12/09/2011 BBC News at Six


12/09/2011

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A radical overhaul of Britain's banks - plans to protect taxpayers

:00:03.:00:09.

from another multi-billion pound bail-out. It's the biggest shake-up

:00:09.:00:12.

in the City for a generation, giving more choice on the high

:00:12.:00:20.

street. But you will have to wait till 2019. Do they represent a

:00:20.:00:24.

decisive moment when we take a step towards a new banking system that

:00:24.:00:29.

works for Britain. We should not have to wait seven years for the

:00:29.:00:33.

pro consumer parts of this package to go through, things like

:00:33.:00:36.

competition on the high street and faster and easier switching for

:00:36.:00:39.

customers. These are things the Government should get on with now.

:00:39.:00:42.

We will ask whether customers will end up paying more.

:00:42.:00:44.

Also tonight: Murder and kidnap on a paradise

:00:44.:00:49.

isle - David Tebbutt was shot dead and his wife taken away by bandits.

:00:49.:00:58.

We report from the resort. It is a crime scene at the moment. They are

:00:58.:01:01.

investigating the murder. They are also trying to get clues as to

:01:01.:01:04.

where the British woman could have been taken.

:01:04.:01:07.

The tail-end of Hurricane Katia hits part of Britain, battering the

:01:07.:01:12.

coastline. 70 miles an hour winds and heavy rain leave buildings

:01:12.:01:15.

damaged and transport disrupted. Police question four after the

:01:15.:01:18.

discovery of a modern day slave camp, but some of those freed

:01:18.:01:23.

refuse to help the inquiry. And David Walliams beats the Thames

:01:23.:01:33.

tummy bug and nears the finish line of his marathon charity swim.

:01:33.:01:38.

I will be here with Sportsday later on the BBC News Channel, including

:01:38.:01:42.

the loan move that Sunderland described as baffling, but too good

:01:42.:01:52.
:01:52.:02:01.

Good evening. Welcome to the BBC News at Six. Plans for the most

:02:01.:02:04.

comprehensive overhaul of Britain's banks in a generation have been

:02:04.:02:07.

published today, and they should mean that taxpayers are never again

:02:07.:02:10.

asked to spend tens of billions making up for the costly mistakes

:02:10.:02:16.

of bankers. Under the proposals, which will come into effect over

:02:16.:02:19.

the next eight years, there will be new protection for consumers,

:02:19.:02:21.

keeping high street banking separate from more risky investment

:02:21.:02:26.

operations. Measures to promote more competition, making it much

:02:26.:02:30.

easier for us to switch bank accounts. And there will be

:02:30.:02:34.

measures to prevent another banking crisis in the future.

:02:34.:02:41.

Our Business Editor Robert Peston reports.

:02:41.:02:46.

Our mighty banks, such as Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds,

:02:46.:02:50.

HSBC, perhaps facing their biggest ever shake-up because of this

:02:50.:02:54.

unassuming economics professor, Sir John Vickers. The status quo is not

:02:54.:02:59.

an option. Things have got to change. So what reforms have been

:02:59.:03:03.

proposed by Vickers' Independent Commission on Banking has set up by

:03:03.:03:07.

the Treasury? The most important one is the creation of a ring-fence

:03:07.:03:11.

to protect the parts of banks that provide vital services to

:03:11.:03:15.

individuals and smaller businesses. These retail banking operations

:03:15.:03:20.

would be protected if the more speculative global investment

:03:20.:03:24.

banking areas found themselves in a spot of bother. A former Royal Bank

:03:24.:03:28.

of Scotland chairman says his old bank should not be too anxious.

:03:28.:03:33.

separation of investment banking functions from what I would call

:03:33.:03:38.

the commercial banking function, it is much more than retail, could be

:03:38.:03:44.

for the good of the bank. Because of recurring financial crises

:03:44.:03:48.

witnessed over the City's many centuries, the banks have to hold

:03:48.:03:52.

more capital, more rainy-day money and borrow from those who can

:03:52.:03:56.

afford to lose in bad times to make themselves more resilient. All

:03:56.:04:01.

around me is the evidence of the great boom in banking and finance

:04:01.:04:06.

over 20 years before the crash of 2007 to 2008. The skyscrapers of

:04:06.:04:09.

the City of London and Canary Wharf. But the commission believes that

:04:09.:04:14.

much of that boom was poisonous. So the question is, can the poison be

:04:14.:04:19.

extracted without harming the patient, the British economy? What

:04:19.:04:24.

is the problem that has to be fixed? That great banking crisis of

:04:24.:04:28.

