17/11/2011 BBC News at Ten

Northern Rock, the bank that symbolised the start of Britain's

financial crisis, back in the private sector. Sold to Richard

Branson's Virgin Money. The taxpayer is to lose hundreds of

millions of pounds, but ministers say it is the best deal they could

get. I think this will be a good thing

for British consumers. We will have a powerful new presence on the High

Street, offering better deals to families, real choice and

competition. We are asking where this leaves the

other nationalised banks. Also: Duwayne Brooks, Stephen

Lawrence's best friend breaks down in court as he describes the brutal

attack. Scuffles as the New York police

move in on the Occupy London Stock Exchange Wall Street protestors.

We are going to spread democracy, here we are, the government is

oppressing the democracy. Showdown in Berlin as David Cameron

prepares to meet Angela Merkel. She issues a warning of criticism of

the eurozone. Whatever happened to our golden age of engineering? The

Queen gives her name to a prize to find new talent.

I'll be here with Sportsday later in the hour as Avram Grant tries to

get back into international management, but will Northern

Good evening. Northern Rock has been sold to

Richard Branson's Virgin Money Group. The long queues of

frightened safers outside of the bank four years ago marked the

moment Britain was swept into the global banking crisis. Only a

Government bail out saved it from collapse. The taxpayer is likely to

lose about �450 million on the sale. The Government say it is was the

best deal on offer, but Labour has questioned the timing of the

transaction. Our Business Editor, Robert Peston

has this report. Northern Rock, the bank whose near

collapse and nationalisation came the symbol of the global economic

crisis has become a part of Richard Branson's Virgin Money. As the

famous Rock brand dies, is there a bright new dawn for British

banking? We have been following Northern Rock for nearly four years

now, it has kept us focused on it. The reason is that it has so much

that it can bring alongside Virgin Money to increase competition in UK

banking. Virgin Money is buying the Rock's

75 branches, about 16 billion of savings and �14 billion of

mortgages and it has pledged that the enlarged group's operational

headquarters are to be based in the Rock's Newcastle home. Also, no

more xuls redundancies at the Rock for at least three years.

Very good news for the region. Really good. With Richard Branson

behind things, I am sure whatever he touches, it turns to gold.

very good news, especially for the north-east when so many jobs are

going. It is nice to know some are being kept.

So, why did the Chancellor decide to sell now? We hired independent

advisers, looking at the figures, it was clear that this was the best

deal for the British taxpayer. Getting more back than any other

deal on the table. So, what are we getting back? Well

�1.4 billion of taxpayers a' -- taxpayers' money has gone into the

Rock. That is more than the �747 million that Virgin Money will

return at the end of the year. They could return up to �280 million at

the end of several years, even in the bank ends up losing �373

million and �653 million. The question that the Chancellor

has to explain is where he has chosen now to make the sale when it

means a loss to the taxpayer? We have to look in detail to ensure

that the taxpayer is getting value for money.

In September 2007, the queues outside of branches like this one

told the world of the looming banking and economic disaster, so

does this mien that there are better times around the corner?

Maybe, but what is striking is that the Chancellor has chosen to sell

Northern Rock now and generate a loss, rather than wait for the

better times, which may mean that he fears that no significant

recovery in the markets or the economy will happen any time soon.

Of course, Northern Rock was not the only bank rescued by the

taxpayers in the last crash. We bailed out Lloyds and the Royal

Bank of Scotland to the tune of �65 billion. Unlike Northern Rock, the

time for getting any of that back is many years away.

Robert is here with me now. Can we be sure of the loss on this deal

all together? We would love to know, but actually, words that I rarely

say, I really don't know. The reason for that is this: Today what

we have seen sold is only a part of Northern Rock. Some �40 billion

older mortgages made by Northern Rock are still in public hands. Now,

they've often been called the bad bank, but up to now they've been

making a profit for all of us. The reason is straightforward. It is

cheap for the Government to borrow, the mortgages are expensive. Will

they make a profit in the coming years? Who knows? It will depend if

we tip back into recession and if the homeowners have problems

repaying debts, but for all of us there is a bigger issue, that is

that we mutt much more money into Lloyds and the Royal Bank of

Scotland when ebailed them out, �65 billion, currently those stakes on

the market are worth only �20 billion. So I hope that you have

strapped yourself in. Taxpayers are sitting on a loss of up to �40

billion on investments in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland. Which

is why those banks will not be sold for many years.

