26/04/2012 BBC News at Six

Rupert Murdoch says he didn't know about the phone hacking scandal

because there was a cover-up. The media boss claimed that staff

on the News of the World hid the true extent of the illegal

behaviour. Someone took charge of a cover-up,

which we were victim to and I regret. Tonight, a former senior

employee says Mr Murdoch's evidence is a shameful lie. Also on the

programme: The BBC obtains footage taken minutes after Mark Duggan was

shot by police. His death sparked last summer's riots. Liberia's

Charles Taylor found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes -

the first case of its kind since the end of the Second World War.

Living on the bread line - a leading charity says the number of

people needing food banks has doubled. Well-wishers ask Prince

William if he is broady as the royal couple prepare for their

Stuart Lancaster talks about Welcome to the BBC News at Six.

Rupert Murdoch has blamed a cover- up at the News of the World for his

failure to take early action over the phone-hacking scandal. He said

one or two employees at the paper shielded senior executives from the

facts. And tonight it's emerged that the phone-hacking scandal

could affect Mr Murdoch's stake in BSkyB, Britain's most profitable

broadcaster. More on that in a moment. First, Nick Witchell on

Rupert Murdoch's surprise evidence at the Leveson Inquiry.

He is the media mogul whose firm control of his empire has yielded

decades of success. Returning today with his wife to testify about a

lack of proper control and what he admitted was a haunting, personal

failure. Phone hacking at the News of the World is what started all of

this. According to Rupert Murdoch, senior executives had not known

what was happening at the News of the World and this was the reason.

There is no question in my mind that maybe even the editor, but

certainly beyond that, someone took charge of a cover-up which we were

victim to and I regret. From where did this cover-up emanate, Mr

Murdoch? I think from within the News of the World. Mr Murdoch

hinted at who he believed was behind the cover-up, one or two

very strong characters, as he put it. But counsel wanted to know

whether the company had deliberately turned a blind eye to

it all. Some might say all this picture is consistent with one of a

desire to cover-up rather than a desire to expose. Perhaps. I have

to take that back. Excuse me. that flash of anger, Rupert Murdoch

became contrite. I also had to say that I failed. I have to apologise

to a lot of people including all the innocent people who lost their

jobs. Yet with hindsight, Mr Murdoch said he wished he had

closed the News of the World sooner, but perhaps his greatest regret was

that he hadn't spoken personally to the News of the World reporter,

Clive Goodman. Mr Goodman was the one journalist who was prosecuted

for phone hacking. After he left prison, he wrote to News

International alleging others had been involved. If I had really got

into it, when Mr Goodman wrote that letter, I should have thrown all

the damn lawyers out of the place and cross-examined him myself and

made up my mind, maybe rightly, maybe wrongly, was he telling the

truth? If I had come to the conclusion he was telling the truth,

I would have torn the place apart and we wouldn't be here today.

it is, Mr Murdoch has had to clear up the mess. It has caused great

pain and cost hundreds of millions of pounds, he said. He was glad

they had done it. Shortly before he finished his evidence and left the

Royal Courts of Justice, Rupert Murdoch said he realised the whole

episode would be a blot on his reputation for the rest of his life.

Tonight, the News of the World's former legal manager has denied any

suggestion that he was involved in the cover-up over hacking at the

paper. He issued a statement claiming it was a shameful lie. Our

business editor is here with me. This is pretty hard-hitting

reaction from Tom Crone? Yes, another extraordinary day in the

hacking saga. Rupert Murdoch in saying there was a cover-up of the

hacking at the News of the World was saying not only was the

relevant information kept from the wider world and the police, it was

kept from him. He didn't name the person he thought was intimately

involved in conducting the cover-up, but he described him as a clever

lawyer and a drinking pal of the journalist at the News of the World.

For anybody who has been following the case, that was pointing the

finger at Tom crone. Tom Crone has come out tonight saying he

completely disputes what the implicit allegation against him

from Rupert Murdoch. In fact, he described it as a shameful lie. So

this dispute about who knew not what and when goes on. Tonight,

Robert, a suggestion that the spotlight may be shifting towards

BSkyB? Yes. The other really dramatic development is that we

have learnt that Ofcom, the media regulator, has asked for more

information about hacking at the News of the World in connection

with a completely separate inquiry into whether British Sky

Broadcasting is fit and proper to hold a broadcasting licence. The

reason the two are connected is because News Corporation owns 39%

of British Sky Broadcasting. If Ofcom took the view that in some

senses News Corporation wasn't fit and proper, that would have massive

implications for BSkyB and there is a risk that Rupert Murdoch will be

forced to do something he will hate to do which is sell a very

significant chunk of his BSkyB shares. All right, thank you.

The Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is facing continuing calls to

resign over his handling of News Corporation's bid to take over

BSkyB. Today, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said there were

no plans to ask for an independent investigation into whether he broke

the Ministerial Code. Jeremy Hunt is running and for now

he's not hiding. Today, he and his officials were still facing

questions over their links with Rupert Murdoch's company. Was the

relationship between Mr Hunt's Special Adviser and News

Corporation official? Today, before MPs, his top civil servant refused

to say. Did you know that Adam Smith was acting in the channel of

communication between the department and the Murdoch empire?

There was a statement by the Special Adviser yesterday which

made it clear he accepted that the contact content of those contacts

was not authorised by the Secretary of State, or by me. How much did Mr

Hunt know? His Cabinet colleagues said people should not rush to

judgment. Jeremy Hunt has explained his position in Parliament. He

explained he wanted to provide more information to the Leveson Inquiry.

That hasn't happened yet. People should wait to see what he has to

say at the Leveson Inquiry. Downing Street is resisting calls for Mr

Hunt to face a special investigation into whether or not

he broke the Ministerial Code of Conduct. Mr Cameron believes he has

done nothing wrong. Labour say there are still big questions over

just what he and his top official really knew. We need to know

whether he authorised it, what those conditions were, whether

Jeremy Hunt was aware of them and communicated them to his Special

Adviser and we don't know what the contact was between Jeremy Hunt and

his Special Adviser. Questions that won't find answers until Mr Hunt

and his former adviser appear before Leveson. Mr Hunt's top

official said he knew about and was content with his Special Adviser

being in contact with News Corporation but not how far it went.

Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, has been criticised in the

Scottish Parliament over his relationship with Rupert Murdoch's

News Corporation. Evidence released earlier this week to the Leveson

Inquiry suggested that Mr Salmond was ready to support News Corp even

after it was revealed that the News of the World had hacked into the

phone of the murdered schoolgirl, Milly Dowler. The Scottish Labour

Leader condemned Mr Salmond's pir Sis tent in courting Mr Murdoch --

persistent in courting Mr Murdoch. The First Minister became the only

senior politician in this country, perhaps the only one in the world,

to invite him round for tea. Hypocrisy - the job of a First

Minister is to advocate jobs for Scotland. This First Minister will

continue to do it. Our Scotland Correspondent, James Cook, is in

Holyrood. Heated exchanges there, James. How damaging is this for

Alex Salmond? Well, it is certainly dominating debate here at the

Scottish Parliament and it dominated First Minister's

Questions today. At the heart of the allegation against Alex Salmond

is the suggestion that he has been seduced by power in return for the

favourable treatment of the Murdoch press, treatment that has indeed

been favourable to the Scottish National Party in recent years. But

on the flipside of that, well, there was no killer blow landed

today, no killer new fact revealed against Mr Salmond during First

Minister's Question Time. It is fair to say that Nationalists will

be watching and hoping that there are no more further embarrassing

relations from the Leveson Inquiry. For now, he is surviving. Thank you.

An eyewitness to the death of Mark Duggan has given the BBC footage of

the immediate aftermath of his shooting by police last August.

Mark Duggan's death sparked last summer's riots in England. The

Independent Police Complaints Commission is conducting an inquiry

into his death but has not so far heard from this key witness.

It's now nearly nine months since Mark Duggan was shot dead by the

police on an early summer evening. He was killed near his home in

Tottenham in North London. His death led to a protest which

descrended into a riot which -- descended into a riot. This

exclusive footage obtained by the BBC was filmed by a member of the

public who said he saw the shooting. At that point, he wasn't filming.

Nevertheless, he's a key witness. He wants to remain anonymous. The

footage begins a short time after the police opened fire in Ferry

Lane in Tottenham. An Air Ambulance arrives but Mark Duggan is beyond

medical help. On the ground, surrounded by paramedics, he has

been hit by two police bullets - one in the chest and one in the arm.

Close by, officers from Scotland Yard's specialist firearms unit,

CO19. It's a CO19 officer who fired the fatal shot. They were working

with officers from Trident. All this being captured by the witness

and during part of the filming he talks about what he saw. We've

heard this and had his comments analysed by an independent expert.

