23/10/2012 BBC News at Six

The BBC's boss gets a grilling from MPs over its handling of the Jimmy

Savile sex abuse scandal. Go George Entwistle say as Newsnight

investigation into Savile should not have been dropped, as MPs

criticise his handling of the crisis. You failed? I don't believe

I did fail. I believe that the system, as a whole, seems not to

have got this right. Two charities, named after Jimmy Savile, are

closed down. Lawyers say more victims are going public. Now,

because they recognise that others have suffered in a similar way,

they have the confidence to come forward. That is so important.

Tonight, the BBC says it's investigating more abuse

allegations. Also on the programme: The controversial badger cull in

England is postponed, ministers say it's too late in the year. The

final debate, with two weeks to go until the US election, Barack Obama

and Mitt Romney argue over foreign policy. By Royal Appointment.

Britain's top Olympians and Paralympians arrive for tea with

the Queen. Reel now the Battle of Britain is on. One of the few,

William Walker, the oldest surviving pilot from the Battle of

Britain, has died. Sports day will be on later in the hour. Team news

ahead of tonight's Champions League matches with three British clubs

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six. The Director-General

of the BBC faced a grilling from MPs today over the Jimmy Savile sex

abuse scandal. In more than two hours of questioning, George

Entwistle admitted that the Corporation's handling of the

affair, both now and in the past, has raised questions of trust in

the BBC. He said a Newsnight investigation should not have been

dropped. But, he denied that he had failed personally and blamed what

he called the BBC "system". Our home editor watched the exchanges.

With his organisation in crisis, the director-general of the BBC

entered Parliament this morning through a back entrance. In front

of a special session of the Culture Committee, George Entwistle

admitted the Savile scandal posed seer yousz questions for the

Corporation about trust. One cannot look back at it with anything other

than horror, frankly, that he - his activities went on as long as they

did undetected. MPs wanted to know about the Savile years, the decades

during which one of the BBC's star presenters was able to abuse young

girls apparently unchallenged. Were there other sexual predators

operating inside the Corporation? There was an allegation there was a

paedophile-ring at the BBC. Have the BBC taken steps to identify who

else was involved in that paedophile-ring? That is an

allegation I have seen made in the last few days. It's something that

we are putting our resources at the disposal of the police in. A

paedophile-ring woor would be the matter for a police investigation.

-- would be matter for the police investigation. He said the scandal

had exposed the "disgusting criminal activities of Jimmy Savile

and serious allegations of sexual abuse and harassment involving

other BBC staff ." Some cases have been passed to police. The number

of allegations we are looking at, at the moment, is, this is

historical, I would have thought, between eight and ten. Individuals,

not individual cases? individuals. The BBC's Director-

General said he looked back with horror as evidence emerged of the

cultural practices which allowed a predatory paedophile to sexually

abuse children on BBC premises. As well as the criminal activities of

individuals like Jimmy Savile, George Entwistle talked about the

culture of sexual harassment. He said while things have improved, he

is bringing in a new adviser to ensure that women at the BBC are

treated properly. There were questions today about why tributes

to Jimmy Savile were broadcast, even after BBC News night had

launched an investigation into the star? At an awards lunch, here at

the London Hilton last December, George Entwistle was warned about

the possible story by Head of News, Helen Boaden, but didn't ask what

the investigation was about. are told that one of the flagship

investigative programmes on the BBC is looking into one of the most

iconic figures, who you are about to commission huge tributes to, you

don't want to know what it is? wasn't that I didn't want to know.

What was in my mind was this determination not to show an undue

interest. You didn't even ato her "what's it about?" I have no

recollection of asking her what it was about. The Newsnight

investigation was never broadcast leading to accusations of a cover-

up. Do you now accept, in the light of last night's Panorama, that the

decision to drop the Newsnight investigation was a catastrophic

mistake? I came away from the Panorama firmly of the view that

that investigation, even in the judgment of the editor it wasn't

ready for transmission, should have been allowed to continue. This

quote implies there was some kind of cover-up? I genuinely don't know

what Peter Ripon made by "long political chain." Emails from the

Newsnight journalists who investigated Jimmy Savile suggested

that one of the reasons they pulled the report was that the girls were

teenagers, not too young. Mr Ripon insisted he dropped it waus because

of editorial reasons. How much has this damaged the BBC. George

Entwistle left Parliament knowing this scandal is producing shocking

and damaging revelations with almost every day that passes. Away

from Westminster the terrible impact of Jimmy Savile's sexual

abuse is becoming clearer by the day. Lawyers for the victims say

more people have come forward since last night's Panorama programme.

