this september record—breaking heatwave is set to continue and we've provisionally had the hottest day of the year so far. and on bbc london... a nationwide manhunt continues for an escapee who broke out of wandsworth prison. we speak to a former inmate who knew daniel khalife. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a huge manhunt is under way for the former soldier who escaped from wandsworth prison yesterday morning. more than 150 officers and staff from the metropolitan police's counterterrorism unit are trying to track down daniel khalife, who was accused of gathering information for iran. he strapped himself under a food delivery van, still dressed as a prison chef. tonight, police say he has not been seen, but they have been giving more details about how he got out. we begin with our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. wandsworth prison this afternoon, the day after the infamous escape, and a clear view of the kitchen block and the short route to freedom that daniel khalife took yesterday while strapped to the underside of a food delivery truck. he was in the prison while awaiting trial for charges that included allegedly trying to spy for iran or obtain information useful to an enemy, to use the exact words. yesterday morning, daniel khalife was working in the kitchen at wandsworth prison. this is around 50 metres from the nearest gate. at 7.32, a food truck that had been making a delivery drove out of the prison through that gate. it will have passed through the airlock, where it should have been stopped for a security check. soon afterwards, it became clear that khalife was missing. the prison went into lockdown and when there was no sign of him, the police were called. the police stopped and searched the truck. they found strapping underneath which he is thought to have used to hold himself under the vehicle, but there was no sign of khalife. this is the kind of truck that he was hanging under as he made his escape, and this the journey that the vehicle took across london before being stopped at 8.37. khalife must escaped somewhere on route. we khalife must escaped somewhere on route. ~ ., ., , route. we have some of the highest trained military _ route. we have some of the highest trained military in _ route. we have some of the highest trained military in the _ route. we have some of the highest trained military in the world - trained military in the world here in the uk, and daniel khalife was trained by the uk military. he will be a resource for individuals. that's important to remember when trying to find him. figs that's important to remember when trying to find him.— trying to find him. as the police continue their— trying to find him. as the police continue their manhunt, - trying to find him. as the police continue their manhunt, the - trying to find him. as the police - continue their manhunt, the justice continue their manhunt, thejustice secretary launched an immediate independent inquiry. h0 secretary launched an immediate independent inquiry.— secretary launched an immediate independent inquiry. no stone must be left unturned _ independent inquiry. no stone must be left unturned in _ independent inquiry. no stone must be left unturned in getting - independent inquiry. no stone must be left unturned in getting to - independent inquiry. no stone must be left unturned in getting to the i be left unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened. he was on duty that morning, in what roles? ranging from the prison to the kitchen gate, what protocols were in place? were they followed? yesterday's escape raises fundamental concerns about the security culture at wandsworth prison. some people are kept in prison ahead of their trial in order to protect the public and to make sure they don't run away. but lacks checks here seem to have allowed khalife to do exactly that. there's no doubt something went catastrophically wrong with the cheques on the truck and the counting of prisoners working in the kitchen before it was allowed to leave. but union officials say individual officers shouldn't be blamed in ajail individual officers shouldn't be blamed in a jail that is woefully short of staff. i’m blamed in a jail that is woefully short of staff.— blamed in a jail that is woefully short of staff. i'm sure one of the thins short of staff. i'm sure one of the things they _ short of staff. i'm sure one of the things they will _ short of staff. i'm sure one of the things they will be _ short of staff. i'm sure one of the things they will be looking - short of staff. i'm sure one of the things they will be looking at - short of staff. i'm sure one of the things they will be looking at is i things they will be looking at is how wandsworth has been left so depleted of staff. i hope it doesn't just focus on pointing the finger at a prison officer or prison officers. a year ago, daniel khalife was still working out this barracks in staffordshire, the base for some of the uk's high—tech forces. police today described him as a very resourceful individual who had shown some ingenuity in his escape. tonight, he is still on the run. prison escapes are rare. when a prisoner escapes, what happens? what do the police prioritise in their search? we asked simon harding, a former coutner terrorism officer, to take us through the first hours and