12/11/2012 BBC News at Six

Crisis at the BBC, criticism from MPs about the pay-off of the former

Director-General. George Entwistle has been awarded a

year's salary, worth nearly half a million pound.

Urgent questions in the Commons where there is little support for

the payment. It is hard to justify the level of

payments that have been talked about, and it is, of course, for Mr

Entwistle himself to decide whether it is appropriate for him to accept

those payments. The acting head of the BBC, Tim

Davie, promises to restore trust in the corporation.

I have a job to do. Get a grip of the situation. The BBC deserves

strong leadership, that's what I want to bring.

Also on tonight's programme: The radical Muslim cleric, Abu Qatada,

defies the Government again to win his fight against deportation.

Amazon, Starbucks and Google are questioned by MPs about why they

pay so little tax in the UK. Send him to the tower, how an

intruder snatched the keys and broke into the home of the Crown

Jewels. I will be here with Sportsday later

in the hour on BBC News channel. Including the latest on Scotland's

future, as the players say they were to blame for Craig Levein

Good evening, welcome to BB cl. News at Six.

MPs have criticised the pay-off of George Entwistle. He left after

failures in Newsnight, he left after two months. Downing Street

said the pay-off of a year's salary was hard to justify. But the

chairman of the Trust, Lord Patten, has defended it, saying it was

justified and necessary. The acting Director-General, Tim Davie, says

he will get a grip of the crisis in the corporation.

From near be a skewerity, is this the man to save Auntie, Tim Davie,

with no programme making background, today set about trying to convince

the public, that despite the scandals the BBC can be trusted.

have a job to do, get a grip of the situation. The BBC deserves strong

leadership, that's what I want to bring.

The BBC's director of news and her deputy have stepped aside this

morning. Two days into the job and the

acting DG has moved quickly to sort out what he calls "fuzzy decision-

making", spending a very view into the Jimmy Savile scandal, Helen

Boaden and her deputy, have been told to step aside. Today's "get a

grip" message was in danger of being overshadowed by a House of

Commons row about the �450,000 pay- off given to the outgoing Director-

General, George Entwistle. It is difficult to justify the level of

pay-off talked about. I hope that the level of concern about this is

being noted by the BBC Trust, and by Mr George Entwistle himself.

George Entwistle should reflect on this, and only take that to which

he is entitled under his contract. With the iterimable introspection

that the BBC are going through at the moment, does she agree they

need these events into perspective and back to the real issue,

uncovering child abuse. Did the acting Director-General think it

was fair for his predecessor to get such a large pay-off. I will leave

that matter to the BBC Trust. sure you must have a view, did you

say to them I don't think it is sensible, I'm trying to rebuild

trust and confidence in the BBC and you are giving this guy �450,000?

In terms of the organisation and coming into the job, I have to work

on what I can control. Details of what prompted George

Entwistle's dramatic late-night resignation two days a emerged this

afternoon from the BBC Trust chairman. In a letter to the

Culture Secretary, Lord Patten has said that the BBC Trust told George

Entwistle on Saturday they had serious concerns about his handling

of the crisis. And revealed that if he hadn't resigned, they would have

considered sacking him. In those circumstances, Lord Patten explains,

Mr Entwistle would have been entitled to 12-months compensation,

it was agreed he would resign with a year's salary. Another former

Director-General, Mark Thompson, was asked about the crisis, as he

started work in his job at the New York Times today. Like many people

I'm very saddened by recent events at the BBC. But I believe the BBC

is the world's greatest broadcaster, and I have no doubt that it will

once again regain the public's trust in the UK and around the

world. It is a very important institution, I believe it is full

of people of real integrity and talent. I have no doubt it will get

back on its feet real soon. acting derpblg, and acting Head of

News. The radical overhaul promised by the BBC Trust must wait for

another day. The job at the moment is simply to steady the ship.

We speak to our political editor who is at Westminster this evening.

We saw MPs discussing the pay-off of the former Director-General, how

much anger is there? In a rare display of parliamentary unity,

virtually every MP, from every party, stood up and said, yes, they

thought that pay-off was not justified, they were angry about it.

