07/12/2015 BBC News at One

Thousands of homes are still without power after the devastating storms

that swept across Northern Britain this weekend.

In Cumbria police searching for an elderly man who's thought to have

Still getting residents to safety - many schools are closed,

hospital services affected - David Cameron will visit

Our emergency services did a brilliant job coping in very

difficult conditions. We think first of the victims of the flood is macro

and we make sure we learn lessons afterwards.

This waterfall in Yorkshire is brought back to life by Storm

Desmond for the first time in centuries.

We'll have the latest live from Cumbria.

A 29-year-old man appears in court charged with

the attempted murder of a passenger at a London Underground station.

The driver of the Glasgow bin lorry that killed six people had

repeatedly lied about his medical history, says an inquiry.

The Far-Right National Front make big gains in regional elections

in France in the wake of the Paris attacks.

And Britain's changing society - how half the population now say

Extra police are patrolling the transport network following

And traffic chaos at what was one of London's busiest roundabouts as

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

David Cameron is travelling to some of the areas worst hit

by flooding following the weekend's devastating storms.

Thousands of homes remain without power in Lancashire and Cumbria -

while many schools are closed and some hospital services restricted.

Police searching for an elderly man who's thought to

have fallen into a river in Kendal say they've found a body.

The government says it's preparing to offer extra support to help

flood-hit communities "get back on their feet".

Our correspondent Christian Fraser is in Carlisle.

Thank you. This is the limit of the flood water in Carlisle at the

moment but it is still very deep behind me. The water is up to the

windows of the cars down the street. Look at the sky. It is starting to

fill in again. We are expecting more bad weather this evening. This is

the emergency hub which has been set up. The red truck at the back is the

command centre. There are tactical advisers deploying assets around the

city. There are 80 soldiers in Carlisle, 150 fire personnel, ten

boat crews from all around the country, from Bournemouth,

Manchester, Leicestershire and the Peak District. This is where much of

rescue operation at the moment, rather than a mopping up exercise.

It is still slowly receding but this morning, Carlyle was under several

feet of water. The River Eden burst its banks on Sunday. Some places had

ground floor rooms filled almost to the ceiling. This is Carlisle

United's football ground, a basin for the flood water. There are whole

neighbourhood is cut off, the city centre dissected by a giant lagoon.

This family were rescued from the garage of their property down a

ladder into the waiting boat. This is Warwick Road, one of the main

routes through Carlisle, which frankly looks like a canal. There

are still people in their houses down here who stuck it out for 36

hours, but it is cold, food and water is running out and there are

more and more calls coming in. The emergency rescue teams have come

from all around the country, and they are busy. We have pulled out or

evacuated about eight people so far. We have just been tasked with a

medical urgency. There is an elderly lady down here. Some have tried to

stick it out in their homes. There are 2500 properties affected. A

third of those, the residents decided to stay put last night that

they are now thinking that is a bad decision and they want out. In

Keswick, Appleby, Cockermouth, Kendal, similar scenes. Around 3000

homes and livelihoods destroyed. In Kendal, police discovered the body

of an elderly man who fell into the River Kent yesterday. Storm Desmond

delivered persistent, unprecedented rainfall. So much so that the first

time in living memory, or waterfall formed over Malham Cove in

Yorkshire. This morning, the Prime Minister chaired an emergency

meeting. Our hearts go out to families driven out of their homes

by flood water, many of whom would have had a worrying 48 hours. Some

people stuck in their houses or care homes. I think the emergency

services have done a brilliant job. There are questions across Cumbria

about whether the flood defences built in 2005 and 2009 worked. The

Environment Agency uses a sophisticated modelling to plan and

predict events that seemingly, not on this scale. The city council in

Carlisle has demanded an enquiry, but for now, there are other

priorities. In the days ahead they will need to support thousands of

residents who will face a miserable New Year.

