26/02/2018 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten.

Labour spells out its plans

for leaving the EU and says Britain

does need to be in a customs union.

Speaking in Coventry,

Jeremy Corbyn said it his aim

was to protect British jobs

and to secure tariff-free

trade with the EU.

We want to be able to develop

the economy in this country

for the benefit of all,

to invest in those communities

that are left behind,

those areas that voted Leave

as well as those areas that voted

Remain and we develop an effective

trade relationship with Europe

in the future.

Mr Corbyn also argued that

a customs union would avoid

the creation of a hard border

between Northern Ireland

and the Republic of Ireland.

We'll have detail and reaction.

Also tonight...

The number of people known to have

died in an explosion and fire

in a building in Leicester has now

risen to five.

Warnings in place across the UK,

as bitterly cold weather sweeps

in from eastern Europe.

Tonight, hundreds of ploughs and

critters are heading out onto the

road networks to keep them open and

ready for the morning. We will have

the latest on where the heaviest

snowfall is expected over the next

24 hours.

Serious questions about standards

in some unregistered schools

in England following a BBC

News investigation.

And Team GB arrives

home from Pyeonchang

after a record-breaking

Winter Games for Britain.

And coming up on Sportsday on BBC

News, could Scotland's Ryan Wilson's

Six Nations be over?

As the number eight is sited over

alleged foul play during Saturday's

victory over England.

Good evening.

Jeremy Corbyn has laid out Labour's

approach to Britain's trade

relations after Brexit.

He says he wants the UK to enter

into a permanent customs union

with the European Union,

a deal which he says would put

people's jobs and living standards

ahead of what he called

the ideological fantasies

of the Conservatives.

He also said this would avoid

the need for a hard border

between Northern Ireland

and the Republic of Ireland.

But Theresa May has already ruled

out staying in the single

market or a customs union,

as our political editor

Laura Kuenssberg reports.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

Bit by bit, piece by piece.

A clearer view on Brexit,

if Jeremy Corbyn was in charge.

Labour wants to keep our

customs deal with the EU

essentially the same for good.

So, Labour would seek to negotiate

a new, comprehensive UK -

EU customs union to ensure

that there are no tariffs

with Europe and to help avoid

any need, whatsoever,

for a hard border

in Northern Ireland.

But listen very carefully,

there is a big if in there.

The option of a new UK Customs union

with the EU would need to ensure

that the UK has a say

in future trade deals.

A new customs arrangement

would depend on Britain being able

to negotiate agreement on new trade

deals in our national interests.

Other countries with similar kinds

of deals have very little control.

We would have to have a meaningful

say in how those negotiations went

and what the agreement was.

So we would not end up as simply

passive rule takers.

But what if they say

no to your proposal,

as is very likely, given

what the European Union has said?

Listen, we would want to make sure

and would make sure that Britain had

a say in our trade relations.

By negotiation.

Negotiations require

understandings of the strengths

and weaknesses of both sides,

by the degree of the manufacturing

industry, of agriculture,

food industries that operate on both

sides of the channel and also,

as I say, we are not going

to undercut the whole of Europe.

But what is your Plan B?

The Plan B is to continue

negotiating in order

to achieve Plan A.

Whether it is A or B,

it is seemingly tilted

towards after Brexit,

even though most Labour seats

in Coventry and around

the country voted to Leave.

But some Brexit-backing Labour MPs

questioned whether it is real.

There is no way they are going

to agree that we would have

our own customs union,

that we would stick our noses

into any trade agreements

they want to do and that Jeremy has

kept faith with his long-term

objective that we must be

free to negotiate our

own trade agreements.

For many voters, there has been

enough dancing around the details.

A clean break.

A total clean break.

Yeah.

Why do you say that?

Because, like, we need to get

Great Britain back to Great Britain.

And how it used to be.

They say we should stay

as close as possible,

I don't think we should stay

as close as possible,

because I don't think it is a good

idea to be in the EU.

It is not beneficial

to everybody, really.

I could speak to these two guys now

and they would tell me one thing

and the people behind them would...

Everyone is the same,

mixed up, we just want

an end to it now, I think.

