager frank lampard will be able to buy players in january after their

transfer ban was halved by the court of arbitration for sport. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. a man described by police as one of the most dangerous sex offenders ever seen in the uk has been found guilty of a string of charges at the old bailey. 34—year—old joseph mccann was accused of 37 charges relating to 11 women and children, including rape, false imprisonment and kidnap. our home affairs correspondent june kelly is at the old bailey. this has been a highly unusual case because joseph mccann this has been a highly unusual case becausejoseph mccann has refused to

leave prison to attend his trial here. but he has strung the court along claiming he wanted to come to court and then not appearing. this has obviously delayed the trial and wasted thousands of pounds of public money. the full details ofjoseph mccann‘s crimes are simply too horrific to report. just a warning that this report coming up does contain details which some viewers may find distressing. in the front passenger seat of this car, a 21—year—old woman is being kept captive by joseph car, a 21—year—old woman is being kept captive byjoseph mccann. he has grabbed her off the street with a knife to her throat, held her and raped her. she is too traumatised to escape. as he pays for his petrol, this is a man at the start of a perverted mission to attack, terrify and humiliate women and children. mccann kidnaps his first victim

after she leaves this nightclub in watford. her ordeal lasts five hours. a few days later in waltha mstow hours. a few days later in walthamstow in east london, a 25—year—old is walking home from this tube station. mccann spots the woman. her identity is disguised. then he stops and seizes her, subjecting her to 14 hours of depravity and violence in his car. still holding this woman, he moved to edgware in north london and kidnaps a 21—year—old off the street. he drives to a pub car park in hertfordshire and now with two prisoners he stops and rapes the 21—year—old. he then heads to watford and this hotel. hello? hello? keeping watch on his captives, mccann, wearing rosary beads around his neck, tries to book a room so beads around his neck, tries to book a room so he can continue his abuse.

but when he returns to the car, one of the women smashes a vodka bottle over his head and both finally managed to break free. with a manhunt under way, mccann evades ca ptu re manhunt under way, mccann evades capture and travels to the north—west. in lancashire, he rapes a girl of 17 and her 11—year—old brother after taking them and their mother prisoner. within hours in greater manchester, he abducts and rapes a woman of 71. then kidnaps and sexually assaults a 13—year—old girl. he crosses into cheshire. in congleton he grabs two 14—year—old girls off the street. 8-6, urgent. police spot and then trace his stolen fiat. he hits this mercedes. they lose him and he abandons his car with the girls in it. where has he gone? ! having shaken off the

police, he turns up at a pub. he just come in for a drink a malibu and lemonade. i knew he was a dodgy character when he walked into the pub, he had quite a sway on him and asked to use the phone. it was really bizarre, he was writing down lots of things like postcodes and some phone numbers. he is eventually found by police who corner him hiding upa found by police who corner him hiding up a tree. four hours, there isa hiding up a tree. four hours, there is a stand—off before he is finally brought down and arrested. he tells officers, if you had caught me for the first two, the rest of this wouldn't have happened. joseph mccann is a horrendously dangerous individual who has shown complete co nte m pt individual who has shown complete contempt for his victims. he is clearly one of the most dangerous sex offenders i think we have ever seen sex offenders i think we have ever seenin sex offenders i think we have ever seen in this country. joseph mccann's background makes this case a catastrophic failure by the criminal justice system. a catastrophic failure by the criminaljustice system. it can now be reported that mccann, who began offending when he was 11, should have been in prison when he was

roaming around the country raping women and children and threatening to slit their throats. he had been wrongly released. this is his history. in 2008, at the age of 23, he was jailed for an aggravated burglary at the home of an 85—year—old man. in 2017, he was freed on licence. the same year he was arrested for new offences and should have been recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions but he wasn't. in 2018, he was sentenced for his new crimes with thejudge expecting him to remain in jailfor thejudge expecting him to remain in jail for some thejudge expecting him to remain in jailfor some time thejudge expecting him to remain in jail for some time because of his previous conviction. instead, at the start of this year, he was mistakenly start of this year, he was m ista kenly left start of this year, he was mistakenly left out. he should have gone before the parole board that would have decided if he was safe. three probation officers at the watford office have been disciplined. 0ne watford office have been disciplined. one of them has been sacked. workloads were at an extraordinarily high level, there

