06/02/2018 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten.

The bosses of Carillion accused

of being 'asleep at the wheel'

as the company headed

towards collapse.

The construction giant -

which employed 40,000 worldwide -

went into liquidation last month

with huge debts and a massive

pension deficit.

The former executives appeared

before a parliamentary committee

where they were reprimanded

for refusing to hand

back their bonuses.

Large numbers of people will not get

paid for their contracts and other

people have lost their jobs. And you

are still all right. All of you.

Aren't you?

And the collapse of Carillion

means the new hospital

in Liverpool is unlikely to be

completed this year.

Also tonight.

Stock markets have experienced

further volatility -

after dramatic moves in global share

prices in the past 24 hours.

Reports in South Africa

that President Zuma -

who's been accused of corruption -

is now preparing to stand down.

How some of England's most

deprived areas suffer some

of the biggest cuts in spending

on children's services.

Hundreds of women gather

at Westminster to celebrate

the events of a century ago -

when millions were given

the right to vote.

And the world's most powerful rocket

has been launched tonight

from Kennedy Space Center -

experts say it could

transform space exploration.

Coming up on Sportsday on BBC News.

Could Swansea's Carlos Carvalhal

guide his side past Notts County in

tonight's fourth round replay to set

up a tie against his former club

Sheffield Wednesday?

Good evening.

For the first time former

executives of Carillion

have spoken publicly

about the collapse of

the construction firm -

which went into liquidation last

month with debts of one

and a half billion pounds.

The senior figures appeared before

a parliamentary committee -

which accused them of being

'delusional' - and of falling

'asleep at the wheel'.

The former executives rejected

suggestions that they should

hand back their bonuses.

Carillion was responsible

for building and maintaining

schools, hospitals and prisons

and employed more than 40,000

people worldwide, as our business

editor Simon Jack reports.

Summoned to Westminster,

Carillion's top brass.

Philip Green was chairman of the

board when the company collapsed.

And he started with an apology.

I would say I'm deeply sorry

for the impact that the collapse

of the company had on employees,

pensioners, customers,

suppliers and all stakeholders.

So what went wrong?

Zafar Khan was finance director.

He said hundreds of millions

was owed by Middle East customers,

projects hit trouble,

and then new business dried up.

We had some contracts that we have

preferred bidders for,

but they continued to drift out

to the right because of the Brexit

related uncertainty.

And that was amplified

by the general elections.

So the board knew that the company

was in trouble in May of last year.

Keith Cochrane eventually stepped

in as CEO and was a senior director

when the board approved

a £50 million dividend in June.

If we had suspended dividend and not

paid that 50 million payment

that was made in 2017,

would that have made a difference?

Possibly.

I don't think given all the moving

parts, I don't think you could say

definitively it would have

changed the outlook.

Here in King's Cross

there are a few old signs still up.

Carillion has been

replaced on this project.

Today we saw a mixture of regret,

of shock and a bit of anger at how

a company passed fit

in its own annual statement last

March suffered a crippling

profit warning four months

later and six months

after that, was liquidated.

One thing everyone agrees

on is the company had far too much

debt, so when nasty surprises came

along the company was in no fit

state to withstand them.

Other projects are

facing major delays.

The Royal Liverpool Hospital was

originally due to open this month.

Structural problems,

cost overruns and now sub

contractor financial

hardship means that this hospital

may not be ready for patients before

the end of next year.

Were the bosses rewarded

for these failures?

Former chief executive

Richard Howson was paid

£1.5 million in salary,

perks and bonuses in 2016.

Do you feel comfortable

with the level of bonus you received

in the year before the company that

you ran collapsed?

Yes, I do, for the attributes

that I earned it for.

Half of that bonus is deferred

and half of it was paid in cash.

There will be heated moments

to come in this postmortem.

And there will be awkward ones.

Large numbers of people

are not going to get paid

for their contracts.

Other people have lost their jobs.

And you are still all right.

All of you.

Aren't you?

Simon Jack, BBC News.

Stock markets in Asia,

Europe and the United States have

seen further volatility

after dramatic falls in global share

prices yesterday and overnight.

Investors have been concerned

about the prospect of interest

rates rising in the US more

quickly than expected,

which would push up

the cost of borrowing

for companies and consumers.

