22/09/2014 BBC News at One

Tesco suspends four executives after overstating its projected

half-year profits by a quarter of a billion pounds.

Shares in Tesco plummet. The retailer's boss launches an inquiry.

I won't speculate on what the inquiry will show, but I will speak

to anybody and everybody who can help me understand what's gone on

here. We need to balance the books. Labour

pledges to cut child benefit if it Senior Conservatives meet the Prime

Minister to discuss constitutional change after Scotland's vote against

independence. A fingertip police search of the

canal in West London where 14-year-old Alice Gross was last

seen three weeks ago. Out of this world - celebrations as

NASA's Maven satellite begins its Merseyside Police continue to

investigate racist abuse sent to We find out why the Chinese bought

one of our most historic golf courses.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

Four senior executives at Tesco were suspended this morning after the

company admitted it had overstated its projected profits by nearly a

quarter of a billion pounds. The announcement caused shock among City

traders and shares in the UK's leading supermarket dropped by

nearly 11% in early trading. Tesco has admitted that it's a "serious

issue" and an internal investigation has been launched. It's not the

company's only headache. Over the last two years Tesco has issued

three profit warnings because competition from cut price

Here's our business correspondent, Emma Simpson.

Never mind the prices, it turns out Tesco has been getting its own

numbers wrong. An accounting error to the tune of a quarter of a

billion pounds emerged. The new boss has only been in the job for a few

days, here at Tesco HQ and his first interview today wasn't the start he

would have wanted. The early indications are ?250 million and

based on that indication, that's the guidance that we've given, but I

must stress I won't know until I have done the full investigation.

Nor do I know what happened. It is a very serious issue. The news stunned

the City. Tesco's share prices down over a third since the start of this

year and today, it fell to its lowest level in over a decade. For

this type of financial irregularity to be found at Britain's biggest

retailer and a FTSE 100 company is shocking and unheard of and many

people had their confidence in Tesco severely knocked at a time when

people were already had a lack of confidence because of its recent

poor performance. It is highly unusual for a company this big to

declare an accounting error of this magnitude. It has got nothing to do

with what's been going on here at the shops and an investigation is

now underway to find out why Tesco overstated its profits forecast by

bringing forward revenue from suppliers. It is the last thing this

company needs. Sales have been falling and so too have profits. It

is still Britain's biggest retailer by far, but Tesco has been losing

shoppers especially to the discounters. This latest news is

another blow. Today's story really raises questions over how Tesco has

been governed and how the board is doing its job in overlooking things

like finance. There is a lot of finance people on Tesco's main board

and you would have hoped that through their various structures

they would have picked up on an error like this. Was this a mistake

or foul play? Tesco says it doesn't know yet and is promising to get to

the bottom of it. For this retail juggernaut, the going has got

tougher. Let's get more from our business

correspondent, Simon Jack, who has been speaking to the Tesco

boss, Dave Lewis. How serious is this? It is a big no,

no in the City and the City punished them and their share price is down

nearly 10%. The question is really that will be enough, but how is this

company been run? As you say, he has only been in the job for less than a

month so the questions to Philip Clarke, the Chief Executive and the

new guy doesn't start for months. One of the most important companies

was being run without a chief financial officer and the question

is or the board, what were the audit committee doing? The people who were

supposed to look at books to make sure they comply with the rules. I

expect there to be question marks asked of the chairman of the board.

On top of this, you have got, you know, you have got profit warnings.

You have had the stock price sliding to its lowest in a decade. It looks

like a business which once was formidable looks in total disarray.

The Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, has told Labour Party members that he

would have to take difficult economic decisions if the party wins

the next general election. He has told the party conference he'll

impose further cuts on child benefit and cut ministers' pay by 5%.

From the party conference in Manchester, here's Chris Mason.

