17/10/2012 BBC News at Six

Unemployment falls again, the number of people out of work

dropped by another 50,000. The rate has been going down since April

with construction in city centres driving job creation. We are

increasing the number of employment opportunities, particularly for

young apprentices. We will be looking at what job prospects are

like a way from the hot spots. Also tonight...

The chanting that greeted England's Under 21s in Belgrade last night.

Calls for tough action against the Serbian team. Her everybody is

appalled by the scenes we saw last night. They are completely

unacceptable, they should certainly not have happened at a football

match. The government's chief whip still under pressure, worries

within his own party and attacks from the opposition.

The white stick which police mistook for a samurai sword. We

hear from that demand Tasered by Lancashire police.

I'll be here with the sport. Keith action under the roof up from

England's delayed World Cup Good evening.

There's been another fall in the unemployment total, down by 50,000

between June and August. The latest figures show an extra 200,000 jobs

being created, although the overall picture remains patchy with

Scotland seen the rise in the jobless total. For its government

described the latest figures as a landmark known it, but Labour says

a growing number of people can only Whether it is on the ground or high

above, jobs are being created a. Developments like this are

providing firmer foundations for the labour market. It may be in

London, but some of the thousands of jobs it is supporting are far

from the capital. Those jobs both within London and throughout the UK,

certain parts of this building have been prefabricated off-site and are

providing jobs in the North of England and Yorkshire and Scotland.

From manufacturing to service industries, there are opportunities,

as these young recruits at Premier in have discovered. Today they met

the employment minister, who hailed news that the total number of

people in work had gone up again. Her these are landmark figures.

More people in work than ever. 170,000 fewer people on benefits in

2010. But there's still a lot to do and whilst youth employment is

below a million, we can't become complacent. Her unemployment is

still a bit higher than five years ago. At the end of the economic

boom it was around 1.6 million, then it shot up during the

recession. It carried on rising last year before falling back in

recent months to just over 2.5 million. How can the economy be

creating jobs when it is apparently in decline? Experts are puzzled

about that. Some feel the official output figures are too pessimistic

and when they are revised they will show the economy has been broadly

flat rather than contracting. More than half the new jobs between June

and August were part-time, some might argue the labour market is

not as secure as it might be. And you don't have to go far from the

City of London to find a lingering problem. The charity lifeline

organises training to help the long-term jobless in a programme

funded by the government. It is all about your credibility. Penny is

one of those out of work. She has been looking for office work for

two years, but has so far found nothing. I have probably applied

for about 500 jobs. There's probably about 20 or 30 responses,

thank you but no thank you. The rest, nothing. That is frustrating.

Labour claims that despite sessions like these, the government isn't

getting to grips with long-term unemployment. An incredible third

of people out of work have now been out of work for over a year. These

were the people the government said they would help with their work

programme. Today's figures are fresh evidence that that programme

is failing. It is a mixed picture around the UK for up while Welsh

unemployment was down, it was up in Scotland and Northern Ireland. We

can speak to Nick Robinson now. The government has called this a

landmark moment, is this what they have been waiting for? There is no

doubt that these are figures which produced a real chip inside Downing

Street when they were learned about 24 hours ago. But ministers will be

desperate not to say these are green shoots of recovery, that

phrase that did such damage to a Tory chancellor in the 1990s. They

are inside government piecing together bits of information and

they are struck by a fact told them by fire Custer's -- forecasters

that if we had known how badly the economy would do, how slowly it

would grow two years ago, many forecasters would estimate

unemployment at about 1.5 million higher than it has turned out. None

of this he does away with the fact that the economy is not growing,

borrowing and therefore is going up, the Chancellor in a few weeks' time

will have to stand up in the House of Commons to give what is called

his Autumn Statement and admit that the economy is off the course he

set for it, he may not need either of the important roles he set for

getting the deficit under control and borrowing is going up. But

unemployment is putting a small smile on the face of ministers.

