28/02/2012 BBC News at Six

The wounded British photographer trapped in Syria for days has been

smuggled out of the country. Paul Conroy was carried on a stretcher

by Syrian activists. There are reports that a number of them died

in the operation. There is relief from his family. I think he will

just be glad he is out. He is a strong character. He has to be to

do what he does. We do not have any qualms on that aspect. He can cope.

Also on tonight's programme: Closing a massive tax loophole -

Barclays are told to hand over half a billion pounds they tried to

avoid paying. There tax-avoidance factory at Canary Wharf is the most

productive factory in Britain. Tax- avoidance schemes roll-off that

production-line like Rolls-Royces. The St Paul's protest is over -

police evict the anti-capitalist demonstrators in a midnight raid.

The crippled cruise liner is towed to safety - and the concern of the

British family with a daughter still on board and a son who

survived the Costa Concordia disaster.

Coming up in Sportsday on the BBC News Channel, Stuart Pearce knows

who it is, but tells us why he will not announce who the England

captain will be against the Good evening. Welcome to the BBC

News at Six. A British photographer wounded in Syria has been smuggled

out of the country to neighbouring Lebanon. He was injured last week

in the same attack that killed his colleague, Marie Colvin, in the

city of Homs. Mr Conroy was carried out on a stretcher last night by

Syrian activists. It has emerged that a number of them may have been

killed in the operation to get him across the border into Lebanon.

Paul Wood reports from the capital, Beirut.

This report contains strong images. The shelling of Homs. Unrelenting

today, as it has been for three weeks. In the middle of this,

activists tried again and again to bring out the injured journalists.

Three volunteers died in the attempt, they say. Another 10

reportedly killed bringing in medical supplies the wounded

Syrians who remain. The British photographer, Paul Conroy, is in

Lebanon now. His paper, the Sunday Times, said he was in good shape

and in good spirits. His family said they were overjoyed and

relieved. We have heard that he is out. We don't know where he is. We

are happy that he is out. When we hear from him, we will be happy.

The badly injured French journalist Edith Bouvier was with him in the

makeshift hospital. There is confusion over her current

whereabouts, and have two additional journalists there. They

were under siege in a quarter of Homs. After leaving, they still had

to get out of Syria. Harassed by government forces, they apparently

became split up. This activist helped them to flee.

TRANSLATION: They were coming under lots of fire. They had to travel on

foot and move from house to house. Rockets fired at them and even tank

shells. The evacuation across the border took three or four hours.

spied the successful rescue, the veteran war correspondent Marie

Colvin died in Homs. Her body apparently remains there, along

with that of a French photographer. His girlfriend pleaded for his

remains to be allowed home. TRANSLATION: De los of your

boyfriend is terrible, but the waiting is insufferable. All

religions recognise that to say goodbye, you need a body. Today, we

are not able to grieve. I have promised his friends and family

that I will not leave him there. The plight of civilians still in

Homs remains desperate. Here, rescue workers try to free a little

boy trapped in the rubble of his home, destroyed by a shell. He

apparently survived. Many others died today, as every day. Efforts

by the Red Crescent and the Red Cross to get a temporary ceasefire

have so far failed. Barclays Bank has been accused of

"aggressive tax avoidance" by the Treasury and ordered to pay half a

billion pounds to the Revenue. The government has closed two loopholes

in the regulations that Barclays used to reduce its tax bill. The

bank says its tax affairs were entirely legal. Here is our

business editor, Robert Peston. Barclays are these days keen to

show how they are we paying for support from the Government has a

good citizen. With its contribution to economic growth and the way it

does business, including, it said, paying a lot of tax. It is all part,

said the bank's chief executive in a BBC picture, of the Barclays

ethos. Rebuilding trust requires banks to be better citizens. I

believe in this passionately. therefore looked pretty

embarrassing for Barclays that the Treasury is closing down two new

tax avoidance schemes that it has been using. Barclays' tax-avoidance

factory is the most productive factory in Britain. Tax-avoidance

schemes roll-off that production- line like Rolls-Royces. It is

highly abusive and aggressive. crackdown against Barclays is all

about protecting tax revenues. The Treasury says it will get back �500

million of tax that Barclays thought it had saved, although the

bank insists it will only have to pay back �150 million. Future

savings of �250 million for all banks will be stopped. The

Treasury's crackdown on Barclays' tax-avoidance schemes is a loud

warning from ministers to all big companies that it wants them to

obey the spirit of the tax rules as well as the letter of the tax rules.

