17/01/2012 BBC News at Ten

Tonight's ten: More bodies are found in the wreck of the Italian

cruise ship the Costa Concordia. The news comes as the cap tain

peers in court. He could face charges of manslaughter and

abandoning his post. The plight of passengers is shown in night vision

images, as a new tape reveals the We'll have the latest as the

salvage operation is set to begin tomorrow. Also tonight: Ed Miliband

provokes more union anger by saying public sector workers should accept

pay cuts to protect jobs. leading this party and making the

difficult decisions. If people don't like it, I'm afraid it's

tough. The extremist cleric Abu Qatada can't be deported from

Britain, because of a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.

All the pre-Christmas sales helped to bring down inflation. The

biggest fall for nearly three years. I want anybody out there on TV to

know it, I am the greatest. Still the greatest - worldwide tributes

as Mohammed Ali celebrates his 70th birthday.

In sport on the BBC News Channel: England need quick wickets on day

two of the first test against Pakistan, after an inspired

Good evening. Another five bodies have been discovered in the wreck

of the Italian cruise ship which ran aground on Friday night. It's

thought there are still 24 people unaaccounted for. As the captain

appeared in court on suspicion of multiple manslaughter, an audio

tape emerged in which port officials can be heard ordering him

to return to the ship to oversea the -- oversee the evacuation.

In the darkness, scared and disorientated, they moved in their

hundreds, down the side of the ship, each one dwarfed by the Costa

Concordia as it lay listing. Past the cash in the ship's hull, where

the water flooded in. At round about the same time, this

astonishing conversation was taking place between the ship's captain

And here is the captain, Francesco Schettino, the focus of police

inquiries, man handled from court today, he's now under house arrest.

Many here believe it was his actions alone that caused this

disaster. His lawyer says not. captain defended his role on the

direction of the ship after the collision, which in the captain's

opinion saved hundreds if not thousands of lives. They blew small

holes in the side of the vessel to get better access. One priority -

secure the ship's fuel supply. Inside the ship divers have to

struggle through the debris, through the tables and chairs, all

that remains of this supposed trip of a lifetime. From above, it

looked peaceful today, but inside, in the darkness, bodies still float

along flooded corridors. We've just been told that they've discovered

five more bodies inside the ship, four men and a woman. Although the

rescuers here say that they still hope to find survivors, that is now

looking increasingly unlikely. More than 20 people are still believed

to be missing. Among them Gerry and Barbara Hyle, a retired couple,

parents of four from Minnesota. And five-year-old Dianna Arlotti, her

father, who failed to make it ashore, had taken her on the cruise

as a special treat. And somewhere, in the cold, dark vastness of this

ship, she's waiting to be found. Rescue teams returned this evening,

no sign of survivors. Another anxious, sleepless night for the

families of the missing. Matthew Price with that report there.

Now the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, says that public sector workers

should be prepared to take cuts in their pay, if it's necessary, to

save their jobs. His previous support for a cap on public sector

pay had already infuriated the unions, with one union leader

saying Labour's stance would lead to certain election defeat. Mr

Miliband has been explaining his approach to our political editor,

Nick Robinson. Is he fighting the Government's

cuts or backing them? That's the question the unions are now asking,

after Ed Miliband backed cuts to public sector pay. Today, the

leaders of two of the biggest unions turned on him, in a leaked

letter the GMB's Paul Kenny's said it's the most serious mistake they

could have made. The Tories must be rubbing their hands with glee. Len

McCluskey wrote, "It seems we'll now be fighting the Labour

frontbench as well as the Government." I say prioritise jobs

over pay. You know it's happening in businesses all round this

country, Nick. Employers, working with unions often, are making those

difficult decisions to say, well, we're going to have lower pay rises.

We'll have a stall in pay to protect the workforce. That's what

people are experiencing. That's what local councils are doing.

Miliband's local Labour-controlled Council in Doncaster haven't just

frozen pay, they've cut it by 4% for staff not working in schools,

earning more than �15,000 a year. Up until now, he's refuelsed to

comment on the idea of pay cuts to save jobs. But today he did. Would

you urge public sector workers agree to pay cuts to save jobs?

We're talking about a pay increase limited to 1%. Absolutely. The

priority now has to be to preserve jobs. That's a recognition that

everybody would see, all round the country. We've got to do everything

we can to preserve employment. This Labour Party is going to face up to

the difficult choices swre to make. In his Doncaster constituency there

are worries about the gnaw proch of their man in Parliament. Labour --

this new approach of their man in Parliament. Labour should be

fighting tooth and nail to make sure the cuts don't happen. They

are supposed to be for the working class people. They're not at the

minute I don't think. The Labour leader stands accused of abandoning

those who opposed the cuts, who he marched with and spoke to last year.

