11/10/2016 BBC News at Six

The pound takes another beating as uncertainty around Brexit leads

to lower expectations for the UK economy.

Sterling has now lost nearly a fifth of its value against the dollar

The weakness in the pound is really a sign that investors do not have

confidence in a post Brexit UK economic outlook. They think Brexit

will be very negative for the UK economy.

If it's been such a tough day for the pound why did the stock

A crisis in care, a new warning from the health regulator about provision

Bailey Gwynne, the schoolboy killed in a lunchtime

a review says his death might have been avoided.

Samsung pulls the plug on its Galaxy Note 7 -

customers are told to stop using the smartphone.

And a first for the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate makes a solo

And coming up in Sportsday later in the hour on BBC News.

Southgate's Slovenian switch, will dropping Wayne Rooney pay off

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six.

The pound has taken another big hit today, its value is down again,

continuing the fall that began after the EU referendum.

Uncertainty about what Brexit will mean has fuelled sterling's slide.

But a weaker pound means British exports become cheaper -

and that was reflected in the stock market,

with the one hundred share index hitting

Our Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed reports.

He looks at why a fall in the pound matters.

They are some of Britain's best businesses and today good news for

them as the stock market hit record highs driven by strong exports

thanks to a weaker pound and a bonus to international businesses, if you

earn profits in dollars it is cashing in time. But a warning, this

doesn't mark some turnaround for the UK economy. It does look good but is

not a vote of confidence in the UK economy, that's because the FTSE 100

is mostly comprised of multinational companies that do business abroad.

Also given the currency fall we've seen since the referendum the

revenues of those companies, when you translate it into sterling, look

very good, but is where the FTSE is rising. On referendum night it was

the governor of the Bank of England to steady nerves. Some volatility

can be expected as the process unfolds. Amid the uncertainty one

thing happened, sterling fell by 11%, a fundamental market judgment

on the risk to the UK economy. The weakness in the pound is a sign that

investors don't have confidence in a post Brexit UK economic outlook,

they think it will be negative in the UK economy and GDP could

contract. Certainly it has been a rocky ride for the pound, this is

the beginning of the month when the pound was valued at $1 30 but began

to fall after Theresa May suggested that Britain would not only leave

the EU but the EU free market as well which many economists see as a

poor option. Then on Friday the Flash crashed down to $1 14 as

automatic computer trading drove down the price. Since then what is

striking is the high levels of volatility. There is still real

uncertainty in the markets. The pound has fallen almost one fifth

since the referendum to around $1 22. The effects will be widespread.

We do think inflation starts to pick up from here, particularly next year

and if peoples incomes are not rising at the same rate that is

hitting real income and that could slow spending which is key to the UK

economy. So some bad effects, higher fuel and food prices could be on the

way and some good effects, luxury tourist markets in the UK are

booming, the falling pound the markets commentary on the

uncertainties of Brexit. Kamal, you have explained why we

have a higher stock market and a lower pound, what of the economy as

a whole? It can seem confusing to have both things at the same time. A

short-term and long-term effect, in the short-term decline in the pound

is a stimulation to the economy because all exports its much better

and if imports become more expensive that is good for British

manufacturers, who can start winning on price. So in the in the

short-term the stock market is reflecting the stimulus that a lower

pound brings. But in the long-term investors are making it clear that

they lack confidence in where the UK economy is going. And a lot of that

issue is around the Brexit referendum and which way the UK

economy is going. I think the key will be for the government to give

reassurance about the direction of travel and also to say that they are

able to tackle the big issue which will be information. Because as soon

as prices start rising that is when sterling becomes a political issue

because the public start feeling that they are worse off and that

very quickly plays into the polls in the UK. Thank you very much, Kamal.

There's a stark warning tonight about the future

Evidence gathered by the health regulator

and seen by the BBC raises serious concerns

about the impact of budget cuts on the quality of care for elderly

The rate at which care homes are closing is rising,

with some providers saying they can no longer make money.

