:00:07. > :00:12.A prison officer is killed in Northern Ireland - the first murder
:00:12. > :00:16.of its kind there for 20 years. David Black was shot on his way to
:00:17. > :00:20.work. It's thought dissident Republicans are responsible. He was
:00:20. > :00:27.ambushed in his car on a motorway. Northern Ireland's First Minister
:00:27. > :00:30.condemns the attack. The whole of this community is roundly and
:00:30. > :00:34.unitedly opposed to them and will continue to stand up to them. We
:00:34. > :00:37.will face them down and they will never win. We'll be assessing what
:00:37. > :00:41.impact the murder may have on Northern Ireland's peace process.
:00:41. > :00:46.Also tonight: The comedian Freddie Starr is arrested as part of the
:00:46. > :00:56.Jimmy Savile investigations. In an earlier interview, he insisted he
:00:56. > :00:59.is innocent. The allegation is ridiculous. It's... I am done for
:00:59. > :01:03.words. New Yorkers in a jam as commuters
:01:03. > :01:06.try to get into work after Superstorm Sandy. Meanwhile, Obama
:01:06. > :01:10.and Romney are on the campaign trail as the polls show they are
:01:10. > :01:12.still neck and neck. And, the latest casualty on the
:01:13. > :01:22.High Street - Comet goes into administration, 6,500 jobs are at
:01:23. > :01:24.
:01:24. > :01:34.risk. I will be here with Sportsday later, including Murray's Masters
:01:34. > :01:47.
:01:47. > :01:51.meltdown in Paris. Knocked out by a Good evening. It's the first murder
:01:51. > :01:54.of its kind in 20 years in Northern Ireland - a prison officer has been
:01:54. > :01:58.shot and killed on his way to work. No one's yet claimed responsibility
:01:58. > :02:01.for the death of David Black but the finger of blame is being
:02:01. > :02:03.pointed at dissident Republicans. Stormont's First Minister, Peter
:02:03. > :02:06.Robinson, and his deputy, Martin McGuinness, stood together to
:02:06. > :02:14.condemn the attack and insisted it would not destabilise the peace
:02:15. > :02:18.process. Chris Buckler has more. David Black was shot dead as he
:02:18. > :02:23.drove to work. In the minds of dissident Republicans it was that
:02:23. > :02:26.job as a prison officer that made him a target. The attack was a
:02:26. > :02:30.simple ambush. As he drove along the M1 motorway near the start of
:02:30. > :02:34.rush hour a car pulled up beside him and a gunman fired several
:02:34. > :02:39.shots. By the time his car crashed into the side, it's believed he was
:02:39. > :02:43.already dead. David Black is the 30th prison officer to be killed by
:02:43. > :02:47.paramilitaries since the 1970s. And the first to be murdered in almost
:02:47. > :02:51.20 years. The whole of this community is roundly and unitedly
:02:51. > :02:55.opposed to them and will continue to stand up to them. We will face
:02:55. > :02:59.them down and they will never win. David Black had left his home in
:02:59. > :03:03.Cookstown and was on his way to start a shift at Maghaberry Prison.
:03:03. > :03:07.He was driving along the M1 between Portadown and Lurgan at about
:03:07. > :03:11.7.30am this morning when a car pulled up alongside him and shots
:03:11. > :03:15.were fired. The car used by the gunmen was later found abandoned a
:03:15. > :03:20.distance away near Lurgan in County Armagh. The vehicle which had
:03:20. > :03:26.Dublin number plates had been burned out. It was a completely
:03:26. > :03:30.senseless attack. It demonstrates aptly the wrecklessness, the
:03:30. > :03:37.ruthlessness and the sheer dangerousness of those who still
:03:37. > :03:41.oppose peace. Dissident Republicans are involved in a protest at the
:03:41. > :03:47.jail where David Black worked. They're demanding special political
:03:47. > :03:50.status and an end to strip searches. Alongside the police and army many
:03:50. > :03:56.prison officers were targeted in attacks during the years of The
:03:56. > :04:05.Troubles. What they can't kill is the peace process. And we are the
:04:05. > :04:08.proof of that. Our community stands absolutely four square and united.
