13/05/2016 BBC News at Ten

A victory for common sense - or a recipe for disaster?

The High Court rules a father was allowed to take his daughter out

The father celebrates the verdict but the local council warns it

could cause chaos in schools and damage children's grades.

Obviously, I'm absolutely delighted with the outcome of this case,

as will hundreds of thousands of parents across England,

who have had to live with this draconian situation.

Clearly shown in court was a link between educational

So my worry is that those children who are taken out of school

We'll be asking what this means for parents in England planning

The gloves are off: Sir John Major tells senior Tories they should be

ashamed and embarrassed by their fearmongering over the EU.

The EU deal with Turkey slows the flow of people for now -

A special report on the legal synthetic drugs driving a huge

increase in addiction among young people.

And behind the scenes with Jodie Foster as she talks

about her new film and being a woman director in Hollywood.

And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News.

Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton battle it out in the first

leg of the Championship play-off semifinals.

Judges have ruled in favour of a father who refused to pay

a fine for taking his daughter out of school for a week's holiday.

Jon Platt from the Isle of Wight was fined ?120

when he took his six-year-old to Disney World in Florida

But the High Court has decided that because the child did

attend school regularly - despite her unauthorised holiday -

The ruling could have implications for parents across England.

One father's decision to take his daughter on a term-time

holiday to Disney World in Florida led to this courtroom battle.

Jon Platt refused to pay the fine imposed by his local council,

and two High Court judges have ruled in his favour.

Obviously, I'm absolutely delighted with the outcome of this case,

as will hundreds of thousands of parents across England,

who have had to live with this draconian situation,

where taking their kids on a family holiday amounted to

Jon Platt won the first round of his battle when magistrates

ruled his daughter had attended school regularly.

But the Isle of Wight Council took it further, and today's case centred

on the Education Act, and what the term

And the two sides were still at loggerheads after the hearing ended.

I think the Department of Education and schooling in this country

We simply don't know what the situation is.

When can you take your child out of school?

Should you be able to take your child out of school

As I say, it has been clearly shown that there is a link between

And that link has not apparently been accepted by the court

and I fear massive disruption to schooling across the country.

The thing that stops parents taking their children out of school,

Jonathan, is not the fear of your ?60 truancy penalty notice.

It is the fear of the damage they will do to their

That is the restraining factor on parents.

They are smart. They can work this out themselves.

They know, "If I pull my kids out of school every time we go

on holiday in term time, and their attendance falls to 70%,

60%, my child is going to suffer", so they don't do that.

Teachers in England can only grant term-time absence

Parents face a ?60 fine for unauthorised leave.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules,

which include financial penalties in some cases.

64,000 fines were imposed in one year alone.

At this Birmingham school, the headteacher fears more families

Some parents will think "Well, it happened for this gentleman,

It gives them the green light for that, and that's not OK.

I think something should be done with the travel agents,

It is the travel agents that cause the high costs

I think it is a victory for parents and a welcome decision.

I hope it sets a wonderful president for the UK.

I certainly believe it is up to the individual parent to decide

what is a good education for their child.

One man's legal battle may have been won in the High Court today,

but tonight, the Department for Education is saying that

attendance at school is non-negotiable.

It is already looking to change the law.

And that will include new guidance for schools and local authorities.

Is that it, the green light for parents to take their kids out of

school? I think it would be, frankly, chaos if you had lots of

parents taking children out in the middle term time for two or three

weeks holiday against the express wishes of headteachers and that is

why, we have heard, the Department for Education, no surprise, is

looking to change the law as quickly as possible. The issue for

government, or they say it is, is the welfare of the child, to make

sure they get a good enough education to achieve their full

potential. They have published research which suggests that even

seven days out of school in a year can have a big impact on the quality

of the GCSE results the child gets. It is not just the welfare of a

child going to Disney World rather than being in double chemistry.

