27/05/2014 BBC News at One

Television entertainer and artist Rolf Harris

starts giving evidence in his trial for alleged indecent assaults.

He told the jury how he got his break in television in 1953

before becoming a household name when he joined the BBC.

We'll get the latest from Southwark Crown Court,

where Mr Harris sang a section of his song Jake The Peg

and demonstrated the sounds made by a didgeridoo.

Also this lunchtime: David Cameron heads to Brussels

for an informal dinner with other EU leaders.

On the menu - what to do now about Europe?

Lloyds has announced plans to float a 25% stake in its TSB business

the Nigerian military say they've located the missing schoolgirls

Just over two weeks before the start of the World Cup,

and the Brazil team bus came under attack

from protesters angry with the cost of hosting the event.

Later on BBC London, Tower Hamlets is accused

of failing to protect voters from intimidation

after reports of crowds outside some polling stations.

And more fines for dangerous drivers and cyclists,

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC's News At One.

has admitted in court that he is a touchy-feely person,

but he's denied indecently assaulting

Mr Harris has been giving evidence for the first time

He faces 12 counts of indecent assault

on four alleged victims between 1968 and 1986, all of which he denies.

Our correspondent Sangita Myska is at Southwark Crown Court.

Rolf Harris has been giving evidence for over two and a half hours. That

evidence began with a great detailed account of his illustrious career

during which he invented the didgeridoo, that he had been

employed by the BBC in 1954, when he became a household name. He went on

to win honours and was eventually asked to paint the Queen. Within 45

minutes, it was put to him by his own defence that a woman who had

stood in court put it to him that he had groomed her from the age of 13

and indecently assaulted her several times. He categorically denied that

claim. My report contains some flash photography.

Did a Rolf Harris arrived at court to speak for the first time in his

own defence. -- today. Gripping the hand of his daughter and his wife,

he made his way past a wall of place, Rolf Harris was a TV

celebrity. His alleged victim was a TV celebrity. His alleged Victor a

second incident, his barrister said...

The entertainer is expected to give evidence for a total of three days.

He denies the charges against him. In the last hour, Rolf Harris has

told the jury that it was that alleged victim who in fact

instigated a consensual sexual relationship with him at the age of

16. He is expected to continue giving evidence this afternoon.

The leaders of the main Westminster parties

are responding to UKIP's success in the European elections.

other EU heads of government in Brussels today.

He says he wants them to heed the message of the voters.

Ed Miliband, in a speech in Essex, is to set out his approach

And after the Liberal Democrats' poor showing,

Nick Clegg is facing more calls from party activists

Mr Clegg, are you under pressure? Chris Mason has more.

Mr Clegg, are you under pressure? That is the kind of welcome you get

when you are a party leader and you get dumped in two sets of elections

on the same day. While some wonder whether he is up to the job of

Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg went to talk to young people looking

