12/06/2012 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten - a blow to coalition unity as the Lib Dems

decide not to back the Culture Secretary. Jeremy Hunt is facing a

Parliamentary vote on calls for an official investigation into his

dealings with News Corporation. Nick Clegg has told the Lib Dems to

withold their support, contradicting the Prime Minister's

view. Questions remain in the public's mind and therefore there

needs to be a proper independent investigation. We'll be asking what

this says about the state of the coalition. Also tonight - more

violence in Syria as one UN official talks of civil war and the

Americans accuse the Russians of making things worse. We are

concerned about the latest information we have that there are

attack helicopters on the way from Russia to Syria, which will

escalate the conflict quite dramatically. The Government's

plans to legalise gay marriage in England and Wales are under attack

from the Church of England. Clashes on the streets of Warsaw as Russian

and Polish football fans come face to face. And, the Olympic opening

ceremony gives the world a glimpse of green and pleasant land. I'll be

here with Euro 2012 Sportsday with all tonight's action and the latest

news from the tournament. Good evening. The unity of the coalition

has been dealt a blow tonight as Lib Dem MPs decided not to support

the Culture Secretary in a Parliamentary vote tomorrow. Jeremy

Hunt is facing calls for an official investigation into his

dealings with News Corporation. But Nick Clegg has contradicted David

Cameron's view and told his MPs not to vote with their coalition

partners. Our political editor, Nick Robinson, has the latest. How

David Cameron must wish he had kept his distance from Rupert Murdoch

and never had to set up the Leveson Inquiry. Or what some close to the

Prime Minister fear is turning into a nightmare for him. Tonight, the

Liberal Democrats decided that in a crucial Commons' vote tomorrow they

won't back Jeremy Hunt, nor the Prime Minister's decision to

support him, without calling an investigation into whether he had

broken the Ministerial Code. Nick Clegg was absolutely clear from the

outset that if after Jeremy Hunt's appearance at Leveson, questions

still remained, they need to be properly addressed. He wasn't

consulted by the Prime Minister on his decision not to refer Jeremy

Hunt to the independent adviser and therefore he cannot condone that

decision. That's why we'll be abstaining tomorrow in the vote.

Nick Clegg returned home tonight, having told his MPs do not support

the Tories on this one. REPORTER: Why are you asking party

members to abstain? He told the party to stay away from the debate

on the Prime Minister's judgment to back the minister. Tory MPs are not

impressed. It's rather unreasonable of the Liberal Democrats to say

they won't back a senior minister in the coalition partnership. After

all, if Vince Cable hadn't acted so irresponsibly in the first place,

Jeremy Hunt wouldn't be in this position. The tension caused by two

men and their two parties' different approaches to Rupert

Murdoch. Vince Cable wanted to go to war, Jeremy Hunt was his

cheerleader. The Prime Minister will face cross-examination on

Thursday at Leveson, a day after his own deputy and the Liberal

Democrats will have failed to back him and his Culture Secretary on

their handling of the Murdoch bid for BSkyB. If that weren't headache

enough, he's now under mounting pressure to do what no recent Prime

Minister has done, to regulate the press. He's Tory predecessor, Sir

John Major, told Leveson today, that if politicians didn't act now

they wouldn't. It's the politicians who are in the Last Clapbs Saloon.

