Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Six 20240714

Floor of the tate modern broke his back and suffered a bleed on the brain. Shoring up the dam in derbyshire some residents are told they can finally go home five days it threatened to burst. And the first black woman to win the nobel prize for literature the american novelist Toni Morrison has died at the age of 88. And coming up on bbc news. Rooney returns the former england captain will leave dc united in the usa at the end of this year to join derby county as player coach. Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. Eddie heath was the chief scout at Chelsea Football Club in the 19705 but an independent inquiry has found that he was a prolific and dangerous paedophile who sexually assaulted player5 as young as ten, while others at the club turned a blind eye. The report criticises an ex chelsea coach, dario gradi, saying he failed to report a complaint from a parent of a young player, which could have stopped the abuse. A separate review found that black players at the club were racially abused by another coach in the 19805 and 905. The chelsea board have apologised unreservedly and offered compensation. Our sports editor, dan roan, reports from Stamford Bridge. In the 19705, he was tasked with finding chelseas top 5tar5, but former chief 5cout eddie heath was also a prolific, manipulative and sophisticated sexual abuser, according to todays damning report. Garyjohnson was one of 23 former youth players who told an enquiry they were abused by heath, who died in 1983. Going public about his ordeal three years ago triggered the scandal, and today he told us of the impact its had. Everyone at a young age wanted to be a professional footballer, as they do now. No one asked for this to happen. 0ur dreams, our livelihoods, our life has been just basically ruined. But could the club have done more . The enquiry found that former assistant manager dario gradi failed to report a complaint of sexual a55ault against heath and a chance to prevent him abusing others was lost. Gradi, who has previously denied any knowledge of the crimes of another paedophile barry bennell, at his current club crewe in the 19805 claimed he did refer the case up and denied trying to smooth over the matter. The review added that some adults at chelsea must have been aware of heaths lewd behaviour but turned a blind eye to what they saw. You just feel horrified, horrified, that he had access to everywhere, that people at the club knew of him, knew about him, and just shrugged their shoulders. The review heard that boys aged between ten and 17 were abused by heath with 15 reporting serious sexual assault, including rape. 0ne victim said the scout was known as nightmare eddie, with boys fearful because of the influence he wielded over their careers. Today chelsea issued a statement saying the club apologises unreservedly for the terrible past experiences of some of ourformer players. Heaths conduct, they said, was beyond reprehensible. The report details how abuse was able to occur unchallenged and the life changing impact it had on those affected. Meanwhile, a second report published today heard evidence from 22 people and found that former Academy Director Gwyn Williams subjected young black players to racist remarks on a routine basis in the 805 and 905. He denies any wrongdoing. Today, one former victim of racial abuse told us of his time as a youth player at the club. He was terrible. There wasnt any support, there was no one to go to, especially in my time there, my first year and a half. I would go into the showers and be ridiculed. So there was expectations of. I put expectations on myself because of the ridicule i got. Chelsea said the review has concluded that numerous accounts given of severe racially abusive behaviour towards Young Players historically were credible. Chelsea have now set up a compensation and support scheme, and safeguarding has been overhauled since the days of eddie heath, but years on, the abuse that some of the most vulnerable here suffered continues to cast a shadow over one of the countrys biggest clubs. It is important to note that the scale of the scandal only emerged two and a half years ago when it was revealed chelsea had insisted on a gagging clause in compensation settle m e nt gagging clause in compensation settlement that they reached with one of heaths victims but nonetheless they will hope that by shining a bright light into the dark corners of the clubs history, as they put it today, it will demonstrate they are finally willing to tackle this head on. Nonetheless it isa to tackle this head on. Nonetheless it is a dark day for the club, for dario gradi whose long career in the game is now injeopardy. He has been suspended by the fa for the last two yea rs, suspended by the fa for the last two years, and indeed for the game as a whole because this extends beyond sta mford whole because this extends beyond Stamford Bridge of course. Since allegations first emerged in 2016, hundreds of clubs have been implicated with high profile Court Cases Involving some top clubs and convictions of paedophiles, and this is just the latest reminder of why the fa described it as the greatest crisis in the games history. Dan, thank you. The government has rejected claims