17/07/2014 BBC News at One

Irish Republican terror suspects are told they still face arrest

An independent review found so-called "comfort letters" sent to

nearly 200 republicans do not amount to immunity from prosecution.

We'll have all the reaction from our correspondent in Northern Ireland.

More rockets fired on Israel despite a five-hour ceasefire

between Palestinian militants and Israel

and reports that a more permanent ceasefire could begin tomorrow.

The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of shooting down one of its

Championship gets underway on the Wirral.

UK as the thermometer continues to soar.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

Almost 200 Irish Republicans who were sent official letters informing

them they were no longer wanted by police have been warned they

could still be arrested - if the police have sufficient evidence.

An independent review into the scheme has been branded

'systematically flawed' but not illegal.

The scheme was made public when the trial collapsed

of a man suspected of carrying out the 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing.

Let's cross to Stormont and our correspondent, Chris Buckler.

The issue of the on-the-runs, people suspected of paramilitary crimes,

have been given assurances they were no longer wanted threaten Stormont

itself, it threatened to bring down power-sharing. That's why we ended

up with this weighty report commissioned by the government. In

it it says it was an unprecedented scale and undoubtedly flawed,

mistakes by the police in the way it was run, however it makes clear it

was not illegal. There is also one catastrophic error in this scheme,

and that led John Downey not to be tried in connection with four

murders. During decades of violence paramilitary suspects fled Northern

Ireland. After peace and political progress any hope to return home,

but only if they were no longer under suspicion. The deal was done

by Sinn Fein with the government to give people assurances that they

were no longer wanted by the police. Unionists have called that a dirty

deal, done behind closed doors at Westminster. Today's judge led

review ordered by the government itself says the scheme was not

secret, but it was kept below the radar because it was politically

sensitive. The government has always been clear that if sufficient

evidence emerges then individual on-the-runs are liable for arrest

and prosecution in the normal way. So, I repeat again today to the

people holding these letters, they will not protect you from arrest or

prosecution and should the police succeed in gathering sufficient

evidence, you will be subject to due process of law. But the scheme has

had consequences. 32 years ago this month for soldiers were killed in

London in what became known as the Hyde Park bombing. It was one of the

IRA's most notorious attacks. John Downey was a suspect but in error he

was given a so-called letter of assurance. And a judge ruled that

amounted to a promise by the government and prevented him from

being prosecuted. It also made public the existence of the letters

given to so-called on-the-runs, people suspected of paramilitary

crimes. Today's review makes clear that there were at least two other

mistakes. Lady Justice Hallett says the scheme had systemic flaws. There

is also specific criticism of the police. Particularly, as the error

involving John Downey was identified by detectives but not rectified.

This whole affair caused a crisis at Stormont with the First Minister

threatening to resign. Lady Justice Hallett concludes that there is no

evidence that any party other than Sinn Fein was informed of letters

however dozens of politicians must have known that some kind of scheme

was in operation. Within the last half-hour we have had a statement

from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, its chief comes to says it

except the report and its recommendations in full. But there

is now a question about what happens next in terms of these letters. The

First Minister had pushed for them to be rescinded. As far as Lady

Justice Hallett is concerned that is a matter for the secretary of state.

The other thing of course is that she makes specific reference to

those who died at Hyde Park in 1982. Lieutenant Colonel T Deila,

for soldiers lost their lives. Lady Justice Hallett spoke to their

families and they were naturally distressed. This trial did not go

ahead. The real priority is to make sure no other mistakes and to

prevent any other families getting their chance of justice in the

future. A fragile ceasefire

between Palestinian militants The five-hour pause

in hostilities was for humanitarian reasons to allow people to get

supplies and to leave their homes. Meanwhile there are reports that

a more permanent ceasefire could The latest fighting has

been going on for ten days. More than 200 Palestinians have

been killed and one Israeli. Viewers may find images

in this report from Kevin Connolly After nine days of war, five hours

of relief. This humanitarian cease-fire is brief. The people of

Gaza took their chance to live normally, at least for a while. Even

in better times here life is hard. But this morning they could shop

safely, without scanning the skies for Israeli planes. Times are still

tens though. This is a pause in hostilities requested by the UN for

urgent humanitarian work. It is not based on trust between the two

sides. The break in the fighting came a day after one of the worst

incidents of the conflict, when Israel killed four young boys as

they played on a beach. Their family called it a cold-blooded massacre.

