this summer's riots: police officers talk about the impact of working in what they called a war zone, where some thought they might die. allah—macro will you marry me? and. . .what�*s occurin? and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news. all the details of the 2026 world cup qualifying draw, and the home nations have avoided each other. it should be a minimum hello and welcome to the bbc news at six. a chinese businessman described

as a close confidant of the duke of york has lost an appeal against a decision to bar him from the uk on national security grounds. judges heard that the businessman had formed a close working relationship with prince andrew, receiving an invitation to his birthday party in 2020 and being told he could act on his behalf when dealing with potential investors in china. buckingham palace hasn't commented, saying it doesn't act for the prince, who isn't a working royal. here's dominic casciani. a prince under pressure. an advisor standing by him, and the mystery businessmen we cannot name. was this set of special relationships, now revealed in an extraordinary court document, the moment the chinese state targeted the royalfamily? for ten years, prince andrew promoted the uk's relationship with china as a trade envoy. i believe that china is a very, very important country. it's one that the uk needs to continue to have a good

relationship with. from state dinners to business talks, he helped forge closer ties. this one, a business event nine years ago for china's president xi jinping. ajudgment from the special immigration appeals commission, a semisecret court, has revealed that a chinese man known only as h6 has been banned from the uk because he is a threat to national security. the duke's adviser dominic hampshire told h6 that he could act for the dukein told h6 that he could act for the duke in talks with potential chinese investors. when the security services search h6�*s phone in 2021, they saw evidence that he might be deceiving the prince to gain influence for the chinese communist party. the court found that h6 had beenin party. the court found that h6 had been in a position to generate relationships with prominent uk figures which could be leveraged for political interference purposes. there was a letter from dominic hampshire on the phone. he told h6 that... 0utside

hampshire on the phone. he told h6 that... outside of the prince's closest internal confidants, you sit at the top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on. h6 also had a note of how to handle the duke himself. it said, important: manage expectations. really important to not set too high expectations. he is in a desperate situation and will grab onto anything. mis grab onto anything. mi5 concluded h6 was working for beijing. there is no suggestion mr hampshire was aware. the bbc has approached him for comment. counter espionage investigators feared the duke had been the target of elite capture, the chinese communist party's influence to seek influence across british life, and so the home secretary used her exceptional powers, reserved for the most serious national security cases, to ban the businessmen from the uk. the chinese embassy has called the allegations a baseless smear, but experts are not surprised. typically, they would go for members

of the house of lords or prominent business people or people who have a voice in the community. it's quite ambitious to target a member of the royalfamily, and quite unwise for a member of the royal family to allow himself to be targeted. prince andrew withdrew from public life in the aftermath of his newsnight interview over his relationship with the now dead sex offenderjeffrey epstein. that relationship raised questions of judgment. there are now, thanks to this astonishing case, questions of judgment let's talk to charlotte gallagher, who's at windsor. prince andrew may not be a working royal, but still hugely embarrassing for the royalfamily? it is, and i think if the royal family thought that prince andrew

stepping back from public life would mean an end to the embarrassing headlines, they were wrong. in fact, the suggestion that he may have threatened national security due to his relationship with this man is very damaging, and it raises questions, doesn't it, about his relationships and also his judgment. of course, his reputation was of course, his reputation was shattered when his friendship with the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein emerged. he was effectively sacked as a working royal, and he has been cut off financially from the king. and it is possible that his financial situation may have been a weigh in for this alleged spy' been a weigh in for this alleged spy, because we think he has to find

millions of pounds a year for the upkeep of his home here in windsor and also to pay for his security. as you said, buckingham palace are not commenting, saying that prince andrew is no longer a working royal, it's nothing to do with them. however, he still has a profile on the official royal family website,

