27/08/2014 BBC News at Six

After the shock of the scale of the child abuse revealed in Rotherham,

calls for those in charge to be held to account.

The council, police and social services have all been criticised

for failing to protect 1,400 children.

Now the victims demand they take responsibility.

They've got to put their hands up for what they've done,

because they've played a big part. They've let 1,400 children not only

be sexually abused on one occasion, but a number of occasions.

South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner refuses to

resign, despite the Home Secretary calling on him to do so.

I don't think any of this was my direct fault.

What I take is collective responsibility.

When you are a member of a 63-member council,

you take collective responsibility for the members of that organsation.

We'll be looking at the reaction in Rotherham to the

scale of the abuse that has been going on in their midst.

Also tonight, how the baby boom has been putting pressure on school

budgets in England, it's claimed creating ?1 billion shortfall.

A UN report details atrocities carried out in Syria

by Islamic State extremists, such as frequent public executions.

I will be reporting from Scotland's old industrial heartland. How

successful have campaigners been in persuading traditional Labour

supporters to vote yes next month? such as frequent public executions.

And the couple celebrating their 80th anniversary and

their secret to a happy marriage. We do love each other.

The most useful thing is...as long as I agree with her, then I'm safe.

Tonight on BBC London, after the Government calls

for a crackdown on laughing gas, we reveal widespread use

at one of London's top festivals. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner

calls for stricter controls over the movement of terror suspects.

Good evening, and welcome to the BBC News At Six.

There are increasing calls for people in positions of

responsibility to be held to account following the report into widespread

sexual abuse in Rotherham. A report has revealed 1,400 children

were abused by groups of men over a 16-year period up until last year.

The police, the council and social services have all been

criticised for knowing about the abuse but failing to stop it.

The spotlight has fallen on one of the most visible

of those in charge, the current South Yorkshire

Police and Crime Commissioner, Shaun Wright.

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, says he should heed calls

for him to resign. He is refusing to do so.

He was also the councillor in charge of Rotherham children's

services for some of the period. Our reporter Ed Thomas

is in Rotherham. It is the South Yorkshire town at

the centre of a growing scandal, 1400 children abused, and so far

there has only been one resignation. So who else should be held to

account? How about former chief constables of South Yorkshire

Police, or former councillors responsible for protecting children?

I was treated worse than a criminal, and I was a victim, and not only

that I was a child. His victim was groomed and raped in Rotherham from

the age of 12. Were you ever listened to? No, never, not once,

and I was never taken seriously. I went to the police. The first time,

they lost my evidence. Then on the second occasion, they brought the

men in for questioning and released them without charge and said there

wasn't enough evidence. Like many others, the abusers have never been

caught. How would you describe your treatment by the police? Disgusting.

How would you describe your treatment by Rotherham council?

Disgusting. They've just let this happen. They should be investigated

and a criminal investigation. If you look at the families as well, how

many people's lives have been destroyed? There were many

opportunities to stop the abuse. In 2002, Rotherham Council received a

report on runaway children at risk. In 2003, a report on sexual

exploitation was delivered to all agencies. In 2006, police and the

council were given a report on known criminals exploiting young girls. We

are told the inquiries were disbelieved and suppressed. Under

pressure, the former head of children's services in Rotherham,

Shaun Wright, now South Yorkshire's police and crime commission, is

facing increasing calls to step down. I apologise to any victim that

has been let down, as does every other council and council official.

You are named in his report, cabinet member for children's services,

received a report on protecting children from sexual assault in

Rotherham - you didn't do anything, 1400 children were abused, will you

resign? I will not resign as South Yorkshire Police commissioner. And

you are the watchdog of police here? People can be confident about that?

