07/05/2014 BBC News at One

'Manifestly dysfunctional' - the damning verdict on The Co-op Group

in a new report. A former city minister calls for

widespread reform, and says the group's board was "still stuck in

denial over a near ruinous failure of governance". I think it's only

through strong language that I can get the message through to the eight

million members that radical and fundamental change is required.

We'll be hearing from Lord Myners, who wrote that report.

Chaotic scenes outside court as the former chairman of The Co-op Bank

Paul Flowers pleads guilty to drug offences.

Also this lunchtime: police are investigating whether a violent

criminal struck again. The trial of veteran broadcaster

Stuart Hall hears claims that he repeatedly raped two girls in his

dressing room at the BBC. And who says there's no politics at

Eurovision? Russia's entry is booed as it reaches the final in

Copenhagen. Later on BBC London: A woman walks

free from court after killing her husband in a failed suicide pact.

And anger at The Met after police hold a teenager with Down's syndrome

for nine hours. Good afternoon and welcome to the

BBC News At One. There's a warning today that the

future of The Co-op Group could be in danger unless it makes radical

changes to the way it is run. The former Labour minister Lord Myners

has published a report in which he says the current management

structure isn't fit for purpose. He's recommending the creation of a

much smaller governing board made up of people with more business

experience. Simon Gompertz has more. It comes on the day the former

chairman of the bank Paul Flowers was charged with drug possession.

It is The Co-op calamity. The running of all its assets condemned

in one of the most condemning report ever produced on a British

business. It is from the former minister and M chairman Lord

Myners who says the board is not up to the job. I would say the

competency level of the regional level directors is very low by the

standard of what is required. Some of them understand -- struggled to

understand basic financial concepts. The Co-op was the heavyweight food

retailer in the 1950s, but recently it has lost ?3.5 billion of its

value. Lord Myners says it's structure of local committees

electing to regional ones and then a large board does not work. He wants

a smaller, professional board, a nominations committee to bet

directors who would be elected, bypassing it is, plus a national

membership committee to handle ethics. Much damage has been caused

by the near collapse of the Co-operative Bank, but despite the

dire situation, there is opposition from so -- from some co-op regions.

What he needs is the current members of The Co-operative Group to be able

to vote for significant changes. It does not help if they are being

criticised as they happened today. By issuing such a damning report on

the leadership of The Co-op, Lord Myners is damning -- piling the

pressure on members to approve the sort of professional board he wants

to see. Otherwise, he warns the very existence of the group could be

under threat. The Co-op has stated it is committed to far reaching and

fundamental reform. Decision time comes at the annual general meeting

in ten days when it votes on its future.

Meanwhile, the former chairman of The Co-op bank, Paul Flowers, has

appeared in court charged with drugs possession. He was arrested last

November after newspaper allegations that he'd been involved in a drugs

deal. He'd stepped down from The Co-op six months earlier over

concerns about his expenses. Ed Thomas is outside Leeds Magistrates'

Court. There was absolute chaos as Paul

Flowers arrived. He was surrounded by journalists. He refused to answer

any questions. Inside was much more calm. His barrister said he was full

of remorse, and a man of good character. This report has flash

photography. Paul Flowers came to court

prepared, three minders by his side, ready to admit his guilt and

to face justice. But justice wasn't ready for him. The doors were locked

and there was nowhere to go. So, he waited, and told reporters exactly

what he thought of them. It was those same vultures who published

this. Secret filming of the former co-operative bank chairman buying

cocaine, methamphetamine and kept on. Films by a man who thought the

former chairman was a hypocrite. And then, there was this, his disaster

of a performance in Parliament, in front of MPs, about the near

collapse of the Co-operative Bank. Roughly, what is your total asset

value? Just over 3 billion. I am talking about the assets. I am as

well. Your annual accounts showed them at 47 billion. Today, he left

court surrounded by chaos. His criminal case is over. What do you

say to your former colleagues? But he is a free man. Before he left, he

said, don't add me any questions, because you won't get any answers.

