06/06/2013 BBC News at One

Nations run boring crossing in the Golan Heights. The move fuels fears

that the Civil War may be about to spill over to a wider regional

conflict. The latest from our correspondent in the region. Also

this lunch time: Ed Miliband promises to put a three-year cap on

welfare spending if his party wins the next election.

Andy Coulson, the Prime Minister's former spokesperson, pleads not

guilty to phone hacking during his time at the News of the World.

60 years on, Britain say it is sincerely regrets the torture and

abuse suffered by Kenyans during the Mau Mau uprising. It awards

compensations to thousands of survivors.

That happens to be not unspeakable but illegal. We have Her Majesty's

permission... And Tom Sharpe, who wrote Porterhouse Blue, hadded died

as the age of 85 -- has. On BBC London, action against

anti-Islamic attacks. A big rise in the number of first-time buyers in

the capital. Good afternoon. Welcome to the BBC

News at One. Syrian rebels have seized a border

crossing in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights fuelling fears that

the Civil War may be about to spill over in to e wider regional

conflict. It comes after rebels withdrew from

the town of Qusair. Well our world a World Affairs

Correspondent, Rajesh Mirchandani has more.

Smoke rising as Syria's conflict spreads to Israel's doorstep. Rebel

fighters, battling with President Bashar al-Assad's forces and

overtaking a checkpoint in the disputed Golan Heights. Israel move

people away from the frontier as a precaution, a sign of how Syria's

Civil War is having a growing impact outside of its borders. Earlier,

Syrian government forces celebrated their victory in the key town of

Qusair. They ousted the rebels, take control of this important point in

the supply route for weapons. The town of 40,000 lies destroyed. Could

this be a turning point in the Syrian regime's war with what it

calls the terrorists? TRANSLATION: Wherever terrorism goes

and wherever it escapes, the foot steps of the Syrian army will

follow. They will make Syria the graveyard of global terror.

Unverified footage shows the fierceness of the battle for Qusair.

Spearheading the assault were fighters from the niece Shi'ite

militia, Hezbollah. After, the BBC cameras spotted the

Hezbollah fighters. Syrian rebels fired rockets from their strongholds

inside of Lebanon. A Civil War spreading. The West cannot decide

whether or not to arm the rebels, but the US condemned outside help

for President Bashar al-Assad. It is clear that the regime is

unable to contest the opposition's control of a place like Qusair on

their own. That is why they are depending on Hezbollah and Iran to

do their work for them. And with diplomat Massey stalled

here is another spillover, more refugees fleeing the fighting.

Western leaders reiterated warnings of a catastrophe unfolding in Syria,

but there are no sign of peace talks, and no clue in r if and when

these people can return home. Our correspondent Jim Muir is in

Beirut for us. We have had concerns that the conflict can spread. Jim,

how is this fighting in the Golan Heights being read? Well it is being

seen as another way in which the conflict in Syria is prolife rating.

Impinging there on the Golan Heights, it is not a border but a

demarcation line with Israel. There are rockets coming across the border

into Lebanon, to Baalbek, a well-known tourist destination with

Roman ruins there. That after rebels threatened to hit back to Hezbollah

after the key role it played in the conquest of Qusair, the key town

near the border alinkside Syrian troops, fighting alongside Sunni

rebels. So the repercussions, the sectarian lines and the conflicts or

the tensions it is aggravating throughout the region are very

serious indeed. That is why people are regarding Hezbollah's

involvement as perhaps the most dangerous development since this all

began two years ago it adds to the sectarian dimension that was not

there before. That really irritates the sectarian faultlines that run

throughout the region. So there are repercussions in Iraq, where Shi'ite

militias are joining in the fight on the side of the government in

Damascus. Also Turkey, thousands of refugees streaming across there.

Turkey also having political problems and the Syrian government

is happy about that. So the region is looking increasingly in peril,

like it is being engulfed in the flames that have been raging through

Syria for the last two years. Thank you very much.

