Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240713

Millions of customers are being penalised by staying loyal to their Insurance Companies warns the financial watchdog. 0h oh yeah oh yeah all right. And coming up on the programme, the beatles abbey road album returns to number one in the uk, 50 years after it first topped the charts. Good evening. The duke of sussex has begun legal action against the publishers of the sun and mirror, in relation to alleged phone hacking. Documents have been filed on behalf of prince harry at the High Court Regarding the alleged illegal interception of voice mail messages. A spokeswoman for News Group Newspapers, which owns the sun and the now defunct news of the world, said. We confirm that a claim has been issued by the duke of sussex. We have no further comment to make at the current time. Earlier our royal correspondent jonny dymond told me there are two separate but linked legal actions taking place. Against News Group Newspapers which owns the sun, used to own the news of the world, which was probably the most high profile user of hacked voice mail messages and mirror Group Newspaper which owns the daily mirror. We know that the claimant in this case is the duke of sussex, that is harry, and Buckingham Palace has confirmed they have launched legal actions against those two groups for what the palace describes as the information that back interception of voice mail messages, known as phone hacking. Confirmed that he has launched. That was the phone hacking scandal of the early 2000s that led to the levenson enquiry of 2011, 2012. Now of course, the allegation is made is about phone hacking that had taken place in the early 2000s, a long time ago, but remember the context of this which is that prince harry in the middle of this week announced a legal action against the mail on sunday newspaper for publication of a letter from his wife meghan to her father. And that legal action was about the use of what he said was meghans property and at the same time as that was announced, an absolutely scorching statement by harry, condemning what he described as the excesses of tabloid press. And what he said was their Ruthless Campaign against his wife. So three legal actions come out in one week and prince harrys making it very clear that instead of taking the rather traditional royal route of effectively soaking up the blows from the tabloid press, and not responding to them, he is responding extraordinarily vigorously with these legal actions. And one would assume, i suppose, that Buckingham Palace are supporting him because this is very unusual for the royal family to take this sort of line. It is unusual but im not sure we would go as far as to say that the whole palace infrastructure is supporting it. We know that when he gave a statement in 2016, another furious statement, he made one about some of the comments that had been made about his then girlfriend, meghan markle, who would become of course the duchess of sussex, there were voices within the palace that urged caution and said that he shouldnt make such an outspoken attack, but he insisted that it should be made. And i am not entirely sure that everyone in the palace was on board about what happened on wednesday either with that furious statement he made that accompanied the legal action against the mail on sunday. Harry has shown that he is prepared to defy royal convention, to go against the normal way of things in the way that he speaks to and reacts to the press. He is very unhappy with the tabloid newspapers, clearly. And this may very well be more off his own back than something that comes from the palace itself. You are saying he is prepared to take this on. Could we then see him, would we be prepared to stand in the dock . It is a fair old while away to be entirely honest. I am not sure that he would be called as a witness in this case. And it may well be that instead of looking for a full blown court case, he is instead looking for an acknowledgement by the newspapers that they acted in the way that this claim suggests. Possibly damages as well. They have of course been paying out significant sums to other celebrities who have made claims against them. Possibly damages, which no doubt would go to charity. And possibly an apology as well. But again, step back and you see someone who has now got the tabloid newspapers in particular in his sights and is fully prepared to go as far as he possibly can to persecute or prosecute them. Jonny dymond there. Im joined now by Professor Robert hazell. Hes from the constitution unit at the school of public policy, University College london. Thank you for speaking to us at bbc news. What do you make of what can be described as an escalation . Well, ican be described as an escalation . Well, i can say two things. First that it was actually prince harry and Prince William in the early to thousands who in effect broke the phone hacking sink candle by calling in the police because they suspected that their phones were being hacked. And it indeed turned out that the news of the world the investigation discovered they had hacked their phones over 600 times and that led to the prosecution of the then royal correspondent Clyde Goodman who was sentenced for months to prison. And also to the hacker a man called paul, a freelance phone