Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At One 20240714

And behind schedule years ago. Would you feed insects to your cat or dog . Uk vets say its one answer to wean pets off meat and fish products. Four hours from possible closure its deadline day for cash strapped bolton and bury Football Clubs as they face expulsion from the Football League. And coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news. No dramas this time for serena williams. After last years meltdown in the final, she beats Maria Sharapova in the first round in under an hour. Good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one. With just over two months to go before the uk is scheduled to leave the european union, Jeremy Corbyn has met other Opposition Party leaders to discuss ways of stopping a no deal brexit. The labour leader has insisted hell do everything necessary to prevent the country leaving without an agreement. Some of those mps who attended this mornings meeting say theyve agreed to look to stop no deal through legislation. The government says mr corbyn is simply offering chaos, delay and uncertainty. Our Political Correspondent iain watson reports. Labour believes borisjohnsons brexit policy takes the biscuit. Today, Jeremy Corbyns team invited opposition parties to consider stopping a no deal brexit. The thorny issue was precisely how to do it. Iam it. I am certainly hopeful. Some opposition passengers were not keen and Jeremy Corbyns idea passing a motion and installing himself as ca reta ker motion and installing himself as caretaker premised and calling an election. The shadow brexit secretary says passing a law to prevent no deal is likely to be more successful. Foran successful. For an there are a number of different options, a vote of no confidence is one, but an alternative is one we used in march or april this year when we faced the same scenario, to get the majority in parliament to pass a law that requires the prime instead to seek an extension or prevent living without a deal. Passing a law asking for brexit to be delayed beyond october 31 would turn up the heat on borisjohnson but wouldnt in itself stop brexit. Opposition mps would have to agree what to do next. We have to seize the moment immediately next week, let us remove that cliff edge, remove the risk of no deal, make sure we face the long extension to the article 50 process and see whether we face an election 01 and see whether we face an election ora and see whether we face an election or a referendum which i suspect will 110w or a referendum which i suspect will now become a more realistic option. Could Opposition Mps really pass a law that would in effect outdoor a no deal brexit . Suddenly they would need the help of at least a handful of conservative rebels to do so. While borisjohnson of conservative rebels to do so. While Boris Johnson is of conservative rebels to do so. While borisjohnson is insisting he still wa nts while borisjohnson is insisting he still wants to get a deal, some of them may well sit on their hands and denied the opposition victory. Boris johnson met european leaders in france this weekend but even if he is sent back to the continent by mps to ask for a brexit extension he could refuse to do it and call an election. If polling day was after brexit day october 31, remain mps would be foiled. We need to be careful we do not crash out of the eu by accident during such a campaign and i think it is fairformps during such a campaign and i think it is fair for mps to say that people need the chance to choose and an election should only happen under the circumstances where it is before exit day of the 31st october or if it is after it comes with an extension of article 50 because otherwise it would be hugely anti democratic. This sound is designed to strike fear into Boris Johnson. This sound is designed to strike fear into borisjohnson. At a brexit party rally nigel farage made it clear that if there is an early election anything short of no deal would be seen as a sell out. If mrjohnson you insist on the withdrawal agreement, we will fight you in every single seat up and down the length and breadth of the United Kingdom even before mps returned to parliament next week, the brexit battle lines are being drawn. And iain is at westminster now. Are we any clearer as to how those opposed to a no deal brexit plan to stop it . Here is some breaking news, in the past minute, we have had a joint statement from those opposition parties sent out by the labour party, they say the attendees agreed on the urgency to act together to find practical ways to prevent no deal including the possibility of passing legislation, and a vote of no confidence. But many of opposition leaders were saying the emphasis on that meeting was on the first option, trying to pass legislation that would in effect ask foran legislation that would in effect ask for an extension to the Brexit Process and send borisjohnson back to brussels to say he wanted to get a deal after all. How do they do that in practical terms . The first barrier is they will need to get some conservative rebels on board because some in the labour party simply would not back this. They need some conservative rebels. If borisjohnson is need some conservative rebels. If Boris Johnson is if need some conservative rebels. If borisjohnson is if he can still get a deal and sends his envoy to brussels tomorrow for talks, it could be the case some conservative rebels not happy with