that its unwilling to negotiate with the eu and that it wants talks to fail to allow a no deal brexit. Eu negotiators have told diplomats that westminister is expecting to leave without a deal at the end of october. Theyve accused the uk of refusing to compromise while downing street said the eu needed to change its stance. From westminster our Political Correspondent ben wright reports. Almost two weeks after becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson met his first eu leader today his counterpart from estonia. Reporter why arent you negotiating in brussels, Prime Minister . Have you given up on trying to get a deal . Brexit talks are deadlocked. The eu insists the Withdrawal Agreement is closed. Ministers here say it has to be changed. One thing is clear the old deal that was negotiated has failed to pass the house of commons three times now, so we do need a new approach. And whatever happens, while we remain ready and willing to negotiate, the eu must appreciate that were leaving october 31st, deal or no deal. The huge disagreement is ireland, and the backstop intended to prevent a hard border after brexit. Borisjohnson says it must be scrapped from the withdrawal deal completely, but speaking in belfast, the irish Prime Minister said a no deal brexit on october 31st would solve nothing. There are people who perhaps have become frustrated with the brexit process, and they are almost saying to themselves, at least if weve no deal on the 315t october, its all over, its all done. What im saying is that it doesnt end on the 315t october. If we have no deal, were going to have to talk, and the first things on the agenda are going to be citizens rights, the financial settlement, and the solution to the irish border. By ramping up plans for a no deal brexit, Boris Johnson hopes to convince brussels he is serious about walking away. He wants that threat to persuade the eu to negotiate a new deal. If there isnt one, then number ten is emphatic the uk will be leaving anyway on october 31st, and with an early election possible, borisjohnson believes pro brexit voters are behind him. But its a strategy fraught with risk, and if the eu doesnt budge and a no deal brexit becomes government policy, a showdown with parliament is certain when mp5 return. We are now in a position where it seems that boris is hurtling towards a no deal brexit, and we have to do everything now within our power, working cross party, to stop the prospect of a no deal brexit. Mp5 are taking a break from westminster at the moment, but there are tories, too, preparing for a fight after the summer. I think its increasingly clear that parliament will have to act because the reckless behaviour of the Prime Minister, in terms of a no deal brexit, is something parliament will have to take seriously. As it stands, both borisjohnson and the eu say the other side is the problem. Three years after the brexit referendum, compromise has rarely looked more distant. Ben wright, bbc news, westminster. The six year old boy who was allegedly thrown from the tenth floor viewing platform at londons tate modern suffered a fractured spine and a deep bleed in his brain. He also broke his legs and arms. The details of his injuries emerged in court today as a teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, appeared charged with attempted murder. 0ur correspondent dan johnson is outside Bromley Youth court. Yes, this was a really short initial hearing and the 17 year old didnt really say anything beyond confirming his name, address, date of birth and the fact his nationality is british. The police have said they dont believe there was any prior connection between the teenager and the six year old french boy who he is accused of throwing over the railings at the viewing platform of the tate modern. Thats where he was arrested on sunday afternoon as the gallery was evacuated, and although he hasnt yet had a chance to enter a plea, we did hear more in court today about the injuries the boy suffered in the fall when he landed on a lower roof of the gallery. We know that he has broken arms and legs, a fractured spine and a bleed on his brain. That explains why we saw such a big response at the gallery on sunday afternoon, him being flown to hospital by air ambulance. His condition described as critical but sta ble condition described as critical but stable and the teenager will appear at the old bailey on thursday. Dan, thank you. Five days after they were rushed from their homes in Whaley Bridge, dozens of residents have been told they can finally go home. 1,500 people were told to leave last thursday when the dam at toddbrook reservoir was badly damaged after torrential rain. The reservoirs levels have now dropped far enough for experts to make the structure stable. A meeting with local residents is being held in nearby chapel le frith. Our correspondent Judith Moritz is there. Good news for some at last . Yes, sophie, in the last few minutes the residents here have been told they can go home, from a small village down the road from the main town of Whaley Bridge that has been affected. The people who live there, there are 55 houses in total, they we re there are 55 houses in total, they were the last to be evacuated on saturday and will be the first to go back in. Two roads are