21/03/2016 BBC News at Six

Trouble in the Tory party - David Cameron hits back

after accusations that his policies risk dividing the country.

The Prime Minister rejects the accusations and defends his

Government's record in supporting the vulnerable.

We will continue with this approach in full because we are a modern,

compassionate, one nation Conservative Government -

and I commend this statement to the House.

In the last half hour the Government says there'll be no new savings

Guilty of manslaughter - Clayton Williams gets 20 years

His wife Jen speaks of the the public support she's received.

I feel completely overwhelmed by it all and it has helped me through

this terrible dark time. Allegations of a paedophile ring

at the heart of Westminster - now Scotland Yard shuts

down its investigation. America's man in Havana -

Barack Obama is the first sitting president to visit Cuba

for nearly a century. A row over equal pay in tennis -

Novak Djokovic says men deserve And coming up in the sport on BBC

News: There's a call-up

to the England squad for Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton

following injury to Joe Hart, ahead Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six. David Cameron has given a robust

defence of his Government's record. It follows accusations

by Iain Duncan-Smith, who resigned as Work

and Pensions Secretary last Friday, that the Conservative

party's policies - and last week's budget in particular

- risked dividing the country. Mr Cameron hit back,

saying the Conservatives remained Here is our political editor Laura

Kuenssberg. Clearing up the mess sounds simple

but this is more than a one broom job. In the last 48 hours numbers

ten and 11 have been accused of putting the rich before the poor.

Letting down the most vulnerable for votes. Now the rows behind the black

door have brutally spilled out into public. David Cameron

door have brutally spilled out into under pressure like this. With his

government in trouble he was off to answer Iain Duncan-Smith back. He

chose not quite to kill Mr Duncan Smith with kindness, but showed some

respectful stop my Right Honourable friend contributed an enormous

amount of the work of this government. He can be proud of what

he achieved. But he rejected Iain Duncan-Smith's most stinging attack,

that the Government is running out of compassion. Will go on with our

plans to rebuild sink estates, help those with mental health conditions,

to extend our troubled families programme, to reform our prisons,

and to tackle discrimination for those whose life chances suffer

because of the colour of their skin. None of this would be possible if it

wasn't for the actions of this government and the work of my Right

Honourable friend the Chancellor in turning our economy around. Trying

to end with a flourish of his familiar promise. We are a modern,

compassionate, one nation Conservative government. Plenty of

noise but look at the backbenchers' body language, it doesn't admit Ali

transmit huge admiration. The ditching of planned changes to

disability benefits less than a week from the budget allowed Labour to

label the whole thing MS. The budget has a big hole in it and it's up to

the Prime Minister to persuade his great friend the Chancellor of the

Exchequer to either come here and explain the -- how he will fill that

hole or maybe he should consider his position. Jeremy Corbyn didn't even

mention the man who has done most damage. Iain Duncan-Smith was

nowhere to be seen at his home today, nor anywhere in Westminster.

In his absence though, others were willing to give the pressure up,

praising the man who walked out. May I warmly welcome my Right Honourable

friend's generous comments about my Right Honourable friend the member

for Chingford who is so widely respected on these benches. The

British people will not take kindly to the idea that we must cut

benefits to vulnerable people in order to hand over every penny to

the EU. There was nothing like open revolt against the Prime Minister

but don't mistake that for overwhelming support. Secretary

Stephen Crabb. But spare a thought for the new Work and Pensions

Secretary Stephen Crabb, taking to his feet after a torrid few days,

confirming that controversial changes to disability payments won't

go ahead, and promising no extra cuts to welfare. So I can also

confirm that after discussing this issue over the weekend with my Right

Honourable friend is the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, we have