days of what a manhunt looks like. in the first hour, the police will be looking for that quick win to try and find him as quickly as possible. that would come straight away with the cctv that is inside the prison and also outside the prison. local officers in the wandsworth area and probably other areas would come to help to try and find him, and then of course, the counterterrorism police who are responsible for him, who are the people taking him to court for the offences he has committed, would be involved. the presumption is that he has no money and nothing else with him to be able to travel. so they will monitor the 999 system to see if there have been any incidents in that vicinity at that time. for example, he's taken a car by force or robbed somebody, whatever it might be, in an ability to get either clothing or finance, whatever it might be. in the first 2a hours, officers who are looking for him would be looking for associates, looking for somebody who may even be helping him supporting in his escape. they will look at family and friends and speak to them, also to try and coax him back in if he makes contact with them, to try and say to him, give yourself up. a manhunt has been launched... when you don't necessarily know where he's gone because you're waiting for things to happen and waiting for intelligence to come back, you can use the media and that media appeal to the public, to help you. he escaped in the early hours of the morning, so going through the day, he had quite a number of hours before the hours of darkness, for example. the presumption is really that he's going to have to put his head down at some stage. he will have to find somewhere to go to sleep. if he hasn't got anyone helping him do that, then he is likely to find an area where he is out of the view of the public. there is plenty of woodland around that area as you go away from that part of london, so they will be searching with helicopters with heat—seeking ability to identify if anybody might be sleeping rough. in week one as they've gathered cctv and more intelligence, they will be looking at whether or not he was supported before the escape and then potentially supported afterwards as well. there isn't going to be a safe place for him in the uk, so his intention will be to get away. of course, if he isn't supported, how does he get out of the country? he's going to have to look at those methods, almost similar to those he deployed to get out of the prison itself, looking at a lorry to get looking at a lorry to get into the back or strapping himself underneath a lorry again to get out of the country. these are things, in desperation, that he's going to have to do. simon harding, former counterterrorism officer. daniel sandford is with me. the first hours are clearly crucial. we are now into 36 hours since he escaped. it's been 36 hours since he escaped. it's been 36 hours since he escaped. it's been 36 hours at — 36 hours since he escaped. it's been 36 hours at 7.30 — 36 hours since he escaped. it's been 36 hours at 7.30 this _ 36 hours since he escaped. it's been 36 hours at 7.30 this evening, - 36 hours since he escaped. it's been 36 hours at 7.30 this evening, so . 36 hours since he escaped. it's been j 36 hours at 7.30 this evening, so we are now a full day and a half coming up. the police have been clear that they haven't really got any definite sightings of him. they are very gratefulfor more than sightings of him. they are very grateful for more than 50 phone calls from the public, but nothing that has really given them that immediate breakthrough. they have got 150 police officers and staff working on the case, but you can start to see that they are realising that this is something that may not be a straightforward manhunt. they are starting to talk about the resourcefulness of khalife, his ingenuity, his army training. i think it's starting to occur to them that some of the things that he learned in the army and his genuine ingenuity anyway might be causing issues. ., ~ ingenuity anyway might be causing issues. . ~ ., . ~ issues. talking of which, the met have 'ust issues. talking of which, the met have just released _ issues. talking of which, the met have just released an _ issues. talking of which, the met have just released an image - issues. talking of which, the met have just released an image of. issues. talking of which, the met l have just released an image of the van that he escaped under? yes. have just released an image of the van that he escaped under? yes, you saw an image — van that he escaped under? yes, you saw an image of _ van that he escaped under? yes, you saw an image of a _ van that he escaped under? yes, you saw an image of a truck _ van that he escaped under? yes, you saw an image of a truck like - van that he escaped under? yes, you saw an image of a truck like this - van that he escaped under? yes, you saw an image of a truck like this in i saw an image of a truck like this in our report, but that is the first image we have seen of the actual vehicle that he was travelling under. he is probably that meant he was possibly not under it at the time that picture was taken. he probably got off at some point between leaving the prison and reaching upper richmond road, but there is a considerable space under there, and you can see those bars on there, and you can