Skip to main content

tv   BBC News  BBC News  June 14, 2020 10:00am-10:31am BST

10:00 am
this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. disturbances break out overnight in the us city of atlanta after a black man is shot dead by police officers. officers had tried to arrest rayshard brooks after he failed a breathalyser test — his family's lawyer spoke of his frustration. i don't even know what justice is any more and i have been doing this for 15 years. more than 100 people are arrested after a day of violent clashes in central london, involving far—right activists uk prime minister borisjohnson orders a review of the two metre social distancing rule in england, following calls to scrap it. remembering the 72 people who died in the grenfell tower fire in london three years ago.
10:01 am
matt lucas and david walliams apologise for the use of blackface make—up in the comedy series little britain. tourists start returning to venice as restrictions are eased, but locals demand limits on numbers. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. our top story — there has been another night of unrest in the united states following the killing of another black man, rayshard brooks, by police in the city of atlanta.
10:02 am
protesters blocked a major road and set fire to a drive— through restaurant where the killing of rayshard brooks took place on friday. one of the two white police officers involved has been sacked, and atla nta's police chief has resigned. atlanta is one of many us cities to have seen protests since the killing last month of george floyd by police in minneapolis. cctv footage of the incident shows mr brooks fleeing on foot from police after a scuffle with officers in the restaurant car park. local investigators claim that mr brooks had failed an alcohol test, and obtained one of the officer's tasers as he fled. moments later, he was fatally shot. in the aftermath, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters but demonstrations continued late into the night. and this footage has just come in to us from the atlanta police department — showing the conversation between officers and rayshard brooks before he was shot. the reason why we are here is because somebody called 911 because you were asleep behind the wheel
10:03 am
while you were in the drive through, right? recall that? idon‘t. while you were in the drive through, right? recall that? i don't. you don't recall minutes ago when you we re don't recall minutes ago when you were passed out behind the wheel? no. i wasn't driving. like were passed out behind the wheel? no. iwasn't driving. like i were passed out behind the wheel? no. i wasn't driving. like i said, my girlfriend was probably sleeping. so far you are the only person who has been seen in this vehicle. this report is from rich preston. and a warning, this story contains some distressing pictures. crowds got angrier through the night here in atlanta after news of the death of another black man at the hands of american police officers. that anger spilled onto the streets. the fast—food restaurant next to the scene of the killing was set alight. major highways were blocked. police say mr brooks failed a sobriety test and resisted arrest.
10:04 am
they say he was able to get one of the officer's tasers, and tried to use it against him. they responded with live ammunition. the killing comes amid a global wave of black lives matter protests. the officer involved has been fired. while there may be debate as to whether this was an appropriate use of deadly force, i firmly believe that there is a clear distinction between what you can do and what you should do. i do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force. the city's police chief has resigned, but it's unlikely that will placate these people who say racism is built into american society. the officers need to be arrested and it's not ok, it's not ok that every day i have to wake up and learn a new name, new hashtag, a new life that was lost because of the injustice that
10:05 am
america has for a system that was built in the 1600s. i could say we wantjustice but i don't even care anymore, i don't know even what that is, and i've been doing this for 15 years. i don't know what justice is anymore. is it getting them arrested, is it getting somebody fired, is it a chief stepping down? i know that this isn'tjustice, what's happening in society right now. what young black people see is the continued drumbeat of injustice instead of a drumbeat towards justice. of course they feel disenfranchised. two or three of the emotions that come from sustained generation oppression are anger, apathy and despondency. around a third of people in georgia are african—american. despite the black lives matter movement, they see american society is built against them and they fear for their future. richard preston, bbc news. more than 100 people were arrested during yesterday's
10:06 am
violent demonstrations in central london involving far—right groups. they were detained for offences including violent disorder, breach of the peace and possessing weapons. six police officers were injured. the prime minister described the attacks on police as racist thuggery. sean dilley has this report. thousands of people join protests, despite calls from police to stay at home. many were peaceful, but violent clashes soon broke out. police officers were attacked throughout the day as they attempted to keep distance between anti—racism and far—right groups. a barrage of missiles were launched at them. in whitehall, the crowd pushed their way through and tried to attack photographers. the prime minister, borisjohnson, condemned the minority of protesters on twitter. he said:
10:07 am
the individuals that are basically putting the safety of our police officers and the safety of the public at risk will expect to face the full force of the law. people from a variety of backgrounds turned out as self—proclaimed protectors of statues after winston churchill's monument was damaged last week. this protester told us he felt british history under attack. come on. i mean, he had some racist views but, at the end of the day, he led us through our darkest hour. i mean, i'm from south london, i've grown up with black people. we are all working class, live side—by—side. nobody here is an issue with blm. nobody here has an issue with blm. police are investigating this incident outside parliament. 0utside waterloo station, police stepped in to quell scuffles. across the day, six officers
10:08 am
were injured, protesters too. this man, carried to safety by another protester. the violence in part of the capital contrast with other areas where protests were largely peaceful. sean dilley, bbc news. a 28—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of outraging public decency by urinating next to a memorial to a policeman during violent protests in central london yesterday. the man is in custody in essex after going to a police station. pc keith palmer was stabbed to death in 2017 during the westminster bridge terrorist attack. labour's shadowjustice secretary, david lammy condemned yesterday's protest. he told the bbc‘s andrew marr there is no place for attacks on police officers. these scenes were ugly. and very, very threatening. and the scene involving urinating at pc palmer's
10:09 am
memorial was utterly despicable and must have hurt his family greatly. fast—track, yes, absolutely we want a speedy justice but fast—track, yes, absolutely we want a speedyjustice but i would say we have a massive backlog in our justice system because of coronavirus. how the government is going to do that we will certainly scrutinise. moving to france now where there have been clashes between protesters and police in several cities across france. demonstrators are demanding an end to racism in french society as part of the black lives matter movement. police fired tear gas after crowds threw fireworks and bottles. gail maclellan has this report. demonstrations were most intense in the capital, paris, but also took place in marseille, nice and lyon. chanting in the capital, around 15,000 gathered in place de la republique. they say the supposed glory
10:10 am
of the republic doesn't apply to black people. rallies which started peacefully intensified. some protesters threw fireworks, bottles and paving stones. police responded. officials say more than 20 people were arrested, including 12 far—right activists, who draped a ‘white lives matter‘ banner from an apartment block. the killing of george floyd in the united states has sparked a global wave of protests against racism. many here see parallels with the death of a 24—year—old black parisian in police custody in 2016. chanting. the police officers involved in adama traore's death were exonerated. these people say justice hasn't been done. translation: the death of george floyd echoed the death of my little brother. what's happening in the united states is exactly the same as what's happening in france. our brothers are dying. there is a fractious relationship between police and ethnic minorities in france
10:11 am
with frequent allegations of victimisation and excessive force. french officials say they will take a zero—tolerance approach to racism in law enforcement and have banned restraints like chokeholds. police unions deny racism is rampant within the ranks. many say once the fog has lifted, much needs to be done to address systemic racism in french society. tashinga matewe organised a black lives matter protest in sheffield. shejoins us now. what was the aim of your peaceful protest, what do you want to see change? me and the other organisers wa nted change? me and the other organisers wanted to make sure it went smoothly and peacefully because we are not trying to incite a show of anger or
10:12 am
violence or anything, we just wanted a place to come together, show solidarity and show community cohesion and get attention to the cause. what we are wanting from the causes to see some movement and actually go into the real issue of systemic racism and how we can sort it out. we want to see youth being involved in it, more youth led action, we want to see government, counsellors working with us directly not just counsellors working with us directly notjust implementing counsellors working with us directly not just implementing things counsellors working with us directly notjust implementing things they think might be betterfor us notjust implementing things they think might be better for us without talking to us first. we have so many voices and points we want to share but haven't been given the platform to do so and that is what we are trying to achieve now. there have in the weeks since george floyd's that in some of the demonstrations been violence, has that been a distraction? is that getting in the way of your message? yes, because the message we are trying to portray it as we are trying to do this peacefully. all we want is change.