2007-eight saw massive costs heaped on taxpayers and the worst

:04:28.:04:32.

recession for over 80 years in which the UK and much of the rich

:04:32.:04:38.

West has still not recovered. Billions of pounds have been spent.

:04:38.:04:42.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost as a result. It is this

:04:42.:04:46.

coalition government that set up the banking commission not just to

:04:46.:04:50.

ask the questions, but to provide the answers. What will be the

:04:50.:04:54.

impact? The commission says there will be costs of perhaps �1 billion

:04:54.:04:58.

a year for the British economy. But it estimates that the annual cost

:04:58.:05:02.

of banking crises are a staggering �40 billion a year. So if the

:05:02.:05:07.

reforms work, they would represent wonderful value for money. Even so,

:05:07.:05:11.

the chief executive of a big bank said he regards the reforms as a

:05:11.:05:18.

disaster. What does the commission think of that? Is neither a

:05:18.:05:23.

disaster for a British bank nor for the British economy. It is also

:05:23.:05:27.

about promoting competition, such as by making it easier for us to

:05:27.:05:32.

switch accounts between banks. names like more competition on the

:05:32.:05:34.

high street, easier and faster switching, these are things the

:05:34.:05:40.

Government should get on with. new banking industry, not growing

:05:40.:05:44.

as much, perhaps, but possibly more stable and less dangerous.

:05:44.:05:47.

And Robert is with me now. What difference will today's changes

:05:47.:05:56.

made to consumers? Well, there may -- it may be easier for us to

:05:56.:06:00.

switch accounts and there may be more information provided to us by

:06:00.:06:03.

banks to allow us to determine whether we are being provided with

:06:03.:06:08.

services that are good value for money. The banks warned that

:06:08.:06:11.

possibly, the prices charged to customers may have to go up a bit,

:06:11.:06:15.

but that is likely to affect big businesses rather than ordinary

:06:15.:06:19.

customers like you and me. What is much more important is whether or

:06:19.:06:26.

not these reforms succeed in making the costs of Banking crises much

:06:26.:06:31.

less than what we experienced in 2008. The economy has been

:06:31.:06:36.

extremely weak for the last three to four years, and much of that is

:06:36.:06:41.

to do with the boom-and-bust in the banking sector that we saw in the

:06:41.:06:47.

early years of this decade. If the Banking Commission succeeds in

:06:47.:06:51.

protecting taxpayers from that kind of boom-and-bust, and making sure

:06:51.:06:56.

the shock to the economy is reduced, all of us should benefit.

:06:56.:06:59.

And our political editor Nick Robinson is in Downing Street for

:06:59.:07:07.

us now. There is a big but in all of this - a huge truck Royal

:07:07.:07:11.

changes to banking, but we have to wait until 2019? For a long time,

:07:11.:07:15.

we saw this as a sort of Judgement Day, the day that banks would learn

:07:15.:07:18.

their fate, the day when we would be reassured that we will not pick

:07:18.:07:23.

up the bill if the City of London messes up again. And yet there is

:07:23.:07:27.

that long date. And one more and yet - there was not much political

:07:27.:07:32.

fuss about it. The reason is that politicians on all sides accept the

:07:32.:07:36.

verdict of today's report that that date is an end date. It does not

:07:36.:07:44.

mean there will be no reform before then. In addition, they are nervy

:07:44.:07:47.

because although they all want a safer banking system, they know a

:07:47.:07:52.

save the bank may charge more and lend less. Now is not a good time

:07:52.:07:57.

to be doing that. Above all, they are nervy for this reason - for all

:07:57.:08:01.

the public anger about banks and for all the politicians' banker

:08:01.:08:05.

bashing, for years politicians have spend vast sums of money that the

:08:05.:08:13.

banks generator. They want to see the system reformed, not destroyed.

:08:13.:08:17.

The Kenyan army has now joined the search for a British woman who was

:08:17.:08:20.

kidnapped after her husband was shot dead at a luxury resort. David

:08:20.:08:23.

Tebbutt and his wife Judith had just arrived at the Kiwayu Safari

:08:23.:08:25.