Andy Coulson, the Prime Minister's former superb, has pleaded not

guilty to three charges including phone hacking. The former editor of

the News of the World denies conspireing to intercept voicemail

and two counts of conspiracy to misconduct in public office.

Tom Symonds has more for us. There is a series of house keeping

hearings happening here at Southwark Crown Court ahead of what is

expected to be a trial of phone hacking which is due to start in

September. We had a lot of pleas, not guilty pleas from a series of ,

including Rebekah Brooks yesterday and today as you say, three not

guilty pleas from Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the

World. He pleaded not guilty to illegal ception of communications,

in effect phone hacking of voicemails, and pleaded not guilty

to conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office. That is to do with

the allegations that money was paid for information from public

officials used in stories for the News of the World.

What we don't yet know is when those series of charges are to come to

trial and the form of the trial, what it will be, but it will be a

big trial, due to start in September.

The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, promised to cap spending oen welfare

if they win the next election. In a speech in London he said his party

would be focussed about how it spent every pound to turn the economy

around and build a stronger country. Ed Miliband wants to prove to you

that he can spend taxpayers' money wisely. To rebuild his party's

credibility on the economy. This morning he went to one of the poorst

parts of London to unveil changes. The next Labour Government will have

less money to spend. To turn our economy around, protect our NHS, and

build a stronger country, we will have to be laze -- laser focussed on

every pound we spend. Lift-off for the next general

election is way off, but Labour a shift in what it would do in

welfare. It wants a three-year cap on part of welfare spending to limit

the amount. Ed Miliband confirmed, if he is the Prime Minister, that

the reversal of child benefit cuts that was brought in for high earners

would not abpriority. To increase jobseeker's allowance but going to

those who worked longer. Also a possible changes on universal

benefits. There will be a place for universal

support in the welfare state. Like the NHS. A proper basic state

pension for all who paid in, but whether in relation to pensioners

and children, there is a balance to be struck between universal,

contributing and means tested benefits.

The turn on child benefit is a significant one. They condemned the

cut since day one, but Ed Miliband has taken a step towards the

coalition in terms of how they deal with the deficit.

There is nothing of substance in the speech. What we have are the Labour

Party worried about their image on welfare. They voted against �80

billion of savings in welfare. Now we get a message saying that they

are in favour of an overall limit but they don't say what they will

cut. Downing Street cheers for David

Walliams and David Cameron, but behind the door, the Prime Minister

will be cheering Labour's chain of heart on child benefit and the cap.

A move he believes, is proof that the coalition got it right.

Let's pick up on some points from Norman Smith in Westminster. I

suppose that the question for Labour, then, is it enough to

convince the voters that they are serious about tackling the deaf

silt? -- deficit? That is the hope of Ed Miliband, that people will

hear the cap on the welfare spending thinking that Labour is serious

about getting to grips with the benefit bills, about taking

difficult decisions, but the difficulty is, we got no grit, no

detail, no specifics. Like if I announced to family Smith, to have a

cap on household spending but I don't say if it is less money for

holidays, less money for clothes or less money for the dog to have an

food. They are not that convincing. It sounds more like an aspiration

than a plan for saving money. Although we got a sense of where Ed

Miliband wants to bare down. We know he wants to bare down on the Housing

Benefit bill by getting landlords to charge rents and by getting

companies to pay a living wage, those are benign savings. The cut is

the one he floated about clawing back winter fuel payment from

better-off pensioners. My sense is if Ed Miliband really wants to

convince the voters he is serious about welfare, then there must be

pain. There must be some blood on the floor. Today, we did not really

get that Norman, thank you very much.

Local communities in England are to be given more powers to stop on

shore wind farms while being given incentives to accept them. Residents

to be consulted before the planning applications are submitted. If they

agree they can receive financial benefits to plough back into the

community. John Moylan has the details.

For some, they are the clean green answer to our energy needs, but for

others, they Afghan authorities are a blot on the landscape, often

foisted on the locals against their will. Now after months of wrangling

within the coalition, there is a plan to put the views of the locals

first. There have been inappropriately

cited wind farms. People are under siege from wind farms. We have to

ensure that the locals have more control over where they go.

