18/10/2011 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at 10pm: The squeeze on household budgets as inflation

rises sharply. It reached 5.2%, the highest for three years, driven

mainly by energy prices. I never know if I am going to have enough

money by the time I get the tail, so I'm having to put stuff back and

go without basics. But the Bank of England says tonight, inflation

will fall back sharply early next year. We'll be looking at the

impact of high inflation on the Government's finances.

Also tonight: A joyous homecoming for an Israeli soldier, held by

Hamas for the past five years. In a controversial exchange, hundreds of

Palestinians are released by the Israelis.

It's official. Liam Fox did break the ministerial code in his

dealings with friend Adam Werrity. In Bahrain, protests against the

killing of a teenager by government troops. We have a special report.

There is so much tension in these villages, that when processions

like this... Often it ends in tear- gas, and more animosity.

The winner of the 2011 at Man Booker Prize is Julian Barnes.

And the sense of a triumph as the favourite scoops the Man Booker

prize. Later on the BBC News Channel, we

have the reaction from the Champions' League games. Manchester

United and Man City have been Good evening. The rising cost of

gas, electricity and fuel has driven the rate of inflation to

another high. As measured by the consumer prices index, inflation

reached 5.2% last month, which could have big implications for the

Government's finances. But the governor of the Bank of England

says he expects inflation to fall back sharply early next year, as

Stephanie Flanders reports. Inflation in Britain is supposed to

stay at around 2% but it would be easy to forget, whether it is the

gas bill or the price of a weekly shop, it has all been going up and

up. The result? Inflation at 5.2%. The old RPI, which includes housing,

it is at 5.6%. That is the highest since 1991, when Alex in Wakefield

wasn't even born. She is on benefits and the rising cost of

living is forcing impossible choices. Do I buy her new shoes or

do I get some gas? Do I get new clothes or food? That down the road,

shop owners face tough choices of their own. His family have owned

but she shops in Wakefield for over 100 years. Fuel costs, energy costs,

it is having a dramatic effect. We are having to absorb some of the

prices ourselves but unfortunately we have to pass it on to the

customers as well. There were no apologies from the Governor of the

Bank of England tonight. Instead, he spoke about the global forces

that are making life difficult for everyone. The British economy, too,

has enjoyed the benefits of globalisation. Now we are seeing

some of the costs, as they played out in a global financial crisis.

The Bank of England doesn't like to see inflation so high for so long

but the way they tell it, they didn't have a better alternative.

If they tried to get inflation out of the system more quickly by

jacking up interest rates, that would have done more harm than good,

they think, by causing a recession. Critics say the causation runs the

other way, that higher inflation has heard growth by cutting family

budgets. -- hurt growth. This does need to be put at the Monetary

Policy Committee's door and it is a sign of failure for policy because

the United Kingdom as much higher inflation than most competitive

countries. That is damaging competitiveness and demand at home.

If you are on benefits, it is good news the September inflation rate

turned out to be so high because that is the number they were used

to increase benefits next year and the other piece of good news for

all of us is that inflation now should be on the way down. When

inflation rose this high three years ago, everybody expected it to

come down quickly, and it did. Now it is back up again and again,

everyone, including the banks, says it will fall back towards 2%, but

that is not entirely good news. are in an era of fundamental

economic weakness and demand is very weak, out but is very weak, we

have a serious threat of a new recession -- out but is very weak.

We would normally expect inflation to drop back sharply and I think we

will see that. The debate about who to blame will continue but the

relentless rise in inflation should now be coming to an end. The bad

economic news continues. Stephanie Flanders is here.

You heard Mervyn King saying that inflation will come down

dramatically next year and yet he is still listed lots of

uncertainties. Are they on track? We have often heard a very vigorous

defence from the Bank of England of the government's policies. We only

had a bit of that today and I think it because it was a sober speech,

talking about the global economic situation and the constraints that

it puts on our policy makers and our recovery. He is thinking not

just of the eurozone crisis, although he does want ibid solution

from the eurozone summit this weekend, but also he wants the G20

leaders next month to be addressing the global imbalances, which he

says are at the heart of the financial crisis. Until we get that,

he thinks it will be even harder for the government to bring down

borrowing as fast as it wants to, and bring down the deficit, and it

would put off the day when the Bank of England could finally get back

to interest rates that could actually encourage savers to save,

to reward them for saving, so it was a pretty sober speech for them.

