BBC crisis: Lord McAlpine 'anger' over abuse claim

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."

Abuse inquiries

• Operation Yewtree: Scotland Yard criminal investigation into claims that Jimmy Savile sexually abused young people
• BBC investigation into management failures over the dropping of a Newsnight report into the Savile allegations
• BBC investigation into culture and practices during Savile's career and current policies
• BBC investigation into handling of past sexual harassment claims
• Department of Health investigation into Savile's appointment to Broadmoor "taskforce" and his activities at Broadmoor, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary
• Director of Public Prosecutions review into decisions not to prosecute Savile in 2009
• North Wales abuse inquiry by National Crime Agency head into abuse claims from 70s and 80s, fresh claims, and police handling of the claims
• Mrs Justice Macur appointed by PM to review the 2000 Waterhouse review which looked into the north Wales abuse
• BBC Scotland director Ken MacQuarrie into what happened with the Newsnight investigation into north Wales abuse claims

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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As FBI investigated Petraeus, he and Allen intervened in nasty child custody battle

Amy Scherzer / Tampa Bay Times via Zuma Press The woman who triggered the investigation that led to the resignation of CIA chief David Petraeus threw lavish parties for top military brass – and also racked up debt. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

By Michael Isikoff
NBC News

Then-CIA Director David Petraeus and Gen. John Allen, commander of  U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, intervened in a Washington, D.C., custody battle in September, writing letters on behalf of a woman who was found by a judge to have a "severe deficit in honesty and integrity."
The woman, Natalie Khawam, is the twin sister of Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, who has emerged as a central figure in the scandal that led to Petraeus’ resignation last week.
The letters, which have been obtained by NBC News, were filed in court on behalf of Khawam, who the judge hearing the case harshly criticized for a “stunning willingness to say anything, even under oath, to advance her own interests.” At the time, Khawam was seeking to relax a judge's order restricting her visits with her now 4-year-old son. Holly Petraeus, the wife of the ex-CIA director previously signed an affidavit in support of Khawam, according to the lawyer for Grayson Wolfe, Khawam's ex-husband. The letters were first reported by the New York Post.

Gen. John Allen, right, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and former CIA Director David Petraeus appear ath the White House on April 28, 2011.

The letters came to light after Kelley emerged as a key player in the scandal surrounding emails that officials say were written by Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell a trail of correspondence that led to Petraeus’ resignation as CIA director and a Pentagon investigation of Allen over what defense officials have described as “potentially inappropriate” emails he exchanged with Kelley.
The legal battle between Khawam and Wolfe has been bitter, according to court records. Both sides have accused one another of repeatedly lying to the court -- including about invitations to events involving prominent members of Congress.
The court records also shed some light on the lifestyle of the Kelley family: At one point, the judge who had directed Kelley's sister to pay child support and the legal fees of her ex-husband noted that Khawam lived "rent-free in Florida with her sister" in a home described as a "ten bedroom mansion in a beautiful neighborhood right on Tampa Bay."
The judge also ruled that Jill Kelley was a "patently biased and unbelievable witness" when she testified about an alleged case of domestic abuse by her twin sister's ex-husband.
In a Nov. 9, 2011, ruling, D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz dismissed Kelley's testimony that she saw Wolfe push Khawam down a flight of stairs inside the Kelleys’ home. Kelley testified that her sister was holding the couple's baby in one hand and "somehow was able to stand her ground on the staircase" as Wolfe, "who is substantially larger and stronger ... pushed Ms. Khawam from above with both hands and all of his might."
"The court does not credit this testimony," Kravitz wrote, after calling Kelley an "unbelievable witness." He called it "part of an ever-expanding set of sensational accusations against Mr. Wolfe that are so numerous, so extraordinary and ... so distorted that they defy any common sense view of reality."