Thank you very much. The best friend of Stephen Lawrence

broke down in court as he described how the teenager collapsed and bled

to death on a south London street in 1993. Duwayne Brooks went as he

recalled how the pair were attacked by a gang who hurled racial abuse

at them. Duwayne Brooks gave evidence despite his father dying

last night. Tom Symonds' report contains racially offensive

language which was used in court. Duwayne Brooks met Stephen on their

first day at secondary school. His description of the relationship,

Stephen Lawrence was his best friend. Facing the court would have

been daunting on the best of days, but Brooks brx' father died last

night. He told the judge he wanted to give his evidence still.

The jury heard an emotional description 6 Stephen's last

minutes. It focused on south London, on the night of the killing.

Duwayne Brooks and staefen had been waiting for a bus. The service was

disrupted. They had gone to the corn to see if it was coming when

the gang attacked. A group of white youths. Rebekah Brooks told the

court that one shouted, using racially offensive language which

was used in court, another used what looked like an iron bar.

Brooks brx managed to escape, but not Stephen -- Duwayne Brooks.

He showed the jury how the weapon b a foot long was raised and brought

down on his friend. After the gang ran off, Stephen struggled to his

feet. He ran past watching At this point in court, Duwayne

Brooks was in tears. He was asked if he would like to take a break,

but he said "no". That he wanted to say what happened.

He went on that he kept saying to Stephen Lawrence to run.

Stephen Lawrence said that he called to him, but he fell at the

tree. Stephen Lawrence was later found to have two knife wounds.

Today, a simple memorial marks the spot where Stephen Lawrence died.

For Neville Lawrence, Stephen's father, and his mother, Doreen

Lawrence, it was another difficult day of evidence. Gary Dobson and

David Norris deny murder. The court heard that the eyewitness evidence

is the start of the case against them.

The jury has been told that no witness has been able to identify

the gang. These were the drawings of the police -- by the police

after interviewing him. The first police officer to arrive

here said that Duwayne Brooks told her he had not seen the attack. He

told the jury himself today that at some point his back was turned and

his view obscured by a tree. So, forensic evidence the focus in

coming weeks. The NHS has been told to tackle

what the ministers are calling a hidden waiting list in English

hospitals. They are doing well at meeting the target for treating

patients within 18 weeks but about a quarter of a million patients are

waiting longer than that. Our Health Correspondent is with us,

Branwyn Jeffries, most people thought that the waiting time has

come down? Well, the waiting too many times have been falling. That

is due to tough targets. Waiting time is an issue that matters to

patients. Most patients now have to wait less than 18 weeks been the GP

deciding to send them to the hospital and the treatment

beginning, but hospitals can be fined for treating patients later

than 18 weeks so there is no incentive for them after that point.

Leaving some feeling they've been forgotten.

For a farmer like David Evans, there is not much time to be ill.

He needed an operation to repair a hernia. Damaged muscles in his

stomach meant his organs are not held in properly. After waiting

more than 18 weeks, the NHS had not given him a date. One delay after

another, meant that David struggled on for almost a year before finally

being treated. It got increasingly worse. So that

up to two to three times a day, the intest yeen would come out and I

would have to hold it to get back indoors until I could used the

scanner that I had for scanning sheep, in order to have a look to

see what had come out and get it back properly.

Some cases aren't straightforward. One reason why delays can happen.

Not everyone can be treated quickly. But not all long waits can be

explained away. The target now, just counts the

patients who have already been treated. In September, that was

under 1 million people. From next year, the patients

waiting will also be looked at. In September, that was about 2.5

million people. From next year most of this group will also have to be

treated within 18 weeks. So, how has the NHS in England been

doing? Well, this graph shows the number of patients waiting a year.

You can see the fall from four years ago from 600,000 to 20,000,

but some hospitals are treating patients quickly.

So, of that 20,000, one big slice is down to just one hospital trust.

St George's in south London has more than 5,000 patients waiting

for longer than a year. If I was in charge of this, trying

to do something about it. I would target the hospitals that are

contributing the patients to this long wait. To find out what their

problems are, to sort it at a local level.

