22/11/2012 BBC News at One

David Cameron tells EU leaders they can be no question to any further

cuts to the budget rebate. He is at a crucial two-day summit in

Brussels. We're going to be negotiating very hard for a good

deal for Britain's tax payers and for Europe's tax payers, and to

keep the British rebate. The BBC appoints a new Director General.

Tony Hall, the current head of the Royal Opera House, replaces George

Entwistle who stepped down following the Jimmy Savile scandal.

A ceasefire in the Middle East appears to be holding after a deal

brokered by Egypt and the US came into force last night. And high

winds across much of the country along with flood alerts. And Beth

Tweddle opens a new centre for wounded servicemen and women in

Shropshire. Later on BBC London: Five Spurs fans are injured, one of

them seriously, after they're attacked by a gang carrying iron

bars in Rome. And the number of affordable homes built by the mayor

has dropped by more than half in the last year.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

David Cameron has told EU leaders there can be "no question" of any

further cuts to the British budget rebate. He issued his message

during face to face talks with the EU leadership ahead of a crucial

meeting of all 27 member states. They are in Brussels for two days

of negotiations over spending plans for the seven years beginning in

2014. Britain wants at least a freeze in spending, arguing that

any increase would be unjustified when many countries are having to

cut their own spending. Here's our Europe correspondent, Matthew Price.

Head south from Brussels to France. You immediately hit tricky

territory. The EU spends much of its money on farming subsidies.

Farming subsidies that keep businesses like this afloat and

filled prices down. What if the French president were to agree to a

reduction in NOS subsidies as part of a deal on the EU budget?

That would be a great deception for me and I think for most of the

farmers in France. You would feel let down by the President?

Completely. The French are digging in their heels on agriculture

spending and in Poland, there saying there must be increases in

regional development funding. The problem for Brussels is that every

single country has to agree on the deal otherwise there is no deal.

That means every single country has to give up something. Including

Britain. I am quite prepared to use the veto if we do not get a deal

that is good for Britain. David Cameron has promised to fight for a

real-terms freeze in European spending. But some fear there is a

cost for Britain as part of any such deal. They could be less

European money being spent on development projects like this one

in Wales. Wells probably gets the best part of �1 billion per year in

EU funding. So that would have a big impact on us. Across Eastern

Europe in particular they have the same fear. Infrastructure projects

get much of their money from the EU. And also in indebted Spain and

Italy there fighting Against cuts to regional funding. The EU budget

is in comparison to national spending, tiny. But in Brussels the

argument is about both how much money is spent and how it is spent.

And it is an argument that may not be resolved at this summit.

Let's speak to our political correspondent, Norman Smith. It is

fair to say that the Prime Minister has an almighty job on his hands.

He is facing an huge tussle. It is a bit like a tug of war with David

Cameron at one end of the rope demanding a freeze in spending.

Helped by one of two other countries. And if the other end

about 20 countries demanding an increase in spending. If anything

David Cameron this morning appears to have toughened up his

negotiating position. He was first in to see the negotiators and said

he would not countenance any increase in spending and would not

accept any cut to the British rebate. He also demanded symbolic

cuts to European administration, to the Brussels bureaucracy. And just

in case other European leaders have not got the message this is what he

said on his way into those talks. am not happy at all. These are

important negotiations and at a time when we're making difficult

decisions at home it is wrong for there to be proposals for this

increased extra spending in the EU. So we will be negotiating hard for

a good deal for Britain's taxpayers and to keep the British rebate.

Taking a tough stance indeed. What reaction has there been? Well Chris

Storey this morning seems to be of other European leaders arriving,

stepping out of their cars and promptly criticising David Cameron

and his stance. We had the Belgian Prime Minister telling him to be

more ambitious about the Budget. Lab fee of telling him to be more

open-minded. And the Dutch Prime Minister. The Dutch are one of our

few friends. Were somewhat bereft of allies. The Dutch Prime Minister

got out the car and accused David Cameron of putting a loaded gun on

the table with his threat to use the veto. It even your friends are

being a bit rude about you in public, you know you're in some

trouble. For more on the two-day EU budget

talks in Brussels, log on to our website at bbc.co.uk/europe.

