25/01/2018 BBC News at One

A surge in recorded crime

in England and Wales -

it was up 14% last year.

There were big rises,

too, in knife crime,

sex offences and robbery.

We are clear we have to redouble our

efforts to bear down on this,

through legislation and tougher

people enforcement, sweeping for

knives.

We'll be looking at the reasons why

recorded crime has gone up so much.

Also this lunchtime:

The Prime Minister condemns

the men-only President's Club

dinner, she says it objectified

the women who were there.

What worries me is it's not just

about that event, it's about what it

says about this wider issue

in society, about

attitudes to women. We have made

progress. Sadly, I think that shows

that we still have a lot

more progress to make.

President Trump flies

into the World Economic Forum

in Davos, where he'll meet

the Prime Minister this afternoon.

Filling up for free -

plans to set up thousands of water

refill points in a bid to cut

the number of plastic

bottles that we use.

And the dream is over,

for now at least -

Britain's Kyle Edmund crashes out

of the Australian Open.

And coming up in the sport on BBC

News, more on the women's Australian

open final line-up.

World number one Simona Halep

takes on world number

two Caroline Wozniacki.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

There's been a sharp

rise in recorded crime

in England and Wales.

It rose by 14% last year,

with even bigger increases in knife

crime, robbery and sex offences,

and the number of cases of murder

and manslaughter is the highest

for almost a decade.

However the crime survey -

separate figures based on people's

individual experiences -

show that crime has actually fallen.

Our home affairs correspondent

Tom Symonds has this report.

Knife crime can in an instant take,

ruin and change the lives of young

people, like these students at

Coventry College. So this morning

they are being given it straight.

Their choices in life are what

matter.

He said I didn't mean to

kill him, that wasn't my intention,

I just wanted to slash him, take

photos and uploaded to social media.

She's talking about the use that

murdered her son, Josh.

Armani

Mitchell is now serving life in

prison because of that one choice.

For these students, an unvarnished

description of a murder was not easy

to listen to but the countless

choices of young people who carry

knives are reflected in the figures

today. Overall crime recorded by

police was up 14%, knife crime went

up 21%, and violent crime overall up

by 20%. On New Year's Eve in London

alone there were four knife murders.

Police are facing the reality that

falls in violent

falls in violent crime are being

reversed. This police officer also

speaking today in Coventry believes

we need to start thinking about it

differently.

I see similarities with

contagious disease, that kind of

thing. It is contagious so we need

to prevent it, cure it. The cure is

prison but prevention is massive

too.

Tougher policing, stop and

search, making it harder for young

people to buy knives. But this

morning ministers promised to change

tack and increase the work done to

persuade young people their actions

have consequences.

We have to get to

the root causes and we have to work

as a society, government, police and

civil society to get the root of

this cultural issue and try to steer

young people away from violence,

from feeling it is normal and

necessary to carry a knife.

Here at

least the message got through.

If

you know someone is doing something,

take a step back, think about it and

make the right choice.

You don't

listen to what your friends say, you

do what you think is best. Not what

your mates think is best. While they

are thinking something bad, you

could be thinking something good so

go with what you think.

But this is

a problem that will require changing

minds one by one, an enormous task.

And Tom is in Coventry now.

On the face of it, the recorded

crime figures increase is rather

alarming.

Yes but crime statistics

are complicated beast. There is the

crime survey of England and Wales

where they simply ask people if they

have been a victim of crime in the

last year and that measure is

showing a decrease in overall crime

levels. But the recorded crime, the

number of crimes recorded by the

police, is going up and it is

specifically going up in this

category of violent crime and in

particular in knife crime. The

statistical experts who say that is

a sign over the last decade crime

has come down but may now be going

up. That is certainly concerning the

police. I think the comments this

morning from ministers, from Amber

Rudd who has written a piece saying

she believes we need a step change

in the way the Government regards

its policies to tackle violent

crime. Not so much looking at law

enforcement or looking at it as much

as it has been but more importantly

trying to get to the root causes,

the lifestyles of young people. They

tell me police here feel they need

to carry a knife for their own

protection. It has become a standard

thing that police are hearing from

young people. That is the sort of

thing the Government feels it has to

get to grips with so we will see

more legislation and ideas from the

Government about this in months, but

the statistics this morning to show

something needs to be done.

