tv BBC News at Ten BBC News January 25, 2024 10:00pm-10:31pm GMT
10:00 pm
you have blood on your hands. if you had just done yourjobs properly there's a very good chance my beautiful boy would be alive today. missed opportunities to divert his lethal path will forever play on our minds. this man has made a mockery of the system and he has - got away with murder. valdo calocane had serious mental health issues — we'll ask what opportunities were missed to prevent the killings. also on the programme... the covid inquiry hears about nicola sturgeon's expletive—laden messages — criticising the then prime minister boris johnson. the deadliest building fire in south africa's history — a man appears in court after admitting he started it. hello from westminster. news from
10:01 pm
here tonight that the uk is stopping free trade negotiations with canada. it's a row over cars and cheese. i'll bring you the details in the next ten minutes. and, a last look at mars — as nasa's ingenuity craft takes its final flight on the planet. and on newsnight at 10.30, we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus, a first look at tomorrow's front pages. good evening. the families of three people stabbed to death in nottingham last summer have expressed their fury at the way police and prosecutors have handled the case, saying "true justice has not been served". the relatives of 65—year—old ian coates, and university students grace o'malley—kumar
10:02 pm
and barnaby webber, who were both 19, were speaking after the sentencing of their killer, valdo calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic. he will be detained indefinitely in a high—security hospital, after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. barnaby webber�*s mother said calocane should have been charged with murder — and accused a senior officer of having blood on his hands, because the force had failed to arrest calocane for a previous offence. our midlands correspondent navteonhal reports from nottingham crown court. 0k. grieving families, united in their anger at those entrusted to protect their loved ones. true justice has not been served today. we as a devastated family have been let down by multiple agency failings and ineffectiveness. the failures from the police, the cps, the health service, has resulted in the murder of my father and these
10:03 pm
two innocent students. the nhs mental health trust have to be held accountable for their failures along with the police. we will never come to terms with the loss of our beloved i daughter, grace, and how she lost her life. - we will look for answers - regarding missed opportunities to intervene and prevent this horrendous crime. l thank you. taser, taser! stay where you are! this is the moment valdo calocane, the man who devastated their lives, was caught. an hour and a half earlier, at four in the morning, barnaby webber and grace o'malley—kumar, 19—year—old students, are walking back innocently from a night out, unaware that they will never make it home. last week, before the sentencing, we spoke to the police about the day when calocane brought horror to the streets of nottingham. he emerged from the alleyway and,
10:04 pm
without any sort of warning whatsoever, he launched an attack on barnaby to begin with. incredible bravery that grace showed. she tried to intervene, she tried to help her friend, she tried to help barnaby. and the defendant then turned on her and began stabbing at her. barnaby webber, from somerset, was a keen cricketer, studying history at the university of nottingham. grace o'malley—kumar, from london, wanted to follow in her parents�* footsteps and become a doctor. after killing them, calocane walks across the city. meanwhile, 65—year—old school caretaker ian coates is in his van on his way to work. the defendant causes ian to stop in his van and, again, seemingly without any sort of warning or any sort of conversation, he attacks ian and he launches an equally ferocious attack on him. ian was a father of three, a grandfather of eight, and was just five months
10:05 pm
away from retirement. calocane then drives ian's van towards the city centre and hits three pedestrians. they were wayne birkett, marcin gawronski and sharon miller. they were all injured, but survived. minutes later, the van is tracked down and the killer is arrested. calocane pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, and guilty to three counts of attempted murder. the court heard he had a history of mental illness, was in and out of hospital since 2020 and has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. a psychiatrist who assessed him told the court calocane said voices in his head told him that if he didn't carry out the attacks, they would kill his family. nottinghamshire police admitted yesterday that more should have been done to arrest calocane prior to the stabbings, after a warrant had been issued for his arrest nine months earlier. but that has come too late for the furious
10:06 pm
families of the victims. to the assistant chief constable, rob griffin, who finally released this information publicly yesterday, i say this. you have blood on your hands. if you had just done yourjobs properly, there's a very good chance my beautiful boy would be alive today. there is so much more to say and clearly serious questions regarding this case and events leading up to this monster being out in society. but for today, our darling son, his dearfriend grace, and a wonderfully kind grandfather, ian, have been stolen from us forever and let down by the very system that should have been protecting them. navteonhal, bbc news, nottingham. although calocane had no previous convictions,
10:07 pm
he was assessed as psychotic although initiallyjudged low risk and was then later detained at a hospital in nottingham under the mental health act. after another incident that summer, he was again sent to hospital, later being discharged to be managed in the community. in 2021, it was discovered he'd stopped taking his medication but calocane avoided the community health team and was later detained by police when he allegedly assaulted a police officer. the following year, in 2022 after failing to turn up to court to face that charge, a warrant for his arrest was issued. he was never arrested, as we heard, and that warrant was still in place at the time of the nottingham attacks nine months later. so let's discuss what opportunities were missed and why. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds is here, along with our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson.