If a Labour voter said to you,

I'd back Brexit, and I did not think

that would mean still having

a trading relationship

with the European Union,

they wanted something more dramatic,

a more dramatic break,

what would you say them?

I would say...

I would say to them,

think this thing through.

We have a lot of jobs that depend

on sales back and forth,

across the North Sea

or across the Channel and we have

to ensure those jobs.

This isn't Jeremy Corbyn tearing up

Labour's plans for Brexit,

it is a more powerful step along

the way, trying to contain

the tensions inside his own party,

those on both sides of the argument

and the many Labour voters

who backed Brexit in 2016.

It does also, though,

politically conveniently

draw a clear difference

between the Labour position

and the Conservative plans.

Thanks a lot.

Thanks for coming, guys.

It is not just his fans,

but some Tory MPs want to keep

our customs links, too.

Labour's firmer position

in Parliament could cause

trouble for Number 10.

Laura Kuenssberg,

BBC News, Coventry.

So what difference could it make

to trade if Britain stayed in some

kind of permanent customs union

with the EU?

Chris Morris, of the BBC's Reality

Check, is here to explain more.

Being in a customs union with the EU

after Brexit would mean

there would still be a common

external tariff -

in effect the same tax -

on goods being brought

in from elsewhere in the world.

But it would also mean - like now -

that there would be no tariffs

for goods crossing borders

between the UK and the EU.

That is important for companies

based in the UK, which operate

complex manufacturing

processes across Europe.

This is the BMW factory in Oxford,

mentioned by Mr Corbyn,

where they make the Mini.

Its components cross EU

borders multiple times.

A crank shaft cast in France

crosses to a plant in

Warwickshire to be finished.

It then goes back to Austria to be

built into an engine,

which then comes back to Oxford

to be put into a completed car.

Half the cars built in Oxford

are then exported back to the EU

and it is all tariff free.

But the government argues

that the problem with the customs

union is that you cannot

negotiate your own trade

deals around the world.

A key part of taking back control.

It is true that you are

constrained, you cannot alter

those tariffs on goods.

You can still do some

deals on services.

Banking or insurance

or tourism, for example.

Now, Labour insist that they would

still want to be involved alongside

the EU in negotiating all trade

deals in the future anyway.

So, is it trying to have

its cake and eat it?

Business leaders have been broadly

positive about Labour's proposal,

but are still looking

for a little more clarity.

Being in a customs

union is a hassle-free

solution for businesses.

But there are different types

of customs union and all we have

heard from Jeremy Corbyn today,

was not all of the details

for businesses to know.

It's also worth remembering that

being in a customs union wouldn't

entirely solve the problem

of maintaining an invisible

border in Ireland.

You'd also need something

like a new free trade agreement,

to deal with regulations on things

like food safety or animal welfare.

Still, it's been a big day

for Labour's position on Brexit.

But whatever policy

emerges in London -

all of it still needs to be

negotiated with the other 27 EU

countries, and all of them have

opinions of their own.

Chris Morris. Thank you.

The number of people known to have

died in an explosion and fire

in a building in Leicester yesterday

has risen to five.

Search and rescue teams

recovered a body from

the rubble earlier today.

Five people remain in hospital,

one is critically ill.

Emergency crews have been continuing

to search the ruins of the property,

as our correspondent Sima Kotecha

reports.

The damage, fully

exposed, in daylight.

Last night, just after

seven, an explosion.

A shop and the flat

above it were destroyed.

Flames shot up into the air,

around seven metres high.

Towering over the

surrounding buildings.

I just heard a big bang.

The owner of the shop

was inside at the time.

I didn't know, what was that?

I found myself on the floor.

Eyes open.

Looking up.

Half of my body was

under, how to say?

Rubble?

Under the bricks and rubble.

How are you feeling at the moment?

I don't know how to tell you.

Never I feel how I am now.

The shop was a Polish supermarket.

It had only been open since January.

Today, firefighters spent hours

inside, wading through the rubble,

trying to find survivors.

Police have confirmed that five

people died inside the building,

and several are in hospital

with injuries, but

there could be more.

We can't confirm exact numbers

so we are working on the possibility

that there could be people

still within the building

and we will sweep through,

with our search and rescue teams,

with the help of a search dog,

to make sure that we have located

everybody that could possibly

be in there.

