24/08/2017 BBC News at One

Net migration to the UK falls by a quarter -

it's at its lowest level for three years.

New figures suggest migrants from eastern and central European

We'll look at whether the shift is a consequence of Brexit.

Also this lunchtime: The number of students getting top GCSE grades

in Maths and English has fallen slightly - after the introduction

The husband of the woman knocked down and killed by a speeding

cyclist in London calls for a change in the law, to tackle irresponsible

I'm asking that the law catches up, as it is doing with technology,

with social media, with all of these things.

I'm just asking that the law catches up.

The mobile phone group Dixons Carphone issues

a profits warning - it says increasingly expensive

handsets has led to a slump in people buying.

Get out on regular brisk walks, says Public Health England -

to prevent cancer, heart disease and poor mental health.

And coming up in the sport on BBC News: EFL holders Man United have

been drawn against Burton in the third round of the Cup.

Leicester, Arsenal and West Ham are also in the mix.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

There's been a sharp fall in the number of EU citizens

Net migration - the difference between those entering

and leaving the UK - fell 81,000 to 246,000

The Office for National Statistics said the figures suggest migrants

from eastern and central European countries, the so called EU8

Despite today's falling figures, the government remains well short

of its target of bringing net migration below 100,000.

Today's new numbers be the early signs of Brexit. Net migration, the

difference between those entering and leaving the UK, fell, to

246,000, in the year to March 2000 and 17. That's a drop of 81,000 on

the previous year. Much of that figure is down to net migration of

EU citizens falling, by 51,000. But despite today's falling figures, the

government remains well short of its targets of bringing net migration

below 100,000. Since the EU referendum we've seen falls in net

migration for EU citizens and in particular those for Eastern

European, and that's been driven by emigration of Eastern European

citizens who are returning for work. The Office for National Statistics

figures show a sharp rise in people from the so-called EU8 countries

leaving the UK. But migration experts say the overall net

migration figure is still too high. A level is still two and ?50,000 a

year. That's a massive number four net migration and that's what's

going to drive our population up by half a million every year for the

indefinite future -- the level is still 250,000 a year. It means

building a city the size of Birmingham every two years. This

cafe serves Scandinavian cuisine but advertising for new staff is

increasingly expensive. It normally costs ?200. But that shot up to more

than ?2000 this summer. I might not choose London because of Brexit and

what will happen next year in the year after. They want some form of

security and knowledge that they are allowed to stay and work in the

country they are choosing to go to. Finding stuff here may be difficult,

but the government says it wants to get immigration even lower. Labour

warns that could harm the economy. We want to be clear, we welcome

people from around the world and people from all over Europe, 3

million of whom are in this country at the moment contributing to our

society, they play an important part in our economy. We need to continue

to welcome people. We also need to be clear that when we leave the EU

we will have more control of our borders. The NHS, particularly in

England, is facing problems of nurse recruitment because of the number of

EU citizens coming. We have to have stability and migration based on

economic needs of the UK and that's what we're working on. As well as

these new migration figures, new data from exit checks at ports and

airports has also been released. The data revealed that when it comes to

international students, one of the biggest groups of immigrants, the

results weren't what some people previously thought. 97% of them left

when they finished their courses and therefore didn't abuse their visas.

And to build a clearer picture of this the government has now

announced that it's going to start a new investigation looking at the

impact of international students on the UK's society and economy. The

study is expected to be completed by September 2018. Adina Campbell, BBC

News. Our home affairs correspondent

Dominic Casciani is here. What is driving all of this change?

