17/08/2011 BBC News at Six

The Prime Minister praises the courts for handing out stiff

sentences to rioters despite concerns about the severity of some

jail terms. After the worst violence in England

for decades, David Cameron defends the courts as some are accused of

knee-jerk reactions to satisfy the public's anger. What happened on

our streets was absolutely appalling behaviour and to send a

clear message is wrong that it won't be tolerated is what our

criminal justice system should be doing. Some are tougher than others.

A three-month curfew are to this teenager but these men get four

years in jail for trying to incite riots on Facebook. Now the appeals

begin. He was having a laugh on Facebook,

and it's only a group on Facebook. A Royal visit for London, Prince

Charles pace tribute to the communities affected. It's a small

minority that created this mayhem which has shocked so many people.

But there are wonderful characters out there who do such fantastic

work. Also: An unexpected rise in the number of people out of work.

Almost 2.5 million now unemployed. Killed by a shark on his honeymoon

in the Seychelles, Ian Redmond's wife pays a moving tribute to her

husband. And the experts trying to breathe

fresh life into Britain's vanishing lowland meadows.

Coming later in sport: A blow for the England rugby team because

scrum-half Danny Kay is injured and will miss the rugby World Cup

starting in three weeks in New Good evening, welcome to the BBC

News at Six. The Prime Minister has praised the courts for handing out

tough sentences to some of those involved in last week's riots.

Yesterday two men were jailed for four years for using Facebook to

try to incite rioting and another was given 18 months in prison for

having a stolen TV in his car. But concerns have been raised about the

severity of some some jail terms with some lawyers and campaigners

calling it a knee-jerk reaction leading to bad sentences. Tonight

one of those jailed has said he plans to appeal. Our correspondent

Chris Buckler reports. This teenager tried to start a riot,

but he walked free from court in Suffolk today having been given a

night time curfew. However, yesterday these two Cheshire men

were jailed for four years for the same crime, using the football

website to try -- football website to try to incite violence. There

There were different circumstances but the longer jail terms have

proved controversial. Including here in Northwich. Online Jordan

Blackshaw threatened to smash down this town. But his friends say the

courts have ignored that the trouble didn't happen. He was

having a laugh on Facebook, and the police, really for nothing, it's a

little group on Facebook. People haven't got big sentences that have

got caught for it, done the riots. And he is getting four years for

nothing. According to sentencing guidelines inciting violent

disorder carries a maximum sentence of five years. The minimum could be

a non-custodial sentence. But if a guideline prevents the correct

sentence from being given, in an exceptional case the judge can

sentence outside of that guideline. Some solicitors claim the usual

weight is not being given to mitigating factors such as having a

clean record, showing remorse, or pleading guilty at an early stage

in court proceedings. And judges here have made clear that there

will be longer sentences because of the aggravating factor that the

offences were committed during widespread disturbances. What

happened on our streets was absolutely appalling behaviour and

to send a clear message is wrong that it won't be tolerated is what

our criminal justice system should be doing. But those who have

already been sentenced could return to court, some are planning to

appeal the jail terms they've been given. I would expect the Court of

Appeal to be asked very soon to provide a guideline case or cases

so that judges can provide consistent if severe sentences

around the country. Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan went to prison

after calling online for a riot. It did cause some of the town shops to

close early. There's little simple fee for -- sympathy for his

sentence. You can't start affecting people's lives and businesses and

scaring innocent people. With many still to be sentenced, there are

families worried, including this mother whose 14-year-old boy has

been remanded in custody. He admitted stealing a baseball cap.

Those people who instigated the thing, people who were making

people go down there, people like that definitely treated more harsh

but not people who got caught up in it all, maybe just, I don't know, a

moment of madness. In the city's damaged by by riots there are many

families shocked at the swift harsh justice that the Government

promised and they've questioned whether there should be any

pressure from the politicians. Joining us now from Westminster is

our political correspondent Vicky Young. One man already tonight

saying he is going to appeal his sentence. We have heard tough words

from David Cameron, but does he have the political backing in this?

