16/10/2013 BBC News at One

Almost 30 million people are now in work is the latest figures show

another fall in unemployment. The number of people claiming jobless

benefits dropped at its fastest rate for 16 years but figures sparked a

row in the Commons. One of the remarkable things about

these figures is that a show for the first time there 1 million more

people in work than there were when this government came to office.

There is a cost of living crisis and one reason is rising energy bills

which one leading charity reports today is one of the things driving

people to food banks. The latest from Westminster. Also

this lunchtime, it David Cameron says his former Chief Whip Andrew

Mitchell is owed an apology over the plebgate row. Claims in reading

psychiatrist -- crisis claims a reading psychiatrist, as the number

of available hospital beds in England shrinks.

A dramatic rise in the number of people using food banks. A charity

says more than 350,000 people got help this summer.

And dragged up from the bottom of a lake in Russia, the half-a-tonne

meteor that fell to Earth. In London. A stark warning that

thousands of young girls are at risk of being sexually exploited by

London gangs. And after a freight train derailment

on Monday, works gets under way to get things moving again around

Camden. Good afternoon. The number of people

claiming unemployment benefit fell at its fastest rate since 1997,

according to the latest unemployment figures. The jobless total fell

again over the summer by 18,000 and now stands at 2.49 million. But

there was more evidence of the squeeze on people's wages. The

latest figures sparked a row in the Commons this lunchtime.

The economy is moving up through the gears, new jobs are being created

and that has brought down the unemployment total again, but pay

rises liking behind inflation. That fuelled the clashes today at Prime

Minister 's Pashtuns. These are welcome figures. --

questions. We all want to see living standards improve and disposable

income increased but the way to deliver is to grow the economy, keep

producing jobs and cut taxes. There are almost 1 million young

people out of work and record numbers of people working part-time

who cannot find full-time work, that is no cause for complacency!

Breaking down the figures shows the claimant count fell by 41,000 in

September to the lowest in more than four macro years. Long-term

unemployment over three years -3 months was down 15,000, but youth

unemployment was little changed at nearly 960,000. The economy is

growing but youth unemployment remains a problem. In East London, a

short distance from the city, there are jobs on offer but junk people

often struggle to get a break. Maybe your biggest assumptions...

This training course run by a charity prepares young people for

the world of work, including starting a business.

Guidance on and play -- guidance on applying for jobs is also a

priority. The travel connections here are brilliant but I do not go

into Central London subpart of what we do is to build their confidence

so they feel they can apply for jobs in Central London, where they feel a

bit intimidated at times. Shannon, 19, has been searching for full-time

work since leaving school at 16. It has been hard, you get somewhere and

think, another interview, and you go for the training and the interview

and they just say, no. While some are struggling to find work, some

employers cannot fill vacancies. The market is improving, but there is

still a way to go before it is back to normal. The latest now from

Westminster. Once again, the cost of living has

dominated the Commons this lunchtime.

People could be forgiven for rubbing their eyes a bit. It was a repeat of

last week, dominated by the cost of living, and David Cameron had better

economic news last week and the revised growth forecast, but he was

still dragged to this debate about living standards. He arrives with

even better economic news today, the number of people in work is that the

greatest level since records began, but he again got sucked into this

debate about the cost of living. You sense a disjuncture between the

economic debate and political debate, with the economic facts and

figures moving in the direction of the government. But the cut and

thrust over the cost of living is more problematic. And not just

because it has given Ed Miliband a useful rallying cry to get momentum.

