09/03/2012 BBC News at Ten

Italy condemns as inexplicable Britain's decision not to give

advanced warning of the failed hostage rescue. Briton Chris

McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara were both killed when

special forces tried to free them in Nigeria. New pictures have

emerged of the house where the men were kept and evidence of the

battle to free them. The Foreign Secretary tries to defuse the row.

We were able to inform the Italian government as the operation got

under way, but not to do more than that.

And tonight, Mr Hague and the Italian Foreign Minister have met

to discuss the operation. Also in the programme:

Greece is set to receive its second bail out as private investors agree

to bear massive losses. The MP Eric Joyce pleads guilty to

assaulting four politicians in a Commons bar. It is a matter of

considerable personal shame what happened a couple of weeks ago. I

have been duly punished today. I have been lucky to avoid prison.

The widows of Osama Bin Laden arrested in Pakistan - the Taliban

threatens new attacks unless they're released.

Players at Rangers Football Club agree to pay cuts of up to 75% to

save the club. And Rebecca Adlington qualifies for

2012 - will she repeat her two And coming up in Sportsday, joy and

pain Ford Jessica Ennis. She thought she had won pentathlon gold

at the World Indoor Athletics Good evening.

The Italian president has condemned as inexplicable Britain's failure

to inform his country before it launched a rescue attempt that led

to the deaths of two men being held hostage in Nigeria. David Cameron

authorised the raid by British special forces and Nigerian troops

yesterday after receiving intelligence that Chris McManus,

from Oldham, and Italian Franco Lamolinara were in imminent and

grave danger. This evening the Foreign Secretary and his Italian

counterpart met and held talks about the operation. Our security

correspondent Gordon Corera reports. The bullet holes are evidence of a

fierce and bloody battle. A battle that took place in this residential

compound in north-west Nigeria, as British and Nigerian forces tried

and failed to rescue two hostages. Chris McManus, from Oldham, and

Italian Franco Lamolinara had been held for 10 months by a violent Al-

Qaeda link to sell. Italy's president today it asked why his

government had not been consulted before the raid.

TRANSLATION: The behaviour of the British Government in not informing

Italy is inexplicable. Political and diplomatic clarification is

necessary. Britain's Foreign Secretary was in Copenhagen and

tried to provide clarification. had to make a decision very quickly

to go ahead with this operation. We had very limited time. That

constrained how much we were able to consult others. We were able to

inform the Italian government as the operation got under way, but

not to do more than that. So, why did it happen so quickly? The

Nigerians confirmed the hostages' location after arresting a suspect

two days ago. But then came fears that the kidnappers had been

alerted to a possible rescue, with intelligence that this left the

hostages in danger of being moved or killed. Under pressure, the

Prime Minister authorised the raid yesterday morning and then informed

the Italians. The British Special Boat Service went in first in a

daylight raid, killing one gunman as they entered. But they found the

hostages had already been murdered by the time they reached them.

was a fleeting opportunity to extract two people whose lives were

very much at risk anyway. We have been tracking this since May of

last year. Some outstanding intelligence work identified their

location and the opportunity had to be grabbed them and there. Today,

Chris McManus' former colleagues paid tribute to the 28-year-old

from Oldham. My reaction was devastation. Chris was a really

good individual, a good team player. We are distraught that this has

happened at this stage. Chris McManus' family have said they

believe everything that could be done had been done, but the tragic

death of the two hostages has led to questions in Italy about whether

it had to end this way. Gordon is with me. How serious is

this row with the Italians? William Hague met with his Italian

counterpart at a summit in Copenhagen tonight. They issued a

joint statement, urging the sharing of information about what had

happened and committing themselves to the fight against terrorism.

That is a sign that they want to calm the waters. There was

certainly anger in Rome. The media talk about a slap in the face and

speculated as to whether Britain had not told Italy because of fears

it might be soft on kidnappers and more willing to pay ransom and --

are more willing to pay ransom than to undertake risky missions.

British officials have indicated that was not the case and they had

to make a snap decision to launch the rescue mission under fears that

they knew the net was closing in. They also said that they had

consultation with the Italians in the run-up and it was clear that a

rescue mission was a possibility. If the mission had ended in success

I do not think they would be questions about when the Italians

had been informed. But it tragically ended in failure.

However, I think both governments were now be seeking to calm the

waters around this. Greece looks certain to receive its

second enormous bail out, after a decision by private investors to

accept losses of more than half the value of their holdings of Greek

government debt. The deal, the biggest of its kind in decades, was

greeted enthusiastically by European governments. But in a

fresh development tonight, the investors' losses have triggered a

multi-billion euro insurance payout, as Hugh Pym reports.

It is an important step for Greece, although it is not the end of a

saga that has seen riots on the streets and fraught negotiations

with Europe's political leaders. Private investors will see the

value of their holdings of great debt slashed in a planned process

unprecedented in modern times. -- Greek debt. The deal with investors

wipes out a chunk of that government's debt burden.

TRANSLATION: This agreement we have reached with the private sector is

excellent. It is an historic day for Greece, for the Greek

parliament, for the Greek people and for the national economy.

how far does the deal with private creditors go to help Greece to

balance its books? Private institutions and individuals hold

206 billion euros of the debt. They have agree to take losses which

will cut that to 101 billion. That leaves 162 billion euros of other

debt held by European authorities and the IMF. And total Greek debt

is still projected to be at least 120% of GDP by 2020. And with that

burden hanging over a weakening Greek economy, some experts think

the country will struggle to pay back the loans. At the moment,

economic output increase is in freefall. They have been in

recession for four years and they will be for at least another year

or two. This is why Greece needs investment, structural reforms, to

really get economic output going. Without that, you are unable to pay

back any amount of debt. The German Finance Minister was urging caution.

Wolfgang Schaeuble has said that Greece had a clear opportunity to

recover but it would be a big mistake to give the impression that

the crisis had been resolved. One part of the Greek DEC drama is

being played out that officers in the City of London. -- debt drama.

There has been a meeting today to try to work out whether insurance

payouts will have to be made, with investors who have lost money on

Greek debt able to claim back from other financial institutions. They

have decided those payouts will have to be made, although possibly

totalling only a few billion euros. Another reminder that the Greek

financial crisis is not over yet, although a significant milestone

was passed today. The latest employment figures from

the United States show that nearly 250,000 jobs were created in

February. Employment has now been rising for six months. President

Obama said today the economy was "getting stronger". But the

unemployment rate remains unchanged at just over 8%, with more people

registering to find work. The MP Eric Joyce says he was lucky

to escape jail after pleading guilty to assaulting four

politicians in a bar at the House of Commons. A court heard how the

member for Falkirk head-butted a Tory MP, attacked two Conservative

district councillors and then turned on a Labour MP. He's been

banned from entering a pub but he can still enter the House of

Commons. Here's our Political Correspondent Ben Wright.

Politics and drink can be a combustible combination. This was

Eric Joyce heading into court, the MP and former Army major who set

upon drinkers in a House of Commons bar last month. He pleaded guilty

to four charges of assault in a late-night brawl that witnesses

said was like a scene from the Wild West. The court heard accounts of

flying fists, upturned tables and chaos. Eric Joyce had been drinking

and looked possessed and completely out of it, according to one witness.

After shouting, there are too many Tories in this bar, the former

Labour MP told police officers that he head-butted someone. If people

said I was Hammad, that was probably true, he said. He shouted

at police, you can't touch me, I Eminem P. Stuart Andrew is the

Conservative Member of Parliament he head-butted. -- I am an MP.

is a matter of considerable personal shame what happened a

couple of weeks ago. I have been duly punished today. I have been

lucky to avoid prison. He was spared a custodial sentence but

given a 12 month community order and fined �3,000. He told the

magistrate he would draw a line under his drinking. Drink was an

aggravated -- an aggravating factor. That is something I have to deal

with personally. Not everyone who drinks gets involved in fights,

certainly not when they are my age. It was clearly a combination of

alcohol and a tendency towards being physically aggressive that I

have to deal with as well. Eric Joyce has also been banned from

bars and pubs for three months. Although there are plenty of

watering holes in parliament, heavy boozing by politicians has dropped

away in recent years. The MP who was head-butted by Eric Joyce said

the case raises the issue of how well the Commons looks after MPs in

difficulty. Eric Joyce will not contest the next election and

Labour sources say he will soon be expelled from the party.

The Department for Work and Pensions says it's investigating a

new allegation of fraud at the welfare to work company A4e. Last

month, the boss of A4e, Emma Harrison, stepped down as the

Government's "family champion" after it was revealed that police

were investigating allegations against former employees. The

company handles millions of pounds' worth of Government contracts for

schemes to help people back into work.

Britain's three biggest banks have revealed exactly how much they are

paying senior staff in salaries, bonuses and other incentives. The

chief executive of Barclays earned �6.3 million last year, but two

others at the bank actually got more. The Royal Bank of Scotland

and Lloyds, largely owned by taxpayers, also disclosed their top

The high-rolling, big paying City of London. Today, we found out the

level of the awards which were paid to top executives. All paid less

than last year, but they were substantial sums. The American Bob

Diamond, at Barclays, is receiving rewards of �6.3 million in total.

One of his senior colleagues, who has not been named, is getting more.

Over at the World Bank of Scotland, Over at the World Bank of Scotland,

the rewards of the chief executive, Stephen Hester, are... That's

somewhat less than his colleague. As for Lloyds, its chief executive,

Antonio Horta Osorio, has a package worth... He waved his bonus after

taking time off for extreme exhaustion. Of the three banks,

Barclays was the most generous payer, with seven executives

receiving �5 million or more. At Royal Bank of Scotland, only one

banker earned anywhere close to that for 2011, Ellen Alemany. But

eight of its bankers earned more than �2 million each. The Treasury

says it shows that RBS is responding to government pressure,

but the pay is controversial but the pay is controversial

because RBS is 82% owned by taxpayers. The Chancellor and the

Prime Minister have given various promises that they would curb

excess and use their power as a shareholder in RBS to make sure

that responsibility is being exercised. People will be entitled

to question that today. Stephen Hester waved his �1 million bonus

in January, under extreme pressure from politicians and the media. One

influential City figure, who created a large financial firm,

warns that the British economy would be damaged if people like

Stephen heft there were driven to work abroad. -- people like Stephen

Hester. We have to ask ourselves whether we really do want great

international banks and financial companies headquartering themselves

in London, making a �63 billion a year contribution to the

Exchequer's income, or whether we would like to kill the golden goose

and chase them all out. The bank of Scotland was today found guilty by

the Financial Services Authority of taking crazy risks in the period up

to 2008, before it was bought by Lloyds, which will reinforce the

views of those who say that the pay-off bankers rose to much in the

boom years. Coming up tonight - how life has changed for the children

of the Japanese tsunami, living with the daily danger of radiation.

In Pakistan, Taliban militants are threatening to carry out new

attacks if the three widows of Osama Bin Laden are not released by

the authorities. The country's Interior Minister has told the BBC

that the women will be put on trial in the next few days, and could

face up to a year in prison for entering the country illegally.

They were taken into custody, with nine of their children, when the

Al-Qaeda leader's compound was stormed last year, and are now

under house arrest in Islamabad. From there, Orla Guerin reports.

Than we went in search of Bin Laden's widows. There is

speculation that this house is where they are awaiting trial. This

is the youngest, born in Yemen, and injured in the raid which killed

Bin Laden last May. Since then, she and the other wives have been kept

well away from the media. The house is just up ahead. Local people say

there has been heavy security in the area for the past week or so.

They say they have never seen anything like it. When they asked

what was going on, they were told some VIP needs protection. They say

they have not seen anybody come out of the house since then. We are

from BBC TV, we wanted to speak to the family inside the house. It is

not allowed? If they are here, visitors are not welcome, but

Pakistan's Interior Minister told us they have plenty of home

comforts. The house is like a five- star hotel. There is proper bedding,

a kitchen, food, I even allow them TV. I got a TV screen for the kids,

I also sent some games for them. is a far cry from the spot and

compound where the world's most wanted spent his final days, and

where he was becoming delusional. That's the claim made by a retired

Pakistani brigadier was given where access to the compound, and, he

claims, to transcripts from the interrogations of the wives.

Apparently he was suffering from some degenerative disease. It was

physically debilitating, and mentally, he was becoming

prematurely senile. He was obviously not capable of running

Al-Qaeda any more. He was more of a hindrance than help to anybody.

compound has been demolished, but many questions remain. The

Brigadier Hi! Bin Laden was in the country since 2002. He also says

Pakistan's official investigation will be a whitewash. Players at

Rangers football club have agreed a pay cut of up to 75% to try to save

the club from administration. The administrators said this major

sacrifice by the players would prevent substantial job losses

amongst other staff. James Cook is at Ibrox. Does this safeguard the

future of the club? It simply buys them time, rather than securing its

future. The administrators said they needed to save �1 million a

month, simply to keep the club going until the end of the season.

Tonight they announced that they had reached that target, after the

players agreed to these wage cuts, which, as you say, are up to 75%

for the highest earning stars, although they will still be on

substantial sums of money. It took a week of negotiation to reach this

deal, but the administrators admit Beatty's only a short-term solution.

-- it is only a short-term solution. This has saved the jobs of other

people at the club, and we recognise the football staff are

paying a heavy price for the greater good. It is to the eternal

credit of the players and the management that they have sought to

find a solution which helps protect the fabric of the club. Interested

bidders now have until next Friday to come up with their offers for

the club, and prove they are serious about those of us. Tonight,

a consortia it said it was interested in bidding for the club,

but only, it said, if it could be agreed that it would not go into

liquidation, and that a deal could be struck with the creditors, not

least the taxman, and it has to be said, that is a pretty big if. One

year after the tsunami struck Japan, new documents suggest its

government knew that the Fukushima nuclear power plant was facing

meltdown just hours after it was hit by the flood wave. Ministers

feared it would be worse than the Chernobyl disaster, and the scale

of the crisis was kept secret for months. So far it has cost Japan

$130 billion. Radiation is still preventing 100,000 people from

returning home. Our correspondent Damien Grammaticas has been back to

see how life has changed in two communities close to Fukushima. You

cannot see it, but absorbed by the trees, the radiation threat is all

around us. So, from this point on, everybody had to evacuate. Nobody,

says the professor, from this point on. One year ago, this place was

home to 6,000 people. Today, it is too radioactive to live here. Now,

Japan's government wants to clean up not just this place, but several

thousand square kilometres of contaminated land all around Iitate.

Nothing like it has been done before, not even like that -- not

even in the Chernobyl disaster. Nobody really knows whether a place

like this can be made fit for humans to live in again. The

professor is trying to workout how to find and remove all the caesium

which was spewed out by the disaster, and spread over an area

several times the size of Greater London. Its radiation will last

longer than a human lifetime. TRANSLATION: The Government says it

will decontaminate everywhere, but it is a huge area, I don't think

they can do it. It will cost a colossal amount. Fukushima's

reactors are still fragile, so many people are fearful to live in the

shadow of the nuclear plant. Just 15 miles from it, the new Ikea

stews and zone extends. -- of the nuclear exclusion zone extends.

Five centimetres of soil is being removed. More radioactive particles

keep falling from the trees. At the Haramachi Saiidi nursery school,

they now take radiation readings every day, and then claim the

playground, before the children are allowed out to play, all wearing

masks. The school is one of the few places that has been completely

decontaminated. A counter installed in the playground shows radiation a

little above normal, but within safe limits.

TRANSLATION: They have cleaned up our Nursery and playground, that's

all. We cannot even take the children out of the front gate. Our

life is limited to these tiny spaces. So, even when levels are

low, many parents will not bring their children back here. Living

with radiation is a risk they do not want to take. Newsnight will be

discussing the future of nuclear power one year on from Fukushima at

10:30pm on BBC Two. Rebecca Adlington became a household name

when she won two gold medals at the Beijing Olympics four years ago.

Tonight she has qualified to compete in London this summer for

both of arrogance. But there's a whole host of other British

swimmers also pushing for Olympic glory. -- both of her events. Our

correspondent reports from the aquatic Centre, in Stratford. She

makes it all looks so simple. Once again, Rebecca Addington left her

rivals trailing in her wake she qualified with ease for her second

event at London 2012, the 800m freestyle. So pleased, my goal was

to qualify for the two events. I did not have any targets, time wise.

To get those two times, I am so pleased. Just knowing that I'm

going to be Games, it is the best feeling in the world. Rebecca

Adlington was one of the stars of Beijing. I'm sure she will be in

London, too. But when it comes to potential British swimming

medallists, these days, she is far from alone. It has been an

outstanding week for a number of our top competitors. One after the

other they have showed their Olympic potential. Hannah Miley, 21

years old, winner here in the 400m individual medley, a silver

medallist at the World Championships last year. Liam

Tancock, 26, one of the world's finest backstrokers. Already, world

champion, now aiming to be Olympic champion. 20-year-old Ellen Gandy,

impressive winner of the 200m butterfly. A silver medallist at

the World Championships. And she in particular has a real chance of

becoming one of the stars of Team GB this summer. Any medal would be

brilliant, but a gold medal would be the best thing. I always had

dreams that maybe the Queen would present the medals at the Olympics.

It would be great. Earning a place on top of the podium will be far

harder for our swimmers this summer, but there's real optimism that this

will be their year. British swimming is in a fantastic place,

probably the best it has been in for a long time. Particularly the

women's team, we have had four ladies going for two spots in many