08/11/2015 BBC Weekend News

The Queen leads tributes to those killed in conflict.

Thousands of veterans were among those gathered in London,

as Remembrance Sunday was commemorated across the UK Also

A row erupts between the Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn

and the Head of the Armed Forces over Britain's nuclear deterrent.

Mourning the victims of the Russian plane downed in Egypt

as an investigator says a bomb was almost certainly to blame.

And the remarkable story of one Afghanistan war veteran who

The Queen has led the nation's tributes to service personnel killed

in conflict, laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in London this morning.

She was joined by politicians, and thousands of veterans and members of

the armed forces, as the traditional minute's silence was observed.

The ceremony was one of many held across the UK on this Remembrance

Sunday, as our Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell reports.

It is a day when differences are put to one side as the nation pauses to

remember those who gave their lives in war. Making his first appearance

at the Cenotaph and getting a guiding hand from the Prime Minister

on where to stand, the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, in a dark

jacket and tie and a red poppy in his lapel. No one has more

experience of these occasions than the Queen. It is 70 years since she

attended her first Remembrance Day in 1945. Then, she was a 19-year-old

princess. Now she approaches the age of 90.

At the stroke of 11 a.m., a field gun signalled the start of the two

minutes' silence observed in Whitehall and around the nation.

At The Cenotaph, the Queen placed a wreath on behalf of the united

kingdom and countries of the Commonwealth. For the first time,

some members of the Royal family laid their wreaths in groups to

shorten the time that the Queen and world World War II veterans had to

stand at the Cenotaph, so Princes William, Harry and Andrew stepped

forward together. The Prime Minister stepped forward to place a wreath on

behalf of the government, then it was the turn of Mr Corbyn. There had

been a plan for opposition party leaders to lay the reads as a group,

but it had to be shelved. After the wreath laying, a short service and

the singing of the national anthem in which all of the party leaders

joined, some with perhaps more confidence than others. After the

politicians had gone, past the Cenotaph came the veterans, turned

out in their best to show respect for those who never came home.

The head of the Armed Forces says Jeremy Corbyn will undermine that

the deterrent value of nuclear weapons by saying he would never use

them. Nicholas Houghton's commenters were sparked -- sparked an angry

response from Jeremy Corbyn. How serious is this, Carol? It is quite

a row and it is very rare for the senior military leader in the

country to get involved in political controversy. Jeremy Corbyn is not

only opposed to the Trident nuclear weapons system he also said he would

never press the button, and general Nicholas Houghton said he was

worried if someone was in power with such views as it would completely

undermine the British nuclear deterrent. The whole thing about

deterrence rests on the credibility of its use. When people say you are

never going to use the deterrent, I say you use the deterrent every

second of every minute of every day, and the purpose of the deterrent is

that you don't have to use it because you successfully deter. This

is a difficult issue of the Jeremy Corbyn and he is out of step with

his party's current policy on the issue, but he has reacted very

strongly, saying that there is a breach of constitutional principle

here, which is that the military should always remain neutral. He has

written to the Defence Secretary about it and you now have a very

public spat between the leader of the British Armed Forces and the

Leader of the Opposition on Remembrance Sunday.

One of the investigators working to determine the cause of the Russian

plane crash in Egypt says he is 90% certain it

The Egyptian government says it is still too early to know

Here, the Foreign Secretary has said that if a bomb is proven there will

need to be rethink of airport security in parts of the world where

Our Middle East Correspondent Orla Guerin reports.

Taking off today, images filmed from a distance. The airport authorities

will not allow our cameras inside but there are growing questions

about security in the terminals and on the runway before the departure

of the Russian jet which fell from the skies. Egyptian investigators

are looking at airport staff who had access to the plane including

baggage handlers. They were supposed to be monitored by closed-circuit

television, but according to one report, those screens were often

abandoned, and many cameras inside the airport were broken. We filmed

at this security screening on Friday when staff were being vigilant. But

the Foreign Secretary has told the BBC that if the so-called Islamic

State did bring down the plane there are implications across the Middle

East. If this turns out to be a device planted by an Isil operative

or somebody inspired by Isil we will have to look again at the level of

security we expect to see in airports in areas where Isil is

active. Tighter security measures means thousands of passengers are

still grounded here. Some got briefed by easyJet today. If you are

going to say you are on the flight the next morning, phone to confirm.

The tourist filming the picture says it was their first sighting of a

representative in five days. These couples from Suffolk were due to

leave last Thursday. When we met this morning, they were still

waiting to hear from easyJet. Just get in touch with us and tell us

what's going on. Rather than just leave you dangling. Oh, well, you

are all right, you are in a 5-star hotel, sit back and relax. But that

is exactly what some British tourists here are doing. Relishing

their time in the sun and the swimming pool. Brenda and Kevin

Davies, who were supposed to go next Thursday, say they will definitely

be back. It has been fantastic. Sharm el-Sheikh is wonderful and the

people are brilliant, they are friendly, helpful. It's been

absolutely great. The authorities here are hoping that these are the

kind of images that visitors will take away, but tourism could be

another casualty of the crash. Memorial services have been held

today in St Petersburg, Moscow and other Russian cities

for the victims of the crash. In St Petersburg, the bells of

St Isaac's Cathedral tolled 224 Steve Rosenberg sent this

report from St Petersburg. In Saint Petersburg today they

stopped and they listen. The bell rang out 224 times, for each victim

of the plane crash. Inside Saint Isaacs Church there were prayers for

the dead. People here are struggling to come to terms with what happened.

