27/09/2012 BBC News at One

The bodies of an young couple are found her in a swollen river in

North Wales. It is thought there may have been trying to save their

dog from the flooded river. In Yorkshire, people have been rescued

by boat as water continues to hit parts of the UK.

Years of failures by a social services and police allowed young

girls to be sexually abused, according to a report.

Better news for the UK economy - it shrank by less than thought in the

last quarter. More news from Spain as the

government plans to run rail more austerity measures.

And coming unstuck as David Cameron is subjected to a mock citizenship

test on television. And the literal translation? Again, you are testing

me... It would be good if you knew this! It would be!

Later on BBC London: Evidence of more camps of illegal

immigrants sleeping rough in West London - charities call for help.

And senior officers could go, as the Met Police seeks to find tens

Police say the bodies of a young couple have been found in a swollen

river near Wrexham in North Wales. It is thought they may have been

trying to rescue a dog which got into trouble in the flooded river.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency says around 300 homes have been

flooded in Yorkshire and soldiers had to be brought in to help with a

sand back operation. The bodies of a 27-year-old woman

and a 25-year-old man were found yesterday afternoon and early this

morning. Both are believed to be from the Wrexham area and it is

thought their deaths are linked. believe the couple were here with

dogs at the time the river was swollen and the river is at a

higher level than it was at the moment. It is impossible to say

whether the animals went into the river and they went in to save them

because we do not have the evidence to confirm that. Heavy rainfall

over the past three days has affected much of Wales. The Fire

Service has already warned people to be careful following the extreme

weather. To be honest, the river still has tremendous power and

still bursting banks. It has moved a tree at the back of us about a

foot, so that is how much power is in the water. So if anybody had

fallen in, it would have taken them quite a way further down the river.

The Fire Service described parts of this river as fast-flowing. Locals

say the river had already burst its banks in some areas. Emergency

services are continuing to warn people about the dangers of fast-

flowing, swollen rivers as police tried to piece together how this

tragedy occurred. If in York, River Ouse has risen

five metres above its usual level to its second highest level ever.

Some people had to be rescued from the flood waters by boat this

morning. It Thomas is in the City now.

-- ed Thomas. This is how firefighters are getting around

some parts of York today. River Ouse has now peaked and hundreds of

homes have been flooded. But they are confident they are over the

worst. River Ouse peak in York and the flood defences held. But that

isn't even half the story. The mess it left behind goes on. For two

days, the place Jacqui and David call home is now more like a prison.

Have you ever seen at this bad before? Nowhere near. How has this

left you feeling? Emotionally draining. I stood at the top of the

stairs and when I could see the amount of water that is that colour

but now inside the house. Then there's the vulnerable. Here,

firefighters had to use bodes so carers could visit those who needed

help the most. -- used boats. Obviously it is trying to get the

medication to them, more than anything. But, yeah, we have been

back and forth all day. York is no stranger to floods but nobody

expected this. If we manage to get three, four hours sleep last night.

Now the focus for the Environment Agency moves downstream. In this

control room, the Red Tower represents what saving thousands of

homes along with the Mac. We are pumping out thousands of litres per

second. If that wasn't happening, it would go over the top... Into

the city centre? Yes. This is the main worry. Just a few miles from

York, soldiers have used 400,000 sandbags to save this village.

and my husband came down and there were many residents already.

Basically, the moral and agency gave us instructions to start with

the sand bags. -- the Environment Agency. The misery left behind will

take far longer than the water to clear.

This is one of the boats used to help some of the vulnerable people

from the care home over there. The A1 is still shut. We expect it to

open later today but the waters appear to be easing in Selby.

