Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20180127

Australian open womens singles title, beating Romanias Simona Halep to become the world number one. And a rare standing ovation in the houses of lords for baroness chow who has cancer in the week in parliament. Baroness jowell. Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. The director of public prosecutions, alison saunders, has said all current rape and serious Sexual Assault cases in england and wales are to be reviewed as a matter of urgency following the collapse of several recent trials because evidence was not disclosed to defence lawyers. Today the attorney general told the bbc there was no evidence of widespread malpractice or dishonesty in the prosecution system. Our Legal Affairs correspondent, clive coleman, reports. Disclosure of evidence in some recent highly publicised rape cases has gone badly wrong. But how widespread is the problem . In december liam allan was acquitted of six counts of rape and six of Sexual Assault when it emerged evidence on a computer disk which police had examined showed messages from the alleged victim pestering him for casual sex. And the number of prosecutions in england and wales that collapsed because of a failure by police or prosecutors to disclose evidence has increased by 70 in the last two years. Now the director of public prosecutions, alison saunders, has ordered an urgent review of all rape and serious Sexual Assault cases, and conceded its likely a number will be dropped. Its very apparent that in some cases mistakes have been made that simply shouldnt have been. It is important that when you look at that kind of case that the prosecutors and investigators look at social media traffic, look at Text Messages that have passed between the two individuals, because they can put whats happened in a very significant, different light. A National Disclosure Improvement Plan has been published. It includes a review of disclosure training, developing a group of specialists in every police force, and all multimedia evidence to be provided to the defence digitally. Yesterday, here, a people trafficking case not a rape or Sexual Assault trial collapsed because prosecutors failed to disclose Critical Evidence to the defence. Thejudge has demanded an urgent explanation in a case made even more shocking by the fact that one of the young female defendants was held in prison for 13 months, during which time she gave birth. This problem is systemic and endemic throughout the criminaljustice system. Its been known about for many years and its a result of chronic underfunding of police, the Prosecution Service and particularly defence lawyers who have suffered years of cuts to legal aid. If Public Confidence in our fair trial system is to be maintained, fixing disclosure is now the criminal justice systems biggest challenge. Clive coleman, bbc news. Lets speak now to Mick Gradwell a former detective superintendent with lancashire police. He joins us from lancashire. Good afternoon. Perhaps he would speu good afternoon. Perhaps he would spell out what the duty of disclosure is that police have towards a defence team. It comes from the criminal procedures and investigations act of 1996. The police must list all unused material, and that the cps, so a decision can be made, what should be evidence, and what should be supplied to the defence in any case. The prosecution effectively makes a decision on what should be passed to the defence, rather than the police . It is that. The police tend to miss things on different schedules. Theyll make an initial assessment. It is up to the reviewing cps lawyer to make a final decision and often there can be discussions between the prosecution and the defence. But in effect it should be a Team Approach between the police and prosecutors. Is there ever disagreement between the police and prosecutors about what evidence should be put forward to the defence team . Yes. Sometimes it is covert material. And there is other information that doesnt want to be disclosed. There have been occasions where prosecutors as a result of that have stopped cases going ahead. A barrister who defended a client against whom rape charges were eventually dropped told the bbc earlier that maybe there was a culture of trying to build up a case rather than investigate it objectively from the off by the police. Do you accept that comment . It varies on the skills of the officers undertaking the role of disclosing officer. Some people may not understand the full duty of their role. Thats what the lawyer needs to review the evidence so they can assess a piece of evidence to see whether it would assist the defence case. If we look at the recent cases which have garnered lots of publicity because they have collapsed and in each case there has been a failure to share digital evidence, do you think there is a need for greater training, for greater manpower, to actually trawl through this sort of evidence . People certainly need to be trained. They certainly need to work, the police need to work in partnership with the prosecutors. But we need to give them the time to trawl through all of this social media, Digital Media material, that is key in every case. That takes time. I think that is because of the under resourcing and funding that may not necessarily be happening, certainly in some of these very important cases. To be clear, when the attorney general says police and prosecutors need to get to grips with the way they handle electronic elements, that getting to grips, as far as you are concerned, is more about the resources than perhaps they lack of training in accessing this type of evidence . It can be, but it is also the time. Any digital equipment, such as a mobile phone, or a facebook feed, takes time to go through it. Not all senior