he is

about the personal impact of this summer's riots. some have described middlesbrough as like "a war zone" on one of the worst days of violence, august 4th, and told us they thought they'd be killed as rioters threw bricks and tried to set officers on fire. this report by our uk editor ed thomas includes police footage and radio communications from that day. i was screaming at them, "hold the line, hold the line"! and they were there with the shield, with people trying to, like, set them on fire. and, you know what i mean? it was just horrific. and they smashed every car window, regardless of race, colour. they were just on a rampage. rocks, bricks, burning bins. absolute carnage. - for the first time, front line officers... shouting. ..talk about the emotional and physical impact of policing this summer's riots. we've got officers being assaulted here. punches to the face. in middlesbrough, 1,000 protesters

faced off with around 125 officers. we need more units. people offering moneyl to burn police cars out. we just couldn't hold the line. they were just pushing forward with such force. rallying calls of "we need to arm i ourselves" and "if the police tryl and stop us, we're going to go over the top of them." - 0n the ground, chief inspector zoe kelsey was outnumbered and under pressure. hold the line. hold the line where you're at. talk about the thin blue line, and it was very thin on that day. it really was. i need some units here on the right flank. they're just coming past our cops, dozens of them. extra officers from yorkshire and northumbria were rushed in to boost. numbers. it's like being in a war zone for eight hours, but you've just got a shield and a stick. streets trashed, shops looted. these guys are literally lighting up a bin. rioters even tried to set officers on fire. what's the reason for the bin? for the police?

so every time the wheelie bin went in, that was set on fire. | the chairs were there. the cheers were there. if someone got, like, a brick here in the face, it would be like, "yay"! they saw that we represented law and order, the government, and that's what they were fighting. i don't think they stopped to think that we were humans behind that uniform. after two hours of relentless battles... an officer is down. ..a police officer collapsed. potential heart attack. need an ambulance urgently. over the radio, we heard someone say something about a heart attack. when this was happening, we were in the middle of one of the streets, like fighting again with our shields and going forward and having things thrown at us. coming to you with a defib. he's on the floor. he's laid in his pants and socks, l and there's two officers there sort of working on him. zoe was one of them.

cut all his pads off him and his clothes and put the defib things on him. i wasjust holding his hand, and i was just saying, "you're going to be all right. you're going to be all right." and it was awful. i didn't think he was going to make it. my mind had gone, i would say, for that short period of time. i that night i went home, i couldn't sleep at all, and i couldn't sleep. and i didn't know if he was dead or alive or... and luckily he's on my facebook, so i could i rang him in the morning and he answered, and i wasjust that was just i felt so much better when i heard it. so, yeah, he's 0k. in middlesbrough, children took part in the violence. chaos live streamed on social media. on this crossroads, a roadblock was set up. are you white? are you white men?

the rioter in the red t—shirt and scarf, nowjailed, is asking drivers if they are white. white? homes trashed, filmed for likes and clicks on social media. these are the people that draw everything out of the community, draw the life and soul out of the community. give nothing but take everything. the people that commit the anti—social behaviour, the hardcore element of this disruptive group were them people. how do you describe them personally? parasites. i think society needs, personal opinion, to have a good look at itself because they have created what we're suffering now. a town under siege. it's got bags of bricks. they're arming themselves. anger and violence repeated across the country. officers left injured and traumatised. i didn't sleep for months. i couldn't sleep. i went on holiday with my family. i think it was probably day two or day three, |

ijust felt as though ijust sort of hit the floor, if you like. i it felt as though i could have . just broke down, to be honest. it was really traumatic for everyone involved. really traumatic. can you cope with doing all that again? yes. i don't even need to think about that one. am i ready? is the office ready? yeah. that was inspector adrian dack of cleveland police, along with chief inspector zoe kelsey and constable glen teeley speaking to ed thomas. tens of thousands of syrians have been on the streets of the capital damascus, and in cities across the country, to celebrate the overthrow of the brutal assad regime — scenes that would have been unthinkable only a week ago. today saw the first friday prayers since rebel groups took power in the country, after which people were urged to go out and express theirjoy. 0ur international editor jeremy bowen sent this report from damascus.

