britons trapped in the chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak have been given permission to fly home tonight. as the virus spreads to every region in china, hundreds prepare to leave wuhan and return to the uk. it's a massive relief. can't wait to get back now and just sort of get away from everything, and de—stress, i think. meanwhile, 6,000 passengers are stuck on a cruise ship docked near rome after a passenger was suspected of carrying the virus. we'll have the latest on the search for a potential vaccine. also this evening... the number of rape prosecutions in england and wales has fallen again,

as the number of suspects charged rises slightly. i think it's really important that people do report. at the same time, my gut instinct is to say don't bother. the prime minister is holding crucial talks on the future of h52 amid rising costs and criticism from some conservative mps. and the high tech trainers said to feel like running on trampolines — are they giving professional athletes an unfair advantage? and in sportsday at 6:30, novak djokovic brushes aside an injury—hampered roger federer to reach the australian open finalfor eighth time.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. it's been confirmed a flight carrying 200 uk nationals will be allowed to leave wuhan, the chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, tonight. when they return, the passengers will be taken to an nhs site in the north west of england and kept in isolation for m days. the virus has now caused 170 deaths, spread to every region in china and 15 other countries. china has taken far—reaching steps to try to stop the speed of the virus spreading by effectively quarantining more than 50 million people in wuhan and its surrounding province. other countries which have reported cases of coronavirus include australia, cambodia, vietnam, india and sri lanka. further afield, there have been a handful of cases each in north america, parts of europe and the united arab emirates. so far, there have been no confirmed cases in the uk.

from beijing, john sudworth reports. wuhan‘s medics are locked in a daily battle against this epidemic, with infections still rising steeply. but for trapped british residents, at last a way out. it's a massive relief. can't wait to get back now and just sort of get away from everything and de—stress, i think. from the rendezvous point at a motorway toll booth, those travelling face multiple health screenings, a bus ride to the airport, then an overnight wait for the flight. but for some there's been serious confusion, especially mixed nationality families like adam bridgeman, his chinese wife sue, and their newborn son austin, with the uk authorities unable to say if they can get on a flight. they couldn't tell me whether or not my wife or my son would be allowed on the plane. they said that's a matter for the chinese authorities, and the chinese authorities would decide on a case—by—case basis. so that leaves you still

stranded in wuhan. what does it mean for the baby? the main worry is medical care. if he gets sick, then we are in trouble. we have heard from at least one of the family in a similar predicament, unable to board the plane. but the confusion seems odd. after we sent our own questions to the chinese foreign ministry, we received this fax saying that chinese nationals would be able to accompany their british family members on the flight. we passed the information on to the uk authorities. in wuhan, two large brand—new hospitals are being built in little more than a week. but there are also signs that all is not well. existing hospitals are publishing desperate appeals for medical supplies. fear is spreading. this unverified video shows a family from wuhan living elsewhere in china,

having their door sealed shut. and remarkably, some criticism of the authorities is being allowed to go uncensored. lambasting what he calls communists who love to shout out slogans, this doctor says they should be put on the front line with medical staff. the state media footage of recovered patients leaving hospital is meant to redress the balance, but with such uncertainty the british families who make the flight will be glad to be on their way. it is obviously a hugely complex operation getting a rescue flight into a city facing the kind of crisis that wuhan is facing at the moment. and it is clear that there has been some pretty difficult negotiations behind the scenes. the uk foreign office say that 150 british nationals are now being processed to get on that flight in about five hours‘ time. but it is also clear there will be deep, deep

disappointment for those left behind. john, thank you. john sudworth, live in beijing for us. this evening the world health organization is meeting to decide whether to declare an international public health emergency. are a medical correspondent fergus walsh has this assessment of the response of the outbreak. usuallyjust military aircraft use raf brize norton in 0xfordshire. tomorrow, this is where the repatriation flight will land. it is understood british nationals will then be taken on to empty nhs staff accommodation in northwest england to begin 1a days in quarantine. this is five—star quarantine. in dock in western italy, one of the world‘s biggest cruise ships, none of the 7000 passengers and crew can disembark because two chinese passengers have a fever. it could take 48 hours before their test results are known.

