released by mistake from prison. a convicted burglar who went on to kidnap and rape 11 women and children across england is found guilty of 37 offences. joseph mccann went on a two week drug fuelled rampage, picking victims at random. the youngest was an 11—year—old boy. jason mccann is a horrendously dangerous individual, who has shown complete contempt for his victims. he is clearly one of the most dangerous sex offenders we have ever seen in this country. the head of the probation service has apologised "unreservedly" for mccann‘s mistaken release. also on the programme tonight. boris johnson and jeremy corbyn prepare for their last head to head debate, before the election next week. the teenager who threw a six—year—old boy from the viewing platform at the tate modern pleads guilty to attempted murder — it was a pre—planned attack.

a miraculous survival — a woman whose heart stopped for six hours after she collapsed in a snowstorm in spain describes how doctors managed to revive her. and britain's anthonyjoshua squares up for one of the biggest fights of his career in saudi arabia. coming up on bbc news. chelsea manager frank lampard will be able to buy players injanuary, after their transfer ban was halved by the court of arbitration for sport. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a man who carried out a string of sex attacks on 11 women and two children has been found guilty of 37 offences. joseph mccann — a convicted burglar who'd been released

from prison by mistake — kidnapped and raped victims chosen at random on a cocaine and vodka fuelled rampage over a two week period last spring. the women and one boy were aged between 11 and 71 years old. mccann had been released from prison after a probation error in february. our home affairs correspondent june kelly has this story — and a warning her report does contain some details viewers will find distressing. in the front passenger seat of this 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 this first victim after she leaves this nightclub in watford. her ordeal lasts five hours. a few days later, in walthamstow, east london, a 25—year—old is walking home from this tube station. mccann spots the woman, her identity is disguised, then stops and seizes her, subjecting her to m hours of depravity and violence in his car. still holding this woman, he moves 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 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 manage to break free. with a 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 of the street. police then spot and chase his stolen fiat. he hits this mercedes. armed police! they lose him, and he abandons his car with the girls in it. having shaken off the police, he turns up at a pub.

just came in for a drink. surprisingly, he had a malibu and lemonade. i knew he was a dodgy character when he walked in, because he had quite a sway on him. he asked to use the phone. it was very bizarre. he was writing down a lot of things as well, like postcodes and phone numbers. he is eventually found by police, who catch him hiding up a tree. for hours, there is a stand—off, before he is finally brought down and arrested. he tells officers, if you'd 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 contempt for his victims. he is clearly one of the most dangerous sex offenders, i think, that we have ever seen in this country. joseph mccann‘s background makes this case 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. in 2008, 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, but he wasn't. in 2018, he was sentenced for his new crimes and should have gone before the parole board before he was considered safe to be freed. instead, at the start of this year, he was mistakenly let out and, soon after, went on his rampage. joseph mccann refused to leave prison to attend his trial — a controlling individual but, at 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. june kelly, bbc news, the old bailey. our home editor mark easton is here. appalling story — extraordinary this

man was released — why was he? well, the most fundamental respond of the criminal justice well, the most fundamental respond of the criminaljustice system is to keep people safe, and mccann was known to be extremely dangerous, in fa ct known to be extremely dangerous, in fact the courts had done everything they could to protect the public by putting him on a sentence that meant he would be injail until it putting him on a sentence that meant he would be in jail until it was considered the risk was low enough to release him. the system failed time and time again. somehow despite the red flag, the warn, the history, despite a judge saying that he must go back to jail to continue the indeterminate sentence he was on, the probation service did not recall mccann to prison when he broke his license, he was treated like a model prisoner and released in the normal way, then, as we know, went on this appalling violent #r578 package. a number of officers have been disciplined, two were sacked but the failures in this case are so egregious you have to look at whether the system itself is broken,

