20/03/2018 BBC News at Six

International pressure mounts

on Facebook over allegations

about the use of millions

of people's data.

Founder Mark Zuckerberg has been

summoned to parliament

to answer questions.

It follows allegations

that a British firm,

Cambridge Analytica,

used data from 50 million

Facebook members.

Of course individuals

should be careful.

Of course they should think

twice about who they're

sharing their information with,

but on the other hand it's really up

to the companies to get this right

and comply with the law.

We'll be asking what impact

the claims could have

on the giant tech firm.

Also tonight.

A Red Arrows Hawk has crashed

at an RAF base in North Wales.

Two people were on board - it's not

yet known if they survived.

Expelled after the nerve agent

attack - a plane carrying 23 Russian

diplomats leaves Britain

on its way to Moscow.

Cheaper fuel and food lead

to a bigger than expected

fall for inflation -

it drops to its lowest

level since last summer.

And on the brink of extinction -

the last male northern white rhino

in the world has died in Kenya.

And coming up on

Sportsday on BBC News.

England scrum half Danny Care

admits they let the fans

down after their worst

Six Nations finish.

But they're still aiming

to win the World Cup.

Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six.

There's growing international

pressure on the social media

company Facebook tonight,

over measures it's taking to ensure

the security of the personal data

of the two billion people who use it

around the world.

It follows allegations

from a whistleblower that

information about 50 million

of its users has been harvested

from the site by the British firm

Cambridge Analytica and used

for political purposes.

Facebook's boss, Mark Zuckerberg,

was today ordered to appear before

MPs to answer allegations.

Here's our business

editor, Simon Jack.

In the information age personal data

is the new currency s and we spend

it liberally on social media

platforms, how old we are, whether

we are in a relationship, what our

political leanings, this could be

gathered an used. Cambridge

Analytica is a company which does

exactly that and it is at the centre

of a storm that has rocked some of

the biggest companies in the world.

It starred with an app which invited

Facebook users to do a personality

test, 270,000 downloaded it. It

collected personal information on

them, their friends, their friends,

friends and so on until it had info

on 50 million user, but that data

was passed to Cambridge Analytica,

which allegedly used it to influence

the Presidential election in the US,

using targeted messages, a charge

denied by the company.

The UK's data Watchdog said she had

concerns about the company for some

time.

These allegations are very

serious, they came to the attention

of our office some months ago and on

the 7th March I issued a demand for

information to Cambridge, they did

not comply with that, so now I am

moving ahead to seek a warrant so I

can search premises and data.

Separately Cambridge Analytica

executives were veeblingtly filmed

by Channel 4 on advice on how to

influence politicians.

-- secretly.

Cambridge Analytica said it has been

grossly misrespected.

Whether this tiny consultancy was

involved in inflews the election

there is an old adage which says

that if the services you are getting

are free, then you are the product,

served up to advertisers who are

convinced that highly targeted

messages constructed round detailed

personal information really work.

Since the scandal broke, Facebook

has seen £50 billion wiped off its

value and the pressure on the

company was cranked up today, when

the federal trade commission

announced it will investigate its

handling of customer data. It has

the power to Levy enormous fines.

Facebook denied any wrongdoing,

could this be a moment of reck cob

for the way our data is used?

For

the first time things that people

suspected have surfaced, thanks to

the testimony of whistle-blowers,

now we are finally seeing the

leaders of these companies are being

called to testify in front of

Parliament. Analysts are dumping

their stock as a vote of no

confidence. This is a moment it will

incentivise change.

The facts of our

lives have value. Mark Zuckerberg

will have the chance to tell MPs how

safely the information is kept.

Simon Jack, BBC

Simon Jack, BBC News.

Our North America technology

correspondent Dave Lee

is in San Francisco.

Facebook, a huge global company now,

the pressure is mowning, how

significant a moment is this for

them?

I think this could be a hugely

significant moment for them, indeed

for Silicon Valley in general. The

mood here is that the era of tech

self regulation may be reaching an

end, we nuns the last hour, there

has been a meeting at face book with

employees but it wasn't chaired by

Mark Zuckerberg or his deputy, we

haven't here from either of them

since this news broke on Friday.

Internally and externally as we have

been hearing they are facing

investigations on both sides of the

Atlantic and the impact on the

company's value has been to the tune

of round $50 billion, so in the

short-term, hugely significant and

also as we are learning in the

long-term it will have real impact

on how this company does its

business.

Thank

Thank you.