His words are spoken by an actor. He jumped out and then he's taken

out. I heard him shout at him, yeah. Put it down, put it down. Mark

Duggan was a passenger in a taxi, that is the grey people carrier,

which was blocked in by the police. They had been trailing him for some

time and he had sent a message from his Blackberry saying, "The Feds

are following me." The police then form a hard stop. As Mark Duggan

lies dead on the pavement, you can see that officers are standing on

the other side of the fence. One firearms officer in a white T-shirt

goes round and bends down towards the ground. The weapon didn't have

any of Mark Duggan's DNA or fingerprints on it. His shooting is

being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints

Commission. The IPCC has expressed frustration that it can't compel

the 31 officers who were there when Mark Duggan was shot to be

interviewed. They have given written statements. The IPCC report

into the shooting is due to be completed later this year.

The former Liberian leader Charles Taylor has been found guilty by a

special court in The Hague of aiding and abetting war crimes in

Sierra Leone. More than 50,000 people died during the country's

civil war in the 1990s. He was accused of arming rebels in Sierra

Leone for ""blood diamonds"". He will be sentenced next month. Our

Special Correspondent, Allan Little, reports from The Hague.

It has been a landmark day in international justice. Charles

Taylor came to court knowing that he might well go to prison for the

rest of his life. Taylor was President of Liberia. He is charged

with waging war in Sierra Leone. No-one disputes rebel forces

committed terrible atrocities there. The charge sheet includes murder,

rape and the recruitment of child soldiers. Civilian populations were

terrorised. Many had their limbs hacked off. The question before the

court was did Charles Taylor order those crimes? There is insufficient

to find beyond a reasonable doubt... Taylor was cleared of directly

ordering the atrocities. The judges asked him to stand to hear that he

was guilty of aiding and abetting all 11 crimes listed in the

indictment. Unanimously find you guilty... The judges said rebel

forces had supplied Taylor with diamonds from Sierra Leone's mines.

In return, he had given them arms and ammunition in the full

knowledge they would commit crimes In 2010 the model Niamo, Campbell

was called as a witness. When the indictment was issued ten years ago

he said he should be immune from prosecution. Prosecutors see the

judgment as a great step forward in their fight against the immunity

that heads of state often enjoyed. It's a very important case for the

people of Sierra Leone, who demanded this court be created so

they could have some measure of justice. It's a very important day

for the victims, who now have some measure of justice for their

terrible suffering. Britain has been intimately involved here.

British troops involved in May 2000 and helped end the war. The last

Labour Government agreed should Taylor be convicted Britain would

put him in a British jail and foot the bill.

Taylor has nothing much to lose, so Our top story tonight:

Giving evidence at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards,

Rupert Murdoch has blamed a cover- up at the News of the World for his

failure to take early action over the phone hacking scandal. Coming

up: Is it a year already? William and Kate, out and about as they

prepare to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Later: Does an

environmentally friendly vision for the capital get your vote? And a

cultural line-up of cultural proportions. Details of the 2012

festival are unveiled. The number of people turning up at

food banks has doubled in the past year - that's according to a

charity which says its depot has handed out free food to more than

120,000 people in the last 12 months. It warns the figure could

increase as the economy struggles to recover. Our correspondent has

the story. Every can, carton and shopping bag is for those who can't

afford to eat. Two food banks are opening every week in the UK

because more and more families say they need them. Families like

Michelles. When Ryan's overtime at work was stopped their income fell

to just over �400 a month. Rent and rising bills meant there was no

money left. I wouldn't want to go there again.

I would not wish it upon anybody. It's the lowest point. To hay den

you have to be all -- Hayden you have to be all smiles, but behind

closed doors you break down. many days did you go without food?

A couple of days to make sure there was enough for him. They are not

alone. Last year, 61,000 people were fed by food banks. This year

that number has doubled. One charity now has 201 food banks and

says the rise is linked to what is happening in the economy. The

terribly difficult thing from our point of view is the way budget

changes, the welfare reforms and so on come into play those that are

poorer in the country are taking a harder hit.

That means a change in the type of people who need help. At this food

bank in Leeds new faces arrive daily. Many of the stories are

familiar. They cannot afford fuel and food, and younger people too.

Those who want to get a job, but cannot find work. The coalition

Government says help is there. Two million low-paid workers soon won't

have to pay tax. Those on benefits can get crisis loans. People here

have options. Why aren't you applying for other

jobs now then instead of coming here? I have applied for other jobs,

but nobody is taking on at the moment. How many? About 100 jobs.

