they were developed in the 19805 novichok.the 1980s and 1990s by the russians because red lines on the use of chemicals had disappeared and the hundred—year debut on the use of them had disappeared because we had done nothing about the use in syria. if it is putin he might be feeling that he can use chemical weapons and nobody will do anything about it. salisbury has had the air of a science—fiction film these last nine days, the scene of what the prime minister today called a reckless and despicable act. we'll have more on the investigation shortly from our correspondent in salisbury, duncan kennedy. first, let's go to westminster and our political correspondent chris mason. chris, we saw in those reports, a lot of debate in the house of commons today, we heard from the prime minister. what stood out for you? what stood out was the sense of occasion, the gravity of the occasion. that was emphasised in the contributions from across the house. yes, as we heard, there wasjeremy corbyn ‘s contribution relating to contributions fr

meant q"2-e;~ . fl" the identification of novichok meant egg minister| the identification of novichok minister 17:3 say that the prime minister could say that either the russian state itself deployed the nerve agent in salisbury all it somehow lost control of its stocks. i would have thought it is highly unlikely. control of its stocks. i would have thought it is highly unlikelylj control of its stocks. i would have thought it is highly unlikely. i am sure, like the other super weapons and some of them we have seen very recently, putin has demonstrated his tactical nuclear missile and others, i would have thought these are under very strict control and i am sure no rogue elements in russia is making a fuss by selling them. tonight, police searches for traces of nerve agent are still ongoing. russia should have declared secret programme and the prime minister today said it must now disclose it fully to the international community. moscow was quick to respond to the prime minister's speech with the russian foreign ministry calling her statement "a fairytale" and a "circus show in the br

as the government here blames russia for stockpiling novichok nerve agents, a group of internationalperts is due to arrive in the uk tomorrow 0ur security correspondent gordon corera is at the foreign office now. gordon — what was behind that assessment from the foreign secretary today. today boris johnson today borisjohnson deliberately revealed a piece of sensitive intelligence, the claim that russia has been stockpiling, creating novichok and looking at using it for assassinations. why did he do that? because there's a battle going on over information and the credibility. british officials believe that the kremlin ‘s plan will be to muddy the waters and create confusion, pointing to including comments from the russian ambassador to the eu today, suggesting that perhaps porton down had created the novichok and for some reason relisted in its own backyard. the british government is trying to put the russians on the back foot by asserting that they are in contravention of the chemical weapons convention by having this secret chemical warfare chemical assassination programme at some p

novichok are identifiable and new and deadly poison.s sending a strong message and it is therefore very surprising that they are being used. novichoks are a class of agents developed during the cold war in the 19705 and 19805, they can be eight times more toxic than other agents like vx. they were designed to be ha rd to detect like vx. they were designed to be hard to detect and to get through defences like chemical protection suits. the crucial thing is that these agents were only developed by russia. novichoks were top—secret, but an insider revealed details of the programme at the end of the cold war. now, living in america, he told the bbc tonight why he spoke out. war. now, living in america, he told the bbc tonight why he spoke outlj thought that i was involved in a criminal enterprise. i came to the conclusion that chemical weapons are not normal weapons against the armies, the troops of enemies. the identification of novichoks meant the prime minister could say that either the russian state itself deployed that nerve agent in s

at the risk of sounding like a pedant it is pronounced novichok.nes things in quite a few ways, but it is still quite a broad category. there are something like 100 different agents that are contained within that programme. firstly, let's talk about what it now makes clear. for a few days they did not know what they were dealing with. the novichok agents were designed not to be detectable by standard nato chemical agent detectors. that would explain a lot of things including why those warnings to people at salisbury did not come for a few days, because they had not detected it for the first few days and that also conditioned the treatment that was given to sergei skripal and his daughter. they were treated for nerve agent poisoning relatively quickly, but they did not know what they were dealing with. the normal ones like sarin are detectable. secondly, it may add some insight into why this may have happened earlier than many people think. the table was found to be contaminated in a restaurant and it could easily have been a few hours before the pa

