21/02/2014 BBC News at One

enough to end the crisis? There's anger in the Ukranian Parliament -

chaos descended on the chamber as MPs try to debate the changes. The

stand-off continues - with protesters vowing to stay until

President Yanukovych stands down. This is the live scene in

Independence Square this lunchtime. Until he goes, these demonstrations

look set to go on and the anger and division in this country could

continue to grow. We'll be assessing whether the President's latest offer

goes far enough. Also this lunchtime: At the

phone-hacking trial, Rebekah Brooks appeared close to tears, and asked

for a break in proceedings, as she was questioned about her personal

life. Could all this have been prevented?

Environmental experts tell the Prime Minister to learn lessons from the

flood crisis, to stop it happening again.

?300,000 a week for the next five and a half years - Wayne Rooney's

new deal with Manchester United. Just half an hour to go as Britain

goes for gold in the men's curling at the Winter Olympics. The

excitement is building here in Sochi. Can Team GB win their second

gold medal of these games? Later on BBC London:

Police appeal for witnesses after dramatic CCTV emerges of an armed

raid on a convenience store in East London.

And in Datchet, businesses start to return to assess the damage after

weeks of flooding. Good afternoon and welcome to the

BBC News at One. The President of Ukraine has announced a series of

concessions in a bid to defuse the deepening crisis there. President

Yanukovych has promised early presidential elections, and a

coalition government will be formed to run the country. In parliament,

there were angry scenes as MPs debated the changes, whilst on the

streets, after the violence of the last few days, the 10th stand-off

continues. Our correspondent Duncan Crawford is in Kiev for us.

It has been largely calm today, certainly in comparison to yesterday

when we had a running street battles. The latest death toll is

that at least 77 people have died since the violence began on Tuesday.

Diplomatically, though, we've had intense negotiations over night to

try to bring an end to the violence and we've had this announcement made

today by President Yanukovych - potentially a significant turning

point in this crisis, if the opposition agree and the protest and

accept this deal which he says has been made.

-- the protest is accept. Reinforcements arriving at the

headquarters. Even as President Yanukovych was planning to offer his

biggest concessions yet to the protest was, a display of public

dissent against his rule. The flags and uniforms a reminder of how these

protests began in the first place. TRANSLATION: The situation in

Ukraine is so bad we've come to Kenya to show our support for the

protests. We all made the decision to come ourselves. TRANSLATION: We

will arrive immediately with weapons and give a professional

counterattack with weapons. Believe me, I can fight. I served in

Afghanistan. Dozens of police on the west of the country have defected

and, this morning, arrived in Independence Square to back the

fight against the government. After marathon talks overnight between EU

officials and the government, a possible deal has urged to try to

prevent more bloodshed. The president has promised a change to

the constitution with powers transferred from the presidency to

the Parliament and, perhaps most significant new, early presidential

elections. Protesters are cautious, though, and it's far from certain

whether the men manning the barricades will accept the plan.

These are petrol bombs. The protest as are clearly ready for a fight.

What matters to them is whether President Yanukovych remains in

power. Until he goes, these demonstrations are set to go on and

the anger and division in this country could continue to grow.

Those divisions are just as start in Parliament. The Thalia Klitschko,

the boxer turned opposition leader and presidential hopeful, has been

involved in plenty of fights. -- Vic Talib Klitschko. The government

still blames the protest is for the violence. The country and the world

is focused on events in Independence Square and how the people across the

country react will determine the fate of Ukraine. We're still

awaiting official reaction from the opposition leaders, including Vitali

Klitschko, to this deal put forward by President Yanukovych, which he

thinks is going to come in. We have had a reaction, though, from the

Polish Foreign Minister, who was involved in these talks overnight.

