Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At One 20240714

Than £20 billion over budget, according to latest figures. Please pray for us. Hurricane dorian claims at least five lives in the bahamasand causes widespread devastation the Prime Minister calls it an historic tragedy. Doctors warn of the dangers of poor nutrition and a limited diet, after a teenager goes blind just eating chips and crisps. And its back to school for the boy who made a million playing fortnite in the Summer Holidays. Coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news. Well have the latest from old trafford on the eve of the fourth ashes test against australia. Hello and welcome to the bbc news at one from westminster, where the Prime Minister is facing a showdown with mps who are trying to block britain leaving the eu without a deal. Conservative backbenchers are joining forces with opposition parties to try to seize control of parliament. They want to force Boris Johnson to ask brussels to delay britains exit again, if an agreement cant be reached. Mps have returned to westminster today after the summer recess, and will vote tonight to start the process to stop a no deal brexit. Downing street has warned the Prime Minister will push for a general election on october 14th if the government loses. But an election can only happen if it is backed by at least two thirds of mps, meaning labour mps would have to vote in favour of holding one. Our Political Correspondent iain watson has this report on what promises to be a momentous day in westminster. A very british protest, people with competing views on brexit standing side by side outside parliament. Inside, though, the atmosphere is turning nasty. Rubble conservative mps are being threatened by Boris Johnson with being turfed out of their party. And the opposition and some of those rebels might back emergency legislation today as a First Step Towards stopping no deal. Former chancellor and current rebel Philip Hammond says enough conservative mps will defy their own government. I think we will have the numbers. Many colleagues have been incensed by some of the actions over the last week or so. And i think there is a group of conservatives who feel very strongly that now is a time when we have to put the National Interest ahead of any threats to us personally. And he warned Boris Johnson threats to us personally. And he warned borisjohnson not to try threats to us personally. And he warned Boris Johnson not to try to end his career as an mp. Ive been a member of this party for 45 years, i am going to defend my party against incomers, entryists, who are trying to turn it from a broad church into a narrow faction. Today, potential rebels met the Prime Minister. There is no sign yet that they are prepared to back down. So what are the opposition and the rebels trying to achieve . Today, mps will vote on an emergency motion which allows the opponents of government to take control of the business of parliament. If successful, mps will debate legislation tomorrow which would aim to stop no deal. This would aim to stop no deal. This would include asking the eu to delay brexit until 31st of january, would include asking the eu to delay brexit until 31st ofjanuary, or another date, if the eu and mps agree. The government says this is unacceptable. It would allow for multiple extensions, with all the paralysing uncertainty that that would entail, it would require the uk to accept almost immediately any eu conditions, however punitive and harsh, and the pricetag for the taxpayer would be £1 billion each month of that delay, we cant accept that. Downing street say if opponents of no deal win, they will turn Boris Johnsons administration into a puppet government, and under those circumstances, there would be no incentive for the eu to negotiate a new deal. So, the Prime Minister is likely to Ask Parliament for a general election. He would need to third is of mps to agree, but some opposition politicians are wary. Opposition parties talked tactics this morning and some of them made clear they would only back and election if it is guaranteed to happen before we leave the eu. Its absolutely crucial that we have secured an extension to article 50 before that election takes place. That is part of what were going to be talking about today. I think we do feel unified and as positive as we can do, i think there is a real sense that borisjohnson has overreached himself. Of course we always wa nt overreached himself. Of course we always want a general election because you do not end austerity and Food Bank Britain without a general election, but there is an order of priority, and today and tomorrow, the primary priority working across parties is to legislate against a disastrous no deal. Boris johnson says he wants brexit done, and it is likely to be an explosive week in westminster. If he loses crucial votes, his time in downing street is in danger. If he wins, some of the his conservative critics could see an abrupt end to their political career. Our assistant political editor, norman smith, is with me. Anybody around here hotels or they know what is going to happen in the next few hours and days is fibbing . I think the truth is, we are incompletely unprecedented territory. But i do think that today has the potential to be a game changer day, and the reason it is, is because this place is back, parliament is back, after the summer recess. All summer, Boris Johnson has been able to seize the agenda, set out his plans, threaten to deselect mps, suspend parliament, tell the eu they can forget the £39 billion. Now parliament it is back, it is all changed, already, on day one, borisjohnson it is all