tv BBC News BBC News July 22, 2019 11:00pm-11:31pm BST
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this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00: carl beech, a man who claimed to have been abused as a child by a westminster paedophile ring, is convicted of perverting the course ofjustice and fraud. the foreign secretary says he wants increased protection for shipping in the gulf, as he condemns the seizing of a british—flagged tanker by iran as "an act of piracy". voting ends in the conservative leadership race, as a senior minister quits in protest over a possible boris johnson victory. jo swinson is named as the first female leader of the liberal democrats, beating sir ed davey. you have put your trust in me, not only to lead our party, but to lead and grow a bigger, open, liberal movement which our country
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so desperately needs. and at 11:30 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, katy balls, from the spectator, and political commentator, lance price. stay with us for that. good evening. welcome to bbc news. a convicted paedophile who accused some of the uk's highest ranking figures of murder, child abuse and torture has been found guilty of making it all up. 51—year—old carl beech, who was known by the pseudonym nick, claimed he was sexually abused in the 1970's and 80's. among those he accused were the former prime minister, edward heath, the former chief of the defence
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staff, lord bramall, the late lord brittan, and the former tory mp, harvey proctor. his allegations led to a £2 million police investigation. but the court heard he was a fantastist who'd ruined people's lives. june kelly reports from newcastle. in hours of police interviews he played the part of a victim. i had poppies pinned to my chest while they did whatever they wanted to do. carl beech claimed he'd suffered years of sexual abuse and physical torture at the hands of a vip paedophile ring. he even said he'd witnessed three boys being murdered by the group, one hit by a car. but the stories were
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false, the tears fake. he alleged that in london and beyond in the 1970s and 80s, a paedophile network was operating made up of establishment figures. among those carl beech accused was lord bramall, a former chief of the defence staff. at the age of 91, he found himself in a police station answering questions. torture 7 are you suggesting that a very, very senior army officer with an impeccable record in engagement, tortured children? also falsely incriminated was his long—time friend and fellow normandy veteran, general sir hugh beach — no relation to their accuser. sir hugh, now 96, gave evidence to thejury which has convicted carl beech. he's a man who's done enormous damage to totally innocent people who've done him no harm at all. an evil man.
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beech claimed the ex—tory mp harvey proctor had actually murdered two boys. 0ther politicians he accused were the former home secretary, lord brittan, who died during the police investigation, the late conservative prime minister sir edward heath, and lord janner. police investigating claims of historic child abuse launch a new investigation into historic murder or manslaughter. in 2014, bbc news made the police investigation a lead story. at this point, beech was anonymous and known only by the pseudonym nick. a senior detective spoke for himself and his colleagues. they and i believe what nick is saying is credible and true. a police investigation codenamed 0peration midland went on for 18 months. and ended without any arrests or charges. it was another force, northumbria, which was then given the job of investigating beech. 0fficers discovered that the school governor and hospital inspector
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was himself a paedophile. at the same time as he was claiming to be an abuse victim, he was downloading hundreds of sexual images of young boys. he also secretly filmed a boy indecently. this photo he took of himself undermined his claim that he had been physically tortured. there were no scars on his body. one of those falsely accused, harvey proctor, lost his home and hisjob while under suspicion. he is now levelling criticism against a senior labour politician and the police. tom watson, the current deputy leader of the labour party, gave oxygen to these incredible claims. mr beech lied and lied and lied again, and his breathtaking lies were facilitated, enhanced and given credibility by the metropolitan police without corroboration.
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but tom watson, who met beech, rejects this, and harvey proctor‘s call for an apology. wouldn't it be gracious now to concede that you have made mistakes in this? i have never made an allegation against him. i have never named him in public, so there is nothing for me to apologise for in that regard. harvey proctor has also criticised the journalism of bbc news. in a statement, the corporation said: carl beech has since been exposed as a fantasist and serial liar, not least by an investigation from the bbc‘s panorama. beech deliberately set out to ruin other people's lives and reputations. but it is carl beech himself who now stands convicted of being a paedophile, a fraud, and a liar.
