21/12/2012 BBC News at Ten

As America pauses to remember the Connecticut shootings, the US gun

lobby calls for armed guards in all schools.

The bells toll 26 times, as across the nation, Americans remember each

of those killed in the local primary school a week ago today.

NRA, stop killing our children. Despite interruptions by protestors,

the head of the National Rifle Association insists guns are not

the problem, they're the solution. The only thing that stops a bad guy

with a gun is a good guy with a gun. We'll be looking at how the

powerful gun lobby's intervention will affect the debate on

tightening gun controls. Also tonight:

The High Court rules a seven-year- old boy with brain cancer should

have radiotherapy against his mother's wishes.

The MoD says it's paid out �14 million to Iraqis who claim they've

been abused or wrongfully detained by British troops.

Riot police back out in force in Belfast as loyalists take to the

streets to protest. Here I am again with the picture book.

And 50 years of children's programmes on BBC One are brought

to a close. And coming up in Sportsday:

All the football scores, including news from Wolves' away trip to

Good evening. The US gun lobby has called for an

armed guard in every school, following the massacre at a primary

school in Connecticut. As America observed a minute's silence to

remember the 26 people, mostly young children, who were shot dead

a week ago today, the National Rifle Association broke its silence

to go on the offensive, arguing that what is needed is more guns,

not fewer. Just as armed guards are used to protect banks, airports and

presidents, the NRA insisted, so too they should be employed to

protect children. Mark Mardell In Newtown, the church bells tolled

out at the exact time when a week ago a young man with an assault

rifle began his massacre of children. They stood in prayer and

in silence in the rain, up passers- by and the overworked staff of a

funeral home. In a town still numb, the bells tolled 26 times, once for

each of the victims at the school. In the White House, President Obama

and his staff stood silent for a minute. Beyond the grief,

resolution and a new video in which she has vowed to push for a ban on

assault rifles. I will do everything I can to advance these

efforts. If there is even one thing we can do as a country to protect

our children, we have a responsibility to drive. There are

those who blame the National Rifle Association, for consistently and

powerfully lobbying against gun control. They have been silent

until now and some expected they would seek compromise. Not a bit of

it. Instead, raw fury, blaming the media, video games, the culture.

have blood-soaked films out there like American Psycho, Natural born

Killers, that are aired like propaganda loops on splatter days.

Isn't fantasising about killing people as a way to get your kicks

really the filthiest form of pornography? The NRA's leader

lectured for half an hour, taking no questions, but unable to avoid

the interruptions of first one protester and then another. The NRA

has blood on its hands. The NRA has blood on its hands. He argued

passionately that guns were not a problem but the solution, calling

for armed police in all of America's 100,000 schools. The only

thing that stops the bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Would

you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun, from a mile

away, or from a minute away? politician introducing the bill to

ban assault rifles is not impressed. Is this the answer, that America

should become an armed camp? I don't think so, and I don't think

that is the American Dream. If but 20 minutes away from Newtown,

opinions on arm to school guards are divided. I do not think

taxpayers should be paying for police officers in the school.

However, I think an armed guard is not a bad idea. For the few times

it happens, to have a guard in every school, I don't know how

effective it would be. Americans seemed to unite in grief this week

over the massacre of innocents, but agreeing to -- over how to prevent

such killings in future is bound to divide the country for months to

come. And Mark is in Washington now.

Given this broadside from the NRA, how difficult is it going to be for

Barack Obama to make any change to gun law? Very difficult. There is

not the majority in Congress for it. This underlines something. I

expected the NRA to make a tough stand on what they believe in, but

to be more emollient, to say, we will sit down and listen. Perhaps

there should be more checks on people when they buy guns. But that

did not happen at all. This was very stark. Their message, the gun

is the protector of liberty and security. This really strengthens

the feeling that President Obama has chosen a fight that is not

about practicalities, what works, or technicalities of details about

guns, but about culture, about what sort of country Americans want to

live in, indeed, how they see their country.