government has evidence that russia has been creating and stockpiling the nerve agents known as novichokbbc, borisjohnson accused the kremlin of ‘smug sarcasm' in its response to the attack in salisbury two weeks ago. a senior russian diplomat has suggested that the substance used in salisbury could have come from the british research laboratory at porton down. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. today, despite the bad weather, troops and police officers continued the delicate and dangerous work of decontamination and preserving the scenes in salisbury. it is clear now that the focus of this investigation is sergei skripal‘s burgundy bmw car, with detectives still seeking more information on its movements on the day of the nerve agent attack. this morning, the russian ambassador to the eu chose to hint that britain might have been responsible for the whole thing. porton down, as we now all know, is the largest military facility in the united kingdom that has been dealing with chemical weapons research. and it's actually only eight miles from salisbury. you are not sugg

it is part of a group of nerve agents known as novichok. on the analysis of world leading experts at porton down, our knowledge that russia has previously produced this agent and would still be capable of doing so, the government has concluded that it is highly likely that russia was responsible for the act against sergei and yulia skripal. she said the foreign secretary had summoned the foreign secretary had summoned the russian ambassador and told him he had until the end of tomorrow to explain whether this was a direct act by the russian state or by others who now control the nerve agent. mr speaker, this attempted murder using a weapons grade nerve agent in a british town was notjust agent in a british town was notjust a crime against the skripals, it was an industry minute and reckless act against the united kingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk. and we will not tolerate such a brazen attempt to murder in innocent civilians on our soil. the labour leader called for tougher sanctions on oligarchs living in london. we

we know that the novichok in salisbury was highly toxic. that argument falls down.een in existence post—1991, the suspected area where novichok was produced has been highly secure. britain is now investing in a new counter chemical weapon centre at porton down. thank you very much for being with us. voting is taking place in russia's presidential election. incumbent vladimir putin, who is seeking another six—year—term, cast his ballot a short time ago. he's running against seven other candidates. the first results are expected this evening. our correspondence has been following events. there won't be any surprise as who will win. it's widely assumed it will be vladimir putin, the strongman, the man who has been in power since the end of 1999. he is seeking his fourth term in office and he will get another six years, assuming he does win, which means he will be in office until 202a. the only issue around this election is what the turnout will be. people have seen putin in power for many years and whether there was a sense of apathy creeping in. i think there is conce

the government has evidence that, for the last ten years, russia has been making and stockpiling novichokent britain says was used to try and kill a former spy and his daughter in salisbury. mrjohnson accused the russians of ‘smug sarcasm' after their ambassador to the eu suggested the nerve agent could have come from britain's own porton down research centre, which is near salisbury. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. after two weeks of delicate investigation and decontamination work in salisbury, in which police officers and troops have had to take extraordinary precautions to protect themselves, the russian ambassador to the eu chose to hint that britain might have been responsible for the nerve agent attack. porton down, as we now all know, is the largest military facility in the united kingdom that has been dealing with chemical weapons research. and it's actually only eight miles from salisbury. you're not suggesting porton down is responsible for this nerve agent? i don't know. immediately afterwards on the same programme, this was the foreign secretary's ripost

this is what the foreign secretary boris johnson novichok.ign secretary borisjohnson had to say on the andrew marr show. we actually have evidence within the last ten years that russia has not only been investigating the delivery of nerve agents for the purposes of assassination, but it's also been creating and stockpiling novichok. that was a direct lie that i had been given therr? but you will get that and that is exactly the tactics we have go come to expect from russia over the last few years. what the british government is saying is the russian government and the russian state and vladimir putin has a track record. we only have to look at ukraine and the russian government ‘s's denial it has been involved with the real —— warflared it has been involved with the real —— war flared despite a it has been involved with the real —— warflared despite a huge amount of information to contradict it. in terms of the position of labour has been over the last few days, what we have seen from members of the shadow this morning on television, basicall

they also say that the use of the novichok nerve agent is the first offensive deployment of such a substancerope since the second world war. theresa may has been visiting salisbury today and has been to the park where sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were found unconscious. the kremlin says british diplomats will be ordered to leave moscow soon, following yesterday's expulsion of 23 russians from london. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams has the latest. theresa may in the quiet english town, where events 11 days ago triggered this growing diplomatic row. visiting for the first time the scene of the crime, the first use of a military grade nerve agent on british soil. the consequences of this shocking act now reverberating around the world. i'm pleased to have been able to come down here to salisbury, to speak to people who responded to this terrible incident that took place. and, as you know, iannounced in the house of commons yesterday the action we are taking. we do hold russia culpable for this, this brazen, brazen act, and despicable act that has taken place on the streets of

