15/12/2017 BBC News at Ten

The family of the four children

who died following a house fire

in Salford this week

say the children were

the best of friends.

They were aged between three and 15

and their mother, who survived,

remains in a coma and knows nothing

of what happened.

How can I turn around

and say, they've gone?

I can't even turn round and say

one's gone, all her young ones,

all her babies, have gone.

The police say the fire

was a targeted attack,

three people have been

charged with murder.

The family say the mother had called

the police before and the night

of the fire claiming the family

was being harrassed.

Also tonight -

EU leaders give the official go

ahead for the Brexit talks

to proceed to the next stage.

A student is cleared of rape

after police fail to disclose

evidence which could have

proved his innocence.

Battle for the heartland of the ANC

- as South Africa's ruling party

votes for a new leader

and to regain public trust.

And can England hang

on in the Ashes?

They need at least a draw

to avoid a series defeat.

Coming up in sport on BBC News,

Britain's number two tennis player,

Aljaz Bedene, switches back

to Slovenia in a bid to play

at the next Olympics.

Good evening.

Relatives of the four children

who died in a housefire in Salford

have said they don't know how

they will be able to tell

the children's mother -

who is in a medically induced coma

and likely to remain that

way for several weeks.

15-year-old Demi Pearson,

three-year-old Lia,

Lacie aged seven,

and Brandon who was eight died

following the fire on Monday,

which police are calling

a targeted attack.

The children's grandfather says

the family had been harrassed before

and the police had been called

on Sunday night but left.

The house was set alight

a few hours later.

Three people have been

charged with murder.

Judith Moritz has been

speaking to the family,

and is at police headquarters

in Manchester tonight.

Judith.

Yes, Fiona, I spent the afternoon

here with the Pearson family, with

Mike Pearson, whose four

grandchildren have died, and whose

daughter Michelle is now fighting

for her life in hospital. And with

Michelle's brother and sister,

Claire and Chris. The family are in

obvious pain and though it took all

of their strength, they told me that

they wanted to speak publicly today

to show the world the scale of what

they have lost.

Brandon and Lacie was running

up-and-down the street.

They just, they were so happy

that it was snowing.

Brother and sister playing

in the snow last week.

Brandon and Lacie Pearson

were inseparable.

Lia was the baby of the family.

Everyone doted on her.

She melted your heart.

You couldn't have a serious

face on with that child.

She brought you so much happiness.

Their teenage sister Demi

looked out for them all.

Demi mothered them like they was

her own.

They wasn't siblings, they were best

friends, the lot of them.

Four young lives taken.

Their mother Michelle

is badly burned in a coma.

She doesn't know that

her children have died.

How can I turn around

and say, "They've gone?"

I can't even turn around

and say one's gone.

All her young ones,

all her babies have gone.

She's just going to say,

"Why have you brought me back?"

"Why didn't you just let me go."

This is the first time

her family has spoken

of their pain, their loss,

and their memories of

the night they saw fire

engulfing the house where

the children and their mother

were asleep.

There's not words what your eyes can

describe what you see.

No, you can't describe what you see.

I remember going down

the street and then just

being surrounded by police officers.

And I'm screaming at them,

screaming at them, and I'm calling

them all sorts of names.

You just wanted to go

in and help but you couldn't.

Little Lia's life hung

in the balance for two days.

Her auntie Claire comforted her

as she slipped away.

They allowed me to cuddle her

and hold her as she passed.

Did you speak to her?

I spoke to her, I sang to her.

It must have been so difficult.

It broke me, it did.

I didn't want to let

that little girl go.

The police say that

the house was targeted.

The family say Michelle complained

of being unsafe there.

She'd said she'd actually been

to the housing that week and

begged them to move her to a safe

house, or get her out of the area.

Michelle's been unsafe in that

property for months and months and

the police was aware of this.

The council was aware of this.

And I'm sorry to say this, but...

People have let her down.

They've let her down.

And my sister and her kids

would have had a chance of

survival if they did

their job properly.

The family is broken, the pain

is raw and the loss is immeasurable.

Judith Moritz, BBC News, Manchester.