:04:08. > :04:11.The shooting happened a matter of miles away from this estate in
:04:11. > :04:16.Craigavon, where the first member of the Police Service of Northern
:04:16. > :04:19.Ireland was killed just a few years ago. There are still pockets of
:04:19. > :04:23.hardline Republicans determined to oppose political change in Northern
:04:23. > :04:28.Ireland at whatever cost and for a public now used to peace, what was
:04:28. > :04:33.in effect a drive-by shooting is particularly shocking.. It's like
:04:33. > :04:37.something you would see in a movie. It's just frightening when you
:04:37. > :04:41.think about it. The return of violence is a worry for many here.
:04:41. > :04:44.But it's devastating for David Black's family. He had applied for
:04:44. > :04:48.early redundancy and was planning for life after serving as a prison
:04:48. > :04:51.officer during some of the worst kwraoerbs of The -- years of The
:04:51. > :04:54.Troubles. Chris is live now for us in
:04:54. > :04:59.Stormont. What effect will today's murder have on the peace process
:04:59. > :05:02.there? Well, when you take a look at this there's been condemnation
:05:02. > :05:06.from all sides, both north and south of the Irish border and
:05:06. > :05:09.people are united. This will also involve an investigation from
:05:09. > :05:14.police officers from the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern
:05:14. > :05:17.Ireland. They will stand very much united. At the same time, this
:05:17. > :05:21.attack does show once again the threat posed by dissident
:05:21. > :05:24.Republicans and in recent months there have been indications that
:05:25. > :05:27.those groupings, although small, have been attempting to become more
:05:27. > :05:30.organised. A number of prison officers in the last year have been
:05:30. > :05:34.warned about the safety, some even moved from their home. But it's
:05:34. > :05:38.worth emphasising again that it was back in 1993 that the last prison
:05:38. > :05:43.officer was killed by paramilitaries. As a result, this
:05:43. > :05:46.has caused a great deal of shock, in a place where such killings were
:05:46. > :05:50.once common and that does show that Northern Ireland has changed, just
:05:50. > :06:00.that shock, but at the same time the shooting also shows the threat
:06:00. > :06:00.
:06:01. > :06:03.that remains. Thank you. The death toll on the north-east coast of
:06:03. > :06:06.America from Superstorm Sandy is continuing to rise. Eighty people
:06:06. > :06:08.are believed to have been killed with many feared missing and
:06:08. > :06:11.millions of people are still without power. There have been
:06:11. > :06:17.chaotic scenes in New York as commuters battle to get into work.
:06:17. > :06:22.Steve Kingston has the first of our reports tonight from New York.
:06:22. > :06:26.It was the commute from hell. A painful crawl that would test the
:06:26. > :06:31.patience of even the most hardened New Yorkers. This is crazy. It's
:06:31. > :06:36.taking me 45 minutes just to get from there on 3rd Street. I never
:06:36. > :06:42.seen traffic like this in my life. This was the bus queue in Brooklyn,
:06:42. > :06:46.snaking around a giant sports arena. And here the fuel queue at one of
:06:46. > :06:49.the number of places where petrol is still flowing.