It has been confirmed that the BBC has appointed a new director

general to replace George and Will's will. He is Tony Hall, who

used to be director of News of the corporation but is currently chief

Executive at the Royal Opera House. The appointment came on the day

that MPs criticised the pay-off made to the former director-general.

The BBC, mired in crisis over Jimmy Savile and the Newsnight report

that made false accusations of paedophilia, has managed in less

than two weeks to find a new leader. Tony Hall, a former BBC manager,

who has in recent years been running the Royal Opera House, is

to be the new director-general. most important heat -- thing he

brings his weight and stability and experience. The BBC will feel the

effect of that almost instantly. The appointment comes on a day in

which the way that previous director-general went came in for

some heavy criticism. George Entwistle was raising questions

about Jimmy Savile and Newswrap reports, up 1 on Jimmy Savile but

perhaps should have been forecast and another claiming incorrectly

that a senior Conservative figure was a paedophile and that most

certainly should not have gone out. He decided to go but only if he got

�450,000, twice what he was owed for resignation. Today the BBC

Trust appeared before MPs to defend that payment. Visit the choice was

allowing him to go quickly or sacking him which they said would

have cost the same or perhaps even more. The Director-General made it

clear to trust through his lawyers that the only thing that was on the

table if he was prepared to resign was a payment of �450,000.

there was more. Payments for private health insurance, legal

fees, �10,000 to cope with the press waiting on his doorstep. MPs

were aghast and especially about the private health insurance. But

now there is a new director-general and the hopes of bringing an end to

some of the turmoil. But there are still many difficult questions to

be answered. David is with me now. Immediate

reaction, there has been some concern raised about the process,

perhaps the appointment been too quick. For an organisation like the

BBC this has been an extraordinary turn of speed. Consider how long it

took Torpoint George Entwistle and the long convoluted process of

interviews and strategies. This time they went to one man, Tony

Hall. They asked him, he said yes. He will start work in March. It is

a sign that the wanted to bring some sense of order to the

managerial chaos that has ensued in light of all that has happened in

the past six or seven weeks. news has just broken. Lord McAlpine,

and not unrelated story, has reached a settlement with ITV over

the programme that went out in November. This is the second

Newsnight report, one that made allegations of paedophilia against

a senior Conservative. And the name of one doubt on Twitter and was

also mentioned. He sued the BBC, reached a settlement with them and

now we have been told that after that event with Philip Schofield

when he handed the reins to David Cameron, that name could be seen on

a piece of paper and they today have said there has been a

settlement of �125,000. 18 hours in, and the ceasefire

agreed last night between Israel and Hamas appears to be holding.

Shortly after it came into force, missiles were fired from Gaza. But

so far Israel hasn't responded. We'll be getting the views from

both sides of the divide. Let's cross to Ben Brown who's in Sderot

in southern Israel. We are right on the border. We were

here a couple of days ago and we could see and here all day long

thunderous explosions on both sides of this border. Today it could not

be more different. There is absolute peace and quiet so the

ceasefire is holding pretty well. Over there in Das at their

celebrating it as a victory. Last night Gaza came out of hiding.

As the ceasefire began, people surged onto the streets. After more

than a week of being trapped in their homes. Guns fired in

celebration, it no longer in anger. This morning for many normality

resumed. But Gaza, knocked down again, will once more have to

rebuild. And thousands of people has been left grieving. In Gaza

there are still funerals taking place today. But despite the huge

loss of life, most people think that Hamas showed its strength and

one. That is because after years of isolation, this week Hamas asserted

itself as the key Palestinian player in a fast-changing region.

It has been bolstered by its close ties with new Islamist leadership

in Egypt which brokered the deal. But the ceasefire deal is fragile

and there is a good chance that neither side will honour it for

long. Palestinians want Israel to end all hostilities on the Gaza

strip by sea, land and air. They want crossings in Gaza to be opened

Bellal and free movement of people and goods. Until these demands are

met fully, the status quo remains. Today for people in Gaza it feels

like victory but there's no sign that the peace will last.

Well this is the Israeli border town of right on the frontline with

Gaza. It has been continually intact over the past few days. So

there is relief that the ceasefires holding. But across Israel we just

had an opinion poll showing 70% of people there are against the

ceasefire and wanted to keep on fighting.

