Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20180124

Technique that created dolly the sheep 20 years ago. Sir elton john announces he will stop touring to spend more time with his family. But he will say goodbye to fans with one final tour a series of 300 dates spanning three yea rs. Good evening and welcome to bbc news. The president s club has held men only Charity Dinners in london for more than 30 years and raised tens of millions of pounds for good causes. But tonight all future dinners have been cancelled after an undercover reporter employed as a hostess says she and some of the other women working there were groped and sexually harassed. A government adviser who helped organise the event last week at the dorchester has resigned. And some of the charities for which money was raised are handing back the donations. Heres our special correspondent lucy manning. All the president s club men appear to be enjoying themselves at the charity dinner, the women working there much less so, with claims that they were groped at the men only event for those in business and politics. Women working as table hostesses were made to wear revealing outfits, their phones confiscated. Madison marriage is the Financial Times journalist who went undercover to expose the dinner. Multiple women told me that they had been touched inappropriately, and that ranged from, you know, holding their hands, touching their bums, kind of grabbing them, pulling them into their laps. Yeah, there was a complete range of Sexual Harassment. And did that happen to you . Yes. Yeah, i had three men touch me inappropriately. Were you surprised that this was happening in this day and age . I am surprised by the institutionalised scale of this particular event. The Charity Auction offered the men only diners hospitality with the foreign secretary and bank of england governor, although both said they knew nothing about it, or even the chance to, as it was put spice up the wife with plastic surgery. Some of the men are now paying for their attendance. David meller, one of the organisers, resigned as a member of the department for educations board. Education minister Nadhim Zahawi faced questions about his decision to go to the dinner. He tweeted i do unequivocally condemn this behaviour. The report is truly shocking. I would never attend a men only function ever. David walliams, who hosted the event, tweeted, i did not witness any of the kind of behaviour that allegedly occurred and am appalled by the reports. Down the road from the dorchester, where the dinner was held last week, mps couldnt contain their anger today. Women were bought as bait for men, rich men, not a mile from where we stand, as if that is an acceptable behaviour. It is totally unacceptable. It is quite extraordinary to me, mr speaker, that in the 215t century, allegations of this kind are stillemerging. Women have the right to feel safe wherever they work. Charities are now returning money donated by the president s club. Great 0rmond street says it will hand back half a million pounds. But bbc news has learned of claims that it was warned previously not to take the money. We have been told at a meeting it was raised with senior fundraisers that the president s club had questionable practices and whether money should be taken from them. Its a Charity Event supposed to help children that left women feeling harassed. I can now speak to Merryn Somerset webb, the editor of the financial publication moneyweek. Thank you forjoining us, you couldnt go to this dinner because it was a men only event. Is it the sort of occasion that you recognise from your experience in dealing with city matters and city culture. Well, from a long time ago, yes. 15, 20 yea rs from a long time ago, yes. 15, 20 years ago this wouldnt have been bizarre, it was a very different atmosphere, but today certainly a lot of this behaviour in the city has disappeared but it is important to point out this is not a city dinner. 0ne your eye down the guest list and you will see this was more ofa list and you will see this was more of a corporate occasion. An awful lot of people there from the property industry, and on the guest list to you might consider to be minor celebrities, so this is not something we say is a city problem, we have to look at it and say this isa we have to look at it and say this is a much wider thing. Do you think this event was a one off, or is it reflective of something wider . My guess all my hope anyway is that these days it is something of a one off. That is a hope a bit of an anomaly, phil mercer this had occurred i thought this no longer occurred. Uses smaller events that men only and many events that women only, and that is an entirely innocent thing to do to have a single gender dinnerfor innocent thing to do to have a single gender dinner for whatever reason you might do it but this is something on a completely different scale. Now i dont forget happens very often any more. This has been going for 30 years, clearly this will be the last year and it reflects the last gasp of the changing culture. What about the women who took up these jobs as hostesses 7 women who took up these jobs as hostesses . We are told by the reporter that some of them were stu d e nts reporter that some of them were students just trying to earn a little bit of extra money, but should alarm bells have run for them found out that they needed to let her tresses and matching underwear . Imean, her tresses and matching underwear . I mean, they could have pulled out, can they . This is the extraordinary thing about the dinner, it was a lwa ys thing about the dinner, it was always reports of, but in todays environment it is also repetition of very dangerous for the men to be there. But also for the women to be there, if you are asked to go somewhere wearing high heels and a dress with matching knickers, you might think maybe i wont do that. And then when you arrive you are asked to sign a nondisclosure document and you have your phone taken away, these are all danger signals, which in no way excuses anything that happened in there, but nonetheless it is amazing to me that there were any member and that there are any women there. We were looking earlier, just doing an intranet search for hostesses, and some of the websites make it fairly clear the sort of work that is involved. You see the pictures of the young women, the sort of clothes they are wearing. We looked at one where the Vital Statistics of the hostesses we re Vital Statistics of the hostesses were actually on the website. So it is all the two be