Judith Moritz speaking to the

Pearson family.

EU leaders have agreed to move

Brexit talks on to the next phase,

which will deal with the future

relationship between Britain

and the EU once Britain leaves.

Theresa May has called it

an important step on the road

to a smooth and orderly Brexit.

But the President of

the European Council, Donald Tusk,

has warned it will be dramatically

difficult to reach a final deal

by March 2019.

Here's our political

editor Laura Kuenssberg.

The men with the message.

Part one is done.

The European Union is ready to grant

the Prime Minister's

wish and move on.

She was a tough, smart,

polite and friendly negotiator.

And so we were able to conclude that

sufficient progress has been made.

To get this far on Brexit,

there has been some conflict

and a lot of compromise.

What is needed to get

to the end of the next phase,

and is Theresa May's goal of a full

agreement by March 2019 realistic?

Still realistic and, of course,

dramatically difficult.

The real negotiations on the second

phase will start in March next year.

I cannot say when these

negotiations will be concluded.

But I don't hope that I will have

to have as early morning meeting

with the British Prime Minister

than the one I had last week.

Hopefully, with fewer

last-minute trips to Brussels

in the middle of the night,

the negotiations step up.

It has been a slog to get this far,

but their words this morning

are part of our history now,

the official end of the beginning

of our departure from

the European Union.

It's taken time, but at last

the government's negotiating team

can crack on with initial talks

about how we do business in future,

and vitally the transition a couple

of years after Brexit itself.

The UK and the EU have shown

what can be achieved by commitment

and perseverance on both sides.

I'm pleased that it's been agreed

we should make rapid progress

on an implementation period,

which will give certainty

to businesses and individuals.

The EU's brokers believe

the Cabinet at home must

bury their differences,

though, to give a clearer picture

of how they want the future to look,

before getting a decent hearing.

The divide within the Conservative

Party is going to make it very

difficult for us to negotiate a way

through as a country.

And Theresa May, ultimately,

has to be able to deliver

for business here.

Business need that certainty now.

The 27 we are leaving behind don't

agree with much of what the UK has

already put on the table,

especially during

the transition period.

They want the European Court to be

in charge during that whole time,

for the UK to accept any changes

without a say, and for

immigration to stay the same.

This is a big junction.

Phase two will be even

tougher, she warned.

We would like it to look

as much like the current

relationship as possible,

but that wouldn't necessarily be

the view of everyone.

It's a marathon race.

We have just finished

the first mile.

Given how far apart the two sides

were, and the distance

between the different wings

of the Tory party,

the Prime Minister might feel

entitled tonight to take a pause

for breath, a moment to savour

having reached this junction.

But with clashes in the Commons

to come, in the Cabinet,

and contradictions between

the European Union and the UK,

still, she has little time or energy

to waste on celebration.

And to reach this point,

not even halfway, she's already

had to yield so much.

Indeed, at times it felt

like the Prime Minister simply

might not make it even this far.

It is a very long way still

until the end of this whole journey.

Laura Kuenssberg,

BBC News, Brussels.

The two sides now need

to finalise the Brexit

withdrawal agreement,

and turn it into something

legally binding.

But negotiations are also

turning to the future.

Chris Morris from the BBC's

Reality Check team looks ahead

to what the next phase

of talks will be about.

Nearly 18 months after

the referendum the EU and the UK are

finally going to start

talking about the future.

Negotiations will focus initially

on a transition period of

roughly two years after Brexit, with

the aim of getting businesses some

extra certainty.

This transition will take

place under existing EU

rules and regulations where things

mosly stay the same, except the UK

no longer has a seat

at the decision-making table.

For example, the EU says

the UK will have to

follow all EU rules and regulations,

including new ones approved during

the transition.

The jurisdiction of the European

Court of Justice will

still apply in full and free

movement of people will

continue too.

The EU says that means the UK

staying in the Single Market and

Customs union.

The British Government

doesn't agree and says we

will leave both of these

on 29th March 2019.

It could become a dispute

over a form of words but

politically it's important.

So, lots to negotiate.

