19/01/2018 BBC News at Ten

The Government decides not

to challenge the decision to release

the serial sex attacker John

Worboys.

His victims have expressed

outrage that he will now be

freed after eight years.

The Justice Secretary admits

he too is concerned.

I know this will disappoint

the victims in this case

and members of this House.

Given the crimes for which he has

been convicted on a personal level,

candidly, I share those concerns.

Worboys is believed to have attacked

over a hundred women.

Some of his victims are challenging

the decision to release him.

In an exceptional case like this,

we think there should be some

explanation of the decision,

which seems to be at odds with every

known fact about the case.

We'll be looking at

whether the attempts

to keep Worboys behind

bars can succeed.

Also tonight....

Scientists say they're

a step closer to one

of the biggest goals in medicine -

a single blood test

for all types of cancer.

A new offensive opens

up in the seven-year-long war

in Syria - with the threat of a

new ground offensive.

The former doctor to

the US gymnastics team -

growing numbers of his

victims testify that he

sexually abused them,

including one of their London

2012 gold medallists.

You are so sick, I can't even

comprehend how angry I feel

when I think of you.

And it's already an Oscar contender

- the British short film

about the importance of sign

language,

starring a deaf

six-year-old girl.

And coming up on Sportsday on BBC

News,

England's cricketers can wrap

up the one-day series

against Australia on Sunday

with a win in Sydney.

Good evening.

There will be no Government

challenge to the decision to release

the serial sex attacker,

John Worboys.

The former black-cab

driver was jailed in 2009

for attacking 12 women,

but it's suspected he assaulted

and raped many more.

The Justice Secretary David Gauke

admits he shares the concerns

of Worboys' victims, but that it

would not be "appropriate"

to seek judicial review

of the Parole Board's ruling

to free him.

Two of his victims are mounting

their own challenge to try to keep

Worboys behind bars.

June Kelly has more.

He is one of the country's most

notorious serial sex offenders.

In his black cab, John Worboys

cruised for victims, not fares.

He was convicted of drugging

and sexually assaulting 12 women.

One of them, he raped.

But it's feared he may have attacked

more than 100 in total.

At the top of Government,

as elsewhere, there was astonishment

at the decision to release him

after less than a decade in prison.

The week began with the Justice

Secretary looking to challenge

the decision in the courts.

But today he announced that

after taking legal advice,

he wouldn't be going

down that route.

He tried to offer reassurance

to Worboys' victims.

Let me be absolutely clear.

Worboys will not be released

until their representations have

been properly considered

and his

licence conditions are in place.

Indeed, last week I asked

for assurances that the views

of victims were being taken

into account and that robust

licensing conditions would be put

in place to manage his risk.

But as one politician withdraws

from the court arena,

another, Sadiq Khan,

the Labour mayor of London,

says he's now investigating

whether can bring a legal challenge.

Worboys is currently being held at

Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire.

Lawyers for some of his victims

are questioning why he's being freed

from a top security jail.

And in a letter to the parole board

outlining why they plan

to mount a legal challenge,

they say "What is of particular

significance is the degree

of planning over many years that

went into his offending.

That is difficult

behaviour to change".

We presently don't know the reasons

why he's been granted release.

But we do know the nature and scope

and extent of his offending.

We know that, up until very

recently, he was denying

responsibility for the offence.

He may still be.

We know that the parole board,

only the previous year,

refused to move him to an open

prison because they considered

he was still a risk.

What has changed over that time?

Prosecutors have been under pressure

to explain why Worboys didn't face

more charges at his trial.

Tonight, the head of

the Crown Prosecution Service

was pressed on whether he could

face fresh charges.

We have certainly said

we will review any cases the police

may want to refer to us and indeed,

we are talking to the police

about if there is any action that

can be taken or giving them advice

if they're asking for it.

The conditions John Worboys

will have to abide by when he's

released are still being finalised.

His victims are set to formally

launch their legal challenge,

which is being crowdfunded, next

week.

And while that's going on,

the black cab rapist, as he's known,

will stay behind bars.