Village, close to Kenya's border with Somalia. From there, our

:08:25.:08:33.

correspondent sent this report. An idyllic setting on the Kenyan

:08:33.:08:38.

coast, with its thatched cottages dotted along the beach. Kiwayu

:08:38.:08:41.

Safari Lodge attracts tourists who want to get away from the crowds

:08:41.:08:46.

and live the quiet life for a few days. But now soldiers patrol here

:08:46.:08:50.

after the peace was shattered. In a midnight raid on the resort, a

:08:50.:08:54.

group of armed men killed British tourist David Tebbutt, shooting him

:08:54.:08:59.

in the back. They then abducted his wife Judith, who is still missing.

:08:59.:09:04.

You can see that a yellow tape has been set up around the rooms. It

:09:04.:09:08.

was in one of those rooms that David and Judith Tebbutt were

:09:08.:09:11.

sleeping when they were struck in the middle of the night. That is

:09:11.:09:14.

now a crime scene. The question is, what happened to Judith Tebbutt?

:09:15.:09:21.

She was taken away in a speedboat heading north towards Somalia. The

:09:21.:09:25.

Kenyan police are searching, but the gang may be out of reach. In a

:09:25.:09:31.

boat like this, the Somali border is just 90 minutes away. In this

:09:31.:09:36.

village just along the beach from the hotel, people complain that

:09:36.:09:39.

banditry from Somalia has been a problem for some years. They are

:09:39.:09:43.

worried that this latest attack will keep the tourists away. One

:09:43.:09:47.

man told me the gunmen forced a Kenyan to lead them to the hotel.

:09:47.:09:56.

He told me that they forced him to guide them to the hotel. Then they

:09:56.:10:03.

did what they did and went back with the lady. To Somalia? Yeah, to

:10:03.:10:08.

Somalia. The couple's home in Bishop's Stortford has been sealed

:10:08.:10:12.

off by police. For friends, there is sadness and shock as they take

:10:12.:10:16.

in what happened. He was such a gentle person that I cannot imagine

:10:16.:10:22.

him putting up much resistance. However it happened, it seems very

:10:22.:10:29.

out of character for him to fight, especially someone with a gun.

:10:29.:10:33.

suspicion in Kenya is that either Somali pirates or the Al-Qaeda link

:10:33.:10:37.

Islamist group Al-Shabab carried out the attack. The Foreign Office

:10:37.:10:41.

says officials are focused on trying to ensure that Judith

:10:41.:10:46.

Tebbutt's life is saved. Parts of Britain are being battered

:10:46.:10:49.

by the remnants of Hurricane Katia, with Scotland, Wales and the north

:10:49.:10:52.

of England bearing the brunt of 70 miles an hour winds and heavy

:10:52.:10:58.

rainfall. Buildings have been damaged and transport disrupted.

:10:58.:11:01.

For the latest, let's join Lorna Gordon in Saltcoats on the Ayrshire

:11:01.:11:10.

coast. Yes, a gust of 72 miles an hour was

:11:10.:11:14.

recorded at Glasgow Airport this afternoon. It is still pretty windy

:11:14.:11:17.

here on the Ayrshire coast. We have been getting warnings for days

:11:17.:11:23.

about this approaching bad weather. Preparations have been put in place.

:11:23.:11:27.

There have been extra power staff on standby in case of power cuts.

:11:27.:11:32.

Commuters in Scotland were advised to consider leaving work early.

:11:32.:11:35.

People have been battering down the hatches.

:11:35.:11:42.

The tail-end of a hurricane hitting Britain's assures. High seas, heavy

:11:42.:11:47.

rain and some coastal trains battered by waves and wind. Storms

:11:47.:11:54.

like this hit about once a year. And it is causing disruption to the

:11:54.:11:58.

railways, roads and ferries. In low-lying coastal areas, there have

:11:58.:12:03.

been warnings of possible flooding. People have been advised to stay

:12:03.:12:07.

away from the shore. This is what is causing the problems, Hurricane

:12:07.:12:10.

