Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC 20240703

On bbc london, withjust a week to go until londoners vote coming up on bbc news, after a Merseyside Derby defeat, Virgil Van Dijk questions his sites willingness to win the title. Our livable out of the race . Hello and welcome to the bbc news at one. Shes been described as the post Office Executive who knew more about the horizon it scandal than anyone else. This morning, Angela Van De Bogerd told the Public Inquiry that she was truly, truly sorry for the devastation caused to Sub Postmasters and their families. She personally oversaw many of the complaints about problems with the computer system, and in 2019 was heavily criticised by a judge for giving misleading evidence during a high court class action which alan bates and fellow subpostmasters won. Zoe conway reports from the inquiry. Its the biggest day of the inquiry so far for subpostmasters. Angela van den bogerd, the woman they blame for causing so much of their suffering, is taking the stand. Its a very big moment. Like, i was double minded, should i come, but i thought, no, its too good to miss. Today, definitely i would say, like, please, please, please stop lying and tell the truth. We all know the truth, butjust make it more official, we need a proper truth now. Why the cover up . Why did you do what you did and put us in the position that you did put us in . We want to try and put her in that same position as well. Angela van Den Bogerd Is said to have known more about the horizon it scandal than anyone else at the post office. Saying sorry, i know, doesnt change whats happened, but i do want to say to everyone impacted by wrongful convictions and wrongful Contract Terminations that i am truly, truly sorry for the devastation caused to you, your family and friends. But the inquiry wanted to know just what was she apologising for. I think you make no concessions or admissions that you did anything wrong correct . Well, i didnt knowingly do anything wrong and i would never knowingly do anything wrong. You dont apologise for your role in any of the events being examined by the inquiry, do you . I think, you know, ive reflected on this quite a bit, and the disclosure that ive seen through this process, there are things that. Documents that ive seen that i dont remember some of them from the time, but clearly, knowing what i know now, i would give further weight to some of those documents than i did at the time. Subpostmasters finally began to see justice in 2019, when the post office was forced to admit in court that branch accounts could be accessed remotely by fujitsu without The Subpostmasters knowledge. The issue of Remote Access and horizon� s Software Bugs were discussed as far back as 2010 at a meeting which Angela Van Den Bogerd was told about in an e mail. Or was it that you and others within the post office studiously avoided lifting the lid on what had happened at the meeting of october 2010, when the receipts and payments mismatch bug was not only discovered, but also was revealed fujitsus ability to tamper with branch accounts . I wasnt aware of this and i wish i had been aware of this at the time, because that fundamentally changes what my understanding was to do with horizon� s system and even just the language used in here, clearly, clearly it was known. What this inquiry has been doing is spending a lot of time focusing on this issue of Remote Access. What did angela Van Den Bogard Know and when . The lead counsel to the inquiry has been pulling up e mails and data from as far back as 2010 when Remote Access is discussed, and then comparing that with what angela Van Den Bogard was saying publicly, and he has even accused her of making false statements. Its packed in the inquiry today. There are lots of Sub Postmaster is in the room, and i think its fair to say they are hanging on her every word. Thank you, zoe conway at the Public Inquiry. Power sharing is over in scotland. The Scottish National party will now lead a Minority Government at holyrood. The Scottish Greens were given the news before an emergency Cabinet Meeting in edinburgh this morning. Last week, the party had announced that its membership would be given a vote about remaining in government because of anger about the decision to scrap key climate targets. Our scotland correspondent lorna gordon has this report. Ifa sign if a sign was needed a split was on the cards, this was it. Is if a sign was needed a split was on the cards, this was it. The cards, this was it. Is the agreement the cards, this was it. Is the agreement with the cards, this was it. Is the agreement with the the cards, this was it. Is the agreement with the snp the cards, this was it. Is the i agreement with the snp over . The co leaders of the scottish green leaving before the cabinet they were part of was due to meet. The junior partners in government had been threatening tojump. The First Minister got in first. Good morning, everyone. The Power Sharing agreement between scotlands two biggest Pro Independence parties terminated with immediate effect. I believe that the benefits have outweighed the compromises. When i said that the agreement was worth its weight in gold, i meant it. However, it is now myjudgment that the balance has shifted. The Bute House Agreement was intended to provide stability to the scottish government, and it has made possible a number of achievements. But it has served its purpose. But for the Scottish Greens, this was an acrimonious political parting of the ways. Angered by the scottish governments decision last week to water down key Climate Change commitments and the nhs� announcement it would pause prescribing Puberty Blockers to children. The