02/05/2017 BBC News at One

Labour launches its key election policy on policing,

promising thousands of new officers on the street but there's

embarrassment as the Shadow Home Secretary gets confused

Diane Abbott trips up over the detail of how much the new officers

would cost. If we recruit the 10,000 policemen

and women over a four-year period we believe it

will be about ?300,000. We've corrected the figure and it

will be absolutely clear now today I'm not embarrassed

in the slightest. Downing Street say they are

approaching the Brexit talks with huge amounts of goodwill

after reports of tension The surfer who clung to his board

for 30 hours before being rescued at sea is recovering

in hospital in Belfast. The family of Guy Hedger,

who was shot by intruders at his home in Dorset,

have paid tribute to him Athletes like Paula Radcliffe

could lose their world records under proposals to rewrite the record

books in an effort to improve How singers are trying

to save the endangered songbird. Coming up in the Sport on BBC News,

world snooker champion Mark Selby admits he is at the peak

of his powers as he becomes only the fourth modern player

to retain his title at the Crucible. Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn,

has defended his Shadow Home Secretary after she appeared

confused over the cost of the party's plans to put

an 10,000 extra police officers Mr Corbyn insisted he wasn't

embarrassed in the slightest by Diane Abbott's difficulties

with the numbers for what is one The gaffe has overshadowed

the launch of Labour's policing Our political correspondent

Leila Nathoo reports. Antisocial behaviour... On the beat

this morning in Southampton Jeremy Corbyn promising money for 10,000

more police officers in England and Wales. Labour wants to put police on

the streets embedded in local communities. Do we continue cutting

police numbers or do we put police back on the streets? Do we support

PCSOs or continue to see them reduced? The party says it would

reverse cuts to capital gains tax to fund the policy but in an interview

this morning the Shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott, struggled

to explain how much it would cost. We believe it will be about

?300,000. ?300,000... Sorry For 10,000 police officers, what are you

paying them? No, I mean... Sorry. How much will they cost? They will

cost... They will - it will cost... Um... About... About ?80 million.

Despite the awkward stumble, Jeremy Corbyn defended his close colleague.

We have corrected the figure and it will be absolutely clear now, today

and in the manifesto. I am not embarrassed in the slightest. But

Diane Abbott's number trouble had already been pounced on. She later

tried to play down her morning performance. I do know my figures.

As you will know, I did seven interviews that morning and that was

the 7th that I misspoke. But I do know my figures. The Conservatives

in coalition cut funding for police forces and the number of officers is

down almost 20,000 since 2010. Budget were then protected in 2015

in real terms, although not all forces felt the reprieve. At the

same time, crime has generally fallen although violent offences are

thought to be up. The truth is we have reduced the number of policemen

on the street from 2010. Because the police have been spending that money

wisely, and because we have worked with them on reform, there's been a

reduction in crime of nearly a third since 2010. We believe you can

protect funding and also reduce crime. This is not the first time

that a politician has floundered when grilled about the detail of a

proposal and it certainly won't be the last. But Labour has been

putting policy at the centre of its election campaign so far and after

seven years out of power the party needs to convince voters of its

credibility to get back into Government.

Our assistant political editor Norman Smith is in Westminster.

A little confusion clearly there over the numbers, how much of a

problem is it for Labour? On one level you can say it was a car crash

interview, it was a horror story but it was Diane Abbott's many

interviews of the morning, she lost her way. The trouble is this is an

election. In an election everything matters and everything gets

magnified. It matters at the level because it puts Labour's big policy

launch on recruiting more police officers, it matters because it

reignites questions over how Labour is going to pay for some of its

policies, when the Shadow Home Secretary doesn't seem clear on how

she's going to pay for more police officers. It matters too because of

who Diane Abbott is, she is not just another Labour back benchish, she is

the Shadow Home Secretary who hopes to be in charge of our police and

security services in about six weeks' time, more than that, she is

a key ally of Jeremy Corbyn. Some of this rebounds against him too. And

inevitably it will raise questions in people's minds about competence,

credibility, seriousness, attention to detail, diligence, all those sort

of things. You know, the reason it matters more than anything, I think,

is in an election, most people probably don't follow every twist

and turn, every policy announcement and every statement, there are one

or two moment that is catch their attention, and I suspect this

gaffe-ridden interview could be one of those moments. Thank you.

Downing Street says the government is approaching the Brexit talks

in a constructive manner and with huge amounts of goodwill.