Worries that the river would burst its banks now look to be just that

- worries. Social workers, police and

prosecutors have been criticised for missing opportunities to stop

the abuse of young girls in Rochdale. In May, eight men of

Pakistani origin and one from Afghanistan were jailed for

repeatedly abusing five white girls. A report from the Rochdale

Safeguarding Children Board has found deficiencies were made in

where it -- the way complaints were dealt with. In 2007, care teams

here in Rochdale first identify children at risk of sexual

exploitation, yet when they came forward in the years immediately

afterwards, they were not believed or not listened to. It comes down

to money, resources and training, but is -- what is most concern is

the culture within children's social care. Children were

considered to be making their own choices and engaging in consensual

activity. In reality, they were being abused and exploited by a

grinning gang. Years of failings left children

vulnerable in the Rochdale area and dozens suffered abuse. Even after a

authorities have been told what was happening. Earlier this year, nine

men were jailed for sexually exploiting girls in Halewood, just

on the outskirts of Rochdale, but this was long after one of the

girls had given detailed complaints to social workers. Suzie is not her

real name but months ago, she told the BBC she had simply been ignored.

I was used to being used and abused daily. It was like it wasn't me any

more. They took everything away. The report says in the wake of the

baby peas scandal, social services were more concerned about younger

children and teenagers. -- the Baby P scandal. Teenagers say they were

not listened to and even when they co-operated with agencies, the

abuse continued. Social workers took the view that the girls were

making life choices and they viewed them as prostitutes. All of that is

completely unacceptable. The culture was wrong. One of the

victim's fathers said he wanted those who have made mistakes named,

shamed and sacked. In terms of being named and shamed, and need to

make sure this is rooted out and this is effective. And if there are

staff working in any of our departments who are unable to

recognise this in under-aged children, clearly they would have

to be disciplined. One of the girls' lawyers says she is planning

to sue for compensation because of what the report calls clear

deficiencies. Obviously we need to get a picture and the detailed of

what happened but this gives a pretty firm basis. In Rochdale,

there have been many steps taken to improve child protection but

today's report is just the first in a series trying to uncover why

there were so many years of failure. I am that pattern of mistakes and

failures are familiar from other areas where grooming has been a

problem. -- and that pattern. Serious case reviews are still to

be held. But at the same time, this multi-agency reviewed has exposed

some of the difficulties riddled through the whole system, and one

told the BBC Today, I am just glad they acknowledged they were wrong.

The UK economy shrank by less than thought in the second quarter of

this year, according to the latest figures. The Office for National

Statistics said GDP, the total of all goods and services produced in

the country, fell by 0.4% between April and June. Not as bad as we

thought. Why? This is the latest snapshot and they have keyed the

data in. The picture looks better than we thought. Let's remind us of

the original figure. It showed output down by 0.7% in June. After

two revisions, we are told the report figure was not 0.4%. Still

in recession so not as bad. The key reason is down to largely the

construction sector. A really big fall in the first four months of

5.2%. Now, the fall is more like 3%, so not as bad. Some people could be

wondering whether the first estimate was a long way from

reality. And people will also be looking forward to the next set of

figures. Are we likely to see growth? Yes, some economists think

there will be growth, helped by the Olympics and tickets sold last year,

though their only count towards figures in the current quarter. And

the bank holiday effect. That will happen in this quarter. I do not

think anybody is talking yet about a sustainable long-term recovery,

however. A health trust in Staffordshire

says two premature babies have died while being cared for at a neonatal

unit at the University Hospital North Staffordshire. They had

contracted a red bud and both died in July. The details have only just

been released. A third baby is also being treated. -- they had

contracted a bug. These two babies died back in July. They were being

cared for at the neonatal unit after being born prematurely, less

than 28 weeks. They found both babies had died because they

contracted this bacterial infection called Serratia marcescens.

