19/12/2012 BBC News at One

No evidence of a cover up, but the BBC is heavily criticised over the

shelving of Newsnight's Jimmy Savile investigation into sexual

abuse. An inquiry finds there was chaos

and confusion in BBC management with leadership in short supply.

The decision by their editor to drop the original investigation was

clearly flawed and the way it was taken was wrong. I believe it was

done in good faith. It has emerged that before Jimmy

Savile died, a senior BBC executive warned he had felt queasy about

running a tribute for him, saying he'd seen the real truth about the

presenter. Fresh inquests ordered into the

deaths of 96 people who died in the Hillsborough disaster as police

launch a new investigation. The Swiss bank, UBS, is fined

nearly �1 billion after some traders illegally fixed key

interest rates. Nearly 4,000 British troops in

Afghanistan are to be withdrawn next year.

And why Christmas cards sent by German soldiers occupying Jersey

during World War II are finally on The scandal of the capital's

children who go hungry at school. A report into alleged abuse of

elderly stroke patients at one of the region's hospitals has been

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

The decision to shelve Newsnight's report into allegations of sexual

abuse by Jimmy Savile was flawed. But an inquiry has found no

evidence of a cover-up. It says poor management meant the BBC

failed to handle the revelations about Savile resulting in chaos and

confusion and the resignation of George Entwistle. It emerged months

before and Savile died a senior executive questioned whether

tributes should be run because of the darker side to his life. The

deputy Director of BBC News has resigned.

It is the scandal that brought down a Director-General after just 54

days and raised doubts about one of the BBC's most precious as assets,

it is reputation for trustworthy journalism. Everyone know has Jimmy

Savile did. Newsnight began an investigation. Only for the editor

to drop it. Instead, the BBC ran a Jimmy Savile Christmas tribute. Six

weeks ago, Newsnight's editor wrote a blog explaining his decision

after ITV broadcast the allegation about Savile. The blog turned out

to be inaccurate. So went wrong and who was responsible?

The former head of Sky News, brought into to investigate says

the decision to drop the Savile investigation was flawed, gu taken

in but taken in good faith. He is critical of top BBC managers and

says the BBC's news division was in meltdown. When the full force of

the affair broke in October this year, the BBC's management system

proved incapable of dealing with it. The level of kay chaos and

confusion was greater than was apparent at the time. Several

individuals were making efforts to get to the truth behind the Savile

story, but leadership and organisation seemed to be in short

short supply. That looks like a criticism of

Helen Boaden, but she will return to her job tomorrow. Her deputy

Steve Mitchell who couldn't explain why he had taken the Savile

investigation off a are list of stories will resign. Peter Rippon

will move to a new job. Newsnight editor's most serious

mistake was that he didn't look properly at the evidence before

deciding to drop the story. It is not surprising therefore, that he

didn't understand the evidence that he had and that was to cause

enormous confusion in the months to come.

A new crisis for Newsnight. Low An investigation into historic

child abuse in North Wales led to the former top Tory Lord McAlpine

being wrongly named on the internet. The BBC paid him damages and

apologised in court. Adrian Van Klaveren is also moving to a new

job. The way this report has enabled the BBC to look with

searing honesty at its own failings and not just report on other

peoples will help rebuild trust. One damaging piece of evidence to

emerge, two years before Jimmy Savile's death, a prog a programme

maker warn against an obituary of the star and it made him queasy.

David Sillito is at New Broadcasting House in London. This

inquiry cost �million. What -- �2 million. What is the impact of it

likely to be? Well, it is a damning indictment of BBC management. A

disaster and inability to get to the truth and they say when

leadership was required, it was not there. So these are very serious

questions to be addressed. However, this is just the report. There are

10,000 e-mails, there are all the transcripts, many of the people who

were spoken to were speaking for up to eight hours. We have been told a

lot of this information will be made available and the Culture

Secretary asked that this be put in the public domain as quickly as

possible so people can make their own own minds up of how the BBC

handled this investigation. It is interesting that a BBC

executive said that he felt queasy at the idea of preparing tributes

to Jimmy Savile? I really couldn't believe it when I

read it. This is back in May 2011. Jimmy Savile was ill. This was an

e-mail sent to George Entwistle, the Director-General who resigned

when he was the head of television, saying, "Are you going to do an

obituary on Jimmy Savile? I don't know about this because I feel

queasy." He worked with Jimmy Savile and he said, "I know the

truth." There is another e-mail that talks about Jimmy Savile's

dark side. When we get to December and January there are four tributes

on BBC TV and radio that go out. Today, Tim Davie, the acting

Director-General, said they shouldn't have gone out.

