Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At One 20240714

Just hours to go until parliament is suspended but not before one more attempt from the government to trigger a snap election. Ill have the latest from westminster. And the other main stories this lunchtime. Travel disruption for hundreds of thousands of British Airways passengers, as pilots go on strike its the biggest walkout in bas history. Totally disgusted, nobody has made any contact, i have had to phone them continually to find my money back. Could smaller portions mean less waste restaurants look to reduce what they throw away. And little mixsjesy nelson calls for a crackdown on internet trolls, revealing she tried to take her own life after cyberbullying. Coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news a 19th grand slam title for rafa nadal but he did it the hard way after an epic five set final in new york. Good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one live from westminster. At the end of Business Today parliament will be suspended until the 14th of october but not before the Government Asks mps to vote again on an early general election. Opposition parties have confirmed they will not vote in favour of that. Borisjohnson started his day with a trip to dublin to talk to his irish counterpart leo varadkar. The Prime Minister said he would overwhelmingly prefer to find an agreement with the eu and believed it could be reached by the middle of october. But mrvaradkarsaid he was still waiting for alternative proposals to the backstop the mechanism to avoid a hard border in ireland. Heres our Political Correspondent chris mason. Monday morning in dublin. This is what autumn looks like in ireland, and this is what diplomacy between the uk and its nearest neighbour looks and sounds like. Watch Boris Johnsons facial expression as you listen to leo varadkar talking. Avoiding return to a hardboard on this island and protecting our place in the single market, are the Irish Governments priorities. We must protect piece and also the burgeoning economy which is why the backstop continues to be a critical component of the Withdrawal Agreement unless and until alternatives are found. We are open to alternatives. They must be realistic ones, legally binding and workable. We havent received such proposals to date. Mrvaradkar proposals to date. Mr varadkar wasnt done there, there is no such thing as a clean break brexit he said, negotiating free trade agreements with the eu and america quickly would be a herculean task. Mrjohnson said this. I want to find a deal. I want to get a deal. Like you, i have looked carefully at no deal, i have looked carefully at no deal, i have assessed its consequences both for our country and yours, and yes, of course, we could do it, the uk could certainly get through it. But be in no doubt. That outcome would be in no doubt. That outcome would bea be in no doubt. That outcome would be a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible. Meanwhile, back at westminster, Boris Johnsons at westminster, borisjohnsons plan for the middle of next month will be scuppered. Opposition leaders are livid parliament is being suspended. Look at this, they are continuing to work together. The liberal democrats, plaid cymru, former conservatives, the greens and the snp. This is ace as serious as it gets and we have to have a situation parliament should be sitting, it is a democratic right. He is behaving like a dictator. He knows he doesnt have the support of parliament. An utter disgrace. They got together this morning in jeremy an utter disgrace. They got together this morning injeremy corbyns office. Disgraceful, parliament should be sitting and holding the government to account. The premise that appears to account. The premise that appears to want to run away from questions. He was appointed Prime Minister at the end of july, he was appointed Prime Minister at the end ofjuly, has faced one Prime Ministers questions time. Here is proroguing parliament so there will not be pmqs this wednesday. Parliament is winded and when did. Now, the shape of the rest of the day he looks relatively clear. Beyond today, huge uncertainty remains. Our assistant Political Editor norman smith is here. Borisjohnson Boris Johnson saying borisjohnson saying again in dublin he still wants a deal. He may want a deal but it is not that obvious how hell get one, not least because it doesnt seem to put anything on the table. Also there is anything on the table. Also there is a sense he has dynamited his own prospects by ruling out any compromise on the backstop. And an element of distrust you sense entering negotiations. That underlines a feeling borisjohnsons options are now really beginning to narrow. He seems to have lost his chance of triggering a general election, mps will block that night, lost his battle to stop mps passing this legislation forcing him to go back to ask for a delay, and lost control of the timetable because parliament will beep a road for five weeks which means there is no option for him to come back for another go because parliament will not be sitting will be prorogued. Yes, if he has to he will write a letter asking for a delay but couple it with another saying