11/06/2012

:00:11. > :00:15.Gordon Brown and George Osborne at the Leveson Inquiry. Both distance

:00:15. > :00:18.themselves from Rupert Murdoch. The former Prime Minister contradicts

:00:18. > :00:22.Mr Murdoch's evidence, saying he never declared war on his

:00:22. > :00:26.newspapers. I am shocked and surprised that it should be

:00:26. > :00:31.suggested, even when there is no evidence of such a conversation,

:00:31. > :00:37.that it happened. There was no such conversation. Then the Chancellor.

:00:37. > :00:42.He denies taking sides in News Corporation's bid for BSkyB. I did

:00:42. > :00:47.not have a strong view about its merits, because as far as I could

:00:47. > :00:50.see, it was just going to cause us trouble one way or the other.

:00:50. > :00:56.will be assessing the political impact of today's evidence.

:00:56. > :01:02.Also tonight: The market gave a thumbs down to the Spanish bail-out,

:01:02. > :01:06.forming back after early gains. Back to basics. New proposals to

:01:06. > :01:10.shake up the primary school curriculum in England.

:01:10. > :01:17.A hospital is flooded. There is disruption on the roads and homes

:01:17. > :01:25.are wrecked as nearly one month's rain falls in 24 hours.

:01:25. > :01:30.Steven Gerrard! And a bright start for England against France in their

:01:30. > :01:36.first match of Euro 2012. The car in up later on the BBC News Channel,

:01:36. > :01:46.I will be here with Sportsday and full reaction to the draw against

:01:46. > :01:59.

:01:59. > :02:01.Good evening. Gordon Brown and George Osborne both appeared at the

:02:02. > :02:07.Leveson Inquiry today and both men have been distancing themselves

:02:07. > :02:11.from Rupert Murdoch and his media business. The former Prime Minister

:02:11. > :02:14.flatly contradicted evidence given under oath to the inquiry by Mr

:02:14. > :02:19.Murdoch, claiming he never made an angry call in which he declared war

:02:19. > :02:24.on his companies. Later it was the Chancellor who denied any undue

:02:24. > :02:29.influence over the bid for BSkyB. Nick Robinson reports.

:02:29. > :02:34.Two men who agree on almost nothing, who both tried hard to woo the

:02:34. > :02:39.Murdochs. Today insisting on oath they had been much less close to

:02:39. > :02:43.the media moguls than the evidence might suggest. Gordon Brown and

:02:43. > :02:46.Rupert Murdoch were once so close that their children played together.

:02:46. > :02:52.Today the former Prime Minister accused his former friend of lying.

:02:52. > :02:56.This call did not happen. This threat did not get made. I cannot

:02:56. > :02:59.be unbalanced in a call that I did not have. That in reference to a

:02:59. > :03:07.phone call he was alleged to have made when the Sun newspaper turned

:03:07. > :03:12.its back on him before the last election. He said, well, your

:03:12. > :03:16.company has declared war on my Government. And we have no

:03:16. > :03:19.alternative but to make war on your company. Here is another reason

:03:19. > :03:23.Gordon Brown might have wanted to do that. The Sun newspaper claimed

:03:23. > :03:28.the family were happy to reveal that their baby son was seriously

:03:28. > :03:35.ill. I ask you if any mother or any father was presented with a choice

:03:35. > :03:39.as to whether a four month old son's medical condition, your

:03:39. > :03:42.child's medical condition, should be broadcast on the front page of a

:03:42. > :03:46.tabloid newspaper, and you have a choice in this matter, I don't

:03:46. > :03:50.think there is any parent in the land that would have made that

:03:51. > :03:55.choice that we are told we made. That contradicted evidence given by

:03:55. > :03:58.another former friend of Gordon Brown, Rebekah Brooks, the chief

:03:58. > :04:02.executive of News International. Why did your wife in particular

:04:02. > :04:11.remain good friends with Mrs Brooks, to the extent of arranging her 40th

:04:11. > :04:15.birthday party at Chequers? I think Sarah is one of the most forgiving

:04:15. > :04:19.people that I know. It was not the only moment of awkwardness in court

:04:19. > :04:25.73. Others came when he denied any knowledge that his spin-doctors had

:04:25. > :04:29.ever briefed against ministers or plotted to remove Tony Blair. He