But time is short.

If all goes to plan,

more EU guidelines

will be issued next March,

allowing talks on the future

relationship to start,

on things like security,

foreign policy and,

of course, trade.

The EU says formal trade

negotiations cannot begin legally

until after the UK has left in 2019.

The Government wants to be more

ambitious and finish trade talks

as quickly as possible.

But realistically, says the EU,

they will continue long after Brexit

has actually happened.

Chris Morris, BBC News.

Our political correspondent

Ben Wright is in Westminster.

The Brexit talks move onto phase two

- a good day for Theresa May?

, yes, a big moment for Theresa

May's government, this first

negotiating hurdle has been cleared

and now talks can move on, so I

think there is great relief within

No 10. Tonight it seems too that the

Government has swerved a potential

second defeat in the Commons next

week when MPs vote on the

Government's plan to chisel into

British law the precise date we

leave the European Union. March 29,

2019. Opposition parties and a

number of Tory MPs are really

worried about this and have said it

was boxing the Government in through

the Brexit negotiations and didn't

recognise the fact that the deadline

could be extended if the UK and all

EU countries agreed, so there was a

rebellion brewing. But today a

number of Tory MPs from across the

party have put forward a compromise

that keeps the date in law but also

allows ministers to change it if

they think it needs to be. And

perhaps for once all Tory MPs across

the board seem happy with the

compromise. But as Laura said, there

are much bigger, tougher arguments

to be had now within the government,

around the Cabinet table, about the

precise sort of economic

relationship Britain wants with the

European Union after Brexit.

Ben

Wright at Westminster, thank you.

A judge has called for an inquiry

after a university student

was cleared of rape because police

failed to disclose evidence which

could have proven his innocence.

22-year-old Liam Allan spent two

years on bail, before his trial

at Croydon Crown Court was halted

when it was revealed his accuser had

sent him thousands of text messages.

He's been speaking

exclusively to Clive Coleman.

The day after the case

against him was dropped,

Liam Allan is coming to terms

with the end of

a two-year nightmare.

I was relieved, not just for myself,

but for everyone that's been with me

every step of the way.

And everyone it has impacted.

It was just a huge, huge relief.

You sort of get your life back.

You don't realise that you've

lost parts of your life

until you actually have

it completely done.

The trial may be over, but

the strain it caused remains vivid.

I'll be honest, I did start

to suffer from panic attacks,

a couple of weeks before court,

which is why I said

it was probably my worst time.

Because you just, you have

to have your own reaction,

panic attacks are an internal

reaction that you

can't help yourself.

But it is to be expected,

you can't not go through this

and not panic and not fear,

and remain strong

through the whole thing.

It could bring the strongest person

in the world to their knees.

Liam went on trial charged with six

rapes and six sexual assaults.

His lawyers were repeatedly refused

access to his alleged

victim's phone records.

They were finally handed over

at the start of the trial.

40,000 phone messages included

details which clearly

suggested he was innocent.

His trial at Croydon Crown Court

collapsed yesterday.

She said she didn't

like sex with him.

Text messages to say

she loves sex with him.

There were rape fantasies,

there was sex in the open air.

This was a 12-count indictment.

If the defence hadn't got that,

that man would have been convicted,

that man would have got 12 years,

that man would have had his life

trashed, and on a sexual

offences register for ever.

It's a fundamental principle

of our system that the prosecution

must hand over any evidence that it

holds that could help

the person on trial.

Lawyers tell me that

Liam Allan's experience is far

from a one-off and that there's

a widespread problem.

The Metropolitan Police are carrying

out an urgent assessment the case.

But for Liam, sorry

just won't do it.

An apology just doesn't

feel like enough.

The length of time I faced,

the fact that the person remains

anonymous and I am everywhere

and got dragged through hell

for the last two years,

apology doesn't even slightly cut

it at all.

Liam's case adds to mounting

concerns that the system

for ensuring that those on trial

receive all of the evidence that

could help their defence,

is failing far too often.

Clive Coleman, BBC News.

Six months ago we brought

you the story of Ian Shaw who has

learning disabilities,

autism and epilepsy.

