21/03/2014 BBC News at Six

passed to protect vulnerable women and girls, the first prosecution.

A doctor at a London hospital and another man are charged in

connection with female genital mutilation, a move welcomed by

campaigners. As a campaigner, today is one of the best days of my life

in campaigning and I feel like standing on top of the roof and and

shouting. That's how I feel about it.

With tens of thousands of women and girls in the UK thought to have

suffered FGM or be at risk, we'll be looking at why it's taken so long to

bring a prosecution. Also tonight, as President Putin

signs a declaration absorbing Crimea into Russia, the EU agrees closer

ties with Ukraine. A vaccine to protect children

against a dangerous strain of meningitis is likely to be made

available on the NHS. Bravery awards for a soldier shot in

the neck in Afghanistan and the medic who risked his life to help

him. Anyway, why are you wearing them

glasses? And Becks in specs brings Rodney and

Del Boy out of retirement for Sport Relief.

Tonight on BBC London: Captured on camera, teachers

restraining primary pupils. Parents demand an investigation.

And the acid attack which left this woman scarred for life. Her attacker

is jailed for 12 years. Good evening and welcome to the BBC

News at Six. A doctor and another man have become the first people in

Britain to be charged in connection with performing female genital

mutilation. It's alleged the offence took place on a woman at the

Whittington Hospital in North London. FGM has been banned since

1985 but it's taken until now to bring the first prosecution. It's

thought over 60,000 women in the UK have been mutilated and more than

20,000 girls are at risk, as Our home affairs correspondent Matt

Prodger reports. Whittington Hospital in London.

Where a doctor, Dr Dhanoun Dharmasena, is alleged to have

mutilated a woman's genitals after she gave birth. Prosecutors say his

offence was to effectively restore a mutilation that had been performed

on the woman prior to her becoming pregnant. Another man faces a charge

of encouraging the act. Female genital mutilation, or if GM, has

been outlawed for 30 years but today marks a first prosecution. -- FGM. A

lot of these will be young girls and it will involve immediate members of

their families and they will not want to make a complaint or give

evidence against them that could see them as their family go to prison,

so we have had to look at other ways to get the evidence. We have looked

at how we work with the police on proactive operations and there are

lots of other things we can look at, for example, anonymity for victims.

It is estimated 66,000 women in the UK have been affected and more than

20,000 girls under 15 thought to be at risk of the practice, which is

classed as torture by the UN. The BBC discovered only this week that

almost 4000 FGM patients had untreated in London alone since

2009. Female genital mutilation is an appalling crime. It is something

that has been hidden for far too long. That is why this Government

has stepped up its response, actually stepped up some greater

understanding, to take this crime out of the shadows and into the

light. More than 70 women and children each month are contacting

helplines like this. For many years, a practice little known in

the UK, FGM has been given greater attention thanks to the work of

campaigners. They are delighted by today's news. Today is one of the

best days of my life! In campaigning. And I feel like

standing on top of the roof and shouting! That is how I'd feel about

it. All eyes will be on the success or failure of these first

prosecutions. The two accused will appear in court next month.

And Matt's here now. 30 years since this law was passed and the first

Project -- prosecution we hear about today. This woman had been

campaigning for 30 years and you heard there it is the best day of

her life. It is that the early stages. Let's not forget these two

men have not been convicted. This is the beginning of a prosecution and

there are still barriers to successful prosecutions relating to

be no genital mutilation, for example, no anonymity for victims.

That needs to be addressed. We also know the CPS decided not to proceed

further with four other cases today, so there are problems there.

We are also lagging behind other countries, for example, France,

which has had 100 successful prosecutions for FGM. We have not

had a single conviction just yet. And over the past four years there

have been 140 referrals to the police but nothing that has gone

further than the police. So still a long way to go but this is a

significant milestone for campaigners. Thank you.

On the day President Putin signed a declaration formally absorbing

Crimea into Russia, Europe has agreed closer relations with

Ukraine. In a show of support for the country, the EU also issued more

sanctions against individuals in Russia, aimed at President Putin's

inner circle. Our Europe editor, Gavin Hewitt, has sent this report

from Brussels. A day of signings. Two Wells, East

versus West, different leaders with different pens. -- two worlds.

