01/06/2016 BBC News at Six

Four decades after the Birmingham pub bombings killed 21 people,

a coroner reopens the inquests into their deaths.

The bombing caused devastation in the heart of the city.

Families of the victims were today overcome by the news.

We'll look at the fresh evidence that's led the coroner to act.

Take back our immigration policy by exiting the EU,

The Remain camp say their plans would wreck the economy.

One of the country's most prolific paedophiles admits 71 charges

After finding debris, investigators detect signals from a black box in

the Mediterranean from the EgyptAir plane which crashed last month.

And the oldest hand-written document ever found in Britain

is among hundreds of Roman artefacts discovered in London.

And coming up in the sport on BBC News:

Into the last four at the French Open.

Andy Murray reaches the semi-finals after coming from a set down

In 1974, bombs in two Birmingham pubs left 21 people dead

one of the worst terror attacks on the British mainland.

a coroner has ruled that inquests into the deaths are to be reopened.

The double bombing, in November of that year,

is widely thought to have been the work of the IRA.

The inquests were suspended when six men were jailed for the attacks.

Their convictions were later quashed.

Today, the coroner Louise Hunt said there was now new evidence that

advance warnings of the bombings may have been missed.

Our correspondent Sian Lloyd is in Birmingham.

This is the memorial to the victims of the pub bombings, set here in the

grounds of Birmingham Cathedral. Their families embarked on a long

journey to get to today's point. We don't know exactly how or when these

inquests will take place, but the families will hear in public

evidence about what happened that night.

Julie Hambleton has campaigned for almost 42 years in memory

of her 18-year-old sister, Maxine.

Flanked by relatives of some of the 21 who died,

this is what the coroner's decision meant to them.

Our fathers, brothers, sisters, mothers...

On 21st November 1974, two bombs exploded at

and Tavern in the Town pubs in Birmingham City centre.

21 people died and more than 200 were injured.

A year later, six men were convicted.

The Birmingham Six, as they became known,

their convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Paddy Hill was one of those men who were wrongly jailed.

It's the first step that has ever been taken to finding out the real

There are too many skeletons in the cupboard.

They knew and they had advance warning before the bomb went off.

Four decades have passed since the original

inquests were adjourned, pending the criminal trial and later

The West Midlands force had argued that the power

But the Birmingham coroner, Louise Hunt, rejected that argument.

West Midlands police in 2016 has nothing to hide.

The failings in 1975 of the botched investigation are

The pub bombings were widely acknowledged to have been

This former senior member of the terror group says the men

responsible are unlikely to face trial.

The only way there could be convictions would be if the men

walked into police stations in the UK and confessed

to their parts in the bombing, and that ain't going to happen.

You could hear the ambulances coming, but it seemed a lifetime.

Maureen Mitchell survived the attack.

Aged 21, she was so badly injured that she was given the last rites.

You sort of put it behind you and then something else

will come up, like all this that's happening now.

So it would be a closure, because there would be

There will now be the opportunity for victims and their

families to get some of their questions answered.

The UK could have a fairer, more humane immigration system

that would work better for the economy if it left the EU.

That's the latest claim from the Leave campaigners.

They want to end the automatic right for EU citizens to live and work

here and to accept only those of value to the economy.

But those campaigning to Remain said such a system

would wreck the economy and could drive up immigration.

Our Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg reports.

Their biggest names, their biggest promise so far. Is it not time we

took back control of our immigration policies? Being in the EU means

people from 27 other countries can come here, and we can go there as

well. But they want Exit, and an end to all that. You are stitching

things up, are you? Along with the gags, Leave campaigners are offering

a points system where all immigrants are judged on what they can offer.

Have a system whereby the UK Government has to take

responsibility and agree the numbers. But can you guarantee that

immigration would actually fall under your plans? I think that is

very likely, but it is up to the government. They would have to

decide what the needs of UK business and industry were. Those who are the

brightest and best with the right skills for our economy would be

welcome here. Your rivals say that if we give up EU people being able

to move around the UK, that would have a huge effect on the economy.

