Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At One 20171026

To the bbc news at one. The wife of a birmingham man who planned a terrorism attack in the city has been found guilty of helping his preparations by buying him the weapon he intended to use. Madihah taheer, whos 21, had denied preparing an act of terrorism by assisting her husband Ummariyat Mirza earlier this year. Mirza pleaded guilty to the plotting earlier this month. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Dominic Casciani reports. Wrestled to the ground in an armed stop, a birmingham man setting out to kill. The suspect seized in a joint intelligence led operation by mi5 and the West Midlands Counter Terrorism unit. A week after the westminster attack in march, Ummariyat Mirza wanted to rampage in his home city. Now convicted along his wife, Madihah Taheer, who helped him, and his sister, zainab, who encouraged the planning via social media. Mirza was obsessed with knives and replica guns, and he wanted to fight in syria. Instead, he turned his attention to home. His pregnant wife bought him this combat knife on her credit card, and then he trained on this martial arts dummy. Finally, he went to an outdoors shop to buy cord to create a hidden shoulder harness. Mirzas attack plan wasnt fully formed when he was arrested, but hes admitted preparing an act of terrorism by researching targets including a synagogue and this raf Careers Office in the city. Its one of seven foiled plots so far this year. Detectives say he couldnt have planned it without the loyal and loving support of his wife. I think its sort of typical of the kinds of terrorist threat were now seeing in the United Kingdom small groups of individuals, in this case family members, it could easily be friends, sharing very explicit extremist material, using apps downloaded from social media, inciting and encouraging each other in the United Kingdom and abroad. Taheer told her trial shed become besotted at 17 with mirza, as she tried to escape her abusive father. She admitted shed supported the self styled Islamic State group, claiming she had been brainwashed by her future husband. But prosecutors said her own words from social media gave her away. As their wedding approached, taheer messaged her boyfriend, saying, i want you to kill people for me, i have a list. Radicalisation experts say her conviction is symptomatic of the new role that some women now play. In this particular case, what weve seen is a woman who seems to be in control, shes confident, shes not someone who is going to stand there, shes actively encouraging. So, i think that needs to be borne in mind in terms of a shift in gender roles thats also occurring, but the fact is, it also challenges our notion of what a womans role within these movements has to be when we look at it in a broader global context. The jury concluded Madihah Taheer was no naive young woman. She was her husbands willing partner in crime. She had wanted a hero like the painting she placed on her facebook profile, and she found him, and now they both face jail. Dominic is here, put this in context how many similar cases are Police Pursuing . Police and mi5, because this was a joint operation. Theyre concerned theyre pursuing many more cases like this, small groups and increasingly women involved. If you think back to the early stages of the growth of the International Threat from islamist groups, it used to be about young men going to the pa kista n afg ha nista n to be about young men going to the pakista n afg hanistan border to get training. But syria changed everything and gave people the sense of wanting to create a community of believers and women started to buy into the creed in a much stronger sense. In this case we saw two women, the wife and the sister in law, playing an active role in trying to encourage what the man was going to do. That is a real cause for concern for the security services. Thank you. Around 300,000 people leave theirjobs every year in the uk because of insufficient support for Mental Health problems thats the finding of a government commissioned review. It says the impact of Mental Illness is estimated to cost the uk economy up to £99 billion each year. The government has said two of the countrys largest employers, the nhs and the Civil Service, will adopt the reviews recommendations. Our Health Correspondent rob sissons has this report. At this Insurance Company theyre proud of their record supporting workers. Todays report recommends more places should be like this. Aviva said it has tried to change the way people think about Mental Health. James was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Something the firm was aware of when they took him on. I was terrified, i had to be coaxed in and the support team that were training me at that stage werent sure if i would make it through, although they could see there was potential there. And work has a great benefit. It has a normalising effect. The government ordered review suggests what has been held up review suggests what has been held up as Good Practice has yet to catch on and concludes poor Mental Health costs businesses £42 billion a year in lost work days and low productivity. The cost to the economy is put higher at £99 billion. Including the cost to the nhs and benefits. Employers have got to grips how to support the physical health of your staff. But we havent yet seen the same level of commitment to the Mental Health of your staff. Todays report we are told is a wake up call to some businesses, whatever their size, across the uk. And one of coauthors of report said what lies behind it is the need for a culture change in some organisations to do more. That of course could be easier said than done. Royal mail said it is convinced money spent on staff well being pays off. It is important to look after their physical and Mental Health. There is a cost associated with that, but it is worth spending. We rely on our people and protecting their health is of the utmost importance to