25/08/2017 BBC News at One

A rock star, jailed for depraved child abuse could have been caught

years earlier if South Wales police hadnt missed a series

Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins was jailed for 29 years

after a campaign of abuse - a damning report's says a

The singer's former girlfriend reported him to the police many

times, but she was never taken seriously. Time after time, she went

to her local police station, offering them the chance to look at

her computer, laptop, where she had an e-mail from him attaching

photographs of an underage child and they did not want to look at it.

South Wales police has accepted the criticism and assurances have

been given to the public that if they come forward with credible

concerns about abuse, they will be taken seriously.

A warning of potential major disruption on the railways and the

road this weekend as millions prepare for the bank holiday getaway

amid engineering works on some of the country's busiest routes.

The acting chairman of Samsung, the world's largest smartphone

maker, is sentenced to five years in prison for bribery

Driverless lorries will be trialled on our roads by the end of the year.

Wi-Fi controlled convoys are part of a plan to cut emissions and

congestion, but there is concern about the risk to drivers. Residents

along the Texas coast prepare for what could be the deadliest storm to

hit the US since hurricane Katrina. And coming up in the sport

on BBC News: Double Mo Farah takes gold in his final

track race over 5,000 metres, and CJ Ujah runs a personal

best in the 100 metres. A rock star jailed for child abuse

could have been stopped nearly four years earlier if numerous

allegations against him had been investigated properly

and if a witness had been believed. The Independent Police Complaints

Commission says South Wales police missed a series of chances to stop

the Lostprophets singer Watkins was jailed for 29 years

in 2013 after admitting sexual offences, including the attempted

rape of a baby. Our Wales correspondent,

Sian Lloyd, is in Cardiff. A rock star, whose music earned him

fans around the world, but in private, Ian Watkins was a

paedophile. His behaviour was described as having plumbed the

depths of depravity. He was convicted in 2013, but according to

the police watchdog, the Independent pleats complaints commission, he

could have been stopped sooner if reports about his sexual interest in

children had been followed up. Bias, whether unconscious or conscious has

no place in 21st-century policing. It doesn't matter who someone is,

what someone is. What is really important is what that person is

saying. That's what was missing in this case. That is what meant that

Ian Watkins was free to offend for years longer than he needs have

been, and that is what so important to put right. Joanne Mjadzelics had

first reported Ian Watkins to the authorities. She had worked as an

escort and had been in a relationship with the singer. She

had messages on her phone in which he spoke of wanting to abuse

children, but officers didn't think she was the right sort of

complainant and she wasn't taken seriously. But she wasn't a lone

voice. Between December 2008 and June 20 12, six people raised

concerns. It led to eight reports, and three intelligence logs. But

during that time, Ian Watkins wasn't arrested, questioned or even

required to respond to the allegations. Today, Joanne

Mjadzelics's barrister said she hoped lessons have been learned. She

gave them every opportunity to do their job to investigate. They

weren't interested. South Wales Police didn't begin investigating

Ian Watkins until four years after they were tipped off that he was a

danger to children. He was arrested during a drugs raid at his home here

in Pontypridd. What they then found on his mobile phones and computers

showed that those earlier warnings should have been acted on. South

Wales Police accept the report's findings, and admit they failed to

listen or investigate properly. They say they are truly sorry. Last week,

the IPC see also accused the South Yorkshire force of inaction in

investigating Watkins. He manipulated fans to get access to

his victims. The extent of his abuse may never be known.

Major disruption on the railways will peak this weekend as millions

prepare for the bank holiday getaway amid engineering works on some of

the country's busiest rail routes. Key stations in London and services

to and from Wales and the North of England and Scotland will be heavily

affected. Road users have also been advised to expect longer journeys as

people then take to the road instead.

With the queues building here at Euston station, it is set to get

even busier as millions of us prepare to travel over the bank

holiday weekend. This station will completely close from tomorrow,

affecting passengers up and down the UK. With no trains to London from

the West Coast mainline. There's never an ideal time to carry out

these railway improvement works, but we carry out 15,000 projects every

year, and most of those happen overnight. During bank holidays,

fewer people are travelling and we can deliver much bigger projects for

passengers. This will be the biggest ever August bank holiday engineering

project by Network Rail. Costing more than ?130 million, involving

17,000 engineers. The works expected to benefit millions of passengers.