Tom,

thank you.

The Prime Minister has condemned

the men-only charity dinner

where there were allegations

of hostesses being

groped and harrassed.

Theresa May says the event

was appalling and objectified women.

Downing Street has reprimanded

the Government minister

Nadhim Zahawi who said he attended

the the Presidents Club

fundraiser, but left early

because he felt uncomfortable.

Richard Galpin has the latest.

Today the repercussions for those

who attended the scandal ridden

dinner continue.

dinner continue. This is Nadhim

Zahawi, Minister for children and

families. He says he left early

because he felt uncomfortable and

has condemned what he described as

the horrific events reported by the

Financial Times.

Financial Times. And now the BBC has

testimony that the alleged sexual

harassment of women working as

hostesses at the event last week was

not something new. We spoke to a

woman who worked at the event four

years ago with her sister.

We were

made to line up in two lines heading

onto the stage, and we walked out

basically like pieces of meat really

onto the stage. My sister met this

older gentleman who had a daughter

around her age so she felt really

safe with him but later in the

evening after a few drinks he

grabbed her waist and leaned in for

a kiss. At that point I witnessed

it, went over and decided it was

time to go.

Some of the men who say

they were attending the charity

event to the first time have also

been speaking out. A leading

businessmen who was invited by a

friend but left early said there had

been a warning about inappropriate

behaviour.

The presenter did make an

announcement that you have got young

girls coming to look after you. Make

sure you remember they are

somebody's daughter and sister so

don't misbehave.

This morning at the

World Economic Forum there was

further condemnation of what

happened in at the Presidents Club

dinner from the Prime Minister.

When

I read the report of that event that

took place, I was appalled. I

thought that sort of approach to

women, objectification of women, was

something we were leaving behind. We

have made progress but it is clear

there is a lot more to do.

Although

the Presidents Club has now been

disbanded, there are still many

questions to be answered, not least

whether what happened here is also

happening at other men only events

and venues.

Theresa May and Donald Trump have

arrived at the World

Economic Forum in Davos.

The two leaders will meet

after what's been an unsettled

period for relations

between London and Washington.

Mr Trump recently cancelled

a planned trip to London

where he was due to open

the new American embassy.

Despite that, Mrs May is confident

Britain can get a free trade

agreement with the United

States after Brexit.

Free trade is a top

that I have discussed

with the President in the past.

We are very keen that we will be

able to do that free trade agreement

when we leave the European Union

with the United States of America.

They're keen on that,

we're keen on that,

and we are already working

on how we can shape that.

Well our North America Editor

Jon Sopel is in Davos.

The Prime Minister sounded confident

about getting a free trade agreement

with the United States, will it be

that simple?

Judging by

atmospherics, there is probably a

pen and paper ready to sign

tomorrow. Unfortunately trade deals

are done by hard haggling. There is

no such thing as an easy free trade

deal. Americans chlorinated their

chickens, Britons don't, will we

accept their chickens? That is the

nitty-gritty it will come down to. I

shall save the US Treasury Secretary

is offering similarly upbeat tones.

I think the British will be

heartened by the positive messages

coming from the American side,

particularly as you say when

relations have been a little bit

bumpy these past few months.

So the

two leaders meeting this afternoon,

Mrs May saying the special

relationship is as strong as ever,

is she right about that?

They always

say it is special and one of the

things you are trained, if you stand

in the White House briefing room, is

always to save relationship with

Britain is special. It has been

anything but, these last few months.

Cast your mind back to Donald Trump

retweeting written first videos, the

extreme right-wing group 's

anti-Muslim videos, Theresa May

criticising Donald Trump and Donald

Trump tweeting back to effectively

say mind your own business, why

don't you sort out Islamic extremism

in your own country. Then Donald

Trump pulled out of the pond visit

to the UK which caught the British

by surprise. I think the British are

keen to put the relationship back on

an even keel. I am talking to you in

Switzerland, Donald Trump has so far

been to France, Germany, Italy,

Belgium, now Switzerland, he's done

a Middle East tour and an Asian tour

but he's yet to set foot in Britain

since he became president.

Thank

you.