10:08 pm
sophie, will there be some sort of investigation about all of this? there are clearly some very serious questions for the nhs to answer around calocane�*s mental health care. we know he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and there are many people who live with this diagnosis in the community who never commit offences, but it can cause hallucinations and severe delusions and we have heard that calocane believed it was being spied on by mis, that believed it was being spied on by m15, that his family was at risk, and that his violence is closely linked to those psychotic symptoms. the question is really for the nhs to answer will be around his repeated mental health crises. how well was he when he was discharged from hospital? what kind of support was set up in the community for him? did community mental health teams visit him regularly? how often was there that contact? it's known well that when patients become ill they often don't want to have these visits at home or have appointments.
10:09 pm
what kind of proactive efforts were made to contact him and assess his level of risk? an independent investigation will now be commissioned by nhs england to look at potential mistakes and to learn from them. at potential mistakes and to learn from them-— from them. tom, such strong criticism _ from them. tom, such strong criticism from _ from them. tom, such strong criticism from the _ from them. tom, such strong criticism from the families - from them. tom, such strong criticism from the families we from them. tom, such strong - criticism from the families we heard today, of the police particularly. the police seem to have known about this guy _ the police seem to have known about this guy. they would have been there during _ this guy. they would have been there during many— this guy. they would have been there during many of those incidents you talked _ during many of those incidents you talked about because they respond when _ talked about because they respond when somebody needs to be sectioned and taken _ when somebody needs to be sectioned and taken to hospital under the mental— and taken to hospital under the mental health act and they have said more should have been done to have arrested _ more should have been done to have arrested him when he assaulted a police _ arrested him when he assaulted a police officer in 2021, was supposed to be _ police officer in 2021, was supposed to be in_ police officer in 2021, was supposed to be in court in 2022, and wasn't arrested — to be in court in 2022, and wasn't arrested and _ to be in court in 2022, and wasn't arrested and the families are furious — arrested and the families are furious about that. they are also furious _ furious about that. they are also furious about that. they are also furious about only finding out about this quite _ furious about only finding out about this quite recently, in the last week— this quite recently, in the last week or— this quite recently, in the last week or so, showing that the handling _ week or so, showing that the handling of victims is really important for police, and they are angry— important for police, and they are angry that — important for police, and they are angry that he only pleaded guilty to manslaughter, not murder. he used a
10:10 pm
defence _ manslaughter, not murder. he used a defence of— manslaughter, not murder. he used a defence of diminished responsibility, effectively he was incapable of controlling his actions _ incapable of controlling his actions. that always leaves a case to go— actions. that always leaves a case to go from — actions. that always leaves a case to go from murder to manslaughter, and four— to go from murder to manslaughter, and four doctors agreed in this case and four doctors agreed in this case and that— and four doctors agreed in this case and that is— and four doctors agreed in this case and that is quite unusual. so the cps said — and that is quite unusual. so the cps said they really had no alternative than to change the charge — alternative than to change the charge to what he had admitted, which _ charge to what he had admitted, which was — charge to what he had admitted, which was manslaughter, killing these _ which was manslaughter, killing these poor three victims, but clearly— these poor three victims, but clearly the families are not satisfied with that.- clearly the families are not satisfied with that. ., ., , satisfied with that. tom symonds, so - hie satisfied with that. tom symonds, sophie hutchinson, _ satisfied with that. tom symonds, sophie hutchinson, thank- satisfied with that. tom symonds, sophie hutchinson, thank you. - satisfied with that. tom symonds, l sophie hutchinson, thank you. now satisfied with that. tom symonds, - sophie hutchinson, thank you. now we will look at the rest of the night's news. scotland's first minister humza yousaf has apologised for his government's failings in handing over messages to the covid inquiry. the hearing, which is currently sitting in edinburgh, also heard the former first minister nicola sturgeon sent expletive—laden whatsapp messages during the pandemic about the then prime minister borisjohnson. 0ur scotland editorjames cook's report contains very strong language you might find offensive. for years, liz lloyd was either at nicola sturgeon's side,
