25/11/2013 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten - Royal Bank of Scotland under renewed attack over

its treatment of small firms. It is accused of missing its lending

targets and of forcing some firms out of business in order to seize

their assets. People have come to me with these horrific stories of

businesses which, in my view and their view, were not failing, did

have a future, would have gone on to keep people in employment. RBS has

now called in lawyers to investigate the latest claims. We'll have the

latest. Also tonight... In south London, where three women were held

as slaves, a new twist in the story of the arrested couple. A hero's

welcome home for Iran's nuclear negotiators, as sanctions are eased.

A new law to cap the cost of payday loans, including interest,

arrangement and penalty fees. And Brazil's unfinished business -

the race to get venues ready for the World Cup Finals.

Coming up in Sportsday on BBC News, we will have the goals from

tonight's derby in the Premier League.

Good evening. The Royal Bank of Scotland has been heavily criticised

in two separate reports for its treatment of small firms. RBS, which

is 80% owned by the taxpayer, has been accused of forcing some

companies to close in order to seize their assets, and of failing to meet

even its own lending targets. It has asked a leading law firm to

investigate the claims, as our business editor, Robert Peston,

reports. Royal Bank of Scotland, accused into

reports today of failing to provide enough finance to business, and,

worse still, profiting by driving week but viable company to the wall

and seizing their assets. In that sense, a bank owned by the taxpayer

to the tune of 80%, is not working for us. Royal Bank Of Scotland is by

far the biggest provider of banking services to small and medium-sized

businesses. At its peak, before the crash of 2008, RBS was providing

four out of every ten loans to them. Now, by the bank's own admission,

during the boom it went a bit barmy, recklessly providing loans,

especially linked to property, to thousands of businesses, which would

struggle to repay them, and perhaps inevitably, in the process of trying

to clear up this mess, RBS treated some of its customers brutally. The

most damning attack on the bank came from a multimillionaire entrepreneur

who advertises the Government. People have come to me with these

horrific stories of businesses that, in my view and their view, were not

failing, did have a future, would have gone on to keep people in

employment, and have been put down, and RBS benefiting by getting their

property at maybe about a third, in a lot of cases, of what it was

valued at. And someone claiming to be a former RBS banker explained

what happened on the inside of the giant bank. Some business is going

to administration because it is their fault, many of them are good,

viable businesses which have been forced into administration, and a

lot of these are family businesses which have been in the family for

more than 100 years. This couple accuse RBS are taking this hotel

into administration and getting it for a fraction of what it was

worth. This is the first time I have stood outside the we are disgusted

with the bank, how could they treat us like that? Readers who we have

been with them, where we had a residential home, and we had no

problems. -- previously. Since 2007, it is just a different banking

system. I would prefer it to be the regulators, but maybe even the

police will be involved, making sure that the bank are behaving properly

with their customers. RBS promises to learn the lessons and treat all

of its customers more sensitively and fairly, but with regulators

calling on it to get rid of loans to irredeemably weak companies, the

bank can perhaps justifiably claim to be a bit confused.

The couple accused of holding three women as slaves in south London for

three decades were at one time members of a Maoist sect devoted to

the teachings of the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong. BBC

News understands the couple are Aravindan Balakrishnan and his wife

Chanda. Three women were rescued from their home in Brixton last

week. Our home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds is there with the

latest. But this is an investigation spanning more than 30 years and it

is now clear that the police will have to delve back into the history

of far left political activism in the 1970s.

