12/01/2012 BBC News at Six

Shares in the high street giant Tesco take a battering after

disappointing Christmas sales. Britain's biggest retailer issues a

profit warning. Managers admit they got it wrong. There was a lot of

promotional noise around Christmas. Our message didn't cut through.

Also on tonight's programme: A heart-rending appeal from the

family of the Birmingham couple found dead in their home. Catch the

person who has taken the two most special people away from us.

Please. The pictures that have shocked

Afghans and shamed US forces. The Marines appear to be urinating on

dead fighters. RBS axes 4,500 jobs. Unions say it is a disgrace to cut

staff, but dish out the bonuses. And the bowler who would rather

take cash than wickets. The first English cricketer found guilty of

spot-fixing. Coming up in Sportsday on the BBC News channel, Monty

Panasar claims a place as he takes five wickets in England's latest

Good evening. Welcome to the BBC's News at Six. Tesco, the giant of

the high street has seen shares plunge after its most disappointing

Christmas in years. Sales in the core British supermarkets during

the festive period were lower than the previous year, prompting the

company to issue a profit warning. It has been a tough time for many

stores N a rare admission Tesco's boss has told Robert Peston that he

got the sales strategy wrong. On the high street, among famous

brands probably the most feared is Tesco. Flat sales and a warning of

stagnating profits ahead caused its share price to plummet 16%, wiping

almost �5 billion off the company's value. Tesco, Britain's biggest

retailer, seemed almost immune to what was going on in the wider

economy. Since the recession, sales kept growing and profits kept

growing. Not any longer. Philip Clarke, who became chief executive

in March, said part of what went wrong says the group failed to get

shoppers in with money off vouchers in December, when many rivals were

doing that. It warned that Tesco had invested too little in its

British supermarkets. You took over in March, are the problems in the

stores worse than you expected? we got under the covers, we've

realised what we need to do to be leading. Tkhatha is what customers

expect from tes -- that is what customers expect from Tesco. Every

business needs to reinvent. This is the start of that process. Recent

sales at Sainsbury's its rival, rose 2.1% in like-for-like terms.

Tesco's fell 1.3%. Albeit for a different period. Over the last ten

years, Tesco has raised everyone's game. Everyone has had to improve

their offer and the way they run things to compete with Tesco. Now

they are on a roll as it were. Tescos is faltering. It's not the

first time Tesco has had to mend itself in difficult economic

circumstances, Mr Clarke says. we look back to the big, decisive

steps we took, it is when things were getting tough for the economy,

when things were getting tough for customers, we invested. When the

economy improved we came out stronger. The boss says it is vital

that the British supermarkets again become the engine of this global

company's growth. It's a big moment for a 90-year-old business. A test

of whether it can remake itself to avoid long-term decline. And Robert

is with me now. People are bound to say, if Tesco has suffered it must

have been a rough, old Christmas? Well, George, living standards for

British shoppers are being squeezed more sharply than at any time since

serious records were being gathered in the 1950s. It is tough out there.

Today we heard from Argos that its sales have fallen very sharply.

There has been a squeeze at Thorntons, there has been a squeeze

at Mothercare. However, actually, the overall data shows that sales

across the retail sector in December really was not as bad as

people feared it might be. What is particularly embarrassing for Tesco

is that its closest rivals, Waitrose, Sainsbury, Morrison, for

example, they have all performed quite a lot better. So, as Philip

Clarke admitted to me, much of Tesco's problem is of its own

making, that it got its sales strategy wrong recently and over

the longer term it has not invested enough in these stores. It is a

global giant. Outside the UK, Tesco is still doing pretty well. If

Tesco cannot fix its British business it has a problem. Those

British supermarkets are the heart of Tesco. Thank you.

A family of the Birmingham couple found dead at their home yesterday

have made an emotional appeal in help for finding who ever was

responsible. The bodies of Avtar and Carole Kolar were discovered by

one of their sons, a serving officer with the West Midlands

A few hours ago members of the Kolar family came to speak about

what had happened to their parents. They begged anyone who may know

anything about the killers to come forward. They were extremely upset.

They found it very difficult to talk about what has happened to

their family. They are grieving and the place

they lay flowers is the roadside in front of the home where their

relatives were murdered. A brother mourning his sister. Avtar and

Carole Kolar had been married 40 years. They had four children. One

a serving officer with West Midlands Police, who found their

bodies. This afternoon, one of their other sons and one of their

daughters spoke in public for the first time.

