07/02/2018 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at ten - victims

of the serial sex attacker

John Worboys are given permission

to challenge the decision

to release him.

The full judicial review hearing

will take place in the High Court

on the 13th of March,

and Worboys will stay

in prison until then.

He's served less than 10 years,

and last month, the Parole Board

was criticised when it announced

he would be freed.

We'll have the latest on Worboys'

appearance in court today,

and the next stages

of the legal process.

Also tonight...

A report from the Syrian region

under intense bombardment

from government forces,

and the extent of the human

suffering there.

What was the outcome of today's

talks around the cabinet

table on the next stage

of the Brexit process?

Tesco could face a bill

of £4 billion, as hundreds

of thousands of female employees

make a claim for equal pay.

I think Tesco's are just one of

many companies that really aren't

addressing the fact that women

seem to still be paid less.

And a look at Team GB's preparations

for the Winter Olympics,

due to start in South Korea.

Coming up in Sportsday, the last of

the FA Cup fourth-round replay is as

take on Newport County at Wembley.

Good evening.

Some victims of the serial sex

attacker, John Worboys,

have been given permission

to challenge the decision

to release him from jail.

The full judicial review hearing

will take place in the High

Court on the 13th of March,

and Worboys will stay

in prison until then.

Last month, the Parole Board

was criticised when it announced

he would be freed after less

than ten years in prison.

Police believe he may have carried

out more than 100 rapes

and sexual assaults.

Our home affairs correspondent,

Daniel Sandford, reports.

Still in custody, at least

for the time being, John Worboys

arrived at court in a prison van

and was taken to the

cells in handcuffs.

Convicted in 2009 of one rape,

six other sex offences and 12 crimes

of drugging customers,

the London black cab driver

is suspected of assaulting around

100 female passengers.

And his victims hadn't expected him

to be released ever.

When we were told it was

an indefinite sentence, it was just,

well, justice has been served,

he has been dealt with.

He is serving a life sentence now,

because that is the way

it was put across to us.

So we never thought for one

second that he would be

eligible for parole.

However, today there he was,

behind the bars in the dock,

but potentially just weeks

from being freed.

Sir Bian Leveson had ordered

that John Worboys should

be present in person,

because he didn't trust

the reliability of the court's

video link system.

The judge had been told that

Worboys' victims were unhappy

at the prospect of seeing him again.

"I am sorry about that,"

Sir Brian said, "but I'm sure

you will appreciate why it would not

be possible sensibly to conduct

this hearing without him

being present in some way."

The women's lawyer said her clients

only discovered late last night that

Worboys would be there in person,

and described what it was like for

one of them to see him again.

It was very, very difficult,

but she felt it was really

necessary to be there,

and to say she wasn't going to be

frightened of him being there,

and to challenge, you know,

challenge his power, essentially.

But obviously it is hard

to see him there in the flesh

after all this time.

In court, the women's barrister said

the Parole Board's failure

to give reasons for freeing

Worboys was unlawful.

"That kind of blanket secrecy

is something that is contrary

to a fundamental principle

of our law, which is that justice

is administered in the open,"

Philippa Kaufmann QC said.

Talking to MPs at the same time,

the chair of the Parole Board said

he too would like the rules

to be changed.

I think one of the things we should

look at is victims getting -

victims who want to get one -

getting a summary of

the Parole Board's decisions.

The judges then agreed

they would hear the victims' legal

challenge to Worboys' release

in five weeks' time,

and that until then,

he should remain in prison.

Daniel Sandford, BBC News

at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Human rights groups say more than 25

people have died today ,

including at least 12 children,

after Syrian government forces

carried out air strikes

on Eastern Ghouta.

The region, to the east

of the capital Damascus,

is one of the last remaining areas

controlled by rebels fighting

President Assad's forces.

It's home to an estimated

400,000 people,

and is now at the centre

of what the United Nations

is calling a humanitarian emergency.

Medical supplies and food

haven't been allowed

in since late last year.

Quentin Sommerville's report

contains some images

you may find distressing.

