Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Ten 20240713

The two men vying to be our next Prime Minister clashed for nearly an hour but was there a winner into nights debate . We are live in salford tonight. And well be getting reaction from some voters in southampton, asking if the debate changed their view of the campaign. Also tonight. A leaked report describes a toxic culture at a shrewsbury hospital that left babies stillborn, others brain damaged, and parents still searching for answers. We have been trying to find the truth behind kates death. This trust still is failing to learn from issues that are current to this day. In hong kong, the police siege of a university enters a third day, with dozens of activists trapped inside, needing food and water. And a magnificent display means wales are on their way to euro 2020. Ramsey scored twice against hungary in tonights match. And coming up on sportsday on bbc news, well have reaction to the news that Mauricio Pochettino has been sacked as Tottenham Hotspur manager after five and half years in charge. Good evening. With just over three weeks to election day, borisjohnson and Jeremy Corbyn have come face to face in a televised debate, with each man questioning the others suitability for number ten. Brexit, the future of the nhs, and personal integrity were the dominant themes. While mrjohnson repeatedly challenged mr corbyn to clarify his position on brexit, the labour leader said he would negotiate a new deal and present that to voters in a referendum. Mr corbyn accused mrjohnson of preparing to sell parts of the nhs to American Companies in order to secure a trade deal, something the Prime Minister denied. Live to salford and our Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg. Thank you. This truly is a momentous election so this debate, the first clash of its kind in this campaign, really matter tonight. For nearly 60 minutes, the two men who are vying for the chance to serve in number ten clashed with each other and the audience, both trying to use every moment to get their points across. 0ur report on this vital debate contains some flash photography. Tories out a clash of welcomes before it even began, the Prime Minister within in the back away from a small band of protest. The labour leader, greeted instead by a selection of his bands. What awaited them inside . I thank you from the bottom of my heart to everything you are doing. Tonight, the conservative Prime Minister borisjohnson and the leader of the labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, debate. First, their chance atan corbyn, debate. First, their chance at an opening pitch. This election gives you a real choice about your future, the future of your community, and of our country. Labour is offering real change and real hope. People want to get brexit done and to unleash the potential of this entire country, and we conservatives can, because if you vote for us, we have a deal that is ready to go. Both of you have promised that brexit will be resolved in the next three months but are you really telling us the truth . Can you reassure me that we will not be talking about this forever . I think it is time that we actually recognise we have to maintainafirm actually recognise we have to maintain a firm and good trading relationship with europe, otherwise morejobs will be relationship with europe, otherwise more jobs will be lost all over the country as they have already been lost because of the uncertainty. We have a deal that as i say is oven ready, ready to go. It is approved, asi ready, ready to go. It is approved, as i say, notjust by our friends and partners in the eu but by every one of the 635 conservative candidates and it delivers everything we wanted from brexit. Remember the Prime Minister wants to leave in january with remember the Prime Minister wants to leave injanuary with his deal, and Jeremy Corbyn is offering you another referendum on leaving with a different deal or remain. Are you going to campaign to leave or remain . I want to bring people together, therefore there will be a referendum in which that decision will be made by the british people and our government will abide by that decision. When you say you will get it done, really, mrjohnson, you are going to embark on probably seven are going to embark on probably seve n years are going to embark on probably seven years of negotiations with the United States on a trade deal. A document here. The labour leader repeated his claim that the conservatives would make the nhs pa rt conservatives would make the nhs part of a future trade deal with the us. Full Market Access for us products to our National Health service. You are going to sell our National Health service out to the United States and big pharma. Our nhs will never be for sale. The only reason that it comes up is because mr corbyn is trying to conceal the void at the heart of his brexit policy and refusing to answer the question. Be aware, this election could be a majorjunction for the uk. The tories rule out another referendum on Scottish Independence and labour . Of course, Jeremy Corbyn and labour . Of course, Jeremy Corbyn and the labour party are going to do and the labour party are going to do a deal and they probably already have done with Nicola Sturgeon and the snp, to form a corbyn and sturgeon coalition and the price of that deal, the price of Nicola Sturgeons support, lets be no doubt, shes made it absolutely clear, would be a second referendum on the union. I thinki ought clear, would be a second referendum on the union. I think i ought to clear, would be a second referendum on the