03/07/2014 BBC News at Six

Security is stepped up at Britain's airports, as America warns

The extra checks come amid fears that Al-Qaeda in Syria

and Yemen are developing bombs that could be smuggled on to planes.

The safety of the travelling public must come first.

I hope this won't lead to unnecessary delays

but it's very important that we always put safety first, and we do.

So far, the UK's airports are all said to be operating normally.

We'll be looking at how credible the threat is.

Also tonight, harrowing stories from Iraqis who've escaped areas seized

Problems with opening hours and making appointments to see a GP

lead to patients expressing growing dissatisfaction.

Almost half of underground drinking water stores in England and Wales

are in areas that could be exploited for shale gas and oil.

And the rise of the new generation, as 20-year-old Eugenie Bouchard

becomes the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam final.

On BBC London, safety concerns after a lorry is set alight, and Michael

Gove on whether a collapse at a collapse that every school has

thrown his flagship policy into crisis.

Good evening, and welcome to the BBC News at Six.

Security at Britain's airports has been tightened after US officials

warned of a "credible terrorist threat" involving Al-Qaeda

American officials believe terrorists are developing

bombs which could evade routine security checks.

Downing Street says there's an "evolving threat"

to the UK and other countries but says people should travel as usual.

Here's our security correspondent, Frank Gardner.

Heathrow today and no signs of anything outwardly unusual. Today,

the government has announced new unspecified security measures have

been put in place to transatlantic flights to America. It is in direct

response that activist in Syria are planning to smuggle bombs onto

planes. We take these decisions looking at the evidence in front of

us, and working with our partners. This is something we have discussed

with the Americans, and what we have done is put in place extra

precautions and extra checks. The safety of the travelling public must

come first. This is where the government believes the threat

originated, with Al-Qaeda in Yemen, a group that has developed a unique

expertise in hard to detect explosives. Today's heightened

airport security is because that lethal expertise is thought to have

proliferated across borders. So the skills developed in Yemen are

believed to have been passed on by Al-Qaeda to their affiliates in

other parts of the Middle East, specifically Syria, where their

trainers are feared to have instructed a whole new generation of

bombers. These include European jihadists with European passports.

And this is almost the only known picture of their mental, who is

still at large. In 2009 he sent so-called underpants bomber on a

plane to Detroit with a hidden device that he tried, and failed, to

ignite as it came into land. The next year, built bombs inside

printer toner cartridges. They got Today, this explosive's experts

showed us the effect of even just a small drop of liquid explosive. When

you come to detect explosives, one of the traditional ways to do it is

by sniffing. You use an electronic sniffer, you could use a dog. A low

vapour pressure explosive is one that does not give off any vapours,

so there is nothing to sniff, and that is what makes them ideal for

smuggling through security and makes them hard to detect. With the

fighting in Syria pulling in thousands of jihadists from Europe,

intelligence analysts are worried that some of them are being quietly

trained to go back home and plan attacks. Both US and British

airports already have extensive security measures, including

explosives detectors and body scanners. It is not clear what more

scanners. It is not clear what precautions can be taken but

passengers are expected to be subjected to further delays.

Well, so far, the authorities say the UK's

But with the summer holidays approaching,

what will the heightened security mean for the travelling public?

Our transport correspondent, Richard Westcott, is at Manchester Airport.

Don't be flawed, I know it looks quiet now but more than 2 million

people will come through security in this airport just in July -- don't

be fooled. As well as the usual security measures we have all got so

used to, there will be extra security measures. It was day one

today. They did have a little blip here in the morning but frankly

across the rest of the country it has been business as usual. Off on

their holidays, Colin and Tracy have turned up early to make sure they

don't get stuck in security. Like thousands of others, they may now

face extra checks but they don't seem worried. It is peace of mind,

you would rather know you have been thoroughly searched and everyone

else has, rather than it being highlighted when something does

happen that there were lapses in security. Anyone who has travelled

anywhere nine slash 11, you are just used to it, the scenario, you just

do it automatically now. Day one of the new security regime at

Manchester, and may have had some bones, there were extra queues this

morning, not just for the people flying to America but for everybody.

Trish is from the airport, is this is what can expect, longer delays at

security? We definitely don't want that, this morning we had problems.

