01/12/2017 BBC News at Six

One of the Prime Minister's closest

political allies, Damian Green,

strongly denies fresh allegations

he looked at pornography

on his office computer.

A retired detective,

who says he analysed the computer

in a separate investigation nine

years ago, claims

there were thousands

of pornographic images on it.

There was a lot of them.

I was surprised to see that

on a Parliamentary computer.

I've maintained all along,

I still maintain, it is the truth,

that I didn't download or look

at pornography on my computer.

But obviously while the

investigation is going on I can't

say any more at the moment.

We'll be asking what it

could all mean for the

Prime Minister's Deputy.

Also tonight:

The investigation in to

alleged Russian meddling.

President Trump's former national

security advisor Michael Flynn

pleads guilty to lying to the FBI.

Posted on Facebook, how this photo

taken 50 years ago has just

landed this man in prison

for murdering his baby stepson.

Gearing up for a summer of World Cup

football as Maradona hands England

a comfortable draw for Russia 2018.

And hundreds turn out

in Nottingham to see Prince Harry

and Meghan Markle on the first

public engagement together.

Coming up later on FA Cup Sportsday,

we will be coming from here at AFC

Fylde for the second

round of the FA Cup.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

Theresa May's deputy, Damian Green,

the First Secretary of State,

is under renewed pressure tonight,

after claims that he accessed

pornography on his Commons computer.

A retired detective says he found

thousands of pornographic images

on a computer in Mr Green's office

nine years ago, and that it was

"ridiculous" to suggest that anyone

else could be responsible.

Mr Green has again insisted

that the allegations are false.

Danny Shaw has this

exclusive report.

He's Theresa May's oldest and most

trusted political ally,

now battling for Cabinet survival

over claims he watched pornography

on his work computer.

Can I ask you to leave?

The allegations, which he denies,

centre on computers seized in this

police raid over leaked documents

from the Home Office.

Now, a detective involved

in the enquiry has given his account

of what he discovered.

Neil Lewis spent 25 years

in the Metropolitan Police before

retiring due to ill health.

He has multiple sclerosis.

In 2008, was given

the task of examining

Damian Green's work computer.

The shocking thing was that

as I was viewing, I noticed a lot

of pornography thumbnails,

which indicated web browsing.

But a lot.

There was a lot of them.

How many images did you see on that?

Thousands.

Thousands of pornographic images?

Thumbnail images.

This is the one note that you kept.

Neil Lewis still has his notebook

from the time, detailing

what he saw on the computer.

There is a reference to briefing

officers about pornography.

He claims two other detectives

also saw the material.

It was legal and not

extreme, he said.

Similar images were also seen

on a laptop, he claimed.

How can you be sure

that it was Damian Green

who was accessing that pornography?

There's a sort of phrase, "You can't

put fingers on the keyboard".

So I can't say that.

But the computer was

in Mr Green's office,

on his desk, logged in,

his account, his name.

In between browsing pornography,

he was sending e-mails from his

account, his personal account.

Reading documents,

writing documents.

And it was just impossible.

It was sort of exclusive

and extensive, that it was

ridiculous to suggest that anybody

else could have done it.

Outside his home in Kent

today, Damian Green

protested his innocence.

A Cabinet Office enquiry has been

examining his conduct.

Mr Green...

I've said that I'm not

commenting any further

while the investigation is going on.

I've maintained all along,

I still maintain, it is the truth,

that I didn't download or look

at pornography on my computer.

But obviously while the

investigation is going on I can't

say any more at the moment.

One of Mr Green's colleagues

in Parliament rallied

to his defence, saying

the detective's

account didn't add up.

The pattern of behaviour

he describes seems to me entirely

inconsistent with the normal pattern

of behaviour of an MP in Parliament.

We simply do not have hours to sit

in front of our computers

and browse leisure websites,

of whatever variety.

Did you look at pornography at all?

There are now questions about how

apparently confidential information

about Damian Green's computers

was made public.

Scotland Yard is looking into it.

Danny Shaw, BBC News.

John Pienaar is at

Westminster for us tonight.

What's your assessment

of where this goes next?

There is an enormous amount riding

on the outcome of this drama, not

simply the future of Damian Green.

Tonight, he is adding nothing to the

denial of not viewing pornography.

