07/03/2013 BBC News at One

A 16-year-old girl is stabbed to death on a bus in Birmingham on her

way to school. The police say that the attack was sporadic and quick.

A manhunt is underway, the public are told not to approach the

suspect, who may be armed. The family are distressed and

distraught by the news of the events.

There is no magic money tree, says the Prime Minister. He insists that

the Government will stuck stick to the plan for cutting the deficit.

The perils of too much processed meat it increases the risk of early

death. Calls for up to half of the UK's

deer population to be culled as the numbers soar.

And we are telling you how society has moved on in the last 40 years.

On BBC London: A cycle Crossrail for the capital and more segregated

lanes, as the Mayor unveils plans for the next ten years.

And tens of thousands of pounds worth of bags are stolen in a smash

Good afternoon. Welcome to the BBC News at one. The

police have launched a manhunt after a 16-year-old schoolgirl was

stabbed to death on her way to school in Birmingham this morning.

The attack happened after 7.30am on a bus in the Edgbaston areas of the

city. The detectives are looking for a black man in his late teens

or early '20s. They have warned the public to be vigilant.

Sophie, this is where the bus- stoped this morning. On board the

police found the body of a 16-year- old who had been stabbed to death.

In the last hour or so, the police cordon has been lifted, the road

has reopened. The focus has moved from the bus-stop, really to this

entire city. The police are searching for a man that they

describe as very dangerous. Rush hour, just after 7.30am. The

bus driver called 999, reporting a stabbing on board his double-decker.

Ambulance crews tried to resis Tate the 16-year-old, she had been

travelling to school on the bus but they were unable to save her.

It appears to have been a sporadic and a very quick attack on the girl

in question. As you can appreciate the family

are extremely distressed and distraught by the news of today's

events. Clearly there will be a lot of friends at the school, a lot of

teachers equally distressed by the news of this morning's events.

It is understood that the schoolgirl boarded the bus a few

minutes before the attack. Forensic officers searched the vehicle, the

West Midlands Police launched a major man mustn't.

-- manhunt. Don't a-- don't approach this male.

He is believed to be dangerous. Contact the police immediately so

we can make the relevant information in relation to that

individual. The police say that the suspect was

black. In his late teens or early 20s.

He is wearing a dark-coloured trousers with a dark hooded top

with a tiger or a leopard motif on the back of his hooded top it is

possible that he has either a band agenda around his right hand or he

may be carying a small white bag in his right hand that is what we know

from the witnesses who we have spoken to at the scene.

This lunch time, the bus was taken away under police escort for more

forensic tests. Officers stress that this investigation is still in

its very early stages. So, Birmingham is on high alert,

really, this lunch time. Anybody who has seen anything who they

think may have seen the suspect, anyone on that bus what may have

information is urged to phone a special incident room hot line. The

Any updates that we get during the day, we will give you.

Thank you. David Cameron says that there are

signs that the Government's economic policies are beginning to

work N a speech in West Yorkshire, he acknowledged there is a long way

to go, but says he is determined to stick to the plan for cutting the

UK's deficit. Since day one, the coalition has

stuck to its plan to get the deficit down. Cut spending,

increase some taxes, but plan A has not stopped the UK economy from

bumbling along. This is an area smack in the middle of the country.

Critics say it is one of hundreds of change, where there is proof of

a need for change, a plan B, but David Cameron has gone to West

Yorkshire to say "no". There are some who think we don't

have to take the tough difficult decisions to deal with the debts.