Clearly, our customers had heard from the media that there were

issues, our own colleagues needed to have briefings and we did see some

queues. Our aim is not to let that continue. Fears of spiralling queues

and missed flights never materialised today put up eight

airports fly commercial airliners directly to the United States. Each

told us they had been trouble free all day. It is a far cry from 2006,

when a plot to explode liquid bombs on airliners led to a security

lockdown. Overnight, passengers were banned from taking almost everything

into the cabin. Eight years on, we are still doing this, but people

seem to be used to the extra hassle. When you travel with 200 passengers

up in the air, you want to make sure you are safe, so no problems. I feel

a bit stressed because I heard the news this morning, but the

television on, and thought oh god. The more security, the better. I am

all for increased security but it is the queues that drive me mad. 35,000

people went through security here today. Most seem to have had an easy

ride. Iraqis living in areas seized by

forces led by the Islamist extremist group, ISIS, have been telling

harrowing stories about people being ISIS is now in control in Tikrit,

Mosul and Tal Afar. Around 50,000 people have fled those

areas for the town of Sinjar Our correspondent Quentin Somerville

travelled through Iraq's desert Every corner of this town was taken.

Here, even building sites have become home to Iraqis fleeing ISIS.

In the city's schools, the only private moments are found inside

shelters made from desks and chairs. There are six families to a

classroom. These Shia walked 20 miles to escape ISIS. Mostafa told

me, they are targeting Sunnis, Shias everybody. Even the children

are trying to make the best of it. But they live in fear. This woman

said, I have five martyrs in my family all killed by ISIS. My

daughter is a widow, I have only two children left. Near the border with

Syria, aid agencies have struggled to get here. ISIS have planted

roadside bombs. Just up from Sinjar, the front line is on the town's

doorstep. Tens of thousands of Shia Muslims, Christians, Kurds and

others escaped along this road from Tal afar, with ISIS to the east and

to the West, here in Sinjar they found sanctuary, and they say they

need it, because ISIS is engaged with a campaign to systematically

clear the towns and villages they left behind. Hassan, a Kurd, was

kidnapped by ISIS and help to 16 days. He was let go but others

won't. The jihadists, he told me, were selected in their punishment.

TRANSLATION: They release them straight away, even paid their taxi

fare home, but for sheer, if they cannot be exchanged for prisoners,

they will simply cut off their heads stash macro but for Shia. We have

been told where ISIS take control they have been methodical with

hunting down those opposed to them. TRANSLATION: ISIS is collecting

information about people and compiling a database in order to

find those who work for the government or security forces. If

they do not repent and pledge their allegiance to the caliphate, they

will be killed. A lot of these people have disappeared. ISIS have

already ordered Iraq's borders. Through fear and force, they are

transforming the ethnic and religious landscape around Sinjar,

leaving many here wondering if they will ever be able to return home.

Patients in England are less satisfied with

the service they get from their GP than they were a year ago.

That's according to a study by the Department of Health, which found

that although most rated their overall experience as good, there

was dissatisfaction over opening hours and making appointments.

A rising population with more conditions to treat. That is all too

clear with the traffic in and out of surgeries to see the doctor.

conditions to treat. That is all too clear with the traffic in and So

what do patients in England think of their care? There were more than

9000 responses to an NHS England survey. 86% were happy with their

experience of local GPs, though that was down on last year, and there

were 17% unhappy with out-of-hours care, up over 12 months. Nearly a

quarter said they had problems with phone bookings at surgeries. Again,

up on the year. We found a range of opinions talking to people in one

town in Essex. Used to get an appointment very quickly, now you

have to wait a fortnight for the doctor of your choice, because they

have taken on 70 patients. He normally opens about eight o'clock,

I normally get my appointment by about 1030, 11am, so I am pretty

happy. To get an emergency point is impossible. The pressures on the NHS

are illustrated in the Parliamentary report out today, which says that 50

million people in England are suffering from long-term conditions,

such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma, and they account for more

than half of GPs time. Some doctors say they are struggling to keep up

with the workload. John Cockroft, and Essex GP, says he is seeing

patients for 11 hours a day. He is aged 52, and because of the workload

he is now thinking of retiring early. I think I will start to feel

that I am really struggling to get through a day's work. Already it

feels like that on certain days, and if that starts to spill over and

affect the quality of the care I am able to provide, then I don't see

that I will be able to go on for that length of time. Some practices

they they are struggling to recruit new GPs. At this brother surgery,

there are vacancies for doctors, and more to come, with doctors leaving

over the next few months. One of the remaining doctors told me they were

having to cut services for patients. We are already feeling the effects,

we have lost some GPs and specialists, people have to wait

longer for their routine appointments. That does not reflect

well on the practice or do patients any justice at all. It is a very

difficult, session to have with patients, when they ring and say

come and see you. I say yes, in three weeks time. The Department of

Health said the vast majority of patients were satisfied with their

GP. Millions more were being offered extra evening and weekend

appointments and more money was available to improve access to

doctors. The time is almost a quarter past six,

Our top story this evening, security is stepped up at Britain's

airports, as America warns of a "credible terrorism threat".