the prospect of no deal would be equally unhappy to rush into anything which would undermine Boris Johnson. It to rush into anything which would undermine borisjohnson. It is not certain that would happen. In any case even if borisjohnson were first forced, he has the option of calling an election and nigel for raj warned him today he could get a pa ct raj warned him today he could get a pact with his party if he backs no deal but complete opposition if he tries to get a deal through parliament. Thank you. Police investigating allegations of abuse at a hospital for people with learning disabilities and Mental Health needs say cctv has recorded 1500 crimes on one ward. 20 nurses are currently suspended at Muckamore Abbey hospital in County Antrim. Our ireland correspondent chris page is in belfast. What exactly are the Police Investigating . The police have been investigating Muckamore Abbey hospital for two yea rs Muckamore Abbey hospital for two years but the figures they spoke about today shows the extent of what they are investigating. Muckamore abbey is a hospital for patients with severe learning disabilities and Mental Health problems, in cou nty and Mental Health problems, in County Antrim a few miles north of belfast. In november 2017, some families of patients went public with allegations there patients were being mistreated. Police have been looking at more than 300,000 hours of cctv, minute by minute, and today they said they have identified 1500 crimes on one ward, the psychiatric intensive care unit. The officer leading the investigation detective chief inspectorjill duffie said her staff have seen some dramatic incidents, repeated patterns of physical and mental abuse, and has made the point because of the nature of the patientss conditions, they could not tell anybody else what happened which makes cctv important. There have been no prosecutions yet but detectives are coming to the end of that process of viewing cctv and are expected to call people for interview. Detectives have said there had been 20 members of staff suspended at the hospital since 2017. Police expect that number to rise. Documents seen by the bbc show the government knew the hs2 rail project was over budget three years ago. The documents were written in 2016 before mps had signed off the first phase of the project which raises questions over whether parliament was given the whole picture. Our transport correspondent tom burridge has this exclusive report. Until very recently, we were told by ministers and bosses at hs2 that the programme to build the new High Speed Railway was on budget and on time. There is only one budget for hs2, and it is £55] billion. But bbc news has obtained documents which show that at least three years ago, the government knew that wasnt the case. The evidence weve got hold of suggests you, the taxpayer whos funding it, didnt have the full picture. This letter was sent in may, 2016 to the then chancellor george osborne. In it, the transport secretary at the time Patrick Mcloughlin admits that the first stretch of the Railway Linking birmingham to london was already over budget by nearly £1 billion. He also proposes opening the railway a year late to try and save money. A former hs2 director told me the £1 billion overspend was a conservative estimate, and internally teams knew it was a lot higher. Another former hs2 director, doug thornton, says he often told government the budget wasnt realistic. I was briefing personally the director at the department of transport, the head of property at the department of transport and the department of transports project representative team, so, at that level, the department knew. And all of these warnings crucially before the first phase of hs2 had been signed off by parliament. As protesters occupy fields and footpaths next to a construction site, people will ask whether mps were misled. For all the opposition, hs2 does have strong support, but the evidence weve seen not only raises questions about whether this programme is value for money but about transparency and trust. And for the first time, this former hs2 manager is speaking out. Andrew bruces job was to work out how much all of the land and property needed to build the first phase of the railway would cost. In the previous estimate, some properties had ridiculous values. So, youve got a school and the land around it for £782. 45. Yes. He improved the data and discovered that aspect of the project would need an extra £2 billion. But he says hs2 sacked him just half an hour before he was due to present that uncomfortable truth to the department for transport. I think parliament was misled. I think were now having to spend far more public taxpayers money on hsz than parliament thought was going to be required. Hsz knew that months if not years before giving those figures to parliament, and yet they went ahead and gave figures they knew to be vastly underestimated. Hs2 ltd said it did not recognise Andrew Bruces claims. It strongly rejects the idea that a more accurate costing for land and property needed to build the railway was covered up. The National Audit office investigated these allegations last year and cleared hs2 of any wrongdoing. Hs2 said it also faced extensive scrutiny from parliamentary committees. The department for transport said like in any major complex programme, delivery plans evolve over time. But with the team appointed by the government to review the scheme set to begin their work