:00:06. > :00:11.A gunman kills 12 people after opening fire at a cinema in the
:00:11. > :00:15.American state of Colorado. The shooting took place at a showing of
:00:15. > :00:21.the new Batman film. The gunman set off a gas canister before opening
:00:21. > :00:31.fire. Dozens are wounded, the youngest a four-month-old baby. Eye
:00:31. > :00:31.
:00:31. > :00:39.witnesses describe a scene of horror. It was scary. A young girl
:00:39. > :00:41.with bullet wounds in her leg and blood all over her. I don't ever
:00:41. > :00:44.want to see something like that again.
:00:44. > :00:47.The suspected gunman, a 24-year-old postgraduate student, is now in
:00:47. > :00:55.police custody. The US President adds his voice to the expressions
:00:56. > :01:01.of condolence. We may never understand what leads anybody to
:01:01. > :01:05.terrorise their fellow human beings like this. Such violence, such evil
:01:05. > :01:09.is senseless. It is beyond reason. More details are emerging tonight
:01:09. > :01:11.about the suspected gunman and what took place inside the cinema. We'll
:01:11. > :01:14.bring you the latest. Also tonight:
:01:14. > :01:17.Government troops in Syria try to regain the upper hand, launching an
:01:17. > :01:21.all out offensive in the capital, Damascus.
:01:21. > :01:25.A moment of theatre, as the Olympic torch arrives in London. There's
:01:25. > :01:29.just a week to go now until the opening ceremony.
:01:29. > :01:36.And Bradley Wiggins says you can bet your house he will be the first
:01:36. > :01:46.And coming up in Sportsday, American Brandt Snedeker is ten
:01:46. > :02:02.
:02:02. > :02:05.under, and tops the leaderboard on Good evening.
:02:05. > :02:09.America is tonight once again looking for answers after a lone
:02:09. > :02:13.gunman walked into a packed cinema in the state of Colorado and opened
:02:13. > :02:17.fire. 12 people have been killed, 59 injured, including young
:02:17. > :02:23.children. The suspect, a 24-year- old postgraduate student, is now in
:02:23. > :02:26.police custody and so far there is no known motive. The cinema is in
:02:26. > :02:31.the town of Aurora, just a few miles away from Columbine, scene of
:02:31. > :02:40.an infamous mass shooting by two students back in 1999. Alastair
:02:40. > :02:44.Leithhead reports from Aurora. It was after midnight, but like
:02:44. > :02:52.thousands of theatres across America, this suburban cinema was
:02:52. > :03:02.sold out for the first showing of the new Batman Blockbuster. Oh, my
:03:02. > :03:03.
:03:03. > :03:08.God! The horror of it was captured on people's mobile phones. Half-an-
:03:08. > :03:14.hour into the film, a man dressed in black wearing a gas mask and
:03:14. > :03:18.bullet-proof jacket let off a smoke canister and then opened fire. He
:03:19. > :03:24.used an assault rifle, shotgun and pistol. At first, people thought it
:03:24. > :03:32.was a stunt linked to the movie. Some died in their seats. Dozens
:03:32. > :03:36.were injured as they tried to flee. We were in the fifth row from the
:03:36. > :03:41.shooter. People were scrambling left and right. My children got out
:03:41. > :03:48.first. Me and my wife got on our hands and knees. The people in the
:03:48. > :03:56.higher seating, they were sitting ducks. It was scary. A young girl
:03:56. > :04:01.with bullet wounds in her leg and blood all over her. I don't ever
:04:01. > :04:06.want to see something like that again. At first, I was so scared I
:04:06. > :04:10.did not know what to do, we just ducked down. You did not know what
:04:10. > :04:15.to do because you were not sure where he was. Children were among
:04:15. > :04:18.the dozens shot. Some suffered terrible injuries. They were taken
:04:18. > :04:23.to six different hospitals. The police were there within two
:04:23. > :04:29.minutes. They arrested a 24-year- old man at the back of the Cinema.
