17/01/2013 BBC News at Ten

The Algerian hostage crisis, David Cameron wants people to brace

themselves for more bad news. Amid reports that a number of foreign

hostages have been killed or injured at the Sahara gas plant,

the Prime Minister cancels tomorrow's big speech on Europe.

is a very dangerous, very uncertain, a very fluid situation. I think we

have to prepare ourselves for the possibility of bad news ahead.

Britton has been confirmed dead. The BBC has been told there are

more casualties. Relief for the family of one hostage. Stephen

McFaul from Belfast calls home to say he has escaped. I can't believe

it, I can't describe how happy I am. I didn't think we would... I didn't

think we would have got this so soon.

Also tonight, trouble at Boeing as all of its Dreamliners are grounded

around the world for safety checks following battery problems.

Accused of rape, trafficking and organising the prostitution of

young girls in Oxford. Nine men denied the charges at the Old

Bailey. And weather warning, Britain is

braced for heavy snow overnight. In parts of Wales, up to 30

centimetres is forecast. In Sportsday on the BBC News

Channel, Laura Robson shines in her first game under floodlights,

beating Petra Kvitova in the Good evening. David Cameron has

warned that Britain needs to prepare for the possibility of

further bad news about the hostage crisis in Algeria. Islamist

militants kidnapped dozens of Westerners, including Brittons at a

gas plant in the Sahara yesterday. This morning, the Algerian military

launched a raid to free the hostages, a number of whom escaped.

But it has been confirmed that one British hostage has been killed and

the BBC has been told there are more casualties. The Prime Minister

cancelled his trip to the Netherlands, where he was due to

make a major speech on Europe tomorrow.

Algerian forces, deep in the desert, surrounding the besieged gas plant,

according to a Algerian television. A military operation there has left

some hostages dead, someone did and some fruit. Jihadists middle this -

- some wounded and some freed. They hunted a room to room in this

accommodation, looking for Western hostages. A Algeria said it had to

launch an operation to free them as kidnappers would not negotiate.

David Cameron has warned of grim news still to come. It is a fluid

situation, it is ongoing and very uncertain. I don't want to say more

than that. I think we should be prepared for the possibility of bad,

very difficult news in this extremely difficult situation.

The mass kidnapping, carried out by international militants, appears to

have been well planned. Survivors said that the kidnappers knew their

way around and were trying to take captives into the desert,

reportedly staff to explosives. An army helicopter are said to have

fired on their convoy of cars, killing both militants and hostages.

Algeria is taking an uncompromising stance. TRANSLATION: When faced

with terrorism, there will be no negotiation and no blackmail. This

is the position we have maintained for some time in the fight against

terrorism. Stephen McFaul from Belfast was lucky to escape with

his life. Freed today, he rang his family from safety. I am elated. I

just can't describe how happy I am. I didn't think that we would... I

did not think we would have got this so soon. You know, we always

hoped. The luck of the Irish, and he had it. Just excited, I can't

wait for him to come home. What are you going to do, are you going to

have a party and give him a big hug? Hopefully. Tonight, the

Government's of emergency management team, COBRA, met again.

This crisis has not gone the way they had hoped. Some will

inevitably ask if, if managed differently, deaths could have been

avoided. So, the situation is changing all

of the time. What is the latest information you are getting?

operation is not completely over, but the shooting is stopped. It is

still very unclear. This has been the problem throughout this whole

crisis, less than two days old, the information has been trickling out.

Not just what we get, even what the Government's debt. COBRA, the

crisis management team, they have been working on the assumption that

there are close to a dozen British hostages at the beginning of this.

The expectation is that there could be more bad news. That was hinted

at. There will be survivors that are hiding in the dark right now.

They are under broadly the same time zone as those in Britain.

There will be people out there in the desert. It is a search

operation that could also find jihadists that have survived and

may be disguising themselves as ordinary members. It is a mopping-

up operation, as I understand. Now the recriminations begin, white are

the Algerians do this without any permission? It seems to have been a

bit of a bloodbath. Nick Robinson is in Amsterdam, where David

Cameron was due to make a speech on Europe tomorrow. The fact it has

been cancelled underlines the seriousness of the situation?

decision not to come to our Amsterdam was taken just before 6

o'clock tonight, after the Prime Minister had spoken again to the

Algerian Prime Minister. You saw in his face, you heard in his voice,

you could tell from the words just how anxious they are in Whitehall

about further casualties. I am told they are preparing for what are

described as multiple casualties. Early on, there was talk, all of it

unconfirmed, of as many as 35 dead from all nationalities. When I put

that to people in Whitehall, expected meant to dismiss it as

nonsense, they said, we simply do not know the answer to this. But it

may not be as wrong as you might originally have thought. There are

known to be safe. But I am told that up to 20 have yet to be

identified. Some may simply be missing. Some might be hiding.