are certainly shortages, hence the use of agency staff, so i can imagine it not being a very nice place to be if you are trying to do yourjob to place to be if you are trying to do your job to protect place to be if you are trying to do yourjob to protect the community. joseph mccann refused to leave prison to attend his trial. a controlling individual, but at heart, a coward. he didn't have to heart, a coward. he didn't have to hear the testimony and tears of those he abused and face up to the enduring damage he has done to them. so, a number of probation officers held to account over their failings in this case. but those who work in the probation area say that this case has to be looked at against the background of what is happening in the probation service and what has been happening in recent years. they say it has been under resourced living staff with very heavy workloads. in terms of why the police didn't catch mccann sooner, they say he is a very wily individual, obviously a career criminaland we individual, obviously a career criminal and we know that a number of people are under investigation for assisting an offender. meanwhile, joseph mccann will be

sentenced here at the old bailey on monday and it is expected that some of his victims may attend that hearing. then. june, thank you very much. june kelly, our home affairs correspondent at the old bailey. —— ben. the former conservative prime minister sirjohn major is urging voters to support rebel independent candidates standing against the tories. sirjohn will tell a rally tonight that voters should back three former ministers, who all lost the tory whip earlier this year over brexit. borisjohnson has described sirjohn's intervention as sad and wrong. it comes as the prime minister and jeremy corbyn prepare to go head to head for the final time in front of a studio audience on the bbc tonight. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. the scene is being set for the final debate of the campaign, a head—to—head clash between the two people who could be prime minister after polling day. as voters focus on who they will back next thursday, tonight's prime time encounter could

be crucial. both borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn have already clashed today on the key theme of the election, brexit. this morning, the labour leader brandished what he said was a leaked government document, which suggests that boris johnson's withdrawal agreement has the potential to separate northern ireland in practice from whole swathes of the uk internal market, something which the prime minister had denied. this is cold, hard evidence that categorically shows the impact a damaging brexit deal would have on large parts of our country. but the thrust of jeremy corbyn's attack wasn't so much brexit as trust. if they hid this report and the ones that i revealed last week, what else are they hiding? what else will they sell you out on? at every stage throughout this campaign, boris johnson out on? at every stage throughout this campaign, borisjohnson has chosen to deepen divisions. his

poster said britain, not the uk, which includes northern ireland. but borisjohnson which includes northern ireland. but boris johnson insisted which includes northern ireland. but borisjohnson insisted the whole united kingdom would be moving out of the eu together. i haven't seen the document you are referring to but that is complete nonsense and what i can tell you is that with the deal that we have we can come out as one whole uk. this campaign is straining traditional tribal loyalties will stop for example, some former labour mps have been urging people not to supportjeremy corbyn. but today, a former conservative prime minister was advising voters in some seats to abandon the party he once led. he says he is backing a trio of candidates who were chucked out for opposing borisjohnson's policy on brexit. sirjohn major declares that none of them has left the conservative party, the conservative party has left them. and in his message the pro—referendum final say campaign, he says if i were resident in any of their constituencies, they

would have my vote. it is very sad andl would have my vote. it is very sad and i think that he is wrong and he represents a view that is outdated, alas, greatly though i respect him and his record. and i think that what we need to do now is on the will of the people and get brexit done. so there are disputes within political parties, but tonight's showdown will be more straightforward. the current prime minister versus the labour opponent who wants to take his place at no 10. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. -- honour the will of the people. 0ur reality check correspondent chris morris is here with more on this leaked government document jeremy corbyn has been talking about — and chris you have a copy of it? yes, it is an internal treasury document which was drawn up a few weeks ago. it doesn't really pull many punches. this is the title page talking about access to the uk's internal market. it says customs declarations and documentary and physical checks on trade across the

