06/06/2014 BBC News at One

The world remembers those who fought and fell on D-Day seventy years ago

Heads of State and World leaders stand alongside those who served,

It was the moment that changed the course of the Second World War,

when Allied forces landed on the beaches of German-occupied France.

These men waged war so that we would know peace. They sacrificed so we

could be free. They fought in hope of a day when we would no longer

need to fight. I'm here in Normandy where events

are taking place throughout As veterans honour their fallen

comrades, more acts of remembrance Back to Normandy shortly. The

other headlines, this lunchtime. The Conservatives hold off UKIP -

and win the Newark by-election. The parents of the baby who died

after being poisoned by a contaminated drip will meet

hospital officials later today. The IMF admits, it got it wrong,

on the UK economy but says the Later on BBC London, seven people

are injured, three seriously after a crash involving a police car in east

London. And we report on the growth of Southend airport and its

expansion plans for the future. Hello and welcome to Arromanches,

on the day that thousands of people are gathered to remember

the bravery and courage of those who took part in the D-Day

landings - the event that helped Seventy years ago, Allied troops

poured on to Normandy's beaches. Almost 160,000 arrived and an

estimated 4,000 lost their lives. Today, world leaders,

Heads of State and hundreds of veterans are attending commemoration

events, in what is likely to be the last time a major D-Day anniversary

is marked by large numbers of men Services have been held, among

others, in Bayeux this morning. Events have been taking place in

several parts of Normandy, to commemorate the heroes of the

longest day. Earlier, President Hollande visited the American

Cemetery above Omaha beach where more than 9000 American servicemen

are buried. President Obama paid tribute to the courage and sacrifice

of those who waged war so that we might know peace. Our correspondent

has more. For the very last time on such an occasion, Britain's D-Day

veterans raise the standard at Arromanches were so many of the

British forces came ashore on that momentous day 70 years ago. They

will still come, of course, as long as they can, but with the numbers

dwindling, they are disbanding their association. It adds to the potency

of this particular, oration. --, more Asian. By ear and by sea they

came, more than 150,000 of them come up mainly British, Americans and

Canadians. There was an unprecedented armada of more than

5000 landing ships assaulting the beaches. Codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold

and Sought. It was an organisation the likes of which had never been

seen before and it was the pivotal point of the war in Europe. Today,

the presidents of the United States and France made the pilgrimage to

gaze down on Omaha Beach. The Americans called it held speech as

they endured some of the most withering German resistance. If

prayer was made of sound and the skies -- the skies over England that

night would have deafened the world. I am honoured to return here today

to pay tribute to a man and woman of a generation who defied tyranny.

Among them are the veterans of the day. We are humbled by your presence

here today. Back on the beach at Arromanches, it might not have been

quite like this but today's amphibious forces with a flavour of

the events of 70 years ago, a reminder of the magnitude of what

they accomplished. And overhead, two Spitfires in the

distinctive black and white markings of D-Day. And evocative sight and

sound that echoes down the decades, even for those for whom the courage

and sacrifices of that day now seem almost unimaginable.

Commemorated services held in many churches and cathedrals along the

coastline. Most poignantly, but groups of people gathered around

hedges where there is a small cross marking an event where just a few

men may have been killed on D-Day and in the following days but for

whom the families have made a pilgrimage to share their quiet

moments. At bio Cathedral, -- Bayeux Cathedral, a service attended by the

Prince of Wales, the ringing the bell specially struck to mark the

anniversary. The Queen, accompanied by the Duke

of Edinburgh, attended a service at the Commonwealth graves cemetery,

laying a wreath in honour of the British and Commonwealth soldiers

who fought at the beaches of Sought, Juno and Gold on June six, 1944. We

can now go to my colleague, Robert Hall, who is in a year for us. --

Bayeaux. And what an appropriate setting. The stones here illustrate

the ferocity of the combat during those days in the summer of 1944.

The data here, June, July, August. The ages on the stones, 18, 19,

early 20s. This has been a morning of remembrance, not just of the war

dead but of the millions killed across Normandy because of the

ferocity of that battle. And it has been a day of appreciation. The

veterans and families gathered around the central cross there, they

walked here from bio Cathedral, through lines of achieving and

applauding townspeople. -- Bayeux. There was a real sense of a bond

which has existed ever since the first liberators came up short. --

came ashore. Several of the veterans world whelmed. Some were

experiencing this for the first time. One man said to me, apart from

my marriage, this is the best day of my life. Robert Hall, thank you. And

here in Arromanches later today, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will

be meeting some veterans over a cup of tea. They are holding 80 parties

here in the square. And afterwards, a parade. The last ever parade, it

is believed, involving veterans who were actually hear 70 years ago. And

the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will take the salute from those very

