Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Ten 20170103

Britains most senior diplomat at the european union, sir ivan rogers, has resigned just months before he was due to play an Important Role in the complex negotiations on the uks exit from the eu. Sir ivan faced criticism last month when it emerged that hed warned the Prime Minister that securing a Post Brexit Trade Deal could take a decade. Tonight the bbc has obtained his Resignation Email to his staff in which he urged them to continue to speak truth to those in power and urged them to challenge muddled thinking about brexit. More on that in a moment but first heres our political correspondent, carole walker. Behind the darkened windows, at the Prime Ministers side, as she arrived at last months eu summit, sir ivan rogers tried to keep a low profile. But his warning that it could take the uk ten years to get a new eu trade deal overshadowed what was already a difficult occasion for theresa may. He was criticised for being too pessimistic, though Downing Street said he was just relaying the views of other eu members. Some whove worked with sir ivan believe his departure is a real loss to the government. The only way were going to deliver a successful, Workable Brexit is precisely with the expertise of people like ivan rogers, whos now been forced to the margins, forced to the sidelines, because of the angry Zeal Of Brexiteers Who just wont accept anyone who says anything different to what they so happen to believe in. Theresa may is losing a figure who knows the corridors of eu power better than most. He worked for a former british commissioner in brussels, David Cameron appointed him as ambassador to the eu in 2013 and he was a key member of the former Prime Ministers team as he tried to get agreement on a new relationship with the eu before the referendum. In an unusually outspoken tweet, the former top Civil Servant at the treasury, lord macpherson, said ivan rogers, huge loss, cant understand wilful and total destruction of eu expertise. But leading Brexit Campaigners are delighted hes gone. Sir ivan is part of the establishment that, frankly, havent accepted the Referendum Result and are hoping that, frankly, it will never happen. Im sorry to say, but the Foreign Office is stuffed full of these people, from top to bottom. For decades, theyve been taking britain in completely the wrong direction, and i hope sir ivans departure is followed by many, many more. Whilst Downing Street is determined to convey a positive brexit message, sources who know sir ivan well and know brussels well believe his warnings of the difficulties ahead were dismissed because they did not fit that narrative and they fear it will be difficult to find a replacement who knows enough about how europe works and is acceptable to ministers in london. And whoever takes over as the uk representative to the eu will play a critical role. Its important that we have someone in thejob, as sir ivan was doing, and no doubt his successor will do as well, who will report back to the british government, and through the government to parliament, about what the other Member States are saying and thinking. Because in a Negotiation It really pays to know where the other side is coming from. Theresa may has said shell trigger article 50 by the end of march and it wont be easy to get a new representative to the eu in place and ready for the start of those crucial brexit negotiations. Carole walker, bbc news, westminster. With me is our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. Youve obtained his Resignation Email to staff just how strong a parting shot is it and whos it aimed at . 0stensibly this is just an e mail to his staff in brussels but the target is clearly the government it does not take that much decoding. He says, i hope you will continue to challenge ill founded arguments and muddled thinking, that he will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power. I hope you will support each other in the difficult moments when you had to deliver m essa 9 es moments when you had to deliver messages that are disagreeable to those who need to hear them. The clear implication is that this is the experience he has had as ambassador in brussels sending m essa 9 es ambassador in brussels sending m essa g es to ambassador in brussels sending messages to london, that those m essa 9 es messages to london, that those messages have been falling to some in Downing Street on deaf ears and he is not being listened to. That is why we think he has resigned, because of this frustration that he has felt that he has been speaking what he considers to be truth of power. He is clear in his unhappiness but in this long e mail, four or five unhappiness but in this long e mail, four orfive pages longer unhappiness but in this long e mail, four or five pages longer he also makes clear his own unhappiness with other parts of the governments preparation for brexit, particularly in the says the structure of the Negotiating Team needs rapid resolution. He is critical of other pa rt resolution. He is critical of other part as well. This is a document that will become almost the set text of where britains ambassador sees oui of where britains ambassador sees our preparations for these extra merry negotiations that are about to happen and his own unhappiness and why he will not be part of it. Thank you. The independent Police Complaints commission, which is investigating the shooting of a man by armed officers on the m62 motorway, says a firearm was found in his car. Yassar yaqub, who was 28, was shot dead in what police have called a Pre Planned Operation at ainley top, just north of huddersfield. 