They say that the focus on deaf sit reduction is damaging growth. That

what we need to do is to spend more and borrow more. It is as if they

think that there is some magic money tree. Let me tell you a plain

truth, there isn't. But just as the Tory Prime Minister

was refusing to budge, his land Business Secretary was saying think

about it. What is wrong with plan A? Nothing,

we could pursue what I have often called plan A plus. Vince Cable

explained that. He said that it is time to go further, to ask if the

Government should borrow more to pay for new houses, road and rail

it is a break from Government policy and music to the ears of the

Labour Party. The cracks are beginning to show if

Vince Cable is beginning to realise that we need to kick-start the

economy, that would be a good thing, but we need the rest of the Cabinet

to realise that David Cameron and George Osborne's economic strategy

has failed. There is no doubt that firing up

factories across the country is taking longer than he thought, but

the speech was about sticking to the plan, not changing.

The debate about getting the UK economy on its feet has been raging

since day one. It is no secret there are some on both sides who

want to see the Chancellor going further. Especially on borrowing,

but we are unlikely to see a significant change in policy when

the Budget comes. Hugh Pym is here now. So, the Prime

Minister is saying that there are signs that the plan is working. Jou

outline the science, what is happening? There are lots of

economic indicators about the health of the economy. Let's have a

look at a few. The shares, the FTSE 100 index in London. That recently

reached a five-year high. That is partly to do the national factors

and the world economy. Jobs are going up. Total employments with up

by nearly 600,000 over last year. So that is another positive

indicator, but looking at the overall economy, the GDP, that was

down in the last three months of last year. The economy is

contracting in the current first quarter it is touch and go if it

goes down again. One thing that the Government has said a lot, that the

deficit is down 25%, that could change soon, couldn't it? Yes, that

25% figure is taking the last year of Labour's term in office and the

last full financial year. The current year we are not at the end

of and borrowing is up. If that is confirmed as being up, that will

knock the 25% figure out of the way. We will own know in the Budget,

though. Now, let's get more from our

Political Correspondent Norman Smith in Keith league in West

Yorkshire where the Prime Minister was giving the speech. The message

from him is clear, there is no turning back? Yes, I have to say,

although I did not spy a handbag anywhere near the Prime Minister,

handbagging is what he intended to give critics on both wings of the

coalition, deliberately and twice. Echoing the refrain of

PROBLEM WITH SOUND. Saying that the Tory right-wingers

demanding tax cuts, that they cannot be funded. Then the question

of Vince Cable and capital spending, saying there is no magic money tree.

Insisting to stick with plan A, but in this month's budget there is

precious little room for manoeuvre so. David Cameron may be signed up

to plan A but politically, he has few alternatives.

Apologies for the break up on the line there.

There is evidence that eating too much processed meat can lead to an

early death. Researchers say that the salts and the chemicals used to

preserve meat like bacon, ham ansd salami may heighten the risk of

heart disease and cancer. Saying a daily limit of a rasher of bacon

could prevent thousands of death as year.

People who eat a lot of processed meat like bacon, ham ansd salami,

tend to have unhealthy lifestyles. More likely to smoke and to eat

fewer fruit and vegetables. A study takes the factors into account, but

it finds that the more than processed meat someone eats, the

greater the chance of early death. It is likely to do that this is

because of the sat rated fat and salt content. This is linked to the

bad cholesterol and too much salt linked to high blood pressure.

Those who eat more than two sausages and a piece of bacon

increase of risk of dying by heart disease by 70% and diing from

cancer I -- cancer by 11%. The Government recommends eating no

more than 07 grams of red and processed meat a day, but some

cancer experts to avoid eating processed meat all together.

The research shows that eating any amount of processed meat increasing

the risk of bowl cancer and as there is no nutritional need for us

to eat this meat, the advice is to cut it out whenever possible. No

include it as part of the diet. The study is further evidence that

eating too much processed meat like ham, sausages or bacon can be bad

for your health, but many here today shopping, seem to think it is

a case of everything in moderation. Eating it in proportion it is not a

big thing. So you have a kipper in your bag?

believe that oily fish is good for you, and bacon bad. Although not as

bad as all that We have young kids in the house it

is obviously, it is not like we have a cooked breakfast, but

everyone could cut down. authors of the study argue that 3%

of premature deaths could be prevented if people ate20 grams of

processed meat a day. One small slice of bacon.

