Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Five 20180207

Ten thousand years ago. Well be talking about the appearance of cheddar man. And at 5 30 the musician and producer will. I. Am will be here to talk about his new adventure novel and taking questions from students. Its 5 oclock. Our main story is that victims of the convicted sex attacker john worboys have been given permission to challenge the decision to release him from jail. The fulljudicial review hearing will take place in the high court on 13th of march and worboys will stay in prison until then. Last month the parole board was criticised when it announced he would be freed after less than ten years in prison. Police believe he may have carried out more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Daniel Sandford reports. Driven into the royal courts ofjustice in a high security van, the black cab Rapistjohn Worboys was led to the cells in handcuffs by four prison officers as his victims started their legal battle to prevent his release from prison. Worboys was convicted in 2009 of one rape, four sexual assaults, one attempted sexual assault, one assault by penetration and 12 offences of drugging his victims. A london black cab driver, hes suspected of assaulting around 100 female passengers. In the courtroom, he sat in the dock. Thejudge, sir brian leveson, apologised if any victims present were upset by him being there in person. 0ne victim explained this morning that shed never expected him to be released. When we were told it was an indefinite sentence, it was, well, justice has been served. He has been dealt with. He is serving a life sentence now. That was the way it was put across to us. So we never thought for one second that he would be eligible for parole. In court, Philippa Kaufmann qc, for two of his victims, said, it appears something has gone very wrong with the parole boards reasoning. And she condemned what she called the blanket secrecy. We cant challenge the decision until we know the reasons for it. And we have to make an assessment as to whether that reasoning is within the bounds of a reasonable parole board or whether its unreasonable or has failed to take into accou nt releva nt considerations. John worboys, who devised a kit for drugging and assaulting his victims in his taxi, didnt have a lawyer at the start of the hearing, but was able to talk to one halfway through. That report was by Daniel Sandford. Im joined now by daniel shaw. Just underline for the viewers what was unusual about this hearing. Just underline for the viewers what was unusual about this hearingm was unusual about this hearingm was unprecedented because it is the first time someone other than a prisoner has brought a legal challenge against a decision by the pa role challenge against a decision by the parole board to release someone. It was also unusual becausejohn warboys was brought down from prison last night at wakefield to come to court because the video link system in court was not properly working. When he was in court this is the first time that he has been seen in public for nine years remember, he was spoken to by the judge and Philippa Kaufmann who represents to the victims because he did not have a lawyer present to represent him. So they were taking him through the process slowly and again that is something you do not often see. Then halfway through the proceedings a lawyer who was attending the court because he has an interest in rural issues, made himself available to representjohn worboys. So there was a break while he had discussions. So the whole thing was a bit surreal. What was not surprising was the outcome. We always knew at the end of this the court would have to convene again next month to hear all the arguments and four. The reason is the ministry ofjustice and pa role is the ministry ofjustice and parole board, neither were opposed to having these arguments and this issue properly ventilated in public. So talk was through the next stages . The key thing is happening today, a dossier of evidence, the reasoning, the material, everything that underlines the decision of the pa role underlines the decision of the parole board is being delivered to lawyers for the victims and also lawyers for the victims and also lawyers for the mayor of london who is also bring a challenge. It is a lever arch files documents and files. So they will be going through that to find out for the first time why this decision has been taken. When theyve seen the reasoning behind that then they can formulate their arguments to take them to the next step which is the hearing next month. There is a possibility i suppose that if the reasons were so solid and so grounded in evidence, they might decide to abandon it. I think at this stage that is unlikely but everything is up in the air. In the meantime john worboys but everything is up in the air. In the meantimejohn worboys stays behind bars, thejudge made that clear. He stays in prison at least until the hearing. Then you have the prospect of a Scotland Yard investigation into an offence new reported from 1997. So there is the possibility that if investigation reaches the stage where they can bring charges, that could mean that worboys stays in prison for a lot longer thanjust the worboys stays in prison for a lot longer than just the next five weeks. The supermarket giant tesco is facing a possible bill of up to £4 billion after britains biggest ever equal pay claim. Lawyers say women who work in the companys stores earn less than men employed in its warehouses even though the work is comparable. Up to 200,000 women could be entitled to back pay if the legal challenge is successful. The supermarket says all its staff are paid fairly, whatever their gender. 0ur economics editor kamal ahmed reports. Tesco hasjoined a long list of organisations facing controversy over equal pay. Among retailers, asda and sainsburys are facing similar legal battles. Birmingham city council has already agreed to over £1 billion worth of payments for women cleaners and carers. And the bbc has been accused of not paying men and women equally. Tesco is one of the countrys largest employers and is now facing a series of test cases which could lead to the largest equal pay claim in employment history. Lawyers acting for tesco supermarket workers said that female staff on hourly rates earn considerably less than men even though the value of the work is comparable. Kim element and pam jenkins have worked for tesco for more than 20 years. I think that although we think we have equal rights, there are times where there are such discrepancies that you cannot explain them. And i think tescos are just one of Many Companies that really are not addressing the fact that women seem to still be paid less. Obviously