Resident Putin sealed the absorption of Crimea into Russia eye signing

the legal documents. He called it a serious momentous event and the

Russian anthem played. 1400 miles away in Brussels, a very

different signing. The EU took the symbolic first step of signing a

political agreement with Ukraine. Winning the nation of 46 million

people closer to the heart of Europe. -- winning. Just a ripple of

applause. No anthem here. At a summit in Brussels, Europe's leaders

adopted new sanctions against 12 Russian officials, including the

Russian Deputy Prime Minister, after the referendum in Crimea which led

to the region breaking away. Since we last met, a sham, and illegal

referendum, has taken place at the barrel of a Kalashnikovs and Russia

has sought to annex Crimea. This is a flagrant breach of international

law and something we will not recognise. So, after this summit, 33

Crimean 's and Russians now face travel restrictions and a freeze on

their assets. Most significantly, the summit agreed here that if the

crisis escalates, then they are prepared to move to some form of

economic sanctions and the commission has been tasked with

exploring potential targets. In the corridors, the atmosphere was spiced

with warnings about Russian intentions. This was the Ukrainian

Prime Minister. What is happening in the world today? Russia decided to

actually impose a new post-Cold War order and to revise the results of

the Second World War. This is the truth. And this was the president of

Lithuania, one of the Baltic states and once part of the Soviet Union.

We are facing the largest security threat and challenges after the

Second World War. And so admit such warnings, European leaders agreed to

accelerate, reducing their dependency on Russian energy. -- and

so among such warnings. Too many children are at risk of

harm in Coventry due to inadequate child protection services. That's

according to an Ofsted report. The local authority's failings were

highlighted two years ago after four-year-old Daniel Pelka was found

starved and beaten to death at his home. The Department for Education

said measures carried out by Coventry following the case are

simply not good enough, as Sian Lloyd reports.

The truth about Daniel's suffering shocked the nation and shook

Coventry City Council to its core. The four-year old had been beaten,

starved and tortured. A Serious Case Review said opportunities to save

Daniel had been missed. The council promised it would do better but the

pace of change hasn't been fast enough. It's now two years since

Daniel was murdered by his parents here in his own home. But Ofsted

inspectors have found other vulnerable children in this city are

still not safe. The council's Children's Services department has

been rated inadequate. Failings include children not being seen or

assessed quickly enough, leaving them at risk of harm. And social

workers have such heavy caseloads they can't do their jobs properly.

Wherever you have a Serious Case Review and a child dead, all

organisations will become very, very attendant to child protection. You

will always get an increased referral rate into children's social

care. The fact it's gone up 48% in two years is absolutely

unprecedented. That's clearly contributed to the problems we've

got now in the City Council. To meet those challenges, new teams of

social workers will be appointed. Last month, the BBC was given

exclusive access to film with people doing the job now. We have good

assessment skills and we have good social workers here. But we have too

many cases and people are stretched too thin. We know that there are a

lot of challenges in social care in Coventry at the moment. We know our

caseloads are too high. We know that's stopping us from doing some

of the things we'd like to do. In Daniel's case, information wasn't

properly shared between the council and other agencies, like the

police. This report identifies similar problems now. The council is

under pressure to improve or face further sanctions. Sian Lloyd, BBC

News, Coventry. The second day of searching a remote

part of the southern Indian Ocean for debris that may be linked to the

missing Malaysian airliner has concluded without any sightings.

Flight MH370 vanished shortly after take-off from Kuala Lumpur nearly

two weeks ago with 239 people on board. Our correspondent John

Donnison is in Perth, in Western Australia. Exactly a fortnight on

and no-one seems any closer to finding out what happened to this

plane? No. The weather conditions were much better for the search on

Friday but they came back, they didn't find anything. Four

Australian planes and one American headed out. 1500 miles into the

southern Indian Ocean. They came back after an 11 hour flight

reporting they had seen nothing. The search will resume in around four

hours time at daybreak. One interesting development in the last

few hours, The Daily Telegraph newspaper is reporting it has got

hold of the final transcript of the final communications between the

pilot and co-pilot in air traffic control in Malaysia. The last 54

minutes of those communications. And what is interesting, on first

reading of what they are saying is that there was nothing out of the

ordinary on those communications and that was, of course, at a time when

investigators believed that the plane had already been sabotaged. So

the mystery continues. The search continues. And for the families of

the passengers, the waiting continues. Thank you.

