07/12/2012 BBC News at Ten

A nurse who took the hoax call from two Australian DJs about the

Duchess of Cambridge has been found dead. Jacintha Saldanha, a mother

of two, had worked at the King Edward VII Hospital for four years.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have expressed their deep sadness -

the Duchess was treated at the hospital this week for extreme

morning sickness. We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the

victim of a hoax call to the hospital. The hospital had been

supporting her through this very difficult time. Jacintha was a

first-class nurse, who cared diligently for hundreds of patients

during her time with us. Australian DJs posing as the Queen

and Prince Charles rang the hospital and managed to find out

details of the Duchess's medical condition. Tonight, the Australian

radio station issued a statement saying it was shocked and saddened

at what could only be described as a tragedy. Also tonight... David

Cameron backs gay marriage in churches and other religious

buildings but says no-one will be forced to carry out the ceremonies.

Protests again in Egypt as opposition parties refuse talks

with the president after he granted himself absolute power. I am in

Cairo, reporting on a nation more divided than at any time since the

great uprising which toppled Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.

Violence on the streets of Belfast, after a car is set on fire and

police are attacked with bricks and bottles. And the mother who went

into hiding with her son, now in court to try to stop him having

radiotherapy for a life-threatening Good evening. A nurse who took a

prank call from two Australian DJs about the Duchess of Cambridge has

been found dead. The King Edward VII Hospital, where the Duchess was

treated earlier this week for extreme morning sickness, said

Jacintha Saldanha was an excellent and well-respected nurse. She

answered the call from the DJs on Tuesday, which then led to details

of the Duchess's condition being made public live on air. Tonight,

the Duke and Duchess said they were deeply saddened to hear of her

death. The Australian radio station where the DJs worked have taken

them off the air. This report from our royal correspondent, Nicholas

Witchell, contains flash photography. It was a prank call to

a hospital three days ago which its makers thought would be funny. At

9:30am today, police were called to a nurses' accommodation near the

hospital, where they found a body. We can confirm that Jacintha was

recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital. The hospital had

been supporting her through this very difficult time. Jacintha was a

first-class nurse, who cared diligently for hundreds of patients

during her time with us. Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much

loved and valued colleague. In a statement from St James's Palace, a

spokesman said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were deeply saddened

to learn of the death of Jacintha The pranked call was made by two

Australian radio presenters, called Mel Greig and Michael Christian.

The station they have worked for, 2Day FM, has offered its deepest

sympathies. The presenters will not be returning to the station until

further notice. Jacintha Saldanha was on night duty last Monday night.

The Duchess of Cambridge had been admitted a few hours earlier. At

5:30am, the pranked call came through. She answered it and was

taken in by the corner's impersonation of the Queen. She put

the call through to a second nurse, who was monitoring the judges.

According to the hospital, Jacintha Saldanha had not been disciplined

or suspended as a result of what happened. She was married with two

children. And Nick is outside the King Edward VII Hospital for us now.

Desperately sad and a real shock... It is. Desperate is the word to use.

I have spoken today to officials, who are so shocked and so saddened,

and I'm sure that is how the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are

feeling. It will be for an inquest to work out precisely what happened

in the three days between the pranked call being received and

this morning, when Jacintha Saldanha's body was discovered. The

sequence of events, the cause of death, and any other circumstances

which may be relevant, will all be being investigated. The hospital

has said that Jacintha Saldanha was not reprimanded over what happened.

St James's Palace has been at pains to say that it never made a

complaint over the pack call, and indeed, they said they had offered

heartfelt support to the nurses who were involved in that pack call.

