BBCNEWS — BBC News
20260806 104500 UTC
208 transcript segments
Original Broadcaster Captioning (Enhanced)
Data courtesy of The GDELT Project (https://www.gdeltproject.org/), from the Internet Archive TV News Archive.
Machine transcription. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a verbatim quotation record.

[00:00:14] A Cambridge professor who's been the subject of media scrutiny
[00:00:17] scrutiny after claims of plagiarism plagiarism has resigned hours after
[00:00:20] after Cambridge University said it it would investigate his qualifications
[00:00:23] qualifications and honourary appointments. appointments. Professor Jason Arday
[00:00:26] Arday has been the subject of many many questions in the media in the
[00:00:30] the last few weeks. Our culture correspondent correspondent Noor Nanji joined me
[00:00:33] me earlier with more about what happened. happened. Well, I think it's fair
[00:00:37] fair to say this has been a very very messy and for some people, quite
[00:00:40] quite uncomfortable story. As you you say at the centre of this Professor
[00:00:43] Professor Jason Arday, a very prominent prominent Cambridge academic and
[00:00:46] and in fact the youngest ever black black professor at Cambridge when
[00:00:50] when he joined back in 2020 2023.
[00:00:53] 2023. Now he has been at the centre
[00:00:55] centre of this row over plagiarism plagiarism after another academic
[00:00:58] academic who we should say was sacked sacked for his views on black people.
[00:01:03] people. He was a professor at Cambridge, Cambridge, an academic at Cambridge.
[00:01:05] Cambridge. He was sacked in 2024
[00:01:08] 2024 but he then said that he had had questioned some of his stated
[00:01:11] stated achievements and also found found numerous instances in professor
[00:01:15] professor R. S work of plagiarism
[00:01:17] plagiarism and also questioned things things such as his running records
[00:01:20] records and so on. Now this storm storm has been going for some weeks,
[00:01:23] weeks, as you say, and it all came
[00:01:24] came to a head at around 6:00 yesterday
[00:01:27] yesterday evening when Cambridge Cambridge University issued this this statement saying that they were
[00:01:31] were launching a probe after new new information had come to light
[00:01:35] light about him and Jesus College, College, Cambridge, where he is a
[00:01:38] a fellow also said that they were were going to do the same. And very
[00:01:41] very shortly afterwards, just a couple couple of hours later, then we heard
[00:01:44] heard that professor R day was going going to be quitting. He wrote a
[00:01:47] a letter which was published on the the Good Law Project website and
[00:01:50] and in that letter he said that he he was quitting because he needed
[00:01:54] needed to put his well-being first first the well-being of his family.
[00:01:57] family. He also said that he had had been subjected to an unrelenting
[00:02:00] unrelenting level of public scrutiny scrutiny and personal attack, and
[00:02:03] and he said that he needed time to to heal. Now, he didn't address those
[00:02:07] those specific allegations around around plagiarism, but in recent
[00:02:10] recent days he has been defending defending himself, including on the the weekend when he did this interview
[00:02:13] interview with The Times, in which which he insisted he is not a liar,
[00:02:16] liar, he said that some errors in in his early academic work were due
[00:02:20] due to his autism, and he also told told The times that there was this
[00:02:23] this concerted campaign to unseat unseat him from Cambridge, which
[00:02:26] which he said was motivated by racism
[00:02:29] racism and nor. After this resignation, resignation, what are the consequences? consequences? Where does this go
[00:02:32] go from here? Well, look, I think think it's fair to say that this this has been quite a fraught debate.
[00:02:36] debate. There's been a lot of views views on either side, including in
[00:02:40] in the world of academia. And some some academics have been saying there
[00:02:43] there are now serious questions about about academic propriety that need
[00:02:47] need to be answered. Others have have been defending him and saying
[00:02:49] saying that perhaps he has a point. point. The way that he's been treated
[00:02:52] treated has been motivated by racism. racism. A lot of the papers have have also been leading on it today
[00:02:56] today and it is a big story over over here. I think there are questions
[00:03:00] questions for Cambridge University. University. We have put some questions questions to them. Of course, they
[00:03:03] they had this statement yesterday. yesterday. We haven't heard from from them since then. That obviously
[00:03:06] obviously predated his decision then then to resign and to quit. So we're
[00:03:09] we're waiting to see if they react react to that. And I think there there will be questions about the
[00:03:13] the screening that they do and how how something like this was allowed
[00:03:16] allowed to happen. We also don't don't know whether this probe that that they've launched is now going
[00:03:20] going to continue. Now that he has has resigned, presumably it will,
[00:03:23] will, but we'll waiting to hear about about that more broadly. I think think there are questions for academia,
[00:03:27] academia, and I think this debate debate will go on for a while. A
[00:03:30] A 97-year-old woman has successfully successfully broken her own world
[00:03:33] world record to become the oldest oldest woman to complete a wing walk.
