facing a bleak future. just not sure what we're going to do now. quite a shock. yeah. yeah, i thought that we'd be saved, but not this time. an official review slams probation staff for theirfailure to recall serial rapistjoseph mccann before he committed a series of sex attacks. ah, lovely! ruth williamson and her brave battle with motor neurone disease. we're with her again as she begins a drug trial. and coming up on bbc news, england's final match of the six nations against italy in rome is postponed, as the country tries to contain the coronavirus outbreak. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. in the last hour, there's been confoirmation of the first death from coronavirus here in the uk. the patient, who died at the royal berkshire hospital, had underlying health issues. it follows a warning from the uk's chief medical adviser about the intense pressures the nhs could face if it has to deal with a worst case spread of coronavirus. as health officials move to a new stage — called delay — in their attempt to slow down the spread of the disease, chris whitty said half of all patients would need treatment in just a three—week period, straining hospitals‘ ability to provide critical care. the number of coronavirus cases in the uk has risen to 116. that's fraction of the 96,000 infected globally. so far there have been over 3,000 deaths, but more than 53,000 people have now recovered. here's our health editor, hugh pym. yes, george, here at the department of health in the last hour, and in a statement from the royal berkshire trust, it has been reported that an older british patient has died with coronavirus, the first to die in the uk, previously a brit and has dried in the uk with coronavirus. this was an older patient who had been in and out of hospital, according to the statement, was admitted yesterday and tested positive for the virus. sympathies have expressed to the family by the trust and the chief medical advsider, chris whitty. all this on a day of continuing debate and speculation about the government's action plan on the coronavirus threat. trying to contain the coronavirus has all but failed for the nhs and other health systems, according to the government's chief medical adviser. now it's all about attempting to delay and reduce the scale of its spread. he said half the cases could occur over a three—week peak of the epidemic — and that, he told mps, could put great strain on services for all hospital patients. the bit of the system which will come under pressure first will be those conditions that require people to have oxygen and particularly to have critical care, and that bit, i think, will come under pressure at quite an early stage if we have a high end of the range epidemic for this. the chief medical adviser outlined what he believed the benefits of the delay phase would be. first, it would push back the peak number of cases from winter, when pressure on the nhs is greatest. it would buy time for scientists to improve their understanding of the virus and develop countermeasures such as drugs. and the virus would possibly be less infectious in the summer. depending on when the peak comes and how many cases there are, intensive—care beds and staff will be in great demand. shutting down all our schools and universities, for example, would not have a clinical benefit at this stage, but it would impose huge social and economic costs, so we will follow the science. depending on when the peak comes and how many cases there are, intensive—care beds and staff will be in great demand. concerns have been raised about whether hospitals have the resources to provide the specialist care which will be needed by the sickest patients. i'm unbelievably proud to be a critical—ca re nurse, and i work with some fantastic staff, but we are human beings at the end of the day, and all of us have a tipping point, so it is really, really important that we look after those staff, to allow us to be able to look after patients. 0ne senior doctor told me his hospital has plans to convert other facilities into intensive—care units. well, i think it will be a challenge, it's always a challenge, and it's going to be tough, but we have well rehearsed plans, and we are working together across our system and across all our staff to make sure that we do have those robust systems in place to cope with that increased demand. all the warnings today have been on the basis of a worst—case scenario. case numbers may be less than expected, but healthily does feel they need to at least prepare hospitals, their staff and patients for a potentially very tough time ahead. and in the last few minutes, the prime minister, boris johnson, and in the last few minutes, the prime minister, borisjohnson, has given his reaction to news of the death of a patient with coronavirus. cani death of a patient with coronavirus. can i get out well, obviously, our sympathies are very much with the victim and the family, but the situation is pretty much as it has been, in the sense that we are still in the contained phase, though now oui’ in the contained phase, though now our scientists and medical advisers are making preparations for the delay phase. and we've lent a couple more things at the briefing here this evening, one is that there was more than 100 cases, those who are still, in effect, trying to get over the virus, half of them at home, where they are considered to have only mild symptoms and are allowed to stay at home. we have also been told that travel restrictions have changed. at the moment, the guidance isjudged from northern italy, if you come back to the uk with symptoms, you need to isolate and call 111, but now they are extending that to the whole of italy, people should go online for advice. hugh, thank you very much for that. whatever strategy the government adopts to deal with the spread of coronavirus, it will ultimately be local communities which will have to implement it. our special correspondent lucy manning has been in brighton having a look. brighton's already been hit by coronavirus. it contained the outbreak well, but like everyone else in the uk, it must now tackle delaying any further spread. those living here have questions about how moving to this mainly delay phase will affect them. are they going to impose us to all work from home? is that going to be something that employers have to make decisions themselves? we've had lots of big events that have been cancelled. it