Tennis now and it was so near

but so far for the British

number two Kyle Edmund,

who's lost his semi final at the

Australian Open in straight sets.

Croatia's Marin Cilic proved too

strong for the Yorkshireman,

who appeared to be struggling

with injury from early

on and needed a medical time-out

after the first set.

Our correspondent Hywel Griffith

reports from Melbourne.

Keep cool and carry on. Under

Melbourne's baking sun, it's the

only way to succeed. Some famous

names went home early but Britain's

take new hope forged ahead.

We have

seen some of his matches and we are

rooting for him all the way.

He will

do amazing, I'm so excited.

Kyle

Edmund arrived at the Australia open

without much expectation weighing

him down, but in the biggest game of

his life that changed. Some early

errors and his nerves started to

show. He lost the first set and show

signs of injury. In the second,

things didn't get better. Frustrated

by a late call, he took his anger

out on the umpire, the referee Tom

and eventually his opponent. Maybe

he was channelling his inner Murray.

It worked for a while, he narrowly

lost the second set. And from there,

Marin Cilic powered through showing

why he's in the world's top ten, a

ranking Edmund can aspire to one

day, once he's over the defeat.

The

run was going so well. It's a new

environment, new experiences for me

reaching the semifinals of a Grand

Slam. Sad to lose, start the run has

ended. Obviously frustration tonight

with my performance but in the short

term I'm disappointed and I have to

accept that.

Disappointing, yes.

Devastating, hardly. Kyle Edmund has

shown there is a lot more to British

tennis than just Andy Murray. He's

not the finished article yet but he

should fly home happy. There he's

bound to be given a hero 's welcome.

At his old school in Yorkshire, they

are still pretty proud.

Our top story this lunchtime...

There's been a sharp

increase in recorded crime

in England and Wales - it's up 14%.

And coming up: Tracking

every twist and turn -

scientists use the latest technology

to discover the secrets of the big

cats as they hunt their prey.

Coming up in sport,

disappointment for Kyle Edmund,

but he can look forward to more

success in the future,

according to those in the game.

We'll reflect more on his dream run

to the Aussie Open semis.

Plans are being announced today

to set up tens of thousands of free

water refill points across England.

Water UK, which represents water

companies and suppliers,

says it wants to expand a refill

scheme first launched

three years ago.

It hopes that will cut pollution

by reducing the amount of water

sold in plastic bottles.

Tim Muffett reports.

Across Bristol, since 2015,

businesses have been

inviting people in -

not to spend money, but to refill

water bottles for free.

People want really practical ways

of how they can stop using as much

single-use plastic in their lives

and refill is a really

obvious way of doing that.

Natalie Fee set up the scheme.

An app tells people where refills

are available, as do these signs.

I think it's great as a way of not

using as much plastic.

It's a nice, easy thing to do,

increases foot fall to the cafe.

There are now 200 refill

points across Bristol.

The scheme's spread to other

places including Durham,

Norwich and Brighton,

but it's about to get much bigger.

Every water company by September

this year is going to draw up

what they can do to sign up more

businesses to provide

free refill points.

We want tens of thousands

of refill points by 2021.

We think we can take tens

of millions of plastic bottles out

of the waste stream.

So more of this.

Less, it's hoped, of this.

It's just horrible down here,

along the banks of the River Avon.

There are hundreds of

plastic bottles down here.

It's disgusting.

So many of them are

drinking water bottles.

Your project, your initiative,

is going to be run

on a national scale.

That must be very exciting?

It is.

For this to really work it needs

to be on every high street,

in every shop and cafe.

In the UK, we buy more

than 1.7 billion litres of plain

bottled water every year,

according to the Grocer magazine.

For the first time sales

are outstripping that of cola,

but if soon it'll soon be far

simpler to refill a bottle with tap

water, what effect will that have

on demand for these?

I don't think it's going

to have a significant impact.

Kinvara Carey runs

the Natural Hydration Council,

set up and supported by companies

that produce bottled water.

Bottled water is different to tap

water in the sense that

it's naturally sourced,

it's not chemically treated

and a lot of people choose

it for those reasons

or for taste reasons.

The Natural Hydration Council says

it backs the refill scheme as it

wants more people to drink water,

but it believes disposing of bottles

responsibly is a bigger issue.