irish sea will be highly disruptive to the northern ireland economy. however you want to phrase it, it does make it pretty clear there will bea does make it pretty clear there will be a form of trade border within the uk between great britain and northern ireland. and later on in the document there is really some quite striking language. it says that boris johnson's quite striking language. it says that borisjohnson's withdrawal agreement has the potential to separate northern ireland in practice from whole swathes of the internal market. and then when it talks about constitutional effects, it says northern ireland could be symbolically separated from the rest of the union. now, we heard boris johnson replying to this and said it was all nonsense and they would be no checks. it is worth pointing out that in at least one bbc interview a few weeks ago he did say there would be some checks, at least. what is damaging about this is that it plays into exactly what his erstwhile allies in the democratic unionist party in northern ireland said, that this would be a terrible deal for northern ireland. and because it essentially agrees much of what this document says agrees with that dup

analysis, i think labour are going to go on the issue of trust. can you really trust what the prime minister is saying? really trust what the prime minister ' i really trust what the prime minister is saying? i suspect we will hear more of this document in the debate this evening. chris, thank you very much indeed. let's talk more about that debate. it is the final head to head debate between jeremy corbyn and boris johnson — our political correspondent nick eardley is on the set of tonight's debate. hi. seven and a half hours from now the two men who want to be prime minister next week will be on the stage. borisjohnson minister next week will be on the stage. boris johnson here, jeremy corbyn here. it is worth bearing in mind this is the first election where we have had a straight one on one between the tory leader and the labour leader. so it is a big deal and it might be important in the whole election race tonight. i've got to say, it is pretty cozy in here as well. there is only a couple of metres between these two podiums, s0 of metres between these two podiums, so plenty of opportunity for the pairto so plenty of opportunity for the pair to interrogate each other if they so choose. let me talk you

quickly through the format. we will start with 62nd pitches from mr corbyn and mrjohnson. mr corbyn will go first because he won a toss of the coin in advance. there will bea of the coin in advance. there will be a studio audience here. —— 60 seconds. some of the questions will come from them and some from viewers at home who have submitted them in advance. in terms of what both need to do tonight, i think for boris johnson it is a continuation of his campaign, a steady as she goes message. we hear a lot of his familiar themes. if you believe the polls, he has a comfortable lead and he will not want to risk that in any way. jeremy corbyn may be has to go for it tonight. 0nly way. jeremy corbyn may be has to go for it tonight. only six days until polling day, he knows he has to try and make up those numbers if he is going to be prime minister this time next week. a lot of this campaign has been fairly safe, but six days until the election, live studio audience, prime—time tv, anything could happen.

thank you very much, nick eardley, oui’ thank you very much, nick eardley, our political correspondent. and a reminder you can watch tonight's debate at 8:30pm this evening on bbc one and the bbc iplayer. you can also get live fact checking and analysis on the bbc news website, the news app and on the bbc news channel. relatives of the victims of the grenfell fire disaster have welcomed news that the london fire brigade's commissioner is stepping down early from her position. da ny cotton will retire at the end of the year, four months earlier than expected. it comes after criticism from the grenfell inquiry, which said the london fire brigade's preparations had been gravely inadequate. the pressure group grenfell united said the change of leadership would help keep londoners safe. it was a night that changed the lives of so many forever. since the g re nfell lives of so many forever. since the grenfell fire survivors of the

bereaved have been calling for change. they wanted the fire brigade commissioner dany cotton to be sacked after a highly critical report into the fire. evidence she gave that she would not change anything about the brigade's response was deemed insensitive. her resignation is the very least. you had a job to do either to put the fire out or rescue people, one of the two, and it should have been done at the very early stages quickly. if you make and i think you should put your hand up and be accountable for it. she had been planning to retire in april but the london fire brigade and announced she will go early. the brigade says it is to allow the next commissioner to deliver recommendations following the first phase of the inquiry into the first phase of the inquiry into the fire. she said...

