28/01/2014 BBC News at Six

the Chancellor says his plan is working. These numbers are a boost

to the economic security of hard-working families. For working

people in our country, this isn't a recovery for them. Living standards

are still falling. We will hear from workers and their

bosses, and we will have the latest in the row about the cost of living.

Also tonight: The message Sienna Miller left for Daniel Craig while

she was with Jude Law - the hacking trial hears how the journalist got

the story. Coronation Street actor William

Roache denies ever meeting the women who have accused him of sexual

offences. I'll be reporting from inside Oxford's animal laboratory,

and for the first time showing their experiments on monkeys.

And 90 miles an hour on ice - we are with Team GB's best hope for gold at

the Winter Olympics. On BBC London News: we expose the

capital's black economy, where ?40 buys a day's labour from migrant

workers. And the new trains the government

says will help to ease overcrowding for commuters.

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six. The latest official

figures show Britain's economy grew in every quarter of last year. The

Chancellor, George Osborne, said it was evidence that the Government's

policies are working. But Labour said living standards were still

falling for most people. GDP, the value of all the goods and services

produced by everyone in the UK, grew by nearly 2% last year. That is the

strongest rate of growth since 2007, although the overall size of the

economy has yet to reach its peak, just before the crash. Our chief

economics correspondent, Hugh Pym, has this assessment.

The latest snapshot of all the errors of the economy shows that

there was growth in the final three months of last year a little slower

than the previous quarter, but solid enough. Chancellor George Osborne,

visiting a science park in Oxford, said the economy was on the right

track. Economic growth is broadly based, with manufacturing growing

more than other sectors. That is evidence that the long-term economic

plan is working, but I am the first to say the job is not done and the

biggest risk to the recovery would be to abandon that plan that is

creating a brighter future. The economy has moved on a lot since the

collapse of Woolworths during the recession. Five years ago, I met

former Woolworths staff who lost their jobs on the Corbis door

closed. Steve was the manager. I caught up with him this week.

Another retailer had taken over the store. He and his former colleagues

have got new jobs, a symbol of economic recovery. With the volume

of unemployment at the time, I don't know how I went into real

employment. Fortunately, we have come into better times and we were

sought after. From its peak in early 2008, economic output fell sharply.

Then came a slow recovery, which picked up last year. Even so, it is

still more than 1% below where it was before the recession. Different

sectors vary. Services like finance and retail are 1.3% above their

previous peak, but manufacturing is still 8.2% lower and construction is

11.2% down. But there are signs that manufacturing is gaining momentum.

This packaging business end north hunting show was confident enough to

announce expansion and more staff have been taken on. The boss told me

that their success reflected growth in the wider economy. We do a large

cross-section of different companies, from engineering and

retail and during etc. We have seen over the last 18 months that things

have been picking up. The economy is growing and jobs are being created,

but many in work are still feeling the squeeze because cost of living

increases are running well ahead of average pay rises. Most economists

expect that to change over the next year, but right now, some way for

you that the recovery has not quite got to them. So there is still a way

to go for the economy, but at least there is growth, and the UK's

performance is ahead of many other leading economies.

Well, that question of when economic growth will be reflected in wages

and pay rises is being tracked closely by all the political

parties. Our political editor, Nick Robinson, has been gauging the mood

among workers and their bosses in Manchester.

