ed thomas is in essex.the bbc has been contacted and throughout the day by families in vietnam, distraught at the idea their family families in vietnam, distraught at the idea theirfamily members families in vietnam, distraught at the idea their family members were inside this refrigerated container. two families have told the bbc that people smugglers have returned the £30,000 paid to them to traffic their loved ones to the uk. tonight's report begins with the story of one young, missing woman and her family's fears. this is pham tra my, 26, from vietnam. tonight, she is missing, and her family fears she was one of the 39 people to lose their life in the 39 people to lose their life in the refrigerated container found the 39 people to lose their life in the refrigerated containerfound in essex. at the exact time the container was crossing from zeebrugge, she sent this disturbing message. i'm really sorry, mum and dad. my trip to a foreign land has failed. iam dad. my trip to a foreign land has failed. i am

our special correspondent ed thomas h this report from the scene. ed: just before 1:40 a.m., paramedics call police. the doors of the lorry container had been open. inside, 39 bodies. 39 lives, people with hopes and ambitions. the youngest was a teenager. >> tragic, absolutely terrible. such a shame. obviously trying to get over it. -- get over here for a better life. >> it is heartbreaking for me. feel very sorry for them. >> it's horrible. this is quite difficult to believe, it's happening close to the place ere you are walking for many years. ed: we've obtained this cctv from 1:1a.m. this morning, close to where it was found. the lorryh passes, the final moments before its journey ended. when paramedics arrived, all 39 people were pronounced dead. the trailer is believed to be refrigerated, temperatures as low as -25. this is as close as the police will allow us to the lorry. all morning forensic teams have been coming and going from that tent. we still don't know who put these people on the lorry. we don't know exactly how they died. all we know

ed thomas, bbc news, grays.more detail to come on that in just we will have more detail to come on that injust a we will have more detail to come on that in just a little while. republican members of congress have disrupted the impeachment inquiry against president trump, barging into a hearing room as a senior specialist from the pentagon was about to testify. democrats see it as a way to prevent more evidence emerging that mr trump withheld aid to ukraine's government until they investigated his political rival, joe biden. the president has urged republicans to toughen their opposition to the impeachment inquiry. i asked our north america correspondent david willis if the inquiry is likely to start getting even more confrontational. this could be a sign of things to come. we saw two dozen testers, republicans, they believe there is a lack of transparency to what is taking place and they believe there is an attempt behind closed doors to overturn the outcome of the last american presidential election. their pro

ed thomas reports.rt, and by private ambulance at night, the first of the 39 chinese nationals have been removed from the lorry trailer at the port of tilbury docks. police said the priority was preserving their respect and dignity. an unwanted reminder, too, of what happened nearly 20 years ago in dover. here, 58 chinese immigrants suffocated in a lorry. it took months for all those who died to be identified. sam doesn't want to remember. he moved to grays from china a0 years ago. when i heard the news this morning, all the 39 people of chinese nationality isay, why, how? it has happened again. he lives and works close to where the bodies were found this week. it said 39 people died, struggling in freezing cold in the container, in the dark and no one helped. this is now a major international investigation. belgian authorities say the container arrived into the port of zeebrugge at about 2:30pm on tuesday afternoon. it left there, heading across the channel, arriving at purfleet in essex, and at 1:05am

ed thomas, bbc news, grays. also making news today...m european union countries meeting in brussels say a decision on whether to grant london's request for an extension to the brexit process has been delayed. diplomats say a decision will be made on friday on the duration of any extension and the conditions attached to it. a controversial extradition bill, which sparked months of violent protests in hong kong, has been formally withdrawn. the legislation would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland china. the bill sparked mass demonstrations that have turned into the worst crisis for hong kong since it was handed back by britain to china more than 20 years ago. a man has been found dead, and five more people are missing, after severe flooding hit parts of north—east spain. there's been devastation across europe: flash floods in northern italy left two people dead on tuesday and roads in the south of france were blocked as rivers burst their banks. there have been more clashes between protesters and security forces in