Syria's war isn't ending,

it's getting worse.

In Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus,

they're overwhelmed.

Death comes daily from the skies.

More than 150 civilians have been

killed here this month already.

The rescuers have to move fast.

Here, they follow the sound

of a child crying.

and a boy is removed alive

from the rubble.

Hundreds have been left

injured in Eastern Ghouta

and in the last week,

more than 40 children

have been killed.

Yesterday rescue worker Saeed

al-Masri was called to an emergency,

the baby in his arms is his own.

TRANSLATION:

As we were approaching,

I realised it was my

house that had been hit.

I heard a baby's cry

and saw my son was wounded.

I went inside and my children had

been injured and my cousins too.

My house was destroyed.

Three month old Ibrahim is doing

fine, but the family wonders

when the next attack will come.

Regime jets drop unguided bombs,

they fall haphazardly

and bring devastation.

Rebel shelling has killed a dozen

people in government areas.

There's a new ferocity

to the conflict.

It should look different here, this

is part of a de-escalation zone,

where suffering should be

diminishing, but the

opposite is happening.

Here and elsewhere,

the conflict is intensifying.

Basic medical supplies are running

low, the region's under siege,

but there's also a sense

of hopelessness that the world

has stopped caring.

TRANSLATION:

We are

completely drained.

The roads are closed

and we can't get new supplies.

We've stopped believing that

anyone will help us.

We've given up on the international

media and the UN.

We hoped they would help us,

but they've done nothing.

East Ghouta is nearing

exhaustion, at least 31

people were killed today.

The bombing has stopped for now,

but everyone here knows that this

new surge of bloodshed

is far from over.

This is a problem of false

expectations, false expectations

that the war in Syria is coming to

an end, that the regime is winning

that war, and as a result of the

violence in Syria will continue to

diminish. To use the preferred

diplomatic language, it will

de-escalate. That is not happening.

President Assad and his allies are

mounting multiple offensives against

their enemies and they are using

those false expectations as cover to

attack civilians, to kill women and

children. There is a sense in Syria,

a disappointment that the world is

also buying into that false

narrative, that it wants to turn its

back on Syria. It is so desperate

for this conflict to end, that it

will ignore what is happening, just

as the conflict there reaches a

horrible new intensity.

Quentin, thank you for the latest.

Quentin Somerville in Beirut.

The government's assessments

predicting the possible

economic impact of Brexit,

suggest that growth will be hit

hardest in those regions

where the Leave vote was strongest.

The analysis, drawn

up for the Department

for Exiting the EU, looked

at scenarios ranging

from leaving with no deal,

to remaining within the EU

single market.

Theresa May has met senior ministers

today, to try to agree

the government's approach

to the next stage of the Brexit

talks, as Laura Kuenssberg reports.

Cloistered in the Commons,

ministers' cars parked up gave

away the private meeting

in the Prime Minister's office.

The cabinet trying reach

a compromise, continually pushed

by Brexiteers to take a tough line

towards the EU.

Would she be good enough to be very

robust when discussing these matters

in the Brexit committee,

as I'm sure she will be,

in order to ensure we repudiate any

of these EU threats?

We will hear all sorts

of things being said

about positions being taken.

What matters are the positions

we take in the negotiations

as we negotiate the best deal.

We have shown we can do that,

we did it in December

and we are going to do it again.

One Number 10 insider told me

the problem is that everybody

always wants something.

But the Prime Minister must broker

a deal within her own

party before she can get

on with the negotiations.

Today the Brexit committee

was discussing how to avoid bringing

back the border between northern

and southern Ireland without keeping

the current customs arrangements

that the Prime Minister

has ruled out.

What kind of immigration deal should

be done with the EU that controls

the numbers but gives business

the staff they need.

Tomorrow the discussion will move

on to how we do business in future.

Why are ministers still squirrelled

away in your having these

conversations when we voted to leave

in the summer of 2016?

The referendum didn't dictate

exactly the relationship we would

have with the European Union after

Brexit.

So for months, the Tories have

been in a tug-of-war.