Up to a point. All the politicians agree that the courts are

independent, the riots were exceptional circumstances, so it's

not surprising that the sentences were pretty tough but there's a

definite difference on emphasis between the Conservatives and

Liberal Democrats in particular. David Cameron there openly

welcoming these tougher sentences. Today we have been starting to get

gentle words of warning from Liberal Democrats, if you listen to

what they've been saying, sentences should be proportionate and

appropriate. There should be no knee-jerk reactions and Sir Menzies

Campbell saying politicians shouldn't be booing or cheering

sentences. Yes punishment is important, they also want to look

at rehabilitation and Nick Clegg is concentrating on the communities

saying that's where the damage has been done, those who have done the

damage should go back, look at victims and apologise and clean up

the mess. There are some Conservatives who would agree with

that, but you won't hear many of them making that argument at the

moment. Thank you. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess

of Cornwall have been visiting areas of London hit by the riots.

Prince Charles said his charity, The Prince's Trust, is to double

its spending on youth projects in riot affected areas. The couple met

some of the residents who have lost homes and businesses.

They broken off from the Royal Family's holiday in Scotland for

the day to see for themselves what the riots had done to London.

In Croydon they saw the ruins of small businesses, mostly shops run

by families destroyed by the rioters. His most striking

impression? The sheer terror people experienced and still the unease is

there wondering what might happen at any stage, but I think the other

thing is important to remember is, many were saying, it's a small

minority created this mayhem. Tottenham in north London, where

the spark had first been ignited, they met some of the 45 families

who lost their homes. Have you lost everything? Everything. All your

clothes? Clothes, jewellery and artwork. They met members of the

emergency services, the policemen and women who had done their best

against what had often been impossible odds. And the ambulance

and firecrews who also found themselves on the frontline. And

then in Hackney the Prince sat down with youth leaders to discuss what

had gone wrong. First, the problem of gangs. Half the problem is

people join gangs because it's a cry for help. They're looking for a

framework, a sense of belonging and meaning. Too many young people had

too much undirected energy and aggression, he said. The challenge

was to use it positively. I have been trying the last 30 years to

suggest we should have a national community service, which would

allow a series of options for young people to do all sorts of things

depending on their own skills and abilities and talents. It was time

the Prince said to get to the heart of the problem. All we have been

doing is tinkering with the symptoms for a lot time and not

getting to the root cause. Make no mistake, these are matters the

Prince of Wales cares deeply about and on which he is not afraid to

intervene. The problems of the inner cities, the problems of

disadvantaged young people are precisely what the Prince's

charities were set up to tackle in the first place. And The Prince's

Trust in particular is responding to what happened last week. The

response to the riots of The Prince's Trust is to double its

spending on projects in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Britain's lacklustre recovery is taking its toll on the job market

with the number of people out of work up by 38,000 between April and

June. Just under 2.5 million people are now unemployed. The figures

also show that the number of women out of work has risen by 21,000,

taking the total to just over a million, that's the highest level

for more than 23 years. Here's our chief economics correspondent Hugh

Pym. Economic headlines haven't brought

much cheer recently. Slugish growth was reported for April, May and

June. The eurozone crisis saw shares plunge and today we have

learned unemployment is up. The number of young people out of work

has increased. This group is getting advice on how to prepare

for job interviews. It's part of the Government's work programme for

the long-term unemployed. Perry Godfrey has been signing on for two

years, getting his break just hasn't happened yet. I have applied

for loads of jobs, I have lost count to be honest. But I walk in

personally, hand in CVs and apply online. What response do you get?

go online and there's no work. do you feel about that? I feel

frustrated but I keep plugging away, keep my head up and hopefully

something will come out of it. Growth will help create jobs and

today the Chancellor was at looking for it. He was launching new

enterprise zones, designed to boost new employment. Today's

unemployment figures are disappointing, I have to say with

what's going on ined world and the world markets they're not entirely

unexpected. There's some good news, that employment, in other words,

people in work, that number is still going up. We are creating

jobs in this economy. And that was borne out with Scottish Power today

announcing a major investment programme which it says will

generate 1500 jobs. It's great news for Scotland because we are

creating new highly skilled jobs in Scotland and these are jobs that

are going to be there for the long- term and in addition to that I

think the whole energy sector is going through an investment boom.