the jobs are slightly different but to put it bluntly, they are of equal value. You know, we deal with customers, they dont have to deal with customers. But you know, we take the stock and we load the stock. They load it off the lorry and we load it onto the shelves. Tesco said that all their staff could progress equally and were paid fairly whatever their gender or background. In a statement the supermarket said, we are unable to comment on a claim that we have not received. Tesco has always been a place for people to get on in their career regardless of their gender, background or education. And we work hard to make sure all our colleagues are paid fairly and equally for the jobs they do. Birmingham city council has already been forced by the courts to pay cleaners and cooks, jobs mostly done by women, the same rate as bin collectors and street cleaners, jobs mostly done by men. Businesses know there could be major costs ahead. The law has been there since 1984 that you can compare with a differentjob. That is 3a years to get your house in order. So that is 3a years of having the advantage of paying unequally. And 3a years of you making pay decisions and financial strategic decisions. And 3a years where you have chosen to walk around what is hiding in open sight. This is the start of a long legal battle. Tesco just the latest business to be caught up in a fight over equal pay. Kamal ahmed, bbc news. One of the killers of the toddlerjames bulger the two year old who was murdered in 1993 has been sent to jail a second time after admitting having indecent images of children. Jon venables, who served eight years for murder, was recalled to prison last year for breaching the terms of his licence. The judge said there was no guaranteejon venables would be released after serving his sentence. For the latest lets join our correspondent Daniela Relph at the old bailey. Jon venables appeared through video link from prison but sitting here at the old bailey watching him were james bolgers parents. They heard how the police had found more than 1000 images of child abuse and videos on venables computer. The children featured ranging from very young to around 13 years old. The judge said the images were vile and heartbreaking. The police also find what was called a paedophile manual which was described as a disgusting and sickening document. After the hearing reacting to be sentenced just three years and four months, the father of james bolger said just three years and four months, the father ofjames bolger said it was not long enough. The father ofjames bolger said it was not long enoughlj the father ofjames bolger said it was not long enough. I thought it was not long enough. I thought it was an insult to james family. He is a sexual deviant, this venables, paedophile. And hesjust waiting for a victim. So lets make sure there are no more victims. And keeping wary should be. Jon venables, his barrister told the court his client apologised to the family of james bolger for the renewed distress it cause. Venables himself had told the police that he was dismayed by what he had done and he now needed some help to understand his actions. Thank you very much. The chief constable of Police Scotland has resigned with immediate effect. Phil gormley has been on special leave since september 2017 following allegations of gross misconduct. Seven complaints are being investigated. But mr gormley said he had come to the conclusion that it would be impossible to resume his duties in any meaningful way ahead of his contract expiring at the end of this year, regardless of the outcome of the investigations. Mr gormley has always denied any wrongdoing. Theresa may is meeting senior ministers at westminster this afternoon to try to agree the governments approach to the next stage of the brexit negotiations. It comes amid tensions between downing street and some conservative mps over the precise nature of britains future relationship with the eu. And theres pressure on the Prime Minister too from Business Leaders the british chambers of commerce are demanding more clarity about the governments brexit plans. 0ur Political Correspondent alex forsyth reports. The Prime Minister is fast approaching crunch time. Her government must decide what brexit will really mean. It is notjust brussels, but mps and businesses too who want to know in which direction the country is heading. Small businesses and large firms really do need some greater clarity from government about how it is going to approach the upcoming negotiations. Businesses are trying to plan. They are thinking about investments and theyre having a hard time drawing conclusions from the current picture. Questions to the Prime Minister. She says the transition period will give businesses certainty. Beyond that, the government wants frictionless trade. All subject, of course, to negotiations. And we will be robust in our arguments as i have said right from the very beginning. We will hear noises off, we will hear all sorts of things being said about positions that are being taken. What matters is the positions that we take in the negotiations as we sit down and negotiate the best deal. But ministers, meeting here today and tomorrow, are under pressure to flesh out what exactly they want. Not easy to agree for a party that is divided. I wish downing street spokesmen would shut up sometimes because they put out completely meaningless statements. Apparently it is going to be frictionless and we are quite happy to have a customs arrangement, but we are not going in a Customs Union and were not going into a Single Market. That is completely contradictory. Im sure people will always be disappointed about whatever deal is struck because there are differences. But if the main thing end free movement, stop paying billions of pounds, our own laws in our own country, judged by our ownjudges if we succeed in doing that, the differences do not really matter. With such different views on how close the uk should remain to the eu, theresa may is unlikely to please everybody. Perhaps the best she can hope for is a compromise which keeps most of her party onside. So for now the debate rages and the demand for detailed grows. And that is before formal trade talks with brussels even start. Well there has been in development, mps have been given site of the economic assessments related to brexit. A full regional breakdown according to the government, of the potential or likely or estimated Economic Impact of three scenarios for brexit. Staying in the Single Market and Customs Union, negotiating a Free Trade Agreement and leaving the eu was no deal. Not and leaving the eu was no deal. Not a single one of these estimates shows any positive growth as i understand it. Talk is through what you have seen . This is incredibly controversial. The brexit secretary david davis as one stage was asked about these brexit assessments and said that they had been done in great detail and then seem to suggest that the work had not really been done and finally the government have been forced to at least let mps have been forced to at least let mps have a look. So they have three days to go and break them and as you could imagine the details are trickling out. This goes to the heart of some arguments about brexit. What will the future relationship be when it comes to trade. Very close alignment of the Customs Union and a Single Market or at the other extreme leaving with no deal at all. Lets take a look first at the north east of england, an area which voted very much to leave the eu in large numbers. Figures say if we were to leave but stay in the Single Market and Customs Union gdp would go down by 3. 