The bottles themselves

are 100% recyclable.

It's the bottle, the label, the lid.

Whether it's recyclable or not

isn't really the point.

Half of the plastic bottles used

in the UK aren't getting recycled

and the majority of them

are escaping the waste system

and ending up in places like these.

Ending plastic pollution

will require major change.

Natalie hopes that's

one step closer.

Tim Muffett, BBC News.

The number of people sleeping rough

in England has increased for the

seventh year in a row, according to

figures just out.

Official statistics show

there were 4750 sleeping

on the streets in England last year.

That's up 15 % on 2016.

The government says it's investing

£550 million by 2020

to address the issue.

Our social affairs correspondent

Michael Buchanan reports.

This is the daily struggle of a

homeless man. Tony is 72 and lives

near Milton Keynes railway station.

He says he was evicted from his vast

last February but won't give the

exact reason why -- he was evicted

from his flat. A concrete underpass

in Milton Keynes is no place for a

72-year-old.

No, no, I agree, it's

not, but I mean what can I do? I

wake up I class it as a bonus. It's

another day I've got to get through.

Homelessness has risen sharply in

Milton Keynes in recent years. The

town's booming economy making

housing unaffordable for those with

little. The growing problem here is

replicated across England, with

rough sleeping increased by 15% last

year. That amounted to more than

4700 people with nowhere to sleep, a

figure that's risen by 168% 2010. --

since 2010. This man, who wants to

remain anonymous, is homeless but

working. He's a painter and

decorator, earning £50 a day. You'll

Bob and I still can't manage to get

enough to a deposit down.

The places

are far too high at the minute. I

want bedsit flat, £580 a month, the

cheapest one I found.

This tour bus

will become an innovative solution

to Milton Keynes' rough sleeping

problem. It's been converted into 16

bunk beds. The first homeless people

will move in next month. The

accommodation is of course quite

cramped but for the lucky people who

are going to coming here it's better

than being on the street and

crucially of course, as well, they

are given some hope. It's an

impressive idea.

impressive idea. Tom Davies, once

homeless himself, came up with the

idea.

The bus will the people hope,

opportunity, some support, a postal

address and being able to register

with a GP, doctors, being able to

acquire their idea and have

somewhere safe to store their

personal belongings. Basically all

the fundamental things anyone

requires to live.

Rough sleeping as

often a sign that people are

struggling to get help with mental

health and drug and alcohol

problems, as well as having no home.

Ministers say they are committing to

ending the problem by 2027. It's

going to be difficult. Michael

Buchanan, BBC News, Milton Keynes.

Figures out this morning from NHS

England show a slight easing

of pressure on the system -

with a reduction in the number

of delays of ambulances handing over

patients at hospitals.

But an increase in norovirus

cases has put more strain

on the health service.

Our health editor Hugh Pym is here.

How significant are these new

figures?

I think it's too early to

say whether there's been a real

change of direction, after a very,

very difficult start to the year in

the NHS across the UK. There's been

a slight easing of the pressures in

the latest week, that's the week

ending last Sunday, showing fewer

ambulances held up handing over

patients, and there was a very

slight fall in the number of beds

occupied, although they are still

pretty high and very close to

capacity in Scotland early this week

figures showed a slight improvement

in A&E performance across Scottish

hospitals, but Norrie virus has

picked up again. That's a bit of a

threat to hospitals. Flu remains a

major issue. We were told last week

that the number of admissions and

the pressure across the NHS from flu

was as bad as it was in the winter

of 2010-11. We get the latest

figures on flu at 2pm this

afternoon, an important set of

figures to judge on where the NHS is

right now. This morning the Society

of acute medicine, which represents

doctors across hospital wards

dealing with very ill patients, said

they were offended by what the Prime

Minister said yesterday, saying what

she'd said was disingenuous, the

idea that the NHS was better

prepared than ever before. Theresa

May did say in the Commons that

support from the government for the

NHS was giving doctors, nurses and

patients everything that was needed

to cope with this winter. I think

this debate will go on. Was there

enough planning? Is there enough

money, with the Chancellor and Prime

Minister saying more money was made

available in the budget for this

year and next year, or is more money

and a big debate needed about when

the NHS goes from here?