to the eu, i really do not want a delay. In effect to say to the eu, i will make your life a misery, be the one with the barking dog, you want to get rid of me in the hope the eu when they get this application for an extension say, what is the point of keeping britain in the eu, let us get shot of them and not bother with an extension. And that might enable borisjohnson to meet his commitment to leave by october 31. Lets cross to dublin and speak to our ireland correspondent emma va rdy. Ina in a nutshell, common ground, yes, still huge gaps between the two countries. You are right. Borisjohnsons aim in coming to dublin today was to ram home that message he does want a deal. It seemed like a response to accusations in recent days he wasnt doing enough to secure an agreement. He wanted to put those suggestions to bed in front of the irish Prime Minister today. But getting any deal depends on resolving that contentious issue of how to avoid checks on the irish border and that involves getting agreement on the so called irish backstop. That backstop was to be an insurance policy the eu wanted the uk to sign up policy the eu wanted the uk to sign up to. It would have involved the uk remaining ina up to. It would have involved the uk remaining in a uk wide customs territory with the eu. But it faced huge opposition from the dup under theresa may, one of the biggest reasons she could not get her Withdrawal Agreement through because it could have meant Northern Ireland being tied more tightly to eu rules and theresa may needed the dups vote for a majority. After the dramatic week we have had, the parliamentary arithmetic is changing. Coming back into discussions now we are seeing talk ofa discussions now we are seeing talk of a Northern Ireland only backstop and that might point to a way forward in the future. If the dups votes were no longer needed. There isa votes were no longer needed. There is a big roll of the dice to come with a general election and as things stand, the Irish Government still says no viable alternatives to the backstop had been put forward. Our correspondent Damian Grammaticas is in brussels. There is an assumption from many europe will say yes to any request to an extension, is there a bat . There is, it is the eu has to agree and say yes. It doesnt happen if the eu leaders dont approve it. We have had over the weekend some noises from the french, remember, a few months ago they were sounding a bit tough about things. When push came to shove, and theyd been saying they would only accept with conditions, they swallowed the bullet and accepted it. The feeling again is the eu does not want to be in the position it is seen to be pushing the uk out. But also, listen to leo varadkar, he said a request foran to leo varadkar, he said a request for an extension particularly with a reason like an election, of course we would look at that. The key thing in the meantime, it is whether there will be any progress towards any sort of a negotiated outcome, a deal. Emma talked about a Northern Ireland only backstop. That idea is reminding borisjohnson, ireland only backstop. That idea is reminding Boris Johnson, he ireland only backstop. That idea is reminding borisjohnson, he said the landing zone is clear, does that hint at it . The problem is as the irish said, what is on the table at the minute will be discussed but does not address it all and there needs to be proposals pretty soon. We are 20 days into that 30 day window. The general secretary of the tuc has accused borisjohnson of running scared of parliament over brexit and called for him to rule out no dealfor good. Frances ogradys comments came during her keynote speech to the tuc congress in brighton. Our correspondent Simon Gompertz is there. Frances ogrady threw down the gau ntlet Frances Ogrady threw down the gauntlet over brexit to the Prime Minister. She warned him not to trick us, those were her words, and to obey the law. And she said that the gloves would be off in the event ofa the gloves would be off in the event of a no deal brexit, even mentioned strikes. She said she was for another vote, and remain needed to be an option. The thrust of all of this, to reiterate that tucs opposition to a no deal brexit. Long before brexit, for many working people, the world was already harsh and we were already in the grip of a vicious austerity, a Political Choice that caused untold hardship and heartbreak. Thats why its so important to rule out a no deal brexit. As we saw after the financial crash, economic shocks always hit our people first and hardest. We know what the recessions mean for ourjobs and our industries. We know what happens to mental health, to crime and to communities, and we know that those scars last generations. She went on to say brexit wasnt the cause of the countrys problems but a symptom and she honed in on another domestic issue saying she would like to see a ban on class discrimination in the workplace. Because it is happening so much, people finding it hard to get the bestjobs, she said discrimination on the basis of class should be outlawed, just as sex discrimination and race discrimination is. Thats it from me at westminster for now. Ill be back later in the programme. But for now back to reeta in the studio. Around 200,000 passengers have had their travel plans disrupted by the biggest strike in British Airways history, with almost all their flights cancelled. The two day stoppage is over pay pilots have walked out after rejecting an 11. 