:00:00. > :00:10.How 17 separate agencies failed to predict or prevent the sexual abuse
:00:11. > :00:13.of young girls in Rochdale. The girls were groomed over ten
:00:14. > :00:17.years, but let down by the organisations meant to protect them,
:00:18. > :00:20.including the police. I think a particular culture of
:00:21. > :00:25.hopelessness had been created in Rochdale. We had at the time a
:00:26. > :00:29.particular group of girls who were being abused who did not recognise
:00:30. > :00:32.themselves as victims. The review comes on the same day
:00:33. > :00:35.that five men were jailed for grooming another young girl in
:00:36. > :00:38.Rochdale. Also tonight, Nigella Lawson's two
:00:39. > :00:41.assistants are acquitted. They'd claimed they were allowed to spend
:00:42. > :00:43.her money if they kept quiet about her drug use.
:00:44. > :00:48.But the celebrity chef attacks the trial as a ridiculous sideshow of
:00:49. > :00:50.false allegations. New revelations about surveillance
:00:51. > :00:53.by British and American spy agencies, this time on EU officials
:00:54. > :00:56.and the UN. And seasonal cheer, but will it be a
:00:57. > :01:05.cut price Christmas on the high street?
:01:06. > :01:09.Coming up in Sportsday, Cardiff owner, Vincent Tan, is meeting
:01:10. > :01:11.tonight to decide the future of manager Malkay Mackay who is
:01:12. > :01:34.expected to take charge of tomorrow's game at Liverpool.
:01:35. > :01:39.Good evening. A "widespread pattern of weaknesses
:01:40. > :01:42.and failures" - that's one of the conclusions of two serious case
:01:43. > :01:46.reviews into how seven young girls were groomed and sexually exploited
:01:47. > :01:49.in Rochdale over the last decade. All 17 agencies involved in the
:01:50. > :01:52.cases, including charities, social services and the police, that could
:01:53. > :01:59.have acted to predict or prevent a "significant part" of the abuse,
:02:00. > :02:02.failed. And in a separate case today, five men have been jailed for
:02:03. > :02:11.the prolonged abuse of another young girl in Rochdale, as Jeremy Cooke
:02:12. > :02:16.reports. Convicted of child sex abuse, in
:02:17. > :02:21.court today to be handed sentences totalling 26.5 years. But the police
:02:22. > :02:28.admitted they had made mistakes. They failed to protect a vulnerable
:02:29. > :02:31.teenage girl. It all sounds too familiar, another victim failed by
:02:32. > :02:37.those who were supposed to protect her. This is not the first time the
:02:38. > :02:41.streets of Rochdale have been the centre of an investigation into the
:02:42. > :02:46.sexual exploitation of young women. Last year, nine men were convicted
:02:47. > :02:50.and sentenced, but only after some victims suffered years of abuse. The
:02:51. > :02:55.girls would hang around food takeaway shops, be given drink and
:02:56. > :03:01.drugs, then repeatedly sexually abused. The case prompted today's
:03:02. > :03:04.report into what emerged as a widespread problem in Rochdale. It
:03:05. > :03:10.asked what went wrong, who is to blame? It concludes everything and
:03:11. > :03:15.everybody. Failures by all 17 agencies involved. Greater
:03:16. > :03:18.Manchester Police admit mistakes but say they were dealing with young
:03:19. > :03:23.girls who did not see themselves as victims. I think a particular
:03:24. > :03:28.culture of hopelessness had been created in Rochdale. We had a
:03:29. > :03:33.particular group of girls who were being abused to did not recognise
:03:34. > :03:37.themselves as victims. Clearly, we had weaknesses in social services as
:03:38. > :03:42.well. The trouble was a culture of hopelessness had been created.