Our Social Affairs Correspondent Alison Holt reports.

Open the door. Betty Smith is in her 80s and needs help to stay in her

home safely. This is supported staff which means there are care staff on

hand to help. It's more happiness, the people come in and you meet

them. Knowing that the same well-trained staff will be the HD is

important to Betty and many others who need care. The not-for-profit

company that runs these flats used to be a major provider of home care

to local councils but it has pulled out of those local contracts because

it says it simply is not paid enough to do the job properly. We want to

provide care with stuff that I well-trained, well equipped and

providing the right quality of service. Without the right funding

that becomes very difficult. The regulator, the Care Quality

Commission, monitors the finances of some of the logic companies. In an

analysis is seen by the BBC it is the handing back of cancelled

contracts demonstrates the fragility of the care market, with council

budgets squeezed it asks at what point will this adversely impact on

the quality of service? And that is what worries Cheryl, who used to

work as a home carer for another company. Sometimes the care is

rushed and the person is not properly looked after. It takes away

their dignity. The CQC analysis also says the pace of closures among the

care homes in England is increasing and it highlights the ongoing

struggle to find and keep the right stuff. In the last year, this home

in Oxfordshire has stopped providing nursing care. The first challenge is

the lack of nurses, how difficult they are to recruit, internationally

as well as domestically. And also the difference between what the

local authorities play and the real cost of care. The charity that runs

the home was having to fund the roughly ?300 a week difference

between what the council paid for each person in the actual cost.

There is increasing evidence of a serious knock on effect that the

problems faced by adult social care is having elsewhere. For instance

since they made the decision to no longer offer nursing care here it

has meant that the NHS has added to provide more district nurses to see

residents. What we do know is that if we continue to reduce funding

available for the broad range of public services, that leads to

increased demands on the National Health Service, demands that the NHS

is not well equipped to meet. Care is funded differently in each of the

UK nations. In a statement the CQC says in England most adult care is

good or outstanding. The government says more money is being put into

the care of older and disabled people. Alison Holt, BBC News.

The fatal stabbing of a pupil at a school in Aberdeen

could have been avoided, if teachers had been told

That's the conclusion of an inquiry following the death of 16-year-old

He was killed by another pupil at Cults Academy during

Our correspondent Chris Buckler is in Aberdeen.

Chris? George, as you say, it is almost exactly one year since Bailey

Gwynne was killed. A day that will mark a difficult anniversary both

for his family and this school. Today's report into his death course

of the Scottish Government to give more powers for teachers to allow

them to search pupils and it is now clear that they were students who

saw the boy who killed Bailey with weapons and one occasion, two years

before this stabbing it was even to teachers.

In what should have been the sanctuary of this school tree has

been dedicated to remember Bailey Gwynne, the pupil stabbed to death

when he should have been saved during a lunchtime fight about a

biscuit. I think it affected everybody in school, whether his

close mates all someone who had just seen in the corridor. Bailey was

attacked by another pupil who carried a knife and knuckle-dusters

into the classrooms of Cults Academy. Today's report says that

the attack by the boy, who cannot be named because of his age resulted

from a spontaneous conflict that could not have been predicted or

averted on the day. But it makes clear that the stabbing was

potentially predictable and avoidable if those who knew that the

attacker carried weapons into school had reported it to staff. But it

became clear, during a news conference today that, although it

was not contained in the limited part of the report made public, that

on one occasion there had been a warning. The headteacher was alerted

that he was carrying a weapon on a bus, and I have considered that and

I thought she acted swiftly and appropriately but she found nothing.

