tv BBC News BBC News June 25, 2018 11:00pm-11:31pm BST
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this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 11: the government wins a key vote over the expansion of heathrow, paving the way for a third runway at the airport. the ayes to the right for lunch and 15. v no‘s to the left, 119. —— a15. —— the no‘s. in other news — the lead firefighter in the initial response to the grenfell fire says he wasn't trained how to evacuate people from a burning tower block. as the national health service turns 70 years old, we'll look at its future and the quality of care it provides. and coming up at 11:30 — tomorrow's headlines in the papers, with tonight's guests caroline wheeler and jessica elgot. good evening and welcome to bbc news.
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in the last hour, mps have voted overwhelmingly to build a third runway at heathrow, europe's busiest airport. business leaders and the government said the expansion is essential for the uk's economic prospects. this is the moment that the result was announced. the aye‘s to the right, a15. the no‘s to the left, 119. the aye‘s to the right, a15. the no's to the left, 119. thank the aye's to the right, a15. the no's to the left, 119. thank you. the aye's to the right, a— 15. the no's to the left, 119. the aye's have it. the aye's have it. our political correspondent, ben wright is at westminster. that is the theatre of a parliamentary vote, what about the
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ha rd parliamentary vote, what about the hard politics we saw on display? well, we saw the two main parties fairly fractured on this question. a number of tory mps with long held opposition to expanded heathrow made their views quite clear during the course of this evening's debate. people like justin course of this evening's debate. people likejustin green link in putney, spoke out strongly against this plan. they were among the eight conservative mps who voted against their own party whip on this this evening. labour party was totally split as well, even more so. they had been given a free vote, even though had been given a free vote, even thoutheremy had been given a free vote, even though jeremy corp and had been given a free vote, even thoutheremy corp and and the shadow chancellor oppose a third runway. as the boat broke down, 119 at labour mps supported the government. they are the ones that gave theresa may this thumping
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victory in this boat. 9a labour mps supported their leader and opposed the move for a third runway. labour really divided on this. it is a complicated story, the whole politics on this, there is no benefit in going over the history. but one thing you can say that heathrow is that it has been long promised, long debated and yet we are still some way from it actually happening. yes, certainly the question about the need for capacity has been a feature of british politics for more than 20 years. labour at the turn of the millennium got the idea up and running that a solution could eat a third runway at heathrow. then for the next seven or eight years that idea was opposed by david cameron, come the coalition in 2010, the cameron led government then appointed the independent commission into this led by howard davies and that eventually suggested that there should be a third runway
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at heathrow. and the tories swung behind that. so it has been a long and winding journey for both the two main parties on this and you find yourself in a strange vision tonight with the commons finally have in giving their approval, with labour, the party first putting this forward , the party first putting this forward, completely divided and its leadership opposed. the question is, where do we go from here? this is perhaps the beginning of the next stage of this process, we will not see bulldozers on heathrow immediately. the government thinks develop went can start by 2021 —— development. although i would say this is a very big government majority, the house of commons will on this issue has been made very clear. that might make it harder for legal challenges to succeed. i think it also makes it harderfor labour to oppose this or try to overturn this at some point in the future, which is a suggestion thatjeremy
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corbyn made today. which is a suggestion thatjeremy corbyn made todaylj which is a suggestion thatjeremy corbyn made today. i think he said it would be dependent on which stage it would be dependent on which stage it had reached by the thai lady came in and they might launch and other review into airport capacity. politically it is clearly hugely sensitive. presumably that in part explains the whole argument over boris johnson's absence explains the whole argument over borisjohnson‘s absence and the kind of unease and derision that seems to have caused that kind of reaction at westminster. uniquely, a nonpolitical issues, this caused particular difficulty for constituency mps in the south—east of england, whose constituencies are near heathrow. that was a goodie that chris grayling, right at the beginning of the debate, said he would neverjudge beginning of the debate, said he would never judge mps beginning of the debate, said he would neverjudge mps for voting in their constituency address is all voting on promises they had made on issues as sensitive and controversial as this. i think greg
