Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At One 20240713

After being accused of inciting political unrest. More than two million adults havent been able to access a dentist in england in the last two years. And, the special one is back in the premier league, Jose Mourinho is announced as the new tottenham manager. Coming up on bbc news, wales are going to the euros, victory over hungary secures qualification as ryan giggs describes it as one of the greatest nights of his life. Good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. Senior conservatives have rejected criticism of the decision to change the name of one of the partys twitter accounts during last nights tv debate between Boris Johnson and jeremy corbyn. One of the partys accounts was rebranded as a Fact Checking service. Twitter says it will act if the party does it again and the Electoral Commission has reminded all parties that they must campaign responsibly. This report from our Political Correspondentjessica parker. Looking online, watch to take at face value . Last night, a brief rebrand of a conservative Party Twitter account, to factcheckuk as the press Office Shared its interpretation of the head to head debate. Tonight, conservative Prime Minister borisjohnson, debate. Tonight, conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and debate. Tonight, conservative Prime Minister borisjohnson, and leader of the labour party, jeremy corbyn, debates. Amidst an hourlong exchange, covering a range of issues. And privatisation within the nhs. Issues. And privatisation within the nhs. Applause what could be worse for the nhs then a crackpot plan for a four day week. Jeremy corbyn was laughed at on brexit. We week. Jeremy corbyn was laughed at on brexit. We will abide week. Jeremy corbyn was laughed at on brexit. We will abide by week. Jeremy corbyn was laughed at on brexit. We will abide by that result. And Boris Johnson was laughed at on trust. Does the truth matter in this election . laughed at on trust. Does the truth matter in this election . I think it does, and. Laughter. I think it very important. does, and. Laughter. I think it very important. I have been very clear if trust is an issue, was last nights twitter adjustment ok . Issue, was last nights twitter adjustment 0k . No one gives a toss about the social media cut and thrust, what they care about is the substantive issues and of course there is a huge amount of scepticism about claims of politicians, what we are not going to do is have nonsense put around by labour. Accusations of misinformation, online and out on the campaign trail, fly around in an election between the parties but today, in response to this row, the Electoral Commission said that voters are entitled to integrity and transparency and last night, twitter warned that if Something Like this happened again, it would result in decisive action. The conservatives say it was still clear who was running the account, but one senior labourfigure said running the account, but one senior labour figure said that twitter should have taken it down, and there has been criticism elsewhere. To suggest that they were an independent fact checker, and that, to me, was utterly outrageous, at a time when there was many questions about, do you trust borisjohnson . No knockout blows between these men last night but the episode has sparked controversy, even if it was for reasons that happened offstage rather than onstage. In a moment well speak to norman smith at westminster but first our media editor amol rajan is here. Political spin is something we expect during an election campaign, is this of a different magnitude . M does feel like a different magnitude, as you say, political spin is something we have had for a very long time but what is new is the use of Digital Technology to disseminate this spin to more people more quickly, it does feel like for the second time in just a matter of a few weeks, the party of government has basically used twitter in particular and social media as a way of putting out something that is less tha n of putting out something that is less than true, that feels like it will cross the rubicon. Really worth saying, twitter is not the real world, it is overpopulated disproportionately byjournalists and politicians, some people listening to this did not even know it happened. It is also the case, some people in the conservative Party Central office would say that the fact we are talking about the shows the tactic has worked, but i think there comes a point when we have to say that for the party of government to put this information out, which is wrong and false and could dupe people, that is dangerous. The real issue is regulation, we have a huge amount of regulation, we have a huge amount of regulation for what you and i can say on broadcast media but we do not have that for social media. Brexit referendum, donald trump election, electoral law is hopelessly out of date as concern social media and has hardly been updated at all in the past three years. Lets turn to norman, as well, following all that for us at westminster. Is this damaging to Boris Johnson for us at westminster. Is this damaging to borisjohnson and the conservatives . Clearly, Senior Tories do not think so, they think it isa tories do not think so, they think it is a storm in a teacup, almighty froth in the cappuccino of the cognoscenti froth in the cappuccino of the cognosce nti at westminster, froth in the cappuccino of the cognoscenti at westminster, hashtag hullabaloo, nothing cognoscenti at westminster, hashtag hulla baloo, nothing they cognoscenti