I suppose the point was that it was a red flag? It was a red flag. It

makes it important so why was it not in the summary? It has a

recommendation from the report. Those recommendations include giving

senior staff in schools in Scotland the ability to search pupils even

without their consent. Senior teachers in other parts of the UK

already have the right to conduct such searches. The report also calls

for a dedicated strategy to tackle knife crime in schools. There was a

scheme in recent years. But Aberdeen City Council chose not to take part

in it. The loss of any child is completely regrettable. Of course we

will work as hard and tirelessly as we can to make sure such a tragedy

doesn't ever happen again. That loss is felt most at Bailey Gwynne's

school and within his family. To them, he was not the subject of a

report, he was their friend and their child. Chris Buckler, BBC

News, Aberdeen. Workers at troubled Southern Railway

have begun a three-day strike as part of their long-running

dispute over the role of guards. The company says they're running

around 60% of services. A further 11 days of strikes

by members of the RMT union A court has heard that a 15-year-old

girl accused of murdering a mother police she and her co-accused tried

twice before to kill them. Elizabeth Edwards and her

daughter Katie were found The teenager denies murder,

but admits manslaughter. A 15-year-old boy has already

pleaded guilty to murder. The Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, has taken the unusual step of calling for anti-war

campaigners to protest outside He made the comments

during a parliamentary debate on the bombing of Aleppo in Syria,

in which Russian warplanes have Our diplomatic correspondent,

James Landale, reports. Another little girl pulled from the

rubble of eastern Aleppo. Another child left orphaned by a war that

has devastated so many lives. Today Russian warplanes resumed their

bombing of rebel held districts. A bloody campaign that MPs debated the

first time in months. Are we so coward, so poleaxed by recent

history in Iraq and Afghanistan that we are now incapable of taking

action? All the international hand-wringing after Rwanda, Bosnia,

Srebrenica, when we said never again, was it just hot air? These

pictures makers want to close our eyes and turn from the horror but we

cannot turn our backs on the greatest crime of this century.

Listening to the first time in his new job was Foreign Secretary Boris

Johnson. He tore into Russia, calling for fresh sanctions and

demonstrations outside Russian embassies. If Russia continues in

its current path I believe that great country is in danger of

becoming a pariah nation. If President Putin 's strategy is to

restore the greatness and the glory of Russia then I believe he will see

his ambition turned to ashes. So what options did MPs suggest? Some

called for a no-fly zone over Aleppo but that would involve the West

being prepared to destroy Russian and Syrian warplanes and their

defences. Some called for more aid to be dropped by playing but this

can often land in the wrong place and others called for yet more

diplomacy and if that failed more economic sanctions. We do need to

explore no-fly and no bombing zones, we do need to look at the question

of airdrops. What people in severe need is bread, not bombs. Any war

crimes by air forces will be logged. In a multilayered multifaceted civil

War like Syria the last thing we need is more parties bombing. So the

mood of the House of Commons was clear, the West should do more to

confront Russia and the Syrian government, potentially even with

the use of military force. But the Foreign Secretary was much more

cautious, warning that the consequences of no-fly zones would

have to be thought through very, very carefully. For the people

living in the ruins of Aleppo what matters is not the words of Western

policymakers but and end to the violence. And there's no sign of

that coming soon. James Langdale, BBC News.

The pound suffers another fall in value today -

uncertainty over Brexit is blamed for the continuing slide.

Now, Donald Trump attacks key figures in his own party.

Coming up in Sportsday in the next 15 minutes on BBC News.

The latest from Hong Kong with the British Number One,

Johanna Konta, looking to push further up the world rankings.

The mobile phone manufacturer, Samsung, has permanently halted

production of its latest smartphone because of safety concerns.

It's told customers who have the Galaxy 7 device to stop

using it after reports they've been catching fire.

A previous attempt to fix the problem wasn't successful,

as our technology correspondent, Rory Cellan Jones, reports.