Israel always says it tries to avoid civilian casualties and promised an

investigation. Today it went a step further. We are really sorry for the

four children being killed. I think the air force is really taking

maximum care not to hit children, even single pilots. If they see a

child they don't do it. The fighting though continued, right up to the

very last minute. This is the aftermath of Israeli air raids on

Gaza which damaged a house said to belong to a leading militant.

Gaza which damaged a house said to belong to a A final tank round was

fired just before the deadline. And these are Israeli surveillance

images of 13 Palestinian gunmen who emerged from a tunnel on the Israeli

side of the barrier which separates it from Gaza. Israel says they were

heading for a nearby village. The Israeli air force had them in its

sights. The pause in hostilities was the first chink of light in more

than a week here. But as the five-hour window began to close came

word of the second. Israeli reports say that peace talks in Cairo have

reached agreement on what they are calling a company hints of

cease-fire. There is no confirmation yet from the other players, but a

deal, it seems, may be in reach. Kevin Connolly, BBC News, Jerusalem.

A Russian jet has shot down a Ukrainian fighter plane over the

east of the country where there has been fighting between government

Our Moscow Correspondent Daniel Sandford joins us now.

This is an allegation made by the Ukrainian spokesman for the national

security and defence counsel, their most senior spokesman on security

matters. What he says is that an SU 25, a fighter jet that belonged to

the Ukrainian air force, was flying over Ukrainian territory and it was

hit by a missile fired what he said was a Russian military aircraft. He

says that the SU 25 were shot down, the pilot managed to eject and

parachute to earth and was rescued by some of his fellow servicemen,

Ukrainian servicemen, that obviously a very serious allegation if true,

that a Russian jet has shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet over Ukrainian

soil. As you say it is an allegation at the moment but if it is confirmed

how serious an escalation of the crisis could this prove to be? What

we have seen this week is a creeping escalation. Certainly an escalation

of allegations. Ukrainian government claimed that a transport plane,

Antonov 26 will shop down by a missile from Russian soil -- was

shot down. There were claims that the Russians were firing multiple

rocket launchers, or somebody was firing multiple rocket launchers

from the Russian side of the border on to Ukrainian forces in Ukraine.

President Poroshenko, the new Ukrainian president, asked for the

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to react to that. This is all taking place in

a very, very difficult environment between Russia and in particular

America. America are playing fresh sanctions on some of Russia's

biggest police yesterday, Russia's biggest oil company, second biggest

gas company and third biggest bank, and also the manufacturers of

Kalashnikov rifles, or hit by American sanctions yesterday and if

these allegations turn out to be true much more serious sanctions and

much more serious deterioration in the ratio between Russia and America

and Russia and Europe will follow. Thank you for joining us.

The Liberal Democrats have been accused of 'unbelievable hypocrisy'

by Labour over their calls for an immediate overhaul

of the coalition's housing benefit reform, known to critics

Nick Clegg said it was "complete baloney" for the Conservatives to

claim that they were surprised by today's Lib Dem announcement.