The work will see platforms extended to make way for longer tails as well

as improvements to platforms and and preparation work for HS2. I think it

is absolute madness because people will struggle. I think it is really

metal to do that. It is going to cause some disruption, but they have

planned for it. People know. Obviously, they will take

alternative routes. I just think it is a failure of important public

service for Londoners and for people around the country. Rail services in

the Midlands, Wales, and across the North will also be disrupted.

Transport campaigners say it is well overdue. There has been historic

underinvestment in the railway going back decades, and some of what is

going on this weekend, not just at Euston, but at Waterloo, London

Bridge, and elsewhere on the rail network, is about putting that right

and actually providing better and more reliable services. Euston isn't

the only station affected in London. Work will also be happening at

Waterloo, London Bridge, Liverpool Street, and Paddington. Roads are

also expected to be busier than normal, especially on Monday.

Traffic is going to build through the course of the weekend, it is

actually going to pick on Monday with around 5 million leisure

journeys on our roads. That is people headed back after the school

holidays ahead of the new school term starting but also people

looking to enjoy day trips. Passengers on roads, railways are in

airports are being advised to give themselves plenty of time to travel

to avoid disruption. Our correspondents Adina Campbell is

at Euston Station and Dan Whitworth And our correspondent Adina Campbell

is at Euston Station. Euston is going to be closed, but

disruption will be felt across the whole country. That is right. In the

last couple of hours, it has got so much busier here at Euston station.

Doubled the number of people arrived since we got here this morning, and

many other stations across London and another part of the country will

be feeling this rush as we head into the bank holiday weekend. The advice

is simple. Give yourself plenty of time and check before you travel.

All right, thank you. Our Correspondent Dan Whitworth

is on the M6 near Knutsford. It is looking busy there already.

What advice for the impact on major road routes? Well, the RAC is

forecasting that the biggest time will be between 3pm and 7pm this

afternoon and also on Monday when it is forecasting around 5 million cars

to be on the roads. The Highways Agency is aware of this and had been

planning this for many weeks, for many months, and as such has removed

around about 450 miles worth of roadworks, a couple of key stretch

is still in place, though. 26 miles of road works on the A1. You can

also see around 20 miles of roadworks on the M6. That is right

the way through to Manchester. The M1, the M60 and the M62 all affected

by roadworks to other key pinch bolts that you should be aware of is

the M5 and all routes in and out of the Lake District and indeed the M1

and Mthe motorways heading out of London. A key piece of advice, take

your journey before you travel, check your route, and if you have

one of these and you probably have, take BBC August bank holiday weekend

travel, you will have all of the information at your fingertips.

Before you drive, of course. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.

The billionaire boss of the Samsung empire and South Korea's third

richest man has been jailed for five years after being found

guilty of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.

In a scandal that has already toppled a South Korean President,

Jay Y Lee was found guilty of making inappropriate donations worth around

six million dollars in exchange for government favours.

Our correspondent in the South Korean capital Seoul,

Jae-Yong Lee is one of the most powerful businessmen in the world.

Now he's facing a jail sentence that is among the longest ever given

Mr Lee has been found guilty of paying bribes

His lawyers say they will go to a higher court.

TRANSLATION: As a lawyer, I cannot accept any of the legal judgment,

We will make an appeal immediately and we are confident

The case is part of a major corruption scandal which erupted

in South Korea late last year and evoked public anger.

Tens of thousands came out on the streets.

And that triggered the removal of the country's

She was accused of allowing her close friend to accept donations

from South Korea's large conglomerates in return

Outside court on Friday, anti-corruption protesters gathered

once again as the verdict was being delivered.

"Samsung is evil," one woman shouted.

But there were others who were unhappy with the court's decision.

She, and a group of Park Geun-hye supporters, think the whole verdict

is part of a government plan to eventually prove that the former

The verdict that's come from this court room is about so much more

If Mr Lee's sentence is upheld, and one of the most powerful

businessmen of this country actually has to spend a significant

amount of time in jail, it could be a turning point

for the relationship between South Korea's big firms

Large conglomerates like Samsung dominate South Korea's economy

and so, even when they've been found guilty of corruption in the past,

The country's new government, though, has promised to take

And Jae-Yong Lee's trial could be just the start.

Here, the government has announced that convoys of partially driverless

lorries will be tried out on major British roads by

The lead lorry would have a driver at the wheel and those

behind would be connected by wireless technology.

The AA says it's concerned the trials present a risk to other

motorists, as our correspondent Andy Gill reports.

They call it Platooning, trucks travelling in Wi-Fi connected

convoy, with much less space between them than normal.

