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tv   BBC News at One  BBC News  July 26, 2017 1:00pm-1:31pm BST

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a drive towards cleaner air — the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2040. the government wants to reduce emissions — and encourage the use of electric vehicles. we have to get rid of petrol and diesel to help health problems from emissions and meet our climate change targets. but environmental campaigners says the move won't address current levels of air pollution. we'll ask whether towns and cities are ready to adapt to all—electric vehicles. also this lunchtime. thousand people in the south of france, including many british holiday makers, have been moved to safety to escape raging wildfires. it was quite a precarious situation. the fire was very close to the campsite. very strong winds, it could've spread very, very quickly. the uk economy grew by 0.3% in the
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second quarter of the year, driven by retail and a booming film industry. the supreme court rules that charging to bring an employment tribunal case is unlawful — the government says it will now refund claimants‘ fees. and, the funeral is being held of the youngest victim of the manchester arena bombing — saffie roussos was 8 years old and was at the concert with her mother. and coming up in the sport on bbc news, record—breaker adam peaty says he cannot believe how fast he is swimming as he aims to defend his 50 metre breaststroke title at the world aquatic championships. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.
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new diesel and petrol cars and vans are to be banned from 2040, under government plans to try to combat air pollution. the proposals include a fund of more than £250 million for local councils, to speed up efforts to combat emissions from diesel vehicles — though there is no commitment to a car scrappage scheme. at the end of march this year, there were 37.5 million cars licensed in the uk — fewer than 100,000 of those are electric. around the country, there arejust over 4,000 charging locations — which compares with more than 8,000 petrol stations. our first report, about what the government hopes to achieve, is from our environment analyst roger harrabin. air pollution is linked to 40,000 premature deaths a year. the government was ordered by the court
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to publish a full strategy to clean up the air this month. the biggest problem is toxic n02 emissions from diesel vehicles. i go down the gym every day of the week, but i would not dream of running down here. i see guys and women running, etc., smog levels are too much. people tell me it is bad. i accept that. but there is nothing i can do about it personally. there is data coming out showing the effect on respiratory health, mortalities, in newspapers all the time. so massively concerned. electric vehicles are seen as the long—term solution. the government confirmed today its policy of banning the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040. we have to get rid of petrol and diesel cars from our roads if we are going to make sure not only do we deal with the health problems air pollution causes, but also that we meet our climate change targets. the good news is the car industry is already moving in this direction,
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so volvo and indeed just yesterday, mini, are both moving in this way. it is critically important we provide encouragement from government to help the car industry do the right thing. but what about pollution now? in the short—term, local roads will be altered and bus services improved. with a £255 million additional package for cleaner transport. other measures may follow. london has deterred cars from coming into town with its congestion charge. in the autumn that will become a toxic charge for dirty vehicles in particular. we may see zones like that in other towns and cities in the country is councils cannot sort out their own problems. but neither councils nor government want to take the rap for charging diesel drivers for using cars that the government originally encouraged them to buy. to reduce emissions that fuelled climate change. what we need now is some robust action taken by governments and not just relying on local authorities
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to make unpopular decisions. paying drivers to scrap old diesel cars is another idea but the treasury said it is bad value for money. it will not happen, at least for now. so how useful is the government's new air strategy? we need to see the detail of what they are announcing. while we welcome the move to cleaner vehicles, it is too long in the future to do anything about the air quality crisis we have now. it seems we have another secretary of state failing to grasp what even he calls a public health emergency. we should've seen the environment secretary announcing today a paradigms shift, a system shift to put people at the heart of towns and cities and not more cars, however they are powered. and we need him to talk about a massive investment in public transport, about a proper network of clean air zones. much more investment is needed in cleaner transport, critics say. they will be looking to the chancellor and his autumn statement to see how much
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the government is willing to spend to clean up illegally polluted air. roger harrabin, bbc news. and roger's with me. —— norman smith is with me. this is a bold headline. how dramatic is this politically? it sounds like there should be a drum roll with this announcement, the end of an era, the end of the internal combustion engine on our roads. when you strip it down this isa roads. when you strip it down this is a much more cautious and careful and calibrated announcement. for a start, there will not be the big, great, bonanza giveaway of a scrappage scheme to help all of us trade in our old. in part because ministers take the view that it tends to benefit people who are better off, those who are more likely to have a second—hand diesel as they ran around. secondly, the ha rd as they ran around. secondly, the hard work, the heavy lifting will be
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left to local authorities who are already under huge financial pressure. they are the ones who will have to introduce new transport systems to minimise congestion where most of the pollution is caused. they are the ones who are going to have to ban diesel cars from town centres. they are the ones who might have to look at charges for diesel ca rs. have to look at charges for diesel cars. in other words they are the ones who motorist will be fuming at for doing all of these things. but above all, it isn't happening any time soon. it is 25 years away. that, when some countries like norway are looking at introducing this ban by 2025. put all that together and it seems like going on on the m6 in second gear. you will get there in the end but it is going to ta ke get there in the end but it is going to take a long time and you are probably going to upset a lot of motorists along the way. thank you. so what do these proposals mean for the car industry? is it ready to produce electric cars only in less than 25 years?
