28/10/2013 BBC News at One

Two people have been killed after the worst storm to hit southern

Britain for years. A 17-year-old girl died after a tree crashed on

the caravan where she was sleeping. A 50-year-old man was killed when

his car was hit by a fallen tree in Watford. Any loss of life is

regrettable and we had to make sure the emergency service can act as

fast as they can. Commuters have been left stranded as many rail

services and flights have been cancelled or delayed. Over a quarter

of a million homes are without electricity as power lines have been

brought down. Also this lunchtime: two former News International

executives, Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, go on trial over phone

hacking. There are dozens of flood warnings in operation. We will have

the very latest on the storm from our correspondence across the

country. Our first report is from Jeremy Cooke. The storm was brief,

but powerful and intense. Hundreds of trees brought down across

southern England with at times tragic consequences. This is the

theme in Kent. A 17-year-old young woman had been asleep in this

caravan when disaster struck. Desperate efforts to cut away the

fallen branches could not save her life. In Watford a man in his 50s

was killed when a tree fell on his car in a random act of nature. In

Hounslow on the outskirts of London three homes were destroyed, damaged

first by a falling tree and then by the resulting gas explosion. There

were several casualties here. We have got crews on site working in

special rescue teams and carrying out a surge internally of the

building to confirm if anyone else is in there. We have two people

unaccounted for. 4000 it was more a case of inconvenience, trees

blocking roads and rail lines in the south and east of England. Emergency

crews were on stand-by, trying to keep main route is open to keep the

country on the move. But there are still 12 active flood warnings in

place, 130 flood alerts, mainly in the south and West. With more than

200,000 homes without power, for many all of this will live long in

the memory. Some of the strongest winds we have experienced since the

great storm of 1987. Enough to bring down a crane in the centre of London

not far from Downing Street. Has the response been an overreaction?

Everyone has two act on the basis of the evidence and information they

are given and everyone has been working closely together to deal

with the storm. Afterwards we will be able to look back to see if the

right decisions were made. Right now we have to get things back to

normal. Professionals tracking the weather system through southern

England and into London and the South East call it a truly

remarkable weather event. We have seen gusts of 80 and 90 miles an

hour and heavy rain. It is not quite as bad as 1987, but not far off. It

is the south coast that has taken the brunt of the wind, blowing the

hurricane force from Wales to Essex. At the historic pier in Clacton, the

helter-skelter has been brought crashing to the ground. And

coastguards in Sussex have been forced to call off the search for a

teenage boy, swept out to sea yesterday.

As we have been hearing, the storm has brought down power lines cutting

electricity to thousands of homes across the south of the country. All

morning teams have been trying to restore the power as quickly as

possible. Duncan Kennedy has been assessing the situation in

Berkshire. In many places it was the water, not the electricity, that was

flowing. As the storm swept its weight used more and more homes lost

their power. Nothing is working here, the fridge, no. In Berkshire

this house was one of hundreds cut off. I woke up at six and suddenly

everything was black and there was nothing. I put the radio on the

battery to check what was happening and I knew we had no electricity.

