28/05/2014 BBC News at Six

Liberal Democrat infighting, a senior Peer resigns

saying the party is heading for disaster under Nick Clegg.

He tells his supporters to stand firm,

dismissing talk of a leadership challenge.

People taking potshots at their own side is never OK, one year until the

general election. of a leadership challenge.

We'll be assessing the fallout from the row.

Also tonight, claims the Government was warned three years ago

about Muslim hardliners trying to take over schools in Birmingham.

Will people in Scotland be financially better off

if they vote yes to independence? Conflicting claims

in the referendum campaign. Clashes in Calais,

hundreds of migrants are evicted from makeshift camps

by French riot police. And the American author, poet

and activist Maya Angelou has died at the age of 86.

Tonight on BBC London, the mayor launches a new contract

for landlords and tenants, but how much good will it do for

the capital's two million renters? And the congestion charge

is to go up by 15% in June. Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News At Six. After a week

of election disappointment and criticisms of their leader,

the Liberal Democrats are facing further controversy tonight.

Lord Oakeshott, one of the Lib Dems' most influential figures,

has quit the party, saying it's heading for disaster

under Nick Clegg. Lord Oakeshott had been facing

disciplinary action for commissioning opinion polls

about Mr Clegg's leadership. Today Nick Clegg said it wasn't

sensible for party members to take potshots at their own side,

as Alex Forsyth reports. Nick Clegg has faced huge pressure

since his party took a hammering in last week's local and European

elections. Now a senior Lib Dem has been scheming to see him ditched as

the party's leader. Is there an attempted coup against you? Mr Clegg

tried to brush it off. This happens in politics from time to time,

people decide to take potshots at their own side, it is never

sensible. This is the man causing the problem, Lord Oakeshott, a

constant critic of the leadership who commissioned opinion polls

suggesting the party would do better without Nick Clegg. When his actions

were revealed, he resigned, but not without a departing blow. In a

statement, he said, I'm sure the party is heading for disaster if it

keeps Nick Clegg, and I must not get in of the brave Liberal Democrats

fighting for change. Lord Oakeshott has suggested his friend and ally

Vince Cable could be a good replacement. So what did the

Business Secretary know about the secret polls? Did you know Lord

Oakeshott was conducting these polls? He has been in China on

official business. Today he was keeping tight-lipped. But Lord

Oakeshott wasn't, he said several weeks ago I told Vince the results

of the polls. Only yesterday Vince Cable said, I made it very clear

that he, Lord Oakeshott, does not speak or act for me. From within the

party's headquarters, senior Lib Dems have insisted Vince Cable knew

nothing, but even the hint of division has inflicted more damage

on an already bilby did party. One thing - if this was an attempted

coup, it looks like it's failed. Well, we could do without it, and

Lord Oakeshott's departure was hardly likely to be accompanied by

wishing as well. It has been a tough few days. While the party hasn't

escaped unscathed, tonight at least it seems Nick Clegg is not going

anywhere. And Alex is at Westminster this

evening, how the USS the overall scale of the damage here? Lord

Oakeshott has gone, some say he has fallen on his sword, and the party

will be pleased because there is now some distance between his efforts,

which seems to be to undermine the leadership, and the party itself.

The real question still remains, what did Vince Cable no? A senior

figure in government, a senior figure within the Liberal Democrat

party, and in the last few minutes he was asked, from China, what he

knew about the polling. This is what he said. I had absolutely no

knowledge, I was certainly not involved in any commissioning of the

surveys that were done in Sheffield Hallam, Inverness, and indeed I

criticised them very severely yesterday. I am here to do a job of

work promoting British exports and jobs, that is what I am getting on

with. Vince Cable saying he had no knowledge. You can expect the party

ranks to close around Nick Clegg now, they know what damage such

division will do, but even now we know some local groups are still

meeting to discuss the future leadership of the Liberal Democrats.

