17/10/2013 BBC News at One

British Gas delivers a blow to its customers, announcing a big rise in

prices. Electricity will go up by more than 10%, gas by more than 8%

from next month. The Energy Secretary says he is extremely

disappointed. I have said to British Gas customers, if they are worried

about these they should change. There are a range of competitors and

alternative suppliers that are offering a much better deal.

As the Government challenges British Gas to be more transparent with its

figures, we will be asking if anything can be done to control

rising bills. Also this lunchtime, the biggest shift for a generation,

new guidelines from China -- child abuse trial -- child abuse trials

are published. Prince Charles weighed in on pensions and warns

companies to create a better future. Dysfunctional and in chaos, the

verdict from school inspectors on a controversial Muslim free school in

Derby. And the Prince and the king of British tennis, and OBE for Andy

Murray as William hosts his first investiture ceremony at Buckingham

Palace. Later on BBC London, three quarters

of London's schools are closed after teachers walk out on strike. The

London schoolteacher who has gone missing in Qatar, police make

several arrests. Good afternoon and welcome to the

BBC News at One. British Gas has become the second big energy says

Byron a week to announce a big rise in fuel prices this long term --

this winter. Electricity bills will go up by 10.4%, gas by 8.4%, adding

more than ?120 to the average bill. The Energy Secretary Ed Davey says

he is extremely disappointed by the price hike and he has urged British

Gas customers to make a big saving by switching to one of the smaller,

cheaper suppliers, who he says are managing their costs more

efficiently. It was our industry correspondence, John Moylan.

It is the UK's biggest energy supplier. Today, it announced the

biggest prize rise yet. From next month almost 8 million British Gas

customers will see bills soar by three and a half times the rate of

inflation because of what the company says rising costs. The price

of wholesale gas is rising. We are buying in a global market and demand

is booming. The cost of moving energy towards peoples homes through

the pipes is rising. Those are prices set by the regulator. The

Government's social and environmental costs are rising.

Those added together, 85% of the bill, has led us to this decision

today. British Gas says the average dual fuel bill by what -- will

increase by 9.2%. That will add ?123 a year to energy costs. It means an

average bill will rise to ?1444. The cost of heating our homes and

keeping the lights on has shot up the political agenda. Labour says it

would freeze prices are selected. So as news of the increase broke, while

the Energy Secretary was taking questions in the Commons, the

opposition went on the attack. Why won't the Secretary of State stand

up for consumers, support Labour's price freeze and make the energy

companies tell us exactly how much money they are earning? I have said

to British Gas customers, if they are worried they should change.

There are a range of competitors and alternative suppliers. Much of the

row centres on Government policies which require firms to spend

hundreds of millions of pounds making homes more energy efficient.

We pay for this through our bills. British Gas wants these policies

reviewed, but the Government was unconvinced. I would urge British

Gas to publish and be more transparent about the increased

policy costs that it is blaming for these bill rises. We have looked at

their initial figures and we really question whether their policy costs

that they claim are putting up the bill are the root cause. Last week

SSE increased prices. The other main energy firms are expected to follow

suit. Consumer groups say there is hundreds of pounds to be saved by

switching suppliers, but we are all likely to be paying more for our

energy this winter. Our political correspondent Carole

Walker is in Westminster for us now. Some fighting talk from the

Government following this price rise? Yes, energy prices are hot

political issue and the Energy Secretary has certainly stepped up

the rhetoric against British Gas and is urging consumers to vote with

their feet, take their custom elsewhere. The Government's cases

this is a market, that the energy companies will respond to consumer

pressure and it is interesting if you look at not just different

prices that are available, there are big differences between the amount

of profits that the different energy companies are making. The Government

is saying this is a market, although it is trying to make sure that more

people get onto the lowest energy tariffs and trying to get more

suppliers into the market. The arguments continue about what can be

done to control rising bills. What Labour has seized on this to say it

shows they need a price freeze, that is what Elliott -- that is what Ed

Miliband is offering, a freeze in prices for 20 months. The Government

says it is a con because prices would go up before or afterwards.