still to come, as Yorkshire prepares to host the start of the Tour de

France this weekend, we look at the British hopes. Later on BBC London,

why campaigners say plans to relax laws over short-term lets will

blight their communities. Our building a new London is anything

significant skipper is about the history of our city. -- and earthing

significant. Fracking has already proved to be

highly controversial, and there are questions about the impact it could

have on the underground drinking New research has revealed that

much of the water is in areas with the areas of shale-bearing rock,

from which the energy industry is keen to extract billions of pounds

worth of fuel, using fracking. But the problem is this, those areas

also hold half of all reserves So how concerned should we be

about possible contamination? Our Science Editor David Shukman

reports. Clear, clean, drinking water,

something we all rely on. Samples are being tested in areas where

fracking may take a snapshot, to say, what are

the methane levels at the moment, before any shale gas extraction

occurs? If it is to take off on a large-scale, government and industry

will need to convince the public that it isn't safe. Up and down the

country, there will have to be decisions about whether to allow

fracking. Each case would allow weighing up the potential risks to

the environment and the benefits of getting a new, home-grown source of

energy. So, what are the things which could go wrong? The first

concern is that as the well is drilled down into the rock, there

could be leaks, especially when the layer of shale is fractured. In

theory, cracks could reach up to underground stores of drinking

water, though industry says this is highly unlikely. Another concern is

that the process of fracking can cause tremors, but these are thought

to be small and rarer. Then there are challenges above ground as well.

Methane could be accidentally released. It is a powerful

greenhouse gas. And wastewater pumped back up after the fracking

needs to be dwelt with. There is the risk of polluting the land nearby.

There is no scientific evidence that fracking causes water contamination.

A small percentage of the Wells which are used could leak, and it is

critically important those wells are checked. A 3D map of Britain.

Scientists are trying to establish some hard facts about shale and

possible hazards. They want to share everything with the public. Being

open, so that people can see I think if you can do that, then the public

will have more confidence. It is a lesson from the United States.

Fracking operations there often face opposition where people feel they

are being kept in the dark about what is happening, especially if

their homes are nearby. If you are living close to a well site, and in

that case you are first and foremost concerned about the quality of the

water that you are drinking, the quality of the air that you are

breathing, and this is heavy industrial activity. And

understanding the potential impact on our countryside matters more than

ever now. Next round of government licenses to allow drilling is

expected soon. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has

insisted his party's policies are designed to encourage business, not

stifle it. He told business leaders that key policies in areas such as

banking and energy bills would generate what he called inclusive

prosperity. He also said he remained absolutely convinced that Britain's

future lay within the EU. Here is our business editor, Kamal Ahmed. Ed

Miliband has said he wants to intervene in the energy market and

change the way banks operate. He has even raised questions about the

ownership of football clubs. Today, the leader of the opposition told me

he wants to change the terms of the debate, insisting he backs good

businesses which want to promote both. There is a shared mission

which I want the next Labour government to have with business. We

have deep problems as a country, the economy is not fixed, there are deep

problems of having hard work and people's reward being linked.

Business is vital to make that happen. The Labour leader is

certainly very different from Tony Blair, who made wooing business a

key part of the new Labour project. Many business leaders would like

that warmer tone to return home but I think the important thing,

whatever political party is in power, is that they remain very

clear that being pro-business is the only solution for the continued

growth of the economy. If labour and business have become a little

estranged over the past few years, maybe this is the first stage of

marriage counselling. Certainly those close to Mr Miliband, like Ed

Balls and Chuka Umunna, would like him to take a more positive tone

towards the businesses which create the jobs. On the other side of the

debate, the unions and say Mr Miliband is right to want a positive

relationship. It is important that there is a constructive relationship

with business, and many businesses are trying to invest for the future

and pay their workers fairly and pay their taxes as well. But for those

businesses who are not, of course we are going to need rules of the

game. At the 2010 election, no significant business leader came out

in support of Labour. Senior party figures have told me they do not

want that repeated next year. Mr Miliband's speech today is the start

of at least a conversation with those businesses which might be

sympathetic to the opposition's direction of travel.

Unionist parties have walked out of talks at Stormont aimed at solving

disputes about parades, the flying of flags and the past. They were

objecting to a decision to place restrictions on an orange order

parade in Belfast. In a joint statement, they said the Parades

Commission had treated their advice with contempt and described the

discussions as fruitless. The advance of a new generation of

players at Wimbledon continued today, as 20-year-old Eugenie

Bouchard made history by becoming. Meanwhile, Andy Murray's defeat

yesterday is still the subject of much discussion. The champagne will

be popping until the tennis stops, but the British Glass is neither

half full nor half empty, it has been drunk. On Thursday was hangover

day. Andy Murray's frustration in defeat to Dimitrov was obvious. He

was apparently overheard muttering about something happening five

minutes before he went on court, a brush with security, a row with his

girlfriend, short notice about the match starting? Officially, his camp

today says there was no issue. Conspiracy theories are easy. What

is harder to digest is that Murray has stopped beating the top players.

