16/02/2018 BBC News at Six

A former Oxfam aid worker tells

the BBC she was physically

abused and sexually

assaulted by colleagues.

She alleges one of the attacks

took place in Haiti,

during the earthquake relief

effort, in 2010.

He literally just pinned me

up against the wall,

he was groping me, grabbing me,

kissing me, and I was just

trying to shove him off.

The revelations come on the day

the global head of Oxfam

apologised for the crisis.

I'm inviting anyone who's been

a victim of abuse to come forward,

we're going to do justice,

we'll atone for the past.

But she admitted there's no

guarantee sexual predators aren't

still working for the charity.

Also on the programme.

This is impossible, my girl,

my 14-year-old baby.

The anguish of parents,

calling for tougher gun

controls, after America's

latest mass shooting.

Now, just a quarter of under-35s can

afford their own homes,

the lowest level in two decades.

Saving Borneo's orangutans

from extinction.

Chester Zoo joins the fight

to help the primate.

And Team GB wins its first medal

at the Winter Olympics, bronze,

in the men's skeleton.

And coming up on Sportsday later

in the hour on BBC News,

a second spell in charge of Scotland

for Alex Macleish ...he says

wait to get started.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

A woman employed by Oxfam

as a junior aid worker,

during the relief effort in Haiti

after the 2010 earthquake,

has told the BBC she was physically

abused and sexually assaulted

by a more senior male colleague.

She also claims she was the victim

of another sexual assault

by an Oxfam worker, at a party

in South Sudan in the same year.

It comes as the Head

of Oxfam International

announced a plan to deal

with allegations of abuse.

Winnie Byanyima says

the charity has been shamed.

Our Diplomatic Correspondent James

Landale has the full story.

His report contains some

distressing details.

Haiti in 2010. And the chaotic

aftermath of an earthquake. A

country heaving with humanitarian

workers. Some of them there to help

like this young woman working for

Oxon for the first time.

I studied

Oxfam in University in England and

learned about them, they are the

lead in the world, after Unicef, a

lot of humanitarian response. I

always dream of working for them.

But her dream turned sour as a more

senior colleague became over -

friendly and then not so friendly.

You will understand why we have

protected her identity.

He literally

pinned me against the wall, he was

groping me and grabbing me, kissing

me and I was just trying to shove

him off. I got him off eventually

anti-got mad and through his glass

at me and it shattered on the floor,

and later on we got in the car to go

home and he got in next to me and I

was scared so I got out and I went

to sit on the back. I didn't fall

out of my seat, he threw me out of

my seat and then pinned me to the

ground. One of my colleagues, a

woman, also my room mate, reached

back and tried to grab me and pick

me out. I was hitting him, kicking

him. She helped me and I got back

into the middle seat and I jumped

into the front seat, on the

passenger side. As soon as we got

home I ran out of the car and went

up to my room, I didn't want to say

anything.

And then in South Sudan

she was assaulted by another Oxfam

colleague after a New Year party.

I

went to my room and I was starting

to undress and go to sleep and he

just walked in, shoved me on the

bed, he tried to rip, he did rip

some of my clothes off, he got

naked, forced and soft... I was

shoving him, kicking him and

screaming for anyone. I know that

the man next door heard because in

next morning he even said something

like, hey are you all right after

what happened last might. Nobody

came to help and I just pushed him

and kicked him and kicked him, and

eventually he got up and walked

outside for a bit and I ran to the

door and shouted. And I stood at the

door with all my might, keeping it

pushed shut as it was pushing from

the other end. It felt like, for so,

so long. I was exhausted. I don't

know, I was just crying. I didn't

know what to do. I was screaming for

help. I thought someone would come

help me. But nobody came.

Today

Oxfam announced they had said at the

new commission to investigate cases

like these. There will also be tough

and Ajax on staff references and

three times more money spent on

internal safeguarding procedures.

But can you guarantee that there are

no sexual predators working for Oxon

today? -- for Oxfam?

We have cases

that we are investigating today, and

I am determined that we deliver

justice in those cases. Thousands

and thousands of Oxfam staff, doing

the right thing in the most

dangerous places in the world.

Protecting people, saving lives,

that work must go on.

You cannot

give that guarantee that there are

no sexual predators working for your

organisation?

How would I be able to

guarantee that there is no one who

is going to offend? What I can

guarantee is that we will build a

new culture that doesn't tolerate

bad behaviour.

