12/03/2014 BBC Points West

they've still got a long way to go. That's all from us.

Good evening. The government has told Points West it doesn't think

the winter floods were serious enough to deserve European help A

special fund is available to help all EU countries deal with natural

disasters, but ministers here say they don't believe Somerset and

Gloucestershire qualify. Well, David Garmston is at the European

Parliament in Strasbourg. Good evening. I've been to see one of the

commissioners here. He said Britain could apply for aid but there were

some small print. The application would be late, the damage mhght not

be severe enough, and Britahn would lose its no claim bonus. Of course,

the News the UK isn't going to apply has, grapes to support one to people

in Somerset. When is a crisis a disaster? One

that qualifies for EU money? Ask flood victims like Ron Smith, who's

still drying out his house on the edge of the Somerset Levels, and

he'll give you a straight answer. There I say, it would cover all MEPs

expenses, but we are talking about very small sums of money by European

standards, so we should be given that money unconditionally because

it is an emergency. But it seems that's not the way the government

sees it. We've seen a letter from the Floods Minister which m`kes it

plain the government won't be applying for money from a Etropean

pot designed to help with n`tural disasters. His boss has said that's

because the damage caused bx the floods isn't bad enough. But one

West MP has described that `s tosh, saying the real reason the

government isn't applying is to spare the blushes of euro sceptic

Tories. If Europe was to stdp in and give us a fairly serious pot of

money to sort out some of the problems in Somerset, possibly the

Thames Valley and other parts, it is going to be embarrassing, they won't

be able to say anything rudd about Europe. Critics point out that in

Gloucestershire they were ghven ?31 million to help with the cldar up

hacking 2008. The disagreemdnts the confusion, the conflicting political

messages only add to the sense of anger being felt by flood vhctims

here. The Prime Minister was recently quoted as saying money is

no object when it comes to helping here. The question is, wherd exactly

is that money going to come from? I'm joined by the south`west MEP.

This claim isn't going to h`ppen, is it? If the reports are true, it

looks not, and I regret that. This is a pot of money into which we pay,

we ought to draw down from ht at a time of need. You heard abott the

small print, we're not going to qualify, we? The small print was the

same back in 2007 when I pushed the government to apply for funds for

Gloucestershire. We got at them and no doubt if we put in a clahm, we

would get it again. Has the deadline passed? It is probably effectively

too late, but I've been pressing the government to do this for tdn weeks

plus far and I regret they have decided not to. Thank you for

joining me here. Just to relind you we have a European election special

on the Sunday Politics West this weekend. For now, back to you in

Bristol. The family of a 19`year`old man

stabbed to death in Bristol today made a tearful appeal for hdlp to

find their son's killer. Nick Robinson was attacked on his own

doorstep in Stokes Croft last week. Today, his parents and his fiancee

urged anyone with any inforlation to contact the police.

Parents of children who died following heart surgery at Bristol

Children's Hospital have met the barrister who'll lead an independent

investigation. The families say they want answers after the death and

serious illness of up to ten babies and children. The review will be led

by Professor Sir Ian Kennedx, who also led the inquiry into the

Bristol heart scandal in thd 19 0s. I must say, it is with a dedp sense

of sadness that I find myself back in Bristol 13 years after I reported

before. And to see such angdr and distress in parents. And we had a

good meeting. We are trying to find a way forward. As to how we will

carry forward this investig`tion and review. We are due to meet `gain

soon. And then, of course, H will make an announcement as soon as I

can thereafter. The trust, which runs Bristol Children's Hospital

says it has addressed all the parents concerns and its results

have shown it to be safe. It was the second day of thd

Cheltenham Festival today. The feature race of was the Quedn Mother

Champion Chase, and the Duchess of Cornwall was there to present the

trophies. And it was Ladies' Day. Ali Durden was there.

We had a fairy tale story in the big race of the day as Sire De Grugy

owned by 50 friends and famhly from the north`west proved you don't have

to be a millionaire to have a Cheltenham winner. Philip Hobbs was

celebrating, too, as Balthazar King gave the Somerset trainer hhs first

success of the festival. Well, the old boy's been fantastic. Hd's won

several races here before btt carrying top weight in Grah`m which,

on the cross`country course is fairly sticky, then it's very hard

work, especially over four liles, but he tries very hard. The Duchess

of Cornwall was the guest of honour on ladies' day. Plenty of hhgh

fashion and some famous facds. Ladies' days is always fun. But

obviously, here, it's all about the racing and the horses. And having a

great day out. Tomorrow is `ll about the return of Big Bucks. Can the

Somerset trained star win a fifth world hurdle title?

We'll have more coverage from Cheltenham tomorrow. There's also

more news on your locally BBC Radio stations and online. But, for now,

let's get the latest weather with Ian. `` local BBC Radio stations.

Tomorrow afternoon looks promising with a fair amount of sunshhne

around. Prior to that, we h`ve some fog. Some of it could be dense. The

Met Office has a yellow warning out, covering all the Points West viewing

area. The visibility might be less than 200 metres. That fog h`s

started to form and we will see quite a bit of it across

Gloucestershire and Somerset. Temperatures, down to three or four.

You can see the signal for the fog there. Taking us through to late

morning, possibly mid day. Plus some low cloudy which could lingdr. Aside

from that, a good deal of stnshine, starting to appear in the afternoon

with light winds. It will fdel pleasant with temperatures 02`1 .

More fog on Friday morning, taking us into a dry weekend with some

sunshine. Friday but fog less of a problem

over the weekend. Good evening. Step outside in the

morning and it feels a bit fresh. Reassure yourself, it could be a lot

worse. Exactly a year ago it was extraordinarily cold and snowy.

These were some of the scenes. This march is very different. A very

pleasant in the sunshine, once the fog has cleared. The fog is

re-forming again right now. Nasty patches developing through the

night, becoming widespread across England and Wales. In the

north-west, rain across Scotland. Temperatures well below these

values. We have a yellow warning in force from the Met Office for fog.

Could be very difficult patches around and disruption is certainly

possible. Check your BBC local radio station in the morning. These are

the areas we think will be worst affected. The Thames Valley, the

Somerset Levels, the Severn Valley, the Trent Valley and up towards

Merseyside. It went before the everywhere but the risk is