27/11/2013 BBC News at One

Toughening up on EU migrants - the Prime Minister says he'll make it

harder for them to access benefits. No jobless benefits for three months

and no instant access to housing benefits. But an EU Commissioner

says the UK risks being seen as the nasty country. Also this lunchtime:

Nearly nine million people in the UK are struggling with serious debt

according to a new report. A court hears of a culture of secrecy in

Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi's marriage - as two of the couple's

assistants go on trial over fraud. Profits are up and shares are up

again at Royal Mail but ministers still insist it wasn't sold off too

cheaply. And the Karaoke Prince - as William takes to the stage with

Taylor Swift and Jon Bon Jovi. Later on BBC London: The number of

people admitted to hospitals in Surrey for drink-related illnesses

doubles in 10 years. And a new scheme offering free tutoring for

the poorest pupils hopes to raise educational standards.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC news at One. David Cameron has

promised to make it harder for migrants from the European Union to

get access to Britain's welfare system. The Prime Minister says the

migrants won't qualify for jobless benefits until they've been here for

three months, nor will they get instant access to housing benefit.

But an EU commissioner has accused Mr Cameron of an unfortunate over-

reaction and says the UK risks being seen as the nasty country. Here's

our political correspondent, Ben Wright. For a decade, Britain's door

has been open to migrants from Europe. From January, Czechs and

Poles will be joined by people from Romania and Bulgaria. They come to

find work. But can claim benefits too. And David Cameron wants their

right to welfare restricted. It is popular politics. I think it is

good. It is time that happened. You come straight into this country and

you're looking for benefits rather than working, it is not fair. There

have been benefit restrictions in place since 2004. But the Prime

Minister wants to crackdown further. Writing in the Financial Times he

said: Newly arrived job seekers would not

be able to claim housing benefit. Any jobless EU national found

sleeping rough or begging would be deported and banned from coming back

for 12 months. David Cameron accused Labour of making a mistake in not

limiting immigration from eastern Europe. With restrictions on

Bulgarians and Romanians about to be lifted, the Government is attuned to

the concerns of voters. You can tell there is an election, because David

Cameron starts to sound more euro sceptic. The EU have said they are

not happy with them. The only way to get proper border controls is to

leave the EU. We want that referendum now. Labour and the

Liberal Democrats back the plan, but others say the facts don't match the

political posture. Benefit tourism means people come here to be able to

get on to benefits. We know that EU mice grants are more -- EU migrants

are more likely to be in work and contribute more in taxes than they

take in spending. The restrictions won't require a change in the law

here, but will provoke a clash with the European Commission. The action

if it is happening in this time, it is not helpful. Because it risks

presenting the UK as the kind of nasty country in the EU. And there

is David Cameron's long-term aim - to limit what he calls vast

migrations within Europe. A controversial step that needs

support across the EU. Let's speak to our chief political

correspondent, Norman Smith. The nasty country. Will David Cameron

mind the UK being seen like that? I suspect David Cameron views those

comments as a sort of prized political peach landing slap-bang in

his hand. Why? Because if there is one thing more cracking down on

benefit claimants is having fisticuffs with people in Brussels.

That is why the Prime Minister's spokesman said we are going to do it

any way and introduce these curbs, regardless of what the European

Commission does. But despite the row, these changes are actually

relatively limited. Many are not new. Many are in practice already in

force. And many of them are a good less than the curbs that already

exist in some other EU countries. So why the hull Aba loo? The answer is

the Government wants to flag up the fact a that the government is

listening to concerns on immigration and is aware of up ease about

Romania and Bulgaria. So I think the Government reaction to the EU's

intervention will be, thank you very much for adding to it! Thank you.

Almost nine million people in the UK are struggling to cope with serious

debt problems,- according to a survey by the Money Advice Service.

