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tv   BBC News at Ten  BBC News  December 13, 2017 10:00pm-10:31pm GMT

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tonight at ten... the prime minister has suffered her first house of commons defeat in the brexit process. the eyes to the right, 309, the noes to the left, 305. by a majority of just four, mps voted to change the eu withdrawal bill, calling for the final brexit deal to be approved by a new law. iam i am pleased with the outcome. i felt it was a vote that had to be taken, particularly in view of the intransigence and difficulty we had trying to reason with the government. we have had seven days of committee stages with multiple votes, we have woi'i everyone stages with multiple votes, we have won everyone but this and we lost this by four votes. it's a setback but it's a fairly minor setback, it won't frustrate the brexit. theresa may's team spent much of the day trying to persuade a handful of conservative mps to back the government's plans. and tomorrow the prime minister goes to brussels for an eu summit which is set to give approval for the brexit talks to move on to the next phase. also tonight...
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the road cyclist chris froome, four—time winner of the tour de france, is fighting to save his career after failing a drugs test. eight people have been sentenced for smuggling drugs into prisons by using drones. a special report from the democratic republic of congo, where the un says a cut in the number of peacekeepers is creating more instability. and six months after the grenfell fire, we report on the lasting impact in london's wealthiest borough. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, england captainjoe root calls for a big performance from his players ahead of the crucial third ashes test. good evening.
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the prime minister has suffered her first defeat in the house of commons on the government's legislative plans for brexit. by a majority of just four, mps supported a change to the eu withdrawal bill, which called for the terms of a final brexit deal to be approved by a separate new law. repeated offers of concessions by ministers were not enough to win the day. the amendment had been proposed by the conservative mp dominic grieve, a former attorney general who'd said it was time to put country before party — as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. the tory rebels, huddled among their collea g u es the tory rebels, huddled among their colleagues on the left, and labour on the right, for they had lost. weeks of energy and effort gone to waste. but watch that shuffle of mps, the four approaching in the middle. the signal theresa may had been
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beaten. the ayes to the right, 309, the noes to the left, 305. there was only four votes in it. one of the tories who had voted against the prime minister on the top left in white, reaching two colleagues in congratulation. cabinet ministers tucked behind the chair wondered what would happen next. the key thing is the balance between getting the legislative detail in place for a smooth brexit and making sure parliament has the proper transparency and accountability, so we will look again to make sure we get the balance right, it is a minor setback but will not stop is leaving the eu in march 2019. but the first defeat of its kind for theresa may is not a minor incident. it isa theresa may is not a minor incident. it is a success for the opposition parties and a powerful group of tory remainers. we've got to get over this, cooperate together to make sure this bill is in a proper state to do what people want, which is to deliver a smooth and effective brexit, and we
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will do that. i will get together with my collea g u es i will get together with my colleagues and continue the work. i will be heartily glad when it is over. no question, this emboldens the opposition. as well as tories with doubts about how the government is managing brexit. at last parliament has asserted itself, the prime minister tried to power grab, pushed through an eu withdrawal bill without proper parliamentary scrutiny and take powers away from parliament. parliament resisted. ministers had mounted a full—scale operation to avoid losing. as the vote began, watch the small knot of tory levels on the top left corner, hoping they still happen is... tory rebels. blink and you would a figure joins them, the defence secretary, until weeks ago the chief whip. taking one of them aside for a quiet chat. you might not see clearly but moments after that conversation finished, the mp stays on the benches, drops his head to his phone to tweet that
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he would abstain, not vote against the government. in front of your eyes, the guts of how close votes are lost or won all afternoon, her topless tenants were trying to avoid this result. reporter: has the government dinning is to be the rebels? but what is it about? some tory mps, opposition parties and these hardy campaigners were backing so—called amendment seven. demanding a legal promise from the government that mps will have a chance to votes and debate the deal between britain and the rest of the eu, crucially before it is signed. stop brexit. the government had promised a vote, there was just not trust that they would stick to it. the debate has been bitter and rough. large numbers of people telling won that one is a traitor, some, i have to say with regret, of one's honourable and write honourable friends saying things i say, go find
