05/03/2014 BBC News at One

with his Russian counterpart as the international community urges Russia

to negotiate with Ukraine. It's also very welcome that there is such a

clear and unified voice going out from this house to say to the

Russian government, what you have done is wrong, it should not be

allowed to stand. But in Ukraine, the standoff in Crimea continues as

Russia says it can't order what it calls self-defence forces back to

their bases. We'll have the latest from Paris and Crimea.

Also this lunchtime: A boxer tells the Oscar Pistorius murder trial the

athlete fired a gun in a restaurant under the table - then asked someone

else to take the blame. The government has denied

suppressing a report that overstates the impact of immigration on British

workers. Cross-examined in court - former

News International boss Rebekah Brooks denies she covered up

phone-hacking. Three months after the first floods

of this winter - a special report on the lasting impact of Britain's

devastating storms. Later, train companies accused of prehistoric

practices as toilet waste is dumped on tracks at busy stations. And free

schools are offered this industrial site.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One. Diplomatic efforts

to ease tensions in Ukraine are intensifying as US Secretary of

State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov prepare to

hold crucial talks in Paris. The US wants independent observers in the

flash point region of Crimea and direct talks between Kiev and

Moscow. But Russia insists that it's 'self-defence forces', not Russian

troops that are in control of Crimea and so it can't call them back to

their bases. There is some flash photography in this report from our

world affairs correspondent Nick Childs.

Diplomatic big guns have been gathering in Paris. This was planned

as a meeting on the middle Middle East. The resulting new deep in

East-West relations. Initial Western efforts to get the Russians to sit

down at the same table as the new Ukrainian representatives for talks

failed. Those efforts continue, but what prospect of success remains

unclear. And what then? The Prime Minister and President Obama has

made clear that there must be significant costs to Russia of

violating its international obligations in this way. Of course

we would refer to make diplomatic progress, but in the absence of that

progress, there will be costs to Russia. In Spain, and is way to

Paris, the Russian Foreign Minister again underlined the diplomatic

challenge and the Dolphin perceptions between the West and

Moscow over the stand-off and the Russian presence in Crimea.

TRANSLATION: I would like to understand what you understand by

pro-Russian forces. These are policies of self defence, created by

residents of Crimea, they did not get any orders from us. If there is

no meeting of debris democratic minds, options were limited. The

could include travel bans on Russian officials, a squeeze on trade and

other economic links and moves to isolate Moscow, excluding Russia

from the G7. There are differences across the Atlantic and in Europe on

what to do. The Americans have talked toughest on targeted

sanctions but France has important military contracts with Russia.

Germany is nervous about its gas imports and Britain and others are

worried about Russian investments. In Crimea, the signs are of Russian

and pro-Russian forces consolidating their grip. Even if they diplomatic

dialogue takes hold, will it simply be to prevent a further escalation

of events or CDs Russian forces withdraw?

As diplomatic efforts intensify - the situation on the ground remains

tense. Ben Brown is in Sevastopol in Ukraine's Crimea.

We have come to the Ukrainian naval headquarters here, where there are

volunteers from the self-styled Russian defence Force, effectively

besieging this base, along with unidentified Russian soldiers as

well. They won't even let us go from here, the few yards to those gates,

to try to talk to or interview the Ukrainian naval staff who are

inside. At first, they didn't even want us to film, I Russian Cossack

pushed his whip into our camera but then he agreed to give us his point

of view. TRANSLATION: The commanders came and told us they were loyal to

the police used power in Kiev, but we think that Yanukovych is the

legitimate president. Behind the gates, the naval personnel are

refusing to switch allegiances, however much pressure they come

under. Their wives have arrived to bring them food and clothes but the

Russians laying siege to displace refused to let them deliver their

supplies. A retired naval, and who is pro-Ukrainian told me it is tense

but peaceful. Only one way, this is peaceful coexistence will stop these

four coexistence, that's it. Because it is like a barrel with powder. But

right now, everyone could understand, war is not the case,

it's not the choice of people. No one doubts the very real dangers of

this stand-off, but it's also beginning to look like a stalemate

that could last some time. In a moment we'll get the latest on

those talks from out diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall in