Of was going to think it's going to be the chilling effects of Brexit. I

think it's probably a little bit more complicate it than that but

there's no doubt there's something in my going on. The ONS, the

statisticians, they are cautioning, saying hang on a minute before we

make any real assumptions about Brexit. But the figures do speak for

themselves. The number, the net migration from Eastern Europe alone

has halved since the vote took place. Now anecdotally you pick up

stories. I've been out talking to migrants over the past year, I

didn't work -- I did a lot of work around the general election where

people said they were scared. The pound is significantly dropped so if

you are Polish worker, the number of zloty you could buy back home has

really decreased. It starts to really is the question whether its

worth come to the UK anymore. -- it starts to raise the question. Some

of the European countries are starting to grow faster than the UK,

Poland being example. That's a key driver. One other thought, ministers

will be buoyed because they had this target they want to hit but the

figure from the rest of the world is still 180,000, that's well above the

target habit something they have to try to get to grips with. Dominic

Casciani, thank you. Let's talk about the politics of it, our

political correspondent Leila Nathoo is at Westminster. That's

politically the key point, isn't it, that the overall figure is still not

where the government wants it to be? That's right, I think there are a

number of issues thrown up by these figures. First is this target that

Dominic was mentioning, the government has a long-standing but

never achieved as of yet target of getting net migration down to the

tens of thousands. When you think it currently stands at almost 250,000

come you can see how far away that is. I think that Labour are talking

about this being a shambles, and arbitrary target, and calling for

the government to abandon it. The government is insisting it's not

complacent and it is still committed to getting it down to a sustainable

level but there's a second issue that has been thrown up and that's

the issue of EU citizens. People will read this as EU citizens

fleeing the country after the Brexit referendum and although the ONS says

it's too early to say whether this is a long-term trend, the Liberal

Democrats for example are seizing on this, calling it a Brexodous.

Ministers would say they've made a fair offer to EU citizens of settled

status and I think the government says we will see more of its

immigration policy a bit further down the line and finally, on this

issue of foreign students here, and the idea that exit checks data

reveals that most foreign students are not overstaying their visas, the

idea that exit checks are not currently used to calculate the

current net migration figures will I think reopen the debate about the

methodology such a politically sensitive figure. Thanks, Leila

Nathoo at Westminster. The number of teenagers gaining

the highest GCSE grades has fallen slightly,

after exam boards moved For the first time, students

in England have been graded from nine to one in English

language, English literature and maths, with nine

being the top mark. Our education correspondent

Gillian Hargreaves is at Yes, across England, Wales and

Northern Ireland, thousands of students will have received their

GCSE results by now. I spent the morning with pupils at this school,

as they opened those fateful envelopes.

You know the routine. The journey... The weight... The nerves... Then the

results. College. I've got in, I'm all right. I passed everything!

Pretty good, I'm really proud of myself. In England and new grading

system for GCSE English and maths, but only a few will achieve the top

grade nine. Great four is broadly being impaired to an old-style grade

C and is considered a standard part. However, the government says the new

grade five should be considered what they call a strong pass. I've only

just passed maths, by a little bit. Yeah, I'm happy with it. In fact,

some maths papers were so challenging in England this year you

only needed 18% to pass. The subject content is significantly harder and

in the higher maths paper, some of the old A-level content is in there

so people will take confidence that these results are going to be

world-class. Which is why they've all this -- which is why there have

been all these changes this year. The government wants students such

as these to compete with the best in the world. We want our young people

to be equipped to do well in the world of work, in a competitive

global economy and so it has been necessary. The new grading system

has been introduced to draw a distinction between the old GCSE and

these new more demanding GCSEs. But the combination of new and old style

exams has caused confusion and lead head teachers' unions to say the

pace of change has been too quick. We will look back and think this has

been a very distracting process. The most important thing is to let

teachers get on and teach and the students we need to focus on in

particular those middle -- middle ability and lower ability students

who are easily neglected and by focusing on the top end we neglect

them either further. Students have spent two years getting used to the

changes but the next big challenges explaining it to employers who

recruit 16-year-olds for apprenticeships. At this hairdresser

they'd take on several 16-year-old apprentices each year but the owner

isn't sure how he'll be up to work out who has the best qualifications.

I'm going to be slightly confused, but over a period of time we'll work

it out. A standard pass, I think that would be our borderline, a

four, definitely. It's not just pupils in England who's been picking

up results. Welsh students have also been finding out how they fared in

new tougher exams. Ministers are determined to make GCSEs harder, to

end what some see as dumbing down. This year's results, the first of

the reformed exams, are putting those ambitions to the test as well.

Just to illustrate how hard is to get that top grade nine, we've been

told, bearing in mind 600,016 -year-olds sit these exams each

year, we've been told only 2000 of them have got that top grade nine in

English language, English literature and mathematics, the three reformed

examines in England -- bearing in mind 600,000 16-year-olds it these

exams. It shows how difficult it is to get that top grade, to

distinguish the ultra-right from the very bright. Gillian Hargreaves.

The widower of the woman who was killed by a cyclist

using a fixed gear bike, without front brakes, is launching

Yesterday 20-year-old Charlie Alliston was convicted

of wanton and furious driving, an offence dating back to 1861,

but was cleared of manslaughter, following the death of Kim Briggs.

Her husband, Matthew, is calling for the creation of new offences,

He's been speaking to our correspondent, Dan Johnson.

