03/12/2012 BBC News at One


03/12/2012

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 03/12/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

The Chancellor warns multi-national companies that the Government will

:00:08.:00:12.

come after those that avoid paying tax. George Osborne announces tens

:00:12.:00:17.

of millions of pounds of extra funding to tackle what he called

:00:17.:00:24.

aggressive avoidance schemes. people pay their taxes, few don't.

:00:24.:00:29.

Those who don't, we are coming after them. Diplomatic pressure -

:00:29.:00:38.

Israel's ambassador in London is summoned to the Foreign Office.

:00:38.:00:42.

Putting patients at risk. Hospitals wards are sometimes so full safety

:00:42.:00:45.

is being compromised. Victims of last week's devastating

:00:45.:00:51.

flooding in parts of Wales get a visit from Prince Charles.

:00:51.:00:57.

They said it wouldn't catch on. Today, the text message celebrates

:00:57.:01:02.

its 20th anniversary. On BBC London: Two men die in an

:01:02.:01:05.

accident on the M1 near Watford, causing the motorway to close for

:01:05.:01:06.

hours. And we learn there were warnings

:01:06.:01:09.

the Hammersmith Flyover could collapse two months before it

:01:09.:01:19.
:01:19.:01:33.

Good afternoon. Welcome to the BBC News at One. The Chancellor's

:01:33.:01:36.

warned multi-national companies that the Government will come after

:01:36.:01:40.

those that avoid paying tax. George Osborne has announced tens of

:01:40.:01:45.

millions of pounds of extra funding for HM Revenue and Customs as part

:01:45.:01:50.

of efforts to tackle "aggressive avoidance schemes". It follows

:01:50.:01:54.

criticism from a group of MPs who describe the way some multi-

:01:54.:01:58.

nationals organise their tax affairs as an insult.

:01:58.:02:02.

After the grilling of Starbucks, Google and Amazon over tax

:02:02.:02:07.

avoidance, the Government says it will pay to squeeze more out of

:02:07.:02:10.

multi-nationals and wealthy individuals. Starbucks was the

:02:10.:02:14.

latest to be targeted. It was accused by MPs of transferring

:02:14.:02:21.

profits overseas so that it hardly pays any tax in the UK. We are not

:02:21.:02:25.

aggressively looking to avoid tax. Its Chief Financial Officer was

:02:25.:02:30.

given a rough ride last month. Now, the Committee's chair has accused

:02:30.:02:34.

companies who minimise their tax as being immoral. The tax authorities

:02:34.:02:40.

have to get a grip and start aggressively policing our tax

:02:40.:02:46.

borders, so that they question these negotiations and the amounts

:02:46.:02:53.

of profits that these companies export. Starbucks had sales of

:02:53.:02:59.

nearly �400 million last year and paid zero corporation tax. Google's

:02:59.:03:04.

UK sales were �2.5 billion and it paid �6 million and Amazon on sales

:03:04.:03:10.

of �3 billion, it says it paid �1.8 million in UK corporation tax last

:03:11.:03:17.

year. Amazon's sales will be bigger this Christmas, but it says it pays

:03:17.:03:22.

all the applicable taxes in every jurisdiction it operates in across

:03:22.:03:26.

the world. These companies generates employment, sales which

:03:26.:03:30.

generates VAT. We don't want to scare that away. It's all about

:03:30.:03:38.

getting a fair amount into our Government's coffers. Starbucks has

:03:38.:03:41.

said after listening to feedback, it's decided it needs to do more

:03:41.:03:46.

and it is in talks with the tax authorities. Most multi-nationals,

:03:46.:03:50.

despite the fact they haven't been accused of breaking the law, are

:03:50.:03:54.

preparing themselves for much closer scrutiny of their tax

:03:54.:03:59.

affairs. Today, the Treasury promised an extra �77 million over

:03:59.:04:05.

two years to tackle tax avoidance which they say should bring in �2

:04:05.:04:12.

billion more annually. The Chancellor visited a tax office

:04:12.:04:16.

today with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to ram home his plan

:04:16.:04:20.

to raise more. There is a very clear message. Most people pay

:04:20.:04:24.

their taxes. A few don't. Those people we are coming after them.

