24/04/2013 BBC News at One


24/04/2013

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The Co-op pulls out of a deal to buy more than 600 branches of

:00:20.:00:21.

Lloyds. Up to 4.5 million Lloyds customers

:00:21.:00:24.

were due to have their accounts transferred in the deal to increase

:00:24.:00:29.

competition on the high street. After the deal collapses, we'll be

:00:29.:00:32.

asking our business editor Robert Peston how much of a blow it is to

:00:32.:00:34.

the banking sector. Also this lunchtime:

:00:34.:00:37.

The UK signs a new treaty with Jordan in a new government attempt

:00:37.:00:39.

to deport the radical cleric Abu Qatada.

:00:39.:00:41.

An eight-storey building collapses in Bangladesh, killing at least 80

:00:41.:00:46.

factory workers with many more trapped and feared dead.

:00:47.:00:49.

The young couple killed while riding their tandem bike - a driver,

:00:50.:00:51.

who'd been disqualified, admits causing their death.

:00:51.:00:54.

Tightening up on cosmetic surgery - warnings that some procedures are a

:00:54.:00:57.

crisis waiting to happen. And Australia unveils the squad

:00:57.:00:59.

that'll face England in this summer's Ashes, but will anyone

:01:00.:01:07.

recognise any of the players? Later on BBC London:

:01:07.:01:11.

Thousands in South London are at risk of malnutrition. A hospital

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investigates the extent of the problem.

:01:13.:01:16.

Rough sleepers from Romania return to Park Lane a year after they were

:01:17.:01:26.
:01:27.:01:38.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the BBC News at 1.00pm.

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It was hoping to become a major competitor to the main high street

:01:41.:01:46.

banks, but today, the Co-op pulled out of a deal to buy more than 600

:01:46.:01:49.

branches from the Lloyds Banking Group. The Co-op is blaming the

:01:49.:01:53.

continued economic downturn and tougher bank regulations. The

:01:53.:01:57.

Treasury says it remains committed to encouraging more competition in

:01:57.:02:03.

the industry and says all is not lost. Here is our chief economics

:02:03.:02:05.

correspondent Hugh Pym. Branchs for sale - it was supposed

:02:05.:02:09.

to inject new life into the banking industry, but now the Lloyds deal

:02:09.:02:13.

with the Co-op is off, it vouf involved more than 600 branches

:02:14.:02:17.

changing hands. It's a blow to the Government's hope of boosting

:02:17.:02:21.

competition with Co-op deciding not to go ahead. We fully expected

:02:21.:02:27.

recovery and not just us but most people expected the economy to

:02:27.:02:30.

recover, and only a few months ago, the Chancellor slashed his growth

:02:31.:02:36.

forecast by half, and so, you know, that clearly has had an impact on

:02:36.:02:41.

our appetite to do this transaction. Consumer groups say the

:02:41.:02:45.

announcement is a setback for bank customers who would benefit from a

:02:45.:02:49.

wider range of services on the high street. This is bad news for people

:02:49.:02:53.

that were looking for much-needed competition among retail banks.

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Most of us are still with the very biggest banks. This would have put

:02:57.:03:01.

more pressure on them to improve their service and offer a real

:03:01.:03:05.

choice to consumers. Today's announcement on bank branches comes

:03:05.:03:08.

as the Bank of England has been unveiling an extension to its

:03:08.:03:16.

scheme run with the Treasury to try Mortgage lending has been boosted

:03:16.:03:21.

by the scheme since it launched last year. Cheap loans are provided

:03:21.:03:23.

to banks and building societies as long as they pass them on to

:03:23.:03:29.

customers, but it hasn't had the same impact on businesses. Now

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there will be new incentives to leding to small firms. Some

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businesses have been able to borrow, and some haven't, and what we're

:03:41.:03:46.

trying to do here is put a bit more pressure on the banks to up their

:03:46.:03:54.

game and deliver on lending to small businesses. This firm in

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Wrexham makes components for the car industry. It found bank finance

:03:57.:04:03.

hard to come by so switched to an alternative lender using invoice

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financing. That will be covered now by the Bank of England scheme.