She had this mantra of make everyday count. Enormous believer in filling

life with experiences, with travel. She was always happy, always willing

to help people, always willing to lend an ear. Yeah, she was just

fantastic. Kim Riggs, a wife and a mother who was hit by a bike. -- Kim

Briggs. She suffered serious head injuries and died a week later. That

bike should never have been on the road. It was designed for the

velodrome. Fixed gear and with no front brake. Riding it was Charlie

Alliston, in the middle. Cleared yesterday of manslaughter, but

convicted under a law from Victorian times of causing bodily harm by

wanton or furious driving. Kim Briggs' family welcomed the verdict

but they are calling for the law to be changed. More and more people

cycling which is a really good thing, but the law is outdated. It

refers back to 1861 and I'm just asking that the law catches up, as

it is doing with technology, with social media, with all of these

things. I'm just asking that the law catches up. This case raises some

broader issues about how cyclists and pedestrians share the same space

but the key question is how much responsibility should cyclists have

for safety on the road. Should that responsibility be at the same level

of car drivers rush to mark questions that have prompted plenty

of debate. Especially amongst cyclists. You regularly see bikes

that are not fit for the road basically and shouldn't be out on

the road, bikes with three wheels that have brakes that don't work,

that are more dangerous than a fixed wheel without brakes. Especially now

pedestrians have a phone with them, on the head, they are looking up the

phone, so they are really distracted. A response ability to

travel on the roads someone's causing date -- death by dangerous

cycling, why should it be different from causing death by dangerous

driving? Cycling groups aren't opposed to a review but there are

calls for all traffic laws to be brought up to date. The problem we

have got is there's a stack of offences in relation to the conduct

of people on the roads, where we use careless, reckless, furious, wanton,

dangerous, and there's a huge inconsistency of peoples perception

of what these are, what the consequence should be, and the whole

issue needs to be looked at in a holistic review of all matters. I'm

doing this to honour her. It's not an easy thing to do, to put myself

out there when we've been quite a private family up until now, but it

comes back to my earlier point that sometimes you have to just do the

right thing and it occurs to me that this is the right thing to do and

yes, I'm doing it in Kim's name, but I'm also doing it to ensure that

just perhaps we can stop this happening again. Our streets are

getting busier, with the potential for more conflict. It's a not easily

solved. Dan Johnson, BBC News, London.

Dutch police have made a second arrest, after a rock concert

in Rotterdam was cancelled because of an alert

The arrest follows the detention of a Spanish man who was found

with gas canisters in his van in Rotterdam.

The authorities had been warned about a potential risk -

though it's not clear whether there is any link

to the attacks in Catalonia last week that killed 15 people.

The focus of the police investigation has now shifted from

this concert venue in Rotterdam to a house in a region close to the

Belgian border. Early this morning they detained a 22-year-old man and

searched his home. He is now being questioned on suspicion of having

links to this tip-off received from the Spanish police that the gig

performed by the American rock group Allah-Las may be the target of a

terror attack. We have been speaking to the police here in Rotterdam.

They said they cleared of any immediately as a precaution. We

asked whether the public was ever in any danger, they said it was too

soon to say. That was not the subject of the investigation. The

Allah-Las are an American rock group. They have talked in the past

about receiving messages of concern from Muslims who don't like the use

of the word Allah, the Arabic word for God, in the title of the band.

As far as the Spanish van driver who was detained close to the venue last

night, he is now being questioned on suspicion of drunk driving. He is

not suspected of having any links to the possible terror attack at the

music venue on the banks of the river in Rotterdam. The police have

said that the fact that he acted so swiftly is because they were not

prepared to take any chances. Anna holiday Inn in Rotterdam.

