Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC Newsroom Live 20171005 : compare

over the right to chose when to end his life. also this hour — sales of new cars have declined for the sixth month in a row. just over 400,000 new vehicles were registered in september — down more than 9% from last year. and the home nation fortunes hang in the balance — as england, scotland and northern ireland prepare for world cup qualifiers tonight. good morning. it's thursday 5th october. i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc newsroom live. we begin with breaking news, police have said former prime minister sir edward heath would have been questioned about allegations of child sexual abuse by seven people had he still been alive. wiltshire police, which has led a two—year £i.5 police, which has led a two—year £1.5 million inquiry into the late tory leader, has today published a report detailing its findings. it's a news conference in swindon isjust beginning, let's go to swindon and the wiltshire police news conference. wiltshire police on behalf of the national police chief ‘s council took on this investigation knowing that due to the public prominence of sir edward heath both during his life and after his death there would bea life and after his death there would be a significant public interest, comment, and intense scrutiny. i recognise that operation conifer had the potential to damage confidence in wiltshire police, a force i am proud of and which has a commendable and strong reputation. this damage, i believed, would be due to the views held by some that investigating allegations concerning deceased individuals. some may have challenges around the costs associated with complex investigations at a time of budget cuts, and perhaps some who have intransigent opinions and will a lwa ys intransigent opinions and will always defend the conduct and behaviour of others, whatever the voracity of those allegations. mindful of this i have ensured this investigation has been conducted fairly, has been conducted objectively, and with respect and without fear or favour. we objectively, and with respect and without fear orfavour. we have objectively, and with respect and without fear or favour. we have gone where the evidence has taken us, whether it supports or negates the allegations. most importantly, the report does not draw any conclusions as to the likely guilt or innocence of sir edward heath. 0r make any comment on the action the crown prosecution service may have taken if he was alive today. i have had absolute, so —— confidence in the 0peration conifer investigation team, knowing that they would conduct a high—quality and ethical investigation, where fairness, proportionality, and integrity has remained at its core throughout. every single decision, every element of this investigation followed the guidance from 0peration hydrant, which is the national police chiefs coordination hub for child sexual abuse. at no stage has there been any deviation from current advice, guidance, or legislation. 0peration hydrant‘s advice is compelling, legal and proportionate. there is an obligation to conduct an investigation into allegations to establish the fact that the case, to identify offenders, whether deceased oi’ identify offenders, whether deceased or alive, and bring any living offenders to justice. most importantly, and most obviously, there is a duty to protect and safeguard children and adults who may be vulnerable to abuse today. i would ask others to be mindful that when investigators receive these allegations of child sexual abuse, the investigation team did not know what it did not know. it did not know the circumstances, it did not know the circumstances, it did not know the circumstances, it did not know the voracity, the risks, the implications or other vulnerability factors until a proportionate, professional and objective investigation was conducted it would be impossible to identify and safeguard children and other vulnerable adults who may be at risk today. the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable people will continue to be our primary reason for conducting this investigation, and my team has not been diverted from this legal and professional responsibility. children or adults who allege they are being abused, or have been abused, must have the trust and confidence in the police. they deserve to be listened to, they deserve to know they will be taken seriously. they deserve to know the police will support them, and they deserve to know their anonymity will be preserved. that is what i said we will do, that is what we have done, and that is what we will continue to do without fear or favour. there have been many views expressed as to whether the police should investigate alleged offences committed by deceased people. notwithstanding the guidance, i believe this was the right thing to do. it was the right moral, ethical, and professional thing to do, but i appreciate that every case needs to bejudged on its own merits. i am satisfied, satisfied there were compelling and obvious reasons to investigate allegations made against sir edward heath. as i have said, sir edward heath. as i have said, sir edward heath was an extremely prominent, influentialand high—profile person who was arguably one of the most powerful people in the world commensurate with the public office and political office he held. the allegations against him we re he held. the allegations against him were of the utmost seriousness, and from a significant number of people. i hope people will understand that, given the circumstances, it would be an indefensible dereliction of a chief constable‘s duty not to have investigated the allegations against a former prime minister, even though he is deceased. i have made it clear from the outset that, at the end of this investigation, in line with our intention to be as transparent and as open as possible, we would publish a summary report and that is what we have done today. the publication of this report is also in line with advice issued by 0peration hydrant. the report has been scrutinised by a number of stakeholders and contributors to ensure complete balance, complete accuracy, and measure, and only makes findings that can legitimately and realistically be made. the report provides a factual account of the context for this investigation. what the investigation focused upon, and how the investigation was conducted. 0peration conifer, by its very nature, was complex, politically sensitive, and unique. due to these unprecedented circumstances, i have sought advice, council, and support through this investigation from a number of people. that confidentiality between me and those individuals will remain intact. the role of the police service is very clear in the criminal justice service is very clear in the criminaljustice process. the police have a duty to investigate and go where the evidence takes us. it is not our role to prove the innocence oi’ not our role to prove the innocence or guilt, but to simply present the fa cts . or guilt, but to simply present the facts. therefore this report does not apportion guilt, it does not suggest or conclude guilt, and no inference should be taken from the investigative decisions or conclusions being made by the police. extreme caution has been given so that no assumptions, no assumptions are publicly drawn about prudence or untruths. the presumption of innocence is enshrined in our law and it is the cornerstone of a just and fair judicial process. despite misleading and inaccurate commentary, nobody from this investigation team, or i, have made any public or private comment or inference as to the hypothetical outcome of the judicial process if sir edward heath were alive. any such comments or hypotheses would be floored by their very nature. they are misleading, and they distort the criminal justice process. wiltshire police has and will continue to do all that we are able to protect the anonymity of those people who have come forward. this report will therefore not identify the details of any people who have made disclosures of sexual abuse. i understand that there is an insatiable appetite by some to identify the victims. i will do everything in my power to prevent this from happening, and i would urge all of you here present today to respect what i am saying about anonymity. in order that this investigation has remained ethical, justified and proportionate, and independent scrutiny panel was established to check and challenge the investigation. the panel members we re the investigation. the panel members were given responsibility to examine and attest to the decision—making and attest to the decision—making and approach by the investigation team. the panel has been provided with detailed briefings, materials and, more recently, full access to the published report. this scrutiny has proved invaluable and enabled 0peration conifer to remain firmly allied to the legislation and to the objectives of this investigation. i would like to thank the members of the panel for their time, for their expertise, there challenge and their support to this investigation. in addition to the independent scrutiny panel, 0peration hydrant was asked to conduct two reviews of the investigation itself. both reviews of the investigation concluded that it was proportionate, it was justified, and it was in compliance with the legislation and governance. further scrutiny has taken place during the course of this investigation with a value for money review by her majesty's inspectorate of constabulary, which was considered by the home office further to application of central funding. this review concluded that the resources deployed on this investigation had been proportionate and reasonable, and commensurate with the scale of the investigation. they make particular reference to the stronger governments, the strict financial controls, and the staffing levels, which were kept to a minimum with low associated costs. in total, 24 with low associated costs. in total, 2a people have worked on operation conifer at varying points in the last two years. the cost of the investigation is £i.5 last two years. the cost of the investigation is £1.5 million. the home secretary has recently approved the home office funding of £1.1 million to take into account that this was a national operation, in national investigation, and it was carried out on behalf of the national police chiefs council and commissioned by 0peration hydrant. this decision made by the home secretary i believe undermines the prime minister's personal commitment to addressing child abuse that has gonein to addressing child abuse that has gone in the past, as mrs may said last week it has tended to be sidelined. during the last two years there has been much commentary in relation to the potential for a judge lead with youth 0peration conifer. at this time i have heard no compelling reasons for such a review, and therefore i am not persuaded to follow this course of action. as i have said, i am clear that it action. as i have said, i am clear thatitis action. as i have said, i am clear that it is not the role of police to judge the guilt or innocence of people and it is obvious at the end of this investigation concerning a deceased suspect there is no potential for a deceased suspect there is no potentialfor a criminal deceased suspect there is no potential for a criminal trial. most of the elements of the criminal justice process are absent. it is my view the suggestion that a retired judge or otherjudicial appointment could legitimately pronounce the guilt or innocence of sir edward heath is ill—conceived. i believe this would provide value for money oi’ this would provide value for money or indeed a legitimate outcome of the guilt or of sir edward heath. —— guilt or innocence of sir edward heath. throughout the investigation i have been clear wiltshire police will be as open and transparent as possible in line with our requirement from the police to remain accountable to the public. it is only right when an investigation with such significance is conducted people bite me who make these decisions should be held to account. —— people like me. the public should be able to judge the leadership of such hope profile investigations based upon the merit of the investigation that has taken place, not misleading speculation, rumour and inaccurate conjecture. the publication of the summary closure report today provides the openness, transparency, and provides the public accountability that i said there would be, and the report author has complied fully with 0peration hydra nt‘s advice author has complied fully with 0peration hydrant‘s advice on publication. it will now be a matter for others to evaluate and decide what steps should be taken in relation to the operation conifer findings. i recognise that this investigation, the findings, and the summary closure report may raise further questions. but i also believe it signals a watershed moment for people and victims