A High Court judge has ruled that a seven-year-old boy should have

radiotherapy for a brain tumour, against his mother's wishes. Sally

Roberts went into hiding with her son, Neon, earlier this month to

stop him having the treatment, because she was so worried about

the possible side effects. But, while acknowledging her concerns,

the judge said her son couldn't enjoy any quality of life if he

wasn't alive. This report from Fergus Walsh contains flash

REPORTER: What is your reaction? This was not the outcome Sally

Roberts wanted but the result of the case was never in doubt. For

four days earlier this month, she disappeared with her seven-year-old

son, delaying treatment which doctors agree is essential to save

his life. Neon Roberts has had two lots of surgery to remove a brain

tumours, but she opposes radiotherapy because of the risk of

But Mr Justice Bodey said, I find it difficult to see that doctors

would withhold alternative treatment that would improve

survival. He added, the mother has produced nothing to support her

assertion that thousands of children have survived cancer

without radiotherapy. Mr Justice Bodey said Sally Roberts had been

through a very stressful time, every parent's nightmare. But he

feared her judgment had gone awry. He said he hopes the parents would

pull together, as Neon needed the support of both of them throughout

his treatment. Neon's parents are separated. His father, who supports

the doctors, has been given custody for the remainder of his treatment.

Neon's health and recovery has always been his priority. Whilst he

has always respected the mother's views, his own opinion has always

been that Neon should have the treatment the medical team wanted.

Charities that help parents of children facing a cancer diagnosis

say that they face a huge range of emotions when dealing with the news.

The decision making is enormously complex. To them, I suppose it

feels they are playing God sometimes with their trial's life.

And particularly when they are traumatised, soon after diagnosis,

that can be incredibly difficult to make decisions. The court heard

that radiotherapy does carry risks of slightly lowering IQ and of

damaging fertility, but the judge said most children coped well and

there would be no quality of life at all if you were dead. The things

that cure cancer, surgery, 50% of patients, radiotherapy, ported cent

of patients, chemotherapy about 10% of patients. The alternative

treatments, there is no evidence of cures from those at all. Sally

Roberts has refused to talk to the media. She has a tie-up with a

national newspaper, but her legal team said that she plans to appeal.

The Ministry of Defence has said it's paid out �14 million to settle

claims from Iraqis who allege they were abused by British troops. The

admission, which involves hundreds of cases, came as a former Army

doctor was struck off over the death in British custody of the

Iraqi detainee Baha Mousa. Dr Derek Keilloh denied he'd seen anything

more than blood around Mr Mousa's nose, even though he'd suffered 93

separate injuries. Caroline Hawley's report contains disturbing

Emerging from the tribunal, the family GP who had been an army

medic back in 2003. Now, no longer allowed to practise. Baha Mousa was

the 26-year-old hotel worker who had recently lost his wife to

cancer, wrongly suspected of being an insurgent and battered to death

in British custody. This was just the start of his ordeal. What was

to follow off-camera was described by a public inquiry as gratuitous

violence involving several soldiers, although only one has ever been

punished for what happened. Derek Keilloh did try to revive Baha

Mousa, but he later lied repeatedly under oath about the extent of his

injuries. And other detainees had been badly beaten, too. Dr Chela

was found guilty of serious misconduct for failing to protect

them. -- Derek Keilloh. British troops, the tribunal found, were

working in chaotic and stressful conditions. There was a growing

insurgency and how they dealt with it is coming under increasing legal

scrutiny. It has been revealed there were hundreds of other

allegations of abuse, many of which have been settled out of court. It

has emerged that between 2008-11, the Ministry of Defence paid

compensation in 43 claims of unlawful detention and mistreatment,

including the case of Baha Mousa and the detainees held with him.

This year, it has had to settle 162 claims. The total cost has been �14

million. Many of these were kept in solitary confinement and

interrogated night and day. They were stripped naked, kept naked,

sexually humiliated in front of women. The Ministry of Defence

insists most soldiers in Iraq behave with integrity but it has

acknowledged that nearly 200 further claims are being negotiated,

and lawyers for the Iraqis continue to push for a public inquiry into

British detention practices. Government plans to reform the

banks "fall well short of what's required". That's the verdict of an

influential commission of MPs and peers examining banking standards.

It's welcomed plans to fence off the riskier parts of banks but says

new legislation should include powers to break them up altogether

if they don't implement reforms, as Hugh Pym reports.

How to avoid a repeat of this, a financial crisis, resulting in

taxpayer bail out. That is what this debate is all about, and

whether it would be best to divide up big banks. Chancellor, there is

quite a lot to get through. parliamentary commission including

the future Archbishop of Canterbury has examined Government plans for

reform of banking and said that they fall short of what is required.