I hope they will judge me on the actions in this office. Is own

party, Labour, and the Government are demanding he resign. -- his. I

think, when 14 held Madrid children have been abused and the authorities

so badly failed to protect them, it is right that the police and crime

commission should stand down as well. -- 1400 children. He has real

questions to answer, and I think in the circumstances he should heed the

call to resign. In Rotherham, there was also violence. Laura Wilson was

murdered by a man close to a grooming gang. Social services and

the police have kept things quiet for so many years and too many

people getting away with things. If they had acted all them years ago,

my daughter would still be alive today. And because of this town's

Bailey, many of the men who raped and tortured young children here are

still walking the streets today. -- failure.

So how was the abuse in Rotherham allowed to happen,

and how has the community there reacted to the scale of what

was going on in their midst? Our correspondent Sian Lloyd

reports. This criminal gang, five men of

Pakistani heritage, were brought to justice for terror rising innocent

victims, but many more men are not punished for the sexual exploitation

of children in Rotherham. Once a thriving steel-making community, it

now as areas where unemployment is well above the UK average. Streets

like these were hunting grounds. Of the abusers. I hope I am not blamed

for the actions of a few... -- for some of the abusers. The council

found that some staff were afraid of being branded racist. We are

appalled by the council, the police and social services to use this

excuse of community cohesion, that it might be felt they were racist,

but this was a criminal activity going on. The Pakistani Muslim

community does not stand to speak about sexualisation. The people of

this town come from a number of ethnic backgrounds. Everyone I have

spoken to here today has been appalled by the shocking abuse, but

from some, even within the wider community, there was a suspicion

that something was wrong. You are aware that young girls hang around

cars full of Asian men. I don't feel comfortable saying that, because it

is that age-old fear of coming across as being racist. If the

council and everyone works together, rather than just criticising, maybe

we can sort things out. This centre helps women and children from the

Asian community. Not all of the victims identified in the report

were white. Abusers will target anyone who is vulnerable, and at

this moment in time the abuse to have come forward happen to be white

girls. What I would say is that there are Asian girls who have been

abused to have not come forward. There are calls for the authorities

to be held to account for their part in covering up this scandal, and a

sense from the community that it needs to look closely at what has

happened on its own doorstep. Sian Lloyd, BBC News, Rotherham.

Iain Watson is in Westminster for us now, that was the view from

Rotherham, political pressure is growing on South Yorkshire's police

and crime commission to resign, but clearly he is far from the only one

in a position of responsibility during this period. Absolutely

right, no council employee has been disciplined or resigned either, but

the political pressure on Shaun Wright is building tonight. The Home

significantly hard and the Government's line when she said he

should heed calls to resign. The Labour leadership have been trying

to persuade him all day, and I'm told that Shaun Wright is consulting

with his family about his future, but for now the man who was in

charge of children's services in Rotherham for five years, who

oversees police even now, is still in a job, and it is far more

difficult still as they police and crime commission than to get rid of

an MP. They have to be charged with a criminal offence, but this is a

much bigger than one man's career, and pressure is growing on the

Government on when they will start their inquiry into overarching

historic abuse, and inquiry that is likely to show, sadly, that abuse

was not limited to Rotherham. The current baby boom is creating

so much demand for school places in England that it's forcing councils

to cut budgets elsewhere, according to the Local Government Association.

It says school repairs and building projects have had to be cut back

to meet a ?1 billion shortfall, despite investment

from the Department for Education. Alex Forsyth has more.

Elliott starts school next week. He is already trying on his uniform,

but finding him a suitable place has been a struggle. His parents' first

choice was oversubscribed, and his mum felt classes were too large at

the school on offer. Though she has chosen to drive 32 miles a day to

take him to a smaller primary. If you have got one or two teachers and

a class of 35, three or four children need help, how are they

supposed to do that without the children suffering? New schools,

like this one, are being built to accommodate a rise in pupils which

is down to a rapid increase in the birth rate. Some councils say they

are having to find the money due to a shortfall in government funding.

Here in Barnet, the council spent ?70 million on 4500 new places.

