20/01/2014 BBC News at One

Dem peer is set to rejoin the Lords today, despite Nick Clegg's all for

him to apologise first over sexual harassment claims. Meissen -- my

views are clear. If you cause distress to another collie, and that

has been shown to be the case, the most basic and decent thing you can

do is apologise. We will have the latest. Also: The mother of three

old Mikaeel Kular is due to appear in court in the next hour, charged

in connection with his death. -- three-year old.

Peace talks are in turmoil as anger at the UN invites the Iranians to a

summit on ending the civil war in Syria. Shocking CCTV, Lisa Bjork

will help to catch the muggers who kicked and punched this man, then

left him on the road. And an early morning wake-up call for the Rosetta

spacecraft. 500 millimoles from Earth, it is ready for a rendezvous

with a comet. -- 500 million miles. Later on BBC London: The growing

number of people stealing their gas and electricity, and why it's adding

?30 a year to our bills. And a coroner calls for a senior

doctor to be suspended after the death of this toddler.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One. The crisis

engulfing the Liberal Democrats over allegations of sexual harassment

against Lord Rennard could come to a head in Parliament today. The peer

is expected to rejoin the Lib Dem group in the Lords, but the party's

leader says he must first apologise to the women who have complained

about his behaviour. Lord Rennard, the party's format Chief Whip, said

he had not done anything wrong. Chris Mason reports.

The Lib Dems are being split into macro by this man, Lord Rennard. He

is not a household name, but for years he's been an essential figure

in his party. He has advised leaders, and plotted election

campaigns. Now the current leader is angrily touring TV studio demanding

that he apologises over allegations of sexual harassment. As a matter of

basic reasons you, you say sorry. That has been the recommendation of

an independent process. It is the role eyes-macro Judy party holds --

it is the view I and the party hold. That is why I don't think he should

rejoin the party in the House of Lords until he has made the

apology. This is Alison Goldsworthy, one of four activists who have

accused him of sexual harassment. Bridget Harris is another. The

police concluded there was insufficient evidence to prosecute

the peer. Internal enquiries agreed but said he should apologise. But he

has refused. All of which leaves a stand-off between Nick Clegg and

Lord Rennard. As if this wasn't awkward enough for Mr Clegg, the Lib

Dems are very proud of giving their party members say. Internal

democracy is what they call it. The clue is in the party's name. But

that can leave Nick Clegg as good as powerless while in his party are

sounding off will stop Chris Rennard has been through a year of hell. In

other circumstances, people would have been driven to suicide. He has

had to suffer humiliation through the newspapers comment a after day.

This is a good, decent man who has been punished by the party. The

leadership seems to be showing scant regard for due process. Lord Rennard

and his supporters want him back here in Parliament and back on a

powerful policy committee. At least a third of its members don't. It

would be better if Chris apologised, and it would be better if he went

away and thought about how he would be feeling if he was leading the

campaign with all this going on. At the moment, there is little sign of

compromise between Lord Rennard and Nick Clegg. The challenge now is to

sort this out quickly before Mr Clegg's authority takes a further

hit. Let's speak to our chief political correspondent, Norman

Smith, at Westminster. It is quite the stand-off. How damaging is it

for Nick Clegg? Potentially profoundly damaging. This is high

noon for Nick Clegg. Chris Rennard is not just another Lib Dem. He is

the man who ran the party of the past 20 or so years. He has breathed

life into it at successive elections. He knows where all the

bodies are buried. It is a fight to the finish, it seems, between the

two macro men. Both camps seem unwilling to optimise with

increasingly viral and language being directed in each direction. --

virulent language. Nick Clegg is the money and apology. Lord Rennard is

saying he had nothing to apologise for. Nick Clegg's people is saying

he could be suspended from the party. Lord Rennard's people say, if

you do that, we could take you to court. It matters because it is a

fight that Nick Clegg has to win. He cannot lose or the damage to his

authority would be profound. Already this morning, one Lib Dem MEP said

he heard Nick Clegg on the radio and couldn't understand what he was

talking about. In other words, an open act of defiance and disrespect.

