over the reins and retire. and coming up in the sport on bbc news. with severe thunderstorms on the horizon, the course at augusta has been cleared ahead of this the start of this year's masters. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a service of hope and reconciliation has been held in westminster abbey — a fortnight after the attack near the houses of parliament. khalid masood drove a car into pedestrians on westminster bridge, killing three people, and fatally stabbing a police officer, before he was shot dead. the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harryjoined families and the emergency services attending the multi—faith service. ina in a moment we will be for the first time from melissa cochrane who was injured in the attack and whose husband was killed. but first. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. you lot, get undercover now! get undercover! two weeks ago the area around the abbey at westminster was caught up in the chaos of that afternoon. nearby on westminster bridge, there were casualties. closer still, just inside the gates of the houses of parliament, an unarmed police officer was killed. one of the four innocent people who died that day. gunshots. two weeks after those events at westminster abbey, a service symbolising hope. leaders of the different faith communities from across the united kingdom werejoined in the congregation by the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry, together with members of the emergency services, some of the bereaved families, and some of those who were injured. candles were lit to represent the light which can never be extinguished by the darkness of terror. in his address, the dean of westminster recalled that amongst those who were directly affected by the attack were people from britain and 12 other nations. he posed the question so many have asked. why? what could possibly motivate a man to hire a car and take it from birmingham to brighton, to london, and then drive it fast at people he'd never met, couldn't possibly know, against whom he had no personal grudge, no reason to hate them. and then run at the gates of the palace of westminster to cause another death. we weep for the violence. for the hatred. for the loss of life. for all that divides and spoils our world. prayers were offered pledging respect between different communities. the best of muslims is the one who utters beautiful words. who does virtuous deeds. two weeks after the westminster attack, from an ancient abbey which has borne witness to so much, a message of hope. nicholas witchell, bbc news. one of those attending the service was melissa cochrane — she and her husband kurt were both hit by khalid masood's car on westminster bridge. kurt was killed, melissa suffered a broken leg, broken ribs and a gash to the head. that day had been part of the trip of lifetime, they'd travelled from their home in utah through europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. earlier today melissa spoke exclusively to me about her memories of the attack and of her husband. kurt was probably the best man i have ever met. he was sweet and kind. andi have ever met. he was sweet and kind. and i am extremely proud of him and very happy that the world now knows what a wonderful man he was. he would probably hate all the publicity that is going on, he is a very private kind of person. very generous, very sweet. the love of my life. what can you remember about that day. we were just having another wonderful day in our vacation. just enjoying the sights, taking pictures, making our way to the abbey. i do not remember much after that. crossing the bridge and we we re after that. crossing the bridge and we were almost there. you have no recollection of the car and the attack itself? i don't. there is a photograph that has been printed, i imagine you're aware of it, you're on the ground being helped by a passer—by. on the ground being helped by a passer-by. i do recall all of that. and the panic, you know, of not being able to see my husband anywhere. already know what was kind of going on. it was quite scary. and when did you find out that kurt had been killed? it was after my surgery on my leg, i had come out of recovery and they placed me in a hospital room. my parents had come to visit. and they were there waiting for me when i came out. i asked them to find out what had happened to my husband. my parents walked out of the room and came back in and they both took my hand and said he did not make it. which, you know, crushed me. very strikingly the press conference were so many members of your family came and stood in solidarity with you. and also said that your husband would not have felt ill will towards his attacker. i think that would surprise a lot of people. attacker. i think that would surprise a lot of peoplelj attacker. i think that would surprise a lot of people. i could not heal my injuries or as a person ifi not heal my injuries or as a person if i had hatred in my heart. and kurt would not want that either. so there is no hate. melissa cochrane , whose husband died in the westminster attack, talking to me earlier. the un security council is holding an emergency session to discuss the suspected gas attack on a rebel—held town in syria. —— has held. the attack is believed to have killed more than 70 people, including children. the syrian government has denied responsibility, while its ally russia says the gas came from rebel weapons on the ground. but those claims have been widely rejected by western governments, as our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports. all this five—year—old knows is he went to sleep in his spider—man suit and he woke up in a nightmare. now he's in hospital bed, grandparents at his side. the many victims of a toxic cloud which enveloped their village yesterday. breathing in poisonous gases as they slept. my grandchildren were sleeping, eve ryo ne grandchildren were sleeping, everyone woke up to a loud noise. they went outside and that is when they came across the chemical attack. they just fell to they came across the chemical attack. theyjust fell