tv BBC News at One BBC News May 16, 2024 1:00pm-1:31pm BST
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and say, "this is our down payment on change." a man is charged with attempted murder after the shooting of slovakia's prime minister, who is still in a serious condition in hospital. here in devon, growing anger about the outbreak of a sickness bug caused by drinking contaminated water. and the royal photos that tell the story of 100 years — we visit a new exhibition. and coming up on bbc news, it's the 12th title in 13 seasons for celtic. they beat kilmarnock to seal the scottish premiership in some style.
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hello, welcome to the bbc news at one. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has set out the first steps he would take if his party wins the next general election. he outlined six pledges, including a border security command to tackle the gangs behind small boat crossings, and recruiting 6,500 teachers in england. he said all the promises are fully costed and would be delivered in the first term of a labour government. the conservatives called his speech another relaunch. our chief political correspondent henry zeffman has the details. sleeves rolled up, adverts at the ready, we may not know when the election is going to be, but the campaign is under way. higher growth, an nhs back on its feet, secure borders, cheaper bills, safer streets and opportunities for your children. you're going to hear that list of six from sir keir starmer a lot. those are what labour are calling their first steps for change —
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coming soon to a billboard in a marginal seat near you. or through your letterbox. or on your phone. labour say these are just the first steps and that they stand by their broader agenda on issues not mentioned here, such as housing, workers�* rights and the environment. all ambitions, particularly our ambition to change your country for the better, have to start with first steps. and these are our first steps. they enable us, if you like, to look the public in the eye and say, "this is our down payment on change, these are the first shoots of the change that you deserve to see." first steps that are ready to go, fully costed and fully funded. the conservatives scathing in response. i have no idea why anybody would believe a word that keir starmer says when every single time he's got a different audience to play for, he changes his tune, he changes what he's saying and changes what he says he stands for.
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the labour leader was surrounded by his shadow cabinet today, but it's clear that this will be a personal, presidential—style campaign. britain will have a better future, and you can choose it with labour. stop the chaos with labour, turn the page with labour, return politics to service with labour. and with patience, with determination, with these first steps, we can rebuild our country with labour. thank you very, very much. today wasn't a day we learned more about what sir keir would do in downing street, but we learned plenty about how he will try to get there. henry zeffman, bbc news, westminster. our political editor chris mason joins us now from where sir keir was speaking in essex. what are labour trying to do here? they are trying to command attention
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and project a sense of momentum. the thing i was struck by, i have just been talking to sir keir starmer, you will be able to see the interview on bbc news later this afternoon, a sense of scale. this was a big event, it had the rest of a general election launch event for a general election launch event for a summer election that is not happening —— the riff. there was video endorsements, graphics on the wall, a series of speeches from shadow cabinet ministers. what labour is trying to do is keep a sense of momentum going for them after the local election results in england and the by—election result in blackpool, conscious that it looks like there could be months and months until we get to a general election in the autumn. what they are trying to do, as henry was reflecting there, is take the big picture id is they have been kicking around the last 18 months which frankly perhaps not many people have
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paid attention to, and distill them into something they can persuade a potential photo of the merits of, as they would see it, five minutes before the start of coronation street when they have knocked on the door trying to make a persuasive case. that is what it is about. there will be more to come in the coming weeks from them, not least fleshing out how they would approach wales and scotland, a lot of the specific policy pledges today were england related. that is where they are, they know they have a heck of a long way to go, given how they performed at the last general election. they are determined, and also determined not to be complacent. the conservatives dismissing this as more of the same in terms of what labour articulating.— in terms of what labour articulating. in terms of what labour articulatina. , a, ,., ., a man has been charged with the attempted murder of slovakia's prime minister. robert fico was shot several times yesterday in a small town in central slovakia. he's in a stable but serious
