18/02/2014 BBC News at One

of England's target. Also this lunchtime:

The Alps murders - a Frenchman is arrested in connection with the

deaths of a British family and a cyclist in 2012.

Whole-life sentences can still be imposed on the most serious

offenders, says the Court of Appeal, defying a European ruling.

Police have seized a family dog after the sudden death of a baby in

Carmarthenshire this morning. It was not a banned breed.

Mopping up the floods - insurance bosses head to Downing Street as

ministers demand a stepped national effort to help victims.

And the giant Asian carp threatening North America's Great Lakes.

Later on BBC London: Counting the cost - now Surrey's

flood victims ask how much insurance will be in future.

We're live in Chertsey, where defences against the water are

starting to be removed. Good afternoon and welcome to the

BBC News at One. The rise in the cost of living is slowing down,

according to official figures. For the first time in more than four

years, inflation has fallen below the Bank of England's target of 2%,

to 1.9%. It's hoped it will bring some relief for cash-strapped

households. If the rate of inflation continues to fall, it means wages

could start rising faster than inflation by the end of this year.

Here's our chief economics correspondent, Hugh Pym.

Cost of living increases have been putting the squeeze on consumer

budgets but the pressure's now easing. Most prices haven't fallen,

but they are not rising as rapidly as they were so the inflation rate

has dropped. The question now is when people's pay packets will start

to rise faster than prices. That depends on the health of the

economy. This company makes equipment for the oil and gas

industry. After a difficult year in 2012, it's now growing fast and can

afford to increase wages by 3% this year, well above inflation. I think

that's testament to the fact that the way we're looking at the world

and our business in the UK is much more positive than it has been for

some time. The ups and downs of inflation have created some big

headaches for the economy in the last few years. Going back a

decade, inflation was not far off its 2% target but soared above 5% in

September 2008. Because of the recession, it plunged to 1% but then

rocketed above 5% again. Since then it's been in decline but above

average wage rises. Most economists expect inflation to stay around 2%

for the rest of this year, with wage rises moving ahead of that, ending

the squeeze on household budgets. Many shoppers will feel they will

only believe it when they see it. We asked people in Oxfordshire if

they'd noticed the drop in inflation. Things have become much

more expensive. I'm not seeing a fall. Maybe a bit in fuel, to be

honest. I haven't noticed in my actual weekly shop a great amount of

difference than previously. Clothes and things, yes, but not day-to-day

eating. Retailers want customers to feel better off so that takings at

the tills gather momentum but there's caution in the industry

about how quickly the pressure on family budgets will be reduced. I

think we're more stable than we've been and I think that's an

improvement and that's positive. It's difficult to call it an upturn

yet and I don't see that. I think we've just got to be very smart and

listen very hard as to what customers need from us. Low

inflation, of course, makes it easier for the Bank of England to

keep interest rates on hold. Borrowers will applaud that. Savers

will see things very differently. Hugh Pym is with me now.

Going in the right direction but can it last? Well, Sophie, some

economists expect inflation to fall from here. One group is expecting 1%

inflation by the end of this year. An indication of the way they see

things. It all depends on events over the next few months and the

Chancellor has said he thinks it's partly because of his long-term

economic plan. He says it is now giving families equal security.

Labour are saying, "Hang on a minute, wage rises have still not

overtaken price rises". Better news expected tomorrow? Better news on

unemployed had expected tomorrow. But Wolverhampton City Council has

announced 2000 jobs will go. They blame cuts imposed by central

government. Tomorrow we'll learn the extent to which the private sector

can continue to take up the slack of cutbacks. More figures then on jobs

and wage rises. Police in France have arrested a

48-year-old man in connection with the murders in 2012 of three members

of a British family and a French cyclist in the Alps. Saad al-Hilli

was shot dead along with his wife and her mother, in the hills above

Lake Annecy. Prosecutors said the man arrested is French. Let's get

more from our Europe correspondent Matthew Price.

A surprise development - what more can you tell us? In the last 20

minutes, we've managed to speak to a prosecutor involved in this case. He

has confirmed that 48-year-old man is believed to have been in the area

of the killing at the time it took place. His house is being searched

at the moment and, under French law, they have up to question him. The

prosecutor wanted to stress that at this stage, this individual is not

formally a suspect. They've arrested him simply because, under French

law, they have to do that in order to search is home and question him.