managers understand how much time that takes and how to list that is a police officer, and then pass that to a lawyer, who then needs to have the time to review it. In a case that started this off, with the defendant liam, the cps lawyer prosecuting it only got the case the weekend before it was due to go to trial. In terms of the experience of officers, the officers who are dealing with the sorts of cases, where electronic evidence is key, and i imagine that isa evidence is key, and i imagine that is a greater and greater percentage of cases as time goes by, do you think those officers have the necessary expertise in accessing digital evidence, and trawling through digital evidence, to be able to present it in an effective way, and to come in partnership with prosecutors, decide what evidence should be passed on to defence teams. And two, in partnership with prosecutors. Full time disclosure officers know what they are doing, they have the experience, they have the time. However, there are not many of those in each force. When it goes to other people who are not fully trained, are not fully digitally aware, that can be where mistakes occur. What needs to happen next in your opinion . As the attorney general says, its more training, more resources , says, its more training, more resources, more time, and this leads thoroughly reviewing. As the bbc have done, they need to pursue this, particularly the first case, to find out what the feelings were in that case, and then we can make sure things like this dont happen again. Thanks very much. At least 94 people have been killed and more than 150 injured in a bombing in the afghan capital, kabul. The device was hidden in an Emergency Vehicle and exploded at a police checkpoint. The taliban said they carried out the attack. Chi chi izundu reports. An ambulance packed with explosives driven into crowds on their way to work. The force of the blast shook windows of buildings at least a mile away. Some low rise structures collapsed and plumes of smoke could be seen from around the city. Translation i was sitting in my shop when a powerful explosion rocked the area. All the windows of my shop shattered. The attacker drove the vehicle past one police checkpoint, claiming to have a patient inside. When guards at a second checkpoint became suspicious, he detonated the bomb. The area is home to foreign embassies and the citys police headquarters. The road had been closed to public transport. The taliban have claimed responsibility, this their second deadly attack in kabul in the space of a week. 20 people were killed after a bombing on the Intercontinental Hotel last week. The afghan military, backed by us air power, has intensified its campaign to drive out the taliban from its rural strongholds. But as todays strike proves they are still able to mount deadly attacks against civilian targets in the heart of the countrys major cities. Chi chi izundu, bbc news. Three teenage boys have been killed after they were hit by a car in west london. It happened last night in hayes. A man aged 28 who was in the car has been arrested. Live now to our correspondent, anisa kadri, whos at the scene. Anisa, what can you tell us . Throughout the day more and more people have been coming here to leave flowers and pay respects. It is thought the three teenagers who lost their lives were all aged around 16 and we were told they were on their way to a party. Many of the people who have been leaving flowers, you can see behind me, have been family, friends, and many of them look visibly upset. Police do not know if what happened was an accident, but they are not treating it as terrorism. A car mounted the pavement. It is believed at that point it hit the three teenagers. We know that a person inside the car, which was a black audi, was arrested, he is a 28 year old man, he was taken to hospital, and now police are appealing for witnesses. Paris is on alert as the level of the river seine has continued to creep higher, with forecasters warning the river could stay high throughout next week. The river could stay high throughout next week. Leaks have started to appear in some basements, while many residents on the citys outskirts have been forced to travel by boat through waterlogged streets. Our correspondent Kevin Connolly reports. On patrol on the rising waters of the river seine. A Police Launch on the front line of the flood defences of paris. Water levels are expected to peak this weekend. Tourist boats are tied up. They cant pass under the bridges on the swollen waters, leaving tourists to make the best of things. Its scary, because you dont know when its going to stop. Im not really worried. I think we have reached the maximum for the moment. I mean, its natural, for the moment you have strange things going on on the planet. For me, thats natural and i dont think it will go to a higher level. Parisians have been bracing for this High Water Mark for weeks. Its only rained this heavily over the new year period in france three times in the last 100 years. They measure the river level here by this statue of a soldier that commemorates the crimean war. In the worst flooding in history, it reached up to his beard. Its been raining relentlessly in france for weeks, but its eased off today. And it does now seem that theres a chance that the river seine will reach its peak without quite flooding into the streets of paris around it. We should know by the end of the day. Kevin connolly, bbc news, paris. The release of black cab rapist john worboys from prison has been put on temporary hold following a legal challenge by two of his victims. The sixty year old was jailed for a minimum of eight years in 2009 for the rape and Sexual Assault of women in his black cab across london. Lawyers representing the women were granted a stay on his release