BBC in Korea 'student' reporter row
By Anonymous on Apr 13, 2013 09:29 pm 13 April 2013 Last updated at 19:57 ET 
Panorama's reporter is said to have spent eight days in North Korea
The London School of Economics is demanding the BBC withdraw Monday's Panorama programme about North Korea.
It says reporter John Sweeney posed as one of its PHD students on a university society trip in order to film undercover in the country.
The BBC says the students were told a journalist was among the group and warned of the risks.
But the LSE says they "were not given enough information to enable informed consent" and were "endangered" .
In a letter sent to LSE students, the university says two other people working for the BBC also were on the trip.
"At no point prior to the trip was it made clear to the students that a BBC team of three had planned to use the trip as cover for a major documentary to be shown on Panorama," it said.
"It is LSE's view that the students were not given enough information to enable informed consent, yet were given enough to put them in serious danger if the subterfuge had been uncovered prior to their departure from North Korea."
The LSE added: "While this particular trip was run in the name of a student society, the nature of LSE's teaching and research means that aspects of North Korea are legitimate objects of study in several of our academic disciplines...
"LSE is fully supportive of the principle of investigative journalism in the public interest, and applauds the work of journalists in dangerous parts of the world. We cannot, however, condone the use of our name, or the use of our students, as cover for such activities."
It said the BBC director general Lord Hall refused its request to withdraw the programme and "issue a full apology to LSE for the actions of BBC staff in using the school and its good reputation as a means of deception".
'Explicitly warned' On its website, Panorama says Sweeney spent eight days undercover inside North Korea for the programme.
"Travelling from the capital Pyongyang to the countryside beyond and to the de-militarised zone on the border with South Korea, Sweeney witnesses a landscape bleak beyond words, a people brainwashed for three generations and a regime happy to give the impression of marching towards Armageddon," it said.
In a statement, a BBC spokesman said: "We recognised that because it could increase the risks of the trip, the students should be told in advance that a journalist intended to travel with them, in order to enable the students to make their decision about whether they wanted to proceed.
"They were given this information, and were reminded of it again, in time to have been able to change their plans if they wanted to. The students were all explicitly warned about the potential risks of travelling to North Korea with the journalist as part of their group.
"This included a warning about the risk of arrest and detention and that they might not be allowed to return to North Korea in the future."
Writing on Twitter, Sweeney said: "we dispute LSE statement. We've also had pressure from NK agency".
He said he was prepared to address the LSE student union to "explain the facts about the trip and NK".
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Thatcher funeral details published
By Anonymous on Apr 14, 2013 02:59 am 13 April 2013 Last updated at 07:45 ET 
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The BBC's Nicholas Witchell talks through the funeral procession route
The funeral of Baroness Thatcher, the first woman UK prime minister, will be along the same lines as those of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Queen Mother.
She has been awarded a ceremonial funeral with military honours - one step down from a state funeral - and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will attend.
It will take place on Wednesday at St Paul's Cathedral. The route of the procession has also been published.
Downing Street said Lady Thatcher had requested her body rest overnight in Parliament's Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, and the Queen had given her consent.
About 100 people will be invited to a short service on Tuesday evening led by the Dean of Westminster, which will be attended by her family, MPs and peers.
Those also invited include staff who worked closely with Lady Thatcher or who served her in some personal capacity, such as housekeepers who looked after her office in the Houses of Parliament.
Some details of her funeral have been released, although it is not yet known who will preside over the service or where the former Conservative leader - who died on Monday aged 87 after suffering a stroke - will be laid to rest.
Then there is the issue of who will pay for it.
Lady Thatcher's estate will make a contribution - Downing Street says this was offered by her family.
It is not clear what proportion that will be, although it is likely to cover at least the regular parts of a funeral including transport, flowers and cremation.
Continue reading the main story Ceremonial funeral
- A step short of a state funeral, which is normally reserved for sovereigns
- Requires consent from the Queen
- There is visually little difference between ceremonial and state funerals - the gun carriage during a state funeral is drawn by Royal Navy ratings rather than artillery horses
The more substantial costs, such as the planned military procession and the major security operation that will no doubt be needed, will fall to various government departments.
Downing Street will not give details of the costs until after the funeral because planning has been continuing.
"The right thing to do is to set out the costs afterwards," said a Number 10 spokesman.
As Lady Thatcher's health deteriorated, the issue of whether she should be granted a state funeral - as wartime PM Winston Churchill was - grew increasingly controversial.
However, it has emerged that she rejected the idea herself and also insisted she did not want her body to lie in state or money to be spent on a fly-past. It was also her wish that the armed forces play a key part.
BBC chief political correspondent Norman Smith said the event was in effect a state funeral because there would be a full military ceremony, the streets would be cleared and crucially the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were going to attend.