Paris, but first our chief political correspondent Norman Smith is in

Westminster. Not surprisingly, Ukraine dominating today? Also, I

think we saw a determined effort by the Prime Minister to try and

toughen up the British position, to try and add a bit of spine and

backbone into the West's position ahead of that crucial EU summit

tomorrow. Certainly in terms of his language and tone, and those MPs on

the hawkish wing of his party were in no doubt, there has been a shift

in their direction, with the prime minister saying nothing was off the

table, the status quo was unacceptable, and flagging up that

Britain will not go ahead with the G8 summit in Russia in June, saying

it was hard to see how that could proceed. Mr Cameron also confirmed

that ministers will not be going to the Paralympics, Downing Street has

said that there will be a review of arms export licences stop the

difficulty is the diplomacy. Their Mr Cameron will be speaking to

Chancellor Angela Merkel, that may be the crunch moment, with

government insiders warning that she is much more cautious about such a

robust response. How diplomatic correspondence is in Paris. These

talks, expected to take place today, what chance do they have of success?

Everybody here seems to be playing down the chance. It feels as though

it is diplomacy on the hoof, and they are just making a stab at

seeing whether, given that the Russian Foreign Minister was he to

be in Paris for a Middle East conference, they can have a go at

face-to-face talks, to see what the mood is from Moscow, whether it's

prepared to start a dialogue. William Hague told us this morning

that he wasn't optimistic. They had a go at trying to get the Russians

to come to a meeting with the new Ukrainian Foreign Minister,

surprise, surprise, that didn't work. But there will be more

meetings later today, at least a meeting between Mr Lavrov and the US

Secretary of State. But what the British and Europeans want to do is

arrange for a confrontation or consultation in the afternoon, maybe

even proximity talks between the Russians and Ukrainians. They are

not in the same room, but they are shuttling between them. At the

moment it is improvisation. And you can get continuous live coverage and

analysis on the situation in Ukraine on the BBC's website:

A South African boxer and friend of Oscar Pistorius has told his murder

trial that the athlete fired a shot under a table in a restaurant in

Johannesburg, and then asked the friend to take the blame for it. The

incident happened in January last year - just weeks before he killed

his girlfriend. Oscar Pistorius denies all charges. Our Africa

Correspondent Andrew Harding is outside the court in Pretoria. Yes,

four witnesses in court today but three of them, focusing on this

incident in Johannesburg restaurant, where Oscar Pistorius apparently

accidentally fired a gun. The prosecution, keen to show him as a

reckless young man. I should warn you there may be flash photography

in this report. More orderly entrant into court this morning as this long

trial starts to find its rhythm. The prosecution, still building its case

against Oscar Pistorius. For the first time today, a witness agrees

to be filmed giving evidence in the court room. It could happen if a

charity, I was shocked... The prosecution wants this box to show

that Oscar Pistorius was trigger-happy, reckless, and so he

described an incident at this restaurant a month for the shooting

of Reeva Steenkamp, when Pistorius fired a gun under the table and

allegedly asked a friend to take the blame. I remember him apologising,

and saying, is everybody OK? I do remember him saying, please, just

say it was you, I don't want any tension around me. Earlier the focus

was on the night that Reeva Steenkamp died, Pistorius's lawyer

tried to prove that a couple living nearby must have been wrong to say

they heard a woman scream followed by gunshots. It was instead, he

said, Pistorius shouting and trying to break down the door. It's a man's

life at stake and in all fairness, saying, let's look at other

possibilities. My lady, I'm certain I heard gunshots. I'm familiar with

the sound of them. Pistorius sat quietly, busy taking notes. More

neighbours are expected to testify against him soon. Some interesting

evidence from the restaurant there. But I think the longer term

significance may be the defence, this morning, managing to pick some

important holes in the evidence of some of the prosecution witnesses,

the neighbours who lived around Oscar Pistorius's home and what they

heard the night Reeva Steenkamp died.