They say it would wreck the economy. I think that is obvious nonsense.

Looks like they are starting to enjoy this campaign. They are sure

their promise of more controls on immigration is one that voters will

like. But maybe this referendum will come down to a choice, a trade off

between tighter rules on immigration and what their opponents claim would

be serious damage to the economy that every worker would feel. The

most senior union leader in the country said the idea was a con, and

warned that leaving could hit pay packets by nearly ?40 a week. The

big threat to wages is a Brexit, because that would really hit our

economy more productivity and ultimately, people'spaperclips. If

we want to avoid another recession, -- it would affect people'sa

packets. The OECD warned that if we leave the table, economic shock

waves might be have felt around the world. It would be unavoidable,

inevitable, for us and many others in Europe, to follow the same

proposals, to implement a points system. You would get a race to the

bottom. We want our country back. Most politicians used to be

squeamish about talking immigration, but it's part of this campaign, and

his long term game. Australia looks at what it thinks it needs to expand

its country. It is growing its country, so it takes more people pro

rata than we would, but the point is that they can choose. Two of all

stripes think there is mileage in it, but as they take more and more

messages around the country, it doesn't feel like this is just about

the referendum any more -- Outers of all stripes. It feels like you are

setting out an alternative Tory vision for after the referendum.

What are you really up to? After we Vote Leave on June the 23rd, it will

be up to the government to take control not just of immigration

policy, but also of huge sums of money, of our ability to set our

political and economic priorities. So you are setting out an

alternative vision for a different sounding government. The answer to

that is no. Just about sticking to the script, at least for now.

Depending on what you decide in three weeks, that might all change.

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News, Preston. So what impact might the Leave

campaigners' plans Latest figures show

that net migration - that's the difference

between the number of those arriving and those leaving -

was 330,000 for last year. That includes 184,000 people from EU

They already come in under the points-based system

that Leave campaigners want applied to EU migrants too.

But what effect would that have on employers and their workers?

Here's our Chief Correspondent Gavin Hewitt.

For those coming to our shores, these proposed plans would mark

a fundamental change to how the migration rules work.

EU citizens would no longer just travel here for work,

they would have to pass a series of tests.

Some businesses, like this Bangladeshi restaurant in Kent,

They say they cannot get the skilled chefs they want from Bangladesh,

They want a system of migration that does not favour Europeans.

I welcome any fairer immigration policy, but I believe the British

immigration policy is unfair and a double standard policy.

One for the European Union and one for the British citizens,

Currently, EU citizens have the automatic right

Non-EU citizens face a series of hurdles.

They have to be high-value workers with job offers, or students

Under the proposed system, EU citizens would lose their automatic

right to come here, they would need points,

awarded for needed skills, an available job, and English.

But some businesses are fiercely opposed to the plans.

This is a large lettuce farm in Kent.

It depends on unskilled workers from the EU,

Without them, the business would struggle.

I believe in patrolling the borders and policing the borders,

but the horticultural sector in particular and our business

requires a high percentage of unskilled workers.

So what would happen if the unskilled workers could not

We have tried in the past to recruit from the local

I would seriously worry for the future of my business.

This proposed points system would signify a break

with the principle of free movement within the EU.

It would also raise doubts about continued access

It's also far from clear whether a points system would reduce or

increase the number of migrants coming here. Point -based systems

have traditionally been used to reduce rather than increased

migration. That said, any system that imposes new restrictions on EU

citizens would be expected to reduce the numbers compared to the status

quo. Some say a points system

actually promotes migration. But the Leave campaign argues

the system would restore Gavin Hewitt, BBC News,

Kent. French investigators say a ship

has picked up signals from one of the black boxes of the EgyptAir

flight that crashed last month. 66 people were on board

the plane when it went down in the Mediterranean while flying

from Paris to Cairo. Our Middle East Correspondent

Orla Guerin is in Cairo. How significant is this development?

