12/07/2012 BBC News at One

A massive avalanche in the French Alps kills nine people. It is

thought three of them may be British. They were part of a group

of 28 climbers near Chamonix in the Mont Blanc region when a 60 foot

high wall of snow swept them away. Others are missing or injured.

is the worst accident for the last four years. It is the second most

popular route. The private security company, G4S, is accused of letting

the country down as the Government confirms 3,500 extra military

personnel will be deployed at the games. With a fortnight to go

before the Games, the Prime Minister is urged to intervene

personally to tackle the long passenger queues at Heathrow

Airport. The final day of the John Terry trial. The footballer denies

racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. Struggling to connect. Thousands of

O2 customers are still without service after the mobile network

crashed yesterday. Could he become the first British man to win the

Tour de France? Bradley Wiggins sports the yellow jersey for a 4th

day. Plans for the Olympics security of called into question.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One. Nine people have

been killed and another eight have been injured in one of the worst

avalanches for years in the French Alps. There are reports that three

of the dead are British, two other Britons are thought to be missing.

The confirmed dead have been identified as German, Swiss and

Spanish climbers. They were among 28 people who were ascending Mont

Maudit, in the Mont Blanc region, early this morning when they were

hit by a 60 foot high wall of snow. Here is our world affairs

Rescue teams searching at the site of the avalanche, higher up in the

Mont Blanc region. The most deadly in recent years, the avalanche

swept down the mountainside in the early hours of the morning. Around

20 climbers were caught up in it as they made their way towards that

ultimate golf - the summit of Mont Blanc. The dead and injured were

soon being brought back down. Amongst those killed were three

British climbers, as well as mountaineers from Spain, Germany

and Switzerland. Unfortunately, this morning, there has been a big

avalanche. We do not know how it was triggered. It can be triggered

by the people who were climbing themselves or by ice fall from

above. They were on a mountain called Mont Midi. It is used by

thousands of people every year. is quite prone. The weather in the

Alps has been very on-off. There has been lots of snow for. Every

couple of years there is normally a big avalanche. It is a bit of a

black spot on the mountain. Right now the rescue teams are continuing

to search for four climbers who are still missing. The teams have to

work quickly to have any chance of pulling them out life. Hugh

Schofield is in Paris for us. -- alive. What is the latest

information? It is confirmed there are three British dead. Initially

it was six and the rescue workers found to three bodies. Two British

climbers are still missing and two Spanish climbers. The death toll

could still rise. The search and rescue teams are looking into what

happened. It looks like this was a huge 60 foot-high wall of snow that

hit them. It looks like they were very near the top of the mountain,

on the approach to Mont Blanc. It seems the slope is very steep.

There is a risk of instability if there is a big accumulation of snow.

It was the snow avalanche. We heard that from the expert. They were so

near the top it looks like it was a particularly unstable time and

somehow the snow was triggered, loosened, either by them off from

the fall of an ice block further up. With just over a fortnight to go

before the opening ceremony of London's Olympic Games, serious

questions are being asked about security at the Games, and about

how people are going to get there. This morning, the Government

confirmed that it was having to deploy 3,500 extra military

personnel because G4S, the firm providing security personnel for

the Olympics, does not have enough trained staff. Concerns have also

been raised about the continuing queues at Heathrow immigration, as

well as continuing problems on the M4 - the main route into London

from the airport. We'll have more on that in a moment. But first the

latest on those troop deployments. Below, some of the temporary

accommodation where British troops will be house to help ensure

security of the Games. The hunt is on for more space in East London

for another 3500 servicemen and women. All 100 or so Olympics Sykes

will be ready on time and on budget. -- sites. There will be extra

troops after doubts over whether the private security firm really

could provide 10 dozen staff it promised. Today the company said it

had encountered some delays in progressing applicants to through

the final stages. It was working extremely hard to process these as

swiftly as possible. In Parliament, Labour called it a shambles.

has let down the country. We have had to send in troops. Can the Home

Secretary give the House this is shown she is now set his first --

satisfied that all the changes will insure the greatest games ever

staged will be done securely for the safety of the visitors and the

British people? It is absolutely right that when a gap has opened up,

it is absolutely right that we acted quickly to ensure that gap

would be filled. He asked about the statement I made in the House on

Monday and when the gap in the numbers from G4S was crystallised.

The gap in the numbers from G4S, we were receiving assurances from them

until recently the absolute gap in the numbers was only crystallised

finally yesterday. Today, some of those who had applied for jobs came

forward to describe the chaotic process. I have tried to contact

them but it has taken forever to try to get through. Finally,

recently, only on a couple of e- mails when they said they have to

wait for my quotation to come through and that they have not

passed it on to the Home Office to be tagged. Unless they get

something done before Sunday, I will not be employed at will.

armed forces are ready and well prepared to stepping to help.