:04:24.:04:29.

With on the road publicity, the Revenue is trying to dispel the

:04:29.:04:33.

idea that while everyone else is up against it, some people can get

:04:33.:04:39.

around their tax. Let's get more from Norman Smith.

:04:39.:04:43.

Isn't this going to need international co-operation and a

:04:43.:04:47.

change in the law if the Government is to really recoup the sort of

:04:47.:04:51.

figures it says it will? Government say they are going to

:04:51.:04:54.

try and ensure there is greater co- operation internationally. They say

:04:54.:04:59.

they believe by investing more in specialist tax inspectors, they

:04:59.:05:04.

really can claw back huge amounts of money. We are not talking about

:05:04.:05:08.

the equivalent of you or I putting our hand down the back of the sofa

:05:08.:05:18.
:05:18.:05:20.

and emerging with a 50p. They are talking about us emerging with a

:05:20.:05:30.
:05:30.:05:30.

great number of tenners. So huge amounts of money. When you

:05:31.:05:38.

mentioned those figures to leading accountancy firms, they say these

:05:38.:05:42.

companies are not actually breaking the law and they estimate the

:05:42.:05:49.

amount of money may be as low as �1 billion. It seems to me this is as

:05:49.:05:53.

much about politics as money. Just two days before the Autumn

:05:53.:05:57.

Statement, the Chancellor wants to be in a position whereby he can say

:05:57.:06:02.

to voters, bracing them for more years of austerity, that he is

:06:02.:06:07.

ensuring those in the corporate world are bearing their fair share

:06:07.:06:10.

of pain. Interestingly, the Prime Minister, we understand, while he

:06:10.:06:15.

does not necessarily back the boycotts we have seen of companies

:06:15.:06:19.

like Starbucks, Downing Street says he understands why people want

:06:19.:06:26.

these big companies to pay their fair share of tax. Thank you.

:06:26.:06:29.

The Israeli Ambassador in London was summoned to the Foreign Office

:06:29.:06:33.

this morning following the decision by the Israeli government to expand

:06:33.:06:38.

settlements and build-up to 3,000 more houses in the West Bank. James

:06:38.:06:42.

Robbins is at the Foreign Office. What are we to read into the move

:06:42.:06:46.

in terms of the seriousness of this? Let me tell you what happened

:06:46.:06:52.

this morning. This morning, Israel's ambassador to the United

:06:52.:06:57.

Kingdom was summoned here to the Foreign Office for a meeting with

:06:57.:07:03.

the Middle East Minister, effectively a rebuke. He was told

:07:03.:07:08.

that Britain deplores the recent Israeli government decision to

:07:08.:07:11.

build those 3,000 new homes and to press ahead with possible

:07:11.:07:15.

development plans for a highly controversial block of land known

:07:15.:07:20.

as E1, which lies between East Jerusalem and the Palestinian West

:07:20.:07:24.

Bank. Britain is really worried that this could make the prospects

:07:24.:07:31.

for a final two-state solution even more remote. And their view is

:07:31.:07:37.

shared strongly by others. The French took exactly parallel action,

:07:37.:07:41.

summoning the Israeli Ambassador in Paris. The wider context - the

:07:41.:07:47.