for a job themselves. Is he any good at the pool table? Possibly white,

no-one is watching! He acknowledged the European Union has to change but

he is still unapologetically keen on Brussels. We are in favour of

reform, we are in favour of a referendum, but we should be an

internationalist country, committed to a reformed European Union. I

accept it has been a massive setback for us, but we were right to stick

to our values and seek to make the case. This is one of UKIP's new

MEPs. He says the party has its eyes on another election. The first

priority is to head up to Newark and start hitting the doors and carry on

the earthquake into the by-election. It gives us a great opportunity,

with winning in the European elections, getting council groups

formed, that we can really progress and keep a sharp focus on getting

MPs in Westminster. That is why it is not just Nick Clegg with a

headache. The Conservatives and Labour have to face up to the UKIP

challenge. Ed Miliband is heading to Essex to do just that with advice

ringing in his ears from one of his predecessors about what the UK

outlook on the European Union should be. It is important that Europe

concentrates on a strong reform agenda and the issues where it is

necessary for each country to do well, but also takes on the UKIP

argument that the future of Britain would be advanced by being out of

Europe, or that the problems of Britain are to do with immigration,

because it is just not correct. David Cameron was on a building site

in London this morning. He is going to Brussels to meet other European

leaders. Expect a high visibility strategy from him about how he wants

to shake up the EU and offer a referendum on membership if he wins

the general election. In a moment,

we'll get the latest from Brussels and Europe correspondent

Matthew Price. First, we can talk to

our chief political correspondent, Norman Smith,

who's in Thurrock in Essex, where Mr Miliband will be speaking

this afternoon. The leaders are reeling from these

results, how much pressure are they under? Well, they face exactly the

same problem, namely what on earth to do about the UKIP surge. In a

speech that Ed Miliband will give, it might usefully be titled, how on

earth do I get back the lost voters? Answers on a postcard,

please. There are no obvious answers, and both Mr Cameron and Mr

Miliband are being pulled in different directions. Some say that

Mr Miliband must be more robust on immigration, others say, don't get

involved in an arms race with Nigel Farage over immigration. Some tell

David Cameron to break up the coalition, bring forward the

referendum, have a pact with Nigel Farage. Then some like Michael

Heseltine and Ken Clarke are saying, no, stand firm. They say no plan

survives first contact with the enemy, but old Mr Cameron and Mr

Miliband have had contact with the enemy and are now having to revise

their plans. And what about Nick Clegg after that dreadful day

yesterday? Well, what about Nick Clegg? He was looking a

yesterday? Well, what about Nick Clegg? He was looking little less

sick leave this morning, but the pressure is still on him. There are

still party activists demanding he go, a thread of emergency

still party activists demanding he by local constituencies, polls

suggesting he could lose his own constituency. What we don't know is

how numerous are his critics, how much momentum they have, and do they

have an alternative. But what we do know is that Mystic Lake's problems

have not gone away. Four. -- Mr Clegg.

And interesting dinner in Brussels tonight. Absolutely, and it will be

interesting if we get any readout from that dinner whether the

Eurosceptic vote, which has happened across Europe, it is worth through

membrane that the bulk of the voters chose pro-European parties, but a

big increase in support chose pro-European parties, but a

remembering. How chose pro-European parties, but a

to have an impact on the leaders who chose pro-European parties, but a

meet here? There are those who chose pro-European parties, but a

it is putting wind in the sales of people like David

it is putting wind in the sales of argue that in

it is putting wind in the sales of Union, the European Commission, the

council here and the European Parliament all need to start

thinking about how to reform the EU. And you would have thought he is

going to make a big push for that. Francois Hollande, the President

going to make a big push for that. massive challenge from the National

Front, the anti-EU and anti-immigration

Front, the anti-EU and been saying that Europe needs to

Front, the anti-EU and reconnect and reform with voters. So

some reconnect and reform with voters. So

in the minds of some of the leaders here, and we will see in the coming

days, but also years, of course, where exactly they want to go with

this. Matthew Price, Norman Smith, thank you very much.

Shares are to be sold in the high-street bank TSB.

Lloyds Banking Group, which currently owns the business,

will float a quarter of the shares on the stock market next month.

The bank was created out of Lloyds last year

as a condition for the government bailout

Our business correspondent Simon Jack reports.

Over the last few months, you may have noticed the return of

Over the last few months, you may brands to the high street. TSP is

back, and its owner has decided brands to the high street. TSP is

sell it to the public, with the first 25% of shares up

next month. -- TSB. The sales pitch is that this is a back to basics

next month. -- TSB. The sales pitch approach to banking. We

next month. -- TSB. The sales pitch bring local banking back to Britain,

a banking model where it is there to serve local customers,

a banking model where it is there to businesses, helped fuel

recovered by closing tax avoidance schemes and carrying out

investigations. HM Revenue and Customs said ?1 billion came from

criminals and ?2.7 billion from tackling avoidance schemes in court.

Military leaders in Nigeria say they know the whereabouts of more than

200 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by the militant Islamist group six

weeks ago. They said they have ruled out force to free them, saying it

would be too dangerous. There has been no sign of the girl since two

weeks ago but in front of a crowd showing its support for the

military, it was announced the girls have been located. The good news for

the girls is that we know where they are but we cannot tell you. Just

leave us alone, we are working and we will get them back. He said using

force would risky to try. This is this is what is left of the school

from where the girls were seized. They were taken in the middle of the

night and loaded onto trucks. A father whose daughters are still

missing told the BBC what he made of the latest news from the military. I

used to be completely downhearted but now that we have some

information about their whereabouts, we are beginning to feel comforted.

He called on the Government to do everything they can to secure their

release alive, but they must not use force, which may harm them, he said.

The news may be seen as a breakthrough but there are plenty of

people who are reluctant to take official statements at face value.

The Nigerians will be worried about this because in the past the

military has put out an announcement that has turned out to be not so

true so when we look at what has been said, we also look back and

take it with a pinch of salt. In churches and mosques, Nigerians keep

praying for a return of the girls and an end to the violence. Almost

500 people have been killed by Boko Haram since the girls were abducted.

More marches and demonstrations are planned. Across Nigeria, the calls

to bring back our girls alive will still ring out.