Others might be injured and not properly identified. Sadly, there

might be others that are dead. I am told that when the news came from

the Algerian government that they had begun a military operation

without notifying or consulting with other Western countries,

including London, the reaction in the room I am told, from someone

who heard, is, please, God, what are they doing? The reason for that

is that the British government had offered the Algerian government

advice on how to deal with the situation. I give negotiations or a

military solution, because -- I their negotiations or a military

solution, the feeling was that the Algerian government did not have

the expertise to deal with this. They might argue that they had no

choice, that the militants involved, the jihadists were trying to move

people off the base and that is why military action was taken. Those

questions, some of the answers we might get in a statement in the

House of Commons tomorrow morning. Tonight, along with all of those

families that are anxious, inside Whitehall, inside Downing Street,

The entire global fleet of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner planes has been

grounded after American regulators said they should be withdrawn from

service for safety reasons. The aircraft became the subject of

international concern after a battery failure forced one of the

planes to make a emergency landing in Japan yesterday. Ladies and

gentlemen, your 787 Dreamliner! is the world's the most high-tech

Elena. It is made of plastic, so it is lighter and cheaper to run. --

airliner. But it has become a bit of a nightmare for Boeing. This is

not a drill. This is yesterday's emergency evacuation in Japan after

fears of a fire on board. Barely a week after another Dreamliner

caught fire in Boston. Now, the plane is grounded until Boeing can

prove it is safe. This is the cause of all of those safety fears. A

battery about the size of a shoebox made of lithium-ion. That is the

same material used in many laptops and mobile phones. The Dreamliner

is the first plane to rely on these batteries, which are light and

powerful. They don't actually fly the plane, they help power the

aircraft on the ground. Now there are fears it could catch fire. This

is the wrecked battery that came out of the plane in Boston. If the

battery fails, it is quite catastrophic. You are looking at a

severe over heat, an explosion of the battery, the release of very

poisonous, toxic gas. You could potentially be looking at the loss

of a complete aircraft, you could be looking at a plane crash. That

is why US and European safety regulators grounded the plane today.

New aircraft always have problems. Boeing's arch-rival Airbus found

cracks in the wings of its super sized A380, a mistake that cost the

company millions of pounds. The Dreamliner was already being

scrutinised after a string of recent issues, including a crack in

the cockpit windscreen and fuel leaks. But the battery is the most

serious problem. It will hit Boeing for some months, certainly some

customers might think again about buying the 787. Nobody is thinking

twice at the moment because this is a very fine aeroplane. Three UK

airlines have Dreamliners or order. Boeing insists that the plane are

safe and says it is working around the clock to return it to the skies.

But there was no indication how long that might take. If there has

been more graphic and disturbing evidence in the trial of a group of

men accused of the sexual exploitation of vulnerable girls as

young as 11 in Oxford. The nine men are facing 51 charges

including rape, trafficking and organising prostitution over a

period of eight years. The men, all in their 20s and 30s, deny the

Cowley Road in Oxford. It was here, the court heard, that one girl of

14 first met her abusers. The men took her to locations all over the

city. The jury was told that she, like others, was raped and forced

into prostitution. Some of the alleged encounters are said to have

taken place in a room at this guest house. The prosecution said that

the girl, who had been in care from a young age, felt she had to do

what she was told. In court, Noel Lucas QC said the girl had tried to

explain why she could not escape. She said to a friend, I have no

choice, I have never been loved. I just want to be loved. Another girl,

who the prosecution said was, repeatedly raped, made a complaint

to the police into 1006 but was persuaded to drop it. Mohammed

Karrar is said to have forced a girl of 12 to half an abortion with

no doctor present. Noel Lucas said that that was not only entirely

unlawful, but also extremely dangerous. The same girl was

branded with a hairpin that he had heated up with a lighter. He

regarded her his property, he said, he branded her to make her his

property. The prosecution said the stories of the alleged victims were

consistent. First they were groomed with apparent kindness, then they

were given strong drink and drugs and put under pressure by the use

of violence. There were, said the prosecution, sexually used and

abused. The men deny all of the charges and the trial is expected

to last for at least eight weeks. A British soldier who died

yesterday in hospital after being injured in Afghanistan has been

named. He was Kingsman David Robertshaw from 1st Battalion, the

Duke of Lancaster Regiment. He was shot when his checkpoint came under

attack from insurgents in Lashkar Gah.

