one exile in surrey met mr skripal by chance a few months ago. he said at the meeting that mr skripal said he had regularly met with russian diplomats and discussed the burki was involved in. he said, "i am doing business, a different kind, i closed my business in spain. i am working mainly in cyber security. applause did he say what he was doing in cyber security? no, idid what he was doing in cyber security? no, i did not ask because it is a sensitive question. i understand he was working for some russian groups. working with people in the embassy on this or something completely separate? i had a feeling that meeting with friends was one, and cyber security and his business was another. could that work in cyber security possibly be a motive for the attack? let's speak now to philip ingram, a former senior intelligence officer in the british army, who has worked extensively with thejoint chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear regiment. he's in our birmingham studio. thank you for being with us. what do you think these 180 military personnel

cctv images obtained by the bbc appeared to show mr skripal and his daughter walking together at 15:47 on sunday afternoon. they were heading for a small park surrounded by shops in the centre of salisbury called the maltings. the camera which captured these pictures is yards from where they were found. police were called at 4:15pm when people reported the pair were unconscious on a park bench. last night zizzi, an italian restaurant nearby, was sealed by police, followed today by a local pub, bishop's mill. did someone slip something into theirfood or drink? for the police this is a highly sensitive and potentially hazardous investigation, not least for the officers involved. the key question of course is what was the substance that left a father and his daughter in such a terrible condition on the park bench covered by the tent behind me?

it is now clear that mr skripal and his daughter we re that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia. this is part of a group of nerve agents known as novichok. either this was a direct act by the russian state against our country or the russian government lost control of its potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others. but what would she be ready to do? should there be no credible response, we will conclude that this action amounts to an unlawful use of force by the russian state against the united kingdom. mr speaker, this attempted murder using weapons grade nerve agent in a british town was not just a 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 innocent civilians oui’ attempt to murder innocent civilians our soil. the russian ambassador summoned to the foreign off

mr. speaker, i would like to make a statement on the response of the russian government to the incident in salisbury. first, on behalf of the whole house, let me pay tribute once again to the bravery and professionalism of all the emergency services, doctors, nurses and investigation teams who led the response to this appalling incident. and also to the fortitude of the people, lenny reassure them that as public health england has make clear, the ongoing risk to public health is low and the government will continue to do everything possible to support this historic city to recover fully. mr. speaker, on monday i set out for sergei skripal and his daughter were poison with a military grade nerve agent develop by russia. race on this capability combined with a record of conducting state-sponsored assassination, including against former intelligence officers who may regard a legitimate target, the uk government concluded that it was highly likely that russia was responsible for this reckless

but the man he saw has a complex past, mr skripal is a russian convicted of spying for the west before coming to the uk. two figures, believed to be sergei skripal and his daughter, but the man he saw has a complex past, mr skripal is a russian convicted of spying for the west before coming to the uk. wiltshire police are still examining the area outside a shopping centre where he and his daughter were found unconscious but counter terror officers are now leading this investigation. due to the unusual circumstances, the counter—terrorism network will be leading this investigation as it has the specialist capability and expertise to do so. it is important to reiterate, they have not declared this as a terrorist incident. as at this stage, they are keeping an open mind as to what has happened. the ministry of defence laboratory has confirmed it's received samples of the substance thought to have been involved in this incident. it has the facilities to test highly toxic compounds. with a mystery poisonious substance involved, tracing the pair's movements is a priority. after taping off

it is now clear that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned. president putin brushes off questions about the attack as moscow accuses the british of telling fairytales. the bbc gains access to a draft un report, which claims some asian companies are violating sanctions against north korea. and a ‘master of elegance‘ — hubert de givenchy, the man who dressed audrey hepburn and jackie kennedy, has died. the british prime minister has pointed the finger at russia, saying it's highly likely it was behind the uk attack on a former russian spy and his daughter. in a dramatic statement, theresa may revealed that sergei and yulia skripal were poisoned by a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia. russia's ambassador was summoned to the foreign office and told to explain what happened. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. who was responsible? who brought a chemical attack to quiet british soil? the prime minister was ready to lay the blame. it is now clear that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military gra

