13/03/2014 BBC News at One

will get a below inflation 1% pay rise next year. The government says

it is necessary to help the public finances, but unions have reacted

angrily and threatened strike action. It is right to take these

difficult decisions, because it means we can keep more people

employed, we can keep more people in work. We will be looking at the pay

awards across the public services. Disappointing figures from

Morrisons. The supermarket chain reports a ?176 million loss and

announces a major restructuring of the business. Families' anger of an

enquiry into the deaths of 16 men on a North Sea helicopter crash

concludes the accident could have been prevented. Dramatic pictures of

a high-speed police car chase after a man car jacks two vehicles in the

middle of a busy rush-hour. And friends and family of Sir David

Frost gather at Westminster Abbey, to pay tribute to one of the

greatest broadcasters of a generation.

Later on BBC London, nine councils go to the High Court over the issue

of affordable rent. And expressing their frustration, flood victims

take the Environment Agency to task. Good afternoon and welcome to the

BBC News At One. Thousands of public sector workers learned today how

much of a pay rise they will be getting next year. For the vast

majority of people, doctors, nurses, members of the Armed Forces

and civil servants, it will mean a below inflation pay rise of 1%. Some

top managers will not receive anything at all. The government says

it needs to keep wage rises low as a way of sorting out the public

finances. But some unions are already warning of strike action.

Here is our political correspondent, Ross Hawkins.

NHS pay will go up, but by less than many expected. Official advisers

said workers like these should get a regular increase and a 1% pay rise.

Ministers disagreed. Staff will get one come all the other, but not

both. It is right to take these difficult decisions because it means

we can keep more people employed, we can keep more people in work and we

can make sure we spend money on vital treatments, on hospitals and

on delivering services, which is what patients badly want. It means

NHS Trusts in England will get either a 1% pay rise from April and

2% the year after, or, that in curing -- that incremental

regularise, received by about half the stuff. 400 senior management

will get nothing. Unions are talking to their members about strike

action. For the bottom, lowest people paid -- lowest paid people in

the NHS, this 1% is worth ?150 a year, less than ?3 per week to the

lowest paid in the NHS. It is a scandal. The Treasury has long since

said it wants to save money by cutting back on the incremental pay

rises. Now we know how its plans will work in the NHS in England. But

after a two year pay freeze, it has got a fight on its hands. Other

staff, including the Armed Forces and Prison Service workers and even

judges will get a 1% rise. And the Treasury. Topping up pension funds

for teachers, civil servants and the NHS, that means employers like

schools, NHS Trusts does other government departments, will have to

pick up a ?1 billion bill between them instead. One union said that

added up to a con. In Scotland there will be more generous offer for

health staff and in England a real struggle between ministers and

unions over how much they should get and how their patient rise in

future. Let's get the reaction from public

sector workers themselves. More Northern Ireland has the highest

proportion of public sector workers in the UK. Our Ireland correspondent

was Buchler has been speaking to some of them.

Shopping seems to cost more, spending seems to cut further into

savings. At this supermarket in south Belfast, workers from both the

public and private sectors were united. Bills are rising, while

their wages are struggling to keep up. Things that were 20p cheaper two

weeks ago, you go back and you look at the same product and it is 20p

more expensive. Definitely, I am a student nurse and you are constantly

on the breadline. This lasts about three days and costs ?30. That

feeling of being tight for cash may well remain when she qualifies as a

nurse. Northern Ireland has a particularly Lardner -- large number

of people employed in the public sector. And NHS staff across the UK

are among those who are worried about how they will cope with rising

prices and the potential of just a 1% pay rise. It is hard to survive

on a wage in Northern Ireland. Will 1% make a difference? Definitely

not. It is tight at the minute. What did the MPs get as their pay rise?

The government is determined what it might -- to make what it calls

savings and the unions call cuts. Protests overpaid likely but this

campaign to save jobs appears to have failed. Today, it was announced

300 posts are being lost in Coleraine as the government closes

Northern Ireland's driver and the lady see. The work is being

centralised in Swansea but there will be no board jobs there. That is

austerity. Today's announcement means some age and -- some NHS staff

will not be paid as much as they were expecting and that has led to

the threat of possible industrial action. Branwen Jeffreys is with me.

