23/02/2018 BBC News at Six

Emotional tributes to the two

brothers aged just six and two,

killed in a hit and run.

Casper and Corey Platt-May

were struck by a car

yesterday afternoon.

Their aunt says they

will be so missed.

They were the most loving boys.

They did nothing wrong.

They were loved by so many people.

Two people have been

arrested and are being held

by the police for questioning.

Also tonight:

A review finds not just girls

but also vulnerable women

are being sexually abused

by grooming gangs in

the north-east of England.

Were you the mastermind that

cheated the Olympics?

Yes.

The man who revealed Russian doping,

now in fear for his life, says

Russia should not be allowed at the

closing of the Winter Olympics.

The errors in prescribing

medicines in England

causing around 700 deaths a year.

And British hopes of Olympic gold

swept away in the curling.

Coming up later on BBC News,

Six Nations Sportsday.

The first Russian gold of the games

in figure skating.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

The family of two young brothers

killed in a hit-and-run collision

have paid tribute to them as "jolly,

happy, lovely boys".

Corey and Casper Platt-May, aged six

and two, were struck by a car

yesterday afternoon in Coventry.

Their grandfather said he sobbed

at the scene of the crash

where the boys' pushchair,

baby walker and other possessions

were strewn over the road.

Their mother, who was

uninjured in the crash,

said her boys would be so missed.

A 53-year-old man and a 41-year-old

woman have been arrested.

Sima Kotecha reports.

Casper and Corey.

One brother loved maths

and football, the other enjoyed

splashing in puddles.

Yesterday, on this road in Coventry,

they were hit by a car.

Today, bewilderment,

confusion and shock.

They were the most loving boys.

They did nothing wrong.

They were loved by so many people,

and so cheeky and...

Corey was cheeky,

artistic, mischievous.

A right wrestler.

Casper followed his brother,

being a wrestler, being

mischievous and being cocky.

Just a normal little toddler.

They didn't deserve this.

It was around 2pm and the boys

were on their way to the park

with their mother when they were hit

by a black Ford Focus.

They were taken to hospital

with severe injuries

but neither of them survived.

I feel really heartbroken,

to be honest.

I've known the dad

almost all my life.

And such a lovely family.

Why do bad things happen?

My little one, she knows the older

one, because she's six.

He was really friendly.

And kind.

A 53-year-old man and a 41-year-old

woman have been arrested

on suspicion of drink-driving

and causing death

by dangerous driving.

Casper and Corey's mother paid

tribute to her sons on social media,

calling them amazing,

cheeky and fun.

Their grandfather had this to say.

The boys were lovely.

They'd do anything.

Just very happy, jolly, lovely boys.

And their lives have been

taken away so young.

It's unbelievable.

I just don't know

what to say, you know.

It's just crazy.

Well, the mood here this evening is

sombre indeed. The pile of flowers

behind me has been steadily growing

throughout the day, and people have

been standing in silence, trying to

process what happened to those two

boys yesterday in Coventry. We are

hearing from police this evening

that the two people arrested

yesterday, 853 or old man and a

41-year-old woman are still being

questioned. -- 53-year old man.

A review into sexual exploitation

in the north-east of England has

concluded it is likely that not just

girls but also vulnerable women

are being "extensively" abused

across the UK.

It follows Operation Sanctuary

in August last year which saw these

18 people jailed for the sexual

abuse of young women and girls

groomed in Newcastle.

A review of that case has concluded

a number of gangs have abused

more than 700 victims

across the Northumberland region.

From Newcastle, Fiona Trott reports.

A city under scrutiny.

On these streets, as many as 700

vulnerable girls and women

were sexually exploited.

Some were trafficked

from one house to another

and abused by several men.

Vanessa, not her real name,

was a victim of sexual exploitation.

To protect her identity,

we have used an actor's voice.

At first, nothing was expected.

I would just meet them

and sit and have a drink.

As time went on, I would have

to have sex with them.

When you are in care,

they say you need education

but what they seem to forget is that

you can have the mental

intelligence, but if you are not

emotionally educated,

it is pointless.

That is why schools

like this are teaching

children about grooming.

Operation Sanctuary

happened on their doorstep.

In Newcastle, we have seen

people being arrested.

Generally, it tends to be men.

It makes you afraid to go

out in case it happens

to you or your friend.

You get worried?

Yes.

Scared in case it happens

and you don't know who to turn

to and who you could trust.

Both people in a relationship need

to be comfortable and you need to be

in a situation where you can

open up and listen.