it is now clear that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned. president putin brushes off questions about the attack as moscow accuses the british of telling fairytales. the bbc gains access to a draft un report, which claims some asian companies are violating sanctions against north korea. and a ‘master of elegance‘ — hubert de givenchy, the man who dressed audrey hepburn and jackie kennedy, has died. the british prime minister has pointed the finger at russia, saying it's highly likely it was behind the uk attack on a former russian spy and his daughter. in a dramatic statement, theresa may revealed that sergei and yulia skripal were poisoned by a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia. russia's ambassador was summoned to the foreign office and told to explain what happened. the prime minister said if there's no credible response, the government will conclude it was an unlawful use of force by the russian state against the uk. who was responsible? who brought a chemical attack to quiet british soil? the prime minister w

and mr skripal was one of them. this was the response president putin after that swap. translation: traitors will kick the bucket, trust me. these people betrayed their friends, their brothers in arms. whatever they got in exchange for it, there's 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them. it is early daysin they will choke on them. it is early days in the investigation, nothing has been proved and we know that whatever chemical substance was involved in this alleged poisoning is being tested as we speak. but the point that our report that made at salisbury was that if you join the fsb, the russian security services and become a traitor, that's it. that does seem to be the expectation. it has not stopped a number of people from doing what skripal and litvinenko have done in terms of switching sides and becoming double agents. some of that rhetoric, putin is a politician and he had to fight elections, not that he had to fight elections, not that he is in danger of losing, but has to project to his people some sense of strength and he has to explain tha

mr skripal and his daughter yulia remain critically ill in hospital. well, let's get the latest from salisbury where the attack on mr skripal happened. our correspondent kathryn stanczyszyn is there. the police officer heard the attack has had a letter from a the police officer heard the attack has had a letterfrom a russian ambassador, that is intriguing? yes, the political and diplomatic fallout continues from this. the kremlin has denied ever receiving that letter that was being talked about in that clip there, a letterfrom that was being talked about in that clip there, a letter from screen that was being talked about in that clip there, a letterfrom screen pal allegedly asking for forgiveness and they have denied and they have repeatedly denied having anything to do with the poisoning and the latest denial of it comes in this letter that was sent to ds nick bailey who was taken ill after the poisoning and was discharged from hospital on thursday. it is a letter from the russian ambassador to the uk, basically wishing him a speedy recovery, but als

a school friend of sergei skripal, has told the bbc that mr skripal wanted to return to russia. in an exclusive interview, vladimir timoshkov says that mr skripal didn't see himself as a traitor because he swore an oath to be loyal to the soviet union moscow denies responsibility for the attack in salisbury. some breaking news from paris now. a police officer who swapped himself for a hostage, being held at a supermarket in south—west france yesterday has died. within the past few minutes, a french minister announced that the officer arnaud beltrame had died. the gunman, who said he'd been acting on behalf of the islamic state group, killed three people in separate attacks before he was shot dead. of course we heard earlier on but that police officer had been praised by the french president who described him as a hero. he was taken to hospital and in the last few minutes we have heard that he has since passed away. we will give you more on that as we receive it. the us attorney generaljeff sessions has announced that bump stocks — the devices that turn semi automatic rifles

relatives of mr skripal have told the bbc russian service that the former spy believed the russian special services might come after him at any time. the russian government is denying any suggestion of involvement in the incident, as steve rosenberg reports from moscow. it sounds chillingly familiar. russia under suspicion of planning and executing an attack 2,000 miles away in britain. in 2006, the target was former russian agent alexander litvinenko, murdered in london. the man britain believes poisoned him is andrei lugovoy. today, he dismissed claims that moscow had attacked sergei skripal as propaganda. translation: why do they say he was poisoned? perhaps he poisoned himself or had a heart attack. you talk about propaganda, but what about alexander litvinenko? the enquiry in britain into his death found that you had poisoned him, probably on the orders of vladimir putin. translation: there was no official investigation into litvinenko's death. there was an attempt to accuse russia and a russian citizen, me, of poisoning him in britain with polonium. as for the kremlin, well, it's bee