The problem is at its worst in some of Britain's cities including Hull,

Manchester and Nottingham - where more than 40% of people are having

difficulties repaying loans. Here's our personal finance correspondent,

Simon Gompertz. Debt has become the scourge of city like Hull where 43%

of adults have more loans and credit than they can handle. Here borrowing

has become a way of life and rising prices make dealing with it a

nightmare. This couple are trying to chip away at credit card debt. At

the moment we are coping - just. The problem will come if the gas and

electric go up, which we suspect they will between 8 and 11% and the

possible interest rate rises. That will tip us over the edge. Ann was

laid low by a ?2,000 bank loan. You would be surprised how many there is

that is struggling. And even them that go to work, people come here

and they're working. Just ain't enough. Those saying they have too

much debt or behind on bills total ?8.8 million across the UK. Four

million have been struggle for more than a year. But only 17% are

seeking advice and help. It is a fear factor. People don't know what

to expect when they come to us. People do try, they think they can

sort this out themselves, but debt problems soon become too big to sort

out. Too often sorting it out involves going to a high cost

lender. Despite signs of economic recovery, borrowing is back close to

record levels. To many who are struggling, getting into debt now

seems inevitable and if you can't see an escape route, you're less

likely to seek the help that you need. But debts can be dealt with by

changing the payments or going bankrupt. The challenge in places

like Hull is to help more people take action. Shares in Royal Mail

have risen again after the newly privatised company announced a half

year pre-tax profit of ?233 million. It means shares have gone up by two

thirds in just six weeks. But the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has

insisted again that the government didn't undervalue Royal Mail. Here's

our Business Correspondent, Emma Simpson. It was the biggest state

prooifisation for more than a decade. Royal Mail was vamd at 330

pence a share. But when it voted on the stock exchange, the price soared

and today shares are trading at more than 562 pence. So was the business

sold on the cheap? Order, good morning... That is what MPs wanted

to know when they quizzed ministers. The point that was being made to us

was that had we sought to push the price range higher, we would have

lost a significant number of the long-term investors who we wished to

attract. Ministers were then asked about advice from one bank that they

could have got 20% more per share. Well 20 pence was not offered to us.

We considered whether we could get that extra 20 and we concluded the

risks were too high. So did the taxpayer lose out? We refute that

the taxpayer has lost out. The taxpayer hasn't lost anything. It is

too early to make that kind of judgment as we have made clear, the

value of the sale I think will be assessed in several months, a year's

time when we will look back at this as successful. The questions came as

Royal Mail posted its first set of results as a listed cutting. Half

year profits were more than double at ?233 million. We still own a

chunk of the business which remains under threat from strike action. The

controversy over how much the company really is worth is set to

continue. Our chief economics correspondent, Hugh Pym, is with me.