Our political correspondent Vicki Young reports.

plan to cut housing benefit for plan to cut housing benefit for

those judged to have spare room is has caused uproar. To sweeten the

pill ministers announced exactions and give councils millions to help

those affected. Having voted for it in Parliament the Liberal Democrats

now say it is time to overhaul the policy. I'm a practical politician

and when something isn't working in practice we should fix it and that

is why we want to make sure practice we should fix it and that

the new rules apply to new tenants but to existing tenants if they want

to move and cannot it is not fair or reasonable to ask them to pay this

extra levy. He says he reasonable to ask them to pay this

mind because of new research published by the government this

week. It showed that social housing tenants of working age had their

benefit cut by an average of ?14 a week since April last year. 19% of

tenants had registered to downsize to a smaller property at just 4.5%

had actually managed to do so within the first six months of the policy.

In the Commons the Conservatives couldn't resist a dig at their

coalition partners. She did ask about having an emergency debate on

what Liberal Democrats have said today about the spare room subsidy.

I don't think we'll be able to have an emergency debate on every

occasion that they change their policy. LAUGHTER

Labour have accused Mr Clegg of unbelievable hypocrisy over what

they call the bedroom tax. Campaigners for affordable housing

say tenants are struggling to make up the shortfall once their benefit

has been cut. This measure is ill-conceived, badly thought out. I

accept that we need changes to the welfare system and we have worked

very closely with government on the major reforms. This isn't a reform,

it is a nasty, vindictive cut that affects poor people and should be

consigned to the dustbin of history as quickly as possible. The Tories

insist this policy is helping to reduce the housing benefits bill

that is spiralling out of control. They say it is a question of

fairness too, because in the private rental sector people don't get spare

rooms for free. But the Lib Dems say ministers have to look at the hard

evidence and if a policy isn't working in practice than it needs to

be changed. Vicky Young, BBC News, Westminster.

Our Chief political Correspondent Norman Smith is in Westminster now.

How much of this is about the Liberal Democrats putting some

distance between themselves and the Conservatives with less than a year

to the election? It is exact to sew. If you want to be charitable you

could call it the start of the conscious uncoupling of the

coalition. I would describe it as a calculating act of political plate

throwing by Nick Clegg David Cameron because in the last few months Nick

Clegg has had to duck under the table bombarded by his party

activists, at his party conference, local councillors and even senior

Liberal Democrats unhappy with the bedroom tax. He has ditched it but

not quietly, he is using it as an issue, sharp edged kitchenware to

her letter Mr Cameron. Why? To precisely flag up the differences

between the coalition, to flex the Lib Democrat muscles. -- hurl at Mr

Cameron. That is a process we saw happening already. We saw the

opposition to further cuts to welfare, over Europe, thresholds,

strike ballots and we will see the Conservatives doing the same.

Indeed, the Prime Minister's spokesman this lunch time said it is

going to be a not unexpected feature of coalition government. If you

think East Enders is to shout eek and argy-bargy you will not like the

next nine months of politics either. Top story this lunch time:

Irish and terror suspects are told they still face arrest as so-called

comfort letters do not amount to immunity from prosecution. And still

to come: England face India on the first day

to come: England face India on the first of the second test at Lord's.

India were first up to bat. Later on BBC London, a revamped Reading

station, the Queen officially opens the ?900 million development.

What happens to people at the end of their lives is an emotive

At the moment helping someone to die is illegal

but there has been an ongoing campaign to get the law changed.

The Assisted Dying Bill will be debated in the House of Lords

Even though it has a lot of support, there are also many people,

including those with disabilities, who don't want the law to change.

Our disability affairs correspondent Nikki Fox has more.

She's 69 years old, and used to work as a freelance legal secretary.

She has a big family, close friends, and two dogs.

She also has motor neurone disease, a condition she's had

It's left her only able to communicate by moving her eyes, with

When I was first diagnosed in 1991, I became seriously depressed,

and I'm ashamed to say that I spoke about dying

But although her life isn't what it was, Pam does not want to die. I am

There is always another book to read, or a film to watch.

I'm too nosey to want to die. Do you want me to just type it in?!

The Lords will be debating whether a form, like this, will be available

Two doctors will have to agree that the patient has a condition

which gives them six months or less to live,

They could then take their own life by self-administering

medication, with the lawful assistance of another person.