found out. This is not an industry i know anything about, the hostess in industry, so i cant really comment, but as i say it is not the kind of thing that should be going on at any event. A corporate event like this, with representatives from major part of british industry across the board, it is beyond unacceptable. We will have to leave it there. Thank you for joining have to leave it there. Thank you forjoining us. And well find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrows front pages at 10 40 this evening in the papers our guests joining me tonight are the broadcasterjohn stapleton and kate proctor, Political Correspondent at the london evening standard. He was the doctor for the usa Gymnastics Team for almost two decades. He treated Young American gymnasts at four olympic games. Tonight, 54 year old larry nassar has been sentenced to 175 years injail for molesting young girls. More than 160 of his victims have given testimony in court. This afternoon he apologised to them saying he would carry their words with him for the rest of his days. From the court in michigan, Rajini Vaidynathan reports. The tables are turned, larry. We are here, we have our voices and we are not going anywhere. The amount of physical, mental and Emotional Trauma this man has forced upon me is immeasurable. Over the last seven days, their voices and their stories have become hard to ignore. 156 women say they were sexually abused by this man, larry nassar. During the hearing, thejudge invited other women who had been abused to come forward. The response was unprecedented, what started as ten convictions turned into an outpouring of testimony. Today she did not hold back when delivering her verdict. Im giving you 175 years which is 2,100 months. I just signed your death warrant. Today he had this response for his victims. An acceptable apology to all of you is impossible to write and convey. I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days. Described as a monster and as satan in court, the former usa Gymnastics Team doctor treated hundreds of women over decades. From decorated 0lympians and state level gymnasts to the children of family friends. Sent to him for medical treatment instead of taking away the pain, he stole the lessons. He stole their innocence. Speaking on a podcast in 2013 before his abuse was uncovered, he was recorded talking about his views on the welfare of the children under his care. You screw up once with one of those gymnasts and itll spread like wildfire. If you do something, you break the chain of trust with them because they will never trust you again. They will tell the other gymnasts. Jamie dancer was part of the us bronze medal winning olympic team. I do not feel like i had a choice even if i felt something was wrong. She says she and other young women were ignored when they tried to complain about nassar to officials. She beleives the governing body usa gymnastics has a lot to answer for. I know dr nassar is a monster but those people around him who have been protecting him, those are real monsters too and they need to be held accountable. The focus of this sentencing has been on the survivors of Larry Nassars abuse and perhaps the biggest victory for them is not just seeing him behind bars, but knowing that together they found the collective strength to confront him. Well, our north america reporter, nada tawfik, who monitored the case from new york, told me a little earlier that the judges sentencing sent shock waves through the courtroom. Yes, absolutely. She said that wherever he goes, he could bring destruction to those who were vulnerable, and that it shouldnt be able to ever walk out of prison. And when she gave that 175 year sentence, she said ijust signed your death warrant, and really throughout, thejudge your death warrant, and really throughout, the judge has your death warrant, and really throughout, thejudge has been very clear that she thinks larry nassar did really irreparable harm to these young women, and so she used this sentencing hearing over the past week to give any of his accusers the right to come forward and to confront him and to share their stories. Now, at the beginning of this, we were told 88 women had chosen to speak, but by the end, nearly 160 decided to confront him with the horrific and very painful stories of how he first gained their trust, and then under the guise of medical treatment, sexually assault of them, and many of them described how they were embarrassed, but didnt know if it was medical treatment or not, and kind of question did, and later upon the realisation, described how it had really changed their ability to trust doctors, the trust other people, to even trust the officials that were around them as young adults. And i think it is worth pointing out that after the sentencing the Us Olympic Committee says they are going to have a third independent party look into how this kind of abuse went on for so long. |j was just kind of abuse went on for so long. |j wasjust going to kind of abuse went on for so long. |j was just going to say that the 0lympic was just going to say that the Olympic Committee itself is now under scrutiny, isnt it, Olympic Committee itself is now underscrutiny, isnt it, because this went on for so long, and the abuse happened to so many girls . Absolutely, he was considered the most renowned, prestigious doctor, who served as a team doctor in the 0lympics with these young women, abused them often in public spaces, and so one of the olympic gold medallists actually, ali rissman, had said there needed to be an independent enquiry into what happened, because she did not believe that others did not have some kind of inkling of what was happening, or any other reports from any other girl of what he was doing. So this has really shaken this sport to its core, andrew lewer damaged its repetition. You have had advertisers pulling out, you have heard obviously young women questioning their dedication to those they were trying to serve. And soa those they were trying to serve. And so a really important step that we hear the us and the committee is going to hold an investigation into what happened. Bbc news has learned that victims of the serial sex attacker, john worboys, were given written assurances about how long hed spend in jail after he was convicted. In the letters, the metropolitan police said he was unlikely to be charged with further offences partly because he was expected to get a lengthy sentence. Many of his victims are angry hes been approved for release from prison by the parole board after serving