At a football match between Labour and some supporters at the --

reporters at the weekend, the man known as a political bruiser left

one opponent needing stitches. Ed Balls knows as chancellor he would

have to make cuts, but not quite like that. What's that? It is not

blood this time, but paint as the Shadow Chancellor showed his softer

side this morning, but it is neither as a bruiser he wants to be known,

but as a manager of the economy. There will be no proposals for any

new spending paid for by extra borrowing. We will not make promises

we cannot keep and cannot afford. And that will mean more cuts. I want

to see child benefit rising again in line with inflation in the next

Parliament, but we won't spend money we can't afford. So for the first

two years of the Parliament, we will cap the rise in child benefit at 1%.

It will save ?400 million in the next Parliament. All the savings

will go towards cutting the deficit. One children's charity said it sent

out the wrong message. Treasury sources say he has got his maths

wrong. How much of a saving is it? It sounds like a big number. It is

?1 in every ?1,000 that we spend on benefits for people of working age.

So it moves you in the right direction in terms of deficit

reduction, but a small move in that direction.

This speech just like all of the others we'll hear this week, boils

down to this, it might look like a weather map, but it is a political

map of Britain. The kind of places that Ed Balls and others have to

convince to vote Labour if they're going to win the election.

So Labour will attempt, again and again, to convince us it is not a

gamble sending them back into Downing Street.

Let's get the latest from Norman Smith.

How did the speech go down? Well, it was the big speech on the economy,

but it was a speech about trust because Labour insiders know many

voters don't trust them on the economy and they do not trust Ed

Balls to deal with the deficit. So the Shadow Chancellor was looking

for a big, symbolic policy which was the equivalent of hanging a great

big neon sign on the front of the conference centre which went, "Trust

us." His hope is by announcing the curbs on child benefit that will

convince us that he is serious about dealing about the deficit. Child

benefit is paid to every family, but the richestful it goes into the --

richest. It goes into the mother's bank account to help pay to bring up

her children. This is just an extension of existing Government

policy. The coalition has got a cap on child benefit. Secondly, it will

only last for two years after that, child benefit will go up in line

with inflation. So it may look tough. It may sound tough. But

perhaps it is not quite that tough. Norman, thank you.

After the No vote in the Scottish referendum, attention has turned

this morning to the implications for England. David Cameron is hosting a

summit of senior Conservative MPs to discuss plans to limit the voting

rights of Scottish MPs in the House of Commons and to find an agreement

over so-called "English votes for English laws".

An English country house, the Prime Minister's residence. The scene

today for talks today about the rights of English MPs and a promise

made to stop Scotland from leaving the Union. More powers for Scotland

were promised by David Cameron and the other Westminster leaders. No

ifs, no buts, that will happen to a timetable they agreed says Downing

Street. The Prime Minister also wants to look at whether Scottish

MPs should carry on being allowed to vote at Westminster on matters that

only affect England, but that may not happen as quickly and some of

those meeting the Prime Minister at Chequers, insist you shouldn't give

Scotland more powers whilst its MPs can decide on purely English matters

at Westminster. It can not be ignored anymore. It is becoming an

urgent issue. David Cameron may try to force a vote on that issue here

in Parliament knowing that if he doesn't address the concerns he will

have problems with some of his MPs, but he has created problems for

Labour as well and that's probably no coincidence. Every time they try

to talk about policy at their conference, they're asked about the

constitution. We will look at any proposals people come forward with.

That suits the Tories nicely. I want a fair distribution of moneys across

England and we should look at how we reform our UK Parliament and that's

why we're saying let's reform our constitution carefully over the next

two years. In Birmingham, they think the issue matters. We should be

looking at areas that we can work together, but I do think English for

the English and Scottish for the Scottish and the Welsh for the

Welsh. We voted to remain part of the UK and they should have a say of

what goes on in England and Wales. The Westminster battle centres on

whether Scottish MPs here should be stopped from voting on matters that

will only affect the English. Our correspondent, Mike Sergeant,

is outside Chequers. And what's chance of them reaching

an agreement? Well, the meeting is underway and a glorious day. Some

may say a quintessentially day. The MPs coming here today think there is

a simple question of fairness if power is given to Scotland then

devolution must happen for England as well. But what form that might

take, well, that's not going to be settled over one lunch at the Prime

Minister's residence. There are tricky questions that have taxed the

filmest constituency -- finalest constitutional minds and Labour says

the issues are so difficult and important, they should be taken in

the round and considered carefully and if necessary, very slowly, but

those Conservative MPs here sense real political opportunity in being

seen to speak for England at this time of constitutional uncertainty.