Across in Wiltshire more homes lost power. The storm has been rattling

through here this morning and it brought down this particular tree

and some of the power lines and telephone lines. The council say

they will be along to open this road, one of the transport problems

people are facing as the storm passes through. As workmen came to

dismantle the tree, neighbours said they worked out their own way to

light the street. We stood here with torches to wave around so that

people could see the tree was there. The storm has cut electricity across

its destructive path. 200 extra engineers are working to bring

supplies back. It is very much a shifting number as the storm has

moved and progress and the extent of the damage has been assessed and

engineers have been in place to try and fix it. We came into the kitchen

and opened the door and we have a tree in the garden. I was quite

surprised. It was very close. It was a jolt of a non-electrical kind that

greeted him in Warminster. We opened up the kitchen door and the tree was

coming into the kitchen. In the end the biggest disruption was to his

model train set, derailed, just like the lives of so many people last

night. Staying with the transport in real

terms, whether it is on the roads, by rail or air, the storm has caused

widespread disruption. Many rail companies did not run services until

after it had passed. Airports cancelled flights, many roads have

been closed because of the fallen trees. Our correspondent reports

from Redding. The train companies had warned us

that services would be disrupted and a quick look at the boards at any

train station showed us just how much. At Redding, the hub of the

Thames Valley rail network, the frustration was starting to show. I

am trying to get to Winchester and it is an absolute nightmare. I am

heading to Southampton and I am stuck here, so I will not get to my

destination on time. It is annoying because I need to get a train to

work. South West Trains was one of several companies that could not run

services until after nine o'clock. Most train operators across southern

England and Wales were not running services before nine o'clock and

some now have amended timetables in place. More than 200 trees have been

cleared from railways across the South and overhead lines have been

damaged. It was not until the rush hour was over that network rail

could take stock of the morning. We had a plan to progressively over the

network at nine o'clock. There were significant damage overnight to the

railway infrastructure. We started to progressively open in

mid-morning. We were a bit later than we thought, but we got more

damage than we could predict happening. Other forms of transport

fared little better. At Heathrow 130 flights were cancelled. Huge waves

prompted the major port of Dover to close, cutting off services to

France. A double-decker bus was lifted off its wheels in Suffolk and

the driver was taken to hospital. This 30 foot ash tree blocked the

main road in Redding at seven o'clock. Luckily the council's rapid

response team of tree surgeons cleared it in minutes. We plan for

it in advance and put extra maintenance crews on the road and

put a lock of information out to drivers. We closed some bridges and

the crossings over the Severn in advance of the strong winds to make

sure we could manage the network effectively. This lunchtime at least

rail services are starting to get back to normal, but it has been a

long day for staff and commuters. The station manager told me that

this morning at eight o'clock it took one train three and a half

hours to travel six stops, 15 miles, up the line. It appears the working

day is starting a few hours late. We will have more on the storm

damage later in the programme. You can keep up to date with what is

going on in your area with BBC local radio and read -- regional

television. The trial of Rebekah Brooks and Andy

Coulson begins at the Old Bailey today. The former News International

chief executive and David Cameron's old director of communications are

among eight people standing trial in a case which could last up to six

months. They all face charges arising from the phone hacking

investigation. It was two years ago that the phone

hacking affair exploded and it led to the closure of News of the World

and the setting up of the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics. It led to

scores of arrests and today we are seeing the start of the first trial.

Once she was the most powerful woman in British newspapers with links to

successive prime ministers. Today Rebekah Brooks arrived at the

country's most famous criminal Court to stand trial. Facing charges with

her was her husband Charlie Brooks. Also on trial, Andy Coulson. He was

Rebekah Brooks' successor to be editor of News of the World. He

later moved into ten Downing St as director of communications. The Old

Bailey is the scene of so many legal dramas and if the setting of a case

which is set to make global headlines. This is the media

reporting on their own. Rebekah Brooks faces charges of conspiracy

to intercept mobile phone messages, conspiracy to commit misconduct in

public office. The allegation is unlawful payments to public

officials. And conspiring to pervert the course of justice, this is

allegedly about removing and concealing evidence. Andy Coulson is

accused of conspiring to intercept mobile phone messages and conspiracy

to commit misconduct in public office. Also in the dock is the News

of the World's ex-managing editor. He and a former journalist Art

accused of conspiring to have telephones. The ex-Royal editor is

conspiring is accused of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

All the defendants deny all the charges against them. The process of

selecting the jury is currently underway and there is a very large

pool of potential juror 's and the judge has told them to be selected

they have to be prepared to sit until next Easter. That gives you an

indication of how long all of this is going to run. The 12 who have

been selected will be sworn in tomorrow and the prosecution will

open its case. The main story this lunchtime: The

most powerful storm in decades has swept across parts of the UK. Two

people have been killed and there has been massive disruption to power

and transport. Still to come, a nation of litter bugs, a special

report from Joan Bakewell on the cost of our throwaway society. On

BBC London: The government appealed against a High Court ruling on plans

to cut services at Lewisham Hospital. And we look inside

Charterhouse as it opens its doors to the public. The lack of care and

compassion in our hospitals and care homes has rarely been out of the

news recently. And part of that story has been the helplessness of

people who felt no-one was listening to them when they tried to say

things were going wrong. Well today, an independent review has called for

a revolution in the way the NHS handles complaints in England. It's

been hearing evidence from people who either felt their complaints

weren't handled properly, or who just never bothered because they

were afraid about the impact it could have on their future care.

Here's our health correspondent, Branwen Jeffreys. Carter When

Pauline's dad died in hospital, all she wanted was answers. Why hadn't

he had his medication. Who thought it was acceptable to leave him in

soiled sheets. She wrote letters and went to a meeting where no one could

help. So she hired lawyers. You start a complaint and at every

opportunity they try to stop you. They try to stop it. They never

replied to a letter. Unless we rang again to prompt them. This review

says too many families have similar experiences. It calls for hospitals

in England to publish a report each year on their complaints. And

frontline staff to listen. The report draws on testimony from more

than 2,000 families. As somebody whose wife had been very sick was

visiting her in hospital and she was very sick. He went up to a nurse and

asked for help. And one nurse said, I'm a graduate, I don't do sick. The

review is calling for a change in the way the NHS listens to concerns

and deals with them and if that change doesn't happen, it says they

will be back in a year's time asking for more radical steps to be taken.