Today's report says

it is not just children.

For the first time, a focus

on vulnerable adults and a warning

to other towns and cities

across the UK.

It was a specific feature

of the Newcastle experience that it

What I'd like the government to do

is to have a really good look

at the learning that is now

available about abuse of adults

with vulnerabilities,

check the legislation,

make sure the legislation

that is in place is fit for purpose.

In the meantime, this is how police

are tackling the problem now.

Takeaway staff across Newcastle

are being trained on how

to spot adult victims.

They know the exploitation

still exists in this city.

I think it would be naive and wrong

for me to suggest that

because of Sanctuary

and at the point that this

report is published,

that this has stopped.

That we have solved the problem.

We haven't.

It continues.

It carries on, I would suggest,

in most, if not all towns

and cities in the UK.

Most of the perpetrators who cruised

the streets were from Pakistani,

Bangladeshi and Indian backgrounds.

The report is calling

for research into their cultures

to understand their motivation

and what it calls an

arrogant persistence.

The hundreds of victims in Newcastle

received a public apology from the

review team today. This is what the

team says about how other towns and

cities can learn from Newcastle.

They say there should be an

automatic assumption that sexual

exploitation is happening on their

doorstep. Only then can it be

identified and dealt with as soon as

possible.

The man who exposed

the Russian Olympic doping scandal

says his country's athletes should

not be allowed to parade

under their national flag

at the closing ceremony

of the Winter Games this weekend.

Two Russian athletes have tested

positive for banned drugs.

Dr Grigory Rodchenkov's revelations

of state-sponsored doping

saw the country banned

from the Olympics,

its athletes forced

to compete as neutrals.

In fear of his life,

Dr Rodchenkov went into hiding.

Now in the United States,

our sports editor Dan Roan travelled

to interview him

at a secret location.

It's one of sport's

greatest scandals.

Russian cheating reached its height

at the last Winter Games in Sochi.

The mastermind, Doctor

Grigory Rodchenkov.

In 2015, the former head

of Moscow's anti-doping lab

turned whistle-blower,

fleeing to the West.

Ever since, he's been

in FBI witness protection.

And we are on the way to meet him.

For more than two years now,

the man at the very heart

of Russia's doping scandal has been

living in hiding, here somewhere

in the United States.

Finally, he's agreed to speak to us,

but such are the security

concerns surrounding him,

we've not even been told

where we have to go.

After hours on the road,

we are taken to a location

that we are told has to remain

a secret, along

with his new identity.

If you had not left Russia,

where would you be now?

You'd be dead?

Rodchenkov's role in Russia's

remarkable doping programme

became the subject of

an Oscar-nominated film.

Were you the mastermind that

cheated the Olympics?

He said the conspiracy

went right to the top,

and that London 2012

was also targeted.

So what does he say to British

athletes whose Games were tainted?

The Russian government

says you are lying.

You were cheating.

It wasn't them, it was you.

Does British sport have a problem

with cheating, do you think?

Rodchenkov says he may soon be

prepared to name names, and has

vowed to reveal more information.

Despite Russian claims he is part

of a Western conspiracy,

his information led to a ban

from the Winter Olympics.

168 of the country's athletes

competed as neutrals,

but they may now be allowed to march

under their national flag

at the closing ceremony.

The Olympic athletes

of the Russian team...

Only clean Russians were meant

to be in Pyeongchang,

but today a second of its athletes

at these games, Nadezhda Sergeeva,

failed a drugs test.

Moving forward from sport's biggest

crisis is proving no easy task.

Dan Roan, BBC News.

The United Nations Security Council

has been meeting to discuss

a resolution calling for a 30-day

humanitarian ceasefire in Syria.

There were more air strikes today

targeting the rebel-held

area of eastern Ghouta,

near Damascus, which has been under

heavy bombardment since Sunday.

More than 400 people are reported

to have been killed this week.

Nick Bryant is at the UN.

So far it appears to be Russia

that's holding up a ceasefire.

Any sign of a breakthrough?

Yes, that's right. We were supposed

to have a vote on this ceasefire

resolution mid-morning which was

postponed. Then it was supposed to

be at noon, that got postponed.