Thank you. You can see how the unemployment

Downing Street says the prime minister was appalled by the abuse

directed at England Under 21 players in Serbia last night. Danny

Rose, who is black, has called for Serbia to be banned from

international football. For Serbian Football Association has denied

there was any racism during the game. This report contains abusive

chanting from the start. Substitutes getting involved as

well. They were the scenes that shamed football. Players and

coaches from England's on foot -- under 21s got under physical and

verbal attack after their match against Serbia last night. Violence

on the pitch and racist abuse from the stands.

ABUSIVE CHANTING FROM CROWD. With this gesture, Danny Rose made

it clear exactly what kind of abuse he felt he had been subjected to

from the home fans drew up the game. But today the Serbian FA was

A visibly upset Danny Rose had angrily kicked the ball into the

crowd following England's victory and was then sent off. The FA have

backed the Sunderland defender, insisting he and other black team-

mates had been provoked by racial abuse and the player's father has

now condemned what his son was put through. It is quite clear that

they are making monkey chants, and whether towards Danny Brough or not,

they're rather black players. Danny has been singled out because of the

red card, but of a black players and they will have been racially

abused as well. Serbian fans were found guilty of racially abusing

another black England player five years ago. The country's FA were

fined just �16,000 and now the government wants football

authorities to get firm. I think everybody is appalled by the scenes

we saw last night, by any standards they are completely unacceptable,

they should certainly not have happened at a football match and we

now want UEFA to take the toughest possible measures against those who

are found guilty. St George's Park, the brand-new training base for

England's Under 21s, symbolises a positive new era, but today the FA

found itself lodging a formal complaint with UEFA for what it

described as the disgraceful events in Serbia and once again the

governing body has to contend with a raised related controversy. John

Terry must decide by tomorrow night whether to appeal his four Matt

Banahan after the former England captain was found guilty of

racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. We are definitely vulnerable to

cries of hypocrisy. My opinion is immaterial. Who you play for is

immaterial, who the play is immaterial, what country they are

from. English football has undoubtedly come a long way since

the days when racist abuse was a feature of terraces up and down the

country. It appears others are yet to it -- yet to start that journey.

The Government's Chief Whip is under continuing pressure tonight

over an incident where he allegedly swore at Downing Street police last

month. In heated exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions today, Ed

Miliband renewed his call for Andrew Mitchell to be sacked saying

he was now toast. An almighty row between the Cabinet

minister and the police was always going to make the headlines, but

this just won't blow over. It is four weeks since police reported

that Andrew Mitchell swore at them and call them bled after they

refused to let in cycle through the Downing Street gates. Today Mr

Mitchell was hanging on, but the incident left his boss under attack

and on the back foot in the Commons. What the Chief Whip did and said

was wrong and that is why it is important that he apologised and

apologised properly. That apology has been accepted by the officer

concerned, it has been accepted by the head of the Met Police got off

Mr Mitchell looked uncomfortable as Ed Miliband said it showed the

Tories were out of touch. He seized on reports that the Chief Whip had

headed straight off to a private members' club after his

confrontation with police. If the yob in a city centre on a Saturday

night accused the police officer, ranting and raving, the chances are

they would be arrested and placed in the back of a police van. While

it is a night in the cell for the yachts, it is a night at the

Carlton Club for the Chief Whip. Isn't that the clearest case there

could be a total double standards? He doesn't want to talk about how

we build on our record in employment because he's got no

plans. He doesn't want to talk about how we reform welfare,

because he's supposed to welfare caps. He wants to discuss these

issues because he's got nothing serious to say about the country.

They say typewriters class war and they go around calling people

plebs! -- they say that I practise class war. It is good to see the

Cabinet supporting him in public, but what are they saying in

private? He is under no wind, his position is untenable, he is toast.

When Andrew Mitchell had his run-in with the police at Downing Street,

David Cameron decided not to sack him, but that has left him with a

big problem. His chief whip, in charge of party discipline, is seen

as damaged goods by many Conservative MPs. Tory MPs have

gathered in the Commons tonight and discussed Andrew Mitchell's future.

