20/02/2018 BBC News at Six

The Oxfam scandal in Haiti.

Now the charity reveals it's

investigating 26 more cases

of alleged sexual misconduct.

Called to account by MPs -

Oxfam's boss admits the sex scandal

has prompted thousands

of people to stop making

donations to the charity.

I am sorry, we are sorry,

for the damage that Oxfam has done,

both to the people of Haiti

and also to wider efforts

to aid and development.

It comes amid fresh allegations

against another charity tonight.

Also, in the programme...

EXPLOSION.

The suburbs of Syria's capital.

Activists say up to 200 are dead

as government forces attack the last

rebel stronghold near Damascus.

The new treatment bringing hope

to children with a rare blood

vessel disorder that

causes facial disfigurement.

COMMENTATOR:

And Christie goes

down before they reach

the very first corner.

Team GB's Elise Christie crashes out

of the Winter Olympics,

disqualified from her last event.

Her dreams of a medal are over.

# I've got new rules, I count 'em...

And Dua Lipa - the 22-year-old whose

career began on YouTube -

is now leading the way

at the Brit awards tomorrow.

And coming up on Sportsday

on BBC News...

Why Barcelona have Chelsea manager

Antonio Conte awake at night

as the two sides prepare to meet

in the last 16 of

the Champions League.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

Oxfam has revealed that it's

investigating 26 more cases

of alleged sexual misconduct

after it emerged that some

of its former staff had paid

women for sex in Haiti

when they were dealing

with the aftermath of

the earthquake in 2010.

Bosses from the charity

were questioned by MPs

in the Commons today.

They said the scandal had prompted

7000 people to stop making

regular donations to Oxfam.

Our Diplomatic Correspondent

James Landale reports.

In 2010, Haiti was flooded with aid

workers, most there to help the

country recover from the earthquake.

But seven men from Oxfam were also

hiring prostitutes and bullying

colleagues, men who were eventually

dismissed or allowed to resign.

Today, the charity's most senior

executives were summoned to

Parliament to explain what had gone

on and why Oxfam hadn't been more

open and done more to stop it

happening again. Sorry wasn't the

half of it.

I am sorry, we are sorry,

for the damage Oxfam has done.

On behalf of the Council of Oxfam,

that we are ashamed of what happened

in Haiti, we don't think

it was well handled.

Please allow me to begin

by saying how sorry I am

about what has happened.

I am ashamed.

In particular, Oxfam's chief

executive apologised for suggesting

the criticism the charity

was getting was disproportionate,

saying it wasn't as if babies had

been murdered in their cots.

I do apologise.

I was thinking under stress.

I had given many interviews,

I had made many decisions

to try to lead Oxfam's

response to this.

Oxfam, he admitted, had not been

explicit about what had gone

on and was now paying the price.

7000 people had cancelled

their regular donations

in the last ten days.

Corporate sponsors were reserving

judgment.

How many more revelations

have come to your notice?

Across

Oxfam Great Britain, we have had

about 26 stories and reports come to

us that are either new reports come

out as a result of these stories, or

earlier stories, where people said,

I didn't necessarily report this at

the time.

MPs just couldn't hide

their frustration.

You as an

organisation are dealing with these

women and girls as if they are just

trinkets, and you can pay for them

and give them a bit of aid and

that's OK. And you don't, when you

know about it, the organisation does

not report it to the Haiti

authorities. That's pretty shocking.

It's really heartbreaking that...

It

is.

That we are in this situation.

But I want to assure you that we are

not doing nothing.

From our point of

view, does it not look like Oxfam

was more interested in protecting

its own brand than protecting

vulnerable women and girls.

It may

look like that. I can't do anything

other than say I think it was wrong.

I am conscious of the fact you

didn't hold responsibility at the

time.

The committee chairman said he

would now hold a full enquiry, the

fourth Oxfam is now facing, to

ensure it gets hits house in order.