Nick Clegg hanging on for now, but his party not entirely out of the

woods yet. Alex, thank you for now. Alex Forsyth.

as Alex Forsyth reports. The BBC understands that concerns

about Muslim hardliners trying to take over

secondary schools in Birmingham were raised with the Government

in 2010. A head teacher says he raised

the issue three years before an anonymous letter was sent

to Birmingham City Council in which Muslim groups were accused

of running Operation Trojan Horse, an alleged attempt to force

fundamentalist Muslim values on pupils and teachers.

Our correspondent Sian Lloyd has this exclusive report.

Inside one of the most scrutinised schools in Birmingham,

Parkview Academy is one of 21 primary and secondary schools

being investigated by Ofsted, the Department for Education,

and Birmingham City Council, the authorities' response

to allegations made in an anonymous letter

made public two months ago of a co-ordinated attempt

by Muslim hardliners to take over

some Birmingham schools. But this head teacher

has told the BBC that he warned government officials

of similar concerns more than three years ago.

You know, you're beginning to

You know, you're beginning some of the motivations that are

a tension in Birmingham schools. This is part of the presentation

that Tim Boyes took to government in December 2010.

under investigation, but he told me he was so concerned

about what was happening in other schools

he asked for a meeting with the Department for Education.

This is a 20-year-old story, and over those 20 years

I know of particular places and over those 20 years

where these kinds of tensions and politics have exploded.

And as a result, head teachers have had nervous breakdowns,

they've lost their jobs, schools have been really torn apart.

He described events at one school as a bloodless coup.

In another school, he reported that staff and governors were in

alliance to destabilise the head. In a third school,

he claimed governors wanted to remove the head to

have a Muslim head teacher instead. But he doesn't criticise officials

for not taking things further. He blames education policy.

Because of the academy programme encouraging schools to opt out

of local authority control, and the local authority family,

you've got increasing numbers of schools acting individually,

acting on their own. The Department for Education

declined our request for an interview, but it has issued a

statement. It acknowledges that a meeting with Tim boys did state

blaze at a time when the department was looking at ways of making

schools more aware of the risks of extremism. -- did take place. There

is no place for extremism in our schools, and measures have been

taken to combat it. It's been a turbulent time

for pupils, parents and teachers in Birmingham.

Reports to be published next week are expected to leave some

of the schools facing changes in the way they are run.

Sian Lloyd, BBC News. Will people in Scotland

be better off if they votes yes to independence?

That's a crucial question being argued about today

in advance of September's referendum.

The UK Government says people will be ?1,400 a year better

off voting no, but the Scottish Government says

voting for independence will be worth an extra ?1,000 per person.

Here's our special corresponent Allan Little.

Today two sets of data urging travel in opposite directions. Stay on the

road you're on, says the UK Treasury, you are ?1400 per year

better off in the union. Take the exit marked independence, says the

Scottish Government, and you will be ?1000 per year which. The Treasury

sent its most senior Scott, rather than George. Danny Alexander said an

independent Scotland would start with a budget deficit of 5% of GDP,

double that of the UK. Scots should stick with what he called the union

dividend. This is the most detailed assessment that the Treasury have

published since the five economic tests for joining the euro. This is

an impeccable, detailed analysis based on independent sources,

looking at the fundamental pressure Scotland would experience under

independence. The Treasury says oil revenues will fall away sharply in

the next 20 years. Scotland's ageing population will increase pensions

and health care costs, and interest rates will be at least 1% higher as

international markets would charge more for Scotland to borrow.

