14/02/2018 BBC News at Six

Sentenced to life in prison,

the man who kidnapped,

raped and murdered his niece,

putting her body in a deep freezer.

Celine Dookhran was 20.

She was found dead in

an empty house in London.

Her family, in a statement,

said "she fell victim to pure evil".

Celine was our beautiful, caring,

funny and intelligent daughter.

No words will never be able

to describe the devastation

and heartache we feel about what has

happened to her.

Her killer, her uncle,

Mujahid Arshid, was also convicted

of attempting to murder

a second woman.

His surviving victim told the court

that the flashbacks and nightmares

prevented her from moving on.

Also tonight:

The Foreign Secretary says Brexit

is a cause for hope not fear,

but supporters have to get

the positive agenda across.

How the system for assessing

disability benefits is repeatedly

letting claimants down.

In Northern Ireland,

the leader of the DUP says there's

"no current prospect" of a deal

to restore power-sharing.

And the official seal of approval

for Team GB's skeleton

competition skinsuits.

And coming up on Sportsday on BBC

News:

Curling is back at the Winter

Olympics as Team GB's men's

and women's teams secure victory

in their opening match.

Good evening.

A man has been sentenced to life

in prison, with a minimum of 40

years, for kidnapping,

raping and murdering his 20-year-old

neice, Celine Dookhran.

Mujahid Arshid, who is 33,

was also found guilty of kidnapping,

raping and attempting to murder

a second woman, who can't be named.

The pair were attacked at a house

in Kingston Upon Thames

in south London last summer.

in south west London last summer.

A second man was found

not guilty of kidnap.

Our Home Affairs correspondent

June Kelly reports.

It contains some distressing

details.

Celine Dookhran was 20 years old.

She worked in a bank

and had a boyfriend.

She also had a jealous uncle,

who was a savage sexual predator.

He kidnapped Celine and then

raped and murdered her.

Mujahid Arshid also tried

to kill another young woman

in what he intended to be a double

rape and murder.

As a rape survivor, his second

victim can't be identified.

Celine Dookhran's mother

and stepfather were in court to see

a man who'd married

into their family jailed

for a minimum of 40 years.

A police officer read

a statement on their behalf.

We are pleased with

the verdict and the sentence.

But we would like our final words

to be about our wonderful Celine.

We love you, we miss you,

we thank you for being an amazing,

brilliant, funny, intelligent

and caring daughter,

sister, cousin and friend.

Arshid's blue pick-up

truck was caught on CCTV.

He was transporting a freezer,

which was part of his plot.

Two days later, he was captured

again in his truck,

the kidnapping was underway.

An hour afterwards,

he was ready to leave.

He had bundled his two victims,

bound and gagged,

into the open boot

and covered them with a tarpaulin.

He checked it before he set off.

Arshid was a builder

and he brought his captives

to a then-empty house he was working

on in Kingston,

in south-west London.

Once inside, one after another,

he forced the women

upstairs and raped them.

He killed his niece, Celine,

by cutting her throat with a knife

and stuffing her mouth with a sock.

He then locked her body

in the freezer he'd

installed two days earlier.

When it came to the second victim,

he slashed her throat

and wrists and told her,

"You've got ten minutes to live".

Astonishingly, she survived.

Then, desperate to try to find

a way out, she convinced

Arshid that from here

they could run away together.

Arshid later went

on the run and headed

for the Port of Folkestone.

He checked into a hotel and this

is where he was arrested.

It emerged that down the years,

opportunities were missed to stop

Mujahid Arshid's sexual offending.

It was in 2008 that he first

abused his surviving victim,

this went on for a year.

In 2011, she finally

told some of her family

but her story wasn't accepted.

In 2013, Arshid was caught

in an online sting, inviting

an undercover police officer to drug

and rape her.

an undercover police officer to drug

and rape her.

The following year,

he was interviewed by detectives.

Prosecutors decided they couldn't

bring a case because the police

hadn't found key evidence.

hadn't found key evidence.

A full domestic homicide review,

an independent review will take

place and we will review every

single incident that the police have

been involved in and any other

agency for that matter.

Arshid's controlling

behaviour culminated

in the killing of Celine Dookhran.

Today, her mother said her daughter

had fallen victim to pure evil.

And June is with me now.

