19/07/2012 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten, the Assad regime under mounting pressure from the

rebels. The president appears on State television following

yesterday's bomb attack in Damascus. But in a significant move, rebels

seized control of some border posts. More fighting in the capital as the

UN fails to agree new sanctions. The United Kingdom is appalled by

the decision of Russia and China to veto this draft resolution aimed at

bringing an end to the bloodshed in Syria.

We'll have the latest on the turmoil in Syria and the state of

the Assad government. Also tonight: The policeman accused of killing a

newspaper seller is found not guilty, but the family say they'll

fight on. There has to be one more answer to

the question of who killed Ian Tomlinson and that we will pursue

in a a court. Immigration staff decide to go on

strike over pay and jobs the day before the Olympics open.

Some five million Lloyds TSB customers are to have their

accounts moved to the Co-operative Bank.

And why this shot landed Rory McIlroy in a spot of bother at the

A duck for captain Strauss, but a century for Alastair Cook helps

England frustrate South Africa's Good evening.

The Assad regime is under more pressure tonight after rebels

seized control of a number of Syria's border crossings into Iraq

and Turkey. During the day there was more fighting in Damascus after

yesterday's bomb attack in which senior officials were killed. But

the United Nations has failed to agree new sanctions against Syria

as our Middle East editor, Jeremy Syrian rebels seized one of the

crossings into Turkey, dismantling the portrait of President Assad.

When a State loses control of its front years, even for a day, it is

a sign of weakness. Rebel fighters are still shooting

in the centre of Damascus. These are unverified pictures, but there

are reports from the city that areas once considered regime

strongholds have been affected. Syrian State TV showed President

Assad swearing in a new Defence Minister. Presumably his TV

appearance was designed to show calmness and strength. In the

right-hand screen was the failed attempt to increase pressure on him

in the Security Council. International diplomacy is

deadlocked because the Security Council can't agree on what to do

next. In New York, Russia and China vetoed a western supported attempt

to strengthen sanctions. The decision by Russia and China in

the view of the United Kingdom to veto this resolution is inexcusable

and indefensible. When it came to the time to turn agreements which

they have supported into action to end the violence, they stood aside

from that. They have turned their back on the people of Syria in

their darkest hour. At the Security Council, the Syrian

ambassador blamed foreigners for causing the trouble at home. That

has been the Assad ray regime's consistent line since the uprising

started. President Assad's strategy needs to

overturn one crucial development if his side is to survive. The the

armed rebels are showing more strengths than before.

Just before it began, 16 months ago, President Assad claimed Syria was

immune to the virus of revolution. Kofi Annan's peace plan has been

outflanked by violent events in Syria. President Assad's one bright

spot is the protection he is getting in the UN Security Council.

The Russians have denied reports that they have given sanctuary to

the president's wife. The Assads have not yet been able to dispel

the sense that they are buckling after the assassination of the

president's brother-in-law and two other senior advisers.

Allegiance is at the centre of a spreading sectarian war. The rebel

fighters, these are more unverified pictures, are Sunni Muslims. The

chances are they are shooting at elite units.

But a majority of Syrian soldiers are Sunnis. There has to be a

question mark over their loyalty to Jeremy, how do you see the balance

of forces in Syria now? Well there, is crucial for President Assad and

the way this is going to go. The rebels are on the up. You look at

what they're doing, those assassinations, fighting in

Damascus and taking over border crossings for a limited period and

it is very significant. The president's men, they have plenty

of fire power, but they have been going for 16 months and they must

be getting tired. And there are the question marks about loyalty. Why

does it this matter to us? I think it matters because the Syrian

crisis has the potential to destabilise other parts of the

Middle East. There are connections even down to the oil producing

States of the gulf and history shows that when the Middle East is

in trouble, it has a nasty hablet habit of exporting trouble to where

A police officer accused of killing a newspaper seller during the G20

protests in London has been found not guilty. PC Simon Harwood had

insisted he had used reasonable force when he hit Ian Tomlinson

with a baton and pushed him to the ground. The family say they'll now

pursue the case in a civil court. After the verdict details of PC

Harwood's employment record were It was described by the prosecution

as an act of aggression. Constable Simon Harwood insisted that he had

used reasonable force. Crucially it was captured on camera and that's

why he ended up in the dock, charged with and now cleared of

manslaughter. No comment from the officer as he

walked free after a month long trial. Last year an inquest jury

decide that Ian Tomlinson had been unlawfully killed. Today, his

family said they were perplexed by the verdict in the criminal trial.