Releasing their own rival forecast, the Scottish Government said an

independent Scotland would inherit strong and sustainable private

finances, healthier than that of the UK. -- public. We think the policy

choices, the economic choices that Scotland will make will be better

run from Scotland, because we think it is an inherent truth that where

people live and work in the country, they will make better

choices about the future of that country than people who live and

work elsewhere. The Scottish Government argues that an

independent Scotland would be able to improve productivity with

policies tailored to Scottish needs, that economic growth would be

stronger, increasing tax deals without increasing taxes themselves,

and boost the working age population through better childcare and inward

migration. Widely sharp disparity in the forecast? Much of it comes down

to oil and gas. -- widely. The Scottish Government is more

optimistic about what is left under the sea bed, saying it will bring in

?7 billion in tax revenues in the first year of independence. The UK

Government says it is less than half that, under 3 billion. The Better

Together campaign has a new, more confident spring in its step, they

believe the polls have settled, giving them a stable and pretty

commanding 60-40 lead, but there is a long way to go, and they know many

traditional Labour voters have been crossing over to the independence

camp, persuaded by the argument that an independent Scotland would be a

fairer and more equal society. Today both sides appealed for Scotland to

trust them with the country's economic future, for this, the

economy, is the key battle ground. Allan Little, BBC News, Edinburgh.

Allan Little. President Barack Obama

has outlined his foreign policy aims for the remainder of his presidency.

He stressed that diplomacy, rather than military intervention,

is the way to resolve crises like those in Ukraine and Iran.

He also announced a $5 billion counter-terrorism fund

to help other countries fight violent extremism.

The American author, poet and activist Maya Angelou

has died at the age of 86. The first volume

of her autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,

related her experiences in an era defined by racial segregation.

It became a bestseller. Nick Higham looks back at her life.

My life ain't heaven, but it sure ain't hell. I'm not on top, but I

call it swell. If I'm able to work and get paid right, and have the

luck to be black on a Saturday night, hey! Maya Angelou performing

one of her own poems. She was charismatic and passionate, a role

model who recorded and celebrated the experience of being black in

America. She'd grown up in America's deep South, raised by her

grandmother amidst poverty, prejudice and racial segregation. At

the age of seven, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend. She didn't

speak for the next five years but read voraciously.

# It ain't necessarily so... She appeared on Broadway and toured

Europe. In what became an extraordinary career, she travelled

to Africa, became a journalist and academic, and back in the States

worked with civil rights leaders. But it was her volumes of

autobiography that made her name, beginning with I Know Why the Caged

Bird Sings, about her childhood in Arkansas. I remember never believing

that white folk were real, they couldn't be people because their

feet were too small, their skin to white, and see-through. Bill Clinton

acknowledged her status when he has stirred to read a poem at his

inauguration. History, despite its wrenching pain,

cannot be lived, but if faced with courage need not be lived again.

Barack Obama awarded her the presidential medal of freedom.

Martin Luther King told me that he expected there to be a black

president in 40 years. I didn't, I thought I would be long dead before

it happened. She made movies and documentaries about the black

experience, always warm and wise, erudite and encouraging. The

excitement is not just to sort of survive but to thrive. And to thrive

with some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style.

Maya Angelou, who's died at the age of 86.

Our top story this evening: Nick Clegg tells his supporters to stand

firm, dismissing talk of a leadership challenge after a senior

firm, dismissing talk of a leadership challenge after a senior

Lib Dem peer resigns. And coming up, Google unveils the car that drives

itself, but how will people feel about not being in control?

Later on BBC London, eight days after the Camden fire,

businesses assess the damage and the cost.

And as a survey suggests Britons are becoming more racist,

we find out how Londoners feel. Police in Calais have spent

the day evicting hundreds of migrants from makeshift camps

in the port area of the city. Many, from Africa,

the Middle East and Asia, have spent months trying to reach Britain.

800 people have been living in three camps.

The local authorities say the conditions have become

unsanitary and that there's been an outbreak of scabies.

Our correspondent Paul Adams was at one of the camps.

Our correspondent Paul Adams was at one of the camps

when the police moved in, and he's just sent this report.

First light and they were ready to move. Meagre possessions packed.

Wondering what the day would bring. Slowly, carefully, the police herded

them out. Inspecting every tent. You're free to go, but you have to

leave now they said. We thought France is a European country, we

will be safe here in this country, because we run away from war and I

am from Syria, but we, we see the opposite.

So this whole operation which people have been expecting for the past

448-hours are so has been preceding fairly smoothly. Tent by tent the

camp is being cleared it is fairly calm but hanging over the process is

this looming question, where are these people supposed to go? At

first there were no answer, just a stand-off. The refugees fear arrest

or deportation, they wonder if we understand what they have been

through. Tell all the people in the world,

just think about us. He left his home and family in Eritrea, he has

been on the move ever since. It is not free, our country.