It was the latest version of Samsung's giant smartphone and it

won rave reviews, but then this happened. In a fast-food restaurant

in South Korea a phone is on fire, one of several incidents over the

last 10 days. These all involved replacement Note 7's, sent out after

the first overheating issues emerged. Now, Samsung has admitted

defeat, halting production and sales of the phone. Customers have been

told to turn them off and return them to stores. In London this

morning, this man, who bought previous versions of the Note, was

disappointed. I pre-ordered the Note 7 in mid-September I got it the day

it came out. I was really excited. I loved the phone. I was told to send

it back. I got my replace am and was perfectly happy with it and

heartbroken to have to take my new phone in and hand it back. Samsung

broke new ground with the Note proving there was an appetite for

much bigger phones. It hoped its latest version would be the

best-selling yet. Now though it's clear that the Note 7 isn't coming

back. The company must concentrate on limiting the damage to its whole

brand. Shares in the company fell sharply, wiping billions of its

value as investors worried that the reputation of its other products

must suffer. Samsung is ept respected as being technologically

excellent and great function Ali. When that basis of trust is damaged.

That is what they need to recover from. That will be the test on

whether or not they are able to recover some of the value they are

losing by the day. This incident is the most serious so far, Samsung

isn't alone in seeing smartphone batteries overheat. The reason for

the that modern smartphones are powerful computers. They use a lot

of energy to make those wonderful things work. That energy could be

dangerous if it's released quickly. In certain circumstances that can.

Ha. That is just the problem. We want more and more from our phones,

but as Samsung found to its cost, the one thing we demand above all

others is that they are safe. In the American election,

Donald Trump has now turned his fire on one of the most senior figures

in his own party - the Republicans. In a series of tweets

he called Paul Ryan - the most senior elected Republican -

"weak and ineffective." It comes after Mr Ryan's refusal

to campaign for Donald Trump. Our North America editor,

Jon Sopel, is on Capitol Hill. You would have thought Donald Trump

has got enough fighting off Hillary Clinton without picking a fight with

someone in his own party? It's four weeks to go until polling day,

Donald Trump opened up a new fight. You always know when Donald Trump is

in a rage. It doesn't come as a single tweet, it comes as a torrent

of tweets. The one accusing Paul Ryan of being weak and divisive and

the Republicans were disloyal, "they're coming at me from all

sides." He says the Democrats are more loyal to their leadership than

the Republicans are. This interesting tweet, "it's so nice the

shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way

I want to." In other words, infect, Donald Trump is now fighting as an

independent and betting that the American people feel more loyalty

towards him than they do towards the Republican Party. That is quite a

gamble when he is lagging so far behind in the polls and who knows

what this latest Twitter storm will result in. Thank you, Jon.

A brief look at some of the day's other other news stories.

The footballer, Ched Evans, has told a court he would not "hurt

The Chesterfield striker denies raping a 19-year-old at a hotel

He was found guilty in 2012, but the conviction was quashed.

The Japanese electronics company Fujitsu has announced it's axing

The firm says it wants to streamline its operations as part

of a transformation programme and insisted its decision is not

linked to Britain's vote to leave the European.

A driverless car has had its first public trial in the UK.

The electric vehicle successfully completed one mile loops

of a pedestrianised zone in Milton Keynes.

The cars use laser technology and data from cameras to navigate.

Patients are being put off from seeing a doctor

because of awkward questions about their symptoms

The study from Cancer Research UK says 40% of people found

receptionists' questions a barrier to getting treatment.

A third were put off visiting their GP because they didn't

GPs say receptionists help people get the correct diagnosis,

but critics say that finding out what's wrong with you should be

First line of your address. Another busy day on reception. This surgery

in Somerset has 9,000 patients. There we go... Debbie is the first

person they deal with. Can you give me a brief indication to the

problems? Staff here have been praised for the way they deal with

the public, but it's not the same everywhere. How can I help? I like

to think we treat people as we would like to be treated. It's a difficult

task sometimes. It can be done with a smile and a little bit of

conversation. You can get it done. What do you think makes a good

surgery receptionistist? Presently, open, a smile goes a long way. This

practice might be getting it right, but research suggests that across

the country, 40% of us are not satisfied with our GP's shrinks.