We expected to hear a guilty verdict, not a not guilty verdict.

It really hurts. But it is not the end. We're not giving up for

justice for Ian. REPORTER: How do you feel?

We have got nothing more to say. Ian Tomlinson wasn't involved in

the G20 protests in London in 2009, he was trying to get home through

the police lines. Mr Tomlinson had his back to these officers when

Simon Harwood first struck him with his baton, from the side you can

see the baton going in and then the push. Ian Tomlinson, an alcoholic

with a liver disease, was said by a number of experts to have suffered

internal bleeding when he fell. Although one told the jury, the

bleeding may not have been the result of the fall. He was helped

to his feet, but collapsed up the road and died

The end of the criminal trial and Simon Harwood is now facing a

Scotland Yard disciplinary hearing regarding events here three years

ago. There are questions over whether at that time, he should

have been a serving police officer. With the court case over, we can

for the first time report details of his background.

In 2000 whilst serving as a Met officer, he was accused in doing

involved in an off duty road rage incident. The next year, he left

his police officer job on medical grounds, but was reemployed the

following week by the Met in a civilian post. The disciplinary

hearing never took place, but the force paid out to the man who

complained about him. In 2003, he switched to the Surrey force and

became a police officer again. The next year, he was back in the Met.

This time, as an officer in their public order unit, the Territorial

Support Group. It is clear that insufficient recording and checks

meant that detailed information regarding this officer's misconduct

history was not shared at key points. We got that wrong. Since

then, we've made huge changes to the vetting processes.

The jury wasn't told about Simon Harwood's employment record or that

over the years a total of ten complaints were made against him,

all but one were unproved and denied. Ape Ian Ian Tomlinson's

widow and his his children have pledged to bring a civil case

Immigration staff have announced they're going on strike the day

before the start of the Olympics. The action, by members of the PCS

Union, could potentially cause delays at all airports and ports.

The PCS says there is still time to call off the action if ministers

respond to their concerns about pay and job cuts. The Government said

it was "outrageous". Tom Symonds Welcome to Britain. The Olympics

maybe about to start, but we're on strike! The announcement by the PS

Union called ministerial ministerial fury.

They are holding a strike when people are coming into the country

for the Olympic Games. It is not right. They will be damaging

people's enjoyment of coming into the UK.

So how bad could it be? Well, this was Heathrow immigration in

November during a similar strike by the PCS Union. Queues were

minimised by pushing every possible member of staff on to the front-

line. The hope is that will work again. However, busy Heathrow is.

The the union has chosen its moment to hammer home that pay cuts and a

pay freeze damaged the UK's border force. One day of disruption is

regrettable, but it is better than having 365 days a year where people

are coming into this country and queuing for three or four hours,

where they can't get passports and they can't get a proper service.

There could be disruption too on this train service linking the east

Midlands and Sheffield to London's St Pancreas, a key interchange for

the Olympic Park. ASLEF is walking out between the 6th and 8th August.

It is inevitable that strikes would be targeted on London's transport

system during the Olympic Games. They are simply added to the list

of last minute worries in these final days. The row about security

goes on. At the Olympic Park, extra troops

are filling in for the inadequacies of G4S., but ministers are playing

it safe and so another 1200 are on short notice stand-by in case they

are needed too. MPs are demanding to know why, when G4S was was asked

to provide five times more guards last year, its bill for the job

rose 12-fold and whether poor pay is why so many staff have

disappeared from the company's rost ter. We were told that security

guards were getting between �9 and �11. They are getting a bare �8 an

hour. You have to ask well where was the money going? Where were

they cutting corners and who was profiteering?

There are problems to be ironed, but perhaps when this place comes

alive, the difficulties will be There is a risk of permanent damage

to the British economy according to the International Monetary Fund. It

has warned the Chancellor that he might have to reconsider his fiscal

policy if there is no recovery by the end of the year. Let's talk to

Economics Editor Stephanie Flanders. How significant is this warning?

think it is quite significant. We should be clear about what this is.