us. The Prime Minister, who commissioned the report, said it underlines the need for action. She is asking the nhs and the Civil Service to lead the way. Some of the changes creating support online and more training will cost. Easier perhaps for big firm to afford. But the message is not all the changes will cost money. And im joined by not all the changes will cost money. And imjoined by our not all the changes will cost money. And im joined by our health editor, this is estimated to cost the uk economy up to £99 billion a year. That is a huge amount . Yes it is more than people expected. Even those who got involved in doing the review. It includes cost to the nhs of treating people, with Mental Health issues, it also includes lost economic output. What you would have had if everyone had been totally fit in terms of their Mental Health and it includes lost output because there are people going to work, presenteeism as it is called but are not well enough to be there and maybe they feel, because of stigma, because theyre reluctant to tell their employers they soldier on and one key is encouraging employers to if you like make it very straight forward for a member of staff to come and have a chat with somebody and to make it clear through a policy for the workforce that the employer cares about it and will look after that member of staff. There are a lot of recommendations in the report, but there is no new money pack backing it. In the report, but there is no new money pack backing it. Yes the Prime Minister has committed the Civil Service and nhs england to adopt the standards of best practice. Some may say the Civil Service and the nhs are pressed for money and it may be difficult to implement that. For big business, there is no new business but the expectation is big business should do this and pay for it out of their own resources. We heard of best practice. I think the most important thing is the statement putting Mental Health in the work place, right up there, as part of the debate. It has shed a lot of new light on that. Thank you. A major police and home Office Operation against people smugglers has been carried out overnight. Ii arrests were made in the uk and a further 15 in europe. The raids in london, birmingham and gateshead targeted a gang which used secret compartments in vehicles to smuggle people across europe and into britain. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Daniel Sandford reports. It was 5am, it was sam, the moment when Police Officers launched a series of raids across europe targeting a suspected people smuggling gang. Imgrange, stand clear immigration. In london. Birmingham. And gateshead. As well as the raids here in britain, 15 people were arrested in bulgaria and belgium. In the raids Immigration Enforcement are targeting a group of men suspected of smuggling people into britain using hidden compartments in vehicles. The gang special iementzed in specialised in concealing people in vans and trucks. What we haveis people in vans and trucks. What we have is families, we have had young children, it is quite upsetting to see the photographs of how these people are held within vehicles. Theyre specifically built hides in vehicles and they can spend a number of days in those locations before theyre recovered. As part of uk operation, two men were arrested in birmingham, two in gateshead and seven in london. Many of those arrested were afghans, as were many of the people theyre accused of smuggling. Although there were people from pakistan and vietnam too. The International Part of operation was co ordinated be a by a task force. This has been done by a wide group over a period of time to get to the point to have the success with these arrests. Despite close to a hundred prosecutions for people smuggling each year, it is still a multimillion pound criminal industry. Police in kenya have clashed with opposition protesters trying to disrupt a re run of augusts president ial election. The opposition leader, raila 0dinga has urged his supporters to boycott the poll, calling it a sham. Demonstrators in the opposition stronghold of kisumu threw rocks at police, who fired tear gas. There were also clashes in nairobi. The catalan leader, Carles Puigdemont, is due to make a statement shortly amid speculation that he may either declare independence or call regional elections. The regions been in crisis following a disputed referendum earlier this month, in which catalans voted to secede from spain. Madrid said the vote was illegal, and its senate is expected to approve the central governments plan to impose direct rule. 0ur europe correspondent James Reynolds is in barcelona. So all eyes on the catalan leader, what is your best bet as to what he will say . It is almost impossible to predict. He has been a hard man to predict. He has been a hard man to predict. But he is in the headquarters and he is due to speak inafew headquarters and he is due to speak in a few minutes, the spanish media reports he may decide to call early elections. That maybe his attempt to try to defuse the crisis and prevent the authorities in madrid, the spanish capital from, suspending self rule here in catalonia. The trouble is that attempt to declare new elections may not be enough for these young protesters who want an immediate declaration of independence and it may not be enough for the authorities in madrid. They may say you have to revoke madrid. They may say you have to revo ke o nce madrid. They may say you have to revoke once and for all any desire to declare independence. Absent that the authorities may press ahead with plans to carry on their Senate Debates and discuss giving the government power to suspend self rule here. So we are expecting a statement from the Carles Puigdemont soon and the Spanish Senate to decide by tomorrow. Thank you. Our top story this lunchtime hundreds of thousands of people have to leave theirjobs each year because of Mental Health problems, says a new report. And still to come in flanders field the poppies. Poppies turn to poetry the Royal British legion spells out the war poem in Flanders Fields in iconic locations across the uk and northern france. Coming up in sport Team Gb Boxer muhammad ali is facing a long ban after testing positive for a steroid hes been provisionally suspended since may. A rocket powered car which is expected to challenge the world land speed record is getting its first public outing this afternoon in cornwall. The arrow shaped bloodhound, which is designed to travel at 1,000 miles per hour, is being tested at the relatively sedate speed of about 200 miles an hour on the runway at Cornwall Airport in newquay. 