:04:29. > :04:34.said it was the Murdoch desire to dominate the media that made them

:04:34. > :04:40.turn on him. They wanted to buy BSkyB, of course, but also changed

:04:40. > :04:44.the whole nature of the BBC, chained Ofcom, chained impartiality

:04:44. > :04:48.rules that Ofcom. -- change of calm and impartiality rules. The problem

:04:48. > :04:53.was that the Conservative Party went along with all of that and we

:04:53. > :04:57.would try to defend the public interest. The target of that attack

:04:57. > :05:02.arrived with his response ready. George Osborne said only a real

:05:02. > :05:08.fantasist could believe that the coalition had a secret plan to do

:05:08. > :05:11.the bidding of the Murdochs. claim is that there is some vast

:05:11. > :05:15.conspiracy where the Conservative Party knows before the general

:05:15. > :05:22.election that News International wants to bid for more of Skye. That

:05:22. > :05:25.we signed up to some deal in return for their support, endorsement by

:05:25. > :05:29.the Sun newspaper, and then when we get into office we hand over BSkyB.

:05:29. > :05:35.That is what the previous person at this inquiry has emerged this

:05:35. > :05:39.morning. It is complete nonsense. And as for the �8 billion attempt

:05:39. > :05:45.to take over BSkyB, the Chancellor claimed he had no view on it the

:05:45. > :05:49.tall. I regarded the whole thing as a political inconvenience that we

:05:49. > :05:54.just had to deal with and the best way to deal with it was to stick it

:05:54. > :05:58.under process. Inconvenient, too, was the man that George Osborne

:05:58. > :06:02.hired as Tory spin doctor, Andrew Nicholson, could never escape

:06:02. > :06:07.questions about phone hacking when he was editor at the News of the

:06:07. > :06:11.World. -- Andy Coulson. You came a personal friend of Andy Coulson, is

:06:11. > :06:15.that right? Yes, I remain his friend but sadly I cannot speak to

:06:15. > :06:24.him for a year. George Osborne and Gordon Brown, both men with good

:06:24. > :06:28.reason to regret getting so close to the Murdochs, both men with good

:06:28. > :06:33.reason not to say so. Where does this leave the two men

:06:33. > :06:36.tonight? They will not thank me for saying so, because after rule

:06:36. > :06:41.Gordon Brown and George Osborne are united in one thing, they hate each

:06:41. > :06:49.other. They have the same problem, the problem of credibility about

:06:49. > :06:53.the version of events they have given to the Leveson Inquiry. When

:06:53. > :06:56.George Osborne said he did not know what his spin-doctors were up to,

:06:56. > :07:01.it was greeted by incredulity in and out of court. When George

:07:01. > :07:04.Osborne said he scarcely ever discussed the Murdochs' media

:07:04. > :07:08.ambitions with them, and when he went on to say it was irrelevant

:07:08. > :07:14.that Andy Coulson had once worked for News International, that was

:07:14. > :07:18.also greeted with doubt outside court 73. Tonight the two men, who

:07:18. > :07:23.both share one other thing, I love and passion and interest in news

:07:23. > :07:27.and headlines, will disagree on this. Gordon Brown may be pleased

:07:27. > :07:31.that he has taken the news headlines, but George Osborne in

:07:31. > :07:34.this case will agree with him, that he has got it horribly wrong. The

:07:34. > :07:41.Government will be relieved if this story is about Labour and not about

:07:41. > :07:46.them. Thank you. The multi-billion pound they are

:07:46. > :07:49.out for Spain's banks has failed to rally world markets as gains in

:07:49. > :07:52.Europe and the USA were reversed when investors grew concerned about

:07:52. > :07:56.the consequences of the bail-out and the stability of other

:07:56. > :08:00.countries in the eurozone. As Robert Peston explains, there are

:08:00. > :08:04.big questions about which country will be next in line.

:08:04. > :08:11.Greece, the first eurozone domino to tumble in 2010, followed by the

:08:11. > :08:15.rescue of Ireland, then Portugal, Greece again and now Spain. It is

:08:15. > :08:18.went investors and markets lose confidence in the ability of a

:08:18. > :08:23.Government like Spain to repay its debts that there is the humiliation

:08:23. > :08:33.of being bailed out by other eurozone countries. It is intended

:08:33. > :08:33.

