31/01/2018 BBC News at Six

Theresa May wins new trade deals

in China, but is forced to defend

herself from attacks

on her leadership back home.

At the start of her three-day visit,

she insists she is not a quitter

and still has work do back

in the UK.

I think there are many people

in the UK who want to ensure

that they and their families can

achieve the British dream,

of ensuring that each generation has

a better future than the past.

We'll be looking at the pressure

the prime minister is under to

deliver abroad as well as back home.

Also tonight...

The woman freed having

given birth in prison -

police and prosecutors

are criticised after vital evidence

wasn't shown in court.

After Carillion, now another

outsourcing company, Capita,

issues a profits warning

and its shares fall by 40%.

The BBC's former China editor tells

MPs the BBC needs to start telling

the truth about how it pays some

of it women staff unequally.

A public inquiry into the deaths

of five children in Northern Ireland

criticises doctors for

covering up failures.

And the world sees

a super blue blood moon -

there hasn't been one for 150 years.

And coming up on a special transfer

deadline day Sportsday on BBC News -

Arsenal get their man,

as Gabon striker

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

signs on the dotted line.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

The prime minister,

on her visit to China,

has forecast a golden era in trade

relations - while being dogged

by rows over Brexit

and personal attacks back home.

Theresa May says she has won

assurance that Beijing will further

open up its markets to the UK,

but has also been forced to insist

that she's not a quitter,

following days of criticism

of her leadership

from her own party.

Our political editor,

Laura Kuenssberg, is travelling

with the prime minister.

Even the most carefully-planned

entrance can go a touch awry.

A bit of pushing and shoving -

not the political kind this time.

Asia's red carpets, though,

hardly provide a rest -

Theresa May is here to do business.

But the Tories are trading

in her future at home.

She, envious perhaps of that kind

of discipline, is trying,

well, as she might say,

to get on with the job.

Although I may be visiting

in winter, I have had

the warmest of welcomes,

for which I am very grateful.

But to get things done,

leaders have to be able to lead.

The Prime Minister says

she will fight on, but concedes

something has to shift.

Prime Minister, on the journey

here you acknowledged that

you and your government have to do

more to be convincing -

what is it that you plan to do

differently, and will you stand up

to your critics?

I think that there are many people

in the United Kingdom who want to

ensure that they and their families

can achieve the British dream,

of ensuring that each generation has

a better future than the past.

And yes, we do need to do more,

and we do need to ensure

that we are talking

about what we have already achieved.

But her Chinese counterpart

provided cheer...

Dangling the prospect of a future

trade deal after Brexit,

with the start of formal

conversations to scope it out.

She isn't a natural fan

of Chinese opera, perhaps,

or the diplomatic schmooze.

There were some

tricky moments today.

Conversations turned to human

rights, North Korea and the brute

force of China's steel industry.

But these very excited students

could be joined by many others.

Deals for universities,

exchange programmes

and others were announced.

Have a nice day in China.

Thank you.

Well done to you!

Nice to see you!

Thank you, hello!

And this group used their hi-tech

skills to make a model of No 10,

helpfully pointing out it had

an emergency button, if ever

there was a need for a swift escape.

And there is an emergency button.

It even has an emergency...

Look there!

Very good!

The Prime Minister made very

deliberate stops here, though.

One to the banks of the Yangtze

river to share her party's new-found

focus on all things green.

And she hopes by the end of the week

to have guaranteed British beef

is on its way back to China's table

after 20 years.

And there will have been handshakes

on at least £9 billion of deals.

China and Britain, not

best friends perhaps,

but serious colleagues.

This place reeks of power -

a commodity Theresa May has

been grappling to hold

onto in recent days.

It's clear the Prime Minister

is in no mood to quit.

But she does seem to acknowledge

she has to up her game at home

and abroad to be sure of staying on.

The historic bling,

the flags, the ceremony -

delicately choreographed

but easily dismantled.

The Prime Minister travels

with the trappings of office,

but she's vulnerable -

not accompanied by reliable,

long-term support from her own side.

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News, Beijing.

The Government has agreed to release

leaked documents which suggest that

leaving the European Union

would result in slower

economic growth.

Ministers had previously refused

to disclose the findings, insisting

that the research was incomplete.