Vince Cable said it was not undervalued, but many will question

that. Yes looking at the first we saw there in that report, floated at

?30n't be 0 -- ?3. 30. Now more than ?5.60. So it looks at face value as

if not a very good deal was got for the taxpayer. B Vince Cable's

defence is ?3. 30 is what advisors said you have got to go through W if

they raised it and ministers did consider raising the price in the

last day or so, the advice wz long-term investors, the people the

government wanted, would pull out. So if the advisors said that,

Ministers felt they had to press on. And they said some analysts have

said the long-term value was more like ?4. And that the price would

come down. Vince Cable said you have to wait a year for a proper

assessment. But that is a rod to beat his back with if in a year it

is above ?6. A business has been found guilty of murdering a family

of four in 2004. For this man, the day of the royal wedding was a day

for revenge. He travelled to Northampton armed with a knife and

murdered a family of four. Here were his victim, Jeff and Helen Ding and

their two daughters. To find four people from the same family

massacred in their own home was horrendous in itself. But to find

two of the people were young females, the daughters, I find that

unforgiveable. I can't in any way get used to that as a concept. He

had gone into the business with the family in the 90s and opened shops

selling Chinese medicine. But their relationship turned sour and after

years of legal disputes he faced financial ruin. On the day of the

murders, he took a bus and headed to the Ding's family home. The

prosecution said he carried out the murders with ruthless efficiency and

stabbed the two adults in the kitchen and wept upstairs and --

went upstairs and attacked the daughter. After while he was till

snt -- still in the house, he lay down and fell asleep. The bodies of

the victims were not discovered until two days later, between them

they had suffered 51 stab wounds. He fled abroad and a police appeal was

sent to 180 countries. He was wanted in connection with a murder

inquiry... The doctor of her ball -- He ball medicine became a wanted man

and was tracked down in Morocco. The ding's family travelled to hear the

evidence and said the murderer has shown no remorse. He said he was

suffering mental illness and was guilty of manslaughter. The jury

agreed this was murder, nothing less. A judge has ruled that the

trial of two personal assistants accused of defrauding Nigella Lawson

and her former husband Charles Saatchi can proceed. Lawyers for the

sisters had claimed they wouldn't get a fair hearing. This morning the

court was told there'd been a culture of secrecy in celebrity

couple's marriage. Luisa Baldini is at Isleworth Crown Court. Explain

what the legal arguments were about? Well this has been a very unusual

case so far in that normal think press are not allowed to report

anything that goes on until the jury has been sworn in. And they aren't

allowed to report on legal argument. But the judge ruled the press has

been able to report details being discussed between him and the

barristers, so yesterday the press was allowed to report Charles

Saatchi's allegations that Nigella Lawson regularly took drugs and

today we have been allowed to report that the defence, the barristers for

Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo wanted the case thrown out. The

defence claim the sisters couldn't get a fair trial and said that

Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi, who would be the main prosecution

witnesses, were at loggerheads and poles apart before even getting to

court and the sisters would be manipulated in the process and

become embroiled in a bat m between Lawson and Saatchi. The prosecution

refuted that it would be an abuse of the process of court. The judge

agreed with the prosecution, just the last hour and said the trial can

go ahead. So at some point after the jury has been sworn, we will be

seeing Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi giving evidence and by the

way Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, although they admit spending the

money, deny fraud. Our top story this lunchtime: The Prime Minister

says he's going to make it harder for immigrants to access benefits,

there will be no unemployment payments for three months, and no

instant access to housing benefits. And still to come: Testing times

down under - Stuart Broad speaks to the BBC about the pressures of life

on an Ashes tour. And people turn up to welcome

soldiers back. And overcrowding in London, how even the capital's

canals are filling up with houseboats.

Since international forces were first deployed in Afghanistan in

2001, 446 British service personnel have been killed. But many more have

come home with terrible injuries. Earlier this year, the Ministry of

Defence set aside more than ?6.5 million to make sure those men and

women can rebuild their lives with the best prosthetic technology

available. Many are treated at a rehabilitation unit at Headley Court

in Surrey, from where our correspondent, John Maguire,

reports. Major Bernie Broad was seriously

injured in an explosion in Afghanistan four years ago. He has

been fighting back ever since, and has only had these, the very latest

generation of prosthetics, since Monday. It makes life more

day-to-day rather than, let's think about this. It's nice to not put the

wheelchair in the car. These modern lens include microprocessors, tiny

computers capable of making 100 calculations per second. The

products we provide now allow the patient to carry on with their

everyday life in as normal way as possible considering injuries.

Whether they want to walk around the shops or march across some hills,

the products we are supplying can be fine tuned to allow that kind of

level of use. They carry out a whole range of treatments, making the

limbs and joints, even replicating tatties. Everything they do, from

the design and manufacture all the way through to the physiotherapy, is

tailor-made for the patient, to try to match as best as they possibly

can the physical state before the service men and women were injured.

Today, the Defence Secretary was here to see for themselves how ?6.5

million is being spent on this technology, and to pledge London for

the future. We're not stopping here, there are new technology

developments going on all the time. The clinicians are constantly

scanning the horizon and looking at the latest technology coming out. As

and when things become available that are appropriate, we will make

them available to our patients. Serious battle injuries from

Palestine and Iraq are often like changing, but these limbs - the best

anywhere in the world Ash are helping to put lives back together.

Police are to begin formal interviews today with the three

women rescued from a house in south London last week. Scotland Yard says

"clearly criminal offences" had been committed. Let's speak to our home

affairs correspondent, June Kelly. Weeks after these women were

rescued, it is only today they can begin interviewing them. We had a

briefing from the senior officer heading the enquiry this morning.