mayor of has praised dany cotton for more than three decades with the brigade but he says it was the right decision. it is important to act on the recommendations made by the judge and to have the transformation he recognised needs tackled and it is important for us to find out how this building got to the state it did and important questions must be asked. campaign groups have welcomed her departure but are stressing the importance of a new lead that bringing in changes quickly to prevent such a tragedy ever happening again. our top story this lunchtime: a man described by police as one of the most dangerous sex offenders ever seen in the uk has been found guilty of a string of charges. and coming up — the thousands of thomas cook passengers

still waiting for refunds after their holidays were cancelled. coming up on bbc news: manchester united manager 0le gunnar solskjaer condemns the italian newspaper headline that referenced two of his former players — chris smalling and romelu lukaku — calling it the worst front page he's ever seen. firefighters in australia are tackling 100 serious fires across the state of new south wales. some of the most serious have combined to create what's being described as a 37—mile wide "mega blaze". sydney, australia's biggest city, is blanketed in thick, choking smoke from the blaze. 0ur correspondent there shaimaa khalil has the latest. the extraordinary moment when firefighters fled to safety as flames surged towards them. the latest example of how fast and unpredictable these blazes are.

it's a continuous fight, with uncontrollable fires, and it's happening across the country, stretching the resources to the limit. in new south wales alone, 100 fires are tearing through the state. the fiercest on the outskirts of sydney, with strong winds pushing a heavy blanket of smoke on the city from every direction. australia's largest city has been heavily impacted by the fires around it and you can see it and smell it in that haze of smoke that has covered sydney for a week now, and it's not letting up. the air quality has deteriorated to beyond hazardous and we've heard of numbers rising of people going into hospitals with respiratory problems. 0ne local newspaper has summed it up quite neatly. it says "sydney chokes as state burns." nothing escapes the devastation here. hundreds of homes have been destroyed. and wildlife continues to suffer as the fires blaze

through natural habitats. 1.6 million hectares of land have been scorched in new south wales. the severity of the flames early on in the fire season has sparked anger and new calls for the government to tackle climate change. at the heart of it all is the unrelenting drought. with no rain expected anytime soon, fire officials say there are fears of more blazes as australia begins its scorching summer. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. a man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 12—year—old boy who was hit by a car outside a school in essex. harley watson died after the vehicle struck a group of pupils in loughton on monday. 0ur correspondent emma north was in court. it all happened very quickly and was

very low key. the 51—year—old from light and made his first appearance at chelmsford magistrates‘ court, charged with the murder of 12—year—old harley watson on monday afternoon. he faces ten more charges of attempted murder of a group of teenagers aged between 12 and 16 and a 23—year—old women. he also faces a charge of dangerous driving. it relates to events that took place at the end of play at school on monday afternoon. harley and the others we re afternoon. harley and the others were hit by the car in a hit—and—run. harley was airlifted to hospital but died later. the others we re hospital but died later. the others were not sustaining life threatening oi’ were not sustaining life threatening or life changing injuries but harley‘s family have said there boy was good and lovely and they are devastated. the accused is expected

to appear at court again on monday. police in india have shot dead four men accused of raping and murdering a young woman in the city of hyderabad. 0fficers said they opened fire when the men tried to escape, after being taken back to the scene of the crime for a reconstruction. rajini vaidya nathan reports. the scene of a brutal gang rape, now a place for celebrations. hundreds gathered where police killed the four suspects. today the officers were hailed heroes. the charred body of the 27—year—old was found here last week. police say they brought the accused to the same spot in the early hours of the morning for a crime reconstruction, but killed the men after they tried to attack the officers. at the victim‘s house there was praise for the authorities. although this action will not bring us back our sister it is a great relief and i think this incident,

whatever they have done, people will think before doing such a thing again. and i think such incidents will not repeat because of such actions. the case sparked protest and anger across india, with demands for swifter justice in rape cases. earlier this week one mp in parliament even called for rapists to be lynched. 0thers question whether violence is the answer. it is a very dangerous thing to have happened. those people were in any case going to get hanging as a punishment for the heinousness of their crime, but you cannot kill people because you want to. the horrific case in hyderabad is just one of nearly 100 rapes which are reported in india every single day. after a brutal gang rape here in delhi in 2012, laws were changed, fast—track courts

