28/09/2012 BBC News at Six

schoolgirl and her teacher are found in France.

Megan Stammers is under police protection. Jeremy Forrest is in

custody on suspicion of child abduction.

The were discovered in Bordeaux in the south-west of France eight days

after they disappeared. Megan's stepfather talks of his

relief that his daughter has been been found. We're so relieved Megan

has been found alive and well. We can't wait to be united with her.

We're live in Bordeaux and will bring you the very latest. Also on

tonight's programme: Seven British tourists are killed

in a plane crash in Nepal. Timothy Oakes was on the trip of a

lifetime. His family say he had always wanted to go to Mount

Everest. We're hanging on to the fact that today Tim died, so I

believe in an aircraft doing something he'd always wanted to do.

Pregnant women are to be offered a whooping cough vaccine after the

worst outbreak of the disease for over a decade.

And extraordinary stories of bravery among the servicemen

honoured for their service in Good evening and welcome to the BBC

news at 6.00pm. The 15-year-old schoolgirl and her maths teacher

who went missing over a week ago have been found. Megan Stammers and

Jeremy Forrest were discovered in the city of Bordeaux in the south-

west of France. Megan is reported to be safe and well and is now

under police protection. Mr Forrest has been arrested on suspicion of

child abduction. Megan's stepfather says he is over the moon that she

has been found. Luisa Baldini reports. There must be huge relief

there. Yes. That relief was plain to see on the face of Megan's

mother. I saw her going into the house mid afternoon. She was with

police, family liaison officers. She was smiling, and she thanked us

for our good wishes. The last eight days of waiting and not knowing

what had become of Megan and of Jeremy Forrest had been quite an

ordeal for the families. My report contains some flash photography.

They'd been on the run for a week, but they were not your average

sweethearts. They were a 30-year- old teacher and a schoolgirl half

his age. This afternoon, it all came to an end. After days of

despair, Megan's father, who had made two appeals, spoke of his

relief that his daughter had been found safe and well. I would just

like to say Danielle and I are so relieved that Megan has been found

safe and well. We just can't wait to be reunited with her. Our family

are overjoyed at the outcome. As you can imagine, it's just been an

absolute emotional roller coaster, but you know, to see you guys now

it's quite nice because I've got smiles on my face because Megan.

was on Friday that Megan was reported missing. The two had left

Britain crossing the Channel by ferry. With know contact from the

pair over the weekend, Megan's family made an emotional appeal for

her return. On Tuesday, a European arrest warrant was issued for

Jeremy Forrest. Yesterday, his family made their appeal for him

and Megan to get in contact, and the pair were also featured on the

BBC's Crimewatch programme. Today they were found in Bordeaux shortly

after midday. Mukhadram Jeremy Forrest, who was a

maths teacher at Megan's teacher in Eastbourne, was also an aspiring

musician. Tonight he's in custody at this police station in Bordeaux

answering questions related to child abduction. The police believe

the information which led them to the pair came as a direct result of

media coverage in France where in the last 24 hours news of the

missing couple had intensified. In Eastbourne, at the school where

Megan and Jeremy Forrest met, the head teachers said they would play

their part in supporting Megan and her family ensuring that Megan and

her family return to some normality. This afternoon parents gave their

reaction. Just overwhelmed really. I'm just glad she's safe. She's

coming back to where she belongs to her parents, so... You expect your

kids to be safe really, but yeah, it's a shame it happened. Megan and

Jeremy Forrest have been found safe and well, but there is still many

unanswered questions about how much was known of the teacher and

teenager's relationship before they absconded.

Well, we don't yet know exactly when Megan will be returning to the

UK, and we don't know whether she will come straight back to the home

which she shares with her mother here, but clearly, she will need a

lot of support before being able to resume the care-free life of a 15-

year-old schoolgirl. Thank you.