Continue reading the main story CLICKABLE
Westminster
St Clement Danes
St Paul's
Downing Street
Procession
The service at St Paul's will be attended by dignitaries and televised around the world.
The guest list will include family and friends of Lady Thatcher and those who worked with her over the years, including members of her cabinets and representatives from a range of groups with which she was associated.
Prime Minister David Cameron is to read a lesson and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will attend. The current cabinet, Labour leader Ed Miliband and the shadow cabinet will be invited.
Continue reading the main story State funeral
- Normally reserved for monarchs
- A state funeral for a non-royal needs the approval of the monarch and a vote in Parliament (because they are publicly funded)
- The deceased would normally lie in state
- The last commoner to receive a state funeral was Sir Winston Churchill in 1965
- In the 20th Century there were two other state funerals for non-royals - military commander Frederick Roberts and ex-Ulster Unionist Party leader Edward Carson
- In the 19th Century, five state funerals were granted to non-royals - Lord Nelson; Charles Darwin; and the Duke of Wellington, Lord Palmerston and William Gladstone, three former prime ministers
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair and wife Cherie will be at the funeral and his successor, Gordon Brown, said he would be attending with wife Sarah. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond will also attend.
Other invited guests from around the globe include former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and a representative of Nelson Mandela.
Ten members of staff from the Ritz hotel, where Lady Thatcher died, have been invited. She had been staying at the five-star hotel in London since Christmas.
Other guests include Lord and Lady Lloyd Webber, Lord and Lady Archer, Dame Shirley Bassey, the actress Joan Collins, Sir Terry Wogan and internet pioneer Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
Those who have confirmed they will not be attending include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan's widow Nancy.
It will also be the first time the Queen has attended the funeral of a British prime minister since that of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.
It is not known whether the Archbishop of Canterbury will play a formal role in the service, which will be followed by a private cremation. The public will be not be able to attend the ticket-only service but can line the route of the procession.
It is understood that hymns will include I Vow to Thee My Country, To be a Pilgrim and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.
Lady Thatcher's family have asked well-wishers to consider making a donation to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, rather than giving flowers.
The Queen Mother was given a ceremonial funeral rather than a state one because it was her husband George VI who held the throne, although she did lie in state, a hallmark of a state funeral.
A 2013 House of Commons note on state funerals details some of the costs of the Queen Mother's ceremonial funeral in 2002.
- The estimated cost for lying in state, shared between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, was about £825,000
- Policing costs were £4.3m, of which £2.3m were opportunity costs (costs that would be incurred anyway if staff were assigned to other operations)
- Ministry of Defence costs amounted to £301,000
- The Home Office covered the cost of the mourning stationery, estimated at £1,817
On Wednesday, Lady Thatcher's coffin will travel by hearse to the Church of St Clement Danes - the Central Church of the Royal Air Force - on the Strand.
The coffin will then be transferred to a gun carriage drawn by the King's Troop Royal Artillery and taken in procession from St Clement Danes to St Paul's Cathedral. The route will be lined by military personnel from all three services.
It will be met at St Paul's by a guard of honour, and military personnel and pensioners of the Royal Hospital Chelsea will line the cathedral steps. The coffin will be carried into and out of the cathedral by bearers from military units closely associated with the Falklands campaign.
The processional band will be a band of the Royal Marines and there will be a gun salute at the Tower of London.
The Ministry of Defence says 700 armed forces personnel will be involved in the funeral. They include members of the Welsh Guards, which suffered some of the heaviest losses during the Falklands War.
The Metropolitan Police acknowledges the "potential for protest" but says it will want to ensure the wishes of those paying their respects will be upheld.
The force wants to speak to anyone who plans to protest so their right to do so can be maintained.
The Met says it is too early to say how many officers will deployed but no more police leave for the day will be granted.
Read in browser » Andrew Marr: I'm lucky to be alive
By Anonymous on Apr 14, 2013 04:27 am 14 April 2013 Last updated at 04:27 ET 
Andrew Marr's Sunday morning show has been broadcast on the BBC since 2005
Broadcaster Andrew Marr has appeared on television for the first time since suffering a major stroke, saying he feels "lucky to be alive".
Speaking on his own programme, BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, he said he had been "heavily overworking" in the year before the stroke, which was sparked by an intensive rowing machine session.
The 53-year-old presenter, who fell ill in January, said he was doing "a lot of physio" to help with his walking.
He added he would be returning to work.
'Mostly my own fault' Appearing in a pre-recorded interview on Sunday's programme, the journalist and television presenter took part in a discussion on the legacy of Margaret Thatcher before talking about his illness.
He told guest presenter Sophie Raworth: "I had a major stroke - I'm frankly lucky to be alive.
"I had been heavily overworking - mostly my own fault - in the year before that. I'd had two minor strokes it turned out, in that year, which I hadn't noticed."
