A special report on one of the many victims of fentanyl the powerful painkiller linked to a growing number of drug related deaths. Fentanyls a killer, and those drug dealers are playing russian roulette with our lives. They give our children drugs, and our children, my child, died from it. A report from syria amid claims that rebel held areas were targeted by a suspected chemical attack at the weekend. And its a century since one of the biggest advances in gender equality but most women were still not able to vote. And coming up in sport. Chelsea in trouble again. Could the champions come back from a goal down at watford to avoid a second Straight Premier League defeat . Good evening. Theresa mays decision to rule out being a member of any kind of Customs Union after brexit will result in new trade barriers on British Goods and services. That was the warning delivered by the eus chief brexit negotiator Michel Barnier after talks in downing street today. Mr barnier went further and said the time had come for the uk to choose what sort of relationship it wanted with the eu after leaving. Labour says its foolhardy to reject a Customs Union with the eu which is britains largest trading partner as our Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg reports. In a hurry. Notjust to catch the 1056 from brussels to london. We have not a minute to lose, because we want to achieve a deal. But the eus chief negotiator wants to press on. It is time for bargaining he says as the next round of brexit talks loom. What happens straight after brexit. Do you know what the British Government wants . The two years or so timeframe, not much will change but the real posturing is about the longer term. Theresa may popped in for a drink after reminding her party that she wants out of the Single Market free trade area and the current Customs Union. But she knows, along with these two, there might be mishaps along the way. Our negotiating team is starting straightaway, tomorrow certainly, on an intensive period of negotiation and are confident we can get that agreement. Yet while this might sound elegant in a french accent it is still a warning. Without the Customs Union, outside the Single Market, barriers to trade and goods and services are unavoidable. Time has come to make choice. In other words, foreign secretary and others, make your mind up. The eu has consistently said we cant keep the best bits of the eu without losing somewhere. But that has always been rejected by brexiteers. What my side wants, what most of the country wants is a good deal. The way to get a good deal is to be very clear that we are leaving, we are leaving the Single Market, leaving the Customs Union. The fear of others in the tory party and parliament is that the eurosceptics are too close to no 10. This week the Prime Minister hopes to get the cabinet to find a compromise. What is more important, sticking close to the eu or making the most of freedom outside . Weve heard a lot of, we are not going to do this, we are not going to do that. What are we going to do . That is what were waiting to hear, that is what the 27 countries the uks negotiating with are waiting to hear. In the meantime this uncertainty is really, really bad for business. No 10 has to make bargains within its party as well as with the eu outside. Todays talks were about the eu and the uk plugging back in before the next charged round of negotiations really gets going but arguably for there to be meaningful progress any time soon the uk ministers have to speed up their decisions about their overall approach. None of the questions are easy but after months of squabbling time to discuss becomes time to decide. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. As weve heard, Michel Barnier the eus chief brexit negotiator warned that leaving the Customs Union would bring added trade barriers for the uk. So how would trade between the uk and the European Union be affected by leaving the Customs Union . Our economics editor kamal ahmed is here with more details. Trade matters to the uk economy and ourjobs. We export 28 of everything we make. Our biggest customer is the eu. 43 of all uk exports go there. And to help that trade we are a member of what is called a Customs Union. That means that goods and services can circulate freely throughout the eu with no import taxes and few border checks. Uk farms are able to integrate themselves into supply Chain Networks so farms can have their Manufacturing Networks extend across countries. The second main benefit is that Large Multinational Companies who have located their investment and jobs in the uk in the first place, to take advantage of not just the uk market but also the european market, the third benefit is that as a part of the large eu trading block the uk could extract concessions in negotiating with other countries like china that they might not have got if they were operating individually. The government has made it clear it wants to leave the Customs Union so we are less constrained by eu trade rules but as Michel Barnier made clear today that