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condition in hospital in bratislava. our correspondent bethany bell joins me from there. there has been a news conference going on in the last few minutes, bring us up to date. we going on in the last few minutes, bring us up to date.— going on in the last few minutes, bring us up to date. we have been heafina bring us up to date. we have been hearing more _ bring us up to date. we have been hearing more details _ bring us up to date. we have been hearing more details about - bring us up to date. we have been hearing more details about the - bring us up to date. we have been. hearing more details about the man who has been charged with what they have called premeditated murder. they described him, the interior minister, described him as a lone wolf, someone acting by himself, he said it was a politically motivated act, it appeared to be, and this man had attended anti—government protests and he was angry with what the government was doing in terms of the government was doing in terms of the media. at the moment, the investigation is in a very early stage still. we had more details about the condition of robert fico who remains in hospital. the deputy
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prime minister said he remained in a very serious condition, that his wounds were extensive and that the next few days would be critical. robert fico was shot at very close range in the stomach, we understand, and what one of the politicians here described as joint, and what one of the politicians here described asjoint, taken and what one of the politicians here described as joint, taken to hospital immediately, and the man believed to be his attacker was detained and has now been charged. bethany bell, in bratislava, thank you. a six—year—old boy has died after falling from a building in east london. emergency services were called to plaistow at about six o'clock this morning. paul hawkins is at the scene. how much do we know? i can tell you what we do — how much do we know? i can tell you what we do know, _ how much do we know? i can tell you what we do know, a _ how much do we know? i can tell you what we do know, a 16-storey - what we do know, a 16—storey building behind me, jacob's house in east london, we know police were called injust
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east london, we know police were called in just before six o'clock this morning there were reports of a boy falling from what they describe as the upper floor. emergency services attended but sadly the boy died at the police are treating the death, in their words, died at the police are treating the death, in theirwords, and died at the police are treating the death, in their words, and expected. inquiries are under way at the moment. no police cordon, no forensics, but you can see officers walking around the perimeter of the building, making inquiries. we have been him half an hour, i have spoken to a lady who claims she knows the family of the boy and she told me they live in the 15th floor of the tower and she claims the family have told her the window the boy fell from was broken. we have not been able to verify that but it is what i have heard from a lady i spoke to in the last few minutes. the police investigation ongoing and the family of the boy are being supported by officers. . ~ of the boy are being supported by officers. ., ~ , ., ., ., ~ , a one—year—old girl has been killed after being hit by a vehicle in a church car park in balmedie in aberdeenshire.
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the incident happened at the plymouth brethren meeting hall last night. the girl was taken to aberdeen royal infirmary but died a short time later. police scotland said a ao—year—old man driving the car was not injured. israel's military says five of its soldiers have been mistakenly killed by one of their own tanks, in northern gaza. it happened yesterday injabalia. ground forces re—entered the area earlier this month as part of what israel says is a crackdown on attempts by hamas to re—group in the area. an outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea linked to contaminated water is expected to last for at least a week in south devon, with people told to boil their tap water until further notice. 22 cases of cryptosporidiosis have been confirmed in brixham and about 100 people have reported symptoms to their gp in the last week. a primary school has had to close. jenny kumah is there for us now.
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people here are pretty angry. on monday they were told the water was safe to drink. yesterday south west water announced there was a problem they had found, they had found some instances of cryptosporidium in an area affecting 16,000 households. they have distributed water from a distribution point and registered customers are supposed to be getting deliveries. yesterday on the website of the school here, the headmaster said they did not know when they were getting the delivery so they had decided to close for the day. earlier i spoke to some parents about how they were feeling about it. it's just been horrendous. i mean, you know, everyone is all up in arms about it all. _ yeah, it'sjust been a nightmare. a bit sick to be honest because you just don't know where you stand, do you know what i mean? you know, like, drinking the water
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and things like that. and it'sjust like...as if it's all confusing. it's very confusing. no drinking water, so i totally understand that they've got . to close, but it's not really an acceptable situation - for south west waterl to leave the school in. i have just got a response from south west water about the situation. they said they mobilised yesterday and delivered bottled water to all of the schools in the area and as far as they know it is the only school to have closed and they are sorry for the disruption. also within the last hour the company has announced it is increasing its compensation from £15 up increasing its compensation from £15 up to £100, is people i have spoken to so far think it is not enough. jenny kumah with the latest, thank you. more details have been given today about the inquiry into the events at the countess of chester hospital after lucy letby, a former neonatal nurse, was convicted of multiple murders and attempted murders of babies. the thirlwall inquiry will start in september this year and will take place in liverpool. our north of england correspondent judith moritz has been in court.