Hugh Pym,

our health editor, thank you.

Scientists say smoking just one

cigarette a day is much more

dangerous than previously thought.

The team at University College

London said even low levels

of tobacco smoke could alter the way

the heart, lungs and blood

vessels function -

leading to a higher risk of heart

attack and stroke.

They recommend that people should

give up, rather than cut down.

Smoking is awful for health as it

greatly increases the risk of

cancer, heart attack and stroke. You

might have thought cutting down from

20, took one day might have led to a

similar reduction in health

problems. It does for lung cancer

but some risks remain high. For

every 100 middle-aged people who had

never smoked, five have a heart

attack or stroke each decade. 20 a

day habit increases the risk to a

much higher 12 heart attacks or

strokes, but people who cut down

drastically on smoked just once a

day would still have eight heart

attacks or strokes. The team

University College London say the

solution is to stop completely.

Even

smoking the odd cigarette here or

there, Ward two a day, still has a

major risk of two common serious

disorders -- one or two today. The

implication for GPs is when they

deliver smoking cessation services

to their patients they can raise

this information to try and

encourage smokers in a positive way

to stop completely, rather than just

cutting down.

The researchers think

even low levels of tobacco smoke may

be altering the way the heart, lungs

and blood vessels function, leading

to the increased risk. Cutting back

is still better than doing nothing,

but Public Health England said the

safest thing to do was to quit for

good. James Gallagher, BBC News.

At least three people have died

after a train derailed

near the Italian city of Milan.

Hundreds of commuters were on board

the service heading to Milan

from Cremona in northern Italy,

when it came off the tracks just

before seven o'clock this morning.

Footage released by firefighters

shows them working to free several

people trapped in one

of the carriages.

A senior American diplomat,

asked by Myanmar to join a panel

investigating alleged crimes

against Rohinga Muslims, has

resigned, calling it a whitewash.

Bill Richardson was especially

critical of Aung San Suu Kyi -

the de facto leader of the country.

He accused her of lacking

moral leadership.

Myanmar has dismissed

Mr Richardson's words

as a "personal attack".

Jonathan Head reports from Yangon.

Bill Richardson clearly felt

that the panel that he was a part

of was ineffective.

He's described how he felt it

didn't have a mandate,

it wasn't addressing the real

issues, but he could have

resigned more quietly.

He's somebody who used to visit

Aung San Suu Kyi as far

back as the early 1990s,

when she was under house arrest,

and has remaining engaged,

deeply engaged, in Myanmar,

with a lot of projects here as well.

It's a very detailed statement.

He describes her as having

an arrogance of power,

of being trapped in a bubble,

surrounded by sycophants

and psychopaths telling her

what she wants to hear.

He said he was taken

aback by the hostility

that she and other officials showed

towards international

organisations, the media, the UN,

human rights groups,

blaming them for the trouble

in Rakhine state, and felt

in all conscience, he said,

he simply couldn't

continue in his role.

He's actually said that she is in

effect parroting the generals,

that she's speaking their language,

and not speaking up at all

for the things she once

said she believed in.

That's why he said

he is so disappointed,

that he expected her to show

some moral leadership.

He accepted that she's

in a difficult position,

but he said there's no excuse

for not showing any

leadership at all.

So the picture he paints

is of a very isolated leader,

of somebody stubbornly sticking

to her views, and more than anything

else, parroting the military.

In particular you reference those

Reuters journalists.

He came here perhaps mistakenly

believing that his influence might

help to get them released.

He raised their case consistently

with Aung San Suu Kyi.

A lot of people feel

they were set up, that they're

being targeted by the military

for their investigation

into Rakhine state.

Her response, he said,

was to insist that they'd broken

the official secrets act and to get

so angry, he said, that at one point

he thought she might hit him.

Jonathan Head reporting.

It's one of nature's

most dramatic battles -

the big cat pursuing its prey.

Now scientists from the Royal

Veterinary College have analysed

in minute detail how the predators

catch the animals they hunt -

and it's not just about speed.

They've fitted tracking collars

to wild cheetahs and lions,

with some surprising results.

Our science correspondent

Victoria Gill explains.

The fastest land animal on earth.

