the exclusive men—only charity dinner which has been running for more than 30 years cancels all future events after hostesses say they were sexually harassed. the event at london's dorchester hotel was filmed by an undercover reporter who says women working there were told to wear skimpy black dresses and matching underwear. women were bought as bait for men. rich men, not a mile from where we stand as if that is an acceptable behaviour. it is totally unacceptable. charities like great ormond street who benefited from large donations have said they're handing back the money. also tonight: jailed for 175 years for molesting young gymnasts over decades — the disgraced usa gymnastics team doctor, larry nassar apologises to his victims in court. controversial monkey business — 20 years after dolly the sheep — scientists in china have cloned two monkeys. dame tessa jowell — the former labour minister — gives her first interview since being diagnosed last may with a severe form of brain cancer. i am not afraid.

i feel very clear about my sense of purpose. and just 11 years old — the schoolgirl from cardiff off to the commonwealth games — she's thought to be the youngest ever competitor. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news: the fa explains why it appointed phil neville as womens head coach and why they won't charge him for historic sexist tweets. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the president's club has held men only charity dinners in london for more than 30 years and raised tens of millions of pounds for good causes. but tonight all future dinners have been cancelled

after an undercover reporter — employed as hostess — says she and some of the other women were groped and sexually harassed. a government adviser who helped organise the event last week at the dorchester has resigned. and some of the charities for which money was raised are handing back the donations. here's our special correspondent lucy manning. the men appeared to be enjoying themselves at their charity dinner, the women working there much less so, with claims that they were groped at the men only event for those in business and politics. women working as table hostesses were made to wear revealing outfits, their phones confiscated. madison marriage is the financial times journalist who went undercover to expose the dinner. multiple women told me that they had been touched inappropriately, and that ranged from, you know,

holding their hands, touching their bums, kind of grabbing them, pulling them into their laps. yeah, there was a complete range of sexual harassment. and did that happen to you? yes. yeah, i had three men touch me inappropriately. were you surprised that this was happening in this day and age? i am surprised by the institutionalised scale of this particular event. the charity auction offered the men only diners hospitality with the foreign secretary and bank of england governor, although both said they knew nothing about it, or even the chance to, as it was put "spice up the wife with plastic surgery". some of the men are now paying for their attendance. david meller, one of the organisers, resigned as a member of the department for education's board. education minister nadhim zahawi faced questions about his

decision to go to the dinner. he tweeted "i do unequivocally condemned his behaviour. the report is truly shocking. i would never attend a men only function ever". david walliams, who hosted the event, tweeted, i did not witness any of the kind of behaviour that allegedly occurred and am appalled by the reports. down the road from the dorchester, where the dinner was held last week, mps couldn't contain their anger today. women were bought as bait for men, rich men, not a mile from where we stand, as if that is an acceptable behaviour. it is totally unacceptable. it is quite extraordinary to me, mrspeaker, that in the 21st century, allegations of this kind are still emerging. women have the right to feel safe wherever they work. charities are now returning money donated by the presidents club. great ormond street says it will hand back

half a million pounds. bbc news has learned of claims that it was warned previously not to take the money. we have been told at a meeting that it was raised with senior fundraisers that the presidents club had questionable practices and whether money should be taken from them. great ormond street has strict policies and it was brought up whether the presidents club was the right organisation for the charity to receive support from. great ormond street said tonight: "we have checked our records and can find nothing to suggest we were aware of all discussed any concerns about the presidents club". it's a charity event supposed to help children that left women feeling harassed. the presidents club is no more, its trustees and notes tonight it would be shutting hosting no more charity event and multiple charities are now saying they will try to return the money raised that these dinners. as

