03/09/2012 BBC News at One

The sharp tongue of the Blade Runner - Oscar Pistorius criticises

the artificial legs worn by the man who beat him to the gold medal. He

apologies for the timing of his comments but says there are still

issues over the use of technology. Reshuffle on the cards - David

Cameron prepares to name his new Cabinet in the next 24 hours.

55 new free schools to open this autumn. Parent power in action says

the Government. A waste of public money say Labour.

Seven years on, an inquiry opens into the death of a man shot dead

by police in London. Royal descent - Prince Andrew

abseils down Europe's tallest building for his Outward Bound

charity. Later on BBC London: Disabled

groups in the capital hope for a sporting legacy from the 2012

Paralympics and border agency staff in dawn raids to crackdown on child

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One. One of the biggest

names in the Paralympics, Oscar Pistorius, has apologised for the

timing of his remarks in which he questioned the fairness of the

men's 200 metre final in which he came second. The South African

criticised the International Paralympic Committee, saying the

winner - the Brazilian Alan Oliveira - used blades which were

too long. Our sports correspondent Andy Swiss reports.

One of the Paralympics greatest shocks followed by one of its

greatest controversies. In lane four Oscar Pistorius, the Blade

Runner, unbeaten over 200 metres in nearly a decade, it looked like

another victory parade. But then rocketing through on his outside

the Brazilian Alan Oliveira, a seering finish and extraordinary

upset. The crowd was stunned and so was

Oscar Pistorius, a shake of the head and then a blast of criticism.

