Browse content similar to 23/12/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Tonight at ten: heavy rain and storm force winds cause widespread | :00:00. | :00:10. | |
disruption in parts of the UK. Emergency services are still busy | :00:11. | :00:14. | |
tonight. Thousands of properties are without power, and more localised | :00:15. | :00:25. | |
flooding is expected. All trains to and from this station are currently | :00:26. | :00:28. | |
disrupted. Many train services are affected, with cancellations and | :00:29. | :00:30. | |
speed restrictions on some lines and problems on the roads, too. It is | :00:31. | :00:37. | |
not looking great for tomorrow at the moment . And again on Boxing | :00:38. | :00:41. | |
Day, we could be having more of the same. A pretty awful Christmas | :00:42. | :00:44. | |
period. We will have the latest, including | :00:45. | :00:47. | |
the news that a man and a woman have drowned in separate incidents in | :00:48. | :00:50. | |
rivers in Cumbria and north Wales. Also tonight: The former Labour | :00:51. | :00:53. | |
minister Denis MacShane has been jailed for six months for fiddling | :00:54. | :00:58. | |
his expenses. 18 months after their protest in | :00:59. | :01:01. | |
Moscow, the last two members of Pussy Riot are released from jail. | :01:02. | :01:07. | |
In a special report, we speak to some of the Syrian refugees | :01:08. | :01:10. | |
determined to start a new life in Britain. | :01:11. | :01:13. | |
And England's one-time cricket heroes try to revive their fortunes | :01:14. | :01:22. | |
ahead of the fourth Ashes test. Coming up in Sportsday, Tim Sherwood | :01:23. | :01:27. | |
has been appointed head coach at Tottenham until the end of next | :01:28. | :01:31. | |
season. Spurs say he has the knowledge and drive to take the | :01:32. | :01:32. | |
squad forward. Good evening. Severe weather | :01:33. | :01:52. | |
conditions including torrential rain and gale force winds are continuing | :01:53. | :01:57. | |
to affect parts of the UK. A man and a woman have drowned in separate | :01:58. | :02:00. | |
incidents in rivers in Cumbria and in north Wales. The Environment | :02:01. | :02:03. | |
Agency says conditions in some areas are "extremely dangerous". Some | :02:04. | :02:07. | |
winds have reached 87 miles an hour, causing major problems for thousands | :02:08. | :02:10. | |
trying to travel in time for Christmas. Many trains have been | :02:11. | :02:19. | |
delayed or cancelled and motorists have been advised not to travel | :02:20. | :02:22. | |
unless it is essential. In Berkshire and Cornwall, thousands of homes are | :02:23. | :02:25. | |
still without power tonight. Our correspondent reports on a day of | :02:26. | :02:34. | |
delays and disruption for many. On the edge of Snowdonia tonight, an | :02:35. | :02:39. | |
investigation after a woman's body was pulled from a fast flowing | :02:40. | :02:43. | |
stream. Further north in Cumbria, a man died after falling into the | :02:44. | :02:49. | |
river. Apparently, two victims of this Christmas storm. The best | :02:50. | :02:54. | |
advice we can give is to be very careful when it comes to floodwater. | :02:55. | :03:00. | |
Don't walk or drive into it. On one of the busiest travelling days of | :03:01. | :03:05. | |
the year, chaos for many . At Euston station in London tonight, many were | :03:06. | :03:08. | |
left wondering if they would get home in time for Christmas. I am | :03:09. | :03:13. | |
sorry to announce that these services have been cancelled. My | :03:14. | :03:18. | |
family are expecting me. I don't want to be stranded in Euston. The | :03:19. | :03:22. | |
weather has caused disruption across many routes. Trains are travelling | :03:23. | :03:27. | |
at reduced speeds on some sections. Some rail operators are saying they | :03:28. | :03:30. | |
will accept other companies' tickets, but many already predict | :03:31. | :03:35. | |
that Christmas Eve will bring further disruption. We have had 29 | :03:36. | :03:39. | |
blockages so far, and we will get many more. We are in the first few | :03:40. | :03:44. | |