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0ur correspondent theo leggett has been examining whether the motor industry can deliver. anglo—american corporation has resulted in a new small car... the internal combustion engine has been powering cars for more than 100 yea rs, been powering cars for more than 100 years, but is it nearing the end of the production line? the government wa nts to ba n the production line? the government wants to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2040, and make electric vehicle is the norm. major manufacturers, such as volkswagen, bmw, and renault already have big plans for battery—powered models. but they still make up a small share of the market. last year we sold 10,000 pure electric battery—powered vehicles in the uk out of a market of 2.7 million. it is a huge shift. that is what you need a good framework to encourage that shift.
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britain isn't alone in planning a ban. france also wants to get rid of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. india wants to phase them out by 2030. and norway is even more ambitious, its target is 2025. if the government want us all to be one—day driving electric cars like these that it will have to give some thought as to how to provide more of these, charging points. there are 37 million cars on the road today. if all of them will one day be electric powered we are going to need a lot more places to plug them in. can it be done? industry insiders have their doubts. it is an incredibly vicious target. 0ne their doubts. it is an incredibly vicious target. one that will be ha rd to vicious target. one that will be hard to hit. car—makers are a long way down the road, they have electric cars on sale today and many more in the pipeline. we are getting the infrastructure together to allow people to use these cars as a potential will be incredibly difficult. here is a car that does not need gas... electric cars have had a bright future for many years but they are
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still a rare sight. there is little doubt that will change. but the road to co m plete doubt that will change. but the road to complete infrastructure change will be a long way ahead. as we've heard, many of the measures announced today will require major changes to infrastructure and transport policies. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha has been to dudley to find out whether the area is able to implement the changes. there are currently only three charging points there. wet weather, a day many need their car the most. what you think that diesel cars not being on sale in 2040? what were they doing ten years ago? trying to get people to buy them. why do that and now decide it is wrong. what do you think about those cars that you have to plug in? clean. they need to get plenty of
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power points. we can't keep using diesel. there is evidence that it is medically bad for us. it is the way forward , medically bad for us. it is the way forward, really. the government's plans are about improving air quality. those who need to drive for work have passion these. this man describes himself as a handyman and uses his diesel van to transport all of his materials. drills, hammers, wood, plasters, bags of sand. it is quite a lot. in 2040 diesel vans went beyond sell any more. how do you feel about that? good news for me. it makes things cheaper. diesel prices are going up. anything that is electric, plug it in, then i am away for the day. ministers say it is up to councils to decide what steps they take in their area to make the air cleaner. councils say their plans depend on how much money
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they get from government. there are just three of these charging point into the town centre. the council says it wants to increase that number significantly over the next few years. every new housing development that is done in dudley has to have an electric power point to charge cars on every property. i know there are 100 going through the present time in planning and we've been doing that for 18 months. some of the council ideas are unpopular, like charging certain vehicles were travelling on the busiest roads. but they are being told action must be taken now. they are being told action must be ta ken now. that they are being told action must be taken now. that is why they are already implementing significant changes. more than 10,000 people in the south of france, including many british holiday makers, have been moved to safety to escape rapidly spreading wildfire. a new blaze overnight has spread over a vast area, along the mediterranean coast. france has asked its eu neighbours for more help to fight the fires. adina campbell reports. the latest fire devouring swathes
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of forest in southern france. firefighters overnight have been trying to keep the flames under control. more than 40 square kilometres of land has been affected along the mediterranean coast. around midnight we were woken up and i went down to the station at our site and there was an emergency news which is quite rare for our site. ijust looked up and it was like an inferno. there was just orange in the sky. it was amazing and a very, very scary sight to see. holiday—makers staying close to the popular st tropez holiday resorts have been moved to safety. including british tourists on a nearby campsite where some have ended up staying on beaches. there would have been a good thousand people on the beach.