mps pointed out it has to be possible, these days, for charities to raise money in a way that doesn't leave women feeling harassed. and feeling humiliated. he was the doctor for the usa gymnastics team for almost two decades. he treated young american gymnasts at four olympic games. tonight 54—year—old larry nassar has been sentenced to 175 years in jail for molesting young girls. more than 160 of his victims have given testimony in court. this afternoon he apologised to them saying he would carry their words with him for the rest of his days. from the court in michigan, rajini vaidynathan reports. the tables are turned, larry. we are here, we have our voices and we are not going anywhere. the amount of physical, mental and emotional trauma this man has forced upon me is immeasurable. over the last seven days their voices and their stories

have become hard to ignore. 156 women say they were sexually abused by this man, larry nassar. during the hearing, thejudge invited other women who had been abused to come forward. the response was unprecedented, what started as ten convictions turned into an outpouring of testimony. today she did not hold back when delivering her verdict. i'm giving you 175 yea rs her verdict. i'm giving you 175 years which is 2100 months. ijust signed your death warrant. today he had this response for his victims. and acceptable apology to all of you is impossible to write and convey. i will carry your words with me for the rest of my days. described as a monster and as satan in court the former usa gymnastics team doctor

treated hundreds of women over decades. from decorating 0lympians and state—level gymnasts to the children of family friends. sent to him for medical treatment instead of taking away the pain, he stole the lessons. speaking on a podcast in 2013 before his abuse was uncovered, he was recorded talking about his views on the welfare of the children under his care. you screw up 1's with one of those gymnasts and it'll spread like wildfire. you break the chain of trust with them because they will never trust you again. they will tell the other gymnasts. jimmy dancer was part of the us bronze medal winning 0lympic jimmy dancer was part of the us bronze medal winning olympic team. jimmy dancer was part of the us bronze medal winning olympic teamlj do not feel like i had a choice even ifi do not feel like i had a choice even if i felt something was wrong. she says car and other young women were ignored when they tried to complain

about nassar to officials. she says the governing body usa gymnastics has a lot to answer for. the governing body usa gymnastics has a lot to answer forlj the governing body usa gymnastics has a lot to answer for. i know doctor nassar is a monster but those people around him who have been protecting him, those are real monsters too and they need to be held accountable. the focus of this sentencing has been on the survivals of larry nassar‘s abuse and perhaps the biggest victory for them is not just seeing him behind bars but knowing that together they founded the collective strength to confront him. a jury's been told that a man accused of carrying out the finsbury park terror attack last june kept smiling and even blew a kiss at the gathering crowd after ploughing a van into muslim worshippers. darren osborne from cardiff is accused of murder and attempted murder after the attack in north london which left one man dead. an imam who was one of the first on the scene told the court how he stopped the crowd attacking the driver of the van. from court, daniel sandford reports.

witness after witness described how the van revved its engines just before smashing into the group of muslim men and women. some survivors described how they feared for their lives, thinking someone would get out of the van with a gun or a knife. the jury heard this 999 call made by adnan mohammed, who was asking for ambulances. within the hour, 51—year—old makram ali was declared dead at the scene. hamdi al faiq suffered life—changing injuries, including a broken pelvis, broken ribs and a broken foot. he told the court how friends pulled him out from under the van. people grabbed the man they believe to be the driver of the van to detain him. the court heard that some were punching and kicking him. the imam of the local mosque, mohammed mahmoud, stopped people attacking the suspected driver,

telling the jury "he should answer for his crimes in a court such as this and not a court in the street". in a statement to the courts, adnan mohammed, the man been detained said to the crowd, "i've done myjob. you can kill me now". he was constantly smiling, adnan mohammed recalled. the man on trial, darren osborne, denies charges of murder and attempted murder. the court was played video from a police officer's body—worn camera from the night, in which darren osborne rants about muslims and says "have some of that. have some of your own. at least i had a proper go". daniel sandford, bbc news, at woolwich crown court. it's emerged that the victims of the serial sex attacker, john worboys, were given written assurances about how long he would spend in prison — suggesting that he would effectively serve a life sentence. in the letters it was suggested he