0ur correspondent robert hall is there for us. We are right on the edge of the runway, and if i can show you some pictures of the car making its way around the perimeter before going to the end of the runway for its first run. This is an important day. I can tell you a bit about the story behind this remarkable car. From behind the blast doors that once protected a cold war fighter, the car powered by one of todays jet engines. This is a journey that began on an october day nine years ago, a journey which has reached one of its most important milestones. This is complex technology. A 7. 5 tonne vehicle that will generate six times more power than an entire formula i grid and cover a mile in 3. 6 seconds. A car which sprang from the genius of ron ayers, now 85, who had already worked on two successful land speed record attempts. Nobody has been anywhere like this before. I mean, if we breakthe i,000mph, that will be 31 faster than we went last time, which is massive. In bloodhounds cockpit today, the Fighter Pilot who already holds the land speed record. Travelling at 200mph down the 1. 5 mile runway, he will have no room for error. I will select idle at 130mph. The car will then keep accelerating to 200mph as the engine starts to wind down. I need to put the brakes on. So as we are accelerating to 150, 170, the brakes are already starting to heat up. So, as we get to 200, i am hitting between a0 and 50 bar of brake pressure. The brake temperatures are coming up through 300 centigrade and they are starting to bite and starting to slow the car down. There are other complications. This is a working airport and the two high speed runs must take place in between scheduled arrivals and departures. Moast air Traffic Controllers thrive on the idea of spinning lots of plates and solving lots of problems and being under pressure, but whilst being under pressure, obviously operating efficiently and calmly. That is how this has worked. The quest for land speed records stretches back across the decades. Today takes another car designer one step closer to his vision. Im proud that we have got this far, but of course, i will really start getting proud when it really starts breaking records. And what i really want to do is make nice loud supersonic bangs that will reverberate around the world. Todays trials are a major step forward, but the Bloodhound Team are already looking ahead to higher and higher speeds, leading to that record attempt on the sandy plains of south africa. As you come back to us now, tamulis is moving towards the end of the runway. It will take it about eight seconds to get to 130mph and then the pilot will hit the brakes. You can only use the brakes when theyre really hot and they get up to 300 degrees. It is a two mile runway. Hes going to travel about 1. 5 miles so he has got some leeway but not very much room to make mistakes. They have been building up his speed over the last couple of weeks or so, but this is the moment when they hit 200, which is slow in general terms, because obviously, theyre aiming for 1000mph. But this is critical in order to get the systems to work and to check that they work. Here they go. Im going to step aside and you can watch this happen. And that was it, 200mph, about a500 people here are, applauding in the background. There will be another run shortly and that will be on the bbc news channel very shortly. For now, back to you. Huge crowds have lined the streets of bangkok to mark the funeral ceremony of the late king bhumibol, who died in october last year aged 88. Hundreds of thousands of mourners wearing black watched the funeral procession buildings on the route were draped in yellow marigolds. 0ur correspondentjonathan head sent this report from bangkok. Strict laws there mean he is restricted in what he can say. Monarchy matters in thailand more than in most countries. So, their kings get a lavish sendoff. King bhumibol reigned for 71 years. He shaped modern thailand and restore the monarchy to godlike status. No expense or effort was spared in this intricately choreographed procession taking an or ornate royal urn from the palace to the cremation site. It was moved at a snails pace in a 1a tonne chariot dating back to the 18th century. Those able to get close to the procession went down in the traditional thai gesture of deference. Tens of thousands more who had come were kept at a distance, unable to see. Many of these people have been waiting overnight for a chance to say goodbye to their king. King bhumibol was a powerful political figure who anchored a conservative social order in thailand, often worked with military governments, and yet you cannot doubt the intense emotional bond that he established with ordinary thais. Thats what youre seeing here. They call him simply father. From birth theyve been told they owe their countrys stability and prosperity to him. It is a profound sense of loss. It is very difficult to express in words, because it means because it means that, is he really going away . Is the king really going away . We have been preparing for this for a year already, and now today is the day, and its very hard to accept. There are dissenting views on thailands monarchy which cant be heard here. But under the strict guidance of an ultra royalist military government, this funeral will help to ensure that monarchy in this country remains centre