-- Clapbs Saloon. It is difficult to see how this matter could be

returned to in any reasonable period of time. He le called the

night which led to -- recalled the night which led to this, losing the

Sun's backing. It's not very often someone says to a Prime Minister,

"I would like you to change your policy and if you don't change your

policy, my organisation cannot support you." Ed Miliband told the

inquiry he had concluded the Murdochs owned too many papers and

had too much power. I don't believe that one person should continue to

control 37% or now 34%, of the newspaper market. My strong

insurance tint is that's too much. -- instinct is that's too much. He

he -- said he would back the Prime Minister in a new law. I want to

say that I will do everything I can to seek on to work on a cross-party

basis to ensure that your recommendations provide a framework

for us for the future. Sounds helpful, until you realise that

David Cameron's being asked to do what all who have come before him

have not, to take on not just Murdoch, but all in the press, who

don't want to be regulated. Over now to Nick who is in Westminster

for us. Nick, specifically about David Cameron here and what this

could mean for him. He's already spent many weeks and many hours

preparing for that a appearance. He already knew it would be difficult,

but now he knows he has to appear without the full backing of Nick

Clegg or the Lib Dems. Precisely what the Labour Party wanted to

achieve when they ensured that there would be a debate tomorrow on

the future of Jeremy Hunt. Now, the Prime Minister's advisers are

insisting that he's intensely relaxed about all this, after all

it's a party political motion and there will be such occasions when

the Lib Dems want to go their own way. What will be less relaxing for

him, though, is even when all this is over, even when the Leveson

Inquiry is over, people will then expect him to come up with a law to

regulate the press. What the Leveson Inquiry has heard this week

is from not one, but two former Prime Ministers, John Major today,

Gordon Brown, and the other week, Tony Blair, that the reason they

failed to deal with what they all agree is a real problem is in part

because of the grief the press can give Prime Ministers if they take

them on and because it can soak up all the time and energy which Prime

Ministers want to spend on other things, like the economy, health or

education. The nightmare for David Cameron won't end after the Leveson

Inquiry. If anything, it will merely grow. Nick, thank you very

much. Syria is now in a state of civil war, according to the head of

United Nations peacekeeping. He spoke as UN monitors were fired on

and forced to turn back from the town of Haffa in northern Syria,

where rebel positions are being bombarded by government forces.

Earlier this evening the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,

accused Russia of escalating the conflict by providing attack

helicopters to the Assad regime. Our diplomatic correspondent,

Bridget Kendall, has the latest. This report does contain some

distressing images. Relentless bombardment of Homs today, but now

it's been documented by UN observers and journalists

travelling with them. On the road north to the town of Talbiseh they

witness more damage coming not just from Government tanks now, but

helicopter gunships. Just one snapshot of destruction in a

country that, according to the head of UN peacekeeping, could be now

considered civil war. Other officials are more cautious, but

all agree the situation is deteriorating. The point isn't what

we call it, it's that we are incredibly concerned about the

willing and deliberate escalation by the Government in the last four

to five days, but also the increased level of the planning and

co-ordination and military operations of the opposition.

Because it's not just President asas's forces behind the increased

-- Bashar Al-Assad's forces behind the increased violence. A Syrian

army vehicle apparently blown up by rebels and Government tanks on fire,

according to this amateur video. And massive opposition funerals in

broad daylight, like here apparently in southern Deraa

province, suggesting Government control of territory is patchy.

With every day more talk is civil war. Where does that leave the UN

peace plan? Is there no hope? Well, yes and no. On the one hand, the

supposed ceasefire never really took hold and it's now being

ignored by both sides. On the other hand, countries like the United

States and Britain, and the UN, still hope they can persuade Russia

to put pressure on President Bashar Al-Assad to pull back from an all-

out conflict. But Russia is also part of the problem in Syria, as

well as the hope for the solution. According to the US Secretary of

State, that is tonight. We werned about the latest information we

have -- werned about the latest information that we have that there

are -- concerned about the latest information that we have that there

are attack helicopters which will escalate the conflict dramatically.

The desperate hope is that the worst the suffering in Syria, the

greater the urgency for the world to come together to do something to

stop it. But so far, there's little sign of it. There's growing

conflict between the Church of England and the Government on plans

to allow gay couples to marry in England and Wales. Ministers say

they will bring in legislation before 2015, but the Church says

this would alter the intrinsic nature of marriage and would

undermine the status of the Established Church. Our religious

affairs correspondent, Robert Pigott, has more details. There

have been civil partnerships in England and Wales since 2005, and

the church claims they give gay couples significant equality.

was a very good day. A summer's day. John and Jesus say only marriage

would do justice to their 18-year relationship. John, a life-long

Anglican says they entered a civil partnership four years ago. I would

have preferred a full marriage ceremony in the church, simply

because that's how I've been brought up. It would make me happy

and John very happy indeed and that is the way forward.

reconsidering my membership, sadly at my late stage in life, because

we are simply not moving forward. We are staying in the past, in the

far past. Everyone in England has the right to marry in their

Anglican parish church, one of many ways in which church and state are

intertwined. The law would not force the church to provide gay

marriage, but the Church insists that the courts eventually would.

That, said the Church, would force it eventually to stop providing

marriages recognised by the state and remove a key part of its

function as the official state church. Bishops say the country is

sleeping walking into changes that would strip marriage of much of the

meaning and significance. Marriage as part of the dock frin of the --

doctrine of the Church is a relationship between one man and

woman. There is one marriage, so this is really a fundament l change

to marriage as everybody -- fundamental change to marriage as

everybody understands it. Church insists marriage should be

about procreation and it claims that changing such a fundamental

element would produce a new hollow- out version of marriage, what it

calls a content-free agreement. But We are clear that this upheaval

being described us as big as the sacking of the monasteries is like

something out of a Monty Python sketch. The Government repeated its

intention of legislating by the end of the Parliament today. But gay

marriage divides the Conservative Party and the Church of England and

they will be looking for allies in the battle to prevent it.

