Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171202

Leagues world cup for the first time lies in the balance. And england struggle to take hold of the opening day of the second test in adelaide, the first day night match in the history of the ashes. And in half an hour here on bbc news the travel show goes to the usa to meet competitors in a unique international championship. Good morning and welcome to bbc news. The us senate has approved a sweeping tax reform bill, putting President Trump on course for his first major legislative achievement since he took office. These changes are the biggest tax overhaul since the 1980s and would see a sharp cut in Corporation Tax bringing it down from 35 to 20 . The democrats voted against the plans, but the republicans won a narrow victory, by 51 votes to 49. Mr trumps legislative success comes just hours after us media reported that his former National Security adviser is prepared to give testimony that implicates the president s son in law, jared kushner. The white house says mr flynn has implicated nobody but himself in the investigations into alleged collusion between moscow and mrtrumps team before he came to power. Michael flynn, a retired three star general, left the court in washington to a familiar chant. Lock him up. Hed once encouraged donald Trump Supporters to use a similar version against rival hillary clinton. The 58 year old played a key part in mr Trumps Campaign and often travelled with him. If i did a tenth, a tenth of what she did, i would be injail today. He was rewarded with the post of National Security adviser, but was forced to resign afterjust 23 days when his contacts with russia to discuss us sanctions were disclosed. On the 29th of december, Michael Flynn spoke to the Russian Ambassador on the phone in the first of a series of calls. On the 15th of january, Vice President mike pence said that sanctions were not discussed in those calls. Only after the 9th of february, when a newspaper revealed general flynn did discuss sanctions, did pressure increase and Michael Flynn lost hisjob. As part of his guilty plea, prosecutors said mr flynn is now cooperating with the investigation. Us media claims he will testify that senior members of the trump team, including mr trumps son in lanared kushner, encouraged flynn to make contact with russian officials. The white house is now trying to distance itself from flynns actions, and the lies he told to the fbi, but having reached a plea bargain to co operate, what else has mr flynn told the enquiry and what further revelations are to come . All Government Departments have been advised by the National Cyber Security Centre not to use russian Anti Virus Software on systems containing sensitive information. Kaspersky lab, which has 400 million customers worldwide, was banned from Us Government networks earlier this year. The Company Denies any links to the kremlin. Jon donnison reports. Cyber Security Software like that provided by Kaspersky Lab requires extensive access to the files on a computer phone or network to look for viruses. Our mission has always been to protect. Kaspersky is used by consumers and businesses as well as some parts of government to protect systems from criminals and hackers. But now a new warning about russian Anti Virus Software, amid fears it could be used for spying. Secrets of global significance. At britains National Cyber Security Centre, they say theyve not seen actual proof of such espionage, but theyve told Government Departments not to use kaspersky for systems containing sensitive data. This is specifically about entities that may be of interest to the russian government and so for us thats about National Security systems in government, of which there are a very small number. Kaspersky lab has already denied allegations that its been used for espionage in america. We dont do anything wrong. They are just speculating about some rumours, opinions and there is zero of the hard data. 400 Million People use kaspersky products around the world, but Officials Say theyre not telling the general public to stop using it. Kaspersky lab denies any wrongdoing, but todays warning is another sign about growing fears over the risk posed by russia. We can speak now to professor Alan Woodward from the centre for Cyber Security at the university of surrey, he joins us via webcam. Good morning, thank you forjoining us. Good morning, thank you forjoining us. Why do you think this warning is being issued now . It is interesting when you read the warning, it is very nuanced. The american one was a blanket ban, do not use it. They have been weighing it up for some time and what the National Centre for Cyber Security had done is they had been under pressure and they said for the most sensitive systems, things that are top secret, on balance we know russia is acting aggressively towards the uk, you should not use Russian Software in general. And that means kaspersky because it has been out there for some time. But the argument is quite balanced. But the time has come when you cannot take any more risks with the sensitive information. Who are kaspersky . We heard a bit in the report, but what more can you add to that . It is headed by a chap called eugene kaspersky. I do some work with europol and Law Enforcement agencies across europe have had very good experience with them. They are very cooperative and have been very good and their software is very good. From a domestic perspective i would not hesitate to use it. I tend to believe eugene kaspersky. Although he has got a background himself in connection with the russian government, i do not think that they themselves are overtly cooperating in the same way most technologies in the United States would say they are not cooperating with their government. But it is one of those situations where you cannot divorce it from the fact that it is ina divorce it from the fact that it is in a country whose government has been aggressive to the uk. There are stories of governments and producers of Anti Virus Software and the whole issue with Antivirus Software is its provenance. If we look to america, we have china, and another one also which has a very heavy tech sector is israel. Who are the main players . Mostly is israel. Who are the main players . M ostly na m es is israel. Who are the main players . Mostly names of people that people will not have heard