The number of Romanians and Bulgarians coming to the UK since

immigration controls were lifted at the start of the year is more a

trickle than a flood, according to a report by MPs. The exact figures are

not known, though, and the Home Affairs Select Committee has warned

the Government's failure to compile official estimates have fuelled

anti-immigrant prejudice. For those who have made the journey to the UK,

their experiences have been mixed, as Mike Sergeant reports.

A maintenance shed under a London flyover. And inside, a shocking

picture of destitution. Police! Hello. Those staying here have just

slipped away. Was this what they were expecting when they came from

Romania? Well, the police say three Romanians have been living here

since the middle of December with more migrants coming in January.

Conditions really are appalling. The stench is unbelievable. You can see

holes in the mattresses where the police say rats have been crawling

in and out. Most Romanians don't live in squats but homelessness has

been a stubborn problem. So how desperate would you have to be to

think this is your best option? Stefan knows the answer better than

most. He was living in a garage until recently but now has somewhere

decent to state and the most important thing of all - a national

insurance number to work legally. -- somewhere decent to stay. ??

FORCEDYELLOW For me, England is very beautiful. People are very nice. ??

FORCEDWHITE But it's hard here. You had to live in a garage. People have

to live on the streets. I know this. Because for me, at the moment, there

is not another chance. This is my chance now. Here at Ashford Place,

Romanian rough sleepers are getting help. But those running this centre

insist there hasn't been a sudden influx since January. Many were in

the UK already and they're here for one reason - work. If nothing else,

it's about pride. These people aren't content to come over here and

just exist on benefits, for example. I've never met a group of people

more offended by the notion of going on benefits than this Romanian

group. Here you have to check to the right. Violetta epitomises hard

graft. Highly educated and qualified, she was delivering pizza

last week. Now she's giving driving lessons and hopes for much more. ??

CAPNEXT I find more opportunities for my personal development. My

personal development, my family's development. For this reason I came

here. At the other end of the scale, scenes of poverty and confusion.

Back at the flyover, police make an arrest. They think this Romanian man

is wanted for robbery but there's been a mix-up and he's later

released. For some migrants, it's hardly the promised land. Mike

Sergeant, BBC News, Cricklewood. Tonight's top story, the first ever

prosecution for female genital mutilation. A doctor at the

Whittington Hospital in London and another man are charged.

Coming up, Lord of the Prance. Seb Coe gets in some practice for

tonight's Sport Relief. Later on BBC London, a new report

says the HS2 rail project could create 25,000 jobs.

And a grand game for the Gunners. Arsene Wenger on the eve of his

1,000th match. A new vaccine to protect infants

against meningitis B is likely to be made available on the NHS. Health

officials say the injection should be rolled out across the UK - as

long as a suitable price can be agreed with manufacturers. The

announcement reverses a decision last year rejecting the jab as too

expensive. About 1,761 people contract meningitis B each year -

with babies under one most at risk. It leads to death in a tenth of

cases. Of those who survive, one in three is left with disabilities such

as brain damage, losing a limb or deafness. Here's our health

correspondent Dominic Hughes. I put my arm in there.

Tilly Lockey is learning to use her new prosthetic hand. Meningitis B

robbed the eight-year-old of both hands, some toes and nearly her life

when she was just a baby. Now she's glad that, in the future, other

children should be safe from the infection that nearly killed her. I

don't want people losing their hands and feet and dying. It's going to

have a massive impact. So many children are going to be saved.

