01/12/2015 BBC News at Six

Another step closer to air strikes over Syria - the Cabinet backs

RAF Tornadoes could take to Syrian skies within days if parliament

There is a risk to our brave armed forces when we put them in harm's

way, and that's why we should think very carefully before doing so.

There will be an all-day debate tomorrow - the

Labour leader urges his colleagues to vote against military action.

I hope to convince MPs that their responsibility tomorrow is not

to support the Prime Minister and take this into another war,

We'll be looking at the pros and cons of a bombing campaign.

Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper,

could be moved back to prison after decades in a psychiatric unit.

The big divide - the education watchdog says

secondary schools in the north of England are failing their students.

The future of medicine - how gene editing could transform

And on Reporting Scotland at 6.30: A union claims that staff shortages in

Scotland's fire service will harm its ability to respond to 999 calls.

And Nicola Sturgeon says the SNP will vote against extending air

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six.

The Prime Minister has urged MPs from all parties to back military

action against so-called Islamic State in Syria.

The Cabinet has approved a motion that will be put

It calls for British air strikes, but not the deployment of troops

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, opposes military action, saying the

But many of his MPs are likely to support the Government's motion.

Here's our political editor Laura Kuenssberg.

Three, two, one, says the French airmen as a bomb drops on Raqqa.

British pilots are tonight on countdown, to. The Prime Minister

believes he has the support to forge ahead with air strikes. This has

been a very deliberate and proper process, a cabinet meeting, legal

advice, a proper motion in front of the House of Commons, ten and a half

hours of debate tomorrow in the House of Commons. Obviously, we

should think of our brave Armed Forces and their families for the

risks they take on our behalf. And that is obviously playing heavily on

my mind. So MPs face the most serious decision of all. It is a

debate on a motion relating to Isil in Syria. Whether to put British

forces into harm's way. But this is expanding air strikes already being

carried out in Iraq over the border to Syria. MPs are being asked if the

Commons supports her Majesty'sgovernment in taking

military action, specifically air strikes, exclusively against Isil in

Syria, and offers its holes hearted support to her Majesty'sArmed

Forces. There are also promises to keep up the diplomatic pressure and

help in the aftermath of conflict. But that is not enough for the

Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Even though dozens of his MPs backed the

plan. Some people are more difficult to persuade than others, and I look

forward to them being persuaded. Another war will cause Rob Evans. It

will not bring about a solution. Surely all the effort should be put

into bringing about a political solution to the Syrian civil war.

Would you, if you were Prime Minister, call on America and France

to stop their bombing in Syria urges already happening? I would ask them

to put their efforts into a peace process. But that bombing is already

underway, and many of Mr Corbyn's senior colleagues do think Britain

should join. People are at risk. People are dying because of the

activities of this organisation, and the fundamental question is, are we

going to play our full part, together with other nations, to

reduce this direct? I am persuaded that we need to do that. David

Cameron thinks he can win well. The government only has a working

majority of 17. Around ten of his own side are expected to object. But

at least 50 Labour MPs will vote yes. Around 12 others will join. You

can see that well over half of MPs are on track to back air strikes.

But there are deep concerns. We will not support the government, because

the case has not been made for a bombing campaign alone to deal with

terrace or the civil war in Syria. The talking isn't over. Voting

hasn't begun. Planes don't yet have permission to fly. But in less than

48 hours now, all of that is likely to change. Laura Kuenssberg, BBC

News, Westminster. So can British air strikes make

a difference in Syria, David Cameron says military action

is just one part of a Our Diplomatic Correspondent James

Robbins looks at the nature The RAF Tornadoes are poised, from

Akrotiri in Cyprus, they have been striking IS in Iraq, and if the

Commons backs the Prime Minister tomorrow, they are ready to add IS

in Syria to their target list. So, in any action, what are the aims?

The government says Britain can be made safer and IS or Isil made

weaker. Air strikes alone cannot defeat Isil. But they can degrade

Isil. They can prevent Isil expanding further in Syria. They can

relieve the pressure on opposition forces that are being attacked by

Isil. And the government believes those anti-Assad moderate opposition

forces could number 70,000. Critics question that, and argue that the

main aim of British strikes is symbolic. The British want to prove

that they are fully on board for a war with Isis until it is finished.