at westminster, hashtag hullabaloo, nothing they have to bother about, we had one senior conservative, brandon lewis, this morning, and he was boasting about the bogus Fact Checking account, saying it had cut through, it had worked, focusing the minds of voters on the tory message. If this remains a row about twitter, probably doesnt matter. If this becomes a iow doesnt matter. If this becomes a row about trust, then it does matter, because the issue of trust has really been the big question in many voters minds about Boris Johnson, and it has dogged him pretty much throughout his political career, people will point to £350 million on the side of the brexit buses, and promises to quit the eu do or die, and last night we saw, during the live election debate, how important is truth to you, and he began to answer, saying, look at my political career and the audience started to laugh. That gives you a sense that trust is perhaps Boris Johnsons achilles heel. David cameron once said, britain and twitter are not the same; that is true, but in an election, trust matters big time. The liberal democrats have set out their manifesto plans for the election, iterating their pledge to stop brexit. The party claims by doing so it will be able to invest billions of pounds in Public Services and tackling inequality. The manifesto also included a pledge to tackle Climate Change by generating more electricity through renewable energy. Our Political Correspondent chris mason is at westminster. Here it is, published in the last couple of minutes, liberal democrat ma nifesto, couple of minutes, liberal democrat manifesto, huge picture ofjo swinson, party leader, inside a couple of pages, contrasting herself with what she describes as the two men leading the two big parties and suggesting that they have ideas from the past. Whether that be the 18705, oi the past. Whether that be the 18705, or the 19705. running the past. Whether that be the 18705, or the 19705. running down the past. Whether that be the 18705, or the 19705. running down into policy detail in terms of what the lib dems are promising, main pitch, a5 lib dems are promising, main pitch, as you say, cancel brexit, they point to economic forecasts suggesting remaining in the eu is better for the economy and they have 5aid better for the economy and they have said they would have more money to 5pend. They also want 80 of electricity to be generated by renewable sources by the start of the decade after next. And i promise 20,000 extra teachers in england within five years. Not just about stopping brexit either, it is about what comes next. What we are saying today is, we will stop brexit but the extra money that we would get from growing the economy, we would plough that into the best investment we could make in the country, in education. A couple of other lines from the manifesto specifically relating to education in england, they would get rid of ofsted and replace it with an alternative School Inspection regime, they would get rid of two such tests and League Tables but here is the political challenge for the liberal democrats, this is a noisy campaign with labour and the conservatives and the snp dominating, the latter in scotland. Sats test. The question for the liberal democrats is the extent to which they can cut through and be noticed and jo swinson has acknowledged this morning that as far as opinion polls are concerned, it has not been so easy for them so far. Lets ta ke lets take a little more of an in depth look at some of what chris was outlining down, now. Our reality check correspondent chris morris is here. They have said they would simply stop it altogether, what benefit did they think that would bring . It is they think that would bring . It is the remained bonus, they say it would be £15 billion of money available if we stay in the European Union overfive available if we stay in the European Union over five years. Available if we stay in the European Union overfive years. £50 billion. Most economic forecasts say the economy would be bigger, if we remain in the eu, but, obviously, subject to a huge amount of uncertainty, says the institute for fiscal studies because it isjust uncertainty, says the institute for fiscal studies because it is just a forecast. Other things can affect the economy, we cannot guarantee absolutely that 50 billion would be there. The lib dems say the numbers are cautious, but it will say they could be spending money they do not know they are going to have. If there is extra money, what will they spend it on . Like every party, the manifesto covers everything but a couple of things to pick out, education is one things to pick out, education is one thing they have been talking about, by 2025 they want to spend another £10 billion on schools in england. Government Spending Plans do not go quite as far as 2025 at the moment but by 2023, lib dems will be spending a bit more than the current government would say. But you must bearin government would say. But you must bear in mind that since 2010, per pupil, bear in mind that since 2010, per pupil, spending has gone down by 8 . Pa rt pupil, spending has gone down by 8 . Part of that time, five years, the lib dems themselves were in government. That needs to be reversed by some extra spending but also not just looking at reversed by some extra spending but also notjust looking at per pupil numbers, making sure we spend the money in the right places. Another thing worth mentioning, theyre are pledge on renewables, 80 of electricity by 2030. At the moment, in the Third Quarter of this year, 40 of electricity came