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slightly startling. deep suspicion those who wanted to stay in the eu are trying to run the referendum again. clause nine is not about implementing leaving the european union. read it! read it! sits down! if people in this haas use sits down! if people in this haas use that amendment for those purposes, the backlash from the british public will be like non—seen before. he should beware of that consequence. the consequence. the idea written how undermines the referendum decision is a load of rubbish and he well knows it. if he had any better arguments he would put them rather than using something thatis put them rather than using something that is so ridiculous. the downing street offensive, however much charm there was... reporter: what will it take?! calling in rebels, did not work. after hours of debate, a last—minute
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concession was dangled. the government is willing to return a report stage with an amendment on the face of the bill, making clear the face of the bill, making clear the undertaken assurance that i gave in my speech but statutory instruments under clause and i will not enter into force until we have had a meaningful vote in parliament. it is tabulate, you cannot treat the haas in this fashion. it was too latent too little. parliament, not the tory party, had its day. laura, what is your sense on the impact of this on the prime minister's authority at westminster and in brussels? it was nail—biting and it will be embarrassing for theresa may to have to arrive to that crunch summit in brussels to greet the eu leaders, having a few hours before been beaten by her own site. it is a drama for number ten today but it is not an out and out disaster. we should not overemphasise the impact. the vote was very close, this vote does not stop brexit in any way and
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the legislation is a long way from ending up on the statute books, so like it or not there months and months of argument ahead. something important has happened tonight, mps from all parties, tory, labour, snp, lib dems, working together to make the collective will of the commons chamber speak louder than the government. there were only four votes in it, it is not the case at all that parliament will certainly have its say on everything to do with brexit, the government has suddenly become a better player, but it is an important moment and it is, don't forget, the first time that theresa may has been beaten in the commons on her own plans since becoming prime minister. i think it stiffe ns becoming prime minister. i think it stiffens the sinews of people in this place who have been timid about rebelling, timid about making trouble, and are probably also stiffe ns trouble, and are probably also stiffens the lord's down there, who are stiffens the lord's down there, who a re pretty stiffens the lord's down there, who are pretty much certain to cause a
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lot more trouble than those in the commons chamber. and i wonder if it leaves theresa may with a choice. until now she has taken a very tough line uncompromising on anything to do with brexit. her critics inside the tory party would say she has had to be dragged kicking and screaming to be dragged kicking and screaming to anything that looks like a whiff of compromise. i think tonight she now faces a choice, does she change her tone and try to work together with people in her party, or does she allow the bitterness to spread and continue if she carries on the kind of course she has so far? there are tory rebels who tonight looked over the edge and decided they were willing to cross it. thank you very much, laura kuenssberg with the latest after the vote at westminster. chris froome, britain's most successful road cyclist, is facing the prospect of being banned from the sport for failing a drugs test. the four—time tour de france winner registered twice the limit of a medication used to treat asthma during a race in spain in september. cycling's world governing body has launched an investigation. both froome and team sky have denied any wrongdoing, as our sports editor
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dan roan reports. chris froome has told the bbc tonight into standard will come as a big shock to a lot of people but insists he has not broken any rules. —— that he understands it will come asa —— that he understands it will come as a big shock to a lot of people. having come to dominate cycling's biggest race, chris froome's established himself as the pre—eminent force in his sport, but the british star now faces a fight to save his reputation. it was here during his historic victory at spain's grand tour the vuelta that he was found to have exceeded the permitted legal level of the asthma drug salbutamol. he says on doctors' advice he increased his dosage due asthma, and at a training camp in majorca he told the bbc he had done nothing wrong. i understand it has come as a big shock to a lot of people, but i stand by what i have always said, i certainly have not broken any rules here. i have not taken more than the permissible amount and i am sure at
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the end of the day the truth will be told. riders can take salbutamol, but the rider has given a you're in sample with traces twice the permitted amount. he says it can be explained. it can be affected by a lot of different factors. dehydration, the way the body metabolises it, for example. this is not a positive test, all asthmatics out there will no what salbutamol is and obviously i have only been too happy to try and help the uci fill in the blanks. ina and help the uci fill in the blanks. in a statement the team sky boss said... there is a medical need, what needs to happen is that the support around the athlete needs to improve in terms of this his asthma is that
