Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Six 20170131

The scientists heading off to antarctica to find an answer that could unlock the secrets of the universe. Coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news a massive night in the premier league. Seven matches including liverpool against leaders chelsea, at anfield. Good evening, and welcome to the bbc news at 6. The Home Secretary amber rudd has taken the governments criticism of President Trumps controversial ban on citizens from seven mainly muslim countries from travelling to the United States a step further today. She told mps its notjust divisive and wrong, but could end up helping so called Islamic State in its mission to recruit supporters to its cause. Her words came amid worldwide protests against the ban, and a petition here, signed by nearly 1. 7 million people, calling for a state visit by mr trump to be cancelled. Heres our Diplomatic Correspondent james robbins. Days of protest across britain focused first on President Trumps travel bans, then on the early state visit offered to him by theresa may. The government calls the travel bans divisive and wrong, now the Home Secretary has gone further, suggesting the president s actions might play into the hands of the extremists, so called Islamic State or daesh. Isil and daesh will use any opportunity they can to make difficulties to create the environment that they want to radicalise people, to bring them over to their side. So it is a Propaganda Opportunity for them, potentially. And the Home Secretary told a committee of mps that seen from britain, the countries which are the subject of President Trumps travel ban, are not the main problem. The difficulties to the uk over terrorism are not caused by people largely coming from the sort of countries that the us has named, but from people becoming radicalised here. Ministers are hoping some of the friction with washington will have died down before the queen welcomes President Trump on his state visit later in the year. The government is Standing Firm behind its invitation, although a former head of the Foreign Office said it was issued far too quickly. Its the governments role to make sure that the queen isnt dragged into political controversy, and i think they have to watch that dimension, given the level of public concern about this state visit invitation. To issue the invitation in the first days of President Trumps being in the white house, to happen in the next few months, felt to me, when i heard it, a bit premature, frankly. The speed of the invitation is startling. President bush had been in office over two and a half years before he was invited. Similarly, president obama was in his third year of office when he got his invitation, but President Trump was given his by theresa may just seven days after his inauguration. A petition against the visit is steadily gaining support and has now triggered a parliamentary debate next month, but number ten dismisses the objections and prominent pro brexit mps are right behind the invitation. This is a very important state visit in the National Interests and it represents the recognition in this country of the United States, in relation to the whole of our foreign policy, our alliances through two world wars and the whole of the Brexit Question as well. Theres absolutely nothing new about a government using an invitation to a state visit as a political weapon to achieve specific ends. Its one of the most powerful in britains diplomatic arsenal. In the special relationship, inevitably, unequal, its something that britain has, the pomp, the pageantry, the palace, the queen and american decidedly does not. President obama, much more popular in britain, came in 2011 after a series of plainer talks based visits, but its the full royal glitter which President Trump has already been offered, as part of the governments strategy to woe him from the very start. James robbins, bbc news. In the last hour, the Trump Administration has repeated its assertion that its travel ban was not aimed at muslims, and was only a pause while the government assessed americas security situation. But the political fall out over the ban continues. Overnight, mr trump sacked the Acting Attorney General Sally Yates Who was an obama appointment after she questioned the legality of the ban. Heres our North America Editorjon Sopel. Donald trump was todays meeting leaders from the Pharmaceutical Industry after last night delivering a lethal injection to the countrys most senior law officer, the Acting Attorney General. Its odd been dubbed the monday night massacre. The offence of Sally Yates List issued this memo to her staff at the Department Ofjustice. She schedules and convince the Executive Order was lawful and went on, consequently for as long as im the Acting Attorney General, the Department Ofjustice will not present arguments in defence of the Executive Order. This drama was unfolding is once again protesters had taken to the streets to oppose the ban on refugees coming to the us. She was fired for defying the president was not surprising, but the language used by the white