08/08/2014 BBC News at Ten


08/08/2014

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Tonight at ten, America attacks Islamist millants in Iraq, launching

:00:08.:00:13.

air strikes in the north of the country.

:00:14.:00:16.

This is thought to be the moment American warplanes began their

:00:17.:00:20.

assaults. President Obama said it was time to act. When we have the

:00:21.:00:25.

unique capabilities to help avert a massacre, then I believe the United

:00:26.:00:31.

States cannot turn a blind eye. We can act, carefully and

:00:32.:00:34.

responsibility to prevent a potential act of genocide. These are

:00:35.:00:39.

the first pictures, as aid is finally delivered to a community

:00:40.:00:42.

trapped by the fighting. Britain says it will assist in air drops. We

:00:43.:00:46.

will be looking at what the US action means for Iraq. Also tonight,

:00:47.:00:53.

fighting resumes in Gaza after a three-day ceasefire ends. Five

:00:54.:00:56.

people are killed, including a ten-year-old boy.

:00:57.:01:01.

The World Health Organisation declares the Ebola outbreak in West

:01:02.:01:07.

Africa an international emergency. How much is too much for breast

:01:08.:01:14.

cancer treatment? The NHS says no to a ?90,000 drug. And sun, sea and

:01:15.:01:18.

sanctions - why more parents than ever are being fined for taking

:01:19.:01:22.

their children out of school to go on holiday.

:01:23.:01:25.

On London - Bromley's waste mountain. How hundreds of thousands

:01:26.:01:31.

of pounds have been spent fighting fires there. And how the turmoil in

:01:32.:01:34.

the Middle East is being reflected on the streets of London.

:01:35.:01:55.

A very good evening. Within hours of President Obama authorising air

:01:56.:02:04.

strikes in Iraq, US aircraft have launched several targeted attacks in

:02:05.:02:08.

the north of the country. It comes almost three years after America

:02:09.:02:15.

withdraw troops. The irstrikes were aimed at fighters from Isis, who

:02:16.:02:20.

control large areas. Earlier this week, the Islamists took Qaraqosh,

:02:21.:02:24.

Iraq's biggest Christian town. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of

:02:25.:02:29.

people from the minority Yazidi sect remain surrounded and of trapped on

:02:30.:02:36.

mount sin Sinjar, without food or water. Forces will assist.

:02:37.:02:44.

In a moment, we will get the latest from Washington. First, here is our

:02:45.:02:48.

diplomatic correspondent James Robbins.

:02:49.:02:53.

For months, the extremists of Isis now calling themselves simply

:02:54.:02:59.

Islamic State have been pumping out video as they take more and more of

:03:00.:03:03.

Iraq, threatening to breakup of the country. Now, for the first time,

:03:04.:03:08.

the Islamists have come under direct American attack. The first attack

:03:09.:03:13.

was launched from an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Two

:03:14.:03:19.

F/A-18s drop laser-guided bombs. These are thought to be pictures of

:03:20.:03:23.

that American strike carried out because the city of Irbil is under

:03:24.:03:27.

threat. Washington says more fighter jets and drones were used on attacks

:03:28.:03:33.

on mortar positions and an Islamist convoy. To stop the events on Irbil,

:03:34.:03:39.

I have directed our military to take targeted strikes against target

:03:40.:03:42.

convoys should they move towards the city.

:03:43.:03:47.

But Washington is also committed to helping religious minorities facing

:03:48.:03:51.

massacre by the Islamists. These pictures of the Yazidi people,

:03:52.:03:56.

fleeing for their lives on to a barren mountain without food or

:03:57.:03:59.

water shocked the world. And today, speaking from the mountain, one of

:04:00.:04:02.

their leaders stressed their vulnerability.

:04:03.:04:08.