Tough, he says. I'm leading this party and making the difficult

decisions F people don't like it, I'm afraid it's tough. I think

there are people out there who are confused - are you against the

Government's cuts or are you now saying that you're in favour of

them? We oppose the cuts now, but it would be irresponsible three

years from a general election, for us to start making specific

promises about what cuts we would reverse. Tough choice number one -

pay cuts. The question is : Will it prove too tough for his party to

swallow? The European Court of Human Rights

has ruled that a Muslim cleric, once described as Osama Bin Laden's

right-hand man in Europe, can't be deported to Jordan. It ruled that

Abu Qatada would not receive a fair trial if evidence obtained by

torture was used against him. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, said

that he will remain in custody while the Government considers its

options. Our home affairs correspondent, June Kelly, has more

details. Abu Qatada has been described as a

truly dangerous individual and is said to have advocated killing Jews

and attacking Americans. In a BBC interview in the weeks after 9/11,

he praised Osama Bin Laden. TRANSLATION: Bin Laden, in the

image I have of him, that is the image of a Muslim man who defends

the causes of his nation against its enemies. It should be supported

by every Muslim. I would describe Abu Qatada as an individual who

poses a very significant threat to the United Kingdom. I base that on

a number of reasons, not just material that in the public domain.

In his native Jordan he's been convicted of involvement in two

terrorist plots. Today the European Court said there was a real risk

that evidence obtained by torture in these cases would be used

against him and that's why he should not be sent back there.

have the European Court of Human Rights saying that it know that's

torture takes place in Jordan. It understands that the evidence that

would be put if front of a court for a trial, for Abu Qatada, would

be potentially the product of torture, so he shouldn't be

returned because he won't get a fair trial. Seven years ago, the UK

signed an agreement with the Jordanians under which they

promised that terrorist suspects, returned to them, would not be ill

treated. The European Court has accepted these assurances that Abu

Qatada himself would not have been tortured. It's this part of today's

judgment which concerns Human Rights Act vists and which is seen

as legally significant. They've left the way open for future

deportations and extraditions even where there would be otherwise

strong grounds to think the person would be tortured. When it comes to

Abu Qatada for the immediate future, he'll be staying here at Long

Lartin stop Stuart jail in Worcestershire. For a decade now

Abu Qatada has been locked in a battle with ministers here at the

Home Office as they have sought to detain and deport him. Today the

Home Secretary, Theresa May, said she was disappointed by the

European ruling, but stressed this was not the end of the road and

said the Government would be considering all the possible legal

options. An appeal to Europe's highest court could be one avenue.

But in the legal saga surrounding Abu Qatada, the options for the

Government are diminishing. More than 4,000 jobs in the Army,

RAF and navy are to go in a second round of cuts. Ministers say that

they're necessary to try to balance the defence budget. The Army will

lose 2,900 posts. The RAF would lose 1,000. While the navy would

suffer a loss of 300 jobs. The bulk of today's losses will be felt by

the Gurkhas. They'll see 400 job losses in a brigade which is 3,500

strong. Cheaper petrol and pre-Christmas

sales in the shops have contributed to the biggest fall in the rate of

the inflation for nearly three years. The consumer prices index

dropped to 4.2% in December from 4.8% the previous month. The figure

is still well above the Government's target of 2%, but it

is expected to continue falling in the coming months. Our chief

economics correspondent, Hugh Pym, reports now.

The cost of living was accelerating, inflation hit 5.2% as recently as

last September. Since then it's been falling back and after a shop,

dropped to 4.2% in December. Here's one of the reasons. Debenhams and

most retailers have been cutting prices to try to bring in customers.

And the company says with consumers facing another challenging year,

more discounts are likely. It is a difficult environment. There's a

cautious outlook from a consumer point of view and as a retailer. As

such, prices will be coming down through a range of promotional

activity that we have planned throughout 2012. A key factor in

December was clothing and footwear prices down 2.8% on the month.

Alcohol and tobacco fell by 1.5% over the same period. Shoppers were

paying more for food and soft drinks, up 1.4% last month.