It seems that Mujahid Arshid could

have been stopped earlier.

Five

years ago he was caught in this

police trap, they were looking for

paedophiles and they found Mujahid

Arshid. The Crown Prosecution

Service have told us that a case was

sent to them, they looked at it and

decided they could charge him. That

was on the basis that he was the

only one who had had access to his

laptop. But they went back to the

police and the police said they

couldn't find the laptop or a key

witness. The Crown Prosecution

Service said they simply couldn't

matter

matter per as. We've spoken to one

former senior Scotland Yard officer

-- couldn't mount a prosecution. He

questioned the rigour that

investigation. As we had from the

police, that investigation will now

form part of a review. It should be

said that Mujahid Arshid Oregon to

the end refused to accept his guilt

at the end. He said his second

victim was responsible for the

killing in court. She read a

statement to the court and she said,

"The flashback and nightmares" were

preventing her from moving on.

The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson

has called on the country

to unite behind Brexit,

saying that Britain's departure

from the European Union

was not "a great V-sign

from the cliffs of Dover."

In the first of a series

of speeches by ministers ahead

of key talks with the EU,

tat they are calling the Road

to Brexit, Mr Johnson

said Brexit could result

in an "outward-looking,

confident" UK.

Labour called his words

"empty rhetoric."

Our politicalcorrespondent

Vicki Young reports.

We're on the road to Brexit.

But Cabinet ministers are still

arguing about which route to take.

Do we stay close to the European

Union and all its rules, or take off

in a completely different direction?

Many are anxious about

the journey ahead.

Including Liberal Democrats,

who laid on this less-than-friendly

welcome for the Foreign Secretary.

He's trying to reach out to soothe

concerns and convince them that

Brexit is grounds for much more

hope than fear.

It's not good enough for us now

to say to Remainers,

"You lost, get over it".

Because we must accept the vast

majority are actuated

by entirely noble sentiments.

Brexit's not about shutting

Britain off, he said,

it's about going global.

I absolutely refuse to accept

the suggestion that it is some

un-British spasm of bad manners.

It's not some great V sign

from the cliffs of Dover.

It is the expression

of a legitimate and natural desire

for self-government of the people,

by the people, for the people.

At times, this speech felt

like a return to the heat

of the referendum debate.

And Mr Johnson certainly hasn't

changed his mind about the need

to diverge from EU rules.

The British people should not have

new EU laws affecting their everyday

lives imposed from abroad

when they have no power to elect

or remove those who make those laws.

That would be intolerable,

it would be undemocratic,

and it would make it

all but impossible for us to do

serious free trade deals.

So a familiar theme of taking back

control, which puts him at odds

with some cabinet colleagues.

with some Cabinet colleagues.

As the face of the Leave campaign,

some question whether Boris Johnson

is really the right person

to try to heal the

divisions of Brexit.

But he acknowledges today that that

positive case for leaving the EU

still needs to be made and says

that he has to try to make it.

But what about the obstacles

that could lie ahead?

Some want more practical answers.

Boris is really good

at the broad brush strokes.

But I think what's really needed

now are the details.

You know, we're just over 14

months away from the UK

leaving the European Union.

And details on things

like customs and borders,

how the really difficult

issue of the Irish border

is going to be delivered,

how EU citizens will be able

to stay here, the position

that they will be in -

all that is needed now.

More flesh on the bones

is what critics want.

Downing Street insists they will get

that in the coming days

when the spotlight turns

to Theresa May and what is billed

as a significant speech on security.

Vicki Young, BBC News, Westminster.

Oxfam's regional director in Asia

has said she's aware of past abuse

cases involving the charity's

workers in the Philippines,

Bangladesh and Nepal.

Lan Mercardo says people

in positions of power can intimidate

and silence whistle blowers.

Officials from Oxfam have been

talking to the Charity Commission

to discuss their handling of sexual

misconduct claims

involving staff in Haiti.

Here's Angus Crawford.

A scandal made in the poverty

of Haiti's shantytowns.

Where a small number of aid

workers became exploiters.

It continues to send shock waves

through the entire sector.

And today, new revelations

from Oxfam about other

under-reported cases

involving its workers.

There were cases in the Philippines,

there were also cases in Bangladesh,

there were whistle-blowers coming

forward in Bangladesh

as far as I know.