less than ten years. Lets ta ke lets take a look at the headlines now. A prestigious charity, the president s club, which holds men only events, said it wont post further fundraising events following allegations of Sexual Harassment at allegations of Sexual Harassment at a recent dinner. They form a doctor to the us Gymnastics Team, larry nassar, is sentenced to 175 years in jailfor nassar, is sentenced to 175 years in jail for sexually abusing around 160 young gymnasts. It has urged victims of the black cab rapistjohn warboys we re of the black cab rapistjohn warboys were given written assurances he would be injailfor a very long time after the was convicted. Sport now. And for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres 0llie foster good evening to you. City waiting at wembley for the winners of the Nights League cup semifinal between arsenal and chelsea. Remember, Nights League cup semifinal between arsenaland chelsea. Remember, it was goalless at the first leg at sta mford was goalless at the first leg at stamford bridge. Pledges has happened in the last half an hour, both managers put out the wrong teams at the emirates, a goalkeeping change. Pedro thought he had scored, didnt have to wait long for the goal, chelsea, lovely through ball from pedro for eden hazard. That away goal which would count after extra time means there cant be penalties. How about this for arsenals equaliser . A freakish triple header. Nacho monreal claimed it but it came off two chelsea heads as well. Just over half an hour played at the emirates. 1 1. But it will not go to penalties. Four games in the scottish premiership, they have been going for about half an hour, much excitement as you can see in scotland i not a single goal so far. New england womens head coach phil neville will not be charged by the fa over historical sexist comments made on social media. He was only appointed yesterday but a series of posts came to light and he apologised earlier today, and responding in a letter to the Equality Group kick it out, fa chief martin glenn said that although some of the posts were not picked up during a background check, they did not meet the threshold for a charge. Neville will be warned about his future conduct. His appointment was already controversial given his lack of managerial experience and the fact he hadnt worked in the womens game. Speaking today, the england mens manager gave his reaction to the fas recruitment. I guess, how do you get that experience without an opportunity, soi experience without an opportunity, so i wish him well, first and foremost. I know there has been a very thorough process around the applications and interviews for that role. And he is taking over 18 that area role. And he is taking over 18 that are a good team, they have improved enormously over the last few years, so hopefully now for them as a team, everybody can start focusing on the football, and how they progress. In 12 hours time kyle edmund will become just the sixth british man to play in a grand slam semi final since tennis went professional in 1968. He beat Gregor Dimitrov in his quarter final on sunday to set up a showdown with sixth seed marin cilic. The other semi final sees defending champions Roger Federer take on 21 years old hyeon chung of south korea. Federer says edmund can relax ahead of his match, as he has nothing to lose somebody who is in the semis, to me it seems like it is two steps away, you know, a lot of stuff can happen, you know, a lot of stuff can happen, you know . You play one good one, and the other one plays one bad one. Usually there are no bad matches any more in semifinal place, but, you know, it is a good situation to be m, know, it is a good situation to be in, and he can hit freely now, and no expectations whatsoever. So he will be in this position ever again to have so little expectation, in some way s. England world cup winner Anya Shrubsole has become the first female cricketer to appear on the front cover of the wisden cricketers almanack, the games bible. Shrubsole took five wickets in 19 balls to turn the final englands way against india last summer and was also nominated for the bbc Sports Personality of the year award. She called being on the wisden cover an amazing honour and privilege and a clear representation of the strength of the womens game. It is still 1 1 at the emirates in the League Cup Semifinal between arsenal and chelsea. I will have an update on that, tell what happens. It wont go to penalties. That is in sportsday at half past ten. Now, some sad news to bring you, news just in that mark e smith, the fall singer, has died. It comes from the cherry red website, from the group manager, it is with deep regret we announce the passing of mark e smith. A more detailed statement will follow in the next few days. He passed this morning at home and in the meantime his family request privacy at this sad time. The former Prime Minister David Cameron has been overheard saying that brexit has turned out less badly than feared. In comments caught on camera, mr cameron , who campaigned to remain in the eu, said leaving the eu was a mistake but not a disaster. Well, we can speak to our Political Correspondent alex forsyth. How is this going down . You will well remember that David Cameron was not just a remain campaigner, but the man that called the referendum and then spent a long time telling eve ryo ne then spent a long time telling everyone why they should vote to stay in the european union. And his government issued a whole series of warnings about the possible consequences of brexit. Notjust the impact on household finances, but on the economy as a whole. They even produced a budget that they say would have to be brought forward in the event the uk left the eu because the event the uk left the eu because the financial damage would be so great. And so now what we have is mr cameron saying yes, it is a mistake but not a disaster, not as bad as eve ryo ne but not a disaster, not as bad as everyone thought, but still difficult. As you might think, this has been seized upon by some brexit backing mps who are quite enjoying these comments from David Cameron. 