It welcomed the idea of ring- fencing, separating high street

operations from riskier investment banking, putting a wall between

them, so the money of sabres can be secured if the bank runs into

trouble. But it says the plan needs to be strengthened. Full separation

might be needed. We are suggesting that if the banks poke around on

this ring-fenced too much and tried to get through it, find ways round

it, they run the risk of false separation. The commission wants

regulators, if they think new rules are not working, to have powers to

make big banks split themselves up. This is a major challenge to the

Treasury. It will have to come up with a detailed response to the

proposals, as it starts to steer legislation through Parliament next

year. That will implement crucial reforms which will shape the future

of British banking for decades to come. I welcome the fact that they

agree that ring-fencing is the right model for reforming the

banking system. They have made some new suggestions about how we could

strengthen the legislation. We will be looking at that carefully.

Getting the detail right on reforming major banks will be a key

priority for the Government. Labour says that today's report is a wake-

up call for ministers. They say we should legislate now in case we

need to break up the banks and put that irresponsibility behind us. It

is a radical, challenging and difficult report for the Government.

But the banking industry says uncertainty over what will be

implemented can only hurt the wider economy. It makes it difficult for

them to raise money from investors which they used to lend to small

businesses and homeowners. While that uncertainty hangs over banks,

we will carry on having a frank -- is fragile banking system that

cannot play a role in promoting economic growth. The banking system

nearly collapsed four years ago. People say it must never happen

again and that is why the plans are There are more loyalist protests in

Belfast over plans to limit the days in which the no-fly flies over

City Hall. -- in which the flag flies over City Hall.

Belfast, 2012. Four days before Christmas. Riot police on the main

route through east Belfast. Loyalist protesters, blocking the

road. Police warned that they would have to use force to move them.

There were 38 protests across the city, only some of them involve

road blocks but there was widespread travel disruption. Many

rugby supporters attending an all- star match in East Belfast were

delayed. I think it's absolutely crazy. I think it is absolute

nonsense. There is nothing like inconveniencing your own community.

It's kind of boring, isn't it? It's predictable. At this time of year

you would think people would rise above it and get on with their

normal lives. The protests have been happening for almost three

weeks, since Belfast City Council decided to stop flying the Union of

flag every day. No surrender! of them have turned violent. More

than 30 police officers have been injured. Political leaders have

made repeated calls for an end to the demonstrations. But those

involved have ignored them. For 30 years we listened to Unionist

politicians and this is where we are now. They are stopping our

parades, taking our flag down. Anything British, they don't want

it. We have just about had enough. If the politicians want to talk,

they can come to us. We are not going to them. That is the bottom

line. The problem for the police is not the size of the protests but

the number of them, spread around different parts of Northern Ireland.

Most of them are peaceful. But there is never a guarantee they are

going to stay that way. There is also an economic impact. It is

normally one of the busiest nights of the year in Belfast. But not

tonight. The City cannot afford Coming up: Closing the insurance

gender gap. Why some women drivers The great Christmas getaway got off

to a bad start today with rain, flooding, trains cancelled or

delayed and large tailbacks on some major roads. There is widespread

disruption and there are more 12 million people are expected to

travel over the Christmas break. Does that aim to start early on the

busy rail routes through Reading scan departure board dotted with

delays and cancellations. It was down to a fire yesterday. But the

damage to signalling equipment meant that two of the main lines

from Paddington to the West Country and Wales were out of action.

lucky at the signs and it looks like all of the Heathrow trains are

cancelled, unfortunately. Now I have to take a taxi. I arrived at

the station to find my trains have been cancelled. I have to go

through Taunton and make a connection from there. A second

fire disrupted rail services from Brighton. Every available in Judaea

was brought in to deal with the damage at Preston Park. But rail

travellers heading along the south coast and northwards to Gatwick

airport also faced lengthy delays, although things improved this

afternoon. It's the busiest day of the year for airports and

difficulty with connections has brought greater stress for

holidaymakers with flight deadlines to meet. This is what they are

leaving behind. In Scotland, council teams were preparing for

the next band of bad weather. They were also mopping up after the last

one. Motoring organisations say there was packing for a few days

with friends or family should expect problems. Traditional areas

like the M 6, the M25, they will be very busy, no doubt. I would say

people should take advice before setting off. It will take longer

than usual, so it's important that people plan their journeys properly.