who have suggested or implied there have been a state cover—up for some seniorfigures who may been a state cover—up for some senior figures who may have been a state cover—up for some seniorfigures who may have been involved in child sexual abuse. as many people will know, ipsa, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, was set up in march 2015 by the then home secretary, now prime minister theresa may. the inquiry was clearfrom prime minister theresa may. the inquiry was clear from the outset that it was required to identify the extent to which state or non—state institutions have failed in their duty of care to protect children from child sexual abuse. i acknowledge the terms of reference currently published on the website regarding allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by people of public prominence associated with westminster. i particularly welcome their focus on allegations of institutional cover—up and conspiracy, and they will review the inadequacies of law enforcement responses to the allegations. in light of this, i believe the legitimacy, legality, and obvious public interest in this investigation is more relevant and crucial today than ever before. the public interest in this case is clear and unequivocal. the statutory responsibility as the chief co nsta ble to responsibility as the chief constable to have conducted this investigation without fear, without favour, i trust, investigation without fear, without favour, itrust, is now investigation without fear, without favour, i trust, is now obvious to all. thank you, chief constable. good morning, ladies and gentlemen. as mr veal has set out, i have been the police gold commander for operation conifer and have set the strategic direction and oversight for the investigation. on a daily basis, the investigation. on a daily basis, the investigation has been led by the senior investigating officer, detective superintendent steve kirby, and his team. my purpose todayis kirby, and his team. my purpose today is to outline the key elements that relate to the investigation. these are contained within the summary closure report. accordingly, i will look to set out how the investigation commenced, the policing the duty to undertake an investigation in the case of a deceased person, the allegations that have been received, and how these have been investigated, and finally the investigative findings. for those not familiar with the background to the operation conifer investigation, it commenced in august 2015 further to a press statement released by the independent police complaints commission that announced that they we re commission that announced that they were investigating the way that wiltshire police had allegedly dealt with a court case in 1994. in the press release, the ipcc outlined that its investigation was directly linked to how wiltshire police had dealt with information concerning an allegation that sir edward heath may have been involved in the child—abuse related offences. the ipcc press statement released into the public domain for the first time the public domain for the first time the existence of a allegation relating to sir edward heath. not in the public domain at that time was that four other police forces were also in the early stages of either scooping or undertaking investigations relating to further allegations that had been made against sir edward heath. set against sir edward heath. set against this context, wiltshire police made the decision to make a public appeal on the same day as the ipcc for anyone with information concerning sir edward heath to come forward. in the following two weeks, 118 people contacted wiltshire police, other police forces, other agencies, providing information in response to that media appeal. by the end of august 2015, 23 separate evicting disclosures had been made against sir edward heath, spanning off ending locations covering 11 different police forces. due to the extent and range of information received, a decision was made nationally by the police service that are consistent coordinated response was required to investigate the allegations that had been made. asa the allegations that had been made. as a result, wiltshire police were appointed to take the national investigative lead in relation to all existing and any new allegations made against sir edward heath and the operation conifer investigation was commenced. during the course of the operation conifer investigation, there has been an ongoing commentary in the media concerning the rationale for undertaking an investigation into a deceased person. accordingly, this is an important question to address. as the chief constable touched upon, the chief constable touched upon, the college of policing issued advice to all police forces in 2015 on this issue. the advice sets out that there is a legal duty under article three of the european convention on human rights for police forces to proportionately investigate criminal allegations made against deceased at persons. the advice states that the close of the alleged suspect is to the state and the more serious the allegations made against them, the greater the duty to investigate is. in the case of sir edward heath, due to his public prominence and the office that he held as prime minister, this was particularly relevant in relation to the decision to investigate the allegations made against him. the operation conifer investigation has followed college of policing advice relating to the purpose of the investigation into a deceased person and throughout have focused on the following four key strategic objectives. firstly, identifying and safeguarding children and vulnerable adults who may be at risk of abuse today. secondly, seeking to establish the facts concerning allegations of child abuse made against sir edward heath through an objective and proportionate investigation. thirdly, identifying and, where possible, bringing tojustice any living person who may have committed criminal offences relating to child abuse or associated cover—up. fourthly, and importantly, attempting to provide public confidence in the police response to allegations that were made. throughout the investigation, the starting point has always been to consider any current safeguarding issues and whether or not there were allegations made against suspects who are still living. the fact sir edward heath died in 2005 ensured this remained a realistic possibility and such risk may be present. i now turn to the allegations made against sir edward heath. during the course of the two—year investigation, operation conifer received victim disclosures relating to 42 reported individuals. each disclosure alleged criminal offe nces each disclosure alleged criminal offences had ta ken each disclosure alleged criminal offences had taken place where sir edward heath was the named perpetrator. the disclosures were made either directly by the victim, anonymously, or by a third party either on behalf of the victim or without their knowledge. the disclosures made ultimately covered 14 different police force areas in the united kingdom and channel islands. nine disclosures were made prior to the ipcc and wiltshire police press releases in august 2000 and 15. the remaining 33 disclosures we re and 15. the remaining 33 disclosures were received during the course of the two—year operation conifer investigation. 34 of the disclosures we re investigation. 34 of the disclosures were made directly to police forces whilst seven were made to the nspcc and one was made to the independent inquiry into child abuse. during the investigation, it became apparent that one person had made three separate disclosures to the operation conifer investigation where they had purported to be three different individuals. accordingly, the actual number of distinct people who made disclosures was concluded to be 40, not 42. the disclosures and the offensive is from 1956 to 1992, and each was alleged to have occurred while sir edward heath was a publicly elected member of parliament. two of the offences were alleged to have taken place during that time period 1970 to 1974, when he served as the prime minister. the disclosures made against sir edward heath related to offences of child sexual abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse involving an adult. the level of seriousness of the child sexual abuse disclosures made included allegations of offences of rape and indecent assault against children. i now turn to the investigative response. for each of the 42 disclosures alleged against sir edward heath, a proportionate investigation has been undertaken. this has been regardless of whether the disclosures were received by a direct report, through a third party, or anonymously. the policing purpose in any investigation is to objectively gather facts and go where the evidence takes us, and the approach adopted during the operation conifer investigation was no different. the starting point for each disclosure was to attempt to obtain an account from the victim who had alleged abuse against sir edward heath. in 24 cases, the investigation was able to obtain a direct account from the victim. in these cases a victim care plan was put in place which was tailored to each person's individual needs. in the case of the other 18 disclosures, due to the fact that they had been made by a third—party anonymously or the victim declined to engage further with the investigation, it was not possible to gaina investigation, it was not possible to gain a direct or detailed account. regardless of whether or not a direct victim account could be obtained, the initial approach of the investigation was to consider whether or not there was any living alleged offenders or wider safeguarding considerations. once these considerations had been addressed, the focus of the investigation was to objectively and proportionately gather any available corporative evidence. in addition, the investigation considered if there was any apparent identifiable evidential inconsistencies relating to the victim disclosure made. throughout the investigation there was an attempt to ensure all inquiries were proportionate, recognising that sir edward heath was deceased and there was no prospect of an evidential file being prepared for the crown prosecution service. as part of this approach, and investigative proportionality matrix was developed to assist decision—making, and this led to a numberof decision—making, and this led to a number of potential lines of inquiry not being progressed as they were considered disproportionate. this is in contrast to the additional reasonable lines of inquiry that would have been pursued had to sir edward heath been alive today. the fa ct edward heath been alive today. the fact the allegations span four decades meant that many of the investigative opportunities that would be available in a criminal investigation today were not available. additionally, the passage of time between the date of the alleged offending and subsequent report to the police meant that in certain instances people's recollections had deteriorated over time and potentially relevant documentary records had been routinely and lawfully destroyed. the investigation team therefore had to focus on available evidential opportunities, which included interviewing individuals who knew sir edward heath, reviewing physical records, and identifying independent witnesses. during the course of the investigation, 1580 investigative lines of inquiry were generated. 1062 officers' lines of inquiry were generated. 1062 office rs' reports lines of inquiry were generated. 