Police video shows firework attacks as 19 arrested

Police helicopter footage shows Bonfire Night disorder in Edinburgh

Police helicopter footage has captured the firework disorder in Edinburgh, as officers confirmed they made 19 arrests between Halloween and Bonfire Night Six people have been charged under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles Act and 26 further charges have been made for related criminal behaviour. Police officers and firefighters were attacked with fireworks, bricks and bottles on Bonfire Night, as crews responded to more than 1,000 emergency calls across the country. The force said residents in Edinburgh and Glasgow were left "terrified" by the "targeted" disorder and that police were carrying out inquiries to identify those responsible.

There were six incidents where Scottish Fire and Rescue Service teams were attacked - three in Clydebank, two in Edinburgh and one in Blackridge in West Lothian. Police officers were also attacked with fireworks and missiles but said incidents of serious disorder had fallen compared to last year.

Tony Marsh Fireworks were hurled at police officers in riot gear in Niddrie

The Niddrie, Calder Road, Gracemount and Moredun areas of Edinburgh and the Pollokshields area of Glasgow were the worst affected, police confirmed. Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs said: “While I am encouraged that we didn’t see the same levels of serious disorder, when compared to last year, I am under no illusion that the actions of a minority of individuals still had a significant and detrimental impact on various communities across Scotland. “Their actions will not be tolerated, and detectives are working tirelessly to make arrests and ensure all of those involved in the offences we witnessed are brought to account.”

In Edinburgh, large groups of youths had gathered and thrown fireworks, bottles and bricks at cars and police vehicles. A police helicopter was brought in to assist with the operation. Footage taken from the helicopter showed large groups of people throwing missiles at officers and fireworks at public property.

Watch: Fireworks set off on Scottish streets on Bonfire Night

A major incident public portal has been created for people to share video and photo evidence of Bonfire Night offences in their area. A police spokesperson said they received a report of 21 cars being damaged by fireworks at a car dealership in Calder Road, Edinburgh. Several car windows were smashed and bodywork was dented and scratched. Staff at a nearby BP petrol station told the BBC they had to seal off pumps to prevent an explosion as fireworks were being launched into the restaurant next door.

Vandals smashed car windows at the dealership on Calder Road

Ch Supt David Robertson, divisional commander for Edinburgh, said police would leave “no stone unturned" in identifying those responsible. He said: “Law-abiding members of the public living in Niddrie, Calder Road, Gracemount and Moredun were left terrified as serious disorder took place in their communities and vital bus services that allow safe travel across our city were violently attacked, which is entirely unacceptable." Control zones banning the use of fireworks in certain areas of Edinburgh are in place until 10 November for the first time. Parts of Glasgow were due to be covered by a similar ban but it was delayed until next year due to a council error. Police said fire crews were called to large number of unauthorised bonfires being lit in Glasgow and they were met with large groups of hostile youths.

A clean-up takes place on Albert Drive in Pollokshields

Adopted children to have closer contact with birth families

BBC Angela lost contact with her two sons after they were removed from her in 2004 and adopted by another family

Adopted children are likely to be allowed much closer contact with their birth families in the future as part of “seismic” changes recommended in a report published today. Some families say the changes are long overdue - but others worry they may deter people from adopting.

Angela Frazer-Wicks’ two sons were removed from her care and adopted in 2004, when they were aged five and one. She was in an abusive relationship and had problems with addiction and her mental health. By 2011 Angela had recovered, she was in a new relationship, and had a baby daughter. The local authority was not involved in her daughter’s care. Angela’s sons and their adoptive parents had stayed in touch with her - writing letters and sending photos once or twice a year. But when the older of the two boys became a teenager, he told his adoptive mother he no longer wanted to write to his birth mother. Angela carried on sending cards, but heard nothing back for years. Then out of the blue, in 2020, Angela received an email from her eldest son. It turned out he had been trying to contact her, but the local authority had told him that wasn’t possible. Last month, Angela met her eldest son in person - it was the first time she had seen him for 20 years. “It was amazing for me," Angela says, "even more so for my daughter - she’s waited her entire life to meet her brother.”

