07/10/2016 BBC News at Six

The Ukip fracas that left an MEP in hospital.

Now his colleague denies landing a punch.

Steven Woolfe is still being treated,

There was no punches thrown, there was no face slapping,

As people in Hull would say, it was handbags at dawn.

We'll be looking at the problems affecting Ukip, and asking what lies

The embattled boss of one of the biggest mental

health trusts in England, quits, with a ?190,000 payoff.

Scores of bodies still haven't been identified in Haiti,

as the number of dead from Hurricane Matthew tops 500.

Questions about the employment practices of one of Britain's most

And meet Bob Bradley, the first American to manage

a Premier League football club, taking over at Swansea.

Andy Murray beats fellow Briton Kyle Edmund to a place

in the semi-finals of the China Open in Beijing.

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six.

The Ukip MEP accused of punching his colleague

Steven Woolfe, who ended up in hospital, has been

giving his account of their altercation.

Mike Hookem denies throwing a punch, and said the incident

was more "handbags at dawn" than a full-blown fist fight.

Mr Woolfe is still receiving treatment after collapsing

Ukip says it will hold a full investigation.

From Strasbourg, here's Alex Forsyth.

A smile from his hospital bed despite a bust up which left his

Steven Woolfe will be here for another two days after an

altercation with a fellow MEP, Mike Hookem, during a Ukip meeting.

After visiting today, colleagues said he is trying to smooth things

Steven has this morning reached out with the hand of

He has realised that things did go too far

So he has made moves forward for keeping us all as

But Steven Woolfe was not too friendly with this man

There were no punches thrown, no face

As people in Hull would say, it was handbags at dawn.

The other door that he had come through opened up, I, at that

point, was not holding him, I did not push him, he fell

back into that room, into an MEP that was stood just

Anger, Mr Hookem told the BBC, because Steven Woolfe, who wants to

be the next party leader, had considered defecting to the Tories.

The concerns is, did he have discussions with the Tory party?

Was it instigated by him or by the Tories?

Is he going to jump ship in the future?

What happened here might be embarrassing but it is a symptom of

It has more MEPs than any other but internally

there are fundamental differences about the direction it should take,

how it should be run and crucially, who should lead it.

Some are loyal to the party Nigel Farage has created,

plain speaking, antiestablishment, strong on immigration.

Others think he has too much control and want a

broader agenda, including some former of Tories who joined Ukip.

We got here because there has been a lack

of impetus at the very top of the party to solve

There are two very clear camps inside the party who want to

take the party in two very different directions.

If everybody is willing to sit around the table and

put the past behind them we can absolutely move on and make the

What happened in Strasbourg will be investigated by

the party and the European Parliament.

The hospital is playing its part in the recovery process.

The damage to Ukip could take longer to repair.

Alex, you are outside the hospital where Steven Woolfe is being

treated. Can Ukip unite? How difficult will it be for the party?

Ukip was my problem is essentially that for a small party, it grew

quickly, going from what some saw as a protest movement to a political

force. It one 4 million votes at the last general election and was

instrumental in triggering the EU referendum. But success over the

Brexit vote meant that Ukip lost much of what it stands for and some

in the party feel Theresa May's government is in crouching on its

territory. So Ukip is struggling to work out what it is for, which

direction it should take, where it should sit on the political

spectrum, and the differences are so entrenched that sometimes it becomes

personal. It is also looking for a new leader. Whoever takes over will

have to find a way to stop Ukip looking in at itself and start

reaching out to voters, and that is not going to be easy.

Southern Health, one of the biggest mental health trusts in England,

has announced the departure of its former Chief

She'd been widely criticised for the trust's failure to properly

investigate hundreds of unexplained deaths.

She's left with a payoff of ?190,000.

Michael Buchanan, who first exposed the failings at Southern Health,

Katrina Percy lead Southern Health for five years. Today she is

unemployed. Months of criticism of her leadership took their toll, as

she told a BBC documentary last month. There are days when I have

thought, I don't know if I can get up today and carry on doing this.

The families who suffered at the hands of the trust had little

sympathy, repeated failures contributing to death after death.

David West died under the care of Southern Health and today his father

welcomed Katrina Percy's departure. It is good that she has gone from

the job but I am utterly astonished that Chi has left to be rewarded for

failure for watching has done over the last few years, whilst being

Chief Executive of Southern Health. Southern Health's problems began

last December when we reveal the trust had failed to investigate the

unexpected deaths of hundreds of patients. In April, the chairman

resigned, head of a critical report from inspectors. In July, we

revealed that associates of Katrina Percy had been paid millions by

Southern Health. In August she resigned as Chief Executive but was

kept as an adviser on the same near quarter of ?1 million annual salary

and benefits package. That job and pay was approved by the regulator,

NHS improvement. Its chief executive refused to answer questions about

the deal. I am not prepared to talk to you, sorry. Wider you'd describe

that deal is good value for money? What have you actually done in terms

of improving care at Southern Health. We can organise to have a

proper discussion at some point. We have tried several times and you

keep refusing. What have you done to improve care? Today, Southern Health

say the fury over Katrina Percy's new job meant:

She does, however, leave with a year's salary, about ?190,000.

