:00:08. > :00:12.Tonight at ten - inflation moves in the right direction, but it's still
:00:12. > :00:16.way above the official target. The latest measure is 3.6%, a sharp
:00:16. > :00:20.fall from December, but it's not all good news.
:00:20. > :00:24.A leading credit rating agency puts the UK on a negative outlook,
:00:24. > :00:27.ministers claim it's another reason not to change course.
:00:27. > :00:32.Britain has to confront its problems, that is the clear message
:00:32. > :00:35.from the rating agency today. And that is a reality check to the
:00:35. > :00:41.entire political system that Britain cannot duck dealing with
:00:41. > :00:44.its debt problem. Today the rating agencies put the Government on
:00:44. > :00:48.negative outlook because growth is flatlining and unemployment is
:00:48. > :00:51.rising. We'll try to make sense of these varying signals.
:00:51. > :00:54.Also, one of the great football clubs, Rangers, has gone into
:00:54. > :00:58.administration. The fans give their thoughts. We need to know what's
:00:58. > :01:03.happening at this club. That is a problem. Nobody seems to want to
:01:03. > :01:06.talk to the fans. It's not just the history of the club. It's the
:01:06. > :01:09.history of families that come here together.
:01:10. > :01:15.More uncertainty for the Greeks tonight. Their latest bail out deal
:01:15. > :01:18.is still not finalised. A show of American strength off the
:01:18. > :01:22.Iranian coastline. We have a special report.
:01:22. > :01:31.They're here to send a clear message toy Republican as to who
:01:31. > :01:36.really controls these waters. And a surprise Valentine's gift for
:01:36. > :01:40.the Duchess of Cambridge on her first royal advise toit Liverpool.
:01:40. > :01:50.And in Sportsday on the BBC News Channel, the runaway son returns.
:01:50. > :02:06.
:02:06. > :02:10.Carlos Tevez arrives back at Good evening. Inflation is falling
:02:10. > :02:13.rapidly judged by the latest figures and it's expected to keep
:02:13. > :02:16.on falling in the coming months. David Cameron said it was good news
:02:17. > :02:22.for families especially worried about the cost of living. Even so,
:02:22. > :02:27.inflation at 3.6% is well above the official target of 2% and prices
:02:27. > :02:30.rin creasing at a much higher rate than wages. Our chief economics
:02:30. > :02:34.correspondent Hugh Pym looks at the latest evidence. Rapid cost of
:02:34. > :02:37.living increases have caused pain for households and held back
:02:37. > :02:41.economic growth as consumers' spending power has been eroded. The
:02:41. > :02:46.tide now seems to be turning. Shoppers in Liverpool and around
:02:46. > :02:50.the country will be relieved that inflation has fallen sharply. For
:02:50. > :02:54.many families visiting the World Museum in Liverpool over half term
:02:54. > :02:59.week, free entry is an obvious attraction. Inflation was a lot
:02:59. > :03:02.higher than average wage rises, putting pressure on household
:03:02. > :03:06.budgets. Now those price pressures are easing. Gino and Claire
:03:06. > :03:10.Salvatore have begun to feel the difference. I've noticed with
:03:10. > :03:17.petrol prices have stayed pretty static recently, which has helped a
:03:17. > :03:21.bit after the big rises. Generally, it's still quite tight on budget.
:03:21. > :03:26.Definitely. The budget is still tight. An increase in VAT, that's
:03:27. > :03:32.sales tax, on many items pushed up inflation last year. Take a cup of
:03:32. > :03:37.coffee in the cafe for example, in January 2011, the price was �1.65.
:03:37. > :03:41.But it was driven up to �1.75 because of higher VAT and other
:03:41. > :03:47.cost pressures. In January this year, there was no VAT increase and
:03:47. > :03:51.the price stayed the same. That's one reason why inflation has fallen.
