09/11/2017 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at ten - the second Cabinet

reshuffle in the space of a week,

this time to appoint a new Secretary

for International Development.

Penny Mordaunt is

promoted to the Cabinet.

She's a strong supporter of Brexit -

and has been tipped

for promotion for some time.

I'm looking forward to working

with the team here to continue

building a safer, more secure,

more prosperous world for us

all, and really giving the British

public pride in what we do.

She replaces Priti Patel,

who resigned last night

after admitting a series

of unauthorised meetings

with senior Israelis.

And the appointment of another

prominent Brexit campaigner

maintains the balance in Cabinet

between Leavers and Remainers.

We'll have more details,

as the latest Brexit negotiations

get under way in Brussels.

Also tonight.

Following the death

of the Welsh Labour politician

Carl Sargeant, the First Minister

defends his own handling

of the allegations made

against his colleague.

I probably did all that

I could to make sure that everything

was being done by the book.

I had no alternative but to take

the action that I did and I hope

that people will understand that.

On his last day in Beijing,

President Trump is full of praise

for the Chinese president,

but walks away with no

major concessions.

Kevin Spacey will be edited out

of a new Hollywood film,

following more allegations

of sexual assault.

And in Belfast tonight, Switzerland

beat Northern Ireland in the first

leg of their World Cup play-off.

And coming up on Sportsday on BBC

News, we'll have the action

from the womens' Ashes Test

in Sydney, where England have work

to do going into

day two.

Good evening.

For the second time in the space

of a week Theresa May has been

forced into a limited Cabinet

reshuffle, after Priti Patel

Penny Mordaunt has taken over as

International Development Secretary,

replacing Priti Patel, who resigned

last night after a series of

unauthorised meetings with Israeli

officials.

Her appointment maintains the rather

delicate balance in Cabinet

between leavers and remainers,

as the latest Brexit negotiations

get under way in Brussels.

Our political editor

Laura Kuenssberg reports.

One for sorrow, two for joy.

One Brexiteer Cabinet minister

departs through the back door.

Another about to arrive.

Even the driver of the shiny

ministerial car was expecting

Penny Mordaunt as the favourite,

but neither he or we knew for sure,

until the gates opened up.

So a little bit before half past

two, the carefully choreographed

arrival of the newest recruit

to Theresa May's Cabinet.

A promotion for Penny Mordaunt,

another Brexiteer around

the Cabinet table.

Her appointment was not a surprise.

Her Wikipedia page was changed

before the official announcement.

But unusually she arrives at her

new department with experience.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

Not just as a junior

minister in government,

but having years ago been an aid

worker in Eastern Europe.

It's my first day here and I'm

delighted to be here.

I've already met some of the staff

and they're doing a terrific job

building a more safe,

more secure and more

prosperous world for us all,

and I want to continue doing that,

but also to give the British public

confidence and pride

in what we're doing.

You might recognise her

from a rather unlikely

TV diving competition.

She was also a magician's

assistant in a former life.

But as well as working for charities

and being a Navy reservist,

she ran for parliament for the first

time in 2005, elected in 2010.

What do we want?

She backs Andrea Leadsom,

not Theresa May, for Prime Minister.

But crucially, campaigned to leave

the EU, on the stump alongside

the woman she replaced.

In terms of Brexit, whilst I hope

everyone is united behind

the Prime Minister's approach,

nevertheless it's also helpful

to have another person

who was an enthusiastic campaigner

for Brexit during the referendum.

How damaging is this

for the government?

With the Brexit Secretary heading

to Brussels for the sixth

round of the troubled talks,

Number Ten's decision preserves

the almost 50-50 balance at the top

table between those who backed

Remain and those who backed Brexit.

Welcomed by all sorts

at her new department

further up Whitehall,

a move that Theresa May hopes

will keep the political

peace, at least for now.

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC

News, Westminster.

As we mentioned, the latest

stage of the Brexit

negotiations is under way.

Our Europe editor Katya

Adler is in Brussels.

Some thoughts on the prospects of

peace talks, not least in the light

of what has been going on in British

politics in the past few days?