We made get more of that shortly at around 2pm, when, if, Lord Rennard

decides to go to the House of Lords in an open act of defiance of Nick

Clegg. The mother of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular, who is due to appear

-- is due to appear in court this afternoon. Rosdeep Kular was charged

at the weekend. Our correspondent is in Edinburgh. Rosdeep Kular could

appear in court within the next couple of hours. In Scottish courts,

it is known as the appearance in petition. It is the first time in

defendant appears in court and it is always in private. No media or

members of the public will be on court to hear the charges she faces.

Shortly before midday, a large police presence for a van arriving

at court. It is believed it may have been transporting Rosdeep Kular,

head of her appearance to face charges in connection with her

son's death. Mikaeel was reported missing on Thursday morning. Within

hours, hundreds of volunteers had joint police to search for the young

boy. But at midnight on Friday police announced they had found his

body. 20 miles away, he has former home in Cork D. 24 hours later, they

charges mother. -- they charged his mother in connection with his death.

Support is being offered to children at his school. Just about to take my

school -- childhood nursery now. Just devastated. It is horrible.

Police are continuing to guard the house in five close to where his

body was found. How long Mikaeel had lain there remains unclear but the

tribute outside continue to mount. People are deeply affected by what

happened to him. It will only be a basic charging this afternoon. More

specific details will only become available once an indictment is

placed and when Rosdeep Kular appears in open court at a later

date. Syria's main opposition group has threatened to pull out of

forthcoming police talks in Switzerland unless the UN Secretary

General, Ban Ki-Moon, withdraws and invitation to Iran. He asked the

Iranians to attend the opening discussion because he believes they

should be part of a solution to the crisis. America has also called for

the invitation to be withdrawn unless Iran backs titillation of a

transitional government in Syria. -- backs the creation. This is a rebel

held area of Damascus. For months, it has been under siege and

bombarded by Syrian government forces. Now a trickle of aid has

arrived. These people can't wait much longer for a peace deal. This

woman says have received nothing from our children are dying of

hunger. Are we animals? Now, head of long anticipated talks, the UN

secretary-general has dropped a diplomatic bombshell. An invitation

to Iran. We agreed that the cause of the negotiations is to establish,

and mutual consent, transitioning body. Washington seemed shocked as

Iran haven't signed up to last year's Geneva peace agreement. A

spokeswoman said: Iran's relations with the West have

thawed under the country's new president. Only today, the country

began to impairment and nuclear deal to stop enriching uranium. But

concern is fuelled by decades of this trust and Iran's backing of

President Assad. -- this trust. As the fractured rebels battle on,

Syria's main opposition group has now threatened to pull out of the

talks which already are precarious. President Assad says they should be

about fighting terrorism, not a change of government. TRANSLATION:

Be logical thing that we have been talking about continuously is that

the Geneva conference comes out with clear results in relation to

combating terrorism in Syria. Especially in terms of pressurising

the country -- countries that export terrorism to Syria. Everyday,

desperate Syrians flee their country. He talks may yet go ahead,

but for these people, relief seems distant. -- the talks. The police --

Police Federation of England and Wales, which were business officers

from constables to chief inspectors, should be changed from top to

bottom, according to an independent review commissioned in the wake of

the so-called plebgate affair. It says the Police Federation needs to

be much more open and accountable and must adopt the kind of standards

of behaviour and conduct which the public expect of police officers.

Our home affairs correspondent is in central London. A damning report,

Tom. It certainly is. This is a report by a former senior civil

servant into a body that he says, is very important police officers can't

strike. So they do need an organisation to represent them. He

says have an organisation that is very badly affected by political

infighting. It attacks those inside and outside the Federation,

officials say. There is barracking at their conference every year. It

is something that has become a fixture in the political conference

season. Civil servants and ministers have been handled by the police. He

says there is widespread dismay and the damage being done to the Police

Federation, but also to the image of the police outside. He is also

particularly concerned that he was unable to find details of how much

money was in some local Police Federation accounts. He said that

shouldn't happen, there should be much better openers. So,

recommendations? He says there should be new standards of

professionalism, new guidelines for expenses and new annual road --

reports. One final thing, having found a surplus in the Federation's

account, he says that every police officer who subscribes should have a

25% reduction in their fees for one year. Police have released shocking

CCTV images of a man who was mugged on the street in Birmingham as he

walked home from a party. The 51-year-old was knocked unconscious

by one of his attackers. Another then repeatedly kicked him while he

was being robbed. More than a dozen cars drove past without stopping.