Hospitals like St George's say that they are making progress on the

backlog, but the whole of the NHS in England will now have a new

waiting target. It is more modest than the ones we have had, but it

could help some patients that have Two British soldiers have been

killed in a roadside bomb attack in Helmand province in Afghanistan.

Their families have been informed. Yesterday another soldier was also

killed by an explosion in Helmand province. He is 25-year-old Lance

Corporal Peter Eustace from 2nd Battalion The Rifles. He was a

professional Rifleman who served on two very demanding tours of duty.

The deadline has passed for protesters at St Paul's Cathedral

to move. They were given until 6:00pm. When we came on air, the

demonstration was still in place. Scuffles have broken out in the

centre of New York as hundreds of protesters attempted to mark on the

New York Stock Exchange. 200 people have been arrested. This was the

scene by the symbol of America's financial system. Protesters are

dragged away by police near Wall Street. A demonstration against

corporate greed turned violent. the Middle East, we are saying,

we're going to spread democracy. Our government is suppressing

democracy. How hypocritical can act get? There have been confrontations

between police and protesters all day. Even though they cannot come

out here, there is still momentum in their movement. Do you want to

get arrested or do you want to move? There are hundreds of police

officers on the streets of lower Manhattan. The right to free speech

his command -- is clashing with the rule of law. Protesters were

evicted from this park two days ago. They can still gather here but not

camp. The marchers are more determined than ever. Despite the

fact we're not here day and night, I think it can be a really great

step in the evolution. Shut down this intersection. Gather here.

They're up on the move again with plans for a mass rally tonight.

are trying to say this is a crisis and it needs to be treated like a

crisis. People on Wall Street cannot destroy the lives of so many

people. The ball straight Baker says they have drawn attention to

inequality in America. -- Wall Street thicker. They need to find a

platform to communicate at clap -- grassroots level. It is clear what

this protest is against. Where does it go from here? Coming up on

tonight's programme: At last, Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi gets

another chance to stand for election. We talk to her about what

that wait has done to her. I find it embarrassing when people talk

about my suffering. People have died. Nobody still alive has the

right to complain. The eurozone crisis has created tensions within

the EU and thrown up different visions for its future. On the eve

of David Cameron's visit to Berlin, the German Chancellor, Angela

Merkel has criticised the way countries outside the eurozone -

like Britain - highlight its flaws but complain about being left

behind. From the German capital, Gavin Hewitt, reports. Two leaders,

the natural allies. Increasingly they see it differently. They meet

tomorrow. The German Chancellor accepted today that the eurozone

crisis was causing tension between them.

TRANSLATION: Of course there are certain tensions. It Monza great

deal of political sensitivity. -- demands. I want a Europe with Great

Britain in it. Earlier this week, Angela Merkel spelt out her

political vision. It would mean not less Europe but more Europe. A

short time later David Cameron was speaking in London. He described

himself as a sceptic, whose ideal Europe would be a network. One with

the flexibility of the network, not the rigidity of a block. Later

Britain was accused of looking out for its own advantage. The Germans

really have to chip in their savings, their money. There are

other sources of tension. Angela Merkel was close integration for

the eurozone. Cameron fears losing influence. Angela Merkel wants the

tax on finance will transactions. - - Financial. Cameron sees it as a

bullet aimed at the heart of the city. Angela Merkel wants the

European Central Bank the lender of last resort. -- David Cameron.

Angela Merkel says, at no. Angela Merkel will say, in order to impose

stricter rules and European countries, she wants the treaty

change. The Prime Minister is under pressure to get something in

exchange for his support. He has to be strongly supportive of the

desire of Angela Merkel to get the eurozone on a proper footing. On

the other hand he has to be clear that Britain will want something

out of this as well. Amongst Germany's political class, there is

a sensitivity of what they see as British the lecturing over the

eurozone crisis. I am told the differences between Britain and

Germany are signature them but they do not mad to a rest. -- amount.

Neither leader wants a public row. The eurozone crisis is causing

friction and the markets underlined yet again today that this crisis is

deepening. In Spain, even whilst they were protesting against cuts,

its borrowing costs were edging higher. In France and Italy, even

with the new government, it too was facing dangers the high interest

rates. The fear of the debt crisis spreading, even to core countries,

will overshadow the meeting between David Cameron and Angela Merkel

when they meet tomorrow. The Labour Leader, Ed Miliband, said today

that the UK's economic worries have reached a turning point and urged

ministers to change direction for the sake of the country. In a

speech today, he defended the previous Labour government's

investment in schools and hospitals but said Labour would have to focus

on further deficit reduction if it won power after the next election.

