03/01/2014 BBC News at Ten

One storm follows another. After gales of 90mph earlier today,

tonight, there are more high winds and more flooding.

From Cornwall to Scotland, coastal communities have been hit by gales

and high tides. Terrible. The waves are horrendous. It is pretty awful,

certainly not within my experience. Homes and businesses have been

flooded as rivers burst their banks. And this was the scene a short time

ago in Aberystwyth where some people tonight were asked to leave homes

and businesses. The head of the Environment Agency

admits a funding squeeze and job cuts will affect how they handle

floods in future. A sharp rise in house prices, up on

average by 8.4%. Newly released documents show what

Margaret Thatcher's cabinet really thought about the miners' strike.

India's multi-billion pound brick industry, and the bonded labourers

earning little more than ?1 a day in appalling conditions.

The British director tipped for an Oscar for his film on slavery in the

American south. Coming up, England face and Ashes

whitewash. Good evening and welcome to the BBC

News at Ten. Eight severe flood warnings are

still in place tonight after the entire west coast of Britain, from

Cornwall to Scotland, was battered by a storm. Ahead of another wave of

high tides this evening, people in at least one area are being

evacuated from their homes. Gales and high tides caused considerable

flooding. Newquay in Cornwall was one of the communities affected

first this morning, quickly followed by villages and towns in

Gloucestershire. One group of homes in Dorset was evacuated for the

second time in eight days. The weather then moved northwards along

the Welsh coast. People were asked to evacuate their homes in

Aberystwyth earlier tonight ahead of another high tide. The coasts of

Northern Ireland and Scotland were also hit. Jon Kay is in Cornwall,

where it all started, with the latest for us now.

How is it looking? It has felt utterly relentless over the last few

days. Storm after storm, high tide after high tide, and it keeps coming

for much of the western part of the UK. This place flooded this morning

and very nearly flooded again this evening. And now they are wondering

what tomorrow will bring. It started before dawn, and early

morning wake-up call for Newquay. It might be a world-famous surf resort,

but they rarely see waves quite like this. Spectacular, isn't it,

fantastic. Have you seen it this high before? I have lived here all

my life and never seen it like that. It is an awesome sight. You would

not want to be in the sea or too close to it. Really frightening. The

early high tide passed quickly, but it certainly left its mark. There

was flooding in many coastal communities, like the Cornish

harbour town of Looe. Just three days ago they were celebrating New

Year in this pub. Now they wish to thousand and 14 had stayed well

away. Despite the official warnings to keep away from the edge of the

water, this young family were hit by a huge wave at a cove. They were

lucky to escape with just a soaking. Others were not so fortunate. Much

of western Britain has felt under attack today. This was Aberystwyth,

where rocks rained down on the Victorian promenade, and where this

coastal road was ripped apart by the tide. Western Scotland has also

taken a pasting. A potentially deadly combination of high wind

whipping up already high tides. I have never seen it as bad as that.

It was terrible. The waves are rendered as. Near Barmouth, four

people had to be rescued from a flooded farm. In Gloucestershire,

the River Severn is being closely monitored after bursting it angst in

several places. This was Tewkesbury this afternoon. In Northern

Ireland, a large tidal surge at mid-day meant this was no time to be

taking a seaside snapped. Back in Cornwall this evening, they were

preparing for the next high tide. Over 100 volunteers turned out on

Perranporth beach to fill bags with Sam, hoping they could protect their

homes. This morning it was lashing over the wall into the car park.

There is extensive anticipation at what is going to happen, so we are

doing what we can. It could be anyone of us, so any help we can

give, we will give gladly. Just after dark, the second onslaught of

the day. This cafe is 50 yards from the beach and this morning it

flooded. Tonight, they are working to make sure it does not happen a

second time. I am a bit numb. I have been here since 5am. I am cold and

numb and hungry. I do not know what tomorrow will bring. In the end,

tonight was not as bad as many had feared, but other communities are

facing another anxious night. In Aberystwyth, more emergency

evacuations this evening. I have not seen it like this. People on the

seafront must be scared. Someone came saying they wanted to evacuate

and move stuff upstairs. This battering is far from over.

In Cornwall, it looks like people have escaped more serious damage to

night. How is it looking for the weekend? I will give you one guess.

There is more bad weather to come. The Met office have said there is

more heavy rain, high winds and high tides over the next couple of days,

Saturday and Sunday. Bubbly not as strong as the last couple of days,

but because the ground is saturated in so many places, right across the

country, it will not take much to cause additional flooding problems.