TRANSLATION: The clash is now very close to where I stand. Now there

:04:09.:04:12.

are clashes among the final line of resistance. They will kill all of us

:04:13.:04:15.

and we don't think we have enough time. Now, the first supplies have

:04:16.:04:21.

reached some of the Yazidi. Iraqi authorities say these pictures,

:04:22.:04:26.

although impossible to verify, show a helicopter delivering aid. The

:04:27.:04:31.

Yazidi religion is older than Christianity or Islam but is enough

:04:32.:04:35.

to make them targets of the extremists who overran their town.

:04:36.:04:40.

When we face a situation like we do on that mountain, with innocent

:04:41.:04:44.

people facing the prospect of violence on a horrific scale and we

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have a mandate to help, in this case a request from the Iraqi Government

:04:49.:04:53.

and when we have the of capabilities to help avert a massacre then I

:04:54.:04:56.

believe the United States cannot turn a blind eye. Facing this

:04:57.:05:00.

crisis, let's look at the plight of the Yazidi people, forced to flee

:05:01.:05:03.

their homes and seek refuge here, high up on the barren slopes of the

:05:04.:05:08.

mountains above Sinjar. As this map shows, they took what is really the

:05:09.:05:14.

only road up the mountain. We have reports some essential supplies,

:05:15.:05:17.

including food and water, have been delivered from the air, in an effort

:05:18.:05:22.

to keep them alive. What if the extremists try to pursue them up the

:05:23.:05:25.

mountain? The hope must be that they could be spotted

:05:26.:05:29.

mountain? The hope must be that they American strike aircraft. Further

:05:30.:05:32.

east, the other religious minority under threat is the Christian

:05:33.:05:38.

community. Their major centre, the town of Qaraqosh, has fallen. Among

:05:39.:05:45.

those those who did escape, some have reached Irbil. Some have found

:05:46.:05:50.

refuge in this church, but worry about relatives they have lost

:05:51.:05:57.

contact with. In Brussels some of the extended family of the Yazidi

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appealed for action to end what they call a genocide. In London, an

:06:02.:06:06.

emergency meeting of ministers authorised British military

:06:07.:06:09.

involvement in missions to drop aid, but not in any sort of combat

:06:10.:06:15.

mission. Our focus is an assisting that humanitarian mission and using

:06:16.:06:18.

our military in support of the Americans, in terms of refuelling

:06:19.:06:22.

and surveillance, to underpin their mission and to add to it, with food

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drops of our own. From behind the soundproof glass at the Oval, a

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glimpse of President Obama briefing allies. Amid reports that hundreds

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of Yazidi women may have been captured by the Islamists, who pose

:06:38.:06:42.

an increasing threat not just to Iraq but to the entire region. Let's

:06:43.:06:52.

speak to our correspondent, David Willis, who is at the White House.

:06:53.:06:57.

How far will America go to stop the advance of the Islamic State? A

:06:58.:07:02.

prolonged campaign of military intervention is not on the casheds

:07:03.:07:07.

here. That said, the President has said it will be determined by events

:07:08.:07:11.

on the ground. And those events are not very easy to predict. Privately

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officials here say they are concerned about how well trained and

:07:18.:07:21.

how well armed these Islamist fighters are. There are those on the

:07:22.:07:24.

right who would like to see more. They would like to see troops on the

:07:25.:07:29.

ground at the very least. The President has said he's not in

:07:30.:07:33.

favour of that. Given the current situation, there is every chance of

:07:34.:07:36.

mission-creep, if these air strikes do not pay off. Thank you very much.

:07:37.:07:45.

Israel has resumed air strikes in Gaza after Palestinian militants

:07:46.:07:49.

fired rockets shortly before the end of a 72-hour ceasefire. Palestinian

:07:50.:07:53.

officials said five people were killed, including a ten-year-old

:07:54.:07:57.

boy. Earlier, Israeli Government officials pulled out of talks in

:07:58.:08:01.

Cairo, stressing they would not negotiate under fire. But there are

:08:02.:08:06.

signs that discussions between Egyptian officials and Palestinian

:08:07.:08:10.

representatives are continuing. Our Middle East correspondent, Orla

:08:11.:08:13.