Oliveira's blades were too long, he So did Oliveira have an unfair

advantage? Not so, according to the Paralympic authorities. Under the

rules of IPC atletics, the blades here are all legitimate and within

limits. We have specific rules on how long the blade can be, all

athletes are measured prior to competition here and all last night

were found to be OK. This morning Oscar Pistorius apologises for the

timing of his comments here last night, that was Alan's moment, he

said, raising my concerns immediately as I stepped off the

track was wrong. But he says he still believes there is an issue

over the length of some athletes' blades. Oscar Pistorius spent much

of his career refuting claims blades gave him an advantage over

able-bodied athletes, he had to battle for trite compete at this

year's Olympics and now within Paralympics circles the question of

what is fair is getting louder. It's an interesting debate because

some of the things that have been levelled at Oscar about, is it fair,

is there an advantage, he is now widening that debate to other

athletes and actually for me, the bottom line is that Oscar's opened

up this massive opportunity for other leg amputees to run as fast

as he is running and it's a debate that's going to keep going and

going. Oscar Pistorius looked subdued at

the medal ceremony, but he's already reignited one of sport's

most contentious debates on whether prosthetic blades can guarantee a

level playing field. Andy joins us now from the Olympic

Park. As you said in your report this is a man whose career has been

dogged by that question of the use of blades and potential advantage

from technology. It's now been brought into the spotlight again,

but by him this time. It's interesting, Oscar Pistorius so

used to having to defend himself against complaints but now he is

the one actually doing the complaining. The first thing to say

is most people will welcome his apology, whatever his tkpwhraoef --

grievance it probably wasn't the right time to raise it. It is an

interesting debate. The debate before he competed at the Olympics

was whether his blades gave him an unfair advantage. The question here

is about the length of those blades because obviously longer blades can

mean a longer stride pattern and that can mean faster speed. What he

is saying is the likes of Alan Oliveira are simply getting taller

and taller. The one thing we should say is what Alan Oliveira has done

is entirely within the rules. Oscar Pistorius says those rules need to

be tightened, otherwise competition will be distorted. The

International Paralympics Committee say they will meet with Oscar

Pistorius once the emotion has died down after the Olympics. This goes

right to the heart of sport, because what people want to see and

know is when they turn up somewhere like the Olympic Stadium they want

to know that what they're watching is a fair contest on a level

playing field. Thank you. MPs return to Westminster after

their summer break today amid much speculation of a cabinet reshuffle

in the next 24 hours. Our political correspondent Norman Smith is at

Westminster for us. First potentially radical overhaul to the

team since taking office, what's likely? Trying to read a cabinet

reshuffle is like trying to read the tea leaves, it's not a hugely

exact science but two things we can say, one is it will almost

certainly be tomorrow. Why? Because the Prime Minister does not want

any more dither and delay. Tomorrow will be the day. The big beasts

will not move, the they stay in post, so no movement for George

Osborne, William Hague, Theresa May. Possible names suggested as being

shuffled along, maybe Ken Clarke, maybe the party chairman. But the

big shake-up may come down in the middle Ministerial ranks amongst

people most voters have probably never heard of but in party

management terms absolutely crucial for Mr Cameron in promoting the

able and talented and also calibrating the political balance

within the party. It's a difficult balancing act for those moved could

it be seen their policies have failed? Yeah, I have no doubt it is

going to be an extraordinarily difficult reshuffle. Why? You have

to think of the balance within a coalition, you have got to think of

the balance of women in the cabinet, but also for a very simple human

reason. For everyone prow moat, there's someone you demote. In

other words, for everyone going around with a smile on their face

there's someone going around in the almost almighty cream puff, with

resentment. We simply do not know whether Mr Cameron will be any good

at a reshuffle. They can provide a political balance, they can also be

a political banana skin. Thank you very much.

55 new free schools are opening across England this autumn,

tripling the number already in existence. According to the

Government it shows how popular the idea is becoming with charities,

parents, and other bodies who are able to set up the schools which

remain state funded but outside local authority control. Critics

says the programme doesn't target areas with the greatest need for

more school places. Plans for a new school in Bradford have been put on

hold. Our correspondent, Chris Buckler, is there. Why have things

stalled there? It comes down to a simple matter of numbers. Free

schools in order to be viable have to attract the support of parents

and pupils and in the case of this one it simply didn't happen. That's

led to severe criticism of the 200,000 of public money that's

already been spent on the project. Stkpwhrp. The start of the new

school year, marks a new beginning for dozens of free schools. One was

planned for this converted sports shop in the shadow of Bradford's

football stadium but days before doors were due to open the

Government withdraw the funding for the One in a Million school.

Leaving parents and pupils looking for a place elsewhere. Bringing all

our hopes up and then crashing them, smashing them. It's like all kids

here were probably definitely wanting to come here. But like me

as well. At least for now all the plans for this school have been put

on hold. The Department for Education has thanked One in a

Million for the charity's hard work but it says conditions were not met.

They had promised 50 pupils but only 30 were due to start here next

week. Free schools are state funded. They

can be be set up bay range of groups including charities,

businesses, visionary teachers or committed parents and while the

education must be balanced and broadly based, they don't have to

follow the national curriculum. And meet the man who is firmly

behind the idea. The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has faced

criticism over the amount of money spent on projects that have run

into difficulties. But visiting one of the new wave of free schools in

Birmingham, he insisted they offered choice. It is the case that

there have been one or two free schools that we hoped might open

this September that haven't quite made the grade but we hope that

they will open in the future. However, with 55 new schools

opening and 24 schoolss having opened last year already

oversubscribed then we are seeing a real change. But Labour says the

Government must recognise the failures alongside the successes.

There's been a lot of waste in this programme. We have seen two school

projects cancelled at the very last minute. There isn't always local

parental support. In many parts of the country there aren't enough

primary school places and this programme has not focused enough on

that. They're putting finishes touches to

these two new free schools in Bradford. They'll offer music and a

longer school day for pupils. not sure parents have expressed a

demand for competition and choice, I think what parents do believe,

though, is they shouldn't have to send their child to a school they

really don't want to. The future of every free school

depends on parents buying into their ideas and ethos. But the

Government clearly believes the policy is laying the foundations

for the future of education in England.

In the months and years ahead, critics will be watching closely,

not just the amount of money spent on free schools but also where

they're set up. Are they in places where there is a need for school

places? Of course, the Government has made clear it is firmly

committed to this process. They want to push ahead with this, 55

free schools may be set up this September, but they say more than

100 have already been approved to open after next September.