[00:03:37] walk. Betty Bromage started fundraising fundraising fundraising by completing
[00:03:41] completing the stunts a decade ago.
[00:03:42] ago. Our reporter Steve Knibbs has
[00:03:45] has more. Betty's back 97 years young
[00:03:50] young and taking to the skies again.
[00:03:52] again. I just get bored with life.
[00:03:55] life. Otherwise when you get old old you can't go here. You can't
[00:03:58] can't do this. You can't drive, you you can't see. I can't see very well.
[00:04:02] well. And I get a bit frustrated.
[00:04:05] frustrated. Up in the air. Betty's Betty's at home in her element on
[00:04:08] on the ground, her friends and neighbours neighbours from her retirement village
[00:04:11] village in Cheltenham watch on nervously.
[00:04:16] nervously. Betty. Betty started all
[00:04:18] all this ten years ago at the age age of 87. She's since abseiled down
[00:04:22] down a tower in Cheltenham and took took on a zipwire in Snowdonia and
[00:04:25] and today she pushed the envelope envelope even further, asking the
[00:04:29] the pilot to throw in a barrel roll.
[00:04:32] roll. Oh Lord, my God. All of this this was done to raise money for
[00:04:36] for the stroke unit in Cheltenham. Cheltenham. They helped Betty when
[00:04:39] when she had a stroke last year. year. So kind to me and straight
[00:04:42] straight away the treatment I got
[00:04:46] got it affects my words. I go to to say a word and it doesn't always
[00:04:50] always come out. But the rest of of me I'm fit as a fiddle. Well,
[00:04:54] Well, for a 97 year. Old. Today, Today, the staff sent her a good
[00:04:57] good luck message. Grateful for the
[00:05:00] the support. Thank you Betty from
[00:05:03] from the. Team. Just amazing that that she's doing this for us. We're
[00:05:07] We're so grateful. And to, you know, know, go up and wing well can take
[00:05:10] take on such a daring and incredible incredible challenge and to support
[00:05:14] support our stroke services team. team. It's just amazing. We're so so grateful. We really appreciate
[00:05:17] appreciate what she's doing. Back Back on the ground. Betty took it
[00:05:21] it all in her stride with confirmation confirmation that she broke her own
[00:05:24] own world record yet again as the
[00:05:27] the oldest female wing, Walker. Officially.
[00:05:29] Officially. Amazing. I was a trained trained children's nurse and I went
[00:05:33] went to work in Doctor Barnardo's Barnardo's home in Bristol and above
[00:05:36] above my bed it said we passed through through this world, but once any
[00:05:39] any good we can do any kindness we
[00:05:42] we can show. Do it now. Do not defer defer or neglect it. You're not pass
[00:05:45] pass this way again. In two and a a half years' time. Betty has promised
[00:05:49] promised to take to the skies again again when she turns 100 to become
[00:05:53] become a magnificent centenarian centenarian on a flying machine.
[00:05:55] machine. Steve Knibbs, BBC News Renkum.
[00:06:01] Renkum. A brilliant way of staying staying youthful. All our stories
[00:06:04] stories are on the BBC News website.
[00:06:06] website. You're watching BBC News.
[00:06:19] News. MUSIC
[00:06:19] MUSIC
[00:06:23] Grand Central Station is one of my
[00:06:26] my favourite New York City structures. structures. It's a glorious reminder
[00:06:29] reminder of the golden age of American
[00:06:31] American railroads. It also provides provides the setting for some early
[00:06:35] early scenes in what many people
[00:06:37] people regard as one of the greatest greatest American thrillers of all
[00:06:41] all time. The picture North by Northwest
[00:06:44] Northwest an American thriller, yes, yes, but directed by a British filmmaker,
[00:06:48] filmmaker, the master of suspense
[00:06:50] suspense Alfred Hitchcock. Top US
[00:06:54] US film critic Bilge Ebiri told me
[00:06:56] me he's such an ardent fan of North North by Northwest that he's seen
[00:06:59] seen the film at least 50 times.
[00:07:02] times. Do you know this man? Look
[00:07:13] Look North by Northwest from 1959,
[00:07:15] 1959, the pinnacle of Hitchcock's Hitchcock's American filmmaking career.