5 pay deal over three years, saying they want a share of the airlines profits. Our correspondent dan johnson is at heathrow. There are normally 850 British Airways flights a day. This morning there had been just Airways Flights a day. This morning there had beenjust four Airways Flights a day. This morning there had been just four planes that have taken off here, and one from gatwick airport. Five flights in total, that is likely to be it for today, with similar disruption expected to be repeated tomorrow when the pilots again are expected not to turn up to work in this strike over pay. This is a very bad day for British Airways, the worst disruption in their history. Planes dont make money on the ground. In fact, Parking Spaces this big are expensive. So, this strike is costing British Airways around £40 million each day as well as disrupting hundreds of thousands of passengers. The main ba terminal was quiet this morning because travellers have mostly been rebooked on another airline or a different day. But some who are stuck abroad are feeling frustrated. They are not interested in anything about my refund whatsoever, it is just, your claim will be escalated to our refund team. Totally disgusted, and no one has any contact back to me, not an e mail, nothing. I have to phone them continually to try and seek my money back. The pilots have stayed at home because they are not happy with their pay deal. The British Airways boss says he is already offering a big increase 11. 5 over the next three years. 167 is the average of pilots, as you mentioned. And by the end of this deal, injust over two years, when you include the allowances, it will be £202,000. The ba pilots are the best pilots in the world, there is no doubt about it. And they need to have a remuneration that is the best, absolutely. We believe this deal will actually take them in that position. But the pilots want a better bonus scheme, so staff can share in the airlines success. It made more than £3 billion last year and the pilots union claims management isnt negotiating seriously. If it is so good, as mr cruz says, then, why are they out on strike . The fact is the pilots do not recognise what hes saying, the pilots have said British Airways is going through some good times, we want to share in those profits, just as we shared the pain in the bad times. The good times feel far away, with a fleet that will be grounded again tomorrow. Getting back in the air on wednesday wont be simple. And if theres still no agreement another strike day is planned for the end of the month. Stop this disruption comes on the back of an issue with the British Airways Computer System and it is all at a time when British Airways is supposed to be celebrating its centenary. Not much to celebrate. The two side say they want to talk but there are no signs of that happening. The pilots say they have lost trust in the management. Thank you. Our top story this lunchtime. Boris johnson tells the irish Prime Minister he would overwhelmingly prefer to find an agreement with the eu as the government confirms parliament will be suspended tonight. I can see you. And coming up. The moment this patient regained his sight after 25 years, thanks to pioneering eye surgery. Coming up in the sport in the next 15 minutes on bbc news the ashes have gone but england name an unchanged squad for the final test. It starts at the oval on thursday. The little mix star jesy nelson has revealed that being the victim of constant online bullying drove her to try to take her own life. The singer says she was deluged with cruel comments about her weight and apearance after winning the reality show x factor eight years ago. Shes been speaking to our entertainment correspondent Chi Chi Izundu. The winner of the x factor 2011 is. It should have been a moment ofjoy. Little mix. But, after the cameras had stopped rolling and the celebrations should have started, jesy nelson was reading messages online. There were so many messages, nasty ones, but the one that was at the top was from, like, a random man. He was saying how disgusting i am and that i dont deserve to be in the girl band and i deserve to die. How do you feel when you post an instagram . Jesy says she still gets abuse on social media but four years ago she said the comments hurt her so much she started missing work, fell into a depression, and then attempted suicide. Now when i look back on that, i cant believe i ever did that. But, when youre in that state of mind, you dont think about, like, what youre going to leave behind, or, like, the people you are going to affect. You just want to take the pain away. Thats all you care about. The documentary also highlights how her attempt also affected the other band members. Every Single Person that said something should have been held accountable for making her feel like that. But cyberbullying doesntjust happen to those in the public eye. A report from media watchdog ofcom in 2018 found one in five 12 to 15 