19/01/2018 BBC News at Six

The government decides not

to challenge the decision to release

the serial sex attacker John

Worboys.

His victims have expressed

outrage that he will now be

freed after eight years.

The Justice Secretary admits

he too is concerned.

I know this will disappoint

the victims in this case,

and members of this House.

Given the crimes for

which he has been convicted,

on a personal level,

candidly, I share those concerns.

Worboys is believed to have

attacked over 100 women.

Some of his victims are challenging

the decision to release him.

In an exceptional case like this,

we think that there should be some

explanation for the decision,

which seems to be at odds with every

known fact about the case.

And the Mayor of London,

where Worboys' crimes took place,

is also trying to stop him

getting out of prison.

Also tonight:

Scientists say they're

a step closer to one

of the biggest goals in medicine -

a single blood test

for all types of cancer.

The parents accused of the prolonged

abuse, torture and captivity of 12

of their children plead not guilty.

Is this the future of travel?

The train in a tube that

could reach 700 miles an hour.

And it's already an Oscar contender

- the British short film

about the importance

of sign language,

starring a deaf six-year-old girl.

And coming up on

Sportsday on BBC News:

Kyle Edmund is into the fourth

round at the Australian Open.

He's now one win away

from producing his best ever

run at a grand slam.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

There will no government challenge

to the decision to release

the serial sex attacker John

Worboys.

The former black cab

driver was jailed in 2009

for attacking 12 women,

but it's suspected he assaulted

and raped many more.

The Justice Secretary David Gauke

admitted he shares the concerns

of Worboys' victims but that it

would not be appropriate"

to seek judicial review

of the Parole Board's ruling

to free him.

Two of his victims are mounting

their own challenge to try to keep

Worboys behind bars.

June Kelly has more.

He is one of the country's most

notorious serial sex offenders.

In his black cab,

John Worboys cruised

for victims, not fares.

He was convicted of

drugging and sexually

assaulting 12 women,

one of them he raped.

But it's feared he may have attacked

more than 100 in total.

The decision to

release him after less

than a decade in prison

provoked astonishment,

including at the top of government.

At the start of this week,

it emerged that the Justice

Secretary was looking to challenge

the decision in the courts.

As the week draws to

a close, he announced

that, after taking legal advice,

he won't be going down that route.

But he tried to offer reassurance

to Worboys's victims.

Let me be absolutely

clear, Worboys will not

be released until their

representations have been properly

considered and his licence

conditions are in place.

Last week, I asked

for assurances that the

views of victims were taken into

account, and that robust licensing

conditions would be put

in place to manage his risk.

But, as one politician

withdraws from the court

arena, another, Sadiq Khan, Labour

mayor of London, says he is now

investigating whether can

bring a legal challenge.

Worboys is currently

being held at Wakefield

prison in West Yorkshire.

A lawyer for some of his victims

is questioning why he is being freed

from what is a top security jail

and, in a letter to the parole

board, which approved his release,

there is detail on why they are

pressing ahead with the victims'

legal challenge to try keep Worboys

behind bars.

We presently don't know the reasons

why he has been granted

a release.

But we do know is the nature

and scope and extent of

his offending.

We know that, up until very

recently, he was denying

responsibility for the offence.

He may still be.

We know that the parole

board, only the previous

year, refused to move

him to an open prison

because they considered

he was still a risk.

What has changed over that time?

The women who John Worboys

picked up and then drugged

and assaulted have spoken of how

they fear for their safety if he is

freed.

They say he knows their addresses,

and they are calling for

him to be banned from the entire

Greater London area.

His victims are set to launch

their legal challenge

next week.

While that is going on,

the black cab rapist, as he is

known, will remain in prison.

June Kelly, BBC News.

Our legal correspondent

Clive Coleman is here with me.

Now the government has accepted that

it cannot stop Worboys being

released, is there any realistic

challenge that his victims can stop

him getting out?

Two of the victims

are going to attempt a judicial

review. That is not an appeal of

whether the decision is right or

wrong, simply a review of whether

the process of making the decision

was lawful or not. If a court finds

the process was not lawful, they can

send the decision back to the parole

board to go through it again. It is

unprecedented for victims to try to

judicially review the parole board.

They will have to lodge an

application seeking permission.

Worboys does not have to appear at

that. A judge will consider the

grounds, and if permission is

granted, there will be an injunction

to stop John Worboys' release at

that stage. There will then be a

full hearing, some weeks away, and

it is at that point that we will get

the disclosure of what this decision

amounted to, the detail of it. If

there is medical evidence they could

be issues of confidentiality,

meaning a final hearing might not be

fully public. But if the court finds

the process was not lawful and they

send it back to the parole board,

they will have to go through it all

over again, so this is not over yet.