stage. Jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. More than half a century after the assassination that shocked the world, most of the remaining files on the death ofjohn f kennedy are to be released today. Conspiracy theories have spawned hundreds of books, films and web sites. But experts have warned not to expect many revelations from the thousands of classified documents. Jane 0brien reports from washington. Time has not dimmed americas fascination with the kennedys, a fairytale family cursed by fate. Newsreel president kennedy has been assassinated. Its official now, the president is dead. More than half a century after his assassination in dallas, Many Americans still believe that jfks killer, lee harvey oswald, was not acting alone. Donald trump had his own Conspiracy Theory once that the father of his campaign rival senator ted cruz was somehow involved. What was he doing with lee harvey oswald. Right. Shortly before the death before the shooting . Its horrible. Crazy. Donald trump alleges that my dad was involved in assassinating jfk. Now, lets be clear, this is nuts mr trump has come under pressure from congress to allow the latest batch of documents to be released. Some relate to 0swalds mysterious trip to mexico, where he met cuban and soviet spies. But he himself was murdered before he could stand trial. He has been shot 0swald has been shot. The 1992 law which ordered some fbi case files to be kept secret was intended to quell growing speculation. Even now, parts of the evidence will be redacted. Those who are expecting to see a bombshell about the assassination are likely to be very disappointed. Its time to do this so that everybody can believe that all the records that are in the hands of the federal government are released. What might have been, had kennedy survived, is still the subject of a National Debate that will never be settled. Its unlikely that these documents will end the equally passionate obsession with his death. Jane 0brien, bbc news, washington. Prince harry has warned of the dangers of social media for young people, as he met ambassadors for a Mental Health charity on a visit to denmark. The prince is on a two day visit to copenhagen the latest in a series of european trips made by the royalfamily. 0ur royal correspondent Nicholas Witchells report does contain some flash photography. Hes 33 now, and the working side to his life has settled into a rhythm. Harry is now fully committed to royal duties, in britain and representing britain abroad. The burden of royal duty has shifted significantly to the younger generation, so in copenhagen, its harry representing his grandmother meeting denmarks queen margrethe, and then seeking to emphasise the importance of long standing european links between britain and denmark. Our two countries have an unbreakable bond, which is as strong now as it ever has been. There are also serious messages harry wants to convey. 0n Mental Health, for example. He spoke to one group about the dangers of social media. People are spending far too much time online, he said, causing mentalfatigue. But the impression is of a prince whos at ease and enjoying himself. This part of the equation is settled. Harrys working life is pretty much sorted and he seems to be enjoying it, but of course that leaves the big question about his personal life. There is no doubt that his relationship with the american actress Meghan Markle is a serious one, they were seen together in toronto last month, but questions about a possible royal engagement are off the agenda among his officials. For now, the public face of harry is this a working prince who seems noticeably content with the way his life is moving at the moment. Lines from the renowned war poem in Flanders Fields have been spelled out in clusters of poppies in iconic locations across the uk and northern france, as the Royal British legion launches this years poppy appeal. The poem was written by a Canadian Army doctorjohn mccrae. Passages have appeared in seven locations, including the National Memorial arboretum, the white cliffs of dover, and dunkirk beach. Sophie long has this report. In Flanders Fields the poppies blow between the crosses row on row. Written as poppies bloomed on the battlefields of the First World War, despite the death and destruction all around them, john mccraes in Flanders Fields is being brought back into the nations consciousness. We are the dead, short days ago we lived, felt, born, saw sunset glow. Its the poppy as life, growing in the most difficult of circumstances, the poppy not just a symbol of remembrance of the past, but of hope for the future as well. Take up a quarrel with the foe, to you from failing hands we throw. Its hoped that the poppy appeal for 2017 will encourage people to remember the armed forces of the past, but also of the present, and remind people that the work of Royal British legion is as vital today as it was in the aftermath of First World War when it was founded. The torch be yours to hold it high, if you break faith with us who die. There is so many Service People now coming out of military life that are struggling with the physical injuries or mental injuries orjust the transition. On my final tour of afghanistan, it got really bad. On my return, it got that bad that i got told i was going to get medically discharged from the army. Which destroyed me. I went to a very, very dark place and without the legion, you know, i cant hand on heart say i would still be here today. Hed always been there for us as a family unit. He was the rock and to not have him there, as a body he was there, as a soul he wasnt. He wasnt mike. We needed him back, and with the support and help from the Royal British legion, we got him back. The poppy as a symbol of remembrance was born out of First World War, which gave us the liberty to choose whether to wear a poppy or not is a personal choice, and the Royal British legion says there is no right or wrong way to wear it, other than with pride. Lets have a look at the weather