hacker who went to prison for six months. So prince harry can claim the quote back then together with Prince William for uncovering the extent of phone hacking which then led to the disclosure of very widespread phone hacking on a systematic basis by the news of the world in particular but also by some of the other tablet papers. And that led in turn to the inquiry fred by lord justice levinson, a very seniorjudge which reported in 2012 and recommended a more effective independent body to regulate the press. And the Prime Minister at the time David Cameron welcomed the levinson report but he failed to follow its central recommendation and set up by law a more Effective Press regulator. The leveson report. And i dont know any of the political background to this latest court case, but its possible that it is because of the failure of the government fully to implement the leveson report and follow through on what would have been part two of the leveson inquiry which was to investigate the extent of unlawful or Improper Conduct within News International now one of the defendants and prince harrys court case as well as other Media Organisations that there has been left a gap in the system of press regulation and in the law and it may bea regulation and in the law and it may be a wider consequence of his action may two revisits that whole system of press regulation and ask whether it is effective. Unlawful or Improper Conduct, how difficult do you think it is going to be for prince harry and the duchess of sussex to prove that and to win their case . They are a very special case, arent they the royal family . Indeed and we dont know the dates of the phone hacking which is alleged in this case but if it is about historic phone hacking and in particular if it is the incidence which led to the criminal prosecution, the successful criminal prosecution, the successful criminal prosecution of Clyde Goodman and paul, than i would expect them to win that case because in effect in criminal court they have artie found the news of the world in court guilty. And it is a higher test than that of a signal civil action. Guilty. And it is a higher test than that of a signal civil actionli that of a signal civil action. was just that of a signal civil action. wasjust going to that of a signal civil action. |j was just going to ask how likely is it involving a case involving were a family would be handled any differently if it were instead of an ordinary complete didnt . M differently if it were instead of an ordinary complete didnt . It would be treated by the courts just as they were private claimants like many of the other individuals, some celebrities but not all of them who have successfully brought claims and got very significant damages from the various Media Organisations who hacked their phones. How wise is it for harry and megan to be taking on the papers in such a direct manner . Well, it is brave. Because they have already had a very hostile treatment by sections of the tabloid press. Harry and meghan. And now they risk further antagonizing those tabloid newspapers but they probably made the calculation that the tabloid newspapers are gunning for them a nyway newspapers are gunning for them anyway and perhaps they have decided it cant get very much worse. 0k, Professor Robert hazell we will leave it there for now. Thank you very much. You are watching bbc news. An independent review has identified more than a0 failings in the way the metropolitan police investigated false claims of a vip paedophile ring at westminster. A former high courtjudge found that police unlawfully obtained warrants to search the homes of prominent figures whod been wrongly accused by carl beech. Hes now serving an 18 Year Prison Sentence for lying. The metropolitan police has said it is deeply deeply sorry. Our home affairs correspondent, june kelly reports. Among the many prominent figures was a former chief of the defence staff. Also falsely accused were gord britain who had served as home secretary. The x conservative mp harvey proctor, the late Prime Minister sir edward heath, and the long time labour politician lord. In police interviews, carl beach claimed that these men together with other high profile names formed a paedophile network in the 1970s and 80s. Carl beech. And he wasjust one of the boys they sexually abused and tortured. He even said he witnessed three boys being murdered, one being hit by a car. It was in october 2012 that carl beech approach the wiltshire force making limited abuse claims. Please examine his allegations but they went no further. Injuly 2014, examine his allegations but they went no further. In july 2014, beech first met the labour mp tom watson. This was after he published a wider claim online. By december 2014, the met police had watch operation midland to investigate beechs allegations. They described his allegations. They described his allegations as credible and sure and in fact they were both incredible and untrue. A senior retired judge was brought in to review the scotla nd was brought in to review the Scotland Yard inquiry and now his full findings have been published. He details one of the most damaging episodes in the modern history of the metropolitan police. But today the metropolitan police. But today the force refused to do any interviews, and said