24/03/2014 BBC News at One

Australian ship could reach the site shortly. Marking the spot. An

Australian crew see four objects in the sea thousands of miles off the

coast of Perth. It has been reported that the Malaysian prime minister

could be preparing to hold a new column -- news conference on the

latest developments within an hour. President Obama arrives in the

Netherlands where G7 leaders will discuss action against Russia, after

the Crimea crisis. Another setback for the troubled Co-op Bank. It

needs another ?400 million after uncovering more unexpected costs.

Hopes of finding survivors after a massive mudslide in America fade. At

least eight people have died in Washington State. And 70 years after

The Great Escape - the 50 RAF officers shot after the mass

break-out from the Nazi prisoner of war camp are remembered.

On BBC London, a shining star loved by everyone. A headteacher pays

tribute to the 15-year-old shot in Hackney. The funeral of Bob Crow is

taking place in East London. Good afternoon and welcome to the

BBC News at One. An Australian plane has spotted four objects in the hunt

for the missing Malaysian aircraft. The crew say one was orange and

rectangular, another was circular. Two more were cylindrical. An

Australian Navy ship is close by and could arrive on the scene shortly.

The latest sightings of possible debris from the missing Malaysian

airlines plane come after the Chinese report seeing white

rectangular objects in the southern Indian Ocean. Jonathan Head is in

Perth, from where the Australian air search is being co-ordinated. After

days of searching, a result at last. Flares dropped in the ocean from an

Australian air force plane to mark the area where they have just

spotted something man-made. For these hard-working crews, this is

progress. The task of retrieving these objects

now falls to this ship. The Australian Navy ship, the HMAS

Success. Only when they are pulled on board will be known whether they

are from the Malaysian plane. This difficult, multinational operation

is now based out of Western Australia. Satellite data suggests

Lite MH 370 flew down this corridor south to the limit of its range. The

search is focused on an area of the 20,000 nautical square miles, 1500

miles from Perth. More surveillance aircraft have been sent out through

the day to try to spot more debris in the same area. These aircraft

have undertaken a lot of long and arduous missions over the past week

and found almost nothing. Although this is still only a tentative

sighting, the fact they have seen anything at all that may be part of

a missing outliner, in this search son, is still an important step. --

search son. After 17 days with so little information, families

involved scarcely know what to think. They must know there is

little hope now. TRANSLATION:

The most likely scenario is that the plane crashed or it was hijacked. If

it crashed, there is nothing to do but wait for the search. If it was

hijacked, I do not think my grandad has a big chance of survival. I am

pessimistic. They will be watching this growing fleet of planes over

the coming days. Let's go live to Perth for the latest. Jonathan Head

is there. The search seems to be gathering pace. We are getting

confirmation will be news update within the hour. There has been so

little information so far. We have heard a statement from the

Australian prime minister. The Malaysian Prime Minister will

probably be reported what he has been told by the Australians. We

have had satellite images in the past few days. They were days old.

Finding the stuff in the sea, and it is an empty sea that has very little

debris in it, finding planes is absolutely essential. Only then can

we pieced together the possibility that the plane went down. There is a

lock to be confirmed yet. We have watched the plane is going in and

out of this air base on four, five hour journeys into this terribly

remote coming back empty-handed. They feel very encouraged by this.

No one can figure out what has happened to the Malaysian airline

but this area is the most promising. With these initial

reports of debris, they feel the possible as you progress Dash of

finally getting answers Dash is within reach.

The naval base was stormed by Russians, who rounded up the

Ukrainian forces and tied up their hands. In Kiev, the acting president

bound to the inevitable, ordering his remaining forces in Crimea to

withdraw. In Moscow, the Russian parliament celebrated by adding the

flags of Crimea and Sevastopol to the line of Russia 's regions.

Powerful imagery of the territorial gain of President Putin. President

Obama is in Europe to consider the next steps with fellow world

leaders. Arriving in the Netherlands for a long planned nuclear security

summit when he started at the ceremony at the newly restored

museum, against the backdrop of Dutch masterpieces of the

civilisation. The president made clear he would make it stronger,

united stand against Vladimir Putin. We are united. We want to impose a

cost on Russia for its actions so far. President Putin is staying away

from this summit, sending his foreign minister instead to take the

heat. Vladimir Putin is sticking to celebration. Last week, delighting

crowds in red Square, after announcing that an historic wrong

had been righted. Crimea was coming home to Russia. Part of the price

for that, this piece of history may be unravelling. In June 1997,

President Clinton welcomed Boris Yeltsin to a global top table as the

G-7 expanded to G8. Today in The Hague, that walk towards Russia is

being thrown into reverse, as the current G-7 leaders prepared to meet

in a very deliberate snub to Vladimir Putin. G8 two G-7, how

likely is it that that will happen? They have to formalise the meeting

without Russia in this very considered snub. Do they want to

announce the abandonment of all participation in the G8 Summit,

which is due to be chaired by Vladimir Putin in Sochi in June? Are

the G-7 countries don't withdraw and say that summit will not go ahead?