Amy Scherzer / Tamp

Petraeus and Allen entered the case two months ago, penning separate letters attesting to Khawam’s parenting.
"My wife and I have known Natalie for approximately three years, getting to know her while serving in Tampa, Florida, through her friendship with Dr. and Mrs. Scott Kelley," Petraeus wrote in his letter dated Sept. 20, identifying himself under his signature as "General, U.S. Army (Retired.) "
He added that he has observed Khawam  with her son on many occasions, "including when we hosted them and the Kelley family for Christmas dinner this past year. “It was "clear to me," he added, that Natalie's son "would benefit from much more time with his Mother and from removal of the burdensome restrictions imposed on her."
Allen's letter, dated Sept. 22, which identified him under his signature as "General, United States Marine Corps," is similar. It stated that he had gotten to know Khawam while serving at the U.S. Central Command in Florida and observed her with her son "on multiple occasions" at "command social functions."
"In light of Natalie's maturity, integrity and steadfast commitment to raising her child, I humbly request your reconsideration of the existing mandated custody settlement," the letter concluded.
Defense official fires back, denies Afghanistan commander exchanged 'inappropriate' emails
A source familiar with Kelley’s views said Tuesday night that both Petraeus and Allen have been friends of Kelley and her sister Khawam for years. The source added:  “When you're involved in a custody issue, you want letters of support. There is nothing unusual about that.”
Sandra Wilkof, the lawyer for ex-husband Wolfe, said the letters from both high ranking military men misstated the facts of the case. Both letters asked the court to change the terms of a "court settlement" between the couple. In fact, Wilkof, said, "There was no court settlement. There was a court order," she said, awarding custody to Wolfe and supervised visits for Khawam.
Judge Kravitz has not given Wolfe a free pass. He wrote in the Nov. 9, 2011 ruling that Wolfe "does not possess an entirely healthy psychological make-up.” And he noted that Wolfe had taken “questionable deductions” on his tax returns and “may have been less than fully candid in his testimony about contacts he may have had with the FriendFinder online dating service.
But he has saved his harshest words for Khawam, writing that  Mr. Wolfe is much more honest than Ms. Khawam, and he conducts himself with far greater integrity.
In the ruling, he found that Khawam had taken the couple's son to Florida when he was only four months old  and refused to tell Wolfe of his whereabouts, ignored court orders to allow visits with his father,  changed the boy's first name without his father's knowledge  and made unfounded claims of abuse against her ex-husband.
The evidence established that Ms. Khawam has extreme personal deficits in the areas of  honesty and integrity, Kravitz wrote. Ms. Khawam's false domestic violence petitions (and her equally false testimony at trial relating to many of the same allegations) are merely the most stunning examples of Ms. Khawam's willingness to say anything, even under oath, to advance her own personal interests at the expense of Mr. Wolfe, the child, and others.
Khawam's lawyer, Greg Jacob, with the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers, did not respond to requests for comment.
In the latest wrinkle in the case, Wolfe's lawyer filed a motion on Oct. 26 opposing the efforts of Khawam to modify the visitation schedule, saying that neither of the letters by Petraeus and Allen promised “corroborating testimony” relevant to the court's determination.
The motion also argued that Khawam had misrepresented social events she had asked the court to let her attend with her son. In one case, Wolfe's motion stated, Khawam had asked the court to let her take her son to a "family clambake" at "the personal invitation" of Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. In fact, the motion states, this was "nothing more than a political fundraising event.
On other occasions, the motion states, Khawam had sought to take her son to events with "Senator Kerry" and the baptism of "former Congressman Patrick Kennedy's child" in New Jersey. In fact, the motion states, the invitation to be with Sen. John Kerry was a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee event in Martha's Vineyard and that he denied her request to take the boy to those events because he did not believe it was in "the child's best interests."

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Woman could break Chinese political glass ceiling

In a moment between two influential female leaders, Hilary Clinton and Liu Yandong shake hands in a meeting in May 2010.

Hong Kong (CNN) -- A record number of American women will hold U.S. Senate seats after Tuesday's election. In China, there is speculation over whether a woman will also make history by ascending to its top political core.

No woman has ever held a post in the elite nine-member Standing Committee of the Politburo that governs China. Thousands of senior Chinese officials gathered in Beijing this week and at the end of the conference next week, a new set of leaders will be unveiled.