this ancient city has seen countless upheavals over five millennia. upheavals overfive millennia. but for modern syria, with its old flag restored, nothing matches the fall of the assad no. the end of the first week without an assad in charge since 1970 brought thousands of syrians into the mosque to thank god for their deliverance. the chant is "the people want the execution of bashar. " there is a sense here of great optimism. for all the people here, this puts the seal on it. this is absolute proof that they have one and the regime has gone. —— they have bashar too. just buying one of these black, red and green flags a couple of weeks ago could have got you arrested, jailed time, or even a

bullet. the fighters of hts are still basking in their achievement. that white flag used by syrian islamist fighters was also behind the new prime minister in a broadcast. hts insists it has renounced its former extremist ideology. some syrians do not believe them. samir, overwhelmed, back from britain after over a0 years, is happy for the future. it is our country now. he has gone. he has been corrupting his country for 50 years, but these are the people who are going to build the country, so wish us luck. everyone in the world. and please, please, leave us alone. leave us alone, 0k? world. and please, please, leave us alone. leave us alone, ok? we appreciate your support, but we don't want anyone to interfere with our decisions, what we are going to do. this is their decision. syria's future is full of

challenges. hts is an islamist group. what will that mean for girls and women? can syrians getjustice for the regime's crimes? they meant it when they call for assad's execution. their new rulers told them to fix the syrians understand it won't be easy to understand it won't be easy to overcome years of dictatorship and war. but this was a day to seize and enjoy. thousands converged on this square in the centre of damascus. it is as an enormous weight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. seen so many smiling people in s ria. ~ . ~ seen so many smiling people in s ria. ~ ., . ., syria. we are free! we are feeling the feelings of _ syria. we are free! we are feeling the feelings of freedom! - syria. we are free! we are feeling the feelings of freedom! we - syria. we are free! we are feeling | the feelings of freedom! we never feel like this. i the feelings of freedom! we never feel like this.— feel like this. i want all the world to see us! _ to see us! we - to see us! we are free now. we are to us! — we are free now. we are free. the fighters _ we are free now. we are free. the fighters are —

we are free now. we are free. the fighters are the heroes now, bringing _ fighters are the heroes now, bringing their kids, posing for photos— bringing their kids, posing for photos with other people's, but when the party— photos with other people's, but when the party is _ photos with other people's, but when the party is over, people need to eachi _ the party is over, people need to each, in — the party is over, people need to each, in an— the party is over, people need to each, in an economy smashed by war and corruption. i asked this woman and her daughters what they need. just needed freedom, no taxes, no stolen money taken from us. we just want to be independent. stolen money taken from us. wejust want to be independent. we we just want to be independent. we want we just want to be independent. we went to— we just want to be independent. we went to be _ we just want to be independent. we want to be an independent people. syria is— want to be an independent people. syria is an — want to be an independent people. syria is an independent country. nobody— syria is an independent country. nobody controls us. it is too soon for firm answers to syria's problems, but the placard set an agenda, bringing the assads tojustice, civil set an agenda, bringing the assads to justice, civil rights for, tojustice, civil rights for, in syria is for every syrian, no matter who they are. it is 18 minutes past six. our top story this evening: an alleged chinese spy is banned from the uk after a court hears he was trying to leverage

the influence of prince andrew. still to come, why the uk economy shrank for the second month in a row in october. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news. 0ne change for england cricketers, with matthew potts coming into the side as they look to complete a 3—0 whitewash in their test series against new zealand. arriving? and the local panto more local than most. we'll tell you why. oh, yes, we will! the home nations have found out who they'll be playing to try to make it to the men's world cup in 2026 — which will be held in the united states, mexico and canada. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks was watching the draw. each world cup claims to be the biggest, but 2026 will be. a record a8 teams will compete, and a record 16 of them will be from europe.