The Bank of England would rather not have interest rates so low

three years after the crisis and would rather not be talking about

still injecting emergency money into the economy.

After five years in captivity, the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, has

been released by the Palestinian group Hamas and re-united with his

family. It's part of a controversial prisoner swap, which

will eventually see more than a thousand Palestinians released in

exchange. They include some who had been serving life sentences for

killing Israeli civilians and soldiers. Jeremy Bowen sent this

report. This evening, Gilad Shalit was

flown home. His family campaigned for five years to get him back and

they won the sympathy of Israelis, for whom military service is a rite

of passage for every generation. He was smiling as they drove him in.

Most Israelis support the deal that was made his freedom, even though

his ransom was the release of people they regard as terrorists

and murderous. This morning, as his family was picked up, he was waking

up in Gaza for the last time. Then Gilad Shalit, pale and thin, was

marched to freedom by the head of the Hamas military wing and his

bodyguards. He gave an interview to Egyptian TV. Of course I missed my

family, he said, and freedom, meeting people.

He hoped the deal would end wars between Israel and the Palestinians.

From dawn, Hamas fighters were deployed across Gaza, a show of

force ahead of what they saw as a victory. And Palestinian families

were gathering to welcome the prisoners' home. Men and women who

were jailed for taking up arms against Israel are exalted in

Palestinian society. Their action is seen as legitimate resistance

against occupiers. This 11-year-old was waiting for her mother,

imprisoned for ten years for helping suicide bombers meet their

targets. Her father was not been released. Back in Israel, Gilad

Shalit was being welcomed by the Prime Minister, Netanyahu. He

needed some good news after a difficult political summer. His

father ran a tenacious campaign which helped the Israelis pay,

which for them, is a high price for Gilad Shalit's freedom. In Gaza,

Palestinian prisoners were welcomed by Hamas leaders, whose own need

for a victory meant they cashed in their Israeli asset for left then

they had hoped. Other prisoners have been deported, and illegal

Israeli Act say human rights workers. On the West Bank, clashes

started as they waited for the prisoners. No sign of a new

positive atmosphere here, just the old one. The West Bank welcomed --

welcome was led by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. But other

Palestinians celebrated, they all knew that Hamas had succeeded where

Mahmoud Abbas had failed. After 12 years inside, this man, a Hamas

fighter, summed up the mood. Our enemies, he said, only respond to

force. These men are being treated as conquering heroes. What freed

them was a transaction between Hamas and the Israelis. It doesn't

in itself get them closer to a peace agreement because there are

still all the big issues of war and peace and the future of this land

that remain. In Gaza tonight, they are still celebrating victory. Not

a chance for peace. That will have to wait, for Palestinians and

Israelis. Jeremy is in Jerusalem now. Some

people today are seeing this as a major step forward in the search

for a peace settlement at some stage. How do you see it?

I don't see it like that to be quite honest. It didn't take a big

political leap of faith to make this deal. Effectively Gilad Shalit

was always effectively the sale, as long as the price was right. It so

happened that this summer they managed to agree a price that

suited them both. Also, big deal Wiggins President Mahmoud Abbas. He

asked for Israel to release prisoners as a gesture of good

faith. It did not do that. It did it go for Hamas, who were holding a

man by force. So I think to wrap it all up, I would say it is a good

day for family reunions on both sides. It may not make things worse,

although some Israelis think that is possible. But what this does not

do of itself is help any renewed attempt to get back to the

negotiating table because don't forget, at the moment, there isn't

a peace process of any kind worth mentioning.

Fang Kew, Jeremy. -- a thank you, Jeremy.

At Bristol Crown Court, a jury has heard that the man accused of

murdering Joanna Yeates confessed to the killing to a prison chaplain.

Vincent Tabak is said to have made the claims shortly after he was

arrested in January. Miss Yeates, who was 25, was found strangled in

December last year. Mr Tabak has admitted manslaughter but denies

murder. Two men jailed for using Facebook

to incite people to riot in August have lost appeals against their

four-year sentences. The judge said decent citizens had been appalled

by the actions of 21-year-old Jordan Blackshaw of Northwich and

22-year-old Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan The former Defence Secretary Liam

Fox ignored official warnings about his relationship with his

unofficial adviser, Adam Werrity. That's one of the findings of the

Cabinet Secretary, whose report into the Fox affair was published

today. He concludes that Dr Fox did breach the ministerial code but

didn't gain financially from his links to Mr Werrity. James Landale

has the details. It was a friendship that cost Liam

Fox his job. A friendship that saw his best man pose as his unofficial

adviser. A friendship that blurred their professional and personal

lives. Dr Fox resigned last week after it emerged that Adam Werritty

had been funded by some businessmen with defence interests, funds which

on one occasion the former Defence Secretary had solicited himself.

