at six — a hospital electrician admits murdering two women and sexually abusing at least 100 dead bodies. david fuller had access to mortuaries in kent — his victims included dead children. today the 67—year—old admitted murdering then sexually assaulting wendy knell and caroline pierce in tunbridge wells almost 35 years ago. david, you are under arrest on suspicion _ david, you are under arrest on suspicion of the murders of wendy knell_ suspicion of the murders of wendy knell and — suspicion of the murders of wendy knell and caroline pearson. police finally tracked him down thanks to dna advances — at his home they found photographs and videos from the mortuaries. also on the programme tonight: the conservative mp owen paterson

at the centre of a row over lobbying rules resigns after a major government u—turn. cervical cancer has been virtually eradicated in young women because of the hpv vaccine programme, says a new study. more than a0 countries promise to phase out the use of coal — but australia, india, china and america aren't among them. and the christmas ads are launched to try to boost business for retailers over the next few weeks. coming up on sportsday later in the hour on the bbc news channel... we'll have more on the crisis at yorkshire cricket with more sponsors ending their association with the county, over claims of institutional racism at the club. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a 67—year—old man has admitted murdering two women — wendy knell and caroline pierce — in kent almost 35 years ago and then

decades later sexually abusing at least 100 corpses in hospital mortuaries. for more than 30 years, david fuller was a maintenance worker at the kent and sussex hospital and then the tunbridge wells hospital until police finally tracked him down last december thanks to advances in dna testing. police have contacted the families of many of the victims assaulted between 2008 and 2020 but detectives say they may never know the full extent of his crimes. this report from our home affairs correspondent tom symonds contains disturbing details. morning. it's the police. hello. after 33 years, he almost seemed to be expecting it. all right, david. you are under arrest on the suspicion of the murders of wendy knell and caroline pierce in 1987. do you understand 7 yeah. david fuller, mr normal — at least, on the outside. wendy knell and caroline pierce.

independent young women in a quiet town in the 1980s. you don't expect it in a small town like tunbridge wells. like myself. we were alljust working locally. it could have happened to any of us. julie monks was a friend of wendy and worked with her in a caf. she always wanted to get married and have children and be a homemaker. that's what she wanted to do. but wendy's home, her tiny bedsit, was where she was murdered. caroline was attacked on her doorstep and taken away. three weeks later, a farm worker looked down from his tractor into a drainage ditch and spotted a body. like wendy, caroline had been beaten, strangled and sexually assaulted. police were pretty sure the same man had killed both of them, but back then there was very little cctv, especially around here, no phones to track and dna techniques were rudimentary. but that has changed.

fuller was tracked down using modern dna techniques, which can identify a criminal through his family members. when this dna swab was taken, it matched samples from the murder scenes, carefully stored for decades. fuller's house provided more evidence. this picture. see the shoes he's wearing? they matched this footprint, in blood, from wendy's bedsit. and then it's got number 52. date of death. he's identified the victims. and slowly police started to make discoveries, which revealed what david fuller was all about. he's killed them and evidence is indicating that he has killed them to then sexually abuse them. after death? after death. and that's the evidence that has been presented in court. horrific murders.

these young ladies, 25 and 20, brutalised for his sexual satisfaction. the search continued. it looks like he's got some hard drives in there, i would say. but they're stuck to the back. and these hidden hard drives contain devastating evidence. fuller, a hospital maintenance man in two hospital mortuaries, carrying out sexual acts with dead bodies. he had set up a camcorder and videoed himself. his swipe card gave him access to all areas. we can now report for the first time that at the kent and sussex hospital and its successor, the tunbridge wells hospital, at least 100 dead women were abused. they include a nine—year—old and a 100—year—old woman. fuller recorded some of their names in a little black book. but said practically nothing to police. is there anything you would like to add or clarify at this point, david?

no. leaving them to identify more than 78 victims from details in his videos. 78 and counting. theirfamilies have been traced and visited. we've got to tell them. we must tell them. and there are some that have said, "we wish you "hadn't told us." i don't know how i'd react if it happened to one of my close loved ones, whether i would want to know about it. fuller's claimed that he was mentally ill fell apart in court. psychiatrist dr richard badcock has advised the police on cases, including that of harold shipman. the psychopathology work here is very definitely one of sadomasochism. which, in essence, is...not being able to deal with your own issues, except by manipulated behaviour of other people. although you're doing extreme things... ..you don't feel alive most of the time. you know, you might only feel alive in the moment of the...