Despite the failures at Southern Health, the trust say there was no

evidence of individual incompetence by Katrina Percy.

Local officials in Haiti now say that the number of dead in the wake

of hurricane Matthew has risen to more than 800. It has left a trail

of destruction across the Caribbean, hitting Cuba and the Dominican

Republic, and now the southern United States is being battered.

Florida and South Carolina have been lashed.

It has been three days since hurricane Matthew hit Haiti, and

violent torrents of brown water continued to devastate the poorest

country in the Western Hemisphere. In this city, 80% of homes have been

lost and the UN has warned of the challenge ahead to restore clean

water and sanitation. Right now, most people lost everything,

clothing, shoes, their home. So they have no shelter. Haiti is already in

the grip of a cholera epidemic. In this environment, with sewage

ditches for the floodwater, the disease could spread. 350,000 people

are thought to need immediate help. TRANSLATION: I need medicine. My son

and I are sick and we still haven't got anything. I need to go back home

because my kids have a fever, so I need some help, I need to go home.

After leaving a trail of utter destruction across the Caribbean,

the storm is stalking the Florida coastline. It has been described by

state officials as a monster. 1.5 million people were told to leave

coastal areas and find shelter and stay there. Most heeded the

warnings. A curfew was also in place until Saturday morning in some

counties. Wind of over 100 mph crashed with power lines, cutting

supplies to tens of thousands of homes. So far, the East Coast seems

to have been spared the worst, but officials fear that complacency will

set in and people will leave their shelters too quickly. I want to

emphasise to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane

ain't. The potential for storm surge, flooding, loss of life and

severe property damage continues to exist. The Sunshine State is used to

storms, but Matthew is proving to be unpredictable. It is also taking its

time, as it travels up the coast. Florida is not out of danger just

yet. In the end, hurricane Matthew and its eye off the storm came very

close to Florida's coast. However, it does seem to have bypassed the

worst of what we have seen in the likes of Haiti. But officials are

warning that it may not be over. They are fearing coastal surges. At

Cape Canaveral they measured a wave over 17 feet high. If that comes

ashore, there could be widespread flooding. They are on alert in the

north of Florida and in Georgia they are evacuating certain areas. So

hurricane Matthew may be weakening, but it is certainly still proving

dangerous. The former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning

has been jailed for 13 years Southwark Crown Court heard

that the 75-year-old, who's already in jail for previous

offences, used his fame to groom and sexually assault dozens

of young boys in the 1960s, This year's Nobel Peace Prize has

been won by Colombia's President, He's being honoured for brokering

a peace deal with armed Marxist rebels in his country,

that brought an end to 50 years of conflict, in which around

200,000 people died. He's receiving the award,

despite the peace deal being rejected by the Colombian

people in a referendum The Bank of England is looking

into what caused a short but sharp fall in the value

of the pound overnight. At one point sterling briefly

hit a low of one $1.18. Meanwhile, the Chancellor,

Phillip Hammond, has reiterated there will be "ups

and downs" for the economy Yes, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor,