men. No two today's other main stories. David Cameron has hailed

the conservative success and retaining the constituency of Newark

in Notts as a very good result. But the majority was reduced to 7403

votes by UKIP, who came second. Labour were third and in literal

Democrats recorded one of their worst results in six. Norman Smith

is in Newark. Over to you. If you listen very carefully, you can

almost hear the sigh of relief from Downing Street. The Newark

by-election was meant to be a fire break moments to halt the forward

march of the self-styled People's Army. My senses that they may not

have stopped the search to UKIP but they have perhaps blown a couple of

tyres out of Nigel Farage's bandwagon. Business as usual in

Newark. Certainly, no sign of any political earthquake. But then maybe

Newark was never earthquake country. The Tories' 44th safest

seat. Robert Jenrick is duly elected for the Newark constituency. This

was a must win for David Cameron and prompted a huge Tory effort. He

visited the constituency for times and his MPs were ordered to campaign

here at least three times. This is a very good result for the

Conservative Party and for the government. By-elections are

notoriously tricky. The last time we won one in government was over 20

years ago. And it is a good result because we worked hard and we had a

clear message about our economic plan, how it is working and we need

to stick at it to deliver for everyone in Britain. As for UKIP?

Are the English? I am afraid not. Not the response they wanted. Second

yet again. We increased our share of the vote six fold. We cut the

Conservative majority by more than half. We think that is quite an

achievement here. Labour were pushed into third place, not a great result

for an opposition one year away from a general election but they insist

that the vote was squeezed hard by UKIP. For the Lib Dems, more gloom

and another dire result. The worst in an anguished by-election since

the war. -- English by-election. What we have learned above all from

this is just how hard it is for UKIP or any small party to win under the

first past the post system. Yes, they can pile up the votes in the

European elections but under first past the post, they struggle. And

that must raise serious question marks about their prospects at the

next general election. The parents of a nine day old baby,

who died after contracting an infection from a suspected

contaminated drip, will meet The baby boy died on Sunday

at St Thomas' Hospital in London. The meeting will take place

at Southwark Coroner's court, and our Medical correspondent

Fergus Walsh is there. Fergus, tell us more about this

meeting. The meeting was called by the

Southwark coroner, Doctor Andrew Harris, and he has asked for

interested parties to attend. That will include the parents of Yousef

Al-Kharboush, nine days old, born prematurely. He died after being fed

a contaminated intravenous feed. His parents will be here, as will the

hospital authorities from Saint Thomas as hospital and the

manufacturers of the feed. -- Saint Thomas's Hospital. In due course,

there will be an inquest. 18 babies have been affected. Could

there be more cases? The could, but it is unlikely. There were three

cases reported yesterday but no baby has fallen ill since Tuesday. 22

hospitals were sent this contaminated batch did has a very

short shelf life. It has either been used recalled. Having it is unlikely

that we will see more cases. -- I think it is unlikely. All 17 that

survived the infection are responding well to antibiotics.

New measures have been announced, to tackle the falling conviction

The proposals have been put forward by the Director of

Public Prosecutions - Alison Saunders - who'se calling

for renewed efforts to dispel what she calls, 'myths and stereotypes',

We have seen great improvement in the way that police and prosecutors

work together to improve the way that we handle rape. We have already

seen an increase in the number of referrals and the successful

conviction rates from six or seven years ago. But we know there is more

we can do and this is about making sure that we reaffirm and reinforce

with police and prosecutors, how they look at cases, making sure they

do not take into account the stereotypes. And to make sure that

they focus on the fence rather than the vulnerabilities of the victim.

Jim Kelly is here with me. What exactly is being proposed. -- June

Kelly. When Alison Saunders talks about

myths and stereotypes, she means that police and prosecutors have

sometimes got attitudes that it is basically too focused on the victim.

She says the rates to be more of a shift, looking at the behaviour of

the suspects. She says that this idea about preconceptions, these

preconceptions can be helped by juries who were hearing these cases.

She says that many people still think that rapes occur when a rapist

attacks a stranger in a dark alley and the victim put up the fight. In

reality, most rapists know their victims. The victim may not put up a

fight. When that case gets to court, it is all about consent and one

person's word against the other. Basically, she is trying to change

the mindset of the lease and prosecutors. What concerns her is

that the prosecution rate has dropped to 60%. It should be said

that some people are sceptical about all of this. They think they have

heard it all before. The success will only be judged if the

conviction rate goes up. Police in Canada have arrested

a man suspected of killing three police officers,

and wounding two others, in the city of Moncton, in New Brunswick.

It follows a massive manhunt for the suspect who was heavily armed,

and dressed in camouflage gear. Large parts of Moncton had been

in virtual lock-down for more than 24 hours.