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks. modern slavery and people smuggling, as well as research chair of the minderoo foundation. we can speak to her from canberra in australia. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. on one hand, this is so shocking, but on the other, really, how surprised should we be? the death of 39 people in the back of a refrigerated lorry really is deeply, deeply shocking, but equally com pletely deeply shocking, but equally completely predictable. we have seen something like 2000 migrants die in transit already this year. so these cases, while tragic, a part of a much larger problem. this particular route that we are talking about, china, and we suspect vietnam, coming to the uk, how common is that? was we see in our global slavery index is around the world we have some a0 million people who are held in modern—day slavery —— what we see. we don't know how many of them are moving from china to vietnam to the uk. but what we do know from the uk's national tracking referral statistics is that vietna

ed thomas reports.cort, and by private ambulance at night, the first of the 39 chinese nationals have been removed from the lorry trailer, at the port of tilbury docks. police said the priority was preserving their respect and dignity. an unwanted reminder, too, of what happened nearly 20 years ago in dover. here, 58 chinese immigrants suffocated in a lorry. it took months for all those who died to be identified. sam doesn't want to remember. he moved to grays from china a0 years ago. when i heard the news this morning, all the 39 people that's nationality is chinese, isay, why, how? it has happened again. he lives and works close to where the bodies were found this week. it said 39 people died, struggling in the freezing cold in the container, in the dark, and no—one helped. there is now a major international investigation. the belgian authorities say the container arrived into the port of zeebrugge at about 2:30pm on tuesday afternoon. it left there later that afternoon, heading across the channel, ar

ed thomas, bbc news.he eu are reaching a crucial stage — and while downing st remains cautious, there has been increasing speculation that a deal between the two sides may be imminent. the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier said details must be agreed by the end of today — with the deadline looming of the eu summit in brussels in two days‘ time. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. a tired rub of the eyes — how much longer? while the politicians are still turning up, there is a chance of a deal. the talks are ongoing, we need to give them space to proceed, but detailed conversations are under way on the deal is still possible. the dup were in downing street last night — are they on board? impossible to know now, though, who will be on board. because a possible agreement, with compromises and concessions, has not been done. so, if the eu's negotiator looks exhausted by the process, he's probably not the only one. even if an agreement will be difficult, more and more difficult, to be frank, it's

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks.rs have gathered again to protest against inequality and the high cost of living. a session of the chilean congress has already been suspended after a group of anti—government activists tried to force their way into the building while politicians were debating the social reform bill tabled by president sebastian pinera as an attempt to put an end to the unrest. at least 16 people have been killed in chile since the protests began last friday. protesters are carrying indigenous flags and singing resistance songs in a country that is usually one of the most stable in latin america. let's bring you some live pictures now from santiago in chile. there are those flags we were talking about. indigenous lights. these process have now been going on for a week. as we said earlier, at least 16 people have died without me doesn't look like it is vital at the moment but you can see why a police there. —— had died. and it doesn't look like it is violent at the moment but you can see the by the poli

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks.e minderoo foundation and co—author of the global slavery index gave her reaction. the death of 39 people in the back of a refrigerated lorry really is deeply, deeply shocking, but equally completely predictable. we've seen something like 2,000 migrants die in transit already this year. so these cases, while tragic, are part of a much larger problem. this particular route that we're talking about, china, and we suspect vietnam, coming to the uk, how common is that? what we see in our global slavery index is that around the world we have some a0 million people who are held in modern—day slavery. we don't know how many of them are moving from china to vietnam to the uk. but what we do know from the uk's national trafficking referral statistics is that vietnam is the third largest category of victims of trafficking and then china is the fourth. so it's not the most common route, but it's certainly not unknown to the authorities. what kind of organisation goes into moving people from so fa

ed thomas, bbc news, grays.ago our europe correspondent damian grammaticas sent this update from the belgian port of zeebrugge, where police believe the vehicle came from. it is not the trailer was loaded onto the vote here across the channel and that were part of the focus of the inquiry is. prosecutors have received information from the uk site and have begun their own inquiries. in the focus of those inquiries. in the focus of those inquiries is to determine where the trailer originated his journey and with that and belgium or outside. prosecutors said they don't know and where was it loaded. and how did it then proceed to hear. belgian authorities have been cooperating with the uk for quite some time to control the migrant flow and particularly through this port, or 100 km from calais, as security has improved have french ports, and fencing and controls have been put in there. so migrants have been looking for other routes and this is been one of them. for the past year at least they have been talking here a