Yes, and our hearts go out to them. The water does appear to be

receding. This morning we could not get down this bit where the trench

is. There are some people going back to their homes. This family have a

tractor and they are sucking water out from the Robert E. They have a

pipe going into the downstairs rooms. More and more people are

getting into their homes. Sarah Corker, our correspondent, has been

visiting some of those going back. Another day and another family is

rescued from their flood hit home in Carlisle. Damp and cold, Mary Weston

and her grandchildren were lifted to safety on Warwick Road. We have been

staying with my daughter. My youngest grandson has type one

diabetes, so we needed to make sure he was all right. He is absolutely

fine but to get him out to safety as well. Others were returning to their

properties to salvage what they could. I met the patents, who like

many others, have been through this all before back in 2005. I don't

even know if I can speak! It is the second time we have gone through it.

I will just speak to you instead, I know it is extremely difficult. What

has happened to your property? Downstairs is completely destroyed.

It is heartbreaking because everything was set for Christmas.

All the decorations were up and we were going to have a special family

Christmas this year. The council has been busy unblocking drains and

clearing gullies so this floodwater has somewhere to go. The levels have

been dropping but very slowly. When the water recedes, behind his left

rubbish, mud and sewage. Marion Reilly was cleaning out her

elderly's mother's house, when a floor buckled. This is everything,

this is the mess. This is my mother trying to stop the water coming

through the door and eventually, they heard that sound. She knew it

was coming up through the floorboards. There is a sense of

resilience here. Across the road, another family stripped the

floorboards, determined to get back for Christmas. For many, this is a

flashback to the 2005 floods, and once again, the city is rallying

together. I did tell you the rainfall was

unprecedented. The Met office have confirmed that the rainfall that

fell in Cumbria between Friday and Saturday was 341 millimetres, and

that breaks all records for this area that was set in.

Thank you. Well, David Cameron is heading

to Cumbria this afternoon. The government has already said it

is preparing to offer extra support to help flood-hit communities

"get back on their feet". Let's speak to our assistant

political editor, Norman Smith. These communities want answers

about why this has happened again - despite money being spent

on flood defences. And I think they will get a partial

answer, in so far as Mr Cameron will promise more funds, particularly for

businesses and local councils. Insurance companies will be urged to

settle up quickly. There will be a review of UK wide flood defences to

see how they might have coped with this extreme weather pattern. But I

think that will be coupled with a fairly candid reflection, that there

is a limit to what the government can do, faced with these

unprecedented weather conditions. It cannot prevent all flooding. The

view inside Number Ten is the existence flood defences, yes they

were overwhelmed, but they did not do badly. They protected thousands

of homes. They drained water into flood reservoirs, they bought more

time to evacuated people. What happens is you get a sort of blame

game at Westminster with politicians pointing the finger at government

and others for not doing enough and not spending enough. That has not

really happened. Yes, there have been calls for more money to be

allocated, but I think there is a tacit recognition that the man and

woman in Downing Street is not mightier than mother nature and

there are limits to what the government can do. It can limit the

effects of flooding but it cannot do away with it altogether. Thank you.

The Association of British Insurers say a "small army" of claims teams

have been set up to deal with the aftermath of the floods.

Our personal finance correspondent, Simon Gompertz, is with me.

The cost of it, can you put a figure on it at the moment? A very

significant cost. It is probably not as much as the floods in Hull and

the North of England in 2007 which cost ?3 billion, but it is expected

to be into the hundreds of thousands. The police are suggesting

as well that there are 5000 homes and the cost is probably about

?20,000. It can take up to a year to dry out and people have to be

accommodated in that time. A very significant cost. Above that, you

will have businesses and cars damaged and that sort of thing. It

will be a big test for assurers. They have been criticised in the

past for being too slow to deal with it and wriggling out of paying on

some claims. I have spoken to one of the bigger insurers just now. They

say they have had dozens of people on site since Friday, before the

worst of the rain arrived, trying to get it sorted out and they have been

making emergency payments already. Thank you.

A 29-year-old man's appeared in court charged with attempting to

murder a passenger on the London Underground on Saturday night.

He has been remanded in custody after a 56-year-old man

suffered serious stab wounds at Leytonstone tube station.

From Westminster Magistrates' court, Tom Symonds reports.

Delivered to court in a police convoy. Inside this van is Muhaydin

Mire. He has been in custody since his arrest on Saturday night. This

short hearing was to decide what happens next. The incident at the

busy Leytonstone tube station was filmed by several travellers. The

police used a key is three times before Muhaydin Mire was taken into

custody. Afterwards, a 56-year-old man, who has asked not to be

identified, was taken to hospital with severe stab wounds. Muhaydin

Mire appeared with a grey T-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms and

wearing handcuffs. The judge asked for those handcuffs to be removed.