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bad, should he be cycling? is it a health issue? your asthma is that bad, you're taking that much salbutamol, you are still symptomatic, shall we call it a day and come back tomorrow when the asthma is better. scrutiny on team sky has intensified in the last year, with management grilled at a parliamentary select committee and a uk anti—doping investigation into allegations all denied a not proven surrounding a mystical medical delivery to sir bradley wiggins in 2011. froome meanwhile has taken a strong moral stance on the controversial use of tuv, or therapeutic use exemption is, for usually banned substances. i think most people will listen to everything we are saying about hearing sent offensive etc and will not care, as far as they are concerned it is yet another thing what has happened to team sky and cycling, as far as the reputation of cycling, as far as the reputation of cycling is concerned it is enormously damaging. next year froome plan to seal a remarkable fifth tour de france triumph, but instead the potential
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ban and the potential loss of his spanish title hang over him. he faces a very anxious wait, as does team sky at the headquarters of the national velodrome in manchester. they have built their brand around him and are trying to recover from recent controversies. froome has come to symbolise a new era for the sport after it's deeply troubled doping past and there is a huge amount at stake for him, his tea m huge amount at stake for him, his team and for cycling. the us democratic party has been celebrating an unexpected victory in a special election for the us senate in the state of alabama. doug jones beat the controversial republican candidate roy moore, who'd been strongly backed by president trump. mr moore had faced allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls, allegations he'd consistently denied. the result means the republican majority in the us senate now stands atjust 51 to 49. 0ur north america correspondent, nick bryant, reports. amidst all the noise and rage of american politics, it's worth remembering elections
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are often decided in quiet suburbs. that was true in alabama, where moderate republicans didn't turn out for their party's radical, scandal—hit candidate. and where many don't much like donald trump either. it's a rejection of donald trump. tracy james is a lifelong republican, who yesterday went democrat. it was also a protest vote against the president. i do think donald trump has a problem in the republican suburbs. you don't know what's going to come out of his mouth next. you don't know whether we're going to go to war with north korea. you don't know if he's going to insult a woman in congress. i think they're very uncomfortable with that. modern—day democrats aren't supposed to win in staunchly conservative states like alabama. it hasn't happened here for 25 years. no wonder the blizzard of confetti. alabama has been at a crossroads. it has been at crossroads in the past and unfortunately, we have usually taken
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the wrong fork. tonight, ladies and gentlemen, you took the right road. the losing republican candidate, roy moore, thought he was on his way to washington, but he was hit by allegations, which he denies, of sexual misconduct against teenage girls and shunned by senior figures in the republican establishment. that's where the anger of his dejected supporters was directed. it's really sad for the people of alabama what took place in this state tonight. you think you've been betrayed by the republican establishment? absolutely, no doubt about that. # you can't always get what you want #. it's true, you can't always get what you want. a lesson for donald trump, who has strongly backed roy moore. so get out and vote for roy moore. do it. so this is a big black eye for the president and also a failure of the trump political playbook, to deny accusations of wrongdoing as fake news and to attack accusers.
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with a republican majority in the senate reduced to a single seat, it will be even harder for the president to enact his stalled legislative agenda. the democrats hope this result is indicative of an anti—trump wave which will help win them back capitol hill in next year's congressional elections. this senate race doubled as a battle for the soul of the republican movement and thus marked a defeat for conservative insurgents against the party establishment. that too is a setback for donald trump and his unorthodox brand of politics. nick bryant, bbc news, alabama. a fourth child has died after a house fire in greater manchester earlier this week. three—year—old lia pearson died in hospital earlier today. a 35—year—old woman remains in a serious condition. the fire was started in the early hours of monday morning. earlier today, two people made their first court appearance
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charged with murder in relation to the fire. wages have grown more slowly than the cost of living for a seventh month in a row. new figures from the office for national statistics show that pay in the year to october increased by 2.3%, while inflation currently stands at 3.1%. there were also 56,000 fewer people in work in the three months to october than in the previous quarter, the biggest fall for more than two years. eight people have been sentenced for smuggling drugs into prisons by using drones. craig hickinbottom, a former armed robber, organised the flights from inside. police have identified at least 49 drone flights carrying contraband, thought to have been worth as much as £1.2 million. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, has the story. cameras originally set up to take pictures of wildlife, catching instead britain's most prolific drone smuggling gang. recording the pilot, mervyn foster,