Downing Street has denied suppressing a report which suggests

that immigration has had a lower impact on British jobs than first

feared. Ministers had said that every 100 new arrivals left 23

British people without a job - a figure that is now thought to be

overstated. The government is promising to publish the report once

the data has been "reviewed" but Labour and the Liberal Democrats are

calling for it to be released now. Our political correspondent Carole

Walker reports. What is the effect on British jobs

of migrants who come here from outside the EU? In 2012, the

migration advisory committee said that for every additional 100

migrants, 23 UK workers were unemployed. But new research

commissioned by the government suggests the impact of immigration

is much lower. The new figures, due to be published shortly, and the

government has denied suppressing the assessment. When it's complete,

of course it should be published because people have a lot of

questions about how immigration works and what it does and doesn't

do for Britain as a whole. That is what credible research needs to be

in the public domain. But the latest statistics show that the recent

increase in net migration is caused mainly by more people coming into

the UK from within the EU, they are entitled to do so under the EU rules

on the free movement of people. All the studies look at non-EU

migration, that has declined, it isn't the issue. The issue is EU

migration. I would ask the Home Office, please produced figures that

tell us how many British workers have had their jobs displaced? The

benefits and costs of immigration and our membership of the EU will be

central to the debate between Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage, which will

take place on BBC television on April two. A confrontation between

two leaders with starkly opposing views. Neither the Conservatives nor

Labour will take part. New research suggests migrants who have set up

their own businesses help boost the British economy. According to a ink

tank, one in seven companies in the UK are set up by the nearly half a

million migrant entrepreneurs who have launched businesses here. 14%

of jobs in small and medium enterprises are created by migrant

founded companies. There are tensions within the Coalition on

this, too, with the Lib Dems keen to highlight the benefits of

immigration and our membership of the European Union, whilst the

Conservatives are keen to stress their efforts to cut net migration

and renegotiate our relationship with Europe. Party differences will

be laid bare in the run-up to the European elections in two months

time. Our top story: Diplomatic efforts to resolve the stand-off

between Russia and Ukraine intensify with high-level talks in Paris. And

still to come... How a British 14-year-old became the youngest

person in the world to build a nuclear fusion reactor in their

school laboratory. Later on BBC London, a boost in funding in the

fight against brain cancer. Aquatic acoustics. The concert that is held

under water. It is three months today since the

first winter storms began battering Britain. On December fifth, towns

along the east coast were flooded after a massive tidal surge

overwhelmed coastal defences. That was just the start of the wettest

winter on record. In the run up to Christmas, many other parts of the

UK began to take a battering. The Somerset Levels, one of the worst

hit areas, were inundated with around 16,000 acres underwater.

Coastal storms then spread throughout the UK in January and

February, causing massive destruction, including the main rail

line linking Devon and Cornwall. Then, in February, the Thames burst

its banks after peaking at its highest level for 60 years. As we

look at the impact of the storms and floods, let's go back to where it

all started - the east coast. Ed Thomas sent this report from Boston

in Lincolnshire. The 5th of December 2013. The day many on the east coast

will never forget. On the banks of the Humber, this village was

surrounded, devastated by the floods. It was about basically that

high. Three months on, Michelle and her family returned to the place

they call home. They lost everything and life is not getting any easier.

I have not really cried. This is the first time she has cried. Some of me

says I want to come back and half of me says, I do not want to. Some here

have been left living in caravans. Skips get followed by the day.

Abandoned homes have been looted. People are coming into people 's

empty homes and stealing? Metal pipes, copper pipes. This councillor

now patrols the streets. She believes this village has been

traumatised. She set up an appeal fund to help. People are so angry

about what has happened. They are worried about money and their jobs.

Some local businesses have had no trade. There is a lot of anxiety

about. The lot of fear for the future. Fine Mac or do you want a

drink with that? Before the storm surge, these best friends used to

play together most days. They now live miles apart. You see all over

the news and you never think it is going to happen here. That Dave

reminds me of devastation. What you missed them -- missed the most?