and this spy swap involves the man now in hospital, mr skripal. he was part of that and this was the first russian swa p that and this was the first russian swap ever, apparently. it was the first russian swap ever and this is eight years later. but if you read the words of mr putin at the time of his release, he said, traitors will click the bucket, trust me, these people betrayed their friends, their brothers in arms. whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them. quite extraordinary. the suggestion a delegation would not go to the world cup, if it is clear that russia was involved in this, and swilling cannot go now, can he? no, and it is interesting from perspective national prince william. royals need to remain neutral and not get involved in scandal. but as you pointed out, the world cup bid was already drenched in scandal and prince william talked about sepp blatter and his involvement at the time in corruption scandals. so it is tricky, but to be fair, on this, the royals do take t

it is now clear that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia. this is part of a group of nerve agents. based on positive identification by world leaders, knowledge that russia has previously produced this agent and would still be capable of doing so, russia's record of conducting state—sponsored assassinations and our assessment that russia views some defectors as legitimate targets for assassinations, the government has concluded that it is highly likely that russia was responsible for the act against sergei and yulia skripal. the prime ministers taking a short while ago. we're joined now by reverend kelvin inglis, who is rector at st thomas's church, close to the maltings in salisbury. and very much in the heart of a lot of what has been happening. it must be very strange for you to have seen it unfold 7 be very strange for you to have seen it unfold? it certainly has been. my parish is the entire city centre of salisbury and this terrible act has taken place right at the centre of it. it has been a really terrible

while the poisonings, mr. speaker, of sergei skripal and yulia are confronting us today, what efforts are being made by the government to reassess the death of mr. skripal daughter who died in 2012, and the deaths of his eldest brother and son who both died in the past two years? we have a duty to speak out against the abuse of human rights by the putin government and its supporters, both at home and abroad. and i joined many others in this house in paying tribute to the many campaigners and russia for human rights and justice and democracy in that country. and, mr. speaker, and, mr., mr. speaker, we must do more to address the dangers posed by the states relationship with unofficial groups and corrupt oligarchs. we must also, we must also expose the flows of ill-gotten cash between the russian state and billionaires who have become stupendously rich by looting the country and subsequently use london to protect their wealth. we welcome that prime ministers statement today clearly committing to support the magn

theirfocus this time of building adjacent to the restaurant where mr skripal and his daughter had lunch on the day they apparently ingested some form of poison. an ambulance drove away from here this afternoon with a woman inside. it is not clear if this was connected to the apparent poisoning. in another sign of the seriousness of the situation cabinet ministers and security officials held a meeting of the government emergency response committee cobra this morning. scientist at the government research laboratories in porton down near salisbury have been ha rd porton down near salisbury have been hard at work examining samples taken from mr skripal and his daughter. but despite suspicions, russia might be behind what has happened, there warning against jumping to conclusions. we need to bear in mind that the police need to look at all evidence not just that the police need to look at all evidence notjust a case of deciding that this is a russian state incident. this could be someone else and it is quite possible that someone and it is quite possible that someone else has done this. so i

it is now clear that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia. this is part of a group of nerve agents. based on the positive identification of this chemical agent by world leading experts and the defence science and technology department at porton down, russia has previously produced his agent and would still be capable of doing so. and would still be capable of doing so. russia's record of conducting state—sponsored assassinations and our assessment that russia views some defectors as legitimate targets for assassinations, the government has concluded that it is highly likely that russia was responsible for the act against sergei skripal and yulia skripal. there are only two plausible explanations for what happened in salisbury on the 4th of march. either this was a direct act by the russian state against our country or the russian government lost control of its potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others. this afternoon, my right honourable friend the foreign secr

