Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At One 20170619

A year on from the brexit vote, and talks finally begin to settle the terms of the uks withdrawal from the European Union. And portugal declares three days of mourning as hundreds of firefighters still tackle a forest fire which has killed more than 60 people. And in the sport on bbc news, golf has another new major champion. Brooks koepka shot a record equalling 16 under par to win the us open. Good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. Police have said they are treating the attack on a crowd of muslims near the Finsbury Park mosque in north london as a terrorist act. One man died and ten people were injured when a hired white van was driven into people who were tending to a man who had been taken ill. Bystanders tackled the driver, holding him until Police Arrived to arrest him. Theresa may said the attack was a sickening attempt to divide people which would not succeed. Its shortly after midnight and worshippers who have just left the Finsbury Park mosque in london have come under attack. Hit by a van which ploughed into the crowd, leaving many casualties. He basically drove on the pavement, coming straight towards all the muslims and he, as he was coming to them, he hit all of them. He was shouting, saying he wanted to gil all muslims. He said that. Word for word. I gil all muslims. He said that. Word forword. Iam gil all muslims. He said that. Word for word. I am sure this is a Terrorist Attack. Whether he is a muslim or christian. This is a Terrorist Attack. Those who had not been hurt ran after the van driver, pinning him down before he could escape. The man in the Striped T Shirt was amongst those who helped detain him he also started asking him questions. When he was on the ground, i asked him questions. When he was on the ground, iasked him him questions. When he was on the ground, i asked him why did he do that . Innocent people. He said, i wa nt to that . Innocent people. He said, i want to gil muslims. And gil me. Why did you do that . He would not answer me back. These pictures appeared to show the suspect being detained by the police. A 48 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The Counterterrorism Command is investigating. This was an attack on london and all lenders that we should all stand together against extremists, whatever the cause. After leaving the mosque, many walked towards the Muslim Welfare house. It was then the van and drove up house. It was then the van and drove upa bus house. It was then the van and drove up a bus lane and swerved into a side road from hitting a crowd who we re side road from hitting a crowd who were helping an elderly man who had been taken ill. It is a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred ta ke that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms. Our determination to tackle them must be the same whoever is responsible. The attack took place in the constituency of the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, who visited the area earlier today. The Stress Levels from people last night and this morning were just frightening. They were frightened that something might this happened again. We need efficient and effective policing and an attitude in our society. Orfor effective policing and an attitude in our society. Or for each other. The only way to deal with this kind of issue is communities coming together. The area remains sealed off as the Police Investigation continues that there are plans to increase security around all of londons mosques, but it clear during the muslim holy month of ramadan. More and more worshippers go to the mosque ridiculously in the evening. We dont want anybody to think they cannot go about their lives because they are feeling vulnerable and scared. The Muslim Community was already fearful. Incidents of islamophobia have been on the rise following a series of attacks in britain by islamist extremists. What has happened here in Finsbury Park is by far the worst attack the Muslim Community has suffered. And our Home Affairs Correspondent Daniel Sandford joins me now. What is emerging about the attacker . The man believed to have been driving the van was detained thereby people involved in the incident. A 48 year old man is in custody. The question is, is he an extremist right wing ideology or part of a right wing group . At this Stage Investigators are seeing someone who clearly has racist views and some issues with Mental Health in the past. They have not so far seen any extreme right wing activity in an organised way. Is it any clearer what happened . Organised way. Is it any clearer what happened . It is pretty clear this man, driving his hired van from wales, drove at high speeds up the road, Turning Sharp left on the third row down on the right into a cul de sac where people were waiting between the two prayers of ramadan. They were sitting, chatting, having sued. He has driven into this group of people who, by chance, worth treating someone who had a heart attack or other health problems. It was the person being treated for a heart attack ended up dying. What is not clear is whether he died as result of being run into by the higher van or whether he was dying anyway. Ten people who were injured we re anyway. Ten people who were injured were hurt by this incident, driving into this group of worshippers. Theresa may has praised the bravery of local people who pinned down the attacker. She chaired a meeting of cobra, the emergency committee. Our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in downing street. Yet another meeting of cobra and the governments emergency committee. Such a difficult time. Some pressure on the Prime Minister today in the wa ke on the Prime Minister today in the wake of some of the criticism she has faced in response to Grenfell Tower. That is her response. It was striking today that when she came out in downing street, she said strait of it was a Terrorist Attack. There was no doubt about it. She is visiting the Finsbury Park mosque, in contrast to response after g re nfell tower. In contrast to response after Grenfell Tower. Interesting as well that mrs may presented this