There will be more reaction to this story throughout the afternoon on

the BBC News Channel. Detectives investigating historical

claims of sex abuse linked to Jimmy Savile arrested a man in his 70s.

He was arrested this morning on suspicion of sexual offences and is

in custody in a South London police station. He is the eighth person to

be arrested under the Operation Yewtree investigation.

Fresh inquests have been ordered into the deaths of 96 people who

died in the Hillsborough disaster over 20 years ago. A new police

investigation has also been announced after it emerged that 41

of those who died in April 1989 might have been saved. The Home

Secretary, Theresa May, says she is determined to deliver justice for

the football fans who died and for the families who have fought hard

on their behalf. Judith Moritz is at the High Court. Campaigners have

long for the inquest verdicts to be overturned and quashed for over 20

years. They have waited all that time for their day in court and in

reality, it was less than three months since the publication of the

Hillsborough independent report until today. Jubilant scenes in the

courtroom were the Lord Chief Justice made his announcement. The

whole place erupted into applause. These families and their supporters

have waited nearly 25 years for this moment. The High Court

decision that their relatives who died at Hillsborough will get a new

inquest. The depth and the length of the judgement, we couldn't have

written it better if we had written it ourselves. So when you get the

Lord Chief Justice and I think he used the Term, "Vindicateed".

fans were crushed in April 1989. At the inquests which opened the

following year, verdicts of accidental death were returned.

Something which angered bereaved relatives. They were unhappy with

the coroners assessment that all Hillsborough victims had been

injured by 3.15pm on the afternoon of the disaster. Evidence covering

the emergency response after this time was not heard. Earlier this

year, the Hillsborough Independent Panel revealed that 41 of the fans

who died probably lived beyond 3.15pm and might have been saved.

When I read the Hillsborough Independent Panel's publication of

documents and their report, it was overwhelmingly clear that the

inquests had proceeded on seriously flawed basis.

Now, nearly 25 years after Britain's worst sporting disaster,

for the first time, there will be a full coroners investigation into

Although today's decision happened quickly, hot on the heels of the

Hillsborough independent report, the families know they will have

many months before inquests can begin. There is a lot of detail to

get through in terms of the format the inquests will take. But tor for

today, they are celebrating one of them said it was simply breath-

taking to hear this decision here at the High Court.

The Swiss banking giant, UBS has been fined nearly �1 billion after

dozens of its traders illegally rigged the interest rates used by

banks to lend money to one another. The penality imposed by regulators

in Britain, the US and Switzerland is more than three times the fine

that is imposed on on Barclays after similar accusation.

It was a scandal that cast a shadow over London and other financial

capitals, the rigging of a key interest rate, led to the chairman

and two top executives at Barclays quitting. Now under the Spotlight

is UBS with a fine of nearly �1 billion announced by regulators.

Three times the swiz the size of the Barclays fine.

This is some of the most shocking misconduct we have seen to date.

This was prevalent across the firm for five years where people were

seeking to manipulate an internationally used benchmark

which is used for millions of pounds worth of contracts in order

to benefit their own trading positions.

The global market influenced by LIBOR and similar rates is huge. A

change in them can mean the difference between profits or

losses on deals for a bank like UBS. That's why traders had a powerful

incentive to manipulate rates. In one message unearthed by regulators,

one dealer says to a counterpart at another firm, "I need you to keep

it as low as possible. I will pay you �50,000, �100,000, whatever you

want.". This is one of the most outrageous things I have seen in

the banking industry because of the kal of the collusion.

The wrongdoing at UBS took place over five years from 2005, the

Chief Executive said they regretted inappropriate and unethical

behaviour and were committed to doing business with integrity.

UBS won't be the last major bank to make an announcement about its

involvement in the LIBOR scandal. International regulators are

continuing to investigate a number of leading financial institutions.

Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed it is in discussions and

there could be an announcement within weeks.