Should we stay closely intertwined

with Brussels after we go,

or make a more dramatic break?

The EU and business are running out

of patience as the UK

takes its time to decide.

It demonstrates to the world

the United Kingdom is not leaving

Europe as we leave the EU.

Tory Remain rebels lined up this

morning to put against the idea

of a lurch away from the EU.

They are outspoken,

but a minority in their party,

their fears the country

will be worse off.

It is abundantly clear to me

that there is no model

which will satisfy all sections

of the British public.

And I believe, and I've

said many times before,

I believe a no deal scenario

would be bad for our economy.

MPs have now seen the government's

forecasts of what could happen

to different parts of the country

if there is no deal.

Over 15 years the economy in London

is forecast to be 3.5% smaller.

In the West Midlands,

that voted to leave,

it would be 13% smaller.

And in the north-east,

which also chose Brexit,

hypothetically it is

the worst affected.

The economy potentially 16% smaller

than it is otherwise expected to be.

Forecasts often turn

out to be wrong.

Very wrong.

But the government is preparing

to make big choices right now that

will, for better or worse,

affect us all.

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News.

The Brexit process will be heavily

influenced by the outcome

of the coalition talks in Germany,

where a long period of political

deadlock is set to be resolved.

Chancellor Merkel's conservatives

have agreed a deal with

the centre-left social democrats.

To discuss that, we're joined

by our Europe editor Katya Adler.

And to examine the Brexit process

here in Britain, our political

editor, Laura Kuenssberg.

Lawro, lots of calls again today,

including from business, for clarity

around the next stage. Will they get

that?

Not any time soon. The message

is, don't hold your breath. The

Brexit committee were locked away in

talks today and they will again

tomorrow. I'm told the conversations

were productive, they went through

all the potential options, the ways

they foresee solving the issue

around the Northern Irish border.

But tonight there is not suddenly

white smoke drifting across Number

10 with, here is the government's

true desire for Brexit. It may be

another few weeks before we get

that. There is talk of some kind of

government away day, potentially at

Chequers, and then, only then, will

they get towards their opening pitch

towards the EU. We have to remember

this is not a standard government

decision-making process. Yes, the

frustration levels in business and

in Brussels, and Parliament, arising

in terms of what they see as a delay

in terms of making these decisions.

This is a difficult and complicated

process with divisions of the Tory

party that have been there for many

years, not just since the

referendum.

Can we talk about another factor in

this process, the outcome of the

coalition talks in Germany? How will

the new coalition affect this Brexit

process?

First we have to see this

as almost a done deal when it comes

to the coalition. The social

Democrats have to vote for it yet.

It will probably go ahead. Don't

expect a big change from Germany on

Brexit. I've been told by somebody

close to the German Chancellor this

afternoon. She has stuck close to

France, demanding the UK observe all

EU rules in a deal. If you think

also who is the head of her

coalition party, he is the former

president of the European

Parliament, a real Europhile. If we

think of any one personality in the

EU who would have pushed for

pragmatism in that Brexit deal, that

would've been Angela Merkel in her

former guise as Queen of Europe. But

she has been weakened by the

selections at home and abroad, and

she cannot find any wriggle room.

She will provide stability in this

comment for the short-term for the

EU and in Germany. But this

coalition was very unpopular in

Germany before the elections. The

thought is it is grey and woolly and

uninspiring. This could lead to more

support for the Nationalists far

right.

Thank you.

The day's other news.

One of the killers of the toddler

James Bulger, the two-year-old

who was murdered in 1993,

has been sent to jail again,

this time for three years,

after admitting possessing

indecent images of children.

The judge said there was no

guarantee Jon Venables would be

released after serving his sentence.

A spokesman for James Bulger's

mother, Denise Fergus,

called the sentence a "farce."

The supermarket giant Tesco

is facing a possible bill of up

to £4 billion following Britain's

biggest ever equal pay claim.

Lawyers say women who work

in the company's stores earn less

than men employed in its warehouses,

even though the work is comparable.

Up to 200,000 women could be

entitled to back-pay, if the legal

challenge is successful.

