24/02/2012 BBC News at Six

A 65-year-old former businessman is on his way to America, the latest

Briton to lose his battle against extradition.

Christopher Tappin is accused of selling missile parts to Iran. He

denies the charge and says he has been unfairly treated. I have no

rights. Abu Qatada is walking the streets of London today and we

cannot extradite him. He has more rights than I have. If I was a

terrorist, I wouldn't be going to America.

Also tonight: As attacks continue in Syria, world leaders gather to

urge the government to adopt an immediate ceasefire.

The fire that destroyed a furniture shop during the summer riots - a

man pleads guilty. Over 30 years ago the case that

shocked Australia... I said to Michael, "A dingo has got the

baby." Today, the mother fights again to clear her name.

In sport: We hear from the new man in charge of Wolves. Terry Connor

has 13 games to keep his club in Good evening. Welcome to the BBC

News at Six. A 65-year-old retired British businessman is on his way

to America extradited on a charge of supplying missile parts to Iran.

Christopher Tappin said his treatment was a disgrace and that

he had fewer rights than the Muslim extremist cleric, Abu Qatada, who

has so far fought deportation for terror charges to Jordan. Mr Tappin

denies the charges against him. If convicted, he faces up to 35 years

in jail. Christopher Tappin is accused of

being part of an international criminal conspiracy. He is said to

have been involved in a plot to sell missile parts to Iran. He

maintains he's been falsely implicated by a business client

arrested in a US undercover operation. At Heathrow before he

went into the custody of American Air Marshalls, he went on the

attack. I have no rights. Abu Qatada is walking the streets of

London today and we cannot extradite him. He has more rights

than I have. If I was a terrorist, I wouldn't be going to America.

Downing Street says the cases are completely different. At

Christopher Tappin's side, his wife, Elaine, who has health problems.

REPORTER: How do you feel, Mrs Tappin? I don't think my wife would

like to answer any questions. Sorry. Before he boarded the plane, there

was a parting shot at the Prime Minister. I look to Mr Cameron to

look after my rights and he's failed to do so. This case is the

latest to highlight what some claim is the unfair extradition agreement

between Britain and America. Critics say the UK doesn't

scrutinise the evidence in the same way the Americans do before a

suspect is put on a plane. A recent review decided the system was

balanced and one lawyer with a background in English and American

law agrees. A lot of people used to argue there was a different

standard being applied, that to get someone extradited from America we

had to show probable cause, whereas here there was only reasonable

suspicion. In fact, the standards are the same. You still have to

show a reasonable belief that criminal activity has taken place.

Since the Act came into force, the UK has made 57 extradition requests

to the US and 40 people have been returned here. The United States

has made 134 requests to the UK. So far, 75 people have been dispatched

to America. Amongst the cases still being decided is that of law

student Richard O'Dwyer, accused of internet crime and the most high-

profile, Gary McKinnon, wanted for hacking into US military computers.

The NatWest Three who were convicted of fraud have all served

time in American jails. Now back home, one of them wonders how

Christopher Tappin will cope in prison there. I worry for him

because I'm a 6ft 2in ugly Glaswegian and I found it hard,

very, very hard and I was scared. It was one of the most scariest

things in my life. Christopher Tappin will touchdown in Texas.

Initially, he will be held at a federal detention centre as he

tries to get bail. The Home Office says the Home Secretary considered

all the relevant matters before she signed the extradition warrant.

June joins me now. What are the chances that Mr Tappin will get

bail and be able to return to the UK? Well, very slim. If he got bail,

he would have to remain in the US. On the Abu Qatada point, it was the

European Court which decided that Abu Qatada could not be sent back

to Jordan. In Christopher Tappin's case, it's a British court which

has said he can be sent to the US. When he gets to the States tonight,

it will be 9.00 UK time, his first court appearance is not until

Monday. His lawyers say his first bail hearing will be next Thursday

and it is far from certain he will get bail. If he does, he will have

to stay over there. They also say it could be two years before his

case gets to court. So whatever happens legally, it looks as though

Christopher Tappin is facing a long stay in the United States.

Thank you. As the shelling continues in Homs,

the Red Cross and Syrian Red Crescent have entered the area.

William Hague said it was time to formally recognise Syria's main

opposition. Homs today where Syrians are still being shelled by

their own government. On one street people gather to send a message to

the conference in Tunisia to intervene - help us militarily or

not at all says one banner. More unverified footage, jubilant

opposition fighters here Homs, with remnants of an armoured vehicle

they say they destroyed. They too want the outside world to arm them.

At the Tunis conference, the array of foreign ministers opposed to

President Assad is impressive. Yet even powerful countries like the

United States have to admit they are helpless to stop the violence.