means taxes and border checks are likely for our exports to the eu, like food and cars. And that is a barrier to trade. And we could respond by applying our own taxes to imports from the eu, which could increase prices. The Prime Minister insists she wants a good trade deal with the eu. She calls it frictionless trade. And for businesses like this steel firm in northern ireland, having no border checks really matters. If anyone can remember back to the days when we did have to stop at the border and we did have customs clearance processes, very very disruptive. Not constructive or helpful to businesses or trading between the countries. The British Government says it wants to throw its trade arms wide and do free trade deals with countries like america and china, prevented at present because we are a member of the Customs Union. Britain is also a large importer of eq goods so brussels will want some form of trade deal. The key Cabinet Committee meetings take place this week. Set with the task of answering the nutty question exactly what our relationship with the eu will look like after we have left. A man accused of hacking into Us Government computers has won a high Court Challenge against his extradition to the United States. Lauri love who has aspergers syndrome a form of autism is alleged to have carried out a series of Cyber Attacks against agencies including nasa and the us army. Butjudges in the uk said it would be oppressive to send him for trial in america where he could have faced a 90 Year Prison Sentence if convicted as our correspondent Daniela Relph reports. For four years, the threat of extradition to the United States had hung over him. Lauri love described it as gnawing away at his soul. Today that threat was lifted. The reason ive gone through this ordeal is notjust to save myself from being kidnapped and locked up for 99 years in a country ive never visited, but it is to set a precedent whereby this will not happen to other people in the future. The appeal courtjudges ruled that lauri love was vulnerable, that extradition to america could lead to severe depression, and make him a suicide risk. And crucially, for his well being, he needed to be close to his parents, here in britain. The relief for lauri love, his family, and supporters is obvious here in court. They believe that this decision isjust and humane. In a spate of online attacks in 2012 and 2013, lauri love is alleged to have hacked into the computers and systems of several Us Government agencies. They include the fbi, the department of defense, the federal reserve, americas central bank, and the space agency nasa. Lauri love was traced via a romanian e mail address and a paypal account. Hes been interviewed here by Britains National crime agency but, as yet, has not been charged. Todays judgment did not rule out a prosecution here in the uk, something his family and his supporters are prepared for. How do you feel about the prospect of a trial here in the uk and a possible jail term . I do trust a trial in the uk. In the us, the chances of me ever getting a trial are quite slim just because people are forced to plead guilty to avoid huge charges, huge sentences that they might face if they take a trial. In the uk, we dont strong arm people into facilitating their own prosecutions. This case has been a strain on the entire love family, especially lauris father, who is a prison chaplain. There is a consensus of agreement about the things that really matter, about decency, about justice, about fairness. Ive always believed to be born in these islands is to win the lottery of life and that what makes britain great makes it great britain, is not our power or our might, but the fact that it is a great place to live. The United States now has two weeks to lodge a request for an appeal hearing at the uk supreme court. The Crown Prosecution Service will also decide whether to bring charges. But, despite the remaining uncertainty, this was a day to celebrate for lauri love. He now wants to focus on his Electrical Engineering degree and is planning to pursue a career in cyber security. Daniela relph, bbc news, at the court of appeal. The leading Stock Market Index has fallen by the biggest modern history. The dow jones fallen by the biggest modern history. The dowjones briefly fell one and 10 from its record high in january. Just tell us about the events of the day and the factors in this fall. What triggered this was on friday when you had a labour report coming out in the us showing stronger than anticipated wage growth. So the expectation is it wages rise people will start ratcheting war and that would push up ratcheting war and that would push up consumer ratcheting war and that would push up Consumer Prices and ben howe would the American Central Bank control that, by increasing Interest Rates. That is the bottom line, investors are concerned, traders are concerned that Interest Rates will rise more rapidly than anticipated in the us. You see this kind of big fall in us markets, there was a possibility of a domino effect on markets around the world