Banks could be hit by multi-billion pound lawsuits from investors who

allege they lost money because of interest rate lation and --

manipulation. Well, let's get more from Robert

peston. This is not the end of it, is it? It is not. It is not the end

of it for UBS. As Hugh said there will be civil letgation by

investors who feel they suffered losses as a result of the market

rigging and the most significant thing in a way what was announced

by regulators in the case of UBS is that there was evidence no no not

only UBS tried to manipulate rates, but they succeeded in manipulating

rates. That's different from Barclays. Barclays was fined �290

million a few months ago. In its case, there was no proof it

profited. The significant of regulators saying that UBS profited

is that when the cases come to court, if damages are fixed, those

damages could be a multiple of the big fine that has been imposed on

UBS and that's something that banks, still recovering from the crisis of

2008 need like a hole in the head. Also, other banks as Hugh said are

in the frame. Something like a dozen banks worldwide are being

investigated by regulators. Next down the track, almost certainly,

will be our own Royal Bank of Scotland, it is braced for big

fines. Probably more more than the �290 million levied on Barclays,

but fingers crossed for RBS, maybe a bit less than the �1 billion on

UBS. Thank you.

In the last hour, the Prime Minister has announced that troop

withdrawals from Afghanistan will be speeded up. Nearly 4,000 British

troops will now return home next year. All NATO combat operations

are due to finish by the end of 2014 with responsibility being

transferred fully to Afghan forces. British forces went into

Afghanistan in 2001, some to hunt down Osama bin Laden, after the

9/11 attacks. Others later to become part of NATO's international

security assistance force. Its aim, to bring stability and democracy to

a country deeply scarred by decades of war.

In the first year, they were warmly welcomed, especially in Kabul. By

2006, when British forces went into Helmand, they found themselves

fighting a bitter insurgency, a mixture of Afghan and foreign

fighters. The aim was to quell the insurgency and deal with the opium

trade while politicians and diplomats were to aid peace and

reconciliation between the Taliban and the Afghan Government.

At the start of the campaign, there were 4,300 British troops which

fell to a few hundred by 2003. But a few years later, for

operations in Helmand, the numbers rose again to nearly 3,000.

By 2009, that had gone up to 9,500 British troops. By the end of 2013,

another 4,000 will withdraw, according to the Prime Minister,

David Cameron, in parliament today. Because of the success of our

forces and the Afghan national security forces and the fact that

we are moving from mentoring at a battalion level to a brigade level

by the end of 2013, we will be able to see troops come home in two

relatively even steps, 2013, 2014, leaving probably around 5,200

troops after the end of 2013. campaign has cost 438 British lives

so far. With many more injured. Their lives changed forever. The

mission isn't over yet. There's still much to do before more

British forces leave and NATO's combat operations end. As for the

Afghans themselves, there's still enormous uncertainty about what

2014 will bring for a country still a long way from peace.

Our top story: The no cover-up but the BBC's been

heavily criticised over the shelving of the Newsnight's Jimmy

Savile investigation and a BBC executive warned of Savile's darker

side. New guidelines on what constitutes offensive behaviour on

social networks. On BBC London: How much would you

be willing to invest to star in a film? We meet Protestant dueser

looking -- we meet the producer looking to the public. The world's

top Paralympians return to the Colleagues of the former

Conservative Chief Whip, Andrew Mitchell, have backed calls for an

inquiry into his row with police officers over access to the main

gate in Downing Street. Mr Mitchell resigned from the Government over

the incident, admitting he swore at the officers but denying that he

called them "plebs". It was alleged yesterday that a police officer had

falsely claimed to have been present and witnessed what happened.

Here's our political correspondent Robert Brant.

I have nothing to say, except to wish you a happy Christmas. A happy

Christmas indeed because Andrew Mitchell believes he is a man on

the way to clearing his name. Last night, we finally got to see the

pictures of the moment that bike caused a career-ending row.

In the CCTV footage you can see Andrew Mitchell cycling towards the

Downing Street gates. Then, there is an exchange with the armed

police. It's brief, they refuse to open the gates. He is forced to

move to the side and walk out with his bike. It's here he admits

swearing but insists he didn't call the officer a pleb. In this shot

you can see it's virtually empty outside the gates. That's contrary

to police claims that members of the public were standing and

listening. It's also contrary to an e-mail revealed by Channel 4 sent

by someone it claims posed as a member of the public who said they

witnessed it all. A serving policeman's been arrested and

suspended over that. Some senior Conservatives suspect a conspiracy.