Is it time for Andrew Mitchell to go? David Cameron saying nothing,

but privately many of his MPs believe the damage to the party

will only stop if Mr Mitchell resigns.

The government has confirmed that it wants to bring in legislation to

force energy companies to give consumers the lowest tariff

available. Full details are expected to be unveiled in the

Energy Bill over the next few weeks. Do we know what exactly we think

the government is about to propose? No. In April, the government said

that firms would have to let customers know what was the best

deal for them. Today the Prime Minister seemed to go further,

saying the government would legislate so that energy companies

have to give the lowest tariff to customers. We are seeking

clarification on there. What you suddenly be placed on a different

tariff? Number Ten seemed to back up that idea, it suggested it was

examining options, including forcing firms to place customers on

the cheapest tariff. If this was to happen, it would be a major change.

The companies did not know anything about this. I spoke to several

today. There was surprise in some areas of government, too. The

Department for energy is saying this is about putting a greater

obligation on firms to ensure customers are on the best tariff.

They say are working through auctions, developing proposals. At

best there is confusion tonight. It is a work-in-progress. It doesn't

feel like a fully formed area of policy just yet.

Lancashire police have apologised for using a Taser on a blind man.

Face say he was mistaken for a man reportedly carrying a samurai sword.

Police have confirmed that Colin Farmer, 61, was carrying a white

Colin Farmer is registered blind after having two strikes. With

minimal vision, he uses a white stick to feel his way around. Last

Friday he was making his way along this road when he said he's

suddenly became aware of a commotion. This CCTV footage shows

what happens next. Mr Farmer was behind the line of cars. The

flashing light is a Taser gun which was fired by a police officer who

was targeting the pensioner. Mr Farmer says he had no idea what was

going on. For I dropped to the floor with my cane. I was shouting

all the time, I'm blind, I'm blind. There was no warning by the police.

They didn't show themselves. I thought they were thugs about a mug

me. Mr Farmer was handcuffed. This photograph shows his wrists were

bruised. The police later said they had mistaken his white stick for a

weapon. They thought it was a samurai sword of the sort seen here

been used by martial artists under controlled conditions. I said why

has this happened? They said because there's been a report of a

man with a samurai sword in Chorley. We sent for a specialist team.

the bat on the ground. There are strict rules which govern the rules

of Tasers. Clear warnings must be given and the person targeted must

understand what is about to happen. Mr Farmer says he did not.

Lancashire police say no action has been taken against the officer who

Tasered Mr Farmer because they are at the early stages of an

investigation, but they say they know they put a pensioner through a

traumatic experience and they are extremely sorry. They've referred

the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Colin

Farmer says that when the Taser hit him he thought he was going to die.

He says he is so angry about what has happened, he intends to take

his own legal action. Subtitles for Kevin Hutchinson-Foster was charged

with passing the gun to Mark Duggan just he was shot dead by police

marksmen in August last year. Well, let's talk to our correspondent

Matt Prodger who joins us from snairs brook Crown Court. After

weeks the jury has failed to reach a verdict. What'll happen now?

George, the whole significance of this trial lay not in the simple

charge at the heart of it, that of one man being accused of supplying

another with a gun, but what it told us about the police shooting

of Mark Duggan last year, an event that has been shrouded in mystery.

For the first time we heard from the policeman who shot him. He said

he shot him because Mark Duggan was holding a gun and pointing it at

police but we also heard when Mark Duggan fell to the ground no gun

was found on him and when one was found it didn't bear his

fingerprints. We heard from an eyewitness who said a gun had been

found in a mini-cab. The whole question of whether or not Mark

Duggan was carrying a gun when he was shot dead by police is at the

heart of the controversy. This trial hasn't answered that question,

but it's told us a whole lot more than we knew, so now what happens

is that there will probably be a retrial of Kevin Hutchinson-Foster

before a full inquest can be held into Mark Duggan's death.