see those bars on the side that might have helped him to support himself under the truck with that strapping. at some point, he has got off. initially, he would have been wearing those very distinctive cook's outfit, the red and white checked trousers and a white t—shirt. but 36 hours on, he might have been able to find alternative clothing, so things are starting to get more difficult. find starting to get more difficult. and absolutely no _ starting to get more difficult. and absolutely no sightings, that is what the police are saying? no confirmed sightings at all. daniel sandford, thank you very much. the rest of the news now. a police investigation is to be launched into dozens of baby deaths and injuries at a hospital trust. the maternity units at nottingham university hospitals nhs trust are already being examined in a review by senior midwife donna 0ckenden. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has the details. nottinghamshire police say they are following a meeting with donna 0ckenden, the chair of the independent investigation, to discuss what they called cases of significant concern where they decided to launch a criminal investigation. there is a development many of the family is harmed by the trust have been pushing for. they have long argued that the trust's inability to provide safe maternity care to investigate and harm caused is evidence of camilla behaviour. i have been talking to the hawkins family, whose daughter harriet died in 2016 due to maternity errors. i think the thing that really makes me emotional is that the families in nottinghamshire are the ones that are serving the life sentence, not the people that failed us, not the people that have conducted the cover—up, and there needs to be accountability for that. around 1800 cases are going to be investigated by this independent review into poor maternity care, even before it finishes its work, we know that dozens of babies died or were harmed because of poor maternity care. this police investigation, however, raises the possibility of individual clinicians being charged for some of that poor care. there is likely to be a long and complex police investigation. tonight, the nottingham university hospitals trust said they would co—operate fully with the police and they remained committed to improving their maternity services.— their maternity services. michael, thank yom _ network rail has admitted a series of failings which led to the death of three people in a train derailment in aberdeenshire in 2020. six others were injured when a train struck a landslide caused by heavy rain. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. the twisted wreckage of the derailed train, network read today in court pleading guilty to the charges, admitting that a series of failings contributed to the crash in which three people died. my contributed to the crash in which three people died.— contributed to the crash in which three people died. my lord, i appear on behalf of— three people died. my lord, i appear on behalf of network _ three people died. my lord, i appear on behalf of network rail _ on behalf of network rail infrastructure limited, which please go to the charge in this indictment. there had been heavy rain that day. it called gravel from a poorly constructed ditch to wash onto the track. in sombre courtroom language, thejudge was told track. in sombre courtroom language, the judge was told that the train had been travelling at 73 miles an hour and that the driver had insufficient time, just three and a half seconds, to avoid the danger ahead. , , , , half seconds, to avoid the danger ahead. , ,, , , ., half seconds, to avoid the danger ahead. , ahead. despite his efforts to slow the train using _ ahead. despite his efforts to slow the train using the _ ahead. despite his efforts to slow the train using the emergency - ahead. despite his efforts to slow . the train using the emergency brake, the train using the emergency brake, the driver of the train was unable to stop prior to the debris on the track. the train struck the debris, derailed and collided with a bridge parapet. this caused the train to veer off the bridge and down the steep embankment below the bridge. 0ne steep embankment below the bridge. one of the passengers who was on the train has for the first time given an account of what happened. it was like floating or sliding, like when you aquaplaning a car. i was thrown across the carriage, she said, adding, i hit theirwindow across the carriage, she said, adding, i hit their window head on and i was knocked out. three people died from their injuries. the train driver, the conductor and a passenger. his family said their lives had changed forever. ihla passenger. his family said their lives had changed forever. no chance to hold his hand _ lives had changed forever. no chance to hold his hand or— lives had changed forever. no chance to hold his hand or take _ lives had changed forever. no chance to hold his hand or take care - lives had changed forever. no chance to hold his hand or take care of- to hold his hand or take care of him. no chance to say goodbye. the level of incompetence and negligence which became apparent through this investigation beggars belief. this accident was preventable. the prosecution — accident was preventable. the prosecution said _ accident was