of in israel. They tend to spin out their Research Arms and a lot of it goes to america and is used in america. Interestingly one of the things that happened with kaspersky, and one of the things that kicked this off now, it there were stories about certain classified information from a contractor ending up in system is which was then leaked by the russian intelligence services. But there is evidence that the Israeli Intelligence services were also inside kaspersky without kasperskys knowledge. It has some very high privileges Antivirus Software and can look at anything on the machine and some of it it looks like it may have been sending back. The warning issued says it is targeted towards Government Departments, but how widely used is Kaspersky Software for home users . For the likes of me and you . And should we be worried as well . It is very widely used with 400 million users around the world. Many people i know use it. I do not happen to use it, but very many people use it. It is one of those things where you do not have anything particularly sensitive from anything particularly sensitive from a classified perspective from your machine, i would a classified perspective from your machine, iwould not a classified perspective from your machine, i would not be worried about it. Either interested in what the likes of you and me have on our machines . Probably not. They are interested in classified documents. It has taken the National Centre so long to take a stand and put this out is because other people will think is there a risk for other documents . This statement is for a relatively small number, but kaspersky itself will be worried that people will run scared in general and start using it in domestic situations and they possibly do not want that. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you very much for your time. Two former Police Officers who leaked allegations that pornographic images had been found on the work computer of the now first secretary of state, damian green, were in flagrant breach of their own code of conduct, according to the former attorney general, dominic grieve. The comments come as mr green repeated his insistence that he didnt view pornographic material. With me now is our Political Correspondent tom barton. Lets go back to basics. What is the real issue . In the way there is a dispute about what the real issue is. The Police Officers who have made these allegations, there is a dispute between them and damian green about whether or not there was pornography on that computer which was seized from his Parliamentary Office in a police raid in 2008. Damian green has consistently denied it. Those two Police Officers say it was there. Neal lewis, a former met detective, claimed he had no doubt whatsoever it was damian greens computer that had that information on it. Meanwhile, conservative mps have been rallying around damian green. Their argument is that the material which these officers were talking about which was acquired as pa rt talking about which was acquired as part of a Police Operation was not about that please operation. Tim lawton and Damian Collins making that point. Also this morning a former officer in the Greater Metropolitan Police made a similar allegation saying even retired officers should not be releasing material that is not relevant to the investigation. Yesterday we had david davis throwing his weight behind Dominic Greene and on newsnight last night dominic grieve, the former attorney general, said that the conduct of these Police Officers is being called into question. They choose to put material that an ordinary citizen would be prohibited from acquiring under Data Protection rules into the Public Domain on their own judgment. There is a way of dealing with that. If you think something is relevant, do it by proper, official means. You do not go freelancing as these officers have done and it has the smack of a police state about it. If you think about it, there seems to be this beef between damian green and the police. What is going on . This dates back to the raid on his office in 2008. At the time damian green was Shadow Home Affairs spokesman. He was given information from the home office which he used to attack the then labour government. A leak inquiry was launched and the police were called in. As part of that investigation his office was raided, his computers we re his office was raided, his computers were taken and a Civil Servant was fired. Nobody was ever charged as a result of that. Conservative mps at the time were hugely critical of the fa ct the time were hugely critical of the fact the police got involved in that. They said it was a politicisation of the police force. The first person to bring forward these allegations around the alleged pornographic material which they say was on damian greens computer was bob quick, who was the assistant commissioner at the met who was responsible for that raid on damian greens office. We heard a very profound denialfrom greens office. We heard a very profound denial from damian greens office. We heard a very profound denialfrom damian green at the time accusing bob quick of holding a grudge against him. Where is all this leading . This should all come to a head in the next few days. A senior Civil Servant called sue gray from the Cabinet Office is looking at these allegations and also separate allegations that damian green also denies around alleged inappropriate behaviour towards a conservative activist. Her report could land on the desk of the Prime Minister at any point in the next few days. At that point it will be down to theresa may to decide whether or not there should be any consequences for damian green as a result of this row. Politics, who would do it . Thank you a 14 year old boy has died in hospital after being found unconscious on the hard shoulder of the m 67 motorway near manchester yesterday afternoon. It is thought the teenager was involved in a collision with a car and officers are appealing for help from drivers using the motorway at the time. Five people have been injured after a car hit a number of pedestrians in brixton in south london. Police were called shortly after 3am this morning to stockwell road. A vw golf was abandoned at the scene. Please recalled after an altercation with the occupants of the vehicle and a number of people. The injured pedestrians were ta ken number of