24/02/2014 BBC News at Six

They call it a living hell, desperate people in this bombed out

neighbourhood in Damascus, just 60 packets of food made it through

today. Look at the faces, they tell the story of Yarmouk, a people,

thousands of people, living under siege for months upon months. As the

UN tells the refugees the world will not forget them, we ask how much

longer they have to wait for help. Also tonight, the future for North

Sea oil, David Cameron and Alex Salmond disagree as the debate over

Scotland's independence intensifies. Dave Lee Travis says his nightmare

goes on, he'll face a retrial on charges of indecent and sexual

assault. An 82-year-old dog breeder is

arrested on suspicion of murder after two women and four dogs were

shot dead in Surrey. After the revolution, as Ukraine

remembers its dead, Moscow issues its toughest statement yet on the

crisis, saying there's a real threat to Russian citizens and interests.

Call me annoying, irritating, nosy, intrusive... And is the American

dream over for Piers Morgan as CNN cancels his talk-show?

On BBC London, criticism of a mental-health unit as figures reveal

the number of patients, including convicted killers, who've absconded.

And record passengers at Heathrow renew calls for expansion.

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News At Six. For almost a year,

they've been living under siege on the outskirts of Damascus, trapped

by the Syrian war in the suburb of Yarmouk. More than 20,000 people

who've lived in this Palestinian refugee camp for decades have no way

out. They call it a living hell. They've been cut off by government

forces and other militia for months, with little food or medical supplies

allowed in. Our correspondent Lyse Doucet, who's reported on the Syrian

conflict for the past three years, says she's never witnessed a scene

of such distress and destruction. This is her special report.

It could be the scene of a natural disaster. But this is manmade. Not

much is left in Yarmouk, but this tide of people. Armed men struggled

to contain the crowds, but they couldn't hold back the emotion.

Just look at the faces, they tell the story of Yarmouk, a people,

thousands of people, living under siege for months upon months,

without access to another food or medical assistance. Absolutely

desperate, desperate for help, desperate to get out.

I'm so tired, so tired, this woman cries. Another woman stops us,

pleading - please, please, take us out, we're dying here.

But only a tiny amount of food, 60 parcels, were distributed today.

More than 20,000 people are struggling to survive here. Most of

them couldn't even reach this distribution point. A camp which

once provided refuge is now a prison. People are frantic to

escape. Very few do. Including this woman, reunited with her father

after a year. We've been living with hunger and

humiliation, she tells me. But where should we go now? This is our home.

13-year-old Kifar tries to put on a brave face. Everything was normal

here, he begins. And then he says, there was a little bit of hunger, no

bread. And it was all too much. It's like that for everyone here.