There are so many levels and the NHS and this is a tight more corporation

affront year. Absolutely, this is a pay deal that will not make many

nurses happy, 1% is a real terms cut for them and people's budgets are

being squeezed as we were hearing in that report. But the NHS walks a

very fine line and hospital managements will also be worried.

The pay bill is a huge part of the NHS budget, two thirds of what the

NHS spends on our care is on paying for its staff. If you don't give

staff a pay rise, you risk not being able to recruit enough, particularly

as the economy lifts off, then we're back to hiring nurses from abroad.

But if you give pay rises without getting them to work differently or

do more, hospital managers are worried that they will not be a will

to maintain the quality of care, so this is a difficult line for the NHS

to tread. Branwen, thank you very much. Our chief political

correspondent Norman Smith is in Westminster for us. The government

says they need to do this, but the unions may suggest they are picking

a fight. Today's settlement tells us just how perilous the public

finances remain, despite the steady diet of better economic news we have

had, because be in no doubt how extraordinarily tough this delays,

with many many, many workers against seeing their pay like behind prices

for the fourth year running, questions about whether their

pensions are affordable with government departments being asked

to find another ?1 billion to prop them up and at the presenter of this

pay squeeze now is the NHS, a politically hugely emotive issue --

at the epicentre. What is interesting is the reaction of the

health service unions, who have threatened industrial action

including strike action. You have to go back to the Winter of discontent

in 1979 to find sustain industrial action in the health service. People

don't do it because you put patients' lives at risk, but it

tells you how angry the unions are and it raises the question is are we

in your four reaching the outer limits of public sector acceptance

of austerity? The supermarket chain Morrisons has

announced losses of ?176 million for last year, that is down from a

profit of 879 million pounds the year before. The firm says it will

massively overhauled how it operates and is going to refocus its business

to take on discount supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl. Shares in

Morrisons have fallen sharply this morning. Emma Simpson reports.

Good morning. Morrisons have spared no expense promoting its fresh

produce, but today, it plunged into the red. It has been hit by some

exceptional costs of nearly ?1 billion, but the underlying picture

is also grown. With cut-throat competition, this supermarket is

being squeezed. There are big structural shifts going on in the

market. Some of the biggest changes for two generations as people shop

differently, online, convenience and discounters, which customers see us

small supermarkets and today, we are taking the bold decision to ensure

that we are giving our customers the very best price and we are prepared

to put our money where our mouth is and invest in it. That investment

adds up to ?1 billion over the next three years and cutting prices and

improving stores come to win back customers. It is a big shift, but it

will also mean Morrisons' profits taking a huge hit. Here is where it

all began, when a young edit and butter seller, William Morrison,

graduated from his market stall to the first shop Bradford but a

century later Morrisons seems to have forgotten its roots. They have

lost customer with -- they have lost touch with the store customer base.

In 2005 they would have been ranked for value above ASDA, but they have

been moving upmarket, making their fresh food more fancy than it ought

to be. This is where most of its customers have ended up, the

discounters. If you want something and it is right, you will pay the

price. There is no point paying the price for the sake of it. Prices

mainly at once we had been we started coming again. These are the

up and coming supermarkets at the moment. Morrisons is now fighting

back, with a dramatic change of course. That has hit other

supermarket shares today, as fears of an all-out price war take hold.

An enquiry into the deaths of 16 men in a North Sea helicopter crash has

concluded that the accident might have been prevented. 14 oil workers

and two crew died when the Bond Super Puma crashed into the water

off the Aberdeenshire coast in 2009. Relatives of those who died have

called for a criminal prosecution and full public enquiry. Our

Scotland correspondent Lorna Gordon reports.