union. I thinki ought to be able to reply to this nonsense. Will you be able to reply . It is nonsense, the idea of a deal between labour and the nonsense, the idea of a deal between labourand the snp, nonsense, the idea of a deal between labour and the snp, there is not going to be a coalition between labour and anybody else, no deals have been done and no deals will be done. Julie, i listen very carefully asi done. Julie, i listen very carefully as i always do to mr corbyn. I did not hear him say he was going to rule out a referendum in scotland. Did you . We are ruling out a referendum. The audience, maybe you, wa nted referendum. The audience, maybe you, wanted to know, who to trust. At the heart of all of this is one very simple question, how can we trust you . Applause does the truth matter in this election . I think it does and i think it is very important. It is very important to hear from. I have been very clear about the deal i have done. Mr corbyn, there are Big Questions about anti semitism within labour, for example. Can you both take some responsibility for the way the debate has turned in this country . Antisemitism is an absolute evil and scourge within our society. Racism in any form is a scourge. Society. Racism in any form is a scourge. They were asked and did shake on raising the tone but didnt agree on the privatisation of health. How will you ensure that the health. How will you ensure that the Health Service can meet future demands . Would that involve any privatisation . Lets enter privatisation . Lets enter privatisation within the nhs and instead have a fully funded nhs for all people enter the privatisation. Lets hear mrjohnson on that. We are investing tax. On the specific charger privatisation. Of course we are not privatising the nhs nor the nhs ever be up for sale ina nhs nor the nhs ever be up for sale in a negotiation. Let me repeat that point and let me just lay to rest. What could be more ruinous for the nhs thana what could be more ruinous for the nhs than a crackpot plan for a four des week . It is about reducing the working week all across the economy, paid for by increases all across britain. Then come in the immediate aftermath of that interview, they we re aftermath of that interview, they were asked to step of the monarchy. Sue from leeds says, is the monarchy fit for purpose . Jeremy corbyn. Needs a bit of improvement. Mrjohnson. The institution of the monarchy is beyond reproach. Prince Andrew fit for purpose . Before we discuss Prince Andrew, i think we should discuss the victims that are there because of what Jeffrey Epstein was doing. |j that are there because of what Jeffrey Epstein was doing. I think all our sympathies should obviously be with the victims ofJeffrey Epstein and the law must certainly ta ke epstein and the law must certainly take its course. The first you will ove ico m e take its course. The first you will overcome weeks still to go in this campaign, but initial impressions of the two rivals for number ten may well last. Tonight, of course, was a headline battle between the two candidates for Prime Minister but of course, there are plenty of other parties in this general election and both the lib dems and the snp leader has of course been having their say. Ijust think what we had was a kind of bluster and diversion from both of them, frankly, that needed to be challenged, and whether that was on them each trying to excuse their record on anti semitism or, you know, in the case of borisjohnson, trying to divert the question of racism onto brexit, which i thought was very strange, they have just proved tonight that they are not up to the job. Whatever future scotland wants should be decided here in scotland by the people of scotland. Its not for Boris Johnson orJeremy Corbyn to dictate. And thats the issue at this election are we going to allow the westminster politicians and the failed system to allow what kind of country would become or are we going to take that decision into our own hands . Nicola sturgeon, the first minister of scotland, there. Do you think there was a clear winner or loser into nights debate and did it have any impact in tonights debate and did it have any impact on the way the campaign is going . Ultimately that will be for the viewers and the rest of the country to decide in a weaks time but in terms of the specifics of tonights debate, i dont think there was really a clear winner of the platform. Clearly, the context of the campaign, where we are at at the moment and it is still early is labour are broadly behind and the conservatives are ahead although the polls vary and we should not pay too much attention to them, but that is the context. As such, Jeremy Corbyn came here tonight as the underdog who really had to try to make a big breakthrough to change the dynamic of the campaign. Im not sure that he managed to do that. And in reverse , he managed to do that. And in reverse, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson came here tonight hoping above all else not to make a big, big mistake. He also did not really do that, either. That means perhaps tonight come in and of itself, it is not a game changer, and therefore, this 60 minutes of attacks and clashes and jokes at each others expense wont have changed very much of the fundamentals of this election. What was, though, very striking to me is that repeatedly, the audience showed they were willing and ready to laugh at both of the candidates, a taste perhaps that for many people around the country, this election is maybe not a choice that they are looking at very enthusiastically, and for some of them, it might not be a