5 . If we left with no deal it would go down by 16 . Then scotland, a country of course that voted to remain, living and staying in the Single Market, 2. 596 and staying in the Single Market, 2. 5 lower gdp would be, that is the local economy with no deal it would be down by 9 . And the arrangements for a free trade deal of some kind but the figures somewhere in the middle. But of course will mean those who have been arguing for close alignment will say this shows that this will harm the british economy almost everywhere including london although the figures there are not quite so extreme. 0n the other side of the argument many will say hang on, we heard all this before, project fear during the referendum, we heard about unemployment rocketing and it has not happened. We heard about a recession and that has not happened either. Economic forecasts are almost always wrong and they will say that they are great opportunities for the uk economy if we can do our own trade deals outside of the eu. Many thanks. Lets talk to the former conservative attorney general and remain campaigner Dominic Grieve and conservative mp and leave campaignerjohn redwood. According to these estimates, they va ry according to these estimates, they vary between a hit of 1. 5 and 7. 5 according to these government estimates. Do you lay any great store by these . I think they are com plete store by these . I think they are complete nonsense. I have done all the back numbers of the time before wejoined the eec the back numbers of the time before we joined the eec and after and when they completed the Single Market and there was no game to the uk economy going into this organisation so i do not expect to see any loss coming out. Im afraid i think the figures may well be right, of course we cant say for certain. But it has been quite apparent to me right throughout this that were going to ta ke throughout this that were going to take a serious economic hit when we leave the eu in the short to medium term. May be in the longer term is impossible to say but it is also impossible to say but it is also impossible for the government to ignore the starkness of these figures. This is all part of a pattern of evidence that is emerging ofjust how damaging and risky brexiteers. Do you question these because they have not been done fairly or objectively in your opinion . I think theyre wrong, they have been systematically wrong about this issue over the years. When we went into the Exchange Rate mechanism we were told we would have a golden scenario but instead we had a golden scenario but instead we had a deep recession and massive loss of jobs. No apologies for all of those wrong forecasts. During the referendum we had short term forecasts and we were told if we voted for out in the year that followed we would have a recession, closed factories, house prices down. The opposite happened. The economy actually grew quicker for the six months after the vote. And jobs went up months after the vote. And jobs went up quite strongly. So in your own region, you think in the south east to the contrary, that in any of these scenarios there would be a game . Im saying i do not think that leaving the eu with or without a free trade deal will make very much difference to the country. But once we are out we could grow faster but that would depend on what kind of Economic Policy will follow. If we follow a good one there will be considerable gain. Business leaders today have demanded more clarity from the government on the brexit strategy. Do you sympathise . I do, i have large numbers of Cutting Edge Industries in my constituency especially the pharmaceutical industry. It is clear that they are extremely troubled and concerned about market access. And if we are to leave without a deal i have to say i think the amount of economic activity, the effect would be catastrophic. I disagree because we trade with the rest of the world under World Trade Organisation terms. There is a good facility of trade which will govern customs arrangements outside of the Customs Union with the Customs Union if we have no special agreement with the eu. And of course the eu will have to obey that because they are law abiding members of the wto as we are. We know what it looks like outside the eu, that is how we have to trade with the rest of the world at the moment. Do not buy the idea that we will have no access or that the germans want to stop selling us ca rs. The germans want to stop selling us cars. But there are Business Leaders who think that theyre not getting the clarity they deserve. Some have said that and Business Leaders are saying to me and people like me, just get on with it, we can handle it. We just want to make sure it is done quickly. The thing that prolongs uncertainty is any dithering and long transition period. You think there is dithering right now . I do not think so on the uk side but there is an attempt to delay on the eu side and i want our Prime Minister now to inject some pace and life into these talks. And put a strong generous offer from the ukfora put a strong generous offer from the uk for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and just as if they want it or not. You think that is realistic . I think it is unrealistic, everything suggests to me at unrealistic, everything suggests to meata unrealistic, everything suggests to me at a spoke arrangement is going to be very difficult to get. That said the government is attempting to get it and i wish the Prime Minister well in her endeavours. But we cannot escape the fact that we may need to make difficult choices between, about what is in the National Interest if we cannot get the Prime Minister to set out what she wants. And there were disagree, i think leaving the eu with no deal of any kind at all for the reasons set out in these economic assessments is an incredibly high risk strategy. 