Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Six 20170517

Lose their bid to trademark the fourfinger bar. And Coming Up In Sportsday later in the hour, on bbc news. England cricket could be back on free to air television, as the ecb offer up a new rights package to broadacsters. Good evening, and welcome to the bbc news at six. The liberal democrat Election Manifesto is out today, and at the heart of it is a pledge to offer another referendum on any brexit deal. According to party leader tim farron, it would give voters a chance to say they want to remain in the eu. The lib dems are also offering several new policies aimed at young people, including dropping the voting age to 16 and a rent to own housing scheme. More on that in a moment, but first, heres our Political Correspondent viki young. He says his policies offer young people a brighter future. And tim farron has put brexit at the heart of his campaign. Sun, sun, sun, here it comes. The lib dems hope the promise of a referendum on any brexit deal the government negotiates will persuade remain voters to swing behind them. But the polls suggest the message isnt having much impact. Certainly there are many people in this country lacking hope. They think that the only thing on the table is theresa mays bleak vision of us leaving the European Union with a hard brexit. But there are also many people who voted remain who now accept that result. Something you are unwilling to do. And they feel, actually, we have just got to get on with it now, and many of them think theresa may is the person to do that. So what there is out there are many people who feel they have given up the fight. And for what im saying to people is that i havent and if you believe that britains future is better alongside our neighbours in europe, you should not be forced to accept a stitch up between brussels and london, you should have the final say. As well as a referendum on the brexit deal, the liberal democrat manifesto promises £7 billion of extra investment in education. A penny rise in income tax to fund more spending on the nhs and social care, an end to the freeze on working age benefits. And the party wants to legalise and regulate cannabis. Theres no mention, though, of abolishing tuition fees, a Policy The Lib Dems abandoned when they went into coalition with the conservatives. Would you now accept tuition fees were the right thing to do, and they re working . Well, you know, i voted against the rise in tuition fees. I think it is critically important that people keep their word. And that is why my advice to others is do not make promises you cannot keep. Would you now put reversing it on your manifesto . We have said we would put in significant additional money to return grants to students to make sure it is affordable. Here in South West London the lib dems are hoping for a comeback. The area voted overwhelmingly against brexit. So how is their promise of another referendum going down with remain voters . It is very childish to thinkjust because you do not like a decision that has been made and has been voted for, that you can go back and reverse it. Or rearrange it. This is a democracy, this is the country that we live in and i think we should support that and stand by that. Even though the decision wasnt one that i liked. I do not think that the fight should ever stop. I think it is far too important. I think it affects far too many lives. And yes, we should carry on fighting until we have, you know, no more fight left in us. I was disappointed with the news about a potential referendum because i think that ship has sailed now. And it is about trying to get the best kind of brexit. And so how many seats do you need to gain . For you to keep yourjob . My sense is that we need to increase our number of seats, increase our vote share, but what we need above all else is to offer the british people this one chance. This is the last chance saloon for britain. If you believe britain is open, tolerant and united, if you reject the extreme version of brexit that theresa may, Jeremy Corbyn and ukip have pushed through the house of commons, if you reject that and want a better future, the Liberal Democrats are the only party that is offering new hope. Two years ago the lib dems narrowly avoided election wipe out. Theyre hoping brexit thrown them a political lifeline. Vicki young, bbc news, teddington. As weve heard, the Liberal Democrats are hoping to attract young voters notjust with that pledge to have another referendum on any brexit deal, but with several other policies, including housing and the voting voting age. Our home editor, mark easton, has been to cambridge to see what issues are concerning young voters there. We are here to talk to you about the election today. Let us know your thoughts and tweet us. The voice of the young. So often ignored by the politician, it is loud and clear, at Cambridge Regional college. Politician, it is loud and clear, at Cambridge Regional collegem politician, it is loud and clear, at Cambridge Regional college. It could be about anything, brexit, student tuition. It broadcasts to thousand of