A Red Arrows jet has crashed at RAF

Valley airbase in Anglesey.

Two members of crew were onboard

the Hawk aircraft -

their condition is unknown.

Our correspondent Sian

Lloyd is at RAF Valley.

Yes, the Red Arrows Hawk crashed

round 1.30 this afternoon shortly

after take off. It was on its way

back to RAF Scampton which is where

the Red Arrows were based. Two

people were onboard, currently we

don't know anything about their

condition. An investigation has

already begun here, and this

afternoon we have seen a great deal

of activity, both in the skies and

also on the ground. The air

ambulance was called, an emergency

ambulance was called to the scene

and we have seen a number of police

vehicles which have secured the

perimeter here of the base. Now,

later on this evening, we are

expecting a statement, but the

Ministry of Defence have said that

they would not be speculating about

any of the details, or the possible

cause. It is far too early days for

that.

When we get that information we will

bring it to

23 Russian diplomats

and their families have now left

the UK after being expelled

by the British government over

the Salisbury nerve agent

attack on a former spy.

They left on a plane bound

for Moscow this afternoon

as the Prime Minister Theresa May

chaired a meeting with

the National Security Council

to decide if further sanctions

should be imposed on Russia.

Our diplomatic coreespondent,

James Landale reports.

It was dubbed 'expulsion day' -

the moment Russian diplomats

and their families began the long

journey home from their embassy

in London, sent packing

after their government was blamed

by Britain for the nerve agent

attack in Salisbury.

Those staying behind gathered

outside to hug their colleagues,

wave goodbye and, yes,

shed the odd tear, as the long

cavalcade of coaches and cars

left for the airport.

The embassy released pictures

of a reception last Friday,

in honour of the 23 departing

officials accused by Britain

of being undeclared intelligence

officers, forced to swap

the attractions of London diplomacy

for a new and perhaps

different life in Moscow.

At sunset, the Russian Ambassador

shook the hands of the departing

officials, spouses and children,

as they boarded the aircraft home.

His embassy said in all,

about 80 people were leaving,

in what is the biggest expulsion

of Russian diplomats

from Britain since the Cold War.

In a tweet, he bade

farewell to his colleagues,

after what he called 'the hostile

move of the UK Government'.

Morning!

What's our next move

against the Russians?

Today, ministers gathered to decide

what Britain should do next.

Russia's already announced that 23

British diplomats must leave

Moscow by the weekend.

And the decision was

to impose no further

sanctions on Russia -

at least, for now.

The Government clearly wants to keep

up international pressure and not

get sucked into a bilateral

tit-for-tat row with Moscow.

Today, the Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, confirmed

that the former Russian intelligence

officer Sergei Skripal

and his daughter, Yulia, have been

in a coma since they were poisoned

two weeks ago.

This afternoon, the Russian plane

carrying its diplomatic cargo

finally took off from Moscow.

This weekend, British

diplomats will travel

in the opposite direction.

James Landale, BBC News.

The rate of inflation dropped

sharply last month, from3 to 2.7 %.

The price of petrol and food played

a key part in the fall.

Economists believe the fall

will ease the pressure on the Bank

of England to raise interest rates.

Here's our economics

editor, Kamal Ahmed.

Mixing in a new ingredient,

after over a year of rising

inflation, today better news,

a fall, as food costs ease

and fuel costs drop.

Inflation can often start here,

firms that make the stuff we buy.

If their costs are cut, then prices

for us often go the same way.

There's not many costs that

are coming down Down,

but the two things we have

identified are distribution

costs for us.

We've definitely seen

those ease off, but also

in digital and technology.

A bit more upbeat maybe.

Were people in East London though

feeling the effects quite yet?

All the necessities

you need to live, nothing's

cheap - gas, electric.

You spend more day-to-day on things

that are going up than what you go

to buy that's going down.

For millions of people today's fall

in inflation brings into sharp focus

one of the most important issues

facing the UK economy.

That income squeeze,

prices rising faster than wages,

leaving people worse off

month by month.

Today, a glimmer of hope.

With inflation easing and wage

rises strengthening,

could that income squeeze be coming

to an end this year?

Before 2017 wages were rising faster

than prices, meaning that people

were slightly better off each month.

Then last year that reversed,

inflation rose quickly

following the Brexit referendum,

which saw a fall in the value

of the pound and an increase

in the price of imports.

Now the pound is stronger,

inflation is falling

and wages are catching up.

Could those lines cross in 2018.

The impact of the fall in the pound

of course meant that imported

inflation was quite high.