popularity contest but one of finding the least worst option. Laura, many thanks again, Laura Kuenssberg in salford. More on the election a bit later but some of the days other news now. A leaked official report into multiple failings at shrewsbury and Telford Hospital nhs trust has revealed that babies and mothers died because of a toxic culture, stretching back four decades. The trust has apologised and said a lot had been done to address concerns. An investigation was ordered by ministers in 2017, but as our Health Correspondent Dominic Hughes reports, many of the failings have yet to be addressed. I can remember saying to the lady, whos got a little pink badge. Im sorry, i get upset. Shes dead, leave her. And then he said that there was no heartbeat. That midwife come in crying, saying, oh, im so sorry, im so sorry too late. These are the bereaved, left devastated by failures of care at the Shrewsbury Telford trust. Dozens of avoidable deaths, babies and mothers left with lifelong injuries. A leaked interim report lays bare a failure to learn from mistakes stretching back a0 years. In april 2017, bbc news reported a cluster of baby deaths at the trust. Injuly of that year, the government ordered an investigation. Donna 0ckenden, leading the inquiry, submitted an update report in february this year, which was leaked. Now its understood her Ongoing Investigation is reviewing 620 cases. The report details a shocking catalogue of deaths and injuries to mothers and babies, but also a simple lack of kindness. The trust made mistakes with babies names, in one case referring to a deceased child as it. For years, parents seeking answers were met with a wall of silence and obstruction. Just hours after she was born in 2009, baby Kate Stanton Davies died. In the decade since, her parents richard and rhiannon have led the fight to expose these failures of care. A wilful neglect to learn. They are failing, they are already in special measures, and me and rhiannon had to battle them every step of the way for the past ten years to get to where we are today, for this leaked report to come out. Eight years ago, i first reported on failures at the Maternity Unit at the Morecambe Bay trust, which also led to the avoidable deaths of mothers and babies. And many of the themes from there are applicable for here. A toxic culture, poor clinical practice, a lack of openness and honesty. And much of that comes down to bad leadership, at board level, leadership, at ward level, in individual departments and at the very top of the trust. In a statement, the trust apologised to families and said it would like to reassure them that efforts to improve Maternity Services were continuing without a wait for the official final report. The work of the inquiry team is still under way but what will concern many is that, as of february this year, the verdict was the trust had still not learnt the painful lessons of so much failure. I held her, said goodbye. And went home empty handed. I dont want another dad to have to put the lid on his daughters coffin. Theyre not just taking peoples babies away. They are taking away christmases, birthdays, everything. Some of the mothers, there, in Dominic Hughes report talking about the maternity scandal in shropshire. The siege by police at a university in hong kong is now in its third day, leaving the last of the protestors still inside, facing an increasingly desperate situation, with supplies of water and food running out. At the height of the occupation, there were hundreds of pro democracy actvists inside, but now their number has fallen to the dozens. 0ur correspondent Rupert Wingfield hayes reports from the campus. They came out looking more like prisoners of war, hands on each others shoulders, forlorn, humiliated and exhausted. Family members looked on anxiously, hoping to catch a glimpse of a missing child. Did anyone come out from the polyu . This man saw his brother, a man he says was only in the hong kong polytechnic to help negotiate, but he too is now in a police cell. How does that make you feel . Angry. Very and. We wanted justice to come out in hong kong. It is one country, two systems. It is not china. It is the rule of law in hong kong. But now it is being like china. Tonight, we managed to get inside the university and this is the sight that greeted us. The detritus of sundays battle, and the ammunition ready for a battle yet to come. What is this . Petrol ether. And another one. Ethyl acetate. This has all come from the universitys chemistry labs, it looks like. It has been used to make. What has clearly been look at this, this is a bottle with a gas canister attached to it. Im not sure whether it would have actually worked. But the students here, the protesters here were preparing, you can see, for another full scale battle with the police. Tonight, maybe 50 protesters are Still Holding out here. They are portrayed in the media as the hardest of the hardcore. But this young man seemed more scared and lonely. He told me even his family has now turned against him. They blame the protesters and say they deserve this, he tells me. They even say it is right for the police to shoot at protesters. When i hear this, it is very tough, i feel very sad. It is clear none of the remaining protesters wants to stay. The steady trickle of surrenders has continued all evening. Many are too exhausted to go on. Then suddenly, as we watch, a group of about ten tried to make a run for it. Within seconds, the police were on them from all directions. They never really stood a chance. It appears this or surrender are now the only choices facing the few who remain