25/01/2018 BBC News at Six

A sharp rise in serious violent

crime and sex offences,

as the number of incidents recorded

by police in England

and Wales last year soars.

More than 37,000 knife

crimes were recorded -

a rise of more than 20%.

The mother of one victim says the

government needs to do more.

They are standing up

and doing their token gesture.

And it isn't working.

How many young people have to die

for them to admit that

what we are doing is not correct?

We'll be examining

the figures in reality.

Also tonight...

A rift?

What rift?

President Trump tells Theresa May

he loves Britain and expects

a tremendous increase in trade

between America and the UK.

We have great respect

for everything you're doing.

We love your country.

We think it's really great.

More than 4,500 people sleeping

rough on the streets of England -

the highest level since

current records began.

Cutting down on plastic -

plans for a new network of shops,

businesses and water fountains

where the public can

refill their bottles.

And a standing ovation

for Baroness Tessa Jowell,

after an emotional speech

in the Lords about

dealing with cancer.

And coming up on Sportsday

on BBC News...

The woman who presided over

Phil Neville's appointment

as England women's manager,

defends the move amid criticism

of the FA's recruitment process.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

There's been a sharp rise

in the number of serious violent

crimes and sex offences recorded

by police in England and Wales.

And official figures show cases

of murder and manslaughter

are at their highest

level in almost a decade.

A separate survey based on people's

experiences suggests that overall

crime is continuing to fall.

Tom Symonds has this report.

Behind the statistics, wasted lives.

A decade after This Boy first tried

out the bike he had been given as a

present, he became one of the four

young men stabbed to death in London

on New Year's Eve, leaving his

father confronting a nightmare. You

saw his body?

Yes.

What is it like

for a father to see his son dead in

front of him?

I was crying.

front of him?

I was crying.

He tells

us in his native Portuguese he has

no idea why it happened, what might

have been going on in his son's

life.

TRANSLATION:

My advice brother

parents would be to talk more to

your kids, try to find out, even if

you think they have secrets away

from home.

The figures set out the

rise in violent crime recorded by

police. Knife crime went up by 21%.

Gun crime up by 20%. Manslaughter

and murder went up by 10%. Now the

official survey of crime shows that

the number of people who say they

have been a victim is falling

steadily. But police records are

seen and is an accurate measure of

serious violent crime. And despite

schemes like this were knives coming

handed in, it is rising steadily.

He

said he didn't mean to kill him,

that was not his intention. He just

wanted to wear Tim up, cut him and

take photos.

Alison Cope is talking

about the murder of her own son. Her

audience, students at Coventry

College.

College. Josh was a grime artist. A

single slash of a knife took his

life in 2013.

His eyes flicker, they

close, hits the floor.

It is a tough

listen. Alison tells them, these are

the consequences, but carrying a

knife is your choice. She believes

telling them not to doesn't work.

She says that is how the current

policy of the God month comes

across.

They are standing up and

doing their token gesture and it

isn't working. How many young people

have to die for them to admit that

what we are doing is not correct?

Government policy recently has

centred on enforcement, tough rules

on knives, tough policing. Tough

sentences. But today, ministers

appeared to signal a change towards

Alison's way.

We have to get to the

root causes and work as a society,

government police and civil society,

to try and get to the root of this

cultural issue, try and steer young

people away from violence.

But

serious proposals for work with

young people are not going to come

cheap. And by the way, police

numbers are now at their lowest

level for two decades.

Tom Symonds, BBC News.

Joining me is our Home

Editor, Mark Easton.

Two separate sets of crime figures -

put them in context for us.

One says serious violent crime is

up, the other that it is down. It is

confusing. What is the reality?

My

interpretation is that broadly this

is very good news but with a real

note of caution. Good news because

by the best measure we have, the

chances of someone being a victim of

crime is at its lowest level in

England and Wales since records

began. The number of victims, 10%

down year-on-year, and 60% down

since the number we had in the

mid-90s. That is encouraging. That

comes from what people actually say

to pollsters about their experience

of crime. Not what is recorded by

police. The note of caution, violent

crime recorded by police. These

categories which the police are

recording in larger numbers. Given

the serious nature of them, we are

probably seeing something real. Your

chances of being a victim, even of

those crimes, even homicide, are

lower than they were ten years ago.