:04:29. > :04:34.They carefully searched his car for weapons and explosives. He was
:04:34. > :04:39.James Holmes, a medical student. Police say he acted alone. They
:04:39. > :04:48.still do not know why he did it. He told police his apartment was
:04:48. > :04:53.booby-trapped. It was. Trip wires and explosives were found. Nearby
:04:53. > :04:58.buildings were evacuated. apartment is booby-trapped with
:04:58. > :05:04.various incendiary and chemical devices and apparent trip wires, so
:05:04. > :05:08.we have an active and difficult scene there. It may be resolved in
:05:08. > :05:13.hours or days. We simply do not know how we're going to handle that.
:05:13. > :05:16.A picture is starting to emerge of James Holmes. The 24-year-old from
:05:16. > :05:20.San Diego had dropped out of medical school. Police said he had
:05:20. > :05:24.nothing but a speeding ticket on his criminal record. No connection
:05:24. > :05:30.to the military, but he came well prepared to kill. For people here,
:05:30. > :05:34.the shooting was horribly familiar. Columbine High School, the scene of
:05:34. > :05:38.a mass killing 13 years ago, is just 20 miles down the road, and
:05:38. > :05:42.now another community has been struck by a senseless act of
:05:42. > :05:48.violence. And in an election year, it will reopen the debate into gun
:05:48. > :05:52.controls, of which there are few in Colorado. Even as we learn how this
:05:52. > :05:58.happened and who is responsible, we may never understand what leads
:05:58. > :06:05.anybody to terrorise their fellow human beings like this. Such
:06:05. > :06:09.violence, such evil is senseless. As the police carefully tried to
:06:09. > :06:14.search his apartment, they are still so many questions about what
:06:14. > :06:20.motivated a young man to create such carnage. -- there are so many
:06:20. > :06:25.questions. Let's go live to Alastair in Aurora.
:06:25. > :06:30.More details are emerging about the gunman. Yes. It is the scale of it
:06:30. > :06:33.that is amazing. 71 people were shot, 12 of them killed and still
:06:33. > :06:38.at least five in critical condition in hospital. This was done with
:06:38. > :06:42.guns that were bought legally. He went into shops, bought the guns,
:06:42. > :06:47.an assault rifle, shotgun and powerful pistols, and he used them
:06:48. > :06:50.and was able to kill that many people. It will raise questions
:06:51. > :06:54.about gun controls in this state and in America. The election is
:06:54. > :06:58.only a few months away and so this is something that will very much
:06:58. > :07:02.step into the realms of politics. People like their guns, but as we
:07:02. > :07:06.know from Columbine just down the road, the guns are still available
:07:06. > :07:16.and a shooting has happened once again. These are some of the issues
:07:16. > :07:19.people will be looking at closely in the aftermath of this shooting.
:07:19. > :07:22.In Syria, a 4th top aide to President Assad has died after
:07:22. > :07:25.being injured in a bombing on Wednesday. It is another blow to
:07:26. > :07:29.the regime but there are reports the government is trying to regain
:07:29. > :07:33.the initiative, launching an all- out offensive against rebel-held
:07:33. > :07:36.areas in the capital. In the last 48 hours the UN says tens of
:07:36. > :07:43.thousands of refugees have crossed into neighbouring countries. From
:07:43. > :07:46.the Turkish-Syrian border, Wyre Davies reports.