But they've now made

a U-turn following pressure

from the Labour Party.

A judge has strongly

criticised the police

and the Crown Prosecution Service

for "wholesale failures"

after a human trafficking trial

collapsed last week when material

from mobile phones

that was disclosed late

cast doubt on the case.

Until its collapse, one

of the accused had been locked up

on remand for over a year and even

gave birth in prison.

The case is to be referred to

the Director of Public Prosecutions.

It comes in the wake of a number

of rape cases that were abandoned

due to disclosure issues.

Clive Coleman reports.

I was scared, I was in shock...

Cristina Bosoanca's story shows the

devastating effect that failure to

disclose evidence can have. After 13

tough months in prison she can

finally relax with the son she bore

there.

It was

there.

It was difficult when I saw

them going to the visits of...

The

prosecution case was based on the

evidence of a woman who claimed

Cristina Bosoanca trafficked her

into the country to work as a

prostitute. She also alleged she was

raped by a client and became

pregnant as a result of. Christina's

lawyers repeatedly told the police

that there were phoned visages which

undermined the woman's story.

At the

beginning, I asked for the phone, I

asked for the pictures, I asked for

everything. But they were like, they

don't care.

It was only on the

second day of the trial that 65,000

phone messages were disclosed to

Cristina Bosoanca's team. They

fundamentally undermined the woman's

account and medical evidence also

proved the woman was pregnant before

coming to the UK. The case collapsed

on Friday, the judge demanding

police and prosecutors should come

to court today to explain. In court

the judge said there had been a

wholesale failure of disclosure, and

serious and repeated errors

serious and repeated errors by both

the police and the Crown Prosecution

Service. The senior crown it

apologised and said a full review

was taking place and a report would

been sent to the Director of Public

Prosecutions.

This is not an

isolated case and whatever the

findings are in this case they are

symptomatic of a problem that has

been developing over the last 6-8

years. Government brought in a

series of cuts which have resulted

in underfunding and under resourcing

of the Metropolitan Police, the CPS,

the criminal justice system as a

whole.

What do you think of British

justice, having been through the

process that you've been through?

I

really don't know. I don't want to

say something rude. If they think

someone needs to be punished for

something, they need to be sure.

Cristina Bosoanca's experience shows

disclosure failures go beyond recent

highly publicised rape cases and

there are likely to be more

examples, each one affecting the

lives of those charged, and their

families.

Shares in the outsourcing company

Capita have fallen by more than 40%

after it warned that profits

for the coming year will be much

lower than previously forecast.

It comes just over two weeks

after the collapse of Carillion,

another major outsourcing company.

Our business editor,

Simon Jack, is here -

are we looking at

another Carillion here?

There are some similarities in, but

there are some really important

differences. Big outsourcing

company, lots of public service

contracts, also issuing a massive

profit warning today, so everybody

is super nervous after Carillion and

we saw the shares react today. They

also got nervous in the markets

because they said they were going to

cancel their dividend to try and

preserve cash, and they were going

to try to raise £700 million in new

equity money. But some people will

say this company is doing precisely

what Carillion should have done a

couple of years ago, try to bolster

its finances and restructure. And

both of those things would have made

the share price fall anyway but now

doing it while they've still got £1

billion in the bank, so people are

saying this is not another

Carillion, and the government

certainly does not think it is.

Having said that given the flak the

government got forgiving contracts

to Carillion after it issued a

profit warning, what will happen

with Capita?

The man accused of crashing a van

into Muslim worshippers outside

a mosque in north London has said

the driver was not caught on CCTV

because he is an illusionist.

Darren Osborne, who is 48,

denies murder and attempted murder,

saying a man called

Dave was driving.

He told Woolwich Crown Court

he could not explain why

that man was never seen,

arguing that perhaps

he could make himself vanish.

The BBC's former China editor

Carrie Gracie has accused

the BBC of acting illegally

by paying its women staff unequally

and says the BBC must start

telling the truth about it.

She was giving evidence to MPs

following the row at

the corporation about unequal pay.

The BBC admitted it had

"inadvertently" underpaid her

for years, and insists

that it is committed to equal pay

for all its women employees.

Vicky Young reports.