The Health Secretary has tweeted about a stitch-up. Why do you think

he was stitched up? Friends say it's time to bring Andrew Mitchell

back. He is a honest, honourable man whose career has been traduced.

He is described as disgraced former Chief Whip. David Cameron needs to

be on the phone to him immediately. In parliament with Andrew Mitchell

looking on, the Prime Minister gave his reaction. A police officer

posing as a member of the public and sending an e-mail potentially

to blacken the name of a cabinet Minister is a very serious issue.

Does need to be seriously investigated. A Scotland Yard

investigation is now up and running. 30 officers are looking at how

details were leaked and that apparently fake witness. It's

acknowledged the possibility of a conspiracy against a Cabinet

Minister. But still Andrew Mitchell insists he isn't call an officer a

pleb. The official police log, though, says he did.

The number of people prosecuted for writing offensive messages on

social networks like Facebook and Twitter is likely to fall. The

Director of Public Prosecutions, Kier Starmer, says people should

only face trial if their comments go beyond being offensive. Tom

Symonds reports. When does an internet message break

the law? This man was found guilty of offensive Facebook posts about

soldiers. But Paul Chambers who threatened to blow up an airport

was cleared because it was a joke. Today's guidelines say there should

be charges if a message contains a credible threat of violence or if

an individual is specifically targeted. But there may not be if a

message is simply banter or humour, even if it's offensive shocking or

disturbing it may not in the legal jargon get over the threshold for a

prosecution. The fact others don't like it, the fact others find it

distasteful or pained by it is unlikely to get over the higher

threshold. The legislation says grossly offensive so parliament's

indicated that merely offensive is not an offence. But it's a fine

line. Police are now dealing with an estimated 50 cases a week of

offensive posts on social networking sites. For the victims,

cyber harassment causes real fear. There was threats against me, it

basically started to put myself, my son's safety, they were even tweets

about my mum. It was just out of hand. Threrp threats of violence --

there he were threats of violence. While drawing up the guidelines,

the Director of Public Prosecutions met representatives of sports stars,

an targeted online. He told them if an offensive message is taken down,

perhaps after the author Sobers up, charges may not be pressed but new

new guidelines will not, some say this is all a matter of judgment.

They've put in 25 pages, two words, common sense. It wasn't necessary.

It enshrines the law into one document. The law, the CPS, really

should have known without this exercise. But what everyone agrees,

is that as our internet culture matures, the law will have to keep

Councils in England will find out today how much money they will

receive in grants from central government next year. It's the

first local government funding settlement in two years. Some

labour councils say the cuts have hit the poorest councils hardest.

But ministers insist the settlement will be fair. Our local government

correspondent Mike Sergeant has been to Wolverhampton to see how

the council there is facing up to straightened times.

In Wolverhampton the spending squeeze goes on. But are residents

here really feeling the effects? Used to run a park next to where I

live and the council have no funding to do it up. It's not

affected us. We don't use libraries and things which they're talking

about closing. We don't use those. There's nothing much. As long as

they don't take buses from us. sky hasn't fallen down? Not yet, I

think it will do eventually. leader of Wolverhampton agrees

things are about to get tougher. For this council and many others.

It's going to be increasingly difficult to maintain services to

the level people have become to expect. We are going to have to

look at new ways of delivering services and look at changed ways

of operating and it's going to be painful, both for the council and

also for the communities of Wolverhampton.

The council-owned leisure centre could be handed to an independent

trust. Free school meals might be limited. New charges could be

introduced for catching rats and mice.

Councils are looking at every bit of spending from the number of

people who work in town halls, to how frequently the streets are

cleaned. Asking one question - can they keep doing all of this with

less and less money from central Government? Ministers say councils

can protect frontline services, but only if they accept new more

efficient ways of working. Do not use the vulnerable. You know you

could go about this in a different way, it does mean breaking down

those municipal empires. After today's settlement councils across

England will know the challenge they face over the next 12 months,

but the austerity may continue for years after that.

London has won the right to host the 2017 Paralympic Athletics World

Championships. They'll be held at the Olympic Stadium just a month

before the World Athletics Championships - the first time a

city has hosted the two events in the same year. The London Mayor,

Boris Johnson, says they'll recreate the magic of London 2012.