The defendant confirmed his name, address and date of birth. He was

told he faced a single charge, a charge of attempted murder, and the

next stage in the case would be a hearing at the Old Bailey this

Friday the 11th of December. The police investigation began with its

focus on the tube station, closed for detailed forensic examinations.

What appeared to be a sudden attack with a knife left trails of blood on

the station floor. Forensics teams were also at a block of flats in

Leytonstone. The defendant confirmed in court that he lived here.

Prosecutors allege that this was an act of terrorism, but further

enquiries continue. Police have access to the cameras at the

station, eyewitnesses and several pieces of mobile phone footage.

The man driving the bin lorry that crashed in Glasgow last December

killing six people had repeatedly lied about his fitness to drive.

A fatal accident report says the tragedy might have been avoided

if Harry Clarke had "told the truth" about his history of blackouts.

Here's our Scotland Correspondent, Lorna Gordon.

Is almost a year since a bin lorry crashed in the centre of Glasgow. It

ran out of control for 19 seconds. There was little warning as it

mounted a pavement, killing six people and injuring 13. Those who

died wherein McQuade, Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, Jacqueline Morton,

Stephanie Tate and Gillian Ewing. The fatal accident inquiry into

their deaths made 19 recommendations. But the low on

driving licences should be changed, increasing penalties for those who

do not disclose their full medical history. There should be a

consultation on whether doctors should have greater freedom to

report fitness concerns to the DVLA. And Glasgow City Council should give

basic training on steering and braking mechanisms to anybody

working on their bin lorries. We will certainly make the changes to

avoid anything like this happening in the future. A lot of these

problems were caused by the driver not telling the truth. We will make

the changes to our recruitment process and the National changes, we

will implement those as well. The driver of the bin lorry, Harry

Clarke, was seen slumped behind the wheel as the crash unfolded. The

inquiry had heard he suffered blackouts before. The report found

he deliberately misled doctors about his medical history, that he

repeatedly lied in order to gain and retain jobs and licences. It stated

it Harry Clarke had told the truth about his health, the accident might

have been avoided. It is really important that where

you have a self declaratory system, there is an appropriate deterrent,

that people know if they lied to the DVLA are failed to report medical

conditions, they will be prosecuted. The safety of people walking

alongside roads like these is reliant to some extent on the

honesty of drivers. This report highlights that doctors, drivers and

the authorities may need to consider if that is enough.

Lorna Gordon, BBC News, Glasgow. Thousands of homes are still without

power after the devastating storms that swept across Northern Britain

this weekend. 20 years after the murder

of a London head teacher, we hear from a former pupil

about the events of the day. And after 30 years on the streets,

the homeless man turning Britain is an increasingly secular

country, where Christianity is no A report into the state

of religion in the UK has found that half the population now identify

themselves as non-religious. While there's been a

"general decline" in Christianity, there's been a rise in Islam,

Hinduism and Sikhism. The report, by the Cambridge-based

Woolf Institute, suggests Britain's public institutions should be

changed to reflect that. Here's our Religious Affairs

Correspondent, Caroline Wyatt. Christchurch primary School on Brick

Lane in London has pupils from many different backgrounds. Every morning

they gathered to hear a story from the Bible. God called his name

again. But a report out today says schools should instead hold

inclusive assemblies for those of all faiths. The commission

recommends faith schools so reduce selection by religion, so

communities are not separated by faith. We would like to see at least

half the intake not specifically for that particular religion. To broaden

the base for children. The children are the future and they have got to

be able to live in this diverse society. The report also recommends

the number of bishops in the House of Lords be cut and some of the 26

Lords spiritual replaced by leaders from other faiths. The report points

out that the face of Britain has changed almost beyond recognition in

the past 30 years. The number of questions has gone down. The number

of people in minority religions has gone up. But perhaps the biggest

change of all is the number of people who say they have no faith,

almost 50%. Judaism used to be the second biggest religion here but is

now fallen to fourth place. Islam is second, followed by Hinduism and

seekers. Today Whitechapel is home to those of many different faiths.