Perhaps they will talk about organising their own rival summit

without Russia, which would really be turning the clock back. We may

not get that far tonight. What is important is that President Obama

will be able to sit down and have face-to-face consultations with his

closest allies about the next steps. This move now by Ukraine to withdraw

their troops - a hugely significant move.

Extremely significant. I think a recognition on the part of the

Ukrainian authorities that they have been out-gunned and overwhelmed by

the Russians.en even though the Ukrainian Government will maintain

the takeover of Crimea has been illegal and unconstitutional. They

realise they have been overwhelmed. Let me show you where I am. This is

the last piece of the state in Crimea. It is still under control.

You can see the national emblem of the republic of Ukraine. It is a

different picture to what has happened elsewhere. The ministry

defence has told us every military base of Ukraine is now under the

control of the Russian authorities. The Russian operation here has been

swift, effective and been very successful. Really, the end for

Ukraine is pretty much up now. Russia's control of Crimea is almost

complete. Thank you. The troubled Co-operative Bank says it needs to

raise another ?400 million after the discovery of additional costs

related to past misconduct. It comes off the back of being rescued last

year because of a ?1.5 billion shortfall. It will make a loss of as

much as ?1.3 billion for 2013. It is the bank which keeps asking.

?400 million extra is now needed to keep the Co-operative Bank's revival

on check. The more they check, the more red ink they find. One of the

worrying thing is as a result of this latest write off, the capital

rash show, the amount of capital that regulators require it to hold

is getting close to the minimum safety levels. The group and members

have seen their grip on the bank loosened to just a 30% stake. The

result of a ?1.5 billion bailout last year which left international

investors in control. Then the bank's former chairman was arrested

for alleged offences over drugs - another big knock to its standing.

The new shortfall is the result of payment protection insurance or PPI

compensation payouts being more than expected. Some losses on mortgages,

where the Co-op showed extra forebearance to borrowers who could

not pay. It all adds up. The bank says even

if it manages to raise the extra money, there are significant

challenges. It has benefitted from the reluctance of customers to

switch their accounts. There's only been a slight reduction in the

number of current account holders in the last year. It is now at arm's

length from the Co-op group of supermarkets and funeral directors.

Outsiders could gain more control and the Co-op principal could be

further eroded. The bank is spending today, calling backers, including US

investment funds hoping they will say, in for a penny, in for a pound

and provide the support it needs. The funeral of the RM T union

leader, Bob Crow, is taking place this lunch time. He died at the age

of 52. Thousands of trade unionists and friends lined the route to the

City of London cemetery. His coffin was carried in a horse-drawn

carriage. The jury at the piste piste piste murder -- at the Oscar

Pistorious murder trial has heard tapes. He shot his girlfriend on

Valentine's Day last year. Our correspondent is outside the

court. What do the messages say then.

Some very revealing text messages. We don't know yet what texts if any

were exchanged that night. What we have heard today is messages

exchanged a couple of months before - a month before, as this couple

were getting to know each other and, as we hear from the police witness,

90% of the messages were loving. He read out some that I think will be

extremely damaging for him. Reeva complaining about him being

jealous, petty. In one headline, I think, a head-line grabbing quote,

she said, "I am scared of you sometimes and how you react to me."

That will be very difficult for him. Of course he has spoken of the

couple being in a loving relationship.

The trial continues and we are expect expecting him to be on the

witness stand soon. A 15-year-old boy has appeared in court, charged

with the murder of a teenage girl in East London. Shereka Fab-Ann Marsh,

who was also 15 died after being shot in the neck in a house in

Hackney on Saturday afternoon. The boy who cannot be named for legal

reasons is appearing in magistrates court. There have been more

sightings of possible wreckage from the missing Malaysian plane. A ship

could reach the site shortly A press conference is due in the next half

an hour. Captured on camera - the desperate attempts of migrants

risking their lives to get into the UK.

Later on BBC London, scientists find Londoners living in poor areas are

more vulnerable to climate change. Surrey cricket's new coach hopes

Kevin Pietersen will help the club win promotion next season.

Some of the desperate attempts being made by migrants to enter the UK

have been caught on camera. The images show men running towards

trucks at Calais and climbing on to the vehicles before sitting on the

axles. Two migrants were recently killed in attempts to get to Dover.

The extraordinary images are from a BBC investigation which shows how

British trucks are being targeted just metres from the port entrance,

in broad daylight and under the gaze of port officials. Colin Campbell

sent this report. Night-time in Calais. A truck we fitted with

cameras stopped at a junction near the port. In seconds, two men

crawled beneath the vehicle. They tried to balance on the rear axle.