Scientists say they've

taken a step towards one

of the biggest goals in medicine,

a single blood test

for all types of cancer.

A team in America has trialled

a method that detects eight common

forms of the disease

without the need for invasive

biopsies or operations.

Their vision is an annual test

designed to catch cancer

early and save lives.

Here's Fergus Walsh.

It is ten years since Ali was

diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

It is rare for anyone

with the disease

to survive that long.

There is no screening

programme, so tumours are

usually found too late.

A blood test would make

a big difference.

If we are able to get more people

diagnosed sooner, like me, then it's

going to make me feel a lot happier.

There are only 1% of us

who are surviving, like me,

to ten years, and it's a bit

of a lonely place.

There aren't many of us around.

And I'd really like

pancreatic cancer to

become more of a chronic disease,

rather than such an acute, deadly

disease, as it is now.

Scientists at Johns

Hopkins university in

Baltimore have made

significant progress

towards a blood test

for

cancer.

The team examined blood samples

from around 1000 cancer

patients.

They had one of eight

different common cancers.

Lung, liver, pancreas,

colon, oesophagus,

breast, stomach or ovary.

Cancer cells shed bits of DNA,

which circulate in the blood,

so the test looked for 16 gene

mutations and

eight protein bio markers.

Overall, the blood

test found 70% of the

cancers, but that success rate fell

to just 40% with small, early-stage

cancers, and this is

when you'd want tumours

detected, when there is the best

chance of a cure through surgery.

So a reliable blood test

for cancer is some way off.

But the Francis Crick

Institute in London,

which is pioneering research in this

area, believes it will come.

I am almost certain

that, in the next

five to ten years, we will see tests

like this becoming much more routine

in clinical practice,

to help us diagnose tumours earlier

and help us increase the cure rates

for

patients suffering from cancers.

The American cancer blood test costs

around £350 per patient, and each

positive result would need

further investigation,

so the burden on the NHS would need

to be weighed against

the benefits of early

treatment and lives saved.

Fergus Walsh, BBC News.

A teenager has pleaded not guilty

to trying to kill passengers

in a bomb attack on the

London Underground.

Ahmed Hassan, who's 18,

denied attempted murder and causing

an explosion at Parsons Green Tube

station in West London

last September.

30 passengers were

taken to hospital.

His trial has been set

for the 5th of March.

A judge has demanded the police

and Crown Prosecution Service

explain to him what went

wrong in a rape case

against an Oxford University

student, after it collapsed just

days before the trial.

Oliver Mears had spent two years

on bail when the CPS dropped

the case on the basis

of fresh evidence.

Surrey Police admit there were flaws

in the investigation, including not

looking at the complainant's

social media history.

A couple who are accused

of imprisoning, abusing

and torturing 12 of their children

at their home in California,

have appeared in court.

David and Louise Turpin

were arrested on Sunday after one

of their children escaped

and raised the alarm.

Police say the children

were fed very little,

allowed to shower just once a year

and chained for weeks

or months at a time.

The couple deny the

charges against them.

James Cook reports from California.

Give up that right...

David Turpin, appearing in court

to deny betraying his

own children with a bewildering

catalogue of cruelty.

His wife, Louise, also pleaded not

guilty to inflicting physical pain

and mental suffering.

It's also alleged that one

of the couple's daughters

was sexually abused by the father.

Prosecutors say the siblings endured

the abuse for years,

as their parents plumbed the depths

of human depravity.

One of the children,

aged 12, is the weight

of an average seven-year-old.

Several of the victims have

cognitive impairment and neuropathy,

nerve damage, as a result

of this extreme and

prolonged physical abuse.

The children were supposedly

schooled here in their home,

but the district attorney said

they lacked basic knowledge.

Some did not even know

what a police officer was.

They were reportedly

allowed to shower just once

a year and were beaten,

chained up and tormented.

They would buy food, including pies,

apple pies, pumpkin pies,

leave it on the counter,

let the children look at it

but not eat the food.

About the only thing

the children were allowed

to do in their rooms,

or chained up, was to

write in journals.

We now have recovered

those journals, hundreds

of them, and we are combing

through them for evidence.

The 17-year-old who raised the alarm

after climbing out of the home

through a window had been plotting

the escape for two years.

One of her sisters made it out with

her but turned back out of fear.

This case has sent waves

of revulsion across

the United States and beyond.