10:11 pm
or one step behind. as chief of staff, the inquiry heard, she was one of the former first minister's closest confidantes. but this morning, it was ms lloyd who took centre stage, alone. can we go back to your whatsapp messages? and this time, my lady, i wanted to give a warning that there will be some bad language in some of these. i'm used to it. the inquiry saw exchanges between the two women. in messages relating to the uk government's announcement of a second lockdown in england, nicola sturgeon wrote, "this is expletive excruciating, their comms are awful", accusing borisjohnson of "utter incompetence". the prime minister, she concluded, "is a expletive clown". it was evident in his exchanges with the scottish government, with the first minister, and i think with the other first ministers, because we would all be on the same call, that he didn't want to be on those calls. he wasn't necessarily well briefed on those calls and he wasn't listening to the points we were making on those calls. so i think engagement with him came to be seen as slightly
10:12 pm
pointless during this period. ms lloyd was then questioned about her whatsapp messages and why those from the first six months of the pandemic were missing. for the record, i would like to say i regret not being able to give the inquiry those messages. i thought i had them. i have sourced them, i have done everything that i am able to do, as far as i can, to find them. i thought i had retained them, and they're not there. questions for the scottish government at this inquiry revolve around notjust the decisions that were taken, but the record, or otherwise, of those decisions. humza yousaf can expect to be asked about both in the next few minutes. i swear by almighty god. minutes earlier, the first minister had announced an external review of the scottish government's use of mobile messaging apps. let me unreservedly apologise to this inquiry, but also to those who are mourning the loss of a loved
10:13 pm
one, that was bereaved by covid, for the government's frankly poor handling of the various rule 9 requests in relation to informal messages. there's no excuse for it. we should have done better. 0utside, relatives of some of those bereaved in the pandemic were unimpressed. they want more detailed answers from nicola sturgeon when she appears here next week. james cook, bbc news, edinburgh. the government has walked away from trade talks with canada tonight over the imposition of hefty tariffs — or taxes — they are introducing on some british exports including cars and cheese. 0ur political editor chris mason is at westminster for us. explain, chris, there you are, excellent, explain what is going on. good evening to you, for the best part of the last two years the uk and canada have been talking, trying to work at this free trade
10:14 pm
agreement. it comes after brexit, where the uk could go around the world and work at these agreements, and after leaving the uk there was a rollover of the eu dealfor the uk, but with a to it. in a couple of sectors, the dairy sector and the car industry, that rollover came with a time limit, and that time, you guessed it, has run out and canada has decided not to extend it further, so that means big tariffs, extra taxes, on cheese and cars that the uk are selling to canada. canada would like to sell as its beef and chicken, chlorinated as far as the chicken, chlorinated as far as the chicken is concerned in terms of how it's washed and the beef hormone fed, there is no appetite in the uk for that, so what has happened here is rather than things getting better, trading conditions between the countries advancing, which is the countries advancing, which is the whole point of free trade negotiations, they've actually got worse. they haven't stayed the same,
10:15 pm
they've got worse. 0n worse. they haven't stayed the same, they've got worse. on both sides tonight, disappointment is being expressed and privately there are grumbles being directed in both directions too, although both sides do say they will try and get talks going again if they can. now, one of the big talked up the opportunities of brexit were free trade agreements and there are talks going on with india and india and mexico and switzerland, for instance, but what happened, what happens here is a reminder these things are long and they are complicated and in this instance it can go backwards as well as forwards. instance it can go backwards as well as forwards— instance it can go backwards as well as forwards-— instance it can go backwards as well as forwards. , a, ,., ., ,, , ., a baby girl would still be alive were it not for the "reckless, selfish, and grossly negligent" behaviour of her parents. that's what the old bailey was told at the start of the trial of constance marten and mark gordon, who are charged with the manslaughter of their newborn daughter victoria. they deny all the charges against them. daniel sandford was in court. his report contains some distressing details.
