02/09/2014 BBC News at One

South Yorkshire Police commissions an independent inquiry

into its handling of child abuse in Rotherham.

A police officer tells the BBC that senior officers didn't take

The Home Secretary has been answering questions from MPs about

No new airport in the Thames Estuary - it's now expansion

Scottish voters have until midnight to register

for the independence referendum - as the gap between Yes and No narrows.

The parents of five-year-old Ashya King remain in custody in Spain,

as prosecutors here say they're reviewing the case against them.

And a Cloud of uncertainty - the security

of the online storage system called into question after nude photos

Boris Johnson vows he'll fight on with plans for an airport

And New Scotland Yard goes on the market for ?250 million.

Good afternoon. Welcome to the BBC News at One. South Yorkshire Police,

the force at the centre of the Rotherham child abuse scandal, has

commissioned an independent investigation into its handling of

the affair. It comes as a police officer told the BBC that senior

officers within the force failed to treat the problem seriously enough.

Labour has suspended four of its local party members over the affair.

Three of them councillors. A report last week found that more than 1,400

children were abused from 1997 to 2013. Ed Thomas reports.

Rotherham is now a town full of apologies, but sorry isn't enough.

It is still having an affect on my mental health, depression, anorexia.

It makes me feel sick. For several years, Sarah was repeatedly raped

and sold by a gang of Pakistani men. If I didn't do as I was told, I was

beaten. I have had black eyes, busted lips. I have been held by my

throat that tight I passed out. We have protected her identity. She

asked the police for help. When I tried to tell somebody, I was told I

was a liar. A police officer said that to you? Yes. I told social

workers, I told officers, nobody listened. To find out why victims

like Sarah were failed, South Yorkshire Police will commission an

independent inquiry to get to the truth. I don't think they were

sufficiently organised... Speaking for the first time, this former

police officer investigated the grooming gangs in Rotherham. Was

child sexual exploitation a priority? It wasn't. Did they treat

it seriously? No, it wasn't treated seriously. I have got to say that it

wasn't treated seriously enough. These five men represent the only

grooming gang to be jailed in Rotherham. Do you think some in the

police were worried that these gangs were predominantly Pakistani origin

heritage men? Nobody wants to be called a racist. The girls were let

down by the police and society. They were disbelieved and it bordered on

contempt. We have asked South Yorkshire Police to respond. The

force has previously said sorry. This solicitor represents 19

victims. He believes there needs to be a public inquiry into what

happened. The victims were saying to me they want justice and they want

the police to investigate their cases, but if it turns out that the

police have been deliberately turning blind eyes, they want

prosecutions of those officers who have ignored their complaints.

Pressure is building. Here, the Labour Party has suspended four of

its members. The calls for accountability grow louder. Ed

Thomas, BBC News, Rotherham. In the last few minutes, the Home

Secretary, Theresa May, has answered an urgent question on the case in

the House of Commons. Our assistant political editor, Norman Smith, is

in Westminster. What we heard from Theresa May this lunch time was an

unflinching condemnation of the conduct of the police and local

authority in Rotherham who, she said, were guilty of a dereliction

of duty, of having a disdainful attitude towards those children who

came to them with claims of child sexual abuse. She said there was a

fear of being accused of being racist, a concern for cultural

issues, for racial sensitivities. Consequently, she said the

Government was now looking at an investigation into the corporate

governance of Rotherham Council and new guidance will be issued to the

police. She said there could be no excuses for what had happened in

Rotherham. The abuse of children is a particularly vile crime and one

this Government is determined to stop. We have made significant

strides since 2010. We have important work under way. We will

learn the lessons from the report to make sure we are doing all we can to

safeguard children and to prosecute the people behind these disgusting

crimes. Now, what we did not get from Mrs May was a name of who is

going to chair this overarching inquiry into child sex abuse

announced back in July when, you will remember, the chairman resigned

after family connections to some of those allegations in the 1980s.

Labour says Mrs May's failure to appoint a chairman shows a lack of

awareness of the public concern. Mrs May said she will appoint someone

soon, but you sense the political consensus there has existed around

this issue is now beginning to fracture and splinter apart. Thank

you very much. Norman Smith there.