What went on in Haiti

has cost Oxfam donations and public

trust. So it is promising justice

and changing its rules. But its

future depends on changing a culture

that seems to tolerate sexual

misconduct.

James Comey you have breaking news

in the last few minutes.

In the last

few minutes the Department for

International Development has is it

a statement, announcing that Oxfam

has agreed to withdraw from making

any further applications for

government funding until the

government is satisfied that Oxfam

meets what the government calls the

highest standards that it requires

of its partners. That means from now

on, although Oxfam will continue

receiving previously agreed

government funding, it's in the

region of £30 million each year, it

will not bid for any future projects

until the government is satisfied

that it has put its house in order.

James, thank you.

More funerals are taking place

in Parkland in Florida,

for the victims of Wednesday's mass

high school shooting,

when 17 people died.

Last night thousands

attended a candlelit vigil,

with many in the crowd calling

for tougher gun controls.

President Trump is heading

to Florida today, and is expected

to visit the scene.

Our North America Correspondent

Aleem Maqbool has

sent us this report.

They are coming to mourn a girl shot

dead inside her school. One of the

17 victims of America's latest mass

shooting. Alyssa had been passionate

about playing football and had been

a popular and talented people.

Earlier, thousands had gathered to

remember all of those who died, in

many cases friends that only a few

days ago they had shared classrooms

with. They included 14-year-old

Jaime Guttenberg, all family members

say stood up for those who were

bullied. Her father spoke at the

vigil.

I sent her to school

yesterday. She was supposed to be

safe.

Among the others who died,

Meadow Pollock, who was going to

university next year, Joachim Oliver

a basketball player who loved

writing poetry. Nicholas, a

promising swimmer and academic, and

14-year-old Cara, who her family

says was a great student who loved

being at the beach. All lives cut

short by a former student at their

own school who had returned with a

gun. This is where Nikolas Cruz

bought his weapon. All he had to do

was produce his driving licence,

give the most basic of personal

details and then answer a question

to say that he was not mentally ill.

He was 18 at the time, too young to

buy alcohol here but old enough to

walk out of this job within the 15

rifle. Young survivors are insisting

on better gun control but feel many

adults are letting them down.

The

fact that I have to say this is

horrifying but I feel the need to

because this is the blood of

children that is on the floor of the

school now. These are 17 children

that are dead. Those children are

the future, the feature of this

country. And what are we telling our

children and showing the feature of

our country when they have to come

to school and worry about being

shot?

Politicians again promised

change. You call this a talking

point, why would this be any

different to all the atrocities that

have gone before, what makes you

feel this is different?

I have never

seen students speak out as boldly as

they have. Maybe this is the turning

point.

Close to the school students

demonstrated to demand a solution to

stop this type of tragedy happening

again. In truth America remains a

long way off finding a way to end

its problems with guns. There's been

a big development in this story in

the last half-hour. A statement from

the FBI. It says that someone close

to the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, did

contact the agency at the beginning

of January, talking about his

erratic behaviour, his gun

ownership, his desire to kill people

and even the possibility that he was

going to carry at a school shooting.

And the FBI admits it did not follow

up on that tip-off in the way it

should have done and that is

something it is now deeply regrets.

No apology from the FBI is going to

be enough for those parents and all

of those who have been touched by

this appalling tragedy. Aleem

Maqbool, live in Florida, thank you.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has

insisted she is not frustrated by

the lack of detail from the UK about

its post-Brexit plans despite its

office warning this week that time

was running out the negotiations.

Yet speaking alongside Theresa May

after meeting in Berlin Angela

Merkel did say she was curious about

how Britain pictured its future

relationship with the EU. The Prime

Minister repeated her desire to

maintain the closest possible

economic ties with Germany and the

EU. Vicki Young is in Berlin this

evening.

With her cabinet is divided Theresa

May has been under pressure from

Brussels and Berlin to put more

flesh on the bones, to lay out

exactly how she sees Britain's

future relationship with the

European Union. Tamara Mrs Mabel had

to Europe where she will make an

important speech on security. --

tomorrow Mrs they will head to

Europe. She was a Brexit should not

be a reason to hold back on

co-operation. She wanted to come

here and emphasise the shared by

liberty in the UK and Germany

particularly when it came to their

trading relationship.

But it isn't just a one-way street.

I think that's what's important.