0ne these comments from David Cameron. One said to me we are all brexiteers now. Nigel farage, the former ukip leader, tweeted a video of mr cameron quite simply with the word, busted. And alex, separately, on our main story about the president s club dinnerand main story about the president s club dinner and the fallout from that, there has been a developer and concerning a government minister . Nadhim zahawi, who was only recently appointed a minister in the department for education, attended the dinner last night. Earlier on today downing street said he had only attended briefly, he had left because he felt uncomfortable about what was going on, and he treated himself utterly condemning the behaviour from the reports that we have seen about what happened at that dinner. We have heard in the last few minutes that he has been asked to go and see the chief whip, the man in charge of discipline within the conservative party. We understand he will be asked for his account of what happened. He will be reprimanded, but we are told he will not be sacked from his job. 0k, alex forsyth, many thanks. A jurys been told that a man accused of carrying out the Finsbury Park terror attack last june kept smiling and even blew a kiss at the gathering crowd after ploughing a van into muslim worshippers. Darren 0sborne from cardiff denies murder and attempted murder after the attack in north london which left one man dead. An imam who was one of the first on the scene told the court how he stopped the crowd attacking the driver of the van. Daniel sandford reports. Witness after witness described how the van revved its engines just before smashing into the group of muslim men and women. Some survivors described how they feared for their lives, thinking someone would get out of the van with a gun or a knife. The jury heard this 999 call made by Adnan Mohammed, who was asking for ambulances. Within the hour, 51 year old makram ali was declared dead at the scene. Hamdi al faiq suffered life changing injuries, including a broken pelvis, broken ribs and a broken foot. He told the court how friends pulled him out from under the van. People grabbed the man they believe to be the driver of the van to detain him. The court heard that some were punching and kicking him. The imam of the local mosque, mohammed mahmoud, stopped people attacking the suspected driver, telling the jury he should answer for his crimes in a court such as this and not a court in the street. In a statement to the courts, Adnan Mohammed, the man who made the 999 call, said that the man who had been detained said to the crowd, ive done myjob. You can kill me now. He was constantly smiling, Adnan Mohammed recalled. The man on trial, darren 0sborne, denies charges of murder and attempted murder. The court was played video from a Police Officers Body Worn Camera from the night, in which darren 0sborne rants about muslims and says have some of that. Have some of your own. At least i had a proper go. Daniel sandford, bbc news, at Woolwich Crown court. The chief executive of coca cola has been giving more details about his plans to recycle 100 of the companys plastic bottle production by 2030. Coca cola owns four of the five biggest carbonated drinks brands and is responsible for a quarter of all plastic bottles made globally. Images showing the threat of plastic to wildlife have touched a public nerve and made it one of the hottest topics at the World Economic forum in davos. Our Business Editor simon reports. Just over those mountains into france, alpine water starts its journey into this bottle. Like billions of others, from many companies, those bottles and their journey here, clogging rivers and beaches, threatening wildlife and the food chain. But up on the swiss side, in classic davos style, campaigners and celebrities are setting out their stall on how bottles a nd setting out their stall on how bottles and other waste products like clothing can be recycled, rather than passed away. People have begun to understand what happens to plastic packaging, and unless we change the way we make it, design its coming use it, feed it back into the system or even change the material, then willjust get worse. Weathers fashion fit into this . Fashion is the second most harmful industry on the planet of the environment and we now need to be encouraged to be mindful of that and pay attention, and to consume in a more responsible way. So look at that, pristine, nota more responsible way. So look at that, pristine, not a plastic bottle inside. For many of the people that is the perennial problem. One of the criticisms of davos is the global elite who meet in this rarefied air are 1000 miles away from the problems. Can they really get results . Problems. Can they really get results . You need industry muscle. Coca cola produced 127 billion plastic bottles last year, one of 11 companies, including abn, to we made a clear commitment that by 2030 we will recover every bottle we put into the marketplace. The better thing produce fewer plastic bottles . If we could not see a solution to recover them and reuse them, if we could not generate the circular economy then we would have the 0scars of the question shall ago the ca ns 0scars of the question shall ago the cans and more glass, but because we think we can get there and eliminate single use, within the utility of plastic remains full stop that relu cta nce plastic remains full stop that reluctance to the juicing production isa reluctance to the juicing production is a problem for greenpeace, who say it is not go far enough fast enough. These are all positive first at the tackle asian plastic pollution, but with a truckload of plastic entering our oceans every minute what we need is bold and urgent now. We need companies to commit the reduction targets, and to look into investing in alternative Delivery Systems that help promote the years. We cannot re cycle help promote the years. We cannot recycle our way out of this crisis. Applause Million Dollars was awarded last night to develop the best new idea to keep plastic out of the ocean. The ultimate prize is many billions and many years away. Simonjack, bbc news, davos. Lets look at the weather now. Philip avery. Thankfully over the next few hours, georgina will move away from the North Eastern quarter of scotla nd away from the North Eastern quarter of Scotland First quite an active weather front will quit the scene from the south east of the British Isles first we will be left with a breezy evening, and a breezy night to come across all parts, and there will be a supply of showers too across northern and western parts of the British Isles particularly one or twojust running the British Isles particularly one or two just running that little bit further to that used. There will be someone treeless on Higher Ground of scotland, maybe into the hills of the pennines and down into the welsh hills as well. Thursday, a new pressure by Northern Ireland, not too much of a way of sunshine, quite a bit of