house was. The Acting Attorney General sally yates has Department Ofjustice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States. The word betrayal is more usually reserved for spies, for people who have committed acts of treachery. Sally yates would say she was doing what she thought was right and upholding the law, but what this episode shows us is how the Trump Administration sees dissent and how it will deal with it. In essence, you are either with us or against us. But look at this from her Confirmation Hearing back in 2013. The man asking the question is none other than Donald Trumps choice as eternal general. If the reviews the president wants to execute our unlawful should the Attorney General Oi unlawful should the attorney general or Deputy Attorney general say no . believe the attorney general or Deputy Attorney general has an obligation to follow the law and the constitution and give independent legal advice to the president. In the last few minutes Homeland Security personnel have been holding a News Conference to clarify what the order is and isnt. This is not, i repeat not a ban on muslims. The Homeland Security mission is to protect the american people, religious liberty is one of our most fundamental and treasured values. This evening the focus was switched to Donald Trumps pick for the seat on the Supreme Court, likely to be the biggest decision of his presidency. It will be ready for him to talk about that after four days of damaging controversy over his ban. More from john sobol shortly. The president of the European Council donald tusk said today that Donald Trumps administration has been included on a list of external threats facing the European Union along with china, russia and islamist terrorism. 0ur europe correspondent Damian Grammaticas is in brussels. These comments take the criticism to a new level. George, they are pretty startling. Donald tusk has admittedly deliberately added that to the list. European leaders have taken a different approach to the uk. They have sat back to wait and see what donald trump brings that they are deeply concerned. That is what donald tusk is voicing. He said they are worrying about worrying declarations from the us. I think what he means there is Donald Trumps support for brexit. His view other countries could follow out of the eu, his admiration for Vladimir Putin and doubts about nato. What donald tusk is saying here is he believes the eu needs to champion the values of staying united, that way it can rival other superpowers, but also champion the value of the alliance with the us, that that should continue. And we can speak to our North America Editorjon Sopel in washington. Every day we speak it seems there is a new initiative and a new controversy. George, are you kidding me . We dream ofa george, are you kidding me . We dream of a day when there is only one initiative and one controversy. There seemed to be five or six a day at times. What donald trump, i think, is hoping is he is now no longer the boss of his own private enterprise, is leading a government. Government moves much more slowly than when you are the fiat chief of a private enterprise. So he is getting really frustrated at the pace with which he is able to appoint members of his cabinet, the amount of questioning there is over his Executive Orders, the need to consult and bring people in. All of Thatis Consult and bring people in. All of that is driving him mad. Tonight he goes on to the Supreme Court. As well as being a businessman he is also the former host of the apprentice and is giving some of that washington as well. The two finalists were being told for the Supreme Court are being flown to washington, to see which one will be hired. Thank you both. Mps have begun debating whether to grant theresa may the authority to leave the eu with the brexit secretary, david davis, warning mps not to block the governments bill. He told them theyd already passed the Point Of No Return when the referendum was held. The snp and the Liberal Democrats say theyll vote against the legislation, but with Jeremy Corbyn Telling Labour Mps to support it, the government looks set to win comfortably. 0ur Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg reports. The man who has to make the argument, one of the campaigners who made it happen. Why should that that the chief whip who has to get it through the house of commons. And the Prime Minister who will take us out of the eu, who didnt want mps to have their say like this. But here it is, the first real step to the exit. The eyes of the nation are on this chamber as we consider this bill. For many years there has been a creeping sense in the country, and not just this country, a creeping sense in the country, and notjust this country, that politicians say one thing and do another. We voted to give the people the chance to determine our future referendum, now we must honour our side of the agreement. Labours official position is to back the beginning of the legal process, article 50, but with a heavy heart. For the labour party this is a very difficult bill. Some of its mps will d efy difficult bill. Some of its