would be unlikely to be charged with further crimes as he was down for a lengthy many of his victims are angry that worboys has been approved for release from prison by the parole board after serving less than ten years. figures out today show the number people in work has risen to a record high. unemployment in the uk fell by 3000 to 1.41; million in the three months to november. but the data from the office for national statistics also shows that wage growth remained below the level of inflation. the former prime minister david cameron has been overheard saying that brexit has turned out ‘less badly‘ than feared. in comments caught on camera, mr cameron, who campaigned to remain in the eu, said leaving the eu was a mistake but ‘not a disaster‘. our political correspondent vicki young is in westminsterfor us.

how much of a surprise are his comments? mr cameron in the past has been caught on camera saying things when he did not know he was being recorded and that doesn‘t seem to have changed. the point is here that those words are in stark contrast to the campaign he headed to keep britain in the european union. it was dubbed project fear, dire warnings about the effect on the economy, that it would cost every household thousands of pounds every year and rising unemployment and lower growth. i have been gauging reaction here amongst conservative mps. those on the brexit side of the argument as you‘d imagine are pretty thrilled pealing david cameron has come to their way of thinking. another said they thought mr cameron did not really believe the disaster scenario anyway it was just part of

the campaign to stay in job scenario anyway it was just part of the campaign to stay injob and scenario anyway it was just part of the campaign to stay in job and keep britain inside the eu. another said they were thrilled and i think it does reflect the mood of some conservative mps at least who made a campaignfora remain conservative mps at least who made a campaign for a remain but now think time to make the most of any opportunities that might be outside of the european union. it‘s not the same for everybody, another conservative only the mane side said it is far too early to judge the consequences of brexit, after all we have not left yet. our top story this evening: an exclusive men only charity dinner has cancelled all events after hostesses say they were sexually harassed. phil neville apologises for sexist tweets on his first day as head coach of the all england women‘s football team. coach of the all england women‘s football team. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news: the australian open semi—final line—up is complete and roger federer is one step closer

to another grand slam title. she was diagnosed with a severe form of brain cancer last may. now dame tessa jowell, the former labour cabinet minister, has spoken publicly about it for the first time. she‘s called for more innovative cancer treatments to be available on the nhs. she told the today programme‘s nick robinson that she was absolutely 100% focussed on staying alive and says she‘s not afraid. passion, determination, a sense of mission, that is what tessa jowell displayed as a minister who helped bring the olympics to london. now she is showing all that and more as she is showing all that and more as she speaks publicly for the first time about the brain tumour she discovered she had last may. time about the brain tumour she discovered she had last maym time about the brain tumour she discovered she had last may. it came with no expectation. nothing?

absolutely nothing at all, i did not have a single apparent symptom. her symptoms now include a struggle to find words which used to come so easily. everyone who has had cancer knows that particularly for people like you and for me, the hardest thing is to get used to not being in control. i do not thinki immediately leapt control. i do not thinki immediately lea pt to the inevitability of cancer. i think that to begin with i felt that i would have this tumour, that it would have this tumour, that it would be operated on, and that would be it. it is actually much harder 110w be it. it is actually much harder now because now my life is day by day affected by this tumour. and it is affected by the uncertainty of

what my cancer is actually going to mean. i can feelyour what my cancer is actually going to mean. i can feel your frustration because there are words occasionally that do not come. the tumour bloody well does this to you. tessa jowell is not asking for sympathy, she is demanding change, change to allow cancer patients to switch from one drug trial to the next, rather than having to wait months when months maybe all they have. there is no point in having another six months of waiting for that trial because it is not going to have any effect, so let‘s go onto the next one. is not going to have any effect, so let's go onto the next one. a patient might say, i am willing to ta ke patient might say, i am willing to take the risk, i am willing to try