Most people would get comfort from knowing it was an option that

was available, but some people would like to take that option up,

and that's what Dignity In Dying is campaigning for, a change in the law

so that dying adults can have choice at the end of life.

Pam's friend Sian is also against the bill.

She's worried it will have much wider implications, particularly

Suddenly, when that choice is for you, you're in a constant

What we need is support for living, and not support for dying.

If we have support for living, we won't want to die.

The Assisted Dying Bill has received very high profile support

in the last few days, and those against it are worried.

People may assume that all disabled people don't have a good quality

of life, and would want to die. I am concerned that if assisted dying

became law then people would look at me and ask why I am alive

A record number of lords are expected to speak

BBC News is to lose 415 posts under a new restructuring plan

which will see a greater emphasis on digital services.

Staff have been told that ?48 million of savings will be made

by the changes, but some 200 jobs will also be created.

Our correspondent Nick Higham joins me.

Explain what the cuts will entail. The car parts of wider cuts as the

result of the licence fee being frozen until 2016. There are 8415

working in BBC News, including local, regional, and international

services, and 415 jobs are going. Mostly the cuts are trying to get

bits of the BBC to collaborate more closely to integrate services, for

instance the teams producing the news channel and BBC world channel

will work more closely together and with the people producing the news

online services, the teams writing news bulletins for Radio Four and

the world services will be merged. Less money for individual outlets to

spend on commissioning material, which will make them collaborate

more and eliminate duplication. James Harding announced the cuts, he

said they had looked at axing some things completely like Radio 1

Newsbeat, or no news on radio five, and they have ruled that out.

By doing such things you would rob people of programmes

You would significantly damage public support for the BBC.

And you would critically undermine the future of the BBC.

The simple option, the why don't you protect my part of the BBC by

closing down something else option, is not really an option at all.

The world's most famous golfers have gathered at Hoylake in Liverpool

Tiger Woods, three times Open Champion,

Rory McIlroy and the on-form Justin Rose are all in contention.

Katherine Downes is at Hoylake for us now.

One of the challenges of links golf is you are taking on the conditions,

not just the competitors. Most players have taken advantage of the

good weather. It was a shaky start for Tiger Woods, of whom many were

expecting so much on his return. Four months after surgery, tiger is

back. Such is his status his return to major action was never going to

be low-key. He was always going to receive a warm welcome Hoylake, the

course where he won his last Open title eight years ago. But it wasn't

the best of starts for the 14 time major winner. Shots dropped on the

first two holes left him looking characteristically concerned. A

different story for Rory McIlroy, showing signs he may be back to his

sublime best. Chasing the big names, John Singleton. The forklift truck

-- truck driver from the Wirral, the man living a fairy tale, savouring

his big moment. This is what makes the Open so special, even more so

when the sun shines. Robert Karlsson was first on the course, making the

most of the conditions to take an early lead. But Rory is hot on the

chase. Spaniard Sergio Garcia, in the hunt for his first major looks

like he is feeling at home in Merseyside's Mediterranean

conditions. The club house leader is an

Italian, who is on five under par. Rory McArdle I is five under par. He

has a couple of holes left to negotiate -- Rory McIlroy.

It's the first day of the second test of England

The last match between the two ended in a draw and England are

Seconds out, round two, first from his corner, England's enforcer.

James Anderson with a visual display of muscle.

His pavilion altercation with Jadeja will be dealt with by lawyers

Cricketers have their own way of settling scores.

Lovely catch by Gary Ballance, pictured in some papers this morning

He has taken more Test wickets for England than any other Englishman.

The green grass on the wicket was a green light to

Broad could have had Vijay out for zero, a stretch for Prior who

Patience for the key for India and technique.

Murali Vijay with a rare scoring opportunity will make

Having decided to bowl first the pressure was on England to take

There were plenty of near misses and not quites.

For England a growing sense of waste, Lords style,

where spectators are urged to take care of discarded champagne corks.