0ne likely to affect the most vulnerable and poorest in out the most vulnerable and poorest in our society the most. I have a responsibility as a member of parliament to try to make sure that the risks are minimised. And the list of difficult choices, what will be at the top for you . For me it would be continued access into the Single Market which is the biggest free trade and most important Free Trade Agreement we have. I have always failed to understand the fixation we have on this freedom which are best is going to deliver very minorgdp which are best is going to deliver very minor gdp increases if we get the free agreements elsewhere. But where in fact were going to cut off the single most important market that we have. That continues to trouble me and it seems to me people did not vote for that in the referendum. While i agree but i do not think Free Trade Agreements offer a lot over wto terms. That makes me say i do not think we would lose if we went out and traded with the eu, we would have perfectly good access to the european marketjust as china and america do from outside the eu at the moment. What i want most of all is all that money we pay to rich countries on the continent, i would like to use that for programmes here at home. It might be a good idea to spend that money. And if we end up with tariffs will have another 15 billion to spend which we would collect from all the imports they sent into the uk. Where hope we will look after customers who would otherwise be paying higher prices. Good of you to join us. Otherwise be paying higher prices. Good of you tojoin us. Thank otherwise be paying higher prices. Good of you to join us. Thank you very much. Some views there on the latest stage of the brexit debate. And those interesting projections the government has published during the government has published during the course of the afternoon. The government has promised to improve the conditions of millions of workers on short term contracts. Ministers say therell be higher fines for firms that breach contracts or mistreat staff who are part of the so called gig economy. The move is part of the governments response to a review of modern working practices but unions say the measures dont go far enough. Nina warhurst reports. Times have changed. Tom has around 30 full time employees like paddy. He gets sick and holiday pay. And around 20 workers like this tom, hes self employed and has to save for rainy days and holidays himself. Following todays announcement, the boss will have to be Crystal Clear with all of his staff on where they stand. If we are moving towards a situation where it is made clearer to employees what their rights are and what their entitlements are, i think that is something that can only be good for both the employee and for the business. There are up to 5 Million People working on a job byjob basis rather than as fully employed. And the government has promised to crack down on employers who bend the rules. If they fail to pay sickness and holiday pay, then the government will act. So its not left to the little guy to have to fight for himself or herself against a Large Corporation that might be playing fast and loose with their rights. The government will be hoping that todays measures will make life clearer and fairer for all workers. But some critics argue that there is still too much power in the hands of those who hold the purse strings. And that the most vulnerable workers are still being left wide open to exploitation. They had an opportunity to make a bold step to really give protection to those precarious workers especially in the gig economy. And they havent done anything to that extent at all. They have papered over the cracks. It is unlikely that those on shift today will even notice the changes. But the government says there may be more on the way. Which respect the value of flexible working, as long as employers respect their staff. Scientists say they now know what the first modern briton looked like some 10,000 years ago and its something of a revelation. They believe that so called cheddar man who lived in South West England had skin that was dark to black, and blue eyes. Researchers have used groundbreaking dna analysis to examine his skeleton which was discovered in somerset in 1903. 0ur correspondentjon kay reports. He lay here undisturbed for 10,000 years. In the caves beneath cheddar gorge, a replica of cheddar man. But now 21st century science means we can put flesh on these bones. One, two, three. At the Natural History museum cheddar man finally revealed. By extracting dna from his bones and scanning his skull, experts believe they have recreated his face in unprecedented detail. And he looks very different from what they expected. The hair, the eyes, the face, that combination of blue eyes and dark skin, really very striking. Something we would not have imagined. And to also get from the dna details of his biology. The fact that he could not digest milk as an adult. That is something that came really with the advent of farming. And 10,000 years ago people in britain didnt have that. Look how hes changed. This is what scientists used to think he looked like. A reconstruction from 20 years ago when dna analysis was nowhere near as developed. Cheddar man and i share a common female relative. This is modern day cheddar man. Adrian targett lives in the same village and shares dna with the skeleton found in the gorge. So, time to meet his ancestor. Do you want to see your great great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather . Ok, here he comes. And. Oh, my what do you think . It is remarkable, isnt it . I think there is probably some resemblance. But yes, i think there are certainly other members in my family who he bears a resemblance to, yes. Some of my cousins. You can see that in there . Yes. I think my eyes are blue. Lets have a look. They are blue they are blue. His hair is not quite as grey as mine is. Or my beard so 10,000 years after he died, 100 years after he was found, finally a face to fit the name of adrians ancestor. Jon kay, bbc news, cheddar in somerset. Joining me now is Yoan Diekmann a computational biologist at University College, london and member of the ucl Research Team behind the facial reconstruction. Just underlined what is the excitement of this revelation for you . Well it is the oldest genome, the first agent genome of a british individual that we have. That in itself is already exciting. It is just a snapshot into the past. Itself is already exciting. It is just a snapshot into the pastm itself is already exciting. It is just a snapshot into the past. It is a remarkable snapshot. A blunt question, were you surprised by the outcome . We already knew that the population that we know now i have