Katia, weakening as it travels across the Atlantic, but still

:12:10.:12:14.

packing a punch and delivering an unseasonably early bout of bad

:12:14.:12:23.

weather. You can see gusts of 60 to 70 mph, perhaps 80 mph locally. At

:12:23.:12:27.

this time of year, you are looking at trees that are still in full

:12:27.:12:32.

leaf, so we could see trees being blown over, and some distraction on

:12:32.:12:38.

the bridges. In County Durham, a building collapsed in the high

:12:38.:12:42.

winds, crashing nearby cars, although no one was hurt. People

:12:42.:12:46.

travelling on the nearby A6 A Tait were not so lucky after a falling

:12:46.:12:50.

tree crushed their car, trapping those inside and seriously injuring

:12:51.:12:58.

the driver. Winds have been gusting to more than 70 miles an hour in

:12:58.:13:01.

Wales. Bridges have been shut to high-sided vehicles and ferry

:13:01.:13:06.

services between Holyhead and Ireland have also been badly hit.

:13:06.:13:10.

Northern Ireland has also been buffeted by the Atlantic winds,

:13:10.:13:13.

with exceptionally difficult driving conditions and the risk of

:13:13.:13:18.

widespread coastal flooding. We are hearing that hundreds of homes in

:13:19.:13:23.

Ayrshire and Humphries have been left without power, although it is

:13:23.:13:27.

hoped that they will resume power services to those homes later this

:13:27.:13:31.

evening. The winds are expected to ease off a little over the next

:13:31.:13:41.
:13:41.:13:42.

couple of hours, but the breeze is will continue well until tomorrow.

:13:42.:13:45.

David Cameron is visiting Moscow. It's the first visit by a British

:13:45.:13:48.

prime minister since 2005. Relations between the UK and Russia

:13:48.:13:50.

have been strained since the Russian dissident Alexander

:13:50.:13:52.

Litvinenko was murdered in London in 2006. Russia has refused to

:13:53.:13:55.

extradite the prime suspect. David Cameron raised the case at the

:13:55.:13:58.

start of his visit today, but appealed for a new approach to

:13:58.:14:07.

build bridges between the two countries.

:14:07.:14:11.

This is the first time that Vladimir Putin has met David

:14:11.:14:16.

Cameron. And it is the first time he has spoken to him, or any

:14:16.:14:20.

British Prime Minister, since 2007. Today, you could see the years of

:14:20.:14:25.

mistrust and tension on their faces. This is what soured relations for

:14:25.:14:29.

so long. The rush and activist Alexander Litvinenko, was poisoned

:14:29.:14:33.

to death in London in 2006. Britain wants his alleged killer extradited

:14:33.:14:39.

to the UK for trial. Russia is saying no. Mr Cameron raised the

:14:39.:14:42.

issue with the Russian President today, but also said he wanted to

:14:42.:14:46.

work on Britain's relationship with Russia beyond the Litvinenko case.

:14:46.:14:50.

How can you come here and bang the drum for British business while the

:14:50.:14:54.

suspected killer of a Alexander Litvinenko is being protected by

:14:54.:14:57.

the Russian state? How can you park the issue without being accused of

:14:58.:15:02.

putting trade before human right? This issue has not been parked. The

:15:02.:15:06.

fact is that the two governments do not agree. It remains an issue

:15:06.:15:10.

between Britain and Russia, and we have not changed our position about

:15:10.:15:14.

that. And the Russians have not changed their position. But I do

:15:14.:15:24.
:15:24.:15:26.

not think that means that we freeze But Dmitry Medvedev said that

:15:26.:15:30.

Russia's constitution meant that the main suspect, Andrei Lugovoi,

:15:30.:15:34.

would never be extradited abroad. They also differed over

:15:34.:15:40.

intelligence. Mr Cameron refused the request for both country's

:15:40.:15:43.

spies to start co-operating again. But they did agree trade deals

:15:43.:15:47.

worth more than �200 million. On a personal level, both men got on

:15:47.:15:53.

well. Mr Cameron suggested this morning that the KGB tried to

:15:53.:15:58.

recruit him on a visit here in 1985. Do you think he would have made a

:15:58.:16:02.

good KGB agent? The answer to that last question, I think, is no.

:16:02.:16:07.

Let's be clear about that. David Cameron came to Moscow not to end

:16:07.:16:11.

all of the divisions between Russia and Britain, but to pay his

:16:11.:16:16.

respects and get both sides talking again. On that modest gain, at

:16:16.:16:21.

least, he seems to have succeeded. -- modest aim at.

:16:21.:16:28.