to the they came across the chemical attack. they just fell to the floor and died. world leaders arriving here in brussels this morning have seen attacks in syria time and again. many in no doubt who was behind this latest atrocity. again. many in no doubt who was behind this latest atrocitylj again. many in no doubt who was behind this latest atrocity. i have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that, or rather to lead us to think that, or rather to lead us to think that it that, or rather to lead us to think thatitis that, or rather to lead us to think that it is anything but the regime. i called out to the un chief, was this attack a test of the un resolve ? this attack a test of the un resolve? i do not think we need to quantify if it is a test or not, everything we do is a test to some extent. but every attack in syria... with every attack in syria, the words grow stronger. but they are essentially the same. condemnation of yet another atrocity, calls for an investigation and warnings of a price to pay. but time and again it is syrian civilians who continue to pay the heaviest price of all. russia says the syrian military did carry out an air strike. but its military spokesman said they struck what he called a terrorist warehouse with an arsenal of toxic substances. a weapons expert told the bbc the chemicals were most probably dropped from the air. the claim is implausible if the facility on the ground was hit by munitions dropped from the air you would get other materials as well as the particularly poisonous materials being spread. they have been accidents in production plants before, these have not produced the same kind of spread of materials as we are seeing here and this leads me on the evidence we can see so far to believe that this poison was from weapons dropped from the air. this horrific attack is the deadliest that syria has seen in four years. the world said then that president assad the world said then that president assa d ha d the world said then that president assad had to give up all his chemical weapons. but it is clear that syria is still a country with the worst kind of buttons and the will to use them. —— weapons. nick bryant is at the un headquarters in new york. the un security council has been meeting today to draft a resolution about the suspected chemical attacks but there have some very bad tempered exchanges. a very angry and impassioned emergency meeting of the security council this morning. and the british ambassador pointing the finger of blame at the assad regime. but also blasting russia and china for vetoing un resolution interbreed that would have imposed sanctions on the assad regime for using chemical weapons in previous attacks. he said that it sends a message of encouragement to damascus. but by far the most dramatic and electrifying moment came when the champ administration ambassador spoke. she got up to her feet which is rare in the security council and she branded photographs of the children who had died and asked pointedly of the russians, how many children need to die before russia ca res. the european parliament has voted to take a tough stance on brexit negotiations, setting out "red lines" that can't be crossed. there were heated exchanges as nigel farage accused meps of behaving like the mafia, while the parliament's brexit negotiator blamed brexit on a "catfight" in the conservative party. from strasbourg, our europe correspondent damian grammaticas has more. it began cordial enough. smiles, genuine or not, between the architect of brexit and the man who says britain must pay billions. he's michel barnier, the eu's chief negotiator. today the european parliament backed his demand. the leader of the socialist group said the uk must pay its bill. it's like moving house, he said. "the gas bill, the electricity, it all has to be settled", he said. nigel farage laughed that off. but he had a riposte of his own, as soon as he was on his feet his tone changed. he said the eu was being vindictive and nasty, making impossible demands. you're behaving like the mafia. you think we're a hostage, we're not. we're free to go. groans at the mafia comparison stopped him mid—flow. then this, from the parliament's italian president. "i'm sorry, mr farage", he interrupted, "but saying this parliament is behaving like the mafia is unacceptable". ok — all right. it's a sign of how fractious the real negotiations could become. michel barnier responded that he will not punish the uk, only ask that it live up to its financial obligations. and he said they will have to agree the separation terms before trade talks can begin. the sooner we agree on the principles of a withdrawal, the sooner we can prepare our future relation. amongst the parliament's other demands, that the uk can have no special access to the eu single market for sectors like financial services. the reason this debate matters is that this parliament will have a vote in two years' time on any brexit deal. yes or no. if it doesn't like it, it can throw it out, scupper the whole thing. a different future was laid out, too, where a young generation of britons want to rejoin the eu. a young generation that will see brexit for what it really is, a catfight in the conservative party that got out of hand. a loss of time, a waste of energy. and, i think, a stupidity. but for now the eu is readying in what it says will be a tough negotiating position. damian grammaticas, bbc news, strasbourg. our top story this evening. melissa cochrane whose husband was killed in the westminster attacks speaks for the first time as a service of hope is held at westminster abbey. and we get exclusive access behind the teams at gchq. coming up in sportsday on bbc news. the manchester city boss pep guardiola has praised his chelsea counterpart antonio conte — saying he "may be the world's best manager", ahead of tonight's crunch premier league meeting. a bbc investigation has found that thousands of families across britain have been left worse off by the cap on benefits introduced late last year. the total amount of benefits a family can receive is now £20,000 and £23,000 in london. the