tonight, the world health organization could declare this a global public health emergency. although officials are commending chinese efforts to control the outbreak. i will praise china again and again because its actions actually helped in reducing the spread of coronavirus to other countries. the world health organization defines a public health emergency of international concern as an extraordinary event which requires a coordinated international response. in the past 20 years, it has been declared five times, for the swine flu pandemic, polio, two ebola outbreaks and the zika virus. this allows the who to make recommendations to how to control the global spread of the virus, limiting travel such as screening at airports and boosting resources for containing the virus and spending on research into treatments and vaccines.

bbc news was given access to these labs in san diego, california, where scientists are racing to develop a vaccine to protect people from infection. usually that process takes years, but that could be reduced to just months according to a british scientist, after china shared the genetic code of the virus. we received the sequence from the chinese government and we worked overnight and the next day we had designed a vaccine. we immediately put that vaccine into manufacture, which is the state to it's currently in. and we hope that that will be entering into human clinical trials by early summer. that timeline is absolutely unprecedented in vaccine development. a global effort is also under way to develop the first antiviral treatments for the china coronavirus. medicines that could save many lives. fergus walsh, bbc news.

0ur health editor hugh pym is with me — you have more details about what will happen when those britons arrive from wuhan. yes, the last half hour i have been able to discover where they will go once they have landed at raf brize norton in 0xfordshire, sometime tomorrow morning. they will be taken by bus to the wirral, on merseyside, arrow park hospital, where there is empty arrow park hospital, where there is e m pty staff arrow park hospital, where there is empty staff accommodation, where they will be accommodated. that is distinct from the main hospital there. there will be public health officials there to guide them, keep an eye on them. they will have to stay there for 1h days, that is the quarantine period, to allow certainty they don‘t have the virus, 01’ certainty they don‘t have the virus, or if they do show signs of being unwell, they will be tested. that is 150 british nationals. there are 50 others on the plane who are from others on the plane who are from other eu countries. most of them are from spain. i gather the plane will fly on from raf brize norton, probably to madrid, to disembark those passengers. thanks for that update, hugh pym, our health

editor. the number of people being prosecuted for rape in england and wales has fallen again. from march 2018 to 2019, there were just over 3,000 rape cases taken to court. but that dropped to just under 2,500 in the 12 months to september last year. the crown prosecution service, the body responsible for criminal prosecutions in england and wales, says it‘s now publishing figures more often, because of concerns over the plummeting prosecution rate. our home affairs correspondent june kelly has been speaking to one woman. zoe says she became a rape victim in her first term at university. she went back to a male student‘s flat after an evening out. she says she was being polite, and didn‘t want to hurt his feelings. he immediately locked the door. and then he said that he had a gun. and he pointed it at me, and asked me if i was scared. i went completely numb. i know that, at some point, he started to sexually assault me. and then have sex with me. but ijust zoned

out completely. ifelt so kind of... i mean, isuppose the word is violated. just so... the whole kind of thing, like i can wash and wash, but i can never be clean. she describes how, as a result, she dropped out of university. her life unravelled as she became suicidal, and she started taking drugs. it was only years later, when she began volunteering with a women‘s charity, that she says she realised what had happened to her was rape. i suppose back then, in my head, i didn‘t necessarily go, "that was rape." because, in my head, rape was something that... kind of like the whole rape myth thing, it‘s a stranger in a dark alley. she went to the police. they investigated and passed the case to the crown prosecution service. but they gave her various reasons for not charging. they said she hadn‘t appeared threatened by the gun, and that her alleged attacker said she consented to sex.

when they talk about the legal definition of consent, you have to have the freedom to choose. i don‘t see how taking someone into a room and locking the door, and then saying they have a weapon in any way gives you the freedom to choose. what is happening with rape complaints? while rape allegations in england and wales are at a record high, prosecutions are continuing to fall. the lawyer who heads the crown prosecution service stresses there‘s been a drop in cases being passed to them by the police. and he has this message for complainants. if you're a victim of the devastating offence of rape, come forward. do not delay. come to the police. tell your story. do so in the knowledge that it will be taken seriously. and zoe‘s response? i think it‘s really important that people do report. at the same time, my gut instinct is to say don‘t bother. the cps denies claims from women‘s