Oxfam is apologising to MPs, it's

being more transparent. But what is

clear from today's evidence is that

to recover public trust it will have

to change a culture that tolerated

the exploitation of vulnerable

women. In the Commons, Oxfam was

warned if new safeguarding

procedures were not in place by the

end of next week, then current

government funding could be cut.

The

UK Government reserves the right to

take whatever decisions about

present or future funding to Oxfam

or any other organisation we deem

necessary.

The real test will come

not in Haiti but the next time there

is another natural disaster and the

world's aid industry is deployed

once again. STUDIO:

James is here now.

Tonight there are fresh allegations

involving former boss at charity

Save the Children.

This involves

somebody called Justin Forsyth who

now has a senior position at a

Unicef, but who used to be chief

executive for save the Radio 4 PM

programme, there were three separate

complaints of inappropriate

behaviour towards female members of

staff by Mr Forsyth before he left

in 2015 such as inappropriate texts

and comments. In a statement this

afternoon Mr Forsyth says he made

personal mistakes during his time at

save the judgment. He recognises

that he had an suitable and

thoughtless conversations with

colleagues that I now row caused

offence and hurt. When it was

brought to my attention on two

separate occasions I apologised

unreservedly to the three colleagues

are involved. The apologies were

accepted and thought the issue was

closed many years ago. This is the

second case involving Save the

Children in recent days. Over the

weekend, Brendan Cox, the husband of

murdered MP Jo Cox, admitted he had

made mistakes and behaved in a way

that had caused some women hurt an

offence when he was director of

policy at the charity.

James

Landale, thank you.

Almost 200 people -

including children -

have been killed on the outskirts

of Syria's capital

Damascus since Sunday,

according to activists.

Syrian government forces have

stepped up their bombardment

of Eastern Ghouta -

the last rebel-held

enclave near the capital.

The United Nations has called

for an immediate ceasefire.

Our Middle East Editor

Jeremy Bowen reports.

His report contains distressing

images.

This could be the beginning

of the end of a rebellion

in Eastern Ghouta that

began in 2012.

All the other smaller rebel-held

enclaves around Damascus have been

starved and bombed into submission.

EXPLOSION.

Now, it looks to be

Eastern Ghouta's turn as the regime

pushes for decisive victory

around the capital.

Activists say this is

as bad as it's been.

We can hear the shout and crying

of women and children

through the windows of their homes

under the missiles and mortars

dropping on us like rain.

There is nowhere to hide from this

nightmare in Eastern Ghouta.

A generation has been

born into the war.

Dozens have been killed

by it in the last few

hours in Eastern Ghouta.

Over the years of siege,

they've set up a network

of underground hospitals.

This girl, named in Arabic,

Angel, escaped the worst,

but will have to go back

to the streets to get home.

And this is her area.

With the regime

dropping what appears

to be a barrel bomb,

unguided - an indiscriminate killer.

The Syrian regime denies

attacking civilians.

It says it's trying to liberate

Eastern Ghouta from terrorists.

Eastern Ghouta is a sprawling mix

of concrete suburbs and farmland,

starting about nine miles east

of Damascus' city centre.

The Syrian rebels that have

controlled it since 2012 include

several Islamist militias,

including one with its

roots in Al-Qaeda.

Eastern Ghouta is surrounded

by Syrian government forces.

Before the war, it was just a short

drive from the Syrian

presidential palace.

Officially, it's been designated

a de-escalation zone,

that is an empty phrase.

Force decides what happens in Syria.

After seven years, Syria's war isn't

ending, but it's changing.

President Assad, with the help

of Russia and Iran, is now secure,

but Syria is linked into a web

of war and power politics,

which guarantees more bloodshed.

How many times in the last seven

years have Syrians dug

through the rubble for survivors?

There's talk of safe

corridors out for civilians,

but based on past form,

the regime once victory

but based on past form,

the regime wants victory

in Eastern Ghouta and

the surrender of the rebels.