bbc‘s panorama programme surveyed councils across britain and discovered that 67,000 households have been affected. and more than 7,500 families are now getting just 50p a week in housing benefit — though they can apply for help from a government fund. the government says the policy will encourage people back to work. richard bilton reports. this is where i sit in the day and this is where i sleep at night. the benefits cap has turned her life upside down. this is where i put a few toiletries in. her benefits were cut by em; few toiletries in. her benefits were cut by £41; a week last november, she was evicted and made homeless. sarah has seven kids, four were living with her, but now they have gone. i've got no choice to basically leave them where they are the time being. it absolutely kills me inside. but there is nothing i can do about it. at the way, out the way. steve and kim are struggling to keep their home, they have four children and their benefits have been reduced by £120 a week, it is taken from their housing benefit which has been cut to just 50p a week. it is only 50p per week, £2 a month, but it is costing more to send out the letter. £20,000 a year does sound a lot but it isn't a lot really. by the time you have paid your gas and electricity and rent, council tax and food shopping," the kids, school trips, the weekly money soon goes “— kids, school trips, the weekly money soon goes —— close for the kids. kids, school trips, the weekly money soon goes -- close for the kids. the government says these families are still getting £20,000 year government says these families are still getting £20 , 000 year another benefits and that is as much as otherfamilies benefits and that is as much as other families who are working on. the benefit cap is trying to change the gap and fundamentally what we have tried to do is to incentivise work because we know the outcomes for children will be better if they are infamilies for children will be better if they are in families who are working. neither kim or steve have been in work for nearly nine years because of injury and ill—health if they could find work between them, their benefit cap would be lifted. steve says he would like to find a job.|j would like to stand on my own two feet rather than the light on benefits. i don't want to rely on benefits. i don't want to rely on benefits. sarah is no longer on her sister's sofa and she has been given a house but she is not looking for work because her life is still chaotic. and without benefits she can't bring her children home. it's all the fault of this stupid benefit cap and if it wasn't for that i would not be living like this and my money would not have been stopped my kids still be with me. about 596 of those caps have returned to work and those caps have returned to work and those that don't return to work are having their lives changed. and you can see more on that story in a bbc panorama special tonight at 9pm on bbc one. four british muslim leaders have met pope francis in rome as part of efforts to improve relations between christians and muslims. it's the first time a formal delegation of imams from britain has gone to the vatican. from rome, here's our religious affairs correspondent martin bashir. in a city where christians once feared to tread, four muslim leaders arrived for a meeting that intentionally crossed the borders of their own religion. the four imams that serve communities in leicester, birmingham, glasgow and london, were taken to the vatican's inner sanctum. and then the doors opened. pope francis said such an interfaith gathering brought greatjoy, that it furthered the most important work of humanity, that of listening to one another. and then he greeted each of the imams and even welcomed our bbc team. lovely to meet you, sir. thank you so much for allowing us to be here. islam gets a very bad press as you know because of some muslims who have behaved in an unislamic way. but for the pope, whose beliefs are so different to that of islam, yet for him to acknowledge that islam is a religion of peace, is a very powerful message and i hope muslims are listening, especially those who are behaving in unislamic way. the meeting was organised by the leader of catholics in england and wales. what do you say to those who point at the persecution of christians in muslim countries like syria and nigeria and pakistan? the violence in those countries is sometimes, it certainly includes christians, but it's not only directed against christians in some of those countries. clearly innate violence finds a lodging place in aspects of islam. and that is a real challenge for us to face together. this may have been more symbolic than substantive, but in meeting with the pope, these imams have signalled to british muslims that the way forward is one of friendship with other faiths and not enmity. community and not conflict. the pope will travel to egypt at the end of this month, in his continuing quest to improve catholic islamic relations. he offered his blessing to each of the imams and asked them to pray for him. martin bashir, bbc news, rome. the outgoing head of britain's surveillance agency, gchq, has called on technology companies to do more to tackle extremist content online. in his final interview before leaving the role, robert hannigan spoke to our security correspondent gordon corera, who was given exclusive access behind the scenes at gchq. gchq's iconic building houses a mixture of people and machines, working at the cutting edge of technology, countering threats to national security. in the heart of its headquarters the outgoing director told me that so—called islamic state will, as it faces defeat on the battlefield, increasingly turn to the internet. they will continue to try to use the media to crowd source terrorism, and get people around the world to go and commit acts of violence on their behalf. but it's notjust for governments to do operations online. it's for the companies and the rest of media society to have the will to drive this material off the internet. this is our 24—hour operation centre. inside the building, teams of analysts