whether the uk, europe,japan or china. Markets around the world whether the uk, europe, japan or china. Those countries are impacted by other individual factors countries are impacted by other individualfactors as countries are impacted by other individual factors as well so hard to say how much that will affect the uk market. But on a more fundamental level essentially if you have a high Interest Rate in the us and an investor who has money to spend, they will think he is getting a higher return here so he or she could decide they want to move their money here at the us and that would be moving it away from other parts of the world. It is interesting because this comes less than one week after the state of the Union Address where you had President Trump talking about how stock markets had touched record highs. We have not heard anything from him on this fall today but certainly another record. Thank you for that update. Ministers have confirmed theyre terminating the contract with stagecoach to run the east coast main line. The transport secretary Chris Grayling told mps the company is making significant losses but said there would be no question of a bailout. He insisted there would be no impact on the day to day operations of the railway or on staff. The National Audit office has already launched an investigation into the governments handling of the franchise to provide services on the line between london and edinburgh as our Business Editor simonjack reports. The east coast mainline has been heading for trouble for years. Stagecoach owns 90 of the franchise, and virgin io . Both companies wanted to walk away from the loss they were making in 2020, three years early. Today it became clear they will be getting to the point of collapse even earlier. It has now been confirmed the situation is much more urgent. It is now clear this franchise will only be able to continue in its current form for a matter of a very small number of months and no more. That is because stagecoach has already lost £200 million running the line. This company cannot be allowed to run this franchise and simply make a profit given whats happened. They got their sums wrong and they will pay the price for that, not the taxpayer. He said the option of full nationalisation was very much on the table. It wouldnt be the first time. The government profitably ran the east coast mainline from 2009 to 2015, after National Express admitted defeat two years into a 10 year deal. The secretary of state was very clear that he didnt think either the travelling public or the taxpayer would be affected. Stagecoach is the big loser. But that wont dampen the debate about whether a system that allows stagecoach to potentially keep on running this line, and get awarded an extra year on a profitable contract on the west coast mainline, is a system that is fit for purpose. Youve got people over bidding, over promising, and then not delivering. And on the east coast mainline, were saying that from 2020 to 2023, thats £2 billion that the treasury are not going to receive over that period, as virgin and stagecoach promised. So the system is completely flawed and should be stopped. Stagecoach admitted they got their sums wrong on the east coast. But the profitable west coast franchise was extended today from another two years. Good news for its operators who happen to be virgin and stagecoach. Simon jack, bbc news. A self confessed nazi sympathiser accused of plotting a machete attack the only surviving suspect in the 2015 paris terror attacks has gone on trial in brussels, relating to a gun battle with belgian police. Salah abdeslam, whos charged with possessing illegal weapons and the attempted murder of police officers, refused to stand up in court or answer any questions. Damian grammaticas reports from brussels. 200 armed police ringed the court today, guarding this trial. More than two years after the paris attacks, those in the courtroom strained to get a first glimpse of the only surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam and an accomplice. Abdeslam refused to stand for thejudge, refused even to have his face shown. And he wouldnt answer questions. I dont want to, he said. Later he told the court. Gunshots. When police finally traced and arrested abdeslam in brussels four months after the paris assault, there had been a gun battle. In this trial, he is charged with trying to kill belgian police. Survivors of the paris attacks were here in court to see him face to face for the first time. Philippe duperrons son was one of the 90 killed in Pariss Bataclan theatre. Translation it really was painful to see abdeslam enter in front of us for the first time, to breathe the same air in the same room, but we dont expect he will reveal much. This Court Process is just the first of what are expected to be years worth of trials. Salah abdeslam faces another in france for the paris attacks, and dozens more have been rounded up in the Police Investigations that have followed. In total, since the paris and brussels attacks, around 200 people have been arrested and are