were set up, but conviction rates remain low and seven years on the conversation is the same. why isn‘t justice being served and when, if ever, will things change? rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, delhi. a british woman whose heart stopped beating for six hours has made an astonishing recovery. audrey schoeman suffered a cardiac arrest after getting hypothermia while hiking in the pyrenees. doctors say the low mountain temperatures actually helped to save her life, as andy moore reports. celebrating life with the rescue workers and medics who saved her. english teacher audrey schoeman was out hiking with her husband in the catalan pyrenees when they get caught in bad weather. she fell unconscious as temperatures plummeted. this rescuer said she was completely immobile, unconscious, and rigid, with clear signs of hypothermia

when they found her. her husband feared the worst. i thought she was dead, because i was trying to feel for a pulse, trying to feel for... my fingers were also numb. so i wasn‘t sure if it was my fingers. but i couldn‘t feel her breath, i couldn‘t feel her heartbeat. once in hospital, it was this machine that saved her. used here with a medical dummy, it took her own blood, infused it with oxygen, and then reintroduced it. her heart was eventually restarted with a defibrillator and she left hospital 12 days later with only minor problems in her hands. it feels really incredible that i survived it and just really lucky to be here and be able to get on with my life. i'm just happy! audrey describes her survival as a miracle. she is the woman who died for six hours and yet lived to tell the tale.

andy moore, bbc news. more than 20,000 thomas cook customers have yet to be refunded for their holiday bookings after the firm collapsed in september. the civil aviation authority promised to complete the first set of payments by today — but it now says only two—thirds will be paid on time. simon gompertz reports. when thomas cook collapsed, the priority was to bring thousands of people home at the end of their holidays. those who hadn‘t left yet were promised refunds within 60 days of applying. now, a big proportion of those who were quick to claim still haven‘t had a payment. people like alan from north yorkshire, whose holiday to egypt last month, which he couldn‘t take, cost him more than £3,000. very frustrating. cash flow obviously is a big issue and holidays like this are not cheap. and of course, with thomas cook disappearing from the scene,

flights to the places become more expensive, holidays more limited, so it all adds to the coast. the civil aviation authority has had 260,000 valid claims. some still have to put theirs in. 67,000 were made on the first day, the 7th of october. more than 22,000 of those haven‘t yet been settled even though they should have been by today. the thomas cook money is coming via the atol scheme, under which the cost of package holidays is guaranteed via an industry fund and a big insurance policy. would—be holiday—makers are being asked for more booking details and more evidence that they paid. the caa says this process is in place to make sure the right payments are being made to the right people in the face of fraudulent claims and poor data. more than two months since so many holiday dreams

turned into a nightmare, those who missed out are being asked to be patient, even though they had hoped to have their refunds well before christmas. they‘ve been a distinctive part of the landscape in shropshire for half a century — but this morning they disappeared in just seconds. four huge cooling towers at the ironbridge power station were demolished in simultaneous controlled explosions. the landmark which was both loved and loathed. after half a century standing guard at ironbridge gorge, the giant towers came crashing down. there they go. destroyed into rubble. four parts of the landscape that have been here for as long as most people can remember. this was the most technically complex and expensive demolition that site owners have ever undertaken and it went well. 1000 charges were detonated, bringing down 30,000 tons of debris

at a cost of around £10,000,000. when they were built, hardhats were optional. hankies the alternative. in 50 years the hated eyesore has become a much loved local landmark. the man who took these pictures has chronicled their existence. when those towers were built people would have been absolutely appalled by the thought that those four towers were going to be built in the gorge. but once they were built, it probably took a few years, but people got used to them and slowly got to like them and some people even claim to love them. when the dust settles, the work will start to make way for new houses and the view that generations have known will fade into memory. phil mackie, bbc news, ironbridge.