02/03/2016 BBC News at Six

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six.

The former England footballer, Adam Johnson, has been found guilty

The jury at Bradford Crown Court found him not guilty of one count

but the judge said he almost certainly faces a prison sentence.

The case relates to a meeting between 28-year-old Johnson

Our correspondent Ed Thomas has been following the trial for us and he's

As the word guilty was read out in court there was no reaction from

Adam Johnson. He just stared straight forward. Earlier he told

jurors his life was a boyhood dream and said he had more money than he

knew what to do with. He left this place is a convicted child sex

attacker. He was a ?10 million England for the dollar. In his own

words, Adam Johnson said that he was a rich, arrogant man. Things can

easily he said, but one might driven by boredom he was alone with a

15-year-old girl. He met the child here in a car park. Sunderland

fanatic, she idolised Adam Johnson. Inside his Range Rover to prove she

had met a hero, she recorded their meeting. Innocent football talk but

what came next was a sexual offence against a child. What happened in

his car has turned my life upside down. The statement read by police

was written by the 15-year-old victim. I lost all my confidence and

my schoolwork has suffered. There are people who have made assumptions

about me and this alone has been hard to deal with. I have been

unable to defend myself publicly. Adam Johnson knew the schoolgirl

adored him, he sent hundreds of messages. In one message she asked,

would you go out. She answered I'm not old enough to go out. Adam

Johnson replied yes but you look old enough. After the secret meeting he

message, that was class, just wanted to get good genes of. It was

described in court as classic grooming. When Johnson was arrested

detective said that he shook with fear. And consider his employers,

Sunderland football club. On May the force of 2016 Adam Johnson was

called in for a meeting. In that the court heard he admitted kissing and

grooming the child. But his suspension was lifted and he was

allowed to play. Again and again the footballer walked out to represent

Sunderland. Despite those private confessions, in public, to the fans,

Johnson denied he'd grunt and kissed the girl. The court was told every

time Adam Johnson went onto the pitch the 15-year-old girl suffered

excruciating pain. A year she was called a liar. And at one stage she

broke down and told her father she wanted to die. Some supporters feel

cheated. At first he did nothing wrong and then just lied to his

fans, to everyone. Would you have supported him if you had known what

he did. No. Would you wanted them on the pitch was no. You've never

apologised to the 15-year-old girl, will you do it now to mark no

apologies from Adam Johnson. Outside court or insight. The millionaire

footballer who thought that he could do what he wanted.