now in prison in belgium. The networks have been disrupted, but Anti Terrorist police say the threats remain. Translation the threat is still high. Islamic state has lost its territory, but its members are now dispersed, but it can still inspire others with grievances to carry out attacks. It was the brussels district of mollenbeeck where some of the attackers came from, where Salah Abdeslam lived and was eventually caught. Now, by night, some streets here feel empty. Rules were put in place to stop anti social behaviour, banning gatherings of more than three people after 9pm. We met up with a friend of Salah Abdeslam. He told us, of ten people in theirformer circle, six are now injail, caught up in the waves of arrest. Salah asked me to do things, think god i didnt, or i would be in prison. Others are, because they helped him, but they didnt know what he was up to. He needs to speak and tell the truth. But theres no sign abdeslam will talk, either to help his friends or the victims of the attacks. Damien grammaticas, bbc news, brussels. Fentanyl is an extremely strong painkiller, much more powerful than morphine. Doctors prescribe it in lower doses for cancer patients. But dozens of people have died in britain in the past few years, after taking it to get a high. Today, a 25 year old drug dealer from newport was sentenced to eight years in prison for exporting and selling fenta nyl. Since december 2016, 113 people have died in the uk after overdosing on the drug. Its used worldwide, but 10 of global sales take place here. Jeremy cooke reports on where the drug is coming from, and whos being affected by it. His report contains some flash photography. It looks like chemical warfare. But this is a police raid on a drug dealer who was selling fentanyl over the internet from his home. Kyle enos has now been sentenced to eight years in prison, serious time for a serious drug which has taken lives up and down the country. Robert was 6 foot 5 by two inches wide. Hi, guys he was the kindest, gentlest person in the world. Full of life, full of promise, but when 18 year old Robert Fraser went to buy cannabis, the dealer gave him something new, something different, something deadly. I got a phone call from my ex husband to say hed just walked in and found robert dead in bed. And i just remember thinking, he hasnt said that. He cant have said that. Its not true. Robert knew nothing about fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug which users snort, swallow or inject. Its related to heroin but can be thousands of times more powerful. Fentanyls a killer. And the drug dealers are playing russian roulette with our lives. They give our children drugs and my child died from it. Dealing with fentanyl is a game changer, for the police and Emergency Services and in this government licensed lab. It can be absorbed by the skin, so we just dont want any risk. Theyve been trained to be super careful. Because just a few grains of fenta nyl can kill. So its powerful and cheap, and for dealers that means big profits. Theyve seen it all here. Heroin, cocaine, crystal meth. But nothing like this. Fentanyls just a different category of drug altogether. And the potential harm that they can cause is just way above anything weve had in the past. But where is fentanyl coming from . The bbc is undercover in china on the trail of the suppliers and so a meeting with a Laboratory Boss and his translator. Lets talk business. So ikg of fe nta nyl. China has banned production of some types of fentanyl but labs can work around the law by making small changes in the fentanyl molecule. And theyre happy to ship the drug anywhere in the world. 2,600. Within minutes we are being offered a deal. The bbc bought no drugs but what is clear is that fentanyl is on sale to anyone with the money to buy it. This one is very powerful. Very strong. Yes, very strong. Can you send this to england . Yes, yes, england. From china to britain, uk drug dealers get wholesale deliveries, then break them down to sell on the internet. Really, it looks much like any other online marketplace. Jamie bartlett is an author who writes about the so called dark net, a hidden, unregulated corner of the internet. But you have cannabis, ecstasy, opioids, psychedelic steroids and so on. 408 different offerings of fentanyl on this website alone. Yeah. Fentanyl is a highly dangerous substance. And carfentanyl, an elephant tranquilliser, is still more deadly. It makes all of these products which were never within reach, especially of young people, far more easy to get than ever before. In this part of teesside alone over the past year at least six deaths have been linked to the drug. Kenny was lucky not to be the seventh. Ended up using what i thought was heroin. And turns out it wasnt. What was it . It was fentanyl or ca rfenta nyl, not sure. Kenny has a history of drug abuse and overdo overdosed on fentanyl. Luckily he was in the moses project drop in centre with the antidote nearby. I overdosed, thats as much as i can remember. Injected it and overdosed. I was dead. Seeing red, it was like