Lyse Doucet, BBC News, Yarmouk. With me now is our diplomatic

correspondent, James Robbins. James, harrowing pictures, why is it

proving so difficult to get aid in for these desperate civilians? It is

proving so difficult because Yarmouk has been under siege formal than a

year now by a combination of Syrian government forces and sympathetic

militias, and it is part of what the American State Department has

previously called a despicable policy of targeting civilians,

including women and children, a policy which the Americans call

kneel or starve, trying to force those in the camp to give up, and

opposition fighters who got into the camp. The Syrian government reject

all of that and says security is their prime concern, and they cannot

allow more supplies in, but the UN says it has more than enough in

warehouses in Damascus to feed all of the people of Yarmouk. It employs

over 3000 staff in Syria to make sure the Palestinians do not suffer,

to make sure all refugees do not suffer, but it simply says it is

unable to complete its work. It's hoping that the Security Council

resolution passed at the weekend on humanitarian access might give it

some more leverage, but it has not been less than a full, sustainable

access will help feed and support these people. James, thank you very

much. Aberdeen found itself at the heart

of the Scottish independence debate today with the future of North Sea

Oil the major battle ground. David Cameron and his Cabinet met in the

city for the first time, while seven miles down the road, Scotland's

First Minister, Alex Salmond, gathered his team of ministers. Both

sides say they hold the key to ensuring that offshore oil and gas

continue to pump billions into the economy. From Aberdeen, here's our

political editor, Nick Robinson. Deep below the North Sea lies what

fuels demands for Scottish independence, oil is what makes many

Scots believe they can, they should go it alone. Which is why David

Cameron's latest high visibility plea to keep the UK together was

made today 150 miles off the coast of Aberdeen. The broad shoulders of

one of the top ten economies in the world has really got behind this

industry and will continue to stay behind this industry so we get the

maximum benefit out of it. Back on shore, the First Minister of

Scotland had arrived in town with a message of welcome for the Prime

Minister of the United Kingdom. There is a difference between

jetting into and out of Scotland and having a real democratic debate

about the future of the country. You know how it is, you wait for years

and then not one but two Cabinets turn up at the same time. That is

what a referendum does for you. David Cameron brought his ministers

year to Shell HQ in the European oil capital, and Alex Salmond brought

his... How was Cabinet this morning? Excellent. To a rather more modest

church hall five miles down the road. Aberdeen's wealth is based on

what was once seen as black gold, but in recent years North Sea oil

and as production, and the taxes they generate, have been falling.

Scottish Nationalists blame Westminster and say they could get

the money flowing again. If production continues to fall, if tax

revenues continue to fall, are you saying an independent Scottish

economy can cope? The Prime Minister says it can't. Well, there is more

to come in value terms from oil and a banner over the last 40 years,

because we heard all this from the Tories before. They told us 30 years

ago it wasn't worth anything, that is what Bernard Ingham used to do

for Margaret Thatcher, and we are hearing the same old song from a

discredited Conservative government who have been very happy to accept

the proceeds of Scottish resources over the last 30 years, but they

have introduced the poll tax and the bedroom tax. The message to voters

that have little time for the Tories could scarcely be clearer -

independence is the only route, he is saying, to a Cameron free zone.

Alex Salmond says that you are the greatest advertisement for

independence, a Southern, English Tory who has come here and doesn't

want to have a debate with him. Well, people, I think, in the end

will vote on the argument and issues, not on personalities. I'm

making an unremittingly positive case for our family of nations to

stay together. I think it would be tragic for all of us, including the

English, the Welsh and the Northern Ireland, if the Scots were to leave.

FOI decade it has been or let has fuelled because for Scottish

independence. -- FOI decade. The debate is a simple one, has Scotland

been robbed of their independence? Or does she need the support of a

much bigger economy to exploit what still lies out in the North Sea?

Nick Robinson, BBC News, Aberdeen. So what is the future of North sea

oil and gas? Our chief economics correspondent, Hugh Pym, has been

looking at the figures. The North Sea has boosted the UK

economy for decades. The key question now is what part it'll play

for Scotland if there's a vote for independence in September. UK oil

and gas production, most of which is in the North Sea, has fallen a lot

in recent years, partly because of ageing equipment and low levels of

investment. In 2000, 4.5 million barrels per day were produced.

That's using a standard measure covering oil and gas production. By

last year, that had plunged to 1.4 million barrels per day. But the

industry expects output to pick up, reaching about 1.7 million barrels

by 2018. Since the Queen switched on the first onshore pipeline in the

1970s, the North Sea has needed big flows of money for exploring and

developing new fields, and getting more from existing ones. UK offshore

investment has been subject to ups and downs, partly driven by

predictions of future oil prices and revenues. In 2010, ?6 billion was

invested in new development, picking up from a relatively low level. But

last year a record 14 billion was invested, and this year the level of

investment won't be far off that, around ?13 billion.

The challenge is to keep that investment flowing to retrieve the

tens of billions of barrels of North Sea oil and gas believed to be

untapped. Hugh Pym, BBC News.