Guerin, has spent the day in Gaza City. This report contains images

:08:14.:08:19.

you may find distressing. The Gaza skyline looks like this

:08:20.:08:26.

again. Israeli air strikes deep in civilian areas. Warfare filling the

:08:27.:08:32.

horizon, after a three-day truce. This was filmed by Finnish TV.

:08:33.:08:40.

They weren't the only ones fleeing an Israeli strike. It was

:08:41.:08:46.

Palestinian militants who fired first. Here some of their rockets

:08:47.:08:51.

were intercepted. Dozens more got through, causing no loss of life in

:08:52.:08:57.

Israel. But in Gaza, this man was coming to

:08:58.:09:03.

say goodbye to his son. Ten-year-old Ibrahim was being

:09:04.:09:07.

prepared for burial. His father last saw him at breakfast, before the boy

:09:08.:09:15.

left early for Friday prayers. But by prayer time Ibrahim was dead

:09:16.:09:24.

and people gathered to pray for him. His father wants one last kiss.

:09:25.:09:37.

"My beloved son. Talk to me," he says.

:09:38.:09:42.

A huge crowd has gathered here now to bury Ibrahim. There is tremendous

:09:43.:09:48.

grief and anger at the killing of another child. This boy lost his

:09:49.:09:52.

life just hours after the ceasefire came to an end. Locals tell us he

:09:53.:09:57.

was out in the street playing when Israel attacked.

:09:58.:10:01.

Ibrahim was the first to die today. In front of his local mosque.

:10:02.:10:04.

In front of his His death was followed by others.

:10:05.:10:06.

One of them a fighter. His death was followed by others.

:10:07.:10:11.

One of Israel says it will keep targeting terror sites across Gaza.

:10:12.:10:15.

One more father is now pledging support for the militants.

:10:16.:10:21.

On this day, when my son was killed, I ask God to strengthen the

:10:22.:10:30.

resistance. We are proud of them. Why should we stop firing rockets

:10:31.:10:35.

when thousands of our people have been killed?

:10:36.:10:39.

As another child went to his grave in Gaza, attempts to reach a lasting

:10:40.:10:48.

truce stalled in Cairo. Hamas is demanding that Israel lift its

:10:49.:10:52.

punishing siege, but many here believe that will only be achieved

:10:53.:11:02.

by fighting and dying. Well our chief international

:11:03.:11:05.

correspondent, Lyse Doucet, joins us from Jerusalem. We saw the violence

:11:06.:11:09.

on the ground. What hope is there for a new ceasefire? Yes, I have

:11:10.:11:13.

lens on the ground increasing this evening -- violence on the ground

:11:14.:11:17.

increasing this evening. There are a few more positive notes. In the last

:11:18.:11:22.

few hours, US officials have said they hope this temporary truce can

:11:23.:11:27.

be resumed. Egyptian mediators are calling both sides back to the

:11:28.:11:33.

table. They are looking at issues such as how much can they ease the

:11:34.:11:38.

punishing blockade of Gaza, while ensuring security needs. How many

:11:39.:11:44.

prisoners can be reached? To give Hamas the credit it feels it needs

:11:45.:11:48.

in the eyes of Gazans who have suffered in this last war. Both

:11:49.:11:53.

sides need to emerge with a sense that this was a war worth fighting,

:11:54.:11:57.

whatever the cost. For the moment, it is only the cost that continues

:11:58.:11:59.

to rise. A drug that can extend the lives

:12:00.:12:11.

of some women with an advanced form of breast cancer has been rejected

:12:12.:12:14.

for use on the NHS in England, because it's too expensive.

:12:15.:12:16.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says a course

:12:17.:12:19.

of Kadcyla costs ?90,000, making it "impossible"

:12:20.:12:21.

to recommend it for widespread use. Here's Hugh Pym.