being opened to allow that to happen. What about everybody else . They have been told that at 12 oclock tomorrow there will be further information coming out in connection with the environment agency, and at that point we should be able to find out when everyone else can go home. This is the view from an raf chinook as it makes its way across the derbyshire countryside. Its flowing this journey hundreds of times. But every time has to be as exact as the last. The helicopter and dam must line up, each gravel bag dropped with precision. This is a battle that has been waged from the air, across the ground and in the water. The goal, to lower the reservoir level by eight metres. Thats below the point where the dam failed. This morning, after six days of effort, they did it. The water, now at target level but the displaced people of this community, not immediately allowed back home. If youve managed to get to that magic eight metre figure, why arent people straight back into their houses . If we get further extreme weather events, it could fill very quickly so we need to make sure we got a resilient plan in place to make sure that the reservoir doesnt fill and if any water get into the reservoir we can pump it out. They have been moving further away from disaster with every gallon pumped through miles and miles of pipeline. A challenge so big that a new road had to be built to bring equipment in. The people of Whaley Bridge know that this is all to save their town, and many have shown their gratitude to the emergency services. They flew over, over the weekend, and somebody had put out in white stones on the ground, they had just written a thank you in white stones on the ground. Thats the sort of incredible thing that makes everything we are doing so worthwhile, when you see that. But theres been frustration, too. Six days of dam rescue has also meant six days away for 1,500 people who were evacuated from their homes and businesses. Our entire life was in the hands of whether the dam burst or not. I suppose its just the uncertainty. And other people, because we employ people so its their livelihood as well, isnt it . Its been six days now. I mean, ive not been able to go to work, hes not been able to go to holiday club. You know, were just stuck. And obviously its the money situation as well. So we dont know if we are getting paid. Tonight, you can see how much water has been taken out of toddbrook reservoir. Its hoped the community will return over the next few days. But its not the end for the crews, who will carry on working on the stricken dam. The water levels continue to drop, im told they have now fallen by nine and a half metres and the canal and river trust which operates the dam says by looking at the lower water level now they havent seen any further damage. Temporary repairs are continuing, the permanent repair though is a bigger question. No one yet is able to confirm the plan for that. Judith, thank you. Our top story this evening. Chelsea Football Club apologises unreservedly after the man who was their chief scout for a decade is revealed as a dangerous and prolific paedophile. Coming up trading the sunny pitches of the us for derby county. Wayne rooney willjoin the rams from january. Coming up on sportsday on bbc news. With James Anderson out for englands second ashes test, jofra archer has been impressing today, as he returns to full fitness in the sussex countryside. Since the beginning of this year, more than 100 mp5 say theyve had to contact the police because of threats and abuse theyve received. Bbc research has found that more than three quarters of the mp5 who responded said they had been threatened or abused in the past year alone. The man who chairs parliaments Security Panel says some mp5 have told him they wont stand at the next election because of fears for their safety. Our special correspondent lucy manning reports. Bleep off out of our country. Youre not even british. Youre not english. You have to be white to be english. Youre all a bunch of lying traitors and should be taken outside and shot. Pictures of decapitated bodies, with messages saying that individuals were going to come after my family. Im going to come round to your office, im going to kick down the door and im going effing hurt you. Simon, youre a bleep. Youre a fake, phony, pathetic excuse of an mp. Im going to murder you, im going to rape your wife. Im going to rape your daughters. You shouldnt have a british passport. Youre an isis sympathiser. Imean. A long line of expletives. In the Research Conducted by bbc news, more than three quarters of mp5 who responded told us they had been targeted for abuse. Of those, 77 had contact with the police and 20 mp5 told us they had received death threats. When your son answers the door and its the bomb squad, in full equipment, dealing with a potential bomb attack, thats not nice for a teenager. It makes you wonder as to whether or not youve put your family inadvertently at risk. Do you feel their safety is at risk . Yes, i do. Ive had to have increased security around my house. Ive had advice from police regarding cordoning off part of my garden so that my children can play safely. I have been threatened and abused, and somebody got 56 days. You just never know what steps somebody might take, the next