17/01/2018 BBC News at Six

A lifeline for thousands of workers

employed by the failed

company Carillion -

many are told they'll

keep their jobs, for now.

But as work's paused on construction

sites run by company,

its collapse prompts angry

exchanges in Parliament.

It looks like the Government

was handing Carillion public

contracts either to keep the company

afloat, which clearly hasn't worked,

or it was just deeply negligent.

We were a customer of Carillion, not

the manager of Carillion, and that's

a very important difference.

As politicians argue

over the best way to run

and deliver public services,

we'll be looking at

the impact the collapse

of the company could have.

Also tonight:

More than one in ten

nurses is leaving the NHS

in England every year,

as the gap between those leaving

and joining widens.

A court hears former Wales manager

Gary Speed is one of four men

who committed suicide

after being coached

by Barry Bennell, who's on trial

for child sex abuse.

Severe weather warning -

police tell drivers in central

and southern Scotland to stay off

the roads, after hundreds

were stranded last night.

And, after almost 1,000 years,

the Bayeux tapestry could leave

France for the first time and be

loaned to the UK.

Coming up on Sportsday later

in the hour on BBC News:

Despite facing a charge of affray,

Ben Stokes will be available to play

for England again next month.

Good evening, and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

There's some relief tonight

for thousands of people affected

by the collapse of the construction

and services giant Carillion.

The Government's insolvency service

says most private companies carrying

out work for Carillion,

like catering and cleaning,

will continue to pay their workers

until new suppliers can be found.

The company's collapse prompted

angry exchanges in Parliament.

Labour said it was unbelievable that

Ministers continued awarding

contracts to the firm

despite a series of profit warnings.

The Prime Minister said it

would have been wrong to use public

money to bail out the business.

Our Business Editor,

Simon Jack, reports.

After shutting up shop yesterday,

work at Highfield Park in Nottingham

regime today. They... Is to keep

paying for work on Carillion's

public sector contracts was good

enough for one stonemasons

companies... We held the project off

for a day, now we are actually back

on the project. Our main concern is

making sure that those payments

made. Because

small contract is the

biggest livelihoods in this, they

are going to suffer from the impact

of this severe problem that has been

caused by Carillion.

Private sector

customers like nationwide were given

just 48-hour decide if they wanted

to keep paying for services

Carillion was providing. Nationwide

was among 90% of customers who said

yes, for now. Great news for

thousands of workers. Not according

to union leaders.

I'm encouraged

that these clients want work to

continue, but it is a stay of

execution for the people they

represent. We are not looking for

short-term is, we are looking for

protection by long-term. This is a

stay of execution that frankly is

not good enough.

The banking

industry promised today that it will

extend overdrafts and give payment

holidays to firms owed money by

Carillion to help limit the knock-on

damage done the supply chain. A

reprieve for thousands of private

sector service workers, and the

banks are promising to help limit

the fallout. Here at this Carillion

constructions died in King's Cross,

activity has come to a stand still.

-- construction site. Workers cannot

get on site to get their tools so

that they can carry on with other

jobs. Talks are advanced on the

creation of a Cox forced to help

limit the ballot so might damage

done -- to help limit the damage

done. The pressure on Chris Grayling

did not let up today. Why did

Carillion land big contract after

multiple profit warnings?

When HS2

awarded the contract last summer, a

lot of work was done to ensure that

if Carillion ran into problems, the

contract was covered, and that is

what happened. Over the years, many

UK construction firms have had ups

and downs and delivered profit

warnings and they have come through

those.

Deep ideological differences

on the role of private companies in

the public sector from Dover at

Prime Minister's Questions.

As the

ruins of Carillion lie around her,

Wilbur Prime Minister to act to end

this costly racket of the

relationship between... And some of

these companies?

Theresa May

reminded Jeremy Corbyn that one

third of Carillion's public

contracts were awarded under Labour,

and the model was still valid.

We

want to provide good quality public

services and deliver the best value

to the taxpayer. We are making sure

in this case that public services

continue to be provided, that the

workers in

workers in these public servers is

of supported, and taxpayers are

protected.

Outrage was expressed

that the owner of this chalet, the

former Carillion boss, was due to

collect his £666,000 salary until

October. All former payments to

directors will now be stopped. That

may be so much may not be enough to

cool tempers back in the UK.