from renewable sources. That is a big increase. At the moment, projection is by 2030 we might get up to 50 . Apart from the greens, the lib dems numbers are probably the most ambitious. One last thing, child care. They want to spend a lot of money on childcare, we have snap analysis through from the institute for fiscal studies, saying the idea of having universal Free Childcare is probably the most striking spending plan in the lib dems ma nifesto, spending plan in the lib dems manifesto, which would dramatically expand the scope of the welfare state at younger ages. Nicola sturgeon has warned that the uk will be engulfed by brexit chaos for years if the conservatives win a majority. Speaking in dundee in the past hour, the snp leader warned that investment across scotland in a range of key Public Services like the nhs will be at risk from brexit and urged voters to back independence instead. A reminder that if youve not yet registered to vote on december 12th, or if you want to vote by post, there are only a few days left to apply. There are details about how to do that on the website, at bbc. Co. Uk news or full details on the bbc news app. News away from the general election campaign. A letter written to the Times Newspaper in 2011 by Buckingham Palace suggests Prince Andrew first met the billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the early 19905 several years earlier than claimed by the duke. A number of organisations have severed ties with the prince following the bbc interview in which he defended his friendship with epstein. Our royal correspondentjonny dymond is at Buckingham Palace. Explain more about this letter and what it all means. Really early in the interview that Prince Andrew gave newsnight, it was asked, when did you first meetJeffrey Epstein and he said he met him in 1999, through Jeffrey Epsteins and he said he met him in 1999, throutheffrey epsteins then girlfriend. This letter that went to the Times Newspaper, published in march, 2011, which was from andrews private secretary, his most senior adviser, speaks of Prince Andrew knowing Jeffrey Epstein since the early 19905. Buckingham palace says that Prince Andrew stands by his words and by his recollection. In itself, it is not a vast bombshell, but it is part of this trip trip trip, slow unravelling, of some of the aspects, some of the aspects of what Prince Andrew said in the interview, and alongside that drip drip drip, the seeping away of Corporate Support for the events he is attached to. A number of companies have said they will either stop supporting organisations as a relationship organisations he has a relationship with anne bt said it was considering its position with the Digital Skills provider of which he is patron. And bt said today. Our top story this lunchtime the conservatives reject criticism of their decision to rebrand their twitter account a Fact Checking service during last nights tv debate. And coming up, the mission to save thousands of animals from australias bushfires. Coming up on bbc news. The self proclaimed special one is backin the self proclaimed special one is back in the premier league, totte n ha m back in the premier league, Tottenham Hotspur appoint former chelsea and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho as their new manager. A former employee of the british consulate in hong kong has told the bbc he was tortured in mainland china, and accused of inciting political unrest. Simon cheng says he was blindfolded and hooded while he was detained for a fortnight in august. The foreign secretary has summoned the Chinese Ambassador but china says it wont accept the summons and has told britain to stop interfering in its affairs but it hasnt denied mr chengs allegations. Our correspondentjohn sudworth has been speaking exclusively to mr cheng. Ive been shackled, ive been handcuffed and i have been blindfolded. And also they made me hooded. They put a hood on your head . Yes. For how many hours would that last . I dont know, because i cannot see anything. But a very long time. And then they handcuffed me like this. Your hands are cuffed and they hang you on something . Yes, exactly. And then they start the torture, for example, like put my hands up, handcuffed for several hours. And thats very painful. And then, for example, you need to do lots of extreme exercise. The stress test, for example, you need to do Something Like this. For several hours as well. And you shuffle, your legs will shuffle. You cannot stand still. And if you try to sit down or stop, what would happen . They would beat me. Did they beat you . Yes, of course. Of course they would ask whether the consul instruct me to mingle with the protest. They regard me as the mastermind, represents the uk. The consul instruct and recruit volunteers from the start to tap into and stay tuned to the status of the protesters and report back to the consulate. Actually, i cried and i said, no need to torture me. I will say anything you want me to say, but i want to make 100 clear that i didnt. The uk did not assign any resources, or materials or anything to the protests. One young girl came and then one of the interrogators told me she is also because of the protests. I had been brought to the detention centre, i realised not only me, its a bunch of the people also from hong kong get caught because of the protest. How many of you, do you think . What i saw is about ten, but im not sure how many. But i would feel quite a lot. And i heard someone spoke in cantonese saying, raise your hands up. He said you raised lots of flags when youre in the protest. Raise