02/05/2014 BBC News at Six

The publicist Max Clifford is jailed for eight years for sexual assaults

against teenage girls and women in the 70s and 80s. One last moment in

the spotlight. Max Clifford was criticised by the judge for showing

no remorse, just contemptuous behaviour in front of his victims.

When I think of him, he makes me shudder and he makes me feel ill. So

relieved, and so pleased that justice has been done.

And tonight the BBC has learned that more alleged victims have come

forward during the trial. Also tonight:

Heavy gunfire in eastern Ukraine, as pro-Russian rebels shot down two

army helicopters during a government offensive.

As tension grows, Britain sends troops for a training exercise in

the Baltics. Sinn Fein say police have asked for

more time to question their leader, Gerry Adams, in connection with the

IRA murder of Jean McConville in 1972.

And the biggest ever survey health and lifestyles, to try to improve

the lives of future generations. The Bank of England warns that the

recent surge in house prices could end in a crash.

16 months in jail for the judge who lied to police, but criticism that

the sentence is racist. Good evening and welcome to the BBC

News at Six. The celebrity publicist Max Clifford

is beginning an eight-year jail sentence tonight for a string of

indecent assaults against young girls and women in the 1970s and

80s. Sentencing him, the judge told Max Clifford that his position in

the entertainment world had meant that both he and his victims had

thought he was untouchable. Our home affairs correspondent, June Kelly

reports on a very public downfall. He arrived at court to face the

usual media scrum, but today he knew that while he was walking in, he

wouldn't be walking out. Max Clifford's whole career has been

built on the media. Knowing he would be out of the spotlight for some

time, he posed for the cameras for almost five minutes. No real

comment, no apology to his victims, but there was a smile. The court was

full. And at the side of the dock, watching Max Clifford, some of the

women he had abused and assaulted. They were in tears as the eight year

sentence was handed down. Judge Anthony Leonard said of the

offences, the reason they were not brought to light sooner is because

of your dominant character and your position in the world of

entertainment, which meant your victims thought you were

untouchable, something I judge that you, too, believed and traded upon.

One of his youngest victims was 15, a child, when he groomed and abused

her. I became very fearful of men and had some very difficult

relationships because of that. I didn't really trust anybody. When I

was seeing him on the television speaking to millions of people,

telling them he was innocent, I did think, no one is going to believe

me. Max Clifford was this thing Ghalib of public relations, exposing

other people's sex secrets, like an affair with England manager Sven

Goran Eriksson, and David Mellor's relationship with a woman which

ended his ministerial career. After the Jimmy Savile scandal blew up,

Clifford claimed celebrities were approaching him, fearful for their

reputations. They have come to me for advice and guidance, because

they say, if you suddenly hear our names, would you be kind enough to

let us know. Weeks later, he was arrested. It is not fun, standing

there being accused of being a fantasist and a liar. Even during

the trial, he continued to play for the cameras. Today, the judge

condemned this performance for trivialising the events. Scotland

Yard released this mugshot. He is the first person convicted under

Operation Yewtree. Nobody is above the law, and it does not matter when

things happen, we will prosecute when we have the evidence to do so.

The man used to travelling in his Bentley left court in a prison van.

Max Clifford, protector and destroyer of reputations, brought

down by a group of women he once controlled. They took control and

refused to remain silent. And June is at Southwark Crown Court

for us now. A tremendous fall from grace for Max Clifford and more

complainants coming forward tonight. Yes, more complainants have come

forward and police and prosecutors are now deciding how to proceed.

Now, Max Clifford was sentenced under the penalties and the

legislation which were in place when he committed the offences. If he had

been sentenced under current legislation, he would have faced a

far harsher jail term. Because of that, the judge said he was

maximising the sentence he was imposing. Also, under current

legislation, some of these offences he has been convicted of would today

be classed as rape. Ukraine says pro-Russian groups have

suffered what it called heavy losses during a government operation in a

rebel held city in eastern Ukraine. The acting president says two

Ukrainian soldiers were also killed and two government helicopters shot

down. Ukrainian forces are reported to have taken control of a number of

checkpoints around the city of Sloviansk, but the centre still

appears to be in the hands of the rebels. President Obama says he's

watching events in Ukraine with deep concern. Our special correspondent

Fergal Keane is in Donetsk. All day long, government forces have

been battling rebels in the city of Sloviansk. As ever, there has been a

welter of claim and counterclaim. The government says it has killed,

injured or arrested large numbers of rebels but we have no independent

confirmation of that. What we know for certain is that this is a day

when the state tried to reimpose its will on the rebellious East.

This was the answer from the rebels to the government offensive,

missiles that downed helicopter is. These were the instruments of state

power. Two were brought crashing to the ground, two pilots killed.