There was also a case,

I think, in Nepal.

Abusers exploit the chaos

and confusion of natural disasters,

like here in 2013 during tropical

storm Yolande in the Philippines.

And Lan Mercardo says even if they

are caught and disciplined,

charities are not warning each other

about unsuitable staff.

Not yet. But

that's a practice that we need to

start. Because... You know, the

funny thing about cases like this is

we always see them as reputational

risks, no? But the way to manage

reputational risk is not to keep

silent.

So comment problem for the

whole sector. Underlined today by

the International Development

Secretary at an AIDS conference in

Sweden.

No organisation is too big

or our work with them too complex

for me to hesitate to remove

funding. -- at an aid organisation.

If we cannot trust them to put the

beneficiaries of aid first.

Something he failed to tell them

when he applied for the job.

South Africa's President Jacob

Zuma has defied calls

by his party to resign.

He's has come under increasing

pressure to step down amid numerous

allegations of corruption.

But in a TV interview,

he said efforts

to force him out were unfair.

The ruling party, the ANC, says

he will now face a parliamentary

motion of no confidence tomorrow,

if he doesn't relinquish power.

Our Africa Editor, Fergal Keane,

sent this report from Pretoria.

In Pretoria, seat of the presidency,

rumours rippled all morning.

The president might

be about to resign.

But when he did speak to the state

broadcaster it was a defiant,

defensive appearance.

Zuma, the victim.

What have I done?

I have explained many

times that this process,

there is nothing I have done wrong.

This is policy.

What people are suggesting

is the youth phenomenon.

What is the problem?

And there was some

unsettling language.

A warning to those

who were ousting him.

The leadership of the ANC,

if it is not careful,

they might actually cause a bigger

problem than we think.

At the same time in Cape Town,

ANC MPs were meeting to decide

whether they'd support a motion

of no-confidence to drive

Jacob Zuma from power.

The decision came quickly

and was decisive.

We are now proceeding,

we have asked the Chief Whip

to proceed with a motion

of no-confidence tomorrow.

So that President Zuma is then

removed,

so that we can proceed

to elect President Ramaphosa.

Pressure had been growing

on the President from early morning.

This was a police raid

on the compound of his friends,

the Gupta family, who are accused

of acquiring billions in state

assets through their connections

with the president and his family.

Seemingly untouchable until now,

criminal charges may be imminent.

If ever you wanted proof

of the changed political

temperature, this is it.

The police seem at last to have

found their courage.

So straight on, down here.

This neighbour giving

police the address of

another Gupta property.

People are angry.

This is the headquarters

of South Africa's executive branch,

the place from which Jacob Zuma has

ruled the country for

the last nine years.

But by tomorrow night,

in all likelihood, South Africa

will have a new president.

These are the dying hours

of the age of Zuma.

Fergal Keane, BBC News, Pretoria.

Our top story this evening:

The uncle of Celine Dookhran has

been found guilty of kidnapping,

raping and murdering his niece,

before putting her body

in a deep freeze.

And still to come...

On the eve of the skeleton

competition, the Team GB suits get

the seal of approval.

Coming up on Sportsday

on BBC News...

Another British club

looks to make their mark

on the Champions League knockout

stages, as Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool

travel to Portugal to face Porto.

There is a "pervasive lack of trust"

among people with disabilities

in how their welfare claims

are assessed, according to MPs

on the Work and Pensions Committee.

They said one claimant

was asked when they had

"caught" Down's Syndrome.

The Government insists

the system works well

for the majority of claimants.

Here's our disability

correspondent, Nikki Fox.

Anastasia is having a good day.

But most of the time

she is in constant pain

and struggles to leave the house.

The 24-year-old has

multiple sclerosis and used

to work full-time.

Now she relies on

disability benefits.

But applying for those

benefits has taken its toll.

I don't know how other

people can cope with it.

Why do I feel so crushed

and not believed?

When she was assessed

at home by a health

care professional from a private

company, Anastasia told her assessor

she could only walk 20 metres.

But when the report came back,

it said she could walk further.

As a result she lost

part of benefits.

She didn't give me

a physical assessment.

I was sat down the entire time.

I was very, very upset about that.

The committee heard evidence

to suggest that Anastasia's

experience is far from a one-off.

One of the assessors wrote down

things which didn't even happen.