of the offence. david fuller will become notorious for crimes which will revolt the nation. his victims — so many women and girls, wendy and caroline — were not even safe after their deaths. tom symonds, bbc news, maidstone crown court. well, tonight the health secretary sajid javid has asked all nhs trusts to review access to mortuaries. our health correspondent catherine burns is here with me now. a catherine burns is here with me now. really shocki extraordinary a really shocking story and extraordinary she had —— he had access to hospital mortuary is over such a long time? his access to hospital mortuary is over such a long time?— such a long time? his “ob as an electrician * such a long time? his “ob as an electrician gave _ such a long time? his “ob as an electrician gave him _ such a long time? his job as an electrician gave him that - such a long time? his job as an - electrician gave him that the cover. 0ne electrician gave him that the cover. one of his responsibilities was to check the temperatures in the mortuaries, so he had a legitimate reason to be there. mortuary staff wear until about 3.30 in the afternoon and his shifts went on

until seven o'clock so it was easy for him to be there alone. there were six cameras in the mortuary, but the focus was stopping unauthorised access, not checking on staff who were allowed to be there. the hospital has said its feelings are with the families of the victims and it has started an investigation, trying to find out what it could have done to stop it. as we heard from the health secretary, savage javid, he has ordered an investigation to see if mortuary security is strong enough and he says his thoughts are with the families, also people who work for the nhs, he thinks will be profoundly shaken by this. the nhs has written to all trusts with mortuaries saying they have to review their security. it is not enough to have cctv and swipe card data, they have to be checked regularly to find out who is going in and out of mortuaries. catherine burns, in and out of mortuaries. catherine burns. thank _ in and out of mortuaries. catherine burns, thank you. _ and kent police have set—up a phone line for anyone

who thinks their relatives or friends could have been affected — the number is 0800 0515270. the conservative mp 0wen paterson, at the centre of a row over lobbying rules, has resigned saying he will remain a public servant, outside the cruel world of politics. his decision came after the government was forced into a major u—turn today over proposed changes to the way mps are reprimanded for breaking the rules. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. a different kind of protest. a different kind of attack to green activists busy in westminster today. sleaze is the accusation against the government, corruption, they claim. a former minister has now quit as an mp after he was found to have lobbied the government more than a dozen times for companies who paid him thousands of pounds. standing down, 0wen paterson said... "my integrity has been repeatedly and publicly questioned. i maintain that i'm

totally innocent. my children have asked me to leave politics altogether. for my sake as well as theirs, i agree with them. i will remain a public servant, but outside the cruel world of politics." the ayes to the right, 250... but downing street had tied to save him. tories last night voted to tear up the rules he broke. loud commotion. but listen to the atmosphere in there. order! what have you done to this place? dozens of conservatives, outraged, stayed away. but number ten had backed the attempt to overhaul the system that monitors behaviour that would've saved him. the immediate backlash was bruising. nearly all of the front pages damning, the internet alive with claims of sleaze, political rivals immediately sharpening attacks. many tories, too, were appalled. so, by mid—morning, ministers were back in the commons ditching the idea.

and in effect ditching owen paterson, too. last night's vote has created a certain amount of controversy. it is important that standards in this house are done on a cross—party basis. while there is a very strong feeling on both sides of the house that there is a need for an appeals process, there is equally a strong feeling that this should not be based on a single case or applied retrospectively. in other words, changing the rules that mr paterson broke is off for now. but the opposition says it's a wider pattern. corrupt. i mean, there's no other word for it, i'm afraid. and often in a situation like this, you have a prime minister who is trying to lead on public standards. what you've got with this prime minister is a prime minister who is leading his troops through the sewer, and so it is a complete mess of their own making. it's a very strong accusation to say this is corrupt. well, it is corrupt