Here, a wounded crew member is helped by the rebels who captured

him. It was an image that seemed to define a day in which the government

yet again struggled in the face of determined opposition. The militants

had been waiting for some move by the state. This, the masked face of

a well-prepared insurgency. Don't stand behind me, he warns. Here,

petrol bombs being prepared. Ammunition brought forward. And a

promise of fire down the road any soldiers might come. But it was here

on this bridge that Ukraine's army was confronted by its own citizens.

Helicopters deployed troops onto this strategic crossing six miles

from Sloviansk. But the people refused to allow them across. Firing

in the air, they tried to push on, but it simply increased the emotion.

This elderly man was but it simply increased the emotion.

shock. But as the stalemate on the bridge deepened, we found a mood

shock. But as the stalemate on the defiance. I am prepared to take the

gun, if need, for my land, you understand me. The soldiers were

nervous, far from Kiev and the government that is giving them

orders. You don't seem to control very much here. What is happening?

Pointing to the protesters, he told us, they are for Putin. The

atmosphere on the bridge remains very tense. There is no obvious

appetite for confrontation on the part of the troops but there is a

great deal of anger among the pro-Russian demonstrators. Neither

side knows where the military escalation is leading. Fergal

Keane, BBC News, outside Sloviansk. In response to the crisis in

Ukraine, Britain has joined with other NATO countries to provide

extra security for Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The Baltic states,

all close to Russia, have no fighter aircraft. For years they've been

dependent on the alliance for protection. Four RAF Typhoon

fighters are part of a NATO force of 20 jets now guarding the Baltics.

Today 100 British troops arrived in Estonia for a training exercise with

that country's defence forces, along with the Defence Secretary Philip

Hammond. Our defence correspondent Jonathan

Beale was travelling with him and sent this report.

These aren't the first British troops to ever step foot here, but

they are the first to arrive in eastern Europe since the crisis in

Ukraine began. And they are being met with open arms. Estonia, like

Ukraine, was once a Soviet satellite state. They are nervous and they

want reassurance. We sense that Estonia is not alone and our allies

will be with us in the end. And that is important? I think it is always

important. It is going to be another exercise, I think. Should the

Russians be worried? I doubt it. We have nothing to do with them. We

just work on the conscripts with the Estonians. But the welcoming

committee and the presence of the Defence Secretary suggests this is

more than just training, although they are just a few compared with

the thousands of Western troops positioned in Europe during the Cold

War. And few when compared to the massive Russian military build up,

here doing their own training on Ukraine's eastern border. NATO has

stepped up its air patrols of it eastern borders. Four RAF Typhoons,

the latest warplanes to arrive in the Baltics, ready to intercept

Russian bombers, as they did just one week ago off northern Scotland.

But there is no desire for conflict, only to stop the instability

spreading. We are all worried about what's happening in the Ukraine. And

the point of our reinforcement of Baltic air policing and our dispatch

of additional troops to exercises in Estonia is to make clear that we

will stand by our commitments to NATO and allies. Britain and NATO

say this is about reassurance, not provocation. But it's difficult to

see how this increased military presence will calm rising tensions.

This military build up is not on the same scale as the Cold War era, but

it does have worrying echoes of the past. And no one knows how this will

end. Jonathan Beale, BBC News. A part-time judge has been jailed

for 16 months for lying to police investigating the Chris Huhne

speeding points scandal. Barrister Constance Briscoe was convicted of

three counts of perverting the course of justice after an inquiry

into how former Cabinet minister Mr Huhne passed speeding points to his

then wife Vicky Pryce a decade ago. Sentencing her, the judge said the

three had shown an "arrogance" in thinking that respect for the law

was for others. Sinn Fein says police in Northern

Ireland are asking a judge for more time to question their leader, Gerry

Adams, in connection with one of the most notorious murders during the

Troubles. Jean McConville, a mother of ten, was shot by the IRA in 1972.

Mr Adams, who denies any involvement, voluntarily presented

himself for questioning in Antrim on Wednesday. Our Ireland

correspondent, Chris Buckler reports.

A leading politician and a man who has been stated as a peacemaker, but

Gerry Adams has been in police custody, under questioning, four

hours, about a murder committed in 1972. Jean McConville's family say

the time since her killing has gone anything but quickly for them.