preventable. the prosecution said network rail had made some notable changes since the derailment, including a more precautionary approach to forecasts of extreme weather and speed restrictions. the rail operator said they were working hard to make the railway safer for passengers and staff. lorna gordon, bbc news, the high court in aberdeen. a 23—year—old serving metropolitan police officer has appeared in court charged with rape and threatening to kill — after a woman was allegedly attacked and forced into a car. our special correspondent lucy manning is at scotland yard. pc cliff mitchell was arrested on tuesday after a member of the public found a distressed woman in south—west london. it's alleged that the woman had been attacked in a property and then forced into a car. when the metropolitan police investigated, they discovered the suspect was a member of their own force, pc mitchell, and he was then arrested. in court today at westminster magistrates�* court, the court heard an allegation that he held the woman at knife—point. the met said in a statement that he was not on duty at the time and the woman was known to him. he has now been suspended. he has been charged with six counts of rate, not keeping to a non—molestation order and with threats to kill. and the court heard that he was finishing the second year of a three—year apprenticeship with the met, and the met obviously this year has to improve its vetting of officers. some officers have been re—vetted. the met said in a statement that this arrest was extremely concerning and it was passing the details on to the police watchdog. five former met police officers have admitted sending grossly offensive racist messages on whatsapp, including about the duchess of sussex. it comes after an investigation by bbc newsnight. the men, all in their 60s, pleaded guilty at westminster magistrates�* court. other messages referenced the prince and princess of wales, queen elizabeth ii and prince philip. first it was schools, now it�*s theatres that are being forced to close their doors because of concerns over crumbling concrete. raac has been found in theatres in dartford, cardiff, northampton and carlisle, from where our north of england correspondent danny savage reports. # and i saw herface # now i�*m a believer...# this should be on stage in carlisle this week but there is no fairy tale ending for shrek the musical in cumbria. the show has been cancelled. it is a really interesting building, it is this high level we are interested in... this auditorium�*s roof is constructed of raac concrete. government guidance means expert engineers will not now sign off the use of this building. and theyjust kind of laughed at me and said, "of course we won�*t." we will not do that and therefore, if i can�*t get any support out there as a surveyor, i�*m not going to be able to sign this off and regretfully i�*ve got to say to the council, my recommendation is you don�*t use the space. as with some other buildings affected by this issue, it hasn�*t led to the closure of the whole site. so here at the sands centre in carlisle, this auditorium, built in the mid—1980s, is now completely closed and out of bounds but the adjoining leisure centre, built much more recently, is open for business as usual. the knock—on effect is huge, the wider economic impact as well. we look at the pubs around, the hotels, the staff that might have been working here, it isjust really, really disappointing. in northampton, the royal and derngate theatres have also been closed due to worries about crumbling concrete. engineers are on site and some performers have planned to go elsewhere. comedian tim vine has had to find another venue orface not performing here. i am making light of it because i�*m a comic but for these theatres, like the orchard theatre in dartford, another wonderful theatre, this is a real problem. so i hope they can sort it very soon and get back to the normal business of putting shows on because that�*s what we all want. the orchard theatre in dartford and st david�*s hall in cardiff have also had to be closed. these are just four of several theatres and concert halls all built in the same era, all with the same problem of discredited concrete construction. danny savage, bbc news. the time is 20 minutees past six. our top story this evening... a huge manhunt is under way, 36 hours after this terror suspect escaped from it once was prison and police say they have been no confirmed sightings of him and coming up, why doctors coming up in sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, we look ahead to the rugby world cup that starts tomorrow, all four home nations have named their teams, johnny sexton returned for ireland. dozens of young autistic people have died after serious failings in their care despite repeated warnings from coroners. a bbc investigation found issues that were flagged a decade ago are still being warned about now. the government says more than £4 million is being invested to improve services. 