BBC crisis: Lord McAlpine 'anger' over abuse claim

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15 November 2012 Last updated at 01:00 ET

BBC crisis: Lord McAlpine 'anger' over abuse claim

Lord McAlpine Lord McAlpine said he would have told Newsnight that the allegations were "complete rubbish"

A former senior Tory has told of his anger after a BBC Newsnight report led to him being wrongly implicated in child abuse allegations.

Lord McAlpine told BBC Radio 4's The World at One he should have been contacted beforehand.

He said about being wrongly under suspicion: "You just think there's something wrong with the world."

Some of those involved in deciding to run the report on care homes in north Wales face disciplinary measures.

'Extremely bad'

Lord McAlpine told The World at One: "Of course they [the BBC] should have called me and I would have told them exactly what they learnt later on."

He continued: "That it was complete rubbish and that I'd only ever been to Wrexham once in my life. They could have saved themselves a lot of agonising and money, actually, if they'd just made that telephone call."

The peer was asked about London Mayor Boris Johnson's comment that to call someone a paedophile was to "consign them to the lowest circle of hell - and while they're still alive".

He replied: "Absolutely. I think it describes pretty much what happened to me in the first few days of this event.

"It gets into your bones. It gets into, it makes you angry. And that's extremely bad for you to be angry. And it gets into your soul and you just think there's something wrong with the world."

Lord McAlpine's solicitor Andrew Reid said he was hopeful an agreement would be reached with the BBC on Thursday - but that his client was aware that any payment would ultimately come from licence fee payers.

Acting director general Tim Davie took charge of the BBC following the resignation of George Entwistle in the wake of the Newsnight broadcast.

Mr Davie has vowed to "get a grip of the situation".

An inquiry into the Newsnight broadcast - conducted by Ken MacQuarrie, director of BBC Scotland - has identified "unacceptable" failings and said basic journalistic checks were not completed.

A summary of the findings has been released by the corporation, which said the full report would be issued after the completion of disciplinary proceedings.

It added that "there was a different understanding by the key parties about where the responsibility lay for the final editorial sign off for the story on the day".

The head of BBC Northern Ireland, Peter Johnston, said he had a role in the decision-making of the Newsnight report but was not considering his position.

A BBC spokesman confirmed Mr Johnston's involvement "in decisions about the BBC Newsnight report".

Three Conservative MPs called for funding to be withdrawn from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) which was involved in the Newsnight investigation into the historical north Wales child abuse allegations.

Chain of command

Mr Entwistle resigned after eight weeks as BBC director general, following the Newsnight report.

The BBC's director of news, Helen Boaden, and her deputy, Steve Mitchell, have been asked to "step aside" pending an internal review into the way abuse claims about Jimmy Savile were handled.

The corporation said it found that neither Ms Boaden nor her deputy Mr Mitchell "had anything at all to do with the failed Newsnight investigation into Lord McAlpine".

But they were in the chain of command at the time Newsnight dropped an earlier investigation into abuse claims against former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile.

They have removed themselves from making decisions on some areas of BBC News output while a separate inquiry, chaired by former head of Sky News Nick Pollard, is held into that decision.

The BBC said once the Pollard Review reported, Ms Boaden and Mr Mitchell "expect to then return to their positions".


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Obama to address looming fiscal cliff

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9 November 2012 Last updated at 11:00 ET

Obama to address looming fiscal cliff

US President Barack Obama campaigns in Denver, Colorado, on 4 October 2012

Re-elected President Barack Obama will make a statement on the economy later, setting the stage for a political showdown over a looming budget crisis.

He is expected to discuss the so-called fiscal cliff, a package of tax rises and spending cuts due early next year unless Congress acts.

Budget analysts warn the US will tip into recession unless a deal is struck.

Mr Obama has repeatedly called for the wealthy to pay more taxes, but such a plan is anathema to Republicans.

The fiscal cliff would see Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of 2012, combined with automatic, across-the-board reductions to military and domestic spending.