This report contains images that some viewers may find distressing.

It was the early hours of December the 15th and the CCTV footage shows

the victim turning around after an object, later found to be a Saronic

plate, was thrown. A second man appears from the shadows and throws

a punch. It looks into ground, unconscious. As the 51-year-old lies

helpless in the street, the men rifled through his pockets, stealing

a watch and a mobile phone. In an act of islands, which is too

sickening to show, the first attacker then is taking the -- begin

in the head. It is now more than a month since the horrific attack was

carried out on this street in Birmingham. West Midlands Police say

they need the public's help. More than a dozen cars passed by as the

assaults took place, and they urgently want the drivers of those

vehicles to come forward. Police say their latest figures show the number

of robberies in this area of the city has fallen. But this was a

particularly vicious attack. A collapse of that nature, let alone

the punch, could easily have resulted in this being a murder

investigation. The alarm was eventually raised by a passer-by,

who called the emergency services. The 51-year-old man was seriously

injured and needed stitches to his face and head. He still too shaken

to speak about his ordeal. The time is coming on to a quarter

past one. The top story: The Deputy Prime Minister's authority is

brought into question by Lord Rennard. The Lib Dem peer is set to

rejoin the laws, despite a call for him to apologise first over sexual

harassment claims. Still to come: Getting ready for the Winter

Olympics, Team GB get kitted out for the Russian cold.

Later on BBC London News: Two International medical gains are

called off after an event causes damage to the floor. And across well

could bring an additional 160 million passengers to the West and

every year, according to a new report. At 10:00am this morning, an

alarm clock sounded 500 million miles from earth on a spacecraft

that's been in hibernation for two and a half years. The European Space

Agency is hoping it will have woken up the Rosetta probe ready for the

final stage of its mission. The aim is to put a robotic lander on a

comet later this year, something that has never been attempted

before, to provide more information about how the solar system came into

existence. Our science reporter, Rebecca Morelle, has more details.

The Rosetta spacecraft launched a decade ago, the start of the

journey. And this is its target, Comet 67P hails from the dawn of the

solar system, a mass of ice and rock hurtling through space, but first

Rosetta needs to wake up. The last two years it has been in deep space

hibernation to save energy for the final phase of its mission. Right

now, Rosetta is more than 800 million kilometres away from Earth.

First of all internal alarm clock goes off, triggering heaters so it

can warm up. The craft then stops spinning by firing thrusters. Once

it is stabilised it uses navigational instruments to find

Earth and angles towards it. Only then can it send its message back

home. Absolutely everything rides on this particular stage of the mission

being a success. We have to get control back of the satellite so we

can start it on its journey to rendezvous with the comment. -- the

Comet. Rosetta should catch up with a comet later this year, then starts

the perilous stage, dropping a lander onto the Comet as it travels

at speed. It will have to bolt itself down on the icy surface so it

does not fly. Nothing like this has ever been attempted before. Comments

act as a time travel Capshaw from the start of the solar system --

comets. They contain all of the earliest water and organic material

that was there before the planet was formed. Understanding these comets

could understand -- answer some of the biggest questions in science. If

Rosetta can pull it off it could shed some light on how our planet

came to be and how I'd started here on earth. -- and how life started.

The Labour Party says it will make all people claiming jobseekers'

allowance sit a test to prove they can read, write and do maths within

six weeks of them signing on. The measure was set out by the new

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Rachel Reeves, in her first major

speech since her appointment. The Conservatives claim the opposition

is copying a policy that already exists. Our political correspondent

Ross Hawkins reports. Talking tough on benefits, for the

unskilled, for European immigrants, because they say things must change

because they know it is what many voters want to hear. It is our

responsibility to make sure the training is there, but it is your

responsibility to do the training you need, to get off jobseeker's

allowance and into work. Labour is promising tests for new job-seekers.

Those without basic skills in maths, English and IT will have to take

training will lose benefits. The government says they have already

offered a pilot scheme offering tuition, and they also say this.