there was the statement. When we have done wrong with such damaging circumstances, we find genuinely distressing. So finally let me be very clear. I am deeply committed deeply sorry for the mistakes that were made. And for the mistakes that were made. And for the ongoing pain these mistakes have caused, i promise we would do all that we can to prevent them happening in the future. He was the senior officer who was head of the inquiry. Now in a top policejob outside the met, he is castigated on a number of fronts in the report. And this includes sanctioning the use of the phrase credible and sure to describe beechs allegations. This was while privately acknowledging that beech then known by the pseudonym nick, could have made up his story. Sir richard says in his review. The police team are described as being under pressure from tom watson, a campaigner on child abuse. 0ne detective describe the politician as a priority. The review says. Harvey proctor lost his home and his job because he was under suspicion. Today, he said tom watson should resign as deputy labour leader and be expelled from the party. |j resign as deputy labour leader and be expelled from the party. I have utter contempt for mr beech. It is matched with my icy contempt for tom watson. And the later part labour pack party should immediate would dissociate themselves from mr watson. Labour party. Dissociate themselves from mr watson. Labour party. What has operation midland done to you . have no money, i have no resources, i cannot plan my future, im not sure that i have a future. It eventually emerged that carl beech was himself a paedophile. His one time supporter tom watson says todays report contains multiple inaccuracies. But this case has raised questions about competence and independence of the countrys Largest Police force. June kelly, bbc news. A new born baby has died at britains largest womens prison. Officials at hmp bronzefield in surrey have declined to comment on reports the death came after a prisoner gave birth alone in her cell. Police have launched an investigation into the death which is being treated as unexplained. For the first time, all Primary School pupils in england are being offered a free flu vaccine this year as part of a huge nhs Vaccination Programme bringing england in line with the rest of the uk. It means that in total around 30 million people, almost half the uk population, will now be offered the treatment. There were almost 1,700 flu related deaths in england last year alone. You can use the tissue if you like. Its a nasal spray and not a jab, and each year more children have been offered it. This time another 600,000 can have the flu vaccine, so its available to all Primary School pupils, with england following the lead of scotland, wales, and northern ireland. Public Health Leaders have stressed the importance of targeting youngsters to limit the potential reach of the virus. Children are super spreaders, and they certainly can cause problems for older people in their families and their communities if they get flu. But we know also that the children who have had the vaccine in areas where weve looked at this carefully, much fewer visits to the gp, dramatically fewer hospitalisations. Parents we spoke to in rochdale were pleased they had the chance to get their children vaccinated. It is a really good idea. I feel good about it. Because i think they will be protected from flu, and during winter they get lots of flus and all that. Theyre always coughing and sneezing and picking up bugs, so. It comes with the territory, doesnt it . I have no issue with it. If the Research Says its safe, then happy for the kids to do it. Everybody should get it, because kids, children, are vulnerable, so they need to have it done. Early each year the world health 0rganization recommends how that years flu vaccine should be made up. It is then manufactured over the summer. This time there was a delay of a few weeks in the process. A few schools have been told that vaccinations have been postponed till december. Health experts say this will still be in time for the worst of the flu season. The Flu Surveillance Team here at Public Health england will spend the winter months analysing the strains of the flu virus which emerge. Theyll assess whether the vaccine is as effective as it should be. If not, and it can happen, theyll put the word out to the nhs to be ready with antiviral drugs for those who most need them. Hospitals are under great strain every winter. A bad flu season can push them to the limits, with longer waits for patients and yet more pressure on staff. Hugh pym, bbc news. It is coming up to 20 minutes past eight. The headlines on bbc news. Prince harry starts legal action against owners of the sun and daily mirror newspapers in relation to alleged phone hacking. The metropolitan police is heavily criticised for its investigations into false allegations of a vip paedophile ring. The Prime Minister insists again tonight that therell be no delay to brexit. But government papers seen in court today, say he will send a letter to the eu asking for an extension, if no deal is agreed. Sport now were going to cross to the bbc sport centre. Hi there holly. I request a. We start at the World Championships where its a shorter day but with no shortage of action tonight. Great britains men and women have been competing in the 4x100m relay heats, with the men storming to a new world leading time to qualify for tomorrows final. A strong perfrmance from the reigning World Champions saw them take a time of 37. 