20/12/2013 BBC News at One

Cleared... Nigella Lawson's Former Assistants Are Found Not Guilty Of

Fraud. Francesca And Elisabetta Grillo Were Accused Of Spending

Nearly ?700,000 To Fund A Lavish Lifestyle On Credit Cards Belonging

Ms Lawson And Her Former Husband. The Case Put The Television Cook's

Lifestyle And Family Life Under Scrutiny With Questions Now Asked

Over What Fallout There Might Be For Her Career. Also This Lunchtime:

Vulnerable Young Girls Abused By Older Men In Rochdale Were Failed By

Any Investigation Into Why The Ceiling Of A West End Theatre

Collapsed Onto Its Audience, Injuring 70 And Two Seriously. The

Roof Collapsed Above Us. We Got A BANG ON THE HEAD. the murder of lee

rigby. questions are asked as to how his killers were radicalised. after

a decade behind bars, president putin frees mikhail khodorkovsky,

one of his fiercest political rivals. on bbc london: two people in

a serious condition after a bus crash in kennington. the apollo is

declared safe, but should we be concerned about other theatres?

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One. Two former personal

assistants of Nigella Lawson have been found not guilty of fraud.

Francesca Grillo and her sister Elisabetta were accused of spending

nearly ?700,000 on designer clothing and holidays - on credit cards

belonging to the television cook and her former husband, Charles Saatchi.

During the trial, Nigella's own lifestyle and marriage came under

scrutiny. Our Correspondent Luisa Baldini is outside Isleworth Crown

Court. Well, there has been a dramatic end to this trial. Neither

of the sisters were in the dock to hear the verdict being delivered

because the older sister, who is 41 years old, suffers from panic

attacks. She collapsed in the reception area this morning. Last

night she was taken to hospital after suffering a panic attack. This

case was based largely on the Word of the sisters, against that of

Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi. The court heard they had been on a

four-year spending spree, staying in top hotels. It is alleged they acted

fraudulently. They denied that. Mr Lawson said she had never given any

leave for them to spend as they wished on the credit cards. It seems

with this verdict that the jury have not believed Miss Lawson. They have

found them not guilty of fraud. I love shopping! And shopping is

exactly what her to a tally in personal assistant is dead. They

said Nigella and allow them to treat themselves. She denied it. Nigella

Lawson and the sisters were like family. Elisabetta Grillo even

joined her in her cookery programmes. Elisabetta and Francesca

started working for Nigella before she was famous. They worked for

Charles Saatchi as well. Even -- they were even given a personal

credit card and were allowed to buy things for themselves. They spent

money in designer stores like Louis baton. They withdrew tens of

thousands of pounds on credit cards. It was when Charles Saatchi believed

that Elisabetta had booked a taxi on his account, that he asked his

accountant to investigate. At the home of Charles Saatchi, not far

from his gallery in Chelsea, the accountant confronted the two

sisters with the allegations. He later asked them to sign a letter

admitting to fraudulent spending. They were fused and communication

broke down. The police were called. -- refused. Until these photos

appeared, the sisters had made no mention of drugs. After the

restaurant photos were published, the bills's defence declared they

had agreements with the chef that they could spend if they did not

reveal the drug habits to Charles Saatchi. The court was read a letter

from Charles Saatchi accusing the sisters of being off their heads on

drugs. The TV chef did admit to having taken cocaine and smoking

cannabis in front of their children but she denied being a habitual user

or addicts. Through the trial it has become clear how acrimonious the

split is with Miss Lawson saying her evidence was to be her last

communication with him. At times it has been easy to forget who has been

on trial here, but the jury were urged to remember that Miss Lawson

was not on trial and she was a witness. They were told to treat her

evidence as the same as someone who lives on an estate. They needed to

consider whether the drug evidence was credible. Where does this leave

the reputation of the women? When Nigella Lawson strode into court,

she was walking into else from. The story had it all. Drugs and divorce.