More because I suspect there is a fear in government circles that

people have maybe banked economic recovery. They almost accept it is

taking place. So when the government comes out with better figures, they

almost discount them and say, yes, what are you going to do about my

household budget and wages? The prime Minster says his former

Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell is owed an apology after he called the

unacceptable behaviour of police officers in the so-called white gate

row. The chief constables of three forces in the Midlands have defended

their decision not to begin disciplinary action against three

officers who allegedly gave an inaccurate account of the

confrontation in Downing Street which led to the resignation of Mr

Mitchell. It is a scandal that began with a little-known government

Minister Andrew Mitchell, a disagreement with police over him

riding his bike through the gates of Downing Street, a claim he insulted

officers by calling them plebs. And a counterclaim the police made

it up. But the latest twist centres on a different group, these men were

accused of giving a false account of another meeting which Mr Mitchell

recorded in his constituency office. Yesterday, the Independent Police

Complaints Commission stepped in. They said the officers and that --

they said their bosses should have made them face disciplinary

proceedings, that has prompted for the creation -- that has prompted

calls for the creation of an ombudsman.

It is independent of the police. In the case under scrutiny, we scurried

out the investigation under supervision. The Independent Police

Complaints Commission chose not to take it on in its entirety. This

morning came confirmation the main players in this increasingly

poisonous row would be speaking to MPs on the Home Affairs Committee.

The Prime Minister said police behaviour was unacceptable. This

meeting was recorded so he has proved what he said was true and

what the police officer said was untrue. The police trade union is

furious. Some members have been under criminal investigation over

the original Downing Street indecent -- incident. Macro to publicly

questioning the integrity of other members have angered it further. The

chairman of the Police Federation Steve Williams has written to the

Home Secretary saying... We need a strong the Independent

Police Complaints Commission that acts correctly. I want that, a lot

of the budget will be transferred to them next year probably, and they

need to play by the rules. They cannot behave arbitrarily and I

think they have in this case. The investigation into the Downing

Street incident is complete and awaiting a decision by the Crown

Prosecution Service as to whether officers will be charged. This has

long ceased to be a row about who said what that these gates, it is

also about public confidence in the police.

The independent oversight of complaints against them and

relations between the police and government.

Mental health services in England are in crisis and unsafe, according

to one of the country's leading psychiatrists. An investigation by

the BBC has found that more than 1,700 hospital beds for people with

mental health problems have been closed over the last two-and-a-half

years. It means many people are having to travel hundreds of miles

to get treatment. Our social affairs correspondent, Michael Buchanan,

reports. Lucy Bowden has a history of self

harm. After one incident last year, she knew she was still not well and

looked for voluntary help. She was told no beds were available, so

eventually police were called, who were forced to detain her to get her

appropriate help. Several hours of police time that could have a better

spent. And if I had known where to go for help, I would have even less

distressed probably and got home and got back to work quicker.

Pressure on beds has been revealed through Freedom of Information

requests. Between April last year and August this year, more than 1700

ads have been closed, 9% of the total. Occupancy levels on acute and

psychiatric wards are linked at 100%. This senior psychiatrist says

problems are cute. -- acute. We are in a real Isis, it

is very pressured and we spend a lot of time struggling to find beds. --

crisis. Sending people across the country, which is not what I want.

That is only part of the problem, doctors say there is an increased

demand for mental health services. The two things together, you end up

with more patients saying they are not getting the help they need. When

Kerry felt though, the only available bed was miles away,

delaying her recovery. They did not know anything about who

I was or what was available to support me in the community so I was

held there for longer than I needed to be.

Ministers admit mental health services in England are simply not

good enough. We have access standards, an 18 week

limit for physical health ponds but they left out mental health and we

need to correct so people with mental health are treated with the

same seriousness -- physical health Robins. This picture is

distressing, raising serious questions over the ability of the

NHS to cope. Surrey Police say they were told no

further action would be taken by the Crown Prosecution Service following

their interview with Jimmy Savile in 2009. The statement follows after

the interview was made public yesterday. Detectives interviewed

the former presenter at Stoke Mandeville Hospital where he was

given an office and where he was thought to have carried out a number

of assaults. So this interview has raised questions and this is the

defence of Surrey Police over why nothing more was done.