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have had a great deal of difficulty getting any lending from the banks

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who have called our loans in some while ago, so we had to turn to

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invoice financing, which has actually been our lifesaver, the

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company couldn't have survived without it. So there's a lot going

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on in the banking world right now. Lloyds has to sell branches after a

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European Commission ruling and says it may float them off on the stock

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market. One thing's clear - there's a lot more uncertainfy for

:04:36.:04:39.

customers and staff. Our business editor Robert Peston

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is here now. As he was just saying, very unsettling for bank customers,

:04:44.:04:47.

staff and at the end of the day, these branches do still have to be

:04:47.:04:51.

sold. They do. I don't actually think it's going to be too

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disruptive for the customers of the bank because they already knew they

:04:55.:05:00.

were going to a new home. They'd originally been told their new home

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would be called TSB owned by the Co-op. Now their new home will be

:05:07.:05:11.

TSB floated on the stock market because Lloyds' plan is still to

:05:11.:05:15.

hive this business off and float it now on the stock market rather than

:05:15.:05:19.

selling it to a competitor. It has to do that. The European

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Commissioner says it has. But the new bank will be much smaller than

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it would have been had it been merged with the Co-op, so actually,

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it will be a less fearsome competitor, and that's a bit

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embarrassing for the Government because the Government has been

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saying it wants these challenger banks to really take on the big

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banks. The bit that's being hived off won't now be as fearsome, so

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there is a bit of a blow to Government policy here. Thank you

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very much. Let's go to Westminster. Our political correspondent Norman

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Smith is there, and as Robert is saying, embarrassing - the Treasury

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is saying all is not lost, though. No, the Treasury are trying to play

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down the significance of this, saying it's a commercial decision,

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that Lloyds are still trying to sell off these 600 branches but

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there is no doubt it is a setback to try to create a more diverse

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banking sector. What'll really hurt them is the reason the Co-op have

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given for not going ahead with this decision that is they're worried

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about the prospects for economic growth, and that just 24 hours

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ahead of those crucial economic growth forecasts, and the problem I

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think is this - although the Government has tried to rebalance

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the economy, what we learn from today's announcement is that trying

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to kick start any sort of growth is absolutely dependent on a

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flourishing and thriving banking sector, and yet we see with the

:06:43.:06:46.

decision by the Co-op and the decision by the Government to

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revamp its funding for lending scheme that the banking sector is

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still struggling. Thank you very much. For more on

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this story, you can go to the BBC News website and read analysis from

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our business editor Robert Peston. The Government has signed a new

:07:02.:07:04.

mutual assistance treaty with Jordan designed to ensure that the

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radical cleric Abu Qatada can finally be extradited. The Home

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Secretary, Theresa May, told the Commons it should satisfy concerns

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that Abu Qatada would not receive a fair trial in Jordan if deported.

:07:17.:07:20.

The Government's latest legal challenge failed yesterday when the

:07:20.:07:23.

Court of Appeal rejected attempts to bring the case before the

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Supreme Court. Jon Brain reports. Over a decade Abu Qatada has foiled

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the efforts of five Home Secretaries to deport him. Theresa

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May is determined not to be the sixth. Today she told the Commons

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that a new treaty signed with Jordan would ensure the radical

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preacher receives a fair trial in that country, and she criticised a

:07:47.:07:51.

legal system which had allowed him to stay for so long. As any sane

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observer of this case will conclude, it is absurd for the deportation of

:07:56.:08:01.

a suspected foreign terrorist to take so many years and cost the

:08:01.:08:05.

taxpayer so much money. That is why we need to make sense of our human

:08:05.:08:09.

rights laws, and it's why we need to remove the many layers of

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appeals available to foreign nationals we want to deport.