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hands got personal support from backbenchers and the fact that he sacrificed his ministerialjob to speak out against it. there is also a sense of some derision among a number of tory mps about boris johnston and how he has gone about sidestepping this boat by being in afghanistan, avoiding the crunch moment, despite promises to lie in front of bulldozers and other quotes that will be thrown at him. he wasn't there because he didn't want to quitand wasn't there because he didn't want to quit and didn't want to be sacked. so he swerved this decision. i don't think that necessarily does his standing and much good amongst tory mps. thanks very much a. while ben was speaking we got more details as to who voted on what side. ben mentioned eight conservative mps voting against the government on this, they were a three line whip, meaning you are obliged to support
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the government or have harsh words from the chief whip. paul has gone through the list at westminster. we have the former transport secretary justin greening, greg hands, from the backbenchers, adam free eight, sir david amis, who is unusual in this list in that he —— his constituency is a fair way away from heathrow. possibly he was supporting his own airport out at south end. bob blackman, zac goldsmith and mathew off—road. those other tory mps against stomach who voted against the government while 119 mps supported heathrow against their position. 96 voted for, supported
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the labour leadership position which is against it. confused? you have perfectly good reason to be. we have that vote now and it is the outline planning permission for a third ru nway planning permission for a third runway at heathrow. moving on to other news: at the grenfell inquiry, the fire—fighter who led the first response to the fire said he couldn't remember receiving any training on when to order the evacuation of tower blocks. michael dowden was forced to admit, repeatedly, that he was unaware of the risks to the tower and had no idea that fires could spread through cladding. his evidence has raised serious questions about london fire brigade's procedures and training on tower blocks, as our special correspondent lucy manning reports. 720 firefighters, 1a0 fire engines, and many stories of bravery that night. but the fire brigade's having to answer for its failure to tell people to leave their flats. the evidence i shall give... michael dowden was one of the first firefighters at grenfell tower and in charge for the first hour.
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today it was soon clear he didn't have the right training. did you ever receive any specific training on how to evacuate people from high floors in high—rise blocks who had mobility difficulties? not that i can recall, no. government and fire brigade guidelines did suggest commanders could change the state of policy and consider evacuations, but mr dowden appeared unaware. what training did you ever receive? he paused for 17 seconds. as a commander, i can't remember a time that i'd actually been on a training course that would facilitate that. did anyone give you any help or advice in understanding when it might be necessary to have a full evacuation? i don't think i've ever had any
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input from any individual. he accepted he hadn't done all of the fire—safety checks when he'd visited grenfell tower the previous year, angering families by admitting he hadn't examined fire doors, escape routes, or the new exterior panels. he also revealed they'd never practised on high—rise buildings, and he hadn't known about his bosses' fears about combustible cladding. do you think you would be able to identify a cladding fire if you saw one? no, i wouldn't be able to identify a cladding fire because i didn't know at that point that that was being used as a building material. in his written witness statement, mr dowden said when he arrived at the fire, he was quickly out of his comfort zone and was having to make decisions he had never made before. but he said, "we did all we could." "we were all exhausted
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and did our best." mr dowden didn't feel well enough to continue his evidence today. he's left serious questions for the fire brigade and the way it trained its firefighters. lucy manning, bbc news. the national health service is 70 years old and this week bbc news is looking at the past and future of the health service and the quality of the care it provides. tonight an exclusive study, carried out by four leading research organisations for the bbc, has found that while the nhs is world—leading in ensuring people are protected from financial hardship when they need treatment — its main weakness is improving outcomes for people with some of the deadliest conditions, such as cancer and heart disease. the research also finds that the nhs has fewer doctors, nurses, hospital beds and ct and mri scanners than other comparable countries. 0ur health editor hugh pym has the details. they went upstairs, i woke my wife up and i said to her, "i think i might be having a heart attack." we have fewer staff,
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we have fewer hospital beds than other countries. i feel really proud to be a nurse and really proud to work for the nhs. 0ur nhs — staff, patients, all of us, free health ca re for everyone. and according to the reports, that's where it's ahead of other health systems. you'll always get treated without paying. just on your blood pressure it's absolutely fine... mehmet had chest pains early one morning. just a few hours later, he'd had an emergency procedure. i was seen pretty much straightaway. they established i'd had a heart attack. they said it wasn't a minor heart attack, it was quite a major heart attack. right from the beginning, the 999 call all the way through to the ladies that come and changed the bed about ten minutes ago, it's all been absolutely fantastic. i can't say a bad word about the nhs. it's been superb. it wasn't his nearest hospital, but he was brought 15 miles by ambulance to have treatment here because of the expertise on offer.