He will drop to I think he will win more Grand Slams, but this is a bump

in the road. As a sportsman competing at the highest level, you

have to deal with adversity. There are other national respect is at

Wimbledon. If you grow up in the Czech Republic, you basically do not

see one of these, the weather is too severe for grass courts, and yet

here were two Czech women in the semifinal. They tried to hit each

other off centre court. Safarova held her own in the first set. But

when it comes to power, there is no one stronger than Petra Kvitova.

Having won the first set on a tie-break, she rattled through the

second, 6-1. She was champion here three years ago. Success on grass is

every player knows there will be slips and stumbles. Simona Halep's

ankle required long treatment in the other semifinal. Eugenie Bouchard

went through. Named after a princess, just like her twin

Beatrice Comer celebrating is her backyard. I can tell you that Murray

is on centre court right now. I am referring to older brother Jamie,

who is in the mixed doubles with Katie Dellacqua. It looks like they

are going through to the quarterfinals. Already through is

another British pair. So, in the mixed doubles at least, Wimbledon is

retaining some British interest. The roads have been resurfaced, the

bunting is out and almost 200 cyclists who are competing in this

year's Tour de France are getting ready for Le Grand Depart, not in

France, but in Yorkshire. 2 million people are expected to line the

route this weekend. David Bond is in Leeds. Yes, in the next few minutes,

all 198 riders, from 22 teams, will be paraded through the streets

behind me. They will be arriving at the biggest party ever thrown to

mark the start of the Tour de France. Later this evening, bells

will be run across Yorkshire to mark the arrival of a race which starts

here in Leeds and will finish in just over three weeks on the chum

selling is a in Paris. Here in Harrogate, they are preparing for a

taste of France. This weekend, millions of people are expected to

line the roads of Yorkshire as the world's biggest bike race passes

through, en route to its more traditional home. It is a big moment

for Yorkshire, and another high point for British cycling. It is

still quite hard to believe, but Team Sky will this year be going for

their third win in a row. And while the architect of the sport's

incredible decade of success is not resting on his laurels, he knows how

far Britain has come. We have dominated two Olympic Games, we have

won the Tour de France twice. The biggest annual sporting event in the

world. I think we have got some fantastic female riders, we are

brilliant at downhill mountain biking. So, by anybody's

assessment, taking the last four or five years, six years, I think we

are the number one cycling nation in the world. All this is the result of

millions of pounds of investment which has helped take Team Sky to

the pinnacle of the sport. But having one the Tour de France two

years in succession, the challenge now is how to stay on top. Here is

the man tasked with that job, reigning champion Chris Froome. He

hopes the support of the Yorkshire crowd will push him to another

victory in Paris. Every little town and village along the route has

embraced the Tour de France. You can see bikes everywhere, you can see

polka dots everywhere, yellow jerseys, it is really special to

have this kind of reception. But the decision to leave out 2012 champion

and Olympic hero Sir Bradley Wiggins has caused tensions. The head of

Team Sky admits it was one of the hardest course he has had to make.

It was difficult, from a performance am a professional point of view, it

is straightforward. But from a personal point of view, it kept me

awake at night, that is sure. Cycling in this country has never

been more popular. For the sake of the sport's hard earned reputation,

everybody will be hoping the end of this year's Tour is as British as

its beginning. We saw Andy Murray crashing out yesterday, the

footballers coming up short in Brazil, and we have had

disappointing defeats for the cricketers and rugby union players.

So, not for the first time, the hopes of the nation are being pinned

on our cyclists. Time now for a look at the weather. Boiling hot today.

Yes, glorious in the south-east, the warmest day of the year so far. And

I suspect tomorrow we could do it all again. Temperatures could even

be a degree or so higher in that southeastern corner. That warm air

has really been sitting in the south-east only. There has been

plenty of cloud and rain further to the north and west. I suspect the

rain will continue to gather in strength overnight. It will be an

incredibly mild night tonight right across the country. The south-east

corner tomorrow morning will be the exception, rather than the rule.

There will be some heavy, persistent rain coming in to Scotland in

particular by the middle of the afternoon. Heavy pulses of rain

across the lake district as well. Thickening cloud towards parts of

Yorkshire, but hopefully staying dry through the majority of the day.

However, a bit of a question as to just when this weather front wheel

clear away on Saturday morning. It could be a pretty wet start in the

south-east first thing on Saturday. Clearing away, hopefully, to a

scattering of showers. But generally, it will be a fresher feel

right across the country for the weekend. Sunny spells, scattered

showers are likely to continue for Sunday as well.

showers are likely to continue for Sunday as