10:13 am
we do not think that is something big to us, we want change, not to be violent, we don't want the media coverage to taint us and put the black lives matter movement in a bad light. people have been portrayed as angry people, seeking revenge, but all we want is peaceful change and to be listened to. there is attention on statues, is that in a sense something of a distraction as well? precisely, i remember not so long ago there were talks about raising another statue about someone who did some anti—slavery stuff before. that is not the purpose of this, we do not want funds to go into other statues just for show, what we want is action. people are going away from the direct message we are trying to portray and we do not want people to focus on different statues because that is
10:14 am
leaving the root cause and route issue, what people have been dying for, injured four. we are short of getting lost in the different discussions and we need to go back to the issue and how people can move forward. thank you so much. tashinga matewe. today marks three years since the grenfell towerfire in london. to mark the anniversary, people in the uk are being urged to illuminate their homes with green lights to remember the 72 people who died. church bells will also sound across london. the grenfell united campaign group says the fight for safe homes and justice continues, as our correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. the faces of those who died in a tragedy which exposed some of the deep inequalities in our society. each story of loss is as painful today as it was three years ago. this
10:15 am
hesham rahman lived alone on the 23rd floor. his family say marking this anniversary during a pandemic is especially tough. we are still going the grieving process and the rest of the country right now is grieving because of covid, and people have lost family and friends ahead of their time and we are grieving with them, and covid brought a lot of bad emotions for us, especially for how things were after the fire because there were a lot of similarities, being glued to the tv, listening to the number of deaths rising every day. the fire began on the fourth floor after a fridge caught fire. a public enquiry blamed cheap combustible cladding on the building for its rapid spread. later the prime minister will deliver a message at a virtual memorial service where he will pledge to ensure a tragedy like grenfell never happens again. but a government target to remove flammable cladding on high—rises by this month has yet to be met. about 2000 tower blocks in england alone are still potentially at risk.
10:16 am
three years later, it's really frustrating that we're still talking about removing this cladding. it's just...the government keep making this announcement, making these announcements, but it materialising and actually happening is a completely different story. in one of london's wealthiest areas, some of its poorest weren't protected. grenfell tower has been described as a monument to inequality. what happened here three years ago is as relevant today as it was then. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news. we can now speak to dr will martin in sheffield who's the co—founder of uk cladding action group. thanks for being with us, i think the labour party are estimating 56,000 people are still living in homes with on the safeguarding, does that sound a sort of correct kind of estimate as far as you are
10:17 am
concerned? that is acm exactly the same as grenfell, it is up to half a million in all sorts of dangerously clad buildings, a huge problem in this country. in the three years, what has been done in terms of cladding? we talked about it some months in the month —— make so much in the months after the disaster but where are we now? still 2000 unsafe buildings in the uk. things have happened, funds released but the pace of remediation has been too slow. there are so many people living in these unsafe buildings it is unacceptable that three years on we are still talking about this issue and people still going to bed every single night and on site building. why has it been so slow? a lack of political well? what do you think is the reason? i think the
10:18 am