:12:22.:12:25.

For Hayley, this breast cancer drug has given

:12:26.:12:28.

time she never thought she had. Under previous gruelling treatment,

:12:29.:12:31.

her hair fell out and she was told she had only months to live,

:12:32.:12:35.

but with this drug she feels more confident about the future.

:12:36.:12:40.

I could get an extra six months or a year with my children.

:12:41.:12:43.

That is priceless. You can't put a figure on to

:12:44.:12:49.

a young mum of 33 to four children. You can't put a figure

:12:50.:12:52.

on somebody's life. It's criminal.

:12:53.:12:55.

Hayley could get Kadcyla through the Cancer Drugs Fund created

:12:56.:12:58.

by the Government to provide new drugs to some patients,

:12:59.:13:02.

but which will close in 2016. The regulator NICE has decided

:13:03.:13:04.

the drug should not be universally available on the NHS budget

:13:05.:13:08.

in England. NICE usually approves drugs costing

:13:09.:13:13.

up to ?30,000, in a calculation reflecting the patient's length

:13:14.:13:16.

and quality-of-life. For cancer drugs it has a maximum

:13:17.:13:19.

of ?50,000. Kadcyla costs ?90,000 per patient

:13:20.:13:23.

and NICE has said that is too much. Cancer treatments can command

:13:24.:13:28.

a premium price in the NHS over treatments for other diseases

:13:29.:13:31.

and conditions, but even with that flexibility, the price that the

:13:32.:13:36.

manufacturer Roche wants to charge the NHS puts it well beyond anything

:13:37.:13:41.

that we could have supported. But Roche argues that

:13:42.:13:44.

the drug is prescribed in many other European health services.

:13:45.:13:48.

It says it did offer to cut something off the price.

:13:49.:13:51.

Some people will feel ?90,000 sounds a lot of money for a drug.

:13:52.:13:55.

Why can't you cut the price further? We believe the price reflects

:13:56.:13:59.

the value it brings to patients, particularly with this very

:14:00.:14:02.

important disease. I would also add that 15 years of

:14:03.:14:05.

clinical trials went into developing Kadcyla and 30 years of research

:14:06.:14:09.

went into developing the technology that makes Kadcyla so unique.

:14:10.:14:13.

More potentially exciting but probably costly new cancer drugs

:14:14.:14:17.

are coming on stream every year, including some developed here

:14:18.:14:22.

at Imperial College London. So the debate on what is affordable

:14:23.:14:27.

for the NHS will not go away. There are not many ways

:14:28.:14:31.

of avoiding the current problem. I think the pharma companies

:14:32.:14:34.

need to look at the cost of what it takes to produce a new drug.

:14:35.:14:38.

I think they need to be ready to be flexible, and be ready to link

:14:39.:14:41.

the price of their drugs to the value it creates.

:14:42.:14:45.

It is a complex picture. Universities like this, funded

:14:46.:14:49.

by the Government, can help develop lower cost drugs, but it is the big

:14:50.:14:52.

companies which have the financial clout to bring them to the market.

:14:53.:14:56.

And for that, they say, they need to set prices to cover

:14:57.:14:59.

costs and turn in a profit. Hugh Pym, BBC News.

:15:00.:15:06.

The World Health Organisation has declared the Ebola outbreak in west

:15:07.:15:08.

Africa an international emergency. More than 960 people have died from

:15:09.:15:16.

the disease this year and there have The outbreak started in Guinea, and

:15:17.:15:28.

has spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone serious and unusual, and it appealed

:15:29.:15:32.

for international help for the countries affected. We'll be hearing

:15:33.:15:39.

more in a moment from West Africa We'll be hearing more

:15:40.:15:41.

in a moment from West Africa and America, but first this report

:15:42.:15:45.

from our Fergus Walsh. How do you defend the world

:15:46.:15:47.

against Ebola? It starts with more help for

:15:48.:15:50.