That's right and here in Brussels

all those events unfolding at

Westminster are being watched with

incredulity. Every twist and turn

considered here to be relevant to

Brexit. The big EU worry is that a

weak government can't make big and

bold moves and the moment that David

Davis walked into the stores, here

at the European Commission tomorrow

for the sixth round of Brexit

negotiations, he'll be told in no

uncertain terms that he needs to

make a big, bold and quick move on

money. Of course there are other

divorce issues that still need to be

ironed out, not least the Irish

border, but at the moment it's money

that is the big Brexit stumbling

block. Theresa May has said to the

EU that the UK will honour financial

commitments made while an EU member,

but that's not enough for the EU

right now. They want written

promises. They want specific

promises. And they've told me they

wanted within the next two weeks, or

they are threatening to hold back on

the talks UK so once and that's

about a future trade deal and

transition deal. Now of course the

government is not going to want to

be seen to give in to EU bullying,

but we are hearing rumours tonight

that it may be preparing a

concession on the money issue, and

the logic there would be that in the

end of future trade deal with the EU

and a smooth transition deal would

be worth a lot more than a so-called

exit bill.

Catcher Adler, thank you,

with the latest in Brussels. --

Katya Adler.

The First Minister of Wales,

Carwyn Jones, has defended his

handling of allegations made

against a colleague who's believed

to have taken his own

life earlier this week.

Carl Sargeant was removed

from his Welsh Cabinet job

and suspended by the Labour Party,

but his family say he was never

given details of the allegations

against him and was unable

to defend himself.

Mr Jones said he's acted

correctly and by the book,

as our Wales correspondent

Sian Lloyd reports.

Carl Sargeant, a former Welsh

government minister,

who was sacked from his job

and suspended from the Labour Party

on Friday, amid harassment claims.

Anything to say about

Carl Sargeant, First Minister?

Carwyn Jones, the man

who took that decision,

left his home this morning not

giving anything away.

En route to the Senedd to face

fellow Labour Assembly members

for the first time since the death

of their colleague.

Facing criticism about how

he handled the investigation

from Mr Sergeant's family

and from within his own party,

there were questions over

Carwyn Jones' position.

He'd promised a statement, but this

wasn't a time for him to resign.

We were all very shocked

by what happened last week.

There is great hurt,

anger and bewilderment.

Carl was my friend.

In all the years that I knew him

I never had a cross word with him.

But he defended his conduct

in the way he responded

to the allegations against Carl

Sargeant.

There is a legal

process to go through.

I'm obviously acting within that,

but I welcome the scrutiny

of my actions in the future,

and it's appropriate for that

to be done independently.

Carl Sargeant's body was found

at his home on Deeside on Tuesday.

Today, a family friend

gave an insight into

what Mr Sergeant and his family had

been going through.

Messages were put out to the media

and interviews were given

where he didn't know

they were about to happen.

Or the additional details would be

placed into the public domain.

It broke him.

During that press conference,

held here, Carwyn Jones made it

clear that he is staying on.

But questions remain tonight from

those who are shaken to the core

by these tragic circumstances.

It's not clear yet when

they may be answered.

Sian Lloyd, BBC News, Cardiff.

The MP Charlie Elphicke,

who was suspended from

the parliamentary Conservative Party

last week following allegations

of improper conduct,

has said the process

being followed by the party

is fundamentally wrong.

Mr Elphicke - who's

denied any wrongdoing -

said he had not been told

about the allegations in detail

and said he first heard

the news from the media.

The Conservative Party said the case

had been referred to the police.

On the last day of his state visit

to China, President Trump has been

full of praise for President Xi

Jinping.

Mr Trump, who's been highly critical

of China in the past,

said the big trade imbalance

between the two countries

was largely down to

previous US presidents -

and wasn't China's fault.

Our China editor Carrie Gracie

reports from Beijing.

The real estate billionaire

and the career communist.

Making an odd couple.

But both see themselves

as men of destiny.

With a mission to make

their nation great again.

President Trump once raged that

China was a jobs thief.

But in Beijing he was all

smiles and gratitude.

President Xi, now a very special man

who makes his people proud.