56 seconds, a seasons best. Nethaneel mitchell bla ke brinnging it home for Great Britain by quite some margin. Second for brazil and usa in third. No problems for the women either, they clocked 42. 25 seconds to come second in their heat behind jamaica. New 200m World Champion Dina Asher Smith was rested for this event and will come into the team for the final tomorrow night. Meanwhile three british men made it through to the final of the 1500m for the first time in World Championship history. After neil gourlay qualified comfortably in his heatjosh kerr made it through in 4th, while Jake Wightman had a nervous wait to find out if hed made it, but his seventh place finish was enough. And heres the image weve all be waiting for. All all been waiting for. Katarina Johnson Thompson with that gold medal in her hands. After breaking the british record to win the heptathlon in style yesterday, she picked up her medal tonight. This is her fourth World Championships and shed failed to medal at any of the previous events. So a huge moment for kjt who im sure wont be letting that go any time soon. Still to come tonight, britains main medal hope is in the 20k walk where tom bosworth will be aiming to banish memories of two years ago when he was disqualified while leading this event at the World Championships in london. That is at 9 30pm tonight. Lets move away from the championships and to the Rugby World Cup as south africa thrashed italy 49 3 to go top of pool b. They ran in seven tries in total ensuring a bonus point. The italians hopes of progressing now rest on them beating the mighty all blacks for the first time. I thought the way the guys physically pitched. I think if we have south africa wants to go all the way, that something you must do. We felt in the previous five or six days that we played this year, it was not consistent and i thought in this specific date, we just wanted oui this specific date, we just wanted our strength. Stay consistent through the game and im really proud about that. Theres a significant match in the Rugby World Cup for england tomorrow morning, theyve never lost to argentina in the tournament, but head coach eddiejones has warned theyll need to be brutal if theyre to beat them in tokyo. England are top of their pool going into the game with two bonus point wins. And jones whos picked a full strength side for this match says there are no last minute messages for the players, they know what to do. You play against argentina, they base their game on the scrum. Their manly hood. So you have to take them on front to beat them. Upfront. The scrum, their attack and defence. That is where it is going to be one. 0 nto football and Kevin De Bruyne will be missing again for Manchester City this weekend, but manger Pep Guardiola says his groin strain isnt too serious. He picked up the problem last weekend against everton. That ruled him out of the Champions League on tuesday. The Champions League. He wont be risked in their premier league match at home to wolves on sunday. The International Break follows and guardiola expects him to be fit again after that. And in tennis Britains Andy Murray was encouraged by his performance despite being beaten by top seed Dominic Thiem in the quarter finals of the china open. This was murrays first singles quarter final in over a year, following career saving hip surgery injanuary. Despite losing in straight sets, murray looked strong during an evenly balanced match thats all the sport for now. Ill have more for you in sportsday at half past ten. See you then. Back to you. See you then, holly. Thank you very much. Lets return to our top story. The duke of sussex has begun legal action against the publishers of the sun and mirror, in relation to alleged phone hacking. Documents have been filed on behalf of prince harry at the High Court Regarding the alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages. A spokeswoman for News Group Newspapers, which owns the sun and the now defunct news of the world, said, we can confirm that a claim has been issued by the duke of sussex. We have no further comment to make at the current time. Lets get more on this with the royal commentator and former Buckingham Palace press 0fficer, dickie arbiter. Hejoins me via webcam from new york. Thank you for your time, dickie you were to Buckingham Palace. Tell me her thoughts of what we have seen over the last few days. What we have seen over the last two days. Against british media on tuesday. He is obviously and blames the media for. Two years on he hasnt forgotten about it. He has also made it clear that meghan was doing the mac i think most people agree she has a case to go for. They publish not just extracts of a letter has a case to go for. They publish notjust extracts of a letter but her handwriting in that letter. She feels it was a breach of copyright, an invasion of privacy, and she feels that she has a case that she can go and probably win. This latest attack on the media, im absolutely amazed because here he comes on allegations of phone hacking seven yea rs allegations of phone hacking seven