We have sent a clear signal to banks and other entities that this

Government takes tax-avoidance seriously, and we will act to stop

it. But in taking tax that Barclays thought it had already avoided,

there may be risks. Retrospection is always a bad signal, because it

destroys a bit of faith in the tax system. It worries people that

anything they do might be countered retrospectively. The Government

needs to use it very rarely and carefully and in carefully defined

circumstances. Ministers need every tax penny available to close the

government's deficit, but will companies now know that slashing

their tax bills can be humiliating, even when they do not break the law.

Officials at St Paul's Cathedral say they are "regret" the clearing

of a protest camp by bailiffs overnight. More than 100 tents were

taken down after Occupy London protesters lost their legal battle

with the City of London to remain on the site. Our correspondent is

at St Paul's. Yes, the senior could hardly be in

sharper contrast to the situation just 24 hours ago. Then, this

entire area was covered with tents and activists who said they were

determined to stay. But as you can see, after the dramatic events of

last night, there is hardly any physical evidence that the campaign

organisation was ever hear. St Paul's Cathedral, a world

renowned place of worship, for months home to the Occupy

encampment, last night on high alert, expecting trouble. The

police and bailiffs came in overwhelming numbers, here to kill

a camp which has so sharply divided opinion. Scuffles, yes. But little

real violence. After months of occupation, after the long

protracted legal battles, the tents have finally been cleared away.

They have been loaded into the dump trucks. But the protesters insist

that they will remain. The message went out for all supporters to come

and join the cause. But police cordons blocked the way. The court

order was for the removal of tents and other structures. The City of

London Corporation said it regretted sending in the bailiffs,

but had no choice. As the clearance continued, some of the most

committed protesters manned the last barricade. But ultimately, the

result was never in doubt. This is an opportunity for us to move

sideways and be creative and innovative. This is not the

beginning of the end, it is the end of the beginning. With the new day,

confirmation here that the landscape here had changed. Dozens

of tents gone, time for the clean- up crews to move in. Behind the

fences, the high-pressure hoses were put to immediate work. Some

local businesses were clearly glad it is over. It is good, because

business is back to normal. Occupied campaign has been

difficult, at times embarrassing for the Church authorities. Today,

this was their response. Last night was about the removal of tents and

camping equipment. It was not about the removal of protest or debate or

ideas. Those things carry on here, just as they have for hundreds of

years. But perhaps they carry on now with a sharpened focus. Life

here is returning to normal, but the court order applies to tense,

not protesters. Many of them say they and their message will be back.

There is no doubt that some local businesses and people who work in

this area are pleased to see that this clearance has taken place. But

speaking to people who have been protesting here for those four

months, some say that they also take satisfaction, believing that

they have put their agenda firmly in the national picture.

Nearly 50,000 patients with all- metal hip replacements will need

annual checks because of safety concerns about the devices. The

medicines watchdog announced new guidance after reports that

microscopic metal particles from the implants could leak into the

blood, causing tissue damage. The new advice comes as a joint BBC

Newsnight and British Medical Journal investigation found that

problems with such devices had been known about for years, but no

action had been taken to restrict their use.

And you can see more on that investigation on Newsnight on BBC

Two at 10.30 tonight. It has emerged that the

Metropolitan Police loaned a retired horse to the former chief

executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks. Her spokesman says

she became a "temporary foster parent" for the horse between 2008

and 2010. She paid for food and vet bills until it was rehoused with a

police officer, months before fresh investigations into illegal

activities at the News Of The World. Conservative MPs have been telling

the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to stand firm on his controversial

reform of the NHS in England. It follows a letter from the deputy

prime minister, Nick Clegg, yesterday in which he outlined the

areas where the Lib Dems were unhappy with the bill. Our deputy

political editor James Landale reports on how the reforms continue

to cause friction between the coalition partners.