It should have been a routine journey, but five years ago this

helicopter, returning from a platform in the North Sea, plummeted

into the water. All on board died. It has been a long wait for their

relatives, still grieving, still waiting for answers. We relive this

every day. This is not something that will go away. The length of

weight of nearly five years has been intolerable for all the families and

we, the families, feel let down by the system. Much of the wreckage was

recovered from the sea bed. There has been multiple investigations

into what happened. It was discovered that a catastrophic

failure of the gay box caused main rotors to break away. -- the

gearbox. Now today Fatal Accident Inquiry has concluded it is possible

the deaths might have been avoided if it were not for a number of

failures by the helicopter's operators, bond. They failed to

perform a specific maintenance task and failed to ensure their

communications with the manufacture, Eurocopter, followed procedures. We

know there were mistakes and we have put those mistakes right. There

remains no conclusive evidence that any mistake did lead to the

accident. There has been five helicopter crashes in the North Sea

in as many years. Relatives today said each time they hear the news,

the memories come flooding back. Every time there is a helicopter

crash, we ask, why? I don't know why these things keep falling out of the

sky and I don't know what we can put in place to prevent these things

happening again, but the sooner, the better, as far as I am concerned. No

have been announced to improve the safety of helicopters flying into

the sea. Helicopters will not be allowed to fly in severe sea

conditions and all passengers have to be seated by emergency exits, but

for the relatives of those who died in 2009, there is fury there is

still no apology for our loved ones' deaths and still no closure.

Day six of the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger

jet and there are still no signs of any debris and no clues as to why it

disappeared last Saturday, an hour after taking off. In the words of

one minister, the plane has vanished. This morning, the Malaysia

government says apparent debris pictured on Chinese satellite images

released yesterday is not the remains of the airliner. Jonathan

Head reports from Kuala Lumpur. Day six and still no sign. So every

lead, however tenuous, is investigated. The latest, pictures

from a Chinese satellite taken on Sunday and at first described as

possible aircraft debris but now the Malaysians say it was published in

error and the planes sent to the location saw nothing. Every other

theory was also not -- knocked back by the Malaysia authorities today. A

total lack of information after so long has raised questions about

their openness. Malaysia has nothing to hide. We have spared no expense

and no effort. From day one, we have been in regular contact with our

neighbouring countries and accepted all international offers for help.

To help. We have followed protocols as stipulated by the International

civil aviation organisation since the incident began. At the

well-wishers' wall they have put up at Kuala Lumpur Airport, they are

starting to run out of space for all the messages of sympathy. It is hard

to accept that such a huge airliner can simply Fach -- vanish in an era

when technology seems to have" of our planet to scrutiny, yet other

air accidents took months, even years to explain. In time, this

mystery will surely resolved. And until it is people can choose to

believe and hope. Public sector workers are told they'll get a

below-inflation 1% pay rise next year. And still to come: Time to

sign up, same-sex couples can register to get married from today.

Later on BBC London: Could the capital rival Silicon Valley? The

Mayor outlines his vision for the future.

And the twins whose experiences of the arctic will be far from

identical. At midnight tonight same-sex couples

can register to have their wedding on the day gay marriage becomes

legal, the 29th of March. It's seen as a milestone on the path to

marriage equality in England and Wales but, as yet, there's no way

for people to convert a civil partnership into a marriage. Simon

Clemison reports. When it was a busy fishing port,

marriage and Hull was about men going to see and women staying at

home. But over the years, the fleets have left the city's docs. Marriage

is about to become more than something for just men and women.

Today, the stepdaughter of one month and her girlfriend will go to the

Guildhall to formally give notice of their wedding in two weeks time. So,

Sammy and Jenna, we are back at the pub where you first met. You are

going to get married now? Yes, five years to the day when we first met.

They told me as young girls they never dreamt of walking down the

aisle, it was not their thing. It is now. Do you want matching rings?

Yes, we want matching rings. Whichever one they choose, it will

be a wedding ring. Up until now, couples like Sammy and Jenna have

been able to become civil partners which will give them rights but not

the right to say they are married. I like that one. We originally booked

a civil partnership that they had all changed. You wanted to get

married, why was that? It is the principle of the matter. Men and

women have that right. It is an equality thing? Yes, we are

basically saying we are equal to them. Jenna and Sammy's families

will play a role in their big day. For Sammy's sister, putting

relationships on an equal footing is important. It is something

campaigners say is welcomed. How are you feeling? I am excited. It is

important for my brother to have a wife and for my sister to have a

wife. For people to say that? Guests. So this is the first

registration of Earth wedding in Hull. History was made in 1837. And

eventually there will be Mrs and Mrs Middleton. Marriage at the moment is

referred to as a union between one man and one woman. After the changes

implement it we will refer to it as a union between two people. What

about all the people who are already joined together in civil

partnerships? What if they wanted to marry but had to do what the Lawro

rout at the time? They can convert their civil partnership into a

marriage but that will not be possible until the end of the year.