Our economics editor Kamal Ahmed

looks at the latest activity

and examines the importance

of what's happening.

The opening bell in New York today.

Optimistic as ever.

It is America.

But on trading floors around

the world, Frankfurt, Tokyo,

London, worry as stock markets

suffered their third day of falls.

After the calm, the record highs,

this is the correction.

We still see this as a correction,

not as a profound change

in the fundamentals which would mean

that potentially we are entering

a more difficult environment.

But nevertheless we have to

understand that we are at a juncture

in the global economy and in markets

that might imply that the way

forward is a lot more difficult

and trickier than it was.

The dramatic falls follow

a remarkable upward run.

The major American market, the Dow,

and in the UK, the FTSE 100,

have been rising for a decade before

the sell-off began.

Over the last three days

the Dow has fallen by 4.9%.

And the FTSE 100 has

also fallen, by 4.7%.

This has been an era

of money printing.

Central banks that have kept

interest rates at record lows

and pumped in trillions of pounds

of economic stimulus.

The fear in the markets now is that

inflation is returning

because of strong global growth,

interest rates will rise,

and the stimulus taps

will be turned off.

Events in the City,

events on Wall Street,

can seem a long way away

from the high street.

But the health of the stock

markets does matter.

It matters of course

if you own shares, it matters

if you have a pension fund.

Often invested in stock markets.

It matters if you have savings,

often invested in stock markets.

When stock markets go down,

the negative effects can be felt

by many millions of people.

America led the rise and has

been leading the dip.

And that is a bit

tricky for this man.

The stock market has smashed one

record after another.

We have hit, I guess,

close to 60 records.

Our stock market has reached

an all-time high today.

Will the president have to eat

a little humble pie?

The stock market is up

significantly, over 30%

since President Trump was elected.

We're monitoring the stock markets,

they are functioning very well,

and we continue to believe

in the long-term impact

of the stock market.

This is not yet a market crisis.

The economic fundamentals

are strong, particularly

in Trump's America.

The US market staged a recovery

today, and not many believe

a full crash is imminent.

But sentiment, emotion,

drives markets as much as facts

and sentiment is hard to predict.

Kamal Ahmed, BBC News.

We can talk to our correspondent

Yogita Limaye in New York.

Is there any sign of this volatility

going away?

I was on the floor of

the New York stock exchange today

when the opening bell rang and after

that the Dow Jones industrial

average plunged by 500 points. Now

it is up more than 500 points at

close sell a massive swing, more

than 1000 points today. So the

market seems to change direction

about bit but the volatility has not

gone away. I spoke to traders on the

floor of the stock market today and

they expect markets will remain

choppy at least until the end of the

week. That potentially could have a

effect on markets around the world

and they will be watching what is

happening here. Of course it has

been a good day compared yesterday,

and that is evidence of what

analysts had been saying, there is

nothing to panic about just yet.

The

fundamentals of the US economy

remains strong. Thank you very much.

Within the past couple of hours it's

been reported in South Africa

that President Zuma is preparing

to stand down - as soon as a list

of conditions has been finalised.

He held a meeting earlier

with Cyril Ramaphosa

deputy president and leader

of the ruling party the ANC.

Mr Zuma has been accused

of being unfit to govern,

following a wave of corruption

allegations.

Our Africa editor Fergal

Keane is in Cape Town.

What is your reading of these events

today?

It has been an extraordinary

day. First the postponement for the

first time in the history of the

Democratic South Africa of a state

of the nation address by President.

That's because his own party the

African National Congress threatened

to recall him from the presidency

vote called an emergency meeting of

the National executive committee. We

know tonight Jacob Zuma has met with

his would-be political nemesis the

new leader of the ANC, Cyril

Ramaphosa in what has been described

Prodl and constructive talks. I take

that to be ANC speak for a deal

being in the making. We're told

there are a set of preconditions

that Jacob Zuma wants to see filled

before he would step down. That is

where it gets tricky, the thing that

has bothered him the most is the

possibility of facing trial on

corruption charges. It is not within

the gift of the ANC or of Cyril

Ramaphosa to granting immunity. So

what could they be talking about,

possibly financial support in his

legal battles and continuing support

for him when he leaves the

presidency. It may simply be the

case that Jacob Zuma has realised

that he has lost the support of his

party, his people and is now trying

to negotiate as dignified and exit

as he possibly can. We will know

very soon.