-- probably. The warnings are still there. Still eight severe flood

warnings tonight, the most serious that the Environment Agency can

issue, meaning there is potentially an imminent danger to life. There is

one right here in Cornwall where I am talking to you from. It is a

reminder of the dangers of the tide. This evening, coastguard teams

have been searching for a teenage student who was apparently lost when

taking pictures of the tide near Plymouth yesterday. I was talking to

a man in Perranporth this afternoon and he said, if this is what three

days of the New Year can bring, I would like to press pause and end it

right now. Attention is turning to how well the

UK is prepared for this kind of extreme weather. The Environment

Agency has confirmed that it's cutting 1500 jobs, and its head has

warned that cuts will affect the organisation's ability to deal with

floods. But today the government says it's spending more than ?2.3

billion on flood defences, and that efficiency savings are essential.

David Shukman has more. The latest onslaught in a winter of

flooding. Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, repeatedly hit in

recent years, now underwater again. The rivers are swollen. Storm after

storm has soaked the land and the tides are dangerously high. In the

face of a continuing threat, the Thames Barrier was raised to defend

London. This is the process speeded up, one example of the pressure

faced inland and along coastlines around the country. What is

happening here tells you a lot about the exceptional nature of the

weather. Since it was built 30 years ago it has been raised 130 times.

With so many storms and tidal surges, the plan is to raise it ten

times in the first week of this year alone. No wonder there are questions

about whether enough is being done to keep the country safe. Some

places were overwhelmed. This was south Wales this morning. All of

this comes at a sensitive time for the government. The Environment

Agency which handles flood defence confirmed today that with budget

cuts it will lose more than one tenth of its staff, 1500 jobs. The

unions say the timing could not be worse. I would say these jobs are

involved in a vital public service. I am sure people being rescued and

warned will agree that that is the case. We are not talking about jobs

that are unimportant. Look at your TV screens and you can see how

important the work on flood defences is at the moment. The government

points to new defences like this one at Teignmouth in Devon to say it is

taking flooding seriously and front line work will not be affected by

any cuts. But money to fight flooding is always controversial. In

the last year of the Labour government spending was ?628

million. It went up in the first year of the coalition and then fell

to ?560 million in the last financial year and is now set to

rise again up to ?613 million next year. This department had to make

efficiencies, given the dire financial position we inherited

Brummie came to power. I met this morning with the Chief Executive of

the Environment Agency who will also have two make efficiencies, but he

assured me he has every intention of protecting front -- front line

services concerned with floods. For months we have been battling waves

of bad weather and another is on the way this weekend. Each time, the

country's ability to protect itself is tested.

For the latest on the situation go to bbc.co.uk/news or tune in to your

BBC local radio station. House prices have risen by an

average of 8.4% over 2013, according to the Nationwide Building Society.

London is leading the boom, but prices are now rising across much of

Britain. And there was more evidence today the recovery in the housing

market is getting stronger, with figures from the Bank of England

showing the number of mortgages approved in November was the highest

for nearly six years. Hugh Pym has more details. His report contains

flash photography. Whatever the weather is like, there

is certainly some heat in the housing market. That is what comes

across with the latest price figures from the leading mortgage lender and

the Bank of England data on new mortgages being approved. Ben is an

estate agent in the London Borough of Hammersmith Fulham, where

prices have jumped 25% over the year, the fastest growth rate in the

UK, with the average price now over ?690,000. At this office, they are

as busy as ever, as the capital experiences its own property boom.

The London market seems to be completely separate to the rest of

the country, and even if you are not central and on, we are still seeing

massive price rises and huge activity, as if everybody wants to

get into London and buy somewhere. There is just not enough to go

round. There are variations in house rise growth around the UK. The

increase in London was nearly 15%. The figure for Northern Ireland was

less than half that, with Wales just behind. In Scotland, house prices

were up 3.7% over the same period. Mark is the branch manager of an

estate agent in Coventry where there has been annual growth of just 2%,

and the average price is now just over ?170,000. The message here is

that it is a mixed pic jerk, depending on which area the property

is located. There are somewhere we are seeing house price increases,

not dramatic at close to the levels of the peak at 2007-2008, but there

are other areas where we are seeing no increase at all. So what has been

the impact of government assistance for mortgage borrowers? This week,

David Cameron visited a home-buyer who has taken advantage of the Help

to Buy scheme. Looking at the numbers of people who have taken up

Help to Buy, it is difficult to say it has had a direct major impact on

either lending or housing turnover. But what it has done, coming with

the good news in the economy and improved confidence, is to further

boost that confidence. It is a sensitive issue. The Bank of England

says it may restrain mortgage lending if expansion is too rapid,

and the government knows it will face criticism if its scheme to help

home-buyers starts to stoke what becomes an overheated market. Newly

released governments from 30 years ago are shedding new light on how

Margaret Thatcher dealt with difficult issues she faced when in

office. The papers show during the miners' strike, Arthur Scargill may

have been right to claim there was a hit-list of pits marked for closure.