potential young voters in the number one target seat for the Liberal Democrats. So what is on their mind . Politicians have to start appealing to young people, because these young people will grow old. The liberal democrat manifesto promises young people cheaper bus fare, higher welfare payment, promises young people cheaper bus fare, higherwelfare payment, help with housing an votes for 16 year olds. Is lowering the sleeting age the kind of policy that cuts it with these student hairdressers. A lot of people my age dont know enough about it and they kind of like, they go with what their parents think, so i dont think it a great idea to be honest. Brexit is a big issue for you, explain why . I am a british citizen but my parents are portuguese, so are the rest of the family. The Liberal Democrats are saying they wa nt Liberal Democrats are saying they want a softer brexit that will retain access to the sing market, is that appealing for someone like you . Well, i guess it is all talk. I dont know if it is going to be done. Political wisdom degrees your ma nifesto political wisdom degrees your manifesto should appeal to people who will actually vote, so when liberal democrat focus on younger people is a risk. 18 24 are half as likely to vote as pensioners. This college has been encouraging stu d e nts to this college has been encouraging students to register before next mondays deadline, but cities with large Student Populations have been reporting a big drop in registration. And there is a credibility issue for the Liberal Democrats. After promising not to put up University Tuition fees in the 2010 election they voted to do just that, in government. Are the Liberal Democrats damaged goods now . I dont really remember when they put them up, but i was probably finishing secondary school, but for me, knowing what they have done i wouldnt be able to trust them. |j feel like they are stuck in catch 22. What they are giving is a mix of the middle. They are going to offer a maintenance grant, which is great. Everybody should be given the chance to go to uni. So these are liberal democrat target voters in a liberal democrat target voters in a liberal democrat target seat. Am quite excited. 0 for the party a lot depends on how they respond to the promises of politicians. Wage growth has fallen behind The Cost Of Living for the first time in three years, according to the office for national statistics. Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, increased by 2. 1 . In the three months to march, while Inflation Rose by 2. 3 in the year to march 2017. Meanwhile, unemployment has fallen to 4. 6 its lowest level in 42 years. Heres our economics editor, kamal ahmed. A Business Fair in leeds and good new onjob, firms hiring plenty of people as Economic Growth remains positive. We are continually recruiting staff, we have grown quickly over the last to two years from four to 32 people. Some we have employed our new manager, and we have also employed in the last couple of months a new ground staff. At this moment in time on our company website, i think we have 15 vacancies posted. The last time we saw unemployment this low was 1975. When the price of a pint of milk was sense pence it was an era of high inflation and rapidly increasing incomes. Today inflation is creeping back and incomes growth is creeping back and incomes growth is falling. Let us look at the more recent history of pay and rising prices in britain. If we go back to the year 2000, you can see that earnings were consistently above the rate of inflation, on average people were better off. That came to an abrupt halt in 2008, when the financial crisis hit. Wages fell sharply and Inflation Rose, as things like the cost of petrol went up. That led to this long period of pay squeeze, that didnt come to an end until september 2014. And until today, wages have stayed above The Cost Of Living, but the gap has been closing, and today, those lines crossed, individual incomes on average are going down again. Donna is a Teaching Assistant from south east london. She has faced a pay freeze for four years. I struggle to eat sometimes. We dont, i have to social life. Because of no money to go out. And it isa because of no money to go out. And it is a choice of heating and eating. So one winter it was sitting there with blanket, hot water bottle, jackets, jumpers. G and for other hard pressed consumers it doesnt look like the problem is going away any time soon. The big question for 2017 is whether wages respond to either of two big pressure, those are fast rising inflation and low unemployment. If they dont, we are likely to see the pay freeze continue for some time and that is concerning. Is there a spark for the uk economy . A way to produce more wealth from the hard hours we work . That relieses on productivity going up, but the figures are down again. Until that problem is solved, the danger of a continued income squeeze remains. Ian bradys ashes will not be scattered on saddleworth moor, the inquest into his death has heard. Brady, who tortured and killed five children with his lover myra hindley, buried four of his