Subsidies have seen numbers soar. There are 3,859 land-based turbines

across the UK. Almost 2,000 have been built within the past five

years. The delible wind farm in Cornwall

was the first in Britain. Some locals here receive a discount on

the electricity bills. Today's plans should see a five-fold rise in the

amount of cash that that the local communities get, but campaigners say

that the moves do not go far enough. We want a fairer and a more open

planning process. The Government to report their help with this and wind

farm developers spending more money on community investment than they

are at present. Until now, national planning

guidance said that schemes should be accepted if renewable. Now councils

are to be told that arguments for renewable energy should not override

local concerns. So will this halt for the growth of renewables be

helpful? We don't that I that the changes will put off wind farms.

Developers that engage with the communities and take them with them

as they bring the schemes forward, we think that is a good result. The

guidance is clear it is important that ing use it sensibly.

Some argue that they are giving communities financial incentives,

alongside the powers to reject the farms a mixed message from what was

supposed to be the greenest government ever.

Up to �2 billion a year is being lost in tax on cigarettes as Her

Majesty -- HM Revenue & Customs is failing to clamp down on tobacco

smuggling. Figures suggest that 8 billion illicit cigarettes were

ported to UK and smuggled in via Eastern Europe.

This is the very edge of the EU. The frontier between Lithuania and

Belarus. Customs officers pi a apart car that raises a suspicion. 1,000

miles from Britain but it is the first line of defence getting the

cigarette smugglers. This morning the customs officers pulled over the

van, tore up the flooring and found two secret compartments and inside

60,000 smuggled cigarettes. A packet bought for the equivalent of 20

pence in Belarus sells for �4 on the streets of Britain. So how easy is

it to buy them? We went to three shops in Kent, asking for cheap

cigarettes. All sold illegal packs, though the manager said since we

have filmed he has stopped. It is the same everywhere we go. Packs are

kept out of sight under the counter, selling for half of the price of the

real thing. This major -- may just be the worst

place in Britain for illicit cigarettes. Gillingham in Kent. A

survey showed that 50% of packets of cigarettes on the streets found here

were either smuggled or fake. We found these in less than an hour.

From honest shopkeepers, like Hitesh Pandya, it is a nightmare. He is

regularly offered dodgy cigarettes by criminal gangs.

I am not surprised that people are selling cigarettes for �3. 50. We

are losing lots of revenue. Billions have been lost.

The authorities are fighting back in this warehouse, under guard, some of

the 230 million cigarettes that have been seened from Lithuania last

year. It is the EU's outer frontier and

Britain's front line, but closer to home, this report from the National

Audit Office says that HM Revenue & Customs needs to step up its efforts

here to tackle the illegal trade. The headlines. The Civil War in

Syria could spill over into a wider regional battle as fierce fighting

breaks out in the Golan Heights. Stephen Fry reveals how he hit the

depths of depression while filming abroad.

I will have all the sport on BBC News, with all change at Stoke

city, where the new manager Mark British fought a bitter battle with

insurgents in Kenya who were demanding an end to colonial rule.

More than 5,000 Kenyans say they were mistreated, some through

torture, by the then-British administration. Today, the

government expressed "sincere regret" and announced compensation

for some of those who took part in the Mau Mau rebellion. Our East

Africa correspondent, Gabriel Gatehouse, reports.