Over there at the Bank of England they've become more concerned in

recent weeks about the subdued outlook for growth and we learned

today that two members of the key policy-making committee at the

recent meeting changed their minds and instead of voting to increase

interest rates as before, opted to leave them on hold. On that, the

committee was unanimous. Most leading economies are facing a

growth and unemployment problem and there could be more gloomy

headlines to come, if the economy doesn't gain some momentum.

A man has died after being arrested by police using a taser stun gun.

Dale Burns who was 27 was detained yesterday evening in Cumbria and

died later in hospital. An investigation is now under way by

the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

The Crown Prosecution Service has asked Essex Police to carry out

further inquiries into allegations that the Energy Secretary, Chris

Huhne, escaped a driving ban by asking someone else to accept

speeding points for him. The Liberal Democrat Minister faces

claims that he persuaded his then wife, Vicky Pryce, to take a three-

point penalty on his behalf in March 2003. He denies the

allegation. The wife of a British man killed by

a shark while on honeymoon in the Seychelles says she's devastated by

his loss. 30-year-old Ian red manned from Lancashire was --

Redmond was attacked yesterday while he was snorkelling. He is the

second person to be killed in a shark attack in the waurs off

Praslin -- waters off Praslin island this month.

The smiles of Ian and Gemma Redmond said it all. Friends say their

perfect wedding day was meant to be followed by the perfect honeymoon,

here on the Seychelles island of Praslin. But as Ian swam just 20

kwrordz from the shore -- yards from the shore he was attacked by a

shark while his wife could hear his skraoeupls -- screams. He was

viciously attacked to theams and leg. There were two people close by,

they tried to - they did remove him from the sea but unfortunately he

passed away. Tonight Ian Redmond's father said the whole family had

been left traumatised by his death. Only 11 days ago they were

celebrating his marriage. This is the Church where the couple were

married. It's St Michael's near Wigan and tonight Gemma Redmond has

paid this tribute to her husband, she said he was strong and brave, a

remarkable man who will be deeply missed. And friends too have been

left devastated. Barbara Keen still has the order of service from the

wedding. The service was beautiful. We all wished them very best of

luck in their lives together. is 11 days afterwards. 11 days

after. How are you feeling now? Very empty, very shocked. It's

horrific. It's believed this, a tiger shark, killed Ian Redmond,

although attacks are rare, a French diver was killed in the same waters

16 days ago but there were no warning signs on the beach and the

Seychelles head of tourism is now calling this a rogue shark,

something experts here find difficult to understand. In the

case of a snorkeller on the surface, the right signals, splashing

signals might have been given out but two attacks in broadly speaking

the same piece of water in a short time I would be looking for some

trigger or cause. While those questions remain, the Seychelles

Government Government has finally issued a swimming ban but that's

Our top story tonight, the Prime Minister praises the courts for

handed out stiff sentences to riot is despite the concerns about the

severity of the sentences. And coming up, seeds of Change, a

new hopes for Britain's banishing wild flower meadows.

And later on the news channel, is poor training to blame for the

rising rate of youth unemployment? And TJ Hughes close another 12

stores, with the loss of 585 jobs. A home for people with learning

disabilities in the Midlands is to be closed. The authorities have

announced that Arden Vale in Solihull is to be shut within a

week. The home is run by Castlebeck, the same company that operated the

care home near Bristol where the BBC's Panorama programme exposed

the shocking abuse of patients. The BBC has also learned the Care

Quality Commission had been told of the mistreatment at Winterbourne

View up to two years before the alleged abuse of patients was

exposed by the Panorama investigation. Here is Alison Holt.

The shocking treatment of the most vulnerable of people. It took an

undercover Panorama camera to expose the abuse at Winterbourne

View near Bristol. A home for people with learning disabilities.