Scotland political editor Brian Taylor is in Aberdeen for us this

evening, explain why there is such a political focus on North Sea oil and

as at the moment. The intriguing thing is that from the very earliest

days of North Sea discoveries oil has been politically contentious,

and from those very early days the SNP have regarded it as a totemic

issue for them. The early slogan was, it is Scotland's oil, and a

broadly still campaign up on that basis. David Cameron is confronting

therefore, directly confronting an SNP homeland issue, an issue they

regard as one of their own, one of their key messages to the people of

Scotland. David Cameron is saying the oil may be in Scotland's waters,

but it is British investment and the British tax base that smooths out

the volatility of oil prices. In response to that, Alex Salmond

says, don't just take my word for it, look at Norway, where a small

country has coped and thrived with the availability of oil. This is a

core issue, a court factor in the referendum, and a core factor which

will influence the way that people vote.

Former Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis is to face a retrial over allegations

of sexual abuse. Earlier this month, the 68-year-old was found not

guilty of 12 charges of indecent assault but jurors were unable to

reach verdicts on two further charges. Home affairs correspondent

June Kelly reports from Southwark Crown Court.

Dave Lee Travis had been in legal limbo, acquitted nearly a fortnight

ago on 12 charges. Today he was told he would have to stand trial again

on the Council on which the jury couldn't agree. With his wife

Marianne, he faced the cameras. The nightmare is now going to go on. All

I can say is that this whole thing started when I was 67, and I just

hope it is going to end by the time I am 80. Thank you for your time.

Welcome to Top Of The I am 80. Thank you for your time.

Welcome to Top Pops one allegation is from the early 1990s when, as a

big BBC name, he was in panto. is from the early 1990s when, as a

big BBC name, he was The other is more recent, from 2008. Before

today's hearing, speaking generally about historical cases, the Director

of Public Prosecutions told the BBC there could be no special treatment

for celebrity suspects. Why should anyone have a sort of better status

or immunity from prosecution just because of who they are? We are here

to be independent in our decision-making, to make sure that

we look at the evidence, there is a realistic prospect of conviction or

not, and then we decide the case according to that, not according to

do the potential defendant is. So nearly 18 months after he was first

arrested, the criminal proceedings against Dave Lee Travis continue. He

will be back in court at the end of next month for a first hearing ahead

of his new trial. June Kelly, BBC News, at Southwark Crown Court.

And 82-year-old dog breeder is being questioned after two women and four

dogs were shot dead at a house in Surrey. Police were called to the

house in fine yesterday after shots were heard. Our correspondent

Daniela Relph is there for us now. Police continue to question the

82-year-old man into this evening as postmortems are carried out on the

bodies of the two women found dead here yesterday. This house behind

me, it's large grants, -- it's large grounds, kennels, is now a major

crime scene. The ramshackle house where the

bodies were found. Forensic teams are now searching the property and

its substantial grounds. Police officers were called here around ten

o'clock yesterday morning. They found the body of one woman, in his

60s, inside the house. The body of another, younger, in her 40s,

discovered outside at the back of the property near its many kennels.

An 82-year-old man was arrested at the scene. Neighbours have named him

as John Lowe, the owner of the house and a dog breeder who has lived in

the area for many years. In 2004, he was the subject of an investigation

by the BBC's Inside Out programme, which claimed that he was breeding

scores of dogs and selling puppies in poor condition. But at this

stage, the police will not confirm the identities of any of those

involved. All the parties were known to each other, we believe the two

ladies were related. At the moment, although we have family liaison

officers in contact with the family, we still haven't confirmed

the identification. A long barrelled shotgun has been recovered at the

house, and the police are now trying to establish if it was legally

owned. Forensic teams are likely to be on-site all week. They will be

piecing together the events of yesterday morning that led to the

death of two women. Daniela Relph, BBC News, Farnham in Surrey. Our top

story this evening: The crisis in Syria - pleas for help from 20,000

people trapped for a year in a bombed out suburb of Damascus.

And still to come, the show is over for Piers Morgan, as the CNN host

admits that the American audience was getting "tired" of him.

Later on BBC London: Forced from their school after the floods - why

these primary pupils are now going to university.