And this is the first step in escalating the British involvement

in that war. What is not being voted on this week is what the next steps

will be. So who is currently bombing IS targets in Syria? The two air

forces leading the international coalition are the United States and

France. Others in the coalition include Arab countries like Jordan

and Saudi Arabia. Then there is Turkey, although they are not

currently bombing. Which makes Russia's separate campaign a real

problem. Moscow has a different agenda, supporting Syria's president

Assad. So Moscow and Washington are still at loggerheads, and again

today, President Obama was urging Moscow to fall in line. I am

confident that we are on the winning side of this and that ultimately,

Russia will recognise the threat that Isil poses to its country, to

its people, is the most significant and that they need to align

themselves with those of us who are fighting Isil. So what would success

against IS mean? The coalition already claims real damage to their

Syrian headquarters in Raqqa, and killing individual IS leaders,

although there are fears many civilians have been hit by air

strikes as well. This issue will only be successfully brought to make

inclusion by boots on the ground. The issue is, whose feet are in

those boots and what is the degree of leadership and coordination?

Currently, it is not there. So, can British Tornadoes help launch a more

coherent grand strategy for Syria? That still depends on settling huge

political divides, including the future, if any, for President Assad.

James Robbins, BBC News. Our political editor Laura

Kuenssberg is at Westminster. As you suggest, David Cameron is

only doing this because he is sure of getting his way. That's right.

The numbers look solid for the government, comfortable, even. But

we should not mistake that for any sense that this has been an easy

decision. There is a kind of crackle tonight in Westminster, a real

tension. MPs have taken this extremely seriously and in every

political party, there has been agony over this decision. In fact,

dozens of MPs have still to make up their minds. But unless something

completely unexpected, out of the blue happens in the next 24 hours,

MPs are going to say yes to the biggest decision they can make,

sending British forces into action. Laura, thank you.

Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, could be moved from a high

The BBC understands that medical experts believe

Sutcliffe is serving 20 life sentences for the murder of 13 women

and the attempted murder of seven others in Yorkshire and Greater

Danny Savage has more, and his report contains some flash

Peter Sutcliffe, one of the most notorious serial killers

From the mid-1970s until the early 1980s, he stalked towns

He killed a total of 13 women before being caught and given

Now aged 69, Sutcliffe, a paranoid schizophrenic,

has spent most of his sentence in Broadmoor secure hospital.

But medical experts have now suggested that

his mental health has improved enough to go back to prison.

Her son has today talked to me about developments.

It doesn't really change anything as far as me and my family

and who we lost, losing Mum, it doesn't change a thing.

But I also understand that if he's been deemed fit for

it's just part of the ongoing journey we've been on

and will continue to go on, I dare say.

Sutcliffe's last victim was Jacqueline Hill in 1980.

police reconstructed her last movements in Headingley in Leeds.

His serial killings left people across a vast swathe

of northern England terrified to go out at night for years.

But what today isn't about is moving him towards freedom.

It was ruled some years go that Peter Sutcliffe will never

But how can a man who said voices told him to kill

This case is such a high-profile case, and perhaps a very complex

case as well, hence requiring a long period of treatment,

So I don't think it's absolutely uncommon

that this should happen at this stage.

It will be months before Sutcliffe is moved anywhere,

but one possible destination is Wakefield,

Danny Savage, BBC News, West Yorkshire.

There's a growing north-south divide in the standard

That's according to the chief inspector of Schools,

He says one in three secondary schools, often in towns in the north

Our Education editor Branwen Jeffreys reports from Doncaster.

Balby Carr, a troubled school for many years.

Out of special measures a few months ago, I wanted to see how

it's been struggling back onto its feet.

We have been doing some fantastic work.

Praising pupils and stricter discipline has been

As today's report points out, bad behaviour means bad results.

Only a third of pupils left this year with five good GCSEs.

The headteacher told me finding and keeping teachers here is tough.

Working in challenging schools is a choice, and it's a choice that a

Do you think it's fair to expect you to do the same in Doncaster that

I think in terms of getting the result that

our students deserve, yes, it's fine to expect the same progress.

We can't compete with the attractions of a capital city.

That is because the school is in a poorer area of Doncaster.

It's not like London, where the ambition

of immigrant families is thought to be part of improving results.

Doncaster hopes to have its share of success from the plans

But for the young people growing up here to have a real chance

of those opportunities, today's report is warning that

All that will come to very little unless education improves, skills

improve and our youngsters are leaving school, secondary school

particularly, in the north of England and the Midlands, doing

In Doncaster, this broadband company has gone from start-up to success.

The managing director wants to recruit from local schools, but...

There is a lack of basic skills in the English, the maths

and also the advanced skills we need is a high-tech business.

Some of the basics we need for communicating via e-mail,

They are hoping for a brighter future in Balby Carr.

Ministers say more pupils in England are now in good schools.

A national group of teachers to troubleshoot is being created.