I just want to thank

you for the very warm

welcome.

My feeling toward you is

an incredibly warm one.

They did eventually

talk about the hard

things.

The North Korean nuclear crisis,

and a massive US trade

deficit in China's favour.

But Donald Trump blamed

that on previous

American presidents.

Not on his host.

I don't blame China.

LAUGHTER.

Who can blame a country for being

able to take advantage of another

country for the benefit of its

citizens?

I give China great credit.

And America's deal-maker in chief

got some big sales in return.

China needs to keep stable

access to US markets.

TRANSLATION:

The common interests

of our two countries are far greater

than the differences.

With constructive

attitudes, we can look

for common ground.

This is not a real news conference.

There were no questions

from the media.

Neither on North Korea,

nor on whether the

business deals are

worth celebrating.

In the absence of a major move

to open Chinese markets.

Instead, a US president is starring

in a show put on by his host to give

the impression of openness, while

maintaining an iron grip on the

message.

An American steakhouse in Beijing.

But the steak is not American.

Because despite a Trump deal

earlier this year, it's still

hard to import fresh meat.

TRANSLATION:

I'd really like to use

American beef, because we are a US

brand, the taste would

be more authentic.

But chefs don't control the menu

for China's markets.

Many are closed,

and critics say what's

needed is not fancy deals,

but bringing down the barriers.

If we don't address

them now, I'm afraid

that they're going to

get worse and the gap

is going to get wider,

and

the friction between China

and the US in the trade area

is going to get larger.

I feel that this is

a missed opportunity.

Charm and disarm.

But when the toasts

are over, the trade

deficit will still be big

and North Korea is still a crisis.

President Xi hopes this

personal bond will

convince Americans that China's rise

does not mean US decline.

Carrie Gracie, BBC News, Beijing.

Let's go live to Beijing tonight and

Carrie Gracie is there. In your view

what has President Trump actually

achieved on this visit?

This has

been a US state visit to China

unlike any other, from the host

lavish welcome and from the guests,

and if you say thank you. For China

it couldn't have gone better. There

was no unpleasantness on Twitter and

what's more, unlike berating China

for unfair trade practices, which is

what usually happens when US

presidents come here, Donald Trump

actually convert you to China for

outplaying the US -- actually

congratulate it. He did not press

publicly for human rights or

democracy. So what did he get in

exchange for his US seal of approval

on an increasingly assertive Chinese

strongman? He got some big trade

deals. Now the thing about those

however is that they are, many of

them, non-binding and have no fixed

times frame, so as he moves from

China to Vietnam in the next few

hours the Chinese President, waving

off, can feel satisfied he made no

concrete promise on North Korea or

on trade or on anything else.

Carrie

Gracie, many thanks for the latest

in Beijing on that state visit by

President Trump.

More than 2000 children under

the age of 15 have been identified

under the government's

counter-terrorism programme,

according to the latest figures.

In all, in the 12 months to April

last year, more than 7500 people

were identified as being at risk

of extremism, as our correspondent

Sima Kotecha explains.

Five terror attacks in Britain just

this year alone, preventing any

further attacks is a top

priority for the government.

That's why it has something

called Channel, a

programme designed to stop people

from being drawn into violent or

extremist behaviour.

Salman - not his real

name- was radicalised

in prison.

By the time he was released,

just months ago, he was

ready to go to Syria

to become a suicide bomber.

His words have been voiced

by an actor to protect his

identity.

I was told that I would get

all my sins washed away.

The only way to do it is to become

a martyr and everything will be

forgiven.

And you will go to heaven.

To me, it was the easy way out.

Just to kill myself

and blow somebody up.

If you believe in something,

you will do anything.

He's now changed his views,

but he's the kind of

person the government wants to help.

Today's figures show

that over the last year,

out of the nearly 8000 people

referred to the government's

counterterrorism strategy,

more than 300 went on to receive

specialist support, including

therapy and

mentoring.

Four out of five were

judged to have had their

vulnerability to terrorism reduced,

but one in six withdrew from the

voluntary process, despite concerns

about their ideology.

A lot of youngsters

are being radicalised as

well.

Due to their vulnerability to drugs.