Actually, it is the welfare of all the other children in the class

because the teacher has to help the ones who have been away catch up and

it disrupts lessons. The government has decided that family holidays are

not exceptional circumstances that justify taking a child out of

school. But this is an argument you will find in countries all over the

world, the same issue applies. In France, if you want to take your

child out of school, you may have to go to the headteacher and get

permission you may have to get the Tamil and get bureaucrats to agree,

you may even have to go to the police to get a special visa to take

your child overseas. Many jurisdictions have different

sanctions but all over the world, too, you will find many parents

arguing the state should not be telling them when they can take a

family holiday. Thank you for joining us.

Sir John Major has launched a stinging attack on senior

Conservatives heading the campaign to leave the EU.

The former Tory Prime Minister said the Justice Secretary Michael Gove

should be embarrassed and ashamed of his anti-EU rhetoric.

And he called on Boris Johnson and former Cabinet minister

Iain Duncan-Smith to apologise for peddling false figures.

The Leave campaign responded the public will decide

whether to stay in the EU, not politicians.

He's a big name making a big intervention.

With less than six weeks until the vote, the former

Prime Minister has a warning for the Conservatives on the EU.

A quarter of a century ago, it bitterly divided my party.

And making his own case for staying in the EU,

he attacked claims made by Tory colleagues.

Boris Johnson, the former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan-Smith, and the

Justice Secretary Michael Gove, that leaving the EU could

Those who make such demonstrably false claims, knowingly

do so, need to apologise that they have got their figures so badly

wrong and stop peddling a clear-cut untruth.

And he warned colleagues who he says are raising fear and prejudice

with their arguments over immigration, that it's

Some of the Brexit leaders morph into Ukip and turn to their default

This is dangerous territory that if handled carelessly, can open up

This is a significant intervention from the

He's naming people with ambitions to one day

lead the Conservative party as reckless, and as this

referendum campaign goes on the Tory on Tory attacks

The question - how united can and will the party be

We have this week had the official statistics

showing a massive underestimate in the amount of immigration

I think it would be irresponsible not to be talking

about that, because there are issues people care about.

The pressure on jobs and wages, the impact on the NHS and housing.

He rarely makes interventions, but this decision he

says is final, and he'll be hoping people are listening.

Eleanor Garnier, BBC News, Westminster.

Another powerful voice arguing today for the UK to remain

in the EU was the head of the International Monetary Fund.

Christine Lagarde warned it could be at least "pretty bad",

and at worst, "very, very bad" if the UK pulls out.

She said it would hit British growth, investment and house prices.

Vote Leave campaigners say the IMF has been wrong before

about the British economy and is wrong again.

Our Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed reports.

Step-by-step, the government believes the economic

Today, another expert and another grim warning.

A particular welcome to Christine Lagarde and her team.

The IMF argued house prices could fall, borrowing costs

increase, and the government may have to raise taxes and cut

I asked Christine Lagarde for the outlook if Britain

The consequences would be negative, if the UK was to leave

Less growth means less jobs, so higher unemployment.

Are you pushed by George Osborne to be as bleak as you can be

about the effects of Britain leaving the European Union?

What we do is we study their numbers.

Another day in this referendum campaign and another major

international organisation warns Britain about the economic risks

Of course, here in the Treasury, they are pretty pleased that the IMF

has broadly backed George Osborne's assessment and it's not the last

Just a few days before the referendum, they are going

to produce a report which will talk about employment, house prices

It is thought it will be equally gloomy.

Looking for votes, the Leave campaign on the road today

with a message that the IMF had been wrong before and was wrong now.

I don't think we can take their forecasts at face value

because of their background and also, on the basis that our

I believe that if we vote to leave the European Union,

Britain has a brighter, more secure and more prosperous

Shoreham on the south coast, here to ask the question,

is anyone listening as everyone from the Bank of England to the IMF

Yeah, I would listen to that information and take it on board.

Constantly, you are getting different information from one

As a personal thing, no, I would not take any notice of it.

The governor of the Bank of England, the head of the IMF.

There is evidence the economy is high up in the minds

Any individual voice or report or organisation is unlikely

to have a major impact that we will see in the polls tomorrow.

They add up, the narrative grows and it makes voters stop and think

just before they go and vote on referendum day.