The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, will be speaking in the

Commons this afternoon. Our political correspondent Iain Watson

has more on that. It's his first day of work, of course, he has

rather a lot in his in-tray. policies are going to come under

close examination this afternoon in over an hour's time. MPs will be

questioning him and Labour in particular are keen to ask

questions about the recent GCSEs English English exam row. From

their point of view they're saying we already know that it's much more

difficult for pupils to get a C grade in those exams if they sat

them in June rather than January. But the education regulator, Ofqual,

are saying pupils won't automatically be regraded, they'll

have to resit those exams if they're disappointed with the

results. Labour are saying the Education Secretary should spwr

convenient and -- intervene and save children from the prospects of

having to do exams in November. He won't intervene in decisions taken

by exam boards. What is likely to say is that if he did so, he would

be accused of political interference, political meddling by

the opposition. But he's also got to try to turn this row to his own

advantage and make bigger points. The GCSE system in England is

discredited, what's needed stphou overhaul of that system something

he's been committed to doing. He may argue that but I don't think he

will be necessarily be able to get away from row over results because

in a few days MPs in a cross-party group, education experts will

decide whether to launch their own inquiry into the system. The key

message from the Education Secretary today will be, there

might be some disappointment over these results this year, but in

future we make these exams more robust so parents and pupils are

going to have to get used to a simple truth, don't expect results

to go up year on year any longer. Thank you.

The former chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks, has

appeared before magistrates in London. She's charged with

conspiring to intercept phone messages. The case has now been

passed to the crown court. Here's our home affairs correspondent, Tom

Symonds. Another day in court for the woman

who once headed News International. And more cameras to face as she

arrived to begin the process that is likely to result in her trial by

jury for phone hacking. A legal note pad in her hands,

Rebekah Brooks stood alone in the dock watched by journalists across

the courtroom. She confirmed her name and after a pause her date of

birth. The main charge against the former

chief executive is this she conspired to intercept telephone

communications, phone hacking, between 2000 and 2006.

The prosecution says there were at least 600 victims, mainly famous

faces. She is charged with conspiring to access messages of

Milly Dowler, the schoolgirl murdered in 2002 as well as the

formerification union lead -- former fire brigades leader. She

has denied being involved. It was a short hearing. Rebekah Brooks was

told her case was being passed to to Southwark Crown Court for a

hearing on 26th September. There, she will join seven other reporters

and executives from the News of the World. They are all charged with

phone hacking. They include the former News of the

World editor, Andy Coulson, who appeared here last month, along

with colleagues from the Newsroom. It appears that all their cases, 19

charges in total, will be dealt with by the Crown Court together.

Their trials are unlikely to begin until next year. Rebekah Brooks is

also being prosecuted for perverting the course of justice,

the allegation, that amid the fevered atmosphere at News

International last year she misled the police at the height of the

An inquiry has been shown video footage of the moment armed

officers surrounded a car in north London and shot one of the

passengers dead. Azelle Rodney was hit by six bullets and died

instantly when the vehicle was stopped in north London seven years

ago. Three guns were found in the car. A judge-led inquiry is being

held into Mr Rodney's death rather than an inquest because sensitive

evidence is being heard. June Kelly is at the inquiry in Central London.

Kate, this footage was filmed by a Scotland Yard officer who was in

the police convoy. You don't see the shooting, but you hear the

shots ring out. The inquiry also saw highly distressing images of

the aftermath of the shooting, the blood soaked seat where Azelle

Rodney had been sitting his mother chose to leave the court when when

those images were shown. Azelle Rodney was was 24 when he

was shot dead by police. One officer fired eight bullets, six

hit him in the head and body, for his mother, this inquiry is the

start of the first public hearing into his death.

REPORTER: Can we ask what you are hoping for today? For seven years

she has been fighting to find out why her son was shot. The Crown

Prosecution Service said in in 2006 there was insufficient evidence to

bring charges against any police officer. The following year, a

coroner said an inquest couldn't take place because he wasn't aloud

access to sensitive information. This inquiry was set-up, which will

hear some of the intelligence evidence. In April 2005, firearms

officers were following a car in North London. They believed the

three men inside were on their way to rip off a gang of suspected

drugs dealers at gun point. There were four police cars involved and

they carried a hard stop on the car. Azelle Rodney was sitting in the

back. It was an officer known as E 7 who fired the the fatal shots.