The authorities say the siblings

are doing well but some of them

at least have almost certainly

suffered irreparable

physical and mental damage.

The parents are due

in court again next month.

If convicted, they

face life in prison.

James Cook, BBC News,

Riverside in California.

Employees of the failed

construction giant Carillion,

who're working on projects

for Network Rail, have been told

this afternoon that their wages

will be guaranteed to at least

mid-April.

The firm, which has hundreds

of public and private contracts,

collapsed on Monday with debts

of more than a £1 billion.

Our Business Editor,

Simon Jack, joins me now.

Simon, some reassurance

for one group of employees,

but there's still great

uncertainty for others.

In the last few moments, Kier group,

one of the joint-venture partners

with Carillion on the HS2 and other

projects, have said they will take

on around 200 Carillion employees,

move them across. That is good news.

Also, Network Rail say they will

guarantee the wages from Monday, and

that is important. There has been a

flurry of activity. We have had a

task force assembled, banks have put

together a rescue funds. But this is

not the cavalry, these are

ambulances, because this is a very

serious situation. The real

casualties are the subcontractors

with outstanding invoices to

Carillion for work they have done up

until the liquidation. One Carillion

board member told me she would be

surprised if they got anything at

all. Companies directly affected

will get nothing for the money they

are owed. Even if you are not

directly affected, you might be

exposed to a company who are

exposed, so it makes its way down

the chain. The hands-on approach

this week is in contrast to what

happened before the liquidation.

Back after the massive profit

warning in July, I am told not a

single senior Cabinet minister met

with the company in the weeks and

months that followed. So there is

lots going on, but as one business

group put it today, this is all very

good but it is a sticking plaster.

At the moment, we are waiting after

this car crash of a corporate bust

for the casualty list and perhaps

the fatality list. Some people have

told me this will send them to the

wall.

Our top story this evening:

The government has decided not

to challenge the decision to release

the serial sex attacker John

Worboys.

And still to come, retail figures

show a disappointing

December on the high street.

Coming up on Sportsday on BBC News:

England beat Australia

in Brisbane to take a 2-0 lead

in their one day series,

as they look to salvage something

from their winter tour Down Under.

At first glance, it looks

like a length of pipe but it's

actually a prototype of a new mode

of transport that could

transform the way we travel.

It's called Hyperloop,

a system which sends shuttle pods

through low pressure tubes,

cutting down friction

and wind resistance.

Engineers say they could reach

speeds of 700 miles per hour.

The project is being tested

in the Nevada Desert

and our Technology Correspondent,

Rory Cellan Jones has been

to see it in action.

His report contains

flashing images.

We are heading through the Nevada

Desert, north of Las Vegas,

for a glimpse of what its backers

claim is the future of transport.

This is Hyperloop, an attempt

to send passengers hurtling at

700 mph through a vacuum tube.

Many think that's far-fetched,

but this project got the backing

last year of Virgin,

with Sir Richard Branson

becoming chairman.

In this 500-metre test track,

they say they have shown

that the technology works,

though they've not yet put any

human beings on board.

I think my background in spacecraft

engineering has given me

the skill set to be able...

The head of engineering, a space

scientist recruited from Nasa,

sees no reason why

people might be scared.

The Hyperloop is a maglev

train in a vacuum system

or in a vacuum tube.

So you can also think

of it as an aircraft

flying at 200,000 feet,

so people don't have any issue

flying in aeroplanes and people

don't have any issues

going in maglev trains.

This is simply combining the two,

and it allows you to be

more energy efficient.

This isn't the only project.

The electric car tycoon Elon Musk,

who originally floated the whole

idea, has proposed a tunnel under

Los Angeles that could carry cars

or be transformed into a Hyperloop.

The Virgin Hyperloop team has said

they could take passengers

from London to Edinburgh in 50

minutes, or cut the journey

between New York and Boston

to under half an hour.

But making this work in the real

world will mean running several

of these pipes alongside each other

over long distances,

perhaps underground,

and convincing governments that

that is realistic is going to prove,

well, pretty challenging.

At the giant CES tech show

in Las Vegas, Hyperloop's chief

executive was pushing the message

that this technology was coming

soon, and he had one

startling idea for the UK.

You could build a Hyperloop

between Gatwick and Heathrow

and move between those two airports

as if they were terminals,

and move in four minutes.

We wouldn't have to build

that third runway.

We could save billions of pounds.

It's an intriguing idea.

Now all the Virgin Hyperloop team

has to do is convince local

residents they'd like to see

a couple of these along the route

between Heathrow and Gatwick.