victims on the moor. The hearing was told bradys solicitor had given assurances there is no likelihood his ashes would be scattered there. Sheffield city council have been ordered to pay nearly £200,000 in compensation to a former employee who was sexually abused by a council official. Richard rowe, who has waived his right to anonymity, successfully sued the council after being assaulted by roger dodds in the early 1980s. Dodds was sentenced to 16 years in prison in february for a series of assaults on colleagues and students. In the united states, President Trump has been accused on interfering in an fbi investigation into the links between his former National Security adviser and russia. Its reported that trump asked james comey, who was fbi director at the time, to let this go thats according to a memo reportedly written by comey immediately afterwards. Comey was fired from his post last week. The white house has denied the claims, but there are calls for all records of their meetings to be released to congress. Our north america correspondent Aleem Maqbool is in washington. On productivity going up, but the figures are down again. Until that problem is solved, the danger of a continued income squeeze remains. Yes, this presidency has it seems lurched from one controversy to the next. But with this scandal, donald trump may be on the shakiest ground yet. In his first appearance since the story broke he has been as defiant as ever. No politician in history, and i say this with great assurety, has been treated worse, or more unfairly, you cant let them get you down. You cant let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams. Adversity makes you stronger. Dont give in, dont back down, and never stop doing what you know is right. He has become more famous than me. It centre on relations between these two men. James comey was fired as fbi director by donald trump last week. The allegation is the president had tried to get him to dropa president had tried to get him to drop a key investigation. Mr comby was looking into links between Michael Flynn and russia. But its reported the fbi director kept details of his meetings with mr trump and wrote this in a crucial memo. It says the president tome hilled i home you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. He is a good guy, i hope you can let this go. To which comey replied this is not good for america. With what looks to america like the president tried to impede an investigation it has had some comparing to it the begin of the end to nixon i think we have seen it before, i think it is reaching the point where it is of watergate size and scale and a couple of other scandals that you and i have seen. We cant deal with speculation and innuendo and there is clearly a lot of politics being played, ourjob is to get the facts and to be sober about doing that. It is a far off prospect but the word impeachment is being bandied about. He has managed it so far, but with more details likely to emerge of apparent attempts to influence an investigation, donald trump may find it harder to side step scandal. The way what makes this Scandal Difference is not valid about donald trump saying something embarrassing or doing something controversial. Its about potentially him doing something improperfor which its about potentially him doing something improper for which action against him could be taken. Weve just heard in the last hour or so that the senate is notjust asked for any other documents and memos relating to conversations between donald trump and the former fbi director, but also they have asked that james komi, who director, but also they have asked thatjames komi, who wasjust director, but also they have asked that james komi, who was just sacked last week, should testify, and if that happens, that could turn up the heat on donald trump. Many thanks. It is 6 15pm. Our top story this evening. The Liberal Democrats publish their manifesto and pledge a second Eu Referendum on a final brexit deal. And still to come, whats most important to you in the General Election . Were in south wales, hearing from dairy farmer abbie reader. Coming up in sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, the Revolving Door at vicarage road. Watford cut short walter mazzarris contract. They are looking for their Ninth Manager in five years. The un is issuing a warning aboutjust how many Child Migrants and refugees are at risk of being exploited by smugglers and traffickers. Unicef, the childrens agency, says theres been an unprecedented increase in the number of unaccompanied minors travelling alone across the globe. Our correspondent Caroline Hawley has been to greece, where she has been talking to children who have fled war and poverty. They had to cross through five Different Countries to get here. Three afghan orphans now being looked after at a shelter in athens. Hameed is 15. His brother ali, 13. And mortaza, 11. Their parents were killed in a taliban bomb. The boys arrived here in march after a month long journey, partly on foot. In the hands of smugglers. Hameed says they now want to join their 18 year old brother