Our top story: The big shake-up of Britain's banks. Plans to protect

:16:28.:16:31.

tax payers from another multi- billion-pound bail out. Coming up:

:16:31.:16:36.

He has braved cold water, aching muscles. We are live above the

:16:36.:16:41.

Thames as David Walliams reaches the end of his charity swim. Later

:16:41.:16:44.

on the BBC News Channel, a big report out on the future structure

:16:44.:16:49.

of banking. But what does it mean for consumers? And renewed concerns

:16:49.:16:59.
:16:59.:17:02.

of a Greek default sent local They have been described by police

:17:02.:17:05.

as modern-day slaves. They were forced to live in squalor

:17:05.:17:09.

conditions and work for no pay. But nine of the 24 men removed from a

:17:09.:17:12.

travellers' site yesterday are now refusing to co-operate with the

:17:12.:17:15.

investigation. It's thought that some of the men had been living at

:17:15.:17:19.

the site, near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, for as long as 15

:17:19.:17:23.

years. Four people arrested yesterday are still being

:17:23.:17:27.

questioned. Tucked away in rural Bedfordshire,

:17:27.:17:32.

the Greenacre caravan site, where police believe an organised crime

:17:32.:17:38.

family kept a group of slaves. This is a place local taxi drivers say

:17:38.:17:42.

they refuse to come, for fear of being robbed. We had no trouble

:17:42.:17:46.

walking around. Several travellers who live here told us that the

:17:46.:17:49.

alleged slaves were free to come and go as they pleased. You think

:17:50.:17:53.

there is no foundation to police allegations that these men was

:17:53.:17:58.

laid? Total rubbish. They just don't like us here, that what it is.

:17:58.:18:02.

It's just their way of trying to get us out. And it's not going to

:18:02.:18:09.

work. This is the road that the police officers would have come

:18:09.:18:13.

down early yesterday morning. The site is very isolated but it has a

:18:13.:18:16.

real feeling of permanence. This is the area where it is understood

:18:16.:18:21.

some of the men were kept. You can see the level of security. They

:18:21.:18:25.

were vulnerable, homeless or alcoholic, near here, it is alleged,

:18:26.:18:29.

with the promise of board and lodgings. Some were from the UK,

:18:29.:18:39.

others from Eastern Europe. Police say that some were kept in sheds,

:18:39.:18:42.

others in horseboxes. It's believed they were psychologically tormented,

:18:42.:18:45.

kept in a state of such fear that they felt unable to leave or ask

:18:45.:18:50.

for help. A number have chosen not to support the investigation. 15

:18:50.:18:53.

others are prepared to tell police what happened to them. I think it's

:18:53.:18:56.

a traumatic set of circumstances. It's not something that in this

:18:57.:19:00.

country, in this day and age, that we expect to find. Squalid

:19:00.:19:06.

conditions, filthy caravans and small sheds, covered in faeces and

:19:07.:19:12.

urine. It's more than 200 years since slavery was abolished. A

:19:12.:19:15.

handful of suspects in custody are accused of reviving an ancient

:19:15.:19:24.

Scotland Yard's acting deputy commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe has

:19:24.:19:27.

to be the new head of the Metropolitan Police, Britain's

:19:28.:19:32.

biggest force. The former Merseyside chief constable said he

:19:32.:19:35.

intended to make criminals fear the police and is committed to lowering

:19:35.:19:41.

the crime worked. -- crime rate. Prison works. It has been the motto

:19:41.:19:46.

for many that what tough sentencing. Community sentences, under which

:19:46.:19:50.

convicts work as a punishment, are seen by some as a soft option. But

:19:50.:19:53.

is that the case? A year-long inquiry has been looking at the

:19:53.:19:58.

evidence and it has turned up some unexpected conclusions.

:19:58.:20:03.

Government plans to cut prison numbers in England and Wales are

:20:03.:20:05.

founded on the use of non-custodial sentences like this in

:20:05.:20:09.

Leicestershire. Critics argue that such punishments are not tough

:20:09.:20:13.

enough. But a year-long inquiry by criminal justice experts concludes

:20:13.:20:18.

that, for low-level offenders, it's a lot more successful than jail.

:20:18.:20:22.

