good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. police are calling it a major victory against gun crime in britain. tonight dealer paul edmunds is facing a lengthyjail term. he has been found guilty of supplying guns and ammunition that had been linked to more than 100 crime scenes across the country, including three murders. but police warned that more than two hundred weapons he sold are not accounted for. in police interviews paul edmunds has shown no sympathy towards those who have been shot by using his guns. around 1000 of his bullets have been found at crime scenes across the country, including him in the west midlands, greater manchester, and london. tonight ‘s barrister has said that his client expects a significantly lengthy sentence. —— tonight, his barrister. an expert in guns, enabling him to make bullets from his house in gloucestershire. inside, police found over 100,000 rounds of ammunition and almost 200 guns. but it's well scattered around his bedroom and attic. today, following a six—week trial, paul edmunds was found guilty of supplying guns and home—made ammunition to gangs across the country. the 66—year—old made bullet for firearms that were classified as antique and then sold them for a hefty profit. he supplied them for a hefty profit. he supplied them to his compass, this 56—year—old, who admitted selling them on to gangs. these weapons and ammunition have appeared in over 100 crime scenes in the uk between 2009 and 2015. this involved murders and other serious crimes. he abused his position. he abused his knowledge of ammunition and firearms. undoubtedly this operation, which began in 2014, has saved many lives as we have been able to stop what was a major supply route for these firearms and ammunition onto the streets. the bullets were found at the scenes of fatal shootings, including a night in birmingham last year. as ammunition was also used to shoot at ammunition was also used to shoot at a police helicopter in the 2011 riots. ballistics experts carried out microscopic investigations. certain tools are used. these tools impart markings on to the modified rounds. we started to notice that there is a pattern of tool marks. when we look at lots of different criminal incidents we to see the same patterns again and again. you can same patterns again and again. you ca n start same patterns again and again. you can start linking them together fore nsically can start linking them together forensically with a microscope. this building contains thousands of firearms that have been seized by police from across the country. this gun was imported by paul edmunds from america. now he has been convicted it will also be stored here. at the national ballistics intelligence service they are firing one of the antique revolvers with the bullets made by edmonds. casings found at two of fatal shootings in birmingham over the last couple of yea rs birmingham over the last couple of years we re birmingham over the last couple of years were also handcrafted by the pensioner who will be sentenced next month. —— bullets made by edmunds. at least 460 people are now known to have been killed by sunday's earthquake on the border between iran and iraq. officials have called off the rescue operation, saying it's unlikely that more survivors will be found. there have been more than 200 aftershocks in the area since the earthquake, as james robbins reports. in many authorities say they are not expecting to find any more survivors. —— iranian authorities. work now is to clear ruined homes, demolish, and then rebuild. local people are in shock. thousands are homeless. they are in desperate need of shelter and supplies. iran's president has visited the worst hit areas. he promised whatever assistance was needed, and criminal action if any public housing is found to have been substandard. translation: we will provide tents for those who need them and give loa ns for those who need them and give loans and grants to all those whose houses were damaged and are unsafe. we'll give money to everybody who needs temporary accommodation. the earthquake, which struck the mountainous region bordering iraq was one of the most powerful in the world this year, as well as the deadliest. at least 70,000 people need shelter. the un says it is ready to assist if required. and with night—time temperatures close to freezing its notjust the homeless who are sleeping outdoors, many families won't return to buildings they do not trust, fearing more after—shocks. up to 200 have already been recorded since this magnitude 7.3 earthquake on sunday night. this was the moment the earthquake struck. a birthday party ends in terror. but this kurdish family escaped unharmed. and northern iraq was hit less ha rd. unharmed. and northern iraq was hit less hard. read crescent groups are offering help to their iranians neighbours. —— red crescent.