The police car he was in had stopped and he was in the passenger

seat. His window was on the level of one of the windows in the Golf

and it was from that position that he opened fire. Today counsel to

Firearms were found in the car, but Azelle Rodney didn't have a weapon

in his hand when he was shot. The marksmen who killed him will be

among those to testify in the Well, that officer will give

evidence from behind a screen amongst the others to testify will

be the two men who were in the car with Azelle Rodney when he was shot.

They were later jailed for firearms The time is 1.18pm:

Oscar Pistorius is to meet Paralympics organisers after

apologising for the timing of his comments about the sprinter who

beat him into second place. I am live at Greenwich where Great

Britain won another gold medal. In fact, it is a second gold and a

second world record for young On BBC London, the 15 century

building which may not open as a free school in time for the new

term this week. The Games maker fulfilling her

dream to volunteer during the Police in Northern Ireland have

described the tactics used by rioters in North Belfast last night

as "savage". Nearly 50 police officers were hurt during hours of

rioting overnight. Four of them were taken to hospital. Trouble

began in the north of the city when loyalists turned out to protest at

a Republican parade. Police were attacked with bricks, bottles and

fireworks. Our Ireland correspondent, Mark Simpson,

Sunday afternoon in Belfast. The police tried to keep rival loyalist

and republican gangs apart. After clashes broke out during a

republican parade along one of the main roads in the north of the city.

47 police officers were injured. The violence continued through the

evening and into the early hours of the morning. The police described

the tactics used by the rioters as "savage.". Violence in which we saw

in excess of 34 petrol bombs. Hundreds of fireworks. Huge pieces

of masonry and even lasers used against this community's police

officers. Used against public servants who on a Sunday afternoon

went out to deliver policing on behalf of this community. Among the

buildings hit by bricks and bottles during the riot was a a nursing

home. Thousands of pounds of damage was caused. Last night, this part

of the north Belfast was a battle zone. Today, the violence has

stopped, the police have gone and normality has returned. The

question is - for how long? Another parade is due to take place

in the area at end of this month. Work will begin soon to try to

The UN envoy to Syria says his task of negotiating a peace plan for the

country is "nearly impossible". Lakhdar Brahimi, who is Algerian

and a seasoned UN diplomat, replaces Kofi Annan who stood down

last month. Kofi Annan stood down last month.

I know how difficult it is. How nearly impossible. I can't say

impossible. Nearly impossible it is. I am I am scared of the weight of

the responsibility. People are already saying, you know, people

are dying, what are you doing to help?

Indeed we are not doing much. That in itself is a terrible weight.

The new UN envoy. Police vo been searching a river

after a girl was found alone on a boat in the Norfolk Broods

confirmed two bodies were those of the girl's mother and her mother's

partner. A section. Section of the river was closed. Police say the

deaths are treated as unexplained. A couple have been arrested after

two suspected burglars were shot at their home in Leicestershire. Four

men have been detained on suspicion of ago aggravated burglary. Police

say the wounded mens injuries are The Green Party have elected a new

leader for England and Wales. Australian-born journalist Natalie

Bennett replaces Caroline Lucas, the party's only MP, who chose not

to stand. In her opening speech, Ms Bennett criticised the government's

cuts and said Green Party policies were the only "viable way forward"

for Britain and the world. deeply honoured by being given this

great responsibility. It is a big task to lead the Green Party,

particularly stepping into the shoes of Caroline Lucas, not that

she is going anywhere, but I know up and down the country, across

England and Wales, there are thousands of Green Party members

who will be with me. This is very much a team effort.

Great Britain has taken another gold at the Paralympics. 22-year-

old Natasha Baker has won the Grade 2 freestyle equestrian event. It is

her second gold at these Games. And this afternoon her team-mate Lee

Pearson could equal the British record of 11 gold Paralympic medals.