Thousands of children have been

referred to the programme, and

that's likely to be

down to more pressure

on teachers and doctors

to

identify vulnerable individuals.

A charity partly funded by the Home

Office reaches out to men outside

mosques.

We're hoping to attract people

to come here and talk to us

about vulnerabilities

they might have.

And that might be

radicalisation, it might be

homelessness, it might be

in terms of drug dependency.

And that's something that

we're trying to reach

out to them, so they can get help.

Channel hasn't been

without its critics.

There are some who argue

that it targets particular

communities and creates

suspicion around them.

There are also questions

about how effective it

really is, and how those who are put

through the programme are later

monitored.

Participation's also voluntary,

raising serious concerns

about what happens to

those who refuse help.

One of the big challenges

is for people who already

have really violent extreme views,

but who might not be committing

crime, how do we engage them?

It's highly unlikely

that someone in that

state of mind is going to willingly

engage with government programmes,

because it goes against exactly

what their ideologies may be.

Ministers are adamant it's working.

It is stopping hundreds

of people from

actually resorting

to violence, and has

diverted them away,

and it is

showing that the wider community,

teachers and professionals, are

engaging in the policy

and we are managing to help

keep the country safe.

The UK's threat level remains

severe, which means the

effectiveness of the government's

strategy is crucial.

Sima Kotecha, BBC News.

Sussex Police, who are investigating

the deaths of 12 residents

of a private care home,

have arrested a woman on suspicion

of neglect and fraud.

Officers are looking

into the treatment of dozens

of residents at homes run

by Sussex Health Care.

Our social affairs correspondent

Alison Holt is here.

Well, Sussex Police put out a brief

statement today saying that they had

arrested a woman who lives in West

Sussex, that she's in custody and is

being questioned about fraud and

neglect. This is part of an ongoing

investigation which the police first

got involved in back in May. And it

is into nine care homes run by

Sussex health care. This company

provides support for older people,

some with dementia, and also for

younger adults with severe physical

and learning disabilities. At home

is mainly in the Horsham area of

West Sussex. The investigation is

focusing on allegations of a lack of

care and safeguarding of 43

residents since April 2000 15. 12 of

those residents have since died.

Sussex health care have said today

that they continue to cooperate

fully with the police and the county

council to support this ongoing

investigation.

Many thanks again,

Alison Holt, social affairs

correspondent.

A brief look at some of the day's

other other news stories.

The father of a man who died

after his former girlfriend

allegedly threw acid over him has

wept in court as he described

the injuries his son suffered.

Cornelius van Dongen's son Mark

was left paralysed from the neck

down and blinded in one eye.

The 29-year-old later

took his own life at

a euthanasia clinic in Belgium.

Berlinah Wallace denies murder

and claims she thought the liquid

she threw at him at their home

in Bristol was water.

The trial continues.

The availability of social

housing in England has

fallen to an all-time low,

according to new figures.

In the year to April,

just 5380 houses or flats were built

by housing associations or councils.

Half of the boroughs in London had

no increase in social housing.

Six years ago the number

of new homes for social rent

was more than 39,000.

The former Labour Prime Minister

Gordon Brown has told the BBC that

voters might be persuaded to turn

away from Brexit if they realise

that the so-called red

lines on immigration

and control of borders

can't be delivered.

I think what's going to happen

is we're going to come to a crisis

point next summer and I can't tell

you exactly how it's

going to work itself out,

but this is what's going to happen.

By next summer the public will have

made up their mind that the four red

lines that the government had

actually set in place are not

going to be achieved.

They're going to be crossed.

Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon

Brown.

Former Labour Prime

Minister Gordon Brown.

The arguments about the UK's housing

crisis are often focused

on a perceived lack of space

to build new houses and

the preservation of green belt land.

But new analysis from the BBC

suggests there's much more space

than people might imagine.

Just six percent of the land area

of the UK is built on, and less that

one % of that constitutes housing.

Using the most detailed satellite

and surface mapping data of the UK,

the BBC has produced a land-use map

for every local authority.

Our home editor Mark Easton has been

analysing the findings.

The concrete jungle.