But his political friends are

rallying round, some of them

accusing Neil Lewis of breaching

operational confidentiality. David

Davis, Brexit secretary, I am told

has warned the Prime Minister not to

sack Damian Green on the say-so of

former officers who he believes are

out to get Damian Green. Why?

Because, Mr Green's friends say, the

police raid backfired on the police,

they were criticised and this is

about revenge. One of David Davis'

friends said he might contemplate

resigning in support of Damian Green

if he has to. We await the outcome

of that report. For Theresa May it

is a difficult time indeed. She may

have to choose soon whether she

needs to lose a very close ally at a

difficult political time, difficult

because of a host of issues

including Brexit. When do we learn?

I am told we could have the answers

to those questions in a few days,

perhaps early next week.

One of President Trump's

closest confidants,

his former national security

advisor Michael Flynn,

has pleaded guilty to lying to FBI

agents as part of the investigation

into alleged Russian meddling

in the 2016 Presidential election.

Mr Flynn is the most senior former

official to be charged

in the investigation so far.

But the White House says the guilty

plea doesn't implicate

anyone else except him.

From Washington, here's our

correspondent Aleem Maqbool.

It has sent political shock waves

through Washington. General Michael

Flynn, Donald Trump's former

national Security adviser turned

himself into the FBI, and to a judge

admitted lying about his contacts

with Russian officials.

General Michael Flynn!

Michael Flynn

developed a close relationship with

Donald Trump during the election

campaign, at one point talked of as

a potential vice President.

A truly

great general. I thank you.

At the

Republican National Convention, he

famously led chancing for Hillary

Clinton to be imprisoned.

Lock her

up!

All the focus is on the mistake

Michael Flynn made up -- after

Donald Trump's win at the polls,

when Barack Obama was still in

office and had imposed sanctions on

Russia for interfering with the US

election. On the 29th of December,

Michael Flynn spoke to the Russian

ambassador on the phone in the first

of a series of calls. On the 15th of

January, Vice President Mike Pence

said sanctions were not discussed by

Michael Flynn in those calls. Only

after the 9th of February when a

newspaper revealed general Flynn did

discuss sanctions when he was not

organised to do so did pressure

increase and Michael Flynn lost his

job. Michael Flynn then became one

of those investigated by the special

counsel into Russia's attempts to

influence the election and the

potential collusion with the Trump

campaign. This is unquestionably the

biggest moment of the Russia

investigation. Michael Flynn is the

most senior member of Donald Trump's

team to be indicted, and is accused

of lying to FBI agents while still

serving the White House. Most

importantly, we now believe Michael

Flynn will testify that he was

directed to talk to the Russian

ambassador when he was not supposed

to by a senior official in Donald

Trump's transition team, bringing

this investigation ever closer to

the President himself. Aleem

Maqbool, Washington.

A 71-year-old man has been jailed

for murdering his toddler stepson

almost 50 years ago.

David Dearlove swung

the one-year-old child

by his ankles and hit his head

on a fireplace in 1968.

For decades Dearlove lied

about what had happened.

But then a photo posted on Facebook

led to the investigation being

reopened, as Danny Savage explains.

This picture triggered

a murder trial.

It shows a man called David Dearlove

with his stepson, Paul Booth.

When this image was posted

on Facebook, Paul's now adult

brother went to police,

telling them Dearlove had murdered

the toddler and he had witnessed it.

The 21-year-old Dearlove

in the photo is now 71.

Almost 50 years later,

he was today convicted of murder.

Back in the late 1960s,

he lived with the boys' mother

in this house in Stockton.

On the night he killed his stepson

in the living room, he claimed

the boy's injuries were accidental,

but his three-year-old brother,

Peter, saw what really happened.

He'd crept downstairs for a drink,

and through a gap in the living room

door saw Dearlove swinging Paul

violently by the ankles

and cracking his head

against the fireplace,

causing fatal injuries.

Nearly half a century later,

what Peter Booth saw just

before his fourth birthday has

convicted his stepfather of murder.

Dearlove said Paul had received

the injuries by falling out of bed.

Had he fallen out of bed

and fractured his skull,

that would have resulted

in a straight line fracture.

In this case we had a fracture

that was a Z shape and crossed two

places in the skull,

and that wasn't consistent with him

having simply fallen

and hit his head against an object

such as a hard floor.