Inflation may be coming down but it's well above average pay rised

and more than double the Bank of England's target rate of 2%, so

consumers may not feel like celebrating just yet. Some may feel

their budgets are still under severe pressure. Do you fancy a

snack? Gary Stonehouse knows all about the squeeze on the family

budget caused by cost of living increases. He's reduced what he

spends on holidays and trips with the children. We've really had to

start cutting back in the last year or so, where we've noticed a big

increase in the cost of everything, where we've had to look at how much

we're spending because the money's They will be quietly satisfied here

at the Bank of England, falling inflation makes it easier to

justify pumping out more money to boost the economy, if the bank

wants to do that. It certainly opens the door for the the Bank of

England to print more money to stimulate the economy again. Many

are expecting the bank to be printing more money in February, to

announce more measures there, it looks like these numbers are

playing in line with what they were expecting.

Some energy companies announced price cuts last week, that should

help bring inflation down further, which is what most economists

expect over the next few months. Coming up tonight: The birthday

tribute to the man who is still known as The Greatest. I am going

to prove I am the greatest, I am going to prove to you I am the

greatest, I am going to prove to the world I am the greatest. This

is my last fight! Please come to the theatres! I am going to eat raw

meat and train and get get ready. The editor of The Sunday Times has

admitted that one of his journalists called Abbey National

pretending to be Gordon Brown to obtain details about the former

Prime Minister's finances. John Witherow confirmed that the paper

blagged information from the bank, but he argued that the story was in

the public interest. He was one of the figures giving evidence today

to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards. The editor of Private

Eye, Ian Hislop, also appeared, as Nicholas Witchell reports.

He is best known for the TV quiz have I got news for you, for 25

years he has been editor of Private Eye, exposing theantics of the rich

and powerful, today he came to the Royal Courts of Justice where he

has often been sued as libel, not as a defendant but as a witness.

The first witness today is Mr Ian Hislop. He told the inquiry that

News International had felt it was untouchable over phone hacking,

partly because of the unhealthy proximity between press Barons and

leading politicians. If you are the editor of a Murdoch paper and see

the Prime Minister is organising a slumber party for the proprietor's

wife at Chequers. Oh, presumably that gives you unbounded confidence

to do whatever you like. Or if the Prime Minister appoints an ex-News

of the World editor to be his communications director, you must

think well, we're top of the pile. What could stop us? From The

Guardian, the paper which broke the phone hacking story came its editor,

Alan Rusbridger. He said that the Metropolitan Police had tried to

persuade him not to run the story. There were two occasions where very

senior Met officers came to see me in effect to try to talk me out of

the story. From the Sunday Times came its editor, John Witherow, he

was asked about the subterfuge used by the paper to obtain details of

Gordon Brown's finances. someone on your behalf pretend to

be Mr Brown to blag that information? Yes. He said the story

had clearly been in the public interest. With one exception, all

the national newspaper editors have given evidence now and all of them

in their different ways have been opposed to the idea of new laws

which try to curb the way the press behaviours -- behaves. Tomorrow the

inquiry moves on to celebrity magazines and regional newspapers.

The coalition Government has narrowly avoided defeat in the

House of Lords on changes to the benefit system. Disability living

allowance is received by around two million people, but ministers want

to reduce spending on it by 20%, by changing the rules. Our deputy

political editor, James Landale, is in parliament tonight.

Does this mean that the controversial set of reforms is on

its way through? Not quite yet. The Bill is having and continues to

have a rough time in the House of Lords. Last week the Government

suffered three big defeats over plans to cut sickness benefit.

Tonight the focus was on disability lifing allowance. The Government

wants claimants to be assessed more rigorously and often. That could

mean cuts for up to half a million people and they are cuts that

opponents say are unfair and are being rushed. Tonight they tried to

delay this measure. They didn't get the numbers out, so they lost by 16

votes. But the Government's not out of the woods yet. There's a big

vote next week on plans to limit the amount of money that any one

family can claim in benefits each year, about �26,000. That's a vote

the Government could lose. The key point is this: Ministers appear

willing to have this fight. Yes, they may be criticised by people

losing benefits, they may have trouble in the House of Lords, but

Ministers believe that more people out there believe they're right,

that the welfare Bill is too big and it must be cut and they

certainly seem determined to do that. Thank you.

Italy's Prime Minister, Mario Monti, will meet David Cameron in Downing

Street tomorrow for talks on the euro debt crisis. Mr Monti, who was

appointed to the job without an election after Silvio Berlusconi

resigned, will arrive just days after his country's own credit

rating was downgraded. Our Europe editor Gavin Hewitt looks at the

risks of budget cuts at a time when the Italian is economy is slowing

down sharply. Head to Rome and witness one of the

big battles of the eurozone crisis. Italy is a country with large debts,

120% of GDP. It has fallen to this man, Prime Minister Mario Monti, to

make budget cuts of 20 billion euros. He is Silvio Berlusconi's

successor, and unelected. In this country petrol taxes have gone up.

