26/04/2013 BBC News at Ten

chemical weapons by the Syrian government, if proven, will not be

tolerated. If the allegations are verified of the use of a nerve agent

sarin, both President Obama and David Cameron say action will

follow. We cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons

like chemical weapons on civilian populations. What I see does look

very much like a war crime is being committed in our world at this time

by the Syrian government. We'll be looking at what form any action

against Syria could take. Also tonight: The publicist Max

Clifford is charged with 11 counts of indecent assault over a period of

20 years. He insists he's innocent. Since last December, I have been

living a nightmare. A black cloud has been placed above me.

Three British Muslims are imprisoned for plotting a terror attack on

Birmingham. They had boasted it would be their 9/11.

And Harry Potter and the Full Blood Prince. William and Kate enjoy the

magic at the opening of the Harry Potter studios.

No appeal from Luis Suarez about his writing than as the FA says such

Good evening. President Obama has promised a vigorous investigation

into claims that Syria has used chemical weapons against rebel

forces - claims Syria vehemently allegations turn out of be true,

America could not stand by and permit the use of such weapons on

civilian populations. David Cameron said their use would be a war crime

but both leaders insisted more needs to be done to verify the claims

before any action could be considered. This report contains

graphic images. Disturbing footage from a hospital.

Is this evidence that chemical weapons are being used? The Syrian

opposition claim it is, including a doctor who was present. These media

pictures show exactly the symptoms and the signs referred to by the use

of chemical gases. Other unverified footage, some too

graphic to broadcast, apparently shows people foaming from the mouth

and switching bodies, but the Syrian government today denied it had used

chemical weapons like sarin gas. If it had, the implications are

serious. I choose my words carefully but what I see does look very much

like a war crime is being committed at this time by the Syrian

government. In Washington, the president was meeting the King of

Jordan. What everyone wanted to know was whether he thought one of his

red lines had been crossed. He was still cautious. What we have right

now is an intelligent assessment. I said, noting that potentially

chemical weapons have been used inside Syria does not tell us when

they were used and how they were used. We need confirmation and

strong evidence. Britain and others have been trying to collect evidence

from inside Syria. Tests have been carried out at the Porton Down

laboratory which have indicated that sarin gas has been used, but that

still leaves many questions, including when it was used and by

whom, and whether it was ordered from the top. The violence in Syria

means samples have not so far been collect did under the kind of

independent scientific conditions that would normally be needed for

proof. A United Nations team is still waiting to go in and do this.

Ideally what you would want is a blood, urine sample, but in the

absence of that you would look at the symptoms. Chemical weapons have

rarely been used. Sarin gas was used on an attack on

the Tokyo underground in 1995 and set down her same -- Saddam Hussein

dropped chemical weapons on the village of Halabja in Iraq, but it

is the memories of Iraq more recently that is one reason for

hesitance this time. The next question will be, if evidence does

emerge, what shall be done about it? With me now is our diplomatic

correspondent Bridget Kendall. Both Britain and the US talking of action

if these allegations are proven. But what are the options?

It is difficult. David Cameron has said he thinks he would like to be

able to arm the moderate opposition and end the conflict that way, but

President Obama tonight repeated his warning that if President Assad had

used chemical weapons on the civilian population that would be a

game changer, and we cannot stand by and watch that happen. How will it

change the game? Various options have been mentioned, from arming the

rebels, authorising air strikes, a no-fly zone, setting up safe stones

or even sending in special troops to try to secure sites where chemical

weapons are thought to be, but all these options are not easy and will

probably increase in stability and tension inside Syria, and of course

would mean outside government would get sucked into the conflict, so

that is another reason why the signals we are getting from London

and Washington is that this will be taken step by step very slowly, and

I think much more likely the first step we will see is more of a push

to get UN weapons inspectors inside Syria. Syria initially invited to

dash them in but only to one specific area and yesterday the

secretary general sent another letter to President Assad asking

them to be allowed in. The other pressure would be to present

evidence to the Russians and the Chinese at the UN Security Council

saying, how can you go on protecting the Syrian regime with this

evidence? Judging by the response from the Russian foreign ministry

this evening, it is not looking very hopeful.