Investigators will now begin looking

for the cause of the explosion,

once the search and rescue effort

is concluded and the area

is declared safe.

Sima Kotecha, BBC News, Leicester.

An inquest has heard how

a five-year-old girl,

suffering from asthma,

died after being turned

away from an emergency

doctor's appointment,

because she was a few minutes late.

Ellie May Clark arrived

at a clinic in Newport,

South Wales, but was told

the doctor wouldn't see her.

She returned home but was taken to

hospital later that night and died

after a severe asthma attack.

The coroner said the opportunity

to provide potentially life-saving

treatment had been missed.

The outgoing head of

counter-terrorism policing in the UK

has warned of the growing threat

from far-right terrorism.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley,

who will retire next month,

revealed that four extreme-right

terrorist attacks were disrupted

last year, as well as ten

Islamist-inspired plots.

A fifth Briton has died

following a helicopter

crash in the Grand Canyon

earlier this month.

Ellie Udall was on honeymoon

with her husband Jon

when they were involved

in the crash.

He died last week.

A preliminary report

into the accident failed

to establish a cause.

It's been one of the coldest days

of the winter so far

for much of the UK, and weather

experts say the freezing

conditions will continue

for the rest of the week.

There are yellow and amber warnings

of snow in Scotland,

Wales and central, eastern

and southern parts of England.

Some rail companies have

already taken the decision

to cancel services tonight.

Our science editor David

Shukman has the latest.

The first wave of the storm.

Norwich this afternoon,

blanketed in white.

Not enough to stop the postmen

or the rubbish collection,

but this is just the beginning

of what is forecast.

London had an icy start this

morning, and the bands of dark

clouds are a hint of heavy snow

to come, along with

plummeting temperatures.

Already, some areas have

felt a wind of minus 15.

Would you like soup?

So, busy times at the largest

emergency shelter in London.

The charity Glass Door has decided

that it's too cold to turn

anyone away tonight.

The homeless are at greatest risk.

You feel more vulnerable.

You've got to have two

sleeping bags, or...

This morning I was waking

up with a snowflake

just dropped in my eye.

I'm just dreading what it's

going to be like tonight.

At least there's been

plenty of warning.

Nearly a dozen rail companies

in east and south-east

England announced early

on that they would be limiting

or stopping services altogether.

At this station, which this evening

looks almost abandoned, this is how

the disruption was announced.

During the night, some

empty trains will be run

to try to keep lines open.

So, what's behind this icy blast?

Well, it's all about the circulation

of the winds high above the Arctic -

moving in a way that means warm air

is descending towards the North Pole

- and that's why temperatures

in Greenland have been

slightly above zero.

Now, this pattern in the weather

also affects the jet stream.

Normally it flows from west to east

bringing us mild weather.

But now it's reversed,

which is like opening

a door of a freezer,

allowing extreme cold from Siberia

winter to flow our way.

KNOCKING.

Hi, David!

In Lincolnshire, Meals on Wheels

went smoothly today,

but the elderly are warned

to get ready.

It doesn't bother me unduly.

Provided you are prepared for it,

you've got stuff in the fridge

and everything of that nature.

You've got your boots ready.

In Essex, gritters

are being deployed.

If the forecasts are right,

they will be even busier

at the end of the week.

Today has been a taste

of what's on the cards.

The real challenges come overnight

and in the days ahead.

David Shukman, BBC News.

Our correspondent Danny Savage

is at a Highway England

depot in West Yorkshire.

Tell us about the preparations there

tonight.

This is one of the areas

where the heaviest snow is expected

over the next 24 hours. This is the

last of the gritters to leave the

deep bow tonight, the rest have gone

out across the network across West

Yorkshire and beyond, getting ready

for tomorrow. -- leave the depot

tonight. This is one region where

there are amber weather warnings in

place at the moment. It's where the

heaviest snowfall is expected. We

are talking about a large chunk of

northern England, east of the

Pennines and north of the Humber up

to Newcastle. Also parts of

south-east England tomorrow morning

up to about 2pm, through Kent, Essex

and Suffolk, more snow expected

there. They are expecting it to

start falling across the early hours

across eastern Britain and for it to

be a real problem through rush hour.