Tragically, it would seem, nobody was able to console Jacintha

The Government is planning to introduce legislation allowing

same-sex marriages to take place in churches, synagogues, mosques and

other religious buildings in England and Wales. David Cameron

said he was a massive supporter of the institution of marriage and he

didn't want gay people to be excluded. But he also insisted that

no church would be forced to hold a gay wedding. This report from Gary

O'Donoghue. Giving same-sex couples the right to get married has been

government policy for some time. But until now, ministers have said

churches and other religious places of worship would not be allowed to

hold the services. Now, David Cameron says individual religions

will be able to opt in to conducting gay marriages. I am in

favour of gay marriage, because I am a massive supporter of marriage

and I do not want gay people to be excluded from that great

institution. But let me be absolutely, 100% clear, if there is

any church or synagogue or mosque which does not want to have a gay

marriage, it will not, it absolutely must not, be forced to

hold it. Supporters of gay marriage know that there is significant

opposition within the Conservative Party, and today's announcements

will harden its People have been saying to me, if this goes through,

I will never vote Conservative again in my life. It is causing an

enormous amount of disunity within the party. It is the wrong issue,

brought forward at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. The Church

of England believes marriage has to involve a man and woman. Like the

Catholic Church, it is strongly opposed to changing the law. People

at Lambeth palace have described the plan as divisive, but they have

taken comfort from the fact that the whole Church will have to

decide to opt in, not individual parishes. But not everybody shares

their concerns. Britain's 20,000 Quakers have been demanding the

right to marry gay couples for a number of years. They say it is a

matter of religious freedom. want to be able to celebrate Quaker

weddings in exactly the same way, whether the couple are different

sex or same-sex. We want that to be fully recognised by the Lord.

Government will publish a bill before Easter. Conservative MPs

will be allowed to vote with their consciences when it comes before

Parliament in the early summer. But with likely support from Labour and

the Lib Dems, gay marriage could be In Egypt, thousands of opposition

protesters are tonight holding rallies near the Presidential

Palace in Cairo, after rejecting President Morsi's call for talks

over the growing political crisis there. George Alagiah is in Cairo

for us tonight. The President's opponents say President Morsi has

granted himself sweeping powers. His supporters say he needs those

powers in order to be able to meet his promises from earlier in the

year. A moment of private grief on a day of public emotion. This was

the funeral service for three men killed in clashes with opponents of

a ruling party which draws its inspiration from Islamic principles.

Despite the in mam's call for calm, once outside, political further and

religious excitement make for a heady mixture. This lady feels her

compatriots have forgotten the liberal ideals. Do you think they

are wrong to oppose President Morsi? Everybody has the right to

do that, but they do not have the right to kill innocent people. Why

do they kill them? You can stand and shout and do what you like, but

do not call him names and do not kill innocent people. The men may

have been innocent, and now, they have achieved heroic status. What

we're hearing is the language of martyrdom, supporters of an elected

government, struck down by those who oppose it. It is yet another

sign of just how polarised Egypt is becoming. At the heart of the

current crisis is President Morsi, and his recent decree giving

himself immunity from judicial scrutiny. He has used the powers to

rush through a constitution and to call a referendum on it. Tonight,

thousands of October -- opposition activists gathered outside the

Presidential Palace. In scenes reminiscent of what happened when

Hosni Mubarak was toppled, the soldiers and their tanks provide a

photo opportunity, but no menace. Here, too, they have their heroes,

and those they call martyrs. From all of them, the same accusation,

that the revolution is being hijacked. You elect the President

for a certain mandate. He has broken that mandate, he has put

himself above the law. He has done everything to break down his

legitimacy. And so a country which once united against the

dictatorship is now divided over how best to replace it. That was

George Alagiah, reporting from Cairo. In Syria, activists say

government forces have reinforced their positions in suburbs of

Damascus. There have been clashes around the city in recent days. The

opposition says it is fearful of a ground attack on rebel-held areas.

Jeremy Bowen is in Damascus, where fighting has intensified in recent

weeks. He sent this report. The soundtrack of the Damascus daily is

shelling. The regime has the heavy guns. They are the first thing you

hear in the morning, and the last thing at night. The hub of the

regime is the city centre. Armed rebels are don't in in the suburbs.

-- are Durkin. Are dug in. The rebels who failed this, and any

civilians who have not managed to escape, have been shelled steadily

in the last few days. The shells keep the rebels back from this air

base, which is a strategic strong point. The BBC was invited in to

visit its detention centre, run by air force intelligence, Syria's

most feared security service. We were not allowed to see the cell

blocks. Human rights groups say torture happens here. They paraded

six male prisoners. The men said they were not speaking under duress.

