06/02/2018 BBC News at Six

The boss of the collapsed

construction giant Carillion says

he takes full responsibility

for its demise, which threatens

thousands of jobs.

MPs have been grilling former

directors about what went wrong.

Several apologised but none offered

to give up their bonuses.

I'm truly sorry for the impact.

It was the worst possible outcome.

This was a business worth fighting

for, and that's what I sought to do.

But MPs accused the former bosses

of building a giant company on sand

in a desperate dash for cash.

Also tonight:

Volatile markets -

more frantic trading on Wall Street

after yesterday's dramatic fall

sparked a global sell-off.

The IRA's Hyde Park bomb -

more than 35 years later,

the families of the men who died win

legal aid for civil

action against a suspect.

Everything I can, but nothing gets

done...

The TV star Katie Price goes

to Parliament to call for online

abuse to be made a criminal offence.

That comes after her son was

repeatedly targeted.

And 100 years after some women

won the right to vote,

we look back at their extraordinary

campaign and its legacy.

And coming up on Sportsday

on BBC News...

Chelsea will not be sacking

manager Antonio Conte,

despite mounting pressure

following back-to-back

league defeats.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

Former executives at the failed

construction and services giant

Carillion have apologised

for the company's collapse.

But they denied claims

by MPs that they were

"asleep at the wheel."

The firm - which employed

20,000 people in the UK -

went into liquidation last month.

Today the company's former directors

faced a committee of MPs

to explain what they'd known

about its financial position.

Our business editor

Simon Jack reports.

Summoned to Westminster -

Carillion's top brass. Philip Green

was chairman of the board when the

company collapsed, and he started

with an apology.

I would say I am

deeply sorry for the impact that the

collapse of the company had on

employees, pensioners, customers,

suppliers and all stakeholders.

So

what went wrong? Xhaka Khan was

finance director and said that

hundreds of millions was owed by

Middle East customers, projects or

trouble, and new business dried up.

We had contracts that continued to

drift because of Brexit uncertainty.

And that was amplified by the

general election announcement.

Here

in King's Cross, there are few signs

-- there are a few signs that

Carillion is still involved in this

project. This company suffered a

crippling profit warning in six

months later was liquidated. One

thing everyone agrees on is that the

company had far too much debt, so a

nasty -- when nasty prizes came

along, the company was in no fit

state to withstand them. Other

projects face major delays. The

Royal liver hospital was due to open

this month but may now not be ready

before the end of next year. Were

the boss is rewarded for these

failures? Former chief executive

Richard Howson was paid £1.5 million

in salary, perks and bonuses.

Do you

feel comfortable with the level

bonus you receive the year before

the company you ran collapsed?

Yes,

I do, for the attributes I owned it

for. After that bonuses deferred,

and half was paid in cash.

There

will be heated moments to come in

this postmortem, and there will be

awkward ones.

Large numbers of

people aren't going to get paid for

their contracts. Other people have

lost their jobs, and you are still

all right. All of you. Aren't you?

Simon Jack, BBC News.

It's been another volatile day

for stock markets around the world

after yesterday's big

falls in America.

The global sell-off was sparked

by concerns that interest rates

may rise in the US more

quickly than expected.

That would push up borrowing costs

for companies and consumers.

Our economics editor,

Kamal Ahmed, has the details.

The opening bell in New York today -

optimistic, as ever. It is America,

but on trading floors around the

world - Franco, Tokyo London - worry

as stock markets suffered a third

day of falls. After the calm, the

record highs, this is the.

We see

this as a correction, not a profound

change that would mean we are

entering a more difficult

environment. Nevertheless, we must

understand that we are at a juncture

in the global economy and in markets

that might imply that the way

forward is a lot more difficult and

trickier than it was.

The dramatic

falls followed a remarkable upward

run. The major American market, the

Dow Jones, and in the UK the FTSE

100, had been rising for a decade

before the sell-off began. Over the

last three days, the Dow Jones has

fallen by 7.1%, and the FTSE 100 has

fallen by 4.7%. This has been a

period of money printing. Central

banks have kept interest rates at

record lows and pumped in trillions

of pounds of economic stimulus. The

fear in the markets now is that

inflation is returning because of

strong global growth, and interest

rates will rise, and the stimulus

taps will be turned off. Events in

this city, events on Wall Street,

can seem a long way away from the

high street, but the health of the

stock market does matter. It

matters, of course, if you own

shares. It matters if you have a

pension fund, often invested in

stock markets. It matters if you

have savings, often invested in

stock markets. When the markets go

down, the negative effects can be

felt by many millions of people.