First Minister has decided, im sorry the First Minister has decided, im sorry to the First Minister has decided, im sorry to say, the First Minister has decided, im sorry to say, to capitulate to the most sorry to say, to capitulate to the most reactionary, backward looking forces most reactionary, backward looking forces within the snp, and it is the opposite forces within the snp, and it is the opposite of forces within the snp, and it is the opposite of what is in scotlands best interest. It best interest. It had started so well. The Bute House Agreement, described by the then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as a leap of faith. Alongside her, the first greens in government anywhere in the uk. But there had been growing criticism the snp had prioritised controversial policies by the gender recognition reform act. In part, to keep the Smaller Party on board, and had been paying the price in the polls. I think the First Minister might be a bit patchy today. I wonder why at First Ministers questions, under pressure from political opponents. He has abandoned the platform he stood on stop he claims it is now a new beginning, but really, it is the beginning of the end. Isnt Humza Yousaf A Lame Duck First Minister . Governing alone, the snp will have greater freedom governing alone, the snp will have greaterfreedom for governing alone, the snp will have greater freedom for making policy. But compromises will be needed to get those policies through parliament, and that could prove tough. And lorna is live in edinburgh for us now. Theres now been a call for a No Confidence Vote in the leader of the snp . Yes, humza yousaf says this is all about providing stability going forward. He will hope to be seen as decisive, being on the front foot, seizing the political initiative. But remember, just 48 hours ago, he was backing the snp Scottish Greens Power Sharing deal. Now he has been in it. The scottish is that conservatives say this shows he is week and this was a coalition of chaos. They are now calling for a vote of No Confidence. Scottish labour say they have No Confidence in humza yousaf and there needs to be an election now. The Scottish Liberal Democrats say they need to end this entire government. Remember, the snp have 63 seats in the scottish parliament. The other parties have 66. They do not have a majority. So if he is to survive a No Confidence Vote, which, if it does go ahead, which seems likely, will happen in all next week. He will happen in all next week. He will need the votes of people from some of the other Political Parties and even his former erstwhile partners in this coalition, the Scottish Greens, when asked what they would do going forward, to say that they cannot rely on green votes in the parliament. Asked directly if they will back the snp, they said, we will see, watch and listen. Thank you, lorna gordon. A Police Investigation is continuing after two teachers and a pupil were stabbed at a Secondary School in South West Wales yesterday. The three have since been discharged from the hospital. The bbc has been told one of the injured is head of year 7 fiona elias. The school in carmarthenshire went into lockdown for about four hours yesterday. A teenage girl remains in Police Custody on suspicion of attempted murder. Two Household Cavalry horses are in a serious condition after they threw off their riders and raced through london yesterday. Three soldiers and a cyclist were taken to hospital following the incident. Frances read joins me now and weve had an update this morning on this . Yes, we have had anjust update saying that two horses, as you said, are in serious condition. The army said that seven were spooked yesterday after Building Materials were dropped from a great height next to them. They were taking part in rehearsal next at Buckingham Palace for todays major general� s inspection. The Household Cavalry is one of the most senior regiments in the british army. The animals, on a Seven Mile Route through the city, collided with animals, which we saw, including a Double Decker Bus and a taxi. Two of the injured animals were operated on last night. A horse named quaker has been transferred to an equine hospital, the army went on to reassure the public that the horses received the highest standards of care. Three soldiers and a member of the public also needed hospital treatment. Their injuries are not said to be serious. The soldiers are expected to return to duties. To put this in context, 150 animals per day are on exercise in the city, dealing with big events like the kings coronation, so this is very rare indeed. Thank you very much. Labour says it will renationalise most Passenger Rail services if it wins the next general election. The party says its proposals, which include creating a new publicly owned body which would be responsible for infrastructure, would be the industrys biggest overhaul in a generation. The government says the plans are pointless and unfunded. More details from our transport correspondent katy austin. Whats the way ahead for britains railway . Today, labour outlined what it would do, arguing its plans would fix a broken model. Our railways have become a symbol of national decline. Of a country that no longer works and a government with no plan to fix it. Cancellations are at record highs. Fares have risen almost twice as fast as wages since 2010 and strikes are costing us £25 million a day. When contracts held by private Train Companies expire, they would be brought into a new public body, Great British railways, which would oversee both infrastructure and train services. But labour would not nationalise freight or Rolling Stock companies and private operators like lumo and hull