07/03/2012 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at 10pm: The Taliban are blamed for the deaths of six

British soldiers in a single explosion in Afghanistan.

At the scene Afghan soldiers fired at insurgents, as the men's bodies

were recovered. Here at the British base in Lashkar Gah, the shock that

such a heavily armoured vehicle was destroyed, with so many men lost

four. The attack means more than 400

British troops have died during the ten years of the Afghan war. It is

a reminder of the huge price we are paying for the work we are doing in

Afghanistan fourth --. We'll be looking at the biggest single loss

of life due to enemy action of the conflict.

Also tonight: Fears for the future of 1,700 people with disabilities

about to lose their jobs at Remploy factories.

Guilty. The three men behind a fraud scheme that swindled

investors out of more than �100 million.

And man and the great apes. A new study of what makes us uniquely

human. In BBC London,... Administrators

say it is pay cuts of or damaging Good evening. A large Taliban bomb

is being blamed for the worst British loss of life due to enemy

action of the Afghanistan conflict. Six soldiers were killed when their

armoured vehicle was caught in an explosion in southern Afghanistan.

Five were serving with 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment.

The other was from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.

The soldiers were travelling north to Lashkar Gah when the explosion

happened just over the Helmand border in Kandahar province.

Quentin Sommerville reports from Lashkar Gar.

At the base in Lashkar Gah, the flags fly at half mast, marking a

landmark British loss. Six of their comrades gone, killed in a single

explosion. The size of the loss left most in this camp in shock.

The feeling in your gut is that this is the sickening blow but one

thing I have learnt over the years is that these young soldiers are

incredibly tough and resilient, through the grief, and it is right

that they grieve, and we all do, but in many ways it makes their

resolve even stronger. This site around the wreckage was quickly

secured by British troops. The force of the explosion left the

vehicle barely recognisable. The gun turret and caterpillar tracks

landed over 100 metres away. We travelled along this road before.

Highway 1 is the country's main road. It and its surrounding areas

are notoriously dangerous. The six British soldiers were travelling

along this route. They were on what was described as the routine patrol.

It was twilight as they approached the area where they left the road.

It is a common tactic. They were travelling in a Warrior. The

Warrior is heavily armoured but the explosion was still able to cut

into its underbelly. The wreckage of the vehicle and the remains of

the men have now been returned to base. Initial assessments appeared

to indicate that this was a very large Taliban bomb, which was

extremely well placed. One officer told me this is not a change in him

surging tactics, it is just a rotten luck. David Cameron paid

tribute. It is a reminder of the huge price that we are paying for

the work we are doing in Afghanistan, the sacrifice that our

troops have made and continued to make. I do believe it is important

work from our national security at home, but this work will

increasingly be carried out by Afghan soldiers and we all want to

see that transition take place. Warminster is the home of the

Yorkshire Regiment. There, the stock to honour the dead. It is

where five of the six soldiers served -- they stop. In Afghanistan,

they are handing over control to Afghan forces and most British

troops will leave by the end of 2014. Today that seems like a long

way off. Even though Britain's part in this war Chris Small, they will

continue to fight alongside Afghan soldiers and sacrifice their lives

for a far-off country -- Britain's part in the war grows smaller.

The loss of life today brings the death toll among British troops in

Afghanistan to 404 since operations began, raising questions once again

about Britain's role there. Caroline Wyatt looks at how these

latest deaths might affect the campaign.

11 of the dead were just 18. The oldest was 51. Each death leaves

behind a family whose life is changed forever by the loss. The

toll of the dead went up slowly at first after British forces went to

Afghanistan after 9/11, but in 2006, when British troops went to Helmand,

the numbers of dead and injured soared in a conflict that has

lasted longer than the two world wars combined. The US sent in

reinforcements in 2009, eventually helping to bring down the level of

casualties, but the fighting and the dying in home and continues. So

will the latest losses changed the fourth's tactics and British

strategy? -- change the force's tactics? It has an effect on all of

us but it does not reduce our resolved to get this right. We are

confident we can, progress is be made in ways I never thought

possible. The process of handing over responsibility to Afghan

forces is under way. The UK has 9500 troops in Afghanistan but that

will start to fall. British forces are due to finish their combat role

by the end of 2014, although some will stay on to train their

counterparts. The task for British forces in Helmand remains powerless,

perhaps even more so when the numbers start to come down, but the

government insists the UK must see this through. They are fighting in

the desert of Afghanistan a battle to ensure that we are not fighting

be terrorists on the streets of Britain's cities. -- fighting the

terrorists. But many will ask what it is that Britain and the rest of

the airlines really hope to achieve in Afghanistan by the time the

troops withdraw. The objective for Britain and the other allies in

Afghanistan is to leave behind some sort of sustainable Afghan

administration, so that whatever happens next is the responsibility

of the Afghans themselves. rising toll of the dead is not the

only price that has been paid. More than 5,000 service people have been

injured and will have to live with that bitter legacy and tonight,

there will be more questions in many people's mindss about what has

been achieved, and whether the sacrifices are worth it.

More than 1,700 people with disabilities face losing their jobs,

after the government announced the closure of most of the Remploy

factories for disabled workers. The government has cut its support,

saying there are better ways to help. The move is supported by some

campaigners but union leaders say it is an attack on vulnerable

people. Jeremy Cooke reports from one of the factories ear-marked for

closure in Wrexham in North Wales. It is the end of the shift. It

feels like the end of the line. The Wrexham Remploy factory is one of

dozens being axed. The government says the money saved will help of

thousands of disabled people into mainstream workplaces. And here it

means more than 30 job losses. is very hurtful because I have made

a lot more friends, I have so many friends here, and it just hurts.

You do get bullied in mainstream employment because of your

disability and it will be hard for these people. There of 40 people in

there. Hopefully they will find them work but they already have a

job, so why move them? Remploy's state subsidised factories were

founded after the second world war to provide work for injured

servicemen. This government clearly sees them as inefficient,

unaffordable, ready to be consigned to history. Amid outrage from

unions and the opposition, the Disability Minister defended the

decision. I believe the strategy better fit their needs and

aspirations of disabled people in the 21st century, and a more equal

world, where disabled people participate fully in the mainstream.

Access to work, needs for a job. 1700 people tonight do not know

were there in three months' time they are going to have one!

dozens of people here, and for 1700 in the country, the closure is a

devastating blow, and yet many charities say that places like this

are not the answer. That there are better ways to get disabled people

into work. For every one person that is funded by subsidising a

loss-making factory, we can get at least eight people into employment,

so what this is about is more jobs are for more disabled people.

what exactly is the scale of the cuts? In total, 36 of the UK's 54

Remploy factories will close. The government argues a 320 million-

pound budget for disability employment can be spent more

efficiently. Annually, Remploy factories make a loss of �70

million, with each employing the subsidised to the tune of �25,000 a

year. The government has promised to help find new jobs for Remploy

workers but today, that was of little comfort at the factory gate.

The United Nations' most senior humanitarian official, Baroness

Amos, has visited the Syrian city of Homs. She briefly entered the

Baba Amr quarter, which she said had been completely devastated and

was almost devoid of people. The International Red Cross is still

being denied access to the area. The government has been defeated

three times in the House of Lords tonight over plans to cut legal aid

payments in England and Wales. Peers voted to protect free legal

advice and representation for people seeking to challenge

benefits cuts. They also backed a demand for retaining expert reports

in clinical negligence cases. The government wants legal aid to be

focussed on criminal cases. Three men will be sentenced

tomorrow over a scam that defrauded investors, including sports stars

and celebrities, of more than �100 million. One of the men had already

pleaded guilty to deceiving investors. Today a jury cleared two

others of that offence but found them guilty on lesser charges. Matt

Prodger reports. They appeared to be financial

wizards but the only trick was making people's money disappear.

Londoner Kautilya Pruthi admitted being the mastermind, a career

fraudster, once jailed in America. Kenneth Peacock and John Anderson

were found guilty of lesser offences. They spent the money

renting these luxury homes. They travelled to meetings by helicopter,

and one of them even bought a private jet. These cars seized by

police are some of the few remaining assets to be recovered

from a massive scam. John Anderson told investors they were putting

money into a loan business, but police found no evidence of it. He

and his co-defendant were cleared by a jury of misleading investors

but found guilty of unlawfully accepting deposits. People's lives

have been devastated, they have lost homes, pension funds, and

people in the later stages of their lives are having to start again and

face decisions they would not have to face. From this office in

Knightsbridge, nearly 800 people were persuaded to part with their

money, promised returns of up to 20% a month. Among the victims were

former cricketer Darren Gough, seen here on Strictly Come Dancing a few

years ago, the actor and singer Jerome Flynn... What the investors

did not know was that it was a massive Ponzi fraud scheme. The

mastermind, Kautilya Pruthi, would take money from new investors and

use it to pay out to existing investors. He then squandered the

rest on his lifestyle. When new investors dried up, his scheme

collapsed, owing �150 million. Bevis Nathan and his partner lost

nearly half-a-million pounds. All the money they had. I was naive and

ignorant because I had good friends who said it was a good idea and I

trusted them and because it was perfect timing, and I didn't really

trust the high street banks and know what to do with my money

because I have never invested before, so I was perfectly set up

for the job, as it were. The men behind the scheme will be sentenced

tomorrow morning. Less than �3 million of the money is expected to

Coming up, how halal meat has become one of the main items on the

menu of the French presidential campaign.

The Republican presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, is looking more like

his party's candidate tonight after winning six out of the 10 Super

Tuesday contests. They included a wafer-thin victory in the crucial

battleground of Ohio. Many in the party still have misgivings about

their front one her. -- front runner.

The somewhat stiff billionaire is a runaway winner, on paper at least.

But he gained snow bounce from his Winning is a grind, not a breeze.

Tomorrow we wake up and we start again. The next day, we do the same.

So we go, day by day, step-by-step, door by door, heart to heart.

Appealing to republican hearts, one candidate after another, has been

the hope of Conservatives as the anti Romney. Christian conservative

Rick Santorum is the standard- bearer of the right, attacking Mitt

Romney first past the post credibility. We need a person

running against President Obama who is right on the issues and truthful

with the American public. That message appeals in rural America.

It is places like Hillsborough in a hire that mean Mitt Romney cannot

seal the deal. -- in Ohio. In places like this, they pit their

politicians as carefully as they choose their cattle. The

agricultural economy is booming. Issues like abortion and gay

marriage have become surprisingly important in this election. I have

done voting for economics, I am voting for values. I don't think

you can never be too conservative, especially in this day and age.

There is a new, almost militant mood. For Karen, the priority is

choosing a white -- right-wing firebrand, even if it means putting

of voters to lose next November. That is a chance I am willing to

take. I don't want a halfway. I want the whole enchilada, I don't

want halfway. Hillsborough's Republican mayor is not your

average politician. He has been a stand-up comedian for 22 years. He

says people want something different, they are not happy with

the choice they have. We are looking for Clint Eastwood and

Ronald Reagan, wrapped up in one, to come walking up and there he is,

it is a slam dunk. And there isn't that guy, so we have Rick Santorum.

Despite the misgivings, it was important for Mitt Romney to win

this state. He is inching towards victory but it is a hard slog,

against the mood of many in his party.

The former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Lord Blair, has told

the Leveson inquiry that more effort could have been made to

investigate phone hacking had he been better briefed. The inquiry

also heard that the police were pressurised to end an investigation

into parliamentary Blix. The report contains flash photography.

-- parliamentary leaks. Sir Ian Blair was commission of the

Metropolitan Police in 2006, when the original phone hacking inquiry

took place. After two people were convicted, commissioner Blair's Met

dropped the inquiry. He accepted that evidence about the large

number of hacking victims was simply ignored. At that stage, I

did not ask the question which now looks so obvious, as to how many

other people there were. Fast forward to 2009, when the then

assistant commissioner John Yates decided not to reopen the

investigation. Mr Yates gave evidence to the Leveson inquiry

that he had friendly contacts with a number of journalists. Do I

believe that John Yates took that decision in order to placate News

International? Know. But Lord Blair said the perception was a damaging

one. It is very difficult, not to put these two situations together

in terms of the failure to investigate, and the levels of

contact, and not see a reference between them. The inquiry also

heard how Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News

International, was lent a Metropolitan Police force after

attending a lunch with the then commissioner. Lord Blair said he

had no recollection of the discussion and Mrs Brooks kept the

horse for two years. -- lent a Metropolitan Police horse. The next

witness to give evidence was former assistant commissioner, Bob Quick.

He revealed how John Yates had refused to have his own -- his own

records analysed when he was carrying out the cash for this

inquiry. The reason he gave was that he was very well connected.

Then there was the arrest, in 2008, of the Conservative MP David Green.

He is now a government minister. Then, he was suspected of receiving

leaked documents from the Home Office and kissed office -- his

office was raided. There was pressure to abandon the operation.