The retirement age for women is up, pensions frozen and Mario Monti's

economics team know austerity is a risk, when it shreu heading into

recession. Do you accept there are risks involved in this austerity

programme at this time? Yes, I do. You do. It will be a nonsense to

say there are not. So it's obviously true that the squeeze we

are doing on disposable income of houses is putting them under stress

but they will be under much higher stress if permanent income had been

killed by some troubles in the the financial market. Away from the

capital, and that risk is immediately apparent in places like

Rieti. Factories threatened with closure, workers outside,

unemployment rising. These are among those laid off. I don't know

what future I am able to give to my daughters because we have two

daughters, and actually we don't work so they have to stop study.

Even successful companies, like this one making solar panels, fear

the impact of austerity at this time. The need to reduce spending

by Government is jeopardising somewhat even the healthy parts of

the industry. Italy is trying to ignite growth by opening up closed

professions, from taxi drivers to pharmacists, but it's meeting

resistance. TRANSLATION: We are willing to change but we

want a real opportunity for work, not just splitting every job we do

between two people, or there is a risk both of us will lose out.

drivers went on a wildcat strike today. The Government has accepted

there could be a backlash against its plans. It didn't help that the

bank of Italy said the economy would contract by almost 1.5% this

year. So, Italy finds itself locked into

a gamble. Even a senior official at the IMF warned that embracing

austerity at a time of recession risks countries being dragged into

a spiral of collapsing confidence. Earlier this evening, the Duke of

Edinburgh carried out his first official engagement since his

treatment over Christmas for a heart condition. A warning that

there's some flash photography in the images coming up.

The Duke, who's 90, attended a fundraising dinner at Cambridge

University. He was successfully treated after suffering chest pains

on Christmas Eve. His fighting record of 56 wins, 37 knockouts and

five losses speaks for itself. In retirement, his dignified bearing,

despite the onset of Parkinson's disease has easterned him even

greater respect around the world, today, Muhammad Ali was marking his

70th birthday. David Bond reports. Muhammad Ali and his pomp, fast,

brave and brash. Even in the early days before he was world champion,

it was clear he was different. Happy birthday to you...

This is Ali at 70, back in Louisville, Kentucky, to celebrate

his birthday this weekend. Physically diminished by

Parkinson's disease, but still displaying the same courage.

Courage is only part of the legend. He won the world title three times

and confirmed his place in boxing folklore with epic contests like

The Rumble in The Jungle, but he was also an entertainer. One more

time who is the champ of the world? I can back up every word and I want

everybody out there to know it. My only fault is I don't realise how

great I really am. Not everyone saw the funny side.

His conversion to Islam and support for civil rights activists like

Malcolm X, divided opinion. His refusal to fight in Vietnam was

equally controversial. The world needs a lot more Muhammad Alis to

be outspoken, tell it as it is and brave. He had the package, he was

the boss. He was the King. It's now more than 30 years since

Muhammad Ali retired from the ring. And yet, he is still an

inspirational figure to anyone in boxing. At 70 remains the greatest

sporting icon of our age. Young boxers are still in awe of

him. For this group from a club in south London watching just a few

minutes of a classic Ali fight is enough to leave them mesmerised.

is one of the biggest icons in boxing. He inspires loads of people.

I might get a chance to watch some of his fights and pick up so much

straightaway. Lighting the Olympic flame in at at -- at la at that in

96 showed the world his determination. It took guts to

carry that flame up that ramp. The courage that he showed as an older

man struggling with Parkinson's was a different kind of, and perhaps a

greater courage, than he showed as a young man. Moment Ali has spent

his lifetime defying expectations. His 70th birthday is another

example of why he remains for many The Greatest.

Just time for a quick update on our main story, the Italian cruise ship

and operations going on there. Our correspondent is on the island of

Giglio. We were talking about a salvage operation, does that mean

they've completed the search? quite, but rescue officials have

told us that they have almost inspected all of the ship that

remains above the water line. There is still a lot they haven't managed

to inspect below the water line. I spoke today to specialist cavers,

divers who are experienced who have been brought in and they have been

talking about the very difficult and dangerous conditions they're

working in, going down narrow corridors in almost total darkness,

feeling their way past the objects floating. I think that search will

take a long time to complete. I think the main message coming out

of here this evening is that really the hope of finding more survivors

is fading quickly indeed. The salvage teams are expecting to

start work tomorrow. I spoke to the representative from the company

that is dealing with the fuel problem, trying to get that off the

ship. The good news from here he doesn't think there is danger of

fuel leaking into the water. Then this complex question of how on

earth you begin to think about moving this ship.