16/06/2011 BBC News at Six

Shop till you drop April gives way to miserly May - new figures on a

high street slump. Retail sales fell by twice as much

as expected last month - shoppers cut back as they cope with higher

prices. At the moment it I do not need to

spend than I do not spend. The opposition say it's time for

emergency action - a cut in VAT to get us spending again.

My suggestion to George Osborne if he will not reverse his mistake on

VAT permanently, he should at least reverse it temporarily.

Also on tonight's programme: England's 200 worst performing

primary schools will be taken out of local authority control -

they'll become academies. The BBC watchdog orders Panorama to

apologise - it says the programme on child labour used footage that

was probably faked. Why this is an increasingly rare

sight - as car crime drops to record low levels.

And as we get ready for Wimbledon fortnight is investment in the

British game delivering the stars Hello and welcome to the BBC News

at Six. There's been a much bigger than

expected fall in high street sales. After the feel-good factor of the

Royal Wedding boosted shopping in April, last month saw a drop by 1.4

percent. Citing the figures, the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, said

the government should introduce an emergency cut in VAT, to boost the

economy and consumer confidence. Here's our chief economics

correspondent, Hugh Pym. The bunting was out before the

royal wedding, the retailers had plenty to celebrate. But now the

picture is looking very different. There has been a dampener on

consumers' spending, the mood shifting from sunny took over cast.

There was a 1.4% drop in retail sales in May. This independent

department store chain in York has been trading for 100 years so has

experienced its ups and downs. How did things feel right now? Since

the end of the winter sales it has been ebbing and flowing. Now when

there are price increases on essentials like fruit, it is biting

into disposable incomes and people have less to spend on perhaps

clothing. What about shoppers are out in Glasgow today? They told us

how they felt about their spending. If I do not need to spend their

time I'm not going to spend. I will still buy it if I like it.

latest evidence on the state of consumer spending comes on the date

when the government economic policy is again under scrutiny. The

question is is that programme of public spending cuts and tax rises

damaging the economy? For Ed Balls the answer is yes. He said the

government was harming the economy and called for an emergency cut in

VAT. By putting money directly into people's pockets that would boost

consumer spending for people feeling the squeeze. Especially

pensioners and those on low incomes. But the Prime Minister said that

borrowing had to come down. Tax cuts were not practical. Those who

say you what to go and/taxes or spend more money, all you would be

doing if you did that would be making the problem of your deficit

worse. The outlook is not all gloomy. On employment has fallen.

Some companies are doing well. But consumers are under pressure. A

debate about what the government should or should not do it will

affect everybody. Our political correspondent, Laura

Kuennsberg, is at Westminster. Ed Balls has chosen quite a moment to

call for a tax cut. He certainly has. The idea of more cash in your

pocket can sound quite appealing. It could encourage people to spend

but there's not much agreement about whether a tax cut that would

take a penny off a bar of chocolate would really make that much

difference to how the economy is going. There was not any consensus

about the kind of effect that it had went Labour tried it out in the

teeth of the recession. And the Conservatives have argued that

there contradicting themselves. There's little chance right now but

the Chancellor will take heed of the advice of Ed Balls. But what is

interesting about today is that Labour has been struggling in

recent months to get across a clear idea of how they would rebuild the

economy. And whether he's right or wrong with this idea, Ed Balls has

perhaps at least made a start. And the first job of opposition is to

get people to pay attention. 200 of England's worst-performing

primary schools are to be closed down and re-opened as academies. It

means they'll no longer be controlled by local authorities and

head teachers will have more power. The Education Secretary, Michael

Gove, says English children should not be allowed to fall behind

international standards. Here's our Education Correspondent, Reeta

Chakrabarti. Michael Gove once every English

school to shine and academies are his key to success. There are

independent of local authorities and can set their own curriculum

and staff pay. Now Michael Gove wants successful secondary

academies to take over struggling primary-schools. Knight's Temple

growth in London used to be known as Merlin primary. It was

struggling but a successful group which runs a chain of local schools

took over. A new name and a new and uniform, a big improvement in

performance. The quality of teaching is central to what we do.

But you also have transformed the mindset of both the children, but

parents, the whole school. government will close down 200

primary-schools and forced them to become academies run by other

schools next year, focusing on those who failed consistently to

meet targets for 11 year-olds in maths and English. These are

schools where young people are leaving without a secured

Foundation in reading, writing and maths. We what to make sure they

are taken over by organisations with the track record of success

who can turn them around. Michael Gove has wanted to take on his

critics who say that his policy on academies is too focused on schools

which are already successful. But getting good schools to take over

bad schools was one started on to the last government. Some are

asking what is new. Critics say Labour provided millions of

additional funding for its academies programme. Money that the

coalition does not have. The notion that it pulls all all the problems

straight away is a myth. It is about developing the school over a

period of time. It takes time to work on the teaching and learning.