Jeremy Bowen, BBC News.

The Brexit Secretary has insisted

the UK will continue to meet high

trading standards when it

leaves the EU.

David Davis, speaking

to business leaders in Vienna,

said the UK wanted to lead a global

race to the top in rights

and standards, not a "competitive

race to the bottom".

Labour claims the UK will face

massive de-regulation after Brexit,

threatening the quality of food

and the environment, as well as

long-standing workers' rights.

Here's our political

correspondent Vicki Young.

The UK has decided to carve out a

different path to the European

Union. But ministers don't seem to

be preparing for a sharp change in

direction. The message here in

Vienna was more about reassurance.

David Davis denying accusations from

Labour that the government plans to

sweep away rules that protect

workers or the environment.

They

fear that Brexit could lead to an

Anglo-Saxon race to the bottom.

Britain plunged into eight Mad Max

style world borrowed from dystopian

fiction. These fears about a race to

the bottom are based on nothing.

He

argued that high standards could

help ensure trade with the EU

remained as frictionless as possible

with both sides recognising each

other's rules and institutions.

Is

that these goals will not change the

kind of country Britain is. A

dynamic and open country. That

supports businesses like yours to

grow, to invest, and to innovate in

a competitive, open and fair market.

Some of the business leaders in the

audience who want to keep close ties

to Britain were encouraged by David

Davis' words.

I think his tone is

now different to what it was maybe

one year ago. In reality, hopefully

it will bring us together.

In the

end there will be closer

relationships between the EU and UK,

otherwise nobody will win.

David

Davis' words today are a far cry

from what many in his own party have

been saying about the needs to break

away from the burden of EU red tape

that has been stifling British

business for decades. He prefers to

talk now about ongoing cooperation

and mutual trust with the European

Union after Brexit. Cabinet

ministers have been touring European

capitals in recent days, urging EU

leaders to be pragmatic about Brexit

negotiations. But Labour say it's

the British government that needs to

make some decisions.

The problem is

that you have David Davis saying one

thing, Boris Johnson saying

something else, and the Prime

Minister saying almost nothing. It

has got to be resolved. There is a

basic question here, do you want to

stay close in trading terms to the

EU, or do you want to be distant and

different question what David Davis

says he is certain that a good deal

with Brussels is on the cards. But

discord among his colleagues need to

be dealt with first.

Vicki Young,

BBC News, Vienna.

The parents of the seriously ill

toddler Alfie Evans have

lost their bid to prevent

doctors from withdrawing

life-support for their son.

The judge said he accepted medical

evidence that showed further

treatment for 21-month-old Alfie,

who doctors say is in a vegetative

state, was futile. The judge said he

reached his conclusion with great

sadness. Adina Campbell is at the

High Court for us.

This was not the

news Alfie Evans' parents were

hoping for. Bayard Italy

disappointment with today's ruling

at the High Court. When the judgment

was read out it took approximately

two hours. -- they are bitterly

disappointed. Alfie Evans' father

sobbed uncontrollably. He was

bitterly disappointed to find out

his son's life support would be

withdrawn this Friday. They had

hoped to take their son Alfie to

Italy where doctors there had

potentially, were going to see if

they could prolong his life by

providing treatment, but that will

not happen. The life support will be

withdrawn on Friday. This is what

Alfie's Father Tom Evans had to say

outside court earlier.

This isn't over, this

is just the start.

I'm going to take this

absolute NHS down.

I'm not giving up.

My son ain't giving up.

No one, and I repeat,

no one in this country's

taking my boy away from me, no one.

And they're not violating his right,

and they're not violating my right.

My son's two years of age and he's

been sentenced to the death penalty.

How wrong is that?

Alfie's parents are now coming to

the end of this legal process. We

believe they are going to appeal

this decision, but the life support

machine is expected to be turned off

this Friday and with time running

out, they have just three days to

go.