The problem for the Government is some consumers and voters may well

find that idea of even a temporary respite from rising prices rather

attractive and will be saying that you would like the Government to do

more of the time they are already facing a big squeeze on the incomes

and now they are seeing a big hike in their energy bills.

The price rise has overshadowed a deal with -- agreed by the

Chancellor allowing Chinese companies to take major stakes in

the next generation of nuclear power stations in Britain. George Osborne

made the announcement on the final day of his trade mission to China,

saying it could mean more jobs and lower long-term energy costs for

consumers. The first China deal could be as early as next week, with

the go-ahead for a new ?14 billion plans at the Hinkley C psych from

China. -- the Hinkley C site from China.

In China they are already doing what Britain must addressed fast.

Building new power stations. China is investing almost 30 new nuclear

plants, the UK has yet to agree even one. George Osborne now wants

China's help to reach Britain's energy needs. Visiting this plant

today, he said China will be welcome to take a stake in Britain's next

generation of nuclear power stations. Why Bobby what is in this

for George Osborne is money, cash to fund the new generation power

stations. There are concerns that bringing Chinese state companies in

may mean about future safety and security in Britain's critical

national infrastructure. He was told that concrete is the king of to

withstand the impact of an aircraft. -- it is thick enough. The reactor,

going online in a few weeks, is designed in Europe and being built

by EDF of France in partnership with the Chinese firm. Today's

announcement means an almost identical plant could soon be agreed

for the UK. We are going to make sure of course that the very

stringent British rules on safety are applied, but Chinese investment

in British nuclear power means British taxpayers' money can be used

instead of building these things, we are building schools and hospitals,

and in the long-term British families get lower and more stable

energy bills. This is where the first new UK reactor would be built,

at Hinkley point in Somerset. The old reactors here are due to be shut

down and two new ones constructed in their place. A deal could be

announced in days. For China and initial agreement for one nuclear

power station would be an appetiser. China's aim is to be the major

player in future projects, exporting, building and operating

its own nuclear reactors in the UK and elsewhere.

New guidelines are being set out for prosecutors dealing with cases of

child sexual of you. They have been described as the most fundamental

shift in attitudes for a generation. The Director of Public

Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has pressed cases will be investigated