Labour made much of the news that an error has left many academies

weaving -- receiving too much money. As much as �300 per pupil in

Hampshire. The government and local The BBC Trust, which governs the

corporation, says there was a serious breach of accuracy and

fairness. It investigated after a complaint from the company.

A little deeper into the squalor, and another run down the ladder of

exploitation. It was a key part of Panorama's ex -- investigation into

claims that their sub-contractors employed child labour in India.

But today the BBC Trust concluded that these pictures of boys are

supposedly working on Primark garments in a Bangalore slum were

probably faked. The trust said it had examined a substantial body of

evidence including tapes from the programme, e-mails and witness

BBC news today except that that the programme was flawed. Any time we

make a mistake it is damaging. But the BBC news Brant and the Panorama

brands are strong and robust because when we make a mistake we

own up to it and learn from it. That is why the audience Trusts us.

By the journalist responsible rejected the finding vigorously. In

a statement he said: the BBC said that Primark used these three boys

to make these three tops. It was a lie. Concocted by this man,

producer Dan McDougall. Cream market used its own video in

response today. It welcomed what it called the Trust's inescapable

decision that the footage was faked. It said that millions of people had

been deceived by Panorama. But tonight's BBC and Primark are still

at odds over the programme and the finding of the Trust. The Trust

said there was clear evidence that work was being outsourced against

the ethical trading principles of the shop. And they obtained other

footage of people working in a refugee camp. But Primark insisted

it was completely untrue to say that evidence had been planted that

child Labour was being used. A woman who was serving on the jury

at a drugs trial last yearhas been sent to prison for contacting one

of the defendants on Facebook. Joanne Fraill burst into tears this

morning as she was jailed for eight months for contempt of court, the

first time anyone's been convicted for using the internet. She

contacted Jamie Sewart while the jury was still deliberating on its

verdicts. Two men have appeared in court in

Exeter in connection with an alleged plot to rob the singer,

Joss Stone. Junior Bradshaw and Kevin Liverpool, from Manchester,

are accused of conspiracy to commit robbery and grievous bodily harm.

They'll appear again next month. No action is to be taken against

the Conservative MP, Andrew Bridgen, over allegations of a sexual

assault. The MP for Leicestershire North West vigorously denied any

wrong doing when he was arrested last Thursday after a 29-year-old

woman made a complaint to police. The American congresswoman,

Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in January has been

released from hospital. The congresswoman was injured and six

others died in the shooting at a constituency event in Tuscon,

Arizona. The man accused of the shooting has been declared mentally

unfit to stand trial. New figures show the number of NHS

Trusts across England breaching waiting time limits has doubled in

the last year. Earlier this month, David Cameron promised to keep an

18 week limit on waiting for hospital treatment for most

patients. Our Health Correspondent, Branwen Jeffreys, is here. Branwen,

what do the figures show? That 18 week limit was the time between

your GP deciding need the operation and you receiving that treatment in

hospital. Across England the average shows that figures are

holding up. But it is the detail that is interesting. Last year in

25th April areas were failing to meet that limit of 18 weeks. This

year in April 1951 areas were failing to meet that target, so

twice as many seeming to struggle with meeting their promised to

patients to treat them quickly. And when you look at hospitals, a

similar pattern emerges. Although some areas are doing well, which is

helping keep the national average up, some other areas are doing

badly and you could face longer waiting times spent a year ago.

Car thefts have fallen to just over 100,000 a year according to new

figures. It's thought improvements in security systems and alarms have

helped deter would be car thieves. The figure is more than five times

lower than 20 years ago, when more than half a million cars were

stolen annually. Our transport correspondent Richard Scott has

been to the UK motor industry's research centre in Thatcham to find

out more. Most car crimes are committed but

opportunists. The war against car crime has been going on for decades.

In this car's day that he had it pretty easy. He could just break

the window and Hot Wired the car and drive off. But with modern cars

it is a very different situation. Even though the window has been

broken, there is an alarm going off and he cannot open the door because

the handles do not work without the key. And even if he gets into the

car he cannot drive it away because the engine will not start without

the key. That is because modern keys have a chip unique to the car

that they belong to. Car us are so Secure now so the key is the best

way to deter criminals. It is important that we can communicate

that message to the consumer, be careful with your key. That is

something that Keith Ridge knows all too well. His house was broken

into just to get his car keys. our neighbours with their almost

immediately and told me that the car had been stolen from the drive.