i was surprised to hear that mr skripal had been living under his own name. does that give us some indication of what kind of like he has been living for the last seven years in the uk? it is interesting. he came here after this exchange for the illegal network that was arrested in the united states in 2010. we know he had been doing things like lecturing at military colleges, intelligence consulting with other agencies that mi6 consulting with other agencies that m16 asked to get in touch with. the family arrangements, his daughter and son spent most of the time in russia but worth visiting occasionally. and he was there under his own name, his kids were travelling back and forth, and some people would argue that he felt there was a kind of modus vivendi there was a kind of modus vivendi there had been reached with the russian authorities, he would not put his head above the parapet and they would leave him and his family alone. stay with us because we will look at the russian reaction, authority saying they will incorporate with the police investigation but

skripal faced and what -- what deemed niece for him and his daughter. mr. speaker, this morning the conservative chair of the foreign affairs committee said, i'd be surprised if the prime minister did not point the finger at the kremlin. the honorable members accused the russian government of behaving in an aggressive and corrupting way in this country. mr. speaker, we need to continue seeking a robust dialogue with russia on all the issues currently dividing our countries, both domestic and international, rather than simply cutting off contact and letting the tensions and divisions get worse. and potentially even more dangerous. mr. speaker, we're all familiar with the way huge fortune, acquired in the most dubious circumstances in russia, sometimes czeched with criminal elements, have ended up sheltering in london, and trying to buy political influence in british party politics. meddling in elections as the prime minister put it, there has -- and there has been over 800,000 pounds worth of donations to the conservative party -- to the conservative party f

attempted murder of mr skripal and his daughter. relations between britain and russia are put into a deep freeze. russia responds by saying — we are used to cold weather. rarely does britain find itself at the centre of such a major diplomatic struggle. we'll hear from the security minister. and did jeremy corbyn judge it right in his response? some of his own mps don't think so. the shadow security minister will explain labour's position. brexit secretary david davis has been travelling the continent today — and seeming to make brexit concessions to the europeans, exclusively to nick watt. i'm not bothered too much about the question of whether it's christmas 2020 all easter 2021. so if it means christmas 2020, you'd go for that? i'd go for that. also tonight, we're with stephen hawking's famous collaborator, the mathematician sir roger penrose. and angela merkel has been sworn in for her fourth term in office — but germany now has to contemplate political life without her. gabriel gatehouse is in the rhineland.

cctv images obtained by the bbc appeared to show mr skripal and his daughter walking together at 15:47 on sunday afternoon. they were heading for a small park surrounded by shops in the centre of salisbury called the maltings. the camera which captured these pictures is yards from where they were found. police were called at 4:15pm when people reported the pair were unconscious on a park bench. last night zizzi, an italian restaurant nearby, was sealed by police, followed today by a local pub, bishop's mill. did someone slip something into theirfood or drink? for the police this is a highly sensitive and potentially hazardous investigation, not least for the officers involved. the key question of course is what was the substance that left a father and his daughter in such a terrible condition on the park bench covered by the tent behind me? there will be toxicology reports prepared but we understand that several police officers were admitted to hospital, one has been kept in. symptoms include breathing difficulties and itchy eyes. experts at the research facility porton down are now in

skripal and his daughter. against the united kingdom. so the uk will retaliate. who have been identified as undeclared intelligence officers. they have just one week to leave. norjust an act against the uk. on which we and our international partners depend. will go to the world cup. with possible new laws to crack down on hostile states. on british streets. in dorset today, the lorry that removed the skripals‘ car, seized. were found still sealed off. in a diplomatic tangle that could last. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. canada and australia all offered support to britain. before deciding on any course of action. jonathan allen. was used in a peaceful city in my country. to whether innocents are caught up in their attacks. back to them, or mistakenly believed that they could cover their traces. they consider traitors, even after the 4 march attack. that prompted a lengthy reply from the russian ambassador. here's part of it. requested in 2a hours to admit that we committed a crime. in other words, confess. to in that language