You still get the sense there are some questions that need and spring.

The main one is, how did you get to the very top of the co-operative

Bank and stay there for so long? Police are investigating whether

there is any link between an armed robbery and the escape of a

convicted armed robber known as the Skull Cracker. Armed police were

sent to the scene at 10:20am after reports of an armed robbery. Surrey

Police say they are cooperating with Kent Police who are leading the hunt

for the 55-year-old Skull Cracker who absconded from a prison in Kent

over the weekend when he was serving 13 life sentences for robbery. The

last confirmed sighting of him was in Twickenham on Monday evening,

that is six miles from where this armed robbery took place this

morning, so it is a natural line of enquiry. But police are being

cautious about saying it is any more than that. It is an early stage of

the investigation. They have asked anyone who may have seen anything

around that building society at 10am to contact them.

The trial of Stuart Hall has heard that the veteran broadcaster groomed

two young girls, then repeatedly raped them in his BBC dressing room

in Manchester in the 1970s. The jury heard that one of the girls was aged

between ten and 12 when she was first raped - the other was as young

as 12. The court's also been told that Stuart Hall does not dispute

that he had sexual intercourse with the girls, but that he denies that

it was rape, and will say it was consensual. Judith Moritz has been

listening to the morning's proceedings.

That's right, the jury were told that last year Stuart Hall was

convicted of these sexual abuses of 13 girls. In the wake of the

publicity surrounding that case, two women have come forward also

alleging that they were abused by the former broadcaster in the late

1970s. Abuse which includes, they say, multiple counts of rape. The

jury were told some of the detail of that today, but Stuart Hall's

barrister also told them that, whilst his client admits having

sexual intercourse with the girls in the 1970s, he will say was

consensual. He said to the jury, you will have to decide whether or not

he is a rapist. My report contains some flash the geography.

Stuart Hall was brought to court again this morning from prison,

where he is serving a 30 month sentence for child sex offences he

was convicted of last year. Today, the new trial against him began. He

listened to proceedings through headphones as the prosecution opened

its case. Peter Wright QC told the jury that Stuart Hall braked and

indecently assaulted two girls in the 1970s when they were younger

than 16. He said, these were young, impressionable teenagers being

groomed by a sexual predator into satisfying his sexual requirements.

He took advantage of the influence he held over them. Now, all these

years later, their silence has been broken. The court heard that the

girls were raped in his dressing room at the former BBC studios in

Manchester. One girl says it happens so often she lost count, but

estimates at least 30 occasions. The jury was told Street -- Stuart Hall

admits to having sex with the girls, but will argue they consented. He

denies 15 charges of rape and five of indecent assault. The case

continues. The jury have begun to hear from the

first witness in the case, the first of the women who alleges she was

abused as a child. She's been telling them about a situation when

she was in a swimming pool would Stuart Hall as a young girl and she

says that he groped her. She said, I remember feeling very uncomfortable

with the scenario. He kept holding me all the time like an invasion of

your space. The trial continues. The Nigerian government has offered

a reward of ?175,000 to help find the schoolgirls kidnapped by the

Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram. A team of American experts,

including military advisers, is being sent to the capital Abuja to

help in the search for the girls. From Nigeria, Tomi Oladipo sent this

report. It has been three weeks since the

girls were adopted. So far, the Nigerian government has appeared

powerless to rescue them. This has caused outrage on the streets of the

Nigerian capital, Abuja, with protests growing every day. These

feelings are being echoed around the world. If the world does nothing and

they get away with it then we set this horrible precedent, so I think

it is extremely important something is done to try to find these girls

and bring them home. God forbid we can't, we still have to bring these

men to justice. The US is now sending in a team to help. This

organisation has been one of the worst local terrorist organisations

in the world. We have long sought to do with Nigeria in dealing with them

and we will do everything we can to assist them in their recovery of

these young women. Looking at what is on offer, the US operates a base

nearby. From there, it can send drones to fly over the dense forests

where the girls are thought to be capped. Military and forensic

experts are also expected to be deployed. The focus in Nigeria

should have been on the World Economic Forum looking at regional

growth, but it has been overshadowed by this painful news. Nigeria has

grown to be the largest economy in Africa, and that is the picture they

would want the world to see. But it is different to ignore the ongoing

security issues which have cost thousands of lives in recent years.