no further plans to make welfare savings beyond the very substantial

savings legislated for by Parliament two weeks ago which we will focus on

plummeting. This leaves a question over the middle of the budget, the

set of numbers that is meant to shape how the government spends and

saves, but as David Cameron has found to his cost in the last couple

of days not everything is in his control. Laura Kuenssberg, News,

Westminster. So at the heart of this row lies

the accusation that in last week's budget the better off in society

gained while the vulnerable Our economics editor Kamal Ahmed

is here with his assessment. Two big issues rolled up

to George Osborne's front door today - the major allegation

from Iain Duncan-Smith that his Budget of last

week simply wasn't fair. And that the ditching of disability

payment savings could leave a large black hole in the Chancellor's

Budget calculations. Let's consider that

fairness issue first. If we look at how people

are affected by the tax changes last week, this graph shows

the difference between the richest The poorest 10% are no better off

according to the Institute They will see their household income

increase by around ?268 a year. Critics may say that is unfair,

but the change should be seen in the context of

the broader economy. This budget did very little

to the distribution of income. It gave away a little bit

of money to income tax If you look over the longer

period we have seen significant takeaways from people

of working age on benefits, as promised by the

Conservative manifesto. And very significant takeaways

from people right at the top People in the middle

remarkably unaffected. The Treasury looks at the issue

of fairness differently. It analyses the total

tax paid and the amount In 2010 - the richest fifth

of all households paid 49% Whereas the poorest

fifth paid around 6%. After six years of austerity,

the proportion of tax paid by the richest fifth

has risen to 52%. the cuts have have been handled

fairly. Finally, let's look at that issue

of the dreaded "fiscal black hole" Delaying the personal independence

payment reforms for disabled people could cost the Government around

?1.3 billion by 2020. But consider - by then

the Government will be spending ?810 billion a year

on public services - so ?1.3 billion is relatively small

change. It could easily be paid

for by better economic growth And we won't know about that

until the Autumn Statement towards the end of this year -

when my Treasury sources tell me any new areas for cuts -

if needed - will be made clear. And we can speak to our political

editor Laura Kuenssberg Laura, that commitment on welfare

savings made in the last half an hour or so, how significant is that?

It is a big promise. In the last couple of days the Conservative

Party have had a dreadful time, one minister described it as being on a

kamikaze mission. The announcement from the brand-new Secretary of

State for work and Stephen Crabb, doesn't just mean those

controversial changes to payments for disabled people have been

junked, it would also mean, as he said, that there will be no new

welfare cuts through the course of this Parliament right up until 2020.

For many people around the country there have already been significant

benefit cuts, billions have come out of the budget and we should not

forget that fact. But this is a big promise to make at a time when money

is tight and when the Government is publicly very committed to hitting

their targets to get rid of the deficit. Making a big promise like

this suggests either lots of money is going to have to be saved from

elsewhere, or the government might have to forget about their targets,

or they are just praying that the economy picks up and gets much

better and better and suddenly taxes come flooding in from elsewhere that

they hadn't been anticipating. One irony, of course, that is probably

the announcement Iain Duncan-Smith himself would dearly love to make.

He might have had to resign to do it but it seems he has got his way.

Laura, thank you very much. A teenager who killed a police

officer in Merseyside by knocking him down in a stolen car

has been cleared of murder Clayton Williams killed PC

Dave Philips last October when the officer attempted to stop

the vehicle during RADIO: Can we have patrols

out with stop sticks? REPORTER: The final moments of PC

Dave Phillips' life. A chaotic chase recorded

on a police camera. Through red lights,

the stolen red truck Crouching down, you can see

the officer, he waits Seconds later the car

veers right then left. Dave Phillips, the court heard,

had no chance to survive. with two children,

Abigail and Sophie. Sat next to him, held his hand,

I was quietly asking him to fight, saying, "Come on,

Dave, do this for me, Today his widow and

sister wanted everyone He's not just a man in a uniform,

he's a father, he's a husband, he's a brother, he's

a son, he's just doing My daddy is kind

and caring because he She's got a little worry

Teddy, she puts a little worry in it and most of the worries

is that she's going to lose me. It was Clayton Williams

who so cruelly A cannabis addict,

convicted car thief. After his arrest, while a family

grieved, he grinned for the camera. What he did was

described as ruthless. Clayton Williams said it was pitch

black and that he was panicking. He said he never saw PC Phillips

until the final moment. for PC Phillips' funeral thousands

came, a parade of black, Constable 6554 Dave Phillips came

into the police from the community Respected, caring, everything

you would want a bobby to be. For what he did, Clayton Williams

was given 20 years In court PC Phillips' widow told him

directly that they were living in hell, serving a sentence

that will never end. The Metropolitan Police has

said its investigation into claims of a Westminster paedophile ring -

Operation Midland - Scotland Yard also confirmed

that the former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor will not be