pour over communications and data from around the world. there might be a team monitoring the kidnap of a british hostage overseas, for example. or a counterterrorist operation that is live at the moment with mi5. this is our cyber 24—hour monitoring cell. we were shown a map which visualises cyber attacks on the uk. and high on the agenda is the cyber threat from russia. the scale has changed, they've invested a lot of money and people in offensive cyber behaviour and critically they've decided to do reckless and interfering things in european countries. clearly they aspire to do similar things in the uk. there has been this accusation that has been aired in the united states that gchq was asked to spy on donald trump by the obama administration. is there any truth to that? we get crazy conspiracy theories thrown to us everyday. and we ignore most of them. on this occasion it was so crazy that we felt we should say so, it's a ridiculous suggestion. this is one of our high—performance computers. deep under the building sits the electronic brain of gchq, humming with data and supercomputers, this is the first time cameras have filmed inside. today our mathematicians are using them to tackle our most complex problems including on terrorism. critics argue there is too much intrusive power within these walls. gchq says it's needed. but it does acknowledge there needs to be greater public understanding of what really goes on here. gordon corera, bbc news, inside gchq. the showjumper nick skelton, who was britain's oldest olympic gold medallist at the rio games last year, is to retire. he was competing at his seventh games — 17 years after a broken neck forced his initial retirement. katie gornall went to meet nick and his olympic winning horse big star. if ever there was someone for whom age isjust a number, it is nick skelton. last summer in vod showjumper became britain's second old est showjumper became britain's second oldest olympic gold medallist but now with his 60th birthday on the horizon, skelton and his famous horse big star will be taking things a bit easier. i think any sportsman will be telling you that you think it will be going on for ever and you never want to stop, but you have two at some point. no better time to stop them when you are at the top. he has spent four decades at the top of his sport and the still holds the british record for jumping of his sport and the still holds the british record forjumping the highest pence, clearing over seven feet seven in 1978. ten years later he competed in the first of seven olympics, but the big prize eluded him until 2012 when he won the team gold in london, an achievement all the more remarkable because 12 years earlier he had suffered a broken neck. back then he thought his career was over. i didn't ride for a couple of years. i got back going again, because i had a great horse at the time that i really looked forward to and i thought he was going to be really good and he was. and then i thought when i finished with him that would be yet, but then big star came along and i had to do it all over again. it is a story which has captured the attention and largely finished third in the sports personality of the year. —— last year he finished. it is the age factor, some guy doing what i did, ending up winning gold, they think it is inspirationalfor ending up winning gold, they think it is inspirational for the elder folks. nick skelton has always said it is as much about the horse as him, and in big star he found one worthy of his name and together they bow out on top. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. it could be a beach day for some people on sunday, watch this space. this was from troon, and watch the next few days, we are going to have quite a bit of cloud on the scene. you can see the extent of the cloud we have had, but we end the day with some sunshine in southern and eastern areas where the cloud is a bit thinner. the tendency is to increase the amounts of cloud and you can't totally rely on it. they will be some breaks especially for eastern england and northern england, but if you keep the cloud you will have around 7 degrees. high pressure and are saying and that means for most areas it will be quite liked in terms of the winds and also plenty of cloud —— quite like. the westerly winds will mean we have more clout in western scotland, but eastern scotland with a better chance of sunshine. a fair but of cloud on on thursday from northern ireland as there will be four england and wales. there will bea four england and wales. there will be a lot of cloud, but it should be quite thin. there will be some sunshine and that will boost the temperatures to around 1a. as we head into friday, dj vu, the best chance of sunshine eastern scotland and north east england, otherwise dry but fairly cloudy. that is because of the position of the high, but as we head into the weekend the high pressure is drawn into central europe. we are going to draw up more of the southerly winds, and as we get more sunshine on sunday, especially over england and wales, temperatures will be soaring. so this is it, maybe more cloud, not as warm here, but 23 is likely in the south of the country in the sunshine. sounds gorgeous. that's it. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines... the syrian government has been condemned during an emergency un debate after a gas attack killed more than 70 people. this bears all the hallmarks of the assad regime and the use of chemical weapons is a war crime. one of president trump's closest advisers — his chief strategist, steve bannon — has been removed from his position on the national security council. labour's ruling body is to review ken livingstone's status in the party following his comments about hitler and zionism and his suspension for another year. the european parliament has set out its priorities for the brexit negotiations, saying the uk would have to agree to honour any financial obligations to the eu. the duke and duchess of cambridge and prince harry have attended a special service at westminster abbey for the victims of the westminster terror attack.