mps will defy the leader and vote against. When i was imploring people up and down the country to vote in the referendum and vote to remain i told them their vote really mattered. That decision was going to be made. I was not inviting them to express a view. And although we are fiercely internationalist and fiercely pro european, we are in the labour party, above all, democrats. Most mps wanted to stay in the eu, but most will now give the process the green light, yet there will be dozens green light, yet there will be d oze ns of green light, yet there will be dozens of attempts to shape the deal. This is a backward and damaging step and an Act Of Constitutional and economic sabotage. The british people did not give this government mandate to threaten to turn our country into some tawdry, low regulation, low tax cowboy economy. This is a process that needs to be triggered, we need to do it soon and the public of this country expect us to do it. In theory this is all mps debating, just two lines of a government bill. But here are the ideas mps want to include, all of the amendments they wa nt to include, all of the amendments they want to have to tweak or maybe even to slow down the process. But it is very unlikely that this will be stopped in its tracks. Its not so much about the outcome but occasion, and is at the start of Something Else . The once and future Sovereign Parliament of the United Kingdom vote to make it sovereign again, thatis vote to make it sovereign again, that is what the people challenge you to do. I personally shall be voting with my conscience content in this vote, when we see what unfolds here after as we leave the European Union. I hope the consciences of other members of parliament will remain equally content. Applauded, even though he and others have lost the argument. They will talk till midnight, plenty more before the first votes here are cast. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. The head of world athletics, sebastian coe, has denied he misled a Parliamentary Committee investigating doping in sport when he appeared before it last december. New emails have been released which appear to show that lord coe was aware of Corruption Allegations in athletics before they were made public. Heres our sports editor, dan roan. There is some Flash Photography in this report. Lord coe has been at the top of his sport for decades. Tonight, fresh concerns over whether he misled mps about what me knew and when over allegations of a russian doping scandal. When lord coe peared in front of Parliamentary Select Committee he was asked if he knew about the Corruption Crisis before it became public . I wasnt aware of the specific allegations that have been made around the corruption of anti doping processes in russia. Since then, there has been evidence lord coe may have known more than he initially suggested. First the bbcs Panorama Pro Jam last summer reported allegations he had been alerted to the scandal months before it became public. Did you mislead the public . Today, a twist. In this email, sent by lord coe to the iaaf ethics chief he says in this case it looks like lord coe knew more than he let on to the committee when he came in december 2015. He has put himself in a difficult position. He denies there is discrepancies about the email and was not asked about when he first heard of the corruption. He agreed to release this email after demands to release this email after demands to be recalled to that Parliamentary Select Committee to give more evidence. The pressure on athletics most powerfulfigure is intensifying. Tonight, yet more controversy. His former right hand man, kicked out of the iaaf, in disgrace. Nick davies, who served as lord coes Chief Of Staff admitted accepting secret payments from the governing bodys former president and lying about it. He was cleared of corruption but sacked with immediate effect. Lord coe has vowed to salvage the credibility of the sport he now rules, but the past continues to plight his attempts to look to the future. Dan roan, bbc news. Our top story this evening. The Home Secretary says President Trumps travel ban could help so called Islamic State recruit support. Still to come. A new campaign to tackle loneliness in the uk gets under way. Coming up in sportsday, in the next 15 minutes, on bbc news. A blow for ireland ahead of their first match in this years six nations championship. Fly half jonny sexton is out of the murrayfield match against scotland. Yesterday, a bbc investigation revealed the alarming trade in Baby Chimpanzees captured in the wild in west africa and sold on as pets to buyers in the gulf states and china. The trafficking threatens the chimps with extinction. They can fetch thousands of pounds on the black market. 0ur science editor, david shukman, has been to abidjan in ivory coast where one chimp, rescued from captivity, is being looked after. A baby chimpanzee, hungry but safe, hes just been liberated from wildlife traffickers. Poachers had killed his family, now hes at a zoo in ivory coast and the keepers have named him nembleyjunior. Baby chimps are on sale on the black market, theyre wanted as pets, until they become too big and strong, when theyre killed or dumped. Our investigation led us to a dealer, ibrahima traore, who was secretly filmed spelling out his prices in dollar. 