This Dutch project is with two vehicles.

The trial just announced here will be with three.

They'll be more efficient, take up less space on the network,

improve fuel efficiency and hopefully pass on those cost

Each lorry has a driver, but the lead cab has control.

To think about how three trucks can travel down the road in a platoon,

imagine that the lead truck is a giant Wi-Fi hub,

sending out signals on the precise distances and speed the other two

And the Wi-Fi on the trailing two trucks can react much more quickly

The funding announcement was made at a Lancashire truck factory.

Researchers say because vehicles in platoon are in each other's

slipstream, fuel consumption and pollution fall.

We predict, through trials and demonstrations on the road,

That's 10% savings in fuel and that's going to translate

directly to 10% reduction in CO2, for example.

So some real benefits to operators and society.

But one road user's body is sceptical.

The UK motorways are the most congested in Europe,

And if you have a platoon of driverless lorries,

it's very difficult to see road signs, it will be difficult

But Highways England, which is also funding the project,

says it will examine how other drivers interact with the convoys.

We will not ask anybody to be particularly

The normal rules, the laws that apply today, will

This is really looking at how people will behave when confronted

by these situation so we can help to either eliminate the problem

There'll be rigorous safety checks before any platoons

Then they'll compare real delivery journeys made by platoon

trucks with ones made in the traditional way.

A rock star jailed for depraved child abuse could have been caught

years earlier if a key witness had been believed.

In less than 12 hours, Harvey will hit the Sourthern United States

and is set to be the worst hurricane since Katrina.

Coming up in sport, we'll bring you the latest

Everton are in the pot after this brilliant goal

It's a week since the terror attacks in Barcelona and on the Costa Brava

The initial unity between the Spanish government in Madrid

and the autonomous government in Catalonia, which wants

to hold a referendum on independence in a month's time,

has been replaced with finger-pointing

over which police force missed information about

Tourists and locals on Las Ramblas paying their respects.

In the town where the attackers lived, a father, Brahim Aallaa,

insisting he never saw any sign that two of his boys were

One of his sons looking relaxed here, shopping.

Hours later, Said Aallaa and those alongside him would attack tourists

The football pitch they used to play on.

Opposite, the family house of the Ramblas van

Some of those who knew the men didn't want to go on camera.

This man grew up with one of the group.

He was a colleague until the attacks.

All of those who ended up as terrorists spent

their afternoons here, he told us.

We have spoken to a group of women who have just come out of the family

In fact, the women's own children went to the same mosque

and were taught by the same preacher - Abdelbaki Es Satty.

And they say they never heard or saw anything to suggest

he was the ringleader of a terror plot.

But Es Satty was known to the authorities in Belgium.

In Spanish and Catalan newspapers this week, recriminations.

Spanish sources blaming Catalonia's own police force for not

Catalan sources suggesting the fault lies with the national security

If I was the mother of one of the children there,

for example, I would be so, so cross to sit down in front

of the television and watch the police fighting between each

other, and doing these playground conflicts.

We have to be united and not show this image of a lack

Because the terrorists want this exactly.

Pro-independence Catalan flags hang in Barcelona.

One month before the autonomous government here plans

what Spain says will be an illegal independence referendum.

A city and a country united in grief,

but political divisions have revealed cracks in policing.

Tom Burridge, BBC News, in Barcelona.

Florida State Prison has executed the white

supremacist Mark James Asay, the first white inmate put to death

for killing a black man since Florida reinstated

The lethal injection included a drug never used before in the US.

Asay was sentenced to death in 1988 for killing two men in separate

There are reports that at least four people are dead and scores injured

in north India in riots after a hugely popular religious

leader was found guilty of raping two female followers.

More than 200,000 of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's

supporters flocked to the city where he was convicted.

Our Delhi Correspondent Sanjoy Majumder is in

Give us an explanation and the background to this case first of

all. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is a very popular spiritual leader, a

self-styled Guru, if you like. His organisation claims he has a million

followers, some say well beyond that, not just here in India but

around the world. He is often called the Guru of bling because he is

often seen wearing ornate jewellery and colourful clothes. He has acted

in a number of movies, he has scripted and directed them himself.

One was called messenger of God. He has a very passionate following.

Earlier today when he was convicted of raping two of his followers, and

this is a case that dates back to 2002 when the letter was sent to the

then Prime Minister of India alleging he had raped one of his

followers and several others in the sector that he runs, it took federal

police five years to begin investigating the case and

collecting evidence, and finally it has taken 15 years for him to be

convicted. The violent reaction you have seen since that is spreading.