Cheetahs are built for speed

and acceleration, but with a sprint

they can sustain for less

than a minute, every twist and turn

of the hunt is critical -

a high-speed battle.

And these veterinary scientists have

now studied it at the finest scale.

So we see the spectacle of hunting

on wildlife documentaries.

But here we're capturing thousands

of runs, and they're actually

showing what they do -

all the things we don't see

when they hunt at night,

when they hunt in denser cover,

and building up a full story,

which means you can then create

a computer model that can actually

tell us what the effect

on hunt outcome is.

Scientists fitted tracking

collars to cheetahs,

lions and the prey they pursue,

recording their position more

than 200 times every second.

That captured every moment

of the chase, revealing just how

closely predator and prey match

in their athleticism.

But it also demonstrated

that the hunt is about

much more than speed.

By outmanoeuvring a predator,

turning at the very last minute,

an antelope can control the chase

and evade capture.

Only about 50% of cheetah hunts

actually end in a kill and this

research has really unpacked that

co-evolution between predator

and prey, the delicate balance

between the survival of these big

powerful cats and the

animals that they eat.

Lions and cheetahs are both known

to be vulnerable to extinction

and this study also reveals how fine

that line is between life

and death in the wild.

If you're going to protect them,

having an in-depth understanding

of their requirements

in their natural habitat

is so, so important.

Research into the kind of prey

they eat, how much sort

of home range they need,

it all links in to

their conservation.

These are the extreme athletes

of the animal kingdom and it's meant

tracking their every step to really

unravel the drama of each chase.

Victoria Gill, BBC News.

You can see more from the scientists

tracking the world's fastest cats -

that's on Big Cats on BBC One

tonight at 8pm, except in Wales.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Lucy Martin.

Is looking a bit quieter than it did

yesterday, with Storm Georgina about

towards Central Europe. We have more

in the way of brightness and shower

clouds, this waiting in the wings

for the weekend. Today, some of

seeing beautiful blue skies. This

photo sent in from Leicestershire.

Further east, doing better for

sunshine. Here, we have grey clouds

in Pembrokeshire. The showers are

largely focused around this feature

that's edging eastwards as we move

through the day today. This area of

high pressure will settle things

down by Friday. Through this

afternoon those showers, that cloud,

gradually edging eastwards.

Temperatures not doing too badly,

but feeling a bit cooler with highs

of 10 Celsius. The showers will

continue to make their way eastwards

as we go through tonight. They'll be

quite heavy this afternoon, the

rumble of thunder and they could be

wintry

wintry over high ground, but dying

out in the early hours and with

clear skies and the West

temperatures will fall away and you

could see a touch of frost. With

more cloud in the south and east,

temperatures not quite as cold. On

Friday, high pressure building in

from the south-west. The northerly

wind so it does mean it will feel

fairly cold. The cold start of the

day, but plenty of brightness for

Scotland. A touch of frost first

thing, a few patches of ice and one

or two patches of mist and fog for

Northern Ireland. Further east, more

in a way of cloud, one or two

showers first thing. Temperatures

around 5-6 in London first thing.

You could see one or two scattered

light showers to begin with but the

cloud will break up in the south and

east, brightening up with some

sunshine. Many of

sunshine. Many of seeing a dry,

bright day with some wintry sunshine

and light winds. With like winds

it's not going to feel too bad,

although it won't feel particularly

warm. A maximum of nine Celsius.

Waiting in the wings our next

weather front that will push in as

we move into the weekend. All

change, we'll start to drag in

milder air from the south-west and

it will have plenty of moisture in,

so a fairly cloudy day on Saturday.

Wet and windy. There is rain pushing

eastwards through the day. Heaviest

in the north. It brings milder air.

Temperatures back in the double

figures, a maximum of 12 Celsius.

The milder air continues to feed in

from the south-west as we go through

into Sunday stop another mild day,

another cloudy day, and also some

rain, particularly heavy in the

north. There will be gales also bail

gales in the North as well.

Temperatures in the double figures,

a maximum of 13 Celsius.

A reminder of our main

story this lunchtime.

There's been a sharp

increase in recorded crime

in England and Wales -

it's up 14%.

That's all from the BBC News at One.

On BBC One we now join the BBC's

news teams where you are.