12,500. 0k. 0ur Undercover Reporter went to the dealers house and saw him holding the baby chimp. Two months . Yes. We were in a street nearby. We briefed interpol and the ivory coast police, and they moved in. Police the dealer was arrested and the baby chimp was freed, but hes been through a series of traumatic experiences and may take time to recover. He may have seen his family wiped out in front of his eyes and we know that the statistics suggest that for every one chimp that makes it, up to ten chimps dont, if the family is killed. I dont know, physically, he doesnt look too bad, from what ive seen on the footage, but mentally these things can be very profound. After the police operation, the baby chimp was taken first to the Interpol Office in abidjan, he clambered towards the only people he knew the men whod been holding him captive. Ibrahima traore faces charges related to wildlife trafficking, so does his uncle, mohammed. Their Mobile Phones are a goldmine of information about links between the poachers and the jungles, Corrupt Officials In Asia and the gulf. But when it comes to wildlife crime, the International Police effort is focused on saving elephants and rhinos, not chimpanzees. Without the funding, we cant do anything. But what were trying to become is more intelligence led, so we start looking at what the threats are and what Law Enforcement needs to address in orderto maintain a level of security. So primates, unfortunately, our Information Holdings is not as strong as it could be. Back in west africa, Nembleyjunior Clings to a keeper. Baby chimps need contact. Hes given a first look at other chimpanzees, maybe hell live with them or be found a home in a sanctuary. Hes doing well after everything hes been through, many others arent so lucky. David shukman, bbc news, in ivory coast. Its been described as the silent epidemic, the growing problem of loneliness in the uk. Today, an organisation has been set up to look at Practical Solutions to the problem in memory of the murdered labour mp, jo cox. Mrs cox had started the process of establishing the commission when she was killed outside her constituency lastjune. Our home editor, mark easton, reports. Alone, in a crowd. In some senses weve never been more connected, but for millions, this is the age of loneliness. Westminster today saw the launch of a campaign to recognise it and overcome it. The mpjo cox had started to set up a Commission On Loneliness before her murder last year. In her name, parliamentarians from all parties say theyre keeping her legacy alive and her sister explained how she and jo experienced loneliness themselves. When jo went away to university it was a very difficult time for both of us and i think it would be fair to say that we both experienced loneliness. We would talk late at night about how much we missed each other. Having been so very close all our young lives, it was very tough to be apart. Loneliness affects people of all ages new mums are particularly at risk, people like emma conway. There were moments where ijust felt terribly lonely because you cant watch peppa all day, you cant just stare at your baby weaning all day. Sometimes you just want a chat, and there were moments where i would go upstairs and lie down on the bed and have a little cry and just feel really sad. In our busy world, loneliness is described as a silent epidemic, affecting some 9 million people, often or always, and with frightening Health Impacts its said to be as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes every day. 0ften Loneliness comes in times of transition, so think when people retire, someone who becomes bereaved. So its when you lose those normal social connections, that you would usually see people on an everyday basis, when that stops happening. So you have to make the extra effort to make new connections. For emma, escaping her loneliness came by starting whats become an Award Winning blog about motherhood, and she believes engaging with social media can be a big help. Theres the risks with everything, youve got trolls and people who are not who they say they are. It can be very isolating. It can be quite awful, but ive found a few friends that ive probably met two or three times in real life, but i will speak to them 20 times a day. And that helps . I think it really does help. The new Commission On Loneliness is looking at a range of possible solutions; the use of talking therapies, as well as schemes helping people find companionship. The commission is determined that the lonely realise theyre not alone. Mark easton, bbc news. Its a mystery thats puzzled scientists for years. Most of the worlds meteorites have been found in antarctica and while many are made of rock, very few of those discovered are made of iron. Scientists are convinced there are many more Iron Meteorites out there and now a team from Manchester University is off to antarctica to try to find them. 0ur science