Angela and her eldest son were recently reunited, 20 years after he was removed from her care

Adoption is the state’s most powerful intervention in family life. It is a permanent break between a child and their birth family, and alters the child's identity forever. In law they are no longer the child of their birth parents – whose names are removed from their birth certificate. Most adopted children grow up without seeing or knowing any of their birth family. Around 3,000 children are adopted in England each year. It’s a process that must be authorised by judges in family courts, who set out the level of contact the child will have with their birth parents - usually just letters, sent twice a year, via an intermediary. While adoption law has evolved over the years - allowing children to know more about their history than they once did, in some ways, families say, adoption is still very much stuck in the past. Now a new report from a group of adoption experts says wholesale reform of the system is needed. It says most children are now adopted from care, with only a small number "relinquished" for adoption. “Letterbox” contact between adopted children and birth families is outdated, the report says, instead recommending face-to-face contact where that is safe. Angela Frazer-Wicks’ describes her experience of adoption as a "life sentence… without any right to appeal". As chair of trustees of the charity Family Rights Group, she is pleased mothers like her will have more chance to continue seeing their children after they have been adopted. “It’s a seismic shift,” Angela says. “It’s been such a long time coming. My hope is that we start to see just a bit more compassion towards birth families - they are so often seen as the problem.”

Cassie (left) was adopted by Dee (right) at the age of three. Cassie found meetings with her birth mother traumatic

While meeting birth family can be very positive for some adopted children, face-to-face meetings aren’t good for all children in this position. When Cassie was adopted aged three, she constantly worried about the mother she’d been take away from. Out shopping with her adoptive parents Dee and John, Cassie would even ask if she could buy groceries for her birth mum. Dee was advised it would be reassuring for Cassie to meet her birth mother face-to-face. Their reunion, in a noisy contact centre, went well – but the following day Cassie was very tired, pale and limp. Dee decided to take Cassie to the doctor, and by the time they arrived at the surgery Cassie was trembling and vomiting uncontrollably. But there was nothing physically wrong the doctor said - Cassie was in shock. For nearly two years Cassie and Dee went to specialist therapy. Cassie still seemed to worry about her birth mother, and would try to call her on a toy telephone. Another meeting was arranged, in a quieter environment, with support. After that, Cassie, who is now aged 30, says she didn’t want to see her birth mother again. “I never felt a strong urge,” she says. “I had all the information about her.”

With more recent adoptions, there is a new kind of risk. Children can trace their birth family online - and some will go and meet them. That can lead to conflict with adoptive parents, even adoption breakdown. “The children become very emotionally mixed up,” says Sir Andrew McFarlane, the head of the Family Court in England and Wales. “If you’re trying to work out who you are you in the world, and you have some memory of the family you lived with until you were four or five… it’s almost natural to try and trace them and be in touch with them.” Without expert help, this can have disastrous consequences. In 2021 one couple told the BBC it was “devastating” to see their two adopted sons turn against them and get drawn into crime, after they had been reunited with their birth family. There is no accurate data on how many adoptions break down. The charity Adoption UK has said it varies between 3% and 9%.

Following a four-year review and consultation, the 170-page report published today says greater consideration should be given to whether adopted children “should have face-to-face contact with those who were significant to them before they were adopted”. The extremely detailed report is strongly supported by Sir Andrew - the most senior judge in the family courts - who says there is no need to change the law for this to be enacted. The report is intended as a review of the adoption process and a "catalyst for positive changes". Among the dozens of other recommendations are reforming the law on international adoption, and setting up a national register for court adoption records to make it easier for people to find their own files. The report also recommends dropping the term “celebration” for parents’ last visit to court with the child they are adopting.

Many adoptive parents agree the current "letterbox" system of contact is not effective. The charity Adoption UK found that most adopters expect the shift outlined in the report will deter people who are thinking of adopting, at a time when the number of people coming forward to adopt is in decline. Others think it could create further problems.

Nigel Priestley is a specialist adoption solicitor and an adopter himself. He has seen the issues this contact can cause. “I think it’s enormously risky,” he says. “In my view there is a grave danger that if you once open Pandora’s Box shutting it will be impossible.”

Israeli strikes kill at least 40 in east Lebanon - health ministry

Reuters People search through rubble following a strike in the town of al-Ain in the Baalbek region on Wednesday

At least 40 people were killed in Israeli air strikes in eastern Lebanon on Wednesday, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The Israeli military said the strikes, in the governorates of Baalbek and Bekaa, hit operatives and infrastructure of the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. Lebanon's culture minister said one of the strikes seriously damaged an Ottoman-era building in the vicinity of the Roman ruins in the city of Baalbek, which is a Unesco World Heritage site. Strikes also hit the southern suburbs of Beirut on Wednesday, after the Israeli military issued new evacuation warnings. The military said it struck Hezbollah command centres, weapons stores and other infrastructure.