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want to work with her to make this process work and so that Abu Qatada

:08:17.:08:21.

can be deported as soon as possible, but in the past, the Home Secretary

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has overstated the evidence, overstated her legal position and

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overstated her legal strategy which has not worked. None of us want

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that to happen again. Abu Qatada has already been

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convicted in Geordan of terrorism offences. Home Office officials

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believe the new treaty will effectively change Jordanian law to

:08:44.:08:49.

make evidence obtained by torture inadmissible at any retrial even if

:08:49.:08:53.

the courts decide this new treaty means he should be deported, it's

:08:53.:08:58.

unlikely to happen for many more months.

:08:58.:09:01.

Our Home Affairs correspondent Tom Seimoneds is outside the Home

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Office. The Home Secretary says the treaty would give the Government

:09:04.:09:09.

every chance of succeeding. Will Well, this is a Home Secretary that

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once said he'd be on a plane within days, and that isn't going to be

:09:13.:09:17.

the case, even now. The problem the Government had was that the Special

:09:17.:09:21.

Immigration Appeals Commission said that he couldn't be deported to

:09:21.:09:26.

Jordan because if he went there he'd face trial based on evidence

:09:26.:09:30.

obtained from, they say, accomplices through torture. They

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say unless Jordanian law was effectively changed or changed

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through case law that couldn't be allowed. What the officials here

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have told me is effectively they have. If the Jordanian Parliament

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ratifys this treaty - and they expect that'll happen - they have

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changed Jordanian law, and this agreement will allow him to go back

:09:49.:09:52.

to Jordan, but they're not putting the champagne on ice here because

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what is likely to happen is the whole case goes back to that

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Special Immigration Appeals Commission, and then goes all the

:09:57.:10:03.

way up through the British courts again with this new treaty being

:10:03.:10:07.

considered at each stage. Abu Qatada has very - a very big legal

:10:07.:10:10.

team who have worked very hard on this case, and it is likely they'll

:10:10.:10:14.

look for loopholes in the Government's new strategy, but

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there is a change of feeling here. They believe they have changed the

:10:19.:10:23.

game, that and one debut bu will be on a plane.

:10:23.:10:26.

Thank you very much -- Abu Qatada will be on a plane.

:10:26.:10:29.

At least 80 people have been killed and many more have been trapped

:10:29.:10:32.

after an eight-storey building collapsed in Bangladesh near the

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capital, Dhaka. Rescue workers say 600 have been pulled from the

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rubble so far, and they're trying to reach many more still at the

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building. We'll be live at the scene in a few moments, but first

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our world affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge has sent this

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report. The eight-storey complex housed

:10:47.:10:51.

garment factories and a shopping centre. There are estimates up to

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2,000 people could have been inside the building at the time.

:10:55.:11:00.

The upper floors collapsed in on each other, reducing the building

:11:00.:11:05.

to a pancaked heap of rubble little more than one storey high. One

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onlooker compared to it kind of damage inflicted by an earthquake.

:11:09.:11:14.

Some survivors were brought out with the help of makeshift slides

:11:14.:11:18.

using cloth which would have been cut into shirts or trousers for

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export. 500 soldiers and local volunteers struggled throughout the

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day to locate and extract the trapped and injured.

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"We sent two people inside the building" says Mohammed, a factory

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supervisor. "Rerescued at least a hundred people alive. They told us

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at least 50 people are injured, and the there are 50 dead still on this

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floor". Workers said the building had developed severe cracks

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yesterday, and they were reluctant to enter it this morning, but they

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were assured there was no problem. It was another tragic demonstration

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of the safe -- safety fears in Bangladesh. Only last November a

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hundred workers were killed in a blaze at this fact Iry. Pressure to

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tighten regulations and raise safety standard sons likely to

:12:11.:12:15.

increase even as the latest rescue efforts continue.

:12:15.:12:18.

We can go live to the scene now. Our correspondent Anbarasan

:12:18.:12:22.