The city of Aleppo has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of

the Syrian conflict in recent months, with more than 80 people

killed in a single bomb attack this week. Now there is evidence of

discontent with the rebels, with the Free Syrian Army accused of

theft, looting and kidnap for ransom. Some inhabitants are

turning to a radical Islamist group, named by the US has a terrorist

organisation. Paul Wood has been speaking exclusively to members of

They are waiting for bread. Eight hours in the bitter cold. Nothing

is more emblematic of the failure to run the areas of Aleppo captured

by the rebels than the queues outside the city's bakeries. And

everyone knows the reason. It is that the Free Syrian Army fighters

looted the city's flour supplier. We have no bread, no fuel, no

diesel, no power, she says. She goes on to tell me, we used to live

like kings, now the strong devour the week. There is an atmosphere of

insecurity. There are a rests on the slightest suspicion of a

connection to the regime. There are kidnappings for ransom. Support is

seeping away from the Free Army. These men are the beneficiaries,

the Islamist fighters of the Nusra Front. To many in Aleppo they are

saviours, the only ones able to keep order. To the United States,

they are terrorists. This secretive group agreed to speak to us. I

asked them what if a democratic Syria rejected their Islamic state?

Would the jihad continue? That will never happen, so is this Commander,

or emir. Syria is an Islamic country. The people love Islam.

They are fed up of secular regimes. It is impossible they would reject

Sharia. The Nusra Front are responsible for

many, perhaps most, of the suicide attacks in Syria. They face

accusations of killing civilians indiscriminately. We choose only

military carp -- targets, he insists. The regime puts car bombs

among civilians and blames us. He also denied any link to Al-Qaeda.

An aeroplane drops bombs, sending everyone running. They think the

Nusra Front building is the target. They have taken cover in case the

plane makes another pass, but the jihadis have a reputation of being

the bravest fighters, going to fight -- front lines other groups

will not touch. Jabhat al-Nusra are widely regarded here as honest. All

of this means that power and influence is flowing to the

Islamists. They may have a very big say in Syria's future. There is

still support in Aleppo for the Free Syrian Army, but even these

wives of their fighters wondered if it has all been worth it.

I wish our lives could go back to what they were, she says. They are

forced to burn rubbish to keep warm. Western governments have a dilemma.

If they stay out of Syria, the Islamists will grow stronger. But

weapons sent to the uprising might well reach the jihadists. So people

wait for help that probably is not coming.

Much of the UK is braced for heavy snow overnight and tomorrow, with

predictions of widespread travel disruption. The heaviest snow is

expected in South Wales, where up to 30 centimetres could fall. John

Casey is that a gritting station in south Gloucestershire. -- Jon Kay.

It has been more than two years since the Met Office put out a red

warning for slow as they have tonight for south-east Wales, just

over the border from here. -- snow. But large parts of Britain are set

to be blanketed. By this time tomorrow, much of Britain will be

white. The gritters are out and the

snowploughs are ready. As temperatures drop tonight and the

winds Pickup, the highway teams are expecting a challenge. We cannot be

everywhere at the same time and it is critical we get the sort down

and activated as the snow falls. Parts of eastern Britain have

looked like this since the beginning of the week but tomorrow

it will affect millions more. In south-east Wales, the Met Office

have issued a rare red warning. Basically, it means take action.

There will be disruption because of this weather event. There will be

some significant snow, coupled with the fact that there will be strong

winds, blizzard conditions and some drifting. Transport could face

severe disruption. In southern England, some rail companies have

already cancelled trains and revised timetables. Airports,

including Heathrow and Gatwick, will be gritting the runways

overnight. We have a winter warmth pack. In Yorkshire, charities have

been delivering survival kits to hundreds of vulnerable pensioners.

I live on my own, so why rely on the good sense and people like this

bringing packages. -- I rely on them. Gritting teams expect to be

busy well into the weekend, even when the snow stops falling.

