tv BBC News BBC News June 25, 2017 6:00pm-6:31pm BST
6:00 pm
this is bbc news. the headlines at six o'clock. the number of high rise buildings which have failed fire safety tests rises to 60 across 25 councils areas as residents refusing to leave four of the affected tower blocks in north london are told they must leave. the last thing i want to do is force people out of their homes. from the conversations i have had with people in these buildings they are willing to work with us, i will have that conversation again tonight. the brexit secretary, david davis, says he's ‘pretty sure‘ the uk will be able to reach a suitable deal with brussels on leaving the eu. at least 140 people are feared to have been killed in eastern pakistan after a lorry transporting oil burst into flames. two children are in intensive care after a car ploughed into a group of pedestrians outside a sports centre in newcastle. police say they don't believe the incident is terrorism—related. police in turkey have fired rubber
6:01 pm
bullets this evening to prevent people joining bullets this evening to prevent peoplejoining a gay pride parade in istanbul. performances are in full swing for the final day of glastonbury —— where ed sheeran will bring the show to a close on the pyramid stage later tonight. and after a chaotic race, red bull's daniel ricciardo wins the azerbaijan grand prix. good evening and welcome to bbc news. camden council in north london says around 200 residents, from 120 households, are still refusing to leave several tower blocks that have been judged by the fire services to be too dangerous to live in. the council said those residents risked holding up work to make their homes safe.
6:02 pm
tests are continuing on cladding from tower blocks around the country after it was revealed every one of the 3a samples tested has failed to meet fire safety standards. in the past hour the department for communities has released a statement saying the number of buildings which have failed, stability test is now 60 across 25 local authority areas, all landlords and fire services in these authorities have been alerted to results, the department is in touch with them all to monitor follow—up action. that's a 100% failure rate so far in terms of those tests that have been carried out. let's get more from our correspondent in camden. yes, there's still a lot of confusion in camden this evening but this is a national issue, with those figures of 60 high—rise buildings failing
6:03 pm
their tests, those high—rise buildings as you said in 25 local authority areas. by failing those tests they found the cladding around these buildings was flammable. clearly that will have implications for residents, as it has had implications here in the last few days, around 3000 residents have been evacuated from four tower blocks. about 120 households, about two and a babel are refusing to leave but at the moment the council says it is taking a softly, softly approach. council leader georgina gould said they would still try to persuade the people to leave their homes. 50 we persuade the people to leave their homes. so we have people knocking on those doors, talking to people about the safety risks but we've also does but social workers do have individual conversations with those families and individuals about what will happen move out. i've spoken to many of those people overnight, some do want to leave but don't want to
6:04 pm
spend the night here which we understand completely. what we want to do is get those people into appropriate accommodation. there are specific issues. some people with agoraphobia, a development occasion, they want to be sure they have the right accommodation. after i have given this update am going back to the blocks myself to knock on doors and have those conversations. you are talking about persuasion but if some people are stubborn and say that they won't leave you force them out? we are really clear that those buildings are not safe. that is what the fire services have told us. now we will have to work very closely with the fire services. we are in co nsta nt with the fire services. we are in constant communication with them. and if it comes to the point where people really will not leave, the last resort, the last thing i want to do is force people out of their homes. the conversations i've been having with residents is that they are willing to work with us. i'm going to have those conversations again tonight. i think the most
6:05 pm
important thing is that we work with them. if those buildings are not safe... is that a deadline? it is an emerging picture. the most important thing is that we have people who are awake on those blocks going up and down and when i first had the conversation with the fire services, when they first said it wasn't safe they were clear that it was not safe to spend might then when the whole blog was speaking. where we have residents we are continuing to knock on their door, i am sure it is destructive for them, just keep having the conversation again and again, keeping people awake, making sure there are people on the block, the fire services say it's not safe to stay and people must go. they wa nt to to stay and people must go. they want to start work and for us to com plete want to start work and for us to complete that work as soon as possible and get those be bought back then we need the buildings to be empty. the council insists that people must move out of these buildings before they can begin the
6:06 pm
work, work they believe will take four weeks. of the people who have moved out, some have been found accommodation in hotels, many have said with family and friends, about 60 people did stay here overnight and is thought that the same number will have to stay at this leisure centre this evening. if you multiply what is happening here all over the country there is a big issue that needs to be dealt with. thank you, richard, very much for that update. earlier, simonjones spoke to residents in camden, some who are moving out of their homes, one woman explained why she would not go. because i feel safer and happier in my own home. what about the council saying it is not saved, you have to get out. it is as safe as last week. i appreciate what they are doing for the residents that are panicking but