For the families of the kidnapped girls, the agony continues. They're

been reports of eight more girls being taken by Boko Haram.

Here, David Cameron called the abductions an act of pure evil.

During Prime Minister's Questions, he also confirmed that a British

military training team was already in the country, and that the UK was

ready to help in any way it could. Let's speak to our chief political

correspondent, Norman Smith. These were Mr Cameron's first words

on the kidnapping of the Nigerian schoolgirls and he said as a father

of two daughters who could only imagine the pain that the families

were going through. But it is clear there is a degree of frustration in

government circles about the response of the Nigerian authorities

so far. Mr Cameron said that had been repeated offers of help after

the girls were kidnapped three weeks ago. There is already a team of

British military trainers in Nigeria, there are counterterrorism

officers on-site, but my understanding is that so far there

have been no requests for assistance from the Prime Minister. It is not

just the humanitarian fact about is prompting British government in

patience. There is also a concern that this goes way beyond Nigeria.

Mr Cameron's view is that there is that this affects the whole world,

it is about Islamic extremism. This is an act of pure evil, it has

united people across the planet to unite with Nigeria and to find these

children and return to their parents. The British government made

repeated offers of help to the Nigerian government and I will be

speaking to the leader this afternoon. We stand ready to provide

any assistance and to work closely with the US. We already have a

British military training team in Nigeria, the Foreign Office have

counterterrorism experts. We should be proud that we are playing a role

in helping to educate a thousand Nigerian children. This is not just

a Nigerian issue, it is a global issue. There are extreme Islamists

around our world who are against education and progress, equality. We

must fight them on and take them on. That is perhaps another reason why

there is this irritation, frustration, I think, in government

circles. Not just the backed of the humanitarian horror of the situation

and the need to confront this Islamist extremism, but because

through British government aid we supply 600,000 places the

schoolgirls in Nigeria. In Syria, it looks like the siege of Homs could

be over. It had been known as the capital of the revolution. Now, the

two sides have reached an agreement which will see more than 1000 rubble

troops pulling out of the city. Our correspondent has been monitoring

events from Beirut. -- rebel troops. This is very significant

symbolically and strategically. This place was called by the opposition

in the capital of the revolution, and now they are abandoning it. The

rebel fighters that we saw looked utterly demoralised. We spoke to

people by Skype who were extremely bitter about, in their view, being

abandoned by the outside world and by their own political leadership in

Turkey, and by the other rebel fighters, just outside Homs. This

was a very painful decision for them, no mistake. It was one which

divided deeply the rebel forces inside Homs. It took several months

for them to agree to this withdrawal. The Islamists Nusra

Front, linked to Al-Qaeda, wanted to stay and carry eight Campana line of

suicide bombings to break the siege. In fact, they started to do that.

But it did not work in the face of air strikes. It is not a complete

surrender, because they have been allowed to leave with their weapons,

but they have now abandoned this very important place. The upshot is

that President Assad is looking stronger than ever. Our top story

this lunchtime - a report says the Co-op group is in danger of

disappearing because its management structures are not fit for purpose.

Still to come, move aside, Tyrannosaurus rex, here is Pinocchio

rex. Later on BBC London News, digging deep to bring communities

together, can Gardening help people feel less lonely? And could it be

the end of the line for this steam engine? Younger volunteers are

needed to keep it running. South Africans go to the polls today

in the first vote since the death of Nelson Mandela. The ruling African

National Congress is favourite to win the election, but its campaign

has been hit by concern over high unemployment and corruption. Here's

our Africa correspondent, Andrew Harding. They began queueing here

before dawn. Many are still loyal and grateful to the party which

helped to liberate South Africa and has been in power ever since.