Thatle effect is fading.

Increasingly now we're

seeing inflation coming

from domestic sources.

So higher wage growth in particular

is driving up costs.

Inflation risk has not drained away

and wage growth will keep mind

focused at the bank.

Its signalled that it will raise

interest rates in the next few

months to control any

future price rises.

Kamal Ahmed, BBC News.

Our top story this evening:

International pressure mounts

on Facebook over allegations

about the use of millions

of people's data.

Why this air ambulance team is

heading to the is a haarwhere for

the toughest foot race on earth.

the toughest foot race on earth.

Coming up on Sportsday, on BBC News:

We meet the man trying

to take Anthony Joshua's

heavyweight titles away.

WBO champion Joseph Parker takes

on the British fighter in just under

two weeks in Cardiff.

Now, if there's one thing that can

really unite motorists and cyclists,

it is potholes and the state

of Britain's roads.

One in five roads is in a poor

condition, according to new figures,

and local authorities are struggling

to fund improvements.

The recent snow and cold has

certainly not helped.

The BBC's looked at data for roads -

it doesn't include motorways -

in England, Scotland and Wales

and found that in England just 5%

of them were deemed to be

in a poor condition.

Meanwhile, 10% of the roads

in Wales are in a bad way.

In Scotland, more than a third

of the roads are of poor quality

or in need of inspection.

Lorna Gordon reports from Glasgow.

Cracking, crumbling and potholes.

Look familiar?

You don't have to go far

to come across them.

As you travel on our roads.

Well, dreadful, aren't they?

Potholes everywhere.

Do you find yourself

dodging them much?

Very much so, especially in the wet.

My car and my van we've had broken

springs due to potholes.

They're just everywhere,

you can't avoid

them really.

You just keep going over them

and hoping you're not

doing major damage to your car.

Hitting potholes could hit

you in the pocket as well.

Can do suspension damage.

Damage to the tyres,

which is the most common,

where you will get weather bulge

on a tyre or a nick or a cut.

On this back one here.

Generally you will find it's

on one side if it goes

through a pothole on the near side.

Costly?

Costly.

Very costly as well.

On average, about £100 is the damage

damage per customer because this

one's a bit more exes Spencive.

Expensive.

Going to be looking probably

about £1,000 for the four

tyres.

Many of us, whether in a car

or on a bike, will have found

ourselves dodging potholes.

Motor organisations

say the recent cold

snap will have led to some roads

deteriorating further still to the

point where the potholes are not

just annoying and potentially

costly, but increasingly

dangerous too.

Keith Ralph has cycled all his life.

In January, while commuting

through south London, he went over a

pothole, was knocked unconscious

and left with several injuries,

including a bleed on the brain.

When I came to a guy

got me to the side

of the road and apparently I was

unable to remember my name, where I

lived or anything.

Then I got popped into

an ambulance and taken to

Lewisham Hospital where I was dealt

with quite swiftly.

Put on painkillers

and had the CT scans on

my brain, etc.

I was there for two-days.

From Silverstone to Suffolk,

motorists have been

recording the state of the roads

and the damage caused to their cars.

Oh.

Across the country,

from the centre of

Leeds to leafy lanes

on the

Norfolk borders, there are now

thousands of miles of roads that

need fixing.

Those responsible say

they are going as fast as they can,

but warn it will cost billions

to get them all back

into a good state of repair.

Lorna Gordon, BBC News, Glasgow.

A two-year-old girl has died

after the car she was in plunged

into a river in Wales.

Kiara Moore was pulled

from the vehicle in

the River Teifi in Cardigan.

Police officers say they're

investigating the incident and have

appealed for witnesses.

From Cardigan, Tomos Morgan reports.

Kara Moore, just two years old, had

it not been for the tragic events of

yesterday afternoon, she would have

been celebrating her third birthday

a week today. It's understood that

two-year-old Kiara was left in the

silver mini while a family member

went into offices nearby. By the

time the family member returned the

car car had disappeared. The police

were contact and a search was under

way. They believed the car to be

stolen. It transpired that the car

was in the River Teifl just yards

away. The toddler was airlifted to

the university hospital of Wales in

Cardiff, but doctors were unable to

revive her. Young families in the

town today have been paying their

own tributes by laying flowers by

the river.

She was a very lively

little girl. Very smiley. Cheeky

little smile she had all the time.

She... Her and her mum were always

together, always fun days out.

And... She had a happy little life.

Short life, but a happy little life.

