29/01/2013 BBC News at One

250 British troops are being sent to Mali in West Africa to help in

the fight against Islamist fighters. The Government says they won't be

involved in combat operations but will be training a West African

intervention force. New allegations against British

troops in Iraq - calls for a public inquiry after claims that 192

Iraqis were subject to horrific abuse. Nurseries and childminders

in England are to be allowed to look after more children in a move

the Government says will improve quality and cut costs for parents.

Nurseries and childminders in England are to be allowed to look

after more children in a move the Government says will improve

quality and cut costs for parents Grotesque and offensive - Rupert

Murdoch apologises for this cartoon in the Sunday Times.

Surgeons demand that only trained doctors, nurses and dentists should

provide non-surgical cosmetic treatments, such as botox.

On BBC London news: The latest hospital cutting services. North

London's Whittington plans a cap on births to save cash. The fight to

prevent 300 acres of green belt Good afternoon and welcome to the

BBC News at One. The number of British troops being sent to Mali

and west Africa is to rise to 350. They'll be supporting French forces

fighting Islamist rebels and to help train troops from neighbouring

countries. After an emergency question in the House of Commons,

the Government also announced other financial and practical support,

including allowing the United States to operate air re-fuelling

flights out of Britain. Here's our defence correspondent, Caroline

Wyatt. Rejoicing on the streets of

Timbuktu, the relief was clear as French and local troops took back

the desert town unopposed. But the real challenges may lie

ahead, ensuring that Islamist fighters don't try to return or

wage a deadly insurgency. That work will rely heavily on

African troops, from Mali and its We have always said that our

intention was not to stay long time because it's not our task. And the

reason why, a quick presence which will take over and at the same time

we must develop and train the Malian forces and when the job is

done, we shall go away. The Government has made clear that

no British combat troops will be sent to Mali but Number 10 is keen

for the UK to help France and African nations succeed in their

mission there. The MoD has been drawing up plans to send British

trainers, both to help with the EU- led training mission in Mali and

with the African-led mission. In the House of Commons, just before

noon today, the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond responded to an

emergency question to set out help the UK is offering. The UK is also

prepared to offer up to 200 personnel to provide training to

troops from west African countries. The numbers required will be

dependent upon the requirements of the contributing nations.

public are weary of conflict as a consequence of recent history.

There will be worries about mission-creep and the safety of UK

trainers, and it is essential that the Secretary of State allays those

fears today. But some senior military figures say the UK's

involvement is not unwise. Failed states bring with them instability.

I think the Prime Minister's already touched on this, that Mali

may sound in the middle of nowhere, Timbuktu used to be known, but what

happens in a global world in Mali if the jihadists were to take over

the country, as a whole, it would not end there. With RAF C-17 planes

already helping in Mali and the British Sentinel spy plane the

number of forces could total up to 350. With the first of the EU

training mission arriving in Mali next month.

In a moment, we'll be getting the latest from Westminster, but first

our correspondent Thomas Fessy is in Timbuktu and we can speak to him

now. What's the latest on the ground? After scenes of jubilation

that we have been able to witness yesterday, tension is now rising in

down town Timbuktu with dozens of people out in the streets hungry

for revenge nearly a year after militants took over their city and

imposed a very strict Islamist rule. These people are saying that some

of the ethnic Arabs and tuaregs who hold shops are hiding weapons so

they're looting their shops and boutiques. The Malian army is

deployed down town but not really containing the crowds there, rather

standing by. But they did pull out some weapons from at least one shop

that the people broke into so there are fears that there could be some

community issues here, rising community clashes following the

departure of the Islamist militants here. Thank you.