Given that the government has

dropped its legal challenge, what is

the likelihood that John Worboys

could remain behind bars?

It's

difficult to say at this time. After

this row blew up a fortnight ago, a

number of people were metaphorically

in the dog including prosecutors,

who were being forced to explain why

they didn't put him on trial for

more charges at his trial a decade

ago. The Director of Public

Prosecutions has reiterated tonight

that they looked at complaints from

more than 80 women and decided that

in the majority of cases, the

complaints simply were not strong

enough to put before a jury and that

was why he was prosecuted on a

limited number of charges. As we had

in the report, Alison Saunders is

now saying that if fresh evidence

emerged, they would look at it. But

of course, it is a long time since

John Worboys was roaming around

London committing his offences. At

the same time, we now have this

legal challenge from two of his

victims, and they want a review of

whether the process under which he

was deemed fit for release was

lawful. But they are in the initial

stages of this. And of course, the

reasoning behind the decision to

release him is not made public, as

is the norm with parole board

decisions. The parole board have

said the decision was made by a very

experienced team. They considered a

wealth of evidence. But now this

very controversial case moves to the

courts.

June, thank you.

Scientists say they've

taken a step towards one

of the biggest goals in medicine -

a single blood test

for all types of cancer.

A team in America has trialled

a method that detects eight common

forms of the disease

without the need for invasive

biopsies or operations.

Their vision is an annual test

designed to catch cancer

early and save lives.

Here's our Medical

Correspondent Fergus Walsh.

It is ten years since Ali was

diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

It is rare for anyone with

the disease to survive that long.

There is no screening

programme, so tumours

are usually found too late.

A blood test would make

a big difference.

If we are able to get more people

diagnosed sooner, like me,

then it's going to make me feel

a lot happier.

There are only 1% of us

who are surviving, like me,

to ten years, and it's a bit

of a lonely place.

There aren't many of us around.

And I'd really like pancreatic

cancer to become more

of a chronic disease,

rather than such an acute,

deadly disease, as it is now.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins

University in Baltimore have made

significant progress towards a blood

test for cancer.

The team examined blood samples

from around 1,000 cancer patients.

They had one of eight

different common cancers.

Lung, liver, pancreas,

colon, oesophagus,

breast, stomach or ovary.

Cancer cells shed bits of DNA,

which circulate in the blood,

so the test looked for 16 gene

mutations and eight

protein bio markers.

Overall, the blood test

found 70% of the cancers,

but that success rate fell to just

40% with small, early-stage cancers,

and this is when you'd

want tumours detected,

when there is the best chance

of a cure through surgery.

So a reliable blood test

for cancer is some way off.

But the Francis Crick Institute

in London, which is pioneering

research in this area,

believes it will come.

I'm almost certain that,

in the next five to ten years,

we will see tests like this becoming

much more routine in clinical

practice, to help us diagnose

tumours earlier and help us increase

the cure rates for patients

suffering from cancers.

The American cancer blood test costs

around £350 per patient,

and each positive result would need

further investigation,

so the burden on the NHS would need

to be weighed against the benefits

of early treatment and lives saved.

Fergus Walsh, BBC News.

It's a race against time

in Washington to prevent a shutdown

of the US government.

With Republicans and Democrats

bitterly divided over immigration,

what's called the budget bill

is unlikely to pass.

If there's no agreement

by tonight's midnight deadline,

many government services will simply

grind to a halt, government offices

will shut and hundreds of thousands

of employees are likely to be sent

home - though essential

services will still run.

Our North American Editor

Jon Sopel reports.

So help me God.

Congratulations, Mr President.

A year ago today, Donald Trump stood

on the steps of the Capitol,

promising to make America great

again, promising to drain

the swamp, promising to fix

the nation's broken politics.

This American carnage stops right

here and stops right now.

One year on, the government stands

being paralysed by the prospect

of shutdown that nobody wants,

with Democrats and Republicans

fighting bitterly over a funding

deal for Federal institutions.

