24/01/2014 BBC News at One

A political war of words as Labour accuses the government of misleading

people over the economy. The government insists most workers have

seen an increase in real take-home pay. Labour says its figures are

selective. We will be assessing those claims and looking at people

suffering a cost of living crisis. After three years of conflict Siri

APPLAUSE First formal peace talks are on

APPLAUSE verge of collapse before they have

even begun. Lawyers call for full disclosure of

a report into allegations of sexual assault by the MP Mike Hancock. Five

dead and 31 unaccounted for after a fire destroyed a care home in

Canada. Extreme temperatures hampered recovery. And how does a

first-time astronaut prepare for his first foray into space? Later on BBC

London: After allegations of fraud, Tower Hamlets Council issues the

first toughest election regime. Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC

News at one. Labour is accusing the government of misleading people

after publishing figures saying most workers have seen their take-home

pay rise in real terms. Ministers say it all but the richest 10% of

earners saw a rise of 2.5%. The opposition says the figures are

highly selective and accused the Prime Minister of being out of touch

with reality. Our business correspondent has more. It is a

battle over the state of British household finances, whether spending

power is recovering and when families will have to content with

higher interest rates. Rising prices have heard budgets most, but the

government surprised many by asserting pay after tax has started

to rise faster than the cost of living. We can just start to see

with a record rise of the number of people in jobs and the fact the

deficit is falling and now the fact take-home pay is going up a little

bit more than inflation, we can take-home pay is going up a little

start to see that things are starting to improve. Figures issued

by the Treasury showed that while the consumer prices index rose by

2.4%, the take-home pay of all but the wealthiest income groups went up

by more than that, from 2.5% up to 4.8%. Labour responded that the

buying power of 4.8%. Labour responded that the

current government came in has 4.8%. Labour responded that the

fallen by ?1600 a year. They do not include in their figures the impact

on the in work benefit changes they have made. They do not include the

huge tax cut they had given to people earning millions of pounds, .

So do people feel they have more in their pockets? Maybe David Cameron

has, but certainly not me. Benefits get cut and people are losing child

benefits. We are spending more on energy. It is a key question with an

election looming next year. Household may be a little bit better

off than they are now, but Household may be a little bit better

be worse off than average than they were before the recession. The other

big factor affecting whether people feel they have money to spend at all

is the cost of mortgages and the crucial thing is when the bank of

England decide it is time to raise interest rates to choke

England decide it is time to raise threat of a house price bubble and a

new boom and bust. Last night, threat of a house price bubble and a

bank of England governor said he did not see an immediate need

bank of England governor said he did rates and future increases would

come in small steps. We would expect any adjustment to be very gradual

because the important thing is to set monetary policy in a fashion

that is going to so that the economy is sustainably better. The bank of

England denied speculation it wanted to restrict the government was back

house to buy scheme. Another example of how the cost of living and the

cost of houses in has become very sensitive. Ian Watson is in

Westminster and we are going to hear more claims like this over the

economy. We certainly are. Today we are seeing a battle for political

territory ahead of the general election. For a while Labour has

been going on about a cost of living crisis saying average wages have

fallen by ?1600 a year. For a while the government did not have a dog in

its bite. But today they have come back and they are saying wages rose

faster than prices at least for one year of their government. They are

faster than prices at least for one trying to say they are going to get

involved in hand to hand combat with Labour in their territory, making

sure that every single claim Ed Miliband makes from now on is going

to be challenged. Labour are not ceding this territory very easily.

They are going to be saying, never mind the statistics, do you feel

better off? If people do not feel better off, they will claim David

Cameron is out of touch. Former peace talks on Syria are underway in

Geneva but with both sides refusing to sit in the same room. The

opposition says the government has to make a written undertaking on the

transfer of power. They accuse the opposition of making an inflammatory

speech yesterday and have threatened to quit the talks. Paul Wood reports

from Geneva. Things are not exactly going according to plan at the Syria

peace talks. So far there have been no talks. The regime and the

opposition were supposed to have met face to face by now. Neither side

can stomach being in the same room. A speech last night by the

opposition leader was too much for the government. TRANSLATION: You all

saw a direct confrontation between us and the criminals in Syria. He is

talking about the opening session of the conference. The UN's mediator

with the regime 's side. The opposition will not meet them until

they accept there will be a transfer of power, Geneva one as it is known.