Israelis took this action in direct retaliation for Palestinian success

:07:47.:07:51.

last week at the United Nations in achieving an upgrade in their

:07:51.:07:59.

status towards statehood. The atmosphere for long-term peace

:07:59.:08:04.

settlement talks seems more poisonous than ever before. Thank

:08:04.:08:10.

you. Some hospital patients are being

:08:10.:08:14.

put at risk by overcrowding, according to a report from the

:08:14.:08:18.

healthcare research firm Dr Foster. They suggest a growing number of

:08:18.:08:20.

frail and elderly patients are being treated in hospitals because

:08:20.:08:24.

of a lack of care elsewhere and that is creating pressure in the

:08:24.:08:28.

system. The Government said there is spare capacity and the system

:08:28.:08:34.

can cope. In hospital, with a broken elbow

:08:34.:08:39.

after a fall, this woman was cheerful enough. She would be going

:08:39.:08:45.

home after three days. You know where everything is. I just prefer

:08:45.:08:50.

to be home. I'm sure everybody else does as well. That is because here,

:08:50.:08:55.

patients don't stay long on the ward. The hospital works with the

:08:55.:08:59.

local GPs and the council providing as much care as they can outside

:08:59.:09:04.

hospital. We start by saying if patients can stay at home, they

:09:04.:09:07.

should stay at home. If a patient needs to come into hospital, they

:09:07.:09:11.

will come into the hospital for the minimum amount of time and then we

:09:11.:09:16.

get them back home with a care package wherever possible. One very

:09:16.:09:19.

good measure of the pressures on hospitals is how many of their beds

:09:19.:09:24.

are full at any one time. This research shows that most hospitals

:09:24.:09:28.

in England have 90% of their beds being used for most of the year.

:09:28.:09:32.

But here in Torbay, they have managed to bring the level right

:09:32.:09:36.

down. So what are the pressures on hospitals? The Government says on

:09:36.:09:41.

average the NHS is not overcrowded. It always has spare beds for

:09:41.:09:46.

emergency. But if you take out the quiet holiday times, experts say

:09:46.:09:51.

the picture is quite different. When you start to look underneath

:09:51.:09:54.

those numbers, you find there are particular moments when hospitals

:09:54.:09:58.

come under a great deal of pressure. Sometimes they are full. At that

:09:58.:10:03.

point, it is difficult to provide the safe, effective caring service

:10:03.:10:08.

that we all want hospitals to provide. There are signs of some

:10:08.:10:12.

hospitals struggling. This analysis also shows 12 Trusts had higher

:10:12.:10:17.

than expected rates of deaths. One potential warning sign of problems.

:10:18.:10:22.

Torbay has faced up to the challenges of treating elderly

:10:22.:10:25.

people. Charities say a similar rethink needs to happen elsewhere.

:10:25.:10:29.

Older people are going into hospital when they don't need to.

:10:29.:10:35.

The costs are shooting up for the NHS. But at the same time, local

:10:35.:10:38.

authorities are cutting social care in homes and in communities. From

:10:38.:10:42.

next year, hospital patients in England will be asked about their

:10:42.:10:46.

experience. And the Government says it is looking at better long-term

:10:46.:10:54.

funding of care at home. You can see more of the Dr Foster

:10:54.:11:01.

report on Panorama tonight at 8.30pm. Figures from the Bank of

:11:01.:11:05.

England show that banks and building societies took almost �4.5

:11:05.:11:09.

billion in the first two months of its new Funding for Lending Scheme.

:11:09.:11:19.
:11:19.:11:30.

The banks have only increased their It's the Bank of England's big idea

:11:30.:11:34.

backed by the Chancellor to get more lending out to businesses and

:11:34.:11:37.

households to help boost growth. Today we got the first set of

:11:37.:11:42.

figures which show lending is up but not by very much. It has not

:11:42.:11:46.

always been easy for banks and building societies to borrow money

:11:46.:11:50.

at low interest rates tonne wholesale market. The point of the

:11:50.:11:59.

scheme was to make cash available at low interest rates to the

:11:59.:12:04.

lenders. By the end of September �4.4 billion had been borrowed from

:12:04.:12:10.

the Bank of England. Between June and September, only an extra �0.5

:12:10.:12:20.
:12:20.:12:22.

billion had been lent out. Barclays And Nationwide are among those to

:12:22.:12:25.

have increased lending. The Bank of England says availability of

:12:25.:12:31.

mortgage funding has increased and Liam has taken advantage of that.