And at times like this,

Washington goes into its favourite

pursuit, the blame game.

At the White House this morning,

the President's budget director

was taking aim at the Democrats.

The President is actively

working right now to try

to prevent a shutdown.

I will contend to you that it's

dramatically different

to what President Obama was doing

in 2013, so there is no way you can

lay this at the feet of

the President of the United States.

But in the Senate,

the Democrat leadership

is blaming the White House.

I hope the President will join us.

If he will, we can

solve this problem.

If he stands on the

sidelines, we cannot.

Although a glimmer of hope came

with news that the Democrat

leader in the Senate,

Chuck Schumer, had been to

the White House to see Donald Trump.

We discussed all of the major

outstanding issues.

We made some progress,

but we still have a good

number of disagreements.

The discussions will continue.

This is what America looks like!

At the core of this is a row over

what should happen to the children

of illegal immigrants who came

into the country with their parents,

the so-called Dreamers.

A deal that allowed them to come out

of the shadows and work

legally expires in March.

Last week, the President chaired

a round table immigration discussion

with Democrats and Republicans,

and he was in conciliatory mood.

When this group comes

back, hopefully with

an agreement, this group

and others, from the Senate,

from the House, comes back

with an agreement, I'm signing it.

I mean, I will be signing it.

Democrats left believing a deal had

been agreed that would allow

the Dreamers to stay,

but the President changed his mind.

And that means the US government

stands on the brink of a shutdown

for the first time since 2013.

It will lead to the closure

of Federal offices and services,

and hundreds of thousands of staff

being laid off until such

times as a funding deal

for the government can be agreed.

The clock is ticking, with no sign

of an imminent breakthrough.

The only practical question should

be who would be affected

by a government shutdown

and how long might it last?

But in Washington, it's

all about who wins or loses,

Democrats or Republicans.

A political game

is being played out.

Jon Sopel, BBC News, Washington.

There's been some comfort for some

employees of the failed

construction giant Carillion,

who've been told their projects,

and crucially their wages, will be

guaranteed to at least mid-April.

The firm, which has hundreds

of public and private contracts,

collapsed on Monday with debts

of more than £1 billion.

Our business editor,

Simon Jack, joins me now.

Simon, what more can you tell us?

Some comfort, as you say. Network

Rail has said Carillion employees

engaged on their projects will have

wages guaranteed until mid April. We

are also hearing that Kier group, a

joint-venture partner of Carillion

on those controversial projects,

four example HS2, awarded after we

knew the company was in trouble,

will be taken on. We are talking 200

workers out of 20,000. There has

been a flurry of activity since the

second biggest firm in construction

went bust. We have had a task form

assembled, the banks saying they

will be sympathetic. It feels like

the cavalry is arriving but I would

describe them as ambulances rather

than casualty. -- rather than the

cavalry. The real casualties are

subcontractors, some owed millions,

some tens of thousands, some very

small firms. They will be very

lucky, one Carillion board member

told me, to get anything at all. And

it is not it -- just if you are

directly exposed. If you are exposed

to a company which in turn is

exposed, the shock waves can come

down the supply chain. The rescue

funds will not help with those

debts. They will give a payment

holiday might waive some overdraft

fees, but the actual debts that you

owe to the bank will not go away. We

are now in a situation, one of the

biggest things to rock the

construction industry and the wider

business community for many years.

We will have to see how the shock

waves developed, and I am afraid the

casualties and the possible fatality

list from those companies will only

grow from here.

A teenager has pleaded not guilty

to trying to kill passengers

in a bomb attack on the London

Underground.

Ahmed Hassan, who's 18,

denied attempted murder,

and causing an explosion

at Parsons Green Tube station

in west London last September.

30 passengers were

taken to hospital.

His trial has been set

for the 5th of March.

A woman who survived an alleged

attempted rape and murder has been

describing what she thought

were her last moments alive.

The woman, who can't be named,

told a court how Mujahid Arshid

slashed her neck and wrists

with a knife, telling her she only

had ten minutes left to live.

