18/10/2013 BBC News at Ten

The increasingly desperate plight of civilians caught in Syria's civil

war, cut off from food and medical supplies.

Rare footage from inside rebel held areas where people are trapped by

the fighting, with the shops running out of food.

TRANSLATION: If they want to attack us with chemical weapons, then just

do it, but can they make them with the smell of bread so we can die

happy? We'll be looking at what progress

has been made towards resolving the conflict.

Also tonight: Shameful - a coroner rules neglect contributed to the

deaths of five elderly residents at a care home in Sussex.

Police protection for moderate British Muslims after they are

targeted in a video by Islamist extremists.

For sale off the coast of Brazil - one of the biggest offshore oil

deposits ever found. And could Andros Townsend lead the

next generation of England footballers?

On Sportsday, Andros Townsend signs a new four-year contract with

Tottenham Hotspur. He's also told the BBC he took Roy Hodgson's joke

as a compliment. Good evening.

The desperate plight of civilians caught up in Syria's conflict is

causing increasing alarm among aid agencies tonight. Food supplies in

rebel held areas of the capital, Damascus, are close to running out,

and the International Committee of the Red Cross is calling on all

sides to allow them in to help. The Syrian army has told the rebels to

surrender or starve. The situation is so desperate that an influential

Muslim cleric has issued a religious ruling allowing people to eat cats

and dogs. The BBC has had access to rare footage shot inside one of the

areas cut off from outside help. Paul Wood reports.

Surrender, or starve. That is what the Syrian military calls its tactic

of besieging rebel held parts of Damascus. This is how the regime has

been shelling this suburb in recent weeks. Encircled and cut off, no one

can get out and nothing can get in. One family's struggle for existence

was filmed by an activist. Conditions are so desperate that a

cleric has ruled people can eat cats and dogs. This 11th -year-old boy

and his nine-year-old sister have seen many friends die.

TRANSLATION: My dream is to go back to school and play with my friends.

We had a slogan, one for wall, and all for one, but I don't think that

can happen now because half my friends are dead. We are bored of

this. If they want to attack with chemical weapons, then do it. But

can they make them with the smell of bread so we can die happy? His

mother, who asked not to be identified, says she cannot face

what they might have to do to survive.

TRANSLATION: I would rather die than eat cats and dogs. Two weeks ago I

saw the head of a cat in the Street. Just imagining the picture

of people eating cats make me sick for the whole day. There is little

comfort on a trip to the market. A few radishes and leaves, all that is

left to sell here. For children already ill, the shortage of food is

deadly. Activists say they are starting to record the first deaths

from complications caused by malnutrition. Tens of thousands of

people are affected in Damascus. Several areas are worse than others.

They have been cut off for months. Here, on Wednesday, the government

told noncombatants, women, children and elderly men that they could

leave. But shelling began as one group crossed no man's land. We are

helpless, says this man, having been turned back. All that we have is

God. Several thousand escaped, but many more remained behind, unwilling

to risk this. The UN Security Council has just passed a resolution

instructing all sides to allow humanitarian supplies to cross front

lines. That is not happening in the suburbs of Damascus. But the

international community may have reached the limit of its influence

in Syria, able to get access to weapons inspectors but not for aid

to desperate people whose food is running out. The family share their

one meal of the day. A handful of lentils has made a thin broth and

some bread. In four or five days they say the little that they have

will be gone. Bridget Kendall is here. What

progress on a diplomatic solution to end the misery we saw? On the face

of it, there has been progress. Chemical weapons inspectors say they

are able to get on with their job, and the Syrian regime is talking a

prospect of a peace conference in Geneva although others are saying it

is too early to talk about that yet. But over the last few weeks, Syrian

diplomatic diplomacy, the process of diplomacy has been turned on its

head. Just a few weeks ago, the United States was contemplating air

strikes on Syria. They went from bad to a piece deal over chemical

weapons, which some of Syria's neighbours is just legitimising

President Assad and will do nothing to stop the conflict, the bloodshed,

the misery we saw in that film. Today we got the measure of the

anger and frustration countries like Saudi Arabia are feeling. Saudi

Arabia announced it was refusing to take up its rotating seat on the UN

Security Council, shocking everybody, saying it was partly in

protest at what is happening in Syria. It is a symbolic gesture but

it is a good measure of the divisions and frustrations around

Syria and just how complicated it will be to solve the conflict.

