tv BBC News at Ten BBC News October 12, 2022 10:00pm-10:31pm BST
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no spending cuts as the prime minister. reporter: have you wrecked | the economy, prime minister? time for another u—turn? by pushing ahead with the strategy, experts say borrowing will have to rise, which explains the prime minister's talk of repaying debt in the medium term. what we will make sure is that over the medium term the debt is falling, but we will do that not by cutting public spending, but by making sure we spend public money well. does she think the public will ever forgive the conservative party if they keep
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on defending this madness and go ahead with her kamikaze budget? as liz truss arrived for her weekly audience with the king tonight, the king greeted her with "dear oh dear". we'll have the latest on the talks in washington and the questions raised by the prime minister's words today. also tonight... a court is told that a nurse accused of the murder of seven babies sent a sympathy card to the parents of one of her victims. blood supplies in england are at a critically low level — the nhs says that staffing shortages are mainly to blame. and in tonight's football, salah scores the fastest hat trick in champions' league history as liverpool crush rangers at ibrox. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel... one of english rugby's most famous names is suspended from the premiership —
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wasps on the verge of administration. good evening. the prime minister has insisted she will not cut public spending to pay for a multi—billion pound package of tax cuts. experts say the implication is that government borrowing will be allowed to rise further over the next few years. labour said that was a kamikaze approach which would not restore confidence in the financial markets. one group of independent experts at the institute of fiscal studies warned that, alternatively, spending cuts of more than £60 billion would be needed to bring public finances under control. at herfirst prime minister's questions since the highly controversial mini—budget liz truss told mps that her strategy of cutting tax would not change. our political editor chris mason reports.
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reporter: have you wrecked | the economy, prime minister? there are plenty of questions for liz truss at the moment but that one gets to the crux of things. spiralling prices, interest rates climbing, the markets wobbling, and her backbenches, too. quite the backdrop for her second outing at prime minister's question time. given the government's central challenge right now is proving the numbers add up, it was this exchange today that stood out... during her leadership contest, the prime minister said, and i quote her exactly, "i'm very clear. "i'm not planning public spending reductions." is she going to stick to that? prime minister. absolutely, absolutely. we are spending almost £1 trillion of public spending. we were spending £700 billion back in 2010. what we will make sure is that over the medium term, the debt is falling.
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but we will do that, not by cutting public spending, but by making sure we spend public money well. so, let's try to work out what that means. some have said that ministers either have to junk those tax cuts announced a few weeks ago or have to announce massive spending cuts to be seen to be credible. the government says it's going to not do either and isn't explaining how that is possible. one way may be that they include the big extra help being offered for energy bills as part of government spending and still make cuts elsewhere. we've taken decisive action to make sure that people are not facing energy bills of £6,000 for two years. labour wanted to return to liz truss's tax cuts. who voted for this? not even most of the mps behind her, who know you can't pay for tax cuts
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on the never, never. does she think the public will ever forgive the conservative party if they keep on defending this madness? and this senior conservative backbencher who backed rishi sunakfor prime minister is sceptical, too. there are many, myself included, who believe that it is quite - possible that he will simply have to come forward with _ a further rowing back - on the tax announcements. and, remember, the reason the government says it's doing all of this is to turbo—charge the economy, but one economic group told mps that's not going to happen any time soon. we're not going to hit medium term 2.5% growth in this economy at the moment. this is something that's going to have to be nurtured, as i've said to this committee a number of times, over decades. tonight, liz truss saw the king for the prime minister's usual weekly chat or audience. take a listen to their pleasantries... your majesty. back again.