A lot of the lines of enquiry

we are used to in this day and age,

digital enquiries, phone works,

forensics, stuff like

that didn't exist.

We didn't have a body in this case,

we didn't have a scene,

a lot of the witnesses were dead,

so it was quite challenging.

Paul Booth's brother and sister had

to relive childhood ordeals

and trauma to get justice for him.

The judge said Dearlove made

the children's lives a misery,

and jailed him for a minimum

of 13 years.

Danny Savage, BBC News, Teesside.

A review of radiology services

in the NHS in England has been

ordered, after inspectors found that

some patients suffered "significant

harm" because of problems processing

x-rays at a hospital in Portsmouth.

The Care Quality Commission

discovered that 20,000 x-rays

at Queen Alexandra Hospital hadn't

been reviewed properly,

and that meant in some cases that

abnormalities weren't picked up.

Hugh Pym has the story.

It was a member of the public

who first raised concerns,

and inspectors discovered a backlog

of 23,000 chest x-rays which hadn't

been reviewed by a radiologist.

In some cases, junior

doctors without the right

training had done the job.

Three lung cancer patients had

suffered significant harm.

Sincere and unreserved apology.

And that apology is to

the patients themselves,

to their family and their carers.

I want to give an absolute assurance

that we are doing everything we can

to address the scale of the backlog

that we have.

The Care Quality Commission has told

the Portsmouth Hospitals Trust

to take urgent action to check

all the x-rays.

It's also started a national review

of radiology at hospitals

in other trusts in England,

and called for details of backlogs

and any delays reporting results

of x-rays and scans.

Every hospital is having to manage

that risk effectively,

and what we are trying to do is find

out which hospitals are doing really

well, so that everyone can learn

from hospitals that are doing

it really well.

Medical scanning technology

is developing rapidly.

It's more complex and precise.

In many cases it's central

to patient diagnosis and care.

Understandably, patients want access

to the best there is available,

but that's increased the workload

for the radiologists,

who helped to interpret the scans.

The pressures are illustrated

by figures showing that demand

for complex scans in England

is rising at 10% per year,

whereas the number of radiologists

is growing by just 3% a year.

We know there's an awful lot

of stress on departments

and on the individuals working

in those departments,

and they are all working over

and above their contracted rates

in order to try and clear

some of this workload.

Some people contacted us

today to report concerns

about x-rays and scans.

The Department of Health said it

welcomed the new investigation

in England to ensure people got high

quality assessments and timely care.

Hugh Pym, BBC News.

Our top story:

Damian Green denies looking at or

downloading pornography after a

retired detective claims he found

thousands of images on a work

computer.

And still to come, did Meghan Markle

sparkle on her first public

engagement in Nottingham?

She seems full of life and

down-to-earth.

I think she is

wonderful. I watched interviews and

I she is great.

In Sportsday, less than 12 hours

from the first Test in Ashes

history, and what most think is the

best opportunity for victory against

Australia.

In just over six months' time,

32 national teams will be battling

it out in 11 Russian cities,

all competing for one trophy -

the 2018 football World Cup.

Today, the all important draw

was made at the Kremlin in Moscow.

So did England manage to avoid

the likes of Brazil and Germany?

Let's cross live to our

Sports Editor Dan Roan.

There were real dangers lurking here

inside the Kremlin for England this

evening. In the past, these

occasions have been very cruel, and

the likes of Germany, Argentina,

Brazil and France were all lying in

wait. But in a favourable draw, all

were avoided and England can look

forward to the summer with a degree

of confidence. This report contains

some flash photography.

It was the day Russia invited

the great and good football

inside its seat of power.

The Kremlin playing host to some

of the legends who have graced

the sport's showpiece event.

A first World Cup in Russia has

become a matter of personal pride

and political importance to Vladimir

Putin.

The President himself

taking the opportunity

to kick off proceedings.

A colourful celebration of Russian

culture providing the now

traditional pre-draw entertainment.

As England's manager,

Gareth Southgate prepared

to learn his team's fate,

there were plenty of familiar faces

from which to gain confidence.

World Cup winner Gordan Banks

leading out a stellar cast list

of draw assistants before

Gary Lineker, Golden Boot winner

in 1986, and more recently

an outspoken critic of tournament

organisers Fifa, was introduced

in his role as Master of ceremonies.