Western diplomats are saying the

Russians are using delaying tactics

to allow the Assad regime to

continue its military campaign in

Eastern Ghouta. They are saying

sometimes the Russians are doing

over semantics rather than

substance, just changing a word here

or there. And while this diplomatic

haggling continues, so does the

bombardment of Eastern Ghouta, that

enclave to the east of the capital,

Damascus. This morning saw the most

intense bombardment so far. This

building behind me is packed with UN

staff, humanitarian professionals,

desperate to get humanitarian aid

into Eastern Ghouta and to carry out

medical evacuations. What they are

waiting for is a green light from

the Security Council, for Russia to

allow this draft resolution to go

through. While we have been on air,

one of the ambassadors in the heart

of the negotiations says, we are

almost there. We will see, because

that ceasefire resolution can't come

soon enough for the civilians in

besieged Eastern Ghouta.

Nick Bryant

in New York, thank you.

A company that makes ejector seats

has been fined £1.1 million

over the death of an RAF Red Arrows

pilot in 2011.

Flight Lieutenant Sean Cunningham

died when the main parachute

on his seat failed to deploy.

Martin-Baker Aircraft Limited

had already admitted

breaking safety laws.

The judge at Lincoln Crown Court

described it as having been

"an entirely preventable tragedy".

The head of Royal Bank of Scotland

says its return to profit,

for the first time since

it was bailed out by

the government in 2008,

is a "really symbolic moment".

RBS, a majority of which is still

owned by the taxpayer,

made an annual profit

of £752 million in 2017 compared

with a loss of nearly

£7 billion the year before.

Our economics editor

Kamal Ahmed reports.

Faced with one of the biggest crises

since the Second World War...

A coordinated response

to the financial crisis...

For RBS, the government will take...

It was an astonishing time,

a global risky bank on the verge

of collapse, customers unsure

if they could withdraw their own

money, a rescue plan funded

by the taxpayer to save the economy.

A decade on, after years of losses,

the man at the helm of a partially

revived RBS said he believed

the worst was behind them.

This is actually very symbolic.

I think not just for our colleagues

at work but also for the UK,

who did put a lot of

money into this bank.

And we've been restructuring it,

taking losses through conduct

and litigation issues.

From the out of control

RBS to the new, a focus

on the simpler NatWest,

which RBS owns, and selling off

the riskier bits of that old bad

bank after past bad behaviour.

A better day, a symbolic day

for this bank, but it's a bank

that is not out of the woods.

Ahead is a huge fine

from the American authorities over

this bank's involvement

in the mortgage crisis over there.

Here, there's the continuing fallout

from the terrible treatment

of many small businesses.

Yes, this year a profit,

but the accumulated losses

by this bank over the last

decade, £58 billion.

RBS knows it is facing a tough 2018.

It has set aside £3.2 billion to pay

fines expected from America.

And it will need to compensate those

small firms it has mistreated.

That could cost £400 million.

That's why the share price

went down today by 4%,

despite the profits.

Will the taxpayer get their money

back for bailing you out

in the financial crisis?

It will take a number

of years to come through.

The government has said

they want to start that process

in the fiscal year 18-19,

and it will take probably

about three to five years for them

to get down to a much smaller

percentage of their ownership.

Mr McEwan said costs still had

to be controlled and gave

no guarantees on jobs,

or that bank branches

would not be closed.

The British public have invested

in RBS and supported it supported it

for the last ten years.

We would like to see that support

invested back into the local

communities RBS serves.

That starts with the bank

branch closure programme,

which should be slowed

down and stopped.

A more positive time for RBS,

but challenges ahead

and a clear message -

the taxpayer will not be getting his

or her money back any time soon.

Kamal Ahmed, BBC News.

Our top story this evening.

Emotional tributes to the two

brothers, aged just six

and two, killed in a hit

and run yesterday afternoon.

And still to come.

The 15-year-old sensation who's

taken the first gold for the Olympic

athletes from Russia

in the women's figure skating.

Coming up on Sportsday on BBC News.

The 15-year-old skater

Alina Zagitova wins the Olympic

athletes from Russia

team their first gold

of the Games in figure skating.

Errors in prescribing drugs

in England are causing hundreds

of deaths every year.

The Health Secretary,

Jeremy Hunt, says the errors

are causing "appalling levels

of harm and death".

A government study found as many

as 237 million mistakes are possibly

being made each year.

Many cause no harm to

patients but some errors

are believed to cause

around 700 deaths per year

and could contribute

to thousands more.

The cost to the NHS in compensation

and additional care costs is over

one and a half billion pounds.

Mr Hunt said staffing issues

are a factor and the system

must be modernised,

Here's our Health Editor Hugh Pym.