Here in Barnet, the council spent ?70 million on It has been possible,

and we have done it, and that is good. Whether we can do it in the

future is another question, there is not much fat left in local

government, but we have to provide school places. Money is not the only

problem. All new schools, like this one, should be academies or free

schools, which are independent of council control, but some local

authorities say this growing number of autonomous schools makes it

harder for councils to ensure new places are created where and when

they are needed. With many more free schools and academies being part of

the picture, providing extra school places, that is a growing issue and

a growing concern. Conversely, the Government says academies and free

schools not only help create places but give parents more choice, and it

says it has provided significant funding for councils to meet

increased demand. We have provided ?5 billion of capital, double what

was spent in a similar period by the last government, and that has

created 260,000 new school places already, with a further 300,000 in

the pipelines. But while thousands of pupils like Elliott can look

forward to starting school next month, as these young children move

on to secondary school, the pressure on places will grow with them.

United Nations investigators have published graphic details

of atrocities they say are being carried out by the Islamic State

group in Syria. The report says the extremists

are carrying out frequent public executions, forcing

adults and children to watch. It claims children as young as ten

are being recruited by IS for training in camps.

The report also goes on to accuse the Syrian government

for using barrel bombs and chemical weapons against its own people.

James Robbins reports. His report contains details you may

find distressing. We do not know his age, but this

looks like a boy firing an American howitzer captured by Islamic State

extremists. The exact circumstances of the video cannot be verified, but

the United Nations is very clear - IS relies on mass recruitment of

fighters as young as 14, in Iraq as well as Syria. The group which

beheaded American journalist James Foley is accused by the UN panel of

using systematic terror against civilians, particularly children.

Among the most disturbing findings by this report are accounts of large

training camps where children, mostly boys, from the age of 14, are

recruited and trained to fight in the ranks of ISIS along with adults.

The latest United Nations reports documents crimes against you by both

rebels and the Syrian government, but it is the increasing abusers by

Islamic State which are highlighted this time. In areas they control,

the UN finds execution in public spaces have become a common

spectacle. In some cases, passers-by, including children, are

forced to watch. IS has also executed boys between 15 and 17,

reportedly renders of rival armed groups. In some cases, the UN

accepts that bodies are placed on crucifixes for up to three days,

serving as a warning to local residents. But it is the finding

that both the Syrian government and ISIS rebels abused children by using

them as soldiers and spies with particularly troubles the UN. As the

United States contemplates air strikes on IS bases in Syria, the UN

worries they could kill many boy soldiers and kidnap victims, warning

the United States that any decision to bomb must respect the laws of

war. The UN stresses that President Assad's government forces continued

their war crimes, among them indiscriminate barrel bombing of

civilian areas, including with chlorine gas in April. And the UN

can see no end to all this, reporting all sides engaged in

fierce fighting while none appears capable of achieving complete

military victory. And still to come,

they married in the '30s, now the couple are celebrating their

wedding anniversary 80 years on. Later on BBC London,

the phone app that asks others for first aid if you are badly hurt.

It is hoped it could save hundreds of lives.

And how we are developing a taste for a French idea

to bring local suppliers together online and at a bar near you.

In just over three weeks, voters in Scotland will decide whether to stay

in the UK or choose independence. This week, the Six O'Clock News is

looking at the arguments from the yes and no campaigns, and today 130

Scottish business leaders came out against independence, claiming the

business case has not been made by the Yes Campaign, though that is

hotly contested. For more on this, we're joined by our Special

Correspondent Allan Little, who's in New Lanark, in the historic

heartland of industrial Scotland. The textile mills of New Lanark were

built in the 18th century as an attempt to combine successful

business with a utopian socialist ideal of how an industrial workforce

should live and be treated. I am here in Scotland's old industrial

heartland, where many people believe this referendum will be decided. In

a moment, I will report on the battle between the yes and no

campaigns for support among Scotland's many Labour voters.

First, our business editor, Ahmed reports on the way the independence

question is dividing Scotland's business leaders.

heartland of industrial Scotland. For a small engineering firm,

whether Scotland votes yes or no in the independence referendum may

not appear to be the most important of questions.