people. The injured pedestrians were taken to hospital but are not in a critical condition. No arrests have been made. It is 16 minutes past ten. The headlines a report in the us claimed that President Trumps former National Security adviser Michael Flynn has admitted lying to the fbi about his dealings with russia and is preparing to implicate Donald Trumps son in law son in lanared kushner. Son in law jared kushner. The son in lanared kushner. The us senate has passed a tax reform bill, President Trumps first big legislative achievement. It will meana legislative achievement. It will mean a significant reduction in Corporation Tax and a lower rate for some individuals. Uk National Cyber Security Centre has told Government Departments not to use anti virus softwa re departments not to use Anti Virus Software written by a Russian Company if their computers contain information related to National Security. Sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres mike bushell. Good morning. They are into the second half in the Rugby League World cup final. England are still trailing the hosts and defending champions, australia 6 0. It could have been worse. England made around 200 tackles in the first half. Australia thought this one made by luke gale was too high and it led to tensions boiling over. England were rattled and the hosts found a breakthrough on 14 minutes. It is 22 yea rs breakthrough on 14 minutes. It is 22 years since england were last in the final when they lost to australia. To avoid a repeat they need to take a few chances they have had when they have been able to see a few gaps in the defence. At the other end they have just had a let off. They thought they had fallen further behind as australia went over for a second try, but it was disallowed for a foul earlier on. It was a penalty to england instead. It is still 6 0. The final session on the first date in the second test in adelaide is also on the way with england looking to finish the day with more wickets. They were gifted an early break when Cameron Bancroft was run out by chris woakes. England then got danger man david warner out as well three runs short of a century. But the captain steve smith and his partner settle down. Then James Anderson got a wicket. Indeed steve smith has just gone for 40. The barmy army celebrating in australia, 161 4. Ben stokes has practised with his new team mates in new zealand. He hasjoined canterbury and is set to play for them tomorrow. He is unavailable for them tomorrow. He is unavailable for the england selection until a decision is made on whether or not he will be charged following his arrest on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm in september. In the meantime, he is free to play domestic cricket in any country. |j am excited, looking forward to getting back out and playing some cricket. Looking forward to playing for canterbury. It is good to get outdoor practice there. Is the bowling going well . Yellow map yes. Hopefully i can get out there and do well and contribute to canterbury winning. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. The big game is arsenal against manchester united. Arsenal have won their last home game is, but they are eight points behind. Sam allardyce takes charge of everton for the first time later when they face huddersfield at goodison park. Allardyce was presented to the media yesterday and said he couldnt resist the chance to manage everton and after watching a 4 0 win in midweek, hes hoping for more of the same. It will tell me an awful lot if we can hit that level of performance again. That tells me we are moving in the right direction. Or there will be a falter in the performance and the result does not go away and it will tell me a lot about the players we have at this moment in time. Cardiff city have moved within a championship point of wolves after they won last night. It was 1 1 at elland road between leeds and aston villa. Aston villa stay fourth in the table, leeds are seven. Aston villa stay fourth in the table, leeds are seven. And the fa cup continues this afternoon. Last night, non league afc fylde earned a replay with Wigan Athletic of league one danny rowes penalty making it 1 1. So both sides will be in mondays third round draw. That is when the premier league teams enter the competition. In rugby union, wales host south africa in the last of the autumn internationals, while newcastle snatched a very late victory at northampton, in the premiership. After a scrappy try from the final play of the game, tarney takula, kicked the crucial conversion, to give them victory by 24 points to 22. And glasgow warriors great run continues. They made it ten wins from ten in the pro 14, with a bonus point victory over cardiff blues 40 16 the score. Tiger woods said hed proved his latest back operation had been a success after he shot another under par round at the hero world challenge in the bahamas. Its his first tournament, for almost a year but hes now seven under at the half way stage, tied for fifth place. Charley hoffman is the leader. Englands Tommy Fleetwood who was leading is three shots back. Thats all the sport for now. You can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. It is still 6 0 between england and australia in the Rugby League World cup. Its feared there could be hundreds ofjob losses at toys r us after the retailer announced it would close around a quarter of its uk stores. The move, which would see the closure of 25 shops, is part of a deal by the owners to renegotiate debts with its landlords. Its thought Christmas Trading and gift vouchers will not be affected by the move. The Christmas Period is often said to be challenging for parents of a child with autism. The change of routine, noise and unfamiliarity can all combine to make it a particularly difficult time. Our correspondentjohn maguire has been to visit a santas grotto with a difference,one thats been adapted to become autism friendly. As the song goes, it is the most wonderful time of the year, but not for everyone. I used to hate christmas because he never got it, he did not want presents. He missed out on everything. Julies 13 year old son joe out on everything. Julies 13 year old sonjoe has autism and in the past christmas has been difficult for the whole family. We could not wrap the presence for a few years because he could not bear the noise, the autism