tomorrow, its hard to say how high speed 2 will evolve in the coming weeks. And tom is here now. This is all very disturbing, where does it leave the nhs to project . The scheme is shrouded in uncertainty. We know hs2 is way over budget which is why the government has commissioned this review to establish the true cost, lay out the fa cts establish the true cost, lay out the facts and decide how to proceed or not. What we have revealed today is not. What we have revealed today is not really so much about the pros and cons about building a High Speed Railway linking north and south england, more about how this programme has been handled in the past, the amount of transparency, and the key question is when there was compelling evidence the £56 billion budget of taxpayers money probably wasnt realistic, was the wool pulled over our eyes . It will put pressure on the government to ensure things are more transparent, that potentially the project is handled better in the future. We are expecting the new transport secretary to update parliament on hs2 next week, and that review he has commissioned should report back by the end of the year. The pharmaceutical giantjohnon johnson has been fined nearly half a billion pounds in the us for its part in encouraging opioid use which has led to 400,000 deaths. The ruling in the state of oklahoma is being seen as a test case for thousands more potential claimants. Johnson johnson has descibed the decision as flawed and says it will appeal. From the united states, peter bowes reports. The scourge of Prescription Drug abuse, an Opioid Epidemic thats claimed almost 400,000 lives in the us over two decades. Now, a landmark ruling after the state of oklahoma accused Johnson Johnson of fostering the Opioid Crisis, creating a public nuisance by aggressively marketing the drugs to doctors and patients as safe and effective, while underplaying the dangers of addictive painkillers. Johnson johnsons misleading marketing and promotion of opioids created a nuisance, specifically the defendants caused an Opioid Crisis evidenced by increased rates of addiction, Overdose Deaths and neonatal abstinence syndrome in oklahoma. Lawyers for the state held the ruling as a major victory, affirming their view thatJohnson Johnson, motivated by greed, maliciously and diabolically created the Opioid Epidemic. Johnson johnson was the kingpin behind the nations ongoing Opioid Crisis. Reggie witton, a member of the legal team that took Johnson Johnson to court lost his own son to opioids. Am i optimistic . No, im not. I think they will appeal this thing and fight until hell freezes over. But my boy and i are fighters, and we are, too. Johnson johnson says it will appeal the ruling. The company insists it should not be held responsible for the Opioid Epidemic. We do not believe that the facts or the law supports the decision today. We have many strong grounds for appeal, and we intend to pursue those vigorously. With over 2,000 similar opioid lawsuits currently pending across the us, this ruling could have far reaching implications for drugmakers in a country still struggling to contain the worst drug crisis in its history. Peter bowes, bbc news. Cbs news correspondent Laura Podesta is in new york. A huge find, huge implications as we we re a huge find, huge implications as we were hearing and get shares in johnson and johnson went up, whats going on . Thats right, they were up in premarket trading and thats because the half 1 million fine imposed was less than what the state attorney general was seeking, that was the number 17 billion and it was the number 17 billion and it was supposed to fund a programme for the next 30 years. Thejudge was supposed to fund a programme for the next 30 years. The judge said that was too large a penalty and the ruling will fund that programme for one year and the money will go to cover addiction related Services Including drug rehabilitation, social services, Emergency Care and police costs. We should mention Johnson Johnsons police costs. We should mention Johnson Johnsons money police costs. We should mention Johnson Johnsons money worry woes are not over yet. In a case in ohio groups are suing several pharmaceutical Companies Including Johnson Johnson, pharmaceutical Companies Including Johnson Johnson, and pharmaceutical Companies Including Johnson Johnson, and these cases are setting a precedent for how states are trying to tackle the opioid abuse epidemic. Johnson johnson attorneys are pushing back, calling the lawsuit is unfair, that you cannot blame a company for a health crisis. Laura, thank you. Our top story this lunchtime Jeremy Corbyn meets other Opposition Party leaders they agree to try to block a no deal brexit with legislation. And the countdown to the new series of strictly come dancing has begun with the stars donning their sequins for last nights launch. Coming up in the sport in the next 15 minutes on bbc news d day for bury theyve been threatened with expulsion from the league, but their fans are hopeful that theyll beat the 5pm deadline to find a new owner. Globally, pets consume about 20 of the worlds meat and fish and that has a considerable impact in terms of use of land, water, fossil fuels, phosphates and pesticides. Now the British Veterinary Association thinks food partly based on another source could be the way forward. But, as our environment analyst Roger Harrabin reports, theres a question pet owners need to ask themselves. Would you feed