Questions are being asked about why it took so long for Olympic

organisers and G4S to admit help was needed, not least for an event

in which security was always going to be paramount. Our political

correspondent joins us now from Parliament. The security of the

Games will not be compromised, says the Home Secretary. It is or

embarrassing. It is, particularly because it is so close to the

opening of the Games and because the Home Secretary had said she was

confident all the partners would deliver on what they were meant to

deliver on. Only yesterday G4S said it could not provide enough people

in time. That is why we are having an extra 2500 troops. Downing

Street has said there ought to be consequences for the company in not

supplying those guards and they may have to pay back some money. The

MoD said it saw it coming for a few weeks and change some of its

personnel from a one-week readiness to move to a one-day situation.

They felt this had been coming for a while. A lot of the questions the

G4S will be focused next week. They have been invited to come here and

talk to the Home Affairs Select Committee and explain just why,

particularly, they only open their recruitment office for the Games in

January. The Prime Minister is being urged to intervene personally

to tackle the long passenger queues at Heathrow Airport. The Chief

Inspector of Borders has raised concerns about passport checks at

the airport. John Vine says some staff are not processing travellers

efficiently and effectively enough. The Olympics are days away. This is

what the UK Border Force is trying to avoid happening at Heathrow

Airport. Cheering crowds waiting two, even three hours to get into

Britain. Service has improved in recent weeks. Today's report makes

clear there are still some outstanding concerns. The agency

needs to ensure it has enough staff on duty at the Times during the

Olympic period. I have said they should have staff who are

appropriately trained to make sure they can do that. Most importantly

they need to ensure proper checks are carried out into all passengers

arriving in the UK. He says that because some of the extra staff

drafted in are not experienced immigration officers like these.

They are not able to recruit -- complete require passenger checks

as quickly as stuff used to working on the desks. Today the Government

said they had been given mentors and there would be enough staff.

know there are peaks and troughs throughout the day. The commitment

for the Olympic period is that all tests will be occupied - able to

process people through passport control - at key periods, not just

at Heathrow but at all the big ports in the south-east where most

Olympic visitors will come. Labour said queue management remains

chaotic. The Government has been recruiting people again at extra

cost to the tax payer. The Government needs to make sure there

are enough staff in place to do proper security checks without long

queues. At the Home Office they believe their plan will see the

border severs through the Olympics safely. It can still be hit and

miss. They can still be long queues. With the eyes of the world about to

be turned on Britain, there is still a risk of international

embarrassment. Our Olympics correspondent is here. It is very

last minute and it looks a bit of a mess, doesn't it? It is vital.

Security cannot be allowed to go wrong. No games can be a success

without watertight security. I'm speaking to one insider who said

even last year there was clear to many people that G4S were not going

to be able to find as many staff as they needed. One of the

frustrations for many people is it has taken so long to get where we

are now. The eyes of the world will be on this country in two weeks'

time. If it goes well, the image of this country is boosted. If it does

not, of the reverse is the case. These problems need to be sorted

out very quickly. Athletes from around the world will be arriving

very shortly. Are they going to be able to short this out? The M4 it

is the main gateway to London. Most athletes will arrive at Heathrow.

It is unthinkable they will be sent on various diversions someone not

be on as we strode into London. People say it will be ready on time.

-- a swifter road. Look back to the Athens Olympics, I spent a lot of

time covering those games before they started. There was never a

roof on the swimming pool. The Games took place in the open air

but the games were a success. There are -- there is time to iron things

out. The Syrian ambassador to Iraq has defected. He is the first

senior Syrian diplomat to abandon the Government of President Bashar

al-Assad. The genocide trial of Ratko Mladic has been adjourned

after he complained of feeling unwell. A spokesman for the ball

tier boards - and at the War crimes Tribunal said he had been taken to

hospital for medical tests. -- the War crimes Tribunal. Ithaca Ahmed

denied trying to make his wife and children stick to a script about

the disappearance of their daughter. Earlier his wife changed her

statement saying that her husband attacked the daughter on the night.

He has faced more questions resulting from his wife's change of

evidence. He said for the last nine years he -- she has never made any

mention of theirs. He did cast doubt upon her state of mind. The

barrister put it to him in these words. For the last nine -- five

years, she has been reading and singing from a script you wrote. No,

he replied. He was also questioned about the marriage - the suggestion

they were very intertwined with extended family - and it might have

a ripple effect on other marriages within the family if there were a

breakdown within their own marriage. Since she was remanded in custody,

it was put to him that his work has had more time than she has ever had

in her marriage to be alone and think for herself. He said you have

controlled your wife and children and had absolute control over them

until very recently. I have never had control over anybody, he

replied. He was accused of being domineering and violent. He denied

Our top story this lunchtime: A massive avalanche in the French

Alps kills at least nine people. It is thought three of them may be

British. Two others are believed to be missing.

