04/03/2014 BBC London News

Good evening. State`funded faith schools across the capital light be

allowed to remove certain exam questions on religious grounds. A

Jewish girls' school in Hackney has been redacting questions on

evolution on science exam p`pers. The Examinations body now s`ys it'll

allow the practice, which goes against government plans for a

compulsory science curricultm. Marc Ashdown reports.

Hatorah Senior Girls' School is a strict orthodox girls school where

mortar pupils do not have a television or internet. Now it

appears that certain subjects are off`limits. In a tub, 52 schence

papers were found to have bden tampered with. Questions on

pollution were redacted before the exams were sacked. The exams bought

was satisfied that there had been no unfair advantage because thd girls

lost marks. In future, they might actually allow such changes.

We have seen e`mails between the exam board and Ofqual, the regular

at, discussing how this is not an isolated case. And the wider

significant applications involving other faith schools. One of the

issues raised at this free school in Derby was the imposing of Islamic

practices. The secondary school was taken over

and will now close. Allowing censorship of exams would dhrectly

contradict government plans to introduce a compulsory science

curriculum. Some are concerned that just because the school does not

agree with abolition it tophcs like fossils and skeletons, it does not

mean that children should not be taught them. Jordan are being

penalised by being denied access to marks. Of course, parents h`ve the

right to raise their childrdn in accordance with religious bdliefs

and we need to question whether public money should be spent on the

belligerence in Caucasian of children, and means calling into

question the concept of faith schools. The school was not happy

with us filming. But later, they told us that they would not do

anything which would comprolise their sincerely held ethos. The

Department for Education has asked us for assurances that they will now

teach the full curriculum. Marc, as you mentioned therd, there

are wider implications in tdrms of government policy? Yes. This is fast

becoming a test case for ond of Michael Gove's big reforms. The idea

of a new science curriculum which are state funded schools must teach.

But will they? The head at this school has made it clear th`t she

will not, in a letter to parents which we have seen it went out

yesterday. She explains, no matter what, we will never come delise Any

faith schools could feel thd same. The problem is, if you allow

individual schools to edit dxams, where does it end? Some belheve it

will be the thin end of the wedge. Many different groups are ctrrently

setting up free schools. Ministers could withdraw funding and they

would then have to become private schools or close. They do not want

to drive them away but the alternative could be a rethhnk of a

big policy. Thank you.

A former bodyguard on trial for stealing diamonds from one of the

world's richest women has bden cleared by a West London jury. She

was accused of taking ?12 mhllion worth of jewels from her employer's

Kensington home, replacing them with cheap replicas. Nick Higham reports.

Game points to Singapore. F`timah Lim was once a champion badlinton

player. There she is winning a silver medal at the Commonwdalth

games. Then she went to work for Marian Aziz, a former wife of the

Sultan of Brunei. Today, Marian Aziz is an enthusiastic gambler, a

regular at some of London's most exclusive cathedrals. She h`s been

known to lose up to ?500,000 a night. Fatimah Lim gambled to and

the prosecution claimed that she ran up large debts, so she hatched a

plot to sell diamond rings `nd a bracelet belonging to her elployer.

The prosecution alleged that Fatimah Lim brought the baseless and rings

to a jeweller in Hackney, at the centre of London's diamond trade.

The court was told that he `rranged to have two buckets made of the

rings, cheap fakes that cost her ?300. And then he helped her sell

the originals in Switzerland. The bracelets, for $5.5 million, the

rings for $7.7 million, less than the true value. This jewelldr says

it is not easy to sell diamonds if you cannot supply proof of

ownership. It is not unusual for a stone purchased for one amotnts to

be sold to the trade at a lower amount. What would be unusu`l is for

a dealer to buy that sort of stone without supporting document`tion.

The jury was told that the real diamonds were replaced with cheap

fakes. Fatimah Lim told the court that she had told the jewels not for

her own cancelling debts but to pay her employers. Fatimah Lim that has

been to court once and lost heavily. In 2012 she was sued by Marhan Aziz

formally into dollars and the return of the diamonds. In his judgement,

Mr judges limber loom in th`t case described Fatimah Lim's evidence as

not capable of belief, entirely lacking in credibility, wholly

unconvincing, bordering on the absurd, fanciful and nonsense.

Tonight, Fatimah Lim walked out of court a free woman but pennhless.

Everything has been returned to marry Aziz, so I am left with

nothing. But I have my freedom. `` Marian Aziz. The think the verdict

would have been different if the jury had known you have lost that

earlier action? I have no comment. `` do you think the verdict would

have been different. I cannot wait to be back. You would like to say

thank you to my friends and family for their support. Fatimah Lim may

have lost the civil case but today a jury decided it was not cle`r beyond

reasonable doubt that she h`d acted criminally.

That's all from me, so I'll wish you a very good night, and hand you over

to Wendy for the weather. a very good night, and

It is quite nice, actually. Not a bad week ahead of us.

Going through this week, it will stay miles. Turning cloudy `s we go

through the week. `` mild. The skies are clear and it is turning cold out

there. Light wind, and we are expected frost, widespread `cross

the Home Counties. In the countryside, temperatures could be

down to two for three. And the London suburbs will be closd to

freezing. Shallow fog patchds possible tomorrow morning btt lots

of sunshine. Continuing into the afternoon with more cloud in the

sky. Temperatures up to 12. Here is the outlook. More cloud, and a few

brighter spells on Thursday. And it will stay miles into the wedkend.

And with more on that, will stay miles into the weekend.

And with more on that, here is the National forecast.

Good evening. The skies across England and Wales are clearing. It

will turn cold once again. A different story for Scotland and

Northern Ireland. But ahead of that, the skies are clearing for England

and Wales. It will turn cold, so we will start tomorrow with a frost and

will also be some fog around. The frost will set in, getting down to

three below in rural spots. It is not until the latter part of the

night where we will see the fog thickening up. All while, the wind

is increasing. And we will see some rain setting in by dawn. That

combination will keep temperatures above freezing. In rural spots,

areas will be below freezing.