:07:47. > :07:51.As much as the Syrian government might like to protest it is still
:07:51. > :07:58.completely in charge of its capital, pictures from Damascus today
:07:58. > :08:02.suggest otherwise. There is fighting in several parts of the
:08:02. > :08:06.city and many people have been killed. Anti-government protesters
:08:07. > :08:15.take to the streets and the mosques. Rebel leaders insist that Bashar
:08:15. > :08:17.Al-Assad's days are numbered. TRANSLATION: The Free Syrian Army
:08:17. > :08:21.congratulates the Syrian people at the beginning of the month of
:08:21. > :08:24.Ramadan and we hope this month will bring certain victory. It is not
:08:24. > :08:30.all going the way of the rebels. The government has been carrying
:08:30. > :08:34.out what it calls the cleansing of the streets of the domestic -- a
:08:34. > :08:40.Damascus suburb, now freed from rebel fighters, terrorists as the
:08:40. > :08:43.regime calls them. The Free Syrian Army triumphantly claimed to have
:08:43. > :08:47.captured several border crossings. This one is reported to be
:08:47. > :08:50.controlled by over 100 rebels. Beyond this Turkish border and a
:08:50. > :08:55.couple of kilometres of no-man's land lies a pretty sizable part of
:08:55. > :08:58.Syria where nobody really knows who is in control. Government troops
:08:58. > :09:02.have been withdrawn from the periphery to deal with the crisis
:09:02. > :09:06.in Damascus, meaning the rebels have taken charge in some areas.
:09:06. > :09:10.But Assad's troops have fired back with long-range missiles, causing
:09:10. > :09:14.civilian casualties and forcing many people to flee. Crossing the
:09:14. > :09:20.border this evening, this family specifically said that shells and
:09:20. > :09:25.heavy artillery had been targeted on their town.
:09:25. > :09:33.TRANSLATION: I saw one father who had lost five members of his family.
:09:33. > :09:40.That is why we got out. It is too dangerous. Tonight, the UN extended
:09:40. > :09:42.its observer mission for a final 30 days. Perhaps the last chance to
:09:42. > :09:52.co-operate for a leader who is slowly losing control of his
:09:52. > :09:55.capital and his country. Jeremy Bowen is here. It is the end
:09:55. > :09:59.of a dramatic week in Syria and the balance of power suddenly seems
:09:59. > :10:05.less certain. What is your assessment of where things stand?
:10:05. > :10:08.The worst week for President Assad since the uprising started. His
:10:08. > :10:12.brother-in-law and three senior advisers were killed, assassinated
:10:12. > :10:15.in that big bomb in Damascus a couple of days ago. Plus there has
:10:15. > :10:21.been fighting in Damascus and, as we have been hearing, border posts
:10:21. > :10:24.have been taken over. So that is very serious. But in harsh words
:10:24. > :10:28.from his was an advert -- there have been harsh words from Western
:10:28. > :10:32.adversaries and Arab enemies. But that does not make a difference
:10:32. > :10:36.while there is no enforcement process. In a sense, it takes heat
:10:36. > :10:39.of President Assad in the short term. Longer term, the absence of a
:10:39. > :10:44.diplomatic process is something which, if anything, will speed up
:10:44. > :10:48.arms supplies coming from countries to the rebels. The Saudis in
:10:48. > :10:51.particular have so that is one thing they will be doing. I think
:10:51. > :10:56.in our reporting of this, we need to give an important health warning,
:10:56. > :11:00.and that is that people like myself, I am here, not there. The Syrians
:11:00. > :11:03.are not letting us in in the way that we would like at the moment.
:11:03. > :11:08.When you are in a place where fighting is going on, like Damascus,
:11:08. > :11:11.or Aleppo, where they are also reports of fighting, you can use
:11:11. > :11:16.your eyes and ears to make judgments of just how big it is. Is
:11:16. > :11:21.it just one area, more areas, the extent of it. From here, that is
:11:21. > :11:24.impossible. So we try to calibrate the best reports. The details are
:11:24. > :11:29.sketchy but one consistent messages coming out, and that is that the
:11:29. > :11:32.rebels are on the up and the regime is not.
:11:32. > :11:36.With just a week to go until the opening ceremony of London 2012,
:11:36. > :11:40.the Olympic flame has arrived in the capital, nearing the end of its
:11:40. > :11:43.journey around the UK. It made a dramatic entrance just a couple of
:11:43. > :11:45.hours ago, via a Royal Navy helicopter, flying in over Tower
:11:46. > :11:49.Bridge, before a marine commando abseiled down to deliver it
:11:49. > :11:52.securely to the Tower of London. But with the threat of strike
:11:52. > :11:55.action at Heathrow, and with the army called in to patch up
:11:55. > :12:05.shortcomings in security, just how ready is London to host the
:12:05. > :12:09.Olympics? David Bond reports. After more than two months in this
:12:09. > :12:15.country, the Olympic flame is getting used to dramatic entrances.