People like me are left living the life we live because we can't move

on because of what happened. Helen is just one of Jean McConville's ten

children. She is pictured with her mother, in the only photograph that

still exists of a woman murdered by the IRA, a widow dragged out of her

home and killed in secret, leaving her family without a parent. Gerry

Adams has all was denied being involved in the murder, but Helen

has been vocal in her belief that he was. What I feel about him, he is

now a top politician and he thinks he is God, really, untouchable. But

if he is not charged today with the murder of my mother, I'm hoping to

take civil action. Gerry Adams' arrest has made international

headlines. In his years as a politician he has shared the

spotlight with world leaders. Among the allegations he is being

questioned about our claims made by the late IRA commander Brendan

Hughes, recorded by researchers from Boston College. There is only one

man who gave the order for that woman to be executed. That man is

now the head of Sinn Fein. The decision to arrest a leading

politician was always going to be controversial, particularly in

Northern Ireland, a place where the relationship between policing and

politics can be fraught. It is now known that David Cameron has spoken

to both Northern Ireland's first and Deputy First Minister while Mr Adams

has been in custody. The Prime Minister and I appreciate the

sensitivity and seriousness of this situation, which is why he was

engaging with the first and Deputy First Minister. But Sinn Fein anger

at the arrest and the police ahead of elections across the island of

Ireland could not be more obvious. There is a group in the PSNI who

have a different agenda. And it is a negative and destructive agenda to

both the peace process and to Sinn Fein. Detectives say they have a

duty to investigate the murder of a woman who was one of the

disappeared, evil ab ducted and killed in secret, past crimes that

can't be forgotten. Our top story this evening: The

publicist Max Clifford is jailed for eight years for sexual assaults

against teenage girls and women. And still to come: half a million

people's DNA samples are stored And still to come: half a million

in trays like this at -80 degrees. We go inside the fridge that could

help improve the health of future generations.

On BBC London: The award-winning head teacher who faces a ban after

spending school money on herself. And a tense weekend for Millwall

fans as the club fights to avoid relegation.

Now, should the Government have more powers to get involved when British

companies face foreign takeover bids? The American firm Pfizer has

tried to create one of the world's biggest companies by making yet

another multi-billion pound bid for the British pharmaceutical firm

AstraZeneca. It's been rejected for now. But critics fear that if

they're ultimately successful, it could mean big job cuts in the UK

and dent the influence of Britain's science sector. Our business editor

Kamal Ahmed reports. It is more compact than courtship.

Two giants circling each other wondering who will conduct the

winner. Today Pfizer was rebuffed for the second time. Many predict it

will be back with another offer. With thousands of jobs at stake,

this is far more than a simple business deal. My job is to protect

the UK's interest. I want to see great science in Britain and great

medicines delivered and great jobs in these industries in Britain. That

is why we have sought and received robust assurances from cork if a

deal were to go ahead. -- from Pfizer. Pfizer employs 70,000 people

around the world including 2500 in the UK. It has sales of ?31 billion

last year. AstraZeneca employs 50,000 people including over 6000 in

the UK. Together, they would become the biggest drugs company in the

world. I am at AstraZeneca's headquarters in London. They occupy

the top three floors of this building. These businesses

manufacture businesses of building. These businesses

worth of drugs for millions of patients every year, from headache

tablets to cancer treatments. AstraZeneca alone accounts for a 2%

of all goods exported from the UK. That is why the deal is so important

politically. Critics say Pfizer's previous takeover deals have led to

cost cutting. We have a British company being turned around with

good drugs coming along and an attempted takeover by a company

takeovers and then stripping out the takeovers and then stripping out the

stripping deal intellectual -- the intellectual property. Pfizer

pledged to the Prime Minister that manufacturing jobs would stay in the

UK. It was only last week that the Chancellor was in Cambridge where

AstraZeneca plans to build its new headquarters. He was speaking about

the importance of science research to the UK. The Treasury will

certainly put any new offer to close examination.

Two schoolgirls have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit

murder following an incident at a school in Caerphilly in South Wales.

The teenagers aged 14 and 15 were arrested at a school yesterday

following concerns about their behaviour. Our Wales correspondent

Hywel Griffith has been following the story and joins us now. Hywel,

what more can you tell us? I understand the officers were called

to Cwmcarn High School yesterday because of concern over two of its

pupils. The girls were arrested on school grounds and questioned. The

15-year-old was questioned about threats to kill. The 14-year-old was

also questioned on the same potential charge. The police

stressed no harm was caused and no confrontation took place. We

understand the potential target was to be a teacher at the school. Today

in a letter to parents, the headteacher has stressed Cwmcarn

High School is a safe environment for pupils. Teaching unions have

told us their members at the school have been shocked and concerned by

the incident. It comes at the end of the week which saw a teacher lose

her life in Leeds. The pupils have been bailed pending further

investigations. David Cameron has launched the

Conservatives' local election campaign, emphasising what he called

the great British recovery which he said would be put at risk by voting

for other parties. With the European elections at the same time, he used

the launch to re-affirm the Tories' commitment to offering an in-out

referendum of EU membership. Our deputy political editor James

Landale reports. David Cameron says that a great

British revival is taking place in warehouses like this up and down the

country. There are new jobs and investment that he says only the

Conservatives would protect. Along with the promise of lower council

taxes and yes I met a referendum on Europe. Whatever it takes, I will

deliver the referendum. Labour will not. UKIP can't. I will. I would not

be Prime Minister of a government unless we could carry out our pledge

of an in-out referendum. UKIP, he said, was all talk and no delivery.