Mr Arshid is also on trial accused

of raping and murdering 20-year-old

Celine Dookhran last July.

He denies all the charges.

Retail sales fell more sharply

than expected last month,

contributing to the worst Christmas

performance on the high

street for five years.

The news came as Carpetright issued

a profits warning that

saw its shares plummet,

with the company losing

40% of its value today.

Seven years into the Syrian

war and a new offensive

is threatening to open up

in what is an increasingly

complex conflict.

Turkey, which has long

fought Kurdish separatists

within its own country,

is now shelling Kurdish militia

in the Afrin region over

the border in northern Syria,

and threatening an all-out

ground offensive, possibly

as soon as tomorrow.

America is warning

Turkey to stay out.

From inside Syria, our

Chief International Correspondent

Lyse Doucet reports.

Warning shots across the border.

The target isn't

really Syria, it's the

Kurdish militia now controlling

the land all too close to Turkey.

Tanks and troops

are also moving into

position, the de facto start

of a ground invasion.

That's what Turkey's defence

minister calls this.

Its sights are set on Afrin.

Syria's Kurds have been in charge

for the last five years.

They are vowing to keep it.

We will fight to the last drop

of blood, they declare.

We will stand with Afrin.

Turkey calls them terrorists,

linked to its main enemy at home,

the Turkish Kurds in the PKK.

All this is opening up another major

crisis inside Syria's already

tangled war.

Just to the south, the Syrian army

is pushing ahead with

its own offensive to retake ground

held by hardline Islamists.

As fighting intensifies,

so too the humanitarian crisis.

200,000 people are now

on the run, heading north,

adding to pressure

on Turkey's border.

These two are among them.

TRANSLATION: I got the kids and put

them in the car and we were off.

We came here with nothing.

In some places, they can't run away.

There were more air

strikes today in East

Ghouta, a besieged area on the edge

of Damascus under rebel control.

Thousands are now

living in basements.

This baby's life begins underground.

TRANSLATION: This child is only 20

hours old, born in the

bombardment and destruction.

The siege here in Ghouta.

No one can see our suffering.

All the children here have

known nothing but war.

They have to make the most of it.

They have no inkling

of the complexities

of this conflict, but they live

with its cost every day.

Lyse Doucet, BBC News, Syria.

All this week, the sentencing

hearings have been taking

place of a former doctor

for the American gymnastics team

who's been convicted

of sexual abuse.

What started out with 100 women

telling Larry Nasser in harrowing

terms how his abuse has affected

them has now grown to 140, and more

women could yet come forward.

Today was the turn of the team's

captain, Aly Raisman.

She told how she had been sexually

abused for a number of years,

including at the London 2012

Olympics.

Rajini Vaidyanathan has been

in court all week.

They were nicknamed the fierce five,

the gold winning American gymnastics

team. But four of these women were

hiding a dark secret. They say they

were sexually abused by their team

doctor, Larry Nasser, described as a

monster in court. Today, the team

captain was the latest to share her

story.

story.

You are so sick, I can't

contemplate how sick I feel when I

think of you. You manipulated me.

You were touching an innocent child

to pleasure yourself.

Seen at the

London 2012 games, she was just 18

when her team won gold.

Behind-the-scenes, Larry Nasser was

abusing her.

abusing her.

Larry was the Olympic

doctor and he molested me at the

London Olympic Games. Abusers, your

time is up. The survivors are here,

standing tall and we are not going

anywhere.

Her team-mate also shared

her story in court.

Our bodies were

hanging by a thread in London. Who

was the doctor sent to keep us

healthy and help us get through? The

doctor that was our abuser. The

doctor that is a child molester.

For

years there have been concerns about

him, but many survivors say they

were ignored, as victims were not

just decorated Olympian spot the

children of family friends and

state-level gymnasts like Gwen

Anderson. The champion athlete who

competed for the stage with

Michigan, Gwen is seen here at 14.

She was just 12 when she first

received treatment from him.

Instead, he molested her time and

time again.