West Africa. The worst affected communities lack

:15:51.:15:54.

the basics - adequate protective clothing, trained medical staff

:15:55.:15:59.

and laboratory facilities. The World Health Organization says

:16:00.:16:03.

only international support will bring the outbreak under control.

:16:04.:16:07.

This is an infectious disease which can be contained.

:16:08.:16:11.

It is not mysterious. This is something

:16:12.:16:13.

which can be stopped. This depends

:16:14.:16:17.

on identifying everybody who has an Ebola infection and making sure

:16:18.:16:21.

that they receive the right treatment, and making sure that we

:16:22.:16:26.

stop the chain of transmission. Ebola is a viral infection

:16:27.:16:28.

which originates in animals such as bats and chimpanzees.

:16:29.:16:34.

It spreads between humans through direct contact with blood

:16:35.:16:38.

and other bodily fluids. The virus has an incubation period

:16:39.:16:41.

of up to 21 days, and the death rate is alarming.

:16:42.:16:45.

More than half of those infected have died.

:16:46.:16:48.

Fortunately, Ebola is not very contagious.

:16:49.:16:51.

Pneumonia, an airborne infection, kills 3000 children each day,

:16:52.:16:56.

more than Ebola has in 40 years, as do other diseases.

:16:57.:17:01.

The numbers of people who have died so far in this epidemic or perhaps

:17:02.:17:05.

ever, from Ebola, are dwarfed by the numbers who die from tuberculosis

:17:06.:17:10.

every day, for example. So the numbers are small

:17:11.:17:13.

but the potential for an outbreak like this to go out of control and

:17:14.:17:17.

to spread, and the numbers really to ramp up, is truly frightening.

:17:18.:17:22.

The threat to countries like Britain remains low.

:17:23.:17:25.

Even if Ebola did come here via a sick air passenger,

:17:26.:17:28.

health officials are confident they could contain it using isolation

:17:29.:17:34.

facilities like these. But it's a different story

:17:35.:17:37.

in west Africa, from where Will Ross reports.

:17:38.:17:41.

In Liberia, soldiers have joined the fight

:17:42.:17:45.

against the deadly Ebola virus. There is a state of emergency and

:17:46.:17:49.

they are stopping people travelling. Desperate measures to try to

:17:50.:17:53.

prevent the spread of Ebola. The medical charity

:17:54.:17:55.

Doctors Without Borders describes the situation as catastrophic

:17:56.:17:59.

and says there is a dire need for more international support.

:18:00.:18:03.

Some hospitals have closed, with staff to scared to work.

:18:04.:18:07.

In neighbouring Sierra Leone, the spiralling number

:18:08.:18:13.

of patients is also alarming. At Lagos airport in Nigeria,

:18:14.:18:16.

they are screening passengers for symptoms.

:18:17.:18:19.

If they had been doing this last month, the infected man from Liberia

:18:20.:18:23.

might have been intercepted. He died,

:18:24.:18:25.

and health workers who treated him are now fighting for their lives.

:18:26.:18:28.

The nightmare scenario is the rapid spread of the Ebola virus

:18:29.:18:32.

in this chaotic city of 20 million people, especially as Lagos is such

:18:33.:18:38.

a busy international hub. There is not yet a cure for Ebola,

:18:39.:18:42.

but Nigeria has appealed for an experimental drug to be made

:18:43.:18:45.

available. It is being developed in San Diego,

:18:46.:18:48.

from where Alistair Leithead reports.

:18:49.:18:51.

We are looking at an image of the three-dimensional structure

:18:52.:18:56.

of the Ebola virus glyco-protein. This is how that

:18:57.:18:59.

experimental drug does it. The antibodies, shown in red,

:19:00.:19:03.

stop the virus spreading. Scientists here

:19:04.:19:05.

in San Diego have been working on a cure for years, but turning

:19:06.:19:09.

science into a serum you can give to people is a much bigger challenge.

:19:10.:19:14.