ed thomas, bbc news, grays.rt time ago our europe correspondent, damian grammaticas, sent this update from the belgian port of zeebrugge, where police believe the vehicle came from. what we have heard is from the prosecutors, the federal prosecutions have open the enquiry and are in contact with the uk, with police in the uk, and they are beginning their inquiries. they believe the trailer came through here. what they do not know is where it originated, where those people might have got on board, whether it was in belgium, how long it spent in belgium. to give you a sense of what they are trying to deal with, we have been here this evening and just in the past 45 minutes, we witness for migrants trying to come down here to the port in zeebrugge, who we re here to the port in zeebrugge, who were looking for a way in to the port, trying not to be seen. they went down the road looking for a way into the ferry terminal and port authorities reacted quickly and the man then left the scene. this site isa giant man then

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks.t anti—government protests across iraq. at least a0 people are thought to have been killed, after security forces used live rounds and tear gas against demonstrators. eight died in the capital, baghdad, the rest in clashes in the south of the country. in the city of nasiriyah, the authorities have imposed a curfew. the protests began two weeks ago against corruption, lack ofjobs and economic hardship. aleem maqbool reports. gunshots. anti—government demonstrators took to the streets of baghdad in their thousands. surging towards the green zone. but as they did, they were met by tear gas and clashes with the police. the violence marked exactly one year of the current government. another year filled with economic hardship for iraqis, spiralling unemployment, and poor provision of basic services. already this month, nearly 200 protesters have been killed across the country in a brutal response by the state to the demonstrations. he was standing next to me when he was attacked by the secur

ed thomas, bbc news, grays. so where could the people found dead in the lorry have come from?utes are now being used to smuggle people in and what can be done to stop a trade that can lead to such tragedy? our home editor mark easton takes a closer look. just five years ago, police opened a container at tilbury docks on the thames and discovered dozens of desperate migrants, including 15 children. one man from afghanistan was dead. today's container and its tragic contents were found a short distance away. there are four significant people smuggling routes into central europe — up through spain, across the mediterranean into italy from north africa, through poland through the east, and probably the busiest route, through turkey and up through the balkans. from the black sea, migrants are smuggled through countries like bulgaria, where the authorities have been under pressure from the eu to improve border security. people traffickers and smugglers were traffic targeted in bulgaria this summer, including this operation on the banks of the danube. the lorry found in essex has lin

ed thomas, bbc news, purfleet.ime agency and the border force have been warning that criminal networks are targeting smaller ports on the south and east coast of the uk like purfleet in essex. and they are increasingly using belgium as a way in with zeebrugge identified as a key port used to smuggle people across the channel. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports from zeebrugge. apm today in zeebrugge, heading for purfleet. a8—hours ago, hidden amongst the cargo on the same sailing, it's believed was the refrigerated trailer carrying chinese migrants. every day, a000 containers are moved on this route between europe and the uk. some are canvas sided and relatively easy to search, but most are sealed containers. over here you can see the guy who is going into it. they are much harderfor the port authorities to check. if there is somebody inside the container, that is extremely difficult to identify. if it is a boxed container. it's difficult. the only way is to open the container or to scan it by x—ray

ed thomas, bbc news, grays.ce are investigating where the people found deadin investigating where the people found dead in the lorry container could have come from and the tragedy has prompted new questions about the roots being used to smuggle people and what can be done to stop a trade that can lead to a loss of life like this. our home editor mark easton has been investigating. just five years ago, police opened a container at tilbury docks on the thames and discovered dozens of desperate migrants, including 15 children. one man from afghanistan was dead. today's container and its tragic contents were found a short distance away. there are four significant people smuggling routes into central europe — up through spain, across the mediterranean into italy from north africa, through poland from the east, and probably the busiest route, through turkey and up through the balkans. from the black sea, migrants are smuggled through countries like bulgaria, where the authorities have been under pressure from the eu t