America led the rise and has been

leading the dip. That is a bit

tricky for this man.

At the stock

market has smashed one record after

another. We have here, I guess,

close to 60 records. Our stock

market has reached an all-time high

today.

Will the president have to

eat a little humble pie?

Let's

refocus and look long-term. It is

difficult to do in these situations

and these times. Let's keep a

diversified portfolio. You can't

have all your eggs in one basket.

This is not yet a market crisis. The

economic fundamentals are strong,

particularly in Trump's America. Not

many believe a full crash is

imminent, but sentiment, emotion,

drives markets as much as facts, and

that is hard to predict.

The families of four members

of the Household Cavalry who died

in the IRA Hyde Park bombing in 1982

have finally been awarded

legal aid to fund civil

action against a suspect.

66-year-old John Downey -

a convicted IRA bomber -

was charged with their murders

four years ago.

But his trial collapsed dramatically

when it emerged that he had been

given written assurance,

under a controversial scheme,

that he was no longer a wanted man.

Daniela Relph reports.

It was a terror attack from another

time - the 20th of July, 1982. An

IRA car bomb detonated near Hyde

Park. Then another device exploded

under a bandstand nearby. Amongst

those killed were four soldiers from

the Household Cavalry. Squadron

quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright,

the tenant Anthony Daly, Lance

Corporal Jeffrey Young, and Trooper

Simon tipper. He was then just 19

years old. His family, this has been

a long and continuing fight for

justice.

I will sleep easy again. My

brother can rest easy where he is

now, and that is all I ask. I don't

ask any more, I don't want nothing

from this whatsoever. All I want is

the truth.

John Downey was the prime

suspect. Convicted of IRA membership

in the 1970s, he was charged with

the bombing in 2014. He always

denied any involvement, but his case

collapsed. As part of the Good

Friday Agreement, John Downey had

been sent an on the run letter,

giving an assurance that he would

not face trial. The scheme was

heavily criticised. Tony Blair,

whose Government implemented on the

run letters, fiercely defended them.

Without having done that, we would

not have a Northern Ireland peace

process in place today.

Being able

to pay for a civil action is a major

breakthrough for the families of

those who lost their lives here.

There is a long legal road ahead,

but now, they have hope. Seven

horses were also killed in the Hyde

Park bombing. One that survived was

Sefton. In the aftermath of the

horrific attack, the most's recovery

captured the public's attention. The

Hyde Park campaign for justice now

has renewed vigour. Even though the

impact and pain of events decades

ago still lingers.

There's been a sharp drop

in the amount of money councils

are spending on services

for vulnerable children

and families across England.

Research by Huddersfield

and Sheffield universities has found

that overall spending on children's

services has fallen by 16% since

2010, despite increasing demand.

And it's much worse in the most

deprived council areas,

with spending cut by

an average of 27%.

But the Government insists

extra money has been made

available to councils.

Here's our social affairs

correspondent, Alison Holt.

In a cramped room in one

of Birmingham's most deprived areas,

volunteers run a cook and eat

session for local families.

It's packed.

Many of the families here are under

pressure with money or

other worries.

In these sessions, the mums find

counselling, childcare

and friends.

They've asked not to be identified.

That help is vital

for mental health.

Obviously, having the mothers

emotionally stable helps the

children, and happy

parents is happy children.

Today's research shows that early

intervention and family

support like this have had huge cuts

as council spending on children's

services in England

has been squeezed.

This place, run by a charity,

says it has seen neglect

cases increase massively.

What we see is, where

early help could have

happened and the mum was able to get

on her feet and keep those children,

and then go on to be

a very effective parent,

we are now seeing that that is just

left and left

until a crisis emerges,

and then you are at the very top end

of crisis that involves

removal of children.

And this woman told me she is now

caring for her relative's two

children, who would

otherwise be in care.

She says the family didn't get

enough early support.

It would have made

a lot of difference.

It maybe would have

helped probably keep the

family together and not have it

broken up the way that it is.

In Birmingham, there are some

of the most deprived

areas in the country.

According to today's research,

it is councils which are dealing

with high levels of poverty

and of need which

have seen some of the greatest cuts

to their children's services

budgets.

Councils are dealing with a surge

in child protection cases,

with more children going into care,

whilst those vital services have

been largely shielded.