year olds had experienced some sort of online bullying and, according to one charity, ajoint, Multi Agency Response is whats needed to combat it. This is not only about celebrities, its about everyone, which is why we need a collective response because we have young people who are unable to go to school, young people who are changing school, young people who are missing out on education, who have Long Term Mental Health impacts because of bullying. If you could give young people a message about social media. Yeah. The positives and negatives, what would it be . Yeah. Ithink. I mean, i know its hard but try to stay off your phone as much as you can. I think were all obsessed with looking at images, reading comments, and trying to live up to what society wants us to be. Like, just be with your friends and family more, engage with people more, and just try not to become so obsessed with your phone and social media. That was Chi Chi Izundu reporting. And jesys documentary is called odd one out. Its on bbc one at nine oclock on thursday, and you can watch it on the bbc iplayer. The uks economy grew by more than expected in july, up by 0. 3 compared tojune, due to a Strong Performance from the services sector. The news allays fears of a potential recession, as the economy contracted in the three previous months. An investigation has begun into the cause of a major fire thats destroyed an entire block of flats in south west london. More than 20 families have lost their homes, after the fire broke out in Worcester Park at around 1. 30am this morning. It took 125 Fire Fighters more than five hours to bring it under control. Nobody was injured. The home secretary priti patel has said the physical protection of Police Officers is her top priority. In herfirst major speech since being appointed injuly, ms patel addressed the annual conference of the Police Superintendents association. Their president called on the government to heal its relationship with the police service. Our Home Affairs Correspondent danny shaw is at the conference in stratford upon avon. Well, the home secretary came here because she wanted to really set out how approach to policing. This was her first attempt to do it since he became home secretary six weeks ago. It was clear that he wanted to draw a line under the bad blood of the previous regime when theresa may was home secretary between 2010 and 2016 when the government imposed 20 budget cuts on the police service. Priti patel said she wanted to reset their relationship. What she said was blunt and to the point. You want to be able to do more. But, on every patrol, in every control room, and here today, i have heard how frustrated you feel, how overstretched you are, and unable to use the right tools to keep our streets safe. So this is a new government and im prepared to be frank. Im ashamed to say you havent always had enough support, you have been overworked and undervalued, unable to do the job you love as well as youd like. And that stops now. There wasnt much detail in what priti patel said, apart from the announcement we have heard before about 20,000 extra Police Officers. She was clear that she wants to put the physical protection of police as her main priority, her top priority and she is going to work towards tougher sentences for the perpetrators, people who carry out assaults on Police Officers. Asked to clarify her remarks about Capital Punishment and the Death Penalty, she said she had not been a supporter of the Death Penalty in the past. Thank you. A man, who lost his sight in one eye after an acid attack over 20 years ago, has had it restored, thanks to pioneering treatment. James obrien has become the first nhs patient to have stem cell surgery to replace the scar tissue over his eye. The procedures success means the breakthrough surgery will now be available to others. Oscar duke reports. Tell me what you can see. I can only see the blob of light. James has been blind in his right eye since he was 18. I was walking home from the cinema one night when i was approached by a couple of teenagers and one of them tapped me on the shoulder. As i turned round, he sprayed a liquid in my face. I thought i was going to die. I woke up the next morning, to find that i no longer had proper vision in the right eye any more. James never imagined he would ever get his sight back until last year, when he was offered a new stem cell treatment to repair the scar tissue in his eye. What we can do is we can take a small biopsy of about one to two millimetres from the healthy eye and we remove the scar tissue from the blind eye and re populate it with this stem cell transplant. This pioneering procedure has taken 20 years to develop, and james was the first nhs patient to receive it. There we go. And how did it all go as far as you are concerned . Really well. Im happy with that. Hes got at least a 75 chance, if not higher more likely that its going to work than not. Itsjune, 1a months afterjamess operation and the stem cell transplant has been successful. Hi. Morning, james. James can now have the final part of his treatment. What were doing today, because its worked so well, is doing his corneal transplant. The scar tissue injames is eye, which obscures his