It follows reports over the weekend of rising

tensions following a dinner with Commission President

Tim Farron the Liberal Democrat leader warned the difference

of opinion was a taste of things to come.

We see the discussions in the media over the last day or so over

Theresa May and Junker's discussions, the he said, she said.

Can I just say that is the shape of things to come.

The shape of things to come where we will not be

sure what is going on, where a deal will be stitched

up between bureaucrats and eurocrats, by our politicians

And that deal will be stitched up in the 21st century equivalent

of smoke-filled rooms over the next 18 months and it will be imposed

on the people of Lewes, it will be imposed on the people

of Britain and they will have no say unless you vote Liberal Democrat.

The Prime Minister is campaigning in the South West of England this

afternoon and is currently in Mevagissey in Cornwall.

Our chief political correspondent Vicki Young is there.

Why there in particular? Well, this was the place at the last general

election where Theresa May herself says the results here where the

Conservatives really pushed back and destroyed the Liberal Democrats,

when they were really in control in their heartlands here, they say that

made a difference between a coalition of opposition MPs and also

then a strong Conservative Government. She's hoping the same

thing will happen this time around. What's intriguing is how those

Brexit ideas, how that's going to go down in places like this, a place

which voted to Leave the European Union, and I have spoken to people

here that sum up the difference. One woman saying we need Theresa May,

she's strong and -- and she will stand up to these people in the EU,

we want to get what we voted for. Another woman speaking to the Prime

Minister earlier here said Brexit isn't the only issue, there are more

very important things, more important things like the health

service, like food banks. That is really how the Brexit story is being

played out here. The Liberal Democrats are hoping for a revival.

But a strong Ukip vote here, for example, the Conservatives are

confident they can get Ukip voters over to them and keep those seats

here in the south-west. Thank you. The Green Party say they will offer

voters the chance of a second referendum, with an option to remain

in the EU. The party's election manifesto

will include a pledge for a ratification referendum to be

held after the EU has agreed the terms of Brexit,

if the majority of the electorate are unhappy with the terms

of the final deal. And you can find out more

about today's election pledges and the latest on the campaign

on our website. A surfer who survived for more

than 30 hours clinging to his board in the Irish Sea has been described

as extremely lucky by the Belfast 22-year-old Matthew Bryce

was reported missing when he failed to return from a trip off the Argyll

coast on Sunday. He was eventually spotted

by a helicopter 13 miles off shore. Our correspondent Chris Buckler

is on the Antrim Coast. Yeah, the weather was good

throughout the bank holiday weekend but make no mistake the water behind

me is cold and it's dangerous. Matthew Bryce left a beach near

Campbelltown before lunchtime on Sunday but he wasn't found until

last night and that was after a major rescue operation, needed

because of the sheer amount of water that needed to be searched before he

was finally spotted by that coastguard helicopter.

After more than a day drifting in the water,

Matthew Bryce was found by the coastguard, 40 miles from

He was still beside the surfboard he left the Argyll coast

by on the Sunday morning and when he was rescued

on the Monday evening he was closer to Northern Ireland than Scotland.

Waters around the UK at this time of year

If you go in the water this time of year, just on the beach,

how long you would want to spend on it, then if you think about 32

hours in these conditions then it would extremely debilitating.

Search and rescue teams from both sides of the Irish

in an effort to find Matthew Bryce who is from Glasgow but is now being

The waves in the water make both the Scottish

and Northern Irish coasts a popular destination for surfers.

The coastguard say that Matthew was lucky but he was also prepared,

wearing a wet suit that may well have saved his life.

He was also able to stay close to his surfboard.

When he was plucked from the sea, he was hypothermic but conscious,

rescued just as evening was approaching.

And in the coastguard's own words, "extremely lucky

Matthew Bryce is expected to make a full recovery. He is exhausted and

is receiving treatment at the Ulster Hospital and has asked for privacy

at this time. However, he has within the last half an hour released a

statement, he said, I am so grateful I am now receiving treatment in

hospital, I can't thank those who rescued and cared for me enough.

They are all heroes. Chris, thank you.

A Cardiff man who used James Bond-style cufflinks which had

hidden USB memory sticks in them containing extremist data has been

34-year-old Samata Ullah pleaded guilty to five offences including

membership of so-called Islamic State.