Two charities, set up in Jimmy Savile's name, announced today that

they are closing down. This must bring back awful memories this

building? Yes. For Kevin Cook memories of the BBC are vivid. In

1976 he walked through these doors a nine-year-old cub scout appearing

on Jim'll Fix It. I was led back to the dressing room with Jimmy Savile

with the promise of my own badge. Then, that's where, you know, the

incident took place. Today, he was back in the building where that

took place. He took in all that has been revealed in the last three

weeks. You have seen the Panorama. You have seen what ge had say this

morning? Yeah -- George Entwistle had to say this morning? Yeah.

do you feel now? I'm disgusted. I'm gutted. I mean, last night,

watching the Panorama, you know I thought, you know, I couldn't feel

no worse than what I do. You know, what with all the allegations that

have come out there, I'm just, like, deeply, deeply shocked. What seemed

good natured fun suddenly feels, in the light of what we now know,

chilling. Last night's Panorama shown a light on what the BBC did

or didn't know. It has encouraged more people to speak up about what

happened to them. People have now found confidence to come forwards.

Many people have suppressed the trauma that they have endured for

20, 30, 40 years. Now, because they recognise that others have suffered

in a similar way, they have the confidence to come forward. For one

victim, Panorama was a chance to finally be heard. Particularly

horrible. This interview was recorded more than a year ago by

Newsnight. The investigation was halted. Karin Ward had cancer. The

fact it has taken so long, hurts. All that stress. That made me angry.

The fact that I had gone through all that stress when I really

needed to concentrate on getting well. Then they never used it.

Savile name has become poison. Today, two charities that bear his

name said they would be shutting down. You can take down physical

signs. You can not bandy about that he built the place, but he will

always be associated with it for, certainly the long foreseeable

future. Money will be given to other charities, anonymously, in

case it spreads the taint associated with the star. It's a

name that will, foreKevin, and many others like him, only ever be

remembered for one thing. We can talk to Mark Easton now. Can we go

back to George Entwistle's appearance. He seemed to blame the

"system" when he spoke. That leaves an awful lot of questions, doesn't

it? He did blame the system. He referred to the structures,

baffling to outsiders, the baffling structures that what happens in

news isn't referred across to other directors in television, people

found that difficult. There are questions about whether the

structures in the BBC, actually the layers of management made it a less

speedy organisation. It couldn't react well. Clumsy. There will be

questions about that. The committee will want to dig into some of those

structures and talk to people at different levels. There will be

questions of the director of BBC News, Helen Boaden. Peter Ripon, he

they will always want to talk. To the political pressure is beginning

to build here because this evening we learn that the Culture Secretary

a member of the Government, Maria Miller, has writ tonne Lord Patten.

In the letter she said having seen the performance of the Director-

General today she said there are concerns being raised about public

trust and confidence in the BBC. The stakes are being raised. Thank

you. For more information and background on the Jimmy Savile

Barack Obama and his republican challenger Mitt Romney have gone

head-to-head on television for the final time before November's

presidential election. Mr Romney accused the President of failing fo

uphold America's global leadership. Mr Obama claimed that Mr Romney had

been "wrong" on every major foreign policy issue. From triumph over

terrorism to the his store storic upheaval of the Arab Spring, the

dangers of a nuclear Iran, China's rise. On foreign affairs his has

been a true multiious term, Barack Obama warned America against

changing Commander-in-Chief. Whether it's the Middle East.

Whether it's Afghanistan, whether it's Iraq, whether it's now Iran,

you have been all over the map. challenger has drawn level in the

polls. Here we saw a moderate, risk-averse Romney looking to

dispel any notion that he would be a warmonger. I congratulate him on

taking out Osama bin Laden and going after the leadership in Al-

Qaeda we can't kill our way out of this mess. We don't want another

Iraq or Afghanistan. They went around the world in 90 minutes on

Iran, the President denied a report he had agreed to direct talks.

clock is ticking. We are not going to allow Iran to perpetually engage

in negotiations that lead nowhere. They have roocked looked at this

administration and felt that the administration was not as strong as

it needed to be. I think they saw weakness where they had expected to

find America strength. President was mostly on the attack.