BBC News, making the news, with a

row about the payoff some of its

best-known stars. Carrie Gracie has

accused BBC bosses of unfairness and

inequality - they insist there is no

evidence of gender bias. But female

journalists have gone public with

their complaints. Today, someone

turned up at the Commons to support

Carrie Gracie. She says she was

promised equal pay when she accepted

the post of China editor.

We knew

there was inequality, we didn't know

the details, because the BBC is

extremely secretive on page, but we

knew we were underpaid, and I was

determined at this point, I knew I

would give the China job every last

ounce of my stamina and I knew I

could do that job at least as well

as any man.

She described her shock

at discovering that two male

international editors were being

paid at least 50% more than her. She

said the BBC was now offering

backpay of around £100,000.

I don't

want that money, that's not what

it's about for me. I feel my salary

is a good salary, it is public, that

is not what it is about, they're

still not giving me a quality.

As

part of a grievance procedure, she

said the BBC explain her lower paid.

They basically said that in those

three previous years, I was in

development.

And she spoke of the

strain of being in conflict with her

employer.

The obfuscation, the

belittling of your work, that's what

has to happen, if they're not going

to concede, they're going to have to

crush your self-esteem about your

work.

Then it was the turn of the

BBC's top management team to explain

their decisions - first, did they

want to apologise?

I am sorry it

went to agreements and I said from

the beginning I would very much like

to resolve the case of Carrie

Gracie, and I sorry this has taken

so long and I am sorry we are in

this position, yes.

Lord Hall

insisted he valued Carrie Gracie's

work equally to that of her male

peers, but...

The idea that every

single editor should be paid exactly

the same I don't agree with. It

should not be a matter of gender, I

completely agree. You have balances

between different editors, and it is

a pecking order as it were.

The BBC

has promised greater transparency

and admits that in the past pay has

not been consistent. As a large,

publicly funded organisation, staff

and managers agree, the corporation

has to set an example when it comes

to equal pay. That means winning

back the trust of staff and

resolving past grievances.

Our top story this evening:

Theresa May wins new trade deals

in China but insists she's no

quitter as she's forced to defend

herself from attacks

on her leadership back home.

And still to come... I am in the

darkness of the university of

Hertfordshire's Observatory to

witness a very special lunar event.

Coming up in a special

Transfer Deadline Day Sportsday

on BBC News: Who's gone where,

who's stayed put and who'll make

a last minute deadline day

dash as the clock ticks

on the January transfer window.

The head of Europol fears the UK's

departure from it after Brexit

will see a loss of valuable British

influence in the fight

against cross-border crime

and international terrorism.

Rob Wainwright has issued his

warning as UK negotiators prepare

to start talks with the EU on how

British law enforcement agencies

will work with their European

counterparts after Brexit.

The government says it is optimistic

an ambitious new security

treaty can be agreed.

With 14 months to go until Brexit,

our Mark Easton takes a closer

look at the potential

impact on security.

After the Manchester Arena bombing

last year hundreds of messages

were sent to Europol HQ

in The Hague.

Britain's liaison team

there contacted counterparts

across Europe, trawling EU

databases, tracking

possible accomplices.

As a trusted Europol

member the information

was available immediately.

For almost nine years Europol has

been headed by a Brit,

but he leaves in a few weeks,

warning that a Brexit Europol

will be less concerned about UK's

security priorities.

There will be a loss of British

influence and I think

it's a shame for the UK.

I think it's actually a shame

for our European partners as well.

We will find other ways

of influencing it perhaps

in more informal ways,

but they will be less

direct, less pronounced

and probably less successful

than they are now of course.

Officers at the UK's

National Crime Agency are accessing

Europol databases every day and fear

moving from member status now

to what is called operational status

will make it harder to keep

British citizens safe.

At the minute we have got

a really good relationship

with our EU partners,

everyone works on the same

platforms, everyone

works to the same rules.

Any lessening of the relationship

which would effect operational

impact and responsiveness

and our ability to protect

the public is concerning.

Operation Captura has tracked down

dozens of British criminal fugitives

on the continent and brought

them to justice.

It has relied on access to EU

QuickTime information

and the European arrest warrant.

The government says such

operations should be no less

effective after Brexit.