Let's go to our political correspondent Norman Smith. 350

British troops in all, and already we are hearing fears expressed of

mission-creep. Downing Street are vehemently denying this amounts to

mission-creep but I suspect that's how many people will see it and

that's been the phrase which one has heard again and again in the

Commons this lunchtime as Philip Hammond faced questions about the

emerging British deployment in Mali. Why? Because just a fortnight ago

we were left with the impression that there may be a few dozen

British troops deployed, now there are going to be 350 deployed to

Mali and other West African countries to counterthe terrorist

threat. We know we are going to provide bases for American air

refuelling flights and providing a ferry for the French and offered to

set up headquarters inside Mali. Already we are hearing MPs asking

what is our exit strategy? Philip Hammond said he thought it would

still be a short-lived intervention and there would be no combat role

for British forces. It may not be Afghanistan mark II in any sense

but it does seem that our intervention in Mali is perhaps not

going to be nearly as swift, as simple as short-lived as many

thought. One former defence Minister told me a time ago that he

thought we might be in Mali for a good many years to come.

Thank you. Lawyers representing Iraqis who

claim to have been tortured by British troops say they have

evidence of systemic human rights violations on a huge scale. They

want a public inquiry into the way UK forces detained prisoners

following the invasion of Iraq ten years ago. Let's speak to our world

affairs correspondent Caroline Hawley who's at the High Court.

Lawyers now say they collected statements from 192 Iraqis who they

are representing in court today. They say hundreds more are waiting

to give statements. What they essentially want is a public

inquiry, a wide-ranging inquiry into Britain's entire detention

policy and practices between 2003 and and 2008 when British forces

were in southern Iraq. Under interrogation here one of the

Iraqis being represented in court today. He's been subjected to

harshing and he is heard to say he hasn't been given food or water

water for two days. Since British troops withdrew from Iraq there

have been growing allegations of abuse with detainees khraeupbing --

complaining not only of beatings and also of sexual humiliation,

including being forced to strip naked and being urinated on. A

public inquiry has already been held into the death in British

custody of Baha Mousa, but lawyers say he wasn't the only Iraqi to die

in unlawful circumstances. authorised all of this? How many

Iraqis did we actually kill in UK military facilities? These and many

other troubling questions as to what was done in our name in Iraq

can only be answered properly by an independent public judge-led

inquiry. The Ministry of Defence has already paid out more than �15

million to settle more than 200 claims of mistreatment and unlawful

detention. It set up an investigation team. It says the

establishment now of a wide-ranging public inquiry to consider alleged

systemic issues would be premature and disproportionate. It is

important t says, we allow the Iraq Historic Allegations Team to get on

with this important work and not be distracted by challenges to its

competence and independence. But the Army's former chief legal

officer in Iraq says there must be an inquiry. Last year, the

Government settled 162 cases at a cost of �8.3 million. I am aware

that there are a further 700 allegations waiting in the wings.

This no longer looks like a few bad apples. Almost ten years since

British troops fought their way into Iraq, the military's now

having to confront a dark side to its legacy.

The question is, and the question before the court, is what should be

done about them, how they should be segted and -- investigated and, in

particular, whether this this team is sufficiently independent to

examine allegations and the hearing is expected to last three days.

Thank you. Nursery workers in England are to

be allowed to look after more children in an attempt to reduce

childcare costs. Staff will have to undergo more rigorous training to

deal with increased workload but the Government hopes the plan will

lead to lower prices. Critics warn the change could compromise quality

and children's safety. Let's speak to our education correspondent

Reeta Chakratbarti who's at a nursery school. From September,

managers at this nursery could if they choose employ fewer staff for

the same number of children, so long as they have a suitably

qualified workforce. It's part of a move by Ministers to try and

improve the quality of childcare, while bringing down costs for

families. How to square the circle of

providing better childcare but at reduced cost to parents? Today

Ministers unveiled part of their solution. Nursery staff will be

able to look after more children than now, but only if they're more

highly qualified. Their salaries will go up but fewer staff could

mean a saving for families. It will make it higher quality, more

available and more affordable. This will take time t will take time to

recruit new people and time to expand nurseries. With childcare

costing thousands a year, many women are put off going back to

work. Do parents think think relaxing ratios is a good idea? It

Will be a welcome change. Nursery costs are high. Basically, you

can't afford to have two parents going to work. The costs of having

a full-time nursery is too high. am not particularly in favour, even

if they're more qualified on paper, I just think the more people you

have to look after, the less attention you can give to kids.