But are we seeing them start to take

up? They are relatively rare events.

But the stress and harm these issues

cause is huge. That is why the

politicians and police want to

reduce them.

Mark Easton, thank you.

It was a much anticipated meeting -

the first time Theresa May

and President Trump had seen each

other since an online spat over

tweets from the far right

group Britain First.

That was followed swiftly

by the president cancelling

a visit to London to open

the new US embassy.

But today, in the Swiss resort

of Davos, the pair insisted

the special relationship

was as strong as ever.

The president told Mrs May

that he loved her country,

and expected to see

a "tremendous increase" in

trade between the UK and the US.

From Davos, here's Kamal Ahmed.

He arrived at lunchtime, a blizzard

of rotor blades and hotspot. The

president was here. And the world

Economic Forum better sit up and

take notice. He said he was here to

spread peace and prosperity.

Very

excited to be here. The United

States is doing very well.

There was

one leader Donald Trump said he

would be delighted to meet.

The Prime Minister and myself

have a really great relationship,

although some people don't

necessarily believe that.

But I can tell you I have tremendous

respect for the Prime Minister

and the job she's doing.

I think the feeling

is mutual from the point

of liking each other a lot.

The PM, not quite as loud a presence

in Davos today, said she agreed.

We've had a great discussion today

and we continue to have that really

special relationship between the UK

and the United States.

Standing shoulder to shoulder

because we are facing the same

challenges across the world

and as you say, we are working

together to defeat those

challenges and beat them.

And alongside that, working

for a trade relationship

in the future, which will be

to both our benefits.

Theresa May has faced some rocky

moments with the man

in the White House, but this wasn't

a moment to remember

those critical tweets about terror

or cancelled official visits.

He walked through here

like a rock star.

The first US president to visit

the World Economic Forum

since Bill Clinton in the year 2000.

The big and difficult

question for Theresa May

is this: Politically,

economically, how close does

she want to get to this most

controversial of big beasts?

There is a contrast in style,

certainly, but the UK needs America,

especially as Britain plots its exit

from the European Union.

We are not all on the same page.

America has a strong relationship

with the United Kingdom over time

and Theresa May can't afford

to sever that by injecting too much.

-- objecting to much.

One of the world's leading bankers

explained via Trump was a hit.

The alternative to Trump would have

been more regulation, higher taxes.

Instead we have lower taxes

and less regulation.

That is stimulative to the market,

there is a lot of collateral affects

and people will debate that

so I haven't thrown in all necessary

is a good thing, not a bad thing.

Theresa May left Davos tonight,

back to the UK and domestic matters.

Tomorrow, the President's

big speech on America,

trade and putting the US first.

Kamal Ahmed, BBC News, Davos.

In a moment we'll speak

to Laura Kuennsberg in Westminster.

But first, our North America Editor

Jon Sopel, is in Davos.

So all friends again?

Yeah. A huge rapprochement has taken

place. Donald Trump was saying,

troubles in our relationship, almost

fake news. It is a false rumour. He

has tweeted it was a positive

relationship he had with Theresa

May. Downing Street saying the PM

and President concluded by asking

officials to work together on

finalising the details of a visit by

the President to the UK later this

year. A visit, no mention of it

being a state visit. On the British

side they thought they had a visit

Lochinver February, when Donald

Trump was going to open the new US

embassy. -- locked in for a

feathery. Then he announced he would

be coming. The British will not be

taking anything for granted. Britain

needs America if there is going to

be a trade deal post Brexit. There

were positive words not just from

Theresa May and Donald Trump, but

from the US Treasury Secretary. That

is all good. Atmospherics help a

great deal. The mood helps a great

deal. But the details of trade

negotiations are immensely

complicated and ultimately it's an

arm wrestle. And who needs that a

trade deal more? Britain or the

United States?

Meanwhile, Laura -

Brexit causing the Prime Minister

more headaches in Davos?