Patients chashts say change is -- chashts say change is -- charities

say change is long over due. NHS staff do not see complaints as a way

of learning. Until such time as they see complaints as help them to do

their job better, then if they're not going to take this approach, the

culture in the NHS will never change. And that is what families

like this want most - to know the same mistakes won't be made in

someone else's care. Staff at one of South Africa's most dangerous

prisons, run by the British firm G4S, have been accused of shocking

abuses and of losing control. The South African government has

temporarily taken over the running of Mangaung prison after inmates

claimed they had been subjected to electric shocks and forced

injections. G4S says it has seen no evidence of abuse by its employees.

Let's speak to our Africa Correspondent Andrew Harding. Tell

us more about the claims firstly Andrew. What are G4S saying in

response? We have been speaking to current and former prisoners and

staff and we have seen leaked footage from inside the jail. What

we are hearing are allegations that electric shocks were used, not to

break up fights in the prison, but to punish prisoners. Also

allegations that injections of antipsychotic medicine were used on

prisoners against their will. The South African authorities describe

the situation as shocking and out of control. What response then

particularly from G4S? They have denied any wrong doing and has no

evidence, it says, of any abuses. It has questioned the credibility of

the witnesses. Saying they after all some of the most dangerous criminals

and a group of former guards who were sacked recently, because of an

unsanctioned illegal strike. They say that they will investigate any

abuses that come to light. But they co-not -- do not believe that these

reports on the face of it are credible. Thank you. Changes to the

welfare system are still on track, despite a slower than planned take

up of its new Universal Credit. That's according to the minister in

charge of the changes, Lord Freud. The reform replaces six old

benefits, but the changes have suffered from IT problems. Today,

they're introduced in one of London's boroughs, as our local

government correspondent, Mike Sergeant, reports. From today some

job seekers in Hammersmith will be able to log in and claim universal

credit. It is the Government's most ambitious change to to welfare

system. The idea is to combine six benefits into one monthly payment.

So that claimants are always better off as they take on more work. The

project has been criticised as chaotic and behind schedule. But one

of the ministers responsible said it is still on track. This is a massive

cultural transformation. We are testing and trialing it in every

way. What really matters here is how the operational system works and how

people respond to it. So it is important that we do this carefully

and safely. Until now, there have only been a handful of pilots in the

north-west. Eventually eight million households will be claiming the

credit. But difficulties with IT and management have held back progress.

The plan was for the credit to be rolling out by now. But this benefit

is still operationing on a tiny scale, with just one job centre at a

time joining the scheme. Hammersmith and Fulham council said it is

committed to making the credit work and will offer those claiming it

Spencive help -- intensive help getting a job. But Labour say it is

one of a string of changes that is not going to plan. I'm in favour of

reform, but I want them to get a grip of the project. They have lost

millions and there is a danger that each time they put their fingers in

their ears and pretending there are no problems, that it gets worse. But

ministers say universal credit will be delivered on budget and by the

target date of 2017. A group of MEPs will meet American officials later

today to discuss allegations of spying by America's National

Security Agency. France, Germany, Italy and now Spain have all accused

the US of spying on its citizens. Let's speak to our correspondent in

Brussels, Matthew Price. What in all reality are they likely to achieve?

Well the British member of the European Parliament, the Labour MEP

for London, who is leading the Parliamentary inquiry, into all

these allegations, really believes they're on the verge of a sea-change

in the way that international spying is carried out. What he is saying

and others are saying is that this goes beyond the spying that people

know happens between countries, even between allies. It is talking of

mass surveillance of people in the EU and the European Parliament is

saying that breaks the fundamental right that Europe's citizens have to

privacy. So they are going over to the United States and with that

message and saying, look, the millions of calls that were listened

to or monitored in Spain, Germany and France, the monitoring of Angela

Merkel's telephone, also British intelligence alleged involved in

monitoring of the Belgian Telecoms system. All these things take spying

to a new level and they ought to be reined in. You're right to raise the

question how much impact can they have? Well probably not much. But by

keeping it in the public eye they believe they will push through some

sort of change in policy and probably with the help from a German

delegation heading there this week, senior German officials meeting with

seen American officials behind closed doors, where they are going

to be pushing this line from Angela Merkel that a new bond of trust

needs to be formed, changes to the way in which the surveillance

systems within America and elsewhere work and operate. And so I think

there is a sense that nothing will change immediately, but perhaps they

are starting to change the perceptions of what acceptable and

what is not. Thank you. Britain's population has risen by 21% in the

last half a century, but the amount of litter we drop has gone up by a

staggering 500%. Hardly surprising then, that clearing up our rubbish

costs more than ?1billion a year. Now the veteran journalist and

broadcaster, Joan Bakewell, has toured the country with the BBC's

Panorama to investigate just how big a problem litter is and what's being

done to tackle it. Is Britain disappearing under a layer of

litter? 30 million tonnes are collected each year. What causes it?