Ever wondered what economic growth looks like? Well, it looks and

sounds like this. A factory in within sure in Manchester, that

makes the tape that goes in the top of your curtains. It is making and

selling 5 million more metres of the stuff than it was a year before. At

the moment, we are walking past one of the weaving looms. The boss here

remembers a moment a couple of months ago when things began to look

up. In November was the day when I could honestly say we saw the

business starting to grow again. So fast that you struggle to meet

orders? Yeah. Orders up, I was for the workers up, but how does it

feel? It is nice to see, because we have had lean times. Does it mean

people here are managing to take home a bit more money? Not

necessarily. We are still on the same wages. But aside the economic

statistics, and what underlies the politics of today could not be

clearer in this factory. On the one hand, it is selling millions of

metres more of its about it was a year ago. On other, the workers have

not had a pay rise for a couple of years. No wonder, back at

Westminster, that it sounds like a good the deaf. Mr Ed Balls. The

cheers today came from Tory MPs, who have waited a long time for news

this good. After three damaging years of flat-lining, today's growth

figures are welcome. But everything we have seen today from the

Chancellor shows, he just doesn't understand that for working people

facing a cost of living crisis, this is still no recovery at all. Last

week, the Chancellor and the prime minister tried to use dodgy figures

to tell people they have never had it so good. Why won't he today just

admit the truth? He has failed to get the deficit down and since he

came to office, working people are not better off, they are worse off.

The Chancellor ignored that, saying instead, I was right, you were

wrong. He predicted that jobs would be lost and a million have been

created. He predicted that the deficit would go up, and it has come

down. He predicted that there would be no economic growth unless we

borrowed and spent more. He has been wrong on all these things. What they

need on the other side of the house is new crystal balls. Whose story

about the economy voters believe will be tested here soon, in a

by-election for a new MP. I have not noticed any dramatic change. So even

though the factory has been busier, it is not helping you? . At the

moment. We are definitely on the up. Just go shopping in Stockport

and places like that. It is packed. Most people are out buying. Do you

notice it in your wallet? Slight Lee. Not massively, but slightly.

The Lib Dems have warned that this might be the wrong sort of recovery

on a view echoed here. It is nice to see the growth, but at the same

time, there is still an element behind the scenes of nervousness. We

have seen short-term spurts before, and I am not sure whether the

longevity is there yet. Much better than it used to be, not as good as

it once was. It is a recovery, all right, but not one like we are used

to. A witness at the phone hacking trial

has described how he intercepted actor Daniel Craig's voice mail to

get the story of his affair with Sienna Miller. Dan Evans, a former

News Of The World reporter, said he played the tape to the paper's

editor at the time, Andy Coulson, who said it was "brilliant". Mr

Coulson denies hacking charges. Our home affairs correspondent, Tom

Symonds, reports. Dan Evans was recruited to the News

Of The World, he says, for his phone hacking skills . Described at the

paper he claimed today as his unique selling point. Evans told the jury

in 2005 that he tried to investigate rumours that the actor Sienna Miller

was cheating on her then partner, Jude Law. On the phone of another

actor, Daniel Craig, he says he found a message, I love you, from

Sienna Miller. In the News Of The World newsroom, Andy Coulson and

another executive came over and listened to the tape. Dan Evans told

the jury, Andy got very animated and said, brilliant. Everyone was having

a bit of an adrenaline kick. Mr Evans said the editor told him to

make a recording of the tape and stick it into the jiffy bag. Have it

sent to the Bondgate and have them say it was dropped in anonymously.

The story was eventually published. Dan Evans said he felt terrorised by

one manager and in fear for his job. The manager sent him an e-mail

at one point, saying if he could not find a front-page story, he might as

well jump off a cliff. Mr Evans said he went home and hacked every phone

he could think of. Evans described how in 2006, when a police

investigation began, he was told, no more key stuff, and began destroying

cassette tapes and notebooks. But even then, he continued to use the

technique. After he tried to access the voice mails of designer Kelly

Hopper, the police were alerted and he was arrested, recently pleading

guilty. During sections of this morning's evidence, Andy Coulson, in

the dock, shook his head and wrote notes. He denies conspiring to

intercept voice mail communications. Ukraine's prime minister, Mykola

Azarov, has resigned along with his Cabinet in an attempt to resolve the

country's political crisis. The Ukrainian parliament has also voted

overwhelmingly in favour of scrapping controversial anti-protest

laws, which have provoked violent demonstrations since they were

introduced less than a fortnight ago.