Actually I want a future economic

partnership that is good for the

European Union, is good

for Germany, is good

for the other remaining members

of the European

Union and is good for

the United Kingdom, and I believe

that through negotiations we can

achieve just

that economic relationship.

Angela Merkel may have been weakened

by recent election results, she has

spent the last few man's stitching

together a coalition government but

she is still a very influential

figure within the EU and no one

thinks that much will happen with

Brexit negotiations that she does

not agree with. Today she was asked

if she was frustrated by Britain not

set out in of detail. She said she

was not frustrated, just curious

about how it would work. Downing

Street will be pleased that the tone

that pretty warm.

TRANSLATION:

In the end the outcome

needs to be a fair balance.

That deviates from

the single market and

not as close a partnership

as we've had.

But I think one can find that.

And we, as 27, will be very

carefully vetting that process.

And see to it that it is

as close as possible

but that it's different

to

what Britain currently

has as a member.

Which is what they want.

So sounding positive, warm words

although they don't hide the fact

that there are some difficult

negotiations to come if they are to

try to find a way through a lot of

unresolved issues. Vicki Young, our

chief political correspondent in

Berlin, thank you.

New figures show a dramatic

reduction in the number of young

people buying their own homes

across the UK, in the last 20 years.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies

found that only a quarter

of those aged 25 to 34,

and earning average incomes,

were able to buy a property,

compared with two-thirds

in the 1990s.

Simon Gompertz has the details.

I've been living here

a couple of years now.

Aged 30, keen to buy,

but shut out of the market.

So this is my room.

Tom Bourlet says renting here

in Brighton is money down the drain.

But the house prices are beyond him.

It's mission impossible

at the moment, there's not a chance

of being able to get the deposit.

It's such a cost and with utility

bills, with the cost

of trains going to London,

with my rent prices,

it's just unachievable.

And my friends, they are all around

the same age, and none of us

are on the property ladder yet.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies

looked at young people like Tom,

aged 25-34, on middle incomes

of around £22 to £30,000 a year

fratricide after tax although most

of them were couples with children,

over two decades the number of young

owners has dropped across Britain

from 54 to 44% in the north-east

and Cumbria, the smallest move,

from 66% in east Midlands,

in London from 47 to just 20%.

There's been a collapse in the home

ownership rates of young adults

across the country and it has been

concentrated on middle

income families.

If this continues into their later

life, they're going to be paying

rent for far longer,

potentially into their retirement,

and mean, they have less real

resources for other spending

when they are in old age.

The huge increase in house prices

is the reason why it's

become so difficult.

20 years ago, a young family

would need four times

their income in order to buy.

Now it's more like eight times,

so for increasing numbers,

buying a home is just a nonstarter.

The government's help to buy scheme

is helping people afford more,

particularly new homes.

And first time buyers have

had their stamp duty cut.

But the problem is

also one of supply.

Councils complained that developers

are sitting on planning permissions

for more than 400,000 homes

which have not been built,

and that's aggravating the shortage.

It's really hard to see how

we can make this better

when we are still seeing huge demand

for housing, and that housing

demand is not being met

with the right number of houses.

So I think that it's all coming down

to the individual now.

They are having to make

their choices, they are having

to decide for themselves,

do I want to rent and have

the flexibility but pay more for Ed

or till I want to make a lot

of difficult decisions and get

on the housing ladder sooner?

My mother always says she got

on the property ladder at 25,

26, and she says tells me her

deposit price and how

cheap the deposit was.

Tom is aggrieved that is missing

out, part of a generation

in which most people like it or not

stuck with renting.

Simon Gompertz, BBC News, Brighton.

The time is 6:16.

Our top story this evening:

A former Oxfam aid worker has told

the BBC she was sexually

assaulted by colleagues.

And still to come -

in the wake of football's crisis,

how grassroots clubs are keeping

young players safe.

Coming up on Sportsday in the next

15 minutes on BBC News: More medals

could be on the way for team

GB in Pyeongchang.

Lizzy Yarnold and Laura Deas are

very well placed in the Skeleton.

Now, orangutans are one

of the world's most endangered

species, under threat

from deforestation and hunting.

Now a study has revealed that

on the island of Borneo,

which is one of their last natural

habitats, there could be just 70,000

of the primates left,

and that's a fall of around 50%

in less than 20 years.

Well, an international team,

including researchers

from Chester Zoo, is working

on new projects to help

save the apes from extinction.