Commenting on Facebook, Kiara's

father thanked the work of the

emergency services whilst also

paying tribute to his daughter

saying she had an "amazing but short

life." It's unclear as to how the

Mini came to be in the River Teifl

as family and friends mourn the loss

of young Kiara the investigation

into exactly what happened

continues. Tomos Morgan, BBC News,

Cardigan.

Hundreds of disabled people

are to benefit from an increase

in funding for a scheme designed

to help them into work.

From next month, the maximum grant

will rise to £57,000,

money designed to pay for support

workers and transport costs.

Our disability news correspondent,

Nikki Fox, has more details.

Ben has worked at this

large accountancy firm

for more than 17 years.

Work is hugely important to me.

I always had the goal of having

a career, to have a job,

to be able to support myself.

He has cerebral palsy and needs this

specialist wheelchair

and his support worker,

Mohamed, to help him do

the things he can't.

Thank you very much.

Ben relies on funding

through access to work,

a government scheme set up to help

with extra costs like this.

But in 2015 a cap was implemented

and because of this Ben was denied

the funding he needs

to replace his ageing wheelchair.

You feel that you battle so hard

to be able to come to work and work

full-time and hold down a job

for the length of time that I have

done and, in order to be able to do

that, you do need support,

and there seems to be

a complete lack of support

through the imposition

of the funding cap and the way

that it's managed.

Could problems like Ben's be

a thing of the past?

Today the Government has announced

an increase to the cap from just

over £42,000 to £57,200,

twice the average salary.

But campaigners say any limit

on the amount of money available

will have a negative impact,

particularly for deaf people.

Many need multiple interpreters,

and that comes at a cost.

The best way is to remove

the cap altogether.

What's most important is that people

have access to the employment market

regardless of how much that costs.

I think a slight raise in the cap,

we'll still be facing and dealing

with the same situation.

There are lots of disabled people

and campaigners that feel

there shouldn't be a cap at all.

Would that not be something

that you would consider?

We've really carefully worked

with our stakeholders and I'm

confident that this level of support

will meet the vast majority

of needs of disabled people,

enabling them to get into work,

stay in work and make

progress in work.

So while I am sat at my desk

during the day, I can move my feet.

Without this chair, Ben would be

unable to work and he's spent

thousands of pounds of his own money

keeping it going.

But the Government says it's

confident he and many

others will now be benefit

from the increase.

Nikki Fox, BBC News.

A 45-year-old male northern white

rhino has died in Kenya,

he was the last of his kind

in the world.

Sudan was in poor health and was put

down on Monday after his condition

worsened significantly.

His daughter and granddaughter

are the only female northern white

rhinos left, which means that

species is now on the

brink of extinction.

From Kenya, Alistair

Leithead reports.

And then there were two -

the last remaining northern

white rhinos on earth,

now that the last male, Sudan,

has died of old age.

A subspecies of rhino ever

closer to extension.

One is Najin, 27 years old,

Sudan's daughter, the other is Fatu,

his teenage granddaughter.

The last of what was once a great

species that roamed central Africa.

This was Sudan and for the last

few years scientists

and conservationists have been

trying to get him to mate.

They even put the 45-year-old

on Tinder as part of

a publicity campaign.

There was no other

animal quite like him.

It highlights first and foremost

the fact that human greed

and sometimes human activities that

are not controlled can drive

species to extinction.

The last wild northern

white rhinos were seen

here in Garamba National Park,

in the Northern Democratic

Republic of Congo,

but that was many years ago.

They became extinct

in the wild in 2008.

Well, Fatu and Najin are now

the last two remaining

northern white rhinos,

and obviously they're both females.

They are here under armed

guard 24-hours a day,

such is the continuing threat

to these animals from poachers.

They are now incredibly rare.

There are only 30,000 rhinos left

on the planet and Sudan

was unusual for his kind,

in that he died of old age.

Now it's up to the scientists

and a never before tried fertility

treatment in a last gasp effort

to save these animals

from extinction.

Alastair Leithead, BBC

News, in northern Kenya.

The television and radio personality

Katie Boyle has died aged 91.

Now our first model is Reg,

and he's wearing a navy blue

suit and a peaked cap.

Well, no.

She appeared in a number of TV

shows, but was perhaps best

known for presenting

the Eurovision Song Contest

for the UK during the '60s and '70s.

Its paramedics, pilots

and doctors save lives

across the capital every day.

Next month a big team

from the London Air Ambulance

are taking on the toughest foot race

on earth - the Marathon des Sables.