A coroner has ruled that neglect contributed to the deaths of five

elderly people at a residential home in Sussex. She said there was

institutionalised abuse throughout Orchid View Care Home and nobody did

anything about it. Some residents were given overdoses or the wrong

medication altogether, left dirty, distressed and unattended. The Care

Quality Commission also came in for criticism. It had given the home a

rating of "good". Duncan Kennedy reports.

Mothers, fathers, parents and grandparents. The elderly residents

who went into a home of care, only to suffer pain and neglect at the

hands of their carers. The 19 who died lived at the Orchid View home

near Crawley. The inquest heard residents were not given pain

relief, were locked in rooms and had injuries left untreated by staff,

who were drinking tea. Lindsay's mother was among those who suffered.

She was given an overdose of her own drugs and had her medical notes

shredded to cover it up. Every days seemed like a battle in trying to

get the care she needed. Having read and listened to the other evidence,

it is amazing that anyone came out of Orchid View alive. The coroner

condemned the home and its management. She said residents were

found naked, one in pain with his catheter twisted. Others were left

soiled in bed. Another had a fractured ankle that took staff days

to discover, and some even have their wounds dressed with Seller

tape. The scandal came to light when the administrator turned

whistle-blower. Her manager had ordered her to shred medical notes.

Morally, I know I did the right thing but personally I have not

worked for two years and the case has had a huge impact on my life.

However, I would not want to dissuade anyone from doing the right

thing in future if they see vulnerable elderly people being

abused and neglected. The coroner also criticised the Care Quality

Commission for not acting sooner to close Orchid View. Tonight, the CQC

said mistakes were made. One of the things I am going to do is to

personally oversee a review of the actions we took and what we can

learn from that, and build that into the new way of inspecting services.

The home is now under new management and has a different name, but for

the coroner what went on here was heartbreaking. She said there was

institutional abuse, a place which had, from top to bottom, been

completely mismanaged. The coroner said all of those involved in Orchid

View should be ashamed. This was a story about residents denied the

committee and respect, who had a home, but not the care.

Well, the Health Secretary has expressed his concern about the care

of the elderly, not just in terms of protecting them from abuse but also

from loneliness. Jeremy Hunt described as a source of national

shame that 800,000 people in England say they are chronically lonely.

He's urging families to take more responsibility, as Mark Easton

reports. Loneliness is a matter of life and

death. For people like Ron, who has experienced a profound sense of

isolation, the evidence is chilling. A lack of social relationships is as

dangerous as smoking, obesity or high blood pressure. It is awful.

You seem to have no purpose in life any more. It was terrible. I was not

eating properly. I felt nobody cared, to be quite honest. He is not

alone in his loneliness. This Sunday a poll for BBC Two is faith in the

world week suggests almost half of image people feel lonely sometimes.

Evidence that older people suffer chronic loneliness was described by

Jeremy Hunt today as a source of national shame. If we are to tackle

the challenge of an ageing society, we must restore and reinvigorate the

social contract between generations. Uncomfortable though it is to say

it, it will only start with changes in the way we personally treat our

own parents and grandparents. But is he right to suggest Britain should

adopt an oriental approach, with families rather than the state

looking after the old? Research done in a few years ago suggests that in

Japan, two thirds of their elderly live with their children. In Italy

it is 40%. Here in Britain it is only 15%. But come to this lunch

club, and you will find that many older people say they do not want to

live with their children. I have one son who lives in Northampton. He

wants me to live with him but I don't want to. You don't want to? My

granddaughter wants me to live with her, but I have my own life and I

want to do what I want to do. You are 92 and happy? Yes. Research

finds that in Eastern Europe upto 30% of the elderly are lonely. In

southern Europe it is up to 20%. In Britain and other parts of northern

Europe, between three and 10% of older people are lonely. I heard how

older men had set up a club to counter isolation. It is called the

keys are's club. It is about countering loneliness? Without a

doubt. An ageing population means loneliness is a challenge for our

society, irresponsibility to be shared between families, communities

and charities, as well as the state. -- a responsibility.