The supermarket says

all its staff are paid fairly,

whatever their gender.

Kamal Ahmed reports.

Who is worth more?

Warehouse workers,

mostly men, loading and

unloading lorries, or store staff,

mostly women, loading shelves and

dealing with customers?

This is a very different

type of pay dispute.

Not equal pay for the same job,

but equal pay for different jobs

that, lawyers in this case argue,

have the same value.

I think the role has

changed slightly over time.

Kim and Pam have worked in Tesco

supermarkets for over 20 years.

Their rates of pay are up to £3

an hour lower than warehouse staff.

We think we have equal rights.

There are times where there

are such discrepancies that

you can't explain them.

I think Tesco's are just one

of many companies that

really aren't addressing the fact

that women seem to still be

paid less.

Obviously the jobs are slightly

different, but to put it

bluntly, they're of equal value.

We deal with customers.

They don't have to

deal with customers.

We take the stock

and we load the stock.

They load it off the

lorry and we load it

onto the shelves.

It's a debate that

goes back decades.

We are on strike

until the 27th June.

Here are women workers

for Ford in the

1960s, arguing that their job,

sewing car seat covers,

was comparable with

the men who built the engines.

They won after years

of expensive battles.

So how do you test whether a job

is of equal value?

First, you score how much

training and skill does it

need to do the job.

Second, how difficult

is the job and how much

responsibility does it carry?

Third, what are the physical

and emotional demands?

For example, is customer interaction

a key part of the role?

If the scores are similar,

then the jobs are comparable.

I asked the lawyer leading the case

whether warehouse work was really

the same as working

in Tesco supermarkets.

A man in distribution may score

higher on a physical test,

but then the woman may score higher

on the emotional content of the job

or dealing with the customers.

So if the law has been

there since 1984, that

you can compare with a different

job, that's 34 years

to get your house in order.

In a statment, Tesco said:

For Pam and Kim, maybe £20,000 each

if their legal battle is successful.

But this is not about the money.

You're just asking for

fairness, aren't you -

that's what the claim's about?

Absolutely, no more, no less.

Exactly.

Kamal Ahmed, BBC News.

A report into the performance

of an NHS Trust in Liverpool has

found that patients suffered

unnecessary harm because of

pressure to cut costs.

A review of the activities

of Liverpool Community Health,

which has been seen by BBC News,

found a management team

that was seriously out of its depth,

presiding over severe staff

shortages and bullying.

Our social affairs correspondent,

Michael Buchanan, has

this exclusive report.

Personally, it destroyed me.

I was suicidal.

I was held against my will by

a patient's relative at knife-point

and sexually assaulted.

Our decision was overruled

and the lady died six hours

after she was admitted to our ward.

Around three quarters of a million

people in Merseyside relied

on Liverpool Community Health NHS

Trust, but they put costs before

care, between 2010 and 2014,

according to a report we've seen.

The Trust, which is based in this

building, was found to be

dysfunctional from the outset.

Its leadership team is described

as being "out of its depth."

They set "infeasible

financial targets that

damaged patient services."

We suddenly were taking

patients with heart failure,

with lung cancers.

Patients who were very,

very medically unstable and unwell

and we had no piped oxygen.

These nurses were at the sharp end,

trying to protect patients.

As they did so, they were

being constantly bullied.

It wasn't about how we can learn

and how we can move forward.

It was, how can we blame you.

People were frightened

to raise their concerns.

This district nurse,

who wants to remain anonymous,

was sexually assaulted on a home

visit, having been sent out

without a personal protection alarm.

I should have been able to alert

someone to where I was and get

the help to me straightaway.

So I would have been out

within minutes rather

than being subjected to a horrendous

time for over an hour.

The worst failings were arguably

at Liverpool Prison,

where the Trust provided

health care services.

The review says they didn't know how

to manage it safely,

inmates died unnecessarily.

Simon McBride killed himself he was

convicted of drug offences. He wrote

two letters asking for help.

His

suicide could have been avoided if a

proper, diligent and competent,

effective system had been in place.