This is potentially a very significant development. It is the

first time a signal has been detected from one of the black

boxes, either the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice

recorder. It was picked up by a French naval vessel using an

acoustic underwater probe. They only began searching the crash site

yesterday, and they found a signal in less than 24 hours. Gooding to an

official from the French aviation safety agency, this is the first

step. The next step, of course, is to try to pinpoint the exact

location of the data recorders to see if they are intact and to try to

retrieve them from the sea bed. That of course would be very complicated.

Another specialist vessel is on its way. It is bringing underwater

equipment, and underwater robot which can adapt to a depth of 3000

metres below sea level. Experts are warning that the black boxes, even

if they come up, may not provide all of the answers, but they may allow

authorities to rule out whether or not there was a bomb on board and

whether there was an attempt to storm the cockpit. One relative we

spoke to this afternoon said he hoped this would be the beginning of

an attempt to find the truth to establish why this flight plunged

from 37,000 feet without a distress signal being said. All we know is

that there were indications of smoke on board and possibly a fire. We

don't know what started that. Officials here are saying all

theories remain under investigation. Four decades after the Birmingham

pub bombings killed 21 people, a coroner reopens the inquests

into their deaths. And still to come, how the great

British fry-up could be affected Coming up in Sportsday

on BBC News... England captain Wayne Rooney

calls his Manchester United teammate Marcus Rashford incredible and hopes

the teenager can make an impact after being selected in the squad

for Euro 2016. One of Britain's worst paedophiles

could be facing life in prison after admitting 71 charges

of child sex abuse. 30-year-old Richard Huckle,

who's from Kent, abused children aged between

six months and 12 years while travelling in Malaysia

and Cambodia. Huckle has already been told

he could face multiple life terms. 30-year-old Richard Huckle,

who's from Kent, Richard Huckle sought out

children in the poorest But it is also the way

he got close to this girl, and I told him I wanted to go home

to my mum. I didn't realise what he was doing

because I was only three years old. I don't want him to

come back to Malaysia. Getting to know them, staying in the

slums for days on end. Huckle was often

at this woman's home. She suspected nothing, but she says

when her granddaughter was just 12, He trained to be an English teacher.

Here he is in a promotional video for the British Council. He went to

charities and orphanages where he helped out and targeted children.

That day he brought one of his victims.

but all too often it was a prelude to rape and abuse.

Tens of thousands of images and videos.

He then posted them in secret forums on the so-called Dark Web.

Huckle also wrote a self-help guide for other would-be abusers

It's not often that you get intimate access inside a police sting...

He was identified by police in Australia in one of the biggest

ever investigations into sex offenders on the so-called Dark Web.

Paul Griffiths is a former British detective now working in Queensland.

How great a danger did he pose to children?

If he hadn't been arrested, and he hadn't been taken out

of circulation, he would still be offending now, I'm quite sure.

And he struck me as the kind of person who would make the most

So if he had the opportunity to offend against a child

Huckle's victims are left traumatised.

Abused by a man who said he had come to help them.

He used his faith to seek them out and then betrayed them.

Angus Crawford, BBC News, Kuala Lumpur.

Patrick Rock, a former Downing Street advisor to David Cameron,

has been found guilty of five counts of downloading indecent photographs

some of girls who were ten years old, were not indecent.

He was acquitted of three other charges.

A further 12 counts will remain on police file

after jurors failed to reach a decision on them.

The name of British Steel has been revived today by Greybull Capital,

the company which has bought part of Tata Steel's operation in the UK.

The sale has secured thousands of jobs at its giant Scunthorpe plant,

although workers have had to take pay cuts and reductions

Donald Trump, the US presidential hopeful,

has said he will visit Scotland later this month

for the official reopening of his Trump Turnberry golf course,

The man expected to become the Republican nominee

will attend a ceremonial ribbon-cutting on June 24th -

All this week, we'll be looking at what voting In or Out in the EU

The British Retail Consortium suggests leaving the EU could have a

greater impact on food than on any other part of the retail industry.

Our Business correspondent Emma Simpson has been finding out

We import nearly half of what we eat.

Take bacon, three quarters of what we buy comes from the EU.

Let's stick with the bacon and food imports.

There are no trade barriers in the EU.