Freedom of speech, better roads, better facilities, and we are no

longer treated like slaves, like they used to treat us like slaves,

long ago. So you will be voting today for... ? For the legacy of the

old man. For the ANC. No doubt about it. Which explains why Jacob Zuma

will almost certainly keep his job, despite being accused of

corruption. That the ANC is the army was brought into this impoverished

township after riots yesterday. In troubled communities like this one,

the optimism of 20 years ago has evaporated, to be replaced by

cynicism, frustration and increasingly, by violence. These

teenagers say they took part in yesterday's protests. At the heart

of all young South Africans, the so-called porn frees, are struggling

to find work. -- Born Frees. He has done nothing but corruption. So I do

not think the ANC should lead any longer. A new party should begin a

chance to lead us. And there are plenty of parties vying for power,

splitting the opposition vote. Some are promising an end to corruption,

others are complaining that too much of the economy remains in white

hands. Here, we found plenty of frustrated ANC supporters who were

considering a protest vote today. By not voting them today, I am sending

assigned to them that I am your supporter, but the thing is, I am a

bit frustrated with what you are doing to our people. And that is a

common view here, that the ANC is losing its way, but it may not be

beyond redemption. A 77-year-old man has died after his

car was hit by a train at a level crossing in North Yorkshire. The

incident happened at around a quarter past nine this morning. No

passengers were injured but the train driver was treated for severe

shock. The author Leslie Thomas, best known

for his novel about national service The Virgin Soldiers, has died. The

83-year-old also worked as a journalist, covering the trial of

the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. He died at his home near

Salisbury in Wiltshire after a lengthy illness.

The care industry needs to make sure that their workers have a basic

grasp of English before they are allowed to work with vulnerable

people in their homes. That's according to a government advisor

who says that poor language skills could lead to the bad care and abuse

of patients and racial abuse towards carers. Here's our social affairs

correspondent Michael Buchanan. Allowing a stranger into your home

can leave many people feeling vulnerable. Carers are often asked

to carry out basic tasks such as cooking, cleaning and bathing, so,

being able to understand each other is crucial. Many workers from

outside the European Union already have to prove they can speak basic

English. Now, this government adviser says it is time for care

agencies to make sure their employees from within the EU also

have good language skills. It is the core of the care work,

communication. And also, interpersonal relationships. If you

do not have the necessary skills to build that on, it may cause further

problems, further misunderstanding and a stress. The care industry

relies heavily on foreign workers. 20% of the UK's carers are migrants.

In the major cities, it can be 50%. These two Hungarian women used to

work as carers. Even though they both speak good English, they still

had problems. I did not know the word hoist, or I did not know the

word gravy, what you put in chicken stew! Care agencies accept good

communication skills are essential, but they say paying for more

training could be difficult. Social care is dramatically underfunded in

the UK. We need to make sure that local authorities, who purchased the

majority of care, our funding care properly. One of the biggest risks

is the training, including training in English language, suffers if care

is underfunded. As the population ages, more carers will be required.

Those looking after us will need the right skills to make The Appeal

Court has ruled that the sentence given to a man who killed another

man with a single punch was not "unduly leniant".

Russia says there is no point in holding a new round of talks on

Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary is in Kiev today. There should be no doubt

that the Russian government is trying to orchestrate conflict and

provocations in the east and south of Ukraine, and that the immediate

goal is the destruction of elections on the 25th of May. Although of

course, they might also be trying to provide a pretext for intervention.