The Syrian Foreign Minister is threatening to go home if there is

no meeting. The fact we are here means we accepted some of Geneva one

because this is not a Bible. We came here with Syria and the Syrian

people on our mind only. They came here with position and posts on

their minds and satisfying the interests of some parties who have

nothing to do with Syria. One very senior Western diplomat told me the

object of today was simply to stop both sides from walking out. It is a

very ambitious measure of success and shows how intractable the issues

are, an agreement which would alleviate the suffering in Syria

seems further away than ever. So far the talks seem irrelevant to events

on the ground. This is Aleppo. The regime has made gains as the rebels

turn on each other. It was hoped Geneva would bring a cease-fire

here, but the competence is pursuing their names on the battlefield, not

at the negotiating table. Paul joins us from Geneva. What hope for the

talks to be salvaged? Given the bile on display at the opening conference

on Wednesday nobody expected things to go easy here, but they did not go

according to plan. The plan was for a face-to-face meeting. We are

getting soothing noises by British and American officials in briefings

saying it was always going to be difficult and these things take

time. But to give you one example, there was a fist fight on the lawn

behind me between members of the Syrian state television party and

members of a television company that they accused of supporting the

opposition. Although it is not relevant to the talks, it shows the

kind of atmosphere in which they are taking place. There are frantic

efforts by the UN to stick things back together. The Syrian Foreign

Minister is prepared to take the whole delegation back to Damascus

tomorrow if there are not any substantive meetings. As things

stand these talks are absolutely on the knife edge. . The Liberal

Democrat leader Nick Clegg has defended his handling of allegations

of sexual assault by a former Lib Dem MP. Mike Hancock was suspended

on Wednesday after a report of allegations of sexual impropriety

were credible. Mr Hancock has always denied the claims.

After four decades serving as a local councillor, Mike Hancock is no

longer a member of the Liberal Democrats on Portsmouth Council. He

has also been an MP 4/19 years, but voluntarily resigned his party whip

at Westminster last year to conduct allegations of sexual impropriety.

But on Wednesday he was suspended following the leak of a report into

the allegations of a female constituent. She initially

approached the MP but then said she was overwhelmed by his visits to her

house and text messages. She described a feeling of helplessness.

The things he had asked me to do and because he is in a position of

trust, he has overstepped the mark and I just feel like no one has

listened to me for three years. His alleged victim will be at the High

Court later demanding to see a copy of the report carried out by an

eminent QC. The counsellor argues it is not necessary or appropriate to

release the findings, but this is increasing pressure on the Liberal

Democrat leader, Nick Clegg. Critics say he should have acted much more

quickly. My first reaction is to be appalled by the seriousness of these

allegations and my instinct was to react immediately, which is why it

was looked into and which is why Mike Hancock ceased to be a Liberal

Democrat MP and has now been suspended altogether. A police

investigation into the claims found that no further action should be

taken. This comes after a difficult week for Nick Clegg. He has faced a

split in his party over allegations over the format Chief Whip Chris

Rennard. It is thought the party must introduce a new culture when it

comes into the treatment of women. Four people have died in a car

bombing near police headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo. More

than 70 people were injured. The attacks come on the eve of the third

University of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

This attack this morning was directed at the heart of the

security establishment, the police headquarters which was hit by that

car bomb. It should have been one of the most secure locations in the

city. Instead when we arrived we could see the damage for ourselves.

Parts of the front of the building had been peeled away and the Islamic

Museum opposite had also suffered damage. There were angry crowds at

the scene and they were chanting their support for the Army, but also

the opposition to the Islamist 's of the Muslim Brotherhood. Many are

putting the blame on the Muslim Brotherhood, although there has been

a claim of responsibility from an Al-Qaeda inspired group. Large

numbers of Muslim Brotherhood supporters have taken to the streets

and are clashing with police and local residents.