The Trust was led throughout

by Bernie Cuthel,

pictured here in 2014.

The chief executive was focused

on cutting costs so they could

achieve foundation status,

giving them more autonomy.

Twice we asked her for an interview,

she didn't respond,

so we approached her.

Excuse me.

Bernie Cuthel?

Yeah.

BBC News.

We'd like to talk to you about

Liverpool Community Health.

We just want to ask

you a couple of questions.

Are you a bully, Miss Cuthel?

Are you a bully?

And as you can see, Bernie Cuthel

didn't want to answer any questions.

She resigned from Liverpool in 2014

to work at a trust in Manchester.

We've learned Miss Cuthel's new job,

which maintained her six-figure

salary, was arranged

by an NHS regulator.

Labour MP Rosie Cooper,

whose own father was let down

by the Trust, is appalled.

I don't understand why anybody

would want to keep a failed chief

executive and/or any other members

of the board.

If they fail that badly,

they should have been

disciplined and fired.

Liverpool Community Health is now

providing good services

to the people of Merseyside,

a significant improvement

on its troubled past.

Michael Buchanan,

BBC News, Liverpool.

The Chief Constable

of Police Scotland, who was facing

a series of allegations of gross

misconduct, has resigned.

Phil Gormley, who had been

in the job for just over two years,

had been under investigation

since last September.

He's always denied any wrongdoing.

He's leaving 10 months before

the end of his contract and will not

receive a financial pay-off.

Our Scotland editor,

Sarah Smith, reports.

Phil Gormley was brought

in to steady the ship

at Police Scotland just two years

ago, but he's not been at work

for the last six months

while allegations of bullying

were being investigated,

while still receiving full pay.

Mr Gormley was cleared

to go back to work by

the Scottish Police Authority back

in November, but that decision

was then reversed when the Justice

Secretary intervened.

He was worried there weren't

adequate safeguards in place

for the serving police officers

who'd made accusations

against the Chief Constable.

Mr Gormley said in a statement...

Thank you Presiding Officer.

Raising questions today

about whether Police Scotland

is fit for purpose.

We'll soon be on our

third Chief Constable

and we're on our third chair

and third chief executive.

Surely the Justice Secretary has

to start asking himself

whether there's something

else going on?

Perhaps it's the structure that is

the root of the problem here.

I believe that a single police force

is still the appropriate model

for delivering policing in Scotland.

And the reality is, had

we not moved to a single

police force in Scotland,

that we would have found ourselves

having to make significant cuts

to front-line policing.

Police Scotland has had a turbulent

time since eight forces

were merged into one.

The last Chief Constable stood down

early, after controversies over

armed officers turning up to routine

incidents and delayed

responses to 999 calls,

including one in which a couple lay

undiscovered in a crashed car

for three days near the M9.

And there's more trouble at the top,

an Assistant Chief Constable

and another senior officer

are currently suspended, accused

of illegally using a police firing

range for unauthorised purposes.

Police Scotland now has

to look for its third

Chief Constable in five years.

A safe pair of hands will be

an essential job requirement.

Sarah Smith, BBC News, Glasgow.

Scientists say they now know

what the first modern Briton looked

like, some 10,000 years ago,

and it's something of a revelation.

They believe that so-called

Cheddar Man, who lived

in south-west England,

had skin that was dark

to black and blue eyes.

Researchers have used

groundbreaking DNA analysis

to examine his skeleton,

which was discovered

in Somerset back in 1903.

Our correspondent, Jon Kay, reports.

He lay here, undisturbed

for 10,000 years.

In the caves beneath Cheddar Gorge,

a replica of Cheddar Man.

But now, 21st century science means

we can put flesh on these bones.

1, 2, 3...

At the Natural History Museum,

Cheddar Man finally revealed.

By extracting DNA from his bones

and scanning his skull,

experts believe they've

recreated his face in unprecedented

detail, and he looks very different

from what they expected.

The hair, the eyes, the face,

that combination of blue eyes

and dark skin, really very striking,

something we wouldn't have imagined

and to also get from the DNA

details of his biology.