:03:51. > :03:55.It's not just families and other consumers hit hard by high
:03:55. > :03:59.inflation, the museum itself has had to deal with sharply rising
:03:59. > :04:03.costs and it's as hopeful as anyone that inflation really does carry on
:04:03. > :04:06.falling from here. For the first time in ten years, they've had to
:04:06. > :04:10.charge for entry to one exhibition and they don't want to do that
:04:10. > :04:14.again. I hope inflation does start to drop. I particularly hope that
:04:14. > :04:20.gas and electricity prices go down. It will ease the pressure on us,
:04:20. > :04:24.but I'll believe it when I see it. The key question is how quickly the
:04:24. > :04:27.pressure on budgets falls away. For much of the last decade average
:04:27. > :04:32.earnings were above inflation. After the recession that trend
:04:32. > :04:35.turned around with prices well ahead of wages. Now the gap is
:04:35. > :04:40.narrowing. Most economists expect inflation to fall further, but some
:04:40. > :04:45.say that can't be taken for granted. The big risk is to do with the
:04:45. > :04:49.price of oil. So a lot of international tensions that are
:04:49. > :04:52.particularly putting at risk exports out of Iran, which produces
:04:52. > :05:02.5% of the world's oil, if those supplies are interrupted, then the
:05:02. > :05:07.
:05:07. > :05:15.royal price could go up sharply again and cause prices to go up.
:05:15. > :05:18.The Governor of the Bank of England said the case for the fall is
:05:18. > :05:23.uncertain. There's an announcement that one of
:05:23. > :05:30.the credit ratings agency, Moody's, has placed the United Kingdom and
:05:30. > :05:33.two other European countries on negative outlook. The The
:05:33. > :05:36.Chancellor George Osborne said it was a reminder that dealing with
:05:36. > :05:40.debt levels was essential, as Stephanie Flanders reports.
:05:40. > :05:45.Remember these threelers? George Osborne has always said they stood
:05:45. > :05:50.for something very important, Britain's economic credibility.
:05:50. > :05:57.will maintain Britain's triple-A rating. This credit rating agency
:05:57. > :06:00.says Britain's economic credibility will be on the line. I'm keen to
:06:00. > :06:03.preserve the international credit rating. You might have expected
:06:03. > :06:07.investors to take fright today after a major ratings agency said
:06:07. > :06:11.there was a 30% chance of Britain losing its triple-A in the next 18
:06:11. > :06:14.months. There wasn't much market reaction at all. In fact, the
:06:15. > :06:19.Government's cost of borrowing fell slightly. It's not been as low as
:06:19. > :06:23.that in decades. With the markets - - would the markets get more
:06:23. > :06:26.excited if the downgrade happened? Probably. America and France have
:06:26. > :06:30.each lost their triple-A rating recently. They're finding it
:06:31. > :06:34.cheaper to borrow than they were before. That might be because
:06:34. > :06:37.borrowing from international investors is like entering a beauty
:06:37. > :06:42.contest. It's not just how pretty you are, but how you line up
:06:42. > :06:45.against everyone else. The fear is that if the UK were downgraded,
:06:45. > :06:49.that then people would be less willing to lend money to the UK
:06:49. > :06:53.Government. Government borrowing costs would rise. That would feed
:06:53. > :06:58.into higher borrowing rates across the economy. However, if other
:06:58. > :07:03.countries are downgraded at the same time, then the UK still looks
:07:03. > :07:06.like a relative safe bet N reality a UK downgrade might not have much
:07:06. > :07:11.impact. The problem for the Chancellor is that he said keeping
:07:11. > :07:15.the triple-A is a big deal. Chancellor said that their economic
:07:15. > :07:18.policies, the Government's policy should be judged on what the credit
:07:18. > :07:22.rating agency said. Today the agencies put the Government on
:07:22. > :07:26.negative outlook, because growth is flatlining and unemployment is
:07:26. > :07:29.rising. But Labour can't make too much of Moody's decision, after all,
:07:29. > :07:33.the ratings agency said it was worried about the Government doing
:07:34. > :07:38.too little to tackle the deficit, not too much. Britain has to
:07:38. > :07:42.confront its problems. That is the clear message from the rating
:07:42. > :07:46.agency today. That is a reality check to the entire political
:07:46. > :07:50.system that Britain cannot duck dealing with its debt problem.