Ballance doing the business catching and he earned

Britain's tallest building and a swimming pool have been short listed

for an architectural prize. The Shard and the Aquatics Centre has

been nominated for the Stirling Prize. Rebecca Adlington, winner at

the 2012 London Olympics. Now the London Aquatics Centre, where she

competed, could itself be a winner. It is on the six strong short list

for the reader Stirling Prize, given to the best new British building.

The Aquatics Centre could have entered last year, but waited until

the huge temporary wings, where the Olympic spectators sat, had been

removed. It is up against the Shard, described by the judges as the most

significant addition to London's skyline since St Paul's. And the

London School of Economics student centre, where it is hard to find a

right angle. All six are in city centres. Three outside the capital,

including this, the Manchester School of Art, which has created new

design studios, been renovated in 1960s tower. There is a library of

Birmingham, hope to Shakespeare's first Folio, the building did not

look like this in his day -- home. Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, closed

for three years to undergo a complete redevelopment and now has

portraits of 105 locals etched into the shutters on its front. Their

reward, two three tickets to every theatre season there for the rest of

their lives. They find out if they have won on October 16.

A heatwave alert has been issued for parts of the UK

The people we have been talking to in Stratford-upon-Avon say the

Public Health England warnings are heavy-handed, a little patronising.

They can look after themselves, they say, when the sun comes out and you

can see them doing that, relaxing in the shade, boating on the river or

having an ice cream. It is the same story across the country. The

British summer at its prettiest, making sand castles or catching a

wave at the seaside. Taking a punt along the river. Keeping cool in the

park. Here in Stratford-upon-Avon it is time for ice cream. Temperatures

in the mid to high 20s in July are hardly unusual. They would barely

register concern elsewhere. I am from the South of France. It is not

a heatwave. I am from Australia. What would be regarded as a heatwave

there? About 38 degrees. It is about 20, lovely. People are being warned

to take extra care. We are concerned because of the effect on vulnerable

people, who may not perceive how hot they are, particularly those who

cannot move, people with dementia, who are dependent on other people. I

am not worried about the fit and healthy who are behaving sensibly in

the sun. Normally people come here to the Butterfly farm to escape the

cold and rain outside, but this is the place to come to get cool. It is

a steady 23 degrees. Good weather is good for business. People are

motivated to go out, so people can come and see as much as they can of

this area. Keep safe in the sun and enjoy it while it lasts.

Public Health England warnings are heavy-handed, a little

say, when the sun comes out and you can In the sunshine, further south,

it is that bit warmer, as it is for Northern Ireland. The mid-20s

further south, the high 20s across southern counties of England. Fairly

light winds, and a blissful afternoon if you like the heat. By

the end of the afternoon there will be thundery showers on the horizon

across the coast of Devon and Cornwall. The wind picking up, gusty

winds, 50 miles an hour. Scattered storms and rumbles of thunder,

flashes of lightning and sharp bursts of rain across the more

western parts of England and Wales. It could be of concern for the open

golf first thing, the showers will drift away and temperatures will

recover. The band of thundery showers and gusty winds further

north, into southwestern parts of Scotland. For the rest of us, dry

and in the sunshine temperatures will soar tomorrow. Tomorrow is a

particularly hot one, temperatures up to 33 Celsius across the more

southern and eastern areas. A lot cooler across eastern areas of

Scotland. If you are going to the cricket at Lord's, up into the 30s.

Light winds. Do put on some sunscreen. Through tomorrow evening

and night, an increasing chance of organised, thundery downpours

pushing up from France. The detail is elusive but Met Office warnings

are in force. The main showers on Saturday will be north-west woods.

The sun will come out, a steamy day, it could provoke thundery downpours

in the latter part of the afternoon. There could be intense thunderstorms

on Saturday. The Met Office warning extends into Sunday across more

eastern parts of the UK. More detail on the BBC weather website.