Kids unlimited is one of the largest nursery chains, will

loosening ratios mean savings for parents? Not necessarily. I don't

think it's a straightforward equation. We would have to look at

all of the issues involved and obviously, I can't speak for other

providers but certainly at Kids Unlimited we have no plans in the

short-term, at least, to be reducing our ratios. David Cameron

and Nick Clegg earlier this month pledged to make childcare a key

issue. But there are no details today of suggestions that working

parents could get a tax-break of several thousand pounds to help

with costs. Changes to welfare and to who gets child benefit have

already hit some parents hard, the Government is now keen to show it

has alternative plans to help hard- pressed families. We are still

awaiting the other half of those plans, which it's thought will

include a sort of repackaging of existing childcare subsidies in the

form of a tax break for parents. That issue is still caught up in

negotiations between the two sides of the coalition. But it's thought

an announcement is to be expected shortly.

Ruweishad has apologise -- - Rupert Murdoch has apologised for a

cartoon which appeared in the Sunday Times on Holocaust Memorial

Day after criticism that it was anti-Semitic. Mr Murdoch called the

cartoon by injury arld -- injury ald Scarfe grotesque and offensive.

But other artists have been defending it. The face, the

dripping flood, it was Holocaust Memorial Day and for many this had

all too many echoes of the long history of anti- Semitic imagery.

The cartoon in the Sunday Times is, I have to say, a classic example of

anti-Semitic. And this this has Binyamin Netanyahu effectively

glorying in the blood of Palestinians.

Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the Sunday Times, today issued an

apology. The editor of the paper was meeting the board of deputies

of British Jews and the cartoonist Gerald Scarfe is also said to

regret the timing of the cartoon. But a former director of the Press

Complaints Commission feels it was making a valid political point.

purpose of political cartoons is to sa sa tar rice sometimes

aggressively. The paoeupl Prime Minister of Israel is in the

picture. There is tradition in this country of political cartoons being

very viseral and caricaturish in their response. In this case, one

of the key elements was the context. Seeing this on the day that the

world remembers the consequences of anti-Semitism and the millions who

died. Our top story: 350 British troops

are being sent to Mali and West Africa to help in the fight against

Islamist insurgents. The Government says they won't be involved in the

combat operations. Coming up: We know where and when.

Now we know who. 40 years on from its first performance the rock 'n'

roll legends prepare to take Quadrophenia on tour. Later on BBC

London: The NHS Trust which admits to breaching health and safety laws

after an outbreak of Legionairs Beauticians without medical

training shouldn't be allowed to give non-surgical treatments like

Botox. According to the Royal College of Surgeons there should be

a ban on so-called Botox parties, and only trained doctors, nurses

and dentists should be allowed to provide similar cosmetic treatments.

This is how the Royal College of Surgeons would like cosmetic

procedures such ASBO tox to be carried out, by a qualified and

properly trained nurse. But there's a recknoigs that all too often

these treatments are give no-one very different circumstances.

think people don't view it as a serious matter. They need to. There

can be a lot of damage done to people if they are not qualified

and getting the right treatment in the right premises. That's the

biggest issue. I think vulnerable people are being taken advantage of.

Hundreds of thousands of non- surgical cosmetics treatments are

carried out in the UK each year, but we don't know how many, because

the industry is at present unelected. The Royal College of

Surgeons says anyone anywhere can carry out these kinds of medical

treatments without the property training. So the Royal College of

Surgeons is launching new guidelines for non-surgical

cosmetic procedures. Patients should be given better information

on the risks involved. They should be assessed to see if they need

psychological support. And their expectations of what the procedure

can achieve must be realistic. think it is very important in the

consenting process between the person who is going to give the

therapy and the patient that the patient understands what can be

achieved and also is fully aware of the qualifications of the surgeon,

nurse or dentist who is going to perform the procedure. There's been

a huge growth in non-surgical cosmetic treatments in recent years,

but some are still reluctant to undergo the procedure in a salon

rather than with trained medical staff. In a salon they do hair and

nails and stuff. Not major things like that. I probably would feel

comfortable. I don't see Botox so much as plastic surgery but more

like injections. The Royal College of Surgeons is not a regulator, so

can't enforce the guidelines. But it hopes that they will feed into a

review of cosmetic surgery that's due to report in March.