1062 officers' reports were completed, and 284 statements were taken or reviewed. in addition to focusing on the availability of evidence to corroborate disclosures that were made, the investigation also undertook wider proportionate inquiries. these included but were not limited to speaking to the following, close protection officers who provide protection to sir edward heath, government drivers who had driven him, members of his private office and personal staff who had provided support to him, other police forces and law enforcement agencies to establish if they held any relevant information, inquiries with government departments to establish if they held any records, and a proportionate review of a small number of sir edward heath's private papers held at the bodleian library is was undertaken. at the end of the investigative process, detective superintendent kirby has considered the evidence gathered in the investigation and concluded a finding in relation to each disclosure made. ijust want i just want to touch ijust want to touch upon the opening comments made by the chief constable concerning the role of the police in a criminal investigation. mr vaol purposefully set out the role of the police is to investigate the facts and follow the available evidence. it is not for the police to make comment on the issue of innocence or guilt and to do so would significa ntly innocence or guilt and to do so would significantly go beyond the policing role and purpose. mr veal touched on the fact that the presumption of innocence until prove n presumption of innocence until proven guilty is enshrined in our legal system and it is a cornerstone ofa legal system and it is a cornerstone of a just and fair society. these factors are critical to the investigation into sir edward heath who as a deceased person has not had the opportunity to be interviewed by the opportunity to be interviewed by the police and to respond to the criminal allegation made against him. secondly, it is national policy that the crown prosecution service will not make a decision as to whether or not the fresh hold whether or not the fresh hold whether charges are reached in the case where the suspect is deceased. finally only a criminal court can make findings in relation to a person charged with offences is guilt crisis or not guilty of offe nces guilt crisis or not guilty of offences alleged against them. for each of these reasons the operation conifer summary closure report does not make any conclusions in respect to sir edward heath's guilt or otherwise. the national operation hydrant advice concerning the publications of findings does however leave it open to the police to conclude if the suspect had been a life, whether or not they would have been interviewed under caution in orderto have been interviewed under caution in order to establish an account. we have adopted this advice. as it appropriately reflects the policing role in an investigation and it transparently allows victims who have made disclosures to understand what the next policing step would have been if sir edward heath had been alive today. the operation conifer operation investigation developed a categorisation approach to conclude the outcome for each individual disclosure made. a decision as to whether the victim disclosure was car gorised to sit within that investigation. to ensure a consistent approach, an independent panel of relevant senior investigating officers from outside of wiltshire police was also commissioned to review the conclusions reached on the categorization of victim chris disclosures. in the case of seven individual disclosures if sir edward heath what been alive today, it has been concluded he would have been interviewed under caution in order to obtain his account in relation to the allegations made against him. it is important to state that if the case of one of these disclosures, the investigation has gathered information that potentially undermines the victim's account. the offe nces undermines the victim's account. the offences were he would have been interviewed under caution are, one allegation of rape of a male under 16. three allegations of indecent assault on a male under 16. four allegations of indecent assault on a male under 14. and two allegations of indecent assault on a male over 16. the purpose of interviewing sir edward heath under caution would have been to obtain his account in relation to the allegations that haven't made against him. it is clearly inappropriate to speculate what his response would have been to the allegations put to him and no inference of guilt should be drawn by the decision to interview him. his account would have been as important as other information and evidence gathered as part of the wider investigation and would have informed the next stages of the investigative strategy. it is important to further state that none of the victim disclosures in this category relate to the time when he was the serving prime minister. in the case of 19 individual disclosures, it has been concluded there is undermining information available such, the threshold to interview under caution would not be met. in relation to these disclosures, it has been concluded that either the aagaininged abuse could not have taken place in the mannerand could not have taken place in the manner and the circumstances that we re manner and the circumstances that were reported and or, there is information available at the conclusion of the investigation that impacts upon the credibility of the person making the disclosure. in these cases, the extent and type of undermining information was specific to each individual disclosure investigated. in certain instances, the level of undermining evidence was significant. in others, it was less so. some of the factors taken into account when considering the disclosures included whether the account could have physically taken place as reported, whether there we re place as reported, whether there were inconsistencies in relation to the timing or location of the alleged offending. whether there was the existence of third party material that contradicted the account given and whether there was available witness evidence that contradicted the disclosure made by the victim. in the case of two people who fell within this category, the senior investigating officer has concluded that there is reason to suspect that the individuals may have attempted to intentionally mislead the police by alleging that they were abused by sir edward heath. in the case of one of these disclosures, a live criminal investigation remains ongoing. in the case of the other, a criminal investigation was under taken and an individual was formally cautioned for an offence of wasting police time. in relation to the other disclosure made to operation conifer, in the case of three disclosures, the person reporting alleged abuse has subsequently concluded that they were genuinely mistaken in naming sir edward heath as the perpetrator. in the case of ten disclosures, the alleged abuse was reported by a third party, and in the case of another three, the victim reported the alleged abuse anonymously. in the case of these respective disclosures, no findings have been concluded. additionally, during the course of the operation conifer investigation, three people we re conifer investigation, three people were arrested in relation to owe tenses concerning alleged non recent child abuse. two were later released without charge and the third remains under investigation. the relevant allegations were disclosed salt. operation conifer investigation, but the subsequent investigation confirmed that they were not directly related to sir edward heath. so in conclusion, firstly as the operation conifer commander, i am satisfied that on behalf of the 14 police forces concerned, a proportionate investigation has been undertaken in line proportionate investigation has been under taken in line with national guidance into the allegations made against sir edward heath. secondly, i am satisfied that each of the strategic rail authority tee jibbing objectives set at the start of the investigation has been completed. i now return to the chief constable for his closing remarks. let me finish by saying this. firstly, i want to send a specific message to those who have come forward as part of this investigation. i know it takes bravery, and i know it takes courage to do so. i hope that you feel as though we have listened to you. we have taken you seriously, we have supported you, we have protected you, and that you have been treated with dignity and respect. people who are victims of abuse in the past, now, or in the future should be reassured. reassured by the way that wiltshire police has listened to victims and survivors, and reassured that no matter who, the alleged perpetrator of abuse is, we will ta ke perpetrator of abuse is, we will take your allegations seriously. we will investigate no matter how difficult that maybe. that said, i will remind you again that this investigation has drawn no inference about sir edward heath's guilt or innocence in this case. 0peration conifer has now come to an end and the terms of reference are clear. this watershed moment regarding investigations of people connected to the establishment should not be under estimated. when the prime minister was the home secretary, she said in parliament, "we have to send a very clear message to everyone involved in child protection and there can be no excuse for failing to protect them for failing to bring pre—budget report tators to justice." finally, iwould pre—budget report tators to justice." finally, i would like to recognise and thank the operation conifer investigation team. the scrutiny panel believes that this investigation was fair, was sensitive, and was rigorous. this applies to complainants and suspects, including sir edward heath. i am suspects, including sir edward heath. iam proud suspects, including sir edward heath. i am proud of the team's compassion and sensitivity towards victims and survivors throughout this investigation. the team have conducted themselves with diligence and expertise. their values has enabled this investigation to be concluded and completed to the letter of the national police chiefs guidance. they have not buckled under the pressure of relentless external speculation and criticism. they have never lost sight of the need to fulfil the principles of this investigation. they have maintained the highest standards of professionalism in the face of persistent negative commentary to ensure that this investigation has not been hijacked and has not been derailed. for that, and for their commitment, and for their dedication for carrying out their roles without fear or favour, they should for carrying out their roles without fear orfavour, they should be commended and i thank every single one of them for their service. thank you. studio: it sounds as though any questions will be taken in a few minutes. that was the chief co nsta ble of minutes. that was the chief constable of wiltshire police, and assista nt constable of wiltshire police, and assistant chief constable paul mills who directly led the investigation into the allegations of child abuse levelled against the former prime minister, sir ted heath, levelled against the former prime minister, sirted heath, 0peration conifer. he took people through the scale of the investigation, the detail of the investigation and the chief constable mike veal went into some detail as to the rational of the investigation. he said he was satisfied that there were compelling reasons to investigate. so, it's worth perhaps going through the main findings of this investigation for you in summary and police have said that the former prime minister, sir ted heath, would have been questioned about allegations of child sexual abuse, made by seven people had he still been alive. wiltshire police, who have led this two year inquiry into the late tory leader, havejust two year inquiry into the late tory leader, have just published as you have seen, that report detailing the findings of the investigation. the 109 page summary reports says that 0peration conifer received disclosures over a two year period relating to 42 purported individuals, where it was alleged directly or through a third party report that they had been a victim of alleged criminal offences where sir ted heath the name perpetrator. the force says that its investigative conclusion is that the 42 disclosures relate to a total of 40 individuals. they say the allegations span 14 uk police forces. and the date range of the allegations is from 1956 through until 1992. the allegations include rape, and indecent assault. and the report goes on to say that 1580 lines of inquiry were generated and three people unconnected to sir ted heath we re people unconnected to sir ted heath were arrested for offences related to child abuse, one of whom is still being investigated. the police said it is critical to stress that no inference should be drawn from the fa ct inference should be drawn from the fact that sir ted heath would have been interviewed under caution. former colleagues of sir edward said that the police report was u nsatisfa ctory that the police report was unsatisfactory because it neither justified or disspelled the cloud of suspicion. they are calling for an independent review by a retired judge. well, chief constable mike veal went into some detail in the news co nfe re nce veal went into some detail in the news conference about the reasons for carrying out the investigation. he said there had been persistent negative comments during the investigation, including the rationalfor an investigation, including the rational for an investigating a deceased person, questions about the costs of this investigation at a time of budget cuts. but he said that the public interest was clear and unequivocal and the head of 0peration conifer, assistant chief co nsta ble 0peration conifer, assistant chief constable paul mills said that the couege constable paul mills said that the college of police states that the legal duty to investigate cases such as these under article 3 of european human rights laws says that where the closer the person is to the state, the greater the duty to investigate. so they were at pains really to explain why they had carried out this investigation. but not everyone is happy with it. earlier sir ted heath's godson, we will be hearing from him again, he told the victoria derbyshire programme that the investigation was vindictive. it seems to have begun with a conclusion it wanted to reach. so it has behaved in a way that would enable that to happen. so i don't think it begun with the police saying, "let's see what we find." it began with the police saying, "this is what we want to find and we will do our damndest to make sure we get there." why do you think that? because all the evidence points that way and even the remarks... have you seen all the evidence? no, i haven't seen all the evidence. i'm really talking about the evidence of how the police have behaved. in particular, dropping remarks very publicly about the chief constable's view of heath's guilt. it's known that it was said toa group guilt. it's known that it was said to a group of mps who he briefed that on a scale of one to ten, he reckoned heath scored eight out of ten in terms of being guilty. well, you can't do that when you're leading an investigation. you're effectively judging the man leading an investigation. you're effectivelyjudging the man and convicting him. the godson of sir ted heath speaking earlier before that news conference from wiltshire police, the chief constable saying that the force is not drawing any conclusions as to the guilt or innocence of sir ted heath. we are going to have more on that developing story for you throughout bbc newsroom live. let's move on to the day's other main news. senior ministers have been rallying behind theresa may after her speech at the conservative party conference was overshadowed by a series of mishaps. however, the bbc has learned the prime minister's performance has caused unease among some mps who are considering asking her to resign. 