A reminder of this particularly brutal and shocking crime - a

British - Iraqi family on holiday in France killed, apparently in cold

blood, on a Ramon DeForest Road. Saad al-Hilli, the father, slumped

in the driver's seat of his BMW, shot dead. His wife and her mother

also dead on the back-seat. Police discovered the four-year-old

daughter alive, hiding under the body of third mother, and

seven-year-old daughter shot through the soldier but still alive after

badly beaten, lying in the road. Under French cyclist also killed

nearby. This is apparently quite a big development happening right now,

down in the Alps region of France, where this arrest has been made.

Thank you very much. The Court of Appeal has directed

that judges can continue to hand down whole-life sentences for the

most serious crimes in England and Wales. That's despite a ruling last

year by the European Court of Human Rights that offenders imprisoned for

life should be able to have their sentences reviewed. Since then,

sentencing for a number of high-profile criminal cases -

including the men responsible for the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in

London - have been on hold pending the judgment. Our home affairs

correspondent June Kelly reports. These are three of the 53 real

lifers in England and Wales. Convicted of the worst crimes, this

no Tory is group have been told they will die as prisoners. The European

court was asked to look of the issue of these whole-life sentences.

Judges here were unclear whether they could still impose them. This

morning, the Court of Appeal made it plain they could. Judges should

therefore continue, as they have done, to impose whole-life terms in

those rare and exceptional cases which fall within the statutory

scheme. Maria Stubbings was strangled with a dog lead by a man

with whom she'd had a brief relationship. Her murderer, Mark

Chivers, had already killed a previous girlfriend. He is one of

those serving a whole-life term and her family are believed at the court

ruling. We've been horrified by the possibility that someone taking

someone else's life - in his case, taking two people's lives - could be

released. What message does that send to everybody else perpetrating

such healers crimes? The European Court of Human Rights didn't say

such whole-life terms should be banned but it did say these

prisoners should be entitled to have their sentences reviewed. The appeal

judges here disagreed. A setback for defence lawyers who deal with these

cases. This really goes to the heart of the criminal justice system, to

decide whether prison sentences should have an element of

rehabilitation built in from the very outset. The sentencing of Lee

Rigby's killers, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, had been

postponed until today's ruling. The judge in their case could now hand

down whole-life terms. Police have seized a family dog in

Carmarthenshire this morning after the sudden death of a baby. They

were called to a house in the village of Pont-uh-berem at 8.30

this morning. -- the village of Pontyberem. Police have confirmed

that the dog was an Alaskan Malamute - which is not a banned breed. Our

correspondent Hywel Griffith is there. Police are releasing very few

details but what more do you know? This seems to have been an horrific

family tragedy. The family rang the emergency

services just before 8:30am. First on the scene was a paramedic,

followed by an ambulance, followed by a Helimed helicopter which

airlifted to the baby to the University Hospital in Cardiff. The

baby's life could not be saved. The police have a very clear presence on

the street. The house in question is about two thirds of the way down the

street and they have erected a forensic search tent there, so they

will be going through the contents of the house. One key piece of

information they've told us is that they have taken away the family

dog, which is one of their lines of inquiry. We understand that dog is

an Alaskan Malamute. It's not a registered dangerous to under the

dangerous to -- a registered dangerous dog under the Dangerous

To. They're not generally seen as being dangerous to children or

adults and have become increasingly popular as a breed for family pets.

