07/01/2012 BBC Weekend News

The clearest signal yet that a new high-speed rail link between London

and Birmingham will be approved. The government-commissioned report

says alternatives to the scheme would not deal with long-term

overcrowding. Ed Miliband hits back at critics of

his leadership of the Labour Party, insisting he is a man of Steel.

And police are investigating an Oldham footballer's claims that he

was verbally abused during last Good afternoon. A high-speed rail

link between London and Birmingham look set to be given the go-ahead

after a report concluded that alternatives to the multi-billion-

pound project would fail to deal with long-term overcrowding on

trains. The Government commission studying to what is known as HS2 is

seen as the clearest indication so far that ministers will approve the

The proposal to build a brand new railway line across some of

Britain's most beautiful scenery has always been controversial. The

�17 billion scheme would Link Birmingham to London with a fleet

of 200 mph trains. But opposition groups claim it is a waste of money

and we should improve the existing network instead. They propose

longer platforms, more carriages, extra trains at peak times. But the

report from Network Rail says it is a short-term fix that will not cope

with overcrowding in the future. They say it will create long delays

for years and will not allow for more freight. Part of the booed

cuts through the Chiltern Hills. To several Conservative MPs and some

of the strongest opposition. It looks peaceful, but this has been

one of the main battlegrounds in the debate over high-speed rail.

Dozens of local protesters have joined forces. TV celebrities,

politicians and community groups, all of them angry and determined to

fight on. At a time of national austerity, where we are seeing cuts

across the board, we should be investing in infrastructure in this

country. But not in a railway that will save 20 minutes to Birmingham.

We should be investing in road and rail infrastructure across the

entire country. The Government is expected to make a final decision

as early as Tuesday. It now seems almost certain to give HS2 the

The Labour leader Ed Miliband has hit back at critics of his

leadership, describing himself as someone of real steel and grit. In

a newspaper interview committee said he had a clear plant and

relished the fight of been in opposition.

If Ed Miliband, in his own words. He is, he says, a man of real steel

and grit. A man who tells the Guardian today that he has taken a

His words come after a week in which that fight wasn't made any

easier, first by this sometime adviser, Lord Glassman, who said

that he seemed to have no strategy and little energy. Then by the

shadow minister Diane Abbott, who apologised after saying on Twitter

that white people love playing divide and rule. Finally, by it a

typo in his own could recount, accidentally saying that Bob

Holness was the host of Blackbusters. If you look at our

performance, you're looking at a party that has put on over 60,000

members, has won five by-elections and has also gained 800 more

counsellors. Today, Labour is trying to move the debate on to

policy, to curb excess earnings. They want companies to put staff

representatives of pay committees, publish ratios showing how average

salaries compare to executive earnings and to make top pay

packages simpler. All of that, with the Government about to announce

its own Pele plot -- pay plans and its MPs arguing that they have

dealt best with the issue. David Cameron has been talking about the

subject for a long time, whilst Ed Miliband was in the Cabinet that

signed off Fred Goodwin's pension. It is an important area. I hope it

is one that the Government makes progress on. I think we need to

make sure that the system works for everybody, not just those that do

not put in. As MPs return to Parliament for the first session of

Prime Minister's Questions of the year, they know that ultimately it

is the policies that will matter. Labour's more difficult moments of

the last few days will still not go unnoticed.

Thousands of workers at the consumer goods giant Unilever will

strike this month because of what they describe as an unjustified

attack on their pensions by the company. The three trade unions

which represents staff in Britain say the production at the firm will

be disrupted for between 10 and 12 days in January.

The Foreign Office has said terrorists could be in the final

stages of planning an attack in Kenya. It has urged British

nationals travelling there to be vigilant and cautious. Kenyan

authorities have warned that Nairobi could be targeted. Frank

Gardner is that the Foreign Office with the latest. What more do we

know? Well, in the last few minutes people inside the Foreign Office

here have said to me that their assessment of the terrorist threat

level for Kenya has been raised to critical and the last 24 hours,

meaning that they think an attack could be imminent. It is based on

information given to them largely by the Kenyan authorities. They

have been investigating for the past month what they sought was a

disrupted plot. They made a number of arrests. A British national was

arrested. They are also seeking a number of other suspects, including

a British national. They think the usual high-profile targets are

being sought by a militant group. Cafes, bars, beach clubs,

restaurants, places like that. This is because they think people have

come across the border from Somalia, linked to Al-Shabab, looking to

carry out attacks against both Kenyan targets and Western targets,

An investigation is under way after a hot-air balloon crashed in New

Zealand, killing all 11 people on board. Eyewitnesses said flames 30

metres high shot out of the balloon. The accident, in the town of

Carterton, happened in bright, clear conditions with little wind.

CCTV footage following allegations that an Oldham player was verbally

abused during last night's FA Cup match. Defender Tom Adeyemi

appeared to be visibly upset after the incident at Anfield. Liverpool

say they are working with the police to establish exactly what

happened. In the dying minutes of last

night's match at Anfield, the game was interrupted. Tom Adeyemi, who

it was getting involved. He is now having to be calmed down by Dirk

Kuyt. Oldham defender Tom Adeyemi had to be comforted by team-mates

and Liverpool players, including Steven Gerrard, after Tia Rigg

abuse directed at him. The player was so upset that play was briefly

suspended. It was not nice. We are very close, as a team, and when you

see one of your boys like that you will feel it. Police are

investigating whether the abuse was racist. The suggestion of racism at

Anfield compounds an already difficult time here at the club. It

comes in the wake of the Luis Suarez affair, the Liverpool

striker now serving an eight-match ban for directing racist abuse at

Manchester United's Patrice Evra. The club's handling of that

situation has been heavily criticised. The squad has

previously shown its support for Suarez. Now Liverpool has said it

is doing all it can to investigate what happened. It is the last thing

they needed after the controversy. I just hope that anyone who was sat

close to this moron has gone to the police and says, that is the fellow

do after, and then a candidate in the bud. There is no place for it.

At Anfield, fans said they were concerned for the club's reputation.

I'm disgusted. I supported Suarez, you cannot prove that he is

innocent or guilty. But if it is a racist outburst, the club need to

take a stand and prove we are not a racist organisation. I am ashamed

today to be a Liverpool fan. In 30 years of supporting them, they have

never been a racist club. Sometimes you get a group of supporters, it

is like any club, they come to make trouble. Just the odd few, really.

Neither Tom Adeyemi or Oldham Athletic have made any formal

complaint to the police. But officers are reviewing footage of

the game and CCTV to establish exactly what was said to the

defender and who said it. Today's action from the FA Cup, and

the shock result was at Swindon. They knocked out Wigan of the

Premier League, 2-1. Earlier today, Birmingham City keeper Colin Doyle

ensured that his side will play Wolves again, after blocking two