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the uk is seeking to put together a european led maritime mission to protect ships passing through the strait of hormuz according to the foreign secretary. the statement from jeremy hunt comes after a british registered tanker was seized there by iran last week. it's the latest development in the growing tension in the region. this is the strait of hormuz, on one side are the arab states, including a number of key allies and oil producers. 0n the other is iran. at its narrowest point it's only 21 miles across, but a fifth of the world's oil exports pass through this narrow channel. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet has more. first images of the men seized at sea, the crew of the stena impero. indians, russians, a latvian and a filipino. images released by iran.
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is this what life is like on board now, or is this just for show? a crew member is heard saying, "don't look at the camera". and this photograph looks a lot different, the crew in a corner and an iranian official in charge. iran's flag flies here now. this ship suddenly seized on friday in a dramatic raid. iran's islamic revolutionary guards descending to the deck. a british frigate in the gulf was too far away that day to stop them. hms montrose will soon be joined by another warship at the end of this month. britain has now announced plans for a maritime protection force led by europe. separate from the us‘s proposed force and its more aggressive approach to iran. in parliament today, the foreign secretary accused iran of state piracy.
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if iran continues on this dangerous path, they must accept the price will be a larger western military presence in the waters along their coastline, not because we wish to increase tensions, but simply because freedom of navigation is a principle which britain and its allies will always defend. how did we get here? this chapter began in these far—away waters off the coast of gibraltar. iran accuses britain of piracy here. this tanker laden with iran's oil was seized by britain onjuly 11th for allegedly violating sanctions on sales to syria. iran warned there would be paid back. its top diplomat took to twitter to accuse britain of colluding in what he called the us‘s economic terrorism, a reference to its crippling sanctions. today in tehran, an iranian
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spokesman had a clear message. translation: to all the countries calling on iran to release the tanker, we ask them to tell britain the same thing. but this crisis is bigger than boats. there is nothing wrong with providing better security for shipping in these straits but that doesn't necessarily get to the issue at hand. i think iran is feeling cornered and will do everything they can to lash out without provoking enough that it causes a military response. it is hard to say what's next. britain's new prime minister may chart a different course in these troubled waters, moving closer to the us, but there will need to be a deal to free this ship and its crew. and everyone agrees there needs to be much wider talks. but iran says it will not be on board until sanctions are lifted and until they can move its oil through here in its own backyard. lyse doucet, bbc news. the man who will become
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the next prime minister will be named tomorrow morning. borisjohnson is widely expected to win the conservative party leadership contest and move in to downing street on wednesday. the ballot of tory party members closed this evening. ahead of the announcement, the foreign office minister sir alan duncan resigned from the government, in protest at mrjohnson‘s expected victory. from westminster, here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. i've just voted for boris johnson to be the next prime minister. the envelopes should all have arrived... this is it. i'm about to post my vote for borisjohnson. ..crosses in the box put by tory members... i felt that it would only be right to vote forjeremy hunt. ..that will decide who the prime minister is, for all of us. eitherjeremy hunt, who has struggled to keep pace, or borisjohnson, the front runner, will become the next tory leader. but even before he has won, some ministers have quit because they wouldn't serve him.
