03/03/2012 BBC Weekend News

Good afternoon. BP has taken a big and expensive step towards

finalising the financial bill it will face from its 2010 oil spill

in the Gulf of Mexico. The company has agreed to pay �4.9 billion to

settle claims from more than 100,000 people and businesses. Our

business correspondent, Joe Lynam, reports.

It was the worst oil spill in American history, killing 11

workers. It was also a financial and PR disaster for BP, costing the

job of its then chief Executive Tony Haywood. Now BP has settled

with over 100,000 individuals and companies whose lives were affected

by the massive environmental disaster. It hit the economy, it

gave the perception that this place is tainted. Fishing is good but the

people just are not here. You walk into the marshes and it is

definitely still there. This settlement is just the beginning of

the payout of facing BP. It still has to agree a financial figure

with the US government and is itself suing other companies

including Trans ocean which actually operated the ill-fated rig

and halibut and which operated go deep-sea well. The settlement also

appears to be on higher side of what was expected, meaning the

reserves set aside for BP for the final cost may not now be enough.

Private companies could take responsibility for investigating

crimes and patrolling neighbourhoods, under a radical

plan being put forward by two of Britain's largest police forces.

West Midlands and Surrey have invited bids from major security

companies to provide a wide range of services. Daniel Boetcher

reports. Police forces in England and Wales

are having to make budget cuts of 20% in four years. And there are

also under pressure to protect frontline services. Some are

already use the private sector for work such as the managing custody

blocks and some back of its duties. What is proposed goes much further

and is on a bigger scale. West Midlands and Surrey police are

asking private security firms to bid for contracts. These could

include involvement in patrols, investigations, and responding to

incidents. The West Midlands force insist it would not involve

carrying out arrests. When it comes to arrests of suspects, it is clear

that that continues to be done by sworn officers. The Home Office

says it supports the police in considering the value of private

sector partnering to achieve cost savings. The police has described

the proposal as worrying and Labour says public-private partnerships

should not cross the line into areas that could put public Trust

or impartiality at risk. David Cameron has said reform of

the National Health Service is "unavoidable and urgent" and he did

not care if the government - in his words, took "a hit" over the issue.

Speaking at the Conservatives spring forum, the Prime Minister

said there was no going back on the reforms. But he said support for

the NHS was in his party's DNA. Two mortgage lenders are set to

raise their mortgage rates - the changes will affect more than

800,000 people on variable mortgages. RBS-Natwest is

increasing the cost of some mortgages by 0.25%, while Halifax

is expected to raise its standard variable rate.

A wave of tornadoes has killed at least 27 people in the central and

southern United States. Kentucky and Indiana were hit hardest.

Philippa Thomas reports. One of the most powerful tornadoes

swept over the area. This is what it left behind. A school bus torn

across the road, shunted into a house. Devastated. This is the

nearby town of Mary still, set by the shelves department to have gone

completely. It had 1900 residents. On this big deal you can see the

Tornado and also hear the hailstones. Further south in

Alabama, residents were well prepared to ride out the storm.

That used to be a mobile home. year was one of the deadliest

seasons on record. This year at the storms have come early.

The funeral is taking place in Belfast for one of the city's

favourite sons, the comedian Frank Carson. He died last month at the

age of 85. Mark Simpson is there. It has been a very different fuel,

people have been bluffing as much as they have been crying. Frank

Carson's coffin was taken into the church a short time ago by his

family and friends and in the congregation are people from all

walks of life, from boxer Barry McGuigan to the broadcaster Eamonn

Holmes. The snooker player Dennis Taylor was often there and

politicians like Martin McGuinness. And they have all been told within

the last few minutes how to remember Frank Carson, the bishops