“ offering help to their iranians neighbours. -- red crescent. if our help is needed, we will definitely supply help across the border if we are asked. aid has been pouring in. a combination of aircraft and iran's special ambulance coaches are transferring some of the injured for specialist treatment elsewhere in the country. but the painful process of grieving for entire communities is only just of grieving for entire communities is onlyjust beginning. of grieving for entire communities is only just beginning. james robbins, bbc news. mps have begun what will be more than a week of debate on key legislation that will pave the way for brexit. at the moment eu laws and regulations affect almost every part of our lives — whether it's agriculture or finance. the bill before the commons now will bring all of that under british law. but asjon pienaar reports — there are already plenty of signs that the bill will not have an easy passage. this report contains flash photography. brexit, still a work in progress comments about westminster taking back control. but the planning and scheming is now intense. and tonight it is clear that big questions of how, even when, britain finally leaves are up for grabs. is this a meaningless vote? brexiteers like liam fox and borisjohnson are now told that the brexit deadline of march 2019 will be met by law, but the brexit secretary would love to know if the way is clear to leave on schedule. and tonight there is still no knowing. european union withdraw bill... in the house of commons they have stopped weeks of line by line debate on the law to leave. tory and labour mps saying a heart brexit deadline could cut negotiations short, even force britain to leave without a deal. —— hard brexit. everybody has become more brittle. more unwilling to listen. more unpersuaded that every suggestion made some form of treason. does he understand how impossible it is for me to explain to my constituents that they can have certainty about nothing about brexit as the government planned it, except, according to him, the date when it will happen? the labour leadership does not want to appear to obstruct brexit. we all know we are leaving, they say, so why the deadline?m negotiations go to the wire, both we and the eu 27 might recognise the need for an extra week, an extra day, an extra hour, even an extra minute. the battle lines are drawn. brexiteers keen for victory. millions of people who died in both world wars died for a reason. it was to do with sustaining the freedom and democracy of this house. brexiteer ministers pledging brexit with a good deal if possible but no deal if a must. we want to make sure asa deal if a must. we want to make sure as a responsible government that our country is ready to leave the european union without deal, if that proves european union without deal, if that p roves necessary. european union without deal, if that proves necessary. the pro-european of the tories let rip. i am the rebel. i espouse the policies the conservative party. brexit sceptics loved it. today theresa may met another critic brexit, nicola sturgeon. in the coming weeks she may yet see off the attacks on her brexit deadline closer to home. she better, her authority is at stake. john pienaar, bbc news. inflation remained unchanged last month at 3% — but it may not feel like it if you've just been to the supermarket. food prices continue to rise — up by more than 4%. 0ther prices — such fuel — have come down which is why the overall inflation figure remains steady. 0ur economics editor kamal ahmed is here with me. are we seeing the end of this period of high inflation? certainly the foot has come off the inflation accelerator to an extent. inflation was pushed up by one big thing, that was pushed up by one big thing, that was the falling value of the pound after the referendum. that produces an inflation spiked. but because it isa an inflation spiked. but because it is a currency change, that spike is pushing through the economy quite quickly. as you suggest, in the real world people are still feeling that income squeeze. household incomes are only going up by 2.2%. well below the rise in prices. and, as he said, on things like food inflation that's the highest figure since 2013. people are still feeling the impact of those price rises in their pocket. but it does seem we have reached the top of that curve on inflation rates. and that probably means the bank of england, thinking about when it might next raise interest rates, which are used to control inflation, probably put that date off again, probably now not until the end of next year. thank you very much. russia has rejected allegations that it uses the internet to meddle in elections around the world. last night theresa may accused president putin's government of "planting fake stories" to "sow discord in the west". similar accusations have been made in america. so is britain affected — what about the last election or the eu referendum? 