Shirley has her husband Harry

to thank for spotting a medication

error which could have

made her very seriously ill.

She was admitted to hospital

with pneumonia but was mistakenly

given double dose of

the usual epilepsy medicine.

It was only put right after Harry

saw her condition had got worse

realised something was wrong.

Thinking back on it now,

her granddaughter and the rest

of the family are angry

about Shirley's ordeal.

I was personally really quite

horrified that something like that

could happen whilst in the care

of a hospital.

You know, you don't expect to go

into hospital and receive

the wrong medication,

especially something

you're already prescribed

and you have a prescription for.

You shouldn't then

receive the wrong dosage.

I think it was quite scary to think

that that error could be made.

I was shouting and hollering

and didn't know where

I was, what I was doing.

And that's not me at all.

It can happen right

across the system and not just

in hospitals and care homes

where medication is

being administered.

Pharmacists can make errors

when they are dispensing medicines.

They say they sometimes have

to correct mistakes made by GPs

when they are issuing descriptions.

The government says medication

errors are made in every

health system but even so,

action is needed including greater

use of online prescribing.

This is not about blaming doctors,

nurses, pharmacists,

who work under a huge

amount of pressure.

It's about putting the checks

and balances in place

with e-prescribing systems

and making sure the culture is right

so if someone does make a mistake

they are not criminalised for it.

We can learn from that mistake

and stop it being repeated.

Health unions agree that more needs

to be done but they argue underlying

issues like staffing

should be tackled.

There aren't enough staff always

to keep patients as safe

as they should be because errors

are so much easier made

when you don't know the patient,

you don't know the area.

You may not know the drugs.

It may be an area you're not

familiar working in.

It could even be

a different specialty.

Staff are moved around areas

to cover the gaps in the service

that we have at the moment.

Shirley and her family

are waiting for a full

explanation of what happened.

Whatever the reasons

for the mistake over the medicine,

they simply want someone

to take responsibility.

Hugh Pym, BBC News.

President Trump has criticised

an armed officer who stood outside

the Florida school where a gunman

killed 17 people last week.

Deputy Scot Peterson resigned

after an investigation found

he waited outside while shots

were being fired and failed

to confront the suspect.

The President, who has suggested

arming teachers as one way

of reducing the risk to students,

said the officer hadn't

shown enough courage.

He was there for five

minutes, for five minutes,

that was during the entire shooting.

He heard it right at the beginning

so he certainly did a poor job

but that's a case where somebody

was outside, they are trained,

they didn't react properly under

pressure or they were a coward.

European Union leaders

are meeting in Brussels

without Theresa May to discuss

the EU's future after Brexit.

Theresa May will give more details

on how close a relationship Britain

should eventually have with the EU

in a speech next Friday.

Our Europe Correspondent Damian

Grammaticas is at the EU

summit in Brussels.

What have the leaders

been discussing today?

Fiona where getting more details of

the outcome of that press conference

happening right now. On the table

were difficult issues they will be

facing, number one, the hole in the

budget left when the UK leaves,

about 10% of the EU's budget and

there are divisions. Countries who

put money in, many said they don't

want to put mooring but the

countries who want to receive money,

don't want to receive less. Donald

Tusk is said a number of countries

have indicated a willingness to

spend more and on priorities like

stemming illegal migration and

defence and security, so perhaps

some progress there. Is also said

there is an agreement on the UK's

MEPs, those seats will disappear and

be carved up amongst other

countries. On the crucial issue of

the Brexit negotiation, the leaders

here are all waiting to hear the

outcome of the Cabinet discussions

at Chequers. Indications are that

the UK will try to ask for a trade

deal with added extras, special

access for some businesses like

automobiles, and the Irish prime

ministers today said he poured cold

water on the idea saying you can't

have special access in some areas

and the EU has already made it is

not keen on that idea but Donald

Tusk is that he's going to London on

Thursday next week ahead of Theresa

May's big speech and needs details

and says he will press ahead with

EU's plan whether the UK is ready or

not.

Damian, in Brussels, thank you.

Reality TV star Kylie Jenner showed

the power of social media

when she tweeted a post that wiped

a billion pounds off

Snapchat's stock market value.

She posted about the SnapChat app's

redesign to her 24-and-a-half

million Twitter followers,

saying:

"So does anyone else not

open Snapchat anymore?

"Or is it just me?"

Just ten minutes later she wrote,

"Still love you tho snap...my first

love" but by then it was too late.