It is a living soap opera. We have two public figures fighting it out

in court. Their dirty laundry was being aired for the public. This

attention has been going on for months, ever since this meal at the

restaurant. It led to photos appearing on the front pages. What

happened here turns Private lives into a public spectacle and it has

been easy to forget who it is that has been on trial. One taste and it

is great! There was always something of a wink behind the phrase domestic

debts, but the allegations of drug taking have given us an intriguing

glimpse behind the facade. The Prime Minister was drawn in, declaring

himself, to the irritation of the judge, to be on Team Nigella. The

balance of sympathy appeared to be with Nigella. Why should her dirty

laundry be aired in public. Was it that relevant anyway? She was not

the person who was alleged to offenders anyone and she did not

have her hands on anyone's throat. There is the cocaine issue. It is

worth remembering a drugs storm a few years ago. Eight years on, Kate

Moss's career seems to be in good health. Revenge? Seek not revenge.

If you do, take two graves. Nigella Lawson's career is now heading

towards the USA. Charles Saatchi has a book out. It is all about

startling photos that reveal hidden stories. With all the adverse

publicity that has come out in this trial, it may be that Charles

Saatchi and Nigella Lawson may have wished this case had never come to

court. With -- the defence said there are no winners. They may face

a civil case to recover funds and in the meantime, their assets have been

frozen and designer clothes have been confiscated. A report into the

sexual exploitation of young girls in Rochdale has criticised all of

the agencies involved, including the police and social services, for

failing to help prevent their abuse. The Serious Case Review described a

shocking inability of all 17 agencies to care for the vulnerable

girls who were passed round for sex. Nine men are serving jail sentences

for offences including rape. It is a catalogue of weakness and failings.

Today's Serious Case Review concludes that there was widespread

failure of strategic managers whose job it was to protect vulnerable

young girls in Rochdale. Eventually, last year, nine men were sentenced

to 77 years for their part in the organised sexual exploitation of

victims. That was only after years of abuse. Today's report asks what

went wrong and who was to blame? It concludes everything and everybody.

There were systemic failures across all the agencies. There were issues

about policies, practices and procedures, as well as affective

strategic management. There were issues about the sources. The issue

is centred on the streets of Rochdale. Bhunda Boys young women

were targeted by the gang and given drink and drugs. -- vulnerable.