would be good to know how long this sort of thing would be going on for. it was a very simple message about washing your hands... for those in charge of health, the elderly, the schools, this is now a growing challenge. it's up to each and every employer to make sure that if people are ringing in sick, saying, "i'm not sure if i've got the coronavirus or not," to make sure that they're staying at home. people are wanting to know how long this is going to last for. we may expect a three—month period, with a peak in that, but one of the things we want to do, obviously, is to push that as far into the future as possible through the delay phase, so that could come later in the year. my biggest concern is over my son, who is doing his gcses, so it's obvious we need to know, for him, if he's going to be able to go to school and take his exams. all schools in brighton and hove are open, there is no plans for any of our schools to close. are you trying to stop people getting together in any public space? are you going to look at cinemas, restaurants, shopping centres? at the moment, ourfull programme of events is going ahead, and obviously this is a really busy city. we'd ask everyone to keep repeating the message about washing your hands. we're taking it seriously, but we're also trying to get on with life and, you know, life has to go on. in the delay phase, the authorities will eventually have to make a decision about sporting events, like football matches. in italy, all sports are being played behind closed doors. at brighton and hove albion, players are already restricted from shaking hands, doing high fives or posing for selfies with supporters. but one of the calculations is, if fans aren't in stadiums, will theyjust be passing on the virus watching in pubs instead? the government is likely to save the most severe measures for when the virus hits its peak, and its message at the moment is there are no benefits to cancelling large events if people keep following the health advice. lucy manning, bbc news, brighton. and you can keep up—to—date with all the developments concerning the coronavirus outbreak, and the symptoms to watch out for and what it means for you, on the bbc news app and on our website. that's bbc.co.uk/news. it was uk's biggest regional airline, and across the nations and regions tonight the collapse of flybe has left a trail of disappointment, anxiety and — yes — some anger too. the airline has been in financial trouble for some time, but insiders say it was the loss of bookings caused by the coronavirus that finally tipped the company into administration. flybe employs about 2000 people — theirjobs are now at risk. the airline flies eight million passengers a year. many of them setting off from the uk's smaller airports, places like southampton, where last year it accounted for 95% of all flights. our business editor, simonjack, is there. george, if flybe didn't exist, you would need to invent it, that is what i have heard from a lot of people over the last few days. however, a combination of previous mismanagement which left the company in financial distress, a virus which has ravaged even the healthiest and most profitable airlines, and a relu cta nce most profitable airlines, and a reluctance on the parts of its owners, particularly virgin atlantic and the government, to put additional money end, has meant that it does not exist any more, begs the question, what happens now, and what does this do for government ambitions to improve regional connectivity? there will be no onward journey for these planes — grounded for good, europe's largest regional airline collapsed, leaving passengers frustrated and staff distressed. yeah, i thought that we'd be saved, but not this time. sorry. there's no other airlines from here that will fly to jersey, so, you know, we floated options like ferries or, essentially, a different airport. our flight was meant to be at 6:45 this morning to paris, for disneyland, and then i got a text at 2:03 this morning, saying that all flights had been suspended, cancelled, and not to bother going to the airport. we came anyway. we promised to get them there, so we're going to get them there. last night, in southampton, this pilot parked his plane up for the last time. we're the only real regional airline, so anybody that wants to get from southampton to manchester, they've now got to take the train, basically, and that's three times the price and takes twice as long. flybe operates 40% of all uk domestic flights, but it leased too many planes at too high a cost, flying too many unprofitable routes, leaving the airline in financial distress, finished off by an industrywide slump in bookings thanks to coronavirus. southampton airport relies on flybe for 95% of its traffic. it employs 200 people directly and has created many more jobs across the region. southampton airport is very heavily dependent on flybe, it has been for years, so government may need to step in to give the airport some support to keep it going. regional connectivity really matters. that's not often understood by london politicians. the collapse of flybe was obviously upsetting for staff, it's confusing for passengers, and economically damaging to airports like this and surrounding areas, notjust here in southampton but around the uk. the government insists that propping up failing businesses with £100 million of taxpayers' money is not the way to deliver better regional connectivity, but there is little doubt the collapse of flybe has seen that ambition take a massive step backwards. the government today said it remained committed to the future of regional airports, but there was little detail. we are undertaking a review of regional connectivity to ensure the uk has a domestic transport connections local communities rely on, including regional airports. other airlines, like loganair, have said they're prepared to take on some routes, but at a time when bookings are slumping around the world, most airlines are focused on survival, not being saviours. simonjack, bbc news, southampton. so let's get somne reaction from around the uk. in a moment, we'll talk to hywel griffith in cardiff and rachel bell in aberdeen but first clodagh rice joins us from belfast. this is the third most reliant airport in the uk on flybe, it accou nts airport in the uk on flybe, it accounts for about 80% of all flights here. these flights are vital links not only for businesses but also to