Let's go to Bordeaux now where the couple were found. Our world

affairs correspondent Christian Frasier is with us. What more can

you tell us from there? Well, I understand that there are three

British consular staff that are now at the police station with Jeremy

Forrest. We understand that both Megan and Mr Forrest forest have

been able to call their families, and we understand that Megan's

mother will be coming here to Bordeaux to - probably to bring her

back to the UK. Obviously, that is the priority at the moment - to

return her to Britain. We've seen pictures of Mr Forrest forest which

you can see on your television screens now. This is him coming out

of one of the local police stations in handcuffs. We understand that he

might have been taken to his hotel to recover some of his possessions.

Now, French police are telling us that he has the option to return to

the UK of his own volition. He can go back before Tuesday. Presumably,

he'd be escorted here to the Bordeaux airport and put on a plane.

If he didn't choose to do that - and apparently at the moment he's

turned down the offer of a lawyer - then they have to ascertain whether

there was any relationship sexually between the pair, and if there was,

then they will charge him on Tuesday. A few other details that

we have managed to ascertain from local police - they have had a

number of tip-offs since Wednesday, so it appears from local reports

that they may have aban DNAed the Ford Fiesta in which they were

travelling to come down here presumably on a train. There were

reports from both British and French people locally in the area.

They were acting today on a tip-off. They know that he may have tried to

get a job yesterday in Bordeaux in a local bar and may have been on

his way to an interview at another bar when he was stopped, but the

image we get when they were arrested is the two of them walking

hand in hand again, looking very much the couple and no indication,

despite these desperate appeals from their families that they

wanted to return to the kuek. -- to the UK. Thank you.

Seven British tourists are among nineteen people killed in a plane

crash in Nepal. They were due to start a two-week trek in the

Himalayas. The cause of the crash hasn't been confirmed. The plane

was travelling from Kathmandu to Lukla near the Everest base camp.

It came down just moments after it had taken off. From Kathmandu our

South Asia correspondent Sanjoy Majumder reports.

A journey to the Himalayas ending in tragedy. Eyewitnesses say the

plane was on fire in the air. "The flames were quite high," this man

says, "And burnt all parts of the plane." Emergency workers were able

to put it out, but the damage was so intense, hopes of finding

survivors swiftly faded away. This was the plane the 19 tourists

set off in this morning. Timothy Oakes was a keen Mountaineer. His

wife said today he'd been looking forward to the trip. We had been

together 30 years, and in the whole of that time, the one dream he's

always had is to go to base camp, and there's no - there's no real

words of comfort here for my daughter, for myself, but we're

hanging on to the fact that today Tim died, so I believe, in an

aircraft doing something he'd always wanted to do, and we're

trying very hard to take comfort. Among the victims were Stephen

Holding, Vincent Kelly and Raymond Eagle. Vincent's brother David was

also killed along with Christopher Davey and Benjamin Ogden. The five

Chinese passengers onboard also died. The plane was carrying the

trekkers from Kathmandu to Lukla, the gateway to the Everest region.

It took off from Kathmandu International Airport at 6.15pm.

After just two minutes in the air, the wreckage came down about a

kilometre from the airport. It's a trip thousands of people take every

year. Tony Hamza, who has taken the journey many times, says he's

surprised it crashed near the airport. Kathmandu is an

international airport. When you take off you're in your little

Dornier plane between an Airbus and a Boeing. You don't expect anything

to go wrong. Coming into Lukla you're landing on an airstrip just

1500 metres long with a cliff on one end and a sheer drop at the

other. There are parts of wreckage strewn all around this field where

the twin engine came down, and over in the distance there, I can see

the lights of Kathmandu International Airport. You get a

sense of how quickly all of this must have happened - the last few

terrifying moments before the plane came down in the middle of this

Hundreds of thousands of pregnant women across the UK are to be

offered a whooping cough vaccine to protect their unborn babies from

the disease. The latest outbreak, the worst in two decades, has

killed nine newborn babies in England this year. Health officials

say there are no safety concerns about the vaccine, which will be

available from Monday. Here's our The sound is distinctive. The

disease is distressing. Whooping Cough has made a dramatic comeback

after years in decline. Matthew is a picture of health, but he spent

half his young life in hospital with Whooping Cough. He got

infected at three weeks, too young to have been immunised, and it

nearly killed him. Every night we used to just pray that God would

let us be a mummy and daddy and that we could take him home and put

him in all the gifts that we'd been given, and because we really didn't

know if that were ever happen, if we'd be able to come home as the

three of us... Health officials hope that cases like Matthew's here

will persuade all pregnant women of both the potential dangers of

Whooping Cough and of the clear benefits of having the vaccine.