Scotland Yard are not confirming the names of any of those involved, but

what has emerged from other sources is that the suspect in this case,

Aravindan Balakrishnan and his wife Chanda, were running this Communist

electives in Brixton in south London in the 1970s. What the commander did

say was the two older woman in the flat, it's become clear that three

decades ago they began living with them couple voluntarily, but what

the police are now trying to establish is what happened in the

intervening 30 years. He said the police did believe criminal offences

had been committed and Scotland Yard are now trying to understand the

nature of the allegations. He said we are keeping an open mind as to

what this incident is. Members of the Scottish Parliament

get their first chance to debate the government's plans for independence

this afternoon. The White Paper was launched yesterday, with the First

Minister, Alex Salmond, describing it as the "most comprehensive

blueprint for an independent country ever published", while opponents

said the plans were "not credible". Let's talk to our Scotland

correspondent, Laura Bicker, who's at Holyrood.

Details of the White Paper are already starting to filter through

to the population and they were certainly on the front pages this

morning. This paper went with Alex Salmond as a Marty McFly. A more

sceptical line from this next one. They dubbed him as the great

pretender. They have given him a Braveheart make over. The Herald and

the Scotsman have gone with information pull-out so that people

can take away their own decisions. Today, the debate will be led by

Alex Salmond who is expected to open it by saying that decisions are best

taken by those who live and work here. But already within the last

year the Better Together campaign led by Alistair Darling has held a

press conference around the corner saying that the sums don't add up

all stop but the real key will be how many people actually debate

their White Paper, and how many are persuaded by its arguments.

The Prime Minister of Latvia has resigned over the collapse of a

supermarket roof which killed more than 50 people. Valdis Dombrovskis

said he had to take political responsibility for what had happened

after coming under increasing criticism after the disaster.

The England bowler Stuart Broad has called Jonathan Trott's departure

from the Ashes team as "heartbreaking". He said the

gruelling schedule of an overseas tour may have exacerbated what's

been called a "long-standing stress-related condition". The

England team is preparing for a friendly match in Alice Springs,

from where our sports correspondent, Joe Wilson, reports.

Sunset at Ayers Rock. England have always said they want their players

to enjoy the experience of being on tour. And so, before they play a

match in Alice Springs, they do what tourists do in this part of

Australia. Except of course that one of their number has already flown

home. Somewhere in the midst of the joviality, his absences felt keenly.

He's got support, everybody is looking after him. He's got privacy

at home to set himself right. It is obvious we all wish him very well

from Australia. It gives you that perspective that there are bigger

things going on than cricket. Alice Springs is certainly off the beaten

track on an Australian tour. It will be one of the hottest places England

have ever laid a practice match. As preparations continue for this rare

international Gregor opportunity, the world cricketing body is

preparing for the second test match. The IPCC will give stern warnings

about standards of players behaviour. On the field, I don't

think airline has been crossed. It's been tough, but we grow up and we

train ourselves to expect that. Off the field, there have been some

mistakes made, and as an England side we can pride ourselves on how

we don't comment on the opposition. Remember, England were humbled in

the first test. They have recovered from this kind of thing in the past.

But some comebacks are easier to stage for the cameras than others.

Meet Misty. 17 metres long and around 150 million years old - an

almost complete diplodocus fossil. It was found in a quarry in Wyoming

in America. And now it's up for auction here in the UK, with a price

tag as large as its skeleton. The fossil is expected to fetch up to

?600,000. Let's speak to our correspondent, Duncan Kennedy, who's

at the auction in Billingshurst in West Sussex.

Sophie, isn't she stunning's and it is a chic, they've done the tests

and found it is a female dinosaur, it diplodocus by the name of Misty.

Thought to be one of the largest intact dinosaurs in existence. She's

been brought to Sussex today for what promises to be an epic auction.