hours of something that will last 24 hours. On the roads, it has also | :03:45. | :03:48. | |
been slow, with millions of us caught up in long delays. This is | :03:49. | :03:52. | |
going to be a prolonged period. It is not looking good for tomorrow. | :03:53. | :03:56. | |
And again on Boxing Day, we could have more of the same. A pretty | :03:57. | :04:02. | |
awful Christmas period. One of the worst stretches has been the QE2 | :04:03. | :04:07. | |
bridge between Kent and Essex, closed and staying until tomorrow | :04:08. | :04:14. | |
morning. The roads are horrendous. Heavy rain, very strong winds. We | :04:15. | :04:17. | |
have been envying those people we have seen flying over us from | :04:18. | :04:22. | |
Heathrow, off to somewhere warm and sunny. Warm and sunny was not how | :04:23. | :04:28. | |
you would describe Plymouth today. The storm hit the south-west first, | :04:29. | :04:33. | |
lashing Devon and Cornwall with winds of close to 80 miles an hour. | :04:34. | :04:37. | |
And there has been little letup. It has been like this since first thing | :04:38. | :04:42. | |
this morning in the south-west of England. Torrential rain, nonstop. | :04:43. | :04:48. | |
Driving winds. Not exactly a festive start to Christmas week. Santer will | :04:49. | :04:54. | |
not be getting down this chimney. On Dartmoor, several properties were | :04:55. | :04:59. | |
damaged by the gust, and across much of southern Britain, thousands of | :05:00. | :05:03. | |
homes were left without power. Busy news viewers sent in these photos as | :05:04. | :05:07. | |
the storm slowly crossed the country. Last minute Christmas | :05:08. | :05:11. | |
shoppers have been dodging the rain rather than the crowd, with many | :05:12. | :05:16. | |
high streets reporting trade down because of the weather. | :05:17. | :05:20. | |
Southampton's festive market was more drizzle than the visitor this | :05:21. | :05:25. | |
evening, and in London's Hyde Park, this winter wonderland was forced to | :05:26. | :05:29. | |
close for the day. Even Father Christmas was left hanging around. | :05:30. | :05:33. | |
In a moment, the latest on the rail network with our transport | :05:34. | :05:39. | |
correspondent. First, a look at the roads. Sian Lloyd joins us from the | :05:40. | :05:44. | |
M6, near Birmingham. What can you tell us? Conditions here this | :05:45. | :05:52. | |
evening continued to be grim for drivers. Heavy rain and wind have | :05:53. | :05:58. | |
been causing accidents and tailbacks. The highways agency is | :05:59. | :06:04. | |
still warning drivers to slow down. The latest we have is that the QE2 | :06:05. | :06:09. | |
bridge is expected to reopen in Kent at four o'clock this morning. And a | :06:10. | :06:14. | |
decision is expected to be taken shortly on whether the Shappi | :06:15. | :06:18. | |
crossing can reopen. We are but in some of the rain to move on. The | :06:19. | :06:24. | |
brunt of the weather will be in the north of England, Ireland and | :06:25. | :06:27. | |
Scotland tomorrow. Drivers they are being warned of high winds, | :06:28. | :06:31. | |
especially those of high sided vehicles. Richard, you are at Euston | :06:32. | :06:39. | |
Station. What is happening that? I can start with a bit of good cheer, | :06:40. | :06:44. | |
dare I say. A few hours ago, there were no trains running out of | :06:45. | :06:47. | |
Euston, from where you go to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. | :06:48. | :06:51. | |
They were all cancelled, but this line is now open. But it has not | :06:52. | :06:56. | |
been much fun getting a train today. Just about every route across | :06:57. | :07:00. | |
the South of England is now speed restrict did to 50 miles an hour. | :07:01. | :07:05. | |
The trees keep falling onto the track. They have cleared 73 so far. | :07:06. | :07:10. | |
Obviously a big safety issue. Lots of people want to know about | :07:11. | :07:15. | |
tomorrow. Network Rail have said the trains will be running tomorrow, but | :07:16. | :07:20. | |