:08:33. > :08:37.to be a very clear signal that the euro area is willing and able to

:08:37. > :08:46.tackle this, and in this context Europe is standing by Spain and

:08:46. > :08:50.supporting Spain. Spain's most pressing problem is too many banks

:08:50. > :08:55.with too little capital to withstand losses. But can the

:08:55. > :08:59.eurozone tackle the housing problems and the recession? He in

:08:59. > :09:05.the short term, it gives us a breather, but in the long term we

:09:05. > :09:10.need more. Lot more money but more reforms in Spain. The tumbling

:09:10. > :09:14.dominoes of Greece, Portugal, Ireland and now Spain has taken to

:09:14. > :09:17.500 billion euros the total amount committed by the eurozone and the

:09:17. > :09:22.International Monetary Fund to rescue eurozone countries. The next

:09:22. > :09:27.domino to fall is expected to be Cyprus, which today said it needed

:09:27. > :09:31.help to strengthen its banks. According to bankers, it may need a

:09:31. > :09:35.25 billion euros rescue. Then there is Italy, a massive economy, whose

:09:35. > :09:39.Government has two trillion euros of debt, considerably more than its

:09:39. > :09:43.annual economic output. If Italy were to request emergency loans,

:09:43. > :09:47.there would not be enough left in the emergency kitty, which is why

:09:47. > :09:54.it has become urgent to find a way of stopping the eurozone's dominoes

:09:54. > :09:59.from tumbling. To avoid contagion to Italy, what

:09:59. > :10:05.is required probably is a proper pruning of Germany's ample

:10:05. > :10:09.resources with those of other countries. -- proper pruning. But

:10:09. > :10:12.that requires the eurozone to look more like a single country with a

:10:12. > :10:16.single Government rather than a collection of nations. And if that

:10:16. > :10:20.does not happen? That failure could lead to the complete disintegration

:10:20. > :10:24.of the euro system, with terrible consequences not just the European

:10:24. > :10:29.countries but for Britain, on the fringes of Europe and the eurozone.

:10:29. > :10:32.In Italy, euphoria about the Spanish rescue faded fast. Share

:10:32. > :10:37.prices rose and then fell and borrowing costs for Spain are

:10:37. > :10:43.rising again, as are Italy's. That shows investors are worried that

:10:43. > :10:46.the tumbling Spanish domino could knock Italy down.

:10:46. > :10:49.It is being billed as a back-to- basics curriculum and it could be

:10:49. > :10:52.at the heart of teaching in primary schools across England. The

:10:52. > :10:57.Government says it wants more spelling, times tables and

:10:57. > :11:02.arithmetic, but as our education correspondent reports, some

:11:03. > :11:09.teachers fear it might signal a return to learning by rote.

:11:09. > :11:15.Let's think about doubling these numbers. Four? 8. The Government

:11:15. > :11:19.wants more of the traditional three Rs in primary school, reading,

:11:19. > :11:23.writing and arithmetic. Children learning their times tables up to

:11:23. > :11:33.12 by the age of nine and being able to spell complex words like

:11:33. > :11:38.

:11:38. > :11:42.appreciate. A-P-P-R-E-C-I-A-T-E. Government? Ministers want more

:11:42. > :11:46.emphasis on content in the curriculum in England, so more

:11:46. > :11:49.facts and rote-learning of spelling and mental arithmetic looked to be

:11:49. > :11:53.on the cards. Children are taught tables and arithmetic at a young

:11:53. > :11:56.age, but the Government says it wants higher standards and more

:11:56. > :12:03.rigueur across the curriculum in primary schools, so the results can

:12:03. > :12:07.compare with the best internationally. By the time they

:12:07. > :12:11.are 11, children should be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide

:12:11. > :12:14.factions, which they are not expected to do now. They should

:12:14. > :12:24.know more scientific facts about the solar system and evolution and

:12:24. > :12:25.

:12:25. > :12:29.they should have more focus on grammar, such as the correct use of

:12:29. > :12:32.punctuation. Another idea is compulsory foreign languages.

:12:32. > :12:40.Everyone does French here and there had to be stress gave a cautious

:12:40. > :12:44.welcome. -- the headmaster gave a cautious welcome. Rote-learning

:12:44. > :12:47.does not necessarily mean a child has understood something and can

:12:47. > :12:54.apply it. I would like to see beggars on problem-solving as well.