The vaccine will be given to women at between 28 and 38 weeks of

pregnancy to boost their immunity. They will pass anti-bodies to their

unborn baby, which should protect newborns until they're immunised at

two months. The vaccine also protects against diphtheria,

tetanus and polio. It's the same jab that's given to all three rolls.

Health officials say there are no safety concerns and women should

not hesitate. The overwhelming evidence is this

will save lives, save hospital admissions and the distress that

causes to the baby and the whole family. It is horrible. I remember

looking after babies like that, so it's a no-brainer. We have to do it.

And that view got some support from pregnant mothers in Bristol.

Whenever a vaccine was offered to me in the past with my first child,

such as the swine flu vaccine and the flu vaccine, I have always

taken that up as an offer, so I think it's a positive step. It's

not something that I would sort of take up until I sort of found out a

bit more about it. In terms of vaccinations, I'd tend to be a bit

wary about it. It's a decision that many pregnant women will need to

make quickly, as the vaccine will be available from Monday.

The French Government has presented its budget aimed at curbing the

country's rising debt. The measures include a controversial 75% tax

rate on the highest earners. President Francois Hollande called

it a "fighting budget" and said it would win the "battle" against

joblessness and help growth. David Cameron has given his

strongest signal yet that the Conservatives will hold a

referendum on Europe should they win the next election. On a visit

to Brazil he also revealed that Britain would be opting out of

hundreds of EU policing and justice powers - a move which will please

Tory Eurosceptics. Travelling with the Prime Minister is our deputy

political editor James Landale. David Cameron at a boxing academy

in Rio, with Olympic stars of the present and perhaps the future.

He's come to Brazil with a team of businessmen and women to make the

most of the legacy of London 2012 and box clever on the economy. He

said he could offer Brazil access to consumers in the European Union

via the UK, but said the time was coming for a new relationship

between Britain and the EU, with the British people having a say.

I do think that what there is increasingly coming time for is a

new settle between Britain and Europe, and I think that new

settlement will require fresh consent. Now, why this is

happening... A new referendum? the next Parliament, I think there

will be opportunity, as I say, for a fresh settlement and new consent.

Mr Cameron also revealed that he would withdraw Britain from

hundreds of EU policing and justice powers by evoking an opt-out

included in the Lisbon Treaty. opt-out is there. We'll be

exercising that opt-out. The key thing then is which of the array of

things you have come out of do you think is good for Britain and want

to cooperate with your European partners on? That's a discussion

we're having. This could mean drawing a European arrest warrant

that makes it easy for Britons to be handed over to other countries,

scrapping rules that force the police to share DNA and fingerprint

data with their European counterparts and allowing the

British courts to -- David Cameron returns home tonight with the

promise of million-pound deals with Brazilian firms that he claimed

showed positive things are happening in the economy, but it's

the promise of changes in Europe The time is a quarter past six. The

top story: Megan Stammers and her teacher Jeremy Forrest, who went

missing together last week, have been found in France.

Coming up, I'm here at the Medinah Country Club in Chicago as Europe's

ulcers begin their defence of the Ryder Cup.

-- golfers. On the BBC News Channel, after

weeks of whispers, he is no longer McLaren's man. Lewis Hamilton

A soldier who led a bayonet charge against insurgents in Afghanistan

and a colleague of Prince William who rescued two soldiers -- sailors.

They are two among more than 100 servicemen and women have received

military honours in recognition of their bravery.

At the National Army Museum, they remember battles past. But today

was about honouring those still fighting the Wars of the present.