In southern Israel, day one of the ceasefire. 30 miles from Gaza, this

is hardly a border town. Yet 129 Roberts were fired during the

recent crisis. Like many, in the country, people here are doubtful

about the ceasefire. His role demanded that all armed groups in

Gaza or stop hostilities against Israel including rocket and border

attacks as part the deal. For its part Israel promised to review its

restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza.

But that concerns Israelis. There was a direct hit here after the

ceasefire was declared last night. People in Israel are worried that

militant groups could use the opportunity to replenish their

rocket supplies its borders are open. Israel wants international

guarantees the that will not happen. It is especially looking to Egypt

to clamp down on weapons smuggling. Israel's military has begun its

withdrawal from the Gaza border. Israel is keen to give the

ceasefire a chance it says. These reservists soldiers are being sent

home, aware that they could be The good news this lunch time from

the border here is that the ceasefire is holding pretty well.

But to get a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas is going to take a

lot more talking and negotiating. More details and analysis on our

The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police has announced that

he is to leave, less than a week after his new boss was elected as

the Police and Crime Commissioner. He says the area's commissioner

wants to recruit a new chief constable, and he will not be

reapplying for his job. A man has been cleared of killing a teenager

in London's Oxford Street during the Boxing Day sales last year.

Seydou Diarrassouba died from a single stab wound, but a jury at

the Old Bailey found Jermaine Joseph not guilty of murder and

manslaughter. Domain Joseph had moved from South London to north

London to escape his gang past. -- Jermaine Joseph. He'd taken to

carrying a knife to defend himself, in case it caught up with him. Last

Boxing Day in Oxford Street it did. He ran into Seydou Diarrassouba, a

man who was a loose grouping of gangs based in Stockwell, south

London. Seydou Diarrassouba chased Joseph into a shoe store, there was

a knife fight and it was Seydou Diarrassouba who emerged with a

fatal wound. He collapsed on the pavement in front of onlookers. The

court heard that Joseph had been defending himself against this man,

a man known as the Nuts, his street name, in the gang. The defence said

that gave an idea of the sort of man he was. The jury believed it

was self-defence. This was a case which showed one thing above all

others. The difficulty of escaping a gang life if you have been

seriously involved in that sort of life. He had moved away and, as I

said, it had caught up with him. It showed one other thing. This jury

had a lot of detail about Seydou Diarrassouba's past, about knife

and gun incidents he'd been involved in, about the number of

times he had been arrested, but the fact he had never been charged for

almost all of those incidents. That was because there simply weren't

the witnesses to give evidence against them. That is the sort of

effect that some of the street Our main story this lunchtime.

David Cameron says he will negotiate hard to get a good deal

for British taxpayers at the EU We are live from White Hart Lane

with reaction from Spurs over the attack on their fans in Italy. And

living life online. We challenged our technology correspondent to

cope without the internet for 24 hours, as part of our lonely in

Strong winds and heavy rain a battering many parts of the UK

today. Forecasters are predicting there's worse to come. Jeremy Cook

is near Bristol. Those predictions not going to bring much cheer to

those people who have already had a very challenging few days. Look at

this. This is normally the most placid,

travel bit of water you can imagine. But today, but these incredibly

high winds, it looks more like the open sea. Look at all the water

which has fallen in the last 24 hours also, streaming out of this

reservoir into the river beyond. It's that sort of water flow which

means that there are worries about flooding across much of the country

today in this region, also in Northamptonshire where a holiday

home caravan site has been evacuated during the course of the

day. We are told up to 1000 people have been taken to shelter there.

This is the prediction, for much more rainfall in the next 24 hours

or so. In this region where I'm talking to you from, parts of Wales,

the West Midlands, too, the ground is already absolutely saturated.

That means there are real fears that as more water comes into the

system, rivers and lakes and streams which are already at

breaking point will finally break their banks. We've already seen

localised flooding. More of that to come. There are 77 flood warnings

across England this lunchtime. There are warnings of a tidal surge

on the Somerset coast. It looks like a pretty grim 24 hours to come.