Labour has called for a crackdown on benefit payments to migrants

from the EU. Yvette Cooper says that action is needed to make the

system fairer. Admitting that Labour should have been tougher on

immigration while in power with tighter controls on Eastern

Europeans coming to the UK. Iain Watson joins me now.

Immigration now is far more of an issue of concern to people. The

economy is not booming as it was, perhaps for many years of the last

Labour government. After the strong showing by UKIP in the recently

Eastleigh by-election would have been an issue. Parties are falling

over themselves to say that they are taking the concerns seriously.

Labour have apologised for past mistakes, saying that they did not

do enough to get eastern immigration under control. Having

the options of posing work restrictions, which they did not do,

but also saying that they should have introduced a points-based

system more quickly. Then the apologies are out of the way, and

so they move on to the policy. Yvette Cooper said that Labour

wanted to tackle illegal immigration more. Cutting down on

the abuse of short-term student visas but said that Labour would

begin to, if you like, tighten the e giblity for new markets coming

here, whether looking to claim benefits. A concern is that with

the influx of the Romanian and the Bulgarian migrants in the New Year,

there are worries that there could be benefit tourism here. She is

saying if you tighten the system, that you ensure people are here for

some time before claiming benefits. We are not going to enter an arms

race on immigration rhetoric with the Government. We need measures

that recognise most people come here want to work and contribute,

but there are changes that the Government could make to make it

clear and to clarify that jobseeker's allowance will not be

available when people first arrive. What the Government are saying is

that they are tightening up the system but getting into trouble by

the European Commission, and saying Labour are giving them credit for

doing something like reducing net migration.

The top story: A 16-year-old has been stabbed to death on a bus in

Birmingham on her way to school -- a 16-year-old girl. The public have

been told not to approach the suspect, what may be armed.

A culling of deer. Does it really mean that hundreds of thousands of

them should be shot? On BBC London: Haringay council are investigating

a toddler left with a foster carer on a bus in north London. How a

company is helping the homeless through theatre.

The number of single-parent families in Britain has nearly

tripled over the last 40 years and the number of adults living alone

has doubled. They are some of the latest statistics from the Office

of National Statistics. Big changes to family life? Yes, this report is

very interesting. It shows in 40 years, there have been some marked

changes. Families - they have shrunk in size and that is due to

the rise of one-parent families. Have a look at these statistics. 8%

of families had one parent in 1971. That's risen to 22% today. So it's

almost three times as many in that situation. There are also more one-

person households. If you have a look at the statistics, 2% of

adults lived alone 40 years ago. Now, that's risen to 10%. So a

really quite significant increase there. Also big changes in terms of

health, drinking, smoking? Absolutely. There have been some

life-saving improvements to our lives over the past 40 years. The

statistics show us - 45% of adults smoked in the early 1970s. That's

dropped now to 20% today. It seems that the health warnings around

drinking may be beginning to work. The statistics - 18% of adults

drank on five days a week in 1989. That's dropped to 12%. So a fall of

a third in just 15 years. surprisingly, big changes on the

technology front - phones, televisions, computers? Absolutely.

It comes up strongly in this study. In 1971, 42% of homes had

telephones. That shot up, almost 100% have mobiles or landlines now.

On top of that, 80% of households now have computers. So you can see

in four decades there have been some dramatic changes. Thank you.

Now, scientists say around three- quarters of a million deer in the

UK should be culled, that is roughly half the deer population.

It is thought there are now more deer in Britain than at any time

since the Ice Age. Researchers say the deer are causing serious damage

to the habitat which is relied on by many other animals. Jeremy Cooke

is in Norfolk. Welcome to the beautiful Thetford

Forest. It is a very quiet day here today. Not much movement out there

in the woods. Last night, we were out with special thermal imaging

cameras and we saw the woods are teeming with deer. We are told it

is a similar picture across the country. That in turn has led for

this call for hundreds of thousands of deer to be culled.