:07:50. > :07:53.Moody's isn't looking for a Plan B in next month's budget, far from it.
:07:53. > :07:57.But today's warning about the triple-A is an uncomfortable
:07:57. > :08:02.reminder that you can have a lot of austerity, but without growth, you
:08:02. > :08:06.can still end up with a lot of debt. Stephanie is with me now. Let's
:08:06. > :08:10.talk about these varying signals today. What is the main calculation
:08:10. > :08:13.do you think for the Chancellor now? I think it's a mixed picture.
:08:13. > :08:17.It's clearly not welcome news for the Chancellor, this warning about
:08:17. > :08:20.the triple-A, given the fact that he's talked about it so much in the
:08:20. > :08:23.past. As I was mentioned in my piece, it's not straightforwardly
:08:23. > :08:26.good news for the opposition either. I think it speaks to a tension that
:08:26. > :08:30.we're seeing a lot in the eurozone, in the financial markets at the
:08:30. > :08:34.moment. Have you countries who have come out of this crisis with a lot
:08:34. > :08:37.of borrowing, a lot of debt. They've been under pressure from
:08:37. > :08:43.the ratings agency and financial markets to get that under control.
:08:43. > :08:47.The fact this everyone is doing it at the same time has made it harder
:08:47. > :08:52.to combine that with decent growth. Then Moody's says, we don't like
:08:52. > :08:55.what slow growth is doing to your debt. You could be forgiven for
:08:56. > :09:01.thinking if you're a Government that you're damned if you do and
:09:01. > :09:04.damned if you don't. But there's this fall in inflation, it's
:09:05. > :09:08.finally happening. Of course, inflation is still above target.
:09:08. > :09:12.Prices are still going up. They're going up faster than most people's
:09:12. > :09:15.pay packets. If it continues to fall like this, as most people
:09:15. > :09:18.expect, we could be looking at inflation back down near 2% in the
:09:18. > :09:22.second half the year. That will mean real incomeles are rising
:09:22. > :09:25.again. At least if you're in work, you could see, could feel more
:09:25. > :09:29.confident and that could help the economy. I'm afraid the weak
:09:29. > :09:31.environment, we're going to find out tomorrow, that will mean high
:09:31. > :09:37.unemployment, maybe even unemployment continuing to increase.
:09:37. > :09:41.Thank you very much. One of Britain's biggest football
:09:41. > :09:45.clubs, Rangers, has gone into administration today. They had
:09:45. > :09:49.tried to negotiate more time to pay its debts, as much as �75 million
:09:49. > :09:53.in tax bills and penalties. One of the immediate effects is that the
:09:53. > :09:56.club has had ten points deducted in the Scottish Premier League. Our
:09:56. > :10:04.correspondent James Cook reports from Glasgow. There is some flash
:10:04. > :10:08.photography coming up. A sporting institution now in administration.
:10:08. > :10:12.For Rangers football club this moment was a long time coming, but
:10:12. > :10:16.it's still painful. We need to know what's happening at this club. That
:10:16. > :10:19.is the problem. Nobody seems to want to talk to the fans. It's not
:10:20. > :10:27.just the history of the club. It's the history of families that come
:10:27. > :10:33.here together. REPORTER: You're pretty upset.
:10:33. > :10:37.league's gone and that's it. The bottom line is, the big house must
:10:37. > :10:41.stay open. Rangers' owner Craig Whyte insists that's his aim too.