The Airports Commission has rejected a plan to build a new airport on an

island in the Thames Estuary, saying the economic and environmental costs

were too high. The Mayor of London, who backed the proposal, reacted

with anger, saying it was the only credible option. The commission will

choose between expanding Heathrow or Gatwick. Our transport

correspondent, Richard Westcott, reports.

Coming into land on what would have been Boris Island. The most

ambitious and expensive of all the proposals for new runways in the UK.

Now, thrown out by the Airports Commission. In the end, it is the

scale of this project that's put them off, turning this quiet beach

into one of the world's busiest airports, if you can imagine it. I'm

standing where the planes would be touching down. There would be

thousands of new homes, new offices, new railway lines, new roads. It is

a project on a scale we haven't seen before. We think the risks of the

project are immense. The logistical risk of moving the whole operation

of Heathrow 70 miles across the city and the environmental risks which

are very difficult to overcome. He's angered the scheme's main

cheerleader, Boris Johnson, one of the few politicians who has been

frank about this toxic issue. We shouldn't be contracting out this

decision to distinguished former civil servants, no matter how

eminent they are. I have got great respect for Sir Howard and his track

record. This is a political decision. It needs leadership. It

needs to be pushed forward. So now we are down to a shortlist of three.

The first from Heathrow's owners, a new runway to the north of the

airport. The second, from a private bidder, doubling the length of one

of Heathrow's existing runways. Or adding a second runway at Gatwick

Airport instead. Just a few years ago, the coalition said it wouldn't

look at expanding Heathrow. The focus is now back on the West London

airport. It is the scheme that's split politicians, voters and people

living under the flight path. We are 100% against it. It means the loss

of my house, which is a big loss. Where do I go? People are looking

for jobs these days. It will bring more jobs to here.

for jobs these days. It will bring more jobs We have lived with this

fear of not knowing what is going on. I wish somebody would make a

decision. The UK's been debating runways for decades, yet nothing new

has been built. Many business leaders say a lack of flights to

growing markets is costing the country billions in lost trade. Yet

the Airports Commission still won't make a final recommendation until

after the general election. What is clear is that for the foreseeable

future, the only things landing in this part of the Thames Estuary will

be thrown by the locals. Richard Westcott, BBC News.

The Crown Prosecution Service says it's reviewing the case against the

parents of a five-year-old child with a brain tumour who was removed

from Southampton General Hospital. Brett and Naghemeh King are in

custody in Spain while a court considers an extradition request

from Britain. The hospital has announced it is beginning an

internal review of the case. Our correspondent, Duncan Kennedy,

reports. Unaware of the legal issues being

discussed around him, Ashya King continues to be looked after by

doctors in Spain. One of his brothers has been allowed to see him

at the hospital in Malaga and, by all accounts, he appears stable. But

his mother and father, Brett and Naghemeh King, haven't seen Ashya

since Saturday as they are in custody fighting extradition back to

the UK. That's been criticised by more than 100,000 people who have

signed a petition handed into Downing Street today calling for

their release. Ashya's parents were arrested after the British

authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant. But today, the Crown

Prosecution Service said it was reviewing the evidence for that

warrant and whether it's in the public interest to pursue it,

opening up the possibility it may be withdrawn. The Deputy Prime Minister

says he is one of those uncomfortable with the way the

family have been treated. I personally think that throwing the

full force of the law at Mr and Mrs King, who appear to be doing what

they believe to be best for their own family, I don't think is an

appropriate thing to do. That is for the police and the Crown Prosecution

Service and others to decide. In a separate development, back here,

where it all began last Thursday, Southampton General Hospital may now

face legal action from the lawyer acting for Ashya's parents in

connection with this case. This is what he said earlier. They are so,

so sad, they are going to prepare legal demands against the hospital

in Southampton. They never thought that they committed any crime in the

United Kingdom. There's been no response from Southampton General to

that. We understand that an internal investigation has been launched by

the hospital into the handling of the Ashya King case.

Duncan Kennedy, BBC News, Southampton.