The report suggests that seeing prison sentences as tough and

:20:22.:20:27.

community sentences as soft misses the point. Not only are some

:20:27.:20:31.

community punishments more demanding than custody, compared t

:20:31.:20:34.

short jail terms they are significantly more effective at

:20:34.:20:37.

turning persistent criminals into law-abiding citizens. They have to

:20:38.:20:41.

address their alcohol and drug problems. They have to look at

:20:41.:20:45.

their employment issues. They have to make reparation, they may have

:20:45.:20:49.

to do something in the community to pay back what they have done. And

:20:49.:20:54.

its five days a week. It can last up to year. The committee was

:20:54.:20:57.

impressed by this project in Leicester, dealing with offenders

:20:57.:21:02.

with drug and alcohol problems. As well as community payback and

:21:02.:21:08.

curfews, criminals must undergo treatment for substance misuse.

:21:08.:21:12.

There was concerns in custody about mental health... Police are tipped

:21:12.:21:16.

off if staff suspect an offender has resorted to crime to feed a

:21:16.:21:20.

habit. By first-time offender, maybe the prison gates might have

:21:20.:21:23.

an effect. But for somebody that has been offended for many years,

:21:23.:21:29.

it does not work. The right-leaning think-tank Policy Exchange recently

:21:29.:21:32.

published a poll suggesting 60% of the public think community

:21:32.:21:36.

sanctions are too soft or week. the moment, they are a joke. Half

:21:36.:21:40.

of them are not completed. Many of them are things like working in a

:21:40.:21:44.

charity shop, not real punishments. Cliff is not laughing. Once

:21:44.:21:48.

described by police as a one-man crime wave, he's now held up as

:21:48.:21:53.

living proof that community justice can change lives in ways that a few

:21:53.:21:57.

months behind bars simply can't. Everything gets done for you. You

:21:57.:22:01.

can go to the gym, you can get fit, you don't have to address any of

:22:01.:22:06.

the issues that got you in jail. Going into a programme and doing

:22:06.:22:09.

community work, it forces you to look at life from a different

:22:10.:22:14.

perspective. Off drugs and out of crime, he feels so remorseful about

:22:14.:22:18.

his previous behaviour that he now does his own voluntary version of

:22:18.:22:21.

community paid at. The Ministry of Justice is among those who hope

:22:21.:22:25.

that stories like his can convince the public that tough doesn't

:22:25.:22:31.

always mean prison. Some of the biggest unions in the

:22:31.:22:33.

country are calling for a major campaign of civil disobedience

:22:33.:22:37.

against spending cuts and changes to employment laws. They have been

:22:37.:22:42.

meeting at the TUC Congress. John Moylan is there for us now. We've

:22:42.:22:45.

heard about the threat of strikes in the past. What would civil

:22:45.:22:50.

disobedience mean? All they mean is non-violent forms of protest. An

:22:50.:22:54.

example often given is the case of pensioners down in the West Country,

:22:54.:22:58.

protesting against cuts. They walked back and forwards across a

:22:58.:23:02.

zebra crossing, stopping traffic and getting their point across. The

:23:02.:23:05.

unions believe there is a lot of opposition across the UK to the

:23:05.:23:10.

spending cuts. Unions can and probably will, this autumn, call

:23:10.:23:13.

strike action. But pensioners, students and church groups cannot

:23:13.:23:18.

go on strike. That is where the other forms of protest may come in.

:23:18.:23:21.

Brendan Barber was not talking about civil disobedience today, but

:23:21.:23:24.

he did call for a mass movement against the cuts, which he said was

:23:24.:23:31.

so severe they would make Margaret Thatcher look like a spendthrift.

:23:31.:23:36.

He has braved aching muscles, cold and even raw sewage. But now David

:23:36.:23:40.

Walliams has the end in sight. The start of Little Britain is about to

:23:40.:23:46.

complete his epic 140 miles charity swim along the River Thames. Lizo

:23:46.:23:54.

Mzimba has been following him all He famously swam the Channel five

:23:54.:23:58.

years ago. This latest challenge is his most gruelling yet. For the

:23:58.:24:01.

past week has been practically the equivalent of swimming the Channel

:24:01.:24:06.

every single day. Here by the Thames, by the Houses of Parliament,

:24:06.:24:16.
:24:16.:24:21.

he is due to finish his epic 140 The beginning of the end. David

:24:21.:24:26.

Walliams started the final leg of his swim, spanning the length of

:24:26.:24:31.

the Thames. Today's last stretch, a point which, early on, he feared he

:24:31.:24:36.

might never reach. When I started, I didn't know it would be this hard.