But for Alistair Lamond, it matters as much

as where the next set of gears are going to be exported to.

Independence would only put obstacles in the way

of our business. I can't see, clearly,

the advantages that are going to come to us, particularly

as we are trading 40% of our turnover with the rest the UK.

This morning, more than 130 business leaders said that the case

for independence had not been made. In a letter published

in The Scotsman, the group said that fears over the currency,

Scotland would use meant that remaining

in the UK was the best option. Many businesses do not agree.

Tony Banks claims the numbers are on his side.

I think you will find that the yes campaign has far more

businesses signed up for an independent Scotland.

Individuals and companies invest far more and have more jobs here

that those in the no campaign. A key question is, does the debate

make any difference to how the public may vote?

on St the 18th. Would it matter

if businesses said yes, independence was a good thing or a bad thing?

Not to me, no. But I think that business people do

have a point when they say it is not going to be

good for their businesses. It might affect it, yeah,

because business is important for local people.

The debate about whether Scottish independence would be good or bad

for business will intensify tomorrow.

David Cameron arrives here in Glasgow for the CBI dinner,

and Business For Scotland are set to reveal over 100 names

of firms that support independent. This week, the yes

and no camps have tried to claim the vital business vote for themselves.

It will be up to the voters to decide which they find

the most convincing. Kamal Ahmed, BBC News, Glasgow.

From the beginning, independence campaigners have been active

in traditional Labour communities, trying to persuade people that an

independent Scotland would better represent real Labour values.

Has it worked? Some pro-UK Labour activists are

worried that one in four, or in places one in three of their voters

- are planning to vote yes next month.

The pro-independence campaign had a grassroots presence

and a creative energy that Better Together has often seemed to lack.

The independence message has already persuaded many natural Labour

voters. I am English.

I was born in the north-east of England.

My dad is English, his family are still there.

It is about where we want power to lie.

his family are still there. It is about imagining the kind

of country we want and how we best make that happen.

The yes campaign has tried to persuade Labour voters that

an independent Scotland could be a fairer, more equal society than

is possible inside the UK. I believe in Labour very strongly.

but you are going to vote yes? We are both going to vote yes.

The only we can change is through independence.

And hopefully, we will be able to move back to the left and maybe

join up with the SNP and greens. What did rapid deindustrialisation

of the 1980s do to Scotland's Labour heartlands and to British identity

in working-class Scotland? The Newtongrange colliery

near Edinburgh closed in 1984. It's a museum now.

If you were a miner here in Midlothian, you were part of shared

interests with miners in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and South Wales.

The same was true in the great shipyards and steel

mills across industrial Scotland. The communities that sustained all

this were bedrocks not just of Labour loyalty, but of British

identity in Scotland. And they have all but gone.

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling had a bitter falling out

when they were at Downing Street. They buried the hatchet today,

appearing together for the first time since this campaign began,

for the need to keep Labour voters loyal to the union,

is urgent for them both. Determined to uphold independent

Scottish institutions, proud also of our Scottish Parliament, demanding

the strengthening of the powers of that Parliament, but proud also

that we share roots and resources as part of the United Kingdom.

The referendum will be won and lost in the Labour heartlands.

The no campaign retains its lead in the polls, but the yes campaign has

shown it has strong appeal here. The referendum takes place three

weeks tomorrow. This week, I am travelling across Scotland.

Tomorrow, I will be in the inner Hebrides, Ireland Scotland, to gauge

opinion on both sides of the geographical edges of the country.

For now, back to you. shown it has strong appeal here.

A nine-year-old girl in America has accidentally killed

her shooting instructor while he was showing her how to use

a high-powered automatic weapon. The child's parents were filming

the lesson as the 39-year-old man showed her how to use the submachine

gun at a firing range in Arizona. But when she pulled the trigger,

she lost control, as Alistair Leithead reports.