Talking about 12 hours of snowfall

in places. It's not just overnight

tonight, the people working here are

looking forward to Wednesday and

Thursday for possible more heavy

snowfalls as well. They are getting

on with it tonight, but it will be a

round-the-clock operation for the

next few days until there is a sign

of this cold weather letting up, and

there is no sign of that yet.

Danny

Savage, with the latest from West

Yorkshire.

A BBC News investigation

into unregistered schools in England

has found "huge safeguarding

issues", according to

the Children's Commissioner.

The schools watchdog, Ofsted,

has identified more than 350

of these suspected unregistered

schools - places that offer more

than 18 hours a week of teaching,

which by law should be registered

as a school.

Secret filming by the BBC appears

to raise serious questions

about the way some of the schools

are run, as our special

correspondent Lucy Manning reports.

Inside our secret schools,

unregistered, hidden

from the authorities,

operating out of offices and houses,

even a disused building

on an industrial estate.

We've obtained photos

of the inside of other suspected

unregistered schools.

They show shocking conditions,

squalor, appalling food

hygiene, dangerous wiring.

Schools need to be registered

if five or more pupils are educated

for at least 18 hours a week

- many aren't.

Ofsted has identified more than 350

suspected unregistered schools.

Only half have been inspected.

We were able to find

two that haven't been.

One is here in Southend, Essex.

It's 9:40am and children

from the ultraorthodox Jewish

community have started learning.

On one day, a young boy

appears to be crying.

There is a child here

who clearly is upset.

Minutes later, the teacher

seems to use force.

There is a physicality about that.

They're manhandling the child.

The child remains very distressed.

That raises immediate concerns.

I wouldn't expect to see

that in the classroom.

Any parent watching that

would be very, very worried

about what's going on.

On a different occasion,

a boy appears to cower

away from the teacher.

What you've got there is clearly

a child who seems to be quite wary

of the adult that's there.

When the adult turns around,

the child steps back.

And the adult clearly

strikes the child.

On all counts, that is

completely unacceptable.

There are huge safeguarding issues

about the well-being

of those children.

Are you surprised that this

can happen in the UK

in this day and age?

I am.

Parents throughout the land will be

so surprised that schools of this

scale are operating outside

the legal system.

The synagogue denies this

is an unregistered school.

It says education is provided

here within the 18 hour limit,

but when we observed it,

it was operating for longer.

It also says it's not

aware of any assaults,

but asked for more information.

We've learned there have been more

than 50 safeguarding alerts

about unregistered schools

across England and Wales

in the past four years,

according to our Freedom

of Information request.

These are primarily physical abuse

concerns, but include

sexual abuse allegations.

Not all unregistered

schools are religious.

Of those that are, half are Muslim.

The BBC has obtained the copy

of a book from a suspected

unregistered school in Birmingham

that is now closed.

In one section it openly advocates

the murder of homosexuals.

Another chapter warns

a wife against refusing

sex with her husband.

Elsewhere, it says a woman wearing

perfume is an adulterer.

Another suspected unregistered

school was run here in East London.

A broad and balanced curriculum...

Mohammed Umair, a former

headteacher, was issued

with a warning notice by Ofsted

for running it.

We've learned he is facing

prosecution for racially

abusing Ofsted inspectors.

It is alleged he shouted

"Britain First paedophiles" at them.

We understand the registered school

Mr Umair ran previously,

featured here in online footage,

faced an extremism complaint.

He denies all the allegations.

He maintains he wasn't operating

an unregistered school and says

the centre was being run

by somebody else.

Louise Casey warned

about the problem of unregistered

schools in her 2016 report

into community cohesion.

The Department for Education

really need to wake up

to their own research,

their own evidence, and what Ofsted

is telling them, and take action.

It brings up kids that are anti

a British way of life.

Sometimes in these environments

they feel they have more in common

with some of the extremists,

and some of the terrorists.

Run out of a basement of a church

in south-east London, we've also

learned of an unregistered school

that even had its own

logo and uniform.

The problem - four months after it

opened, headteacher Kay Johnson

was banned from teaching

for allegedly hitting

a five-year-old pupil with learning

difficulties at a previous school.