Obviously they reacted by doing his sweep of neonatal units to look for

any other infections and they did find five other babies in that unit

were carrying it. Subsequently, they close the unit and they

performed a deep clean and say since then, there have been no new

cases. Obviously, the hospital has offered its condolences to the

families of those two babies and reassured parents who have been

discharged with their newborn babies that they need not worry

about infection. Fife the Spanish government is

about to unveil billions of pounds worth of spending cuts and tax

rises today as it seeks to convince investors and the EU it is serious

about reducing its deficit but the austerity budget has already

provoked an angry response in Spain, which is suffering from the highest

unemployment rate in Europe. Late last night, thousands gathered

again on the roads around Spain's Parliament. Again, a tense

atmosphere as the police moved in. But it was not violent, like the

night before. -- not North Island the night before. All this as the

government tries to set out its Budget for next year. There is a

sense of deja-vu as the Spanish government cuts tens of billions of

euros from his Budget. This is Spain doing its part of the deal

with the eurozone, which has already pledged 100 billion euros

for troubled banks here and will soon probably have to help Spain

again. So what is the Spanish government trying to do? It has to

reduce the budget are so fit. It needs to make savings of 62 billion

euros this year and 42 billion euros in 2013. The fear is that a

deteriorating recession makes hitting those targets even harder.

The problem is if you raise taxes because you need revenue to pay

your debts, consumption goes down so you don't have money to pay the

debts and then there is no growth and you stay in a recession, so,

yes, it is a vicious circle. It is impossible to solve this conundrum.

By it for all the pressure from its eurozone partners, there is anger

from those affected by government cuts. Health workers demonstrate

every day you the country's biggest hospital. Government budgets will

again be/today as people here struggle in a deepening recession.

-- again today will be slashed. Asil Nadir has told a court he is

penniless. He was jailed for 10 years last month, seen here on the

right, after being found guilty of stealing millions from his Polly

Peck business empire. He said he had no financial assets to the Old

Bailey. A policeman has told a court how we

found a gun allegedly belonging to Mark Duggan in Bruges is a short

distance from where he was shot dead by police. -- in bushes. His

death sparked riots in London last This was one of a number of

witnesses who have so far given evidence anonymously from behind a

screen. This one was an occupant of one of the three unmarked police

cars full of firearms officers which intercepted the mini-cab in

which Mark Duggan was travelling. He talked about the moment when

Mark Duggan got out of the mini-cab. He said in his experience, people

in this situation either freeze like a rabbit. In Mark Duggan's

case, he said it was the former. He believed Mark Duggan was trying to

escape when he was shot by police. This police officer said he was

unable to see Mark Duggan's hands, so he couldn't see if he was armed.

He then described the moment when Mark Duggan was shot. He said he

was aware of Mark Duggan's jacket ballooning up behind his back as

the bullets pierced his body. He has then said there was a falling

off the legs and a fall into the ground. This officer then surged

grassland just the other side of railings from where Mark Duggan was

shot. He surged some cautious first and then he found a black object

which turned out, he said, to be a hand gun wrapped in a sock. It was

located about a car's length from Mark Duggan. This trial is all

about how Mark Duggan is supposed to have got at gun. There's a man

and they're called Kevin Hutchinson Foster who denies supplying Mark

Duggan with the gun, 15 minutes before he was shot dead by police.

We started hearing evidence from the mini-cab driver who drove Mark

Duggan, and that will continue this afternoon. The bodies of a young

couple have been found in a swollen river in North Wales, as

floodwaters continued to hit parts of the UK. How this British build,

150 mph supercar has broken a land speed record, powered by

electricity. Later on BBC London. A stretch of road in Surrey has

collapsed because of a burst water- main, causing schools to close. And

the London carpenter who's just discovered he's a descendant of

The government's health service reforms in England have provoked

huge controversy, particularly over the role of private companies. The

changes mean there are many new opportunities for businesses to bid

for NHS work. Ministers maintain this will mean better care and

value for money. But critics worry that private firms will put profits

before the interests of patients. Our correspondent is at AGP's

surgery now. So far, most of the debate about

privatisation in the health service has been to do about what goes on

in hospitals. But there's a lot happening in privately run GP

practices such as this one, and other local health services.