:12:31.:12:35.

have had the go-ahead from the mortgage now. He's spent two years

:12:35.:12:38.

trying to buy his first home. But only in the last few months was he

:12:38.:12:43.

able to find a mortgage which worked for him and so go ahead with

:12:43.:12:46.

the purchase. Most mortgage companies give you a good deal and

:12:46.:12:51.

waiver those fees to accept their deal and it is like the mortgage

:12:51.:12:59.

lenders are fighting to get you to apply for a mortgage. But a few

:12:59.:13:03.

miles away, a local small business adviser has a more downbeat

:13:03.:13:07.

assessment. He argues the Bank of England's scheme hasn't made things

:13:07.:13:12.

easier for his clients. There could be additional help there. I don't

:13:12.:13:16.

think the scheme is helping. It is not meaning there is more money

:13:16.:13:20.

available to them for a deal now the bank wouldn't have done six

:13:20.:13:25.

months ago. Leading banks say they will borrow more money and step up

:13:25.:13:28.

support for businesses and homeowners and they have cut

:13:28.:13:31.

interest rates on mortgages and business loans. The Bank of England

:13:31.:13:35.

says it will take time for banks to process the new loans and get cash

:13:36.:13:43.

out into the economy. The Home Secretary has applied for

:13:43.:13:53.
:13:53.:13:53.

permission to appeal against a decision to block the removal of

:13:53.:14:02.

Abu Qatada. A ban on big shops and supermarkets

:14:02.:14:09.

in Wales displaying tobacco comes into force today. It is supposed to

:14:09.:14:12.

remove the temptation for young people to take up smoking.

:14:12.:14:14.

Businesses breaking the law - which was introduced in England earlier

:14:14.:14:18.

this year - could be fined up to �5,000 or jailed for up to two

:14:18.:14:21.

years. It's thought shoppers in the UK

:14:21.:14:27.

will break all records today for online shopping. Known as Mega

:14:27.:14:29.

Monday, consumers are expected to make 115 million visits to retail

:14:29.:14:33.

websites, an increase of 36% on last year. A separate report by

:14:34.:14:36.

Visa estimates that consumers will spend over �200,000 every minute on

:14:36.:14:46.

its cards - with a total of 6.8 million transactions across the day.

:14:46.:14:49.

Talks between the coalition and Labour about how to respond to the

:14:49.:14:52.

Leveson Report will get under way again in just under an hour's time,

:14:52.:14:55.

ahead of a major Commons debate on the recommendations for press

:14:55.:14:58.

regulation later this afternoon. Our political correspondent, Carole

:14:58.:15:05.

Walker, is in Westminster. Is a cross-party agreement looking

:15:05.:15:14.

At the moment there is a big Gulf between the parties on the key

:15:14.:15:18.

question of whether you need new laws to back up a system of

:15:18.:15:22.

regulation for the press, although there seems to be room for

:15:22.:15:26.

compromise on some other issues. David Cameron said he does not want

:15:26.:15:30.

legislation. He think it is could undermine the freedom of the press

:15:30.:15:34.

and also Britain's reputation for this in countries around the world,

:15:34.:15:39.

but he has ordered officials to draw up a draft bill in any case.

:15:39.:15:43.

Labour have said given his attitude, that they are not confident that

:15:43.:15:47.

what which will arrive at the end of this will be something that is

:15:47.:15:52.

workable and effective, so they are drawing up an alternative draft

:15:52.:15:57.