He has tweeted that it's a delicate situation, a delicate moment, and

says, "all must remember you don't get 100% in a compromise". So it

sounds as if the graduation is our continuing behind the scenes to get

all sides on board with this deal. Also, reports this lunchtime but

Ukraine's deputy army chief has resigned from his position because

the army, he says, is being drawn into a civil conflict. We haven't

had confirmation of that but that would be the latest ally of

President Yanukovych to stand down after the mayor of Kiev yesterday

and MPs from the ruling party. Our diplomatic correspondent Bridget

Kendall is here. President Yanukovych hopes this offer is

enough but can deal still done? The very fact he President Yanukovych

has come out in public and said he is prepared to do this means he's

the one that is now feeling on the back foot. He wants a deal, some

people in the opposition say, to save his skin and gain immunity

because he knows he is losing support. The problem for the EU

negotiators and, if they're minded, opposition leaders, would be to say

to opposition supporters, "would you be prepared to compromise with this

man? " . It may now be too difficult to do that after the bloodshed

yesterday and you just sense that the political balance is too big.

The opposition are focused partly on Parliament. They want Parliament to

have more power but they've already passed a motion calling on trips to

go back to barracks. They'll be encouraged by the fact that there

have been these latest resignations, most recently from the

deputy chief of staff, saying he does want the Army used against the

people. With Western Ukraine in open revolt and those bits of the country

which traditionally were thought of as the stronghold of Mr Yanukovych,

they're not rushing to Kiev to support him. It does feel as though

the negotiations are bit unbalanced. What really matters is what the

opposition are prepared to accept. And you can follow all the

developments on the BBC News Channel across the afternoon.

The former chief executive of News International Rebekah Brooks has

appeared close to tears, and asked for a break in proceedings, as she

was questioned about her personal life at the hacking trial. Ms Brooks

has also told the Old Bailey she was not made aware of a ?92,000 annual

contract the News of the World had with phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire,

during her editorship of the paper. Our home affairs correspondent Tom

Symonds is at the Old Bailey for us. Yes, Simon, Rebekah Brooks was asked

questions on two very different subjects today. Firstly, the cold,

hard facts of the way the News of the World run its accounts. And

secondly, the intimate details of her personal relationships. Both,

the court has been told, are important to this case.

An actor, EastEnders star Ross Kemp. An editor, Andy Coulson. And a

racehorse owner, Charlie Brooks. Today, Rebekah Brooks was forced to

talk about her relationships with each of these men. The prosecution

made it a part of this case by introducing the suggestion earlier

in the trial that her closeness to Andy Coulson suggested she must have

known what he knew, must have known about phone hacking and illegal

payments for storing is. In the witness box, Rebekah Brooks seemed

close to tears as the questioning focused on her personal life. She

asked for a break but then described how she became close to Andy Coulson

in 1998 and had a relationship which involved periods of intimacy. In

February 2004, she wrote a letter in which she told Andy Coulson, "I tell

you everything, confide in you, seek your advice". She was asked about

this in court and said: But she never sent the e-mail. She

told the court: She denied their affair lasted six

years, as the prosecution has claimed. She has since married

Charlie Brooks, who is charged with helping her conceal evidence from

the police, and she described how, after years of fertility treatment,

a cousin agreed to be the surrogates for her baby daughter. She was asked

if she had known that phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire was being paid

?92,000 by the News of the World when she was editor. It was an

arrangement made by a senior journalist, the court heard, but she

said it was not brought to her attention. She denies four charges

against her. Rebekah Brooks is clearly a central

figure in this case and the jury has been given a very full picture of

her personal and professional life. She is expected to be in the witness

box the days to come. -- for days to come.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust will find out today how much

it will be fined for failing to care for a woman who died in hospital in

2007. The trust pleaded guilty in October to failing to ensure the

safety of diabetic patient Gillian Astbury. She was one of hundreds of

patients to endure what a public inquiry called terrible and

unnecessary suffering at Mid Staffs. Here's our health correspondent

Dominic Hughes. It has been nearly seven years since

her death but friends and relatives of Gillian Astbury may finally feel

justice is being done. In April 2007, staff at Stafford Hospital

failed to spot that the 66-year-old was diabetic so they didn't add

minister vital insulin injections. Gillian fell into a coma and died.