They are frightened of what happens next. It is not only the scale of

the disaster which has shocked people in St Petersburg and across

Russia, it is the growing suggestion that it might well have been a bomb

that blew a plane with Russian holiday-makers out of the sky. The

Kremlin had claimed its air strikes at Syria would make Russians safer

at home by neutralising the threat from international terrorism. So if

it was a bomb that destroyed the Airbus, will Russians feel let down

by their government? At St Petersburg airport, at the makeshift

shrine to the victims of the crash, the people we spoke to still

supported Russia's operation in Syria. If you take on evil there is

always the chance it will hit you back. Act like a coward and it will

teach you even more. Russians are not blaming their leaders for this

disaster, but they are numb with grief. Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, St

Petersburg. The head of athletics' world

governing body, Lord Coe, has said he's shocked and angry

after allegations about bribery One of the authors of a report,

due to be published tomorrow, has said it will expose "a whole

different scale of corruption". Here's our Sports News

Correspondent, Richard Conway. The fight against doping is a

constant challenge for athletics, but it must now face up to

allegations of a cover-up involving individuals who were, until

recently, at the very top of the sport. The president of the IAAF

stepped aside in August and is now the subject of a French criminal

investigation over claims he took bribes that enabled Russian athletes

to continue competing after failing drugs tests. The man who replaced

him, Lord Coe, is aware of the scale of the problem. These are dark days

for our sport, but I'm more determined than ever to rebuild the

trust in our sport. It's not going to be a short journey, and I'm

determined to rebuild and repair the sport with my council colleagues,

but this is a long road to redemption. Things may be about to

get a lot worse though. Tomorrow a World Anti-Doping Agency

investigation into the claims will be revealed, and one of the waters

has described the findings as a real game changer for sport. It will

outline how in addition to the Kremlin enquiries on's have also

charged the former President's on, the former head of the anti-did

hoping apartment is also under investigation -- anti-doping. As is

the former president of the all Russia athletics Association, along

with one of the country's leading long-distance coaches. Lord Coe is

likely to come under increasing scrutiny after making a strong

defence over the affect of anti-doping procedures earlier this

year. As the newly installed head of world athletics he must deliver on

his election pledges and tackle the worst crisis in the history of the

sport. Richard Conway, BBC News. Polls have closed in Myanmar -

also known as Burma - in an election which could end over

50 years of military-backed rule. The opposition National League

for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, is expected to win

most of the seats in parliament. Our special correspondent, Fergal

Keane has sent this report from At dawn, freedom and beckoned.

Literally a minute before they open the gates. What does it feel like to

be voting? Very happy. A government official in his first election. To

those who remember when the streets were filled with fear, this patient

progress was a revelation. Generations who doubted they would

ever see this day join to those who hoped their children will inherit a

democratic nation. How does it feel to have voted? Exciting. So

exciting. You feel real changes coming? Yes, I believe. This has

come about through non-violent struggle, something exceptional in a

world beset by conflict. That is because this woman, pro-democracy

leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, always refused to countenance violence.

During decades of brutal military repression. Our camera caught the

moment when she voted. But to form a government her party

needs a landslide to counter the built-in advantage enjoyed by the

military. Her opponent, the sitting president, is a former general and

backed by the military who have one quarter of the seats reserved for

them in Parliament. That is their insurance against losing influence

as the country transforms under the eyes of the world. They are high

stakes for the country, courage transition state they are in, and we

cannot expect the elections to be perfect. It's the first time

international observers have been invited to an election in Myanmar

and we believe that in itself constitutes progress. Out in her raw

constituency, Aung San Suu Kyi visited polling stations. Even she

does win the landslide, the challenges are immense. Many of the

Muslim country members are disenfranchised and grinding poverty

a lot of the majority of the nations. As Aung San Suu Kyi

continues to tour her constituencies, there is a sense of

quiet expectation. After of human rights abuse, military rule, a great

deal of hope rests on this moment. And that her party headquarters

tonight, a constellation of the hopeful thousands. Now that the

polls are closed the waiting will go on. By this time tomorrow, people

here should know whether the election has delivered a dramatic

change they hoped for. Let's return to our main story,

and the ceremonies that took place Among those at the Cenotaph today

was 25-year-old Shaun Stocker, who lost his sight and both of his

legs while serving in Afghanistan. Step-by-step, Shaun Stocker is

starting a new life. He became a veteran just three weeks ago,

leaving the Army more than five years after the bomb blast that took

both his legs and his site. Today was his first remembrance service

using prosthetic limbs. I have only been able to come down once, and

that was a couple of years ago, and that was in a wheelchair, so it's

good to actually be able to walk. And this is the journey he has made

after eight weeks in a coma and 40 operations. He had to learn to walk

blind. The explosion happened just days before he was due to end his

first tour of Afghanistan. I felt like I was in a dream. It took a few

seconds for me to figure out what had happened. I could feel the guys

putting the tourniquets on my legs and patching me up, so I knew

something serious had gone on, but I didn't know what had happened to me

until I heard somebody say on the radio that they had a double

amputee. Being a 19-year-old lad, I didn't want to use a walking stick

or a blind stick. His injuries changed everything, including his

hopes of becoming a father. But surgeons froze some of his sperm,

and earlier this year helped him and his fiancee conceived. Their baby is

due on Christmas Day. He is very strong and he just keeps going. He

has got stronger over the past few years, more confident. The walking

is making him more confident. Having someone that loves you and spends

all their time with you definitely helps. Determined that nothing will

get in his way, his next challenge is to walk 100 kilometres, raising

money for other blind veterans and helping those on the same path.

There's more throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel, we are back

Now on BBC1 its time for the news where you are.