22/10/2012 BBC News at Six

The BBC Newsnight editor who dropped a Jimmy Savile

investigation "steps aside" during an inquiry.

The corporation says part of Peter Rippon's original explanation for

axing the report is "inaccurate and incomplete". The BBC has

effectively changed its story about why it dropped the Newsnight story

about Jimmy Savile, so these are serious questions.

Who knew what and when - tonight the BBC's Panorama looks for

answers about the Savile scandal. There are mounting questions for

BBC bosses. Its Director General faces MPs tomorrow.

Also on the programme: A 31-year old man appears in court

charged with murder and attempted murder following a series of hit-

and--and-ruun incidents in Cardiff. On trial - three men accused of

planning a terror attack that could have been more deadly than the

London bombings. And from hero to zero - Lance

Armstrong is officially stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by

Good evening. Welcome to the BBC News at 6.00pm. The editor of BBC

Newsnight, the man who dropped its investigation into Jimmy Savile,

has stepped aside. Peter Rippon will be off work till the inquiry

into the corporation's handling of the affair is complete. This

morning the BBC said part of his explanation for not broadcasting

the programme had been "inaccurate or incomplete". And tonight, the

BBC Panorama programme will include a claim that BBC bosses misled the

public about why the programme was dropped.

Crisis at the BBC - as one flagship of its journalism, Panorama,

investigates another - Newsnight amid allegations of a corporate

cover-up in the Jimmy Savile scandal. The affair has claimed its

news casualty with Newsnight editor Peter Rippon stepping aside while

investigations continue. A BBC statement says his blog explaining

his decision to junk an investigation into Savile was

inaccurate or incomplete. The latest twist comes on the day a

Panorama documentary reveals the impact shelving the programme had

on one of the women who had been interviewed by Newsnight. For all

of that stress - that's what made me angry, the fact that I'd gone

through all of that stress when I really needed to concentrate on

getting well, and then they never used it. The Panorama also includes

interviews with a reporter and producer behind the aborted Savile

investigation. Ever since the decision was taken to shelve our

story, I've not been happy with public statements made by the BBC.

I think they're very misleading about the nature of the

investigation we were doing. I was sure the story would come out one

way or another, and that if it did, the BBC would be accused of a

cover-up. In fact, I wrote an e- mail to Peter saying, "The story is

strong enough, and the danger of not running it is substantial

damage to BBC reputation." Meirion Jones and Liz McKeen's boss

was the editor of Newsnight, Peter Rippon. He ultimately reported to

the Director of News, Helen Bowden. The editor in chief for all BBC

journalism is the Director General. Today further details emerged of a

brief conversation Helen Bowden had with former director George

Entwistle in which she warned that if the Newsnight investigation went

ahead, he might have to change the Christmas schedules. In charge of

all the BBC's channels, he had scheduled two tributes to Jimmy

Savile over Christmas. Last month he took over as Director General.

will, of course, be taking questions at the Culture Select

Committee tomorrow. Then there are the two independent reviews we have

set up, one looking at Jimmy Savile's activities over the past

decades and the Pollard review looking at what happened on

Newsnight, and I would to make a full contribution to those. Today

the Prime Minister was asked what he made of the latest revelations

in the affair. The developments today are concerning because the

BBC has effectively changed its story about why it dropped the

Newsnight programme about Jimmy Savile, so these are serious

questions. They need to be answered. They need to be answered by these

independent reviews that the BBC has established, and I'm sure that

they will be. What makes the allegations particularly serious

for the BBC is they call into question the independence of its

journalism. Any suggestion that news reporters were prevented from

broadcasting a story because it was inconvenient to the corporation

could cause real damage to the credibility of BBC News.