Companies are keen to get involved in this growing market, worth an

estimated �10 billion a year. you just open wide. This GP

practice in Birmingham looks much like any other modern NHS surgery.

It has 4000 registered NHS patients. It treats many more who walk in

without an appointment. But it is owned by a private company, Virgin

care, in partnership with local GPs. It's one of several big firms with

a foothold in the market of GP and other local health services. The

company says there are benefits to being part of a chain. Because we

are a national company, we have the opportunity here to draw on the

experience of a wide network across the country. And network of

clinicians, but also a network of managers. We learn lessons from

around the country. By deploying all of that in this service, and

it's the same throughout the country, we managed to provide

something that is so much better than what people are used to.

company promotes the patient be back. It says satisfaction rates

compare well with the NHS. Patients we spoke to were pleased with the

service, with some reservations. How have you been, the practice you

been coming to his run by Virgin? I've never been told. How much does

that matter to you? Not a lot. NHS is opening up for business as

never before. Virgin Care runs 120 NHS services across England,

including 25 g be partnerships such as this one, covering 3 million

people. But this is just the start. There are new opportunities opening

up for community-based services including scans, physiotherapy and

foot care. But business potential is enormous. Critics say this could

create pressure for GPs to refer patients on to their own company's

services. They fear profits will always take priority. A there's

bound to be a divided loyalty there. The NHS logo outside but the

employer, which is a private company, and that private company

is not there for the good of our health, it's there in order to

ensure they make money. And therefore the GP will be torn as to

whether or not they prioritise the interests of the company and some

of the requirements of the company, or whether or not they prioritise

patient care. The contest for NHS contracts is on. It's not clear how

many of these local health services will be run by the private sector.

Businesses insist they can improve the NHS. Critics say they could

wreck it. What does all this mean for patients? The idea is to

provide more options for treatment, more choice. But some people fear

that having a lot of extra providers coming on the scene will

simply add to confusion and cause disruption. You can get more

information on the future of the National Health Service on our

David Cameron has become the first sitting British Prime Minister to

appear on the Late Show With David Letterman in New York. The

satirical chat show is an American cultural institution. A mock

British citizen test was sprung on David Cameron, which revealed a few

gaps in his knowledge. There were no questions about Andrew Mitchell

or Boris Johnson or the state of the coalition. Instead, when David

Cameron appeared on the Late Show With David Letterman in New York

last night, he found himself being closely interrogated about British

history and culture. Rule Britannia, written by whom? Elgar? Rule

Britannia, which is a beautiful refrain based on a poem by James

Thompson, are you familiar with James Thomson? I am now. The Prime

Minister was able to explain the differences between the nations of

the UK, the size of the population, the extent of the British Empire

and the date and place where Magna Carta was signed. But much to his

embarrassment, Mr Cameron was unable to say what Magna Carter --

Magna Carta or mend in English. would be good if you knew this.

think it's good for the American public to see him, they don't know

that much about him. I sort of like him, I thought he was a good guide.

I'm going to look him up on Wikipedia when I get home. What the

3 million Americans watching it made of them is not known. But when

David Cameron returns home this week, they'll probably be asking

that border staff don't want him to do a citizen test. A website has

been launched offering information and how much value for many

university courses offer. The UniSat site lists the cost of every

higher education course in the UK and includes the number of teaching

hours and how much graduates are Going to university is not just

about learning but about cost, with tuition fees rising the students

are now consumers and the government wants them to have

access to good information. It has set up this website for applicants

to compare thousands of degree courses across the UK, similar to

those for insurance or mortgages. It is all about and lodging student

choice, empowerment. So what is and universities deciding which

students they want, it's the students deciding which

universities and courses they want. The website includes data on

average earnings after graduation, the cost of tuition and

accommodation, the amount of teaching and the level of student

satisfaction. These teenagers are making their university choices. Do

they think the website is helpful? It's great. It allows me to compare

different universities around this area. To see what university is

better at what I'm looking for. is very important because one of

the main deciding factors, as well as an interest in the course, you

need to know how much it costs. These women are already at

university in London, but they have found this website useful. It is

good information for certain people. For me, I don't think I've would

have particularly used it because I knew I wanted to come here and do

this course. Ministers who braised tuition fees to a maximum of

�9,000.10 students to see the air getting value for money, but

critics dismiss all this information as just a sideshow.