Ethirajan is at the scene for us now. What is the latest on the

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The eight-storey commercial building just behind me collapsed

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all of a sudden in the morning rush hour. Hundreds of people were

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inside this building. This building, it contained a bank, several shops

:12:40.:12:45.

and a clothing factory. It is still not clear how many people are

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trapped inside. As you can see, the soldiers, the Fire Service

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officials and other Government officers are trying to rescue

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people, and a short while ago I was very close to this building, and I

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could see the officials dropping water bottles through the gaps in

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the rubble so that it can reach the people trapped inside. Just a few

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seconds ago a girl was pulled out. She was seriously injured. She was

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taken to the nearest hospital here, and people here are asking

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questions how a clothing factory was allowed to operate in this

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building. It was an eight-storey building, and you can see that only

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a couple of floors are still intact, and people are angry. Thousands of

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people are across the road from here waiting to know about their

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friends and relatives, but officials say they still don't know

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the reason for this building collapse, and they're investigating.

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But there was talk yesterday of cracks appearing in the building

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and people being told they shouldn't perhaps go in? I think we

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seem to have lost our sound there, our connection. Thank you very much

:13:52.:13:55.

there, live from the scene there in Bangladesh.

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A 38-year-old man has admitted causing the deaths of a husband and

:13:59.:14:03.

wife who were riding a tandem bike. Ross and Clare Simons, who were

:14:03.:14:09.

both in their early 30s died after he collided with them earlier this

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year. Nicholas Lovell pleaded guilty to causing death by

:14:15.:14:18.

dangerous driving. His girlfriend pleaded guilty to perverting the

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course of justice. Jon Kay is at Bristol Crown Court for us.

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The families of Ross and Clare Simons were here in court to hear

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these guilty pleas a little bit earlier. Afterwards Avon and

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Somerset Police said they hoped this would provide the families

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with some sort of comfort though obviously wouldn't bring the couple

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back. Just married and planning to start

:14:44.:14:48.

a family, Ross and Clare Simons, killed together when they were

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knocked off their new tandem. In the car that hit them this couple -

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Nicholas Lovell and Louise Cox. Today he admitted causing the two

:14:58.:15:02.

deaths by driving dangerously. She pleaded guilty to perverting the

:15:02.:15:06.

course of justice. The deaths of Ross and Clare Simons horrified

:15:06.:15:13.

their friends, families and neighbours in the Hannam area of

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Bristol. They were described as the perfect couple who were about to

:15:17.:15:22.

start IVF treatment. They were cycling to visit relatives for

:15:22.:15:26.

Sunday lunch when their tandem bike was hit. At the time of their

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funeral, their bodies were carried together past the spot where they

:15:30.:15:34.

died. Today their families left Bristol Crown Court without making

:15:34.:15:37.

comment. Inside they heard that Nicholas Lovell was disqualified

:15:37.:15:40.

from driving at the time of the collision and that he then ran away

:15:40.:15:45.

from the scene. He has been remanded in custody. His girlfriend,

:15:45.:15:50.

in the grey top here, has been released on bail. Police say she

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deliberately misled them about what had happened after the crash.

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She'll be sentenced with Lovell The judge said he was released

:16:02.:16:05.

Louise Cox because he wanted pre- sentence reports carried out. The

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fact that she was walking out of here today was not an indication of

:16:09.:16:12.

the sentence she would receive next movement that sentencing will take

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place in Bristol on the 22 May. It's just after 1.15pm. The top

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story: Concerns that the collapse of a deal by the Co-operative bank

:16:23.:16:28.

to buy more than 600 branches of Lloyds could be bad for consumers.

:16:28.:16:31.

And still to come - why the number of people in Britain using food

:16:31.:16:38.

banks more than doubled last year. Later on BBC London: 30 years after

:16:38.:16:42.

its first flight, the Doctor Who invented the Air Ambulance is

:16:42.:16:47.

retiring. And how you could be crossing the finishing line at the

:16:47.:16:57.
:16:57.:16:58.