In the most deprived areas,

there has been a 54% cut

in spending on helping families

early.

So, this is the room

that was used for play...

That has meant the closure

of children's centres like

this one in Birmingham.

Here, they say they've

lost staff who really

knew what was going on locally.

The same issues are still there.

The community, as all communities

in deprived areas, still need that

support.

But councils maintain the squeeze

on their funding from

Government leaves

them with no choice.

Many councils now face a tipping

point where they know they

are having to take away the services

that keep people out of the most

expensive child protection services.

However, they've simply got no

choice because they've got to keep

funding the child protection work,

and everything else, therefore, has

to go in order to pay for it.

The Department of

Education says it has

made extra money

available to councils.

It continues: We want every child,

no matter where they

live, to receive high-quality

care and support.

But with no let-up in the demand

for children's services,

the arguments over

funding will get tougher.

Alison Holt, BBC News.

If a doctor makes a mistake

and a patient dies,

should they be taken

to court for manslaughter?

That's what happened

to Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba.

She was convicted when

a six-year-old boy died after

a series of errors in hospital.

Her case sparked fury amongst

thousands of doctors

when she was then barred

from practising again.

Now the Health Secretary,

Jeremy Hunt, has ordered an urgent

review into how such cases

should be handled.

Here's our health editor, Hugh Pym.

A six year old boy, Jack Adcock,

died as a result of a catalogue

of errors at a Leicester hospital.

A serious infection

was not diagnosed.

A doctor, Hadiza Bawa-Garba,

was convicted of gross negligence,

manslaughter and later

barred from practising.

A nurse at the hospital was also

convicted and struck off.

Colleagues say that Dr Bawa-Garba

was working under intense

pressure and low staffing

was partly to blame.

They say it is unfair

to stop her working again.

Today the Government announced

a review of how doctors'

mistakes should be handled.

It is fair to say that the recent

Dr Bawa-Garba case has

caused huge concern.

So today I can announce that I have

asked Professor Sir Norman Williams,

the former President

of the Royal College of Surgeons

and my senior clinical advisor

to conduct a rapid review

into the application

of gross negligence

manslaughter in healthcare.

A crowdfunding campaign has now

raised more than £300,000

to try and fight to clear

Dr Bawa-Garba's name.

Doctors say that the case has made

them fearful of the consequences

of making mistakes.

An appreciation of what it was like

to truly act under the pressure

of that day needs to be learned

by everybody, really,

because healthcare is, by its

nature, a pressurised situation.

Jack's family say the

legal decisions should

simply be respected.

It's awful and it's wrong. I've lost

my little boy in this. I don't need

this. All I've done this fight for

justice for my little boy. She needs

to take the punishment, just like

the nurse, and get on with it.

Doctors said Jack's death was tragic

and they had every sympathy

for his family and their aim

was to ensure that lessons

were learned to keep

future patients safe.

Hugh Pym, BBC News.

The time is 6.15.

Our top story this evening...

The boss of the collapsed

construction giant Carillion says

he takes full responsibility

for its demise, which threatens

thousands of jobs.

And still to come...

The cost of sitting

in rush-hour traffic.

Research puts a figure

on those lost hours.

Coming up on Sportsday

on BBC News...

Can League Two Notts County cause

an upset and knock Premier League

side Swansea out of tonight's replay

to reach the fifth

round of the FA Cup?

100 years ago today,

women finally won the right to vote.

The Representation of the People Act

meant that women over 30 who owned

property could at last

have their say.

It was a right that was fought for

and won by the suffragette movement.

It was a movement that

began in Manchester.

Its leader was Emmeline Pankhurst.

Our correspondent Elaine Dunkley

looks back at her legacy.

The suffragettes were

militant and unrelenting.

It was a movement

born in Manchester.

The banner has the message on it...

Emmeline Pankhurst led a group

of women, notoriously resilient

in their quest for votes,

on a course that would shock

the world and radically change

democracy in Britain.

In the Representation

of the People Act 1918,

there was not just some women

who won the vote, it was all men

as well, who were able to vote

and the electorate tripled

in that time.

So, it's incredible that the people

who are able to vote now

were working class men

and working-class people.

Working-class women of course

still couldn't do that,

but that would have radically

changed what was being talked

about in Parliament at that time.

The suffragettes used extreme

methods to promote their cause.

They felt words hadn't worked

and used a wave of violence

and vandalism as a way

of making their

political voice heard.

There is a fall.