The problem is who is not in the conference room? Both Russia and

China refused to come. Without any allies of President Assad here,

there is no way to get him to agree to a ceasefire. Outside, a small,

noisy protest of pro-Assad demonstrators did briefly disrupt

proceedings. A reminder not everyone is against the Syrian

President. The point is that ever since Russia and China blocked a UN

Resolution criticising Syria, the outside world has been split and

until that changes, getting UN legal authority to do anything in

Syria, whatever is decided here in Tunis, will be virtually impossible.

We have now reached the point where this is clearly a criminal regime.

Yes, of course, all our efforts so far, the United Nations Security

Council, to agree a resolution based on the Arab League plan which

involved a cessation of violence, those efforts have been frustrated

by Russia and China. To tackle the violence there are no easy options.

Any ceasefire would need President Assad's consent. Calling for

"humanitarian corridors" is also tricky. They would need armed

protection. And arming the opposition could also be dangerous.

It might just make the bloodshed worse. So, meanwhile, it is a

waiting game. As far as humanitarian aid goes, all this

conference can do is prepare for a future when Syria's borders won't

be closed by stockpiling aid in neighbouring countries and keeping

up the diplomatic pressure. It was one of the most shocking

images of last summer's riots, the huge fire at a South London

furniture store which burnt to the ground. Today, 32-year-old Gordon

Thompson admitted he started it changing his plea to guilty at the

Old Bailey. It was one of the most devastating

destructive acts of the summer riots, a family business trading in

Croydon since 1867 deliberately burnt to the ground. Now, we know

who was responsible - Gordon Thompson, 33, has admitted arson,

burglary and violent disorder. People across the country were

shocked at the level of violence that was committed on the 8th

August 2011. The images of Reeves Corner are some of THE most iconic

from that day. Gordon Thompson was among those rampaging through

Croydon. He raided several shops before finding himself outside

Reeves Furniture Store. Watch the group moving left to right at the

top of the screen. One bends down, something burning in his hand. He

appears to touch it to a sofa. This was Thompson as he started the fire.

The flames spread fast feeding on hundreds of thousands of pounds

worth of brand-new furniture. There was little the firefighters could

do. The store was reduced to rubble and during the fire, embers drifted

across the street to these flats. Inside lives were at risk. In this

dramatic picture, shopworker Monika Konczyk jumps to safety as the fire

spreads. Six months on, the father and son who owned the store which

stood here are still negotiating with insurers and still disgusted

at what happened. The business has been here for so long. As I have

said many times, it survived two wars, it's survived the Great

Depression and many other things that can be thrown at it. But this

one incident burnt it down. It doesn't say much for society, does

it? The investigation into the summer disorder continues. Thompson

will be sentenced in April. The Government's programme to get

the unemployed back to work has suffered another setback. In the

last hour, Emma Harrison, Downing Street's former Family Champion,

has announced she is stepping down as the chairman of her Welfare to

Work firm A4e. Iain Watson is at Westminster. This company is at the

centre of a media storm? It's going to get bigger, I think. A4e gets

contracts worth �180 million from the Government. Its key task is to

get the long-term unemployed back to work. It's paid by results. So

at the time of rising unemployment, its efforts are crucial to the

Government's attempt to get people back into the labour force more

quickly. The trouble is that A4e has been investigated by the police

over allegations of fraud. There is no suggestion that Emma Harrison is

involved, but as you were saying, she resigned because of this bad

publicity, David Cameron's Family Champion, now she has resigned from

her own company. Government contracts should be suspended, the

Government are said to review this. In addition to that, there is

another problem I think for A4e this evening. Not only are they

currently leaderless but they have had to launch an internal

investigation into what is going on so therefore the media storm may

continue for some time. Thank you.

Lloyds Banking Group which is 40% owned by the taxpayer has announced

a pre-tax loss of �3.5 billion. Most of the losses are setting down

money for those that were mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance.

Lloyds, the black horse, back in the red again. The previous year's

return to profit, the apparent recovery didn't last. A whopping

loss of �3.5 billion in 2011, largely because of a �3.2 billion

charge to compensate the thousands of customers who were mis-sold PPI

credit insurance. That's hit the results that we have now seen. They

are keen to move away from that. A number of people have had their

bonuses withdrawn because of that mis-selling that took place. Here

is what should probably worry taxpayers, all of us who put �20

billion into Lloyds to rescue this owner of the Halifax and the bank

of Scotland. Lloyds would have made a loss of a few hundred million

pounds even without the PPI charge. The big story is of a squeeze on

what it earns, increasingly its customers are reluctant to borrow

and some of them are repaying their debts because of the general

economic uncertainty. Now, when Lloyds is able to lend, it is

making less profit because banks have to borrow what they lend and

the cost of borrowing is going up, quite a lot. In spite of the losses,

�375 million of bonuses have been paid by Lloyds which some believe

isn't appropriate. Though these bonuses have gone to thousands of

staff so the average was �3,900. Far less than the bonuses at

Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland. Lloyds' boss Antonio Horta-Osario