The extent of the spending

cuts in England

affecting council services

for vulnerable children and families

has been highlighted

in research seen by the BBC.

Overall spending on children's

services has fallen by 16

per cent since 2010

and local authorities with

the highest levels of deprivation

have seen cuts of nearly

30 per cent.

Ministers insist that extra money

has been made available to councils.

Our social affairs correspondent

Alison Holt has the story.

In a cramped room in one

of Birmingham's most deprived areas,

volunteers run a cook and eat

session for local families.

Many face money or other worries.

Here mums find counselling,

childcare and friends.

They've asked not to be identified.

That help is vital for mental

health and, obviously,

having the mothers emotionally

stable helps the children, and happy

parents, is happy children.

But today's research shows

as council spending on children's

services has been cut,

it's become increasingly hard

to get early intervention

and family support like this.

A charity runs this place,

they said neglect cases

are increasing massively.

What we see is where that early help

could have happened and their mum

was able to get on her feet,

and keep those children and then

go on to actually be

a very effective parent.

We're now seeing that that is just

left and left until a crisis emerges

and then you're at the very top end

of crisis, that involves

removal of children.

And this mother, who now looks

after a relative's children

who would otherwise be in care,

told me she believes the family

didn't get enough early support.

It would have made

a lot of difference.

It maybe would have helped probably

keep the family together and not

have it broken up

the way that it is.

In Birmingham there are some

of the most deprived

areas in the country and,

according to today's research,

it's councils which are dealing

with high levels of poverty

and of need which have seen some

of the greatest cuts to their

children's services budgets.

At the same time,

the demands keep increasing.

Councils in England say 10 years ago

they started 200 child protection

investigations each day.

Now, they begin 500 a day.

This new research shows vital child

protection in children in care

services have been largely shielded

from cuts, but in the most

deprived areas there's been

a 54% fall in spending

on helping families early.

So this is the room

that was used for stay and play.

That has meant the closure

of children's centres,

like this one in Birmingham.

Here they say they've lost

staff who really knew

what was going on locally.

The same issues are still there.

The community, as all communities

in super deprived areas,

still need that support.

But councils maintain the squeeze

on their funding from government

leaves them with no choice.

Many councils now face a tipping

point where they know they're having

to take away the services that keep

people out of the most expensive

child protection services.

However, they've simply got no

choice because they've got to keep

funding the child protection work

and everything else therefore has

to go in order to pay for it.

The Children's Minister

declined to do an interview,

but the Education Department says

extra money has been made

available to councils.

It adds, "We want every child,

no matter where they live,

to receive high-quality

care and support."

But with no letup in demand

for children's services,

the arguments over funding

will get tougher.

Alison Holt, BBC News, Birmingham.

A brief look at some

of the day's other news stories.

A man has been jailed for a minimum

of 26 years for murdering his former

girlfriend in a car park in Kent.

The judge told Joshua Stimpson

he had committed a "cruel,

calculated and wicked act."

Stimpson stalked Molly McLaren

before stabbing her over

70 times last June.

Rescuers in Taiwan are searching

for people trapped in a 10-storey

hotel after a strong earthquake

in the east of the island.

The building has been

left tilting perilously

and there've been aftershocks.

Two people have been killed

and nearly 200 injured.

A man who alleged he was the victim

of a child abuse ring involving high

profile individuals is himself

facing multiple charges

relating to the possession

of indecent images of children.

Allegations of paedophilia

and homicide made by the man

known as "Nick" triggered

the Metropolitan Police

investigation known

as Operation Midland.

Our home affairs correspondent,

Daniel Sandford,

is at Scotland Yard.

Tell us what we can say tonight

then, Daniel?

Well, Huw, the man is

called Nick for legal reasons.

He made a series of extraordinary

allegations that he had been both

sexually abused and tortured by

senior politicians and senior

members of the armed forces in the

1970s and 1980s and that even

witnessed other boys being murdered.