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lovely to see you again. dear oh dear. to what could he have been referring? i am told it could be a verbal tic to move the conversation along, but we will never know because the camera moved away and that most discreet of conversations began, but what was less discreet was the discussion between the prime minister and her backbenchers were amongst the grumbles —— where amongst the grumbles —— where amongst the grumbles —— where amongst the grumbles, some concern that her policies favoured the rich over the poor, but it seems to be down a cul—de—sac which it does not want to reverse out, and it hopes that it turns out not to be a cul—de—sac and there are twists and turns and over the grass verge but in the end they find a way through, but right now plenty of critics including on her own side, they are questioning the navigation and questioning the navigation and questioning the navigation and questioning the driver. ichris
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questioning the navigation and questioning the driver. chris mason, our political — questioning the driver. chris mason, our political editor, _ questioning the driver. chris mason, our political editor, thanks _ questioning the driver. chris mason, our political editor, thanks for - our political editor, thanks for joining us. so the prime minister says public spending won't be cut, despite the cost of the mini budget. but investors are still nervous after the bank of england insisted its emergency intervention scheme in the bond market after the mini—budget would end this week. the bank is buying bonds to stabilise their price and prevent a sale which could put some pension schemes at risk. our business editor simonjack is here to explain more. so why are financial markets in turmoil and what does it mean for you? the big problems are in the government bond market. so, what is a bond? bonds are a bit like an "i owe you" from the government. it borrows money and promises to pay it back with interest. they are seen as a very safe
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investment — it's assumed the government will always pay it back. these bonds are bought and sold — it's a very big market — and it's been unusually volatile — why? well, last month the government promised huge tax cuts without explaining how it would pay for them. this means that meant those ious — those bonds — looked riskier. this means investors want more interest to justify the extra risk. so the cost of government borrowing rose at its fastest rate over a short period ever. pension funds are big buyers of government bonds and hold on to them for years. but some specialist pension fund managers have used them as collateral to borrow cash now from banks to be able to pay out on pension promises. when the value of that collateral started to plummet those banks wanted more cash to make sure they didn't end up out of pocket. the pension managers had to sell more bonds to raise that cash which pushed the prices
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of bonds even lower — a selling spiral — the more you sell the more you have to sell. to try and break that cycle of selling, the bank of england said it would buy billions of the government bonds off them to stabilise the market. but the bank's governor andrew bailey said it would stop doing this on friday. and here's what happened — it worked at first, but now borrowing costs are heading back to where they were before the bank of england intervened. in the last couple of hours they had come down a little bit. so how does that all affect every day life. are pensions safe? the most important thing for people to remember is that these final salary type pensions have £2 trillion of assets standing behind them, so although there has been a lot of turmoil and there is a lot going on under the bonnet, those pensions are safe because there is a lot of money behind them and british businesses are standing behind the pension fund. so, although the headlines
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are horrible, the pensions are safe. but there is another effect. the cost of government borrowing affects the cost of all borrowing including mortgages. a year ago, a £200,000 mortgage on a £300,000 home would have cost around 2%. now that same mortgage is around 5.7%. maybe even nearly 6%. meaning extra borrowing costs of over £7,000 a year. most of that is due to interest rates rising all around the world. but between £2,000—3,000 of that extra cost was caused i've been told by building society bosses, by the government's not so mini budget. simon, thanks forjoining us. the chancellor kwasi kwarteng has been attending an important meeting of finance ministers
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in washington — facing questions about the market turmoil and british government policy. our economics editor faisial islam is in washington with the latest. it is not just it is notjust that it is not just that they it is notjust that they got it is not just that they got the news this morning of a surprise fall in the economy in august, and not just what you have heard about in terms of the rise in the effective cost of government borrowing, you also had the bank of england uncompromising in terms of withdrawing its support at the weekend, and they have also though its chief economist said that the biggest economic impact on the energy shop now is not on inflation but the public finances. —— energy shop. it is passing the ball over to the government to solve this crisis as it faces out its emergency support but the questions are not just coming from back home as kwasi kwarteng arrives here in washington for these meetings. flying into the imf at a time that costs for the tens of billions