The publicist Max Clifford has tonight vowed to clear his name

after being charged with 11 counts of indecent assault against women

and girls. The charges cover two decades from the 1960s to the 1980s

and have been brought as part of the Operation Yewtree investigation.

Speaking outside his house this evening, Mr Clifford said the

allegations were false and claimed he had been living a nightmare.

Danny Shaw reports. Max Clifford, Britain's most famous

PR man, publicist for pop stars and celebrities and media expert. Now he

faces a challenge unlike any he has faced before. The allegations in

respect of which I have been charged completely force, very upsetting,

distressing but completely falls. I have never in decently assaulted

anyone in my life and this will become clear Jim and the course of

the proceedings. Scotland Yard investigation has lasted more than

five months at night police announced he had been charged. Max

Clifford is accused of 11 offences. The 11 charges relate to allegations

of indecent assault. There are seven alleged victims. The youngest was

14, the eldest 19 at the time. They cover a period between 1966 and

1985. Max Clifford is being investigated as part of the enquiry

stepped up after the Jimmy Savile scandal, Operation Yewtree. 12

people have been arrested. Max Clifford is the second person to be

charged but the allegations are not related to Jimmy Savile. Hopefully

we will be able to show soon what this has been about. Max Clifford

said he was living a nightmare with a dark cloud over his life.

He will appear in court next month. Three British men who plotted a

suicide bomb attack in Birmingham have been jailed - one of them for

life. They had planned to set off up to eight rucksack bombs and possibly

other timed devices, boasting it would rival 9/11.

Late night in Birmingham and the climax of the biggest

counterterrorism of prostate -- operation in recent years. The

moment that three would-be suicide bombers were taken off the streets.

Irfan Khalid was Irfan Naseer's right-hand man. Ashik Ali was at the

epicentre of the fundraising effort and sentenced to 15 years. For

months, the men had been watched by MI5 and the police. Bugs were

planted in their cars. They were heard planning to detonate up to

eight rucksack bombs. They talked about turning parts of Birmingham

into a war zone. Irfan Khalid turned -- describe them as suicide

bombers. They were very critical of the 7/7 bombers in terms of not

killing enough people. They wanted to kill a lot of people and wanted

to go down in history for doing that. This photos shows the

ringleader Irfan Naseer and Irfan Khalid returning from training camp

in Pakistan. Irfan Naseer had become an expert in bomb-making. They

pretended to be collecting money for charity, taking in thousands of

pounds from their own community, but they cheated the charity, Muslim

Aid, out of the cash. They have been disowned by those among whom they

used to live. Of course we are angry and absolutely appalled that any

individuals, irrespective of their heritage, faith, background,

culture, would be willing to embark upon such environment campaign

within the city. Inside the home of one of the men,

they had started experimenting with making equipment. Irfan Khalid

boasted this would you like another 9/11. They recruited eight other men

for smaller roles. Four of them went to Pakistan for training but they

left when there furious families discovered what they were up to. Mr

Justice Henriques told the ringleader is the only barrier

between them and mass murder was the intervention of the authorities. No

lack of will, manpower or assets would have stopped them.

One person died and 20 were injured, seven critically, when a minibus

carrying women on a hen party collided with a lorry on the M62

today. The emergency services said the crash in West Yorkshire was the

worst they had seen in years. Lying on its side, smashed after a

collision. The bus carrying the hen party from Yorkshire to Liverpool

had to be cut apart Wi-Fi fighters. Other drivers stopped to help in the

immediate aftermath of the crash but it was a long operation to get to

all the injured and the dying. there has been one fatality, a lady

who has unfortunately died. We have other casualties that are being

treated at numerous local hospitals. Air ambulances from all over

northern England were called to the scene. Six of them were on their way

at one point. As emergency workers diss -- descended on the motorway

junction, some were confronted with their most distressing job in years.

Some of them said it was the worst scene they had seen in a number of

years, and some very experienced fire officers were attending the

incident. At ten o'clock, the us picked up the first passengers from

this village in Yorkshire. Soon the hen party were on board.

But within 90 minutes, there weekend away had gone disastrously wrong.

