08/05/2014 BBC News at Six


08/05/2014

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Women soldiers in the British Army could be allowed for the first time

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to serve on the front line. A review has been brought forward which could

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see women alongside men in close combat by next year, a move backed

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by some MPs. Increasingly we are accepting that certain jobs require

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certain abilities and physical aptitude. And if you meet those

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requirements, you should be able to do the job whether you are a man or

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a woman. It is the right move. We will look at why this move has taken

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so long when many other countries have led the way. Barclays is to cut

:00:42.:00:46.

19,000 jobs in a radical shake-up of its business.

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The grief of the mothers of missing schoolgirls as international

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pressure grows on the Nigerian President.

:00:53.:00:56.

Tea and policy with the Prime Minister as he hits the local and

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European election campaign trail. And the scientist who is -- whose

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mission to land a spacecraft on Mars has died.

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In London: Police officers are fitted with cameras attached to

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their uniform. Abu Hamza tells a US court he is not a radical.

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Good evening and welcome to the BBC News At Six. Women soldiers could be

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allowed to fight on the front line for the first time by next year. The

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Defence Secretary Philip Hammond says a planned review of whether

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women in the British Army should be allowed to fight in close combat has

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been brought forward, sending the message the armed forces are fully

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open to women. Female soldiers already fight on the front line in

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America, Canada, France and Israel. Carole Walker has more. The Defence

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Secretary admits the military has a macho image and he wants to send a

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signal that the army is open to all who can meet its demanding

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standards. Philip Hammond has seen the challenges facing troops in

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Afghanistan and he stresses there will be no compromise on fitness or

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military capability. He believes recruits should be judged on their

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ability and not their gender. I think it is a good move.

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Increasingly we are accepting that certain jobs require certain

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abilities and physical aptitude and if you meet those requirements, you

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should be able to do the job whether you are a man or a woman. It is the

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right move. At the moment women are allowed to serve on the front line

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in many roles including the medical Corps and the bomb disposal unit,

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but they are not allowed in the infantry or armoured Corps, where

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their role is to attack the enemy. The Prime Minister is keen to

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highlight the role of women fighting around the world. If they were to

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take on front line combat roles, it would mean more women putting their

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lives at risk, and some in the military believe that is a step too

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far. In my judgement the point of principle overrides what women may

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or may not wish to do. To be in a unit that is given orders to attack

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a hill, town or village, that is a role not for women. United States

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has already lifted restrictions on women in combat roles. Barack Obama

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said it was a historic step and would reflect the greater service of

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women and strengthen the armed forces. And EU rules, the Government

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was already due to review the ban on women in combat roles by 2018 but it

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is clear the Government does want to lift the ban. Now it will be able to

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make a firm decision soon after the combat role in Afghanistan and that

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the end of the year. The move comes as the army is struggling to recruit

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enough new soldiers and morale has been hit by moves to cut the size of

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the army. There may not be many women who want to take up combat

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roles, but those who are willing may soon be able to do so. Carole

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Walker, BBC News. Jonathan Beale joins us now from the

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Ministry of Defence. As we heard in that piece, this move would bring us

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into line with many other countries. Why has it taken so long? For the

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simple reason that the British armed forces were the preserve of men for

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centuries, but over the last 30 years we have seen Barry is slowly

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breaking down. Now there are women sub mariners and fighter pilots but

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the most important thing is that over the last decade, in Iraq and

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Afghanistan, women have been serving on the front line. Not in infantry

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units but as medics bomb disposal experts, showing up the lie that

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they are not up to the challenge physically and mentally. I think it

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is inevitable that there will be women are allowed into infantry

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units in the near future. It will not happen overnight. There will

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still be people in their nodding their heads in disagreement. There

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was one MP who disagreed with what Philip Hammond said today. The real

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issue is not just about equality, which is important for Philip

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Hammond. It is also about recruitment. Some of the units in

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the military are not meeting targets. If you open the door to

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women, that will help the numbers. Thank you.

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Barclays has announced it is cutting thousands of jobs in a radical

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shake-up of its business. 19,000 jobs are to be lost across the

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company by the end of 2016. 9000 will go in the UK, most of them from

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investment banking arm which has been making heavy losses. Kamal

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Ahmed reports. The big player cut down to size.