The woman whose music saved her life in a concentration camp. The oldest

known survivor of the Holocaust dies at the age of 110.

The Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, says the turmoil in

Ukraine has created a "real threat" to Russia's interests and to the

lives of its citizens. In one of Moscow's strongest statements since

President Yanukovych was ousted, Russia's prime minister questioned

the legitimacy of Ukraine's new leadership. In Ukraine, an arrest

warrant has been issued for Mr Yanukovych. Our Europe editor, Gavin

Hewitt, reports from Kiev. Ukraine, and the first week after

the ousting of a president. There are many groups still on the

streets, demanding justice. These protesters, who want prisoners

released, gathered outside Parliament, where the newly powerful

opposition leaders were meeting. The markets were open, fruit and

vegetables piled high. But few people were buying. Traffic was

flowing, but at the checkpoints were the self-defence militias of the

opposition, with police in the background. In the main square, they

were queueing to join self-defence groups, and no one seemed ready to

end the protests. For us now to get out of here and to go to our working

places and other stuff, we have to be sure that we won't have to come

out here again. Investigators were gathering evidence that might help

bring to justice those who had opened fire, killing 88 protesters.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of the ousted president, Viktor

Yanukovych, for mass murder, but he remains on the run. At the

Parliament, they were trying to set up a government of national unity.

Of growing concern to the new leadership here at the Parliament in

Kiev are comments coming out of Russia. The Russian prime minister,

Dmitry Medvedev, is quoted as questioning the legitimacy of the

new authorities here, saying they came to power through armed mutiny.

Inside the parliament, the talk was of needing a financial rescue, a

massive $35 billion, to stave off default. The interim president,

Oleksander Turchynov, warned that the Ukraine economy was heading into

the abyss. The international community, including Britain, stands

ready to help. The details have yet to be worked out, but a donor

conference may be convened within two weeks. As for the country, it

remains in shock at lives lost and uncertain about its future. Gavin

Hewitt, BBC News, Kiev. So Viktor Yanukovych is now the most

wanted man in a country he once ruled. His whereabouts are unknown,

although he is believed to be hiding in a Russian speaking area of

Crimea. Our correspondent, Daniel Sandford, reports from the town of

Balaclava, where the president was last seen.

The historic fishing village of Balaclava. Home to the British fleet

during the Crimean War, and now the last place where former president

Viktor Yanukovych was seen. He had been travelling for three days

through his old heartland in eastern Ukraine. He had been blocked from

leaving the country, finally ending up in Crimea yesterday. Here in

Balaclava, most of President Yanukovych's official bodyguards

abandoned him. He climbed into a three-car convoy with one of his

closest aides, and disappeared into the night. Viktor Yanukovych is now

a wanted man, wanted by the new government for the mass murder of

protesters last week. He fled east because it used to be his heartland.

When the riot police returned to the Crimea from iev this weekend, they

were cheered after months of fighting protesters. There has been

anger here too, as people boiled over after months of listening to

anti-Russian protesters in Kiev. In fact, the Crimean city of Sevastopol

is more Russian than Ukrainian. It is still home to Russia's Black Sea

fleet. It's a Russian military port that happens to be in Ukraine after

the break-up of the Soviet military union. This evening, crowds had

barricaded the local government offices, and were calling on police

to set up roadblocks around the city. Only Russian flags were being

waved. TRANSLATION: I am Crimean. Let them give Crimea back to me, and

I will be Russian and Crimea will be Russian. Although the fugitive

president Yanukovych may still be near, people here are no longer

interested. They are more worried about the future, and what it may

mean to be a Russian in the new Ukraine. Daniel Sandford, BBC News.

Sevastopol. The deputy Labour leader, Harriet

Harman, has condemned claims that she once had links to a group

campaigning for paedophile rights as a "politically-motivated smear

campaign." Let's speak to our deputy Political Editor James Landale.