The drug was developed in the most unlikely of places, this

:19:15.:19:18.

industrial estate in San Diego. Map Biopharmaceutical,

:19:19.:19:22.

only nine employees and a camera-shy chief executive who

:19:23.:19:25.

would only tell me it could be months before they can produce

:19:26.:19:30.

the drug in large quantities. That's because they are growing

:19:31.:19:33.

the antibodies, in genetically engineered tobacco plants, and

:19:34.:19:37.

waiting to harvest the next batch. The drug works in the lab,

:19:38.:19:39.

cured monkeys, but untested in humans, is it safe?

:19:40.:19:44.

I would take it myself and I have been studying this for ten years.

:19:45.:19:47.

So I know exactly how it works, what the risks and benefits are.

:19:48.:19:50.

We have to bear in mind the alternative is Ebola virus.

:19:51.:19:54.

One of the two American medics infected and treated in Liberia

:19:55.:19:57.

walked to his isolation ward after his condition improved.

:19:58.:20:00.

But disease control scientists aren't convinced.

:20:01.:20:03.

We don't know whether that treatment is helpful, harmful,

:20:04.:20:07.

or doesn't have any impact. And we're unlikely to know from

:20:08.:20:11.

the experience of two or a handful of patients, whether it works.

:20:12.:20:15.

There is a new urgency to their work and unanswered ethical

:20:16.:20:18.

questions over who should be given limited stocks of an untested drug.

:20:19.:20:22.

Alistair Leithead, BBC News, San Diego.

:20:23.:20:26.

Some of the day's other other news stories.

:20:27.:20:29.

Downing Street has announced the appointment of 22 new peers, taking

:20:30.:20:32.

the total number to 796, despite all three main party leaders calling

:20:33.:20:39.

for a smaller House of Lords. The list includes the former Marks

:20:40.:20:43.

Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose, and the businesswoman Karren Brady,

:20:44.:20:47.

who'll both sit on the Tory benches, plus the former Eastenders actor

:20:48.:21:00.

Michael Cashman, a Labour supporter. Afghanistan's rival presidential

:21:01.:21:01.

candidates have signed a deal to form a government

:21:02.:21:04.

of national unity, four months after the disputed election.

:21:05.:21:06.

Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani had both claimed victory and accused

:21:07.:21:09.

each other of electoral fraud. The deal was announced

:21:10.:21:12.

during a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

:21:13.:21:23.

Engineers at Harvard University in the United States have created

:21:24.:21:25.

a robot that folds itself into shape from a flat sheet,

:21:26.:21:28.

and is able to crawl. The design is inspired

:21:29.:21:31.

by the Japanese art of origami. The team say it could be developed

:21:32.:21:34.

to create devices that self-assemble in confined spaces,

:21:35.:21:34.

such as war zones or in space. There has been a rise in the number

:21:35.:21:53.

of fines issued to parents for a children's absence from school.

:21:54.:21:59.

Figures obtained by the BBC from three quarters of councils show that

:22:00.:22:02.

almost 64,000 fines were issued to parents in the last school year, a

:22:03.:22:07.

rise of 70% on the previous year. Some of the finds are for persistent

:22:08.:22:11.

poor attendance, but most were about unauthorised holidays.

:22:12.:22:14.

such as war zones or in space. School is out for the summer,

:22:15.:22:17.

so families have flocked to the seaside.

:22:18.:22:19.

But some parents have already been on holiday, taking

:22:20.:22:21.

their children during term time. This couple, who run a busy tearoom

:22:22.:22:24.

in Devon, say closing during peak season would damage their business,

:22:25.:22:27.

so they took their teenage daughter out of school on a trip to Thailand.

:22:28.:22:31.

They were fined ?120 for the unauthorised absence.

:22:32.:22:36.