after making an urgent application to the high court. The Prime Minister of ireland has told the bbc he will campaign for the countrys near total ban on abortion to be liberalised. Leo varadkar had previously said the laws were too restrictive. A referendum will take place this summer on whether to repeal a constitutional amendment that effectively bans pregnancy terminations. New Research Suggests that plastic found in many second hand toys could pose a risk to childrens health, as it doesnt meet current safety standards. Scientists tested 200 used plastic toys they found in nurseries, charity shots and homes for nine hazardous elements. Twenty toys had traces of all nine elements, with some concentrations high enough to fail european standards. Earlier my colleague nick owen spoke to dr andrew turner, who was behind that research. I started by asking him what kind of toys we should be concerned about. We are talking about toys which were manufactured before the original european toy safety directive, which was 1994. We are looking at chemicals which have toxicities over a sustained period of time. The risk is ingestion or exposure to these very small quantities over a period of time. He wouldnt have any immediate, lets say, physical signs, but the impact could be later in life. Years ago people talked about lead in toys and pencils and all sorts of things. Weve come a long way since then. Is there any evidence that Peoples Health has been affected by any of this . There are studies that have shown, for example, lead has an impact. That was mainly through lead in petrol. With respect, no amount of lead is actually safe, thats the general consensus, we should minimise all sorts of possible exposure. People have asked me about the dangers of some of these toys, they are not dangerous necessarily handling them, it is really when you are chewing them, so in particularfor younger children. What would your advice be to pa re nts . Children. What would your advice be to parents . Old bits of kit, is it best to just throw them out . To parents . Old bits of kit, is it best to just throw them ounm depends on what it is used for and the age of the child. The ones to look out for our older ones which are brightly coloured red and yellow. They tend to contain a well known carcinogen. Figures like dinosaurs and animals which appear to have a thin layer of paint or plastic on, they are quite hazardous. Something also to look out for its black plastics. They tend to be recycled from electronic waste, which contains all sorts of quite nasty chemicals. I would look out for those. Its really a mall and chewing which is hazardous, not necessarily the handling of these things. Mouthing and chewing. Early respect to a woman who deals with recycled earlier we spoke to a woman who deals with recycled toys. With these kinds of things, ive not given them to the children when i was really when they were really little. The guest earlier who said dont let children put things in their mouths is really important. We probably will find out even more things in the future. As a parent you need to be sensible. The main danger isnt the things you would buy and sell at a sale, because they tend to be relatively new. But when you go round grandmothers house, and a box comes down from when their children were young, that is where the danger lies. The headlines on bbc news the attorney general has acknowledged that very serious mista kes over the disclosure of evidence by prosecutors have led to the collapse of recent trials in england and wales. At least 95 people have been killed and 150 injured in a bombing in the afghan capital, kabul. The device was hidden in an Emergency Vehicle and exploded at a police checkpoint. The taliban said they carried out the attack. Three teenage boys have been killed when they were hit by a car in west london. A man has been arrested. The Aerospace Firm bombardier won surprise victory in its dispute with the American Company boeing about selling its passengerjets to us airlines. The wings for the planes are manufacture it in belfast. Workers, politicians, Business Leaders had feared that one of bombardiers biggest projects would be grounded. The firm in belfast has 4000 employees and a quarter of them work in the c series jet. But the programme was under threat after boeing claimed it was unfairly subsidised because of financial help from the canadian and british governments. The authorities in washington initially proposed to impose tariffs on imports of the c series. Last night the Us International trade commission decided not to go ahead with the tariffs. The four commissioners all voted in bombardiers favour. Workers and representatives were surprised but very pleased. They we re surprised but very pleased. They were squarely behind us. We have seen were squarely behind us. We have seen politicians nationally give up the ghost when they said this is something that cannot be overturned. We have damaged trade unionism globally. Weve worked with our collea g u es globally. Weve worked with our colleagues in canada and the united states. This is a victory for workers. The Prime Minister spoke to donald trump about the dispute in davos this week. Theresa may tweeted that she welcomed the decision as good news for british industry. People here had been prepared for more bad news from across the atlantic, but they are delighted with this unexpected result. After months of worry, bombardiers victory in the street dispute has brought a great sense of relief. In this trade dispute. As larry nassar begins to what amounts to a life sentence, the fallout from the abuse scandal has been swift and decisive. As larry nassar begins to what amounts to a life sentence, the fallout from the abuse scandal has been swift and decisive. The entire board of usa gymnastics