In 1913, Emily Davison died

after running into the path

of the King's horse

at the Epsom Derby as

part of the protest.

Today, the Prime Minister

was in Manchester to pay homage

to their heroism and the legacy that

would see her at the

head of government.

They persevered in spite

of all danger and discouragement,

because they knew their cause

was right.

There have been calls for convicted

suffragettes to be pardoned,

but no mention of it in this speech.

The truth of their arguments won the

day and we are all in their debt.

In this parlour, at the home

of Emmeline Pankhurst,

the suffragettes came up

with the motto, deeds not words,

a sentiment that still resonates.

A lot of people have this negative

connotation with feminism and think

feminists are about hating

men and that...

Or that women are better...

And that is so anti-feminist.

I think violence remains

a huge issue for women.

It was an issue that

suffragettes campaigned about,

they weren't ever just interested

in the vote and actually,

it's still a huge issue for women.

I think being a person of colour

and then being a woman,

you have two layers,

it is one discrimination

against the other and you have

to try and negotiate

and pick your battles.

The suffragettes started

with voting rights for women.

Those first steps have taken us

on a much bigger journey.

A lot has changed in 100 years,

but the legacy of empowering future

generations continues.

Elaine Dunkley, BBC News.

Tonight, women MPs both past

and present, will gather

in Westminster Hall

to mark today's centenary.

Our political correspondent

Vicki Young is there.

It is a very rare honour to be able

to broadcast from here. This is the

oldest part of the Palace of

Westminster, normally reserved for

more sedate proceedings. Tonight,

there is going to be a party. I am

delighted to be joined by the senior

archivist here in Parliament and

Leader of the House of Commons,

Leadsom. First of all, this place

has some significance when it comes

to the suffragette movement?

This is

where the women's suffrage campaign

began. 1500 signatures valid solely

by women and brought here to

present. Two women brought it here

and they hid it under the stall of a

woman selling fruit. It was

underneath the fruit stall. It was

presented to Parliament the next day

and that is where it all began.

Emily Davison was always hiding in

this place and getting caught.

Very

famous for hiding in a cupboard in

the chapel behind us. She hid on at

least five other occasions. She hid

in a ventilation area.

in a ventilation area. But it didn't

stop. She was back months later.

When it comes to commemorating this,

and we'll hear from the Prime

Minister later, why is it important

to do that and teach people about

this?

Today is about a fantastic

celebration, since women started to

have the right to vote, the

achievements of women over the last

100 years are quite extraordinary.

And of course we do have the second

female Prime Minister of this

country. But today is also about

supporting more young women thinking

about a career in politics and

making their world a better place.

And it is about clamping down on

online abuse and some of the awful

things that happened to female

candidates, and trying to encode

more young women to take the plunge.

In 2100 years, what more do you want

women to have in public life?

Just

about everything. There is a long

way to go. We don't have complete

equality. Only one third of MPs are

women. There is a long way to go in

the boardroom. And all day long, we

see some of the problems women have

right across the world in terms of

achieving equality. There's a long

way to go but much to celebrate

today.

Thank you very much. We will

hear from Theresa May marking one of

the most significant dates in

British democratic history.

Thank you.

The model and reality TV star

Katie Price has told MPs

there should be a new law to deal

with online abuse.

Her 15-year-old son Harvey -

who is partially blind and autistic

- has been the target of relentless

attacks on social media.

Katie Price said such abuse online

should be a criminal offence

and a register of offenders should

be created because at

the moment police only have

limited powers to stop it.

Adina Campbell reports.

She's called it "horrific",

"sickening" and "disgusting".

The abuse Katie Price

says her disabled son Harvey has

experienced on social media.

They're horrible

about you, aren't they?

So what you want to say to

the people that are horrible to you?

Don't go on and be

horrible to Harvey.

Yes, that's right.

APPLAUSE.

The comments prompted

Katie Price to start a petition

calling for online harassment

to become a criminal offence.

Now with nearly 222,000 signatures,

it means Parliament

will debate the issue.

Today, she appeared in front of MPs.

You name it, Harvey gets it.

They mock his picture

on sweet packets.

They put his head on...

What is it, the Isis?

They put his head on that.

I mean, you name it,

they do it to Harvey all the time.

You can have your point

of view about things

but there is a point,

and this, I think, at the next

discussion, hopefully

it will get through,

where you sit down and draw a line.

When does it become

a criminal offence?

Meet Lackney, Rashida and Stean,

who've all experienced abuse online.