they have put out a statement saying that they are looking into these novichok agents.o there are confirmation that they know these things exist and that they are modelling up on them but most stocks were declared to have been destroyed so that has to be seen in the context of russia when opcw certified that they had destroyed all of their chemical weapons and nobody ever said that they had novichok and some russian officials have said that was not included in that early 90s chemical weapons convention but the opcw said that today this is a real chemical weapons that we consider to be banned by the terms of this key treaty. to look not goaded. so who's winning? i'm joined by an security expert and russia watcher edward lucas, and kori schake, former adviser to the us pentagon and national security council. both are in no doubt the russians are behind the salisbury attack. we are talking about what their objectives would be. you think putin is working to some sort of game plan? what is he trying to achieve? one is it that it was at the end of the election campaign, paint

foreign secretary borisjohnson has accused russia of making and stockpiling the nerve agents known as novichoksalisbury poisoning two weeks ago. sergei skripal and his daughter remain critically ill but today president putin said it was nonsense to say that russia was responsible. we'll hear from our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg in a moment — but first our diplomatic correspondent james robbins. whatever the weather, the decontamination work and forensic investigation in salisbury goes on. two weeks after the chemical attack on the skripals it is clear that one focus of the enquiry is his bmw, amid suggestions that the chemical agent may have been played —— placed there to be ensure the occupants we re there to be ensure the occupants were poisoned. a team of international chemical experts arrives in salisbury tomorrow to did they begin a further independent investigation. it today, the foreign secretary went further than ever, blaming russia and lifting the veil a little on secret intelligence. borisjohnson a little on secret intelligence. boris johnson says a little on secret intelli

it does not say that the origin of the salisbury novichok can be proven. dilemma probably is that there is very strong circumstantial evidence. the russians were given the chance to respond and reacted dismissively. but there is no suspect, and therefore there wasn't a criminal level of proof yet. but the government has been under great pressure to come forward with an initial set of measures. they have now done that, and this is the first stage of what will, i guess, now develop into a more general discussion at the security council in nato and the eu about what is behind it and how countries should now regard russia in terms of, are they a responsible and serious member of the international community? so the government has not yet been able to tie russian—made novichok by its molecular fingerprint to the salisbury poisoning — not publicly, anyway. its decision to involve the opcw watchdog in analysing samples from the incident will take the crisis onto an international plane. i think that is both a confidence—building measure, and also plays to one of ou

to independently verify whether the nerve agent is part of this group of nerve agents, known as novichokved to have been formulated by the soviets in the late 1980s and early 1990s. the claim by the home secretary is very interesting, the british government saying they have evidence that russia has been developing of a jock nerve agents within the last decade. anything happening in terms of the investigation today? much of the uk has experienced it's second significant snowfall in the last few days. worst affected have been the north and east of the country and the snow is now falling in south wales and the aouthwest of england. combined with sub zero temperature and strong winds, the arctic weather has brought delays and cancellations to public transport and made driving conditions difficult for many. it was also a difficult night for thirty runners who were treated for hypothermia as the weather worsened during an endurance run last night in north yorkshire. —— dirty. —— 30 runners. this is the current picture — most of the most serious warnings have now expired — but there is still an

as far as the novichok itself, porton down have done a detailed analysis.kely that novichok was absorbed through their skin, and therefore taken a lot longer to act on their nerves. if you breathe in, it goes straight to your blood, virtually. there are still a lot of u na nswered virtually. there are still a lot of unanswered questions, and the fact that the three are still alive gives great hope that they will make some sort of recovery. but still a lot of u na nswered sort of recovery. but still a lot of unanswered questions, and i am sure also the police and porton down are telling us as much as we need to know, but would want to verify and pass that information on to the 0pcw before they give out the full details of this. and as has already been said, don't expect results quickly from the 0pcw. they are very deliberate, and they will take time. they won't apportion blame, as such, that will be up to the un to do that. hopefully in a timely fashion, but we are talking weeks, not days. let's bring you up—to—date on the main stories, heavy snow in devon l