:03:43. > :03:48.Today's report says one girl reported being raped in 2007 but no
:03:49. > :03:51.investigation followed. It is a message which may have discouraged
:03:52. > :03:57.other girls from coming forward, an important lesson. Just listen to
:03:58. > :04:02.young people, respect them. Listen, and most of all make sure we provide
:04:03. > :04:06.them with some safety. Often they will disclose bits of information
:04:07. > :04:09.and test out. The biggest fear for young women is that there will be
:04:10. > :04:16.some retribution if they tell anybody. The trial of nine men in
:04:17. > :04:20.Liverpool last year was the subject of high security and media
:04:21. > :04:24.attention. It has triggered today's review, which heavily criticised the
:04:25. > :04:29.Crown Prosecution Service for failing to bring other cases to
:04:30. > :04:34.court. They insist things are different now. The landscape had to
:04:35. > :04:38.change. It took this case for the landscape to change. Additionally,
:04:39. > :04:46.people who may have been victims in 2003, 1993, who are courageous
:04:47. > :04:51.enough, confident enough now to come forward, will get justice. Already,
:04:52. > :04:55.several key decision-makers have been replaced, but the failings here
:04:56. > :05:00.have consequences which victims will carry forward into their adult
:05:01. > :05:02.lives. Two former assistants to the
:05:03. > :05:05.celebrity chef Nigella Lawson have been cleared of spending huge
:05:06. > :05:08.amounts of her money without permission. Francesca and Elisabetta
:05:09. > :05:11.Grillo claimed that Nigella Lawson approved their high spending in
:05:12. > :05:16.return for their silence about her alleged habitual drug use. Following
:05:17. > :05:19.the verdict, Ms Lawson said her experience as a witness was deeply
:05:20. > :05:23.disturbing and she called for a reform of the court process. Luisa
:05:24. > :05:33.Baldini's report contains some flash photography.
:05:34. > :05:37.After three and a half weeks of attending court nearly every day,
:05:38. > :05:41.the Grillos left as free women. Even before departing, they had started
:05:42. > :05:48.negotiations with newspapers to sell their story. And so they, like
:05:49. > :05:51.Nigella before them, find themselves the focus of intense media
:05:52. > :05:57.attention. Their solicitor spoke on their behalf. This has been a long,
:05:58. > :06:02.hard fight, played out in the gaze of the world's media. Elisabetta and
:06:03. > :06:06.Francesca would like to thank their friends and relatives for their love
:06:07. > :06:09.and support. Additionally, they would like to thank those members of
:06:10. > :06:15.the public who have expressed their best wishes. Nigella Lawson, who
:06:16. > :06:19.appeared as a main prosecution witness, had told the court she
:06:20. > :06:23.never gave them leave to spend on the credit card is provided to them.
:06:24. > :06:29.They claim that she did. Their defence was that they had specific
:06:30. > :06:32.and implied authorisation from Nigella Lawson that they could spend
:06:33. > :06:38.if they did not reveal her alleged drug habit. In the witness box, the
:06:39. > :06:41.TV cook denied being an habitual drug user and said she had only
:06:42. > :06:46.taken cocaine once during her second marriage. The defence asked the jury
:06:47. > :06:51.to consider whether that evidence was credible, or whether her drug
:06:52. > :06:56.use was wider than she admitted. In a statement, she said she is
:06:57. > :07:02.disappointed but I'm by the verdict. She goes on, the jury was faced with
:07:03. > :07:05.a ridiculous sideshow of false allegations about drug use which
:07:06. > :07:09.made focus on the actual criminal trial impossible. I did my civic
:07:10. > :07:14.duty, only to be maliciously vilified.