A number of British Muslims who've spoken out against Islamist

extremism are being protected by the police because of concerns for their

safety. They've been warned that they could be targeted by members of

the Somali jihadist group, Al-Shabab, after they were named in

a video which encourages attacks in the UK. Al-Shabab has claimed

responsibility for the recent shopping mall siege in Kenya that

left 67 people dead. June Kelly reports. Those who had been at

Friday prayers at one central London mosque today heard the message that

terrorism has no place in Islam. The imam preached that as a direct

response to the news that he is decided in the latest video by

Al-Shabab. He has been visited the police because of concerns over his

safety, but he is defiant. I am not worried about this death threat. I

am bent to continue with my good work, speaking against terrorism and

extremism, and speaking for fairness and justice for everybody in the

world. I will continue. The Al-Shabab video focuses on Islamist

attacks and the people who have spoken out against them. This imam

on the left is one of the number of leaders criticised. Also depicted as

a traitor to Islam is Mohammed Ansar, a film-maker and journalist.

He has recently been filming this BBC documentary with the now former

leader of the far right English Defence League Tommy Robinson, who

also appears in the Al-Shabab video. Now, both these men have been told

there is a threat to their safety. So, what precautions has the

film-maker put in place? We have had security people around, we have had

lots of briefings, changed locks, reinforced security, had police cars

stationed at our premises, and we have regular patrols checking on us.

Yes, we take it very seriously. In the video, a masked man speaks about

Joe right, 's who have travelled from the UK to Somalia to fight with

Al-Shabab. They were accompanied by many Somali brothers from London,

Liverpool, Cardiff, Bristol and Birmingham... It was Al-Shabab which

was responsible for the attack on the Westgate centre in Kenya. Last

night, the BBC reported on how one of the gunman involved in the

massacre here grew up in Norway. Well I've tidied, Al-Shabab is a

terror network with a global reach. -- like Al-Qaeda. Now, it is

expected to be one of the biggest deals in the history of the oil

industry, affecting the future of global fuel supplies. On Monday,

Brazil will auction rights to the Libra oilfield, discovered off the

coast of Rio de Janeiro. It is thought to contain up to 12 billion

barrels of oil, and would make Brazil one of the largest producers.