Greater Manchester Police was criticised for its handling of the

case. The report said that when one victim complained of a rape in 2007,

no investigation followed. A culture of hopelessness had been created in

Rochdale. We had a group of girls being abused and did not recognise

themselves as victims. We had weaknesses in social services as

well. That culture of hopelessness had been created. A court case in

Liverpool was the subject of high security and media attention. In the

review, the Crown Prosecution Service was heavily criticised for

failing to bring things to court earlier. Their message is that

things have changed and victims will be heard and taken seriously,

however long ago it happen. Landscape had change. It took this

case for the landscape to change. Additionally, people who may have

been victims in 2003, and may be confident enough to come forward

now, will get justice. And failings in Rochdale have consequences that

the victims will carry forward into their adult lives. The report says a

significant part of the sexual abuse that they suffered could have been

predicted and prevented. Five men are awaiting sentencing for the

sexual exploitation of another girl in Rochdale. And Jeremy joins us now

from outside Manchester Minshull Crown Court. So many failures by so

many agencies. We are told things have changed but how can we be sure

things won't happen again in the future? That is the big issue. While

today's report has been about that case that concluded last year, the

issue of sexual grooming in Rochdale is back in focus today. There is a

sentencing hearing today for five men who were convicted of exploiting

a 15-year-old girl in Rochdale. The police have been severely criticised

for their handling of this case and have once again been forced into an

apology and have acknowledged that there have been failings. The

apology centres on the fact that one of those convicted here was first

arrested in 2008 after the girl reported she was raped. It was only

last year that the man was dead along with four other men. --

rearrested. That is four years after the original complaint. Jeremy,

thank you. An investigation is underway to find out why the ceiling

of the Apollo Theatre in the West End of London, collapsed during a

performance last night, injuring more than 70 people - two of them

seriously. The Society of London Theatres says it has confirmed that

all safety inspections and certificates for major theatres are

up to date. Robert Hall is at the Apollo theatre for us this

lunchtime. More than 32,000 people go to the theatre here in London

every evening. The audience that were packed into the Apollo Theatre

last night were going to see one of London's most popular shows. Their

evening out turned into a major emergency. In the heart of the

lands, at the peak of the Christmas season, emergency crews responded to

what had been classed as a major incident. The first calls were made

at 8:15pm, 40 minutes into the performance, as more than 700 people

flooded through emergency exits. One of the actors said, look out! In a

split second there was a loud bang and the whole place was covered in

dust and debris. A BBC team filming with the London Ambulance Service

were on board a commandeered bus which was used to ferry casualties

to hospitals. The roof collapsed above us, as far as we know. I got a

shop bang on the head and the next thing I knew, I was in the Fourier.

-- sharp bang. Neighbouring theatres were used to help. Some had

breathing difficulties after inhaling dust. These photos show the

ornate theatre and the decorated plasterwork above and around the

audience areas. The Fire Brigade say a section of ten square metres broke

away and struck the front of the dress circle. The floor was covered

with debris and dust, and bits of timber were hanging down. It is

quite a mess in their but we have established that the scene is now

said so investigators can get on with their work and establish what

happened. With the Apollo Theatre now safe to enter, investigations

have begun and investigators are searching for the cause of the

collapse. Was it heavy rain or the pressures of modern technology on a

Victorian playhouse? It has strict safety guidelines and is likely to

remain closed until next month. The Apollo's owners have expressed their

sympathies to all those affected by the incident. Such an incident is

extremely rare and one of the senior firefighters said that last night

but it takes nothing away from the investigation which is trying to

establish the cause of the collapse, and a remedy to make sure nothing

happens again. Further questions are being asked about the radicalisation

of two men found guilty of the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.

Michael Adebowale and Michael Adebolajo, both Muslim converts,

face life behind bars. Our home affairs correspondent is with me.

There is the issue of sentencing and radicalisation. These two men will

not find out how long they will spend in prison for many weeks. The

Court of Appeal has to decide a large number of compensated cases.

It is about the exceptional power of the judge to locks run up and throw

away the key. That will not be heard until late January. Sentencing may

not be until February. Radicalisation, we are learning more

about these two men. We already knew that Michael Adebolajo tried to go

to Somalia. He was picked up out there by the authorities. The

British authorities were aware. We learned last night that Michael

Adebowale was last seen on quite an extreme demonstration outside St

Paul's Cathedral, where the speech was about you and evil, change it

with your hand. That was linked to a particular extremist group. There

were questions about that group and whether they were being monitored.

We have all this information coming together. These are questions for

the intelligence and Security committee. They will be looking at

what the agency 's new. Could these men have been stopped? These men may

have been on the radar. If they were on the radar, where they also under

the microscope? A Libyan victim of torture has been told by the High

Court he will not be allowed to sue the British Government over his

alleged rendition. Abdel Hakim Belhaj claims CIA agents took him

from Thailand to Libya, via UK-controlled Diego Garcia in 2004.

Jack Straw, who was Home Secretary at the time, has denied being aware

of the rendition and allowing it to happen. Let's go live now to Matt

Prodger, who is outside the High Court. Just remind us of the

background. Abdel Hakin Belhaj was an opponent of the Gaddafi regime.