[00:07:18] career. Listen to me. I had nothing nothing to do with it. And also I
[00:07:21] I think it's kind of the pinnacle pinnacle of a particular kind of
[00:07:25] of studio filmmaking that Hollywood Hollywood specialised in. Eddy Wax Wax automatically means a rise in
[00:07:28] in sales. North by northwest follows follows an ad executive named Roger
[00:07:32] Roger Thornhill, played by Cary Grant,
[00:07:35] Grant, who is mistaken for a spy
[00:07:39] spy by some nefarious figures. And And they're convinced that he's this
[00:07:43] this other person and they try to
[00:07:45] to kill him and he winds up going
[00:07:50] going on this cross-country adventure adventure trying both to prove his
[00:07:53] his innocence and also to flee from
[00:07:55] from the authorities. North by northwest northwest had a huge impact on me
[00:07:58] me because in some way it treats treats a lot of Hitchcock's deeper
[00:08:02] deeper themes about guilt and accusation,
[00:08:05] accusation, while also framing it
[00:08:08] it within this incredibly exciting, exciting, delightful, charming adventure
[00:08:12] adventure plot. Well, here we are
[00:08:15] are again. Yes. One of the most famous
[00:08:18] famous sequences in this film is
[00:08:19] is the crop duster sequence. It occurs occurs about halfway through the
[00:08:23] the film. Cary Grant's character character has been told that he's
[00:08:26] he's going to meet somebody out in in the middle of nowhere on this
[00:08:29] this highway road. There's nobody nobody around for miles and miles
[00:08:33] miles of flat, blank expanse. And
[00:08:35] And then, of course, he sees this
[00:08:38] this little plane appearing in the the distance, you know, dusting crops
[00:08:42] crops and you realise that the plane
[00:08:43] plane is there to kill them. They
[00:08:50] They start to fire at him and he
[00:08:51] he runs away. It's an incredible
[00:08:55] incredible sequence when I think
[00:08:56] think about what makes American cinema
[00:09:00] cinema so special I have to think think about the Hollywood system
[00:09:03] system and the kinds of films it it made possible, the kind of scale
[00:09:06] scale it made possible, the kind kind of stardom, the kind of charm
[00:09:10] charm it made possible. And to me,
[00:09:14] me, North by Northwest really kind kind of stands at the very top of
[00:09:17] of that. You know, it is Hollywood
[00:09:20] Hollywood firing on all cylinders, cylinders, maybe for one of the very
[00:09:24] very last times. It's a great example
[00:09:28] example of a studio film. It's a a great example of a master filmmaker
[00:09:32] filmmaker at the height of his powers powers in the studio system, working
[00:09:35] working with one of the great stars stars of the studio system to create
[00:09:39] create something so beautiful and
[00:09:42] and so magnificent, right as the the studio system is essentially
[00:09:45] essentially about to collapse. But But the thing that they create together
[00:09:49] together becomes this work that is is so influential and that winds
[00:09:52] winds up influencing all the filmmakers filmmakers that come after not just
[00:09:56] just American filmmakers from all all over the world. But if we ever
[00:09:59] ever get out of this alive, let's let's go back to New York on the
[00:10:01] the train together. All right. Is
[00:10:04] Is that a proposition?
[00:13:50] MUSIC
[00:13:54] For me, trust is about presence.
[00:13:56] presence. About fostering. Relationships Relationships all around the world
[00:14:00] world over years. It's about patience,
[00:14:03] patience, not rushing to be the first. first. But striving to get it right.
[00:14:06] right. To get to the truth. We can't can't just ask the questions. We
[00:14:10] We have to question the answers. answers. Debate, debate, debate.
[00:14:14] debate. We have to create a space space for opposing voices to be heard.
[00:14:17] heard. And challenged. We fight every
[00:14:19] every day. To earn your trust and and we never take it for
[00:14:27] Never take it for granted. We capture the story, fact. Check the the story. Break the story. We explore
[00:14:31] explore the story. So you can trust
[00:14:32] trust us to tell it.
[00:15:10] Live from London. This is BBC
[00:15:12] News. Ukraine carries out strikes
[00:15:14] strikes on oil refineries as Kyiv Kyiv continues to target Russian
[00:15:18] Russian energy infrastructure. We'll We'll take a look at the impact of
[00:15:20] of the war on the Russian economy. economy. More Ukrainians are killed
[00:15:23] killed as Russia attacks apartment
[00:15:26] apartment blocks and railway infrastructures. infrastructures. The Confederation Confederation of African Football
[00:15:29] Football will meet in the next few few hours. It follows Fifa president
[00:15:33] president Gianni Infantino's apology apology over the now abandoned proposal
[00:15:37] proposal to sell shares in the World World Cup to private investors. We'll
[00:15:39] We'll take you live to Morocco, Iran
[00:15:42] Iran says a deal with Oman on a shipping shipping route through the Strait
[00:15:45] Strait of Hormuz is now in its final
[00:15:49] final stages and with progressive progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed El-Sayed victory in Michigan's Senate
[00:15:53] Senate primary will also take a look look at what this means for the Democrats
[00:15:57] Democrats ahead of the mid-terms.