Our correspondent is outside the prison in Madrid where the couple

are being held. Tom, is there anything that the authorities here

in Britain could have done differently so that the family

wouldn't have ended up in this situation? Well, we believe there

was. What the Crown Prosecution Service could have used was

something called mutual legal assistance. That could have been

tantamount to the Spanish police just to interview Brett and Naghemeh

King. What happened instead was that European Arrest Warrant was issued

on Saturday afternoon. That set the wheels in motion for the arrest of

the couple on Saturday night and the extradition hearing yesterday. The

judge ruling that he wants more time to decide whether to grant the

couple bail and that's why they are still, at the moment, in the prison

behind me. Of course, events here in Spain could be overtaken by events

in Britain. The Crown Prosecution Service investigating and reviewing

the case of the King family and I understand from the High Court in

Spain that if, and it is still if at this stage, if legal proceedings

were to be dropped, they could be released from the prison behind me

immediately. Tom, thank you very much.

From this morning, every child in their first three years of primary

school in England should be receiving a free school dinner every

day. The Government says the vast majority, 98% of schools, will

provide hot food. Councils say the scheme isn't being properly funded

and that they are facing a ?25 million shortfall. John Maguire

reports. A hot, school meal and this lunch

time it's being served up free for all children in the first three

years at English primaries and the idea is going down well. The

children will get used to getting healthy meals, as we have in this

school. It is a great start for them. Some kids feel it is unfair

that some have to pay and some don't. If it is there for everybody,

it makes it easier. Many head teachers have long been convinced by

the benefits of school food. Those children that have a well-balanced,

nutritional hot meal at lunch time do perform a lot better in the

afternoon. It keeps their brains alert. At this school in London,

they pride themselves in serving fresh, local ingredients. From now

on, 1.9 million schoolchildren across England will receive a hot

meal free of charge every day, that is for children in reception, Year 1

and Year 2. is for children in reception, Year 1

and It is costing the Government ?1.2 billion over the first two

years. The Local Government Association says some councils are

complaining of a shortfall in the funding they receive from Whitehall

and that figure amounts to ?26 million. For parents, this will mean

a saving per child of more than ?400 per year. The biggest challenge

across the country has been in schools with no existing kitchens or

in remote areas. Many have had to start from scratch and some councils

have struggled to pay for the scheme. We reckon there is a ?25

million shortfall in the bringing together of this programme, so

actually a lot of local authorities and schools will be diverting money

from other areas, important areas, to put into this programme. English

schools are the first in the UK to adopt this policy. A hot meal every

day for every infant is a bold promise and the Government says 98%

of schools are ready, but can it be sustained? The proof will be in the

pudding. John Maguire, BBC News. A former police officer has told the

BBC that senior officers within South Yorkshire police failed to

treat the problem of child abuse in Rotherham seriously enough.

And still to come: Could cave Famous for football -

and soon perhaps cricket? Plans to update the pavilion

on Hackney Marshes. And will we enjoy more

of the September sunshine? Scottish voters have

until midnight tonight to register for the independence referendum

on the 18th of September. This morning, just over

a fortnight before the vote on the nation's future, both sides of

the campaign were focusing on jobs. Hello. The yes campaign could

believe that they could be on the verge of a different sort of

history, having seen the latest opinion polls. The yes vote is now

at 47%, and the no vote at 53%, according to YouGov. Here is a

flavour of the BBC debate this morning in Dundee. With just over

two weeks to go before the historic referendum on the future of

Scotland, we live in Dundee. APPLAUSE

I have spoken to GPs in England, patients' representatives. They are

devastated by what is happening down there. Cancer services are headed

out to private companies. Profit first, patients second, and that

cannot be disputed by anybody. If you want to go home from hospital in

a Tesco van in five years, you will vote no. The real crux of the matter

is, what of the future? Not our future, that our children's future,

as regards to nationalism. Although we are being told continually that

it is not a vote for the SNP if we vote yes, let's be logical about it.

The SNP really are the only ones in the position at the moment to put

forward a government. As we have seen today, people here are very

passionate voters. What I would like to know is, whatever the outcome of

the referendum, what steps will be taken to unite such a divided

nation's opinion afterwards? Who here feels they have been able to

get straightforward facts and information? ALL: No!