Our science correspondent

Victoria Gill has the story.

Hanging onto survival.

Zoo programmes like this

preserve small populations

of Bornean orangutans.

But in the wild, they are being

pushed rapidly towards extinction.

Their rainforest home

continues to be cleared

for agriculture and mining,

but a 16-year-long study has now

revealed that Borneo's orangutans

are disappearing from areas

where the forest is untouched.

They are being targeted by hunters.

Even in the areas where we think

they're safe, we are losing them.

And in some of the large populations

where we have measured this loss,

it's 50% over 16 years.

It is an astonishing decline

at the population level.

Even without animals

being deliberately killed,

scientists estimate that

deforestation alone could wipe out

another 45,000 orangutans

here in the next three decades.

But this bridge-building project

is a much-needed sign of hope.

Where the forest is fragmented

by agricultural drainage ditches,

a team from Chester Zoo

and the Malaysian charity Hutan

is physically reconnecting it

with tough polyester straps.

This remarkable footage captured

by a tourist is the project's

first sign of success.

When these animals use their arms,

they move around, they move that

height, they swing in the forest

canopy and that's what they

rely on in the wild.

The zoo has learned from that

to build bridges that

will reconnect that habitat,

just like the ones

in the zoo enclosure.

To actually see them using them

and moving more freely

across this habitat,

that is so fragmented,

is a really positive sign.

This is very much

a short-term solution.

The long-term solution

is to reforest the area.

Palm oil grown here makes its way

into a huge variety of our food

and other products,

so conservationists are urging us

consumers to check it's

sourced sustainably.

Our choices, scientists say,

could decide whether there

is a future for these

critically endangered apes.

Victoria Gill, BBC News.

Some news coming in from Washington

in the last few minutes. Robert

Mueller has announced charges

against 13 individuals and three

companies. Lets talk to our North

America editor Jon Sopel. Jon, what

more do we know?

Is the 37 page

indictment against these people. The

Mueller investigation has been going

on for some time about Russian

interference and this is a dramatic

move to suddenly bring charges

against these 13 named individuals,

and in one of the indictment it

speaks about early to mid-2016,

operations including supporting the

presidential campaign of their

candidate, Donald J Trump, and

disparaging Hillary Clinton. It also

goes on and says they want to sow

discord and post derogatory

information in the election. So the

Mueller investigation has now

cranked up a gear with the charge

that these -- information that these

are being brought against 13

individuals and these organisations,

as you say. Donald Trump has

insisted there has been no

collusion, but in this document it

shows there certainly was

interference. That is explosive. If

the charge of collusion is made,

that is nuclear.

Thank you for that,

Jon Sopel, live from Washington.

The Manchester City boss

Pep Guardiola has expressed his

sympathy for the victims

of Barry Bennell, the former club

scout convicted of more than 40

counts of child abuse yesterday.

When victims began coming

forward two years ago,

the Football Association brought

in changes to its safeguarding

procedures at grassroots level.

So should the parents of young

players starting out now

in the game be reassured?

Here's our sports

correspondent Natalie Pirks.

Good feet, Daniel.

My football dream is to play

in a cup final with Lionel Messi.

My footballing idol

is Cristiano Ronaldo.

My ultimate dream is

to play for Chelsea...

Dreams.

It's what sport is all about.

Can you drop in?

Then we'll look to try

and play live - ready?

Coaches in charge of shaping these

youngsters believe football's duty

of care is of the utmost importance.

It's making sure that the children

develop to the highest

and full

potential, and the way

they are going to do

that is if they feel valued

and safe, and they feel appreciated.

Whilst it was the revelations

of former professional footballers

which forced the subject of abuse

into the spotlight, it's in amateur

it's in amateur settings

where the majority of

survivors were abused.

The scandal has forced the FA to,

in their own words, take

a look in the mirror.

Football clubs already had

safeguarding procedures

like designated safety officers,

but in the wake of Andy Woodward's

interview in 2016 the FA implemented

six further changes,

including offering counselling

to anyone affected by abuse,

monitoring all 7903 youth football

clubs in England to ensure they're

compliant with safeguarding rules,

and an independent review,

to look at the FA's role

in safeguarding and child

protection up to 2005.

Football and other sports have put

huge amounts of effort

in to try and improve

their safeguarding environments.

What happened in the last year has

been a wake-up call for everybody.

But for some the changes

still don't go far enough.