Who is doing it. The general public. Just the public. And they moan that

their rates go up to pay for it all and they're doing it. I don't like

to see people's dirty rubbish bags and just dumping it in the street.

Since the 90s, we have had some of the toughest litter laws in Europe.

But while some councils issue hundreds of fines, others hardly

any. I It costs around a billion pounds a year to pick up litter.

That cost might buy us more than 30,000 nurses, or more than 30,000

care assistants, or 4,000 libraries. Isn't that more useful. This has

been doesn't only grill politicians, as a patron of clean up Britain, he

has a lot to say about litter. I think this is not really about

living in a filthy environment, it is about the way we think about

ourselves and other members of society. Because if I throw away a

bit of rubbish, I don't want it around me any more and I fail to

recognise that it is then around somebody else. In Manchester, I met

a group of volunteers taking things into their own hands. You can have

different colours. Meet the poo busters. I started spraying the poo

with spray paint to say to people, I don't like what you're doing and to

help people not to tread in it. It is the peer pressure and the

community telling other members of the community. But is peer pressure

and paint enough to change anything? Our hectic eat on the go culture is

here to stay. But seeing that there are some councils and businesses and

even individuals working together, it has he was me optimistic that we

can tidy up Britain. And you can watch Panorama - Our Dirty Nation

tonight at 8.30 on BBC1. More now on our main story: the storm that's

swept across the UK, killing two people and causing massive

disruption to road, rail and air travel. Well our correspondent,

Jeremy Cooke, is in a helicopter over Hertfordshire gauging the

effects of the storm. Yes in driving rain in the skies above London. The

news helicopter has been out for most of the morning. What they have

seen is not widespread devastation, but widespread disruption. This is

not 1987 when the country was covered in fallen trees. But there

are enough trees down across the rail and road network to cause

problems. Looking down on the the main line you see a typical site,

very -- sight, very few trains running. Because the teams cannot

get out to get all of the trees off the lines outside London. It is

crippling some soft net -- some of the network. And it is not only the

obstruction to trains, but power lines come down and that causes

problems across the south-west, south and east of England. Now,

there will be many people watching saying it is just a windy day in

autumn in Britain. But make no mistake, in some perhaps isolated

areas, this has been a serious event. It has been an event where

people have lost their lives. It is a tragic consequence to what storm

St Jude has brought to Britain over night. Thank you. Time for a look at

the weather for across the UK and has the worst of the storm

dissipated now? Here's John Hammond. Back to normal. But first a look

back and we are forecasting the potential for this storm as much as

a week ago. It is only in the last 24 hours that it has raised its ugly

head with the rain and the strength of winds that did damage tucked into

the rear of the storm system. We saw a swathe of damaging winds,

ploughing from south-west England up to many other counties and not just

the coast. Inland as you can see we have seen a lot of disruption. Up to

80mph gusts in the thing we call the sting jet. Midlands and northwards

at the last minute, you just about got away with it. That p low

pressure system, the storm has zipped off across the North Sea and

is now causing damage in Scandinavia. Some heavy showers and

some sunshine in the east. But the clearing up process can start.

Feeling chilly in the wind, 11 or 12 degrees. And that chilly theme

continues tonight. Still some showers, still blustery,

particularly in the west. Some op showers will -- of the showers will

move to the east. There could be a touch of frost in the glens of

eastern Scotland. But more showers pushing into western areas as we

head towards the end of the night and some will zip across to the east

in the morning. So another showery day. If anything tomorrow the

showers will tend to ease down and we will see increasing amounts of

sunshine. In the please again -- breeze it will feel chilly with

temperatures around 10 degrees. Looking beyond that, we are looking

at another system coming in from the west that will bring rain and some

blustery weather. But nothing too extreme. It does mean a wet and rind

I -- windy start in Northern Ireland and Scotland. That rain will arrive

later on in the day. So not pleasant. There will be some rain

for sure. But to some up the rest of the week, back to normal - blustery

winds and cooler and there will bh some -- be some rain. More on the

storm can be found online. Thank you. At 1.30 a reminder of our main

story this lunchtime: Two people have been killed in the storm that

swept across the UK earlier today. There's still widespread disruption

across the road and rail network. There'll be much more on the storm

and its aftermath on the BBC News Channel throughout the afternoon.

But that's all from the News at One this lunchtime. So it's goodbye from

me - and on BBC One we now join our news teams where you