Civil partnerships are still recognised in law but you cannot

have both. There was significant opposition to the new law from some

MPs and churches. Jenna and Sammy said is partly for the rights that

have been one that they will say their vows a week on Saturday.

The NHS in England says new standards are needed to ensure

families who lose a child after heart surgery are treated with

compassion. A report into the experiences of relatives at Leeds

General Infirmary said there was "a tragic lack of communication,

compassion and sometimes basic kindness". The hospital has been the

subject of a year long review, after surgery was suspended at its

children's heart unit because of concerns over the number of deaths.

Almost a year ago, the children's heart surgery unit in Leeds was

plunged into crisis. Surgery was suspended after safety concerns were

raised with NHS England. The unit was allowed to resume work but

abroad enquiry was set up in two patients' deaths and how complaints

were handled. Today's report confirms the unit is safe and

running well. But there were problems found with the care of the

216 families and their children. It is devastating and shocking and I

would offer a sincere heartfelt apology to every single one of those

families who experienced that care and who were courageous enough to

come forward. The testimony of the 16 families is heart-rending. The

report details how to time of extraordinary distress, they

experienced a lack of compassion, poor handling and badly handled

complaints. NHS England say new standards are needed to ensure

families who lose a child are treated with compassion. To be an

effective delivery of health care we cannot just be technicians, we have

to be more human about our approach and look at the context that

families are treated in. For the hundreds of families who were

treated at this hospital, just a small number had a bad experience.

But the report says every single one of them had the right to expect the

highest possible standards of care and their stories need to be heard

and acted upon. It is the ninth day of the trial of

Oscar Pistorius - accused of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva

Steenkamp. Today the court has been hearing more of the forensic

details. Our Africa correspondent Andrew Harding is at the court in

Pretoria. There was drama as some of the photographs of the crime scene

appeared? In deed. We got our first detailed tour of the crime scene

itself, courtesy of the first police others who arrived at the scene. He

described walking into Pistorius' house. He found the athlete in his

kitchen but pacing up and down and unable to talk. He described going

into the hole and seeing Reeva Steenkamp's body lying on the

ground, covered in towels and plastic bags. Another witness had

tried to staunch the flow of blood. Then photographs followed the

detective as he walked up the stairs, bloodstains on the stairs

and on the landing, into the master bedroom and the bathroom itself. We

saw the smashed down toilet door behind which Reeva Steenkamp had

been killed. We saw the bloodied cricket bat which Oscar Pistorius

had used to smash it. We saw cellphones and four bullet

cartridges which the prosecution may suggest the position of which backs

up their case that Oscar Pistorius did not shoot Reeva Steenkamp by

accident. At this stage, we are looking more at the details, Ness at

the arguments between prosecution and defence. Thank you.

Three more people have died in new clashes in Venezuela, as protests

continue. So far, at least 25 people have died since the demonstrations,

denouncing police brutality and the economic crisis, began a month ago.

In the United States, a dramatic car chase in Colorado State ended with a

police officer in hospital and a 29-year-old man under arrest. The

chase, which was filmed a by a news helicopter, began when a car was

hijacked with a young child in the back. Jon Brain reports.

As rush hours go, this was one of the more eventful. Ryan Stone's

third and final crash on the morning commute. The 28-year-old had begun

his journey by stealing this red minivan. The owner's four-year-old

boy was in the back-seat. A few miles down the freeway, he clearly

felt it was time for a change and swapped for a newer model. After

being forced to abandon the vehicle, one terrified passenger ran

for safety. The driver was left the roadside. Traffic officers through

tyre shredders onto the highway as he continued. Racing down the wrong

side of the road, successfully evading all attempts to stop him.