These are migrants, trying to get to Britain from France. You are risking

your lives by getting on this track. I do not care. I am sorry. Another

truck, another risking his life. On this occasion, the truck moves off

unaware it has gained a passenger. He has got under his axle. We call

the driver as soon as we can to alert him. Slow down very slowly,

you have got one on your axle. Once stationary, he climbed out. This

country is not good to live in. We have to go to England. An act of

absolute desperation. Getting under this thing is no easy feat. Even in

daylight hours, it is dark, it is slippery. To get onto the axle

itself will take speed and agility. If you do not get the timing

spot-on, the risks are off the scale. Calais is experiencing a

surge in migrant numbers. Many Syrians are arriving. Stop, stop.

They are getting under into the axle. There are two of them getting

into our axle. I would never have known they were on there. I was

looking in the mirror, looking down the road to pull out. You can kill

people. The Government insists it is taking border security and

immigration seriously. Whether it is shutting down bogus colleges,

putting a cap on migration from outside the European Union, making

sure we police our ports and airports properly, we are taking all

of those steps. Immigration is a major concern. In search of a better

life and willing to risk it all, some are succeeding in their quest

but others are paying with their lives will stop viewers in the

south-east of England can see more of that story at 1:30pm on BBC One.

Rescue teams in the United States are searching for 18 people missing

after a huge landslide in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains

in Washington State. At least eight bodies have been found in the wall

of mud and debris brought down by heavy rainfall. The landslip, north

of Seattle, has left a pile of mud and rock up to four and a half

metres deep in places. Beth McLeod sent this report. Helpless against

the huge wall of mud that smashed into it, this house, or what remains

of it, has been pushed into the middle of State Route 530. This is

what the affected area looks like from the sky, 2.5 square kilometres

of it. This whole chunk of Hillside slid away, taking trees and debris

with it. The area has had problems with unstable land in the past.

Authorities believe heavy rainfall in recent weeks triggered this

slide. The devastation is unrelenting and awesome. There

really is no stick standing in the path of the slide. It is a reminder

that we live in powerful forces of nature. Silence now but just after

the mudslide people reported hearing the cries of those trapped in the

debris. Rescue teams have had to tread carefully because of the

treacherous ground. The area was finally deemed safe enough to search

late on Sunday morning. After setting a very large area on foot,

we did not find anyone alive. There was no sign of life. Rescuers have

also taken to the air, using thermal imaging to look for people who may

still be trapped. Officials say it is still a rescue rather than a

recovery mission. As time goes on, this community is bracing itself for

more bad news. ?7 billion is going missing from the UK's health budgets

through fraud and error every year. That is according to the former head

Counter Fraud Services for the NHS. BBC Panorama has had exclusive

access to Jim Gee's report, which says that ?5 billion of that is down

to fraud. This dentist is the most prolific

single fraudster in NHS history. Joyce Trail enjoyed the highlights,

funding her taste for expensive holidays by conning the NHS into

paying her for work she had never actually done. She even claimed

payment football Steve for patients who had in fact died. She faked over

38,000 documents. This is criminality at a professional level.