I don't think that the BBC has handled it terribly well. This is

the worst cries that is I can remember in my nearly 50 years at

the BBC. With new revelations of abuse by Jimmy Savile still

emerging, some will see the apparent conflict between BBC

journalists and their editors as a sideshow, but at stake is public

trust in the institution and the fact Panorama is free to

investigate editorial decisions within the corporation is seen as

evidence of a vital independence. And mark is here with me now. The

Director General, as we were saying, faces MPs tomorrow. What are they

going to want to know from him? think although we've obviously got

these two independent investigations ongoing, I think

they will want to question him about what went on at BBC over many

decades when Jimmy Savile was an employee of the BBC and when

allegation that he was involved in the sexual abuse of children on BBC

premises took place. Obviously, he will be questioned closely, I

suspect, on why that Newsnight investigation was dropped, exactly

what conversation did he have with the Director of News at the BBC at

an award ceremony when he was told about the Newsnight investigation.

There will be questions now about what procedures are in place at the

BBC to ensure this kind of situation could never, ever happen

again. Mark, there are other institutions too with questions to

answer. Of course there is a police inquiry going on, as you know. The

NHS has its questions as well as the BBC having its investigations.

We know this afternoon the Crown Prosecution Service revealed in

2009 they received four allegations of sexual assault or abuse by Jimmy

Savile back in the 1970s and didn't pursue those allegations any

further because they said that the victims - the alleged victims -

would not have been prepared to give evidence in court. Now, these

were four allegations, three involving girls under the age of 16.

Two occurred at a children's home, one at the Stoke Mandeville

Hospital. And I think there will be questions there about how such

serious allegations involving such vulnerable people did not set alarm

bells ringing. Mark, thank you very much. Thank you.

And you can see the full Panorama special tonight at 10.30pm here on

BBC One. Matthew Tvrdon is accused of murdering a mother of three and

the attempted murder of 13 other people including seven children.

Let's go live now to Sian Lloyd who joins us from Cardiff. Sian? George,

these flowers mark the spot where people were knocked down last

Friday. The streets here in the Eely area of Cardiff were full of

people collecting their children home from school. Tonight, six

people remain injured in hospital, and this community deeply shocked

by what happened. The man accused of deliberately

knocking down pedestrians in Cardiff last Friday arrived at

court under police guard. During a short court hearing, 31-year-old

Matthew Tvrdon stood with his eyes closed. He was flanked on either

side by police officers and security guards and remained in

handcuffs throughout. 19 counts were read out, one of murder, 13

charges of attempted murder, four counts of assault and a charge of

dangerous driving. A white van was seized by police called to multiple

hit-and-run incidents in the city on Friday. Karina Menzies, a mother

of three, died after being knocked over in Eely in west Cardiff. 13

other people were treated at the University Hospital of Wales. Three

adults and three children are still in hospital.

Matthew Tvrdon was remanded in custody. He'll appear before

Newport Crown Court tomorrow via video link.

Three men have gone on trial accused of plotting a series of

suicide bombings in the UK. The men are accused of planning eight

rucksack bombings, which prosecutors claim could have been

on a larger scale than the attacks in London seven years ago. As June

Kelly now reports, the men deny plotting to carry out the suicide

bombings. It is said to be a plot to commit

mass murder in the UK - the men accused are all British born and

from Birmingham. For months they were being watched, and on a

September morning last year, the surveillance stopped and officers

from the West Midlands Counterterrorism Unit moved in and

made arrests. Irfan Khalid, Irfan Naseer and Ashik Ali are charged

with plotting to become the country's next suicide bombers. If

they succeeded their attack could be bigger than the bombing of 2005.

Today prosecuting council Brian Two of the men, Irfan Naseer and

Irfan Khalid, had travelled to Pakistan where they were accused of

learning how to make poisons and handling weapons. It's here they

were to release so-called martyrdom videos after their deaths. Osama

Bin Laden was described as one of their inspirations. Back in

Birmingham it's thought they funded their plot by street collections,

stealing from their own commun. They pretended to be collecting for

Muslim Aid. But on the internet they invested most of the money

they kept, more than �13,000, but they lost �9,000, and all the time,

their conversations were being monitored through bugs planted in

their cars and one of their flats, and the court was told it was here

the men started putting into practise what they'd learned in

Pakistan. It's alleged they began trying to work out how to make

their bombs. It was at that point that the men were arrested. The

jury was told they'd yet to decide their targets, but they had tried

to recruit others. The men deny all the charges against them.