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Today Berkeley is to reality, announcing thousands of job losses

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after revenues in its investment bank collapsed and shareholders

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demanded better performance. -- Barclays. The chief executive said

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they had to become more straightforward. Regrettably for our

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staff, we have to size the business appropriately for the environment

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that we are in but I commit to all of them that they will be treated

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with respect and care if they are affected by the job losses we have

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announced today. The bank says it will now focus on supporting the

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British economy. For some that is welcome news. Any job loss is

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regrettable but we do want banks that are supporting the British

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economy and I think Barclays could be part of that. Barclays is

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following a number of other global banks, like the government-owned

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Royal Bank of Scotland, slashing jobs and divisions to focus on what

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is profitable, everyday banking. When Antony Jenkins took over

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Barclays in 2012, he made it clear he wanted to change the bank. Now he

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is trying to prove it is more than trendy word sculptures in the London

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headquarters. He wants a simpler bank, based on bread-and-butter

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services, mortgages, current accounts and business lending. It is

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the end of swashbuckling trading in the investment bank. He says he

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wants something more sustainable. The chief executive wants the bank

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to concentrate on four areas in the future. High Street banking, the

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credit card business, a small investment bank, and a new African

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division to take advantage of what could be the next global economic

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power. In the City, they know there could be more trouble ahead. It is

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only going to get worse. High risk, high returns. It is what you expect

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with the job. Making the investment bank smaller will certainly take the

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pressure off one area, pay. Investment bankers are expensive.

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And there could be other areas. Will you be cutting the number of

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branches in the UK? I don't think there will be broad-scale branch

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closures or additional losses in retail banking that over time there

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will be more and more delivery of our services through technology.

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Shareholders appeared pleased with the headlines. Barclays's share

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price rose by 8%. The question will now be about execution and making

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Barclays a more profitable bank. Announcements are easy. Following

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through, less so. The Nigerian President has pledged

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to find more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist extremists.

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Gooduck Jonathan said their abduction would mark the beginning

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of the end of terrorism in Nigeria. Addressing delegates at the World

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Economic Forum for Africa, he thanked China, the UK, the US and

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France for the offers of help. It has been more than three weeks since

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the teenagers were taken from the town of Chibok. John Simpson has

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sent this report from the capital, Abuja. Gradually and even now with a

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surprising degree of slowness, the Nigerian authorities are starting to

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deal with a crime that has shocked the world. Add Chibok, the relatives

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of the missing girls are still in shock but at least the Government is

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making an effort. In the capital, Abuja, one of the daily protest

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gatherings is taking place. Quietly, peacefully, but with grim

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determination, the organisers of this movement are keeping up the

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pressure. There is a sustained advocacy and effort by everybody

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around the world. Everybody must look and see this is not acceptable,

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ignoring the abduction of 200 girls. That is primarily the pressure that

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is working on the Government. We think they have ignored this issue

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initially. In fact, until just a few days ago, no real effort seemed to

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be being made at all. It was only earlier this week that a reward was

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offered for information about the whereabouts of the girls. Now the

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whole situation seems to be changing. Today should have been a

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memorable one for Nigeria. At this hotel in Abuja, the World Economic

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Forum is taking place. Instead everyone even here was thinking

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about the missing girls. The forum started with a minute's silence for

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them. As President Gooduck Jonathan been too preoccupied with economic

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to pay sufficient attention to the crime? Afterwards when he spoke to

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the BBC, Gooduck Jonathan showed he was clearly taking the problem a lot

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more seriously. I believe with assistance and the investment we are

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making now, we can bring terror to an end in Nigeria. Four days now,

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relatives of the missing girls have been revisiting the school they were

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taken from. -- for many days. If so many girls had not been kidnapped,

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maybe it would not have stirred up this worldwide response. John

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Simpson, BBC News, Abuja. Two women have told the jury in the trial of

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the veteran broadcaster Stuart Hall that they were raped by him

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repeatedly at the former BBC studios in Manchester.

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Stuart Hall is 84 and already serving time for indecently

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assaulting girls. He denies 20 fresh charges of rape and five of indecent

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assault. Judith Moritz spent the day at Preston Crown Court. Tell us more

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about what was said. Stuart Hall was a television celebrity for more than

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50 years but today two women here said that it was in the Star's

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dressing rooms that repeatedly he raped them. One of the women is now

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49 and said that when she was 14 she went to see him at the studios, and

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that time and again, up to 16 times, she said, he raped her there, on

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occasion locking her in the dressing room when he went away filming. She

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also says that when he went to report on football matches, he took

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her with her own, raping her at a flat nearby. -- with him. Another

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woman said she had been raped around 30 times at the BBC. Tonight she

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denied that she came forward solely for the purposes of claiming

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compensation. Supermarkets have been defending the

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way they label them eat after revelations that most animals have

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been slaughtered according to halal practices without it being mentioned

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on the packaging. The animal is stunned and slaughtered while and

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Arabic prayer is recited. Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons and Marks

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Spencer have all said they have used halal practices. They say welfare is

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high. Inspecting labels has become second nature to most of us but was

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supermarkets will tell you about salt and calories, they often will

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not in the case of meat tell you how the animal has been killed. Does it

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matter? It is an important issue at this Birmingham butchers. It's --

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the owners only sell halal meet and make sure it is slaughtered

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correctly. Before I purchase it, I see how the slaughter is performed

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before I used the supplier and they are all certified. Five leading

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supermarkets are selling halal meat without telling customers what it

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is. It is controversial but how different is it from non- halal?