So this stuff comes in free of any tariffs.

Catherine Barnard, trade expert, is here to explain.

We stay in the single market and that's the position Norway's in.

Second possibility, we enter a trade agreement.

That means probably no border controls and also no tariffs.

So the goods will not be more expensive.

Third possibility is a default position.

That means there will be tariffs imposed on goods like food

If that happens, we've been told this pack of bacon could cost

But there's another scenario - tariffs could be cut?

Yes, but it would weaken the UK's hand in any future

Sir Terry Leahy led Tesco to worldwide success

The pound would collapse as a result of leaving the EU.

Tariffs would come in on top of that.

Finally, and most importantly, the supply chain around Europe

We'd have to negotiate through a new customs border.

We are the oldest producer of smoked salmon in the word.

This is a business that's been around far longer than the EU

and this exporter believes we'll be better off without it.

I think the whole tariff argument is complete nonsense.

Whether it's Italian wine or French cheese,

They're not going to want to put their prices up so high

These fears over price rises are nonsense, they're

Many different views, but nothing's certain in this debate.

It's the world's longest and deepest rail tunnel

and cuts right through the Swiss Alps.

Today, after almost two decades of construction work,

the Gotthard tunnel was officially opened.

by taking a million lorries off the roads each year.

in Britain have been discovered in the heart of the City of London.

The earliest-known handwritten documents ever to be found

in Britain have been discovered in the heart of the City of London.

More than 400 Roman tablets, which were used for correspondence

and as legal documents, were unearthed in an archaeological dig,

It is a little window into the ups and downs of business life,

These little bits of wood and tiny scratches of Latin handwriting, have

These are the first written documents, the first handwritten

And they were found deep in the ground just down the road

from what is now the Bank of England.

The Romans wrote by scratching words into wax on wooden tablets.

Occasionally they scratched too deeply, leaving marks in the wood.

Almost all have long since rotted away, but these have survived

in the damp banks of one of London's lost rivers.

Have a look at this, and you can just make out

the letters L O N D - it is an address.

The first ever mention of a new city...

This is the earliest ever financial document.

This is a sign that this is the heart of business

Britain just a few years after the Romans arrived.

This is one of the earliest tablets, the archaeological context

is within ten years of the Romans coming to Britain.

Deciphering the scratchy handwriting has not been easy but what has

emerged is a little window into day-to-day life

Time for a look at the weather. Here's Louise Lear.

It may not have escaped your attention and everyone out there,

it's half term this week. If you've friends and family on holiday in the

north-west, they've found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Hardly a cloud in the sky for the third day in a row. But it's been a

completely different story further south and east. Cloud spilling in

off the North Sea. A nagging northerly wind. The cloud thick

enough for the odd spot of rain. Look at the North Norfolk coast a

few hours ago. Dismal. Further north and West, not a cloud in the sky.

Temperatures in the low 20s. Clear skies here through the night. Same

old with the cloud still pushing in off the North Sea. Low enough cloud

for the odd spot of drizzle. Some coastal fog first thing in the

morning. Another dismal, grey start. The best of the sunshine out to the

west. The difference tomorrow, hopefully the sunshine will break

through a little further inland. A bit more optimistic. With a little

more sunshine, it won't feel too bad. Down to the south-west in the

sun Hyne, in a little more shelter from that breeze, 18 or 19 is

pleasant enough. We might see temperatures in the London area 15

or 16. If we get more sun, it will feel better. Along that east cold,

cold and overcast. Cloud thick enough for some drizzle. Further

north and West, the lion's share of the sunshine. By the end of

afternoon, we'll see some rain pushing into the Northern Isles.

That will linger during Friday and drift its way across the far north

of Scotland during the day on Friday. Again, the cloud thick

enough for some showers to push further west. On Friday, more cloud

around generally across the country. Only western fringes seeing the best

of the sunshine. 17 or 18 degrees along that east coast again rather

cool. But, for the weekend, I can offer you something a little more

optimistic. A good deal of dry weather. A little warmer with more

sun. That's all from the BBC News at Six,

so it's goodbye from me