it's still unclear how and why mr skripal, and his 33 year—old daughter, were targetted last sunday afternoon. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports from salisbury. detective sergeant nick bailey is 38 years old, a decorated officer with plenty of experience on the front line of policing. he's still in a serious condition, but the good news today is he is awake and talking. he's a great character. he is a huge presence in wiltshire police, a well—loved and massively dedicated officer. he is clearly receiving high, specialist treatment. he is well, he's sat up. he's not the nick i know, but he is receiving a high level of treatment. he's very anxious, he's very concerned. he did his very best on that night. all of our stuff that attended the incident in salisbury in the maltings performed the role that police officers and police staff do every day up and down the country. the inquiry‘s not letting up. police began what appeared to be a major search and possible decontamination of sergei skripal‘s house today. for a while, they even taped off the graves of his wife and son. t

skripal and his daughter. against the united kingdom. so the uk will retaliate. who have been identified as undeclared intelligence officers. they have just one week to leave. norjust an act against uk. on which we and our international partners depend. of the royal family will go to the world cup. with possible new laws to crack down on hostile states. to accept the culpability of the russian state. and based on clear evidence. in dorset today, the lorry that removed the skripals' car, seized. were found, still sealed off. in a diplomatic tangle that could last. as "a political show". in the attack. required in 2a hours to admit that we did a crime. in other words, confess. confess. we do not use that language with anyone. anyone. and we will not allow to be spoken to with that language either. spoken to with that language either. —— ultimatums. the allegedly found russian trace in this high resonance event. ghouta, entering a key rebel—held town. in a fierce offensive that began in mid—february. to their nuclear programme. in t

it is now clear that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned. president putin brushes off questions about the attack as moscow accuses the british of telling fairytales. the bbc gains access to a draft un report, which claims some asian companies are violating sanctions against north korea. and a ‘master of elegance' — hubert de givenchy, the man who dressed audrey hepburn and jackie kennedy, has died.

. >> mr. skripal and his daughter were poisoned with novichok. based on their record of conducting state-sponsored assassinations, including against former intelligence officers whom they regard as legitimate targets, the uk government concluded that it was highly likely that russia was responsible for this reckless and despicable act. they have treated the use of a military-grade nerve agent in europe with sarcasm and defiance. so mr. speaker, there is no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable for the attempted murder of mr. skripal and his daughter and for threaten ng the lives of others, including the detective sergeant. this constitutes an unlawful use of force against the british kink dom. >> theresa may announcing that the attack on skripal and his daughter was an unlawful use of force against the uk. she went on to announce the expulsion of 23 russian diplomats. she canceled meetings with high-level officials. they are pulling back on soccer events in russia later this year. the prime minister also announced

with mr skripal and his daughter still critical in hospital, the foreign secretary blames vladimir putin for the attack. our quarrel is with putin's kremlin, and with his decision. and we think it overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision. the kremlin calls mrjohnson‘s comments shocking and unforgivable. we'll bring you the latest on this developing story. also tonight: the iraqi teenagerfound guilty of the parsons green tube bombing, who was on the government's counter—terror programme at the time. at least six people have been killed in miami after the collapse of a bridge built injust six hours less than a week ago.