and prosecuted differently from now on. Here is our legal affairs

correspondent, Clive Coleman. The way in which child victims

sexually abused by Jimmy Savile and others have been treated by the

criminal justice system is a source of shame. Too often victims have

been discouraged or disbelieved. It has taken -- it was taken when I was

about ten or 11. Kevin Griffiths' experience is typical. As a

14-year-old in a boys home in Rochdale he says he was abused by

the late Cyril slips -- Cyril Smith MP, then a local councillor. We were

not believed. People were given the impression the lads from there came

from really rough upbringings, they were bad lads, villains. As one told

me in one newspaper, the scum of the Earth. Under the new guidelines

prosecutors must focus on the credibility of the allegation, not

the weakness of the victim. They will investigate for indecent images

in every case and they will be able to reassure victims that there have

been other allegations against the suspect. Today's guidelines

represent perhaps the biggest change in thinking and approach to the

prosecution of a group of criminal offences in modern times. They show

the criminal justice system taking on board some would say very late in

the day a more sophisticated understanding of the psychology that

underlies the sexual abuse of children. That means not

stereotyping victims in ways that have dogged past prosecutions. For

many years we have used rather crude tests of whether a victim is to be

believed. What we have learned in the last few years is that those

tests don't work very well for vulnerable victims. Lawyers' leaders

have welcomed the new measures but some sound a cautionary note. We

must always remember that this is a trial process and the man in the

dock is innocent until he's been proved guilty. We accept entirely

that nobody should stereotype witnesses, but it is very important

that we remember nobody should stereotype defendants either. The

guidelines are now in place. If they work, fewer victims will be denied

justice. Prince Charles has warned the

pensions industry to ditch its short-term outlook or risk

condemning the next generations to a miserable future. In a speech to the

National Association of Pension Funds, Prince Charles said

unprecedented levels of debt, a rapidly growing world population and

climate change means the pensions industry has a responsibility to

create a sustainable financial system. Sarah Campbell is with me

now. Unusual for Prince Charles to be making his views so clear on

something in the financial world. Yes, his views on the environment

and sustainability are well-known and this is the furthering of that

agenda, this time challenging pension-fund managers, who control

hundreds of millions of pounds, to use the money in a different, in his

view that way. This was a five-minute interview played to the

National Association of Pension Funds conference in Manchester

yesterday. He highlighted the city's focus on short-term

investments, a quick profit in the next quarter but really what is

needed is a longer term approach. He said incorporating sustainability as

part of the main focus of where firms' money on a solid -- one where

funds' money is allocated. He said it would be good for the environment

and profitability of the pensions themselves and therefore good for

people's pensions, the value of pensions. It is -- he said it is a

perfect storm of pollution, overpopulation and climate change

and he said they needed to change the way money is used. It really

does fall to you I am afraid to help shape a system designed for the 21st

and the 19th century. Which is why I can only urge you to deploy your

considerable human ingenuity to make that innovative and imaginatively

that the world so badly needs. Otherwise your grandchildren and

mine, for that matter, will be consigned to an exceptionally

miserable future. His views are in line with what number of pensions

experts are saying and they have welcomed him bringing this debate

but he is calling for a sea change in the way the city works and that

is something so far they have been reluctant to.

A controversial Muslim free school in Derby has been described as

dysfunctional and in chaos by government inspectors. A leaked copy

of an Ofsted report on the Al-Madinah School says teaching is

inadequate and the governing body is ineffective. Last week the

Department for Education said the school would be closed down if it

did not take swift action to address concerns including allegations it

discriminated against female staff. Jeremy Cooke is outside the school

now. Yes, make no mistake, this is a

highly damning Ofsted report and it will be used to fuel the debate

about the future of free schools. But for the 400 or so children who

go to school here it is all about the future of their education.

Opened a year ago amid high hopes, the Al-Madinah School, a free

school, among the first schools to offer a Muslim ethos. But today's

Ofsted report is describing a school in chaos. For the parents of some

pupils, it is no surprise. I am really angry, they have broken the

trust. As professionals, teachers, they have let us down. The report

says the school is failing in every area of inspection. Achievement,

inadequate, governing body, ineffective, attendance, low and

declining. The school is described as dysfunctional. The headteacher

agreeing things must change. I think special measures is a disaster for

any school but certainly it is a disaster for us, yes, this is not

where we want to be, this is not the position we want the school to begin

at this stage. We fully accept the report, with heavy hearts, but we

accept the report and we are going to use this to help move the school

forward as quickly as possible. It is all another blow for a school

which had already been warned by the government that it will lose its

funding unless it makes big improvements. Still, some parents

say they will stick with it. it suits my lifestyle because it is

like Sunday school. They are teaching my children well, I am

seeing their progress and I have no concerns. There is politics here, of

course. Labour, on the offensive. It is a devastating blow to the

Education Secretary's flagship policy. It reveals that pupils have

been failed on every possible measure and parents will want to

know why the Education Secretary has allowed this to happen. We are not

prepared to allow a school to fail its parents, children and

community. We have said we will take swift action and that is what we are

doing. Al-Madinah School is in crisis. Its reputation in tatters,

now fighting to avoid total closure. The Prime Minister has launched a

defence of his education policy, saying the example should not be

used as a stick to beat the whole free school movement. The time is

just after a quarter past one. The top story: British Gas delivers

a blow to its customers, announcing a big rise in prices. Electricity

will go up by more than 10%. Still to come: The band played on, the

violin used to play Nearer My God To Thee as the Titanic sank is up for

auction. On BBC London News beating the

bills, how an estate in Britain is working together to bring their

energy costs down using solar panels.