There are complex allegations to look into. Slavery is difficult to

define, let alone investigate. How did three women, now aged 30, 57 and

69, end up in this house, apparently living with an elderly couple? And

were they victims of some form of modern-day slavery? Today, the

windows were boarded up as new information suggested another

place-mack be relevant. One mile away from the house in Brixton, is

this building. In 1978 it was both a book shop and a political commune,

dedicated to the more extreme form of revolutionary Marxism, based on

the philosophy of China's Chairman Mao. This local shopkeeper says

there were regular meetings. He was given a copy of Chairman Mao's

famous Little Red Book while passing. People were gathering

inside and outside so I was fascinated. I went inside three

times. There were women who would come and go freely, especially in

the evenings. The police came, I was at work the day the police came and

waded in and closed it. The BBC understands a leading member of this

group was Aravindan Balakrishnan scum are arrested and bailed last

week in connection with the slavery case. He is thought to have left the

commonest party in 1974, but along with his wife Chanda, you then set

up a splinter group. It was based at the Brixton building. 30 years on,

the police investigation is likely to focus on the way in which the

commune was one, and whether that sowed the seeds for the allegations

made by the three women. The police will only say that the women were

allegedly beaten and brainwashed after belonging to a political

collective. No further details have been given. Experts believe some

Marxist groups that have the potential to become like political

cults. Because of the rigidity of their belief system, they become

more and more controlling over their own members. They get suspicious of

any kind of dissent and they think of it as some kind of heresy which

must be suppressed. In order to do that, they extend their control over

the lives of their members in more and more directions. As police did

their house-to-house enquiries, a neighbour made a letter public to

him from one of the alleged victims, the 30-year-old. In it, she says...

This house is one of 13 addresses now being investigated by police.

Their inquiry could stretch into next year. And the three women, the

30-year-old, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 69-year-old Malaysia and

woman, are all being cared for at a secret location. And finally

tonight, neighbours and other sources have told us there was

another woman staying from time to time at this address, an elderly

woman in a wheelchair. The police have refused to confirm whether she

was here when the arrests took place last week.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, says the international

deal to limit Iran's nuclear programme is the first step on a

long road. Under the agreement, reached in the early hours of

yesterday, Iran has agreed to curb its nuclear activities for six

months in exchange for the easing of some sanctions, including access to

more than ?2 billion of oil sales. The Israeli government says the deal

is a major mistake, as our Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen, reports.

This report contains some flashing images. Welcome home demonstrations

at Tehran's international airport and never spontaneous. But Iranian

reformists want to believe that the homecoming negotiators extracted a

deal which preserves Iran's national dignity, leaves it less isolated and

takes the pressure off their pockets. TRANSLATION: Most sanctions

imposed against Iran were hitting the economy. What Mr Zarif did leads

to the release of some Iranian assets. I think everything is going

to get better. Iran's Foreign Minister is using caution to sell

the deal he made in Geneva. On Iranian TV, he used the same word as

his Western counterparts about the Geneva commitments - reversible. In

the US, President Obama is also sounding cautious, but there is a

tantalising chance that an agreement on Iran's nuclear programme could

become something much bigger. If Iran seizes this opportunity and

chooses to join the global community, then we can begin to chip

away at the mistrust which has existed for many, many years between

our two nations. The Americans have an uphill job selling the deal to

their allies on the other side of the Gulf, Saudi Arabia believes Iran

is misleading America and its Western allies. The Saudis and the

Iranians are in their own Cold War. In Syria, the Saudis backed the

rebels and Iran backs the regime. Israel has said it is not bound by

the deal. It could try to block any permanent agreement with Iran which

does not dismantle Iran's nuclear facilities. The final aim of the

diplomatic process cannot be only to prevent Iran from producing nuclear

weapons, but to prevent Iran from having the capability of producing

nuclear weapons. It sounds similar but it is totally different. For the

British Government, this is an opportunity for all of the allies of

the West to end a smouldering crisis which seemed to be heading for war.