Residents have now been told it is safe to leave their homes.

A student, who overpowered a man who opened fire

in a university building in Seattle, has been praised for his bravery.

One person died, and three others were injured

when a gunman walked into the university and started shooting.

The suspect is now in police custody.

The student tackled the man when he stopped to re-load his gun.

The head of the International Monetary Fund,

Christine Lagarde, has admitted that it was wrong, about its evaluation

of the UK economy in 2013. Just over a year ago,

the IMF's chief economist warned the Chancellor, George Osborne,

that he was "playing with fire" if he did not

ease off on his austerity policy. Here's our business correspondent,

Simon Jack. Every year, the IMF pops in for a

check to see everything is OK. In many countries affected by the

crisis, we are beginning to see some good news. The news coming out of

the UK recently has been pretty much all good.

But there were warnings the housing market presented a potential threat.

Keeping interest rates low could further fuel house prices, and

increase risk to financial stability.

The IMF said the Bank of England should consider capping the amount

people can borrow, but that is not enough according to the Shadow count

-- Shadow Chancellor. They are saying there is a real risk

to recovery, unless the Chancellor acts on housing supply.

That is something George Osborne acknowledged.

The only long-term answer is to build many more houses in this

country. That is why we have reformed planning laws, with house

building up a quarter. The IMF seems satisfied the risks

for now seem under control. The housing market is strengthening

but even then they said there was no bubble, the bag of England had the

equipment to deal with it and this is a positive report. So much better

than last year. Christine Blower guard left, saying

she got it wrong a year ago. Don't get complacent while I am away.

Our top story this lunchtime. Thousands of veterans, world leaders

and royalty attend ceremonies and church services across Normandy,

to mark the D-Day landings. And, still to come:

Could this year's Tour De France be missing Britain's

most successful road cyclist? On BBC London, it has covered 63

countries in seven months, today, the Queen's baton arrives in London.

The singer who has performed with them all, she remembers 40 years in

the business. Police have expanded their search of

an area of scrubland in Portugal, near to where Madeleine McCann was

last seen seven years ago. They were due to finish searching

today, but have been granted a further week when two more sites

will be looked at. Madeleine's parents,

Kate and Gerry McCann, say they are "encouraged" by the progress.

Tom Burridge reports from Praia da Luz.

For a fifth day, mainly British police searched this large piece of

scrubland in the Algarve. As they look for clues into the

disappearance of Madeleine McCann. This morning, two sniffer dogs from

South Wales Police back on site. Here, one officer lowers himself

into a drink to look into a network of old sewers that one underneath.

Yesterday, officers dug in an area where they had used special radar

equipment. The machine allows them to look for anything buried in the

ground underneath. All this, seven years since

Madeleine disappeared. Most of the police activity this

week has been focused on the far side in the distance. This morning,

they moved towards this end, with officers working in different areas

on this fairly large piece of land. What we still don't know is by

British police believe this site could be important.

Could it be just the geography? The apartment where the family stake is

here. Next door, the swimming pool where the family had dinner. The

site by the police are working is a short walk away. This area of land

is even nearer to wear a man was spotted carrying a child on the

night Madeleine disappeared. This morning, this British detective who

asked the Portuguese to allow the search, was back on site.

Despite the forensic suits and tents, we still do not know whether

they have found any evidence which could explain why Madeleine McCann

disappeared. Sir Bradley Wiggins says he is

?gutted? that he will miss, this year's Tour De France, as his team,

concentrates their efforts on the defending champion, Chris Froome.

Wiggins was the first Briton to win the race, in 2012, but missed it

last year, when Froome triumphed. Now, let's return to Normandy -

and the D-Day celebrations. Let's go back to Simon McCoy.

The Allied mission to storm the northern coast

of France started in the early hours of the 6th of June 1944, with tens

of thousands of troops taking part in the biggest amphibious assault

in military history. The operation proved to be the

beginning of the end for Hitler. 70 years ago, the windows of Bayeux

battled to gunfire. This morning, eyewitnesses to history made their

way up the cobbled streets to do their duty once more.

Under the vaulted roof of the cathedral which survived the

battle, they paraded their standards.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall joined more than 600

veterans in honouring the young men who still lie here in Normandy.

They shall grow not old as we that are left to grow old. Age shall not

weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in

the morning, we will remember them. We will remember them.

At the close, a new bell rang out for peace.

Sounded by section James Aitken and his grandson Stephen. The cathedral

is almost a mile from Bayeux Cemetery.

The veterans, carers and families stepped out into the warm sunshine.

The people of Normandy lost thousands of their own in the weeks

after D-Day, but they have never forgotten their liberators.