And the soldier, his horse and killing his past. -- sealing his

past. The Duke of Cambridge has hosted his

first investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Prince William

was possessing awards to recipients from across the UK, among them the

Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray, who received an OBE. Our royal

correspondent is at Buckingham Palace. The shape of things to come,

in a sense, but a significant stepping up in terms of royal duties

for Prince William. There are now something like two

dozen investor the cheers every year. This morning, the Prince

conferred a couple of knighthoods. As you say, the best-known recipient

was Andy Murray. He was here to receive his OBEs. He was one of 88

award recipients honoured by Prince William this morning. He stepped up

and Andy Murray said that Prince William seemed very confident. They

had a good chat inasmuch as you can in events like this. It was notable

that Williams of time with all the recipients. -- William took time.

But, of course, William, the first of many such occasions in the years

to come. More than 3000 schools in England

are closed because of a strike by teachers. Members of the National

Union of Teachers and the NASUWT have walked out because of the row

about pay and pensions. Our education correspondent reports.

Hundreds of teachers took part in rallies in Bristol, Durham and

London. It was part of a second wave of regional strikes. This time it

was affecting thousands of schools in southern and northern England.

Teachers are eyeing we over changes to their work and conditions. -- are

angry. I'm here with my son today. He is the next generation of

teachers. I dread to think what sort of future the profession has. There

is no policy. It is just a mess. In the end, we have got to stand up and

do something. You sound fed up! Yellow matter I am! I am retiring at

the end of the year. -- I am! . What have they walked out over. In

future, teachers will have to work beyond citified before they can

claim a full pension. They will pay more into their pension pot and

there will be an automatic end to rises through the pay scale. This is

the second regional strike in England in the past three weeks.

Teachers are prepared to stand firm, but the government says

performance related pay is here to stay because it will reward the best

teachers and that pension changes will bring teachers in line with

other public -- public sector workers. Across England, primary and

secondary schools have been fully or partially shut. Parents have had to

find alternative childcare arrangements. Union leaders say they

sympathise but they have to make a stand. It is Nate -- not a view

shared by the government. I know it is difficult for teachers that we

have to reform pensions and control public sector pay. That is happening

to everybody the public sector. The government has accused teaching

unions of trying to create as much disruption as possible but say that

only a quarter of schools in affected areas have been completely

closed. However, the teaching unions are still planning a national

walk-out before Christmas. The number of badgers killed during

a controversial six-week Carl in Gloucestershire has fallen well

short of its target. The plan was to kill 70% of the animals, around 3000

in total. But only 30% have been shot. It is being carried out to

stop the spread of TB in cattle. It is now set to be extended. Labour is

proposing a new tax on payday loan companies.

It says it was to help support alternative short-term lending for

people struggling with the cost of living. Ed Miliband wants to raise

at least ?13 million through the new levy.

Work no longer pays enough to provide a route out of poverty for

millions of families. That is the warning from the government's social

mobility czar, Al-Anon. He says it is not the shirkers but the strivers

who are the forgotten people of Britain. -- Alan Milburn.