The time is 6:15.

Our top story this evening:

The Oxfam scandal in Haiti -

the charity reveals

it's investigating 26 more cases

of alleged sexual misconduct.

Both at home and abroad.

And still to come, the local council

that's going to start giving

thousands of kids a free meal,

every day of the year.

Coming up on Sportsday on BBC News:

Chelsea have the unenviable task

of stopping Barcelona as

the two sides meet in the last 16

of the Champions League tonight.

Nikki Cristou is 13 years old -

she was born with a rare blood

vessel disorder that makes part

of her face swell causing

serious disfigurement.

And it can be life threatening.

Now research, involving

Great Ormond Street Hospital,

has found the genes

responsible for the condition,

which affects hundreds

of children in the UK.

And it also identifies

existing cancer drugs

as a possible treatment.

Our medical correspondent

Fergus Walsh reports

on the ground-breaking research.

OK, so we need to do the eggs.

And froth the eggs.

13-year-old Nikki Cristou

never knows when her face

will start to bleed.

She has a rare disorder,

which means high pressure blood

in her arteries feeds directly

into her veins.

It causes swelling, facial

disfigurement and life threatening

bleeds from her nose,

and even her tear ducts.

It's very scary, because you don't

really know if it's going to stop,

how much blood you're losing,

and if it is really bad,

then I can, you know,

become very light-headed

and things like that.

So I think when these bleeds happen,

you just know that

it's time for an ambulance.

Nikki has not let her condition,

known as AVM, hold her back.

The winner of

Junior Bake Off is...Nikki.

As well as winning Junior Bake Off

in 2016, she's also interviewed

the Prime Minister for CBBC.

So what were you like as a teenager?

Oh, gosh.

Nikki has had hundreds of

appointments at Great Ormond Street

Hospital, and 30 operations.

How are you doing?

It's lovely to see you.

You, too.

I'm just going to have a little

feel of your face.

And is now part of

ground-breaking research,

which is led by her consultant.

The team at UCL's Institute

of Child Health sequenced the DNA

of more than 150 children

with her condition, and found

it could be triggered

by four faulty genes.

This is really an enormous step

for us, having discovered

the genetic causes of these

in individual patients,

we're now able to suggest

treatments, which could

potentially slow

the growth, stop the growth,

or perhaps even reverse

the growth of this condition

in the longer term.

And those drug treatments

come from an unlikely source.

The gene mutations discovered

in this lab, which are responsible

for these faulty blood vessels

also play a key role

in the growth of some cancers.

Now, the good news is,

there are several cancer drugs,

which inhibit these faulty genes,

which can now be repurposed

to treat Nikki's condition.

This is your right eye.

And this is the AVM.

Nikki's one of two

patients who are taking

the targeted cancer drugs.

Today, she is finding out

the results of some new scans.

This looks good.

It looks exciting that,

after six months, it seems

to be holding the growth.

That's really good, isn't it.

Yeah, that's so good.

Thank you.

It will be at least a year

before doctors know for sure

whether the cancer drugs Nikki

is taking are working.

But the discovery of the faulty

genes has given hope to patients

with this debilitating condition.

Fergus Walsh, BBC News.

KFC says disruption is expected to

continue across many of its

restaurants for the rest of the week

after a change of delivery supplier

meant they ran out of chicken. The

company said that half of its 900 UK

outlets remain closed. The KFC

crisis has even prompted calls to

the police in London's Tower

Hamlets, they say it is not a police

matter.

One of Scotland's largest councils

is going to start providing free

lunches every day of the year

for thousands of children

from low income households.

North Lanarkshire council says it

will use sports centres and other

facilities to provide meals

when schools are closed.

Our Scotland Editor Sarah Smith has

been talking to some primary

school children.

Yeah, there's all different

things you can get.

My favourite's chicken curry.

It's tomato pasta.

So this is your favourite

meal you've got the day?

Yeah.