:12:54. > :12:58.Parents gathered at the end of school had their own opinions.

:12:58. > :13:01.need to see the evidence to back up these changes to make sure we are

:13:01. > :13:06.coaching children in the right way and that they are getting the most

:13:06. > :13:09.out of it and we are getting the results that they say that we need.

:13:09. > :13:16.Time stables, reciting poetry, all the sorts of things that they are

:13:16. > :13:19.putting forward are right. -- times tables. It is good to go forward.

:13:19. > :13:23.The changes will be brought in 2014 with the secondary school

:13:23. > :13:33.curriculum due to be rewritten as well. So lessons for all ages could

:13:33. > :13:36.

:13:36. > :13:40.The Business Secretary, Vince Cable has drawn up news proposals to

:13:40. > :13:50.allow employers to withdraw payments to underperforming workers

:13:50. > :13:55.to encourage them to leave, but the offer could not be then used to an

:13:55. > :14:00.unfair dismissal trial. William Hague is considering what

:14:00. > :14:04.to do if the anan peace plan fails. Speaking in the comns, William

:14:04. > :14:07.Hague said that all options would be on the table.

:14:07. > :14:15.Syrian government forces are continuing to shell the city of

:14:15. > :14:20.Homs. In the confusion that is Syria,

:14:20. > :14:23.amateur footage that is becoming all too familiar, relentless

:14:23. > :14:27.shelling of hom homs and the northern suburbs, reportedly

:14:28. > :14:31.trapping women and children. The bombardment, including firing from

:14:31. > :14:36.government helicopters, according to UN observers, who were

:14:36. > :14:39.accompanied by the BBC's Paul Danahare.

:14:39. > :14:43.While standing on the UN headquarters, with the UN observers,

:14:43. > :14:48.we were watching the mortar rounds land into the old city area of Homs

:14:48. > :14:53.at the rate of about one a minute. That was followed by a small arms

:14:53. > :15:01.fire or machine gun fire and it went on for hours and hours.

:15:01. > :15:06.More heavy shelling in the north in the Latakya province, prompted Kofi

:15:06. > :15:10.Annan to express grave alarm. These unverified images were said to show

:15:10. > :15:14.mourners, grieving over child victims from the violence. The

:15:14. > :15:17.United States spoke of fears of a potential massacre. In London,

:15:17. > :15:22.William Hague held open the possibility of intervention.

:15:22. > :15:25.We don't want to see the Annan Plan fail, but if, despite our best

:15:25. > :15:30.efforts it does not succeed, we would have to consider other

:15:30. > :15:35.options for resolving the crisis, and in all view all options should

:15:35. > :15:42.then be on the table. William Hague repeated his fear that the violence

:15:42. > :15:47.in Syria was becoming horrifyingly reminiscent of the sectarian

:15:47. > :15:53.conflict that pitted village against village in the Balkans in

:15:53. > :15:58.the 1990s, so brutal that in the end the jould world felt compelled

:15:58. > :16:02.to intervene. Since the massacre in Houla, the fighting has continued

:16:02. > :16:07.in every major town in Syria, apart from in the centre of Damascus, but

:16:07. > :16:16.that changed this weekend with protests becoming gun fights in

:16:16. > :16:20.many parts of the Capriati tal. -- capital.

:16:20. > :16:26.There have been rocket-propelled grenades and an admission from the

:16:26. > :16:32.Syrian opposition, that they may be using heavy weaponry, smuggled in

:16:32. > :16:36.from abroad. Coming up:

:16:36. > :16:41.After Tron shall rain over England and Wales wreaks havoc, the

:16:41. > :16:47.residents count the cost. 30 minutes and completely flooded.

:16:47. > :16:52.Coming up from underneath the skirting boards it was horrendous.

:16:52. > :16:57.A pilot scheme that gives sex offenders medication to lower sex

:16:57. > :17:05.drives show good results. The programme is being run at Whatton

:17:05. > :17:08.Jail, the largest rehabilitation centre for sex offenders in Europe.