This trial has exposed a darker side to football and there was this

intense focus. What Sunderland football club new or did not know

the top we had a detailed statement from the club and in it are

preferred to be main meeting and say in the meeting Adam Johnson did not

indicate that he was going to plead guilty to any of the charges. The

statement goes on to say if they had known they would have sacked Adam

Johnson on the spot. As for this former footballer, he will be back

in court to be sentenced. He has been warned by the judge to expect

jail. The busiest day in America's

long election trail - so called Super Tuesday -

has left Donald Trump for the Republicans and Hilary

Clinton for the Democratic Party as the clear front runners to go

head to head for the White House Our North American Editor Jon Sopel

has been following both candidates The next president

of the United States! Campaigning in Ohio,

he had the air of a man the elements might throw at him,

was going to prevail. So at his victory party

last night in Florida, I know people are going to find that

a little bit hard to believe, I think we're going

to be more unified. I think we're going to be

able to unify the party. I hope to be able to get

along with everybody. And on some key policies

like immigration, he seemed to be But it was the Republican Party

leadership he was most notably And yes, his new

favourite word again. I would love to see

the Republican Party and everybody And when we unify there's nobody,

nobody, that is going to beat us. This has been toned down,

much more conciliatory Donald Trump at his news conference,

stressing that he is a unifier Gone were the sharp

attacks on his rivals. It is almost as though

he is looking beyond this process to when he is the

Republican nominee. This man is arithmetically best

place. Senator Ted Cruz won 3 states last

night and to the other anti-Trump So long as the field remains

divided, Donald Trump's past to the nomination

remains more likely. And that would be

a disaster for Republicans. For conservatives

and for the nation. But after super Tuesday

it is washed up Wednesday. And there are no signs whatsoever

that any of the other Republicans Which all but guarantees

Donald Trump's path. On the Democratic side,

Hillary Clinton swept the south and halted the advance

of Bernie Sanders. He was an afterthought

in her speech. Instead this was about getting

Donald Trump and ridiculing his

slogan, make America great again. Nothing is settled yet

but increasingly it is looking like it will be Clinton versus Trump

for the White House. And who would have guessed that

scenario a year ago? We can talk to John supple now. What

does the success of Donald Trump say about American politics? If you read

the financial pages and nothing else you would see the growth rate is up

in America, unemployment is down. You talk to Americans and you sense

this seething anger that somehow life has got really tough for them.

Since the financial crisis things have got harder and the cornerstone

of the American dream, social mobility, the idea that anyone can

go from humble beginnings to the White House, has come to a halt.

Playing into that, brilliantly, has been Donald Trump, the

anti-politician politician. Just look at the turnout figures were

yesterday, on the Republican side way up, driven by Donald Trump and

his candidacy. On the Democratic side labour way down. So what you

have is blue-collar America turning in the most unlikely circumstances

to billionaire who was born into a wealthy family and the American

people putting their hope with him. Because they're so disgusted with

Washington politics as a whole. The government has rejected calls

for the Meningitis B vaccine to be given to children of all ages -

saying it would not More than 800,000 people have

now signed a petition calling for the jab -

currently given to babies - to be extended to children at least

up to the age of 11. David Cameron says the government

will continue to look at all the evidence.

The European Union has announced an emergency aid programme to help

countries in Europe cope with the migrant crisis.

The plan will see 700 million euros, normally used for overseas

emergencies, spent in countries with a growing number

Thousands of asylum seekers remain trapped on the country's

The government has set out a new assessment of the dangers it

says the UK will face if it leaves the EU.

The report gives a range of alternatives to EU membership,

and concludes they would all be damaging.

The Conservative Cabinet minister, Iain Duncan Smith -

who wants Britain to leave the EU - has dismissed it as a "dodgy

Our deputy political editor James Landale looks at both sides

Just imagine. It is eight o'clock. The headlines. United Kingdom has

voted to leave the European Union. What if we wait to headlines like

that after the referendum in June, what would it mean for the UK

economy? Today the Foreign Secretary set out a series of possible

answers. Options that he claimed would cost jobs and push up prices.

None of the options that are remotely likely to be deliverable

comes close to matching the deal that we already have on the table.

While would-be take a leap in the dark? Why would we risk the effect

of years of uncertainty on the British economy as a mark in this

dossier the government sets out several possible alternatives. If

the UK copied Norway it would get significant access to the EU single

market had no say over the rules and it would have Depay the EU budget.

If it copied Switzerland, the UK would get access to some EU markets

through hundreds of complex deals but it too would have to pay for the

privilege and accept EU citizens across its borders. If the UK copied

Canada it would get a free trade agreement with the EU, avoiding red

tape and demands for cash. But there will be less access to EU markets

and it could take years before the deal is agreed. Or the UK could just

fall back on basic rules laid down by the World Trade Organisation with

no obligations to the EU, but potentially excepting trade tariffs

that could force prices at home. Downing Street published a document

to focus attention on what it sees as the uncertainty involved in

leaving the EU and to try to force its opponents to talk about

something they would rather avoid. But ministers campaigning to leave

the EU say this is just another dodgy dossier of scaremongering and

would fool no one. Back in the 1990s David Cameron worked for Norman

Lamont during another European crisis. Today the former Chancellor

said his one-time protege had got it wrong. And the UK should leave the

EU. Why will the leave campaign not spell out the what wrecks it would

mean to the British economy and its trading relations with the EU? That

you cannot spell out every single detail of which sectors will be

affected in each way. But the UK will get and needs in the event of

Brexit, a special trade arrangement, giving full tariff free access to

the single market. That is easily negotiable. For this reason. The EU

needs access to us every bit as much as we need access to them. But the

Prime Minister of Norway told the BBC there would be a price to pay.