:07:15. > :07:20.At times, it seemed the celebrity chef was herself on trial, given the
:07:21. > :07:24.grilling she got in court, but the extent of her alleged drug use
:07:25. > :07:28.became central to the case. It was after these photos at a Mayfair
:07:29. > :07:32.restaurant were published, showing Charles Saatchi appearing to tweak
:07:33. > :07:36.her nose and assaulting her, that the sisters said they decided to
:07:37. > :07:39.come out with the drugs allegations, allegations which Charles Saatchi
:07:40. > :07:45.initially seemed to support, writing to Ms Lawson accusing her of being
:07:46. > :07:51.off her head on drugs. Although he told the court he had no evidence of
:07:52. > :07:56.her ever having taken any. It is a living soap opera, with two public
:07:57. > :08:00.figures fighting it out in court. Any PR man would advise his client
:08:01. > :08:03.never to go to court to watch their dirty laundry being aired, washed
:08:04. > :08:09.and the stains removed for the edification of the public. Nigella
:08:10. > :08:16.Lawson and the Grillos sisters were like family. Elisabetta even
:08:17. > :08:19.appeared in her cookery programmes. The sisters contributed recipes and
:08:20. > :08:25.were acknowledged by Mr Lawson in several of her books. With the
:08:26. > :08:29.demise of their friendship in her court case, what is not clear is
:08:30. > :08:34.what an American audience will make of the verdict. The second series of
:08:35. > :08:36.the show in which Nigella stars as a judge begins next month.
:08:37. > :08:40.Our legal affairs correspondent Clive Coleman joins me. Nigella
:08:41. > :08:49.Lawson has been very critical of this trial. Does she have a point?
:08:50. > :08:53.Let's remember that she was a prosecution witness, not a
:08:54. > :08:56.defendant, not on trial. Persecution witnesses do get protection. Defence
:08:57. > :09:01.lawyers cannot throw mud at them and attack their credibility, unless
:09:02. > :09:05.they make a special application, a bad character application, to the
:09:06. > :09:09.judge, and the judge rules that such cross-examination is critical,
:09:10. > :09:14.probes a key issue in the trial and is relevant. In this case, after the
:09:15. > :09:18.now famous female was shown to the court, sent by Charles Saatchi to
:09:19. > :09:22.Nigella Lawson, in which he said, you were so off your head on drugs
:09:23. > :09:27.that you allowed the sisters to spend whatever they liked, after
:09:28. > :09:30.that was presented to the court, a bad character application was made
:09:31. > :09:36.and the judge-made his ruling that it went to a key issue in the case.
:09:37. > :09:38.The defence case was that the Grillos sisters said Nigella Lawson
:09:39. > :09:43.had a guilty secret about her drug use. She denies that but that was
:09:44. > :09:47.their case. In order to make that case, the judge said they should be
:09:48. > :09:51.able to cross examine her about her drug use. It is worth mentioning
:09:52. > :09:56.that the judge remained throughout the whole of the trial, and part of
:09:57. > :10:00.his job is to protect prosecution or defence witnesses from any
:10:01. > :10:03.questioning that is improper. There are more damaging revelations
:10:04. > :10:06.today about the number of targets placed under surveillance by British
:10:07. > :10:08.and American spy agencies. Newly emerged documents leaked by the
:10:09. > :10:11.former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden suggest targets
:10:12. > :10:13.included the European Union, the UN, aid agencies and national leaders,
:10:14. > :10:20.including the Israeli Prime Minister. The European Commission
:10:21. > :10:33.said the claims, if true, were unacceptable. Gordon Corera reports.
:10:34. > :10:36.And embrace between the Prime Minister and Germany's Angela Merkel
:10:37. > :10:40.at a European summit in Brussels which ended today. The next time
:10:41. > :10:45.they meet, things might be more awkward, after fresh allegations
:10:46. > :10:50.about Britain spying on allies, including some in Europe. Two months
:10:51. > :10:55.ago, a row broke out after claims the US had bugged Angela Merkel's
:10:56. > :10:58.phone. Now it seems Germany and other allies may have been on a
:10:59. > :11:02.joint British and American list of targets. Reports in the Guardian
:11:03. > :11:05.claimed that German government buildings in Berlin and embassies
:11:06. > :11:10.abroad were on the list, which had over 1000 names. Controversially
:11:11. > :11:17.also on the list, the vice president of the European Commission in charge
:11:18. > :11:21.of economic competition issues. Unacceptable, if true, says the
:11:22. > :11:28.commission, and a leading MEP agrees. Relationships between the EU
:11:29. > :11:30.and the US on commercial activities, particularly with a competition
:11:31. > :11:36.commissioner, will be taken seriously. It is not just European
:11:37. > :11:41.officials on the list. There are reported to be some companies are
:11:42. > :11:46.like a French oil giant and even humanitarian organisations, the
:11:47. > :11:51.United Nations children's charity, and a French medicine charity, who
:11:52. > :11:56.expressed surprise. We are bewildered by these allegations.