He was diagnosed with testicular

cancer and in January was told

he had three months to live.

But after watching our report,

a psychiatrist got in touch,

suggesting Ian's case should be

looked at again.

It was, and Ian is now

responding well to treatment.

Charities say it raises questions

about the care given to some people

with learning disabilities,

as Alison Holt reports.

September, and it's an important

moment in the Shaw household.

34-year-old Ian will soon be

on his way to hospital.

Going out for a drive,

Ian, in the ambulance?

Yes, please.

Yeah, please.

Ian has learning disabilities,

autism, epilepsy and can't

speak for himself.

Morning, everyone.

Hello.

He also has testicular cancer.

He's being taken for his second

round of chemotherapy,

and that's a major change.

At the start of the year, his family

was told

he was terminally ill and had

three months to live.

He spent a long time in bed,

especially when I thought

there was no treatment and no cure,

I just thought...

Just a waiting game, but now,

it's like there is hope.

I followed Ian's story

for ten months now because

his family wanted others

to understand how people

with learning disabilities

are too often failed by the system.

Only recently has it become

clear what that has meant for Ian.

Turn the clock back to our report,

broadcast in July,

and Ian was clearly ill.

Difficult for his parents,

who believed his cancer should have

been spotted sooner.

He'd spent nine years

in secure health units

because of his challenging

behaviour, and they felt

he'd been overmedicated

and his health neglected.

I was told there was no treatment.

Because it'd been there a long time

and they couldn't treat it

because it would be too much.

It just wouldn't work,

it's gone too far.

Watching that report

was Dr Justin Wilson,

a psychiatrist who had researched

cancer treatments in people

with learning disabilities.

Knowing that testicular cancer

is one of the most treatable

cancers that there is,

I was surprised that a decision had

been made not to provide treatment.

I wanted to understand

what that was about.

We put him in touch with the family.

He suggested getting a second

opinion, which led to Ian having

chemo at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

My concern was that

perhaps judgments are made

about the quality-of-life

that he has, because of his severe

learning disabilities

and because of the physical impact

of how the cancer had spread.

I'm also clearly aware that

providing cancer treatment

for somebody with the problems that

Ian has is a real challenge,

but my view is that those

challenges can be overcome.

Give me your hands...

It is now November and

another big day for Ian.

He's being moved to a wheelchair

because the doctors

want him up and about.

The cancer has affected his

spine, so he can't walk,

but he's doing really well.

Do you like it, Ian?

After ten months stuck in a bed,

he's had enough of people talking.

He's desperate to have

a chair, isn't he?

Once moving, he doesn't

want to stop.

The look on his face is fantastic.

There's still a long way to go

for Ian, but the change

is staggering since I first met him,

and since his family was told

there was no hope at the Luton

and Dunstable Hospital in January.

In a statement the hospital says,

"A number of experts

were consulted about Ian's case.

It was agreed that Mr Shaw was too

ill to undergo chemotherapy.

It concludes his learning

difficulties were not a factor

in the decision to move

to a palliative care pathway".

First time in the chair?

For ages.

He's over moon.

Dr Wilson and Bernadette Adams,

the family's advocate, haven't seen

Ian for a couple of months.

Hello, how are you?

I think we need to learn that people

with autism and learning

disabilities have the same

rights as anyone else,

and there doesn't need to be

a barrier, we can make

adjustments so that they get

the right treatment,

at the right time.

NHS England says it's working

to reduce the health inequalities

faced by people with learning

disabilities, but it didn't

want to comment on Ian's case.

The latest scan has shown

that his cancer is shrinking.

Give us a kiss!

Alison Holt, BBC News.

South Africa's governing

African National Congress

is preparing this weekend to pick

a new party leader to replace

Jacob Zuma, who is also

the country's president.

The ANC is still the dominant

political force, but has faced

a loss of public trust.

President Zuma is facing corruption

allegations, which he denies.

The BBC's Africa Editor,

Fergal Keane, has travelled

through the ANC stronghold

of the Eastern Cape.

Many dreams of freedom were born

here, died here and were reborn.