We knew a lot of the facts about this investigation because they had

carried out an enquiry into their own investigation, but the

transcripts give us the tone of the interview in that room in October

2009. Surrey Police say, we did not know

the full facts then, they had not been told there had been previous

allegations made to police in the 1980s and 2003. They said he had not

given the full facts, and they had been advertised by the Crown

Prosecution Service merely to tell Jimmy Savile about the allegations

and go no further. They said doing the interview was going one step

further. It raises questions about the tone, given what we know now. A

second area is also the words coming out about West Yorkshire, how Jimmy

Savile had a group of police officers he was hand letters to and

-- when allegations were made. There has been an investigation into that

and last week, there was an investigation into the investigation

of that and the Chief Constable of Avon Somerset Police said there

was no evidence he was protected from arrest and prosecution, but he

did feel there was a bomb, the look and feel of their report did not

look independent -- it problem. The top story, the number of people

signing unemployment benefit has fallen at its fastest rate since

1997. Still to come, the road to Rio, but

how much will it cost England fans to get to the World Cup in Brazil

next year? Later in London, a dog 's dinner,

the assessment by MPs who say the London Assembly needs more teeth to

scrutinise the London mayor. The boy racers who are young, why is

South London school is giving 13-year-old striking lessons.

-13-year-olds driving lessons. These are the faces of six British

soldiers killed in the single deadliest attack by the Taliban

since operations began in Afghanistan in 2001. They died when

a massive roadside bomb destroyed their armoured vehicle in

Afghanistan last year, the vehicle was considered one of the safest in

use. The inquest into their deaths opened this morning. From Oxford,

this report. The tragic homecoming in a conflict which claimed so many

British lives. But the number of soldiers lost in

this single incident shocked senior officers, regiments and families.

From the Yorkshire Regiment, Corporal Hartley, private Frampton,

Private Christopher Kershaw, Private Daniel Wade and Private Daniel

Wilford. From the Duke of Lancaster Regiment... All of them were in line

has -- in Afghanistan for less than a month. Their families gathered in

Oxford today to hear details of the incident which claimed the lives

during a routine security patrol in a Warrior armoured vehicle.

Evidence from the pathologist indicated that the severity of the

blast would instantly have killed the soldiers or rendered them

unconscious. The inquest heard evidence from the crew of a second

warrior on the scene, who said the patrol had been delayed by a

sandstorm. It recalled a fireball that followed the explosion. They

had attempted to reach the crew but were beaten back by the intensity of

the flames. The attack happened before the warrior trapped vehicles

were upgraded. Following his attack, the MoD said the Warrior provided

the best protection available. No armoured vehicle could provide

absolute protection from the biggest explosions. The inquest continues

this afternoon. The Supreme Court has dismissed

appeals from two prisoners who were demanding the right to vote under

European Union rules. The convicted murderers were arguing that the EU

law gave them a right to vote even though they cannot, under British

law. The Prime Minister said today but my position is a great victory

for common sense. If you are detained at her Majesty

's pleasure, you can't vote. That is British law. But eight years ago

Britain was told its law breached human rights. That meant the

government had to begin the process of changing the law. Today's case

was brought by two lifers. They wanted the Supreme Court, in effect,

to put extra pressure on the government to introduce prisoner

voting by arguing the ban breached European law as well as the European

Convention on Human Rights. But it declined. It left the matter to MPs

to decide. The matter is curry under review in

Parliament. There's no point making a further declaration of

incompatibility. Britain's Bain -- ban remains

incompatible with the human rights Convention. There is a bill that

some prisoners may be allowed to vote with. But the government is in

no hurry. They have been noncompliant since 2005. If we get

to 2015, it will be ten years of breaking the law. It is nothing to

be proud of. Having been a prisoner, I know it is the least important

issue to them, ordinary guys on the wing. I would think prisoner voting

rights have the significance of tiddlywinks.

It is not tiddlywinks in the great debate about the powers of British

voters. This issue is going to take some sorting out.