affects his senses and it meant you had to reduce everything so you do not have a big celebration and everything is kept on the download. But it expands every year and we add an extra element at christmas so this year he will have his presents wrapped and i am looking forward to that. Julie approached her local Garden Centre in liverpool and suggested this, silent santa night, designed for children with autism. The music is quite, there are no queues and julie has trained father christmas and his elves on what to say and crucially what not to say to the children. Have you been a good boy . That could really stress somebody out. Just little tips where they can say, just try to be the best that you can be 01 try to be the best that you can be or have you been the best that you can be . Rather than challenging the child. I have it turned off, really quiet i like it. A few weeks ago we met oscar and his family who told us about the difficulties they face when going shopping. Tonight are very excited and very happy oscar is doing something his parents say would usually be just too much for him. I will give it to the elves when i get back to the north pole. Are you real . Of course, i am the real sa nta, are you real . Of course, i am the real santa, do you want to see my beard . It is a nice experience. We often avoided santas grotto at christmas time because of oscars condition. It could be the lights, a sensory condition. It could be the lights, a sensory overload, but coming here he was so sensory overload, but coming here he was so excited. He is able to engage and understand the whole process which is not what we would experience normally. What else did he tell you he was going to do to your list . Take it to the elves to the north pole. It is a long way. It isa the north pole. It is a long way. It is a long way. It is hoped these knives will become commonplace ensuring christmas is specialfor as many children as possible. Goodbye, john. Goodbye. What a lovely young man. White house officials have indicated that President Trump is likely to announce next week that the United States will recognise jerusalem as the capital of israel. The status ofjerusalem is highly contentious, with both israelis and palestinians claiming all or part of the city as their capital. Critics have warned that the decision by donald trump could jeopardise peace negotiations. Pope francis is spending his final day in bangladesh, after using his highly anticipated asia trip to express support for the rohingya muslims. Yesterday, the pope met a group of refugees and referred to them using the word rohingya for the first time. He was criticised for not using the term on his earlier visit to myanmar, which does not regard them as an ethnic group. Our correspondent Yogita Limaye joins me now from dhaka. Something of a symbolic victory, but reaction from myanmar . Well, it has been a diplomatic tightrope for the pope this visit. He first went to me and mark and then bangladesh. In me and mark and then bangladesh. In me and mahe scouted around the rohingya issue and did not talk about it openly and faced criticism for that, but others defended him and here in bangladesh people were listening to every speech very closely. On his first day he talked about an influx of refugees but did not use the word rohingya. Yesterday during a meeting of leaders from different villages he finally uttered that contentious word and met with refugees as well. It isa word and met with refugees as well. It is a word that myanmar does not like because it is a group that it does not recognise. Many indians now believe these people are illegal immigrants. This is certainly not going to be seen positively by the myanmar government. Activists who had expected more from the pope because he has a reputation of being outspoken, they had criticised him for not being outspoken in myanmar, that criticism has certainly abated. Organisations working with the refugees believe that influential leaders when they talk about these issuesit leaders when they talk about these issues it puts the spotlight on it. What is needed right now is pressure on the myanmar government to figure out how these refugees can safely go back to their homes. What is on the agenda for the pope for the duration of his visit . He finished his last engagementjust a short while ago. It was a meeting with University Stu d e nts it was a meeting with University Students and he will soon be departing from bangladesh after three days here. He held a mass in this city yesterday and tens of thousands of people came out even though there is a tiny percentage of catholics here, about 2. 2 . All the people i spoke to said they were surprised and could not believe the fa ct surprised and could not believe the fact the pope had decided to come to this country and the fact it is such a small population. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. The worlds majorfishing nations, including russia, china and the United States, have agreed to stop commercial fishing in the arctic ocean for the foreseeable future. Once permanently frozen, arctic waters are now amongst the fastest warming areas on earth. The deal protects nearly three million Square Kilometres for the next 16 years, while Scientific Research is carried out into the sustainability of the existing marine ecosystem. People are being asked to nominate events and people they feel should be commemorated as part of a new National Memorial scheme. The heritage group, Historic England, has already received a wealth of nominations from battle sites to birthplaces, as David Sillito reports. The site of the presentation of magna carta. The place where the pilgrim fathers set off for america. And here, the memorial to the landing of william iii at brixham, in the glorious revolution. There are some monuments to great moments in history, but Historic England wants more. There are many plaques to where people were born or lived. It now wants suggestions about events and have already received a few. Weve done our research and spoken to people across the country and weve found really passionate enthusiasts who want to see unknown histories marked out. Weve had people wanting to mark out where the pilgrim fathers set out to make that more well known. Weve had people wanting to mark out the birthplace of grime music in east london, ska music in coventry, all sorts of people