groups that more difficult cases are not being taken to court. but now the victims commissioner has joined these campaigners in calling for an independent inquiry into the way the criminaljustice system deals with rape allegations. june kelly, bbc news. if you‘ve been affected by this story, details of organisations offering information and support with sexual violence are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free at any time to hear recorded information on 0800 077 077. the bank of england has held interest rates at 0.75%. there was speculation that rates could be cut, but mr carney — after his final interest rate meeting as governor — said the most recent signs are that

global growth has stabilised. the prime minister is holding crucial talks on the future of the controversial hs2 railway this evening. the government appears poised to give the scheme the go ahead after chancellor sajid javid signalled his support, despite the project‘s mounting costs. the high speed line would link london with birmingham and then on to northern england. here‘s our political editor, laura kuenssberg. over here is a line of trees and hedgerows that run along the edge of calveryjubilee nature reserve. these will all be taken out by hs2. big projects will always affect someone‘s backyard. there will be a swath of the nature reserve that is taken away. lindsay batham is one of many who fear the project of the buckinghamshire countryside. but the diggers have long been at work. billions have already been poured into high—speed rail, designed to provide extra capacity

on the lines and fasterjourneys from london to the midlands, then eventually onto manchester, leeds and beyond. is it isita is it a green light? ministers are nervous about the enormous cost, but have to make a decision soon. the chancellor is ready to say yes and is meeting with the prime minister and the transport secretary tonight. it is the case that this is the biggest infrastructure decision this country has ever made, the biggest in europe. and it's quite right that it's properly and carefully considered, not just with that network rail evidence, but with everything else. the good news is he won't have to wait too long. there are plenty of backers on the green benches, but simmering hostility, too. if the government were to scrap hsz, which everybody knows is a catastrophic waste of money, it will have a huge amount available for more rail infrastructure in west yorkshire and across the north. i understand you‘ve got some very tough questions for me. making the decision is a big call for borisjohnson, sceptical about the cost

of a project whose full benefits might not be felt until these downing street visitors have grown up. but under pressure to say yes, with helpful advice from former rivals in his ears. it would be nuts to cancel hsz. this is going to connect the north of england and the midlands to the south and help level up the economic geography of the uk. and frankly you can't be a government that says you are committed to the north and committed to infrastructure, as this government does — and i really welcome that — then cancel the biggest transport insfratructure project ever conceived for the north of england. there are the practicalities, the price tag, but of course the politics. hs2 is wildly overbudget and it will take years to complete. but remember the government won the election in part by making big promises to connect the country. to correct the lopsidedness, to things fairer north, south, east and west. some figures in government believe there would be a huge credibility problem if they were to call the whole thing off. downing tools completely seems far—fetched. signs in westminister

point to a go—ahead soon. but it‘s a big choice and not clear yet when and how this project will roll on. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the time is 6:16pm our top story this evening... as the death toll rises, britons trapped in the chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak have been given permission to fly home. judi dench, shakespeare in love. ewan mcgregor, velvet goldmine. joe pesci, the irishman. and still to come — she‘s won the same amount of oscars as meryl streep — we speak the award—winning costume designer sandy powell. and in sportsday in 15 minutes, we‘ll have reaction from the australian open tennis, where former wimbledon champion garbine muguruza sets up a surprise final with american sofia kenin. world athletics bosses are set

to tighten regulations on the use of controversial high—tech running shoes after concerns they could give professional athletes an unfair advantage. the governing body‘s council has been considering whether to ban nike‘s vaporfly range after complaints that their use was equivalent to "technological doping". new rules will be announced tomorrow. our sports editor dan roan has the story. this is history unfolding... a weekend that changed distance running forever. eliud kipchoge becoming the first athlete to complete a marathon in less than two hours last year. and then brigid kosgei also making history a day later. she is going to obliterate the world record. but how much were their feats down to their footwear? both kenyans wore modified versions of nike‘s controversial vaporfly. the sport‘s rules say shoes must not provide an unfair advantage, but have they been overtaken? some critics like british