A British man is under investigation in France in

connection with the murder of a woman jogger. Police in the

southern city of Nimes said the body of the woman was found on

Thursday evening after she failed to pick up her three children from

school. She had suffered multiple stab wounds and other injuries. The

AFP news agency is reporting that the 32-year-old man is from chat

Tam in Kent. An Indonesian court has sentenced a

British man to six years in jail for possession of cocaine. A woman

linked to the case has already been sentenced to death for drugs

smuggling. The law which requires people to

disclose all their previous convictions and cautions if they

need a CRB check has been declared a breach of human rights. A 21-

year-old had gone to the High Court because during two job applications

police had disclosed he'd been cautioned for minor offences when

he was just 11 years old. Let's get more from our legal affairs

correspondent, Clive Coleman, who's at the High Court. What does this

mean now? I think the significance of today's vuling that the entire

system of criminal records checks has been thrown into confusion. We

have a system at the moment whereby if you want a job in certain areas,

vulnerable people, working with children and so forth, there's a

blanket disclosure system. A certificate has to be provided and

that will cover absolutely everything on your record -

convictions, cautions, warnings going back to when you were a child.

The court has said fermly today that that system is

disproportionate, that it is incompatible to a individual's life

to a private and family life. In no uncertain terms the court has said

Parliament must act to amend that blanket disclosure system. There is

pressure on the Government to do something. The Government are in a

tough corner on this. There's a stay, if you like, 28 days they've

been given to seek permission to appeal to the highest court in the

land, the Supreme Court. Whilst that is in place this ruling isn't

brought into effect. So they have that breathing space. The they are

successful, this judgment is suspended pending the appeal of the

Supreme Court. If they are unsuccessful or if they lose at the

Supreme Court, the Government I think would have to bring in

emergency legislation to bring in some kind of filter, some kind of

system which says there are certain things on your record which are

either PROBLEM WITH SOUND

Which you don't have to disclose. The system, the courts have said,

really have to change. Some of the country's leading

health organisations are calling for a special tax on fizzy drinks.

They say there should be a levy of 20p on every litre, which would

raise enough money to pay for free school fruit and meals to improve

children's health. Drinks companies point out that for every 60p can of

To the Treasury. English football has been given an

ultimatum: change the way you're run, or we'll change it for you.

MPs say there needs to be more financial transparency in the game

and a rethink about the relationship between the FA, the

Premier League and the Football League. Let's cross to our sports

correspondent, Katherine Downes, who's at Wembley. The FA have been

given until the start of next season to modernise and become more

diverse or the Government will legislate. This isn't the first

time there've been calls for reform in what Ministers have described as

the worst-imporned sport in Britain. -- worst-governed sport in Britain.

The English Premier League is one of the most popular in the world,

generating hundreds of millions of pounds through sponsorship and

broadcasting right. But the commercialisation of the game has

given the Premier League what MPs say is an unhealthy level of

influence over English football. The power of the Premier League is

so great that it is preventing any of the more radical reform which is

we think are necessary. That's been very widely recognised throughout

football. MPs warned those here at Wembley back in 2011 to make sure

the interests of all levels of football are represented at the FA

and to curb the financial risk taking of clubs to make sure fewer

go into administration. But today's report says they haven't done

enough. In response football's governing body say they have made

changes. Significant head-way has already been made on these

proposaled reforms, they claim, and we are confident the necessary prog

less be made. But the committee wants more radical reform. Football

supporters should be represented at the FA, they say, instead of having

so many Premier League executives making decisions. And even those in

charge at the FA in the past think that makes sense. The question is,

how do you build a new relationship going forward? Our generation,

frankly, failed to bring together the different interests of the game.

We've had too many conflicts of interest, and the personalities

ultimately couldn't rise above that. The threat is that if changes

aren't made, the Government will step in. A humiliating ultimatum

for the FA in the year in which it is celebrating its 150th

anniversary. This could be a big year for the FA

in more ways than one. If the Government does step in, that will

be controversial. This is after all a multi-million pound business, but

you have to remember that football is the national sport of this

country. Supporters themselves wants more of a say in how it is

run. Just recently we've seen The

Rolling Stones and David Bowie back on the music scene. And now The Who

are about to show that age is no bar to staying a rock 'n' roll

legend. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltry, now both approaching their

70s, are planning to bring their epic rock opera Quadraphenia to

British venues next summer. David Willis caught up with them in Los

Set in the days of rival mod and rocker gangs, Quadrophenia is the

story of a boy called Jimmy, who saw himself as part of the band.