Mike Sergeant, thank you very much. Detectives investigating the

disappearance of missing schoolgirl Alice Gross have been carrying out a

fingertip search in the canal in West London near to where she was

last seen. It's thought the main suspect, Arnis Zalkalns, may have

returned to Latvia to go into hiding. Zalkalns was seen on CCTV

cycling close to the spot where Let's speak to our correspondent,

Richard Lister. And the search for Alice looks to be

intensifying? Yes, police divers and forensic teams arrived here for a

search of this river which is less than a mile from where Alice Gross

was seen. These divers have been searching in the grid up and down

the river as you can see, it is shallow at this point, but they have

been moving that grid as they sweep a section of the river, moving it to

a new section and continuing, but over perhaps, as you can see on the

right of the screen, they've been, forensic officers have been

searching that area and bagging up small pieces of refuse they have

been finding and in the background, there have been other officers

cutting hedgerows back with trimmers and searching those areas as well.

Police say they have already searched nine square miles of land.

They have searched about three-and-a-half miles of river and

canal and they say 600 officers from eight forces are taking part which

makes this the largest search since the 7/7 terrorist attacks in 2005.

Scotland Yard say they won't give a running commentary on their

progress, but they have confirmed that they have formally requested

the full details of the Latvian authorities murder prosecution of

Arnis Zalkalns who served seven years for killing his wife in Latvia

before moving to the UK. He is being sought in connection with the

disappearance of Alice Gross. Police say they sent that request on

Friday. Meanwhile the search for Alice and Arnis Zalkalns continues.

Four Tesco executives are suspended after

the supermarket admitted overstating its projected profits by nearly

The weddings bells with a hollow ring - a BBC investigation

uncovers a big rise in the number of fake same-sex marriages.

60 years on from one of the capital's greatest historical

discoveries, archaelogists want to hear from Londoners

We'll also have a full weather forecast

As Islamic State fighters continue their push through Syria,

they're getting closer and closer to the border with Turkey.

In the last four days alone, 130,000 civilians have grabbed whatever

belongings they can and fled across the border from Syrian towns

And the Turkish government says it's preparing for hundreds

Here's our world affairs correspondent, Emily Buchanan.

Tens of thousands of Kurds, driven from their homes by IS militants.

They come with stories of terrible atrocities,

This woman said, they ransacked all our belongings.

But Syrian Kurds have long been hostile to Turkey

and this influx has made the security forces nervous.

For now, though, the priority is humanitarian relief.

It's the largest number of people to cross since the Syrian

People are arriving very traumatised.

They are so concerned about what the future will hold for them.

People report, you know, separation from family members

This is what the Kurds are fleeing from.

For a month now, in north-west Syria, there's been bitter fighting

between poorly armed and sometimes barefoot rebels and the IS forces.

These fighters once fought against the regime in Damascus.

Now they're pitted against the Islamic militants.

This rebel fighter said, with the help of God,

we shall liberate the northern parts and the whole of Syria

We're most grateful for any help we can get.

Back on the border, Turkish soldiers can see the Syrian town which is

They watch the steady flow of refugees.

Many Kurds say they narrowly escaped a massacre and are calling

for the international community to protect them.

The deepening crisis here only adds to the pressure for Western

Meanwhile, Tony Blair has said he would

like to see Britain fighting "right alongside" the United States in

He admitted there was no public appetite for a ground engagement,

but he said that the current use of air strikes would not be enough.

This report from our correspondent at the United Nations, Nick Bryant.

A group like ISIS - as you can see, they are brutal.

They kill without mercy, and they are prepared to die without regret.