not as an attack on worshippers just at Finsbury Park but as an attack on all of us, on the common bonds binding as together, a belief in freedom and freedom of speech and freedom and freedom of speech and freedom of religion. She went out her way to praise london. She described it as an extraordinary city of extraordinary people, diverse, compassionate and determined, going through such difficult times. That reference not just to the three recent Terrorist Attacks in london but also to g re nfell tower. Attacks in london but also to Grenfell Tower. By her words and her visit this lunchtime, mrs may not just asking for solid, reassurance and comfort in the wake of this Terrorist Attack but perhaps seeking to make amends following the criticism she received after g re nfell tower. Criticism she received after Grenfell Tower. Thank you very much indeed. There has been understandable anger here in the community. Reassurance from sadiq khan that there will be extra Police Patrols in london to protect the Muslim Community. Many muslims have been calling for increased Police Patrols because what they called a rise in islamophobia, especially hate crimes since the London Bridge attack. Prayers on the streets outside Finsbury Park mosque. Just a couple of hours after the attack. A public practice of faith from a Community Feeling vulnerable. During the morning, the mosque was surrounded by police and others here to reassure. But there is deep frustration and some fear. We cannot go to the mosque without looking behind our backs. We have to look behind our backs. We have to look behind our backs to practice religion. We are living in fear. Many share that sentiment from across all communities that there is across all communities that there is a general sense of insecurity. That feeling is hard to shake off. People have a question about safety in london after all of these attacks. We wa nt london after all of these attacks. We want to assure them they are safe. We want to welcome the police at the moment. Every London Borough has increased policing today. Leave has increased policing today. Leave has been cancelled in many areas. They are visible and they are there to help and support full it is a time when every Emergency Services under enormous pressure. Londoners have been hit with a series of attacks and have been nothing short of heroic. We will always make sure everybody is protected. We have a places of worship fund which we announced last summer which is there to protect bases of worship like mosques. We will do all we can to reduce these attacks. The incident last night was directed at one community. A mosque and muslim men and women during ramadan. Some believe the violence of the attack will expose the increased targeting of muslims. The rise in hate crime against muslims have been underreported, under understood and not dealt with in the same way as bigotry impunity. Hopefully this will mean that action will be taken to tackle hate crime and the rise in hate crime against muslims which has been taking place over recent years and has reached a really worrying situation yesterday. As with all shocking attacks of this kind, the Community Response is a mix of anger and upset, alongside unity and defiance. What everyone now wants is reassurance and a feeling of safety during these are very difficult times. Close to Finsbury Park mosque we had leaders coming to denounce the attack. Lets speak to martin bashir. What has the religious community been saying . Several leaders have been here and issued statements. The chief rabbi has condemned the attack was there have been several rabbis coming by. The archbishop of canterbury has said this is an attack on god and on humanity. Virtually every grouping of religious leader has condemned it. Many within the Muslim Community are extremely angry. I think it was onjune are extremely angry. I think it was on june six when are extremely angry. I think it was onjune six when Something Like 20 Islamophobia Attacks were referred to the police, the average around this time of year is about 3. 5 a day. That was more than was reported after the Murder Of Lee Rigby in 2013 and the paris attacks in 2015. Among many muslims around here, the feeling is, as soon as there is an Act Of Terror there is an immediate association with islam but where muslims are the victims of this, there appears to be a reluctance to announce this and as an Act Of Terror. They accused the bbc, and other news organisations, as being slow in making that point. Thank you. Just to bring you up to date with what we know, police are treating this as an Act Of Terror. One man is dead and ten other people have been injured here. Two of them are ina have been injured here. Two of them are in a serious condition. They are being treated in three separate hospitals. That is the latest. Back to the studio. A minutes silence has been held across britain to remember the victims of last weeks Grenfell Tower fire. Police say they now believe 79 people lost their lives in the tragedy. Investigators warn that due to the complex nature of the recovery operation this figure is likely to change. Our correspondent Richard Lister reports. As they assembled this morning in the shadow of Grenfell Tower, there was gratitude alongside the grief before a minute of reflection. Dismissed. And then for these teams and others, the work began again, to help those who survived and recover the bodies of those who did not. Today, that number rose again. This morning i know there are 79 people that are either confirmed dead and have been identified or are missing and sadly i have to presume are dead. I do think there may be some change to that number. The work we are doing is about trying to find those people to see if they are safe and well and thankfully, over the last few who people believed were missing and i am so grateful that they actually are safe and well. I have investigated majorfires over most of my career but nothing prepared me for what i saw in there. The residents in here got out in time but there are more than 500 flats like this one. This man lived in one of them, on the fifth floor with his wife, brother and mother. On the night of the