:11:57. > :12:01.Doctors, nurses and midwives are no threat to national security, and
:12:02. > :12:06.British taxpayers will be horrified that taxpayers money has been wasted
:12:07. > :12:10.on snooping on aid workers. GCHQ said it did not comment on
:12:11. > :12:13.intelligence matters but operated under one of the strongest systems
:12:14. > :12:18.of democratic accountability in the world. Even so, and even though many
:12:19. > :12:22.other countries, including European allies, do spy, next time leaders
:12:23. > :12:29.meet around the summit table there might be more awkward questions.
:12:30. > :12:33.Two former soldiers who threw petrol bombs at a mosque in Grimsby have
:12:34. > :12:38.been jailed for six years. The attack took place just four days
:12:39. > :12:47.after Fusilier Lee Rigby was killed, just one of the wider repercussions
:12:48. > :12:51.of his murder. Arriving at a mosque in Grimsby, two ex-soldiers about to
:12:52. > :12:54.launch a petrol bomb attack. This was four days after Lee Rigby's
:12:55. > :13:00.murder. It was described today as an act of retribution. The men's own
:13:01. > :13:04.CCTV had recorded them making the bombs and they mistakingly thought
:13:05. > :13:09.the CCTV at the mosque wasn't turned on. Muslims who had been at prayer
:13:10. > :13:13.raised the aam la. Today the men were jailed for six years. The very
:13:14. > :13:19.reason that this mosque was targeted was because of the defendants' false
:13:20. > :13:24.belief that the Muslim religion was responsible for what happened at the
:13:25. > :13:28.tragic events in Woolwich. In the aftermath of Lee Rigby's murder
:13:29. > :13:37.there was a spate of anti-Muslim incidents. In the fee rile
:13:38. > :13:43.atmospheres the killers were labelled with the message that they
:13:44. > :13:47.did not represent Islam. This was Michael Adebowale close to St Paul's
:13:48. > :13:51.Cathedral. Five months laters he was committing murder. Also present the
:13:52. > :13:56.well-known extremist, Anjem Choudary. He is said to have been an
:13:57. > :14:01.influence on the other killer, Michael Adebolajo. Today Anjem
:14:02. > :14:06.Choudary repeatedly refused to condemn the Woolwich murder. This
:14:07. > :14:12.was him at a were test, just behind him, Michael Adebolajo. In one
:14:13. > :14:16.mosque in London today, the imam made plain what he thought of the
:14:17. > :14:21.killers' defence, that they were soldiers of Allah. How can you claim
:14:22. > :14:29.to be the soldier of Allah when there is not even an iota of ala's
:14:30. > :14:34.qualities and attributes in you. And as for Anjem Choudary's refusal to
:14:35. > :14:37.condemn the killing. The Muslim community are outraged by an gem's
:14:38. > :14:42.words. Would he not get away with it if it was a Muslim country. He is
:14:43. > :14:47.abusing the democracy we give him. Muslims around the country know
:14:48. > :14:52.extremists are doing damage to the reputation of Islam and as the fire
:14:53. > :14:57.bomb in Grimsby shows, making them vulnerable to attack.