They are beautiful wild creatures of our woodlands, but in recent

years the number of deer has been soaring. That means problems on the

roads. Some 14,000 accidents a year. And problems in the environment

with deer destroying habitat which supports other wildlife. Put simply,

today's report says there are way too many deer. If we let that

continue, we will have a lot of cute, nice deer running around, but

our woodlands will be eaten and we will lose some of our woodland

birds and bluebells and I don't think we should compromise them.

the Thetford Forest, they are using the latest thermal imaging

technology to give an accurate picture of deer populations on the

ground. The secrets of the night- time forest are revealed. The

bright images of deer emerge from the darkness making the task of

assessing their true numbers easier. Across the UK, it is now estimated

there are 1.5 million deer and researchers say that would mean a

cull of 750,000 a year just to keep the population stable. A cull on

that scale would mean a lot more of this - venison. The argument goes

that it is a valuable, healthy byproduct of killing deer which

helps protect the environment. deerstalker worth his salt will

have had adequate training to dispatch the animal in a human

manner. It's had a good life in the wild. Do you eat it yourself?

Lovely. Beautiful. You can't beat it! Researchers insist more of this

will help keep deer populations healthy. The RSPCA says it is

crucial that any cull is conducted in a controlled, humane manner.

Of course, calling for a cull on this level is bound to be

controversial. One group says it is dangerous to base policy on the

findings - it was scientific findings - but in this one-wood

land. Another group says any cull would have to be based on strong

scientific evidence. Silvio Berlusconi has been

sentenced to a year in prison over the publication of a wire-tapped

conversation. Mr Berlusconi was alleged to have pressed to have it

published to damage a political rival. He is expected to appeal

against the sentence. Campaigners fighting to keep child

heart operations at Leeds General Infirmary have won a legal

challenge. The consultation over changes to children's heart surgery

in England and Wales where Primary Care Trusts decided that surgery

should be concentrated at fewer larger sites was flawed.

Lord Sugar has condemned "a claim culture" as he accused a winner of

The Apprentice taking him to a tribunal to extract money. Stella

English is suing him for constructive dismissal. Let's get

more from Luisa Baldini. What else has been said? Well, Lord Sugar has

been cross-examined throughout the morning and several times the

atmosphere became quite heated as he became frustrated with questions

put to him by his former apprentice's barrister. He said,

"This is scraping the barrel and nit-picking." He called Stella

English a serial liar and deluded. He told the tribunal that she had

never raised a grievance when she was working at his company. He said,

"My organisation and employees did nothing but treat her well and

honour our obligations. No-one hates anyone in my companies." He

said he believes that she thought that he would pay her off in order

to avoid adverse publicity. He said, "I believe this claim is simply an

attempt to extract money from me. I have no intention to pay her any

money unless told to do so by the law." He told the court that she

had been desperate for money and that she had pestered his PR

company to get her some paid public speaking work. Miss English claims

that when she turned up on the first day of her proper job after

winning The Apprentice, she was told by one of Lord Sugar's

associates, "There is no job." She claims she was an overpaid lackey.

Lord Sugar's cross-examination will continue this afternoon.

Thank you very much. Now, the British jazz musician Kenny Ball

has died. He was 82 and had been suffering from pneumonia. He was

best-known as the lead trumpet player in Kenny Ball and his

Jazzmen. The hits included I Love You Samantha and Midnight In Moscow.

Now, we are receiving unconfirmed reports that two British tourists

have been kidnapped in Egypt. Security sources say they were on

their way to a beach resort. They are reported to have been in a

private car going from Cairo to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

We will of course bring you more news on that when we get it.