You get lettuce, and you have tomato

and you have all the pasta.

When I was at school,

school lunches were not something

you looked forward to,

but are they actually could you?

Yeah. Really good.

All the kids here do seem to

really enjoy their school meals,

and the teachers know that,

for some of them, it's the best meal

they're going to eat all day.

When the schools close,

quite a few of these kids

do, sadly, go hungry.

That's why North Lanarkshire Council

are to pilot a scheme providing free

lunches to kids who need them,

not just on school

days, but every day.

Every so often, you can spot

that someone's hungrier

than we would like them to be

after a weekend, or after late

holiday period in particular.

It can be individual children,

we know that food is an issue.

If you're hungry, you won't

learn and you won't achieve.

Other councils in the UK provide

meals during school holidays.

North Lanarkshire will be

the first to make free lunches

available 365 days a year,

from primary one up to the third

year of secondary school.

I know there are children out

there that don't get a meal.

Some adults go without to give

their kids during the holidays.

The children get full meals

at school, so in the holidays

and that, you give them a piece

for lunch, and they're, like,

"Where is my hot dinner?"

Ken?

40% of these children qualify for

free school meals.

But the school works hard to make

sure it's not obvious

who to avoid any stigma.

For the same reasons,

kids won't be coming into school

at weekends and holidays,

meals will be served in leisure

centres or community halls.

It will cost around £500,000 a year

to feed children who might not

otherwise eat a proper meal

over the weekend.

We know that when children

leave school on a Friday,

sometimes they're not eating again

until they return to

school on a Monday.

And that has a significant impact

on cognitive development,

it has an impact on behaviour

and concentration levels.

And we're hoping that this

will help close the poverty

related attainment gap.

Hungry children can't learn properly

or achieve their full potential.

North Lanarkshire might be one

of the most deprived areas

in the UK, but they hope that

doesn't mean that kids

here have to go hungry.

Sarah Smith, BBC News, Wishaw.

She was one of Team GB's big hopes

at the Winter Olympics,

but Elise Christie's dreams

of taking home a medal are over

after she was disqualified

in her 1000 metres short track

speed skating heat.

It was the last chance

for the triple world champion

after she crashed out

of her two other events.

Our Sports Correspondent David

Ornstein reports from Pyeongchang.

Just three days after leaving the

ice on a stretcher, Elise Christie

was back, her a wing tip hopes on

the line.

Away they go.

And Christie goes down

before they reach the very

first corner.

After crashing out of the 500

and 1500 metres, Christie's

bid for 1000 metre gold got off

to the worst possible start.

But having been tripped,

she earned a reprieve,

the heat would be rerun.

An ankle injury meant

her participation was

only confirmed in the hour before

the race, and although slow to get

going, she fought back impressively.

With half a lap to go, Christie's

in position to qualify here.

Battling through a physical

contest to finish

second and reached

the quarterfinals.

Or so she thought.

As Christie was

carried away in pain,

her night would take another turn

for the worse, the judges spotting

two infringements and disqualifying

the triple world champion.

So it's heartbreak

for Elise Christie yet

again after failing to win a medal

at the last Olympics four years ago,

history has repeated itself here

in Pyeongchang, her dreams ending

in bitter disappointment.

Right now, I'm a bit shell-shocked.

I worked so hard to come

back from this injury.

I think a thousand people

wouldn't have skated

with my ankle the way it was.

The only thing I can say is,

I promise Britain I will fight back

from this, and I will

come back for Beijing.

And hopefully, you know,

I can do Britain proud then.

It's going to come in nicely...

There was better news for Britain's

curlers as the men out dazzled

the colourfully dressed Norway,

and like the women who beat Japan,

can progress to the semifinals

with victories tomorrow.

In the figure skating,

Penny Coomes and Nick Buckland

finished 11th in the free dance

final, an event that will long be

remembered for the world record

display of Tessa Virtue

and Scott Moir.