She denies the allegation.

And also says she never set out

to do anything illegal

by running the school.

We have this little hidden

universe of tiny schools...

Ofsted says it needs a change

in the law to close these schools.

Why have there been no

prosecutions of those running

unregistered schools?

There is a chain to this.

It starts with Ofsted

preparing a case.

It goes to the Secretary of State

to approve taking it

forward, and then it goes

to the Crown Prosecution Service.

We've prepared a number of cases,

none of them have yet been approved.

We believe many of these

cases could and should

have been taken forward.

Why can't you just go

in and shut the schools down?

My hands are tied.

We have no power to shut down.

We have the power

to enter and report.

That is as far as our powers go.

We can't even pick up

evidence that we find there.

The BBC understands ministers have

known about the presence

of unregistered schools

for nearly a decade.

Documents we've seen

show that in 2009, then

Education Secretary Ed Balls

was warned some schools

were operating illegally

without the most basic health,

safety, and welfare checks.

And this confidential advice note

reveals Ofsted warned

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan

urgent action was needed.

That was in 2015.

Shortly after, then Prime Minister

David Cameron made a promise.

I can announce this today.

If an institution is teaching

children intensively,

then whatever its religion,

we will, like any other school, make

it register so it can be inspected.

The Department for Education

declined to be interviewed

about our investigation.

It said it jointly agrees

with Ofsted if cases should be

recommended for prosecution.

And it says where a school

is operating illegally

action must be taken.

Meanwhile, hundreds of these schools

are still running and thousands

of children are left at risk

of extremism, uninspected teaching,

Lucy Manning, BBC News.

A man has admitted killing three

teenage boys in a car crash

in west London last month.

The court heard Jaynesh Chudasama

was more than two and a half times

over the alcohol limit,

and speeding, when his car hit

the three teenagers,

who were on their way

to a birthday party.

Russia's President Putin has ordered

a daily ceasefire to enable

civilians to leave the rebel-held

area of Eastern Ghouta in Syria.

The area has been subject

to an intense bombardment by Syrian

government forces backed by Russia

for more than week.

Our chief international

correspondent Lyse Doucet is here.

What's your reading of what the

Russians are trying to do here?

I

suppose if you are the main foreign

military power in Syria then you

must feel you can literally call the

shots. What Russia is doing is

unilaterally rewriting what had been

a rare Security Council resolution

on Syria at the weekend which called

for a 30 day, 24-hour ceasefire.

They still Russian offer of a five

hour daily, that would still give a

desperately needed residents of

Eastern Ghouta, including those who

are living in basements to avoid the

intense bombardment. Russia has made

it clear, as it has in the past when

there has been a rare pause, that

certain groups would be excluded. In

the case of Eastern Ghouta, it means

an Al-Qaeda linked group with

hundreds of fighters. This time

Russia says it will include the

partners of this group. By

definition, this pause will not be

perfect. As for the humanitarian

corridors, Russia made the same

offer in Aleppo in the last stages

of a brutal battle there in 2016, we

saw it on the ground. Many people

were too afraid to leave, many did

not have anywhere to go. In some

cases, rebel groups stopped them

from going. In Eastern Ghouta now

there are more people, more fear,

more at stake on the outskirts of

Damascus. In a war that some like to

say is over, it's just getting worse

for many Syrians.

Lyse Doucet, chief

international correspondent, thank

you.

In China, President Xi Jinping

is all set to stay in power

for decades to come

following a decision

by the Communist Party to remove

the limits on presidential

terms in office.

Mr Xi had been due to leave office

in 2023, after a decade in the post.

The decision will cement his status

as the most powerful leader of China

for the past four decades,

as our Beijing correspondent

John Sudworth reports.

CHANTING.

It's no secret that Xi Jinping has

been tightening his grip on power.

This is just the most recent display

of tubthumping military loyalty.

But now, a defining

moment has been reached.

State media reports of closed-door

party meetings confirmed

that the two-term limit

is to be scrapped.

There's nothing to fear,

his supporters argue.

Mr Xi, the benevolent

father figure, is staying

on for the good of the nation.

China has become such

a developed country,

the middle-class is increasing

in size, as well as in the number

of wealth they command.