:17:08. > :17:12.Our Home Affairs correspondent has been speaking to some of those in

:17:12. > :17:17.the trial. Whatton Jail is the largest rehabilitation centre for

:17:17. > :17:24.sex offenders in Europe. 800 inmates, 07 guilty of offences

:17:24. > :17:29.against children. This is one of the volunteers on the jail's

:17:29. > :17:33.controversial drug's programme. His victim was in her early teens.

:17:34. > :17:38.I understand the conception that outside of the community I am

:17:38. > :17:42.possibly evil, but I personally believe that my offence is the

:17:42. > :17:46.thing that was evil. The aim is to stop the men on the

:17:46. > :17:50.programme from re-offending. All of them will be considered for release

:17:50. > :17:58.at some stage. As well as the established psychological treatment,

:17:58. > :18:04.they have chosen to take drugs to lessen they're preoccupation with

:18:04. > :18:08.sex. We have altered these mens' voices.

:18:08. > :18:14.My behaviour has changed completely. It is such a relief not to be

:18:14. > :18:18.thinking about sex all of the time. It is called chemical castration,

:18:18. > :18:22.an inaccurate phrase cording to the professionals here. Vord, the pilot

:18:22. > :18:27.is taking place inside a highly controlled environment. The staff

:18:27. > :18:31.say that the aim is to make society safer so, what about when the

:18:31. > :18:35.offenders are released back into the community, on the drugs but

:18:35. > :18:38.with access to children? When we work with the men in treatment we

:18:38. > :18:44.spend time practising how they manage those sorts of situations.

:18:44. > :18:47.So that when they see children, for the first time, what their

:18:47. > :18:51.reactions will be, where they can seek support.

:18:51. > :18:55.Some believe that paedophiles should be locked up for life. This

:18:55. > :19:00.like this young man who raped a number of girls.

:19:00. > :19:03.They may be right, but they are human beings, we have made mistakes,

:19:03. > :19:09.I think that we deserve a chance to rehabilitate.

:19:09. > :19:15.In the outside world, some who deal with the after math of child abuse

:19:15. > :19:19.have themselves been victims, what about this rehabilitation argument?

:19:19. > :19:23.Somebody who destroys the incense, who offends, hurts, violates a

:19:23. > :19:26.child, they have to accept that they are putting their own human

:19:26. > :19:30.rights in jeopardy. Children only get one shot at childhood.

:19:30. > :19:34.Initial results show that the drugs seem to be working, but it is only

:19:34. > :19:41.when the men on the programme are outside of the walls that this

:19:41. > :19:45.experiment can be fully put to the test.

:19:45. > :19:52.Britain's ambassador to Libya was in a convoy of cars that came under

:19:52. > :19:57.attack in the city of Benghazi. He was unhurt, but two protection

:19:57. > :20:01.officers were injured. It is not known who carried out the attack it

:20:01. > :20:04.comes days after the diplomatic mission was targeted. The Red Cross

:20:04. > :20:12.has come under attack recently. There has been nearly a month's

:20:12. > :20:15.rain in 24 hours. It has caused flooding at a hospital in Sussex

:20:15. > :20:20.and traffic and flooding in England and Wales. It is not over, the

:20:20. > :20:27.Environment Agency has issued more than 30 flood alerts today.

:20:27. > :20:34.As summer evening on the south coast seaside strip goes, but all

:20:34. > :20:40.around, the scenes are more reminiscent of autumn. The rains

:20:40. > :20:46.been ongoing here, and the rivers and the streams cannot longer

:20:46. > :20:53.contain it. The floodwater has come into the properties. This man has

:20:53. > :20:56.just finished his home reconstruction and the water

:20:56. > :21:02.flooded in. The fire service said that there

:21:02. > :21:07.was nothing they could do until the tide went down and they could start

:21:07. > :21:13.pumping. In the east, homes in Littlehampton were evacuated.

:21:13. > :21:17.Sussex fire crews dealt with nearly 150 flood-related calls in a few

:21:18. > :21:22.hours. The scenes here are typical of those worst-affected by the

:21:22. > :21:27.heavy rain. The drains here and the pumping station has been unable to

:21:27. > :21:31.cope, so the Fire Brigade and the local authorities is laying a

:21:31. > :21:35.temporary pipeline to relieve the pressure and to carry the surface

:21:35. > :21:39.water that the river a mile away. Worthing Hospital was another

:21:39. > :21:43.victim. The floodwaters reached the engineering areas and baift

:21:43. > :21:47.corridors, but the hospital staft managed to stop the patients being

:21:47. > :21:51.affected. There have been problems in the north of England in the

:21:51. > :21:56.village of Swillington, the water coming too quickly for the

:21:56. > :22:02.residents to rescue all of their possessions. Many had to leave

:22:02. > :22:06.their homes temporarily whilst the Fire Service pumped the water out.