One that her country had paid. To believe that you will get everything

you want and not give anything back at that does not happen. Basically

we have left part of our democracy to Europe. Few here at Westminster

think Norway is a plausible model for the UK outside the EU but the

debate about what might be has only just begun.

The former England footballer Adam Johnson is found guilty

of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl.

Coronation Street actors pay tribute to its creator,

Coming up on Sportsday. Allan Gibb -- Olympic cycling champion Victoria

Pendleton has won her first race just a year after her first riding

lesson. What's a game of school rugby

without the all-important tackle. A lot safer according to a group

of doctors and health experts. They've written an open letter

to ministers saying the tackle should be banned because it can

lead to serious injury. The Department for Education says

schools should provide a safe environment for pupils

to play sports. We've asked one of the health

experts, Professor Allyson Pollock, and the former England

international, Matt Perry, They include fractures,

dislocated shoulders, ligamentous tears, concussion,

head trauma and also So we are talking about serious

injuries which also require quite a lot of time off school

and away from sport. Tackling is a fundamental part

of what makes rugby. No one goes into a game of rugby,

or shouldn't if they are living the values of respect,

to go and hurt anyone else, but rugby

is competitive and physical. The contact part has

been going for years. We can wake up in the morning,

and with the knowledge and data we have now,

with Google, we can ask, how can I get out of bed and

manage risk today? And we will properly get

an answer, and we can think, I agree there is a correlation

between the data and some long-term effects, but the risk is owned

by the parents and If they take the responsibility,

they should crack on. There is very good evidence to show

that a child who has been concussed is much more likely to be concussed

again, and that children take longer to recover from concussion or head

trauma than adults do. We are advocating that tag rugby

replaces contact rugby, because most of the injuries

occurred during contact, more than 90% occur

during the collision or contact phase, we are saying that you have

to take that out and make it tag rugby

if we are going to keep our children safe and protect them

from avoidable injuries. We need quality coaches,

and a great opportunity from the RFU from the World Cup,

and there is a great number of kids coming into the game,

loving the game. To take away that contact element

for competitive kids, I think we'll lose a great cultural

game in this country. Two opposing views there -

on rugby in schools. Scotland's first minister,

Nicola Sturgeon, has announced plans to reform the council tax if the SNP

wins the next Holyrood People living in more expensive

homes would face higher charges, and a nine-year council

tax freeze would end. Critics say the package fell well

short of expectations. Our Scotland Editor

Sarah Smith reports. A lesson today in home economics for

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a school near Edinburgh. She announced

a council tax revamp that will see some bills go up by hundreds of

pounds. The money raised, ?100 million, she says will go to

education. It is part of what is a balanced approach, asking people at

the top to pay a bit more, helping reduce the burden on those at the

bottom. Also making sure that we generate additional revenue and

ensuring that additional revenue is investigated -- invested in school.

At present people in the most expensive homes in Scotland paid

three times what was charged and the least valuable properties but

they're worth 15 times more. Under the SNP plans household in the top

for council tax band will pay more from next April. Increases of

between ?105 a year up to over ?500. Councils will also be able to raise

taxes across the board by 3% every year.

Councils have complained they cannot pay for local services as the

Scottish Government has prevented them putting up the council tax for

the past eight years. From next year though around a

quarter of Scottish households will find that they are paying more for

council tax. Unbelievable. ?10 a week is ?500 a

year and that is from your net income. It is a lot of money to

find. It will put a lot of people over the edge. I work part time so

it is quite a big ask. Quite a bit of extra money for that. It depends

what we get from many. It might be difficult to find the money for

that. At the end of the day everyone has got to pay their way and do

their share. This is a clear signal from the SNP that if they win the

Scottish elections in May, better off Scots are going to have to start

paying more. And not just the council tax increase, there are also

likely to say they put up the top rate of income tax as well.