The reason we're here is because of the bickering on both sides. We are

the votes that could swing your way or your way. But you are not

convincing us, you are just arguing. We just want you to be upfront,

honest, and then we can make the decision that is best for Scotland.

I would like to be given a package -- I would liken it to being given a

package on a plane saying, this may or may not contain a parachute, but

jump anyway. Your vote can mean something in an independent

Scotland. We are fairly represented there. Every single one of us will

have a say. There is no doubt that people the

length and breadth of Scotland are engaged in this campaign. In the

last couple of weeks, then campaigns have been extremely busy. Alex

Salmond was here with me a while ago, and Jim Murphy for the no

campaign has been speaking in Edinburgh. Let's hear from both of

them. We are seeing substantial movement of fellow citizens who had

been voting no and are now voting yes. People don't like to see the

Labour Party in bed with the Tories in this campaign. People are moving

from don't know to yes. Polls, to go, but I am more worried over what

currency Scotland would use if we are independent, who would pay for

the pensions, and who would fund the enormous gap in public services?

That is the sort of concerns that Scotland has, not any of these

opinion polls. Jim Murphy and Alex Salmond. For some thoughts about the

significance of the latest polls, we are joined from Edinburgh by Lorna

Gordon, and here with me on the outskirts of St Andrews is James

Cook. What do you make of it? What is interesting is, if you were to

take a step act and look at this over the longer term, it is quite

remarkable what the polls are showing now. For years and years in

Scotland, there has been a solid majority, it appears, in favour of

the union. A solid majority for the union. But it doesn't appear looking

at the polls now that that solid majority exists any more. So what is

happening here? Some voters in Scotland who previously never

entertained the prospect of independents seem to be telling the

pollsters that they have listened to the concerns about it, and they have

taken a decision or are on their way to that they will vote for it

anyway, whether or not that means enough crosses in the ballot box for

the yes campaign is a different matter. Let's cross to Edinburgh and

Lorna Gordon. The no campaign disheartened? If they are, they are

certainly not showing it. It is back to business as usual for Jim Murphy

after his to spend is his tour of Scotland after what he claimed was

organised intimidation. -- suspend his tour of Scotland. It is more

like a campaign rally than Jim Murphy standing on a soapbox talking

to the undecideds. There were plenty of no thanks signs in the crowd. He

was talking to journalists aplenty as well. Many of the questions he

faced from them what to do with a narrowing in the polls. He rejected

suggestions from journalists that Scotland was on the brink of

independents. He said he always knew that this was going to be a close

fight, but he claimed the only poll that mattered was that on referendum

day. Lorna, thank you very much. One thing that both sides agree on is

that not only could this be very close, it should be a record

turnout. Back to you. Thanks to you, Gavin.

And there's more on that last-minute rush to register

and follow the links for Scotland Decides.

A senior Russian official has said Moscow will alter

its military strategy in response to NATO's boosting of

Mikhail Popov accused NATO of ratcheting up tensions.

In eastern Ukraine, government troops have been forced

They say Russian units were involved - a claim Moscow denies.

Our world affairs correspondent Nick Childs reports.

Pro-Russian rebels in control here in eastern Ukraine, having pushed

Government forces back in the latest fighting. But as the fighters recant

their successes, Kiev and the West incest it has increased direct

Russian military involvement that has shifted the balance of power, in

a conflict that is reshaping the security landscape of Europe. In

Parliament in Kiev, nationalists display their defiance in the face

of what they say is Russian aggression. But the Ukrainian

authorities clearly are unsettled by their recent setbacks. On his

Facebook page, Ukraine's defence minister said a great War has

arrived on our doorstep, the likes of which Europe has not seen since

World War II. But Moscow, which denies direct

involvement in Ukraine, blames Kiev and the West for stoking tensions,

denouncing Kiev's suggestion it will try to join NATO.

TRANSLATION: The party of peace was trying and is still trying to

advance a negotiated political settlement of all the fundamental

questions Ukrainian space, and in Kiev, the party of war is taking

steps clearly aimed at undermining these efforts.

