and then there's the issue of whether northumbria police missed chances to intervene years earlier andthe police were aware of numerous contacts between victims and their abusers almost four years before 0peration sanctuary was launched. there was the 13—year—old child in care in northumberland who told the police that she been raped after being held against her will by an asian man in newcastle. no action was taken at the time. two teenage girls were found by the police in a car on a patch of wasteland in newcastle with older men. they were drinking and smoking cannabis. the officers simply returned the girls to their parents and took no further action. a known sex offender called abdul sabe was spotted with the same girls by a probation officer later in the year. the police were told and they went to his flat in walker. the girls were drunk. but again the police took no action other than taking the girls home, and sabe was back in touch with them soon afterwards. in 2012 bahmani ahmadi was accused of rape by a 14—year—old girl from a newcastle childrens‘ home. he was interviewed by t

northumbria police have stressed that the informant was not sent to gather direct evidence of abuse. 's police commissioner said she was uneasy about playing the rapist but old she was satisfied everything was done properly. visa complex cases and difficultjudgements have to be made. danieljohnson, bbc news —— these are. we're joined now by allison freeman, who is at northumbria police's headquarters this morning. the force facing difficult questions? it does and they have been overshadowed by the use of this informant, which you have heard has been defended robustly by the chief constable but the force is saying this has been very significant in a numberof this has been very significant in a number of ways, not least because it sends a message that these vile crimes by evil men were simply not tolerated. the force said the largest investigation it ever carried out, so out, so much so it has grown the kitchen sink at it resource wise since the first complaints were made at the end of 2013. they're saying they spoke to more than 700 potential complainants, arrested more than 450 people

but inside out can reveal how the investigation here came close to collapse after northumbria police cretly paid a man who raped a child thousands of pounds to infiltrate the grooming gang. for the first time, we tell the whole story. police — emergency? if you try anything — you tried it on with us. he tried to sleep with us. a police operator takes a 999 call. there's an argument going on. it's (bleep) rape. she's my girlfriend, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. go home, take a taxi, yeah. well, go on then. what's happening? she just wants to go. i'll go then. no. no, i need to know what is going on. there's clearly a disturbance there. what's going on? 0k, 0k, it doesn't matter, thank you. after the call, which lasted several minutes, the handler established she was speaking to this man. the police did investigate, but took no further action against minoyee, describing his victim as drunk and abusive. but six years later, this assault was played out in court as part of operation sanctuary, a police investigation finally lifting the lid on the actions of a grooming gang. it expo

do northumbria police believe thatis gangs. do northumbria police believe that is the case?day, we just heard from one of them, lord ken macdonald. he was the director of public prosecutions between 2003—2008. the clip we heard is him describing how crimes like these, sex abuse crimes, must be investigated for they are, which is profoundly racist crimes. i have another quote from him here which says that similar cases in the past may not have been investigated thoroughly enough. the second voice in this conversation is sarah champion, the labour mp for rotherham, another town blighted by these crimes. she is also the shadow minister for women these crimes. she is also the shadow ministerfor women and these crimes. she is also the shadow minister for women and equality is. she says there is a need to acknowledge that the majority of the perpetrators in these crimes are british pakistani and the government must carry out research to find out why this is the case. thank you very much. a quick bit of breaking news coming in. relatives of the 0magh bomb victims have announced tha

furthermore, in this case, the handling of xy by northumbria police was the subject of an independent independent police complaints commission. in which no misconduct was found nor any recommendations made whatsoever. need case of xy, it is clear that his relationships with others have rule out —— have allowed the police to prevent and detect some of the most serious crimes happening in our community ‘s, which would not have impossible to conventional methods. the sexual exploitation of vulnerable people is in my opinion the challenge of our generation. it isa the challenge of our generation. it is a huge task that we faced with. to date, 0peration sanctuary has been the most complex investigation in this forces history, and it has not stopped. there is a wider debate to be had as to how this is going to be tackled moving forward. firstly, for this challenge to be overcome, there needs to be a high likelihood that offenders will be caught and victims supported. sitting here today, i am confident that we are getting this right. we will never stop pursuing those responsible. we will thr

but inside out can reveal how the investigation here came close to collapse after northumbria police lice — emergency? if you try anything — you tried it on with us. he tried to sleep with us. a police operator takes a 999 call. there‘s an argument going on. it's (bleep) rape. she's my girlfriend, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. go home, take a taxi, yeah. well, go on then. what‘s happening? she just wants to go. i'll go then. no. no, i need to know what is going on. there‘s clearly a disturbance there. what‘s going on? 0k, 0k, it doesn't matter, thank you. after the call, which lasted several minutes, the handler established she was speaking to this man. the police did investigate, but took no further action against minoyee, describing his victim as drunk and abusive. but six years later, this assault was played out in court as part of operation sanctuary, a police investigation finally lifting the lid on the actions of a grooming gang.