shower activity first of come the middle of the day, a band of showers getting into the middle pa rt of showers getting into the middle part of scotland, through western england and wales, further north from that and across the eastern side of england, it is not a bad day. We get the temperatures up to a restau ra nt day. We get the temperatures up to a restaurant and that feeling pretty fresh further north. More details about the weekend can be found there the bbc website. This is bbc news our latest headlines. A prestigious charity, the president s club, which holds men only events, has said it will not host any further fundraising events following allegations of Sexual Harassment at a recent dinner. A former doctor to the us Gymnastics Team, larry nassar, is sentenced to 175 years in jail for sexually abusing dozens of young girls. The judge said he did not deserve to walk out of a prison ever again. Its emerged victims of the black cab Rapistjohn Worboys were given written assurances he would be in jail for a very long time after he was convicted. Many of his victims are angry hes been released after serving less than ten years. A court hears that a man accused of carrying out the Finsbury Park terror attack in london lastjune was smiling after ploughing a van into muslim worshippers. And the fall singer mark e smith has died at the age of 60. In a statement his partner and the manager of the band said he died at home this morning. Well, more now on the news that the former doctor of the usa Gymnastics Team, larry nassar, has been sentenced to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing young female athletes. This evening the United States Olympic Committee said it will hold an independent investigation. Jamie dancer is a former american gymnast who was abused by larry nasser. She has reflected on what happened to her as a child athlete. I was happened to her as a child athlete. Iwasa happened to her as a child athlete. I was a young child, going to a doctor provided by usa gymnastics, telling me that this man was going to help me for better and help me obtain my dream of being an 0lympian. And i dont even think i felt like i had a choice, even if i had felt like something was wrong. And so when i realised that i was sexually abused, i think, august 2016, i think i first,. Shock, sexually abused, i think, august 2016, ithink i first,. Shock, i think i felt kind of numb at first. I think that might actually help me speak up, people say i was so brave and courageous but i didnt feel that way. I felt i had an obligation to speak up and do the right thing because what he did to me was wrong and i didnt want him doing that to anybody else. I didnt know at the time that there were other victims. So that may did a little more difficult but when i heard that there were other accusations i was like, 0k, there were other accusations i was like, ok, its notjust me. There were other accusations i was like, ok, its notjust me. You are probably one of the most high profile of the women who has spoken out publicly, what made you wa nt to spoken out publicly, what made you want to share the story publicly because it is so difficult to do that. It is difficult, because i was an 0lympian, i felt more of an obligation to speak up for those who felt like they didnt have a voice, i was felt like they didnt have a voice, iwasa felt like they didnt have a voice, i was a woman, i was a child, i wasnt scared any more. Those people dont have power over me and they dont have power over me and they dont run my life. I knew, speaking up dont run my life. I knew, speaking up wheni dont run my life. I knew, speaking up when i did, that people werent going to believe me. And i was attacked on social media. Some people that i thought were my friends, that i had worked with at camps and coached with before. And that was difficult but at the same timei that was difficult but at the same time i was not going to allow them to stop me from speaking the truth, if there is just one girl that i saved from what happened to me then fine. The former american gymnast jamie da ntzscher was abused fine. The former american gymnast Jamie Dantzscher was abused by larry nasser, speaking to our american correspondent. American gold medallist simone biles hasjust treated following the sentencing, praising thejudge. She said to treated following the sentencing, praising the judge. She said to the judge, thank you, you are my hero, shout out to all the survivors are being so brave and speaking out like the queen is you are while looking about monster. He will have no longer the power to steal our happiness and joy. I stand with every one of you. Here, theres been a significant rise in the number of prosecutions collapsing in england and wales, because of a failure by police or prosecutors to disclose evidence. Figures obtained by bbc news show that more than 900 people were formally cleared, or had cases against them dropped, in the year to last april, because of problems heres our Home Affairs Correspondent danny shaw. I was relieved, notjust for myself, for everyone thats been with it every step of the way. Under investigation for rape for two years, liam allens life was on hold. Then, three days into his trial, his legal team received crucial information and the prosecution was halted. The case highlighted problems with disclosure, the duty on police and prosecutors to pass on material which might assist the defence case or undermine the prosecutions. Finally, liam allen achieved the justice that should have been his from two years earlier. He had been on bail for two years not knowing if he was going to be convicted, facing a sentence of perhaps 12 years or so and be on the sex offenders register for life. Just the toll upon a young man who is in the middle of a University Degree cannot be imagined. Bbc news has obtained figures on how many people have been cleared or had allegations dropped against them because of disclosure failings. In 2014 15, proceedings were halted against 537 people. By last year, that number had risen to 916. Thats a 70 increase in two years in the number of defendants cleared after disclosure failings emerged. The implication is that it could lead to miscarriages ofjustice. The criminaljustice system is based upon trusting the prosecution to disclose material which undermines their case or assists a defence case. And if they are not doing that, then clearly, there cant be a fair trial. The Crown Prosecution Service says the number of trials which collapsed because evidence is not disclosed when it should be is