Bill. The Lib Dem's, the Government's coalition partners say

:15:57.:16:02.

they want new legislation. We will get a sense of where the MPs stand

:16:02.:16:07.

on this afternoon, but there will not be a vote now. Come January if

:16:07.:16:12.

the differences cannot be resolved they could get to vote on two

:16:12.:16:16.

different sets of draft proposals. In the meantime David Cameron will

:16:16.:16:19.

be summoning newspaper editors to Downing Street to talk to them

:16:19.:16:23.

about this. He will say, that there is a huge amount of pressure for

:16:23.:16:26.

the edge shraigs, not just from Parliament, but from some of the

:16:26.:16:33.

victims of phone hacking who have gotten a lot of public sympathy. He

:16:33.:16:36.

will say that they have to get together with a proper plan or they

:16:36.:16:42.

could face a harder regime than any of them want.

:16:42.:16:47.

The top story: The Chancellor wants multi-national

:16:47.:16:50.

companies that the Government will come after those that avoid paying

:16:50.:16:55.

tax. I'm here at Surrey Sports Park,

:16:55.:17:01.

where hundreds of people are hoping to become the next Paralympic stars.

:17:01.:17:06.

Later on BBC London: The Government is challenged at the high court

:17:06.:17:12.

over plans for a high speed rail link and we find out the role that

:17:12.:17:22.
:17:22.:17:24.

the Olympic Stadium will play in The Prince of Wales is visiting the

:17:24.:17:28.

city of St Asaph in North Wales to offer his support to victims of

:17:28.:17:34.

last week's floods. One died and 400 properties were engulfed in

:17:34.:17:37.

water, whether the River Elwy burst its banks in heavy rain.

:17:37.:17:40.

Our correspondent is there for us now.

:17:40.:17:44.

Last week's flood tested the resolve of this community and,

:17:44.:17:49.

sadly, it took away the life of an elderly resident. Today, the Prince

:17:49.:17:54.

is able to meet some of those who felt the full effects of the

:17:54.:17:58.

weather and who are now still cleaning up and drying out their

:17:58.:18:03.

homes. This probably is not how Isla Jones

:18:03.:18:07.

and Martin Jones envisaged welcoming people to their new home.

:18:07.:18:12.

The couple moved in four months ago, today they showed Prince Charles

:18:12.:18:18.

how last week's flood turned their home into a recover bed. The mobile

:18:19.:18:22.

phone picks captured the current as it washed past and through their

:18:22.:18:29.

house. In many ways, it has been an incredible seven gays.

:18:29.:18:34.

-- seven days. Surreal. What a lovely, genuine man

:18:34.:18:38.

he is. He was interested in everything we were telling him,

:18:38.:18:44.

showing him and yes, a nice guy. Like many in St Asaph, the couple

:18:44.:18:48.

know that they will not spend Christmas here, this year, maybe

:18:48.:18:53.

even next year too. Realistically, a minimum of 12

:18:53.:18:57.

months. The insurers said eight to 12 months.

:18:57.:19:02.

The Prince wanted to meet not just those forced to leave their homes

:19:02.:19:06.

but the dozens of emergency and volunteers who staged a mass

:19:06.:19:10.

evacuation. Teams moved from deer- to-door, trying to rescue often

:19:10.:19:16.

frail and vulnerable residents. OK? Today's visit may not change

:19:16.:19:20.

the challenges, still facing this community, but it did offer respite

:19:20.:19:23.

from the months of repair work that lie ahead.

:19:24.:19:29.

Well, the Prince's visit ended here at St Asaph Cathedral, where he was

:19:29.:19:33.

able to meet many of the volunteers who came together to sustain the

:19:33.:19:37.

hundreds of people forced from their homes. We saw in the days

:19:37.:19:42.

following the flood, donations of clothes, bedding food and finances

:19:42.:19:47.

that could help to support these people, mot just now, for Christmas,

:19:47.:19:50.

but maybe for months, if not for years to come.

:19:50.:19:54.

Several new criminal offences take effect in England and Wales today.

:19:54.:19:58.