Our sports correspondent Joe Wilson is at Greenwich Park.

Congratulations to Natasha Baker too.

Absolutely, Kate. There has never been a Paralympic equestrian

anything like this. We have had a record crowd and also a record

score. Natasha Baker on board the horse JP has risen to the challenge.

Today and and tomorrow, we are in the freestyle section where riders

can choose their music. It is more important to please the judges.

Natasha set her routine to a classical melody. The judges loved

it. 82.8%. That's a Paralympic record. It is a second world record

and it is a second gold medal. It is outstanding when you consider,

it is her debut. She is just 22 and before the Games she was considered

the weakest member of the British team. Everyone knows about Lee

Pearson's record. As you were saying, he has been beaten for the

first time ever in the Paralympics, but if he win this is afternoon he

will have the 11 gold medals which will leave him level with Tanni

Grey-Thompson and Dave Roberts. For now, we should wallow in the glory

of Natasha Baker. Although she contracted spinal issues when she

was just a baby, she like many Paralympians were told nothing

should be impossible. At over 300 meters tall, the Shard

is Europe's tallest building, how would you fancy abseiling down it?

That's what 40 people have been doing for charity. Among them

Prince Andrew. Jeremy Cooke watched. High above the Met trop lis,

something extraordinary is happening. Yes, that's The Queen's

son and yes, he has just stepped out of the 87th floor of Europe's

tallest building. It is all the Duke of York's idea, abseiling down

the 300 meter Shard raising money for the Outward Bound Trust. Today

he has been leading by example. Prince Andrew has been making

excellent progress. For many of us, this would be a terrifying ordeal,

the Duke of York seems to be take the whole thing in his stride. Back

on the the ground, relief and congratulations. A promise

fulfilled. This is not about me. This is about

the Outward Bound Trust. This is about what we want to do for young

peemg. We -- people. We want to change people's lives, but do it in

a way that that gives them a challenging environment and a

learning environment so they can understand leadership and team work.

Duke was among 40 abseilers to take on the Shard. They are on target to

raise �1 million for the Outward Bound Trust and the Royal Marines

charity trust. The troops here maybe used to such extreme

challenges, for most though, clinging to the edge of a slippery

glass building meant summoning up Let's take the weather now with

Louise Lear. It is lovely out there. I suspect

many of the farmers will be gathering in the harvest this week

as the weather stays dry and sunny, but the irony will not be lost on

the teachers and the children unfortunately heading back to

school. Let's look at satellite picture. A little bit of fair

weather cloud across England and Wales. More significant cloud up

into the far north and west. A lovely slice of sunshine across

Eastern Scotland and to the east of Belfast and across England and

Wales. It is a lovely afternoon to follow. By the middle of the

afternoon, you can see across northern eng England and the

Midlands 23 Celsius. We could see highs of 23 or 25

Celsius in the London area. That cloud cloud well, it will continue

to break up across the south-west. A promising afternoon in prospect

with 18 Celsius, 19 Celsius the high. Some lovely sunshine on offer

across Wales. If you are lucky, towards Belfast you will keep the

brightness, but the cloud gathers ahead of the rain. Some of the rain

will be significant, but more importantly, the strength of the

wind is a cause for concern. We will see gusts of wind up to 65mph

possible likely in the extreme north-west of Scotland. The rain

heavy for a time, but as it it pushes south and east, it will

weaken substantially. Further south of that, it is a quiet night to

come with patchy mist and fog. Not a cold night.

Fog first thing maybe in Weymouth for the Paralympic sailing.

Hopefully by the afternoon a sea breeze will pick up and move things

along, but winds could be an issue with the sailing. We start off with

a good slice of sunshine in the South East. There will be the odd

spot or two of rain. To the north of it, a good clearance and lovely

sunshine and a few isolated showers. Highs likely of 18 18 Celsius to 22

Celsius. By Wednesday, the high pressure gathers strength and moves

in across the country. Hardly an isobar through the country which