your hands up, quite loud. And ifeel that this is part of the torture because i remember i had been told to raise my hands up as well. In hong kong, the siege of the Polytechnic University is nearing an end, with only a few dozen protesters believed to remain on the campus after three days of violent clashes with police. Earlier today paramedics brought out injured protesters from the university, which is surrounded by riot police and barricades. Hong kong police say more than a thousand people have been arrested in the last 2a hours. Our correspondent Stephen Mcdonell is in the university building. It looks like a scene of devastation behind you. How many people do you think are still there . This is the scene at the Polytechnic University, graffiti everywhere, debris, there are still dozens of activists here and we have spoken to them. They say that theyre not going to go. The reason for that is that once they go there are police all around this complex in any direction you had to and they know that they will be charged with rioting which could mean up to a ten year prison sentence. This is the reason why they are trying to hold off butjust ta ke they are trying to hold off butjust take a look at some of the materials, hundreds of unused petrol bombs for example, they were here as protesters got ready for a much more protracted fight. This is all about the campus i should add, things like these masks that the protesters have used to stop less lethal rounds hitting them in the face, grabs presumably so you can hold a petrol bomb, bits and pieces of gas masks and helmets. There molotov cocktail even as spray cans strapped to the side of it. To make it a more Lethal Weapon i imagine. And there have been some quite daring attempts by the remaining protesters to get out of here, abseiling from bridges, climbing through the sewers and police have said do not do that, it isa police have said do not do that, it is a dangerous way to try to leave but as long as these activists know that they will be charged when they attempt to get out of here i think they will either try to escape or try and stick it out. Stephen mcdonell, thank you very much. Its feared the bushfires raging across australias east coast have killed hundreds of koalas. So now people are doing their best to help those that have survived. A volunteer rescue operation is underway to save the injured koalas, as andy moore reports, just to warn you, you may find some of these images upsetting. Its been one of the worst seasons for bushfires in australia in many years. Millions of hectares have burned, hundreds of homes have been destroyed and theres been a devastating toll on wildlife. Other animals can run from the flames. The koala cant, and this slow moving marsupial is trapped. Hell need rescuing, wont he . The woman behind that voice takes the shirt off her back and rescues the animal, taking care to avoid getting hurt herself. Just careful of his claws. Can you get water out of my car . And then she gives him first aid, dousing him in water to try to treat his burns. Do you want to put him in the blanket and bring him out of the hot stuff . Yeah, i will. This animal was lucky. He was taken off to a local Animal Hospital for treatment. But its believed that hundreds of koalas have died in the bushfires. This is a dog called bear. Hes been specially trained to sniff out koalas and other small marsupials so they can be rescued from the flames. This is a young koala thats recovering well after being rescued. It was found curled up and badly dehydrated. But its hoped it will eventually be able to go back to its home in the wild. Andy moore, bbc news. Millions of people are going without dental care in england, according to bbc analysis of nhs figures for england. This includes one and a half Million People whove been unable to get an nhs appointment. Nhs england says steps are being taken to tackle the problem. More details from our Health Correspondent dominic hughes. Desperately needed emergency dentistry. Being carried out in a van outside dewsbury town hall. The Dentaid Charity normally works in developing countries. But today it is helping people like basir afsal, who has had to live with excruciating tooth pain for months. I was in too much pain, nobody could help me. Nobody could help me. None of these nhs services, nobody would help me at all. Basir is far from alone. Over the course of two days, staff saw 50 patients, extracting 20 teeth that were causing pain. Any pain there . Bbc analysis of data from nhs england shows that 11. 3 million adults in england are going without dental care. Of these, 1. 5 Million People have tried and failed to get treatment on the nhs in the last two years. The rest are either stuck on waiting lists, put off by the costs, or cannot find a dentist. People like lindsay, with toothache, cannot find someone to deal with. The 111 service is who they phone, theyre usually kept on the phone for hours and usually offered an appointment a couple of weeks down the line. If youre in acute pain and cant sleep and need the tooth out, thats why we come. All day this charity van has been busy seeing people who are in real pain because of tooth decay. But for all those patients this is the only way they can access emergency nhs dental care here in dewsbury. The British Dental Association says there are similar issues in wales. In Northern Ireland and scotland where checkups are free, its less of a problem. This is a crisis. We have been saying it is a crisis for a long while and we have been ignored. It is not only about funding, but funding