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they had to stay there overnight, some of them with sleeping bags and it was quite a precarious situation. the fire was very close to the campsite. very strong wind. it could have spread very, very quickly. these wildfires have been raging here in the mountains for three days. they've also affected parts of corsica where hundreds of homes have been evacuated. france has already asked for europe's help to deal with the fires. 4000 firefighters and troops backed with water bombers have been used to put out the flames. officials say at least 12 firefighters have been injured and 15 police officers affected by smoke inhalation. the head of the fire service in the south—east of france has said extra firefighters have been drafted in to keep the flames at bay. adina campbell, bbc news. the british economy grew by 0.3% between april and june,
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according to the office for national statistics, boosted by retail and a booming film industry. but this is the economy's weakest six—month period for 5 years. our business correspondentjoe lynam has more details. this building company in buckinghamshire is busy. but the future pipeline of confirmed work is starting to dry up as budgets tighten for its customers. we have been given orders forjobs and at the last minute the clients have pulled away from us. due to concerns over the market. gdp is the sum of all goods and services in britain, that number grew by 0.3% from april to the end ofjune. but the figure for the construction sector was down by almost 1%. thankfully the services sector which includes all our shopping and dining out, was up half of 1%. it is a good thing we're
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still growing but of course we are growing slowly. interestingly if you look at the first half of the year, it is the slowest growth in five years for the first half. which of course is worrying. what is more is the position of gdp is concerning. all the growth has come from the consumers spending more and very little from anywhere else. and the chancellor acknowledged that brexit may have played a role in the sluggish economic performance. we always knew that this was going to be a year in which there was a certain amount of uncertainty around the economy as we go through the eu exit negotiations and businesses and consumers perhaps unsurprisingly are waiting to see what the outcome is. what our future relationship with the european union is going to look like. but labour said that the weak gdp figures exposed the last seven years of conservative economic failure which it says showed that working families were being squeezed. one of the best performing parts of the economy during the
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period was britain's film industry. film production here as well as box office receipts from the cinemas, grew much faster than the rest of the economy. after a relatively weak first quarter, it looks as if consumers returned to the shops between april and june. that meant the weakness in manufacturing and construction was balanced by an uptick in retail spending which benefited the overall economy. joe lynam, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime. the sale of new petrol and diesel ca rs the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2040. the government wants to reduce emissions and encouraged the use of electric vehicles. we have to get rid of petrol and diesel to help health problems from emissions and meet our climate change targets. coming up in sport. england have been boosted by the return of defender casey stoney from a hamstring injury, ahead of theirfinal group
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game of the european championships against portugal tomorrow. the funeral of the youngest victim of the manchester arena bombing is taking place this lunchtime at the city's cathedral. saffie roussos was eight years old, and had been given a ticket to the ariana grande concert as a christmas present. she'd gone to the show with her mother, who was seriously injured in the attack. 0ur correspondentjudith moritz is at manchester cathedral. as you say the last of the funerals for the 22 people who died in the manchester attack, the last in part because the family of savvy results have had to wait until her mother lisa was well enough to attend. we understand she will be brought here today from hospital. she is still
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recovering from very serious injuries and has had multiple operations. i spoke to the family a few weeks ago and they told me they we re few weeks ago and they told me they were staying strong for lisa was also believing for saffie. that she was a fun loving child who love singing and dancing and they really wa nt singing and dancing and they really want the service today to be a celebration, that it will come across in the service and also that we will hear from those who knew her best. the eulogy from headteacher and tributes from her classmates will take place, some of whom have already been arriving here. and the family have chosen to have the service here at manchester cathedral, not an easy decision for them, they say. just yards away from them, they say. just yards away from the arena where the bomb claimed her life. but this is a venue in which they want as many people as possible to attend. they invited the public to attend. they invited the public to come, they said anyone who felt they had been affected by the death of their daughter should come to the cathedral and they also have asked