inside. Rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, hong kong. Prosecutors in sweden have dropped an investigation into a Rape Allegation made against the wikileaks co founder Julian Assange back in 2010. Mr assange, who denies the accusation, avoided extradition to sweden for seven years after seeking refuge at the embassy of ecuador in london. He was evicted in april and sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for breaching his bail conditions, as our correspondent Caroline Hawley reports. AfterJulian Assange was hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in april, swedish prosecutors have been busy, working on the case against him. Over the summer, they interviewed seven witnesses. But today, they announced that memories had faded with time, and although the woman who made the Rape Allegation was credible, they didnt have proof. Translation my assessment is that all investigative measures that can be taken, have been taken. I have concluded the evidence is not Strong Enough to file an indictment. The investigation into Julian Assange first began back in 2010, when two swedish women accused him of sexual assault. He was arrested and fought a legal battle against extradition. When he lost that in 2012, he sought asylum at the embassy of ecuador in london. In may this year, the rape investigation, which had been dropped, was reopened. The following month, the then home secretary signed an extradition request from the us, where 18 criminal charges have been unveiled againstJulian Assange, over the mass leak of american secrets. With Julian Assanges legal troubles in sweden now over, there will be no swedish extradition request to compete with the one from the us. Hearings over that begin here at Westminster Magistrates Court in february. From behind bars in belmarshjail, Julian Assange is now preparing his case against extradition. 0ne long legal chapter in sweden has finished. Another chapter will soon begin. Caroline hawley, bbc news. Standard chartered bank will not be renewing its sponsorship of Prince Andrews charity, pitch palace. The bank said it had made the decision for commercial reasons. The duke of york is facing criticism following the bbc newsnight interview about his links with the convicted sex offenderJeffrey Epstein. The green party has published its election manifesto, outlining ambitious plans to make the uk Carbon Neutral by 2030. The party says it would invest £100 billion a year as part of a Green New Deal. Its pledged to push through ten new bills in two years, covering Climate Change, a fair economy and a peoples vote on brexit, as our correspondent Jessica Parker reports. Unfortunately, in the wild, they are officially classed as vulnerable. Not begging for scraps. At a Wildlife Centre today, the green party announced big plans, that mean big spending. They say on Climate Change, the country cant afford not to act. This is the last election where we can take the first step down the right path, and that is what we must do. Vote green. If not now, when . £100 billion a year on climate action, far more than other parties, most of it through borrowing. They say itll create millions ofjobs, too, for a net zero Carbon Economy by 2030, the kind of target the committee on Climate Change had suggested wasnt credible. And were entirely honest. It is the most ambitious Green New Deal anywhere in the world. Accept no limitations. The settings green and so is the message, but other, bigger parties are straining to be seen as serious on Environmental Issues as well. The greens say theyll go further and faster, but theyll face questions as to whether their plans are realistic. As part of their agenda, they also want to phase in a universal basic income, starting at £89 per week for every adult, scrap tuition fees, and hold a further brexit referendum, improve the insulation of over a million homes a year, and. You want to put additional taxes on meat, dairy, plastics, flying. How do you think thats going to go down with the public . Well, what we want is a carbon tax, and well use the proceeds of that carbon tax to give the money back to people, in the form of a basic income. So, actually, theyre getting the support that they need to navigate through the zero carbon economies. The greens had just one mp in the last parliament, but theyre looking for more. Jessica parker, bbc news. Ever since the Eu Referendum and the election of donald trump in america, there have been fears that social media platforms can be used by foreign powers to manipulate opinion and influence the result. Just over three weeks away from the general election, one of facebooks most Senior Executives has been speaking to the bbc. Steve hatch has told our media editor amol rajan that the company is consta ntly vigila nt. So far in this election campaign, has there been any foreign interference on facebook . To date, we have not seen any. And on instagram . And similarly. And whatsapp . Similarly. What i can say is this is an area where we always have to be co nsta ntly, co nsta ntly vig ila nt. To date, no, but theres certainly no complacency by us as an organisation. Twitter has banned political ads, but you havent. Why . In this country we have made the decision that advertising is part of the political process and is part of the election process. To ban political advertising actually has an inherent bias in it. It helps entrench the positions of the incumbents at the cost of those that are less represented. Isnt it ultimately absolutely absurd that whether or not people see millions of true or false claims online, its something you as a private company decide on and adjudicate on, rather than regulators and lawmakers in this country . For many years now, we think there is a clear role for reform and regulation in the political advertising space. In the uk, for every pound you make, your pre tax profit margin isjust 8. 