government have dragged their heels and not wanted to accept that there are many, many different types of cladding that are dangerous and have only slowly begun to realise and grasp how big a problem this is. obviously there is the financial impactand obviously there is the financial impact and cost but you can't put a cost on life. all buildings need to be made safe and they have dragged their heels. they have refused to acknowledge the problem and continue to do so. you say they refuse to acknowledge the problem, i want you to hear a statement from the british government. grenfell was a devastating tragedy, we are determined to ensure it can never happen again and that is why we are providing £1.6 billion to ensure that u nsafe providing £1.6 billion to ensure that unsafe cladding is removed from high—rise buildings as soon as possible. we are also bringing forward the biggest legislative changes to building safety in a generation. it doesn't sound like they are doing nothing. sure. on
10:19 am
friday across —— across party select committee report on £15 billion was going to be needed to fix this problem. the safety fund to be released —— released in march will not sought more than a third. two thirds will miss out on funding because it is the building's responsibility. across the parties they are saying more needs to be spent on this. will martin, co—founder of the uk cladding action group. one of the industries that's been hit hardest by the coronavirus
10:20 am
lockdown is tourism. borders have been closed and people have been unable to travel — so a holiday has been out of the question. in many places restrictions are now being eased — but some, in italy, are calling for restraint — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. venice is not open for business. at least that's the message these venetians want you to hear. a human chain and a giant banner stretched out over one of the city's famous canals. the people here calling for responsible tourism. an end to the mass invasion that comes every summer. visitors are already returning. the famous doge's palace has reopened its doors. but locals are calling for quality, not necessarily quantity. we hope to have, in the future, slow tourism. slow tourism. this is very important. it means not less tourism, but better, good organisation. this is the first thing. around 30 million people visit venice each year,
10:21 am
a city with a native population of little more than 50,000. many only come for the day, bringing little income to the local economy. and residents say many neighbourhoods are being ruined by landlords who turn rental properties into holiday lets, pricing out those who live here. then there's the cruise ships. larger vessels were banned from parts of the city after this crash last summer. their absence and then the lockdown has meant cleaner waterways, a cleaner venice. but that's the dilemma. these people need tourism, but they don't want too much. are they protesting against the one thing that will get venice back on its feet? tim allman, bbc news. boris johnson has ordered a review of the two—metre social—distancing rule in england. business leaders — and some of mrjohnson's own mps —
10:22 am
have warned large parts of the hospitality industry will not survive if the rules aren't relaxed. the review will aim to be completed by the 11th ofjuly, the earliest date when pubs and restaurants might open in england. the recommended distance you should leave between you and other people varies from country to country. all four nations of the uk observe the two metre rule, as do spain and canada. it drops to one and a half metres if you are in australia, italy and germany. and then falls to a metre if you are in china, france or singapore. the official guidance from the world health organization says leave at least a metre between yourself and others to prevent the spread of coronavirus. but the uk government's scientific advisers say that being one metre apart carries up to ten times the risk of being two metres apart. with me is our political correspondent, jessica parker. these are the things borisjohnson
10:23 am
and the government are mulling over because they are under huge pressure to drop the two metre rule. the two metre rule is regarded by those in hospitality as a real problem because if you have a two metre distance ruin your then you are in your beer garden you can have fewer customers. hospitality has been shut for weeks and weeks, not opening until the earliest in july. nonessential retail shops set are open from tomorrow, but for them and iam sure open from tomorrow, but for them and i am sure it would be welcome to go down to one or one i am sure it would be welcome to go down to one 01’ one 01’ i am sure it would be welcome to go down to one or one or 1.5 metres. scientists say the further apart you are, the less likely to transmit the virus so a balance of risk. something for the government to bear in mind is the hit to the economy. the chancellor has been speaking to andrew marr, making it clear that in terms of the economy and jobs hardship as a head. he was asked about his views on whether the two metres rule is to be relaxed.