0ur security correspondent gordon corera reports. allegations of russian interference in elections have been gathering pace. claims that the kremlin sought to influence politics across the west. but did that campaign also reach british shores? last night, the prime minister issued a stark warning to russia. it is seeking to weaponise information. deploying its state—run media organisation to plant fake stories and photoshopped images in an attempt to sow discord in the west and undermine our institutions. so i have a very simple message for russia — we know what you are doing and you will not succeed. today, the prime minister's spokesman was careful to stress that they hadn't seen any evidence of successful interference in britain's democratic process and russia, as always, denied the allegations, but last night's speech was a step change in language — a reflection that evidence may slowly be emerging of at least attempts to influence debate here. today, the us congress was holding more hearings about russia. its investigations have identified fake social media accounts linked to russia pushing divisive messages. it's now emerging that some of those accounts also pushed out messages related to britain. for instance, the south lone star twitter account, claiming to be a proud texan and american, but thought to be russian, tweeted this image of a muslim woman wrongly accused of ignoring the westminster bridge attack in march. the same account also posted about brexit. in parliament, the mp chairing a committee investigating the issue says the extent of the problem has to be established. there's already strong evidence to show that russia—backed organisations were involved in putting out fake news messages through facebook and twitter during the us presidential election. there is a small amount of evidence emerging now about similar activity during the brexit referendum. i think we have a right to know what was being done. the evidence so far of russian political interference is fragmentary, but unlike america, investigations here are only just gathering pace. gordon corera, bbc news. our top story this evening. the 60 year—old antiques dealer, found guilty of supplying weapons linked to a hundred violent crimes. and still to come... from the running track to buckingham palace, mo farah becomes sir mo farah. britain's four—time 0lympic champion, mo farah, received his knighthood from the queen. he describes it as a dream come true. last night we reported on how throwing away food, whether by shops or families, costs up to £17 billion a year. campaigners say much of that waste could be avoided. tonight, we're looking at the simple steps that farmers, retailers and we, the consumers, can take to stop so much food ending up in the rubbish bin. jeremy cooke reports. if you want to stop food waste, down on the farm is a good place to start. these fields are part of a trial to find new ways to make sure these potatoes end up on our plates and not in the bin. i hate waste because it's costing me money and so i don't want to see waste. so that's why we're striving all the time to cut out waste in the field. so ian, i've got some va data here... jeff is comparing notes, sharing hi—tech data with ian from the supermarket. so we're looking good, low waste. even before the potatoes come out of the ground, detailed computer analysis means they know, for instance, the yield and so how much shelf space in store, how much marketing to shift any excess. we're working with technology to allow that information flow from what's happening in the field. so our growers can tell us what they think they're going to be producing and then we can match that to what we want to sell and, hopefully, take that waste out of the supply chain. there are now big efforts throughout the process to reduce food waste, whether it be on the farm, in processing, in storage or in the supermarkets. but perhaps the biggest difference can be made by us consumers because most of the food that gets thrown away is from our own kitchens. kate's a self—confessed foodie, she took part in a scheme to reduce waste and now puts 20% less food in the bin. but how? well, kate measures ingredients so there's no waste, keeps the fridge at optimum temperature, so things stay fresh, uses diy vacuum packs in the freezer for long—term storage. ta—da! and, keeps leftovers for week day lunch and super. you save food, you save money and you save time. so if you want to do any of those three things, it's worth it. and then also, we should feel a little bit responsible for the planet as well. but what happens if you still have food heading for the bin? well, how about a community fridge. it's a simple idea, food that's still good is donated instead of discarded and then it's given for free to anyone who wants it. this one is in swadlincote, it's one of two already operating, but the plan is to have 50 up and running by the end of the year. good news for people like lizzie. if obviously it's going in the bin it's wasted, especially for those that haven't got enough money to go and get a full food shop. there are people who are desperately in need and yet there are other organisations that are just throwing food down into skips. there are people that have come in here that have talked about the days when they used to have to go into the skips and the amount of the food they get out of the skip. producing food takes hard graft and major investment, but it's massively undervalued and reducing waste will take a huge shift of attitude in our throwaway society. jeremy cooke, bbc news. police investigating the disappearance of a teenager in dorset have released a 71—year—old woman. a 19—year—old man, believed to be the woman's grandson, is still in custody. 