Scotland Yard detectives set up what

became known as Operation Midland to

investigate Nick's allegations,

allegations that they controversial

described as both "credible and

true." Detectives raided Field

Marshal Lord Bramel's home, Lord

Britain and Harvey Proctor before

dropping the whole investigation,

clearing the men completely,

apologising and paying compensation

to some of those who had been

accused in the investigation costing

£2.5 million. We can now reveal that

Nick, the man who made all thoses

allegations was him him is charged

last year with several offences of

possession of images of child sexual

abuse and that some of those

offences are alleged to have taken

place during the same period that he

was talking to Operation Midland

detectives. As we've previously

reported, he's also being

investigated for perverting the

course of justice and there's a

filed with the Crown Prosecution

Service who are trying to decide

whether he should be charged in

relation to that. Huw.

Daniel,

thanks very much for the update

there at Scotland Yard. Daniel

Sandford, our Home Affairs

Correspondent.

Theresa May has called for more

women to enter politics in a speech

in Parliament this evening to mark

the centenary of women's suffrage.

Addressing an audience

of female parliamentarians

and equality campaigners,

she said the suffragettes

deserved greater recognition

for their struggle 100 years ago.

Our political correspondent,

Vicki Young, was at tonight's event.

The oldest part of the Palace

of Westminster, tonight reserved

for hundreds of female

parliamentarians, past and present.

Theresa May said this was the living

legacy of the suffrage movement.

Every one of us is here today

because the of the heroic,

tireless struggle of those

who came before us.

Women who led a campaign, not just

for themselves or their families,

but for generations as yet unborn.

Disrupting Parliament was a key

tactic for suffragettes,

some invaded the Commons chamber,

others chained

themselves to statues.

ARCHIVE:

We have waited too long

for political justice,

we refuse to wait any longer.

Over time, the protests

became more aggressive.

So they would come in here,

wait to see their MPs and then

they would jump on the seats

and shout, "Votes for women.

We are not slaves."

It got so bad, at the end

of 1906/1907, on Valentine's Day

in 1907, they decided they would ban

women from Central Lobby.

So it's particularly nice that we're

standing here today.

And finally, after years

of struggle, the Edwardian radicals

radicals got their way,

and here it is, the Act

of Parliament that extended

the right to vote to all men over 21

and to women for the first time.

The 6th February 1918,

one of the most significant mile

stones in British democratic

history, and a date that

changed this place forever.

Nancy Astor was the first woman

to take her seat in the Commons.

A few others joined her in coming

electionles, but progress was slow.

The rise of Margaret Thatcher meant

Britain got its first female

Prime Minister in 1979,

but she promoted just one other

woman to her Cabinet.

It wasn't until 1997 that the face

of Parliament really changed,

when 101 women joined Tony Blair

after his landslide victory.

And tonight was an opportunity

to reflect on the contribution made

by women in public life.

I'm amazed at how much was achieved

since the 1960s and '70s

where everything was changed

in terms of women's belief

in themselves as equal,

their role in the family,

their role in the world of work

and their belief that they should

share decision making in Parliament.

I think it's incredibly important

to have women's voices in public

life because then you have women's

lives taking seriously

by governments who are trying

to influence the shape of policy.

Power in our society

is still hoarded in the hands

of men, particularly rich,

white men, whether that's

in business, in politics

or in the media, from the gender pay

gap, to pregnancy discrimination,

to sexual harassment.

There's so many issues

still to address.

So 100 years on, women here

are proud of their achievements,

but few think their work is done.

Vicki Young, BBC News, Westminster.

An urgent review has been ordered

into the way doctors in England

are treated by the legal system

when they make serious mistakes.

The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt,

made the announcement

following the case of a doctor found

guilty of manslaughter after one

of her patients died

at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba was also struck

off the medical register.

Hundreds of doctors signed a letter

of protest about the way she'd been

treated, as our health editor,

Hugh Pym, reports.

A six-year-old boy, Jack Adcock,

died as a result of a catalogue

of errors at a Leicester hospital.

A serious infection

was not diagnosed.

A doctor, Hadiza Bawa-Garba,

was convicted of gross negligence

manslaughter and later barred

from practising.

A nurse at the hospital was also

convicted and struck off.

Colleagues say Dr Bawa-Garba

was working under intense

pressure and low staffing

was partly to blame.

The decision to stop her working,

so ending her career

as a doctor, generated anger

across the profession.

Today, the Government announced

a review of how doctors' mistakes

should be handled.