years after the conclusion of the inquiry. And if he felt so about it why didnt he raise it then . Im not really sure if it is actually. Someone advised them to do that. Many people are saying why now . What sort of clues can you give us . Well, exactly, why now . Why now having a go at media . Why now having a go at other sections of the media and phone hacking . As i said a moment to go seven yea rs phone hacking . As i said a moment to go seven years after the conclusion of the leveson inquiry, it is a puzzle and the only person who can a nswer puzzle and the only person who can answer that is harry himself and i wonder who is advising him because i dont believe Buckingham Palace can indication the would advise him to do that so long after the conclusion of the leveson inquiry. Someone has to bea of the leveson inquiry. Someone has to be a proponent and there x they are proposing he do that. And he was into hasbrouck on tuesday, and now in the uk and here on friday. In johannesburg and now in the uk and here on friday. Injohannesburg on tuesday. Why . Who knows. A lot of people are saying there is a marked change in the way the royals are taking on the press, handling the press. Is this a risky strategy though . Well, i think you have to be very clear when the royals have named the press. Harry in one week in his handling of the press, the prince of. He has been restrained. There was an injunction he charged ta ke there was an injunction he charged take on the publication and he lost that. I dont think they have to draw a conclusion to that. The person that makes sorry about the siren. 0k, person that makes sorry about the siren. Ok, that is new york. Dickie arbiter, thank you very much for persevering. Thank you. You are watching bbc news. It is time for the weather. Been rich. Hello, good evening, the weather remains very unsubtle throughout this weekend. We will see further heavy rain at times but as we go through tonight, many places will be tried, a lot of cloud feeding in across the western half of the uk. An onslaught of drizzle. For the ease clear skies allowing to get quite chilly, some spots in scotland to get down to freezing and in this cool to get down to freezing and in this cool, clear area, there will be some fog patches which across parts of northeast seaman could be fairly dense. It tends to lift and clear, early brightness and the east, but cloud. Eventually wales and the far south west of them in before the day is done. The wind breezy in the west. That wet weather lingers on the eastern half of the country. Localised flooding in something brighter in the west. Hello this is bbc news. The headlines. Prince harry starts legal action against owners of the sun and daily mirror newspapers in relation to alleged phone hacking. The metropolitan police is heavily criticised for its investigations into false allegations of a vip paedophile ring. The Prime Minister insists again tonight that therell be no delay to brexit. But government papers seen in court today, say he will send a letter to the eu asking for an extension, if no deal is agreed in the next 2 weeks. Millions of customers are being penalised by staying loyal to their Insurance Companies warns the financial watchdog. And coming up the beatles abbey road album returns to number one in the uk, 50 years after it first topped the charts. With just two weeks before the eu summit and a looming deadline for the Prime Minister to seal a deal, were taking a look at the attitudes to brexit on the island of ireland, the backstop and the political future for both sides of the border. Earlier geeta guru murthy sent this update. We are here college in dublin getting a range of voices with some reaction to the latest on brexit. You run i think take and it is a rough leaning think tank if that is an accurate description. We are approaching transplant week, how do you think it is affecting people plus my day to day lives here . You think it is affecting people plus my daytoday lives here . There isa plus my daytoday lives here . There is a lot of anxiety, if you take them and talk to government officials, they are cancelling appointments because they cant think about anything else but brexit, you can talk to a taxi driver on the way from the Dublin Airport or someone who runs the store and they do not know what will happen because of brexit. The economic impact, is it clear whether there is a deal or a new deal in terms of how that would affect the republic . Both are bad but no deal as far worth that both are bad. It is not just as far worth that both are bad. It is notjust economic which has been the focus of most but it is peoples personal lives and every day Border Crossing to go Grocery Shopping or the take the train down to dublin, using Health Services on either side of the border. It is notjust economic, people are anxious about and worried about personal lives. This island emerged after a great time of difficulty to reconciliation and is any of that being turned backwards do you think . There were incidents of violence and there was a severe beating, i did not know if you followed it but it is associated potentially with a resurgence of the violence in the violence has always been there and is underneath and it has not gone away. If you listen to john major, and has not gone away, tensions between