6:07 pm
personally i would like to stay where i am for now. this is as is as savers last week, obviously it's the light of the awful events at g re nfell tower light of the awful events at grenfell tower that has caused the authorities to look at safety, aren't they doing the right thing? think they are doing the right thing for those people that want to move but i don't. i'm more comfortable in my own bed at home. how determined are you to stay? if we get a court order to get out i will go. i would like to stay for as long as possible. it will take a court order to make you go? yes. some might say, like the council, if you do that it could potentially delay the vital work to make your home and the homes of hundreds of other people safe again. i have heard that said but i understand how. because we sat through the entire refurbishment of the whole block, and we had episodes
6:08 pm
with the electricity was cut and we had to go out for the day, we were quite happy to accommodate that, and i don't see why we can't be accommodated now. what do you make of the situation here?” accommodated now. what do you make of the situation here? i have seen a lot of distressed people who are waiting still. i've got two people on my floor who are waiting to be rehoused right now. they don't want to be there. i have reassured them that i think it is ok. but respect, if they want to go, that's fine. paul scofield was talking to our correspondent simonjones earlier. the brexit secretary, david davis, has said he is "pretty sure" that the uk can reach a suitable deal with brussels, on leaving the european union — but he suggested britain may need a transitional arrangement if everything isn't agreed within the two year time—frame. mr davis insisted that britain had to be ready to walk away if the deal was a bad one. 0ur political correspondent susana mendonca reports.
6:09 pm
we've had some smiles and that never—ending handshake, but behind the scenes of the brexit negotiations, the man charged with doing a deal for britain seems uncertain as to whether he'll get one. i am pretty sure, i'm not 100% sure, it's a negotiation. because you said right at the beginning of this, "we are guaranteed to get a deal, you can be sure we'll get a deal." we can be sure there will be a deal, of which the deal i want, which is the free trade agreement, the customs agreement and so on, i'm pretty sure, but i'm not certain. what the brexit secretary did seem certain about was that a transitional arrangement with the eu of between one to two years would have to be done. he said if there were no deal that would be better than a punishment deal, and he had a promise for eu citizens living here.
6:10 pm
we're trying to ensure that every individual citizen gets their current position, as it were, locked in place for them, so the anxiety can go. this is the real issue, it's about people's anxiety, it's not about the prospect of deporting people, it's about the anxiety that they can't stay — that's the real issue. more details of that offer to eu citizens living and working in the uk will be laid out tomorrow, but it's already been criticised by the european commission and the labour party for not going far enough. the irish border is another issue britain wants settled. we want to have effectively an invisible border between the north and south. now, there are technical ways of doing that — number plate recognition on vehicles, tagging of containers. the liberal democrats accused the brexit secretary of inspiring as much confidence as a drunken trapeze artist, and said people should have the option of turning back. if it's a bad outcome or if there's no outcome, which is potentially worse, with a catastrophic cliff edge, we should have the option of the public approving it or not approving it. as britain awaits the eu's go—ahead on trade talks, the government's promising
6:11 pm
tariff—free trade on goods like bananas that come from developing nations will continue. that trade is worth £20 billion a year, but that's less than 5% of the value of the uk's total imports, so a trade deal with the eu is the big prize. let's cut back to this story about the cladding on blocks. mike granatt is the former head of civil contingencies in the cabinet office and he joins us via webcam from tunbridge wells. this is the classic civil contingency scenario, you have to accommodate hundreds of people at short notice and deal with them said in of public resistance. what do you make of what camden has to deal with given that we may see this happening in other parts of the country. having seen the report from camden
6:12 pm
just before the news it seems to me they are doing the right thing, approaching people individually, trying not to make them feel coerced and treating them in a way sensitive to their needs and finding somewhere to their needs and finding somewhere to put them. and they are having to work hard with each person, certainly with some people to make sure that they accept what is happening and the wisdom of doing it. there is little more that you can do. in the end, when push comes to shove don't they have to use some kind of enforcement. they are legitimately able to say, this building is not safe, if you say that this work will take longer, cost more, there's a kind of balance of responsibility to the ratepayers in that part of london. i'm not sure i would use that argument. i think what they have to say is, we will help you as much as we can, we will get you in as possible, to try to
6:13 pm
appeal to people by saying we are the landlord and they are the rate payers the landlord and they are the ratepayers is taking these people for granted. i would not butted in those terms but my point is that some people in the borough will say wait a some people in the borough will say waita minute, some people in the borough will say wait a minute, this is costing more, you are the local authority, these are your tenants, if the building is not safe, a private landlord would be able to to tenants, we have to move your out and we are doing all we can to give you an alternative, is it unreasonable for them to enforce the responsibility, in terms of health and safety if nothing else to clear the building ‘s other work can begin? it is not unreasonable, as it were, from a broader public point of view but what is the objective? to get people to trust you and to move out because they think it will be better for them. you and to move out because they think it will be betterfor them. i think it will be betterfor them. i think you have to be very careful before you start using... at the end of the day you may have to force people to come out. but if you do