ed thomas, bbc news, grays.n authorities said they'll be carrying out a full investigation, our europe correspondent has been in zeebrugge, where it's thought the trailer left from — on its way to britain. what we heard is from the prosecutors here in belgium, the federal prosecutors have opened up their own inquiry now and they are in contact with the uk, with police in the uk and they are beginning their inquiries. what they say is that they do believe the truck, or the trailer, came through here. what they do not know is where it originated, where those people might have gotten on board and whether that was in belgium and how long it spent in belgium. all things they want to try to identify but to give you a sense of what they are trying to deal with, we have been here this evening and we witnessed, i think we have pictures of this, four migraines trying to come down here to the port, looking for a way into the port and were trying not to be seen and they went down the road looking for a way into the ferry te

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks.andford has been looking at just how sophisticated the people—smuggling route is from vietnam. what has been so striking is how incredibly organised it is. relatives in vietnam were very aware of where their young relatives had got to on the journey and they were getting regular updates all along the way until those stopped on wednesday morning and that was why they were so worried that their relatives might have been caught up in and why they contacted the bbc. some of them had only paid deposits for the journey to britain and they were going to pay the full balance of £30,000 on arrival. and some of them actually have been given their money back their relatives might have died. by people smuggling gangs because it is thought their relatives might have died. the route they seem to have taken it from vietnam to china and then to get force papers they are to fly to europe and only the journey in the back of a lorry to the united kingdom. one night, a young girl phoned her parents and to

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks.y 21 people have been killed — and many more injured — in iraq, after security forces used live rounds and tear gas against anti—government protestors. the unrest is nationwide — with mass rallies in the capital baghdad, and the southern cities of nasiriya, diwaniyah, amara and basra. of nasiriya, diwaniyah, protestors are calling it a second wave of demonstrations against corruption and unemployment. clashes earlier this month left more than 150 people dead. a government report has acknowledged that the authorities used excessive force. belkis wille is senior iraq researcher at human rights watch. i asked her if the protests are intensifying. we had a very intense period of protests come with the first nine days of the month from october 1—9 and as you said during those days we had an extremely large death toll. 149 of those killed were civilians who were protesting. then things calm down, there was a quiet period but during that time political opponents of the government had been cal

here's ed thomas. full view, unmasked, the nazi salutes, the monkey chance, unashamed hate for all to see. salutes, the monkey chance, unashamed hate for all to seal mean, i heard it before i even got to the other side of the pitch in the warm up. everybody wanted to carry on and do their talking on the pitch, which i'm extremely proud of. it's not easy to play in circumstances like that. more than 40 circumstances like that. more than a0 minutes into the match, after two stoppages, this group finally left the stadium. according to uefa's own 3—step protocol, this is what should happen. first, a stadium announcement warning those responsible. second, the referee ta kes responsible. second, the referee takes the players off the pitch, and finally, the match is abandoned. i'm incredibly proud of all the players and staff. we've made a huge statement, and frankly, we were in an impossible situation to get it right to the satisfaction of everybody. in this reaction from england's raheem sterling. feeling s

ed thomas, bbc news, purfleet. i'm joined now from bangkok by rebecca miller. trafficking and the smuggling of migrants in asia with the united nations office of drugs and crime. her thank you very much for your time. first of all, clearly this is a tragedy from many angles. what do you think they were looking at here? does it look to you like people being trafficked against their will, 01’ being trafficked against their will, or is it more like these victims paid smugglers to get them into the uk? look, this is certainly a horrific event, and unfortunately we do hear cases where migrants are losing their lives. and u nfortu nately, losing their lives. and unfortunately, human trafficking and migrants smuggling are two of the world's largest criminal industries. because the facts of the case are still being established, it is quite difficult to know at this stage whether this is a case of human trafficking or whether it is a case of migrant smuggling. they are two distinct crimes, but they do have a number of overlapping elements. looking at... or at least, num