The comedian, broadcaster and author

Stephen Fry has revealed he's been

suffering from prostate cancer.

The 60-year-old had an operation

to remove tumours last month

and said things had gone pretty well

and he's now on the

road to recovery.

I thought, well, before the gossip

gets silly and ill-informed I might

as well come clean so there you are.

Stephen Fry, my fight with cancer.

Of course it wasn't a fight.

I just submitted and

let the surgeon...

Ben was wonderful and Roger,

the urologist was wonderful

and Tony my doctor, wonderful.

I generally felt my life was saved

by this early intervention

so I would urge any of you men

of a certain age to think

about getting your PSA

levels checked and then,

of course, it's all about discussing

what the outcome, what the plan

should be with your specialist

and your doctor.

At the Winter Olympics,

Britain lost to Sweden

in the semifinal of the women's

curling although there is still

the chance of a bronze medal.

Elsewhere, a Russian girl,

aged just 15, won gold

in the ladies figure skating.

Our Sports Correspondent,

Andy Swiss, reports.

So would it be another step

towards the Olympic title?

The British team walked out to a mix

of noise and nerves.

The captain's face betraying just

how much was at stake.

Four years ago in Sochi, the British

women lost in the semifinals.

So for Eve Muirhead and her team

this is a chance to put that

disappointment behind them

and to guarantee themselves

an Olympic medal.

What followed proved

predictably tense.

Sweden went ahead early

but Britain fought back.

COMMENTATOR:

Has Eve Muirhead

played a cracker here?

A spot of Muirhead magic

to level things up.

Well done, Eve Muirhead.

But their hopes

suddenly slipped away.

An error by the captain giving

the Swedes three shots.

The expression said it all.

From there there was no way back.

Sweden wrapped up an emphatic win.

Britain will now play off

for bronze, but their

golden hopes have gone.

Absolutely gutted.

Absolutely gutted.

I guess we've trained hard

for the last three or four years

to be in that position

and unfortunately today

we were just outplayed.

But if that was one-sided,

the other semifinal

delivered astonishing drama.

In extra time, South Korea

had the final stone

and a nation willing it on.

COMMENTATOR:

They

are going to get it.

They have.

What a fantastic shot!

Victory over Japan sparking

wild celebrations.

The hosts in the final

and in utter jubilation.

They are into the gold medal match.

But perhaps the day's

greatest achievement

belonged to a 15-year-old,

the remarkable Alina Zagitova

winning a first gold

medal for the Olympic

athletes from Russia.

Her country is banned

from these Games so,

come the presentation,

no national flag

and a neutral anthem.

An unusual ceremony

for an extraordinary teenage talent.

Andy Swiss, BBC News, PyeongChang.

Amazing. It's going to be chilly

here.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Alina Jenkins.

Cold as Pyeongchang but certainly

turning colder. Some sparkling

sunshine around and we keep that

through the weekend. This was taken

in early on this afternoon but

despite a good deed of sunshine

around through Saturday and Sunday,

it will feel bitterly cold as the

south-easterly winds start to

strengthen and as we go into next

week, a chance for some of us to see

some significant snow. This evening

and it's cloudy stretching down

through East Anglia. Summit could

push into the Midlands may be

northern parts of Wales, but for

much of the country, fairly clear

skies and under those clear skies

temperature is taking a tumble.

Minus three Celsius widely. A few

rural spots down to -5 so cold

frosty start to the day tomorrow. A

good deal of sunshine. Much of the

overnight cloud melting away but

some exceptions Northern Ireland,

the far south-west of England and

later in the day north of Scotland

seeing a bit more cloud.

Temperatures getting up between 4-7

on the strength of the wind and it

will feel colder and we do it all

again in Sunday. A cold frosty start

with sunshine. More sunshine for

Northern Ireland on Sunday. Cloud

creeping into Scotland, North

England could see a few wintry

flurries. Temperatures 4-7. Ad on

the strength of brisk south-easterly

wind and in places it will feel more

like -3 especially through the

Midlands and East Anglia so a cold

day on Sunday. It turns even colder.

The wind coming all the way down

from the Arctic pushing their way

across UK and in that airflow some

wintry showers developing across the

North Sea so Monday and Tuesday, a

greater chance for eastern parts of

the country to see some snow fall

and so that could push further

westwards through the rest of the

week. Fiona. Thanks very much.

A reminder of our main

Thanks very much.

story.

Emotional tribute to the two

brothers aged 62 who were killed in

a in a hit-and-run yesterday

afternoon.