fire, he was away on a Training Course and returned to find his home in flames. His family managed to escape. How are you doing . But so many of his neighbours did not. Are you doing . But so many of his neighbours did notlj are you doing . But so many of his neighbours did not. I didnt know she was dead. He feels badly let down by the authorities. Why are you not hear . I have absolutely no trust in the government, in the royal borough of kensington and chelsea. And in the housing system. There are now more signs of official involvement. The government says every surviving family will receive a £500 in cash and 5000 paid into the bank, but the help has been slow in coming. The authorities, like eve ryo ne in coming. The authorities, like everyone else, ta ken in coming. The authorities, like everyone else, taken by surprise. How is that possible . This video has emerged of fire crews racing to the scene last week in disbelief. Their work continues. Red watch your back on duty today and they were on duty when the incident happened. Although they have seen horrific scenes and they have seen horrific scenes and they are devastated, they are all heartbroken but ready for duty today. The police have promised an exhaustive criminal investigation to ensure those responsible for this are tojustice. Our top story this lunchtime. A van has been driven into a crowd of muslim worshippers near a mosque in north london killing one person and injuring ten others. Police say at least 79 people have died in the Grenfell Towerfire a minutes silence for those who lost their lives has been observed across the uk. In sport, its queens week and andy murray begins his bid for a record fifth title tomorrow. Today, the british number two is in action. Its been nearly a year since the Eu Referendum vote and today the formal brexit negotiations which could define the uks political and Economic Future have finally begun. They are taking place between the brexit secretary, david davis and the eus chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. Mr davis acknowledged there would be challenging times ahead but said he was determined to build a strong and special pa rtnership. Our europe correspondent Damian Grammaticas reports from brussels. Starting today, History Being Made and unmade. Are you ready to make history, mr davis . David davis mission in brussels, to unstitch a relationship 44 years old, with the uk heading for future outside the eu as mr davis headed to his talks. It is almost exactly a year since the referendum and david davis says that with these talks, he is going to end up with a deal like no other before it. The eu side are waiting to see what it is he wants. The Conservative Party does not yet have a united view on brexit but article 50 has been triggered, and negotiations have to begin between mr davis and his opposite number, Michel Barnier. The handshake went on. And on. A small test of strength perhaps before the real tests ahead. We will do all we can to ensure that we deliver a deal that works in the best interests of all citizens. To that end, we are starting this negotiation in a positive and constructive tone, determined to build a strong and special partnership between ourselves and our european allies and friends in the future. We must first tackle the uncertainties caused by brexit. First, for citizens, but also for the beneficiaries of the eu policies, and for the impact on borders, in particular ireland. So what do we know about mr barnier . Well, the former french minister spent months preparing. He told the European Parliament a few months ago he wont be seeking to punish the uk, but it must pay its bills. Let me be clear, when a country leaves the union, there is no punishment. There is no price to pay to leave. But we must settle the account. No more, no less. Michel barnier is an eu insider. He served as an eu commissioner working alongside vivian reading. She says he will be firm but fair. He is a tough negotiator and good to be so. So we are very happy to have him as a chief negotiator instead of someone else. The tough stuff is not being discussed today. This first day was to set the tone. Brexit is now in motion. Damian grammaticas, bbc news, brussels. And we can speak to damien now. Tell us more about the focus of the talks and the timetable. Yes, this morning we have had a brief introductory session between the two main negotiators. Mr barnier and mr davis. What interesting is that they have only met once since the referendum. They had experience in the past when they were both europe ministers. They know each other a little. Today, there will simply be this one day of preparatory talks, where there will be discussions about how the negotiations will go forward and we expect that will be one week of talks every four weeks or every month through the summer and that is what they will be agreeing, that structure. The eu side is insisting that the uk must deal with the exit issues, those things that Michel Barnier was talking about there, and that they will review that, possibly in the autumn, to see if they will move on To Trade Talks and the future relationship, but for many people here it is still unclear exactly what david davis is seeking in that future relationship, so they will wait to hear. Thank you very much. So much to discuss between now and the end of march. Between now and the end of march 2019 when negotiations are meant to conclude. Our reality check correspondent chris morris has been looking at the complexity of some of the key issues. The most complex negotiations the uk has faced in decades are going to have to make rapid progress. Because the uk is due to leave the eu in march 2019, and both sides reckon theyll need up to six months before that to get any deal fully ratified. So time is short, they want to get on with it. And initially, the eu Negotiating Team has a mandate to Start Talking about three issues a financial settlement how much does the uk owe . Money that it has already agreed to spend. The eu is seeking up to 60 billion euros. Then a guarantee of future rights for eu citizens here and uk citizens elsewhere in the eu. Everyone wants to get this sorted, but the legal