blood was covering my eyes. The spike of deaths across north east england put fentanyl firmly on the radar of the National Crime agency. They know the drug is taking thousands of lives in america and are determined to stop it here. The nca has prioritised the threat from fentanyl and its analogues back in april last year, and its still priority today. So we have a number of officers working solely on that threat. Michelle knows the cost of fentanyl. How it took roberts life. What it does to families. People are sitting in their bedrooms, clicking a button, and getting it. Why, how . The world i grew up in wasnt like that. And i dont want that future for my little lad either. For my surviving little lad. Michelle is now a campaigner, determined to make us all aware of the dangers of fentanyl, how easy it is to get, how easily it kills. Jeremy cooke, bbc news. Details of organisations offering information and support with addiction are available at bbc. Co. Uk actionline, or you can call for free at any time to hear recorded information the number is 08000155 947. In syria, government and Russian Forces have intensified air strikes against rebel held areas, after rebels shot down a russian fighterjet over the weekend. The strikes include reports of a suspected chemical attack. Syrias government has previously denied using chemical weapons. The latest attack took place in idlib, the last rebel held province in syria. But since the start of the year a number of others have been reported in the damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. This report by nawal al maghafis contains distressing images. A hospital in flames. Here in idlib, a night of intense violence. Rescue workers raced to the scene of the attack. Inside, premature babies now being rescued from the bombing. Exposed to the smoke, they struggle to breathe. Medics attempt to resuscitate them. Only just introduced to the world, theyre now fighting for their lives. Elsewhere, these men are being hosed down after a reported chlorine gas attack. While no one was killed, attacks like this spread fear among the population. The escalation was a response to rebels shooting down a russian jet in the area this weekend. But this year has seen a sharp increase in reported Chemical Attacks. A us draft resolution that would have allowed an independent un body to investigate the Chemical Attacks, was vetoed by russia late last year. It was the ninth time russia used its un power to block action targeting its ally, syria. Today, the us expressed his frustration. It is a true tragedy that russia has sent us back to square one in the effort to end chemical weapons use in syria. The besieged damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta has seen for reported Chemical Attacks since the start of the year. Without weapons inspectors on the ground, activists have taken to documenting them. This is one of them. Three were hit today, in the morning. Now werejust. Boom along with shelling and air strikes, they have become a terrifying prospect for civilians. Translation we were sleeping. My wife woke up and said, i can smell the chlorine. We closed the windows and covered ourselves with blankets. We can withstand it but the children cant. We have to be rushed to hospital. The Syrian Government denies using chemical weapons. This war, now entering its eighth year, has devastated the country and its people. And with International Diplomacy failing, syrias war seems far from over. Nawal al maghafi, bbc news. Tomorrow marks a century since women over the age of 30, who owned property or were graduates, won the right to vote under the representation of the people act 1918, which was passed by the Coalition Government led by Prime Minister david lloyd george. It would be another decade before all women over the age of 21, regardless of property or education, were allowed to vote. Sarah smith reports on the the events of 1918, a milestone in the struggle for gender equality. The palace of westminster was built as an exclusively all male club. No women allowed. So suffragettes often targeted parliament itself. Four of them chained themselves to these statues in 1909. Their militant behaviour was then used as an argument for why votes for women would be exceedingly dangerous. Hidden beneath those corridors of power, there is an intriguing memorial to the suffragette movement. In 1911, thousands of women tried to avoid being registered in the census. Emily davidson said if women dont count, then neither shall we be counted. Emily davidson spent the night hiding behind this door in a broom cupboard underneath westminster hall. She was discovered in here, so she was registered in the census as being resident in the house of commons. Commentary a woman runs out. There is a fall. Davidson did not live long enough to see women win the vote. She died in 1913, after running into the path of the kings horse at the epsom derby. But she may not have intended to kill herself. This is the actual scarf Emily Davidson had with her that
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