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hospitals like this one, saint bartholomew's, provide specialist centres for dealing with patients with heart conditions across a wider area of london. but the performance of the nhs more generally, when it comes to treating people after heart attacks, is not as good as it is in some other healthcare systems. take the number who don't survive a heart attack. the report says the uk has one of the highest death rates within 30 days of admission to hospital. canada is doing the best, with the lowest death rate. come and have a stand up. that's lovely. for strokes, too, the nhs isn't doing as well as it could. the performance is improving and patients like dennis are well looked after. left leg with me, dennis... his rehab is on track after a stroke affected his speech and mobility, and he's hoping to get back to work as a company director soon. what was that like?
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really good. fantastic, really good. the report finds that staffing levels in the nhs are lower than elsewhere. laura is a senior nurse. she loves her work but says sometimes the pressure can build up. we like a challenge and we are constantly trying to improve and expand our service in order to meet the needs of the people who require our care. the nhs is under great pressure. in many areas, a&e waiting times have been getting longer, but what this analysis shows is that while the nhs lags some other healthcare systems, it's certainly not the worst performer. when it comes to the four—hour target for being treated or assessed in a&e, research shows the nhs is in the middle of the pack with a proportion of patients dealt with in that time. canada and australia, among others, are worse. so is the nhs value for money, and are patients getting the best care they can expect? given what we spend, we are ok, but we could definitely do better. it is very clear from our report
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that outcomes could be improved. we are very efficient, we spend very little on management costs, but we could spend more money well and effectively and improve the outcomes for people. so that will be the challenge for the nhs in the coming years, to meet the hopes of those who work in it and the needs of those who rely on it. hugh pym, bbc news. it's 11:15. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news this evening. a third runway is now possible. 0ne of the workers says he was not trained to evacuate people from g re nfell tower. trained to evacuate people from grenfell tower. and the rejection of a scheme to build a tidal power lagoon in swansea bay. the government has refused to back a £1.3 billion tidal lagoon project
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in swansea bay on cost grounds. the company behind the scheme wanted subsidies similar to those for new nuclear power to build the lagoon. the business secretary, greg clarke, made the announcement in the commons. the cost that would be incurred by consumers and taxpayers would be so much higher than alternative sources of low carbon power that it would be irresponsible to enter into a contract with the provider. securing our energy needs into the future has to be done seriously. and when much cheaper alternatives exist, no individual project and no particular technology can proceed any price, and that is true for all technologies. 0ur wales correspondent sian lloyd has been getting reaction for us in swansea. it did come down to the money, the government said that the sums did not add up. it would have seen a sea wall stretching out across some
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swansea bay behind me first six miles in the shape of a horseshoe, and under the water huge turbines would have harnessed energy from the ebb and flow of the tide. the company behind the project, tidal lagoon power, said it was intended as a pilot for the new technology with five bigger projects to follow. and 18 months ago an independent report commissioned by the uk government effectively gave tidal lagoon is a thumbs up saying that they could be cost—effective. and the welsh government had pledged £200 million towards building the swansea lagoon, but the decision rested with westminster and government there. this afternoon saying that it did not provide value for money. welsh assembly members and opposition mps here have been branding it a disgrace and also local people here in swansea saying they are disappointed, they hope a substantial tourism and leisure benefit would have come to this area from this lagoon.