:12:15. > :12:21.Perhaps this was the most spectacular yet. Ad sales into the
:12:21. > :12:25.Tower of London from a Royal Navy helicopter. A team of Marines gave
:12:25. > :12:28.it safe passage into the have -- into London for the start of its
:12:28. > :12:32.seven-day journey around the capital. It is a huge moment for
:12:32. > :12:35.the city and this is the first time since 1948 there we have been the
:12:35. > :12:40.Official custodian of the Olympic flame. It is now going to be
:12:40. > :12:44.guarded very safely in the Tower, by the Yeoman warders. It will then
:12:44. > :12:48.go out across the city for what we think will be an enormous torch
:12:48. > :12:53.relay procession. The arrival of the torch marks another big moment
:12:53. > :12:56.in the countdown to next week's opening ceremony. London has had a
:12:56. > :13:00.pretty smooth ride over the last seven years, but for organisers,
:13:00. > :13:06.the last week has been the most challenging time they have faced.
:13:06. > :13:12.So, with just seven days to go, how is London shaping up? The first
:13:12. > :13:15.priority for any successful host is to deliver the venues. On the
:13:15. > :13:21.Olympic Park, everything is pretty much ready to go, with final
:13:21. > :13:25.touches being made. But elsewhere, the temporary facilities, like the
:13:25. > :13:29.triathlon venue in Hyde Park, they are working around the clock to be
:13:29. > :13:35.ready. We have always known that keeping the Transport network
:13:35. > :13:42.moving during the Games would be difficult. 2000 more athletes
:13:42. > :13:45.arrive today, and so far Heathrow Airport has coped. But the Olympic
:13:45. > :13:49.lanes do not come into full force until next Wednesday, and no one is
:13:49. > :13:55.quite sure how the capital will cope with the changing daily
:13:55. > :14:02.demands of the Games. Of course, the biggest problem in recent days
:14:02. > :14:05.has come from security. Today, a reminder of what is at stake. The
:14:05. > :14:12.17-year-old man tried to snatch the Olympic flame as it made its way
:14:12. > :14:16.through Kent. He was later arrested. Despite putting a further 1200
:14:16. > :14:21.troops on standby to plug the gap left by G4S, there are still
:14:21. > :14:28.questions over the plans for the new security. Today, the IOC
:14:28. > :14:33.president arrived in London and gave this verdict. The Government
:14:33. > :14:36.compensated for the shortfall that was possibly going to happen, so we
:14:37. > :14:40.feel reassured for that and I have all assurances from the Government
:14:40. > :14:44.that security will be in place. Organisers must wish that they
:14:44. > :14:47.could lock up some of their recent problems in the tower with the
:14:47. > :14:51.flame, where it will spend the night before the last leg of the
:14:51. > :15:01.relay. But with less than a week to go, there are certain to be a few
:15:01. > :15:03.
:15:03. > :15:07.more bumps in the road before the As we have heard, security has
:15:07. > :15:11.become a major issue in the build- up to the Games. Tonight, police in
:15:11. > :15:14.Glasgow and Manchester have said they will take on extra rolls to
:15:14. > :15:17.secure the football stadiums there. But the Home Secretary has insisted
:15:18. > :15:21.that the Olympics will be safe and are on course. Our special
:15:21. > :15:25.correspondent has been looking at the measures put in place to
:15:25. > :15:29.safeguard London 2012. This report contains flash photography.
:15:29. > :15:34.A week to go, and the police presence around the site is strong
:15:34. > :15:40.and visible. These are officers from a limpet command at. They have
:15:40. > :15:45.been here since before the stadium was built. 24 hours a day, if they
:15:45. > :15:49.patrol the Olympic perimeter. are here to reassure the public. If
:15:49. > :15:53.an incident is here, it will be this vehicle that response. If
:15:53. > :16:03.anything is out of place, we will deal with it and escalate it if
:16:03. > :16:03.