After the album made it to number two in the UK charts, the story was

turned into a film. We are touring in America now. We are doing a lot

of shows here. I wanted to play him in my home country. I think quad

squad a quintessential English piece, a British piece. It is about

life in post-war England, about a young man who comes from our

neighbourhoods. I wanted to be able to, because it is so grate. I'm

loving it. It's nearly 50 years since The Who

first got together. Coming hard on the heels of The Beatles and The

Rolling Stones, they were not only the loudest rock 'n' roll band, but

arguably the most rebellious. Two of the original line-up have since

died rockstar deaths. But despite being nearly 70 years old, the

other two are keen to keep rocking. What's the relationship between the

two of you now? There was a lot of stuff about there being a tense

relationship between you. I would like to think there was

some angst. I can't imagine being luckier, either of us really, to

get to this place in our lives when we are both pushing 70 and we've

got this great music and we can gather, the aura of a band around

us, The Who band, whoever we take on the stage with us. We are so

lucky. And we are lucky to be friends and allies in having

roughly the same direction. drunken rampage which is earned

them bans from all the major hotel chains are also a thing of the past.

Life on the road these days is by their own admission a little more

sedate. You do ever feel the desire to throw a television through a

hotel window? My mum would have killed me. We don't argue with our

TV sets any more. Anyway, those great big plasma screens I wouldn't

get them off the wall if I wanted to. You would have thought they

would make them lighter for old rock bands. Despite that each of

them could qualify from a bus pass, the group that sang of dying before

they got old, hope to still be rocking in their 70s.

Just before the weather here, in Australia, they have been suffering

from scorching temperatures, bushfires, tornadoes, floods and

now foam. This is the city of Port Macquarie, where the fierce storms

have whipped up huge amounts of sea foam. In the Sunshine Coast the

foam there has been hiding some surprises. There's a car! That

ended up being nothing more nan a close shave.

close shave. That groan was from Nick Miller.

Sadly not much to smile about in the weather. The rain is here again.

It is as you were, wet and windy weather. The rainfall picture so

far today is pushing north-east, eventually reaching parts of the

east that haven't seen today. The strengthening winds as well. But

something different, the temperatures have headed up even

further. It is very mild, particularly in parts of England

and Wales. 14 degrees in Exeter. It's the warmest day since the

start of January. The rain and the wind is as you were. Another day of

unsettled weather. It is not necessarily constant rain, there

are drier spells. In Northern Ireland the bulk of the rain has

cleared. The further west you are I'm hoping it will brighten later.

Rain in central Scotland, the rain advancing towards Orkney. In

northern Scotland the rain strengthens this evening. This

afternoon in Cumbria, rain and then it turns more patchy, as it does in

East Anglia and the south-east. There are drier spells. Pretty

breezy, and it is mild. 13-14 degrees. Rain in the south-west,

especially the moors and Devon, and outbreaks of rain into Wales. The

further north you are it will be quite heavy, and windy. We are

concerned this evening about the rain pushing eastwards across

England and Wales. Especially over the saturated ground of South Wales,

the moors in the South West. A Met Office amber waurpbg. Rainfall

totals 50mm, or 2 inches, enhancing the flood risk. In Scotland and the

Orkney isles, gusts of 85 miles per hour are possible. That could cause

disruption, and large waves overtopping the cause way. Bear

that in mind. Wednesday, blustery. A frost-free night. A mild start to

Wednesday. Early rain in the south- east clearing away. Showers

rattling in southern Scotland and northern England, with hail,

thunder and gusty winds, into the Midlands and Wales. But also

sunshine and feeling fresher compared with today.

Blustery again on Thursday. Heavy rain pushing east with showers but

sunshine to follow. Friday - potentially another spell