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the chancellor is going to borrow have gone sky—high. these meetings are ordinarily more about crises in developing countries, but high on the unofficial agenda here is a more awkward question — what is going on in britain? i have full confidence in the bank of england to get inflation back down to target. the mpc has been clear about its intention to do that. secondly, to safeguard the financial system and take the measures that are necessary. credibility comes from commitment, clear commitment, it comes from transparency and it's buttressed by institutions. the pressure was seen in the markets. the most important form of government borrowing, the ten—year bond, shot up to its highest level, the highest effective interest rate since the financial crisis 14 years ago, above the immediate aftermath of the mini budget. it fell back after the bank intervened, one of its last. the eurozone has been no stranger to crisis and faces its own energy challenges, but the president of the eurozone finance ministers,
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paschal donohoe from ireland, expressed his confidence that the chancellor would sort out the problems. oh, i think it's far too early to be able to draw comparisons between the difficulties of the global financial crisis and anything that could possibly happen within the united kingdom. the united kingdom is a g7 economy with their own currency and it is absolutely obvious in all of the public statements that have been made by the bank of england, by the government of the united kingdom, that they are aware of developments that are taking place. but to be clear, your approach in ireland and in the eurozone, hasn't been to make unfunded tax cuts with tens of billions of borrowing? well, we have taken a different approach within ireland. we've also made the decision not to borrow for any measures... no borrowing? so we are in a situation at the moment that our finances are currently in surplus. president zelensky, we are all ears. there are some very big challenges in the world economy posed
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by the war in ukraine. no one here really want to be talking about the uk, but it is happening. faisal islam is in washington. in your view what is the nature and the pressure that is now on the chancellor given the voices we have heard today, to consider a change of course? ., . ., .,, , course? the chancellor has been in meetinas course? the chancellor has been in meetings with _ course? the chancellor has been in meetings with the _ course? the chancellor has been in meetings with the world's - course? the chancellor has been in meetings with the world's most - meetings with the world's most important finance ministers, the g7, his debut on this world stage, we understand there were comments in general about the dangers of unfunded tax cuts and the danger to financial instability and i heard in private from some of the people around the table that what they were concerned by was not necessarily someone taking a different policy avenue but when there are clear issues in the markets, the fact that a government doubles down on that, that is what was puzzling people at a place like this. so the question being asked notjust here but also domestically and in the markets is
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when you have a prime minister publicly ruling out spending cuts and ruling out tax rises, but also saying that borrowing will be under control, you don't need an —— a degree in mathematics to think that there is something missing here, but what exactly? can it be done in a way which is economically viable and politically viable?— politically viable? thanks for “oininu politically viable? thanks for joining us- — for more updates, news and analysis head to bbc news online, that's bbc.co.uk/news, and by using the bbc news app. manchester crown court has heard that a nurse charged with the murder of seven babies, sent a sympathy card to the parents of one of the babies she'd killed. lucy letby is also charged with attempting to murder ten other babies at countess of chester hospital in 2015 and 2016. she denies 22 charges in all.
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our correspondentjudith moritz has the latest. holding one of the babies in her care, lucy letby smiles for the camera. but today she was described in court as persistent, calculated and cold—blooded, deliberately sabotaging poorly and premature babies in the neonatal unit of the countess of chester hospital. it's alleged that she attacked one baby after another, until a pattern began to emerge. i'm dr ravi jayaram. i'm a consultant paediatrician and i have worked for the nhs all my career. the jury heard that this paediatrician who worked with her had started to notice the coincidence between several unexplained deaths and medical emergencies and the presence of lucy letby. the court was told that one night, drjayaram realised that nurse letby was on her own with a very premature, newborn baby, that he felt uncomfortable about it given his concerns, and so he went to find her. when he entered the room, he found lucy letby standing over the incubator.