Rory Cellan Jones, BBC News, Nevada.

There was more gloom for the high

street today with figures showing

that the growth in retail sales

slowed last year.

It wasn't a great Christmas either

with sales down 1.5%

in December compared

with the previous month -

which was boosted by people taking

advantage of Black Friday offers.

Emma Simpson reports.

In the Carpetright sale,

it's half price on selected

carpets and beds...

It should be the busiest time

of the year for Britain's biggest

floor coverings retailer.

Trouble is, it's been anything but.

Carpetright's prices may

have been cut by half.

Unfortunately, its share price

almost did the same today

after it warned its profits

were going to tumble.

Carpetright says falling consumer

confidence is behind what it

describes as a sharp

deterioration in trading.

In other words, shoppers

are holding back from buying

these big-ticket items.

There wasn't much to cheer

about for Bonmarche either.

Sales in its clothing shops

were down by nearly 10%,

compared with the previous year,

causing its share

price to plummet, too.

We are still spending

on the high street,

and increasingly online,

but judging by these

shoppers in Skipton,

we are also being careful.

We're looking out for the bargains

and the offers rather than the

full-priced clothes over winter.

If I need something, I get it.

If I don't, I don't buy it,

no matter how cheap it is,

because if I don't need it,

what's the point?

So what's been going on?

December is an absolutely critical

month for retailers.

In truth, Christmas has been

pretty disappointing,

but probably not that surprising.

Inflation hit a five-year high

in the run-up to Christmas,

and this really put people's

personal finances

under a lot of strain.

The other really significant

impact is Black Friday.

When online orders and parcels

are on the move, this shopping

extravaganza has changed the pattern

of Christmas spending.

We are doing more of it in November.

But, over the whole Christmas

quarter, growth slowed.

Question is, will this year be

as challenging as the last?

Emma Simpson, BBC News.

The Prime Minister of

New Zealand Jacinda Ardern has

announced that she is pregnant.

Ms Ardern said she and her partner,

Clarke Gayford, were expecting

their child in June,

after which she planned

to take a six-week break.

Ms Ardern is now set to be

the second elected world leader

to give birth while in office -

and the first to do

so in almost 30 years.

I'm not the first woman

to work and have a baby.

I know these are special

circumstances but there'll

be many women who will have done

this well before I have.

I acknowledge those women.

I'm about to sympathise

with them a lot as I

sympathise with all women who've

suffered morning sickness.

Two former US Olympic gymnasts have

testified today in the case

involving former Team USA doctor

Larry Nassar.

The pair, who won gold at London

2012, are among more than 100 women

to have accused Nassar

of sexual abuse.

He's already facing 60 years

in prison after pleading guilty

to child pornography charges.

Our correspondent Rajini Vaidynathan

has sent this report from Michigan,

where she's speaking

to one of his victims.

Described as a monster in court.

For two decades, Larry Nassar

was a widely-respected

doctor to young gymnasts.

But, behind closed doors,

he was abusing them.

His victims ranged from

Olympians to family friends

and state-level gymnasts.

He's going to stay in jail

for the rest of his life.

We, on the other hand,

are going to move forward.

We are going to live our best lives,

because we are fighters

and we are strong, and we overcome

impossible odds, because that's

what we were trained to do.

Gwen Anderson was a champion

athlete who competed

for her home state of Michigan.

Seen here at the age of 14,

it was during this time

that she sought treatment

from Larry Nassar.

Instead, he molested her,

time and time again.

To have your name and your face

and your story out for everybody

to see is a scary thing.

How did it feel to look him

in the eyes and tell

him what you felt?

It was really hard.

I didn't know he was

going to be that close.

It doesn't seem like he's that

close, and then you stand

there and he's five feet

away from you.

As a teacher, I have my kids,

their strength and encouragement,

their rock, their safe place,

their go-to, their protector,

and that's how I felt with him -

that he was my safe place.

He was going to protect me.

He was going to make sure I didn't

hurt, and he took that and used

that against all of us.

For so many, this was a man

they trusted implicitly.

For the record, go to hell.

Tom Brennan was Gwen's coach

and once a close friend of Nassar's.

When I graduated from grad school,

he was an adviser of mine.

He's been a mentor of mine.

I've done clinics with him

for years in the past.

And I've probably sent well over 100

kids to him over the years.

So the guilt I feel

for that is hard to fathom.

Did you have any idea

of what he was doing?

None.

I had zero idea.

We had the utmost trust

for that man, and that's

where we all went wrong.