The Governor, who would not be filmed, said any doubters were

making the wrong assumptions about Syria's secular state. Syrian state

TV was in the room to film us. None of the men had been in court yet.

All had confessed to being in jihadist, Al-Qaeda-style groups.

TRANSLATION: The group's main work is making mines and explosive

devices. They produced an Algerian passport, of a man who said he was

also a French citizen, living in Marseilles.

TRANSLATION: I decided to do something for the children of Syria,

for the families, for the powerless. I decided to join the jihad, rather

than crying in front of my TV. would not answer when I have asked

if he had been tortured. All the others said they had not. Two said

they were part of a front which the Americans might soon name as a

terrorist group. I cannot vouch for what they said. As the chocolates

went round, or repeated how well they had been looked after. But a

trip to this district in Damascus explains why the regime let us see

alleged jihadists. Oh Whites, from the same sector as President Assad,

live here in flats wrecked by a big car bomb. This lady's sister was

one of 15 killed. She blames jihadist, and like all President

Assad's supporters, she backed him. Foreign diplomats here say jihadist

its do operate in Syria, as a small part of the armed rebellion. In

this city, you can really feel the strain of the war. It is turning

lives upside down, and ending them. It is impossible to say what is

going through the mind of President Assad at the moment, but what is

certain is that his regime is under more pressure now than at any time

since the uprising against him George will be back on Monday for a

week of special reports from the region.

Coming up: the revolutionary spinal surgery that saved the life of a

five-year-old girl and could one day allow her to walk.

A mother who sparked a nationwide manhunt this week after going into

hiding with her seven-year-old son has spent the day at the High Court,

challenging the medical treatment doctors say he should receive.

Sally Roberts's son had a life- threatening brain tumour. She is

trying to stop him from having radiotherapy which she says could

harm him. Leon robbers was described in court

as a feisty, funny Boy, a seven- year-old who had a brain tumour

removed in an operation, a child whose mother is questioning what

treatment happens next. Sally Roberts arrived in court today to

challenge doctors. They say her son should be treated with drugs,

chemotherapy and also with radiation. She says her doctor told

her that radiotherapy would fry her son's brain. Her son had an

operation in October to remove his brain tumour. Chemotherapy and

radiotherapy are recommended to follow, the standard treatment for

a child with this cancer. But his mum launched legal action of a High

Court, concerned that radiotherapy could damage his brain. She went

missing on Monday, but they were found yesterday. Sally Roberts told

the judge today she only wants the best for her son. Earlier, her

parents spoke to the BBC, saying that they just want every option

considered. We are not against the medical profession. We just want

the best for our grandchild. And that it is exploring every avenue.

We could be told, you are totally wrong. That is fine. The court

heard there is a risk of brain damage from radiotherapy, but it

could give more than an 80% chance of survival. The court has to

decide what is in Neon's best interest, when up the extra chance

of survival that radiotherapy could give him against the potential

long-term damage to his brain. When children need treatment, parents

have to decide, sharing the painful dilemmas with doctors. Nobody knows

more about that child and their quality of life and the choices

they would want to make than that family. What you bring as the

clinician is an understanding, having seen the progression of this

particular illness. It in Neon's case, his parents don't agree with

each other, so the judges will decide tomorrow morning.