:10:41. > :10:44.He's a controversial figure, having served a seven-year ban from
:10:45. > :10:50.holding company Directorships. Mr Whyte hopes administration can
:10:50. > :10:54.clear the club's debts, not least a tax bill, which he says could reach
:10:54. > :10:58.�75 million. Whilst today is a very sad day for Rangers and its fans,
:10:58. > :11:02.the administration addresses a terrible uncertainty that's been
:11:02. > :11:07.hanging over the club. The administration period, whilst
:11:07. > :11:16.difficult for all involved, will give stability to the club. So how
:11:16. > :11:22.did it come to this? Founded in 1873, Rangers is a footballing
:11:22. > :11:26.giant. Its 54 domestic league titles the envy of any club. In the
:11:26. > :11:31.90s they slashed the cash on players. Sir David left the club
:11:31. > :11:38.happy memories and large debts. David Murray had Rangers making
:11:38. > :11:42.losses of about �29 million one year, �33 million another year,
:11:42. > :11:46.�and 30 million another year, three successive years of swingeing
:11:46. > :11:53.losses. Nobody is going to tell me that is not reckless management of
:11:53. > :11:59.a football club. It's eemergencyed that Rangers' tax problems don't
:11:59. > :12:02.just date to the glory days. They're facing an unpaid tax bill
:12:02. > :12:07.of �9 million run up since Craig Whyte's takeover. The immediate
:12:07. > :12:11.cost of administration is a ten- point penalty, which will almost
:12:11. > :12:16.certainly hand the Scottish Premier League title to Celtic. The long-
:12:16. > :12:21.term cost for this proud club could be far higher.
:12:21. > :12:25.The extremist Muslim cleric Abu Qatada is spending his first full
:12:26. > :12:30.day out of jail. The Government is still determine to deport him. A
:12:30. > :12:34.Home Office minister is in Jordan for high level talks over whether
:12:34. > :12:43.he would receive a fair trial there. Tonight a senior Jordanian minister
:12:43. > :12:47.told the BBC that his country's constitution now contains
:12:47. > :12:52.guarantees. He is out on bail but Abu Qatada's
:12:52. > :12:56.freedom is restricted and his future is the subject of intense
:12:56. > :13:00.debate. In the Jordanian capital Amman, the British team led by Home
:13:00. > :13:05.Office minister James Brokenshire negotiated behind closed doors. But
:13:05. > :13:13.Abu Qatada's friends and family believe a deal is there to be done.
:13:13. > :13:19.I do believe, as we hear from family and other friends that
:13:19. > :13:21.within one week Abu Qatada will be in Jordan. Jordanian ministers feel
:13:21. > :13:24.the European Court of Human Rights has create ed the impression this
:13:24. > :13:30.is a country which tortures prisoners, without giving Jordan
:13:30. > :13:35.the chance to respond. They say new constitutional clauses guarantee
:13:35. > :13:41.prisoners won't be tortured and crucially for the European Court,
:13:41. > :13:46.that evidence gained by torture can't be used. In a statement made
:13:46. > :13:51.by any accused person as a result of torture or harmful act or
:13:51. > :13:54.threatening of doing the same, even if it is mental, is not admissible
:13:54. > :13:59.in court. So if Britain wants Abu Qatada out, and Jordan sees his
:13:59. > :14:03.return as a chance to prove it respects human rights, might a deal
:14:03. > :14:08.be possible to bring back a man already convicted in his absence,
:14:08. > :14:12.of being part of a terrorist conspiracy here? One formula for a
:14:12. > :14:15.quick return might require him to give up his opposition to
:14:15. > :14:23.extradition in return for a personal guarantee from the king of
:14:23. > :14:28.Jordan about what sort of treatment Britain wants to find a quick,
:14:28. > :14:32.clean end to an affair which has become messy and protracted. Jordan
:14:32. > :14:36.wants to answer that George that it is a country where human rights are
:14:36. > :14:39.routinely ignored and prisoners routinely tortured. For now, at
:14:39. > :14:44.least, it is thought that he remains somewhere in this part of
:14:44. > :14:48.London. If Britain wants him off the streets it needs a deal with
:14:48. > :14:56.Jordan. But it has to be one that will satisfy the European Court of
:14:56. > :15:01.Human Rights about how he will be The latest bail out plan for the
:15:01. > :15:04.Greek economy has hit another obstacle after a eurozone finance
:15:04. > :15:08.ministers cancelled a meeting arranged for tomorrow. They accused
:15:08. > :15:12.Greece of failing to do enough to reform the economy. Greek ministers
:15:12. > :15:15.said tonight that they had met all of the conditions and that the
:15:15. > :15:19.people of Greece would not stand for any more austerity measures.
