01/10/2012 BBC News at Six

Tackling Britain's pensions black hole - a radical reform of the

system starts today. A life-time of saving - automatic

enrolment for millions of workers, starting with those at the biggest

companies. I do think it is a good idea. I remember from being a kid,

my father bobsleighing, you should be in a pension. -- my father

saying. But is this the right time to ask hard-pressed families to

save more? Also tonight, a father and his two

children found dead in the Hampshire countryside. The boy and

girl had been stabbed. Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls says

Labour would rebuild Britain. He calls for a new scheme to construct

100,000 homes. A senior police officer appears in

court, accused of leaking information to the News of the

World. The history books rewritten...

And the shot that won the Ryder Cup for Europe and left the Americans

stunned. One of the greatest comebacks in golfing history.

And coming up, we will have the latest as England look to book

their place in the finals of the Good evening and welcome to the BBC

News at Six. Starting today, millions of workers in the private

sector will be automatically enrolled into a new pension scheme

which will radically change the way they save for retirement. With the

country facing a pensions black hole, the new plan means that

employees will see money taken out of their pay packets. At first,

only staff at the biggest companies will be affected, but eventually up

to 11 million employees will be included in the scheme. Here's our

personal finance correspondent, Simon Gompertz.

The pensions landscape is bleak. We are living longer but without

saving enough. This is Redcar in the north-east of England, the

region at the bottom of the lead in Britain for the numbers saving in

company pensions. So starting today, 11 million workers here and

elsewhere are being enrolled automatically into workplace

schemes. Betty wishes she had had that. Once part time, now retired

with no private pension, so money is a struggle. An awful lot of

people are in my position but what can we do? You have to get on with

it. At the Morrisons and Redcar, it has been normal to retire on just

the state pension, like Betty. But that will change. Kerry is 26 and

she has just become a pensions saver for the first time. Morrisons

will dog the cash from her wages and a company contribution plus a

tax refund will go in. I remember my dad saying, you should be in a

pension from when I was a kid. Make sure your money his save for the

future because nobody else will do it. Supermarkets are the biggest

employers so they will have to provide the pensions first. The

rules are, if you are over 22, most workplaces have to n'roll you in a

pension scheme if you are earning over �1,105. -- have to enrol you.

You can only be counted after being signed up. There is a risk that

from some employers, the value of your pension could be cut if

savings do badly. Wendy Taylor guarantees the value of savings at

Morrisons will not go down. It is difficult. Pensions are a big

financial commitment both for the individual colleague but for us as

an organisation as well. The hope here is that the vast majority will

stick with a pension, and that is what the minister says is needed

where so few have a workplace schemes. They are worried up to

half will opt out because of the cost. Plenty in Redcar say they do

not have the money. I cannot afford to put money in a pension now. She

doesn't work. At my age, I would have to put too much in to make it

worth my while. Because I am 15 out. And even if you do save for the

bench and, once you get it, you might lose benefits. The Government

says this will not be a problem. Even under the present rules, the

vast majority will be better off saving for their old age,

particularly taking into account the money the company and the

Government puts in as tax relief. But we want to reinforce the

message that it pays to save. big firms have the green light,

smaller companies will follow month-by-month with their pensions

in a roll-out which will take five years.

Our economics editor, Stephanie Flanders, is with me now. Does this

do what it says, plug the pensions hole? Even if people stay in the

schemes, it could be the money they are putting in his money they would

have saved any way in a personal pension, and because of the timing,

it is probably more likely people will opt out than they might have

done when times were better a few years ago. I think it just reminds

us how hard it is to do pension policy. This is a policy six years

in the making and it will affect people's income has decades from

now, and it just happens it is being introduced at a time when in

the short term, it could not be in their interest if they are

struggling to put food on the table or have debts to be paying off. It

is a bit like our economy as a halt - we need to be saving long-term

but also keeping the show on the road, and saving short term might

not be the right thing now. There's a full guide to the new

workplace pensions scheme on our website. Follow the link.

The Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, says the Government does not have a

credible plan for growth. He told the Labour Party Conference in

Manchester that Britain faced a lost decade if bold action was not

taken to kick-start the economy. There's been disagreement between

the party leadership and the Trades Unions over Labour backing for a

public sector pay-freeze. Our political editor, Nick Robinson,

reports from Manchester. Can Britain build its way out of

recession? Should the Government spend more to build more houses?