:16:03. > :16:09.necessary. They work alongside G4S. Any problems? No. In the coming
:16:09. > :16:14.days, these G4S workers will be bolstered by 3500 soldiers, but it
:16:14. > :16:18.is the police who are in charge. Despite the problems there have
:16:18. > :16:23.been this week with G4S, the police say their operation is unchanged.
:16:23. > :16:29.The message seems to be that the troops are very useful at coming
:16:29. > :16:35.here and plugging gaps, but overall, the security operation is untouched
:16:35. > :16:40.and on track. Today was about settling nerves. After a week of
:16:40. > :16:44.bad headlines, the Home Secretary Theresa May went to the Olympic
:16:44. > :16:47.Park control room to refocus attention on the games themselves.
:16:47. > :16:53.People will be able to come to these Olympics and enjoy them for
:16:53. > :16:57.the great sporting event they are, and feel safe. At an East End
:16:57. > :17:05.warehouse, the latest members of that security team were setting up
:17:05. > :17:09.home. Camp beds and cooking for soldiers. Some just back from
:17:09. > :17:14.Afghanistan or summoned from leave it. My reaction was, OK, because I
:17:14. > :17:19.understand that, I am in the military. My wife was not too happy.
:17:19. > :17:23.I was already on my summer leave it. My children live in Scotland. So
:17:23. > :17:29.mum stood in. The police in Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow
:17:29. > :17:34.have a greater role because of G4S. Here in London, security has come
:17:34. > :17:42.under scrutiny, but the emphasis today - a week to go, and we are
:17:42. > :17:46.prepared. For coming up: and finally, news to
:17:46. > :17:51.shake up the Kremlin. The British government's hospitality Fund has
:17:51. > :17:58.stopped buying Russian vodka. world of journalism pays tribute to
:17:58. > :18:01.Sir Alastair Burnet, who has died aged 84.
:18:01. > :18:04.President Hu Jintao steps down in China later this year, handing over
:18:04. > :18:08.to his successor a country which boasts enviable economic growth
:18:08. > :18:12.rates, but also a growing inequality gap and social problems
:18:13. > :18:17.caused by, amongst other things, the 230 million migrant labourers
:18:17. > :18:21.working hundreds of miles away from their homes. In the second of his
:18:21. > :18:24.special reports from China, our world affairs editor John Simpson
:18:24. > :18:30.reports on those who have seen little if any benefit in the last
:18:30. > :18:34.ten years of China's economic good times.
:18:34. > :18:39.For all its achievements, china's leadership has failed in two
:18:40. > :18:46.respects. The country's huge inequalities have got worse, and
:18:46. > :18:51.the rule of law is far too weak. A fortnight ago, this place its in
:18:51. > :18:57.South Beijing was a thriving suburb. Then, without warning, the
:18:57. > :19:07.bulldozers arrived. There will be little compensation and no legal
:19:07. > :19:07.
:19:07. > :19:12.redress. This person's lifelong home was here. He had a good job
:19:12. > :19:17.and support to the Government. Now he has lost everything. He believes
:19:17. > :19:21.it is all down to a corrupt property deal.
:19:21. > :19:26.TRANSLATION: No one has shown us a single legal document showing that
:19:26. > :19:31.they had the mission to demolish this area. All I want is a legal
:19:32. > :19:35.process. That is all these people want, to. They have come to a
:19:35. > :19:40.government office in Beijing to complain about wrongs done to them
:19:40. > :19:48.or their families by officialdom. Sometimes they get attacked or even
:19:48. > :19:51.kidnapped for coming here. This woman from Henan reported an
:19:51. > :19:56.illegal and grabbed by local officials. She was beaten up and
:19:56. > :20:00.her property was burnt. But China's leaders have been clever and have
:20:00. > :20:04.delegated authority for lots of things, including law enforcement,
:20:04. > :20:09.to local authorities. That way, the national government avoids the
:20:09. > :20:14.blame for things that go wrong. So these people come from all over the
:20:14. > :20:19.country, asking the Government for justice. These are the details of
:20:19. > :20:23.the cases. The mere act of giving these papers to us makes us --
:20:23. > :20:30.makes them feel they have achieved something in a society where action
:20:30. > :20:34.is extremely difficult. Out in the countryside, this is Hunan province
:20:34. > :20:38.in southern China, things have scarcely improved at all over the
:20:38. > :20:42.last ten years. The government has done away with some of taxes, but
:20:42. > :20:48.it is still hard to make a decent living here. So there has been a
:20:48. > :20:52.big exodus to the towns. The village of Guangan is typical. Out
:20:52. > :20:59.of a population of 1700, around half have left to work elsewhere.