There is more to the UK economy than the referendum.

The IMF said there were other long-term risks, high levels

of household debt and low productivity.

They will still be problems, however Britain votes on June 23.

The BBC's Reality Check team has been examining

Christine Lagarde's comments, and getting to the facts behind

the claims on both sides of the referendum debate.

You can find their work at bbc.co.uk/realitycheck.

There are signs tonight that the European Union's efforts

to stem the migrant crisis are beginning to have

Numbers arriving from Turkey onto the Greek islands are down

around 90% in April compared with the previous month,

according the the EU border agency Frontex.

It follows a deal struck between the EU and Turkey.

But as our chief correspondent Gavin Hewitt now reports from Izmir,

These are the Turkish beaches from where tens of thousands

of refugees left for their perilous journey to Europe.

Today, all that remains are discarded clothes.

Almost no refugees are making the crossing to Greece.

But the deal between Turkey and the EU to solve the migrant

Go into the fields near the Turkish coast close to Greece and you find

Syrian refugees like Murad, who once dreamt of going

The Turkish-EU deal signed in March has all but blocked

TRANSLATION: The sea border with Greece is now closed.

If someone wants to go to Europe, they cannot.

The Turkish coast guard patrols are much more rigorous.

Just two months ago, 8,000 refugees crossed here in one month.

So far in May, the numbers are around 300.

And for those who make it to Greece, the route north through the Balkans

is lined with fences and riot police.

There is no possibility to move further from Greece,

and in Greece, the movement from the islands to the mainland

So, in Turkey, the tables where the smugglers did their deals

are almost empty and the shops can't sell their life jackets.

The Turkish government says it's honoured its part of the deal.

TRANSLATION: If the refugees go outside the cities

where they're registered, they're told to go back.

If they try to reach the coast and escape,

The easing of the refugee crisis depends on a controversial deal

Turkey clamping down on the migrants, in exchange

for visa-free travel to much of Europe.

But the European Parliament is insisting that first, Turkey must

Turkey says it has done enough and the whole

So there is a risk of a migrant crisis returning.

The developments are being followed closely in Germany, where most

of the previous refugees went, and by the referendum

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of young people

being treated for addiction to legal highs.

Public Health England recorded over 170 per cent increase last year

in those under 18 and dependent on synthetic cannabis -

known as "spice" - which can be bought openly

Government legislation to ban such substances is expected to come

into effect in the coming weeks, but there are concerns it may not

Our UK affairs correspondent, Jeremy Cooke, has the story.

Spice is potent, addictive, and until now, legal.

He's 24, alone, no job, one priority.

The first time I ever tried it, my mate just goes, I've got

I had three or four burns and I was stuck up against the wall

He came back to see me and I asked him for another spliff.

Ever since that day I haven't stopped smoking it.

At least for Dean and others, there is some help.

Just go back to your accommodation for the weekend.

The Lifeshare charity is dealing with soaring numbers

It's the most dangerous drug that has caused the most damage

in the shortest space of time to the most vulnerable

I can't emphasise enough how much of a destructive, horrible,

It is absolutely awful and I've never seen anything like it.

Spice is a synthetic cannabis, but it's much stronger.

Just before I quit last, that could last me all day.

She and her mates have worked hard and beaten their addictions.

My emotional attachment to spice was ridiculous.

I've given myself black eyes before, just because I haven't got it

and I needed to de-stress myself and calm down so I could go

I would just punch myself in the head repeatedly.

It affects your mental health as well, it spirals out of control.

It turns you into such a nasty person because you are like,

It was keeping me homeless, spice, because it was so easy to get,

and you can just walk into shops, or if you walk past somebody that

you know and ask them for one, they will give you one.

It's on the streets that the spice crisis is most visible

You can buy it in the shops for a fiver a gram -

And all with slick marketing and fancy names aimed

The Government is racing to catch up and spice will be

But will that be enough to stop this?

Dean has been lucky to survive a collapse fuelled by the drug.

A young man in his 20s, fighting for his life.

And still using, despite knowing spice could have killed him.