Some observers consider Liu Yandong a possible contender for the exclusive ruling committee. Liu is the lone female member of the Politburo, a 24-member body atop the Chinese Communist Party. If promoted to the standing committee, Liu would make a crack in the political glass ceiling.

Even with the historic prospect of a woman joining the most powerful Chinese political entity, some are skeptical of the overall progress for Chinese women in power.

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"I think women's participation in politics in China remains largely symbolic due to complicated social, cultural, and political factors," said Xi Chen, assistant professor of political science at the University of Texas-Pan American.

Liu is the daughter of Liu Ruilong, the former vice minister of agriculture. She is also said to have strong family ties with former Chinese President Jiang Zemin as well as President Hu Jintao. She is part of the "princeling class," the sons or daughters of revolutionary veterans who now number among the nation's elite.

"If Liu Yandong is appointed to the Politburo Standing Committee, it would be a milestone for female political representation in China and an indication that the Chinese government is ready to place a woman in a position of genuine power," said Leta Hong Fincher, doctoral candidate at Tsinghua University, who examines gender issues in China. "But that move alone would not necessarily lead to an improvement in the overall status of women."

If chosen for the committee, Liu will most likely take the position of the "propaganda tsar," according to Hoover Institution, which is based at Stanford University. The group described Liu as "liberal minded."

Chinese data show that women lag in political representation. Only 2.2% of working women were in charge of the state offices, party organizations and other enterprises or institutions, according to the Third 's Social Status, a national survey released last year.

During the presentation of these survey results, officials from the All-China Women's Federation, a women's advancement organization affiliated with the government, was asked why the Chinese leadership lacked women.

Song Xiuyan, the vice-chairman of the federation said the Communist Party of China and the government places "great importance to empower women's issues, which our Constitution has clearly put forward the basic principle of 'gender equality.'"

The Women's Studies Institute of China, which is sponsored by the All-China Women's Federation, declined multiple requests for comment.

"The relatively small number of female politicians in China is a topic criticized by Western media," reported Xinhua, the state-run news agency in March.

The news agency stated: "However, the ratio of female national lawmakers stands at 22%, compared with only 17% in the United States."

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China ranks 63rd in the world by percentage of women serving in a legislative house, compared with U.S. at 80th, according to July data compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an international organization of parliaments.

That ranking may be out-of-date after the U.S. elections this week. Female candidates made huge gains and stand to occupy a record 20 seats out of the 100 in the U.S. Senate.

Women in China have made important strides in recent years. Chinese women receive an average of 8.8 years of education compared with 2.7 years in 2000, according to the national survey.

And studies find that women are outperforming men in universities, said Fincher of Tsinghua University.

But their education does not translate to economic and political power.

"You see that in the workplace, there's a lot of systemic gender discrimination in the workplace, there's discrimination in hiring and promotion," Fincher said. "There has also been a lot of evidence that the gender income gap has widened, especially in the very recent years."

Statistically, women's average annual income was 67.3 % of men's in urban areas and 56% in rural areas which reflected a decrease compared with the wage gap in 1990, according to the 2010 national survey.

There are exceptions as some women have achieved the pinnacle of financial success. In the Huron Report's list of the world's top female billionaires, 18 out of 28 came from China.

"Of course China is the most populous country in the world," Fincher said. "Of course you're going to have individual women who are incredibly successful. That doesn't say anything about the status of the vast majority of women."

For Chinese workers, gender-targeted job ads stipulate the age, height and desired physical attributes of female applicants, according to studies on the topic.

And the recent survey results suggest that more people believe that Chinese women should focus on family, rather than getting involved in public life or careers.

In the national survey, 62% of men and 55% of women agreed with this statement: "Men should mainly focus on career and women should be family oriented."

The number of people who agreed with that statement increased by 7.7% and 4.4% for men and women, respectively, in the past 12 years compared with their views in 2000 -- signaling "a resurgence of traditional beliefs about gender roles," Fincher said.

Gender issues are sensitive in China, especially in a country dogged by a history of preference for males and sex-selective abortion that has resulted in a lopsided population. Male births outpaced female births 118 to 110, according to Xinhua.

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