But for some pupils, progress has to come quickly to make a difference.

Branwen Jeffreys, BBC News, Doncaster.

A jury has been shown CCTV images of a gang who stole around ?14 million

worth of jewellery from a safety deposit vault in London's Hatton

They were caught on one of the few working cameras covering

the building carrying the stolen jewellery away in wheelie bins.

The court was told that other cameras weren't recording

because the unit operating them had been stolen.

An investigation into the crash of an AirAsia plane en route

from Indonesia to Singapore a year ago has found that it was

caused by the pilots' inadequate response to a technical fault.

All 162 people on board the Airbus A320 were killed after the captain

attempted to resolve the fault by switching off the autopilot.

The decision to call off today's planned strike by junior

doctors came too late for thousands of patients whose operations had

Two further strikes have been suspended while the

British Medical Association and the Government try to resolve

their dispute about a change in doctors' contracted hours and pay.

Our health editor, Hugh Pym, is in central London for us this evening.

How much disruption has there been? Well, George, across England in

hospitals, between 4,000-5,000 routine operations had to be

postponed. In this hospital in central London they postponed 66

routine surgery. They do say these will be rescheduled within the next

couple of weeks. We heard varying reactions from patients at different

hospitals to this one. One man was due to have a back operation. It had

already been postponed three times and has now been postponed a fourth

time. He was frustrated but sympathetic to the junior doctors'

case. A woman due to have an out patients appointment has been told

it is postponed for three months. She is not happy or sympathetic to

the junior doctors. In the meantime, the BMA and Government

representatives have made contact today about restarting serious

negotiations. They have a matter of weeks to try to reach a deal before

the timetable allowing the BMA to have another strike if it wishes

runs out in early January. Hugh, thank you very much. The time is 6.