is here for the International Monetary Fund autumn meeting. The

talk here is dominated by Brexit but also by that remarkable fall in

sterling overnight, as volatile a time as it has had since the

referendum, so volatile that it is called a flash crash, which is when

investors start to sell the pound and that is exacerbated by automatic

computer programmes that start selling the pound. So although there

was some technical explanation to the sharp fall today, there are some

fundamentals going on. Sterling has been under pressure since the vote

to leave the European Union. I opened by asking Felix Hammond

whether we had to get used to this type of market volatility. -- Philip

Hammond. Markets respond to noises off and,

as I said earlier this week, we're going to go through a period

of volatility now. There will be lots of

commentary going on. We can expect to see markets

being more turbulent The Government should take

the necessary measures to be able to respond to it to keep the economy

going during this period. Aren't markets saying

they are hugely concerned about the uncertainty,

the lack of transparency over how Britain will actually

negotiate its exit There's bound to be uncertainty,

but the important thing is, to look through the movements

of currency markets, the short-term movements

of sentiment at the fundamentals The fastest growing economy

in the G7 this year, record high employment rates

and very high levels of growth We go into this period of turbulence

fundamentally strong and that should There's been a lot of talk

about your approach to spending, some people have said that you're

looking to spend a huge amount more on infrastructure and

borrow more to do that. Can we expect a spending splurge

ahead? What we have said we're

going to do is create, within a new fiscal framework,

enough space for the Government to be able to respond

to the turbulence in the economy As we go through this period,

we want to be able to provide fiscal At the moment, I can't predict

whether that will be necessary at the time

of the Autumn Statement in November. There's the Chancellor talking about

his spending plans. One other policy change today, probably connected to

Brexit and market stability. I think the big point here is that

every policy, every part of Government decision-making is wholly

affected at the moment by those Brexit negotiations. OK, Kamal, many

thanks for that. Kamal Ahmed in Washington.

As Steven Woolfe remains in hospital, the Ukip colleague

accused of hitting him denies ever throwing a punch.

He's tasted soccer success with the USA, but can Bob Bradley

find his footballing feet in Swansea?

We look ahead to the weekend's international football fixtures

as Gareth Southgate prepares for his first game in charge

Some changes are being made to the way thousands of staff

are paid and rotaed at a huge distribution warehouse

in Barnsley, run on behalf of the fashion retailer, ASOS.

It follows a BBC investigation into XPO Logistics which runs

the warehouse, with many staff saying they were unhappy

with the system of payment for extra hours worked.

The company says it's "fully compliant with employment law."

Our special correspondent, Ed Thomas, has more details.

ASOS, a global fashion retailer with its giant Barnsley warehouse.

For the first time, the BBC hears from workers who say they're

exploited and a call for bosses to be questioned in parliament.

ASOS has 9 million customers and a ?1 billion turnover.

To meet demand, it needs this warehouse.

Staff pick items every 23 seconds, but some are speaking out.

I just want to be paid for the hours that I'm owed.

This worker, like many we spoke to, wanted to talk about a clause

Staff get paid the same every month regardless of hours worked,

but can be flexed up and work an extra 10-hours every other week.

The hours are not paid, but placed in a flex bank.

As soon as possible, the company says it offers

shorter shifts or staff can ask to work less,

But these texts from the warehouse show that, two-days before the end

of the financial year, this worker was still

We've worked them hours, so we should get paid

If we don't do these hours, we get disciplined.

XPO, the company that runs the ASOS warehouse,

told the BBC persistent non-attendance for flex hours may

result in disciplinary action, but no-one had been sacked

as a result of a failure to attend a flex shift.

She says she was asked to flex up just hours before a shift.

A single parent, childcare meant she had to say no.

They, basically, just say that I'd go down as a late anyway.

ASOS say you know when your flex weeks are, so sort it out.

Yeah, but it would be fair if they gave enough notice,

but I don't believe an hour, maybe two hours, is enough notice.

XPO say staff struggling with childcare are encouraged

to speak out and being asked to flex up on the day is very rare and that

staff are given their flex weeks months in advance.

But this lawyer believes flex contracts may breach employment law.

What's not permissible is for additional hours,

flexed up hours, to be banked and for those hours to be suspended

and then paid at the end of the financial year.

They should be reconciled during the National Minimum Wage

reference period, which can't go beyond a month.

XPO says it complies fully with employment law.

It's all for the advantage of the company at the

Ian Wright is the Chair of the Commons Business Committee.

The MP who led the inquiry into Sports Direct.

He wants flex contracts tested in law.

How is it reasonable that you've done a period of work in one month

and that you might not be paid for a significant number

Do you want to see ASOS bosses in front of you?

I want them to answer that question, but I also want Government

And, whether the parliament has to now change the law

I think that's an important point as well.

I find that really, really unfair and unreasonable, completely.

Since our investigation began, workers inside ASOS have

Firstly, they've been told they'll no longer be asked to flex up

Secondly, they've been promised all outstanding hours,

currently in the flex bank, will be paid this month.

From now on, a pledge that unpaid flex hours will be settled

at time-and-a-half at the end of the financial year.

Too late though for former workers like Emma.

That job means so much to those people.

ASOS says it cares deeply for its workers, but

The GMB union is demanding an inquiry and soon bosses

Ed Thomas, BBC News, Barnsley.

The former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has claimed

in a magazine interview that the Labour Party has moved

to the "ultra-left" and that the UK is becoming a "one party state."

His comments come as Jeremy Corbyn continues his

Our political correspondent, Iain Watson, is in Westminster.