Anybody who wants to come there needs to be looking for work, taking

work, and making contributions, not to come because the benefit system

is more generous. New European immigrants will not get housing

benefits if they get jobseeker's allowance. Today we learned those

will be the rules from April, the policy was first announced last

year. But on this, the politicians don't mind repeating themselves. And

you don't need a spin doctor to understand why. Many viewers are

programmes like this one action on benefits bill that amounts to ?170

billion per year. -- want action. When we ask people if they want

cutting, benefits are way ahead of health, transport, defence. People

think a lot of welfare money goes to the wrong people. For many voters

keen on welfare cuts, the argument is simple. Whether you turn up at a

job centre without basic skills or freshly arrived from abroad, you

should be finding work and not making claims. And yet almost half

of the overall benefits bill goes on the state pension, and politicians

are much less enthusiastic about squeezing that. So they have not cut

the cost of welfare today, but they will hope that voters have heard

them worrying about it. A coroner in North Wales has

concluded that a man with heart problems would probably have lived

long enough to receive hospital treatment if an ambulance had

arrived promptly after he collapsed. Fred Pring, who was 74 and from

Flintshire, died more than 40 minutes after his wife first called

999 in March last year. Let's speak to our correspondent Richard Lister.

What more was said, Richard? As you say, Fred Pring suffered from

chronic heart and lung problems, and early in the morning of the 21st of

March last year he had such bad chest pains that his wife Joyce

dialled 999 and was assured help was on the way. What she was not told

was that none of the ambulance crews was available. They were taking

mandatory rest breaks all were delayed outside hospitals where they

were trying to deliver patients. In one case that was almost five hours.

She dialled 9993 more times but it took 48 minutes for an ambulance to

arrive, by which time her husband was dead. The coroner said today

that had an ambulance arrived on the target response time of eight

minutes he probably would have survived long enough to be treated

in hospital. He has written to both the Welsh Ambulance Service and the

health board to review their procedures in the way they allocate

resources and the question of delays in getting patients to hospital.

They both said that improvements are being made and they have offered

their condolences to the family, but Mrs Pring said she was let down was

considering legal action. The coroner said unless her concerns

were acted upon their work real dangers facing other lives.

Violence has continued in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, with

protestors throwing missiles and police firing plastic bullets.

Yesterday, dozens of people were injured during running battles

between police and anti-government demonstrators, who'd gathered to

denounce a new anti-protest law. President Yanukovych has promised

talks with opposition leaders to try to resolve the crisis. Our

correspondent Daniel Sandford sent this report from Kiev.

The stonethrowing and tear gas that began in Kiev yesterday have never

stopped. This morning, police were using plastic bullets as well to

defend their position below Parliament. Although very isolated,

the fighting is the worst of the country has seen in decades and has

to dozens of injuries. The most serious clashes were in the night.

Petrol bombs turned the police front line into an inferno, and protesters

made missiles from cobblestones. Two months ago these started as

demonstrations in favour of joining the European Union, but now they

have boiled over into anger, directed at Ukrainian president,

Viktor Yanukovych, and the Russian president, Latimer Putin. There are

only a few hundred truly violent protesters, but overnight they have

burned a dozen or so police buses and trucks -- Vladimir Putin.

Through the morning the violence has continued. After two months of

protests against the country's drift towards Russia and the rampant

corruption here, it was new laws passed last week that restricted

demonstrations and produced this explosion of anger. It is not a

peaceful demonstration any more. I am upset about the situation, but I

can say that the government is the cause of what is here now. I do not

like that that has happened, but something had to happen. This is a

response to the new law. President Yanukovych has set up a commission

of ministers and opposition leaders to deal with the crisis, but the

violent protesters who seem to be mostly supporters of far right

groups, have lost patience with politicians from the main parties.

Andy Murray is through to the quarter finals of the Australian

Open after a four-set win over France's Stephane Robert, who's

ranked 119th. The British number one will now face Roger Federer.

Katherine Downes reports. This was supposed to be easy for

Andy Murray, a safe bet for his supporters against a man who

describes his style as casino tennis. Andy Murray held all of the

cards in the first set as Stephane Robert, the first lucky loser to

reach last six in the grand slam, it seemed his luck was running out.