is back in the saddle after his leave of absence. He told me today

that Lloyds is just one year into a five-year recovery programme which

means it will be years before taxpayers' 40% stake in the bank

The motto is for the journey, and it looks like we will be on that

journey for quite a long time. Eventually I am sure we will get

our money back, it is a question of when. They might be in the red, but

it is stronger than it was, less at risk of going bust. Even so, at

best, it will be a slow trot and tell taxpayers get their �20

Our top story: A British businessman has been extradited to

America, accused of supplying missile parts to Iran. He claims

his treatment is a disgrace. Coming up, Hollywood prepares for its big

night. This time, the Oscar winners could be a distinctly international

affair. In Sportsday, we will be previewing

the Six Nations games this weekend, including England against Wales at

Twickenham and Ireland playing 17 men at the heart of the UK's

biggest fraud involving illegal catches of fish, along with a

processing factory, have been fined almost �1 million. The trawler ship

-- skippers from Shetland sold vast quantities of mackerel and herring,

evading quotas. Two other factories were also involved in a �60 million

fraud. In the deep waters off Britain, the

largest and most profitable boats in the UK fleet trawl for mackerel

and herring. The catch is limited by controversial European quotas in

place to prevent overfishing, but it is still extremely lucrative. A

single trip to see could be worth millions. These skippers have now

admitted fraud on an industrial scale, the conspiracy to hide the

scale of their landings involve the fishermen, some factories and

industry middleman and more than half the Scottish boats catching

these types of fish were also in on the crime. Wealthy people wanted to

make themselves even wealthier. It is staggering, in terms of money

involved both in terms of official landing of fish and the unofficial

landings that we discovered. investigation started in Shetland,

where authorities discovered that all but one of the large trawlers

were ignoring legal limits on how much they could fish. The skippers

involved in the scam were landing their catch of herring and mackerel

at this processing plant on the edge of Lerwick. The factory was

raided and everything appeared normal. The scales had been

doctored to give false readings, masking the real weight of the

catch. It was not confined just to the Northern Isles. In Peterhead,

two other factories were raided. Police even uncovered a pipeline to

smuggle fish ashore so that they would not be weighed. The fishing

industry says practices have now changed. But they believe they have

been singled out for breaking quotas. This was quite widespread,

not only within the UK but across Europe as well. If you take a look

at the approach is taken by different governments, is there a

level playing field across Europe? We do not think areas. The

staggering level of under declaration meant the EU reduced

Britain's allocation of mackerel and herring to take account of the

cheating. The authorities are now monitoring the fleet much more

closely to make sure the quotas, however unpopular, our idiot to. --

Ark appeared to. Police have appealed for calm after

200 youths attacked a takeaway in Greater Manchester. It is connected

to the ongoing trial 11 men accused of being part of a child sex ring.

Chris Buckler is in Heywood. Last night, the police, a takeaway

restaurant and cars were attacked in this town. While little remains

of the physical damage that was caused, it is the impact on

relationships and the community Placards, protesters and the police.

One of pound's main streets was dominated by a demonstration last

night. Many of those involved were many young. But at times things did

turn violent. All of this was in response to an ongoing trial. 11

men from Rochdale and Oldham deny charges of grooming and sexually

abusing teenage girls. But it is last night's protest that has made

today's headlines. There was a big group of them. I saw it last night.

There are loads. The men on trial are Asian. There is concern that

community tensions have been raised as a result of both the case and

now the protest. It went into racism, it should not have, but

there were people chanting racist things? I heard one or two things.

I thought, that is not what it was about. There were also angry scenes

outside the court in Liverpool where the trial is being held.

After last night's trouble, police are worried that some groups may be

trying to use those legal proceedings. There are clear racial

element behind that. The day-to-day coverage of the trial adds tension

into the community. There are elements within the community, not

just within Rochdale, that would seek to use that to their own gain.

Community relations are a key concern the day after the night of

trouble. The police have promised a robust response to any person who

tries to use anything as an excuse for violence. They say there will

be extra officers on patrol in the town this evening.

The Green Party's spring conference has opened at Liverpool with the

party leader, Caroline Lucas, telling delegates that the party

was growing on a local and national level because of disillusion with

mainstream Westminster politics. She said the image of Britain as a

fair country where people had equal access to proper community

facilities was being undermined by the economic crisis. The courage to

set out to dismantle the welfare state, to punish the poor, the old

and the sick. To take away those things that we should all equally

shared. So, the libraries are closing. The swimming pools are

shutting down. The playing fields are sold off for development. But

people are fighting back. We are fighting back, fighting for

fairness and fighting for our principles.

The leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas.