this is part of a group of nerve agents known as novichok.sitive identification of this agent by analysis of world leading experts at porton down, our knowledge that russia has previously produced this agent and would still be capable of doing so, the government has concluded that it is highly likely that russia was responsible for the act against sergei and yulia skripal. she said the foreign secretary had summoned the russian ambassador and told him he had until the end of tomorrow to explain whether this was a direct act by the russian state or by others who now control the nerve agent. mr speaker, this attempted murder using a weapons grade nerve agent in a british town was notjust a crime against the skripals. it was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the united kingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk. and we will not tolerate such a brazen attempt to murder in innocent civilians on our soil. the labour leader criticised the conservatives for accepting money from russian donors. he called for tougher sanctions on

in other words, if the uk is so firmly convinced this is -- and this is a novichok gas then that means they have samples of this and formula of this and are capable of manufacturing that. mr. president, we are living in a very special time. in front of my eyes, incredible things are happening. process of replacing the presumption of innocence is replaced with resumption of guilt has taken place. today ambassador haley as an experienced chemist and expert in that area stated talk today about crimes committed by russia. we have known for a very long time that for you in order to determine who is a guilty party, no investigation is needed. in the letter by the prime minister of the uk, it is stated that this is highly likely. but even in this, you have exceeded your reliable ally. the soviet prosecutor thought the confession was the best kind of proof. well, now using the expression of minister, what is the best kind of proof is suspicious. it is no longer necessary to show to the council test tubes with unknown white ub stance in it. it is enough to send a letter which contains an egregi

delivery of nerve agents or the purposes of assassination, it has also been creating and stockpiling novichokcretary also dismissed and derided the suggestion from one of russia's most senior diplomats that the nerve agent used in salisbury could actually have come from britain's own military research facility. porton down, as we now all know, is the largest military facility in the united kingdom. it has been dealing with chemical weapons and research. and it is only eight miles from salisbury. you are not suggesting that porton down is responsible for this nerve agent? i don't know. however theresa may's government got solid support from the shadow chancellor after criticism ofjeremy corbyn‘s more questioning of approach. vladimir putin has questions to answer because this is likely to have been a state execution. what we do not do in this country is we do not leap to conclusions without evidence. as the investigation continues, the government will focus on broadening international backing for britain's stance. on tuesday, there will be discussions as to whether or not a second round of mea

here's evan davis. of the russian factory that developed the nerve agent novichok. attack four weeksgo. join me now on bbc two. here on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. goodnight. 00:02:18,597 --> 477218455:56:53,134 hello 477218455:56:53,134 --> 954436911:51:27,671 and 954436911:51:27,671 --> 1431655367:46:02,208 welcome 1431655367:46:02,208 --> 1908873823:40:36,745 to 1908873823:40:36,745 --> 2386092279:35:11,282 sportsday, 2386092279:35:11,282 --> 2863310735:29:45,818 with 2863310735:29:45,818 --> 3340529191:24:20,355 me 3340529191:24:20,355 --> 3817747647:18:54,893 will 3817747647:18:54,893 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 perry. the balll tampering scandal. affecting your parents, and to think about the way my old man has been... he's quitting as coach. length, it is the right time to step away. in new zealand which starts in under half an hour? hello and welcome to sportsday. scandal arrived home. as the reality of this dramatic saga started to set in. understand the consequences. it was a failure of leadership. of my leadership. and the damage it's caused. in the broader

russia should in particular provide full and complete disclosure of the novichok program to the chemical weapons tchdog." president trump: i spoke with the prime minister, and we are in deep discussion. it is a it certainly looks like the russians were behind it. something that should never ever happen, and we are taking it very seriously, as i thinkre many others. james: the joint statement is significant, because it shows the foreign office and downing street are convincing britain's allies that the salisbury attack en different, that it repr an escalion of russia's hostile havior, and as such, those allies are ready to crank up the pressure on moscow. that diplomacy continued today in brussels, w bretish security officials briefed nato allies. the head of the alliance said russia had clearly breached international agreements. s first of all, extremely important to expreong political support to the united kingdom, sending a clear message that the united alone.om is not we stand together with them. james: in moscow, president putin discussed the salisbury case with his ministers, who d9