That is why we live alone. Across the desert. Wait a minute, please.

A minute. But for some here this moment couldn't come soon enough.

Right-wing about visit Lawrence told me it was time. The problem is for,

for the town, for Calais, for the image of Calais, it is not good.

Back near the port, tempers were frayed. Egged on by local

supporterssome of the migrantser recollected barricades. There were

scuffles an insults. And back where it started, the

bulldozers moved in. The camp they call Syria quickly reduced to a pile

of debris. Finally, a deal of sorts. They were

told they have one more night here before they have to find another

camp outside the city. Claiming his new patch, he prepared

for another night in the open. And another leg of his long exhausting

journey. and he's just sent this report.

The veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has admitted that he complimented

a 13-year-old girl when she was wearing a bikini,

and that "with hindsight" he may have admired her sexually.

But he told a court he did not indecently assault the girl,

who was a friend of his daughter. Mr Harris denies 12 counts of

indecent assault, alleged to have happened between 1968 and 1986.

David Sillito reports. There were no songs today, no show

business stories, Rolf Harris's answers were shorter, his tone

subdued as the prosecution challenged his account of a

relationship with a woman 35 years younger than him. A childhood friend

of the woman here, on his right. His daughter Bindi.

In court he said the relationship had been consensual. Had begun when

she was 18, not as she claims 13. He was asked about a comment made

allegedly during a holiday, coming her on her appearance when she was

wearing a bikini. It was put to him: He agreed there were no Valentine

card, there was barely a conversation, it was put to him this

wasn't really a relationship, this was somebody he had groomed from an

early age. Someone he had groomed to not say no, to not speak out. He

said no, she had been an adult. She had flirted with him. That

glittering career, the friendly loveable demeanour, it was put to

him it was good at hiding the darker side of his character. He said yes.

Four women, 12 charge, Rolf Harris today said they were all making it

up. There was one final witness today, a

man called Paul Elliott described in court as a king of panto, he has

produced 450 Orr the year, 11 with Rolf Harris. He said he was funny,

warm, cuddly, a man with a you neebg rapport with the audience and in all

the years he has worked with him, never once, he said had there been a

complaint about him. The Church of England has outlined

details of how it intends to promote the use of credit unions, in an

attempt to challenge payday lenders, some of which charge annual interest

rates of several thousand percent. The Archbishop of Canterbury has

previously said he'd like to put payday firms out of business.

A new scheme, which aims to offer community based financial services,

is to be piloted in Liverpool and London, as our business

correspondent Emma Simpson reports. Years he has worked with him, never

once, he said had there been a complaint about him. Payday lender,

they offer quick credit, to people in need. But the interest rates can

go sky high. Now, they have got competition from

the church. They will work with you, how much

you can afford a month. Meet Rosa, a financially savvy vicar, she is on a

mission to recruit people to her local credit union. Have to borrow

some money and then... 18 months ago this grandmother took out a payday

loan for ?1200, which spiralled out of control. She has only managed to

pay back the ?700 worth of interest. I thought I would be able to pay

back, you know, over the period, in the short given time. But it doesn't

work, because the plan to do this and then something else comes up. It

may not hand out the cash but should the church be given financial

advice? Money is a thing that we need to use every day, we can't get

away from it, but we have to be responsible with it. We have to make

it work for us, and not become slave to it.

That is why I think it is important from the church.

This is just a trial, but with some 16,000 parish, the Church of England

believes that it has the potential to create this biggest branch

network in the country. So what is the difference between a credit

union, and a payday lender? Well, a credit union is not for profit. With

interest at a maximum of 3% a month. So a ?400 loan would cost ?12. A

payday lender is a commercial enterprise. Its interest rate is

unlimited. That same loan could cost round ?127.