:20:59. > :21:07.The only people who live here now are the old and very young. If
:21:07. > :21:11.Jiang is 69. Her granddaughter is ninth. She used to work -- she used
:21:11. > :21:15.to look after her granddaughter. Now it is the other way round. Her
:21:15. > :21:19.parents are off in a nearby town, 11 hours away by bus. They can only
:21:19. > :21:27.come back home to see her once a year.
:21:27. > :21:30.TRANSLATION: She misses them very much. 400 miles away, her mother
:21:30. > :21:37.has come home after a long day at the factory. Her father is having
:21:37. > :21:42.trouble finding work. In the tiny room they went, we show them how
:21:42. > :21:47.pictures of their daughter. TRANSLATION: We have to do this to
:21:47. > :21:51.get the money for a better life. China's years of economic success
:21:51. > :21:57.have come at a vast human cost, and many people here feel that they
:21:57. > :22:02.can't trust the system to protect them.
:22:02. > :22:05.There has been fresh economic turmoil in Spain today, despite the
:22:05. > :22:09.Eurozone's finance ministers approving a loan to prop up the
:22:09. > :22:12.country's banks. There is still concern that a larger bail-out of
:22:12. > :22:19.the whole country could be needed. Live now to like your correspondent.
:22:19. > :22:23.How bad was today? Very bad, and it was another vivid reminder of the
:22:23. > :22:26.fact that that banking bail-out targeted the financial sector in
:22:27. > :22:31.Spain and has not had the desired effect of convincing investors that
:22:31. > :22:33.Spain is now a safe place to put money. The problems keep mounting
:22:33. > :22:37.for their country. The Government today said the recession was
:22:37. > :22:41.expected to last longer than initially forecast and that the
:22:41. > :22:44.nominal rates at which Spain could borrow money on the international
:22:44. > :22:50.markets have spiked. They are at their highest ever level, well
:22:50. > :22:53.above 7%, which is unsustainable in the long term. What does this mean?
:22:53. > :22:58.Well, I have spoken to several senior aide European officials who
:22:58. > :23:01.have said they hope to contain the crisis within Spain, but today the
:23:01. > :23:08.Italian Prime Minister said the contagion was spreading to Italy,
:23:08. > :23:12.which is a worrying development. Cyclist Bradley Wiggins has said
:23:12. > :23:14.people can safely bet their house on him not losing his lead in the
:23:14. > :23:19.Tour de France and becoming the first Briton ever to win the race.
:23:19. > :23:26.It comes to an end in Paris on Sunday, but going into the weekend,
:23:26. > :23:31.Wiggins has a lead of more than two minutes over his nearest rivals.