because there was a clear finding after due process. borisjohnson says he's sorry to see mr paterson go, but outrage at how the prime minister tried to use parliament will take time to fade. i think it is fair to say the shenanigans have backfired pretty spectacularly. notjust meaning the end of aaron patterson's political career but staring up questions about what downing street was trying to achieve in the prime minister's own attitude to following the rules. and with a by—election beckoning and the opposition parties keen to make the opposition parties keen to make the most of what they see as a political opportunity, i don't think for a single second we have heard the last of this. laura kuenssberg, thank you. an mp who made threatening phone calls to a woman because she was jealous of her relationship with her partner has been given a suspended sentence. claudia webbe, the former labour mp for leicester east who is now independent, has been handed a suspended 10—week jail sentence and 200 hours' community service

after being convicted of harassment. westminster magistrates' court heard she threatened the woman with acid. a new study suggests that cervical cancer has been virtually eradicated in young women because of the hpv vaccine programme. around 3,200 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the uk each year, and 99% of these are caused by the human papilloma—viruses. but cases of the disease have fallen by nearly 90% among women now in their 20s, who were the first generation to get the jab. the vaccine is offered to all girls and boys in the uk at some stage between 11 and 13 years old depending on where they live. our health editor hugh pym reports. three women and three perspectives on a dramatic step forward with news of the success of the hpv vaccine. evie missed out at school, but then found she could get the injections on the nhs. i have now, at 23, got

the vaccine, and, yeah, this news is just really, really good cos, yeah, you just see that the changes are happening and the vaccine is working. it's come too late for lynn, but she knows screening will give early warning of cancer caused by the virus. the screening has been amazing, so that's helped people in the meantime. but, yeah, so it is a shame, but at least there's something moving forward. amazing, really amazing statistics. a view shared by penny. so, i mean, ithink today| is fantastic news, and it's a fantastic development. penny had cervical cancer, but it was picked up early thanks to a smear test. and after a major operation three years ago, she's now clear. when i say to people i was lucky, l i say that because i'd had threel kids, i had no intention of having any more children. _ so, although it was major surgery, for me, it didn't have same impact i that it might have on somebody, i on a woman who gets diagnosed in her 205 who hasn't had any children,

who is faced with the option - that they have to, you know, . have a hysterectomy and they're not going to be able - to have children naturally. the new study looked at the impact of the vaccine after it was introduced for girls in england in 2008. it was also rolled out around the uk, and from 2019 to boys aged 12—13. hpv can cause some cancers including head and neck in men, and the vaccine could help prevent those. no wonder scientists are hailing the significance of the research. it's a really historic moment to show that at last we have this concrete proof that the vaccine is actually stopping people from getting cervical cancer, so it's an incredible story of the power of science and research and what we can achieve when we put that into practice. the vaccine could make a big difference in developing countries like laos, where it's been introduced for girls. cervical cancer is the fourth most common among women worldwide, with 90% of deaths in low and middle—income countries where

access to screening is limited. the world health organization has called for global action to eliminate cervical cancer and a major improvement in the health of women both here and further afield. hugh pym, bbc news. the government's latest coronavirus figures for the uk, show there were just over 37,000 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, down 2,500 on the same time last week. on average, there were 39,000 new cases reported per day in the last week. there were more than 9,000 people in hospital with covid as of yesterday. 214 deaths were recorded, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, 170 covid—related deaths were recorded every day. nine miliion people have received their boosterjab, this includes third doses for those with certain health conditions. the uk has become the first country in the world to approve an antiviral

pill against covid — the first of its kind — which will be used for vulnerable patients. in trials the drug, called molnupiravir, was shown to halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised. the government has bought enough supplies to treat nearly half a million covid patients. our medical editor fergus walsh reports. a pill that can stop covid in its tracks — it's been the goal of scientists since the pandemic began. now there is molnupiravir, and it's likely to be the first of many antiviral treatments. anne—marie tested positive for coronavirus on tuesday and has just started a five—day course of molnupiravir as part of a trial in liverpool. she's had cancer, and so is more vulnerable to covid. it is absolutely a life—and—death situation.