northumbria police defend paying a convicted child rapist £10,000 to act as an informer.donald trump issues a fresh warning to north korea. he says america's nuclear arsenal is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before. and on newsnight, no—one can forget our mps expenses scandal. well, there are some details of eu commmission expenses out today. they say its all reasonable. we'll ask if they're right. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. 17 men and a woman have been convicted of being involved in the sexual exploitation of vulnerable young girls and women in newcastle. most of the men were from pakistani, indian or bangladeshi backgrounds. their youngest victim was just fourteen. the convictions are the result of operation sanctuary. 0ur correspondent, peter harris, has been following the case. guilty of causing girls and women serious harm. caught as part of operation sanctuary, one of the biggest sexual exploitation investigations in the north of england. almost 100 perpetrators have now been convicted. 0ne17—year—old was raped at a party session organised

northumbria police defend paying a convicted child rapist for information that led to the convictionf 18 people in a sex abuse ring. waiting lists hit a ten—year high in england — other key targets including urgent referral for cancer care have also been missed. also in the next hour — a stark warning on modern slavery and human trafficking. the national crime agency says the scale of the problem in the uk is far more prevalent than previously thought. it says every large town and city in the uk is now home to victims. police investigating an assault after a jogger appeared to push a woman into the path of an oncoming bus in putney have arrested a 41—year—old man on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. and from despair to delight — just two days after being barred from the heats of the world athletics championship 200 metres, isaac makwala gets a chance to run for gold in tonight's final. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. north korea has called donald trump bereft of reason, saying only absolute force can work on him as it gave more details about its threat to an american

its also emerged that northumbria police paid £10,000 to a convicted child rapist for information thatpose the child sex network. fiona trott reports. guilty of causing girls and women serious harm. caught as part of operation sanctuary, one of the biggest sexual exploitation investigations in the north of england. almost 100 perpetrators have now been convicted. 0ne17—year—old was raped at a party session organised by local men. it's a familiar story. i woke up in the morning. the wardrobe was pushed against the door. her police interview was played by the court. to protect her identity, we have asked actors to read what was said. he had had six with us while i was asleep. still now, i'm a bit confused about it. how did you feel when he told you he done that to you? dirty. confused. how many sessions would you say you have been to? about 60. it is in houses like these where the sessions took place. victims were given drink and drugs and could not defend themselves against sexual abuse. but in 2013, two of them came forward. one had been trafficked from a children's home. the other had

earlier the head of northumbria police spoke to jane hill on the bbc news at five.nd pounds — or whether he might have done it for free. that would be difficult for me to give a precise answer in terms of that informant. as a general sensible i would expect all hunters to explore that as an avenue and will be finding policing is people give us information for a range of motives. some financial, sometimes with organised criminals it is about revenge. upon arrival criminal. some of them give us information for moral reasons because they find it appalling and distressing that they are part or know of a pattern of offending and want to tell us about it for the right reasons. you would expect us to explore all those reasons with every single case. i could not tell you exactly if that was covered but i would expect there to have been covered with that informant, yes. and would you have been reassured and confident throughout what i know was a long investigation, that this person, a convicted rapist, was monitored and was not in a situation where for example could reoffend

the nspcc says it's appalled by the actions of northumbria police.ng children safe. good morning, it's thursday the 10th of august. also this morning: north korea says its plan to fire missiles towards an american military base in the pacific will be ready within days. here at the london stadium, it was a magical moment for makwala

northumbria police defend paying a convicted child rapist £10,000 to act as an informer.es a fresh warning to north korea. he says america's nuclear arsenal is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before. and on newsnight, no—one can forget our mps expenses scandal. well, there are some details of eu commmission expenses out today. they say its all reasonable. we'll ask if they're right.