5 . Thats artificially diminished, isnt it, in order to avoid paying more tax . No, it isnt. Its based on the rules under which we operate, and every company thats like ours. So why was facebook so much less profitable in the uk than elsewhere . Based on where the value is created, which is the rules of taxation as they are set at the moment. So where are the things being built and made and generated . So if thats the case, and Jeremy Corbyn were elected Prime Minister a few weeks from now, if he brought in this so called tech tax, you would pay it . You wouldnt lobby against it . And you wouldnt shift your operations elsewhere . Now, well work with whatever government has the privilege to be elected by the people of this country. So you will pay this tech tax, you wont lobby against it and you wont move your operations elsewhere . We will work with every government that comes in. We always want to be a net additive to the uk. Weve been that for more than ten years and we certainly envisage ourfuture in the uk being more than ten years hence. Facebooks steve hatch speaking to our media editor amol rajan. Some football news, and Tottenham Hotspur have sacked their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, after five years in charge. Pochettino led the club to the Champions League final last season and took them to fourth in the league. But spurs have made a disappointing start to the current campaign, with the london side now 14th in the premier league table. Its been a great night for Welsh Football fans. Theyve been celebrating wales place in euro 2020, after the National Team beat hungary 2 0 in cardiff. Aaron ramsey scored twice to secure second place in the group and automatic qualification, as andy swiss reports. High decibels and even higher hopes. Wales knew victory over hungary and a place in euro 2020 was theirs, so could they rise to the occasion . Well, how was this for an answer . Gareth bales cross, Aaron Ramseys header, and wales were ahead. Cue, from the stands to the dugout, a wave of relief. Not for long, though, as hungary were soon posing problems and only Wayne Hennesseys heroics kept the hosts ahead at the break. Butjust as welsh nerves were starting to jangle. Aaron ramsey, onside ramsey again, and just look what it meant. Wales in wonderland and the celebrations had started. And come the final whistle, the party could really begin. Wales through to their Second European championships in a row. For manager, ryan giggs, Mission Accomplished on a memorable night. Scotland and Northern Ireland, meanwhile, will have to go through the play offs to qualify. Scotland beat kazakhstan 3 1 tonight and Northern Ireland lost 6 1 to germany. But for the wales fans here, there are no such worries. Their place at euro 2020 is gloriously guaranteed. Andy swiss, bbc news, cardiff. More on the election debate, and millions of voters will have watched tonights leaders debate, but how many will have changed their minds about their voting intentions on december 12th . My colleague clive myrie is in the marginal seat of southampton itchen, where hes been watching the debate with a number of voters from the city and neighbouring constituencies. Huw, just 31 votes won this seat in the 2017 election for the conservatives over labour. So tonights debate was crucial viewing for many in the constituency. The final verdict of our viewers here, not so good. At the Itchen Imperial Rowing Club in southampton, they are limbering up in southampton, they are limbering upfor in southampton, they are limbering up for the big show. The shirts are off in here, but with the gloves be off in here, but with the gloves be off in here, but with the gloves be off in the clash of the political titans . The rose vacate the floor for ourgroup of titans . The rose vacate the floor for our group of viewers, conservative, labour, liberal democrat, and undecided. What would they make ofjohnson against corbyn . The failure of leadership is even worse when you look at what is happening on their brexit policy. Brexit dominated the first half of the debate, along with the nhs. There are so many individual issues that were not covered, students, housing, education. Yes, the nhs is a big thing but there is so much thatis a big thing but there is so much that is a problem within it, and they are still not discussing it and finding a way to actually resolve any of these issues. Theyjust finding a way to actually resolve any of these issues. They just want to get brexit done first because we are still tripping over that. We are tripping over that and we need to get brexit done so we can concentrate on all the other issues. But what about our first time voter, rachel, who is undecided. Did she hear anything that might help her at the ballot box . Thing so students werent mentioned. Its not aimed at us again, werent mentioned. Its not aimed at us again, it feels like they are not targeting young people, which i think at the moment is such a key vote. Laughter at times, and irritation overcame the group at what they saw as point scoring from the two leaders. 0ne what they saw as point scoring from the two leaders. One of the final questions in the debate was on leadership, and our oldest photo, martin, leaning towards the liberal democrats, was singularly unimpressed. People are wising up. They are much more well informed. But i think the nub of