Olympic Stadium this summer. Tighter rules for cosmetic surgery

:16:58.:17:01.

are being promised by the Government after an independent

:17:01.:17:06.

review said procedures like breast implants and anti-wrinkle

:17:06.:17:09.

treatments have been trivialised. Some providers are accused of

:17:09.:17:13.

putting profit ahead of patient care. The recommendations include

:17:13.:17:17.

requiring anyone who injects fillers or botox to have formal

:17:17.:17:21.

qualifications. Legislation so that fillers become prescription only. A

:17:21.:17:26.

ban on special financial offers for surgery and a requirement that

:17:26.:17:28.

patients' procedures must be approved by a surgeon not a

:17:28.:17:35.

salesperson. This review was commissioned

:17:35.:17:42.

following the PIP breftd implants scandal. The same was to ensure

:17:42.:17:46.

something similar never happens again. It was non-surgical

:17:46.:17:50.

procedures like dermal fillers which have shocked experts because

:17:50.:17:54.

of the almost total lack of controls. We don't know what's in

:17:54.:17:58.

these fillers. There are approaching 200 of them around.

:17:58.:18:00.

Secondly, if you're going to be injecting things which stay

:18:01.:18:05.

permanently in someone's face, you need to really understand the

:18:05.:18:09.

anatomy of the face and the pe ten shall complication that's arise

:18:09.:18:12.

from injecting -- potential complications that arise from

:18:12.:18:16.

injecting into the face. I'm a heart surgeon and I wouldn't dream

:18:16.:18:21.

of injecting dermal fillers. present anyone can inject dermal

:18:21.:18:28.

fillers. The review team say in future all those doing the

:18:29.:18:33.

procedures should be qualified, properly insured in case things go

:18:33.:18:38.

wrong. Today we start doing some fillers... Karen Rowing's dermal

:18:38.:18:42.

fillers are being injected by a doctor. The aim is to plump up the

:18:42.:18:47.

skin and remove wrinkles. The effects can last around a year.

:18:47.:18:51.

Everybody wants to prevent age, especially in women of our age

:18:52.:18:57.

group. I think nowadays it's become like an essential part of life.

:18:57.:19:01.

Karen is happy with the results, but the review team is worried many

:19:01.:19:06.

patients don't realise the risk of side effects and have too casual

:19:06.:19:10.

and approach to -- an approach to cosmetic procedures. The report

:19:10.:19:14.

calls for tighter controls on advertising with a complete ban on

:19:14.:19:18.

special offers for surgery. Some of the recommendations would require

:19:18.:19:21.

legislation, but the review team believes there is political will to

:19:21.:19:29.

implement them. The Crown prosecution service says

:19:29.:19:36.

the Sun's royal editor dun can Larkam should be charged with

:19:36.:19:46.
:19:46.:19:50.

conspiracy to commit misconduct in In the public.

:19:50.:19:55.

Jord Hardy and his wife Clare face charges. The number of people in

:19:55.:19:59.

Britain using food banks more than doubled last year. The Government

:19:59.:20:04.

says there are adequate safety nets in the benefit system for those

:20:04.:20:10.

needing help. Campaigners describe the figures as shocking.

:20:10.:20:15.

A foodbank in Salisbury and volunteers are packing bags, three

:20:15.:20:18.

days of emergency supplies. As we're filming, a number of people

:20:18.:20:23.

come in, but are too ashamed to talk to us on camera. You can't

:20:23.:20:27.

just turn up to a foodbank like this and collect a parcel. You need

:20:27.:20:32.

to be referred by a doctor, social worker, the Jobcentre and the

:20:32.:20:35.

number of rereferrals in the last year has more than doubled, to a

:20:35.:20:43.

third of a million people. One of them was Vicky Charles. After her

:20:43.:20:47.

maternity pay ran out in January, there was a gap before her benefits

:20:47.:20:51.

kicked in. She was surviving on a bag of rice until the food parcel

:20:51.:20:55.

arrived. It was amazing, because they turned up with a box of food

:20:55.:20:59.

and it wasn't just, well you're skint and you need our help so

:20:59.:21:03.

here's a can of soup. It was lots of cans of all sorts of different

:21:03.:21:07.

things and there were nappies in there and wipes and chocolate. So I

:21:07.:21:12.

was literally like wow, thank you. Vicky is now back at work and

:21:12.:21:18.

providing for her and her daughter. A local church and June Rouse is

:21:18.:21:22.

dropping off a bag of food. She tries to donate as much as she can.