novichok is a particularly nthal nerve agent. >> it's an unbelievably cruel and unpleasant way to go.porter: toxicologist andrea sella says it wouldn't take much. >> in terms of the amounts that we're talking about, you're literally talking about a few drops here are sufficient to actually do away with someone. the real crucial question is how you deliver it? >> reporter: sella said novichok is made by mixing two relatively harmless compounds together and becomes instantly lethal. it's usually found as a liquid and can be sprayed or swallowed. >> we speak of these as weapons of terror. they really are. r: reporter: meanwhile, in russia, foreign minister sergei lavrov dismissed the allegations ns nonsense and demanded the british hand over a sample of the nerve agent. the russians had until midnight tonight to provide some explanation on how that nerve agent made it to britain, jeff. now, it's up to prime minister theresa may to follow through on threats to increase sanctions or freeze the assets of russian oligarchs here and maybe expel diplomats. >> glor: charlie d'agata at scotland

that is because of this identification of this military grade nerve agent from the novichok class, whichlast week by the scientists from porton down. it took them several days to get to that point. now a sample will be made available for independent verification. it is part of the internationally agreed process of the uk, proving its charge against russia, that russia has used a chemical weapon, and nerve agent in europe for the first time since the second world war. the uk will be hoping it will persuade enough countries the kremlin is simply lying and no amount of russia muddying the waters with conspiracy theories and propaganda will undermine its case. steve rosenberg is in moscow. russia says it will retaliate after its diplomats were expelled but we still don't know when or how? absolutely, there will be retaliation, but we do know vladimir putin discussed the matter today here in the kremlin with his top security officials. a meeting of the powerful russian security council and they denounced britain's stance as destructive and provocative but there was no announcement about their

destroyed their stockpile of chemicals and in fact have never even existed that that stockpile of novichokunched a murder investigation after two women were shot and killed at a house in east sussex. officers responded to reports of a shooting at an address in st leonards on sea last night. two other women — including one who is pregnant — were taken to hospital suffering from shock. a 35 year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. temporary chief superintendent jason taylor — divisional commander for east sussex police — made the following statement. i would like to begin by saying our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims who tragically died following a shooting ata tragically died following a shooting at a house in bexhill road st leonards last at a house in bexhill road st leona rds last night. at a house in bexhill road st leonards last night. officers responded immediately to a reporting ofa responded immediately to a reporting of a shooting shortly before 745 pm. two women died at the scene. two others who were also at the house we re others who were als

they have suggested that they never produced novichoks, or that they produced them but destroyed themo claim that their agents are not covered by the chemical weapons convention. they pointed the finger at other countries including slovakia, sweden and the czech republic, and even tried to claim that the united kingdom was responsible for a chemical attack on our own citizens. but soon, jeremy corbyn was under attack again. cabinet ministers in this house defended russia despite the growing evidence of the enormity of its crimes from 1929 to 1931. at least that was understandable on the basis of a shared ideology. now that the soviet union — russia has abandoned that ideology, to what can she attribute the reluctance of the right honourable gentleman opposite to point the finger where it properly lies? i can find no reason to attribute to the right honourable gentleman opposite for the stance he takes on this issue, and i hope that some of his right honourable friends have done, he will be taking a different position in the debate today. so what did he say? there can be little doubt t

they would get that access here at the military research laboratory at porton down, where the novichokoday, the defence secretary announced porton down will get another £16 million in funding. and the russians would get short shrift. if you're a nation and another nation has launched a nerve agent attack on your people, i think we have every right to tell russia to shut up and go away. meanwhile, near salisbury, the investigation and decontamination process continues. the graves of mr skripal‘s wife and son were still being inspected and two vehicles were recovered from near the home of ds bailey. james landale, bbc news. in moscow, the russian government says that president putin will decide soon what action to take — in response to the expulsion of 23 russian diplomats, thought to be intelligence officers from the uk. the foreign minister, sergei lavrov, accused britain of acting in a boorish way, and insisted again that russia was not involved in the salisbury attack — as our correspondent steve rosenberg reports. well, in three days' time, russians go to the polls to elect a new pr