these characteristics of dark skin and blue eyes but we just did not know if this was also the population in britain. So now we know and i was surprised and i still am, to know that this is the same pan european population. That is the crucial thing. The context is important, the concept of where people lived, there we re concept of where people lived, there were patterns of habitation. If you set this in the european context, how would you explain that . set this in the european context, how would you explain that . I would say cheddar man is a typical european of the time. There was not much difference between in terms of looks in terms of genetics between him and people from spain, hungary, germany. Just one big happy family. And and on and i believe it was a reconstruction from 20 years ago, and is on the right is the one you we re and is on the right is the one you were involved in if you look and is on the right is the one you were involved in if you look at the one on the left it was a reconstruction from 20 years ago. Themg reconstruction from 20 years ago. The 395459; a; is g information we and i guess it was a good job therefore i guess it was a good job for the time, but there were many things they couldnt know and that explains the you unveil it, rather a nice yo| i jnveil it, rather a nice yo| i jnv thinking, er a nice yo| i jnv thinking, where e go this is a go this is a huge this go next . This is a huge milestone, very significant development. When you look at the kind of Research Possibilities that now open up because of this technology that is far more advanced than it has ever been, what possibilities are there opening up, do you think, for advances in future . What would you look to be working on . I think that there still are a few periods that have still not been studied in great depth, so there is work being done on the bronze age, so much later, and people are currently looking at that are made in europe, so we are going from 10,000 years ago through time and looking at the Development Since then, and just that is already going to reveal i guess many surprising fa cts. To reveal i guess many surprising facts. We will get you in to speak about the next one. Yoak, thank you very much, and very well done, thank you from coming in from university couege you from coming in from University College london. It is 5 33pm. Lets go straight to sarah for the weather. The wintry theme is starting to change a bit as we have some cloud working through the night. Clear skies for many of us but chilly in the south and east. This is a picture from shropshire from one of our weather watchers earlier on. You can see the clear sky and higher pressure ridge but we have this front and things turning cloudy for Northern Ireland and scotland with outbreaks of rain and hill store. Into the evening hours and tonight that rain tracks further south into Northern England then across the far Northern England then across the far north of wales, but for the south east we have those clear skies and we can see temperatures as low as and we can see temperatures as low as outbreaks of rain and hill snow. Through the day tomorrow we will keep the skies in the south east, cloudier here with outbreaks of rain and for all of us looking milder at around 5 9 degrees. It is 5 3lipm on bbc news at five, and lets have a quick recap of the headlines. Victims of serial sex attacker john worboys have been given permission to challenge the decision to release him. Tesco could face a bill of £4 billion after hundreds of thousands of female employees make a claim for equal pay. Jon venables, one of the killers of the toddlerjames bulger, admits posessing indenecent images of children for a second time and is sent to jail. The governments Brexit Impact assessments have been released, as we have been discussing, detailing the regional Economic Impact of britains departure from the eu. Norwegian emerges from these figures showing positive growth. No region emerges. Lets catch up with the sport with 0lly foster. Good afternoon. Another day, another series for englands cricketers. Its a t20 tri series against australia and new zealand over the next fortnight. Englands opener was in hobart today and they lost by five wickets as Glenn Maxwell starred for australia. Paul garrity reports. On this tour, australia have shown why they are the best at test cricket, and england have led the way in the 50 overs series. So in the battle over 20 overs, england had a great start. Dawid malan has been masterful with the bat to claim a half century, but as he triumphed, ashton agar had his say two wickets to halt englands acceleration. Three more batsmen fell forfive runs, as england set a target of 156 to win. It was an explosive start to the australian innings david willey with two wickets in the first over, the hosts in hobart on the back foot. Cue Glenn Maxwell. He was even more majestic than dawid malan, moving to a half century in just 30 balls. He survived a couple of scares, dropped already before jason roy gave him grounds to continue and how he capitalised. A one man demolition squad, maxwell sealing his century and leading australia to a five wicket victory. West ham have signed the former Manchester United defender patrice evra on a short term deal. He is 36, but has been out of contract since being sacked by marseille following an altercation in november with one of their fans. He is currently serving a seven month uefa ban because of the incident. West ham heralded the signing with this video on social media. He is free to play for the cameras. He is free to play for the hammers. Evra won five premier League Titles and the Champions League with united, and two serie a titles withjuventus, but hes clearly up for the relegation battle that awaits at west ham. Blowing bubbles i love this game , an come on british sprinter nigel levine has been provisionally suspended for failing a drugs test. The european indoor gold medallist hasnt competed since he broke his pelvis in a motorbike crash in spain over a year ago more from our reporter ade adedoyin. Late last year, it was reported he tested positive for a banned substance and had asked for his b sample to be tested as well. The substance was named as clenbuterol, an asthma drug, also on the banned list. Uk athletics at the time wouldnt comment. But today they put out a statement saying he has been provisionally suspended. We can infer from that that the b sample has come back positive that well. He has a right to a hearing with the uk anti doping agency, where he can provide information on how the substance got into his system. If hes unhappy with how that plays out, he then has the option to take it to the court of arbitration for sport. Levine has been an integral part of britains 