changed, already, on day one, Boris Johnson has it is all changed, already, on day one, borisjohnson has been forced onto the back foot, with all the signs that mps tonight will vote to pass legislation blocking no deal, and tomorrow, they could strike again and thought his attempts to trigger a general election, with indications that labourjust dont trust Boris Johnson indications that labourjust dont trust borisjohnson so they are not going to give him the green light foran going to give him the green light for an early election. And if we wa nt for an early election. And if we want a sense of the hostility and animosity among mitchelljohnsons tory opponents, listen to Philip Hammond this morning, a man who used to be derided as spreadsheet phil, now more like phil the avenger, or how under the hammer, castigating borisjohnson, saying how under the hammer, castigating Boris Johnson, saying his how under the hammer, castigating borisjohnson, saying his Brexit Strategy was nonsense. The truth is, parliament is back, borisjohnson is now ina parliament is back, borisjohnson is now in a bareknuckle fight to salvage his Brexit Strategy. Norman, thank you very much. So, how has the European Union reacted to the struggle in westminster . Our correspondent Damian Grammaticas is in brussels. And of course, there, like here, just watching what happens . They are, absolutely, and waiting to see, because the eu, like everyone else, doesnt know, and has to wait and watch. Interestingly today, the focus here, the questions to the eu, have all been about the response to a couple of things Philip Hammond said this morning, to the today programme, saying that it was nonsense for Boris Johnson programme, saying that it was nonsense for borisjohnson to suggest any progress is being made here in talks, and also multiple sources in the Daily Telegraph saying that borisjohnsons strategist, dominic cummings, had described the talks here as a sham to give mps the idea that there was something happening. So, we asked the commission here this morning, i said to them, are you being played by the uk government . And they said, we are an honest broker. But all they could go on to say was that they could go on to say was that they had a process, meetings, plans, but nothing concrete put on the table so far. And here, they know, i think, that they have to wait and see the outcome of the vote today, particularly the outcome of whether parliament could be moving towards an election, because if it is, that puts a stop to what happens in the negotiations. But interestingly, what doesnt stop here, meetings today and tomorrow, preparing for a no deal. That, say eu sources, is now a very distinct possibility. Damian grammaticus, thank you very much. Sterling has fallen again. At one point this morning, the pound touched a three year low against the dollar. Lets talk to our economics correspondent, dharshini david. What are we looking at, is this the price you pay for uncertainty . Indeed, we always talk about the value of a currency being a signal of how confident or anxious investors are feeling about the fate ofa investors are feeling about the fate of a country. If you look at where the pound is, they do seem to be very worried indeed. As we said, the lowest level for three years, actually, three years ago, that was actually, three years ago, that was a technical glitch, take that away, and the pound has been at its lowest level against the us dollar for over 30 years, about 3k years, in fact. And in fact against the euro as well, it is not doing very well, either. , below 1. 10 well, it is not doing very well, either. , below1. 10 earlierthis morning. What are we to make of all of this . Many out there are saying that traders are very anxious about the increased prospect of a no deal, some are saying that the currency could go even lower in the weeks to come, if that comes to fruition. But frankly westminster and the city of london are only a couple of miles apart, you would expect a political earthquake to cause tremors in the financial markets. How much should the rest of us care . Im afraid to say, the answer is, quite a lot. Take the price of our shopping, for example. Half of our food is imported. When you see sterling fall, that becomes more expensive, we feel the impact on our pockets quite a lot. And the stock markets, too. If you look at the kind of shares that have been suffering because of heightened fears about a no deal, retailers, banking stocks, housebuilders, the kind of things we hold in our pension funds. Traders are saying, watch out, it is going to bea are saying, watch out, it is going to be a rocky ride ahead. Plenty more to watch out for. Legal challenges are underway to try to overturn the Prime Ministers plan to shut down parliament. Sirjohn major has been given permission to join the case brought by the businesswoman, gina miller at the high court in london. And in edinburgh, ajudge at the court of session has been hearing from a Cross Party Group of parliamentarians who say borisjohnson is acting illegally. Our scotland correspondent lorna gordon is in edinburgh. Yes, their lawyer, aidan oneill qc, this morning claimed the uk government was showing breathtaking contempt for the constitution in suspending and probing parliament in this way, likening it to autocratic rule. He said the government wasnt stacking the cards, it was taking the deck. He argued this wasnt politics as usual, it was rather an attempt to upset the balance of power between the executive and the legislature, an attempt, he said, by the Prime Minister to roll back history in favour of some divine right. We have a Prime Minister who is seeking to hold Office Without