he's missed it! england fell at the quarterfinals in qatar, but now thomas tuchel has the reins. england. whilst england will be the favourites in group k, the new boss says there's no such thing as a done deal. the smaller nations become stronger and stronger, so we have to earn our place, we have to earn our top spot, of course. it's been 26 years since scotland's men last made it to football's biggest stage. the tartan army will be hoping for more of this when they face either portugal or denmark, a resurgent greece, and belarus from september. qatar was only wales' second world cup in history. a group stage exit there means unfinished business, but under new management they're in good form. they'll have to put the miles in, though. it's an eight—hour plus flight to kazakhstan... northern ireland. ..and michael 0'neill�*s men have been handed a mouth—watering, albeit tricky, tie against four—time winners germany or italy. and he's now slipped. not since 1986 has the green and white army descended on a world cup, but their manager

is optimistic of at least making the play—offs. making the play—offs. when you get drawn with germany when you get drawn with germany or italy, it's always or italy, it's always a difficult one to, you know, a difficult one to, you know, imagine that you can top the group. imagine that you can top the group. but obviously, look, but obviously, look, we look at slovakia and luxembourg we look at slovakia and luxembourg and we would believe and we would believe that we could challenge to finish that we could challenge to finish second in the group. second in the group. no second place for no second place for saudi arabia this week. saudi arabia this week. fifa handed them 203a fifa handed them 203a world cup hosting duties as the sole bidders. world cup hosting duties despite concerns around despite concerns around human rights records, the home nations all backed the kingdom's bid. human rights records, it wasn't a difficult decision. it wasn't a difficult decision. i think it was a very i think it was a very thorough process. we spent a lot of time thorough process. with the saudis understanding their approach to the tournament. their approach to the tournament. we asked a lot of questions. we asked a lot of questions. they gave us a lot of they gave us a lot of time, and they gave us time, and they gave us a lot of commitments. a lot of commitments. good luck to you all good luck to you all and we'll see you there. and we'll see you there. world cup qualifiers look set to be world cup qualifiers look set to be a more competitive process. a more competitive process. natalie pirks, bbc news. natalie pirks, bbc news. the uk economy shrank for the second the uk economy shrank for the second month in a row in october by 0.1%, month in a row in october by 0.1%, with sectors including pubs, restaurants and retail with sectors including pubs, restaurants and retail reporting weak figures. reporting weak figures.

here's our chief economics correspondent, dharshini david. there is a budget coming in october, and it's going to be painful. was it this thorny comment from the prime minister back in downing street's rose garden in august that sent an autumn chill across the economy? as pre—budget anxiety took hold, the recovery unravelled for many businesses in october, including this menswear retailer in hitchin. we're starting to see, you know, in the winter and we've had a change of government, budgets have changed, and it's got tougher and tougher and wejust want to hear more good news, not bad news. well, that chill was widespread, denting retail, manufacturing, and construction — meaning the economy shrank by 0.1% in october. and look back at our monthly performance. 0ur growth has run out of steam since the start of the year.

0ur income, or gdp, is slightly smaller than when labour took office. the chancellor has admitted that's disappointing and says she hopes people will feel better off soon. the government's targeting boosting living standards or income. 0fficial projections suggest we're each likely to be £300 better off by 2030 after inflation. that, however, would be the second worst performance of any parliament. while the chancellor hopes that the £70 billion extra poured into public services and investment by 2030 will boost fortunes, there are growing fears that her £a0 billion of tax rises will hit the private sector through wage growth, jobs, profits and prices harder than expected. it's not possible to turn around more than a decade of poor economic growth and stagnant living standards in just a few months. this government's constant talking down of the uk economy is coming through in these numbers. and so it's no surprise that businesses right up and down the country are now

sounding the alarm. economists warn it could be a flat festive season, with businesses tightening their belts ahead of those tax rises and wary of risks — including a possible

she's been speaking to our south asia correspondent samira hussein. music full of joy. seen here dancing at her wedding, harshita brella. eight months later, her body would be found stuffed in the boot of a car in east london. her husband, pankaj lamba, the prime suspect. we went to speak with his mother in this small village in haryana. this is the first time she is speaking publicly. namaste, aunty ji. her son is on the run. not seen since police found his body.