The home is now empty, closed by the regulators, the Care Quality

Commission, after the programme. But details released under Freedom

of Information show how much it and local safeguarding authorities

already knew about Winterbourne View. Last year alone, the CQC

received nine report about incidents and complaints, compared

to four in the two years before. Most of the incidents detailed in

this document are official notification that something has

happened at Winterbourne View. That means they were investigated

locally. But what is striking is that Bath -- that time and again,

concerns are raised about the way in which patients are restrained.

Reports include this complaint made by a patient. It was alleged that

the patient had had his neck squeezed during restraint and had

difficulty swallowing after the incident. The patient also said

that the support worker gets rough when angry.

Another is reported for slapping a patient. But staff were disciplined.

A man also rang the CQC directly saying he was concerned about the

use of restraint and staffing levels. It took three months for

someone to call him back. We showed the details to a former care homes

inspector. She has asked to remain anonymous, as she is still involved

in the field. She believes further investigation should have been

triggered. It is the level of the violence, seeing the abuse within

the incident, and the use of restraint and techniques which are

not common practice for an organisation which is not high

security. These are not the most dangerous or difficult patients to

manage. The CQC says that incidents were reported and investigated

appropriately. In a statement, it For campaigners like Eileen Chubb,

who requested the information, it raises questions about what role

the regulator place. She maintains the warnings were there. You don't

have to be a regulator, you don't have to be, you know, a social

worker, to see that something is really, really wrong here. And that

all of these cries for help have gone unheard. The last time there

was a scandal around a learning disability home, Rob Greig advised

the Government. But a sense, there has been reorganisation across the

system -- since. He thinks lessons need learning again. The key is

having your bottom line that you are always asking the question,

what is life like for people receiving these services? And my

listening to the voice of those people? If you have that as a

starting point instead of is a particular policy being followed,

you're more likely to get to the root of the issues. The role played

by all organisations involved with Winterbourne View is being examined

as part of a serious case review. The Scotland Yard police chief who

resigned over the phone hacking scandal have all been cleared of

misconduct. The allegations against the former Metropolitan Police

Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and his assistant John Yates and

two others have been dismissed by the police watchdog. So why did

they resign? Just one month ago, four men who

will want some of the most senior figures in the Metropolitan Police

were fighting for their reputations. Sir Paul Stephenson had resigned as

head of the Met. At a later, Assistant Commissioner John Yates

followed. -- a day later. And retired officers Peter Clarke and

Andy Hayman were facing tough questioning from MPs. Did you ever

receive payment from any news organisations? Good God, absolutely

not. I can't believe you suggested that. Now the IPCC has dropped its

near Bath News Of The World hacking investigations into all but one.

Officer Paul Stephenson, the IPCC says it does not believe he

committed a misconduct events when he admitted -- receive �12,000 of

hospitality when -- which employed this man, a former deputy editor of

News Of The World. Then there is John Yates, whose decision two

years ago not to reopen eight police investigation into News

International did not result in disciplinary proceedings. The

watchdog is looking at an allegation that he secured a job

for the daughter of Neil Wallis, who had APR contract with the map.

John Yates believes this has ruined his career and is considering legal

action. The IPCC did say that while there is no evidence of any

impropriety by any of the men involved, serious issues need to be

scrutinised about the relationship between serious police officers and

the press. And at least one member of the Metropolitan Police

Authority said it had been right to refer the men to the IPCC. There

are still question marks about some of the decision and their behaviour.

While they may not about -- have been involved in anything criminal

or underhand, there were misjudgments and some poor

decisions. On the day this episode closed, so too did applications to

replace Sir Paul Stephenson at the top of the Met. A tough task in the

toughest of times. Libyan rebels have launched an

assault on an oil refinery in the key town of Zawiya up to dry bed

the last remaining troops learned not to Colonel Gaddafi -- the last

of the remaining troops. The Libyan leader is looking isolated, with

rebel forces making significant gains in Zawiya in the West and

Gharyan in the south. Matthew Price is the only British broadcasting

journalist in Tripoli, from where he sent this report.

Each night in Tripoli's main square, loyalists gather, wrapped in

Gaddafi green. The rebels have advanced to within 30 miles of here,

but there is no sign of support crumbling.