accountability, it would seem, the better to use power without responsibility. That is not a situation which this court can permit. Well, the Prime Minister, the court was told, declined a request to submita was told, declined a request to submit a sworn statement to court, but government documents submitted here at the court of session this morning showed that in one document, the Prime Minister is said to have written that a further sitting of parliament is simply a rigmarole that shows mps are earning the crust. In another, it showed that arguments for prorogation were being developed by the government on 15th august, two weeks before the plan became public, an e mail became public, an timing august, two weeks before the plan became public, an timing of that was ticked by the Prime Minister, who added just one word, yes. Lawyers acting for the government say the government is acting within its powers to provoke parliament, that this is lawful, legitimate action. They will expand their arguments here at the court of session this afternoon. Thats all from me for the moment ill be back a bit later. But now back to reeta in the studio. Hs2, the controversial planned high speed rail link, could cost up to £22 billion more than its previous budget and initial services may be delayed by up to five years, according to a statement by the transport secretary, grant shapps. Our Business Correspondent theo leggett is here with me now. Its future is already in doubt, what effect is this likely to have . Well, it is certainly going to play into the hands of critics of this project, which you have to say is a colossally expensive one, even when it was first approved back in 2011, the budget then was Something Like £32 billion. Now, in todays money, which does account for inflation, we are talking between £81 billion and £88 billion, an enormous sum of money. What grant shapps has done here is to set out the realistic account of what is going to happen now with hs2. The original budget that we were talking about until recently was a 56 william pounds. It has gone up significantly. The timescale has also increased, as you said, the first phase of the project, up to five years behind schedule, the second phase, connecting the new railway to manchester and leeds, up to seven yea rs manchester and leeds, up to seven years behind schedule. All of this while there is a major cross party review going on into the viability of the whole project. At the same time, what grant shapps also wrote today was that the chairman of hs2 is of the view that the benefits of the current scheme are also substantially undervalued, but we have not heard a lot about that. So it might be that at some point we will hear more about the benefits to the economy of hs2, but certainly, at the moment, this looks like something which will play heavily into the hands of critics and make it more likely that if the government does want to cancel the project when the view is completed later in the year, it will have the fa cts later in the year, it will have the facts and figures to do it with. Our top story this lunchtime conservative backbenchers are joining forces with opposition parties to try to seize control of parliament and prevent a no deal brexit. Prince harry launches a new initiative to make travel greener. Coming up in the sport in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, well have the latest from flushing meadows where rafa nadal looks like the man to beat at the us open. He is into the quarterfinals. Health Officials Say hundreds of patients are missing out on life saving transplant operations because families dont know whether their relatives wish to donate their organs after death. The nhs is calling on people whove signed up to be donors to make their intentions clear to theirfamily. Next year, england and scotland will follow wales by changing the law to assume people agree to donate unless they opt out. Heres our Health Correspondent dominic hughes. This golf course near wolverhampton means a lot to bill moores family. Bill loved to play here, but his sudden death left them devastated. Their decision on whether to donate his organs was complicated by not knowing exactly what bill wanted. It was really difficult to make that decision at the time. We were on such a rollercoaster of emotions, and i think not knowing his wishes at the time made it even harder. If we had have known that he had said he wanted to donate his organs it would have made things a lot easier. Last year, nearly 70 of the families of potential organ donors agreed to go ahead. But 835 families didnt want to, mostly because theyd never discussed Organ Donation with their loved one. Each person can donate multiple organs, so its estimated this amounts to 2500 missed opportunities for a transplant. In the end, bills family did go ahead, helping at least eight people in the process. It was amazing to think that he lived on and his gift of life meant so much to them. It is just absolutely life changing. New laws around Organ Donation have taken effect in wales, and england and scotland will follow suit next year. Consent to donation will be assumed, so you will have to opt out of the scheme rather than opting in. But families will still have the final say. It s hoped the more people talk about their wishes, the easier it will be for relatives to say yes, and that should lead to more life saving transplants. Dominic hughes, bbc news. Forecasters have warned that Hurricane Dorian, one of the most powerful atlantic storms ever recorded, will continue to batter the bahamas for hours to come. Five people are so far confirmed dead and the countrys Prime Minister has called it an historic