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There are two different sort of halal meat in the UK. 15% of it is

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sorted differently with the animal conscious well kill. The rest is

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produced in the same way as regular meat, with the animal stunned first,

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the only difference being the prayer that is set over it. There is no

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requirement for halal meat or kosher meat to be labelled and Downing

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Street made clear today that the Government was not going to

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intervene to change this. Full supermarkets, the issue of labelling

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is about the art of the possible. We have to get the right balance of

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information for customers. There is some standard information that all

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customers are looking for but there is a limit to what you can put on a

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label and we need to get right information on the right label. For

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some shoppers out today, this was an emotive issue. It is important to

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label the packaging but as long as the meat is clean and acceptable, it

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is fine. I don't mind. It is their responsibility to make sure they

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label it correctly. I imagine people looking for halal meat will go to

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the right place, so I actually don't think it is massively important.

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Most customers do want information about what they are consuming, but

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for the supermarkets some details seem to be judged less important

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than others. Reeta Chakrabarti, BBC News. Women soldiers in the British

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Army could be allowed to serve alongside men in, for the first

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time. Still to come, tributes to the scientist whose Michigan it was to

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land a British spacecraft on Mars. On BBC London, saving the lives of

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liver disease patients. How King 's College has conducted a record

:15:15.:15:17.

number of transplants. And the Thames Barrier celebrates 30 years

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of protecting London from flooding. British-made hovercraft are the

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latest weapons being used in the battle against Colombian insurgents

:15:36.:15:37.

and cocaine traffickers. The government there is in talks with

:15:38.:15:40.

rebels from the FARC organisation to end its involvement in the drugs

:15:41.:15:44.

trade. FARC started in 1964 as an anti-government terrorist

:15:45.:15:45.

organisation and became heavily involved in the drugs trade. Over

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200,000 people have died in the last 50 years. And still the fighting

:15:50.:15:52.

goes on. Our security correspondent Frank Gardner reports from the

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remote Amazon settlement of Puerto Leguizamo, to see how the military

:15:56.:15:57.

are fighting the insurgents with British-made hardware.

:15:58.:16:08.

Deep in the jungle of southern Colombia, there's something new on

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the river. They are fast, heavily armed and they can reach places

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ordinary boats can't get to. These British-built hovercraft have been

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brought all the way from Southampton to the Amazon jungle, and the

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Colombian Navy is hoping it's going to give them a crucial advantage in

:16:23.:16:24.

chasing drug smugglers and insurgents here in the heart of the

:16:25.:16:32.

world's coca industry. We watched them practice a river borne assault.

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They are operating in areas where much of the jungle is infiltrated by

:16:38.:16:41.

the main rebel group, the FARC movement. Both sides in this

:16:42.:16:46.

conflict have committed human rights abuses. With no cease-fire signed,

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the war goes on. TRANSLATION: These hovercraft are

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going to change the whole dynamics of the war with the FARC here.

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Because up until now we've only been able to operate for half the year.

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From October to January we can't move because the river level stops

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so far that our boat hit the rocks. But these hovercraft don't need high

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water, so now we can cut off the rebel supply lines. Peace talks with

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the FARC are under way but there's no cease-fire. And if the deal is

:17:21.:17:24.

signed, will that mean an end to Colombia's drug problem? We should

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suspect, as we have seen in the past, that some crimes and some

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criminal gangs might pop up, might appear in some areas, trying to keep

:17:31.:17:37.

the kind of business. The new hovercraft are unlikely to stop that

:17:38.:17:40.

happening, but they may just hasten the end of Latin America's

:17:41.:17:46.

longest-running insurgency. Frank Gardner, BBC News, in the Colombian

:17:47.:17:56.