That is right. During all that

hobnobbing, Theresa May's party

seemed to be doing its best to drag

her back to their own divisions of

Brexit. The Chancellor, Philip

Hammond, onstage in Davos said that

ultimately he told the two

economies, the EU and the UK would

only be very modestly a part --

apart. That comment about staying

really close to the rest of the

continent after Brexit, that

horrifies many people on the Tory

backbenchers, including one leading

Brexiteer, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who in

his speech tonight, will accuse

ministers of being cowed by the EU.

He will say they are just managing

to time. And calling for the

government to change its toll on

Brexit fundamentally. This may sound

like a war of words. But this goes

right to the heart of Theresa May's

struggled to stick its party

together over its biggest project,

how and when, exactly how, we leave

the European Union. Now broadly, the

majority of MPs, and certainly the

majority of ministers, think she is

the only person, although it seems

grim, who is actually able to do

this. But in Westminster in the last

couple of weeks, the Tory party has

turned pretty sour. One said to me

today they are in the mood for a

regime change. I don't think we are

about to slip into any kind of

enormous battle, but certainly

things feel very tricky for Number

10. However many smiles there were

with President Trump.

Laura Kuenssberg in Westminster and

Jon Sopel in Davos, thank you.

Health officials in England say

the outbreak of winter flu

appears to have peaked.

Although the number of people

with the flu is still rising,

the rate of the increase

is slowing down.

Rates have risen in Wales,

but fallen slightly

in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The Prime Minister says

she will continue to work to ensure

women are "accepted and respected

as equals" as the fallout

from the men-only charity dinner -

the President's Club -

continues.

An undercover reporter says women

employed as hostesses as the event

last week were groped

and sexually harassed.

Theresa May says it wasn't just

the event that worried her,

but what it said about the wider

issue in society and

attitudes to women.

Sarah Campbell.

The invitation was for a men only, a

chance to network, raise money for

charity and interact with more than

100 young women, all told to wear

short, tight dresses. This was last

week. The dinner has been an annual

event for more than 30 years. Chloe,

not her real name, was a hostess in

2014 and 2015, earning some extra

cash as she studied for her masters.

You had to sign a nondisclosure

agreement.

What was in it?

I can't

remember. We didn't have long enough

to look at it. We were given glasses

of wine. They also took away mobile

phones and they were locked away.

What was the atmosphere like?

There

were girls sat on people's labs

being fondled and groped. That was

very early on in the evening. The

fact we were hired for

entertainment, people thought that

was OK. And that kind of behaviour

was permissible.

The repercussions

for those who attended the dinner

have continued. Nadhim Zahawi, the

Minister for children and families,

was reprimanded by his party. He

said he left early because he felt

uncomfortable and has condemned what

he described as the horrific events

reported by the financial Times.

Are

you going to lose your job?

Another

attendee, a businessman, said he had

not seen any inappropriate

behaviour.

That doesn't mean things

couldn't have gone wrong. It is too

large a crowd, things could have

gone wrong and there is no

justification. If anybody felt

uncomfortable, if a young lady felt

uncomfortable, it's completely

unpardonable.

This morning at the

World Economic Forum in Switzerland,

the Prime Minister gave her reaction

to how the women were allegedly

treated.

When I read the report of

that event that took place, I was

appalled. I thought that that sort

of approach to women, that

objectification of women, was

something we were leaving behind. We

have made progress but it is clear

there is more thrust do.

The dinner

will be the last as the Presidents

Club has now closed. But the event

is being seen as further evidence of

just how far women still have to go

to be treated as equals in the world

of work. Sarah Campbell, BBC News.

Our top story this evening...

A sharp rise in the number

of serious violent crimes and sex

offences recorded by police

in England and Wales.

And still to come -

the new star of British tennis,

Kyle Edmund, bows out in straight

sets in the semi final

of the Australian Open.

Coming up on Sportsday

in BBC News...

the Manchester United manager,

Jose Mourinho, commits his future

to the club,

signing a new deal

which will run until 2020.

It's an increasingly common sight

across towns and cities in England -

people sleeping rough

on the pavement or in shop doorways.

And now the government has released

new figures which show that numbers

have increased for the

seventh year in a row.

Nearly 5,000 people were sleeping

on the streets last year.

That's 15% more than in 2016.