:21:22.:21:26.

I do realise that people are struggling. It worries me because

:21:26.:21:34.

people are out of work and there's not the jobs about for people.

:21:34.:21:38.

warehouse in Salisbury and another donation. The fast majority of the

:21:38.:21:43.

food here, 90%, comes not from supermarket cast-offs but from

:21:43.:21:46.

ordinary members of the public. So what's the bigger picture here? For

:21:46.:21:51.

some, people donating food and giving their time volunteering is

:21:51.:21:54.

evidence that the Big Society is working well. But for others, the

:21:54.:21:58.

fact that the number of people literally going hungry in this

:21:58.:22:01.

country has more than doubled in a year seems to suggest that

:22:01.:22:05.

something has gone terribly wrong with the Welfare State. It is

:22:05.:22:08.

shocking. It's disturbing. More people are falling through the

:22:08.:22:14.

safety net. But the bottom line is clear, there are more bem in this -

:22:14.:22:18.

- people in this country living in a precarious way and food banks are

:22:18.:22:22.

picking up the pieces more often than any of us would like.

:22:22.:22:26.

Government says the benefits system does provide a safety net for

:22:26.:22:30.

essentials like food and it says its welfare reforms will improve

:22:30.:22:35.

the lives of the poorest families. Others say it's too easy to blame

:22:35.:22:38.

cuts in benefits for the rise in demand for food banks. You look at

:22:38.:22:42.

the reasons, they are deeper than a reduction in benefits. There are

:22:42.:22:46.

things like benefit delays, domestic abuse, debt, unemployment,

:22:47.:22:50.

those things are what we need to tackle. Even here in Salisbury, as

:22:50.:22:54.

the cost of food, energy, rent continues to rise, charities are

:22:54.:23:02.

expecting even more people to turn to food banks in the coming year.

:23:02.:23:06.

The UK has become a significantly less dangerous place over the last

:23:06.:23:10.

decade, according to an international study. In that time,

:23:10.:23:13.

the manslaughter rate has halved and violent crime is down by a

:23:13.:23:18.

fifth. The most peaceful place in the UK,

:23:18.:23:25.

according to the UK Peace Index, is here, dn broadland in Norfolk,

:23:25.:23:29.

where the most aggressive behaviour on display is a swan demanding

:23:29.:23:33.

bread. In the last year there were just eight violent crimes recorded

:23:33.:23:36.

by police. The least peaceful is Lewisham, a borough in south London,

:23:36.:23:41.

which has been scarred by gang violence. Overall the capital is

:23:41.:23:45.

markedly more peaceful than it was with some of the biggest drops in

:23:45.:23:49.

murder and weapons crime. London's homicide rate is far lower than New

:23:49.:23:52.

York, Amsterdam, Brussels and Prague. The index finds that in the

:23:52.:23:57.

last decade in the UK, the homicide rate has halved, violent crime is

:23:57.:24:02.

down a fifth, weapons crime has fallen by a third. The analysis by

:24:02.:24:07.

the institute for economics and peace notes that 60% of people

:24:07.:24:12.

think crime is rising in Britain but they stand by their data.

:24:12.:24:17.

figures, on all probability, are very real. There might be small

:24:17.:24:21.

amount of statistical error in there, in the way the police report

:24:21.:24:25.

or some other abnormality, but generally, the trends really are

:24:25.:24:29.

real. As for why the UK is becoming more peaceful, the index finds

:24:29.:24:33.

falls in violence across the developed world and points out that

:24:33.:24:37.

despite the economic downturn, peacefulness levels continue to

:24:37.:24:42.

increase. In short - we don't know why.