And cannot be done without simply borrowing more and piling up

national debt? Labour's answer to all of those questions is yes.

is a clear and costed plan to kick- start the recovery and get people

back to work, building the homes we need now and for the long-term,

building our way out of recession and rebuilding Britain for the

future. Today, the Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, donned his

hard hat to claim he had found a way to build 100,000 new houses

without adding to the deficit. Where would the money come from?

Well, he claims from the auction at -- auctioning off the old 4G

Network. Labour says the Government needs to get its hands dirty if

there is to be a -- an alternative to plan A. There is nothing

credible about a plan that leads to a double-dip recession, one million

people out of work, billions wasted on a lack of funding. It is not

credible, it is just plain wrong. Labour wants to prove that slogan

wrong and to claim that if they were in government now, there would

be an economic plan B. But they are less keen to talk about what they

would do if they were in government in a few years' time. But when they

do, it triggers a bit of a row. Asking the poorest for further

sacrifices for a crisis they did not cause is the road to political

ruin. And to defeat at the next general election. The unions are

still sore about the fact Labour's leaders have backed the coalition's

curbs on public sector pay. With our members, overwhelmingly low-

paid women, are struggling to survive day-to-day, more than

anything, they want hope from our leaders, not lectures to simply

justify a Tory agenda. This was a sign of difficult choices to come.

The Chancellor evoke the spirit of wartime Britain, insisting of the

country could be rebuilt but would have to accept painful sacrifices

along the way. As I said to the TUC, we have to be up front with the

British people that under Labour there would have been cuts and back

on spending, pay and pensions, there will be difficult Sicher --

decisions in the future from which we will not flinch. A what they

might be, Ed Balls didn't say, and insisted he cannot give us detailed

plans until after a general election. But if his -- he is to be

our next Chancellor, Labour will come under mounting pressure to

spell out the bad news as well as the good.

As Nick was just saying, Labour Leader Ed Miliband gives his

keynote speech tomorrow. He's got to convince the party and the

voters that he has what it takes to win a general election and lead the

country. So what does his party think of him? Our deputy political

editor, James Landale, has been finding out.

Meet Ed Miliband. Leader of Labour, husband and father, brother of

David. But who is he really and is he electable? Those are the

questions, this week, the party hopes to give you the answers to.

Every young person should feel they can have a career, a future, like I

had. So in their latest election broadcast, predictably dubbed Ed of

the pledge, he took it back to school. A local comprehensive

school. Did you get that? Ed Miliband went to this comprehensive

school in North London. The message is that he is an ordinary boy and

did not go to Eton that David Cameron. What the broadcast did not

say is that he lives in a smart part of North London, went to the

same primary school as Boris Johnson and is a former policy

adviser that likes to use long words. The language, some say, of a

geek. He has no more of a geek than I am! But he can add up! It is just

rubbish! We are told Ed Miliband's speech tomorrow will be hugely

personable, about his background, his values. Labour think the public

are now ready to give him the hearing but they also think the

public really don't know him very well. What do you know about Ed

Miliband? What do I know? Not a lot, actually. He is conservative, isn't

he? He is actually Labour. course he is! Some who did know

about him also knew about his brother. He is the Labour Party guy

with the brother that... Yeah... bit of a brotherly brawl going on.

The answer to this, say Labour, is to make Ed Miliband a big figure

people have heard of. What is the problem, they don't know him or

don't rate him? We have gone from being the most interesting

political party to the third most interesting, and that is difficult

for a new leader. The door is open for at the public looking at him in

a different way. Once a bruiser, always a bruiser! That is me told!

Ed Miliband will not be slapping any body about tomorrow but he will

be wanting to wake the nation up to what he is and what he has to offer.

The bodies of two children and their father have been found near a

car on a bridleway in Hampshire. It is believed the father killed his

children before taking his own life. They were discovered in Newton

Stacey yesterday evening. Sophie Hutchinson is there for us now.

was on this small bridleway behind me that the bodies of the two

children and their father were discovered yesterday at about this

time, and it is something that has really shocked this quite isolated

community here in the rolling Hampshire countryside, and also

devastated their families. Forensic officers have been working

at this site all day, trying to make sense of what they have

described as one of the worst incidents they have seen. Yesterday

evening on the ground, beside his car, officers discovered the bodies

of two and children and their father. Seven-year-old Ben and his

six-year-old sister Freya are believed to have died of fatal stab

wounds. Their father, 51-year-old Michael Pedersen, is thought to

have taken his own life. I can't think of any other better word to

describe it than tragic. It is a dreadful loss of life all around.