They'll be running 150 miles

across the Sahara desert,

six marathons in six days,

carrying all their own kit, to raise

money for the air ambulance charity.

And running with them will be former

patients and families

who owe them their lives.

I went to meet them, and a warning,

there are some flashing images.

I remember wheels turning across me,

and then I don't remember the impact

as such, but I remember

being on the floor, and really

panicking because I tried to get up

and I couldn't move my legs.

She was deathly white.

She had lost a lot of blood,

she looked like she was dying.

Can you hear me?

Three years ago, Vicky Labrecque

was cycling to work

when she was knocked off her bike

by a lorry.

Vicky, what we're going to do now,

is we're going to give

you an anaesthetic.

Her life was saved thanks

to a pioneering medical technique

carried out at the roadside.

So we really need to then crack

on and get her into the ambulance

and get her to the Royal London

as quick as we can.

I mean, if it hadn't been

for the air ambulance then

I wouldn't be here because they're

the only people that do this

procedure, and if that

hadn't happened then

I would definitely be dead.

They managed to save her life,

but the surgeon Tom Koenig wasn't

able to save her leg.

Now, three years later,

he will be part a team of medics

and patients heading to the Sahara

to raise money for

the air ambulance.

Joining them is Vicky's

sister, Marie.

I'm forever in debt to this charity.

What they did for me,

Vicky and my family is incredible

and they do it every day.

It's going to be an incredibly

emotional experience to be doing

this big challenge with a team

of people who saved my

sister's life, ultimately.

Running alongside Marie and Tom

will be another cyclist

who also owes her life

to London Air Ambulance.

I remember it happening.

I remember going under the wheel,

trying to get the wheel off,

trying to speak to the driver

afterwards to say sorry,

because I thought I was going to die

and he would have to live with that.

Chloe Baker, now a doctor,

was a medical student

when she was knocked off her bike

11 years ago.

The pilot who came to rescue her

remembers that day vividly.

This patient was self-diagnosing

herself and she, being a medic

of some sort, knew what she thought

she'd done, which is is really

rare, and we'd never

really heard of before.

For Chloe, just over 15 minutes

to get a trauma team

service right next to her,

I think that makes a massive

difference to any patient

in that situation.

Chloe now works alongside

the team who saved her,

and in three weeks' time they'll

all be swapping the London chill

for the Saharan sun.

We will suffer in those seven days,

but I think our suffering pales

into insignificance when you think

about the suffering that

our patients suffer.

I think from the first step to that

very finish line, which we hope,

I hope that we will all

pass together, it's

going to be emotional.

It will be great.

It will be great to bring everybody

home, and I'm thoroughly

looking forward to it.

The trauma surgeon Tom Konig,

who's about to set off

on a gruelling challenge.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Tomasz Schafernaker.

Different in The Sahara.

Certainly

not 45 degrees.

Today is the first

day of astronomical spring. The

weather has changed in time wem have

milder, I want to emphasise the word

"milder" weather for the next few

days. Tonight it will be pretty

chilly. The jetstream is broken up

here. That means that things are

starting to change in the

atmosphere. This side of the

Atlantic we are starting to see this

strong winds putting in weather

systems in our direction. That is a

clear side sign that the atmosphere

is reversing rather than weather

systems from the east, they will

come out of the west. The

temperatures will start to rise.

Relatively compared to what we've

had. Tonight, lots of clear weather

across the country. Good touch of

frost around, even in city centres

first thing in the morning on

Wednesday. The weather going down

hill, the jetstream pushing in

weather fronts. From the word go for

Scotland, Northern Ireland, pretty

cloudy here. Rain to the Western

Isles during the course of

Wednesday. To the south the skies

will clear over a little bit.

Temperatures up to 10 degrees.

Despite the cloud in Belfast it is

still up to around 10 Celsius I

think on Wednesday. Wednesday into

Thursday we see this plume of milder

air coming in our direction. We

could get into the low teens

depending on how much sunshine we

will get. Thursday the mildest day

out of the lot, not necessarily

sunny. We have a weather front

bringing rain to Belfast, cloudy

skies here. In the east and south it

will be dry and brighter. Despite

the rain in Belfast temperatures up

to around about 10 degrees. Spring

has kind of sprung. Kind of. Thank

you.

A reminder of our main story:

Two people were on board. The RAF

has said an engineer died in the

crash. The pilot survived and is

currently receiving medical care.

That is the latest from the RAF in

the last few moments.

That's all from the BBC News at Six,

so it's goodbye from me