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time and again flying the drone from a field outside hewell prison in worcestershire. its illegal cargo hanging underneath on fishing line. from the field, the smugglers had a view directly into the jail and the prison block where the drone's cargo was pulled in through the windows. over the months, the gang grew in confidence and sophistication. they'd started by simply throwing the drugs over the prison wall, but then they started using drones and they added to the contraband — mobile phones, weapons, screwdrivers and even a freeview box with a remote control. cameras inside hewell prison caught one of the ringleaders, john hickinbottom, with an improvised hook used to catch the fishing line and recover the contra band. the gang, led by armed robber craig hickinbottom, is thought to have smuggled in over a million pounds worth
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of drugs and phones, continuing even after they'd been arrested and charged. the contents of the loads, on at least 49 flights, were specifically ordered by individual inmates from the midlands to scotland. the recent epidemic of drones being used to airlift contraband into prison grew from nothing injust four years. we didn't see this one coming. so, the drones literally came from nowhere. they were flown in and it actually just was a game changer for us. so we had to really relook at our systems, our procedures and methods of gathering intelligence. and it gave the gangs of opportunity to actually breach the secure perimeters almost effortlessly. to crack this case, officers downloaded the memories of the drones they seized and linked that to mobile phone calls the smugglers were making. the prisons' ministers had to invest millions of pounds in a new national network of police and prison officers working together,
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which helped catch this gang. what we've shown here is that this is the most prolific gang we've come across and we've been able to deal with them. they're going to be serving jail time, and that is a huge success. but with huge profits being made by the smuggling gangs, keeping drones away from prisons is going to be a lengthy battle. daniel sandford, bbc news, at hmp hewell in worcestershire. the united nations is warning that a reduction in the number of peacekeeping troops in the democratic republic of congo, in central africa, is likely to lead to more instability and loss of life. last night we had a special report on the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the drc, where nearly 1.5 million people have fled their homes and severe acute malnutrition is affecting hundreds of thousands of children. the desperate situation began last year in the kasai region of the country after a conflict between government—backed troops and rebel fighters. both sides have committed atrocities. 0ur africa editor fergal keane and cameraman tony fallshaw
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travelled to kasai. you may find some images in this report distressing. the grass grows over, it conceals. day by day the truth recedes in view, but the un patrol knew where the bodies had been dumped. you can smell it. one of 87 known mass graves in kasai. "some bones here", the soldier says. fragments of atrocity. the clothes of the dead. at least 3,000 people have been killed — shot, hacked, beaten to death. nearly a million—and—a—half displaced. the blood is speaking. the blood is speaking? yes, the blood is speaking. this is the blood of my brothers. even myself, if i was there, i could be killed also innocently. we met a woman who says
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she saw the army arriving. we've protected her identity. translation: the military were burying the bodies. we saw where they stopped and how they dug to bury the corpses. some were as young as 12. they did not only kill the militia, they killed innocent people. across congo, a small un force is struggling in the face of growing instability. in kasai, it says the targeting of civilians by all sides could amount to crimes against humanity. the violence escalated when security forces killed this man, chief kamuina nsapu, after he'd rebelled against the government whose president, joseph kabila, is clinging to power despite having served the two terms he's allowed under the law. in response, the chiefs followers attacked everybody and anything associated with the state. like these policemen, beheaded soon after the video was taken. even civil society activists,
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trying to register voters, were attacked when rebels swept into this town. offices destroyed, family members butchered. translation: i have lost my daughter, who was a dressmaker. she was beheaded with her husband. their children are orphaned and they have remained here. i take care of them now. 350 kilometers to the south, emmanuel showed me the ruins of his home. when the militia attacked, he fled with his older child, but in the chaos a sleeping three—year—old girl was left and burned to death. translation: i was afraid to be killed myself. i wanted to save my life and the life of the child who was with me, hence the other child was killed. i keep crying, crying always. the state fought back
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with pitiless violence, killing militia supporters, who believed magic charms could protect them from bullets, and turning its guns on civilians who lived in rebel areas. this man told us what he'd witnessed near the town of chikapa. translation: the military were taking people, killing them and throwing them into the river. people started to run away and hide. they followed them, killed them and threw them into the river. we saw the army do this. these are not isolated accounts, we've spoken with other witnesses who saw bodies being thrown into the river. we met a 13—year—old boy, shot in the chest, he survived. we've heard from people who saw women being dragged away by the army screaming. at this church in chikapa we met hundreds of villagers who'd fled violence at the hands of a pro—government militia,