The Government of the Falklands has announced a referendum on the

political status of the islands. It says it wants to send a firm

message to Argentina that the islanders wish to remain British.

The vote will be held next year. Diplomatic tensions have risen in

recent months. The Argentine President will address the United

Nations later this week as they celebrate the 30th anniversary

offer the liberation of the island by British forces.

The cost of borrowing by the Spanish Government has is into its

highest rate since the euro was launched, despite the bile -- bail-

out. There are calls for a banking union to strengthen the system.

Let's talk first of all about the Spanish problem and the wider

solutions being canvassed. Yes, this is history repeating itself in

a eurozone crisis. Beds have been announced and they have been

welcomed and then they unravel. -- bail-outs. This could have happened

again with his rescue deal for the Spanish banks. Thumbs up yesterday,

but then today, a key yardstick of finances in Spain, the ten-year

borrowing cost has gone up to a record high since it joined the

euro. It came back a little at the end of the day, but that shows the

markets scepticism about Spanish finances. What can be done about

it? There is talk about fiscal union and single budget policies

being the answer. To that end, Jose Manuel Barroso today spelled out

the need for banking union in his view, with a single regulator and

deposit protection scheme up. The Germans are not so sure about that.

Downing Street does not want to be part of a European scheme like this,

so there is a lot for the leaders to think about at their summit at

the end of the month. Inevitably some people are saying that this is

a make-or-break summit, again. Thank you.

Coming up on the programme: The Olympic Opening Ceremony in

miniature. Complete with cows, sheep and guaranteed rain. I don't

think any show about Britain that does not try and capture our humour,

people would say that is not right at all.

There were violent clashes this evening between Russian and Polish

football fans in Warsaw ahead of the match between the two teams in

the European Championships. The authorities in Poland, which is co-

hosting with Ukraine, said that this evening's again did pose the

biggest ever peacetime security challenge. -- this evening's game.

Let's get the latest in Warsaw. There was always a danger that this

would prove more than simply a game of football. Tensions between

Poland and Russia have been stoked by centuries of bad blood and

suspicion between the two countries. Add to that the fact that both have

pockets of fans with a history of violence, a dangerous combination

in a tournament that has had its fair share of problems with racism

and hooliganism. It was the moment that Euro 2012 turned sour. Polish

and Russian hooligans clashing with each other and with police outside

Warsaw's national stadium ahead of an initially charged match between

the two countries tonight. The violence came after thousands of

Russian fans marched to the stadium in a show of patriotism, seen as

provocative too many Polish people. It had always been seen as a

potential flashpoint, and so it proved. After sporadic outbreaks of

violence, the police have now managed to separate the two sides

and car has broken out now. These were the scenes that UEFA would

Reading, and the build up had already been shadowed by

controversy. -- UEFA were dreading. That has been intensified now.

have to fight it off from Poland. Was it a mistake to allow the

Russians to March? Yes. As it injured the image of tournament and

Poland, this trouble? Big trouble. Earlier, the atmosphere had been

relaxed with the match ball and on Russia day, which marks the end of

the Soviet Union. -- the match falling on Russia day. The

authorities have been confident that the march would pass off

peacefully. Some think it should not have been allowed. The egg Shia,

I would say this. Marches during a tournament like this, it is normal.

There is nothing wrong with the Russians having their flags. On the

pitch, big game was evenly matched, with Russia taking the lead through

Al-Inshaat -- Alan Dzagoev, followed by Jakub Blaszczykowski.

The tension will be on the violence that flared outside the stadium.

The authorities are braced for more trouble tonight.

Given the tension between the two sets of fans, the authorities will

be delighted that the match finished 1 all with no winner or

loser. There have been many arrests, over 100. There have been 10

injuries and in the last few minutes, it has emerged that police

had to use rubber bullets and tear gas after fans threw missiles in

the very centre of Warsaw. Put this into context. It is not the first

time that the European finals have been she overshadowed by these

scenes, but once again it will raise questions about the wisdom of

bringing the tournament to this part of Europe.