Last summer's Olympics may seem a long time ago, but today many of

the big names are at Buckingham Palace to receive their honours and

Joe Wilson is there for us now. It's a rather cold day here, but

some of those rays of London 2012 sunshine have been with us. In

terms of Lord Sebastian Coe, the honour system has a problem, he has

won so much, what is left? Well, today he's joined the Order of the

Companions of Honour. Not a lot of people get that! My report does

contain some flash photography. Most of the London 2012 generation

weren't born when Seb Coe was redefining running. In 1979, he

broke three world records in 41 days. In 1980, he won Olympic gold

over 1500m. A title he retained in 1984. That alone made him unique.

He found his next calling in a job that mixed sport and politics.

ecstatic. He was the ambassador who guided London's bid and he was the

architect who ensured the Games were delivered. When our time came,

Britain, we did it right. Thank you. The Order of the Companions of

Honour is restricted to 65 ordinary members, plus the sovereign. Recent

recipients include Stephen Hawking and Sir David Attenborough.

very honoured. In fairness, delighted to be sharing it with so

many people. And sharing it with so many people that helped us across

the line in the London journey. Recognition for other outstanding

Olympians continues. Ben Ainslie is the most successful sailor in the

history of the Olympics. Today, he collected his knighthood. If 2012

was the year when the Paralympics became the parallel games, David

Weir was at the forefront with four golds. Now he has a CBE as well,

although some suggested a knighthood would have been in order.

Catherine granger got her gold last summer after three successive

Olympic silvers. Britain's most successful female rower, she has

had a bit of time off since - well if you call completing a PhD in

criminal law time off! A CBE for her.

The problem is in terms of London 2012, there is still too much

success to mention. Thank you very much. We are going

back to our top story. There's been a development in Birmingham where a

schoolgirl was stabbed to death on a bus this morning on her way to

school. Jon Kay is at the scene. Tell us what's happened, Jon.

Midlands Police have just named the 16-year-old girl who was stabbed on

a bus right here in the centre of Birmingham this morning. Her name -

Christina Edkins. We are told that she was a pupil at the high school

in Halesowen, just south of Birmingham. The school have

described her as a much-loved pupil and highly-rated and much-loved by

friends and by staff members as well. At the same time, I can tell

you that in the last few minutes a 22-year-old man has been arrested

very close to this bus stop, just at a Morrisons supermarket, 100

yards away. We are told that he was seen acting suspiciously, that he

matched the description that police had given out earlier and that he

has now been detained on suspicion of murder. Thank you very much.

The UK is shrouded in cloud today and some outbreaks of rain will

continue on and off through the afternoon. In some areas, they will

be persistent enough to make for a damp story as we look through the

remainder of today. Some hope of some brightness across the North

East of England. To the north of the UK, it does feel particularly

chilly. Also, we are still struggling with some patchy hill

fog across the North East. Hopefully, some of that will thin

and break. More rain set to shift up from the south into Scotland.

Plenty of cloud around here. Northern Ireland's been a little

drier in the last couple of hours. We will see more rain spreading

from the east. It is a similar story for the South West of England.

Those murkier conditions will start to transfer their way eastwards as

well along the south coast towards the South East of England,

particularly as we head through this evening and overnight. It

could get very murky around Essex and Kent and we will see some fog

forming inland as well. Generally, though, a lot of cloud

around across the UK tonight. Further outbreaks of rain. Together,

those factors add up to a relatively mild night, largely

frost-free. Cold enough across the Grampians for the rain to turn to

snow. Western Scotland may get a few

glimmers of brightness. We may see some brightness elsewhere. It is

another day for many, rather like today, dominated by cloud and

outbreaks of rain. Still relatively mild in the south. To the north,

temperatures struggling all the while. It is that colder air to the

north of the UK that really comes into play for this weekend. It will

dig its way down further south across the UK, so much so that by

the end of the weekend, the entire country is submerged in it. It will

feel increasingly raw. Grey, wet prospects for many on Saturday.

Sunday things become drier, but as it becomes colder there will be the

risk of some snow. Next week, a good deal colder. Temperatures

around freezing. Any showers that we do see could turn wintry. So a