Including a new offence of aggravated knife crime and

:19:58.:20:03.

mandatory life sentences for anyone committing a sec serious violent or

:20:03.:20:07.

sexual offence. -- second.

:20:07.:20:11.

Various measures have been tried it tackle knife crime, including ak

:20:11.:20:16.

nestis. Now there is a new criminal offence of aggravated knife crime.

:20:16.:20:21.

It targets those who use knives in a public place or a school to

:20:21.:20:26.

threaten and to create a risk of serious orifice kal harm. In almost

:20:26.:20:31.

all cases, judges must impose a custodial sentence. A minimum six

:20:31.:20:35.

months prison for adults or a four month detention and training order

:20:35.:20:41.

for 16 to 17-year-olds. Knife crime can blight cities and

:20:41.:20:45.

estates, according to Government figures in the year to June 2012,

:20:45.:20:51.

there were just over 29,000 recorded offences involving knives.

:20:51.:20:57.

That is down 9% from the previous year, but just 22% of cases

:20:57.:21:01.

involving possession resulted in an immediate custodial sentence.

:21:01.:21:06.

There are some areas where society as a whole expects Government

:21:06.:21:10.

politicians to say that there is a minimum. A clear message to people

:21:10.:21:16.

who attempt to carry knives to use them in an aggressive way, that you

:21:16.:21:20.

should and will go to jail. But some leading lawyers feel that

:21:20.:21:26.

the new offence will achieve little. This is a blunt instrument in terms

:21:26.:21:30.

of deterrent sentences. All of research show it is does not work.

:21:30.:21:34.

No-one in that moment of pulling a knife thinks about the deterrent. A

:21:34.:21:38.

lot do not know about it. Among the other sentences coming

:21:38.:21:44.

into force today, there is the so- called two-strike system, a new

:21:44.:21:48.

mandatory life sentence for people convicted of a second, very serious

:21:48.:21:51.

sexual or violent offence. While some see the new measures as

:21:51.:21:55.

reducing a judge's discretion, others will welcome what is seen as

:21:55.:22:02.

a tough new regime. It causes hundreds of hours of

:22:02.:22:06.

train delays, puts lives at risk and costs the UK economy millions

:22:07.:22:12.

of pounds a week. Metal theft is a serious crime that affects us all.

:22:12.:22:16.

The Government has introduced new measures to make it harder for the

:22:16.:22:21.

thieves to profit. From today it is illegal to use cash when recycling

:22:21.:22:24.

metal in England and Wales. The scrap metal business has been

:22:24.:22:30.

cleaning up its act over the years. It has had to.

:22:30.:22:34.

Metal theft has been rampant from church roofs to railways, to

:22:34.:22:39.

telephone cables. It is a highly damaging and expensive criminal

:22:39.:22:46.

trend. From today's, scrapyards in England

:22:46.:22:50.

and Wales are banned from dealing in cash. So there will be paper

:22:50.:22:57.

records of all transactions. There, -- are, though, loopholes in the

:22:57.:23:02.

law, but that should be closed by legislation coming soon. That is

:23:02.:23:04.

essential. There has been a lag with the

:23:04.:23:09.

Government getting to grips with this. It reached a point where the

:23:09.:23:14.

metal theft was a horrific problem, they have done that today. Now we

:23:14.:23:22.

have to iron out the loopholes, sort out the out of date' 64 scrap

:23:22.:23:24.

metal dealer's act. It needs dealing.

:23:24.:23:29.

So, enhanced powers for the police, but how enforceable will the new

:23:29.:23:33.

law be? I have no doubt there will be some scrap metal dealers

:23:33.:23:37.

operating outside of the law. We will take firm enforcement action

:23:37.:23:41.

to bring them on the right side of the law, but I am confidence

:23:41.:23:44.

because of the work we have done with the British Mteals Recycling

:23:44.:23:47.