The police said Ullah had created a one-stop shop for terrorists

from his bedroom and stored information useful to terrorists

The Government says it will not appeal against a ruling

forcing it to publish plans to tackle air pollution.

Earlier, the High Court rejected plans by ministers to wait

until after the general election to unveil its clean air plan.

The Government said it would now meet the court's deadline

The family of a man who was shot dead in his home by intruders

in the early hours of Sunday morning have paid tribute to him saying

Dorset Police are searching for at least two people

following the death of Guy Hedger, a marketing executive.

The men, who wore baraclavas stole jewellery including designer

watches before fleeing the house near Ringwood.

The centre of the police operation remains the house where Guy Hedger

was shot. Detectives say he was killed on Sunday morning after at

least two intruders entered his home. It's believed that a number of

designer watches were taken during the raid. MrHedger was 61 and a

director of an education trust. In a statement today his family said: Guy

was a caring and compassionate partner, son, brother and uncle who

lived life to its full and enriched the lives of all those who knew him.

It said, we are devastated that Guy's life has been cut short in

this way. Guy will be sorely missed but he will live in our hearts

forever. Those tributes have been shared by

MrHedger's work colleagues who say he helped transform the lives of

thousands of children through his educational work. Police say that

his partner who is believed to have witnessed the shooting, has been

left deeply affected by what happened. And is now a key witness

in their investigation. This is an area of Dorset where home

prices run into the millions. And the shooting is still leaving many

here unsettled. Well, it's obviously very distressing. We live in an area

where you never think anything like this is going to happen. So, it's

distressing from that point of view but the police have also been very

good. They've got a large presence in the area so we feel very safe.

Well, we're pleased that obviously, you know, there's so much of the

police involvement around us and supporting us all. It's a really

quiet area and nobody normally expects anything, everyone has high

security around here. You wouldn't expect anything to happen around

here. Police say they think the raid was planned in advance and are

working to find out why Guy Hedger's home was targeted with such tragic

consequences. A Viscount has pleaded

not guilty to sending a racially-aggravated message

to the businesswoman and Brexit Rhodri Philipps, the 4th

Viscount St Davids, is accused of writing a threatening

message on Facebook just days after Gina Miller won a landmark

High Court challenge against the Government over

Article 50 last year. Our legal affairs correspondent,

Clive Coleman, is at Tell us what happened. This morning

the man who appeared in the dock was asked by the court clerk if his name

was Rhodri St Davids. Three charges were put to him. They were charges

under the Communications Act. It was put to him he had sent messages in

the form of Facebook postings which were menacing in character and

racially aggravating. The first of the messages, it was alleged,

referred to Gina Miller, the businesswoman you mentioned, sent

just days after she won the initial ruling in the High Court, she

challenged the Government, saying they did not have the right lawfully

to trigger Article 50 without going to Parliament for a vote because

Parliament was sovereign. That case went to the Supreme Court and she

won. The other two charges relate to Facebook messages made earlier in

September of last year and concerned other individuals. The charges were

put and he pleaded not guilty to all three. A date for the trial was

fixed and it will be on the 10th of July. He was then released from

court on conditional bail, two conditions, one that he does not

contact Gina Miller directly or indirectly and that he does not

publish on any social media platform whatsoever until the trial date of

the 10th of July. Back to you. Thank you.

Labour launches its key election policy on policing,

promising thousands of new officers on the street but there's

embarrassment as the Shadow Home Secretary gets confused

George Osborne begins his first day as editor of the London Evening

Standard. In sport, Paula Radcliffe and other world record holders are

collateral damage as a task force recommends wiping them from before

2005 in the wake of the doping scandal.

In its heyday in the 1980s, the Brent Field in the North Sea

produced more than half a million barrels of oil a day -

enough to provide energy for around half the homes in the UK.

But production was stopped there six years ago and now the platform

And it's quite a task because it's not only Britain's oldest, but it's

Enviromental groups are concerned about how much of it will be left

A decade in the planning, but just seconds in the execution,

as the top side, as it is known, is lifted off Brent Delta

and onto the world's largest construction ship.

The Pioneering Spirit was designed and built exactly

380 metres long and 124 metres wide across two hulls,

it is the size of an Olympics worth of sports pitches and

These platforms were not designed to be lifted from the underside,

so we have had to spend at least two seasons preparing the

About 200 tonnes of steel were welded to the underside

and under deck of the platforms to enable this lift to take place.

It is difficult to imagine the scale of this project, but consider this -

that crane is one of the largest harbour cranes in the world.