step, and who they might have a go at. Somebody threatened to nail bomb our office. In any other profession, the hr team would be in complete meltdown with some of this stuff. I have been in situations where i have felt threatened for my own physical safety. And i have the murder ofjo cox in the back of my mind. Its very, very frightening. Research by Sheffield University into twitter abuse shows david lammy is the most abused mp. That male mp5 receive more abuse than female ones, and injune mp5 receive more abuse than ever before. They would have seen maybe for a month there would be about 20,000, 30,000 abusive messages. Whereas if we take the month ofjune, there are now about 60,000 abusive messages in total. So, effectively, this is a very significant increase in terms of the abuse they are receiving and theyre exposed to. Mp5 now carry personal alarms. Many have changed the way constituency surgeries operate and have increased security there and at home. And a police team deal with many more complaints. We know that people feel intimidated to change their vote, they feel that the stress has gone beyond it. But its the threat level that is beyond anything weve ever known before. And the fact is that when mp5 turn round to me and say, im not going to stand again, i dont feel safe, i dont need this, my familys got to come first, we are in danger of losing democracy in this country. An mp has already been murdered. There have been attempts to kill others, physical and verbal attacks. Soubry, sour face and a constant barrage of online abuse. And the dividing lines of brexit are still to be settled. Its so absolutely widespread that it has just become almost normalised as part of politics now. Lucy manning, bbc news. A man has been convicted of killing five children in a house fire five yea rs five children in a house fire five years ago. He fled to pakistan in 2003 but was extradited back to the uk last year. Several other men were convicted for their part in the arson attack against the family which followed a bitter dispute. Stu d e nts students in scotland have been receiving their exam results today. Pass rates have fallen slightly for highers, which decide admissions to universities, but rose for those sitting their national 55. Nearly half the candidates this year received their result by text or email. The family of a father of three who was killed with his wife during saturdays shooting at a Shopping Centre in texas that left 22 people dead have told the bbc they dont believe it was a racist attack. Andre anchondo was a mexican american. He was shopping with wife and one of their three children a baby who survived. His family say they dont agree that president trumps anti immigration language has fuelled violence. Sophie long has been speaking to them. Is that your first grandchild . The same face. We think he will have blue eyes. Gilbert anchondo shows me a picture of him holding his grandson for the first time. That was just too months ago. Now the baby in his arms as an orphan. His son, andre, and his wife, jordan, we re son, andre, and his wife, jordan, were both shot dead in the mall. |j had the feeling as a father, someone was telling me he was no longer with those. When i had confirmation, that officially he was pronounced dead, it was devastating. I felt robbed of pa rt it was devastating. I felt robbed of part of me. They had been shopping at walmart for their House Warming Party that night. It was also their first anniversary, and their daughters sixth birthday. They had so much to celebrate. But now this family home stands empty. He saw what was happening. The guy must have pointed the gun atjordan, and he lunged at the guy. I heard that he lunged at the guy. I heard that he got his hands on the gun, but that he got shot. I dont know if he died instantly or not. My brother died instantly or not. My brother died trying to be a hero, and trying to protect his wife. Unfortunately, he didnt save her life, but they we re he didnt save her life, but they were able to save the little babys life. This family has now lost three people to gun crime. Gilbert tells me andres grandfather was shot dead by an armed robber. And yet he says he can forgive, that reports his son was killed in a targeted, racist attack make no difference to his familys pain. In my opinion, there is no connection of what happened here with us being mexicans, walk trump. He just here with us being mexicans, walk trump. Hejust wants here with us being mexicans, walk trump. He just wants to remember his son and all that he achieved. Now he is no longer with us, but he is in a better place. Sophie long, bbc news, el paso. The latest wave of protests in hong kong has prompted china to issue its toughest warning yet to protesters. Police in the territory say they arrested 148 people yesterday, the highest total for any one day since the demonstrations began two months ago. The chinese authorities have warned protestors that those who play with fire will perish by it. The former Manchester United and england striker wayne rooney is returning to english football after a year in america playing for dc united. The 33 year old is joining derby county on an 18 month deal starting in january as a player coach. I had a decision to make. But the opportunity to come back