All this as in Wales they are getting ready to host a crucial NATO

summit in two days. The alliance clearly has beefed up its ever

trolls in the Baltic in response to the crisis. -- it's patrols. It is

sure to dismiss the latest from Moscow that Russia will have to

rethink its military doctrine because of these moves. From NATO's

perspective, the reverse is the case. And as the European Union

considers tougher sanctions on Moscow, the message from its new

foreign policy chief that Russia is no longer a strategic partner. The

fallout from the recent fighting in Ukraine's troubled East continues to

lay waste to the post-Cold War assumptions about security and

stability in Europe. Millions of us now use it to store

information online as well as But there are now questions

about its security after photos of nude celebrities found their way

from the Cloud on to the internet. Let's speak to our technology

correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones. It is nothing more than huge banks

of computers, most of them probably in America, where a lot of our

information is stored. So if you put a photo on Facebook, it will then go

and sit on Facebook's computers and be available to other people who

want to see it, but it will be lodged on their computer as well as

your own, and the question mark, as we use more of these services, is

how secure are they? And what can people do to ensure that their

accounts as a cure? It is mostly about password security, using the

cleverest and most secure passwords you can think of. We still don't

know what happened in this case, but it seems obvious that somehow the

hacker got all the details of these celebrities' passwords and got into

their accounts. What they are increasingly using all these Cloud

accounts is to -- two factor security. Rory, thank you very much.

Scientists think they may have found that Neanderthal man had

Carvings were found in a cave on Gibraltar, and are thought to be

They were thought to have been brutish and rather stupid, and

inferior version of us, modern man. But this new discovery is

contributing to a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals were

quite clever and in many respects our equals. In a cave in Gibraltar,

archaeologists have discovered a rock carving that they believe was

deliberately made, 40,000 years ago. It looks like an early version of

noughts and crosses. Researchers are confident it couldn't have been made

accidentally. It required more than 300 strokes with a stone tool, but

what can it mean? I think a lot of people will see us in this, quite

possibly. It is geometric, but a lot of modern human art later has

similar characteristics, has that kind of geometry to it. A lot of

early artforms seem to have that. It is not as sophisticated as later

cave art made by Homo sapiens. These are bison in grave to cave in Spain.

That it does point to abstract thought and deliberate intention.

Could it be done while they were cutting for meat? We did it with

meat in skin, and you cannot control the groove, you cannot do it. The

grave and was found at a turn in the cave. One intriguing possibility is

that it is actually a map. Some researchers are not convinced, but

those who found the grading are certain it is the first example

anywhere in the world of Neanderthal art.

Thank you very much. It is warm, but will it be sunny? Not so much. But

if you do see some September sunshine over the next few days, the

blue sky could mean those temperatures get up as high as 24

Celsius. The satellite image today shows we have had a fair bit of

sunshine across Wales in northern England, a lot of cloud in the far

north-west and the southern counties of England. We will continue to see

cloud bubbling up, so a little more across Wales and Northern Ireland

this afternoon. We should hang on to sunny spells across eastern part of

Scotland. Dole for much of Northern Ireland, but not cold. Dry and

bright for much of northern England, more cloud spilling in into parts of

East Anglia. The south-east could see the top amateur, 22 Celsius.

Still a fair bit of cloud across southern England. But although the

odd light shower could continue overnight, for most it is a dry

night. If we keep clear skies, rural areas could drop into single figures

tonight, but for most, in warm night. It will be another pretty

warm day on Wednesday, again a fair bit of cloud around in the morning.

Will be hard to say it is a clue where we will see the breaks in the

cloud, but we should see breaks in the cloud a little. And where we see

the sunshine, temperatures will be getting easily up to 20 Celsius. The

dry theme continues because of the area of high pressure dominating

across Scandinavia, bringing the breeze in a cross from the near

continent, which could favour western areas for sunny spells.

Generally again, a fair bit of cloud around, temperatures up to 20

Celsius or more, up to 24 possible. And that is the theme as we continue

through the end of the week, dry and warm, but we can't necessarily

promised sunshine. A pretty good week if you are staying in this

country, but it is not too pretty across the Mediterranean. A month's

worth of rain has fallen in Gibraltar. More on this on the

website. So, best to stay at home! Now a reminder

of our top story this lunchtime. A former police officer has told the

CPS that child abuse in Rotherham