details are really complicated. The eu wants the European Court ofjustice involved, the uk doesnt. Could some new form of legal oversight be part of a compromise . And then theres the future status of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic Which after brexit will also be a land border between the eu and the uk. How do you keep the border as open as it is now, but have some sort of customs checks carried out . The hope is that enough progress will have been made on these issues by about october, to Start Talking then about the future economic relationship with the uk. The governments position is still we leave the Single Market, we leave the Customs Union, and we End Free Movement of people from the eu. But has the election changed the calculation . The general election result was not what i or any conservative would have wanted. But during the course of the general election, with the conservatives and labour, we argued that we should leave the European Union and no longer be subject to what is called the Single Market, effectively the jurisdiction of the European Court of human justice. So lets remember what we are talking about here. Being a member of the Single Market means you have no tariffs or quotas on trade, and you have a set of common standards and rules on everything from Food Packaging to the use of chemicals. But you also have to allow the Free Movement of goods, services, capital and people so its harder to control immigration. Being in the Customs Union means that once goods have passed through customs in one country, they can then be shipped around the union without any further tariffs thats obviously good for business. But if youre in the Customs Union you dont negotiate your own trade deals with the rest of the world. So working out any new economic relationship is going to be complex, and there will need to be a significant transition period probably several years to avoid any sudden shocks. For now, though, the eu is still waiting to find out exactly what it is that the uk wants, and its wondering how stable the new government is really going to be. Getting through the next few months without the entire Negotiation Running into serious trouble would be a good start. Portugal has declared three days of mourning, as hundreds of firefighters are still tackling a forest fire which has killed more than 60 people. The blaze took hold in a densely forested region in the Pedrogao Grande area in central portugal. Emergency services are being hampered by strong winds and daytime temperatures of about a0 degrees celsius. Caroline hawley reports. Throughout the night the fire continued devouring the forests, spreading its horror. A desperate fight to put out the flames now involves more than 1000 firefighters. The fire is thought to have begun on saturday after a Lightning Strike in europes heatwave. Eyewitnesses could not believe how quickly it spread. One survivor said it felt like the end of the world. Translation the fla mes of the world. Translation the flames came from down there, and then over there. Smoke came from that way and this was like hell, like hell. The scale of the disaster has shaken portugal. Many of the dead were trapped in their cars as they tried to escape and the Emergency Services have found more bodies next to the road, killed, it is presumed, while trying to run from vehicles that had caught fire. Translation our pain at this moment has no bounds. Death under these circumstances is always a tragedy. This is a tragedy never seen before in portugals democracy. The Authorities Say the Emergency Services moved as fast as they could but the fire had burned through phone lines and Communication Towers in remote areas, making it hard to raise the alarm. Local people have been doing what they can themselves to save their homes and livelihoods. Translation we should let this all go translation we should let this all 9 up translation we should let this all go up in flames, is that it . No, we will try to put it out. It has emerged that 12 people survived the raging flames, hiding for hours in a water tank. Among those killed in the deadliest fire in portugals modern history, several children. The death toll expected to rise. Lawyers for the parents of charlie gard the ten month old baby suffering from a rare genetic condition are preparing a final appeal to allow him to be taken to the United States for experimental treatment. The European Court of human rights has ordered that the 10 month old remains on life support until midnight tonight to give time for last minute legal submissions. Our medical correspondent Fergus Walshjoins Me now. Remind us more about the background to this very sad case. And what are the options open now . Charlie gard is terminally ill. He cannot move, he cannot breathe unaided. Crucially, he has very serious brain damage. The doctors caring for him at Great Ormond Street Hospital wants to withdraw the Mechanical Ventilator that keeps him alive because they feel that he should be allowed to die with dignity. The parents, his devoted pa rents, dignity. The parents, his devoted parents, dispute that, and wants to ta ke parents, dispute that, and wants to take him to the United States for experimental treatment. But in the three court cases that have been heard in the uk, all of the experts have agreed that treatment would be futile and might just have agreed that treatment would be futile and mightjust extend his suffering. So all the uk courts have said thats charlie should be allowed to die but now the European Court of human rights has today looked at the case and they say that they will decide whether or not to ask the uk to extend that critical care, that life support, beyond midnight tonight. I think for that but in a separate hearing in london, the Uk Supreme Court is considering how long that should be allowed to go on for. Charlie gards pa rents, allowed to go on for. Charlie gards parents, to give you an idea of how fraught this whole thing is, has said that if Great Ormond Street Hospital withdraws critical care, they will report to the hospital for manslaughter. So there are very entrenched positions here and at the centre of it all, this poor