:22:06. > :22:11.In Wales, still reeling from the weekend, residents are clearing up.

:22:11. > :22:16.Trying to assess the impact on his family, Morris Jones said that the

:22:16. > :22:19.loss of personal items, especially relating to his daughter, Charlotte,

:22:20. > :22:24.were hard to bare. We are all alive, but there are so

:22:24. > :22:28.many things that we have lost that meant so much to us. The

:22:28. > :22:33.christening stuff, the little presents given to us. It is all

:22:33. > :22:37.gone in bin bags. Forecasters say that the current spell of

:22:37. > :22:41.unseasonal conditions is due to the jet stream that drives the weather

:22:41. > :22:49.systems, pushing further south and there is more rain to come. Summer

:22:49. > :22:53.is proving somewhat elusive. The Queen's granddaughter, Zara

:22:53. > :22:57.Phillips has been picked to represent Team GB in the London

:22:57. > :23:02.Olympics. She is part of a five- strong eventing team to follow in

:23:02. > :23:06.the foot steps of her mother, Princess Anne and her father, both

:23:06. > :23:16.of whom competed in the Paralympic Games.

:23:16. > :23:18.

:23:18. > :23:23.Roy Hodgson derclaid himself satisfied after the game in --

:23:23. > :23:29.diclaird himself satisfied after the -- declared himself satisfied

:23:30. > :23:35.after the football game against France in Donetsk.

:23:35. > :23:40.Well, Roy Hodgson has lost his best player, Wayne Rooney to suspension

:23:40. > :23:45.so, the first game of the Euro 2012 was the first game in a new era,

:23:45. > :23:49.what we smould expect of Roy Hodgson? Few thoughts of winning

:23:49. > :23:53.this... This was England's great leap into the unknown. A new

:23:53. > :23:58.manager and a team full of new faces, well, almost. Up against a

:23:58. > :24:04.French side packed with star quality and unbeat no-one 21 games.

:24:04. > :24:10.No wonder they were confident. It may have been the sweltering

:24:10. > :24:15.heat, but this did not feel like le crunch. With fewer than 4,000

:24:15. > :24:23.England fans making the long trek to Donetsk, the atmosphere was

:24:23. > :24:27.often subdued, but those who broke the journey were well-rewarded.

:24:27. > :24:32.Joleon Lescott putting England ahead on the half an hour with a

:24:32. > :24:37.classic set-piece goal. For a brief moment England was dreaming.

:24:37. > :24:43.France responded instantly, switching through the gears with

:24:43. > :24:49.this drawing a fine save from Joe Heart. Then six minutes before the

:24:49. > :24:57.break, the French were level. Samir Nasri! Brilliant strike.

:24:57. > :25:03.Samir Nasri's clean strike, too good for the England goalkeeper.

:25:03. > :25:08.After halt, -- half-time the game seemed to fizzle out, along with

:25:08. > :25:13.some in the crowd. While they may have been exhausted, England

:25:13. > :25:17.players knew that this was a result to lift the spirits.

:25:17. > :25:21.I think we are satisfied with the performance. Of course we went in

:25:21. > :25:24.to win it, but if you start a competition and put a point against

:25:24. > :25:28.a good team like France, we are happy.

:25:28. > :25:30.For the locals in this city of heavy industry, the first taste of

:25:30. > :25:35.Euro 2012 must have been heavy going.

:25:35. > :25:42.But England fans will not worry about that. This result has given

:25:42. > :25:46.them a reason to hope. So, England have got a good

:25:46. > :25:52.platform to build from here going into the next game against Sweden

:25:52. > :25:56.in Kiev Kiev on Friday and a key match against the co-hosts

:25:56. > :26:01.Ukrainian, back here in Donetsk, in over a week from now. The key thing

:26:01. > :26:06.for England is to get through the match from the Swedes, to welcome