19—year—old gaia pope was last seen a week ago. jon kay is in swanage for us. jon. it was about this time last week that gaia pope was last seen. he was caught on cctv on this area of swannage running past a camera wearing a red shirt and grey leggings. police have been looking for ever since. it seems today that that investigation has stepped up a gear. they seem to be focussing on two addresses here behind me. we have seen forensic officers going in and out in white suits. in the last few hours we have seen sniffer dogs and a major incident vehicle turned up and a major incident vehicle turned upa and a major incident vehicle turned up a short time ago. dorset police confirmed they arrested two people from this local area, a 71—year—old woman and a 19—year—old man. both of whom it's thought are known to gaia. the woman has since been released, pending further police investigations, but the young man remains with police and is being questioned by them. dorset police are stressing this disappearance is com pletely are stressing this disappearance is completely out of character. gaia is a young woman who suffers from. epilepsy. she is are hopeful she might be in this area. herfamily issued a direct appeal saying it's a ca re scary issued a direct appeal saying it's a care scary and worrying time and appealing for her to come forward and promising to find their "darling princess." jon, and promising to find their "darling princess."jon, thank and promising to find their "darling princess." jon, thank you very much. in northern ireland, the trial of a man accused of the murder of two catholic workmen during the height of the troubles is to go ahead using evidence provided by a so—called loyalist supergrass. the two men were shot dead in may 1994. former ulster volunteer force commander gary haggarty, who has admitted 200 offences, including five murders, will be the star witness in the case against james smyth. 0ur ireland correspondent, chris buckler, reports. gary haggarty was a leader within the ulster volunteer force, a notorious loyalist paramilitary group, responsible for hundreds of murders during years when conflict and killings were all too common in northern ireland. haggarty was responsible for some of them. earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to more than 200 crimes. among them, shootings and kidnappings, conspiracy to murder and directing terrorism. he was given five life sentences for the five murders he admitted, but those jail terms will be significantly reduced because haggarty has agreed to give evidence against a former friend, james smyth, from forthriver link, in belfast. the reported suspect will be prosecuted for the following offences. the murder of gary convie. the murder of eamon fox. gary convie and eamon fox were shot dead simply because of their religion. they were catholic workmen, murdered in 1994 by the uvf as they ate their lunch in theircar. but more than a dozen other people that haggarty said were involved in murders are not to be tried because the prosecution service say his evidence is not sufficient to secure a conviction. that includes both paramilitaries and police officers, who he says protected him when he was a police informer. what we want to know is, are the police officers in the dock? to me, they're as guilty as the gunman and gary haggarty in this case. they're now exempt from prosecution, which is hard to take. the case will be what's known as a supergrass trial. a case where the word of another offender is key to the prosecution. there were a series of them here in belfast in the 1980s, however the system collapsed because of concerns of the credibility of the evidence given by the so—called supergrasses. the law was changed a decade ago to put in place new safeguards for these kind of prosecutions. cases where people know more than they've ever told, and in northern ireland there's still much to learn about that long history of violence. chris buckler, bbc news, belfast. the olympic champion, mo farah, is now sir mo after receiving his knighthood from the queen at buckingham palace this morning. sir mohammed farah for services to athletics. farah came to the uk from somalia as a young boy and went on to become britain's most decorated athlete. sir mo, who's now concentrating on marathon running, said today was an amazing moment. that was an incredible day for me, i really enjoyed coming here. quite nerve—wracking at the beginning, but it's a lovely day for me and my wife and for the farah family, particularly because i never dreamed of having the title and to meet the queen. it's just been unreal. now football. for the first time since 1958, four—time champions italy will not be playing at the world cup which takes place in russia next year. fans were stunned when their team drew against sweden last night and crashed out of the competition. the italian media are calling it a national humiliation. but as our sports correspondent joe wilson reports, italy aren't the only top—tier team to miss out on a trip to russia. italy on tuesday — the newspapers all said goodbye in their own way. what could cheer the country? singing well, nice try, but even the national anthem includes the line, "where is victory?" where, indeed. like night without