your dog or cat on these . The larvae of soldier flies are high in protein and edible fats. The British Vets Association says they are ideal for your pet. I think theres a really exciting future for the use of insects in pet food. Theres a fantastic opportunity here to look at insects as providing an alternative source of some of the nutrient ingredients that we use in our pet food diets. The ingredients are produced in this vast insect farm in southern holland. Its uncomplaining workers are black soldierflies, chosen because theyre not fussy what they eat, and the grubs that hatch from their eggs are highly nutritious. These little marks on the perspex are actually black soldier fly eggs. This is a little demonstration pod the main Breeding Centre is way behind me. Its top secret, its an industrial process, were not allowed there, but i can say it is bigger than an olympic Swimming Pool and its absolutely full of black soldier flies. The idea of farming flies for pet food is to reduce the impact of meat production on the earth and on the climate. Everywhere, were heating up the planet and were eating everything, so we have to start giving something back. So we have to reduce our land use, but we also have to feed people nutritionally so we need alternatives and this is our prime focus, is to lower the footprint of this society. The larvae eat food waste. They use a fraction of the land and water of cows, and produce much lower Greenhouse Gas emissions. So weve got different coloured grubs here why are they different colours . Yeah, indeed. You can tell by the colour the age of the larvae, and the lighter ones are younger and the darker colour indicates that theyre a bit older. Theyre about 20 days old now. Ground up larvae are fed to fish, pigs and chickens. Dogs and cats are a growing market. But do pets actually like insect based food . Its breakfast. She definitely likes it. Shes usually quite a fussy eater so im surprised. Shes eaten it all so it must be good. She loves the fact of having to sit and to wait, and then actually going for it, and the fact that she ate it as quickly as she did shows she really likes it. This food is expensive, and it may stay that way until the insect industry expands. But for some dog owners, itll be worth it. It appeals to me because im a vegan. I have to wrestle with the fact that i have to literally kill animals to feed big animals, to feed my do. To feed big animals, to feed my dog. And big animals that are eating a lot of grain, thats causing all the problems so insect based diet makes a lot of sense to me. In fact, most pet food is based on offal, such as heart and lungs, that people in the uk dont like but the vets say, if dogs eat insects instead, itll free up that offal to be exported to people who do like it. Roger harrabin, bbc news. There are more children in care and with foster parents in england than there have ever been, and a growing number of them have been placed there by independent agencies rather than local councils. But new figures suggest just three private fostering agencies are dominating the market. Thats something concerning local authorites, as sanchia berg reports. Meet linda. For 12 years, shes welcomed children in care into her liverpool home. Theyre very small, theyre very kind of weighed down, very scared of everything, very. Not willing to engage. And for me the best thing is when they stop talking to you like this, all quiet and hunched, and they kind of reach their full height and they look you in the face when they talk to you, and they find their voice. Today she works directly with liverpool council, even fronting their recruitment campaign, but she started fostering through an independent fostering agency, or ifa. As my ifa was bought out by bigger and bigger ifas so it became a much more profit driven money oriented. Very much whats the bottom line of money coming in, then i think is the focus moved away from children, definitely was not child centered. Andrew, a specialist accountant, follows these agencies. Private equity groups have been buying them, expanding by taking over other fostering agencies, then selling them again. Its profitable. The sort of returns that have been seen and actually some of the people have reported, so were able to kind of triangulate that information, is that theyre often in that say, three, five or seven year period able to double or triple the amount of investment they made at the outset. Record numbers of children are in the care of local authorities. Many more than in the past are in independent placements run by companies operated for profit. For cash strapped councils, its a major concern. For the companies, its good business. Liverpool pay more for independent places than for in house foster carers. Because the supply of placements doesnt meet the demand, the natural law of economics will tell you that they can charge higher prices for us, and theyve got us over a barrel really, so its very difficult for us to do. The private Companies Say they provide a vital High Quality Service for englands most vulnerable children. Last year, a government backed review said the price difference between in house and private foster care was small once other costs were taken into account, but many argue its hard to follow the money and there needs to be Greater Transparency in this area at a time when record numbers of children are in care. Sanchia berg, bbc news. Time is running out for two of the englands