Ticking timebomb

The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly warned that failure by US lawmakers to reach a deal would deepen uncertainty over the global economy.

Investor concerns over the issue have been partly blamed for two straight days of losses on financial markets.

John Boehner, leader of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, told ABC News on Thursday: "Raising tax rates is unacceptable.

"Frankly, it couldn't even pass the House. I'm not sure it could pass the Senate."

Mr Boehner reiterated his opposiiton to tax rises in a news conference on Friday morning.

He spoke shortly before Mr Obama was due to deliver his statement from the East Room of the White House at 13:05 (18:05 GMT).

The president's statement could set the tone for his second-term working relationship with Republicans, whom he has battled repeatedly over the last four years.

One Obama official said the president's oft-stated call for tax rises on the wealthy has been vindicated by his resounding victory over Republican challenger Mitt Romney in Tuesday's election.

"One of the messages that was sent by the American people throughout this campaign is ... [they] clearly chose the president's view of making sure that the wealthiest Americans are asked to do a little bit more in the context of reducing our deficit in a balanced way," senior White House adviser David Plouffe was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

Obama cabinet shake-up

Mr Obama's position has been that taxes should rise on earnings above $250,000 (£157,000).

President Barack Obama is reduced to tears as he thanks his campaign staff

Mr Boehner says his party is willing to countenance cutting loopholes and special exemptions, but only in exchange for an overhaul of the tax code.

Republican lawmakers also want cuts to federal healthcare programmes such as Medicare, Medicaid and food-stamp assistance for the poor.

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report published on Thursday warned that the US economy would fall back into recession if no deal were struck on the fiscal cliff.

The analysis projected that the package of tax rises and spending cuts would cut the ballooning US deficit by $503bn through to next September, but also shrink the economy by 0.5% and cost millions of jobs.

Meanwhile, as Mr Obama turns his attention to shaping a second term in office his administration is expected to undergo a shake-up in the coming weeks.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are among those expected to leave their posts.

Speculation has been swirling in Washington over possible replacements, with Democratic Senator John Kerry among those tipped as a substitute for Mrs Clinton.

Meanwhile, Republicans are trying to find out what went wrong their presidential election campaign.

The party's officials said they would poll voters extensively in battleground states, as well as holding focus groups and discussions with supporters.

The review would not attempt to alter the party's ideological base, Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer told the Washington Post.

"This is no different than a patient going to see a doctor," Mr Spicer said.


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Storm Sandy: Cuomo and Bloomberg warn on NY housing

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4 November 2012 Last updated at 19:26 ET

Storm Sandy: Cuomo and Bloomberg warn on NY housing

Girl watches over donated bag of clothing, Rockaways, Queens, New York (4 November) Many of those displaced by the storm face an uncertain future

Tens of thousands of people displaced by storm Sandy could soon need housing as cold weather closes in, New York's political leaders have warned.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg put the figure at 30,000-40,000 people.

Federal agencies are looking for flats and hotel rooms in order to get people out of shelters, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has said.

At least 106 US deaths - 40 of them in New York City - have been blamed on Sandy, which struck on 29 October.

The storm had already caused 69 deaths in the Caribbean before reaching the US. On Sunday the Haitian government made an appeal for humanitarian assistance from other governments and international organisations.

Aid agencies in Haiti have voiced concerns about the damage caused by Sandy, which has destroyed crops and left thousands of people homeless. There are also fears about the spread of cholera in flooded areas.

Appeal to leave

The governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo, said homes without heat would become uninhabitable as temperatures fell.

Residents who had so far refused to leave their homes would have no other option, Mr Cuomo told a news conference on Sunday.

He also said there would be increasing pressure on public transport on Monday, as more people returned to work and the schools re-opened.

Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York state: "People are in homes that are uninhabitable"

Fuel shortages were easing, but Mr Cuomo urged New Yorkers not to hoard petrol, saying more supplies were on their way.

New York City opened warming shelters in areas without power and handed out blankets to residents who insisted on staying in homes without power.

But Mr Bloomberg urged those without heating to leave their homes if necessary.