Back from a Dennis than with their own stories of extraordinary

courage. -- from Afghanistan. People like Sean Jones, who has

been honoured with the Military Cross. Surrounded by insurgents and

under fire, he showed determination in the face of extreme danger,

forcing the enemy to flee when he ordered his men to fix bayonets and

charge. The bayonet is the first port of

call to go into the enemy and finish them off.

What was the reaction of the others with you?

You saw them sort of put their heads back a bit, as if to say, is

this happening? Sapper Ryan Pavey received the

Queen's commendation for bravery for his role in a tragedy filmed by

a BBC crew. This British convoy was a target of a Taliban roadside bomb.

But a passing minibus carrying Afghans caught the full blast.

18 people were killed. It inspired -- yet in spite the risk of more

bombs, Ryan Pavey saved more people. We saved five lives. That is good.

How does it feel? It is great. In such a bad

situation, a bit of hope is good. Not just carried in battle. Richard

Taylor is commended for bravery closer to home. This is hind being

winched into heavy seas last year after a violent storm such a cargo

ship off the Welsh coast. The cargo included Prince William. They save

two lives. I am pleased and honoured to be

recognised. This is a team effort. The job, we can't do it without the

team. It goes from the engineers and support staff through to the

whole crew on board. Characteristic modesty from those

in uniform who say they were just doing their job. These are just a

few of the remarkable stories of sacrifice and courage. Many more

are ready to face dangers at both home and abroad.

Nine men from Oxfordshire have appeared at the Old Bailey accused

of a series of child sex offences. The defendants face more than 50

charges, including rape of a child, conspiracy to rape and trafficking.

They deny the allegations. A report calling for radical change

to the way an important lending rate between banks is set has been

welcomed by the government. The review into LIBOR was commissioned

after a huge fine was imposed on Barclays for trying to rig the rate.

Robert Peston has the details. Global banking, global finance.

Underpinning trillions of dollars of deals in Tokyo, Frankfurt, and

on Wall Street. A system called LIBOR, operated out of London for

determining what banks have to pay to borrow.

In turn, it influences what millions of us have to pay to

borrow. But there's a problem.

The system is broken and needs overhaul. The disturbing events we

have uncovered in the manipulation of LIBOR have severely tarnished

confidence and our trust. It has torn the very fabric of our

financial system. In July, Berkeley is about to be

former boss lost his job over his bank's attempts to read LIBOR. And

it has become clear that other big banks, including Royal Bank of

Scotland, lied about the interest rates they were paying.

Love them or hate them, the banks are important to the prosperity of

the UK. So when, early in the summer, it became impossible to any

longer ignore the fundamental flaws in the LIBOR system for measuring

borrowing costs, the Treasury, the government ordered a review.

There will be three big reforms. Proper regulation would be

introduced of how the LIBOR rates are fixed.

Control of Operational Awards List 39 -- control of LIBOR will be

taken away from the banks. And the rates should become more reliable.

There will be few of them and they will be calculated in a new way

based on real deals. Running through the heart of the

weekly report is a rich vein of distressed -- distrust about bangs.

We know that self-regulation did not work. We need to say that

people are not capable of exercising self-restraint or

integrity. The LIBOR reforms may go some way

to restoring confidence in the city, but more than a dozen banks are

bracing themselves for further humiliations as regulators around

the world decide what penalties and fines to impose on them for their

past LIBOR misdeeds. The Formula One driver Lewis

Hamilton is leading McLaren after 14 years and will race for Mercedes

from next season. Hamilton, who in 2008 became the youngest driver to

win the World Championship, will replace Michael Schumacher, who is

expected to retire. Golf, and Graham McDowell has teed

off to open the 39th Ryder Cup in the United States. He and his team-

mates, including Rory McIlroy, face a stiff test in defending the

trophy with a loud and partisan crowd in Medinah. Andy Swiss is

there and has been watching the action.