in sweden. How difficult was the journey, what was the hardest part . With so many migrants now stuck in greece, there is not space in proper shelters for all the unaccompanied children. And there are stories of teenagers being forced to work for no pay. Or prostituting themselves for pocket money. One in ten of the children who have arrived in greece travelled alone. These syrian brothers told me their parents had sent them to europe to avoid them being conscripted. It is very dangerous to stay in syria because they are taking a lot of children like us from age 16 for the war, to fight. In the shelter they live in, 21 teenagers are learning how to play again. The man in charge of the refuge fled iran as a child himself. He is now a psychologist. Translation all these kids have psychological difficulties. They have sleep problems, aggressiveness, self harm. Not wanting to eat or be around other people. Some of them will be scarred for life by what theyve been through. And the un says that Record Numbers of children are now on the move around the World Without their parents, driven from their countries by conflict and desperation. Much more must be done, it says, to protect them. Caroline hawley, bbc news, athens. The irish Prime Minister enda kenny has announced he is to retire. Mr kenny, whos been taoiseach since 2011, will stand down as fine gael leader as of midnight. However, hell remain as taoiseach in an acting capacity until his successor is elected by the party next month. Us soldier Chelsea Manning has been released from Military Prison. She served seven years of a 35 year sentence for Leaking Hundreds Of Thousands of diplomatic cables and Military Files to wikileaks. Most of her sentence was commuted by then us president barack obama injanuary. Chocolate maker nestle has lost in their attempt to make the shape of its four fingered kit kat bar a registered trademark. The company argued that the shape of the famous snack was iconic and deserved protection, but lost the case after strong opposition from rivalfirm cadbury. Its the latest twist in a long running legal batter between the two firms, as our Business Correspondent emma simpson reports. Nestle has been making this Famous Chocolate Wafer since 1935. Voiceover have a break. Have a kitkat. But should nestle have a monopoly on the shape of this bestseller . Today Three Senior Appeal Court Judges decided it wasnt distinctive enough in its 16,000 page ruling. So the judges gave two fingers to nestles attempt to trademark its four fingered wafer. Viennetta had the same problem with its creamy whirls. Cadbury had lots of legal battles over its purple wrappers. Coke, though, got a trademark for its glass bottle and so did toblerone because of its triangular peaks. So why do these big brands go to all this expense and bother . For certain brands its really important that they get the shape right. For example, if i say a Building Brick for children, you already know what the brand design im thinking about and thats a very, very distinctive shape so there you can see it in your own head why its so important that the shape, sometimes even smells, even colours, are denoted. People associate them with that brand. Trademarks are hugely valuable too. Obviously theres a big commercial benefit in having a registered trademark. Its easier to push away copycats and keep your unique place in the market. Nestle says its disappointed and is considering its next steps. This long running dispute could end up going all the way to the supreme court. Emma simpson, bbc news. In the run up to the General Election weve been asking you about the subjects that matter to you. Who will negotiate brexit is one of the big Talking Points amongst farming communities. Nearly half all Farming Income in the uk comes from eu subsidies. Elaine dunkley has been to Goldsland Farm near cardiff to find out more. My Heart And Soul is in these sheds and in these cows. Its part of who i am. My name is abbie reader. Im a dairy farmer from south wales. What are the big issues in the run up to this election for you . The big issues are going to be trade, labour and investment within agriculture. Brexit is going to be huge impact. The Single Market is personally extremely valuable to us. We do need to start getting appropriate trade deals in that allow our goods to move quickly and easily. On this farm here we produce milk, we produce meat and we produce some crops. They are all perishable. They need to move. We cant hold onto them. When theyre ready to go, they have to go, so we cant have delays on borders. We cant have tariffs stopping anything being sold on a shelf because it willjust go to waste. One of the key concerns is definitely going to be thinking about sourcing labour to do various jobs on the farm. And agriculture uses a lot of labour from within the eu. At the moment, in farming we use about 250,000 people from within europe. Abbie is also worried about losing eu subsidies. Last year, farmers in the uk received more than £2. 