Marr explained he had fallen into the "terrible" trap of believing what he read in newspapers, which encouraged people to "take very intensive exercise in short bursts - and that's the way to health".
He went on: "I went onto a rowing machine and gave it everything I had, and had a strange feeling afterwards - a blinding headache, and flashes of light - served out the family meal, went to bed, woke up the next morning lying on the floor unable to move.
"Beware rowing machines, or at least beware being too enthusiastic on rowing machines would be my message to the nation," he said.
Marr said the stroke had not impaired his voice or memory but had affected "the whole left hand side of my body, which is why I'm still not able to walk fluently".
"I do a kind of elegant hobble is the best I can manage - my left arm isn't much good yet and I've got a lot of physio still to do," he said.
'Coming back' However, the presenter added that, after concentrating on a period of "intensive physio", he planned to return to work.
"I'm certainly coming back. I've got a lot more to say about it all, but I'm going to wait until I've gone through the physio to do so."
Born in Glasgow, Marr began his career in journalism on the Scotsman newspaper in 1981, later moving to London to become its political correspondent.
He was part of the team which launched the Independent in 1986, later becoming its editor.
He joined the BBC as political editor in May 2000.
Marr has also presented a number of history programmes along with his politics show and has had five books published.
He is married to journalist Jackie Ashley and has three children.
His programmes, the Andrew Marr Show and Radio 4's Start The Week, continue to be broadcast with guest presenters in his absence.
Read in browser » Kerry in Japan amid N Korea tensions
By Anonymous on Apr 14, 2013 05:23 am 14 April 2013 Last updated at 03:18 ET 
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John Kerry arrives in Japan having secured a pledge from China to calm tensions with North Korea
US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Japan, the last stop of his four-day Asian tour which has focused on tensions on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea has recently threatened attacks against South Korea and the US, sparking alarm in the region.
After meeting China's top leaders on Saturday Mr Kerry said China was "very serious" in its pledge to help resolve tensions with North Korea, its ally.
Mr Kerry has said the US will defend itself and its allies from any attack.
Speculation has been building that the North is preparing a missile launch, following reports that it has moved at least two Musudan ballistic missiles to its east coast.
Japan is within range of these rockets and has been taking precautions, including setting up batteries of US-made Patriot anti-missile systems around the capital and sending two warships to the Sea of Japan, with orders to shoot down any missiles fired towards the Japanese islands.
Mr Kerry will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and other officials.
Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said he hoped Mr Kerry's visit would send "a strong message" to North Korea's leaders.
"It is important that we co-ordinate internationally and firmly tell North Korea that it must give up its nuclear and missile programmes," he told reporters.
Continue reading the main story Musudan missile
- The Musudan, also known as the Nodong-B or the Taepodong-X, is an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Its likely targets are Okinawa, Japan, and US bases in the Pacific
- Range estimates differ dramatically. Israeli intelligence suggests 2,500km, while the US Missile Defense Agency estimates 3,200km; other sources put the upper limit at 4,000km
- These differences are due in large part to the fact that the missile has never been tested publicly, according to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Its payload is also unknown
Washington and Tokyo have a security alliance dating back to the 1950s, under which Washington is bound to protect Japan if it is attacked.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Tokyo says Mr Kerry's visit aims to reassure Japan that they have America's continued support during this crisis.
Celebratory launch? North Korea habitually issues fiery statements denouncing the US and South Korea, but the rhetoric has grown increasingly aggressive since the UN imposed a fresh round of sanctions in March.
The sanctions punished Pyongyang for carrying out a banned test of a ballistic missile and conducting its third test of a nuclear device.
Pyongyang has also been angered by joint military manoeuvres by the US and South Korea, which it says are preparations for war.
It has responded by vowing to restart a nuclear reactor - taken out of service under a previous deal - and to shut an emergency military hotline to the South.
It has also urged countries to withdraw their diplomatic staff, saying it cannot now guarantee their safety.
On Monday, North Korea will mark the birth of national founder Kim Il-sung. Such occasions are traditionally marked with shows of military strength and it is thought this year the date could be used for a missile launch.
Some estimates suggest that the Musudan missiles which North Korea has moved to its east coast could travel 4,000km (2,500 miles).
That would put US bases on the Pacific island of Guam within range, although the exact threat is unclear as it is not believed that the Musudan has been tested before.
Mr Kerry has stressed that it would be a "huge mistake" for the North to go ahead with a launch, saying it would further isolate North Korea and that the people of the country are in need of food, not missiles.
Read in browser » Reptiles dead after blaze at zoo
By Anonymous on Apr 14, 2013 03:49 am 14 April 2013 Last updated at 03:14 ET About 50 firefighters have been tackling a blaze at a West Lothian zoo.