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reporter: why have you decided to resign? you will see my resignation letter in a minute. even one of them who worked alongside him at the foreign office. i have very grave concerns that he flies by the seat of his pants and it is all a bit sort of haphazard and ramshackle. but there is no personal animosity of any sort. ijust think he is going to go smack into a crisis of government. sir alan even wanted the commons to have the chance to block mrjohnson becoming prime minister, if he wins tomorrow, trying and failing to organise an emergency vote that could stop him becoming pm. the fundamental principle of our democracy is that the prime minister is the person who can command a majority in the house of commons, and that is untested and it is in doubt. and i thought that, in order to avoid a constitutional crisis, we should test that on the tuesday, tomorrow, before he goes to the palace on the wednesday. to boris johnson supporters,
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they know that you have had grave doubts about him, they believe that you would have been moved out of government anyway and here it looks like this was a plan for the ultimate sort of revenge. you were trying to stop him having a chance at taking power. this is a constitutional issue, not a personal one. despite that, the conservatives appear to be on the verge of knowingly choosing a leader who is loved and loathed. at the start of this race, so at the end, it is borisjohnson‘s to lose. no—one, not even here at conservative headquarters, nor in the candidates' camps, can be sure of the final result. we will only know when it is announced around the corner in westminster at 11am. but what we do know is the next prime minister will face a wall of resistance and borisjohnson‘s backers are sure he is the one with a chance of making it through. absolute resolve as prime minister, as the leader of this country, that we will leave by the end of october. i think that has been missing. he will restore cabinet
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collective responsibility so we have got a united team and, above all, inject a bit of optimism into this enterprise we are embarked on. when the gazebos are back on westminster‘s green, that means something big is about to happen. tory members' overall verdict will be known before too long. i will be backing boris to be the next prime minister. my name is aaron and i voted for jeremy hunt. i'm putting my vote behind jeremy hunt because it's the least worst option. whoever is next won't even please all of their people all of the time. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. how will the uk trade with the rest of the world in the event of a no deal brexit? the government has agreed to slash tax on imports, but some exporters are worried that a no deal brexit could be a disaster for them, with their goods becoming far too expensive in other markets beyond europe. but the trade secretary liam fox says the new prime minister could rip up any current plans. 0ur economics editor faisal islam reports.
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in the combe castle warehouse in wiltshire, a 20 kilogram block of cheddar. we would be looking at a value of about £500 for that. it isn't cheap now, but in its second—biggest export market, canada, it is about to get cripplingly expensive. 0ver £1700. it seems incredible to think there would be a £1200 import tax as a result of no deal on £500 worth of cheese. that is the current situation. for our company, it is an unmitigated disaster. a third of sales at this dairy exporter are due to go to canada and the problem is the prospect a no—deal brexit in october alongside the refusal of the canadians to allow the uk the same trade deal terms that it gets as an eu member. just the sort of brexit issue the trade secretary, liam fox, needs to plan for. welcome to our weekly no deal ministerial meeting. doctor fox acknowledges canada's
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decision was a result of the uk's announcement in march of low taxes on imports, known as tariffs if there is no deal. his warning to canada and others — that could change with a new prime minister. in the case of canada, we set out what would be emergency day one tariffs which allow 87% of the goods coming into the uk to be tariff free. the canadians, not unreasonably, said, why should we put even more resource into a trade agreement when we can get access to your markets for nothing? the point here is that they are temporary. and we will have a new prime minister, we will have a new cabinet, they may take a different view on that. three years ago, the government was very optimistic about continuing or rolling over the uk's access to the eu's a0 deals with 70 other countries around the world, even after a no—deal brexit. but getting a slice of that has proved more difficult with just 12
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of the a0 deals signed, not always on the same terms. rolling over the eu trade deals relied on by british businesses such as this was supposed to be easy. as easy as copying and pasting them, some said. well, it hasn't worked out like that. what the government is discovering is that the post—brexit freedom to do trade deals is one thing. but in actually negotiating them, even our commonwealth allies pursue their economic interests with few favours. and it is the new management in downing street who will quickly need to find ways to keep trade flowing for britain's exporters. faisal islam, bbc news, in wiltshire. jo swinson has been elected as the new leader of the liberal democrats. the mp for east dunbartonshire, who beat her rival sir ed davey, said she was "delighted and honoured" to replace sir vince cable. the liberal democrats now have 12
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mps in the house of commons. they came second in the recent european elections, winning 20% of the share of the vote. the party is campaigning for a second referendum and to remain in the eu. 0ur deputy political editor john pienaar has more. new face, same promise — stop brexit or try. jo swinson was favourite to win and she did, easily. jo swinson, 47,000... standing against brexit has been the lib dems' best game plan, and she's sticking to it. in the face of nationalism, populism, the catastrophe of brexit, the two old parties have failed. 0ur party has been clear on brexit from day one. we believe the uk's best future is as members of the european union, and that's why, as your leader, i will do whatever it takes to stop brexit.