:15:19. > :15:25.Gavin Hewitt is in Brussels. How serious, in your view, is this
:15:25. > :15:30.latest obstacle? I think it is quite serious. Make no mistake that
:15:30. > :15:34.EU officials are playing it tough. For the moment, certainly, this
:15:34. > :15:38.second bail out is on hold. The reason for that is that the EU
:15:38. > :15:42.officials do not believe that Greece has met conditions, crucial
:15:42. > :15:46.conditions. They want key political leaders to give written guarantees
:15:46. > :15:51.that after elections in April they will fully implement these new war
:15:51. > :15:56.austerity measures. They also want further budget cuts. But I am
:15:56. > :16:01.detecting growing tension between some grit from ministers and some
:16:01. > :16:05.European ministers. One Greek minister said today, quite simply,
:16:05. > :16:09.the Greek people have had enough and cannot take any more. Also,
:16:09. > :16:14.some European ministers are discussing the possibility of a
:16:14. > :16:18.Greek default which they were not a year ago. The German finance
:16:18. > :16:23.minister said, compared to two years ago, we are much better
:16:23. > :16:28.prepared to survive a Greek default. Against this background, the Greek
:16:28. > :16:34.economy seems to be collapsing. In the last quarter of last year it
:16:34. > :16:38.contracted by 7%. So, where are we tonight? I think there are still
:16:38. > :16:48.considerable hurdles to be crossed in order for Greece to get the
:16:48. > :16:54.
:16:54. > :17:04.Coming up: A grand welcome for China's up and coming leader as he
:17:04. > :17:07.prepares to meet President Obama at In Iran, President Ahmadinejad is
:17:07. > :17:12.said to be preparing to make a significant announcement tomorrow
:17:12. > :17:15.about the country's nuclear programme. Any statement would need
:17:15. > :17:20.to be seen in the context of growing tensions with the West.
:17:20. > :17:24.There has already been a big build- up of Western naval forces in the
:17:24. > :17:29.region, close to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically vital
:17:29. > :17:34.waterway through which a 5th of the world's oil is transported.
:17:34. > :17:40.Jonathan Beale is on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
:17:40. > :17:45.It is already the most potent symbol of America's military London
:17:45. > :17:49.Lite. The USS Abraham Lincoln, loaded with warplanes and preparing
:17:49. > :17:57.to pass through potentially dangerous waters, the Strait of
:17:57. > :18:01.Hormuz. These jets are more than just a show of force. They are here
:18:01. > :18:06.to send a clear message to Iran as to who really controls these waters.
:18:06. > :18:12.As it approaches the narrowest point, just 21 miles wide, the
:18:12. > :18:17.coast is in sight. Iran recently threatened to close the Strait to
:18:17. > :18:21.which 20% of the world's oil supplies travel. It hasn't yet, but
:18:21. > :18:26.it is watching every inch of the journey. The US insists it is a
:18:26. > :18:30.routine voyage, but it comes at a time of growing concern about
:18:30. > :18:36.Iran's nuclear programme and rising tension. The presence of the ship
:18:36. > :18:40.is provocative. If you look at the weaponry and aircraft on board, but
:18:40. > :18:44.we routinely Transit in and out from the Arabian Gulf to the North
:18:44. > :18:52.Arabian Sea, so that we can go and start our work in supporting the
:18:52. > :18:55.troops in Afghanistan. But they are taking no chances. US helicopters
:18:55. > :19:01.worn off small boats that are getting too close. Further in the
:19:01. > :19:05.distance, an Iranian patrol boat is spotted. One of its military planes
:19:05. > :19:10.brazenly shadows overhead. But if this is an attempt to scare off the
:19:10. > :19:13.US Navy, it doesn't seem to have worked. We see small boats. Most of
:19:13. > :19:18.the time they are far enough away that we don't have to really do
:19:18. > :19:23.anything. But if they did something, you are confident that you could
:19:23. > :19:28.deal with it? Yes, really confident. With open waters in sight, the
:19:28. > :19:32.Abraham Lincoln can continue on its next mission, providing air support
:19:32. > :19:41.over Afghanistan. But it will soon be replaced by another US carrier
:19:41. > :19:44.that will also patrol these The Ministry of Defence has named
:19:44. > :19:50.the 21-year-old heir man who was killed yesterday by insurgents in
:19:50. > :19:53.Afghanistan. Senior Aircraftman Ryan Tomlin of 2 Squadron, the
:19:53. > :19:57.Royal Air Force Regiment, died in Helmand province. His family said
:19:57. > :20:01.he was a true hero and a shining star.