Not one has said, yeah you can have a job. There could soon be a food

bank in every town. A member of the Secret Service has

told the inquest into the death of the MI6 officer Gareth Williams

that the Secret Intelligence Service is profoundly sorry for

failing to raise the alarm earlier about his disappearance. His body

was found padlocked in a sports bag at his London flat in August 2010.

The UK I has launched its campaign a-- the UK Independence Party has

launched its campaign. Nigel Farage said he is hopeful they will make a

break through. UKIP is contesting one third of the seats up for

election in England. Next Thursday sees elections across most of

Britain. In Scotland every single seat is up for grabs. The issues

are familiar - jobs and services, but the Scottish elections also

have an added bite because a plan for a future referendum on whether

Scotland should be independent. The councils, a collide scope of

coalitions. Labour working with Conservatives,

Lib Dems linked with Tories and much, much more.

But widespread coalition does not mean these are cosy elections. Very

far from it. In particular, there is a bruising battle between the

SNP and their opponents, the Labour Party. That battle comes to a head

right here in Scotland's largest city, Glasgow.

That has meant political turmoil. Labour has run Glasgow for decades.

The drive to modernise resulted in conflict. Now they face an external

enemy, the buoyant SNP. They have said in this city, that their task

is to make this a stepping stone to independence. What we saying is the

big debate is how do we protect people's jobs, how do we protect

our services? Nationalists insist this is not about independence but

competence. Labour has treated Glasgow, ruling it in their

interests rather than the interests of the city of Glasgow. It is time

for a change. That is what the SNP offers.

The Tories share power in 11 Scottish councils. They are keen to

outrank their UK coalition partners. We have been the fourth party of

Government in Scotland since 1992. We expect to be the third and we

will increase our vote share as well. The Liberal Democrats argue

the backlash has finished. We value, people stand up for their

community sort out the potholes and the lighting. That is what people

want. Back in Glasgow, the race for votes intensifies. Ministers

promise millions to upgrade the city's subway. Labour offers a new

system to embrace buses and trains. Council spending curbs limit the

scope for ambitious promises. Still these elections will re-shape

Scottish council control and just possibly point us to a bigger

choice - the independence referendum.

Now, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are preparing to celebrate their

first wedding anniversary this weekend. Today they met a team of

soldiers who recreated race to The Duke and Duchess are expected

to arrive here shortly for this function - their third official

engagement in 24 hours. This morning, they made an unpublicised

visit to MI6 before heading on to a reception, where they were seen

looking rather broody over a baby. My report contains flash

photography. There's was not a whirl wind romance, but it has been

a first year of marriage. They are in huge demand. Today, they showed

support for the teams of soldiers, who on behalf of the British Legion

recreated Scott's historic race to the South Pole, raising funds for

wounded servicemen. The same levels of courage and determination,

demonstrated by our Antarctic heroes in 1912 and 2012 are shown

each and every day by our wounded servicemen and women. Their courage

and spirits humble me. One of those people is double amputee, Clive

Smith, injured in Afghanistan. He has benefited from the charity's

support. It is really hum belling that Prince will wram is looking

out for the -- Prince William is looking out for the rest of the

troops and to have him back this charity. It is a massive support.

How very sweet. After the formalities all eyes were on

Catherine. It was Prince William who caused the stir of those

wishing to hear the pitter patter of tiny feet.

After handing the baby back, it was just Catherine and William. They

were all the crowd wanted to see any way.

So, they will have had a couple of busy days. They will be retreating

now to celebrate their first wedding anniversary on Sunday, out

of the public gaze. Thank you. Now Another day, another set of

downpours, particularly now over northern England. Some storms.

Vicious storms over East Yorkshire. They are swirling around an area of

low pressure. Drier and brighter across the

south-east this evening. Still windy here, however. We will keep

this zone of wet weth ore eer over -- wet weather.

Further north it will turn quite cold. A touch of frost in rural

areas. Cold enough for the showers which push south across Scotland to

have snow mixed in. The central zone stays dull tomorrow. In the

far south, we'll have another day where there'll be some sunny spells.

There will be further heavy showers. These across southern counties of

England could contain hail and thunder N the sunny spells we might

reach 15 Celsius. The winds will be a touch lighter over the south-east.

The far north of northern England may brighten up. There'll be sunny

spells over Northern Ireland and Scotland. There will be bands of

showers drifting south, as I said, with snow mixed in.

Some brighter skies on Saturday. The showers will be fairly well

scattered. Temperatures may reach 15-16 Celsius in the sunny spells.