I have been a victim

of trolling for, like,

my physical appearance

and my intelligence.

And my relationship

with other people.

What did those people say

about your physical appearance?

They said that I wasn't good enough

and my physical appearance wasn't

good enough for the everyday world.

I got, like, a random message

in my inbox on Facebook

and this guy was saying,

"I want to kill you,

I want to rape you."

Something of that nature.

And I didn't know

who this person was.

A new survey shows

the scale of the problem.

It found that roughly half of eight

to 17-year-olds have been

targeted by online trolls.

Many more than once.

The Government says plans are under

way to make the internet safer.

And most of this group agree that

things need to drastically change.

This can really affect people's

lives in a negative way.

So actually having something

to deter them from doing it

would definitely be a step

in the right direction.

MPs will now look at the impact

of online abuse and examine

if the law needs to be changed.

Raids have taken place

across England in an operation

to tackle people smuggling involving

suspected Kurdish gangsters.

The National Crime Agency said 350

officers were involved

in the raids in Middlesbrough,

Hartlepool, Stockton, Newcastle,

Hastings and London.

Officers raided 20 addresses

and made 21 arrests

during the operation.

It is thought that migrants paid

began between 5000 and £10,000 to be

smuggled in.

If you drive in London,

you will waste on average three days

of your life every year stuck

in rush hour traffic.

Outside the busy capital,

it's not quite so bad in cities

across England but the

hours still clock up.

As this research shows, in London,

motorists lose an average of 74

hours a year in jams.

Manchester is next with

drivers wasting about 39

hours a year in traffic.

And Birmingham takes third prize

with an average of 36 hours.

Sima Kotecha reports.

A major headache.

Trying to get somewhere

but can't move.

The much-hated traffic

jam strikes again.

Oh, it's terrible.

I use the road every day,

along Birmingham and the M6.

And I basically now

just sit down and

watch it go by.

Got meetings to keep,

got people to please,

you know?

So it can be very stressful, yeah.

And we're spending more than a day

every year stuck in traffic,

according to new research by Inrix.

The cost of that isn't good either.

More than £1000 per driver

spent on wasted fuel

and wasted working time.

And that apparently has

a detrimental impact on the economy,

costing it billions.

The cities rated the

worst for sitting in

queues are London, Manchester,

Luton and here in Birmingham.

Well, this is one of

the most congested routes

in the country.

As you can see, lots of traffic,

and this is a quiet day.

Exhaust fumes don't help, with high

pollution levels in large cities.

One answer the Government says

is investing £23 billion

into new road schemes

which will help cut

congestion and shorten

journey times.

Until it happens, though, and people

see its impact, the stationary

driver is far from happy.

But, no, it is a pain.

It just makes me stressed.

And how do you control that stress?

I go home and have some

chocolate and wine.

Sima Kotecha, BBC News, Birmingham.

Time for a look at the weather.

Old change on the weather front.

Here's Sarah Keith Lucas.

We have a lot of changes in terms of

the weather map and weather data as

well. And the whole look and feel of

our weather graphics will be

changing. We start our forecast with

this pretty wintry window on the

weather today. Some great pictures

sent in by our Weather Watchers,

including this wintry scene in

Cumbria where we have about four or

five centimetres of lying snow.

Cumbria where we have about four or

five centimetres of lying snow. As

that shifts southwards, it will be a

chilly nights to come. Here's the

satellite. Looking down on the

cloud. You can see the band of

cloud, a slow-moving weather front,

producing further snow as it shifts

across the East. Perhaps a dusting

of snow in London. A couple of

centimetres possible towards

Norfolk. Across the rest of the

country, as the sky clears, it is

dry and bitterly cold. We could C-

double digits in the countryside.

Let's look at Wednesday. He called

and icy day to come. If we zoom in

and regional view, starting with

Scotland, watch out for the

potential of icy stretches. Brighter

skies in East of Scotland with cold

conditions here. Northern Ireland

clouding over a cold but cloudy

morning. Sunshine to start the day

across much of England and Wales.

Still some wintry flurries in the

far west of Wales in particular. And

the far eastern regions will cease

some dusting is as well. Wintry

sunshine hold on for much of England

and Wales but this guy is cloud over

for the North West with the arrival

of some rain and a bit of hill snow

around as well. Temperature-wise,

little bit less cold than today.

Later this week, it stays cold.

Further rain or hill snow times and

also some spells of sunshine. So is

looking unsettled over the next few

days.

Thank you.