The collapse of Carillion has

caused many projects

across the country to be halted.

But some had already run

into trouble, like one

of its biggest projects -

the £335 million contract to build

the new Royal Liverpool Hospital,

as our correspondent Judith Moritz

reports.

Brick by brick, floor by floor, the

new £335 million Royal Liverpool

Hospital has been taking shape,

building work on going. Until this

week. Since Carillion's collapse,

subcontractors here have stopped

work. Some are owed money and have

downed tools for now. Meanwhile,

next door at the hospital is due to

replace, there is restriction., who

are waiting for the new building to

be ready. But until things are

clear, Hospital bosses know it will

be difficult to

be difficult to get the builders

back to work.

I would say the

contractors, please come on site,

you will get paid for the work you

are doing. We recognise there is an

issue with the money you are owed,

but there are guarantees about

future payments. We will work with

the hospital company and the

receivers to try and ensure that

there is some compensation.

Is their

anger about this?

I wouldn't say it

is and. We feel sorry for the staff

and the subcontractors of Carillion.

It's not anger. Its empathy with the

situation they are in, really.

The

old hospital was built in the 1970s

and is showing its age. Crumbling

concrete and rusting pipework. The

new building was privately financed,

but it's progress was slow for

various structural reasons, and it

was sited at the time of Carillion's

first profit warning. The new

hospital should have been completed

last March, but Carillion missed

that deadline. And for every month

it was delayed, the company faced a

bill of £1.5 million. Despite the

Carillion chaos, the trust says it

is confident that work will restart

soon. Although it can't say exactly

when the city will get its new

hospital. Judith Moritz, BBC News,

Liverpool.

Our Deputy Political Editor,

John Pienaar, is at Westminster.

The company's collapse certainly

sparked fierce debate in the Commons

today about the best way to run

and deliver public services?

It did, so few. Today we saw the red

versus blue, public versus Private

row. We thought it had been settled

by Kate ago and now looks as if it

is being fought out a fresh, and the

Government is having to fight that

baffle whilst dealing with tough

questions and attacks and problems

here caused by the Carillion

collapse. Today we have that

promised that former executives'

pay-outs could be clawed back. There

were more questions about why fresh

contract were given to Carillion

while the company was in trouble.

There will have to be a policy

response, but the Government's

options seem limited. There is

already early talk that maybe

companies would have to come up with

plans to show how they deal with a

potential future graces. In the

past, ministers have considered the

idea of making companies like

Carillion break-up into Vienna, 50

units. But that idea be dusted off

again? Is eventually, the Government

will have to win this argument that

says the private sector is the best

and

and most efficient way of delivering

what the state has to do. And that

tough and tight margins on companies

like Carillion are the best way to

get value for the taxpayer. If they

can't do that, this could be a

serious, lasting setback for the

Government. Even the political

watershed that Jeremy Corbyn hoped

it would be when Carillion

collapsed.

John Pienaar in

Westminster, thank you.

One in ten nurses is leaving the NHS

in England every year,

according to the latest figures.

And the gap between the number

leaving and those joining

has widened to 3,000 -

the highest for at least five years.

The Royal College of Nursing says

the NHS is haemorrhaging staff,

but the Government says it has plans

to boost recruitment.

Our Health Editor,

Hugh Pym, reports.

Voices from the front line. Nurses

on the challenges of their jobs in

the 70th year of the NHS.

They do it

because it's in their bones, they

have this desire to care for the

most vulnerable people.

Just having

a lot of patience to look after, one

member of staff. Patient to staff

ratio, it's quite high.

Much of the

work that nurses carry out today is

the type of work doctors were

carrying out when I was initially

trained.

For some, like Mary, the

pressures are so great they feel

they have to quit. She qualified two

years ago but found the strain was

affecting her health so decided to

leave.

I was so excited at my

graduation to finally become a nurse

and really make a difference.

There's just so much pressure, so

much paperwork, so much bureaucracy.

So many little things that all add

up to take up so much time in our

days.

Even those with decades of

experience say the strain is almost

too much. Sally joined the NHS in

the late 1970s. She has enjoyed her

career, although says the demands

are much greater because the role

has expanded.

