18/02/2018

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0:00:21 > 0:00:24Good afternoon.

0:00:24 > 0:00:27The husband of murdered MP Jo Cox has resigned from two charities

0:00:27 > 0:00:30he set up in her memory, after allegations of sexual

0:00:30 > 0:00:34harassment were made public.

0:00:34 > 0:00:38Brendan Cox denies assaulting a woman at Harvard University

0:00:38 > 0:00:42in 2015, but admits to "inappropriate" behaviour

0:00:42 > 0:00:44while working for Save The Children.

0:00:44 > 0:00:46This morning Jo Cox's sister has said that the family

0:00:46 > 0:00:51will continue to support Brendan, and that their priority is on caring

0:00:51 > 0:00:51for the couple's children.

0:00:51 > 0:00:56Charlotte Gallagher reports.

0:00:57 > 0:01:01The murder of Jo Cox by a far right extremist

0:01:01 > 0:01:02The murder of Jo Cox by a far right extremist stunned the nation. The

0:01:02 > 0:01:07Labour MP and mother of two was shot and stabbed in the week before the

0:01:07 > 0:01:13EU referendum in 2016. In the months after her death, her widower,

0:01:13 > 0:01:19Brendan Cox, vowed to campaign in his wife's memory, and set up the Jo

0:01:19 > 0:01:22Cox Foundation and More In Common. Now, following allegations of

0:01:22 > 0:01:26inappropriate behaviour against women, he has stood down from both

0:01:26 > 0:01:31charities. He was accused of harassing a female colleague at Save

0:01:31 > 0:01:36the Children and assaulting a woman during a trip to Harvard University

0:01:36 > 0:01:45in 2015. Late last night, Brendan Cox apologised for his actions.

0:01:58 > 0:02:02The Labour MP Jess Phillips, who was friends with Jo Cox, said he was

0:02:02 > 0:02:07right to stand down.I'm not defending his actions, I am trying

0:02:07 > 0:02:13to think about this person who I know and my friend who isn't here,

0:02:13 > 0:02:17and make sure that there is a change in the future. I don't defend any of

0:02:17 > 0:02:23this behaviour.A spokesperson for the Jo Cox Foundation said staff

0:02:23 > 0:02:29admired Mr Cox's contribution and dedication to the charity. Today, Jo

0:02:29 > 0:02:32Cox's sister said the family would support Brendan Cox as he

0:02:32 > 0:02:44endeavoured to do the right thing. The education Secretary said

0:02:44 > 0:02:48university students should pay different amounts to study different

0:02:48 > 0:02:56causes. Damian Hinds suggested subsidies could be used to fund more

0:02:56 > 0:02:59expensive degree courses such as science and engineering.

0:02:59 > 0:03:01It comes as the Prime Minister prepares to outline details

0:03:01 > 0:03:03of a wide ranging review of higher education funding.

0:03:03 > 0:03:05But Labour say another review isn't going to solve

0:03:05 > 0:03:06basic funding problems.

0:03:06 > 0:03:08Tom Barton reports.

0:03:08 > 0:03:09What's this worth?

0:03:09 > 0:03:10CHEERING.

0:03:10 > 0:03:12That's the question facing ministers as they try to address concerns

0:03:12 > 0:03:17over the cost of university, both to students and taxpayers.

0:03:17 > 0:03:21A review launching tomorrow to look at how

0:03:21 > 0:03:23degrees are funded and whether it's right that expensive science and

0:03:23 > 0:03:27engineering courses cost students the same as cheaper arts and

0:03:27 > 0:03:31humanities degrees.

0:03:31 > 0:03:34When the system was brought in, it wasn't

0:03:34 > 0:03:36anticipated that so many universities, so many courses, would

0:03:36 > 0:03:44all have the same fee for their course.

0:03:46 > 0:03:49There hasn't been as much variety that has come into the system

0:03:49 > 0:03:52as we would have expected and wanted, so I think it is right

0:03:52 > 0:03:55to ask questions about that and see what can be done to stimulate that

0:03:55 > 0:03:56diversity and variety.