so this novichok nerve agent is a real dial and something only russia has. knew who was mind behind this. the only way it could have been more obviously russian is if the people were crushed by giant blocks. in the normal rules of spying, when something like this happens, everyone denies everything. but vladimir putin is not playing by norm rules. >> president putin, abc news, is russia bind the poisoning of sergei skripal? >> we are busy with agriculture here to create new conditions for people's lives and you talk to me about some tragedies. first work out what actually happened there, and then we'll talk about it. >> trevor: wait, he didn't even bother to deny it. nobody is so busines busy with agriculture they can't answer a murder charge. did you kill him? shhhh! i'm rotating my crops! ( laughter ) i don't know about you but since trump has gotten into power, putin has become more cocky about doing his thing. he doesn't give a damn about poison in the u.k., and when he sat down for an interview with megyn kelly this month, i felt like he did it just so

if they state that this gasp as a novichok kind of gas, that means that they have the standard for the substance. in other words, they have connection and they have the formula. and this is the most important point in the story. in other words, it the uk is so firmly convinced this is a novichok gas, then that means that they have samples of this and they had the formula for this and that are capable of manufacturing that. mr. president, we're living in a very, very special time. in front of our eyes incredible things are happening. process of replacing the presumption of innocence with the presumption of guilt is taking place. and this criminal law principle is now being transferred into international relations. today, ambassador haley, as an experienced chemist and an expert in that area, stated talk today about crimes committed by russia. we have known for a very long time that for you in order to determine who is a guilty party, no investigation is needed. in a letter by the prime minister of the uk it is stated that this is highly likely. but even in this you have exceeded your re

novichok is a particularly lethal nerve agent. >> it's an unbelievably cruel and unplaentd way to go.toxicologist andrea sella says it wouldn't take much. >> in terms of the amount you're talking about, you're talking a few drops are sufficient to actually do away with someone. the real question is how you deliver it. >> reporter: sella says novichok is made by mixing two compounds together and is instantly lethal. it's usually found as a liquid and can be sprayed or swallowed. >> we speak of these as weapons of terror. they really are. >> reporter: meanwhile in russia foreign minister sergey lavrov dismissed the allegation s as nonsense and demanded the british hand over a sample of the nerve agent. the russians had until midnight to provide some explanation of how that nerve agent made it to britain. now it's up to prime minister theresa may to follow up on her threats to increase sanctions, freeze the assets of russian oligarchs here, and maybe excess d expel diplomats. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. >>> coming up on "cbs this morning," norah reports from saudi arabia and meets

discussed the case with his ministers, who denied that russia or the soviet union had ever run a novichokd promised to respond soon to the expulsion of its diplomats. we need to give strong support to the uk, sending a message they are not a loan. we stand together with them. in moscow, president putin discussed the case with his ministers, who denied that russia or the soviet union had ever run a novichok programme, and promised to respond soon to the expulsion of its diplomats. the porton down laboratory, which identified the nerve agent, is set to get more funding. it will also provide a sample to the chemical watchdog. it is diplomacy not extending to russia. if you are a nation and another nation has launched a chemical attack on your people, then you have every right to tell russia to shut up and go away. meanwhile, this afternoon near salisbury, the investigation continued, with the army recovering a carfrom a village near the home of ds bailey. james landale, bbc news. so, as we heard, the united states has imposed sanctions on 19 russian individuals and five groups, accusing them

forensic analysts have found the highest concentration of novichok on his front door.isation ahead of next month's historic summit. and one of china's top diplomats has been sent to seoul to brief the south korean government on kim jung un‘s surprise trip to beijing earlier this week. the first funerals have been held in russia for some of the 64 people who died in sunday's fire at a shopping centre in kemerovo. most were children. relatives say dozens of other people are still missing. moscow has declared a national day of mourning. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.

specialists found the highest concentration of the novichok substance on his front door.beijing earlier this week has sparked a fresh wave of shuttle diplomacy. officials from north and south korea are due for key talks in the demilitarised zone, to prepare for a summit next month, while a chinese envoy is coming to seoul to brief the south korean government on the meeting with the nk leader. —— north korean leader. the first funerals have taken place in russia for some of the 64 people who lost their lives in a fire at a shopping centre on sunday. most of those who died in the city of kemerovo were children. relatives say dozens of other people are still missing. moscow has declared a national day of mourning. it's 2:30am.