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tell us more about the inquiry. yes, the news this _ tell us more about the inquiry. yes, the news this morning _ tell us more about the inquiry. yes, the news this morning as _ tell us more about the inquiry. yes the news this morning as it will tell us more about the inquiry. i2: the news this morning as it will not be happening in chester which was originally what was said but there has not been space available in chester, it will be heard at liverpool town hall beginning on the 10th of september. today's hearing in chester was a preliminary administrative hearing dealing with arrangements for the inquiry itself and it starts in september and much of the discussion within the inquiry room today was around whether or not the inquiry will be broadcast, in much the same way as you might have seen with the post office inquiry, the covid inquiry. barristers representing families of the baby is involved in the lucy letby case argue the hearings should be broadcast, they say would be a counter to some of the online conspiracy theories which have sprung up they say since the trial finished which have been grossly
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offensive, they say, and distressing to the families. but a barrister representing the countess of chester hospital argues the hearings should not be broadcast worldwide, that instead they should be available on a video link in a restricted way. the chair of the inquiry lady justice thirlwall has said she will make a decision on that matter in due course and we have also had a little bit of the backstage were going on to gather evidence before the hearings start including surveys sent to doctors, nurses and midwives at neonatal units across the nhs. thank you, judith moritz. china's leader xijinping has welcomed russia's president putin to beijing for a state visit. mr xi called vladimir putin his old friend, who said in return that it was logical that china should be his first foreign visit since beginning a new term in office. our china correspondent laura bicker sent this report.
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in the west, he is seen as a pariah, but in china, president putin is a key partner, as beijing seeks a new world order, one not led by the united states. the red carpet was rolled out, complete with a red army band welcome, as they walked together in a show of defiance against western pressure. mr putin needs china. it's become an economic lifeline for an isolated and heavily sanctioned russia. translation: china will always be your good neighbour- and good friend of mutual trust with russia. mr putin said he would inform president xi about the situation in ukraine. and he said he would welcome china's role as peacemaker. beijing put forward a 12—point peace plan more than a year ago, but it received a lukewarm welcome
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from both ukraine and russia. but while mr xi is trying to play peacemaker, he's also accused of helping to fuel russia's war. if the west wants to stop russia's advances in ukraine, they know here is one place they can do that. beijing is not supplying moscow with weapons, but the west believes it is supplying russia with components that it can use in its war machine. the us has a raft of new sanctions at the ready, this time to target chinese banks, so president xi has a decision to make. beijing does need moscow. russia supplies it with cheap oil and gas. this soaring trade also helps shield mr putin from western sanctions. but there are ukrainians sheltering in beijing whose voices are growing louder. this woman translates news from her home country and puts it on social media. just let them know the truth about this war.
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it was tough emotionally, to be honest, and it took a lot of time, but 100 people were working hard to translate official news and speeches of president zelensky, so we decided to do this work, because who else? beijing is not likely to make any policy shifts. instead, the two pledged to deepen their partnership, but mr xi will be calculating just how much he's willing to pay for mr putin's war. laura bicker, bbc news, beijing. the time is 1.16. our top story this afternoon... the labour leader sir keir starmer has set out the first steps he would take if his party wins the next general election. and coming up... the impact of climate change on grassroots sport — how to play when the pitches are wet.
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and coming up in sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, as tyson fury prepares to face oleksandr usyk for boxing's undisputed heavyweight champion, we hear from the last man to hold that record. the bbc can reveal that the firm run by a man once dubbed "britain's kindest plumber" faked stories of helping vulnerable people as it raised millions of pounds in donations. depher, a social enterprise based in burnley, used photos of people on social media without their consent, as founderjames anderson spent company money on a house and car. mr anderson has denied some of allegations, but admitted he had "made mistakes". our special correspondent ed thomas has the story. now, you won't meet people more remarkable than the plumberjames anderson. james anderson's acts
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of kindness moved the nation. his name isjames anderson. he'sa plumber... and we put a shout out on social media. we've analysed those social media accounts. so far he's helped over two million people across the country... - uncovering misleading false posts, allegations vulnerable people have been exploited. the most shocking was this, injune 2022. a lady covered with an emoji, upset and desperate. it says, "when i got there, she had a noose, ready to commit suicide." the truth is that her name wasjoyce and she died years before the story ofjames anderson saving her life. we tracked down joyce's daughter, andrea. joyce's kitchen. she had no idea her mother's image was used by depher. when i got there...