Proof that age and beauty do mix. 150 million years old and not a drop

of Botox insight. Just the elegant women in lines of a diplodocus who

has been named Misty. She is thought to be the first almost complete

large dinosaur skeleton ever to be auctioned in Britain. But who would

want to become a mega bone collector? I understand various

celebrities like bad pit and Leonardo DiCaprio are supposed to be

very interested in acquiring dinosaurs. I don't know if that is

true or not. -- like Brad Pitt. Maybe a wealthy individual might

like it in their barn garage. We just don't really know. This is what

she would have looked like roaming during the late Jurassic period, a

great big docile plant eater. Misty was unearthed in the American state

of Wyoming, a jigsaw of bones of the heaviest dinosaur that ever lived.

Just like this plaster version in London, where experts hope Misty

will find a good home. We are so much more to learn about diplodocus,

and we hope that she will end up in a museum or made available for

studies at some point in the future. It is really an exciting new

discovery. At 19 feet tall and 65 feet long, she has an epic presence.

This most than in fossils for collectors a dinosaur to die for.

There is a lot of interest in other creatures as well. Misty is the

star of the show, with this expected from all around the world. The

bidding gets underway for murder at 3:30pm and is expected to fetch half

?1 million. -- underway for her. Prince William managed to surprise

the audience at a charity gala in Kensington Palace last night - not

to mention the rest of the world. He took to the stage at the end of the

evening with Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift for an impromptu sing-a-long.

Sarah Campbell reports. # Oh, livin' on a prayer.

Even the second in line to the throne couldn't resist joining in on

this 80s classic. His enthusiastic performance rounded off a

star-studded event on the half of the homeless charity centrepoint

held in Kensington Palace. It is a charity the Duke has long supported.

I gave up the comfort of my bed and tried sleeping on the streets of

London. That was one night and I knew I had a home waiting for me.

Many others have no such comfort. The cold streets are the only

reality they know. Prior to providing backing vocals, he spent

time eating young people, charity workers and performers. When you see

someone from afar and you admire the way they carry themselves and then

you meet them and they are funny, that is very cool and exciting. The

jury is out on his singing talents, but as a way to generate publicity

for a cause he supports, his was pitch perfect.

Time now for a look at the weather. It is Thanksgiving in the US

tomorrow, a big holiday, but we've got quite a storm ringing a real mix

of heavy rain, snow, strong winds and really unpleasant travel

conditions here. A bit quieter on our shores. There are two weather

fronts at the top and tail of the country bringing a fair bit of cloud

and a bit of rain, but between those systems there is a lot of dry

weather. There is some sunshine as well. The best of that is in eastern

England. There is some rain to be found. Rather dull and gloomy in

southern counties, particularly the south-east. A bit of light rain and

drizzle. Temperature is a little higher than mayhap than of late. A

bit of bright weather coming through in the south-west of England and the

South of Wales. Cloudy in the north-west of England. The eastern

part of Scotland and Northern Ireland does well. But there are

some rain in drizzle to content with in western Scotland. The rain slips

out overnight, there will be patchy rain in Northern Ireland and

northern England. Behind that in Scotland temperatures will drop and

we will see a touch of frost. A bit of frost in eastern England but

temperatures will cover by the end of the night as big a cloud rolls

on. A slow start to Thursday with bits of fog around. Into the

afternoon, some brighter weather across the East of Scotland, the

north-east of England doing quite well. Elsewhere, quite a bit of

cloud. A chilly day in the West of Scotland, but further south getting

up to 10 degrees. Change is on the way by the end of the week axed in

this weather system moving across the north of the UK. The cold front

introduces the change and the winds will be picking up. It will be more

of a north-westerly wind on Friday which is going to push the remnants

of any relatively mild air out of the way. So it will be that bit

cooler by Friday and it will feel so, particularly in the wind. There

will be some good bright spells though, a scattering of showers,

mostly in the north and west. The winds are really quite strong,

blowing a gale around the coast. So make the most of the next day

because by Friday that cold wind arrives. At least we can for most of

us most of the time will be dry. A reminder of our top story this

lunchtime: The Prime Minister has said he's going to make it harder

for immigrants to access benefits: there will be no unemployment

payments for three months, and no instant access to housing benefits.

That's all from us - now on BBC One it's time