Freezing temperatures mean much of it could stay on the ground. The

Local Government Association says there are 1 million tonnes of grit

ready to be spread on the roads of England and Wales alone. Councils

say they are as ready as they have ever been. We will find out in the

morning what that means. Full details on BBC local radio.

Two conmen who carried out an audacious property fraud to allow

them to live the lifestyles of the super-rich have been jailed for a

total of 12 years. Achilleas Kallakis and Alexander Williams

bought a private jet and a luxury yacht with some of the hundreds of

millions of pounds they swindled from high street banks. Luisa

Baldini reports. Achilleas Kallakis was a gambling

man. He even played poker in televised tournaments. Off-screen,

he was also gambling, but where the stakes were even higher. For five

years from 2003, he played the part of a property tycoon with a multi-

million pound portfolio and a jet- set lifestyle to match, including a

private jet, a yacht and helicopter. But it was based on a pack of lies.

Together with his friend, Alex Williams, he was defrauding high

street banks to the tune of over �750 million. Using fake documents,

the fraudsters managed to secure or overvalued mortgagors. They then

bought dozens of incredibly expensive properties in prime

locations, like here, Barclay's Square in the centre of London.

They siphoned off the difference between the amount they had been

loaned and the value of the property. What is incredible is

that the banks are lending them these vast sums, like �740 million

from Allied Irish Bank, but not carrying out the proper checks.

Indeed, sentencing the pair, Judge Andrew Goymer said the two banks,

Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Scotland have undoubtedly acted

carelessly and imprudently by failing to make full inquiries

before advancing the money. This was a persistent and audacious

fraud which enable these defendants, and Mr CARILEC has in particular,

to lead the lifestyle of the super- rich. He begins his seven-year

sentence tonight. There was some good news today for

the UK's car industry. The number of vehicles exported hit a record

high of 1.2 million last year. The biggest market for cars made in

Britain is the EU. But given the crisis in the eurozone, can the

record performance be sustained? John Moylan reports.

The Port of Tyne, once famous for exporting coal. Today, it is busy

with a much more valuable commodity. These cars are built in Britain at

Nissan's huge Sunderland plant, but they are heading abroad. This

terminal is Nissan's springboard to markets around the world. The cars

being loaded here are destined for forecourts in mainland Europe. But

from here, Nissan can export vehicles to the likes of Russia,

Australia and New Zealand. Nissan made 500,000 vehicles last year,

more than one third of all the cars built in Britain. Good news for the

region and beyond. 6000 people work at Nissan but it is bigger than

that. The majority of the north- east have something to do with

Nissan. It is peace of mind at the end of the day that I know I will

have a job this month, next month, maybe even next year, the year

after, the next 10 years. UK car production is at a four-year high

but the vast majority leave these shores. Where do they go? According

to the industry, last year around half of all exports went to the EU,

our biggest trading partner. But as many as 12% ended up in Russia.

Roughly the same amount that went to the USA. But companies like

Jaguar Land Rover are also seeing sales soar in fast-growing markets

like China. That has helped compensate for the decline in the

auto market in mainland Europe, which led Honda to cut 800 jobs

last week. The European downturn, the worst in over 15 years, sales

down 8%, is starting to be felt in the UK. We have seen Honda laying

off workers, Ford closing a plant, General Motors going to one shift

at Luton. The longer it goes on, the greater the impact on the mass-

market. These cars will be on foreign forecourts in a matter of

days but until the European market recovers, continued export success

will be far from plain sailing. In tennis, Britain's Laura Robson

produced a big upset today by beating former Wimbledon champion

Petra Kvitova in a mammoth three- hour match to reach the last 32 of

the Australian Open. Andy Swiss reports.

At just 18, she is one of tennis a' rising stars. Laura Robson. The

former Wimbledon girls' champion was up against a former women's

champion, Petra Kvitova. At first, the experience gap showed, with

Kvitova Racing to the first set. A year ago, that might have been that,

but Robson has recently shot up the rankings and she soon showed why,

battling back to level the match. It was an epic deciding set, a

battle of stamina as much as skill, and it was Robson that held her

nerve. It was a bruising display. After three hours of sheer guts,

she sealed a famous win. Today was a big win for me. I really toughed

it out in the end. It is definitely up there, and I just have to play a