It started in the town where the hearing took place and is actually

spreading right across a number of states in North India. Now we have

been hearing that it's spread to the capital, Delhi, where I am. Is it

fed by the anger we have seen in recent weeks and months over so high

profile sexual offences cases. There have been calls for many more

convictions from the courts. That's right. Laws against sexual violence

in India have been strengthened over the past few years. Therefore these

cases tend to go through trial White swiftly. That hasn't been the case

in this one. The particular problem here is that the person who was

convicted has a tremendous following. That's been a problem for

the authorities. They knew all along this was likely to be a very

controversial verdict. Certainly for his followers who had gathered en

masse ahead of the hearing, something like 200,000 of them had

gathered at this town north of Delhi. 20,000 police were deployed,

but despite that they were not able to bring the situation under control

and wants the verdict was out his followers basically started

attacking the police, started attacking media personnel, setting

buses on fire. There have been reports attacks have spread to a

number of states. The situation is very tense because of what happened

earlier today. We will be following that on the news channel.

Thank you. A viscount has abandoned his appeal against conviction after

posting malicious Facebook messages against anti-Brexit campaigner Jean

Miller. Rhodri Phillips was given a sentence last month but he was told

this morning that his sentence could be increased if he went ahead with

his appeal. After their emphatic win

at Edgbaston last week, England's cricketers will seal

a series victory against the West Indies if they can

win the second test, which got underway

this morning in Leeds. Batting first, England have

reached 61-3 at lunch. From Headingley,

here's Patrick Gearey. Etched into Headingley's

memory, great West Indian cricketers of the past,

men of shock and awe. Caribbean Test cricket

burned so bright, The scale of England's

victory in the first test has raised questions,

not just about West Indies, Make no mistake, people

here want England to win, One problem - this huddle

is missing some of the They have stars playing in other

shirts, on other shores. Alastair Cook, for one,

and he normally get Shannon Gabriel into the Windies'

team, into the wickets. Now, they had at the crease,

two England batsmen Headingley was a little taken aback,

but at least they got a Yorkshireman Joe Root, England captain,

dependable when others Charging in with bygone

energy, Mark Stoneman out, 37-3, a start to thrill

West Indians and Australians. The Ashes are only

three months away. It seemed he had

turned up the route. Powell spilled it onto

the grass, agonising. An escape to end an unnerving

morning for England, but for some watching,

it was strangely reassuring. Patrick Geary, BBC

News, at Headingley. Tomorrow, defending champion's

England will play New Zealand in the Women's Rugby World Cup Final

in Belfast. They'll do so without full-back

Danielle Waterman who has been ruled The final line-up has been named

in the last few minutes and our Sport Correspondent Sara Orchard

is outside the team What do we know? The standout

selection that we just found out in the last half an hour is the

20-year-old Megan Jones will be starting at outside centre for

England, coming into the starting 15. There is also a change as the

regular vice captain for England Emily Scarratt moves to full-back.