"You can die from being cold. You can die from fires started when you use candles or stoves to heat your apartment," he said.

"If you don't know where to go, stop a cop on the street and say, please tell me where to go. They'll help you. But we have to make sure that you are safe for a few days and that you have food and water for a few days."

Temperatures fell to 39F (4C) on Sunday and are forecast to go as low as 30F (-1C) on Monday.

Impromptu runs

About 730,000 people in New York state still do not have electricity, including more than 130,000 in New York City, the governor said.

Nearly a million people in the neighbouring state of New Jersey remain without power, and petrol is being rationed.

Hundreds of runners who had been planning to take part in the New York marathon - cancelled by Mayor Bloomberg on Friday - joined impromptu runs to raise funds or deliver aid.

The storm damage from Sandy is also affecting preparations for voting in Tuesday's elections.

New Jersey residents displaced by Sandy will be able to vote by email or fax, the state's chief election official has decided.

They will be designated as "overseas voters" and can apply for mail-in ballots up until 17:00 on election day.

Mr Bloomberg said New York officials would do "anything we can" to help the board of elections, saying "they have real problems".

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US economy adds 171,000 new jobs

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2 November 2012 Last updated at 08:51 ET

US economy adds 171,000 new jobs

Sign advertising jobs in a cafe in New York October's jobs report is particularly important ahead of Tuesday's presidential election

The US economy added 171,000 new jobs in October, which was much more than had been expected.

But the official figures from the Labor Department showed that the unemployment rate still rose to 7.9%, having fallen to 7.8% in September, as more workers resumed the search for jobs.

Only people who are currently looking for a job count as unemployed.

Unemployment is one of the key issues ahead of Tuesday's presidential election.

The figures were the last major set of economic data scheduled before the election and the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, has made the state of the jobs market one of the central planks of his campaign.

The number of jobs created in the previous two months was revised upwards, with an extra 34,000 jobs added in September and 50,000 added in August.

Despite the new jobs, Barack Obama will still go to the polls with the highest rate of unemployment of any president seeking re-election since Franklin D Roosevelt.

The Labor Department said in its release that Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast of the US on 29 October, had had "no discernable effect" on the employment data.

The number of involuntary part-time workers, who would prefer to be working full-time, fell 269,000 to 8.3 million, having risen by 582,000 in September.

Kathy Jones from Charles Schwab said they were good numbers, but warned that: "We're way short of where we need to be to bring down the unemployment rate to where the Federal Reserve would like to see, closer to 6% than 8%."

"We would need to see twice as many jobs as we're seeing, but the direction has improved."


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Sandy death toll hits 80 and keeps rising

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1 November 2012 Last updated at 13:47 ET

Sandy death toll hits 80 and keeps rising

Homes sit in ruin next to the Atlantic Ocean after being destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, on 31 October 2012 New Jersey's Atlantic Ocean was shattered by the storm

The death toll from Sandy keeps rising as swathes of the US East Coast battle to recover, three days after being smashed by the massive storm.

More than 80 people are now known to have died, 37 in New York City alone, and others remain missing.

About 4.6 million people are still without power, and there are fuel shortages across the region.

The National Guard is to deliver a million meals and bottled water to New Yorkers affected by the storm.

The number of dead in the US has exceeded the toll from the Caribbean, where 69 people were killed by Sandy.

The storm could cost the US $50bn (£31bn), according to forecasting firm Eqecat, doubling the previous estimate.

In New York, limited subway services returned on Thursday, though four of the seven train tunnels under the East river remained flooded.

Fares on commuter trains, subways and buses have been temporarily waived in a bid to entice commuters off the traffic-choked roads.

Many of the petrol stations in the city and the state of New Jersey remained closed, and fights broke out amid long queues on forecourts.

Marcia Sikowitz: "I had three sons, now I have two"

The city authorities are only permitting vehicles with three passengers or more to cross into Manhattan.

Amtrak plans to restart its East Coast service - the busiest train line in the US - on Friday.