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks.nds of pounds to smuggling gangs in an attempt to get into the uk. our correspondent lucy williamson found other vietnamese people at a camp in northern france who are trying to get across the channel. an hour's drive inland from the french coast, a dozen vietnamese men wait for a phone call from the man they call the boss. an afghan, they say, who opens trailers in the lorry park nearby and shuts them inside. this man paid 30,000 euros for a prepaid journey from vietnam to london, via russia, poland, germany and france, organised by a vietnamese contact back home. translation: i have some vietnamese friends in the uk who will help me find jobs when i get there. these friends helped me get on lorries or container trucks to go across the border. security is much less tight in the nearby lorry park than around the ports further north, but few people here have managed to get past the border controls. the men in the camp told us that it wasn't easy to reach the uk that way and they'd been

our special correspondent ed thomas reports. in full view, unmasked.the monkey chants, unashamed hate for all to see. i mean, i heard it before i even got to the other side of the pitch in the warm—up. we spoke about it coming off the pitch. everybody wanted to carry on and do their talking on the pitch, which i'm extremely proud of. under uefa's racism protocol, the match was first paused after 28 minutes, a warning issued. then again 15 minutes later, the match was halted. step two is about to be enforced. only then did this group leave the stadium. at this point, the players could have been taken off. instead, they played on. i'm incredibly proud of all the players and all of the staff. we've made a huge statement, and frankly, we were in an impossible situation to get it right to the satisfaction of everybody. and this reaction from england's raheem sterling: england fans chanted their defiance. today, many called for action. they should be kicked out of the next qualifying phases. it's going to happen. if we were pre—warned about it and it's happe

ed thomas, bbc news, blackpool. time for a look at the weather.good evening, wet weatherfor all of us in the next few days. torrential downpours at the moment across the south east of england and east anglia have led to the met office issuing an amber warning for thunderstorms. this is the area we are concerned about. the storm is packing quite a punch and we could see a0—60 millimetres of rain in some areas before showers pull away causing disruption to transport, a lot of surface water and even localised flooding. looking at the bigger picture, some wet weather elsewhere across england and wales at the moment. most of that cleared by the end of tonight, a few showers in wales and the south west and some rain lingering across the north—east of england. misty and murky behind the rain in central england and wales. clear skies in northern ireland and scotland. tomorrow, a much drier day on the whole and hopefully some spells of sunshine, too. help could be a problem because he's in scotland and north—east england, the remnants of today's low pressu

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks.housands of pounds to smuggling gangs in an attempt to get into the uk. our correspondent lucy williamson found other vietnamese people at a camp in northern france, who are trying to get across the channel. an hour's drive inland from the french coast, a dozen vietnamese men wait for a phone call from the man they call the boss. an afghan, they say, who opens trailers in the lorry park nearby and shuts them inside. this man paid 30,000 euros for a prepaid journey from vietnam to london, via russia, poland, germany and france, organised by a vietnamese contact back home. translation: i have some vietnamese friends in the uk who will help me find jobs when i get there. these friends helped me get on lorries or container trucks to go across the border. security is much less tight in the nearby lorry park than around the ports further north, but few people here have managed to get past the border controls. the men in the camp told us that it wasn't easy to reach the uk that way and they'd

ed thomas reporting there. aspect of the bbc‘s reporting of this tragic case has upset viewer jeff brown. here is the video he recorded for us. we have all been deeply shocked and saddened by the death of the 39 chinese citizens in the refrigerated container. understandably, the police have placed screens around the site in order that the emergency services can carry out their desperately difficult duties unobserved by the public. during the bbc news coverage the site was shown from the air, presumably using drones. thereby defeating the whole object of having the screens. and i think this policy is inappropriate and needs to be changed. last weekend prince harry told itv that both he and meghan, the duchess of sussex, were struggling to cope with the intense scrutiny they receive from the tabloid press. the bbc then reported a source quoting prince william as being worried about his brother. here's royal correspondent johnny diamond on monday's news at six. in africa just weeks ago they looked so happy. they s