Never when I started

nursing did I imagine I would be

doing anything like the role I'm

doing. I don't think it was even

heard of.

The Government says the

number of nurses on the wards in

England has gone up by nearly 12,000

since 2010. But when you look at all

nurses, including community and

mental health, the figure has barely

increased over that time. Last year,

Wales, like England, saw more nurses

leaving them joining. In Scotland

and Northern Ireland, there were

more joining. Filling vacancies is

certainly a challenge, but for the

NHS, what such as important is

retaining existing staff at a time

for concern about pressure on the

service and what future paid eels

might be, it's important for

employers to do everything they can

to persuade people to stick with

their careers.

I'm OK at the

moment...

Berizzo a mentoring scheme

at this hospital in Romford. Megan

was encouraged to date thanks to

support from Bev.

In my other Trust

that I work in, you didn't have

somebody to turn to to make sure

that you were in the right

environment. She's been amazing.

NHS

England wants to see that approach

adopted more widely.

We want to work

with front line staff to understand

what matters to them and to listen

and try and do something about that.

Clearly it's difficult at the

moment.

The Government says there

are more new nurse training places

in the pipeline. But in the short

term, the pressure is on. Hugh Pym,

BBC News.

Motorists in central and southern

Scotland are being advised to stay

off the roads tonight,

as heavy snow and ice make driving

conditions treacherous.

More than 200 motorists were left

stranded last night on the M74 -

the motorway linking

Scotland to England.

Our Scotland Correspondent,

Lorna Gordon, is there.

Yes, their risk a really serious

warning in place tonight. -- there

rose a really serious. In effect,

the most severe warning the police

can get. They are saying this buzz

might do not travel if you can add

all avoid it in most of southern

Scotland and central belt areas. The

road here is, for now, clear. But a

very heavy snowfall is expected

later tonight.

From the air, it is stunning -

a white blanket of snow

covering much of Scotland,

gritters cutting a path

through the drifts.

But for those travelling last night,

it was a different story.

Traffic on the M74 grinding

to a halt in the treacherous

conditions, stranded drivers

stuck for hours.

Terrible!

Just cars, lorries everywhere, five

hours I've been stuck on the M74,

then I eventually got here.

A lot of idiots on the third

lane, going too fast.

Steady, but it was getting worse,

so I chose to stop here,

now I'm going up to Glasgow.

These pictures show just

how dangerous driving

in the snow and ice can be -

a runaway lorry smashing

into a car and then a van,

after the driver got out

to help clear the road.

No-one was injured.

Mountain-rescue teams turned

from the hills to the roads,

checking that those trapped

in their vehicles were

warm and had supplies.

A lot of vehicles were basically

struggling to get grip

on the snow etc, so the issue

was there was a lot

of lorries jackknifing,

which was obviously blocking

the motorway behind,

so we were called in

by Police Scotland to basically go

and check the welfare for the people

that were in their vehicles.

The difficult weather reached

into parts of England too -

in Halifax in Yorkshire,

the public helping out

after an ambulance responding

to a 999 call got stuck.

In Northern Ireland,

some of those missing classes

took to their sledges instead.

Nearly 300 schools there were shut.

A similar number in Scotland

were also closed for the day.

Scotland's gritters,

with affectionate nicknames

such as Sir Andy Flurry

and Sir Salter Scott, have been

working round the clock,

but with warnings of much more snow

to come, drivers tonight are being

urged to stay off the roads.

Lorna Gordon, BBC News, Abington.

A man who was abused by the former

football coach Barry Bennell

has told a court that the former

Wales manager Gary Speed

was one of four men who went

on to take their own lives

after being coached by Bennell.

The 64-year-old is on trial

at Liverpool Crown Court.

He denies 48 counts

of sexual abuse against 11 boys

between 1979 and 1990.

Our sports editor, Dan Roan,

is there.