:06:49. > :06:53.We are finally crossing the bridge into Manhattan now. One of the
:06:53. > :06:57.things that the mayor's office has done in theory to make the flow of
:06:58. > :07:02.trafg smoother -- traffic traffic smoother is so say every car has to
:07:02. > :07:05.have at least three people in it but it's still been a torturous
:07:05. > :07:09.journey. At checkpoints the police were counting heads to enforce that
:07:09. > :07:13.new rule. While in neighbouring New Jersey
:07:13. > :07:17.the National Guard are taking the lead, moving residents out of
:07:17. > :07:22.waterlogged homes, among them those who will hear stories of their
:07:22. > :07:28.escape in years to come. But other lives were cut short. He was a
:07:28. > :07:34.really kind person, with a very gentle sweet spirit. When Marcia
:07:34. > :07:38.called her son's phone on Tuesday morning a policeman answered. Jacob
:07:38. > :07:43.had been killed by a falling tree. It feels like a dream and when I
:07:43. > :07:49.woke up this morning and realised my son's never coming home... You
:07:49. > :07:53.know, it keeps sinking in, that we have lost him.
:07:53. > :07:56.The material damage can be put right but here in Long Island the
:07:56. > :08:01.clearup will be time consuming and costly.
:08:01. > :08:05.While back in New York's China Town police officers are directing the
:08:05. > :08:07.traffic. The lights are still out in Manhattan alone a quarter of a
:08:07. > :08:12.million people are without electricity.
:08:12. > :08:17.Do you have power? Do I have power? No. I am in the dark. There is one
:08:17. > :08:21.ray of light, and it's underground. The New York subway began offering
:08:21. > :08:30.a restricted service this morning but it will be many months before
:08:31. > :08:33.the familiar everyday chaos of this city returns.
:08:33. > :08:36.President Obama has resumed his election campaign, which he'd
:08:36. > :08:39.suspended because of the storm. But with less than four days to the
:08:39. > :08:41.elections, one of the latest polls show that the presidential race
:08:41. > :08:44.remains effectively tied - President Obama is on 47% and
:08:44. > :08:52.challenger Mitt Romney is only one point behind. Bridget Kendall
:08:52. > :08:56.reports from the campaign trail. Arriving in style for his first
:08:56. > :09:00.campaign appearance since the hurricane. Barack Obama in
:09:00. > :09:04.Wisconsin today with a new spring in his step, seizing his slogan of
:09:04. > :09:08.change back from his opponent, Governor Romney. He is saying he is
:09:09. > :09:14.the candidate of change. Well let me tell you, Wisconsin, we know
:09:14. > :09:19.what change looks like. And what the Governor's offering sure ain't
:09:19. > :09:25.change. A sign the fight to the finish is on. I will fight for you
:09:25. > :09:30.and your families every single day as hard as I know how, you know
:09:30. > :09:33.that. What a turnaround. No longer on the back foot, the President is
:09:33. > :09:37.basking in new high approval ratings for his leadership during
:09:37. > :09:43.the storm. President Obama's campaign slogan
:09:43. > :09:46.is Forward. I think a better term would be Forewarned. In Virginia
:09:46. > :09:49.another swing state, the former Governor and millionaire
:09:49. > :09:53.businessman Mitt Romney needs Republicans to keep the faith.
:09:53. > :09:58.know that the President wants to see four more years and that's his
:09:58. > :10:03.chant. Four more years. Our chant is this - five more days, five more
:10:03. > :10:07.days. This Republican rally is all about hype, getting energy back
:10:07. > :10:11.into the Mitt Romney campaign after a tricky few days. It may have got
:10:11. > :10:15.harder to attack President Obama for failure of leadership, or
:10:15. > :10:18.failing to work with Republicans, but the message Mitt Romney is
:10:18. > :10:24.drumming home here is that he is still the better candidate to sort
:10:24. > :10:29.out the American economy. Virginia is a key battle ground,
:10:29. > :10:33.last time Obama won here. But this time Republicans thought they had
:10:33. > :10:38.the edge until the hurricane came along. But could the storm affect
:10:38. > :10:43.the race? Transport worker Steven thinks so. Even though he is a
:10:43. > :10:47.Romney voter. I think benefited, politically, President Obama. He
:10:47. > :10:53.was there right on the ground, right in the beginning. I think
:10:53. > :10:58.that's what leaders need to do. John is someone whose views could
:10:58. > :11:02.really mat are next -- matter next week, still an undecided volter --
:11:02. > :11:06.voter has it affected your view? I am still in the middle. I don't
:11:06. > :11:11.know what to think. I am going to think when I vote on Tuesday.