She got 97% attendance for that year and they still say you

:22:37.:22:43.

can't take her out for five days. Is one week going to make that much

:22:44.:22:49.

difference to a child's education? Family travel

:22:50.:22:52.

in term time used to be allowed in special circumstances but

:22:53.:22:55.

since September teachers can only grant leave in exceptional cases.

:22:56.:22:59.

It's led to a sharp rise in the number of parents who have

:23:00.:23:03.

been fined for jetting off without permission, and more

:23:04.:23:06.

than 200,000 have signed a petition in protest, not least at increased

:23:07.:23:11.

holiday prices in peak times. But teachers say any departure

:23:12.:23:16.

from the curriculum can cost here. The only effect it is going to

:23:17.:23:20.

have for those parents who continue to take those children out is that

:23:21.:23:23.

those children will miss learning. If that happens for a couple of

:23:24.:23:26.

weeks every year for that child's life, I do believe that is damaging.

:23:27.:23:30.

Fewer children are missing lessons, the Government says,

:23:31.:23:32.

as a result of its reforms, and ministers say that schools can set

:23:33.:23:37.

term dates to ease holiday demand at peak times, even though some parents

:23:38.:23:41.

still think fines are unfair. Alex Forsyth, BBC News.

:23:42.:23:49.

When Sir Neville Marriner takes to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall

:23:50.:23:53.

in London this weekend he will become the oldest conductor ever to

:23:54.:23:55.

lead a Prom. 90-year-old Sir Neville began

:23:56.:23:58.

his musical career as a violinist before founding his own orchestra

:23:59.:24:01.

and then picking up a baton. Will Gompertz went along to

:24:02.:24:04.

rehearsal to meet one of the most recorded conductors of all time.

:24:05.:24:13.

A casually dressed Sir Neville Marriner in the rehearsal room,

:24:14.:24:17.

practising with his orchestra for Sunday's Prom performance

:24:18.:24:26.

of Sir William Walton's Henry V. The 90-year-old conductor could have

:24:27.:24:29.

retired years ago but explains why he has no intention of doing so.

:24:30.:24:38.

It's reasonably addictive. First of all, that you are able to

:24:39.:24:42.

express yourself, musically, so freely, and you don't have to

:24:43.:24:46.

practice an instrument. So it all goes in in your head

:24:47.:24:49.

and your heart. I'm sure most people at the end

:24:50.:24:53.

of their working life would wish to have something like that.

:24:54.:24:56.

I would certainly feel pretty strange without

:24:57.:25:02.

that opportunity now. Neville Marriner made

:25:03.:25:05.

his Proms debut at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1963, playing violin

:25:06.:25:09.

with the London Symphony Orchestra. He returned a couple of years later,

:25:10.:25:12.

again playing the violin but this time also directing his own

:25:13.:25:15.

chamber orchestra of the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields.

:25:16.:25:19.

And then in 1970 he took to the Proms podium for the first time

:25:20.:25:25.

as a fully fledged conductor. Since when,

:25:26.:25:30.

he has never looked back. Here he is conducting in 1974,

:25:31.:25:39.

younger, certainly, but... I see some of my early things and I

:25:40.:25:43.

think how incredibly tolerant the players were to put up with

:25:44.:25:47.

that little ridiculous sort of clumsy gestures and inarticulate.

:25:48.:25:54.

Why do you think there are so few female conductors

:25:55.:25:58.

in charge of the major orchestras? I have a feeling there's

:25:59.:26:02.

a certain audience resistance. There's something strange

:26:03.:26:07.

about the female figure conducting. But musically speaking,

:26:08.:26:12.

they're so gifted. The actor John hurt will join

:26:13.:26:16.

the orchestra on Sunday to speak Shakespeare's words.

:26:17.:26:21.

Sir Neville will conduct before moving on to his next

:26:22.:26:25.

concert, in an ongoing career that sees his work diary already planned

:26:26.:26:29.

ahead for the next two years. Will Gompertz, BBC News.

:26:30.:26:35.

That's all from us. Now it's time for the news where

:26:36.:26:38.

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