:24:42.:24:49.

The Liverpool striker Louis Suarez will find out what punishment he

:24:49.:24:56.

will receive for biting a Chelsea player at weekend. What punishment

:24:56.:25:03.

is expected? The FA's three-man panel are meeting via videolink we

:25:03.:25:06.

understand. Suarez won't appear before them in person. In fact,

:25:06.:25:09.

earlier on this morning, he arrived for training at Liverpool's

:25:09.:25:14.

training ground, as per normal, as he awaits to find out what their

:25:14.:25:19.

decision will be about how long his ban will be. Suarez has accepted

:25:19.:25:24.

the charge of violent conduct, but he says he should only get the

:25:24.:25:29.

standard three-match ban for biting. What the FA say that is clearly

:25:29.:25:33.

insufficient in their words in this case and that he should get a much

:25:33.:25:36.

longer ban because of the extraordinary nature of this

:25:36.:25:38.

extraordinary nature of this incident. What he will perhaps

:25:38.:25:43.

argue is that he has apologised repeatedly and been fined by huz

:25:43.:25:47.

club. His club have said they will help him with his behaviour. This

:25:47.:25:50.

incident has shocked the world of football, even Downing Street have

:25:50.:25:54.

been wading in, pointing out the fact that Suarez is a role model

:25:54.:25:58.

for thousands of children. Suarez has been banned for biting in the

:25:58.:26:02.

past. He has served a ban last season for racially abusing a

:26:02.:26:06.

Manchester United player. He may yet receive another long ban which

:26:06.:26:10.

could see him not just miss the end of next season, but possible lit

:26:10.:26:13.

of next season, but possible lit start of next season. Australia has

:26:14.:26:17.

unveiled its squad for the fourth coming Ashes series which begins in

:26:17.:26:23.

July. The team cab tin Daryl Clark believes they can become the first

:26:23.:26:27.

Australian side to one the ashes in England since 2001. One Australian

:26:27.:26:30.

cricket writer has joked that most of the players are still unknown

:26:30.:26:38.

they'll need name tags. Cricket Australia chose the old

:26:38.:26:42.

Sydney mint to unveil the squad for the Ashes. The venue with some

:26:42.:26:47.

negative sybolism for the Aussies. Michael Clarke's Australian outfit

:26:47.:26:51.

is no longer the global gold standard. This is a building from

:26:51.:26:55.

an age when Britain was very much in charge. Australia hasn't won the

:26:55.:27:02.

Ashes on English soil for over a decade, which the legendary Steve

:27:02.:27:06.

Wah was captain. They go into the series the underdogs. They're going

:27:06.:27:10.

to be tough, playing against a very experienced team in their own

:27:10.:27:14.

backyard. That's the stage you want to be on. You want to play against

:27:14.:27:17.

the best in their own conditions. It will take every one of us to

:27:17.:27:21.

have success. Absents from the squad are the recent test retiries

:27:21.:27:31.
:27:31.:27:32.

Rickie ponting and Michael Hussie. A number of veterans make a return,

:27:32.:27:38.

Haden is back. Jackson Bird is promising. Many of the players are

:27:38.:27:43.

unknown in Britain. Some aren't well known here. There will be many

:27:43.:27:46.

Brits looking at this squad and thinking it's the weakest Ashes

:27:46.:27:51.

team to tour in decades. I'd love to answer that, John. We've heard

:27:51.:27:56.

that so many times before, we'll see. I agree with John. I think

:27:56.:28:01.

since I've taken over the captaincy, I think I've heard that every tour.

:28:01.:28:07.

England are being urged to avoid a great pit fall in world sport,

:28:07.:28:10.

underestimating an Australian. are going through difficult periods

:28:10.:28:14.

at this time. They will bring a competitive team over. There will

:28:14.:28:18.

be a couple of players to surprise England. Overnight the Australian

:28:18.:28:21.

population reached a new landmark of 23 million people. The joke here

:28:21.:28:26.

is that they still can't find a decent spinner. This will be

:28:26.:28:30.

regarded as the weakest Ashes squad to leave these shores since 1989.