0ur political correspondent eleanor garnier reports. a clear of the throat before what was meant to be theresa may's comeback and the start of the conservatives' revival, but it soon became clear this would be a speech remembered not for its words, but for its interruptions. first, a prankster who managed to make it to the podium... boris, job done there, given her the p45. and hand mrs may a fake p45 redundancy notice. but as she tried to press on, to make the case for markets, new plans for housing and capping energy bills, her voice began to falter. what were meant to be bold statements were repeatedly choked by coughs. cabinet ministers rose to their feet for ovations to give the prime minister time to recover, and the chancellor even tried to help with a cough sweet. i hope you noticed that, ladies and gentlemen, the chancellor giving something away free. laughter. as if a prank and a terrible cough weren't enough, the party's slogan then literally fell apart as she spoke. but with determination, she ground on. let us to fulfil our duty to the british people, let us fulfil our duty to our country. let us fulfil our duty to britain and let us renew the british dream. thank you. applause. cabinet colleagues gave loyal support and praised her resilience. i think it was really ambitious, some clear proposals for reforms, ambitious on housing, which i think is what we all know needs to be addressed. it was a brilliant speech and i think the most important thing is that she set out her vision as to how to renew the british dream. a hug from her husband, not perhaps in celebration but, instead, of comfort. theresa may eventually found what she needed to soothe her sore throat as she tried to make light of what had been a terrible, terrible day. the girlfriend of stephen paddock — the man who killed 58 people in las vegas — says she had no idea he was planning the attack. marilou danley — who was in the philippines at the time of the shootings — was questioned by the fbi when she returned to the united states yesterday. laura bicker reports from las vegas. police believe stephen paddock had help getting hold of his arsenal of weapons. he legally bought some of his 47 guns here at a shop just outside of las vegas. he owned dozens of semi—automatic weapons which he modified to turn into machine—guns. officers are also trying to work out how he moved all of his guns unnoticed into a hotel room on the 32nd floor. from here, he waited until the concert ground was full of thousands of people and then he started firing. screaming and gunfire. what we know is that stephen paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood. stephen paddock‘s girlfriend, marilou danley, has been questioned by the fbi. she flew back from her family home in the philippines after hearing about the shooting. she said the 64—year—old paid for her to go and she thought he was breaking up with her. her sisters in australia said she knew nothing about stephen paddock‘s plans. she was sent away. she was sent away so that she will be not there to interfere. as las vegas continues to grieve, detectives say they still don't know why stephen paddock decided to commit mass murder, but they are building a picture of the killer and they believe he had been planning this attack for some time. police also believe that stephen paddock intended to survive the attack, and perhaps didn't act alone. gary 0'donoghue is in las vegas with more details. there is a real sense that the investigation is beginning to pick up investigation is beginning to pick up pace here. of course the fbi are questioning marilou danley, she returned from the philippines saying she knew nothing about stephen paddock‘s plans, but of course, he was buying an awful lot of weapons in the last year, how did she not see them coming into the house? did she ask him what they were for? and what he was thinking about? all those questions are going to be put to her no doubt in the coming days by the agents who are talking to her. and here in las vegas, the police starting to open up a little bit more about the things they are looking at. they are looking back to 0ctober looking at. they are looking back to october last year for example. that's the moment at which stephen paddock acaccelerated his purchase in weapons. he bought 33 over that 12 month period. what changed in 0ctober 12 month period. what changed in october of last year? they are saying openly that he couldn't have planned this without an accomplice. that's a change in tone from the beginning of the week. and crucially, and this really is a crucially, and this really is a crucial point, they are telling us that they believe that stephen paddock wanted to escape from the hotel room after conducting his massacre. he wanted to get away. they are not telling us why they know that, how they know that, but they are saying they do know that and that puts a rang of other motives on the table and that is the big question in this inquiry — why did he do it? spain's government has said it will not accept "blackmail" after the catalan leader indicated that independence could be declared in a matter of days. carles puigdemont‘s government is to ask the regional parliament on monday to declare independence after his officials released preliminary referendum results showing 90% support in favour of breaking away. the madrid government said the catalan president must return to the path of law before any dialogue could take place. sales of new cars in the uk were down 9% in september compared to a year ago. it's a key month for the industry because of the new registration plates. it's the first time they've fallen in september in six years. the society of motor manufacturers and traders says it's also the sixth month in a row sales of new cars have fallen. plastic waste has become a major environmental problem. latest statistics suggest more than eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in the sea every year. john maguire has been to sweden, where currents and winds mean a great deal of it accumulates. reducing the eight million tons of plastic dumped in the world's oceans every year is now a priority around the globe and closing the loop by recycling is one answer. commonplace across sweden and possibly coming to a town near you, first in scotland with england and wales watching closely. these are deposit return or reverse vending machines. you put used plastic bottles in and they pay out. it scans the barcode on the label and offers the chance to make a donation to charity or credit in this supermarket. it's not exactly a money spinner — ten bottles are worth around 1p. they're ten a penny, if you like. collections are made across sweden and brought here, to this plant, 90 minutes south of stockholm. they handle plastic and glass bottles as well as aluminium cans. recycling rates are above 90% so here, what is next? the boss tells me technology will mean less plastic and smarter bottles. bottles need to be made for recycling. i think about design so there is very much more to do. the swedes have been using this type of system since the mid—80s but it is not a stranger to the scourge of plastic pollution, especially in the sea. it's a major problem here, but one the environment minister insists is solvable. there are many really interesting new materials coming up from research and innovation and i see that once we have knowledge on really sustainable materials, we can enter them into market rather quickly because there is a public demand and we have legal tools to use if needed. so, yes, i am optimistic, if we work together — policy and industry. and people too, as plastics breakdown to microlevel and into the food chain in our oceans, it is notjust an issue for coastal communities, it's a problem that affects all of us and can only be solved by all of us. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. in a moment we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. first, we leave you with for a look at the weather. we have had a windy night across england and wales. much of that rain has cleared. the cloud has cleared as well from the south and for many of us, looking at blue skies. still blustery conditions, particularly down the east side of england, but the winds will ease down and really for many of us, as we go into the afternoon, it is dry and bright with those blue skies. now, in the sunshine, it will feel pleasant. temperatures across the south—west getting to about 15 or 16 celsius, maybe 17 celsius in the capital, but if you are exposed to the win, it might feel chilly at times. further north, we could see cloud developing across north wales and north—west england and maybe one or two showers here. a few showers perhaps for northern ireland and scotland. the strongest winds across scotland will be this the far north and the east. and that's where it will feel particularly chilly. temperatures only about nine or ten celsius. through this evening and tonight, it will turn cold quickly for many of us. we will still see a few showers coming in off the irish sea into north wales and north—west england. for most, dry, clearwith north wales and north—west england. for most, dry, clear with this area of high pressure squeezing in. temperatures in towns and cities down to seven to nine celsius. the countryside, take a few degrees off that and with three, four, five degrees celsius, the potentialfor a bit of grass frost in the more rural areas. so a chilly start to your friday morning. but it should be a fine and a sunny start for most of us. much lighter winds compared to today. and that might feel more pleasant. temperatures about 12 to 15 celsius, but there will be more cloud and rain and a strengthening wind moving into scotland. this weather system is pushing the area of high pressure to the south. it opens the door really to this westerly flow from the atlantic. so for the weekend, it is looking cloudy. there will be light rain at times. but also a little bit of brightness. let's look at saturday then. starting off rather wet and windy. the rain will ease off really into the afternoon. there might be a few bright spells developing as well. maximum temperatures about 14 to 15 celsius. sunday the driest day of the weekend. plenty of dry weather around and a few showers and again, mostly cloudy, but there will be brighter and sunnier spells developing. maximum temperatures 14 to 17 celsius. for many of us, it will get drier as it goes on. bye— bye. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at midday... police say the former prime minister sir edward heath would have been questioned about allegations of raping an 11—year—old boy and indecently assaulting six other people if he was still alive. his account would have been as important as other information and evidence gathered as part of the wider investigation, and would have informed the next stages of the investigative strategy. the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse will now consider the allegations against sir edward as part of its wider westminster investigation. a downing street source insists resignation is not an issue for theresa may, as ministers rally round her following yesterday's eventful conference speech. the girlfriend of the las vegas gunman who shot dead 58 people says she had no idea he was planning the attack. a terminally—ill man loses his challenge at the high court over the right to choose when to end his life. also this hour — sales of new cars have declined for the sixth month in a row. just over 400,000 new vehicles were registered in september — down more than 9% from last year. and home nation fortunes hang in the balance — as england, scotland and northern ireland prepare for world cup qualifiers tonight. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. police have said former prime minister sir edward heath would have been questioned about allegations of child sexual abuse by seven people had he still been alive. wiltshire police, which has led a two—year £1.5—million inquiry into the late tory leader, has today published a report detailing its findings. it says the operation received 42 claims in total relating to 40 individuals. the allegations range from 1956 until 1992, and span across 14 uk police forces. the allegations include rape and indecent assault. but wiltshire police say it is critical to stress that no inference of guilt should be drawn from the fa ct of guilt should be drawn from the fact that sir edward heath would have been interviewed under caution. former colleagues of sir edward said the police report was ‘profoundly unsatisfactory‘ because it ‘neither justified nor dispelled the cloud of suspicion'. they called for an independent review by a retired judge. wiltshire police chief constable michael veale said it would have been a dereliction of his duty if he had not investigated the former prime minister. iam i am satisfied, satisfied there were compelling and obvious reasons to investigate allegations made against sir edward heath. as i have said, sir edward heath. as i have said, sir edward heath was an extremely prominent, influentialand high—profile person who was arguably one of the most powerful people in the world commensurate with the public office and political office he held. the allegations against him we re he held. the allegations against him were of the utmost seriousness and from a significant number of people. i hope people will understand that given these circumstances it would be an indefensible dereliction of the chief constable's duty not to have investigated the allegations against the former prime minister, even though he is deceased. assista nt assistant chief constable paul mills, who was in charge of 0peration conifer, said, had sir edward been alive today, he would have been questioned under caution. in the case of seven individual disclosures, if sir edward heath had been alive today it has been concluded he would have been interviewed under caution in order to obtain his account in relation to the allegations made against him. it is important to state that in the case of one of these disclosures the investigation has gathered information that potentially underlines the victim's account. offences for which he would have been interviewed under caution are one allegation of rape of a male under 16, three allegations of indecent assault on an mail under 16, four allegations of indecent assault on a male under 14, and two allegations of indecent assault on a mail over 16. the purpose of interviewing sir edward heath under caution would have been to obtain his account in relation to the allegations that had been made against him. it is clearly inappropriate to speculate what his response would have been to the allegations put to him and no inference of guilt should be drawn by the decision to interview him. his account would have been as important as other information and evidence gathered as part of a wider investigation and would have informed the next stages of the investigative strategy. it is important to further state that none of the victim disclosures in this category relate to the time when he was a serving prime minister. assista nt assistant chief constable paul mills, who was in charge of 0peration conifer. the police also stressed the importance of innocent until proven guilty. sir edward had been unable to provide his own account. the role of the police is to investigate the facts and follow available evidence. it is not for the police to make comment on the issue of innocence or guilt, and to do so would significantly go beyond the policing role and purpose. mr veal also touched on the fact that the presumption of innocence until proven guilty is enshrined in our legal system and is a cornerstone for a just and legal system and is a cornerstone forajustand fair legal system and is a cornerstone for a just and fair society. bees factors a re for a just and fair society. bees factors are critical to the investigation into sir edward heath who, as a deceased person, firstly have not had the opportunity to be interviewed by the police and to respond to the criminal allegations that have been made against him. secondly, it is national policy that the crown prosecution service will not make a decision as to whether or not make a decision as to whether or not the threshold to charge is reached in cases where the subject is deceased. and finally only a criminal court can make findings in relation to whether a person charged with offences is guilty or not guilty of offences levelled against them. for each of these reasons the 0peration conifer‘s summary report does not make any allegations in respect to sir edward heath's guilt or otherwise. we can speak now to sir edward heath's godson. thank you for joining us. when you spoke to bbc news earlier today, before the news conference, you said the inquiry was vindictive, damaging your godfather‘s reputation without any evidence. you have had a chance now to listen to the news conference, what are your thoughts?” to listen to the news conference, what are your thoughts? i think i am not really here today to criticise the police, i think we all know what we think and i think they made a lot of mistakes, but i think we are where we are today, i think the report does not come to any conclusions and that these are still just allegations, and i don't believe them, and i think most people do not believe them. so what we wa nt people do not believe them. so what we want is a closure on this which can only be obtained if we have a judge led review of the report. what difference would that make? what difference would that make? what difference would that make? what difference would a judge led review make in terms of the investigation? it would clear up the remaining allegations, the allegations have been whittled down by the police, for which i am grateful, from 112 to six, and it is the remaining six that we want looked at by an independent mind who can come to proper conclusions on the evidence. in terms of the process, do you think, though, that the process has been correct in terms of public interest and in terms of human rights law? the police were at pains to stress that they were following couege to stress that they were following college of policing advice in their decision to carry out this investigation based on european human rights law, and that the closer a person is to the state spend the greater the duty to investigate, so do you accept that as the foundation of the investigation? quite honestly i'm not sure that is particularly releva nt. not sure that is particularly relevant. i think if you have an accusation of a serious crime, the police have do investigated and if there are a lot of allegations then there are a lot of allegations then there are a lot of allegations then there are a lot to investigate, so i'm not really arguing with that.“ i may interrupt, sorry to interrupt, it is relevant, though, in the sense of the wider public confidence that there will be an investigation into allegations made without fear or favour even if those allegations are made against someone who, in this case, was a prime minister. absolutely, i'm not saying the police should not have investigated, i think unfortunately the investigation got off on completely the wrong foot by appealing publicly for victims, then a lot of people will come forward who may or may not be victims. i'm saying they are not, they are not victims of edward heath, i'm not saying there are not victims of sexual abuse out there, andi victims of sexual abuse out there, and i think the police in that way did the right thing, but i think we wa nt to did the right thing, but i think we want to clear up the untidiness that is left at the end of this, because there is no proper outcome as we stand. so if there is a judge led inquiry that draws firm conclusions about these remaining cases and remaining allegations that have been whittled down from the much larger number by the police, would you then be satisfied with the process? yes. i think it is extremely unlikely, but it can't be said that a judge might not conclude things that we don't like, i don't think that will happen, but if that did happen then at least we would know the truth, and it is the truth we are after. do you still think, or would you still use the word vindictive in relation to the police investigation, taking into consideration everything that the police have said today? i'm not really in the business of continuing an argument with the police on that subject. i think they know what i think andi subject. i think they know what i think and i think we move on from that to something more constructive. 0k, that to something more constructive. ok, the godson of sir edward heath there, thank you for your time. 0ur correspondent helena lee is at wiltshire police headquarters in swindon. helena was listening to the lengthy news conference. just on that point of the police force's justification for carrying out this investigation in the face of what they described as persistent negative commentary, they really went into some length into explaining why they had investigated this in the way they had? yes, we heard from the chief co nsta ble of yes, we heard from the chief constable of wiltshire police, as you say, half an hour news conference after we got the sport at —— got that report at 11am this morning and a very strong defence in terms of how they carried out the investigation. the chief constable said they were scrutinised by independent people as well who looked into how they carried it out, and they were satisfied, he said, in terms of how they did read the investigation. you may remember that high profile news conference a couple of years ago in 2015 that was carried out outside of sir edward heath's house where he used to live in wiltshire and it was a police appeal and they appealed for any alleged victims of sir edward heath to come forward. detectives here we re very to come forward. detectives here were very aware that they would be criticised following the publication of this report, but they said that they have a duty because the allegations, they say, are very serious that had been made against the edward heath, and the chief co nsta ble the edward heath, and the chief constable in that news conference had said he was satisfied that they had said he was satisfied that they had compelling reasons to investigate sir edward heath. he also said he believed it was the right moral, ethical and professional thing to do. so a very strong defence from officers here at wiltshire police today, but as we just heard from sir edward heath's godson, clearly people are still not happy with this report and some are now calling for a judge led inquiry into how the police handled this investigation, but that is something the chief constable here at wiltshire police said is not necessary. so now the police have, at the end of this investigation, this two—year investigation, they have whittled down a large number of allegations that were made effectively to this smaller number, and now they say it is up to others to decide if anything more will be done? that is right, but they were very keen, anita, to stress in the news conference that these allegations have now been made public, despite that it does not mean that sir edward heath is guilty, and it does not mean that he is innocent. what is going to happen next is the independent inquiry into to be is, they have made a formal request so that they can look at this report now and what they say is that they wa nt to now and what they say is that they want to consider it as part of its westminster investigation, they go on to say they will investigate whether there was any knowledge within westminster institutions and, if so, what actions were taken. but important to stress that these allegations, despite them being made public, it does not mean that sir edward coke is illtyd, it does not mean he's innocent, the cps, crown prosecution service, cannot say what the strength of the evidence is because he is no longer alive, but the man himself is not here of course to answer any of those allegations and that is something that his supporters, his friends, are very cross that his supporters, his friends, are very cross about, they think that this will leave a very dark stain on his reputation. thank you very much, helena lee at wiltshire police headquarters in swindon. in the last few minutes we have heard that the nobel literature prize has been awarded to has issued guru, whose work includes remains of the date and never let me go. he has been nominated for the man booker prize for times. 