America is on the brink of running out of money to pay its bills. The

Republicans and Democrats in Washington have until tomorrow to

come up with a deal to stop the UST faulting on its debt repayments. The

American business magnate, Warren Buffett, says the threat of not

raising the debt ceiling is a political weapon of mass

destruction. The US government remains in a partial shutdown

because of a row over President Obama's health care law. Let's speak

to our correspondent in Washington. Strong words there. But they are

running out of time, aren't they? For the past two Wicks, politicians

here have been unable to agree on a budget deal which has left the

government partially close. Now a more pressing deadline is

around the corner. If politicians can't agree on how to raise the

borrowing limit, the country risks going into default and could

struggle to pay many of its bills. The US Treasury Secretary has warned

of dire consequences, saying that credit markets could freeze,

interest rates could rise and the value of the dollar could plummet.

There are fears America could even go into recession at a time when it

is just turning a corner. One top credit rating agency has also warned

that they could download at -- downgrade America's rating because

of this uncertainty. The bottom line is politicians need to agree on a

deal. Negotiations are continuing in Washington today. The clock really

is ticking. They need to make an agreement by midnight tonight here

in Washington. That is only a matter of hours. Talks are continuing in

Geneva between Iran and leading world powers over its nuclear

ambitions. There are reports Iran could allow I to its research

facilities in an effort to end international concern that it is

trying to develop nuclear weapons. James Reynolds is in Geneva for us.

It seems they are making some progress? The mood music sounds

good. But we don't know what is on the table.

There have been reports this morning and yesterday that Iran might at

some stage it agree to more intrusive inspections of its nuclear

site in order to reassure the West and the outside world that it is not

having any intention to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has said that

those inspections could essentially come only at the end of a

negotiating process, not at the beginning. In the buildings behind

me, I think there will be some arguments about the timing of what

Iran should do and what the West wants Iran to do. Iran has come here

with a new government and an intention to reach out to the

outside world and get sanctions lifted. We don't expect a final

agreement today, but perhaps some kind of statement or structure. The

water regulator says it plans to lock Thames water's request to

increase customer bills by up to 8% next year.

Thames Water wanted to add an act ?29 to the average bill.

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of people using

foodbanks, according to a charity. The Trussell Trust says it has seen

a threefold increase in the number of people and for emergency

supplies, situation it called scandalous. The government says the

increase could be because there are now more foodbanks and Jobcentre

staff are now allowed to direct claimants to them. If you are hungry

and can't afford to eat, in Manchester, this is the place to

come to. The foodbank here is busier than

ever before. One today's customers is Kelly Taylor. She is training to

be a hairdresser. She says her benefits don't cover rising food

bills, prices, and that means she goes hungry. I have got a lot of

anxiety. It is just the world nowadays, it has changed. Everything

is higher in price. It feels like we are scroungers, but we are not. We

are just trying to survive. More and more people are receiving help.

Today, one foodbank charity said that in six months it had given out

nearly 356,000 food parcels. That is three times the number is fed from

April to September last year. 120,000 of those getting help our

children. It is exceedingly busy. In the last year, it has really

increased, the amount of people coming to our centre. A lot of it is

with the government changes. There are foodbanks in many towns and

cities. Around three are opening every week in the UK. What is behind

this growing demand? Is it because people are struggling in a difficult

economy? Or is it down to something else, awareness that if food is

offered for free then people will take it? Angela is a manager here.

She believes it is right to ask difficult questions of those who say

they are in need. If you are donating something, you wanted to go

to the right person. You don't want to give it to somebody who has just

gone to the off-licence. Morally, that can't be right. The government

says it is helping those in work and its benefit changes will make lower

earners better off. The problem is that the longer it takes for the

economy to recover, the busier foodbanks will become. Thousands of

England fans are expected to make the journey to South America next

after the team secured a place last night in XT's World Cup. Roy

Hodgson's beat Poland, guaranteeing them a place in the finals. But

watching England in Brazil will not be easy. For fans, it was ecstasy.

For the captain, sheer relief as he booked England's flight to

football's greatest party. Joy, too, for the manager at the weight of a

nation's hopes lifted from his shoulders. It has been our goal.