northumbria police has strongly defended the payment. for the nspcc to adopt the stance they have. this is an ill—informed position they have taken. the fact is, we absolutely did not plant xy the informant in the midst of vulnerable girls, that did not happen. the force says this information to get convictions stopped other girls being abused. northumbria's police commissioner says she was uneasy about paying a rapist, but ultimately she's satisfied everything was done properly. these are complex cases, and difficultjudgments have to be made. dan johnson, bbc news. labour has accused the government top selling off valuable hospital assets to help plug a hole in nhs finances. the amount of health service land in england that has been earmarked for sale has more than doubled in the past year. analysis commissioned by labour found 117 sites deemed surplus were still in medical or clinical use. ministers said selling land would give vital funding for patient care and free up space for housing. some prisoners should be able to use video call

we can tell you all about the sexual exploitation that northumbria police have uncovered in the city.omen. the invited them to parties, they gave them drink and drugs, so many drugs that many of those victims couldn't defend themselves, or they became so addictive that they would do anything to get more. to give you an idea, let me explain the verdicts that have just been returned here today. a 20—year—old who was already a registered sex offender has been found guilty of conspiracy to traffic for sexual expectation and drugs offences. a court heard how he gave his house keys to a girl knowing she was 15 years old. a 34—year—old has been found guilty of rape, trafficking job. he saw a victim wandering the streets of newcastle and offered her a roof over her head. he said she could stay with him rent free so long as she didn't tell anybody and she came in through the back door. a 44—year—old has pleaded guilty to drugs offences and allowing his house to be used for those party sessions. another 40 —— he pleaded guilty to drugs offences and a 37—year—old was found guilty of drugs offenc

the force involved in the case, northumbria police, has been defending its decision to pay a convictedvestigation. our home affairs correspondent nick beake reports. the raids across newcastle smashed a grooming gang that was drugging and abusing young girls, one just 1a years old. the victims were mostly white, the attackers mainly british men from pakistani, indian and bangladeshi heritage. it's a story we've heard time and again, 0xford, rochdale, cardiff, to name a few. today, one former leading prosecutor condemned what he said had been a reluctance to investigate asian gangs who target vulnerable white girls, and that a big change was needed. i think some recognition that this is a problem in all communities and across communities, and recognising it for what it is, not pretending it's something else. recognising it for what it is, which is profoundly racist crime. it's thought more than 1,400 children in rotherham were groomed and abused by networks of predominantly asian men. the town's mp says a fear within the public sector of being branded racist has allowed this to happen.

those verdicts have finally been returned we can tell you all about the sexual exploitation northumbria policeovered in this city. between 2010 and 2014, men, predominantly indian, pakistani, anchor dishy origin, targeted vulnerable girls and women. —— bangladeshi origin. they invited them to sessions and gave them drink and drugs, so many drugs that some of the victims couldn't defend themselves or they became so addicted that they would do anything to get more mcat. let me explain some of the verdicts. a 20—year—old, a man who was already on the sex offenders register, was found guilty offenders register, was found guilty of conspiracy to traffic for sexual exploitation and drugs offences. the court heard how he gave a girl is flat keys knowing she was 15. i thought you'd be rolled —— a 35—year—old has been found guilty of rape, child offences and trafficking offences. he found one victim on the streets of newcastle and offered her shelter in his home. he said she could stay at his house rent free and only use the back door and not tell she was there. a 37—year—old has been found guilty of d

but inside out can reveal how the investigation here came close to collapse after northumbria police te the grooming gang. for the first time, we tell the whole story. police — emergency? if you try anything — you tried it on with us. he tried to sleep with us. a police operator takes a 999 call. there's an argument going on. it's (bleep) rape. she's my girlfriend, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. go home, take a taxi, yeah. well, go on then. what's happening? she just wants to go. i'll go then. no. no, i need to know what is going on. there's clearly a disturbance there. what's going on? 0k, 0k, it doesn't matter, thank you. after the call, which lasted several minutes, the handler established she was speaking to this man. the police did investigate, but took no further action against minoyee, describing his victim as drunk and abusive. but six years later, this assault was played out in court as part of operation sanctuary, a police investigation finally lifting the lid on the actions of a grooming gang. it exposed how, over many years, a group of asian men from the west end of

earlier, chief constable steve ashwin for northumbria police spoke to the bbc and he was asked, was itinformant had persisted for free? what we find in policing, people give us permission for a range of motives. some financial, sometimes quite often with organised criminals for example, it is about revenge. upon a rival criminal. some of them give us information for moral reasons. they find it appalling and distressing that they are part of all they know of a pattern of offending and they want to tell us about it for the right reasons. you would expect us to explore all those reasons with our information, i simply cannot tell you standing here now exactly whether that was increment. i would expect it to have been covered with that informant. you are watching outside source, live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story: the us defence secretaryjim agassiz told north korea to avoid actions that could usher in the destruction of its people. the latest in a war of words between the us and north korea. let's look at some of the stories making news around the bbc‘s other services. zimbabwe's a