They can be cold. It's almost as if they don't... You're kind of wasting

their time. If I want to discuss my medical stuff I would prefer to with

my doctor, not the shrinks. That seems to be a common view. Today's

research claims four out of ten patients are put off visiting their

GP because they don't want to disclose their symptoms at

reception. Campaigners say it could mean delays in getting serious

problems diagnosed. It's a big number and I think it is very

important for us to have studies like this to show those kinds of

attitudes and show where people might feel more comfortable or less

comfortable. That is lovely. You are on the duty doctor list. You will

get a call back this morning. At Debbie's practice they have a

telephone treeage system to make patients feel more at ease and

reduce waiting times. The GPs say that approach helps the

whole NHS. If the patient comes in, perceives they are ill, are getting

no, we are not going to see you from the doctor surgery, the likelihood

is they present at A who have open hours 24-hours a day. A are in

chaos, they are swamped. You don't want more patients turning up that

should be seen by their GPs. The Government say it is will fund more

training to help receptionist be more sensitive to patients needs. --

shrinks. -- receptionists. The Duchess of Cambridge has

made her first solo overseas trip. She's been in the Netherlands

for a day of engagements which included discussions on mental

health issues and a visit to see Here's our Royal correspondent,

Nicholas Witchell. His report does contain

some flashing images. Going solo abroad for the first

time. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on a mission of more than

usual significance. This is a moment when Britain needs to cultivate

friendships in Europe. Britain's links with the Netherlands go back

centuries, so when the house of Windsor, represented by Catherine

represented by orange, represented by King Willem-Alexander the image

was of two European countries of shared history and many shared

interests, not the least of which is each is a huge export market for the

other of. No-one was crude enough to mention Brexit, that's for the

politicians. Theresa May was here yesterday canvassing support from

the Dutch Prime Minister. Art is more Catherine's style. She visited

The Hague to look at paintings. She was demonstrating the art of soft

diplomacy. Visiting a gallery or joining an artwork shop may not be

depanneding but the importance of a visit such as this should not be

underestimated. Members of the Royal Family do not do politics but do

diplomacy of the soft variety promoting Britain's image and

reputation abroad. Visits such as this to important European Alice

have a new significance. Memo to the he Royal tour organisers, Catherine

led the way in the Netherlands, the rest of Europe beckons.

Rod Stewart was knighted at Buckingham Palace today

in recognition of his services to music and charity.

Sir Rod, who's 71, said he'd had a wonderful life and a tremendous

career and described his knighthood as a "monumental" honour.

We are sailing to somethi wetter this week. Different story to

northern and eastern parts, it was certainly not a day for the garden

furniture in County Durham. The rain fell here. The cloud that brought

that. If you look on the satellite image, it stretches back to scanned

neigh ya. More is waiting in the wings and heading our way. We are on

the southern flank of this high pressure. Eastern winds will fade

that in in the next 24-hours. Rain to eastern parts of the country, one

or two spots further west. Not as cold as last night. Shelters areas

of the west could get close to a frost and mist and fog patches in

the morning. They will clear as the breeze picks up. Eastern Scotland,

eastern parts of England, outbreaks of rain here on and off from the

morning. Into the afternoon we will see develop from Lincolnshire into

the north Midlands. Cooler as the breeze picks up. The

breeds will pick up further into Wednesday evening and through

Wednesday night. The reason - this area of low pressure across Spain,

Portugal and France, nudging closer to our blocked air of high pressure,

the closer they get the stronger the wind will be. Breezy day for all on

Thursday. Outbreaks of rain toest eastern areas, some making it to the

north and west. The best of the sunshine will be across southern

parts of the UK. It does feel cooler in the breeze. After a cool start to

the week with morning frost and fog the end of the week, more in the way

of wind and rain around too. Oh, dear. Thank you very much.

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 are.