:14:58. > :15:01.It's three years since the Arab uprisings began in Tunis is a and
:15:02. > :15:05.swept across the Arab world. Authoritarian leaders were driven
:15:06. > :15:08.from power by a younger generation, demanding greater democracy and
:15:09. > :15:12.accountable. But as peaceful protests gave way to armed conflict
:15:13. > :15:16.in some of the countries, the oldest division in the Middle East, the
:15:17. > :15:20.divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims, has become more pronounced.
:15:21. > :15:25.On one side of the faultline are the countries where Sunni Muslims are
:15:26. > :15:31.the majority or the rulers, on the other, the countries where Shia
:15:32. > :15:38.Muslims dom name. One country which is riven by the conflict is Lebanon.
:15:39. > :15:42.Tripoli, Lebanon's second city, unquiet, divided and often
:15:43. > :15:46.dangerous, it's feeling the pressure of the Syrian war on the other side
:15:47. > :15:54.of the mountain. It has turbo-charged a long-standing local
:15:55. > :15:59.conflict between Sunni Muslims and alawhites from the same Shia sect as
:16:00. > :16:04.President Assad. This is one end of the Shia/shun any faultline. In a
:16:05. > :16:10.shed in his garden only itly's frontline, abut a far as and his
:16:11. > :16:15.friends still eye dollise Saddam Hussein, the Sunni strongman who
:16:16. > :16:23.fought Shia Iran. The 22-year-old son of Faraz died when two Sunni
:16:24. > :16:28.mosques were bombed in August. They blamed the Shia. TRANSLATION: Of
:16:29. > :16:33.course God almighty will kill them. But we ask God almighty for
:16:34. > :16:42.permission and help to eradicate them. The local Commander said grief
:16:43. > :16:48.and anger had pushed abut a Faraz to extremes but every sectarian
:16:49. > :16:52.killings deepens and spreads hatred. The dispute goes on to who should
:16:53. > :16:57.succeed the Prophet Muhammad after his death in 632. Those hob wanted
:16:58. > :17:00.his position to be inherited by his closest associate became Sunnis.
:17:01. > :17:06.Those who nt with aed him to be followed by his descendents, became
:17:07. > :17:10.Shia. Just as in the split in the Christian church between Catholics
:17:11. > :17:16.and Protestants, it's been as much about power, as religion.
:17:17. > :17:22.In modern times, the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 started a
:17:23. > :17:27.new upheaval in Islam's sectarian divide.
:17:28. > :17:31.The removal of Saddam Hussein, Shia Iran's most bitter enemy, was a blow
:17:32. > :17:35.to the traditional Sunni ascendcy in the Middle East. Thousands of Iraqis
:17:36. > :17:44.have been killed in sectarian violence since then. This was an
:17:45. > :17:48.attack in 2007 on Shia pilgrams in Karbala, the site of a battle
:17:49. > :17:53.between the two sides of Islam in the 7th century. At the other end of
:17:54. > :17:56.the Gulf if Bahrain a long-standing political conflict between the poor
:17:57. > :18:01.Shia majority and the mainly Sunni ruling class, has become more
:18:02. > :18:06.overtly sectarian. In Syria itself, an uprising has
:18:07. > :18:11.become an increasingly sectarian war. Sunni extremist groups,
:18:12. > :18:15.generally Al-Qaeda followers, now dominate the armed opposition to
:18:16. > :18:18.President Assad, who's from a Shia sect.