Well, we are now into the second

week of this trial, and today the

jury heard from a victim who Barry

Bennell has admitted abusing back in

1998 when he was handed a nine-year

jail sentence. This man told the

jury that the former Wales manager

Gary Speed, who hung himself in 2011

aged 42, was one of four former

youth team members of Bennell's who

had gone on to commit suicide. The

man told the court, whether they

have taken their lives due to Barry

Soley, I don't know, but all I know

is how it has impacted on me and how

it could impact on others. The man

went on to say he had known other

people who had go on to become

destitute or sub and alcohol

problems, and he told the court that

he tried to get in touch with the

family of Gary Speed when he had

read in the newspapers that they had

not been able to get closure because

they could not and stand the reasons

for his death. Earlier today, a

complainant in this case told the

jury that when he played for one of

Manchester City's junior teams, he

had been abused by Bennell more than

a hundred times, we went on to say

that two officials at the club,

including a former player and chief

scout who died in 2010, had known

about this abuse but I do not think,

and he said he wanted an apology

from the club. Bennell denies 48

accounts of child sex abuse against

11 complainants. The trial

continues. It is just at the quarter

past six.

Our top story this evening:

Thousands of workers employed

by the collapsed company Carillion

are told they will keep

their jobs for now.

And still to come -

as the Royal Air Force turns 100,

we hear from one

of the last surviving Dambusters.

Coming up on Sportsday in the next

15 minutes on BBC News,

Kyle Edmund breaks new ground

at the Australian Open.

The British number two is into

the third round for the first time.

It's almost 1,000 years old

and one of the great historical

records of the Middle Ages,

depicting the Norman Conquest

of England.

But now the Bayeux Tapestry

could be about to leave France

for the first time.

The French President,

Emmanuel Macron,

is expected to announce tomorrow

that the ancient tapestry

is being loaned to Britain,

as long as experts agree

that it is safe to move.

Here's our Paris correspondent

Lucy Williamson.

If anything puts current

Anglo-French relations

in context, this is it -

a tapestry from almost a thousand

years ago describing a very

different kind of summit meeting.

Now the French President has given

approval for the 50 metre

Bayeux Tapestry to leave French

territory for the first time.

But moving something this big

and is no simple matter.

It's difficult to imagine

all the practical

to put it in a case

and to put it in a train.

No, we don't know.

President Macron's gesture

highlights France's deep ties

and long history with Britain,

though cynics might say it also

highlights a crucial French victory

over its Anglo-Saxon neighbour.

Art experts say it is a benign

telling of the tale,

with moments of comedy

and artistic influences

from both sides of the Channel.

There's a lot of excitement

from British museums.

The opportunity to get really close

to the Bayeux Tapestry

and explore it and look

at it is what's fascinating

to all of us who have studied

the Bayeux Tapestry.

The exact location of the tapestry's

famous battle has long been

in dispute, but in Hastings today,

locals said the artwork

should be displayed there.

I think a lot of people in Hastings

are quite proud of Hastings,

and if it's returning to Hastings,

even better.

Because it, you know,

comes from Hastings.

I mean, you know,

the Battle of Hastings

and all the rest of it, yeah.

Yeah, good tourist attraction.

The battle happened here,

and there's not enough displays

of what happened in Hastings,

so I think it should come here.

Britain has twice requested

the tapestry on loan, the first time

for the Queen's Coronation,

but has always been refused.

This initiative has the backing

of President Macron,

part of the cultural exchanges

he promised in

his election campaign.

But the deep ties with Britain

have often been tinged with rivalry,

and one French official was joking

today about whether Britain

would find anything of similar merit

to send them in return.

Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Bayeux.

North and South Korea have agreed

to march under the same flag

at the Winter Olympics next month.

The two sides have also agreed

to form a unified women's ice

hockey team for the Games,

which will be held in South Korea.

It's the result of

the first diplomatic talks

between the neighbours

for more than two years.

England cricketer Ben Stokes

will be available for selection

for England's tour of New Zealand,

despite being charged with affray

following a fight outside

a nightclub in Bristol last year.

The England and Wales Cricket Board

said Stokes,

who hasn't played

for England since the incident,

is expected to join

the squad in February.

Our sports correspondent

Joe Wilson is at Lord's.

Why can he play now

when he couldn't play in the Ashes?

It is a good question, and it may

well seem illogical to some cricket

followers. The ECB were waiting to

see what the CPS decided before they

took their next step. We know there

is a charge for Ben Stokes of affray

that he is indeed contesting, and in

that context of the ECB are faced

with a decision. Whilst they wait

for the trial, which could be a year

ahead, do they let their star

player, who they are paying

centrally, to sit on the sidelines?