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she had a noose ready to commit suicide. how do you describe that post? a lie, it's a complete lie. some of the images were linked to fundraising appeals. how do you sleep at night? it's like vulnerable people like my mother is their moneymaking machine. james anderson has helped many vulnerable people, but we found multiple examples of misleading posts. this one claims the woman with the hidden face died from carbon monoxide. we later learned the story was fake. hey, are you all right? hi, ed from bbc news. james anderson agreed to speak to us about his company's use of social media. really appreciate you speaking to us. starting with this story aboutjoyce and thoughts of suicide. i didn't put that on. that's from depher�*s account. is that post true?
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that post is not true, no. the family has said that is a lie. what do you want to say to that family? i've just said i apologise to the family, but i will have to look further into that, onto the old account. and the carbon monoxide death story? it's depher�*s post, but how it got onto depher�*s account, i don't know. that's an absolutely disgusting misleading post, yeah. and i apologise from the bottom of my heart. is that a lie? that is a lie, whoever�*s put that on, yeah. we spent over £3 million, ok? is £3 million correct, yes or no? i don't know. you don't know? i don't know. we've helped over two million people. 2,150,000 to be exact. that's exact? that's. .. are they made up figures? they're guesstimates? they're guesstimates, yeah, guesstimates. james anderson said he'd been a victim of online trolls, but also apologised for any mistakes. there's lessons to be learned, they will be learned. if i have to shut down depher tomorrow, i will shut depher down tomorrow and you will never
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see it again. and you can watch more on this story on bbc iplayer. look for britain's hero plumber uncovered. gp leaders have voted to ballot on potential protest action in england. action could include limiting the number of patient appointments per gp per day to the recognised safe working level of 25. gp leaders at the british medical association are opening the ballot in protest at the government funding allocation for practices in england. a 74—year—old ghanaian man who has lived in the uk for nearly 50 years must wait a decade before the home office will let him stay permanently. nelson shardey had for many years assumed he was officially seen as british. he only discovered otherwise in 2019 — and despite paying taxes all his adult life, now faces paying thousands of pounds to stay. daniel sandford has the story.
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after living in britain for 47 years, retired newsagent nelson shardey finds himself in an expensive legal tussle with the home office, despite a lifetime of paying taxes and serving his local community. i cannot afford to pay any part of the money they are asking. does it feel fair? in my eye, there's no fairness in this at all. it shouldn't be. there's no fairness at all. he came to britain to study in 1977. he worked for mother's pride and kipling's cakes. no one questioned his right to be here. he was given a bravery award for tackling a robber armed with a baseball bat. he has two british sons. but when nelson's mother died in ghana five years ago and with his son's help he applied for a british passport, he discovered the home office thought he had no right to live in the uk. officials asked him to start the expensive ten—year process
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of applying for permission to live here permanently. i don't understand why this force at all. —— this fuss because i've put my life, my whole self, into this country. ijust thought it was a joke. his sonjacob told me the whole thing was ridiculous. but why would he need to go and start this ten—year route when he's been here since 1977? he's been here longer than the people who have been alive who are running his case. nelson's lawyer, nicola burgess, is taking the home office to court, arguing that he should have been regarded as an exceptional case. in the meantime, he's having to pay thousands of pounds to access nhs care. he has to pay the immigration health | surcharge every two and a half years| and this is kind of a tax - that is levied against immigrants to access the nhs and this -
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is obviously on top of the taxes that nelson has paid _ throughout his career and he's very worried about whether he's - going to be able to afford that. nelson shardey is still hoping that the home office will back down and let him remain without paying more than £17,000 to stay where he's lived his whole adult life. daniel sandford, bbc news, wallasey. three in five adults in england say extreme weather has made it harder for them to be physically active, according to sport england. the agency that funds community sport is announcing a £115 million investment package to help sports deal with climate change. our sports editor dan roan reports. whalley range under—11s finally playing again after a late start to their season. one of the wettest uk winters on record has meant cricket matches up and down the country have had to be cancelled. this, a scene that's become all too familiar over the past three years