It has taken more than half a century. The compensation amounts to

less than �3000 per victim, but for most of these veterans, it is not

the money that matters but the recognition, of the pain they

suffered. We are happy because the British

government want us to come together now and start every conciliation

nation to nation -- a reconciliation. Because everybody

needs each other. This is one of the darker chapters

in Britain 's colonial history. The Mau Mau rising began in the central

highlands with the murders of white settlers. The colonial authorities

responded -- reacted with ruthlessness and it took nearly a

decade to crush the movement. I be end, tens of thousands of Kenyans

had been killed and many more detained in overcrowded camps. The

claimants in this case were all victims of brutal torture. They tell

stories of beatings by colonial officers that left them on the brink

of death, of rape, even castration. The offer of compensation only

applies to bring survivors of that treatment. The Mau Mau Kate is took

years to come to court. -- case. The government initially claimed that

Nairobi should take responsibility and not London. It argued the events

had occurred too long ago for justice to be done. Last year, the

High Court in London rejected both those claims. These are only a

handful of those who say they suffered in the Mau Mau episode.

Today 's ruling will no doubt lead others to get the consent.

We can speak to Gabriel in Nairobi. Regret and compensation, but a long

time coming. The reaction in the hotel where this

announcement was made, whether British High Commissioner echoed the

words of William Hague, was muted. People seemed pleased they had got

this recognition at long last at there was not the kind of

celebration and dancing and singing that we saw in October last year

when the High Court in London announced that the court case could

go ahead. Whether that was because people had been expecting this for

some days because perhaps for some here, the Foreign Secretary 's

announcement was marred by the fact he said the British government still

declined to accept responsibility for some of those abuses, even

though it expressed severe -- sincere regret and offered

compensation. But this is a big milestone for the Mau Mau veterans

and for their struggle for recognition in Britain and country

-- in Britain and Kenya. Stephen Fry has admitted he tried to

kill himself while filming abroad era go. He has bipolar disorder and

he was found unconscious on the floor by his producer after taking a

combination of pills and alcohol. He said it was the first time he had

said in public that he is not always happy.

This woman lifted her head and she looked past me and I thought,

foreigner! He has made a career out of making

other people laugh. But Stephen Fry does not find personal joy quite so

easy to come by. In a remarkable and frank interview,

he talked about his struggles with depression and revealed that last

year, he tried to take his own life. -- about how he struggles.

I have a condition that requires me to take medication so I do not get

too hyper or depressed to the point of suicide. And I attempted it last

year. I am not always happy, this is the first time I have said this in

public. He said he took an overdose but was

saved by a television producer he was working with. He suffers from

bipolar. You say, how can anybody who has got

it all want to end it all? That is the point, there is no, why? That is

not the right question. There is no reason. If there were a reason, you

could reason somebody out of it. This is not the first time his

battles with his imagery -- his battles with his inner Demons have

been played out in public. In 1995, he was appearing in this West End

theatre and he walked out after three performances and the

production had to close early. It later emerged he had had a

breakdown and had decided to gas himself in his car.

I sat there for at least two hours in the car with my hands on the

ignition key. It was a suicide attempt, not a cry

for help. His condition has helped raise the profile of mental

illness. He is the President of the charity Mind. For Stephen Fry, it is

a particularly pertinent questions. /questions.

If you are affected and want to speak to somebody about mental

you make sure no-one else can see your pin number when you are

entering it? If not, you are being urged to be more vigilant, because

crimes involving stolen pins and cards have tripled since last year.

These thefts are said to be rising every month because it is simpler

than using expensive technology to copy card details, as Simon Gompertz

now reports. New CCTV footage of a growing danger

at cash we seems. Somebody walks over a man 's shoulder as he takes

in his pin, what the police call shoulder surfing. Then he tries to

take the card by distracting him with a piece of paper. And a woman

is formed by the same paper trick, with a tap on the shoulder. They get

the pin and the card. She had a �2 coin and she said,

please, have you got some change? 80-year-old Jacqueline Fletcher said

these stole her card when she was giving them change, after watching

her key in her number. They took her key in her number. They took

�640 from accountsNEXT it frightens me to think that I had been stupid

enough that it frightens me. And to think they were attacking

vulnerable people. Young or old. It was obvious they had seen me as an

easy mark. The pin is on marking Vicky -- the

pin is the key to unlocking your bank account. Banks are worried one

in five people does not cover their pin, that is how the thieves hit the

jackpot and the chances are that you do not even know that you are being

watched. ATM incidents have tripled from more

than 2,500 in the first four months of last year to confirm -- to over

7,500 in the same period this year. Partly because criminal gangs who

insert card copying gadgets like this they say challenge from better

cash machines and Chip and pin technology.