Coming up: The end of an era, as the BBC World Service says goodbye

to its famous home, Bush House. Later on BBC London: The South

London Healthcare Trust which runs three hospitals has gone into

administration. The Stones 50 years on. A new

exhibition remembers their early Ten people have been arrested in

Belfast following overnight trouble in the city, ahead of today's

Orange Order parades. It is the biggest day of the Protestant

marching season. Political leaders and the police have appealed for

calm, amid disputes over a number of parade routes. Here's our

Ireland correspondent, Mark Simpson. A Protestant march past a mainly

Catholic area in north Belfast. This street has been a violent

flash point in the past but not this morning. The Orange Order

didn't play any music. And the residence protest was silent. But

there was allowed reception from Orange Order supporters. Once the

marchers arrived in the mainly Protestant area for some in spite

of fears of trouble, it all passed off relatively peacefully. It could

have been a bad situation. There were a few scuffles further down

and there is still that provocation. The scuffles were minor. Order was

restored in 10 minutes. But police have warned people in Northern

Ireland that anyone caught writing today will face severe consequences.

-- rioting. It is absurd that people can think they can do that

without consequence. The consequence is, if they catch them,

they will go to jail. In many parts of Northern Ireland, there is a

carnival atmosphere. There are thousands of people on the streets.

The vast majority of marches pass off peacefully, including this one

in Belfast city centre, but the police are never far away. The

police are hoping for a quiet night. And they are not the only ones.

Closing speeches have been made in the trial of John Terry who has

been accused of using racist abuse. The prosecution said the words the

footballer directed at Anton Ferdinand on the pitch were meant

straightfowardly rather than sarcastically. John Terry denies

this. Dan Roan is at Westminster Magistrates Court. What was said in

court? The court heard this morning the

prosecution in a closing statement claiming that John Terry was guilty

of straightforward racial abuse, as they put it, when he clashed with

Anton Ferdinand, the QPR defender back in October of last year, when

Chelsea played a Premier League match at Loftus Road. John Terry

has always maintained he was simply repeating the words he thought

Ferdinand had used, but the Crown claimed that Terry was in fact

responding angrily to provocation over an alleged affair with the ex

parte not of a former team-mate, and Duncan Penny for the

prosecution today claimed it was highly unlikely that Ferdinand

would have made up such an accusation. He said it was unlikely

that Ferdinand would have had the sophistication or motivation in the

heat of the moment to make that up. Ashley Cole was giving evidence

yesterday in support of John Terry. In response, the QC for the defence

claimed the case was not about racism but based on speculation. He

referred to the 600 matches that John Terry has played as a

professional, only been sent off four times, never as a result of

bad language, and he said it was inconceivable that a taunt that

John Terry has had hundreds of times before would making snap. He

also said Anton Ferdinand was an unreliable witness and it was

possible that neither party were lying and that John Terry had

mistakenly heard the word black. He said Terry it was only responding

to Ferdinand's accusation. The magistrate Howard Riddle will make

a decision tomorrow after 2pm. Thousands of O2 customers are still

without full service after the mobile network crashed. O2 says it

is starting to restore its 3G service, which allows customers to

download data, after hundreds of thousands of people found they were

unable to make calls, text or access the internet yesterday.

Here's our technology correspondent. What is life like without a working

mobile-phone? Hundreds of thousands of O2 customers have been finding

out women network experienced a serious problem -- when the network

experienced. Among them, this woman. With her husband travelling, she

has been out of touch. It is frightening that I cannot contact

anybody, frightening that I haven't been able to contact my family. I

don't know whether they are OK. It Of the problems began at lunchtime

on Wednesday. By 8 o'clock this morning, O2 said that a voice

services had been restored, which meant everybody should be able to

make and receive phone calls, but 3G data services are only gradually

returning. Small businesses, like this popcorn maker, say using

mobile phone connections can mean It was really bad for us, we did

not have any orders, deliveries were not getting where they were

meant to go. O2 have given little detail of what went wrong, beyond

saying its network stopped recognising some uses numbers. The

problem has reached beyond phones. London's bicycle rental service has

been disrupted. Analysts say there run-up to the Olympics. With many

people expected to arrive in the country and start using the

networks, they will be under huge strain, and if we are already

seeing problems ahead of the Games, network operators will be rightly

worried about what happens when the load increases. Life is gradually

returning to normal for O2 customers, whose business depends

on keeping people connected. They must now assess the damage to their

reputation. It was not just O2 having problems

yesterday. The BBC website could not be accessed last night for

about an hour but for service has now been restored. -- for service.

The government has confirmed that it is delaying a full consultation

on the future expansion of airport capacity in the South East of

England until later this year. The public consultation was meant to

begin in March. Senior figures within the government are reported

to be split over the issue. Once again, it has failed to get

off the ground. The consultation on expanding some of Britain's busiest

airports was first promised four months ago but now it has been

delayed again, this time because of divisions within the government.