James, what's this all about? For the last few days, the Daily Mail

has run a series of articles alleging that senior Labour figures

in the 1970s, through their jobs, had linked to a paedophile

organisation. The people involved, the deputy Labour leader Harriet

Harman, her husband Jack Dromey, Labour MP and also former Cabinet

minister Patricia Hewitt. They all worked in the 1970s for the National

Council of civil liberties. In 1975, that organisation was

affiliated to something called the Paedophile Information Exchange. In

1976, the National Council for Civil Liberties did argue strongly for

substantial reduction of the age of sexual consent, potentially to as

low as ten. After the last few days, there was silence in response to

these allegations. Harriet Harman has issued a statement denying the

horrible and untrue allegations that she had been an apologist for child

sex abuse. Jack Dromey said the allegations are untrue and that he

repeatedly condemned and campaigned against this paedophile

organisation. The Labour leader Ed Miliband has also said he sets no

store by these allegations. But none of the statements have any threat of

legal action. The actor writer and director Harold

Ramis has died in Chicago. He was one of Hollywood's most successful

film-makers, known as films such as Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day,

which he co-wrote with star Bill Murray. He died peacefully at his

home after a long illness. He was 69.

He went to America in a blaze of glory. But just three years later,

Piers Morgan, the journalist and broadcaster, has been told his prime

time talk show on CNN is being dropped. He took over from the

veteran broadcaster, Larry King, but ratings have fallen from two million

when he started to just over 250,000. From New York, Nick Bryant

reports. Piers Morgan. I love interviews to

be provocative. Brash and opinionated, the sort who would not

just cross the road for an argument, but cross the Atlantic. Piers Morgan

could almost have been invented with prime-time American cable in mind.

Did you see that? Alas, most didn't, and the British host never developed

a special relationship with American viewers, especially those angered by

his support for tougher gun control. 1776 will commence again if you try

to take our firearms! Doesn't matter how many lemmings you get on the

street, begging for them to have their guns taken. We will not

relinquish them. Do you understand? He never lived up to his hype, and

while his show initially attracted two million viewers, the audience

dwindled to just 270,000. He told the New York Times:

He seemed pushy and desperate sometimes, so I kind of stopped

watching. I don't know anything about Piers Morgan. At all. Who is

Piers Morgan? Piers Morgan always said he would have to be taken out

of CNN kicking and screaming, but the response on his Twitter feed

this morning to the cancellation of his show? A link to Monty Python's

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life. He's got one of the biggest

egos in American broadcasting, but it attracted only a tiny audience.

Nick Bryant, BBC News, New York. Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Susan Powell. A lot of sunshine across the British

Isles today. We had our warmest day of the year so far. 15 Celsius was

the high around the outskirts of London in St James' Park. Tonight,

it is all change again after the dry day. A wet and windy night, the rain

quickly piling into Northern Ireland. There will be a strong wind

as well, with severe gale force gusts around the Irish Sea. But by

the end of the night, it has whipped away eastwards quickly. Across the

east of England, the rain will be much lighter. By tomorrow morning,

if you have a lion, you might not know much about that band of rain.

But the southern England and South Wales, there be showers through the

morning, even with some hail and thunder. A lot of sunshine across

England and Wales. Scotland fares England and Wales. Scotland fares

well in terms of the early sunshine as well, but Northern Ireland will

pick up heavier showers and persistent rain through the early

part of the day. Those showers should quickly move across into

western Scotland, so Northern Ireland should brighten and keep

some showers for the afternoon. Western Scotland will get heavier

outbreaks of rain. And for the south-west of England and the South

Midlands, the risk of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Eastern England

looks set to remain largely fair. A little cooler than today, but still

mild. For Wednesday, a lot of Fairweather for England and Wales

again. Further north, some hefty showers across Wales and Scotland. A

little cooler again. This week does feature a bit of springlike weather.

All of us should get a good look at the sun at some stage. Not a bad

picture. A reminder of our main story: the

crisis in Syria - pleas for help from 20,000 people trapped for a

year in a bombed out suburb of Damascus.

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me, and on BBC

One, we now join the BBC's news teams where you