one, two, three things whatever the side effects? that is exactly the kind of risk patients should be free to take. people listening to you will be thinking, why do you car up on the sofa, be with your family and friends and look after yourself. absolutely impossible. i have so much life. it is the most extraordinary, blessed and... and recreating sense. i have been lucky enough to read the speech you will give to the house of lords and you end with some words from seamus heaney the poet and you mean it. i am not afraid. i am not afraid. i feel very clear about my sense of purpose and what i want to do and how do i know how long it is going to last? i am certainly going to do

everything i can to make it a very long time. dame tessa jowell talking there to nick robinson. first there was dolly the sheep, now 20 years later scientists in china have cloned two monkeys. the move is both significant and highly controversial. our medical correspondent fergus walsh is here. first of all, why? let me introduce you to eat baby macaque monkeys, genetically identical, clones, born in shanghai, exploring their incubator. they were created using the dolly the sheep cloning technique which dates back more than two decades and involves simply transferring dna to a donor egg. since dolly, we have had cloned cats, dogs, rats and pigs, you name it. the technique itself is not new. and it is very inefficient, it took 79 attempts to create these monkeys. they have done it because the

chinese scientists say the cloned monkeys could help speed up research into human diseases. but it is controversial and not the first cloned, nonhuman primate created using the dolly the sheep technique. in theory that takes us one step closer to cloning humans, but no reputable scientist would want to do that and it is illegal here. thank you. a nun has broken down in tears and apologised if any child at a notorious care home in lanarkshire suffered abuse. but she refused to acknowledge that children had been harmed at smyllum children‘s home despite dozens of former residents claiming they were attacked by nuns between the 19405 and 19705. the order did acknowledge however failing to investigate previous allegations of abuse. michael buchanan reports. former residents say a culture of evil existed at smyllum children‘s home, a children‘s home in lanark

run by the daughters of charity and d oze ns of run by the daughters of charity and dozens of people who lived here have alleged they were abused. the bbc investigation also suggested around 400 children had been buried in this cemetery nearby in an unmarked grave. theresa tolmie—mcgrane said she was sexually assaulted by a priest and punished by a man who discovered the abuse. she find the fact they refused to admit what happened is ridiculous. it isjust like this red thread going through everyone. they have been physically and grossly abused. do you accept the abuse took place? today the current head of the charity came to edinburgh to give some answers in evidence to the scottish child abuse enquiry. the sister offered a sincere apology. she said through tears: but she refused to admit abuse had taken

place. it is totally against everything we stand for, i am finding it hard to understand it. the nuns did admit failing to investigate more than 100 allegations of abuse made in the 19905. eddie mccoll, who says he was beaten by the nuns in the 19505, was appalled by today‘s evidence. beaten by the nuns in the 19505, was appalled by today's evidencem beaten by the nuns in the 19505, was appalled by today's evidence. it is if this happened and if that happened. it is not if, it did happen, they are in denial. today's evidence will be of little comfort to the former residents who said they were abused. some were hoping foran they were abused. some were hoping for an apology, an acknowledgement of what had happened and the unwillingness to do that had really infuriated them. the nun5 could give few details of how many children we re few details of how many children were buried in the unmarked grave. an expert was working with them to identify each body. an expert was working with them to identify each body. it‘s his first full day in the job but already phil neville, the new head coach of the england women‘s football team, has had to apologise for 5exi5t remarks on twitter.

the former manchester united player said the comments were not "a true and genuine reflection" of his beliefs. our sports correspondent natalie pirks is at wembley. somewhat embarrassing. what kind of things was he saying? well, it is another day, another fine mess for the fa. these tweets around six years ago alluded to things such as women being too busy doing domestic chores to watch sport and an ill—advised joke about battering his wife. the tweets have been heavily criticised with kick it out asking the fa whether they plan to come down on phil neville for these comments. they have said they will not do that and their background vetting proce55 will not do that and their background vetting process and earth some but not all of these tweets. phil neville has deleted his twitter account and apologised, saying it was not a true and genuine reflection of his character and belief5. but the real issue is