tragedy. He said the devastation on the abaco islands, which bore the brunt of the storm, was unprecedented. Richard galpin reports. Never before have the people of the bahamas faced anything like Hurricane Dorian. The unprecedented damage done to these, the worst hit islands, abaco and grandma harmer, now becoming clearer. Holmes ripped open and flooded by huge storm surges. Homes were ripped open. The sea water rising by six feet in this part of abaco, forcing people onto the roofs of their houses. This satellite picture of freeport, maine town, showed the scale of the flooding in the area. The airport under several feet of water. The terminal building is about a mile from what was the coastline. We are on the midst of an historic tragedy in parts of the northern bahamas. Our mission and focus now is search, rescue and recovery. I ask for your prayers for those in affected areas and for ourfirst prayers for those in affected areas and for our first responders. Overnight, the United States coastguard got involved in that search and rescue operation, bringing some of the injured to the capital masoe from abaco island. Much more helpful be needed in the coming days. Although Hurricane Dorian is still sitting over abaco and grand bahama it has now been downgraded from the highest category, five, to a category three hurricane. But that can still bring sustained winds of up to 130 mph. As people in these islands start assessing the damage to their homes, they will help aid agencies will be able to get on the ground as quickly as possible. They will hope that aid agencies. Experts are warning about the dangers of an extremely limited diet after a 17 year old suffered irreparable sight loss from living on a diet of chips and crisps. Eye doctors in bristol cared for the young man after his vision had deteriorated to the point of blindness. Our correspondent, andrew plant, is in bristol. Yes, this bristol teenager lived on a very specific diet for the best pa rt a very specific diet for the best part of a decade consisting mainly of chips and crisps everyday, very occasionally a slice of white bread and very, very occasionally a piece of sausage or ham. By the time he presented a bristol eye hospital, he had been so vitamin deficient. One that he had caused permanent eye damage. The fact that his eating behaviour had gone on for so long and lead to permanent sort of structural change and visual impairment, in this case, was quite shocking to me, and i hadnt had a case quite so severe as this. Ive certainly come across other cases where poor nutrition has led to visual symptoms, but because theyve been caught early and been treated early, their visions fully recovered. So the problem with this case is that, obviously, it had gone on for so long that, unfortunately, that potential for recovery was more limited. He had a normal body mass index, normal weight and he looked ok, but he was severely malnourished and doctors here say cases like his are normally only seen when places like warand famine have normally only seen when places like war and famine have caused severe food shortages. Thank you, andrew plant. Prince harry has launched a new initiative to try to make tourism more environmentally friendly. The prince hopes the scheme will make travel a force for good. But it comes after he was criticised for his use of private jets. Our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, is with me. Do you think he has been stung by criticism into action . I would think so, he is pretty thin skinned when it comes to criticism. This was all about sustainable tourism, a speech in amsterdam to launch a new initiative, in the words of Buckingham Palace a Global Partnership aimed at improving Global Conservation and sustainable tourism. In his words, we orientated the entire travel industry toward sustainability. It calls to mind the fa ct sustainability. It calls to mind the fact he developed the habit over the summer of taking himself, wife and baby son on private jets to mediterranean holidays. He did not explicitly refer to that, but he did say that while nobody is perfect, we are all responsible for individual impact. Answering questions from journalists afterwards, he pointed out, i came here by commercial flights, he said i spend 99 of my life travelling the world by commercial, but went on to say there are sometimes unique circumstances to ensure that my family are safe, when he makes an exception. I think there will be raised eyebrows at the thought that Royal Protection people cannot keep them safe on any commercialflight. Cannot keep them safe on any commercial flight. Thank you very much. Details of how bbc news bulletins were used to send secret messages to resistance fighters in the Second World War have been released today. Its 80 years since britain and france went to war with germany, and the archives reveal how the live chimes of big ben were sometimes replaced with a recording to confuse german bombers. David sillito reports. Big ben chimess. Radio announcer this is the bbc home and forces programme. Here is the news, and this isjohn snagge reading it. The sound of big ben and the bbc news live from london. Radio a service that links the world by radio. However, during the Second World War, big ben wasnt always live. The bbc has just released archive recordings from people from the Second World War, who reveal that, for instance, big ben was sometimes a recording. Why . Well, if you were listening and you could hear german bombers above, it might help them target their bombs. So someone was always waiting with a record, just in case. Here you can see some of the bomb damage. I mean, the bbc was actually hit repeatedly. Historian david hendy has been going through this archive material and hes particularly interested in what was happening in poland. 