trains, which run independently without government subsidy, could continue. Other measures include automatic delay repay, digital season tickets and a best Price Guarantee making fares more transparent, although not necessarily cheaper. Labour claims its new model would mean cost savings for the taxpayer. The Transport Secretary disagrees. Theyve got no idea how to pay for it. There are going to be increased costs. If you nationalise all those companies, you are going to have to hire Civil Servants to manage it. They are setting up another quango. The lib dems want to freeze fares but havent committed to nationalisation. The snp said it would work with labour. Scotland and wales already have nationalised Passenger Rail services and several large england based operators are publicly run after being brought into the governments operator of last resort. Also, the government has a large degree of control over most private Train Companies because of the type of contract they are currently on. A group which speaks for private Train Companies say a structure used like the one by Transport For London would be better. That Alternative Model gives you the best of both worlds, so Greater Public control through a governing body in the Public Sector like Great British railways, but then harnessing that commercial expertise of the private sector Train Company to deliver Better Outcomes for the passenger. Even if it does gain power, labour admits it would take time for passengers to see change. Katy austin, bbc news. Our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman, is in westminster now. Is this a clear policy divide between labour the conservatives . It certainly is, yes. I think by anyones lights, what labour are proposing here is a serious, significant change to how the railways work. Yes, they are just talking about renationalising the operating Companies Rather than the Rolling Stock or freight companies, but nevertheless, they have being vocally criticised for that by the conservatives. They say what matters when it comes to railways is reliability and affordability, and they argue labours plans wont do anything to affect those measures. I think it is also worth just reflecting on this in terms of the politics within the Labour Party Rather than between labour and the conservatives, because despite labour� s thumping lead in the opinion polls, some insert keir starmer� s party say his offer is not different enough from the conservatives, that he doesnt have enough bold, ambitious policies. Those people who make that criticism are very happy with this today. So a big offer from are very happy with this today. So a big offerfrom keir starmer, but also a big divide between labour and the conservatives as we approach the general election. Enqueue. The National Crime agency says it has made one more arrest in connection with the deaths of five people on a channel small boat on tuesday. The nca said it had arrested an 18 year old sudanese citizen yesterday. One of the three people arrested on tuesday had been released without charge, while the other two remain in custody. The boat was carrying 112 people when a deadly crush happened. Donald trump will be in court in new york again later, as his trial continues for allegedly falsifying business records. But also today, the Us Supreme Court is due to decide whether the former president has immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken while in office, after he was charged in connection with attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 election. In a moment well talk to Gary Odonoghue, but first nada tawfik is in new york. She is following the trial there. What are we expecting again today . Donald trump is due back in court shortly but first he began the day with a visit to a Construction Site Macro to speak with construction and union workers. Donald trump � s Campaign Says he cant be out on the trail they are bringing it to them here in new york and the former president is certainly taking advantage of the media spotlight, even nick naming this trial the biden trial, even though it is a state case that has no connection to the department ofjustice in dc. The jury the department ofjustice in dc. The jury is still out on whether this unprecedented trial and the attention that comes with it will help or hurt him politically but his lawyers are having a rough go of it. Today, we might learn if trump will be held in contempt of court. His lawyers argued he wasnt violating a 939 lawyers argued he wasnt violating a gag order and the social media posts in question were a response to political attacks, in question were a response to politicalattacks, but in question were a response to political attacks, but that didnt land well with the judge, who said they were losing all credibility with the court and the first witness, david pecker, the publisher of the national enquirer, is back on the stand. So far he has helped lay the stand. So far he has helped lay the groundwork of this case for prosecutors, detailing how his tabloid was a powerful tool for trumps campaign. It could begin giving evidence on the central piece of this case, that Hush Money Payment to stormy daniels. Donald trump says he is innocent and his lawyers will have a chance to question david pecker after prosecutors. Question david pecker after rosecutors. ,. ,. , ~ prosecutors. Thanks, nada tawfik. Lets speak prosecutors. Thanks, nada tawfik. Lets speak to prosecutors. Thanks, nada tawfik. Lets speak to gary prosecutors. Thanks, nada tawfik. Lets speak to Gary Odonoghue i prosecutors. Thanks, nada tawfik. Lets speak to Gary Odonoghue at| lets speak to Gary Odonoghue at the Supreme Court, a significant day there, gary . The