a fraction of the total number of cases they deal with, about one in every 1,000 prosecutions. But the cps says that is still too many and, in the coming days, they will be publishing an action plan to tackle the issue, along with the police. Senior Police Officers say there needs to be a change of mindset, so disclosure is put at the centre of an investigation, rather than something that is done at the end. Danny shaw, bbc news, at the old bailey. Joining me now is stephen wooler, a barrister who was hm chief inspector to the Crown Prosecution Service from 1999 to 2010. Thank you forjoining us. Do you think that this lack of disclosure has become an increasing problem in recent years . It has certainly increased. It has been there for a long time. A report was produced in july last year but the prosecution service. Sadly what was in that report reflected substantially what we we re report reflected substantially what we were reporting back in may 2000 eight. So the problem is a long standing that i agree it has seemed to get rather worse in the recent period. And my perception is that the two reasons for that. First, i think the investigations have become larger and more complicated, and the extent of the material that they are forced to considerfull material that they are forced to consider full disclosure purposes is more wide ranging and complicated thanit more wide ranging and complicated than it was. William allen case is a good example with a disc containing 40,000 text and telephone messages, thats a huge amount of material deserved. The second reason is undoubtedly one of resources. The task of sifting that material is very Resource Task of sifting that material is very Resource Task of sifting that material is very resource intensive, and resources a re very resource intensive, and resources are stretched both within the police and the prosecution service. Theres also the question of whether the processes used have kept up with the pace of development, and i think at the moment, far too much responsibility was placed on the police who are asked to scrutinise the material, give a list of what they think should be disclosed to the prosecutor and then summarise the material. So that an informed decision can be taken. And quite frankly that means that when cases get to court sometimes the prosecutor hasnt seen a lot of the material in the background, that is what happened in the case of liam allen and the consequences are too clear. So its not withholding of information, it is just they havent seen it. The cases where information is abreast very few far between. Quite often the system doesnt ensure that the prosecution gets to see what they need to see. And that i think is down to systemic failures and largely to resources. The consequences cut three ways. You can get individuals who are wrongly convicted if the material doesnt come to light, if the prosecution dont discharge their obligations properly, judges may get frustrated in the case may get into a pickle, and individuals are then acquitted in circumstances where they ought to be convicted, the public goes out there, and in the example of the liam allen case, when it comes to light, at a very late stage, a lot of public money is wasted as the time and effort of the courts and the prosecutors come to nothing and the prosecutors come to nothing and the case need not have been brought in the first instance. The greatest publicity has been of rape cases, is this confined to rape cases orders and spread more widely . By no means is it confined to rape cases. It can apply to all kinds of cases, for insta nce apply to all kinds of cases, for instance in murder investigations, the police wouldnt house to house inquiries, theyll stop people in the street, they will ask them questions, huge amounts of material are gathered. It appears not to have are gathered. It appears not to have a great bearing on the case but tucked away somewhere there can be information that is material. Fraud cases are an example, the Serious Fraud office now searches the database of fraud office now searches the data base of material fraud office now searches the database of material it has gathered in the course of its investigations by computer using keywords and key phrases to try and highlight what may be material, because its such a substantial task for them as well. Will have to leave it there. Stephen wooler, thank you very much. Thank you, good night. Dame tessa jowell was diagnosed with a severe form of brain cancer last may. Now the former labour cabinet minister has spoken publicly about it for the first time. Shes called for more innovative cancer treatments to be available on the nhs. She told the today programmes Nick Robinson that she was absolutely 100 focused on staying alive and says shes not afraid. Passion, determination, a sense of mission, that is what tessa jowell displayed as the minister who helped bring the olympics to london. Now she is showing all that and more as she speaks publicly for the first time about the brain tumour she discovered she had last may. It came with no expectation. Nothing . Absolutely nothing at all, i did not have a single apparent symptom. Her symptoms now include a struggle to find words which used to come so easily. Anyone who has had cancer knows that particularly for people like you, and meybe for me, the hardest thing is to get used to not being in control. I dont think i immediately leapt to the inevitability of cancer. I think that to begin with i felt that i would have this tumour, that it would be operated on, and that would be it. It is actually much harder now, because now my life is day by day affected by this tumour. And affected by the uncertainty of what my cancer is actually going to mean. I can feel your frustration because there are words occasionally that do not come. The tumour bloody well does this to you. But tessa jowell is not asking for sympathy, she is demanding change, change to allow Cancer Patients to switch from one drug trial to the next, rather than having to wait months when months may be all they have. There is no point in having another six months of waiting for that trial because it is not going to have any effect, so lets go onto the next one. So a patient might say, im willing to take the risk, i am willing to try one, two, three things whatever the side effects . That is exactly the kind of risk patients should be free to take. People listening to you will be thinking, why dont you curl up on the sofa, be with your family and friends and look after yourself. Absolutely impossible. I