:28:30.:28:34.

But a cautionary reminder for English fans. That was a team that

:28:34.:28:39.

won. Now some lovely weather for a lot

:28:39.:28:43.

of people today. Guess what, it's of people today. Guess what, it's

:28:43.:28:45.

not going to last. Here's Darren. It isn't. We're all looking forward

:28:45.:28:49.

to the summer, and for some of us there is a taste of summer today.

:28:49.:28:53.

That's where we have the sunnier skies across the south-east of the

:28:53.:28:56.

UK, where temperatures are already higher than they were at this stage

:28:56.:28:59.

yesterday. But there is more cloud coming in. It won't be as sunny.

:28:59.:29:03.

Further north it is colder. We have fresher air for northern parts of

:29:03.:29:06.

the UK. In Scotland that's where we may have the sunniest weather this

:29:06.:29:09.

afternoon. The cloud continuing to thin and break. One or two showers

:29:09.:29:12.

dotted about. But many places in the country will be dry. Those

:29:13.:29:16.

temperatures have just about levelled off at around ten or 11

:29:16.:29:24.

degrees. Chilly under the cloud. Some breaks in the cloud, brighter

:29:24.:29:28.

skies across parts of the Midlands, East Anglia and the south. Along

:29:28.:29:32.

the south coast it is colder. We have a lot of low cloud just

:29:32.:29:36.

lapping onto coastal areas. Here temperatures struggling around 10

:29:36.:29:41.

or 11 degrees. Maybe a few spots of drizzle. Cloud into Wales as well.

:29:41.:29:44.

A few showers in the west and brighter skys in the eastern side

:29:44.:29:47.

of the country p we may get late sunshine in the north of Northern

:29:47.:29:50.

Ireland. Temperatures have peaked already. It will feel colder from

:29:50.:29:53.

the north. We'll see it turning wetter this evening in Northern

:29:53.:29:57.

Ireland. Rain comes in again overnight. It bushes into southern

:29:57.:30:01.

Scotland and northern England. To the south of that, low cloud, some

:30:01.:30:04.

mist and fog around coasts and hills in the south and west. At

:30:05.:30:08.

least it should be mild, whereas to the north of that rain, it will be

:30:08.:30:10.

colder with a few showers in the North West of Scotland. And

:30:10.:30:14.

tomorrow that colder air is going to come pushing its way southwards,

:30:14.:30:17.

behind our band of cloud and rain. The rain becoming lighter and more

:30:17.:30:21.

patchy as it works its way into the Midlands, squeezing the sunshine

:30:21.:30:25.

into that south-eastern corner. For most of us, temperatures will

:30:25.:30:29.

struggle to around 10 to 12 degrees. It's cooler through the Midlands,

:30:29.:30:32.

for example. The warmth is getting pushed into the south-eastern

:30:32.:30:39.

corner. Around London to the north of London, we could get 21 or but

:30:39.:30:43.

make the most of that. This is the last of the warm air. We have

:30:43.:30:49.

changing the -- we are changing the wind direction. The colder air is

:30:49.:30:52.

pushed across the country bit end of the week. It comes in behind

:30:52.:30:54.

what's left of the rain in the south-east corner. Then after, that

:30:54.:30:58.

we get sunshine and showers. Some of those showers will be heavy and

:30:58.:31:02.

possibly wintry over the hills. Temperatures only nine or ten

:31:02.:31:06.

degrees. If we look ahead to the weekend, there'll be more showers

:31:06.:31:09.

around, particularly on Saturday. Patchy rain in the north on Sunday

:31:09.:31:13.

but it's colder for all of us and gardener, beware, there may be some

:31:13.:31:15.

frosty weather on Friday night and frosty weather on Friday night and

:31:15.:31:22.

Saturday night as well. A reminder of our main story this

:31:22.:31:25.

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