That makes them a fanatical force, that you can contain, possibly,

You can harry and hem them in by air power, but in the end, you need

Now I'm not saying that we in the West need to do this - it

would be better if it were done by those people closer to the ground,

who have the most immediate and direct interest in fighting them.

But I don't think we can in all circumstances rule it out,

and after all, we do have the force capability to do this.

Barack Obama has ruled out any possibility of ground troops,

I think the President is doing exactly the right thing.

I think he has built a big alliance of countries, John Kerry has brought

And no-one, by the way - and this is what President Obama

has specifically ruled out - no-one wants to see armies back in,

It is not necessary or wise to do that, but there may be situations -

already there is an enormous help being given to those on the ground,

through intelligence, through military training, through helping

arm them, helping support them, in all sorts of different ways.

I think as policy evolves, that may - and I only say may - involve

And just to be clear, that for you means boots on the ground?

It means someone's boots on the ground, for sure.

So Iraqi forces, the Kurdish forces, they are people

That is why I'm not saying necessarily in this situation it has

to be the US or the UK, but what I am saying is,

if you look at the responses that we have,

we are already giving significant help on the ground.

We are already conducting air strikes, this is

You know, if necessary, we shouldn't rule out - as this evolves,

and if it is necessary - rule out the use of some,

particularly Special Force capabilities.

All of our experience teaches us that unless you are prepared to

fight these people on the ground, you may contain them,

A court's heard how a graphic designer working

for a City Bank tried to kill her mother using a poison she'd bought

Kuntal Patel arranged for the substance to be shipped over

from the United States, then laced a drink with

the poison after her mother told her she couldn't marry her boyfriend.

Daniel Boettcher is at Southwark Crown Court.

The court heard that Konta Patel lived with her sister and her

mother, who is a magistrate, and to the outside world they must have

seemed a respectable unhappy family. The prosecution said her

mother was highly manipulative and controlling and would not let her

daughter marry the man she loved. Instead of marrying without consent

she had, in the words of the prosecutor, set out in a

premeditated fashion to murder her mother. It is alleged that inspired

in part by the US TV series Breaking Bad, she bought a deadly toxin from

the USA over the internet, that the toxin had arrived concealed in a wax

candle, and it is alleged she poured it into her mother's Tring. But the

prosecution alleged nothing happened, that the poison was weaker

if swallowed than inhaled or injected. They were told the FBI had

arrested a man in the USA for selling the poison and pass

information on to Scotland Yard and as a result of that, Konta Patel had

been arrested. She denies attempted murder and acquiring a biological

agent or toxin, but she has needed guilty to two counts of attempting

to acquire a biological agent or toxin. The trial could last two

Same-sex marriages were only made legal in March this year,

but already criminal gangs are cashing in on them to help people

An investigation by BBC London found criminal gangs

were organising sham gay weddings for as much as ?10,000 a time.

In some parts of London it's thought that as many

as 20 to 30% of marriages are fake, as Mark Ashdown now tells us.

In March, same-sex marriage is were finally recognised as legal.

Congratulations, you may kiss the groom. A significant moment in

history, but one that has opened the door for criminal gangs to exploit.

We have been tipped off that a Romanian gang in London specialises

in arranging sham same-sex marriage to dodge immigration laws. We sent

an undercover reporter to pose as a would-be bride. The story is that

she is an illegal immigrants seeking a fake marriage to remain in the UK.

Our contact will pretend to be our uncle and act as go-between. We have

protected his identity. These men are suspected and the talk quickly

turns to business. Days later, at another meeting, a

fake bride is provided. It is clear she is also in the scam. You

understand this is for papers and you are no gay? No-go. These people

have passed citizenship legally but the number of people willing to

treat our growing. The thought is that up to 20 to 30% of marriages

are to avoid immigration control. That only accounts for fake straight

weddings. When it comes to gay marriage, registrars are struggling.

It is difficult to detect. I would have thought that registrars would

have some concerns they are performing ceremonies are not real.