Friends of the BBC said it made it much harder for them to support the

corporation. Traditional foes of the BBC say it proved what they

always feared, that the organisation is wasteful, and that

Lord Patten, the chairman of the regulator, the BBC Trust, should

now go as well. But what was much more interesting today, Fiona, was

what was not saitd, and who didn't say it. -- said, and who didn't say

it. David Cameron was out and about in Bristol today, and faced the

public in what is called a Cameron Direct Meeting. And he said not a

word. Ed Miliband did a series of regional TV interviews, what did he

say about the BBC? Not a single word. The reason is, Government and

opposition are determined to preserve what they see as the

independence of the BBC. People often forget it is not the people

in this place, parliament, that actually run the BBC, they are not

entitled to a view on editorial appointments or stories either.

That is meant to protect the BBC as an organisation. The man who does

decide is Lord Patten, the chairman of what was called the BBC Trust,

and all his fellow trustees. In theory, ministers could get rid of

him or them. But let me tell you this, they are not going to.

The radical Muslim cleric, Abu Qatada, has won his legal battle

against deportation to Jordan, to face terror charges. Tomorrow he

will be released on bail. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, says she

will do everything possible to get rid of him, and will appeal against

the decision. Successive Governments have been trying to

deport the cleric for years, as he's considered a serious threat to

national security. But he has fought it every step of the way.

Our correspondent is at the Home Office now.

Last month the Home Office succeeded in getting another

radical cleric, Abu Hamza on a plane out of the UK. They were

clearly hoping for a similar outcome in this case. This is one

of those marathons, but tonight it is Abu Qatada who is victorious.

He has been described as a truly dangerous individual, and a threat

to national security. And soon he will be free to walk the streets.

Attempts to deport Abu Qatada have been thwarted by the European Court

of Human Rights. Today, British judges, have backed Europe.

Statement the Home Secretary. afternoon, in the Commons, an angry

Home Secretary said the Government would be appealing. Successive

Governments have tried to remove him since December 2001, he has a

long standing association with Al- Qaeda. British courts have found he

provides a religious justification for acts of violence and terror.

Labour support the deportation, but believe it's been handled badly by

the Government. We cannot afford further confusion and mistakes, the

Home Secretary needs to take urgent action now, to keep the public safe,

and to get this deportation back on track. The Government was desperate

to put Abu Qatada on plane to his native Jordan. And Theresa May

herself had gone there as part of the push to cut a deal. The UK said

it had received assurances that evidence obtained through torture

would not be part of the case against the radical cleric, if he

was to stand trial there on terrorist charges. But today's

judgment says there is still a real risk of such evidence being used. A

Jordanian spokesman said they will continue to work with the UK to

have him returned to face justice. Abu Qatada's lawyer said she

understood this was a difficult case for the public. It is

important in emphasising the fundamental rules of law, that we

subscribe to. So, to that extent it is important for other cases and

not just for this case. Abu Qatada arrived in Britain nearly 20 years

ago, and was granted asylum. He became a preacher of formidable

influence, and is said to have advocated killing Jews and

attacking westerners. In a BBC interview in the weeks after 9/11,

he praised Osama Bin Laden. TRANSLATION: Bin Laden, in the

image I have of him, that is the image of a Muslim man who defends

the causes of his nation against its enemies, should be supported by

every Muslim. In the spring, he was removed from the house where he had

been briefly on bail, and sent back to jail. What ministers hoped would

be the first step on the road to deportation. But the forced exit

strategy, by the Government had planned, has been derailed by

today's ruling. Tomorrow Abu Qatada is due to be back with his family,

although he will be subject to a 16-hour curfew.

Abu Qatada has spent much of the past decade in prison, although he

has never been convicted of any offence in this country. Under his

bail conditions, he will be able to go out between the hours of 8-4. He

will have to wear a tag and be subject to other restrictions.