0ur arts correspondent is here, tell us what the nobel committee had to say in awarding him this offer? they picked out his amazing ability to tell stories, all writers can tell stories but kazuo ishiguro, to me, does it at another level, he has an ability to place the reader in an alternate reality, it might be the future, the present, the past, they just feel like places which are hall and real, he places you into these environments and takes you on these extraordinary journeys, environments and takes you on these extraordinaryjourneys, you talk about the remains of the day, never let the go, they are strange places, but you become deeply involved with the characters, which is the right‘s .com hejust does it the characters, which is the right‘s .com he just does it better than most. and it is a return to enmore, shall we say, traditional awarding of prize? it is not bob dylan! maybe paul mccartney is furious, who knows?! we were discussing it upstairs, would it be margaret atwood, and ishiguro, we went, there isa atwood, and ishiguro, we went, there is a story, because he is solid, central, what you would expect the nobel prize for literature committee to award this prestigious award to, and he is, in my opinion, one of the great living writers in any language at all. i know he will be absolutely thrilled, he will be delighted by this, it is a huge accolade, and he is one of those names that has cropped up over the last few years as somebody who should and would get it, and bingo, he has got it. he was born in naga factly but moved to england with his family when he was five, educated here, how much did those few early years in japan in his work, do you think, or is his work very much that of an english writer? he says the latter. he did not really rememberjapan, did not go back to japan very much at all, though his first two novels were set there, he sees himself as an english writer with japanese roots. he has talked about having a different picture on the front cover, and it would just be, that is the bloke who writes japanese type stories but is not japanese, so he writes japanese type stories but is notjapanese, so he has a writes japanese type stories but is not japanese, so he has a foot in both worlds but definitely does not think of himself as a japanese writer but a writer who has written about japan. how much do you think something like the nobel prize, more than perhaps other awards for literature, make people who have not got to know an author before, make people go to the book shop and buy their books? not so much, i don't think. i think of alison munro, suddenly all of her novels came out, i don't know how many they sold. i really hope it does encourage people to visit ishiguro if they have not read him before because they will find a real treat in store. and presumably he will turn up to collect the award? iimagine he collect the award? i imagine he would, i think he would give a really good speech as well. we will watch out for that, thank you very much. the headlines on bbc newsroom live... police said the former prime minister sir edward heath would have been questioned about allegations of child sexual abuse if he was still alive. a downing street source insists resignation is not an issue for theresa may as ministers rally around her following yesterday's eventful conference speech. and the girlfriend of the las vegas gunman who shot dead 58 people says she had no idea he was planning the attack. let's get the sport, with holli hamilton. a busy night of qualifiers for the russia 2018 world cup with england, northern ireland and scotland in action. for england, talk now of who could wear the number! shirt in russia next year. former goalkeeper peter shilton says he'd like jack butland to be england's number one. the stoke keeper has been putting pressure onjoe hart — butland has five senior caps for england but he was out of action for over a year after breaking his ankle against germany in march 2016. hart is expected to keep his place in goalfor the match against slovenia tonight. england can secure their place in russia next year with a win at wembley. a point for northern ireland should be enough but they are up against world champions germany. scotland know there will be no chance of making it a rest if they lose against slovakia later. with the ashes nowjust seven weeks away, james anderson has said england's players need to focus on their own preparations, as the fall—out from the ben stokes incident continues. anderson has been involved in series wins and defeats down under, so he knows more than most about what it takes to beat australia. before you go to australia there is generally some destruction and you obviously don't want them, you want the perfect preparation. but that is the perfect preparation. but that is the world as it is, there is always going to be distractions there and asa going to be distractions there and as a team all we can do is focus on ourjob, as players that is all we can do, focus on how we are going to contribute to england winning against australia, and that is all, for the next three weeks before we fly, for the next three weeks before we fly, that is myjob, to go away, work on my fitness, work on my bowling as much as i can, try to help england win when i get there. nfl star cam newton has been criticised for making a sexist comment at a news conference yesterday. jourdan rodrigue of the charlotte 0bserver said she was dismayed by his response when she asked him a question about one of his team—mates, and it belittled her and all other women in the field. here's how it went. devon has seemed to really embrace the physicality in getting that extra ya rd. the physicality in getting that extra yard. does that give you a bit of enjoyment to see that? it is funny to hear a female talk about routs like that. it is funny. but it is coming along, man. this is a big game for him because of him being from detroit. according to the panthers, newton has spoken to rodrigue and "expressed regret" over the words he used. that's all sport for now — plenty more build up to tonight's world cup qualifiers at 1.30pm. senior ministers have been rallying behind theresa may after her speech at the conservative party conference was overshadowed by a series of mishaps. however, the bbc has learned the prime minister's performance has caused unease among some mps, who are considering asking her to resign. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is at westminster and is following the story for us. good afternoon to you, is there any substance or real traction to these whisperings about theresa may's ability to continue as leader? whisperings is all they are for now, no names, no numbers, and the prime minister may have woken up this morning hoping, wondering whether everything that happened yesterday was just a everything that happened yesterday wasjust a bad dream, the coughing fit, the protest are handing her a p45 on the stage, the letters falling off the set behind her, but all she had to do was take a look at any of the front pages or turn on the tv or radio to be reminded of the tv or radio to be reminded of the fact that the nightmare scenario really did unfold for her onstage in manchester yesterday afternoon. but after the speech her cabinet ministers were quick to express their loyalty, try to express the substance of what she had to say, policies on affordable rented social housing, policies on an energy price cap on standard variable tariffs for energy, but the fact was all anyone was talking about was what a disaster in presentation terms the speech really was. 0ut disaster in presentation terms the speech really was. out and about this morning, though, cabinet ministers are still standing by her. foreign secretary, is the prime minister going to resign? what did you think of mrs may's speech? very brave, very good speech. is there a plot against? surely not. the prime minister will continue in her role to do an excellent job, minister will continue in her role to do an excellentjob, she has my full support, thank you. amber rudd, david davis and foreign secretary boris johnson amber rudd, david davis and foreign secretary borisjohnson all remaining tight—lipped, or, in the little they did they, expressing their support for the prime minister. we are told several cabinet ministers phoned into downing street last night to express their support again and stress that they didn't think the prime minister needed to or should resign, and the fa ct needed to or should resign, and the fact that they felt they had to do thatis fact that they felt they had to do that is perhaps extraordinary in itself. someone else who is standing by the prime minister this morning, greg clark, the business and energy secretary, who was doing the rounds of interviews, fielding questions about the prime minister's situation as well as the substance of the speech. he said that, far from this being a difficult moment for the prime minister, she showed one of her qualities, which was strength in the face of adversity and not giving up on the going gets tough. the agenda she had in the speech was very substantial, the important task that we have, we are in the middle of brexit negotiations, very important that those qualities of keeping a cool head, being able to manage through the ups and downs that negotiations have, as well as having a long—term agenda for the country, that is exactly what the country, that is exactly what the country needs, and i think that was on display in manchester yesterday. not everyone is toeing the party line quite so loyally, one mp today, ed vaizey, who represent a constituency in 0xfordshire, speaking to bbc radio 0xford said in private people are very concerned, he said there would be quite a few people now firmly of the view that she should resign. will this amounts to anything? downing street they resignation is not an issue. 0k, jonathan, thank you very much, jonathan blake at westminster. a whistle—blowing former accountant at tesco has been giving evidence today. amit soni accountant at tesco described mounting pressures on managers as the food business under—performed against targets in 2014, telling a london court that his attempts to have the targets revised down had fallen on deaf ears. adina campbell is following the trial at southwark crown court. 0n the second day of amit soni giving evidence, the tesco accountant, described as a key witness and whistle—blower, as described the pressures on his team in the lead up to tesco admitting it had overstated its profits by approximately £250 million back in 2014. amit soni had joined the uk arm of tesco a year before and said pa rt arm of tesco a year before and said part of his team was starting to give up and there was a sense of disillusionment. he went on to say that the team was falling apart and there had been a couple of resignations and more were expected. he had been describing the low morale within his team, saying there was a high level of anxiety to meet targets. the three men on trial are accused of fraud and fulford counting, the prosecution allege that they cooked the books and massage the figures ahead of the scandal, saying that all of these charges were mounting up to a high level of pressure. the scandal led to £2 billion being wiped off the total share value on the stock markets. all three men, carl robbo, chris bush, and john scoular, deny any wrongdoing and the trial continues. thank you. time to look at the weather with ben rich. good afternoon, the weather slowly but surely calming down after what has been a fairly turbulent 24 hours, some windy weather and for some others this morning brought a short sharp shock of rain. it did not rain for long but pretty heavily, as a cold front worked its way through. you can see on the radar picturejust how way through. you can see on the radar picture just how narrow the band of rain was but many southern areas had that short sharp burst of wet weather. also we still have strong wind particularly close to the east coast, quite rough seas, thatis the east coast, quite rough seas, that is one of our weather watchers in cromer, the wind slowly easing for the rest of the afternoon and we will see dry weather and spells of sunshine out there, showers in spot exposed to the north—westerly wind, for example the north west of scotland, northern ireland catching a few showers, the odd one could be heavy, sunshine in between. some showers across north—east scotland, but from the south of scotland into england, not too many showers, the odd one trickling across north—west england may be down into the midlands. for much