It's the complete report from the economists who came to do the

annual health check for the UK economy a couple of months ago. We

have already had some of the headline conclusions from that. The

details are pretty interesting. They are very bleak about the state

of the economy. They think the Bank of England should be doing more to

support growth, possibly with another interest rate cut and even

more pumping of money into the economy. They think the Government

right now should be more focused on growth. Most interesting is the

time frame that they put looking forward. They save the economy does

not pick up at the end of this year, the Chancellor really would have to

rethink some of his plans for cutting the deficit next year. That

the budget cuts currently in place for next year would be too much for

the economy to cope with. They don't think that if Mr Osborne was

forced to do that that it would be very costly in terms of a financial

market reaction. Mr Osborne might disagree. The Treasury would want

to point out that the IMF is not saying we should have a plan D now

and follow the Labour strategy now. It is significant that they are

saying that, at the end of the year, if we don't see a decent recovery,

the Chancellor may have to start spending real money to fix it.

Police in England and Wales have recorded the lowest number of

murders and other killings in nearly three decades according to

figures from the Office of National Statistics. The overall total of

offences also dropped significantly. Pickpocketing and thefts of metal -

- metal and mobile phones increased. The warnings were dire. Recession

would fuel a crime wave and cuts to police would be petrol to the

flames. In fact, you would have to go back 23 years to find recorded

crime levels as low as they are now. Violent crime has fallen

significantly. Homicides are at their lowest for 29 years.

Attempted murders are down 8%, year-on-year. Property crime is

down as well. Car theft is down 13% from last year, burglary is down 4%.

Some specific crimes have risen. Mobile phone theft, high-value and

easily portable, and metal theft. Soaring prices have pushed up

demand. The bigger picture is repeated across the UK and the

Western world. Scotland's recorded crime is that at its lowest level

for 70 years. Northern Ireland, the lowest in at least a decade. Why?

Some think it was the advances in security for cars and homes in the

80s and 90s that, in effect, diverted potential offenders from a

life of crime. People are finding it harder to break into cars. This

means that they did not have the bottom rung of a criminal ladder to

climb up. They are starter crimes and they are not available as much

to them. The fall in violent crimes may be a reflection of a society

that has become increasingly intolerant of violence. Public

protests and campaigns have been reflected in a change to police

priorities. A lot of violence and homicide is committed by offenders

that are known to the victim, particularly in domestic situations.

We work very hard with our partners to identify repeat victims and

repeat offenders. That is paying dividends. Official survey data

suggests that people's experience of crime is that a stable level

after decades of decline. Calls to police about antisocial behaviour

are down 30% in five years. What is becoming increasingly clear is that

crime is only marginally related to police numbers, Criminal Justice

policy or even the state of the economy. The key driver for falling

violence is probably social. Britain, it might be argued, is

Coming up: We will be meeting the Chinese billionaire who has reaped

success in the country's economic Around 5 million customers of

Lloyds TSB are to be transferred on to the books of the co-operative

Bank after a deal was agreed over the sale of more than 600 branches.

Lloyds, 40% owned by the taxpayer, was forced to sell the branches to

comply with European rules on state aid. Simon Gompertz looks at the

changes and what they could mean for customers.