oldest Football Clubs. Bury and Bolton Wanderers could be expelled from the Football League unless they sign deals with new buyers or prove they have a future by five oclock this afternoon. Our Sports Correspondent Katie Gornall is in bolton for us now. There is a huge amount of concern among the fans i have spoken to in bolton. Its already been a challenging season for them. They have seen their manager resign, and have seen their manager resign, and have had to field youth players to fulfil their fixtures and lost their last two games. Now a takeover deal to buy the club collapsed over the weekend so clubs like bury down the road are on the verge of going under. It isa under. It is a club steeped in history but now bolton are on the brink. At five oclock today the Football League faces losing one of its founding members. All fans can do is wait and hope. Im standing next to the statue and he has a tear in his eye. We dont have a right to win anything but we are here, wejust wa nt anything but we are here, wejust want a Football Club to support. Cant sleep. You know, it isjust unbelievable. But only for the foot ball unbelievable. But only for the Football Team as well and the club, but the people who work here. They are losing theirjobs and everything, itsjust not fair. At the end of the day at five oclock when the bell tolls, it could be the end of Bolton Wanderers. Where do we go from here . Until recently bolton we re go from here . Until recently bolton were premier League Regulars with star signings including a world cup winner. An 11 year stay in the top flight winner. An 11 year stay in the top flight came to an end under owen coyle in 2012 and relegation spike to decline. This year fans have protested against the owners as boltons financial problems worsened. On saturday to take over collapsed and barring a dramatic development, administrators say they will begin closing down the club tomorrow. Bolton are not the only clu b tomorrow. Bolton are not the only Club Fighting for survival. Ten miles away in bury volunteers arrive to get the stadium ready for the weekend, should the match go ahead. Bury are yet to kick a ball this season because of their financial plight and also have until five oclock this evening to complete a takeover, or they will be thrown out of the league. These are two clubs with hundreds of years history between them and nowjust hours to secure their future. Today would have been that lofthouses 93rd birthday, fans are hoping it will be a day that ends on a high. There was a Statement Released by boltons administrators this morning saying the dialogue is continuing as they try to resurrect the deal. Bury are still hoping to complete a ta keover are still hoping to complete a takeover with the company C N Sporting Risk but clearly the clock is ticking and there is very little prospect of extending the deadline because they cannot keep extending games and need to protect the integrity of the league so time is running out for these two clubs. Thank you. Its that time of year again the countdown to the new series of strictly come dancing has begun with a red carpet launch in london last night. The celebrity contestants, including our sports colleague mike bushell, donned their sequins and showed off their best moves for the first time. Our entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson was there. The launch of strictly come dancing 2019 with a familiar face taking a leap into the unknown. I just thought, well, i have to make up for lack of technical ability. With just a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. Ijust did a sort of a dad jump that i used to do at weddings and discos when i was younger. But i nearly went off the stage, i have to say the jump was higher than in rehearsal. That couldve been the end of your strictly dream. They might have caught me in the crowd because the crowd was so supportive. Bookmakers have cruelly made mike the favourite to be the first to leave the show, but anneka rice thinks shes going to find strictly a challenge. Ive literally never danced in my life. No one in my family has ever seen me dance one move. Not in a disco, not at a wedding, ever. Ive got a complete thing about dancing. Others plan to rely on tried and trusted dance moves honed during their clubbing days. Ymca, oh serious. I love a good Old Fashioned steps routine. A bit of tragedy. So when faye was on this last year, i was like, yes, sister the way you do the body roll is youre meant to pretend youre looking over a ledge. Its meant to go like, 0h, not today hey see you later, sister. Now one interesting thing to look out for this series, theres oti mabuse shes one of the professional dancers. Theres a newjudge this year and its her big sister motsi. Hows that going to work out . Neither of them are talking today. On saturday, the 15 celebrities will find out with which professional theyve been paired. Then they will have just three weeks to practise before theyre dancing on live tv. We wish mike all the best. Colin paterson, bbc news, television centre. Time for a look at the weather. Heres stav da naos. And it is still hot for some. Thats right, particularly across england and wales where we have had scorching days and in scotland it has been a record breaking bank holiday, we could see this again across the south east. But it is the last day of the heat and cooler air will be moving off the atlantic bringing stronger winds and outbreaks of rain in the north