Here, flooding during Christmas and new year has led to insurance claims

of more than ?420 million. The Association of British insurers says

there were 174,000 cases where people said homes, businesses and

cars had been damaged. The Environment Agency has defended his

handling of the situation on the Somerset Levels, where water still

covers huge areas of land. The Coronation Street actor William

Roache has told the jury at Preston Crown Court that he has never

committed any sex offences. The 81-year-old, who is on trial for

rape and indecent assault, said he has no memory of ever meeting any of

his alleged victims. Our correspondent, Judith Moritz, was in

court. Yes, into the third week of this

trial, the jury have heard so far from the prosecution and from each

of the five women who allege that William Roache abused them when they

were young. Today, the defence had died. The actor took the chance to

vehemently deny all of the charges he faces. There is flash photography

in this report. William Roache arrived at court this

morning with his children, knowing that today, he would have the

opportunity to answer the allegations which have been made

about him. His daughter and two sons looked on as their father moved from

the doctor the witness box to give his evidence. Defending him, Louise

Blackwell QC began by immediately asking the actor if he had committed

the offences he has been charged with. No, he answered, I have not.

William Roache has played Ken Barlow in Coronation Street since its first

episode more than 50 years ago . Today, the actor denied taking

teenage girls into the Granada television studios in the 1960s, and

also said he had not given girls lifts home in his car. The actor

admitted being unfaithful to his first wife, but of young girls, he

said, it would not have interested me. I was not looking for gratuitous

sex. I was not interested in underage sex. I was interested in

sex with mature, co-operative women. The 80-year-old denied raping a

woman at her home in Lancashire and denied other charges, saying they

never happened. Cross-examining for the situation, the prosecutor said,

so we are clear that you are not saying the women were older than you

thought, or consented Esmat William Roache replied, I don't know them,

so how can I suggest anything? I have no knowledge of them.

The actor left court after having spent all day in the witness box.

Tomorrow, the jury is due to hear evidence from some of his fellow

Coronation Street cast members. William Roache also spoke about the

moment when he was arrested on suspicion of rape in the early hours

of the morning at his home in Cheshire last May. He said he was

standing in his dressing gown at home when the police came round, and

he was absolutely horrified. He also spoke today a little about his

beliefs, his spiritual beliefs and comments he made in an interview

with New Zealand television last year. He said, I should not stray

into those realms interviews. I have been misunderstood. The time is

6:15pm. Our top story this evening: The economy grows at its fastest

rate since 2007. The Chancellor says it shows the

government's plan is working. And still to come:

Managing the Royal finances. MPs say more could be done to reduce costs

and boost income. We get exclusive access to the

secret rail tunnels being opened to the public for the first time.

And, reminders from an icy past. The souvenirs from the 1800s when the

Thames froze over. It's the most contentious area of

medical research. The use of animals in experiments has in the past been

the focus of large scale protests. One of Britain's most important

laboratories is in Oxford. It conducts research on every major

human disorder including cancer, heart disease and various brain

conditions. A small number of experiments there use monkeys.

Procedures which have never been seen on camera before. Our Medical

Correspondent Fergus Walsh is the only journalist that's ever been

allowed inside the lab, and this is his report.

A rare glimpse of the most controversial area of medical

research. This monkey is on its way to an experiment in decision-making.

The macaque is given the choice of two pictures. Tap one, and she gets

a treat. Tap the other, and the monkey in the second cage is also

rewarded. Scientists are exploring how the brain analyses choices that

affect others, which could help understanding of autism or mental

illness. About two thirds of the work we do is with human volunteers

but the important thing about the animals is that they allow us to

manipulate, imprecise ways, some of the circumstances we are looking at,

and that gives us insight into how these areas are going wrong, in

conditions like depression. Most of the research does not harm the

monkeys. These images published today compared human and monkey

brain scans. But some of the macaque monkeys have been given small brain

lesions, so the role of these damaged areas can be studied,

something that could not be done with humans. Monkeys are amongst our

closest relatives in the animal world, so experiments on them are

more strictly controlled than any other species. Last year, out of 4

million procedures in the UK, 3000 were on monkeys. The vast majority

of experiments involved mice, especially those which have been

genetically modified to study particular human diseases. These

mice have had human genes inserted to induce Parkinson's disease.