You mentioned the Navy. We have fewer ships than we did in 1916. We

have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military

has changed. We have aircraft carriers... Mitt Romney turned the

conversation towards home. In order to be able to fulfill our role in

the world, America must be strong. America must lead. For that to

happen, we have to strengthen our economy here at home. It had ban

curious night, where the traditional line between right and

left was frequently blurred. If you are an alien and came down and

watched last night's debate you would think Mitt Romney was the

dove and the Democrat and Barack Obama was the hawk. From America's

place in the world the focus will shift now back to domestic

challenges, the economy, jobs the deficit. With the raisz tide, it's

time for closing arguments. -- raise tide, it's time for closing

arguments. Four people are taking legal action against the publishers

of the Daily Mirror over alleged phone-hacking. They include former

England football manager, Sven Goran Eriksson and the Coronation

Street actress Shobna Gulati. It's thought to be the first legal

action over hacking against a newspaper group other than News

International. We can go live to Tom Symonds. It's more than a year

since this scandal broke, why are they taking action now? Well, it's

taken this long, in the words of the lawyer behind these cases,

because there is no smoking gun evidence against the Mirror

newspapers. Unlike News International where there were

police raids where documentary evidence was seized by the police

which led to News International admitting its involvement.in phone-

hacking. Trinity Mirror is not liking to do that. Piers Morgan

said in 2001 he had been taught what he called "the little trick of

phone-hacking" but he said he had never used it. Other staff at

Mirror newspapers didn't rule out to the Leveson Inquiry that phone-

hacking had happened. If you ask Trinity mirror if they were

involved, you have had the same response - our journalists work

within the criminal law and the Press Complaints Commission code of

conduct. That as has always been Controversial plans to cull

thousands of badgers in England to stop them spreading tuberculosis in

cattle are being delayed until next summer. Ministers say they are

still utterly convinced that culling is the right thing to do

and that it is only being postponed for practical reasons.

Many a secretive, a nocturnal creatures, much loved, and iconic

British species. But for years, badgers have been blamed for

spreading bovine TB to cattle. Many farmers argued they must be culled

and the government agreed. The shooting was about to start, but

now farmers are learning it is all change. The cull is postponed until

next year at least. For David Barton, that is the bitter

disappointment. He has been watching his cattle tested for TB

and the ones that come up positive are marked so they can be killed

for his dog in one morning, 33 of his breeding herd, lost to disease.

I do not dislike badgers, I like them, but I do not like TB. People

getting emotive about this metre try to understand that I have been

dealing with this for ten years, and when I have a Laura Turner that

take all of my cows that I have been breeding for years, it is a

real pain -- when I have a lorry to turn up. It is thought that the

cull was imminent, but then today. A survey revealed there were far

more badgers on the ground and had been expected. In order to achieve

the 70% cure rate, it would mean shooting more than 5,000 badgers in

a six-week period and the calculations have been made that

they just do not have the time or firepower to make that possible.

This morning the Environment Secretary was preparing to announce

big cull had been put back, but the government insists this is not a U-

turn. I know this will be disappointing for money,

particularly those farmers in the two pilot areas but I fully support

the decision of the NFU to delay this. That is not the view of

campaigners. They are claiming victory and believe that the cull

will now never happen. I am overjoyed. I hope the government

have got the guts to come down completely. Instead of dragging it

out, come clean and say it was a terrible idea. And so the campaign

against the cull will go on, as farmers still insist it must go

ahead. Our top story tonight: The Director

General of the BBC faced a grilling from MPs today over the Jimmy

Savile sexual abuse scandal. Coming up: Britain's Paralympic and

Olympic medallists are meeting the Queen. Buckingham Palace is staging

a combined reception. Later: 10 European countries are to

go ahead with a tax on all financial transactions. Could

London benefit? And controversial plans to impose

Their pride in their own cuisine is world renowned. And their disdain

for UK grub has been equally well documented. But now it seems French

opinion is changing. Out go the Brie and the Chardonnay. Now

British cheese and wine is firmly on the Parisian shopping list, as

food exports to France have doubled in ten years. Christian Fraser has

been taking the taste test. If you are serving traditional

British food in the gourmet capital of the world, you had better be

good at it. This bakery has proved so successful, there are three of

these in Paris, during the lunch crowd towards the best of British.

We says baking index, salmon, scrambled eggs. People were a bit

dubious but quickly people understood we were talking about

quality, and quality is the same language all over the world.