Roads, buildings,

stone and tarmac with

barely a blade of grass.

In geography jargon, this is called

continuous urban fabric,

where more than 80% of the ground

is covered by

artificial surfaces.

So how much of the UK do

you think is classified as

continuous urban fabric?

Have a guess.

The answer is on the other

side of this card.

I'll reveal all in a minute.

Using high-definition satellite

images and detailed local

maps, the land use of every corner

of the UK is revealed.

The City of London,

for example, is 98%

continuous urban fabric, and perhaps

that comes as no surprise.

Nearly all the land

around here is covered

in roads and buildings,

but this is actually

quite unusual in the UK,

and I think people might be

surprised just how little of

the land in the country is actually

covered with buildings and roads.

So the official answer

to the question,

how much of the UK is

continuous urban fabric is...

0.1%.

Looking at the whole

of the country, more than

half is farmland.

Most of it pastures.

Forests, woodland and natural

landscape account for a

third of all the land.

Urban green space, parks

and gardens make up two

and a half percent, with the area

actually built on, roads, buildings,

ports and airports

accounting for just 5.9%.

Take a council like Bradford

in West Yorkshire.

Your mental picture is probably

of a bustling urban centre.

But the aerial mapping

reveals that continuous

urban fabric accounts

for

just 0.3% of the local authority.

Overall, just a quarter of the land

surface is artificial.

Indeed, 10% is this.

I'm standing in a peat bog.

Surprisingly, perhaps,

about 10% of the UK

landscape is covered

in

ground like this.

In fact, there is almost twice

as much peat bog in the

UK as the land that we've built on.

It's a Cinderella landscape and it's

made up of meters and metres of this

stuff, which is peat.

And what's amazing is this

surrounds the towns

and cities of northern England.

The top area for peat

bog is the Outer

Hebrides, where it

covers 61% of the land.

Number 1 for pastures is Armagh city

in Northern Ireland, covering

85% of the local authority.

The area with the

highest proportion of

natural grasslands is Blaenau Gwent,

in industrial South Wales.

So how much space is

given over to buildings?

Offices, factories and homes?

We've been crunching the numbers

and our best estimate for

the whole UK is that

1.4% of the country

is covered in buildings.

That equates to about 2%

for England, just less than 1% for

Wales, and less than half of 1%

for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

So how much of the UK

is covered by housing?

Well, put it this way, 99% of the UK

is not covered in housing.

A tiny proportion of the UK

is the concrete jungle

of our imagination.

Indeed, the entire area covered

by buildings is smaller

than the land revealed

when the tide goes out.

Most of us, it seems,

have a very confused

idea of what our country

actually looks like.

Mark Easton, BBC News.

If you want to find out how

green your local area is,

you can use the BBC land use

calculator at bbc.co.uk/news.

In Zimbabwe there's heightened

tension over who will succeed

Robert Mugabe as president,

after one of the leading contenders

was sacked and forced

to flee the country.

Former vice-president

Emmerson Mnangagwa was until this

week seen as a favourite to take

over from Mr Mugabe, who is 93.

But now Mr Mugabe's wife

Grace is expected to be

appointed vice-president,

and could eventually

succeed her husband.

From Harare, our correspondent

Shingai Nyoka reports.

Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe,

one of Africa's last strongmen.

His wife, Grace, looks

on with pride, as

Harare's International Airport

undergoes a name change.

The ruling Zanu-PF party

in government say that

this was long overdue, and that

there are several more plans to

immortalise the long-time leader.

From next year there

will be a public holiday,

a Robert Mugabe day,

to commemorate his birthday.

And after that,

a 1 billion US dollar

science University is also planned.

Married for 20 years and 40

years his junior, his wife, Grace,

could cement those plans

if she succeeds

him.

I think what is happening now

is really natural attrition,

regeneration of the party.

We are way ahead even

of the opposition.

In the past we've been criticised

as a party.

For being fossilised in the past.

Now we are living.

But she's not popular with everyone.

At last weekend's

rally, she was booed

by then vice president

Emmerson Mnangagwa's supporters.

Do it, I don't care!

President Mugabe

sacked him this week.