0ur correspondent ruth clegg reports. a warning that some viewers may find this story upsetting. well, he radiated purity and warmth and he was just the sweetest young man that you could find. this is called a mallet. this is sammy. he loved to help people and build things. this is my lego plane. but he needed help too. he was autistic and had a rare neurological condition called prader—willi syndrome. it meant that the world sometimes for sammy became too much. i called them episodes, where he would lose control and his life had to be saved during those times. the family begged social services for more support but little help came. and then, one morning, what she feared the most happened. there was a policeman in my house. he came upstairs and said there was a boy at the bottom of the cliff. so i knew it was sammy. straightaway. during one of his episodes, sammy ran away and fell from a cliff near their house. he died in hospitalfour days later. he wasjust 13. the coroner told local and national authorities to take action, warning that if autistic children were not able to access vital services, more may die. patricia hoped that this would save other families from the same heartbreak. but our investigation has found dozens of other young autistic people have died following serious failings in their care, despite repeated warnings from coroners. of the 51 cases that we identified, nearly a third were children. stephan was one of those children, another autistic child unable to access vital support. what message does that give? what message does that give to stephan? people we have met who their children have died, all they heard was, this is what we provide, you can�*t access it so there must be something wrong with you. stefan died two years after sammy. the same coroner was critical of the same local services. hello, you. it�*s lovely to see you. now their mums share the same grief. that local health authority, kent and medway, said it has made changes to its services to better support young people with complex needs and the government told us it is investing £4 million to improve services on a national level. emma and patricia are now fighting to see change. let�*s look at services that are much more appropriate for that group of young people and maybe we would have less children dying. two mums determined for their sons�* names to be remembered. ruth clegg, bbc news. if you have been affected by any of theissues if you have been affected by any of the issues mentioned in that report there is help on the bbc website and you can go to the bbc action line website. the uk is rejoining the eu�*s flagship scientific research scheme called horizon. it means britain�*s scientists and universities can now apply for money from a fund worth more than £80 billion. it has happened because the government has finally reached agreement on rejoining the scheme two years after being pushed out because of a post—brexit row with the eu. 0ur political correspondent jessica parkerjoins us now. a highy significant moment for the scientific community. what does it do to the uk�*s relationship with the eu? the champagne — relationship with the eu? tue champagne corks relationship with the eu? tte champagne corks will relationship with the eu? "ttj: champagne corks will be relationship with the eu? ttj: champagne corks will be popping amongst the scientific community but it is important to remember this deal regarding arising, that it is not some shiny new arrangement that was never before envisaged, it was always supposed to be part of a post—brexit plan but it got tangled up post—brexit plan but it got tangled up in badly delayed because of the row about northern ireland —— about horizon. it was the deal done on northern ireland in pedri that was the building block for this agreement and other areas of cooperation —— in february. the eu and uk are looking to strengthen ties in areas like financial services and migration and whilst those agreements may be significant within their sector is, overall they are still incremental adjustments to the relationship rather than on the mentally changing it after brexit. rishi sunak as prime minister has shown himself as being inclined towards cooperating and compromising with brussels as well but this relationship between the eu and uk will always be evolving dependent to some extent on the politics in russell and also depending on who is sat behind the desk in downing street. with huge pressure on gp surgeries, people are constantly looking for ways to ease the pressure on doctors. one idea that has had some success was to allow gps to prescribe free heating to patients who were suffering because of the cold. and it seemed to work, with patients making fewer trips to see their doctor. most of the people involved in the trial were over 65 and had breathing problems, many were from low income households, and their heating bill last winter was paid for by a private company. 