Net migration to the UK for spot a quarter to its lowest level for

three years as migrants from European and central European

countries have been returning home. He's the boxer of his

generation facing the mixed We're in Las Vegas for the big

contest this weeekend. In sport, after breaking

his collarbone at last month's Tour de France,

Team Sky's Geraint Thomas is back. He'll be taking on the Tour

of Britain in September, which starts in Edinburgh

and finishes in Cardiff. Six million adults in England

fail to have a brisk 10 That's a finding from

Public Health England which has launched a campaign to encourage

the practice, particularly among people who are middle aged -

the public health body says walking can help prevent cancer, heart

disease and poor mental health. Our Health Correspondent

Dominic Hughes reports. In Denton, in Manchester, the first

steps towards a healthier lifestyle. This walking group is starting

slowly but already some members are feeling the benefits

of a regular stroll. It's got me out, it's got me

getting some exercise. And it's company as well

because I live on my own This is week two

for me, I'm a newbie. And I decided when I retired that

I wanted to do lots of different And I've done lots of things to keep

the mind going but not a lot to keep The beauty of walking is,

of course, it's free. You don't need any special training

or indeed any special kit. But health experts say doing just

ten minutes of brisk walking every day, well, that can have

a really positive impact on your Compared to the 1960s,

we are now 20% less active. And each year we walk 15 miles less

than we did just two Physical inactivity amongst adults

contributes to one in It is estimated to cost

the NHS nearly ?1 But a brisk walk of just ten

minutes each day can reduce GP Doctor Zoe Williams

advises her patients that it's walking at a good pace,

around three miles an hour that Practising what she preaches,

she uses a smartphone app But according to a

Public Health England survey of our exercise habits,

millions of adults are missing out. Four in ten adults between the ages

of 40 and 60 are not managing to achieve ten minutes

of brisk walking per month. Lots of those people will be

walking, but they are not And it's important to

walk briskly because that's when you start to get

the health benefits. But for many of us it's finding

the time in an already busy I drive to work and it is timing

really, trying to find the time. Generally I would rather drive than

walk because I need to get there in a hurry. So generally not, no. Not

every day, we probably do about one and a half miles twice a day and

about one mile in the middle of that. You can always make time. One

less cake, one more walk! conditions like diabetes, and even

reducing the risk of cancer. Now we are all being

urged to get up and Shares in Dixons Carphone have

slumped by almost a quarter, after the company issued

a profits warning. It says sales of mobile

handsets have fallen - partly because of the fall

in the pound since the EU referendum, making

devices more expensive. It says lower EU roaming charges

will also affect its profits. Our Technology Correspondent Rory

Cellan Jones is here. A couple of reasons given there,

what is the overall picture, what is really going on, Rory? What is

really concerning Dixons carphone and the rest of the mobile market is

we seeing a change in consumer behaviour. The chief executive said

to me today, the concern is that instead of changing phones every two

years people may change the firms every two and a half years and

believe it or not that leaves a big gap in profits. Here's the problem,

all these funds look incredibly similar so people look at them and

say they are all very good, they all do the same, and they all incredibly

expensive. Maybe I will hold off a bit longer. We saw a phone from

Samsung this week that costs ?869 as a starting price. So people are

being more cautious. A lot of hope is being pinned on the new Apple

iPhone which we are expecting in late September. There are rumours

that could cost up to ?1000. People are saying, yes, we love our phones

and need them but do we need to upgrade so often when they already

do just about everything we want them to? Goodness, that's quite a

sum. Rory Catherine Jones, thank you. Dot-mac Rory Catherine Jones

thank you. Thousands of civilians in the Syrian

city of Raqqa are coming under fire from all sides,

as the battle for control Amnesty International says hundreds

of people have been killed or injured since June,

when the offensive began to recapture Raqqa,

which is the stronghold of so-called Our Chief International

correspondent Lyse Doucet Lyse, let's talk first about Raqqa

and a deeply disturbing picture for any civilians caught up there. This

Amnesty report is heartbreaking and chilling. It is set in the context

of the last, what is believed to be the final months, the final battles

to destroy the so-called caliphate of the Islamic State here in Syria.