A later military warning covered four neighbourhoods in southern Beirut including an area near Lebanon's only commercial airport, which has continued to operate during the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Soon afterwards, pictures showed a large fireball and thick black smoke rising into the night sky above Beirut. Meanwhile, a rocket fired by Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon killed an Israeli man near a kibbutz in northern Israel, paramedics said.

Reuters A large fireball was seen near Beirut's airport following an overnight Israeli strike

On Wednesday morning, Lebanon's Civil Defence agency said the bodies of 30 people had been recovered from a four-storey apartment building that was hit by an Israeli strike the previous evening. The building in Barja, a predominantly Sunni Muslim coastal town south of Beirut that is outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds, was reportedly housing displaced people. The Israeli military said it had struck "terror infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah. A man who lived on one of the upper floors of the apartment building said his son and wife were injured by falling masonry. "These rocks that you see here weigh 100kg, they fell on a 13kg kid," Moussa Zahran told Reuters news agency as he surveyed the damage. “I removed [the rocks] and... handed my son to the civil defence through the window. I carried my wife and came downstairs and got out behind the building... I thank God, glory be to Him, for this miracle.” An Irish Times correspondent cited a member of the civil defence at the scene as saying that those killed whose bodies were found complete included seven women and three children - a seven-month-old baby and two girls aged seven and 12. Neighbours also said the building was housing displaced people who had fled from other areas, she added. There was no evacuation warning ahead of the strike, according to Reuters. The Lebanese health ministry gave a preliminary death toll of 20 from the strike on Barja late on Tuesday but did not provide an updated figure on Wednesday.

Reuters Moussa Zahran said his wife and son were injured by the air strike in Barja

On Wednesday evening, the ministry said 40 people had been killed and 53 others injured in a series of Israeli strikes in Bekaa and Baalbek governorates, which make up most of the eastern Bekaa Valley. They included 16 people killed in the village of Nasriyah and 11 in Baalbek city, it added. Lebanese Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada also told the director-general of Unesco that one of the strikes had "caused serious damage to the ancient Manshiya building" in Baalbek city, which he said dated back to the Ottoman period and was located in the vicinity of the ruins of several Roman temples. "The destruction of this exceptional monument next to a Unesco World Heritage site is an irremediable loss for Lebanon and for world heritage," he warned. An AFP news agency correspondent also reported that the famous 19th Century Palmyra Hotel near the Roman ruins was damaged by nearby strikes, which the health ministry said killed two people. On Thursday morning, the Israeli military put out a statement saying it had killed approximately 60 Hezbollah fighters in strikes on about 20 "terror targets" in the area of Baalbek and north of the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) north of the border with Israel. Dozens of other strikes targeted a rocket launcher, weapons storage facilities and other infrastructure, it added.

The military also said it had killed the commander of Hezbollah’s forces in the southern border region of Khiam, and that a number of other Hezbollah fighters had been killed by air strikes and by troops operating inside southern Lebanon over the past day. Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s new secretary general, Naim Qassem, said in a speech that the group had “tens of thousands of trained resistance combatants” ready to fight and that nowhere in Israel was “beyond the reach of our drones and missiles”. "I will tell you very clearly, our conviction is that only one thing can stop this war of aggression, and that is the battlefield," he declared, adding that he did not believe "political action" would end the conflict. The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired about 170 rockets into northern and central Israel on Wednesday. In the evening, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said a man was killed by a rocket near the kibbutz of Kfar Masaryk, which is south of the coastal town of Acre. Paramedics said the man was found in a field with severe shrapnel wounds and that he was pronounced dead at the scene. Later, Israeli media identified him as Sivan Sade, an 18-year-old resident of Kfar Masaryk who had been working in the field.

Reuters A large section of a Hezbollah rocket hit a parked car in the town of Raanana, near Tel Aviv

Paralympian leads effort to improve travel for disabled people

Baroness Grey-Thompson had to crawl off a train in August after arriving in King's Cross and facing a long wait for assistance

In September, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner, who uses a wheelchair, had to crawl along the floor of a Polish Airlines LOT plane in order to reach the toilet.

"For too long, disabled passengers haven’t had the standard of assistance and service they need," said Transport Secretary Louise Haigh.

The Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group, announced by the government, will work to make flying accessible for all "from booking to baggage claim".

Paralympic champion Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is to lead a new group of experts tasked with improving air travel for disabled passengers.

Our correspondent, who has been paralysed since being shot by al-Qaeda gunmen in Saudi Arabia 20 years ago, described his ordeal as both physically deeply uncomfortable and degrading.