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks. re explain how the travelling lines were between vietnam and the uk. the statistics to see for themselves. for number of years now the vietnamese for a number of vietnamese for a number of vietnamese victims or suspected victims has been increasing to the point where it is number two for foreign victims behind albania and of course uk citizens being number one and of course number one and number two for children as well. this is the trade that's been going on for decades now. since 1990s after the end of the vietnam american war. so so it seems like it's shocking for the vietnamese and the smugglers operate in a very clandestine way. from the way that they smuggle people over the routes and also to the camps themselves. in that france, there used to be one called vietnam city that was around for almost ten years before attention being paid to it. the french government dismantled that book for ten years it operated on its own and only for vietnamese people. so it is shocking but not sh

ed thomas, bbc news, tilbury docks.mu vu an independent trafficking specialist. thank you for speaking to us here on bbc news. thank you for having me. i would like to get your reaction at this news. for many of us here in britain, it is really quite shocking, but secondly, also, the fa ct shocking, but secondly, also, the fact that these were vietnamese. we are fact that these were vietnamese. we a re often fact that these were vietnamese. we are often associated with chinese from asia. yes. i mean, the statistics speak for themselves. for a number of years now, the vietnamese victims suspected victims of trafficking to the uk has been increasing. the foreign victims behind albania, of course uk citizens being number one. and number one, number two for children as well. this is a trade that has been going on for decades now, since 19805, 19905, after the end of the vienna man american war. —— vietnam. it still seems like it is shocking. for the vietnamese smugglers, they operate in a very clad steinway. from the way th

ed thomas reports. : under police escort and by private ambulance at night, the first of the 39 chinese nationals have been removed from the lorry trailer. police said the priority was preserving their respect and didiity. an unwanted reminder, too, what happened 20 years ago. here, 58 chinese immigrants suffocated in a lorry. it took months for all those who died to be identified. sam doesn't want to remember. he moved from china 40 years ago. >> when i heard the news this morning, all the 39 people natialities are chinese, i say why, how it's happened again? ed: he lives a works close to where the bodies were found this week. >> 39 people died in freezing cold in the container, in the dark, and no one help. ed: this is now a major international investigation. belgian authorities say the container arrived into the port at around half past 2:00 tuesday afternoon. it left there, heading across the channel and arriving at purfleet in essex. five p pt 1:00 yesterday morning, the trailer was collected by a l

the bbc's ed thomas repos from essex. ed: this woman is 26 and from vinam. tonight, s's missing. family fears she was one of the 39 people to lose their life in the refrigerated container found in essex. at the exact time the container was crossing from zebra go, she this disturbing message "i'm really, really sorry, mom and dad. my trip to a foreign land has failed. i'm dying. i can't breathe. i love you very much."ot her r wanted to broadcast this appeal on the bbc.>> speaking foreign language] >> my sister went missing onhe 23rd of october on the way from vietnam to the u.k. and we could not contact her.we are concern she may be in that trailer. we are asking the british police can be returned to the family.er ed: the bbc has also spoken to thafamily of another person 20-year-old man also missing tonight. the vietnamese embassy in london is working with u.k. authoritie to identy victims suspected of being from vietnam. today, this investigation moved to cheshire. police arrested a 38-year-old mannd a 38-year-old woman from warrington on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic peopl

ed thomas, bbc news.iew from bulgaria, petar karaboev is the chief editor at the bulgarian newspaper dnevnik. he joins us from sofia. thanks very much for being with us. hello, good evening. what happened last night, many people expected. many players said they heard monkey cha nts many players said they heard monkey chants in the tunnel, we know there have been problems concerning racism in the stadium for far too long. does the bulgarian fa football union understand that it has a problem in its sport? first of all, it depends on what the society understands of when we speak about racism in the country. for bulgarians, the things that happened last night are really shocking because if you see, as you said in your previous report, the people from the fringes of society, probably about 50 people on the stadium created such a huge scandal on an international stage that this evening, fifa said we could extend the sanctions on the global scale starting from sophia for a very small nation, with 50 idiots in th