They were bred because of their strength and ability to carry in

cold weather. However, they have become a popular pet. We're awaiting

more information from the police and we expect to hear from them later

this afternoon. Insurance bosses are meeting in

Downing Street to discuss their response to the severe flooding

across parts of the UK. The Government's urging them to deal

with claims from flood victims as quickly as possible. But there have

already been complaints that some companies are making the process

difficult. The Environment Agency says it could be months before water

levels return to normal. Our personal finance correspondent Simon

Gompertz reports. When the waters recede, what do you

do about house which was under nearly two feet of water? Ministers

want to make sure insurers pay out as quickly as they can. The water

came out through the house, into the hallway, and it was well above the

second step. If only they did pay, says Jeanette, whose home was

flooded on Christmas Eve. At first, her insurer put her family up in a

hotel but then decided that because she was within 200 metres of the

river, they wouldn't cover her after all. That was after restorers from

the insurer had thrown furniture and other belongings out of the house,

where it was pilfered by passers-by. I just said that I couldn't believe

it to the loss adjuster. I'd paid my insurance for so many years but

there was no discussion, just a statement, and then they put the

phone down. It's piling misery upon misery if an insurance company

delays paying or doesn't pay at all but the insurance industry as a

whole says it is on the ground helping and trying to get people

back on their feet. Insurance bosses representing 60% of the industry sat

down for talks at Downing Street today. On the agenda - stepping up

the help and making sure families continue to get support. Which is

what claims experts from Aviva insurance are trying to do in

Wraysbury on the Thames. This is on top of 5000 visits insurers say

their loss adjusters have made. Nobody at home in most cases but the

aim is to find customers who haven't managed to claim. The primary goal

is to make sure they're safe, arranging internal -- alternative

accommodation, looking at drying regimes to get them back on the

property as quickly as possible. That stealing with the devastation

from these floods. The other worry for families who now know they're

vulnerable is whether they will be able to get affordable insurance to

protect them next time. Our chief political correspondent,

Norman Smith, is in Downing Street, where the floods summit is taking

place stop the government is clearly very aware of the need get this

under control. Quite so and the reason is simple -

they know they have to be seen to be addressing people's concerns and,

for Mr Cameron, this is fades two of the floods crisis. Phase one was a

ensuring people had sandbags, getting the Army involved. Phase two

is helping people put their lives back together again, which means

ensuring that the insurance industry responds so badly and swiftly. In

other words, Mr Cameron has to ensure he is not perceived as

picking up his metaphorical tool bag, wiping his hands and going off

into the middle distance thinking the job is done. He has to remain

focused on the difficulties and the upset people are going to face four

months ahead, and that means waving a stick at the insurance industry to

make sure they respond quickly. But he is the difficulty - whereas he

can tell the local authorities, the environment agencies, the soldiers

what to do, he can't order the insurance industry to do anything.

Ben Brown is in Chertsey in Surrey. We can see what people are having to

deal with and the problem is, for so many flood victims, it is far from

over. Very far from over. The flood warnings have been lifted around the

Thames Valley, but the homes around me are very badly flooded. The water

level has dropped considerably, but it is still waist deep in places, so

very hard to approach some of the properties. People in real

distress, traumatised people are staying with relatives having been

evacuated from their homes, or they are staying in bed-and-breakfast

accommodation or hotels. People are worried about the insurance

situation, whether they will get their complete claims, and worried

about whether their premiums will shoot up because of the prices --

crisis, or even if they will get any insurance at all in the future.

And you can find out more about how the flooding is affecting your area

on the BBC news website. That's bbc.co.uk/news. And there are, of

course, updates on your BBC local radio station. The time is 1:16pm.

Our top story this lunchtime: The squeeze on households begins to ease

as inflation drops below the Bank of England's target to 1.9%.

Coming up, I'm at the Winter Olympics in Sochi where it's been

another dramatic day for Britain's curling team.

Later on BBC London: The gift of life. Patients who've received

kidneys at St George's Hospital say thank you to their donors. Beyond

the catwalk. Cara Delevigne tells us about her new acting career. We

catch up with her at London Fashion Week. At least three people have

been killed, and dozens of others wounded, in clashes between police

and anti-government protesters in Thailand's capital, Bangkok.

Violence erupted when riot police tried to retake ministries occupied

by demonstrators since December. Jonathan Head reports from Bangkok.

Outside the Prime Minister's office in Bangkok, an uneasy lull. The

police are trying to negotiate. No deal.

The protest movement would not give up the ground it has held here for

more than two months. A short distance away, the police try to

push forward and faced -- face fierce resistance. They briefly

captured a protest leader. That brought rocks. They responded with

tear gas. But still the crowd refused to retreat. It was hard to

know who was shooting who. This policeman survived a shot in the

head. One of his colleagues died from a chest wound. The police tried

to hold their ground. They fired repeatedly with rubber bullets. Then

this, a grenade arced into the police line, landing at their feet.

One officer realised the danger. But too late. Four police officers were

injured, and one lost his leg. More volleys of gunfire from the police,

this time with live rounds, left many protesters with serious gunshot

wounds. Some of them fatal. This has now become a very tense front line.