Our top story this lunchtime: The television entertainer and artist

Rolf Harris has started giving evidence at his trial. He denies 12

counts of indecent assault. Still to come: No end to the flooding misery

as farmers in Somerset say it will be years before they can recover

from the deluge. Later on BBC London, the family who

lost their son to cancer now fundraising. Could this man be the

new manager at Tottenham? Spurs confirm they are in talks with the

Southampton boss. Just a few short months ago,

this is what much of the country looked like with heavy persistent

rain bringing devastating floods. Particularly badly hit were farmers

in Somerset, and today they say they're still recovering from the

damage done, and that its impact It was a vast inland sea for weeks,

floodwater that covered farmland, killing everything it submerged.

When you drove along these roads just a few months ago, the roads

that were possible anyway, you were surrounded by floodwater. It was an

extraordinary sight and today it is completely different. Everything is

green, so full of life, but completely different. Everything is

fields things are not quite what they seem. James Winslade is a beef

farmer and for him this land provides grass for grazing and to be

cut for winter food. It is a crop, but one that is in a very poor

state. Buttercup is a smothering plant. It gets like Matt, it will

smother the seeds and daylight so else grows. Buttercup makes the

cattle have diarrhoea. Only about one third of this land is healthy.

At this time of year, his cattle should not be insurance but out on

the pasture. It is yet another cost. It will be 200,000 plus, I expect,

insurance costs, God only knows what they will be. It is hundreds and

hundreds of thousands. This is just for us. Many people have been under

water. There is no closing the door after work and leaving the worries

behind. Like so many people on the Somerset Levels, James' home was

devastated and is still drying out. This is where there were no bricks

left, and there is a huge hole there, and here, and in the other

room. So it just disintegrated basically? Literally washed out. The

wall on the other side was washed down. Because we had waves and they

were coming to this height, the depth of water was so great. One

silver lining in the clouds that caused so much chaos came from the

kindness of strangers. Farmers across the UK, donating huge amounts

of feed. No one could have predicted how much of a response we have

hard. Everyone jumped on board and helped, which shows how tight

British farming is across the UK. In these situations it is is a total

life-saver. James is battling on but says full recovery remains a long

way off. If we are lucky it will be by the end of next year, not this

year, to get everything back into sync again. Get them out to forage

and the grass to recover, it will take a long time. That of course

depends on mother nature playing her part. No one wants a repeat of last

winter or the one before. Surely this land and the people who live

and work here deserve some respite. The Ukrainian Government says

its forces have recaptured the international airport

in the eastern city of Donetsk, killing many of the pro-Russian

separatists who'd taken control. In the past few minutes the

Organisation for Security and co-operation in Europe said it had

lost contact with the observer team in Donetsk. The scars of battle,

yesterday's fighting at Donetsk airport left its mark here. Much of

what is on the ground is too graphic to show, body parts scattered

what is on the ground is too graphic the daybreak, in this city thought

it would never witness. In the last few minutes gunfire has broken out

in the direction of the terminal building. It is not of the intensity

it was yesterday but this could be the clean-up operation to flush out

the last elements of rebel controlled from Donetsk airport.

Quiet moments were pierced by the crack of machine guns. Ukraine's

government says its forces have now retaken the airport, but at a heavy

cost. The assault yesterday was intense, Ukrainian jets pounding

rebels who tried to seize the building. They struck back but

claimed at least 30 dead, a huge strength by Kiev but those who saw

it spoke of their horror. In my town, I am surprised. For me, it is

no good, no good to say how I feel. I feel, myself, awful. It is

terrible. Russia is the third force here, the separatists looking east

for help. Moscow says it will work with the new Ukrainian president but

its Foreign Minister called for restraint. TRANSLATION: The number

one task for the authorities is to bring an immediate end to the use of

the army against the public and an end to any violence by all sides. At

the battle scene, a futile attempt to restore normality. An

independence rebellion here has become something deadlier. Kiev says

its anti-terrorist operation must quicken and an end is drawing near.

Relatives of passengers on the Malaysia Airlines plane that

disappeared two months ago have been given access to information

British satellite firm Inmarsat has released 14 pieces

of data to families after mounting calls for greater transparency

The Boeing 777 had 239 people on board when it vanished in March.