One of the most tragic cases we have had. It was a member of the

public to notice the blue Saab abandon suspiciously in this narrow

bridle way, and they phoned police. At the same time, the children's

mother called police, are worried her estranged husband had not

brought her son and daughter home. This afternoon, police removed a

car for further examination. It is not clear with a Michael -- Michael

Pedersen was known to the authorities. Police are considering

referring the case to the Independent Police Complaints

Commission. We can tell you in August, Michael

Pedersen posted on Facebook, saying he was devastated to be separated

from his wife, and saying it was the worst day of his life. We are

expecting to find out more about this case after the postmortem

examination has taken place. Administrators at JJB Sports have

closed 133 stores and made around 200,200 staff redundant. A further

20 stores have been sold to the rival company, Sports Direct

International, safeguarding 550 jobs.

A private forensics laboratory has been blamed for a mix-up which led

to an innocent man being accused of rape and held in custody for almost

two months. Adam Scott was charged after a plastic tray containing a

sample of his DNA was used to swap a rape victim. Scientists from the

company said procedures had been adequate.

A senior Metropolitan Police officer has been accused of for

breaching the Official Secrets Act and briefing the News of the World.

DCI April Casburn -- April Casburn has been accused of leaking

information and payments to corrupt officials. Can you give us the

This was the director at the was originally investigating, and that

was looking at the point the phone hacking inquiry should be reopened.

It is alleged she contacted the News Of The World and offered to

pass the information about the investigation. In addition, this

officer is accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act and the court

was told that when her house was searched, documents were found that

she should not have taken home and some of them were protectively

marked. At the Official Secrets Charter put a ban on reporting this,

but the media challenge the ban and this afternoon it was overturned.

The officer is currently suspended. This was an initial hearing, so

there was no plea made, and she is back in court next month. Our top

story tonight: Tackling Britain's pension black hole, a radical

reform of the system starts today with automatic enrolment into a

scheme for millions of workers. Coming up: That dance - it's top of

the charts and causing a Youtube Later on the news channel we look

at why good news for Spanish banks is helping UK stocks bounced back,

and why a top shareholder is showing concern about the BAE

They're calling it the Miracle at Medinah. Europe's golfers are

celebrating one of the most remarkable victories in the 85-year

history of the Ryder Cup. They beat the United States by one point

after staging a dramatic fightback at the Medinah Country Club near

Chicago. Our correspondent, Andy Third day for European euphoria. --

a day. It was one of sport's most jaw-dropping comebacks, from the

brink of defeat to the noises to celebrations. -- the noisiest of

celebrations. Somehow they had kept the Ryder Cup, and for their leader,

the emotions overflowed. The it has been a privilege to serve as your

captain. Ought men die, but not all men leave. And you made me feel

Just 24 hours earlier, Europe were in tatters, 10-four behind and

heading for an American Wapping. But in Ian Poulter they found a

fiery figurehead -- and American pasting. These are eye-popping

victory on Saturday gave them hope. It was so nearly a final day fast

as Rory McIlroy mealy missed his match after getting the time wrong,

but from there it was like clockwork, Europe winning the first

five matches. Where did that come from? Give it up. And as they

charge, America crumbled. The home fans, who had expected a victory

procession, could scarcely believe it. And it was left to Germany's

Martin Kaymer to complete an extraordinary comeback. Yes, sir!

He has done it. That is remarkable. For the captain, it was also a

hugely poignant moment. The memory of his friend, the late Seve

Ballesteros, had inspired Europe. Victory was the ultimate tribute.

We showed yesterday the attitude that he had on the golf course, not

just on the golf course, but during his life. Especially during his

illness. He was a fighter and he always thought positively. He

always said thinking doesn't cost too much, so if you have a chance

to think, think positive. Not since the USA won a bad-tempered affair

in 1999 as the Ryder Cup seen as such a comeback. For the European

captain that day, it was sweet revenge. On Saturday night I was

thinking it was time to balance the books. They went out and did it, so

I was so pleased for them. Some of the performances were brilliant.

will be remembered then as the miracle of Medinah. The next Ryder

Cup in Scotland certainly has a The Director of Public Prosecutions

has rejected an attempt to bring a private action against two terror

suspects. The campaign against the UK's extradition arrangements with

the US wanted the pair to be tried in the UK. Tomorrow Mr Ahmed will

have his appeal heard at the High Court in another attempt to avoid

extradition to America. GCSE and A-level examinations are

to undergo a 'root and branch' review in Northern Ireland.