The whole thing took less than 12 seconds. Very professional theft.

Over the last decade, car crime has fallen sharply. More than 300,000

cars were stolen in 2003 but that had dropped to just 107,000 by last

year. Around three-quarters of those were stolen with the key. It

is still possible to steal cars, it keeps can use high-tech equipment

to bypass the security. But that costs money and as one former fief

told me, it is simply often not worth it. I asked technology moves

on for the manufacturers, it moves on for the car thieves and that is

a heavy investment. Only a select few will do that now. Although the

technology has changed, the message has not. Car crime - together we

As retail sales for, Labour says it is time for a temporary cut in VAT

to get a spending again. -- get a spending again. Coming up, as the

wait for a British men's singles champion at Wimbledon goes on, is

investment in grassroots tennis The budget cuts are affecting all

of us as services are scaled back and councils try to help more

people, but with less money. But what about the people on the very

margins of our society? In the second of our series looking at

tough times, Richard Bilton has travelled to Manchester to see how

some of the city's poorest are coping.

These are the desperate, looking for food. The soup kitchens of

Manchester are busier than ever. Jason lost his home a month ago.

it weren't for this centre and other ones, I would be starving and

committing crime because there is no alternative. This is a city

where �110 million is being cut from council budgets. There was

tension here, and a fight starts. These people have nothing, and more

and more are looking for help. Those who run this place say this

year, there has been a large rise in those who come to use it. The

average used to be about 60 a night. This year, it is up to 80,

sometimes 90 a-night who come here because they have nowhere else to

go for food. We are not opposed to the cuts. We understand that they

need to happen. But they are happening far too quickly. We are

getting people coming here who have not had their benefits, and they

are starving. I across town, another sign that the very poor are

struggling. This charity is being asked for more food parcels. It is

a charity funded by donations, but they say the cuts are driving more

and more people to their door. have had a sharp intake of people

who are referred to us. And can you handle that? No. Are not at all.

There are plenty of positives here. Janice is a single mum with five

kids. All of her children are either working or in training.

never give up. It was either that or the dole, and they do not want

the dole. So they have no choice but to keep looking. We heard that

it was a recession, but we tighten our belts anyway. So I just carried

on doing what we was doing. Across town, Jason prepares for the night.

He has not got a hostel, and will sleep in a bus shelter. He thinks

life is getting harder for those on the streets. They want to get

everyone back into work, but it is easier said than done. There are

people who have not got problems. How can you get a job when you are

scruffy and you smell? J son is not here because of the cuts. But on

the streets, you can fill their impact.

And tomorrow in the last of his series, which it looks at how

middle Britain is coping in these tough economic times.

The terror group Al-Qaeda has appointed Ayman Al-Zawahiri, a

long-time associate of Osama Bin Laden, as its new leader. In a

statement, the group vowed to continue what it called the holy

war against the United States, Israel and their allies. But

tonight one US official said Al- Zawahiri would have a hard time

leading Al-Qaeda "while focusing on his own survival". Our security

correspondent is here. Well, Al-Qaeda's new leader is

already a familiar figure. He worked hand-in-glove with Osama Bin

Laden for many years. He has given Al-Qaeda much of its strategic

direction, and he has long been the group's most visible spokesman.

Here he is just last week, saying the war with the West will go on.

His appointment has largely been welcomed on extremist websites. Bin

Laden and Al-Zawahiri collaborated closely. Both had been on the run,

both with huge patches on their heads. Al-Zawahiri is seen as the

natural successor. Today the Defence Secretary, visiting

Afghanistan, said Al-Qaeda's new leadership would change little.

Whoever happens to be heading Al- Qaeda is in many ways, an academic

issue, because our resolve is undiminished. We need to rid

ourselves of violent extremism under whatever guise. So what do we

know about Ayman Al-Zawahiri? He is a lifelong Egyptian extremist who

will be 60 this Sunday. He was the one who radicalised Osama Bin Laden

in the '90s, and got him to think global. He was the operational

brains behind the 9/11 attacks, and the US has long had a $25 million

bounty on his head. Al-Zawahiri was radicalised long ago, imprisoned by

the Egyptian state after President said that's assassination. Extreme

violence perpetrated by Al-Qaeda is often attributed to his strategic

direction. His supporters want more such attacks. But in an era of

democracy and liberalisation, Al- Qaeda's critics say Al-Zawahiri

will struggle to prove it has anything to offer. Financially, its

resources are drying up. Its operational spaces have been

confined by the drone strikes. Its leadership is being picked off. Al-

Zawahiri has inherited an organisation that is struggling to

carry out transnational attacks. And yet this Al-Qaeda opera to

killed last week in Somalia was carrying early plans for an attack

on London's Ritz Hotel and on Eton College, David Cameron's old school.

