02/08/2017 BBC News at One

Four men have been found guilty of plotting a terror

attack on British police and military targets.

A gang calling themselves The Three Musketeers,

along with another man, wanted to commit an atrocity

similar to that carried out on the soldier Lee Rigby.

Part of the trial, at the Old Bailey, had

Prince Philip will make his final solo appearance on Royal duty

today, after 65 years of official engagements.

The number of people dying due to drugs reached

British tourists have faced hours of delays at airports across the EU,

# All the bowling ladies, all the bowling ladies...

And the three Australian women in their 70s and 80s

channelling their inner Beyonce, to save their bowling club.

And coming up in the sport on BBC News.

The biggest transfer in football history looks like it's on -

a ?198 million deal for Neymar to join Paris

Good afternoon, and welcome to the BBC News at One.

Four men from the West Midlands have been found guilty of plotting

an attack similar to that carried out on the soldier Lee Rigby.

A gang calling themselves the Three Musketeers,

along with one other man, were planning to attack

police and military targets on British soil.

Some of the trial had to be held in secret, at the Old Bailey.

Our Midlands correspondent, Phil Mackie, reports.

The raid at Hero Couriers in Birmingham last August.

An area near the city centre was evacuated and the bomb

It was the culmination of an elaborate undercover operation

in which the four men were observed meeting each other in

They were already well known to the authorities.

Naweed Ali and Khobaib Hussain had been jailed after travelling

to a terror training camp in Pakistan in 2011.

In prison, they met Mohibur Rahman, who had been jailed for possessing

They called themselves the Three Musketeers.

Rahman's friend, Tahir Aziz, a former member of the banned

extremist group Al-Muhajiroun, later joined the group.

The more they watched them, the more the police became suspicious.

These men, along with Aziz, were very aware

They used unregistered phones, they used encrypted social media

apps to exchange extremist and violent material.

They often met in public open spaces such as parks

We needed to be one step ahead of them and put together

an operation that was bold and ambitious, but that would ensure

we kept communities safe and provided enough evidence to put

The courier company just up there was a front.

The boss was an undercover police officer.

Khobaib Hussain and Naweed Ali were given jobs there,

and when Ali went out on a delivery, they searched his car

There was a partially constructed pipe bomb,

a meat cleaver with the word "Kafir", or "unbeliever",

This plot was foiled, but the release of more terrorists

from prison could lead to future problems.

The fact that people are being released and you know

that they're terrorists, they have been convicted

of terrorist offences, they are being released back

into society and there's no reason to think that they have

I think society across the world needs to ask

Ali and Hussain come from Spark Hill in Birmingham,

where a local charity works with the Home Office

So can someone's view become more extreme

If they've bumped into somebody inside who is actually grooming them

and radicalising them then, yes, of course.

But if they are provided with the right support and then

Is there any hope for somebody who's got that absolute commitment

We believe with the right support and the right programmes,

The four men will be sentenced later.

After 65 years of official public engagements, the Duke of Edinburgh

will make his final solo appearance on Royal duty today.

Prince Philip will attend a parade by the Royal Marines,

Now 96, he's the longest serving consort in British history.

Our Royal correspondent, Nicholas Witchell,

Well, it was six years ago at the time of his 90th birthday that the

Duke said he had done his bit and it was time to take things a little

easier. Now, finally, he is going to do just that. This afternoon,

hopefully not in the rain which is falling at the moment, a parade will

take place on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace which will mark