4x400 relay squad, and won gold medals indoors and outdoors. We have approached him for comment today, the bbc, and he said he would rather not comment until the incident has played out. Great britains tennsi players have made a strong start to their fed cup round robin even in estonia. Staright sets wins for hetaher watson and Johanna Konta saw them beat portugal, next up are the hosts estonia on friday for a chance to reach the play offs over the weekend. Staying with the fed cup, ilie nastases ban for racially insensitive comments and Sexual Harassment during a fed cup tie between romania and Great Britain has been reduced on appeal by an independent tribunal. Nastase insulted britainsJohanna Konta and Anne Keothavong in their tie in bucharest last year. He was originally suspended until the end of this year, and this has been reduced to the end of april, although his fine has gone up from £7000 to £14,000. That saw the sport for now. Much more on the bbc sport website, of course, bbc. Co. Uk sport, and will have more for you in sportsday at half past six. Olly foster, thank you. Its been described as harry potter meets robotics an aventure novel called war wizards and robots, written by the musician and producer will. I. Am, and the futurist and writer brian david johnson, in which theyve taken the subject of Artificial Intelligence, or ai, to weave a story for young adults. Im delighted to say will. I. Am and brian are with me, and were alsojoined by umran from Eastlea Community school, whos read the book and has some questions. 0ur our most important guest. I cant believe you are all here. I am delighted to have you all with us our guest. What did you think of the book . I absolutely loved it. Yes we didnt practice that. Why did you love it . Shes a female, love science, particle physics, and also i really like the times skates, like pulp fiction, jumping between the present and the future and i love to all the plotlines came together. Great. Pretty good criticism, i think. Together. Great. Pretty good criticism, ithink. First together. Great. Pretty good criticism, i think. First question. Why did you decide specifically to write a young adult novel . It is actually what it turned into. There we re actually what it turned into. There were three, four different versions of the book. We built an amazing world, and partnering with Penguin Random has allowed us to focus on their expertise and broaden the scope of the world we built random house. Yes, we got together in will. I. Ams living room and built it all out, and then we thought about what the best form was, and making a young adult novel was the best way to reach some folk like you said you can get your brain set on fire and you can go and build the future. Ok personally, iwant to be a theoretical quantum physicist but i was wondering where your interest in technology came from . My interest came from an early age, going to school where we were taught physics, from, you know, second, third grade, but early physics, oceanography, a computer lab, but early physics, oceanography, a computerlab, and but early physics, oceanography, a computer lab, and that is what got me hooked on all things stem. Computer lab, and that is what got me hooked on all things stemlj computer lab, and that is what got me hooked on all things stem. I was very fortunate because both of my parents were engineers, my father an electrical engineer and my mum and it specialist back when ladies were not supposed to be it specialists, sol not supposed to be it specialists, so i grew up surrounded by technology, learned to speak computer when i was very young, so for me, much like will, it seemed natural. There was no difference between being creative and technical, it was always the same thing, and it had been this way of expressing myself, through writing or technology. What is your interest, where does your interest come from . My mum loved space ever since i was a kid so i grew up watching brian cox documentaries and stargazing with my family is my love for space came from there, and at the age of 11, as you do, i stumbled across astrophysics and fell in love with black holes, dark matter, all of it. As you do laughter next. Next, personally, i love the character, but i was wondering where your inspiration for the characters came from . Yes, we wanted to make sure there was our female character, andl sure there was our female character, and i was very proud of that because of the school i went to in the ghetto where i am from. With engineering and mathematics, they are females. I see how it is transforming the whole entire community because they go out, enthusiastic about all things stem, and when enthusiastic about all things stem, and when i first started it nine years ago that wasnt the common thing people were excited about. Making her the centre was really the first big decision. He called me with an idea, have these robots and wizards, fighting for the future, and when we decided on the main character we decided to make it this female engineer, and we purposely named her ada after one of the first programmers, the first programmer ever, actually, and so we wanted to give that a young minds and two young folks to say, yes, there is a very rich history which is why there is so much history in the book. And also when we were coming up with the robot, we wanted to show one who actually cares about people, he loves people, kaku, lets give people a vision of what british a full people a vision of what british a full of what Artificial Intelligence could look like, and its not scary. I like that, and how he was a historian robot and he loves studying ancient civilisations, yeah. Next. What are your predictions for technology in the future . Wow. How long do we have . Laughter give us sense. There are going to be guidelines on al coming soon, and a lot of the reasons people are concerned, because right now there are no guidelines. If you are google, if you are a person like myself who started her ai company, started an ai company, your guidelines are your own morals, and i cant wait for the day went to ease peoples concerns those guidelines are put in place. How tough will those guidelines have to be . For example, if you are a multi trillionaire, you cant make a stealth bomber. There are guidelines for that. Similar to, you stealth bomber. There are guidelines forthat. Similarto, you know, things with weapons that could bring harm to people, you have to have those things around Artificial Intelligence. Also there are cultural norms as well. You cant create him sufficient enough to build a house that not sufficient enough to bash somebodys head in, but we have culture, we have laws, we have ethics that say, building a house, awesome, but bashing somebodys head