:18:19. > :18:23.In Beirut in November, suicide bombers attacked the embassy of eye
:18:24. > :18:28.ravenlt many assumed it was the latest escalation in a proximitiy
:18:29. > :18:33.war between Shia Iran, the Syrian regime's backers and Saudi Arabia,
:18:34. > :18:37.which supports the rebels. I discussed the tensions with Iran's
:18:38. > :18:42.Foreign Minister last month. It's probably the most serious security
:18:43. > :18:46.threat, not only to the region but to the world at large and I think
:18:47. > :18:51.all of us, regardless of our differences over Syria, we need to
:18:52. > :18:57.work together on the sectarian issue. This is a funeral for Shia
:18:58. > :19:01.fighters in Damascus. Even where sectarianism is less acute than
:19:02. > :19:08.here, there's economic crisis, political failure, and renewed
:19:09. > :19:13.repression. Three years after the Arab uprising
:19:14. > :19:16.started, the weight of a millennium-and-a-half of sectarian
:19:17. > :19:26.rivalry, now creating a new generation of martyrs, is crushing
:19:27. > :19:30.hopes of a better future. One of President Putin's political critics,
:19:31. > :19:34.the oligarch, Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been freed after spending ten
:19:35. > :19:38.years in prison. He had been convicted of tax evasion and
:19:39. > :19:42.em-Bazlement but today was pardoned by the President.
:19:43. > :19:46.Mikhail Khodorkovsky being welcomed at Berlin airport today by the
:19:47. > :19:52.former German Foreign Minister who helped negotiate his release.
:19:53. > :19:57.Whisked away for his first taste of freedom, the former oligarch who
:19:58. > :20:00.became Russia's most famous political prisoner. Only this
:20:01. > :20:11.morning he was still behind bars in this remote and snowy penal colony
:20:12. > :20:15.in north-west Russia. Then came the decree on his liberty. It was Mr
:20:16. > :20:19.Putin himself who confirmed he was prepared to offer clemency after
:20:20. > :20:23.Mikhail Khodorkovsky requested a pardon so he could see his ageing
:20:24. > :20:28.parents again. An extraordinary turn-around after ten years rivalry
:20:29. > :20:32.between president and prisoner, a move that no-one was expecting. Once
:20:33. > :20:37.Mikhail Khodorkovsky was a powerful oil magnate, Russia's richest man.
:20:38. > :20:44.Then he was put on trial and charged with fraud and tax evasion. He
:20:45. > :20:49.always insisted he was innocent. The victim of a Kremlin plot to prevent
:20:50. > :20:56.him from challenging Mr Putin. So, why is he being released now? Well,
:20:57. > :21:00.it comes as a wider prison amnesty looks set to release protesters from
:21:01. > :21:04.Greenpeace, including some Britons, and the Pussy Riot rock band. So
:21:05. > :21:09.possibly it's all aimed at improving Russia's image ahead of next year's
:21:10. > :21:15.Winter Olympics in Sochi. But maybe it's also a signal that President
:21:16. > :21:20.Putin no longer fears opposition rivals, so he can afford to be
:21:21. > :21:24.generous in releasing them. All the historic theeters in
:21:25. > :21:27.London's West End have back in business tonight after carrying out
:21:28. > :21:31.a series of safety checks. It follow the collapse of part of the ceiling
:21:32. > :21:40.at the Apollo Theatre last night. More than 70 people were injured and
:21:41. > :21:43.two remain in hospital this evening. London's theatreland, thronged once
:21:44. > :21:47.again tonight by audiences keen to move on from the scenes which
:21:48. > :21:50.shocked visitors yesterday, and which raised questions over the
:21:51. > :21:55.safety of the West End's most famous venues.
:21:56. > :21:58.Definitely thought about it. There were people in the theatre looking
:21:59. > :22:04.at the ceiling before the show started.
:22:05. > :22:08.By chance, a BBC team were filming with London's Ambulance Service when
:22:09. > :22:13.the first emergency calls came in. The number of casualties their crews
:22:14. > :22:16.encountered led to some quick thinking.
:22:17. > :22:19.In this case, police common deared a bus to move the first victims to
:22:20. > :22:26.hospital. As far as we know, the roof
:22:27. > :22:29.collapsed above us. And I think - I just obviously got a bang, a very
:22:30. > :22:36.sharp bang on the head. The next thing I know I was in the foyer.