students who travel between northern ireland and great britain. now, we have had some good news in the last few hours, the scottish airline loganair has agreed to ta ke scottish airline loganair has agreed to take on two of the 1a roots to both aberdeen and inverness from later this month, but the big question now will be if and how quickly the rest of these routes can be saved. there is real concern here at cardiff airport over what this means for wales' links to the rest of the uk and europe, there were six regular routes from here until today, the last flybe flight landed from dublin last night, no route back with flybe for those passengers. in the last 12 months, more than a quarter of passengers who have been through this airport have all flown with ten employee, who will be after that right now? it isa who will be after that right now? it is a question notjust who will be after that right now? it is a question not just for the managers here but the welsh labour government which actually owns this airport, and that means that every taxpayer has a stake in this airport's survival. well, the owners of this airport have described the collapse of flybe isa have described the collapse of flybe is a devastating blow, and that's not surprising because flybe flights account for around a sixth of passenger numbers here. these check—in desks have been relatively quiet all day, but we did hear a story of four passengers, four com plete story of four passengers, four complete strangers who, after finding out that their flight was cancelled, all clubbed together to get themselves a hire car to take them all the way down to manchester. but of course it's notjust passengers who are affected, 80 local staff are also facing an uncertain future here this evening, but there is some good news, as clodagh mentioned, loganair has announced this afternoon that it will take on four of the aberdeen flybe routes. thank you, rachel, hywel and clodagh. an official review into how joseph mccann was able to commit a series of rapes and sexual assaults when he should have been in prison has blamed failures by the probation service. mccann was given 33 life sentences last december for the attacks on women and children. our home affairs correspondent june kelly has been speaking to some of his victims. you may find their stories distressing. the end of a manhunt. joseph mccann is finally cornered hiding in a tree in cheshire, wanted for multiple rapes and kidnappings in the north and south of england. he was taken into custody, which is where he should have been when he was committing his crimes. mccann, a career criminal with a history of violence, had been wrongly released from prison. and today we learned of the failings which meant a man described by the trialjudge as a classic psychopath was free to roam around the country, raping women and children. we brought together three of his victims aged from 17 to 71 after they had read today's report. his eldest victim a grandmother, was punched in the face, kidnapped and raped. i knew it was avoidable. we have all suffered the consequences of that, horrifically. he raped this 17—year—old girl and her 11—year—old brother. mccann's youngest victim. i thought the law was supposed to protect the public. nowl can't thought the law was supposed to protect the public. now i can't do anything on my own, i can't even sleep in my own bed. it's awful. and next to her, her mother. tied up in her own home by mccann as he attacked her children. if he had beenin attacked her children. if he had been in prison, none of this would have happened. the family has been torn apart. i lost my family home. i couldn't go back to my house, we lost everything. 0ur life has been torn apart. it was awful. it's just been really bad emotionally. the report shows that as far back as 2003joseph report shows that as far back as 2003 joseph mccann was report shows that as far back as 2003joseph mccann was considered a possible sexual risk to teenage girls. there was repeated failure to recall mccann to prison, and on eight occasions recall was considered and rejected. today the justice secretary announced a further lesson learning review. the system he heads expose mccann's victims to unnecessary danger and has left some lives damaged forever. june kelly, bbc news. our top story this evening: the first death from coronavirus is confirmed in the uk — the patient was being treated at the royal berkshire hospital. and coming up, the government calls an end to culling badgers in a bid to stop the spread of tuberculosis in cows. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, rain puts paid to england's t20 world cup final hopes. they lose out to india, despite a ball not being bowled. six weeks ago the bbc covered the story of edinburgh researchers launching a drugs trial to help people with motor neurone disease. during filming we met 37—year—old ruth williamson, who was diagnosed more than two years ago. this week she started on drugs which may help slow down the fatal condition. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. for three—year—old anna, ruth williamson is simply mum. but ruth has motor neurone disease, a fatal condition for which there is no cure, no effective treatment. since being diagnosed a little more than two years ago, the illness has taken over family life entirely. the future ruth and her husband scott imagined for their family has been stolen. the disease first affected ruth's speech, now it's her movement. scott, ruth's main carer, is under immense pressure. emotionally, it's a nightmare. you try to keep your chin up as much as you can. we do that quite successfully, but you can't ignore it. you need to deal with the emotions. but here is a glimmer of hope. this week, ruth became one of the first recruits in a ground—breaking clinical trial to find new and existing drugs to combat this devastating disease. so, ruth, this is yourfirst bottle of medicine to take. the ambition is to find a much—needed breakthrough for a condition that, in the space ofjust 18 months, will kill half of those diagnosed. we do trials because we want to find treatments. and, boy, is there a need for treatments in this disease. within the next decade i will be quietly confident that the community globally, but particularly in the uk, will begin to identify treatment that will slow down this terrible disease and that will be spectacular. ruth williamson ending that report from dominic hughes. the controversial cull of badgers in parts of england is to be phased out over the next few years. the government says killing the animals to protect cattle from bovine tuberculosis has reduced cases of the disease, but it will now be replaced by a scheme to vaccinate badgers. 