:20:01. > :20:04.The Government has suffered another defeat in the House of Lords over
:20:04. > :20:08.its planned changes to the welfare system. Peers voted to reject moves
:20:09. > :20:15.to cut benefits to some council tenants, including the disabled and
:20:15. > :20:20.foster carers who have more than one spare bedroom. For the latest,
:20:20. > :20:26.let's join Ben Geoghegan outside Parliament. I mentioned the defeat,
:20:26. > :20:29.what is the state of this Bill now? Well, the process of getting the
:20:29. > :20:34.reforms through Parliament has probably been a bit more protracted
:20:34. > :20:37.than ministers would have hoped. Tonight, with the debate at the end,
:20:37. > :20:41.the reforms are a step closer to becoming reality. The Government
:20:41. > :20:46.has suffered eight defeats in all. Seven of those had been reversed
:20:46. > :20:50.already. The latest defeat will be reversed as well. What the peers
:20:50. > :20:53.were worried about is the effect that the proposals could have won
:20:53. > :20:58.some vulnerable families, for example those with disabled
:20:58. > :21:01.children or those claiming benefits because they were suffering from a
:21:01. > :21:05.serious long-term illness. What the Government did in response to those
:21:05. > :21:09.concerns was to offer a whole series of changes to their plans.
:21:09. > :21:15.While it is still going to introduce a �26,000 cap on benefits
:21:15. > :21:19.per household, that will not kick in until someone has been
:21:19. > :21:22.unemployed for nine months. There will still be peers who have
:21:22. > :21:26.concerns and feel there is a risk of hardship for some families.
:21:26. > :21:30.Their appeal these proposals are not fair. But the minister for the
:21:30. > :21:33.Government today told members of the House of Lords that the message
:21:33. > :21:43.from the credit rating agency Moody's today was that the spending
:21:43. > :21:43.
:21:43. > :21:48.had to come down, and that included Now, President Obama has held talks
:21:48. > :21:56.at the White House with the man widely expected to become China's
:21:56. > :21:58.next leader, Xi Jinping. Obama said that China's rise was a positive
:21:59. > :22:06.thing, but it should realise that more power means more
:22:06. > :22:10.responsibility. It's the first time Mr Obama has met Mr Xi, who has
:22:10. > :22:13.urged China to be treated in a more rational way.
:22:13. > :22:19.A ceremonial welcome at the Pentagon today for China's leader
:22:19. > :22:24.in waiting. Xi Jinping is known to be a fan of Hollywood war films. So
:22:24. > :22:29.much more about him is unknown. In the Oval Office on Valentine's Day,
:22:29. > :22:35.a first date. A chance to see how he feels about Iran, Syria and a
:22:35. > :22:40.growing US presence in Asia. United States is a Pacific nation.