:23:31. > :23:35.France may be a place of beauty. It is also the backdrop for savagery,
:23:35. > :23:40.in the shape of the world's toughest endurance race. The Tour
:23:40. > :23:45.de France is now winding towards its conclusion. Its result, barring
:23:45. > :23:48.crashes or illness, we know. The man in yellow, Bradley Wiggins,
:23:48. > :23:53.should now remain clad in the colour of victory all the way to
:23:53. > :23:59.Paris on Sunday. The French public were wary at first, but have now
:23:59. > :24:04.acclaimed Bradley Wiggins as "le gentleman". Today, after five hours
:24:04. > :24:06.and 215 kilometres, a British bonus - Bradley Wiggins' team-mate Mark
:24:06. > :24:11.Cavendish, making it the other sprinters look like they were
:24:12. > :24:16.carrying their shopping. His next and in effect final step to the
:24:16. > :24:20.throne will be here in Chartres. 400 years ago in that cathedral,
:24:20. > :24:26.they ground one of the kings of France. Tomorrow, across that
:24:26. > :24:31.finish line, history may repeat itself. If Bradley Wiggins cements
:24:31. > :24:34.his first place here, he will be unchallenged in Paris. You don't
:24:34. > :24:39.want to jinx him, but if he does it, it will be the greatest achievement
:24:39. > :24:43.by a British sports person ever. That is a big claim, but I don't
:24:43. > :24:46.think you can overstate how hard it is to win the Tour de France.
:24:46. > :24:49.was here at the Herne Hill velodrome in south London that
:24:49. > :24:53.Wiggins burnished his talent and showed his desire, when he first
:24:53. > :24:58.turned up, he announced himself with a simple request - I want to
:24:58. > :25:05.race, please, sir. But even those who have known him all his life
:25:05. > :25:15.left shaking their heads. Looking at him, not in how wildest dreams
:25:15. > :25:16.
:25:16. > :25:20.did we ever think that this day would come. It is incredible to me.
:25:20. > :25:25.It has not all been an utter surprise. Wiggins has appeared in
:25:25. > :25:29.the last Olympics, where he has collected six medals, three golds.
:25:29. > :25:33.Now, a week before the London Olympics begin, there is the
:25:33. > :25:40.prospect of the greatest British sporting triumph of the year. Some
:25:40. > :25:43.argue it would be among the greatest ever.
:25:43. > :25:48.The journalist and broadcaster Sir Alastair Burnet, best known for
:25:49. > :25:53.presenting ITN's News at Ten, has died at the age of 84. He became a
:25:53. > :26:03.household name, presented the main ITV evening news bulletin, and also
:26:03. > :26:04.
:26:04. > :26:07.commentated on major events including the moon landings.
:26:07. > :26:14.The Prime Minister weighed in to defend the Chancellor today. As a
:26:14. > :26:19.broadcaster, he had authority and once edited the Economist. And he
:26:19. > :26:24.had warmth on screen and off. Reviewers liked him and trusted him.
:26:24. > :26:29.He gave me a job and he was my inspiration and my mentor. He was
:26:29. > :26:32.the greatest news broadcaster this country has ever produced. In many
:26:32. > :26:38.ways, he set the standard. He has never been equalled. He spoke in
:26:38. > :26:41.beautifully modulated tones. Uniquely, he had a grasp of every
:26:41. > :26:45.conceivable detail you might want in the world of politics and
:26:45. > :26:51.economics, but also a total her passion for the things that plain
:26:51. > :26:54.folk care about - football. A quiet day for the Prime Minister at
:26:55. > :26:59.Chequers. He started as a political reporter, but could turn his hand
:26:59. > :27:04.to anything. He was a serious news man, with an added touch of wit.
:27:04. > :27:08.This was his commentary on the first moon landing. There it is,
:27:08. > :27:14.the Old Moon, the one the cow jumped over, the One That lovers
:27:14. > :27:21.Make Love To. From now on, it will be rather different. He was first
:27:21. > :27:24.choice to cover the big events for ITV. The first result could begin
:27:24. > :27:30.within the next ten minutes. The polls suggest that Labour is in
:27:30. > :27:36.with a shout. For a time in the 1970s, he was at the BBC. Back at
:27:36. > :27:41.ITV, he proved an enthusiastic royalist. If there is any heart
:27:41. > :27:47.that has not been won over today, it can kindly surrender now.
:27:47. > :27:52.sniffed flowers with the Queen Mother. The satirical puppet show
:27:52. > :27:55.Spitting Image had fun at his expense. How Margaret is -- how
:27:55. > :27:58.marvellous it is to see your marvellous nurse at the microphone.