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.

mr. president and thank you for arranging this urgent meeting of the security council today to give the united kingdom the opportunity to update council colleagues on our investigation into a nerve agent attack in salisbury. on sunday the 4th of march, sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were found in the town center slipping out of consciousness on a public bench and were taken to hospital by our emergency services where they remain in a very serious condition. investigations by world-leading experts of the defense, science and technology be la labboratory accredited by opcw, discovered that they had been exposed to a nerve agent. british police nick bailey remains in hospital and in serious condition. hundreds of british citizens have been potentially exposed to this nerve agent in what was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the united kingdom. we have deployed our military to decontaminate numerous sites and the police continue an exhaustive, wide-scale investigation. through

the attempted murder of mr skripal and his daughter. and even in its letter yesterday to the international chemical weapons body, the opcw, the uk has said of the novichok agents: "russia has previously produced this agent and would still be capable of doing so". it does not say that the origin of the salisbury novichok can be proven. i think the 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 n

mr. skripal was an associate of what you call an oligarch, a very rich businessman who himself was kind of a king maker in the '90s. many say responsible, in fact, for part of vladimir putin's rush. the kremlin moved to london and the series of corruption cases launched by his then-enemies in the kremlin followed him here, also followed mr. glushkov. there were accusations he had embezzled billions of dollars from an airline. he did various time in russia on various charges and finds himself here in the united kingdom. it remains a key notion because we don't know at this time of cause of death or if any foul play is found at all, then it raises serious questions. >> the interrogation unit taking over the investigation of this death. stand by for a moment. fred pleitgen is joining us from moscow. fred, what are you picking up from over there? >> reporter: it's interesting, wolf, because a lot of the outlets have piblcked up on thi immediately. what we have from the russians is pretty much

skripal, should be poisoned. it is a russian only nerve agent. >> w we destroyed d our chemical weapons under the supepervisionf a international watchdog. we were the first to do it. our partners promised to do so but did not keep their promise. peter: boris johnson indicating that he believes vladimir putin does order the killing of traders and defectors -- traito rs and defectors. the actual language he has used is traitors will kick the bucket. this doesn't sound like the language of a man who can be reasoned with. christian: what we have to do now is investigate the cases of the dead in connection with russia. le have to ask why the skripa case is suddenly the wake-up call? why didn't the british government pay attention before? this is an alien government under intense pressure that has to deal with brexit and cannot cope with it -- no one can. now they make russia a scapegoat. politically speaking this is obvious -- alan: the opposite is true. i'm sorry, christian. these cases were not investigated fully be

with mr skripal and his daughter still critical in hospital, the foreign secretary blames vladimir putin for the attack. our quarrel is with putin's kremlin and with his decision. we think it overwhelmingly likely it was his decision. cunning and devious — how police describe the 18—year—old convicted of attempted murder, following the london tube bombing. it's emerged ahmed hassan was on the government's anti—radicalisation programme at the time. former south african president jacob zuma is to stand trial on 16 charges of corruption, in connection with an arms deal. biting back at britain — warnings over snow and high winds as freezing temperatures return. also this hour, rescuers in miami say there are no more survivors following yesterday's bridge collapse. the authorities now say the focus is on recovering bodies. and footage is released of the first polar bear to be born in british captivity for 25 yea rs. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a murder inquiry has been launched into the death of a russian businessman in london on monday. a postmortem has concluded nikolai

skripal, should be poisoned. it is a russian only nerve agent. >> we destroyed our chemical weapons unthsu a international watchdog. we were the first to do it. our partners promised to do so but did not keep their promise. peter: boris johnson indicating that he believes vladimir putin does order the killing of traders and defectors -- traito rs and defectors. the actual language he has used is traitors will kick the bucket. this doesn't sound like the language of a man who can be reasoned with. christian: what we have to do now is investigate the cases of the dead in russia. le have to ask why the skripa case is suddenly the wake-up call? why didn't the british government pay atten bor this is an alien government under intense pressure that has to deal with brexit and cannot cope with it -- no one can. now they make russia a scapeg politically speaking this is obvious -- alan: the opposite is true. i'm sorry, christian. these cases were not investigated fully beforehand because russian dirty money is -- and itn