Seventy one years after they were written by German soldiers,

hundreds of Christmas cards and letters meant for loved ones at

home are finally being put in the post. They were penned in 1941 by

Germans who were occupying the Channel Islands during the Second

World war. But they never arrived in Germany because locals stole

them as part of their resistance against Nazi occupation. They're

finally being returned, in time for Christmas.

Robert Hall has the story. Dear Hans, dear Mary and Margaret, I

wish you a merry Christmas and all the best for the new year, but what

I hope hope most is that the war will come to an end and soon so

that we can all enjoy life again. Five years when islanders yearned

for freedom and occupying forces dreamt of home, and of a Christmas

of peace. Film shot secretly in Jersey's

capital reveals glimpses of a community determined to find ways

of fighting back. During the years of occupation islanders did what

they could to resist, to obstruct or to irritate the German forces

who thronged their streets and in the run-up to Christmas in 1941 ra

group of young men hatched a plan which begins this story and which

remained a secret for for 70 years. These letters and cards were part

of the haul they stole from the German Army Post Office. It was a

high-risk plan, Bob lived through the occupation. If the offence was

considered seriously enough, they would be taken to a prison on the

continent, run by the SS where things were very tough. Some of

those people, quite a number, did not come back, ever.

conspirators have never told their story but the letters found their

way into archive and work began to trace families who never received

them. It's a wonderful story. They're things talked about within

the letters, the German soldiers, what they were concerned with in

terms of their families, their loves, wishing people merry

Christmas. It's a wonderful tale. My dearest Kate, I hope you haven't

forgotten me. Christmas won't be so happy for me this year, because I

am only happy when I am with you. These are busy times, but after

weeks of postal detective work in Jersey and in a much changed

Germany, potential addresses have begun to emerge. At a farm near

Frankfurt, the first special delivery. Engelbert Bergmann is

about to receive a greeting intended for his grandfather.

are very pleased to be delivering this letter today. He said he was

delighted, and hoped many more letters would find their

destination. Further delivers are under way. Dark war-time years set

aside in a seasonal gesture of reconciliation.

The latest weather now. Lots and lots of rain.

The weather is changing. We may have scenes like this over the next

few days. Today and tomorrow it's wet for many of us, windy, too,

bringing a risk of localised flooding, especially in the south-

west. Friday, drier for most. It's this area of cloud here that we are

watching that's going to bring heavy rain and this cloud already

produced about an inch or so in the south-west today. That rain is

moving slowly northwards and eastwards. Stronger winds ahead of

it, as well and a raw feel across many parts of Scotland. It's here

that we see the heaviest of the rain over the next few hours T will

turn to snow over the Scottish mountains. Less windy and becoming

less wet across Northern Ireland. The rain rather patchy, across much

of northern England and the Midlands.

The rain is on the way. The rain is easing off for a while in Wales and

the south-west of England but more to come here. The Met Office have

issued amber rain warnings for south-west England and the south-

east of Wales, given the wet ground it's likely there will be local

flooding and travel disruption. That rain turns heavier from the

south-west this evening and the rain pushes northwards, just on top

of what what have had already. Stronger winds across northern

northern areas and snow likely in the mountains and a colder feel

across the north. But particularly mild in the south. A lot of water

on the roads for the rush hour tomorrow. It's going to be a wet

day, a miserable day on the whole. The rain will be heaviest over the

hills and snow over the tops of the Pennines. Pwhreusz Ards in --

blizzards in the Scottish mountains. A cold feel across northern parts

of the UK given the strength of the wind. The rain beginning to ease

off in the south-west later. Overnight and into Friday, the

attention turns to the north-east of Scotland, amber warnings here.

Elsewhere, much drier and sunshine, just one or two showers. It's a

calmer day on Friday. The best day of the next few, because then over

the weekend we have a succession of low pressures and weather fronts

pushing up from the south-west and strengthening winds again and

piling in a lot of cloud and yet more rain. Over the next few days

with this rain continuing on and off, there may be localised

flooding, especially in the south- west and travel disruption is

likely. Thank you very much.

Our top story: An inquiry has heavily criticised

the BBC he over the shelving of Newsnight's Jimmy Savile