When the coalition first came to power, one of the first things it

did was to rule out the third runway at Heathrow but since then

it has come under a lot of pressure to change its mind. And it looks

like that pressure is working. Some Conservatives now openly support

expanding Heathrow, and that is causing tension. It is more dither

and delay. There is no reason why they should not have published a

call for evidence today and instead we have the aviation industry and

business community crying out for proper decision-making. Many

business leaders are few years they have been claiming for years that a

lack of airport space has been costing the country billions,

arguing that extra capacity is essential to develop links with

some of the world's biggest economies, including China, India

and Brazil. CBI countries are chained -- straining to keep the

private sector in Britain growing, and the best way to do that is to

export British goods to parts of the world that still have the money

to buy them. The new economies of the East. Do do that you need good

aviation links. There has been an aviation paper launched today,

dealing with noise, emissions and how to make more of the assets we

have already got, but it does not deal with the thorniest issue,

whether to build new runways in the south-east of England, or indeed

build a brand new airport in a quiet corner of the Thames estuary.

That debate will not now officially start until the autumn.

The cyclist Bradley Wiggins is making history today at the Tour de

France. He is the first British cyclist to wear the yellow jersey

for four days in one tour. Wiggins says he deserves to win the race

and he has put his success in holding on to the lead position

down to hard work. This is how Bradley Wiggins began

the day, at the front and in yellow. He is the first Briton to win the

yellow jersey for four days in one tall and with a two-minute lead

over his rivals, there is already Torquay could be the first British

cyclist to take the title -- already talk. Bradley Wiggins is a

six-time world champion and three- time Olympic champion but he is not

known for his prowess in the mountains. Keeping him in the lead

has been a collective effort from his team, and today that could be

under threat as it climbs to its highest point in the Alps. Wiggins

says he has worked hard and is ready for the toughest up will

stage of the race. He can lead the world for days on end to on the

most gruelling challenge in cycling, so there are high hopes for what he

can do on the streets of London in two weeks' time.

The BBC World Service has said goodbye to the famous building in

central London that it has called home for 70 years. At midday, the

last news bulletin was read in Bush House. The service, which

broadcasts around the world in 28 languages, will now come from a new

building in London's West End. Bush House was an imposing home for

a service that aimed to be a beacon of truth and objectivity in many

languages. Calling London... Here is been used, read by Derek Baker.

Today, the last programme went out just after midday London time.

Soldiers are being deployed in the south-west of Japan... Audiences a

round-the-world still tune in for trustworthy, impartial news. More

than 160 million. For many it has proved a lifeline. Terry Waite,

held hostage in Lebanon, was allowed to listen. In the last 12

months, the World Service helped keep us alive, both spiritually and

mentally. Thank you, World Service. The last news bulletin today was

followed by a dispatch specially recorded by the BBC director-

general. This benign Tower of Babel, the scene of so many broadcasting

moments and the home of so many great broadcasters, is now silent.

Its corridors deserted, its studios empty. The corridors may be silent

but the programmes continue, as the World Service swaps the splendours

of Bush House for a new home Let's have a look at the weather.

I am sure many people have forgotten what the sunshine looks

like but a lot is forecast today! But we will not all get to see the

sunshine. Rain is already moving across the south-west. A beautiful

scene for the satellite at the moment, for many central areas all

the way down to the South East. However, underneath the cloud,

already seeing some rain moving in. The wind is picking up and it is

disappointingly cool. Positive in Northern Ireland this

afternoon. Similarly, fine through western Scotland. Could let in

Inverness for the first day of the Scottish Open. Finally Edinburgh is

seeing some sunshine. For south- east Scotland and north-east

England, and risk of showers developing this afternoon.

Elsewhere, the Midlands, Lincolnshire commit East Anglia and

the Home Counties sticking with the sunshine for much of the day.

However, for South Wales and the south-west of England, the rain is

moving in. The winds picking up as well, with maybe an inch of rain

and still several flood alerts enforced. The risk of localised

flooding potentially. If you have the sunshine this evening, make the

most of it. By dawn, the rain will come to rest through central areas

of England and Wales. North of here, it is clear and dry. The rain from

today by tomorrow will come to rest through the central slice of

England and Wales and will ease through the day. South of here,

watch out for torrential, heavy showers. If you catch one of those,

you will notice it. By contrast, largely fine in the north. This is

the weather front that will bring the rain into the weekend. It

clears to the south and the isobars flow from the north into the

weekend, so it will feel a fair bit colder. Still a bit of rain across

southern areas but for much of England and Wales, still the chance

of heavy showers. That will ease through the weekend and many of us

A reminder of our top story: A massive avalanche in the French

Alps kills at least nine people. It is thought three of them may be