There is a big change coming on Britain's high streets. Amongst the

top banking names, there will be another to choose from as the Co-op

becomes a major player. The retail banking market has been dominated

by the big five banks. We are now going to be a significant

challenger. Customers at the 632 Lloyds branches will be transferred,

lock stock and barrel, to the top, along with staff and computer

systems. To many, it is a surprise. Disappointed, to be honest. To be

honest, yes. They should have told us. I understood it was just a

branch, but it is obviously the customers as well. I just opened a

current account. It's being sold. As long as it doesn't make a

difference to my savings, it shouldn't be a problem. At the

moment, the Co-op have a better reputation than Lloyds TSB, it

seems. Perhaps it is a good move. It is a huge shift for 5 million

customers. The branches affected, and it is around a third of them,

will see the name change from Lloyds TSB to just tsp. They will

still be able to going and operate their accounts, but they will not

be able to use the remaining Lloyds The Lloyds journey began with the

takeover of TSB. Then it swallowed up the Halifax and Bank of Scotland

and had to be bailed out by the taxpayer. At which point, the

European Commission ordered them to hold and sell branches. The Co-op

banking customers will rise from 6 million, up to 11 million. On

current accounts that will rank alongside the Nationwide. It will

still be only half as big as Barclays and less than a third the

size of Leeds, with its remaining branches. This is a great first

step, as long as the customers do not feel forced to move if they do

not want to. We want the authorities to go further and look

at breaking up the dominance of the very big banks, make account

switching easier and really bring competition back to high-street

banking. Customers affected will get the chance to opt out of the

move. If they do want to stay with Lloyds, they will have to find

A judge in Birmingham has appealed for calm after eight defendants

were cleared of murdering three men during last summer's riots. Haroon

Jahan, along with brothers Shahzad Ali and Abdul Musavir died after

they were hit by a car as they try to protect local shops from looters

in the Winson Green area. China is preparing for a change of

leadership over the coming months as President Hu Jintao and other

senior leaders stepped down after a decade in charge. During that time,

China has become a driving force in the world economy, creating a

middle-class of some 300 million people. In the first of two Special

Reports, John Simpson meets some of those who have enjoyed the benefits

of economic growth. In a decade, China's leaders have

delivered two extraordinary successes. They have made China

four times richer and they have avoided any great political turmoil.

Peace and prosperity. If they had real elections here, it would be a

winning slogan. Michael Yu's life has been transformed by China's

success. He sounds like an evangelist. And he is, for

education. His parents were illiterate. He has now got language

schools all over China, with 2.4 million students. Yet he is modest,

for a billionaire. A nice enough house, on a quiet estate. But

certainly no bling. People have complaints, but everybody is making

great progress. Even the Government is making progress, so we had

hopeful so of 13 years ago, China had one dollar billionaire. Now it

has 270. How do they spend it all? This is a gathering to help them.

But Rupert Hoogewerf, the British compilers of China's Rich List,

reveals an extraordinary statistic. 60% of China's billionaires would

like to emigrate. You can see why. Life here is an unceasing struggle.

For the first time, more people now live in China's cities than in the

countryside. All of them competing for resources, room to live and

even for the polluted air that they breathe. The unease spreads to the

middle classes. They have grown sixfold in the past decade. Xiao

Yang works for Motorola. His wife is a lawyer. They live the Chinese

dream. Yet part of that dream is to get out. If you are rich enough,

you can take your whole family there. I would do that as well, if

we get enough money. I would take my whole family, may be to move to

somewhere else. Canada, whatever. Their son takes fencing lessons.

It's good training. Life in China is a battle of all against all. And

what about all of those people whose efforts have created the

Chinese miracle? Their lives have often been badly disrupted because

they have flooded into the cities to work long hours at mindless

tasks. Simply giving people more money has not had the result

China's leaders expected. Before, we thought that as long as we make

the economy better, people get more income and people must be happier.

Now we are finding if justice is not there, equalisation is not

there, people are still not happy. Even less happier than before.

has happened in China over the past 10 years will probably turn out to

be as important, historically, as Britain's Industrial Revolution.

The problem is that the huge gap between China's house and have-nots

is getting even bigger. -- haves. Sometimes, the rule of law here

Tomorrow night, John will be meeting some of those who have

missed out on lots of the benefits of China's rapid growth.

Let's talk about the Gulf. Adam Scott of Australia is at the top of

the leaderboard on the first day of the Open at Royal Lytham in St

Annes. There was also a strong Grey skies, wet grass and stout

footwear. They have been the hallmarks of this sporting summer.

For once, the expected in the rain did not materialise. It was calm,

dry. For golf, it was almost perfect. Tiger Woods! And what

better man to take advantage? Tiger Woods began with pinpoint precision

and finished on a fine three-under- par. He was delighted with his form,

just slightly confused by the English weather. The forecast has

not been right all week, so... It's probably just standard. Whatever we

here on TV, do not expect that. I've won a few tournaments so far.

We have a long way to go, but I am right there. Not even he could

rival Adam Scott. The first-round leader was on six under after a

stunning display. For the more partisan spectators, plenty to

cheer. Not least Paul Lawrie, the 1989 champion, rolling back the

years. He is just one shot off the pace. But not all of the home

favourites flourished. Lee Westwood struggled. Darren Clarke needed a

strimmer, more than a golf club. It was also on adventurous day for

Rory McIlroy. One way whippy shot hitting a spectator in the head.

Thankfully, he was OK and got a signed blood for his -- Clough for