31 elderly people are still unaccounted for in Canada after a

fire destroyed their residential home in Quebec province. At least

five people are known to have died and the Prime Minister Stephen

five people are known to have died Harper says the loss of life is

expected to be considerable. Most of the residents were over 75 years old

expected to be considerable. Most of and rescue attempts have been town

hampered by temperatures of -22 degrees.

A night from hell says the local fire chief. Fires, high winds and

deepfreeze temperatures are a cruel combination. Flames tore through

this old peoples home where most depended on wheelchairs or walking

frames. About 20 people got out, but more are missing. This is what

remains. -20 Celsius freezes water in seconds. It is hard to anyone

trapped inside surviving. One man tried to save his mother and climbed

trapped inside surviving. One man a ladder, but he realised he could

not get close. TRANSLATION: I feel I would have liked to save her, I

could not. I wasn't able to. Canada's emergency services say they

could hope that some of those were awake visiting their family. A lot

of water was used to put out the flames and the water was frozen. A

3-storey building collapsed and for us it is very important to go over

it very delicately because we want to preserve any potential victims

inside the blaze. Questions are being asked about fire protection in

the largely wooden building amid suggestions only part of the home

had a sprinkler system. One minister says the government will now

consider making sprinkler is compulsory in the aftermath of this

tragedy in the depths of winter. Our top story: The Government

insists most workers have seen an increase in their real take-home

pay. They The Says its figures are selective. Still to come: I am here

on the Jurassic Coast, where the recent storms have revealed hundreds

of new fossils. Experts say the wave of amateurs

that have come here to find them may be damaging these ancient specimens.

On BBC London, we speak to the stars of the musical Dirty Rotten

Scoundrels. And we preview the FA Cup fourth round, with five London

teams in action. In 2009 a former army officer and

helicopter pilot, Major Tim Peake, became Britain's first official

astronaut. Since then he has been in training, taking him two and a half

years to prepare for a six month mission to the International Space

Station. But how on earth do you prepare for an adventure in space?

Station. But how on earth do you Pallab Ghosh has been finding

The International Space Station. Next year, it will be home to

Britain's first official astronaut, Tim Peake. But how was he preparing

for his six-month mission? I'm at the European Astronaut Centre in

Cologne. As you can see, there are the European Astronaut Centre in

life-size replicas of parts of the International Space Station. It's

here that Tim Peake is going to learn how to live and work in space.

Tim, nice to see you. Tim told me he wants all of us to be part of his

ground control team. We will get people even designing the name of

the mission and the patch for the mission. But also things like design

a meal for an astronaut for a day. That is something you will eat?

Absolutely. Something that will actually get cooked and actually get

sent to the space station, and I'll eat it on board. He has

sent to the space station, and I'll zero gravity in an aeroplane, but

sent to the space station, and I'll only for a few seconds at a time, as

the plane plummets. To learn how to work in space, he needs to train

underwater. Hi, Tim. So, you're obviously training for zero-G. How

similar is it, as far as you know, to the real thing?

Come and have a look where he will be sleeping. This is Tim Peake's

bedroom. You can see clean socks, headphones and a sleeping bag, but

no bed. And that's because Tim will be asleep floating in space. One of

no bed. And that's because Tim will the best things about

no bed. And that's because Tim will International Space Station is the

view. Take a look through this window. There is Planet Earth,

directly below us. The first step is to unlock the latches and remove the

casing. Now for the science training. At

casing. Now for the science learning how to basically put one of

the scientific modules into a cartridge. Of course, that all has

to be done in this glove box, which makes it harder to deal with. When

the Apollo astronauts set off to the makes it harder to deal with. When

moon, people thought that we'd soon live and work on other planets. The

ultimate aim is future exploration live and work on other planets. The

of the solar system and to get to Mars on a manned mission, so

of the solar system and to get to we have a

of the solar system and to get to want to aim for eventually. Once in

of the solar system and to get to space, Tim Peake will be a national

of the solar system and to get to hero and a role model for children.