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she's come a long way. this tax on learning is not acceptable. as a student, jo swinson campaigned against tuition fees. westminster‘s youngest mp in 2005, she was a minister in the coalition which introduced the tuition fees that helped wreck the lib dems' popularity. she lost her seat in 2015, like all but a handful of lib dems. back two years later, she was elected deputy leader and also made history by taking her baby into the commons. now she must nurse a recovery that's brought in one defecting labour mp so farand many remain—supporting voters. if there were an election tomorrow, even with the current figures, a0 or 50 liberal democrat mps would certainly seem like a perfectly realistic aspiration. whether or not they can go further than that, whether or not, for example, they can eat further into the labour vote by winning over the support of disenchanted remain voters, that, i think, is the challenge.
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tonight, at a leadership handover at raleigh, the mood was upbeat but the challenge is still a big one. the lib dems have grown as the grip of the two make big parties has grown weaker but if the future depends on brexit then it is a future no—one can predict. whatever the party, whoever is the new leader. john pienaar, bbc news. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn is proposing changes to the party's disciplinary process to speed up the expulsion of members found to have been anti—semitic. mr corbyn said today the current process can take too long. but some have raised concerns about mr corbyn‘s plan, saying it would give too much power to the leadership. they want a fully independent process instead. the government have published a consultation for tackling the causes of preventable ill health in england in one of theresa may's last acts as prime ministers.
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the consultation says the government will end the sale of energy drinks to under 16s, set a smoke free target in england by 2030, and consult on calorie labelling in restaurants. the government have been accused of slipping out the paper in the final days of the current administration. labour's shadow health secretary says "there are serious questions for matt hancock to answer on why he has slipped this important green paper out at this time." the conservative mp for dover, charlie elphicke, has been charged with sexual assault. mr elphicke is accused of assaulting one woman in 2007 and a second in 2016. he has been suspended by the conservative party and is due to appear at westminster magistrates' court in september. his lawyers say he denies any wrongdoing, and will "defend himself vigorously". the footballer christiano ronaldo won't be charged over an alleged rape in las vegas ten years ago.
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thejuventus player has always denied the allegations, but had previously reached a financial settlement with his accuser. an investigation was reopened last year but prosecutors say there's not enough evidence to prove the claims beyond reasonable doubt. dozens of people have been injured in hong kong after pro—democracy protestors were attacked by groups of armed men dressed in white. the gangs — thought to be triad gangsters — set upon people with bats and metal poles as they went home after another huge march yesterday. 0pposition politicians have accused police of being suspiciously slow to arrive at the scene. stephen mcdonell‘s report contains images some viewers may find upsetting. gangs were waiting when pro—democracy activists arrived. the attack was brutal. using home—made weapons, they set upon individual protesters. one of those at the train
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station was this man. when police did arrive, the injured were many and today a spokeswoman for the local station faced an angry crowd. they accused officers of collusion with gang members. passions are running high here today. the police are trying to explain to this community that they still have their best interests at heart and yet many when police did arrive, the injured were many and today a spokeswoman for the local station faced an angry crowd. they accused officers of collusion with gang members. passions are running high here today. the police are trying to explain to this community that they still have their best
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interests at heart and yet many who have come along are not happy with the explanation, that the reason officers were not at the mtr last night was because of "security concerns". eyewitnesses say hong kong's underworld is being mobilised to crush the pro—democracy movement. we do have a lot of, a growing number of gangsters in the area, and they were not unfamiliarfigures. they are in fact... and they were not unfamiliarfigures. we know them. we know them, 0k. they live with us. they lived with us. hong kong's leader is under pressure. carrie lam said she was shocked. she called on police to apprehend those involved, and there have been some arrests. but protesters are still planning to march to the scene of these most recent clashes in the coming days. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, hong kong. india has begun its most ambitious space mission to date. the chandrayaan—2, which means moon
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vehicle, was successfully launched — after it was called off last week due to a technical hitch. if the mission succeeds, it will become the first spacecraft to land on the south pole of the moon. here's the latest from our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan in delhi. into this guys and off to the moon. from a small island by the bay of bengal, india's space dreams sordid to new heights. the unmanned lunar mission, chandrayaan—2, was launched successfully. there was relief at the control centre... and across the country. cheering. iam country. cheering. i am really happy that india is launching chandrayaan—2. and i'm proud to be an indian. it is a huge
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opportunity for india to take this amongst the great countries that are leading in astronomy, like the us, russia, china. this mission is aiming to become the first to land on the unexplored lunar south pole, marital search for water and collect more data about them in —— where it will search. indian prime minister narendra modi says he hopes this lodge will encourage more young people to take an interest in scientific research and innovation. there's huge excitement here, but some question whether india should invest in the space race while millions live in poverty of. but others point out that the budget for the current moon mission is far less than many hollywood blockbusters. india is hoping to send someone into space by the year 2022. but for now celebrating his latest blockbuster moment. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news.