Last year at a court hearing, the trust pleaded guilty to breaches of

health and so deep legislation. Ron Street was Julian Bousquet grow long

time carer. He told the BBC last year that he would like to see

individual managers held to account. -- was Gillian's long-term carer. I

do think there is a case for accountability of the people

responsible who are no longer with the trust. The Mid Staffordshire

trust is losing about ?13 million a year and is on the verge of being

dissolved, having been declared no longer viable either clinically or

financially. That has raised questions about the wisdom of

defining an institution already on its knees. This is the slightly daft

situation where we've got one public body filing and public body and the

money is being recycled for no public benefit and, indeed, to the

detriment of the local trust. Campaigners who fought long and hard

to expose the terrible failings at Stafford Hospital have been

following today's court hearing with interest. It is likely the public

will be fined an awful lot of money and it will impact on patient care

once again. The trust has admitted care for Gillian Astbury fell a long

way short of the expected standards. Now it is waiting to see what kind

of penalty it will face. There was some unexpected weakness

in the public finances this month, with a lower surplus than predicted.

January is usually a good month for the treasury coffers, as corporation

tax and self-assessed income tax are largely paid this month. But the

surplus was less than forecast and less than the previous year. Our

chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym is here.

As you say, the tax revenue normally comes flooding in in January, so

government finances are usually in the black and they were at this

time. The actual surplus, if you look at that detail, was ?4.7

billion in January. That sounds good but it was less than last January

when the surplus was ?6 billion. In other words, the public finances are

not as good as they were. But if you look at the year-to-date - ten

months of the financial year so far - you see that the government has

borrowed ?90.7 billion, which sounds a lot, but is heading for the

target, the forecast for the full year, which is ?111 billion. It

looks as though it will come in just under that. Is this good or bad news

for the Chancellor? He could have done without it ahead

of the budget but the government are saying that these tax revenues are

fairly volatile and people may miss the January target for

self-assessment and pay in the debris.

We need to look at the debris figures as well and it looks as if

the deficit will come in below the forecast. -- February figures. But

he is still borrowing more than he said he would couple of years ago

and the public finances still remain a major challenge.

This is the BBC News At One. Our top story: In the last few minutes,

protesters in Kiev have accepted a draft agreement to end the crisis,

according to EU negotiators. Still to come: Can Team GB's men clinch

top spot in the curling at Sochi? On BBC London: A suspected crystal

meth factory is found in a quiet suburban street in Ealing. And

bringing back a shine to the silver screen - one of London's oldest

cinemas is to be restored. The They're images that have become

depressingly familiar over recent weeks - and according to the UK's

leading environment and planning experts - some of this flooding

misery could have been prevented. Members of the Landscape Institute

say better use of water management schemes could have helped reduce the

impact in parts of Southern England. The Government says they'll look at

any lessons to be learned. Duncan Kennedy is in Maidenhead. 17 experts

have written an open letter to David Cameron. They are apologists,

engineers, landscape gardeners, you name it. They say, we are the

experts, we know what we are doing, and if you listened more closely,

you may have avoided some of the flooding we have seen over the past

winter. The records show that there has never been a wetter winter or a

more controversial one, at least when it comes to the reasons why so

many people were flooded. Now a group of experts has written to the

Prime Minister, saying that some of this could have been avoided if

different techniques were used. They called for better flood alleviation

schemes, urban drainage, and only resilient houses on flood plains

should be built. We would like to see a long-term commitment through

this government to actually deal with this comprehensively. There is

no quick fix. The Jubilee River in Maidenhead is a good example of what

can go right and wrong with flood management. It diverts water from

the Thames around the town stop before this river, my house used to

flood every time, and it does not any more. I think it is a good use

of money and the river is a nice attraction for locals to walk down

and use. It is a benefit. Ten miles downstream, they hate the river.