and all party parliamentary committee said the probation service, said the budget cuts and reforms had left it in a mess, the district responsible for mccann was more than 100 probation officers short. huge budget cuts to the court, to the prison service, perhaps also explain why communication broke down, in the criminal justice system. communication broke down, in the criminaljustice system. now there was a time you know when catastrophic failure like this would have seen a government minister offing to resign. no hint of that. we have that apology, the ministry ofjustice accepting we have that apology, the ministry of justice accepting mccann we have that apology, the ministry ofjustice accepting mccann was released in error, copies of an internal review sent only to victims not published. small wonder there are not published. small wonder there a re calls not published. small wonder there are calls for an independent inquiry to be held in what went wrong and how we might be able to keep people safe from people like mccann. thank you. . with less than a week to go until the election, the former conservative prime minister, sirjohn major, has urged people to re—elect three former

tory ministers who were kicked out of the conservative party, for voting against boris johnson over brexit. meanwhile, jeremy corbyn has said a leaked document obtained by labour shows the prime minister is "misrepresenting" his brexit deal and says it will in fact have a "devastating" impact on northern ireland. mrjohnson has dismissed the claims as "nonsense". later tonight, the two leaders will go head—to—head in a live tv debate. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg has more. enter the stage, a tory leader from previous dramas, with an unusual act. sirjohn major thinks we must be in the eu but, in his own video, he is urging you to vote against the party he led, if there is a former tory trying to stop brexit where you live. none of them left the conservative party. the conservative party left them. without such talent on its ventures, parliament would be poorer, which is why, where i resident in any of their constituencies, they would have my vote in this election.

some traditional tories might listen to that, those who are nervous about his successor‘s platform. the political age couldn't be more different, even though clunky metaphors are still part of the fashion. if we can get brexit done, if we can get a working majority in parliament next week, then we will finally be able to get this country out of neutral, into first, into second, third, fourth, how many gears does that thing have? what do you say to the former conservative prime minister, who doesn't think that voters should back you this time? i think it's very sad and i think that he is wrong, and i think he represents a view that is outdated, alas. greatly as i respect him and his record. watch out though. not everything is going according to his plan. the tories had to cancel a planned stop on the stump today after security concerns in kent. it is 20 years too late. some of the voters who'd come along to watch didn't want to look, but couldn't look away.

bored to tears with it. more bickering and having a go at one another. don't like the mud slinging, don't like the way it's going, and couldn't predict it at all. it's too much. bizarre. bizarre, you know. why is it bizarre? they don't tell the truth, do they? this is the trouble. jeremy corbyn claims, when it comes to brexit, it is borisjohnson that is not being straight with you. armed with a list of the different kinds of checks there could be between northern ireland and the rest of the uk after brexit,... i have here a document... brandishing a leaked document showing the checks the conservatives don't want to admit. this is cold, hard evidence that categorically shows the impact a damaging brexit deal would have on large parts of our country, and now we have caughtjohnson red—handed, misrepresenting his own brexit deal. you are saying the tories are hiding details about the kind of deal that they would like to do after brexit,

but you are also hiding a much bigger issue, whether, if you become prime minister, you believe we should be in or out of the european union. laura, i am not hiding in this. what i am saying is that we have to bring an end to this debate. we will negotiate a credible deal and we will put back deal to a vote of the british people. the tories say the actual document is nonsense, but admit there will be some more checks on foods. but there brexit plans are dismissed as tall tales, whether it is shaking hands or entertaining a young crowd on the campaign trail... the effects of brexit are hugely damaging, and they are damaging, whether it is a conservative brexit, whether it is a brexit that labour want to negotiate. there is no good brexit. 0r from the comfort of the tv sofa. i think brexit is a disaster. i think borisjohnson is a disaster, if i can be undiplomatic and blunt about it in a scottish characteristic style,