correspondent, rebecca morelle, reports. Lighting up the sky, a Space Rock Hurtles towards the earth. It exploded over central russia in 2013. Explosion. Causing widespread damage. The huge meteorite was later recovered, thousands strike each year around the world. The great wilderness of antarctica is a prime space rock hunting ground, but despite extensive searches, one kind of meteorite, made from iron, is surprisingly scarce. Now, though, a new hunt is soon to begin. Scientists at the university of manchester are developing high tech metal detectors, based on landmine technology, to track down the meteorites. If the weathers going well, the technologys going well, it may be say once a day we find these, if were lucky. So its going to be an extremely exciting experience when we first find this. Its like the ultimate fishing trip, if you like. Antarcticas missing Iron Meteorites have been a mystery for years, but now scientists think theyve cracked it. The idea is that there are lots there, but theyre buried in the ice, and as the ice sheet flows, so does the meteorites, but when they hit this mountain range, theyre forced upwards. Meteorites made of rock, the most common kind, do come all the way to the surface. But a meteorite made of iron, like this, conducts heat from the sun, so it melts the ice below and sinks back down. Scientists think these missing meteorites are sitting only 30 centimetres, so a foot, below the surface, just waiting to be dug up. It has some rocky bits and some metal bits, but this beautiful large iron meteorite here is really what were after. Iron meteorites are particular valuable to find. Science. The Iron Meteorites provide us with this snapshot into the earliest part of when planets were first forming. So they tell us about how early planets would have formed, a number of early planets, and thats really exciting because it can provide us with an indication about what our early solar system looked like back then. The scientists will Start Testing the technology by the end of the year. The mission to antarctica will be a gamble, but the team hopes its one that will pay off. The secrets of our solar system could lie just beneath the ice. Rebecca morelle, bbc news. Time for a look at the weather. Heres darren bett. Big changes on the way. All our weather will be coming in from the west. We can see it queueing up there in the atlantic. That was todays cloud. This is tomorrows area of cloud. This curl of cloud could bring wet and windy weather on thursday. This one on friday, a long way away, over towards new york, could develop into a storm by friday. A lot of uncertainty. Its a long way ahead. At the moment, we have seen wetter weather developing, particularly across england and wales. The winds will become lighter but a lot of low cloud, rain and drizzle and hill fog. A few breaks in the cloud for North Western parts of scotla nd in the cloud for North Western parts of scotland and northern ireland. Chilly here. Temperatures will rise in Eastern England where it has been chilly for a while. We have rain and low cloud, dull, damp start to tomorrow. The rain will take a while tomorrow. The rain will take a while to clear away from Eastern England. The cloud will break up. Away from here it will brighten up and maybe sunshine ahead of rain later for northern ireland, wales and the south west. A milder day for the eastern side of the uk. As we head into thursday, we have our first big area of low pressure. It will track its way northwards to the west of ireland. The biggest impacts will be felt across ireland. It will be a windy day, gales wildly, maybe severe around southern and western coastal areas. Rain around, too. Severe around southern and western coastalareas. Rain around, too. No great weight to the rain by the afternoon, a very mild day. Friday, this is the tricky one. That low moves a, this one is heading our way. Will it develop into a storm . Some uncertainty about that. At the moment it looks like most of us will see a spell of rain. It could be a little heavy as well. The wind will be strengthening, too. If we see the low pressures developing into something nasty, the threat of some really big waves pounding the south west of the uk with gusts of 70mph possibly a touch higher than that. A lot to play for. Thank you very much. Our main story. Controversy over President Trumps travel ban continues. The Home Secretary says it could be used as propaganda by so called Islamic State. A thats all from the bbc news at six so its goodbye from me and on bbc one we can nowjoin the bbcs news teams where you are. This is bbc news. The top stories Mps Will Debate Whether President Trump should be granted a state visit to britain after a petition against the plan continues to gain signatures. A second petition calling for the visit to go ahead will also be debated. The head of the Us Department of Homeland Security has defended President Trumps controversial travel ban. John kerry insists it isnt aimed at muslims. Mps have begun two days of debate on the bill that will help begin the process that would bring britain out of the European Union. Thousands of