prosecuted over historic Tom Symonds reports on controversial

investigation that raised questions He was accused of horrifying crimes,

he lived under suspicion for a year, now he's been cleared. Last year

when Harvey Proctor was named as an abuser and murderer he came out

fighting. I am completely innocent of all these allegations. I am a

homosexual, I am not a murderer, I am not a paedophile. His accuser,

Nick, in his 40s told police three boys were murdered and others abused

at locations including the Dolphin Square apartments, the Carlton club,

and even this abandoned village to used by the military on Salisbury

Plain. Nick named a string of establishment diggers including

former prime ministers Sir Edward Heath, former Home Secretary Lord

Brittan and Labour peer Lord Janner. The net closed the inquiry today

finding insufficient evidence to allow prosecutors even to consider

charges. But Scotland Yard strongly defended itself. The Met can't

apologise for investigating serious allegations of crime. It's right we

do that, it's right we follow the evidence without fear or favour and

reach a conclusion on what the evidence tells us. I do regret if

anyone has been distressed by this investigation, but it was right the

investigation took place. Harvey Proctor today called for the

resignations of the Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and other

senior officers. For a public inquiry and for Nick to be

prosecuted. The only other person Nick accused who is still alive was

Field Marshal Lord Bramall, one of Britain's most distinguished

soldiers. Today in his first television interview he told the BBC

the police inquiry should have focused not on him but on Nick. I've

never complained about being investigated. Only be heavy-handed

and very unintelligent way that they went about it. I think they could

have said, look, if they had taken any trouble to put their effort onto

questioning the so-called victim, I think they would have found that it

was very unlikely. Instead detectives reached this early

conclusion. We believe what Nick is saying is credible and true. The Met

has since withdrawn that statement, though police today said no evidence

had been found that Nick misled them. But there are things he has

not been able to explain. How could such prominent men, their lives

carefully controlled, have got away with it? How could a boy suffered so

badly with no one, not least his mother, raising the alarm? And if it

went on for so long, involved so many, then where are the witnesses?

There is one outstanding line of inquiry. One of the boys Nick said

was murdered resembled Martin Allan, missing since 1979, and so now a new

inquiry will begin, its task to explain Martin's unsolved

disappearance. Tom Symons, BBC News. The Prime Minister has hit back

at accusations from the former Work and Pensions Secretary that

government policy risks And still to come: Full speed ahead

for Britain's sailors bidding England could play three spinners

in their World Twenty20 match with Afghanistan in Delhi

on Wednesday, with conditions President Obama has begun his three

day visit to Cuba, the first sitting US president to visit the island

for almost 90 years, Speaking at the reopened

US embassy in Havana, He has been holding talks with the

Cuban president. Our North America

Editor is in Havana. The two men have just started a news

conference with a difference in the sense that the Cuban side are saying

they are not going to take questions whereas the Americans do want

questions. It will reveal how far the two men have travelled together

but also fundamental differences, and Castro has said there will be

differences that will never be breached.

Somewhere under the canopy of umbrellas is the President

of the United States, the first Lady and

This was meant to be a walkabout to meet the people,

A glimpse of them was caught as they entered the National

Then he spoke to an American network.

Obviously our intention has always been to get a ball rolling,

knowing that change was not going to happen overnight,

although we still have significant differences around human rights

and individual liberties inside of Cuba,

we felt coming now would maximise our ability to prompt more change.

It is going to be anything but plain sailing.

Then may only be 90 miles from here to the US coast

but there is still a gulf on a range of

This is not quite the weather that the White House had anticipated

when they said they would come to Cuba.

The atmospherics remain extremely difficult.

Administration officials say there are still big disagreements

between the two sides that have not been

Not that that was on show as the two presidents stood to attention

while a Cuban military band played the US national anthem,

With the ceremony over there was much to discuss.

The US wanting to talk about human rights and freedom of expression.

The Cubans saying they are going to take no lectures from the US

Big differences, yes, but in a relationship that has been

This is also about President Obama's legacy.

with Cuba, he will claim, is a foreign policy

That is why these images will be for the scrapbook.

A four-month-old baby is the only survivor of a tragic accident

in which a car slid on a pier and into the sea

Five people, including three other children,

were found dead when the emergency services arrived at the scene

Here's our Ireland Correspondent Chris Buckler.