For single mother Judy and her ten-year-old daughter, making ends

meet is a struggle. She works part time from home and relies on a range

of benefits. Despite working, she keeps the heating of cheering the

day and can't afford school trips for her daughter. There are so many

people in my position. We had not heard any more. You hear from the

rich, the very poor, the people who are perceived to be scroungers. But

not people like me, who we have tried, we did not ask to get

industry should. -- debt in this situation. Today's report says

poverty is more widespread than usually thought, with almost half of

all Britons finding themselves poor at some point over a nine-year

period, and more children in poverty in homes where children -- parents

are working. These are the 5 million people, many of them women, who

unless than working wages. They heed what the politicians say, go out, go

to work, stand on their own two feet, and yet too often they are the

forgotten people of Britain. How is poverty defined? The poverty line

for one parent and child after housing, council tax and childcare

costs is ?168 80 per week. The minimum to live in the UK is put at

higher than that. This is the first of what will be an annual event, the

audit of the life chances of the worst off. Its conclusions are staff

-- start. It wants more to follow the beauty chain Lush, which decided

to pay its staff in London the living wage. In the capital, that is

worth over ?2 per hour more than the minimum wage. They were really

excited when we announced it. It is making a big difference to how well

they can eat and be able to work for us. The Downing Street dismissed the

idea today. It is the violin that was played to

help calm passengers as the Titanic sank in 1912. The instrument belong

to the band leader Wallace Hartley, who died along with 1500 others when

the ship went down. But his violin survived and it is now being sold by

an auction house in Wiltshire. It is expected to raise more than any

other piece of memorabilia from the doomed liner. Duncan Kennedy

reports. It was the haunting soundtrack to a

tragedy. The music that echoed across the decks as the Titanic

sank. Nearer My God To Thee was the hymn, and this was the violin it was

played on. It has been described as the holy grail of Titanic

memorabilia. It belonged to Wallace Hartley, the band leader who calmly

led his fellow musicians as chaos engulfed the ship. It had been given

to him by his fiancee, Maria, and was returned to her after his death.

It spent decades being passed down but continue to be played, and

always kept it simple expression of Mariah's love. It is a modest German

instrument that today would cost you a few hundred pounds to buy. It is

nothing special. The thing that is special is that Wallace owned it,

and where it has been and its history. It brings history to life.

The story of Wallace Hartley and his violin is central to every telling

of the Titanic disaster. This 1958 classic is said to capture his calm

resolve that night. For those who spend their lives researching the

Titanic's story, Wallace Hartley, through his violin, represents

inspiration and selflessness. They had their life jackets on. They

could see the people going over the side. They also knew they weren't

going to get into a lifeboat, because the time -- by the time they

had finished, they had all gone. They made it very calm for people.

Which is very heroic. Such as the iconic status of his violin that

there has been interest from all around the world from people wanting

to buy it. The reserve price is between ?200,000 -?300,000, which

itself would put a new record on a single item sold from the Titanic.

But the view here is it could go for a lot more. Whatever it goes for on

Saturday, it was part of a disaster that claimed all these lives.

The weather in a moment, but first, at least 30 homes have been

destroyed by wildfires on the outskirts of Sydney. Seven blazes

had been burning across New South Wales. They have been found by high,

erratic winds and an unseasonably warm spring in Australia. The

authorities are braced for four wildfires as summer approaches. Time

for the weather here. It has been an extremely warm spring in Australia.

After a chilly start to this week, or smear showing at its other side.

A bit of high pressure in charge for the rest of today. Plenty of fine

weather. The real engine room at the moment is this big blow out in the

Atlantic. Bands of rain around it, and also pulling some much milder

air up from the south-west. However, the North of Scotland holds onto

cold air. The dividing line is a weather front that will bring some

patchy rain in southern parts of Scotland. The heavier burst here and

there. To the north, some brightness. Temperatures in

Inverness just nine degrees. For England and Wales, if fan of

sunshine. Yes, some showers, and some heavier ones for England and

South Wales. Temperatures at around 17 or 18 degrees in places, so it

feels pleasant in the sunny spells. This evening and tonight, Western

area see increasing amount of cloud. Further east, the skies remain

clear. The winds are light. That is a recipe for some dense fog. A

fairly chilly night in north-eastern areas. A touch of frost in Shetland.

Further south and west, 14 degrees is the minimum in Plymouth. A mild

night. Fog is our biggest concern over night. It could cause some

travel disruption. Your local BBC radio station will keep you up to

date. The fog should tend to live through the morning. It is going to

be a cloudy day in eastern areas. Further west, and especially

Northern Ireland, it is going to turn into a wet afternoon. Pretty

windy in the West. Mild for all of us. Low pressure is still in charge

into the weekend. Friday night sees weather fronts across the country.

This one in Scotland will sit in place throughout the day on

Saturday. Some heavy, persistent rain, possibly some localised

flooding. Elsewhere, a blustery day with sunny spells and showers. The

band of rain only slowly moves north into Sunday. Sunday is a blustery

day. A mixture of sunny spells and showers. Still feeling fairly mild.

Certainly an all time the weekend. A mild feel to the weather. --

autumnal weekend. At 1.30, reminder of the top story:

British Gas delivers a blow to its customers, announcing a big rise in

prices. Electricity will go up by more than 10%, gas by more than 8%

from next month. The Prime Minister says he is disappointed and tells

customers to try to save money by switching supplier. That is all from

the News at One.