He was a long-time ally

and the heir apparent.

It's opened the way

up for Mrs Mugabe.

The woman who started her career in

the presidential typing pool is now

just steps from becoming the female

vice president, her latest speeches

revealing her ambition.

TRANSLATION:

People need

to know I am capable, so

give me that job and see.

The party holds a special

congress to appoint

a vice president in a few weeks.

Grace Mugabe looks certain to take

that role, and perhaps eventually

become Zimbabwe's first

female president.

But as history has shown,

nothing is guaranteed.

Shingai Nyoka, BBC News, Harare.

The actor Kevin Spacey is to be

edited out of a Hollywood film -

just weeks before it's due

to be released.

The unprecedented move

follows new allegations -

of sexual assault and harassment -

against the Mr Spacey.

His scenes will be re-shot -

using another actor -

as our correspondent

in Los Angeles James Cook reports.

Kevin Spacey as you've never

seen him before, and probably won't

again.

How much would you pay

to release your grandson if not $70

million?

Nothing.

Now Christopher Plummer

will take over the role of

the oil tycoon John Paul Getty,

hoping to rescue a film in crisis.

For the crew and some of the cast,

it will be an intense few weeks.

Although Spacey is often on-screen

alone, some stars will reportedly

have to reprise certain scenes.

One of the actors in the film,

Valentina Violo, told us it must

have been a complex decision.

I think that everything's

going a little bit crazy right now.

So probably if they

took this decision

it is good for the movie.

But perhaps there

was no real choice.

The allegations against Kevin Spacey

now span more than 30 years and

include men, women and children.

The double Oscar winner has not

responded to many other claims, but

he has admitted he needs

to address his behaviour.

Hollywood loves a comeback,

but perhaps not this.

I can't imagine anybody in Hollywood

working with him again.

I mean, he's, he's damaged goods.

There's just a taint there.

And I feel like by replacing

him in this film, by

shelving his other

film, Hollywood is...

They did not only throw him out

the door, they nailed the door

shut.

And put a bar on the door and said,

you're not coming back.

Morals matter, but in

this business, cash

commands.

The firms behind the film

are determined to protect their

investment, even if that means this

British director trying something

radical.

Sony clearly has confidence that

Ridley Scott can pull this off.

The director is held in exceptional

regard in Hollywood, with a

reputation for speed and efficiency.

Even for him, though,

this will be a challenge.

And with Kevin Spacey gone,

the publicity will hardly

hurt.

This troubled film may yet

have a happy ending.

James Cook, BBC News, Los Angeles.

Football - and Northern Ireland have

been in action tonight -

in a vital World Cup play-off.

They faced Switzerland in Belfast -

in the first of two matches.

At stake - a place in next

year's finals in Russia.

Our sports correspondent Joe Wilson

is outside Windsor Park.

There is a second leg to come at

Basel at the weekend. Under the

floodlights behind me Northern

Ireland were defeated after a

refereeing decision. Their manager

described it as per wheel during an

staggering. You may well decide he

was right.

Inside Belfast's modernised Stadium,

doors are decorated with the past.

The great Pat Jennings was in goal

when Northern Ireland were World Cup

regulars.

1982, that will never fade.

1986 was the last time

Northern Ireland qualified.

Now, the shiny new era,

Northern Ireland on

the brink of the World Cup again.

Stuart Dallas yelled

forward by Belfast

towards Switzerland,

stopped

without subtlety.

Just a yellow card for the defender.

World rankings in individual

talent, Switzerland stood

superior.

Xherdan Shaqiri teased passes

towards the Northern Ireland

goal and they were getting close.

Dallas couldn't continue

in the second half and dealing

with the Swiss attack was tough

enough for

Northern Ireland without

the referee intervening.

Hang on, the referee interpreted

this as handball by Corrie

Evans.

In his mind it was a penalty.

And, thus, it was 1-0.

A manager plots and plans

for everything and

then sees that.

Northern Ireland launched

late attempts, not on

target.

1-0 down with the second leg

in Switzerland, a refereeing

decision has left them

climbing a mountain.

Joe Wilson, BBC News, Belfast.