this, the restaurant where mr skripal and his daughter had lunch hours before they fell ill. a blonde woman and a man could be of interest, seen in this cctv footage from near the crime scene. his daughter apparently had dark hair, like in this photo. they are both in a critical condition in hospital. tom burridge, bbc news. our home affairs correspondent leila nathoo is in salisbury. bring us up to date with the investigation there. and it, police now believe that the nerve agent that was used on sergei skripal and yulia was a rare one. it helps possibly to narrow down the source of it. obviously, there would be limited scope in terms of who would be able to manufacture such a rare kind of chemical that attacks the nervous system. the focus now, here is on locations here. this scene where the two were found, the italian restaurants just behind, where the two were found, the italian restaurantsjust behind, a nearby pub and his home not farfrom here. police are continuing to examine all those locations. we know that one of the first officers on the scene here was exposed to th

it is now clear that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned. president putin brushes off questions about the attack as moscow accuses the british of telling fairytales. the bbc gains access to a draft un report, which claims some asian companies are violating sanctions against north korea. and a ‘master of elegance‘ — hubert de givenchy, the man

mr. president and thank you for arranging this urgent meeting of the security council today to give the united kingdom the opportunity to update council colleagues on our investigation into a nerve agent attack in salisbury. on sunday the 4th of march, sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were found in the town center slipping out of consciousness on a public bench and were taken to hospital by our emergency services where they remain in a very serious condition. investigations by world-leading experts of the defense, science and technology be la lboratory accredited by opcw, discovered that they had been exposed to a nerve agent. british police nick bailey remains in hospital and in serious condition. hundreds of british citizens have been potentially exposed to this nerve agent in what was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the united kingdom. we have deployed our military to decontaminate numerous sites and the police continue an exhaustive, wide-scale investigation. through t

did mr skripal have any particular protection as he went about his life? well, he was never sort of, relatives say he was never nervous about it. he just knew this would come. they told us when he joined the russian military intelligence, he was told there were only two ways out, as a hero or he would be shot dead as a traitor. he just had to bear that in mind throughout his life, they said. parallels have been drawn with the case of alexander litvinenko, anotherformer case of alexander litvinenko, another former russian agent who was poisoned with polonium and died of ten yea rs poisoned with polonium and died of ten years ago. a public inquiry concluded the russian state has sponsored the assassins responsible for killing alexander litvinenko. we have heard from the uk foreign secretary today who also referenced as dad. honourable members will note the echoes of the death of alexander litvinenko in 2006. and while it would be wrong to prejudge the investigation, i can reassure the house that should evidence emerged that implies state responsibility, her

d mr. skripal s daughter yulia remain in critical state three weeks after they were attacked. oftenited nations has faced public scrutiny for its failure to investigate or if of sexual exploitation and abuse of peacekeepers. what has gotten less attention is the problem of sexual harassment and abu of women within the organization. what is being done? the bbc's not a topic -- nada t awfik reports. nada: the united nationofis a place of ideals. with the rise of the "me too" movement, a different side of the u.n. flag has come into view. >> tried to drag into a hotel ro. all the women i've spoken to combat isod the operandi is. at una for rked decade and has come forward toil deexual harassment and abuse by her former boss, because she believes this is a systemic problem across the u.n. other women have accused him, one through an official complaint. set a proper investigation was conducted inich cleared him of wrong >> it angers me because it is precisely why women don't come out to report. women that i knew whtried to report everything were sidelined and in some cases, whether

police were called to a shopping centre in salisbury yesterday where it's believed mr skripal and an unknown female companion fell ill. a major incident has been declared at salisbury district hospital today and a decontamination team has been called in. the bbc understands the man in hospital this evening is sergei skripal. the 66—year—old is an ex—russian military intelligence officer. he was accused by russia of spying for britain and was jailed in russia back in 2006 four years later. he was pardoned by russia. he then returned to the uk as part of a spy swap which took place at an airport in vienna. the swap involved agencies from the united states and russia. our security correspondent gordon corera joins me. do we know anymore about this? we still don't have any idea about the substance, there were reports initially that this was a drug that people might have heard of, but then those were discounted quite quickly, and it was clear from the reaction of the hospital authorities that weren't sure either, because there we re weren't sure either, because there were pictures o