It is fair to say that the recent

Dr Bawa-Garba case has

caused huge concern.

So today, I can announce that I've

asked Professor Sir Norman Williams,

the former president

of the Royal College of Surgeons,

my senior clinical advisor,

to conduct a rapid review

into the application

of gross negligence

manslaughter in healthcare.

A crowdfunding campaign has now

raised more than £300,000

to try to fight to clear

Dr Bawa-Garba's name.

Doctors say it's important

staff feel able to admit

to mistakes and learn from them

without fear of punishment.

On any day in healthcare things can

go wrong and it's only by fixing

the systems that actually you can

make patients and all of the staff

who work in there safer

because you need to consider both

when it comes to actually

making patients safer.

Jack's family say the

legal decisions should

simply be respected.

It's awful and it's wrong.

You know, I've lost my

little boy in all this.

I don't need this.

All I've tried to do is fight

for justice for my little boy.

We've got it.

She needs to basically take

the punishment that she's got,

just like the nurse,

and just get on with it.

Doctors said Jack's death was tragic

and they had every sympathy

for his family and their aim

was to ensure lessons were learned

to keep future patients safe.

Hugh Pym, BBC News.

The EU could cut off the UK's access

to parts of the single market

during the transition period

after Brexit if there

was a disagreement that

could not be settled

by the European Court of Justice.

That proposal is included in a draft

document being circulated

by the EU's Brexit negotiators.

Our Europe correspondent,

Adam Fleming, is in Strasbourg.

Adam, what do you make of this

document?

Evening, Huw, basically

what the EU is saying if the UK

breaks the rules during this two

year transition period after Brexit

day, then it risks losing access to

certain elements of the single

market. Now to some people that will

seem quite threat. Ing. To others,

on the EU side, it's a sensible

backup plan and the thing they

insist on in all their agreements

from other countries they have done

deals with in the past. This

document in which this suggestion

was contained in a footnote was

circulated among the 27 remaining EU

countries. It's the first time we've

seen drafts draft language wording

that could end up in the final

Brexit treaty at the end of this

whole process. British sources

tonight saying it's a first draft

and it doesn't reflect the

negotiations which are happening in

Brussels this week.

Adam, once

again, thanks very much. Adam

Fleming there for us in Strasbourg.

Families of the victims

of the Hyde Park bombing,

carried out by the IRA in 1982,

have been awarded legal aid to bring

a civil action against a suspect,

the convicted IRA bomber John

Downey.

His trial collapsed

after it was revealed that he'd

previously been given an assurance

by British officials

that he would not be prosecuted.

Our correspondent,

Daniela Relph, has the story.

It was a terror attack from another

time, the 20th July 1982.

An IRA car bomb detonated

near Hyde Park, then another device

exploded under a bandstand nearby.

Amongst those killed

were four soldiers from

the Household Cavalry,

Squadron Quartermaster

Corporal Roy Bright,

Lieutenant Anthony Daly,

Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young,

and Trooper Simon Tipper.

He was then just 19 years old.

For his family, this has been a long

and continuing fight for justice.

I can sleep easy again.

My brother can rest

easy where he is now,

and that's all I ask.

I don't ask any more.

I don't want nothing

from this whatsoever.

All I want is the truth.

John Downey was the prime suspect.

Convicted of IRA membership

in the 1970s, he was charged

with the bombing in 2014.

He always denied any involvement,

but his case collapsed.

As part of the Good Friday

Agreement, John Downey had been sent

an on-the-run letter,

it gave him an assurance

that he would not face trial.

The scheme was heavily criticised.

Tony Blair, whose Government

implemented on-the-run letters,

fiercely defended them.

Without having done that,

we would not have a Northern Ireland

peace process in place today.

Being able to pay for a civil action

is a major breakthrough

for the families of those

who lost their lives here.

There is a long legal road ahead,

but now, they have hope.

Seven horses were also killed

in the Hyde Park bombing,

one that survived was Sefton.

In the aftermath of the horrific

attack, the horse's recovery

captured the public's attention.

The Hyde Park Campaign For Justice

now has renewed vigour,

even though the impact and pain

of events decades ago still lingers.

Daniela Relph, BBC News, Hyde Park.

In Iran, dozens of people have been

arrested for protesting

against a law that makes it

complulsory for women

to wear the hijab.