19 people onboard a helicopter that ditched in the North Sea have been

rescued. The aircraft came down between Orkney and Shetland.

Coastguards say the helicopter was on its way from Aberdeen to the

West Phoenix drilling rig. It's the fourth serious incident involving a

Super Puma within the last four years. The Prime Minister says he

wants to see more use of payment by results for private firms and

charitys that succeed in turns around the lives of criminals.

David Cameron said he wanted such contracts to become the norm by

2015. From Wormwood Scrubs prison in West London, our political

editor Nick Robinson reports. Send fewer people to prison, give

criminals more help - few politicians would dare say anything

like that but with a budget for prisons falling, something has to

be done. Today David Cameron spent an hour on the inside of Wormwood

Scrubs before delivering his first speech on crime as Prime Minister.

He argued people are all too often presented with false choices.

them out or let them out, blame the criminal or blame society. Be tough

or act soft. What I have been trying to do is break out of this

centre I'll debate and show a new way forward - tough but intelligent.

Translated that's meant to meaning incarcerating real criminals but

once they get out, working harder to make sure they never come out.

Lock them up and let them out again - that is the story for all too

many people housed in establishments like this which is

why a Government that is cutting the prisons budget is desperate to

find ways to stop criminals reoffending again. More than one in

six of those who leave prison come back again. Teaching prisoners

skills like making double glazing is meant to cut that rate.

these guys, they come in here. They want to learn. There is

opportunities for them. None of this is new, of course. What is,

though, is a plan to let charities and private firms bid to run every

scheme to rehabilitation ex-cons and then to pay them by results,

but can it work with fewer staff and less money? It's not about

shortage of money. We spend billions of pounds on prison and

probation, but we're not getting the right results. In terms of

getting charities to do more, it's happening now. I have just been

sitting in a cell with a very good drug rehab charity that's working

with prisoners trying to get them off drugs, get them clean. Are you

really saying, though, with fewer staff and less money you can get

more rehabilitation? We've got to do more for less. Every place here

costs �40,000. There are 600 staff that work in this prison. It's not

a shortage of money. It's that we haven't been focusing people on

what really matters, which is the results. That isn't a view shared

by many organisations who welcome the idea, but fear that budget cuts

could undermine efforts to stop prison's revolving door. I think

there is a danger that these very good plans to prioritise

rehabilitation could backfire if we don't have the resources to do

mental health treatment, alcohol treatment and drug treatment in

prisons and in the community. debate about prisons about any

policy must feel like a mighty big relief to a Prime Minister whose

Chief Whip finally resunned last week. Have you learnt anything from

the events of last week which were pretty politically catastrophic?

I've said, it's much easier to sack people as soon as something goes

wrong. I don't actually think that's the right approach. I think

just following a media head line like that is the wrong approach.

But the focus should be on the big picture why unemployment is falling,

inflation is falling. Hospital waiting lists are coming down.

Crime is falling. The Government is focused on the big picture. That's

what matters. That's a message not just to the country, but to those

in his party, who found him guilty Our top story tonight:

The BBC Newsnight Editor Peter Rippon steps aside while an inquiry

takes place into the programme's dropping of a report over the Jimmy

Savile sex abuse scandal. And with just over two weeks to go to the

American Presidential election, the battle is on for women voters. In

the business news, $17 billion and counting. BP sells 15% of its

venture to Rosneft. Yah who unveils Lance Armstrong has no place in

cycling and he deserves to be forgotten. Those were the words of

the head of cycling's governing body today as the one time champion

was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life.