Thank you for finally saying yes. Meningitis B is one of the most

feared childhood infections in Britain. Developing a vaccine has

taken 20 years. Now the expert panel that advises UK health ministers has

changed its mind on whether introducing the vaccine will be

cost-effective. We've redone the evaluation on cost effectiveness and

found the vaccine could be cost-effective, as long as it's at a

fairly low cost. Tilly and her friends have already benefited from

one of the world's most comprehensive childhood immunisation

programmes. The UK is now the first country to add meningitis B to that

list. The great benefit of this vaccine is that it has the potential

to offer protection not just to individuals but to children across

the UK, creating what is known as a herd immunity. And offering a

defence against an infection that can have a devastating effect on the

lives of children and their families. Around 700,000 children a

year will be eligible for the vaccination. At the moment, it costs

?75 per shot and the full treatment involves three injections. But the

NHS will demand a big discount. There is the negotiation between the

Department for Health and the manufacturer to ensure that we can

obtain the vaccine at a cost-effective price. Today the

experts charged with the tough job of striking a balance between the

cost of the vaccine and the value of a child's life have recognised they

don't always get it right first time. Dominic Hughes, BBC News,

County Durham. A student from east London has been

jailed for 12 years after an acid attack on her friend, which left her

scarred for life. 22-year-old Mary Konye disguised herself with a

Muslim veil to carry out the attack on Naomi Oni, following a row about

a text message. The judge at Snaresbrook Crown Court described

the attack as a premeditated and callous plan to disfigure the

victim. Weeks after devastating floods in

the south-west of England, most affected families are returning

home. In the Budget, the Government promised an extra ?140 million to

boost flood defences. One project that's about to get underway is in

Hull. The city and surrounding areas were hit by severe flooding seven

years ago. 23,000 homes and businesses were damaged. Our UK

affairs correspondent Jeremy Cooke has been to see how people there are

recovering. The soaking summer of 2007 and, for

the city of Holme Acra, disaster. Across the region, 23,000 homes were

flooded. -- the city of whole. The sickly yellow terrible. Just a

nightmare. The lesson from here is that floods are nightmare that

change lives. After 50 years of fish industry, this man is now just a

spectator visiting son-in-law's business. The floods put his home

under water and began to sink his own business I honestly think if the

floods hadn't come, I would have still been working. The floods that

did the damage. They knocked us back and we more or less didn't survive,

really. It's hard to imagine today that this is the exact same spot

where all that water and sewage came gushing out of the ground, covering

the football pitch and the houses over there. The floods here came and

went in just a few days but for some the impact has lasted years. That's

me in the kitchen with the fridge floating away. At his home in

Beverly, Keith reflects on a life changed forever by the floods. He

and his wife Jean were enjoying active retirement but he's convinced

it all accelerated her move into a care home and his own rising anxiety

levels. I went to the doctor. I thought, I've got to talk to

somebody. I said I was really absolutely struggling to cope with

the house in MS and jeans getting more and more distressed. In this

disaster zone, politicians were a respite. Promises of cash were

almost unheard of. People were forgotten. People felt like this was

the forgotten city. The political media spotlight was elsewhere, yet

the most damaged city in the country was where we're standing now. Here,

there is plenty of sympathy for this year's flood victims. The messages

that hard work and strong communities will get the job done.

An attempt by the Turkish government to block access to Twitter is being

widely ignored. The Turkish Prime Minister had blocked the social

media site apparently in a bid to prevent allegations of government

corruption circulating. But users of the site, including the President,

have discovered ways around the ban and have continued to send messages.

A soldier who'd been shot in the neck by an Afghan insurgent - but

carried on fighting - and the medic who risked his life to attend to him

are among more than 100 members of the armed forces who've been

recognised with bravery awards. Most are being given to servicemen and

women who took part in last summer's deployment to Afghanistan. Sarah

Campbell has more. Shot through the neck while on

patrol in Helmand. British army cameras captured the moment Lance

Corporal Simon Moloney was treated by his friend and colleague Lance

Corporal Wes Masters. Both have been recognised for their extraordinary

courage under fire. I rolled off the roof, about an eight foot drop, and

I put my hands on my neck and realised straightaway that I'd been

hit. Then autopilot comes in. You wait for those 30 seconds to see -

am I going to pass out, am I going to die? Risking his own life to

reach his injured colleague, medic Wes Masters immediately began

life-saving treatment. It was a through-and-through gunshot wound,

in one side and out the other. So he had two holes in his neck.

Basically, I was trying to stay calm and calm him down and deal with what

I saw and not let my mind run away with me. The bullet had missed Lance

Corporal Moloney's vital arteries and windpipe by millimetres. He

continued to fight until a helicopter arrived to evacuate him,

and receives the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. Medic Wes, for his

bravery, receives the Military Cross. What do you think to Wes for

what he did at the scene? Fundamentally, I owe him my life -

that's the long and short of it. Not that i'd ever say that to his face.