He knows full well the potential for hero and a role model for children.

his mission to inspire the nation. Opposition leaders in Ukraine have

called on anti-government protesters to stop the violence, while

negotiations continue with President Yanukovych to try to resolve the

political crisis. Until now the protests had been focused solely on

Kiev, but protesters have now stormed government buildings in at

least five other cities, as Daniel Sandford reports from Kiev.

Last night, the clashes in Ukraine spread to regions far beyond the

capital, Kiev. This was Cherkasy, to the south-east, where protesters

stormed government offices. This, Lviv, to the west, where they also

occupied the buildings of the regional administration. The front

line in Kiev itself was quiet. Moderate opposition leaders have

asked the violent protesters to hold fire while talks continue with

President Viktor Yanukovych. It's a fire while talks continue with

time of fire while talks continue with

preparations for the next stage of the battle.

preparations for the next stage of cobblestones, ready to be hurled

across the lines at the police defending the national parliament.

By the front line I found Dahlia. She's 51 and helping the more

violent protesters to keep their barricades in order. She supports

the use of force because she thinks it's the only way to remove

President Yanukovych from power. I want my children to have a better

life. It's become impossible here. I have three children who all have

university degrees. We have two have jobs. There's future here. Living

100 metres from where the worst battles where this week, I found

this woman in her apartment block. Everyone has fled apart from her and

an elderly neighbour. She was in her flat on the morning two protesters

died in clashes with police. TRANSLATION: The house was shaking

from the explosions. I saw everything out of the window. People

were running into the yard. This morning, protesters added the

agriculture ministry to their portfolio of seized property in the

capital and said they needed it for people to sleep. In the freezing

temperatures. The Jurassic coast in Dorset has long been a favourite

haunt of fossil hunters, and the recent storms have eroded large

parts of the coastline revealing previously hidden dinosaur relics.

But tensions are mounting between amateur fossil hunters and

researchers, with claims that day-trippers are interfering with

delicate and rare finds. day-trippers are interfering with

Kennedy is in Charmouth in Dorset. Even in the middle of this winter

storm, this place has a bleak beauty to it. As you said, all these storms

are creating Cliff falls producing dozens of fossils, and hundreds of

fossil finders. The experts are saying that's absolutely fine, but

some of them are causing more damage than good. Some are calling it

fossil frenzy. With numbers looking to pick up a number of prehistory,

double the normal January levels. But others are taking it to extreme

lengths. This man is scaling fresh mudslides beneath a fragile Cliff to

find the fossils. It feels soft. Do you think you could get stuck in it?

I don't think so. You could lose your shoes. Professional fossil

hunters save the storms have brought a wave of our tours that could

damage the ancient deposits. We were with him when he confronted this

man. Who has been digging the stones out? I don't know. It turns out he's

local and was concerned about the number is now turning up. It's very

hard because there's so many people in this part of the country looking.

Academics are now worried that the well-intentioned fossil seekers are

damaging the newly revealed treasures.

People have come up with piles rocks in the hands which is very

important, but they have smashed it to pieces. This fossil was found on

Boxing Day, one more reason they have increased here, despite the

dangers. A small number of people climb onto the cliffs and there are

two hazards. One is falling rock. There is also mudslides and

quicksand. We do end of rescuing quite a few people. There maybe

goodies amid the gloop. But dangers as well. It is awash with history,

but getting at and safeguarding it requires skill and respect. We have

found ourselves a fossil in the time we have been here. The experts are

saying, please look after these. we have been here. The experts are

Above all, look after yourself. Vincent Van Gogh's sunflower

paintings are some of his most recognisable and best loved works.

Now, two of the original masterpieces will be shown together

in London for the first time in more than 60 years. The paintings, worth

an estimated ?100 billion each, are expected to attract huge crowds as

visitors to the National Gallery get a rare chance to compare and

contrast the men side-by-side. A reunion of masterpieces. Van

Gogh's Sunflowers were painted a frenzy of work in 1888. Today, five

in the series survive. Now the National Gallery one has been joined

by one on loan from Amsterdam, allowing visitors to play spot the

difference. The positioning of the flowers is very similar. But the

stylisation of forms, particularly in the stems, is carried further.