they might start a bit later. So as usual, check with the company. | :07:21. | :07:27. | |
For updates on the weather and the latest road and rail travel | :07:28. | :07:30. | |
information, you can visit our website. | :07:31. | :07:41. | |
The Ministry of Defence announced tonight that a soldier from the | :07:42. | :07:45. | |
Royal Engineers has been killed in action. The soldier died after | :07:46. | :07:49. | |
coming under enemy fire east of Kabul, in Afghanistan. Next of kin | :07:50. | :08:03. | |
have been informed. The former Labour minister Denis | :08:04. | :08:05. | |
MacShane has been sentenced to six months in prison for making false | :08:06. | :08:08. | |
expense claims amounting to nearly ?13,000. He had pleaded guilty to | :08:09. | :08:11. | |
filing a series of "knowingly misleading" receipts. He is the | :08:12. | :08:14. | |
fifth MP to be jailed in connection with the expenses scandal. The judge | :08:15. | :08:17. | |
accepted that MacShane had not committed the offences "out of greed | :08:18. | :08:20. | |
or for personal profit", but he said there was "considerable dishonesty" | :08:21. | :08:27. | |
involved. This report contains flash photography. | :08:28. | :08:37. | |
With his solicitor carrying his suitcase, Denis MacShane was | :08:38. | :08:41. | |
prepared for prison. Last month, the former Labour minister pleaded | :08:42. | :08:45. | |
guilty to filing 19 bogus expense claims amounting to nearly ?13,000 | :08:46. | :08:52. | |
between 2005 and 2008. Submitting fake invoices to cover the cost of | :08:53. | :09:01. | |
genuine expenses. He stood, looking dejected in the dock, as Mr Justice | :09:02. | :09:06. | |
Sweeney delivered his sentence. The dishonesty involved was considerable | :09:07. | :09:09. | |
and was repeated many times over a long period, he said. The deception | :09:10. | :09:14. | |
used was calculate and designed to avoid suspicion falling on your | :09:15. | :09:18. | |
claims. Denis MacShane entered the Commons in 1994, a passionate | :09:19. | :09:24. | |
pro-European with a love of France. Tony Blair made him a minister. But | :09:25. | :09:29. | |
while serving in the government, he submitted four dishonest claims, and | :09:30. | :09:32. | |
not even his former colleagues have any sympathy. It is hugely damaging, | :09:33. | :09:40. | |
a few years on from the expenses scandal, to see yet another MP going | :09:41. | :09:44. | |
to prison. Justice has been done, but the public will wonder when this | :09:45. | :09:48. | |
is going to end. MacShane is now the fifth former MPs to be in prison for | :09:49. | :09:52. | |
fiddling their expenses. The old system has been scrapped, but the | :09:53. | :09:56. | |
scandal stunned voters and battered their trust. The judge said Denis | :09:57. | :10:00. | |
MacShane's case was different to that of other MPs convicted of | :10:01. | :10:04. | |
expenses fraud, because he was not motivated by greed and did not seek | :10:05. | :10:08. | |
to make a profit to line his own pockets. However, the judge said he | :10:09. | :10:12. | |
had damaged parliament and democracy. As he was led from the | :10:13. | :10:15. | |
dock, the former Europe minister was heard to mutter wearily, quelle | :10:16. | :10:21. | |
surprise. What a surprise. Denis MacShane was given a six-month | :10:22. | :10:23. | |
sentence, but will be released after three. However, it is the latest | :10:24. | :10:29. | |
political career to be cut down because of expenses. | :10:30. | :10:32. | |
Talks to resolve some of the most contentious issues in Northern | :10:33. | :10:34. | |
Ireland are taking place this evening after several delays. The | :10:35. | :10:37. | |
political parties have been trying to reach a deal on flags, parades | :10:38. | :10:40. | |
and other issues connected to the Troubles. The discussions are being | :10:41. | :10:44. | |
chaired by the former American diplomat, Richard Haass, who | :10:45. | :10:46. | |
previously said he wanted an agreement before Christmas. This | :10:47. | :11:00. | |