10:24 am
that review will be a compressor review, conducted soon, start now. we have done the preliminary work. done with scientists and economists. i talk to business over time, has an enormous impact on their ability to operate profitably and maintain employment. and impacts for public transport, schools and many other things. as much as everyone and i would like to see it reduced from an economic perspective we can only do that if it is safe and responsible to do so. the formal review will conduct with scientists. the chancellor saying he would like to see it relax. labour says scientists need to be consulted on this, accusing the government more broadly on being slow to act when it comes to coronavirus. the
10:25 am
shadow home secretary. it should be reduced if the evidence is that it should be. this is where we have to be so careful. the public—health position and that of the economy go together, there is no point seeing them in conflict. if the government ease lockdown too quickly, moved to one metre without there being scientific advice backing that, you would end up with a second peak which would cause even greater economic damage. my message to the government is to be vigilant, be cautious, approach this in a structured way. and publish the evidence we can see it. conservative mps have been raising theirfears, getting e—mails, their post bag is full of small business worried deeply about their future. the
10:26 am
formal review borisjohnson has ordered into the two metre rule due to report back byjuly four. our political correspondent, jessica parker. you are watching bbc news. leading psychologists say the delay in getting children and adolescents back to schools here in the uk is a national disaster that is putting their mental health at risk. in an open letter to the education secretary, gavin williamson, signed by one hundred specialists in mental health, they say the isolation of lockdown is harming already vulnerable young people. and they urge the government to reconsider its decision and release children and young people from lockdown. we can speak to our health correspondent anna collison. tell us more. this is an open letter from a long list of leading psychologists, more than 100, as you say it has been sent to the education secretary gavin williamson and in it they are urging him to
10:27 am
release children and young people from the restrictions of lockdown, asking them to reduce social distancing measures we are all getting so used to buy now. they have called the measure is incredibly harmful for children and say the most vulnerable are likely to be seriously affected by this. even before lockdown, we were aware of serious concerns about the mental health of young people, particularly with conditions like anxiety. since the pandemic, these psychologists say the feeling of isolation, that feeling of loneliness has been made even worse. schools have been shot across the uk since the end of march. aside from children of critical workers and some primary school children, the vast majority of pupils will not return to a classroom until the end of the summer holidays. that means they have gone months without seeing their friends, have gone months without seeing theirfriends, peers, focusing on theirfriends, peers, focusing on the education and other activities that bring them joy and really
10:28 am
challenge them. there has been some anger and confusion that nonessential shops in england are opening tomorrow as well as zoos, safari parks, open air cinema is. people are confused why those are allowed to open and yet children are not a logical back to school, particularly because they are seen as the least at—risk of coronavirus. these psychologists also say while coronavirus is a risk, suicide is a far bigger concern, one of the leading causes of death for young people. they say so for young people have been ignored in this crisis and going forward they should be the priority. the stress, they are talking about mental health of young people, in particular vulnerable young people, but of course there is also the question of young people losing out on months and months of their education. absolutely, as we have seen with the coronavirus, if you are in a situation where you have a household where you have a nice house and have parents who can
10:29 am
engage, you might not struggle. not eve ryo ne engage, you might not struggle. not everyone is lucky enough to be in that situation. and also being able to go in to see their friends, the benefits that come with that. their lives are effectively put on hold it vanish by at a time of vital development. going to school, seeing their friends, vital development. going to school, seeing theirfriends, vitalfor brain development. this is the latest warning from psychologist but we also heard on saturday a similar warning that this could really damage development. the weather. for many dry and warm spells of sunshine botch some showers around, the exception to the warm rule on the north sea coast. it could stay grey, damp and cool for the rest of the day. some of the
10:30 am
heavy showers in east anglia, wales later. isolated in the north and west, you can see the temperatures around where they should be for this time of year, feeling quite close. through monday, similar set up in that we have the low cloud plaguing central and eastern areas, burning back to the coast, patchy rain for scotland, the devil is in the detail for where the showers will fall but a one day away from eastern seaboard is for many. lively downpours with hail stones, thunder and gusty winds locally as today. this is bbc news, the headlines: disturbances break out overnight in the us city of atlanta after a black man is shot dead by police officers. officers had tried to arrest rayshard brooks after he failed a breathalyser test — his family's lawyer spoke

119 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on