whether phil neville i5 belief5. but the real issue is whether phil neville is actually qualified to do the job. he whether phil neville is actually qualified to do thejob. he has never worked in management before or in women‘s football before and he did not apply. the fa chief executive martin belen confirmed that two of the four final candidates were women and they withdrew. he said the process was fairand withdrew. he said the process was fair and rigorous, but women in sport said it showed scant regard for the process. sport said it showed scant regard for the process. anna hursey is only 11 years, but in april she will be heading to australia‘s gold coast to compete for wales in the commonwealth games. it‘s thought she‘s the youngest competitor ever selected. but she‘s taking it all in her stride, practising three hours a day after school. sian lloyd went to meet her. anna hursey has earned her place in the wales commonwealth team. practising three hours a day after school, the 11—year—old has already proven her skills. she won her first senior international a year ago. anna is no stranger to competition, but this will be her biggest challenge yet.

yeah, i feel really special, really proud. i just don‘t really want to go there and be like i am small and i can‘t compete, so hopefully i will like try my hardest and try and win a medal. anna‘s talent was spotted early. she first picked up a bat aged five and was taken to china to learn from the best when she could barely see over the table. since then she has been coached closer to home in cardiff. probably the best 11—year—old i have ever seen. boys and girls, she is up there with them. i remember seeing paul drinkhall, who is number one in the uk right now and she is up there. i saw him at 11 and she is at that level. amazing. oh, my gosh. two at the same time, that is amazing. anna is celebrating her exciting news at school today, teaching her friends how to play table tennis. she is not really a show—off about it or anything, she like acts

as if it is something normal. do you think she is an inspiration? definitely, for those kids who like table tennis or any sport they can achieve something amazing just like anna. she will have to miss lessons to go to the games in australia but is already thought to be one of the youngest competitors at this level, and will make history if she does win a medal there. sian lloyd, bbc news, cardiff. time for a look at the weather. here‘s tomasz schafernaker. lots and lots of rain. yes, absolutely and in the word wet. it was heavy everywhere today. but it only lasted for a relatively short period of time. but the skies were great and we had hailstorms and severe gales and storm force winds brought by storm georgina which impacted north—western parts of scotland. the gusts were well in

excess of 80 miles an hour and in the hills over 100 miles an hour. the graphics are playing upjust the hills over 100 miles an hour. the graphics are playing up just a little bit but we will get there. this is the radar. the rain has mostly cleared away now. we have got showers left over and storm georgina is approaching the coast of norway. in its wake are brisk winds and showers around through the night, particularly in western areas and eastern parts of the country. a lot of clear weather and it is not desperately cold. 5 degrees is the overnight low. tomorrow it stars of sunny in central and eastern areas. in the morning the weather is fine, but in the afternoon wore winds coming in of the atlantic. you will have clear blue skies followed by billowing, dark clouds in the afternoon and there might even be some thunder as well. a different

day on friday. it should be bright and it should stay dry through the day. a pleasant enough day on friday and come the weekend and the next storm. the winds will pick up and the weather front moves across the uk on saturday and there will be outbreaks of rain on both days. but at least it will be relatively mild. that is all from the bbc news at six. i will be back with all the latest at ten, but now the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello, this is bbc news. our latest headlines. a prestigious charity that holds men only events has said that holds men only events has said that it will not hold any further fundraising event as a result of allegations of sexual harassment. touching their bums, grabbing them, pulling them into their laps. it was a complete range of sexual harassment, basically. a former

doctor to the us gymnastics team, larry nassar is sentenced to 175 years injail for abusing larry nassar is sentenced to 175 years in jail for abusing dozens larry nassar is sentenced to 175 years injail for abusing dozens of young girls. it has emerged that victims of the taxi rate this, john worboys were given written assurances that he would... dame tessa jowell, diagnosed with brain cancer last year, has called for more innovative cancer treatments to be available on the nhs. yellow mac i feel