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as the club's ground in manchester has become waterlogged. i've never known anything like this. we've just not been able to get on the ground because it's been so wet. it's been unrelenting. last year, it was just... nearly every game was called off. it was really frustrating. there were six games at least in a row, back to back, rained off. but clubs like this could now benefit from £115 million that funding agency sport england is making available to help them battle climate change by becoming more sustainable as part of a new strategy. it's found that three in five adults say extreme weather has had a negative impact on their ability to be active across various sports. they play cricket here every week and they've been subject... they had once—in—a—hundred—year flooding back in 2016 and then 2017. it wasn't once in a hundred years, it was again and so on and so on. it became the norm. the fa found that there's 120,000 games cancelled every year because of flooded pitches. we will require for funding
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that everybody has a sustainability strategy by 2027. some may question whether the money would be better spent providing more all—weather facilities. if you had to take money away from other budgets, pots, in order to put it in towards this? i think it needs to be a part of. if we put money into helping clubs become more sustainable, so then that is an investment in the future because their bills become sustainable. and here at whalley range, they're already making a difference, from installing solar panels on the pavilion roof to a rewilding programme on the outfield. we have to think very hard about how we keep this cricket club _ going as a place to play sport for the next 20 or 30 years. i and one of the things we do- is we plant all these trees and have this biodiversity because these trees actually soak up - the water in the summer, _ which means we've got more chance of being able to play the game. meanwhile, worcestershire cricket club admits it may have to move from its historic new road ground because of what it called unprecedented
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and increasingly regular flooding. manchester united were forced into a clean—up operation earlier this week after old trafford struggled to cope when a month's worth of rain fell in just two hours. clubs at all levels now being impacted by extreme weather conditions. dan roan, bbc news. you may have seen the new official portrait of the king unveiled earlier this week. well, now, visitors to buckingham palace will have the chance to see one of the biggest collections of images from the royal family archive, collated over more than 150 years. our royal correspondent daniela relph has been to see the exhibition. through the gallery doors, the faces of royalty loom large. some of the photos are familiar. here, the andy warhol print of the late queen from 1985.
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but many capture something more intimate. this photo was kept private until now. royal mothers with their newborn babies — the queen, princess margaret, princess alexandra and the duchess of kent. the photo was taken in 1964 as a thank you to the doctor who delivered the children. and then the more recent moments. these are all the work of photographer hugo burnand, whose portfolio includes the king's coronation and the wedding of the prince and princess of wales. there's one picture which i discussed with them, which i hoped we might do, which was the picture of prince william and catherine with all the bridesmaids. i call it the tumble, and we had three minutes to do it, but three minutes isn't very long to take a portrait. and the reason why i mention that is because all the expressions and all the movements and all the positions are very spontaneous. they're from the people. they're not directed by me. and i think that has to come
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from a certain amount of trust going both ways. and in a way, it was probably the most successful picture for me of that day. so, it crosses the border between formal and informal. the retouching of portraits was commonplace from the earliest prints to make them look as good as possible. some images show the photographer's annotations. this picture of the late queen and prince philip includes notes which say, "background must be kept light and please do not cut." the photographer was antony armstrong—jones, who later married the queen's sister, princess margaret, and regularly photographed his wife. the exhibition has been ten years in the planning and everyone involved has some favourites. tell us why you like this image of the late queen so much. i think it's very strong graphically. we have a very stark pale background and the sitter
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is portrayed in a very simple woolen admiral's cloak. and i think that she comes through as really kind of the woman behind the monarchy. the collection is a reminder of the power of photography over the past hundred years to shape public perception of the royal family. daniela relph, bbc news, the king's gallery at buckingham palace. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. i'm going to start with an exhibition of weather pictures for you today, and i think you will like some more than others. this you today, and i think you will like some more than others.— you today, and i think you will like some more than others. this is how it looks in the _ some more than others. this is how it looks in the north _ some more than others. this is how it looks in the north of— some more than others. this is how it looks in the north of scotland. - it looks in the north of scotland. blue skies and sunshine, some of the best of the weather, really, however, a bit further south on the east coast, some mist and murk and further south again in southern england, its cloud, its outbreaks of
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