Simply giving them more information about universities that they can't

afford and can't have access to because of government policy, I'm

afraid it is something of a gimmick and I'm afraid, too, it is

something of a Binya. Few will argue against more information for

prospective students, but some do question whether this limited set

of figures says anything meaningful about the real value of a degree.

The makers of a battery-powered car claimed to have set a new UK land

speed record for an electric vehicle. The car, known as the

Nemesis, reached 148 mph at Elvington airfield, near York,

This is no milk float. Nick. -- Nick Ponting is at the wheel of a

vehicle that may not sound like a supercar but certainly behaves like

one. The speed on the first leg tops 145. This is John, Go, Go, Go!

And on the return my he goes even faster. A new record, 148 mph.

They've done it, have they? Yes, they've done it. Congratulations,

you've broken the record. But what is it like to drive? Very different.

It is phenomenally quick. It feels very different to any racing car

I've ever driven. The acceleration is phenomenal. It is probably one

of the quickest cars I've driven, much quicker than a V12 Ferrari.

has been a labour of love and money to convert this car, bought from E-

Day, into a record-breaker. The company behind it is a green energy

firm and once Nemesis to challenge perceptions that electric cars are

slow. What we are hoping to achieve is to get a bit of attention for

electric cars and get people thinking about them in a different

way. They are not the kind of things that Noddy might drive, they

are supercars. Now Campbell hurtles over the salt flats... We Brits

have long harboured a need for speed. The previous UK electorate

record of 137 mph was set by the grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell, a

family name synonymous with speed records. The new record has to be

officially ratified but if it is, Nemesis will have achieved did not

They chose a pretty good morning for that record. Most of us

enjoying a pretty decent afternoon. Plenty of sunshine, dry and bright.

There will be one or two showers out there. There is some cloud

gathering in the north-west which will bring some rain. The hole in

the crowd behind it is Saturday's weather, looking good for Saturday.

Before that happens, a lot of fine, dry weather across the UK into the

afternoon. One or two showers in Wales. Sunshine a bit harder to

find in Northern Ireland but they be some lingering longer has the

further east you are. There is already some rain in western

Scotland and there is more to come. Eastern Scotland Ferring that bit

better. -- bearing that bit better. In northern England there is plenty

of sunshine. Maybe one or two showers the most places fine and

dry. The showers are fairly few and far between in most places. Like

winds, it's a pretty pleasant afternoon. It is largely dry

towards the south and west. Tonight, the rain push us into Northern

Ireland and moves through swiftly. Eventually it will clear away from

Scotland. Ahead of it should stay dry but behind it are some showers

coming in. Most showers being pushed along by a noticeable breeze.

A breezy day in the north of the UK through tomorrow, sunny spells and

showers. More cloud around for England and Wales at first. That

moves eastwards with patchy rain, which will gradually fizzled out.

It should brighten up. Temperatures on a par with today's values. The

start of the weekend looking pretty good. Any early rain will clear

away from the south-eastern corner and it is dry and bright with that

spells of sunshine and light winds, although there will be blustery

showers in northern Scotland. The winds pick up on Sunday. The

weather front will bring some rain and wind into the north of the UK

initially. It will move away from Scotland and Northern Ireland,

pushing south into northern England and Wales. The rain will continue

to drift ever southwards, getting into the South Eastern corner later

in the day. Saturday is the day for getting out and about. But by

Sunday, things are going downhill from the north with rain on the way

The bodies of a young couple have been found in a swollen river in