It follows a report from the American Anti Doping Agency that

accused him of being a drugs cheat. Something the American rider still

denies. From Geneva, our Sports Editor David Bond reports.

For more than a decade he was the biggest name in cycling. A rider

whose close brush with cancer made him one of sport's most

inspirational figures. But today, two weeks after the American

authorities accused Lance Armstrong of a running the most sophisticated

drugs ring in the history of sport, cycling's governing body delivered

its verdict. We will ban Lance Armstrong from cycling and strip

him of his seven Tour de France titles. Lance Armstrong has no

place in cycling. He was paid millions of pounds for winning the

Tour de France. Now he's facing demands to repay his prize money

and sponsorship bonuses. The men who run a world cycling are

desperate to draw a line under the Lance Armstrong scandal. But the

affair has thrown up so many difficult questions that it's not

going to be shut down that easily. The report into him by the US anti-

doping agency was damning. It included testimonies given under

oath by 11 of the American's former team-mates. They provided

compelling evidence that Armstrong not only cheated but led doping

ring where other riders were forced to take a cocktail of drugs. Most

intriguingly, the report include allegations he paid to cover up a

suspicious test from the Tour of Switzerland in at 2001. Here at the

Swiss headquarters, senior figures admit they received over �60,000

from Armstrong to fund of the fight against drugs. But they say it had

nothing to do with the suspicious test, and I asked the President if

the payment showed the organisation had got too close to Armstrong?

reflection, that may have been a mistake, but they did it with the

best of intentions, and there's absolutely no question that there

was any connection with a donation and preferential treatment for

Lance Armstrong. You can see how people would look at it. Of course,

the media can make it out like that but there was absolutely none.

been an interesting, at times difficult, few weeks. Armstrong

told supporters at a charity bike ride in Texas at the weekend, he

would not give up the fight but today's decision means he has

little choice but to walk away from the sport. For cycling, yet another

long journey back to redemption lies ahead.

The British oil company, BP, has agreed a multi billion pound deal

with the Russian state oil company, Rosneft. It's made Rosneft one of

the world's most powerful oil companies. Let's get more from our

Chief Economics Correspondent Hugh Pym, who's here with me now. Bob is

the big news for the energy companies, but what does it mean

for us? George, the financial fortunes of BP are important to

millions of people because it's a share held by so many pension funds

and saving products. It brings an end to the problems BP had had with

their Russian interests. Let's have a look at the dealer with Rosneft,

which is controlled by the government of Russia. BP will have

19.75 % of the company and a cash payment as well. In terms of the

size of Rosneft, it propels it to the top of oil companies. BP itself,

and Shell. It gives BP and entrance into the big opportunities in the

Arctic, and Siberia, developing new reserves. One of the pitfalls, 20%

owned by BP, the rest controlled by the Kremlin, and dealing with that

situation may not be entirely straightforward with corporate

governance issues and transparency in the future. OK, thank you. With

just over two weeks to go until America chooses its next president,

Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney will later

tonight take part in their final TV debate. With many opinion polls

showing the candidates neck and neck, the battle is on for women

voters, many of whom backed Barack Obama four years ago. As the

campaign enters its final phase, Steve Kingstone reports from Denver

in Colorado. The breathtaking splendour of the

Rocky Mountains. In whose foothills assets the mile-high city. Denver,

the beating heart of the critical swing state. A state where women

voters outnumber men by more than 100,000. My name is Rebecca and I'm

a single mother with three teenage children. I'm Katherine, my husband

is working at two jobs while I care for my three-year-old daughter,

Charlotte. They are what the pollsters call Wal-Mart mums. Busy

women on a budget, who come to this giant retailer for cost and no

frills convenience. I will make a list and put a dollar amounts by

each item. I used to have a corporate job and then I was laid

off so we went to having not much money. Over the years, suburban

women with children have been of the pursuit group of voters. Bill

Clinton famously targeted at soccer mums, Sarah Palin hockey mums, and,

in 2012, this latest variation could decide the outcome. That's

becomes -- because in elections, mothers decide their minds played.