LOT, which flies in and out of Heathrow, said it was not its policy to have onboard aisle chairs, while British Airways, Easyjet and other airlines carry them as standard.

It was, our correspondent said, shameful that disabled passengers flying out of British airports should still be discriminated against in this way.

In August, Baroness Grey-Thompson was forced to "crawl off" a train arriving at London's King's Cross after waiting in vain for assistance for 20 minutes.

LNER said later it was investigating what had happened and was "sorry to understand" there had been "an issue" at the station.

The new group, which will also include Sophie Morgan, co-founder of global disability campaign body Rights on Flights, will meet for the first time later this month. It will deliver recommendations and proposed actions to the transport secretary next year, following a nine-month review.

"The taskforce will engage directly with individuals who have first-hand experience of flying with a disability, ensuring the group can act as a platform to advocate for disabled passengers and that consumer voices are at the heart of progress," the Department for Transport said.

The group "will run in partnership between industry and consumers and look at tackling the biggest barriers to air travel for disabled passengers", it added.

Issues under consideration may include:

Being left onboard aircraft without timely assistance

Poorly handled wheelchairs

Inadequate service

Lack of access to toilet facilities

Limited access to clear information

The group will have industry representation from Jet2, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair, BA and travel association ABTA, as well as London Stansted, East Midlands, Manchester and Glasgow airports.

It will "agree short and long-term practical and achievable actions that can be implemented by the industry, the regulator or the government", the Department for Transport said.

"I am looking forward to working with disabled people, industry experts and the Department for Transport to improve access to flying," said Baroness Grey-Thompson.

"It is essential that the rights of each passenger are protected at every aspect of their journey, so they can travel with the respect they deserve."

Ms Morgan said: "This is an important milestone in the ongoing fight for rights on flights. For far too long disabled people have suffered when flying and enough is enough."

She said the group would be "holding airports and airlines to account".

"We need to improve laws without question, without a shadow of a doubt," she told BBC Breakfast. "There's enough horror stories out there".

She added she hopes the civil aviation authority would be given more power to "fine or punish" airlines that fall short of providing for disabled passengers.

With the creation of the new group of experts, the government had "sent a powerful message to the community and airline industry that change is in the air", she added.

"Under the leadership of Baroness Grey-Thompson and with accomplished members like Sophie Morgan, this group will help break down barriers and deliver lasting and meaningful improvements to ensure passengers always comes first," Louise Haigh said.

Amy Dowden's injury not related to health scares

Getty Images Dowden opened up about her ordeal with breast cancer in a BBC documentary, Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me, which was broadcast in September

Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has stressed that the reason she will not be returning to the series this year has "nothing to do with any previous health scares". Two weeks ago Dowden was taken to hospital as a "precaution" after she began "feeling unwell". On Wednesday, she told Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two that she has a "insufficiency stress fracture, if I've said that right, on my shin". Dowden, 34, returned to competing in the BBC show for its 20th anniversary series after missing out last year while undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

She said she was "absolutely gutted" to be pulling out of this season's shows, but was told she needed "to rest for a couple of weeks".

'Heartbroken'

In a tearful interview with presenter Janette Manrara, Dowden added that she was "heartbroken" about the decision. "Being back with the Strictly family was the best rehab." She said she hoped she would be "back dancing in some capacity, maybe in a group number, by the end of the series". Fellow pro Lauren Oakley will take her place, pairing up with Dowden's celebrity partner, JLS singer JB Gill. Oakley stood in for Dowden last Saturday, with the pair performing a Bruno Mars medley and scoring 39 points. Dowden said Gill was "so talented, like he picks up the routine so fast, it's unbelievable". "But, most importantly, he just loves to dance. "He's enjoying his magical, Strictly journey, and honestly, I can't wait to watch them just continue, in JB's words, he'd say - 'That's dope'." On Instagram, Gill praised Dowden for her "fight and determination" and said he had "nothing but admiration" for her.

Dowden had been dancing with JLS singer JB Gill

'It is scary': Women call for action on street safety

BBC Shauna (left) and Aisling helped organise the march

Young women have been sharing their experiences of feeling unsafe on the streets of Belfast, as part of an event highlighting violence against women and girls. About 500 people took part in the march which was organised by a Queen's University society called Walkie Talkie Girlies. "You need to let people know where you are and stick together because that's the best way to keep safe, that’s what Walkie Talkie Girlies are trying to do," said one student. They walked from Queen's university to Belfast City Hall, which was lit up pink to highlight the dangers faced by women and girls.