You could say it is the dream for every national team, every national

team coach, to lead his team out in a World Cup in Brazil. We are all

pleased about that. At 1-0, it was very tense. You are always thinking,

one mistake or bit of bad play and we could be in trouble. We got a

break with the goal. But it was tremendous. England's performances

over the last two Games have transformed the mood ran here from

one of joyless resignation to one of quiet optimism. Nobody is getting

carried away, but as Roy Hodgson said, if you dream of winning the

lottery, you must first buy a ticket. At fans may need their

numbers to come up. Current return flights to the Rio in June have

leapt to ?1200. The whole cost of seeing England's group Games could

set fans back ?7,000. The important thing is, having qualified, you are

not going to waste the chance of being there. However I can do it, I

will be there. Before fans can dream of the final, a word of caution from

a man who knows about the pressure of playing for England. Can we

really say that if we get into the last 16 against Brazil, we are going

to beat Brazil? The expectations, we don't live who we are going to play,

I always say all you can do is maximise your potential. England

will learn their group opponents in December. It is tough -- true that

tougher tests lie in wait. For now, at least joy that England will be at

the carnival. Finally, part of a giant meteor

weighing more than half a tonne has been raised from the lake where it

crashed earlier this year. The meteor exploded above central

Russia, showering down debris which injured around 1000 people and

damaged hundreds of buildings. Our correspondent reports from Moscow.

Emerging from a lake in Russia's Ural Mountains, what scientists

believe is a huge meteorite, a rock which flew in from space. It is

thought to be the biggest remaining fragment of a huge meteor which

broke through the Earth's atmosphere earlier this year. It is so dense

that this rock weighed in at over half a tonne. Scientists think it is

one of the ten biggest meteorite fragments ever found. The meteorite

fell to Earth on a Friday morning, back in February.

It created a fireball that blazed a trail across the clear winter sky.

It was filmed on dozens of the cameras that Russians love to have

in their cars. People rushed outside to see what it was and then this. A

massive explosion as big as 30 nuclear bombs. It shocked, terrified

and amazed at the commuters on their way to work. The blast wave blue in

windows in sports clubs, schools and offices. Hundreds of people who had

gone to look outside work at in the face by flying glass and ended up in

hospital. Now they can see what caused the chaos, a rock still

bearing the scars of its journey through space.

Let's have a look at the latest weather.

I'm not even going to tempt fate by saying there is nothing like that on

the way. For some of you, some rain is likely. It started in the South

West. But you can see it is on the move. It is pushing further towards

the north. It is going to be one of those afternoons for Northern

Ireland. So, too, the North of England. Not overly warm in

Scotland. Northern Ireland, Southern uplands of Scotland, you could see

40 millimetres of rain. The rain is on the move. You have got it in the

Midlands, but it will stop, and could even brighten up. 10 degrees

at the moment. 16 or 17 is on the way in the south-west in court as

the skies brighten and we tap into some mild air. Overnight, the rain

just about get away from Northern Ireland. You have got some heavy

showers behind. It will be joined by other showers in the southern parts

of it when Wales. Yesterday we were talking about where the air has come

from. This is responsible for this weather. This is Thursday daytime.

We have still got the remnants of the front. The rain is easing but

there is an absence of sunshine. A different kettle of fish in the

south. A mixture of sunny spells, 17 degrees, but further north, oh,

dear, nine or ten. We have still got the mild flow of southerly breezes

into Friday. We will see an area of cloud and rain building all the

while from the south-west. It will push ever further north. Notice the

temperatures are at best still above par for the time of year. The rain

will be all over the British Isles on Friday night. Following behind, a

mixed of sunshine and showers. Into Sunday, again, still a rather

unsettled feel. But not a right. The weekend, we suspect, will be showers

and breezy. We are going to stay on the mild side by day and night. At

this time of year, that is welcome. A reminder of our top story. The

number of people claiming an implement benefit has fallen at its

fastest rate since 1997 as the jobless total falls again. That is

all from us. jobless total falls again. That is

from us. Now on BBC1 it is time for the news where you