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people to bring arose in memory of saffie, personal name was saffie rose. just a few minutes ago the mayor of greater manchester came along and the chief constable and we expect the family to arrive in the next few minutes themselves. then after the public service at manchester cathedral there will be a private service. judith, thank you. the supreme court has ruled that the government's decision to introduce fees for bringing employment tribunal claims is unlawful and must be quashed. the court said the practice of charging up to £1,200 was preventing access to justice. the government says it will now halt the charges — and refund people who have paid. 0ur legal affairs correspondent clive coleman reports. a massive victory for unison at the highest court in the land. workers fees for bringing claims to employment tribunals gone.
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tribunals hear a wide range of claims by workers including unfair dismissal, pay disputes and discrimination. bringing a claim was free untiljuly 2013 when the coalition government introduced fees. a claim for things like unpaid wages would cost a total of almost £390. for more serious crimes such as unfair dismissal, this rises to 1200. appeals against decisions can cost a further £1600. fees faced by people like ronnie, a courier taking his employer to task over his employment status, they are defending the claim. he could only pay to bring it with the help of his union. i do not earn a lot of money at the moment and i think i would never have gone to court if it wasn't for the help i received. i do think there are a lot of people in the same position. and it is very unfair. unison argued that the fees
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were discriminatory and denied workers access to justice. the court agreed. the fees order is unlawful under both domestic and eu law. because it has the effect of preventing access to justice. today's ruling is huge. it means that not only the order which introduced tribunal fees back in 2013 is quashed, it also means everyone who paid those fees, a sum amounting to some £32 million, will now get their money back. after a four—year legal struggle, unison were delighted. we knew from day one this was notjust unlawful but immoral. that low—paid workers should be put in this position, that they were denied access to justice. small amounts involved but it may include racial discrimination, sex discrimination, fair pay. obviously we're disappointment to get a judgment against us but we respect the judgment. we're going to take it fully on board, and comply with it and already today we are taking immediate action. tribunal charges stop today.
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workers across the country will be delighted that they can now bring claims without paying a fee. clive coleman, bbc news. the brother of diana princess of wales, earl spencer, has told the bbc that he still has nightmares about being part of the public procession behind his sister's coffin 20 years ago. he described the walk — alongside his nephews, princes william and harry — as the most horrifying half hour of his life. 0ur royal correspondent peter hunt is with me. watmore has he been saying in this interview # in the war, that has beenin interview # in the war, that has been in the public domain recently because prince harry also questioned why a 12—year—old should be made to walk behind the coffin. and in this interview earl spencer said he was lied to and palace officials suggested to him that the young princes wanted to walk behind the coffin. we now know that harry did not and other suggested, including
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alastair campbell, the spin doctor for tony blair, but they were there to give protection to their father prince charles, there was concern that he could be booed. there is also the issue of the eulogy, seen by many as a criticism of the royal family. he insists in the interview it was not, he said everything he said was true and he was trying to celebrate diana. and this coming at a time when there is enormous focus on the late princess because of the passage of time now. yes, it is the 20th anniversary, we also heard that itv documentary where prince harry prince william spoke about their mother and the impact of her death. and a bbc documentary in august will look at the week between the death and the funeral and perhaps we will get more insight into why the two princes walked behind the coffin. and they believe they were too young to protect her life and now they are