The government's plans to reform the NHS in England are opposed by

many doctors. There have been protests in the streets, defeats in

Parliament and tensions in the coalition. But today, when the

minister responsible was forced to answer yet more questions, he was

cheered, at least by his own side. The plans to give doctors more

spending power and patients more choice would not, he said, mean a

US-style market in the health service. I believe in the National

Health Service. I am a passionate supporter of our NHS. That is why I

understand the passionate debate it arouses. But it is also why I

resent those on the benches opposite who seek to misrepresent

the NHS, its current achievements or its future needs. Tory MPs lined

up to support him, as did the few Lib Dems who spoke. Labour MPs did

not. Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister has been cleared. This bill is

about competition at the heart of the health service. The Deputy

Prime Minister has supported it all the way. Aren't these just empty

gestures designed to save face? This is a bad bill that cannot be

amended for stock this is why Andrew Lansley was forced to come

to the Commons again, Mr Clegg's letter demanding yet more changes

to the Health Bill, to prevent -- protect the NHS from competition

and to force GPs to declare financial interests.

To Rory ministers say privately that they are relaxed about these

latest Lib Dem demands. But some of their MPs are clearly not.

Shouldn't somebody tell the Deputy Prime Minister who is running this

government? This is what the Government wants to see - GPs with

the chance to send their patients to a private screening clinic like

this one in London. But many critics fear that this expansion of

the private sector could lead to private companies and not doctors

controlling NHS budgets. If that is the fear, it will not happen,

because it is the doctors and nurses at the frontline who will

have the opportunity to shape the services that they know patients

need. That will not be overridden by anybody else. So for the

Government, an unexpected chance to make the case for its NHS reforms.

But the bill will be back in the Our top story: The wounded British

photographer Paul Conroy, trapped in Syria for days, has been

smuggled out of the country by Syrian activists.

Inside Fukushima. We are among the first Westerner journalists to

report from the doomed Japanese nuclear plant. The next challenge

is to dismantle the power station. It is made more difficult by the

fact it is highly radioactive here and it could take up to 40 years.

Later on the BBC News Channel: A blow for Barclays as it is ordered

by the Treasury to pay �500 million in tax that it tried to avoid. And

Ireland confirms it is to hold a referendum on whether to accept the

Thousands of illegal immigrants who volunteer to be deported from

Britain have found themselves unable to return home. With the

economic downturn leading to a lack of work, they have applied to be

sent back to India. But Britain cannot deport them, as many

destroyed their identification documents when they entered the

country and cannot prove their nationality. Chris Rogers, in the

second of his special reports on illegal immigration, found that

many are living rough. Is this way you sleep? Yes, my

bedroom. His family paid �10,000 to traffickers to smuggle him into

Britain. He came here from India for a better life. This is what he

got. 4000 miles from home, out-of- work and penniless, he has found

refuge in a derelict garage. TRANSLATION: When I left and came

here I was told life was good here. It's not just me, other boys came

for work. You can see what state we are in. There is no work, no

government help. He has cut himself off from his family. He would

rather they think he is dead and living like this. TRANSLATION: They

sold land and took out loans to get me out of India, to improve our

lives and make life better. When you get here, there is nothing.

is desperate to be deported back to India. But here is the problem,

like most illegal immigrants he destroyed his identification papers

when he arrived to make a deportation difficult. Now he is

pleading to go home. But he must prove his identity. That can take

years. There are thousands of others stuck in the same

We found dozens bedding down under bridges in west London. Every day

they spend in this misery they slip further into a destructive cycle.