report contains flash photography. Images of instability, resulting | :11:01. | :11:03. | |
from decades of division. They are the problems caused by disagreements | :11:04. | :11:08. | |
over flags, parades and the past. The American diplomats try to find | :11:09. | :11:11. | |
an agreement between Northern Ireland's politicians covering all | :11:12. | :11:16. | |
three issues arrived at talks this evening, and Richard Haass once a | :11:17. | :11:21. | |
deal tonight. Our goal is to press ahead for an agreement. Do you think | :11:22. | :11:26. | |
this is endgame? It will be an interesting evening. There has been | :11:27. | :11:30. | |
progress on parades, but Doctor hard-nosed attentions they can cause | :11:31. | :11:38. | |
-- Doctor Haass. Over the weekend, a politician said he should go back to | :11:39. | :11:45. | |
America. I think he should go home. The Austin in' Michael Copeland has | :11:46. | :11:53. | |
since apologised, and all sides seem in favour of finding a new way of | :11:54. | :11:57. | |
dealing with parades and protests. The parades and flags will be | :11:58. | :12:00. | |
difficult issues, but I believe they could be resolved. But there needs | :12:01. | :12:07. | |
to be a will from republicanism and loyalism. All those difficulties are | :12:08. | :12:12. | |
rooted in a troubled past. Many relatives of people murdered during | :12:13. | :12:15. | |
the worst years of violence are still looking for answers and feel | :12:16. | :12:20. | |
their voices need to be heard. This exhibition aims to show the pain | :12:21. | :12:25. | |
that remains, and was organised by a former member of the IRA. It is | :12:26. | :12:32. | |
amazing, what we did come out of. Now we are talking about a number of | :12:33. | :12:39. | |
issues. But so far, the politicians are deadlocked on the issue of | :12:40. | :12:44. | |
flags. Violence followed a decision to stop flying the union flag over | :12:45. | :12:50. | |
Belfast City Hall all year round. There has been much debate about the | :12:51. | :12:53. | |
subject since, and among those who attended a public discussion at the | :12:54. | :12:58. | |
city's Queens University was the Northern Ireland secretary. The | :12:59. | :13:03. | |
house process does provide a welcome opportunity to make progress on some | :13:04. | :13:07. | |
of the most divisive issues in our society. In Belfast, shoppers were | :13:08. | :13:10. | |
more concerned about presence than politics, but everywhere, there are | :13:11. | :13:14. | |
reminders of the looming Christmas deadline that has been set to try to | :13:15. | :13:20. | |
find an agreement. Richard Haass has made clear that he | :13:21. | :13:24. | |
does not want that deadline to slip, but all of the parties arriving at | :13:25. | :13:26. | |
the talks venue this evening have talked of the averages. It does not | :13:27. | :13:30. | |
seem as if the issue of flags will be settled and there are still big | :13:31. | :13:34. | |
gaps between the parties on both parades and the past. This could be | :13:35. | :13:38. | |
a long night of negotiation, one that is potentially critical to the | :13:39. | :13:39. | |
whole talks process. It is nearly three years since the | :13:40. | :13:52. | |
civil war began in Syria and since then there has been a steady stream | :13:53. | :13:57. | |
of people leaving the country. 2 million refugees have fled their | :13:58. | :14:01. | |
homes and that number is continuing to rise. The European Union has | :14:02. | :14:05. | |
offered to take in 12,000 people with Germany and accepting more than | :14:06. | :14:09. | |
any other member state. United Kingdom has offered financial aid to | :14:10. | :14:14. | |
those displaced but is not accepting any refugees. Despite that, there | :14:15. | :14:18. | |
are many Syrian refugees willing to pay traffickers to gain access to | :14:19. | :14:25. | |
the UK from port of Calais. Syria's war comes to the Gateway of Britain. | :14:26. | :14:30. | |
A squalid camp in Calais where Syrians join refugees of many | :14:31. | :14:34. | |