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drawn from another ethnic group. translation: i saw people with machetes, guns and clubs. they were beheading people, cutting arms and legs, slashing bellies. i had to climb over dead bodies to escape. i had four children, but could escape with only one. the other three were killed. the government denies the army committed crimes against humanity and says it's been fighting militia terror. we are facing a terrorist offensive from there. we see no difference between those people and the boko haram or shabaab. in kasai, only one force stands between the actions of the state and the different militias. but the un is under pressure. in a country two—thirds the size of western europe, there are fewer than 20,000 troops, and even this force has been cut
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back as america reduces peacekeeping funding. what can be achieved with so few troops? quite simply, what would happen if we weren't here? we want to do everything we possibly can with the resources of the united nations to save lives and to make the situation better. amid deteriorating security across congo, survivors fear fresh violence. like this mother and her 15—year—old daughter, who were abducted by the same pro—government militia, separated and ta ken to different farms. translation: we had left our village in april and were taken as slaves on the farm the same month. it's difficult to count how many times i was raped because it was during so many months. i did not know where my daughter was, she was released after i escaped. they told her — "go now, for your mother has escaped and can get us arrested." only then, when she joined me in chikapa, did i discover that she had been raped too. i have a lot of bitterness
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in my heart because my little girl has been deviled. she'sjust a kid. in kasai, where the dead are cast into rivers, into mass graves, there is no real peace to keep, only a daily effort to hold back the forces of chaos. fergal keane, bbc news, kasai. the chief inspector of schools, amanda spielman, says more than 100 schools in england are struggling and haven't beenjudged good by the inspection service 0fsted for more than a decade. the annual report warns that a core of persistently underachieving schools are struggling to recruit teachers and to keep head teachers. the government says it's targeting additional help at challenging areas. at st paul's cathedral tomorrow, members of the royal family will attend a memorial service with many of those affected
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by the fire at grenfell tower in west london, injune this year, exactly six months ago, which claimed the lives of 71 victims and made hundreds of people homeless. our special correspondent, allan little, has been back to the area where the disaster happened and reports on the lasting impact there and beyond. it is the abiding image of 2017, it scars the west london cityscape and, perhaps, the conscience of the country. that it happened in one of the richest parts of london has made it for many a tale of two britons, living side by side, but separately. the dale youth boxing club used to train in grenfell tower, their gym was lost to the fire, now they use this concrete corner of a multi—storey car park. 3,2... stay down. the club coach is gary mcguinness, he says years of gentrification, of regeneration projects, have made the old london working—class, who used to thrive here, a diminishing presence. regeneration, what does the word
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mean, like, you know? you know, it seems like it means clear out for the locals to me. that's what's going on around here, ain't it, basically, as you see. you know, the locals are getting pushed out. the kids can't afford to buy places around here. do you think it's got worse over the years? of course it has, yeah. yeah, yeah. definitely, yeah. you should be concentrating, watching what he's doing. the grenfell tower fire exposed this long, steady, drifting apart of rich and poor. but don't push a simple rich poor interpretation too far here. five members of mutah chellat‘s family died in the fire. for him, the problem is not that there are rich and poor, but that increasingly the poor are disregarded. if you're going to ask me who i blame, i don't blame the rich people in holland park because they didn't come down here and light the fire, do you know what i mean? theyjust happen to live where they live, it's not theirfault. but if you're going to ask me who the blame is, yes, i blame the council, i blame the local authorities, i blame the government that
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are supposed to look after these sort of buildings. but why are they not maintaining them? that's when you could turn around and say, well, probably it's because they don't care about these sort of people. you know, these so—called disadvantaged people that live in these council estates and things like that. "so—called disadvantaged", he says. for the people of grenfell do not recognise the version of themselves that has entered the public imagination. nina masroh has lived on the estate for nearly 30 years. we were portrayed as a poor, uneducated, disadvantaged people who didn't work, on benefits which is the actual opposite. a lot of people do work. there are some very highly educated people living on council estates in grenfell tower itself. there were architects, there were engineers, people worked in social media, in technology, it. so to have this kind of view, simply because somebody lives

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