0ur environment correspondent clare marshalljoins us from castle combe in wiltshire. thank you, yes, i am thank you, yes, iam in a thank you, yes, i am in a wood above a badger set and it is breeding season so there could be cubs. this is in the heart of one of the cull zones is in the heart of one of the cull zones and we understand back in september live shooting was taking place here. this looks set to change. the government has announced there will be a move away from culling and towards vaccination, which has been described as a seismic shift. george eustice mp said you could notjust keep culling indefinitely. but i have been two farms which have been devastated by bovine tuberculosis and the farmers there say this should not actually be rushed to be accepted, the nfu saying, hang on, culling is effective and vaccination may not be so much. claire, thank you. the conservative party has been accused of failing to act over allegations of islamophobia in the party. the muslim council of britain has renewed calls for an independent inquiry into the issue and has submitted a letter to the equality and human rights commission accusing the party of a reluctance to address what it described as a "widespread, institutional and systemic" problem. the conservative party say they are carrying out an independent review into how they can improve their processes. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has more. for many british muslims, prejudice is all too familiar. discrimination on the basis of their faith. 0ne body representing some muslim groups has repeatedly accused the conservative party of failing to tackle the issue within its own ranks. today it renewed calls for an independent inquiry claiming there is growing evidence of the problem. this is a serious issue. if the governing party themselves have an issue of islamophobia, then how are they going to be able to deal with islamophobia on the street that affects british muslims in society? the muslim council of britain has written to the uk's equality watchdog for the second time, asking them again to investigate the conservative party. it says the issue was widespread, institutional and systemic, listing allegations — some about mps' behaviour — others, claims of comments from councillors and party members like, "there is a dangerous muslim agenda," with many said to have been made or shared online. all, it said, contributing to a toxic culture for muslims. these two party members from peterborough say, while they've never experienced islamophobia directly, they recognise the need to address the issue where it exists. as a proud muslim and a proud conservative, my message to the party is that the genuine cases, you can't suppress them. deal with them before they blow up. the conservative party is obviously in government at the moment. it has an obligation to take a lead on this matter. i think by taking swift action, itjust gives the muslim community a bit of encouragement that, yes, this issue is being addressed seriously. party officials say many cases highlighted today are already being investigated. the conservative party has repeatedly said it deals with cases of prejudice robustly and quickly, and it is holding an inquiry into all forms of discrimination. but for some critics, that is still not enough. they say anything other than a specific focus on islamophobia fails to adequately deal with the issue. the party, though, is sticking to its approach, saying, "we are holding an independent review looking at how we can improve our processes to make sure instances of discrimination are isolated and there are processes in place to stamp them out as and when they occur." meanwhile the equalities commission says it is considering what, if any, action it may take. this issue, so crucial to so many, doesn't seem to resolved yet. alex forsyth, bbc news. to mark the final day of their first official visit to the republic of ireland, the duke and duchess of cambridge tried their hand at the traditional irish sport of hurling. catherine got there in the end! more than 300 well—wishers gathered in galway to greet the couple who have been in ireland since tuesday. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. we have seen some massive contrast weather—wise today. across the north of the uk we have had some glorious sunshine. a different type of water though further south, where it is a case of dodging the spray from the roads, with a lot of water coming down from the skies, heavy outbreaks pushing into the south and east anglia as well through the day. 33 millimetres of rain across parts of sussex from the slow—moving weather system. 0vernight, eventually the rain will pull away, the winds will fall lighter and we will have clear spells. it is a recipe for getting quite cold overnight. the exception is northern ireland, where it will turn cloudy with showers. temperatures a few degrees above freezing. a cold start of the day, with the odd mist and fog packed around, but with plenty of morning sunshine around. further west for northern ireland, we start the day with showers and through the afternoon they should move into parts of scotland, some for england and wales, but for many areas it is and wales, but for many areas it is a dry and bright day with spells of sunshine. temperatures as high as 11 degrees. at the weekend the weather turning more unsettled. it will probably be a bright start of the day across eastern scotland and eastern areas of england, but the cloud will thicken, winds will strengthen, and it turns wet, particularly for northern ireland. in western scotland, heavy rain here, and in cumbria before the end of the day. the rain will sweep across the country as we go through saturday night, so some heavy downpours and brisk winds for a time. some of the rain still loitering around eastern areas of england as we start sunday. but it will clear away, with sunshine and a few showers, and we keep that theme going through monday as well. staying unsettled with rain at the weekend. 00:29:22,727 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 thank you very much.

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