:22:40. > :22:48.We are very interested and focused on continuing to strengthen our
:22:48. > :22:54.relationships, to enhance our trade and our, S --, S and make sure that
:22:54. > :22:59.we are a strong and effective partner. Mr Xi replied that he was
:22:59. > :23:04.here to deepen mutual understanding and friendship. But he warned that
:23:04. > :23:10.discussions would be candid. The Chinese want to know more about a
:23:10. > :23:16.repositioning of US military assets, something Washington calls a
:23:16. > :23:21.strategic pivot towards Asia. is an integrated strategy. Security,
:23:21. > :23:28.diplomacy, economics and even human rights, covering Asia from India to
:23:28. > :23:32.Tokyo. The Chinese are nervous about it. China is a liar! Outside,
:23:32. > :23:37.a vocal reminder that wherever China goes, controversy follows.
:23:37. > :23:42.They were here for Tibet, Taiwan and human rights. The protesters
:23:42. > :23:46.are a feature of every Chinese visit here, another sign of how
:23:46. > :23:50.complex this relationship is. This year, there is an extra factor in
:23:50. > :23:56.play. The US presidential election. China has become a political
:23:56. > :24:00.football. Listen to Mitt Romney, the front-runner in to Republican
:24:00. > :24:06.race. They are artificially lowering prices and killing
:24:06. > :24:10.American jobs. We cannot sit back and let Trina run all over us.
:24:10. > :24:17.advert by Republican's running for the Senate crudely boxed the loss
:24:17. > :24:21.of jobs to China. Your economy get very weak. Hours get very good. We
:24:21. > :24:28.take your job! This is the story that Barack Obama wants to tell on
:24:28. > :24:31.jobs, newly hired American workers making goods to sell to China, here
:24:31. > :24:37.at a chopsticks factory in Georgia. Except the machines they use have
:24:37. > :24:46.been imported from China. Trade, at least, is far from a balanced
:24:46. > :24:49.Large crowds turned out in Liverpool to greet The Duchess of
:24:49. > :24:54.Cambridge, he made a visit to the city, his second public engagement
:24:54. > :24:58.without her husband. She was visiting some of the organisations
:24:58. > :25:03.of which she is a patron, including Action on Addiction.
:25:03. > :25:08.Her husband may be posted 8000 miles away in the Falklands, but
:25:08. > :25:14.The Duchess of Cambridge still celebrated Valentine's Day. Her
:25:14. > :25:18.suitor was an eight-year-old boy. Apparently Prince William also sent
:25:18. > :25:22.a card and flowers to his wife, who spent the day in Liverpool on only
:25:23. > :25:27.his second ever solo public engagement. First stop The Brink,
:25:27. > :25:33.and alcohol-free bar in the city centre. She was shown how to make a
:25:33. > :25:39.non-alcoholic cocktail called, of course, The Duchess. There was also
:25:39. > :25:42.a performance by a choir of recovering addicts, run by the
:25:42. > :25:47.charity Action on Addiction, one of only four organisations of which
:25:47. > :25:51.she is patron. She knows a bit about what we do. To come here was
:25:51. > :25:55.fantastic. I know some of the stuff she heard, personal testimonies
:25:55. > :25:59.about people's lives with alcoholism and addiction, I think
:26:00. > :26:03.it really blew her a way as well. Onwards to Alder Hey Children's
:26:03. > :26:06.Hospital, where the crowds braved the cold for Catherine. This is the
:26:06. > :26:11.first time that a duchess has done a public walk around without her
:26:11. > :26:16.husband at his side. She has come here to Liverpool to find that all
:26:16. > :26:20.of these people have turned up just for her. She was a big hit with the
:26:20. > :26:26.children here. Nine-year-old Jack Carruthers has Crohn's disease and
:26:26. > :26:31.is being treated at the hospital. It was amazing when she came. She
:26:31. > :26:36.was really nice to me. Just months into her royal career, The Duchess
:26:36. > :26:39.is already becoming known for her relaxed, personal approach. It's
:26:39. > :26:46.something appreciated by the parents and children on the cancer
:26:46. > :26:51.ward. Style watchers were satisfied as well. Her high street outfit met
:26:51. > :26:55.with local approval. She was looking stunning! She was. But we
:26:55. > :26:58.only got pictures of the back of her head. Next month, she will
:26:58. > :27:03.accompany the Queen on two engagements. Later in the year she