But his whole confidence in the job when he was there. It wasn't just

the way he saved it... He was completely confident, completely

calm. He was an awesome casualty. He just did exactly what I wanted him

to do. He needed a bit of persuading sometimes because he just wanted to

go off and fight again but, yeah, he's a good lad. This latest list of

awards is a reminder that although British involvement in Afghanistan

is winding down, the risks remain and the men and women based there

continue to perform outstanding acts of bravery. This group is just a

selection of more than 100 service personnel who've received honours.

All will be presented with their medals and awards in ceremonies in

Buckingham Palace. Now, it's Sport Relief tonight and

people all over the country - including famous faces like Radio

2's Jo Whiley - have been running, cycling or swimming to help raise

money. The programme this evening will feature comedy sketches, such

as a cameo appearance from David Beckham in Only Fools And Horses.

For the first time, the main show is taking place at the Queen Elizabeth

Olympic Park in East London. Colin Paterson is there for us now.

Lord Coe was one of the biggest flag-wavers for the London

Olympics. Now he's back on site at the velodrome, twirling a ribbon to

the sounds of Dolly Parton. For Sport Relief, he's teamed up with

the pop star Olly Murs and actress Sally Phillips to take part in

rhythmic gymnastics. I'm not a natural. It's a really tough sport,

actually. It really is a serious sport. And I think when we watch it

tonight, you'll realise just how tough it is. Will people want to

donate money after seeing you? I sincerely hope so, even if only out

of pity. Here in 2012, it was all about gold. Tonight it's about

money. Two years ago, the last Sport Relief raised ?50 million on the

night. This time the contributions have already started coming in.

Radio 2 DJ Jo Whiley spent 26 hours running on a treadmill. The band

Coldplay were so impressed they donated ?260,000. I nearly fell over

at the very last minute. I didn't fall over once on the treadmill and

then the last second, I go splat on the floor! Anyway, why are you

wearing them glasses? Tonight's show will also feature the first new Only

Fools And Horses in 11 years, complete with a cameo from David

Beckham. I want to be a bit "incognitive". Yeah, good thinking.

The Olympics had Super Saturday. Sport Relief is hoping for a

fantastic Friday. Colin Paterson, BBC News.

Before we go, the singer Kate Bush is to return to the stage 35 years

after she retired from touring after just six weeks.

# You had a temper like my jealousy. Too hot, too greedy #. She gave up

touring after just one tour back in 1979 after topping the charts the

previous year. She will play 15 dates at the Hammersmith Apollo in

London from August. Time for a look at the weather -

here's Jay Wynne. Cast your mind back to last weekend

and some of us saw temperatures as high as 20. Forget that for this

weekend. It's more like 10 degrees. Cool, breezy and some showers. We've

seen showers across the UK and the rumble of thunder. A bit more

organised now across the western side of the UK. A real mix of rain,

some hail, some thunder, gusty winds and snow for the north of the UK.

That moves eastwards and is followed by further showers which will

contain a wintry element. Temperatures will be on the low side

with icy patches developing from Wales northwards. In the south-west,

we could see a dusting of snow across the hills and the same in

Wales. Don't expect any disruption. The further west you are, are pretty

bright start and stop -- the further east. In northern England, icy

patches around. Some showers in Northern Ireland and the West of

Scotland, turning wintry up over the hills. Eastern Scotland should start

on a dry and bright note. There will be heavy showers dotted around. Some

hail and thunder and maybe a bit of sleet and snow on the hills in the

north of the UK. A cooler fielder things. Maybe into double figures

for London. A cold start to Sunday and a cool north-westerly breeze.

Showers will fade away from the western side of the UK and then it

turns really cold on Sunday night. Some rural spots will get as low as

minus four. Really cold to start the day on Monday. That comes about

because of this ridge of high pressure late on Sunday but it will

mean a pretty decent day on Monday with a good deal of sunshine and

light winds. But you can't help but notice the weather front of the

Atlantic Ocean will bring rain by Tuesday.

Our main story: The first ever prosecution for female genital

mutilation. A doctor at the Whittington Hospital in London and

another man are charged.