Yesterday, the light was switched out in our heart and our hearts

have been broken forever. Mum and dad were the sweetest people I have

ever met. We are reaching out to anybody out there, to please,

please help. No matter how little, how much they can, somebody out

there knows who did this. Alongside forensic teams and

uniformed officers there are more than 60 detectives working on the

case. The search for clues has gone on for a second full day. House-to-

house enquiries are on-going. CCTV viewing is on-going. We've had

numerous calls overnight from members of the community, which

have given us some significant lines of enquiry. This crime is

felt deeply in this police force, the killing of the parents of one

of their own. It has disturbed the community. The community was

initially shocked and scared, but a lot of that emotion is turning

towards anger. There's a lot of frustration. There are a lot of

questions being asked, why it happened? How it could take place

in such a quiet area? The messages tell the tale. The family says a

light has been switched out of their lives and hearts.

Now, it is still not clear exactly how the husband and wife were

killed. Their bodies have been taken from their home and a

postmortem is being carried out. According to police results of this

should be known tomorrow. Thank you. There's been a shock response

around the world after video footage appearing to show US

Marines urinating on dead Taliban fighters was posted on the internet.

The American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, says it was

deplorable behaviour. As our Washington correspondent reports,

there are now fears that the incident could lead to a backlash

against troops in Afghanistan. It is simply too distasteful to

show. But what appears to be happening in this video is that a

small group of US Marines are urinating on the bodies of three

dead Afghans. We don't know where the video has come from, or whether

it's autenic. All indications are that it probably is and the

condemnation it has provoked has been universal. It is absolutely

inconsistent with American values, with the standards of behaviour

that we expect from our military personnel and that the vast, vast

majority of our military personnel, particularly our Marines, hold

themselves to. This is not the first time US troops have been

accused of breaching the rules of law. In the past it has acted

quickly to punish those responsible. Containing the damage to its

reputation is harder. This man said US troops have

committed a crime and should now leave the country. Their President

has demanded an investigation. The biggest fear is this would damage

the prospect of peace talks with insurgents. The Taliban says the

political process is separate and still stands.

It's more than ten years since American troops invaded. The

mission has been longer and harder than many expected and increasingly

unpopular amongst Afghans who want to know that the latest allegations

will be taken seriously. A A United States criminal investigation has

been launched. It will be thorough. Any individual whose involvement is

confirmed will be held fully accountable and punished

accordingly. Whatever the facts of this case it will harm America's

reputation overseas. It is unlikely to have an impact in the way that

past scandals have. US troops have pulled out of Iraq and reduced

numbers in Afghanistan. Expect all sides to try and limit the damage

from this, but don't expect any Britain's biggest energy supplier,

British Gas, has announced it is cutting its electricity prices by

5%. The company says it will knock around �24 off the average bill. It

comes a day after one of its competitors, EDF, cut gas prices.

The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, has been charged by a court in

Turkey with invading the privacy of five children after secretly

filming in orphanages there for a TV documentary. She was charged in

her absence and faces a maximum term of 22 years in prison if

convicted. She made an undercover trip to Turkey in 2008 for an ITV

programme. Nearly 4,500 jobs are to go at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Most jobs will be shed from the investment banking division at RBS.

Nearly 1,000 others will go from its Ulster Bank subsidiary. Unite

says it is a disgrace while some staff are being sacked while others

get big bonuses. The Royal Bank of Scotland saga has had many twists

and turns over the past few years. It's all change for the British

banking system and the taxpayer foots the massive bill. Sir Fred

will receive �650,000 per year for life. On the brink of collapse

under the boss the bank was rescued with taxpayers' money. Just over

three years on, it is adjusting to a new reality, with another round

of cutbacks. RBS has not specified where the job losses will be. It

seems likely the vast majority will be here, in the heart of the City,

at RBS's investment banking operations. The main reason is that

RBS will pull out of some of its riskier financial trading. It wants

to focus more on traditional high street and business banking. Nearly

1,000 jobs will be at the Ulster Bank subsidiary. One-third in

Northern Ireland, the rest in the republic. When the announcement was

made the bank did not give much detail. There is anger. Staff who

have made a contribution to this bank feel let down. Nearly 4,500

job cuts have been announced today across the RBS group. That means a

total reduction of 34,000 since the bail out in 2008. Soon RBS will

have to decide the latest payouts. Last year bonuses totalled �950

million. There is strong political pressure for something much lower

this time. Since we bailed out RBS and own it, it would be outrageous

if it awarded itself huge, lavish bonuses. It would be

incomprehensible. RBS has indicated bonuses will be quite a lot lower

than last year, in common with most other banks. Some analysts point

out the bonuses will be on merit. They have low basic salaries and

then get the commission. I think it's not just a sum of money handed

over for nothing at all. If you have done the work, if you have

made the money for your company, then you get a share for it.

keep the bank turning over and generating rising profits RBS is

downsizing and trying to get down to banking basics. The process will

not be easy. A former county cricketer has

become the first English player to be convicted of spot-fixing during

a match in 2009. Mervyn Westfield pleaded guilty to accepting a

corrupt payment in return for playing badly during a match

between Essex and Durham. From the Old Bailey our sports correspondent

reports. He was a largely unknown cricketer

until this. Mervyn Westfield's opening over in a county game for

Essex. He bowls poorly, but only now do we

know why. He had received �6,000 for agreeing to bowl so badly he

conceded 12 runs. Information invaluable to an unscrupulous

gambler who could money on it, a practise known as spot fixing.