Only one change to the team that beat France it is semifinal,

Bristol's Amy Wilson-Hardy coming onto the bench. This final between

two sides that have a rivalry that could be described as one of the

greatest in women's sport. They have actually met three times previously

in World Cup finals, with New Zealand's Black ferns coming away

the victors on every occasion. That's a statistic England would

like to start changing back in their direction. The tournament itself,

the final will be played at Ulster's Kingspan Stadium, a capacity of

18,000, although not quite all the tickets for the final have been sold

yet. There have been record TV viewing figures across the whole

world with 3 million tuning in in France for the semifinals. But for

England, this is their chance with a match on Saturday night on

terrestrial television, to show that fans what they can do. They need to

defend the title bay won in 2014. It's one of the busiest motorway

junctions in the country with more But plans to improve the M25

at junction 10 could threaten a number of rare trees and plants

at the historic Wisley garden. Highways England says

the upgrade will make the road safer but campaigners,

including Alan Titchmarsh, are calling for British gardeners

to take a stand against the plans. At the Royal Horticultural Society

garden at Wisley in Surrey, It seems a mad proposal to be taking

down some of these trees as has been suggested,

because we're never going to be And they are wonderful,

we should be really nurturing these and looking after them

for the future. The problem is this nearby junction

where the M25 meets the A3. Highways England says it has

the highest accident rate of any motorway junction in the country

and that improvements are needed. But the RHS fears one proposal

being considered will see the A3 expanded and two and a half acres

of its woodland destroyed One of several down

this great strip. This, along with rhododendrons,

magnolias, camellias, would all go. Other options, which would have less

impact on these gardens, are being considered,

but the road improvements It's widely accepted

by all sides that changes The road behind you, though,

needs improvement, doesn't it? I'm also a commuter,

coming from London, But there is a brownfield site

on the other side of the road where this extension could take

place that wouldn't involve taking And these trees, like the redwood

next to me, will go on to live It's not just about

the here and the now. Highways England said in a statement

that it cares about the environment and protecting the special habitats

around Wisley is a priority. Upgrading the junction will,

it says, improve people's journeys A decision is expected

in the next few weeks. Concerns over these trees

have stepped up a gear. Evacuation is underway in Texas as

communities there prepare for what could be the strongest storm to hit

the US coast since hurricane Katrina 12 years ago. Hurricane Harvey has

been upgraded to a category two and forecasters warned that the 130 mile

per hour winds are expected to hit in about 12 hours' time.

CBS correspondent Don Champion is in Corpus Christi in Texas.

How are people preparing? The big concern is the strengthening storm

off the coast here at Texas. Harvey is still a category two storm right

now but is on the verge of becoming a major hurricane, a category three

storm. It would be the first hurricane to make landfall here

along the Texas Gulf Coast in nine years. Looking behind me, the waves

at the Corpus Christi Bay are already whipping up. We have seen

some wind and rain, but this is just a taste of what's ahead. Not only

over the course of the next few hours, but the next few days. Harvey

will be a long duration storm in this region. Flooding is a very big

concern here. Many places he could see up to 30 inches of rain by the

end of the storm. Storm surge is also a very big concern. In fact,

the spot I'm standing in will likely be under several feet of water by

the end of the weekend. They are expecting a storm surges of up to

6-12 feet from this storm. You mentioned the wins, it will be

destructive. A statement from the National Weather Service this

morning did not mince any words saying there could be substantial

property damage once the storm makes landfall. Thank you for joining us

from Texas. Time for a look at the weather -

here's Lucy Martin. You have the latest for the

satellite figures for the hurricane. Harvey tracking its way towards

Texas and is expected to make landfall at midnight hour time

bringing heavy rain with it. Gusts of up to 150 mph and potentially

life-threatening storm surge. Here in the UK, a much quieter picture.

We have seen blue skies around this morning. This photo sent in by a

weather watcher in Suffolk. It looks like the blue skies will last as we

head into the weekend. It will not be wall to wall blue skies but there

will be sunshine around. Just the risk of the odd isolated shower on

Saturday particularly the further north you are. On Sunday some

outbreaks of rain in the far north-west. Earlier, some outbreaks

of showery rain pushing its way across Northern Ireland, Scotland

and to the north-west of England. Further south and east, plenty of

sunshine around, and that's how we will stay heading through the day.

Good spells of sunshine further south and into the south-east. Where

we see more in the way of sunshine, warmer temperatures and highs of

around 24 Celsius. Perhaps a touch more cloud in the Midlands and

Wales. Some bright intervals and outbreaks of rain in northern

England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Could be some heavy bursts

and we could see localised flooding in Northern Ireland and the odd

rumble of thunder possible in Scotland. As we go through tonight,

the rain continuing to head east, but it will fizzle out from the

West, becoming drier in Northern Ireland that western Scotland. For

much of England and Wales, drier weather with some isolated showers.

Overnight lows of 11-16dC and feeling humid in the south-east.

That Texas to the weekend, Saturday looking vastly improved for Northern

Ireland and with good spells of sunshine. -- that takes us to the

weekend. While we still have the chance of the odd isolated shower,

it will be mostly dry with bright intervals and sunny spells

developing. A touch warmer than today with highs of 25 in the

south-east. A bit more in the way of cloud in the north on Sunday. North

and west Scotland, Northern Ireland and north-west England. Largely dry

and bright in the south with temperatures just a bit warmer as

well and locally we could see highs of 26 Celsius. Taking as to the bank

holiday for some of us on Monday. A dry start and then starting to see a

band of rain pushing in from the north-west. A heavy burst, and then

breezy in the north. It looks like the South East will stay holding

onto a dry day and locally we could see temperatures reaching 27

Celsius. A reminder of our main

story this lunchtime... A rock star, jailed for depraved

child abuse could have been caught years earlier if a key witness had

been believed. 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.