That was a regime the British Government was keen to improve

relations with. He said he and his pregnant wife were kidnapped in

Thailand by the CIA, put on a plane and sent to Libya where Abdel Hakin

Belhaj said he was subsequently tortured. A letter emerged after the

fall of Gaddafi to the head of the Libyan intelligence services. It

congratulated them on having got their hands on Abdel Hakin Belhaj

and claiming credit for intelligence which had led to the rendition. He

has been trying to sue the British Government. Jack Straw and Sir Mark

Allen as well. The high court ruled that because the claim in fault

other countries allegedly involved in the rendition, it was effectively

beyond the remit of the British court. The judge said, there was a

potentially well founded claim that Britain was complicit in the

rendition. Our top story... Nigella Lawson's former assistants are found

not guilty of fraud Still to come... Criticism from some farmers over new

government subsidies to help them protect wildlife. Later on BBC

London, new cycle routes for the capital as the man attempts to make

our roads safer. And, taking the stress out of Christmas, the Olympic

volunteers are back in the capital. All that and more at 1:30pm.

Wildlife groups have accused ministers of caving in to pressure

from the National Farmers' Union over changes to farm subsidies in

England. The Government is increasing the amount it takes from

farmers' European grants to pay for wildlife protection but by less than

it originally proposed. Our environment analyst, Roger Harrabin,

reports. Stephen Northern farms more than 1000 acres in Bedfordshire. He

gets paid ?1000 an acre for not much more than owning land. The

Government was planning to divert 15% of his payments into farm

schemes to support wildlife. But most other European countries have

not reduced their farm grants so much. He says that is not fair. As a

commercial farmer, I would be happy to farm without subsidy provided

everyone else didn't have the subsidy. The pressure has paid off.

The Government will now divert 12% of farm grants in England to support

wildlife. Georgina runs a medium-sized livestock farm in

Shropshire. She has a different approach to farming. She said she

wants to leave the environment better for her children. With her

father, she has created a wildlife wetland reserve on their farm,

thanks to existing government grants for wildlife friendly farming. She

is upset by the NFU 's lobbying. The money we're getting from

environmental schemes is absolutely crucial. If the NFU position means

there is less money in that part, that will have a serious negative

impact on our farm business. It is hard to cut farm subsidies. If you

try to take them off farms in Europe, they will say, look at

farmers in America, they are getting grants and we're not. Politicians in

both places are very nervous of losing votes in key rural

constituencies. Today's decision means wildlife in England will get a

better deal than wildlife in Scotland but a worse deal than

wildlife in Wales. President Putin has freed his one-time rival,

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has been in prison for the past ten years.

The former oil tycoon was once Russia's richest man. This morning

he was pardoned by Mr Putin on humanitarian grounds. He left at

once for Germany. This report does contain some flash photography. Seen

by many as Russia 's most famous political prisoner, Mikhail

Khodorkovsky. The former oligarch ended up ten years behind bars after

falling out with Mr Putin. Seen here at his second trial three years

ago. Today, he has good reason to smile. Out of the blue, he has been

given clemency and is already apparently a free man. News of the

imminent release came from none other than President Putin

yesterday. He said he was showing mercy to Mikhail Khodorkovsky as a

human Terry and gesture to reunite him with his ailing mother. A

presidential pardon was published this morning. -- humanitarian

gesture. Then came the news he had left the colony where he was being

incarcerated. It is an extraordinary turnaround. Ten years ago, Mikhail

Khodorkovsky was a powerful oil magnate, Russia 's richest man,

speaking at high-level meetings with President Putin in the Kremlin.

Without warning, he was put on trial for fraud and tax evasion and

literally sent to Siberia, to serve out his sentence. He insisted he was

innocent, the victim of a Kremlin plot to bar him from challenging Mr

Putin. Why is he being set free now? Well, it comes as a wider prison

amnesty looks set to release protesters from Greenpeace,

including some Britons, and the Pussy Riot rock band. It is all

aimed at improving Russia 's image ahead of the winter in pics in

Saatchi. Maybe it is also a signal that President Putin no longer fears

opposition rivals, so he can afford to be generous in releasing them.