of wales and southern england, it will be dry, spells of sunshine, temperatures around 15 or 16 degrees. still that keen, cool breeze, but the wind will continue to ease as we go into the evening, still feeding some showers into the north—western area said the northern ireland bags tonight i would not be surprised to see a shower, i think england v slovenia should be dry with clear skies and as the skies continue to clear through tonight and wind is increasingly light, it will turn into a very chilly night indeed, the odd fog patchy and there and particularly away from big towns and cities temperatures will drop, parts of northern england, northern ireland and scotland could get down to freezing, maybe even below in one or two promo spots, so a cold start tomorrow morning, a touch of frost but a bright start, it looks like a lovely day, plenty of sunshine but more cloud creeping in from the west later, eventually wind and rain to the far north—west and temperatures around 11 to 15 degrees. we start the weekend with this frontal system putting south and east, some outbreaks of rain, perhaps heavy in the west, gradually starting to drive late on saturday from the north—west and that leads toa from the north—west and that leads to a quieter day on sunday, a fair amount of cloud, some showers but the odds bowl of sunshine as well, 13 to 17 degrees, so plenty of ups and downs in the weather over the next few days. as ever, the full forecast for where you are on our website. this is bbc newsroom live. our latest headlines: police have said that the former prime minister sir edward heath would have been questioned about allegations of raping an 11—year—old boy and indecently assaulting six other people if he was still alive. senior ministers rally around theresa may as leader following her party conference speech with a downing street source saying that "resignation is not an issue" for the prime minister. the fbi says it is yet to find evidence that sunday's shooting in las vegas which killed 58 people was linked to terrorism. investigators said stephen paddock‘s motives were still a mystery and nothing was being ruled out. a terminally—ill man, noel conway, has lost his bid in the high court to change the law on assisted dying. just over 400,000 new vehicles were registered in september — down more than 9% from last year. japanese—born british writer kazuo ishiguro has won the nobel literature prize. he is best known for his novel "the remains of the day". more now on the inquiry by wiltshire police into allegations against sir edward heath. officers have said the former prime minister would have been questioned about allegations of raping an 11—year—old boy and indecently assaulting six other people if he was still alive. friends of sir edward have insisted the claims are "groundless". chief constable michael veale said it would have been a dereliction of his duty if he had not investigated the former prime minister. there has been many views expressed as to whether the police should investigate alleged offences committed by deceased people. notwithstanding the guidance, i believe this was the right thing to do. it was the right moral, ethical, and professional thing to do. but i appreciate that every case needs to bejudged on its own merits. i am satisfied, satisfied, there are compelling and obvious reasons to investigate allegations made against sir ted heath. as i have said, sir ted heath was an extremely prominent, influentialand high—profile person who was arguably one of the most powerful people in the world commence rate with the public office and political office he held. the allegations against him we re he held. the allegations against him were of the most seriousness and from a significant number of people. i hope people will understand that given these circumstances, it would be an indefensible dereliction of a chief constable's duty not to have investigated the allegations against a former prime minister even though he is deceased. i have made it clear from the outset that at the end of this investigation, in line with our intention to be as transparent and as open as possible, we would publish a summary report and that is what we have done today. the publication of this report is also in line with advice issued by 0peration hydrant. the report has been scrutinised by a number of stakeholders and contributors to ensure complete balance, complete accuracy, and measure and only makes findings that can legitimately and realistically be made. the report provides a factual account of the context for this investigation. what the investigation focussed upon, and how the investigation was conducted. 0peration conifer by its very nature was complex, politically sensitive and unique. due to these unprecedented circumstances, i have sought advice, counsel and support throughout this investigation. from a number of people. that confidentiality between me and those individuals will remain intact. the role of the police service is very clear in the criminaljustice process. the police have a duty to investigate and go where the evidence takes us. it is not our role to prove the innocence or guilt, but to simply present the fa cts . guilt, but to simply present the facts. therefore, this report does not apportion guilt. it does not suggest or conclude guilt. and no inference should be taken from the investigative decisions or conclusions being made by the police. chief constable michael veale of wiltshire police speaking. spain's government has said it will not accept "blackmail" after the catalan leader indicated that independence could be declared in a matter of days. carles puigdemont‘s government is to ask the regional parliament on monday to declare independence after his officials released preliminary referendum results showing 90% support in favour of breaking away. the madrid government said the catalan president must return to the path of law before any dialogue could take place. tech giant google has introduced new headphones which can translate what someone's saying — into other languages — in real time. the pixel earbuds allow users to both listen and speak in foreign languages, using google's latest smart—phone. with me is the bbc‘s technology correspondent, rory cellan—jones. this sounds like a really clever idea. it's using some of google's existing technology. take us through how this works. well, it is more amazing and less amazen than it seems. more amazing it shows us how far artificial intelligence has got that we can translate from so many languages. it is a brilliant feat of engineering. less amazing in that the earbuds all they are doing is effectively taking an app which is ona effectively taking an app which is on a phone, google translate and taking that technology and put it in your ear. when it is up and running in the next few weeks or so when this thing goes on sale, you will be able to tap the earbud and say you wa nt to able to tap the earbud and say you want to speak in a certain language or understand in a certain language, you will be able to speak in one language and it will come out in another language and when the bus driver speaks to you back in his language, in your ear, you will hear a translation. can we do a demo. using the existing software which is on all sorts of phone. when is the next bus to mum bay? then i can press. i don't know how good injure hindy is. what we have need issed a better interface. anyone can do this ona better interface. anyone can do this on a phone. if you want to get by in a foreign country, you canjust on a phone. if you want to get by in a foreign country, you can just go and show your phone to somebody and do that. what we have been waiting for is a simpler way of doing it and the earbuds potentially offer that. is this going to be a big success for google? is there a lot of buzz around this? well, what they did last night was unveil a whole bunch of new things, new phones, new home speakers and these wireless earbuds. it is part of a big drive to show that they are good at hardware. so far it had limited success. their phone has got 0.5% of the global market. and accessory for the phone, expectations will be limited, but it is meant to show off, you know, we don'tjust do amazing software, we have got great artificial intelligence skills and we can make hardware too, but lots of companies will be saying, "yeah, we are better at that." for will be saying, "yeah, we are better at that. " for consumers, will be saying, "yeah, we are better at that." for consumers, easier travels as they go abroad and navigate their way in a country they are not familiar with. language teachers will be scratching their heads. it has been one of the great trium and it that it has got better. a few years ago, we knew you would put something into google translate and it would come up with something that was poor. now huge advances have been made. we made a lot of progress. it could be a little sad for people who think learning a foreign language is a good idea anyway. p 0k, rory, thank you. a series of rail strikes have got underway as passengers across england prepare for widespread disruption for the second time this week. rmt union members at southern, merseyrail, arriva rail north and greater anglia are involved in a dispute about the role of guards and driver—only trains. the walk—out will last 24 hours. a fire crew has been suspended from carrying out community work after a firefighter wrapped two children in cling film. essex fire service said a "thorough investigation" was underway after the incident which involved the children of a crew member at a fire station in southend. the children's mother said the incident was meant as a joke and the youngsters enjoyed it. the girlfriend of stephen paddock — the man who killed 58 people in las vegas — says she had no idea he was planning the attack. marilou danley — who was in the philippines at the time of the shootings — was questioned by the fbi when she returned to the united states yesterday. police believe that stephen paddock had intended to survive the attack and perhaps had help. gary o'donohue reports. pad steve was buying a lot of weapons. how did she not see them coming into the house? did she ask him what they were for and what he was thinking about? all those questions will be put to her by the agents who are talking to her. in las vegas the police are starting to open up more about the things they are looking at. they are looking back to october last year. that's the moment at which stephen paddock accelerated his purchase of weapons. he bought 33 in total out of a 47 hoard, over that 12 month period. what changed in october of last year? they are saying pretty openly that he couldn't have planned this without an accomplice. that's a change in tone from the beginning of the week. and crucially, and this really is a crucial point, they are now telling us that they believe that stephen paddock wanted to escape from the hotel room after conducting his massacre. he wanted to get away. they are not telling us why they know that, how they know that, but they're saying they do know that and that, of course, puts a whole range of other motives on the table and that is the big question in this inquiry, why did he do it? that was gary 0'donohue. sales of new cars in the uk were down 9% in september compared to a year ago. it's a key month for the industry because of the new registration plates. it's the first time they've fallen in september in six years. the society of motor manufacturers and traders says it's also the sixth month in a row sales of new cars have fallen. i can now speak to tamzen isacsson from the society of motor manufacturers and traders. thank you forjoining us. so, if september is a barometer month, what does this tell us? well, it is a bit of concern for the car industry. as you said the figures are down 9.3%. a couple of things to remember, first of all, the new car market has been at record levels. so for the last five years, we have had consecutive periods of growth. so we we re consecutive periods of growth. so we were really at peak turning point and we have reached that now. we believe that the uncertainty over the economy, and brexit, is a factor here. so many people, consumers and businesses are not willing to make those big ticket purchase items. and that's why we have seen the decline. you talked about confusion over air quality plans being a factor. do you have a sense of a breakdown, how much is it concern about the economy and brexit and how much is it about you know concerns over air quality and what the plans are to deal with ca rs and what the plans are to deal with cars that don't currently meet the guidelines? so, you know, as you said, it's difficult to ascertain why consumers aren't buying cars, but we do feel that there is confusion over air quality, butjust to be clear, all the new cars on sale in the uk meet the strictest of legal guidelines and in fact there isa legal guidelines and in fact there is a new test the rde that new models will be meeting which will be tougher, the toughest in the world. consumers should be reassured if they buy a diesel or petrol car in they buy a diesel or petrol car in the uk today, they will not face a ban anywhere across the uk because the government in its air quality plan recognises that these diesel ca rs are plan recognises that these diesel cars are significantly different from older diesel cars built decades ago. diesel cars though have taken a hit, haven't they, if you compare the sales, diesel cars, that was down what 21.7% in september. and 13.7% for the year is far, compared to petrol models down 1.2% and interestingly, alternatively fuelled it says here, vehicles rose 41% to achieve a market share of 5.3%. so diesel is taking a hit, isn't it?