10:16 pm
on 1st march last year in a shed on this allotment in brighton police found the significantly decomposed body of a baby girl, hidden in a lidl shopping bag. the girl's mother, constance marten, was wealthy and had called her baby victoria. the father was mark gordon. and the prosecution said victoria would be alive had it not been for their cruel and grossly negligent conduct. constance marten's mother, virginie de selliers, came to court to see her daughter go on trial for manslaughter. but constance marten herself was not in the dock. mark gordon sat alone. days after the baby was born, the prosecution say, the couple had walked up a road in newhaven and onto the south downs, where they camped for weeks in freezing temperatures with hardly any clothes and insufficient equipment. tom little, kc, told thejury that the couple had bought a buggy, but dumped it soon afterwards. after that, the baby girl
10:17 pm
was carried in a red bag for life from the supermarket lidl, the same bag in which her body was later found under some rubbish in a disused shed. the jury heard that the dead baby was the couple's fifth child and that their previous four children had all been taken into care. before the birth of one of those children, they'd been camping in a wooded area in wales and when they went to hospital constance marten gave a false name and put on a fake irish accent. the prosecution say they concealed the birth of their fifth child to stop her being taken into care too. when their car caught fire, they set off to camp on the south downs, injanuary, in a tent from argos. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey. just to tell you... you can listen to the bbc�*s special weekly podcast about the case. episodes are available every friday during the trial. search for "in court" on bbc sounds. consultants in england who are members of the bma union have narrowly voted to reject the government's latest pay offer.
10:18 pm
0ur health editor hugh pym is here. let's find out what it means. what could be happening now? i let's find out what it means. what could be happening now?- let's find out what it means. what could be happening now? i think the ukefihood could be happening now? i think the likelihood of— could be happening now? i think the likelihood of further— could be happening now? i think the likelihood of further strike _ could be happening now? i think the likelihood of further strike action - likelihood of further strike action by doctors in england is a bit higher than it was and i suspect ministers thought they had a done deal here. 6% pay award already made two consultants and another 4.95% addedin two consultants and another 4.95% added in with reform of the contract system. some consultants getting no more than 6% but others getting a total of 13%. they said it was fair and reasonable. but the bma, the doctor's union, by a small margin, 51%, said they rejected it saying they want to delete my an improvement from the government and they don't think at the moment it is fair to all doctors. ministers say they will think about their next move but at the moment no industrial action is being spoken about by the bma. there is still thejunior doctors dispute which has still been resolved, no talks between the doctors and government since the end of their strike at the beginning of this month and they are balloting on
10:19 pm
extending the mandate beyond february. still concerned there could be further disruption from strikes. , ., ,, , ., a man has appeared in court in south africa accused of murdering 76 people in the country's deadliest building fire. sthembiso mdlalose was charged after a shock admission to the public inquiry into the disaster. from johannesburg, daniel de simone picks up the story. it's the deadliest building fire in african history. an inquiry is investigating the disaster. and this week during a hearing a witness stunned south africa by announcing he'd started the fire. he is sthembiso lawrence mdlalose. after the fire he gave this television interview. when the fire started everyone was just asleep. you know, it wasjust after midnight, and, you know, being woken up by the noise of, "there's fire, there's fire!",
10:20 pm