0:03:56 > 0:03:59The review comes as MPs from the Commons Treasury Committee

0:03:59 > 0:04:04say interest rates as high as 6.1% on student loans are questionable.

0:04:04 > 0:04:08With many undergraduates in England accumulating £5,000 in interest

0:04:08 > 0:04:09whilst still studying, and leaving university

0:04:09 > 0:04:15with average debts of £50,000.

0:04:15 > 0:04:18Many are seeing today's announcement as a response to Labour's success

0:04:18 > 0:04:22with younger voters at last year's general election, after promising

0:04:22 > 0:04:30to end fees and reintroduce maintenance grants.

0:04:32 > 0:04:34We've had three announcements of reviews in the last 12 months

0:04:34 > 0:04:37and eight years of the Conservatives that have damaged higher education

0:04:37 > 0:04:40and totally decimated our further education infrastructure,

0:04:40 > 0:04:43so another review really isn't going to solve the problem

0:04:43 > 0:04:46of the hike in interest rates which this Government has done.

0:04:46 > 0:04:48Tuition fees remain a divisive subject, something ministers hope

0:04:48 > 0:04:53this review will help address.

0:04:53 > 0:04:58Tom is here now.

0:04:58 > 0:05:03Is this the start, do you think, of a shift on Government policy on

0:05:03 > 0:05:06higher education? There is certainly no doubt the

0:05:06 > 0:05:09Conservatives have felt under pressure on this issue since last

0:05:09 > 0:05:13year's election but the Government remains committed to the key

0:05:13 > 0:05:17principle that graduates who have benefited from university education

0:05:17 > 0:05:21should continue to contribute towards the cost of that education.

0:05:21 > 0:05:25What then could this review mean in practice? There is of course the

0:05:25 > 0:05:29possibility that those studying arts and humanities courses that are

0:05:29 > 0:05:42cheaper to deliver could find themselves paying

0:05:47 > 0:05:49less, is talking about universities offering shorter courses, more

0:05:49 > 0:05:51part-time study, as well as making it easier for students to live at

0:05:51 > 0:05:53home whilst at university. But criticism of today's announcement is

0:05:53 > 0:05:56not just coming from the Labour Party, Damian Hinds' predecessor as

0:05:56 > 0:05:58education secretary, Justin Green, has said today that the Government

0:05:58 > 0:06:05needs to stop kicking education around like a political football.

0:06:05 > 0:06:08Church spires are going to be used to help people in rural areas get

0:06:08 > 0:06:11better access to mobile networks, broadband and wifi services.

0:06:11 > 0:06:13A deal between the Government and the Church of England aims

0:06:13 > 0:06:15to make it easier to put communication masts

0:06:15 > 0:06:18in spires and towers, as James Waterhouse explains.

0:06:18 > 0:06:20A church spire can often be the highest point of a village,

0:06:20 > 0:06:27and given that the Church of England has more than 16,000

0:06:27 > 0:06:28buildings of different kinds, Government ministers are hoping

0:06:28 > 0:06:31these will give the perfect infrastructure to help more parts

0:06:31 > 0:06:35of the UK get better signal.

0:06:35 > 0:06:39They say this deal will make it easier for vicars and bishops to get

0:06:39 > 0:06:41this technology installed, and there's cash to be made.

0:06:41 > 0:06:44The rental is typically between £5,000 and £10,000,

0:06:44 > 0:06:47which can be equivalent or more to a normal income for

0:06:47 > 0:06:50a church for a year.

0:06:50 > 0:06:53Now, conservationists may not like the idea of a mobile

0:06:53 > 0:06:58phone mast being bolted onto their local church.

0:06:58 > 0:07:00However, the Government argues in many cases

0:07:00 > 0:07:03the technology can be hidden within the spire.

0:07:03 > 0:07:05They'll be rolled out over the next five years,

0:07:05 > 0:07:08and both parties will be hoping this signals better mobile phone

0:07:08 > 0:07:10coverage and internet for more parts of the UK.