Association, that we will see high rates of compliance with the new

:23:48.:23:52.

legislation. No-one is claiming that this is the

:23:52.:23:56.

silver bullet to solve metal theft, but the cashless system has proved

:23:56.:24:01.

effective in France and spot-checks and police raids are making a real

:24:01.:24:09.

difference and not before time. After the success of the

:24:09.:24:13.

ParalympicsGB in London, the British Paralympic association

:24:13.:24:18.

wants to keep the momentum going for Rio and beyond. Today Sports

:24:18.:24:22.

Fest is being launched in Surrey with the hope of inspiring people

:24:22.:24:26.

to take up some of the sports involved.

:24:26.:24:32.

Andy Swiss joins us now from Guildford. As you say, Britain's

:24:32.:24:35.

Paralympians were one of the success stories of the summer.

:24:35.:24:41.

Today they are trying to build on that. Behind me is the wheelchair

:24:41.:24:45.

basketball going on. One of 20 sports to have a go at here if you

:24:45.:24:50.

fancied becoming a Paralympic star, this could be your chance. Three

:24:50.:24:56.

months on, but the memories are as fresh as ever. Britain's

:24:56.:25:00.

Paralympians provided the glories climax to a golden summer, from

:25:00.:25:06.

Jonnie Peacock to Ellie Simmonds, unforgettable moments that inspired

:25:06.:25:10.

a nation. Now the hunt is on for the stars of the future. A chance

:25:10.:25:15.

for children to try out sports, for children like Caroline and

:25:15.:25:19.

Christian, it is a school outing to remember.

:25:19.:25:25.

I wanted to do the basketball training. This looks like fun and

:25:25.:25:30.

maybe volley ball. People who are not as disabled as us can still do

:25:30.:25:35.

the sports that they love but in wheelchairs.

:25:36.:25:42.

10% of Britain's Paralympic team in London came through days out like,

:25:42.:25:49.

this including Adam Knott. I got to the Paralympics in two-

:25:49.:25:53.

and-a-half years. They will have another year-and-a-half on top of

:25:53.:25:58.

me. If you train hard, you can succeed.

:25:58.:26:02.

And certainly the success of Britain's Paralympians has raised

:26:02.:26:07.

interest levels to new heights. We have anything up to 800 people

:26:07.:26:11.

registered to come here. It is something that we want to replicate

:26:11.:26:15.

across the UK. Comparing that to where we were after Beijing, we had

:26:15.:26:21.

successful days, with up to 50 people coming to a session. You can

:26:21.:26:24.

see the exponential growth that London has brought.

:26:24.:26:28.

Today, �10 million is being promised for investment in

:26:28.:26:33.

disability sport. It seems that the Paralympian impact has only just

:26:33.:26:36.

begun. Next year they are hoping to take

:26:36.:26:39.

this sports open day to different places around the country. The hope,

:26:40.:26:44.

really, that there is a success of the Paralympics it just the start

:26:44.:26:54.

of something special. Now 20 years ago today, the first

:26:54.:26:59.

ever text message was sent it read merry Christmas, it was sent by a

:26:59.:27:05.

young engineer in December, 1992. It is thought now that 8 trillion

:27:05.:27:10.

texts are sent a year. Used for everything from hiring and

:27:10.:27:15.

firing to proposing and breaking up. In 20 years it transformed the way

:27:15.:27:21.

that we comounicate. It started with an engineer sending a message

:27:21.:27:25.

-- Communicates. One day they said we want to send a

:27:25.:27:31.

message. I was there at the right time. In the hot seat, so to speak.

:27:31.:27:36.

From merry Christmas, to you are dumped, we have all found ways of

:27:36.:27:40.

expressing ourselves via the text message, but in the early days, the

:27:40.:27:43.

phone industry did not think it was take off.

:27:43.:27:46.

The mobile phone companies knew that this would be possible, but

:27:46.:27:50.

did not release it as they did not think there would be the uptake.

:27:50.:27:55.