:11:11. > :11:21.only four full campaigning days left to go, it may be the deciding
:11:21. > :11:22.
:11:22. > :11:25.factor, whether the hurricane tips this election one way or another.
:11:25. > :11:28.The comedian Freddie Starr has been arrested in connection with the
:11:28. > :11:31.Jimmy Savile abuse investigation. Scotland Yard said he was being
:11:31. > :11:34.held at a police station in Warwickshire on suspicion of sexual
:11:34. > :11:36.offences. Freddie Starr has previously offered to speak to the
:11:36. > :11:42.police, and has denied any wrongdoing. David Sillito has the
:11:42. > :11:46.latest. The police at Freddie Starr's home
:11:46. > :11:54.this evening. The comedian had said last week he wanted to speak to
:11:54. > :11:59.police to clear his name. Back in in 1974 he had appeared
:11:59. > :12:04.with Jimmy Savile on a programme called Clunk Click. Also in the
:12:04. > :12:08.audience in the yellow top a teenager, Karin Ward. She She has
:12:08. > :12:13.accused Freddie Starr of groping her in a dressing room with Jimmy
:12:13. > :12:17.Savile and Gary Glitter. A few days ago, Freddie Starr and his fiancee
:12:17. > :12:23.invited cameras in to protest his innocence. The allegation is
:12:23. > :12:28.ridiculous. For someone to say that I went in a dressing room with with
:12:28. > :12:37.with Jimmy Savile and Gary Glitter is beyond belief. It is... So far
:12:37. > :12:40.out, it's like yeah, in your dreams. He was, he said, appalled at what
:12:40. > :12:45.he heard about Jimmy Savile, especially as he himself claims he
:12:45. > :12:55.too was sexually abused as an eight-year-old. I know how they
:12:55. > :12:56.
:12:56. > :13:02.feel. I know that. Because I feel the same way. I feel so sorry for
:13:02. > :13:07.them that this animal has been going around for years and years
:13:07. > :13:13.and years, the press knew about it, the police knew about it. You know,
:13:13. > :13:15.the BBC knew about it. When skwraoeul in a -- meanwhile in a a
:13:15. > :13:19.separate development a lawyer representing people who claim to
:13:19. > :13:24.have abused says he has issued legal letters seeking compensation
:13:24. > :13:28.from Savile's estate and also in one case, the BBC.
:13:28. > :13:31.An auction back in July added to the millions waiting to be
:13:31. > :13:35.distributed to Jimmy Savile's beneficiaries, that account was
:13:35. > :13:45.today on hold. Meanwhile, in Warwickshire police remained at
:13:45. > :13:49.
:13:49. > :13:53.Christopher Tappin, whose 65, will be sentenced in January. His
:13:53. > :13:57.lawyers said a deal with prosecutors that he was unlikely to
:13:57. > :14:02.serve any prison term back in the UK. The Prime Minister's troubles
:14:02. > :14:05.over Europe have intensified. After last night's Commons defeat, David
:14:05. > :14:10.Cameron said he would listen to concerns by Tory rebels about the
:14:10. > :14:14.size of the EU budget. But Nick Clegg said there was no chance of
:14:14. > :14:18.securing a budget cut. The also warned that Conservative plans to
:14:18. > :14:24.reclaim powers from Brussels Ra false promise wrapped in the Union
:14:24. > :14:28.Jack. Stop obsessing about Europe, David Cameron told his party when
:14:28. > :14:32.he became their leader. Now it is him who is being forced to obsess
:14:32. > :14:42.about it, as he's torn between the demands of Tory rebels, the Lib
:14:42. > :14:47.Dems and Europe. 307. 294. government suffered a rare defeat
:14:47. > :14:51.in the Commons last night as MPs voted to cut the EU's next Budget.
:14:51. > :14:55.Tory rebels aligned themselves with Labour. Of course I will listen
:14:55. > :15:00.carefully, but we should be absolutely clear. This government
:15:00. > :15:03.is taking the toughest approach to the EU budget of any other
:15:03. > :15:08.government in this country's history. It fell to his Debbie did,
:15:08. > :15:12.Nick Clegg, to translate what that means. Telling MPs in effect that
:15:12. > :15:16.what they devoted four could not and would not be delivered. There
:15:16. > :15:20.is absolutely no prospect of securing a real-terms cut to the
:15:20. > :15:27.European Union budget. A coalition government position remains the
:15:28. > :15:32.same. We will not accept increase above inflation to the EU budget.
:15:32. > :15:38.Be realistic about what can be negotiated, is Nick Clegg's message.
:15:38. > :15:41.Stand up and fight, say the Tory rebels in reply. I find that when I
:15:41. > :15:45.going to a negotiation I don't give away with my bottom line to start
:15:45. > :15:49.with, I start with something I really, really want and see how far
:15:49. > :15:52.I can get. I think the government needs to toughen up its position.
:15:52. > :15:56.David Cameron has already experienced what it's like to find
:15:56. > :16:00.himself isolated in Europe. He now knows he needs to find allies not
:16:00. > :16:05.just to curb the EU budget but to agree how the cake is sliced up
:16:05. > :16:08.between different competing interests. The EU spends
:16:08. > :16:12.approximately �100 billion a year. Not just on so-called neural crafts,
:16:12. > :16:17.but on subsidies for farmers and Investment in Europe's poorer
:16:17. > :16:21.regions. Brussels is proposing an increase in a budget of 5%. They
:16:22. > :16:24.have the backing of many countries, the 17 out of Preddie seven member
:16:24. > :16:29.states gain more than they put in. Britain has one of those who
:16:29. > :16:35.doesn't. The Treasury puts our annual net contribution at over �8
:16:35. > :16:40.billion. Today, Greek public sector workers protested again against
:16:40. > :16:45.austerity measures. They, like voters in many European countries,
:16:45. > :16:49.see an increase in the EU budget as something to welcome not condemn.
:16:49. > :16:55.If negotiating a new EU budget is causing David Cameron a headache,
:16:55. > :17:00.even more so his plan one day to renegotiate Britain's entire
:17:00. > :17:04.relationship with Europe. Today, as deputy Nick Clegg said, that in
:17:04. > :17:08.effect that idea was a total non- runner. Britain may want to claw
:17:08. > :17:16.back some powers from the EU, Nick Clegg said, but the rest of Europe
:17:16. > :17:20.wouldn't allow a deal that suited us alone. A look a little closer.
:17:20. > :17:24.Because they Grant, unilateral repatriation of powers might sound
:17:24. > :17:29.appealing but in reality it is a false promise wrapped in a Union
:17:29. > :17:32.Jack. If only David Cameron could get the coalition, his own MPs and
:17:32. > :17:42.the rest of Europe to all agree with him, he wouldn't have a
:17:42. > :17:45.
:17:45. > :17:54.Coming up... A tale of two Chinas, the haves and have-nots, as the gap
:17:54. > :18:00.grows between rich and poor. The electrical giant Comet was going
:18:00. > :18:03.into administration, putting 6500 jobs at risk. It's the latest and
:18:03. > :18:08.one of the biggest high-street failures of recent years. The store
:18:08. > :18:17.has traded since 1933 and has been hit hard by the recession and the
:18:17. > :18:22.rise of online shopping. Comet, we deal in your ideal. But things have
:18:22. > :18:27.been far from ideal for a long time for this loss-making retailer.
:18:27. > :18:32.Today, at its head office in Hull, anxiety and confusion for workers.
:18:32. > :18:40.I don't know anything. You probably know more than we do. We are gutted
:18:40. > :18:46.really. Apprehensive. Been there before. Just back in February Comet
:18:46. > :18:51.was sold for a token �2. A sign of how much trouble it was in. Now, at
:18:51. > :18:59.the most crucial time of the year, Comet is being forced to pay
:18:59. > :19:02.suppliers up front., causing cashflow problems. The final blow.
:19:02. > :19:05.Comet Double B pursued a retail strategy and it ignored the
:19:05. > :19:09.internet and e-commerce. Fundamentally that is what caused
:19:09. > :19:14.the downfall. For 10 years they just focused on not embracing the
:19:14. > :19:18.Internet in the way that other retailers have. This is one of the
:19:18. > :19:21.biggest retail collapses since Woolworths back in 2008. This year
:19:21. > :19:26.we've seen a whole host of retailers falling into
:19:26. > :19:30.administration. From Game and Clinton Cards, To more recently JJB
:19:30. > :19:35.Sports. Now there's another household name and it all shows
:19:35. > :19:41.just how fast the High Street is changing. A new era for retailers
:19:41. > :19:45.is under way. You need less stores to reach customers. You need fewer
:19:45. > :19:48.chains than we've got at the moment. That's why we've seen all of these
:19:48. > :19:54.players dropped out and even players who are quite healthy are
:19:54. > :19:58.shutting stores and readjusting space to new requirements. Tonight
:19:58. > :20:01.Comet's website went down, overwhelmed, it seems, by customers.
:20:01. > :20:06.The Cavaday says it's urgent be working on plans to secure its
:20:06. > :20:11.future. Stores remain open for now. Deliveries for items already paid
:20:11. > :20:18.for will be honoured. As for gift vouchers, the message is used now
:20:18. > :20:22.while stocks last. The body of the missing schoolboy Pierre Farnes is
:20:22. > :20:26.believed to have been found off the island of Porquerolles in the south
:20:26. > :20:30.of France. He went missing on Saturday afternoon, just hours
:20:30. > :20:36.after arriving on the island for a half-term holiday. His family are
:20:36. > :20:39.due to form a identify his body. In a week's time, China's Communist
:20:39. > :20:42.Party will gather in Beijing to appoint new leaders who will rule
:20:42. > :20:46.the country for the next decade. One of the main challenges they
:20:46. > :20:48.will face is the growing gap between the rich and the poor. In
:20:48. > :20:57.recent years millions have been lifted out of poverty but many have
:20:57. > :21:05.been left behind. Our reporter sense this from Guizhou in China.
:21:05. > :21:08.In China's poorest province, deep in its Rohart, life still ambles by.
:21:08. > :21:18.The economic boom in the cities along the coast is happening far
:21:18. > :21:19.
:21:19. > :21:24.from here. Nevertheless, today they are celebrating. It is this man's
:21:24. > :21:29.first child. There's a banquet and gifts, a refrigerator, a new bed.
:21:29. > :21:34.He could never afford these himself. A farmer and labourer, he's learnt
:21:34. > :21:38.nothing this year. He is one of over 100 million Chinese in its
:21:38. > :21:43.villages still living below the poverty line.
:21:44. > :21:49.TRANSLATION: It's not fair. I've been to the city's, they are rich,
:21:49. > :21:54.eat in fancy restaurants every day. My life doesn't compare. It's a
:21:54. > :21:58.problem China's next leaders know they must tackle. China's economic
:21:58. > :22:01.growth has been deeply unfair, some have not benefited much. The gap
:22:01. > :22:09.between the rich and the rest is yawning ever wider. It may not be
:22:09. > :22:13.sustainable. A three-hour flight away in Beijing, people now enjoy
:22:13. > :22:16.income is comparable to parts of Europe. The Communist Party's rule
:22:16. > :22:23.here rests on the assumption it is making everyone better off. But
:22:23. > :22:27.China is now one of the most equal so -- one of the most unequal
:22:27. > :22:31.societies everywhere. The inequalities of blaring and growing.