England's largest local authority says it expects to have to spend

more than �750 million settling equal pay claims. A ruling last

month opened the way for hundreds of women working for Birmingham

City council, to seek compensation for missing out on bonuses, the

authority says it will have to cut services, but won't put up council

tax. The first new law made in Wales,

for more than 600 years, has come into force. The law, giving English

and Welsh languages equal statuss in the assembly, was introduced

after last year's referendum, which gave greater decision-making powers

to Wales. A British serviceman has been shot

dead by a man dressed in Afghan Army uniform at his base in Helmand

Province. The Ministry of Defence said the soldier was from The Royal

Scots Borders 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, his

family has been told. Our defence correspondent sent this

report from Helmand Province. Here in Helmand, the 1st Battalion

The Royal Regiment of Scotland, are the one that is work most closely

with the Afghan army. They are in charge of mentoring and training

Afghan soldiers, out on patrol or in bases.

We filmed with them just a few days ago, as the men of 1st Scots played

a friendly game of football. The atmosphere was calm, but an armed

British soldier stood guard to protect his British comrades. It

doesn't always work, the attack on Sunday took place either during or

after just such a match. The Afghan soldier opened fire on his British

counterpart before trying to flee. It is not yet clear what prompted

this attack, the Afghan soldier died of his wounds after being shot.

Most senior Afghan Army commander here at Camp Bastion, says he's

deeply upset by the latest tragedy. TRANSLATION: I'm heartbroken by the

incident, and my troops feel the same. We will make every effort to

prevent any more incidents like this so not to have an effect on

allies. We want to remain friends for good, and my heart goes out to

the family in the UK. British soldiers, like this Scottish medic,

are continuing to work closely with the Afghan counterparts, despite

the risks. When I'm on a patrol, what I'm concerned about is if we

take casualties, what will I do. I have a set of skills and drills I

will have to initiate. I have never had any concerns about them, I have

known them before I left camp, I might have spoken to some of them,

they might have children. They are another part of the patrol. It is

not yet clear whether the attacker was a Taliban sympathiser, inside

attacks are proving a potent weapon. 12 British soldiers this year have

been killed by those they came to help. There are questions about how

the force can be better protected and how much longer they need to be

here. Time Our top story tonight:

MPs criticise a �450,000 pay-off for the BBC's former Director-

General, George Entwistle. He left his job after failings at Newsnight.

Coming up: From convict to committed communist,

the extraordinary tale of British spy, George Blake, in his own words.

A concontroversial carbon tax on flights leaving the EU, what will

it mean for passengers. A further austerity measure is passed in

Greece. They are among the biggest brands

on the planet, today Google, Starbucks and Amazon found

themselves before a committe of MPs to answer accusations about why

they pay so little tax in the UK. It was part of a wider inquiry by

the Commons Select Committee into tax avoidance.

In the MPs' firing line are three American multinationals, Google,

Starbucks and Amazon, with big sales in the UK, who don't seem to

pay much tax. Can I start with Starbucks? The chief financial

officer of Starbucks was accused of telling investors it was doing well

in the UK, but reporting losses, so paying hardly any corporation tax.

The two are inconsistent you have run the business for 15 years and

you are losing, and you carry on investing, it doesn't ring true.

The MPs suggested Starbucks had been transferring profits to its

operations in other countries, to avoid paying tax here? We clearly

are not aggressively looking to avoid tax, or looking to avoid tax

on any structure anywhere, we have had profitability challenges, very

sincere ones, unfortunately, we are not pleased with that. It is

nothing to do with any tax avoidance.

Starbucks had sales of �398 million last year. And paid zero

corporation tax. Even though the standard rate is 24%. While

Google's UK sales were �395 million, and it paid �6 million in tax, and

Amazon, on sales of over �3 billion, is reported to have paid virtually

no UK corporation tax last year. Your entire activity is here, yet

you pay no tax here. That really riles us. Margaret Hodge complained

that Amazon eliminated most of its tax bill, by putting its European

headquarters in Luxembourg. We have paid in excess of �100 million in

taxes in the last five years, we have paid tens of millions in

business rates. Google has based its business in Ireland. First, let

me say, we pay the tax we are required to pay in every country in

which we operate, including the UK. It depends where you choose to put

the business, doesn't it. What Starbucks and other multinationals

are doing, to keep down their UK tax bills, may seem unfair, but

it's legal. And clamping down on it, could involve difficult

negotiations with other countries. Especially those who are collecting

at least some of the tax that would otherwise be paid on UK sales.