indeed the end of 70 years of his separate programme of Royal

engagements. He's been a familiar and sometimes

forthright feature of national life ever since his marriage to the then

Princess Elizabeth And although his robust approach

to people and events are sometimes got into trouble,

few can criticise his Most often in support of the Queen,

but also in pursuit of his own separate programme,

supporting issues like the environment and the development

of the awards programme for young people which he created

and which is named after him. But this afternoon, it

will come to an end. The Duke, who was 96 in June, will

attend his last solo engagement. A parade by the Royal

Marines on the forecourt It is not a complete

retirement from public life, the Duke will still accompany

the Queen to certain events. But after more than 22,000 solo

engagements and more than 600 solo overseas visits since the Queen came

to the throne, it does mark a significant lightening of the load

for the Royal Family's oldest Though those who know the Duke

suspect that he will He won't retire at all

until he really can't do it. As they say, this morning,

marvellous photographs of him This afternoon, the Royal Marines,

this is a chap who is still taking the salute in a Field Marshal's

uniform which, quite frankly, And he is not standing

on steps to do it. After 70 years of Royal duty

together, the Queen will certainly miss having her husband at her side

for most of her public appearances. From now on, younger members

of the Royal Family will take the place of the Duke

as the self-declared leading plaque unveiler in the world

finally takes things So the question is, what is he going

to do now? You will go to Balmoral to join The Queen on the annual

summer holiday and I imagine he will base himself principally at Windsor,

where he can go carriage driving, he is actively involved in that, and

still take a keen interest in the many causes he has championed over

the past 70 years. Thanks for that, and Buckingham

Palace. The number of deaths due to drugs

in England and Wales last year reached their highest

level on record. The Office for National Statistics

says there were 3,744 'poisoning deaths,' involving both legal

and illegal substances in 2016. The figures also show that more

people in their 40s died Our Home Affairs correspondent,

Nick Beake, joins me. Give us a bit more detail on the

numbers. These figures give an insight into how many people are

dying from drugs, what they are taking, how old they were, where

they were living. There were 3744 drugs poisoning deaths registered in

2016. That is a rise of 2%, and crucially, the highest figure on

record since the data was recorded about 14 years ago. Two thirds of

the death were due to the misuse of drugs. The majority of people had

taken things like heroin and morphine. Last year, we saw 371

people died because of taking cocaine, a rise of 16%. The ONS

thinks this is because taking on a new all pure form of the drug. -- a

more pure form. We have seen people in their 40s dying more than people

in their 30s because of taking drugs. Experts call this the

Trainspotting generation, a reference to the film 20 years ago,

meaning people who may have started to take hard strokes in the 1990s

have died because they have lost a long-standing battle with substance

abuse and substance addiction. We saw in Wales an increase in the

number of people dying because of misuse. In England, it is the North

East of the country for the fourth year running where they have a

particular problem. Drugs charities say this government needs to do a

lot more to support people would be sort of problems. The Government

unveiled their strategy for tackling drugs two weeks ago and says they

are investing more money and embarking on more education

programmes to warn people about the dangers of drugs. Many thanks.

The White House has confirmed that President Trump helped draft

what turned out to be a misleading statement about a meeting his

eldest son had last year with a Russian lawyer.

Donald Trump Junior initially denied his talks with Natalia Veselnitskaya

were about the Presidential election, but his

The White House says the President "weighed in,

as any father would," but denied there were inaccuracies

President Trump still making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Among them, the curious tale of his son and the Russian lawyer.

It has emerged that Natalia Veselnitskaya,

who has ties with the Kremlin, met him in June last year with the

promise of incriminating information about Hillary Clinton.

Congratulations, diet! Donald Trump Junior played a key part in his

father's election campaign and his e-mails showed he loved the idea of

getting dirt on Hillary, but when asked by the New York Times issue if

he had hit had any meetings in Russia, he said... In July, he put

out a statement saying he had met Natalia Veselnitskaya, but he had

only discussed a programme about the adoption of Russian children. After

being challenged on that committee finally confirmed the meeting was to

talk about individuals connected to Russia supporting Mrs Clinton. So

did the President help with the initial misleading statements about

that meeting? The Washington post alleged he dictated it for Don Jr on

air force one on his way back from the G20 in Hambrook last month. His

lawyers said he was not involved in drafting statement, another White

House says that actually, he was. The statement that Don Jr issued is

true, there is no inaccuracy in the statement. The President weighed in,

as any father would based on the limited information he had. This is

all discussion frankly of no consequence. But this man will

decide that, Robert Muller is investigating claims of meddling in

the Russian election and whether the Trump team tried to cover it up. The

latest revelations do not look good. We are undermining the rule of law

and transparency and openness and democracy and I think other

countries are saying, this is really destructive. Our stock market has

reached an all-time high today. Bush is an unwelcome distraction for the

President. He says the investigation is a witchhunt, but it is not going

away -- Russia is an unwelcome distraction.

The President of the Prison Governors Association has attacked

the Government's management of jails in England and Wales.

Andrea Albutt says she's "devastated" at the "complete

decline" in the service, that she says over-stretched staff

She made the comments in an open letter, after recent

violence at prisons in Hertfordshire and Wiltshire.