so i could never support borisjohnson as prime minister. i am not a huge fan ofjeremy corbyn. and there will be no avoiding any of that pressure for the pair as they arrived for a debate tonight. the final head—to—head clash, but not yet your final choice. ina in a couple of hours the two rivals will be right here on this stage, in kent tonight, jeremy corbyn at this podium here in the red corner, on this side borisjohnson. both of course vying for your votes to become the next prime minister of country, under pressure in front of a studio audience live for 60 minute, the bbc prime ministerial debate. the final head—to—head. live here at 8.30 on bbc one. thank thank you. let's speak tojohn campbell, the bbc‘s northern ireland economics and business editor. what does this document show? tell its more about what it says. some of the conclusions in this lea ked some of the conclusions in this leaked document are very familiar,

because there was an official government risk analysis published in the aftermath of the brexit deal and it said if you create new barriers to trade across the irish sea and this deal would create those barrier, that is likely to be damaging to the northern ireland economy. but i think what is most striking in this document today, is the very blunt language it uses about northern ireland's constitutional position within the uk. it says this deal has the potential to symbolically separate northern ireland from the rest of the uk, and to undermine the economic union between great britain and northern ireland. and that really confirms the worst fears of unionists here in northern ireland. in terms of the specific checks, on goods between britain and northern ireland. that is still up for discussion between the eu and the uk, but it is clear we would not end up uk, but it is clear we would not end up with the status quo. there would be change in terms of trade across the irish sea and that change will have real implications in northern ireland. thank

a senior british diplomat in the united states has resigned over the way the government is presenting its strategy to leave the european union. alexandra hall, the lead envoy for brexit in the british embassy in washington, said she could no longer "peddle half—truths" on behalf of political leaders she did not trust. the foreign office has not commented on the matter. a couple from berkshire who were rejected by their local adoption service because of their indian background have been awarded more than £100,000 in damages. sandeep and reena mander from maidenhead successfully sued the royal borough of windsor and maidenhead council. the judge said they were discriminated against on the grounds of race. the teenager who threw a six—year—old boy off a viewing platform at the tate modern in london in august has pleaded guilty to attempted murder. jonty bravery picked the boy up on the tenth floor of the art gallery and threw him over the railings. he fell 100 feet. the 18—year—old told police he'd heard voices telling him to kill or injure someone. he will be sentenced in february. helena wilkinson reports.

the six—year—old boy was with his mother on this tenth floor viewing platform, when out of nowhere, a teenager appeared, picked him up, held him over the railings and threw him. he fell five floors on to this concrete roof. there was a little commotion, with a very loud primal scream. the child's mother then tried to climb the rail. i restrained her and pulled her back. he didn't seem to have any remorse, he just almost giggled at one point, saying "i did it, yeah, idid it". the boy was treated at the scene, before being taken away by paramedics on a stretcher, under this blue tarpaulin. today, jonty bravery, who is autistic and suffers he has suffered a bleached of the brain and life changing injuries. —— a bleed to the brain. today, jonty bravery,

who is autistic and suffers from a personality disorder, admitted trying to murder the boy. the teenager was under the care of the local authority. after he was arrested by the police, he told them he had planned to hurt someone at the tate modern so he could be on the television, and he wanted people to know he was unhappy with the care he was getting. four months on, and the little boy is still recovering. today, his parents said: for the family, the horror and trauma they experienced that day will never leave them. helena wilkinson, bbc news, at the old bailey. our top story this evening. joseph mccann, who kidnapped and raped 11 women and children across england, is found guilty of 37 offences. and still to come, britain's anthonyjoshua squares up for one of the biggest fights of his career in saudi arabia. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... former world number one caroline wozniacki

will retire from tennis after the australian open, the tournament that gave her the only grand slam title of her career so far. it is an extraordinary story of survival. a british woman whose heart stopped beating for six hours after she collapsed in a snowstorm in spain says she feels incredibly lucky to be alive. audrey schoeman suffered a cardiac arrest after getting hypothermia while hiking in the pyrenees. her husband thought she was dead, but incredibly doctors saved her. here's our medical correspondent, fergus walsh. the woman who cheated death, flanked by her husband and the medical team that rescued her. audrey schoeman can now reflect on her heart—stopping experience. it feels really incredible that i survived it and just really lucky to be here and to be able to get