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the baby's oxygen levels were falling dangerously, but the monitor alarms hadn't sounded, as they should have been, and the jury was told that lucy letby had made no efforts to help the baby or to call for assistance. prosecuting, nicholasjohnson kc told the jury that the doctor found the baby's chest wasn't moving and her breathing tube had become dislodged. lucy letby is charged with the baby's attempted murder. she watched from the dock as mrjohnson said it was highly significant that children in her care persistently and consistently suffered emergencies. he said... the court heard that in one week, lucy letby had tried to kill three babies. one of them — known as baby i — was said to have been resilient, with the nurse trying three times
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to murder her and succeeding on the fourth occasion. then the court heard she sent a condolence card to that baby's parents, something she later told police she knew wasn't normal, though she'd kept an image of the card on her phone. lucy letby denies all the charges she faces. her defence team are expected to outline their case tomorrow. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. police searching for a 19—year—old who has not been seen for more than three years say they have found human remains. leah croucher disappeared while walking to work in milton keynes in february 2019. thames valley police say they have launched a murder investigation. our correspondentjo black is in milton keynes for us. tell us more about what has been going on there today.— going on there today. yes, leah croucher went _ going on there today. yes, leah croucher went missing - going on there today. yes, leah croucher went missing on - going on there today. yes, leah croucher went missing on the i going on there today. yes, leah l croucher went missing on the 15th going on there today. yes, leah - croucher went missing on the 15th of february 2019, she was captured on
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cctvjust february 2019, she was captured on cctv just after 8am around february 2019, she was captured on cctvjust after 8am around half february 2019, she was captured on cctv just after 8am around half a mile from where i understanding talking to you, and as you might imagine her parents have done various appeals over the years about her disappearance, so if you try the randall tim key and you can see her image on many pictures. —— so if you drive around milton keynes you can see. at this address in milton keynes there has been a lot of police activity, officers going in and out, many in forensics suits with specialist equipment. police childers today that after a tip—off from a member of the public on monday they came to search this address and they found leah's rucksack and other personal possessions. they said today they had launched a murder investigation and a short time after about enhancement, in a statement they said that sadly human remains had been discovered, going on to point out in the statement it is likely to
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take some time to formally identify the deceased. as you can imagine this will be a hugely anxious time for leah's friends and family, they are being updated on the investigation unsupported by officers from valley police. —— and supported by the officers from thames valley police. nhs blood and transplant has declared that blood supplies in england are critically low. it says there are just three days' worth of stocks overall — but it's even lower for certain blood types. hospitals are being asked to find ways to manage supplies. our health correspondent catherine burns is here. what are the main reasons people are giving for the shortages? ianthem what are the main reasons people are giving for the shortages?— giving for the shortages? when you hear about blood _ giving for the shortages? when you hear about blood showed _ giving for the shortages? when you hear about blood showed judges . giving for the shortages? when you | hear about blood showed judges you might think it is a lack of donors, thatis might think it is a lack of donors, that is not the issue. main problem is staff shortages —— when you hear about blood shortages. nhs blood and transport says more staff are leaving than normal and they are
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having problems recruiting behind them, this problem has been ongoing since the pandemic. today there has been a surge in people coming forward to offering to donate but many will struggle to get appointments because across england there are only a handful of cities with more than 50 appointment slots over this whole week, and the priority is making sure those slots go to existing donors with 0 negative all 0 positive blood, they only have about two days of flat where they like to had six days at a time. hospitals have been asked to limit blood use for the first time since the late 1990s. this will not affect emergency care or cancer care but we could see around 1% of operations cancelled, elected surgery like hip replacements, and this is not the news that the 6.8
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million people on waiting lists will want to hear. million people on waiting lists will want to hear-— the nigerian authorities say that more than 500 people are now known to have died in flooding that has ravaged the country in recent weeks. experts say the floods during this year's rainy season are the worst in over a decade. 1.5 million people have also been displaced. president putin has accused the west of causing the global energy crisis, suggesting that damage to the nord stream gas pipeline was the result of international terrorism. mr putin was speaking at a conference in moscow, where he claimed the americans wanted to replace russia as a supplier of energy to europe. president putin is under increasing pressure at home and abroad, and our russia editor steve rosenberg has been considering the dwindling options available to the russian leader. what will vladimir putin do next in ukraine? what is he thinking? his special military operation has not gone according to plan. but u—turns?