When you pose the question... If somebody mention the Jubilee River

to you, what is your reaction? Horror and concern. The floods have

shown that there are winners and losers. Today's message to the Prime

Minister is that it could lead more of the former and fewer of the

latter. The government tell us this morning that they are spending 2.5

year and pounds on flood management schemes and it has not been a knee

jerk reaction to the floods. The experts are saying that this is a

complex problem with many solutions and it is going to take a long time

to fix. -- 2.5 million pounds. Thank you. Well, many of you have faced

delayed or cancelled train journeys because of the flooding - but did

you know that you're often entitled to compensation? No? Well, you're

not alone. The Office of Rail Regulation says most people are

unaware of their rights or how to make a claim. Train companies are

now being told to do more to publicise the refunds available to

passengers as Simon Gompertz reports. Serious delays, as there

have been during the bad weather, and passengers can claim

compensation. Who knows their rights? Not a clue. As long as they

are getting money, they do not care. Sometimes you can get the

whole price of a ticket back. That is quite clever! I did not know

that. They do not tell you. Typically, you can get a 50% refund

for a 30 minute delay and 100% for more than an hour. 75% of passengers

do not know, and 74% complained about the lack of information.

Online, it is easy to find the information online. Announcements on

trains, information on the back of tickets, there is a lot that can be

done. Only one in ten who could claim comes to do it. ?10 million a

year is paid out which means that many millions each year are going

begging. A common complaint is that the refunds are made in vouchers

which have to be redeemed at a ticket office. More rail companies

are offering cash and working harder to publicise the compensation. We

are rolling out electronic tickets which tell people how to claim. We

have apps which allow people to claim in real-time, and we will roll

those out further. Exceptional weather can be an excuse four

companies to avoid paying. Passengers who suffer delays are

missing out on significant refunds. The private company which helps

decide whether sick and disabled people are eligible for benefits is

seeking an early exit from their Government contract, in part due to

death threats and abuse received by staff. ATOS claims that each month

it records approximately 163 incidents of abuse or assault on

staff carrying out work capability assessments. Our Political

Correspondent Iain Watson is in Westminster. What is the government

reaction? You have talked about the abuse that ATOS staff have suffered.

There is another scrap going on behind the scenes because the

government are furious with ATOS for leaking information. They say that

this information should be commercially confidential. If ATOS

want to pull out early then other companies may pay less for taking

the work on. There were 144 separate demonstrations at the offices of

ATOS this week. There was the case of a 50-year-old man who was

asthmatic but was assessed as fit for labouring jobs. Four out of ten

cases that go to appeal are being upheld so ATOS are saying that these

tests are outdated and blame the nature of the test themselves. The

government is calling into question the performance of ATOS. There are

also personal independence payments which may not be called into

question at all. British holiday-makers are being advised by

the Foreign Office to avoid the Egyptian region of South Sinai after

an attack on a tourist bus. Four people died in the incident, which

happened last weekend. The warning however doesn't include the Red Sea

holiday resort of Sharm el-Sheik - from there, our Middle East

correspondent Quentin Sommerville reports. Claire winter and Mike

Rogers were on holiday with when a tour group was attacked by militants

further north. The extra security Sharm el-Sheik has made them less

than worried. We have good security in our hotel. The checkpoints, on

the other hand, have a lot to answer for. There is a high presence but we

were not checked, our passports or anything. We have not seen any

vehicles stopped. Three tourists and their driver were killed in a recent

bombing. Terror attacks are on the rise in Egypt's Sinai. The beaches

would have been a lot busier here before the political turmoil.

Another terror attack would not just be a disaster, it could also deal a

critical blow to Egypt's struggling economy. It is still safe to visit

Sharm el-Sheik, say the Foreign Office, but with terror attacks on

the rise, all tourists to Egypt's need to be more cautious these days.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is expected to sign a new

contract at Manchester United as early as today. It's believed he's

reached an agreement with the club for a new five and a half year deal

which will see him earn around ?300,000 a week. Our sports editor

David Bond is with me now. There are some startling figures around this

new contract. The first is the five-year deal. That is significant.