vision, is removed. James is given a new, healthy cornea from an eye donor. Its all gone really well. Hes about to discover if his site has been restored. Sight. Thats it there. Im just taking the amniotic membrane dressing away. How is it . Oh, wow can you see this . Yeah, i can see. I can see everyone in the room. I can see you. Do you see the top letter on that chart . Yes. A, e,0. Almost driving standard with the one eye. Ican see. Everything. And thats the first time in 25 years . In 25 years, yeah. Not only has jamess sight been restored, hes also got the colour of his eye back. What are you most looking forward to being able to see now . Lisa and the kids, really. We found a chinese lantern that my daughter eadie had made earlier this year, and she had written a little wish on it, and it said, i wish my daddys eye will get better soon, and it has, so ill be able to tell her that her wish came true, yeah. Dr oscar duke, bbc news. And viewers in london can see more on this story on inside out tonight on bbc one at 7 30pm. The programme will be available across the uk on the iplayer shortly afterwards. Would you be happy with a smaller portion in a restaurant if you knew that less food would be thrown away as a result . The equivalent of one in every six meals is thrown away in the catering trade. So the Environmental Campaign group wrap are trying to help cafes and restaurants get a grip on their food waste. Our consumer Affairs Correspondent Colletta Smith has been finding out how the new ideas are going down. There have been some big changes in adams kitchen recently. Smaller portions are going out, and cleaner plates are coming back. Its just finding a compromise between not looking as if you are being stingy with portions and not sending out so much that itjust comes back. They have spent weeks putting the kitchen prep and the plate waste into clear plastic bins, to see exactly what was being thrown away. A lot of licensees seem to think, the bigger the portion, the happier the customer, but it is not always the case. Nick is in charge of the food in all of robinsons purpose. Pubs. Chips is a really good example. We did it ata pub in cumbria, where the plate waste tub was generally full of chips and salad garnish, so the licensee took the decision to reduce the amount of chips he was serving and remove the salad garnish from a lot of the meals he was serving. We actually saved about £6,000 a year. One Million Tonnes of food is thrown away in the hospitality sector, and most of it could have been eaten. A third of that waste comes from plate leftovers, food that people cant quite manage, or didnt ask for in the first place. That is something the Campaign Group wrap want to tackle. We all are surrounded by food waste, it is everybodys issue. Whether we are at home, whether we are eating out. There are small changes we can make personally but also when we are eating out. In scotland, they have taken a different approach. Angela owns a bistro in glasgow and for the last three years she has been part of a National Campaign offering doggy bags to customers, who cant quite manage everything. If a plate comes back to the kitchen and the staff are saying its being boxed up, i feel happy about that, because i know the person enjoyed it enough to say, i will eat that again. If its tomorrow . Thats fine. Tempting customers with the perfect portion at the perfect price is a tough challenge but more restaurants are beginning to make changes. Coletta smith, bbc news, macclesfield. Lets go back to our main story now and return to simon mccoy at westminster. Thank you. Parliament is prorogued later on tonight. They have shut up shop but they are not going quietly. Borisjohnsons efforts shop but they are not going quietly. Boris johnsons efforts have shop but they are not going quietly. Borisjohnsons efforts have not been thwarted. They are trying to stop the no deal plans, the ones talking about fuel, food and medicines were all awkward for mr johnson, and the publication of his briefing about the suspension of parliament, amid claims he misled mps. Some mps are seeking to have borisjohnson impeached. Mps. Some mps are seeking to have Boris Johnson impeached. The mps. Some mps are seeking to have borisjohnson impeached. The last time that happened was after the jacobite rising. Supporters of bonnie prince charlie were impeached. Unless Boris Johnson bonnie prince charlie were impeached. Unless borisjohnson had a hidden hand in a battle of culloden he is safe from that. The bottom line is parliament have seized control of the brexit agenda and are now driving the process. Thank you. Another busy day in westminster before it effectively shuts down. Time for a look at the weather. Heres louise lear. At this time of year off in the atla ntic at this time of year off in the atlantic Hurricane Season can influence weather trends across the uk. That is what we are going to see this week but that this is the re m na nts of this week but that this is the remnants of by and orientals as it moves remnants of by and orientals as it m oves a cross remnants of by and orientals as it moves across the much cooler waters of the atlantic, it will weaken off considerably. We have some rain around