The lady assessing me

was very unprofessional.

I looked at it and just

cried, basically.

They received an unprecedented

number of responses

detailing failings in the system.

The report says the government's low

bar for what is considered

acceptable, leaves room

for assessments to be riddled with

obvious errors and omissions.

It also says assessors risk

being viewed as, at best,

lacking in confidence,

and at worst, actively deceitful.

-- competence.

Some parents were asked

when exactly their children had

caught Down's Syndrome.

Another claimant said,

"Apparently I walk my dog daily,

which is baffling, because I can

barely walk

and they don't have a dog."

But this former nurse,

who worked as an assessor for

a few weeks before quitting, has

today anonymously told the BBC she

was disgusted with the system.

When I made my report,

my observations,

it was sent back and the auditor

made me change it.

We have asked the government

to record these key assessments so

there can't be a dispute

of, "I said that", "No,

you didn't", "Yes, you did".

There is a record there.

The government says it is exploring

options to promote greater

transparency, and the majority

of claimants are happy with their

overall experience.

But with current contracts

up for a review and

targets being consistently missed,

it is not certain who will carry out

these assessment in the future.

Nikki Fox, BBC News.

The leader of the Democractic

Unionist Party, Arlene Foster, has

said there is no prospect

of restoring Northern Ireland's

devolved government.

Mrs Foster said

attempts to find a stable

and sustainable resolution

had been unsuccessful.

Her statement has effectively

torpedoed the power-sharing

executive.

On Monday, the Prime Minister,

Theresa May, travelled to Stormont

to try and seek an end

to the deadlock.

Our Ireland correspondent,

Chris Page, is at Stormont now

What on earth happened next?

Yes,

just a few days ago a breakthrough

did seem like it was likely for the

first time in more than a year.

Theresa May and the Irish Prime

Minister Cain Murtagh Stormont and

met the parties and said they

thought the deal was doable. The

process has fallen apart over the

past 48 hours. Arlene Foster said

there is currently no prospect of

the power-sharing executive being

restored. Sinn Fein, the former

partners in government, said

unionists had failed to close a

deal. The highly symbolic issue

which has scuppered Stormont again

is the disagreement over whether

they should be a new law to protect

and promote the Irish language.

Northern Ireland Secretary Karen

Bradley, announcing the latest phase

of negotiations a few weeks ago,

said there was one last opportunity

to bring back devolution. Now that

process is over, the Westminster

government will have to decide

whether direct rule from London is

the only option left.

Chris Page.

A coroner in the case

of a 21-year-old woman who died

overdosing on diet pills,

says the purchase, use and sale of

a toxic substance found in

the tablets, should be made illegal.

Bethany Shipsey ordered the pills

containing DNP online.

It's usually found in

pesticides and explosives,

not meant for human consumption.

The coroner also said

that Worcestershire Royal Hospital

gave Bethany significantly

substandard care in the hours

before her death.

Our health correspondent

Adina Campbell, reports.

Bethany Shipsey had been

battling a long history

of mental health problems.

Plagued with dark thoughts,

she'd already taken 14 overdoses.

After being raped by

an ex-boyfriend, and for

an ongoing eating disorder.

In February, last year,

she took another overdose.

Using diet pills she'd

ordered the internet.

The tablets contained

the toxic substance DNP,

a chemical not fit for human

consumption, which causes

the body to overheat.

We can't obtain this DNP, like,

so easily, as people do,

because I just don't want

there to be any more deaths.

Despite reaching a narrative

verdict including suicide,

the coroner said there

was a critical failed

opportunity to provide care

by staff at the hospital.

And that the harmful effects of DNP

suggests the deterioration

is a rapid and often means

it's too late.

The inquest heard that the amount

of DNP in Bethany's blood was one

of the lowest ever recordings

compared to other patients who had

survived high doses.

But the coroner said the care

provided by Worcestershire Royal

Hospital was substandard.

A hospital that's been in special

measures since 2015.

Worcestershire Acute Hospital Trust

has apologised Says it's made

a series of improvements including

more nurses and doctors in A&E.

Nobody ever, sort of,

said to us that this is serious.

Nobody said that she

could potentially die.

There was no plan of care.

So, then, to, a few hours later,

having witnessed Bethany's

deterioration, nobody assists

with her care.