Two police officers have been injured in Belfast tonight in

another night of violence. The arrests started earlier in the week

in response to a decision not to fly the Union flag every day over

City Hall. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on a

visit to the City that the violence from a small minority was

unacceptable and had to stop. There has been trouble in the

central Belfast again tonight. Tension has been simmering in parts

of Northern Ireland all week, with more than 20 police officers

injured. This clash was quickly brought under control, but it was

another dangerous situation. It is not the image of Belfast that local

politicians wanted on display on the day Hillary Clinton came to

visit. But she has been here seven times before, and knows that the

peace process is not perfect. She had a message for those causing

trouble on the streets. You must not use violence as a means of

expressing those strong feelings. The only path forward is a peaceful,

democratic one. The last night in Londonderry, police found a rocket

launcher, ready for use by dissident republicans. All week,

loyalists have been on the streets, protesting about the decision by

Belfast City Council to stop flying the Union flag every day. Death

threats have been issued against the MP Naomi Long, because her

party support to the flag decision. After meeting Hillary Clinton today,

she spoke about the fear of being attacked. I will not let that

threat deter me from serving constituents. I will not let it

affect decisions my party takes. Despite appeals for calm tonight,

the loyalist violence continues. But protesters claim the peace

process has made Northern Ireland last British and sake the removal

of the Union flag proves it. The trouble is happening in the heart

of the city. This area is full of bars and restaurants. Normally on a

Friday night, it is full of partygoers, but not tonight. The

police have called in extra resources, and it looks like they

will need them. UK manufacturing output fell more

sharply than expected in October, raising fears that the economy

could shrink again. Output was down 1.3% from September. It was the

worst fall since June, when output was affected by extra public

holidays for the Diamond Jubilee. Thousands of Palestinians have

welcomed the exiled political leader of Hamas to the Gaza Strip

as he made his first ever visit. Khaled Meshaal, who left the West

Bank as a child and now leads the Islamic group from Qatar, broke

down in tears and kissed the ground. It comes just over two weeks after

a ceasefire that ended days of violence between Israel and Hamas

and is being some -- seen by some as a sign of the militant group's

growing unity and power. His face can be seen all over the

Gaza Strip. But until today, he had never been here. This was an

emotional arrival after decades in exile. Khaled Meshaal, back on

Palestinian land. Gazans poured out onto the streets, hoping for a

games. But no chances are being taken. Security is tight. Past

Hamas leaders have been killed by Israel. I returned to Gaza, he said,

because even if I have never been here before, it is in my heart.

Tomorrow, a rally will be held to remember the many that died in last

month's conflict with Israel. But governing Hamas also wants it to be

seen as a sign of its growing political strength in the region.

TRANSLATION: the visit of Khaled Meshaal is historic in every sense.

It is the first time that Gaza greets these Hamas leaders. There

are welcoming committees like this lining the Ritz for Khaled Meshaal

as he is taken through Gaza. There is a sense that this visit is not

only personally important to the Hamas leader, it is politically

important to people here. There are hopes that this trip can help heal

damaging divisions in the Palestinian nationalist movement.

But it is also a reminder that after 25 years, Hamas is a force to

be reckoned with and Gaza remains its stronghold.

Surgeons in Birmingham have saved the life of a five-year-old girl

with a rare spinal disorder which meant her body was being slowly

crushed. Rosie Davies was born with part of her spine missing and has

never been able to walk. But in only the second operation of its

kind, a medical team used bone grafts to bridge the gap and are

confident that she should be able to walk with the aid of artificial

limbs. On move, Rosie is making a

remarkable recovery, just two months since pioneering surgery to

stop her body collapsing on itself. There was a cost - amputating her

lower legs. But these had never functioned, and the bone was used

as part of a unique repair which has saved her life. Before, she was

basically a timebomb. We didn't know how long we had with her.

Since having the operation, she has now had her life expectancy

increased to that of a normal child. The for her operation, Rosie's

organs were being gradually crushed by the unsupported weight of her

upper body. It would eventually have killed her. She was born with

five of her vertebrae missing. Doctors had never seen such a large

gap before. To bridge the missing section, surgeons used her

amputated lower leg bones. The permanently lock the repair into

place, they inserted these metal struts which were reported to the

vertebrae above and a poll this below. The design will allow her to

grow. Doctors at Birmingham Children's Hospital are delighted

with Rosie's progress. Not only do her organs now have the room they

need to function normally. But her stretched spinal cord has begun to

provide feeling to her upper legs. Before the surgery, she had very

little sensation in her upper legs. Immediately after the surgery, it

was obvious that sensations were getting clearer. She felt better.

She could tell us which legged was. Now she has pinpoint precision

sensation. I am getting feeling in her legs is crucial for rosy for

another reason, because it means that in the future, she may be able

to be fitted with prosthetic limbs. Whether Rosie will be able to walk

will not be known for some time. For the moment, her parents and