What has taken place over the last couple of days out in the North Sea,

300 miles north of here, is a lift of around 24,000 tonnes,

more than 100 times the weight that that massive crane

The Brent oilfield, more than 100 miles north-east of the Shetlands,

has been producing oil since the 1970s.

During its peak, half a million barrels a day.

Now the oilfield is coming to the end of its economic

life and these monoliths are being decommissioned.

It is a process that will be worth at least

?40 billion in the years ahead, but it is not without challenges.

Shell, which operates the oilfield, says it learnt lessons

from the furore surrounding the scrapping of the Brent Spar

But there are concerns that Delta's three concrete legs

Campaigners accuse Shell of putting profit before the environment.

To fully comply with the international law,

Shell has to prove that leaving the legs of this enormous oil

rig behind won't cause environmental damage.

And to date, they simply have not done that.

Shell says it welcomes the comments and will work

The topside is now on its way to Hartlepool where

And the coming years will see hundreds more platforms

The first of these giants from the once so vital Brent

oilfield is now being brought ashore to end its life.

One of the world's biggest energy companies, BP,

has reported a profit of ?1.1 billion

It comes after two years of heavy losses.

The improved financial performance was because of cost-saving measures

If the former Chancellor George Osborne has begun his new job as

editor of the London Evening Standard. He has promised that under

his editorship, the paper will inform and entertain. Our media

editor reports. George Osborne's new working hours

mean he will probably wake up at 5am each day,

but this morning, he looked eager It is very exciting to be starting

in the new job and it is a really important time in our country

where people are going to want the straight facts,

the informed analysis, so they can make the really

big decisions about The Evening Standard

is going to provide that and it's Keen to show familiarity

with newspaper jargon, Osborne will have been relieved that

at least his pass worked. But outside the Standard's offices

in Kensington, central London, London's cab drivers say the former

Chancellor was too close to Uber, the private hire firm,

allegations that he denies. When George Osborne turned up

for work this morning, he would have had the same

priorities as any new newspaper editor - get to know staff,

talk about his editorial vision - but it's clear that his time

as editor is going to be dogged Staff are relieved he is stepping

down as an MP, but there is still concern about his work

for BlackRock and it is clear that London's cab drivers intend

to disrupt his editorship. The ?650,000 a year that

George Osborne earns for four days a month at BlackRock,

the world's biggest asset manager, leaves him exposed to accusations

of a conflict of interest. With limited resources

and a business model under pressure, Osborne will need to turn

the Standard's finances around. For a former Chancellor

who practised austerity and is no stranger to controversy,

this new job has eerie The German Chancellor,

Angela Merkel, is in Russia for a meeting

with Vladimir Putin later today. It's the first time they have held

talks for two years. Relations between the two countries

have worsened since Russia's annexation of Crimea

in Ukraine in 2014. Crimea and the war in Syria are

expected to be high on the agenda. Our Moscow correspondent,

Steve Rosenberg, joins me now. They're meeting in Sochi at

President Putin's summer residence. How difficult could this

meeting prove to be? I think it is going to be quite

difficult. The talks are going on right now. We believe they are

talking about the conflict in Ukraine, the war in Syria, some of

the key issues which have driven a wedge between Russia and the West

and this meeting is important because Angela Merkel is the most

powerful leader in Europe and Vladimir Putin is the all-powerful

Russian president. To find solutions to these issues, it could be

high-level meetings like this but find one. Can they find a common

language today? It will be difficult. Despite the fact Angela

Merkel speaks fluent Russian and she grew up in East Germany, Vladimir

Putin speaks fluent German from his days as a KGB officer in East

Germany, they have very different world views. Angela Merkel is seen

as someone who was a staunch defender of Western liberal Chrissy,

Western institutions, civil society and the EU. Vladimir Putin is an

authoritarian leader who seems determined to undermine Western the

broad democracy and institutions. At at least they are talking and both

believe it is important to keep the dialogue going. Thank you. Paula

Radcliffe has reacted angrily to the rewriting of records. It is part of

a bid to address concerns over doping. It would mean that in future

world records with only stand if test samples were stored for ten

years but those standards were not in place when Paula Radcliffe set

her marathon record. She says it means clean athletes are being

penalised. The crowd anticipating something special once again from

Jonathan Edwards of Great Britain. August, 1995, and for Jonathan

Edwards, a leap into history. It is a tough act to follow but he has