The plans were not advanced and it is not yet known if Al-Qaeda's new

leader even knew anything about them.

So Al-Zawahiri is taking over Al- Qaeda at a crucial time for the

organisation. Critics say it is fragmenting and getting left behind

in the Middle East. Others say it's down, but now out, still capable of

lashing out against the West. It has been the first day of

cricket at the Rose Bowl and Hanshin. England have had the best

of it, winning the toss and putting the Sri Lankan is in to bat in

conditions helpful to the bowlers, but rain has had the upper hand for

most of the day. The visitors were 39 for four a short time ago.

We are just days away from the world's best tennis players

converging on Wimbledon. But apart from Andy Murray, there are no

senior British players in contention and within the sport,

people are beginning to ask why. The sport's governing body has had

�250 million to spend on development over the last five

years. Our sports editor looks at where all that cash has gone.

The supplies are arriving, the weather has arrived, but despite

all the money it generates for British tennis, the long wait for a

Wimbledon men's champion goes on. It is now 75 years since Fred Perry

last won the most sought-after prize in the sport. And as each

year passes, so the pressure builds on the game's governing body to

unearth a new champion. The Lawn Tennis Association invests millions

of pounds each year in centres like this one in Telford. But critics

say far too much money has been wasted on helping elite players.

The man in charge for the last five years insists that his approach

will pay off. You only have to look at any sport to say you have got to

have continuity and stick with your strategy. Whether you are Alex

Ferguson or Clive Woodward, you need time and you need to hold to a

long-term vision. The vision when Draper started in 2006 was to have

five men or women in the top 100 within two years. But today,

Britain has just Rhys singles players in the top 100, and only

Andy Murray challenging for Grand Slam titles. And that is despite

receiving more than �250 million in revenue. For all the money the LTA

spends on developing the game, it is ultimately here on Centre Court

where British tennis is judged. But the challenge in this country is to

break free of the annual obsession with the Wimbledon fortnight and

instead focus on trying to change the image of a sport which are

still seen as cosy and elitist. For the man who beat Murray to this

year's Australian Open, winning is about much more than financial

support. It all comes down to mental strength and desire to

succeed and the hunger to become a professional tennis player and the

best. Many believe Andy Murray has that hunger. But even a repeat of

his Queen's triumph at Wimbledon will not answer all the questions

over Britain's lack of world-class The weather was looking more for

this time yesterday. Let's see if Darren Bett can improve on things.

It is safe to say that there will be rain delays at Wimbledon next

week, at the least. That is because the weather pattern is not changing.

We are back to thick cloud tomorrow coming up from the south-west,

bringing rain across many parts of the country. The cloud is a long

way off, but there is a lot of it coming from the south-west to bring

us the rain tomorrow. Ahead of it, some sharp showers. Those will fade

quickly this evening. Many eastern areas will be dry and clear. For

the West, the cloud arrives and we see rain coming in by the morning.

A bit chilly in northern Scotland and north-east England. A bright

start tomorrow for some eastern areas. The wettest weather will be

in the West, quickly moving into Scotland and eventually drifting

eastwards. In the afternoon, not a great deal of rain to the east of

the Pennines, but a lot of cloud around here. It will turn wetter

through the afternoon in the south- east of England. It is suppressing

those temperatures as it turns wetter. Cooler further towards the

West. In the evening, we get late sunshine in Cornwall and Devon. But

most of the day will be wet. Across Wales, a wet day. Some heavy rain

over the Brecon Beacons. It will be cloudy and wet for most of the day.

The rain is mainly in eastern parts of Northern Ireland to begin with.

Then we are back into bog-standard sunshine and showers. It will turn

wetter across Scotland. But not bad in northern Scotland. There is

still rain on Saturday for Scotland. Elsewhere, some sunny intervals,

but also showers. Some blustery winds across southern parts of

England and Wales. On Saturday, we are back into this familiar mix of

sunny intervals and heavy showers. Sunday looks better. It should be

drier and brighter. But an improving story as we head through