Amazon. David Cameron has made a direct appeal to UKIP voters, saying

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he shares their concerns but warning that Britain needs what he calls the

:18:01.:18:05.

party of Ansar rather than anger. Out campaigning just two weeks ahead

:18:06.:18:09.

of the European and local elections, he told Nick Robinson he understands

:18:10.:18:13.

voters are frustrated. It is 630 a.m. On the flat above the shop,

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work is just beginning. I normally get up and sign things and then

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shove, but this morning I'll do it the other way round. David Cameron

:18:23.:18:27.

knows that in exactly a year from today, he may no longer be able to

:18:28.:18:33.

sign letters as Prime Minister. He may be packing his bags to leave

:18:34.:18:35.

Downing Street for the very last time. Long before then, in just two

:18:36.:18:43.

weeks' time, he faces European elections in which the Tories fear

:18:44.:18:47.

they could come third, behind Labour and UKIP. I won't be Prime Minister

:18:48.:18:55.

after the next election and their site can be absolutely certain that

:18:56.:18:58.

the pledge of an in-out referendum will be delivered. That, he says, is

:18:59.:19:03.

the politics of answers, not the politics of anger, which he thinks

:19:04.:19:06.

Nigel Farage represents. The question is, how many will be

:19:07.:19:10.

listening? This is your country, you should make the choice. Here are the

:19:11.:19:15.

arguments, and you should make the decision. You call it a plan but you

:19:16.:19:31.

have no control over the outcome at all know whether Europe will agree

:19:32.:19:34.

to what you want, you don't know whether the British people will vote

:19:35.:19:36.

for it. So aren't British jobs, isn't Britain's economy on the line

:19:37.:19:39.

as you try and buy off anger about Europe? I wouldn't be taking this

:19:40.:19:41.

step if I didn't believe the outcome I seek to achieve is achievable.

:19:42.:19:44.

It's a hope. It's not. Europe is changing, the eurozone countries

:19:45.:19:48.

need changing, they are going to have to change their treaties. Not

:19:49.:19:51.

only is this the right thing to do for the country, to have a

:19:52.:19:55.

referendum, but it is now achievable, deliverable, perhaps in

:19:56.:19:59.

a way it wasn't in past. The Tory leader is on a charm offensive,

:20:00.:20:04.

trying to heal the rift between himself and his party's traditional

:20:05.:20:08.

supporters. So will the ladies Thursday lunch club back him or Mr

:20:09.:20:13.

Farage? I'm not committing myself. What is the issue that you worry

:20:14.:20:19.

about when it comes to Europe or in these elections? With Europe, like a

:20:20.:20:24.

lot of things, the number of people coming in. He once described UKIP as

:20:25.:20:30.

fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists. Now he says he understands

:20:31.:20:35.

those tempted by their promises. I understand the things you find

:20:36.:20:38.

frustrating, the things you care about. We are delivering. Don't

:20:39.:20:43.

waste your vote on a party that can't deliver. It may come up with

:20:44.:20:46.

phrases or expressions that attract you on some of these issues, but

:20:47.:20:51.

they can't actually deliver the answers. When workers at this

:20:52.:20:53.

factory were given the chance to ask the premonition of questions

:20:54.:20:59.

revealingly, two were about Nigel Farage. In exactly a year you may be

:21:00.:21:06.

packing your bags in that flat we filmed you in. After a brief but

:21:07.:21:10.

visible gulp, David Cameron told me he knew who was in charge of his

:21:11.:21:18.

future. At the end of those 364 days, I know who the boss is. It's

:21:19.:21:22.

the British people. They have the ability in that election to back

:21:23.:21:25.

what I'm doing and stick to this plan, or to get rid of it and get

:21:26.:21:29.

somebody else. It's called democracy, it can be painful, but

:21:30.:21:34.

it's a very good thing. After first insulting UKIP backers then ignoring

:21:35.:21:37.

them, the Prime Minister is now pleading with them to come home.

:21:38.:21:47.

Nick Robinson, BBC News, Stroud. The British National Party has launched

:21:48.:21:50.

its campaign for the European Parliamentary Elections. The BNP

:21:51.:21:54.

leader, Nick Griffin, said the party offered voters a clear alternative

:21:55.:21:57.

by proposing an immediate withdrawal from the European Union, without a

:21:58.:22:00.

referendum, and a complete halt to immigration. Mr Griffin predicted

:22:01.:22:02.

what he called the "UKIP bubble" would soon burst. The space

:22:03.:22:08.

scientist Colin Pillinger, who's best known for leading a mission to

:22:09.:22:12.

try and land a British spacecraft on Mars, has died at the age of 70. He

:22:13.:22:16.

began his career with NASA, before becoming the driving force behind

:22:17.:22:18.

the Beagle 2 mission. The Royal Astronomical Society said he "wasn't

:22:19.:22:21.

afraid to challenge the establishment and get things done".