Skating together since childhood,

the Canadians took a stunning

second gold of the games,

and are now the most decorated

skaters in Winter Olympics history.

David Ornstein, BBC News.

And finally to the singer,

songwriter and model Dua Lipa.

She's just 22 years old

but already she's the most streamed

female artist in the UK.

She started her musical

career at the age of 15 -

posting clips on YouTube.

And it paid off because tomorrow

night she's up for five

awards at the Brits -

a record for a female artist

as Mark Savage reports.

# One, don't pick up the phone

# You know he's only calling

because he's drunk and alone

With more than 1 billion

views on YouTube, New

Rules has become Dua Lipa's

signature song, inspiring hundreds

of covers and tributes.

# I've got new rules, I count 'em...

I never expected New Rules

to do what it did.

You never expect it

to take a world of

its own, and it turns into memes,

and you have people, like,

recreating the dance moves.

Born in London to

Kosovan Albanian parents,

Dua Lipa returned to

Pristina when she was 13.

She lasted just two years before

flying the nest back to London.

I didn't feel like there was enough

opportunity for me to be able

to do this from Kosovo.

So when I moved back

to London at the age of 15,

I thought that I'm going to,

kind of, use social media

to my advantage.

And I'm just go to put

some covers online.

Before long, the teenager had

a starring role in this

X Factor advert.

But her music career

took longer to get going.

Dua's debut album

was delayed several times

while she built up

a huge live following.

Are you guys ready to sing with me?

# Oh baby, come on,

let me get to know you

# Just another chance

so that I can show...#

I think her record label have,

kind of, kept the faith

and let us spend a long time making

a debut album, and develop her

perspective and the kind of

pop star she wants to be.

And that kind of faith,

I think, is in short supply in

the music industry at the moment.

We're backstage here at the Brit

awards, where tomorrow night,

Dua Lipa will find out if she can

turn her five nominations into

actual prizes.

But whatever happens,

she says she hopes she is the

first in a new wave

of British female stars.

# If you don't like the way

I talk, why am I on your mind...? #

I feel like there are a lot more

female artists on the rise,

and there's going to be a lot more.

And we're going to see a lot more

females on those stages.

# If we don't mess

this whole thing up

# Guaranteed I can blow your mind

# Mwah...#

Mark Savage, BBC News.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Susan Powell.

We have had a good look at the

sunshine across the British Isles

today, particularly to the north and

west, with clear skies allowing the

warmth through the day we gained

today to radiate away. We will see

widespread frost developing tonight.

In the east, thicker cloud, and a

weather front that will feed drizzle

into eastern areas for the small

hours, but the temperatures are

above freezing for frost.

hours, but the temperatures are

above freezing for frost. We can see

the blue on the map behind me, -2 or

three as a starting temperature.

Frosty but a lovely looking start

for Scotland and Northern Ireland

with sunshine, always more cloud

around for England and Wales,

hopefully some brightness, but

perhaps cloud thick enough to bring

rain into the Midlands in the

afternoon. Top temperatures, 7-9, so

cooler than today. High pressure is

going to be keeping our weather

settled as we look into the

foreseeable future. The weather

front is the last one we will see

for some time. If you are a regular

viewer, you will get bored of the

higher pressure charts. Thursday,

high-pressure stored in the west to

the Atlantic, a fine day in the

main, but cloud around on Thursday,

hopefully bright spells as well with

easterly wind starting to nag to the

south of the British Isles. Four in

Norwich, it will feel considerably

colder, and that is a taste of

things to come. The area of high

pressure will not do to keep it

settled, it will build and build

three Friday, Saturday and Sunday,

moving up to Scandinavia, follow the

isobars back as a pipeline to show

you where the air coming our way

will come from. It start in Siberia.

That cold air will drift across to

the British Isles. Monday and

Tuesday next week, it will feel raw

with a biting wind.

That's all from the BBC News at Six,

so it's goodbye from me.