grade novichok nerve agent of a type developed by russia in what we see as an attempted assassinationuded it was highly likely that russia was responsible. it is now clear the nerve agent used in salisbury is poisoning britain's relations with russia as well. with no letup in the war of words. an academic who created an app which harvested data from 50 million facebook users says he has been made "a scapegoat". dr aleksandr kogan has told the bbc he didn't know his work for the data company cambridge analytica in 2014 violated facebook‘s policies. cambridge analytica is accused of gathering data from millions of people without their knowledge. here's our business editor, simonjack. the pressure on mark zuckerberg is growing to give his version of how the personal data of 50 million facebook users ended up with a consultancy that worked on the successful election campaign of donald trump and was secretly filmed boasting of their influence. the cambridge academic who came up with the original app says he is stunned by the controversy. never in our wildest dreams did we think anything we

all locations and vehicles which may have come into contact with novichok are needing to be thoroughly double agent sergei skripol and his daughter yulia, still nothing has been formally announced about how and where and exactly when they ingested the nerve agent. there are plenty of theories, including that it may have been in this car which belongs to mr skripol and had been in the city centre. it is amongst the many vehicles to have been taken away for examination and decontamination. for the people of salisbury it is an extraordinary and very worrying time. hundreds belatedly have been told to wash their clothes because they had been in some of the contaminated areas. now they, like the rest of the family —— country, wait to see what the government will do after it was announced that it was highly likely that russia was behind the attack. if they can spot which one it was or what ever spy it was all whoever did it then you have to take russia to task. i would like to see what is now going to happen and what theresa may will go one and do really. now going to happen and what theresa

sergei skripal and his daughter yulia in britain. and said it had no stockpiles of the nerve agent novichoktish investigation. people would have died straight away. this is number one. who haven't done it yet. and bring you up—to—date with the day's of the news stories. with the day's other news stories. — an area his forces have been trying to retake from the rebels. page, show him surrounded by troops. and their allies now control some 80% of eastern ghouta. the border town of afrin from a local militia. resistance from the kurdish forces when they moved in on sunday. after a fire broke out at a hotel in manila in the philippines. the blaze raged for over nine hours before it was brought under control. 300 guests were evacuated. the cause of the fire is not yet known. kim jong—un. decision as "courageous". to commit to denuclearisation. consultancy company cambridge analytica. a committee of mps here in the uk. facebook will also be asked to testify. broke the net. of a match official to repair the damage. to enjoy the performance. in the rakhine state. refused to criticise myanmar. turnb

. >> novichok made by mixing two relatively harmless compound together and becomes instantly lethal. usually found as liquid. can be sprayed or swallowed. >> we speak of these as weapons of terror. they really are. >> meanwhile in russia, foreign minister, sergei lavarov dismissed allegations as nonsense and demanded the british hand over a sample of the nerve agent. >> the russians had until midnight tonight to provide some explanation on how that nerve agent made it to britain. jeff, now it is up to prime minister teresa may to follow through on threats to increase sanctions, freeze the assets of russian oligarchs here and maybe expel diplomats. >> charlie d'agata. >>> president trump flew to california to get the first close-up look at eight prototypes for a border wall. the president says that existing fences aren't tall enough to keep undocumented immigrants out. >> getting over the top is easy. these are like professional mountain climbers. incredible climbers. they can't climb some of these walls. some of them they can. those are the walls we are not using. >> mr. trump says t

telegraph goes one further without saying that russian dissident bodies could be exhumed to test for novichokn various people critical of what you put‘s regime who have lived here in the uk and died in mysterious circumstances. the telegraph is suggesting that some of these people will be dug up and have their bodies tested for the presence of this nerve agent. because it is undetectable in its preprepared form. so you have two harmless agents that are only deadly when combined, it could be some people who have been attacked with it and we have not noticed until now. the telegraph suggests that we will dig it up. if that happens, that puts the government in a bind because at the government in a bind because at the moment they have expelled 2s diplomats and there has been some tit—for—tat expulsion. at that point, if things start to escalate it is not clear what the british government can do that will not leave them looking weak and unable to respond to the russian government. moving on to look at facebook and, more widely technology firms to dig the guardian, firstly. pressure on facebook and

sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were poisoned with a military grade novichok nerve agent of a typessia in what we see as an attempted assassination attempt. "what's going on in their heads?", he replies. "take a break from your russophobia and your island mentality." archive: berlin's great day dawns with the arrival of the olympic flame... in britain, a labour mp suggested that vladimir putin would use the world cup like adolf hitler had used the 1936 olympics — "to cover up", as he put it, "a brutal, corrupt regime." the foreign secretary agreed. i think the comparison with 1936 is certainly right and i think it's an emetic prospect, frankly, to think of putin glorying in this sporting event. tonight, moscow reacted to boris johnson's comments with fury. the russian foreign ministry said the foreign secretary was "poisoned with hatred and malice, incompetence and loutishness. " meanwhile, russia's propaganda machine tries to discredit sergei skripal. we witnessed this bizarre webcast, where two convicted murders claimed to be ex—cellmates of the former double agent. on air, they

this is a highly toxic agent that they have used, novichok. visit transportable?ou plant it in the suitcase. that is it transportable. possibly you put it ina transportable. possibly you put it in a cosmetic, did then know she was going to go to this location, coogee open it earlier? anybody could be harmed by that. it seems a very imprecise way of trying to take out oi’ imprecise way of trying to take out or attempt to take out your attempted target. it does not stack up attempted target. it does not stack upfor attempted target. it does not stack up for me. there are all sorts of theories we could speculate on. maybe this is the one the telegraph has chosen to go with. the truth is that we don't know and there has beena that we don't know and there has been a wall of silence from the police and intelligence agency soufces police and intelligence agency sources about the detailed investigation in this particular circumstance. part of that is understandable because they want to identify exactly who the culprits are. they don't want publicity necessarily getting in

. —— novichok.ussia has lost control of its nerve agent, and she has ordered the russian ambassador to the uk to come and explain exactly what they know about this within the next 36 hours. really, this deadline now, for the facts to come onto the table, do you think we can expect much from the russians?” was reflecting on, if anglo soviet relations have ever in modern times been at a lower ebb, than they are at this moment, i'm struggling to remember when it was. the commons, in that quite fascinating debate, this afternoon, was reminded of the last time there was substantial russian expulsions from the uk, and the impact they had, that is some a0 yea rs the impact they had, that is some a0 years ago. and personally, it would seem years ago. and personally, it would seem to me, the logical extension of this, probably by wednesday and thursday, will be expulsions. how far of the russian embassy chain they go remains to be seen. the financial times, the headline, theresa may accuses russia over attac

it's been identified as novichok, which the bbc believes was once produced here in a secret soviet programmeoscow say any stockpiles were destroyed long ago. so when the british ambassador was called to the foreign ministry, moscow says he came to hear its protest at a sordid attempt to discredit this country. i reiterated the points made by prime minister may that we expect by the end of today an account from the russian state as to how this material came to be used in salisbury. russia has always insisted it had nothing to do with the poisoning in salisbury, and that position clearly hasn't changed even with the threat of sanctions. after all, this is a country that's been living under international sanctions for some time, linked to its actions in ukraine. and those measures haven't weakened president putin politically at all. if anything, they've made him stronger. moscow, then, is in no mood for ultimatums, and it will continue to insist on its innocence. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. scotland yard has given further details about the movements of sergei skripal and his daughter yul

you'll also find an explanation of what novichok nerve agents are. com/news. across the united statesols. who were killed in the florida school shooting exactly a month ago. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. all chant: hey-hey, ho-ho, the nra has got to go! it was with their hands up in terror after the florida shooting. demanding change on gun control. all chant: gun control! all chant: now! at the marjory stoneman douglas school in florida last month. on the subject of gun control in america. of that fence seems to have got cold feet. all chant: hey-hey, ho-ho, the nra has got to go! the age at which you can buy a rifle. for being frightened of the national rifle association. some of you people are petrified of the nra. you can't be petrified. and so the young people are intensifying their campaign. we want them to pass common—sense gun laws. common—sense gun reform. background checks, everything. we don't want to be scared in school. it should be our safest institution. we're tired of being scared. we want actual change. we want it to happen with this protest. all: this i

on monday i spoke about one of the novichok agents, a234 and the possibility it had been released intosaying that this was indeed the agent ever talking about any salisbury context. we also saw today the car of mr skripal being removed from the tow truck yard where it had been since it happened and ta ken away. it had been in an air—proof tent there to try to contain any contamination.