So I think a predatory adult

would definitely go to the easiest

setting where they can gain

access to children.

Ian Ackley was the first

footballer to give evidence

about Barry Bennell's

crimes in England.

The former youth player says

he was raped by the serial

paedophile more than 100 times,

from the age of 11 to 13.

And he was the original

whistle-blower in a

Channel 4 documentary

about abuse in football.

He believes parents need

to understand what the FA do

monitor, and crucially

what they don't.

The advice actually,

if you want to start a football

team, is get some bids,

get some balls and some cones -

but until that club registers

and starts playing games in a week,

it's not even classed

as a regulated activity.

So how does the FA actually

police and monitor those?

Do I think they have an obligation

to invest in employing people

to look at those areas and those

gaps that are still there,

leaving children vulnerable?

Absolutely, yes, I do.

But ultimately the first line

of defence lies with parents.

Have recent revelations made us

think twice about where

we leave our children?

You need to make sure that your

child is in a happy environment,

and that when you're leaving them

there is no concerns,

no anxiety and no worries.

It definitely makes me

think about other coaches

that the children might

be involved with.

In hindsight, we probably

were very trusting.

You know, five and a half years ago,

yeah, but it would be different now.

I would definitely do more research.

Football's popularity

is also its weakness.

The task the FA faces is huge.

But by being forced

to examine its past,

it's hoped football can

better protect its future.

Natalie Pirks, BBC News.

At the Winter Olympics

in South Korea, Dom Parsons has

secured Team GB's first

medal of the Games.

The 30-year-old took

bronze in the skeleton,

after the hot favourite messed

up his final run.

From PyeongChang,

Andy Swiss reports.

From a 100-1 outsider

to Olympic medallist.

In the sport of eventful journeys,

Dom Parsons takes some beating.

His final run was an

emotional roller coaster.

Beginning in bronze position,

his supporters, including

parents Judith and David,

were starting to dream.

To guarantee a medal,

all he had to do was beat

Nikita Tregubov's time.

But...

Slower by a mere two

hundredths of a second.

Can you believe it?

Well, it will be an agonising wait

now for Dom Parsons.

In second place, but with two more

athletes still to go, has he done

enough for an Olympic medal?

Well, it seemed unlikely.

Next to go, Martins Dukurs,

the world champion.

But, against the odds, he faltered,

and Parsons was gifted

a glorious reprieve.

Parsons unbelievably has his medal!

From despair to delight

in the blink of an eye.

I thought I had lost it,

and made a couple too many

mistakes in that run.

But, Martins made some more

mistakes, and he was

the last person I thought

would make those mistakes.

For his parents, meanwhile,

the relief and pride

were overwhelming.

Gosh, he has earned it -

the last 11 years, he has dedicated

his life to skeleton.

As his mum, how proud

are you feeling right now?

I could not be prouder.

And here is the proof.

The sweetest of family reunions.

For Dom Parsons, the perfect ending

to a day of emotion and elation.

Andy Swiss, BBC News, Pyeongchang.

Time for the weather

Time for the weather with Stav.

Hello. A lovely end to the day for

many of us. Some good Weather

Watcher pictures sent in, you

this

one from Essex. Some high cloud

streaming in from the West but at

least places stay dry. The first

half of the weekend looks drier and

brighter for many of us before

things turn cloudier and milder on

Sunday. There is the cloud streaming

and across much of the country, and

behind that a more substantial band

of rain. This will continue to move

into Western areas. This is the

overnight period. Bringing hill snow

to Scotland and the far north, and

certainly across the Pennines and

the Cumbrian fells. Where we have

the cloud, not too cold obviously

because of the cover but for the

south-east of England, another

chilly nights to come with clear

skies, some frost and fog around as

well. It is Saturday, that front

continues to move east, fizzling out

as it

moves, so some remnants of cloud

affecting central and eastern parts

of England but that should tend to

clear away.

Most places will be fine and dry.

Sunshine around, a few showers in

western Scotland and Northern

Ireland. Ten or perhaps a living

cells is across the South. Milder

into Sunday because we will see this

warm front moving in off the

Atlantic -- or perhaps 11 Celsius.

This will bring a band of often low

cloud with some breaks of rain

particularly to western areas. Could

be heavy at times of Western Hills

and we could start with some

brightness across eastern areas

before through the afternoon it

looks like it will be pretty

disappointing, cloudier and damp for

most of us.