It is more mutual understanding needed for adults and children

alike? Hull they need to teach them about religion more. In school we do

have religious education but that is just the basics. They want to teach

them and educate them the way they are educated in their own country

but they want to live in our country. Not all Christians have

welcomed the conclusions. I think it is very important as a society and

understanding laws and policy-making that we understand our national and

cultural identity. That identity stems way back. It is the identity

that brothers out of the dark ages. It is that backdrop of Christian

belief, Christian culture, which shapes all of our institutions,

dating back to the Magna Carta. The Church of England has also

criticised some of the recommendations, as has the National

secular Society, but for rather different reasons. Caroline Wyatt,

BBC News. A High Court judge has ruled that

Lord Janner is unfit to stand trial for a series of alleged sex offences

against boys dating back 50 years. In April,

the Director of Public Prosecutions said Greville Janner's dementia

meant he shouldn't stand trial. But now a judge has ruled that

his "deteriorating and irreversible" dementia means he

is unfit to plead or be tried. The far-right National Front in

France has made strong gains in the The party secured nearly 30%

of the vote. It's the first electoral test

since last month's Paris attacks, Here's our Paris Correspondent,

Lucy Williamson. The smile said it all. After winning

around one in three French votes in the first round of polling, the

Front Nationale was, said its leader, the first party of France.

TRANSLATION: I call on all patriotically grist to turn their

backs on France's mainstream parties and join us.

In the Northern region around Calais, the party won around 40%. In

the south-east of the country, Marine Le Pen's 25-year-old niece

drew similar levels of support. Three weeks on from the attack in

Paris, these regional elections were the chance for voters to vote on

immigration, employment and security in France. The Front Nationale's mix

of policies has proved increasingly popular over the last few years.

They win in these elections would give the party its first taste of

regional power, important if it is to prove it can govern more than a

town hall. But the party has been blocked in previous polls in the

second round of voting, where their mainstream rivals have worked

together to keep the far right out. This time, the centre-right

opposition leader, Nicolas Sarkozy, has ruled out any such a move by his

representatives, even though the ruling Socialist party has said it

will withdraw its own candidates in at least two to seats. President

Hollande has seen a real boost in his personal ratings since the

attacks. But that has not translated into votes for his Socialist Party.

The Front Nationale has been indirectly shaping politics here for

decades. But with the presidential poll now less than 18 months away,

the jockeying around this election is a sign that France's two

established parties have now become three political forces, each vying

for control of France. Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Paris.

Barack Obama has addressed the American people from the Oval Office

for only the third time in his presidency, warning them not to turn

He called last week's shootings in California, in which 14 people

were killed, an "act of terrorism", but warned that divisiveness

in American society would only play into the hands of extremists.

The faces of the victims gunned down by a husband and wife team have been

praised by IS as a community continues to mourn, the country

faces new fears of a home-grown terrorism threat. The president

reassured them that the country is doing everything it can. Our success

will not depend on tough talk, abandoning our values are getting

into fear. That is what groups like Isil are hoping for. Instead we will

prevail by being strong and smart. Resilient and relentless.

Radicalisation must be tackled, the president said, but Muslims must not

face discrimination. He made a plea for unity. We cannot turn against

one another by leading this fight be defined as a war between America and

Islam. Isil does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and killers,

part of a cult of death. And they account for a tiny fraction of a

more than a billion Muslims around the world, including millions of

patriotically Muslim Americans who reject their hateful ideology. More

details are emerging about the background of the killers. Born in

Pakistan, she had spent long periods in Saudi Arabia. She attended a

women only religious ceremony in a Pakistani city after studying

pharmacy at this university. Former classmates described her as a

diligent student. She was among the top five students from our session.

It never appeared to us that you was part of jihadist activities. Back in

California a house where her husband once lived has been raided by the

FBI. President Obama spoke of a new phase of terrorism. No new

strategies over how to tackle it. Caroline Hawley, BBC News.

The jury in the Hatton Garden burglary trial has heard recordings

of two of the men involved in the heist criticising two other

gang members who'd pulled out after the first night.

Police had put recording devices in the cars of Terry Perkins

and John Collins after the Easter weekend raid.

Daniel Sandford is at Woolwich Crown Court.