Andy Murray laid his aces on the table in the second set. So far, so

good for the Wimbledon champion. The tables turned on the third set.

Robert refusing to give up, and a mistake from Murray handed the

tie-break to the Frenchman. The racket felt his fury. A shirt

change, composure returned, Murray made light work of the fourth set to

win it 6-2. These are tricky guy to play -- he is a tricky guy to play.

He goes for broke, takes it up the line on the forehand. Murray may

have won but it is a day that Stephane Robert will not forget. A

taste of what it is like to play a big name on the big stage. He will

even take Andy Murray's broken racket. Up for him next is Roger

Federer, inform, in the quarterfinals. Team GB are hoping

for their most successful Olympic games ever by winning at least three

Olympic medals. They have been getting kitted out for the Russian

winter as they collected more than 100 items each needed for the games.

Getting dressed for success, or so she hopes. Amanda Lightfoot is one

of the first to be fitted for her official Winter Olympics kit. Over

the next few days, more than 100 athletes from Britain will be suited

and booted here, with Sochi firmly in their sights. It is a reality

now. It got announced a week ago that I was selected, and I was

overwhelmed. Now my dream is coming true. It is one step closer to being

in Sochi. I'm really excited. Each athlete will get more than 100

pieces of kit, everything from jackets, to this hat which they will

wear at the opening ceremony. The big question is, can this help them

to success in Sochi? Optimism has never been higher. Over the last few

days we have seen a slide to a victory in the skeleton, and the

speed skaters retaining their European titles. Britain's medal

target in Sochi is as many as seven, their biggest tally in Winter

Olympic history. We are presenting probably our strongest team ever and

we hope they will be prepared and have everything at their feet to be

able to do the job as best they can on the day, and we will see what

happens. It would be lovely to bring some medals home. What I want is

that everyone to go out there and say they could not have done any

better and gave it their all. Amy Williams, going for gold for Great

Britain. Four years ago Britain returned home from Vancouver with

just one medal, albeit a gold medal, for Amy Williams. In Sochi they will

expect greater success and in some style. Time for a look at the

weather. Here's Stav Danaos. Plenty of sunshine at the start of

the week for the country. Mainly dry, one or two showers in the

forecast and it does start with mist and fog. If you look at the latest

satellite picture you can see the sunshine, little bits of mist and

fog lingering on in southern areas and the cloud a bit thicker across

Scotland and Wales. We might still see one or two showers through the

afternoon. For Northern Ireland and much of England and Wales, a lovely

afternoon. The north-east corner of Scotland doing the best with the dry

weather and sunshine. The high lands -- the Highlands may be seeing one

or two showers, as across north west England and West and Wales. Away

from here, a glorious afternoon, lots of sunshine. We could see a bit

of low cloud or stubborn fog patches, but where it has cleared we

are looking at an average temperature between five Celsius and

eight Celsius. Going overnight, with light winds and clear skies, we see

fog reforming and it will be more extensive and widespread than last

night. Some very dense fog patches in central and fog clearing as the

rain advances. It could be stubborn to clear, but then very slowly we

will see the band of rain pushing in, and snow over the Scottish

mountains. A heavy burst likely, especially across Wales and

south-west England. It will be dry for central and eastern parts of

England until the evening, and the reason for this front moving slowly

is we have an area of high pressure in Scandinavia which is presenting

the fronts moving from west to East. -- preventing the fronts. By

Wednesday the front will be through central and eastern parts of the UK,

pushing out into the North Sea. Producing a fair amount of rain in

places, wintry nets over the hills. Behind the sunshine and showers

could be heavy. The rain clearing away from the East on Thursday with

most laces seeing sunshine. Sunshine more in abundance across Northern

Ireland. By the time we reach the end of the week it starts to turn

wet and windy from the north-west. From mid week onwards, wet and

unsettled. Now a reminder of our top story this

lunchtime: The Deputy Prime Minister's authority is brought into

question by Lord Rennard. The Lib Dem peer is set to rejoin the Lords

despite Nick Clegg's call for him to apologise first over sexual

harassment claims. That's all from us. Now on BBC One, it's time