olympian mara yamauchi, who was sponsored by a rival shoe firm, now want the governing body to step in and issue a ban. if they say, right, doping is not allowed because it‘s performance enhancing but we‘re ok with these shoes which are also performance enhancing, there‘s a bit of inconsistency there. what we‘re getting into now is not who is the best athlete, who has got the best shoes on. it is hard to see how anybody not wearing vaporflys in the tokyo olympics is going to win medals. remarkably, the five fastest marathons ever have all been achieved by runners wearing types of vaporfly in the last two years. so what is the secret? we asked experts at manchester metropolitan university to reveal the science hidden inside the shoe. what makes it special? so, one of the key features of this shoe is the foam. it‘s particularly light and particularly thick, as you can see here. that thick foam can store lots of energy and then return lots of energy as well. the other key feature is this full—length carbon plate, which you can see here. that adds stiffness to the length of the shoe. it allows the athlete to have greater leverage and also stiffens the front of the shoe and

allows them to run more efficiently. the claim is that your running economy can increase by around 4%. these shoes are now a common sight at running clubs and in parks up and down the country, and these mass—produced ones will escape any kind of blanket ban. but modified versions may well struggle to meet new temporary restrictions that are set to be announced as world athletics tries to provide some clarity ahead of the tokyo olympics. nike says it respects the rules and their shoes don‘t return more energy than the runner uses. their athletes embrace the advances. we discourage innovation, we discourage technology if it is about this and this. evolution in sport is nothing new but some fear running is being distorted, and in the pursuit of fairness athletics rules must now catch up and fast. dan roan, bbc news. a man has been found guilty of trying to steal a copy of the magna carta from salisbury cathedral and causing £14,000 worth of damage.

mark royden, who‘s from kent, smashed the protective glass around the 805—year—old document using a hammer, but failed to break through. firms involved in the refurbishment of grenfell tower are as much to blame for the victims‘ deaths as if they had pulled the trigger of a gun — that was what one of the lawyers, who is representing the victims, told the inquiry into the tragedy, which killed 72 people. the companies deny responsibility and want a guarantee that the evidence they give will not be used in prosecutions. tom symonds reports from the inquiry. the companies responsible killed those 72 people as sure as if they had taken careful aim with a gun and pulled the trigger. today was the day the bereaved, the people who escaped this, the people who lived in sight of the tower, were given their voice at the grenfell inquiry. in their barristers‘ largely technical opening statements, sometimes the anger came through. they killed when they promoted

their unsuitable, dangerous products in pursuit of money and a place within the market. and they killed when they entirely ignored their ultimate clients, the people of the grenfell tower. whether it was manslaughter is for the police and the courts, but this was their evidence. the kensington and chelsea management organisation was the client for the refurbishment of the tower. another victim‘s barrister said it had obsessed with cutting costs. the tmo seems to have given no thought and asked no questions as to whether performance, including safety, was in any way compromised by this cost reduction. celotex made the rs5000 insulation. no argument it burns, but e—mails today showed celotex included a 2a—storey tower as one of its sales targets. celotex saw grenfell as being a flagship for the r55000 product. cladding manufacturer arconic had

test results suggesting its product might contribute to a fire, but it has always said it can‘t be held responsible for how it‘s used. this internal e—mail in 2014 shows the company hoped to sell to a series of high—rise housing developments, including — spelt wrong — grenfell tower. this gives the lie to arconic's previous narrative that all it does is sell the product and that it is not involved in the process of persuasion to get its product onto buildings. and finally, there were the fire safety consultants exova, who produced a series of reports which ignored the fact that cladding would be added. all these companies say they were just part of the project, but the blame lies elsewhere. this process will have to decide if that‘s true. tom symonds, bbc news, at the grenfell tower inquiry. now, this stunning image shows the sun in the most detail yet,

courtesy of the world‘s largest telescope, located in hawaii. the high—resolution pictures capture our star‘s turbulent atmosphere. the gold cell—like structures — roughly the size of texas — represent violent motions that carry heat from inside the sun to its surface. shakespeare in love, gangs of new york, the favourite — british costume designer sandy powell has won awards for her work in some of the biggest films of the past 30 years. she‘s been nominated for a bafta and an oscar for her creations in martin scorsese‘s mob movie, the irishman. and this evening she‘s being honoured with the top award for excellence in film by uk film critics. our arts editor, will gompertz, has been to meet her. the oscar nominees class photo 2020. packed with famous faces and a few not so familiar, like the acclaimed british costume designer sandy powell. a multiple nominee over the years, who has won as many oscars as meryl streep, and can add a fourth in little over a week thanks to her work on martin scorsese‘s