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very much about protecting her in death, protecting her memory 20 yea rs death, protecting her memory 20 years on. thank you. a judge will decide this afternoon whether the terminally—ill baby charlie gard should be allowed to leave great 0rmond street hospital to die at home with his parents. the hospital's lawyers say a hospice would be more appropriate. our medical correspondent fergus walsh is at the high court. i expect that two o'clock mrjustice francis will rule that charlie should be transferred to a hospice where his life support will be withdrawn. 0ne where his life support will be withdrawn. one of the key issues then will be how long before that life support is withdrawn. his pa rents life support is withdrawn. his parents connie and chris still want him to go home with them and have a period of days outside of hospital so they can build some memories together with him. but there were concerns from great 0rmond street hospital that charlie has complex needs and they are intending to
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provide an intensive care team who would take him to a hospice where there would be a period of hours. it is that period, how long he spent at the hospice, before his ventilator is switched off, that will be something for discussion this afternoon. the owner of sports direct, mike ashley, has won a legal case against an investment banker, in connection with an alleged £15 million deal made in a london pub. jeffrey blue told the court that mike ashley reneged on a promise to pay him a multimillion pound sum if he increased the firm's share price. our business correspondent emma simpson is here. explain a bit more about this. well the case is centred around a conversation in a pub four years ago. jeffrey blue was a corporate financier, working for mike ashley at the time and he said mike ashley promised him £15 million if he could double the share price of sports
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direct in three years. he walked away from the pub that night thinking he had a deal. well mike ashley had a different version of events saying this was just a few drinks and nothing more, that the talk was banter and he dismissed the claim as nonsense. it has been a pretty colourful few days of evidence including a night down at the pub itself, drink fuelled. mike ashley, one of the wealthiest controversial bosses in retail had drunk so much that night that he could not remember the next puppy went to but today the judge ruled in his favour comprehensively. he concluded that no one would have thought that what was said in the pub that night was serious. adding the fact thatjeffrey blue had convinced himself that it was and legally binding agreement had been made, showed only that the human capacity wishful thinking you no bounds. so he faces an uphill struggle in this case and i think the moral of is get it in writing.
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thank you. from finding bombs to catching drug smugglers, a dog's sense of smell has long been used to help people do difficultjobs. now a trial has begun to see if it could help doctors diagnose parkinson's disease earlier by detecting subtle changes in a person's smell triggered by the symptoms of the condition. the degenerative disease affects over 10—million people worldwide, but is often only identified years after symptoms appear. tim muffett has been to see the dogs in action. kiwi is demonstrating a remarkable skill. the ability of dogs to sniff out cancer has been acknowledged for years. but now kiwi and other medical detection dogs are beginning a new challenge. what we're hoping to do is to train them to find the odour associated with parkinson's disease. if they can do this, they could revolutionise the way in which parkinson's is detected. parkinson's can cause body tremors and leave sufferers
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unable to speak or walk. but as there's no diagnostic test, in its early stages sufferers often miss out on medication that can help. we didn't understand what was happening. joy, however, has a highly developed sense of smell. she noticed something different about les ten years before doctors diagnosed parkinson's. i started complaining about his smell. so what was this smell like you could detect on your husband? it was, i describe it as a very strong musky smell. joy's sense of smell is so strong doctors say it is rarely seen in humans. for dogs, however, it's a different story. some breeds of dog have more than 200 million scent receptors in their nose, that's compared to around five million for a human. and many believe that by harnessing that incredible sense of smell, more medical conditions could be sniffed out earlier. these medical detection dogs live with families and come to the testing centre
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during the daytime. backed by the charity parkinson's uk, swabs from parkinson's sufferers will be introduced to see if the dogs can identify them. people might present at a neurological clinic or they might go to casualty because they have had a fall. 0r because they have had some other event not usual for them. and very rarely would they would they think they might have parkinson's. but if we could develop an early test, it really improves the patient‘s well—being if they know what's going on. the research and training will take six months. but 200 years after the condition was identified, it is hoped that dogs will soon help doctors diagnosed parkinson's earlier. tim muffett, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's jay wynne.

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