:22:22.:22:23.

Our science editor David Shukman looks back now at his life and

:22:24.:22:30.

achievements. With his trademark whiskers and a sharp eye for

:22:31.:22:33.

publicity, Colin Pillinger was no ordinary scientist. Who else would

:22:34.:22:41.

wheel a replica of his spacecraft in a supermarket trolley? A unique way

:22:42.:22:44.

of firing the imagination of reaching Mars. To actually say I was

:22:45.:22:53.

part of a mission that wen to and landed on Mars, and if it was the

:22:54.:22:57.

one that found life on Mars that would be even more phenomenal.

:22:58.:23:00.

Against all the odds, using humour and determination, Professor

:23:01.:23:02.

Pillinger raised the money for the mission. He started his career

:23:03.:23:05.

studying moon rocks, now he was hunting for life on Mars. The launch

:23:06.:23:08.

was flawless but far harder would be achieving a landing on Mars. The

:23:09.:23:11.

tiny spacecraft was named Beagle 2, after the ship that had carried

:23:12.:23:15.

Charles Darwin. The risks were high, but this was all about British

:23:16.:23:19.

derring-do. We are the only country in the world who would send a man to

:23:20.:23:23.

climb the highest mountain with brown boots and a tweet suit on, so

:23:24.:23:26.

I have every faith in British ingenuity to get people to Mars.

:23:27.:23:32.

Alex James of Blur, one of many stars enthused by Colin Pillinger. I

:23:33.:23:38.

joined him on a visit to the radio telescope at Jodrell Bank. Few other

:23:39.:23:41.

scientists had this kind of appeal. He was a very passionate man. He

:23:42.:23:48.

listened... To a degree. He was very keen to get his point of view across

:23:49.:23:52.

as well. With that came a certain irascibility, a certain glint in his

:23:53.:23:56.

eye. Sadly, the mission to Mars failed. You could see the agony on

:23:57.:24:02.

Colin Pillinger's face. But his technology lives on in other

:24:03.:24:05.

spacecraft. He will be remembered as a pioneer and as someone who brought

:24:06.:24:08.

home the excitement of space exploration. The space scientist

:24:09.:24:21.

Colin Pillinger who died yesterday. It has been a rather wet and windy

:24:22.:24:23.

day for many. Is it here to stay? Here is the picture right now. Some

:24:24.:24:38.

very heavy rain. Be aware of that. The main focus of rain has been

:24:39.:24:42.

across the more southern and central parts of the UK. But the focus turns

:24:43.:24:47.

to north-western areas through the night. Turning pretty wet,

:24:48.:24:51.

particularly western Scotland. Further south, one or two showers

:24:52.:24:54.

blowing in on the breeze, but not a cold one. Tomorrow, a different day

:24:55.:25:01.

for some, certainly across the more southern and southwestern areas, a

:25:02.:25:05.

better day, bright and breezy with a few showers. More rain further north

:25:06.:25:10.

and west, some could be prolonged. Some thunderstorms possible across

:25:11.:25:14.

the Highlands of Scotland. A cloudier zone for parts of southern

:25:15.:25:20.

Scotland and Northern Ireland. Feeling quite cool. Further south,

:25:21.:25:24.

there will be some sunshine, sharp showers for a time across eastern

:25:25.:25:28.

counties, but the trend will be for the showers to fade away. Mostly

:25:29.:25:31.

sunny end to the day across southwestern parts of England and

:25:32.:25:36.

Wales. That will be tempered by a gusty wind. I'm afraid tomorrow

:25:37.:25:40.

night more wet weather looms large. It will sweep across many areas

:25:41.:25:43.

through the morning of Saturday and get hooked up again through many

:25:44.:25:48.

northern areas for a time to east Scotland. Further, sunshine

:25:49.:26:03.

returning on Saturday but heavy, blustery showers once more. It

:26:04.:26:05.

doesn't get much better as we go into Sunday. The low-pressure

:26:06.:26:07.

lingers across the North Sea and areas closest to that no one will

:26:08.:26:10.

see further quite frequent showers on Sunday. Quite cool, too. The best

:26:11.:26:12.

of the sunshine and temperatures across more southern parts of

:26:13.:26:15.

England and Wales. Be prepared. There will be wet weather, quite

:26:16.:26:18.

windy at times but there will also be some sunshine. A reminder of our

:26:19.:26:25.

main story tonight. Women soldiers in the British Army could be allowed

:26:26.:26:28.

to serve alongside men in front-line combat for the first time. That's

:26:29.:26:31.

all from the BBC News.

:26:32.:26:32.

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