They have said they do not think it

is there or proportionate to do

that, and so he is available for

selection again. We have seen him

playing club cricket in New Zealand

already, whilst under investigation.

Clearly representing England is a

significant step up. There is the

image that it projects, but also the

practicalities and complexities, and

it is likely that in the Mansour

heads Stokes will miss training,

matches even to attend court. -- in

the months ahead.

It's one of the most famous flying

teams in British history.

75 years after carrying out

the daring Dambusters raid,

the RAF's 617 Squadron

is being reformed in the year

that the Royal Air Force turns 100.

I've been to meet one of the last

surviving veterans who played

a major part in that

Dambusters raid.

Amazing aircraft, that, isn't it?

Absolutely.

George Johnny Johnson -

he's 96 years old

and the last surviving

British member of World War II's

famous Dambusters raid.

He joined the RAF in 1940,

one of many teenagers who signed up

to fight for their country.

He says it was thrilling.

I felt I was actually doing

something useful, and doing it well.

It was 75 years ago this May

that 617 Squadron took off

in their Lancaster bombers,

on their mission immortalised

in the Dambusters film,

to attack dams

in Germany's industrial heartland

using Barnes Wallis' bouncing bombs.

The planes Johnny Johnson flew

are a world away from the aircraft

used by the RAF nowadays,

and he's fascinated

not just by the technology on board,

but also by the pilots

learning to fly them.

I can't understand any of it.

I wouldn't know where to begin.

It's a complete stranger.

But, uh...it's not a Lancaster.

I've always wanted to do it

since the age of four...

Flying Officer Stephanie Searle

is one of the RAF's newest pilots,

in awe of the stories from the past.

I don't know if I can

measure up to it, to be honest.

Where I've been lucky enough

to choose this role for myself,

they were thrusted into it,

and they just took to it

and did the best they could.

Johnny Johnson was one of 133 men

who took part

in the Dambusters raid.

53 of them never came home.

He still remembers that night

vividly.

I shall never forget that dams raid.

The highlight of that trip, for me,

was as we came home,

our route was over

what had been the Mohne Dam,

and we knew by radio broadcast

it had been breached.

There was water everywhere.

It's gone, we've done it!

That raid remains, to this day,

one of the most famous

in the Air Force's history.

So as the RAF celebrates

its centenary,

his advice to the next generation?

Whatever you do,

do it to the best of your ability.

You'll find it makes you happy.

Had I had my time over again,

I would do the same again,

and hope to get the same happiness

and enjoyment out of it

that I did for

those 22 years I served.

I have to say thank you

to the Royal Air Force

for providing that life for me.

It was a wonderful life,

it really was.

96 years old, the wonderful Johnny

Johnson. Let's look at the latest

weather with Susan Powell.

We are contending with another spell

of heavy snowfall, into the small

hours, not causing some new problems

as we saw yesterday evening, but the

Met Office have issued an amber

warning. This low will be ploughing

across the British Isles had quite a

pace, bringing rain, sleet and snow

to Northern Ireland in the next

couple of hours, but around midnight

the weather worsening across

southern Scotland and northern

England, widespread gales, probably

only the northern half of Scotland

spared the strongest winds, as well

as heavy rain whipping across much

of England and Wales, the tail end

bringing wintry conditions into the

north-east of England for first

thing tomorrow. For Scotland,

comparatively quiet start to the

day, some snow showers being blown

into the North and west once again,

ice is the biggest issue, probably

the lying snow as well, and for

Northern Ireland some wintry

showers, a difficult rush but ice is

a front

a front -- eight difficult story.

The wind is pretty strong, for the

south-west of England and Wales, in

combination with the high spring

tides, some very big waves and the

risks of coastal flooding. That area

of low pressure will move out of the

way quickly, Thursday morning into

the continent, still left with keen

winds behind it, chilly winds at

that, but overall, after that spell

of intense weather overnight, quite

quiet on Thursday, more wintry

showers for the exposed north and

west, down into the Midlands. But

for many, a pleasant stay with

winter sunshine. However, without

wind, it is still going to be a

jolly old day to come. If you are

travelling, later tonight, do take

care.

A reminder of our main story:

A lifeline for employees of the

failed company Carillion, many will

keep