The fire broke out in the tropical house of the Five Sisters Zoo at Polbeth, West Calder, at about 03:50 BST and is understood to be confined to the tropical house.
The zoo is preparing an inventory of any animals not accounted for, a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said.
No people are thought to have been injured in the blaze.
Read in browser » NHS 'not sharing doctor complaints'
By Anonymous on Apr 13, 2013 09:04 pm 13 April 2013 Last updated at 21:04 ET By Ann Alexander 5 live Investigates 
One trust said 42 of its doctors had received more than two patient complaints, none of which were referred to the GMC.
Some hospitals do not share information which could identify doctors who make repeated mistakes. the BBC has found.
Several hospital trusts said they had compensated patients following repeated allegations made against a doctor, but had not referred the incidents to the General Medical Council (GMC).
Some doctors have been involved in up to six unreported incidents.
Under Department of Health guidelines trusts have a legal duty to refer concerns about doctors to the GMC.
Individual trusts are also responsible for disciplinary action against staff, but there is no duty to pass on information about complaints to future employers.
Responding to a freedom of information request made to 163 NHS hospital trusts by 5 live Investigates, 13 said they had failed to inform the GMC about at least one doctor whose actions had resulted in more than one compensation payout, in the last five years.
Additionally, at around half of those trusts, some doctors had moved to other NHS trusts which were not told about the previous complaints.
Struck off Surinder Venables, 49, was admitted to Basildon Hospital in September 2008 for a minor operation to remove three cysts.
Dr Nikolaos Papanikolaou performed a procedure in which he perforated her uterus when he tried to remove what he thought was abnormal tissue.
The GMC later found that he failed to recognise he had done this and failed to stop the procedure and ask for help.
As a result, Ms Venables had to have several further operations and died following a cardiac arrest on 25 October 2008.
Earlier this month Dr Papanikolaou was struck off the medical register by the GMC after it found numerous allegations related to seven cases were proven.
Ms Venables' brother said Dr Papanikolau should have been reported to the General Medical Council.
Five of these allegations related to his patients at Basildon hospital in the six months before Mrs Venables was admitted.
In one case, the GMC found him responsible for failing to carry out a caesarean on a high-risk patient, which led to a still-birth.
The hospital said that it carried out a "full investigation" following her death in 2008.
But the hospital trust did not report Dr Papanikolaou to the GMC.
That was later done by the father of another of his patients, who suffered poor care at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital in January 2011.
Only then did the GMC consider his case and subsequently strike him off the medical register.
Dr Papanikolaou has 28 days to appeal against the GMC's decision.
Ms Venables' brother, David Marjara, said he was devastated about the circumstances of his sister's death.
He said: "His practices should have been looked into deeply and if there was any doubt whatsoever then he should have been reported to the General Medical Council.
"These people should be investigated properly by the hospital and the NHS and then they should not be allowed to work."
Dr Papanikolaou was placed under supervision in October 2008.
In a statement, the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS trust said: "When his employment came to an end, the trust immediately contacted his new employer, Ashford & St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust, to inform them of concerns around some aspects of his clinical work."
Dr Papanikolaou later went on to work at the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, where he was found by the GMC to have made a further six errors in relation to one patient in January 2011.
Regulations shelved 5 Live Investigates has found that some NHS trusts have not told employers or the GMC of concerns about doctors who have allegedly been involved in poor practice.
In response to a freedom of information request, one trust, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, reported that 42 of its doctors had been the subject of more than two patient complaints.
Of those doctors, 27, were involved in incidents which resulted in a compensation payout.
The trust said none of those doctors was referred to the GMC.
In a statement, the trust said: "There were no GMC issues that needed to be passed on to another employer amongst these cases."
It added that its policy "sets out a range of ways of addressing potential concerns about practice, only one of which is a direct referral to the General Medical Council (GMC).
"Clinical negligence claims are complicated, often involve more than one member of staff, and the reasons that they may be settled are numerous and varied."
Since 2010, the 'responsible officer' at each NHS trust has been under a professional obligation to refer concerns about doctors to the GMC.
Peter Walsh, the chief executive of Action Against Medical Accidents, said: "It seems that an ideological distaste for regulation is being put before patient safety.
"Too much faith is placed in local systems of clinical governance, failing to acknowledge conflicts of interest which lead to things being kept in-house or swept under the carpet.
"Employers have no statutory obligation to share information or even to refer serious cases to the GMC or other regulators."
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said: "We have introduced local teams to work with the NHS frontline, regular checks on all doctors through revalidation, and new guidance to support doctors to raise concerns to help with this effort, but we know there is more to do."
You can hear the full report on 5 live Investigates on Sunday, 14 April, at 11.00 BST on BBC 5 live.
Listen again via the 5 live website or by downloading the 5 live Investigates podcast.
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