6:14 pm
that you could inflame all sorts. at the end of the day this is not the responsibility of the people being forced out of the building, it is the responsibility of those who have put the building together and look after it. what do you make in broader terms about the public service broader terms about the public service response broader terms about the public service response to this, i think it is reasonable to say, in the events of what happened at grenfell tower, crisis both in terms of public confidence in safety in buildings and in the process used to build buildings and ensure fair compliance with regulations but also the way the practicalities have been dealt with. i think there are some very big questions here about how you reassure people about the safety of where they live. and quite clearly things haven't happened properly in terms of fitting this cladding or specifying it. ithink terms of fitting this cladding or specifying it. i think that this will lead to a call for regular inspections of what is happening,
6:15 pm
for much more open processes in showing how the buildings are being maintained and much better processes in listening to tenants because clearly trust between public service te na nts clearly trust between public service tenants and landlords have been very badly damaged by this. it is difficult to see how to recover from this except by saying that we will now take steps to ensure that there are regular inspections, we will tell you what we are doing so i think better communication on a continuing basis with tenants, to tell them what is happening and to listen to them and for them to understand if they think they are being listened to will be the order of the day. thank you, mike granatt, very much. istanbul of the annual gay pride march in istanbul say it will go ahead despite a ban by the
6:16 pm
authorities of the largest city in turkey. the event had been called for sunday evening in tax square. authorities banned the march for a third year in a row, citing security concerns after threats from far right groups. mark lowen is there. the organisers able to say that the march will take place? they were not able to take part at all. we are in an area just away from taksim square and you can see the heavy police presence as police chase people here and used tear gas to disperse the crowds. some people tried to unfurl a rainbow banner and stand up to the police but they were not having any of it. over here we can see the police trucks where these people have been detained and taken into custody. so the police are under
6:17 pm
strict orders not to allow the gay pride march to take place in any way, shape or form. pride march to take place in any way, shape orform. the government says this was because of a threat from ultranationalist says this was because of a threat from ultra nationalist groups says this was because of a threat from ultranationalist groups which we re from ultranationalist groups which were threatening public order and tourists but organisers and supporters of the gay pride parade say this is just a scapegoat for a conservative islamist government to clamp down on something anathema to their social values and that the government should stand up to these far right groups rather than giving in to them. so for the third year running and has been cancelled. for more than a decade it took place in istanbul with tens of thousands taking part and istanbul with tens of thousands taking partand big rainbow istanbul with tens of thousands taking part and big rainbow flags, the largest such march in the middle east and now conservatives in turkey have taken over east and now conservatives in turkey have ta ken over and east and now conservatives in turkey have taken over and are planning to clamp down hard. 0ne extra point is that some eu delegations arrived here because they say that turkey is a candidate for eu membership and will need to improve its record on human rights. that criticism is
6:18 pm
likely to fall on deaf ears in a country where the more secular liberal side of turkey is increasingly ostracised. mark lowen, thank you. the headlines on bbc news. it's just after 18 minutes past six. the number of high rise buildings to have failed fire safety tests rises to 60 across 25 council areas. brexit secretary david davis says he is pretty sure the uk will be able to reach suitable deal with brussels on leaving the eu. officials in pakistan say that 150 people have died after an oil tanker overturned and caught fire in punjab province. let's stay with the story of that terrible fire in pakistan. villages in punjab province had rushed to the roadside after the tanker tipped over. many others are in a critical
6:19 pm
condition in hospital. firefighters have now brought the blaze under control. richard lister reports. the tanker blazed for hours after the explosion. 0nlookers struggled to control their grief. the blast consumed everything around it, killing scores of people in an instant and injuring many more. nearly all the victims came from surrounding villages. the tanker had come off the road, spilling thousands of litres of fuel. in this impoverished area, people rushed to collect it. it's thought someone lighting a cigarette may have caused the explosion. the charred wreckage gives an idea of how many people were there. pictures too graphic to broadcast showed bodies piled by the road. "children were bringing buckets to take the petrol", he said. "there was a huge crowd and suddenly an enormous explosion." this man had a lucky escape, he'd already taken some petrol and then felt dizzy because of the fumes and decided not to go back for more. the army flew out some of those injured by helicopter.