0ur Correspondent Danny Savage has the details. His report contains flashing images. For much of the day, the cars involved in the incidents remained exactly where they stopped last night. The two dark coloured vehicles and the silver mercedes in front of them are Unmarked Police cars. The two white cars were the target of the operation. As police boxed them in and stopped, shots were fired. Bullet holes can be seen in the windscreen of a white audi. One man was killed and investigators tonight confirmed a non police issue firearm was found in the car he was in. Yassar yaqub was a 28 year old fatherfrom huddersfield. He was cleared of trying to shoot dead two people, eight years ago. 0ne friend on facebook wrote, you were no angel, but did not deserve this. The incident happened just outside huddersfield as the cars came off the M62 Atjunction 24. At around 6. 00pm, they drove on to this slip road and were hemmed in by police and brought to a stop. Shortly after that, shots were fired and yassar yaqub was killed. Three people were arrested at the scene. At the same time, in bradford, another vehicle was stopped as part of the same operation and two others arrested. As the Busy Motorwayjunction was closed down last night, many people were caught up in the chaos. There were these Rapid Response vehicles that kept pulling up, big large vehicles, then a couple of ambulances turned up. As soon as the ambulance pulled up, some of the policemen ran up and told the ambulance they had to get down, as quickly as possible, to where the incident had took place. It looked like somebody needed Urgent Medical help. At yassar yaqubs family home armed Police Arrived this afternoon making enquires. Friends and relatives who were visiting soon left. The operation related to information received about a criminal possession of a firearm and ive been fully updated by the chief constable. The incident is not terrorism related. Tonight, more than 2a hours after the shooting, the vehicles are finally being taken away for further examination. It includes the car mr yaqub was in and in which a gun was found. The independent Police Complaints commission is now overseeing the investigation. One of the questions theyll be asking is did mr yaqub pose an imminent threat to life . What they wont have are images from body cameras as Firearms Officers in West Yorkshire dont wear them. Danny savage, bbc news, huddersfield. The main suspect in the new year Terror Attack on a nightclub in istanbul which left 39 people dead is still on the run. Turkish police have detained more than a dozen people so far. 0ur turkey correspondent, mark lowen, has been allowed into the club where the massacre took place. Three days ago, this place was full of joy, of life, of celebration. Today, Reina Nightclub is a crime scene, scarred by terror. We were the only british media allowed in, briefly. A rare glimpse of where 39 people were killed on new years eve. Imagine the horror as 180 bullets were sprayed here. People jumping into the freezing bosphorus to escape. The owners of reina say they will re open the nightclub, its a sign of the defiant mood here. Yes, people are sombre, yes, theyre fearful, but turks have lived with a Terror Threat for decades, albeit on a smaller scale, and theyre determined not to let it defeat them. Watch the right hand side of this footage from the attack. A manjumps over a low fence outside the nightclub to avoid the bullets. Then the gunman runs up to the door, shooting his way into reina. That man on the right of the video was nightclub manager, ali unal, who had a miraculous escape. Translation i felt bullets explode next to me. I threw myself over the fence, but tripped and fell. The bullets went centimetres over my head. When i fell, he must have thought he had hit me, so he went inside and i heard the terrible sounds. The suspect still hasnt been caught, new pictures show him at a bus station in the central city of konya before travelling to istanbul. So called Islamic State called him their brave soldier. The turkish authorities have given no more information about him. Raids tonight in a part of istanbul from where hes thought to have travelled to the nightclub. No arrests were made. Security is being tiightened amid fears is could strike again here in revenge for turkeys operations against the group in syria. There have though been others detained, including two foreigners at istanbul airport. Its not clear what link if any theyre thought to have had with the attack. Those tired of terror went to the scene of the massacre today, a quiet commemoration. Tributes were laid and thoughts gathered about how their country can rebuild and how the next generation can regain a sense of safety. I dont want to cry any more while im watching the news, you know. It makes me really sad and i dont want my daughter to grow up in this kind of environment, you know, with this news in the background and everything. I want her to be happy. And so a nervous wait to see if those who protect this country are really closing in on the man who brought horror to new years eve. Mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul. The us President Elect, donald trump, had the american car industry in his sights today when he fired off the latest of his often controversial tweets. Mr trump criticised gm motors for importing one of its models of cars from mexico and threatened to impose a Big Border Tax on them. Just a few hours later, the Car Giant Ford then announced it was cancelling plans for a £1. 