Now it took controversy from over 30 years ago that still stirs

strong emotions in Australia today. The death of a tiny baby in the

outback. Her parents said she had been taken by a dingo. But her

mother, Lindy Chamberlain, was convicted of her murder. She was

eventually cleared, but speculation has never gone away. A full inquest

has opened into the case. It was the case that divided

Australia. Lindy Chamberlain, the young mother who claimed a wild

dingo had taken her baby daughter. It happened 31 years ago, at what

was then called Ayers Rock, during a family camping trip. Lindy

Chamberlain claimed nine-week-old Azaria was snatched from the tent

by a dingo and was never seen again. I ran out and I said, a dingo has

got the baby. The jury did not believe her and convicted her of

murdering Azaria. It was only when Azaria's jacket was found in a

dingo's dent later that she was cleared. Now she is back in court

to get a dingo officially blamed for the death. She and her husband

have put forward new evidence cataloguing dozens of real life

attacks on humans by dingoes. By calling for another inquest, the

couple, who have since divorced, are looking for one more thing in

this long-running case. For a coroner to record formerly and

finally that it was a dingo that killed their daughter. Later, she

thanked the court for hearing her arguments. It gives me hope, this

time, that Australians will finally be warned and realise that dingoes

are a dangerous animal. I also hope that this will give a final finding

which closes the inquest into my daughter's death, which so far has

been standing open and unfinished. It is unfinished of three decades.

But with the coroner verdict due next week, they believe that the

dingo baby story will finally come It is the US film industry's

biggest night of the year and the night when Hollywood traditionally

rewards... Well, Hollywood. But the Oscars this year could be

remembered as a distinctly international affair, with the

French film The Artist favourite to win several awards. Will Gompertz

has been looking at the nominees. Preparations are under way for

Sunday night's Oscar ceremony. It is a culmination of the eight-month

epic that is the award season. Will the winners be as expected, or

might there be surprises? Could it be that the British staff, Gary

Oldman, wins best actor as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier

Spy? The right honourable gentleman knows very well that we had no

choice but to close the school. This year, the Oscars have been at

the centre of heated debate. A survey in the LA Times reveals that

the academy lacks diversity among voting members, which the paper

said were predominantly white, male and middle-aged. She doesn't seem

to mind. Whose fault is that? YOURS! But does the most nominated

actors of all time care about the Oscars? Sadly, it still matters! It

does, it is so exciting. It really is. I remember the first time I

went. Lord Olivier was there, I was next to Gregory Peck, Bette Davis

was behind me. I mean, I have been going to that thing for many years.

As for best film, well, all of the talk has been about the French

silent-movie The Artist. Everyone from this kid at Harvard, who has

got a programme of predicting the Oscars to all of the people in what

they called the blogosphere, making predictions, everybody seems to

think it is a fault on conclusion that The Artist as one Mark

Cruddace. -- foregone conclusion. It doesn't seem like it will be the

year of the American film. Or maybe it will. The Americans certainly

are not out of the picture. There is Steven Spielberg's War Horse.

There is Martin Scorsese's family feature Hugo. And Woody Allen's

romantic comedy, Midnight in Paris. I just want to walk around Paris

with you. I keep forgetting you're just a tourist. That put it mildly.

The Help, a story about racial tensions in Mississippi, is another

contender. And Viola Davies is Now the weather. It has felt

distinctly spring-like down south? Yes, and Barlaston that warmth is

disappearing now. There are still winners and losers in the weather.

The last of the spring warmth home on for one more day across the far

south-east. In Kent, a bit of sunshine poking through the cloud.

We got too near 17 Celsius. Despite the sunshine in northern England,

where we had 18 yesterday, closer to 10 this afternoon. The

difference between the two is this strip of cloud, giving patchy rain.

Is the dividing line between the mild air to the south and the coal

they elsewhere. If you're in that cold air and you have well broken

cloud, your temperature will be close to freezing. A touch of frost,

particularly in the countryside. The cloud to the south, so that

England and South Wales, is courtesy of that weather front.

Your temperature holds up. Elsewhere, close to freezing and

showers in northern Scotland turned to rain later in the night. These

are the headlines. This is why there are more winners than losers.

Unless you want rain, that is. Those temperatures are closer to

where we would expect this time of the air. Day-by-day for tomorrow, a

damp and drizzly start in the far south. We hold on to that sort of

weather in the south-west during the day. The rain in north-west

Scotland edges further south during the day. Still some sunshine. North

Aberdeenshire, the best of the sunshine in Northern Ireland is

down the eastern side. For England and Wales, not clear sky by any

stretch of the imagination. But there are sunny spells and for many

it is dry. We keep that cloud. Good shape in the south-east. 13 degrees,

good enough for that time of year. Good shape for the rugby at

Twickenham and for the League Cup final on Sunday. In the West, more

cloud around, rain in western Scotland. Central and eastern areas

have the best of the dry and bright weather on Sunday.