He is 28 years old and it means he will spend the rest of his career at

Old Trafford and with Manchester United. The other figure that we are

talking about is the wage. ?300,000 a week. That will make him the

highest paid player in premiership history and the highest paid player

in Britain. Wayne Rooney's contract was running out, he was within the

last 18 months of it. There was interest from a big rival in

Chelsea. Jose Mourinho did not hide his feelings for the big player.

Manchester United stood firm and that is the reason why they needed

to pay this big money to keep him at Old Trafford. He will be talking at

a press conference in the next few minutes. It has been a difficult

season for Manchester United and this has been a significant

investment for them on and they will be hoping that Wayne Rooney is worth

every penny. Now, in just a few minutes' time, Team GB will be going

head to head with Canada - for gold in the final of the men's curling in

Sochi. Britain are guaranteed at least a silver medal but skip David

Murdoch says his side are going to "fight to the absolute last". In a

moment we'll be speaking to our Scotland Correspondent Lorna Gordon,

who's in David Murdoch's home town of Lockerbie. But first, our sports

correspondent Andy Swiss is in Sochi. Yes, we have already had the

bagpipes playing outside the curling venue. The last few fans are

arriving. It has been an extraordinary journey by the men's

curling team. They have struggled in the early stages but they have come

good when it matters, particularly their captain, David Murdoch, who

has been in stunning form in the last two matches where it came down

to the last stone. David Murdoch kept his cool to get Britain through

to the final. It is going to be a tough match. They are up against the

reigning Olympic champions, Canada. Canada reads Britain earlier in the

tournament. It is going to be tough for team GB. -- Canada beat Britain.

It could get better for Team GB later on as there are more chances

in the speed skating. Britain are going for gold in the 1000 metres.

Over the next three hours or so, all eyes will be here on the curling

centre as Britain goes for gold. My colleague is in Lockerbie. That

match gets underway in a few minutes and the people of Lockerbie are

very, very excited. Three of the Olympians hail from this town. The

people turned out in force yesterday, and today they have come

out in a great number again. I think there are 200 people here, a good

number from the local secondary school. There was a huge cheer

yesterday when the women won their medal and they will be watching

today's match where do David Murdoch is. He started curling here on this

very ring when he was ten years old. He was coached by his mother,

Marian. They are confident here that the men will bring home goals, but

they will be incredibly proud of him what ever they achieved. -- bold.

This town, of course, is synonymous with tragedy when a plane crashed

many years ago, but now it is about the sport and they will be cheering

on the men's team. What does the weather have in store? He -- here is

John Hammond. Four or five metres of the white stuff, but when the sun

shines, it looks stunning. Rain on lower levels in Scotland. Gales will

batter the western coast but in the east there will be some sunshine.

Some sharp showers over England's, but as you can see, a lot of dry

weather. It feels pretty pleasant but there will be only two that

breeze. Temperatures around eight or nine degrees. There will be some

sharp showers, hail and fund a mixed in as well. Across Wales there will

be some dry spells mixed in. Hail and thunder in Northern Ireland, and

very windy here. Through the evening and overnight, the strongest of the

winds will be over the north of Scotland. At the other end of the

UK, rain in the English Channel. In between, there is a lot of clear

weather and it will be cold with a touch of frost in rural areas. A

chilly start to the weekend, and this is the bigger picture. This

frontal system will play a major part of our weather over the

weekend. It will be dry and write for many, or some sunshine, a bit of

a breeze, but most of us will see some brightness, particularly across

eastern areas. Rain will head into Northern Ireland. Some dampness will

turn up across north west England and North West Wales. Further south

and east will hold onto brightness, and temperatures will recover quite

nicely. That rain will be of some concern and will become lodged into

Scotland, and we could see two inches of more across Scotland and

Wales. A rapid thaw of that snow across the Highlands, and the winds

will pick up to 60 or 70 mph. Further south and east, it stays

dry. Technically, a mild day on Sunday at 12 or 13 degrees. A bright

start for many, the winds, though, will increase through the weekend

and will turn wet across many western part. Much more detail can

be found online. John, thank you. A reminder of our top story this

lunchtime... Protesters in Ukraine agreed to the President's

concessions to end the