We can make this simple by simply

saying let's go straight

to the security treaty that allows

us to preserve these capabilities

because we value them,

because they work, and a large part

of why they work is because of

the British contribution.

In leaving the EU, Britain will give

up its place in the Europol

boardroom where representatives

from EU states discuss how

to protect their citizens

from the growing threats

of cross-border crime

and international terrorism.

We don't just lose our seat in

Europol, deciding on the priorities

of this organisation.

The union flag will be removed

from boardroom tables at a whole

range of EU bodies which decide

on the data rules and the protocols

which must be met to be involved

in intelligence sharing.

UK law enforcement officers are able

to exchange information...

The government, however,

is optimistic that it is in

everyone's interest to agree a deal

that preserve the status quo.

everyone's interest to agree a deal

that preserveS the status quo.

I don't necessarily accept that

assumption that we will not be able

to influence the rules,

we influence rules at the moment.

We are going into this negotiation

saying what we have got works,

and part of why it works

is because of the British influence

and our contribution.

The shared threat from terrorism

and cross-border crime means

it is likely a key player

like the UK will be able

to negotiate some sort of special

deal with the EU after Brexit,

but it will be hard for British law

enforcement officials

to maintain their agility

and their influence.

President Trump has used his first

State of the Union address to call

on Republicans and Democrats to work

together to rebuild American

industries and to fix

the country's immigration system.

He said he had advanced his mission

to "make America great again"

with a booming stock market,

record tax cuts and a

fall in unemployment.

But Democrats say he has left

the nation fractured.

A prisoner has been stabbed to death

at Wormwood Scrubs in west London.

Officers were called to reports that

the mail had stab injuries just

after three o'clock this afternoon.

Police are waiting for a formal

identification. No arrests have yet

been made.

No arrests have yet been made.

A public inquiry into the deaths

of five children at hospitals

in Northern Ireland between 1996

and 2003 has found that four

of them were avoidable.

The inquiry was set up 14 years ago

to examine whether fatal errors

were made in the giving

of intravenous fluids.

Today its chair was scathing

about how doctors covered

up their failures and how apologies

had to be dragged out

of the health authorities.

Chris Page reports.

Claire Roberts was nine

when she died 22 years ago.

Her family were told

at the time her death

was caused by a virus.

Since then Claire's parents,

Jennifer and Alan, have been trying

to find out what really happened.

The grief is still overwhelming.

Even standing at the sink looking

out at the back garden

come summertime you can

still see her on her

slide and her swing.

She was at school on the Monday

and we essentially had lost Claire

by the Tuesday evening,

the early hours

of Wednesday morning.

So they have robbed

me of everything.

The public enquiry heard Claire

was given a fatal overdose

of drugs and fluids.

She is one of five children whose

deaths were investigated.

The oldest was Conor Mitchell

who was 15, Raychel Ferguson

was nine, Adam Strain died aged four

and the youngest was

Lucy Crawford who was 17 months.

Today the inquiry chairman made

devastating criticisms that doctors

and their managers had been

negligent and dishonest.

It is time that the medical

profession and health

service managers stopped

putting their own reputations

and interests first and put

the public interest first.

And this was what he said

about the death of Claire Roberts.

In effect there was a cover-up

by the consultant who Mr

and Mrs Roberts spoke to on the 23rd

of October 1996 when she died.

Her family are now hoping people

will be held to account

as a result of the inquiry.

It has identified a cover-up

and deceit, so far us

really this is the start.

The 14-year long enquiry has been

held up by a police investigation

and by legal delays.

The final report runs

to three volumes.

The health authorities

have apologised for

the failings revealed in it.

There were elements and statements

in that report that

made me feel ashamed.

After a distressing campaign

the relatives of these children feel

they finally have answers.

Chris Page, BBC News, Belfast.

So-called walk-on "grid girls"

are no longer to be used

at Formula One races

starting this coming season.

The sport's organisers say

the practice is no longer in tune

with their vision of the sport.

The move mirrors a similar

decision by the Professional

Darts Corporation.

Football now, the January

transfer window closes

in England at 11pm tonight.

Spending has been record breaking.

The most expensive signing so far

today is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

who is moving from Borussia Dortmund

to Arsenal for £56 million.