Westfield did not keep his promise, conceding only ten runs, but he

arrived at the Old Bailey today charged with corruption. In a brief

appearance he pleaded guilty. The first such case and a wake-up call

for English cricket. We must be ever vigilant. To use a metafore, I

think we need to make sure, as a sport, that our windows are closed

and our burglar alarm is on, so if somebody is tempted to find a way

of manipulating the betting market, they look somewhere else for their

ill-gotten gains. Spot fixing is casting a shadow over the sport.

Last year three Pakistan players were jailed in an international

scandal. So once again, cricketing corruption has been exposed here in

a criminal court. What this case shows is it that a problem at every

level of the game. County cricket is traditionally low

key. The match under scrutiny was televised in Asia, the largest

betting market. One former cricketer told me other county

players could be tempted. The top players, the international players,

players that have contracts and are on �500,000 plus. Some of the

county players, not regular are on �40,000. They may be tempted to

take an easy pay day with this kind of thing, spot-fixing. Mervyn

Westfield was warned he could face jail, as English cricket faces a

Our top story: a big fall in Tesco share prices after disappointing

Christmas sales. Coming up: tackling the two-footed tackle

after this challenge leads to a post-match row.

Later on the BBC News Channel, RBS shares rise as the Bank announces

plans to cut more than 3000 jobs. And some good news from the

Eurozone as the cost of borrowing Britain's spies have been in the

spotlight today. Police are to investigate claims that

intelligence officers were involved in the transfer of two Libyans to

Colonel Gaddafi's regime, who say they were then tortured. In a

separate case, the Director of Public Prosecutions has said that

no MI5 officer will be charged over the alleged torture of the British

resident Binyam Mohamed in Afghanistan.

For nearly three years, police have been investigating whether British

intelligence officers were criminally involved in the

mistreatment of Binyam Mohamed. Today, the Crown Prosecution

Service said there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone. On his

return to Britain, been an admirer claimed MI5 officers had questioned

him in Pakistan after he had been mistreated by others. Today's

decision not to press charges will be met with relief at the domestic

security service MI5. But down the river at MI6 headquarters, the news

is not so good. One case has been closed, but today police opened two

new high-profile investigations. Both of those cases referred to

Libya, one to this man. The BBC was first to report that intelligence

files found after the fall of Tripoli last year revealed that MI6

played a role in the transfer of the man and his pregnant wife from

Asia to Libya, where he says he was mistreated.

TRANSLATION: What happened to me is illegal, and deserves an apology,

especially from people who claim to work with human rights. The Crown

Prosecution Service today said the allegations in this and the other

Libyan case were so serious that it was in the public interest for them

to be investigated by the police rather than as part of an upcoming

inquiry. By Oath of the Libyan cases are important, firstly

because of the fact that both of these men were kidnapped with their

wives. In one case, there were four children involved. And they were

taken to Gaddafi so that he could torture them for seven years. We do

not just have the smoking gun, we have the smoking missiles in these

cases. The British were deeply involved. Speaking just over a year

ago, the chief of MI6 said torture was not part of his organisation's

business. Torture is illegal and abhorrent under any circumstances,

and we have nothing to do with it. If we know or believe action by us

will lead to torture taking place, we are required by UK and

international law to avoid that action. But Britain's involvement

in what occurred in these Libyan prisons is now under investigation.

The government had hoped a planned inquiry would draw a line under the

issue, but that now looks increasingly uncertain.

Richard Desmond, the newspaper baron who owns the Daily Express

and Daily Star, has told the inquiry into media ethics that the

Express's treatment of Madeleine McCann's family was no worse than

any other newspaper. The Express had to pay damages to the McCann's

after publishing a series of defamatory articles.

He owns the Daily Express and the Daily Star, Channel 5, OK! Magazine

and a couple of TV porn channels. He is an advertising man who admits

he does not have an editorial background. Today he came to the

Leveson inquiry to answer questions about newspaper regulation and his

paper's coverage of Kate and Gerry McCann. His sometimes rambling

evidence was the most outspoken yet from a newspaper boss. He was asked

if he got involved in ethical questions or left that to editors.