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this week it looks like we'll be sweltering in the hottest weather of the summer so far. the heatwave, due to a blast of hot air from africa and southern europe, is going to send temperatures rising into the mid—30s in parts of the country. 0ur correspondent sangita myska has been in cambridge this evening. ican i can offer you a very warm welcome from cambridge today. 29 celsius, making this city one of the hottest places in england. everyone here has been having a great time. don't know that for some people this we could get a little bit tricky. why? because nhs england has issued what it is calling a health alert. so, in other words, if you are an elderly person, you have an underlying health condition, or you are having a baby, they are asking you to take a baby, they are asking you to take a bit more care. they principally stay hydrated and out of the sun. why? because this week we could see the hottestjuly day on record, if temperatures get above 36 celsius.
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now if you are watching me from wales or scotland, you probably do not recognise this picture, because it's still quite rain and cloudy there. ' it's still quite rain and cloudy there. ‘today in it's still quite rain and cloudy there. ' today in scotland it‘s still quite rain and cloudy there. ‘today in scotland three front alert is issued along the western coast. so wherever you are in the uk, stay safe this week. now it‘s time for the weather with susan powell. hello. for the week ahead it really is all about the heat. building heat day on day. and it is said to pick on thursday when temperatures could get up to 37 celsius. some very hot and uncomfortable notes to come as well. notice how the heat spreads to the very north of the uk across northern ireland and scotland on tuesday. a little bit cooler on wednesday, but towards the south—east that hot spot continues to grow more widespread across central and eastern areas on thursday. it looks like this will be the core area for the heat and the top ten printer, as i said, could get up to 37 celsius stop if it does that it will equal the july record
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for heathrow set in 2015. it could even top that and get close to the all—time temperature record for the uk. certainly for tuesday, the welding, and a lot of humidity around, much dry or scotland. plenty of sunshine and plenty of it does well. mid—20s, think of a part of northern ireland, southern and eastern scotland. we could even see up eastern scotland. we could even see up to 35 across parts of the south—east of england. 3a cardiff. heat, humidity, a bit of instability. it could get quite lively tuesday night. thunderstorms, initially through the evening rush hour affecting the far south—west. but the paluma mushrooming as we go through the evening and overnight, pushing its way north. some heavy falls of rain. certainly i think some very lively thunderstorms, cracking off across northern ireland and scotland by the end of the night. could also be a record—breaking note as temperatures in some spots are set to fall no lower than the mid—20s. so very uncomfortable. a wet start to wednesday across the northern half of the uk. showers out of the way
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pretty quickly, however. lots of those under follow on. that rain first thing just rings the temperatures back a little scotland and northern ireland, but across eastern england widely temperatures into the low 30s, perhaps 35 in east anglia. thursday, low pressure was the worst. looks like it is going to come into play. it will introduce some rain. it is increasingly southerly flow from the dinner. we will talk about record—breaking heat on thursday for belgium, the netherlands, and luxembourg, nosepress across into the eastern side of the uk. the peak of our heatwave. we could see 37 degrees somewhere i think to perhaps the thames estuary. a few showers possible further north and a more breezy and unstable picture western scotland, northern ireland. buti think 36 degrees and central london, 37 somewhere close by. thursday into friday, a change. a cold weather sweeps friday, a change. a cold weather swee ps a cross friday, a change. a cold weather sweeps across the uk. we introduce atla ntica re. we easily sweeps across the uk. we introduce atlanticare. we easily humidity. friday, the front does not do much in terms of the way the weather looks. there will still be fine
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