They thought it was something that the engineers may use or the

:27:55.:27:58.

internal companies, but did not see it as a user technology.

:27:58.:28:03.

But the users did see the appeal. In the UK they sent 150 billion

:28:04.:28:10.

texts. The average person sends 50 texts a week and al% of UK adults

:28:10.:28:14.

texts friends and family at least once a day, but in the age of the

:28:14.:28:18.

smartphone, there are the first signs that texting may have peaked.

:28:18.:28:23.

It was said that there was a slight dip in the number of texts this

:28:23.:28:28.

year with people turning to instant messaging, Twitter and apps that

:28:28.:28:31.

allow you to communicate for nothing.

:28:31.:28:35.

People are probably texting less because of Facebook and smart

:28:35.:28:39.

phones that mean people are texting less. I am using free applications

:28:39.:28:44.

to send my messages. All I do is text. I get free texts

:28:44.:28:48.

each month. We may be moving on, but 20 years

:28:48.:28:50.

after the first message, we are finding that texting, rather than

:28:50.:28:56.

talking is often the quickest way of getting in touch.

:28:56.:29:01.

Now, let's get an all-important update on the weather with Phil.

:29:02.:29:06.

update on the weather with Phil. How is it looking, Phil? Bright and

:29:06.:29:11.

breezy, I will say it rather than texting. I have not got that much

:29:11.:29:16.

time! There are some exceptions to the rule of bright and breezy. We

:29:16.:29:21.

have had this weather front bringing rain, sleet and snow. It

:29:21.:29:25.

is trying to get away from the north-east of Scotland.

:29:25.:29:28.

Another area where you will not see very much in the way of brightness

:29:28.:29:33.

is down to the south-western corner. More rain here for the afternoon.

:29:33.:29:37.

There the cloud is thickening. The front taking its time to get away

:29:37.:29:41.

from the Channel and the southern counties. In the north, the showers

:29:41.:29:46.

will ripple through on a westerly breeze. Northern Ireland, there is

:29:46.:29:50.

a mixture of sunny smells -- spells and showers here.

:29:50.:29:54.

So too for the west of Scotland. Know is above the north-eastern

:29:54.:30:00.

corner of Scotland. After a rather dank start to the

:30:00.:30:06.

day, I think that we will get sunshine in many of the eastern

:30:06.:30:11.

parts of the England -- English countryside.

:30:11.:30:16.

In many parts, not so cold. In some parts seeing double figures,

:30:16.:30:21.

but cher I can that, it will not last. This evening, the prospect of

:30:21.:30:25.

showers on the western side of the British Isles. A breeze too. That

:30:25.:30:29.

will keep the areas frost-free in the south. A different start in the

:30:29.:30:34.

heart of Scotland. Watch out for the temperatures falling away, an

:30:34.:30:39.

ice problem and freezing fog. You may have to contend with that on

:30:39.:30:45.

Tuesday. Then cloud to the east in Northern Ireland. More snow on the

:30:45.:30:50.

higher grounds of the north-east of Scotland. Showers packing on to the

:30:50.:30:53.

breeze away through Wales, the south-west and Northern Ireland too.

:30:53.:30:57.

The best of the sunshine into the Midlands and central and southern

:30:57.:31:02.

England. The breeze was coming in from the west and the north-west.

:31:02.:31:06.

Out of Tuesday, into Wednesday, notice how behind the weather front

:31:06.:31:11.

we really straighten the isobars into a northerly. That will put a

:31:11.:31:15.

dent in the temperatures and a change in the feel of the day from

:31:15.:31:19.

the middle of the week. So snow showers more on the high ground

:31:19.:31:24.

down the eastern side of the British Isles. Then a chance of

:31:24.:31:28.

sunshine on Wednesday, but as you see there, two, three or four

:31:28.:31:32.

Celsius will be the order of the day. So chilly day and night over

:31:32.:31:36.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS