:00:05. > :00:10.Tonight at 10:00pm: The MI6 officer, Gareth Williams,
:00:10. > :00:12.was "probably unlawfully killed". His body was found in a padlocked
:00:12. > :00:22.bag nearly two years ago. The coroner's verdict is backed by
:00:22. > :00:23.
:00:23. > :00:28.police. It is highly likely that a third party was involved in
:00:28. > :00:33.Gareth's death, and I urge anyone who knows Gareth, who had contact
:00:33. > :00:36.with him, to search their conscience and to come forward.
:00:36. > :00:38.boss at MI6 apologises to the family for the way the service
:00:38. > :00:41.responded to the death. We'll be asking where the police
:00:41. > :00:43.investigation might lead, now the inquest is over.
:00:43. > :00:53.Also tonight: The plight of a Chinese dissident
:00:53. > :00:54.
:00:54. > :00:58.and his family causes turmoil in Beijing. We have a special report.
:00:58. > :01:03.We can see Chen Guangcheng inside, and his wife. She told me he was
:01:03. > :01:05.fine and the two children were there. We are being moved out of
:01:06. > :01:09.the property. More than 2,000 senior civil
:01:09. > :01:12.servants could be using a loophole to reduce their tax bills.
:01:12. > :01:19.The Elysee at stake in the big presidential debate between Sarkozy
:01:19. > :01:29.and Hollande. And an emotional return to Bolton
:01:29. > :01:30.
:01:30. > :01:34.for Fabrice Muamba. Coming up in Sportsday, the pick of the action
:01:34. > :01:44.from tonight's games. There are serious consequence is at the top
:01:44. > :01:55.
:01:55. > :02:00.Gareth Williams - the MI6 officer whose body was found in a padlocked
:02:00. > :02:08.bag - was probably unlawfully killed. That was the coroner's
:02:08. > :02:10.conclusion after considering eight days of evidence. She said
:02:10. > :02:14.fundamental questions about his death remained unanswered and the
:02:14. > :02:16.case may never be solved. There was strong criticism of the police
:02:16. > :02:22.investigation and MI6, as our security correspondent, Gordon
:02:22. > :02:26.Corera, reports. Nearly two years on from the death
:02:26. > :02:32.of Gareth Williams, seen here in his last movements, the central
:02:32. > :02:34.mysteries of how and why the intelligence officer died remain.
:02:34. > :02:39.This police reconstruction, shilling residue of extensive
:02:40. > :02:44.forensic testing, shows how Gareth Williams' body was found in the
:02:44. > :02:49.top-floor bathroom of his Pimlico flat, locked in a bag. But how did
:02:49. > :02:59.he get there? The coroner reached a narrative verdict. Unable to come
:02:59. > :03:06.to a definitive conclusion. But she The police woman leading the
:03:06. > :03:10.inquiry made clear it will continue. The inquest has made several new
:03:10. > :03:13.lines of inquiry and the investigation will now refocus and
:03:13. > :03:17.actively pursued all of the evidence heard and all the new
:03:17. > :03:21.lines of inquiry. Amongst the evidence the court heard, was
:03:21. > :03:25.whether Gareth Williams could have climbed inside the bag himself and
:03:25. > :03:28.padlocked it from the inside. Especially when there were none of
:03:28. > :03:33.the hand prints or footprints around the bath you would expect if
:03:33. > :03:37.he had done so. Experts provided video evidence of their attempts,
:03:37. > :03:41.and one told the BBC afterwards what he thought. I have tried
:03:41. > :03:44.hundreds of times to lock myself inside this bag, and couldn't. Even
:03:44. > :03:54.Houdini would have struggled with this one. Someone else must have
:03:54. > :03:55.
:03:55. > :04:00.been involved. The coroner agreed, But who was that? Why was there so
:04:00. > :04:03.little DNA evidence? Why was a phone wiped just hours before
:04:03. > :04:07.Gareth died? Large amounts of women's clothing were found in the
:04:07. > :04:10.flat, but the coroner said this was probably linked to his interest in
:04:11. > :04:15.fashion. He said a small number of visits to bondage websites were not
:04:15. > :04:20.significant. If not his private life, was his death linked to his
:04:20. > :04:25.role at MI6? Tonight, MI6 said they had co-operated fully with police,
:04:25. > :04:29.and would continue to do so. But nine memory sticks found in
:04:29. > :04:33.Gareth's office were only handed over this week. That was blamed on
:04:33. > :04:38.the specially vetted police, who acted as go-betweens, producing
:04:38. > :04:43.impartiality the coroner questions. There was no evidence, she said,
:04:43. > :04:48.linking the death to Gareth's work. The head of MI6, Sir John Sawers,
:04:48. > :04:51.attended Gareth Williams' funeral. He issued an unreserved apology for
:04:51. > :04:57.the week-long delay in reporting gas missing from his four man team.
:04:57. > :05:02.That delay was crucial -- reporting Gareth missing. It meant that by
:05:02. > :05:05.the Thai police found his body at his flat, it was badly decomposed -
:05:05. > :05:09.- by the time police found. That was abetted by the fact that
:05:09. > :05:14.radiators were turned on, even though it was August. That meant
:05:14. > :05:21.establishing the exact cause of death was almost impossible, with
:05:21. > :05:26.as this created poisoning most likely. -- asphyxiated poisoning.
:05:26. > :05:31.Mugabe it is it was exacerbated by the failure of his employers at MI6
:05:31. > :05:35.-- our view is that it was exacerbated by the failure of his
:05:35. > :05:39.employers at MI6 to look after his welfare. Gareth's tragic death
:05:39. > :05:44.remains unresolved and the coroner said it may never be fully
:05:44. > :05:47.explained. And Gordon is with me here. What
:05:47. > :05:51.are your thoughts on where the police investigation might now
:05:51. > :05:56.lead? Having heard all the evidence, I think it is less clear what lies
:05:56. > :06:02.behind this death and at the outset. There are all his two theories. One
:06:02. > :06:05.that it was linked to his work. -- always two theories. The coroner
:06:05. > :06:08.said there was no evidence for dark arts been involved. The other
:06:08. > :06:12.theory, that it was part of his private life, that some game had
:06:12. > :06:16.gone wrong. Again, the coroner suggested that much of the evidence
:06:16. > :06:19.linked to that was not really significant. The only thing that
:06:19. > :06:23.became clear was that someone else was involved in the death. That
:06:23. > :06:28.will be the focus of the police investigation. What have they got
:06:28. > :06:32.to go on? Some tiny traces of DNA, a few phone records and computer
:06:32. > :06:35.sticks to look at. Today, the police officer in charge made an
:06:36. > :06:39.appeal for witnesses, asking them to search their consciences,
:06:39. > :06:43.perhaps an indication that they think it was some kind of accident,
:06:43. > :06:47.or that something had gone wrong. But that is not much to go on, it
:06:47. > :06:51.is pretty slim pickings, and that is why the coroner said she thinks
:06:51. > :06:54.this case may never be solved. There's growing concern for the
:06:54. > :06:57.safety of a prominent Chinese activist who fled to the US embassy
:06:57. > :07:00.in Beijing a week ago, to escape house arrest. Chen Guangcheng -
:07:00. > :07:04.who's blind - left the embassy today after apparently receiving
:07:04. > :07:08.assurances from the Chinese authorities. But a friend has told
:07:08. > :07:11.the BBC that he left because his family had been threatened. As our
:07:11. > :07:18.correspondent, Damian Grammaticas, reports, the case has led to
:07:18. > :07:23.diplomatic tension between China and the United States.
:07:23. > :07:28.Tempers flared. This was one of Beijing's biggest hospitals this
:07:28. > :07:32.afternoon. Chinese security agents, desperate to keep one of the
:07:33. > :07:37.country's best-known human rights activists hidden from us. At the
:07:37. > :07:41.end of the corridor, in a wheelchair, we glimpsed him. Chen
:07:41. > :07:48.Guangcheng, his leg injured in a dramatic flight to the American
:07:48. > :07:50.embassy last week. Brought here by US diplomats, who negotiated a deal
:07:50. > :07:55.with China for Chen Guangcheng to get medical treatment and be
:07:55. > :08:01.allowed to study free, his safety guaranteed. The so it's our his
:08:01. > :08:08.wife and two children, long held captive by to any security -- the
:08:08. > :08:15.silhouettes are. We have seen Chen Guangcheng and his wife inside. She
:08:15. > :08:20.told the BBC that she was fine. We are being moved out of the hospital.
:08:20. > :08:22.The blind lawyer became an icon of human rights abuses in China after
:08:22. > :08:26.he exposed the way thousands of women had undergone forced
:08:26. > :08:31.abortions. The seven years he was held here, under illegal house
:08:31. > :08:36.arrest. He and his family, beaten savagely, guarded around the clock.
:08:36. > :08:40.Despite his lack of side, he outwitted his guards. -- his lack
:08:40. > :08:50.of sight. Now it appears he has been using -- China has been using
:08:50. > :08:51.
:08:51. > :08:54.This evening, speaking on the telephone, Chen Guangcheng said the
:08:54. > :08:59.danger to his family and children was the reason he had agreed to
:08:59. > :09:03.quit the embassy. The US diplomats say no threat was made. At no time
:09:03. > :09:07.did any US officials speak to Chen Guangcheng about physical legal
:09:07. > :09:13.threats to his wife and children, nor did any Chinese officials make
:09:13. > :09:17.any threat to us, or through us. However, American diplomats did
:09:17. > :09:21.tell Chen Guangcheng that Chinese officials had said his wife and
:09:21. > :09:25.children would be sent back to his village if he stayed in the embassy.
:09:25. > :09:29.State television said American's hope for Chen Guangcheng had been a
:09:29. > :09:34.totally unacceptable interference in China's affairs, and demanded an
:09:34. > :09:39.apology. The US has said there will not be won. Hillary Clinton is now
:09:39. > :09:44.in Beijing for a scheduled talks with China's leaders. On a host of
:09:45. > :09:47.major issues, America has to work with China. When it is the state of
:09:47. > :09:52.-- state of the global economy or stopping the bloodshed in Syria.
:09:52. > :09:57.Tonight, from his us put it, Chen Guangcheng said he now fears being
:09:57. > :10:01.kidnapped and incarcerated again. He doesn't trust China's assurances
:10:01. > :10:04.and he appealed for help, saying his family want to leave China.
:10:04. > :10:07.As many as 2,000 senior civil servants could be exploiting a
:10:07. > :10:11.legal loophole to reduce the amount of tax they pay, according to the
:10:11. > :10:14.findings of a BBC investigation. The revelations emerged from a
:10:14. > :10:17.Government audit, set up after it was confirmed that the chief
:10:17. > :10:22.executive of the Student Loans Company had set up a company to
:10:22. > :10:31.receive his income. BBC Newsnight's Peter Marshall has this exclusive
:10:31. > :10:34.report. The tax arrangements of the head of
:10:34. > :10:38.the Student Loans Company, Ed Lester, caused a row this year when
:10:38. > :10:42.the BBC revealed he was being paid by the government through a private
:10:42. > :10:47.company, allowing him to reduce his tax bill. Now seems over 2000 other
:10:47. > :10:50.public servants, earning and isn't that -- minimum of over �58,000 a
:10:50. > :10:53.year, are doing the same, not paying tax at source. The
:10:53. > :10:58.information has come to light in a letter from the Treasury Secretary,
:10:58. > :11:02.Danny Alexander, to the chancellor, George Osborne. Mr Alexander, who
:11:02. > :11:08.signed off on Ed Lester's arrangements, suggests he is
:11:08. > :11:12.shocked by the scale of the off pay roll deals. He wants board members
:11:12. > :11:16.and senior officials to be compelled to go on staff. He wants
:11:17. > :11:21.to seek assurances on the tax details, for anyone engaged for
:11:21. > :11:27.more than six months or more than �220 a day. He wants it all brought
:11:27. > :11:31.in within three months. Faced with the eighth League tonight, a
:11:31. > :11:36.Treasury adviser told us, at least we are doing something -- faced
:11:36. > :11:41.with the League tonight. It's as dynamic and decisive from a cabinet
:11:41. > :11:44.which has caused tax avoidance morally repugnant. Intelligent --
:11:44. > :11:50.which has called tax avoidance. They could be biting off more than
:11:50. > :11:58.they could chew. Alastair Kendrick, a former tax inspector, said it
:11:58. > :12:03.would cast millions. -- cost millions. On a population of 2000,
:12:03. > :12:08.it gives �16 million. If we were looking at an average of �70,000,
:12:08. > :12:13.for instance, that National Insurance cost may go up to �24
:12:13. > :12:19.million. That is without taking into account pensions, holiday pay
:12:19. > :12:22.and various statutory employee rights. The dangers is if it is not
:12:22. > :12:26.handled correctly, recouping lost tax could cost the company a
:12:26. > :12:30.fortune. And you can see Peter Marshall's
:12:30. > :12:32.full report on Newsnight tonight at 10:30 on BBC Two.
:12:32. > :12:35.Members of the Immigration Services Union - which represents 4,500
:12:35. > :12:40.Border Agency staff - are to hold a one-day strike on Thursday next
:12:40. > :12:44.week. They're joining thousands of other civil servants in the walk-
:12:44. > :12:46.out, in protest at the Government's plan to increase the retirement age.
:12:46. > :12:49.Ministers, who are already dealing with complaints about long queues
:12:49. > :12:54.at Heathrow, say they have contingency plans to deal with the
:12:54. > :12:57.disruption. The board of directors of News
:12:57. > :13:01.Corporation has tonight said it has full confidence in Rupert Murdoch
:13:01. > :13:03.as chairman. The backing comes a day after the highly critical
:13:03. > :13:08.report by MPs into phone-hacking, which stated that Mr Murdoch wasn't
:13:09. > :13:18.fit to run an international company. The board said he had "demonstrated
:13:19. > :13:20.
:13:20. > :13:24.resolve" to address the mistakes highlighted by the report. Cardinal
:13:24. > :13:27.Sean Brady, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, said he
:13:27. > :13:32.will not resign, despite allegations that he fell to protect
:13:32. > :13:34.a number of children we had been sexually abused by a priest. A BBC
:13:34. > :13:38.investigation has found that Cardinal Brady had the names and
:13:38. > :13:47.addresses of individuals abused by Brendan Smyth during the 1970s, he
:13:47. > :13:52.did not pass them on to their Father Brendan Smyth abused
:13:52. > :13:59.children across Ireland for 40 years. It wasn't until 1994 that he
:13:59. > :14:02.was finally jailed. Could he have been caught sooner? Should the man
:14:02. > :14:07.who is the head of the Irish Catholic Church have done more to
:14:08. > :14:12.stop him? Back in 1975, when Cardinal Brady was a young priest,
:14:12. > :14:15.records show that he and a number of colleagues met one of Father
:14:16. > :14:21.Smith's victims, Brendan and Ireland. He was an altar boy and he
:14:21. > :14:27.said he told police -- priests that he was being abused and that other
:14:27. > :14:32.children were only at risk from Father Smyth. As a boy from Belfast,
:14:32. > :14:36.I gave him my name and address, there was a girl who gave her name
:14:36. > :14:39.and address, I gave another boy's name and address. There is no
:14:39. > :14:46.evidence that the parents of these children or the police were
:14:46. > :14:50.contacted. The BBC documentary team asked him about the revelations.
:14:50. > :14:56.You had names and addresses of children who were being abused, who
:14:56. > :15:02.at risk of being abused Andy did not protect them. -- and you did
:15:02. > :15:06.not. Today, he gave an explanation. He said his role in 1975 had been
:15:06. > :15:12.to gather evidence for more senior members of the Church to act upon.
:15:12. > :15:18.He said he was sorry they did not do more. At all times, I was doing
:15:18. > :15:22.my utmost to make sure that the evidence was produced and brought
:15:22. > :15:27.to those who could stop him. that explanation was not good
:15:27. > :15:31.enough for many abused victims. knew whether those parents had been
:15:32. > :15:36.contacted or not. He had free will. He should have had a conscience,
:15:36. > :15:40.and he did not act, and on those grounds, he should not be there any
:15:40. > :15:45.longer, he should not be leading our church. The pressure is
:15:45. > :15:49.building. It is known that Cardinal Brady has considered resigning. But
:15:49. > :15:59.tonight, it is being made clear he is staying on. And it has also
:15:59. > :16:12.
:16:12. > :16:18.emerged that the Church will not Coming up: Simply stunning! Spurs
:16:18. > :16:26.are edging closer to Champions League qualification. They played
:16:26. > :16:34.Bolton tonight. In Egypt, at least 20 people have been killed and 100
:16:34. > :16:40.injured in violent clashes in Cairo. Demonstrators were attacked as they
:16:40. > :16:44.protested. Our correspondent sent this report. Egypt's Revolution to
:16:44. > :16:50.send back into violence, just as the country moves hesitantly
:16:50. > :16:55.towards democracy. In the early hours, thugs attacked a sit-in by
:16:55. > :17:00.opposition supporters outside the defence ministry. Nobody knows who
:17:00. > :17:08.the attackers were. The strong suspicion was that someone in power
:17:08. > :17:12.wanted to intimidate the opposition and chaos in the run-up to the
:17:12. > :17:17.presidential elections. Opposition supporters showed us spent
:17:17. > :17:22.cartridges and bullet cases they said were fired at them in what
:17:22. > :17:28.they say is an unprovoked attack. People here are peaceful protesters.
:17:28. > :17:33.They do not do anything. Some people from the other side are
:17:33. > :17:38.attacking them. People protesting here do not do anything. Through
:17:38. > :17:43.the morning they rushed in the casualties. A makeshift field
:17:43. > :17:51.hospital struggled to cope. The injuries were brittle - the scale
:17:51. > :17:56.of the violence shopping - against what was a relatively small
:17:56. > :18:00.demonstration. Four people came in with head injuries and may die
:18:00. > :18:05.straightaway. Three others died while they were being brought here.
:18:05. > :18:10.-- they died. It was several hours before Army and police moved in to
:18:10. > :18:20.restore order. Someone in a sorry to seemed prepared to turn a blind
:18:20. > :18:26.eye. Tonight, waves of protest marchers seemed to be arriving in
:18:26. > :18:30.the area. It has not deterred protesters. The crowds have been
:18:30. > :18:37.flooding in. They said they are determined to protect the
:18:37. > :18:45.revolution and end military rule in Egypt. As the presidential election
:18:45. > :18:50.approaches, there could and probably will be many more battles
:18:50. > :18:54.ahead. In the US, Newt Gingrich has confirmed he is spending his
:18:54. > :18:59.campaign to be the party's candidate in the presidential
:18:59. > :19:06.election in November. He said he would be backing Mitt Romney in the
:19:06. > :19:09.race for the White House. It leaves Ron Paul as the only alternative
:19:09. > :19:14.contender. Tomorrow morning, polling stations will open in
:19:14. > :19:20.England, Scotland and Wales for the local elections. There are
:19:21. > :19:25.thousands of seats at stake. The results will be examined in detail
:19:25. > :19:31.on the coalition government, which is two years old this month. Jeremy
:19:31. > :19:38.Vine explains what is at stake tomorrow. Let me show you the map
:19:38. > :19:44.of England. Regal colour in all the councils in the colour of the
:19:44. > :19:49.parties that controls them. -- we will colour. This is Birmingham. It
:19:49. > :19:54.is coloured black because it has no overall control. No single party
:19:54. > :19:59.big enough to take power. Portsmouth on the south coast, a
:19:59. > :20:04.speck of Orange, can the Liberal Democrats hold off their opponents?
:20:05. > :20:08.In Scotland, all that councils are coloured black because so many are
:20:08. > :20:14.hung. Let me ask the computer to show us the largest party and that
:20:14. > :20:19.becomes much clearer. Independents are stronger in the north-west. The
:20:19. > :20:23.Liberal Democrats in orange. Labour is very strong in these dense
:20:23. > :20:32.combinations across the middle of Scotland and the Conservatives in
:20:32. > :20:38.blue in the south. In Wales, all but one council is up. Down in the
:20:38. > :20:45.South, much less wet them there would have been saved 10 years, 15
:20:45. > :20:49.years ago. -- read than there would have been. Last year, if we look at
:20:49. > :20:53.the graph, I will show the percentages the parties would have
:20:53. > :21:00.got if the elections have taken place across the whole country.
:21:00. > :21:06.Labour would be in their lead, 36%. The Conservatives would be a strong
:21:06. > :21:11.second, 35%. A terrible results for the Liberal Democrats come as 16%
:21:11. > :21:17.and the others, 13%. This is better than the Conservatives had feared
:21:17. > :21:25.and not as good as Labour might have hoped. There are other
:21:25. > :21:32.elections, for example, London Mayor. Boris Johnson got votes in
:21:32. > :21:41.the suburbs. Plus, at the London assembly. 25 seats. This is how
:21:41. > :21:46.they work the range last American zest -- contested. Across England,
:21:46. > :21:52.in 11 different places, there will be elections on whether people want
:21:52. > :21:58.a mayor. The really big thought, how much of this book can the
:21:58. > :22:04.Conservatives hang on to given that when these seats were last won in
:22:04. > :22:06.2008, they were in a very strong position? The two contenders in the
:22:06. > :22:09.French Presidential election have clashed tonight in a televised
:22:09. > :22:12.debate, just days before the country votes in the decisive run-
:22:12. > :22:14.off. Nicolas Sarkozy repeatedly accused his socialist rival of
:22:14. > :22:17.lying during an exchange over economic policies. Francois
:22:17. > :22:26.Hollande said it was time for a President who could revive the
:22:26. > :22:32.country. Gavin Hewitt watched the debate in Paris. What was your
:22:32. > :22:39.sense of the main exchange, especially on the economy? Well,
:22:39. > :22:45.this debate was scrappy. It was bad tempered. Let me teach you
:22:45. > :22:50.something, said President Sarkozy at one Point. Let me assure you,
:22:50. > :22:57.you can teach me nothing said Francois Hollande. They both
:22:57. > :23:04.accused each other of lying. President Sarkozy said, it is alive,
:23:04. > :23:11.it is alive, it is alive. Francois Hollande said, you want to protect
:23:11. > :23:17.the privilege. As we understand it, the debate is still going on. Will
:23:17. > :23:22.it have swung many votes ahead of the big round on Sunday? I do not
:23:22. > :23:26.think either candidate so far has delivered a knockout blow.
:23:26. > :23:33.President Sarkozy is behind at the moment. He really needed to come
:23:33. > :23:37.out ahead. What he has been trying to do is show up the lack of
:23:37. > :23:42.experience of Francois Hollande and go up to his spending plans. He
:23:42. > :23:49.said if he put them into office with than the debt for France would
:23:49. > :23:57.go through the roof. My impression is it has been very bad tempered. I
:23:57. > :24:02.do not think either candidate has seen off the other. Fabrice Muamba,
:24:02. > :24:07.the footballer who collapsed during a game in March, has attended his
:24:07. > :24:13.first game since his discharge from hospital. He returned to the Reebok
:24:13. > :24:18.Stadium to watch his team against Tottenham Hotspur. Our sports
:24:18. > :24:23.correspondent has this report. Barely six weeks ago, it would
:24:23. > :24:27.scarcely have seemed possible. Fabrice Muamba striding into Bolton
:24:27. > :24:33.into the most poignant of homecomings. He thanked the medical
:24:33. > :24:39.staff who had helped to save his life. Just before kick-off came the
:24:39. > :24:46.spine-tingling entrance. 47 days after that night, the emotion for
:24:47. > :24:54.the fans, his watching wife, but most of will for the man himself,
:24:54. > :24:57.was plain to see. Tears flowed as the stadium echoed to his name.
:24:57. > :25:03.Muamba seemed overwhelmed. His message to those who had supported
:25:03. > :25:10.him was plain and simple. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank
:25:10. > :25:17.you for your support. Thank you to the whole country. The support has
:25:17. > :25:23.been overwhelming. I'm just grateful that I can walk again, I
:25:23. > :25:28.can do things normally again. A message will be, thank you. Muamba
:25:28. > :25:35.said he wished he was playing tonight. Instead he had to watch
:25:35. > :25:40.his team-mates struggle as Tottenham went in front. After the