In the past month, increasing

numbers of women have been posting

images of themselves on social media

without their headscarves.

Iran's religious leaders have called

for "strict action" in the courts,

but the country's president,

Hassan Rouhani, has said

that the voices of protesters

need to be listened to.

This report is by BBC

Persian's Rana Rahimpour.

It was a simple act of defiance.

The woman stands against a law that

forces all women in Iran

to wear a headscarf.

She was swiftly arrested.

Two days after her release

from prison, more women took

exactly the same stand.

Men, religious women,

even the elderly.

They don't want to be told

what to do, how to behave,

so they're not fighting

against a piece of cloth,

they're fighting for their dignity.

They are fighting because

they want to be free.

This is the 21st century

and they don't want any religion

interference in their personal life.

A spokesperson for Iran's

conservative judiciary accused some

of them of being under the influence

of drugs or the West.

But not everybody agrees.

An opinion poll released

by the president shows that

half of Iranians oppose

the compulsory hijab.

And the president himself appears

to be more sympathetic

with the demands for change.

TRANSLATION:

The government

should take the opinion

of our youth into account.

There are conflicting views

about social freedom among Iran's

political establishment.

At the very top, Supreme

Leader Ali Khamenei.

He's deeply conservative

and is appointed for life.

Also in the conservative camp,

the powerful judiciary,

but pushing for more reform

is the president, Hassan Rouhani.

He is often backed up

by sections of the parliament.

They have democratic legitimacy,

but in truth it's the conservatives

who hold the real power.

And because of that power,

this human rights lawyer doesn't

think that change is imminent.

I don't think the government

is ready to reform,

particularly in our hijab rules,

but I think it will

eventually have to.

Iran has already been rocked

by a wave of protests this year.

Thousands marched across

the country, angry at

poverty and corruption.

And while these protests

against the compulsory

hijab might seem simple,

they strike at the very heart

of the Islamic Republic.

It's not just an issue

of female modesty, it's

about political control.

Rana Rahimpour, BBC News.

The world's most powerful rocket has

been launched into space

from Cape Canaveral, in Florida.

The Falcon Heavy launcher

is made by SpaceX,

the company owned by the American

entrepreneur, Elon Musk.

It will carry a dummy cargo

for its maiden voyage.

Our science correspondent,

Victoria Gill, reports.

Five, four, three, two, one...

A countdown to a critical moment.

The world's most powerful rocket

ignited all 27 of its engines

at once, and lifted off from Kennedy

Space Centre at 8:45 UK time.

Less than ten minutes later,

in a carefully choreographed aerial

dance, its boosters separated

and headed back towards Earth.

Two landed simultaneously

at the Kennedy Space Centre,

while the third headed

for a drone ship in the middle

of the Atlantic Ocean.

And apart from its power,

it's this recycling of the rocket,

slashing the cost of a launch,

that makes this a breakthrough

in the business of space travel.

SpaceX's ambitions have previously

produced some high-profile failures.

This Falcon 9 rocket

exploded on the launch

pad in 2016, destroying

a $260 million satellite.

But this test makes

Falcon Heavy the most capable

rocket since Saturn 5,

the vehicle that Nasa used to take

the first astronauts to the moon,

almost half a century ago.

Now the US space agency,

already one of SpaceX's customers,

will watch this test closely.

This could be a candidate

for launching more advanced robots

and ultimately humans

on missions to Mars.

What ever the showman

of commercial space travel,

Elon Musk let loose his own

Tesla Roadster into space,

complete with a space suited

mannequin in the driving seat

and David Bowie on a

loop on the radio.

As the drama of this launch

is celebrated back on Earth,

Mr Musk says his car could be

on a journey around the sun

for up to a billion years.

Victoria Gill, BBC News.

That's it from us.

In a moment, here on BBC One,

we'll have the news where you are,

but we leave you tonight with some

words and images to mark

the centenary of women's suffrage.

Good night.

They percent feared in spite of all

danger and discouragement because

they knew their cause was right.

They were ordinary women from very,

very ordinary backgrounds who did

extraordinary things because they

felt it was only right that they

should have the chance to vote for

their government and have a say in

the policies of our nation. We stand

on their shoulders, but actually we

also know we've got a huge challenge

ahead to make sure that we get

equality for our