Playing out. Playing out is the best. I do not like to think about

the future and, if it happens again, what it will be like the second time

around. I am not sure what it would be like if it happened again. This

is a time of repair. The rebuild of this pub will cost thousands of

pounds. There is no way we can walk away from it. We employ 20 of

members of staff. A lot of them have stayed with us. They are working,

decorating the bedrooms. They are very loyal to us. We cannot put 20

people out of work. There is still plenty to do, not just here but all

along the east coast. So many lost so much. One of the worst hit areas

has been the Somerset Levels. In the last few minutes, the BBC has seen

details of a new ?100 million plan to try to prevent more severe

flooding there over the next 20 years. Sarah Ransome is in the

village of Curload in the Somerset Levels. What are they proposing? I

am here in the heart of the Somerset Levels. You might be able to see

that very little has changed in the last few weeks. The water levels

have dropped a foot and a half in some places but life is on hold. The

Environment Minister, when he came to see all of this for himself, back

at the beginning of the year, he asked for a planned Dash it 20 year

plan dashed to be put forward to trying to vent all of this

happening. The BBC has seen some of those proposals, draft proposals, at

this stage. They include dredging of rivers, also proposals to look at

existing flood defences and to improve on them. There are also

ambitious plans contained within that, I wish list if you like.

Perhaps to raise some of the more honourable roads. They are

suggesting wrote like that should be raised to prevent them flooding.

There are also proposals in this plan suggesting that a tidal barrier

around the nearby town of Bridgwater should also be brought forward and

built. Clearly, they cost a lot of money to be put forward. About ?11

million has already been found by central and local government. You

will find the rest has yet to be decided. We believe these draft

proposals will go to Owen Paterson tomorrow, when he eventually get

sight of them. The former chief executive of News International,

Rebekah Brooks, has denied covering up the extent of phone hacking while

she was editor of the Sun. Under cross examination, she was accused

of knowing for years that there were far more victims of hacking than her

company had admitted. Our home affairs correspondent, Tom Symonds,

was in court. Glenn Mulcaire shortly before his conviction for phone

hacking in 2006. Along with the royal editor, Clive Goodman. It is

said they had the phones of the group of famous people and will aid.

There were more victims, many more. In her ninth day giving evidence,

Rebekah Brooks said she had met the police in 2006 and been told by a

senior officer there were up to 110 victims. The prosecutor questioned

her closely about whether that meeting meant that in the following

years she had known phone hacking went much wider and that the whole

truth had not emerged. She said the meeting was off the record, a

discussion about the number of victims needed for the original

prosecution. For two years after that meeting that Rebekah Brooks had

with the police, the position of News International was that phone

hacking was the work of a single reporter. That position was

abandoned in 2009. Five journalists have now pleaded guilty to phone

hacking. Rebekah Brooks is accused of covering the whole thing up. She

denies that accusation. The QC asked:

her cross-examination is expected to last several days. The Bank of

England has suspended a member of staff after investigating the

potential rigging of the Foreign Exchange market. Our business

correspondent, Simon Gompertz, is here. What can you tell us? The city

of London is the centre of the world upon -- the world 's foreign

exchange trading. It is about trade is getting together to share

information which was supposed to be confidential and to rig exchange

rates used by people around the world. The Bank of England is a

regulator. It has been hit by a claim in a news report that

officials had a meeting with traders, in which they endorse some

of this activity. The banks had an internal enquiry. It says there is

no evidence of collusion. It has suspended a staff member for not

following its rigorous internal control processes. We do not know

whether that refers to bad record-keeping or more than that. It

is highly embarrassing for the bank. They are planning on with their

investigation. This issue over foreign exchange has been compared

with the scandal over the attempted rigging of the interbank interest

rate, over which banks have been fined billions of pounds around the

world. If traders face accusations in the foreign exchange trade world,

they might refer to this regulation and say they perhaps knew something

about it even though the bank denies it. Labour has written to the

Cabinet Secretary to raise concerns over the arrest of a senior Downing

Street aide over allegations of possessing child porn. Patrick Rock

has not been charged. He was working on government policies to rig the

internet of child abuse. The BBC has been unable to speak to him to get

his response to the allegations. Birmingham City Council is to sell

off the company which runs the National Exhibition Centre. The

council, which is facing a ?1.1 billion bill for equal pay

settlements, says that it wants to ensure the NEC Group is preserved as

it is vitally important to the West Midlands economy, bringing in ?2

billion a year and supporting around 29,000 jobs. A 13-year-old boy has

become the youngest person ever to build a nuclear fusion reactor. And,

this morning, Jamie Edwards showed if off for the first time and proved

that it really worked. Our correspondent, Danny Savage, was

there. A school classroom in Preston is not the first place you would

expect to find a nuclear reactor. But, yes, this is a 13-year-old who

has built one. Jamie Edwards today attempted to become the youngest

Fusiliers in the world. Can I ask you all to leave? It is not without

risk, so the broom was cleared. We did leave the camera running. After

a few minutes... I heard the Geiger counter going up. I thought, what

was that? Then the neutron counter was right up of the scale. I

thought, we must have done it. I cannot believe it. Radiation is

measured with a geiger counter. He spent all his Christmas money on

buying a geiger counter. He has become the youngest Fusiliers in the

world. The previous record was held by 14-year-old in America. Jamie

turns 40 this weekend, so you have to get it done today. And, for his

next trick, he plans a mini hadron Collider. Sydney was hit by a severe

storm is huge clouds rolled in over Sydney harbour, bringing lightning

and rain. Commuter travel was disrupted as the storm structuring

the peak hours, causing delays in public transport out of the city.

Wind gusts exceeding 50 kilometres an hour were also recorded in parts

of the south Wales on the coast, that is according to local media.

Time for a look at the weather. Some warmer weather is set to

arrive. Very chilly out there this morning across England and Wales. In

the winter, it was wet, windy and very mild. Since the weather has

calmed down a little, we have seen more frost. It got down to minus

for. It is not quite as cold this morning in Scotland and Northern

Ireland where there is cloud. There are also outbreaks of rain

developing. That will turn steady and heavy in the West of Scotland.

For many parts of England and Wales, many places will be dry.

Still quite bright. The cloud is fairly thin in those places. The

best of the sunshine disease Midlands, East Anglia and parts of

the South East. The cloud may thicken and lower across north west

Wales and north-west England. Most of the rain will be further north.

Patchy rain across Northern Ireland with heavy rain coming over the

western hills of Scotland. Much drier and sheltered eastern areas.

That may lead to localised flooding. Wet this evening across Scotland and

Northern Ireland. The rain band will sink slowly southwards. It will

bring patchy rain into northern England, Wales and later the South

West. Chilly in the North West of Scotland. Temperatures will fall

quickly this evening in the south-east but it will not be as

cold as it was last night. There could be a bit of sunshine and it

will be bright in the North of Scotland. A lot of cloud elsewhere.

Further rain or drizzle with hill fog. The main rain band will push

into Scotland and Northern Ireland. For most of us, double figures. We

could get 14, 15 degrees in the south-east. That could be the

warmest it has been all year. Further north, the rain will turn

more heavy overnight in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It will become

much weaker on Friday and the rain will fizzle out. Very little will

arrive in the South East. After that, brighter skies and sunshine.

Wintry showers in Scotland and quite a wind blowing here in the cold air.

As we move into the weekend, we get a southerly wind. Temperatures will

live to 17, 18. It'll be as warm as Malaga. On Sunday, the weather front

would be very weak. An area of high pressure will move in from mixed

week, bringing some much-needed try whether after all the rain from the

winter. -- dry weather. Now a reminder of our top story this

lunchtime... Diplomatic efforts to resolve the stand-off between Russia

and Ukraine intensify with high-level talks in Paris this

afternoon. That is all from us. You can keep up to date with all the

latest news throughout the