0:07:10 > 0:07:18James Waterhouse, BBC News.

0:07:20 > 0:07:23Donald Trump has rebuked the FBI for missing warning signals

0:07:23 > 0:07:25about the gunman who killed 17 students at a school

0:07:25 > 0:07:26in Florida last week.

0:07:26 > 0:07:29The President says the agency has spent "too much time trying

0:07:29 > 0:07:31to prove Russian collusion" during his election win,

0:07:31 > 0:07:33and is failing to do the basics of law enforcement.

0:07:33 > 0:07:40The FBI has admitted it failed to act on a tip-off about the gunman.

0:07:40 > 0:07:43Nearly 200 British stars of film, TV and stage have signed an open

0:07:43 > 0:07:46letter calling for an end to sexual harassment at work, ahead

0:07:46 > 0:07:48of tonight's Bafta awards in London.

0:07:48 > 0:07:53Emma Watson, Keira Knightley and Emma Thompson are among the list

0:07:53 > 0:07:58named in the letter, published in the Observer.

0:07:58 > 0:08:01The stars are expected to wear black for tonight's Bafta,

0:08:01 > 0:08:03in a show of solidarity with the Hollywood

0:08:03 > 0:08:05movement Time's Up.

0:08:05 > 0:08:08Britain has just missed out on a fifth medal

0:08:08 > 0:08:11at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, after James Woods

0:08:11 > 0:08:18finished an agonising fourth in the ski slopestyle

0:08:18 > 0:08:19in Pyeongchang this morning.

0:08:19 > 0:08:24From there, Andy Swiss reports.

0:08:24 > 0:08:27From a dry ski slope in Sheffield, to an Olympic final.

0:08:27 > 0:08:29James Woods has long made the extraordinary seem effortless,

0:08:29 > 0:08:32and once again how he rose to the occasion, as he tricked,

0:08:32 > 0:08:34flipped and leapt his way right into contention.

0:08:34 > 0:08:35COMMENTATOR:What's he got for us?

0:08:37 > 0:08:39CHEERING.

0:08:39 > 0:08:41You can hear what the crowd think of that.

0:08:41 > 0:08:42What a run by James Woods.

0:08:42 > 0:08:45He came here with such high hopes for a medal,

0:08:45 > 0:08:46will that be enough?

0:08:46 > 0:08:49It seemed it might be.

0:08:49 > 0:08:53Second place for Woodsy...

0:08:53 > 0:08:57And with just a few left to go he was still in bronze,

0:08:57 > 0:08:58before America's Nick Goepper snatched away his medal.

0:08:58 > 0:09:03So close.

0:09:03 > 0:09:05It's a game of perfection, and it's not just that,

0:09:05 > 0:09:07you've got to go above and beyond technical difficulty.

0:09:07 > 0:09:11That was insane.

0:09:11 > 0:09:14Meanwhile, it's emerged speed skater Elise Christie suffered soft tissue

0:09:14 > 0:09:15damage in her crash yesterday.

0:09:15 > 0:09:17Her boyfriend posted this...

0:09:17 > 0:09:20With her next event on Tuesday, it's a race against time.

0:09:20 > 0:09:21But for others, there was celebration.

0:09:21 > 0:09:23Lizzy Yarnold receiving her skeleton gold medal.

0:09:23 > 0:09:28Her historic success, she told me, was still sinking in.

0:09:28 > 0:09:31It was a big goal four years ago to try and be the first

0:09:31 > 0:09:33British Winter Olympian to retain my title.

0:09:33 > 0:09:35It was scary to say it, but now it's rolling off

0:09:35 > 0:09:37the tongue a bit more.

0:09:37 > 0:09:40I'm just so proud that it all came together.

0:09:40 > 0:09:45And with team-mate Laura Deas collecting her bronze,

0:09:45 > 0:09:47a picture-perfect podium for British sport.

0:09:47 > 0:09:55Andy Swiss, BBC News, Pyeongchang.

0:09:59 > 0:10:01That is all from us.

0:10:01 > 0:10:04The next news on BBC One is just after six, bye for now.