:24:36.:24:44.

You know, I got ill, we lost a lot of time. Yes, this started to look

:24:44.:24:49.

like a long way off. Over the past eight days, his efforts have

:24:49.:24:53.

captured the public's imagination. I think he is so inspirational to

:24:53.:24:57.

lots of people. It makes us feel that we should actually get up and

:24:57.:25:00.

do something ourselves. To start with it was such an amazing feat.

:25:00.:25:05.

Then he had all of the problems he encountered. Absolutely capturing

:25:05.:25:09.

the hearts and minds of the nation. The finish line at Westminster

:25:09.:25:15.

heralds the end of an epic swim, venturing a total of 140 miles. It

:25:15.:25:19.

began in the town of Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Wearing just a

:25:19.:25:24.

pair of trunks, he first braved the Thames Water's. He had little idea

:25:24.:25:34.
:25:34.:25:34.

of some of the difficulties that By day three he had reached

:25:34.:25:37.

Abingdon in Oxfordshire. But he was suffering from vomiting and

:25:37.:25:42.

diarrhoea, which seriously slowed his progress. It's very hard to

:25:42.:25:46.

move your body through the water when you feel like you're going to

:25:46.:25:51.

throw up. But by day five he was back on track and supported by some

:25:51.:26:00.

celebrity friends. Just squeeze it, that way. I'm probably the real

:26:00.:26:06.

hero here! But the final leg is one of the toughest. The Thames is tied

:26:06.:26:10.

or, with strong and dangerous currents. Not to mention the 500

:26:10.:26:14.

cubic metres of sewage that have poured into the river over the past

:26:14.:26:19.

seven days. Now, as he nears the end of his challenge, he says it is

:26:19.:26:23.

particularly support from the public that has kept him going

:26:23.:26:28.

almost to the end. This marks the end of David Walliams' journey.

:26:29.:26:33.

It's also the perfect beginning for Sport Relief 2012 fund-raising

:26:33.:26:37.

efforts. They have raised close to �1 million. A high-profile event

:26:37.:26:42.

has increased public awareness of the charity and its work by a

:26:42.:26:46.

significant amount. What an amazing achievement from

:26:46.:26:53.

David Walliams. You can see him, just going up, I think. 140 miles

:26:53.:26:58.

on the river Thames. Incredible. Time for the weather now. What

:26:58.:27:04.

We are not done yet. For the next couple of hours the wind will be

:27:04.:27:07.

very strong across central and northern Scotland and northern

:27:07.:27:11.

England. We still have an amber warning in force for those winds.

:27:11.:27:16.

We could see gusts of up to 70 mph. The worst has passed for Northern

:27:16.:27:21.

Ireland, maybe. But along the north coast we could see gusts of 70 mph.

:27:21.:27:24.

The main area is central and northern Scotland, parts of

:27:24.:27:30.

northern England. 70 mph gusts could cause disruption. Wherever

:27:30.:27:34.

you are, it is very windy. Overnight, the wind will ease, but

:27:34.:27:40.

only a touch. It will still be very blustery. It's helping to keep the

:27:40.:27:43.

temperatures up, not a cold night. It keeps reining in northern

:27:43.:27:46.

Scotland, maybe the next cause for concern. Tomorrow it is still very

:27:46.:27:51.

windy. There will be sunshine across northern England. Further

:27:51.:27:56.

south, a host of heavy showers across England and Wales. Some

:27:56.:27:59.

sunshine for Northern Ireland in the morning, but it will cloud over.

:27:59.:28:03.

Still very windy, perhaps not as strong as today. Blustery across

:28:03.:28:07.

Wales. Heavy showers in the morning, but the wind will chase the showers

:28:07.:28:11.

away. The afternoon should season sunshine. The same for south-west

:28:11.:28:14.

England, a heavy showers in the morning. The afternoon looks a good

:28:14.:28:18.

deal drier. The travellers will be chased across the Midlands, into

:28:18.:28:22.

East Anglia through the afternoon. Windy here as well, although not as

:28:22.:28:27.

strong as the gusts have been today. The same for more than England.

:28:27.:28:33.

Good spells of sunshine but very blustery. Also, windy across

:28:33.:28:40.

Scotland. The rain is building a plant could cause some flooding

:28:40.:28:45.

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