But payday loan companies say they fill a gap in the market. Credit

unions aren't really interested in getting into the short-term lending,

they are more interested in savings and longer term loan products rather

than a short-term loan and that is a different product which is something

the payday industry will provide. The Church of England is taking them

on now, and it hopes there will be many more signing up for its new

service. England's cricketers have enjoyed

one of their most comprehensive victories ever, in a one day

international. They beat Sri Lanka at Old Trafford after bowling them

out for 67. Only once before had England dismissed a team for a lower

total in this form of cricket. Chris Jordan took five wickets who knocked

off the runs without losing a wicket.

correspondent Emma Simpson reports. They are already giants

of the internet and the world of communications.

Now Google has announced it will start building

its own driverless cars. The company says it wants to make

driving safer by removing human error.

The vehicles won't have a steering wheel or pedals,

just a start and a stop button. But how will people feel

about not being in control ? Here's our technology

correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones. No steering wheel, no accuse

accelerator, not even a brake. This could be the future of motoring.

Belt up, press a button and off you go. There is no steering wheel in

the way. The maximum speed is 25mph. Sensors is and software detect other

vehicles, and softer materials should make it safer if it did hit a

pedestrian. Google is to build 100 of these self-driving vehicles in

the next stage of a hugely am be shus project which has evolved

adapting existing cars, the promises this vehicle will bring increased

mobility to all sorts of people and may cut road accident, many of which

are caused by human error. The big car makers are bringing in some

automation, this Ford helps you keep in lane, and when it comes to

reversing into a tight spot, the car can take over.

Now I am not the world's best Parker so the level of automation when you

take your hands off the steering wheel and let it happen is fine by

me, how happy would we be to let the car take over in all circumstances?

The key of course is safety, Google's existing self-driving car

has driven hundreds of thousands of miles without an accident. It can

for instance spot a cyclist pulling out. Watching this example when the

cyclist holds up his arm it exacts his signal and predicts its

movement. For this idea to take off would involve big spending on the

road system and a change would involve big spending on the

attitudes to motoring The major constraints are the

attitudes to motoring The major roads, the seven, so you would have

to have individual lanes for these car, rather than mixing with normal

traffic, and then, are we as human beings ready for that moment where

you take away beings ready for that moment where

sit in your box, and off you go? Google plans to run a pilot

sit in your box, and off you go? programme for its

sit in your box, and off you go? near its California head quarters in

the next couple of years. It will be a long time before most city streets

are ready for motoring rout motorists.

There is no way to follow that. It will need windscreen wipers if it is

going to be a hit here. It has been a grotty day in many parts, some

heavy rain pushing in northern England and Scotland, Northern

Ireland, where you have had a reasonably fine day the rain will

arrive later on so a change in weather. Nobody immune for dampness.

It will be a relatively mild night but misty, a lot of fog forming on

the high ground, so be aware of that. It could be nasty and damp

start to the gape for many in parts of England. Slow improvements here,

but it will be brighter to the south and the north eventually. You might

have to be patient, a snapshot mid afternoon, still some grey weather

across the heart afternoon, still some grey weather

England. Most of the heavy rain should be fading away.

England. Most of the heavy rain border, brighter for Scotland, there

will be plenty of sunshine, a nice day with light winds, it will feel

comfortable. day with light winds, it will feel

we will have lost the brightness, dampness hanging on for much of the

day. Further south, dampness hanging on for much of the

and southern parts of the UK, OK there

and southern parts of the UK, OK will be heavy thundery downpour,

hit-and-miss, you might get away with it but there will be nasty

storms round, with it but there will be nasty

Faure, but in the brighter spell, it will feel warmer than it has done.

-- affair. The main message as we end the week it will turn drier for

most of us, not totally dry on Friday, still the chance of the odd

shower in southern areas but most of us will avoid these. With light

winds, it should feel reasonable enough, mid, possible high teens in

one or two places, for the weekend, a lot of uncertainty, but plenty of

dry weather for a time, the threat of rain later on, pushing in from

the north-west. correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones.

A reminder of our main story. Nick Clegg tells his supporters to

stand firm, dismissing talk of a leadership challenge, after

a senior