In fact, the latest figures

are the highest since records began.

The government says it's investing

more than a billion pounds

to address the issue.

Our Social Affairs Correspondent

Michael Buchanan has been

looking at the problem

and potential solutions.

Freezing cold, shivering, rain

battering down on you. They kick

you, punch you and shock bricks at

you while you are asleep. They think

it's fun.

This can happen to any of

us at any given time.

Rough sleepers

have long been visible in London,

but the rising numbers has made the

problem visible in many more places.

Milton Keynes is a new town dealing

with new problem. Within metres of

the station, is Tony, he is 72. He

was evicted from his flat last

February, he won't say why.

Every

time I wake up, I class it as a

bonus, it's another day I have got

to get through.

The town is

struggling to accommodate its

residents despite some of its

homeless having jobs.

I pay for my

daughter's nursery fees and right

after Christmas I've got nothing.

Isaac is an assistant project

manager with an accountancy firm. A

domestic incident left him spending

two freezing nights in a garage. He

hasn't told as employers he's

homeless.

I go through the night

sometimes rough and I have to go

through the day without showing that

this is the situation throughout the

night.

I continued my journey north,

heading for Crewe. Two years ago

there were officially no rough

sleepers in the an area.

In the last

few years my mum got cancer and died

so I lost it.

In a nearby car park,

and increasing phenomenon. People

homeless in their hometown.

Devastated. To sit there on corners,

when people walk past him know you,

you grew up with, and they look down

their nose at you.

These figures

only apply to England but Scotland

too has a problem with rough

sleeping so I'm heading to Glasgow

now to see their very different

approach to the problem.

This was

the kitchen area...

This flat has

been bought specifically for a

homeless man. The initiative is

called Housing first, the idea is to

give every rough sleeper in Glasgow

at home and support worker.

Whoever

is in this flat and goes back to

rough sleeping, we will hold this

flat for them while we engage with

them on the street.

The scheme won't

be cheap but evidence from abroad

suggests it works and is far less

expensive than doing nothing. It

must be very dangerous to be a woman

on the street.

It is, it is aye.

Very true, very true. Michael

Buchanan, BBC News. Several more

Several more more big names have

revealed that they've been

caught up in a widespread

recall of meat.

It started on Monday

when Wetherspoons pulled steaks

from its 900 pubs across the UK.

Its supplier, Russell Hume,

is being investigated

by the Food Standards Agency

for what it describes as "serious

non compliance with food

hygiene regulations".

All six of its sites have had

to suspend meat distribution.

And its customers,

which included Butlins,

Jamie's Italian restaurants,

several pub chains and Hilton

Hotels, have withdrawn

meat from the supplier.

As pressure grows on us all to cut

down on the amount of plastic

we use, new plans have been unveiled

which will give people access

to free drinking water in England.

The idea is that a new

network will be set up -

including restaurants,

shops, businesses and

new water fountains -

where you can fill up your water

bottle while out and about,

rather than buying a new one.

Jon Kay explains.

Bradford-on-Avon.

You won't go thirsty here.

In this Wiltshire market town,

22 businesses will now top

up your water bottle for free.

From the cafe...

Yeah, sure.

..To the supermarket...

Coming right up.

..To the hardware store.

Here we are, we have

a cluster of them here.

Jill runs the town scheme

and showed me how you can source

free water on your phone.

What started here in the west

of England is now going nationwide.

It makes me feel really good that

it's having an effect.

I play tennis and when I see some

of my fellow tennis mates come

in with a throwaway bottle,

I say stop doing it.

You need water, every time you come

here you need water.

How difficult it is for you to

look in your cupboard

to find a refillable one?

The scheme is now backed by hotel

and pub chains, water companies...

And this skate park

in Manchester, who have also

agreed to offer refills.

Even if it means taking

less money at the till.

We just feel like water is a major

need of everybody so,

particularly if you're doing

a sporting activity,

so to stop people having

and accessing it seems unreasonable.

Bristol.

There are already more than 200

free water points here,

but the body that represents bottled

water companies says lots of us

still want the convenience of buying

it chilled or fizzy.

We like flavour, obviously,

in this country so I think it

will be a tough choice for people.