The fact that he couldn't

digest milk as an adult.

That came with the advent of

farming. 10,000 years ago people

didn't have that.

Look how he's changed.

This is what scientists used

to think he looked like.

A reconstruction from 20 years

ago when DNA analysis

was nowhere near as developed.

Cheddar Man and I share

a common female relative.

This is modern day Cheddar Man,

Adrian Targett lives in the same

village and shares

DNA with the skeleton

found in the gorge.

So, time to meet his ancestor.

Do you want to see your great,

great, great, great,

great, great, great grandfather?

Yes.

And...

Oh my!

What do you think?

It's remarkable, isn't it?

I think there is probably

some resemblance.

But, yes, I think there

are certainly other members

in my family who he bears

a resemblance to.

Yes.

Some of my cousins.

You can see that in there, can you?

Yes.

I think my eyes are blue.

Let's have a look.

They are blue.

Yes, they are blue.

His hair is not quite

as grey as mine is.

Or my beard!

So 10,000 years after he died,

100 years after he was found,

finally, a face to fit the name

of Adrian's ancestor.

John Kay, BBC News,

Cheddar, in Somerset.

The Winter Olympics open officially

in South Korea on Friday and hopes

are high for Team GB.

Our sports correspondent, Andy

Swiss, is in Pyeongchang and he has

been watching their preparations.

Ready for liftoff, Britain's

snowboarders spring

into action this morning.

The temperature a bracing 15

minus 15, but PyeongChang

is offering the warmest of welcomes.

Temperatures are forecast

to rise, but keeping out

the chill is some challenge.

We don't normally have

to wear so many layers.

Especially in the morning,

we're real stiff riding.

But, I mean, once it

warmed up a little bit..

luckily, the sun's out.

If the sun wasn't out,

it'll be baltic.

But, yeah, you just deal with it.

You know, we're snowboarders,

so we've just got to get

on with it, haven't we?

Trying to keep her cool, though,

is Britain's biggest hope.

COMMENTATOR:

Oh, they've gone down!

Four years ago, skater

Elise Christie's Olympic

dreams came tumbling down.

She crashed out of all her events,

received death threats

and considered quitting.

But now she's back as a triple world

champion and she told me

she wants that gold for those

who persuaded her to carry on.

I don't think that I would have been

here today or kept going because,

for me, I didn't want to skate

for me any more.

You know, skating

had broken my heart.

So as much as for me I want a gold

medal because I blooming

train so hard every day

and I push my limits.

I can't sleep at night

because I'm so sore,

this is as much for everyone who did

support me through

that as it is for me.

Well, the British team are hoping

the Games here in PyeongChang can

propel them to new heights.

But while the focus here

might be on the athletes,

the Olympic movement itself

is also under scrutiny.

The reason - Russia.

The country is banned from these

Games because of doping and yet more

than 160 of their athletes have been

allowed to compete under

a neutral flag, as OARs -

Olympic Athletes from Russia -

and more could still be admitted

leaving rivals, including

Britain, frustrated.

The uncertainty, it can

be really challenging,

quite tricky and I think both

the IOC and the Court of Arbitration

for Sport is involved now as well

and those decisions will be

happening we think right up

until possibly the starting

point of the Games.

It's a bit of a mess, isn't it?

It's certainly a truly confusing

situation and one I don't think

anybody in sport would want.

And this is no time

for distractions.

After their success in Sochi,

led by Lizzie Yarnold's gold,

Team GB's target here is up

to 10 medals.

So will it be a winter wonderland?

They'll be hoping the celebrations

are only just beginning.

Andy Swiss, BBC News, PyeongChang.

Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two.

Here's Evan.

Today and tomorrow a Cabinet

committee is it arguing about Brexit

and what it should look like.

So we'll have our own inhouse

gathering tonight, thrashing

out those arguments.

Everyone agrees we finally need

to make some big decisions,

but can they agree on what to do?

Join me now on BBC Two.

That's Newsnight with Evan.

Here on BBC One, it's time

for the news where you are.