in, you are not allowed to do that, and i think we need to get to that point where not only do we put in some laws and regulations but culturally we just dont know what it means yet. |j guess there is kind of difficult question around, you know, some viewers may say look how difficult it is to police, what is out there in terms of the internet and what is available, how difficult it is for institutions like government to clamp down on unreasonable, undesirable, unlawful activity. Is it not much more troubling to think about technology multiplying its power many times, exponentially, in yea rs power many times, exponentially, in years to come . That will be almost if not totally impossible to control. But you have to look at the optimistic side of what technology is doing for society. Lets take new york. In the ad. 5, 905, early 20005, if you were african american, a woman, anyone of some type of ethnic background, trying to get a cab, good luck 805,905, ethnic background, trying to get a cab, good luck 805, 905, 20005. If you wanted to rent a chateau, good luck, but here bmb aianb, bmb aianb, uber, look at those, and if then you had pointed to this no one would have thought that, and thi5 no one would have thought that, and this is the case for people who want to rent a room, and it is safe, for a stranger, and i believe in humanity, the data, and we will get there. And your generation, they will be that me5h that fuel5 there. And your generation, they will be that me5h that fuels the world because they are tech native5. There is an inherent flaw and how you presented that and how most people presented it. They say, how are we going to control technology . Technology doesnt get to decide. We build technology. It is our tools. Even when we make it autonomous we 5till even when we make it autonomous we still get to make the decisions and thati5 still get to make the decisions and that is one of the things we are not doing. When people ask these que5tion5, oh, the robots will take our jobs, que5tion5, oh, the robots will take ourjob5, well, do we want that . If we dont, let5 ourjob5, well, do we want that . If we dont, lets do something about it. Lets go and start creating those norm5. Often people take a back seat, how will i prepare for an . The way to prepare i5 back seat, how will i prepare for an . The way to prepare is to get involved. On an individual level or ona involved. On an individual level or on a bigger more collaborative level . How does it work . on a bigger more collaborative level . How does it work . I think it 5ta rt5 level . How does it work . I think it starts with yourself, your community, your family, have those conver5ation5, community, your family, have those conversations, in your family, your communities. The future is always local. It always happens in small room5, communities, 5chool5, churches, so start having these conver5ation5 churches, so start having these conversations and say this is the future we want and the future we wa nt future we want and the future we want to avoid. Thinking about elon mu5k and what we have just accomplished, as humanity, yesterday, did you see that . Yeah. If we can do that, reusable rocket5 that land themselves amazing. How do we make sure there are more teenagers like her around the world . How can we make sure of that . For the investment in Artificial Intelligence and reusable rocket5, thati5 intelligence and reusable rocket5, that is lopsided to the investment we have for educating the youth. How can we do her success and her intere5t all around the world, from inner cities to 5uburb5, then we are not going to have the issues we are worried about if we actually quadruple down and put our money where our heart is and where our de5ire5 are, making more intelligent 5uper5tar youth. De5ire5 are, making more intelligent superstar youth. And you get the final word. What will it be . Your concluding thought based on what you just heard . You are doing an amazing job. Through writing the book you are inspiring the youth to get involved in al and science, and it is really important. And i love what you are doing, so thank you. is really important. And i love what you are doing, so thank you. I think we will see thank you. Thank you. And thank you to Artificial Intelligence. Thanks, ada excite laughter and thank you for coming in, thanks for discussing the book with us, lots of questions arising out of it but thank you all thanks, ada laughter its an increasing problem for the planet how can we reduce the amount plastic we use . One of the biggest culprits is plastic bottles. Here in the uk only around half are recycled, but in norway they recycle almost all of them. Its led to a big drop in plastic litter, and could be adopted here. 0ur environment analyst Roger Harrabin has been there to see how they do it. Theres a 10p deposit on this norwegian bottle. It encourages me to recycle. Most countries, this empty bottle would go into the bin or worse, onto the street. Not here in norway. I have come back into this shop and this machine is going to reward me for returning my bottle. The deposit is paid back with a coupon. For some, the deposit scheme is a useful source of cash. This man collected a bagful from an office. He made £5 in ten minutes. People seem to like the scheme. It is very easy. You just take it with you when you go shopping and you get your money back. I think i take it back, like, every month or so. Its not hard at all. At the sorting plant, a torrent of bottles. The cans will be melted down, the bottles separated into different types of plastic, then shredded and made into new bottles. The scheme is run by norways drinks companies, after the government threatened to tax every bottle they dont recycle. They enforced an environmental tax in norway that will say, if you put a bottle in the market and dont have a collection system, you have to pay a high tax. But if you set up a collection system, like the deposit system, and you increase the collection rate, then you reduce the tax. And thats the big motivation for the producer and the importer in norway. Drinks firms are allowed only two types of plastic bottle. That makes recycling easier. There are also restrictions on the type of label, even the glue that sticks the label. But what about the hassle for shopkeepers who take in the empties . Well, they get a small fee per bottle. And there is another surprise benefit. They come and give us the bottle and the money that they get from us, theyjust come to us and they buy things. Of course it is kind of increasing the customers in our shops. Norway has had this scheme for more than 30 years. Others will surely follow. As worldwide concern grows about plastic waste. Roger harrabin, bbc news, 0slo. The american billionaire elon