5 billion plant in mexico and said it would invest in the us instead. So, is mr trumps twitter strategy working . Heres our north america editor, jon sopel. Not yet the president but the new way of doing business is clear. If donald trump has something on his mind, you will read about it in a tweet or two. Today out of nowhere it was the executives of gm getting a kicking from the President Elect. That left the american Car Giant Scrambling for a response. The company pointed out that the model is actually made in a fire while the car is built in mexico cars built in mexico were for the Global Market but 4500 in mexico were for the Global Market but a500 had made their way to america dealerships. This is the issue that donald trump made his own in the campaign. We are living through the greatestjobs theft in the history of the world. Our through the greatestjobs theft in the history of the world. 0urjobs are going to mexico. And he is not giving up on it with no Us Corporation immune from the naming and shaming. And it seems to be yielding results. Today ford announced that it planned to do a 1. 6 billion plant in mexico was being shelved and instead an existing plant in michigan would be expanded, creating 700 newjobs. The ceo admitted that it was largely down to trumps policies. The announcement we are making today of 700 Million Investment here in michigan and adding 700 jobs, one of the factors we put into that was the more favourable us Business Environment that we seek under President Elect s trump. Environment that we seek under President Elect s trump. And bullying by tweet scored another victory as he rounded on republicans for wanting to strip congresss independent Ethics Committee of its powers. He went on social media to say. After this it tweet as House Republicans gathered, word came out they had abandoned their plan. Democrats warned this couldnt be presidency by tweet. The making America Great again requires more than 1a0 characters per issue. The with all due respect, America Cannot afford a twitter presidency. The republicans had wanted to show unity of purpose today, but at times looked more united with the democrats on the other side. With this pr disaster, they seem to have hit the ground stumbling. Jon joins me now from washington. It certainly shows the power of his tweets. Is that what were going to have to get used to . I think it is the new politics that we are in. If you are a politician, a diplomat, a businessman, a journalist, you have to start your day now, not with a cup of coffee, look at Donald Trumps twitter feed. If you look at what he said in the past few weeks, various Different Countries have beenin various Different Countries have been in the cross hairs. He has rewritten American Nuclear policy settled for a0 years. He has gone after individuals and gone after corporations. With the two exa m ples gone after corporations. With the two examples we have seen today there have been successes. He promised to drain the swamp, republicans look like they were going back on that. He whacked them one, they caved in. Likewise, ford announcing its moving its plant to michigan, not mexico. The so it used to be the case that with the president you would scratch your head and say i wonder what they really think. With donald trump you know exactly what he thinks. How seriously do we take it . There was a really good comment by someone, a journalist a little while back he said, the mistake the establishment makes is it takes donald trump literally, but not seriously. Whereas the public take him seriously, but not literally. I think that everyone has got a lot of learning to do in this new presidency. Jon sopel, in washington, thank you. Theres been more fighting in yemen, with 11 civilians, including five members of one family, reported to have been killed in clashes between pro Government Forces and rebels. The rebels are known as the houthi. Its believed theyre supported financially by iran. They managed to take over the capital, sanaa, in 201a. A coalition, led by saudi arabia, began an air campaign against them in march 2015. But the rebels still retain control of large parts of yemen and the front lines shift constantly. Nawal al maghafi has been to the country and reports on the danger for civilians caught in the middle. This is where the battle to retake the capital begins. The mountains ahead are all that stand between the army and the capture of sanaa. Their commander is taking us high up into the front line positions. He tells me the terrain makes it a naturalfortress for the Houthi Rebels and his men are always exposed to death. Its