i do have a family that i need to think about, and i need to be here for them. and if this gives me the opportunity to be around for my son's wedding and everything else, then so be it. when coronavirus infects cells, it makes multiple copies of itself. molnupiravir, originally designed to treat flu, introduces errors in the virus's genetic code, which hampers its ability to spread. it's over a year since the clinical research facility at royal liverpool university hospital began testing molnupiravir on patients. global trials have shown it halves the chances of dying or being hospitalised with covid. to have a drug like this, to have an antiviral that potent, that's able to be taken orally is a very important moment and does mark a milestone in our discovery of effective medicines against covid. the uk has ordered 480,000

courses of molnupiravir, with the first doses expected to arrive here later this month. it's being approved for people with at least one risk factor for covid, such as being over 60, obese or having heart disease. it's most effective when given within five days of symptoms appearing. the cost of the drug has not been revealed, but in the us, it's £500 per patient. the uk was the first country in the world to authorise the pfizer and astrazeneca vaccines, and our regulators here have again led the way by approving molnupiravir. it will be months before doctors know how effective it is outside trials. but antivirals look set to play a key role in keeping covid patients out of hospital. fergus walsh, bbc news.

the time is almost 6.20. our top story this evening... hospital worker david fuller admits murdering two women and sexually abusing at least 100 dead bodies. and coming up — yorkshire county cricket club has been banned from holding international matches at headingley over issues of racism. coming up in sportsday later in the hour on the bbc news channel... after 23 years, a milestone for david moyes — west ham's match in the europa league is his 1,000th in football management. the government says the "end of coal is in sight" after more than a0 countries promised to phase out the fossil fuel in the coming decades. it is said to be the single biggest contributor to climate change. poland, vietnam and chile are among the fast—growing economies that now say they'll reduce their coal use. but as our science correspondent rebecca morelle reports, other big users of coal such china and america haven't signed up to the deal.

a warning from united nations. they say we need to stop climate change before it's too late, but to do that, fossil fuels will have to become a thing of the past. today at the climate conference, the talk is all about energy, and top of the list is phasing out coal. this fossil fuel is the biggest single contributor to climate change, and more than a0 countries have now committed to move away from it. i do believe that the end of coal is in sight. i do believe we're getting to a point where we consign coal power to history. the agreement includes coal—reliant countries like poland and south korea, but missing are the us,

india and, most significantly, china, where half of the world's coal is burned. it has the biggest transition, the biggest challenges and needs to really drive a structural change in its energy system. today's precedence and movement really increases the pressure for them to come up with a solution sooner rather than later. moving away from coal is the future aim, but what's happening to greenhouse gas emissions now? since the �*90s, carbon dioxide levels have been mainly rising, but during the pandemic, when the world shut down, they fell sharply. this year, though, they've increased rapidly again, to almost the same amount. behind those numbers is really a big rebound in coal in particular. - and so probably what is happening is that the stimulus _ packages to go out of covid, i because they have stimulated the current economy, - which is a fossil fuel economy.

but if we're to get to net zero emissions, what do we do about oil and gas? they've been filling some of the gaps behind coal, but some countries like costa rica and denmark are setting a date to end their use. and other nations at cop26 are expected to do the same. but closer to home, the uk government has a pending decision over plans for a new coal mine in cumbria to provide energy for the steel industry, pitting localjobs against the government's coal—cutting ambitions. some nations, though, will face even tougher choices about their energy future, but scientists are clear our reliance on fossil fuels needs to end fast. rebecca morelle, bbc news, glasgow. the english cricket board has launched a review into the governance of yorkshire country cricket club and suspended the club from hosting england matches. the step came after an investigation found spin bowler azeem rafiq had been the victim of racial harassment and bullying at the club. our sports correspondent

laura scott is at their headingley ground for us. the race row at yorkshire county cricket club deepens by the hour with two more high—profile sponsors deserting the club over its handling of the situation. nikkei said it would no longer be the kit supplier saying it stands firmly against racism and harrogate spring water ended its association too. last night gary ballance admitted to using a racial slur against azeem rafiq, something he said he deeply regrets but had come during immature exchanges between best friends and team—mates. he also said he didn't think it would cause azeem rafiq distress. azeem rafiq responded on social media this morning and said his grievance wasn't to do with the words of certain individuals but rather what he regarded as institutional racism and its abject failures to tackle it. in the last hour, the england and wales cricket