have so much love. It is the most extraordinary, blessed and. And re creating sense. Ive been lucky enough to read the speech you will give to the house of lords, and you end with some words from Seamus Heaney the poet and you mean it. I am not afraid. I am not afraid. I feel very clear about my sense of purpose and what i want to do and how do i know how long it is going to last . I am certainly going to do everything i can to make it a very long time. Dame tessa jowell talking there to Nick Robinson. The headlines on bbc news. A prestigious charity the president s clu b a prestigious charity the president s club which hosts men only events says it will hold no further events following allegations of Sexual Harassment at a recent dinner. A former doctor to the us Gymnastics Team, larry nassar, is attendance sentenced to 175 is in jail for sexually abusing around 160 young gymnasts. It has emerged that victims of black cab rapistjohn warboys were given written assurances that he would be in jail for a very long time after he was convicted. A nun has broken down in tears and apologised if any child at a notorious care home in lanarkshire suffered abuse. But she refused to acknowledge that children had been harmed at smyllum Childrens Home despite dozens of former residents claiming they were attacked by nuns between the 1940s and 1970s. The order did acknowledge however failing to investigate previous allegations of abuse. Michael buchanan reports. Former residents say a culture of evil existed at smyllum, a Childrens Home in lanark run by the daughters of charity and dozens of people who lived here have alleged they were abused. The bbc investigation also suggested around 400 children had been buried in this cemetery nearby in an unmarked grave. Theresa tolmie mcgrane, who lived here in the 1960s and 1970s said she was sexually assaulted by a priest and punished by a man who discovered the abuse. She find the fact they refused to admit what happened is ridiculous. People who have been battered, people who like myself are flung into a wall. It is just like this red thread going through everyone. They have been physically and grossly abused. Do you accept the abuse took place . Today the current head of the daughters of charity came to edinburgh to give some answers in evidence to the scottish child abuse enquiry. The sister offered a sincere apology. She said through tears but she refused to admit abuse had taken place. It is totally against everything we stand for, i am finding it hard to understand it. The nuns did admit to failing to investigate more than 100 allegations of abuse made in the 1990s against staff at smyllum. Eddie mccoll, who says he was beaten by the nuns in the 1950s, was appalled by todays evidence. It is always if this happened and if that happened. It is not if, it did happen, they are in denial. Todays evidence will be of little comfort to the former residents who said they were abused. Some were hoping for an apology, an acknowledgement of what had happened and the nuns unwillingness to do that will merely infuriate them. The nuns could give few details of how many children were buried in the unmarked grave. An expert was working with them to identify each body. Us authorities will rule on friday in a trade dispute that could decide the future of thousands of workers at Canadian Aerospace manufacturer bombardier in Northern Ireland. Its a case that has implications for both the economy in Northern Ireland and politics across the uk. Jim fitzpatrick has this report. How many more job losses . A trade dispute between canada and the us seems very far from belfast. But it feels very near for workers like kay partridge, who could lose theirjobs as a result. 100 its a real threat, definitely, and anybody who doesnt think that is very, very wrong. It is 100 a real threat to all the jobs within belfast. Its a threat the government promised its dup backers it would take seriously. We will leave no stone unturned. Us Aerospace Giant boeing has accused the canadian and uk governments who supported bombardier of promoting unfair competition. The International Trade commission, itc, is where the government had to argue its case. This is bombardiers submission to the itc, its pre hearing brief, its almost 800 pages and is quite heavy. This is the canadian governments, more than 170 pages here. And this is what the uk government submitted, with 4,000 jobs at stake theres four pages of argument, as they say here, you do the math. It is a symbol of the agency. Trade expert and former itc judge professorjennifer hillman was not overwhelmed by the uks submission. Its clear that the uk government has not come in full force. Certainly not at the International Trade commission. Many of the bombardier jobs are in dup mp gavin robinsons constituency. Thats what the canadian government submitted. Let me just show you what the uk government submitted to the itc. Do you notice the difference there . There is a clear difference in volume. But this is a dispute between a Canadian Company and a United States company. The government did summit more evidence to the Commerce Department where the argument against tariffs was lost. The business secretary defended the governments efforts. Right from the outset we have worked vigorously, personally i have never seen such a high level, consistent level of engagement. If the itc rules against bombardier on friday, the consequences for the economy and politics could be profound. Jim fitzpatrick, bbc news, belfast. And there will be a special programme looking into this issue in detail. Thats spotlight bombardier, here on bbc news at 25 past eleven. Back to the sad news of the death of the fall singer mark e smith. 