Also that the Government considered calling out the Troons. Libyan

officials warned of potential violence when Yvonne Fletcher was

murdered outside the country's embassy.

It was one of the most violent and confrontational industrial disputes

in English history. Throughout the miners' strike there were pitched

battles between police and picketing mine workers outside pits and power

stations. Go away. Arrest him. The mine workers leader, Arthur

Scargill, was himself arrested. There was, he claimed, a secret

Government plan to butcher the coal industry. We do not want to see pit

closures and the run down in man power levels, bearing in mind they

have a hit-list of 70 pits and a reduction in man power by 70,000.

Thatcher and the coal board always denied that. A further reduction of

70,000 jobs in the next two years, can you deny that? I know no place

where that has ever been discussed. We have nothing like that on our

agenda. But they did. Files released today

shows ministers met six months before the strike. The Minutes of

the meeting are marked, not to be photo copied or circulated outside

the private office. They were seen by just seven people and the typist,

Lilian. George Gregan, ministers were -- Ian McMacGregor was told

that 75 pits would be closed. Nick Jones covered the strike as the

BBC's industrial correspondent. This document, for the first time, it

shows that six months before the start of the strike, MacGregor

informs the Energy Secretary and then Mrs Thatcher that yes, he wants

to close 75 pits. He wants to shut two thirds of the pits in Wales. He

wants to shut half of them in South Yorkshire, a third of them in

Scotland. If this document had ever emerged during the strike, it would

have been devastating for the credibility of Margaret Thatcher.

The files reveal that in July, the Government had a serious wobble,

faced not only with a miners' strike but also with a national dog strike.

They -- dock strike. They considered a state of emergency and getting

troops to deliver coal. Mrs Thatcher's copy of the briefing

document is covered in her scribbled notes. She was clearly taking a very

keen interest. But the miners' strike wasn't the only crisis the

Government had to deal with that year. In April, a police woman,

Yvonne Fletcher, was murdered and 11 demonstrators injured by a gunman

firing from inside the Libyan embassy in London. The files

contained previously unpublished details of two midnight warnings

received the night before, one from Libyan diplomats in London and the

other by Britain's ambassador to Tripoli. Relaying. Details he jokily

suggested he didn't think such a thing would happen. I took it

seriously, but I didn't believe it, no, I didn't. The 30 Libyan

diplomats in the London embassy were eventually freed and sent home, even

though one was almost certainly a murderer. The files show that was

authorised by Mrs Thatcher. Now, there are crucial -- they're a

crucial part of India's growing economy, the brick kilns that supply

the building sector used for buildings owned not only by Indian

companies, but also by British ones and multinationals. Campaigners are

calling for more to be done about the appalling human cost of India's

brick industry. There are more than two million brickworkers in India.

Many kilns use bonded labourerers, working conditions of near slavery,

earning at best 1. .50 for a 12-hour day. Many suffer ill health from the

acrid smoke from the kilns and harsh working conditions, leading

campaigners to call the bricks they make "blood bricks".

Their homes are hundreds of miles away. The bricks they're straining

to carry go into building modern India. The architecture and city

skylines that are the bench marks of its new, glittering wealth. Whole

families travel to these kilns near Hydrerabad because they need the

work. Smoke hangs in the air from the burning coal. Campaigners say a

raft of laws from low wages to child labour are being broken. This is a

community of India's very poorest. TRANSLATION: I have come here with

my family to work. Every day we make 1500 bricks. India's economic boom

is fuelling the demand for bricks, but British companies also operate

here, setting up factories, officers and call centres. How many of those

are built with bricks like this? New buildings are going up all the time.

This is due to be a shop with bricks from a nearby kiln. They're forced

to lead subhuman lives. I don't think such work conditions should

prevail anywhere in the world. It's a condition that the entire world

should condemn. The multinationals are buying into that? The

multinationals are buying into this. Then we found this little girl.