Since last week, Sir Gus O'Donnell, on the right, has been

investigating and today his conclusions were unequivocal. He

found no evidence that Dr Fox gained financially from his

relationship with Mr Werrity, he was given no access to classified

documents, but he said Dr Fox's blurred official and private life

was not acceptable. It created a perceived conflict of interest and

that was the failure of judgment on his part. The report also reveals

that top officials at the MoD warned Dr Fox about this

relationship but he ignored them. He kept them in the dark about the

extent of the meetings and put his staff at risk by revealing details

of foreign visits to Mr Werrity. Labour said all this was not enough.

We need a much wider inquiry that looks at all of the details. Not

just Liam Fox's diary and relationship with Mr Werrity, but

which other government ministers met Mr Werrity and why? Who was

giving Mr Werrity all of this money and why? This report did not answer

all of the questions but it did say that divorce in Whitehall should be

tightened. Officials should accompany ministers to meetings,

civil servants should talk to ministers about acquaintances and

if they are not happy, ultimately tell the Prime Minister. It is

damaging for Liam Fox. We are relieved there was no financial

gain and impact on national security. It is a warning to all

ministers that the ministerial code is there to be honoured and if you

greeted, there are serious consequence is. The consequences

for Liam Fox is that he has had to spend a few days consigned to his

Somerset constituency but he is back in Westminster now it is

expected to make a statement to MPs tomorrow. This report is damning to

Liam Fox and MPs say the rules out an early return to office, but it

is not the end of the affair. Adam Werritty has hired some lawyers and

the Prime Minister will face questions on this in the Commons

tomorrow. There is still the possibility of police

Coming up, we're live at the Man Booker ceremony in London. The

Guildhall is buzzing for what is the most contentious prize for

years, which has taken place amid An independent report into

allegations of beatings, torture and murder in police custody in

Bahrain will be published shortly. It was commissioned by the King of

Bahrain following international criticism of his government's

reponse to the failed uprising in the spring. Our security

correspondent, Frank Gardner, has returned to the Gulf state to

assess the human rights situation and hear the testimonies of some

who have given evidence to the They say this boy was a martyr.

Villagers from Bahrain's Shia majority protest against the

killing of a teenager in a recent clash. There is so much tension

Indies Shi'ite villages that when the there are processions like this,

often it ends in tear gas, more animosity and Matthew Bates. To see

the other side, I joined a patrol of the special security force, the

people feared by the protesters. This is what they do every night,

going out to the villages and checking out the demonstrations,

the protests, the road blocks. They're confronting sporadic civil

disobedience. Road blocks and rock throwing by youths who government

supporters call traitors. Back in February, at the height of the

uprising, the security forces' heavy-handed tactics caused

international outrage. One of those attacked was this doctor, who gave

the BBC a bedside interview at the time. They started beating me with

sticks. I told them, I am a doctor, but I believe they were not

listening. So, they started beating me. They said, we will kill you and

let you die here. The King has responded to all of these

allegations by commissioning an international inquiry. The

government is on something of a Even by the demonstrators it was

not just by the government and those issues have been faced...

the demonstrators are not in charge. What I am saying is that abuses

happened from everyone but were they systematic? No. They were not.