UKIP, frankly I do not need to discredit Europe. -- discredit UKIP.

It was a message some of the workers he met here liked but not all. I do

not trust them. Him or them? The Conservatives. I have got to wait

and see if he delivers what he says. I thought it was positive. I am an

apprentice and I felt the benefits from having job security. At a theme

park just down the road, there was some support for the Conservatives,

but also doubt about just which way they were heading. David Cameron is

promising a referendum. Do you trust him to deliver on that? Note. Why

not estimate historical reasons. They have not materialised. That is

why you are going to vote UKIP? Yes. Do you trust David Cameron to

deliver on the referendum? Hopefully. Do you think he will

stick to what he says? I would like to think so. He needs to come out

with definite policies. I do not think a referendum will satisfy the

public. The Tories have said their poll ratings will rise when the

economy recovers. But many voters still seem cautious and they do not

want to get taken for a ride. And you can find details about the

election campaigns of other political parties, together with a

detailed guide to the BBC's election coverage if you go to

bbc.co.uk/news. Why do some people get sick while

others live to a healthy old age? That's what the world's biggest

body-scanning project getting under way near Manchester is trying to

work out. It's part of UK Biobank which is examining how our health is

affected by lifestyle, environment and genes. 100,000 volunteers will

undergo detailed scans. They are from half million adults aged

between 40 and 69 who've already supplied their DNA. Among the

diseases being studied are cancer, heart disease and dementia. Our

medical correspondent Fergus Walsh was the first person to be scanned

and joins us live from inside a freezer at the UK Biobank

headquarters in Stockport. Sophie, this freezer contains my DNA and

that of all 500,000 volunteers. Perfectly preserved at minus 80

degrees. In addition to this huge genetic database, scientists have

detailed lifestyle information on volunteers and soon they will have

thousands of medical scans as well. Keep still. Heart, brain, bones,

even fat content. Every part of the body will be imaged for this

ambitious project. I am the first of 100,000 people who will be invited

to undergo the tests. The MRI scans will yield a huge amount of data.

The goal is clear. We will understand better the causes of a

wide range of different diseases. The brain scans may help us to

understand the causes of dementia and other types of cognitive

decline. Looking at the heart may give us an idea about why it is

certain people develop heart disease in the long-term, heart failure. UK

Biobank scientists have begun analysing the DNA from volunteers.

This will be cross-referenced with the scans and with information about

diet, fitness and health records and cognitive tests. The results should

give insights into many diseases. This woman hopes the research will

help explain why she got Alzheimer's disease at just 52. It affects her

short-term memory and she can get lost when out shopping. My father

had this before me. His lifestyle like mine, there was nothing wrong

with it. I cannot identify what caused it for him or me. We need to

identify if there are any common dominators which give us a clue as

to what may be the cause of this. The project is not a health check.

Volunteers will not see the scans. But if a potentially serious problem

like a tumour is spotted, that will be fed back. You can see the fluid

filled spaces... It could mean early diagnosis but also cause alarm. Some

Junor -- some tumours are not amenable to treatment. It can create

worry and a negative impact on travel and life insurance. UK

Biobank is an example of altruism. Volunteers know it is not their

health but that of future generations that will benefit from

this ground-breaking project. Bank holiday ahead. What is the

weather going to be we are going to it with high

pressure. But it will come under attack from rain bearing weather

systems from the Atlantic, particularly affecting the north and

west of the UK. The first of those is going to bring some cloud into

the far West, maybe a few spots of rain to Cornwall. But most places

are not just dry but clear and unusually cold for the time of year.

Colder in the countryside last night. In Highland Scotland minus

four. But sunspots in southern England may be as low as minus two.

A cold start to the weekend. A lot of sunshine from the word go. But

then this weather system from the Atlantic comes in, thickening the

cloud and bringing rain to Northern Ireland and west of Scotland in the

afternoon. Ahead of that, it stays dry. Sunny spells. In the sunshine,

it will feel warmer. Sunday, not as cold to start. But a lot of cloud

across the UK. For the northern part, outbreaks of rain. Still warm

sunny spells in the South. Some uncertainty about the bank all day.

How quickly will the weather system bring rain into the West? We need to

cater for increasing cloud in the West. There may be rain for Northern

Ireland and western Scotland. The best of Monday's whether more likely

for southern and eastern areas. Warmer too. Temperature is mounting

a recovery. Not just in the south-east, but parts of Scotland

could see 17, 18 degrees. We will keep you updated online.

That is all from