Are you worried about these reports that the rebel fighters are closing

in on Tripoli? TRANSLATION: We are not worried, we know what is going

on. We talk to our brothers on the frontline and if the battle comes

here, we will fight. That is exactly what State television has

been calling for. It wants Gaddafi supporters to take up weapons and

defend the city. So in this cafe, and an espresso and a shrug.

TRANSLATION: I am not concerned, it is all fine. Morale is high. It is

now six months since the first protests against Colonel Gaddafi

and he is looking more vulnerable than ever. The rebels insist that

they can win this war by the end of August. And yet, here it, the

Government remained stuck fast. It says Tripoli will not fall. At --

the Government remains stuck fast. They could be weeks or months of

Telford and Wrekin area a head. The key battle right now is for Zawiya.

Capture the town and the rebels will cut off Tripoli. Gaddafi

forces are hitting back hard. To the east as well, the rebels are

taking casualties as they fight for Sirte's oil terminals. -- Brega's

Britain and the rest of NATO is hoping that Gaddafi will fall soon,

but already some are warning of the dangerous power vacuum if that does

happen. They are some of Britain's most

vulnerable habitats and today, a project has been lodged to help

wild flower meadows. Experts from Kew's Millennium Seed Bank have

been stockpiling seeds that could help restore threatened landscapes.

This is where it starts, collecting seeds from a meadow that this still

rich in species. These researchers are part of a new project that will

produce large quantities of native seeds that can be used to restore

this kind of landscape. While this nature reserve in Sussex is

protected, lowland meadows need all the help they can get. This type of

habitat has decreased dramatically over the last 70 years. There is

about 2% left of what was recorded in the 1930s. So it is getting

rarer. Restoring meadows is not new. In England alone, 45,000 head tears

of semi-natural grassland have been created through a government funded

conservation schemes -- her care. But it is difficult to recreate the

full diversity and that is what they are working on. Some of the

seeds come to production bed like this one. The focus is not

necessarily on plants that are rare, but species that are difficult to

grow. In laboratories close to the production bed, they are looking at

the kind of conditions that help different plants germinate and

thrive, and that science is part of a long-established programme.

Because all of this is taking place at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank,

where, over a decade, they have built up a huge collection from all

over the world, and 96% of the UK's flowering plant species are kept in

cold storage. That experience is now being used to create native

seeds for conservation. At the moment, there is a limited range of

species available commercially for restoration, so we want to find out

which ones are desirable, currently not in a seed mixes, and work with

the industry to try and solve both problems to increase that diversity.

While the work here is about lowland meadows for now, the plan

is for researchers to turn their attention to other habitats as well.

40 in all, including would glance and chalk grasslands.

-- woodlands. Time now for a look at the weather

with Matt Taylor. This time tomorrow, we could be

talking about significant rain in some parts of the country, as we

see it turn increasingly wet. But see it turn increasingly wet. But

for the time being, the rain is limited in the next few hours to

south-east England and East Anglia. One or two showers in Scotland, but

for most, a fairly dry night. Like last night, on the cool side, as we

going to tomorrow morning. We start tomorrow with some sunny spells.

Already, though, the side of some rain developing in the South West.

Dorset is especially wet. That rain will push up through London into

the Midlands and into parts of Lincolnshire and Norfolk. This

could cause a lot of surface water. By some, it will still say fine.

Northern Ireland, one of the better places. At sunny spells on and off.

For Wales, after some sunshine, the cloud will build up into the

afternoon, and it will be there for the evening rush hour, the library

downpours. Towards the far South West, a little bit brighter. Across

Dorset and Hampshire and the South meadows towards East Anglia, and

north west of London, where we could see significant rain. They

could be some problems on the roads with a lot of surface water. Scott

Dann starts off with sunny spells but by the end of the afternoon and

into the evening, some of slow- moving and potentially thundery

downpours -- Scotland. These could cause some flooding problems into

the first part of tomorrow night. It'll all he's in the early hours

of Friday morning and we are back into the clearer conditions. Some

hazy sunshine, but most places will be dry. The cloud and rain will

march into the North West later which pushes us into a weekend of

sunshine and showers. Some could be heavy and thundery.

heavy and thundery. Thank you very much. The Prime