There is a lull at the moment, but what we saw a few moments ago shows

how easily violence can erupt when tension is this bad. The police say

they will pull back, but the protesters are still very angry. The

police do not want them to advance as there is still the potential for

trouble here. As the police withdrew, the protesters dragged up

their barricades and reclaimed the street. It has been one of the

bloodiest days of this long conflict. And, in the end, little

had changed. The trial is under way five men

accused of involvement in a multi-million pound scam targeting

Barclays and Santander banks. The men are accused of intercepting

credit cards and directly transferring money from branches in

London by planting electronic devices on computers. Sophie is at

Southwark Crown Court for us. The jury has been told this morning that

the case sentences -- centres on what was a sophisticated and

organised attack on the banking system in this country. The

prosecution told them that between April and September of last year,

members of a gang tried to submit -- steal millions of pounds from the

bank 's ear. One of the five defendants, Barclays Bank employee,

accused of trying to plant electrical device in Berkeley 's

meaning he could transfer money out of the branch. -- in a Barclays

Bank. The police also said the gang was linked to a criminal network who

were using stolen credit cards and one of the cards that was stolen was

used in Selfridge's to buy a watch worth around ?24,000. All five

defendants here today denied the charges against them. Sophie, thank

you. They're giant fish that grow up to

four feet long. And now the Amercian city of Chicago is considering

spending billions of dollars to try to stop the Asian carp from

infesting North America's Great Lakes. They've been swimming up the

Mississipi from southern states in America, where they were first

introduced more than 30 years ago. Now Chicago is thinking of closing

its canal system to stop them getting any further. Our science

correspondent Pallab Ghosh reports. Giant jumping fish. It's a familiar

sight here of the waters leading towards Lake Michigan. They are

called Asian carp and can grow up to four foot long. The fish have

infested the Mississippi River and are now not far from the great

Lakes. This canal is all that stands in the way between the Asian carp

and the Great Lakes. That is why they have built this control centre

to send electrical pulses into the water to stop the carp from getting

further. But some say that on its own this electrical barrier will not

be enough. They are calling for more drastic measures. The US Army Corps

of engineers has proposed blocking the canal system at various points,

here. It could cost up to $18 billion. There are 9.1 million

people in Chicago in the matter of a hundred years the canal has been

there, the economic impact is considerable. The carp invasion of

the Great Lakes is a problem that will affect the rest of the world.

20% of the world's freshwater is in those Lakes. It has led to the

effects of climate change, and we want to protect this one time

natural resource. Another option is to mince up the fish and eat them

out of existence. This fishmonger is making burgers out of the carp. Our

world-famous carp burger. That is the cheese stuffed in it. That's

really nice. The city and neighbouring states will have to

find a solution soon, but some believe that the fish are

unstoppable and that it's only a matter of time before these

monstrous creatures make the Great Lakes their new home.

She was one of thousands of unmarried mothers in Ireland forced

to give up her child, and her search for her son inspired a film that's

been nominated for the Oscars. Now, Philomena Lee is using the film's

success to push for a change in the law that she hopes will make it

easier for families to be reunited. Our Ireland Correspondent Chris

Buckler has been to meet her. Children taken from their mothers

because they weren't married. It is a scandal that has hung over

Ireland. But at the time it was those birds that were seen as

shameful and something the country try to hide -- those births. They

say you abandoned him as a baby. I did not abandon my child. Philomena

tells of one woman's battle to find out what happened to her son. He was

given up for adoption without her consent in an institution run by the

Catholic Church. The film is based on a true story. The family believed

we had committed a mortal sin by having a baby out of wedlock. Times

are different today, thank goodness, but we were led to believe that we

were sinners and that was it. Her but we were led to believe that we

story has had a huge impact in Ireland. Even in the Irish

parliament they are talking about the Philomena effect. I have been

advised by the adoption authority that they've already seen a

significant increase in the number of people who are calling the

authority in regard to information and tracing. Philomena's story is

not unusual. The decades there was a shame associated with unmarried

mothers, and so children were taken away and in many cases sent

overseas. Even now there are still people trying to look at their

family. But that's extremely difficult in Ireland. The adoption

rights Alliance is campaigning for people to be given the right to see

their adoption files. The law in Ireland currently prevents them from

having access to those records. That campaign has been called the

Philomena Project. Philomena Lee has been fantastic, she is appealing,

particularly to those older women to get rid of the shame and guilt and

she has pointed out that the shame and guilt is not with them, it is

with Irish society. And Philomena believes opening up the adoption

files will allow some other parents to be given the chance to meet their

children. To know that the film and myself telling the story is going to

help a lot of people, especially women my age group, is still a lot

of them are reluctant to come out with those stories. The morality of

the past is being questioned, but any change comes too late for some

mothers who lost their children forever.