Our correspondent is in Kiev. The situation is already tense, this

would appear to make it even more so? That's right. We also spoke to

the Foreign Secretary one on one, and in addition to what is going on

right now, we asked what the long-term consequences of this

crisis could be. William Hague told us that it could be very serious. He

said although the West would continue to work with Russia on

international issues, he said that Russia is obviously not sharing our

values. He said ten years ago there was hope that Russia shared our

values, but this was not the case. I asked him if this meant that this

could be a Cold War stand-off. He said he would not describe it as a

Cold War, but he said, I would say we have to be ready for a different

state of relations with Russia, in the next ten years. So, obviously,

this is not just something which affects Ukraine and the The Green

Party has launched its local election campaign in the West

Midlands today. West, but it is something which is going to be

affecting the West and relations with Russia for some time to come.

There were clashes of a different kind last night between supporters

of Ukraine and Russia, this time it was on the stage, for the Eurovision

Song Contest. When the Russian act went through to the final, the

audience left judges and viewers in no doubt about how they felt about

current events in Ukraine. Lizo Mzimba has the story. With the

continuing political tension between Russia and Ukraine, many were

waiting to see how it might affect the annual contest celebrating

musical unity. Ukraine's semifinal performance from Maria Yaremchuk was

well received. She went on to qualify for the final. Russia's

entry from the teenage Tolmachevy Twins song about the world showing

some love. But when it was announced that they would be one of the

countries competing in the final on Saturday, there were boos in the

arena. COMMENTATOR: Russia have a 100%

success rate in qualifying for the final. Oh, the audience do not seem

to like that... I am from Russia, I have Ukrainian roots, but here, I am

only here for music. There is politics, and this is music summer

so we are glad that Russia gets through as well. The UK

automatically qualifies for the final, but whoever wins on Saturday

could end up being overshadowed by Russia and Ukraine.

More than 60 million years ago, it was this fearsome beast,

Tyrannosaurus rex, that ruled the Earth. Well scientists from

Edinburgh say they've discovered a new species in China, uncovered by

workers digging on a construction site. It's slightly different from

other finds, with a longer snout, which has led the scientists to

nickname the dinosaur Pinocchio rex. Jon Brain reports. You wait 66

million years to be rediscovered, and when you are, all anybody wants

to talk about is how big your nose is. Step forward Qianzhousaurus

sinensis, nicknamed Pinocchio rex on account of his extraordinary long

snout. The remains of the skull were discovered in southern China.

Researchers from Edinburgh University examined them and

identified a previously unknown species of dinosaur. Pinocchio was

actually related to our more familiar friend Tyrannosaurus rex.

They would have shared the same toothy grin. The T-rex was more

fearsome looking, with thicker teeth and a more powerful jaw and a much

smaller snout. But despite his comical appearance, you would not

have wanted to meet Qianzhousaurus sinensis in a dark alley. He would

have looked funny with these little horns sticking out from his nose,

but it would've been a deadly animal. It was not as big as T-rex,

but hardly anything was. This guy would have been eight or nine metres

long, it would have weighed about a tonne, you would have run from it!

Scientists say they expect more species to be discovered. It is a

doubt any of them would be a match for T-rex himself.

mix of sunny spells and showers. Coming further south, we start to

lose the showers. It has been quite sunny up to now. But a bit more

cloud feeding in in the afternoon. Reasonable temperatures. Let's go

back to the rain as we head back into northern England. Not a

pleasant end to the day. Not too much rain getting across to the

eastern side of the Pennines until later on. We will keep the breeze

going, and quite a bit of cloud, except in northern Scotland, which

will have some clearer spells. You might have noticed some more rain

heading in behind me, thanks to this weather system. It is going to be a

little bit messy, in terms of the amount of rain, and how far north it

gets. Not a pleasant day as you come into Northern Ireland and across the

rest of England and Wales. Never reliably dry, really. Quite a breezy

day as well for Friday. This time more of a mix of sunshine and

showers. If you catch a shower, you will know about it. They will be

quite heavy, I think. Looking ahead to the weekend, it is not a pretty

picture, to be honest. Saturday in particular looking wet for many of

us. Call blowing in as well. Our main headline... There has been

a warning that the Co-op Group could diminish into insignificance if it

does not make radical changes to the way it is one. That is all