nations hoping to cross the Channel. As the war escalates, more arrive. | :14:35. | :14:46. | |
Halley -- a chef, and a poet from the birthplace of the Syrian | :14:47. | :14:53. | |
revolution. How do you feel at the moment? I feel numb. I have had in | :14:54. | :15:05. | |
-- a lie. I studied so I could be a teacher. I had a life full of | :15:06. | :15:09. | |
respect from my student and now I have lost my dignity. A man without | :15:10. | :15:14. | |
humility. France has said it will give asylum to most Syrian refugees | :15:15. | :15:18. | |
but they believe Britain will be more sympathetic and will offer more | :15:19. | :15:23. | |
material opportunities. Although British border controls are in | :15:24. | :15:29. | |
Calais, refugees must actually land on UK soil before they can claim | :15:30. | :15:33. | |
asylum and that means getting across the Channel. Here in France, the | :15:34. | :15:37. | |
Syrians have discovered that the tragedy they are escaping from is | :15:38. | :15:41. | |
just one of many conflicts sending people fleeing towards Britain as | :15:42. | :15:46. | |
refugees. Among the Syrians we have spoken with, getting to Britain is | :15:47. | :15:50. | |
seen as the beginning of their salvation. It is that which makes | :15:51. | :15:54. | |
them put their faith in the people traffickers. According to the French | :15:55. | :15:58. | |
Government, just one trafficking gang smuggled nearly 4000 people to | :15:59. | :16:03. | |
Britain in the last two years. They break into lorries while the driver | :16:04. | :16:07. | |
is away or distracted and seal the refugees in. As we filmed, a lorry | :16:08. | :16:15. | |
driver told police he had just discovered refugees in his vehicle. | :16:16. | :16:20. | |
These people fled one of Africa's most oppressive regimes. Where are | :16:21. | :16:27. | |
they from? Eritrea? After questioning, they will be set free | :16:28. | :16:33. | |
to try again another night. We decided to expose the underworld | :16:34. | :16:37. | |
gangs preying on refugees in camps across the city, charging up to | :16:38. | :16:44. | |
?2000 to cross to the UK. We sent the BBC Arabic journalist undercover | :16:45. | :16:48. | |
as a Syrian refugee. Within hours, he had been introduced to the | :16:49. | :16:50. | |
traffickers. We asked if we could be trafficked | :16:51. | :17:11. | |
across. That is the promise, and last year | :17:12. | :17:29. | |
the French say it worked for an estimated 15,000 people. By night, | :17:30. | :17:35. | |
back among the refugees, it is time to queue up for a nightly meal | :17:36. | :17:41. | |
provided by a local charity. Syrians are regulars here. We heard from the | :17:42. | :17:48. | |
chef a few days after filming here. He had successfully crossed to | :17:49. | :17:52. | |
Britain. But the older man, the professor and the poet, is still in | :17:53. | :17:57. | |
Calais and he told us he is lonely. I never thought I would end up here | :17:58. | :18:01. | |
living this life. I feel like the dead among the living. One-man among | :18:02. | :18:13. | |
millions cast from his homeland. The last two members of the Russian | :18:14. | :18:17. | |
punk rock band Pussy Riot have been released from prison as part of an | :18:18. | :18:22. | |
amnesty approved by President Putin. The women both dismissed the amnesty | :18:23. | :18:27. | |
as part of a PR stunt ahead of the Sochi Olympics. They were jailed for | :18:28. | :18:31. | |
performing a protest song at the cathedral in Moscow more than 18 | :18:32. | :18:36. | |
months ago. This report contains flash photography from the start. | :18:37. | :18:43. | |
The best-known face of the famous Russian protest group Pussy Riot. | :18:44. | :18:51. | |
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova walked free after nightfall in Siberia. After 18 | :18:52. | :18:59. | |
months behind bars, she claimed she had only been released because of | :19:00. | :19:03. | |
the upcoming Winter Olympics. I am calling for boycott of the Olympics | :19:04. | :19:10. | |