At the Winter Olympics, Team GB's men's curlers have reached the

semi-finals after beating Norway 6-5 in a nail-biter this morning in

Sochi. Elsewhere, speed skater Elise Christie has qualified, this time

trouble-free, in the 1,000 metres. Live now to Sochi, and our

Correspondent, Andy Swiss. Yes, it has been another dramatic

morning here in Sochi, especially for Britain's men's curlers. They

had to beat Norway to reach the semifinals and they did it on the

very final stone. It is one of sport's eternal questions. Do you

play safe, or do you go for glory? With Norway leading 5-4, that was

the dilemma facing David Murdoch. Should he play a simple shot for one

point and a tie-break, or a risky ricochet for victory, if it worked,

or defeated it didn't. After an agonising wait, it was or nothing.

-- all for nothing? Is it right? He's done it! Under the greatest

pressure, he produced one of his greatest shots. Britain through to

the semifinals and left reflect on a moment of magic. It was a chance to

win the game, and we're not scared of going for a big shot. If it comes

off, we are free. We did it perfect, and here we go -- we are through.

After two disqualifications in the short track speed skating, would it

be third time lucky for Lee's Christie? -- Elise Christie. The

1000 metres is our best event, and she showed why, cruising through the

heat, this time without any mishaps. She said she had considered pulling

out of the event after receiving threats on Twitter. My training

having gone so well with everything, but as I crossed the line, I looked

across, and I was quite pleased with that. But the day's most unlikely

sight came in the giant slalom. Along the skiers was the classical

violinist Mae. -- Vanessa Mae. She finished last, some 50 seconds

behind the winner will stop but at least she proved she has another

string to her bow. -- behind the winner. But at least proved she had

another string to her bow. Finally, to give you an update about the

British skier Rowan Cheshire, who was injured in an accident, Team GB

says she will not be able to compete in her event on Thursday.

Time for a look at the weather. Here's Stav Danaos.

Things, the moment, although it does go unsettled later in the week. --

relatively quiet at the moment. You can see how much quieter there is in

the forecast. The white spots showing heavy showers, and

unfortunately across much of Scotland is producing outbreaks of

rain. The theme for the afternoon is Sunny spells with some showers

around and a little bit wetter across Scotland. This is the radar

picture from earlier. Brighter colours across the south-east where

we have heavy showers and hail and even thunder affecting southern

Scotland and the far north. Running the sequence through the afternoon,

a scattering of showers across England and Wales, but decent spells

of sunshine. For the northern half of mainland Scotland, cloudy with

outbreaks of rain and some mountain snow, but for Orkney and Shetland, a

decent afternoon, but feeling chilly. For Northern Ireland, more

sunshine and showers, scattered showers across the North of England

and a scattering of showers through much of England and Wales. The focus

of the heaviest are in the south-east corner with the risk of

hail and thunder through the afternoon. Temperatures in double

figures for many and the winds are lighter, so in the sunshine it will

feel almost like spring. If we run the sequence through the evening,

the heavier showers clear from the south-east. It turns dry for England

and Wales before fragmented patchy rain comes in, then into the

Midlands. For Scotland, we hold onto cloud and showers with snow in the

hills. Generally free of frost, but another chilly wonder, the Northern

Isles. That takes us into Wednesday morning with a misty, murky note

across the North with fog around. The showers clear away, and then

foremost, Wednesday looking like being a dry day apart from some

showers across Scotland, but the mist will be up and the mist is

there a cross Northern Ireland as other weather fronts pushing from

the Atlantic thanks to the area of low pressure. Tightly packed ice

bars the Thursday and we are looking at a fairly windy day with a band of

rain spreading West -- isobars. We could see gale force winds.

Following the rain, blustery showers and they could turn wintry across

the mountains of the north-west corner, but across the South,

looking relatively mild. For Friday, a mixture of sunshine and blustery

showers, more frequent in the West. You could see coastal gales, but

good spells of sunshine, particularly in the East.

Now a reminder of our top story this lunchtime: the squeeze on households

begins to ease with inflation falling to 1.9%, the lowest level in

more than four years. That's all from