All this week, young women have

packed this small courtroom,

as they get to do what few survivors

of sexual abuse ever

have the chance to, directly

confront their attacker.

There's been a real sense

of collective empowerment here.

Already, more than 80 women have

shared their testimonies in this

case, and every day more

are coming forward,

saying they want to share

their stories, too.

This hearing won't end until every

one of those voices is heard.

Rajini Vaidynathan, BBC

News, Lansing, Michigan.

From Hollyoaks to Hollywood.

That could become a reality

for two former stars

of the Channel 4 soap opera.

Next week Rachel Shenton

and Chris Overton find out

if their 20-minute drama,

The Silent Child, has been

nominated at the Oscars.

Actress Rachel Shenton wrote

the film to highlight how sign

language can change lives and cast

Maisie Sly, a profoundly deaf

six-year-old girl, in the lead role.

Our Entertainment Correspondent

Colin Paterson has

been to meet them.

Yeah, I mean this story

is incredibly close to my heart.

I want her to speak...

The Silent Child tells the story

of a deaf girl struggling

to communicate.

I think she'll be able to

have a career in whatever she likes.

Rachel Shenton, who used to be

in Hollyoaks, wrote and stars in

the short film inspired

by her own family's experience.

She is a qualified sign

language interpreter.

My dad lost his hearing

when I was younger, and he actually

lived the last two years

of his life profoundly deaf.

And I saw then just how hard

that was on a family, and I

started to learn sign language.

started to learn sign language.

She made the film

to draw attention to

the fact that more than three

quarters of deaf children in the UK

attend mainstream school

without any specialist help.

Deafness isn't

a learning difficulty.

With the right support a deaf

child can do exactly

the same as a hearing child.

That was the big message.

ALL:

Mouse wanted to find out!

The star of the film, Maisie Sly,

is six and profoundly deaf.

Her family moved from Plymouth

to Swindon especially so she could

attend a mainstream school,

which does offer support.

She'd never acted before.

INTERPRETER:

I wanted to show

hearing people that deaf

children can do anything.

How was it making the film?

INTERPRETER:

It was hard work

because I have to sometimes film

things again and again and again.

I used the sign to start

but I would say, "Action."

But things were made a lot easier

by the director Chris

Overton, who also used

to be in Hollyoaks.

He learned sign language especially

so he could communicate

with his star.

I learned all of the lines

and as much basic sign

language as I could.

Because we wouldn't have a film

if I couldn't tell her what to do.

Now it's the wait

for the nominations.

I get the feeling Maisie

is less nervous about next

Tuesday than you and Chris.

I think that's fairly accurate.

Is that true?

INTERPRETER:

She says that I think

we're going to go to

the Oscars.

LAUGHTER

Colin Paterson, BBC News, Swindon.

Time for a look at the weather -

here's Sarah Keith Lucas.

She is taking it all in her stride.

We have had more snow showers today.

This is the view in Glasgow after

just half an hour of heavy snow. We

have a lot of lying snow around at

the moment and its continuing to

cause some disruption. The Met

office have issued a member whether

one today for the heavy snow and

ice, particularly affecting the

south west of Scotland but we have

also some heavy snow in the

north-west of England. The snow

showers across western Scotland,

Northern Ireland, north-west

England, will continue but they will

ease away overnight so eventually

the skies become clear and rain

works in from the south-western

night. As it bops the colder air

Wiggo season snow over the hills of

Wales, perhaps the Chilterns, and

the Cotswolds too. Further north

there will be ice and it will be a

problem through Saturday morning. On

Saturday morning, Imogen improved a

across Scotland, northern England

and Northern Ireland with a return

to sunshine and the snow showers

easing away eventually. Further

south, a cloudy day, the hill snow

will ease from southern England and

South Wales but it will feel chilly

where you are stuck under the cloud.

As we move through Saturday night we

have clear skies, quite a cold

night, in fact it could be one of

the coldest nights in the winter so

far. Then into the early hours of

Sunday, what you will notice is the

next band of rain working in from

the west. During Sunday the cold air

is going to be met by this area of

rain which will quickly turn to

snow, particularly across Scotland

and northern England. Further south

it will probably fall as rain as we

have milder air sweeping in,

temperatures back into double

figures towards the south-west,

still quite chilly in the north and

east. If you have plans to travel

during Sunday, particularly across

Scotland and northern England, watch

out for potential disruption with

some snow and ice. Things will turn

milder as we move into next week.

Thank you.

That's all from the BBC News at Six,

so it's goodbye from me -