communities has not disappeared and he did not want to provoke it. Politically in the uk there was a vote and many people felt that the vote has to be respected. Ultimately for the Irish Government, would it not make more sense to compromise now and get a deal then from their point of view have a risk of a no deal brexit . Deal then from their point of view have a risk of a Nodeal Brexit . For the Irish Government it is critical that there is no customs infrastructure on the island because asi infrastructure on the island because as ijust mention peoples lives along the border are interconnected and they cannot have an infrastructure that separates them, it is not a big island and you cannot set up to Different Countries on the same piece of property. And i think for the Irish Government, no deal is bad but it is where is worse to have some sort of phage where you have a border in the sea or on the island itself. Would you say there island itself. Would you say there isa island itself. Would you say there is a spot for broad agreement across the public here and are starting to emerge. There is broad consensus and those about brexit. Emerge. There is broad consensus and those about brexit. Thank you for joining and those about brexit. Thank you forjoining us. And those about brexit. Thank you for joining us. One and those about brexit. Thank you forjoining us. One of many voices that we are speaking to you here today and dublin. Government papers submitted to scotlands highest civil court say that Boris Johnson will send a letter to the eu asking for a brexit delay if no deal is agreed by the 19th of october. The documents form part of a case brought by campaigners seeking a ruling to compel the Prime Minister to comply with the law passed by mps preventing a no deal brexit. Downing street insists the uk will be leaving the eu at the end of the month. Stephen tierney, professor of constitutional theory and director of the edinbrugh centre for constitutional law joined me earlier and explained the significance of what happened today. It is an interesting case because lawyers have basically gone to court and edinburgh and said to the court the Prime Minister has not done anything wrong yet but we think he mightand if anything wrong yet but we think he might and if he does can you do one of two things . There are two cases, at two interconnections running at the same time. One is a claim that if the Prime Minister refuses to comply with the act and i will talk about that in a moment but if he refuses to do that, what would you do to the Prime Minister if he refuses to go to brussels and seeks a mistake extinction. And there is the second case that is also going on, where they are saying, if he wont do what you supposed to do, you the court, will you sign a letter and do it on his behalf. You mentioned the act there and how does that fit into todays development. Problem and quickly passed an act and it says that the Prime Minister has a duty to seek an extension if parliament has not agreed on a deal, and exit deal by the 19th of october and exit deal by the 19th of october and basically the Prime Minister has and basically the Prime Minister has a statutory duty to go to brussels and say can we go to january 2020 and say can we go to january 2020 and he must accept that if they offer that. He also asked to bring back any alternative deal that the eu gives to men and he has to present it to the house of commons so it looks like he is tight and said this court case is an effort to nail it down and is tied down by the act. Yet we are hearing from the Prime Minister that we are leaving at the end of the month. Is there some legal loophole that they know that we are not aware of . This is a real curiosity because to some extent, they were a bit blindsided today because Prime Minister is lawyers say that they will really apply to the law here and we will not frustrate the act and that is read as seemingly a commitment to go to brussels and seek an extension if there is no deal by the 19th of 0ctober there is no deal by the 19th of october but we are also hearing that the Prime Minister thinks he can interpret this quite narrowly and at the same time as he is offering the mac asking for an extension, he is guns blazing want ready to leap on the 31st of october. So we do not know what he is going to get around a failing nail dominic nail down the session. Hong kongs public transport system has been suspended for the first time tonight to try to quell the increasingly violent pro democracy demonstrations that are taking place. Thousands are on the streets again tonight. People are also being banned from wearing face masks in public. Masked protestors have been warned they could be jailed for up to a year. Rupert Wingfield Hayes is in hong kong. Hong kongs chief executive made her hold cabinet stand with her and face the cameras together, visually declaring their support for the dramatic step she was about to take. We believe that a new law will create a deterrent effect against masked, violent protesters and rioters and will assist the police in its law enforcement. The objective of this regulation is to end violence and restore order and i believe this is now the broad consensus of hong kong people. Chanting. That is certainly not what it looked like on the streets outside. In