Just to finish up, Bath and North East Somerset Council have asked

parish councils to prepare village halls as emergency reception

centres. They clearly think this situation is going to get a lot

As ever, we will have a full weather forecast for you at the end

of the programme. A number of English football fans have been

injured, one seriously, during violence in Rome ahead of tonight's

match between Tottenham and Lazio. The trouble flared at the Drunken

Ship pub in the city's Campo de' Fiori's piazza. It was said the

English men were attacked with metal rods. Five Italian men have

been arrested. What are the details emerging? All this unfolded in one

of the fame this old Piazzas here in the heart of historic Rome.

group of Spurs fans had chosen to take a drink the pub that you see

just over my shoulder. The police tell us that just after 1am, around

30 armed men appeared. They came with their faces covered and

carrying iron bars. The owner of this Barr has told us that what

followed was nothing less, in his view, than a premeditated attack.

But then it smashed the glass in the door, then stormed into the pub.

The Spurs fans found themselves hopelessly outnumbered and trapped.

They tried to take cover but the violence exploded around them. The

bow was trashed, 10 of the Spurs fans injured, one of them seriously.

Five arrests made, all of them Italian citizens. The Italian media

blaming all this very firmly on a group of supporters from the local

club Lazio. This coming just hours before tonight's game between

Tottenham and Lazio. The hope here is that that match and the

aftermath can pass off peacefully, despite the shocking events of last

night. There has been yet another critical report into the work of

the UK Border Agency. This one, by the agency's chief inspector,

accused it of misleading Parliament over how it was dealing with its

huge backlog of cases. MPs published similar findings earlier

this month. An operation to remove some who have failed in their

attempt to stay in the UK. But today's report save thousands have

remained here without proper checks, because immigration staff didn't

get a grip on cases. And officials misled Parliament by suggesting a

backlog of cases had been cleared, according to the Chief Inspector of

immigration. In the cases that have been put into Arkan of, for reasons

either because people can't be traced, for example. We have looked

at the cheques that have been made and found that assurances they have

given to Parliament about regular checks being made haven't actually

been made. At its worst, there were a but 100,000 items of unopened

post to be dealt with. These included 14,800 recorded delivery

letters. And 13.001st and second class letters. The last Labour

government struggled with the immigration system and it was one

of their home secretarys who famously described it as not fit

for purpose. But today they were blaming the current Home Secretary,

Theresa May, for the shambles. Since she has been Home Secretary,

they have been no routine checks in to people they have been allowing

to stay in this country, whether they won on the police records or

on the serious warnings index. This is a complete failure by Theresa

May personally. They Ho my office acknowledged that the Border Agency

had a poor delivery record but said the situation was improving. Too

many patients are still being let down by the NHS, that's according

to a report out today by the Patients' Association. It

highlighted what it called appalling examples of poor care,

including patients who had been left, neglected and in pain and

sometimes without food and water. It did, though, conclude that they

are still a lot to be proud of. The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt,

insisted most patients have excellent care, but he said you

wouldn't tolerate any failings. Sit on it, store things in it, sleep on

it. Whatever it is, furniture is a crucial part of our lives. Now a

new exhibition of British furniture over the past 500 years has just

opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Will Gompertz has

been to see how our tastes and needs have changed over the

centuries, and how our lives have changed with it. At the V&A in

London, we are here to look at their new furniture gallery, which

they say is the first of its type in the world. It's a collection of

Western furniture from 1400 to the present day. It looks at the Arts

and Crafts of furniture-making. Someone who knows about this is

David, a well-known cabinet maker. What do you think? It's

inspirational. It is brilliant they've done this. The V&A have

been a great inspiration for me as a maker and designer Paul Stout I

often bring designers from around the world here to see the

incredible collection. This is another vital strand that we can

offer to show people. Not only the pieces, but how they are made.