The persistent rain has caused serious flooding across large parts

of southern England today. There are 40 flood warnings and alerts

across England and Wales, with some places experiencing a month's worth

of rain in just one day. Holidaymakers in West Sussex had to

be evacuated from camps and caravan parks and some pupils have even had

to miss their GCSE exams. The performance of the Indian

economy is causing concern after years of rapid growth. Output rose

by just 0.1% compared with last year. And Standard & Poor's has now

warned that India is at risk of a downgrade, because of its ailing

economy and what it called political obstacles to reform. Our

South Asia correspondent has the story for us.

After soaring high for years, India is suddenly looking at a hard

landing. Hopes are that it can pull its own people out of poverty and

give the world economy a boost, but they are stalling. It has come as a

shock to a country that still has a cutting edge. Using the latest

phenology at this factory to make vehicle parts for sale around the

world, including Mercedes Benz. -- the latest technology. India is

exposed to the global slowdown. But political paralysis is the real

problem according to this man. could be storing up, creating jobs

and prosperity and infrastructure. But that opportunity is being

frittered away, simply because political decision-making, economic

decision-making, is not being done in the manner in which it should be.

Some businesses are still doing well, like British sports car maker

Aston Martin. This has become one of their best markets. For some in

India, money is still no object, and sales of this car are just one

example of that. But India as a whole is suddenly slowing down,

after years of supercharged growth. It has got many worried that it

might be more than just a bump in the road. India is the world's 9th

biggest economy and one of their BRICS group of emerging power

houses, which includes Russia, Brazil and South Africa. But with

India's growth plunging from over 9% two years ago to just over 5%

now, its status as a global economic player is in doubt. Even

India's call centres, the cornerstone of its economic rise,

are struggling. This Mumbai Operation Surge UK companies that

lost half of its business last year to competitors in the Philippines.

-- this operation serve the UK companies. We lost business to the

Philippines because of the clients. But even Mumbai alone has a huge

potential market, in a country of over 1 billion people. The

Government's message is to be patient. When pessimism build up,

there is over pessimism. I think right now, we are going through a

phase with over pessimism and looking back one year from now we

will say that we were guilty the other way around. We were over-

pessimistic just because of the six months or nine months the economy

did not perform too well. The mood is still buoyant at this fish

market but the outside world is not so sure about India's rise.

32 years after her baby girl vanished in the Australian outback,

the coroner has ruled that a dingo, a wild dog, was responsible for her

death. The body of nine-week-old Azaria Chamberlain was never found,

but her mother was convicted of her murder and she was released on

compassionate grounds four years later when new evidence came to

light. Three decades later, she has finally been cleared.

The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 27th will feature

sheep and chickens and some guaranteed rain, along with 10,000

volunteers. Danny Boyle, the Oscar- winning director who has devised

the show, has been explaining how Britain's green and pleasant land

will be celebrated in a ceremony expected to draw a worldwide

television audience of 1 billion people.

This is a model of what around 1 billion people will see at 9

o'clock on 27th July. It is the opening scene of the Opening

Ceremony, of the 2012 Olympic Games. The show's director also unveiled

his vision. What were we? Why do we come from, the heritage? Where are

we now and where are we going? is written as a green and pleasant

land, and iconic scene of warmth and harmony. There is a critic --

cricket match taking place, and some clouds to provide fake rain if

Mother Nature decides to give it the rest. There will be maples with

flowers representing the four countries of the United Kingdom. --

maples. And there will be a Glastonbury theme at one end with a

mosh pit. At the other end, something more akin to a posh pit,

which Danny Boyle said would have a more civilised approach. Above it,

the largest harmonised bell in the world will open and close the event.

And be prepared for a bit of laughter. I don't think any show

about Britain that doesn't try and capture our humour... People would

say no, that is not right. Very difficult in a stadium show, but we

are trying. You never know with humour. You can never say that

there will be humour because it is very elusive and it can dissipate

very quickly. We have got a couple of bits that we are trying to use

to show the best of our sense of humour. Very much so. Like it or

not, this is what he will be judged against, the remarkable Opening

Ceremony, at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Danny Boyle said that his

show was as much for the people in the stadium as it was for the

World's television viewers. The spectacular event is promised, with

people flying in on wires and 20 other non-rural scenes. But he was

not giving any further details. How many sets? About an hour before the

athletes walk in! We are not keeping any secrets from anybody

but we are likening it to a puzzle, really. A puzzle that will unravel

over three hours, ending in a firework display. It is a huge

undertaking. Danny Boyle said that he was bound to fail. Those in