Otherwise the gun will fire, OK? The nine-year-old's shooting lesson was

filmed by her parents. In her hand, a powerful Uzi submachine gun. There

you go, like that. She fires a single shot. Give me one shot. But

on automatic, the gun kicks back out of control, shooting the instructor

in the head. He was 39, a former soldier. He was airlifted to

hospital in nearby Las Vegas, but died of his injuries. The last stop

shooting range in Arizona runs Blitz and burgers, lunch in a choice of

high-powered weapon to try. Why was a nine-year -year-old firing an Uzi?

A nine-year-old gets an Uzi in her hand. The criteria are eight. We

instruct kids as young as five and they do not get to handle firearms,

but they are under the supervision of their parents and are

professional range masters. This is the kind of weapon she was using.

They are hard to handle for the first time. The blast is pushing

here, and your hand is down here. It causes the gun to rotate. While

there is shock here that and nine-year-old was using such a

powerful weapon, it is common for kids to visit a shooting range in

America. But this will raise questions over how young is too

young? as Alistair Leithead reports.

Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined ?14.5 million for failing to

ensure customers were given proper advice about their mortgages.

The City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority,

says the bank, which is largely owned by the taxpayer,

did not fully consider people's budgets, and also failed to advise

them on a suitable mortgage term. RBS has said it's "very sorry".

A couple from Bournemouth are celebrating their 80th

wedding anniversary today. Maurice and Helen Kaye, who are both

more than 100 years old, met in 1929 when Helen was just 15 years old.

Duncan Kennedy has been to meet them to find out the secret of

their long and successful marriage. Stop cheating!

The couple who have been dealt a lifetime of fun.

Helen and Maurice Kaye, today celebrating eight decades

of marriage. Did you think then that

this could last 80 years? I didn't think it would last a week.

Both Helen, 101, and Maurice, 102, can still remember the day they met.

After about three hours, my mother said to me, "Who's going

to throw him out, you or me?" That was the beginning.

Today, 80 years ago, they got married, and never once

forgot their anniversary. What is the secret of this long

and happy marriage? We are very tolerant of each other,

and we do love each other. The most useful thing is that

as long as I agree with her... then I'm safe.

That's not true. In 1934, bread was tuppence

and wages around ?3 a week. Coping

and caring has seen them through. If you have to give in a little bit,

give in a little bit. If you have to give in a little bit,

as she says, she gives in a bit. In eight decades, their family has

grown wider as they've grown closer, sadness and loss always trumped

by laughter and companionship. Do you still love each other?

Oh, yes. Do you?

Watch it, girl! Duncan Kennedy, BBC News,

in Bournemouth. Time for a look at the weather. Mick

Miller is here. They will be celebrating warmer weather next

week. Right now, though, it has been another glorious day across Scotland

and much of northern England, but the cloud brought rain to South West

England. We will all see that spread of rain across the UK as the evening

goes on. It is moving through fairly quickly. It means temperatures are

not going down as far as they have done on recent nights. That will

mean a big change across the northern half of the UK, nowhere

near as Chile tomorrow morning. Not as bright either, but the rain will

clear away in the morning. Then we get the brighter skies, head of this

area of cloud. Eastern England will have sunny

spells, feeling pleasantly warm. Behind the rain, for the sunshine

coming back. The wind is strengthening and this area of heavy

rain is moving into Northern Ireland tomorrow evening. On Friday, low

pressure is close by. Lots of showers in the West, merging to give

longer spells of rain. Not too many reaching southeastern parts of the

UK. For the weekend, low pressure is still close by on to say, so we

cater for showers, but then this high pressure is Sunday's weather.

Scattered showers, with the wind gradually easing on Saturday. On

Sunday, most places will be dry. On Sunday night into Monday and from

Tuesday onwards, high pressure comes in, meaning dry weather and

temperature is heading up once again. Something to look forward to.

That is all from the BBC News at six. Now we go