An international investigation team concluded the jet flew south ending

up in the southern Indian Ocean. The newly-elected

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met his Pakistani counterpart

on his first full day in office. Mr Modi met Nawaz Sharif for a

discussion lasting about 40 minutes. Reports say the discussions centred

on concerns about militancy and It's seen as the start

of possible improved ties between the two neighbours whose relations

have been poor since a terror attack Pope Francis says he will show zero

tolerance to anyone in the Roman Catholic Church guilty

of abusing children. Speaking to reporters

on the flight back from his Middle East tour, the Pope also said

he would hold a special Mass in the Vatican next month,

with a group of abuse victims. Let's talk to our

Rome Correspondent, Alan Johnston. He is not the first Pope to do this

so what is different this time? Pope Francis is really trying to show

that he sees the whole sex abuse scandal as extremely serious, that

he understands the full gravity of it. On the plane, talking to

reporters, he reached for some powerful religious imagery. He

described the abuse by priests as an ugly crime that betrayed God,

comparing it even to devil worship. He said on this issue we have to go

forwards with zero tolerance. Announcing this planned meeting with

victims of abuse, he is showing that as head of the Catholic church, he

is ready to acknowledge personally the pain of those who suffered at

the hands of priests. The big message here is that he is trying to

listen, but already some of those who represent victims of abuse

around the world have said that they are far from impressed. They say at

the end of the day this meeting will be another gesture, just one more

piece of Vatican publicity, propaganda if you like. They are

only interested in concrete action. They want the Pope to punish the

senior figures in the Church who worked for years to cover up the sex

crimes of the clergy. Thank you. Increasing numbers of British

children are being registers are blind or partially sighted. The

charity Blind Children UK says much of the rise is because more

premature babies are surviving with one in 20 now likely to be born

blind. It is warning that delays in diagnosis and leaving children

unnecessarily visually impaired. One in 20 babies who were severely

premature are now likely to be born blind. Despite the increasing

numbers, the charity said that its own survey of parents with children

who had sight loss reported feeling depressed by the struggles they

faced. Many claim to have waited more than a year to get a

diagnosis. The charity says it's important they get the support they

need as soon as possible, otherwise it could affect their development

and their ability to make sense of the world around them.

As the World Cup gets nearer, you would have thought that the

appearance of the Brazilian football team in front of their home

supporters would have been an excuse for a rapturous welcome. Not this

time. As the team are leaving to their training ground, a group of

teachers staged a demonstration protesting against the money being

spent on the World Cup. These highly paid players, mostly based in

Europe, will have only seen the recent anti-World Cup protests from

afar, but the welcome from striking teachers at this airport will have

left them in no doubt. This World Cup is not being celebrated by

everyone. The team bus was mobbed as it left the airport but not by fans.

Excessive spending on new stadiums, as protesters see it, in what is

still in developing countries with low wages, has led to a wave of

protests across Brazil. The criticisms have been echoed by some

former players. Looking relaxed despite the protests, there is

tremendous pressure on this Brazilian squad to perform. The vast

majority of the public and thousands of journalists who cover football

here expects nothing less than a World Cup win. The finger of God

looking down here on the Brazilian training ground in the cool hills

above Rio de Janeiro, and this team will need all the help they can get

because the weight of expectation cannot be overestimated.

More protests are expected during the tournament, and so security will

be tight at stadiums like this one, where several games including the

final will take place. Team coaches have urged the country to get behind

the players and not to dwell on this division is of the tournament. Can

the World Cup once again unite this football mad nation?

Let's get an update on the weather forecast now.

Let's get an update on the weather forecast now. Nothing unusual for

the time of year but not great news if you are on the half term break at

the moment. Some wet conditions tending to be towards eastern

areas, always brighter in the west but even here and not immune from

the showers. This area of blue is an old weather front, and could be the

focus for some thunderstorms later. A lot of this is not showing up on

the radar because it is patchy rain and drizzle. The heavy bursts tend

to be across Lincolnshire and East Anglia. Further west, the rain will

come and go, and a cooler day under that cloud with breezy conditions

and the rain. Further west, some isolated showers through the

afternoon, but a lot of dry and bright weather. Staying dry and

right across parts of north-west England, but the showers will be not

as frequent for many because of the wind from the North Sea. That will

bring in further areas of thick cloud, outbreaks of rain, and by the

end of the night the wettest weather will be in the north-east of

England. Temperatures will even out between nine and 13 Celsius. Wet

spots tomorrow tending to be to the east of the Pennines, with many

parts of England and Northern Ireland occasionally seeing rain and

drizzle. The brightest weather out there will be top and tail of the

country, you will need some sunshine to lift those temperatures up to 18

degrees once again. Many will be at 12 or 13, but if you are looking for

something drier and brighter, why not head to the far north of

Scotland. Opposite end of the country, the south-west of England

has a good chance of seeing that sunshine. Elsewhere on Thursday, we

have the cloud, outbreaks of showery rain developing. The breeze keeping

temperatures down, but we could see temperatures into the high teens in

the south. Temperatures will rise towards the end of the week and we

will see drier and brighter weather developing. That is good news for

those on half term. Now a reminder of the top story this

lunchtime. Rolf Harris has started giving evidence in his trial. He

denies 12 counts of indecent