Lots of speculation on this. Is Mr Blair planning a return to British

politics? Well, Clive, what Tony Blair said is that the main

political parties, including his own, have departed the centre

ground. I'm told he's not offering himself up as Labour's saviour at

the moment and his remarks don't signal a return to the front rank of

British politics. Jeremy Corbyn's allies are dismissing his

criticisms. They are saying in his reshuffle he has been he reaching

out to his internal critics. He had guts in appointing Nick Brown and

ally of Gordon Brown as his Chief Whip. He elevated John Ashworth to

the important role of Shadow Health Secretary. I have spoken to three

former Shadow Ministers who were considering a return to Jeremy

Corbyn's frontbench and are now refusing 20 do so because of the

sacking of his popular Chief Whip who had been trying to broker a

power-sharing agreement between Mr Corbyn and MPs. One described her

sacking as an "act of war". The Gulf between the membership and the

parliamentarians here at Westminster remains pretty big after this

reshuffle. Iain Watson at Westminster, thanks, Iain.

Let's take a look some of the day's other top stories.

15 suspected illegal immigrants have been found in the back

The driver reported hearing loud banging coming

from inside his vehicle, before pulling over

One woman and two men were taken to hospital for medical checks.

A Romanian gangmaster, who kept 15 people in appalling conditions,

has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

Ioan Lacatuz also stole his victims' wages, while keeping them in a three

bedroom house in Portadown in Northern Ireland

They'd been trafficked from eastern Europe.

A hacker who caused havoc by blocking the radio frequencies

of air traffic controllers in Edinburgh has been

James Corrigan also interfered with signals at the city's

His radio equipment has been confiscated.

The Premier League has Italians, French, Dutch, Spanish

Now, for the first time ever, an American joins their ranks.

Bob Bradley, who's from New Jersey, is the new boss at Swansea City

and he's been speaking to our sports correspondent,

When any manager joins a new club they must quickly

Round these parts, it's called 'the Swansea way'.

But what happens when footballing cultures collide?

Its new American owners also interviewed Ryan Giggs,

but said Bradley was the standout candidate and as the man sacked

to make way for him, Francesco Guidolin,

awkwardly looked on, Bradley told fans not

I'm not an American manager, I'm a football manager.

So now, when I come here, I realise that there's not one

person in Swansea that could care less what anybody

in the United States thinks at the moment.

They care about their football club and, man, I'm here to give

COMMENTATOR: Decent try, Green spilled it.

England and no doubt Wales fans will surely remember this moment

Bradley's USA team inflicting deep psychological scars to finish

Since leaving the national job in 2011 he's managed in Egypt,

Norway and France, but even those Stateside were confused

Bradley has been signed to manage Chelsea.

Well, this isn't the King's Road and there aren't any statues around,

but there is at least a Liberty Stadium.

It's fair to say the American's appointment has ruffled a few

The Supporters' Trust owns more than 20% of the club,

but says the first they even heard about the American's appointment

You see, we are disappointed, angry and upset that a major

decision like this can take place without any consultation with us.

There's no doubt this is a significant moment

In the United States we're still fighting for respect.

So if this helps a little bit, I understand that and I don't mind

Respect is one thing, but results are quite another.

With only one league win all season, points are paramount

if the Bruce Springsteen fan is to bring back the glory days.

The weather is quiet and settled. Dry weather is on the cards. A

cloudy day to many parts of the country. Here was the scene in Kent

captured by one of our weather watchers earlier on in the day.

There has been sunshine and clearer skies to Scotland, the north-west of

England, too. Here we will see the coldest conditions developing

through the overnight period. Temperatures well done, into single

figures. Elsewhere across the country it's a little bit milder

with more in the way of cloud and a few showers drifting their way east

to west. Through the day tomorrow it's a pretty similar day to today.

Quite a bit of cloud around. The sunshine will breakthrough across

many northern and western areas. Improving picture for many of us. A

few showers blown in particularly for East Anglia and the south-east

of England. Cool where you are exposed to that breeze from the

North Sea. Temperatures in the mid teens. As we move through Saturday

night and on into Sunday, we will see a colder theme to the weather.

Mist, some fog and some frost patches I think first thing Sunday

morning. Through the day on Sunday a similar day to Saturday. Once again,

high pressure dominating us, lots of dry weather. A chance of a few

showers, particularly for some eastern areas. Variable amounts of

cloud, but there will be sunshine to be enjoyed. Temperatures nothing to

write home about, between 12-16 degrees. As we look the other side

of the Atlantic now thchl is Hurricane Matthew, it's still

pushing its way northwards across the Florida coastline, heading north

over the next 24 to 48-hours bringing dangerous conditions. Heavy

rain, strong winds and a potential storm surge through northern

Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. More details on Hurricane Matthew on

our Twitter feed and website. Clive. Thanks for that.

So it's goodbye from me and the team on the BBC News at Six.