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thousands of iranians have marched through the streets of tehran to protest against the government's economic policies and rising prices. protesters demanded that iran stop its foreign interventions in syria and elsewhere and instead concentrate on the economic crisis at home. harley—davidson says it plans to move production of motorbikes intended for sale in europe out of the us, in order to avoid retaliatory eu tariffs. last week brussels imposed duties of 31 per cent in response to president trump's measures against eu steel and aluminium. harley—davidson says moving production overseas was the only way to keep its motorbikes accessible to customers in europe. in italy, the interior minister matteo salvini has called for reception centres for asylum seekers to be set up on libya's southern border, to stop migrants from crossing the mediterranean. 0ur europe editor katya adler is in rome and gave us more details about what's being proposed. as an idea, having processing
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centres in africa, allowing the eu to distinguish between economic migrants who would in theory be sent straight back home and those with a right to asylum and refugees status who would legally be allowed into europe is not new. a while back, and emmanuel macron said processing centres should be set up like that in libya. these days, libya is the go to place in africa for migrants to come to get on the people smugglers spoke to europe but libya remains largely lawless and even if you want to put up the centre is on its borders you how to ask permission from its neighbours so it's complicated and there are human rights concerns is that even if eu leaders sign up to this idea, it can't happen overnight, it is not that magical solution to your‘s mara —— migrant crisis but you have mainstream leaders like a manual macron and angel michael who question whether matteo salvini is sincere. —— emmanuel macron and
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angela merkel. while across europe, more nationalist, tough—minded politicians applaud him, others in the eu look at matteo salvini and his ideas with suspicion. over the last year there have been growing concerns about the number of students taking their own life at university. now for the first time, detailed estimates in higher education have been revealed. they suggest 95 students took their own lives between july 2016 and july 2017. but the student suicide rates are actually lower than those in the general population. chi chi izundu reports. i certainly know more students that have had mental health difficulty that have not. i've got friends that have had anxiety, some kind of a depression... i don't think a student should have to go and end up on tablets. especially being president of the students' union, some days i'm on the phone with some students who are crying, basically. students at birmingham city
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university giving us a snapshot of their experience of mental health problems. a situation that is reflected nationwide. but with the recent increased media reporting on university mental health and suicide, there's been an impression a substantial rise in such student deaths has been happening. since the 1950s, there have been very few comprehensive pieces of research on student suicide. in fact, up until recently, statistics couldn't even give us detail on things like age clusters, whether that person was undergrad or postgrad, or even allow us to compare that same age group with those that didn't go into higher education. but these new 0ns figures have tried to get that detail. the data suggest the large majority of suicides were among undergraduates. since the year 2000, of the students who died by suicide, two thirds were men. and the research estimates that the number of students who took their own lives was lower than the national average of the same age. the 0ns warns the research comes
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with caveats for a number of reasons, including the focus being solely on higher education students, and the small numbers per year make it difficult to identify statistically significant differences. but 95 deaths are still 95 deaths. the figures do suggest that the number of student suicide and the rate of student suicides has been higher in the last four years. i think universities still have quite a long way to go before the campuses are a mentally healthy place, and to be fair to the universities i think they have realised that, and there are some initiatives under way now to make sure that students are properly supported. one of the major steps was actually being open and to say, "i have depression, and i have tried to take my life." students have told us how increasing pressures are impacting on their mental health, students just like chris coombs, who, 11 years ago, was discovered mid—attempt by a family member. you are told that university is the time of your life and these are the friendships you'll hold
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onto forever and all the rest of it, and this is your, you know, first steps into the big wide world of adult life. and you can't do it. you have this expectation that you should be able to deal with this. when that doesn't happen, it's very difficult to then turn around and say, "actually, i've got a problem here," particularly when you're 18. now 29, chris is back at university and says this experience is a very different one. you're starting from a position when you're down there of suicide is the only option. but if you get the right support, the right help, other options become available, tolerable, you know, palatable. "0h, actually, i might be able to do that." life's good? life's very good. chi chi izundu reporting there. and if you would like information regarding issues raised by that report, you can go to bbc.co.uk/actionline, or call for free to hear recorded information on 08000155 998. rescue divers in thailand are searching for a group