To have your name and your face

and your story out for everybody

to see is a scary thing.

He was going to make sure I didn't

hurt, and he took that and used

that against all of us.

For so many, this was a man

they trusted implicitly.

For the record, go to hell.

Tom Brennan was Gwen's coach

and once a close friend of Nassar's.

Did you have any idea

of what he was doing?

None.

I had zero idea.

We had the utmost trust

for that man, and that's

where we all went wrong.

All this week, young women have

packed this small courtroom,

as they get to do what few survivors

of sexual abuse ever

have the chance to, directly

confront their attacker.

There's been a real sense

of collective empowerment here.

Already, more than 80 women have

shared their testimonies in this

case, and every day more are coming

forward, saying they want

to share their stories, too.

Tonight, the list of women who say

they want to speak out has grown to

as many as 120. The judge says every

woman who wants to face him in court

will be given the chance to.

Rajini Vaidynathan, BBC

News, Lansing, Michigan.

The Prime Minister is to

have a bilateral meeting

with President Trump

in Switzerland next week.

Both leaders are attending

the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Last week, Mr Trump announced

that he would not be coming

to the UK next month to open

the new American embassy

in south London.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand,

Jacinda Ardern, has announced

that she is pregnant.

Ms Ardern said she and her partner

were expecting their child in June,

after which she planned to take

a six-week break.

She is now set to be the second

elected world leader to give

birth while in office,

and the first to do

so in almost 30 years.

I'm not the first woman

to work and have a baby.

I know these are special

circumstances but there'll be many

women who will have done this well

before I have.

I acknowledge those women.

I'm about to sympathise with them

a lot, as I sympathise

with all women who've

suffered morning sickness.

From Hollyoaks to Hollywood.

That could become a reality

for two former stars

of the Channel 4 soap opera.

Next week Rachel Shenton

and Chris Overton find out

if their 20-minute drama,

The Silent Child has been

nominated at the Oscars.

Ms Shenton wrote the film

to highlight how sign language can

change lives and cast Maisie Sly,

a profoundly deaf six-year-old

girl, in the lead role.

Colin Paterson has

been to meet them.

Yeah, I mean this story

is incredibly close to my heart.

I want her to speak...

The Silent Child tells the story

of a deaf girl struggling

to communicate.

I think she'll be able to

have a career in whatever she likes.

Rachel Shenton, who used to be

in Hollyoaks, wrote and stars in

the short film inspired

by her own family's experience.

She is a qualified sign

language interpreter.

My dad lost his hearing

when I was younger, and he actually

lived the last two years

of his life profoundly deaf.

And I saw then just how hard

that was on a family, and I

started to learn sign language.

She made the film

to draw attention to

the fact that more than three

quarters of deaf children in the UK

attend mainstream school

without any specialist help.

Deafness isn't

a learning difficulty.

With the right support a deaf

child can do exactly

the same as a hearing child.

That was the big message.

ALL:

Mouse wanted to find out!

The star of the film, Maisie Sly,

is six and profoundly deaf.

Her family moved from Plymouth

to Swindon especially so she could

attend a mainstream school,

which does offer support.

She'd never acted before.

INTERPRETER:

I wanted to show

hearing people that deaf

children can do anything.

How was it making the film?

INTERPRETER:

It was hard work

because I have to sometimes film

things again and again and again.

I used the sign to start

but I would say, "Action."

But things were made a lot easier

by the director Chris

Overton, who also used

to be in Hollyoaks.

He learned sign language especially

so he could communicate

with his star.

I learned all of the lines

and as much basic sign

language as I could.

Because we wouldn't have a film

if I couldn't tell her what to do.

Now it's the wait

for the nominations.

I get the feeling Maisie

is less nervous about next

Tuesday than you and Chris.

I think that's fairly accurate.

Is that true?

INTERPRETER:

She says that I think

we're going to go to

the Oscars.

LAUGHTER.

Colin Paterson, BBC News, Swindon.

That's it from us.

Now on BBC One, it's time

for the news where you are.