We have to be clear that there is a we would not discourage anybody in

the world, including Israel, from taking any steps which would

undermine this agreement, and we will be making that clear. -- we

would discourage. It took long hours in Geneva to get this preliminary

agreement. Only when they come to a permanent deal will it be time to

talk about a moment of history. A new law capping the cost of payday

loans is to be introduced by the coalition Government. Interest can

reach 4000% and there has been growing concern over the way some

lenders operate. It is not clear yet what form or level the cap will

take. When times are hard, the offer of

instant cash becomes increasingly tempting. On our streets, on our

computers, even on our telephones, the opportunity of a short-term loan

is all too easy to find. The comments Public Accounts Committee

estimates that at least 2 million people use payday loans. The one

click that provides emergency funds can also land customers in real

trouble. Matt is unemployed and a recovering alcoholic. He took out a

series of loans, in one case borrowing ?200 and paying ?400 in

interest. I did not have to sign anything. The only signature

involved was ticking a box online. There was no proof of employment

needed. I was unemployed at the time having lost my job as a result of my

mental health issues. MPs, charities and the church have been pressuring

the Government to tackle what they see as exploitation of those

struggling to cope with the effects of the recession. The Treasury had

been reluctant to intervene but today the Chancellor said he now

wanted to see a cap not just on interest but on the overall cost of

credit. We inherited a situation where the payday loan industry was

almost entirely unrelated. That led to some outrageous fees and an

acceptable practices so we are now going to cap the cost of credit for

the payday lending industry. How successful would the proposed

changes be? The Treasury says a similar system in Australia has

worked, but the consumer Finance Association representing major loan

companies in the UK claims that the Australians have had mixed success.

They say that household that has not fallen and the number of people

seeking illegal loan companies has increased. It has been implemented

in different ways in different countries to different degrees of

success. The challenge now is to make sure that cap is set at the

right level through consultation with industry to make sure that

lenders can lend and that customers still have access to flexible

credit. As the Government found a catchall solution? Matt thinks not.

There need to be proper background checks, maybe checking a National

Insurance number, providing payslips to prove you are in work.

Politicians know they need to help those most in need. The cap should

be in operation before the next election.

Profits at the big six energy firms rose from ?221 million in 2009 to

?1.2 billion in 2012, a fivefold increase in just four years.

Industry regulator Ofgem also said that average profit margins for

supplying gas and electricity increased to 4.3% last year, with

some companies having considerably higher margins.

Alex Salmond claims that no country has ever been better equipped to

become an independent state. He was speaking ahead of tomorrow's launch

of the white paper that will set out detailed plans for independence

ahead of the referendum which takes place on September the 18th next

year. All people over the age of 16 and living in Scotland will be able

to vote. If Scots choose independence, what could that mean

for people living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland?

This is Corby, an old steel town in the heart of England. A place where

you might imagine they do not talk much of Scottish independence. But

you would be wrong. For this corner of Northamptonshire is known as

Little Scotland, where thousands of Scots once flocked to work in the

steel industry. Kinsmen to the North may want independence but in this

town the flags fly together. Not surprisingly, many want to keep it

that way. We need to keep the union because Scotland cannot survive

without. Why break the thing that has been going on for years,

hundreds of years, actually? We have helped each other, fought together,

people have died together. We are one country. We have got a Union

Jack and on it is the Scottish colour. What are they going to do?

Take it out of the Union Jack? This is not just an issue for Scotland

and Scots away from home. It is posing questions for the whole of

the UK. If the Scots vote for independence, what will the UK be

called? The residual UK? The rump UK? Would the Union Flag change?

What would be the impact on Westminster? Labour has currently

got 41 MPs in Scotland. Without them, could the party ever form a

majority again? And what about the economy? No more North Sea oil

revenues but no more bills to pay North of the border? Submarines

could not stay in Scotland so would our international standing be

diminished? And what of character and identity? Unchanged or with the

spirit of Team GB become a thing of the past? Some believe even the

debate about independence is having an impact. In Portsmouth, many

accuse Scottish defence jobs being favoured over there is to hold the

union together, which ministers deny. And even in a town as Scottish

as Corby, where most supported the union, there were at least some that

thought they should go their own way. It will hurt our economy

because we have a lot of trade coming from there. As a non- Scot

living in this enclave, maybe they should get their independence. Let

them go ahead so we don't have to support them. Let them support

themselves. The people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland have no

say in this referendum, but if Scotland does vote for independence,

the UK will change and even the debate is raising questions about

the UK's identity and the way it is governed.

As they said, the white paper on independence will be published

tomorrow morning in Glasgow. Nick Robinson is there tonight. We are

promised a lot of detail tomorrow. How will that affect the debate in

Scotland and across the UK? For a very long time we have known the

goal and the date but we have not had the blueprint. We have not had a

sense of the design of what might be Europe's newest, brightest, shiniest

nation if Scots vote for independence next September. We are

promised the answer at least from the perspective of the Scottish

Government and the Scottish Nationalist party in the paper that

will be published tomorrow. Alex Salmond's critics are already

accusing him of trying to play down the risk of the project, keeping it

ultrasafe, keeping the pound, the Queen and staying in the EU, with

NATO, pensions and benefits, just like you do already. The critics

want to up the risk for voters, so the Treasury has released figures

that they claim means that every Scot would pay ?1000 a year more

simply for this country to be independent. The SNP reject that and

say that Scottish oil revenues have been going South for a long time.