“ is declining this month. but what do need to remember, over 800,000 diesel vehicles. 0ne need to remember, over 800,000 diesel vehicles. one in two new cars isa diesel vehicles. one in two new cars is a diesel car. many consumers very much value diesel cars for their fuel efficiency and lower carbon dioxide emissions. we won't meet our climate change emissions without diesel cars and they are valued. if you are a consumer that drives long—distances the fuel economy is really important for you. there has been a lot of confusion over the air quality plans. we don't advocate any plans that call for bans because we think it undermines the new car market. we want to help promote the latest vehicles, be it alternatively fuelled vehicles, electric or try brid, those are the new vehicles that will give the biggest environmental benefits to our towns and cities. if we take the older vehicles off the roads and make sure the new vehicles are on the roads, we will get better air quality performance. thank you very much. rachel burgess joins us now. thaw for coming along. what are your readers saying about the decisions they are making about whether or not to buy cars at the moment? well, there is a lot of confusion over diesels. a lot of people don't understand old and new err diesels and they have been put off buying new diesels even though they are better in terms of emissions than the older diesels. i think that people are looking at petrol engines. petrol are continuing to improve in terms of efficiency and their emissions. and the broader car industry is looking at investing in alternatively fuelled cars, there is lek truck and hybrid cars rather than diesels in the future. so while we expect diesel to decline, this is probably more than we would have predicted. a lot of manufacturers seem to be offering scrappage schemes. is that having an impact, these figures would suggest not, but maybe the figures haven't percolated through the system yet?” maybe the figures haven't percolated through the system yet? i have spoken to a few car makers. most didn't start until 1st september. they have got to be advertising and got out there to consumers. i think that we will see more impact in 0ctober that we will see more impact in october and november, but! that we will see more impact in october and november, but i do think that the figures for september would have been worse without them. so, if the car industry wants to do something and to reverse this trend, well, there is a limit to what manufacturers can do about wider political and economic uncertainty, what can they do, i guess, then to increase consumer confidence in the product and to explain if you like how their vehicles meet the guidelines on air quality?” how their vehicles meet the guidelines on air quality? i think the scrappage schemes that we discussed are a first step. that's the car makers showing they want to help consumers get into newer more friendly cars in terms of the environment and on top of that, there is a lot of education to be done through car makers and the government so people can understand better what they are buying and what the implications of buying the cars will do for them. rachel, thank you very much. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: police say the former prime minister sir edward heath would have been questioned about allegations of child sexual abuse if he was still alive. a downing street source insists resignation is not an issue for theresa may as ministers rally round her following yesterday's eventful conference speech. the girlfriend of the las vegas gunman, who shot dead 58 people, says she had no idea he was planning the attack. a terminally—ill man has lost his bid in the high court to change the law on assisted dying. noel conway, who has motor neurone disease, had wanted a doctor to be allowed to prescribe a lethal dose of drugs when his health worsened. fergus walsh is at the high court. this was case was heard injuly as you know, noel conway, he is a 67—year—old retired lecturer. he has motor neurone disease, an incurable degenerative condition. he needs a ventilator to breathe. he has to be turned at night and he says he fears becoming entombed in his body. he came to court asking for the right to have doctors prescribe him a lethal dose of drugs when his condition deteriorates. thejudges have rejected his claim that the suicide act of 1961 breaches his human rights and i have got the judgment here, i haven't had time to read it all, but there is a key section where thejudges read it all, but there is a key section where the judges say that section where the judges say that section 2, which is the one which outlaws, which prohibits assisted dying, is necessary to protect the wea k dying, is necessary to protect the weak and vulnerable. is that the end of it? can mr conway appeal now? no, mr conway certainly intends to appeal. he was too ill to attend court today. he said though in a statement, "i'm deeply disappointed by today'sjudgment statement, "i'm deeply disappointed by today's judgment and fully intend to appeal. this decision denies me a real say over how and when i will die. i'm told the only option i have is to suffocate to death by choosing to re m ove is to suffocate to death by choosing to remove my ventilator which i'm now dependant on to breathe for up to 22 hours a day." just coming into, with me now is the chief executive of dignity in dying, sarah wothon who supported noel conway's application. you must be disappointed by this judgment?” application. you must be disappointed by thisjudgment? i am disappointed, but also think it is a concession that the court have been clear they do have the authority to make the declaration of incompatibility between noel's human rights and the current law. so that's a step forward. we knew we would have to get to the supreme court and we will be appealing. but in thejudgment, court and we will be appealing. but in the judgment, which court and we will be appealing. but in thejudgment, which i have been reading it, says that parliament, parliament considered this case only two years ago and if i can read you a bit from it, it says, "as the conscience of the nation, parliament is entitled to maintain in place a clear bright line rule by for bids people from providing assista ntsta nce to people from providing assista ntstance to an people from providing assistantstance to an individual to commit suicide." they are saying parliament has decided on this. so you cannot win, can you? yes, we can. the future, other parliaments and parliaments in the future can look at this bill again and will look at this bill again and will look at this bill again and will look at the bill again and look at the evidence, that's the critical point is the evidence on this? with overseas jurisdictions and with the evidence in this country, with somebody going to switzerland to have an assisted death every week now, it is clear that legislation would provide greater safeguards for vulnerable people than the current situation which is basically open house for people taking the law into their own hands. thank you very much. so, judgment went against noel conway today, but as i said, this case will go to appeal. fergus walsh reporting. plastic waste has become a major environmental problem. latest statistics suggest more than eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in the sea every year. john maguire has been to sweden, where currents and winds mean a great deal of it accumulates. reducing the eight million tons of plastic dumped in the world's oceans every year is now a priority around the globe and closing the loop by recycling is one answer. commonplace across sweden and possibly coming to a town near you, first in scotland with england and wales watching closely. these are deposit return or reverse vending machines. you put used plastic bottles in and they pay out. it scans the barcode on the label and offers the chance to make a donation to charity or credit in this supermarket. it's not exactly a money spinner — ten bottles are worth around 1p. they're ten a penny, if you like. collections are made across sweden and brought here, to this plant, 90 minutes south of stockholm. they handle plastic and glass bottles as well as aluminium cans. recycling rates are above 90% so here, what is next? the boss tells me technology will mean less plastic and smarter bottles. bottles need to be made for recycling. i think about design so there is very much more to do. the swedes have been using this type of system since the mid—80s, but it is not a stranger to the scourge of plastic pollution, especially in the sea. it's a major problem here, but one the environment minister insists is solvable. there are many really interesting new materials coming up from research and innovation and i see that once we have knowledge on really sustainable materials, we can enter them into market rather quickly because there is a public demand and we have legal tools to use if needed. so, yes, i am optimistic, if we work together — policy and industry. and people too, as plastics breakdown to microlevel and enter the food chain in our oceans, it is notjust an issue for coastal communities, it's a problem that affects all of us and can only be solved by all of us. in a moment the news at one with reeta chakrabarti. first the weather with ben rich. the weather gave some of us a short, sharp shock this morning. an active cold front bringing a brief burst of heavy rain. that was the scene in hertfordshire. it brought downpours for ten or 20 minutes in places. with that rain as well, we have seen strong and blustery winds particularly clo to the east coast and there have been rough seas for example there in cromer. it will stay blustery through this afternoon. particularly in eastern areas, but there will be more in the way of sunshine. not a bad day for many. just some showers in spots exposed to the breeze. it will feel cool. 12 celsius in glasgow. a few showers across the coasts of eastern scotland and north—east england, but into parts of yorkshire, lincolnshire, it should be dry. the odd shower across north—west england and north wales, but south wales and southern areas of england, we will see spells of sunshine. still blustery in places particularly close to the east coast and highs of 14 to 17 celsius. the winds will continue to ease down slowly as we go through the evening. still showers feeding into north western parts. so we could see a showerfor western parts. so we could see a shower for the world cup qal fir, northern ireland versus germany. it should be dry for the england match against slovenia. the winds will continue to ease. the showers will fade. we will see more drier weather and clear spells. maybe the odd fog patch and it is going to turn into a decidedly chilly night. particularly away from the big towns and cities. in the countryside, some places across northern england and northern ireland and scotland could get down to freezing. so a touch of frost for some of us to freezing. so a touch of frost for some of us tomorrow. to freezing. so a touch of frost for some of us tomorrow. but tomorrow is looking like a decent day. plenty of sunshine around. more cloud from the west later. the winds generally fairly light and top temperatures of 11 to 15 celsius. a change as we go into saturday, we will see a weather system pushing in from the north—west. outbreaks of rain followed by brighter spells, but showers. 13 to 17 celsius. for sunday, things improve again. it looks dry. it will be the odd shower around and spells of sunshine at time and the temperatures about where they have been, 13 to 17 celsius. prime minister sir edward heath say he would have been questioned over seven allegations if he were alive. the former conservative leader would have been questioned under caution over claims of indecent assault and rape. he would have been interviewed under caution in relation to the allegations made against him. the police said there was no inference of guilt but their investigation has drawn strong criticism. also this lunchtime... a downing street source said —— insists resignation is not an option for theresa may.

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