In Sussex, this pub landlord found the only way possible of topping up

his beer supplies. There has been a brief respite. But river levels are

still rising, flooded routes are still closed. Those who have

persevered with their journeys to date may be glad that they did. The

Environment Agency warned that two more bands of heavy rain are

heading for us, 20 mm of which will fall tonight and Inter tomorrow in

an area stretching from the south of England through South Wales and

on into north-west England, increasing the flood risk once

again. It may not be a white Christmas for many of us, but it

Lady Thatcher is recovering in hospital tonight after a minor

operation. A spokesman said the former prime minister, who is 87,

is absolutely fine. Chris Mason is at Westminster. What more can you

tell us? We don't know when Lady Thatcher was admitted to hospital

where she is receiving treatment. A spokeswoman has confirmed this

evening that she was admitted to undergo a minor surgical procedure

on her bladder in order to remove a growth and she is doing absolutely

fine. There is the expectation that she could remain in hospital for a

couple of days. There is the prospect she could be away from

home for Christmas. Her daughter, Carol, is at her bedside. Lady

Thatcher has been in declining health for a number of years. She

is rarely seen in public. She wasn't able to attend a lunch with

the Queen in the summer with former and serving Prime Ministers to

celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. A long-standing friend of hers, Lord

Bell, has told the BBC it was a minor operation. It lasted less

than an hour and didn't require heavy anaesthetic. He said it was

very straightforward, very minor From today, insurance companies can

no longer set prices according to whether you why a man or a woman.

New European laws mean that some women drivers who have been charge

lower premiums because they have fewer accidents may have to pay up

to 40% more. Some men stand to gain It's always been a key factor in

deciding the price of insurance, whether it is a man or woman at the

wheel. Now that is having to stop and young drivers are affected most.

Abbey has just started her lessons. Terry has just passed his test.

They are both 17, both at college, with the same instructor. Under the

old system, he would have to pay �1,000 a year more because young

men have more accidents. After a European Court ruling on a

complaint from a Belgian consumer group, different male and female

prices for cover have been banned, which has heated up the old debate

over who drives best. Boy is are the ones that are more reckless on

the roads. They think they are invincible. It backfires on them

and they lose control of the car. Women are naturally more cautious,

especially when in control a vehicle. I don't necessarily agree.

I have friends that are less confident and they are all female.

I am more confident on the road, so I feel like I am a better driver

than they are. How big is the change? Young women are faced with

increases of as much as 38% in the cost of insurance. It is not all

bad. Some young men get a reduction, but only of around 8%. This is in

spite of the fact that young men are twice as likely to have a

serious accident than women of a similar age. The impact could be on

anyone buying insurance who have to answer that question, are you male

or female, before getting a prize. So, it is not just young women

drivers that will lose out. -- price. The fact that women live

longer will have to be ignored, so they will not get a discount on

life assurance, even though they are less likely to claim. Some men

will get a smaller pension because the likelihood that they will not

live so long cannot be taken into account. Insurers do not deny it

could be more income this Christmas for them. The more that things like

gender get taken out of insurers ability to use to price risk, the

more uncertain that will be. There may be an impact on premiums

overall as they try to deal with that uncertainty. With cars,

insurers will have to rely more heavily on your job, age and the

It was the end of an era today as Blue Peter and other children's

favourites were broadcast on BBC One for the last time. From now on,

children's programming will only be available on the CBeebies and CBBC

channels. Lizo Mzimba has been looking back 50 years of children's

television. Hello, children. Here I am again, with the picture book.

Even before BBC One, when there was only one channel, the BBC

television service, children's programmes were one of the

cornerstones. Muffin waved his tail... When BBC One began in the

1960s, informing... The 4th big crisis involved train drivers...

And entertaining a young audience remained one of its priorities. And,

of course, many of those shows were filmed here at Television Centre,

where a huge range of programmes were filmed over the decades. In

one studio a comedy-drama with actors getting involved in comic

accidents. In another studio, may be an accident of a different kind?

Lulu the Elephant's messy mishap on the studio floor became one of

television's iconic moments. Blue Peter, now filled in Manchester,

was one of the final programmes transmitted earlier today. It and

others will continue, just not on BBC One. All children now live in

digital homes. They go to digital channels to watch their programmes.

Audiences on BBC One and BBC Two for the children's programmes were

getting very small. There were huge audiences on the digital channels.

It seems sad to old people like me that they are not going to be there

any more, but two children it does not matter at all. Although the

move has a lot of support, some children's TV figures, like former

Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis, believe there are some

disadvantages. To shift programmes on to a channel that says for

children means that some kids of 11 or 12 will stay away from it

because they will want to be perceived and they will think that

they ought to be perceived, they will think they are going to be

judged if they are not perceived, has grown up. Whatever the future

holds, today it does mark a farewell to BBC One. And, for