6:20 pm
for many of the other casualties, the nearest hospitals were a two—hour drive. with so many people critically injured and requiring specialist burns care, the medical services have been stretched to the limit; hospital teams working flat out to assist the injured and console the bereaved. richard lister, bbc news. at least six people have been injured, three of them seriously, after a car collided with pedestrians in newcastle this morning. police have arrested a 42—year—old woman. the car mounted a pavement outside westgate sports centre, where hundreds of people were celebrating eid, which marks the end of ramadan. we were just after the prayers just wishing everybody a happy eid and suddenly we heard a lot of shouting
6:21 pm
and screaming and we did not know what it was. we ran to the scene, we heard a woman came from outside, she started driving through the people. i don't think she lost control of the car. there were a few casualties, a vision people seriously injured, people were panicking. the police did a great job to calm the situation down. a saw some injured people, the kid was there and his father was really, really seriously injured, really badly injured. itjust happened like that. myself, iwas badly injured. itjust happened like that. myself, i was on the floor, the back wheel, the front wheel passed me but didn't hit me. my brother—in—law was hit. so right now he's in ici, he's been taken by ambulance to ipi. everyone was
6:22 pm
panicking and she didn't do it on purpose, honestly. rescue teams in china are warning it's unlikely anyone else will be found alive after a huge landslide destroyed a mountain village in sichuan province. a couple and their baby were found in the early hours after the landslide on saturday, but since then, only bodies have been pulled from the rubble in mao—shan. it's feared more than a hundred bodies lie under the mud and debris. david campa nale reports. the hope of finding any more survivors is now thought to be pretty slim. scores of houses had been buried when a cascade of rocks and earth swept down on a mountain bearing some a0 homes. the bodies of over a dozen people have so far been recovered, but many more are feared trapped beneath the rubble. despite this, more than 3,000 rescuers have been deployed to the scene of the tragedy. specially trained rescue dogs are scouring the debris. emergency workers had some early
6:23 pm
success when they found this month—old baby and its parents. translation: at around 5:00 in the morning, the baby started crying, so i changed the nappies, and then i heard a loud noise. i went to the front door, but it was hit by wind and water. stones came flying that pinned me down to the ground. my wife and i slowly got up, took the baby, and escaped. there have also been reports that three metres underground, there may still be villagers trapped alive. listening devices have been deployed to pick up any signs of life. heavy rain is thought to have triggered this landslide after the top section of a mountain came loose and came down onto the village below. landslides are a regular danger in mountainous regions of china, especially during heavy rains. local police say a lack of vegetation in the area made the landslide much worse.