It's hard to choose no

flavour over flavour.

Tough choice for you?

Yes.

I usually only buy them

if I've forgotten a bottle.

How much was that?

About 80p.

OK. Over there you could

have had it for free.

they didn't come from that way, I

came from the centre.

Jon Kay, BBC News, Bristol.

He's the new star of British tennis

but Kyle Edmund's brilliant run

at the Australian Open came

to an end today as he was

overpowered in the semi-finals.

He lost in straight sets

to the sixth seed Marin Cilic.

But Edmund said he'd been bitten

by the Grand Slam bug

and was determined to come

back for more.

Hywel Griffith reports

from Melbourne.

Keep cool and carry on,

under Melbourne's baking sun,

it's the only way to succeed.

And as some famous names went home

early, Britain's big,

new hope forged ahead.

Kyle Edmund's done amazing.

We've seen some of his

matches and we're rooting

for him all the way.

After years in Andy Murray's shadow,

Kyle Edmund arrived

at the Australian Open without much

expectation weighing him down.

But in the biggest game

of his life, that changed.

Some early errors and his

nerves started to show.

His serve broken twice,

he lost the first set

and showed signs of injury.

In the second, things

didn't get better.

Get the referee on,

I'm not having it.

Frustrated by a late call,

he took his anger out

on the umpire, the referee,

and eventually his opponent.

Maybe he was channelling

his inner Murray.

It worked for a while,

but he narrowly lost the second set.

And from there, Cilic powered

through, showing why he's

in the world's top ten.

A ranking Edmund can aspire to one

day, once he's over the defeat.

It's sad to lose, the run has ended.

Obviously frustration tonight

with my performance.

But, in the short term,

I'm disappointed and I

have to accept that.

Disappointing, yes. Devastating?

Hardly.

Kyle Edmund's shown here there's

a lot more to British men's tennis

than just Andy Murray.

He's not the finished article just

yet, but he should fly home happy.

There, he's bound to be

given a hero's welcome.

At his old school in Yorkshire,

they're still pretty proud.

Hywel Griffith, BBC News, Melbourne.

Baroness Tessa Jowell was given

a standing ovation in the Lords this

afternoon after delivering

an emotional speech calling

for new cancer treatments to be

available on the NHS.

Yesterday the former Labour Cabinet

minister gave her first interview

since being diagnosed with a severe

form of brain cancer last May.

I hope that this debate will give

hope to other cancer patients, like

me, so that we can live well

together with cancer.

Not just dying of it.

All of us for longer.

Thank you.

APPLAUSE.

It was a really moving speech

and a wonderful reaction

to Tessa Jowell afterwards

in the House of Lords.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Lucy Martin.

There were some beautiful blue skies

around earlier today, this photo

sent in from Ireland. Unfortunately

that wasn't the case for all of us,

some heavy and thundery showers

moving in from the west. The

brighter the colour, the heavier the

shower. As we move through this

evening and overnight, they will

continue to work eastwards. Losing a

bit of their intensity and gradually

fizzling out, some could fall as

something wintry over higher ground.

Where we have more in the way of

cloud in the south and east, not

quite as cold and still a few

outbreaks of light rain and drizzle.

As we move into tomorrow, an area of

high pressure pushes in from the

south-west and that will settle

things down and bring a northerly

breeze. So cool feel to things

tomorrow, particularly where we see

the clear skies overnight. We could

see a touch of frost to begin with.

Quickly brightening up where we see

the

the cloud to begin with so wintry

sunshine around, dry and bright

weather, and with light winds it

will not feel too bad. A maximum of

nine Celsius. On Saturday we start

to see this weather front pushing in

from the west. It won't be quite as

cold. A dry start in the south-east

but that rain moving eastwards, the

heaviest rain in the north.

Temperatures back in the double

figures thanks to the milder air.

That there continues to move in from

the south-west as we go into Sunday,

so Sunday another mild day but a

fairly cloudy on with some outbreaks

of rain in the north which could be

quite heavy, and

quite heavy, and gales and severe

gales in the far north of Scotland.

Temperatures back in the double

figures.

A reminder of our main story...

That's all from the BBC News at Six

so it's goodbye from me -