In lower Manhattan, where Sandy brought a record 14ft (4.2m) tidal surge, subway services are still closed and hundreds of thousands of homes without power.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday ordered the National Guard to help deliver some 30 tractor trailers of supplies to one million residents.

He has told relief workers to prioritise the elderly and poor, especially those living in high-rise blocks.

The death toll rose overnight as the extent of destruction became clearer in the south-western New York City borough of Staten Island, where at least 15 bodies have been recovered.

The storm, one of the biggest to hit the US in decades, swamped the low-lying district with tidal surges, lifting whole houses off their foundations.

Many residents in that community ignored official evacuation warnings and stayed behind to guard their homes.

Two boys, aged two and four, are missing after they were torn from their mother's arms by floodwaters, as they emerged from their vehicle.

Police searching the area found a body on Thursday morning, the New York Post reports.

An 89-year-old woman died after spending 12 hours in her deluged Staten Island home, reports the New York Daily News.

Her 65-year-old daughter was unable to save her. Helpless neighbours heard their screams for help but could not reach them.

Also on Staten Island, John Filipowicz, 51, and his 20-year-old son John were found dead under debris in the basement of their home.

Breezy Point, in New York City, where fire razed 111 homes, was described by one onlooker as resembling a war zone.

Emergency crews are working to reach the most badly hit areas.

In Hoboken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City, some 20,000 people were still trapped in their homes amid sewage-tainted floodwaters.

The National Guard is helping with evacuations and meal distributions.

One frustrated householder reportedly inflated an air mattress and floated to Hoboken city hall to find out why supplies had not yet arrived.

Jersey City has issued an overnight curfew as well as a driving ban.

On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama took an aerial tour to inspect the damage to New Jersey's shattered Atlantic coastline.

He put campaigning for next week's US election on hold for three days to manage the disaster response.

The cyclone also caused havoc further inland.

The state of West Virginia has seen up to 5ft of snow in some areas, after Sandy collided with two winter weather fronts.


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Jimmy Savile estate frozen after abuse claims

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31 October 2012 Last updated at 20:23 ET

Jimmy Savile estate frozen after abuse claims

Jimmy Savile Jimmy Savile's estate is worth about £4m and is handled by NatWest bank

The estate of television presenter Jimmy Savile has been frozen in response to the sex abuse claims made against him, NatWest bank says.

The bank, which is acting as the late DJ's executor, said: "Given the claims raised, distribution of the estate has been put on hold."

Savile's estate is thought to be worth about £4 million.

Lawyers representing those who claim they were attacked by Savile are planning to sue the estate for damages.

Police believe the BBC presenter and DJ could have abused as many as 300 people over a 40-year-period.

Scotland Yard has said it is following about 400 lines of inquiry as part of the operation - which is looking into claims Savile, who died last year aged 84, abused hundreds of young girls and some boys.

Police described Savile as a "predatory sex offender".

He is alleged to have carried out abuse at a number of institutions, such as the high security psychiatric hospital Broadmoor, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary.

The TV presenter and DJ, who was knighted in 1996, had been a household name since he presented the first edition of Top Of The Pops in 1964.

The BBC has already announced inquiries into the Savile abuse claims. The first, led by former Sky News head Nick Pollard, is examining whether there were any failings in the BBC's management of the Newsnight investigation into Savile abuse claims.

Former Court of Appeal judge Dame Janet Smith has begun a review into the culture and practices of the corporation during Savile's time at the BBC. A further review will examine sexual harassment policies at the BBC.


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Savile abuse: Catholic Church bid to remove papal knighthood

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27 October 2012 Last updated at 05:48 ET

Savile abuse: Catholic Church bid to remove papal knighthood

Breaking news

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has written to the Pope to ask if Jimmy Savile's papal knighthood can be posthumously removed, the Church has confirmed.

The Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichol, called for the removal of the late TV presenter's name from papal honours lists to recognise the "deep distress" of abuse victims.

Police confirmed Savile could have sexually abused some 300 people.

Savile was granted the honour in 1990.


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