and peoplejumping out from the third floor, fourth floor, all the way down, trying to run away from the raging fire. today he was in court. he is facing a count of arson, 76 counts of premeditated murder, as well as 86 counts of attempted murder. it was only two days ago he made his first public admission of starting the fire in the building, where hundreds of the city's poorest and most vulnerable people were living. he said he did so unintentionally after using fuel to set light to the body of a man he'd strangled while high on drugs, and he described himself as working for a violent drug dealer who demanded rent from residents. the fire has highlighted the many dangerous buildings here abandoned or neglected by owners and sometimes taken over by criminals. in the fire's aftermath, this pledge... those who need assistance,
10:21 pm
from accommodation to trauma counselling to hospitalisation, are being looked after. but we found many survivors had been placed by the authorities in these shacks, without power or water, which frequently flood. we just take the packets and then throw the water outside. - sthembiso is a mother of three, including a disabled son. she has a message for the president. please give us houses, not these shacks. - these shacks are too dangerous for us. . the perpetual crisis in which the vulnerable live is now centre stage. the suffering behind this city's neglected walls will not be contained. daniel de simone, bbc news, johannesburg. in gaza there are continued fears about the limited amount of aid getting in the territory and how it's distributed when it does arrives. the health ministry — run by hamas, a group designated
10:22 pm
a terrorist organisation by the uk government — said 20 people were killed as they queued for food today. the un says israel has ordered tens of thousands of palestinians sheltering in a un compound in the city of khan younis to leave within 2a hours. and on the border between israel and gaza — at kerem shalom near rafah in the south — families of israeli hostages have prevented aid from reaching the city. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson reports from there. in gaza city hunger sometimes offers the best chance of survival. crowds drawn to a delivery of humanitarian aid yesterday driven away by gunfire. bullets arrive faster than starvation. sirens blare today at the same aid delivery point 20 people were killed
10:23 pm
by shelling, according to the hamas—run health ministry. more than 100 injured. translation: we were heading to get flour and they shelled us four - times, and some people were martyred and injured, and i was injured in my hand and leg. rockets are not the only threat to life in gaza. food stripped from trucks by hungry people as soon as they arrive. the un is warning of famine. doctors say diseases are spreading. ruba's chronically ill father died a week after moving to this refugee camp, she says. she shows our cameraman the makeshift train beside her tent. "this is where the sewage accumulates," she says. "when it rains all our bedsheets, blankets and clothes are soaked with sewage water". protesters arrived at israel's main crossing point today,
10:24 pm
calling for the release of family and friends held hostage by hamas — barring the path of aid trucks. if they need that aid they will give us our people. they will get all of the aid. we are not monsters. we cannot give them without we get something back. it's very simple. do you feel any kind of conflict in your heart when you stop those trucks? nope. i feel that i need my people home. israel's private minister is under international pressure to get more aid into gaza and under domestic pressure to get the hostages out. he's sticking to his promise that military pressure is the way to free the hostages, but not everyone in the country or the cabinet agrees. lior peri's father chaim is being held in gaza. he thinks israel's prime minister has made a choice
10:25 pm
to continue the war — at the expense of the deal to free the hostages. he keeps saying the same thing. that he still thinks there are two objectives to the war, after it's been proven over and over that they cannot work together, those two. either you bring down hamas and you give up the hostages or you stop the war and you bring back the hostages. chanting in gaza too some families called for a ceasefire today and the release of prisoners. the price of peace measured in israeli lives as well as palestinian ones. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. after three years and exceeding all expectations, nasa's ingenuity mars helicopter has made its final flight after sustaining damage. the mini—aircraft made history
10:26 pm