Others have Alzheimer's disease, or a heart condition. A decade ago, it

looks like this research building might never be completed.

Construction was stopped after intimidation from animal rights

extremists. The government stepped in and took over security. Key

advisers feel that the climate has changed. People are becoming more

confident and transparent about the research and talk about it more, and

I think that's extremely important. Every time you take pretty much a

pharmaceutical agent, you will be benefiting from many years of

research on humans and on animals. And, of course, that research

benefits animals as well. But those opposed to animal research argue

it's not just immoral, but scientifically flawed. Animal

testing should be consigned to the history books. We now have modern

methods of testing drugs. We have computer modelling, cell culture,

all of which are more relevant to the human condition and, actually,

are more predictive. The government is committed to searching for

alternatives to using animals in research, but for the foreseeable

future there seems little doubt that procedures involving ferrets, fish,

mice and monkeys will continue. An influential group of MPs says

Buckingham Palace should be opened to more paying visitors when the

Queen is not in residence to fund improvements to the royal estate.

According to the Public Accounts Committee, the Royal Household could

be doing more to reduce costs, and boost income.

Two years ago, a new sovereign grant system was introduced to finance the

Queen's official duties, paying for things like staffing, the running

and Mason -- maintaining of palaces, but not security. The grant is

currently ?36 million per year. The Royal Household decide how much the

money -- how the money should be spent, but it's up to the Treasury

to make sure it is spent wisely. Here is what the head of the MP's

committee said: Our Royal Correspondent Nick

Witchell is at Buckingham Palace. Nick, what has the reaction been

there? Not very much, George, but it's fair to say that the palace has

been pretty taken aback, particularly by the sharpness are

some of the language -- of some of the language used. The Royal

Household will think it has made progress, saying it has reduced

costs by 16% in the last six year and raised revenue by something like

70% in the same time, so the Palace will feel it does not need the

Public Accounts Committee to tell us how important the issues are. On the

question of the maintenance of royal palaces, I'm told that a detailed

10-year action plan has been finalised and will be published

shortly. On the question of whether Buckingham Palace could be opened up

to the public for more of the year, and extensive feasibility study has

been carried out into both a winter and Easter opening, but that study

has concluded it would cost more to make the arrangements to open the

Palace up and it would expect are generating revenue. The Palace is

also very aware that for much of the year this is the home of the Queen.

That said, this is an important House of Commons committee and its

report, I am sure, will be carefully studied.

Dave Lee Travis has told a jury that sexual offence allegations against

him are "nonsense", and that he feared it would take attention away

from women who've really been abused. The DJ, who denies

indecently assaulting ten women and sexually assaulting another, said he

had never forced himself on anyone. The American folk singer Pete Seeger

who songs included Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Has died at the

age of 94. #. Where Have All The Flowers Gone? , long time passing.

Seeger gained fame with The Weavers and continued to perform in his own

right in a career spanning six decades. Renowned for his protest

songs, he was blacklisted by the US Government in the 1950s. He became a

standard bearer for political causes and was still performing in 2009.

The proportion of secondary schools in Wales ranked as "unsatisfactory"

has jumped from 14% to nearly a quarter. The news comes after an

international study found them falling further behind their

counterparts in the rest of the UK. Our Wales Correspondent Hywel

Griffith has more details. As I said, we are trying to develop

the writing. Getting the basics right, and at this school they have

had to learn some difficult lessons on standards after being labelled

unsatisfactory by inspectors, it's now one of the most improved. The

headteacher says others in Wales can follow the lead. They do not want to

take a good look at themselves because it's not a pretty sight

sometimes. But unless you do that, you won't go forward, and I think

the second thing is to have the drive and ambition to be the best

rather than just accepting that it is OK. According to the Chief

Inspector of schools in Wales, the proportion of struggling secondaries

is growing. Standards overall are stagnating. I would say we are

concerned not just with the standards of teaching and learning,

but we are concerned with how far the system is building capacity for

teachers and how far teachers have a measure of the improvements needed.