The Ministry of Justice says it's recruiting more prison officers.

Our home affairs correspondent, Danny Shaw, reports.

Troubling times for jails in England and Wales.

This was the scene outside The Mount Prison in

Hertfordshire this week as a team of prison officers prepared to deal

There are known as tornado units, specially trained

and equipped to restore order when prisoners take control.

The problems add up to a crisis, caused by a toxic

mix of population pressures and staff shortages.

That is the view of the leader of the organisation which

And until we get sufficient staff in our prison, the

So we will continue to try to control the

but we will not be delivering in a significant number of our prisons,

We will literally be holding and controlling people in our care

In an open letter that's sharply critical of

the government and the handling of prisons,

members had seen nothing tangible from ministers

to ease the burden on

She claimed there was a gaping hole in operational knowledge on the

Ministry of Justice which she said was being filled by moving governors

from their posts in prisons. But some question why Western -- prison

governors are only speaking out now. We would like to think they are

analysed, but where have they been for the past five years? We have all

been affected by it, it is not their members getting used as Punch bags,

it is ours! The Ministry of Justice is increasing an extra 2,500 and has

set up a new agency, the prison and Probation Service. The department

said this will help to create a distinct, professionalised, front

line service, to ensure policy and operations working closely together

to deliver these much-needed reforms. New prisons like this one

in North Wales are being built, but the overall prison population is

increasing at such a rate, there is little spare capacity.

The Government's been urged to do more to persuade European Union

countries to increase staffing levels at airports,

after British tourists faced long waits at border controls.

Some holiday-makers say they were forced to queue for hours

because of additional security checks on travellers from outside

Airlines UK, which represents British-based carriers,

says ministers should use whatever influence they can to

Delays at passport control, nothing new.

But some delays have been as long as four hours

Passengers have even missed flights because of the wait.

Kate was in a group of 22 who were stuck in Spain on Monday.

Even though they were at the airport three hours early.

By the time we got to the gate they told us the gate was closed.

The plane was still there, the bridge was still attached

to the plane, but they refused to let 22 of us on this plane

and yet it took them half an hour to unload our luggage off the plane.

This is all because of tighter security checks across the European

countries that share passport and border control under

More passengers are being checked against more databases to stop

terrorists and criminals, that is all taking much longer.

The reason for these delays is that some national governments had not

foreseen the proper staffing resources and technology solutions

at airports to make sure these checks can be done

These new rules have been enforced since April.

But they have really made an impact now that airports are busy

August is always the busiest time of year for travel,

so inevitably use the long queues at this time of year.

If you add to that the fact that they're bringing in these

new security requirements, understandable but those

So the most important thing to bear in mind is that when you leave

for your destination abroad, leave some extra time to get

through passport control, otherwise you run the risk

There is always a trade-off, between the level of security

Many are calling for more staff, these new checks have not even been

fully rolled out yet so the queues could get longer before

Our top story this lunchtime. Four men have been convicted of planning

to carry out a terrorist atrocity similar to that committed on Lee

Rigby. And British athletes are back in the country after their French

preparation for the World Championships.

An F1 return for Robert Kubica - the Polish driver is testing

in Hungary today just over 6 years since a rally crash

Road safety campaigners say proposals to remove speed bumps

in England to help cut pollution, are 'dangerous, daft

and irresponsible.' The government has suggested it's willing to pay

for councils to rip them up, because when drivers brake and then

accelerate to get over them, they increase exhaust emissions.

Children are vulnerable to polluted air.

It can harm the development of their lungs and aggravate

existing conditions like asthma and hay fever.

But the government's plan to combat pollution includes offering to pay

councils to rip up speed humps installed to protect

Here is why cars will typically break as they reach a hump and then

accelerate their way out of it, increasing pollution in the process.

Some motoring groups can't wait for the humps to go.

Speed bumps, we have been against them from the word go. For the past

15 years we have argued against them including the fact that pollution

and excessive fuel usage that their calls. -- they cause.

But the humps won't be removed without a fight -

in many areas, local people campaigned for them to protect

Rachel Maycock is a safety campaigner based in Cardiff.

Where she walks her two-year-old to nursery.