In Raqqa, the city you just mentioned in northern Syria, it was

their self-declared capital. And as the war intensifies right into the

centre of Raqqa into heavily populated neighbourhoods civilians

are trapped into what Amnesty calls this deadly labyrinth. Every

direction they turn come under fire, whether snipers and booby traps from

Isis which doesn't want civilians to leave or when they do escape they

are coming under fire from US led coalition air strikes which have

killed hundreds of civilians in recent months. So this Amnesty

report is a cry for compassion but also for protection, even in wartime

there are rules, and the rules of war are being absolutely shattered,

day in, day out, here. Tell us more about the situation in Homs where

you are. Viewers may remember Homs from the early years of the uprising

in Syria the city the capital of their revolution. Homs saw some of

the first peaceful protests against the rule of President Bashir

al-Assad and also saw some of the worst of the fighting. Now Homs is a

quiet city. There are corners where you could be forgiven for thinking

that there is no war. Swimming pools full of children on summer break,

splashing in the water. Cafes are full. Families going out, sitting

and parks. But behind me, you may not see the details but this is a

skyline of a city that has been torn apart. There are neighbourhoods in

Homs where not a single building has been left standing. These are like

scenes from the first and second world Wars. Although Homs is, it is

still a city which has deep, deep wounds which will take a very long

time to heal. Dot-mac although Homs is calm. Lyse, thank you. Least is

set - Lyse Doucet in Homs. It's one of the most highly

anticipated boxing contests of recent times but one

of the fighters hasn't boxed This weekend in Las Vegas the Irish

mixed martial arts champion, Conor McGregor, will face

Floyd Mayweather, who is undefeated in 49 fights, and is seen by many

as the boxer of his generation. Our Sports News Correspondent

Richard Conway was at their last It's set to be the richest ever

contest in boxing history. Fight Night is fast

approaching, but the sport's purists are not hailing

the prospects of this match-up. Despite that, in a city

that is full of stars, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor

are the biggest names on the famous Las Vegas

strip this week. After a controversial build up,

there was a surprising lack of fear and loathing during the bout's

final press conference. Conor McGregor has had

still got a hell of a career, he is a hell of a fighter.

He is a stand-up guy, he is a tough competitor, it's not going

to be an easy fight - it's going to be blood,

That's is what we're here to give the fans and that's what what people

Last month's publicity tour which culminated in London,

was a very different affair - with homophobic

slurs, accusations of racism and childish antics.

Of course there have been slip-ups, we are only

human and when you face a man you're about to fight, it is very hard to

keep everything in check, you make mistakes, you slip up on the tongue.

But I think the overall experience of it has been great for boxing,

for mixed martial arts and for combat sport

Few experts give Conor McGregor any chance of

victory, but he insists he is ready to shock the world and one

If indeed McGregor boxes him and tries to be clever in there,

To me, Mayweather cannot lose the fight.

But if he brings that Celtic warrior, that

spirit which is irrepressible, and brings this into

a fight, if he makes a fight, an ugly fight of this,

everything and anything could happen.

This contest is unashamedly money-motivated, with sporting

Given that, the reputations of both men and that of boxing

We have the North West South East is red, low pressure in the West, it

will stay there for the next few days, greater chance of showers and

more persistent rain, the further north and west you are, the further

south and east, drier, brighter weather, we've seen blue skies, this

photo was sent in by one weather watcher in Hampshire. Further north

we have seen more in the way of cloud. A fairly grey scenes sent in

from Cumbria. We've seen a few showers this morning pushing into

Wales and the south-west. They should tend to ease, the best of the

brightness that the south-east and weaves in the majority of those

showers for Northern Ireland. As we move through the rest of the

day-to-day will continue to see showers Northern Ireland. Some sunny

spells in the mix and outbreaks of rain across Shetland but for eastern

Scotland the best of the brightness, a few heavy showers possible, and

for more than England some showers, starting to bite and in the

afternoon as we head further south Wales and the south-west plenty of

dry weather, just the chance of the odd isolated shower but I think the

majority of the weather will be dry. As we had further to the Southeast

Tonbridge is reaching a maximum of 22 Celsius, fresher than yesterday

but feeling warm in the sunshine. This evening and overnight some

outbreaks of rain of Northern Ireland, West of Scotland

and the West of England but for much of England and Wales, dry with clear

spells, temperatures falling overnight to between 11 and 14

Celsius. Tomorrow, low pressure setting out to the north-west and

we'll continue to see outbreaks of rain across Northern Ireland and

pushing into Scotland. As we go further south across England and

Wales a lot of dry bright weather with sunny spells developing,

temperatures reaching a maximum of 25 Celsius, so much warmer than

today. As we move into Friday night, will start to see that rain edging

eastwards, towards the south and east but it will be largely dry the

further south you are, just the jobs of the odd isolated shower. We'll

see a real contrast in damages further north, a few spots getting

down to seven Celsius in rural parts of Scotland. We could see an

overnight low of up to 18 Celsius in the far south-east. As we start the

weekend, still that north- south split, some showers across Scotland,

it looks like it will be largely dry for the Southeast, some temperatures

reaching 25 Celsius, those showers could spread further south into the

Midlands through Sunday, as isobars squeezing together as we move into

Monday, the next area of low pressure pushing Enzo as we begin

the working week it looks like they will be some outbreaks of rain and

it will be fairly breezy but it looks like the best of the dry

weather will be the further south you are with some bright intervals

around. So as we move into the black holiday weekend the best of the

brightness definitely the further south and east you are.

A reminder of our main story this lunchtime.

Net migration to the UK has fallen by a quarter and is at its lowest

level for three years as migrants from Eastern and Central European

countries have been returning home. 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.