Matt, thank you very much. The time is 6.17pm. Our top story:

The unemployment rate falls again. The number of people out of work

President Barack Obama came out fighting for the second of the US

Presidential campaign debates last night. It followed a poor showing

in the first debate in which most commentators thought his challenger,

Mitt Romney, took the honours. Recent polls have shown the

President losing ground among voters in the key swing states. Our

Washington correspondent Steve Kingstone reports.

A spring in the step today of the man many observers felt won a

debate that was brutal and bad- tempered. You'll get your chance in

a moment. I am still speaking. At times it got borderline physical as

they encroached on each other's personal space. How much did you

cut licences... Governor, here's what we did. The day after the

attack, governor, I stood in the rose garden, and I told the

American people and the world that this was an act of terror. You said

in the rose garden the day after the attack it was an act of terror.

I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the

president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of

terror. Get the transcript. He did in fact, sir. Let me... Can you say

that a little louder. It was a misstep. The transcript showed the

president had used the phrase acts of terror. This was man transformed

from the passive figure of the first debate. The president

portrayed his point as extreme. President, have you looked at your

pension? I haven't looked at my pension. It's not as big as yours,

doesn't take that lock, But Mitt Romney stood his ground. Median

income is down. 23 million Americans are out of work. That's

what this election is about. It's about who can get the middle class

in this country a bright, prosperous future. Looking on was

an audience of undecided voters who posed some of the questions. What

did they make of the clash? It was great. It was lively. That's what

you want. You want to hear a lot of numbers and principles. A little

bit of bickering. I felt there was a little bit of bickering and a lot

of campaigning. I felt a lot of questions weren't answered directly.

So two debates down, one to go and 20 days until America decides. In

the final stretch, they'll talk about the deficit. They'll talk

about foreign policy, but in the end, the name on the door here

comes down to one simple question: who does a weary America trust more

The sportswear firm Nike has cancelled its contract with the

cyclist Lance Armstrong over what it calls the "insurmountable

evidence" that he participated in doping. Armstrong has also

announced he's stepping down as the chairman of his Livestrong cancer

charity to spare the foundation any negative effects. Our sports editor

David Bond is here with me now. After what we heard from the Anti-

of Doping Agency last twhee, decision I suppose was inevitable?

Yes when you look at the level of detail in that United States Anti--

doping Agency report, you would think it was absolutely inevitable,

but it's still a big moment. It's still significant. Nike only last

week came out and said they'd stand by their man. Today they were

forced into an embarrassing U-turn releasing another statement cieght

what they described as "insurmountable evidence that Lance

Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike -" note the use of

that word - "for more than a decade, and it's with great sadness we have

terminated our contract with him. This is about business. Lap Lance

Armstrong has made a lot of money for Nike down the year, but it's

also personal. They were extremely close. They stood by him when he

contracted testicular cancer. They helped him establish the Livestrong

Foundation. Remember, Nike is company that's tended to stand by

their high-profile athletes during controversy. It's the first

admission inside Camp Armstrong that there is something to these

allegations. David, thank you very Football now, and after yesterday's

washout in Warsaw, today came the rain-free rematch. Much. Thank you.

England finally took on Poland this afternoon in their World Cup

qualifier - cheered on by travelling fans who'd managed to

postpone their journeys home. With one eye on the forecast, our sports

correspondent James Pearce watched the action.