I do not quite know what the word means. Perhaps he would explain

what our means, ethical. explained why he expressed no

longer belongs to the voluntary Press Complaints Commission. I felt

it was a useless organisation run by people on tea and biscuits, and

run by people who hated our guts. He showed just how much he hated

the rival Daily Mail. He called it negative and disgusting. A bit

awkward, then, when this happened. Express Newspapers paid out more

than half a million pounds in libel damages to the accounts. Today

Richard Desmond apologised, but suggested that they had been happy

with the coverage because it kept their daughter on front pages.

is a grotesque characterisation. Your paper was accusing the

McCann's on occasion of having killed their daughter. Are you

seriously saying that they were sitting there, quite happy, rather

than anguished by your paper's behaviour? Please think about the

question before you answer. Richard Desmond's evidence gave a rare

insight into the thinking of normally publicity-shy media mogul.

It came at the end of two days in which executives from both the Mail

and Express groups faced tough questioning about exaggerated

headlines, intrusions into privacy and their use of private

investigators, questioning so tough that the former editor of the Daily

Express today said it was like being put on trial.

The businessman Asil Nadir has pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of

theft from Polly Peck International, the British-based company he built

up in the 1980s. It is alleged that he stole �33 million and property

worth more than �1.5 million from his company over a three-year

period. David Cameron is facing opposition

to the government's plans for a high-speed rail link to Birmingham

from his own father-in-law. Lord Astor, a Conservative peer and

stepfather to Samantha Cameron, claimed the plan would ruin the

lives of thousands. He said it was backed largely by northern Labour

MPs who relished the idea of the Chilterns being destroyed.

Liverpool's Steven Gerrard is one of the most respected players in

the Premier League, so what happened in the time after last

night's Carling Cup game against Manchester City will come as a

surprise. BBC radio listeners were treated to a rare insight into what

goes on behind the scenes in a row between Gerard and Manchester City

manager Roberto Mancini. It was the moment that led to the

Carling Cup semi-final ended in acrimony. Glen Johnson's two-footed

tackle on Joleon Lescott went unpunished, and raging Manchester

City manager Roberto Mancini, who made his feelings clear to the

officials. The Italian was furious because just three days earlier, he

had seen his captain sent off for a similar tackle in the club's defeat

to Manchester United, with Wayne Rooney leading the on-field clamour

to see Vincent Kompany dismissed. Last night, Liverpool's captain

Steven Gerrard seemed calm after the game, but it soon became clear

that he felt City's manager was guilty of hypocrisy. Wayne Rooney

was trying to get his players sent off, and now he is trying to get

one of our players into trouble. But Gerrard then told Mancini what

he thought of him, interrupting a radio interview in the tunnel.

say to the press that Wayne Rooney tried to get Kompany sent off. And

you and try and get Johnson sent off. It is the middle of an

interview. The inner sanctum of the player's pommel at the top clubs

usually remains private, but occasionally the lid is lifted on

what goes on between players, managers and officials when

tensions run high behind the scenes. In 2003, Turkish TV cameras

captured England players brawling with their opponents at half-time

in Istanbul. Two years later came Roy Keane's infamous confrontation

with Patrick Vieira as Arsenal prepared to face Manchester United.

Clubs do not want microphones and TV cameras in those areas because

they know it is a very volatile and sensitive situation. City have

expressed their disappointment that Gerrard, who also scored the winner

last night, confronted man see me in such a fashion rather than

speaking to him privately. The second leg is set up nicely.

The male giant panda recently brought to Edinburgh Zoo has been

removed from public show after suffering from colic. Yang Guang

will only appear occasionally over the next few weeks while he

recovers. Tian Tian and Yang Guang, the first giant pandas to live in

the UK for 17 years, arrived at Are we about to see a change in the

weather? We certainly are. At long last, the weather is in tune with

the calendar. We have something colder with us now for the next few

days, much more typical of January. We could say a lot of sunshine. --

we could see a lot of sunshine. Showers in Scotland fading and

under clear skies, we will see a widespread frost develop into

Friday morning. Temperatures in towns and cities are at around

freezing. Watch out for ice across the North first thing, following

today's showers. In Northern Ireland, it is frosty in central

and eastern parts. There will be more cloud in the south of England.

Much of England and Wales will be breaking up to a crisp and clear

morning. Those clear skies will remain for many all day long. It

will be a sunny day for the majority. Still some lingering

cloud across parts of the Midlands, drifting westwards. Later, Northern

Ireland and north-west Scotland will turn cloudier Raza well.

Temperatures are far closer to what they should be for this time of

year. On Friday night, another frosty night. The coldest

conditions will be across central and eastern parts, where the winds

will be lightest. The frost to the west and north is a bit more patchy,

because more cloud will develop, pushing in from the south and west.

At the weekend, there will be varying amounts of cloud across the

country. But for just about all, it stays dry and chilly for.

A reminder of tonight's main news: a big fall into scare's share price