I think I'd prefer to take a penalty

in the World Cup final

than actually organise this draw,

but I will do my best.

With the draw finally underway,

it fell to Diego Maradona,

no stranger to breaking England's

hearts, to reveal that they

would be in Group G.

England.

That meant that from

the top-ranked seeds,

Belgium lie in wait -

a squad packed with

Premier League talent.

The manager giving little away.

As the draw progressed,

the rest of the group emerged, along

perhaps with a sense of relief.

Tunisia, beaten by England

in their opening match of France 98.

And Panama, playing

in their first World Cup.

Both opponents England would have

taken before the draw.

So what did the manager think

of the hand his team had been dealt?

We have been good at writing teams

off and then getting beaten

by them, haven't we?

So we have to make sure

that we are prepared

for all those games.

It's fantastically exciting now

to be here for the draw

with every other coach.

It's been a great experience,

and I'm really looking forward

to getting on with it now.

England are out of the

European Championship.

England's humiliating defeat

to Iceland in last year's Euros

serves as a warning that no one

should be taken for granted.

However, as they look ahead

to next summer's campaign,

deep down they and their fans know

today's Russian roulette

could have been far tougher.

For England fans, the draw means

some pretty long journeys to some

places they may not have

heard of before.

Our correspondents Sarah Rainsford

and Steve Rosenberg have been

to check out the host cities.

This is Mother Russia.

Determined, defiant,

urging her people to rise up

and crush the enemy.

Volgograd used to be called

Stalingrad, and the Battle

of Stalingrad, in which nearly

2 million people were killed,

still haunts this place.

But today, the focus is on football.

And from up here there

is a wonderful view of the stadium

they are building for the World Cup.

And here's a closer look at it.

I've already mentioned how the war

still casts a shadow over this city.

When they started building this

stadium, they found 300

unexploded bombs here,

and the remains of two soldiers.

In communist times, I wouldn't have

been allowed into Nizhny Novgorod -

this city was closed to foreigners.

Not any more, of course.

For football fans coming here,

there's plenty to see.

This place has even

got its own Kremlin.

Well, they're not quite

ready for kick-off here.

The Nizhny Novgorod football stadium

is still under construction.

The whole thing has been designed

to look a little bit

like the Volga River,

just across the way.

They assure me hear that everything

will be ready on time.

And there will be entertainment

off the pitch, too.

Here at the Nizhny Novgorod circus

they are putting together a special

series of shows for the World Cup,

and for visiting fans.

Russia may not be the favourites

in the football, but they certainly

look like champions

in the big top.

In some spots like this, Kaliningrad

looks distinctly European.

But this is Russian territory.

It's a sliver of the former

Soviet Union that is now

surrounded by the EU.

And this is the westernmost

point for the World Cup.

If England fans do have a ticket

to a match here, then the good news

is, it's going to be pretty easy

to get to.

Because Kaliningrad is just a short

drive across the border

from Poland or from Lithuania.

And the ground itself is pretty

close to the city centre.

And it seems there will be a warm

welcome for fans, too,

because the mayor here recently

instructed all locals to be nice

to the visitors and not to hit them.

If there's one thing

the Kaliningrad Coast

is known for, it's amber.

There are vast reserves

of the precious stone

here by the Baltic Sea.

Occasionally, after a storm,

the waves will throw chunks of amber

right onto the beaches.

It's worth a small fortune,

so maybe an extra bonus for some

of the football fans,

or perhaps a consolation prize.

Sarah Raynsford reporting there.

Such has been England's

disappointing performances at major

tournaments in recent years, in

truth they can take limited comfort

from the draw. It's important to

remember they are not even

favourites. That tag belongs to

Belgium. Nevertheless, if they win

the group, their possible route

would be Colombia in the next round,

then Brazil, France, and the final

in Moscow. But let's not get carried

away!

Almost 700 jobs are to go at NatWest

and Royal Bank of Scotland

after it was announced that 259

banches are to close.

RBS - which owns both banks -

says they're closing the branches

because nowadays so many more of us

are banking on our computers

and mobile phones.

Our personal finance correspondent

Simon Gompertz is in south London

at one branch which is expected

to be shut.

Simon.