Supreme Court, a significant day there. Gary . There, gary . Yeah, very significant da. Bear there, gary . Yeah, very significant day bear in there, gary . Yeah, very significant day. Bear in mind there, gary . Yeah, very significant day. Bear in mind this there, gary . Yeah, very significant day. Bear in mind this relates there, gary . Yeah, very significant day. Bear in mind this relates to i day. Bear in mind this relates to perhaps the most serious of the four criminal cases that donald trump is facing, that of trying to overturn the election in 2020. He is facing four counts on those charges and this really is a hearing to say where his lawyers will argue, look, a president cant be criminally prosecuted for something they did while they were in office, they cant be held accountable in that way. I think the reason its important is not because ofjust because of this case, because it would also then undermine all those other cases, the Documents Case in florida, where he is accused of the breaches of the espionage act and obstruction, etc, it would also affect Election Cases in georgia for example, even though its a state level case, if the Supreme Court says Blanket Immunity all those things would fall away. I think a lot of legal scholars believe that going along with the idea of Blanket Immunity is unlikely but it will delay things significantly in this trial and could delay this january the six trial until after the election. If donald trump becomes president then he can simply make that go away. Gary, thank you, Gary Odonoghue. The government has rejected calls to scrap one word Inspection Judgements for schools in england, such as outstanding or inadequate. They say the categories give parents an important summary of a schools performance. Teaching unions and some mps had demanded a change after the death of the headteacher ruth perry, who took her own life after her Primary School was downgraded by ofsted in 2022. Heres our education editor branwen jeffreys. An inspection at this small primary started this debate. The single word judgement, inadequate, haunted the head teacher. Ruth perry took her own life, knowing the school would be downgraded. A coroner found the inspection had contributed. Ruths Sisterjulia Waters has campaigned for single word judgements to go. Mps agreed after an inquiry, but the government says the system should stay. Im deeply upset more than a little bit angry that after all that time, all that commitment, all that talking, all that apparent listening, theyre not going to act. They are not going to do the things that they know my family and so many others need and want to change. Headteachers unions said the government was failing to listen and concerns remained about the system. If we have another tragedy that will sit firmly on the shoulders of ministers, who are failing to grapple with this problem right now. We have calls from members regularly on our helpline, in crisis because of inspection, and we know we are so very close to that happening again. Its not scaremongering. Weve seen it happen once, we cannot afford to see it happen again. The new head of ofsted says he wants to consult widely. The labour party have already said they would scrap the one word judgements. Branwen jeffreys, bbc news. The uks first memorial for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Armed Forces Personnel is to be built at the National Memorial arboretum in staffordshire. The government has put £350,000 towards the project, which was one of the recommendations of an independent review into the historical treatment of people who were sacked or forced out of the military for being gay. It was illegal to be gay in the British Armed forces until the year 2000. England has the highest rate of alcohol use by schoolchildren out of more than 40 countries. Thats according to a new report commissioned by the World Health Organization. The report examined data from 280,000 children aged 11 to 15, which showed that by the age of 13, 57 of girls in england had drunk alcohol, and half of boys. The study also found girls are more likely to smoke. More than a quarter of 15 year old girls in england have smoked a cigarette in their lifetime, compared to 16 of boys. And it says two out of five girls in england and scotland have vaped by the age of 15, which is higher than countries including france, germany and spain. Our Health Correspondent Dominic Hughes has all the details. Vaping among uk teenagers has soared in the last few years. In 2013, it was fewer than 1 of 11 to 17 year olds. A decade later, it was nearly 8 . There are now more vapers than smokers, a trend confirmed by the World Health Organization survey. The government has already introduced measures to clamp down on the promotion and illegal sale of vapes to under 18s. Weve seen the effect of recent legislation and policy, the positive impact that thats had, and thats important. But we also need to be addressing this, i think, at the level of family and communities. But the data on teenage drinking will also be a concern. At the age of 11, more than a third of Boys And Girls in england say they have drunk alcohol. By the age of 13, more than half have done so. Both of these figures are higher than any of the other countries in the study. And compared with other european countries, rates of drunkenness in the uk were high, particularly among girls. And weve talked about the particular increase, or not increased use, but higher use of alcohol in a problematic way, as well as vaping by young girls more than boys. And we think influencers may be playing more of a part of that. So, the more that can be done in that space as well, the better. Health experts say while drinking among young people is in decline overall, the uk remains one of the heaviest drinking nations in the world and point out the earlier a child drinks, the more likely it is they will develop problems with alcohol later in life. Dominic hughes, bbc news. The number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in england and wales has risen to the highest level in 20 years. More than 430,000 offences were logged by forces last year, up more than a third on the year before. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Daniel Sandford is with me. Why the increase . Another new record, 37 increase on a single year, whats been called an epidemic of shoplifting by some retailers. Whats behind is probably a bit complicated. It might be partly to do with the cost of living crisis, partly to do with under policing, partly to do with Self Checkouts and the low risk people feel they have of being caught, but one of the major factors seems to be organised criminal element, that drug users and others being persuaded by organised criminals to go in and steal large numbers of low value items which can be sold easily on the black market, things like chocolate bars, baby formula, things like that, and it seems to have been something thats just grown as a trend really quite quickly in a couple of years since the pandemic. What are retailers doing about it . They are working with police and something called Project Pegasus to share intelligence and put electronic tags on mundane things like eggs, butter and chocolate bars. ,. , ~ venice has become the first city in the world to introduce an entry ticket for people visiting for the day. Its hoped the five euro pass will help ease the pressures of mass tourism. Our correspondent mark lowen is in venice now to tell us more. Thanks very much, yes, hello from venice, gorgeous as ever, unique and creaking under the weight of mass tourism. Around 30 million visitors come to venice every year, about two thirds of them are day trippers all coming to the same sites at the same times, so this is one of the schemes to try to tackle that problem. A 5 euros entry fee that is going to be checked in places like this around the city centre. We are outside the Train Station here. You are exempt from the 5 euros if you are a resident, if you are staying overnight, a young person or a student, but you have to pay if you student, but you have to pay if yu pay, student, but you have to pay if you pay, the qr code is scanned around the city. The city Authorities Say its an experiment in place until the end ofjuly and they will see whether to extend in price and duration if it works. Critics say it will do nothing to address venices fundamental problems which is a dwindling local population and the rising sea levels from Climate Change. Other cities across the world, many of them in europe, also suffering from similar over Tourism Pressures will watch closely to see whether or not this does indeed work. Thanks, mark lowen in venice. It was a voyage like no other. A team of british sailors has made history by becoming the first all female crew to win an around the world yacht race. The Maiden Set Sail from the Isle Of Wight in september, and spent seven months at sea. After a nervous wait, they were awarded the gold for the race, and today theyve been talking about their victory. Ellie price reports. Even tower bridge looked like it was saluting them before they left last summer. Now, after 153 days and 28,500 nautical miles, maiden and her 12 woman crew have come home. Cheering. And they only went and did it the first time an all women crew have won a round the world yacht race and the skipper Heather Thomas did it all by navigating the Old Fashioned way, as race rules meant no modern technology was allowed. So you have a really in depth understanding of the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars and the weather around you, so its quite a pure way of sailing. The yacht took part in a parade of sail on saturday, so was joined by a flotilla of other boats to cheer her on, as she came into southampton. Maiden knew the routine well. She enjoyed the same homecoming way back in 1990, when she finished another round the world race. That time she was skippered by tracy edwards, the first time in all women crew had taken part in the challenge. People say, is it a bit weird not being on the boat . Its actually not, because i look at this amazing crew and i look at them sailing my boat and it feels very right, so the whole thing has just been amazing. Divided into four legs, the 14 yachts in this race stopped at cape town, auckland and punta del este, before heading back to the Isle Of Wight, and if that wasnt hard enough, maiden had just spent six years touring the world spreading the word about education for girls. Cheering. The duchess of york, sarah ferguson, has been involved in the maiden project for several decades too. It doesnt matter, no race, creed, colour or any denomination, nojudgement, we are united to make a planet better for the youth of today, and that is maiden. The yacht arrived back safely more than a week ago but because of the complicated Handicap System and waiting for other competitors to return, the Crew Onlyjust found out they had won. Im very happy, its all a bit surreal at the moment. Just coming off the boat with no technology to quite a lot of Media Attention is quite surreal. We hope that it will inspire the next generation of sailors but also the next generation of women to dream big and work hard to achieve those goals. So the celebrations wont be over any time soon. Ellie price, bbc news. Congratulations to them. That takes us to look at the weather prospects. Chris fawkes. Our weather is going