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of children believed to have been trapped in a flooded cave in the north of the country since saturday. 12 children aged between 11 and 16 together with their football coach were exploring inside the cave's narrow tunnels when a section near the main entrance was flooded. their desperate parents have gathered outside the cave as jonathan head reports. thai navy divers are battling strong currents, deep water and mud—blocked passages in the cave complex, as they try to find the missing boys. but they have still not made contact with them. they were reported missing on saturday after a football practice. their bicycles were found left close to the cave entrance. and the boys posted this photo on facebook, takenjust before they went down. the complex stretches for many miles. they have not been able to reach the furthest caves. that is where they hope the party
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may still be trapped. theirfamilies have been coming to the caves to wait for news. so far, the divers have reached the largest of the underground chambers and they have seen what they believe are handprints on the wall, but nothing else. this area is well known to experienced cavers and is a popular destination during thailand's dry season. but with heavy monsoon rains falling here already for several weeks, going deep into the caves now was a risky thing to do. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. the duke of cambridge has arrived in israel the first member of the british royal family to undertake an official visit to the country. he will also visit the palestinian territories. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell is travelling with prince william on his 5—day tour of the middle east and has sent this report. it had become an anomaly
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which needed to be corrected. israel is a country with which britain has generally good relations, yet for 70 years — since its creation — there has never been an official visit by a member of the british royal family. the region's problems have meant the moment has never been deemed to be right. as prince william arrived at tel aviv airport this afternoon, israel was removed from the diminishing list of nations to which the british royals don't travel. but for all the welcoming smiles, this is a visit which has required a more than usual degree of care in its preparation and one precondition. british officials made it clear from the outset that the visit to israel could only take place if william was also able to visit palestinian territories. it's intended to demonstrate britain's policy of evenhandedness between the israelis and the palestinians. royal visits are all about symbolism, so as well as the solemnity of the visit to yad vashem — israel's memorial to those killed in the holocaust —
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there will be meetings with israeli leaders and a trip to the palestinian territories to meet the palestinian leadership. for william, it's a rapid immersion in the challenges of the middle east. his visit began injordan. there, alongside the sightseeing at the ruined city ofjerash, where his wife catherine was photographed aged four with herfamily, there were meetings with refugee children from syria. the region's problems are complex, and this week william's diplomatic skills are being tested as he sees them at first hand. nicholas witchell, bbc news, jerusalem. it's glorious here too. but many more days of this very hot
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weather, like it or not, and across the country, but affair with a cloud here and there, that is it. monday was the hottest day of the year so far. we broke 30 celsius in london and in many areas, temperatures were in the mid or high 20s. thejet strea m in the mid or high 20s. thejet stream is way to the north about. it certainly is where we expected to be. to the south of that, high pressure which is anchored the uk, southern parts of scandinavia and this whole swathe of your is really starting to feel that heat. through the early hours of tuesday morning, very little happening on the weather front, clear skies, light very little happening on the weather front, clearskies, light winds very little happening on the weather front, clear skies, light winds and a pretty warm start to the day on tuesday in many major towns and cities across central and southern britain, temperatures around the mid—teens. 0n britain, temperatures around the mid—teens. on tuesday, there is going to bejust a mid—teens. on tuesday, there is going to be just a little mid—teens. on tuesday, there is going to bejust a little bit more ofan going to bejust a little bit more of an onshore wind, we think, to the eastern coasts and that means as the
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temperatures rise, the heat will build a little further to the west. you can see those deep orange colours their developing across more central and western parts of the uk and that is where the highest temperatures will be. the sun is very strong. london could be around 28, hitting 30 degrees somewhere around the west midlands, for example, so big high pressure across europe and stretching into scandinavia but looking into the eastern mediterranean. it doesn't mean that it's hot here. on wednesday, it looks like it's going to bea wednesday, it looks like it's going to be a similar pattern. all the way down to norwich, cooler temperatures than that heat. temperatures here will probably be hitting 30 degrees
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