A man accused of firing two shots at the White House last week has

been charged with attempting to assassinate President Obama or

members of his staff. Oscar Ortega- Hernandez, who is 21 and from Idaho,

was remanded in custody. Neither Mr Obama nor his wife, Michelle, were

in the White House at the time of the shooting. The Burmese pro-

democracy campaigner, Aung San Suu Kyi, is expected to announce

tomorrow that her party - the National League For Democracy -

will stand in upcoming by-elections. It has been a year since the

opposition politician was released after 15 years of house arrest.

Burmese Government restrictions that stopped her party from taking

part in elections were recently lifted. Our world affairs

correspondent, David Loyn, went to meet Ms Suu Kyi in the capital,

Freed from house arrest a year ago this week, Aung San Suu Kyi looks

as though she is running for office. Every time she has tried to stand,

she has been blocked and put under arrest. Her years of seclusion when

she was not allowed to visit her British husband when he was dying.

Listen to her grace when I asked how she coped with the suffering.

have never thought of it as suffering. I find it embarrassing

when people talk of my sufferings. In a situation like ours, people

have died. Nobody alive has the right to complain. Obstacles put in

the wake of Aung San Suu Kyi's party which meant it could not put

up candidates were lifted recently. Reform is coming fast to Burma. It

is the speed at which these reforms are being implemented. It is part

of that that hopefully she will stand in these by-elections and win

for us to the issue goes to parliament with the strength of

their democratic mandate, that will help to transform politics in Burma.

-- and win. This could just be the first Burmese generation for more

than half a century that will not grow up under the cruelty of

dictatorship. There is no doubting the extraordinary affection that

Aung San Suu Kyi is held in here. She is on the eve of making the

most important political decision of her life. That decision is

whether to stand in forthcoming by- elections. Many of her supporters

want to wait and re- register her party until all political prisoners

are released. The leader has made up her mind. But I'm not entirely

sure why people think it is not the right time. On the whole, the great

majority of our people will go in for a re-registration. When you

look at what has happened in the last six months, and particularly

since August, how do you see them are changing? They you are, it is a

change, it isn't it? The BBC is here officially, interviewing me.

You are going out among the people. She told me the new President is a

good listener. The voice of the Burmese people is not suppressed.

David Cameron has condemned said Blatter for saying that racist

comments on a football field could be resolved with a shake of the

hands. Sepp Blatter said races and is not a problem. David Cameron

said his comments were appalling. He has been called on to resign.

The Queen has given her name to a new �1 million prize for

Engineering. It will be awarded every two years and people from

around the world will qualify. It is to encourage new people into the

profession. Organisers hope it will achieve the status of the Nobel

Prize. Our science correspondent reports. As the birthplace of the

Industrial Revolution, Britain was the great pioneer. In everything

from steam travel to dramatic constructions like the Clifton

Suspension Bridge, spanning the Avon gorge. Engineers like Isambard

Kingdom Brunel were leaders in new technology. Logie Baird and the

first television. Recently, British Engineering has slipped from public

imagination. Today, to rekindle that enthusiasm, a rare show of

unity. The Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the

leader of the opposition, launching a new �1 million prize for

Engineering. A photo opportunity to push the message. David Cameron on

the McLaren assembly line. Just the kind of world-leading technology

that Britain needs more of. Is there a risk of another Wimbledon -

- a British contests but never a British winner. I think it is right

to open it to the world. It is about saying something to the world

about Britain's respect for science. Amid all this gleaming high

technology, it is obvious that Britain does have the ideas and

expertise. The problem, a desperate shortage of the people with the

skills to do this kind of work. Just as other countries, China,

Japan and Germany, are forging ahead. The key is attracting new

recruits. Here, a little Formula One stardust to end sues school

children. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton see a model car powered by

a Mousetrap. It is a start to a life in Engineering. I think kids

should take serious consideration of it. You could come and work for

us, for example, which is not a bad job to have. The country that

brought you the Mini and the inventor of the World Wide Web is

trying to get back in the lead. Is that really possible? The leaders

of all three political parties were here today. None of them have a