The Chancellor, George Osborne said last week he wanted international

action to make sure global companies paid their tax, until the

rules change, they are likely to carry on paying as little tax as

they have to. MPs will vote later this evening on

whether the Government's planned rise in fuel duty should be delayed.

A 3p per litre increase is due to come into effect in January. It

would mean petrol would rise from 135p to 139p per litre. Labour want

the change put off until April, they say it would help struggling

households and business. How important is the vote? I don't

expect to see the Government defeated tonight, I don't expect to

see here at Westminster what happened very recently on a vote in

Europe, when Labour and Conservative rebels ganged up to

dede feet the Government. This story isn't as straight forward as

it would seem. You might reasonably assume that Labour's attempts to

get the fuel tax increase delayed until April, is defeated tonight,

petrol prices will go up as a result. Think again, a lot of

Conservative MPs are pretty peeved at the price of petrol, they have

been telling the Treasury this over the past few week, and they are

telling me they won't vote with Labour tonight, because they are

increasingly hopeful that the Chancellor, who allows a

postponement to the fuel increase to later date, probably next month,

they will be very annoyed with him indeed if that doesn't happen. The

bottom line is this T prices probably won't go up by 3p a litre

in January. But the Government won't announce that tonight,

because they don't want to be seen to be driven into this by Labour.

They would prefer to attack Labour's record in office, saying

Labour themselves put up the price of petrol.

Heavy rain and strong winds have caused flooding in several parts of

Italy, with the problems particularly severe in Venice.

Flood waters submerged much of the city, including many of its best-

known tourists spots, it is one of the worst floods there in the last

150 years. The former British spy turned

Soviet agent, George Blake, has given a rare interview to mark his

90th birth day. He fled to Moscow in 1966, after a dramatic escape

from Wormwood Scrubs. President Putin has congratulated him on his

staunch work on Russia's behalf. He has a Russian home, a Russian

wife, even a Russian name, but this is George Blake. The British

intelligence officer, who for nearly a decade spied for the

Soviets. On his 90th birthday, Russian TV

has been given rare access to one of the most notorious double agents

of the Cold War. He says he's no hero, but he's no

traitor either. It was in the early 1950s that Blake became a spy.

After three years in captivity in North Korea, he returned home a

communist. Posted to Berlin by MI6, he became a KGB mole. He would take

the train to the Soviet sector, hand over intelligence, and drink

champagne with his KGB handler. TRANSLATION: I didn't change sides

because of blackmail or torture or anything like that, I offered my

services to Moscow voluntarily. doesn't see himself as a traitor,

because he believes in these things. He won't be abare of a betrayal

because he was brainwashed into believing them. But from the UK

point of view, of course, he's a very significant traitor.

Blake was eventually jailed for 42 years. But in 1966, he escaped from

prison, and fled to Moscow. He was hailed as a hero.