on with my life. i am just happy. she set out with her husband from this mountain refuge in the catalan pyrenees last month when they were caught in a snowstorm. she collapsed and fell unconscious. i thought she was dead because i was trying to feel for a pulse, trying to feel... my fingers were also known, so i wasn't sure if it was my fingers, but i couldn't feel her breath, i couldn't feel her heartbeat or anything. in the freezing conditions, her body temperature dropped from 37 to just 18 degrees. but it was this super—cool state which protected her brain and body from deteriorating. 0nce airlifted to a hospital in barcelona, she was connected to a machine which took over the function of her heart and lungs, re—oxygenating her blood and gradually warming her body. six hours after her heart stopped beating, they revived her

using a defibrillator. apart from some numbness in her hands, the english teacher, who lives in barcelona, has made a full recovery. and it has not put her off hiking. probably this winter i will go to the mountains, but i hope in spring we will be able to start hiking and trekking again. i don't want this to take away that hobby from me. -- this winter, i will not go to the mountains. doctors are astounded by audrey schoeman‘s recovery, saying she has set a record in spain for the longest cardiac arrest, hailing her a "medical miracle." now back to the election, and one of the key battlegrounds will be london. in 2017 labour won 49 of the 73 seats across the city. 0ur correspondent, alex forsyth, has been to three constituencies to find out how the main parties are faring. london is distinct and diverse.

but overall, most people here wanted to stay in the eu. so where brexit takes voters could be crucial in the capital's close—run seats. take richmond. at the avenue social club, voters are trying to unpick the political tangle. this is a strong remain area, so the lib dems are hoping their anti—brexit message will cut through. i'm absolutely sure we need to stay in europe. i mean, have you thought much about who you might vote for? well, i'm actually a member of the green party, but the greens are not standing, and i would vote liberal democrat anyway, to make sure that the conservatives don't get in. that's the challenge for the tories. how their pro—brexit pitch plays in parts of the capital they need to hold. some are persuaded. i voted to actually stay in, but the people chose to come out, so i don't know why we keep having all these elections, trying to change our mind. so the conservatives have got your vote because of brexit? yes. but here, that is far

from a guaranteed strategy. the conservatives have been pushing their brexit stance in leave areas in the midlands and the north, but here, in remain leaning london, it might leave them vulnerable, although the lib dems could take votes from labour here, too. and in the capital, some seats are a three—way fight. take battersea. traditionally, a two—way battle where labour's trying to hold off the tories. this time, the lib dems might tip the balance. at the scratch hub, a space for socially minded entrepreneurs, brothers dan and adam wanted to stay in the eu, but it is other policy that matters to them. a lot of the parties are using brexit as, like, this is how we are going to deal with brexit, and here is everything else. i think the "here is everything else" is the most important thing people need to be focussing on. i feel like labour's manifesto is a more hopeful outlook, and that's, i feel like in this time we need to be hopeful. charity founder effah also thinks brexit is secondary. there is issues to do with the negative perceptions

of black culture and black people. i think it is very important that the community voice is being heard and reflected in policies that people are putting forward. it is that wider social policy that labour hopes will play well, but it often comes back to brexit. uxbridge is is one of the few london areas that backed leave, perhaps more receptive to the tories' key message. this is borisjohnson‘s seat, and there is a push from other parties which want to oust him. it looks far more marginal than it was ever considered in the past, this constituency. i really hope we can swing it against him. but there is loyalty here that might be hard to overcome. i shall vote conservative. always have, always will. does brexit come into it for you? i suppose so, because i did vote to leave, and i want to leave, so... that's still on your mind? oh, yes. yes. there is no single message guaranteed to win round this complex city, but in a contest that might come down to a few seats, what happens here could really count. alex forsyth, bbc news.