musk, who sent his own rocket into space yesterday carrying his sports car, has told journalists the project was proof that crazy things come true. The launch of what elon musk calls the falcon heavy in florida is said to represent a breakthrough for the private space industry, and its designers hope it may one day lead to interplanetary travel. Crowds gathered at Cape Canaveral as the rocket blasted into earths orbit, and its two side boosters landed back on earth in unison both standing upright. As will. I. Am was telling us a short time ago. 0ur science correspondent, victoria gill, was watching. Counting down to space travel history. The worlds most powerful rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space centre. Five, four, three, two, one counting down to space travel history. The worlds most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines and lifted off from Kennedy Space centre at 8 45pm uk time. Less than ten minutes later, in a carefully choreographed aerial dance, its three boosters returned to earth. Two landed simultaneously back at Cape Canaveral. But video feed from the third core booster cut out and it has since emerged that it missed its target drone ship and plummeted into the atlantic ocean. But every other aspect of this launch was a textbook success despite elon musks own serious misgivings. I had this image ofjust a giant explosion on the pad with, you know, a wheel bouncing down the road laughter and a tesla logo landing somewhere with a thud. Fortunately, that is not what happened. With its power and reusability, the falcon heavy could be a candidate for nasa to send heavier and more capable robots to explore the surface of mars. But ever the showman of commercial space travel, elon musk used it to let loose his own tesla roadster into space. Complete with a mannequin in the driving seat and david bowie on a loop on the radio. Mr musk says his car could be on this journey around the sun for hundreds of millions of years. Victoria gill, bbc news. Amazing images, and with me is someone who has just come back from florida where they were watching the kick off. The take of. Joining me now is sarah cruddas, space journalist and broadcaster. How exciting was that . Plunging his car, playing music, sending it on a heliocentric orbit that will pass mars. It sounds like Science Fiction, and you think it was almost 60 years ago, and then this space race with maverick billionaire is ploughing into space, sounds like Science Fiction yet it is becoming reality. Just looking at the tate off shots, give the us a sense of what the reality was like there. Kind of undescribable. I know that isa lame kind of undescribable. I know that is a lame thing to say but one day seeing things like this will be routine, just like seeing an aeroplane 100 years ago was not routine and now we take it for granted. The stuff that Kennedy Space centre, there were crowds, sold out, everyone from buzz aldrin to heroes from hollywood had come there. We cant begin to imagine how fast our progression in space is beginning to change, just a really incredible experience and something we have really not seen since the apollo era, and an incredible thing to witness. I am enjoying your holiday snaps there just underline for us, you mentioned the fact we have billionaires investing hugely in these projects, and, you know, looking cynically you could say, what are they getting out of it . Exceptin what are they getting out of it . Except in this case we are talking about scientific advance, and major scientific opportunities opening up. Is that they are reading . It is, but staying static is not good for us as a species. Human beings are built to explore, and if you take the amazon billionaire comedy is putting in his own money. Elon musk has nasser government funding. The amazon billionaire, he is putting in his own money. Putting his money where his mouth is. Will do and why would we not push out into space . We are one planet in the solar system, one of many that exist in the universe why would we not want to push this frontier . Science and Technology Im proves frontier . Science and Technology Improves life back on earth, making life better for everyone, notjust the rich. And also the inspiration, seeing a man launches sports car into space. These images are com pletely into space. These images are completely surreal. One of the great things, it is not the science and technology, but it is the art. If you think about apollo eight going around the moon for the first time, the blue marble from space, it is not science, it is inspiration and artand not science, it is inspiration and art and benefits all the inanity. Great to speak to you, and great to have someone with us, although the images are great, who was there, and has the pictures to prove it. Good to have you with us, sarah, and thank you for coming in today, because after the flight and everything i imagine you will want a bit of a kip. Good to see you. Its time for the weather. Lets join sarah. A cold day but someone toure sunshine. We still have the cold skies for many, clear skies, ended tonight, but cloud increasing in the north west. This were to the man was things earlier in the day in shropshire, you could see the sunshine but also a light snow. A ridge of High Pressure in the south, further north west, though, a weather front working its way in that has already brought cloud and outbreaks of rain in scotland and Northern Ireland. Some hill snow in with that as well. This band of rain and hill snow slips further south into tonight. Central and south eastern parts of england stay clear and here the temperature will be the lowest, down to about 5 5d, less frosty than in the north about minus five degrees. Some heavy burst later on. Staying mostly dry in the far south east but not as cold as it has been with the of 5 9 degrees. With high temperatures of 5 9d. The victims of the black cab rapist john worboys win the right to challenge the decision to free him. Worboys was ordered to appear in court in person to hear the high court ruling. Thejudges also decided that he should continue to remain in prison. And the head of the parole board has called for it to be easier for victims to be able to challenge the boards decisions. Also tonight. Government forecasts of the effects of brexit suggest negative reports across all areas of the uk. A report finds infeasible cost cutting at a Hospital Trust in liverpool led to patients being harmed and bullying. Tesco is facing a potential record equal pay claim of up to £4 billion brought by women at its stores. I think tescos are just one of Many Companies that really arent addressing the fact that women seem to still be paid less. Jon venables, one of the killers of the toddler, james bulger,