Soon, he was crashing into another car, before speeding off again. Then

another vehicle exchange. This time, the driver tried to resist. His

attempt at a fourth carjacking was thwarted by the close proximity of

the police. Sten calculated he might be better off continuing his journey

on foot. Wanted on drugs charges and with a string of previous

convictions, rhinestone's desperation not to be caught was

perhaps understandable, but it all ended here, 75 miles from where it

began. He was finally captured. A police spokesman said it had been a

strange and crazy morning in Colorado.

A service has been held this morning at Westminster Abbey to celebrate

the life and work of Sir David Frost. Sir Michael Parkinson, BBC

Director General Lord Hall, and Joanna Lumley were among those

paying tribute to the broadcaster who died in August aged 74. The

Prince of Wales has laid flowers on a memorial stone dedicated to Sir

David near Poets' Corner. David Sillito is there.

The bells are still ringing out. If you go to the south transept, in

among names like Byron, Keats and Shelley, among them, a new name, Sir

David Frost. A memorial here at Westminster Abbey is a rare honour.

Hello, good evening and welcome. It is the final resting place of our

kings and queens, a space to honour poets and today, a broadcaster and

friend to many, many famous names. This is my commandment, that you

love one another as I have loved you. He was a very kind and gentle

man. Very astute. Clever, sharp, Rich. A good man. The memorial stone

lies feet away from Byron, Shakespeare and Dickens. Illustrious

company, but there again, for anyone who had been to one of his parties,

what else would you expect? These people will remember the legendary

garden parties where you would see the Archbishop of Canterbury talking

to one a Corbett, Esther Rantzen talking to Bill Clinton. Then he

would say, had he met the Pinochets? Celebration of 50 years

in television. The congregation were a Who's Who of celebrity politics.

Many had a good reason to be here. Ronnie and I had a drink with David.

As a result, Ronnie went into the Frost report. Shall I compare the

two Sir Robin Day? To end, some political satire. And watching as

people leave, it is extraordinary, so many famous names and famous

faces. It feels as though the whole history of TV -- the whole 50 years

of TV history is walking past us at the moment.

Three rare tiger cubs have been born at London Zoo. Sumatran tigress

Melati gave birth to the triplets early in February. But keepers are

now confident the cubs are healthy, so they've released these images of

them, filmed by hidden camera. The sex of the cubs isn't yet known, as

they've remained inside their special enclosure since they were

born. The Sumatran tiger is listed as critically endangered, with only

about 300 in existence. Time for a look at the weather, here's Stav

Daneos. Hello. We had some very thick fog in

places today. Through the course of the morning, this fog has been

breaking away and we have seen plenty of sunshine developing. The

satellite picture shows that quite nicely. There will be one or two

patches around as we head through the afternoon. We have thicker cloud

across Northern Ireland and Scotland. But weather front will

produce some spit some spots of rain. Some outbreaks of rain

stretching from Argyll to Angus and Aberdeenshire. For England and

Wales, we are seeing mostly sunny skies at the moment. Some low cloud

and fog patches hanging on through central areas. As we head into this

evening and overnight, we see the mist and fog return with a

vengeance. Across England and Wales in particular, some very dense

patches lightly. In Northern Ireland the weather front is producing

outbreaks of rain. It will be a cold one with the Frost and fog. There

could be some difficult driving conditions into work tomorrow

morning. Some possible travel disruption. A cold start for much of

the country. The sun will get going and burned that fog away. We will

also pick up a westerly breeze. Lots of sunshine around. In the

south-east, you could see temperatures into the mid-teens. The

all-important weekend. It looks like high pressure dominates so it will

be dry for most areas. Some warm sunshine at times. There will be

more of a breeze. You can see the area of high-pressure anchored

across the Atlantic. If you weather front affecting the northern half of

the country. Saturday will be cloudy. I am hopeful by Sunday we

should see more in the way of sunshine, particularly in sheltered

eastern areas. A reminder of our top story this

lunchtime: Public sector workers are told they will get a below inflation

1% pay rise next year. That