:22:31. > :22:36.1 million Chinese are now millionaires. They dressed in
:22:36. > :22:41.designer outfits which cost more money than a farmer in his village
:22:41. > :22:45.has had in his lifetime. TRANSLATION: In the West polo is
:22:45. > :22:51.for the elite. In China we are rich now so we want what is fashionable
:22:51. > :22:57.and sophisticated. It's natural. Sophistication means a French
:22:57. > :23:02.chateau. We created near Beijing. Those with money come here to
:23:02. > :23:12.sample Western lifestyles and get a taste for leisure and luxury. The
:23:12. > :23:12.
:23:12. > :23:18.most pricey wine grown at the Chateau costs �1,000 a bottle. Cao
:23:18. > :23:22.Pengfang is also spending �1,000 on the castle themed wedding photos.
:23:22. > :23:27.They want to impress their relatives who've never left China.
:23:27. > :23:30.Both estate agents, they are part of the rising middle class. But
:23:30. > :23:34.China's inner qualities mean they, too, don't feel particularly well-
:23:34. > :23:37.off, not when they see how will be some are becoming.
:23:37. > :23:42.TRANSLATION: Our lives are better than the poorest but far worse than
:23:42. > :23:48.the rich. It's not great, we are stuck in the middle. The poorest
:23:48. > :23:52.feel stuck, too, in the countryside. It is why China's communist rulers
:23:52. > :24:01.say tackling inequality is now one of the most urgent tasks. Earring
:24:01. > :24:04.if they fail it could undermine the legitimacy of their one-party rule.
:24:04. > :24:09.In the last half-hour the prestigious Mercury Prize for Best
:24:09. > :24:15.Album of the year has been awarded to Alt-J, an electronic rock
:24:15. > :24:19.quartet and relative newcomers to the UK music scene. With digital
:24:19. > :24:28.downloads of individual songs far outselling albums, is the prize
:24:28. > :24:35.beginning to lose its relevance? The winner of the 2012 Barclaycard
:24:35. > :24:39.Mercury Prize is... Alt-J! For their album, An Awesome Wave.
:24:39. > :24:44.the winners of this Mercury Prize for their debut album, praised for
:24:44. > :24:47.its style of original electronica rock. I definitely prepared myself
:24:47. > :24:51.for there's no way we are going to win it so don't even bother
:24:51. > :25:00.entertaining the idea. I can't quite believe where we are right
:25:00. > :25:04.now. Seriously. I'm literally curdling with excitement! This is a
:25:04. > :25:08.prize famous for throwing the musical spotlight on to the new and
:25:08. > :25:17.relatively unknown. Also on tonight's short list were the likes
:25:17. > :25:22.of Sanli... Lianne La Havas... And Ben Howard. None of them yet close
:25:23. > :25:31.to being household names. It is a difficult time for the album. While
:25:31. > :25:35.single sales have been increasing up from 87 million in 2007, to 278
:25:35. > :25:40.million in 2011, albums that sales have been steadily dropping. It is
:25:40. > :25:45.an issue recognised by many of tonight's nominees, such as BRIT
:25:45. > :25:50.Award winner Plan B. People do just by the songs they want. That's why
:25:50. > :25:56.I've always tried to give the public another reason to buy my
:25:56. > :25:59.music, by incorporating the story. If you only take one Lord two songs
:25:59. > :26:02.you are missing other parts of the story. The industry is always
:26:02. > :26:07.looking for the stars of tomorrow, but rather than giving it through
:26:07. > :26:11.something like a TV talent show, the Mercurys pride themselves on
:26:11. > :26:17.discovering artists who come up through the traditional grass roots