have created sections where they have focused in on specific aspects

of the art of furniture-making. Here it is joinery. Tell me about

these pieces. The it taken apart his cabinet and chummy the

procedures that go into making a piece. Whether it is panelling or

dovetailing on the side or the group in the middle. To take it to

its very simplistic, an illustration. It gives people the

idea that they could make that. You can make this in your garage with

skills you can learn at either school... And there are more and

more people coming into our shop in Pimlico Road signing, please can

you teach us, please can we be an apprentice, please can we examine

how you make things are. Making today is something that people can

identify with. It's like being an artist but using wood. From the 1st

December you can come and make your own mind up, that's when it opens

to the public. Every year, school - - scores of service personnel

return from conflict with terrible injuries. Today, a new specialist

rehabilitation centre opens in Shropshire. It's being funded and

run by the Royal British Legion. It may seem strange opening up this

recovery centre when we know that the war in Afghanistan is drawing

to a close. But the impact of that war and the one in Iraq will be

felt for many years to come, not least bobbies injured soldiers who

have life-changing injuries. This is no ordinary sports centre and

these are no ordinary athletes. They are those in uniform who put

their lives in danger serving their country. And to have suffered like

changing injuries. Men like Saqba Clive Smith, who lost both his legs

in Afghanistan. The sports on offer, like wheelchair basketball, have

helped as long road to recovery. They are fact that La Tasca and go

out there and try new sports that they wouldn't have tried as able-

bodied, that they can come out and come here and try different sports

and activities is a massive release all the blokes and can give them a

bit of a drive back. They can go on and try new things

from there. The Royal British Legion has poured �27 million into

the Battle Back centre, as well as the sports on offer there are 24

rooms all with wheelchair access. But it's not only for those with

obvious physical injuries. It has been a lifeline for warrant Officer

Neil Harrison, too, who has suffered from mental stress,

dealing with the casualties of war. I felt very depressed about being

sent home. This was the turning point for me. I went away from here

very confident, feeling a lot better. The centre was officially

opened today by one of Britain's Olympic medallists, who trains at

the same grounds. She is inspired by those injured personnel as they

are of her success. We do a lot of rehabilitation here. It is an

inspiration for us to see these people who are giving up their

lives for us, to come back here and be able to get back on track.

Though the centre is all about helping the recovery of wounded

soldiers, could it also produce the next generation of Paralympians,

too? This centre is going to be very important. When you look at

the statistics, over the last five years in Afghanistan alone, more

than 500 personnel have come back seriously injured. This is going to

be very important for them. Remember, these are people who are

probably in their 20s and early 30s. Let's take you to an all-important

weather forecast. That was the Yes, these sort of scenes might

become more commonplace over the next couple of days. Some pretty

nasty flooding conditions. We are likely to see similar conditions

over the next few days, as a succession of areas of heavy rain

across the country. Warnings in force across south-west Scotland,

Central Scotland, southern Wales and the south-west of England as

well. But we can see some heavy areas of brain working into

particularly Wales and the south- west. The lime green colours, that

rain will be really intense, falling at around 20 mm per hour.

That is enough to cause the risk of aquaplaning on the roads to drivers,

and accumulations of rain through the rest of today. We could see up

to 50 mm of rain, falling particularly over the hills of

southern England and across south- west Scotland. The band of rain

will be accompanied by gales and severe gales. It will be very blowy.

But ahead of the band of wet weather it will also be relatively

mild. As the rain pushes through, there will be a sharp drop in

temperatures as they fall by around five degrees. We have already seen

travel problems on the roads and rail, we are likely to see more of

that to come over the next few days. Overnight tonight, and a

combination of wet and windy weather will push towards eastern

areas of England, East Anglia and the south-east. Behind that, the

winds Paul Light and the skies are clear. There will be a touch of

frost in rural areas and icy stretches on untreated roads and

services. Tomorrow it will be a much quieter day, particularly

across Wales and the south-west of England. The weather system

clearing away. The cloud probably lingering into the early afternoon.

Most of the British Isles will see some sunshine. But there will be

some showers packing in across Scotland. That is one area which is

quite sensitive to extra rainfall. Friday, relatively quiet. It is

good news because what we've got on the way for this weekend looks like

it could be quite serious. Low- pressure moving in from the south-

west and brings another spell of very windy and wet weather across

the country. Again, we are going to see accumulations of rain of

probably around 20 to 40 mm in places. That will exasperated the

flooding problem. It is a case of hoping for the best bet fearing for

the worst. We could see further A reminder of our main story to