5 billion from europe. The Conservative Party had guaranteed subsidies till 2020. Is that enough for farmers . No. Probably the best example i can give you on that are these calves. I had a calf born yesterday, a heffer calf. In two years time she will come into my herd ready to milk. In that amount of time she will have cost me £1,800 £2,000 to rear. Were already thinking beyond 2020 just for these youngsters before ill start to turn a profit from them. That is how long term we are looking. This General Election will determine who will steer the course for brexit. And abbie wants Agriculture High up on the political agenda. We are a massive part of the economy and i hope that politicians realise how important we are. I want to hear from them that they are going to champion agriculture. I want to hear that they care about this industry. Farming is just so linked to what people do and i want to see politicians notice that and say, were going to stand up for you. And if you want to find out more about what policies the parties are offering you, or indeed find out how to contact us with an issue you want exploring, then our website is where you need to go. Thats bbc. Co. Uk election2017. What are the chances of some sunshine . Heres nick miller. For tomorrow, not so much today, a large swathe of england have had a large swathe of england have had a large amount of rainfall. It is now moving eastwards through east anglia and the far south east. Warm and humid but dry for much of the day. This is one soggy outlook in dorset to date and look at the Rainfall Totals weve had in the past 24 hours from hampshire, lincolnshire, north west london, 20 40 millimetres quite widely. Half a months north west london, 20 40 millimetres quite widely. Half a months worth coming in 24 hours, for some, but its a wet rush hour across eastern england. The rain will pull out into the north sea tonight. Heavy showers in northern ireland, north west scotland. They will continue overnight pushing into parts of wales but Western Areas will be dry, clear and quite chilly inroad spots into low single figures. Tomorrow, a com pletely into low single figures. Tomorrow, a completely different day. Lots of sunshine to begin with but the showers get going quickly tomorrow in northern ireland. One or two elsewhere. A dry day in the channel islands. The odd shower in South West England and South East England and anglia looking dry. A late shower in the midlands. Catch a shower in wales, Northern England in the afternoon. There could be heavy ones especially for northern ireland, scotland, some slow moving heavy, thundery downpours in places and risk of heol. Some of those will continue into thursday evening and through thursday night into friday, a Splash Of Rain In Eastern Parts of england before clearing on friday and elsewhere, sunshine and showers get going once again and there will be some heavy downpours around. That ta kes be some heavy downpours around. That takes us into the weekend with low pressure. Pleasant sunny spells at times. By day and chilly by night. George. Thats all from the bbc news at six, so its goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbcs news teams where you are. This is bbc news. The headlines. The Liberal Democrats are putting a referendum are putting a referendum on the final brexit deal at the heart of their general Election Manifesto. Unemployment has fallen to its lowest level in 42 years, the lowest level since the summer of 1975. But wages arent keeping up with inflation. Donald trump has been accused of trying to stop an fbi investigation into links between his team and russia. And Chelsea Manning, the former us soldier, who Passed Hundreds Of Thousands of confidential diplomatic documents to wikileaks has been released from a Military Prison in kansas. The Liberal Democrats have published details of the General Election ma nifesto. Details of the general Election Manifesto. At the centre of it is a plan for a referendum on the final brexit deal. They also promised more spending on education and health. And they have promoted policies aimed at younger voters, including pledges to make it easier to get on the housing ladder. Lets go live these london. Tim farron will be watching as partys manifesto in around 30 minutes. My colleague is there. It is very noisy here. We are in a nightclub in bethnal green. This is where the Liberal Democrats are having their Manifesto Launch in about three quarters of an hour. Tim farron will be here on this stage behind me with a speech and lodging a manifesto which has a commitment toa a manifesto which has a commitment to a second referendum, it is very much the centrepiece. Saying that they will give the final say on europe to the british people. This is what tim farron had to say on that ll on today. At the heart of our manifesto is an offer to all the people in our country that no other party is making. That is that we do not just after except whatever deal we get back from brexit the glaciations, but the british people, you, should have the final say. Negotiations. If you do not like what theresa may comes back with, you should have them right to vote to remain. If we think of three quarters of young people in this Country Voting to