hong kongs Central Business district, news of the facemask ban brought angry Office Workers onto the streets in their hundreds. They tore down a giant banner celebrating communist chinas 70th anniversary and rapidly put it to flame. Within hours, the numbers on the street had swelled from hundreds to thousands. Carrie lam has told the people of hong kong, if you come out on the streets tomorrow wearing masks, you will be a criminal. Well, this is their response. They are furious and they are challenging her and her government to do their worst. They fired tear gas. This young woman did not want to show her face. Butjust listen to her anger. We are not afraid of this unlawful act and we will tell the government that we will not surrender because of their suppression. And also, the authoritarian government, because they are pro beijing. We are hong kong. We should be given the democracy to rule by the rule of law. Attacks on police by masked protesters, like this one on tuesday, is the reason the government says it has been forced to bring in the facemask ban. This is a video of a policeman, under attack in the town ofjianlong. The officer has fired his gun. Now the protesters respond with petrol bombs. As the midnight deadline passed, and the new facemask law came into effect, tear gas grenades continued to rain down. The streets continued to burn. Rupert Wingfield Hayes, bbc news, in hong kong. A french man has been able to move all four of his paralysed lands using an exoskeleton suit controlled by his mind. The 30 year old was paralysed from the neck down after falling 50 foot in a night club four years ago. He said using the exoskeleton made him he feel like being the first man on the moon. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. This is mind controlling machine. Thibault, who was paralysed in all four limbs, is sending instructions to his exoskeleton suit using brain signals. The movements may bejerky, but it is a significant technological achievement. The study in the journal lancet neurology explains how thibault had surgery to place two 5cm implants on the outer membrane of his brain, above the areas which control movement. Electrodes read his brain activity then beam messages to a computer which converts them into instructions for the exoskeleton. Thibault practised by learning to control an avatar in a computer game, and then gradually mastered increasingly complex movements. This is a brain computer interface. Scientists at Imperial College london are pioneering uk research into implants. Theyve praised the french exoskeleton study as ground breaking. This is a very important and significant step. Usually it has been demonstrated through a movement ofjust a single limb, and in this case they have demonstrated all four limbs simultaneously, although the complete exoskeleton was still attached to the ceiling, so many other elements are missing, such as balance. Any device implanted in the body carries the risk of infection, but the potential benefits are huge. The technology that merges brain, body and machine is moving at a rapid pace. As well as paralysis, there are potential applications for implants in the fields of epilepsy, even depression. 0ne team here at imperial is even working on a gut implant to suppress appetite to control obesity. The exoskeleton cant yet be used outside the lab, and the technology is so expensive it will be out of reach of most of those with spinal cord injuries. But as a proof of concept it is an impressive step forward. Fergus walsh, bbc news. The uk hasjoined the United States and australia in raising serious concerns about plans by facebook to encrypt all messages sent on its services. The home secretary priti patel has co signed an open letter to the companys chief executive mark zuckerberg, arguing that the move will make it harder for the authorities to fight crime particularly child abuse. Facebook says its consulting with child safety experts, governments and Technology Companies to keep people safe. The actor Robert Deniro is being sued for nearly £10 Million Pounds by a former personal assistant. The woman called graham chase robinson claims the actor subjected her to verbal abusive, sexual comments and unwanted physical contact. The case comes just weeks after deniro sued robinson for misuse of funds and bingeing on netflix at work. His lawyer described robinsons claims as beyond absurd. the pioneering american actress, Diahann Carroll who won golden globe and tony awards, and was nominated for an oscar, has died at the age of 84. She starred in the 1960s tv show julia, the first us sitcom to centre on a black woman, and was also the first black woman to win a tony for best actress in 1962 for the broadway musical, no strings. And in the 1980s, she went on to play the scheming Dominique Deveraux in tv hit, dynasty. The headlines on bbc news. Prince harry starts legal action against owners of the sun and daily mirror newspapers in relation to alleged phone hacking. The metropolitan police is heavily criticised for its investigations into false allegations of a vip paedophile ring. The Prime Minister insists again tonight that therell be no delay to brexit. But government papers seen in court today, say he will send a letter to the eu asking for an extension, if no deal is agreed in the next 2 weeks