because the amnesty not enough. They are releasing us a couple of months | :19:11. | :19:14. | |
before the end of our sentence, which is ridiculous. Far more people | :19:15. | :19:20. | |
should be freed. Tonight her fellow band member Maria Alyokhina also | :19:21. | :19:26. | |
arrived back in Moscow by train tonight, to be mopped by the | :19:27. | :19:31. | |
international media. I asked her whether Pussy Riot would continue. | :19:32. | :19:38. | |
Yes. The group will be more human rights focused but it will be as | :19:39. | :19:45. | |
brave and bright as it was before. Pussy Riot's crime was to dance in | :19:46. | :19:50. | |
balaclavas in Moscow's main cathedral and call on the Virgin | :19:51. | :19:54. | |
Mary to rid Russia Vladimir Putin. They were put on trial and sentenced | :19:55. | :20:00. | |
to two years in penal colonies. The conditions were basic and they | :20:01. | :20:03. | |
complained of mistreatment and even a murder threat. There was a | :20:04. | :20:07. | |
high-profile campaign to free them and even Madonna got involved. | :20:08. | :20:11. | |
Russia's Parliament finally passed an amnesty bill last week. The | :20:12. | :20:18. | |
longest serving political prisoner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was freed | :20:19. | :20:22. | |
three days ago and today he told the BBC that President Putin had not | :20:23. | :20:27. | |
changed. I am convinced that President Putin is making his | :20:28. | :20:32. | |
decisions about political prisoners now for purely pragmatic reasons. It | :20:33. | :20:37. | |
is not a sign of real change in politics. Russia's jails have | :20:38. | :20:42. | |
effectively been emptied of all controversial prisoners in the | :20:43. | :20:44. | |
build-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics but we will not know until | :20:45. | :20:49. | |
after the Games whether President Putin and the hardliners have made a | :20:50. | :20:53. | |
long-term decision to stop imprisoning their critics. Either | :20:54. | :20:59. | |
way, Russia's dissident voices like Pussy Riot will not fall silent. | :21:00. | :21:03. | |
They have little power but plenty of determination. | :21:04. | :21:10. | |
The BBC has learned that banks were aware of problems in the foreign | :21:11. | :21:14. | |
currency markets four years before the Financial Conduct Authority | :21:15. | :21:18. | |
began its investigation into the fixing of exchange rates. Analysts | :21:19. | :21:22. | |
had noticed sharp movements in exchange rates at key times of day | :21:23. | :21:27. | |
and warned their clients that it could have a debilitating effect on | :21:28. | :21:33. | |
their investments. Some say the currency trading investigation could | :21:34. | :21:36. | |
develop into an episode similar to the libel rates to gamble -- LIBOR | :21:37. | :21:51. | |
rate scandel. Analysts looked at four o'clock in London, when | :21:52. | :21:55. | |
exchange rates are calculated for a range of investments and whether | :21:56. | :22:01. | |
there was collusion to fix the rates and create profit. A leading | :22:02. | :22:06. | |
investment bank suggested there might be potential problems with the | :22:07. | :22:09. | |
setting of the four o'clock benchmark four years ago. It did not | :22:10. | :22:13. | |
allege illegality but it suggested that some investors buying and | :22:14. | :22:17. | |
selling foreign exchange might be missing out. Morgan Stanley found | :22:18. | :22:21. | |
that because prices tended to move sharply just before four o'clock, | :22:22. | :22:25. | |
that could mean a bad deal and extra costs for customers like pension | :22:26. | :22:31. | |
funds. In the worst-case scenarios, this could mean a debilitating | :22:32. | :22:35. | |
effect on annual performance. A later report by the bank indicated a | :22:36. | :22:41. | |
potential loss of 5% annually on a typical investment portfolio. The | :22:42. | :22:46. | |
author is now with a different bank and said that regulators failed to | :22:47. | :22:51. | |