It is now midnight. Nearly all of the men that live under this bridge

have gone to bed, wrapping themselves in duvets and jumbos to

try to keep warm. The temperature at the moment is freezing. The

atmosphere is very intense, as you can hear. A lot of people had been

drinking all day. Some of them are clearly taking drugs as well. It is

a very intimidating place today. India, my life is better. This 21-

year-old was jailed for shoplifting. Now he is back on the streets and

on heroin. They arrest me. I told them, send me back, yeah? But they

don't send me back. Because I've got no passport, no papers? Where

do you get the money to buy drugs? Shoplifting. Outside, like this, I

cannot sleep unless I take drugs. The only help available are

handouts from homeless charities, who claimed the repatriation system

is overwhelmed. The problem is that they have paperwork pending in the

Indian High Commission. The High Commission and dragging their heels

in co-operating with the UK Border Agency is to try to send these

people back. It's a bit of a mess, to be honest. The Indian High

Commission on the UK Border Agency says the establishing the true

identity of these men can be complex and the time it takes to

issue emergency travel documentation varies, case by case.

Efforts are being made to speed up the repatriation process. In 2011,

nearly 7000 Indian nationals were deported voluntarily. He has this

warning to those who still believe that Britain is a land of

opportunity. TRANSLATION: They are mad. They should look at this and

see what it is like. What kind of life is this? For now, it's a life

in limbo that he and others like him cannot escape.

It is nearly a year since an earthquake and tsunami devastated

parts of Japan. For weeks afterwards, engineers fought to

maintain a crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Today it was

revealed that the danger posed was so serious that officials

considered evacuating the whole of Tokyo. For the first time,

international journalists have been Getting ready to face the radiation

at Fukushima. Boiler suits and masks, protection against

contamination. We were being taken to the power station, the first

group of foreign journalists allowed in. Through the exclusion

zone, 12 miles of overgrown fields, abandoned homes and, at the heart

of the nuclear disaster, the source of fear for the Japanese people for

almost a year now. This is where the fight back is being co-

ordinated. The control room at the power station. Minute by minute,

they are monitoring the reactors, now stabilised. TRANSLATION: What

we have in mind to prevent, the release of radioactive gases. The

leakage outside the power station that happened before. March last

year. The power station was rocked by explosions. The tsunami had

triggered meltdown in three of the reactors. Japan's leaders feared

they would have to order the evacuation of Tokyo. It is only

when you are standing here that you can appreciate the force of the

explosions that destroyed those reactor buildings. You can see men

in the skeleton, working on it. The reactor is in a state of cold shut

down. It means they are called, below boiling point. The next

challenge is to dismantle the power station. It is made difficult by

the fact it is highly radioactive and it could take up to 40 years.

Then we were driven right past the reactors, scarred by the power of

the sea. The wreckage of trucks still litters the ground. In places

it is too radioactive for humans to venture. Elsewhere, the workers

were busy, maintaining the cooling system, vital to keeping the

reactors under control. TRANSLATION: I worked here before

the disaster. Since my plant is in this condition, I think it is my

mission to stay here. What they fear is another earthquake, a

second tsunami. It could tip the nuclear disaster into crisis once

again. And no one needs reminding now that sitting on the edge of the

Pacific the crippled reactors are Now, why is it that a student at

lives in England, only a few miles from the Scottish border, has to

pay up to �9,000 to go to a Scottish university, whereas one

living hundreds of miles away in Europe can go for free? It is one

of the anomalies thrown up by the current system and it has meant

that the number of EU students applying to Scotland has risen by

6%, compared to last year, whereas the number replying to England,

where fees to apply, has fallen by over 16%.

EU students have always come to the UK for their degrees. But

Scotland's FE system is making it increasingly popular. Students here

pay no fees, so European law states nor do those from other EU

countries. But devolution does allow Scottish universities to

charge students from other parts of the UK. This is the international

school in Berlin, where Michael is one of the sixth-formers. He is

English, but living in Germany for an ex pat liked him to count as a

EU student. Despite being English, he can go to Scotland for free.

you look at the UK, the cheapest place in Scotland. You can get in

much cheaper if you're someone in my position. That is a huge factor.

We are not the wealthiest family, price will always play a role.

Devolution has meant a jigsaw of different fees from September.