I detected that had an impact and I detected a change in attitude

towards the operation on a -- the part of one or two colleagues. And

real anxiety and fear about what was going around them. According to

Bob Quick, the Met's then acting commissioner Paul Stevenson became

so concerned, he thought he might have to resign, though that has

been denied. The administrators of Rangers

Football Club have warned that unless they can find a buyer

quickly, the Scottish Premier League champions may not be able to

finish the season. The company brought in to rescue the club

confirmed that a potential deal, under which the players would have

had to accept wage cuts to avoid being made redundant, had fallen

through. The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has said they are

too many foreigners in France, and pledged to halve the number of

immigrants arriving, if he is re- elected next year. His comments

come as the presidential election campaign is already overshadowed by

a row about French identity. Christian Fraser's report contains

some flash photography. He tried to ignore him, even tried

to belittle him, but now the French President must face the threat

posed by the Socialist challenger. In recent days, the President has

changed tactics, veering to the TRANSLATION: our system of

integration is not working, we have too many foreigners. No longer can

we find them accommodation, a job, a school. The reason for the change,

Marine Le Pen. The leader of the far-right resurgent National Front,

who is taking his votes. Amid debts, the two party are fighting on the

most curious campaign issue. The sale of halal and kosher meat. In

both Islamic and Jewish cost -- custom, the animal is slaughtered

by slitting the throat while it is still conscious. Marine Le Pen

claimed, wrongly, that all consumers in Paris were unwittingly

eating meat in the Muslim tradition. Mr Sarkozy sent out his prime

minister, who said that was not -- that was absurd. He also suggested

Jews and Muslims rethink their outdated traditions. Today, he was

paid a visit, by the head of the Jewish community. TRANSLATION: We

don't want this debate over ritual slaughter hijack for election

purposes. We won the political parties to leave us out. -- we want

the political parties for stopping 2007, President Sarkozy proposed a

series of debates on French identity, a scheme that was

scrapped. Now trailing in the polls and desperate to poach boats from

the far right, identity and immigration are firmly back on the

agenda -- to poach the votes. Mr Sarkozy has never shied away from

tough issues, the ban on the full fleece -- faced veil for example.

If he wants to win, he has to take the majority of those votes to vote

for the National Front. If Marine Le Pen bows out in the first round,

there are no assurances her supporters will switch to Mr

Sarkozy. The French President has picked a battle, fighting for a

blue-collar, working-class vote. Those who think their jobs and

values are under threat. Scientists have deciphered the

genetic code of the gorilla, which may help explain why they are so

similar, and yet so different from us humans. They say they hope to

understand the genetic mutations that led human beings to develop

They are one of our closest relatives. They are sociable and

live in communities. And in the distant past, humans were little

different from coroners -- from guerrillas. Hundreds of thousands

of years ago, we think we are very similar, in that we lived in small

social groups, probably in Africa. At some point, humans developed

language and art. We don't know what that spark was. Behavioural

studies in the 1960s show that fellow apes were intelligent.

Chimps, in particular. They can solve problems and use simple tools.

They can even put on a show. But of course, humans can do much more. So

what happened in the distant past that enabled our species to rise

above fellow apes? It could be down to genetics. The DNA of humans and

other apes is practically the same, around 98% identical. But somewhere

in our jeans, tiny differences that enabled our species to stand up

right, develop bigger brains and crucially, learn how to think.

can put... Researchers in Cambridge have to go to the DNA of guerrillas.

Now, for the first time, they can compare our DNA with that of all

the other eight, and discover the changes that made our species

unique. -- the other apes. Among those are the changes which allow

Einstein to come up with the feeling -- theory of relativity, or

Shakespeare to write Romeo and Juliet. I couldn't put my finger on

which are the key changes now, but I think through this study and

others being carried out, we are making process in understanding --

progress in understanding the genetic processes behind evolution

and it is exciting. Humans separated from guerrillas 10

million years ago, much earlier than scientists first thought.

Something in that their genes prevents them from suffering from

dementia, something that could help medical researchers from -- to find

a cure for senility. The ultimate prize would be to discover what it

is that makes us so different from them for.

Argentine Lionel Messi has proved again why he is rated the best

footballer in the world. Tonight, the Barcelona forward became the

first player to score five goals in a Champions League game as the

Spanish side thrashed by a Leverkusen 7-1. Barcelona are on

track for a third Champions League final in four years by cruising