0n the line, a former drummer with the band. Good evening. Tell us your memory of mark e smith. He was a very good friend to me during my 11 year tenuous with the band until 1987. He always made me laugh. What iconic singer. Im very saddened by the news, although it is not totally unexpected. How would you say that his appeal was felt by people because the dj john peel really champion their cause. Yes, he played the band all the time, we used to do a lot of radio 1 sessions with him. Its a lot of radio 1 sessions with him. Its just so sad. Influences travel a long long way, there are new bands now like cabbage. Many others have been influenced by him. It is a sad day. You were the drummer with the band for 11 years, thats quite a long time because members would come and go with some frequency. Long time because members would come and go with some frequencym long time because members would come and go with some frequency. It was a long time but mark and i had Mutual Respect which is why i lasted so long. It was a funny guy, very intelligent, his lyrics were superb. What was it about him, what was his particular talent. I think it veered away from the mainstream deliberately, when Computer Technology came out, she didnt really wa nt technology came out, she didnt really want to know about that, he just wanted to write down what he was thinking about, what he thought about people. Just recently his interviews have been the most entertaining thing about him. Hes a lwa ys entertaining thing about him. Hes always got a good quote. Some of its true, some of it not so true but are always enjoyed listening to his interviews after i had left the band. Simon, we are very grateful to you for talking to us on bbc news. We can hear that this news has upset you, we are grateful to you for joining us. Simon wolstencroft, thank you. And the bbc radio 2 presenterjeremy fine has just tweeted, quoting john peel was a great champion of the fall, still the band against whom all others must bejudged. Lets move on now. For the first time ever, researchers in china have successfully created two identical monkeys by Somatic Cell Nuclear transfer. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of neuroscience in shanghai, named the newborns zhong zhong which means chinese nation or people and hua hua. They used the same technology that was used to clone dolly the sheep back in 1996. Earlier fergus walsh joined me to explain exactly what scientists have achieved. The same Technology Used in scotland backin the same Technology Used in scotland back in the 1990s over 20 years ago to produce the worlds first cloned mammal, dolly the sheep. Since then we have had cloned pigs, cats, dogs, rats, mice, 23 different species but never before a monkey. The furthest that people have got has been embryos. So this team in shanghai have managed to create the two of them, i think we can see some images of them playing in the incubator, they are now genetically identical, they are now genetically identical, they are now genetically identical, they are clones, and the point of it that the chinese team say they hope that the chinese team say they hope that by having a row of cloned monkeys they could investigate the genes that cause both animal and human diseases. And there is, though, a great deal of worry about what this might mean. There has been ever since dolly the sheep. I remember clearly covering the dolly story and people said we are on the road to human cloning. Thats been the refrain from human critics ever since. The only reason why this innocenceis since. The only reason why this innocence is novel is because they are the first cloned nonhuman primates, the closest to humans, using the dolly method. So critics will say we are on the road to cloned humans. No reputable scientist would want to do this. It is incredibly inefficient, it took 79 attempts to create zhong zhon and hua hua. But the Scientists Say they will do this in a very ethical way and continue with monkeys but as far as we know no scientists want to clone humans. Fergus walsh. Now the weather with phil avery. Hello, the day has been all about storm and georgina, the satellite loop from earlier shows the heart of the storm very close to the north east of mainland scotland. What many more of you saw was the weather front which slumped its way right down across the greater part of england and wales, and anywhere near that the winds were quite squally at times. Even now they are quite noticeable. What has also been noticeable is the amount of rain and snow mixed in, causing problems in york on the river booze and the solway has been a problem as well. The wind has been the headline maker, some very strong winds widely across the British Isles, nowhere more so than right up close to the heart of the storm, this is the scene from the western side of the highlands in scotland. The wave certainly overtopping there. Tha nkfully certainly overtopping there. Thankfully georgina is now up into the north sea and on its way to scandinavia leaving behind a new area of low pressure which have become the focus of showers overnight across northern and western areas. Agulla might certainly across the pleased than we have enjoyed in recent mites. That low pressure close by to Northern Ireland to start the day is where we will see the bulk of the showers, through western scotland and increasingly towards the middle of the day into southern scotland, some wintry weather in the Southern Uplands and getting into the top end of the pennines, show was liberally across the pennines and into wales, brighter skies across the east and for parts of central and northern scotla nd for parts of central and northern scotland as well. Through the night, we will push that area of low pressure a cross we will push that area of low pressure across the British Isles, a fairly wea k pressure across the British Isles, a fairly weak feature will be the focus of the showers, dragging them further east and that is where we will find them on friday, will start but at last a decent day plenty of sunshine and dry weather if you have washing to do, yet despite all that sunshine it will not be the warmest of days, between four and about nine should cover it. And just in time for the weekend, we will bring another set of weather fronts in from the atlantic, i think the one plus about the weekend is that it will bend these isobars back way down in the atlantic and a long low from down in the atlantic towards us will push some very mild air. Having said all of that, its a long sea track so there will be some rain at times. A lot of isobars there, it will be quite windy but at least it will be quite windy but at least it will be quite windy but at least it will be on the mild side. Hello, im ros atkins with outside source, after seven days of testimony and judge has jailed the disgraced us 0lympics doctor larry nassar. Im giving 175 years which is 2100 months. Joy and relief in court. Well have all the latest. Well hear from the british men in syria who are fighting for the kuridsh militia that turkey is attacking. Backed forces continue their operations against the Kurdish Forces of y p g in syria; which includes international volunteers. Well discuss what that means for britain. And brazils former president Lula Da Silva has lost his appeal to overturn his corruption conviction. And his prison sentence has been lengthened. Were live in sao paolo to find out what that means