to england and play, but also to take up a coaching role with the club, and work under philip, was too great for me to turn down. The american author Toni Morrison has died at the age of 88. She was the first black woman to win the nobel prize for literature one of many awards for her writing. She also won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel beloved which told the story of a female African American slave. David silito looks back at her life. I dont mean that there were no narratives that slave women told. And there was no information about it. I mean, it wasnt the narrative in literature. My effort in beloved to do that, to talk about a woman who had to make some choices. Toni morrison and beloved, a story of slavery and grief, the sort of book that Toni Morrison wanted to read, but had to write herself. 30 years on, its success is more about than just a sales or been part of the school syllabus, it is what it has done to tell the untold. She had the ability and the genius to create a world that had not existed before. Not only that, a quintessentially american world. She is an american writer, she is an African American writer. There is my house. Toni morrison had grown up in lorain, ohio and made it to cornell university. Her grandparents had been sharecroppers in the deep south. You could go to jail will be fined if you were white and taught a black person. That says it all about reading. So my family did the whole thing, we took it very seriously, it was like a revolutionary act. She began writing in the 605. Her first novel, the bluest eye, was a story of childhood, black childhood in a white world. Each night without fail, she prayed for blue eyes. Ferve ntly, fail, she prayed for blue eyes. Fervently, for a year, she prayed. 30 years later, she was awarded the nobel prize for literature. Just one ofa nobel prize for literature. Just one of a mantelpiece full of awards. There was, she said, a vacuum in literature. Summed up by that little girl in the bluest eye. Took five yea rs girl in the bluest eye. Took five years to write that very small book. To Pay Attention, Pay Attention to this child. Maybe she is in difficulty. Shes obviously hurt. She is abused and misused. But take her seriously. Please. The writer Toni Morrison who has died at the age of 88. Time for a look at the weather. Im not sure you are going to want to look at what is coming our way. A heads up for whats coming up, switch august for autumn and it will look more in place. Deep pressure coming for friday and saturday, bringing as heavy rain quite widely. By bringing as heavy rain quite widely. By saturday, 0k, bringing as heavy rain quite widely. By saturday, ok, the worst of the rain might be over, but we could see the strongest of the wind, particularly across england and wales, something to bear on mind if you are on the move. Rain bouncing off the roads and pavements for summer. Very lively showers and thunderstorms around at the moment. This is the last few hours. Most of them are in the far north of england, Northern Ireland and scotland. It could cause minor flooding across the north. It will gradually dissipate across the south. 0ne ultimate rush hours overnight. Mostly will be dry, temperatures into double figures into the morning. It should not be a chilly commute tomorrow morning, the showers on the go in Western Areas and they will quickly become heavy and they will quickly become heavy and thundery in northern scotland. Some heavier showers developing elsewhere across southern scotland and Northern Ireland into the afternoon. For england and wales, if showers around tomorrow, slightly lighter showers, which means most of you will spend the bulk, if not all of the day, dry, and a little bit warmer by a degree or so. In scotland, that bit cooler. If you need to get the garden mode, or outdoor plans, thursday might be your best day this week. There will still be some showers across scotland. Many places will be dry, sunny spells and light wind. By the end of the day, cloud and more rain sta rts end of the day, cloud and more rain starts to gather. The area of low pressure moved its way towards our shores. Thursday night into friday, heavy rain sweeping particularly across the western half of the uk. All areas will see that into friday, pushing northwards. Lively bursts of rain amongst it. Confined to northern scotland later, brightening up northern scotland later, brightening up to sunshine and showers. The rain will strengthen into the weekend. Thats all from the bbc news at six so its goodbye from me hello, this is bbc news. Our latest headlines. An unreserved apology from Chelsea Football Club for the years of child abuse by its former chief scout eddie heath. The Prime Minister has welcomed his first eu minister to downing street. The government rejects claims it wants eu talks to fail, so that therell be a no deal brexit. Some people evacuated from properties below a damaged dam in derbyshire are likely to be able to return to their homes over the next few days, after an inspection by emergency workers. The nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author, Toni Morrison, has died at the age of 88. A teenager is charged with attempted murder after a six year old boy fell from the 10th floor of the tate modern art gallery