At the edge of the ocean, tributes are being laid for people

who died in it. those who have come to

looking out to where five people drowned in their car when it was

pulled out to sea. The only survivor was a four-month-old baby who was

passed out of a car was a four-month-old baby who was

who jumped into the water. He must have been able

to keep his head above the water. Ruth Daniels had come to Donegal on

the goings-on in the car Ruth Daniels had come to Donegal on

a family day out with her teenage daughter. They died alongside her

other daughter is and sons. An oh Drake family man, love for those two

kits, his wife, those children. trying to turn the car here run a

slipway next to the pier but went too far down and because of the

algae at the bottom of the slipway the car slid into the water.

You are trained for this but nothing prepares you for this.

A lot of the crew have young families and that

was probably an experience that is going through their heads

Parents have been bringing their children to the peer to lay flowers.

There are thoughts with another family who have suffered unspeakable

heartbreak. The world number one Novak Djokovic

has weighed into the controversial issue of prize money

in tennis competitions, by saying male players should earn

more money than their female counterparts because more

people watch them play. His comments followed claims

by a tournament organiser that the women's game rides

on the coat-tails of the men. Here's our Sports

Correspondent Andy Swiss. Two champions, same prize money.

When Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams won Wimbledon both took

home ?1.9 million but suddenly that equality is being questioned as

William is lost at the weekend the tournament organiser described the

woman's game in less than flattering terms. They ride on the coat-tails

of men. They are very lucky. If I was a leading player I would go down

every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafael

Nadal were born because they have carried the sport. Novak Djokovic

said women players had fought for what they deserved but... Our men's

tennis world should fight for more because statistics show we have much

more spectators in men's tennis matches. Men's tennis generally

attracts more TV viewers. Last year 9.2 William watched the men's final

at Wimbledon compared to 4.3 million for the women's final. The WTA says

women's tennis attracts the hundred 95 million viewers around the world.

It has produced some of the biggest stars in women's sport. The biggest

of all has hit back. I think those remarks are very much mistaken and

very inaccurate. Williams's final last year sold out quicker than the

men's final. Some believe that the game has never been stronger. Brands

are showing around women's sport. There has been more investment and

interest in women's sport in the last year or two than ever. For now

this traditionally genteel sport is looking increasingly divided. The

question of equality is proving one of controversy.

British hopes of winning the oldest trophy in international sport

Work has begun on building the catamaran that the Olympian Sir

Ben Ainslie believes will bring the America's Cup home

to Britain for the first time in its 165 year history.

This is what you get when you cross a boat with a plane.

But this is only the British team's training

The actual race boat is being built in secret here in Hampshire.

This is the first time the catamaran has been seen in public.

They are starting with the hulls, where layers of composites

We would kind of like to be the Mary Berry of boat-building,

and not sort of a first-round loser in the bake-off.

The race boat won't be finished for months,

so for now Sir Ben Ainslie's team is using training

This is team two and we are already heading towards 40-50 mph

The actual race boat that we've seen will be going at something

No one was hurt but it shows the challenges all the teams

It's the Everest of sailing, if you like, for us.

We've got a fantastic campaign now for the

next 12 months building up to Bermuda.

As I said, if we can reach our targets we have set

in each of the key areas then I think we can

Last month Sir Ben's team won the latest warm up round in Oman.

But it's Bermuda next year that counts.

Could the competition for this silverware finally bring Britain's

Duncan Kennedy, BBC News, Portsmouth.

It was a mixed bag today. Some of us saw lovely spells of sunshine. A

lovely view across the North Sea. A lot of us did not see any sunshine.

Some of us stayed under the cloud. This is in northern Scotland. A

little bit of rain to go with that. Still breezy. Elsewhere, dry. West

is more likely to see cloud. Under clear skies and light wind

temperatures drop away. Rural spots will call colder. Northern Scotland

still breezy, the occasional spot of rain. Edinburgh should be dry with

sunshine. More cloudy in Glasgow. The western side still fairly cloudy

but there will be some breaks. Chilly with those breaks. Some mist

and fog. Good spells of sunshine for eastern areas away from the mist and

fog which should not last long. Cloud increasing as we go into late

morning and afternoon but some spells of sunshine through eastern

Scotland and southern and eastern parts of England. The winds are late

for most places. It should feel pleasant enough but under the cloud

it will be at or 9 degrees. Similar on Wednesday. Not much rain. The

occasional spot of Brazil. Some showers in the north-west but most

places will be dry. This weather front moves away to be replaced by a

more active system on Thursday. It is going to be turning increasingly

wet and windy. That's all from the BBC News at Six

so it's goodbye from me