Students in England face fees of up to �9,000. Students that live in

Scotland and those from the do will continue to pay no fees. Welsh

students will be subsidised by the Welsh government and fees will be

capped for Northern Irish students that stay in Northern Ireland. This

high-school is in Scotland, right on the border with England. It has

pupils from both nations. Those living in England, like Robin, will

not get the free university education given to her friends.

It's hard to deal with. I don't feel I am any different to them.

I'm exactly the same, we do the same subject and go to the same

school. I've never been in an English school, so why am I

different? This bridge separates England from Scotland. Which side

of the border Unibond determines the cost of go university education.

Eight people living a couple of miles away in England will pay full

tuition fees in Scotland. Someone hundreds of miles away in the EU

will not, and as EU applications go at it is a matter of increasing

concern for the Scottish government. It costs them �75 million a year to

pay for EU students. Ministers say they are looking into student

changes. I would like to see a change of some sort, a smallish fee

for students coming in. I am an active discussion with the European

Union. It is difficult to do. difficult because it is not clear

if you or will allow it. What is clear is that the present system

produces very unexpected winners and losers.

Another from Sutton Coldfield did not think disaster could strike

twice. That was until she learnt that her daughter was working on

the cruise liner that was cast adrift without power in the Indian

Ocean yesterday. Jayne Thomas has only just recovered from the ordeal

of having her son on board the Costa Concordia when it ran aground

last month. He survived. Her daughter, Rebecca, was working on

the Costa Allegra when the engine room caught fire yesterday.

This was supposed to be a luxury cruise. But the passengers on board

the Costa Allegra have had no hot food, no light and no air

conditioning for most Tim days. They are not certain when their

ordeal will end. At home, near Birmingham, chain is waiting for

news of her daughter. Rebecca is working as a dancer on board.

your loved ones are in that situation, all you want to do is

make contact. All I want to do is give her a big hug. I just want to

greet her off de plane and know that she is safe. She speaks from

experience. Hassan survived the Costa Concordia disaster. Like his

sister, he was a dancer. How do you feel that this has happened to both

of your children? Gutted, really. Gutted that it should happen...

Wall of the ship sailing on the ocean, the two that come into

difficulty of the two that my It's hard to accept, to be quite

honest. The ship, now being towed, has had to change direction. The

nearest island in the Seychelles was apparently too small to let the

passengers off. It is the safest place for the people, on the boat.

There is no reason to disembark people, put them on another ship, a

helicopter. They will remain on the Costa Allegra. There is no

communication with the ship. She's not able to have a conversation

with her daughter. There are 1149 passengers on board. Many friends

and relatives are having to deal Time for the weather now.

It has been an exceptionally mild day across western areas... Eastern

areas of the British Isles, I should say. In the West it has been

clouded. The south-westerly winds brought highs of about ten degrees.

As the wind went over the mountain it warmed up, and we saw

temperatures just below the all- time Scottish temperature record in

Scotland today. 17.2 Celsius is the top temperature there. We're going

to keep the cloudy but mild conditions as we go to the rest of

the night. The breaks in the cloud are still there across the eastern

side of England and also the stock high ground in Scotland. Maybe if

he breaks in south-west England, where we could see the odd mist

patch developing. The temperatures are exceptionally mild. These would

be about right for the middle of the day at this time of year. We

start off with his blanket of cloud overhead. Progressively we will see

the skies brightening up and sunny spells breaking out. Eastern

Scotland will be favoured for seeing decent breaks in the cloud.

Heysel 14 degrees, not as toasty as today, but still very mild. County

Antrim seen some brighter breaks. To the east of the Pennines, the

sun will come out. Wales, the West Midlands and south-west England

will also have more sunshine than yesterday. We might see the skies

brightening up towards the capital late in the day, with highs of 15

degrees. If anything, the temperatures will be drifting back

down towards seasonal norms as we get towards the latter end of the

week. Wet and windy on Thursday, the wind and rain easing fairly

quickly to leave many areas dry and bright. The temperatures are