The exact cause of the crash is still being investigated but it did

involve a lorry, the driver of which was later arrested. Tonight several

of the hen party are still being treated in various different

hospitals across the North of coalition's policy of subsidising

mortgages for first-time buyers while cutting housing benefit for

some. The Prime Minister was in Lancashire promoting the

Government's Help To Buy Scheme. In the second of his series, Nick

Robinson has spent the day with the Prime Minister.

If he ever has to give up the day job, could there be a future for him

as a bricky? Today, the Prime Minister took to a rooftop in

Chorley because the housing market hasn't been getting there. Are we

done? A new Government scheme will subsidise those struggling to get

the money together to buy a new home. The housing market caused some

of Britain's economic problems. Isn't there a bit of you saying,

"No, the Government shouldn't be anywhere near this." ? Right now,

you have a situation where two hard-working people, both bringing

in a good wage, should be able to buy a home of their own and they

can't. That needs to change. That is why this scheme is so important.

Here on Main Street, meet the Hudsons. They bought four-fifths of

their home. The taxpayer helped to underwrite the rest. Hopefully,

there will be many more... Supporting the house market is vital

for supporting the economy. Do you understand why people might see the

sight of a Government subsidy to purchase a house up to �600,000

sticks in the throat at a time when people, who are struggling to afford

to stay in their home, are seeing their housing benefit cut? Everyone

will welcome the fact we are trying to get the housing market moving. In

an economy to function properly, you need people to be able to buy a

home, you need to get the first foot on the housing ladder. These are

changes that need to take place. That will benefit everybody.

Government said yesterday the economy is healing. Debt is up.

Borrowing is stalled. Here in the North, unemployment is up since the

general election. The economy hasn't grown for months. How is that

healing? What is healing is the fact that people were, many people were

expecting the economy to stall or shrink and it grew in the first

quarter of this year. What is healing is the fact that compared

with the general election, there are 1.25 million more people in private

sector jobs. That is a major advance. What is healing is the fact

we have seen a rate of new business creation that's one of the fastest

in our history. Those are welcome... Borrowing stalled? It's a difficult

year. We are surrounded by countries in the eurozone who are deep in

recession, some of them going deeper still. The Prime Minister knows that

he and his party may face grim results in local elections next

week. His message, here to workers, is that the Government is still

trying to sort out the mess it inherited. Like the immigration

system, it is a mess. We haven't solved the problem. Net migration is

down by a third. The imminent arrival of unknown numbers of

Romanians and Bulgarians is unnerving many voters. We need to

look after our own people to start with. We have got a big problem now

with getting our own people into work. We shouldn't be taking on the

poor from other countries. David Cameron used to dismiss UKIP and

loonies. Now, he's trying to woo people who might vote for them.

will control immigration. I will get those levels down. You will see

measures coming forward where we start to change the way things work

in this country. If you are an immigrant, your status isn't checked

right now. It isn't checked properly when you are using our Health

Service. That will change in legislation very soon. The Prime

Minister could be more than half-way through his time in Number Ten. On

the eve of his third anniversary, he is looking at what can stop him from

losing power. China's President has said there

should be no mercy for terrorists after an outbreak of violence this

week which left more than 20 people dead. The violence in Xinjiang

province has highlighted simmering tensions there between the

indigenous Muslim people and the central government. It follows

widespread rioting in 2009 which killed nearly 200 people. Our

Beijing correspondent has been to the scene of the latest violence in

Selibuya. Xinjiang, it means new frontier, the

very edge of China. Closer to Afghanistan than Beijing and rich in

energy and minerals. China is developing this land fast. That is

causing tensions. We slip past the checkpoints, the authorities don't

want reporters here. The government's version is a group of

terrorists inside a house plotting attacks were discovered. Three

officials were taken hostage and stabbed to death. Another 12 were

burnt inside a room before armed police killed some of the men. The

scene is cordoned off. We soon heard a different story. Locals said it

was a long-standing dispute. Government officials trying to force

the men in a religious family to shave their beards, and the women to

take off their veils. We have hidden identities to protect people from

government reprisals. TRANSLATION: I saw one injured man.

He had a machete. He chased the police into the government compound.