spot what was going on. To have some regulatory effectiveness in this | :22:52. | :22:56. | |
market, you need tight coordination over multiple jurisdictions. That is | :22:57. | :23:01. | |
the first challenge. I don't think regulators are necessarily aware of | :23:02. | :23:05. | |
how the market works and the uses of currencies. A member of the Commons | :23:06. | :23:09. | |
Treasury committee said he was surprised by what was said in the | :23:10. | :23:14. | |
report. Any hint of being manipulated, in this case allegedly | :23:15. | :23:19. | |
in foreign exchange trading, if that is leading to loss to pension funds | :23:20. | :23:23. | |
which all of us rely on ultimately, then that is something that the man | :23:24. | :23:27. | |
or woman in the street needs to have addressed for them and I hope the | :23:28. | :23:31. | |
City watchdog will do that. The watchdog is investigating but he has | :23:32. | :23:37. | |
called on the Serious Fraud Office to take a closer look. In the case | :23:38. | :23:46. | |
of LIBOR, this only happened after their own lengthy inquiry had taken | :23:47. | :23:49. | |
place. The former England spinner Graeme | :23:50. | :23:53. | |
Swann has denied making derogatory comments about any member of the | :23:54. | :23:59. | |
current squad following his abrupt retirement yesterday. It came days | :24:00. | :24:02. | |
before the fourth test and in the middle of what has been described as | :24:03. | :24:07. | |
England's worst Ashes tour in decades. Let's go straight to | :24:08. | :24:11. | |
Melbourne. Not much festive cheer for the England cricket team in | :24:12. | :24:15. | |
Melbourne. Already they have relinquished the Ashes at the | :24:16. | :24:18. | |
earliest opportunity and the two senior players leave the tour. There | :24:19. | :24:23. | |
when it is being described by the Australian press as a tour from | :24:24. | :24:27. | |
hell. This report contains flash photography. Having shocked England | :24:28. | :24:31. | |
by calling time on his international career mid tour, Graeme Swann | :24:32. | :24:35. | |
continues to make headlines. This spinner now making an impact with | :24:36. | :24:39. | |
his words rather than wickets. One day after seeing him quit, his | :24:40. | :24:42. | |
former team-mates were trying to put a brave face on things in Melbourne | :24:43. | :24:46. | |
but it was what was being written about them back home that was | :24:47. | :24:50. | |
causing the stove. Graeme Swann had accused certain players of | :24:51. | :24:54. | |
arrogance, saying some had no idea how far up their own backsides they | :24:55. | :24:58. | |
were. That has been interpreted as a swipe at England, which Graeme Swann | :24:59. | :25:02. | |
denies. The man who will replace him in the side said there was no rift. | :25:03. | :25:07. | |
He probably knows who he is referring to but in terms of the | :25:08. | :25:12. | |
dressing room and team-mates, we are right behind him. We loved him to | :25:13. | :25:17. | |
bits. When he played with us, he had great character and his sense of | :25:18. | :25:22. | |
humour was good. We all back him. His shock retirement has now forced | :25:23. | :25:25. | |
England to call up two more spinners, Scott Borthwick and | :25:26. | :25:36. | |
Treadwell. These England players are trying their best to be good | :25:37. | :25:40. | |
tourists but the reality this is a tour gone bad. No such problems for | :25:41. | :25:45. | |
Australia, basking in the glory of having regained the Ashes. The hosts | :25:46. | :25:49. | |
are taking it all in their stride and no matter how tempting refused | :25:50. | :25:56. | |
to be drawn on the chaos inflicted on their opponents. It is not our | :25:57. | :25:59. | |
changing rooms and I can only speak for us. We are all good mate in our | :26:00. | :26:03. | |
rooms and we are happy about the way we are going. Australia are | :26:04. | :26:09. | |
targeting a whitewash. The gulf between them and their opponents is | :26:10. | :26:15. | |
growing wider by the day. That is it. There | :26:16. | :26:16. |