:22:37. > :22:40.Neighbouring theatres became Carbonualty-clearing stations as
:22:41. > :22:43.paramedics treated dozens of theatre-goers, some with head
:22:44. > :22:46.injuries, others with breathing difficulties One of the actors said
:22:47. > :22:52.- watch out. In a split second a loud bang and the whole place
:22:53. > :22:56.covered in dust. And debris flying everywhere.
:22:57. > :23:01.With all the injured accounted for, the fire prix guide could begin to
:23:02. > :23:06.establish what had happened. -- Fire Brigade. They said a section of
:23:07. > :23:12.ornate plaster and its support had mrunged four storeys, striking the
:23:13. > :23:23.front of the desk circle and leaving debris across the stalls.
:23:24. > :23:27.The elaborate deco is also here at the Noel Coward theatre. Most of the
:23:28. > :23:32.theatres are 150 years' old which poses a challenge for owners. But
:23:33. > :23:35.safety is paramount. Ceilings have to be he can chd every three years,
:23:36. > :23:38.in fact they are checked more often than that. It is terrible when
:23:39. > :23:43.incidents like that happened, like last night but it is a one-off Ince
:23:44. > :23:47.dant our theatres are safe for the public. The owners of the
:23:48. > :23:51.aapproximate polo said their safety certificate had been removed in
:23:52. > :23:53.September -- of the Apollo. There had been no indications that the
:23:54. > :23:57.ceiling was unsafe. As if you didn't know it, there are
:23:58. > :24:01.four days left to get your Christmas shopping done. Retailers say they
:24:02. > :24:06.know a battle is on to persuade us to part with our cash. Researchers
:24:07. > :24:12.say they are expecting ?12 billion to be spent over the next four days
:24:13. > :24:16.as much as we spend in a fortnight. Online sales are expected to be
:24:17. > :24:21.higher than this time last year and nearly 75% of shops are already
:24:22. > :24:26.having sales to entice us in. You can't miss the discounts on the
:24:27. > :24:31.high street. It's been a slow start to festive trading and prices are
:24:32. > :24:35.being cut to persuade shoppers to spend.
:24:36. > :24:41.Here in Bristol today, people were on the lookout for deals.
:24:42. > :24:46.We've managed to get things reduced, things we wanted. You never know
:24:47. > :24:52.what is coming around the corner, do you? Yeah, on a budget this year but
:24:53. > :24:57.don't tell my children that. We leave Christmas everyyear but this
:24:58. > :25:01.year it seems later than ever. That makes retailers nervous. They have a
:25:02. > :25:06.lot of shock and they discount it to shift it and get people in store. It
:25:07. > :25:10.is great for consumers, lots of bargains, not so good for retail
:25:11. > :25:14.margins. In other words, profits. Some City analysts have already been
:25:15. > :25:18.cutting their forecasts for several retailers.
:25:19. > :25:21.Order online and pick up in store. Click and collect is one of the
:25:22. > :25:25.reasons why shoppers are more confident to wait until the last
:25:26. > :25:33.minute. In the future, it could be... The boss of Argos, Terry Duddy
:25:34. > :25:36.is one of retail ears longest-serving CEOs, I theys it is
:25:37. > :25:39.more competitive than ever. Over the years, it's got tougher and tougher
:25:40. > :25:45.but this is the game that we are in. This is the opportunity for
:25:46. > :25:50.retailers to prove themselves. # Tis the season to be jolly... #
:25:51. > :25:53.Retailers certainly hope so. There are prediction that is overall this
:25:54. > :25:57.festive season will prove better than last. It's just unlikely to be
:25:58. > :26:01.a ufrp abouter one. Tonight London's West End is
:26:02. > :26:05.sparkling and packed full of people. Here at least the dash to the shops
:26:06. > :26:10.is well under way. The next few days could make all the
:26:11. > :26:15.difference for retailers. As ever, there will be winners and losers.
:26:16. > :26:21.We'll know who they are in the New Year.
:26:22. > :26:22.That's all from us. There is a first look at the papers on the