Our undercover bride is meeting her partner again, but she is not here.

The gang says she is now involved in a different fake wedding. A

different bride is here in pig and says she has helped in six different

sham marriages will stop she even poses in fake photos. Weir I would

expect this to be followed up by immigration enforcement teams. We

are strengthening the law to better identify sham marriage worried may

occur. As our fake bedding about to be registered, it is Peter and

Ricardo taking centre stage. We want to have a chat about the marriages

you a legally? They are unwilling to talk, but once the policy or

evidence, they could each be facing up to 14 years in prison. -- once

the police see evidence. Viewers in London can see

the full story on Inside Out, Alternatively, watch it on the BBC

iPlayer. NASA's latest mission to Mars has

arrived in orbit The Maven spacecraft is there to

study how Mars changed from a planet with water and a thick atmosphere to

the dry, barren planet it is now. Scientists think it may have

happened because the planet lost its magnetic

field around four billion years ago, as our Science Correspondent,

Pallab Ghosh, now explains. NASA's latest mission to Mars...

After a ten month journey, the Maven spacecraft is now in orbit around

the Red Planet. Congratulations, XXX is in Mars orbit. Much to the

delight of the team. We are in orbit of Mars, guys! It is cliches, people

say it is not rocket science, but sometimes it is. This is what Mars

was like 4 billion years ago - a habitable worlds with flowing water

and thick clouds, similar in many ways to the Earth. Maven's mission

is to find out how it ended up like this - the dry, dusty planet we see

today. The climate has changed on Mars significantly over the last few

billion years. We are trying to understand what the cause of the

climate change has been. In essence, that is our goal - to answer the

question, where did the water go? Word of the carbon dioxide go? Maven

will be joined in two days time by an Indian spacecraft which will also

analyse the atmosphere. With NASA's Curiosity on the ground, scientists

will know more about the Red Planet than ever before. This will add up

to enable us to figure out how humans will be able to go to Mars,

survive for long periods of time, colonise the planet, literally over

time. This spacecraft will spend a year in orbit over Mars taking

detailed measurements of the atmosphere.

We are doing pretty well. The high pressure that came in during the

weekend, still the dominant feature. It is not doing enough to keep the

weather front at bay from the north-western quarter of Scotland.

That is producing rain. Elsewhere, as you can see, fine and dry

weather. We are not being played on the eastern shores by that

noticeable northerly wind we had yesterday. There is less cloud

towards the Isles of Scilly and the western side of Cornwall. Lovely

sunshine here for the afternoon. No more of the 2425 of last week, it is

around 18, 19 or 20. The sunshine turning increasingly hazing across

the north-western quarters of Northern Ireland. South eastern

Scotland seeing the finest weather there. The weather front a feature

for the Western Isles and areas north of the great Glen. That is

until later this afternoon. Then it will gradually creep through the

heart of Scotland and into Northern Ireland. To the north and south of

that, the skies will stay pretty clear. Not a particularly cold night

for the time of year in towns and cities but under the cloud, in

double figures, just about. To either side, frost is possible. My

concern about first thing tomorrow, the Somerset Levels into the West

Midlands, maybe some fog patches or extensive than of late. A decent day

across many central and southern areas. The weather front coming

south through the day. Some moderate bursts of reigns as the clouds

thickens. Towards the North West of Scotland, more showers. Those areas

of cloud and rain merge and dissipate as they drift towards the

British Isles during the course of Wednesday and then a lot more dry

weather piling on behind those features. On Thursday, quite a

number of isobars. Not very much in the way of rain. The weather fronts

are in the Atlantic. Those isobars pointing towards the west and

south-west, so breezy, but by day and night, relatively warm

conditions across the British Isles. Bits of pieces of rain in the

forecast but not a lot. The south staying mainly dry. More detail

about the UK weather and the latest about the Tropical Storm Manuel has

been going across Asia for the past few days. -- the tropicals or that

has been. Four Tesco executives have been

suspended after the supermarket admitted overstating its projected

profits by over a quarter of ?1