the first time any International Broadcaster has visited these areas. The army are just a0 miles from the capital. But the closer they push into the mountains, the harder the fight becomes. Translation every day we make some progress, we attack and we retake land. People are lost, but at least land is liberated. The rebels are retreating on a daily basis. But both sides have reached a stalemate. Despite arms and air support from the saudi led coalition, these fighters from the National Army havent made any major gains. And, as they fight for ground, the situation in yemen has deteriorated drastically. As the front lines shift, landmines have been left behind. The army say that the Houthi Rebels have planted Tens Of Thousands of them in both military and civilian areas. The scale of the problem makes yemen one of the worst affected countries in the world. Despite a lack of training, the army say theyve defused over 30,000 mines in the past year alone. The locals in this area say all their farmland was mined. This is one of the areas that the houthis had control of as they were trying to take over marib. The National Army and the people of marib then pushed them out. As they were doing so, the houthis planted landmines, scattered all over these fields. Sul and his family fled once the fighting started, they thought it was safe to return to their home. Translation my wife was praying here in the room and my son and daughter were sitting with her. They had lunch and my son asked my wife to pass him a blanket. As she pulled the blanket, there was a huge explosion. The mine planted in his home killed his wife, 22 year old son and eight year old daughter. It hurts to remember what happened, he says, we just want to forget. The houthis strongly deny the use of landmines in civilian areas. They say they only target military vehicles and accuse the coalition of planting their own mines. Regardless of whos responsible, the prospect for a lasting solution remains distant and the yemeni people, stuck in the middle, continue to pay the price. Nawal al maghafi, bbc news, yemen. A brief look at some of the days other news stories. A british soldier, who was killed in iraq yesterday, has been named as Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington of 2nd Battalion the duke of lancasters regiment. He died at camp taji, north of baghdad. Its understood that hed been shot after the accidental discharge of a weapon. An investigation is now underway. Tributes have been paid to a former chef from west sussex whos been killed fighting the Islamic State group in syria. Ryan lock, who was 20, had told his family he was going on holiday to turkey, but instead joined kurdish militia. He died during an assault on the city of raqqa in december. Some British Airways cabin crew are to stage a a8 hour strike starting on the 10th january. Members of the Unite Union Have rejected a new offer aimed at resolving a pay dispute. A previous walk out, planned for Christmas Day and boxing day, was called off after talks. Ba says it plans to ensure that all their customers can travel to their destinations. A court in france has given four chelsea fans suspended sentences for racially abusing a man on the paris metro in 2015. The four were also ordered to pay more than £8,000 in compensation to the black frenchman who was filmed being pushed off a train and subjected to chants. From paris, Lucy Williamson reports. A routine journey home, two years ago, that became a national scandal. Frenchman Souleymane Sylla pushed off his train three times that night by chelsea fans singing racist chants. Were chelsea, were racists and thats the way we like it. Translation because of them i had problems. Because of them i wasnt able to ride the subway. Because of them i almost got fired. Because of them i was held back in myjob and my future was changed. Avoiding the cameras at a paris court today, the two youngest accused Joshua Parsons and James Fairburn denied their actions that night had been racist. Another two men, including a 52 year old former police officer, were tried in absentia. The panel ofjudges found all four defendants guilty of violence, aggravated by racism, handing down suspended sentences of between six and 12 months and awarding £8,000 of damages. Translation my client was found guilty because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The court did not take into account individual responsibility. This is a misunderstanding and i think this decision is a warning for chelsea supporters. It tookjust a few hours forjudges to find the four men guilty, three have already been banned from matches in britain. French football has had its own taint of racism in recent years, but this episode, randomly caught on camera, has also tarnished the image of british football in france. Lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. A Government Initiative on Starter Homes for First Time Buyers in england is due to get underway this year. But the Housing Backlog is so big that it could take decades to resolve it. The roots of todays Housing Crisis in britain are often traced back to the sell off of the Nations Council houses. Back in 1981, almost a third of english households were Council Homes. Today, that number has dropped to less than