There are calls for payday loan adverts to be banned on children's

TV. Research by Ofcom found children between four and 15 watched an

average of 70 such commercials last year and MPs on the Business Select

Committee are concerned they could pester parents into borrowing money

for Christmas presents. Payday firms insist they avoid advertising when

children are watching. Short-term high cost lenders have

mushroomed on the high street and the Internet. Now, they are high

spenders on TV advertising. MPs have picked up on growing concerns that

children might see the ads. We are asking for a ban. The demand for

payday lending has doubled to over 2 billion in the last two or three

years. There is a lot of evidence that much of this demand is

generated by children putting pressure on their parents as a

result of advertising. Wonga, one of the biggest advertisers, says it has

a strict policy not to put ads on children's channels all around

children's programmes. There is no doubt about the rate of growth.

Justice or a 64% increase in these ads to 397,000 outings. The average

child saw 70 of them, a high proportion outside children's

programme times. Undeniably, over Christmas, children will see all

sorts of adverts at all different times of the day. Seeing an advert

and applying for a loan of two completely different things.

Children cannot apply for loans and we will not be targeting them.

Campaigners say the humour in an appeal to young minds. Citizens

Advice is calling for a ban across daytime TV to prevent children

starting to think that using payday lenders is normal. There is a quick

fix, and easy solution, as presented by these loan companies. We want to

make sure they are not susceptible to these adverts but, also, even

when that are adverts in other time slots about our health warnings on

them. With Christmas shopping in full swing, there is particular

concern amongst MPs that influenced by payday and will pester their

parents to borrow money to buy presents which they cannot afford.

To end the programme on something of a light note... If you've ever

wondered how Santa travels around the world in just one night, we may

have the answer. Rather than using a reindeer, he's getting a lift.

Surely centre is not delivering presents this early. If you look

closely, you can see the strings attached to the sleigh and Rudolph

's reins. This journey to the stratosphere is real. You did not

let go. These amateur scientists wanted to do something a little bit

fun for Christmas but also get people excited and engaged with

science. So, they attached their model of Santa to a high altitude

weather balloon, along with a camera and a GPS tracker, and watch as the

sleigh soared from the launch position in the Forest of Dean in

Gloucestershire. In just an hour and a half, Father Christmas and Rudolph

reached more than 30,000 meters. The curvature of the earth clearly

visible here. Before the balloon burst. Thankfully, a parachute

opened to help them return safely to Earth and maybe help out the real

Santa on Christmas Eve. What can I say? Time for a look at the weather.

It is the science that counts. If you have travel plans, in the

run-up to Christmas, they may well be affected by a lot of wind and

rain. I expect travel to be disrupted. I think that is pretty

likely. It turns cooler on quiz this day. The first bout of wet and windy

weather is already on the doorsteps of western Britain. There will be a

slow deterioration in the weather conditions across northern and

western parts during the course of the afternoon. You will notice that

the wind will freshen up. A lot of isobars on the chart. Just because

you are in the West, it is not a complete write-off. What is

different story towards the east. Not overly warm but at least you

have some sunshine. Not the case for those who drifts back towards the

western quarter to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales. It will be

one of those afternoons. If you are thinking of travelling, even at this

stage, a lot of surface water and spray. With the combination of

Cloud, wind and rain, it will not be a particularly cold night at all.

The wintry nurse will be confined to the hills of Scotland. The problems

are more about wind and rain rather than sleet and snow. On Saturday,

this weather front is stuck reluctantly across us. There will be

a scattering of showers. There will be an intense shower which will come

to lower levels. During the course of the evening, that is a scrawny

feature. Gusts of wind about 50, 60 miles an hour. On Sunday, a fresher,

blustery feel to the day. The wintry showers will be coming to lower

levels and further down the country. Then change the script all

over again. This is a disruptive bout of weather. No doubt about it.

A lot of rain. You may well be travelling. This is where we may

have a problem. This is Christmas eve and the wind and rain is still

there. Then it turns a wee bit fresher. Loads going on, I know.

More detail on the BBC weather website. Du Stade she wound if you

are travelling in the next few days. That is