This is the biggest programme of

branch closures that RBS has ever

undertaken. It's already been

closing hundreds this year. So at

the end of this process the number

of branches will have halved to

around 750/3 years. It's a big bank,

it is mostly owned by the tax payer

after it was rescued in a financial

crisis. It's made up of both NatWest

and RBS. To give you a breakdown,

197 of the closures are NatWests in

England and Wales, including this

one in Stockwell in London. 62 Royal

Bank of Scotlands. In some Scottish

villages local people are

complaining that they don't know

where they will do their banking. It

takes the total number of UK prank

branches -- bank branches to less

than 8000. It still dropping. RBS

will tell you it's because of the

mobile phone, thousands of people

every minute logging on that way.

The typical customer goes into a

branch every three months. Plenty of

people still like to go into a

branch. They will be the ones

particularly worried by today's

announcement.

Prince Harry and his fiancee

Meghan Markle have carried

out their first official public

engagement since they announced

they were getting married

earlier this week.

The couple were greeted by crowds

of wellwishers in Nottingham

as they visited a World Aids Day

charity fair and then met local

teachers and children

at a school nearby.

From Nottingham, here's our Royal

correspondent Nicholas Witchell.

As an actress, she's been

used to a public stage.

She's accustomed to meeting crowds

and dealing with fans.

Little surprise, then,

that Meghan Markle handled her first

official public appearance

in her new role with

considerable confidence.

Husband-to-be was on hand,

solicitous and supportive,

with a lot of eye contact

between them and supportive arms

going around each other's backs.

At times they met the crowds

together, but then Meghan

branched off on her own,

stopping and taking

time with people.

While Harry did the same thing

on his side of the street.

Moments later they were reunited,

the queue for more back-rubbing.

This clearly is a team effort

and the new recruit seems a natural.

She will do hundreds

and hundreds of events like this

in the years to come,

but she will remember this one,

her first official encounter

with the British public.

And the verdict on her performance?

I think she's great.

A good addition to the royal family.

Definitely.

Yeah.

An American.

Go, mixed kids!

Yeah, mixed kids in

the royal family now.

It was just fabulous and we're just

so excited that they've come

to Nottingham for their first public

appearance and we're very excited

about the wedding in May.

The couple heard about the work

of the Terrence Higgins Trust,

the charity which has worked

for years to help people

suffering from HIV-AIDS.

It's a cause Harry, now with Meghan,

wants to take forward

in tribute to his late mother.

At a local college, they heard

about the effort to help young

people keep out of trouble,

serious issues to which Harry,

through a charitable trust,

is devoting serious attention.

But for all that, there was no doubt

who sparkled the most today -

the woman with the diamond.

I saw her ring and the

diamond is massive!

It's absolutely gorgeous.

Just knowing that you're sitting

near Meghan and Prince Harry,

it's jaw-dropping, it's really nice.

A glittering future, then?

It certainly seems to augur well.

Nicholas Witchell, BBC News,

Nottingham.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Tomasz Schafernaker.

It's very cold today, will it last?

No, the current cold snap is coming

to an end, temperatures will rise

but the cold weather could be back

next week. Over the next few days we

start with some lovely weather

watcher pictures, sunshine in

Yorkshire, a beautiful sunset in

Cumbria. And one more from

Liverpool. Beautiful skies. Alto

Cumulus clouds being illuminated by

the setting sun. It will turn

milder, a slow process and it will

be Sunday before we feel milder air

coming in. In the short term, for

the rest of today and into tonight,

a northerly jet stream and pretty

cold air sitting on top of us. But

all this milder air, relatively

speaking, heading our direction.

There will be a change in the wind

direction, from the northerly we

have had the last few days to more

of a westerly, coming straight from

the ocean. And when that wind comes

straight of the ocean, it brings

more moisture and cloud so things

turn more damp and cloudy over the

next few days. Two or three degrees

in the morning, so still cold. The

cold air washing away to the east.

The relatively milder air, yellow

and blue is relative temperatures,

not absolute one. It will not be

that warm at all. After a chilly

morning on Saturday, temperatures in

still areas will be struggling. We

are only talking a high of 6 degrees

across Yorkshire. Cloud around with

spots of rain across western and

northern areas. On Sunday, the

milder air has reached us and

temperatures will get up to double

figures in the south, maybe even

double figures across northern parts

of England. Monday and Tuesday,

eight or 9 degrees. Partly cloudy

skies and by the end of the week it

looks