I don't think anyone in China,

either in the party or outside

the party, would sit tight to allow

the return of a despot or tyrant

back onto the political stage.

But one ruler still casts a long

shadow here - Chairman Mao.

The two-term limit was

introduced after his death

to keep tyranny at bay.

Zhang Bao Cheng, an activist jailed

for mild dissent in the past,

is one of the few daring to publicly

criticise the change.

TRANSLATION:

If a leader

stays in office too long,

and if power becomes too

concentrated, then eventually

power becomes evil.

For most people, though, criticism

is best kept in the shadows.

The striking of just a few words

from China's constitution marks

the biggest political shift

in decades, with far

reaching implications.

Out go regular, orderly transitions,

as the world's second-largest

economy finds itself in the hands

of a man with total,

unfettered power, indefinitely.

Behind the appearance of strength

lies the risk of instability.

A rising superpower has just

torn up its rule book.

John Sudworth, BBC News, Beijing.

Theresa May's offer

to redraft the flagship

Brexit legislation,

to address the concerns

of the devolved administrations,

has been dismissed by the Scottish

and Welsh governments.

At stake is the way

powers would be returned

from Brussels after Brexit.

Ministers at Westminster claim

that the "vast majority" of powers

would go to Edinburgh,

Cardiff and Belfast.

But the Scottish government says

the current legislation

is an "attack on devolution".

Our Scotland editor,

Sarah Smith, is in Peterhead -

the largest fishing port in the UK.

Tell us more about the concerns of

the devolved administrations.

Fisheries is one of the policies

that will be coming back from

Brussels after Brexit, along with

things like agriculture and the

environment. And these are policy

areas that already devolved to

Scotland, Wales and Northern

Ireland. That's why the devolved

administrations accuse the UK

Government of a power grab when they

said that initially these powers

would be returning to Westminster.

Today they have reversed that

position and say the presumption is

these powers, when they come back to

the UK, will reside at a devolved

level. That should have taken us

closer to agreement. But, and there

is always a but, the UK Government

say they need to retain some control

because they need to make sure there

are common, UK wide legislation

around things like food hygiene,

hygiene standards and food

labelling. That's unacceptable to

the Scottish Government and Nicola

Sturgeon has said it's an effective

veto over the Scottish Parliament

and it is not something she will

agree to.

Sarah Smith, Scottish

correspondent at Peterhead, thank

you.

Britain's athletes have returned

from their most successful

Winter Olympics ever.

Team GB brought back five

medals from South Korea -

one gold and four bronze -

beating their previous record,

as our sports correspondent

Joe Wilson reports.

Flags at Heathrow for everyone.

A calm welcome home.

CHEERING.

But Olympic medallist

means a new status, even

amongst old friends.

COMMENTATOR:

Lizzy Yarnold next.

The record investment at £28 million

of lottery funding from UK Sport

brought five medals,

including Lizzy Yarnold's

memorable gold.

I wondered what her legacy could be.

There are many escalators

in Britain, but no skeleton

courses to slide down.

We are not a snow nation,

we're not an ice nation.

So the inspirational message I take

to schools is that I grew up in Kent

and I loved sport and I just wanted

to be an Olympian.

But I ended up going, doing my best,

and coming home with a gold medal.

And I was a normal kid from Kent.

COMMENTATOR:

Absolutely

stratospheric.

The fact remains, if you want

to excel in winter sports,

you have to travel abroad.

There are some Olympic sports

which are far easier to play

in every town and city

in Great Britain.

Like this one.

British basketball has even been

discussed in the House

of Commons recently.

It has mass participation amongst

young people but isn't considered

likely to win Olympic medals,

and so doesn't get UK Sport funding.

We are in danger of

losing national teams.

It's got to be looked at now.

It's not just re-evaluating,

not just talking about my sport,

talking about all sports,

the way they are funded.

We are at a crucial point.

Some sports are given huge amounts

of money and it is a very low

participation sport.

UK Sport exists to turn

lottery money into medals,

which everyone enjoys.

But, like sliding on ice,

the secret to funding

may well be balance.

Joe Wilson, BBC News, Heathrow.

That's it from me.

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for the news where you are.