you can find a list of all the candidates standing in richmond, battersea and uxbridge, as well as right across london, on the bbc website. britain's anthonyjoshua faces the biggest test of his boxing career tomorrow, as he attempts to reclaim his world heavyweight title from andy ruinr. the bout is taking place in saudi arabia. but there are concerns it's being used to cover up human rights abuses there. 0ur sports editor, dan roan, reports. a slimmed down anthonyjoshua at his final appearance in riyadh today before a rematch he simply dare not lose. his opponent, the champion andy ruiz, some three stones heavier, as the mexican prepares to defend his titles after shocking the boxing world by winning theirfirst fight in june. i'm pretty sure he doesn't want to lose again, he doesn't want to feel embarrassed or whatnot. but for me, i feel i accomplished my dreams and i still want to accomplish more dreams and that is what we are going to do.

saudi arabia's human rights record has made this a controversial location for the middle east's first ever heavyweight title fight. that hasn't stopped fans from travelling here. although the strict local laws still apply. i know we have to respect the rules but the fact that we can't even celebrate would be... that would be tough. with tequila! they both obviously want it, but it is just a question of who wants it more. will it be a knockout, will he go the distance? a knockout and aj will win. we haven't come all this wayjust to see him go the distance. billed as "the clash on the dunes," tomorrow's fight will take place here on the edge of the desert at a 15,000 seater venue built from scratch in less than two months. the next time anthonyjoshua comes face—to—face with his opponent will be in the ring tomorrow night. the real sense here in riyadh is that this is the biggest moment in his career, his credibility underlined. aj, how are you feeling? look at the support. are you confident? talk is cheap.

despite the pressure, joshua seems relaxed and whatever happens tomorrow, he will learn £60 million forfighting on saudi soil. —— he will earn £60 million. what he wants above all is to establish himself as one of the best boxers in the world. dan roan, bbc news, riyadh. a father has shed what it is like when his baby daughter's hearing aids are switched on in the morning for top he tweeted the picture of the four—year—old georgina reacting to her‘s voice. the four—year—old georgina reacting to her's voice. that is a very loud hello! she was diagnosed as severely deaf in september and wears a hearing aid in each ear. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. it's looking quite turbulent this weekend, with our first main storm of the season putting in an appearance late on sunday, ringing

strong winds, gales, and also rain at times, but there will be drier interludes at tile —— as well put up most up—to—date's showers are starting to clear. still if you are in east anglia and the south—east and some across scotland, and i think one or two will continue here overnight, but generally speaking it will be dry with some clear spells and it's going to be a bit cooler than last night. there could be a touch of frost in north—east scotland. generally, temperatures between four and seven. a decent start to the weekend. across england and wales, some spells of sunshine, which will turn quite hazy as high cloud streams in some outbreaks of rainfor cloud streams in some outbreaks of rain for northern ireland and heavy rain for northern ireland and heavy rain piling in to western scotland. the wind picking up here as well. afternoon temperatures, between six and 11, but things turning milder from the west ahead of this frontal system. this is the wettest weather for most of us, moving through on

saturday night, strong winds but, as that main rain band clears, we are farfrom that main rain band clears, we are far from out of the woods. sunday has sunny spells and heavy, blustery, thundery showers with the wind picking up. gail is likely in western areas later, temperatures of eight to 13. on sunday evening, we area bit eight to 13. on sunday evening, we are a bit concerned. this area of low pressure, a named storm named by the irish weather service, because they are expecting really strong winds but, even in the uk, gales up to 70 miles a row, even a bit stronger that. that could well cause travel disruption, and the gales will transfer to eastern parts on monday. that's all from the bbc news at six.

hello, this is bbc news, with the press of burien. the headlines. the man who carried out a string of sex attacks on 11 women and children across england over two weeks has been found guilty of 37 offences. yona jason mccann is a tremendously dangerous individual who has shown com plete co ntem pt dangerous individual who has shown complete contempt for his victims, he's clearly one of the most dangerous sex offenders i think that we've ever seen this country. boris johnson and jeremy corbyn will go head to head later, for the final time it during the election campaign. when they take part in a life bbc debate later this evening. a teenager has admitted attempted murder after throwing a six—year—old boy from the tenth floor of the tate modern gallery in london in august.

well, in a moment, it's going to