Council workers have clashed with the Scottish Government over their

funding for this year. They will now get more money next year but do not

think the plans are radical enough. I'm surprised that so little has

been announced from the point of view of just adjusting the bands. It

looks to be tinkering around the edges. The SNP had promised a more

radical rethink of local taxes but those plans have been shelved now.

The tax landscape in Scotland is changing gradually.

A brief look at some of the day's other other news stories.

The Ministry of Defence is to be censured over the deaths of three

soldiers on an SAS training exercise in the Brecon Beacons,

The Health and Safety Executive said that had it not been for Crown

immunity, the MoD would have faced prosecution.

50-year-old Jason Lawrence from Hampshire has been found guilty

of raping five women and attacking two more after meeting them

on the internet dating site Match.com.

Police described Lawrence as a "sexual predator".

A friend of a teenager accused of murdering a pupil at a school

in Aberdeen has told the city's High Court that his friend had

knives and knuckle-dusters because he thought they were cool.

16-year-old Bailey Gwynne was killed after a fight broke out

They call him the father of Coronation Street -

Tony Warren - the man who created the UK's longest running soap -

He came up with the idea at the age of 24 and remained a consultant

on the soap for the rest of his life.

Colleagues and friends have described him as a pioneer

Our correspondent Judith Moritz looks back at his life.

Coronation Street is all right. There are some you have to watch. It

was an exposed to every six weeks but Coronation Street has become the

world's longest-running TV soap. It was all the idea of one man. Local

lad Tony Warren was just 24 when he wrote the first episodes. He is

credited with bringing the so-called kitchen-sink drama to our TV

screens. Get out of here before I get my rag

out! I grew up in a matriarchal world. The man will always work on

war so I was surrounded by strong women. When the men came back the

women carried on being strong. Those characters just keep repeating

themselves, they are iconic. Helen Worth has played Gayle on the street

for 42 years and she feels that she owes a debt of thanks to Tony

Warren. There would not be soap is not for Tony Warren. The lives of

actors would not have had employment. If it was not for Tony

Warren. They cut their teeth on this programme. Viewers at home would not

have been watching, laughing and crying with us if not for Tony

Warren. What a mega legacy he has left behind. Although Tony Warren

also wrote novels and film scripts, he never strayed far from TV's most

famous street. Year on the set they stop work today as a mark of respect

for Tony Warren who was still closely involved in the soap nifty

six years after he created it. He often spent time here in the studio

is advising on storylines and spending time with the cast and crew

that he considered to be his TV family.

The stars Tony Warren helped create have paid tribute to him today. He

has been called a pioneer, a revolutionary, and a giant of

British television. Tony Warren who died today aged 79.

I have better news for tomorrow. Today many of us will be glad to see

the back of today because it has been so cold, really strong wind,

blown to bits by those gusty showers. Pretty dramatic scenes of

clouds sent in to us. That is where the air sinks at the top of the

cloud. Tomorrow pure showers and the wind lighter. Today we had gale

force winds of up to 70 miles an hour in the south-west of the UK

briefly. Tonight, icy patches in the north of the country, we had so many

showers, there is a lot of damp out there so take it steady first thing

if you're travelling. Not so cold in the South first thing in the morning

and then tomorrow, fewer of these white arrows, so a larger wind, a

bit more sunshine and a completely dry day. Some wintry showers almost

anywhere but more often than not the weather will be dry and just that

bit more is on. There to Friday, we see a bit of a change once again.

This weather system is going to bring some sleet and snow for a

time. We're talking about murder in England, the Midlands, into Wales as

well. Thursday night into Friday. This is where the areas of white

will be. It could be a bit further north or south but the broad

messages through this part of the country, just be prepared on Friday

morning rush hour for some tricky conditions. Still staying cold later

on Friday afternoon, 4 degrees in Yorkshire. If you're travelling,

Friday evening, the band of wet weather with the sleet and snow

still with us across the south of the country. Here is the forecast

for the weekend, blue arrows coming from the north. Have a guess!

- so it's goodbye from me - and on BBC One we now join the BBC's