Abi Dynan says she takes vital percautions when she is out in Belfast

Student, Abi Dynan said she and her friends share their phone locations with each other and stick together on nights out. She said: "You need to let people know where you are and stick together because that's the best way to keep safe and that’s why I, and all our friends, have our locations shared with each other, whenever we are out we never leave each other, even if someone wants to go home early. "You need to let people know where you are and stick together because that's the best way to keep safe and that’s what Walkie Talkie Girlies are trying to do." When asked about the strategies in place to protect women and girls, she told BBC News NI "the ending violence strategy had some great sentiment but until events like this happen, where you can get the attention of people that need to take notice, nothing will happen."

Hundreds marched to City Hall to highlight violence against women and girls

Plans were put in motion before recent incidents in Londonderry in which women were attacked in public. Shauna McKey and Aisling Cannon, both law students, said the reality is that women are having to take precautions to protect themselves against harassment and violence. "Even just sharing your location with friends, where you're going to be, estimated times of when you're going to get there, carrying a personal safety alarm," said Aisling. "Also trying not to walk by yourself. These are the things you have to do as a woman to make yourself feel safer. This is what is happening, this is the reality for a lot of people." Shauna McKey said safety was always in the back of her mind. "When it does come into the darker nights and it's cold and you have your hood up, you're glancing around to make sure nobody's following you, you're panicking a bit. "I commute to and from university and walking in the darker nights, it is scary."

'I dont want to become a statistic,' said Winona

Due to recent events, some find it imperative to join organisations like Walkie Talkie Girlies. Winona is one of them. "The news that Belfast was the most violent city in Europe made me inclined to do something about it, so when I heard about this event happening, I knew I had to go. She told BBC News NI "when you see these things in the news, you don’t want to become part of a statistic."

Shonagh says passing comments or wolf-whistling should never be normalised

Police video shows firework attacks as 19 arrested

Police helicopter footage shows Bonfire Night disorder in Edinburgh

Police helicopter footage has captured the firework disorder in Edinburgh, as officers confirmed they made 19 arrests over Halloween and Bonfire Night. Six people have been charged under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles Act and 26 further charges have been made for related criminal behaviour. Police Scotland released video showing how officers were attacked with fireworks, bricks and bottles on Bonfire Night and said more arrests would be made. The force said residents in Edinburgh and Glasgow were "terrified" by targeted disorder and inquiries were continuing to identify those responsible.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) received 1,000 emergency calls from across the country. There were six incidents where fire crews were attacked - three in Clydebank, two in Edinburgh and one in Blackridge in West Lothian. Police officers were also attacked but said incidents of serious disorder had fallen compared to last year.

Tony Marsh Fireworks are hurled at police officers in riot gear in Niddrie

The Niddrie, Calder Road, Gracemount and Moredun areas of Edinburgh and the Pollokshields area of Glasgow were the worst affected. Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs said: “While I am encouraged that we didn’t see the same levels of serious disorder, when compared to last year, I am under no illusion that the actions of a minority of individuals still had a significant and detrimental impact on various communities across Scotland. “Their actions will not be tolerated, and detectives are working tirelessly to make arrests and ensure all of those involved in the offences we witnessed are brought to account.”

In Edinburgh, large groups of youths had gathered and thrown fireworks, bottles and bricks at cars and police vehicles. A police helicopter was brought in to assist with the operation. The helicopter footage showed large groups of people throwing missiles at officers and fireworks at public property.

Watch: Fireworks set off on Scottish streets on Bonfire Night

A major incident public portal has been created for people to share video and photo evidence of Bonfire Night offences in their area. A police spokesperson said they received a report of 21 cars being damaged by fireworks at a car dealership in Calder Road, Edinburgh. Several car windows were smashed and bodywork was dented and scratched. Staff at a nearby BP petrol station told the BBC they had to seal off pumps to prevent an explosion as fireworks were being launched into the restaurant next door.

Vandals smashed car windows at the dealership on Calder Road

Control zones banning the use of fireworks in certain areas of Edinburgh are in place until 10 November for the first time. Parts of Glasgow were due to be covered by a similar ban but it was delayed until next year due to a council error. Police said fire crews were called to large number of unauthorised bonfires being lit in Glasgow and they were met with large groups of hostile youths. Footage taken in Pollokshields, in the south side of the city, showed fireworks being set off by a group in the middle of the street. The Unison union said residents saw large groups of young men causing disorder until 02:00, firing "industrial-sized" fireworks and setting fire to public property.

The clean-up on Albert Drive in Pollokshields