6.17pm. Our top story this evening. David Cameron calls for all party

support after the Cabinet backs Prehistoric puddles tracking the

footprints of dinosaurs that once Coming up on Reporting Scotland

at 6.30pm: A triumphant Andy Murray visits Number Ten,

but he says talking to the people in charge of tennis about the sport's

future is "a waste of time." And, winter's here, but is Scotland

ready for the challenge? We are on the verge

of a revolution in medicine. Gene editing - the ability to

manipulate our DNA - is set to It offers the hope that inherited

genetic conditions could be treated, Scientists

from all over the world have gathered in Washington to discuss

the potential of gene editing. From there,

our medical correspondent, Just a day old with a lifetime

of opportunity ahead. This baby has been born

into a world set to be transformed The ability to precisely

manipulate our DNA. How we grow and develop is shaped

by DNA which sits in the nucleus It's an instruction manual

for how our bodies work. Written in a chemical code

of just four letters. Key sections are called genes,

a spelling mistake can trigger disease,

but now scientists have discovered a cheap and easy way to correct

such errors by editing the code. Think of gene editing

as a molecular sat-nav. It scans the DNA,

searching for the error. Then it uses molecular scissors to

snip through both strands which switches off the faulty gene, or it

can repair the code by inserting These techniques raise

the prospect of treating, even curing, some genetic diseases,

and it's not science fiction. Last month, we heard about

one-year-old Layla whose leukaemia was fixed by doctors in London who

gave her gene edited immune cells. The technology could eventually

be used to treat scores of A faulty gene means her

skin constantly blisters. It is incredibly painful

and can prove fatal. This technology holds

the unimaginable dream of a cure. We really do have a hope that we can

specifically correct Sahana's cells The breakthrough prize is awarded to

Emmanuelle Charpentier and The scientists who invented

a cheap and rapid new gene editing system, just three years ago,

have already been showered with awards and labs across the world are

using their technology. So what is the potential

of gene editing? In the future,

we hope that this will be a technology that can actually be

used not only to understand disease, So not only understand

the information in a cell, If we see a mutation that causes

disease, we have now That could help patients with a

whole range of genetic conditions. Their faulty cells could be removed,

treated in the lab, and then healthy If gene editing was done

in embryos then any DNA changes The hot issue

at this meeting is whether scientists should even be allowed to

do research to modify the genes of embryos or is it a step too far

that might lead to designer humans? Approval for a third runway

at Heathrow should only be granted if the airport can show it won't

make noise and air pollution worse, The Environmental Audit Committee

also wants a ban on night flights. A final decision on whether to

expand Heathrow or Gatwick is A transgender prisoner has been

discovered dead in her cell in an all-male prison,

the BBC has learned. Joanne Latham was serving life

for attempted murder. She was found in the early hours

of Friday. It is the second recent death of a

transgender woman in a men's prison. Last month, inmate Vikki Thompson

was found dead in Leeds. She had said she would kill herself

if she was sent to a male prison. Prince Charles has urged governments

and businesses to do more to protect Their destruction causes over 10%

of the carbon emissions that heat After the speeches

from world leaders at the climate summit in Paris yesterday, the hard

bargaining is now underway. Our science editor, David Shukman,

is there. Just what is at stake? Well, nothing

less than trying to secure what would be the first global agreement

to tackle climate change. As you say, officials are involved in

negotiating that agreement. Going through a draft line byline. There

is lots that divides them. For example, most countries have now

come up with their own plans for cutting the emissions of greenhouse

gases blamed for global warming. Britain and other countries say

there has to be a system for checking that those promises are

kept. China and India don't like that idea at all. Then there's the

question of money. Developing countries say they are going to need

billions to prepare for what could be the affects of global warming and

to switch to using greener, renewable energy. Richer countries,

no surprise, aren't sure how much they want to commit. Now, all of

this is going to be haggled over in the coming days before ministers

come in to try to find finalise a deal next week. The stakes are high

and the process very difficult. Many thanks, David.

They are giants that once roamed the planet, now more than 100 rare

footprints left by huge plant eating dinosaurs have

Researchers at Edinburgh University discovered the tracks

which were made by sauropods more than 170 million years ago.

Our science reporter, Victoria Gill, has been to Skye.

It's a landscape that legend has it was shaped by giants.

And while there are many myths inspired

by the drama of this island, its coast has been hiding evidence

A huge dinosaur and I guess it would have compacted

It was on this bay that palaeontologist at the end

of a day's fossil hunting noticed an unusual pattern in the rocks.

As the light hit it at the right angle, it just kind

of clicked that something was odd about these things.

And we'd seen things like this before because we study dinosaurs.

So we realised that these were dinosaur footprints.

What looks like four rock pools in front of me are actually

So each one of these circular indentations was

Those are those trunk legged, longnecked giants and they used to

What researchers stumbled on here is the most extensive

A track way of more than 100 footprints left behind by some

These are a record of real dinosaurs living and moving around right here.

And so we can tell a lot about how big they were,

about how they moved, about what environments they lived in.

At the museum in Staffin, just a few miles from the site,

Dougie Ross has curated a collection of Skye's Jurassic treasures.

He's been exploring and fossil hunting here most of his life.

But even he didn't expect a discovery of this scale.

At most I expected them to find a few fragmentary bits

So when they first announced that I thought, oh,

It's the pattern of prints that allows experts to

But a few ancient feet have even formed

casts as the sediments that fill the tracks of these great animals

The experts are now calling this Scotland's Dinosaur Island and

as they continue to race the tides to work here,

they expect its rocks to reveal more of their prehistoric secrets.

Victoria Gill, BBC News, on the Isle of Skye.

You can find out more about the Isle of Skye's Jurassic Secrets in

a special multimedia feature on the BBC Earth website, bbc.com/earth.

We saw a variety of conditions across the United Kingdom today

thanks to our weather watchers in Perthshire for sending this in. A

winter wonder land earlier on today. Rain moves northwards. With sunshine

to the south-east it felt more like spring, 15 Celsius in the

Southeastern corner. Rain to Scotland tonight before wind and

rain comes into the north and west. It's a mild night, 10-11 degrees

across the board. Northern Scotland down to five or six degrees. The

rain will slip south across Scotland taking the strong winds with it. A

decent day to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Northern England and Wales

will have rain setting in through the morning. Further south it's fine

and dry, a fair bit of cloud through the morning. It's cloudy, breezy,

most places dry, a spot or two of rain to the south coast. Most places

dry, breezy, cloudy and mild. The weather front will get stuck across

England and Wales. South of that it will stay dry, cloudy and mild, 13

degrees. Scotland and Northern Ireland the rain will clear away,

sunshine, light winds, seven or eight degrees. That rain is there

Wednesday night into Thursday. It is there across Wales into Thursday.

The rainfall totals building up. Rain into the Midlands as well.

Southern counties, cloudy, breezy and mild. Brighter conditions to the

north of UK. It will be a decent day for northern England and Northern

Ireland and Scotland. The weather front will get out of the way

Thursday night into Friday. Friday looks like a reasonable day for many

parts of the UK. In time for the weekend yet more wind and rain

spreading down from the north. Thank you. Our main story: David Cameron

calls for all party support in tomorrow's Commons vote after the

Cabinet backs air strikes on IS in Syria.

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me,

and on BBC One we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.