0ur cost of living correspondent colletta smith has the story. retired bin manjames has a lung condition that makes moving about difficult. you�*re gasping for air. it�*s not nice, it really is not nice. but last winter was different because his heating came on prescription from his doctor. along with more than 800 others in this trial, the winter bill was paid upfront to his energy account. i just felt safe. and it was easing the pressure on us, the pressure i had to pay things. i'd like to make an appointment to see the doctor please. no problem. and that is something that researchers from sheffield hallam university saw as they tracked patients over the last year — a big boost in how people were feeling and emerging evidence of fewer trips to the doctor than would have been expected. you want people to be out there, healthy, living well in the community. that came with financial benefits for the doctors involved. whether they come to us, whether they go to a&e, whether they call an ambulance, for example, and all of those different things have got different costs associated with them. invest in this intervention and it helps not only the patient but actually the wider community. researchers say it is still too early to say if the long—term benefit to the nhs would be more than the £1000 price tag per patient, but former home secretary amber rudd says this pilot has proven that targeted energy help works. what we have shown is that there is a way of targeting to the most vulnerable by using existing data which is already collected and making sure that you actually keep people warm in their homes. so i hope that government will look at this as a way of delivering more support for the most vulnerable. the governments in england and scotland say they will take note of the findings but for now, james is back tojuggling the bills and trying to keep well this winter. colletta smith, bbc news, in middlesbrough. 0rganisers have hailed what they say will be the most competitive rugby union world cup ever which gets under way in paris tomorrow. the opening match is between france and new zealand, but there have been security concerns after the chaotic scenes at last year�*s champions league final in the capital. the french government has told the bbc they have learned from what happened and that fans will be safe. from paris, our sports editor, dan roan, reports. already one of the countries most in love with rugby union, france is readying itself to play host to the game�*s biggest stars and millions of fans. and as last—minute preparations continued here in paris ahead of tomorrow�*s opening match, the man in charge told me that this was a moment for the sport to cherish. huge atmosphere. i was in toulouse at the weekend, a real rugby capital in france, and it�*s everywhere. we know that this will be the biggest, the most watched, the most engaged rugby event of all time and it will be the most competitive world cup ever. there are genuinely more teams who can make the knockout stages, get to a final and ultimately win it than we have ever had before. and among the favourites are ireland. the six nations champions ranked the top team in the world, thousands of locals turn out to welcome them at their training base in tours this week. we have built this moment for the last four years, really. and so when it�*s finally here, the nerves do come in. we arejust planning on embracing them and going to play our best. ireland kick off their campaign against minnows romania on saturday before england start against argentina as underdogs after a troubled build—up. on sunday, scotland have the toughest of openers, reigning champions south africa. and then wales meet a dangerous fiji. all four fixtures taking place in the sweltering heat of southern france. having travelled to the capital from their base in lyon by train, meanwhile, three times winners new zealand have been preparing for a blockbuster opening match against the hosts. these france players know that if they can beat the all blacks here tomorrow, they will get their own tournament off to the perfect start at a challenging time for rugby union, with the sport more generally under unprecedented scrutiny over its handling of head injuries. but there is much at stake for the host country as well, with the olympics coming here to paris next year. last year, liverpool fans were tear gassed and kettled in chaotic scenes here at the champions league final. a report found the french authorities responsible and raised concerns over the world cup. with record numbers of police now being deployed. can you guarantee fans coming to this world cup will be safe? yes. they will be safe. we are ready in france. we have learned a lot from what happened one year ago and i think both in terms of governance, in terms of anticipating the various risks, of coordinating the response, we are more ready than ever. 20 teams will play in a competition stretched over seven weeks and across nine venues, the hosts desperate to put on a show with a first ever win. time for a look at the weather. more record weather? indeed, we have already seen the hottest day of the year so far today, 32.6 celsius at wisley in summer so that rounds up to 33 degrees in a september heatwave which in its own right is a record as we have now seen more than three days consecutively over 30 celsius and above and we have even got a perhaps reaching close to the mid 30s heading into the weekend so this is an exceptional heatwave for the time of year. are very warm and muqqy time of year. are very warm and muggy end to the night, those that are still in northern ireland and western will trundle into the northern isles and we will start the low cloud bring into eastern scotland and north—east england. very warm and muggy in the south, temperatures note lower than 19 or 20 degrees in some places but we start off dry and warm and muggy, the low cloud and mist and work in north—east scotland an animal will burn back to the coast, a bit of how a cloud developing in central and southern england and