Her organisation Living Streets, is writing to ministers

criticising their decision to offer to pay for the removal

It's a really weak plan based on really weak evidence.

Getting rid of speed bumps and spending that money is not

It is going to increase the likelihood of accidents

And the money can be spent better elsewhere.

I think it is probably in there because the government

feels they need to be seen to be nice to the motorists.

And not to demonise diesel car drivers and so forth.

But we are concerned it is sending out the wrong message

The challenge over humps created confusion in Whitehall

with different departments saying they weren't responsible

A government spokesman said later it would ensure any changes

on the roads didn't reduce safety for children.

New research suggests more than a million women

in their early sixties, are financially worse off,

because of the rise in the state pension age.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies, says while the government is saving

?5 billion a year, many women are losing on average,

Waiting for the state pension and struggling to get by. No trips to

the pictures of the pubs. My lifestyle has changed. I cannot do

the things I used to do. Surely from Aberdeen is 61. She's not working

because of ill-health and she will not qualify for the pension until is

66. The effect it has had on me,... Ending it all. Having to... Ryan my

family. My son said to me you brought me up, you always gave me

when you had it and it is my turn. But it is still hard. Pension at age

used to be 60 for women and 65 men. By the end of the decade it will be

66 for both. More than a million women in their early 60s have on

average 32 point alas the week. 18% are living in poverty,. Perhaps the

group West of those who want to work but are unable to do so. They cannot

perhaps find work or health prevents them being able to do so. Women have

been campaigning for compensation with the complaint they were not

given enough warning so they could not plan to work on or to save more.

Paying pensions later is boosting the government finances by ?5

billion a year. Ministers say that is fair because life expectancy is

going up and that is increasing the underlying bill for pensions. They

argue that with bigger life spans women will still get more pension

than previous generations even though they pick the money up later.

But that is not helping surely through the years until her 66th

birthday. During which she is having to depend on friends and family to

keep afloat. He's a sporting superstar, and the

fastest breaststroker on the planet. Adam Peaty from Uttoxeter

in Staffordshire, admits he thrives on pressure,

and last week broke his own 50m breaststroke record,

TWICE, at the world He's just 22, so the big question

is, how much faster could he go? Two world titles, two world records.

One remarkable swimmer. In the sport of the finest margins Adam Peaty

proved he is in a class of his own. 25.95! Just a few days after

breaking the world record twice in a day, he told me that initial shock

still has not left him. Did you surprised yourself that you managed

to achieve that? A little bit, I was not expecting to go that speed, I

never thought that they would come. I believed it would come but when it

actually happens it is a different story. The same with the Olympic

gold medal, you never really think it is going to happen to you. So the

world record, I cannot believe it has happened. But the family has a

second star, last year his grandmother had to watch his Olympic

success back home. But this year she flew out to Budapest to cheer on her

grandson. It is amazing that she was out there, she had not flown in 20

years and she had been packing her bags for weeks before. It means so

much to me to walk out when you're a bit nervous and excited and have all

these emotions, then you see your grandmother and mother in the crowd.

It is an amazing thing. Obviously you what to make them proud and give

them as much as they've given you. And the training that has got due to

where UI now, many people have seen of you doing those insane push-ups.

How important is that regime? I love it, people say it is hard, probably

the worst thing you could imagine every single day, six hours. As much

heart exercise as you can do. But for me that is my comfort zone. And

the best still yet to come? I have not even started to reach my peak

yet. I need that man strength to come through, and still on boy

strength. His only rival now would seem to be the clock, the man taking

British swimming into uncharted territory.

In the last hour, the British athletics team have returned

to the UK for the World Athletics Championships which start on Friday.

They've been preparing themselves at a training camp in Paris,

but have been doing so without stars including the retired

Jessica Ennis-Hill, and Greg Rutherford -

Our sports correspondent Joe Wilson is at St Pancras internationa.