She's five years old. He says she's sick because of smoke from the

kilns. Lung diseases are affecting her. There are many like her and

there's no sign of childhood in her eyes. Although the government

reassures that it's across the problem and takes measures to look

after families We have taken action against the brick kiln owners who

try to exploit them. Now there's no such thing. They are given

registers. Our officials make visit. We have provided them living

conditions, decent living conditions. For years, campaigners

have been recording these lives and last month, an horrific punishment

came to light. This man's hand was severed because he refused to go to

work. But Britain now has new guidelines on doing business abroad,

no longer can this type of work be ignored. Companies have to check on

the working conditions of everyone connected to their supply chains,

whatever governments or local owners say. Should you pay these people

more money? TRANSLATION: I can't pay them any

more. Business is down and it is all I can afford. Here are the people

building India's economic miracle. Now activists are calling their work

a trade in blood bricks. The BNP leader, Nick Griffin, has

been declared bankrupt. The order was made at Welshpool County Council

yesterday. It doesn't -- County Court yesterday. It doesn't prevent

his sitting as an MEP in the European Parliament. His bankruptcy

followed debt from outstanding legal fees.

England's hopes of avoiding a 5-0 Ashes were delivered a blow in the

first day of the final Test in Sydney. At one point Australia, put

into bat, were struggling on 97-5. But they recovered to leave England

chasing 326 runs and by close of play, England had already lost a

wicket. Play is due to resume again shortly.

There are few better places to make a fresh start and in a city

synonymous with new year, English cricket had made a resolution to

turn the tide. The tourists had seen enough, a treee -- trio of players

handed debuts. Having wielded the axe, England won the toss, for the

first time this series. The decision to bowl on a grassy pitch quickly

vindicated. Australia were reduced to 97-5 shortly after lunch. The

tourists finally get it all off their chests. As sure as night

follows day, Brad Haddin will come to the rescue. Sure enough, he was

full of his usual wash and buckle, as the -- swash and buckle as the

hosts recovered. These are not the debuts that two players had hoped

for. Boyd Rankin, hamstring and Steve Borthwick hammered as Haddin

took the game away from them. The wicket keeper was eventually out for

75, but what he started, accomplice Steve Smith continued. The batsman

bringing up a sparkling century in grand style. But just as a weary

England sank to new levels of depondency, came late solace, Ben

Stokes, the one ray of light on a gloomy tour, bra -- wrapped up three

victims in an over. He gave his team something to celebrate, Australia

all out for 326. By then, the damage was done. Under a ferocious evening

assault from Mitchell Johnson, Michael Carberry was out for a duck,

England limping off on 8-1, left to wonder what might have been again.

A new year, some new faces but the same old story then for England,

failing to capitalise after a good start. Day two of this fifth and

final Test Match here in Sydney will begin in around an hour's time.

England simply have to bat and bat very well indeed, if they don't,

then the prospect of a humiliating 5-0 whitewash becomes very real

indeed. Now, he was a black musician, living

as a free man in New York during the middle of the 19th century, when

Soloman Northup accepted the offer of a job, he was tricked and sold

into slavery in the American South. Now his story has been made into a

film and its British director, the Turner Prize-winning artist, Steve

McQueen, is being tipped for an Oscar. Will Gompertz went to meet

him. America 1841. I was born a free man,

lived with my family in New York, until the day I was dereceived,

kidnapped. Boy, how you feel now? You no free man. You're nothing but

a Georgia runaway. 12iers a slave has been widely praised for it's

unsentimental and intense portrayal of the brutality of the slavery in

the American South. Soloman Northup is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. I

felt that in the sequences that are the more complicated, the physically

uncomfortable, you know, what I felt was a deeper connection to Soloman

and what he went through. Certainly on the plantations you feel and have

a real sense that you're dancing with ghosts and that everything is

still very much alive and present, right in the soil. This is an

American story told by a British director who feels Hollywood has

overlooked the subject. Slavery lasted 400 years and how many movies

made about slavery are there? I think there's more movies about

Spartacus than there is about slavery. I just wanted to address

that subject. And yet, oddly, in the last 24 months, we've seen quite a

lot of movies tackling this. Why do you think suddenly there's this

engagement with the subject which has been hitherto broughtly ignored?

No-one could underestimate the impact of President Barack Obama. I

think that people possibly felt that they had the authority or they had

the possibility of making that kind of story and maybe financiers

thought, yes, we could make a bucket out of this now. The condition of

your labour is all wrong. My property. You say that with pride. I

say it as fact. Brad Pitt said it took an Englishman to tell this

story. An Englishman, for sure, but I'm part of that diaspora. My

parents came from the West Indies. The only difference between myself

and African Americans is their best went left and mine went right. This

could do well during the awards season, creating the possibility

that Steve McQueen could be the first person in history to win both

the Turner Prize and Oscar. That's all from us. Now on BBC One,

we join