board described the handling of the matter is wholly unacceptable. they said the matter was apparent and against the spirit of cricket. the governing body has threatened financial sanctions but it's already suspending yorkshire from hosting major matches and suspended gary ballance from england selection. yorkshire county cricket club have not commented this week but an emergency board meeting will be held tomorrow amid mounting pressure on those in charge. tomorrow amid mounting pressure on those in charge-— the bank of england has kept interest rates at the historic low of 0.1%, but warned that we should expect rates to rise towards 1% in the coming months. the warning came as inflation — the rise in price of goods and services we buy — is on track to be more than 5% by next spring. our economics editor faisal islam reports. the economic picture is not as transparent as the main manufacturer of clayton glass county durham. glass in county durham. what is this a clear is that inflation is everywhere — in the wiring, in the packaging and here at least in

the wage packets. all the gas—related price rises have come through in rock glass terms, circa 30%. drivers wages, 26%. the last four months. general wages, 10% in the last 12 months. should inflation get to 5%, i don't believe that that level of inflation and cost purchase we have seen in a business is sustainable at all. but that's exactly what the bank of england is now forecasting that means interest rates will go up, just not at today's meeting. heading to around 1% in the next year. so, rates are on hold this month, but they're going up in the nearfuture. it was a close—run thing, because although the bank says those numbers it can do

about inflation hitting our % by april, it wants to stop a spiral of price rises leading to even more price rises. and deepen the forecast was some other news about post—tax, post inflation pay packets. the outlook for wages and pay after inflation and taxes is notjust sluggish. it will in fact go down over the next couple of years before the financial crisis this measure grouped by over 3% a year. we assume today that we think that there will be some increase in interest rates to bring inflation sustainably back to target. and we will be ready to do that. various claims were made about high wage economy and new prime minister's economy the chancellor said at the budget, not much evidence of that in your forecast today. that is unfortunately the effect of having higher inflation. and high taxes? particularly higher inflation actually. and that is unfortunate. none of us wants to see this. we understand the causes of it and we want to see it obviously, you know,

move away and go away as quickly as possible. and with widespread supply chain difficulties, too, there are concerns about the strength of the post lockdown recovery. faisal islam, bbc news. there are 51 days left until christmas. after last year's was all but cancelled, retailers are hoping for better business over the next few weeks. there have been warnings about possible supply shortages with shoppers urged to buy their presents early. and today two of the big hitters — john lewis and marks and spencer — released their christmas ads to try to boost business. here's our business correspondent emma simpson. # i only knew you... you know christmas is coming when thejohn lewis ad hits the screen. a heart—warming tale of a space traveller crash landing on earth. today, a blizzard of blockbuster ads. last christmas was a wash—out, thanks to covid—19. retailers hope we'll celebrate in style this time. we are ready.

we are pulling out all the stops. and here at m&s, they say shoppers have started early. it's a very big moment. customers have told us they want a bigger and more magical christmas than ever this year. and we can see them getting organised earlier than ever too. you know, about half of our customers have said they are going to have all their presents bought by the end of this month. can you believe it? is already looking festive in this big mall. have you started your christmas shopping? i have. i'm nearly finished because i've got four kids. and they all asked for big items, so, yeah. i'm nearly done. are you a bit worried about shortages? i was, yeah. because of what they wanted~ _ definitely not, it's too early, sorry. i yeah, i started in september. boy, we could all do with a good christmas this time around. many retailers, though, are still dealing with global supply chain problems.

sainsbury�*s warning today for instance there will be fewer electronic gadgets. so how worried should shoppers be? there'll be plenty of stock about. you should be a little bit concerned if it's something very special you want to buy and you might want to get that early. but the retailers want to get us into stores now. they want to get us buying at full price. they don't want to discount to us. but retailers do want their tills to be ringing, and the earlier the better. emma simpson, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. i'm not going to ask about snow, don't worry, but what is the weather like? , , ., don't worry, but what is the weather like? , ., ., , like? just a little early! if anything _ like? just a little early! if anything it's _ like? just a little early! if anything it's going - like? just a little early! if anything it's going to - like? just a little early! if| anything it's going to feel like? just a little early! if l anything it's going to feel a like? just a little early! if - anything it's going to feel a little less festive over the next few days because the weather is turning milder. with that, a lot of cloud and for the weekend wind and rain for some of us. the extra cloud will be rolling in from the north—west as we go through denied bringing spots of rain in places. where we hold on

to clear skies towards the