ed thomas, bbc news, grays.now is former director general of immigration enforcement for the home office, david wood. what was your initial reaction when you heard this story? it's a very tragic story, with all of these lives lost and all their families who will suffer as a result, and it shows the consequences of organised crime and their lack of care and respect for that vulnerable people who they provide these services to. there are lots of questions, we don't have the identities, the nationalities of those who died in that container, but i don't know if you could tell us a little bit more about what we do know in terms of the route. what do you make of that? it's an unusual route, of course, because zeebrugge is a freight and container port, so not one where there would be a focus on immigration type cheques, because thatis immigration type cheques, because that is not what the port is used for, for passengers, and neither would purfleet be somewhere where it would purfleet be somewhere where it would be gea

ed thomas reports from essex. flowers for men and women they've never met. chinese nationals were found, a message from people here in grays remembering the lives so cruelly taken. their desperation shows this society we live in is not right somewhere. just think of the people who were in that van, that lorry, trying to find a new life, and not succeeding, unfortunately. the lorry was taken away yesterday. this evening, police are preparing to remove the bodies of the 31 men and eight women from the trailer. the start of trying to find out who they are and how they died. there is now a major international investigation. we know that belgian authorities say the container arrived into the port of zeebrugge at about 2:30pm on tuesday afternoon. it left there later that afternoon, heading across the channel, arriving at purfleet in essex. at 1:05am yesterday morning the trailer was collected by a lorry. around half an hour later and a couple of miles away, ambulance staff discovered the bodies of 39 adults inside the container. vic makes the same journey to the

ed thomas, bbc news, grays.w, good of you to be with us. how common is this? i've read tonight that can police have found nine people in the back of a lorry that was carrying nine more people on the m20. how common is that? that was carrying nine more people on the m20. how common is that7m isa on the m20. how common is that7m is a regular occurrence. when we get the tragedy at the scale of this size, there is the appropriate media response and interest in it. but as it said in that package, regularly people see people jumping off the back of lorries and dispersing into the side streets or flagging down someone the side streets or flagging down someone to get them somewhere else. it is more common that we realise popular i think as reporters, we will easily interchange the words of traffic and smuggle. but there is a difference? traffic and smuggle. but there is a difference ? there traffic and smuggle. but there is a difference? there is, smuggling is a crime against a state where you pay someone crime against

ed thomas, bbc news, purfleet.ed in zeebrugge on tuesday night where investigations into the tragedy are continuing. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas sent this update from there. today the belgian federal prosecutor has said that they are looking into this to try to determine both where these chinese migrants were put into this trailer, and also who might have organised it. what the port authorities here are saying to us is that they do not believe it happened here at the port. they believe it could have happened some distance away — possibly even outside belgium. and the reason for that is that they believe that the refrigerated trailer arrived here at this quayside already closed and already with the seal on it and that is important because the standard procedure then is that that trailer gets a minimal check outside, and then is waived through. it is only if there are signs that the seal is broken that it would be inspected and very few of those containers are scanned with x—rays which is the only way

ed thomas reports from essex.te ambulance at night, the first of the 39 chinese nationals have been removed from the lorry trailer at the port of tilbury docks. police said the priority was preserving their respect and dignity. an u nwa nted their respect and dignity. an unwanted reminder, too, of what happened nearly 20 years ago in dover. here, 58 chinese immigrants suffocated in a lorry. it took months for all those who died to be identified. sam doesn't want to remember. he moved to greys from china a0 years ago —— grays. remember. he moved to greys from china 40 years ago -- grays. when i heard the news this morning, the 39 people of chinese nationality i thought, why, how? it has happened again. he lives and works close to where the bodies were found this week. it said 39 people died, struggling in freezing cold in the container, in the dark and no one helped. this is now a major international investigation. belgian authorities say the container arrived into the port of zeebrugge at about 2:30pm on tuesday a

ed thomas, bbc news, blackpool.general election around the corner and a brexit deadline only 17 days away, what is labour‘s stance on brexit? sienna rogers editor of labour list, and george eaton assistant editor at the new statesman. as ever, the party is divided on brexit. is it becoming any divided on brexit. is it becoming a ny clearer divided on brexit. is it becoming any clearer what they will actually do if boris johnson any clearer what they will actually do if borisjohnson pulls a rabbit out of a hat and presents parliament with a deal? is a chance they could vote for it? yes, assuming boris johnson does come back to something to offer to the house of commons which is a big assumption. it is very difficult to work out as we have seen for three and a half yea rs. if have seen for three and a half years. if you does have something to offer, we can be clear that the labour party will be equipped to vote against it. jeremy corbyn said today in response to the queen speech that any deal passing parliament would