controversially, northumbria police paid £10,000 to a convicted child rapist for information that helpedse this network of abuse. 0ur correspondent fiona trott has been following this case. guilty of causing girls and women serious harm, court as part of 0peration sanctuary, one of the biggest sexual exploitation investigations in the north of england. almost 100 perpetrators have already been convicted. 117—year—old was raped at a party session organised by local men. it isafamiliar session organised by local men. it is a familiar story. i woke up in the morning, the wardrobe was pushed up the morning, the wardrobe was pushed up against the door. her police interview was played to the court. to protect her identity we have asked actors to read what she said. he had had sex with us while i was asleep. i am still a bit confused about it. how did you feel when he told you he had done that to you? dirty, confused. how many sessions have you been to? about 60. it is in houses like these were the sessions took place. victims were given drink and drugs and were unable to defend themselves agai

now on bbc news — an inside out special investigation into 0peration sanctuary, the northumbria policeenagers, groomed and abused by a gang

the force involved in the case, northumbria police, has been defending its decision to pay a convictedile £10,000 for information during the course of that investigation. our home affairs correspondent nick beake reports. the raids across newcastle smashed a grooming gang that was drugging and abusing young girls, one just 1a years old. the victims were mostly white, the attackers mainly british men from pakistani, indian and bangladeshi heritage. it's a story we've heard time and again, oxford, rochdale, cardiff to name a few. today, one former leading prosecutor condemned what he said had been a reluctance to investigate asian gangs who target vulnerable white girls, and that a big change was needed. i think some recognition that this is a problem in all communities and across communities, and recognising it for what it is, not pretending it's something else, recognising it for what it is, which is profoundly racist crime. it's thought more than 1,400 children in rotherham were groomed and abused by networks of predominantly asian men. the town's mp says a fear within the public sect

northumbria police defend paying a convicted child rapist for information that led to the convictioneen missed. also in the next hour — a stark warning on modern slavery and human trafficking. the national crime agency says the scale of the problem in the uk is far more prevalent than previously thought. it says every large town and city in the uk is now home to victims. police investigating an assault after a jogger appeared to push

the nspcc said today it was appalling that northumbria police had used such an informant.went against all other child protection procedures. but steve ashman the chief constable was firmly saying that he would do it again. steve bannon the chief superintendent leading the investigation said this was about money versus preventing children from being raped. he said it was a no—brainer and something that they needed to do. he said they had to do it even though morally it was something they had to think about. but today the police are standing firm that this was an achievement on their part of that they achieve convictions and that they achieve convictions and that they would use an informant in such a way again in the future. with me now is our home affairs correspondent mark easton. it is horrific, distressing to read the details of this but regrettably there are elements of this that are familiar to us. i think so. the scandal follows the pattern of dozens actually of similar grooming gang cases that have been exposed in recent yea rs. gang cases that have been exposed in r

the force involved in the case, northumbria police, has been defending its decision to pay a convictedion during the course of that investigation. our home affairs correspondent nick beake reports. the raids across newcastle smashed a grooming gang that was drugging and abusing young girls, one just 1a years old. the victims were mostly white, the attackers mainly british men from pakistani, indian and bangladeshi heritage. it's a story we've heard time and again, 0xford, rochdale, cardiff to name a few. today, one former leading prosecutor condemned what he said had been a reluctance to investigate asian gangs who target vulnerable white girls, and that a big change was needed. i think some recognition that this is a problem in all communities and across communities, and recognising it for what it is, not pretending it's something else, recognising it for what it is, which is profoundly racist crime. it's thought more than 1,400 children in rotherham were groomed and abused by networks of predominantly asian men. the town's mp says a fear within the public sector of being branded raci

there seems to be only one police station in northumbria that you can walk into. se this is a worry headline, is that 0k, police stations are being cut, but our police response times good? if i call 999 the nonemergency number, will someone still come and help quickly as possible? if the response times are good, maybe people won't mind that there aren't as many police stations. the last story, prince harry sweeping megan off to botswana. a lot of papers are wondering whether he will propose. probably not! as i have learned from the mail on sunday, they have previous coverage of when prince harry took his former girlfriend chelsea to africa with the same headline. does the new statesman have a view on this? people going on holiday, but them. are you fascinated by megan and harry?|j can't fascinated by megan and harry?” can't say i am, to be honest? there has been so much bad news and whatever you think of royal weddings, they are big news to most people in the country, but actually a royal wedding to look forward to is perhaps what the country needs to look forward