The club described him

as "one of the world's most

highly-rated strikers".

Now, if you're ever stuck

for words think about this -

a killer whale has been

taught to speak.

The captive Orca at a French marine

theme park mimics human speech

through her blowhole.

Here's Wikie doing her thing.

Hello!

WHALE SQUEAKS.

Hello!

WHALE SQUEAKS ALMOST LIKE HELLO.

One, two.

WHALE SQUEAKS: on, ooh.

One, two.

WHALE SQUEAKS TWO DIFFERENT SOUNDS.

Now, you'll have heard

of supermoons and eclipses,

but tonight an even more rare lunar

event is taking place across the UK.

it's called a "super blue moon".

It's when there's a second full moon

in the same month and when the moon

is closest to Earth in orbit,

making it look much

brighter and bigger.

And that has co-incided with a lunar

eclipse taking place across other

parts of the world turning the moon

a deep reddish

colour and that's being called

a "super blue blood moon".

Our science correspondent

Victoria Gill is at Bayfordbury

Observatory in Hertfordshire,

hoping for a good view of what's

taking place across UK skies.

I can see it there behind you.

You

can indeed and it is so bright and

beautiful, about 7% brighter than

the average moon. We get a really

clear view of it here tonight. The

International Space Station has just

gone over my head, so we have got a

celestial treat going on around us.

But in the rest of the world in the

other half of the planet they have

already had the night-time view of

this triple lunar show and we have

been looking at spectacular

pictures.

pictures.

Earth's most familiar satellite

is putting on a very special show.

This rare triple lunar event

that some are calling

the super blue blood Moon.

What is it that is giving us

this triple lunar show?

There are three things that

are happening at once.

One is that the moon

is in an elliptical orbit around

the earth, so sometimes it is closer

than at other times

and looks larger.

That has come to be

known as a super moon.

Another is that it is also a lunar

eclipse, so that is when the moon

passes into the shadow of the Earth.

The third thing is it is a blue moon

and that is a term that has come

to mean two full moons

in the same calendar month.

Across Australia, Asia and parts

of the US the Eclipse Moon glowed

red as sunlight filtered

through Earth's atmosphere.

Right now, on this side

of the world, UK skies

are being lit by a moon

that is about 10% bigger

and glowing 15% more brightly.

At moonrise when it was closest to

the horizon Londoners were treated

were treated to a spectacular view.

Sites like this depend on the

weather, but now there is a renewed

focus on returning astronauts to the

Moon. This year, India and China

will send their own robotic

landowners. Those back on Earth will

have to be satisfied with a

particularly good view.

What will the skies be like tonight?

What will the skies be like tonight?

Some of us will get a glimpse of the

moon, but there are some showers

around today. In Scotland it has

been cold and the radar is picking

up on the mixture of rain and snow

working in across Scotland and

Northern Ireland. Overnight that

wintry mix will continue to work its

way southwards and eastwards. You

could see snow even across East

Anglia and south-east England. The

main issue is the roads will turn

cold, even freezing with a risk of

icy stretches. Thursday will be a

cold day and we will have brisk,

North, north-westerly winds, making

it feel chilly and dragging in

plenty of showers. Those showers

will have a wintry flavour. Further

accumulation of snow on the hills in

Scotland. In eastern parts of

England and eastern Scotland this is

where the driest parts of the date

will be. As we end the week the area

of low pressure drifts away to the

continent. We see this ridge of high

pressure just building in and that

means it will be cold and frosty on

Friday, but most of us will see

sunshine and there will be a few

showers on the east coast of

Scotland. Heading into the weekend

it is a bit of a headache with this.

A little sliver of mild air is mixed

in with these Atlantic France. What

we will probably see is a spell of

cold rain, but if that front brings

us heavy precipitation and the front

moves slower or the atmosphere cools

down quicker than expected, we could

be looking at some snow as we head

into Saturday. Stay in touch with

the forecast if you have got to

travel plans.

travel plans.

A reminder of our main story:

Theresa May wins new trade deals

in China but insists she's no

quitter as she's forced to defend

herself from attacks

on her leadership back home.

That's all from the BBC News at Six,

so it's goodbye from me