This is not a sight you'll often see at a football match - suitcases

being taken into the ground. But then there is nothing normal about

the situation the fans of Poland have found themselves. Travel plans

have been put into disarray flight is at 8.00pm. I could make a mad

dash. I have a 5.00pm liet, when they kickoff I'll be taking off.

am going to nip in, watch as much as I can, then back to the train

and to the airport, so it's possible. Last night's scenes were

farcical, a pitch more suited to a post-match bath than a World Cup

qualifier. Today there had been progress. The roof was finally in

place. Here, despite the groundsman's work, the playing

surface was potentially slippery. No wonder the players looked a

little nervous. It was clear from the start that the ball wasn't

moving well along the ground, and England found themselves bogged

down in their own half as the Poles adaptd better to the soggy

conditions -- adapted better to the soggy condition, then after half an

hour up popped Wayne Rooney, giving the away team a goal they barely

deserved. That was as good as it got for England. Their fans left at

halftime. Joe Hart kept the lead intat, then looked on as their

team-mates missed the chance to seal or steal a victory. Rooney

missed firing on this occasion. 20 minutes from the end Poland got

their just reward. This goal sparked off the celebrations.

England could have no complaints. It was a TV triumph. Last night

millions of viewers tuned in to see who would be crowned the winner of

The Great British Bake Off. At one stage the programme drew a peak

audience of more than seven million. Our entertainment correspondent

Lizo Mzimba asks a simple question - just what is it about baking? For

weeks we have watched them conjure up sweets and savourys. I think

it's a magnificent construction. Puddings and pastries. Well done.

Mat aim of finding out who would win a show that after only three

series has become essential viewing for so many. The winner is...

John. APPLAUSE

The climax fitting perfectly with the show's relaxed style - no X

Factor fireworks or Strictly-style spectacle needed here. Winning the

bakoff was the best thing that's ever happened know, and I wanted to

win. I didn't think I would, but to win was just incredible. In the

future at the minute, I don't know exactly what's going to happen, but

as long as baking is involved in that, I'm happy. The world of

professional baking has traditionally been dominated by men,

so has the success of the show, with last night's first ever all-

male final, contributed to making baking a more acceptable pursuit

for some? Men are no longer embarrassed about baking. In fact,

I think it's quite a - an opportunity. It gives them the edge

that somebody who can - if you want to impress a woman, bake her a cake,

yeah? So with the question, of course, everybody's asking is, why

is it we have become so fascinated with this world of backbones and

beggals, meringues and muffins? Food writer Rose Prince runs her

own small bakery. She thinks viewers like the Bake Off's more

gentle take on reality TV. obvious thing people love about

this is seeing people do things in the way they might do them, not

getting it quite right, but then the quite gentle criticism of the

presenters, rather than being trashed by Simon Cowell, they're

actually getting a bit of gentle, helpful criticism. It's nice.

show has certainly come up with a winning recipe for cooking up big

audiences, and it hasn't stopped here. The Bake Off formula is now

being repeated in half a dozen countries around the world.

Yum yum. Let's take a look at the With Susan.

Strong winds and some very heavy rain today. This is Whitehaven this

afternoon under water thanks to some heavy rain that ran through

earlier in the day. You can pick that up on the radar behind me.

Notice the band heading towards Southern Scotland. It will affect

the east of Northern Ireland overnight. We may see localised

flooding here. Notice also on the radar picture what is waiting to

come surging up into Eastern England, another area of heavy rain,

all wrapped around a deep area of low pressure. That's driving winds.

For the south-east of England and Wales, the best of the winds to

come this evening. Accompanied by unseasonably high tide, we may see

coastal flooding. A lot of lively weather to come overnight. At least

the temperatures are not a headache tonight. It's a mild night,

certainly milder for the northern half of the UK than today. Scotland

despite keeping quite a bit of cloud should be considerably drier

and the wind lighter. Some sharp showers are possible for Northern

Ireland. Northern England not faring too badly I think come the

afternoon. We should see some sunshine here, and after some early

showers, perhaps some of the best of the sunshine going to Wales and

the south-west of it's a bit more mixed across the Midlands, some

sunny intil, you could pick up the odd thunderstorm as well. The risk

of some in the south-east. This weather front to the east of the UK

is the real headache for the next few days. It won't clear, so we

could be stuck with stubborn cloud in East Anglia and the south-east,

even for Friday. Showers for Scotland as well. Our picture

becoming dryer and brighter, particularly for the start of the