For a few brief minutes, the clock turned back to the hours when

soldiers and civilians met for the first time on the roads from the

beaches. How are you? I am very well, thank

you. Well done. I have the utmost respect

to every veteran who landed on D-Day. I am very proud of them. And

to be amongst them. I feel very lucky that I am here.

My company commander, they are all dead, they didn't make it.

I have been to Normandy before, several times. But, this day has

been out of the ordinary. It is absolutely amazing. In fact,

except for my wedding, the second-best thing in my life. At the

gate to the cemetery, a convocation of 2000 awaited the Queen and of

Edinburgh. NEWSREEL: Peacefully they like, our

dead. The first men were buried here in

the weeks following the landings. There are now more than 4000

graves, their last resting place. The men who sat among the ranks of

white headstones listened to the veterans bear, knowing full well

that many around them would not hear it again.

Sunrise over Normandy. The Royal Navy flagship sailed

as close as she could to shore, carrying today's young sailors

and Royal Marines. Most have seen the face of war

in this generation's conflicts. And, for the veterans on board,

it was a calmer night than they remembered

when they last sailed these seas. It was, though,

the very same hour 70 years ago that former Royal Marine Bill Bryant was

preparing to preparing to drive his landing craft to the beaches.

A task he carried out the three days without best.

-- rest. You just didn't know what to expect.

I was only 18 at the time. Everything was being let loose.

You never had time to get scared. You concentrate on the job you were

doing, looking after your crew, making everything all OK.

It is a little bit emotional to see it back again now.

But I'm looking forward to the day's trip on the landing craft

again. I won't get a chance to cox it, I'm

sure, because it is more complicated now than what it was in my day.

HMS Bulwark is part of an international task group

which has come here to commemorate the D-Day Landings.

Looking over the Normandy shores, it is unimaginable what they went

through that night when there were 6,000 vessels in the seas waiting to

disembark over 100,000 men. Joining Bill Bryant on the landing

craft, another veteran, 97-year-old Admiral Sir William O'Brien.

How rough were the seas? It wasn't rough.

He was never in any doubt that the landings would turn the tide of war.

Two of a doughty but dwindling Band Of Brothers, aware they may not

be meeting on these shores again. The D-Day commemorations will

continue throughout the afternoon. And we'll have coverage here on

BBC One. Every Allied Head

of State has been invited to an international ceremony on Sword

Beach at Ouistreham, hosted by the French President Francois Hollande.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be joined by the Prince of Wales

and the Duchess of Cornwall. Later, the Duke and Duchess

of Cambridge will have tea with veterans in Arromanches.

Aand Prince William will attend a parade of British veterans

in the town centre, when a minute's silence will be held

for those who lost their lives. That's all from us here

in Arromanches. One final thought from Normandy.

The timing of the D-Day landing was one of the

most crucial decisions of the Second World War, and it wasn't down, in

the end, to senior Allied soldiers, but to the weather forecasters.

So it's fitting that my colleague, Helen Willetts, can bring us

the weather from HMS Belfast. Helen.

Thank you. The weather, almost perfect today, but far from it in

those days. Lovely and sunny here on HMS Belfast. Let me show you the

chart from 70 years ago. A difficult decision to make. The weather

forecast equally difficult without computer models. Following on from a

storm, that made it very rough indeed.

We have some thunderstorms, some very active weather. It is beautiful

ahead of the storm. A little cloud in the south-west and northern

Scotland. It is warm and humid for many parts of the country. Humidity

rising through the day, temperatures into the mid-20s. Cooler across

Scotland. The risk of a few showers approaching the West of Northern

Ireland later. Those temperatures, certainly up on

yesterday, and on the middle part of the week.

But we are going to get some lively showers setting off this evening and

overnight, initially in southwestern areas. The Met Office has issued a

warning because they look like they could be torrential tomorrow. A very

warm and humid night, temperatures not dropping below 15 degrees in

some areas. A better day in the North tomorrow.

Let us look at the potential for these thunderstorms which could be

torrential, severe, with hail, strong and gusty winds. Enough to

cause some disruption in a few localities.

The worst will hit England and Wales, moving northwards. The far

north of Scotland will fare better today -- ban today. Even with the

cloud and thundery rain, with a lot of lightning tomorrow, it will still

be warm because of that humidity. By the end of tomorrow, the worst

will be over. A lot of thundery activity potentially tomorrow.

That tends to clear out of the way on Sunday. But there will be showers

following on behind it. Those showers will be with us for Sunday

but not as hot and sticky as during the course of tonight and tomorrow.

There will still be showers around. If you do have plans, please stay

tuned to the forecast. It is still warm even with the showers.

Now a reminder of our top story this lunchtime.

Commemorations have been held in Normandy to celebrate the 70th

anniversary of the D-Day Landings.