The vase, which is a rounded form in the London picture, becomes a flat

pattern in the Amsterdam picture. It is under x-ray that very subtle

differences start to show. When looking at the flowers hanging down

from the edge of the vase. In London, they are light on the x-ray.

In Amsterdam, they are dark. What that tells us is that Vincent

painted these flowers as an afterthought. He painted them over

the background. Hence the paint is more thicker and it appears white.

It means that the Amsterdam picture follows the design of the London

picture. They may have been painted only five months apart, but over

that time the artist's mood had shifted dramatically. The National

Gallery painting was painted to welcome his friend to his studio in

the South of France. The welcome his friend to his studio in

one was created after he had cut off his ear and his friend had left in a

huff. Side-by-side for the first time in six decades, visitors to the

National Gallery can take a new look that one of Van Gogh's most

celebrated creations. After nine consecutive defeats, and

a tour of Australia which has been described as the worst ever,

England's cricketers have finally described as the worst ever,

won a match. They'd already lost the described as the worst ever,

series but in Perth they beat Australia by 57 runs in the fourth

One Day International. down under since October, England

finally beat Australia just before February. After Alistair Cook

insisted he is desperate to remain captain, three England players got

past 50. Josh Butler's 71 came off just 43 balls and the total of 316

was England's second highest ever in Australia in this form of cricket.

They couldn't lose - could they? Australia had rested several stars

for this match ut Aaron Finch built a century quickly. England had to

get rid of him, and they did. 189-5, when Broad clung onto the catch. And

James Faulkner can hit boundaries at will - out for just two. Australia,

230-7. Surely? Ben will - out for just two. Australia,

wickets and no last-minute stumble from England this time. Australia,

259 all out. Like a drop of rain in a desert, catch it and enjoy it

because it had seemed like it would never come again.

Let's take you to the weather now. A change of weather over the next few

days, I'm afraid, and that means spells of rain. The satellite

picture shows a lot of cloud piling from the Atlantic. It is rain

bearing cloud, but most of it has been up towards the west. I think

bearing cloud, but most of it has all of us will see a fair bit of

cloud through the afternoon. There will be a spell of unwelcome rain

again in the far south-west. As you can see, while there is

again in the far south-west. As you rain across western areas, a little

bit of snow over rain across western areas, a little

In the south-west, Somerset Levels in particular, even modest amounts

of rainfall can only worsen the ongoing flood situation. It's

actually quite mild and great with that rain in the south-west. 11

degrees in Plymouth, with four or so that rain in the south-west. 11

in Norwich. A bit of a breeze, cloud rolling in. A grey day across

England. Further north and west, we have the rain to contend with. Not a

doesn't afternoon in Northern Ireland. Quite windy and there is a

little bit of snow to be found in the Grampians. That rain continues

its journey ever eastwards through this evening. Eventually it will get

into northern England and through the latter part of the night it will

into northern England and through be into East Anglia and the far

south-east. Most of it is dawn. There are still dribs and

drabs. By this stage, showers going dawn. There are still dribs and

into northern Scotland. A lot of dawn. There are still dribs and

cloud around to start the day, but that should help to

cloud around to start the day, but temperature is a

cloud around to start the day, but freezing. Orlando, a day of sunny

spells and blustery showers. Sunday, it goes downhill with wind

and rain. Saturday, a great start for England and Wales, a lot of low

cloud. The southern half of for England and Wales, a lot of low

a reasonable sort of day. Further north, a lot of showers around in

Scotland and northern Ireland. Single digit temperatures in the

north, but we should get into double figures in the south. Eventually,

the showers will slip south across England and Wales on Saturday

evening. Then it turns cold and dry. Sunday is all about this area of low

pressure. Loads of isobars on the chart. Severe gales across the hills

in the West. Some pretty wet weather chart. Severe gales across the hills

as well. Not just rain to contend with, further snow across Scottish

hills. On the subject of cold weather, it could turn colder next

week. Before we leave you, a reminder of

our main story. The Government insist that most workers have seen

an increase in their real take-home