they also have barriers and a forensics tent over the grave of the wife of mr skripal and his son. and his house as well. certain items have been removed from some of these locations as well. we believe they have been taken to a special unit for decontamination, including an ambulance yesterday. it isa including an ambulance yesterday. it is a complex, wide—ranging investigation. amber rudd, the home secretary, saying this yesterday, 200 counterterrorism officers involved. and identified now, possibly 240 eyewitnesses here in salisbury who may well have heard or seen something. just underlining quite how public this investigation is. and the people of salisbury, still businesses around this area stillbuslnesses aroundthts area-— the shopping centre mic ii they there l the if? they there l the at if they there l the at this they are thererfar—the communityrat'this thanks so much. in the last hour, china's people's congress has voted to approve a constitutional amendment, abolishing two—term limits for the country's president. the move will allow xi jinping to stay in office

with mr skripal and his daughter still critical in hospital, the foreign secretary blames vladimir putin for the nerve agent attack. 0ur quarrel is with putin's kremlin, and with his decision — and we think it overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision. the kremlin retaliates by calling mrjohnson's comments shocking and unforgivable. also tonight... the iraqi teenagerfound guilty of the parsons green tube bombing, who was on the government's anti—radicalisation programme at the time. thee african countries, home to most of the continent's elephants, call for all ivory to be banned.

tom: cctv images obtained by the bbc appear to show mr. skripal and his daughter walking together at 15:47 sunday afternoon. they were heading for a small park in the center of salisbury. camera, which capture these pictures, is yards from where they were found. police were called at 4:15 when people reported the pair were unconscious on a park bench. la night an italian restaurant nearby was sealed by police, followed today by a local pub. did someone put something into their food or drink? for the police, this is a highl sensitd potentially hazardous investigation, not least for the officers involved. the key question, of course, iub what was theance that left a father and his daughter in such a terrible condition on the park bench, covered by the tent behind me? there will be toxicology reports prepared, but we understand seral police officers were admitted to hospital. one has been kept in. symptoms include breathing difficulti and itchy eyes. experts at the research facility are now involved, testing for a .ide range of substanc >> fr

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. police are still saying officially that they still don't know it was the car when the poison was released but there was a tremendous amount of emphasis on the car. i don't believe they found contamination in the home which would tend to undermine the suitcase and various other theories. it has not been subject to that. and people are not saying that there is contamination in the home so that is why it goes back to one o'clock on that day when they are believed to have got in the car. that was the real period of danger that the police are looking at. and they are looking to try and get the opcw involved now. that is the international watchdog, the un, the monitoring and enforcement council. and a few things have come out. they have put out a statement saying that they are looking into these novichok agents. so there are confirmation that they know these things exist and that they

mr. skripal and his daughter yulian rem critical state three weeks after they were attacked. oftenunations has faced public scrutiny for its failure to investigate sexual exploitation and abuse of peacekeepers. ttwhat has gotten lesstion is the problem of sexual harassment and abusein of women wihe organization. what is being done? the bbc's not aopic -- nada t awfik reports. nada: the united nations is a place of lofty ideals. wi the rise of the "me too" movement, a different side of >>e u.n. flag has come into view. tried to drag into a hotel room. all the women i've spoken to combat is the modus operandi is. : she worked at una for a decade and hrd come for to detail sexual harassment and abuse by her former boss, because she believes this is a systemic problem across the u.n. other women have accused him, one through an official complaint. set a proper investigation was conducted which cleared him of wrongdoing. >>it it angers me becauss precisely why women don't come out to report. women that i knew who tried to repo everything were sidelined and in some cases, whether i