They agreed to let me see inside a police detention centre. This is

not the main prison and nor is it where most of the interrogations

have taken place but this was the first visit by the media. Most

inmates said they were well treated all the one, a convicted criminal,

whispered he had been beaten. This countries harbouring thousands of

human rights allegations, many investigated by the Commission. How

the government reacts to their findings will help determine what

Two British teenagers have been arrested in Kenya on suspicion of

having links with an Islamist group in Somalia. The men, both aged 18,

were picked up close to the border with Somalia. The father of one of

the teenagers travelled to Kenya and worked with police to find his

son. A vaccine against one of the world's biggest killers of children,

malaria, has come a step closer. Results from a major clinical trial

in Africa show that the vaccine cuts the likelihood of getting the

disease by half, raising hopes that there may soon be a more robust

defence for the billons at risk worldwide. Our medical

correspondent, Fergus Walsh, This is a, and sight in many

African hospitals, children laid low by malaria. The parasitic

infection is spread by mosquitoes. An effective vaccine would

transform the life chances of millions. This nine-month-old is

one of those to receive the experimental jab being trialled in

several African countries. Malaria is a global threat, about 3 billion

people in the areas covered red are people in the areas covered red are

at risk of infection. But most of the nearly one million deaths every

year are in Africa. Nearly 6,000 children under two were involved in

the trial. Results showed malaria cases were cut by about half, but

the effectiveness may have waned the effectiveness may have waned

after about one year. Over the next couple of years we will get a clear

view over what is really happening with protection, is it just that

people are acquiring natural immunity, do we need a booster dose

or not? All of that will become clearer in the next couple of years.

Bill Gates has given billions for vaccines in the developing world,

and is encouraged by the results. It is very promising, the very fact

that this vaccine works gives us data about how to build better

vaccines, and it gives us a tall to combine with the other measures, to

help us bring the number of deaths down. Nets and insecticides will

remain vital. The vaccine is no magic bullet. But even a jab that

was 50% effective could save huge numbers of lives in the years to

Europe's highest court has ruled that stem cells from human embryos

cannot be patented, because of ethical concerns. A group of

leading scientists in the UK has criticised the ban, saying it could

force research to go overseas. Within the past hour, the winner of

this year's Man Booker Prize has been announced. It is worth �50,000.

This year, the standards have been questioned by some. For the latest,

we are joining our arts editor, Will Gompertz. There is much

excitement and some amusement here, because Julian Barnes, the man who

said a few years ago that the Booker Prize was nothing more than

a game of "posh bingo" or, was the man who won. The 65-year-old has

been shortlisted three times before, but this is the first occasion he

has won. The winner of the 2011 Man Booker prize is Julian Barnes For

The Sense Of An Ending. He took the opportunity to speak his mind.

Those of you who have seen my book, whatever you may think of its

contents, will probably agree that it is a beautiful object. And if

the physical book, as we have come to call it, is to resist the

challenge of the book, it has to look like something worth buying

and keeping. Young writers dominated the short list, which

included two thrillers and a western. All six books were written

in the first person. But it was a writer of great experience who

triumphed. The concise, 150 page novel have long been the favourite

with the bookies, and, as it turns out, it was also the favourite of

the judges. It spoke to us in the way of great literature. We all

agreed that this was almost an archetypal book of our time. It is

a book which speaks about what it is like being a human being in 21st

century Britain. Later on in life, you expect a bit of rest, don't

you? The main character is Tony Webster, a late middle-aged man

looking back on his life, the events of which he discovers are

not quite as he remembered them. The decision to choose an

established literary figure will help to deflect some of the

criticism directed at them for dumbing down the prize, an

accusation emphatically refuted by the chairman. All of this criticism

has been a load of nonsense, in my opinion. I did use the word

readability, and I shall stick with it. At the end of the day, you have

to ask yourself, what is a novel for, if it is not to be read?

debate will probably rumble on. But tonight's event is really about

celebrating writing itself, and giving an opportunity for

publishers to raise awareness of their books, something Julian

Barnes is now unlikely to have to worry about for some time. I

suppose the thing is, if the judges' intention was to pick books

that were popular, one has to say, they succeeded. This year's

shortlist has sold nearly three times more printed books than last

year's did in the same period of time. Tonight's football action,

and both Manchester United and Manchester City have been playing

tonight in the Champions League. Our correspondent Joe Wilson was

Our correspondent Joe Wilson was watching. Manchester City have

started to swagger around the Premier League, as their wealth

demands. In Europe, they are strangely uncertain. Villarreal

took the lead with Manchester City still sleeping, just three minutes

gone. Mancini looked at his most Italian. He started making

substitutions before half-time, but he was indebted to the Spanish

defence, an own goal levelling the game. City's fans misdirected their

support, repeatedly throwing rubbish, whilst their team kept

wasting chances. Three minutes into injury time, a last, desperate

opportunity. Sergio Aguero, an Argentine substitute who was quite

prepared to play, and a manager whose European season was saved.

Romania's Otelul Galati are so obscure, there is debate about how

to pronounce their name. They held Manchester United for about an hour,

but then their captain tried to hold the ball. It was a test for