the irishman. this was worn by stephen graham in the irishman. and, funnily enough, is the most talked about costume in the film. people really like it. i mean, it‘s because it comes from such a great scene, where tony pro, the character, is late for a meeting with jimmy hoffa, played by al pacino. and there ensues a row, and an actual fight on the floor. but what it does, of course, and what you have done with it, is it communicates so much of the character‘s personality. yeah, it‘s a kind of arrogance of the character. not bothering to dress properly for a business meeting. for her deep wisdom in knowing where to draw the line in holding our country together. last year, she won a bafta for her work on the favourite, dressing the actors of the late tudor court of queen anne. all in a day‘s work for a designer with an impressive range. judi dench, shakespeare in love. ewan mcgregor, velvet goldmine. joe pesci, the irishman. stephen graham, the irishman. emily blunt, young victoria. joseph fiennes, shakespeare in love. i have not said

all. by malign fate, the message goes astray which would the message goes tell romeo of the friar's plan. generally i‘ve got their measurements in advance. so i will go armed with various things to try on, just as a trial. you know, prototypes, shapes, let‘s see what works and what doesn‘t work. so, you start by trying a bunch of things on. and then you get a feel, very quickly, really, of what they‘re responding to, what i respond to. you know, what works and what doesn‘t. it‘s not about making somebody look fabulous. that character has got to work. and maybe the character is the kind of character that looks fabulous. maybe they‘re a character that actually looks terrible. sometimes you have to make people look terrible deliberately. you‘ve got quite a lot of experience at the awards, going up on stage at the baftas and the oscars. what is the whole thing like? terrifying! it‘s absolutely terrifying. you sit there terrified and hope your name doesn‘t get called. well, hers does, frequently. she might well hear it again at this year‘s awards,

starting with the baftas on sunday. will gompertz, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here‘s helen willets. how is it looking? it‘s not great out there, we have strong and gusty winds and it has been grey again. in amongst the clouds we found some sunshine here in yorkshire, but on the whole after the beautiful, crisp weather yesterday, the cloud returned with a vengeance today and the wind gusting over 60 mph in some parts. particularly scotland, northern england and parts of the east midlands. hopefully the worst will be over just east midlands. hopefully the worst will be overjust a few hours after midnight. we start largely dry for many areas but more rain marches in as we go through the night. with the rain, increased cloud and the wind, it should for most of us be frost free, touch and go in eastern scotland. the rain cleared

quickly from northern ireland and scotland, but will take several hours to meander southwards so it might start reasonable in the south—east and brighten up behind it, but there will be showers following for scotland, northern ireland and northern england. still, temperatures well above where they should be for the time of year. we might even see 15 in some southern areas because it is mild air coming up areas because it is mild air coming up from the mid atlantic. that stays with us on and off throughout the weekend so it means we are braced with further areas of low pressure and further spells of rain. the weekend won‘t be a wash—out but there will be lively outbreaks. on one particular weather front in the south on saturday, then gusty winds and driving showery rain into the north. then brighter weather in between, as i say it is not a wash—out. then the next area of rain, and the spell of wet and windy weather coming in. overnight on saturday hopefully for some of us, thenit saturday hopefully for some of us,

then it clears away. it moves into some slightly colder air further north and we could have snow in scotland. if you have plans, stay tuned. helen, thank you. a reminder of our top story... as the death toll rises, chinese people trapped in the centre of the corona outbreak have been allowed to fly home. that‘s all from the bbc news at six so it‘s goodbye from me

hello. latest advance for now. a flight carrying 150 britons be allowed

to leave the chinese city at the centre of this coronavirus a break tonight. it is due to land in oxfordshire before passengers are taken to a facility for a quarantine period of 14 facility for a quarantine period of 1a days. the chancellor said you javid there his support behind hs two is a number of tory mps consider rebelling against the government. the number of rape prosecutions in england and wales has fallen again at the number of suspects charged rises slightly. the man has been found guilty of trying to steal a copy of the magna carta smashing the protective glass around the age of five—year—old document using a hammer. a royal marine who died after being injured in training two weeks ago has been named as recruit ethanjones. ina in a moment for sports day but first a look at what else is coming up

this evening on bbc news.