What a tense morning it has been here. Perfect conditions for the

golfers in Medinah. This was always expected to be a close Ryder Cup,

and so far that is how it has proved.

On a crisp morning, they flocked in their thousands. Transatlantic

rivals, ready to make some noise. Go on, Europe! USA, USA, all the

way! We are ready.

It is 7am and it is about to get loud.

Indeed it was. A wall of American noise as Northern Ireland's Graeme

McDowell got things under way. The nerves were plain to see, not

the start Europe wanted. But if that was bad, this was even worse.

Tiger Woods car after his first shot into a fence. Everyone, it

seems, was feeling the pressure. It was Europe, though, that settled

quickest. In Rory McIlroy, they have the best player in the world.

It was he that conjured the first stroke of genius.

Sadly the cheers had a European accent.

-- suddenly. At one stage, the US were trailing

in all four matches. But back they came. Phil Mickelson revived the

home fans in some style. And his partner, Keegan Bradley,

was just as inspired. Together they beat Luke Donald and

Sergio Garcia's. The Ryder Cup passion was in full flow.

But he would hit back. McDowell and Rory McIlroy won their match on the

final hole. Already this event is delivering some drama.

I can tell you now that it has finished 2-2 after this morning's

matches. Plenty more golf still to come before the Ryder Cup finishes

on Sunday. Our top story, and the news that

Megan Stammers and her maths teacher had been found in France.

They were discovered this afternoon in Bordeaux.

We can speak now to Christian Fraser, who is there. What more can

you tell us? It appears the two had travelled

the length of the country to try to avoid the authorities, but they

were finally apprehended here today. A number of sightings since

Wednesday. Police said they were acting on a specific tip of today.

The couple again were walking hand- in-hand down the main street when

they were stopped. We understand the priority is to get Megan back

to the UK as quickly as possible. Her mother will be coming here

tonight. They will presumably go back to the UK tomorrow. Its sense

of Jeremy Forrest, he has been into the debate. -- in terms of Jeremy

Forrest. He has a tries to return to the UK voluntarily. If not, he

will be interviewed further. -- he has a choice. He could be charged

here on Tuesday if there was a sexual aspect to the relationship.

We hear that the two had been here since Wednesday. He had been here

for a job interview yesterday, and may be also today. It seems they

abandoned the black Ford Fiesta that police were looking for. They

found that in Paris. It seems the pair came down here to Bordeaux on

a train. In spite of the desperate appeals from both families, the

manner in which they were stopped and their attitude when they were

stopped suggests they had no intention of returning to the UK.

What is also clear is that these huge appeals we have seen this week

have had some effect. The people caught in -- record in were both

French and English. French and English.

Let's take a look at the weekend weather.

Not quite the warmth we had this weekend last year. 29 degrees it

was. Given the week we have had, not a bad weekend in store.

Saturday is going to be the drier and a brighter of the two. By

Sunday, a number of you will see some wet and windy weather. This

evening and overnight, while we do see a lot of driver the, there will

be a scattering of showers. -- dry weather. You will notice by the end

of the night that showers elsewhere are in the case and heels. A little

on the cool side. A distinct chill in the air for Saturday morning.

Still a breeze and a scattering of showers in western parts of

Scotland. Central Scotland should be dry and bright to start. An

isolated chalet in Northern Ireland, but generally bright. -- isolated

shower. One or two morning showers in England. The risk will continue

through the morning and into the afternoon. While there will be a

few showers in the West, they will be few. Some good, sunny spells,

even though the cloud will be bubbling up. Temperatures are not

impressive at 13-16 degrees. But out of the breeze, it should feel

pleasant. Thickening cloud in Scot then later on. That brings a change

later on in two Sunday. The isobars are packing together, so there will

be a breeze. It should stay dry across Southern England. Northern

England, the Midlands and Wales England, the Midlands and Wales

turn wetter. Hopefully the rain will not give us too much concern.

Thank you very much. A reminder of tonight's top news:

Megan Stammers and head teacher Jeremy Forrest, who went missing

last week, have been found in France. In the last half an hour,