George Blake has claimed that he handed the names of hundreds of

western agents to Moscow. Blake has shown no remorse, and Russia

continues to show its gratitude, offering his birthday wish,

President Putin has said that George Blake's work deserves the

highest recognition and respect. Moscow has awarded him rank of

Colonel, and plenty of medals. He says he has no regrets. But Blake

betrayed his country for communism, a political system which turned out

to be a pipe dream. The governor of the Falkland

Islands at the time of the Argentinian invasion has died. He

had shown great courage and fortitude in the face of the

invasion. Britain sent hundreds of troops to recapture the island in

1982. The Tower of London is renowned as

an historic fortress, the location of the Crown Jewels and other

priceless historic art facts with security to match. Police are

expecting how an intruder managed to break in and apparently stole

some keys from a century box. A prison, a fortress, a dual house,

the walls of the -- Jewel House, the walls of the Tower of London

have stood reassuring for over 900 years. Richard II, Sir Walter

Raleigh, and Guy Fawkes, joined a long list of those who could bear

witness to its security. A few brief minutes in the early hours of

the morning have caused hearts to flutter beneath the battlements,

when an intruder not only breached security, reaching a century box,

close to the tower's outer gates, but went on to steal a bunch of

precious keys. A security breach at one of the world's most famous

fortresses, clearly an embarrassment for the authorities

here, but they are stressing that the intruder was caught within a

few minutes, and the missing keys would not have gained him access to

the tower. A statement from historic royal

palaces concludes that security At no time were the Crown Jewels

under threat, in fact, the only man to successfully reach them was

Colonel Thomas Blood back in 1671 even he was nabbed before he could

make his escape. The way the thief managed to get in, was coming in as

a visitor, while he was in the tower he made friends with the man

who looked after the Crown Jewels, and coming back on a subsequent

occasion, he managed to pull a dagger on him, stab the poor guy,

make off with the crown and the September ter and the orb, stuffing

them into -- septre, and the orb stuffing them into his britches.

The doors will be locked by the chief Yeoman warders, Queen

Elizabeth's keys carried over the wet cobbles, her crown safe, as it

always has been. Let's return to the main story this

evening, the crisis at the BBC and the pay-off to the former Director-

General, George Entwistle. We are at New Broadcasting House.

There is a new acting Director- General in place, is this going to

help the BBC draw a line under all this? It would be nice if it were,

wouldn't it, Fiona, not least for those of us who have to work for

the organisation, for whom this is an unsettling time. Yesterday, when

it agreed to part company with George Entwistle, the BBC believed

it was well on the way to drawing a line under this, to taking the

initiative, to moving on. Unfortunately that has blown up in

its face today, with the revelations �450,000 pay-off he has

got. The new acting Director- General arrived this morning,

trying to show some leadership, reshuffle ing the News Division,

and doing something firm to sort out the problems. What that means

is the News Di vision, one of the most important in the BBC is run by

an acting head, so too is the radio tell division and the television

division. He reports to an acting Director-General, and he reports to

Chris Patten, who is under political attack. That is all

unquestionably an unstable situation. You have a series of

inquiries, internal inquiries due to report in the next hours, days,

weeks, all of which could throw up more embarrassing questions for the

BBC to answer. We are very far from being out of the woods yet. Why is

this important? Two reasons, really, one is it threatens the BBC's

reputation, and particularly the reputation of its news and

journalism, for trustworthyness and credibility, that is something very

important to the BBC, which it is very keen in the past and will

always be keen to preserve. The other reason is it keeps the focus

on the BBC and away from what is arguably the most important thing,

the victims of child sex abuse. the victims of child sex abuse.

the weather. It is turning milder, but probably

only briefly, I'm afraid. Last night a sharp frost, a lot of

cloud in the south west. Low cloud is sitting inbetween the two

stripes of whiter cloud, these stripes of whiter cloud are the

thicker cloud. Where we are getting the rain, most of it, at least.

That rain will be pulling away from East Anglia and the south-east, in

the next few hours. It is cloudy, missy hill fog, bits of drizzle.

Then the next band of thickening cloud on a strengthening wind into

Northern Ireland. Ahead of the rain, northern Scotland could be cold for

a while, much milder than last night, 8-10. A generally mild but

cloudy start to Tuesday. I'm hoping we will see a little bit of

sunshine developing across England and Wales. I think we have more

rain to come across Scotland and Northern Ireland. The rain on and

off through the day in Northern Ireland. The heavier rain, that

will be in western Scotland. Probably north of Glasgow, across

Argyll and buet. Not much rain in sheltered eastern parts of Scotland,

and England, east of the Pennines may see sunshine. Drizzle from time

to time in Cumbria. North Wales may get sunshine again, and see

temperature s of 14-15. Even with the cloud, 13 degrees. Colder on

Wednesday across the south, more sunshine developing, running

northwards into England and Wales. The band of rain in northern parts

of Ireland and Scotland. As that moves south on Thursday, the rain

eases out, it allows it to be brighter and colder in Scottland

Northern Ireland. England and Wales will see the temperatures lower on

Thursday, particularly in the south. That is more because there is

likely to be a lot of low cloud and fog. That could linger just about

all day. All the details can be found on-line.