He was shot in the leg and fell down. Many police surrounded him.

They stabbed him to death. Three other men had axes and knives and

the police shot them, too. police spotted us and told us to

leave town. He says this is the enemy's war zone, what if someone

chops your head off? Go. Xinjiang's Muslims are no longer the majority

here. From outside China's some preach holy war. Speaking Chinese,

he warns they want a country of their own. There is no conclusive

evidence these groups have mounted attacks and America says China's

priority should be reducing tensions in Xinjiang, to Beijing's annoyance.

TRANSLATION: China ensures the rights of people from all ethnic

groups. Not only does the US not condemn violent acts of terror, they

also make irresponsible claims against China's ethnic policy.

Selibuya, we found these policies aren't popular. He says the

government only allows men to grow beards if they are over 40 years

old. He has to do what they say. Forced to leave, we can't be sure

what caused the 21 deaths here. What we do know is the violence in

Xinjiang keeps flaring. Staff at some of the big accountancy firms

are using insider knowledge gained while working for the Government to

help wealthy clients and businesses avoid paying tax. The Commons Public

Accounts Committee wants to stop "a ridiculous conflict of interest".

Everyone is supposed to pay their fair share of tax, yet billions of

pounds a year is lost to tax avoidance. MPs are putting part of

the blame on the big four accountancy firms for showing

companies how they can get away without paying. The worst thing that

we uncovered was this practice that I call "poacher turned gamekeeper

turned poacher". What that means is the big four accountancy firms put

their experts into Treasury and HMRC, help write the rules that

become new laws, and armed with that insider knowledge, they go back to

their companies and use that knowledge to devise new schemes for

tax avoidance. A piece of evidence highlighted by the Public Accounts

Committee was a brochure put out by one of the firms. It showed how to

take advantage of a tax break for companies which choose the UK to

exploit patents on inventions, trumpeting the fact that their tax

expert had been seconded to the Treasury while the tax break was

being designed. Ministers say it's beneficial to ask for outside

advice. Should we not engage with taxpayers and their advisers? That

would be an absurd suggestion. We want to get the tax law right. That

means talking to those who have an interest in this area. The Committee

wants a new Code of Conduct to stop accountants using insider knowledge,

also a ban on the firms working for the Government if they sell tax

avoidance schemes, and to force them to be more open about companies

transferring their profits offshore to pay less tax. The horrendous

complexity of the tax system is part of the problem. These are some of

the rules and they are added to each year in the Finance Act. More

complications which means more opportunities to try to get round

tax. The accountants say there is nothing wrong with what they do with

the rules as they stand. We believe we give tax advice responsibly, in

accordance with the law, in the attentions of Parliament generally.

We advise companies when they are considering what they are doing to

take account of the wider impacts. The Treasury's allocated extra funds

to fight tax avoidance. With so much to be gained, accountancy firms will

always be one step ahead. The face of Sir Winston Churchill

will appear on the back of the new �5 note together with some of his

most famous words. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,

and Prince Harry, battled with wands as they toured the studios where the

Harry Potter films were made. The two princes had some fun with the

props from the Batman films. There is something about wands. Take

hold of one of them and you end up doing strange things. Regardless of

who you are! These of course are Harry Potter wands and William and

Kate, and Harry, on a visit to the largest new studio complex built in

Britain for many decades were shown the sets, the costumes and the

special effects which helped make the Harry Potter films a worldwide

phenomenon. How do they do that? For the three young royals, it was a

chance to realise some dreams, mostly boyish ones, it must be said,

to William and Harry's delight and they found some of the Batman props.

This is Batman's motorbike, which was too much for William, a keen

biker himself, to resist. So much for royal dignity, then! Kate seemed

to think he looked the part. Harry seemed to think he would look better

if he had some Batman ears. Back in Harry Potter land, the threesome who

were the stars of this saga, the thoughtful leader, the sensible

girl, and the red-head, were continuing to have fun, doing things

with that unaffected style which has become their hallmark. This is the

make believe world of Harry Potter. In the real world, though, there is

no doubt that these three are becoming the principal supporting

stars in the enduring family epic that is the Windsors. The British

monarchy has shown what a powerful spell it is capable of casting and