80 years after the nazi invasion, we now know the bbc was using music at the end of the news to send secret messages to the resistance. The bulletins that were broadcast to poland were made to run deliberately short by a minute or so. Then a secret messenger from the exiled polish government would deliver to the bbc, under the code name peter peterkin, a record that should be played in that spare minute or so. The choice of music would send a message to resistance groups in poland. And getting the bbc to play the right song at the right time was the job of a man called alex sutherland, because sometimes a record was scratched and the bbc would want to substitute another tune. The recorded programmes assistants would look at these discs, and they would see a band they thought would make a better broadcast. So they would play the other band and the wrong bridge would get blown up in poland. Archive this playground of North East London was a relic of victorian times. Even the transmitter at Alexandra Palace had a wartime role. It was used to interfere with the Navigation Systems of german bombers. All this was, of course, top secret at the time, but 80 years on, these interviews are still revealing new insights into what part broadcasting played in the Second World War. David sillito, bbc news. And you can find more about how the bbc helped with the war effort and the latest releases from the bbc archive collection at www. Bbc. Com historyofthebbc. Many teenagers will have spent large chunks of their Summer Holidays playing computer games. For 15 year old jaden ashman, it paid off literally. He won almost £1 million at the gaming tournament the fortnite world cup. So whats he done with the money . Leigh milner has been finding out. Jaden what do you want for breakfast . er, could i have some coco pops . With almost £1 million in the bank, its time to go back to school for 15 year old gamerjaden ashman also known as wolfiez online. Three, two, one he won his fortune after coming second in the doubles of the first ever fortnite world cup. Over a0 million gamers attempted to qualify, but only 100 battled it out for a total prize pot of 30 million. So far, jaden has bought his mum a house with his winnings and hes already thinking about his brand new gaming room. When i get my house, im just going to do up my gaming room and just make it all really nice. You want to pursue a future in gaming. What about school, though . Isnt it gcse year . Yeah, but im going to carry on going to school. And my house is literally right outside my school, so i can roll out of bed and go to school now. Is schooling still as important, even though youve won all that money . Yeah. Because even though ive won a million, its not going to hold me for the rest of my life, so. Now, lisa, this must have been so hard for you as a mum. Because plenty of parents will have said, you know, come on, you spend too much time on the console, you even threw it out at one point. Idid, yeah. How do you feel, though, now, after his success . Do you let him play on it as much . Since weve been back from new york, its been the school holidays, so everythings up in the air, you know . Routines out the window. But hes going back to school, and jaden knows that his gcses are important, so were going to have to have some kind of structure into his day, and hes not going to be able to play the game when he wants. He will have to go to bed at a reasonable time. Today is jadens first day back at school, and it seems his friends are impressed. Im quite proud of him, you know . Yeah, like, hes worked hard for it and he deserves it. Hes done very well. What have you heard . Ive heard that he won quite a lot of money. I was watching the tournament myself, yeah. What did you make of his performance . He done really good. I didnt know he was that good, to be honest. Does it inspire you to get into gaming . No, not really, no. I dont think i would ever be that good. To the outside world, hes a gaming superstar. But inside the classroom, hes just a 15 year old boy studying for his future. Leigh milner, bbc news. Lets go back now to simon at westminster. Thank you. So how could mps try to stop a no deal brexit . Im joined now by our reality check correspondent, chris morris. Chris, the timetable is really tight, isnt it . Yes, the Brexit Process has been about deadlines, we have another looming, less than two months until october 31, Everybody Knows that on that date, the Brexit Process, the article 50 process, runs out. If nothing changes, we will leave, deal or no deal. They had to change something before october 31 to stop a new deal brexit, that is why they will try to introduce this legislation to extend the process untiljanuary 31. Legislation to extend the process until january 31. Boris legislation to extend the process untiljanuary 31. Boris johnson legislation to extend the process untiljanuary 31. Borisjohnson has said there is no way i am going beyond october 31. His cancer threat, if you like, is to say i will try to hold a general election, he needs the support of two thirds of mps to do that, to try to create a majority so he can get his way. His canter threat, a majority so he can get his way. His ca nter threat, if a majority so he can get his way. His canter threat, if you like. If not, whether the legislation put in by the Rebel Alliance passes or not, we are about to go into a five week period where parliament is suspended, that has already been agreed. We know there are legal challenges to that. In scotland, here in london, in northern