—— not seen since police found brella's body. cause of death — strangulation. bereft, hiding herface, unable to bear the shame this case has brought to herfamily. translation: i don't know anything. i know nothing- _ they were both happy on november 10th. they made pakoras, and even sent me photos. do you believe pankaj could have killed harshita? i don't know anything, and i cannot believe this. another parent overcome with grief. harshita's father. he believes lamba is in india. translation: the police in delhi are not listening to us. _ they say, "the uk police have not made a request so how can we arrest him?" frustrated at the apparent

inaction of police in the uk, harshita's family continues to wait for their daughter's killer to be brought tojustice. samira hussain, bbc news, delhi. now, fans of gavin and stacey don't have long to wait to see the last ever episode. millions of people are expected to watch on christmas day. the show�*s creators and stars james corden and ruthjones are household names, of course, but it's many of the smaller characters that propelled the comedy to legendary status. steffan powell has been speaking to some of the actors involved. everywhere you look around barry there are reminders of a phenomenon which started here just over 17 years ago. it goes without saying that gavin and stacey is in the very dna of this town, but the show has also become a big part of the lives of some

of the actors to performed in it. all right, stace? all right, nat? natalie lewis is one of stacey's arch—rivals after nessa once had a fight with her dad and her brother. it goes on for ages, doesn't it, the stares? oh, my gosh, it really does! in the tense scene, as gavin and stacey try and buy a pregnancy test, they have a face—off. you're now a teacher so you have sort of decided to step away from the boards, as it were. yeah. but your scene in particular has got a bit of a second life, hasn't it? as an internet meme. yes. how do you feel about that? once a year there's a sort of new wave of the children, the pupils here, and they come across the scene, and it does still surprise me that, you know, it's still something so new and exciting for them. an impactful scene. well, it's so brilliantly written. it's so brilliantly written. gavin and stacey has firmly won its place as one of the most loved sitcoms of all time. and another cult character is currently starring in the west end stage version

of another british favourite. owain hughes, and do you? no, i don't. owain hughes, and before you ask, no, i don't. - but not everyone gets the joke. right, am i being thick? because ijust don't get that. me either. it's funny because there are some fan theories online that there is actually a joke. i love it. you can get on these threads and, like, there's so many people know exactly what the joke is, you know, and i will tell people that there's nojoke for the rest of my life, quite happily. the series might be coming to an end, but the impact that it had on those that took part, on the fans and on this town will be felt for much, much longer. steffan powell, bbc news, barry. that's coming up on christmas day. right now, though, let's find out what is happening with the weather. here's chris fawkes.

yes, what's occurring, i suppose. you might get to see a peak of the showers as the skies tend to clear later on in scotland but for many others it has been another grey and gloomy day, and this was the scene in worcestershire. some helpful patches and quite extensive drizzle around as well. for those fed up with this gloomy weather, look at this friendly weather front. this cold front working across scotland and northern ireland, behind that clearer skies. that front will be slipping southward so you can see a bit of rain around scotland and northern ireland at the moment but over the next few hours those skies will clear and it stays pretty gloomy for much of england and wales. looking at the cloud, they will be some missed, some helpful patches and we will continue to see areas of drizzle as well. temperatures 2—a for many but a touch of frost in sheltered parts of scotland. tomorrow we start cloudy across east anglia in the south though sunnier skies will work southwards quite quickly through the morning but at the same thing for

west scotland and northern ireland it turns cloudy through the afternoon and we will start to see some rain working on. a range of temperatures, quite chilly across eastern areas but starting to see something a bit milder in the west with temperatures in stornoway up to ii with temperatures in stornoway up to 11 by the end of the day. stornoway sticking out into this milder air, coming to a saturday night and into sunday. these south—westerly winds will really boost our temperatures. for sunday, a lot of cloud around and we will start to see some heavy rain setting up into the highlands of scotland. we will need to watch that over the next few days because there will be some large accumulations of rain. away from that, a lot of cloud but some bright and sunny spells breaking through and sunny spells breaking through and the temperatures as well, we have not seen anything like this all week. up to around 12 or 13 pretty widely. once that milder air has worked its way and it will stay with us well into next week as well with temperatures often reaching double figures. a lot of cloud around, maybe a few patches of rain later in the week and was the following weekend. that is when we will start to see more changeable weather

conditions. one day cold, followed by a milder day the