From its earliest days, the Eastern

Cape was an ANC stronghold.

New Brighton was where the party's

military wing was founded,

and the first South African township

I visited in the years of apartheid.

When I first came to this township,

more than 30 years ago,

the ANC were still banned,

Mandela was in jail,

Jacob Zuma was in exile.

But to the people who live here now,

that's all ancient history.

What they care about is

what the ANC hasn't done.

Anger over the failure to deliver

enough houses and services saw

people here force the closure

of this museum to the heroes

of the freedom struggle.

They've come in from

the rural areas...

Paul Mbewana is a lifelong

ANC supporter who led

the community protest.

He is astonished at the looting

of state resources that has

burgeoned under Jacob Zuma.

In fact, I'm disgusted with it,

because it's eating all

the resources which are meant

for the poor, the

poorest of the poor.

So they can't...

They can't benefit from services

and all those things.

But go north into still impoverished

rural areas and you are reminded

of an essential fact.

The virus of corruption,

moral and financial,

was present long before Zuma.

Here, tens of millions

were squandered by the white regime

to create so-called independent

homelands, where black

people were to be dumped

far from the cities.

It's partly that memory

that keeps older voters,

like this 77-year-old,

loyal to the ANC and Zuma.

"I like Jacob Zuma because he's part

of the ANC", she told me.

"He took us to freedom.

"Even if they remove him,

he took us to freedom".

But a culture of protest

is thriving in South Africa,

driven by a free press

and independent judiciary fighting

to rein in Jacob Zuma.

I came here to Fort Hare University,

alma mater of Nelson Mandela,

and four other African presidents,

and found students eager for change.

My perception of our politicians

is that they are people

who are self-absorbed,

who do not have the best interests

of the people of this country,

especially the poor people,

who fought for them to be in power.

Do not put the leaders that

are going to continue

with the culture of robbing poor

South Africans' money.

Bring leaders that are progressive,

that see vision, that see progress,

that want to improve the lives

of South Africans.

That's my stand.

South Africa's strength has always

been the determination

of the majority to confront

injustice, whether

racism or corruption.

It's that spirit which will demand

accountability from whoever

ends up leading the ANC.

Fergal Keane, BBC News

in the Eastern Cape.

The date has been announced

for Prince Harry and

Meghan Markle's wedding.

The service at St George's Chapel,

Windsor Castle, will take place

on Saturday May 19th.

That's something of a break

with tradition for the royal family,

whose weddings usually

take place on a weekday.

Cricket, and England failed

to capitalise on centuries

from Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan

on the second day of the third

Ashes Test against Australia.

They were bowled out for 403.

Australia, in reply, are 203-3.

Andy Swiss reports.

The Waca is traditionally

where Australian heroes are made,

but would this be another day

for English ones?

Well, it seemed so at first,

as Dawid Malan and Johnny Bairstow

picked up their marathon partnership

where they had left off, Bairstow

completing a superb century.

After his now infamous incident

in a Perth bar, he celebrated

by head-butting his helmet.

England were enjoying themselves.

But out of nowhere, guess what.

Malan went to a brilliant catch

by Peter Handscomb for 140.

And the rest crumbled

in all too familiar fashion,

losing their last six wickets

in 48 mind-boggling minutes.

They just made it to the 400

mark, but it should have

been so much better.

Well, to be all out by lunchtime

here wasn't exactly

part of England's plan.

That was some batting collapse,

even by their standards,

and Australia are suddenly right

back in this.

So could England's bowlers

repair the damage?

Well, they made a decent start,

Craig Overton removing both openers.

But further chances slipped

through their fingers.

They were difficult ones,

but they proved damaging.

Usman Khawaja made a half century

by the time he was eventually

trapped leg before, and there was no

budging his skipper.

Steve Smith, still there on 92.

If only some of England's earlier

batting had shown such stickability.

A day which belonged to Australia

then, but a Test which England

can't afford to lose

is still tantalisingly poised.

Yes, England's bowlers resume here

in a few hours, knowing that they

need early wickets, especially the

Australian captain, Steve Smith.