All I remember is me in the hospital and some woman saying to me,

this is the fourth time we have tried to take blood off you.

We just had to bring you back round from cardiac arrest.

I don't really like it, but I don't know...

Many police officers still need convincing that making spice illegal

Jeremy Cooke, BBC News, Manchester.

A brief look at some of the day's other news stories.

A father accused of murdering his six-year-old daughter in a fit

of rage has told a court he believes he's the subject of an unfair trial.

Ben Butler was jailed for cruelty and assaulting his daughter Ellie

when she was a few weeks old, but his conviction

In 2013, it's alleged she died of serious head

Five days of talks aimed at resolving the junior doctors

dispute in England have been extended into next week.

Negotiations at the conciliation service Acas had been due to end

today, but the government and the doctors' union have now

Schools in America have been told by the national government they must

allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match

The US Attorney General said schools may face lawsuits or lose

out on state funding if they don't comply.

It's the latest move in a battle over gay,

lesbian and transgender rights in America.

Our North America correspondent Aleem Maqbool has more.

It's America's civil rights battle of the moment,

about which bathrooms can be used by transgender people.

It started when one state passed a law saying you can only

use toilets according to your gender at birth.

This law provides no benefit to society and all it does

Let us instead learn from our history and avoid repeating

The Obama administration has now sent a message

to schools across the country, telling them to protect

transgender students' rights, allowing them to use the bathrooms

To have the President of the United States say

"We have your back, we're going to enforce the law",

that is a huge relief for trans people and a relief

It's good news for students like Luke, born a girl

but who's going through the process of transition.

We met him soon after his state passed a law stopping him

To him, that law has already done considerable damage.

I've got more confident in myself, more willing and able to go just out

places, even to school, getting healthier again,

and it just added another shock in my life

But some politicians say they'll continue to oppose President Obama's

edict to allow transgender pupils to use the school

He says he's going to withhold funding if schools

Well, in Texas, he can keep his 30 pieces of silver.

We will not yield to blackmail from the President

In recent years, LGBT rights have improved dramatically in the US,

but this is an issue where conservatives are digging

in their heels and promising a long fight.

Aleem Maqbool, BBC News, in Washington.

The Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster has been

in the business since she was five years old -

In recent years though she's turned to directing

and her fourth feature film - Money Monster - has just

Our arts editor Will Gompertz has been talking to her.

When am I getting revisions for the opening?

I get those before the show or after?

Just point the camera in my direction, we'll

George Clooney as an egotistical financial journalist

who prioritises fame and showbiz over robust enquiry.

Julia Roberts is his long-suffering producer,

For its director, the Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster,

it was a chance to explore cynicism in the worlds of finance and media.

I think our news, our journalism has changed a lot with the advent

of technology and with the advent of that sort of Facebook culture,

social media culture, where news is trying

to compete with ratings and trying to entertain,

and I think it's really quite dangerous for news.

It's lost its ability to ask the questions?

So you're saying journalism is complicit and therefore corrupt?

Corrupted by, yeah, I do think that if you're trying to entertain,

you're going to be corrupted by the needs of the audience.

She also talked about a continuing male bias in the film business,

particularly, she said, when it comes to directing.

When you're about to hire - let's say you're a producer

and you're going to hire a director - you probably want to find somebody

that you perceive as the least risky scenario, and most often that

A bloke - middle-class, middle-aged, white guy.

Because it's a middle-class, middle-aged white guy

Very often, very often, a good percentage of the time it's

also a lovely Ivy League woman who runs the studio.

So tell me this, you had two big stars in this movie.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

I, first I would never tell you how much somebody got.

I wouldn't tell you how much allowance I got

My mother told me that's just not something you ever do.

You know how much they got paid, right?

But I will talk about my movie, which is what we're engaged to do.

We're talking about the movie, we're talking about the themes

within the movie and how it's about journalists

interrogating their subjects properly to get to the truth,

No, I'm not helping you, I'm not,

That exchange was a bit like the movie itself -

tense, interesting, in its way revealing,

but ultimately a little bit disappointing.

Now on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.