There will be a lot of talk of the science of this as if they know the

future. It is a judgement though, which will not just affect this

country but the size, the statue, the identity of what for now we call

the United Kingdom. -- stature. Thank you. BBC News will have full

coverage of the content of the white paper and reaction to it in Scotland

and throughout the UK. FIFA, the governing body of world

football, has warned Brazil that there will be no compromise over the

deadline for completing the venues for the World Cup. Protesting about

the money being spent as delayed building. The end of December was

the deadline set by FIFA for completing the main match venues.

The BBC has been to Manaus and Cuiaba, where they are struggling to

complete work. It is the rainy season in the

Amazon. In Manaus they are up against the clock, trying to finish

this 44,000 seat arena before FIFA's strict December deadline. The

roof still is not finished and only half of the seats have been

installed. When the skies open, almost everything comes to a

standstill. This is being built with ?200 million of public money. Even

though the local team rarely attracts more than 3000 fans,

officials say the expenses justified. The opportunity that the

World Cup brings us is the opportunity for more momentum to

make investments so we can move past the many challenges that we have had

until now. If they are confident of just about making it in Manaus, more

than 1000 miles to the South in Cuiaba, the situation is much more

critical. In about seven months time, Steven Gerrard could be

leading his England team up these steps, alongside Lionel Messi for

Argentina perhaps, in a vital World Cup group match. Then again they

might not be because there are lots of doubts now about whether this

stadium in particular will be ready. Still a huge building site, another

arena built with public money in a remote part of Brazil. But with no

seats, no pitch and no roof, this gamble to use the World Cup as a

beacon for development may have backfired. Local officials have

admitted to the BBC that they will not make the deadline. We should be

finished between 15 the 20th of January. He is a local official in

charge of the stadium. He almost casually adds that there will not be

enough hotel rooms for the fans but the city will manage. They are

shouting that there will not be a World Cup on the streets, among

increasing anger that so much public money is being spent on new

stadiums. On the way the money for the World Cup is being handled,

there is a lot of corruption so it is not in our interests. There is no

legacy for Brazilian people. Tear gas and rubber bullets have been

used heavily by police and some protesters have resorted to

violence. Organisers say the demonstrations will continue

throughout the World Cup. Brazilians still love their football and many

here say the country needs the investment and the new stadiums.

FIFA now has some tough decisions to make.

The England and Wales Cricket Board says it will do all it can to

support Jonathan Trott, the batsman who has flown home from the ashes in

Australia because of a stress-related condition. He had

been struggling to score runs on the tour and had been taunted by

Australians for his lack of form. It has raised more questions about the

spirit in which the competition is being conducted. We report from

Brisbane. Jonathan Trott walked into the first Ashes test match and

experienced cricketer, but we now know he was carrying a

stress-related condition in Brisbane.

He performed badly against Australia, he has not been at his

best for some time, it seems the endless cycle of touring has taken

its toll on another England player. He needs to reassess and spent time

with his family and this isn't the type of environment for that type of

rest and recuperation that he requires. In recent years, other

England cricketers have flown home in similar circumstances. Marcus

Trescothick, Michael Yardy. At the England team hotel in Brisbane, the

ECB insisted they had the right support network in place to support

Jonathan Trott. They were proved wrong. The Ashes have always stood

for intensity. In the 1930s, physical intimidation was a tactic.

These days there is talk, too. England are angry that Shane Warne

referred to Jonathan Trott as scared and weak but insist that is not why

he flew home. Aggression between the two sides is obvious. Michael Clarke

has been fined for telling James Anderson to expect broken bones when

facing Australian bowling. This series worries me, frankly, and it

has done for a while about where it could go. I don't think anybody in

these teams liked it very much. This is an unprecedented era of

back-to-back Ashes series but the strains of coping are familiar to

many international cricketers. I think because of the amount of time

you spend away from home and the length of the game, tightened

everything you are feeling. It is not like being on the football pitch

for 90 minutes and then you can get off