-- face a challenge. It is harder to get hold of and it is quite

high-tech and expensive, at this is a complete return to a simple

distraction or a contact tech. So it is a lot cheaper and more effective.

Is secret camera shows customers making no effort to protect their

numbers. Shield the pin and you have a better chance of stopping this

type of crime. The novelist, Tom Sharpe, has died

at his home in Spain at the age of 85. He wrote dark, often

outrageously comic novels, including the Wilt series, and in others such

as Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure he was critical of the

apartheid regime in South Africa, where he had lived. His novels

Porterhouse Blue and Blott on the Landscape were both made into

successful television series, as The television version of Tom Sharpe

smack satire about a Christie Cambridge college, porterhouse loo.

It helped make him one Briton 's best loved comic writers. --

Porterhouse Blue. Dead swans or unspeakable and

illegal! I do have her Majesty 's permission.

Elizabeth the first. He had had a difficult Trail Todd,

the son of a Unitarian minister with unorthodox political views.

Because of the first World War, I came to believe in national

socialism as epitomised by Adolf Hitler. -- he came to. He

philosophically flipped, you could say. So my upbringing was a bit

peculiar, to say the least. From university, Tom Sharpe went to

South Africa where he encountered the injustices of apartheid. He was

deported and channelled his purity and discussed into his first novel.

Its target was South Africa 's thuggish policemen. A poorly -- a

police force who tortures as a regular routine, you cannot be cruel

about such people. Is it possible to be cruel about the SS? Some of his

books came easily. This was about a hapless polytechnic lecturer and his

dealings with a life-sized Robert Dole! The first draft took only

weeks to write. -- Robert Dole. All his books were peopled by

grotesques. That although APPLAUSE Description, course, violent,

Savage. -- the author 's own description of them. How do you like

it? Claret for me, please! The right one!

The author Tom Sharpe who has died at the age of 85. The tight -- time

Midlands this time yesterday. For the rest of the day, warm and sunny

for many of us. Like yesterday, we had rather stubborn cloud around.

This is the satellite picture. But unlike yesterday, it will melt away.

But in places like Shropshire, just 12 Celsius under the cloud. But we

have already 22 degrees in Northern Ireland. That cloud is melting away

and we have more sunshine around the Devon and Cornwall coast compared to

yesterday. A bit of breeze around the south coast and on the North Sea

coast. But inland, temperatures are responding to that sunshine. 20, 21

across Cumbria. That could trigger showers through the Pennines and

eastern parts of Scotland, but that is the exception rather than the

rule. Some sunshine for most, temperatures already soaring in

Northern Ireland which could trigger a shower. But they will be few and

far between. And at last, the Welsh Marches will be joining in with the

sunshine. More sunshine in the evening. Showers will hang around

for a while and will be slow to fade, but we should not see as much

missed as last night and low cloud. The risk of a shower for the Channel

Islands and southern England, and a bit chilly in the Glens of Scotland.

Another fine day tomorrow. Potentially a bit more fair weather

cloud in southern areas, giving rain through the morning. It will be

quite warm again into the afternoon and that could trigger heavy showers

and perhaps a thunderstorm in south-west England and South Wales.

But it will be fine and sunny for most of us. A bit more breeze

tomorrow, but the sun is just as strong, and that would be the case

this weekend. It could feel fresher by the coast, particularly in the

South, but the sunshine is just as strong and is not affected by the

temperature, so it will be very strong indeed. UB levels up to six

or possibly seven into the weekend. As this fine spell continues, that

will continue to be the case. And it should continue through the weekend.

Always the smallest risk of a shower in north-western areas and not quite

as warm this weekend with that fresh breeze, but not much to complain

about. No, indeed! Thank you very much. A

reminder of the main story this lunchtime. The Syrian army and