by achieving the first powered controlled flight on another planet in april 2021. the last of its 72 flights took place last week. this is the final picture it sent back, showing damage to the rotor blade tip. now, you may be aware that tomorrow is the series finale of the traitors — which has seen millions of viewers watch the mindgames and intrigue in a castle in the highlands. so why has it proved such a hit? david sillito has been finding out. been very strange, because obviously you're walking down the road and people recognise you. it has, for ash bibi, been a life—changing moment. when you got in, what were your feelings? i was ecstatic. i couldn't believe it at first, actually, when i got that phone call. if you've been watching, you'll know all about her time as a traitor and her nemesis, paul. i voted for you, ash. i think you're behaving
10:27 pm
like a traitor. iam... of course, she knew what she was letting herself in for, but not the scale of it. ..a traitor. in the past, reality tv was a cheap way of filling airtime. this has a budget closer to prestige drama, with all its attention to detail. how many people are involved? how big is the crew? the crew is really big. i think it's 200+ people on location up there. everything is thought about, isn't it, to create a mood? yes. we always make sure the log fires are burning within the castle because it generates that sort of smoky, murder mystery smell within it. when the players enter the roundtable we always play the same piece of music to them. it sort of gets them in the mood and sets the tone. and the company behind it? studio lambert, who brought us channel 4's hit gogglebox and bbc
10:28 pm
two's race across the world, all shows with an eye on what media buyers and analysts want in 2024 — buzz. the watercooler moments, the social media conversations, content that captures the imagination and gets people talking. it's worth betting big on those types of shows. traitors is a perfect example. take another studio lambert show, squid game: the challenge. it has a56 contestants. this is a new era of prestige reality. do you think this is a moment where perceptions of reality tv have changed? i think reality tv really has grown up. i think people thought of it as something cheap and cheerful, and now the best reality tv shows sit happily against the best dramas. i'm a traitor. all cheer like mr bates vs the post office or i'm a celebrity, when it comes to creating something that gets talked about, old—school broadcast isn't dead yet.
10:29 pm
i love this game. david sillito, bbc news. imagine getting an unexpected little extra in your pay packet one month — that would be nice, wouldn't it? but what about £1 million extra? that's what happened to the actor tom hollander. the star of rev and white lotus shared an agent with his near namesake — the spider—man actor tom holland. tom with the slightly longer name has been describing the moment he opened an email that he realised wasn't really meant for him. i don't think i'm in the avengers. and it was an astonishing amount of money. it was not his salary — it was his first box office bonus. not the whole box office, the first one. and it was more money than i've ever... it was a seven—figure sum. tom hollander. i'm sure he gave the money back!
10:30 pm
let's turn our attentions to the weather prospects. sarah keith—lucas has joined weather prospects. sarah keith—lucas hasjoined me and, my weather prospects. sarah keith—lucas has joined me and, my goodness, weather prospects. sarah keith—lucas hasjoined me and, my goodness, a new story alonejust hasjoined me and, my goodness, a new story alone just in spain, clearly? yes, really, really hot in spain, temperatures well above average in southern parts of europe and today almost 30 celsius, just shy of that here so that makes it one of the hottest january day ever across europe. that is in chlva. more typical of the middle ofjuly than the stage injanuary. pretty mild in the stage injanuary. pretty mild in the uk as well. temperatures of 14.1; celsius at stormont castle in county down and in devon as well. 0ver celsius at stormont castle in county down and in devon as well. over the next 2a hours or so it won't be quite as mild. pressure conditions on the way for tomorrow. it will be drier and brighter so a little more on the way of sunshine on the way but before we get there a couple of weather fronts that are just pushing their way eastwards over night. bringing spells of rain for all of
139 Views
1 Favorite
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC News Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on