Britain has been through a food revolution and the French are

beginning to sit up and notice. At today's food set in Paris, a higher

value, premium products were in demand. The former French President

Jacques Chirac once said of the UK it "you cannot trust a country with

such a bad suit". These days, the French even by our she's. That is

right, Stilton and Cheddar! -- the French even get cheese! Last year,

the French bought half a billion pounds worth of whisky. The sale of

cheese has soared from �90 million up to �68 million, and British meat

is welcome again. I cannot translated directly into jobs but

we do know that the food and drink sector is the largest employer in

the UK and that particular industry is growing, so it is making a major

contribution to reducing unemployment. One of the flag

carriers for British food is Marks & Spencer, a quintessentially

British, and after their hurried departure in at 2001, they are back

in France. I like the ham, I like the Christmas cake. I am sending a

so do to my mum! The little cakes you have. I love them! Simply Food,

the Marks & Spencer slogan, but these days the ethos for many a

British producer. Good quality, good value, and on recent evidence,

good enough for the ever fastidious French.

Two members of the Scottish Parliament have resigned from the

SNP after the party voted to abandon its opposition to NATO.

John Finnie and Jean Urquhart said it had been a heart-wrenching

decision. They will now sit as independent MSPs for the Highlands

and Islands. They took on the world and

delivered unparalleled British sporting success. Britain's

triumphant Olympic and Paralympic medallists are at Buckingham Palace

tonight and our correspondent is there for the big royal appointment.

What kind of evening can they expect?

There have been times in the past when reporters at Buckingham Palace

have been able to say, there are more members of the Royal Family

here than gold medals. Certainly not the case today. Well over 200

competitors from the Olympics and Paralympics, including Anthony

Joshua were from the Super heavyweight section of the boxing.

What is it like to be here this evening? Are you nervous about

meeting the Queen? Not nervous, I feel honoured. I am glad I have

taken a boxing because it has given me the opportunity to meet the

Queen. -- taking up boxing. How has life changed for use since the

Olympics? Has it changed? In the sense of more opportunity and more

responsibility as well, yes. It can go at a fast pace sometimes but I

am trying to slow everything down. I want to concentrate on my

training. Thank you for your time. This is the first time there have

been a combined reception for both the Paralympics and the Olympics at

Buckingham Palace, and it will be ongoing for the next half-an-hour.

The oldest surviving Battle of Britain pilot, has died, aged 99.

Flight Lieutenant William Walker, who joined the RAF in 1938 and was

shot down in his Spitfire in 1940, had a stroke last Thursday. He

passed away in hospital and among the tributes today was praise for

his warmth, friendliness and the twinkle in his eye.

The summer of 1940. RAF pilots take off to engage German fighter planes

over the skies of southern England. The Battle of Britain was a

turning-point in the war. Outnumbered RAF pilots won,

preventing Germany from invading Britain. Many died, aged just 20

years old, but this young pilot, Flight Lieutenant William Walker,

survived and died this week, aged 99 C. He was the oldest surviving

Battle of Britain pilot. Spitfire was beautiful to fly. When

you sit in it, you feel... I was never let down by a Spitfire.

RAF Coningsby, they preserve some of the aircraft of that time. The

commanding officer visited William Walker on his 99th birthday. They

came straight out of school. Their bravery was phenomenal. They knew

the odds of them surviving were very, very low and time after time,

day after day, they got back in the aircraft, back at the enemy.

William Walker flew a Spitfire and what he and his fellow pilots

achieved was extraordinary. During the Battle of Britain, they were

frequently involved in air-to-air combat, pulling such tight twists

and turns that they nearly blacked out because of the force of gravity

pushing against their bodies. Behind each name, a straw realise,

of bravery and summer skies. recent years, William Walker wrote

poetry about the Battle of Britain to help younger generations

remember what happened. Many people expressed their gratitude to him

over the years. He was one of through Churchill described as a

few to which so many owe so much. Quite a change at the end of the

week which will be a shock to the system. But in the short term, we

have cloud across much of the UK. Not as much fog as we have seen

recently. The cloud is lifting up a bit more. Dense fog patches in

northern Scotland as well. Frost once again. Otherwise, it is a mild

night. It is a bit of a dull start on Wednesday for most of us, except

in northern Scotland. A few glimmers of brightness will break

through in the afternoon. Northern Ireland could see some sunshine in

the afternoon as well. The winds will stay alight. There is a change

for the northern parts of Scotland, with patchy rain. Parts of Cumbria

could have a bright afternoon. But to the east of the Pennines, a fair

bit of drizzle. Showers perhaps in East Anglia. The southern coastal

counties of England could actually see some sunshine coming through,

and pretty mild. Cloudy again through Wednesday night and into

Thursday, so we still have fairly grey skies for most on Thursday,

but the breeze will lift the cloud slightly. Perhaps not quite as dull

as it has been. Much colder weather heading in during Friday. It will

be brighter as well, mind you. But temperatures will be feeling about

freezing in the northern areas. There will be some snow for

northern hills, and called for all of us by Saturday.