She was jailed for seven years for ?1.4 million worth of fraud. The

budget for catching and deterring fraudsters has been cut by around a

third since 2006. Investigators say now is a good time to be a fraudster

in the NHS. How can you have a confidence that there is a

likelihood you will be discovered, found out, when there are very few

people looking at you? I think it is a genuinely held concern that some

people in senior positions have taken their eye off the ball on

this. When the NHS is under huge financial strain, is a

cost-effective to spend money combating fraud? This man says yes,

especially as his latest research puts the annual cost to the NHS of

fraud at ?5 billion. Enough to pay the 244,000 new nurses with a

further ?2 billion lost to errors. We need not to be embarrassed or in

denial about the possible to your fraud taking place in the NHS. We

need to tackle the problem, minimise its costs and maximise resources

available for proper patient care. There are concerns that with the NHS

in England going through so many changes, the risk of fraud and error

is rising. The Department of Health says it does not recognise the ?5

billion figure and does not speculate on levels of losses. With

potentially billions to be saved, it is in all of our interests as users

of the NHS that its financial oversight is robust and fit for

purpose. And you can see the full report on that story on Panorama at

8:30pm on BBC One. A commuter train has derailed in America, injuring

around 30 people. These images show how the train failed to stop and

ended up on the escalator at an underground station at Chicago's

O'Hare International Airport. Officials are trying to find out the

cause, but say the train was probably travelling too fast. None

of the injuries sustained by passengers is thought to be

life-threatening. Decriminalisation of the non payment of the BBC

licence fee has moved a step closer. The Labour Party will now support a

proposal first pushed by a Conservative MP, giving cross party

support to stop people being sent to jail for not paying. Let's get more

from Norman Smith. How much of a threat is this to the current

system? There is a growing conviction and consensus at

Westminster that jailing Mr and Mrs non-licensed the pay for having a

crafty sneak at Strictly is a bit Draconian. What you do instead is

not at all clear. If you move to a civil system of fines only, it is

argued that many more will not pay the licence fee. If you ask the BBC

to disconnect people, it would have to install set-top boxes likes sky

and virgin, which would also cost millions. It means the BBC would no

longer be a universal service and would move towards a subscription

service. In other words, it would no longer be dear old auntie Beeb. That

is why any deal on decriminalisation is some way off. It is all wrapped

up in much bigger arguments about the BBC and the licence fee. It is

worth remembering the first call is -- calls to get rid of the licence

fee whereby Lord Beaverbrook in 1923. It has some way to run yet.

Hundreds of people have gathered in Poland today to remember the RAF

servicemen, who died while taking part in the Great Escape of the

Second World War. Exactly 70 years ago, scores of men held in the

German prisoner of war camp, Stalag Luft III - headed for freedom

through a tunnel codenamed Harry. They were celebrated and

romanticised in the 1963 Steve McQueen film, but only three men got

away successfully. 50 were shot after being recaptured. Our

correspondent is in the Polish town. This is the view from the

reconstructed German guard post which looks out on the old prisoner

of war camp. What those sentries could not see was a tunnel that ran

very close to the guard post. You can see the marker which indicates

its presence today. 17 men were making their way through that tunnel

to freedom. -- 70 men. One by one they carried the rain streaked

photos along the forest track. If the serving RAF personnel,

representing 50 men from another generation, who used their captivity

to fight back. Under the surrounding pines, moss covered brick and

concrete, provide the only remaining links to a wartime story which

spawned a Hollywood blockbuster. The story of an ambitious plan to tunnel

out of what was billed as an escape proof camp and allow a record number

of allied airmen to head for home. It was audacious. It was quite

remarkable. When you think that tunnel was dug by people without

tools, with a deep security or secrecy, we knew it was being

planned because there was work going on in the room next to me, making

uniforms and things. Three tunnels were dark and only one use. The

tunnel still lies between the feet of those who visit the spot where

more than 70 men made a break for freedom. It was only the following

day when we heard roughly how many had got through. The Germans canted

us to try to establish how many people were missing. Admittedly,

they got little help from us. We kept moving around to confuse the

counting. This morning, veterans joined family members from around

the world in laying wreaths at the tunnel exit. The number of

eyewitnesses is dwindling but the fascination with this tale of

endeavour and sacrifice still in Jaws. The visitors that came here

represented all the nationalities that took part in the escape that

came under that wire. It was not just Britain, it was the

Commonwealth, Poland and another of other countries. The tributes

represent that. It is not about glorifying war or remembering the

images in a Hollywood movie, it is about a place of peace and

remembrance. Early this morning we got

temperatures down to minus 6.8 degrees in Northumberland. That

makes it the coldest day, not just for the spring but the winter just

gone. There is a lot of sunshine. That is what most of us will see for

the rest of the day, some long spells of sunshine. It might turn

hazy with patchy cloud. There is some cloud towards the West which is

bringing a rather different day to Northern Ireland, Wales and the

South West. It is windy and wet. There is a cold field to things.

After the cold start in Scotland, it is a lovely afternoon the template

is getting up to nine degrees. Any fog has did this period --

temperatures getting up to nine degrees. Any fog has disappeared. A

decent afternoon for East Anglia, the south-east and the Midlands. It

will change in the south-west. We are back into the cloud, the wind

and the rain. The rain is not overly heavy but a wet afternoon. It will

push its way into Scotland and creep its way across England. The further

east you are, the temperatures might drop away for a time. For most of

us, a lot of cloud around and a fair bit of rain. Temperatures about

four, five degrees. Tomorrow, there will be a fair bit of cloud and rain

around. East Anglia, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire will do quite well. In

the south-west, properly brighter than today but showers around.

Further west on choose the night and on to Wednesday, it will gradually

be thought out. On Wednesday, an easterly breeze will drag a weather

system in from the North Sea. The close of the proximity to the North

Sea, the cloud will thicken up. It could be quite wet. It will not rain

everywhere. There will be some sunshine around through the week

ahead. When the sun comes out, it will feel pleasant. Some rain in the

forecast but nothing too heavy into widespread. A chilly, easterly

breeze will develop into the latter part of the week. The Malaysian

Prime Minister is about to update the world on the latest development

is often more sightings of possible wreckage from the missing Malaysian

plane. An Australian mission is expected to reach the site shortly.

You can watch that on the BBC