done it again! I don't believe it! It remains the triple jump world

record to this day but for how much longer? Under new proposals, all

world records set before 2005 would be erased, including Paula

Radcliffe's marathon mark from 2003, because the drug testing back then

did not match today's standards. The planning is to restore faith in

athletics but those set to lose their records despite doing nothing

wrong are unimpressed. Very disappointed, obviously. This is a

broad, sweeping solution which they are just trying to push in which yet

again sees clean athletes suffering for the actions of cheats. European

athletics believes record should now only stand if the athlete samples

are stored for retesting and that has only happened since 2005. Some

records have stood since the 1980s Sanchez these... They never failed

drugs tests but no one has ever come close to them. Some believe it is

time to rewrite the history books after the recent Russian scandal.

Clean athletes like Paula Radcliffe and Jonathan Edwards... It is about

convincing the public that what they are watching is real. The IAAF will

consider the idea in August. Lord Coe says he likes it. But it will

prove hugely contentious. World-famous old world records like

the four-minute mile still be recognised? It seems the sport's

rich history could soon be history itself.

Nightingales - they're Britain's most celebrated songbird.

But they're under the threat of extinction.

In the past 25 years, their numbers have declined by 62%.

To highlight their plight, a nightingale festival is being held

in the woodlands of Southern England during which singers

will try to duet with the songbirds, as our arts correspondent,

We are gathered in anticipation of being led into the forest

at dark to go and listen to the nightingales sing.

Sam Lee, the man who is tonight taking us into the woods,

not just to listen to nightingales, but also to sing

with them, in a cold, damp, dark thicket.

And this nocturnal concert is one of many taking

place across the country, an attempt to reconnect us

with what used to be the sound of spring.

The nightingale is unparalleled in its virtuosity and the vocal range.

Nightingales have declined 62% in the last 25 years.

Of course, the idea of playing music with the nightingale is not new.

Beatrice Harrison's live duets on the BBC

Actually, as we get closer, you will start to hear the song

growing and growing, getting louder and louder.

If you cup your ears to focus your hearing.

It does not feel odd, middle of the night,

# The nightingale...# and quite perfect.

I think it is important to remember that

once upon a time this would have been the soundtrack to our

spring around every fire, around every homestead.

We would have just gone out and listened to the nightingales.

So, that little, damp thicket, an oasis of song.

David Sillito, BBC News, Ashford, in Kent.

Not very warm but very dry? No significant prolonged rainfall in

the weather forecast for this week. Looking at rainfall totals for

April, we have not quite got all the facts and figures yet for the month,

but it is looking like it has been an extremely dry month with many

places seeing rainfall totals well below the average. So much so, in

Edinburgh, it has been the driest April on record. Only four

millimetres of rain for the whole month. Amazing weather pictures

though. In the Highlands, not a cloud in the sky. Western Scotland,

you will see the best of the weather this week. Yesterday, the warmest in

the country. We could see 19 today. Little dip in the middle of the week

but by the weekend, backed up to 19, 20. East Coast, Breeze coming in off

the sea, a little cooler, 10 degrees. The same in Northern

Ireland with temperatures around 17 with dry weather. West is best in

terms of sunshine. Thicker cloud and more of a breeze off the North Sea

just starting to produce the threat of a few isolated showers this

afternoon, but nothing particularly significant and nowhere near enough

toward further gardens unfortunately. The showers will

drift steadily south and west this evening and overnight. Preventing

temperatures falling to low. In sheltered glens of Scotland with the

clear skies, we could see temperatures down ten minus two. A

light frost not out of the question. You start off with the best of the

sunshine Ash McRae we could see temperatures down to minus two. More

of a breeze coming in of the North Sea. The North Sea pretty cold at

this time of year. That will peg back the field lacrosse the exposed

East coasts. -- the feel across that exposed east coast. The best of the

weather in the West. Little change on Thursday. High pressure still in

the driving seat and still influencing the story to the north.

Weak weather fronts in the South enhancing more cloud, not that much

in the way of rain and always the breeze coming in off the North Sea.

Sheltered West, best for the sunshine and warmth, but dry for

most of us through the week. A reminder of our main

story this lunchtime. Labour promises thousands of new

officers on the streets but embarrassment as the Shadow Home

Secretary gets confused over the figures.

That's all from the BBC News at One, so it's goodbye from me,

and on BBC One we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.