ed thomas reporting there.ntainer. understandably, the police have placed screens around the site in order that the emergency services can carry out their desperately difficult duties unobserved by the public. during the bbc news coverage the site was shown from the air, presumably using drones. thereby defeating the whole object of having the screens. and i think this policy is inappropriate and needs to be changed. last weekend prince harry told itv that both he and meghan, the duchess of sussex, were struggling to cope with the intense scrutiny they receive from the tabloid press. the bbc then reported a source quoting prince william as being worried about his brother. here's royal correspondentjohnny diamond on monday's news at six. in africa just weeks ago they looked so happy. they showed off their newborn son, they danced and laughed. but behind it all, two people struggling with their rules, their lives and an onslaught of criticism in britain's bestselling papers. others also want to see less on the bb

in a wall street journal op-ed by ambassador thomas pickering, he said of secretary sullivan, i have come to respect john sullivan's judgment, his balance, his good sense, his open-minded approach to how to deal with foreign relations problems we may have. you may have seen a letter of former diplomats, security officials, secretaries of defense, and other positions were all endorsing secretary sullivan's ambassadorship to russia. to the newes position he has been nominated, twourrently leads the only dialogues on strategic security. he has played a key role relating to the u.s.-russia relation ship over the past two years. at a time when u.s.-russian relations are more complex and strained than ever, it is important to find some like john as america's top diplomat. i had the honor of introducing the ambassador to saudi arabia to this committee. while there i said, were many disagreements in this policy towardr saudi arabia, there should be consensus that we need a well respected ambassador. russiae holds true with today. john sullivan knows what it means to serve our nation and has

. >> narrator: thomas' white house handlers, sitting behind him,wa ed for the democrats' questions. >>s advised-- i know this to be very careful, to fues very m they're going to ask you about every controversial issue that has ever come before the supreme court. >> ...in the area of civil >> narrator: unlik, thomasto wouldn't be so candid. >> ...i don't remember or recall participating... >> he was like a steadk wall.ic he just wasn't going to answer anything, and, and he didn't. >> i think thato take a position would undermine my ability toe impal. >> say as little as possible. disavow any idea that you ever had. presenyourself as a blank slate, and that's the only way to win. >>hat i am trying to do, senator, is to respond to your question and at e same time not offer a particular view on thisifficult issue of aborti... >> it was going to work. he was squeaking through. >> presidesi breh said he has no doubt clarence tmas will be confirmed... >> confirmation heings contin this morning in washington for clarence thomas... >> narrator: it had been eight days of hearings. the committee

ed: you are bringing tears to my eyes. jedediah: supreme court justice clarence thomas says there is another set of rules for him because heack person who is more liberal, you are a racist. whereas if you can do whatever to me and that's fine. jedediah: our next guest clerked for justice thomas and will take us inside the double standard. don't miss it. and suvs. four years in a row. since more than 32,000 real people... just like me. and me. and me. took the survey that decided these awards. it was only right that you hear the good news from real people... like us. i'm daniel. i'm casey. i'm julio. only chevy has earned j.d. power dependability awards across cars, trucks and suvs. four years in a row. you're having one more bite! no! one more bite! ♪ kraft. for the win win. pete: quick headlines for you, ted danson arrested along hanoi jane fonda in washington, d.c. this is the third time the 81-year-old actress ended up in handcuffs at a climate change protest this month. are you bored yet? i am. both were arrested for unlawful demonstration after marching in favor of the green new deal. 32 others, whose names will remai

thomas edison. then, president trump awards the presidential medal of attorney general ed meese. after than, c-span interviews with presidential candidates john delaney and tom steyer. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ is the story you tell in the book "the vagabonds?" >> the story that i meant to tell at the beginning, how america morphed into a car culture, in just about 20 years. wagon,e going horse and to