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that's not his style. this is... applause. at an event in moscow, classic putin. the kremlin leader painting russia as the victim and the authorities in kyiv as terrorists. keep in mind, though, that it was russia that invaded ukraine. constantin's newspaper has criticised russian officials for nuclear sabre rattling during the special operation. he says putin wants a new world order and don't expect deescalation any time soon. he is an authoritarian leader of a nuclear power. he is an unchallenged leader in this country and he has some strong beliefs and perceptions which drive him crazy
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and he has started to believe that this is existential. would vladimir putin really go nuclear in ukraine? he has dropped unsubtle hints. days before the russian invasion the president oversaw massive nuclear drills. he has since warned the west he's not bluffing about the nuclear option. in putin's mind, for him, defeat is unimaginable. if you'd run a country for 22 years like vladimir putin has, and if you had silenced all your critics and crushed the opposition, like putin has, you may well feel like putin appears to feel, that you will always end up a winner. to acknowledge that any other outcome is possible means facing up to an unpalatable fact that you are not invincible. and in a country with no checks or balances, and where the leaders don't feel accountable to the public, there are few constraints
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on kremlin decision—making. the problem is that the system which was created in this 30 years did not create the society. there is a lot of very nice people in russia. i think you have met them. but there is no civil society. that is why russians can't resist. for now, resistance to the kremlin is coming from ukraine and the west. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. a report into baby loss and maternity — set to be published tomorrow — says there is a lack of support for families from diverse backgrounds. the all—party parliamentary group on baby loss underlines the shortage of specially—trained staff to deal with the needs of women from different ethnic backgrounds. for many in the south asian community, the loss of a baby is often treated as a taboo subject. our correspondent
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shabnam mahmood reports. this was when we took him home. so this is the most recent photo of him before he passed. dylan was just 12 weeks old when he died from a heart condition. the death left his motherjazz devastated. this is his section, and we always make sure we have fresh flowers... for me i felt like a failure. i felt like i was responsible for countless people's grief, you know? and i think to a certain extent i still feel like that. although a lot of people say to me, you know, it wasn't your fault, you just don't know what the wider family think. we wrapped him in his baby blanket... although close family and friends were supportive, she says baby loss in the south asian community is rarely openly discussed. she sought help from the hospital's bereavement support, but after months of waiting, that help proved inadequate.
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i had to educate my bereavement counsellor on issues within our culture, and obviously that was a whole... a whole half—an—hour that probably didn't need to happen. when it is a baby, it is a different... they disappear. it's different. jas has nowjoined a support group for south asian women to openly discuss their experiences. its leader has also lost two babies. they need that acknowledgement from their families, they need to be able to put pictures out if they want to. they need to be able to say that baby's name. that is so important. and then they need to get support. jas recently gave birth to a baby boy called mylan. i'm a mother of two, i'm not a mother of one. just because you can only see one doesn't mean that there is one. and she has this advice for bereaved mums.
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talk about your experience, talk about what happened. don't be shy. don't be shy to talk, you know? people are there to listen, and that's the only way we are going to break down barriers. number nine is the day that dylan was born and 1a was the day mylan was born. shabnam mahmood, bbc news. the rugby union side wasps, a familiar presence in the game since 1867, have been suspended from the premiership. they say it is likely they will enter into administration in the coming days. it's another major blow for english domestic rugby, after worcester was placed into administration last month. in tonight's football, rangers were brutally defeated 7—1 by liverpool at ibrox stadium with mo saleh coming off the bench to score a hat trick within five minutes, the fastest in champion's league history. natalie pirks reports on all the evening's action. commentator: if rangers lose, they are out. - rangers' hopes may have hung
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by a thread but at an electric ibrox fans sensed an opportunity. after liverpool's worst premier league start in a decade, and grappling with a lengthy injury list, the reds resolved was about to be tested. commentator: good chance for rangers. i commentator: good chance for rangers. goalfor rangers! scott arfield with rangers' first champions league goal in 12 years. ibrox literally bouncing. but a glancing headerfrom a corner just seven minutes later took the wind from rangers' sails. firmino rising highest. liverpool back in the game. with mo salah on the bench, firmino was revelling in his role as main man. some think liverpool have lost their spark... ..but substitute salah was about to set fire to rangers' dreams with three goals inside six minutes. the fastest champions league hat—trick in history was rounded off with a seventh for harvey elliott on the night liverpool ran riot at rangers.
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over in london, tottenham conceded early to the europa league champions eintracht frankfurt with some sloppy defending. but son and kane pulled spurs into a 2—1 lead and then this thunderous volley from son was picture perfect. even a late frankfurt consolation goal and a missed kane penalty natalie pirks, bbc news. we have seen some beautiful autumn sunshine recently, this was the south coast in hampshire today. quite a lot of cloud around but glorious in the sunshine, 19 degrees for high, but you can see how parched are grounded. you need rain and you might get some over the next few hours. it will chiefly stay
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