Many feel these problems are the direct consequence of decisions made

ten years ago when Welsh schools scrap league tables, and there is

also a funding gap. Where Welsh people receive ?600 less per head

than England. The Welsh government says it recognises things must

improve. It has a new focus on literacy and numeracy, and says

results are getting better. But for many parents and pupils, that change

is not happening quickly enough. She's 25 and she travels downhill at

90 miles an hour on ice. Lizzie Yarnold from Kent is the Skeleton

World Cup champion, and she's Britain's best hope for a gold medal

at the Winter Olympics. Our Sports Correspondent Natalie Pirks has been

to meet her. Perfect technique, feet outside the

lines. It is a sport that requires extreme skill to reach the top and

at a fearless Mr get to the bottom. In just five years, Lizzie Yarnold

has gone from being a complete again in a talent programme to the world

number one, World Cup champion and now favourite for Olympic skeleton

gold. It is a massive honour. I remember watching Denise Lewis

winning the gold, and she looked beautiful and so athletic and so

skilled and talented at what she did. I just wanted to emulate that

and see if I could be one of those, one of the other greats will stop

but now I can say I am going to the Olympics, it is amazing -- one of

the other greats. Great Britain is phenomenally successful at this

sport, Amy Williams won gold at the last Olympics. When you see the

facilities, it is all the more astounding. Britain is one of the

only leading nations to not have an ice track. Instead, here in Bath,

with a distinct lack of snow, this rather basic looking push track is

where champions are made. What might look primitive to you is

world-class. The timing gates, the run is there, but it's all about the

coaching staff. And of course the tea tray. Each bespoke Sled cost

around ?10,000 and is made to give every possible gain as the athletes

go through the same GeForce fighter pilots have. You have to be brave.

You're going to start at the top and finish at the bottom and you hope

everything between the two will go to plan. At my top speed I have gone

up to 90 mph, two years ago, and the faster I go, the faster I want to

go. It's so exhilarating. I think my mum gets really nervous when I

compete. It was the same one I did athletics, hurdling, she found it

really nerve wracking. -- when I did. The family don't have long to

wait until she sees it she is toasting Olympic glory in Sochi. A

brave woman. Time for a look at the weather. Here's Darren Bett.

It is briefly going to turn cold, but dry as well. But not just yet. A

lot of showers today, and more of them coming overnight. Particularly

wet across Essex, Kent, Sussex, a lot of showers in Wales, and almost

anywhere could catch a downpour will stop fans of showers rotating around

an area of low pressure -- catch a downpour. . Not particularly cold

overnight, cloud and rain never far away. The risk of ice restricted to

the north-west of Scotland. Tomorrow, cloud, showers, long

spells of rain but the wind comes in dragging cold air, so the showers

will turn wintry over the hills. We still have warnings out for eastern

Scotland with river levels rising in Tayside and with further wet weather

tomorrow. The weather should improve in Northern Ireland tomorrow with

morning showers fading away. We still have showers in England and

Wales. Snow, possibly, over the Pennines and over the Welsh hills

and maybe some wet snow over the Cotswolds and the Chilterns. The

wettest weather across the southern counties, and some yellow warning

sport -- for localised flooding. Overnight, it gets cold, widespread

frost in rural areas by Thursday morning. Maybe some icy patches to

begin with. But it should be a dry day just about everywhere. But there

will be a lot of cloud and it will feel cold. The coldest it has been

all winter. But, it won't last very long at all. What a change heading

into Friday. A big load from the Atlantic, wet and windy weather

sweeping eastwards, snow briefly in Scotland -- a big load. Otherwise

temperatures rise, but the rain might have an impact on surface

water level. Lots of yellow warnings and you can keep up-to-date with all

of those online. That's all from the BBC News at Six.

And on