The firm which wins the auction stands to make up to ?740 billion

from the proceeds. As Wyre Davies reports, many Brazilians are worried

about selling off a major national asset, and about where the money

will end up. Ozil is about to join the big league, and anyone who is a

player in the oil business is heading south. -- Brazil. Beneath

these waves is the Libra field, one of the largest offshore deposits

ever found, and Brazil is selling the rights to develop the area, but

with some tight strings attached. This is Brazil's new frontier. The

figures are mind boggling, the opportunity is almost endless. When

the Libra field goes on stream, it will produce an extra 10 million

barrels of oil every day for Brazil, worth trillions of dollars for the

national economy. Just to the north of Rio de Janeiro, in this fishing

village, or oil is taking over. Big multinationals and contract as are

queueing up for their share of the windfall. Big British companies are

well established in Brazil, including BP. Also, the lesser-known

BG Group. They are not bidding for the rights to the Libra field, but

many smaller UK supply firms, like the Swire Group, say they have to be

where the oil is now. The North Sea is on the downside, every day, there

is less oil and gas, so the companies are not looking at Africa

and South America as the future, because their business is going to

shrink. -- if those companies are not looking... Thousands of workers

are coming from poorer parts of the country to work on the oil

platforms. But there are concerns about the experience and

infrastructure present in the country. A strike by oil workers

opposed to the involvement of foreign companies in the petroleum

industry has disrupted production. But the head of Brazil's national

oil agency insists the country's state dominated sector can cope with

the huge challenge. Everything is happening in the correct place, so

we are confident that everything will be OK. Oil has always proved to

be a blessing and a curse. Here on the impoverished fringes of one

region, some improvements are finally being made to people's

lives. But what Brazil does with the windfall from the Libra auction will

be watched very closely here. The Defence Secretary says he is

concerned that legal action against the MoD is having an impact on the

ability of servicemen to carry out duties on the battlefield. He was

reacting to a report by a think-tank which says legal claims brought

under the Human Rights Act are sapping the ability of Britain to

fight wars. Caroline Wyatt reports. Over a decade of fighting in

Afghanistan and Iraq has taken its toll. Soldiers' deaths there have

led to legal battles back at home over equipment or decisions made in

the heat of battle. Iraqi and Afghan detainees have also launched claims

against the MoD. Now, a report says applying human rights law to

soldiering is affecting the front line. We have got Lance Corporal 's

and left tenants taking very difficult decisions, taking them at

night, when they are afraid, when they are under fire. -- Lance

Corporals and lieutenancy. Second-guessing what a lawyer or a

judge might say in a few years' time stops them thinking about what they

should be thinking about, how to get home alive. The report says the MoD

has fought over 6000 cases in the past year, putting aside ?130

million out of its budget to pay for them. It employs more than 300

lawyers to do battle in court. The Policy Exchange report expresses

widespread concerns from commanders and politicians alike. The Secretary

of State for Defence, Philip Hammond, has said he remains

concerned about the challenge to combat unity arising from these

judgements. Sue Smith disagrees. Her son was killed when his Snatch Land

Rover hit a roadside bomb in Iraq. He was 21. His lawyer argued the MoD

breached his human rights and should have provided better protected

vehicles. They were not allowed to let it continue because there was no

way anybody could challenge it. For myself, it needed to be challenged,

because they should have the right to life, right to protection. Her

lawyer insists the Human Rights Act does have a place on the

battlefield. What I would like to see coming from this is a

recognition from the MoD that they have to put safety on the agenda, as

one of the considerations when we go into war. For British troops, the

Afghan war may soon be over, but for the opposing armies of lawyers, the

fight is not yet done. The Scottish national party says that if the

Scottish people vote for independence, it would introduce a

cut in energy bills. The Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon,

said the cuts would allow the Scottish government to save

households about ?70 each year. James Cook reports. Perth is power

city. The River Tay gave birth to an energy giant, SSE, which is now

leading the charge to push up prices, a problem for politicians.

The SNP had already rejected Labour's plan to freeze bills, so

what would they do, as the clock ticks down to the referendum?

Delegates, I can announce to you today that an SNP government in an

independent Scotland will remove the cost of energy-saving measures and

the warm home discount from Energy Bill 's. She said that would cut ?70

off the average bill, but of course, the money has to come from

somewhere. Is it not at the basic level taking money out of budgets

for schools and hospitals to save the energy companies? Right now,

people find this out of their pockets, through the energy bills.

It is not progressive, because it hits you whether you are very highly

paid all only paid. It is very regressive. How does this go down on

the high street in Perth, where 2500 people work for just one energy

firm? We get lots of promises from politicians, but does it happen? No,

I do not think it would make a difference. I believe it should not

be part of the energy cost, it should be some other form of

taxation, whether national, income or local. As Scotland prepares to

vote on independence next year, the SNP is trying to bridge divide, to

be on the side of the consumer, without scaring off big business.

The England player Andros Townsend has tried to defuse the race row

prompted by comments by the manager, Roy Hodgson, describing the comments

as a condiment. Townsend is England's write new hope, for the

World Cup in Brazil and beyond. -- as a compliment. His debut was a

rare explosion on the national stage. It's saw him hailed as

England's next great hope. Being at the centre of a racism storm was not

something Andros Townsend was expecting. Today he told me he took

the team talk as a compliment. It has been a week to remember. It was,

in a way I was going home on Friday night, watching the game over and

over again, watching the gold. The last time fans were this infused

about an England player was Wayne Rooney, blasting on the scene for

Everton at 16 years old. Why do players like these, round so

infrequently? At his old club, the players elite performance plan has

been around for a year. The aim of the plan is to get players closer to

10,000 hours of high-level coaching by the age of 18. Here, they say it

has got to start earlier. You see nine-year-olds playing with the

wrong size pitch, the wrong size ball, all of those fundamental

things. It is really sad. If that is the feeder system for the elite

programme, and it is letting us down. There is no argument about

that. The FA says it is working hard to develop better practice for

children, children who idolise these foreign Premier League stars, who

have helped it to become arguably the best league in the world. But

many believe it is at the expense of the national side. Everton's manager

is not one of them. It is easy to say we have it does not matter where

you are from, the players who play is the best ones in the squad. We

need to make sure the British players are the best ones in the

dressing room. The Premier League is adamant that their system means

England fans will enjoy plenty more good nights, and on a more regular

basis. That is all from us. Newsnight follows on BBC Two.