Stormont's education minister said it was part of a wider programme of

reform. The announcement follows that of the UK Secretary of State

for Education Michael Gove, who unveiled plans to scrap some GCSEs

in England last month. A BBC investigation found that

chief es -- G4S was not -- warned not to employ an armed guard and

Iraq days after he him -- killed to college. Danny Fitzsimmons was

sentenced in 2009. There are now calls for G4S to face charges of

corporate manslaughter. The former Marine Paul McGuigan had

been working as an armed contract or in Baghdad for G4S when he and

the Australian colleague were shot dead by fellow contract at Danny

Fitzsimmons. There had been some sort altercation in the camp and

pork and an Australian had been shot and killed. -- and Paul and an

Australian. Benefit Symons had already done for stints in Iraq as

a private security contractor -- Danny Fitzsimmons. But he had been

sacked from his last job after punching one of his clients. Back

home he was also facing criminal charges of assault and a firearms

offence. He was tried and convicted for the murders in Iraq last year.

But the BBC has also learned that e-mail warnings about his previous

convictions and his unstable behaviour were sent by a G4S

whistle blower to the company a week before they employed him. 1 E

Mail warned others would be put at risk if he was given a weapon.

fired the bullets, but the gun was put in his hand by G4S. They put

the gun in that man's hand. I want G4S to be charged with corporate

manslaughter and be held accountable. Danny Fitzsimmons's

parents were shocked to hear G4S may have been warned about their

son. We are so angry. We are absolutely distraught. Do you still

have evidence for this? We have the e-mails. The really need taking to

task for that. In a statement, G4S They didn't say whether anybody

else in the company had received Viewers in Scotland can see more on

The influential historian and best- selling author Eric Hobsbawm has

died in London at the age of 95. He'd been suffering from pneumonia.

A historian of revolution, from France in 1789 to the Arab Spring,

Eric Hobsbawm was also at times an advocate of revolutionary change,

once describing himself as an "unrepentant communist".

It's been given the thumbs up by the likes of Tom Cruise, Katy Perry

and Robbie Williams, and now it's swept to the top of the UK singles

chart and become the most "liked" video of all time on YouTube. What

is it? Well it's called Gangnam Style and it's a song by Rapper Psy

from South Korea. Our entertainment correspondent, Lizo Mzimba's report,

The ridiculously catchy tune and it's over the top video has become

a global phenomenon. The song talks of little else but, what exactly is,

Gangnam Style? It doesn't have any meaning, actually. I am just saying,

Gangnam Style. It doesn't have that much meaning. Some ladies and some

guys. The video has been reviewed on YouTube more than 300 million

times and attracted more light than any in history and despite being a

parody has been effective at least proved by the Thailand Navy. Also a

group of Californian lifeguards. And even prisoners in the

Philippines jail. It is the latest in a long line of a viral chart

hits. Remember OK Go? And what about the Crazy Frog? But this is a

record that has been more successful worldwide than most

tunes. When you play the song on the radio people seem to quite like

the song because it is catchy. Normally with a novelty song,

people hate the song but quite like the video. This works on both

levels. Even Britney Spears is a fan, with Psy teaching her his

trademark moves on American TV. And that is what might help him achieve

the next big step, landing a number-one single on both sides of

the Atlantic. Let's take a look at the weather

Any kind of dancing to keep warm. The weather over the week looks

very autumnal. Cold, low to mid- teens, very chilly and the strong

breeze and Atlantic winds keeping the theme going. We had a belt of

cloud the brought a dark day and to the north-east England -- corner of

England. To a certain extent those showers will retreat to the western

parts of the UK where it will turn wetter later in the night. The

breeze will keep the show was going further east and we should have

clear skies, but not particularly cold. The temperatures sliding away

into single figures in many areas. Tomorrow, contrast at the start

with sunshine in the east, showers and the West, but then it will

probably turn wetter through the western side of the UK, but a lot

drier in the east. For the south- west of England, after a reasonable

start, it all turned wetter through the afternoon as the winds pick up.

And we will see some heavy showers coming into Wales as well. They

will push their way into the north- west of England. Wet conditions

over the Cumbrian fells. For a while, spells of heavy rain will

push north across Northern Ireland. Late sunshine, turning wetter, but

the North East of Scotland turning dryer. Should be a lovely afternoon

with lots of sunshine. Sunshine for a good part of the day in the

Pennines but it will turn wetter through the Midlands. Until the

evening, it should be largely dry in the south-east and East Anglia

and feel a little warmer than today. All change again on Wednesday,