obviously needs to match what the rest of the nhs is getting. Sadly at the moment, we see a situation where people are expecting more for less and really we cannot carry on like that. If we carry on with more for less, we will eventually see the complete demise of the nhs as far as dentistry goes. But for many in dewsbury, this kind of emergency treatment is all that is available. A charity filling the gaps left by the nhs. Dominic hughes, bbc news, dewsbury. The special one is back in the premier league. Jose mourinho has been appointed tottenham manager, after the north london club sacked Mauricio Pochettino last night. But the former Manchester United and chelsea boss faces a huge challenge with his new side currently struggling so far this season. Our Sports Correspondent Natalie Pirks reports. Arriving at training, well drilled to keep quiet. The tottenham players in no mood this morning to discuss the tumultuous 11 hours that saw Mauricio Pochettino sa nt the tumultuous 11 hours that saw Mauricio Pochettino sant and Jose Mourinho brought in. Rumours had been swelling but it had come out of the blue. Harry kane said on twitter, i will be forever thankful to you for helping me achieve my dreams. You were my to you for helping me achieve my dreams. You were my manager to you for helping me achieve my dreams. You were my manager but my friend as well. Other players were trying to get their head around it. It was a big shock, he has been amazing to work with for the past five years and sad to see him go. Just six months ago fans were loving life with spurs in the Champions League final in madrid. But in the league theyve only won three games this season and they are without a win since september. You can see the interest thatJose Mourinho crates that have a copy goes to, he was in brighton earlier this morning we understand missing all the staff and currently is then out meeting his players for the first time and about to ta ke players for the first time and about to take them on the first Training Session at his Third Premier League club. He is nothing if not a winner, chosen renewal has won trophies with every clu b chosen renewal has won trophies with every club has been at including three premier League Titles in his two spells at chelsea. When he joined much united won the Europa League and the league cup but fans grew weary of his style of play. By the time he was sacked, the special one had become a sullen figure. It is clear that fans at tottenhams spends a new stadium are in shock this morning with clear reservations about the new boss. He is a dated manager, the way he plays his foot ball manager, the way he plays his football is of the time gone past. I do not think it is the tottenham way. It has been a test hasty decision to get rid of the most wanted manager probably in football at the moment. When everyone is playing pro football apart from the rubble perhaps. Im gutted. We should have given one more time to turn things around. But nowadays thatis turn things around. But nowadays that is what happens in the game. |j feel the reason why spurs are in the position theyre in is because of Mauricio Pochettino. The reason why we are Mauricio Pochettino. The reason why we a re allowed Mauricio Pochettino. The reason why we are allowed to dream the way we are is because of Mauricio Pochettino so to diminish that and completely disregard everything he has done in the past five years is quite disrespectful. After almost a year out of management the special one returns but just year out of management the special one returns butjust how special . Spurs fans are strapping themselves infor spurs fans are strapping themselves in for the ride. Well, Jose Mourinho begins with an away game at west ham on saturday but will he appear before home supporters next week at their new ground . Our Sports Correspondent joe wilson is there. Joe, how much does mourinho have to prove . When i think a lot cheaper because he is following such a popular manager and Mauricio Pochettino. On tuesday at 8pm mourinho will be here in charge of its first home game in the Champions League against the greek side olympia cross. The team i think tottenham would expect to beat whoever is in charge but they stayed in behind me is an architectural statement of intent. Tottenham now expect not just to statement of intent. Tottenham now expect notjust to compete with the best teams in europe but to beat them and if mourinho is to do better than Mauricio Pochettino in the Champions League, he has to win the trophy, simple as that. Because Mauricio Pochettino gotten the to the final and this is not 2004, this is not mourinho slipping in as a positive force of energy into english football, in recent years he seems to have soured. He doesnt bring harmony but he does bring the trophies and that is the currency that Tottenham Hotspur is are interested in, then fine. Mourinho has not done his first Media Conference with tottenham yet but he has released a few wides and says he is excited to be joining a club with great heritage and passionate support. Im sure that he is. The point is this morning in this part of north london i spoke to supporters a lot and debating whether spurs really need bring out but i think at this stage of his career it is absolutely clear that he needs spurs. Interesting. Joe wilson there. Time for a look at the weather. Chris fawkes is here. Well all the rain we have seen this autumn, it has not been the special one we have this area of low pressure bringing crowd into the west of the uk. And below is going nowhere fast, blocked in by this enormous area