Rebecca wants to think about her job as a classroom assistant and a

recent divorce, and as she cut back on spending, she wants a president

who will do the same. What we have to look at is, how do we fix the

Budget, how do we get it back on the right track? It is a mess.

many pieces? At Katherine's House, it is but this time and is a

familiar helping of negative political adverts. I just get

exhausted from hearing both sides tell me, vote for me just because

the other side is so bad and rotten and awful. Nobody says, here is

what I can do for you. What they share his frustration with both

campaigns. But the time has come to make a decision. Here we are, final

stretch, tell me who your leading towards and wife. The Barack Obama,

again, just because Mitt Romney, I don't know exactly what we're going

to get from him as President. know exactly what we're going to

get from Barack Obama and I don't like it. I want something new.

the weekly shop is over but not so the selection. Polls suggest the

President's lead amongst Women is slipping as both sides make a final

sales pitch. And there's plenty of more details

on the American Presidential For most seven year-olds visiting

the opera or listening to one comes low on their list of priorities.

But not for Alma Deutscher from Dorking in Surrey. She's gone one

better and composed her very own work. The opera's called The

Sweeper of Dreams and is fast becoming an internet sensation. Jon

In the heart of the Surrey countryside, the strains of a

beautiful sonata. The pianist doesn't just play it like a dream,

she composed it, as well. Last year, when she was six. I had the theme

when I was very young and it was Now at the ripe old age of seven,

Alma has written her first opera, The Sweeper Of Dreams. Where do you

get the ideas for your compositions? I improvise it and

normally, when I tried to think of it, it doesn't come. Of course, no

self-respecting child prodigy would be a bit you're so in just one

instrument. Alma writes with a violin, as well. Her parents say

her talents were evident early on. It was striking, when she was about

three, she heard a lullaby by Richard Strauss, and she came to us

and said, "How can use it be so beautiful?" she was so struck by

the beauty of it. Those working in the music industry are impressed by

what they have heard. It is very unusual for a child of seven to

even know what an opera is, let alone at composing one herself, so

it's an astonishing feat, and I just hope she will go on to develop

and chief and maximise on the potential she is showing at the

moment. -- achieve. Her next project is a concerted for the

cello. The world of music will be taking note.

It's been a foggy day for many. Let's get the latest on the weather

Not very inspiring, the weather, and it's not going to change much

in the short term. The fog will thicken up, widespread by the end

of tonight. We won't see it everywhere, mind you. Low cloud

across Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland and over Hillier parts

of the Scotland and Wales, the Midlands and the fog will then

become widespread and dense in places. Pretty mild underneath that.

Temperatures in double figures in most places tonight but it could

cause problems for transport. One or two issues at the airport, for

example. Perhaps road and rail travel affected tomorrow morning.

It will gradually thinner and left. One or two western areas getting

brightness coming through but it will be in short supply once again

tomorrow. To the west of higher ground, you might see some of that

cloud breaking up to allow sunshine to come through but most places

resolutely great through the afternoon. Temperatures on the mild

side despite the cloud. 13-14 Celsius. The brightest spot is the

north-west of Scotland. Glorious weather at the moment with light

winds. Temperatures on the low side. Wednesday, doesn't look much better.

Grey skies are virtually everywhere away from the north-west corner.

Maybe as the wind picks up, a few more bright spells appearing here

and there but the big change comes at the end of the week. Mild air

being pushed away by a very cold northerly winds all the way from

the Arctic, sleeping in through Friday and Saturday, bringing snow

to eastern areas on the hills and down to lower levels from time to

So, winter is here. Thank you, Peter. A reminder of tonight's main

news. The BBC's Newsnight Editor Peter Rippon steps aside while an