day, like seasons without summer, like a game without goals, italy now face life without the world cup. 0—0 against sweden in milan last night meant they lost the two—legged play—off and a nation loses its identity. yep, really. today, italy woke up in a depression mood and it is something psychological, something social. we are talking about and we know we can't understand, really — why?! italy may be the most notable absentees from next year's world cup, but they're not alone. three times world cup finalists the netherlands failed to qualify. their form's been awful recently. in south america, chile, ranked ninth in the world with alexis sanchez as star player, missed out. another world —famous player who won't be there, gareth bale. wales finished below ireland in their qualifying group. so there is one european place still up for grabs at the world cup and tonight it will be settled here in dublin. the republic of ireland actually are the play—off experts. this is their eighth play—off. denmark the opponents tonight. it's a great opportunity to qualify, but beyond this game, what will the world cup be like? if we got the world cup, i couldn't care less who's there, i have to be honest with you about that one. i really couldn't care less. but i think, from a neutral‘s perspective, i think you do want to see the big nations. you do want to see holland there. you want to see the best players, the gareth bales, alexis sanchezes. you want to see them playing on the world scene because the world cup, when i was a boy growing up, it was everything. qualification is a competition not a certainty and while italy suffers, witness what it meant to sweden to get through. well if the irish players try something similar this evening i think i'm a safe distance from the stadium. 0—0 after the first leg, any win would do for the republic of ireland to go through this evening. many thanks, joe. time for a look at the weather, here's phil avery hello. not the most sparkling of days. this picture tell as dreary tale. at its best, there was a fair am of cloud. you get the sense on the big picture that we've got an awful lot of cloud streaming in on a breeze across many parts of the british isles. that is the way it will stay. we will pep up the showers to northern parts of scotland, further south a lot of cloud around. so that's going to help to keep us in double figures for the most part across the british isles. my concern is where the cloud breaks. we could see fog patches forming just in time for the morning commute. i will not be too clever about where i think that will be, it will just be about where i think that will be, it willjust be a thought in your minds. it will be a grey start. i'm hopeful as the day gets going, some of these spots are bright. 0thers mayjoin them as we get on through the morning. watch out for the chance of fog first up. it will be patchy and in places quite dense. as we get on through the morning so i think northern and western parts will be in with the best chance of seeing brightness. 0ne will be in with the best chance of seeing brightness. one or two showers to the west of wales. it will stay dark across the midlands and over towards the wash where, if you are stuck with a bit of fog it could be at eight or nine or ten degrees only. elsewhere 12—13. the cold air to the north will become an increasing player having had a mild speu increasing player having had a mild spell of weather. thereby a cold front introducing cold air. you will have rain for a time. it will brighten. to the south the last of the mild air. temperatures will drop into single figures, a fresher end to the weekend. thank you very much. thank you. before we go, here's a look at a special report coming up at ten. clive myrie reports on the crisis in yemen. in yemen a civil war has taken a terrible toll. i've seen destruction on a massive scale here in yemen, vital infrastructure damaged and destroyed, but i've also heard stories of defiance and resilience amid the carnage, as a nation struggles to survive. that's tonight at 10.00pm. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. italy on tuesday, the newspapers all say goodbye in their own way. what could cheer the country? well, nice try, but even the national anthem includes the line where is victory. hello. this is bbc news with reeta chakra barti. the headlines mps have begun debating the eu withdrawal bill — which will incorporate eu legislation into uk law before brexit. nearly 500 amendments have been tabled to the withdrawal bill as mps seek to strengthen parliament's voice — but ministers say the bill is sound. this is an essential bill in the national interest and will ensure the statute book will continue to function. what he is planning for is no deal and he has no mandate from the british people to do that. a firearms dealer has been found guilty of supplying illegal handguns and bullets — linked to more than 100 crimes, including three murders. officials in iran say more than 430 people are now known to have died in the earthquake which struck an area that borders iraq. nearly 8,000 were injured. inflation remained at 3% last month — increasing food prices were offset by falls in the cost of fuel.