one in ten. As our correspondent jeremy cooke reports. Brick by brick. New homes for Housing Crisis britain, and not just any new houses, these are Council Houses. Theyre a rare sight, but this is birmingham, where theyve built more Council Houses in the past seven years than any other local authority on a mission to tackle a Housing Waiting List that stands at 18,000 people. The 0smonds have been in their flat for eight years, but the family has long outgrown the space available. If we want to play, we have to just like play there for 10 minutes because we dont have enough space. Now, theyve heard its their time to move into one of birminghams new Council Homes. Weve been trying and trying and trying to get a house. We never expected to get a new house. Cambridge is one of a handful of local authorities whove just qualified for government money to Start Building Council Houses, but there are warnings that it will take 20 years to fix a problem thats already been around for decades. The fundamental problem is that government stops us doing what we need to do. The total value of all of our housing is £1. 5 billion, if they just gave us the freedom to borrow against that, we could build 10,000 homes over the next 20 30 years. The government insists that the number of Council Houses being built today is at its highest rate since 1996 and that there are billions of pounds available to fund them. But the numbers are creeping back from an all time low in 200a, when the uk Builtjust 130 Council Homes. Hard to believe that in 1953, that number was a high of 2a5,000. Homes for the baby boomers and beyond. News reel archive even by present standards, these houses are almost luxurious. The dinette has a Serving Hatch to the kitchen. Today, it all looks very different. Ageing tower blocks, once the future, are being torn down, clearing the way for a new approach to modern, social housing. These are completed 7 they are completed. There are People Living in these already . New Council Houses and new houses for sale. Now, in birmingham, its Back To The Future new homes by any means necessary. Were also bringing empty properties back into use in the city and were also, where necessary, using compulsory purchase orders. So were using all the tool kit, really. But when Council Homes are built, they do change lives. The 0smonds get a first look at their house and, for the kids, theirfirst garden. Yeah but for most of the la million on englands Council House waiting lists, this is still a distant dream. Jeremy cooke, bbc news, birmingham. Its one of scotlands most Beautiful Mountain ranges, but a couple from leicestershire, who disappeared after setting off with their dog on a new years day walk in the cairngorms, have been speaking of their lucky escape. Bob and cathy elmer, both experienced hill walkers, were caught out after miscalculating the length of their walk. They were forced to spend the night in a white out after the cloud suddenly closed in and it began snowing. 0ur scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, has the story. The brutal conditions of a scottish winter. Out on the hills 50 mph winds, freezing temperatures and deep snow. Im not cold, to be honest. Bob and cathy elmer had become disorientated in the appalling weather and had realised their only option was to hunker down when their torch failed. Their footprints and those of their dog, spotted from a helicopter, helped narrow the search. The guys in pretty good nick. Then this, the moment a Mountain Rescue Team found them and then guided them to safety. The snow was, at times, up to our waist. We eventually got out onto the plateau with the intention of trying to find the summit of cairngorm, and then my head lamp gave up, so we decided that we couldnt go on any further because we didnt know really where we were going. You couldnt see a hand in front of your face, so we decided to get the Survival Bags out and get down for the night in them. It was a move rescuers believed saved their lives and that of their dog, meg, who had her own separate survival bag. Conditions were arctic and in the area they were, you know, no matter which way they walked, there was steep ground there and in the dark, with one head torch and disorientated, it would have been so easy to take a very, very serious tumble. This is one of scotlandss highest mountains and conditions further up towards the summit can close in quickly, catching out even the most experienced of climbers. And the couples close call underlines just how dangerous Winter Walking can be. We survived. Its like they say, if we hadnt had the right equipment, we wouldnt be here. It is a grim place up there in the wintertime, especially when the conditions change. And, you know, if youre not prepared for it, you can seriously run into some serious situations. Safely down, but not put off and determined to return to the mountains one day. But not that mountain not that walk but well be back. Well definitely be back, but well probably be a little bit more careful next time. Willies a very careful driver, hell look after you. Keen, but certainly more cautious after their new years day walk ended with the dramatic rescue. Lorna gordon, bbc news, cairngorm mountain. Newsnight is coming up on bbc two. Heres evan