Amongst the Continental commuters arriving back in London today

precious cargo of British athletes returning from a foreign preparation

camps to the heat of the whole World Championships. Let's be clear about

their expectations, UK Sport which controls the money once at least six

medals. So who will win them, just Annette Hill has retired, Greg

Rutherford injured. There was still of course Mo Farah but who else. And

where else. Rio Olympics, the women's four by 100 relay team took

bronze in a British record team. Could they do it again, 25% of that

team is Ashley Phillips. There is now this expectation that the

British team will win at least six medals. These targets are

interesting. Interesting for the media and the public but how

interesting are they for the athletes, is that a fair target? We

are capable of doing it, we've worked so hard when it comes to the

relays, I think we can definitely get medals from that and coming from

the Rio Olympics with such high spirits and the medals we took

there, I feel we could carry that over. So if we work hard enough, we

have done a lot of work and had a lot of support. So hopefully we want

to show how good we are. To get the bronze medal at had to be a British

record. You think it will have to be a British record again to get a

medal this time, how low can you go in terms of the time! The first time

we broke it, that was in London. So if we still have that spirit behind

us and that crowd, we can do it again, 1%. Ticket sales have been

good for the championships, even unprecedented. Of course British

competitors are a large part of that appeal. But there's also Usain Bolt.

And it will be the last chance to catch the Jamaican express.

As charity records go, this one's a classic.

in their 70s and 80s, from Melbourne, Australia, have been

They've recorded a version of the hit, All the Single Ladies,

as part of a campaign to save their local bowling

In just three days, the track All the Bowling Ladies, has had

Our Sydney correspondent Hywel Griffith has more.

# All the bowling ladies... With combined age of 236, Terri, Janine

and Wyn may have thought the chances of pop stardom had passed them by.

But just four days after posting this video online, the bowling

ladies of Chadstone have caught the attention of the world. Their

impassioned plea to save their bowls club from being replaced by an

indoor sports stadium has clearly struck a chord. Even if they were

not too familiar with the original version. Two of us have heard of

Beyonce but two of us had not. No idea about that song. It is a

wonderful environment, especially for the older people. We do not want

to lose it because then where would we go. We have to travel and most of

the ladies are older than I am, I'm 72, it is their second home.

Everybody cares. The local council says that the club is just one

potential side being considered for a new stadium which would help meet

demand for several sports. But the Chadstone bowlers feel they are the

victims of ageism as their sport may not be considered sexy enough.

Although the demanding choreography left one member saying she may need

a hip replacement, the bowling ladies have clearly got their voices

heard. And it would now take a brave politician to try to test them out.

Barcelona football club has given star player Neymar permission to

discuss a world record transfer deal with Paris St Germain. The French

club has been told it must pay, wait for this, the ?198 million fee in

full before the Brazilian international and join them. It is

understood the player was given permission by Barcelona not to

train, but to sort out his future. Let's take a look at the weather

forecast. People are wondering where the summer has gone but it is headed

south-east in particular with sweltering heat in the Balkans

today. Sweltering heat waves in what for most could see some temperature

records broken. Know when you're so hot in northern Europe. Only 20

degrees the top temperature across the UK. Cloud has been moving in

across the Atlantic today bringing some rain that for the heaviest

along the south coast. Further south it is wet and also quite windy.

Great conditions and some really quite heavy rain. That will push its

way through the Midlands toward East Anglia. Some drier interludes

around, a few breaks in the cloud. Drying up in Northern Ireland as

well, the brain moving north into central and southern Scotland. But

northern Scotland and beyond to the bright weather into the afternoon.

The rain is on the move, it will move north and east. Eventually some

rain in the north of Scotland. Most of the persistent rain clearing away

overnight but we will see many showers coming in on that breeze

through the western side of the UK. So what for some first thing but not

cold by any stretch was up around 12 degrees to the north of the UK and

relatively mild in the South. The low pressure is firmly in charge of

the weather so unsettled weather continues through tomorrow. Light

wind in the centre of that level means slow-moving showers also

containing some thunder and lightning. But the showers should

move through in northern England with that breeze but replaced with

further showers. Scattered showers further south as well but largely

dry here. And it is quite windy. Top temperatures around 22 degrees. The

upper teens elsewhere. Then things begin to settle down as the low

moves the weight with Scandinavia. Still bringing some showers and a

fairly brisk north-westerly breeze. Particularly windy across Scotland,

Northern Ireland and some showers across the western side of the UK.

Not so many on the eastern side with some spells of sunshine here.

Looking towards the weekend, still some rain in the north and West.

Drier conditions in the south and south-east.

A reminder of our main story this lunchtime.

Four men have been found guilty of plotting terror attack on British

police and military targets similar to the atrocity carried out on the

soldier Rigby.