It was just one big

disbelief, shock.

There have been 14 deaths in the UK

linked to DNP since 2007.

The Food Standards Agency says it

proactively targets those suspected

of selling the substance,

but the coroner said he would be

writing to the government,

calling for the sale of DNP

to be made illegal.

Life without Bethany is just empty.

Beth's heart was massive

and we miss it.

Adina Campbell, BBC News.

Team GB's cutting edge equipment

for the Winter Olympics has been

given the green light,

after an international row had

threatened to break out over

the legality of their kit.

On the eve of the skeleton

competition, which includes 2014

gold medal winner Lizzie Yarnold,

some opponents had complained

that the technology used in Team

GB's skinsuits gave them

an unfair advantage.

From Pyeongchang,

Andy Swiss reports.

It contains some flashing images.

Sliding into controversy.

The skeleton is Britain's

winter sport speciality.

But now the team's speed

is under scrutiny.

After being no more than solid this

season, here in Pyeongchang

they are suddenly looking

spectacular, setting

the pace in final training.

So why the improvement?

Well, they're wearing

brand-new skinsuits,

specially designed for the games.

And in a sport of the finest

margins, they have found an edge.

Of course, we push the boundaries.

It is the Winter Olympic Games.

No one sleeps.

Every nation will be getting,

you know, the best kit they can.

And we are exactly the same.

But the skinsuit, developed

by scientist in Northampton,

and which has special drag-resistant

ridges, has raised eyebrows.

The rules stipulate no

aerodynamic elements

can be attached to kit,

and some are questioning

its legality.

I was notified this morning

about the speed suits.

So yeah, that's interesting.

I'm just curious to

know if that is legal.

Do you think there

is a question there?

I do, yeah.

A frosty reception then.

But tonight, the controversial

skinsuit was cleared by the

authorities. When Britain's sliders

hurtle round this track

in the next few days,

they will be hoping the new kit

could make that vital difference.

And British sport knows

all about making the most

of cutting edge clothing.

Skinsuit technology has been the key

to British track cycling

success over the past decade.

And skeleton has also led the way.

COMMENTATOR: Oh, yes!

Amy Williams is the queen of speed!

In 2010, there were questions

about Amy Williams' helmet

before she won gold.

From me in Vancouver, we sent them

off to the jury months beforehand.

They got checked and

okayed by the jury.

So we you 100% they work legal.

So I have no worries whatsoever.

I would just say, people just don't

want you winning, do they?

And winning is what Britain has done

now to games running.

A hat-trick here, it

seems, would be a triumph

of technology as well as talent.

Andy Swiss, BBC News, Pyeongchang.

Time for a look at the weather

with Chris Fawkes.

Time for a look at the weather

with Chris Fawkes.

The weather has started off on such

a beautiful and promising note with

some spectacular Sunrise pictures

being sent to us by our Weather

Watchers. This was from the Isle of

Wight. The weather front that has

since moved and has brought rain and

hail snow. You can see that front.

Out in the Atlantic is has developed

a bump on the front. That will

prevent it from completely moving

out of the way. Blustery showers in

the north-west. Although it will be

a cold night, not quite as cold as

it was last night. Nevertheless, a

touch of frost in the countryside.

Icy stretches. Tomorrow will be a

day of temperature contrasts. A

ridge of high pressure across

England dragging in milder air. For

most of the UK, still under this

colder air. Weather-wise, blustery

showers for Scotland and Northern

Ireland. Snow on high ground.

Further south, cloudy in southern

England. That cloud will thin, with

sunshine coming through. Most of

England and Wales should have a

largely dry day with sunny spells.

Mild in the South. Quite a contrast

further north. Still into colder

air. What about Friday? As that

ridge five pressure builds in more,

a lot of dry weather. High

temperatures across northern England

into Scotland. At the same time a

weather front will approach from the

Atlantic, bringing late day rain to

Northern Ireland and Scotland. Snow

over the highest parts of Scotland.

Generally there is a trend for the

weather did become drier and milder.

That is the

weather did become drier and milder.

That is the forecast.

Thank you.

A reminder of our main story...

The uncle of Celine Dookhran has

been convicted of kidnapping,

raping and murdering his niece,

before putting her body

in a deep freezer.

That's all from the BBC News at

Six, so it's goodbye from me -