We have been listening this morning to conversations between Daniel

Jones and Terry Perkins, who both pleaded guilty to the Hatton Garden

heists. Most of the time they had been complaining about another

blogger, Brian Reid, 76 the oldest of those who pleaded guilty. Jones

said, he is a know it all, and anything he knows he has got wrong.

Every bit of work we have been on here is messed up. Perkins says, he

has. We should be sitting here now with half ?1 billion, with chauffeur

driven Bentley 's, one for every day. Jones says, and all of those

months and days we put work in... Then they talked about for the jobs

that he has messed up. I am going to say you messed every of them, Brian,

and the last when you walk away from. They also complained about his

work rate. Jones said, he never took anything out, did he? He is not a

thief. Jones says, yes, a liability. He never carried one thing out. The

trial continues. The BBC has seen evidence that

the President of Fifa, Sepp Blatter, knew about bribery

in the organisation, He's always denied knowing

about the scandal, in which a sports marketing company paid Fifa

officials bribes worth around $100 million, in return for

lucrative television Our sports editor, Dan Roan,

reports. The net is closing in on

Sepp Blatter. The suspended Fifa President is

already under investigation by the Swiss authorities,

following allegations of corruption, now the BBC can reveal that Blatter

is also being investigated by the FBI for his role

in a bribes scandal from the 1990s. A sports marketing company called

ISL paid a total of $100 million to sports officials,

including former Fifa President Joao Havelange and former

Fifa Executive Ricardo Teixeira. In return, ISL was repeatedly

awarded the contract to market the World Cup to advertisers

and broadcasters around the world. Sepp Blatter denied knowing

about the bribes and took no action, he even allowed Mr Teixeira to take

part in the notorious vote You have to ask yourself,

why did he seek to protect these people, and not just protect them,

but allow them to continue to play an active role in some of Fifa's

most important decisions? Now the Panorama programme has seen

a letter obtained by the FBI, which suggests Sepp Blatter you

about the bribe payments all along. The letter, apparently written

by Joao Havelange, talks about It says,

"I emphasise that Mr Blatter had full knowledge of all activities

and was always apprised of them". Blatter declined to comment

on the letter. The FBI has already charged 39 Fifa

officials with corruption, You can see the full report on

Panorama tonight at 8:30pm. Now the weather. All eyes on the forecast

but for many of us the damage has already been done. Devastating

floods, as we have seen, across Cumbria and part of southern

Scotland as well. A lot of floodwater still there. Courtesy of

record-breaking rainfall. Yes, it has been the wettest 24 hours on

record. Well over 300 millimetres. That is over a foot. We are talking

about colossal amounts of water. The flood line number for those

concerned, there it is. There were still several severe flood warnings

in force. What about the forecast? Yes, there will be further rain but

nothing like the extreme rainfall we have seen recently. There will be

lengthy dry spells, which will help. We have got a dry spell across

Cumbria. Still damp and parts of Scotland. Fairly inconsequential. A

lot of dry, fine weather across the UK. We will not be far of record

temperatures in some places this afternoon. Phenomenally high values

for early December. 15 and 16 degrees in a few spots. More rain in

Northern Ireland by the end of the afternoon. This weather front will

bring a spell of rain. Ten to 20 millimetres. A few spots getting

more than that. It will move through. It will not reach eastern

England until the end of the night. Behind that, drier weather. A cold

front will introduce fresh conditions through the course of

Tuesday. A spell of rain. The sun will come out and we will have

clusters of showers. Those showers will move through quite quickly. It

will feel fresher. Cold enough for snow in the Highlands of Scotland.

This afternoon, seven to 12 degrees, north to south. That is Tuesday.

Then we turn to developments out in the Atlantic. A wriggling set of

weather fronts heading in our direction. That means more wind and

rain. Initially for a north-western part of the UK. Later on Wednesday,

overnight, that will affect those flood prone areas, 40 millimetres of

rain. That will move through. Dry conditions following on later on

Thursday. A lot going on. We're the weather centre will keep a close eye

on things. Now a reminder

of our top story this lunchtime. The Prime Minister is travelling to

Cumbria to see some of the areas worst hit back by the floods of the

weekend. Thousands of homes are still without power.