6:24 pm
david campanale bbc news. at least seven people have died in the high—altitude tourist resort of gulmarg in indian—administered kashmir, when the world's second highest cable car crashed. police say the cable snapped in strong winds. hundreds are still stranded in the cabins. a rescue operation is under way. hundreds of people in spain have been evacuated from the path of a huge forest fire. 5 e: ‘f‘ifif’f”? j'j't; of huelva last night. windy conditions are making it difficult to bring the flames under control. reports from the area say the fire may have been started deliberately. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, has urged theresa may to set up a cross—party commission to advise her on brexit. writing in the mail on sunday, he says such a commission could "hold the ring for the differences to be fought out" and "draw much of the poison from the debate". the former snp leader, gordon wilson, has died
6:25 pm
after a short illness. he was seventy—nine. mr wilson led the party from 1979 to 1990 and represented dundee east at westminster for 13 years. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, said he'd made an "immense" contribution to the success of the snp. it's one of the biggest sporting events taking place this year, but the chances are you've never heard of it! thousands of athletes from 23 islands around the world have travelled to gotland in sweden for the 2017 island games. jen smith has the details. 23 island nations, each with small populations, come together every two years to compete in their own bespoke competition. some have travelled from the arctic, others from warmer climes. so, why? the island games is a wonderful event for islands with a population of less than 100,000. but it is an event where we can come together, regardless
6:26 pm
of the distance in between us, we can come together and celebrate what we all love to do and what we do best to represent our islands. for us gibraltarians, definitely, because olympics, europeans, we don't have a chance of medaling. this is where we have a chance of medaling finally, so yeah, this is a very big deal for us. it's about competition but also about making friends and having fun and meeting a lot of cool people. this year gotland is the host. it's a swedish island in the baltic sea, and around 60,000 people live here. but for one week in june, over 2,000 competitors from islands as far afield as st helena in the south atlantic and bermuda in the caribbean will come here. so how much work is involved in putting all that together? how much work? a lot of work, i can tell you that. i've been employed for two and a half years, and we've been at this since 2007, or something like that.
6:27 pm
it's ten years in the making, basically, from the first thought of maybe hosting the games again, until coming to this day. and this day could see the beginning of an olympic career, like it has for some well—known brits. we've got some old veterans in the guernsey cycling club now and their claim to fame is they once beat mark cavendish, which is quite funny looking back now, seeing how far he's come. there are some young hopefuls from the isle of man that are clearly following in his footsteps, so we'll see where they are in a few years. and for some it's closer than that. andy from the isle of wight hopes to make it to the gold coast next april. i compete for scotland now in the commonwealth games. i've done the last three games and the qualifying distance is 67.5 metres, which i'm just short of this year. it would be nice to try and get the qualifying distance and get the trip to australia next year. so while it is known as the friendly games, there's still some serious competition. jen smith, bbc news, gotland. that looks beautiful, let's see if
6:28 pm
the prospects for this country will be as good. thank you for your company. coming up, a full summary of the national news, but first the weather. last week we saw some of the hottest june conditions in a0 years, the peaked in temperatures between the mid to high 30s, the week ahead, those pics will be much lower, closer to where they should be at this time of year it represents a big change on what we've seen. we could seize and rain, just a few showers of the central and southern england, some will go overnight in northern scotland, for most areas, the night will be dry and substantially fresher. parts of rural scotland in low figures, although it's in the south where we could see temperatures down to single figures in the countryside instead of the mid teens of the past week. it said us up for a nice start, we should see low—pressure
6:29 pm
developed, a slow process bringing cloud but more sunshine later in the day also from scotland and northern ireland, with sunshine of airheaded should warm up nicely, temperatures higher than we've seen this weekend, and feeling so given the absence of strong winds. it will cloud over in the west as we go through the day and northern ireland will finish the afternoon with rain which could speu afternoon with rain which could spell a damp brush our through down and armagh, overnight bhavane will move into central and southern scotla nd move into central and southern scotland bringing reasonable rainfall totals in the southern uplands. and turning to wet weather in north—west england and western parts of wales. this low pressure system is here into tuesday, cold fronts with fresh air behind it, it does mean slightly humid air gainford to stay with brewing storms across france. the most of the day it will be dry through good part of england and wales, the exception being cornwall with rain over
6:30 pm
scotla nd being cornwall with rain over scotland and ireland as well, late in the day storms will push in and we could see heavy rain pushed into tuesday night into wednesday, through many parts of england and eastern wales, come wednesday that could merge into scotland. a chilly breeze, temp which is much lower than in the week gone and while we see something drier towards the west it still will not feel anything special. all of us through the weekend will seek wetter weather at times, drier conditions in shetland, and at times it will be fairly cloudy as well. goodbye for now.
56 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC News Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on