has gone and there have been other resignations too. Mark hollis was the Athletic Director at Michigan State university when nassar worked there. He and another official have decided to quit. Its been an absolute honour to guide the Athletic Department for the last decade. That being said, today im announcing my retirement. Im not running away from anything, im running towards something. Comfort, compassion and understanding for the survivors in our community. Togetherness, time and love for my family. Theres been reports that Michigan State university and usa gymnastics knew of the abuse claims but failed to take action. Theyve both denied there was a cover up. With several investigations into abuse in us sport now under way, the recriminations are onlyjust beginning. Peter bowes, bbc news. Several of the richest and most influential men in saudi arabia have been released after paying large sums of money to the authorities. They were detained as part of an Anti Corruption sweep that began in november. Meanwhile, saudi billionaire prince alwaleed bin talal, who was also detained in the crackdown says he too expects to be cleared of wrongdoing and released. The businessman also says his vast Financial Assets will remain intact and hes in ongoing talks with government officials. Officials in cape town are urging people to limit flushing their toilets to conserve water as the city continues to battle a severe drought. Water supplies in the south african city are due to run out in early april, after three years of exceptionally low rainfall. Residents have been advised to limit showering to twice a week and save water as if their lives depend on it. Caroline wozniacki has won the Australian Open womens singles title, beating Romanias Simona Halep to become the world number one. James burford reports on a thrilling final in punishing melbourne temperatures. The eyes of the world trained on its two best players. That neither had won a grand slam before a wrong about to be set right. From the start the 15,000 spectators packed inside the rod laver arena were treated to hitting of the highest order. It took a tie break to decide the first set. Sometimes outwitting your opponent wins points, sometimes just brute force. And while the quality of the tennis was enough to make your head spin, halep called for the doctor, suffering from dizziness. Finding more energy she started finding the lines and before long her own set point. Simona halep, known for herfighting spirit, levelling the match. Butjust when she thought she had the advantage her opponents own battling attitude came to the fore, wozniacki setting up championship point. With the first grand slam title and the world number one ranking at stake it came down to this. The new world number one becomes the first player from denmark to win one of the big four singles titles in the open era. Did you know theres a Radio Station for spies. Dozens of coded messages are broadcast every day by undercover agents from around the globe and anyone can tune in. Our security correspondent has more. They can be heard all over the world, russia, north korea, south korea, cuba, usa, britain. They work pretty simply and thats the key attraction. The truth is stranger than fiction, perhaps. Here to decode the weather it is then over the other side of the newsroom. Hopefully you will not need to be a spy hopefully you will not need to be a spy to understand this weather forecast. It is cloudy out there. Pretty drab, dismal skies overhead for many. Our weather watchers have been snapping the scenes nevertheless. This was a short time ago in devon. With that cloudy weather we have mild air pumping its way in from the south west. Something slightly colder showing its hand across Northern Areas around this book of an area of low pressure. As the cold air starts to push in, it is turning that bit colder here. With that, blue skies across the Scottish Highlands at the moment. To the afternoon scotland will see the lions share of the sunshine, particularly in the east. Northern england will brighten up, as well. In the south we keep the cloud and there will be outbreaks of rain until dusk. Clear spells across scotland. And across the north of scotland, beginning to turn quite windy. Severe gales developing. Northern ireland, northern england, after late sunshine you will have clear spells to take us into the evening. Temperatures will start to drop where skies are clear. Mist, merck, drizzle, temperatures around 11 degrees. A mild evening in the south. In the north where the skies clear it feel chilly. By the start of sunday, we will bring more cloud backin of sunday, we will bring more cloud back in from the west. With that things will turn milder again, starting the day at ten, 11 degrees. Mild south westerly winds. Trapped in that south west airflow we will have this weather front. It essentially become stranded. It cannot move north or cells, instead it gets stuck, most likely over central and southern parts of scotland. To the north of that, some showers and brightness, to the south a lot of cloud, breeziness, and where the cloud breaks up, chiefly to the east of high ground, temperatures will respond, maybe up to 15 degrees. Not bad for late january. The mild weather will get swept away on monday, this system pushing south, a cold front bringing outbreaks of rain. Behind it, a cooler temperature. By wednesday we will be in cold air. A chillier feel for middle of the week. Dues largely dry, and showers packing in from the north west by wednesday. Tuesday largely dry. More weather here in an hour. In halfan hour. This is bbc news, our latest headlines the attorney general has acknowledged that very serious mista kes over the disclosure of evidence by prosecutors have led to the collapse of recent trials in england and wales